Within the spaces

Episode 5

Meanwhile, Faye...

Faye carefully set down the scissors on her station, the soft clink breaking the gentle hum of the salon. She had just finished her last haircut of the day, a regular client who always requested her, and the client had left with a satisfied smile. Normally, this moment-when the salon was quiet and the day was winding down-was when Faye's mood would lighten. She'd often hum a song or start thinking about where to meet her friends for dinner. Outside of her professional life, Faye was known for being the life of the party. Her friends often teased her for being the happy, chirpy one, always the first to make everyone laugh and keep things light.

But today was different. Today, her mind wouldn't let her slip into that carefree version of herself.

She wiped down her tools, a frown pulling at her lips as Yoko's words from the workshop replayed in her mind. It had been a simple exercise-describing first impressions-and Faye hadn't thought much of it at the time. She had expected Yoko to say something funny or lighthearted. But instead, Yoko had said something that struck a chord, something Faye wasn't prepared to hear.

"When I first saw P'Faye," Yoko had said nervously, "she seemed... intimidating. Like someone who has really high walls up. But once you get closer, she's actually very warm. If you look deep enough into her eyes, though... sometimes, she looks sad."

Faye could still feel the jolt of vulnerability that had hit her in that moment. She had smiled through it, brushed it off with a joke about her "resting bitch face." But inside, the comment had unsettled her. Yoko had seen something - something Faye didn't let many people see. Was she really that transparent? Could this young, naive girl see through the walls Faye thought she had carefully built?

As she flicked off the lights in the salon and walked to her private office in the back, Faye couldn't shake the feeling of exposure. She wasn't used to feeling this vulnerable. She had spent years perfecting the image people saw: the confident, charming, carefree Faye who always had a smile on her face and a flirtatious joke on her lips. But what Yoko had described... it was too close to the truth.

Faye sank into the chair behind her desk, the familiar surroundings of her salon providing little comfort tonight. She wasn't used to thinking about her past, not like this. But Yoko's words had opened a door she usually kept firmly shut.

Her thoughts wandered back to her grandparents, the two people who had shaped her the most. They had raised her, loved her, and been the only constant in her life when everything else felt chaotic. Losing them had left her feeling unanchored, and even though she rarely let herself think about it, the sadness lingered. Maybe Yoko had picked up on that sadness without even realizing it.

Faye felt lonely and she would never admit that. Cause what's the point? She had everything she wanted, a good career, a nice life, great friends. What more she could possibly need? And again, just like clockwork, her mind drifted to her - the one person who had come closest to seeing all of Faye, flaws and all. Her ex, Mina.

It had been five years—five years that felt like a lifetime ago but also like it had just ended yesterday. The memories of that relationship had become fragmented, but certain moments stood out, sharp and clear, as if they had been burned into her mind. She had gotten used to pushing those memories aside. But tonight, they surfaced with an intensity that caught her off guard.

Her ex had been everything she thought she needed at the time: kind, patient, and deeply caring. She had loved Faye with a depth that, in hindsight, made Faye feel unworthy. Faye could still remember their quiet moments together, the way Mina would run her fingers through Faye's hair at the end of a long day, whispering, "You work too hard. Rest for a while." There was a gentleness in her touch that Faye hadn't felt since.