061: Oozaru Makina

In the Fujihoshi Model Agency, a meeting was taking place for the upcoming brand promotion of a new product for a automobile company. They wanted a model to promote their newest car model and chose Oozaru Makina for the promotion. But though she was chosen, they have requested some arrangements to be made and that's why her manager Subaru Hoshino was at the meeting for two hours. Subaru, after the meeting had called Makina to the café. A 25 old manager with a bob hairdo was waiting for her client who had just come.

Makina stood about five foot seven, tall, but not exceptionally so, with a slim, graceful figure. Her breasts were on the small side, but that wasn't the company's main concern. His eyes immediately fastened on her long, dark brown hair, parted down the middle, pulled back and gathered at her neck into a neat bundle hanging down between her shoulder blades. Barrettes on each side of her head restrained grown-out bangs. Subaru yearned to remove the clips and loosen the elastic band that restrained her long hair so she could view those raven tresses floating free, unfurled in their full glory. But that guilty pleasure would have to wait.

Her eyes were a haunting pale brown shade and her complexion was a flawless milky white. Despite her obvious beauty, she did nothing to call attention to her good looks. She wore a trace of pale pink lipstick, but no other makeup she could discern. Her conservative dress was identical to the outfits worn by more than half of the girls in the cafe.

Her manner was shy and diffident; she held back from conversation and spoke only when another directors or designers directly addressed her. She tended to look away and self-consciously tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear when speaking. Subaru had seen her type before; bashful and lacking in self-confidence; completely oblivious to her own considerable charms; totally unaware of the allure of her physical assets. She had a gut feeling she might be easily swayed by his words. He knew He couldn't come on too strong; that would only scare her away. But, if he played his cards right and used a more subtle approach, she might be apple to accept the request.

"Makina-Chan, You're turning 21 right"

"Umm yes Manager"

"See, you're turning into an adult and you need to look yourself now as professional model"

"What do you mean?" asked Makina confused

"What I try to say is, that baby-face if yours won't fit as professional model"

"Then what should I do"

" Your image won't change, have you considered cutting your hair"

"Cutting my hair"

"Yes, you see the customers for the car model wants you and they asked for you to sport a short cut look which would suit you"

"So you think I should cut my hair?" she challenged him, abruptly changing directions. He had not expected our negotiation to progress this quickly.

"That decision is entirely up to you. Your hair is gorgeous, but I think you would look stunning with a shorter style. Have you ever thought about cutting it?"

A nervous smile crossed Makina's face, almost as if she had been anticipating my question.

"Of course. I guess every girl with long hair thinks about it at one time or another. I'm sure life would be much simpler with short hair. Occasionally I see a girl with a really cute short cut and think someday maybe I'd like to try something like that. But long hair is what I'm used to; what I'm most comfortable with."

She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts, then announced, "And it would take more than a thousand dollars to persuade me to cut it off."

Now Subaru had her. he couldn't believe his good fortune. Less than thirty minutes into the conversation and she was hooked. Makina was dickering. Subaru was almost certain she'd accept a higher offer. Some of my discoveries took weeks to reach this point. All I had to do was find her price.

"How much more?" he asked.

"Well, that depends."

"Depends on what?"

"It depends on what kind of haircut the customer and the company have in mind."

"they said they want to shoot your cut as well to show behind the scenes and introduce you to the media," he revealed. "The shorter the haircut, the higher the modeling fee."

Subaru beckoned to the waitress and ordered them a second round of drinks, Makina and Subaru continued talking about other topics. After finishing the dinner, Makina concluded the conversation. "Well, you certainly have made an interesting proposition. As you know, right now I need some additional income, but you'll have to make me a better offer and I'll need some time to think it over."

"Yes, I understand. I'll talk to the board and see if they'll go higher. I think they may, but I need to know how much you will need."

"Tell you what," Makina proposed. "I'll visit sometime."

"Fair enough." he pulled out a business card and scribbled an address on the back. "Here's the address and my phone number. Call me back and let me know what you think."

Over the next week Subaru waited for the phone to ring, but there was no word from Makina. Each day without a message on his messages whittled away at his optimism. After a month with no response he decided that the haircuts depicted had scared her off. This wasn't terribly surprising. Very few young women, no matter how strapped for cash they were, would willingly submit to the extreme haircuts the clients preferred. Vanity usually won out over poverty.

However, ten days later he finally received the call he'd been waiting for. "Hello Manager, it's Makina. Remember me?"

"Of course I remember you. I never forget a pretty face."

"Or a head of long hair," she pointedly added.

"Are you calling to say yes?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm calling to say I'd like to talk with the agency."

"I'm not going to argue with you, Makina. Please feel free."

Two days later, promptly at four, Makina arrived at a office building .

"Makina, it's good to see you again," he called. "Right on time. I like that. How are you?"

"Hello Subaru," she replied. "I'm okay, I guess."

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Sure, I'm nervous," she confessed. "This is a big step for me. I don't know what to expect."

"You've got nothing to worry about," he assured her. "boss will explain everything; go over all the details. If you've got any questions, he'll answer them. If you're not completely happy with the deal you can walk away. There's no obligation."

"Yes, I know that," she told . "But that doesn't make me less nervous. I guess I'm afraid that I'll say yes."

"And we're hoping that you will, but not unless you're completely satisfied with the terms and conditions."

She glanced at her watch. "He is expecting us. Let's go in"

They walked to the entrance together. Subaru held the door and ushered Makina into an unmarked office suite. They walked through a deserted reception area toward a back room. A heavyset man sporting a thin mustache rose from his desk to greet them. With his slicked back hair and sharkskin suit, The designer looked like a character from a movies

"Hey Subaru, how you doing?" he boomed. Then, turning to Makina, he extended his manicured hand. "It's great you agreed our agreement." His eyes critically roamed Makina's trim figure. "I see now why the customer had to have you sign with us," he leered.

Makina blushed and shook his hand. "Thank you for this opportunity," she said in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Take a seat, darlin', please," he told her without sitting himself. When she was seated he walked behind Makina's chair. "If you don't mind, sweetheart, undo your ponytail. I'm sure you understand we had decided to change your look."

"Of course," Makina replied coolly as she reached behind her head and removed the elastic band that bound her dark locks. She shook her head so her hair spread out around her shoulders and the grown out bangs fell in her face. The dramatic contrast with the fabric of her dress made her hair seem even more luxurious.

The director handed her a brush. "Now brush it out if you don't mind."

Makina did as she was told. Both Subaru and the director watched intently as she groomed her shining locks, a sly smile spreading across his slightly sinister face. "Nice, very nice," he whistled as he stepped behind his polished oak desk. "You are the real deal."

Subaru was delighted.

"My dear, I think we can do some business," The director beamed. He then explained in detail how she'll promote the upcoming car model and what her role was. Makina listened solemnly and did not interrupt. After fifteen minutes of his non-stop sales pitch he paused.

"Now let me explain our fee structure. Subaru tells me that you find our standard amount too low. After seeing you in person I can assure you that we are willing to go higher. Here's what I'm prepared to offer. We will be promoting you to another one for a hairmodel shoot which will be shown at our Video channel and a international magazine video channel which would be a series of your haircut. The first one would cut off about ten inches of your hair, so it just brushes your shoulders. I have called in a good Hairdresser called Katsumi Kejoro, who may be a local hairstylist but I hear good reviews from her and instructed that we would also give you bangs to complete the look. For that we will pay you ¥1000. The second haircut would give you a neat little bob, about chin length. You'd get ¥2000 more for that one. The third cut would be what we call a little boy's cut—short on the back and sides, but longer on the top. That would be worth another ¥2000. The fourth number would be spiky and short on top, about two inches long at most. That would put another ¥2000 in your pocket. If you go from there to a buzz cut, that would be worth another ¥2000."

Makina sat silent, deep in thought. "If I consent to the first two haircuts, I'll get ¥3,000, right?"

"That's right, honey," The director confirmed.

"If I go for the short and spiky cut you'll pay me ¥7,000 or ¥9000 total?"

"You got it, babe. Say, you got a real good head for figures."

Makina ignored his compliment. "Well, I can tell you right now that I will not be shaved, having a buzz would be still too extreme," she declared firmly.

"What about short and spiky?" he quickly inquired, sensing that Makina might be willing to go that far.

"Do you have a picture? I'd like to see what you have in mind before I agree to anything."

Curtis opened a folder on his desk and extended an 8 x 10 color photo.

Makina studied the photo intently, saying nothing for two minutes. Both of them waited anxiously for her reply. Finally she broke the silence. "I can't shave into a buzz but I could do this shaved pixie, but not for ¥10,000."

"How much would it take?"

"I'd be willing to do it for ¥10,000. That will pay my rent for six months. "I won't take a penny less."

The director sat with his arms folded across his chest. Subaru sensed he and Makina had reached an impasse.

"Makina, why don't you step outside for a moment?" Subaru said. "The director and I need a little privacy."

She rose silently, went into the outer office, shutting the door behind her.

After a meeting, The director disappeared out the entrance, Subaru opened the office door and saw Makina seated on a couch looking slightly apprehensive.

"Makina, can you come in?" he called to his office

"He doesn't want me, does he? I could see it in his eyes as soon as I said my price was ¥10,000. The director doesn't like me. He probably thinks I'm a greedy bitch. But I'm not being greedy, manager, that's what I need to get by on until I can find a way to do my art studies."

"Relax, honey. It's nothing personal. director is a businessman from start to finish. He's only concerned about making a buck. But we were able to work something out."

"You were?" Makina asked hopefully. "It doesn't involve shaving my head, does it? You know I won't go that far."

"Relax, honey," I assured her. "He agreed to pay you the full amount—¥10,000—and you won't have to cut your hair any shorter than a shaved pixie."

"How did you manage that? I could see he didn't want to pay that much."

"Let's just say I can be very persuasive when I want to be."

"I suppose I should thank you, but I'm not sure. Now I'll have to get my hair cut and that's going to be very traumatic. I'll probably start blubbering like a baby and ruin the video since you told that my haircut will be filmed."

"Nonsense, you're gonna be great, Makina. There's nothing wrong with a few tears. It makes the film more realistic. Now there are a few details we need to go over."

Subaru handed her two contract one for the car sponsoring, other for hair modelling and showed her where to sign. Once Subaru saw Makina's signature, he wrote out a check for ¥1000.

"This is a down payment," he explained. "You'll get the remaining when we finish ."

"What shall I wear?" she asked.

"The company will prepare a dress for you, Don't worry about makeup; we'll have someone to take care of that. Wash your hair in the morning; use lots of conditioner. Just show up at this address at 6 PM on Friday and we'll take it from there."

"I wish I could be as confident as you are. I'm afraid that I'll do or say something stupid then you won't want to pay me. "

" you'll be fine."

"Yes, I'd like that," she said.

"Sure, no problem," he assured her. " I'll take care of it."

"Yes, I'd prefer if you were in charge; I'll feel much better that way," she told him gratefully.

"Well, that takes care of it," he informed her. "Show up at six o'clock sharp and you'll have your money by eight. If anything comes up, you have my number, just call."

Subaru walked Makina to the door. "I can't wait to see you with short hair," he told her as she prepared to leave.

She surprised him with a hug that was more than businesslike. "I hope you'll like me with my hair cut short," she whispered in his ear.

Subaru watched Makina cross the parking lot and get into the subway. She seemed so innocent and vulnerable. She reminded him of his kid sister who was about the same age. He felt the need to protect her. Yet, at the same time, he was getting turned on by the thought of her impending haircut.

It was ten o'clock Thursday night when Subaru's cell phone rang, the one he use for business calls. Right away he sensed trouble.

"Manager Kun, it's Makina. I hope you don't mind me calling so late."

"Not at all, Makina. Is there a problem?"

"I can't do it. All week long I've been thinking about the haircut. I don't think I can go through with it. I'm going to panic; I do that sometimes. I'm going to freak out. I'll start screaming or go completely hysterical."

Subaru tried to assure her. "Makina, you're gonna be great. You're gonna be a star. Nothing will happen, believe me."

"You don't know me, Mike. It's happened before.im scared."

"Okay, Makina. I've got a solution for your stage fright."

"What is it?"

"You just sit tight. Give me your address and I'll be there in 15 minutes."

Makina opened her apartment door as soon as he knocked. "You got here fast," she observed.

"Got here as fast as I could. It sounds like an emergency."

"It is an emergency," she agreed. "I don't think I can go through with it. I don't want to get my hair cut tomorrow. Will the customers be angry?"

"You bet they'll be angry."

"I can't do that, Manager. I already spent the money. My rent was two weeks late. I just signed the check over to my landlady. I'm flat broke."

Subaru was tempted to loan her the money. That would have been the gentlemanly thing to do, but he wanted to see Makina with her hair cut short. He wanted to witness her transformation into a short-haired beauty. Instead, Subaru told her, "Then you really do have a problem."

"Oh Manager, what am I going to do?" she sobbed.

"There is one possible solution."

"What's that?" she asked hopefully.

"Take one of these little pills tonight and another one tomorrow before you come to the studio."

"What are they?" she asked hesitantly. "I don't do drugs."

"These are just tranquillizers," he explained. "One will help you sleep tonight. The other will calm you down before the shoot tomorrow."

"What's in them? They're not addictive, are they?"

"No, they're not addictive like pain pills. These are perfectly safe. Millions of ordinary people take them every day with no ill effects. Get a glass of water and take one now. But don't drink any alcohol. That's not a good idea."

Makina did as she was told, swallowed the pill, stepped closer, and kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks, Mike. You're the best. I'll be there tomorrow—6 o'clock sharp."

"You sure you're going to be okay? I can stay here if you like."

"No. I think I'll be all right," she assured him. "I feel better already."

"Get a good night's sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

Telling their goodbyes, both prepare for their upcoming day.