"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, !" Kim Yongsun shouted at her best friend of many years while holding a large helium balloon.

Startled in broad daylight, the birthday girl stood at her apartment door and groaned.

"Yongsun unnie..." Wheein rolled her eyes in exasperation.

The old-time visitor let herself into the apartment casually while the birthday girl popped her head out of her apartment to check if anyone has heard her loud friend.

When the homeowner closed her front door and turned back to face the interior of her apartment, a beaming Yongsun shot out her arm to hand over the special balloon.

"Thank you, unnie" Wheein received the cute helium balloon in the design of a welsh corgi from her excited best friend. As a cat owner, she prayed that her feline housemate would not assault this floating fake canine as she placed the balloon at a corner inside her bedroom. The scottish fold has been sitting on the window ledge while silently observing her movement.

Wheein gave her companion a long and hard stare, as if her prayer can be conveyed to the cat via telepathy. She mouthed a "No" and gestured using an index finger at the notorious cat before she grabbed her slingbag.

She returned to the living room where her friend is now lounging on the sofa and scrolling through her phone.

"Let's go!" Yongsun exclaimed as they leave the apartment.

The two girls arrived at a newly-opened perfume store in town and it seemed like business is already booming as many staff are attending to various customers and some are busy restocking goods. The fact that there is a spring season sale going on has made it a convincing reason for anyone to grab a new fragrance on steal price.

Wheein straightaway noticed a prominent red "Sold-out" sign on an empty display shelf while she was caught in a jostling crowd reaching out for different product. The gentle instrumental tune playing though the speakers were drowned out by the sea of rowdy people who are busy snatching up intricate glass bottles.

"Excuse me, we're here for the perfume-making workshop." Yongsun finally managed to grab the attention of a sales representative.

"Oh, hi there! Miss, let me bring you two up to the class." Dressed in a formal outfit matched with a white lab coat resembling a laboratory chemist, the courteous guy began to usher the two customers towards a narrow staircase situated deeper towards the end of the store. 

On the second floor, a long live-edge wooden table is positioned in the middle of the open space. A modern chandelier acted as the perfect center piece to capture as the main focal point to balance the interior aesthetic.

"Good afternoon, Miss..?" A different staff - in a simple pastel blue dress - holding a clipboard is now attending to them as the representative from earlier on has returned to the ground floor to resume his main duty.

"Miss Kim. I'm here with my friend, Miss Jung."

"Ah I see, please take a seat. We're still expecting two more attendees and will commence once everyone is ready." The staff explained in a polite tone and scanned the name list to tick their names.

Wheein chose a corner seat towards the back of the space and her friend sat opposite her. An old couple arrived five minutes later and eight people are now gathered along the table.

"Everyone has arrived." The staff chimed into a room at the back where Wheein is seated closest to.

Curious, Wheein tilted her head to face where the staff is standing at.

"Thanks, Seulgi!" A mellow voice replied and a slender lady emerged from the room. Her straight long fringe is tucked neatly behind
her ears and the rest of her long black hair rest freely on her back.

In a black long-sleeved cashmere turtleneck and brown wide-legged pants, the lady waltzed into the space wearing a pair of black polished loafers.

Wow.

Apart from celebrities that Wheein has seen on social media and TVs, she has not met someone in real life who could carry a matured and elegant aura like this person.

Wheein could only cry in envy at the perfect porcelain complexion as the lady is now standing close to her.

Even her scent smells so attractive.

"Hello everyone, I'm Miss Moon Byulyi." The lady said in a cheerful tone to lighten up the tension in the room filled with strangers.

Damn, you're telling me even the name and voice of this lady are beautiful. The deities are definitely biased.

"And this is Miss Kang Seulgi, my partner who will also be guiding all of you today." The assistant took a slight bow and flashed a warm smile while waving her hands.

"Miss... Are you okay?" The workshop instructor asked in a low voice to avoid sounding offensive, taking a small careful step towards Wheein who has been staring at her with the mouth agape.

"Huh?" Wheein blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm-I'm I'm fine." The attendee stuttered in a small voice. The last thing the introvert wants is to gain attention from the strangers in the room. Yongsun looked at her best friend, entertained even before the fun workshop has started.

Relieved, Byulyi turned her attention back to everyone else.

"I'm a perfumer. But I also like to refer myself as a scent engineer." She started.

"Today, we will be constructing a scent that will belong uniquely to each of you. But first, please take the short personality quiz that Seulgi is now handing out." Wheein received an A4 paper and a pen from the workshop assistant.

"The purpose of this quiz is to help yourself narrow down the general direction of the scent that you will build." Wheein read through carefully the entire list of questions while her friend just went ahead to answer and read the next question on the go.

Like a class test, Wheein clicked the ballpoint pen and started to answer the questionnaire truthfully.

About fifteen minutes later, everyone was done.

The instructor and her assistant split up to approach the participants and gave their consultation.

Byulyi looked at Yongsun's answers and suggested the fresh fragrance family. For Wheein, the expert suggested to go for something woody.

Seulgi started to bring out four sets of trays with a range of mini dropper bottles neatly arranged and labeled.

While Byulyi started to elaborate on the basic theory of perfume-making and talked about the history of fragrances, Seulgi moved on to distribute a clear rectangular glass bottle to each participant.

"We will be using grapeseed oil for the base since its mild and neutral scent i