✔️ 𝐈𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 | 𝐓𝐚𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐮𝐤

Prologue.

Jeongguk

The boy looked out of place.

Jeongguk had only noticed his presence when he glanced up from the tattoo he was currently inking to see a white figure near the door. The boy looked unsure of himself—uncomfortable, even. The way his white sweater hung over his frame loosely, the way that his sleeves, obviously too long, covered his hands, and the way he made himself appear as small as possible, were all oddly endearing to Jeongguk. The corners his lips were upturned when he returned to the task at hand.

"Can I help you?" Jeongguk's co-worker and best friend, Min Yoongi, asked the boy politely.

It looked as if a hint of fear had entered the boy's clear amber eyes, the sight of Yoongi intimidating him. The older boy was decorated with multiple different piercings and tattoos all over his slim body, and Jeongguk could tell that this was the first time the boy had encountered someone like this. He didn't blame him for being frightened.

"Y-yes," he stuttered, his eyes skipping around to look at anything but the person opposite him. "I'd like to get a tattoo."

Jeongguk immediately noticed that his voice was huskily sexy, and it did not at all match his outwardly soft appearance. He found himself immensely attracted to the boy's voice, but he needed to focus on the tattoo he was working on. He pretended that he wasn't listening to the conversation and continued his work.

"Do you have an appointment?" Yoongi questioned.

The boy shook his head and answered quietly, "No."

Yoongi frowned before turning around to check the client book. He glanced at the day ahead of them; they didn't have any openings for weeks.

"I'm sorry, but we're booked today."

The boy's demeanor brightened suddenly, and his eyes finally met Yoongi's, as if he hadn't ever wanted the tattoo at all.

"Would you like to book an appointment?"

"No, it's fine," the boy dismissed. "Maybe next time."

"Alright," Yoongi said. "Thanks for stopping in."

The boy nodded at him before exiting the shop as fast as he had entered it. Jeongguk shook his head to clear his mind of any thoughts of the boy and continued inking a particularly captivating set of ocean waves on his client's forearm.

In a matter of seconds, the door opened again. The boy shuffled back in, his stature appearing as small and frightened as it had before, perhaps even more so. Yoongi turned to him, slightly unimpressed, yet still maintaining his friendly demeanor.

"I'd actually like to book an appointment," the boy murmured.

Yoongi nodded and turned towards the client book, scanning for an opening. "What are you looking to get done?"

"Something small."

"Any artist preference?"

"No."

"I'll book you with Jeon Jeongguk for three Thursday's from today at 3:00 pm," Yoongi told him. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Yes," the boy agreed.

"What's your name?"

"Kim Taehyung."

Jeongguk found that the name sounded faintly familiar, and his mind scrambled to think of where he might have heard it before.

"We'll see you then," Yoongi said with a small smile.

Taehyung bowed, and was about to exit the shop when he glanced over towards Jeongguk. Their eyes met, and the younger felt a rush of adrenaline shoot through his body, and he temporarily stopped inking his client as he was so captivated by Taehyung's eyes.

Taehyung was the first to look away, and he exited the shop without a second glance.

After the door had closed behind him, Yoongi walked over to Jeongguk and gazed at what he was tattooing.

"That looks amazing, Ggukie," he said warmly. Jeongguk smiled and continued to carefully trace the remaining lines of the wave.

"I'm almost done," he said both to his client and to Yoongi. "I just need to shade a bit more and then you'll be set."

His client, an attractive yet defiant looking young woman, nodded and smiled.

"That was kinda weird, wasn't it?" Yoongi asked as he sat on a stool at his own work station, sterilizing his tools.

"What was?" Jeongguk asked him, not looking up from his work as he wiped away the excess ink with a paper towel.

"That boy who came in," Yoongi replied. "Taehyung, or whatever it was."

Jeongguk felt his heartbeat quicken at the mention of him, and he frowned at the way his body reacted to just his name. He had definitely met Taehyung before, but where?

"What about it was weird?" the younger asked.

"I don't really know; he didn't exactly look like our usual clientele, and then he left and came back..."

Jeongguk, having not thought anything seemed off, pondered what the older had said for a moment before agreeing. "I guess you're right. To be fair, we get a lot of people here who've never gotten a tattoo before."

"It must be our astounding customer service," Yoongi chortled. "Seriously, though—there were some people waiting outside the shop, and when he walked back outside, they pushed him back towards the door. Then he came back in." Yoongi began to put his tools away, making sure they were carefully arranged for the next day.

"Hmm," Jeongguk thought aloud. "Maybe we'll find out what's going on when he comes back."

"I hope so; this should be an interesting one."

Yoongi then stood up, switched off the light that illuminated his station, and headed towards the back room. He paused when he reached the threshold.

"I'm going home," Yoongi said. "I don't have any more appointments today. I'll order takeout and you can text me whenever you're done."

"Okay, sounds good," Jeongguk replied. "I'll lock up, then."

Yoongi smiled at him in gratitude from the doorframe before disappearing into his office.

Jeongguk found his mind wandering back to Taehyung almost immediately, and he felt the slightest pang of annoyance at this.

Who the hell was this Kim Taehyung, and why was he the only boy who could make Jeongguk feel butterflies in his stomach?