Here she was the university of her dreams right in front of her as the sign stated in bold ‘Seoul National University – English Department’. The bright raven haired girl mustered up all her courage and reminded herself of the hard work she had put in to be in this position. She had left all her friends and family behind in Daegu and promised to make them proud. Taking slow steps towards her lecture theatre Joohyun was taking the large expensive building in, the double wooden doors to the library called out to her each book begging to be read and the temptation was incredible. As she approached lecture room 221 she failed to notice a lively girl her age running down the hallway. Much to Joohyun’s chagrin she only noticed the girl once she was on top of her, books everywhere.

“Omg, I’m so sorry, like omg I can’t believe I just did that, wig”

Wig? Joohyun knew she was from a different town but was this girl even speaking Korean? Joohyun annoyed at the other brushed her off to get up as the other held a hand out.

“Omg, My name’s Kim Yerim but like I go by Yeri and I’m in this class too…sorry again” the cute looking girl said growing red to which Joohyun thought making enemies on her first day wasn’t worth it, she stuck out a hand.

“Joohyun, Bae Joohyun I’m from Daegu but just transferred.” She proudly stated along with a firm shake.

“Cool, I don’t mean to pry but you’re like really pretty” Joohyun shyly thanked the girl, she had heard it plenty of times and new it was nothing more than friendly but still appreciated the compliment. The young and bright Kim Yeri then offered to sit next to Joohyun in the lecture and that’s how the two slowly started their budding friendship.

For the majority of first year the two never left either’s side – Joohyun was a slight introvert so she was thankful that Yeri was ever so sociable and introduced her to a range of friends. Although the pair were at their prime when it was just them two Joohyun was still happy she had a welcoming circle of friends.

Halfway through the year Joohyun and Yeri had one of their Friday afternoon hangouts planned where the two would go to a cute café and shop then end up retreating to either’s dorms where they’d watch Nicholas Sparks movies on repeat with a large bottle of wine to patch up their single-vitus.

Just as they were packing up at the end of the lecture Yeri’s phone buzzed.

“Joohyun I know we said we’d hangout today but do you mind if my cousin tags along? She’s just come back from a convention in California so I haven’t seen her in a while, totally cool if you’re not open to it though.”

“As in the cousin who owns a tattoo shop?” Yeri nodded at the question much to Joohyun’s delight. When Yeri came back from spring break with new inkwork on her rib she was taken back by the detailing and the whole piece itself. The girl then went on to talk about how her cousin did it for her and how she owns an up and coming tattoo parlour in Itaewon. Yeri talked about the girl with such awe detailing how she dropped out of a top tier art school to become an apprentice in Toronto for a year then came back and set up her own shop here in Seoul. Joohyun’s curiosity then peaked one day and she started following the artist on Instagram and was shocked to see her many followers, all lovers of her work.

770K followers, over 3.5 million likes, 600 posts and none of what the girl looked like, Joohyun had saved a couple of the watercolour pieces she had done but was dying to know what Yeri’s cousin looked like; all she knew was that she was a big fan of her hands handiwork. Considering the girl never showed any photos of her, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to meet the other.

“Yeah I’m cool with it” Yeri jumped in glee then the two headed to the nearest subway station taking the train to Itaewon. The walk to the shop was pleasant as they passed many trendy cafés, outdoor bars as well as arts and crafts hangouts which showed the area was purely for young people their age. The pair then approached an old looking warehouse which was painted a sleek ivory with matte finishing. The warehouse was the epitome of Tumblr trendy as it had plants all over the outer walls and a large LED light saying ‘Botanical’ over the glass doors.

“This is Seungwan Unnie’s shop, she said to come in and she shouldn’t be too long I think she’s just finishing up with a client”

The two walked in and if Joohyun thought the outside of the shop was beautiful the inside exceeded her expectations; the high ceilings were glass which allowed the sunlight to brighten up the whole of the shop. Once entering it was easy to see the black steel stairwell that led to a second floor where you could see multiple tattoo stations which mirrored the ground floor; it wasn’t cluttered and gave off more of an edgy coffee shop vibe which put Joohyun at ease.

The two were welcomed by someone who didn’t look much older than the two students, she had black straight hair and choppy bangs which framed her chubby cheeks and sharp monolided eyes perfectly.

“Hey squirt, squirt’s pretty friend”

“Don’t let Sooyoung unnie hear you say that, I’ve heard the walls of Itaewon are very thin” Yeri chuckled as she hugged the older to which Joohyun gave a polite bow.

“Joohyun this is Seulgi unnie, she’s the head piercing here and co-owns the shop with Seungwan unnie” Upon this information Joohyun could finally take in the girl’s piercings cladded all over her ears and face, some simple whilst others were right in your face such as the gold lip ring but overall the girl was very pretty.

Joohyun had a slight preconception of people who worked in tattoo shops, call it her mother’s intuition to judge other’s appearances coming from a conservative background but luckily Joohyun was a bit more openminded and saw the beauty in piercing and tattoos understanding they were their own art form; if only she wasn’t petrified of needles enough to actually get any.

“Seungwan’s just finishing up with someone upstairs but do either of you want a drink in the meantime?” Both the girls nodded to the offer and just sat on the welcome couch.

“This place is…not what I expected” Joohyun admitted

“Yeah most people have the idea that tattoo shops are grimey and filled with rough bikers, all I can say is this shop is the lovechild of a pouting emoji kind of lesbian and a bruh lesbian” Seulgi said bringing some lattes to the two. Joohyun was shocked that the other girl was so brazen about such information considering in Daegu being gay was unheard of but since moving to Seoul she’s finally been able to be exposed to a wide range of people and even learn a thing or two about herself, not that she would admit that just yet.

“Seulgi unnie here is dating Sooyoung unnie who owns the café across the street hence the latte art” Yeri gestured to the cute bear foam in her cup. Yeri then looked around as if she was trying to find someone but Seulgi interrupted her thoughts.

“Before you ask, it’s her day off…but she was asking Wan about you the other day though” Yeri turned an instant red at the information. Joohyun assumed it was about Yeri’s little crush who she had not disclosed about but luckily Seulgi patched the information up for the girl.

“Our little Squirtle here has a fat crush on our equally as shy receptionist Saeron, she’s around your age but goes to art school around these areas so she works part time” Joohyun was buzzing on the spot glad to get some blackmail on her best friend.

Just as Yeri was about to protest a voice boomed from the second floor

“How you holding up squirt?” A short haired blonde with the biggest smile Joohyun had ever seen beamed hanging over the railing of the staircase.

“Here she is back from the dead the one and only Son Seungwan” Yeri dramatically announced as the older girl descended the stairwell equally as dramatic - must run in the family. Yeri ran to her cousin who lifted her into a tight hug, the blonde ruffled her hair and looked at Joohyun with slightly wide eyes as if she was shocked.

“Unnie this is my best friend Joohyun, the one I was telling you about”

“Ahh yeah the beauty from Daegu, she lives up to her name” Joohyun reddened at the nickname and liked it even more now that it was rolling off of the blonde’s tongue. The two shook hands and Joohyun took in the other’s appearance – she looked like your typical ragged skater girl but was shorter than most with a refined edge; a baggy white t shirt paired with wide leg green trousers and black vans a combination in which Joohyun never thought would work but the blonde somehow made it work. Surprisingly, the tattoo artist had more bare skin showing than ink other than a few pieces on her arms – Joohyun was sure there were more under her clothes, not that her mind was wandering. The artist was insanely attractive no doubt about that especially with the gold nose ring she had paired with a pair of thick gold hoops in her lobes. If Joohyun looked close enough the artist looked like she had more ear piercings than tattoos which added to the older girl’s chic aura.

“So where are we going?” the blonde asked as she ran a hand through her hair. Keep your hormones at bay Joohyun, jesus you just met the woman.<