— vivacité beauty and spa.

@✽ chaeyoung l. He nodded in agreement with her words, small smile on his lips as he listened to her. Even with with laughing at him and seemingly having such an overly laid back personality, Renjun could tell she must’ve really cared about her employees. “Right, I’ll.. um, I’ll do the same. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity, miss Lee. I promise to be an employee you can be proud of.” It was a big promise, but he really wanted to prove himself as well as show his gratitude for getting hired on.

Renjun watched as Chaeyoung typed away, brows furrowed as he stared at her phone. What was she doing now? For a moment he thought that she started texting while they were still technically in the middle of their interview. But she wouldn’t do that..right? In all honesty he didn’t know anymore, everything he thought in regards to interviews and boss relations was getting turned around ever since he walked into this salon. His thoughts were interrupted as his boss’s voice was heard. A small ‘oh’ left his lips as he took the phone. The Chinese that showed on the screen brought him relief, scrolling through the bullet points to better understand what he signed up to. He read over the rules before checking the pay, humming to himself before handing her phone back. He glanced down at her hand before taking it, shaking it as he shyly smiled back at her. Monday, noted. He wouldn’t forget- already ready to set a million alarms to ensure his punctuality. “You got it! Monday, hour before opening. Jeans.” Renjun let go of Chaeyoung’s hand, letting his own hands fall down to his sides. “Ah, training- got it! I’ll be there on time, miss Lee.”

@✽ hyewon k. Chaeyoung had been a regular at Vivacite for… possibly years. She had always been the type who was aligned with getting pampered and being done up, it was just natural for her. Most days she’d visit the place to get her semi-regular manicure or just have her hair done like always, probably by Kang Mihee’s daughter Hyewon. The two were in a fairly okay relationship, being friends by association since Chaeyoung was basically a good friend of her mother’s, even with the full generation age gap.

The girl sashayed in, pushing the entrance door with her shoulder, her purse hanging over her forearm, and her phone in the other hand. She trotted straight for the front desk, expecting Mihee to greet her. “Hey! I’m here on schedule again, haha.” she commented, staring at the couple of nails that she broke when she got into a mini mid-renovation accident at the Noraebang. Not only did she ruin her manicure, the nails themselves broke and the polish chipped off.

@✽ renjun h.ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵃ ᵐᵒⁿᵗʰ⁻ⁱˢʰ “It’s totally cool!” she gleefully replied, grinning at Renjun genuinely, admiring his peppy energy, which was oddly sudden but she paid no mind to that. “I’m not expecting you to work for me forever, so I’ll just have to cherish our time while we’re boss and employee, ya know?” she added, stating out her true thoughts. She was like that with all employees, of course they’d want to move up in the career ladder, and there wasn’t much to move up in at her noraebang, just enough for them to get paid well.

Chaeyoung watched his expression at her wrinkled contract, her nose scrunching upward as she was showing off a sheepish smile, one he couldn’t see. Normally she was a bit more professional, it just so happened she scheduled things wrong and the contract was crushed by her belongings as well as the freshly printed ink on it getting smudged. She’d hand him a better copy on his first day of work.

With his signature finally on the paper, she nodded in silence, her thumbs tapping away at her phone. Of course, she did /not/ have that whole document memorized, so she just typed a summary of it in Korean on the translation app. The duties Renjun would deal with, possible benefits, possible income raises and her personal policy on sick leaves and vacations, all the usual stuff, just in bullet points, salary being listed at the very end even if it was numerical. She clicked “translate” on the app, the Chinese popping up on her screen and she scrolled, seeing it in full view and handing her phone to Renjun. “That’s the gist of it.” she uttered out, and outstretched her hand for a shake after the phone was out of it, flashing him her brightest smile. “Pleasure to be working with you, Renjun! I’ll see ya Monday, an hour before opening, ‘kay? I gotta train you quickly before you start handling customers.”

@✽ hyewon k. () noted!

“Yea, no problem! Friday at Three.. yes that’s what I’ve still got onto my calendar, no changes to it either. Alright, noted as well. “ Heejin answers , politely speaking as that is usually always necessary during a phone call like this. She briefly hummed in content by how.. perhaps, calm, that the other woman on the line may feel just by the voice tone. “Of course, you take care too, Miss. Hyewon!” She utters a ‘goodbye’ as well before ending the call.

Eventually, Friday came around as it’s now nearing the weekends. Heejin had chosen to wash her hair that very Friday morning, as it had honestly slipped her mind to work on that the night before, but oh well, it didn’t take ridiculously too long. The woman munched on some lunch once afternoon time rolled by before grabbing a hold of her belongings and heading out of her house. She’s been needing a touch up or a hair appointment anyways and was actually scheduled for one .. but her unexpected hospitalization caused it to be canceled instead. ‘vivacité beauty and spa,’ There’s been good reviews from what she’s seen or heard of so Heej gained a good feeling about the location anyways. The drive wasn’t that bad luckily.. no swift mind flashes of that.. unforgettable day. Sigh..

She caught sight of the salon while driving and eventually parked into the lot, finding a spot that looked to not have too many vehicles nearby, how nice. The woman parked between two empty spots and shut off her engine, getting out and locking it behind her before walking over to enter the unfamiliar salon. Woah, it is pretty lovely.. she had thought to herself while curiously gazing around. Oh, the front desk is right by the door, nearly walked right by the area.

“Hello? I’m here for an appointment at 3pm, my name is Jeon Heejin.”

@✽ chaeyoung l. A soft hum in acknowledgment left the Chinese male’s lips. That was never surprising, it wasn’t like he himself was planning to work he for the rest of his life, but that didn’t make him not feel bad for the female. Even if she didn’t care, he himself knew he was never good at people leaving. Then again, not everyone was the same.. renjun already knew him and Cheyoung were.. /very/ different. “Well Miss Lee, I can’t predict my length of stay.. but um, I’ll work hard! Promise..” he had a slight pep in his words, trying to convince his new boss as well as himself. He had gotten good at that; tricking himself into doing a better job simply by stating out positive words.

“Ah..” jeans and a t-shirt. He let out a silent curse in his mother tongue, lips wobbling in an embarrassed smile. He pointed towards his shirt, chuckling airily as his cheeks burned. “No? Not needed?” The broken Korean made him cringe, mentally adding onto his list of things to do: look into dress culture in Korea and buy some more Korean language study books. He folded out the paper, squinting as some of the slightly smudged words. The contract could’ve passed as an overdue homework assignment based off of the lack of care. Seeing something as important as a contract being treated so lightly was the biggest shock, brows furrowed and lips parted in shock over it all. Korea really was so laidback and carefree- at least work wise! He couldn’t fully understand everything written, eyes squinting ever so often as he tried to sound out the words in his mind. His mental translations were interrupted by the loud voice, body slightly jumping before realizing that he didn’t have a pen. He looked up, watching in slight disbelief as she searched throughout her purse. Taking the pen offered to him, he quickly signed the blank space before looking up at her.

“Oh.. yeah..” he bit his lip as he stared at his signature on the crumpled contract. “A Chinese translation.. That would be helpful. I should’ve thought of that before signing..” he gripped the pen for a second, glaring at his prominent signature before looking over at his boss. He watched her type away, listening to the small ‘clicks’ that sounded from her nails everytime she tapped along the phone screen.

@✽ renjun h. The female, freshly beautified, couldn’t help but shrug at her new employee’s concern. “Most of the time it’s me, my last few part-timers either changed jobs or moved to Seoul, nothing I can do, honestly.” she answered genuinely, before chuckling. It was true of course, she loved her past co-workers and always had a good rapport with them, even after they left. She was their boss, as well as a friend with clear hierarchical boundaries, but only at work.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, realizing she must have used an unfamiliar Korean slang word with him. “Dress down is like… casual. Not fancy, a normal t-shirt with jeans and stuff!” she explained, grinning as the two of them shook hands. She silently watched him unfold the contract, a little embarrassed at the state of it, but her purse was almost always never neat. His expression was unreadable to her, but she was guessing he was just trying to understand some of the more formal and deeper Korean in the contract. If she had known, she would have put an English translation and probably a Chinese one from Google Translate, but oh well. “Hold on, a pen!” Chaeyoung turned her body to her bag again, going through it and bringing out a black gel pen she always kept with her, delicately handing it to Renjun so he could sign the contract. “Do you um, need a translation of it? My Chinese isn’t that great, though.” she whispered towards the end as she took hold of her phone, her fresh nails tapping open the translation application.

@✽ kun q. With a soft smile on her lips, Sorn reached up to run her fingers through the back of Kun's hair, unable to keep herself from kissing his temple. "And I you, pretty. I'm looking forward to it." She nuzzled her nose against his hair and closed her eyes, just taking the moment to hold Kun close in her arms, almost protective like a mama bear.

@✽ chaeyoung l. The warm smile directed at Renjun left him smiling back, relief and joy filling up inside him at the words. He had done it! He sent a silent thanks to the heavens, making a mental note to text his mother about the good news. He couldn’t care at this exact moment that he had embarrassed himself earlier or that he still had a few eyes glancing at him every once in a while. He finally had scored another job which meant rent was going to be no issue from now on! “I’m so.. so happy to hear that!” A small chuckle escaped his lips at the mentioning of the old ladies. He nodded in agreement, peeking over at a few that were gossiping to one another. He watched them for a bit, staring as one was getting her nails done before humming in response to her words. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem for him. Simple Korean was easy and numbers would make things so much easier. The only part he could need help with was already going to be taught to him, so he really had no issue in regards to that. “That would be great! Sounds easy enough.” He was still plenty nervous, but as he heard more he realized how much simpler this would be. His stance straightened up along with his mood, brows furrowing slightly at the confused expression that glanced over Chaeyoung’s face for a second. Had he said or done something? Maybe his pronunciation had been off? He pushed it aside once she continued speaking, nodding again in response. “Is it just you? That sounds stressful..”

The joke quickly left him blushing, cheeks red as he stared down at his dress shoes in embarrassment. Right, no more suits. This culture seemed to be a lot more casual in regards to work life. He made a mental note to stuff his suits away so he wouldn’t embarrass himself if he ever went in for another job interview. “Oh?” He quickly nodded, already planning to cancel his tutoring session on Monday so he could go in for work. “Ah, yes! I’ll be there! Thank you again.. so much.” He took a glance at his sleeve before glancing back at her, brows furrowed slightly as he bit his lip in thought. “By dress down.. what exactly do you mean?” He was embarrassed to ask, but he really didn’t need a repeat of today happening- especially not in front of people closer to his age. He went to shake her hand at the agreement before it was pulled back, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. Ah, contract! Right, he needed to sign one of those! He stared at her purse, watching her rummage around for a moment before pulling out a crumpled document. He blinked at it for a moment before peeking over at her. Was this.. the contract? Wow.. things really were so different here. Even contracts would be crumpled up? He shrugged, trying his best to read over all the sentences. He couldn’t understand everything, but he got a the gist of it all, humming as he signed the document before handing it back. This was really it. He finally scored a job. Even if his new boss was the exact opposite of what he was used to, he was excited.

@✽ renjun h. With Chaeyoung’s nails finally being dry and her stylist doing some final touches on her highlights, she leaned back in the salon chair, crossing her arms and leaning back. She swiveled the chair slightly so she could have a perfect view of Renjun as she grinned warmly. “You’re so sweet, I think you’d make a great cashier at the Jade!” she commented, chuckling at his genuine thank you from her defending him. She wasn’t sure if he understood it all, but he probably understood enough words and saw her body language that he could put two and two together. A freshly manicured hand waved at him, “It’s no problem really, these old gossipy ladies can get out of hand, I know that.”

“It’s easy, I think. The buttons either have simple Korean or just numbers for the songs! The technical part, I can teach you.” He seemed hesitant, but she was definitely satisfied that he was willing to learn. If this guy was brave enough to move to a country where he didn’t speak the language much, he must have been a hard worker and fast learner. “Oh?” Chaeyoung tipped her head in slight surprise, just how many jobs has Renjun had? “Well, that’s good! We have two floors in the Noraebang, it’s hard to attend to all of them by myself.

After a few moments of silence, though quite short, Chaeyoung made her decision. She was already good at gauging people’s abilities when it comes to working for her, she has been handling the business for 2 years and seen her parents be bosses for her entire life. “I don’t think you’re going to need that suit anymore, Renjun!” she joked, implying that he’d need to wear something more casual for work, maybe an apron or a nametag. Suits would scare everyone off. “You’re hired! Just… dress down a little. Can you start on Monday? Our hours are from 4pm to 3am. It’s a bit long, but honestly there’s a lot of free time in between because everyone’s just busy screaming out their lungs for hours!” She stuck out her hand for a handshake to seal the deal before pulling it back. “Oh wait, your contract!” She pulled out a slightly crumpled folded document from her purse, which listed the terms and agreement of Renjun’s employment. She didn’t know if she’d hire him, but she was always ready.

@✽ chonnasorn s. kun paused when sorn took his hands into hers, and he let out a shaky breath before nodding a few times. he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face into her shoulder, sighing heavily and closing his eyes. "that sounds good, i can't wait to try it. and i always have fun with you, sorn."

@✽ kun q. "Hey," sorn's voice was softer when she spoke and turned her chair around to face kun, taking hold of his hands. "I know it's been very, very hard for you, and I'm not going to pressure you or make things even more difficult, okay? Try to relax your mind, and let me handle things." she smiled warmly and stood up, wrapping him up in a hug. "try not to overthink anything, honey. it'll be a fun and simple dinner, and i hope you'll enjoy yourself. funny plus is the perfect restaurant, too. it's nearby and i hear it has delicious food. It'll be my first time eating there."

@✽ taeyong l. kun paused as he thought about taeyong's words, and he focused himself on the man's hair before finally nodding with a slight smile on his lips. "that sounds really lovely, actually. i'd need to stop by and get some flowers for the both of them, but that would be nice. being alone is tough."

@✽ eunbi j. hyewon first tests the water temperature on her hands, making sure it was not too cold nor too hot before pressing the nozzle with a gentler force and spreading the water across eunbi's scalp. after her hair was wet enough, she would go in with some of the shampoo, softly massaging it into her scalp and creating a rich lather. as she does so, a small smile forms on her lips, listening to eunbi talk so enthusiastically about her plans for tonight always lifted hyewon's mood. "that sounds like the perfect stream to relax to! i've been thinking of trying stardew valley out, maybe i'll check it out after your stream." she beams, washing the lather away thoroughly and skillfully wrapping eunbi's hair with a towel. "haha if it does snow, you should definitely try catching some ice types. i think it'd be fun and on theme!"

"your reactions make the gameplay more fun!" she chuckles, rolling the basin away. "also, i insist." hyewon says, carefully removing the towel and making sure eunbi's hair was damp enough to begin cutting. she combs through the hair and reaches the ends, stopping an inch away. "this length good?"

@✽ chonnasorn s. "of course you do, darling." kun acquiesced with his same gentle dimpled smile on his lips, tearing his eyes away from hers as a faint pink blush overcame his cheeks at the way she fluttered her eyelashes. "i haven't really been out and about since...but this will be nice. where should we go for dinner? we could go to maybe funny plus, i get a discount there, or we could go somewhere in the city if you wanna do something fancy, i'm—i'm overthinking this."

@✽ kun q. "you betcha! i have no doubts you can outdo her," sorn laughed and looked at kun in the mirror, tapping her chin in thought. "mmm, don't tempt me! you know i give into temptation way too easily... don't i already look like a goddess, though?" she posed and batted her lashes dramatically. once settled down again, she smiled at him sweetly upon accepting the dinner invitation. "really? i think so too. it'll be fun."

@✽ kun q. "oh..."
taeyong didn't really know what to say, he knew nothing he said would ease the pain in the hairstylist's heart, because he too, experienced the same pain of losing someone important to him, though the circumstances were a bit different. he was thankful for eunchae, but not all were so lucky. letting him do his job, he kept quiet, only getting him after he told him to.
"if you want to, we could... visit them together? since i'm going there anyway. someone to accompany would be... great.. wouldn't it. some sort of support... because being alone is rough."

@✽ chonnasorn s. "you're going to have to show me, i bet i can tear that woman apart even if it looked cute on you." kun teased before placing his hands on sorn's shoulders, raising an eyebrow at her through the mirror. at her words, he couldn't help but grin at the way she was excited about her hair, playing with the ends of it slowly. "let me know if you want to cut it differently too, i can make you look like a *goddess*." he grinned before biting his lip at her question, sighing shakily before nodding. it would be the first time he had actually accepted this offer of going out with her later. "dinner sounds really nice."

@✽ chaeyoung l. with each passing minute, the young Chinese male could feel himself starting to relax- not fully of course, but his shoulders were able to drop a little and he was able to let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding in. Even with the the embarrassment still flowing through him, seeing how casual and carefree Chaeyoung was being left him feeling a little more comfortable than when he first arrived. Of course he wasn’t fully comfortable though, eyes still glancing around at all the faces and ears trying to pick up every little whisper.

A wave of relief washed over him as he heard her words. He mentally thanked the universe for blessing him with some much needed luck. He’d have to remember to text his friends about the good news, maybe even try to give his mom a call though he doesn’t mind leaving her a voicemail at least. A smile quickly tugged onto his lips, eyes crinkling as he nodded along with her. “Ah, really?!” He felt himself move a bit in his seat, staring at the woman for a moment before clearing his throat, slowly sitting back down. “Thank you so much! It.. it makes me happy to hear that, really..” he let his words fall quietly, going back to staring down at his hands, smile still growing.

Watching his soon to be boss suddenly stand up left him a bit shocked, eyebrows raised as he stared at her partially done hair, eyes focused in on the piece of foil that was threatening to fall. What is this woman doing? He glanced around, eyes landing on Chaeyoung’s hairstylist. He mouthed asking ‘what is she doing? Is she drunk?’ He was simply answered with a wave of a hand before he was hearing a loud voice. He jumped in his seat, eyes widening and mouth falling open in shock. Was she really yelling right now? Even at elders? He wanted to know exactly what was going on, but after picking up some words like “suit” “him” and “interview” maybe he’d rather not know what was being said. But whatever had been said most have worked cause suddenly the salon had gotten a lot more quiet, only a few whispers being heard and a couple muffled laughs. “Um.. thank you, miss chaeyoung..” he whispered out, sending the women a small smile.

“Maybe? I’m quick to learn, but depends on difficulty.. If that makes sense.” He really was quick to learn and easily could understand anything if he took the time to study it. He just wanted to warn her in hopes that he wouldn’t disappoint her. He wasn’t the type to quickly agree and promise the best of everything, the fear of disappointing being too overwhelming. “Ah, of course!” He smiled a bit, nodding as he remembered all his previous work shifts as a waiter. “I used to work at a restaurant, I’m able to carry trays easily!” Being able to give a whole hearted answer left him happy, feeling a bit confident with himself as he stared down at Chaeyoung’s nails, muttering a soft ‘wow’

@✽ renjun h. The Jade Noraebang owner was no stranger to holding job interviews, she’s done countless interviews for past employees. Though her possible hires were definitely strangers to her interview style, the salon interview wasn’t actually far off from what she usually did. Though normally she wouldn’t be having her hair and nails done while speaking to them. Her speech pattern was clearly informal, a cuss here and there, just to have the future employee feel less tense around her. She was young and a lot of them tend to forget that because she ran the business so well.

Man, this kid was nervous, she thought. She knew he was a foreigner for sure, with his simple Korean, some mistakes sprinkled in but that didn’t really matter to her, as long as he was chill, could handle tasks and close up shop if she wasn’t there! It was actually kind of endearing hearing his Chinese (she assumed he was Chinese or Japanese) accent through the Korean, it was a nice change to her ears. He seemed to hesitate with his answers but they were all solid and she was shocked that they were the same age! She thought this kid was like 20 the whole time, but she continued to listen. “A cashier! Perfect, just what I need.” she commented, feeling her nail beds on her other hand being cleaned slowly. Renjun seemed like a great fit, he was nice, can speak Korean and was willing to handle the front desk and clean.

The gossipy whispers and pointing around them did definitely bother her. It had been going on for almost the whole interview since she asked her initial questions and it was pissing her off. She knew these women and what they were like and how judgemental they could get. She felt some guilt since it was partially her fault, he must have thought that there interview would be in a formal venue. Shutting her eyes, she mouthed to her nail technician, who was almost done, to let her stand up. Her hair was almost finished being highlighted, the last piece of styling foil hanging. She got up from her seat and faced the rest of the salon hallway, raising her voice just a bit. Doing this with her usual loud voice and raising it anyway was enough to get anyone’s attention so she started to speak at a very fast speed, Renjun would probably only understand a handful of what she’d day, including curse words if he knew them. Finally, a good reason to use her idol rapping and projection skill.

“Hey, old ladies and high school dropouts! Can you guys shut the hell up for a little bit? I’m trying to hold a simple job interview here with this nice kid who dresses well and cares about the job, so ya’ll shut your ing cabbage holes and stop gossiping, please? I told him to come in a suit myself and he looks great! So stop whispering about it because it’s on me and ya’ll need to mind your own business!” She sat down like nothing happened, everyone becoming much quieter while her stylist and nail tech laughing into their hands before continuing there work.

“Are you okay with learning some new technology? The noraebang machines are pretty new and advanced.” She asked, knowing that he might say no but she didn’t mind. She was always the one handling and fixing the machines, it was just a bonus question. “And how good are you at carrying food trays? Sometimes we need waiters.” she adds right after, laughing as her left hand was finally done and drying.

@✽ kun q. "That's a big yikes, KunKun.. I will never understand how people get off on doing stuff like that. Like, just let the people do their jobs. If you aren't happy with it, ask them /kindly/ to fix what you aren't happy with," Sorn let out a huff and crossed her legs. "I remember one time, I asked for a lavender and baby pink ombre, and the woman barely put any pink. I didn't throw a tantrum or leave a bad review! I asked her if I could have a little more pink! Looked totally cute after fixing it. She felt bad, but I gave her a bigger tip for the all the trouble. Isn't hard to be kind." Sorn offered a smile and looked in the mirror, tiny clapping in excitement. "Let's grab some dinner after? I /have/ to show off this amazing hair when it's done."

@✽ hyewon k. "Something simple and cozy like Stardew Valley. I'm a er for those farming simulators." She removes the bobby pins from her short lengthened hair that gave her extra volume, tucking them into the seams of her pockets as she proceeds to lean her head back to the basin. It was a normal routine Eunbi already knew how to do. Hyewon was always so gentle with her guidance. There were even a few times when the streamer fell asleep from the touch of her soft hands. "Then maybe Pokemon next week? I really like how the game mimics the weather in real-time, so I hope it snows." She was so smitten to have such a talented friend in the beauty industry.

"If my reactions get a little over the top, please shoot a message in the chat for me to calm down." Eunbi established, poking a bit of fun at herself as she finally closes her eyes, awaiting the sound of the water to drown out her thoughts with a light chuckle. "You're too kind to me! Please let me pay the extra fees for such excellent treatment! I'm gonna feel bad."

@✽ chaeyoung l. The stares from the women seemed to never go away, if anything it seemed like they were now talking about him as they pointed over in his direction. Hearing the hushed laughs and speedy whispers of sentences he couldn’t fully understand, he shrank into himself. Really, have they never seen someone about to get interviewed? He sighed, staring down at his hands as he replayed the words he wanted to say today.

As his attention was finally directed to the lady who would be interviewing him, his eyes widened. What is going on? This woman is getting a spa treatment, why did she want to meet here? He tried to wrap his mind around it, trying and failing to remember if he had learned anything about the work culture in his Korean after school club. Maybe they are just this laid back? His thoughts were soon cut off by the sound of a snort, eyes quickly moving to stare at the culprit. “Oh..” he muttered quietly to himself as he stared at Chaeyoung, cheeks heating up as he mindlessly played with his tie. Hearing this mispronunciation of his surname wasn’t surprising and honestly at this point he didn’t care, his energy already draining from being surrounded by so many staring eyes. “Ah, yes.. Huang Renjun, that’s me.” A small ‘thank you’ left his lips as a chair was brought closer, sitting himself down next to Chaeyoung. He watched the lady do her nails for a few moments, brows slightly furrowing before glancing back.

“I’m happy to.. um, answer them.” His Korean wasnt totally horrible, but mixed with his nervousness today, he would stumble over and mispronounce words ever so often. He kept trying to compose himself, fixing his speaking mistakes as best as he could while answering her. “Ah, how old?” He paused for a moment, mentally counting the 20s before clearing his throat. “Twenty two.. and uh… I’m not sure? What do I say about myself” before he could even answer, he was caught off guard by the sudden cursing. His brows raised as he glanced around the salon, trying to see if anyone else was surprised. To his absolute shock, no one had batted an eye, some even laughing a bit. This was and s nothing like how job interviews were like in China. He almost felt like he was in an alternate universe with how different this all was. “Well.. um, I worked at a restaurant before moving here. I know how to work cashier. doing errands is something easy, just as long as the communication is easy.” He bit his lip, thinking for a moment before adding some more information. “I can work as much as you need.. I’m also really good at cleaning and such…if that helps..?” He wanted to slap himself, cringing at his own words. He just wasn’t prepared for such a different environment that he feels too stiff, and with being laughed at and the stares on him, he’s starting to wish he came in wearing sweats.

@✽ renjun h. Chaeyoung’s favourite hairstylist was casually feeding Chaeyoung more juicy gossip as well as asking her for some makeup tips, as she was more specialized in hair because of her job. Chaeyoung being the talkative girl she is, basically ran for a good 5 minutes without stopping, going through every inch of the human face in her explanation. Her nail technician laughed at her blabbermouth customer, massaging her right hand as she finished the manicure for that hand.

The girl’s ears perked up as the entire salon hushed a little, her only hearing scandalized whispers from the customers. ‘That’s weird,’ she thought. Why was everyone acting all weird? Chaeyoung couldn’t full turn her head, not with the perm solution and some foil in her hair but she heard her name being called out in a small male voice. She looked off to her side, blinking at seeing a young man about her age wearing… a suit? She tried to hold in her laughter, ending up snorting as she half-failed. He must have been her interviewee Renjun. “Yes, that’s my name, don’t wear it out! You must be… Hwang. Huang? Huang Renjun!” she chirped, mispronouncing his surname just slightly. Chinese names didn’t roll off her tongue as easy as Korean ones did. “You’re here for the interview? Please sit.” she instructed him, eyeing the hairstylist who looked at her curiously. She mouthed to the hairstylist ‘Yah, unnie he’s fine. He’s here for a job interview. Let him sit!’ With her stylist being an expert lipreader, she pulled a salon chair closer to Chaeyoung so that Renjun could face her while her hair and reminding hand were being beautified.

“Renjun, right? I just have some questions.” she spoke, trying to use simple words since it was now obvious Renjun was a foreigner. She didn’t want to assume all foreigners couldn’t speak their language, but it’s also odd to assume that he did. So the middle ground would be good enough for the both of them. “How old are you, um… tell me about yourself? And uh uh uh.” She wrote down her questions on her phone but her nails were wet so she couldn’t reach. “What’s your experience in small recreational business? Like cashier services, errands, ya know. like that.” Oops, she didn’t mean to curse, but this interview was as informal as informal can get. They might as well be interviewing in pajamas at her house with pizza.

@✽ eunbi j. "Eunbi, you're right on time! On the dot actually. And thank you for the drink, you got my favorite." Hyewon exclaims excitedly, eyes filled with mirth as she embraced Eunbi who brought both the warmth of her sunny disposition and the crispness of the cool winter air. It was always a joy to be able to style Eunbi every week for her streams, especially as the former always expressed her ideas with enthusiasm. After Eunbi is all settled, Hyewon pulls out the light coral salon cape and fastens it behind her nape, gently combing out the hair to make sure everything is even. "Oh! I can do that for sure, we’ve got some cute winter hair accessories you can pick out afterwards if you want some extra bling too.”

The stylist rolls the hair washing basin over, adjusting Eunbi’s seat higher so that it's level with the basin. “What's the plan for tonights stream? I'm excited to see what you have in store so I'll definitely tune in after closing hours!” Hyewon asks curiously, picking her favorite Eucalyptus shampoo for clients. “Since you’ll be streaming for long, this shampoo and scalp massage could help a little too. On the house of course."

@✽ hyewon k. There was something about the festive season that made the tips of Eunbi's ears flare with red from the frosty air but bubbled joy in the pit of her stomach. It was once again her weekly grooming appointment with Hyewon. Every week she'd change her style to match the current theme of her streams. For the spring, she went blonde. For the summer, she got a haircut. For Autumn, she got pink highlights and dyed her hair back to black to match the theme of the crunchy yet colorful leaves that left their sentiment on her windowsill each day. The petite streamer could gladly say that she trusted Hyewon with her look wholeheartedly.

Brushing her shoulder against a mysterious stranger on her way inside the spa, Eunbi flashed a small simper with a bow of her head as a silent apology. "Sorry, sir." Her eyes glowered from happiness, taking a look at her stylist as she whipped her vision to look forward. "Hyewon, hye, hye!" She squealed as she walked toward the latter to greet her with a warm hug. "I hope I'm not late." She positioned herself to sit down in the vanity seat, taking a cold beverage out of her tote bag for the hard-working woman, and placed it on the adjacent counter. "I just want a trim and a sparkly eye look for tonight's stream." Once Eunbi started talking, she couldn't stop babbling because of how comforting Hyewon made the familiar atmosphere. "It's going to be a long stream."

@✽ eunbi j. "♪ I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need. ♪" The spa was adorned with holiday ornaments from one end to the other, paired with the finest Christmas hits Hyewon's mother had decided to compile into a playlist for this very purpose. Songs so cheery that Hyewon could not help but hum along with Mariah Carey on the speaker as she cleaned up the workstation for her next client. She pauses for a moment to peer curiously at the fellow who entered the shop in a suit, he looked evidently nervous - could he be polishing himself up before an impending proposal? She doesn't know for sure but either way Hyewon bids him good luck!

Continuing to hum along, she looks through the iPad to see who her next scheduled client is and a wide grin lifts at the corners of her lips upon seeing the familiar name pop up on the screen. Quickly moving to the waiting area she waves to the young woman sitting down with a bright smile, "Miss Eunbi, over here!" She says, gesturing to the vanity seat, getting the tools on the boudoir ready.

@✽ chaeyoung l. Renjun had read over the text, nervous smile tugging on his lips as he realized he had finally secured a job interview. Finding work had been difficult so far; the language barrier creating issues that apparently were just too much to hire him. He wasn’t really offended, in all honesty, he couldn’t even understand a lot of the things the employers had said to him before shooing him away. He was surprised that he was even offered an interview after stumbling over his words during the first call. He hoped his pronunciation wasn’t too bad as he agreed to the date and time. His fingers glided over his phone as he sent a reply, cringing as he reread and sent it.

— Message to: Miss Chaeyoung (interview!!!)
“Thank you so much!! I’ll make sure to be there right on time! Thank you for this opportunity ma’am! :))”

And soon enough, the day of the interview had arrived. Renjun had been so nervous, ironing his shirt and watching god knows how many tie tying videos the night prior until he felt fully prepared. That morning he made sure to put on his dress pants and shirt, tying his tie before leaving his place and getting on the bus transport. The ride was filled with him listening to pronunciation and Korean work related phrases videos, mumbling the words to himself until he reached the…salon?

He slowly stepped out of the bus, glancing down at the address given to him before glancing back at the building. Was he really at the right place? Was there a typo? Or was this Chaeyoung’s way of informing him that he actually wasn’t going to get interviewed? A sigh left his lips before pushing past the doors, eyes widening slightly as he stared at all the women who were now staring back at him. He waved awkwardly to them before going towards the lady up front. “Uh.. excuse me? Ma’am?” His words were slightly wobbly, hands clasped together as he took in everyone’s comfortable attire. “I’m not sure I’m at the right place.. do you know where I could find a Miss Lee Chaeyoung? I have interview- an interview with her..” a surprised ‘on’ escaped his lips as he was guided back into the salon, ears picking up slight words and sentences from all the workers and costumers. He had heard more drama just in that few minute walk than he had all his high school experience. He couldn’t think too much about it as he was told they made it to his (hopefully) future employer. He stayed silent as he stared at the woman; she was dressed casually and getting her hair and nails done. Was this really who he was getting interviewed by? Was this normal in Korea? Suddenly realizing that they had many cultural differences, he started to squirm in his spot, hands pulling the sleeves of his shirt before taking a seat next to the woman. “Miss.. Lee Chaeyoung..?” His question came out small, hands folded over his lap as he stared at the ladies doing her nails.

@✽ chonnasorn s. "anyway, so then she walked out of the salon and tried to give us a poor review, but we just went viral because of her tiktok and got a lot of clients." kun ended his story as he was busy working on getting the roots of sorn's hair touched up with the bleach, and he snickered to himself before shaking his head. "it wasn't a problem working at a salon in beijing, but we had some of the worst clients i've ever interacted with in any capacity. i'm so glad everybody here has been very nice about my work, not that i make any mistakes with it." he nodded a few times and finished with the bleach before moving away, giving sorn a smile through the mirror. "alright, now we let that sit. do you want me to get takeaway now or shall we go get dinner later when your hair is done?"

@✽ renjun h. Chaeyoung had been needing some extra hands at the Jade Noraebang, as she always did. It was hard maintaining that business all by herself. She’s had a few workers in the past but they all quit due to external circumstances she couldn’t control. She made a job post looking for part-timers in the local Dandelion bulletin board and she had one interview that day. With this kid named Hwang? Huang? Renjun. His name was definitely weird, didn’t sound Korean at all so she assumed he was a foreigner. Her issue was, she made a little mistake scheduling his interview with her: She accidentally scheduled her hair and nails appointment at the same time, when it was supposed to be the day after.

She had been begging her usual stylist to move it to the next day but she was booked the whole day and Chaeyoung couldn’t do any of it next week. So she just decided to be chill and interview Renjun in Vivacité instead, he wouldn’t mind right? The spa is fancy enough of course. So she texted Renjun with the address to Vivacité Beauty and Spa, with a little message attached.

— Message to: Renjun Upcoming Interview :exclamation_point:
“hey hey!!! this is lee chaeyoung from jade noraebang!! uhhh here’s the address to the interview venue!!! it’s going to be the day after tomorrow, pls just give them my name and you’ll find me!! see you there! :fist:”

And like the said, it was the day after tomorrow soon enough and she was already in the salon, getting her hair permed to a soft wave, as well as some fancy highlights and a hair treatment. Her hand was out as the nail technician sat beside her, giving her the latest salon gossip as she was doing her favourite coffin nail manicure with a dark gel blue nail polish. “Yeah, unnie, it’s crazy right?! He’s here in this town again, been ages…” she spoke loudly, hearing some of her salon buddies laughing at her and she gave them a stupid smile. She had always been like this, and she randomly checked her phone with her left hand, waiting for a text from her possible part-timer.

@✽ taeyong l. kun sighed quietly and gave taeyong a strained smile, nodding a few times. "they uh, both passed in childbirth. my daughter is on the other side of the hill, so i just...don't see my wife often. i should, though."