― Debbie! You shouldn’t have been allowed to set foot in this school in the first place. After attending for free, you want to ruin the future of a friend who earned her place legitimately? Out of mere jealousy? Just because you discussed everyday topics together doesn’t make Ailey’s poem yours.

― Please just listen to my explanation until the end.

― Be quiet, Debbie. I can’t give you the teaching assistant position I promised. What would I tell the school board or the parent council? They would conclude that they can’t accept a troublemaking assistant. Do you have somewhere to go? Who would provide food and shelter to an orphan like you?

Debbie wiped away the tears that flowed from the painful memory with the back of her hand. It was the moment when she decided to somehow save money and become independent, despite how dirty and petty it felt.

So she worked as a teaching assistant despite her reluctance and barely managed to move to the capital by saving her meager salary.

Yet, she hadn’t joined the publishing house she wanted but instead found herself bound by contract to work at an unfamiliar adult magazine publisher for a year.

She couldn’t hold back her tears, feeling utterly pathetic and miserable about her situation.

― Just wait and see.

― People who say “wait and see” don’t scare me at all. Why? Because you have no power or ability, so you’re just making empty threats. But will waiting give you skills you don’t have? By the time you develop those skills, I’ll be soaring much higher.

She had heard that Ailey Fleur’s parents owned a publishing company, but she didn’t know it was Lime Publishing.

While Debbie had just become a cub reporter, Ailey was already the CEO.

Sob, sob.

Just seeing Ailey’s face from a distance shattered the resolve she had maintained so stubbornly.

Debbie felt like the most wretched person in the world.

“Here.”

Suddenly, a handkerchief appeared before Debbie. She stopped crying and looked up. It was Allen the bartender.

“Why are you crying here?”

When she heard Allen’s kind voice, Debbie burst into even louder tears.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Tell me.”

She didn’t want to cry. She should have put on a stern face, focused on revenge, and left without regrets.

But her unhealed, dried-up heart crumbled at the slightest impact.

No matter how much she tried to cover her mouth and hold her breath, the overwhelming sadness inevitably pushed through and wet her face.

At that moment, Allen pulled Debbie into a tight embrace. She instinctively tried to push him away, but he whispered in her ear.

“If you want to cry, cry your heart out. Until you never want to cry again.”

He took off his jacket and covered her head completely, hiding her face.

“Everyone has moments when they need to cry. You can’t stop it by force. At times like this, follow your heart.”

His shirt became soaked with Debbie’s tears. She wanted to pull away out of guilt, but the more she tried, the tighter he held her.

“Are you done crying?”

He asked. When she tried to stop crying, tears welled up again. He quietly whistled and patted her back.

When she finally stopped crying, he released his arms and removed the jacket he had draped over her, putting it back on. Then he straightened his clothes and swung his arms outward a couple of times.

Debbie’s eyelids were swollen and her face was very red. Unable to lift her head, she kept it bowed.

“It’s okay. I won’t look at your face.”

He turned his gaze away.

“What brings you here? I doubt you were called to another company dinner.”

“Ah. Some strip dancers who participated in the parade have contracts with our bar, so I came to help them.”

Allen flashed a smile.

“But your place isn’t a theater-style bar. Is there even space for performances? I find it hard to believe you have adult strip dance shows there.”

“Well… this is a trade secret. For premium members, once a week, we close the doors, clear away all the tables, and hold impromptu performances. They’re a special team that comes for those events.”

“Wow!”

“I should get going now.”

As Allen waved goodbye, Debbie suddenly remembered something and asked him.

“Do you also know the showgirls from Voluptas?”

“Couldn’t you ask Mr. Fret about that?”

When Fret was mentioned, she shook her head. She didn’t want this to reach the president’s ears.

“I want to meet one of the showgirls personally, but she’s avoiding me. I’m looking for an opportunity to approach her naturally and strike up a conversation. I want to make contact by pretending it’s coincidental in a private setting.”

“Is this for your column?”

Debbie reluctantly nodded.

“Something like that.”

He readily agreed.

“There’s an after-party for the dancers at our bar around 1 AM. I’ll try to get her to come. What’s her name?”

“Lorraine. Actually, Lorraine is her real name, but she might use a stage name. She was one of the showgirls dancing on the elephant-costumed carriage in the parade earlier. She was dancing on the far right of the last row among the three rows.”

“Great. See you at 1 then.”

“What’s going on?”

Gray suddenly appeared, placing his hand on Allen’s shoulder.

“What’s your relationship? And what’s this about 1 AM?”

Gray eyed Allen and Debbie with a cold expression.

“We were talking about the dancers’ after-party. They’re having drinks at our bar.”

After explaining, Allen turned and disappeared.

Debbie felt awkward in the silence with Gray. She tried to back away discreetly.

“Like at the last company dinner.”

Gray spoke first.

“Are you close with Allen?”

He narrowed his eyes. Feeling somewhat interrogated, she stepped back.

“What does that have to do with you, Editor-in-Chief?”

He thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Nothing, I suppose. But as editor-in-chief, I have a duty to check what you’re doing here instead of conducting your interview.”

Looking up, she saw Team Leader Louis watching them from a distance. He kept pulling at the front of his shirt, his neck apparently feeling tight.

“Miss Debbie, if you think you can do your job half-heartedly and quit whenever you want, you might as well submit your resignation right now.”

Gray whispered this and walked away into the crowd. Somehow, a new group of people carrying protest signs had pushed their way among the spectators.

｢Stop this festival of depravity for entertainment establishments!｣

｢We condemn the social climate that damages religion and public morals!｣

｢God is angry at our corruption. Judgment for a world without morality!｣

｢Stop the festival and overthrow entertainment establishments to repay the people with bread!｣

Police officers approached to arrest the protesters, who resisted being taken away.

Onlookers who had been watching the situation began to disperse one by one.

* * *

Debbie applied red lipstick while looking in the mirror, pretending to be a dancer.

“This is how we draw it here.”

A strip dancer named Jane, who was watching nearby, fixed her makeup. Debbie’s intensely made-up face reflected in the mirror.

She looked completely different. After darkening the area around her puppy-like eyes and finishing with dark red lips, she almost didn’t recognize herself.

“You have good features to begin with, so the makeup works well on you.”

Jane flashed a smile. As Jane changed clothes, Debbie noticed bruises scattered across her body.

“Jane?”

Debbie stopped her.

“What are all those bruises?”

She smiled shyly, caught with something she didn’t want revealed.

“My original dream was to become a dancer at the National Dance Company. But there are few opportunities to perform, and it’s not a stable income source, so I dance strip shows occasionally. You know how drunk customers sometimes get out of line.”

Debbie frowned at this.

“No, those bastards! Have you reported them to the police?”

Jane slowly shook her head.

“This work itself is illegal. If I went to report it, I’d just get arrested myself.”

“Those guys should be properly punished!”

As Debbie expressed her frustration, Jane quietly smiled.

“At least Allen helped me get revenge through unofficial methods. Don’t worry.”

“What?”

Debbie’s eyes widened.

“People like us have nowhere to turn. Even if we try to band together, there’s not much we can do. Sometimes when we ask Allen, he often mobilizes people he knows to solve problems. Among ourselves, we call Allen the ‘problem solver.'”

Jane’s words gave Debbie a new perspective on Allen. She had found his excessive kindness somewhat burdensome, but now she understood the reason behind it.

“He approaches us without us having to speak first. His gaze is quite sharp. He comes over, asks about various things, and if you mention a difficult situation, he steps in to solve it. I heard his mother was a woman of the streets. That’s why he can’t just ignore situations like this. Growing up on the streets, he has extensive connections in this area.”

Jane’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

“You like Allen, don’t you?”

Jane jumped in surprise and covered her mouth.

“No, it’s not like that. Really.”

Strong denial is usually affirmation. Worried that Debbie might ask more questions, Jane pointed at the clock.

“It’s almost 1 o’clock. Let’s go.”

Debbie nodded. Her heart pounded with worry and anticipation at the thought of meeting Lorraine.

― You know, I want to become an opera singer. A diva, specifically. I want everyone to watch only me.

Lorraine, a girl with many dreams who surprised everyone with her unexpectedly beautiful voice when adults asked her to sing during Thanksgiving. Remembering her childhood self made Debbie feel somewhat melancholic.

Though she had never seen an opera, Lorraine somehow knew she wanted to be an opera singer, and now she had become a bar dancer.

Debbie entered through the back door of La Vie en Rose. The front door was closed, but the back door was open. As she entered, she quietly marveled at the tables that had been pushed together.

They had created a setup where people could drink on one side while providing a makeshift stage for performances on the other.

But since this wasn’t a premium guests’ night but purely an after-party for the dancers, all the attendees were people she had seen at the parade today.

Debbie immediately recognized Lorraine among them. Perhaps due to her heavy makeup, Lorraine hadn’t recognized her yet.

“Lorraine! It’s been so long! Why have you been absent from our gatherings? I almost forgot your face!”

Others greeted Lorraine with enthusiasm.

“I’m sorry! You know how our venue’s lineup has completely changed lately. I’ve been busy creating new stage routines and practicing accordingly. With the parade schedule overlapping, I just couldn’t find the time.”

Lorraine smiled and responded to her friends.