It wasn't as bad as she thought. Hanni spent her first night in the club waiting tables and cleaning up the mess left by drunk patrons. So far, she's felt safe there, she hasn't been groped or insulted by patrons. There were occasional cat callers who always comment on what she's wearing or the fact that she was a new face in the club. Luckily, Eunha has this policy where all new hires have a tag that signifies that they shouldn't be touched or requested for private sessions. So, Hanni was able to be unbothered for the majority of the time.
Naturally, she's made friends at her new job, and they warmed up to her almost immediately. They loved how bubbly she was, always wore a smile when greeting the staff, the dancers, and the patrons. She also wasn't afraid to show a little attitude when the guests were being too rowdy towards her. To the employees, it shows that she has guts for this kind of job and that was enough for them to think she can handle herself.
It didn't take long for some of the dancers to encourage her to join in on their program because they believed Hanni has the perfect face and body for it. Immediately suspecting that she has experience with dancing with the way she moves and presents herself. Hanni couldn't deny it, she joined Danielle and Hyein in this dance club back in college and the they seemed to enjoy it so much that they stuck around until graduation. But she was too shy to join the dancers on stage, she wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet.
But it was nice to know that there are people who believe in her abilities. Hanni didn't expect that a strip club had many friendly people working there, granted that not all of them are nice but it was enough for her to feel welcomed. The bartenders were also kind enough to give her tips on who the regulars were and who were the ones she had to avoid being around for too long.
The dress they provided for her wasn't as revealing as she expected it to be. Just a typical puffy skirt with a cute corset to finish the look. Good thing she's had experience with four-inch heels, so it wasn't as painful as she thought. Tonight was no different, she was given the same type of costume to wear and the only thing that was different were the bunny ears every waitress had to wear that night. Since it was the start of the weekend, they were expecting more customers than the previous days. Hanni decided to work a full shift tonight as well, since she had no classes the next day and knew that the club needed the extra hands.
However, as the hours pass, she couldn't help but think of Danielle being all alone in their apartment right now. She was worried at how Danielle would take the news about her getting a new job, but her best friend was nothing but supportive about it. Suggesting that she should take less classes during the day to give her more time to sleep and prepare for her evening job. But Hanni didn't want to jeopardize her job as a teacher, she thought about her students and the excitement of getting new ones that want to be taught under her. She tries to tell Danielle that it would be fine, she could always go home right after her last class and immediately rest. Hanni knows she has a lot of time anyway since she needs to be out of the house by eight in the evening and her last class ends by lunch time.
Then the inevitable happened when Danielle asked her what the job was, and it made her sick to her stomach when she couldn't tell her best friend the truth about it. Hanni didn't want to lie; she was horrible at it, and she also wasn't good at making excuses either. So, when Danielle and Hyein cornered her earlier that night to make her spill the beans, Hanni just waved it off and said it was a safe job that could help pay the bills and then left the apartment in a blur.
She knows that sooner or later; she has to tell Danielle the truth. But when she thinks about it; her job hasn't been that bad after working there for a week. She was paid well and the tips she received were much more than what she thought. Maybe this was enough to give her the confidence to tell Danielle that she was working part time at a notorious strip club in Busan.
Eunha was happy to tell her that she was doing well, the patrons were very pleased to see a new face in the club too and no one had made her feel uncomfortable for the most part, despite the cat calling and all. Majority of the time their attention was all on the beautiful women, in provocative clothing, dancing on each stage in the club.
Hanni couldn't help but think what it would be like to be there just like them. She knows that she can't do pole dancing yet since all the dancers have had practice beforehand. But the dancers that were free to do whatever on the sides mesmerized her the most. They had freedom in what they did, their expressions made them look like they didn't care where they were, as long as they danced. A few were busy gathering tips while lazily undulating their hips as they crawl towards the waving bills by the sides. But some were just in their own world, not caring, they just danced to the rhythm of the music, and it was liberating.
Eunha has always offered her to try it out eventually, but Hanni was too timid to do it. Though the older would always scoff at the comment and tell her that no one in The Lazy Sleeper knows the meaning of the word, it was a forbidden word and feeling in the establishment. The fact that she agreed to being part of them, she had to do the same. After a while, Hanni decided in the end that if she has had some practice then she'll give it a try. Eunha even mentioned that the manager would have loved to see her be a part of their dancers.
It took some time for Hanni to discover that Eunha wasn't the owner of The Lazy Sleeper. The dancers told her that Eunha was the oldest professional dancer there and while she still does take in requests by faithful patrons, majority of the time she takes care of all the girls there, like a matriarch or something. Which made total sense to Hanni as to why she was the person interviewing her at the bar with Kazuha.
The real owner was Eunha's old friend, Han Ong. He was bald, short, and fat. He also looked like a pork bun. It was funny to Hanni with the way Eunha described it at first, but when she saw him in real life, she couldn't help but agree with her.
But he wasn't a sleazeball or disrespectful. In fact, he was barely there. Eunha would mention that he's either out on business or he's cooped up in his office that's on the highest floor of the club. The older woman assured her that she has nothing to worry about with Ong, as what everyone calls him, he's just happy that there are customers every night and there wasn't any fuss, so it didn't really give him a reason to butt in.
At that moment, Hanni found herself at the bar, waiting for the bartender to fill her tray with beer so she could serve it to the men in suits on a table far off from the stage.
"Are you still nervous?" The bartender asked as he placed the bottles of beer in front of her, giving her a kind smile.
Hanni waves at him. "No, not anymore. I think I've gotten used to it."
He chuckles while popping the caps off from the bottles. "That's good. Sooner or later, you'll be up there with the girls." He smirks and places them on the tray, pointing towards the women dancing on stage. "You seem to want to be with them too."
She sighs. "Is it that obvious?"
He smiles and then shrugs, in seconds, his smile fades and looks at her. "Eunha, on your sixth."
She turns around and sees Eunha rushing towards her. The slender woman grabs her arm gently and looks around, calling the other waitress to come over. "Let's have her serve this, I need you for a bit."
Hanni raised a brow, a sudden concern filling her face. "Is something wrong?"
Eunha waved her hand at her as she dragged her to the back office for employees only. "No, darling." Once they were in the changing rooms, Eunha immediately rummages through their outfits and takes out a few garments and hovers them over the younger's body, returning the ones she didn't seem to like. "Well, not really—but remember how you wanted to dance?"
