Take on Me

4

¤ Creep
Ember Island ↲

When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eye
You're just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry

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Professor Yang seemed way too excited when Taehyung entered the classroom this evening, the man grinning proudly to himself. With only five minutes until the start of the session, however, Taehyung decided not to question it.

The professor introduced a new model as Taehyung set up his supplies, arranging his tools neatly on the easel. He wasn't particularly looking forward to the class today. The mood to draw something complicated and intriguing struck him, and he doubted today's model would prove to be much inspiration.

Once Professor Yang announced the first thirty second pose, Taehyung peered up to assess his subject. He hummed in surprise as he took in a fit and muscular back, thin waist, and sculpted ass. It seemed like the professor finally managed to find a new body type for him to draw.

Taehyung started tracing an outline of the model, nothing too complicated since the guy chose a basic and predictable pose. He appeared to just be standing there, feet hip-width apart and arms hidden, most likely crossed over his chest. While this stance would usually annoy the hell out of Taehyung - how hard was it to come up with a unique pose? - he at least had something new to draw.

Muscles.

Muscles coated this guy, running up his legs, over his ass, and throughout his back. Taehyung didn't see his front yet, but he'd guess the guy had a six pack as well.

He had a vague sketch of the model when the professor called out the next pose. The guy on the dais didn't change direction; he simply put one hand on his hip while the other arm remained hidden. His weight shifted slightly, causing the muscles in his ass to flex. It was a nice effect and Taehyung got to work capturing it.

They went through three more rounds of this, the model remaining stiff the entire time. Judging by the rigid set of his back and lack of creative poses, the guy was probably a first timer.

That's when the story started to piece together in Taehyung's mind.

He imagined the guy was an athlete who attended this university, playing some physically exerting sport. Maybe this was a dare, accepted when he was drunk out of his mind. The task would only be complete if he could share a drawing of his naked body with his dumb athelte friends.

Taehyung quite liked that story and he chuckled in amusement.

When they finally reached the minute-long poses, the model turned to the right. That's when Taehyung saw it.

His arm.

From the guy's shoulder all the way down to his knuckles, black tattoos decorated the expanse of skin. Images that were too tough to make out from this far away were a stark contrast to the tanned skin of the model. They wove over his bicep and around his forearm, not leaving many empty spaces. The tattoos were everywhere, separated yet interlinked.

Taehyung sat in awe, the charcoal pencil forgotten in his hand. He wanted to see the tattoos up close and explore these drawings set in ink. Tattoos weren't a foreign concept to him, but no one in his social circle had any. His parents and their stuck up friends tended to associate tattoos with a lower class, saying the ink was trashy and not true art.

Taehyung never put much thought into that before, but in this moment he knew they were wrong.

Those tattoos were real art.