Black & Grey Vol. 4 Chapter 3

Having fully adapted to chewing on his toy alone, Gaang lay beside Jungeol, who was changing the sheets and bringing out a new blanket. As soon as the neatly made bed was ready, Gaang jumped up and rubbed his body vigorously against the fresh sheets.

“He must like the new blanket.”

Yoochan, having just washed up, said this as he flopped down next to Gaang. Before heading into the bathroom, Jungeol took something out of his bag and handed it to Yoochan. Looking puzzled as he received the tablet, Yoochan watched as Jungeol turned on the screen and tapped the file on the home screen.

It was a file of Jungeol’s designs. Yoochan, unsure why he was being shown the design file, looked at Jungeol, who smiled lightly and tapped another file within the folder. Yoochan let out a surprised “Oh?”

“What is this? Is this for us?”

“Yeah, pick one.”

“Awesome!”

Seeing Yoochan’s excitement, Jungeol laughed and went into the bathroom. Yoochan lay on his stomach, clutching a pillow, and began examining the designs in detail.

The file was filled with couple tattoo designs Jungeol had created over the past year whenever he found time. As someone who didn’t usually do couple tattoos for others, these designs were all made specifically for Yoochan.

Yoochan looked through the designs, which were all sketched over photos of two arms. Some designs were identical on both arms, while others had slight variations. There were simple blackwork designs, letterings, and realistic black and gray designs that were Jungeol’s specialty.

Initially flipping through the designs lightly and with amusement, Yoochan’s expression grew more serious. Many designs were related to Yoochan. Numerous dragon designs seemed to reflect Yoochan’s birth year, the Year of the Dragon. There were Sagittarius signs and star-shaped designs. One page showed a design of an archer on horseback, followed by dozens of different bow designs.

Hearing Jungeol close the bathroom door and come out, Yoochan looked up with a moved expression.

“Hyung…”

Seeing Yoochan’s eyes well up with tears, Jungeol approached with a worried look. Yoochan set the tablet down and hugged Jungeol tightly.

Thinking about how Jungeol had created couple designs for him whenever he found time, even though he was too busy to ride his beloved MTB, moved Yoochan deeply.

“Don’t you like it?”

Caught between options, Jungeol asked in an apologetic voice, stroking the back of Yoochan’s head. Yoochan shook his head and hugged Jungeol tightly, wiping the tears that had trickled out with the back of his hand and saying thanks in a hearty voice.

“I think it’s better not to have dragons.”

With his tears dried, Yoochan lay in bed with Jungeol, chatting and looking at the tablet until dawn.

“You already have two snake tattoos. Adding a dragon would be a bit much. I think Sagittarius is nice. Honestly, I prefer carnivorous animals and find herbivores boring, but horses can be an exception. They’re big and handsome.”

With so many designs by Jungeol, Yoochan still couldn’t decide. Tapping his forehead with a pencil, he looked confused and then suddenly asked Jungeol.

“What do you think, Hyung?”

“…Well, I like dragons too.”

Yoochan turned his head, finding it odd that Jungeol was suddenly changing the subject. Having worked since early morning, Jungeol’s eyes were already closed.

With a playful expression, Yoochan placed a piece of jelly on Jungeol’s lips. When Jungeol didn’t wake even with the cold jelly on his lips, Yoochan leaned down and sucked on Jungeol’s lower lip. The jelly slipped into Yoochan’s mouth. As Yoochan tried to pull away, Jungeol pressed the back of his neck and kissed him.

The sweetness of the jelly spread throughout their mouths as their tongues intertwined. Kissing without opening his eyes, Jungeol made Yoochan laugh loudly. As their lips parted, Yoochan chewed on the jelly that had slipped into his mouth and properly covered Jungeol with the blanket.

Then Gaang’s ears twitched as he lay on their pillows. Sensing movement, Gaang jumped up and started barking at the door. It was late at night, so Yoochan picked Gaang up. They heard the sound of the door opening from outside.

“Taeho Hyung must be back. I’ll ask Taeho Hyung to help me choose the tattoo…”

At that moment, a strong arm wrapped around Yoochan’s waist as he tried to leave, and the blanket was pulled over Yoochan’s head. Yoochan’s muffled cries and Gaang’s whimpers were buried deep under the blanket.

After a brief struggle, the blanket settled down, leaving the two heads close together. Eventually, something slightly larger than a basketball wriggled out from between them, poked its head out from under the blanket, and fell asleep.

The next morning, after lying in bed and discussing tattoo designs, the two finally agreed on one of the Sagittarius designs.

Having settled an important matter, Yoochan washed up in time for Jungeol’s departure and went to the shop with Gaang and Taeho. While playing outside, Yoochan heard that Jungeol’s first client needed a 30-minute break due to pain and quickly ran to spot 1. Behind the blackout curtain, Yoochan hugged Jungeol and showered him with affection before suddenly saying,

“Can we try that design transfer? I’m curious how it will look on us.”

At Yoochan’s request, Jungeol peeked outside. Seeing the client chatting with friends, it seemed they wouldn’t start immediately. Jungeol sent the design from his tablet and printed the transfer.

“How did you come up with this?”

Yoochan asked in admiration.

There were two designs. One depicted a Sagittarius riding a galloping horse, with the upper part of the horse and the Sagittarius intact, but the lower part of the horse was just bones. The other design was of a horse without the Sagittarius, with the lower part intact but the upper part skeletal, and even had horns on its head.

Yoochan slightly rolled the two transfers together. When separate, the skeletal parts made the designs look unique, but when combined, they formed a complete image of a Sagittarius on a galloping black horse.

This was the result of Yoochan’s suggestion that identical couple tattoos were boring.

“So, we should do this on our arms or legs?”

When Jungeol nodded, Yoochan excitedly took off his jumper, rolled up his sleeves, and extended his forearm. Seeing his lover’s tightly pressed lips, barely holding back a smile, Jungeol applied the Sagittarius transfer to Yoochan’s forearm, just below the shoulder. Yoochan went to the mirror, examining his arm from different angles.

“This looks awesome. Is there anyone with a cooler couple tattoo?”

Then Yoochan ran to Jungeol, forcibly rolling up his right sleeve and applying the same transfer. Yoochan placed his left arm next to Jungeol’s, and despite the slightly crooked placement, the designs suited them well.

“The bow is getting covered. I’ll need to adjust it.”

As Jungeol mumbled about the adjustments needed, the resting client returned. Yoochan said he’d wait outside and left. Worried that the transfer solution might stain Yoochan’s clothes, Jungeol lowered his sleeve and resumed work.

Determined to finish quickly for Yoochan’s sake, Jungeol skipped lunch and focused, finishing an hour and thirty minutes earlier than expected. When he asked Manager about the next client, she confidently replied,

“The next client is Jinwoo’s friend who comes here often. We offered a 100,000 won discount to reschedule for two weeks later, and they agreed. I changed the schedule yesterday. Aren’t I great? Full of sense, right? You’ll think keeping Manager was a good idea, right? I’ll text you what I want for my birthday present later.”

As Jungeol chuckled at Manager Min Yesul’s proud expression, Yoochan, who had been in the bathroom, approached. Having heard from Manager that Jungeol’s evening schedule was free, Yoochan eagerly pushed Jungeol to go on a date.

The two left the shop and had a late dinner at a restaurant with a clear view of the Han River nightscape. Yoochan ordered multiple dishes like pasta and steak, filling the table with plates.

“Hyung, you skipped lunch earlier, right? If you keep starving like this, you’ll lose all your muscles. Quitting smoking to prevent muscle loss would be pointless.”

Yoochan, always worried about muscles, spoke in a concerned tone. Jungeol smiled, not minding Yoochan’s nagging, and ate his steak. After the meal, Jungeol drove them to the Han River, visible from the restaurant.

Parking the car, they saw people taking night walks despite the cold weather. Watching the brightly lit Han River, Jungeol pulled Yoochan’s padded hood over his head and asked,

“You go back tomorrow?”

“Yes. Today is the last day.”

Yoochan, with a mouthful of candy from the restaurant, replied with a sad expression. Jungeol, tightening Yoochan’s hood strings, said regretfully,

“I couldn’t spend much time with you because of work. If I had known earlier, I would have cleared my schedule today.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be out again soon. My friends keep asking why I get leave so often.”

Yoochan, not wanting to make Jungeol feel down, answered cheerfully and handed him a warm canned coffee from the convenience store. Holding Yoochan’s warm hand, Jungeol kissed Yoochan’s cheek, even more puffed up from the candy. Yoochan, looking pleased, glanced at Jungeol’s hair, unmoved by the wind, and said,

“Can you grow your hair out again?”

“Why?”

“I didn’t mention it because you seem embarrassed by compliments, but you looked really sexy whenever you brushed your bangs back. It also felt good to touch when you slept…”

Jungeol chuckled and nodded.

“Alright. I’ll grow it out again.”

“…Really?”

“It should be back to normal by the time you get discharged.”

Yoochan blushed and smiled broadly with happiness, then suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, my mom wants me to move back home and commute after I get discharged. I’m arguing against it. I need to live in the same building as the shop, so I can see you often and you can come to my place to rest when you’re tired.”

Jungeol stared intently at Yoochan. Yoochan widened his eyes, wondering why, and Jungeol paused for a moment before speaking.

“Let’s live together when you get discharged.”

Yoochan looked at Jungeol with a surprised expression, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. Jungeol, who hadn’t intended to say it so soon, seemed taken aback himself, but then he made up his mind, gently rubbing Yoochan’s cold cheek with the back of his hand.

“I’m serious.”

Yoochan, still in disbelief, started to stammer.

“…You said we should take our time thinking about living together… You said I was too young and it was too soon… So, I thought you didn’t want to live with me…”

“I was too hasty.”

“……”

“I was being careless.”

Seeing Yoochan’s bewildered expression, Jungeol felt his heart flutter. While he had postponed the idea of living together because he thought Yoochan was too young, Jungeol now felt sure about his decision. Grasping Yoochan’s wrist firmly, Jungeol spoke clearly again.

“Let’s live together, Yoochan.”

It was a sudden decision made after just a few hours of not being able to contact Yoochan. It seemed silly how he had agonized over these words for months.

In reality, it hadn’t even been that long without contact. It was just a few hours late on a single day when they usually talked every day without any problems. During that time, Jungeol was extremely anxious. Unable to wait patiently, he called repeatedly, feeling frustrated and irritated.

Eventually, he regretted postponing his response to Yoochan’s suggestion of living together. He felt remorse, thinking he should have agreed immediately if he had known it would make Yoochan feel hurt.

Jungeol realized he hadn’t been fully aware that Yoochan’s feelings could change at any time. He believed that the significance of their current relationship was enough, even if their feelings changed and they parted ways, and that he wouldn’t feel ashamed of the tattoos. But that wasn’t the case.

He had become deeply attached to Yoochan, who consistently showered him with affection from the same place. He had unconsciously relied on and believed Yoochan’s confident words that they would never part ways.

When he briefly couldn’t contact Yoochan and felt that ‘maybe,’ the anxiety and sadness that hit him were suffocating. He realized he hadn’t been aware at all that Yoochan’s feelings could change.

Delaying the tattoos and living together out of worry that Yoochan might change his mind someday was the most regrettable thing he had done. If the thought of losing Yoochan was so sad, it was better to create a strong bond through tattoos or living together.

“At first…”

In the dry river breeze, a quivering, wet voice was heard. Jungeol looked at Yoochan, startled. Yoochan rubbed his red nose with the back of his hand and spoke.

“At first, you were against couple tattoos… But later, you said you’d do it and even made designs for me…”

“……”

“I was a bit sad when you said no to living together… But I thought if I became a more trustworthy man, you’d trust me and live with me…”

As Yoochan finished speaking, he sniffled and wiped his tears with the back of his hand. Jungeol hurriedly embraced Yoochan, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand under the Han River streetlights, and apologized.

Yoochan shook his head, as if to say it was unnecessary, and slipped his hand into Jungeol’s coat, hugging him tightly. Whether it was the warm canned coffee Yoochan was holding or Yoochan’s sobbing while squeezing his large frame into his embrace, Jungeol felt warmth in his heart.

The next morning, Yoochan returned to duty with swollen eyes. Jungeol’s daily life also returned to how it was before Yoochan’s leave.

Jungeol exercised early in the morning and went to work early, skipping meals and being buried in the first spot at Jet Black Tattoo Shop until late at night. Sometimes, instead of hiring help, he took Gaang for walks himself and remembered to celebrate the birthdays of the shop staff, who were like family. He neglected his own health but eagerly counted down the days until Yoochan’s discharge.

After a busy three months flew by, Yoochan was discharged on a winter day when Jungeol’s bangs, which had been cut short, had grown long enough to cover his eyebrows.

Yoochan, arriving at Seoul Station, waved his hand from afar and ran towards Jungeol in his military uniform, ignoring the stares of people around him.

Leaning against his car, Jungeol opened his arms to Yoochan, who was running towards him, thinking about all the things they needed to do today. They had to get the couple tattoo they had revised dozens of times, find a place to live together, and replace the ring in his coat pocket with the real couple ring he had brought for Yoochan.

But before Jungeol could act on these thoughts, Yoochan, seemingly forgetting his large frame, jumped up and clung to Jungeol like a koala. As soon as Jungeol felt Yoochan’s scent, he forgot all about the couple tattoo, the house, and the ring, and hugged Yoochan tightly, burying his face in Yoochan’s neck and savoring the familiar scent he had missed.

Patting Yoochan’s back, who kept thanking him for waiting, Jungeol gently whispered the words Yoochan always wanted to hear the most: “I love you.”