Playlights (1)

Kyunghee didn't particularly like the mirror. 

The reflection in the mirror reminded her just how much she looked like her mother. It wasn't a problem if her mother was normal like most mothers, if her mother had left her with good memories to recall from. Sadly, neither case was true. 

From the sultry, hazel colored eyes to the structured nose, pillow pink lips, down to the dimples that punched deep into her cheeks at the slight of a smile—everything was Gong Miryung's. If she showed strangers a picture of the two, and told them they were related, they wouldn't doubt her. 

She was an exact replica of Gong Miryung. The resemblance was uncanny. 

Everyone had flaws and imperfections they were embarrassed about. Nobody was perfect after all, but what people called her best feature was in fact her complex, the thorn to her confidence. To inherit her mother's sex appeal wasn't a blessing, but a curse. Just because she looked a certain way, had a certain trait she didn't have a choice in, she was automatically given a label that had stuck with her since adolescence. It was a curse she could never escape from, not as a kid, definitely not as an adult. 

It wasn't as if she could gouge her eyes out, slashed her mouth and skinned herself alive so that she wouldn't look like that woman—unless she was that psychotic, of course. But she wasn't. So she tried whatever she could to not look like that woman, but when she was home and those powders were gone, she was still that woman's daughter. She still looked like Gong Miryung. It was stupid, but that woman had hurt her enough to foolishly do that to herself.

When make-up proved little to help, and she was tired of walking around looking like she had birthday cakes on her face, Kyunghee turned to hairstyling. It was surprising how much a hairstyle could change a person. For a time in her life, she had tried out all these crazy hairdos but similarly, a hairstyle could only make a person different to a certain extent. 

No matter what she did, how she tried to camouflage herself, nothing was ever going to work. 

She was Ahn Kyunghee. Gong Miryung's daughter. Like a curse. 

Right now, she was sporting a head full of pink balayage on black, styled in a messy beach wave, reaching slightly above her belly-button. She didn't remember when was the last time she had plain black hair. But in her line of work, women with pink, purple, blue and silver hair was a norm so the pink balayage was simply another trend. 

But to be nicknamed based on her hair color was a first. The thought of last night's incident made Kyunghee irritated all over again. 

"What do you mean you can't go this weekend? I already bought the advanced tickets. Fine! Do whatever you want. I'll just go with Kyunghee then." 

At the mention of her name, Kyunghee wrenched her eyes away from the lighted mirror, turning towards the glamorous woman sitting next to her. 

"Hmph." Lee Jiwon hung up the phone with vengeance. She sucked in a deep breath to calm herself, and then turned towards Kyunghee. "Are you free this weekend for a date with a beautiful woman, Kyunghee-sshi?" Jiwon winked playfully. 

Kyunghee smiled. "What kind of date?" 

"Well, I bought us tickets to Lotte World for a drone show happening this weekend. I'm also thinking of taking you out on a romantic dinner and walk. We can hold hands and talk about everything and anything under the stars. Then maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get to take you home to bed with me. How about it?" 

"Wow, how can I turn down such a tempting offer?" Kyunghee played along. 

The two shared a laugh. 

"Who was that on the phone earlier?" Kyunghee asked. 

"It's that guy I've been seeing. We were supposed to go to Lotte World together this weekend, but it turns out he has family commitments." Jiwon shrugged. "Oh well, his loss. Not mine." 

Lee Jiwon was the most senior in terms of age and status at Playlights, one of the most popular strip clubs in Seoul, which was also where Kyunghee worked currently. Jiwon was now thirty-one and had been with Playlights for five years. Even their manager had to give her some face. She was the only dancer the other staff didn't dare to insult. If it hadn't been for Jiwon who reached out first and took Kyunghee under her wings, Kyunghee couldn't imagine staying at Playlights past the six months mark. But it had now been two and a half years. 

The realization hit Kyunghee hard. 

Playlights was located at the edge of the Entertainment District, which was the central hub for trendy bars and clubs, karaoke hotspots, restaurants, nightlife, urban shops and live entertainment. In fact, Playlights was oddly located right at the end of the mainstream commercial area. Once a person crossed the street and took a right turn, continued through a narrow, dim-lit alley—dubbed "The Narrow"—then they were in a completely different jurisdiction. 

In a sense, The Narrow was a gateway to Ansil Road where strip clubs, underground fight clubs, gambling dens, adult theaters, love motels and sex shops populated. Crossing over The Narrow was like stepping into a whole new world, a whole new atmosphere—the Capital to Crime City. 

For this reason, there were always police cars hanging around the entrance to The Narrow. 

Why then was Playlights, a strip club, not located in Ansil Road where a ton of other adult entertainment condensed? A couple of years ago, Ansil Road stretched all the way to where Playlights was currently, and even two blocks further up. However, since the city has been trying to urbanize everything and control the amount of sex and violence, Ansil Road was shoved further back until it was on the other side of The Narrow. It became hidden in the shadows, out of general public and tourists' sight. Meanwhile, this side of the streets had been cleaned up. The city further invested a whole bunch of money and developed it into a bustling entertainment hub. 

Due to certain political agendas, Playlights—despite being known by everyone on the streets as a strip club—officially advertised itself as an elite nightclub venue with a minimum age requirement of twenty-one for entry. Naturally the city knew about these under the table dealings and was trying hard to shut it down, but it appeared someone was stopping it in the shadows. 

"Anyway, it's a date for us then!" Jiwon cheered as she patted her face with a fresh layer of powder. "Hey, does anyone know what's been going on lately? Why are there so many uniforms hanging out in front of The Narrow lately?" 

"Jiwon unnie! Didn't you hear?" The girl sitting on Jiwon's other side piped in enthusiastically, grasping at the chance to gossip. 

At the moment, there were four dancers in the dressing room, including Kyunghee. The dressing room had two small, exclusive bathrooms to the left. The right side was lined with dressing tables and lighted mirrors for make-up application while clothes rack and cubby holes were situated at the back wall. A variety of cosmetics were spilled on top of the dressing table in a heap of mess as per usual. 

The dancers had a tendency to leave their cosmetics in a mess and would often used one another's, resulting in a whole load of catty drama, especially when one girl used half a bottle of another girl's expensive cream. It was a reason for Kyunghee to keep her things in her bag. She didn't understand why they continued to leave their make-up and products lying around haphazardly, knowing it was going to end with two girls fighting. History taught us nothing, apparently. 

Typically, nobody came into this particular dressing room unless they were a dancer. The bartenders and waitresses had their own room across the hall. Like high school, it separated the two sides. The bartenders and waitresses had somehow formed a clique while the dancers were left on their own. Kyunghee didn't have a problem with the bartenders and waitresses, but some of them did think they were morally superior based on the fact that they didn't have to wear little to nothing. 

Naturally, the dancers didn't like them. Whether you were a waitress, bartender or a dancer at Playlights, some customers didn't give a damn. Just because you were a bartender or a waitress didn't mean you were automatically exempted from off-color jokes. However, unlike bartenders and waitresses, the dancers couldn't refuse a drink from a customer. It was a rule they had to adhere to because it was how the club made money—selling overpriced drinks that didn't give you wings. 

"Hear what? If you have tea then just spill it, Harin," Jiwon gently scolded, secretly exchanging an annoyed look with Kyunghee. 

"Do you know the famous travel and lifestyle vlogger, Yiseul? Well, last week she was filming and taking some pictures right in the narrow alley itself. I don't know the details, but word on the street is that she offended a gang member and is currently in the hospital. Yiseul comes from a somewhat wealthy background and she's the only child, so her parents have been pressuring the Seoul police to shut down Ansil Road as a form of justice for their daughter." 

Jiwon snickered. "And how do they think they will do that? I've been hearing the same story for years. There's always some morally upright, loudmouth big shot trying to 'clean up' the city. At the same time, they're buying expensive sports cars with money laundered from that side of town." 

Harin shrugged. "I don't know much about those things, unnie." 

"They can't shut the place down, so they increased the patrolling uniforms instead?" Jiwon questioned. 

Harin nodded as she excitedly pulled out her phone. "That's what it seems like, but look at this unnie! Yiseul didn't post any of these things on her social media accounts. She just said she was taking a couple of days rest and will be back soon. I had to dig around for the deets. I follow her social media so I thought it was weird when she didn't post for days. It's never happened before, so who would've thought that—" 

"Alright, alright. I know you're the number one source to go to when it comes to social media stalking, Harin," Jiwon interrupted before Harin could go on another tirade about social media trends. 

Harin pouted but stopped talking as she excused herself to the bathroom. 

When Harin left, Jiwon turned to Kyunghee, "That girl can really talk off my ears. I swear she's on her phone whenever I look at her." 

Kyunghee chuckled. "Give her some slack, unnie. She's only twenty-one." 

Jiwon sighed with a nostalgic look. "How great is it to be twenty-one. But I definitely don't remember all these social media things when I was twenty-one." 

"You sound like an old person, unnie," Kyunghee teased as she tried to fix the purple wig on her head. 

As part of their jobs, the girls would often wear varying styles of wigs to perform. Not to mention, they had stage names as a precaution to personal safety. Although they had a burly and reliable bouncer, it only took one bad apple to ruin the bunch. Besides, when people got drunk, some got aggressive. 

"I am the oldest one here," Jiwon sighed again. In a softer, more serious voice, she said, "Kyunghee-ah, you're only twenty-six. You can still leave this life. It's not too late for you." Reaching over, Jiwon helped Kyunghee fixed the wig with a motherly touch and pain in her eyes. "I know you don't want to be here forever. I know I've said it before but I'll say it again. Go back to school. Go do something you love. Go and be selfish." 

Kyunghee's eyes shook as she stared at Jiwon. Swallowing past the emotions in her throat, Kyunghee smiled, her dimples punching deep, amber flecks shimmering in her eyes. "Unnie, how can I leave you alone? You're so used to having me around now. You'll be sad if I'm gone," she teased, though she was deeply touched. 

Jiwon smiled somberly. "You're right." 

There was something off about Jiwon's reaction, but Kyunghee didn't think much of it.