Occupational Hazards - Taekook Style (Oneshot Collection)

Inked Hands

The plastic covering made a sound that disturbed the peace as Taehyung collapsed into the chair. The sign was up and after a fortnight of heavy labour, the shop was ready to open in the morning. It had been a huge gamble, selling up his house and moving to take over this place. His friend had offered him the opportunity before he put it on the market and after some soul searching he decided that it was time to stop working for someone and work for himself instead.

When Taehyung was younger, he had visions of being a famous artist. Someone whose paintings and sculptures were plastered over the Internet, talked about by millions and that people would queue to see exhibited. That all changed when he was introduced to Jung Hoseok aka Hobi or Hobes. He was a man who lived life without plans, he was a man who sailed through life but bought the shop with inheritance money because he was going to settle in one place. Hobi was an art lover, which is why they were introduced to each other. Two guys, common interests, gay as fuck, match made in heaven... or not. They dated for a couple of months but soon realised that they were probably life long friends because the chemistry they both sought was non-existent and Taehyung placed great importance on sexual compatibility.

It was thanks to Hobi that Taehyung is about to open his first tattoo shop. He taught him everything he knew, helped him get all the licenses needed, gave him his first job and mentored him. Hobi celebrated Taehyung's qualifications like a proud father and made sure he was the second best tattoo artist around. Hobi moved away after that, to look after his sick Aunt who subsequently passed away.

Taehyung spent the last couple of years with his own area in a tattoo place. The owner was decent, someone Hobi recommended before he moved, the work was steady and he had a quaint little house that was all his. Life was good and then one day out of the blue, he got a call from Hobi giving him first refusal on this place. Taehyung thought it was a joke, the business was successful, there was no reason to leave until Hobi told him that he'd met his non-platonic soulmate and they were going to travel the world together. So Hobi sold up, jetted off and fell in love and Taehyung became the proud owner of a tattoo shop after selling his little house, giving up his job and moving towns.

***

The sun was just rising as Taehyung entered the tattoo parlour from his new apartment above the shop. It was all very compact, pretty much like the house he sold and Hobi had told him to decorate however he wanted because if he ever returned, he'd just expect Taehyung to employ him. The walls were pastel colours and adorned with various sketches by some of his favourite artists, along with the pictures that had always been there. The entire bottom floor was a large area with little sections cordoned off with partition screens. One of the back rooms was the piercing room and the resident piercer worked from there three days a week. There was a desk at the front and a seating area which provided the entrance to the studio. Taehyung wanted people to feel welcome when they walked through the door so the seating was comfortable and he made sure it had a warm feel. There was a table with various magazines and folders on that were full of tattoo ideas. He'd decided to keep on the young guy who had been the receptionist for the last six months because he would know some of the returning clients which would be beneficial and he'd met him a couple of times. Once a customer was called through past the desk, through the archway into the studio, they would be met with a huge clean airy space. Taehyung kept the layout with two sections with chairs to the left because from time to time they had visiting tattooists do a week or a month stint at the studio so they could have their own areas. Taehyung had the rest of the area, there was also a private room for tattooing, for those who need clothing removed and need a bit of privacy. There was a basement level that was accessible via a small staircase and that was where the staff room and toilets were. It wasn't anything grand but the room had somewhere for staff to take a break, a small kitchen area and a radio that Taehyung was told the receptionist liked.