Pygmalion

4.7

It seemed that Sungwoo noticed Sukyung staring at someone. He turned around and when he saw the actress, he waved at her. The actress smiled brightly and walked up to them. 

“CEO Jin! Long time no see? What brings you here?”

“I’m a regular here. It really has been a long time. I noticed that you haven’t been coming around my shop lately.”

The pretty actress smiled awkwardly as she replied, 

“I’ve been abroad. I was so busy, but I was thinking about dropping by soon.”

“You don’t have to.”

Sungwoo looked at the actress up and down as he waved nonchalantly. The woman looked clearly nervous as he assessed her. Sungwoo said to her,

“Based on your hair and clothes, I can see you really tried to catch up to the current trend. Nice try. I guess you’ve been abroad in some third world country? Your style definitely shows. I mean, if you like that, I guess it’s up to you. I think your date is waiting for you. You should get back to your table.”

The actress blushed. Fidgeting, she smiled again uncomfortably and explained, 

“CEO Jin, I really meant to call you next week. I really didn’t have the time to drop by, that’s all. I was abroad, but I know it’s time to change and improve my look again. You’re the best after all.”

Sungwoo shrugged as if he didn’t care. When the waitress brought their food, the actress had no other choice but to return to her table. She promised,

“I’m going to make an appointment next week.”

When the actress returned to her table, Sukyung leaned forward and whispered, 

“That woman was the actress from the TV drama ‘Beach Love’, right?”

“Yup.”

Sungwoo placed his napkin on his lap. Sukyung asked,

“Did you help her with her looks too?”

“I did more than that. I helped her make her debut.”

“Uwaah!”

Sukyung looked at Sungwoo and the actress. This woman was the hottest new actress in Korea. Every woman wanted to be her and every man was in love with her. Sukyung remembered admiring her as well when she saw her on TV.

Sungwoo muttered,

“She’s the rudest person you’ll ever meet. And she’s lying about working abroad. I’ve heard she’s been touring all the nightclubs in Seoul.”

Sukyung’s eyes widened as she asked, 

“What? Really?”

“That’s how it is in this industry. There are nice kids too, but there are plenty of people who are the worst human beings. But I guess it’s like that in every industry.”

Sungwoo began to eat his salad quickly. Sukyung picked up her fork but continued to stare at the actress until their eyes met. Sukyung quickly looked down. The actress was glaring at Sukyung angrily. Sukyung wondered if she did something wrong.

Curious, Sukyung asked,

“So girls who are already beautiful like that go to your shop too more than once? Or do they just visit for fun? Why would she be going to your shop next week when she already looks so pretty?”

Sungwoo chewed on his salad and glared at her. He replied, 

“Are you kidding? Can a person just get her hair done once in her life and be done with it? No, you need to maintain it and change it when necessary. Your style is the same. Just because you got a good style doesn’t mean it’s over. The women in the entertainment industry are especially problematic because they get plastic surgeries often. And the trend changes constantly too. You need to be smart to follow it, but a lot of the girls aren’t that diligent. Well, I should be thankful since they are what makes my shop successful.”

Sukyung could understand what Sungwoo meant. When she watched TV, there were many times when the actresses looked completely different. She now knew that those women must’ve gotten a new style from a professional like Sungwoo. 

Unfortunately, Sukyung didn’t have that kind of money where she could get new styles every time the trend changed. So she needed to learn as much as possible now to get her money’s worth. 

The food was delicious. It was delicious enough that she didn’t feel like it was a waste of money. Well, she did feel still upset about having to spend so much, but she had to admit that she really enjoyed her meal. 

This was her first time eating the lobster, and it was amazing. She was tackling her dessert, a sorbet, when Sungwoo glanced at her and asked, 

“Tell me about your brother. How old is he?”

“He’s two years younger than me.”

Sukyung answered nervously. Sungwoo asked,

“So how old are you?”

“I’m 28.”

“So he got hired by a pretty decent salon at the age of 26… That’s not bad. If he didn’t go abroad to study, he might have had a quicker start though.” Sungwoo replied with a shrug. 

“That’s true, but I’m sure he learned a lot in London. He also won a few contests too, so all in all, I don’t think it was a bad decision. He has a lot of experience, so I’m sure he is much more skilled now.”

Sukyung smiled like a proud mother, but Sungwoo didn’t seem impressed. He asked,

“So you’re sure? That must mean you haven’t seen him work yet, have you?”

***