Chapter 33: Getting Rid of That Double Chin
“You want to remove just the jaw fat?”
“I heard the Beauty Tower can do any surgery.”
Not eyes sparkling with mere curiosity, but a gaze that seemed intent on tearing me down. Malice oozed from Baron Radius's serpentine eyes.
“I've carved out my busy schedule just to come here. Surely the rumors aren't all hot air? If they are, I'll hold you accountable.”
Like father, like son—the old man had passed down every bit of his bratty attitude to his kid.
“We never advertised that we can do any surgery... but the treatment you're asking for is possible, Baron.”
“Possible? Didn't you hear me? I want to keep the fat everywhere else and remove just the jaw fat! Just the jaw!”
“Yes, I heard you loud and clear. Your jaw looks puffy and swollen, burying your jawline, right?”
“I-I didn't say it quite like that!”
“There's also a structural issue. People with small jaws like yours often end up with double chins.”
I'd said the double chin treatment he wanted was possible, but for some reason, he looked flustered instead.
“But Baron, are you really sure you only want the jaw fat gone? You seem like you could use fat removal in a lot of other places too.”
“H-How dare you! Speaking like that to my face!”
I knew it was rude. But his micro-expressions, the look in his eyes, and every word he spat out were worlds apart from other patients. I had to figure out his true intentions.
“Ah, if that's offensive, I apologize. I just thought, since you're so busy with public duties and came all this way, you might as well get other areas done too.”
“Hmph! Entrusting my whole body to an unproven doctor? Ridiculous. Are you saying you'll butcher me?”
Baron Radius. Even before the real consultation began, the whiff of a troublemaker was strong.
His attitude from the start didn't feel like someone here for treatment—it was like he'd come to sabotage us.
...Something's fishy. Until now, only noble kids have come—no titled nobles ever.
His demeanor screamed he had no intention of getting treated. Everything felt off. Like someone had sent him.
Things had been dead quiet since the potion co-op and magic towers pulled their stunt behind the scenes. And now this sudden, unannounced visit.
It reeked. A suspicious stench.
“Please calm down, Baron. I'll explain to the Director.”
As the Baron's voice rose, Butler David stepped in without hiding his annoyed expression.
“The Baron prefers his sturdy build as is. But he has a family portrait photoshoot in a week. He wants just the jaw fat removed for the picture.”
“Ahem, yes. That's what I meant.”
The retainer straightens out the situation, and the Baron agrees? Still hard to buy.
But pushing further would just get David in the middle, so no point suspecting more.
“Very well. Before treatment, let's quickly confirm the method. This way, please.”
On the elevator ride up, I scribbled on the crystal orb. Recipient: Cache.
—Me: Feed Res 5 gold and send it to the 11th floor. Tell it to go invisible.
“Right this way. We'll start the consultation.”
Once we reached the 11th floor and entered the consult room, they reacted with the usual awe, just like everyone else.
David, who'd only tagged along with Yurdell to the 2nd-floor Total Beauty Care shop before, lit up at seeing the 11th for the first time.
“What you want, Baron, is jaw fat—commonly called a double chin.”
“Double chin?”
“It means your chin looks like two.”
“Urgh... It doesn't look that bad.”
Baron Radius, embarrassed by his own jaw fat, stretched his short neck out like a giraffe. No visible difference to the naked eye, though.
“The jaw fat commonly called a double chin falls into two main types: excess fat, or sagging skin from age.”
“Then mine must be the sagging age type.”
“...”
Obviously not. But with suspicious patients like this, they only accept it with hard evidence.
“We can easily check what type your double chin is. First, look in the hand mirror, pull your chin tip, and tilt your head down.”
“L-Like this?”
“Perfect. See how, when you tilt down, it puffs out like a frog's cheek?”
Baron Radius examined his ballooned underside and replied.
“Yes.”
“That's the excess fat type.”
“Lies! I have no fat! How can this be fat?!”
He exploded, face red, even though I didn't put the fat there. Hate to break it to you, but facts are facts.
“Butler David, could you look in the mirror and do the same? You'll see the difference.”
“Like this?”
As expected, David wasn't the fat type like the Baron.
“You tilted down like the Baron. But it wrinkles up in layers instead of puffing? That's the sagging age type.”
“Urgh...”
No idea why, but Baron Radius clearly hated being the fat type.
“I showed you because fat-heavy types like yours need different treatments from sagging types.”
“...Don't call it a 'fat-heavy type' to my face. Use another term. A doctor ignoring a patient's feelings is most unpleasant.”
His overall look was like a jolly KFC grandpa, but his temperament was as sensitive as a moody teen.
“Fair enough. For your... er, your type, you need fat-dissolving treatment.”
“Hmph. You're not planning to slice off flesh and heal it with magic like the magic towers, I hope? I came here specially because you don't use knives.”
What? What did he just say?
“I've heard the rumors—noblewomen getting lumpy regrowth or dying from bleeding. If you're wasting my time with basic procedures, you'll regret it!”
Just hearing it was shocking. Slicing living flesh and slapping on healing magic? Surviving that hellish surgery was the real miracle.
“No worries. Sure, there's liposuction with a tiny thumb-width incision, but that's not my preferred method.”
Unlike contour injections, double chin liposuction gives instant results. But it requires a 2.5cm incision along the neck wrinkle line—3cm for Baron Radius—leaving scars inevitably.
“Remove jaw fat without a knife? You learned some magic for that?”
“Plenty of non-magical ways.”
“What? Plenty?”
His face twisted at my firm answer. Not the expression of someone here for treatment.
“The most common is contour injections. They melt fat, so inject the solution around your folded double chin.”
“Injections? What's that?”
“A tool to inject medicinal solution directly into the body. The tip's needle-like, so it stings a bit, but for a tough guy like you, it's nothing.”
Pain varies by needle type, but no need to detail that now. The Baron's already puffing up proudly.
“Besides contour injections, there's V-Shrink using ultrasound heat to melt fat, or Inmode sucking it out with vacuum.”
“Hmm... Flashy names. So which one for me?”
“Each has pros and cons. But I recommend Violetta.”
“Violetta? Another weird name. Uses injections too?”
I nodded lightly at his question.
“Yes. Violetta contains deoxycholic acid.”
“Deoxy... Hmph, fancy name. Contour injections are injections too—what's the difference?”
“Contour injections just shrink fat cells slightly or reduce swelling. Effects often revert after three months, back to your thick chin. Deoxycholic acid, however, is like bile that breaks fat into digestible bits.”
“Hmm...”
No need for micro-expressions—he plainly didn't get it. Technical terms work best on troublemakers.
“You can't see it, but fat cells have membranes. Deoxycholic acid shatters them, destroying the fat granules so it doesn't return like with contour injections.”
“Hm... If true, impressive. But I've seen skin sag on those who lose weight fast! Won't my chin turn turkey-neck after Violetta?”
Despite his looks, he nailed the key point. Honestly surprising.
“Spot on. Rapid fat loss causes sagging. But Violetta induces collagen production in the treated skin. So it removes thick double chin fat and keeps skin firm without sagging.”
“Ah... So no sagging, got it?”
“Exactly. But Violetta has two big downsides.”
At "downsides," Baron Radius smirked slyly.
“Don't need to hear—one's probably the price. My son warned me you charge absurd amounts. 2 gold for a haircut, 10 gold base for dyeing? Violetta must be around 20 gold.”
“Haha, funny thing to say, Baron.”
Doctors set prices, not patients, old man. Especially here with no medical laws.
“For you, three vials of Violetta—about two finger-widths each. And five sessions for the effect you want.”
“Fifteen sessions total? Price per vial?”
Back home, Violetta averaged 300,000 won per vial at normal clinics, 400,000 at good ones. I charged 700,000.
So here...?
“70 gold per vial. Total: 1,050 gold.”
Smile and good fortune comes. Be rude, pay premium. Today: tenfold.
Three sessions would do, but more is better.