Mark Me { Jeon Jungkook Fanfic }

Chapter 2

Celia washed her hands and put on latex gloves. She carefully unwrapped a new needle and set up the machine. She gently cleansed Jungkook's chest. She had already created a stencil for the tattoo, and when she had carefully aligned it on his chest, she handed him a mirror. "Go ahead and check the stencil placement before we get started. As you know, once we start, it's too late to move it," Celia cautioned.

Jungkook studied the area carefully and nodded his head. "It's good," he replied. Having received the go-ahead, Celia started up the machine. Jungkook jerked suddenly at the loud buzzing of the machine.

"It's very loud. I'm sorry. I should have warned you," said Celia, realizing immediately that she was going to have to provide continual support and explanations during the process.

"It's not my first tattoo," Jungkook said. "I don't know why the sound scared me. That's really stupid. I have tons of other tattoos, and this has never happened before." His face colored a bit with embarrassment. He certainly didn't want to seem like a wimp in front of this beautiful woman.

"That's not a problem at all," Celia assured him. "People are more or less sensitive to sounds throughout their lives for a variety of reasons. It's your body's reaction that happens in a split second. You really can't control it. So, there's no need to feel bad." She laughed softly as if remembering something long past. "When I was in high school, I used to play volleyball and my mom would drag my little sister to my games. She was super sensitive to sounds, and every time they would blow the whistle, she would cry. So, I have some experience with people being very sensitive to sounds, or textures, or temperature. I've come to the conclusion that they can't help what they feel."

Jungkook nodded. Celia positioned the tattoo gun just above the stencil. "OK, so, on the count of three, I'm going to make contact with your skin. Remember that you can always ask me to take a break at any time," Celia instructed. "Hana, dul, set," she counted before allowing the needle to touch his skin. He flinched slightly at the pricking feeling of the needle. Celia splayed her fingers out around the area to provide more stability and points of contact so that he could feel more relaxed.

She continued on silently for several minutes. Jungkook took several deep breaths and let them out slowly. Celia pulled the needle back. "How are you doing?" she asked. "Remember, you're always allowed to tell me to stop at any time. I'm here for you, and I'll do whatever you say, OK?"

Celia thought she saw some wetness in his eyes as he swallowed hard, his Adam's apple, bobbing up and down with the motion. Jungkook had no desire to express what he felt aloud, but he found it incredibly relieving to feel in control of his own body. He was calling the shots about what happened to his body. That knowledge alone allowed his shoulders to release some of their tension. "Got it," Jungkook replied. "I'm OK. You can go back to it now."

"OK. I'm going to touch you with my left hand just to stabilize you and with my right hand, I'm going to allow the gun to touch your skin again. Are you ready?" she asked.

"Ready," was his simple reply.

As Celia began tracing the stencil again with the gun, she whispered, "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave."*

"That's really beautiful. Is that a song?" Jungkook asked.

"Well, yeah, there are a bunch of songs that use those lyrics, but the words come from the Song of Songs, sometimes known as the Song of Solomon in the Bible."

"No kidding," Jungkook replied. "I honestly never heard it before. It doesn't sound like the Bible. It sounds more like love poetry."

"Yeah, well, it basically is a poem about love. These two lovers keep telling each other how great the other one is. It gets a little graphic in some parts," Celia said cringing slightly. "Actually, some churches encourage people not to read it until they are adults. But, in the end, the two lovers are metaphorical. It's really about how desperately God loves us. So, the bride feels free to ask her lover to keep her image on his chest and arm so he will always remember her because she knows that's what he wants to do."

Jungkook marveled at Celia's ability to talk and tattoo at the same time without missing a beat. He also marveled at her words. No one had ever said anything like this to him before. His concept of God was one of a judge who was waiting to crack down on the slightest infraction. For that reason, he had all but given up on having any faith in God. If God existed at all, he was pretty convinced he was a cruel bastard or a neglectful babysitter. As far as he was concerned, if God did exist, he certainly didn't show up when people called for him. But he kept his thoughts to himself because he enjoyed hearing Celia talk, even if he didn't agree with her.

"There's this part in Isaiah that says that God writes your name on the palm of his hand. It isn't just the word 'write.' It's more like 'engrave.' So, it's like he scrawled your name deep into his skin. It's a little gruesome, but it's just a metaphor for the intensity of his feelings," Celia continued.

Jungkook studied her face. She wore black eyeliner that accentuated her wide green eyes. She had a nose ring that circled around the outside of her left nostril. She didn't look like a religious nut, but her extensive knowledge of the Bible was beginning to concern him.

"So, are you like really religious or something?" he asked, eying her out of the corner of his left eye.

Celia let out a loud laugh that made Jungkook jump slightly. When she saw that her laugh had startled him, Celia got serious. "I'm sorry for the loud noise. I didn't mean to startle you. But, no, I'm not religious," she said, pulling the gun away from his skin to give him a break. "I believe in God, and I believe the Universe is based on love. Love is the power that holds all things together. And our purpose on this Earth is to become more perfect in love."

"I never heard anyone explain it that way before," he admitted. "When you put it that way, it sounds like something I could buy into."

Celia shrugged. "Well, there's no need to complicate things that are actually really simple at the core." She set the gun down on the table and pulled two bottles of water out of a mini fridge beside her. She handed Jungkook a water.

"So, tell me about this seal you are putting on your heart. What does it mean?" Celia asked, scanning his face and seeing a flash of pain pass through his sculpted features.

He looked at the floor briefly, but finally raised his eyes to meet hers. "The angel represents light. He's strong, but he's missing a wing. So, it's like he wants to bring light, but he's powerless to do it. So, that's what I felt like in the service. I saw so many things, and since I try to be a positive person, I really wanted to bring some light to the situation around me, but I wasn't able to do that," Jungkook said, his voice trailing off at the end.

"Wow," Celia marveled. "There's really not much that feels worse than being helpless. I hate that feeling. I never like to be in situations I can't control. So, I really feel that with you. It must have been so hard to watch things you were powerless to change."

Jungkook's response got lodged his throat. So, he opted for just nodding his head gravely.

"So, this tattoo is the commemoration of a moment in time when you were powerless to change something incredibly destructive. You may find that you get your power back yet, but for that moment, for that time, you were trying to operate with just one wing." Celia paused and looked Jungkook right in the eye. She beat her chest several times with a fisted hand. "I feel that. I feel that deep in my guts," she offered as Jungkook wiped a stray tear from his cheek.

*Song of Solomon 8:6 (ESV)