After having sent her second pile of towels over to the laundry room, Hyejin searched around the salon until she found Yeseul, who was at the front counter sifting through some forms with the receptionist Ella. The salon had been slightly busier than usual today, although most of the people who stopped by didn't seem to be clients who were here for a hair appointment. Most of them had simply just come to drop off a couple of forms before leaving almost immediately after.

"What's going on today Yeseul? What are all these forms about?" she asked curiously.

"Every year the salon recruits new trainees for trial period of three months. It's to recruit new talent to replace those that have left. This year's application round has just begun, so all those people have been stopping by to hand in their application forms," Yeseul replied.

"I swear we have tons more applicants this year than we did last year!" Ella wailed, staring at the huge stack of forms on the table. "So much paperwork... Please just kill me now..." At that moment the phone rang, and the distraught receptionist pulled a face before running over to answer the call.

Laughing, Yeseul said, "I wasn't here last year so I wouldn't know, but it does look like there are a whole lot of applicants this year. I've counted almost thirty application forms and we've only started accepting applications for half a day! I suppose being able to work at the Cutting Edge is a huge draw for anyone who has dreams of making it big in this industry."

"So the salon actually has a proper training programme?" Hyejin asked.

Yeseul nodded her head. "Yes it does. After the preliminary selection, those who are accepted as trainees will be mentored by one of the senior stylists during the three month trial period and all of it will culminate in a final assessment at the end of the three months. I've heard from Uncle Ryu that the salon typically only signs on two to three candidates at the end of the trial period, so it really isn't easy to get a place in here." She looked a little worried as she looked down at the application form lying on the top of the pile. "Uncle Ryu says I'll have to go through the trial too, just so that I qualify fair and square and people will stop staying that I'm only here because of my connections. All of these applicants are really well qualified though..."

"You have to undergo training too? What about me? Will I get to go through the training programme as well?"

The thought of having the opportunity to undergo a formal training programme in hair styling sounded like a dream come true. If she had no choice but to stick around for at least six months, then surely she could make the best of her time here by learning something while she was here. Every day when she went about her chores in the salon, she would get to see the stylists hard at work doing all sorts of incredible things with the hair of their clients; she wanted to learn all the different tricks of the trade, but no one would teach her. After all, she was just a nobody, and a nobody that had offended the salon's creative director at that.

"I'm not sure Hyejin... I suppose you could ask Remington, but the final word may still need to come from Hyunwon and you know how things are between you and him," Yeseul said hesitantly.

At the mention of Hyunwon's name, Hyejin pulled a face. The asshole had stayed out of her way for the past few days, but she knew that she couldn't avoid him forever. After all, tomorrow was the deadline for when she needed prove to him that she had the ability to memorise the entire dye manual. If it were up to him, then she definitely had no chance of getting herself onto the salon's training programme.

She decided to go with Yeseul's suggestion and check in with Remington anyway, even though she knew that her chances were slim. Standing at the door of the manager's office, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she heard Remington's French-accented voice come floating from within.

Pushing open the door gingerly, she stepped into the room and said, "Sorry to bother you Mr du Pont, I just wanted to ask you a question—" It was then she realised that he wasn't alone. Sitting down with Remington having a cup of coffee was none other than her arch nemesis, Kang Hyunwon.

"Go on," Remington said. "What is it?"

Hyejin silently cursed at her own bad luck. "Well... I wanted to ask if it was possible for me to join the training programme that will be starting soon. I saw that the salon was accepting applications for it out front."

If it had just been Remington, she would have fancied better chances; with Hyunwon here as well, she knew that she practically had no chance at all. After all, the man wanted nothing more than to have her kicked out of here in a jiffy. They were barely tolerating each other's existence as it was.

"Hmm, I never thought about that," Remington replied. "You didn't exactly join the salon as a trainee, so it could be a little odd if we suddenly put you on the training programme along with all the other new trainees, especially when the rest of the world thinks that you're already a qualified stylist..."

"I've never said in any interview that I'm a qualified stylist!" Hyejin quickly explained. "Also, everyone knows that I've just joined the Cutting Edge and given the high standards of the salon, it wouldn't be surprising even if I was part of the training programme right? The media hype about Ares's haircut has already died down, so I don't think any of the reporters will even be snooping around here anymore."

It was then that Hyunwon finally decided it was time to speak up. Looking up at her with his typical arrogance, he said, "All the applications that we receive come from individuals who have gone through years of formal training at various institutions, some of whom have even won amateur competitions and awards before. And you? The only thing your resume would contain would be the number of years you've spent at that barber shop. What makes you think you even deserve to be put on the same training programme as the rest of them?"

Hyejin tried her best to keep her cool. Nothing good ever came out of Hyunwon's mouth.

"I know that I'm not formally trained, you don't need to remind me of that fact all the time," she replied tersely. "But since my contract stipulates that I have to stay here for a minimum of six months, the least you could do is let me try to be more productive so that I don't get in your way all the time, don't you think? There are only so many towels I can wash and so many cups of tea I can brew in one day."

Remington clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. Ever since that shocking slap that Hyejin gave Hyunwon, it had become obvious to everyone in the salon that these two were not going to get along. When he heard about how Hyunwon had tasked Hyejin to memorise the entire dye manual in a week, he was even more certain that his friend was going all out for blood. Despite that, the girl didn't seem to give a hoot about him, still daring to talk back in such a brazen manner.

It was all very amusing to Remington.

"I'm sorry, Hyejin," he said apologetically. "The final decision on which applicants we accept onto our training programme lies with the creative director. I would have loved to have put you on the programme, but I don't think Hyunwon is too keen on that and I need to respect his decision."

"It's alright Mr du Pont, I understand," Hyejin replied between gritted teeth. "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

"Wait," Hyunwon suddenly called out before she could turn and leave the room. "It's not impossible for you to join the salon's training programme, f you really want to. However, I need to be fair to the rest of the trainees , given that all of them would have gone through some form of prior training before and are starting off from a much higher level than you are. If you successfully pass the dye challenge I set you, then I'll close both eyes and allow you to join in the training programme, how does that sound?"

Hyejin's eyes immediately lit up. She didn't know whether or not she would be able to pass the challenge, but any chance was better at no chance at all. Right now, she would take whatever she could get.

"If you fail the challenge, you will wash towels, brew tea and sweep the floor for the rest of your limited time at the Cutting Edge. And even if you did, by some miracle, manage to get onto the programme, know that I still reserve the right to throw you out of here at any time the minute you make a single mistake. Is that clear?"

Hyejin quickly nodded her head. She ran over to Remington's table and reached for a pad of paper and a pen, frantically scrawling some words down. Hyunwon and Remington watched her curiously, a little perplexed by her sudden actions. When she was done, she ripped out the sheet of paper and placed it in front of Hyunwon, saying, "Sign here."

"Excuse me?" he said with a frown.

"Sign here," she repeated herself, pointing at the line she had drawn at the bottom of the sheet. "I don't trust you, so I'm putting it down in black and white. If I pass the challenge tomorrow, then you'll put me on the salon's training programme and treat me the same as any one of the other trainees. If not, then I'll admit defeat and won't ever bother you about this again."

Remington couldn't control himself this time. He threw his head back and burst out in guffaws of laughter, thoroughly amused by this girl and her curious antics. That stunned look on Hyunwon's face as he was faced with a handwritten contract was simply the cherry on top.

Picking up the pen, Hyunwon quickly added his signature to the paper, before tossing it back at her. "Fine, whatever floats your boat," he said, rolling his eyes. "We'll see how tomorrow turns out then."

#

"You must be out of your mind!" Yeseul exclaimed as she studied the "contract" that Hyejin had just shown her. "You dared to force Hyunwon to sign this? I don't know whether to say that you're brave or foolish... But to be honest I don't know why he signed it either. It doesn't sound like something he would play along with."

"He thinks it's fun to make a fool out of me," Hyejin replied, still concentrating hard on the dye manual in front of her. The two girls were in the training room and it was minutes away from the moment when her fate would be set in stone. "You should have seen his smug face when he made me that offer. He thinks that I won't be able to do it, that's why he was able to sign this so willingly. I'm going to prove that asshole wrong."

She hadn't slept the entire night—in fact she had barely slept over the entire week—but it would all be worth it if she was able to pass the challenge today and get herself on the training programme. Then, she might finally have the chance to learn the hairstyling skills that she had yearned to learn for so many years.

Today, it was make or break.

"Do you think you'll be able to do it?" Yeseul asked worriedly. "I don't think I'll be able to memorise the entire manual even if you gave me a year... It's impossible, Hyejin."

"Nothing is impossible," Hyejin replied. "The more he thinks I can't do it, the more determined I am to stick around and make his life a living hell." An image of Hyunwon's arrogant expression came to mind, and she felt like sticking bobby pins into his eyes.

"You can try, although I don't think you have the ability to," Hyunwon's voice came echoing into the room.

"Crap," Hyejin muttered under her breath. Once again, the asshole had showed up at just the right moment. It was as if he had this uncanny ability to sense when someone was saying something bad about him behind his back, and he would always pop up to scare the shit out of that person as revenge.

His appearance also meant that her time was up.

Standing up, she put her best fake smile and greeted him as politely as she could. Behind him, a small stream of people also entered the room, including Ryu, Remington and some of the other stylists who worked in the salon, all curious to see the outcome of this little "contest" between Hyunwon and the new girl. Yeseul gave Hyejin's hand a tight squeeze for good luck, before she retreated into one corner to be a spectator along with all the others.

Hyejin knew that the bets were all on her losing. Everyone who heard of the challenge that Hyunwon had thrown at her had unanimously declared it an impossible challenge. Even the more senior stylists thought that he was being incredibly difficult by forcing her to do something like this.

"So, are we ready to begin?" Hyunwon said, a slight smile tugging on the corners of his lips.

Nodding her head, Hyejin took a deep breath and said a silent prayer for good luck. Judging from Hyunwon's expression, it was already clear that he was not going to go easy on her, so the only thing left for her to do now was to hope for the best. Even if she lost, at least she would go down with dignity.

"This is how we'll do it," Hyunwon started. "There'll be a total of eleven questions. For ten of those questions, I'll give you the name of a particular hair colour and you'll need to pick out the correct two or three combinations of dyes that will give you that colour. As for the last question... I'll tell you what it is when the time comes. If you get more than one of them wrong, then the game is over, am I clear?"

A buzz went around the room as the spectators began whispering to one another about the rules of the game. It seemed a little harsh, only allowing room for one error, especially when the dye manual had a gazillion different colours and combinations.

Hyunwon snapped his fingers and one of his assistants rushed to the front with exactly ten tiny cards, each with a hair colour written on it. The assistant quickly laid the ten cards in front of ten different mannequins and their wigs.

"If you're ready, then you may begin. You have exactly an hour to identify the correct dyes and dye all these wigs the shade that is written on the respective cards."

With another snap of his fingers, Hyunwon started the timer running, counting down for the next sixty minutes. The atmosphere in the room was palpable, with everyone keeping a close watch on Hyejin as she studied the ten different cards carefully.

"Ash violet," she read out loud.

She remembered that shade. It was one of her favourites because of the slight violet tinge that you could easily miss if you weren't looking carefully. Walking over to the cupboards, she pulled out the dyes for ash grey and lavender, which should give her the correct shade of ash violet if her memory served her correctly. She thanked her lucky stars that it was a shade that she remembered well.

The rest of the shades weren't that simple. Some of them only required one dye, others needed three. To be able to correctly identify the combinations required just by looking at the name of the shade alone was no easy feat.

Sitting by the side, Hyunwon watched as she slowly mixed together dye after dye and went about applying it onto the mannequins' wigs. So you want to get onto our training programme? I'll show you that you're just not cut out for it. If you're not good enough, you're not good enough, end of story. Life's too short to be wasting on useless dreams, he thought to himself. He picked up his ice coffee and sipped at it leisurely, leaning back to enjoy the show.

As the clock slowly ticked its way towards the next hour, the level of anxiety within the room began to heighten. Yeseul kept wringing the sides of her trousers as she watched Hyejin move to and fro. From time to time her eyes would dart towards Hyunwon, trying to search for any hint of what the outcome of today would be. To her dismay, he just sat there with a placid look on his face that revealed absolutely nothing.

"You have five more minutes," Hyunwon called out.

Five more minutes. She was almost done. Slipping the wigs off the mannequins one by one, she washed off the dye and proceeded to blow dry each of them to reveal the final colour below. She only had room for one error. Just one.

"Time's up!"

Hyunwon stood up from his seat and walked over, scanning the row of mannequins quickly. To his dismay, she had gotten almost all of them correct, with the exception of one. He had been waiting for the opportunity to step all over her insufferable self-righteousness, but the result she had produced left him hardly any opportunity to do so. He scolded himself inwardly for having made it too easy for her. Walking towards the fifth mannequin, he picked up the wig and tossed it onto the floor.

"The rest are correct," he said drily. There was a tinge of disappointment in his voice that made Hyejin's heart leap up with joy.

If she only made one error, that would mean that she had passed the test!

"But before you get too happy with yourself," he continued, "there's still one final question to go." On his cue, his assistant brought in a wig that he placed carefully onto one of the mannequins. "I want you to reproduce the exact same colour that is on this wig. If you get it wrong, then you can wash towels happily for the rest of your time here."

"Isn't that one of Hyunwon's self-created shades?" one of the senior stylists, a lady named Roxy, leaned over and whispered into Remington's ear. "That's sort of cheating isn't it? That shade definitely wouldn't have been in the dye manual."

Remington grunted in response, though he chose to remain silent. Hyunwon was obviously setting the girl up for failure and he didn't exactly want to incur the wrath of his friend by speaking up in her defence now. Besides, Hyunwon had left the rules of the game vague enough that he would almost definitely have a way of justifying his actions if need be. The only thing Remington could do was to offer Hyejin his sympathies for having stepped on Hyunwon's toes.

Studying the shade of blue-grey on the mannequin's wig carefully, Hyejin frowned.

I don't remember seeing this shade in the manual at all, she thought to herself, although she couldn't rule out the possibility that she had seen it but simply forgotten. After all, the manual was ridiculously thick. Unfortunately, if she didn't remember it, then the only thing she could work with now was her gut instinct.

Everyone sucked in their breaths as they watched her stand there perfectly still for a good ten minutes, just thinking.

"You should have gone easy on the girl, Hyunwon," Ryu said quietly. "Even some of the senior stylists like Roxy or Yoobin might not be able to recreate your work."

"You should have thought of that before you told the reporters that she would be the next Kang Hyunwon," Hyunwon replied blandly. That was enough to shut Ryu up.

Just when everyone thought that Hyejin was going to give up, she moved over to the cupboards and began fishing out different pots of dye. She stood there staring at the different pots that she had taken out for a second, then changed the combination again, and again. Finally, she made up her mind and settled on her choice combination.

When she was done blow drying the hair on the mannequin, everyone almost fell out of their chairs in shock. There were two mannequins side by side, both wearing wigs in identical shades of blue-grey, shimmering under the white light from the bulbs above.

Hyunwon's face had gone ash grey, his right eyelid twitching with a combination of disbelief and rage.

"Well well," Remington patted Hyunwon on the back, a broad smile stretching across his face, "it looks like you've officially been beaten."

#