"Stop being a wimp."
"I am not a wimp!" I turned away from the brunette, sighing. I looked over the wall before me. "I'm just...nervous. I've never done this before."
"I thought you've been to a tattoo parlor before, Jin-hyung." He stepped forward to look at the wall covered in tattoo ideas. "When Namjoon-hyung got the one on his shoulder."
"I know, but I've never gotten one myself, Jungkook." A tattoo of a rose caught my attention. "And I know it's going to be painful."
The maknae shrugged. "It depends where you get it." He pressed an index finger to one of the pictures, his sleeve falling a little and revealing an infinity symbol on his wrist. It was identical to one on his boyfriend's wrist. "How about this one?"
I glared at him. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"What's wrong with it?"
"It says 'Daddy's Princess' and has a tiara above it."
"Your point?"
I rolled my eyes at him. "I already told you that I know what I'm getting."
"Right. The one to match Namjoon-hyung's."
Namjoon and I have been dating for three years now. We had been friends for one year before getting together. We met in our senior year; I waited two semesters for him to finally kiss me. We had our first date in my last month before graduation, and he followed me to the same college.
He's the best thing to ever happen to me. We may have similar interests, but we're still opposites. He is more on the wild side while I grew up in a gated community. That doesn't matter though; I love him and I know he loves me.
I didn't expect myself to fall for him, mostly because of his appearance. He was covered in tattoos and ear piercings and had dyed-red hair. I know it was awful to judge him like that, but I'll admit that I was sort of a stuck up snob before meeting him. Each of his tattoos has a deep meaning to them, so I had the idea of getting one myself for him.
Although I'm determined on doing it, I am absolutely terrified. Once Namjoon decided on getting a rose on the back of his shoulders, I joined him. I watched as the artist moved the needle and stained his skin with the ink. The process was sort of scary, for a reason I didn't know, and Namjoon ended up holding my hand to comfort me instead of the other way around.
I secretly wished he would get a tattoo for me. I didn't care what it was, just as long as it was for me. But, not wanting to come off as an over-controlling and needy boyfriend, I kept the idea to myself. That was where I came up with the idea to get one for me.
Namjoon had a tattoo on the back of his hand of a rhythm strip of a heartbeat with the word inhale in the midst of it. He decided to get it after being involved in a car accident that resulted in broken ribs, a collapsing lung, and a small slit on his throat. It was sort of touch-and-go for a really long time, and it's a miracle that he survived since he was unable to breathe most of the time.
I settled on an identical continuation of his rhythm strip, only mine will contain the word exhale. He told me once that I was the reason he started to breathe again after his accident. It was one of the most beautiful things ever said to me, and it's one statement I will never forget.
"It's now or never, hyung." Jungkook spoke, interrupting my thoughts. He gestured to a man with long black hair and glasses, not at all what I expected of a tattoo artist. "You ready?" the younger asked.
"No," was my answer, even though I hesitantly stepped toward the tattooist and followed him into a room before he shut the curtain.
