* s o n a t a

the question that his company asked was one that trace wasn’t a stranger to in the slightest. whether it was a client or a stranger on the street, many people were very vocal about their curiosities of the ink all over his body, and it having been something he’d be excited and readily tell. “well, it kind of depends on the piece you get, really,” he started, tracing the crescent moon that laid prominently on his thumb. “i know some people who get just a small quote and it’s literally done in…five minutes or less? ones like those hurt less because you don’t have to really retrace any lines either. ones that take multiple sessions though,” he shook his head with an astonished scoff. “i’ve had some people that have been pretty resistant to the pain, but their piece is so big that their body starts getting weary before their mind does.”

giving the other’s hand a quick squeeze, he took it back to pick up his coffee once again, testing out the waters in hopes that this time it may not have burned him, a bit delighted as it didn’t. “jihun, it’s nice to meet you, man,” he offered warmly with a absentminded nod. with the man’s admission, trace felt to have to mentally remind himself not to say let out an audible ‘aw,’ in the chances that it would only hurt the other more than he already seemed to be. “i’m sorry about that though, but hey i’m always down for ways that can help pass the time. especially when it doesn’t require awkwardly trying your hardest not to talk to the person around you.” he noted, subtly glancing at those others that were in the cafe that seemed to be doing just that. “so, jihun, if it’s not too forward, may i ask what you do? just in case i have seen you somewhere and may have not realized it?”

“huh...” it was a soft sound of wonder as he spied the tiny tattoo on trace’s hand, head tipping to the side like a puppy with eyes full of intrigue as the other spoke. if he were being honest, jihun had never really thought about the idea much. as aesthetically pleasing as the artwork could be, the thought of actually getting a tattoo himself had never properly crossed his mind -- mostly because he could be fickle, and it sounded like something you had to be sure about before getting. pretty permanent, after all. “i mean, i have a pretty high pain tolerance,” he commented, which probably sounded very strange to just declare, but his mind was wandering. “shame i’d never know what to get.” 

seunghee tipped his head back in laughter as well, grinning from ear to ear at the reaction he drew from the other. it warmed his heart to see jihun relaxing with him and getting more comfortable. “one of my dongsaengs actually have a credit card in his name connected to my acccount - i gave it to him for his birthday once but he just never uses it. so you can tell i like treating my friends,” he chuckled.

shrugging, he swirled his drink and stared down into it. “i usually catfished them back with photos of someone i knew before doing a face reveal on a video call to really surprise them,” he admitted with a blush.”i hope you’d have liked being my friend all these years even if i’m a figment of your imagination and am actually some kind of catfisher,” he joked.

“that’s... is that good? that can’t be good.” clearly he was just baffled that someone would give that type of gift away in the first place. jihun was aware seunghee was well off, but to be able to give a limitless amount of cash away without any worries? it was hard to even imagine. happy birthday, i got you financial security, hope you like it! then the other guy faints. yeah, jihun was sure that’s how it went down. “i can’t tell if you’re the most generous person alive or just plain stupid. but that’s okay. i’ll watch out for you.” 

sunni quickly felt bad for waking him up, at least from what it sounded like. how insensitive of you, sunni, ophelia’s voice rang quickly in the back of her mind which only caused her to let out a small sigh. coming in and closing the door behind her, she wrapped her blanket further around her small frame before crawling in next to him and motioning for him to lay down with her. she just needed someone next to her, arms wrapped around to simply remind her she wasn’t alone. snuggling herself closer to him, she prays jihun doesn’t ask too many questions and simply gives in to the small desires she needed. he’s going to think you’re needy and not want to be around you anymore. “i was just having a bad dream,” she quickly answers in hopes to rid the voice inside her head. “i know, that’s really childish of me to be crawling into your bed like a child and asking for a quick cuddle but…” she bites her lower lip, trying to figure out how to word the emotions she’s been keeping in for so long now. her gaze settles onto his after a beat of silence, a forced smile making her way to her lips before giving a soft shrug. “you don’t give me enough attention anyways, so now i’m forcing you to cuddle me. i’ll go away in a little bit, i promise.” 

jasper: i can say it with a straight face because i’m only speaking the truth!

jasper: they won’t let me try it on here :(

jasper: so i guess i’ll just have to buy it and bring it home

jasper: you’ll get a personal showing of it ;)

     “you would have thought i learned anything from watching ‘the great british bake-off’, but… i never did,” she mentioned, “— apart from the fact that you need to add a pinch of salt to almost all of the pastries, for some reason.” surely, there had to be some reaction for this to be so universally used, but byeol didn’t have the time, or the desire to delve any deeper into the magical world of confusing terms and conditions of baking. it was bad enough for her to be stuck reading stupid manuals for literally… anything else, and she wasn’t going to test her patience with that. “hey… i don’t see why can’t you be both at the same time !! if i can manage being a full-time mechanic, and a witch in the making, why not just… try becoming the second jessica jones, or something ??” well, not the best analogy to ever leave the woman’s mouth, but she could only hope he will connect the dots himself. she made a habit of not making sense, and it seemed as though, it has never failed to keep the other person at least a little bit entertained. 

     “— just so you know, i am totally playing around with the ’going into the mountains, living in the forest’ thing,” she spoke up again, “i mean, you’re a smart dude, from what i can tell, so you probably figured that shit out by now, but… it’s better to be safe than sorry, you know…” trailing off, byeol could only do so much as smile once again – she would need to make a habit of that, maybe people would think she is not as unapproachable as they always thought she was ?? “you did mention that you’re a dancer though, right ?? do you, like… act in plays ?? or… do you work behind the scenes as a choreographer ?? – i don’t really know the proper terms for that, so sorry for that…”

“it’s a decent lesson to learn,” jihun concluded with a nod, secretly rather amused at how quickly the conversation had jumped from infiltrating a coven of forest witches to a reality series about baking under a big tent. the latest reference had him a little stumped however; brows furrowing momentarily as he wracked his brain to recall any information about some netflix original that might have involved both an unrealistic day job as well as the judical system but alas, there was nothing. jessica jones just bumped up three places in his mental to-watch list. “funnily enough, even the combination of mechanic and witch sounds more realistic. i’ll stick to what i have.”

jasper hums noncommittally at both food options, immediately moving across the couch when the other sits down and happily swinging his legs over so that they’re resting in jihun’s lap while his head rests on his shoulder to look at his phone screen. “are you trying to break my bank account? is that my punishment?” not that he was actually worried, it was just fun to whine. “both is good, we should probably order some for sunni as well, i’m not in the mood for her to be cranky at us if she doesn’t get any food.”

     “i suppose it’s never too late to learn something new, though,” not that she was going to do that – byeol had enough on her plate already, and taking up baking would only make her even busier than before. so, that was a definite no, in her books. “— loopholes, man. you’re quite good at finding them. i would never have thought about that – i may have forgotten that there’s a few nice bakeries out there…” she trailed off, scrunching her nose up before letting out a small laugh at her very own misfortune. how does one ever forget about the existence of such places ?? a bloody idiot, that’s who. “i mean… you might be right, but i have a feeling most people would still disagree.” she was speaking purely out of her own experience of living in this place for quite some time now. not many people took a liking to her strangely strong and outgoing personality, or an awkward sense of humour. in a way, she understood – but being so quick to judge was always something she couldn’t wrap her head around. “— ah, byeol,” she introduced herself with a quick nod of her head. “the new supreme, apparently.”

Send me a ♡ for a platonic kiss

jasper: you could be, mr sexy dancer boy ! also i’m glad you couldn’t say it with a straight face, your smile is much nicer.

jasper: i’ll make the shirts right away !

jasper: it doesn’t have to wait! i found a place that’s open!

jasper: i’m going to be an astronaut just for you…unless they have something even sexier.

jasper: maybe they’ll have a sexy astronaut costume…the power i would hold with that

“i’ll take it!” jasper says with a cheery smile, “make sure to like this video if you enjoyed it and leave a comment of other prank ideas you might have for me.” the words are followed by a wink towards jihun before he’s finally turning off his camera and abandoning it on the counter once more, editing could wait until tomorrow. there were more important things on his mind now, though he can’t help but spare one last glance at the ice block before moving to follow after his roommate.

there’s another hum before he’s nodding. “buying food now would be for the best, i suppose, what do you want?” it’s not long before he’s flopping down onto the couch, just waiting for jihun to sit down as well so that he can cling to him for whatever movie they decide to watch.

a harmless glare is thrown in jasper’s direction at the mention of more pranks, though jihun had grown sort of used to them by now. typically they weren’t anything too bad ( or perhaps his patience levels were astronomical despite his nagging and complaining ) though he still never knew what or when to expect them. right now however, all was said and done. the camera was set aside and jihun could finally properly relax. 

     she talked way too much nonsense, didn’t she ?? unfortunately enough, it was just the way she worked, and there was no way she could possibly change it in any time soon, even if she tried. for someone so stand-offish most of the time, she surely did have quite an outgoing personality, which was contradictory. but then… what wasn’t contradictory in her life, at this point ?? 

     a gentle sigh managed to slip past her lips as she listened to what the other person was saying – in a way, she could definitely relate to the part about parents. not that she could tell that she even knew them that well, really. she’s been alone for as long as she remembers, and the idea of reconnecting with her father makes her skin crawl. “— that is a good idea, in theory,” byeol had to agree, having had a weakness for some baked goods, herself, “but i can’t bake, at all. do you think storebought cupcakes would be good enough for them ?? or should i blind them with my sunshine personality, instead ??” alright, that was a joke, but she couldn’t help it. “man, i don’t know anymore. i feel like creating my own coven would be the best way to go – you in ?? hell, i would even make you my right hand man !!”

fingers toying with a loose thread on the cuff of his sleeve, jihun couldn’t help but laugh a little at the odd little plan that was unfurling here. admittedly, it was the quickest he’d ever managed to feel at ease in any sort of conversation with someone he didn’t quite know yet. perhaps the key to painless social interaction was to pick a topic that went straight to the nonsensical. it seemed to be working for his new companion here, at any rate.