Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Blue Coral
Oh my god, his name is Donny.
That’s a name you’d give to a doll little girls play with.
How can a man with the body of a ferocious, muscular beast be named Donny?
“Um, I’d like to have my hair done by that first stylist.”
I felt like I’d regret it deeply if I didn’t summon the courage now.
So I mustered everything I had.
“Aha, so you like Chae-yeon’s style.”
So her name is Chae-yeon. It’s a pretty name, too.
“But please, trust me just once. Believe it or not, famous actresses and female idols trust me with countless bookings. Ohohoho.”
That laugh just shattered my trust.
Looking at the time, I lost the will to argue further and just resigned myself to it.
Right, I came here for styling, not to find a new member for my harem party.
The brawny, muscular Donny Chae began to work on my hair with a bright smile.
“What time do you need to leave by? An acting audition? A variety show? A photoshoot? A music video shoot? You don’t look like you’ve debuted yet, so it probably isn’t a drama filming.”
“None of the above. But does the location matter for styling?”
“Knowing the venue helps me tailor the style to match the atmosphere.”
I recalled the location and dress code Han Ji-hyo had told me.
Calling it a “dress code” makes it sound grand, but it wasn’t really like that.
‘Not too casual, but not too formal either.’
“Please give me a look that’s not too casual, but doesn’t seem like I tried too hard.”
“Aha, you’re accompanying someone to a gathering of acquaintances.”
“How did you know?”
“It sounds exactly like a woman is taking you to a gathering to introduce you to her friends. I get it. I’ll give you that effortlessly chic look—not too relaxed, but not like you tried too hard.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Blue Coral is a salon frequented by famous celebrities.
It’s open to the public, but you’d typically need to be the daughter-in-law of a wealthy family to afford it.
A simple men’s cut alone costs well over several hundred thousand won.
As a result, both the staff and the clients have a very high tolerance for celebrities.
They don’t make a fuss asking for autographs from just any celebrity.
Even when they run into a top star, a simple nod is all that’s exchanged.
It was a place with an extremely high immunity to celebrities and beautiful people.
But from the moment Lee Chang-woo appeared, he shattered the salon’s immunity system.
The Cheongdam-dong daughter-in-law chatting with her friends.
The vice-director designer who exclusively handled a top male idol.
And the entertainment agency team lead, whose standards were sky-high from years in the industry, waiting for his girl group’s makeup to be finished.
A chain reaction was occurring in everyone’s eyes.
The collapse of their beauty-resistance, triggered by Lee Chang-woo’s presence, erupted brilliantly.
‘He’s insane. Which agency is training him?’
‘Someone like him has been unknown until now? Are they seriously pouring all their resources into grooming him for a massive debut?’
‘But why let him go to a salon alone? It makes no sense.’
That left two possibilities.
One, a small agency got lucky and signed him.
Two, he was a civilian free agent that no one had managed to hook yet.
Either way, there was a good chance they could snatch him.
So, the clients from the entertainment industry salivated, looking for an opportunity to reel in Lee Chang-woo.
‘He’ll make it. He’ll absolutely make it.’
‘He could conquer the drama world with his face alone.’
‘Singing... we can teach him. If that doesn’t work, he can cover with dancing.’
Multiple pairs of eyes burned with intensity.
Greed and passion heated the air in the salon.
Director Donny Chae’s god-like fingers moved dazzlingly through Lee Chang-woo’s hair.
His massive latissimus dorsi muscles twitched ceaselessly, pumping power into the fingers that were crafting a work of art.
“Your skin is so good, you don’t need to put anything on it. Since it’s a gathering of acquaintances, highlighting your natural skin will actually boost the confidence of the woman you’re with.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Look at your eyebrows and eyelashes. How can they be so perfectly neat? Trying to groom them would only ruin them. Do you manage them yourself by any chance?”
“I just wash my face.”
“Oh my. Surely you don’t mean you don’t even use basic toner and lotion?”
“I don’t.”
“What kind of facial cleanser do you use?”
“Just a thousand-won bar of soap from Daiso.”
“Good heavens.”
Donny Chae covered his mouth with five daintily gathered fingers, looking astonished.
“You’re truly blessed by nature. Oh, my. You really shouldn’t touch anything on your face except your hair. Even if you go to other salons, please keep this in mind.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, yes. Eyebrows, eyelashes, skin—don’t touch anything. Just cleansing is the best approach. If anyone whispers that you need to do this or that, it’s just them trying to gaslight you and bring you down, so cut them off sharply. Promise this Donny Chae. Pinky promise.”
The atmosphere was such that he couldn’t refuse, so Lee Chang-woo reluctantly hooked his pinky and made the promise.
Donny Chae’s chiseled face bloomed with the pleased smile of a young girl.
“All done. What do you think?”
“Wow... it’s a really cool style, but it looks so natural.”
“Hahaha, are you pleased with it?”
“I don’t know much about styling, but it came out exactly like the vague image I had in my head. You truly are on another level, Director.”
“Stylist Chae-yeon couldn’t have drawn out the potential of your beauty so naturally. I’m not looking down on her, but this is what you call experience.”
The moment Lee Chang-woo stood up and turned around.
The eyes of the waiting clients, who had been merely drooling, glazed over in unison.
Before them was a visual bombardment so overwhelmingly immense it took their breath away.
Was this the shock the scientists felt when they witnessed the first nuclear explosion at the Trinity site?
One of the Cheongdam-dong daughters could no longer hold back and stepped forward.
The salon’s unwritten rule: do not bother other customers.
This rule existed because so many celebrities visited the salon, and until now, it had never been broken.
But the Cheongdam-dong daughter couldn’t give up on this heaven-sent opportunity to possibly meet the perfect spouse.
So she found the courage to challenge the unwritten rule head-on.
“Excuse me, could I possibly get your number? It’s just... I fell for you at first sight.”
“Ah, miss. This is quite troublesome. Ohoho.”
Director Donny Chae blocked her path with a fresh laugh.
As a price for breaking the unwritten rule, this Cheongdam-dong daughter would never be able to book an appointment at this salon again.
She herself was prepared for that and had stepped forward to get his number no matter what.
“Ah, it’s fine with me.”
“Still, we’ve troubled you because we failed to properly manage the salon’s atmosphere.”
“It happens all the time, so I don’t mind. Excuse me, do you consider yourself to be the obsessive type?”
Caught off guard by the question, the Cheongdam-dong daughter was stunned for a moment before quickly collecting herself.
“No, no! I’m not obsessive at all!”
“What about jealousy?”
“No jealousy either! I support polygyny, patriarchy, and the saying ‘a crowing hen brings ruin to the family’!”
“Giving me your number might be a bit much, but if you have a business card, I could take that without feeling pressured.”
“Ah, just a moment!”
As if the daughter of a rich family would carry a business card.
The Cheongdam-dong daughter took out a luxury Hermès handkerchief and neatly wrote on it with her lipstick.
「Lee Ji-young」
>「010-XXXX-XXX」
>「Byul-sta: wldud_01@」
After handing over the handkerchief, Lee Ji-young finally felt a wave of embarrassment.
“Director, I’m sorry.”
“I said it was fine, so I’m sure the director will understand. Right?”
Donny Chae looked back and forth between the two with a complicated expression, then broke into a wide smile and let out a girlish laugh.
“Ohohoho, very well. I’ll make a special exception for you this one time, Miss Lee Ji-young. When a flower is so beautiful that it bewitches a butterfly, you can’t be too harsh in holding it accountable, can you?”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Lee Ji-young, her face flushed red, grabbed her bag and fled the salon as if running for her life.
The entertainment agency team lead, who had watched the whole thing, thought, ‘In that case, maybe I should too?’ and took courage, reaching for his business card.
“My, how can our client’s character be as wonderful as his face?”
“It’s just better to accept the contact info cleanly and let them go. It ends quickly without any uncomfortable feelings.”
The team lead quietly sat back down.
After hearing that, he couldn’t possibly break the unwritten rule and get blacklisted from the salon.
‘If he’s had a session with Director Chae once, he’ll keep coming back. I’ll have to aim to get close to him naturally through continuous contact.’
He must be a huge catch hooked by some small-time agency.
If I use my agency’s name, I’m sure I can convince him to transfer.
He was eagerly spinning that wheel of hope, but...
‘A Ferrari?’
Lee Chang-woo was getting into a red Ferrari that was clearly a limited edition.
Leaving behind the crisp exhaust note of a 12-cylinder engine, he drove away from the salon.
For a long while, the team lead remained frozen like a statue.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ That woman, Lee Ji-young, was quite good-looking.
On the level of Kim Ju-ri and Seo Yu-min.
Seeing as she’s a regular at that salon, her family must be well-off.
I said that to the muscular director, but I’m actually planning to keep her as a candidate for my harem party.
So I took a picture of the contact information written on the handkerchief.
Well, I might just keep it on file and then forget about it forever.
The meeting place was a luxury villa located in the suburbs.
[Me] I've arrived