What if the tattoo parlor is really "haunted"? Should I hire someone to deal with it, or should I get a Tattoo of Gods and Ghosts myself?
How the hell am I supposed to tattoo myself? It would be fine if Grandpa were here, but he's gone and there's no one else who knows the Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts technique. It would be too embarrassing to hire someone - I'm the one who helps others exorcise ghosts and ward off evil spirits, after all.
First, I need to figure out what's really going on here. That child Antonio mentioned - I didn't see him either, just a row of bloody footprints under the window. The strange thing is, I've looked everywhere - not just around the tattoo parlor, but the whole alley and even outside - and didn't see any child.
It seems I'll have to be more careful at the tattoo parlor. If that kid was a ghost, he'll definitely come back.
Just then, Stein returned, bringing a man with him who he said was a customer. The man, named Gennaro, had contacted Stein through a social media ad. After arranging a meeting and discussing the details, Stein brought him to the tattoo parlor.
I asked Gennaro why he wanted a Tattoo of Gods and Ghosts, telling him to explain carefully so I could give him the appropriate design. Gennaro was initially too embarrassed to speak, but eventually stammered out his story.
Gennaro is thirty years old - not handsome, just an ordinary loser without a girlfriend. But recently, he met someone online named Kaahn (what people call "online dating"). He'd seen her photos - she looked adorable, just his type: a twin-tailed lolita. Gennaro even showed us the photos on his phone.
The pictures matched his description - the lolita looked fresh and cute, with twin ponytails that could lead any man astray. But Gennaro said he'd been catfished - the real person looked completely different from the photos. When they met, she turned out to be a short, overweight woman - about 5'5" and 150 pounds - which nearly scared the piss out of Gennaro.
This wasn't just photoshop - it was a completely different person. Online dating is risky - you really can't trust photos. Poor Gennaro got tricked.
I said since he'd been deceived and they weren't compatible after meeting, he should just cut his losses and move on. But then Gennaro started stammering again, his face turning red as if he'd done something wrong. After pressing him, it turned out he'd been single for so long he was desperate - the kind of guy who might find even an old sow attractive if it were female.
A 30-year-old virgin - isn't that shameful? At that time, Gennaro figured he might as well use this fat dwarf for practice. After all, with the lights off, who cares what they look like? He'd already paid for everything - shouldn't let it go to waste!
Hearing this, I couldn't help but secretly laugh. This Gennaro was quite a character - truly unwilling to let any "meal" go to waste.
Later, Gennaro actually went through with it. He took Kaahn out for spicy hot pot, then got a room with her. Kaahn seemed equally desperate - probably no men were interested in her either. They hit it off immediately and went at it seven times that night.
Exhausted, Gennaro fell straight asleep. When he woke up the next morning, Kaahn was already gone. Gennaro messaged her: "Why did you leave without saying anything?"
Strangely, Kaahn replied with just a question mark, then apologized to him.
Gennaro was baffled. He'd just met with Kaahn yesterday and spent the night with her - how could she claim they hadn't met?
It couldn't have been a case of mistaken identity either, since they'd only connected through WeChat, and only the two of them knew what they'd discussed during their date.
Gennaro sent Kaahn screenshots of their WeChat conversations from that day, but Kaahn insisted they were photoshopped, claiming she'd been busy yesterday and never contacted him.
Their argument went nowhere, and Kaahn eventually blocked Gennaro.
Furious, Gennaro cursed: "That fat bitch really thinks highly of herself! Whatever - just consider it fast food. Won't contact her again anyway."
Gennaro never understood why Kaahn would act this way. Did she just want a one-night stand like he did?
But things weren't as simple as Gennaro thought - the situation kept getting weirder!
About three days later, Kaahn actually sent him a new friend request. Gennaro sneered: "That fat bitch can't let go, huh?"
After accepting the request, Gennaro immediately mocked her: "So you finally admit you were wrong?"
Kaahn messaged back, complaining about how he'd blocked her. "You're not going to run away after getting what you wanted, are you?"
Gennaro laughed. "You're the one who blocked me, and now you're blaming me?"
Kaahn replied with a string of question marks: "When did I block you? I was exhausted that day - slept the whole time. When I woke up, I found you'd blocked me! I was heartbroken at first, then got angrier the more I thought about it. That's why I added you back to ask why."
Gennaro insisted: "No way! We argued that day before you blocked me. And now you're saying we never even met?"
Kaahn immediately accused Gennaro of having amnesia. How could she not have shown up for their date? She'd asked for spicy hot pot seven times - didn't he remember? If she hadn't come, who had Gennaro been with? The air?
Gennaro was completely confused. Was Kaahn playing tricks on him? What was with this sudden change? Was it his memory failing or hers?
The situation was too convoluted for Gennaro to make sense of, with each person sticking to their own version of events. Even when Gennaro showed Kaahn their chat screenshots, she refused to believe them, claiming they were photoshopped. Eventually, Gennaro gave up arguing.
Some time later, Kaahn asked to meet again. After their first encounter, Gennaro had stopped disliking Kaahn. Though marriage wasn't appealing, she could at least satisfy his physical needs - better than nothing for a perpetually single man.
So what if she was fat? With the lights off, all women are equal!
But this second meeting brought another shock. This time, the woman matched the photos perfectly - twin ponytails, that cute fresh face, slender build around 5'5", completely unlike the overweight Kaahn from before.
Gennaro stood frozen. What kind of game was this? Had Kaahn been messing with him?
But Kaahn insisted nothing had changed - she looked exactly as she had during their last meeting when they'd eaten hot pot and gotten a room together. She remembered everything clearly.
Dizzy and unsettled, Gennaro pushed these thoughts aside. Right now, he only cared about one thing - getting Kaahn into bed.
Whatever the truth was, this worked in his favor - the fat woman had transformed into his dream lolita. If he could have her tonight, he'd consider himself blessed.
Gennaro followed his usual routine - spicy hot pot first, then a hotel room. Not that he was particularly smooth, but Kaahn cooperated eagerly, as if sex was her sole purpose for dating him.
Normally Gennaro couldn't perform well, but tonight was different. How could it compare? A beautiful lolita versus an ugly fat woman - of course the experience would differ!
But when Kaahn fell asleep around midnight, Gennaro's unease returned. Something felt off.
After some thought, he slipped out quietly and found the hotel manager. He requested surveillance footage from his previous visit - surely modern hotels had hallway cameras.
The manager initially refused until Gennaro slipped him a few hundred dollars. Reluctantly, the manager pulled up the footage from that date and room.
When Gennaro saw the recording, his entire body began trembling, his face turning deathly pale. The startled manager asked if he was okay.
Without answering, Gennaro bolted from the hotel, too terrified to return to that room or face Kaahn again.
Outside, his hands shook violently as he immediately deleted Kaahn's WeChat. He ran home and buried himself under blankets, too frightened to even peek out.