Epilogue 4 A First Visit to a Beauty Salon

A First Visit to a Beauty Salon

Satsuki, who is now a university student, was desperate to change herself.

(I have to make my father see me as a 'woman,’ not just his daughter!)

To be accepted as a member of the opposite s🬀x.

Satsuki sealed off the part of herself that was so dependent on being a daughter.

Until high school, Satsuki had basically left everything to her father.

At home, she even borrowed her father’s clothes to wear, and most of her clothes for going out were chosen by him.

She didn’t have a particular preference for hairstyles, so she just cut her own hair at random.

She didn’t wear makeup, and she didn’t really care about self-improvement; she was just too dependent on her father.

(Ugh, I want to erase that part of me from my memory!)

When she found out that they were stepfather and daughter, Satsuki felt incredibly embarrassed.

She hadn’t wanted to be seen as a daughter, but… on the other hand, she realized that it was only natural to be seen as a daughter, considering how she had behaved.

That’s why she had been trying so hard to change since she started university.

Of course, the results didn’t show right away.

It seemed that her father, Itsuki, hadn’t really changed his perception, and she felt that he still saw her as a daughter.

So she tried desperately to become more feminine.

“Hmm… I wonder if this is the right place.”

Today, her university classes ended early.

It was only 2 pm. Of course, Itsuki was at work, so there was no point in going home.

So she decided to make good use of the extra time.

“Oh no, I’m so nervous to go to a beauty salon for the first time!”

She went to a salon that a friend had recommended.

She had cut her own hair before.

She had been satisfied with just a rough trim.

Recently, however, she had begun to think that her old self wasn’t good enough.

So she decided to make a big change in her hairstyle.

The hair salon recommended by her college friend was apparently very popular.

Normally, it was difficult to get an appointment there, but thanks to her friend’s connections, she was able to get one.

Satsuki had put a lot of effort into her social life at the university.

Thanks to that, she has made a lot of friends. She had received all kinds of information from them and had worked hard to improve herself.

(I’m nervous, but… I’m going to surprise Itsuki by changing my hairstyle!)

Satsuki hesitated at the entrance of the shop but finally worked up the courage to step inside. The automatic doors opened, and an employee looked over from behind the counter.

“Welcome… Un, do you have a reservation today?”

The employee who greeted her was a somewhat frivolous-looking man.

“Uh, didn’t I make one?”

“Un? There are no reservations for this time slot~”

However, the employee looked at what appeared to be a list of names and tilted his head.

“I’m sorry, but our store is by appointment only. We don’t accept walk-ins, so I apologize.”

Satsuki felt a little discouraged by the unwelcoming atmosphere.

But to get her father to say, “You’re cute!” She plucked up courage.

“Uh, well, I was introduced by Mami-chan.”

She mentioned the name of her friend who had recommended this place and made the reservation.

“Mami-chan? …Oh, so you must be Satsuki-chan? Why didn’t you say so before?”

Suddenly, the frivolous-looking employee looked very familiar.

He grinned and came out from behind the counter, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She ducked quickly, but he didn’t seem to mind and tried to lead her to a seat.

“This way, please. I guess I forgot that Mami-chan introduced you.”

“Um, wasn’t there a reservation?”

She had thought that her friend Mami (真美) had made a reservation for her, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

Judging from the attitude of the employee, it didn’t seem like a proper introduction.

“A reservation? Oh, that’s okay! I’ll cut your hair, so you don’t need a reservation.”

“Eh? You???”

Satsuki frowned at his statement.

This was different from what she had heard. Mami had told her that there was a skilled female hairdresser in this shop, which was why she had come here.

Satsuki was basically uncomfortable with being touched by men over a certain age. She didn’t mind old men, but she avoided young men.

And there was no way she would let a man touch her hair.

There was only one person of the opposite s🬀x who was allowed to touch her head.

“If that’s the case, I think I’ll pass today… I’m sorry, but this is different from what I heard, so I’m going to leave.”

She turned to leave immediately.

But the frivolous-looking man insisted.

“Hey, hey! I said I’d cut your hair, so you don’t have to be shy, right? Believe it or not, I’m actually pretty good at it.”

He stood in front of Satsuki and blocked her way.

At that moment, she suddenly noticed an unpleasant smell and recoiled.

(Ugh! This is a strange smell.)

Satsuki had a keen sense of smell and could even sense the malice of others. So she realized that this male employee was thinking of something bad.

“N-No, thank you.”

She tried to escape immediately.

But the male employee persisted.

“Hey, hey, that’s not fair, is it? The way you’re acting, it’s like I’m doing something bad. Don’t you think that’s rude?”

He pushed forward again, and Satsuki finally felt in danger.

Fearing that something might happen to her, she turned to run away. Just as she was about to rush out of the entrance….

“Hey… Don’t make a scene in my shop.”

She turned to face the voice.

A woman with pink hair had just entered the shop.

She had a unique and striking hairstyle, like a band member. With her ripped, distressed jeans and crop top, she was very revealing, and Satsuki, even as a woman, was a little nervous.

“Eh!? B-Boss!? A-Aren’t you supposed to be off today?”

The frivolous male employee was also surprised by her appearance.

While he had emitted a disgusting smell a moment ago, it had now changed to a worried one.

“This is my store, so what’s wrong with me coming to check on it even on my day off?”

“Y-yes, that’s right! Ha ha ha.”

“And also… were you trying to do something to her?”

And the woman who was called “manager” saw Satsuki and raised her voice as if she were angry.

“Were you trying to seduce a customer again? I can’t believe that you, an apprentice, would be so bold as to do something like that.”

“N-N-No way! That’s not true! Right, Satsuki-chan? You were just leaving, weren’t you? See, you’re giving the manager the wrong idea, so you should just go.”

“…”

The male employee obviously panicked.

Satsuki was at a loss for words and remained silent.

Seeing her like that, the manager sighed.

It seemed that she had found out everything.

“Tch. I was a fool to hire you… All right, go sort out the supplies in the back. Don’t show your face in the front again.”

“Y-Yes! I’m sorry!”

The male employee seemed very afraid of the manager.

With a pale face, he forced a smile and disappeared to the back of the store, as he was told.

Only the confused Satsuki and the angry manager remained.

“I’m sorry about that. It seems my idiot employee caused you some trouble… I’ve known for a while that he’s a real idiot who always causes problems, but he’s done it again.”

“Y-Yes… I see.”

“You see, he’s been dating one of my younger employees. I hired him because she really wanted me to, but he just keeps giving me terrible service.”

“I see….”

Satsuki didn’t know what to say when she was suddenly bombarded with complaints.

She wondered if she should just leave.

“He even tried to seduce customers by himself when I was out. We had a big argument about it, and I had to apologize to the client. I threatened him that there wouldn’t be a second chance, but he did it again.”

“…That’s tough.”

“It really is. I don’t want him sullying the name of my shop. I’ll fire him!”

Satsuki was a little worried, wondering if it was appropriate to tell her all this since she was a stranger.

“Um, I’m sorry. I came here because my friend recommended it… I’m sorry for causing you trouble by not making a proper reservation.”

However, Satsuki realized that she was at fault as well.

Since she hadn’t confirmed the details, she bowed her head to apologize properly.

“Eh? Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Then the manager put her arm around Satsuki and started to walk.

She touched Satsuki naturally. And maybe because they were the same gender, Satsuki felt no aversion at all. In fact, since there was no malicious scent coming from this woman, Satsuki relaxed and let herself be guided.

Sometimes there are people like that.

Like Itsuki, people who have a beautiful scent.

No one had a scent as pure and transparent as Itsuki’s, but there were a few people who were similar.

For example, her relative Sophia or her high school teacher Okukawa-sensei also had a beautiful scent.

And this pink-haired woman also seemed to be a similarly beautiful person.

So she didn’t feel any suspicion and let herself be led.

“By the way, who is your friend?”

“Eh? Oh, yeah. She is Mami-chan.”

“Mami, huh. Yes, I know her. She’s a regular. She’s a friendly kid that I take care of, but she’s a little stupid… That’s probably why she made friends with that stupid guy.”

Satsuki was led further into the shop.

The interior of the shop was a bit different from what Satsuki had imagined.

“Wait, is this a private room?”

That’s right. Satsuki had imagined a hair salon as a place with several seats lined up in a large room. She thought she would be sitting in front of a big mirror with other customers to get her hair cut, but this seemed to be different.

“We are a private salon. Wouldn’t it be distracting to have other clients next to you? Here, have a seat.”

“Eh? But… I didn’t make a reservation.”

Satsuki shook her head when she was asked to sit down. Of course, she wanted to leave, but… the manager wouldn’t let her.

“I’ll make you pay for the trouble that idiot caused.”

“But….”

“Look, young lady, I hate to tell you this, but I’m pretty good. If you really don’t want to, that’s fine, but don’t you want to be cuter?”

Become even cuter.

At these words, Satsuki straightened her back.

(I want to be cute!)

She had come here today with the courage to make Itsuki say, “Cute!”.

This was a perfect opportunity. There was no point in missing it, so Satsuki leaned forward.

“Y-Yes, please!”

She bowed her head deeply.

Seeing her like that, the manager grinned.

“Oh, leave it to me. Fufufu… I can’t wait to start.”

And so, on this day… she would undergo a dramatic transformation.

Itsuki would say later:

“I never realized that a woman could change so much just by changing her hairstyle.”