--   01   --   “Sunggyu, this is an important business dinner. Don’t look so nervous. I’ll be doing most of the talking,” his father said, helping his son straighten out his tie and dust off his suit. Sunggyu smiled nervously into the mirror and sighed.   “It’s not the business dinner I’m nervous about.” He checked his hair in the mirror one last time as his father gave him a thoughtful look.   “You’re still not nervous around the geishas, are you? They’re wonderful company.”   Sunggyu frowned slightly. They all looked like they would rather be someplace else. Sunggyu felt so awkward around them, he couldn’t ever figure out what to do with himself, despite how much they tried to make him feel at ease.   “Well, no worries, son. I made sure to hire the best for this dinner.”   --   You took extra care when you were painting your face on. Though you were still in training, the woman who ran the geisha house allowed you to put on your own makeup and your own set of brushes and bowls.   There was something about the way you painted your makeup on that made the others jealous. It wasn’t like you were extraordinarily beautiful. Your older sister, Gyuri, the geisha meant to guide you and help transition you into being a full fledged geisha, was hailed as one of the most beautiful in the district.   She watched as you dipped your brush into one of the bowls and tapped off the excess before starting to apply it to your face. The helpers sat around you, transfixed as you started on the front of your face. You would need them to help you put on your clothes and  paint the design on the back of your neck, but for now, they watched.   You applied an even layer of white over your face, covering what it used to look like before. The base of the mask. You laid your brush down and picked up a piece of charcoal to define your eyebrows, accentuating the features of your face.   They watched as you defined your features, and no one could guess what you looked like underneath the make up. When you were finished, the helpers got to their feet and scrambled around for your things as Gyuri stood up with a smile.   “You’re getting more and more beautiful every day,” she said, laying her hands on your shoulders. You mentally scoffed. You knew there was no way you could be as beautiful as her. And she seemed to sense your skepticism, making her smile fondly at you.   “Beauty is not everything when becoming a geisha. The most important thing is the presence and the company. In that aspect, you excel even more than me.”   You were silent. It was unusual for Gyuri to give genuine compliments, so you thanked her quietly. She stepped out of the way as the helpers arrived with your clothes, the mother running the geisha house yelling after them.   “Don’t drag that on the floor! What kind of impression will she make if her clothes are wrinkled and dirty?! Gyuri, why aren’t you getting dressed yet?”   Gyuri shrugged her shoulder airily before disappearing out of the room, presumably to get changed.   “Now, these are important men you’re keeping company. They all have deep pockets, and they paid a steep price for you and Gyuri. The man that paid for you has a special request for you, specifically,” she continued on as your arms and legs were tugged, and your clothes were adjusted. “He wants to draw his son out of his shell. It seems he’s uncomfortable with geishas, and he heard you were phenomenal with keeping company.”   You stared at yourself in the mirror and sighed.   “Don’t mess up.”   “Yes, Mother,” you said, feeling your ribs get squeezed. She gave you a look through narrowed eyes before leaving you to get dressed. You glanced down and noted that some angles were askew, and some of the folds were off.   “You know, if this is hastily done and Mother notices it, which she will, she’s going to beat somebody and make you redo this,” you said. The helpers stepped back to take a look at you before giving each other frightened looks and taking everything off again.   Gyuri had gotten on to you about warning the helpers about things like that. You weren’t supposed to so they could learn to do their jobs properly, but it seemed too cruel to you, and your heart ached every time you saw someone getting beaten for a mistake.   You heard your name being called, and you searched for their reflection in the mirror. Jia stuck her head into your room and smiled before stepping in.   “Did you just get back from school?” you asked. You and Jia went to the same training school, but you had to stay back today in order to practice what dances and songs you were going to do with Gyuri for the dinner tonight.   “Yes. Same as usual. Nicole got punished today because she hit the wrong note twice in a row, and Hyuna was bragging about she gets to go out with her older sister, Hyori, today.” You pursed your lips and blinked twice, which was your signal for nodding since you couldn’t move when you were being wrapped in your clothes.   “I’m so jealous that you get to go out so often. Mother says I won’t be able to go anywhere until my hair gets longer,” Jia said with a frown, bringing her hand up to run it through her hair. One day at school, one of the other girls thought it would be funny to cut chunks out of Jia’s hair while they were practicing instruments. She was concentrating so hard, she didn’t even notice until Mother pointed it out when she got home.   Of course, Mother was furious and made a few calls to the school. Mother ran one of the best geisha houses in the district. Everyone was dying to get in, but Mother was very picky about who she wanted under her roof. You, yourself, were an orphan living on the street. Your parents didn’t have enough money to take care of you, so they dumped you and made for the country to find work.