Work Text:
Jun looked at Hyunjin’s proposed design and smiled.
“It looks really nice.” He hummed, tracing the inky black lines of the drawing and furrowed his brow. “Where?”
“My hip, curling up my ribs.”
“It’ll take several hours. Do you want it coloured?”
“Yes to colour, and I’m quite aware of the time frame.”
“And you want me to do it.”
“Mhm.”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“You’re technically more busy than I am.”
“You’re a singer, vocal coach, and MC. I’m a tattoo artist.”
“Your schedule is booked to next year.”
“So? I’ve known you for a little over a year, you’re so much busier than I am.”
“SA1NT isn’t going to last forever. Besides, you did one for Minsung Hyung and Kyunghun Hyung.”
“They were small, 30-minute pieces. I could botch this one so easily!”
“You won’t.”
Jun threaded a hand through his messy hair but smiled. Hyunjin’s face was practically glowing with excitement. He’d been practically “adopted” by Minsung and then SA1NT by extension. Jun found he couldn’t complain. Hyunjin wrapped Jun in a hug, holding him close. Jun had become quite used to Hyunjin’s need for contact and found that he didn’t mind.
Once, Taeseok had called him touch-starved before joining in. They’d ended up in a muddled pile on the couch, where Minsung found them. Jun was at the bottom, under Taeseok and Hyunjin, squished but laughing. Jun had spent the night, sandwiched on the couch between a sleeping Youngjoon and Kyunghun.
These boys were family. His family.
Hyunjin must’ve seen the flickering emotions— probably fondness— and made a face. “You’re getting sappy on me, aren’t you.”
“You’re the one who hugged me!” Jun’s protest fell on deaf ears.
“Will you do it?”
“The tattoo? Yeah. Uh, bring one of the guys with you 'cause there’s no way you’ll be able to sit up, much less drive home.”
“Aye aye captain. I’ll ask Kyunghun.”
Jun nodded, picking up his appointment book and squeezed Hyunjin’s name into one of the few slots he had free. He didn’t say anything about it being one of his days off. Not that Jun minded. If he minded, he would say no. Honestly, Hyunjin’s flowering design captured him in a way that Jun couldn’t quite place.
“See you on the thirteenth.”
“Bye Jun! Come over when you’re done for today— Youngjoon’s making tteokbokki!”
Jun gave a thumbs up and watched Hyunjin bounce out of the parlour. He wiped down his tools and waited for his client to come in. He had a reputation for his flowers— many people came to get small things done— but Jun seldom got massive, intricate pieces. He studied Taeseok’s design, mentally mapping and reworking small parts of it. It was comprised of a number of cherry blossoms that crept up a vine-like branch.
Jun loved every centimetre of it.
His customer jangled the bell when she entered the door. Jun nodded at the woman. “All ready for you, why don’t you have a seat over here?”
She nodded, smiling a bit to mask the nervousness.
“Koko is it?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t worry about a thing.” Jun smiled and saw her relax. “This is a quick one, anyway. Lovely too, just like you.”
—————————
Jun pushed his way into the SA1NT dormitory, kicking off his shoes and hurrying to the kitchen. Youngjoon was cooking— just like Hyunjin had said. He broke into a smile when he saw Jun, then paused to help him with his many bags of groceries.
“Did you buy the entire store?” Youngjoon was amused and teasing, and Jun rolled his eyes.
“You texted that you urgently needed eggs and veggies and heavy cream. So I hurried and I bought it. It’s fine. I wanted to help.” Jun pushed up his sleeves and washed his hands before chopping some cabbage.
“How was work?”
“It was fine.”
“Jun.”
“Don’t use your mom voice on me.” Jun huffed, trying to muster some heat behind his words.
“Then answer the question like an adult, not a moody high schooler.”
“Work was fine. It was good. Did two pieces, had two consultations and scheduled one appointment. The pieces were both small— one wanted a gun shooting a rose and the other had scheduled a coverup with a water lily.”
“Did you have a favourite of the two?”
“The rose. A young woman got it done on her forearm. It’ll be a bit hard to cover it without synthetic skin, though. I believe her name was Koko.”
“MARSHMELL-O’s Koko?”
“Yep.”
“You’re getting celebrity customers now. Word is spreading, soon you’ll be a celebrity in your own right.”
“Shut up, Hyung.”
“You shouldn’t use that language to your superior.”
“If only your fans knew how sassy you really are.”
“Hush. Give me the cabbage.”
Jun obliged, dumping and stirring the sauce in an effort to coat the veggies. He let them cook down while Youngjoon watched.
“Hyunjin said you’d do his tattoo.”
“I did.”
“Then you’ll have inked more than half of us.”
“Is this your roundabout way of asking me for a tattoo?”
“No.”
Jun smiled at him before turning his attention back to the tteokbokki. He tasted it and nodded. “It’s ready.”
Youngjoon nodded, plating it while Jun took the dishes out to the living room. The other boys were waiting eagerly and perked up when the food was brought out. Jun noticed that Minsung’s reaction looked a bit forced. He plopped down and leaned on the older’s shoulder.
“Hyung.”
“Jun.”
They didn’t say anything more cause, Jun found, they didn’t need to. He understood Minsung and Minsung understood him.
“Light after dinner?”
“We really should quit.”
“Is that a no?”
“No, I’ll see you on the balcony.”
Hyunjin interrupted them to brag about his new tattoo while Kyunghun fussed over him like a mom. Hyunjin batted Kyunghun off, saying he knew how to care for one and that his artist was literally at his table.
“It doesn’t matter that he’s right there, you need to be careful! Especially with a piece that big.”
—————————
“You’re not doing so good.” Jun hummed around an unlit stick.
“Minsoo and I had a fight.” Minsung let out a plume of smoke. “Our first fight since we made up.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“What was it about?”
“He wants me to go home over the weekend with him.”
“And?”
“I can’t. I can’t see my mom after everything. Making up with Soo was hard and I wanted it. But my mom… the woman who drove me to create that rift in the first place? I don’t want to face her right now.”
“And you guys fought about it?”
“Yeah.”
“Hyung… it’s hard and I’m not going to force you, but you should talk to her. I mean, I talked to my dad.”
“You let him talk to you. You didn’t talk to him.”
Jun at a loss for words but shook it off. “My point still stands, Hyung.”
“I’ll think about it.”
—————————
Jun bent over to apply the last strokes. Hyunjin winced when the needle traced itself over a particularly tender part of his skin.
“Done,” Jun said quietly. “It looks great.”
Hyunjin took a peek at his ribs and then smiled. “You’re right. You did a good job.”
“Yeah. But your design made it shine.”
Jun ruffled Hyunjin’s hair, grinning a bit at the slightly pained and dishevelled look the boy still wore. He liked moments like these, quiet with his family. The parlour was quiet without the constant buzzing of the tattoo gun, but Jun found that the silence was comforting. Often, he’d find it deafening. Maybe it was cause Hyunjin was here.
His phone buzzed causing them both to jolt.
Lee Minsung
I’m going with Minsoo for the weekend. Thanks. :)
[Seen just now]
Park Jun
Good luck
[Seen just now]
Hyunjin leaned over. “You convinced him to go?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure who did more convincing— me or Youngjoon.” He paused. “Or Minsung. The only one who can change his mind is himself.”
“Nah. It was definitely you.”
“Thanks, Jinnie Hyung.”