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He was like an ever-changing tattoo.
Every time Jungkook looked at him, there was something new to discover about him.
He didn't know how the boy did it, but whenever Jungkook looked up, he knew he hadn't seen that sunny smile before, or the twinkle in his eyes, or the plum color beret perched on his head giving him an adorable painter look and vibe, or when he wore that one silver-white suit that made Jungkook wonder if he was a part-time model and just happened to be strolling past his tattoo studio.
There were no right answers.
It wasn't that Jungkook hadn't asked him, when he walked into his shop, determined to get a tattoo.
The first time Jungkook saw him, he was rendered speechless for a whole minute, before a snap of fingers brought him back to reality. There was just one thought going round and round in his head. How could someone look like that?
He knew, humans as a species has varied features, skin color, eye color, and such, but him...he was...how should he put it...that guy was a different breed of humans altogether. He wasn't a normal human being - that's what Jungkook thought.
"Hello? Are you the owner of the studio?" He had asked and Jungkook had nodded.
"What's your name?"
"Taehyung. Kim Taehyung." The name rolled off his tongue, in a rough whisper, as if he was sharing a secret. Was he? Jungkook could only wonder.
"Nice to meet you, Taehyung. What kind of tattoo would you like to do?"
"It's not just one." Taehyung explained and then licked his lips. It was an unconscious habit, but a hot one, and Jungkook tracked the moment of his tongue, filing it away in his memory.
He usually wasn't this smitten by his clients, but Taehyung was a different being. He wasn't one of the usual inexperienced client that found their way to his studio. He had a plan in his beautiful mind, he had a determined look in his eyes, and a sketch of the idea he wanted inked on his body.
There was only one problem.
"Are you sure you want to do this in one sitting?" Jungkook had asked.
It wasn't that he couldn't do it, but usually if a big, chest, sleeve or back tattoo was involved, Jungkook preferred doing it over multiple seating. It was better that way for him, and the client too could take breaks in between. He didn't know Taehyung's pain threshold, but if Jungkook was to go by experience he had say Taehyung wasn't prepared to sit through it all.
He would need a break.
But Taehyung had a different plan.
"How about we do a portion of the tattoo once every week?" He had suggested.
It was an odd request. Jungkook hadn't come across anyone with such a peculiar request before.
"Let's do bits and pieces of this tattoo every Friday, starting from today."
Jungkook tried hard to keep his face blank, but maybe Taehyung noticed the surprise on his face. Because he continued, "If you have another day in mind, that's fine with me as well."
"No." Jungkook shook his head. "Fridays are fine with me." He had said, but on the inside he regretted it, a tiny bit.
Fridays for Jungkook were 'me' time, his personal time where he selected a place to visit and took his camera along, clicking pictures of scenery and anything that attracted him. He only ever kept his shop open till afternoon, on Fridays. Taehyung should know this, since he had looked up timings.
So why had he chose Fridays out of all the days in the week? Jungkook wasn't sure.
"That's awesome!" Taehyung had cheered, his lips turning up into a boxy smile, and for a few seconds Jungkook thought he had gone blind.
The warmth and glow from his happiness made Jungkook want to capture it on a camera. He itched to click the picture and save it on the camera film, as memories. The thought was unsettling, because Jungkook rarely ever clicked pictures of humans, except maybe pictures of his longtime friend Jimin, but that too was only once a month, when Jimin insisted he needed to update his Instagram profile.
"You'll do it... right?"
"Yeah. Sure." Jungkook nodded and Taehyung gave him another beautiful smile before stepping out through the front door of the tattoo studio.
Jungkook looked at the design in his hand and a small frown appeared on his lips.
It was Baekho – the White Tiger of the West, the design with it's white hues, and blue melting into one another, and the steady gaze of the animal to the front - it was a beautiful design. But it wasn't just a tiger in the design. The white tiger was placed in a circle, with scripts encircling it, and the sign of the moon peaking from behind the shoulder of the tiger.
Jungkook, and the artist in him were dying to find out the meaning behind this design, but he didn't know Taehyung that well to ask him.
As a tattoo artist, Jungkook loved it when clients got meaningful tattoos done on their body, instead of getting it done just for the style or because it was the current trend. He loved creating stories around the tattoos and getting feedback from his clients. It was why, the design Taehyung had given him, impressed him.
"Maybe, he'll share his idea." Jungkook mused and went back to working on the design, thinking of ways to complete it as per Taehyung's wishes.
He needed it done in parts, and that's what Jungkook planned to do.
As decided, Taehyung came in next Friday.
"I divided the design into seven parts, so we'll do it in seven seating. Is that fine?" Jungkook had asked Taehyung on the first Friday.
He was wearing a loose green sweater and beige pants. How could he pull off such a casual look and make it look runaway worthy was beyond Jungkook. He could only secretly be happy that Taehyung chose his studio to grace his presence with.
At this point, Jungkook didn't even bother checking the way he stared at Taehyung, because there was no way around it. He was attracted to the guy, and when the tattoo session was finished, he was going to try and ask Taehyung out...if possible.
"Okay." Taehyung nodded and turned to face him, eyes serious. "Could you start with the moon?"
"Of course." Jungkook said, and couldn't stop himself from asking. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to start with the moon?"
"The moon..." Taehyung paused and a fond smile stretched on his lips. "The moon represents my Namjoonie hyung. He's like that, nature-wise , calm, cool and collected and I always look up to him for guidance. And just like the moon, he has been a constant in my life."
"Wow. It's a beautiful representation of him." Jungkook let him know.
"Thank you." The boxy smile made it's appearance, and Jungkook had to remind himself to breathe. He didn't know how he was going to survive the next few Fridays or how he was going to go out for photography with Taehyung in his mind, but that was for later.
Right now, Taehyung and his tattoo took top priority for him.
The pain was there, but Taehyung tried his best not to complain. He held it together through the first half an hour, before breaking out into a sweat. It made Jungkook chuckle.
"What?" Taehyung asked him, eyebrow raised.
"You could have told me to stop before the pain became unbearable." Jungkook said.
"It's...It's not unbearable."
Jungkook shrugged. "If you say so."
They began work again, after Taehyung had drank two glasses of water and nibbled on an energy bar Jungkook gave him. "Just let me know if it's painful."
Taehyung nodded, but Jungkook knew he wouldn't follow through. There was a fire in his eyes, as if he was determined to go through as much pain as possible.
It made him wonder, why was he getting the tattoo. Should he ask?
"I know what you're thinking." Taehyung muttered, when Jungkook bent over his chest, tattoo machine poised.
"What?"
"You're wondering why I'm getting the tattoo done...right?"
"Uh..."
"You have this frown, as if you're questioning yourself about my reasons for doing it."
Now it was Jungkook's turn to be surprised. "Since, when were you this observant about what expression I have on my face?" He asked with a chuckle.
"I-" Taehyung shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Just do it."
Jungkook bent over his chest again, the delicate skin out there mildly red. They had just begin the tattoo. A part of Jungkook, the professional side, wanted to get the tattoo done as quickly as possible and still be careful. But the other side of Jungkook, the side that had come to like Taehyung, felt a blush creep on his face. He was so close to Taehyung's body and his pretty, smooth skin, it felt like he would break it any moment.
Jungkook took a breath and instantly smelt the musk and woodsy cologne. It was a mistake to breath near Taehyung. Now, he couldn't get rid of that smell.
For a second, Jungkook even wondered if it was cologne or just Taehyung's natural smell. But then, went back to focusing on the tattoo.
"So...-" Jungkook said over the whirring of the tattoo machine. "Why are you getting this tattoo done? You didn't tell me." He knew the pain was coming back, with the way Taehyung scrunched his nose, and Jungkook wanted to distract him.
It seemed to work.
"For a long time, I was dependent on my hyungs and couldn't do much myself." Taehyung said after a pause and a wince. "When I saw this design online, I knew I wanted it, with maybe...a few modifications. Namjoon hyung is the moon sign, but the scripts are not actually scripts."
"Oh-" Jungkook hadn't worked on them yet, since the writing was smaller than the usual. He had planned on doing them later.
"They are verses of songs that my Jin hyung and Hoseokie hyung wrote, along with Yoongi hyung."
At this, Jungkook stopped the machine, his eyes wide and impressed. "They are songwriters? Really?"
Taehyung chuckled and shook his head. "Not yet, but they wish to be known in the music industry. And the hyungs are really talented, so I'm sure they'll get there. This design is kinda...me breaking the norms, breaking the mold I was in, and also dedicating a piece of myself to my hyungs...you know."
"Yes. I can understand." Jungkook nodded.
A lot of his clients wanted a tattoo for reminiscence, or for someone who had passed away. It was the essence of memory, that they wanted to ink on their body, and in a way Taehyung was doing the same.
Taehyung let out a small yelp and Jungkook stopped again. "Does it hurt a lot?"
Jungkook didn't know he was too close to Taehyung's face until he let out a breath and their breathes mingled.
Taehyung stared at him, his eyes hooded. "It's not painful anymore." He whispered.
For a second, Jungkook didn't understand what he was talking about. Taehyung cleared his throat and looked away. "The tattoo isn't hurting anymore." He elaborated.
Jungkook blinked rapidly and pulled back, cursing at his late reaction. How could he get so close to the beauty and end up making him uncomfortable? Stupid, Jungkook! "Oh yes. That's good. Sorry, I didn't mean-"
"It's fine."
"Huh?"
When Jungkook looked over at Taehyung, he caught the other blushing. What goes on?
"I said it's fine. I don't feel uncomfortable under your touch."
Jungkook felt his face heat up and heard Taehyung let out a low laugh. He looked everywhere but at Taehyung's face. His heart was doing a little dance at Taehyung's words and Jungkook couldn't bring himself to think anything else.
Just as he was going to go back to the tattoo, his phone alarm went off.
"Ah...damn!"
"It's closing time, isn't it?" Taehyung asked.
"Uh...Yes." Jungkook scratched his head. They were in such a good space, and now he would have to stop...damn.
"The studio is usually only open till noon on Fridays."
"I know. That's why I chose Fridays."
"Huh?" Jungkook frowned. "You chose Friday because the studio closes early?" It didn't make any sense.
"Yes." Taehyung got up once Jungkook had cleaned the tattoo on his chest and put on his sweater. "It's only on Fridays that you're off."
"I also know you love photography and this is the only time, you pursue it. I follow your Instagram account, so I know."
"Oh-" Jungkook didn't know how to respond.
When the silence stretched on, Taehyung blushed. "I-I'm not a stalker or anything. I just really like your works." He said hastily.
"It's how I discovered you owned a tattoo studio, and then I decided to come to you."
"Wow." Jungkook had a wide smile on his face. He couldn't help it.
He thought he was the only interested party here. But now it looked like Taehyung was on to the same path. The feelings were mutual...maybe?
"So...uh-" Taehyung was struggling and it was cute. Jungkook was overwhelmed with the sudden urge to give him a sloppy kiss on the forehead, but he stopped himself.
He didn't want to scare the boy, when he was responding so well to the attraction.
"So...what I'm saying is, you're a cool guy...and uh I-"
"You want to hang out?" Jungkook supplied.
"Yes! I love photography and since you-"
"You want to join me on my trips?" Jungkook prompted again.
"Yes! I really would love to! And-"
"And?" This time Jungkook waited, because he needed to hear the words from him.
At that point, Taehyung's face resembled a tomato. "And...uh...would you like to go out on a coffee...date with me?" He refused to meet Jungkook's eyes.
"Of course!" Jungkook laughed at how embarrassed the other was, and flicked his chin. "Hey. Look at me."
Taehyung met his gaze and Jungkook held it. "I would love to go on a date with you." He said, pulling another beautiful boxy smile from the boy.
It was one of their first many dates, that led to official boyfriend status and six months later, Jungkook still kept getting surprised.
To him, Taehyung was still the ever-changing element of their relationship, bringing out new ways to love him, to cherish him and their feelings.
*