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Jisung was a confident person. Some of his friends have described him as “borderline cocky” (Felix), “loud beyond measure” (Jeongin), and “occasionally insufferable” (Minho), but they all seemed to agree that he was confident in himself and his abilities. Never one to back down from a challenge, his head was the first to pop up when Felix suggested a wager during their weekly movie night at the almost-twins’ apartment.
“I can handle any of your weak dares, my sweet summer child,” Jisung had said, popping another chip in to his mouth. The five of them were lying on top of one another on the couch, talking through yet another superhero flick Jeongin had insisted on. He plucked the remote from Minho’s hand, pausing the screen just as the protagonist was sacrificing herself for her friend. Jeongin groaned in disapproval, but Jisung shushed him. There was a bet to be won. His freckled friend looked unimpressed with Jisung’s bravado.
“I’m literally one day younger than you, Ji,” Felix said, exasperated.
“Semantics!” Jisung had exclaimed, waving away such nonsense. He ruffled his shaggy blonde hair out of his face so he could narrow his eyes at Felix. “Let’s hear the deal.”
“Next week is my turn to grocery shop,” Felix smiled devilishly (somehow, still looking completely adorable. Such is the duality of Lee Felix). “The stakes are as follows: if you complete a dare of our choosing, I will double the cheesecake budget when I go to the store on Wednesday,”
Jisung’s eyes widened a comical amount.
“Double?”
“Double.”
“Oh my god, that could get us an extra large berry one. God, maybe even a turtle cheesecake!” Jisung tossed the bowl of chips on to the coffee table, long forgotten in favor of potential sweets. Minho grabbed a handful and considered the scene in front of him thoughtfully.
“Yes, the odds are high with this one,” Felix said sagely, tapping his fingertips together like a movie villain.
“So what is the dare?” Jeongin piped up, licking some cheese dust off his forefinger. He had moved on from his despair over the movie being paused in favor of contributing to the dare- Jisung secretly believed that placing him in embarrassing situations was his favorite pastime.
“It’s got to be something big, if we’re doubling the budget,” Minho offered through his munching.
“I’ve jumped off the balcony for less, Minho, let’s be honest,” Jisung said proudly. “I think I can handle a sprained ankle or a prank phone call for the noble cause of cheesecake.”
Minho looked contemplative, then said, “Jisung, is there anything that you’re, like, afraid of?”
Jisung’s smile faltered just as Jeongin broke into a beaming grin. He was shameless, yes, but had one weakness.
“Needles!” the youngest yelled cheerfully. “He hates needles.”
Minho chuckled, “Last year, he almost cried when he got his flu shot,”
“Shut up,” Jisung growled. “Nobody likes being injected! Nobody! The things I do to help protect the immunocompromised...”
Felix stroked a long, non-existent beard on his chin.
“Interesting,” he mused. “Very interesting.”
“Lix, my sweet twin-”
“Oh, now I’m a sweet twin and not a child?”
Jisung sighed dramatically, offering his best pout. “You aren’t seriously going to stab me with a needle are you? Lixie?”
Felix scoffed, “Of course not, I don’t have the heart to maim you,”
Jisung smiled, giggling as he said, “I knew you loved me.”
The two high-fived as Minho groaned, “Then what is the dare?”
Felix, Minho, and Jeongin each hopped up from their spots, jostling Jisung from his spot on the couch. He plopped down on the floor in front of the coffee table, plucking a chip from the bowl as his four friends crowded together, whispering with conspiratorial fervor. Every few seconds, Jeongin would lift his head and chuckle menacingly. Jisung pouted on the couch, heavily considering starting the movie back up and abandoning his dream of a turtle cheesecake. God, turtle was the best flavor...
“Okay!” Felix yelled, pulling Jisung out of his cheesecake fever dream. “I-”
“We!” Jeongin piped up.
“We,” Felix gave a pointed glare, “are daring you to get a piercing.”
Jisung scoffed. “That’s it? I’ll just get my second holes pierced, the piercing gun takes like a sec-”
“Ah ah ah,” Minho interrupted him, finger wagging in the air in a way that made him nervous. “No piercing guns. You have to go to an actual shop, get a real piercing.”
Jisung faltered. “Like, with the needle in their hand and everything?”
Jeongin laughed, borderline maniacally.
“Oh yes, needle in the hand. A big one!”
Jisung sighed. Did the maknae hate him? Did he betray somebody in a past life? What had he done to deserve this kind of disrespect? Just as he felt his confidence wavering, Minho had mercy on his withering soul and spoke up.
“Ji, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. We just thought it would be a fun dare, maybe help you get over your fear.” Jisung would have hugged him right there, but then he added, “You don’t have to do it if you’re too scared.”
Those, everyone was well aware, were fighting words. The obvious challenge sparked a new fire in him.
“I’m not scared,” he insisted, albeit weakly. Han Jisung was no coward, and he never backed down from a bet. “I’ll do it.”
Felix’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”
“If I come back to the apartment by grocery day with a new piercing, from a real shop, you’ll double the cheesecake budget AND compliment me for at least six minutes.”
Minho rolled his eyes, but Felix was nodding. “You have yourself a deal, my twin.”
✩ ✩ ✩
So that was how Jisung ended up walking into a small shop one Tuesday afternoon. The rest of his friends had class, but he figured a few photos in their group snapchat documenting the process would suffice as evidence of his complete domination of the dare. He started by taking a quick photo of the sign in front of the shop: District 9 Tattoo and Piercing. He had found the place online, noting that it had good reviews and was close enough to his university that he wouldn’t have to bother driving.
Stepping inside, Jisung found the shop to have a warm, almost earthy vibe; there were plants in the windows and the parlour chairs were a deep brown. Jewelry was twinkling behind glass in shelves across from him. He was distracted by the various flash tattoo designs on the remaining walls, getting lost in sketches of wolves, planets, and the occasional skull when he heard someone clear their throat.
The guy at the front desk had bright blonde hair and a black turtleneck on, and he smiled welcomingly at Jisung as he stepped toward the counter. A silver necklace jingled as the stranger leaned forward. “Hi,” the guy said, a dimple appearing in the corner of his mouth. “I’m Chan, welcome to District 9. What can I help you with today?”
Jisung stood up a little straighter, psyching himself up. He can do this. “I’d like to get a piercing, please.”
“We can do that!” Chan said, pulling a tablet out of a drawer. “Just fill out these forms and I need some sort of ID, please.”
He smiled encouragingly throughout the entire form process, and Jisung wondered if the guy thought he was a wuss or if he was just this nice to everyone. He thought that if he had been nervous (which he wasn’t at all, nope, this was a piece of cake), the guy’s gentle speech as he rang up the total would have calmed him down considerably.
“Go ahead and have a seat in that chair by the window, and our piercer will be with you shortly,” Chan said, shooting him one last smile. “I promise you’re in very good hands.”
Jisung took a deep breath, feeling considerably calmer. God bless that emotional support boy.
Just as he plopped down in the chair and started sending more snapchats to the group, he heard footsteps approaching. Jisung had barely looked up from his phone before he was sucking in a sharp breath. The guy, he assumed he was the piercer, smiled at him.
“Hi, I’m Hyunjin and I’m going to be doing your piercing today. What exactly are you looking for?”
You! Jisung wanted to yell. Oh my God, I’ve been looking for you! Hyunjin was gorgeous, with a flop of dark black hair almost covering his eyes. His lips were plush and beautiful, and Jisung thought he may have audibly gulped looking at the taller boy. He had two eyebrow piercings on his right brow and a glittering collection of jewels covering various piercings in his ears. He was wearing a loose-fitting black tank-top with ripped black jeans and chunky boots. Jisung noticed a half-sleeve tattoo on his left arm, a nature scene with pine trees and a star-dusted sky, a crescent moon resting on his shoulder. He looked like a living, breathing piece of art, and Jisung thought he could look at this guy forever.
“On your forms you wrote that you wanted an ear piercing?” The gorgeous guy, Hyunjin, said, pulling Jisung out of his gay panic.
“Yes.” His voice was weirdly high. Jisung cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. Yeah, I’d like to get something in my left ear.” He had originally planned on just getting his second holes done, but the gorgeous piercer in front of him made him want to put on a brave face, impress him. He looked at the boy’s ear and said, “Maybe like one of those bar things?”
“An industrial?” Hyunjin asked. Jisung blinked, obviously lost. Hyunjin searched through the cabinet behind him, and Jisung tried his best not to let his eyes linger on the boy’s lithe fingers as he pulled out a few jewelry examples. He presented him with a bar, holding it next to the top of Jisung’s ear.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Would you like plain titanium, or something anodized?”
Jisung scrunched his eyebrows. “Sorry?” Industrial, anodized, all these new words. Somewhere, he knew Minho was laughing at his awkwardness. He really should have done some more research before jumping into this.
“We basically use chemicals to change the color of the metal. We can make it like a shimmery, pretty color. Or, we can leave it plain, but you strike me as someone who likes to shine,” he winked.
Jisung gulped comically.
Hyunjin turned his head to the side, gesturing to his own beautifully decorated ear. “See, my industrial is anodized. My favorite colors are black and white, but that doesn’t exactly translate well on titanium, so I got mine in a green color.”
Before he could stop himself, Jisung found himself asking, “Why green?”
Hyunjin smiled sheepishly, “Would you laugh if I said it’s because I love GOT7?”
Jisung smiled. “Of course not!” This tough piercer liked idol groups, he thought. Cute. “Um, well, my favorite color is red?”
“Red I can do!” Hyunjin smiled at him. “I’ll go start the anodizing process. It’ll take a bit, if that’s alright.”
“That’s fine!” Jisung all but screamed at him. God, could he be any more gay. “Uh, I mean, I’m done with classes for the day, so I’m in no rush,” He fought the blush that was slowly rising on his cheeks. This guy probably thought he was a total spaz.
Surprisingly, Hyunjin just smiled again. “Perfect! We can chat a bit before I have to stab you,” he chuckled.
Jisung’s smile faltered a bit. That’s right, he thought, he’s going to have to have a needle in his face, very soon. The gorgeous piercer had taken his mind off it for a few minutes, but the panic was back with a vengeance. When Hyunjin returned, he seemed to pick up on the change in mood.
“Hey,” he said gently, sitting down on the stool next to the parlour chair Jisung had gotten comfy in. Jisung turned, hesitantly meeting his eyes. They were a chocolate brown, and when he smiled they turned into small crescents. He thought he could look at them for hours. “Are you alright?”
Jisung swallowed. “Yeah, I’m just. . . this is, like, my first real piercing. Um, I’m not the best with needles?” He waited for the heavily-pierced boy to laugh at him, make fun of him for being afraid. To his surprise, Hyunjin just nodded sympathetically.
“No worries, Jisung. Everyone gets a little nervous the first time. I’ll talk you through the whole process, and you can just focus on my voice, and it’ll all be over in a few seconds.”
Jisung let out a breath he hadn’t even realized he had been holding. “Thanks, seriously. I appreciate you being so cool about all of this.”
Hyunjin offered up his blinding smile again. Jisung tried to ignore how his heart picked up. “For now, let’s get your mind somewhere else! Tell me, soon-to-be-pierced Jisung, what are you in school for?”
“Music production!” He smiled, thinking of the lyric book buried deep in his backpack. “I want to write songs. I specialize in rap so I’m taking a lot of music classes and minoring in creative writing.”
“That’s amazing! Our manager, Chan- the guy you met up front? He makes music with our tattoo artist, Changbin. I should introduce you all before you leave so you can swap contact info, talk music some time. They’re both really good.”
“Oh for real? That would be great! I’m really comfortable with lyrics, but making beats doesn’t come as easily to me.”
For a few minutes they swapped stories. Jisung was fascinated to hear about how Hyunjin got into piercing, while Hyunjin belly-laughed at the story of Jisung completing a dare that included whipped cream, a fake mustache, and a ceramics class. As Hyunjin finished showing Jisung the last of his ear piercings, describing the placement and the story behind each one, he stood and walked back over to check on the anodizing process.
“How do we feel about this?” he asked, presenting a small red bar. It picked up the light beautifully, shining with the smallest movement.
“It’s perfect,” Jisung said. “I think I can do this.”
“That’s the spirit!” Hyunjin beamed. He started pulling out supplies, tucking Jisung’s blonde hair back with a silver clip. The movement felt strangely intimate, but Jisung brushed it away. “This is my lucky barrette,” he said gently. “I only let my favorite clients use it. You’re in good hands.”
Jisung felt a surge of confidence, and started babbling before he could stop to consider if he was being too forward. “So I’m a favorite now, am I?”
The beat of silence felt like six years to him. Luckily, Hyunjin looked up at him through his lashes and smiled. “You’re well on your way.”
The piercer started to set up, and Jisung felt his nerves slowly leaving as Hyunjin chatted with him about his favorite food, where he grew up, and how he started working at the shop.
“My best friend Seungmin convinced me to apply here, and it’s honestly been so great. The guys have all become such good friends over the past two years. I will say, Seungmin is in charge of the playlist here, so direct any complaints to him.” Hyunjin said with a chuckle. “You can find him working the books in the back, but if you interrupt him when ‘Shoot Me’ is playing, he might actually shoot you.”
“Not a problem, I respect the fanboy life.” Jisung laughed. “My best friend is like that, but with Twice. I think he’s taught me every dance they’ve ever done. I once turned off the car in the middle of Ooh Ah and he threatened to cut my cheesecake budget for the week.”
The piercer snorted as he started to organize his tools, opening a package to reveal a shiny new needle. Jisung gulped, but Hyunjin quickly distracted him again. “You have a cheesecake budget?”
Jisung shrugged, a smile on his face. “What can I say, I’m an adult, I’m passionate about responsible spending. And there’s nothing more responsible for one’s mental health and general well-being than indulging in a treat at least one treat a week. I’m actually getting this piercing on a dare,” he wiggled his eyebrows. “The weekly cheesecake budget will be increased for my bravery.”
Hyunjin laughed, placing a paper-thin fabric over the nape of Jisung’s neck. “This will make sure we don’t get anything on your cute top.”
Jisung looked down at his fuzzy, oversized sweater. “Is it cute because it’s pink?”
“You know, I actually usually hate the color pink? Maybe it’s just cute because of the person wearing it.” Hyunjin smiled that smile again, where his eyes turned into crescents. It reminded Jisung of the moon inked onto the taller boy’s arm, and his curiosity got the better of him.
“If you don’t mind me asking something personal,” he said gently. “Will you tell me about your tattoo?”
“Yeah, of course.” Hyunjin lined his tools up as he spoke. “Changbin did it for me. It’s a more artistic reimagining of the first time I went camping with the guys. I say reimagining, because I was absolute shit at camping, but the view was incredible and I never want to forget it. It took me, like, 45 minutes to set up my tent, and when I turned around Seungmin and Changbin had already put up the other tent, built a fire, and were unpacking our pots and pans. Chan was already half asleep in his tent, which is a miracle in and of itself considering how little he sleeps.”
Hyunjin giggled a little before continuing, “But anyway, I sucked at setting up the tent, I fell into the river when we tried fishing, and I’m like 90% sure I heard a bear in the woods when I went to pee at night. Somehow, though, it was like one of the best weekends of my life. It was just so beautiful out there, you know? There were these tall, gorgeous pines and the sky was completely clear that night. You could see every star in the sky, I swear. It was really lovely to just kind of enjoy the peace and quiet, you don’t really get much of that in Seoul.”
Jisung could see it, all drawn there on the boy’s arm. A bright, beautiful night on the arm of a bright, beautiful boy, perfectly preserved in blacks and greys. By the time Hyunjin finished speaking, all of his tools were lined up and ready to go.
Hyunjin leaned over him, and Jisung felt a blush rise to his cheeks as the tall boy took his chin in his hand. Be cool, Jisung, be cool. “Do me a favor and look up and to the right for me, okay?” Hyunjin said gently, far too close to his face for Jisung to remain calm. “I’m kinda tall, so this angle helps me be more precise.”
Jisung squeaked out a sound that he hoped sounded understanding and tried to focus on the poster in the corner of the room while Hyunjin angled the needle. He was staring at the cartoon, which had a cow in a beret with a tattoo gun in his hand (hoof?) that said “Tipping isn’t just for cows! Remember to tip your artist!” and trying to hold back a chuckle when Hyunjin said, “Okay, now take a big breath in for me.”
The time had come. Now or never. He could practically taste the turtle cheesecake as he inhaled, and when he blew out a puff of air he felt a sharp pain in his ear. The second stab came seconds later, and relief washed over him. He did it. The deed was done. Cheesecake was on the horizon.
“Great job, Jisung, now I’m going to transfer the jewelry in where the needle is, then you’re all done.”
Hyunjin slid the jewelry in place with expert precision, and Jisung was about to whip out his phone for a celebratory snapchat when he started to feel it. A fuzzy feeling washed over him, and he barely had time to lean back in the chair and say, “I think I may lean back for a few seconds,” before he started to feel like he was underwater.
“You alright?” he heard, but it sounded far away and Jisung wondered why his arms felt so heavy and then everything went black.
✩ ✩ ✩
“You with me?”
The voice pulled him from a hazy dream, where everything was technicolor and nothing made sense. He had no idea where he is, who he is, or what is going on. Did he do drugs? He promised Minho he would never experiment with drugs. Oh my God, Minho was going to kill him.
The first thing he could comprehend somewhat coherently is that there was a pair of hands holding his face. Huh, that’s weird, he didn’t remember someone holding him. He didn’t remember taking drugs either, though, so who knew? He thought that maybe they were wearing gloves, because although he could tell the fingers are warm, there was a rubbery feeling to the hand holding his head in place. Oh my God, coroners wear gloves. Was he dead? Dead from drugs?
Next he noticed a subtle musky cologne and the sound of a Day6 song coming from above him. Young K was crooning about needing somebody, and Jisung empathized heavily. He needed somebody to tell him why it was so hard to open his eyes. His legs and arms felt like they were buzzing, and he realized with a start that he had broken out in a cold sweat.
When he finally felt like he could open his eyes, it’s to a handsome face with brows furrowed in concern. He noticed a small mole under the guy’s eye and it was so endearing that he momentarily forgot his own name. Why was someone this good looking staring at him like that? He had abandoned the drug theory at that point, but was there something on his face. Oh my god, did he really die? Is this heaven? This has got to be heaven, he thought, and all those years of bringing Minho coffee at work and driving Jeongin to school and letting Felix and Minho practice dance routines in their apartment had paid off because God has blessed him with this angel for all his good deeds. The mystery man was holding his face tenderly, softly speaking. Wait, he was speaking to him!
“Stay with me,” he said gently. “Are you okay, dude?” the angel asked.
Oh. Scratch that, it can’t be heaven. The man of his dreams would never call him “dude” in heaven. Maybe this was hell? He was sweating a lot, after all. Wait, how did he die?
“Am I dead?” he croaked out.
The angel (demon?) laughed. “Nothing that extreme, but you did give me a little scare there. You passed out for a few seconds. Any longer and I was going to bring out the smelling salts.”
Oh, fuck. That’s right. He was getting a piercing. A stupid, dumb, idiotic dare piercing. Everything came rushing back, and Jisung cursed every decision he ever made that led him here, a sweaty shaking mess in a parlour chair making a fool of himself in front of the most attractive guy he’d ever seen.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” he said, but Hyunjin was shaking his head.
“Don’t worry about it, it happens to the best of us. You’re not the first customer to pass out on me, and I guarantee you won’t be the last.”
Jisung found little consolation in that, and started considered the repercussions of trying to run out of the shop in his disheveled state. However, the buzzing in his body suggested he may not make it past the door without dropping again, and the last thing he wanted was to make a fool of himself a second time in front of Hyunjin. Just as he was contemplating another escape route away from his embarrassment, the piercer came back with a can of cola and offered it to him.
“Here, let’s get some sugar into your system.” Jisung took the can and tentatively cracked it open. “That’ll help you perk back up in no time. Have you ever passed out before?”
Jisung took a small sip of the soda before answering. “No, that’s the first time. Is it normal to feel like you’re tripping a little?”
Hyunjin laughed out loud at that. “Yeah, you could describe it that way. Some of my clients say it’s like you’re getting pulled underwater by a wave, others just totally black out. When I passed out during a piercing, I felt like I could actually feel myself turning white.”
Jisung’s eyes widened. “You’ve passed out before?”
“Yeah, when I got my nipples pierced.” Jisung choked on his soda, but tried to cover it with a cough. Hyunjin gracefully ignored him and continued talking, “Chan made it through the first one fine, but when he went to change the needle to a bar on the second one I started feeling woozy and just fainted. Luckily I was already lying down and it was after regular shop hours, so no clients were there to see the entire staff laughing at me when I came to. Seungmin still teases me about it, though.”
Nipple piercings. God. Jisung tried very hard to focus on something - literally anything - in the shop to get his mind off that image. Hyunjin broke him out of his mini crisis with another question.
“Did you eat anything before you came here?”
Jisung ducked his head, sipping on the last bit of the soda. “Um, I actually haven’t eaten lunch today.” he said sheepishly. “I usually skip breakfast, and then I had class until 2 and I was just really excited to get this done and totally forgot.”
“Ah, that’s probably the culprit then.” Hyunjin nodded understandingly. “It’s really important that you eat something before you get a piercing. Your body probably just panicked when the pain hit and your blood sugar dropped pretty fast. Make sure you eat next time, okay? Although I have to say I’m flattered that a cute boy passed out from me touching him,” he said with a wink.
Jisung forgot how to speak for a second. Cute? He thought he was cute? He sunk further into the seat as Hyunjin took his can and threw it into a recycling bin. “God, I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. Just hang out for a bit until you’re less shaky. I can finish putting the backs on the piercing once you’re feeling better. If it makes you feel better, you’re one of the more graceful fainters I’ve seen,”
Jisung barked out a laugh. “Graceful? What do you mean by that?”
Hyunjin smiled. “One time, this guy came by to get his nose pierced. Everything was okay, we pierced it and he stood up to leave and just dropped. When he hit the ground his arms kind of jerked and I was like oh shit, this guy is having a seizure. Well, I thought it was a seizure. I don’t completely know what the full symptoms are, but it looked like a seizure I saw in one of my dramas so just to be safe we called an ambulance. By the time the EMTs show up, the guy is awake and begging me not to let the EMT guys check him out. Too late, because Chan was already leading them into the back room.
Hyunjin started smiling, a giggle passing his lips. “To my surprise, they took one look at him and burst out laughing. Turns out he was an ambulance driver, and usually worked with most of the team that showed up. They just happened to be on call when he passed out. He was totally fine, save for a little bump on his head and the incessant teasing from his coworkers. I’m not sure he’ll ever get over that part.”
By the end of the story, Hyunjin looked close to tears laughing and Jisung thought that his dizzy body might almost be back to normal. The shaking and sweating had stopped, and the buzzing in his extremities was finally gone.
“Your color has almost come back,” Hyunjin noted, touching his cheek. Jisung felt another blush rush to his checks and Hyunjin smiled even wider. “Ah, now that’s some real color in your face.” His fingers lingered on his cheek for a few moments. “Feel okay for me to finish up?”
Jisung nodded, and in mere seconds Hyunjin had attached the backs to the ends of the earrings and the job was officially complete. Jisung took a deep breath. The things he did for cheesecake.
As Hyunjin started clearing his tools, Jisung slung his backpack over his shoulder. For a moment he considered asking Hyunjin if he was single, but shook that idea away quickly. The guy had seen him unconscious; he wouldn’t be interested in someone like him. As he prepared to walk out, Hyunjin held out a piece of paper. “I almost forgot, this is Chan and Changbin’s contact info,” he said with a smile. “They both have appointments this afternoon, but feel free to call after eight if you wanted to talk music with them.”
“God, I don’t know if they’d want to work with an idiot who passed out in their shop,” Jisung muttered, a hand gripping the back of his neck. He wanted to go home and wallow in peace. Felix would never let him live this down.
“Oh, stop. They’re awesome, and you seem really cool.”
Jisung blushed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Maybe he should see a doctor? Just as he was trying to cultivate a witty goodbye that would simultaneously make Hyunjin fall in love with him and forget what a fainting fool he was, Hyunjin cleared his throat awkwardly and Jisung took that as his note to leave. Right, he’s the idiot that passed out on him.
Heart dropping, Jisung rushed out of the shop, only stopping to shove a few extra bills in Hyunjin’s tip jar and mutter a hurried “bye” at a confused Chan. Stepping outside, he took a deep breath to try and steady his nerves. His university was about a ten minute walk away, the perfect length of time for him to go over every mistake he made in there. In detail.
Just as he was about to start his walk of shame, he heard someone rush out of the shop. Turning around, he was shocked to find a blushing Hyunjin holding another piece of paper in his hand.
“This is my card,” he said shyly. “I know Chan gave you the info about aftercare for the piercing when you paid earlier but if you, like, have any more questions or, I don’t know, anything. . . I wrote my cell number on the back.”
Jisung blinked at him, lost for words for maybe the second time in his life. This gorgeous guy was… giving him his number? After he went all pale jello legs on him? Maybe this was just a regular policy? It had to be, right?
“So I can text you if I have any questions about the piercing?” he asked hesitantly.
Hyunjin smiled, blushing a bit. “Yeah, or maybe if you want to get coffee or something?”
Jisung’s heart was beating out of his chest. Before he could respond, Hyunjin started shifting back and forth nervously.
“I don’t know, this is probably super unprofessional,” Hyunjin spoke very quickly, obviously flustered. “I’m sorry, um, I didn’t mean to assume you’d be interested in me. Like that, you know. Nevermind. Uh, have a great day.”
Hyunjin made a beeline for the shop, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “god he’s probably straight,” but stopped in the doorway when his phone started ringing. He hesitantly picked it up. “Hello?”
“I actually have a few questions, if you don’t mind.”
Hyunjin didn’t have to turn around to see Jisung’s smile; he could hear it loud and clear through the phone.
“Mainly, I was wondering if you’d want to get dinner tonight. I met this really cute guy at a shop today, so I’m thinking about getting another piercing so I have an excuse to see him again. I heard you shouldn’t do it on an empty stomach.”
Hyunjin turned around to find Jisung beaming at him. “And who gave you that amazing advice?”
“The guy that did my last piercing. He was really sweet, didn’t even make fun of me for fainting on him.” Jising chuckled. “He was also a total smokeshow, so there’s that. If he said I should eat, I think I should listen. Pretty people are usually right.”
“You know,” Hyunjin said with a giggle. “That’s a good idea. I had a guy pass out on me today, too. He was probably cuter than your guy, though. Big cheeks, pretty eyes, easily flustered.”
Jisung smiled, hanging up the phone.
“I get off at seven tonight,” Hyunjin offered with a shy smile.
Jisung felt like he was buzzing again, but this time it felt good. He couldn't wipe the smile from his face if he tried.
“Seven is perfect.”
✩ ✩ ✩
Late that night, Felix opened his snapchat to find his friends’ group chat exploding. Rather than sift through all the chat messages, he scrolled to the top and found a new photo waiting for him. He pressed the red square. In the photo, Jisung had his head turned to the side, half so that the camera could see the red bar glittering in his ear, and half because he was distracted by a tall boy standing next to him. The cute guy had his arm around Jisung’s shoulders, planting a kiss on his forehead.
“We may have a new friend joining us for movie night this weekend." The caption said. "Plan on at least two cheesecakes.”