“Please, I told you, I just want to live my life my way. Stop calling me.” A young man said into his phone as he sat in his standard Hongdae apartment.

   “But sir, it was requested that you attend your parents’ event. The rest of the Kim family is going and they told everyone that their son Jaeseop would be there.”

   “They can just say that I’m sick or something.” AJ countered. He hated being with them in those type of settings.

   “I know that you don’t that you want to go, but if it helps, they said you are more than welcome to bring a guest with you.”

   “Fine, send me the details.” AJ said as he hung up the phone. He let out a long sigh as he stood up from his cushioned couch and glanced at his phone. It was a dinner in the evening, which gave him all day to try and forget about it. He also had to pull out his expensive tuxedo which was in the closet? Or was it buried in one of his boxes with the other items? He’d have to look through it later. Though, he should let his friend know about his new plans for the night, assuming he wasn’t busy with the rest of the group at a Norebang or something.

   AJ went to the bathroom to get his face ready before getting dressed. Looking into the mirror, he saw his slender almond eyes looking back at him and hair that was tousled every which way. He splashed water on his face and dried it off before working on his hair.

   Entering his closet, AJ looked among his clothes and decided that he wanted to go for a slightly dark look to reflect his mood. He chose his favorite pair of black skinny jeans, boots, a light gray shirt, and a black varsity jacket. To finish off the look he added a ring given to him by his grandfather and a multi-layered necklace. He loved to make things and saw an idea for the necklace on the internet and pulled off his own with random costume pieces he bought off the street. The ring he always left on his finger when he felt that he was going to be bothered by nearby ladies who reeked of being desperate. Often they just walked away, but there had been at least one who still tried to make an effort.

   AJ floated to his mirror in the hallway and did a short hair check before smiling in satisfaction with his choice. He had known since he was young that the average man could still have great fashion, but he never expected that it would work for him. He had expected to be all over the place, never putting the right things together since butlers had always done it for him as a boy. He couldn’t place his finger on it, but something was going to go his way.

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   On the other side of town at the same time, a young lady was finishing her own outfit. Her dark brown locks rested on a pink lace dress which went slightly above the knee. Normally she would prefer just wearing jeans and a shirt, but she wanted to look her best when getting her hair done. She had waited to grow out her hair a little more for an experiment she was going to try. Now that it had gotten to where she liked it, it was time for action.

   Arriving at the salon, she sat down just as her stylist spotted her and welcomed her to her station. The stylist put their sheet around the young lady and fastened the snap in the back and then put the hair over it.

   “Oh, your hair has grown quite long hasn’t it, Ae Sook?”

   “I grew it out especially for today!”

   “Is something special going on today?” The stylist asked excitedly.

   “We’re coloring it! I wanted to do an ombré with the fade shades to be from orange to red.” Ae Sook replied, handing her a picture of what she was looking for.

   “It’s certainly bold to put those with your beautiful brown, but I think it will look great on you!” Ae Sook then nodded and grinned in response.

   Ae Sook also decided to do a deep conditioning treatment and was put under the hair dryer. She flipped through the magazine with no interest and suddenly felt her phone vibrate. She smiled as she saw that it was from her best friend Chin Hwa.

   Chin Hwa: Ae Sook, are you busy tonight?

   Ae Sook: I was going to go visit the mall, but it’s not a necessity for me to go.

   Chin Hwa: Great! Do you want to go to an event with me? I don’t like going to these chaebol events by myself. Some rich people are nice, but the really stingy ones annoy me.

   Ae Sook: Sure! That sounds like fun! Will my clothes be okay though? I don’t have anything as expensive as what they’ll probably wear.

   Chin Hwa: It’s fine! You’re getting your hair done, right? I’ll come over to the salon and we can go look for something.

   Ae Sook’s attention was taken by the stylist and was told there was at least another ten minutes before she would need to have her hair washed. The ten minutes seemed long, but she got moved to the sink soon enough. The stylist massaged her head a little and she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Getting pampered had definitely been what she needed after having dealt with so much stress for a few months.

   “Oh my god, did you see that guy that just walked in? He’s so handsome! His parents must have saved many lives in their past. Do you think he has a girlfriend?” One of the other customers said excitedly and Ae Sook couldn’t help but smile to herself. She had known Chin Hwa since they were children because their parents were all friends since high school. His dad got a big promotion which was how they turned into a wealthy family, but Chin Hwa also changed. As a little boy he was on the chubby side and very apathetic, but since Jr High, something changed in him. His diet changed, he exercised more, and he started gaining confidence. In high school he was pursued by many of the popular girls but he always rejected them. Ae Sook asked him why and when she did get an answer, he’d only say that they loved the image and not the person behind it.

   Ae Sook was at the chair the stylist had, getting her hair dried, when she saw a figure standing on her right out of the corner of her eye.

   “So this is what you did huh? It looks great, but you know that you still look beautiful without it.”

   “Oh thanks, Chin Hwa. I feel much better now.” Ae Sook replied as she sent him a slight glare and thanked the stylist who had finished with her hair. She always made sure to leave her a nice tip since she did amazing work and took her time to make it perfect.

   “Hey, you know that it’s not an insult. I really do like it!” Chin Hwa said as he followed Ae Sook who was standing herself up. All the younger customers acted as if they were busy, but she could feel their eyes on them and heard the occasional whispers that they usually attracted.

   “Okay, okay, I believe you.” Chin Hwa smiled softly in response and walked past her to grab her coat and bag before gesturing for them to leave out of the building. Ae Sook tried to reach for her bag and coat, but Chin Hwa moved his arms to the other side of him every time she made an attempt.

   “Chin Hwa, give it to me! You don’t have to carry things for me. We’re not a couple that’s dating.”

   “It’s okay, I want to. Besides, this stuff will distract everyone from appreciating your new hair. Wow, it’s really mesmerizing in the sunlight…” Chin Hwa trailed off and nearly ran into a sign that was in front of him. Ae Sook laughed and took her chance to poke fun at him for gawking too long. Chin Hwa let out a fake scoff and rolled his eyes.

   Chin Hwa had suggested the first store and Ae Sook followed without any complaint. She glanced at the place and realized it was the one his mom often talked about. The décor was black and white with the occasional printed lampshade. All the mannequins were dressed with the most popular pieces and the jewelry was either in a display case for itself or in a case with many other choices next to it. Though her dress was nice, the cost of the one piece alone was probably three times what her dress cost. It sort of felt like she was going to a hospital for her fashion choices and then when she was left with the “doctor”, she wouldn’t be the same anymore.

   “Welcome back Mr. Park, and what are we looking for today? Are you hoping to buy your girlfriend something pretty?” A store clerk questioned them.

   “Uh, she’s actually just a friend of mine. We’re attending an event today so I wanted to see if we could find her a dress.” Chin Hwa said with a slight blush on his face. Ae Sook didn’t appear to notice as she was still glancing at her surroundings.

   “Of course, right this way.” The store clerk said with a smile and led them to the back of the store. In the back, she sent them to a private room that had its own dressing room as well as somewhere to lounge. Ae Sook didn’t want to say anything, but she really felt like this was a wedding dress tryout and not an occasion for one event dress.

   A different stork clerk came into the room with a few dresses. One was a crazy print that Ae Sook didn’t care for. The second was black an asymmetrical cut of a layered-hem dress with a sweet-heart neckline on it. The third was a red dress with a cut-out back that was a little risky for her taste, but she supposed she would never know unless she tried it on.

   Ae Sook took the black dress into the dressing room and put it on. She then stepped out to the 3-way mirror to observe herself. The dress was plain, but it would be fine with some colored heels and a few accessories.

   “You should get that one.” Chin Hwa commented, stepping behind her to where she could feel his breath on her ear.

   “I like it a lot, but shouldn’t I try some other stuff on?”

   “If you think that’s what’s best.” Chin Hwa replied before backing away and carrying himself back to the couch. Ae Sook went back to the dressing room and tried the red one out. Though it did give her a womanly figure, she was a little more innocent and then thought of an idea. She called a store clerk in and asked for a Strapless Dip-back in the color white or the closest to it. The clerk soon came back and brought the exact style in chiffon, before apologizing that it was in a navy color. The more Ae Sook looked at it, the more she liked it. The front part for the chest had a nice twist that came in the middle and the short part in front would go just slightly above the knees. She reassured the clerk that it was perfect and quickly tried it on after the clerk left.

   Stepping out for the second time, Ae Sook made her way to the 3-way mirror and noticed how confident her stride was along with the smile on her face. Chin Hwa looked up from his phone and his jaw dropped. It would have landed on the floor had it not been attached to his face.

   “Are you okay there?” Ae Sook said as she looked at him through the mirror reflection.

   “Y-Yeah, I’m fine.”

   “So, how does it look?”

   “…I’m so glad you decided to keep trying on dresses. This is it Ae Sook. Please tell me you’re picking this one.”

   “I think so,” Ae Sook replied as she checked the price tag, “But are you really sure you want to pay for this? They want 300,000 won…”

   “It’s fine. Trust me, if you go in wearing this, you’ll be a highlight of the event.” Chin Hwa smiled before they let her change back, make the purchase, and head out back into the life of the city.