“What do you think?”

  

  “Whoa…”

  

  After the pretty long session, I finally looked in the mirror and honestly couldn’t believe it. I took off my glasses, ran my fingers through my hair—and the face I’ve seen every day of my life suddenly looked like a stranger.

  

  “Seriously, I didn’t think it’d turn out this good. Why have you been hiding such a handsome face all this time?”

  

  “Haha…”

  

  I just gave an awkward laugh at Ryu Yeon-hwa’s sincere compliment. When’s the last time anyone said something like that to me? I didn’t even know how to react.

  

  But yeah, I totally get now why people drop serious money at salons. Every time she tweaked a strand or fixed some tiny detail, my whole vibe changed completely.

  

  “Since the perm’s gonna last a while, you don’t have to do anything fancy to maintain it, but it’s still good to know the basics.”

  

  “Got it.”

  

  She patiently showed me how to use a blow dryer, when to put on essence, how to spray it right—everything. Useful life skill, and if I ever write a guy character who’s into grooming, I can steal these notes.

  

  I kept nodding seriously, trying to burn every tip into my brain.

  

  “I’ll pack up the stuff you need so you can keep doing this at home.”

  

  “Ah, you really don’t have to—”

  

  “It’s already included in the price.”

  

  Well then, I’m taking it.

  

  It’s not an extra charge—it was calculated in from the start. Passing it up would just be throwing money away.

  

  ‘How expensive is this whole thing…?’

  

  I was dying to ask. She already seems to know I’m not some rich kid, but would it be rude?

  

  “Unnie, you done?”

  

  “Yeah, come look.”

  

  “……”

  

  “See? Turned out great, right? Ha-neul-ssi is legitimately handsome—like, heavens-jealous level. Where’d you dig up a raw gem like him?”

  

  “……”

  

  Kang Bada didn’t say a word. I could feel her staring at me through the mirror, but she didn’t move a muscle.

  

  When I glanced up, her face was stiff as a board. I’m usually numb to what people think, but that kind of reaction stings a little.

  

  Ryu Yeon-hwa tilted her head at the lukewarm vibe.

  

  “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

  

  “No… it actually turned out better than I thought.”

  

  “Then why do you look like that?”

  

  “Uh… no reason. Unnie, we’re kinda short on time, so I’m gonna head out first.”

  

  “Okay, sure.”

  

  Whoosh—

  

  She spun around and walked out without another word. I stared at her back for a second, then jumped up.

  

  “Thanks for everything today, Director!”

  

  “Ha-neul! Don’t forget your stuff!”

  

  “I’ll grab it next time!”

  

  Right now, hairspray is the least of my problems. Something happened outside—I don’t know what—but I need to fix her mood fast.

  

  “Bada-ssi!”

  

  She flinched.

  

  The second I stepped out of the salon, I saw her standing frozen in front of the door, looking dazed. When I called her name, she whipped around in surprise.

  

  “……?”

  

  She’s acting really weird.

  

  She turned fully and just… stared at my face. At first I thought she was still mad about me falling asleep earlier, but nah, that wasn’t it.

  

  “Is there something on my face?”

  

  “……”

  

  No answer. My brain started running worst-case scenarios—was there some kind of emergency?

  

  Then suddenly—

  

  She closed the distance in two big steps. We were basically face-to-face, close enough to feel each other’s breath, and she started inspecting me like I was a science project.

  

  “What the hell? How does a person change this much? Did you sneak off and get Botox while I was gone? Is this a hyper-realistic mask or something?”

  

  “Uh… can you calm down first…?”

  

  Out of nowhere she reached up and started gently tugging my cheek. Not hard, but enough that my words came out funny.

  

  “It’s not a mask, though?”

  

  “Caaalm… no, it’s not!”

  

  I grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away. She blinked down at where I was holding her, then back up at me. Feeling awkward, I let go and mumbled,

  

  “…You’re the one who pinched my cheek first.”

  

  “You’re…?”

  

  “Bada-ssi.”

  

  The second I corrected her, that sharp glint in her eyes softened. Okay, she’s really sensitive about honorifics.

  

  ‘Gotta watch that from now on.’

  

  One slip-up and if word gets back to her family… yeah, I could literally get buried alive.

  

  ‘Better warn my friends just in case.’

  

  If I go radio silent for like a week, please report me missing. At minimum they should recover the body.

  

  ‘Gotta introduce them eventually anyway.’

  

  I’ll obviously invite them to the wedding, but sharing contacts early might raise my survival odds.

  

  Worst case we all go down together hand-in-hand, but my friends would probably forgive me.

  

  “Sorry for grabbing your cheek out of nowhere. Even I’m having trouble believing it. Like… even right now.”

  

  “I feel like you’re overselling it a bit…”

  

  “I wish. If only my eyes were playing tricks on me. But that doesn’t make sense, right?”

  

  Is this a compliment or a roast?

  

  My feelings were all over the place.

  

  I didn’t know what to say, so I just stayed quiet. She kept nodding to herself and muttering stuff like “Yeah, that wouldn’t make sense.”

  

  “…Anyway, I’m relieved.”

  

  So she’s not actually mad. And she seems to like the new look. Way better than the disaster scenarios I was imagining.

  

  “By the way, about our dinner reservation…”

  

  “Change of plans. We’re buying clothes first.”

  

  “Huh?”

  

  “Your current outfit doesn’t match the hair at all. It’s stressing me out—I won’t even taste the food worrying about it.”

  

  She kept scanning me head to toe with this no-arguments-allowed face. I just nodded.

  

  “Do whatever you want, Bada-ssi.”

  

  Yeah, customer is king.

  

  I get paid to take her wherever she wants. As long as I don’t screw up the route, we’re good.

  

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

  

  “Okay.”

  

  We got in the car together and drove to the department store.

  

  …

  

  “…This ride feels amazing.”

  

  “Right? I had the seats custom-made.”

  

  “You’ve always been into cars?”

  

  “Not really. The moment I saw Scarlet, something just clicked, so I looked into it a little.”

  

  By the way, “Scarlet” is her nickname for this car. That’s how much she loves it.

  

  Even bone-stock, it’s around 160 million won. The dream of every car enthusiast—the Porsche 911.

  

  ‘And this one is clearly fully loaded.’

  

  Porsche is famous for insane customization—so much so that people say “building your own car.”

  

  Add too many options and the price easily balloons. Case in point: right in front of me.

  

  ‘Altogether… probably 300–400 million won?’

  

  The second she started the engine, Scarlet answered with a deep, powerful “Vrrroooom!” The sound was still ringing in my ears.

  

  ‘Total pie in the sky for me.’

  

  Even if my monthly pay doubled to 10 million, running a car like this would be impossible. Maintenance alone would crush me.

  

  “Wanna drive on the way there?”

  

  “Seriously?!”

  

  “Wow, that’s the most excited I’ve seen you yet. You were a driver in the military, right? You really love cars, don’t you?”

  

  “Haha…”

  

  I accidentally let my real feelings slip and got embarrassed, so I quickly turned to look out the window. Yeah, I’ve been into cars since I was a kid.

  

  “To me it’s basically just decoration, though.”

  

  Makes sense. I barely leave the house once a week. Owning a car would be pure waste.

  

  Every time I start a new story I do the little fantasy: “If this one blows up, maybe I’ll treat myself…” Window-shopping is my version of fun.

  

  “Hmm… actually, never mind.”

  

  She suddenly shook her head.

  

  A tiny part of me felt disappointed. But if it were my car, I wouldn’t let anyone else touch it either—so I get why she changed her mind.

  

  “It’s fine. It’s way too much for me anyway—”

  

  “No, that’s not why. You pulled an all-nighter, right? And you even dozed off in the salon earlier.”

  

  “…Yeah.”

  

  “Drowsy driving is a hard no. So come tomorrow fully rested. I’ll let you drive then.”

  

  …Is she actually an angel?

  

  I swear I saw a halo behind her head. She won’t even lend this imported beast to her own family, but she’s handing me the keys over one little promise?

  

  “You promised me.”

  

  “Yeah, promised.”

  

  “……?”

  

  “You know what that means, right?”

  

  “Uh… not really—”

  

  “Then let’s do it. Come on.”

  

  She grabbed my hand and pulled it toward her. Next thing I knew, our pinkies were hooked together in a classic pinky promise.

  

  “…Feels like I’m a kid again.”

  

  When was the last time I did this? Probably gonna have to wait until little Kim Ha-neul shows up again. That girl from the playground might’ve been the last one.

  

  ‘What did we even promise back then?’

  

  Too long ago—memory’s all fuzzy. Nothing important, probably. Some cheesy kid thing like “Let’s get married when we grow up,” I bet.

  

  “Should we head down now?”

  

  “Ah, yeah.”

  

  I shook my head lightly to clear the random thoughts. It’s rude to be thinking about someone else when the person’s right here.

  

  “Welcome.”

  

  “……?”

  

  We parked and walked into the department store—and suddenly staff were lined up greeting us. What the…?

  

  “Ah, Manager Park! Long time no see.”

  

  “Thank you for remembering me.”

  

  “Of course we remember. Thank you so much for handling our difficult request. Everyone’s been working hard because of us.”

  

  “No, no—we actually got a bonus out of it. Honestly it was harder picking volunteers because so many people wanted to help. Please enjoy yourselves comfortably.”

  

  With that, Manager Park and the rest of the staff all bowed deeply at once. First time in my life getting the full “folder greeting.”

  

  ‘…This is some drama-level stuff.’

  

  Even my brain—used to processing huge amounts of info—just gave up trying to compute. I just followed Kang Bada’s lead with shaky steps.

  

  Three staff members trailed behind us at a polite distance, constantly glancing our way.

  

  “Bada-ssi, who are those people…?”

  

  “Oh, Trinity members get personal assistants. They’ll carry anything we buy.”

  

  “Gotcha.”

  

  Okay, that tracks.

  

  I did research on “Trinity membership” for my chaebol novel. It’s this ultra-exclusive tier the department store gives to only a handful of people based on spending, status, etc.

  

  “But why is the whole place empty?”

  

  “Today was supposed to be a closing day. I asked the manager to open it just for us for a bit.”

  

  “Ah.”

  

  Yeah… that checks out.

  

  So this is what “I rented out the whole place” actually looks like. Our monthly rent already stresses me out, and this woman treats a department store like her personal closet.

  

  ‘They say the top 1% account for 30% of sales…’

  

  The scale was hitting me hard. If I put this exact scene in a novel, what would readers say?

  

  [Does this even make sense? Zero research lol]

  

  [Author-nim, this is way too unrealistic]

  

  [Plausibility is trash → immersion dead]

  

  Those comments would flood in for sure. Meanwhile real life is way crazier than fiction.

  

  If I ever use this in a book, I’ll probably have to tone it way down to make it believable.

  

  “What are you thinking about so hard?”

  

  That innocent, completely genuine face.

  

  No trace of bragging or showing off.

  

  She genuinely has no idea how insane what she just did is. To her, this is just… normal.

  

  ‘She lives in an entirely different universe from me.’

  

  I need to be careful. Extremely careful.

  

  If our worlds crash into each other, mine vanishes without a trace. Knowing that, I gave her a soft smile.

  

  “Nothing big. Where do we start?”

  

  “Perfume first! I already picked out a few. Scents change depending on your body chemistry and the time of day, so let’s try a bunch while we shop!”

  

  “Sounds good.”

  

  She bounced forward like an excited kid. I watched her back and followed slowly, step by step.