The next morning. ‘Lee Yeon-hwa Hair Studio.’
“One of you said earlier, Yeon-hwa, that you work too much?”
One of the employees directed this statement at the owner, Lee Yeon-hwa. Other employees gathered nearby nodded in agreement.
“Of course, you must work hard. There’s no way to just do it casually, right?”
Despite Lee Yeon-hwa reacting as if it weren’t a big deal,
“Yeon-hwa, these days, advertising is important.”
“That’s right. You don’t do any advertising at all, do you?”
“You have to especially now that it’s a hair salon only for entertainers!”
“We should post on Outstar, or start a blog series, or shoot a MyTube video. Some kind of systematic promotional plan is necessary.”
“Hmm…”
While objections flew everywhere, even Lee Yeon-hwa, pretending to stay calm, was inwardly aware of these issues.
Money.
The problem was, as always, money.
Lee Yeon-hwa had worked incredibly hard to reach her current level of skill, traveling abroad to various places just to learn hair design with the single-minded drive to become an expert. Finally, she had achieved success.
But after returning to Korea, she was faced with reality. There was a world of difference between honing one’s skills and gathering customers to run a business.
She couldn’t attract many customers.
With few customers, naturally, there were few opportunities to showcase her skills.
“Sister, we’re always too kind to the customers. It’s not that it’s bad, but wouldn’t it be better if it benefited both of us?”
“That’s right! People use the hairstyles we create to charm men, get married, have babies, and run households, but what about us?”
Lee Yeon-hwa sighed and shrugged her shoulders.
“…That’s why we made the plan for our hair studio to only receive entertainers as clients. Our talents are too good to waste on regular clients, and only entertainers can afford the high costs.”
“So it’s even more important to advertise! Sister, the entertainment industry is all about connections. It’s the truth.”
This was something Yeon-hwa somewhat agreed with.
It was good to acquire the skills to style celebrities’ hair but attracting them was another issue. Could someone who was only focused on practicing while abroad possibly have those connections?
“Hmm…”
It wouldn’t matter if Yeon-hwa could bear the deficits alone, but now she had a team of employees. Of course, she felt a sense of responsibility.
One of the employees clenched their fists.
“Sister, we need regular customers! We must catch regular customers!”
“Regular customers?”
“Yes! Regulars! Didn’t some trendy hair shop in Cheongdam have a sudden need for an assistant recently? I went there; they have ways of securing entertainers very tightly.”
“…Securing firmly?”
“That’s right. Capturing their hearts, making the celebrities proudly recommend the salon wherever they go. It’s like hanging a bell around a cat’s neck.”
The employee continued passionately. They explained that while cutting hair, they would also casually chat, offer drinks, and go above and beyond with care—enough to make it all work wonderfully.
Yeon-hwa nodded her head.
“By the way, we do have an entertainment client coming in for treatment today…”
“Really? Really? To our salon?”
“Yes. Remember the customer we did the piercings for last time? They turned out to be a stylist. Word got around and it led to an entertainer.”
“Which entertainer? No matter who, we must secure them as a regular! Absolutely must!”
“I understand the necessity of regulars. But…”
Yeon-hwa scratched her head.
“…Who here can hang the bell around the cat’s neck?”
“…”
Suddenly, an eerie silence fell.
Indeed, this studio was a place where only timid beauticians gathered, centered around Yeon-hwa.
Why were they all so skilled?
Because they were too cautious and spent their days practicing on wigs… because they found that easier than dealing with people…
“…”
As the silence stretched on without end, someone shouted.
“If we all work together, there’s no reason we can’t do it! I noticed that no one works alone in other places! Psychology tells us that if three people repeat something, people eventually believe it!”
“Yeah! We’ll help you!”
“Let’s turn entertainers into regulars!”
That’s when it happened.
The door burst open and in walked a group led by PD Choi Hee-won and screenwriter Lee Geum-sook, the production team for Special Task Force 808, accompanied by stylists.
Their presence was overwhelming, forming an invisible wall around the hair designers. It felt like they were there to monitor every move.
“…”
Yeon-hwa glanced around. One employee seemed distracted, another was reading a magazine, and another had silently started cleaning.
“…”
As the last person entered,
“Hello.”
A deep voice. The moment she caught the woman’s gaze,
“Ah, ah, hello! I’ll do my best today…”
Yeon-hwa bowed deeply without realizing it.
And she realized.
That mice inherently cannot hang bells on cats.
■■■■■
“It feels like I’ve been kidnapped.”
This was Sua’s first thought.
She was seated in the hair salon chair, yet there were far too many people watching from behind. PD Choi Hee-won, screenwriter Lee Geum-sook, and about ten stylists she had never met before were standing close by.
The common thread among them was that they were all staring at Sua’s face. It was honestly quite burdensome.
Splish—
That’s when the cold hair dye touched her cheek.
Sua gave a fleeting glance and it didn’t appear to be intentional. The owner’s hand was noticeably trembling.
“I’m sorry. I’ll wipe it off right away.”
“Take your time.”
However, the owner’s hands only sped up. The stylists standing behind with their arms crossed began to chime in with comments.
“Please take care not to damage the hair.”
“Yes, yes, certainly…”
“Is the dye mixed properly? It doesn’t seem to be applying evenly.”
“The lack of oil in her hair could be why…”
“How long will it take for the color to set?”
“Most likely, the hair will need to be washed a few days later…”
Sua occasionally checked the owner’s face through the mirror, every glance revealing a face that looked a decade older. Meanwhile, PD Choi Hee-won came up with a tablet in his hand.
He displayed a lot of content on the tablet screen.
“This is what Sua looks like in male attire. If we CG-process the chest and hips, it would likely look something like this. Meanwhile, Kim Yu-han, as we prepare in the salon, will reveal an identity like this.”
Sua couldn’t take her eyes off it out of sheer fascination.
It was interesting to confirm what she would be captured as in the upcoming shoot. Somehow, it felt like watching someone else, even though it was herself.
Perhaps it was the feeling of transforming into someone else? It felt fresh.
‘It kind of feels like reading a character setting book. It’s really amazing.’
As PD Choi Hee-won finished explaining Kim Yu-han’s “facade,” it was then screenwriter Lee’s turn to explain the “inner world.”
“These are the scripts we’ll be using for the main shoot. There’s quite a bit, isn’t there?”
She gave Sua an awkward smile, understandable given the situation. The stack of scripts piled from the floor had reached nearly the height of Sua’s thigh.
“To be honest, as a writer, I feel inadequate. Not only am I delivering the scripts late, but the volume is also vast. I am constantly sorry and grateful to Sua.”
Of course, Sua didn’t have much to say.
The amount of scripts mattered little since she would only need to handle them once. Besides, wasn’t experiencing the content of Task Force 808 already fun?
So, she nodded calmly.
“More inspiration is good. Please deliver them as they are written.”
“Miss Sua…”
Could there be any statement more moving to a writer than asking for more? Due to her words, screenwriter Lee Geum-sook now looked at Sua with even deeper admiration in her eyes.
PD Choi Hee-won then continued the explanations.
“Lee Kang-cheol is a dogmatic idealist, represented by black, and Kim Yu-han represents the ability to adapt to anything, symbolized by white. We’ll contrast these.”
“That’s right. And if you read the script, you’ll see that Miss Sua has a section where you temporarily exit and rest. Therefore, the final number of episodes you’ll appear in will be just half, maybe around 10 episodes?”
Sua couldn’t help but blink her eyes.
10 episodes? That meant she’d earn an amount as high as 40 million won, given her rate of 4 million won per episode, right?
‘This is interesting…and you can earn money too?’
Sua deeply considered. Wasn’t life about doing difficult things to earn money? What was my life up until now?
That’s when it happened.
─♩♪♬
Screenwriter Lee Geum-sook’s phone rang. She glanced at it briefly before putting it back in her pocket, but it rang again.
─♩♪♬
It kept ringing several times.
“Ugh. It’s so busy.”
A line that should have suggested someone about to collapse in exasperation, yet screenwriter Lee Geum-sook’s face was exceptionally bright. She even sent a content smile towards Sua.
“Other actors contact me every morning. They really say they’ll work hard. It’s all thanks to you, Miss Sua.”
“…”
“Me? Why is it because of me?”
But now it was habitual for her lips to move.
“I agree.”
“You do realize, right? What you did on the mock shoot day greatly helped everyone. They’re all pushing themselves.”
After that, Sua endured endless praise, exhortations, encouragement, and explanations, and time flowed like water.
Finally,
Sua’s newly dyed white hair, which had been through shampoo and drying, was revealed. And when the dot under her eyes was added,
“Uh…”
A dazed murmur escaped, but it was from the owner herself. She wore a vacant expression, understandable to anyone.
A face that suggested she hadn’t expected this result.
There wasn’t any conversation between Lee Geum-sook and Choi Hee-won. They only exchanged one glance and then:
“Miss Sua…”
“Miss Sua…”
Simultaneously, both gave a thumbs-up.
Sua followed suit, using both hands.
