“Oh my, Director! It’s been a while!”

Past lunchtime. Director Hong Geum Soon of Domyeong Atelier visited.

Recognizing her, Eun Ja greeted loudly, and the Director laughed with an equally loud voice. It sounded like breaking dishes.

“Oh my! Have you all been well? Kyahohoho! My goodness, it’s been so long!”

True to her role as the atelier owner, the Director made a flashy entrance, wrapped in vibrant colors from head to toe. Eun Ja looked her up and down with admiring eyes.

“My word, you’re such a fashionista. So stylish, really. Not everyone can pull off clothes like that. Only you can, Director.”

Eun Ja, who only wore market clothes, envied the Director’s flamboyant fashion. From her bright red lipstick to her lion’s mane-like hairstyle.

There wasn’t a single thing that didn’t make her envious. Indeed, the Director was a renowned fashionista.

“You’re here?”

Manager Moon, who came out late, welcomed the Director. They were acquainted as well.

“Oh my, Manager! I thought you might have passed on since I hadn’t heard from you in so long!”

“I’d have to hurry if I wanted to meet your expectations.”

“Oh my! Are you healthy? No troubles? At our age, health is everything!”

The characteristic disjointed conversation of Moksan County began. Eun Ja, happy to have a guest visit Domyeong after so long, served instant coffee and chatted incessantly.

Seeing the same faces and doing the same things every day at Domyeong, they often missed outsiders. Not someone unskilled at keeping up with conversations like the new employee.

“Director. How do you keep your skin so tight at your age? Do you iron it?”

“Botox. Botox is the answer. Can’t get like this without it.”

“Botox? Is it okay to just get those injections in your face? I find it scary and creepy.”

“Don’t you know your face is scarier?”

Manager Moon chided. The Director laughed loudly, saying it was no big deal.

“The world these days is so good. There’s all sorts of things. Can’t get it because it’s not available? You can’t get it because you don’t know. If you don’t know, you’re a fool these days.”

“Really? Then since we’re on the topic, should I get it too?”

Eun Ja waved her hand mid-sentence.

“No. Getting things injected in the face isn’t for me. And I don’t think I’m at the point of needing injections yet.”

“Well, our Eun Ja doesn’t have many wrinkles yet anyway. But if you’re ever interested later, come with Manager Moon. I’ll recommend a place.”

“Will it be cheaper then? Is it buy one get one free if I go with the Manager?”

Manager Moon, who had been listening quietly, snorted.

“Why drag me into this when I’m minding my own business? You go get it yourself. Even I can see you need it urgently. Go get some injections, even if you have to uproot a pillar to pay for it.”

“Elder sister. Will I become pretty if I get that?”

“You’ll be less ugly. Not pretty.”

A noisy conversation ensued. Around that time, Yeon Woo entered the main building after receiving a call.

“Oh my goodness…”

An exclamation escaped the Director’s lips as she spotted Yeon Woo walking in. Eun Ja glanced at Yeon Woo and whispered in the Director’s ear.

“They say she was a secretary in Seoul. Must have done well, right? Being a secretary isn’t something just anyone can do, is it?”

“Oh my, such a beauty…”

“She came to help her mother, but something’s fishy. Very suspicious, Director.”

“My word, pretty as gold or copper. My goodness…”

As the Director kept exclaiming in awe, Eun Ja cleared her throat. Failing to badmouth Yeon Woo, she quickly changed her tactic.

“You see, Director? This is the caliber of our Domyeong. Not just anyone can work here. From personality to looks, if you lack in anything, you can’t work here…”

“Manager. Is that young lady today’s main character?”

Cutting off Eun Ja mid-sentence, the Director stood up. Manager Moon nodded lightly and called Yeon Woo, who then stood before the Director.

Seizing the moment, Eun Ja chimed in again, this time addressing Yeon Woo.

“Hey, newbie. This lady here is a renowned and distinguished designer in our Moksan County. Pay your respects.”

“Ah, yes. Hello. I’m Ji Yeon Woo.”

The dazzlingly colorful outfit reminded one of a peacock. Yeon Woo greeted politely.

“If our teacher works on it, even plain rice cakes become rainbow rice cakes. She made clothes for my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday, and, what was it, ah yes, for my daughter’s wedding meet-the-family outfit too.”

“Ah, I see.”

“There are dozens of shiny trophies in her atelier. She’s quite something, I tell you.”

Though rather dubious, Yeon Woo nodded. The Director, who had stacked up trophies received for free from joining nameless associations decades ago, approached Yeon Woo and circled her once.

“You said it’s for a banquet, right? That’s my specialty. I’m number one in Korea for that.”

As Yeon Woo swallowed dryly, sensing unease, Manager Moon sipped his coffee and added,

“Make sure not to embarrass our Executive Director.”

“Of course! My artistic inspiration is surging after so long! I’m so excited I could die!”

The combined age of the three: 216 years.

Average age: 72 years.

Can I trust this, Yeon Woo shifted her gaze uneasily.

*

The fitting had already been going on for an hour and a half.

Each time Yeon Woo came out wearing a dress, Eun Ja exclaimed in amazement. Yeon Woo appeared limping in a tight-fitting orange dress that was almost fluorescent.

“Oh my! This is good too! What’s that? Like a princess from the sea?”

“Eun Ja, it’s called a mermaid, a mermaid.”

“Ah! Yes! A mermaid! My goodness, how does it suit her so well?”

As the Director chimed in, Eun Ja clapped her hands loudly and nodded. Yeon Woo stood silently before the three.

The first dress the Director pulled out from her bundles of clothes was a bright blue one. When pinning the loose waist, Yeon Woo protested weakly that it didn’t seem right.

But the Director’s insistence that it was the perfect dress was formidable, Manager Moon as the judge was positive, and Eun Ja’s intense reaction followed.

“Indeed, clothes make the person, clothes are wings.”

After trying on seven or eight outfits, Yeon Woo was now beyond thinking.

The dresses became more and more extravagant as they went on, to the point where she thought the first dress was actually the most modest.

“Satin material is truly the best. Nothing compares to its shiny texture. It’s a hundred times better than silk, I tell you.”

The dress, which had no breathability to speak of no matter how you looked at it, was just too much. Where on earth did they find fabric in such colors? Yeon Woo bit her lip hard as she wore a bright orange and red mixed dress for the first time in her life.

The waist was so tight that her ribs ached.

“This is it. This one’s the best.”

As Eun Ja declared decisively, Yeon Woo’s eyes widened.

“Th-this one?”

“Yes. It really brings out your complexion. Newbie, red seems to suit you well. Let’s go with this.”

“Ah… but this seems too flashy…”

With such intense reactions each time she came out in a dress, Yeon Woo was starting to feel confused. After trying on several outfits, her body was beginning to adapt, and she wondered if this was right.

…No! It’s not!

Yeon Woo raised her head as if suddenly awakening.

“No. This seems too flashy. Rather, another one…”

“What other one. Which one did you like?”

How could any of them be likeable? It was a bitter pill to swallow.

Yeon Woo carefully looked at all the dresses she had worn so far. But she didn’t have the courage to wear any of them.

“Oh, I don’t show this to just anyone.”

Then the Director stood up as if about to use her trump card.

“This is the ultimate, the final boss. Wear this and you’ll become a princess from a far-off land.”

The Director put on a show of slowly rummaging through her bag. Eun Ja’s eyes shone with anticipation, while Yeon Woo clenched her fists, wondering what kind of dress would emerge from that bag.

“Ah…”

A sigh escaped Yeon Woo’s lips as she saw the dress. At the same time, Eun Ja stood up and clapped.

“That’s it. That’s the one.”

“If she wears this, it’ll cause a sensation, right? I really, really cherish this one. I don’t show it to just anyone.”

Yeon Woo, who wanted more than ever to be ‘just anyone’ at that moment, squeezed her eyes shut. Oblivious, Eun Ja excitedly insisted that was the dress, spitting as she spoke.

Even Manager Moon was silent, seemingly finding it quite pretty, and Yeon Woo finally exhaled and opened her eyes.

“I’ll just go with the first one I tried on.”

“Why? Don’t you like this? Try it on. You’ll change your mind once you wear it.”

“No. I think the first one would be better. I’ll just go with that.”

“Did you really like that one so much?”

“Huh? Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes yes. I really liked it. Thank you.”

As Yeon Woo nodded hastily and spoke, the Director reluctantly put the dress back in her bag. And so, the golden glittery dress with lots of fringe was sealed away in the Director’s bag.

“Well then, we need to fit it to your body, so put it on again.”

“Okay.”

Yeon Woo received the dress she had worn first. Is this right? Is this really what the Executive Director meant by appropriate attire?

But Manager Moon has worked at Domyeong longer than anyone, so it must be correct.

Yeon Woo tried hard to think positively, as if hypnotizing herself. It was true that her judgment was becoming clouded by the continuous excited reactions praising her beauty.

‘It should be something I’ve never worn before and not comfortable, right?’

Besides, isn’t that what the Executive Director said? It is indeed very uncomfortable and something she’s never worn before.

It must be right, but why does it feel so unsettling?

“This is incredible. Incredible. My goodness, newbie. If you go wearing that, they’ll think a stylish celebrity has arrived.”

Listening intently to Eun Ja’s voice, Yeon Woo stared blankly at the dress.

Really… this must be right?