Jongdae said goodbye to his last customer after finishing up their tattoo. His hours at the tattoo parlour were irregular due to the dependency on when his customers would be available for the appointment. He cleaned up his work station and closed the shop, but just as he turned to his motorbike, he got a call from Junmyeon. 

‘Jongdae, they got me,’ Junmyeon breathed heavily as he spoke, ‘they circled me and then beat me up. My bike has gone to too. Please come pick me up.’

‘, Myeon... Message your location, I’m coming.’

In top speed he drove to Junmyeon’s indicated location, arriving 20 minutes later. He was just outside the other town, next to a deserted road. Of course the ers would target him there.

Junmyeon looked up from where he sat. His face was drenched in blood. The frown he wore was a tell-tale for how he felt. His hand was grabbing the right side of his upper body.

‘Hey,’ the man said defeated. Jongdae sank next to him and lifted his face by the chin to inspect the wounds there.

‘Are you okay?’ It was a redundant question.

‘I need to go to the hospital.’

‘I’ll call an ambulance.’

‘Don’t. I can ride with you. It’s not life-threatening. I think.’ He rose to his feet with pain shooting through his face. Jongdae helped, but was afraid to hurt him more.

An agonizing 10 minutes later, they were on their way to the hospital. Luckily Junmyeon still had the strength to hold onto Jongdae. His arms were secured around the smaller man with his body pressed firm against him. He laid his head between Jongdae’s shoulder blades.

A troublesome youth, a teacher had once called him, for doodling in class. An unwarranted title, Jongdae had thought, a more suitable one would be youth that’d end up in trouble. The notorious motorcycle gang Devil’s Desert, though more just an organized crime group, targeted anyone who could jeopardize their title as the motorcycling hooligans. It started as soon Jongdae had bought his motorcycle and found a circle of friends who were interested in riding.

Once at the hospital, Junmyeon was examined and placed on a sick bed for the rest of the night.

‘I’m sorry, Junmyeon,’ Jongdae said when they were left alone in the room.

‘Don’t be. I know it was my mistake, I shouldn’t have been out late.’

Jongdae scoffed.

‘Just, be safe next time,’ Jongdae said, a sour taste in his mouth.

‘I am more upset about my bike. It looked pretty wrecked. That thing cost me a fortune.’

‘I’ll get Yifan to pick it up tomorrow, see what he can do about it.’

Junmyeon half-smiled at him. ‘Thanks.’

The next day Jongdae returned to his shop. At noon Yixing came over, as he would multiple times a week, to work on his art. Once they were both settled on the drawing table, they chitchatted as both worked on their respective work.

‘I saw you tattooed that guy from the skate hall. I forgot his name, the one with the purple hair and emo clothing.’ Hard to miss who it was about.

‘Baekhyun? Yeah, I was surprised because he seems to dislike me.’

Yixing looked up from his work. ‘You? Is it because you’re competition to him, with the amount of eyeliner you wear?’

Jongdae chuckled. ‘I wish.  I don’t know, he’s always giving our friend group side-eye when he comes into the bar. I thought it would be different after we had a nice conversation while I was tattooing him, but last time he still gave me the cold shoulder.’

‘Well I’m sure he doesn’t want to get beat up by association, you were just saying how Junmyeon lies in the hospital.’

That much he knew was true. Even their friend group had diminished over the years due to their tainted reputation. At least he could vouch for Baekhyun’s enthusiasm towards the tattoo, since he saw him show it off at the bar extensively.

‘How do you know Baekhyun?’ Jongdae asked.

‘He always at the skate hall when I’m there, he’s a diligent worker.’ Yixing shot him a curious glance.

The door rang and they both looked up. Two hulking men walked in, looking precisely the part of a tattoo-enthusiast, if Jongdae did not recognize one them to be belonging to the motor gang. He jumped up.

‘How may I help you?’

The men looked around the shop, not acknowledging Jongdae. A palpable minute later, one of them turned to him.

‘Just checking it out. I also have something from your friend, I’m sure you can give it back to him, can you?’

Jongdae felt himself shake when the man handed him Junmyeon’s wallet. He opened it, but couldn’t distinguish if something was missing.

‘How did you get it?’

‘You know, I think he dropped it. You’re welcome.’ The man smirked.

They left right after. Jongdae quivered when Yixing put a hand on his shoulder.

‘Are you okay? What was that about?’

Jongdae glanced at the wallet. Nothing should be out of place. His ID, driver’s license, bankcard, even his insurance card was there.

He shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I’m going to call Junmyeon.’

Jongdae closed his shop early in favour of dining at Shinin’ with his friends. He was the first to arrive, but soon Kyungsoo and Junmyeon joined him.

‘How are you feeling now, Junmyeon?’

‘Better. Kyungsoo brought me home this morning and after resting I don’t feel as bad.’ The colour had returned in his face since Jongdae had last seen him.

‘Oh, I forgot to give this back to you last night.’ Jongdae gave him back his wallet with a white lie. ‘I wasn’t paying attention, sorry for not telling you earlier.’

Junmyeon raised his eyebrows. ‘I had wondered where it was, I was afraid they’d stolen it and used my ID for identity theft.’

Kyungsoo chuckled at the joke, but Jongdae only swallowed hard. He didn’t have the heart to tell him that could be possible. And luckily he didn’t have to, their conversation got interrupted by the loudness that was Park Chanyeol, tailed by Yifan.

‘That was so great!’ Chanyeol screamed.

‘What was?’ Jongdae asked.

He turned to the table. ‘Yifan let me ride his motorbike. I totally get you guys now, it’s so much more exhilarating than a car!’ If he noticed Junmyeon’s bruises, he did not mention them.

Somewhere along the line Yifan and Chanyeol had become friends and getting to know Chanyeol it was easy to see why. With the excitement of a young child did he talk about their day, creating a happy mood for everyone as the conversation went on and drinks and dinner was served.

Later in the evening, Baekhyun stepped into the bar. Chanyeol waved him over. The face he pulled was funny, but he did walk up to the table.

‘Did I miss something?’ He asked, looking only at Chanyeol. He looked tired, with bags under his eyes and his cheeks flushed. The tips of his hair were still pointy from the sweat it had accumulated.

‘Yifan let me ride his motorcycle and now I am in love,’ said man replied.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. ‘You’re such a .’

Gasps went around the table, followed by laughter when they realized they were teasing each other.

‘What can I say, it goes faster than a skateboard. The adrenaline rush you get from it? Amazing.’ He elbowed Yifan, who nodded with a dumbstruck face.

‘Well, that is nice.’ He was about to turn, but Chanyeol grabbed his arm and subsequently bumped Yifan away as he sat at the end of the booth.

‘Why don’t you join us as well, Baekhyun?’ Jongdae asked. He tried to mask his nerves through his casual question, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious under the scrutinizing glance of the man.

‘Okay. But I really need to order food, I’m about to roll over.’

Jongdae blinked. It worked?  

Baekhyun returned after his order. Yifan and Chanyeol scooted out of the booth for him to sit at the table’s centre, right next to Kyungsoo.

‘What does your tattoo say?’ Baekhyun asked and pointed to Kyungsoo’s neck tattoo that started from behind his ear and ended at his collarbone.

‘Frustra laborat qui omnibus placere studet,’ Kyungsoo said.

Baekhyun stared at the man.

‘That’s Kyungsoo,’ Jongdae said, ‘and that’s also a tattoo done by me. Do you like it?’

Baekhyun nodded. ‘It suits you,’ he said to Kyungsoo. His eyes fell on Junmyeon, then he hastily dug into the food that just arrived for him.

‘Did you practice all day?’ Jongdae asked after he slowed down. For someone his size, he sure could eat.

‘Yeah, I’m trying to master a new routine for my next competition.’

He was clearly not as comfortable to talk as he was in Jongdae’s studio. After he finished up, he was quick to take his leave too, Chanyeol linking his arm with him as they left.

‘Wow Jongdae, can you be any more subtle?’ Kyungsoo teased.

‘Is it that obvious?’

‘That you like Baekhyun? It’s pretty obvious, yeah,’ Yifan said.

‘Shush, that’s just because I told you he looks interesting.’ Now more than ever. Since he put his tattoo and got to know him slightly better, he wondered about him. Whether he’d show his tattoo to everyone, if he looked at it with contentment whenever he took care of it, and when he’d get the next opportunity to get to know him better.

***

The next morning Baekhyun dragged himself to the skating hall again. Chanyeol was in the corner at the small bars, trying to land a double flip. He stuck the landing the third time. Baekhyun snorted when Chanyeol raised his hands and cheered for himself. The latter whipped his head around.

‘You gotta admit, that was smooth, right?’

‘Actually, yeah that was a good one,’ Baekhyun answered genuinely. ‘Have you been here for long?’

Chanyeol wiped the sweat off his forehead and showed his moist hand to Baekhyun. ‘Does that answer your question?’

Baekhyun pulled a face. ‘Your words alone would have sufficed too.’

Chanyeol laughed and patted Baekhyun’s shoulder when he passed him. They both went their own ways, practicing till their shirts were soaked and their stomachs requested something nutritious.

In the hall’s cafeteria they dined on the cheap rice and soup. Despite their work out, Chanyeol was still hyped, this time reminiscing last night.

‘You should definitely give the ride a try. It was so cool!’

‘Chanyeol. First off, motorcycles are the most dangerous vehicle on the road, do you know how many accidents happen with those things? Secondly, yes it must be cool, but you know the stigma around here. You don’t want to associate with that.’

Chanyeol sighed, his eyes struck down. ‘I know, but they are genuinely really cool and friendly people. We only have this prejudice about them, but we don’t even know if they are true. You even went to get a tattoo from one of them, so who are you to pass judgement on?’

‘Just because they are friendly people doesn’t mean they are good people. I just think it’s shady. Even if they weren’t part of that gang, they would still risk driving around on motorcycles, knowing that it is frowned upon by the locals?’

‘I guess,’ Chanyeol remained quiet while he swirled his spoon in the soup. ‘It’s just not my concern. As long as they’re nice, what would be so bad about hanging out with them every once in a while?’

Baekhyun savoured the words as he sipped his soup. They wouldn’t be able to be on one line about this. It still didn’t explain the occasional bruises seen on their faces. He also did not know how to think about Jongdae. His company was legitimate with all the right papers and certifications at least. That was separate from each other, he nodded to himself. 

While he travelled with Zitao by train to their next competition, Baekhyun lost sight of him quickly after. Zitao spent his time at the training ring with his Chinese friends, so Baekhyun didn’t want to intervene.

‘Hey,’ came from behind with a hand placed on Baekhyun’s shoulder.

‘Oh, hi!’ His voice creaked when he turned around and saw Minseok.

Minseok smiled, his gums showing. ‘Hi! Are you participating?’

Baekhyun returned the smile, albeit awkward. ‘Of course.’

‘Good luck. Are you gonna practice?’

‘Maybe,’ Baekhyun shrugged, ‘I’m one of the last to participate, so I wanted to calm my muscles for the time being.’

‘Cool, join me backstage?’

Baekhyun shot a glance at the man. He had previously avoided it to assure he would be able to speak to his idol.

Minseok’s eyes widened, before he burst into laughter. ‘I mean, to relax? Not like that!’

‘Oh, okay,’ Baekhyun replied dry-mouthed. He did not expect them to be on friend level with him, being invited to hang out with him? Whatever they were, it was awesome. Minseok led him back behind security into the sports halls, a few stairs up until they were on the top floor. They went into a designated area, the VIP room.

‘Wow, this is so cool!’ Baekhyun almost screamed when he ran to the window and saw an overview of the entire terrain from this spot. The actual competition ring was well seen from here, but the people at the training ring looked like tiny humans flying about. The rest of the room was modestly decorated, a few couches to lounge on, a small counter with minifridge and coffee machine with a bunch of fruit in a bowl next to it.

‘So this is what it’s like to be a star, eh?’ Baekhyun teased.

‘Pfft,’ Minseok shook his head and walked to the mini fridge, ‘actually, I think the free drinks is what the real celebrity-feeling is.’ He grabbed two cans from it and gave one to Baekhyun.

‘I heard you got your first win.’ Minseok sat down on the couch, glancing at Baekhyun who still stood by the window. Catching his cue, Baekhyun walked over to take a seat on the couch adjacent from him.

‘Oh yeah, you’re right. I still cannot believe it,’ Baekhyun replied in his ‘coolest’ voice. He showed him his still-fresh tattoo. ‘I got one now too.’ Excitement seeped in his voice.

Minseok inched closer and looked at tattoo.

‘You went to Jongdae?’

Baekhyun cocked his head. ‘You recommended him to me after all.’

‘Wow, I have that influence on you? Great!’ He cackled. ‘He’s my best friend. He always shows me photos of the work he does and I remember him sending this one. Should have known it would be you.’ He added the last sentence with a smile. Guess that made sense, if Minseok’s body was plastered with Jongdae’s art, they’d surely have formed a bond one way or another. ‘Are you happy with the result?’ Minseok traced the outlines with his thumb.

‘Definitely. He really is talented. How did you get to know him?’

‘Ah, that was a long time ago. We met at a sports hall. He did a lot of work for our community, you know? Oh no wait, you’re not. Sorry I keep assuming, just with the whole outfit and the hair and all…’ Minseok squinted his eyes as he looked at Baekhyun, retracting his hands and taking a seat again. ‘Anyway, Jongdae was happy with the result too. Are you going to get more done by him?’

Baekhyun thought about that. While he was still unsure whether if it would be a good idea to hang out with the problematic man, his work was superb. Now that he learned that Minseok is close friends, he could also become closer with him through Jongdae. Not that he wanted to use either, but having a rich, influential and super talented friend can always work in his favour. Certainly, in their BMX world where everything was about sponsors for any kind of stable income.

‘I’ll have to think of new designs though.’ Baekhyun involuntarily smiled.

‘You can also ask Jongdae, that kid has infinite ideas. Check this one out.’ Minseok lifted his shirt and showed an intricate pattern on the side of his body. The symbols were messy, but all together it looked slick and well-matched.

‘This what he came up with when I told him I wanted something different. Before that I only had designs with like, faces or objects and what not, but now I’m really enjoying the more abstract pieces.’

Baekhyun nodded. It was gorgeous. He never seen something like this inked on someone, it seemed more like those next level drawing book line outs his mom spent her days on.

‘Fascinating, no? I’ve known Jongdae since freshmen year of high school. He has always been crazy about arts. He drew his days away, yet he still managed to get excellent grades for the more theoretical classes.’

‘Ugh I hear you. My best friend is one of those super talented people that can master a skill in a month. Life is not fair.’

Minseok laughed, low and content. ‘Yup.’

They chatted for a little while longer before Minseok had to excuse himself.

‘Sorry, I have to meet the other judges and show my face around. You can stay here if you want?’

Baekhyun stood up simultaneously as the older man. ‘Nah, I should be practicing now anyway, we’ve sat here for an hour already.’

Once out of the building, they split up. Baekhyun headed straight to the training ring, finding Zitao and a few other familiar faces practicing. They nodded to each other when their eyes met, but other than that, the ring was devoid of social interaction.

It was Sunday and Shinin’ was relatively crowded. Some locals would dine there occasionally during the weekend, during the weekdays is was mostly them and the biker guys there.

Baekhyun only got a second’s notice of Chanyeol turning around to Baekhyun with big eyes before looking to the front again and storming to the bikers.

‘Oh my God, how cute!’ Chanyeol said and extended his hand to the table. Curious what it was about, Baekhyun looked over Chanyeol’s lowered shoulder and there he saw what had intrigued Chanyeol so.  A white dot of fur with round bead eyes and a scaly tail.

‘Who’s the rat from?’ He asked.

‘Can we keep him?’ Chanyeol asked before anyone could react.

‘It’s mine. Come take a seat, she is a little shy when people loom over her,’ Yifan said. Chanyeol didn’t even wait for affirmation, he squeezed himself into the booth next to Junmyeon right away. The table was already full, so Baekhyun sat down on Chanyeol’s lap. He caught Jongdae’s eyebrow quirking up when he did so.

‘She’s so cute.’ Chanyeol was left fascinated by the small creature, holding his hand out and staring at her for any kind of validation. It took a while, but in the end she crawled away from underneath the fabric of Yifan’s baggy sweater paw, glancing at the newcomers and sniffing Chanyeol’s hand. She ran back into Yifan’s sleeve.

‘I didn’t know you had rats,’ Chanyeol said to him.

‘I used to have three. Two have them have died and she is the last survivor. I didn’t want her to get lonely, so I bring her along with me nowadays.’

‘Cute!’ Chanyeol exclaimed.

Baekhyun was forced to sit with the rest of the group as Chanyeol spent all his time doting on the small creature. Baekhyun couldn’t really be bothered. His lips already curled up on their own account, from seeing the two tall and otherwise possibly intimidating (jokes, only Yifan has that potential. Baekhyun had only seen Chanyeol intimidating once, but the aftermath was him crying from the sudden outburst of emotion so that image got shattered real quick) guys gush over such a small animal.

‘Do you like animals too?’ Jongdae asked out of the blue. Baekhyun hadn’t noticed him trying to get his attention. When Baekhyun looked back at the man, the man raised an eyebrow.

Baekhyun shrugged. ‘Of course, who doesn’t? I must admit, Chanyeol’s love for animals is hard to beat, but I think I have a way with animals too.’

Jongdae laughed and glanced at the man in question. ‘It does seem that way, yeah.’

They chatted for quite a bit. Junmyeon shared his love for his dog, along with a few pictures on his phone. Before they knew it, an hour had already passed filled with conversations about animals, anecdotes and other small talk. Chanyeol had earned the love of the rat, who had nestled himself under Chanyeol’s shirt and fell asleep there. With that distraction out of the way, Yifan and Chanyeol joined the conversation with the rest.

By the end of the night, Baekhyun could not lie to Chanyeol and say he didn’t have a good time.

Baekhyun got the shock of his life when he spotted an out-of-place familiar face in the skating ring. Chanyeol was speaking expressively with the man, who was supporting a much more skater-themed outfit than his usual leather clothes. Before Baekhyun reached them, the man took a dive into the pool.

‘Why is Jongdae here?’ Baekhyun asked when he reached Chanyeol, who stood next to the pool watching over the man.

‘Apparently he skated when he was younger.’ They both followed the man’s movement. Even if Jongdae had not skated in a while, he still had the skills. He didn’t hesitate to grab a few bars, finishing them with an Ollie or a backflip. He shied away from the higher ramps, but the smaller ones were a piece of cake. He turned a few heads from the other skaters, surprised to see someone unknown of that calibre performing.

‘Damn, he is good,’ Baekhyun muttered. Chanyeol didn’t reply verbally, only nodded his head while he continued to stare.

Jongdae returned to them a few minutes later. He landed a little awkwardly, his skateboard rolling away when his feet hit the ground. He smirked at Baekhyun, whom suddenly realized his mouth was ajar.

‘Was it to your standards, gentlemen?’ He asked after he fetched his skateboard.

‘Definitely! Why are you hiding that talent? You would make a great skater at our ring,’ Chanyeol said.

Jongdae shrugged. ‘You get older, start to prioritize other things, you know how it goes.’

‘Damn shame though.’ It was hard to tell who looked more disappointed, Chanyeol or Jongdae. The latter stared in the distance for a moment, swallowing.

‘It is how it is,’ he replied in a soft voice.

He skated for another 30 minutes, then took his leave. Baekhyun was baffled there were those he waved goodbye, and a little more confused when he waved to Baekhyun directly.

‘Is he growing on you yet?’ Chanyeol asked, snapping Baekhyun out of his daze.

‘What? No. I just don’t understand why he is nice to me.’

Chanyeol shrugged. ‘I don’t understand either, you’re always acting like you have a stick up your when you see him.’

Baekhyun pushed him, not realizing he was only with one foot on the ground and thusly causing him to fall.

‘You deserved that.’ He stuck out his tongue and went back to training.

It was hard to believe, but Baekhyun won another regional tournament after more weeks of training. He ended up rushing to the tattoo parlour first, another victory to be put on his skin. He entered Jongdae’s studio on Tuesday afternoon, it is when he would have the biggest chance of meeting the man for a drawing session on the off hours.

When Baekhyun entered the store, he was a little surprised to find both Jongdae and Yixing at the sketching table. The sketching table was in between the ‘waiting couch’ and the sterile work benches. That way, Jongdae would always be able to greet new visitors as soon as they entered the door, as he had told him when he came here before.

‘Hey Baekkie, how’s my little emo dude doing?’ Jongdae asked cheerfully. He stood up from his seat and came over to him. By the way he was walking, arms open, it almost seemed like he was going to hug him. When he reached him, he twirled around him and Baekhyun’s arm. ‘Care for some tea?’

‘If you ditch the sugar like last time,’ Baekhyun replied sourly. Jongdae had gone around the corner for the coffee machine. When Baekhyun glanced at Yixing, the man’s eyes were upon him too. He squinted at him.

‘Hi, you’re Lay, right? I’m a big fan of your work,’ Baekhyun said. He moved over to him and gave a curt bow. The man bowed as well, albeit it was a bit clunky with the table in the way.

‘Thanks. Baekhyun, right?’

‘You know me?’

‘You go to the skate hall, right?’

Baekhyun blushed, though he wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or not. He toned down on the bright colours a bit since he had gotten older. ‘Yeah, I think I first saw you when you did the mural there a few years ago.’

Lay nodded thoughtfully. ‘Right, you were already wearing make-up back then, right?’

Baekhyun blushed. He was a bit younger and he was definitely still getting the hang of it. He used to overdo the eye make-up, which gave him a lot of glances. ‘Yeah…’

‘I remember you, yeah,’ Lay laughed, ‘one of my friends who joined me was totally checking you out.’

‘Really?’ Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. He was used to the glances, but never in a romantic way.

‘And then you kissed another dude and she knew she had fallen for another gay.’ Lay snorted, enjoying his own memory of the event.

Baekhyun awkwardly joined his laughter, not sure what to say about it anymore. Luckily Jongdae returned soon enough, telling Baekhyun to take a seat and handing him his tea.

‘What were you guys drawing?’

‘We’re competing against each other. What do you think of my boat?’ Jongdae lifted his artbook and showed off his drawing. It was a ship, drawn in crude lines and splotches of neon colours.

Baekhyun nodded impressed.

‘I think it is really good,’ Lay added to the conversation. He quickly shut his notebook. ‘Let’s call it a day, you win.’

‘Aww Yixing, show Baekhyun yours too. I like yours a lot!’ Jongdae encouraged him. Despite his art being well-known around these parts of town, he was still insecure about his work. Or so, that was what Jongdae told Baekhyun after the man left for a moment. Despite the insecurity, the art work was beautiful and Baekhyun made sure to compliment it extra nicely.

‘So what got you here, Baek? Ready for a new tattoo?’ Jongdae asked.

‘Yes. I won another tournament, so I want to celebrate that.’

‘Congratulations! You’ve come to the right place. I have time now, we can sketch out a design and maybe next week I’ll have time to ink it on ya.’

‘Tournament?’ Lay lifted his head from his work.

‘Our Baekkie is also a BMXer,’ Jongdae practically beamed as he said it.

Lay scoffed in return. ‘You truly are the BMX tattoo-artist to go to, aren’t you? No wonder you’ve been drawing more bikes lately.’

Jongdae blushed. Lay excused himself and left the shop while Jongdae grabbed a few artbooks for Baekhyun to look through.

‘What do you have in mind this time, Baekhyun?’ Jongdae asked.

‘Actually, I really like your abstract work. I’m open for anything.' Baekhyun was thumbing through Jongdae's artbook.

'Really? Thank you.' Jongdae was awfully cute today. He was cheerful, his cheeks tinted and his smile just wouldn’t vanish. 'I have something designed already, let me find it.' Jongdae recovered a sketchbook from one of the shelves. It was a huge book, the edges of the cover bent from use. He flipped the pages before he found what he was looking for. It was a sketch of multiple symbols and lose lines, blotted with brightly coloured ink.

'That is beautiful. I would love this design.'

‘If you want I can put it on you right away, but I understand if you want a night to sleep on it.'

Baekhyun contemplated the idea. It would be wise to wait and see what else he could get. Then again, the design immediately captivated him, so that was a good sign.

'Bring out the needles.'

Jongdae smirked. 'Give me thirty minutes to set up the colours and trace the design on you.'

Thirty minutes later, Baekhyun sat backwards on a low chair without a shirt on, his shoulder covered in sketch lines. It was difficult looking over his own shoulder, which Jongdae solved by making pictures instead. Once agreed on the design, Jongdae started. Jongdae focused on inking while Baekhyun was trying hard to not whine about the pain. The pain was a little less than on his lower leg, but some parts were so sensitive. Jongdae asked about the competition Baekhyun won, but after that conversation was over, they settled for silence. The old rock tunes in the store were still filling up the room, to which Jongdae sometimes quietly sang along too. Jongdae occasionally stopped his work and gave Baekhyun a breather while he stretched his hand.

Halfway through, Lay came back with take-away food in tow.

‘Dinner’s here!’ Jongdae exclaimed and patted Baekhyun on his arm. After carefully bandaging the progress, Jongdae motioned Baekhyun to join them at the drawing table. For a second, Baekhyun was awkward and confused. He never assumed he would be provided with food. He didn’t even call his mom to say he’s not eating at home. A quick text eased that worry at least. He ran over, earning the attention of the two men picking at the sealed boxes.

‘I’m not protesting, but you can wear your shirt, Baekhyun. I taped off the tattoo, you’re good.’

Baekhyun quickly turned around and shielded his body. He heard both Lay and Jongdae laugh while he put on his shirt, making him chuckle too.

‘Please grab whatever you like.’ Lay spread his arms for emphasis. He had brought take-out Chinese, a variety of noodle and rice dishes.

Lay and Jongdae were talking about all kinds of stuff, mostly about ridiculous requests they’ve had from customers or clients. Baekhyun couldn’t help but notice how friendly the two were. They were constantly handing out the containers and sharing food, asking Baekhyun if he was alright and if he liked it, pouring each other water.  When they realized Baekhyun had been quiet for a while, Lay asked him about his BMX career.

‘What about you, what are you working on right now, ... Lay?’

Lay chuckled. ‘Please call me Yixing, let’s not be too formal here, eh?’

‘Yixing,’ Baekhyun replied.

Yixing went on to talk about his upcoming art gallery in the museum in the city near them.

‘If you’re ever there, come visit.’

After dinner, they continued the session. Yixing left an hour before they finished. At last the nagging pain of needles jabbed into Baekhyun’s skin seized and Jongdae sprayed the wound for sanitation. The prickling of the alcohol Jongdae used to clean the wound was a refreshing tingle, but not entirely pleasant.

‘You did very well, Baekhyun.’ Jongdae’s hand lingered as he helped Baekhyun get out of the chair and lead him to the big mirror. With a small one in his hand, he turned it so Baekhyun could see the piece.

‘What do you think?’

‘I love it!’ The tattoo was abstract, blending black with bright colours that fade into Baekhyun’s skin. It was odd, but exactly what Baekhyun was looking for. Jongdae snapped some photos of it and showed them to Baekhyun. Only now did Baekhyun see the small details, like the flowy circles had ridges like a bike’s wheel on it. It made his heart beat a little faster. It didn’t slow down when he looked up at Jongdae, staring at him with half-crescents from the smile he pulled, his apple cheeks prominent against the cold lighting of the shop. ‘Thank you, I really like it.’

After bandaging and getting another rundown on wound care, ‘because you can never be too sure’, Baekhyun stayed around while Jongdae cleaned his workspace.

‘Do you always wear this much jewellery?’ Baekhyun noted, having seen his fingers never without the silver bling or the leather bracelets on his left arm.

‘Pretty much. I wish I could wear more silver bracelets, but I’ve had clients whine that it was cold against their skin when I was tattooing them.’ Jongdae replied.

‘I’m jealous. I want to wear more too, but it’s too dangerous when I’m practicing my sport.’

Jongdae chuckled. ‘Maybe at the afterparties on the tournament days, it’s a good time to show off then, right?’

‘I’ll keep that in mind, once I have money to buy silver.’

‘I’m glad you’re spending your money responsibly on tattoos. Speaking of which…’ He pointed to the cash register.

‘Right.’ Baekhyun went to pay, but saw the price was lower than it was for his first tattoo – despite it being bigger.

‘What’s this about?’

‘Hmm?’

‘Did you make a mistake? This tattoo cannot possibly this cheap, I spent 7 hours in that chair.’

‘It’s a gift, for winning your tournament.’ Baekhyun wanted to protest, but Jongdae faked ignorance and threatened to remove the register entirely if he didn’t hurry up.

Baekhyun waited around for Jongdae to lock up the shop, his demeanour more subdued than before.

‘It’s already late, can I give you a ride home?’

‘No worries, I can cycle home.’ Baekhyun shrugged it off.

‘I’d feel more comfortable if I knew you got home safe. These streets are a little dangerous at night.’

Before Baekhyun could answer, Jongdae gave him a helmet. He tried to play it off cool, but the man was a little out of it. Suspicious for sure, who knew what he had experienced during such late evenings. Baekhyun accepted the helmet and hesitantly got on the bike. Up close with Jongdae in front was definitely a new experience. He kept his distance as much as possible and held the handlebar behind him. However, once the engine soared and it moved, Baekhyun clamped against Jongdae’s back with his arms around his waist. It was a good thing his seat was a little higher than Jongdae’s, so he could glance just above his shoulder to look ahead.

Jongdae rode pretty calmly through the neighbourhoods of the small town, only speeding once the empty road linking the two towns together. The large open space lent itself to it easily, and Baekhyun got lost in thought glancing in the empty distance of dried grass fields.

‘You know, Chanyeol was right about motorcycles. They are pretty damn exhilarating,’ Baekhyun said after Jongdae had pulled up in front of his parental home.

‘If you want another ride, you have my number.’ Sitting on his bike, slightly leaned back with his helm on his lap, it certainly was a tempting suggestion.

‘Thanks for bringing me home. And the tattoo of course!’ Baekhyun didn’t know how to greet him goodbye, so he opted for a fist bump.

Jongdae bumped his fist back while chuckling. ‘No problem, sleep tight, Baekhyun.’