✔️ 𝐈𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 | 𝐓𝐚𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐮𝐤

Chapter Four.

Jeongguk

When Jeongguk entered his apartment later that night, he was horrified to see his roommate on the couch, shirtless, and intertwined with a boy he had never seen before.

"Oh my God!" Jeongguk exclaimed when he opened the door, immediately turning around so he didn't have to face the pair. Yoongi broke the kiss and hopped off the couch, scrambling for his shirt.

"I thought you weren't coming home for a few hours!" Yoongi stammered, pulling his shirt over his head and throwing a look of desperation at the boy that was still on the couch, who was obviously confused.

"I wasn't going to, but something happened with one of my clients that I was hoping to talk to you about," Jeongguk replied, still turned around. This hadn't been the first time he had entered their apartment to find Yoongi and whichever lover he was with at the time together, and he was sure it wasn't going to be the last. Despite this realization, though, it was still never pleasant when it did happen.

"Hoseok, you should probably go," Yoongi suggested, but it came across more as a command. Jeongguk, never hearing Yoongi mention anyone by the name of Hoseok before, wondered how long they had been together. He heard the pair mumbling inaudibly to each other for a moment before they shared one final kiss. Hoseok then left quickly, not once making eye contact with Jeongguk.

"Alright, you can turn around," Yoongi commanded, slightly annoyed. Jeongguk wheeled around to face his best friend, a questioning look spread across his face.

"Who, why, when, where?" Jeongguk started, his eyes searching Yoongi's face and body for any clues. However, the older had crossed his arms, as if he were cutting himself off from these questions.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Yoongi asked, changing the subject. Jeongguk frowned.

"I'll tell you if you tell me who that was and how you know him. I don't want to know any of the nasty details, just who he is."

Jeongguk then walked over to the kitchen table and removed his jacket, setting it down on the mahogany surface, his gaze never leaving the irritated face of his roommate.

Yoongi sighed after a moment and uncrossed his arms, stepping towards the table. "Fine. I'll tell you."

"Good," Jeongguk grinned.

"We met a few nights ago when I was closing the shop for the day. He had a lot of stuff in his hands and bumped into me, which made him drop everything. I helped him pick it up, and in the meantime, we got to talking a little bit and we were... intrigued by one another. We exchanged numbers and went our separate ways, and now we're here. Now, can we talk about your client?"

"Sure," the younger replied, sitting down. Yoongi did the same. "Do you remember the boy who came into our shop a few weeks ago who asked for a tattoo, heard we were booked, left, and then came back in and booked an appointment?"

Yoongi rested his face on his palms. "Rings a bell."

"Good enough. Well, today he came in for his appointment without even doing the consultation and asked for a butterfly. I could tell he was unsure of it and right as I was about to start inking, he told me to stop and got all panicky."

Yoongi nodded, none of this information surprising him. "It happens. Go on."

"He then told me that he was dared to get a tattoo because he didn't tell them a secret, and that if he didn't get the tattoo, his friends would do something bad to him."

The older now looked slightly confused, pursing his lips together. "That's odd. What'd you do?"

"I told him that I'd see what I could find out about what to do and then give him a call."

"And that's your job how? You should've just sent him on his way and made him deal with whatever was coming."

Jeongguk frowned at his friend. "I know I could've, but he was kinda cute and looked really scared. I wasn't going to do that to him."

Yoongi sighed and leaned back in his chair. "All because he was cute doesn't mean-"

"You're not helping!" Jeongguk interrupted. "I researched different things we could do and I came across some temporary tattoos that last for a few weeks at a time. I think those could work."

"Yeah, probably," Yoongi replied. "But they start fading pretty quickly. If you were to do that, you'd have to do it every week or two just to touch it up and make sure it looked like a real tattoo, and I don't think we have the time or resources for that in the shop."

Jeongguk frowned again, his mind putting the pieces of a plan together. "I could fit him in," he thought aloud. "I could buy the stuff to do the temporary tattoos and then we could have appointments a few times a month to touch them up." Jeongguk then straightened up, a smile spreading across his face. "I've got it! I'll have to go online to look for the temporary tattoo materials, but that's not hard. Thanks, hyung!"

The younger stood up and began to walk to his room so he could order the materials online, but Yoongi's voice questioning him from the table stopped him in his tracks.

"Why are you doing this for him?"

Once again, Jeongguk was slammed with a vivid memory of the night on the balcony. Before Taehyung had ever walked onto the balcony of the bar, he had been sitting on the edge, his feet dangling in the empty air.

Jeongguk turned around to face Yoongi, the semblance of a smile still playing on his lips. "Because I owe it to him."

"For what?"

"It's not important, hyung," the younger replied with a wave. The last thing Jeongguk heard before he shut his door was Yoongi grumbling about him beneath his breath, but he didn't care. He had work to do.