Ch.170August Bride (1)

Summer weddings are off-season.

You might think that for humans, who can be in heat 365 days a year, there’s no such thing as peak or off-season for weddings.

But isn’t marriage supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event?

Of course, in some cases, people do get married multiple times.

Sex that can’t be shown to others happens at summer vacation guesthouses or Christmas hotels,

while weddings that are meant to be displayed to others are instinctively desired during flower-scented spring days or under the clear blue skies of autumn.

It’s not just about the bride and groom,

but also about the guests who will attend the wedding.

“Phew. So peaceful.”

“Indeed. When a wedding shop is this quiet, it probably means the country as a whole isn’t doing so well.”

“You don’t need to go as far as the country’s well-being—the boss is probably not too peaceful with this atmosphere.”

Thus, despite it being a busy holiday when many people were out and about, the atmosphere inside the wedding shop this July was quite relaxed.

“Oh my, maybe I should lower this chair’s backrest a bit more.”

“Senior, aren’t you being too laid-back? Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean there are no weddings.”

“Rookie, enjoy this time while you can. Soon enough, the shop will be bursting with customers desperately trying to become October brides.”

These women had just survived the wedding peak season of May.

And they were now looking ahead to October, which could be called the second peak season for weddings.

In our country, where December winter also sees a high frequency of weddings, this was practically the only time they could work with some breathing room.

So it wasn’t that they lacked motivation for work; rather, they were enjoying the current lull with an attitude of gratitude, like survivors after a major battle.

“It’s exhausting that the boss is famous as a wedding dress designer. You experienced it last season too, didn’t you? Those bride-zillas—I mean, prospective brides—who absolutely insist on having a dress made by Ms. Jung.”

“Ah, you mean that bride-to-be who staged a sit-in demanding to look exactly like the bride in the photo hanging next to our main entrance? That was really tough…”

“But thanks to going through such an intense training period, you’ve grown up properly in no time.”

“You’re not trying to dump work on me again with that kind of talk, are you?”

“Hahaha, busted. I should organize the storage room while it’s quiet like this. Today doesn’t look particularly busy, so can I leave the counter to you? If you need anything, come find me in the storage room.”

“Sigh… Alright.”

“Thanks. See you later.”

The senior headed toward the storage room with keys in hand, looking unburdened.

She called it “organizing the storage room,” but in reality, it was a place that substituted as an employee break room during working hours.

Unlike the storage room door, there were no CCTV cameras inside the storage room.

Whether someone unfolded a chair, laid out a sleeping bag, or whatever else happened in there, no one knew except those involved.

The rookie also knew this but sighed and tacitly approved of her senior’s laziness.

Despite her senior’s slick behavior, she was someone who knew when to work and when not to.

There was a reason behind her senior’s relaxed attitude.

It was because she judged that the rookie could handle the shop alone without any problems.

“I understand. You want to test how I can satisfy customers without your help.”

The rookie, full of newcomer’s spirit, patted her small chest and said:

“Don’t worry at all. I’ll provide the best service to ensure that brides-to-be who visit our shop won’t be disappointed!”

-Ching

As if to confirm the rookie’s determination,

the wind chime announcing a customer’s arrival rang through the previously quiet shop.

“Welcome to Mariage Wedding Shop, where we preserve your most beautiful moments.”

With a confident greeting, she immediately approached the customers who had entered the shop.

“My mom says the dresses made by the designer who owns this wedding shop are so beautiful. She told me she got her wedding dress tailored here when she got married.”

“Oh, oh my. It should be a natural visit, but I’m suddenly getting nervous.”

“Why are you so stiff? It’s not like we’re here for something bad.”

“Right? A wedding shop is a place you can only visit when something good happens, but I guess I’m being too uptight.”

“Well, it’s not a place you visit for doing something bad, but if you think of it as a place you visit for doing something naughty, I guess you might get a little nervous.”

“I-I asked you not to make those kinds of jokes here!”

There were two customers who visited the shop.

Both were female, and judging by their friendly conversation as they entered, they seemed to know each other well.

‘Hmm, at a glance, one of them is getting married, and the other is a friend or acquaintance who came instead of the groom to help the bride choose a dress. The groom probably had to work today, so she came with someone else. They seem to be quite close, given how comfortably they’re talking to each other.’

In that brief moment before the two customers reached the counter,

she had already formed quite a specific assessment just by quickly scanning them.

Quick and proactive behavior,

The friendliness to approach seniors without fear and boldly ask for guidance,

And an exceptional eye for detail that could only come with years of experience.

Though she hadn’t been a regular employee for long after finishing her probation period,

she was already considered a promising ace by her seniors.

For someone like her, figuring out what style would suit a bride-to-be who visited the shop,

and what kind of dress they might prefer was the most basic of basics.

She had already gone a step further,

able to infer why this customer had visited the wedding shop with a same-sex friend or acquaintance.

‘I’ve got the most difficult case on my hands.’

Multiple female customers of similar young age, or who don’t appear to have much of an age difference.

Moreover, both customers seemed to have no marriage experience yet.

This was the most awkward type of visit for wedding shop employees.

‘Welcome, which one of you is here to look at dresses?’

Normally, in a situation like this, one would ask the above question.

It’s a perfectly reasonable question within common sense.

They hadn’t made a reservation in advance, and both of them,

as far as she knew since joining the company, were first-time visitors to the shop.

‘Huh? Can’t you tell just by looking? Who looks like they’re getting married? Or what? In your eyes, do we look like people who could never get married even if we died?’

But even a question with no issues

can become problematic if someone wants to make it so.

Even a pure question with no ill intent could transform into a malicious one depending on who received it.

A woman about to get married was

the happiest woman in the world and simultaneously,

the most sensitive woman in the world.

No one in the world should deny her happiness or

question her happiness.

Who knew if this light question she was about to ask would ruin the bride-to-be’s happiness,

and in the worst case, lead to the extreme butterfly effect of a broken engagement?

Just as it’s darkest before dawn,

they say the time right before marriage has the highest probability of breaking up.

It was clear that one of the two was about to get married.

Instead of asking who the bride-to-be was, she decided to judge the real one hidden among the two based on her past experiences.

It’s okay, it shouldn’t be difficult.

She just needed to pick the one who looked like they were about to get married, obvious to anyone.

‘A tall, model-like customer with long black straight hair… and a customer with brown pigtails in a slightly oversized outfit as if trying to hide her petite frame…’

Both customers were undoubtedly beautiful with striking appearances.

Especially the woman with long black straight hair—she was astonishingly beautiful.

Even another woman might lose herself just looking at her.

Should she say that the beauty standards of the East, emphasizing empty space,

and those of the West, emphasizing fullness and splendor,

were harmoniously blended throughout her entire body?

If she took a photo of that customer’s face and sent it to the boss,

she would probably immediately send a love call to recruit her as a promotional model for their wedding shop.

The boss still had a bride photo from 25 years ago hanging next to the shop’s main entrance,

saying she hadn’t created a better work since then.

‘Oh dear, what am I doing? I’m not supposed to pick the pretty one, but the one who’s getting married.’

She tapped her own cheeks and changed her thinking.

If it’s difficult to choose the person who’s about to get married, why not pick the person she would want to marry if she were a man?

As soon as she changed the question, a smile formed on her lips.

The answer to what had seemed like a vague question became clear.

“You’re here to look at wedding dresses, right? Come this way!”

“…Eh?”

With a confident expression,

she approached the customer with long black straight hair who had impressed her.

“Excuse me…”

“Welcome! Our wedding shop specializes in wedding dresses that suit tall women like yourself perfectly!”

“No, I’m single.”

“Oh, you’re saving yourself for marriage! Are you Christian? Or is your family a pastor’s family?”

“No, my family is a prosecutor’s family.”

“Excuse me, I’m the one getting married! That student is my high school pupil!”

The rookie still had a long way to go.