[ WP ] You run a tattoo parlor . Every couple of weeks the same customer comes in , always requesting the same tattoo - an additional tally mark on an ever-growing cluster of tally marks .

EDIT: Corrected a grammar error. 
 
 
 When he enters the parlor, I tend to get a slight feeling of suspicion. He - a man by name of Max, and only Max - usually saunters in with a smug look on his face. But over the last few months, I've noticed that he occasionally has a few... holes... in his fedora. You can probably guess what kind of holes they are. 
 
 He usually wears a gray suit with a gray fedora - and not a hipster's fedora, a *classy* fedora. He tips well. He speaks in a heavy Polish accent, and he always smiles. Always. And it always seems so sincere and polite... It's downright unsettling. 
 
 Thing is, I made a mistake. I asked him about himself. 
 
 It was a crisp morning, and Max entered the parlor once again, this time with a limp. His smile seemed a bit... forced. He was definitely injured. So, I, curious as I was, asked him: `` So, uh... what's with your leg? Tripped on a pothole or somethin'?'' 
 
 He glanced at me, a glint of suspicion in his eyes. His smile lessened slightly. `` Sure, you could say that.'' He rolled up one of his sleeves. `` Tattoo away, good sir.'' And tattoo I did; I added to his collection of... 20, 30 somewhat tick marks. 
 
 That was when I did something *really* dumb. 
 
 `` If, uh, ya do n't mind me askin','' I ventured, `` what's up with all these tick marks?'' 
 
 All of a sudden, he got up, grabbed my arm, and threw me to the ground. He was still smiling. My heart was beating like a drum now; he really did intimidate me. Then, he removed the ink cartridge from the tattoo needle, dipped the tip of the needle into the cartridge, and wrote something on my forehead. Then he left. 
 
 I got up, looked at my forehead in a mirror, and found that he had written some words in Polish on it. I pulled up Google Translate and - get this - the message roughly translates to this: 
 
 `` Stay out of my business!'' 
 
 He still comes to the parlor every two weeks like clockwork, but now, I know not to ask him about his work... whatever it is. He does n't tip as much now, though.
