The True Beginning of Service (1)
7. Why does the day I don't want to touch ever come so quickly?
The remaining three days of training flew by like an arrow. The follow-up lessons went much more smoothly than before, thanks to having experienced reception once already. I even got praise from Eomo, who said I was unrecognizably improved.
Talent... is that what this is?
Should I be happy about this or sad? I caught myself slipping into useless thoughts again and slapped my cheeks with both hands to pull myself together.
"Phew... Get it together. This is my real job now."
I still hadn't fully accepted that I was a bar girl. It was a workplace where I'd have to work for years, so of course I should be glad to hear I had talent from my boss.
The real thing starts now... And I'm finally getting the hang of makeup.
Even with Jeong Ga-eun's memories merged, she had been a country girl who did her makeup sloppily anyway, so I had to learn it all from scratch with Eomo. Start with pore primer to smooth out the skin texture, apply a thin layer of No. 15 semi-matte foundation half a tone lighter than my skin, then dot hydrating highlighter across the face. Since I'd be working in dim lighting, I aimed for subtly dewy skin rather than overly glossy.
For eye makeup, add subtle shading to the lids with apricot brown, then line around the eyes with deeper coral brown shadow. Curl the lashes lightly with a curler and apply mascara as cleanly as possible. Keep the eye makeup understated to soften the sharp impression just a bit.
The girls at First need to look expensive to stimulate customers' desires, but not haughty. Customers might feel intimidated by someone too pricey-looking, but someone who seems aloof just makes them want to break her...
Next, blend coral pink blush with a hint of apricot widely from just below the eyes along the cheekbone line, then smudge the edges with a puff to avoid harsh lines. This overdone cheek makeup would make it hard to tell if I looked flushed from drinking.
Girls have to sit at ten tables a day, and even if they only drink two glasses per table, that's twenty shots of strong liquor. Newbies who can't dodge drinks hate the drinking most, but luckily, I'm a heavyweight drinker in both my past and current life. Still, without broad cheek touches like this, I might look like the type who ends up drinking everything herself, so I went heavy on the cheeks.
For lips, apply cherry tint inside and fade it naturally outward for a gradient, then top with clear gloss for shine. As a bar girl, I focused on making them seductive, but kept the color light to maximize my young age advantage.
Today was an off-shoulder dress, so I spread body oil along the collarbone and upper chest too.
Oh, right. Gotta pump first...
I don't breastfeed Seo-yeon directly, so the milk builds up longer, but half a year postpartum, production had dropped a lot. The sharp pain when it filled up by the end of training was ignorable now, but with customers who might grope my chest, I had to empty it completely.
A twinge of worry as I used the pump, but the cool relief felt almost addictive.
Are my breasts too big? Moms who don't nurse usually dry up fast...
Still, pumping thoroughly and using nursing pads should hold for four hours without manual squeezing—perfect timing.
Now fully prepped, I headed out for my true first day at First.
8. "Our maknae looks prettiest today, as expected?"
Su-jin unnie greeted me the moment I opened the door to First. She was the first girl I met here, so she stuck in my memory, and she'd shared tons of helpful info right away—someone I was truly grateful for. Despite the big age gap, she treated me the most comfortably. She's over ten years older than me, at an age where she should be thinking of retiring from First, but she'd secured a sponsorship promise from a regular hunter ajusshi she'd known for years.
From what I heard, she plans to stick to him forever no matter what, so she took the sponsorship for cheap.
'If I act desperate and ask to date first, he'll dump me once I get older,' she'd said...
When I first arrived, she was still working as a girl, but the ajusshi didn't like that, so now she plays baby madam, waiting to save up what he needs.
Baby madams at First are usually the slightly faded girls, and their key roles are picking girls for rooms and subbing in briefly for rotation-tied ones.
So I'd asked her nicely: handsome hunter rooms, put me in; pretty female hunters come, keep me out.
'She looked at me so weird then... 'Like eating poison instead of honey.'
She'd warned me the pretty female hunters who come are all crazy, tried to dissuade me, but didn't stop my choice to suffer. Just said to tell her if I regretted it...
How bad could it be? Still, no way I'm passing up drinking with pretty girls for pay...
"Heh... Am I that pretty, unnie? You've lost your wits."
"Eung? Whoa... Unnie, your outfit today is insane. Aren't you gonna get nominated like that? You can't steal more eyes than me..."
Su-jin unnie, with her long wavy hair and slightly droopy eyes, was still prettier than most actives despite her age—as the longest survivor at First should be. She could still work full-time, but held back for the ajusshi.
"What? That's total deception, you little devil. You've come all out today, huh?"
Only after she approached and stared holes into my chest did I remember my outfit.
Well, yeah, I went all out today...
"Hehe... It's my first day, unnie. First days get a pass for being a bit sexy, right?"
And without clothes like this, I wouldn't look like a bar girl at all. Even Eomo suggested logo-plastered luxury brands...
"It's custom for regulars not to scare off new girls, sure... but with that face and those milk jugs, customers won't leave you alone."
Her utterly vulgar words made my eyes go wide as I whipped my head around, scanning the surroundings. Yeah, milk does come out, but... The more I thought, the more absurd it got, and Su-jin's straight-ball style made my head spin. Desperate for her to listen this time, I pleaded earnestly.
"Unnie... You know if customers overhear even once, it's big trouble! Every time I hear stuff like this, it feels like my lifespan shortens..."
But my desperate look seemed to poke something again, as she grinned mischievously.
"Heu... Really? Then why so shocked? It's not like actual milk comes out, right?"
Her hand reached for my chest, and I panicked, dodging away with a yelp.
Wait, no... I've never let it slip.
She's always throwing fastballs, so her occasional curveballs make me doubt if it's real.
Sure, being a mom won't get me fired from First...
Other girls said married women get treated rougher by customers. If they found out about the milk...
"U-unnie... Wh-what're you even saying? Whew, you really scared me!"
"Huh? Reacting like that makes it weirder, you know? Do you really lactate?"
"What milk! Forgot I'm only 22?"
"Girl, 22's all grown up. Think no one's here gotten knocked up at that age? I saw one right after turning 20—"
"Stop! Don't say it so loud, unnie... Ugh, forget it. I'm actually getting scared now, can't talk to you anymore. Heading in!"
Keep chatting and she'd seriously suspect, so I bolted inside.
"Hey, where you going! Why so sensitive today... First-day nerves? Anyway, open in 10, fix your makeup!"
"Yes! I've got tons to touch up, heading there now! See you later, unnie!"