Scarlet Ink (2)
The outside of the building looked shabby, but once I stepped inside, it was surprisingly clean. I could tell at a glance that they paid close attention to hygiene.
I looked around the studio with curious eyes. Had I ever imagined I'd set foot in a place like this in my entire life?
'This is fascinating. I might be able to use this later when I'm drawing. Should I put it in the anime story?'
Escape from the Room Corner, the short-form animation I was producing, came to mind. I'd just finished the early stages and was starting to think about the middle of the story. Adding a storyline about tattoos, tied to Saebyeok Nuna, seemed like a good idea.
'The character motifs for Escape from the Room Corner are our club members. Since the core is the protagonist changing after meeting them, if I briefly add a tattoo-related story...'
Unfortunately, the thought didn't last long. My feeble imagination struggled to piece together a concrete story.
My specialty was drawing, not writing. Since a story idea had surfaced, I could just toss it over to Bam Nuna and she'd weave a tale out of it on her own.
"Sit here. Want something to drink? We have beverages."
"Just cold water, please."
Just as Saebyeok Nuna was taking water out of the fridge—
"Oh my, Saebyeok, you're here? You're a little late today, aren't you?"
A woman in work clothes emerged from the back. She looked to be in her early to mid-thirties, her hair tied up in a bun with a Hana clip. As befitting a tattooist, her neck, shoulders, and arms were covered in tattoos.
"Ah, unni."
"What's with 'unni'? You should be calling me boss. And is that gentleman over there a client?"
I awkwardly rose from my seat and greeted her.
"Hello. My name is Kang Cheol-jin. I'm Saebyeok Nuna's club junior."
"Oh my! Not a client?"
The woman covered her mouth in surprise. Her eyes went wide as saucers, very clearly startled. She looked back and forth between me and Saebyeok Nuna, then fussed as she came closer.
"Oh my, oh my. No wonder I thought you came in early when it's not your appointment time. Not a client, but Saebyeok's friend? It's the first time I've ever seen Saebyeok bring a boyfriend!"
"Not a boyfriend, a club junior."
Saebyeok Nuna spoke with a frown, but the woman just smirked slyly.
"A club junior is a friend. And he's a guy. So that makes him a male friend. Don't tell me this friend is a girl?"
"What kind of wordplay is that... Ha, fine."
Nuna let out an irritated sigh and headed for the fridge. Just from that reaction, I could guess what this woman was like. She was completely on her own wavelength.
The woman came closer and asked.
"What's your name? Ah, you're Saebyeok's junior, so I can speak casually, right?"
"Ah, yes. Uh, Nuna? Boss?"
I stammered, unsure what to call her, and the woman burst into loud laughter.
"Ahahaha! Saebyeok-ah, did you hear that? He called me Nuna."
"...Get a grip, ahjumma."
Saebyeok Nuna spoke as if she found her pathetic. At that, the woman glared at her, bristling.
"You little— You call me unni too!"
"That's just sucking up because you're the boss."
"Oh really, since when did you have a personality that sucks up to people? Cheol-jin-ah, how old do I look?"
"Huh? Uh, well..."
I figured it'd be better to shave off four or five years rather than say what I actually saw. Mixing in a suitable amount of flattery, I spoke.
"Thirty...?"
"Oh my, really?"
"Hey, that's going overboard!"
Saebyeok Nuna yelled, dumbfounded. Should I have only shaved off two or three years?
But then, at Han Saebyeok's next words, I was genuinely shocked.
"Are you trying to say that to an ahjumma who's past forty?"
"Excuse me? Forty? For real?"
"Han Saebyeok! I'm still in my thirties?!"
"What are you talking about, that's international age. If you're Korean, use Korean age."
"International age is the standard in Korea now, you know?"
"Of course old people care so much about that stuff."
"You!? You're getting more and more rude! Use formal speech with me from now on!"
"Now you're pulling that cheap card? After telling me to speak casually because you had an American mindset!"
'Wow, this is so childish...'
The two of them were too absorbed in their bickering to pay me any attention.
I watched the scene with fresh eyes. I didn't know how many times I'd been surprised today. To think I'd see such a human side to Saebyeok Nuna.
Anyway, the boss of Scarlet Ink was definitely baby-faced, even accounting for the years I'd shaved off. At least in my eyes, she looked no older than thirty-five.
Soon, the boss grinned and approached me. Perhaps it was the effect of my flattery, but her eyes and smile were immensely friendly. She came close, grabbed my shoulders, and sat me down on the sofa.
"Cheol-jin-ah, Nuna's name is Yoo Gahyeon. Just call me Gahyeon Nuna, comfortably."
"Yes, Gahyeon Nuna."
I obediently called her Nuna. Her baby face made it feel natural, and it wasn't like I'd lose anything by offering a little lip service.
Satisfied, Gahyeon Nuna smiled and immediately launched a barrage of questions.
"Are you and Saebyeok really just club senior and junior? Not dating?"
"Yes. Just senior and junior."
"Look at him, so firm. Not even a fling? You know, these days kids call the stage before dating a 'some,' right?"
"It's really not like that..."
At my answer, Gahyeon Nuna pouted her lips, then laced her fingers behind her head and sprawled out on the sofa.
"Tch, boring. I thought that Saebyeok had finally started dating a guy."
At those words, Saebyeok Nuna scolded her as she brought over a tray.
"'That Saebyeok'? Who calls a person 'that'? Do you do that in front of Ha-yul too?"
"Hmph. Ha-yul takes after my darling, so it's fine."
"Ugh. Whatever, just do the dishes on time. How hard is it to wash a cup? You let them pile up every day."
"You'll do them even if I don't."
"Oh, for fuck's sake..."
"Oho? You just said 'fuck'!"
"I did not!"
...My eardrums were going to burst. If I left these two alone, they'd probably fight all day.
I picked up the tea Saebyeok Nuna had brought and spoke.
"This isn't water? Tea?"
"Ah, that. They call it diet tea."
"Diet tea?"
"This unni is on a diet all year round. She fails every day, though."
At those words, Gahyeon Nuna bristled again.
"I have not failed! Can't you see this ant waist?"
"You'll gain it all back in a month."
"Y-you little... You're destined to gain weight as you get older, you know!"
"There she goes again with 'you little.' If Ha-yul learns to call people 'this' and 'that,' it'll be all your fault, unni. Don't you know the saying that children are mirrors of their parents?"
Wow, they never got tired of fighting.
Just as I was watching the two with a weary expression—
Ttallang.
"Hello. I have an appointment with Han Saebyeok-ssi."
A short man walked in.
At that, Saebyeok Nuna, who had been arguing with Gahyeon Nuna, rose from her seat.
"Kim Hyeong-jun-ssi, you're here early?"
"Am I too early?"
"No. Actually, that's better. I had something I wanted to tell you anyway."
"S-something to tell me?"
"This way for a moment."
Saebyeok Nuna took the man named Kim Hyeong-jun and went into the workroom.
"She really is different when she's working, huh."
It wasn't quite what you'd call amiable, but it was a sufficiently kind and polite attitude. This was the first time I'd ever seen Saebyeok Nuna speak like that to anyone—to a man, no less.
At my reaction, Gahyeon Nuna chuckled as if she knew all about it.
"Saebyeok's a bit prickly normally, right?"
"Haha..."
"It's okay. She knows she's like that too. So she's trying to fix it."
"I-is that so?"
So she was trying to fix it. I had absolutely no idea.
"You have no idea how much trouble I went through to make that girl into a person. Every time she snapped at clients, I cussed her out by the bucketful, and she got a bit better when she's working."
"Haha..."
'Snapped at'... This Nuna had quite the rough choice of words.
Gahyeon Nuna looked at my awkward smile and laughed, as if amused.
"So that's why I was surprised at you, Cheol-jin-ah. It's the first time Saebyeok's ever personally brought a guy here."
"Mm. I'm not sure it's quite 'personal' on my end, either."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well..."
I hesitated for a moment, then gently pulled at my clothes to show the cover sheet. They'd said this place specialized in scar cover-ups, so they'd be familiar with cases like mine.
"I have a scar here. She suggested that if I'm going to keep covering it up anyway, why not get a cover-up."
"Ahh, you came for a tattoo?"
"I haven't decided yet. I'm... thinking about it."
I spoke with an ambiguous expression. Just a short while ago, I had absolutely no intention of ever getting a tattoo... but honestly, I was wavering now.
After hearing my words, Gahyeon Nuna's expression grew serious, as if she had become a different person. The light, somewhat ditzy demeanor had vanished.
"It's a bit funny for me to say this as someone who runs a tattoo shop... but since you're Saebyeok's club junior, I'll meddle a little. You seem like the type of kid who's far removed from this kind of thing, too."
"..."
"Don't decide based on a momentary impulse. You need to think it over thoroughly. Really carefully, very carefully."
"..."
"To put it bluntly, in Korean society, tattoos are nothing but a drawback. They say the public perception has improved compared to the past, but it's still something the overwhelming majority of people avoid. Once you ink it, you have to carry those prejudiced gazes for the rest of your life."
"...Yes. I know."
I fully understood what Gahyeon Nuna wanted to say. I didn't have to look far; I myself had prejudices. No, I still had them.
Saebyeok Nuna had said she got her tattoos to cover severe burn scars. Was it because I'd learned that reason? The nuna's tattoos no longer felt scary.
But you can't ask every person why they got a tattoo.
You could never know whether they were covering up a scar, etching a personal conviction, using it as a form of art and fashion. Or whether they simply got inked to show off, or to look threatening to others. Until you hear their inner thoughts directly, only the person themselves knows the meaning of the tattoo.
That was surely why careful deliberation was needed before getting a tattoo. Because even if it felt unfair, you had to be prepared to live bearing prejudiced gazes.
At my nod, Gahyeon Nuna smiled softly.
"I'm glad you don't seem to be taking it lightly."
"Haha..."
"Well, getting a tattoo isn't only bad. For some people, a tattoo can be a form of therapy."
"You mean medical tattoos?"
Saebyeok Nuna had explained it at the cafe. That there was something called a medical tattoo, where they overlay color similar to skin tone onto a scar.
But it seemed Gahyeon Nuna meant something different.
"Well, that's correct in the dictionary sense, but actually, medical tattoos have strict conditions. There are a lot of factors to consider: the shape of the scar, the presence of pigmentation, skin type. Regular retouching is also needed. What I'm talking about is the psychological aspect."
"Ah."
The psychological aspect.
I understood what she meant.
"Simply not having the scar visible can bring considerable peace of mind. Because for someone, a scar holds a meaning much greater than just a scar."
"...I think I get it. Even when I'm not going out, I... sometimes put on the cover sheet."
Every so often, whenever I looked in the mirror, I'd feel a horrible pang in my heart. Even though my appearance now was starkly different from before, it still happened. Because no matter how much weight I lost or muscle I gained, the scar remained the same. Memories I'd tried so hard to shake off would resurface whenever I saw it.
The more we talked, the more my mind became confused between two opposing thoughts: my existing aversion to tattoos, and the necessity of a tattoo I was now coming to feel.
Come to think of it, it was a scar I'd have to cover up and walk around with my whole life anyway. If I didn't cover it, I'd receive unwanted stares from people. Even a simple burn scar would draw that, but the cigarette burn scars on my neck and collarbone were unmistakable traces of school violence.
Eyes of pity directed at a scar.
Eyes of prejudice directed at a tattoo.
I didn't know which of the two was better. The only certain thing was that I didn't want to expose this scar to random strangers.
I didn't want to receive pitying glances from people I didn't know. That was one reason, but... for me, those gazes sometimes looked different. The eyes looking at this scar would overlap with the eyes of those who had stood by and watched me, who had stared at me pitifully.
At some point, I'd been staring blankly at the teacup, lost in thought. Gahyeon Nuna didn't say anything to me, just watched over me quietly.
The silence continued like that for a while.
"Cheol-jin-ah."
Saebyeok Nuna came out of the workroom and called me.
I snapped out of it and turned to look at her.
"Cheol-jin-ah, come here. Stay beside me while I work."
"Huh?"
So this 'observation' meant she was literally going to show me how she works? I'd thought it just meant giving me a tour of the workshop.
As I awkwardly rose to my feet, Gahyeon Nuna spoke.
"Saebyeok-ah, you got the client's consent, right?"
"Of course. He gave his permission."
"Phew. Then handle it properly so there aren't any problems."
"Don't worry."
Finishing her words, Saebyeok Nuna gestured for me to hurry up.