Office Diaries - Chapter 116

“She asked me to try them on and take pictures. Will that be okay?”

Silence met her question as everyone looked at her in surprise. Yanee was starting to feel awkward when both Marian and Mrs. James clapped their hands and their eyes filled with stars as they smiled.

“That’s a great idea!”

“Er…right,”Yanee didn’t know why they thought so but she just agreed.

She needed to do it anyway so it’s better if they cooperated with her since she couldn’t wear the kimonos alone. Aside from the heavy fake wig that felt more like a helmet than hair, the dress itself was layers and layers of paddings, cords, and jackets. There was no way she could do what Ami wanted on her own.

Mrs. James didn’t waste time. As soon as the manager came out from the backroom carrying a pure white shiromuku wedding kimono, she informed her of what Ami asked Yanee to do, and she was more than delighted to ȧssist her.

“Are you really sure? I mean you can leave me here since it seems it will take a while,” Yanee suggested. She didn’t want them to feel bored and she worried it wouldn’t be comfortable for Marian to stay at the shop.

“What are you talking about? We already planned to go shopping the whole day. Now we’re only staying here so it’s not a problem at all. It’s even less tiring than walking the entire street.”

The shops had ȧssistants in them so they would really help Yanee try the kimonos on. But Mrs. James and Marian didn’t have to hang out at the store with her. But the two were more than happy to stay and accompany her. They even suggested what to try on first.

“Yanee try the shiromuku first,” Marian suggested excitedly and the manager quickly signaled the staff to take Yanee at the dressing area even before she’s even able to react.

Five minutes into her changing, Yanee wanted to die.

“Oh Lord… I didn’t realize it’s like this,” she commented as the staff wrapped her in layers and layers of clothing.

Just a bit more and she’d resemble a burrito. She was naturally very shapely like a runway model, but the layers and paddings the staff put on her quickly made her like a barrel. Normally, if one had experience, one could put on a kimono by herself. But bridal kimonos were an altogether different type. Because the paddings and layers were so elaborate, one needed ȧssistance to wear it.

“Just bear with it,” Marian told Yanee with a grin.

It was summer and it’s definitely hot. Yanee had a feeling she’d sweat buckets. But the manager asked the staff to turn up the airconditioning so it was bearable.

A few minutes more and the ȧssistant placed the white hood on her head.

“Oh My…”

“Stand there,” Marian ordered eagerly as she pointed at the circular podium in the dressing area where the people could see the dress from the surrounding mirrors. “Pose!”

“Oh My…”

Everyone in the room whipped out their phones and took pictures as soon as Yanee took a pose. Used to doing this for Ami, Yanee didn’t think twice and followed Marian’s orders. The latter took on the role of cameraman for her as well. But she still had to fight the urge to laugh and cry at the same time upon seeing Mrs. James taking photos of her from so many angles as well.

“Next, next,” Marian barked and Yanee was rushed back to the backroom to change into another kimono.

The next one Yanee was changed into was an after-ceremony type of kimono called hikifurisode. It’s what brides mostly wore at the reception party. It had a long, sweeping sleeves and elaborate patterns that ran, unbroken, across the back and onto the backs of the sleeves then around the whole body, and across the front and onto the fronts of the sleeves. The material was black and then embroidered in gold, or silver threads, and the style was both elegant and radiant.

Aside ffrom the kimono itself, the ȧssistants also fixed Yanee’s hair that matched the clothes. This time, instead of the heavy wig, they styled her hair nontraditionally with colorful flowers.

“Wow, Yanee you look so beautiful,” both mother and daughter cooed as they took yet another round of photos.

Yanee had long since given up protesting. She just cooperated well with them since this was all for her sister’s business anyway. After this kimono, she tried on four more types of kimonos until her task was completed.

“Ah! At last,”Yanee said comically, making the staff laugh.

Unbeknownst to her, Mrs. James and Marian were also busy with something else while she was changing.

“Did you already send it?” the elderly asked her daughter who gave her a thumb’s up sign.

“Little brother got all the pictures. I sent them on our chat group as well,” Marian answered proudly as she scrolled Yanee’s photos on her phone. “Ah…Our little bride is sooooo cute.”

“Hmph! Tell your brother to get his act together so Yanee can become my real daughter-in-law already,”Mrs. James harrumphed, making the manager next to her laugh.

“If little Tohru keeps being slow someone will steal the young lady away. She’s too gorgeous,” the manager exclaimed as she too viewed the photos on her phone. “Do you think she’ll agree if I ask if our shop can use her photos for ads?”

“If you give her a discount maybe,”Mrs. James bargained jokingly but the manager was serious.

“Sure. Which one does she want to buy?”

“She’ll be taking all six, I guess.” In Mrs. James’s opinion, everything that Yanee tried on earlier looked amazing on her.

“EEEEEEH?” the manager was aghast.

“What?” Mrs. James asked, not understanding why the manager made a noise.

“All six?”

“Yes?” Mrs. James answered quizzically, but then she realized now why. “Oh! Are you shocked because of the price?”

The manager nodded. “It’s for her sister, right? Aside from the pieces being so expensive, I don’t think she can wear all six kimonos in one event?”

Mrs. James and Marian giggled. Well, it was normal to be confused this way since they hadn’t told the manager what they were buying kimonos for. In fact, the elderly James was worried about the price as well earlier because she knew that it was not for personal use but for the wedding expo.

Most exhibitors only used sample materials and not very expensive ones just to show clients the types of weddings and clothes they had. Since Ami Lee was an events planner and not a stylist, she didn’t think she’d want authentic handmade kimonos for her event. This was why she asked Yanee to call her sister earlier first, and not because she didn’t believe they could afford it.

Whoever knew Ami Lee would know that she’s more than capable of buying the entire store if she wished. Even if Yanee’s family business was not as prominent as their James Family business, the same thing couldn’t be applied to Ami’s personal leverage. If Tohru James was the best editor out there, Ami was the empress in the events industry. But, compared to Tohru who was like a hermit, Ami Lee was very much in the limelight. She was like a superstar in her own rights and there’s no one in the industry who didn’t know who she was.

This reflected Yanee’s personality and the reason why they liked her very much. Even with her family background and monster of a sister, she was low-key, humble, and totally adorable. All of them in the James family knew about Yanee’s history.

The moment Tohru started being interested in a girl, they secretly investigated about her— not because they planned to protest if they didn’t like her or something. God knew that they didn’t care about what kind of girl the only son of the James family would fall in love with as long as he found someone after thinking that he was either gay or asexual for so long.

They were curious— very curious.

But after learning about Yanee’s background, they were shocked. They thought that only the siblings Marian and Tohru were strange in preferring to hide their identities. Even if the status were not really similar, Yanee did the same thing as the James siblings did, going to work without telling people about her family background. It’s a very good thing they admired in people— those who worked hard using their own abilities.

Also, they knew about what happened to her previous relationship and they all felt furious for her. If it weren’t for Tohru, they’d have trampled Yanee’s ex-boyfriend’s company a long time ago. Still, even after experiencing something painful as that, Yanee remained low-key and didn’t use her family’s status or her sister’s name at all.

Due to this, the James family vowed to treat Yanee well and even side with her in case she had a fight with Tohru in the future. She’s their James Family’s little bride.

“Ah, it’s for her sister’s business,” Mrs. James said and the manager looked curious. “She’s an event’s planner. She’ll be attending the wedding expo in Tokyo.”

“Oh, an events planner,” the manager nodded in understanding before frowning. “But, wouldn’t buying industrial ones more practical if it’s just an expo? They’re cheaper too.”

“Her sister’s Ami Lee,” Mrs. James retorted, and as expected the manager’s eyes widened as she reached out and clasped Mrs. James’ hand in hers.

“Ami Lee?” the manager asked and when Mrs. James nodded, the manager looked ecstatic. “Please tell little Tohru that my shop will provide a shiromuku wedding kimono for his little bride for free…”