The One I Love

13:00

The tattoo shop is surprisingly cozy, with its dimmed lights and brick walls. It's owned by one of Jaewon's friends, a tall man with a shaved head. He courteously drags over a stool for Jennie to sit on while she watches.

The tattooist flicks on a bright lamp and snaps on a pair of black gloves. She watches as he rubs an alcohol drenched cotton ball over Jaewon's skin. The scent is wistfully clinical.

"So you decided against getting it over your heart after all?"

"Jennie didn't want to be the only one to look at it."

The other man laughs.

He lays a paper over the crux of Jaewon's arm, and when he lifts it an inked imprint is left behind. The corners of Jennie's mouth lift at the sight of her name within a heart surrounded by flowers.

"It's gonna be in color, right?" Jennie asks, watching as the tattooist mixes inks.

"Yes." He answers, and the gun begins to whirr to life. He makes eye contact with Jaewon, a silent exchange between the two of them. "You ready?"

Jennie's fingers weave into Jaewon's free hand. She means to give him a comforting squeeze but it more or less functions as a release of her excitement.

"Does it hurt?" She chirps giddily.

"No." Jaewon shakes off her hand. "You don't need to hold my hand, it's not like this is my first tattoo."

Jennie frowns, crossing her arms across her chest. Her eyes widen as she realizes the red wiped away with a cloth is more than ink. She hadn't realized that tattoos actually bled, but it made sense since it was just thousands of micro injuries.

She studies Jaewon's face, his eyebrow knit in concentration.

Liar. It did hurt.

After an hour, the whirring stops and the tattooist begins to clean his fresh creation. She wants to touch it but knows she's not allowed.

"What do you think, baby?" Jaewon asks, inspecting it in the mirror for himself.

"It's perfect."

The colors pop against Jaewon's delicate, pale skin. It's delightfully tacky and Jennie's completely overjoyed.

...

Jennie's not happy when she realizes the tattoo has to be covered by a bandage as it heals.

She slumps against the passenger's side of Jaewon's car, staring out the window. He nudges her with his elbow to get her attention.

"I discovered something interesting the other day." He peers at her from the corner of his eye. "Wanna guess?"

"Aliens." Jennie answers curtly, continuing to pout.

"No, something more interesting."

"What?"

"You know that one club I started going to? That my cousin owns?" She doesn't know, but nods anyway. Jaewon continues, satisfied. "Well, one of the bartenders is named... drumroll, please... Hayi."

Jennie sits up straight, facing toward him.

"Really?"

"Of course. But she doesn't really seem like what you said, and I don't know her last name. Wanna go with me to check it out anyway?"

"I'm not sure." Jennie allows her body to relax back into the seat. "I don't really care anymore."

An obvious lie.