Page 174 of Paradox
“I’m not pedantic.”
“You’re a pain in my ass.” Jin lifts his head off the pillow and I push it right back down again. “Every time I stop your bodythinks it’s over and starts to weep. Then it hurts more when I start again.”
“Can we finish it tomorrow, then?”
“I’m not sterilizing everything again.”
“I thought you said this kind doesn’t hurt as much,” Jin fake weeps into the pillow.
With a roll of my eyes, I place my gloved left hand back by Jin’s right shoulder blade, and make sure his skin is sitting steady between my thumb and forefinger. After dipping the needles of my metal Nomi, a Japanese Tebori style tattoo stick, into the black ink, I rest the tip against my thumb. “They don’t. And they’re quicker if you don’t have to stop all the time.”
Jin settles back down when I start poking his skin again at a rhythmic pace. I can see he's still clenching his ass cheeks together, though, so I pinch back a smile—and with it, my temptation to smack him on the butt.
It’s such a cute one.
I wanna bite it.
God, I struggle to get anything done with him around.
Finishing the character, I take the rag soaked in green soap and wipe it clean.
Two more to go.
I take the Nomi from within my teeth—not the best practice, but I’m also not an idiot. This isn't my first tattoo—and head back towards the ink.
“Is that you?” I ask when a growingly frequent vibrating can be heard.
“Mine’s in the loft.”
Just wonderful.
Nomi back between my teeth, I reach behind me to where my phone is on the coffee table, and roll my eyes at the caller.
I can’t ignore this one.
I answer, tap the loudspeaker, and sit it on the rug beside me. “Talk.”
“Will you ever speak to me politely?”
Jin’s entire body stiffens like a rock at the sound of his brother’s voice.
I gently rub circles just below his tattoo. “Since when do people talk politely to their family?”
There’s a pause, and having known Wootek as long as I have, I know there is something he wants to say. So letting the silence hang between us, I position the needles back against Jin’s skin and start the next Hangul character. “I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“Yeah, um… Things have been really busy. At the shop, I mean. Cause I’m on my own.”
“Is Carey not there anymore? He never mentioned anything when I spoke to him the other day.”
“No!” I’m taken back by the sharpness of his response, like he’s defending himself against something. “I mean, yes. He is still here. And he’s a big help.”
“Thanks for giving him something to do instead of sitting around my apartment all day.”
There’s a dry, almost awkward laugh on the other end of the line. “Yeah, sure, no worries. But I’m still the only artist, so it’s been a struggle.”
“I think we should get Reeze back.”
Tek coughs. "Are you serious?”
