⊹ 𑁍 tattoo parlor.

@ꕤ ⋮ ❛ k. hyungsoo｡ Thankfully, there wasn't much redecorating that needed to be done for the shop. He's done the hard parts already, having gotten them all out of the way in the very beginning since it would be easier and leaving the shorter, simpler tasks towards the ending. Redecorating itself is much more exhausting than a lot of people seem to realize, though. Especially for Christopher, who would often just stand there in the middle of the room and study every inch of the room for a solid 15 minutes just to picture what everything would look like if they were in a different position or place. He'd reconstruct the entire room and everything in it all in his head. And, sometimes when he'd set it into motion, he'd be satisfied. Other times though, he'd have to do that process all over again and it'd just be a pathetic cycle of using too much brain power.

So by the time Christopher was finished with /this/ task, he already felt the need to take a nice long nap. The only thing that seemed to be keeping him moving was that there was someone standing outside of the shop watching him, studying him. He sort of felt like a specimen under a microscope - but not in a bad way. At least, the stranger wasn't giving him off vibes or anything like that. He didn't /seem/ threatening and he certainly didn't look like the type of person who was trying to creep on him. Shy. That's what the man was - he was shy, and Christopher could easily tell just by one glance (though the beat red face certainly did help him come to that conclusion).

However, the man left before Christopher could gather his own courage and step outside to properly greet him. He probably should've done that a whole lot sooner, now that he thought about it... It probably looked weird on his end, to let a man study him without even bothering to go outside and ask him what the was writing down or even introduce himself. Then again, his Korean was absolutely horrendous so talking was pretty much out of the question. He didn't want to scare the handsome stranger away with his broken Korean and thick Australian accent. It was quite embarassing, honestly... In the end, all Christopher could do was offer a dimpled smile and a timid wave in reply before watching the man walk away. And as soon as he was out of sight, the smile quickly fades.

"Stupid..." He mutters quietly, scolding himself for being just that; stupid, idiotic. Christopher heaves a sigh and runs a palm down his face. He's fully aware that there's no one else in the store to hear him talking aloud, yet he continues anyways, "Stupid, stupid, stupid - now you're never gonna see him again. Way to go, Christopher. Way to ing go..." With another sigh, the man trudges over to the door and eyes the city beyond for a few seconds, feeling a somewhat hollow pit in his chest as he locks the door and begins pulling the blinds across the windows, blocking anyone from seeing inside.

And as Christopher crawled into bed just a few short hours later, glimpses of a shy timid and scarlet cheeks and warm eyes kept flooding his mind, keeping him awake for a little while longer before eventually falling asleep. Perhaps he will see that man again. A part of Christopher hoped that he would, and maybe then he'd have enough courage to at least say hello.

@ꕤ ⋮ ❛ b. christopher｡ Hyungsoo breathed a relieved sigh at the permission given to him to continue his writing. He gave the male a bright smile and started writing more things down. He was pretty when he blushed. Of course, the thought brought a blush of his own to his face, but he kept his smile as he scribbled and doodled and everything in between. By the time he'd run out of things to write, a full 45 minutes had passed of him just writing from the time he first saw the shop, and he had three full pages of notes and doodles.

He debated over going in the shop, but he'd bothered the man enough. It would be creepy to just leave though, wouldn't it? He had to go in and say /something/. His cowardice won in the end, though. He just mouthed a quick thank you through the glass and, with a bright red face in embarrassment over how long he stood there staring at one person, smiled shyly and retreated to go back home. At least he had a lot to work with for writing something. Perhaps he'd crank out a few poems about the mystery tattoo artist.

As soon as he stepped into his apartment, however, he smacked his head and immediately regretted just leaving like that. He probably looked so rude. Sure, he smiled, but that wasn't what his mother had taught him about manners. He sighed and set his things down on the living room table. He sat on the couch and thought a moment. Snacks. People liked snacks. What snacks would the stranger like though? He knew nothing about the man other than the fact that it looked like he took care of his body well. Again, his face went red at the thought, but it at least helped him decide on some healthier snacks. Maybe he'd get a few sweets too just in case. It didn't hurt to just buy a lot and let the man have his pick. He could take the rest home.

Smiling proudly at his plan to thank the stranger for letting him use him as a muse, he gathered his things to properly put them all away and set a reminder on his phone to go to the convenience store and get the tattoo artist some snacks and drinks. He went to bed right then so he could look at his notebook with fresh eyes in the morning, but not before adding his plan to his notebook. He could use that. It looked like the stranger was helping his inspiration without even being around him. He just hoped that the man remembered him when he went to visit and that he wouldn't think he was just some creep.

@ꕤ ⋮ ❛ k. hyungsoo｡ ( ojdosjdo you hush up >< i always think the quality of my replies vary from mobile to my tablet lmao and hush up - this is self paced and we could always do something smol and fluffy elsewhere until we can gather enough brain juice to reply here? because i be craving some fluff )

Consider it both a blessing a curse to have hyper-fixations thanks to being diagnosed with ADHD. If Christopher is really passionate about the subject at hand, then it'll be difficult to break him out of that bubble. He'll work himself day and night if he didn't have someone there to check in on him, reminding him that breaks and food exist for a reason. However, on the more-often-than-not times, Christopher would go on a 3 day streak - or longer, depending - without realizing it. Well, that pertains more to his habit of shutting out the world when he produces music. His other fixations are certainly not as, well, extreme as that, though.

The other man was a light of curiosity and wonder, though. A complete stranger standing outside of his barely ready tattoo shop writing things down furiously in a notebook. Surely there isn't much of anything worth his interest about the shop right now, so... that must mean he was writing about him? About Christopher? The sudden possibility gives him pause, and he wonders about it even more. He considers it, and the stranger's questioning look, and lets his eyes linger a little too long.

The man, whoever he is... he's stunning. And it startles Christopher, at first, when he allows himself in that pause to actually /look/ at the man. His fingers grip the metal tin sign a little tighter as a vivid pinkish tint begins appear his freckled cheeks. With a bashful demeanor, and an equally as shy smile, Christopher gives a nod in response, giving the man permission for whatever he needed or wanted to do; finding out rather quickly that he actually likes the man's attention on him.

But Seoul is a big city. And surely this man will probably get lost in the sea of faces, of buildings and cars and lights. Will he ever see him again? Probably... Probably not. Who knows? However, Christopher, as he came to realize, is a foreigner in new land and its people there seem to not quite like foreigners like him. Despite being of asian decent, he doesn't entirely look it. So, people tended to stay away from him. It's surely going to take Christopher a while to get settled in, but he has now doubt that it'll take longer to actually make a friend here...

@ꕤ ⋮ ❛ b. christopher｡ (Listen here, you're doing better than me on mobile than I am with a whole computer shush it eue I've been trying to write this reply for days and can't come up with anything good I'm so sorry sdoafuherof)

Somehow, the person in the shop didn't notice him. He grinned and wrote more things down. Was he focused or just absent-minded? Preoccupied, perhaps? Not easily distracted from tasks or too into the task to pay attention to anything else? He wrote each possibility down, ideas and phrases flowing smoothly from his head to his pen onto the paper. he himself grew so focused that he didn't notice that the man had finally seen him until he looked up and saw said man waving. He flushed in embarrassment at getting caught. He probably looked strange and a bit creepy, but the smile eased him a little.

He waved back and bowed in apology before debating on just leaving then and there. That'd look suspicious though, and then he might have police looking for him. He'd been here all his life and had grown up with most of the force. It wouldn't take long for them to figure out who he was from a description.

He was taking too long to decide at this point, so he just stayed to write a few things down. The man didn't look like he was even from Korea, much less their small town, and he wasn't sure the man could hear him through the glass anyway, so he just pretended to write in the journal and gave the stranger a questioning look, hoping he was getting his request for permission across. Bit late to ask for it, he thought to himself, mentally smacking himself for good measure.

@ꕤ ⋮ ❛ k. hyungsoo｡ ( sorry if this reply , i'm on mobile! :( )

There was just a few more things to do, and then the shop was ready for its grand opening here in a few hours. His close friend, who co-owns the shop with him, is the one well-versed in the Korean language, so he's the one that's been doing all talking while Christopher did all the settling, and all the appointments that were booked. They were good practice, and a lot of the canvas' were super easy-going and chill with the fact that he was a foreigner still spinning dizzy with culture shock. Honestly, he was prepared for the opposite but he's come to learn time and time again that people like him that are covered in ink and wearing black are probably some of the most nicest people around. Looks do deceieve, after all.

There is always something hidden. Something kept in the dark. It just depends on the morality of it that determines whether or not it's a secret that could destroy or a secret that could mend.

Without noticing the man watching him so closely, at first not really paying much attention due to being hyper fixated, Christopher approaches the window and gets up on the step ladder with the LED light up store sign in hand. He begins to install it carefully, hooking it into place and making sure everything was plugged into the right space. And just as he was about to step down did he notice the other man. Christopher stills, looking at him with wide eyes, then steps off the ladder slowly. The stranger was handsome. Very handsome, and Christopher was not prepared for handsome. A flush begins to spread across freckled cheeks as he musters up a shy wave, lips quirking into a small smile.

@ꕤ ⋮ ❛ b. christopher｡ Hyungsoo didn't notice anyone inside at first; he mostly wrote about places rather than people, so surroundings were what he noticed before anything else, but when he did notice the man in the window, he noticed immediately that this was not someone from around here. Suddenly, his interests shifted, and he couldn't help but pay the same amount of attention he gave inanimate objects to this person he didn't know at all. It was extremely rare for this small town to get anyone new, and he jotted phrases and adjectives and words and observations down in his journal. He realized about halfway through that he probably looked like a loon, staring into a tattoo parlor and not doing anything but writing something in a journal, but he couldn't bring himself to stop as more and more words flooded his head to the pen and onto paper. If he got yelled at, he'd apologize and leave, but this was a fresh perspective that he didn't want to give up.

@ꕤ ⋮ ❛ k. hyungsoo｡ This was only Christopher's second day here and already he was feeling the weight of change resting heavy on his shoulders. The last minute decision to pack what little belongings he had, muster all of his life savings, buy an empty shop and move half way across the damn world was enough to send one into a frenzy. The culture shock, the language barrier. They were stress factors, sure, however change in inevitable. And if Christopher doesn't change, then nothing will. Besides, he'll learn the language... Eventually. The shop itself had massive store-front windows that gave a complete view of the inside. A retro, rough looking interior with rusted signs that fit the aesthetic, punk-ish vibe. There was small portion of wall just above the couch in the waiting area where actual papers of the sketches Christopher did that were hung up there; showcasing his specialty in realistic pieces or even portraits.

His back was facing the windows at the moment, so whoever was looking in couldn't really get a good view of him. Not until he turned around a moment later with another paper in his hands. Another sketch to hang up on the wall. Christopher wore a sleeveless shirt, showing off his buff arms that were covered all the way down to his wrists in intricate ink and color. His heterochromatic eyes - a mix of smooth brown and vivid green - were focused on finding the right place to put the paper, plump bottom lip being nibbled on by pearly whites in pure concentration and focus. And spreading across his cheeks and nose, raising up towards his temples and down towards his jawline were constellations of freckles. Christopher was still wearing a nice tan from the Australian sun, which surely stuck out to the paler faces that lived here. Once the paper was placed, he ran a hand through his jet black hair, took a step back to admire the ever-growing art all and grins a little; lopsided, showing a single dimple. "Gorgeous."

@ꕤ ⋮ ❛ b. christopher｡ Hyungsoo was walking around town again with his notebook, humming to himself and stopping to write something down every now and then. He usually went another way, but he figured newer sights would help more with inspiration. After a while walking, he found himself in front of a tattoo parlor. He'd never been there because he'd never had the urge or desire to get a tattoo. That meant it was perfect for new inspiration. For a while, he just stood in front of the place, writing things down from colors to descriptions to random phrases that passed through his head as he looked at the building. He thought it'd be a bit rude to go in and not get a tattoo, so he stayed outside.