"So, Mark, do you really not recognize me or are you just ignoring your childhood best friend?"
When her best friend moved to Korea to become an idol, their contact died down and they soon started living lives completely separate from one another...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"What if I pass out though?"
"I really don't think that's going to happen."
"Well, it might! I don't know... maybe I shouldn't do this."
Mina laughed loudly at her friend's rambles as they were walking through Seoul, on their way to the tattoo shop where Gyuri had an appointment. It was safe to say that at this moment in time, the fear had taken over and Gyuri was deeply contemplating to cancel the appointment. However, Mina knew how much this tattoo meant to her friend and that it was her fear talking, so she grabbed Gyuri by the hand and pulled her along.
Before they knew it, they stood inside a small tattoo shop and the sound of tattoo guns filled the air. Gyuri took a deep breath as she looked around. It was one of those places she'd never expected herself to visit, yet here she was. She never had any special attraction to tattoos, but the idea of a meaningful piece of ink staying with her forever was not all bad.
"Good morning, can I help you?"
Gyuri turned her head to the counter, where she saw a guy smiling at her. He seemed to be around her age, and his skin was covered in black tattoos. He wore a beanie and his ears were decorated with a great variety of piercings.
"Good morning," Gyuri greeted back and walked over to him. "I have an appointment at 11 with Hajoon."
"That's me," the guy smiled, "welcome! Is it your first time?"
"Yeah," Gyuri nodded. Hajoon smiled politely. "Don't worry, most first-timers leave here saying it wasn't as bad as they expected."
"See?" Mina smiled, patting Gyuri's back. "It'll be fine."
"It will," Hajoon said. "Please follow me, we can take a look at the designs I made for you."
Gyuri and Mina followed the guy to a nearby sitting area, where he opened his iPad to show some designs he came up with. Gyuri had made an appointment online where she explained the vision she had for her tattoo. It seemed that Hajoon had understood her wish perfectly, as Gyuri scrolled through his designs in awe. Some designs had a bit more detail than others, other designs differed in the positioning of the two swallows. One of the designs immediately grabbed Gyuri's attention, as it was exactly what she wanted.
As Hajoon went to prepare his tools, Mina helped to calm Gyuri's nerves. Seeing Hajoon's design did help in reassuring Gyuri that she wanted the tattoo, but being around all these tattoo artists didn't help her nerves. Gyuri took off her shirt to reveal a sleeveless top underneath, which she had worn specifically for the appointment so her shoulder wasn't covered.
