ink • soonhoon (completed)

• twenty one •

the cafe had been open for nearly a week now and there was no complaints about jihoon's tattoos or really anyone noticing them. jihoon had become far more comfortable conversing with customers and making the whole environment way calmer. most of the regulars that had come around before the whole incident had started really liking jihoon. he had become a staple of the cafe in no time.

"here's the drinks for the table over there with the older lady and guy with a younger girl," soonyoung said as he held out the tray and jihoon nodded and took the tray from him.

jihoon walked over to the table and gave all of the customer's their drinks having to reach across to table to give the drink to the younger girl which exposed the tattoos on his arm slightly. jihoon smiled and began to walk away when the older woman sitting at the table grabbed jihoon's wrist. jihoon jolted at the touch and was immediately uncomfortable but kept a smile on his face.

"yes ma'am? is there something wro-"

before jihoon could even finish his sentence she yanked his sleeve up and revealed his tattoos. jihoon's eyes widened and he felt his heart sink, it was happening. the younger girl, who was maybe ten, looked amazed while the other two looked disgusted. jihoon began shaking and nearly dropped the tray he was holding.

"i don't want your dirtiness on my drink!" the woman shouted as she called jihoon's tattoos dirty and jihoon bit down on his lower lip. the few in the cafe turned to face the commotion and soonyoung peeked out from the kitchen. his heart shattered as he watched jihoon's biggest fear play out.

"i-i'm sorry m-ma'am." jihoon mumbled with his head down as her grasp on his wrist tightened. it began to hurt. soonyoung hopped the counter and began walking towards jihoon.

"this is disgusting! repulsive!" she continued to yell and jihoon was nearly in tears. soonyoung's pace quickened, he couldn't let those nasty words influence how beautiful jihoon's tattoos were.

"granma stop it-"

"see you're even brainwashing my granddaughter! where is the owner?" the lady continued and the others in the cafe were annoyed, they were just tattoos and not even bad ones. soonyoung finally reached the table and pulled jihoon's arm from her grasp and fixed his sleeve. he pulled jihoon into his chest and wrapped his arm around him.

"get out. i will not tolerate this treatment to my workers," soonyoung said and jihoon clenched onto his shirt. he didn't want to be here anymore, he wanted to be in soonyoung's arms at home.

"are you gay as well?" she asked and soonyoung was about to punch her. jihoon felt his tears start to fall. before soonyoung could even the few in the the cafe, who were regulars, came to the couple's defense.

"get out you old lady!"

"the fuck is with your closed mind?"

"no one wants you here!"

the lady, extremely offended and angry, along with her family got up and stormed out. jihoon was trembling in soonyoung's arms and the whole cafe collectively hoped for the boy that had become a favorite in the cafe to be okay.

"let's go into the kitchen, hm?" soonyoung whispered and jihoon nodded into his chest.

jihoon was immensely grateful for his lover and for the people in the cafe yet he felt weak. he felt like a wimp for not being able to defend himself and that he needed others to help him. he hated it. jihoon hated his tattoos, he hated that he was weak, he hated nearly everything about himself. the only thing he loved was the part of him that adored soonyoung.

"are you okay?" soonyoung asked as the two were alone in the kitchen. jihoon stepped away from soonyoung's chest and wiped his tears before nodding.

"that lady was just ignorant.. your tattoos are beautiful-"

"soonyoung if you say the same things over and over again they tend to lose their meaning," jihoon snapped and soonyoung's expression faded into a sad and confused one.

"jihoon i mean it when i say that they're gorgeous," soonyoung said as he grabbed jihoon's hand and held it tightly. jihoon didn't grab it back or even connect eyes with soonyoung.

"say something," soonyoung pleaded and jihoon felt everything bubbling up, he was about to explode.

"i hate them. i hate how weak i am. i hate me. i don't want to be like this anymore. the only good part of me is you-"

soonyoung pressed a kiss to jihoon's lips. jihoon was taken aback but melted into the affection and just like that all of his negative thoughts just disappeared into thin air. jihoon gripped onto his boyfriend and soonyoung held his waist. the kiss broke as the two took quick breaths to catch their breath.

"i love you. i love your tattoos. i love your weakness and your strengths. i love you no matter how you grow. every part of you is wonderful from how tightly you hold onto me at night to your speaking habits," soonyoung said softly and jihoon felt himself blush as he placed his head on to soonyoung's chest.

"how are you so patient?" jihoon asked and soonyoung wrapped his arms around him. soonyoung grinned as he thought of the answer to such a silly question.

"because it's always worth seeing you smile," soonyoung answered and jihoon's cheeks blushed even more. it was so cheesy but so precious.

"you're such a fool,"

"i guess so.."

• author's notes •

pls forgive me for the slightly shorter chapter fjdjdj im rlly tired

thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed <333

-lilly