Four weeks later

Hwasa wiped the newly-inked tattoo with anti-bacterial ointment and proceeded to cover it with a protective bandage. Once everything was done, she smiled at her client seated on the horizontal chair and began reciting the usual after-care procedures.

“Since its quite a big tattoo, you want to take decent care since it acts as an open wound. Keep the bandage on for two hours to prevent bacteria coming in, and when that’s up wash the area with warm water gently. Don’t rub or else the skin will irritate. Allow the tattoo to breathe a little for half an hour, then apply ointment—and after that, you’re set! You’ll need to repeat the process three times a day for about a week, then you can change to ordinary moisturiser.”

Dumfounded by the rush of information, her client sat speechless with a blank expression on her face.

“Don’t worry, everything you need to know is written on a leaflet for newcomers. Here, it’s this way.” Hwasa gestured towards the counter where Moonbyul sat talking on the phone with a very impatient client.

“Yes, we have your appointment booked next Thursday…Oh, you need it earlier? I’m sorry sir but we can’t pencil you in for…no, I’m afraid nearly all our artists have booked schedules for the next two weeks, we can’t just squeeze you in—”

With an exasperated sigh, Byul eventually hung up after a good two minutes and rolled her eyes. “Can you believe the nerve of some people? Re-booking earlier when we’re almost up to our neck with schedules…”

Her demeanour softened when she noticed the client standing beside Hwasa with hand on her arm holding her bandage in place. Byul regarded her with a smile. “All done? Here’s the leaflet for everything you need to know on how to take care of it. If you need anything else our number’s on the bottom, so don’t hesitate to call—unless you wanna piss me off like that guy on the phone back there.” Byul gestured to the phone on the desk.

With a final wave, the client walked out the door with puffed cheeks and confusion clearly written on her face.

“Another anxious one, huh?” Byul pointed out.

"Yeah, she didn't look so great earlier. She looked like she was about to pass out.”

Byul nodded and carried on making notes on her diary, while Hwasa leaned on the counter overlooking the window outside.

The flower shop was still there from weeks before they’d moved in and it felt like forever since Hwasa last spoke to the girl inside. The reason why was that she was too busy re-arranging her parlour and setting up everything before she was ready to start into business again. Too busy handling appointments and schedules to talk to the flower girl next door who caught her interest.

Of course, the occasional wave was exchanged every-time they saw each other through their windows. But Hwasa wanted to make good of the somewhat ‘promise’ they made with each other when all four of them met. Maybe some other time, she’ll take them up on their offer.

If you need anything from us, don’t be afraid to visit and I hope we can be friends really soon!

“Is that it for today then?” She asked Byul, who was scrolling through her phone.

“Yeah, that’s it for you. Every other station is busy at the minute. But just a heads up: you have an appointment tomorrow for 4 o’clock. A man wants a flower on his right arm.”

At the mention of ‘flower’, Hyejin perked up. “What kind of flower?”

“He says an outline of an Iris flower. Fancy.”

Hyejin thought hard and knew that she rarely had any time to practice inking flowers—and although they were common requests, she hardly knew which name belonged to which flower most of the time. She had to have known something like this would've popped up so she instinctively reached for her phone in her back pocket to search up pictures of irises until an idea crossed her mind.

This would be the perfect opportunity to talk to the flower girl next door.

No, Hyejin knew it was silly—she had her phone right in her hand for unlimited references so why would she go over there for one mindless piece of advice? It would seem like she was desperate for interaction, wouldn’t it? But despite this, Hyejin knew deep down she wanted to strike up another conversation with the cute brunette so this was her chance to finally do it. Not like it’s a big deal, right?

“I’m going next door.” She declared, stuffing her phone back in her pocket.

“What? W