Chapter Text
“What are you doing here, Hajun?”
The voice rang out behind Jungkook, making him jolt violently, his hand slipping just enough that he nearly dropped his tattoo machine.
His client, Hajun, startled as well, immediately turning his head toward the entrance of the basement studio.
Jungkook had been working in near silence for over an hour, his focus at its peak, accompanied only by the steady vibrations of his machine. Hearing a voice behind him, right in the middle of wiping away excess ink, sent a sharp jolt straight through his chest.
He lifted his gaze toward the man standing in the doorway, spinning his small rolling stool to face him fully.
They could not have been more different.
Jungkook was dressed in gray sweatpants and an oversized black T-shirt, while the man across from him wore a perfectly tailored brown suit, paired with immaculately polished loafers.
And it wasn’t just about clothes.
Jungkook’s tattooed arms and pierced lips stood in stark contrast to the man’s sleek hairstyle, carefully combed back with precision.
“V…” Hajun began cautiously, his eyes still wide from the shock.
Jungkook turned back to his client, trying to make sense of what was happening.
But V cut Hajun off immediately. “I’ve been calling you for over an hour. So I’ll ask again: what are you doing here?”
His tone was sharp, irritated, authoritative.
Is that his boss? Jungkook wondered.
“Shit, sorry, V!” Hajun straightened abruptly, grabbing his phone from beside him.
The screen was black.
Dead.
“Get your ass in the car. Now,” V ordered, already turning to head back upstairs.
Jungkook frowned, baffled by the absurdity of the situation. Was his client really about to leave in the middle of a tattoo?
“But… the tattoo isn’t finished?” Jungkook blurted out.
Both men turned toward him.
Hajun stared as if Jungkook had suddenly started speaking another language. V simply raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled.
“I’m sorry?” V replied.
“I’ll come back, Jungkook, don’t worry,” Hajun said quickly, grabbing his hoodie and trying to defuse the situation.
“Stop.” Jungkook’s voice cut through the room. “Your tattoo is fresh. It’ll get infected if I don’t protect it.”
Hajun froze mid-movement. Then he glanced toward V, as if waiting for permission.
“In the car. Now.”
Hajun didn’t hesitate another second. He stood up, hoodie and phone in hand, and hurried up the stairs, almost like he had his tail between his legs.
This time, however, V didn’t move right away.
He took a moment to study the tattoo artist in front of him.
Jungkook was still seated on his stool, tattoo machine in hand, frozen in place by the confusion this man had just dragged into his studio.
V looked at him slowly.
The tattoos.
The black latex gloves.
The worn Doc Martens.
The two lip piercings catching the cold glow of the neon lights.
Then he turned to follow Hajun outside, taking the first steps up the stairs.
Before being interrupted again.
“Is this some new technique to avoid paying me?” Jungkook called out.
He had stood up, machine still in hand, already walking toward V.
Is this kid insane? V thought.
“Excuse you ?”
“This, right here,” Jungkook said, gesturing vaguely around the studio and toward V. “Is this a scam so he can leave without paying?”
A low, rough chuckle escaped V’s throat.
This kid was definitely insane.
“No,” V replied, leaning lightly against the wall, faint amusement flickering in his eyes.
“Yes, it is,” Jungkook shot back immediately, lifting his hands as if it were obvious.
Jungkook stood at the foot of the stairs while V towered over him from the second step.
From this distance, Jungkook could finally see him clearly.
A vertical scar ran across V’s eye, stretching from his forehead down to the top of his cheek. Another, broader one began at his neck and disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt.
And yet, none of it diminished the natural elegance he carried.
His hair was perfectly slicked back, probably held in place with gel.
But elegance wasn’t the only thing he radiated. There was something heavier, almost crushing, in his presence.
Suddenly, Jungkook wasn’t so confident about his outburst now that he was this close. V leaned down slightly from his step, forcing Jungkook to lift his gaze to meet his.
“You’ll be paid. I promise,” he said slowly.
Then he turned and walked up the stairs without another word, leaving Jungkook alone, staring after him, utterly perplexed by everything that had just happened.