CH 4

Grade B Translation

A mix of MTL and Human Translation. Translated and interpreted as best as I can.

Mixed with some Korean terms. Misinterpretation may occur due to limited comprehensive ability.

Awkward English, bad grammar, and typos may often occur as Translator is not fluent in English and not edited by Editor nor proofed by Proofreader.

“How is it?”

“Oh…”

After the hair dressing that took quite a long time, I was truly amazed when I looked in the mirror. With my glasses off and my hair done, my face, which I had lived with my whole life, seemed unfamiliar.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be to this extent. Why have you been covering up this nice face?”

“Ahaha…”

I just awkwardly smiled at Ryu Yeon Hwa’s sincere compliment. I had never heard this in all of my life. I wasn’t sure how to react.

However, I could see why people pay expensive money to come to hair salons. Whenever Ryu Yeon Hwa pinched my hair and touched the details, my impression changed.

“You don’t have to trim it much until the perm is gone, but it’s good to learn these basic things.”

“All right.”

Ryu Yeon Hwa kindly taught me how to use a hairdryer, apply hairs essence, use hairspray, and other things.

These are skills that I can use forever after learning it, and they might also come in handy if a male character who likes to decorate appears in my work.

I kept nodding and trying to remember Ryu Yeon Hwa’s teaching.

“I’ll take care of the things you need when you go, so please dress up like this daily.”

“No, you don’t have to…”

“That’s also included in the cost.”

Then, I should accept it.

After all, it’s not an additional payment, but it’s calculated in the cost considering that in the first place. It’s definitely a loss if I don’t accept it.

‘Just how expensive is this?’

My mouth was itching to ask. Ryu Yeon Hwa seemed to have already noticed that I’m not a rich young master, so can’t I ask?

“Unnie, is it all done?”

“Huh. Come and see it here.”

“…….”

“How’s it, totally fit well right? Ha Neul ssi also deserves to be called good-looking. Where did you find this gemstone?”

“…….”

Kang Ba Da was silent. I could clearly feel the way she looked at me through the mirror, but she didn’t even budge.

As I glanced up, I could vividly sense Kang Ba Da’s hardened expression. No matter how blunt I was to others’ evaluation, it was a bit hurtful to see her react like that.

Ryu Yeon Hwa also tilted her head at Kang Ba Da’s lukewarm reaction.

“What’s it. You don’t like it?”

“No. It is better than I thought.”

“But what’s with your reaction?”

“No, it’s just… Unnie, we don’t have time. So we’ll go first.”

“Oh, huh. Yeah.”

Swish-!

At the end of her words, Kang Ba Da turned around and left. I stared blankly at her back, then quickly rose to my feet.

“Thank you for today, Chief Ryu!”

“Ha Neul ssi! You have to take the stuff!”

“I will take it next time!”

It’s not something like a hairspray that matters now. I don’t know what happened outside, but the priority is to relieve Kang Ba Da’s mood.

“Ba Da ssi!”

Flinch-!

Shortly after I left the hair salon, I found Kang Ba Da standing blankly in front of the door. She looked back in surprise when I raised my voice.

“……?”

Kang Ba Da’s condition is strange.

As she looked back, she stared at my face. I thought she was angry at me for falling asleep, but that doesn’t seem to be the issue.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“…….”

Kang Ba Da also didn’t say anything to my question. Did something serious happen? While I worried about this and that.

Swoop-!

Kang Ba Da came closer to me. She looked closely at my face from a distance where, with a little exaggeration, we could reach each other’s breath.

“What’s this. How can a person change so fast like this? Did you get botox while I was out? Perhaps, is this a mask?”

“First of all, please calm douwnnn…?”

Suddenly Kang Ba Da began to pull my cheek. She didn’t pinch it that hard, but it was enough for my pronunciation to leak.

“It’s not a mask, though?”

“Deefeeneetly… Not!”

I grabbed Kang Ba Da’s wrist and removed it. Then this time, she stared blankly at her wrist held by me.

I realized it at that moment and quickly removed my hand, but she kept looking back and forth between her wrist and me. Stunned by this, I carefully opened my mouth.

“…That side pinched my cheek first.”

“That side?”

“Ba Da ssi’s side.”

As soon as I corrected the title, Kang Ba Da’s eyes, which had risen sharply for a moment, returned to their original state. So, it seemed that she was pretty sensitive about things like this.

‘I’ll have to be careful about this, too.’

If I inadvertently say something bad and the news gets to her family. I could literally be buried alive.

‘Just in case, I should talk to my friends about it.’

If you don’t get any contact from me for about a week, please call the police. They should at least be able to find my body.

‘I’ll have to let them say hello someday.’

I’ll invite them to the wedding ceremony, but before that, we’ll have to share connections. Even if things go wrong, my chances of survival will increase.

In the worst case scenario, we may end up in the grave hand in hand, but my friends will probably forgive me for that.

“I am sorry for suddenly pinching your cheek. I couldn’t believe it even after seeing it. In fact, even now.”

“I think you’re overreacting a bit…”

“I would rather that be the case. I don’t know if it’s because I’m blinded with love. But, does that make sense? Right?”

Is this a compliment or an insult.

Somehow, it feels strange.

While I was silent because I didn’t know how to react, she nodded to herself and muttered things like, ‘Yeah, that doesn’t make sense’.

‘…But that’s a relief.’

For once, I don’t think she was angry. It seemed like she even liked my hair somehow. It’s a much better situation than what I was worried about.

“But our restaurant reservation…”

“Plans have changed. Let’s go buy clothes first.”

“Yeah?”

“Your hairstyle and clothes don’t match at all right now. It keeps bothering me that I won’t even know where the rice goes in.”

Kang Ba Da looked me up and down. I nodded quietly at her firm attitude as if she would never receive an objection.

“Do whatever you want, Ba Da ssi.”

That’s right, the customer is the king.

Because I get paid accordingly for taking her to the destination she wants. All I have to do is not get lost in the middle.

“Then let’s go to the parking lot first.”

“Yes, sure.”

After that, we drove together to the department store.

.

.

.

“…It’s comfortable to ride.”

“Right? I custom-ordered the seats myself.”

“Are you originally interested in cars?”

“Not really, actually. It’s just that as soon as I saw Scarlett, my feelings got hooked and recognized her a little?”

For your information, ‘Scarlett’ is the nickname of the car we are riding now. That’s how much she cares about her car.

Well, it costs about 160 million won just for the metal without any options. It’s the romance of all car poors, Porsche 911.

‘This obviously has full-options.’

Porsche is a well-known brand for customization, to the extent that it’s said to be ‘making my own unique car’.

If you add that many options, the belly button gets bigger than the belly. But there was an example right before my eyes.

‘Is it going to be 300 to 400 million won altogether?’

As soon as Kang Ba Da started the engine, Scarlett responded vigorously with a ‘vroom-!’. That sound still lingered in my ears.

‘It’s pie in the sky.’

It is impossible to operate such a car, even if I receive twice the amount of 5 million won per month. It would be hard to afford the maintenance fee too.

“Would you like to drive yourself?”

“Can I do that!?”

“Woah. That’s the most intense reaction I’ve ever seen. I heard you were a driver soldier in the military, so you really like cars.”

“Ahaha…”

I blurted out my thoughts without realizing, so I slightly turned my head out of the window in shame. I have liked cars since I was young.

‘Although, it’s just decoration for me.’

There’s a reason for that. I only leave the house once or twice a week. It would be a serious waste to operate my own car.

Whenever I write a new story, it’s a small pleasure in my life to window shop and think, ‘if this work becomes a hit, should I buy this?’.

“Hmm, but never mind.”

Suddenly, Ba Da shook her head.

I felt a bit disappointed inside. But if this was my car, I would never leave it to anyone else, so I fully understood her change of words.

“It’s okay. This is too much for…”

“No. It’s not like that. Ha Neul ssi, you stayed up all night last night, right? You even fell asleep at the hair salon earlier.”

“…That’s right?”

“I can never allow drowsy driving. So, make sure to come out in full condition tomorrow. I’ll let you drive her yourself then.”

…Is she an angel?

A halo seemed to emanate from behind Kang Ba Da. I couldn’t believe she was handing over a foreign car that people couldn’t even lend to their family.

“You promised me.”

“Huh, promise.”

“……?”

“You don’t know this either, perhaps?”

“No, that’s not it… “

“Then promise me quickly. Here.”

Kang Ba Da took my hand and led me. That’s how we promised each other on our little fingers.

‘…I feel like I’ve become a child.’

When was the last time I held pinkies with someone. Maybe ‘Little Kim Ha Neul’ should come out again. I think the girl I met at the playground was the last one.

‘What did I promise then?’

It’s been so long that I can’t remember. It won’t matter much. Maybe we made a typical promise like kids, saying ‘let’s get married when we grow up’.

“Shall we get off now?”

“Oh, yes.”

I shook my head lightly to shake off my thoughts. It’s not polite to think of someone else in front of another person.

“Welcome.”

“……?”

We parked the car and entered the department store, but suddenly many staff came out to greet us. I was wondering what on earth was going on.

“Ah, Chief Park! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

“Thank you for remembering me.”

“Of course I remember. Thank you for listening to this hard request. Everyone is having a hard time because of us.”

“No. Because we get that much bonus. Rather, it was harder to pick out because it was overflowing with volunteers, so please feel free to use them.”

At the end of that remark, other attendants, including a person called ‘Chief Park’, bowed down in unison. I had never received such a folder greeting before.

‘…I don’t think I’ve seen this in a drama either.’

My brain, trained with a wide range of inputs, also gave up on understanding the situation, so I barely managed to follow Kang Ba Da who went ahead.

Three attendants followed behind me. They seem to be observing our side continuously while keeping a certain distance.

“Ba Da ssi, these people are…?

“Ah, they are entourages assigned to Trinity Members. They will carry our luggage for us.”

“I see.”

For now, I understand.

I also have researched ‘Trinity Members’ while writing a chaebol story. In the department store, it is a special grade given to only a few individuals based on their performance, status, and other factors.

“But why aren’t there any customers at the department store?”

“It’s supposed to be a day off for the department store today. But I asked Chief Park to open it.”

“Aha.”

I see.

So people use the common term ‘paid out a yearly rent’ at times like this. My home’s monthly rent alone is too much for me, but this woman even uses a department store like her own home.

‘They said that the top 1% are responsible for 30% of total sales…’

I was a little flustered by the scale of different dimensions. If this situation were written in a novel, how would the readers react.

[Does this make sense? Don’t even research?]

[Writer nim, it’s too unrealistic.]

[No sense of probability, it’s hard to be immersed.]

I’m sure there will be comments like these. In reality, much more exaggerated things happen than in novels.

I think I may need to tone it down a bit to public taste if I want to write this scene in a novel.

“What are you thinking about?”

This nonchalant expression.

There is no lie or pretension.

I bet Kang Ba Da has no idea what she has done now. She has lived in a world where this is ‘natural’.

‘A person living in a completely different world from me.’

I have to be careful and cautious.

Because if her world and mine collide, this side will disappear without a trace. Knowing that, I smiled softly.

“It’s nothing. Where shall we start?”

“First of all, perfume! I’ve picked a few. But it depends on the body scent and time. So, let’s experiment with various things while shopping!”

“Alright.”

Kang Ba Da ran forward like a very excited child. Looking at her back, I walked slowly.