The Third Contract
Yuda tried to steady his breathing and resume his work, but it was difficult. His vision blurred as tears welled up. He’d thought he was fine, but the trauma was still deep. He felt a surge of resentment that brought the tears on. I want to be able to meet men and talk to them comfortably, too. I wish I could just have my normal life back. Why do I have to be the only one suffering like this? The guy who did this to me got out of prison last year and is probably living a perfectly normal life... He had wanted to get a couple's tattoo if he ever got a boyfriend. He had wanted to be the one to ink it.
He tried not to cry, but the tears kept falling. "Wait, just a moment-." He stopped the tattooing process and wiped his tears onto his black cardigan, careful not to let them touch his latex gloves. Then, Yerim sat up and pulled out a tissue to wipe Yuda’s eyes. "Oh, don't cry." She didn't even ask why he was crying; she just comforted him, as if she already knew the reason.
He had kept the incident from his past hidden, buried deep, never telling a soul. There had been no one to confide in. But with someone there to comfort him, the tears finally burst forth. The wounds in Yuda's heart had been festering for a long time. Eventually, Yuda hugged Charles and sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm, I'm sorry... I shouldn't be like this in front of a customer. I don't even know why I'm doing this-."
"It's okay." Charles patted Yuda, soothing him. He knew that terror all too well. The memory of the orc in the brothel, screaming about being disrespected while choking him—it was a memory he hated to recall. Feeling a pang of pity, Charles let Yuda cling to him. Oh, you poor thing...
After crying for nearly thirty minutes, Yuda pulled away, sniffling. He finally managed to stop his tears, went to the corner, and brought back some herbal tea he’d brewed in an electric kettle. "...I'm sorry. I'll give you a 10 percent discount later. I didn't mean to act like this in front of a customer."
Yerim sipped the tea in silence, staring intently at Yuda. Being with Yerim made Yuda feel strangely at ease. He felt like she would listen to anything he had to say. Now that he felt relieved after crying his heart out, he wanted to talk more. Yuda opened his mouth.
"I had a bad experience when I was getting a tattoo a long time ago. At a studio, by a man. I was almost... forced."
"I see. That must have been hard for you." She didn't make a fuss. Her eyes held genuine pity. Yuda felt his heart lighten. "I thought I was over it, but when a male customer actually came in... it really didn't go well. It's not your boyfriend's fault, so don't worry."
The reason he had allowed Kangmin to come was because of the photos sent via DM. The freshness, the shyness, and the happiness between the two had come through the photos, and he’d thought it might be okay. He had wanted to try and overcome his trauma. In the end, it had ended in a mess.
"Ah, hot." The herbal tea was hot, so Yuda pulled the cup away from his lips and stuck his tongue out into the air. Yerim stared at it fixedly.
'His tongue is split?'
A hardcore body modification—or should he call it fashion?—known as a Split Tongue. Imagine it. What would happen if you sliced it right down the middle? Unless you were well-versed in anatomy, you couldn't easily answer. The muscular structure of the tongue is fascinating. The left tongue muscle and the right tongue muscle combine to form one tongue. If you cut along the center, the left and right sides can move independently. Just as we can move our arms separately, so can the tongue. Yuda’s tongue was slender and pretty, like a snake’s. And there was a small silver piercing embedded in the left side.
"Ah, did you see that?" Yuda covered his mouth and laughed sheepishly. "After that incident, I was so stressed out. Getting piercings or tattoos gave me some comfort. A year ago, when I heard he was released from prison, I considered just jumping in front of a bus to end it all. But then I thought of a split tongue. I figured cutting my tongue was better than getting hit by a bus, so I did it impulsively."
It was an act bordering on self-harm. Instead of projecting his stress outward, he was releasing it onto his own body. Yerim looked at Yuda with concern. He didn't look like he was in a good state. But Yuda, pretending to be cheerful, shook his hair and sat back down at the workstation.
"I'm sorry! I wasted so much of your time. Shall we start again?"
Yuda finally finished the last of the lettering tattoo and let out a deep sigh. "I wanted to finish it all today, but I don't think I can work in this state. I'm sorry, but could you come back tomorrow?"
His hands were shaking so much that the needle had nearly slipped out of the line several times. He had managed to finish the tattoo beautifully with superhuman concentration, but he wasn't satisfied. Working after crying for an hour had drained him completely. He was supposed to be a professional; it was unacceptable for personal emotions to ruin a tattoo.
"I'll give you 70,000 won back when you leave. Would you like to put your t-shirt back on?"
Charles watched Yuda, who had set down the tattoo machine and was waving his hands. From what he had looked up about tattoos, he knew the color would fade and require periodic touch-ups. Each time would cost extra. If Yuda’s desires were satisfied, it seemed like he would produce quite a bit of magic power. If it was a gain both financially and magically, it was worth it. Plus, he felt a desire to help this person who was crying and trembling. The dark room of the brothel. The man screaming inside. Even though someone had run over to stop him, that memory had haunted Charles for a long time. In fact, Charles still had that dream.
Charles made up his mind and spoke to Yuda. "Yuda, do you happen to have nightmares?"
"...I do." Yuda nodded gloomily. Yerim then pulled a small, neatly folded, pretty talisman from her pocket. It was a contract she had folded into the shape of a talisman. Yuda looked at it with eyes swollen from crying.
"It's a talisman that helps you have peaceful dreams. Want to buy it?"
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have believed it, but the talisman Yerim held out exuded an unmistakably strange aura. A red talisman that looked like it had been written in blood. On top of that, her detached attitude, as if she knew everything about his situation. And her unreal beauty. Yuda swallowed hard.
"How much is it?"
"670,000 won plus alpha. It's payment after the fact. If it doesn't work, I won't take it, and if it does, we'll settle the rest later."
670,000 won. It was the entire amount he had received for the tattoo. But she wouldn't take it if it didn't work? Yuda reached out without realizing it. As he grabbed the talisman, a stinging sensation pricked his fingertips.
"I'll trust you just this once."
"Great! That's a good choice." Yerim took the 70,000 won Yuda returned and put it in her pocket, then scanned the room. Pentagrams and skull tattoo designs hung everywhere. People who do tattoos tend to believe in this kind of occult stuff, don't they? In the past, people who made contracts with witches were often outed because they had witch tattoos on their bodies. I should talk to Kangmin-oppa when I get home today. No need to come to the tattoo shop. I'll wait at home! Yerim sent the text and stepped out of the door. I wonder if Kangmin-oppa has started his shift yet?
***
"..."
"..."
Yeongseon-nuna has been cleaning for thirty minutes without even being able to look me in the eye. If I get close, she scurries away. We had a vibe on our first night, but now that she's thinking about it, is she too embarrassed? I looked at the sparkling floor and pondered. I really don't know if she wants to share emotional intimacy and be lovey-dovey with me, or if she just wants to keep things as a casual hookup. I couldn't approach her easily. She might just hit me with a gut-punching fist, shouting, "Don't act like you know me just because we're sex partners!" She's such a hard person to read. On top of that, she's wearing long training pants and a long-sleeved windbreaker today. It doesn't suit the summer weather, but it seems like she doesn't want to show me any skin.
'Ah, what should I do!' Yeongseon kept cleaning, sweating buckets inside her windbreaker. I don't know what else to do besides that. Every time I get close to Kangmin, my head goes blank. I can't say anything because I keep thinking about the anal sex we had last night. Every time Kangmin looks at me, I burn from my toes to the top of my head. Crazy bitch. Seriously. I at least touched him last time, but now I get tingles just from looking at him? I shuddered at my own lewdness and pushed the mop. I was scrubbing so hard that people could trip on the floor, when I heard Kangmin’s voice from the storage room.
"Nuna! Come help me check the inventory!"
It was the supply storage where we stacked cola, hot bars, snacks, and the like. Yeongseon left the mop and glanced at the door for a moment. Is it possible we could at least kiss in there? But Kangmin, who was organizing the supplies, didn't seem to have that in mind. He was just checking the inventory against the list. Yeongseon hovered nearby like a raccoon.
"Nuna, wait a sec-"
"Hiyang!"
When Kangmin’s hand touched her side, a strange moan burst out. Yeongseon was so startled she pressed herself right against the metal tray. Then, with her neck flushed red, she closed her eyes and looked down at the floor.
Kangmin was also flustered. He wasn't used to seeing Yeongseon-nuna, who was usually so easygoing—constantly putting the other part-timers in headlocks, pinching their sides, or making dirty jokes—acting like such a shy novice. "No, Nuna. Why are you so embarrassed..."
"I, I don't know either. I've never done this before..."
She waved her hands in the air, flustered and stuttering. Hmm... what should I do? It would be fun to force someone who's so freshly embarrassed to do something super-duper embarrassing... For now, Kangmin set the box down for a moment and gently hugged Yeongseon’s waist. And then, a light kiss on her cheek. Yeongseon’s body recoiled.