Tae grabbed Julia’s hand and led her to one of the empty stations. His was warm and slightly roughened, likely by all the work he’d been doing as of late.
Julia plopped into the chair. She looked back over at everyone, curious eyes all on her, and just smiled and nodded, encouraging them to go back to what they were doing. “Everything’s okay, everyone. Continue on. Let’s bring in the masseuse as well,” she said, trying to get the attention off her and her overreaction earlier.
When she turned back around, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She looked pale and clammy. Great.
“Hey.” Tae held her chin gently and lifted her face to meet his. “Are you okay?”
Julia held his gaze. It felt like an electrical socket that she could plug into and take energy from. She felt steadied by his presence. She was strengthened by it.
“I thought she was having some kind of episode or was sick,” Julia said. Tears welled in her eyes.
Tae’s eyes never left hers, even when the first tear finally dropped, and even when his thumb moved across her cheek to gently wipe it away. The motion so familiar for some reason, like Tae had been wiping away her tears... and her fears... her whole life. He had her.
“She’s okay, Julia. She’s just...” He pressed his lips together and the sides of his eyes crinkled as he tried to hold back a sudden laugh. “Your grandmother is just... tipsy.” His shoulders moved up and down, and he finally broke eye contact as he dropped his head, hiding his laughter.
“Fine, fine, laugh all you want. I probably should have known when she burped. But it wasn’t until she hiccupped that I caught on.” Julia caught the bug and started laughing too. It was all so ridiculous.
“You okay, boss?” Annette came over to check on Julia, passing her a bottle of water.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just a little false alarm. Thanks for rushing over. I panicked and wasn’t sure what to do.”
“No problem. I saw Tae meeting with the concrete supplier in the main conference room. So, I grabbed him too. I ran behind him the whole way,” Annette said, turning to Tae and giving him a wink.
Julia started to respond, but she gave up and shook her head instead.
“Oh, I meant to tell you, they have the gel glass skin face masks ready if you want to have them tested today too,” Annette said.
“That’s great, yes. Can you bring a box in?”
Annette nodded and left to grab the product.
“That’s my cue to leave, I think,” Tae said.
Julia grabbed Tae’s arm before he could get away. “Oh, no you don’t. I need you, Tae Kim. You aren’t going anywhere.”
“Gahdisfeelzmazing,” Tae mumbled through the face mask now dried and tightened on his skin.
Julia had spread the gel mask all over Tae’s face, and they sat and waited as it hardened. After fifteen minutes, the masks could be peeled off, removing excess dead skin cells and dirt, also cleaning out pores. It was like a Bioré nose strip, except for the whole face.
Julia laughed as Tae’s expression froze under the hardened mask. He could barely move his mouth to talk.
“Wazindis?” he asked. He raised the tube up to look at the ingredients list.
Julia, of course, knew exactly what was in it. Charcoal, aloe vera—
“ZNAIL?” Tae screeched. “Zherezsnailindiss?” His eyes shifted to look at Julia. They were wide and wild.
Julia barked out a laugh, followed by a snort. She quickly covered her mouth. Oops.
“Yes, there’s snail mucin in the gel. It’s all the rage in Korean beauty products. Didn’t you know this?”
Tae shook his head wildly. He seemed like he might get sick.
Julia grabbed his hand and squeezed. “It’s gonna be fine, Tae. Snail mucin is essential for skin nutrients and is the much-needed ingredient for attaining the Korean glass-like complexion. It also repairs skin damage from the sun. It’s good for you, considering how you work outdoors so much these days.” Julia smiled, trying not to laugh.
“Glazlikecomprection? WhydoIneeddat?”
Julia let go of his hand and patted his shoulder. She fussed his hair a little and smiled. “You’ll get to peel it off in a couple minutes, and that’s the fun part. It’s satisfying to watch it peel away all the yucky stuff, you’ll see,” she said.
