Taeyeon has never seen that level of exhaustion on her brother's face before.

She reminded the girl, Sunny- another English name, she thought- to apply the Vaseline and tips on basic aftercare. With her English impaired tongue, the influx of customers with foreign name made her cringe as she politely bade the said brunette goodbye. Discarding the used needles, Taeyeon sanitized her tools and left her gloves to sit on her workbench.

Wiping her sweaty palms on her muscle tank, Taeyeon bit a new stick of cigarette as a habitual action. She offered the box to her brother which he gratefully accepts.

"She is giving me hell," he whimpered and Taeyeon furrowed her brows.

"Who?"

"Tiffany Hwang."

Taeyeon took a puff as she attempted to recall this awfully familiar name. When it finally dawned on her, Taeyeon let a resounding slap echoed in her store when her palm came on contact with her brother's arm.

"That lady is your working partner?"

Jiwoong winced, in physical pain and under Taeyeon's watchful glare.

"That company is famous," he sighed and took a long puff from his cigarette. "My company needs us to clench at least a deal with them for us to still stay in this industry. When she showed interest on my tattoo, I just thought-"

"-thought it's a good idea to betray your sister's trust in you for your business." Taeyeon shook her head in disappointment.

"It's not like that, Tae." Jiwoong regretfully said. "You know drunk fools blabbers. No, no- I'm not pushing the blame away." 

He hurriedly added when Taeyeon narrowed her eyes at him. Taeyeon may be younger and smaller in build, but he was often intimidated by his sister's vibe.

Taeyeon took a swig on her cigarette and watched his head drooped when she left without saying anything more.

"Alright," Taeyeon suddenly announced, reappearing with two cups of freshly brewed coffee in her petite hands. Jiwoong smiled so brightly at her that Taeyeon felt her own lips twitching upwards. 

"Just this once oppa. Tuesday, 2pm, sharp."

//////////

Taeyeon lifted her head when she heard someone clearing . Calmly, Taeyeon slid the novel back to the auburn shelf and stubbed her cigarette.

Tiffany Hwang, Taeyeon thought with muse- casually dressed in a slightly oversized tee and shorts, but not forgetting little details that eludes her superiority with the large Gucci print on her shirt, the Dolce & Gabbana primly sitting on her nose bridge and the Louis Vuitton case that probably costed more than Taeyeon's fortune.

Taeyeon kept her comments to herself at the smug grin on the brunette's face and gestured towards the door behind the counter.

"That way," Taeyeon said and lifted her cup of lukewarm coffee to her chapped lips. "Go in and get seated."

Tiffany strutted past her with her chin in the air and Taeyeon exhaled audibly.

Taeyeon cracked her knuckles and snapped the gloves around her fingers. She saw Tiffany gulped when the machine whizzed to life with a click.

"So," Taeyeon questioned, dragging the stool to sit across Tiffany on the small table. "Why do you want a tattoo?"

"Is this necessary? Can't we just skip to the design talk?" Tiffany frowned.

"Sorry, but this is my policy." Taeyeon saw the distress in the furrowed brows and silently reached for her notepad instead.

"Uhm," Tiffany breathed and Taeyeon was genuinely surprised to see a hue of red on her cheeks. "I want to remind myself to keep dreaming."

Taeyeon nodded and was amused to have witnessed the lack of confidence in the seemingly pretentious editor.

"I want to keep dreaming and chase my dreams." Taeyeon barely caught the last part that Tiffany whispered. Fair enough, Taeyeon thought, it was a valid reason.

Taeyeon started her little ambiguous business with a needle, a thread and a bottle of black ink. Countless of her schoolmates had gone through Taeyeon's petite hands- names, symbols, horoscope, numbers- Taeyeon had inked more than she could remember. 

Adulthood hits Taeyeon and one day, Taeyeon found remorse within her passion.

Heechul regretted the sad face sitting on his wrist when he asked to be inked on a particularly lousy day. Sooyoung regretted the date etched on her ribs when she demanded to be inked; giddy in love with her ex-boyfriend. There were remorse but they were not reversible and Taeyeon found guilt because she created those regrets with her hands. 

Hidden under the waistband of her shorts, was a tiny "T" just above her hip on the left. And Taeyeon found regrets because there was comfort in the pain and she seek its company- her skin being the canvas of her thoughts from a younger, immature Taeyeon.

"Here," Tiffany raised her hand and Taeyeon took note that her confidence has returned from her tone, "For starters, I want a finger tattoo."

Taeyeon slide the pen and paper over and let Tiffany take the lead. Tiffany scribbled nosily and Taeyeon took a peak; "dreamer" it says and she smiled. 

Taeyeon knew there will be no more regrets to join the deadweight buried within her. There was trust from the people who approached her and Taeyeon ought to reciprocate by letting them leave with wonderment and ease. 

She flipped the switch and let her hand express desires and aspirations on skin, like words on paper.