Mark Me { Jeon Jungkook Fanfic }

Chapter 1

Celia stood in a smokey room leaning over a table, drawing the finishing touches on her new tattoo design. "Would you get that shit out of here?" she said, rolling her eyes at her boss, Joon-Woo. "I've told you a million times. I hate the smell of cigarettes. I mean, I know I have to die of something, but I'm going to be super pissed if I get lung cancer from your second-hand smoke, you filthy bastard," she scolded.

Joon-Woo extinguished his cigarette and smiled at Celia. "How can you be so disrespectful to a handsome god like me?"

"Just because your name has 'Woo' in it, it doesn't make you a god any more than calling you 'Joon' would make you handsome. You've got a ways to go before you grow into your name, buddy," Celia teased.

"What has you so feisty today?" Joon-Woo asked, leaning over Celia's shoulder to sneak a peek at her design. It was a picture of a heart, lying on the ground from which an olive tree was growing, piercing the heart through as its roots drove holes in it.

"It looks cool, but I don't get it," Joon-Woo observed.

"You know, it kind of ruins the mystery when I have to explain everything to you," Celia griped, as she pulled her black curls into a topknot. Her unruly locks strained the hair tie to its breaking point, but somehow, it miraculously held. Joon-Woo tried not to stare at her. He had never confessed his feelings for her. He was afraid she would quit, and he would never see her again. There were moments during their frequent quarrels in which he thought he might have seen a spark in her eye for him, but he was unsure. His eyes wondered from her square jaw to her tan arms. Her daily body oil routine had left them golden and glistening in the ray of sunlight streaming through the window.

"So, what do you have on your schedule today?" Joon-Woo asked, attempting to pry his gaze away from her long legs.

"I have an appointment at 11:00 with some guy named Jungkook, which I find hilarious because I have always had a crush on Jungkook from BTS. Wouldn't it be freaking crazy if it were him?" Celia asked, cocking her head. Her hair entered the beam of sunlight and the red highlights in it were suddenly visible.

Joon-Woo frowned. The thought of Celia having a crush on anyone was disheartening. "There's no way it's him," Joon-Woo reasoned. "I think people make up names when they make appointments online. I had a guy yesterday who reserved under the name Voldemort; and I can assure you, it wasn't the real Voldemort."

"There is no real Voldemort! It's a story, dumbass!" Celia exclaimed.

"Touché," replied Joon-Woo, smiling at her ability to always out-banter him.

When Joon-Woo left the room, Celia began laying out new tools for her appointment. She allowed herself to daydream for a moment about what Jungkook looked like when he let his hair grow out. She still had a pillow in her room that said, "Don't wake me. I'm dreaming about Jungkook." Celia was too practical to believe her own daydreams. She lived squarely in reality, but sometimes reality really sucked, and you just needed to escape for a moment. In many ways, Celia was happy with her life in Busan. She was able to use her artistic talent and live a pretty carefree life in this coastal paradise, but she was still walking through life without a partner, primarily by choice. After several failed relationships, Celia had concluded that love was fairly overrated. Even still, there were nights when she woke up in her double bed and wished her head could rest on someone's arm. Those were the moments when her favorite fantasy Oppa would enter her mind.

A sniffling sound woke Celia from her daydream. She turned to see a man standing in the doorway. His black hair was shaved close to his head, and he wore a gray hoodie that partially hid his face.

"I'm your 11:00," mumbled the man.

"Yes, of course," Celia replied, motioning toward the red leather chair in front of her. "Please, sit down. I have some designs I can show you or you can show me your own design, if you have one."

"Actually, I do have something here that I sketched out," he said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his hoodie pocket. When he handed it to Celia, she saw the word "ARMY" on his fingers. She gasped as she realized that this man was indeed Jungkook from BTS.

Upon hearing her gasp, Jungkook looked up at her wide green eyes. "Let's just pretend you don't know who I am, OK?" he asked with pleading eyes.

"Of course," Celia replied, regaining her composure. It would stand to reason that celebrities tire of always being in the spotlight. As a very private person herself, Celia fully understood his desire to fly under the radar, and she determined that she would treat him as normally as possible

She looked at the paper in her hand and saw what looked like a male angel with only one wing. Despite the angel's muscled form, he looked a bit lost and powerless. The image was compelling, if a bit sad.

"It's lovely," she remarked. "Did you draw this?"

"Yes, it's my own design. If I hadn't been a K-pop star, I would have been a tattoo artist," he admitted, allowing his eyes to gaze off into the distance.

"The last time I saw a picture of you, you had long hair," Celia commented.

"Yes, well, I just finished my military service. So, they shaved it all off. This tattoo is to commemorate that," Jungkook replied, his eyes still holding a far-away look.

"Oh, I see," said Celia, for lack of a better response. "So, what is it like to be in the Korean military?" she asked casually.

"I don't like to talk about it," he said brusquely.

"Of course. I'm sorry," Celia said quickly. "So, where do you want this tattoo?"

Jungkook did not answer, but instead pulled off his hoodie in one quick movement. He pointed to the left side of his chest, directly over his heart. Celia could see that his normally smooth-shaven chest was covered in a light spattering of black hairs.

"I'm going to need to wax you so that we have a smooth surface," she said apologetically.

"Oh, yeah," he replied. "I haven't been out of the service that long; so, I didn't get to it."

"Not a problem," Celia said as she slathered wax on a strip of cloth and placed it on Jungkook's muscular chest. A few seconds later, she pulled it off quickly. Jungkook made no sound, but merely winced slightly at the pain.

"You should see some of the babies who come in here," Celia joked, attempting to dispel the cloud that was hanging over the room since Jungkook's arrival. "They scream and carry on over a little hot wax. You would think I was killing them by the way they protest," she continued. "They ought to try being women for a day," she finally concluded with a frown.

Jungkook nodded but did not smile at her attempt at humor. "It is hard to be a woman," he conceded, "but I think it's equally hard to be a man." He looked into Celia's kind face and decided to take a risk. "I saw some things and lived some things in the military that I wouldn't wish on any human being regardless of gender," he whispered.

Celia lay a friendly hand on his bare arm. "I'm very sorry to hear that," she said sincerely, deciding not to push for further details. She cleared her throat and said, "I think I can replicate your design. Would you like to take a look at my design book just to get a feel for what my art looks like?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, taking the book gingerly from her and holding it with great care. He took several seconds to study each design in depth before moving on to the next one. "Your work is stunning," he said in honest admiration. "I have faith in you that you can do justice to my vision."

"Whew!" Celia said, wiping her brow dramatically. "I will try very hard to not betray your faith in me," she added. Her words took on an added meaning to Jungkook who was currently nursing a wounded heart and desperately needed a safe space, a safe person who could help him trust again.