After thoroughly pretending that Kaiser's words were a figment of her overactive imagination, Valentina immediately locked herself in her room and went to bed. She still felt a bit tired after eating and drinking that questionable healthy liquid so she figured she might as well just go to sleep instead of worrying about anything.
At 8 o'clock the next day, she woke up to someone repeatedly banging on her door. As she sleepily walked over to open it, she saw that it was Lia. The woman was wearing a much simpler dress than usual and high-platform sneakers. Her short blue hair was held up with multitudes of clips and she had blue glasses perched on her nose.
“Grand rising to you my favorite student. I am glad to see you're doing well. How are you feeling?” Lia asked her in a very subdued voice.
“Good morning Lia. I'm fine now thanks to your care.”
“Valentina,” Lia said her name seriously.
“Yes?”
“I am very sorry. I didn’t mean to push you to your breaking point, and I honestly apologize for working you so hard that you got ill. Please forgive me.” Lia immediately bowed her waist ninety degrees.
Shocked, Valentina couldn’t help but console her as she held the other woman up. “Please don’t do this. I promise I'm completely fine. It had nothing to do with you.”
“Still. I promise to take care of you properly from now on!” Lia said firmly, her fist clenched in her determination. Valentina had to suppress a laugh that threatened to come out at the comical image.
“Haha. Okay then. Please take care of me.” She gave the woman a brilliant smile.
“Gah! You’re so beautiful first thing in the morning! My eyes!” Lia shouted while covering her eyes dramatically.
Valentina: “……” welp. There was the old Lia she knew.
Seeing Valentina stare at her, Lia coughed in embarrassment.
“Anyway. I am here to take you to prepare for your opening premiere. Please go get changed and meet me downstairs.”
“Isn’t it a little early?” Valentina asked. The opening ceremony would not start until 6 pm. They had almost 10 hours to prepare.
“Are you questioning your teacher my favorite student? Beauty takes time! Go and get changed. Your breakfast has been packed and is waiting for you.” Lia ordered. Her large paper fan appeared out of nowhere and she began smacking it on her hand in a threatening manner.
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“…got it. I’ll be right down then.”
Valentina quickly showered and changed into a simple sweatshirt and leggings before heading down the stairs. Waiting at the bottom was Luca with a large metal thermos in his hands.
“Good morning my little nugget.”
“Good morning Aunty Val.” He greeted her cheerfully before firming his expression.
“You have to drink your medicine!” He shouted while holding the thermos up to her.
Fuck. The dreaded liquid. Although she knew it was good for her to drink, when she recalled the horrid taste and smell, Valentina was unwilling to drink it.
Still, seeing Luca’s expectant gaze, she couldn't help but smile and accept it.
“Okay. Little nugget. I’ll drink it but I'll take it with me since I'm in a rush.”
“No! You have to finish it now! You can't get sick.” Luca firmly shook his head while glaring. When she saw the little angry face that looked so similar to Kaiser’s, she couldn’t help but squat and softly pinch his cheeks.
“Is our little Luca upset?” she asked teasingly.
“No. It’s my mission.” He mumbled while cutely glaring at her.
“I know. And I pinky promise to finish it okay. but I'm in a rush. Lia is waiting for me.”
“Actually I'm not. I have to wait for you to finish the drink. Kaiser’s orders.” Lia announced as she appeared with a lunch box in her hands. “So feel free to drink up. we can't leave until the bottle is em.pty.”
Valentina: “……” Why did she feel as if she were in the middle of an intervention?
Even though Luca immediately hid behind her legs, he stared at her expectantly. Looking between the two sparkling gazes, Valentina sighed resignedly before plugging her nose and chugging it down. She didn’t know if it was because of the minty taste of toothpaste but she felt as if it tasted even worse than yesterday. After chugging it, she gratefully took the candy from Luca and ate.
“Good, good. Now that you're done let’s go! You can eat in the car.” Lia ordered.
“Do I need a face mask or anything?” Valentina asked while pulling the mask and glasses out of her purse. She remembered Rio and Kaiser’s words to be careful when going out.
“Please. Who do you think I am? Just get in the car and trust me!” Lia patted her chest confidently.
Valentina: “……” Although she wanted to say the short stature didn’t inspire confidence, she kept silent. After hugging Luca goodbye, she quietly followed Lia.
Outside the house, a fully blacked-out van was waiting. She looked between the vehicle and Lia and couldn’t help but ask.
“…Are these window tints legal? The windows are literally black.”
“Ohoho. Of course my favorite student. Don’t worry about it and trust me!” Lia laughed cheerfully before getting in the front seat.
Although she was skeptical, Valentina quietly got in the car. As she was driven to some unknown destination she quietly ate her breakfast and closed her eyes to rest. Although she wanted to peep out the window, the tint was so dark that everything just appeared black.
About thirty minutes passed and the vehicle stopped before the door suddenly opened.
“Alrighty, come on out!” Lia shouted excitedly.
“…Where are we?” Valentina asked as she looked around curiously. It seemed as if they were in some underground parking garage.
“It’s the parking garage to my studio space. Come along, we’ve got so many beauty treatments to do if we’re going to prepare you in time.” Lia said as she quickly led her to an elevator.
They rode up in silence, and when the elevator door opened, it was to the scene of multiple lined up.
“Welcome Miss Lia and guest.” The six people said simultaneously.
“Good, you're all here. Now let’s get started. Alice, Riley, face and body. Jude, Lyle – nails and hair. Laura – accessories and shoes. Violet is with me for a final touch-up on clothes. Chop, chop everyone! T minus eight hours to be fully done and on our way to the carpet.”
“Oh my god. That’s barely enough time!”
“Hurry guys, let’s get started!
Valentina watched in confusion as everyone began to scramble around. Before she could say anything, she found herself locked between two women and she was dragged away into a large bathroom with a tub filled with steaming water that sat in the center of the room.
“Uhm…what’s going on? I’ve already showered this morning.” She looked between the two women nervously, noting that they locked the door behind them leaving her trapped in the room.
“This is a special bath mask to help smooth and soften your skin and hair to the fullest extent.”
“And I’ll be giving you a facial and plucking each hair on your face one by one. By the time I'm done, your face will be smoother than a boiled egg and your pores will be invisible.”
“Ahaha, can I decline?” Valentina gulped and asked in fear. Honestly, she was quite afraid of pain, so she usually didn’t wax her eyebrows or her body. She just shaved every once in a while as needed. The eyes of the two women were honestly too scary. She was afraid.
“No. Now strip.” Alice and Riley simultaneously responded before approaching Valentina step by step. As they forcibly stripped her and dunked her into the bathtub.
As they began slathering her body and hair with all sorts of concoctions, Valentina wondered if beauty was really worth it.