Suyeon pressed down on the accelerator, speeding up as she merged onto the freeway.

"Thanks for bringing me to this appointment," Sei said. "It would take me two buses to get there, which I just really didn't want to do today."

"Understandable," Suyeon said, changing lanes, her fear of driving apparently firmly in the past. "I wouldn't want to take a bus all the way out here either."

Sei leaned back in her seat. "Why is Fantagio sending us to this hair salon?" she asked. "Why can't we just go to Stylist-nim."

"Cost-cutting," Suyeon said grimly. "Apparently we're going to have Stylist-nim during comebacks, but in between we're to go to this place."

"Cost-cutting," Sei grumbled. "But they spend money hand over first on Astro. And with the money they're not spending on HelloVenus anymore, it seems like they could afford to start promoting us properly."

"The Hellovenus money is going to developing a new girl group," Suyeon said.

Sei sat forward. "A new girl group?" she exclaimed indignantly. "When they can't seem to properly manage the one they've got?"

"Rookies are cheaper, so that means more profit for the company," Suyeon said. "We've reached the point in our careers that they have to actually give us money from time to time. Which reminds me - it's still two years off, but it's not too early to start thinking about whether or not we want to re-sign with Fantagio."

Sei thought for a moment. "I'd like to go somewhere else," she said. "I feel like we could have done so much more if we had had a company that promoted us properly."

Suyeon nodded. "I kind of feel the same way," she said. "The big problem with that is whether or not Fantagio would be willing to sell the Weki Meki name trademarks to the new company."

"Yeah, that's a problem," Sei agreed. "Plus we have to worry about Yoojung and Doyeon."

Suyeon was so startled she almost missed the exit. Once she'd made a hasty turn onto the exit ramp, she asked "What about Yoojung and Doyeon?"

"Well," Sei said, obviously taking care to choose her words carefully, "Yoojung had a lot of success with her new single, and Doyeon's been doing well at acting. I could imagine them wanting to leave the group and make a go of that."

Suyeon shook her head. "I don't think they'd do that," she said, but Sei could tell she didn't entirely believe what she was saying.

They rode the last few blocks to the salon in silence. "So, what are they doing to your hair?" Suyeon asked.

Sei shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," she said sourly. "Just like Stylist-nim, the new stylist wouldn't tell me."

"Typical," Suyeon said as she pulled into a parking space.

"Are you going in with me?" Sei asked.

Suyeon looked around. This salon was the only business open that she could see. "I had been planning to go to a coffee shop nearby and wait there for you, but apparently that's not happening, so I guess I am."

Suyeon sat in the waiting area while Sei was taken back to the chair. After 30 minutes had passed without Sei returning, Suyeon said to herself "I guess they're doing a dye job on her." When another half hour had passed and still no Sei, Suyeon began to get impatient. She was tired of all the games on her phone and she hadn't brought anything to read, so the only thing left to do to entertain herself was to look at all the haircare products on the shelves in the waiting room, but since one shampoo looks pretty much the same as another, this didn't keep her attention for very long. Suyeon was on the verge of going into the back to ask how much longer it would be when Sei came out.

Sei was obviously on the verge of tears. "Please, let's just go," she said as she stormed by Suyeon. Suyeon looked over at the stylist, who was peeking out from the back room, then bowed farewell and disappeared.

Suyeon turned and followed Sei out of the salon. She was concerned - storming out like this wasn't usual for Sei. As she walked over to the car, Suyeon quickly looked at Sei's hair to see if she could spot the problem. The stylist had overdyed the previously dyed parts of Sei's hair to match her natural hair color. Then she had given Sei a jelly perm; her hair was handing loose in messy curls. Suyeon unlocked the car and they both