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He offers up a smile as you enter the building, going back to the white wooden desk. He knows he doesn’t look the part, but if you look deeper you can piece together exactly who he is. 

If you follow him, you’ll see the countless croquis scattered about his desk, sketches in the most vivid of colors with measurements scrawled on the side. You’ll see a cactus pin cushion with a golden flower on that same desk, gifted to him by the spa owner from the third floor, carefully placed right beside the croquis. Everything about the person in front of you might scream plain, but he is anything but. 

He is a couturier, responsible for all the custom pieces of clothing that find themselves scattered about this boutique. Right now, he is working on a lavish wedding gown for a very important customer. 

The couturier is concentrated. Even with the bustling and shuffling of people all around, the light chattering and admiration and outright astonishment at his work, the couturier focuses on the garment in his hands: a beautiful wedding gown with hand embroidered roses, a job requiring a steady hand of a well-experienced couturier.

You can hear the shuffling of feet and the slight scratch of plastic from the bottom of a spool of thread. Occasionally, you can hear a sharp intake of breath; most likely due to the needle that so ever delicately pricks his finger on the occasion that he completely goes on autopilot. 

His name is Jing Beiyuan. This boutique is his life’s work. 

On the third floor of the same building, there’s a door that leads a calming wooden oasis; a serene and peaceful ordeal ten years in the making. Compared to the bright lights of the downstairs area, this part of the building is dimly lit; serene, like it was meant to replicate the very beautiful pockets of nature that people could only dream of going.

A stoic, but kind face greets you, inviting you to relax—to take your time and be at peace. 

His name is Wu Xi; the serene spa on the third floor is his venture. The couturier downstairs is his partner and this is the story of how this boutique and spa came to be.