Life, Once Again

After Story 32

She neither felt satisfied nor disappointed. She realized that things would turn out like this when she saw the text in the group chat. There was only one thing she was worried about, and it was Yeonjoo.

“I’m okay with leaving like this, but what about you? Didn’t I just make your relationship with them bad?” Haneul asked Yeonjoo.

It had been two months since her memories returned. While she was busily spending those two months with production and marketing, there was only one person who asked how she was doing: Yeonjoo.

She made some time to meet with her, and they talked about many things. Yeonjoo was a kind girl. She was someone who tried to give the timid Haneul a choice until the very end.

Haneul said to her that she would feel like a totally different person because many things changed. Yeonjoo then responded in relief that things were going well.

“As you said back there, it doesn’t change the fact that we can meet every now and then. We always went to places together, but that didn’t mean that I felt a sense of belonging, nor is there anyone among them that I’m extremely close to. Still, it was quite fun. I never knew that they would make faces like that after seeing you.” Yeonjoo chuckled as she covered her mouth, looking refreshed. “But don’t hate them too much. Don’t take what Jungyeon said to heart either. You know how careless they are.”

“You think I’d keep something like that to heart?”

Yeonjoo stared at her for a while before shaking her head. “No. You’re not that kind of girl anymore. But still, I can’t get used to it. I’ve been by your side for over a month and was watching you, but you still feel unfamiliar to me. I wonder several times if you are really the Han Haneul I know.”

“If I have to confess, I actually am not Han Haneul.”

“What are you then?”

“A ten-thousand-year-old viper from the mountains.”

“A viper who has shape-shifted into a human? I didn’t know that.” Yeonjoo crossed her arms and stifled her laughter.

As they were walking around the commercial buildings, they found a cosmetics store. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Yeonjoo stopped walking. “It’s quite mysterious. It hasn’t even been that long since we contacted each other, but the aroma oils you’ve developed are already on the shelves.”

“There are only a few stores in the capital. At most, about twenty shops? I had it easier because we were aiming for the low-cost market. Those people must have felt bad selling a whole separate product line.”

“When did you study something like that? It makes me wonder every single time.”

“I told you. I’m a ten-thousand-year-old viper.”

Haneul took Yeonjoo into a shop. It was a luxury brand. An employee approached them with a smile.

She went to the shelves with aromatherapy products and had a look at the products on display.

“That one’s really popular among ladies in their twenties recently. It’s famous for being Kim Suyeon’s aroma product.”

Kim Suyeon’s photo was hung up where the employee was pointing at. That enchanting smile seemed to whisper that the owner of the fragrance was you. People who look at the photo and try it out would probably end up buying it. While the price was on the more expensive side, it was just an advantage for consumers looking for high-end products.

The employee then left, telling them to have a look around.

“The price is steep alright. It’s several times more expensive than ours,” Yeonjoo said as she looked around the bottle.

“The target consumer for this brand is the opposite of our target consumer. In fact, I wish this brand keeps going for that high-end line. If they try to push themselves into the low-cost line, our slice of the pie would be reduced after all.”

“That probably won’t happen though. This shop is known for never putting any products on sale even if it means going out of business.”

“True.”

“You had a look, right? Let’s go then.” Yeonjoo pulled on her arm.

Haneul said that there was something she must buy and went to the serum and eye cream shelf.

An employee approached her and showed her a few trial products. She applied it on the back of her hand to test it out and had a look at the ingredients on the back.

Skin lotion, serum, essence, ampule, cream.

She knew that the categorization of the products was simply for marketing purposes and that there wouldn’t be a drastic change in her skin. The skin was ultimately intended to defend against external intrusions, and it would be a problem if there was an immediate effect from any cosmetics.

As such, she would at most get all-in-one products or skin lotions if she was to choose one to use herself. However, the various cosmetics that the employee was holding were not for herself.

“It’s 317 thousand won in total. How would you like your payment done?”

“One-time payment, please. Also, I’m buying it as a gift, so please wrap it up for me.”

“Okay.”

While the gifts were being packaged, Yeonjoo was looking at the lipsticks on display. There seemed to be a color she took a liking to as she looked at one specific one for a long time before she eventually put it down.

“Here.”

She left with the paper bag with the gift-wrapped cosmetics.

“Are you going to test cosmetics too?” Yeonjoo asked.

Haneul gave the bag to her, who looked curious.

“Take it.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a gift, and also a bribe so that you will continue to work with me in the future.”

Yeonjoo helped her a lot in designing the website as well as when she was shooting videos. Thanks to her, who could proficiently use the effects program, she was able to proceed with other types of work. If she had to do it by herself, she wouldn’t be as successful as she was now.

“Really?”

Seeing Yeonjoo hesitant, Haneul grabbed her hand and put the bag in it.

“I picked this based on your skin tone and sensitivity, so I’m sure it’ll suit you. Also, let’s go clothes shopping the day after tomorrow. If you want to act as a product model, it’ll be better if you start looking after yourself starting now.”

“Me? Weren’t you going to keep doing it?”

“I am going to do it, but it’ll be you who shows up more frequently. I told you before.”

“I thought you were joking. I thought I’d only help you out from the side.”

“You have a face that easily attracts people’s goodwill, so you aren’t lacking as a model. Also, we have already checked the consumer responses. Among our loyal customers who visit the blog and watch our videos, none of them have rejection towards you. I’ve already told the president. It’s also something I decided on the second day we met.”

She grabbed the dazed Yeonjoo and dragged her, feeling like she would stand there until sunrise if she was left there alone.

“Of course, I respect your opinion. If you don’t want to, then I’m going to treat it like none of this happened. I’ll make it so that you can keep working on the video production side.”

“I….”

Yeonjoo clutched the paper bag with both of her hands. There was a glimpse of the desire to challenge in her confused eyes.

Haneul asked her again, whether she was going to do it or not.

Yeonjoo responded, “I want to do it if I can. But won’t there be problems? I’m not as pretty as you, and I don’t feel confident.”

“Not at all. You’re plenty charming. Do you think I’m just being courteous to you? I will never give someone hope using something that’s hopeless. I’m only proposing this to you because I am convinced that it will work.”

“It makes me feel uneasy instead because you sound so confident.”

“Then to change it up a little, I’ll say that you are a little lacking but I can help you with the rest. Would you like to do it now?”

“Hey! You can’t say that.”

Yeonjoo hesitated for a while before pulling her chin inwards as though she made a decision. She said that she would do it.

“Good, but as a result, you’ll become a lot busier than you are now. For a while, you’ll have to do both shooting and editing. I’ll help you out fully with the camera test. I’ll also have a look at what angle looks the best for you. I’m going to do this properly from beginning to end so that you can become the main face of ‘Friendly Aroma.’”

“Then what about you? You’re just going to do the business side of things?”

“No. Once the foundation of the business is solidly set in stone, I’m going to start decreasing my domain. That doesn’t mean that I’m pulling out entirely, though, so don’t worry about it. I just need some leeway to do what I truly want. I’m just building the base for that.”

“Do what you truly want?”

Haneul responded without hesitation that it was to be an actress.

“You’re going to be an actress? You’re going to abandon this successful business?”

“By the end of the year, the payment for the factory will be settled, and we’ll procure more distribution routes. The almost non-existent internet orders and deliveries will be normalized. Once that happens, I’ll be able to get the desired income I want. I’m okay with that. I just want enough money so that I don’t lose my foundation.”

“This might go really well and thus we might need you even more. There are many businesses who showed interest because you’re the model.”

“I told you, I’m not taking my hands off entirely. I’m just going to decrease my appearance so that I can do it while I focus on my acting work.”

Thanks to jumping onto the trend, they were able to launch a cosmetics brand in only two months. The indirect promotions through her blog and YouTube were also going well. Once the website for ‘Friendly Aroma’ was up, they would start selling more than they were now. It would take more time to turn into a stable income, but it wasn’t that far off.

As Yeonjoo said, if she focused on the business, she would be able to grow the business more, but what she wanted to be was not a competent businesswoman, but an actress.

“So please take care of me from now on.”

Haneul pushed Yeonjoo’s back slightly and walked forward. Yeonjoo walked up next to her. She stayed silent for a while before chuckling. “This feels like a dream. Without you, I would be doing part-time jobs or freelance work to earn tuition before going back to college next year, but I got to do something professional like this. I still flinch every time I wake up in the morning, you know? Wondering if everything was just a delusion of mine.”

“You can save the retrospects for when you’re old. We still have a long way to go. Once we get more responses from the consumers, it’ll be hard to give feedback like this. I’ll have to tell the president to create a customer service team. You’ll get a role and have people under you.”

“Me? I’m only a college student.”

“Who’s only a college student? You’re already an executive-level staff in a middle-sized business with proven potential to grow. The president treats you like one too.”

“I feel like I’ve become important now. I’m a little scared too. I feel like I’ll slip up.”

“We did not expand the business forcefully. We started off with leftover inventory in the warehouse, and we can keep importing products from Germany, so we don’t have to worry about logistics. We have no reports of side effects from the users either. As long as we don’t screw up big time on marketing, we’ll keep consolidating our foundation. There’s no need to worry about slipping up.”

After she spoke, Yeonjoo asked back with a grave face,

“Maybe I should be applying to drop out rather than taking a year off?”

“That’s your choice. If you feel like this work suits you and want to keep doing it, then I’ll recommend that you wrap things up.”

“Hey. I’ve already received two semesters’ tuition, so what’s all this ‘suits you’ and whatnot? Of course I’ll keep doing it.” Yeonjoo grinned. Haneul liked her honest reply.

There was one thing she realized in her lives, and it was that there was no one as dangerous as people who had no desire for money. Whether in a good way or bad way, that person was bound to cause issues. The people that businesses wanted were those who moderately chased after money and could dictate money from time to time.

In that sense, Yeonjoo scored full points.

“But hey, I think the current you can jump into acting work right now. Why did you start this business?”

“As I said before, I need a baseline. I don’t believe that ‘artists are better when they’re hungry’ bullshit. I know how dangerous and scary that can be. Also, if there’s one more reason….”

She thought about Maru, who should be busy preparing for a shoot.

“There’s someone I might need to take care of. Of course, with that person’s talents, it probably won’t happen, but there’s always the what if.”

“That person? What’s this? Now that I think about it, Jungyeon said you dumped your boyfriend, didn’t you?”

Yeonjoo, who liked lewd stories more than anyone else, had a gleam in her eye and moved her face right next to her. Haneul said that she was creeped out and pushed her away.

“I’ll introduce him to you later. He should be busy right now.”

“Alright. Then let me ask this one thing: Is he good-looking?”

“Hm, I’m not sure about what others think, but he’s perfect for my preferences.”

She then smiled.