episode_0042

The next morning. “Lee Yeon-hwa Hair Studio.”

“Yeon-hwa *unnie*, you only work too hard!”

One of the employees said to the director, Lee Yeon-hwa. Then, the other employees who were gathered together all nodded in unison.

“Of course, you have to work hard. You can’t do it haphazardly, right?”

Lee Yeon-hwa actually reacted as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Unnie, these days, promotion is also important.” “That’s right. You have no promotion at all, *unnie*.” “Now that it’s a salon exclusively for celebrities, even more so!”

“We should post some Outstar posts, serialize a blog, film MyuTube… anything is fine, but we need a systematic promotion plan…” “Hmm…”

There was a strong backlash from everywhere, and in fact, Lee Yeon-hwa, who was acting calmly, was also mindful of these elements.

Money. The problem is money.

Lee Yeon-hwa worked very hard to acquire her current skills. She traveled to various countries overseas with the sole desire to become skilled, didn’t she? And so she finally achieved it.

However, after returning to Korea, she had to face the reality right away. There was a gap as wide as the sky and earth between improving skills and attracting customers to run a business.

She couldn’t attract customers.

Because the number of customers was small, there was naturally no opportunity to demonstrate her skills.

“Unnie, we’re only doing good things for our customers. It’s not that it’s bad, but it would be nice if we could all benefit.” “That’s right! Everyone uses the hairstyles we give them to seduce men, get married, have kids, and build a family! But what about us!”

Lee Yeon-hwa sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“…So we made a plan to only receive celebrities as customers at our hair studio, right? Our skills are too good to use on ordinary people, and only celebrities can afford the high cost.” “That’s why promotion is even more important! *Unnie*, the entertainment industry runs entirely on connections. Really.”

Yeon-hwa somewhat agreed with the story.

It was good to develop the skills to even touch the hair of celebrities, but how to bring them in was another problem. How could Lee Yeon-hwa, who had only focused on practicing overseas, have connections?

“Hmm…”

It would be fine if Yeon-hwa was shouldering the deficit alone, but now there are several employees. Naturally, she can’t help but feel responsible.

One of the employees clenched her fist.

“Unnie, regulars! We have to get regulars too!”

“Regulars?” “Yes! Regulars! The most popular hair salon in Cheongdam-dong recently urgently hired an assistant, right? I went there! I saw the way they do things, and they really have a tight grip on celebrities!”

“…A tight grip?” “That’s right. They completely captivate their hearts. They make the celebrity brag about the salon wherever they go. It’s like putting a bell on a cat’s neck.”

The employee continued to explain enthusiastically. While cutting their hair, they would chat with them in a friendly way, bring them something to drink, and if they put in all their efforts in that way, it would be enough.

Lee Yeon-hwa nodded.

“As it happens, we have a celebrity appointment coming in today…”

“Really? Really? At our salon?” “Yeah. Remember the customer who got a piercing last time? She was a stylist. Apparently, the story went around and reached a celebrity.” “Which celebrity? Anyway, we have to catch them! We absolutely have to catch them!”

“I understand the need for regulars. But…”

Yeon-hwa scratched her head.

“…Who among us is going to put a bell on the cat’s neck?”

“… .”

Then there was silence for a while.

In fact, as the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, this place was a gathering of timid hairdressers centered around Yeon-hwa.

Why are their skills all so excellent?

Because they’re timid…. Because they practice with wigs every day…. Because they felt it was easier than dealing with people….

“… .”

Just when the silence seemed like it would go on forever, one person shouted.

“There’s no reason why we can’t all fan the flames together! When you look at other places, they don’t work alone! If three people say there’s a tiger, people will eventually believe it, that’s human psychology!” “Yeah, yeah! We’ll help you from the side!” “Celebrities! We’ll make them regulars, no matter what!”

That’s when it happened.

A group entered at the same time as the door burst open. It was the Special Task Force 808 production team, led by PD Choi Hee-won and writer Lee Geum-suk, along with stylists.

They stood as if forming some kind of fence, and that in itself became a threat. It was as if they were going to monitor the every move of the hair designers.

“… .”

Lee Yeon-hwa suddenly looked around.

One person was feigning ignorance, one person was reading a magazine, and another person started cleaning without being asked.

‘…You little…’

And finally, one woman came in.

“Hello.”

A low tone of voice. Immediately after making eye contact with her.

“A-ah, hello. I’ll do my best today…”

Yeon-hwa bent over without realizing it.

She also realized.

That mice are inherently unable to put a bell on a cat…

◈◈◈◈◈

‘It’s like I’ve been kidnapped.’

That was Soo-ah’s first impression.

She was sitting in a hair studio chair, but there were so many people watching from behind. About ten stylists, including PD Choi Hee-won and writer Lee Geum-suk, whom she had never even met.

They had something in common, which was that they only looked at Soo-ah’s face. Honestly, it was quite burdensome.

*Chideok*—(Sound of something sticky lightly touching)

That’s when the cold hair dye touched her cheek.

When Soo-ah glanced her eyes, it didn’t seem like an intentional act. Because the director’s hands were noticeably shaking.

“S-sorry. I’ll wipe it off quickly.” “Take your time.”

However, the director’s hands move faster. The stylists, who were watching with their arms crossed in the back, added a word each.

“Please make sure the hair doesn’t get damaged as much as possible.” “Y-yes, of course…” “Did you mix the hair dye properly? Why does it seem like it’s not applying well?” “This person doesn’t have much oil in their hair…” “How long does it take for the color to come out?” “Well, you have to wash your hair over a period of several days…”

Soo-ah occasionally checked the director’s face through the mirror, and every time she looked, her face looked ten years older. Meanwhile, PD Choi Hee-won approached Soo-ah with a tablet.

He showed many things on the tablet screen.

“This is what Soo-ah looks like when she’s disguised as a man. If we CG the breasts and hips, it’ll probably feel like this? And this is what Kim Yu-han, who is revealing his identity, looks like, which the salon is preparing now.”

Soo-ah watched without blinking. It was very fascinating.

It was fun to see what she would look like in the actual shooting. What can I say, it’s definitely seeing your own appearance, but it feels like watching someone else entirely?

Or does it feel like transforming into someone else? It was new.

‘It’s like looking at some character setting book. It’s really amazing.’

After Choi Hee-won PD, who was in charge of directing, finished explaining Kim Yu-han’s ‘outward appearance’, this time writer Lee came to explain the ‘inner appearance’.

“These are the scripts that will be used in the actual filming. There’s quite a lot, right?”

She gives an awkward smile to Soo-ah, but it was understandable. The scripts that were piled up from the floor reached about Soo-ah’s thigh height.

“Honestly, I’m ashamed as a writer. Not only am I late in giving the script, but the amount is also vast. I always feel sorry and grateful to Soo-ah.”

Of course, Soo-ah didn’t have any thoughts.

Whether there are a lot of scripts or a few, it ends with just putting your hand on them once, so it doesn’t mean much. Even Special Task Force 808 has fun experiences, right?

So she nodded relaxedly.

“It’s good to have a lot of inspiration. Rather, give me everything as soon as it’s written.”

“Soo-ah…”

Could there be any statement that could move a writer as much as saying to give her even one more word? Thanks to this, writer Lee Geum-suk looked at Soo-ah with even more impressed eyes.

PD Choi Hee-won next to her continued the explanation.

“Lee Gang-cheol, a heavy principled person, is black, and Kim Yu-han is white, which can be dyed into anything. We’re going to give contrast.” “That’s right. And as you can see if you read the script, Soo-ah has a section where she leaves and rests in the middle. So the final number of episodes she appears in is exactly half? About 10 episodes?”

Soo-ah blinked without realizing it.

10 episodes? Then does that mean that Soo-ah, who receives 4 million won per episode, can earn a total of 40 million won?

‘It’s fun… and I can even make money…?’

Soo-ah seriously pondered. Is this really okay? Isn’t life about having to do things you don’t want to do and are difficult to do in order to make money? What on earth was the life I’ve lived so far?

That’s when it happened.

─♩♪♬

Lee Geum-suk’s cell phone rang. She only checked it with her eyes and put it back in her pocket, but the notification rang again.

─♩♪♬

It wasn’t just two or three times, but quite a few times.

“Oh, my. Really busy, busy.”

It was a line that seemed like she would sigh and collapse any moment, but in fact, Lee Geum-suk’s face was very bright. She’s even sending a proud smile to Soo-ah.

“The other actors send me messages every morning. Saying that they’re going to work really hard. It’s all thanks to Soo-ah.” “…?”

Me? Why is that thanks to me?

But now, her mouth is moving habitually.

“I acknowledge that.”

“You know it yourself, huh? It was a big help that Soo-ah gave a sense of urgency on the day of the mock filming. Everyone is struggling.”

After that, Soo-ah had to listen to praise, requests, encouragement, thanks, explanations… and time flowed like water.

And finally.

Soo-ah’s pure white hair, which had been shampooed and dried, revealed itself to the world. And when a dot was marked under her eyes.

“Oh…”

A dazed sound. But the one who uttered it was the director. Anyone could understand why she was making a somewhat absentminded expression.

It was a face that seemed like she hadn’t even expected such a result herself.

There was no conversation between Lee Geum-suk and Choi Hee-won. However, after exchanging glances with each other once.

“Soo-ah…” “Soo-ah…”

At the same time, they both gave a *cheok* (thumbs up) gesture.

So Soo-ah did that too for now. With both hands.