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Nail Shop Paradise
"You're fired."
She couldn't believe she was hearing those words. Again. Sohyun had been working at this salon for maybe four months now, roughly five, but overall just not enough. Her manager was discontent to let her go, but it had to be done. Sohyun took responsibility for all the trouble she caused. She understood why she was being relieved and if she was being honest with herself she probably would have fired herself long ago. Her brother, thirteen year old Sungmin, stood regretfully by her side as she bowed to the nail salon staff and thanked them for the opportunity to work with them. It was all his fault, everyone thought. Had he not gotten into another fight at school Sohyun wouldn't have left so urgently to beg the school's director to not expel him. He, out of all the other issues she had during work, was the biggest one. Sohyun forced her brother's head down to a bow as well and apologized for the umpteenth time on his behalf. They departed the shop Sohyun thought would have been her last and official place of work. She hit her brother on the arm as they waited for the public bus.
"How could you? Why do you constantly have to make things so difficult for me?"
He couldn't look up at her crying face, feeling bad enough that he got his sister fired and now she was going to have to explain it to their struggling parents as well.
"Don't just stand there and look stupid. Say something! Both our lives are a wreck because of you, you need to be responsible for your actions!"
"Noona..." The words came out stiffly, "Sorry."
She hit him again, outraged that that was the best he could come up with. All she could do was cry and complain and blame everything on him at the time being. When they got home it was a different story.
"Ah, you're here early." Their mother was peeling several pounds of garlic for a nearby restaurant. She didn't have a full-time job but she worked whenever she could to bring in some type of income. Sungmin avoided her and went straight to his room. Sohyun sighed and began to help her mother. "Don't!" Her mother was very persistent about Sohyun doing more work at home after being at the salon all day.
"Don't worry, I'm full of energy today." A lie but necessary excuse. She decided to not tell her parents that she was let go from another salon for the sake of their stress and Sungmin's life. If her parents found out that he was being such a troublemaker at school again they would beat him and then send him across the country as they promised. "So what's for dinner?"
✮✮✮
Sohyun walked out another salon empty handed. None of them were hiring which made sense, it was spring and all the shops were getting their staff full and ready for all the customers to come. Sohyun would have been lucky enough if they had a opening for just cleaning duty.
"Ah. I've already been fired from half these shops." The struggle was real. If there was a shop that she hadn't been fired from, they knew that she was likely to be fired, and if there was a shop that didn't know who she was, they would have questioned the number of times she changed work places so often. She stomped repeatedly on the sidewalk and wailed. "Damn that brother of mine!"
"Yah, Paradise Nails is so great."
"I know."
"I'm going to go back, the boys there are total lookers."
Sohyun listened as closely as she could to the conversation the two female students were having as they walked past her. Paradise Nails. That was a shop she never heard of and hadn't applied to. Yet. She thought to herself that it had to be new. Using her phone's search engine she found the location of the shop right away. It was located near a highschool, which would explain the female students talking about it. The building was different from most she had seen. It was a stand alone building, two stories tall and nicely designed. Through the massive windows on the front Sohyun could see females sitting at round tables and drinking coffee. It looked to be more of a cafe than a salon. She pressed her face against the glass, cupping her hands around her eyes to get a better look inside. It was packed. There were a lot a females that ranged from high school students, young women and a few ahjummas.
"Can I help you?"
She let out a yelp, realizing that she must have looked strange staring at customers from the outside. A male just slightly taller than her, older and extremely handsome was standing at the doorway. He didn't look like he worked there, he wore a dark long sleeved buttoned up shirt and white pants with expensive shoes, and yet he was looking at Sohyun, even opening the door wider for her.
"Um, is this a nail salon?" She asked dumbly. The shop had a header that clearly said "Paradise Nails" but she couldn't know for sure. The male smiled at her, making her flush.
"I'll show you." He said. Sohyun followed him inside where she was greeted by another handsome male at the cash register. He had a huge smile and he bowed enthusiastically, welcoming her to the shop. She shyly bowed back and looked to the first male that brought her in.
"It's customary for our staff, especially Peniel, our cashier, to greet every customer that comes to Paradise Nails. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the owner and manager Lee Minhyuk." That would explain why he wasn't in uniform and the cashier, Peniel, was. Peniel was wearing a soft brown fabric both jacket and pants, his jacket was closed up by two small ropes locked in shiny golden buttons. Sohyun imagined herself wearing the uniform and fell in love right away. "So what do you want done today?" Minhyuk went on, Sohyun hadn't noticed he was waiting for her to respond. She flashed a daft smile.
"Is this place hiring?" She asked. Minhyuk nodded.
"Yes as a matter of fact we have a opening since business has been a bit hectic lately. Why? Do you know someone?" He looked just as excited as Sohyun, making it obvious that their search for another employee had been futile as he leaned in to hear her response. She nodded her head and grinned widely.
"Yes. Me."
The manager's face froze for a second, then he straightened it out and leaned back, clearing his throat. He exchanged looks with Peniel who quickly avoided his gaze nervously.
"Miss..."
"Sohyun. Kwon Sohyun." Sohyun's smile held perfectly still on her face. She hadn't noticed the manager's sudden change of mood.
"Sohyun, sorry, but if you hadn't noticed this shop has a 100% male staff. We would like to hire you, we would, but you're a--"
"I'll work really hard!" She interrupted him. "I know I might be lacking in looks, and like you said, you only hire males, but I'm incredibly good at what I--" He pressed his index finger up to her lips, closed his eyes and shook his head no. That's all he could say was no and in that very moment Sohyun got on her knees and begged. "Mr. Lee please! I'm begging you, just give me a chance! I won't let you down I swear! I need this job. I must have it. I must wear that uniform!"
"Ms. Kwon!" His voice boomed and echoed in the foyer, seemingly causing everything in the shop to stop. It scared Sohyun less and she stood both terrified and embarrassed. She didn't dare look at his face, afraid of the mocking image he would be showing, but his next choice of words were the opposite, polite and gentle. "I'm sorry. Nail Paradise has a specific type of employee needed to be hired. Look around you. Our demographic is mainly young women who are lead here by our looks. However," Sohyun's eyebrows raised, a pinch of hope inching its way back to her... "I can offer you our best service package for free since you begged so sincerely."
She slumped her shoulders and frowned. The best he could offer meant nothing and yet there was no sense in refusing it since it was free. Minhyuk lead her up the stairs to the second floor where more women lounged around and chatted with each other. They went to an open room with a staff member and portable massage chair waiting for the next customer. The male had his jacket uniform sleeves rolled up to show off his biceps. His eyes smiled just as he did and he kindly gestured for Sohyun to sit in his chair.
"Hyunsik will take care of you and he'll take you to the next part of your special." Minhyuk left Sohyun to the male with the muscles and his chair. She sat idly in it, face first into the head rest and the front of her body leaning on the contraption.
"My name is Lim Hyunsik and today I will be giving you your head, shoulders and back massage. Please tell me if you're uncomfortable at any time."
Sohyun grunted, feeling odd now that this is where job searching has lead her, but it didn't seem like a complete waste of time. She couldn't remember the last time she even got a massage, and she knew it had been too long the moment Hyunsik pressed his fingers into her shoulders. She cried out.
"Sorry." He apologize, his voice was soothing and deep. Sohyun didn't care that she was in pain. "You're really tense, but no worries. My hands are the best in the business. How is the pressure for you?"
She scrunched her face through the head rest. "Meh. It's ok." She admitted truthfully. She was enjoying his voice more than the massage.
"If you like," He lowered his voice, "I can be a bit rougher with you."
"What?" Sohyun panicked and turned her head as far as she could. Hyunsik's thumbs pushed in her lower back prevented her from moving and she let out a whine.
"Sorry, I'm told my words can be improper sometimes. My mind and intentions are pure. As long as my customers are on the same page then I can continue to speak naturally around them."
Sohyun could tell she was blushing. How did such a person exist, she thought. By the time he was finished Sohyun was more tensed and weak in the knees than she had started. Hyunsik lead her to another room where a male was finishing up waxing the eyebrows of a customer. Sohyun hated getting her eyebrows waxed and would have walked away if it weren't for Hyunsik gently pushing her in the room and then leaving. Eunkwang was the oldest looking so far but still fairly good looking. Sohyun thought that even if she were a male just the criteria to be stunning was impossible for her. She sat down on his waxing bed and asked if he had any other methods of cleaning her eyebrows. He simply said no, almost bothered by her presence already, and quickly waxed her brows. She hated that she had to go through that, even for free, but she went on curiously to her next feature.
"Do her eyelashes." Is how Eunkwang introduced her to Changsub and then left quickly. Changsub wasn't like the others, even by Eunkwang's standards, he was less handsome and oddly shaped. He hadn't said a word to Sohyun as she sat in his chair and he began to carefully glue a lash at a time to her. She usually never wore fake lashes, but she made the exception to see if he was skillful at it. By the time he was finished twenty minutes had passed and he hadn't said a word to her but he meekly smiled as she thanked him. She was confused as to where she was to go next, but her instincts lead her back down the stairs where all the nail related stations were located. Minhyuk ran into her again.
"Oh, Ms. Kwon. How is your deluxe going?"
"It's going."
"I see you're just waiting on you pedi and mani now. Come sit in the lounge and grab a cup of coffee until Sungjae is ready for you."
Sohyun did as she was told, about used to being ordered around thinking she might as well be an employee at this juncture. She had two cups of coffee by the time Sungjae was ready to do her pedicure. He was the maknae but also the tallest. He held a conversation with Sohyun the whole time which worried her since it didn't seem like he was concentrating on the work too much. He gave her one hell of a foot massage that made up for his terrible paint job and it was over sooner than she had liked. It was already late in the day and business was slowing down. Sohyun found herself waiting for her manicure longer than the other stations. The cashier, Peniel, had came over to her several times, offering her another coffee or a cookie to snack on, saying that it will be any moment now before Ilhoon treats her. She didn't mind the waiting, she got to observe the others more. When they weren't giving massages, waxing eyebrows or putting on fake eyelashes, they, too, were doing pedicures and manicures. They seemed to be a flexible shop that balanced their work out pretty well.
"He's ready for you now, Miss." Peniel escorted Sohyun over to the last feat where there were a long line of desks with filers, fingernail clippers, brushes and drills, all the tools Sohyun was most familiar with. She stared at the stations in awe, neatly placed and fully equipped-- it was her dream station; she didn't notice that she was already sitting at a seat having her hands observed by a manicure tech. He quietly introduced himself as Ilhoon, and he was both handsome and pretty in the face; Sohyun guessed that they were probably around the same age.
"You have really pretty hands." He said suddenly, causing Sohyun to shift her attention away from a game of Candy Crush she was playing with her unoccupied hand. "I need you to put that away. Your hands are in my care now." She did what she was told, again. He carefully handled both her hands gently, gave her a relieving hand massage, and an exceptional coat on her nails. Her free and special package came to its conclusion and she realized she was the last customer in the shop. All the staff members were gathered in the lounging area, and Minhyuk approached Sohyun.
"I hope you enjoyed your gift Ms. Kwon. Please, do come again."
"No."
His face did that arrangement where it froze and then turned him into a completely different person. This face was apparently habitual as the other male workers recognized that there was danger among them right away.
Minhyuk fabricated a smile, "What do you mean no?"
Sohyun sighed. She didn't want to have to do this, but she must, as both a nail tech and a customer, she had to keep it real. "The service is good. The service is so good I think it's one of the best I've witnessed in all of Korea. But that service can be mistaken as fanservice which can also be prioritized over skill. Take Hyunsik for example," The accused pointed at himself stunned and the other members looked at him with the same expression. "Hyunsik was so good at sweet talking me I felt like I was on the phone with a dating service. The massage itself wasn't that great; he missed most of the pressure points and I felt more disoriented afterwards."
"Ah, about that,"He tried to explain himself but Sohyun wasn't finish.
"When it comes to eyebrow shaping Eunkwang's technique is too outdated. Waxing is not only painful but can cause skin damage like irritation and rashes. Threading is healthier and simply a better method in taking care of people's eyebrows."
"In your opinion." He threw in embarrassed.
"Changsub is good at doing eyelashes, but he is a bit clumsy at times. Although they look nice I can tell that my lashes won't last three days. He also didn't say a word to me so I think that's bad work ethic on behalf of your shop's customer service."
A few of them had dropped their jaws at that point, and Changsub stood, pointing a menacing finger at her.
"Yah, who are you even? How can you just criticize our work like this when we pampered you all evening? Hyung, does this make sense?"
"Quiet." Minhyuk ordered him, his serious face still posted. "Go on, Ms. Kwon."
"Right," She did just that, "Sungjae's foot massage was nice but his paint job needs work. There wasn't enough coating and it was just downright sloppy. As for Ilhoon...Ilhoon..." He had been the only one not making desecrated or astounded faces at her, he'd just been watching, his face just as strict as Minhyuk's but softer, not minding Sohyun's scrutiny over their work. "Well there was no problems whatsoever with Ilhoon's manicure but I probably could have done just as good."
"Wow." Changsub spoke again, his look of defeat and anger attacking Sohyun. "Good job. You got the most expensive and luxurious packet in the shop and you barely enjoyed it." He slow clapped his hands and Sohyun didn't know whether to be more surprised at how he was reacting to her remarks or that he wasn't as quiet as she thought. "It's a good thing you don't plan on coming back, I don't think I could stomach serving a customer like you."
"Yah, Lee Changsub!" Minhyuk roared, his voice made everything go quiet again and Sohyun began to rethink all of what she just said. "Kwon Sohyun."
"Yes?" She spoke louder than she intended, but she felt buried under all of the male adrenaline surrounding her all of a sudden.
"You...really have a knack for this kind of thing don't you?"
She slowly nodded, not sure what the purpose of him even addressing her was for. She wanted to quickly make her exit so she would never have to see those menacing gazes again.
"Alright. I'll make you another deal." She looked up at him, feeling shorter than everyone in the room. All of their eyes were on her, she never felt the pressure so badly before. "You'll be able to work here for a day, and if you can prove to everyone, both staff and customers, that you're worthy of being hired, I'll let you stay."
It took everything in her to not scream or cry or react like a normal human being in front of the other males who looked at their boss like he had clearly lost his mind. She bowed over and over and repeated, "Thank you, you won't be disappointed."
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