The Virgin & The Tattoo Artist

Part 6

Two days have passed.
No calls. No texts. Nothing from Taehyung.
I'd been clutching the phone on my chest to sleep, waiting anxiously for him to contact me. However, I always ended up disappointed.
My pride wouldn't let me be the one to call first, although there were times when I almost gave in & dialed his number.
I don't want him to think that I'm that desperate for him.
The third morning, I wake up to the sound of my alarm & immediately check the phone again.
Still nothing.
"Huh.. Should I just text him?" I sigh. My longing for him has become unbearable.
The phone beeps once, prompting me to urgently unlock it.
"Battery low. Ugh, why didn't he give me the charger?"
"Morning Miss." Hana suddenly barges through the door, causing me to accidentally drop the phone onto the floor.
I frantically stoop down to grab it & hide it behind my back.
"Miss, what's that?" It's too late. She's seen it.
"N-Nothing." I stutter nervously.
"Is that a phone?" Her eyes expand so wide that they look like they're about to fall out.
"No.." I step backwards & clutch the phone tighter in my hand.
"Miss, I told you not to be reckless! Are you trying to get us both killed?!" She hisses in exasperation.
"Of course not! But this is very important to me. Please don't tell Abeonim, I beg you." I clasp my hands together, exposing the forbidden phone in my hand.
"Who gave you that phone? I'm pretty sure that you didn't buy it yourself."
"I- I can't tell you. Just know that it's someone very very important to me. So please, just turn a blind eye on this."
She stares at me for the longest minute & finally heaves a deep sigh.
"Fine. I won't report it to Sajangnim. But you have to hide that phone really well. Don't let the maid find it." She warns.
"I will. Thank you so much." I breathe a huge sigh of relief.
"Huh.. You've helped me a lot, so it's only natural if I help you too. Plus, I kinda like you, so I'd hate to see you being punished by your father. Now let's get going or we'll be late."
My heart warms listening to her statement. Ever since we shared a secret, she's become more like a friend than employee to me now & I'm quite delighted because I've never had any genuine friend before.
"Ok eonni." I casually say as I turn the phone off & put it in my bag.
"Did you just call me eonni?" She asks in surprise.
"Yes, eonni." I grin at her before walking into the bathroom.

The classes are boring as usual & I can't focus because my mind keeps darting to the dead phone in my bag.
I tried to turn it on when I had a break earlier, but the battery had died.
Should I ask Hana to buy me a charger? No, that would be too much to ask. But how am I supposed to contact Taehyung now? I should've called him when I had the chance to.
"Alright students. That's it for today. Please don't forget to turn in your paper by the end of this week." The professor exclaims in front of the classroom.
There's about an hour until my next class starts, so I decide to go to the library to work on my paper.
"Did your class end early?" Hana asks once I step out of the classroom.
"Yes. I'm going to the library now, you may take your lunch break if you want to."
"Oh ok. I'll grab something quick from the cafeteria. Do you want anything?" She offers.
"One iced Americano & maybe a salad?"
"Alright. I'll be back soon." She nods at me & walks away.
At the library, I sit down on an empty seat & start working on my paper.
But a few minutes later, I hear someone faintly whispering my name.
I glance around but I see no one, so I go back to focusing on my notes.
"Psshh.." That whisper again.
Out of curiosity, I put down my book & step towards the shelves.
And then I see him, Taehyung, leaning against one of the shelves & grinning widely at me.
I have to blink my eyes a few times to make sure that I'm not hallucinating.
He grabs my hand & pulls me close, our faces only inches apart.
"Hey there."
My brain instantly goes blank as I stare into his beautiful twinkling eyes.
God, I missed him so much.
"What are you doing here?" I abruptly push him away, betraying my burning desire.
"Looking for you of course. Why haven't you called me?" He tries to take my hand again but I dodge it.
"I was busy." I lie.
"Is something wrong?" A deep frown furrows his brows, seemingly sensing my unusual reaction.
"Nothing. How's that client of yours?" I avert my gaze & ask as casually as possible.
"Which client?"
"The female client. With a tattoo on her belly."
"I have a lot of female clients & many of them have tattoos on their stomachs."
I can hear the smirk in his voice. He's obviously teasing, but jealousy still bubbles within me.
"Whatever. I'm busy, please leave." I roll my eyes & step away.
"Hey, I was just kidding. Are you jealous?" He snatches my wrist & stops me.
"What are we exactly Taehyung? Are you only playing with me? If you are, please stop. I don't-"
It seems to be a habit of him, cutting my sentence with his kiss, which I truly don't mind.
But not this time. I need to get an answer from him.
"Answer me Tae." I release myself from his kiss & demand.
"Ok.. I don't know how to say this to you.." He sighs.
My stomach lurches & I feel like I'm about to vomit.
He's going to admit that he's only toying with me.
"At first, I was only attracted to you because you were different, but then I find myself thinking about you all the time. I thought that it was just an infatuation & it would go away soon. Yet, every time I see you, I crave for you more & more. I guess I've fallen for you, which has never happened before. Falling for someone, I mean. So.. I'm actually a bit scared. With that being said, would you be my girlfriend Y/n? I understand that we're from such different worlds, so if you don't want to-"
This time, it's my turn to muffle his mouth with a kiss.
"Yes, I would love to be your girlfriend." I smile at him when our lips have parted.
The heavy weight on my heart has finally been lifted, replaced by an overwhelming joy.
He wants me too. He's fallen for me too.
"Really? What about your father?" He asks, surprised at how easily I said yes.
"Well.. I guess we have to keep our relationship a secret. You can't tell anyone about this, ok?"
"Ok princess, I'll do anything for you."
I let myself go at his words & lean forward to kiss him again. He wraps his hands around my waist & hugs me tighter. Everything feels so right as our bodies melt into each other.
The brief moment of bliss is interrupted all of a sudden by the sound of something dropping to the floor.
"What are you doing?" Hana widens her eyes in utter shock, the coffee she was carrying spilt all over the floor.
"E-Eonni.." My tongue goes numb as I see Hana standing before me with a dumbfounded expression on her face.
"Let go of her now!" She hisses at Taehyung, but that only makes him tighten his grip around my wrist.
"Taehyung, you need to let go." I turn to him & plead.
"No. Why should I? You're my girl friend, right?" He says without taking his eyes off Hana.
"What?! Girl friend?!" Her eyes grow an inch wider if that's even possible.
"Eonni, please let me explain." I shake off his grip & frantically rush towards her.
"We need to leave. Now." She says through gritted teeth as she grabs my arm.
"Wait! I brought this for you." Taehyung throws something at me & I readily catch it. It's the charger of the phone he gave me.
"Omg.. So he's the one who gave you that phone." Hana gasps as the realization dawns on her.
"Let's go somewhere quiet. I'll explain everything to you. I'll see you another time Taehyung." I nod at Taehyung & hastily push Hana away from him.
We walk through the corridors until we find an empty classroom. I pull Hana inside & lock the door behind me.
"Girl friend? Really? Are you out of your mind?!" Hana yells hysterically at me.
"Eonni-" I move closer to her & try to touch her arm, but she instantly dodges my hand.
"Don't call me 'eonni'. How can you be so selfish? Do you even know who he is? He's an infamous fuckboy! Wait.. Omg.. Don't tell me- Have you- Have you done it with him?"
"No! Of course not!" All the nerves in my body flare up as the lie leaves my lips, but I keep on a straight face.
"Are you sure? Why are you blushing? If you truly have lost your virginity to him, your father will kill all of us without a doubt." She frowns, her gaze suspicious.
"I swear. It's the truth." I stare right into her eyes to make her believe my lie.
"Ok, good. Now you need to break up with him."
"What?! No! He's the best thing that has ever happened to me. I will never break up with him." I cry frantically, tears glistening in my eyes.
"You have to! You can't be in a relationship, especially not with him. Sajangnim will never approve. Besides, what if he has bad intentions? What if he approaches you for money? Have you even thought about that? You're too naive & gullible, you don't know how evil human can be." She squeezes my hands in desperation.
"No, he's not like that. He's a good man. I'm sure of that." I shake my head stubbornly.
"How can you be so sure? How long have you known him? A week? A month? Two months? I can't risk everything for your silly infatuation. I'm going to tell Sajangnim about this." She pulls out her phone & starts dialing.
"No! Eonni, please. I beg you. I love him!" I immediately kneel down on my knees & clutch her legs.
Love.
A word so strong & powerful. An emotion that I thought I would never experience. A feeling towards him that I refused to admit.
But in the midst of this chaos, it slips smoothly right out of my lips like I've spoken it so many times before.
Yes, I love him. I've stupidly, helplessly fallen in love with a stranger who I met in the most improbable circumstance. And I strongly believe that it was fate which brought us together.
Hana stares at me for a long minute before she slowly lowers her hand & puts her phone back into her pocket.
"Get up." She says as she lifts me up.
"No. I'll stay like this if you don't agree to keep this a secret." I refuse & hug her legs tighter.
"Huh.. Is there any other secret that I need to know?" She stoops down & sighs.
"N-No. That's all." I mutter quietly.
"Alright then. I'll help you again, but you have to listen to my advice & give me a heads up every time you plan to meet him, so that I'll know what to say or do in case Sajangnim becomes suspicious."
"You will? Omg, thank you eonni! Thank you so much!" My eyes light up in delight & I lunge at her to give her a hug.
"It's not your fault that you have such a strict, cruel, & uptight father. I'd probably run away a long time ago, if I were you." She scoffs as she pats my head.
"I can't. I'm all he has. He'll go crazy if I leave too. Like Eomma." I lower my head sadly.
"Aigoo.. Why are you so kind? Your father truly doesn't deserve you. Anw, we need to get going now. You only have 5 minutes left before your next class starts." She gets up & offers me her hand.
"Yes eonni." I let her pull me up & smile.
Thank you God for sending me such an incredible guardian angel. I think to myself as I secretly glance at Hana.