BEAUTY SCARS

COOL GIRL

Tomorrow was another day that flew by like the following.

Kaede erased everything from her mind's hardware. The tears refused to fall. She just had to bear with it and move on because time would not stand still and wait for her to heal.

Healing took time; Kaede knew it better than anyone else. She also knew it was more challenging when one was unable to grief.

Still, she wished to try the method not to sink but create a raft to float with the broken pieces.

Love.

She was no longer in a hurry. Joseph said two years. Whether his prediction would come true or not, Kaede didn't care.

Kaede knew what she had to do. It was the me-myself-and-I moment for her.

A time to do all these crazy things, she refrained from accomplishing.

"Hey, miss, how are you?"

Mylo tossed aside his long black hair, gave her two mandatory kisses, and prompted her to sit, "so what do you want, babes?"

"Remember those Koi fishes I wanted to get done when you did my ribs two years ago."

"Yeah, you chickened out when I told you getting a tat on the buttocks hurt like fuck."

"Yeah, well. I want that."

The artist wagged his finger at her, "oh, I knew there was an SM in you somewhere."

Kaede smiled, and Mylo proceeded to draw. Once he got Kaede's approbation, he scanned the image and put it on the carbon paper.

"Okay, I'm ready when you are beautiful."

Kaede went to take her pants off and slipped on the robe while Mylo prepared the equipment and ink. It wasn't her first tattoo, but it was the most audacious one she got.

The two koi fishes would swim on the side of her butt. Mylo would ink one in black, and the other supposed to be white would only have the contours in black while being bare to create the contrast as the white ink didn't hold well on any skin tone but very badly on black skin.

Kaede stood, and Mylo focused on placing the image, "Is this okay?"

Kaede looked in the mirror. The fish's position was perfect. They formed a perfect Yin and Yang cycle on the side of the right cheek of her butt. Kaede went to lay on the tattoo bed while Mylo switched on the coil machine.

The Weekend's voice with After Hours played behind the humming. Kaede felt appeased in the environment, which smelt incense masking the scent of weed.

Mylo didn't lie; Kaede grit her teeth. The tattoo bought a real meaning to the sentence pain in the ass.

An hour later, Kaede admired her Kois symbolic of rebirth, as told in the legend. Like a Koi fish, which became a dragon, Kaede wished to gain enough strength.

"So, do you like it?"

"It's beautiful, thank you, Mylo."

"I'll let you get dressed. See you on the other side."

Kaede left Sanzo tattoo and headed to Koryn's hair, where she got her hair trimmed and dyed mahogany red. When changes are needed, one always starts from the outside. Kaede wasn't exempted from the rule. A new look wouldn't be complete without a new wardrobe.

Winter was at hand. Kaede bought a few knit pieces, dresses, and sweaters. But she also added a lot of leather, bustier, skirts, and trousers. She liked the contrast offered by the textures.

She planned to wear the black bustier, oversize pastel purple knitted cardigan with her Margiela jogger leather pants the next day.

Sexy and practical, always.

Her team was surprised to see the change. Though she thought she only did an external transformation, all noticed how her behavior towards the staff members muted from cold to coach. She took the time to speak with each member individually and tried to develop their skills by giving them tasks and opportunities corresponding to their aspirations.

Now that the stress of love stories found itself set aside, Kaede could give some of her time to fully managing her team. While Kaede began to understand the direction and sense she desired to give to her function Marco on the other hand, sunk.

Moody and rude, the staff couldn't stand the man who behaved like a tyrant. Marco's thoughts swerved in a twilight zone since Kaede's revelations. Kaede, Dominque, Hye Ju all spun around in his mind like a forty-degree cycle set on rinse.

All bitches, thought Marco.

They weren't one woman to buy back another one's fault. None cared about how they treated men. High on their principles, they didn't see what horrible things they did.

Kaede kept her miscarriage a secret, just like Hye Ju kept Dominque in the dark about her pregnancy. Cunning both waited for the perfect moment to hit bash the men with their truth.

Marco saw Dominque and himself as victims of the evil ploy of two spiteful women. They were the type to complain about having a deadbeat man when they were the bitter ones.

The man was sore; the anger bubbled on the surface while deep down, he wept. Marco despised his ignorance and passivity. He regretted his words and reckless behavior.

The words if only kept crossing his mind in a straight line.

"Bitches."

Marco hated them, and he hated himself even more as he was unable to get them out of his mind.

Why did he need to fall for crazy wrenches?

Kaede went home, where silence reigned. She turned on Spotify and selected So Done by Alicia Keys featuring Khalid. The tune often played as it fitted her current mood. She was proud of how she managed her emotions. Dominque still lurked in her, but she made abstraction of his presence.

He was a father, and there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't like the drama of the triangle they formed. If one added Marco, the triangle was a messed-up square. It wasn't Hye Ju who made her back out but their son. Kaede didn't wish to be a homewrecker. Perhaps if Dominque had asked her to stay, things would be different, but the man shut her out, showing her she had no place in the frame of his album cover.

Kaede knew she would be the loser. Thus she left while she still had a little dignity. Yes, she loved him. The inevitable feeling couldn't fade within a few days.

The woman proceeded to water her plants before taking a shower and putting some Bepanthane on her tattoo.

She smiled at the woman in the mirror. For the first time, Kaede wished to befriend her. The woman desired to embrace her fears, insecurities and tell herself everything would be okay.