AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 3 -- Chapter 18

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

"... and then the officer orders the drunk to get out of his car and says... he says..." the man looks tipsily at Sun-Mi and blinks several times. "I can't remember what the hell he said, but it's really good!" he roars, laughing heartily.

 

Sitting in the booth beside the 40ish businessman, Sun-Mi laughs too. "Your joking very funny," she encourages him with heavily accented English, pouring the last from a bottle of Johnny Walker Green into his glass.

 

The dimly-lit, smoky lounge was a completely different atmosphere from the Korean barbeque restaurant on the first level where Sun-Mi had bussed tables. She had seldom ventured upstairs to the lounge, only when needing to speak with Manager Chin, feeling out of place in her stained apron and work clothes among the well-coiffed hostesses with their perfect makeup, sleek cheongsams and high heels.

 

From afar, she had looked on their job as an opportunity for easy money -- 'be petty, smile, serve drinks, and chat up the customers' -- she had naively expressed to Hyung-Chul.

 

But the reality had proven to be very different -- maintaining charm and a smile on her face through long exhausting shifts with few breaks, staying always on alert to evade the inevitable pinching and touching punters, and having constant pressure to entice her customers to drink more while trying to stay sober when she succeeded.

 

 

Raising her glass, Sun-Mi urges him on, "Bottoms up!"

 

Ogling the wide keyhole cutout that exposes the tops and cleavage of her breasts -- boosting the illusion of fullness by padded pushups -- he picks up his drink and puts the remainder down in one toss. Meanwhile, Sun-Mi covers her mouth with her hand to hide that she barely sips from her own.

 

"More?" She gives him a saucy smile as she picks up the bottle and upends it. "Oh my! Empty!" she pretends surprise when nothing pours out, then purrs, "You wanna drink another bottle with me, Mister?"

 

He answers by taking a couple of �50 notes from a wad in his pocket and slapping them on the table.

 

 

Sun-Mi collects the money, and is about to slide over in the booth, when he turns toward her and asks boozily, "How about a little smoochie first, honey?"

 

He puts another �10 down as an incentive, and confidently puckers up in anticipation.

 

Eyeing the tenner, Sun-Mi weighs her options, and the risks involved...

 

On her first day working the lounge, she had quickly learned that the 'no-touch policy' did not preclude what was colloquially termed 'harmless flirting' and 'friendly cuddling'. Once opening the door, it risked clients refusing to take 'no' for an answer, though going further was officially prohibited. But some hostesses still willingly obliged their patrons, while it was rumored Manager Chin looked the other way in exchange for a percentage, or alternatively, 'personal favors' performed privately in his office.

 

 

Deciding to play along to keep the man happy and willing to spend, Sun-Mi instead gives him a light peck on the cheek, leaving a candy red imprint from her heavily painted lips.

 

She reaches for the note, but he puts his left hand over it, demanding, "I meant a real kiss."

 

Repulsed by his slobbering mouth, she offers, "Mister, I get the bottle now, okay?"

 

When she hesitates, waiting for his answer, he clamps his right hand on her knee to hold her still. "You're not going anywhere, girlie."

 

 

This isn't the first time Sun-Mi has had to fend off an aggressive move. She lightly runs her fingers down his arm, hoping to distract him. But the man tightens his grip, digging painfully into her thigh.

 

He leans in closer to Sun-Mi, insisting, "Stop playing coy. I know you like me."

 

Sun-Mi fights a desire to slap the man away. Instead, she smiles and coos softly, "Don't all the girls? Let's hold hands."

 

 

But the man ignores her attempt to get his hand off her leg, sliding it up the skirt's long side slit, to the top of her stocking. He stops there, his fingertips caressing the silky smooth, tender skin of her thigh.

 

Leering into her face, he smirks, "You need it badly, don't you? I can see it in those big, beautiful eyes. Why don't we go to my hotel and have some real fun?"

 

With his other hand, he lays out the wad of cash on the table, signaling his expectations.

 

 

Sun-Mi mentally sums up the notes she can see -- more than what she usually made in several days -- before rejecting the offer out of hand. She had taken this job trying to save her marriage, not betray it!

 

"Sorry, Mister. Ask another girl."

 

But the man, drunk as he was, had noted her hesitation. "If that's not enough, I'll make it worth your while," he promises.

 

Keeping her voice calm, Sun-Mi tries to extricate herself from a worsening situation, "How about tomorrow? I have plans to meet someone tonight."

 

Her bluff doesn't dissuade him. "Forget that jerk! I know what whores like you want," he growls, suddenly thrusting his hand higher.

 

 

Sun-Mi flinches, gasping involuntarily at his violation. Reflexively, she flings her arm forward, slapping the man hard across the cheek with a loud smack.

 

Stunned by her outrage, his face stinging, the man sits back, mouth gaping open in astonishment.

 

 

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sun-Mi scrambles out of his reach. "Don't touch me ever again!" she hisses. "Keep your money, bastard!"

 

Rebuffed, the man turns surly. "Go on then, slag!" he snarls. "Get off!"

 

 

Leaving the cash on the table, Sun-Mi hurries away, chased by a stream of invective that makes her ears burn. She goes to the bar, motioning for the bartender. When he comes over, she lays the two notes on the counter, requesting, "Johnny Walker Green." At the least, she will get her cut of the liquor order. "And a gin and tonic."

 

"Got it," the bartender nods and goes off.

 

 

Still seething at the indignity, hearing the man's degrading remarks reverberating in her mind, Sun-Mi fights back tears so she won't ruin her heavy mascara. At the click-clack of approaching high heels, she looks up to see another hostess, Cielo, approaching.

 

The first of the club's hostesses to befriend Sun-Mi, Cielo is one of the few to open up about her personal life. The perky, petite 20-year-old, whose Korean immigrant parents had divorced, worked part-time around her beautician studies. More cute than pretty with a freckled complexion and auburn pixie 'do, she is popular with the patrons for a 32-22-32 figure and silicone-enhanced DD breasts that looked about to burst out of her skin-tight gold cheongsam.

 

 

Cielo immediately notices Sun-Mi's distraught face. "Are you all right? You don't look well," she asks, placing a comforting hand on Sun-Mi's trembling shoulder.

 

Sun-Mi forces a wan smile. "Can you cover for me? Booth 5. I need a break."

 

"Not a problem," Cielo flashes her winsome grin, reading between the lines. "You just have to learn how to handle those jerks."

 

"How do you stand it?"

 

"By turning off my mind and thinking of this," Cielo cracks, patting her thick waist purse.

 

 

"Here you go," the bartender pushes the whisky bottle and drink across the counter.

 

"Catch you later," Cielo tells Sun-Mi as she picks up the bottle and totters off on her sky-high heels, wriggling her hips seductively.

 

 

Nursing her drink, after a few minutes Sun-Mi calms down. Without a patron to service, she takes up the routine patrol, slowly circumnavigating the lounge, trolling for drink orders. But the few customers at this early hour are all being entertained by other hostesses who ward her off with sharp glances, protective of their turf.

 

From a distance, she sees Cielo with the man in Booth 5, practically sitting on his lap, laughing as she plies him with more liquor. Leanings in for a kiss, she sweeps the cash from the table, sending Sun-Mi a telling wink.

 

Sun-Mi ruefully touches her mostly empty waist purse with a sigh. Tonight is proving to be another meager one for her. Without decent tips and liquor sales, a day's take might actually be less than she made in the restaurant. And that didn't count the regular dry cleaning for her gowns, stocking replacements when she got a run, hair appointments, and makeup purchases.

 

 

When Sun-Mi eventually returns to the bar empty-handed, the bartender informs her, "Boss wants you in his office, NOW, and he looked pretty pissed."

 

Expecting a scolding, her heart pounding with trepidation, Sun-Mi walks the short distance to Manager Chin's office. She had violated one of basic tenents of her job -- keep the customer happy regardless of his behavior. The consequences could be severe, depending on his mood.

 

Hoping for the best outcome, Sun-Mi puts a smile on her lips and raps lightly on the door...