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Chapter 83
“It’s delicious.”
Sien took only one sip of her drink. Afterward, all she did was smoke.
Surrounded by cigarette smoke, Silje felt dizzy, but she remained seated and didn’t move. The light in the place was a dim red and she could hear loud music from a distance. Greg the bartender was busy greeting and serving customers, but once in a while, he glanced at Silje with interest.
Siena started to flirt with a male customer who was sitting to her, and Greg finally couldn’t ignore his curiosity anymore. He asked Silje, “Are you Sien’s friend?”
Silje shook her head.
Greg glanced at Sien disapprovingly and replied, “That’s what I thought. A girl like that wouldn’t have an innocent-looking friend like you.”
Under the dim light, Greg studied Silje quietly.
Her hair was down and she was wearing her usual oversized shirt and black slippers. She also wore a pair of black tight
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The Winter Swan Chapter 84
The man smiled again, showing off his beautiful white teeth. He tucked his business card in her hand and walked away with his group.Silje stared at them for a long time in confusion. She realized that this was the second time today that someone asked her the same question.Greg the bartender and this black guy.Model…She was barely surviving with her current life, so how could she even consider something like that?Silje shook her head.‘My photos on the wall? Where? My body needs to be celebrated?’How ridiculous. He seemed like a scammer, so without looking at the card, she crushed it and put it into her legging pocket.Bang, bang.The loud music continued.Coming to this place had unintentionally caused her consciousness to come back from the shock. Her mind and heart were frozen since that fateful day, but they were slowly thawing.Then suddenly, Silje heard a loud argument.
The Winter Swan Chapter 85
“Oh! Yes! Thanks. It’s very close by.”Sien seemed excited and Silje said to her, “You better not pull anything like what you did at the club, got it? I won’t be used by the likes of you. Don’t mess with me.”Sien looked at her in fear as she took Silje to the rice noodle place.[Landing].It was a Vietnamese restaurant on the upper west side, and it boasted its affordable lunch menu. The place was decorated elegantly with red lights, bamboo umbrellas, and landscape paintings.It was very late in the night, but the restaurant was still very crowded. With so many people and music, it was a nice place to have a private conversation. Silje and Sien took a seat at a table.“This place has great food and it is open till late.”Sien pointed at different items on the menu in excitement. She said there were a few dishes Silje had to try so she ordered several of them. Silje wasn’t ve
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“Silje, where you do think you are going?”Aunt Skina yelled from behind, but Silje didn’t answer her. She just walked away like a ghost.The street was noisy with cars. Everything and everyone was still here, but Sien was gone.All these people and buildings were still standing, yet Sien was no more.Gone forever.Was this death? No big fuss. No noises, nothing.Just a meaningless reality.Death was just a quiet disappearance.Of course, it wasn’t that Silje liked Sien, but still, this wasn’t right. To die like this so suddenly…Silje couldn’t express her feelings. She was in such shock that she just kept walking.After a long aimless stroll, Silje returned home and when she was alone in her bedroom, she finally gave in to her grief. Sien’s death brought back so many painful memories.Standing in front of the frozen lake in Norway.Being sent away by
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Clack, clack.The sounds of her shoes echoed throughout the bar. As the customers drank their cocktails, they watched with interest as Silje did her very first walk.When she finished her walking, Greg laughed out loud.“Hahaha!”He grabbed his stomach in pain as he laughed so hard. Silje just looked at him quietly.She felt shy, but not embarrassed. She was determined, and something so small and trivial like this wasn’t going to get her. To get better, she just had to work harder.“Have you never walked before? Why would you walk like that with your back so stiff and your arms swinging side to side? Are you pretending to be an orangutan?”Greg mimicked an orangutan while swinging his arms, which made everyone in the room laugh.“You’re right. I have never done model walking before.”When Silje quietly agreed, Greg patted his beard and asked seriously, “Then have you
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“Left row. Right row. You all remember your turns, right? Now, when it is your turn, do your best walks.”Fishes.Looking around the crowded rehearsal, the models looked like fish in an aquarium.Fish trying to survive in this tiny world, trying to eat and not be eaten. Trying to protect their own spaces while constantly making attempts to extend their own territories.The rehearsal started and Silje was walking just fine while the Chinese model Fei glared at her openly.Silje was about to leave the stage when the Japanese model Yuki, who was coming out to the stage, tripped Silje while passing by her. Yuki was very sneaky. She made it look like it was part of her walk, and she immediately walked away toward the center of the runway.Silje lost her balance. Unfortunately, she was wearing heels that were over 12 cm.Crash!Silje fell on the stage loudly and Yuki, who caused all this, laughed quietly.“Ha
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At her sharp words, a shocked silence fell before Greg and the cowboy started to laugh hysterically out loud.“Hahahaha!”They were laughing so hard that they started to cry. The cowboy turned to Greg, “She’s funny. Introduce us.”“Silje Kim. She is a friend of mine. She is also a model.”“Hmm, a friend. How nice. It’s always so nice to have a friend especially in a lonely town like this.”With that, the cowboy started to sing again.[ In New York…!Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,There’s nothing you can’t do!Now you’re in New York!!]It was the “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys and Jay Z.Greg seemed used to his friend’s constant singing. He introduced them.“Silje, say hello to this guy. I’m embarrassed to call him a friend, but I suppose he is. His name is Mathew and I
The Winter Swan Chapter 90
Jung Yun was a great teacher.“Now, try it again! Look at the mirror as you walk. You can see yourself walk, right? Like I said before, if you walk like that, you can’t show off your clothes. You don’t have to mimic the way western models walk. Their walk is more natural, but you should walk a little faster and more professionally. Walk to impress!”After watching Silje try it a few times, Jung Yun became frustrated. She decided to show it to her in person.“Watch how I do it. See how my legs move. Relax your ankles and your arms. Just light swings. And walk a little faster!”Clack clack.The sound of high heels echoed throughout the room sharply.Jung Yun’s walk wasn’t textbook, but it was captivating. Silje couldn’t stop staring because it was amazing. It was no wonder she was considered a top model. If a model walked like that on the runway, the audience would be mesmerized.Sil
The Winter Swan Chapter 91
Greg’s words hurt. Silje wasn’t ready to give up yet, but still, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. When she returned home, she looked back at her past two months.There were at least a few thousand models in New York. In this saturated city, Silje was one of the countless new nameless models.When she told Aunt Skina about her modeling, she screamed at her.“A model? Are you crazy, Silje? Have you not learned your lesson yet? How could you do this your adoptive parents back in Norway? Have you forgotten everything?”It was a never-ending reprimand and when Aunt Skina was finally done, silence fell.After staring at her for a while, Silje replied quietly.“No, Aunt Skina. Thanks to you, I haven’t forgotten anything. For over a year, I have worked in your store like a slave without being paid. I never complained despite your verbal, emotional, and financial abuse.”“W-what?&rd
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