Sweet Pineapple

Chapter 3: Nyan's POV

Working in a salon was not one of my favorite things. I much rather be in fashion shows, working fast, talking little. I'm not someone to get attached to others, and all the rush and adrenaline make me feel alive, and I get to see different people everyday, I don't get bored. But Patricia asked me for help and I couldn't say no to a friend's request, you know?

It was a nice place, though. A very well located building downtown, with a beautiful view of the green public square. But it wasn't the spacious rooms and the modern furniture that made me enjoy my hours there.

I arrived early that morning, I grabbed some coffee and leaned against the wall beside my station, watching while the staff arrived and got everything ready to receive their first clients of the day.

"Morning, Nyan." Said Patricia. I looked at her and nodded, taking a sip of my coffee. "Did you check your schedule for today?"

"Hm-hum." I didn't.

"Good." She kept checking her notes but stopped to glare at me when I turned my face to watch Jae-Eun and Berta walk in. "Humm..." she cocked a brow.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"It's never nothing with you. Spit out!"

"I just got a glimpse of interest, or am I wrong?"

I didn't answer. She was right, there was a hint of interest that I didn't want to give too much attention to. Berta had her long hair tied up in a very neat ponytail. She was pretty. Small, but pretty. She always had a big smile on and everybody in the salon liked her. Me included. She had a good energy, you know? She was very communicative and in a good mood. I smiled when she greeted us and her cheeks turned pink. Jae-Eun made a disgusted face when his friend acted timid in front of me. I wanted to laugh at his crooked nose but I kept it inside.

"How's your hand?" I asked him instead. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes, half of his face was covered by a curtain of long dark hair. He was the complete opposite of Berta. Quiet and introverted. He wasn't friends with no one else, just her. Not that he couldn't get along with the others, but I could feel they had a special connection. He was comfortable around her, so that he would laugh out loud at the point of tilting his head back whenever he did it. What a contagious laugh, by the way. But now, he wasn't laughing, or even smiling.

"Better." He answered coldly.

Berta elbowed him in the arm and he threw me a forced grim that made his eyes disappear into two narrow lines, just before his face went blank again and he turned in the direction to his working station. I cocked a brown at him, crossing my arms over my chest. "What a brat..." I said. "I was just worried, he didn't come to work for days, I thought his hand was still sore..."

"It was not about his hand, but, I'll tell you later... I'm curious about something else now." Said Patricia. I looked at her, waiting for her conclusion. "Which one?"

"Oh, so you really don't know?" I couldn't hold a laugh at her clueless expression. "I won't tell, then."

"Well, I have my guesses... But..." She observed the pair of friends that chatted across the room. "If I'm right, I don't think you'll be lucky this time."

I smiled. She was probably right on her guess. Knowing me as she did. But I was not one to give up easily. I observed them once more, I was a little jealous of their connection, to be honest. Patricia said something more about work that I really didn't pay much attention to. She left as my client arrived and I prepared myself to start.

At one of my breaks, I was approached by pretty little Berta. She came to talk to me without her usual Korean shadow. She had something to ask me and I listened to her request carefully. I couldn't deny that it surprised me, but it was a great chance to get closer to my target.