AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 3 -- Chapter 20

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

Judith's VIP Lounge was run by the book, strictly enforcing the 'no-touch' rule between dancers and patrons. A punter in violation was immediately removed by one of the beefy bouncers that kept an eagle eye on the open lounge and screened off private dance tables. There would be no repeat of Sun-Mi's experience as a hostess.

 

The veteran dancer she had been paired with, Ericka, was almost the same size as Sun-Mi, and had an extra costume to lend to her new protegee.

 

"How do I look? Ridiculous, right?" Sun-Mi asks herself as she scrutinizes her reflection in the dressing room mirror, inevitably pondering, "What would Senior say if he saw me dressed like this?"

 

Much like the erotic lingerie Sun-Mi had seen in the windows of sex shops on the tawdry alleys of Soho, the neon pink assemblage of lacings that held together a triplet of strategically placed pieces of stretch satin left little for the imagination. Still, she considered herself fortunate -- at least she wasn't expected to take it off!

 

 

Sun-Mi gyrates her hips and shoulders, practicing dance moves Ericka had taught her after watching Sun-Mi's initial efforts. Though conscious that her skills are far from matching the graceful motions of the sinuous dancer's lithe, nubile body, Sun-Mi boosts her courage reminding herself of Ericka's praise that she was a natural at it.

 

Once she is fairly assured that the costume will stay put -- with little likelihood of any embarrassing 'wardrobe malfunctions' -- Sun-Mi whips her jet black, shoulder-length mane of curls several times to test that the hairpins will hold the wig on securely.

 

 

"Cherise? You're on next," Judith's sharp voice carries across the dressing room.

 

Dressed in a black cocktail gown, the House Mum cut an elegant presence in the Lounge. Though slightly-built, her eyes displayed an intimidating resolve of steel. A single determined glance usually was sufficient to keep either errant dancers or troublesome customers in line. Sun-Mi had estimated Judith at just a few years older than herself, but her worldly-worn manner made her seem older. According to Ericka, Manager Chin and Judith were in a relationship while she worked as an exotic dancer in his Seoul club, though now to all appearances they interacted strictly as business partners.

 

"Yes'm!" Cherise, a Thai girl with long, straight, bleach-blond tresses -- looking barely 16 though she claimed the minimum legal 18 -- chirps back.

 

Passing Sun-Mi, she stops to remark callously, "You look chubby in that costume, Nicole. Pink just isn't your color."

 

Her bomb dropped, carrying a smirk on her ruby lips, Cherise traipses off to the dressing room stage door.

 

 

Aghast, Sun-Mi stares at her 32-24-32 self in the mirror, seeing suspect bulges where none had been just moments before, her already shaky confidence deflating like a punctured balloon. How could she have missed what Cherise so quickly pointed out with an idle glance?!

 

 

Ericka walks over. Draped in a slinky, sequined gown, with each step generous slits give glimpses of her long, slender legs. Sun-Mi had watched with awe as Ericka performed her sensuous, supple routines on the dance poles while artfully stripping layers off until she was left with a costume that made Sun-Mi's look modest.

 

"Ready, Nicole?" she asks.

 

"Do I really look fat?" Nicole blurts out her latest worry.

 

"Don't pay attention to her. If you looked fat, I'd have told you already," Ericka quashes Sun-Mi's angst. "She's just rattling your cage. Cherise likes to haze the new girls, to see if they have the mettle."

 

"My nerves are completely frazzled," Sun-Mi admits, anxious about performing her first public dance set. "I feel so inept compared to all the others."

 

"Just remember what I taught you -- act confidently as if you've done it a million times, keep a smile on your face, and have fun dancing," Ericka reassures her. "If you're enjoying yourself, the punters will too."

 

"I'll try," Sun-Mi manages a weak smile. "But what if I freeze up? Or I'm clumsy and fall, making a fool of myself?"

 

 

Even after extensive practice, Sun-Mi was leery of forgetting her routine or taking a tumble off the de rigueur towering platform stilettos.

 

"You keep this up, you'll worry yourself to death," Ericka chides. "Everyone gets nervous, but they still go on and do fine."

 

"How? I feel like there's something swimming in circles in my gut!"

 

"This is what I do. When I walk out there, and the music starts, I let my body absorb the beat, moving to the rhythm," Ericka shares her own experience. "There's something inside of me that just clicks, and then I'm gone, dancing like there's no tomorrow. I feel alive and vibrant in a way that I only experience by dancing. It's like I'm somebody else for a while."

 

 

"Nicole? It's time," Judith announces.

 

She had scheduled Sun-Mi last in the 7 o'clock lineup of dancers, a slot when a poor showing on her part would matter little.

 

"Take this," Ericka removes the silver medal she is wearing from around her neck and slips it over Sun-Mi's head. "It's Saint Teresa of Avila, the patron saint for dancers. She'll bring you good luck!"

 

She gives Sun-Mi a quick hug. "You'll be great!"

 

"Thanks."

 

"Nicole?! Now!" Judith makes her impatience obvious.

 

"Coming!" Sun-Mi calls back.

 

Giving Ericka a quick grin to express an assurance she hasn't yet internalized, Sun-Mi hurries off. Passing by Judith, she gets an unexpected nod of approval.

 

"Now go out and give it your best, Nicole!" she cheers Sun-Mi on. "We'll be watching."

 

 

Judith and Ericka walk off together, leaving Sun-Mi alone in the dressing room. Taking slow, deep breaths to help steady her nerves, Sun-Mi stands at the stage door, waiting for her cue. Outside in the lounge she can hear the music booming while Cherise finishes her set.

 

As each second ticks off, the knot in Sun-Mi's stomach constricts tighter. But having come this far, there is no turning back...