A Date?
A date?
Right up until Kim Gayoon—the hairdresser who'd introduced herself earlier—guided Hyewon and me into the seat in front of the mirror.
And right up until she neatly trimmed my overgrown hair.
Until that moment, I hadn't thought a thing of it.
After all, I was simply getting a haircut for the first time in ages.
Granted, it wasn't entirely by choice—more like I'd been dragged here—but it needed cutting anyway, so it didn't really matter either way.
And then.
"…Oh my."
Kim Gayoon, who had insisted men take less time and cut my hair first, froze as she examined the result.
"…This one's a little dangerous."
That was all she said—a single, quiet remark.
At her words, I turned an awkward gaze toward the mirror.
There's just me, standing here having gotten a perfectly normal haircut… isn't there?
My hair was shorter now, sure, but nothing about it looked strange. If anything, the once-overgrown mop had been tidied up, and honestly, it seemed like an improvement.
But other people's eyes might see something different, so…
"…Is, is something wrong with it?"
When I asked carefully, Kim Gayoon's reflection in the mirror shook her head vigorously.
"No, no, it's not that at all… Hmm."
She seemed to be searching for the right words, unsure how to phrase it.
Just as my unease was swelling—
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with it… Seojun, was it?"
"Yes?"
"Would you ever consider being a model for our salon?"
"…A model?"
The words came completely out of left field.
Me? A model?
"The haircut suits you far too well. No, wait—in this case, I suppose the right way to put it is that you're simply too handsome, Seojun."
"…Ah."
So that's what it was.
I'd been fretting that something was off about my hair, so it was a relief to hear it suited me.
The truth is, most guys are terrible at speaking up when a barber shop botches their hair, so I'd genuinely been worried something might be wrong.
"What do you say? If you become a model for our shop, this unnie will cut your hair for free. For life."
"Ahaha, well… I'll pass, thank you."
"I'm telling you, I really am good at this."
Kim Gayoon pointed at my reflection in the mirror.
"Look at you—you're this handsome and the hair suits you perfectly. Wouldn't it be a crime to just keep all that hidden away?"
"I wouldn't go so far as to call it a crime…"
"No. It is a crime."
Kim Gayoon declared it flatly, without a shred of hesitation.
A moment later, she turned her gaze toward Kim Hyewon, who had been sitting off to one side, mouth slightly open, staring at me.
"You agree with me, don't you, Hyewon? Am I really the only one who gets to see this incredible result?"
"……"
"This needs to be shared with the world, truly. You look more like a celebrity than the actual celebrities who occasionally come into our shop."
"……"
"Actually, no—should we go ahead and do a proper styling on top of this?"
Stunned by the result(?), Kim Gayoon began running ahead all on her own.
Something about how, if a simple trim alone produced this much, a full celebrity-grade styling would surely yield something even more astonishing.
Truthfully, I felt good.
Who on earth hears "you're handsome" and doesn't enjoy it?
Except—
"I'm fine, really. I only came along today to keep Hyewon company, so…"
"Then how about next time?"
Just as I was about to decline, feeling a bit overwhelmed, Kim Gayoon proved relentless.
"Just once. Hmm? Just once, I promise. Couldn't you let me do a proper styling next time and take some photos to post? Of course I'm not asking you to do it for free! This unnie will pay you every won you're rightfully owed!"
By that point, my resolve had softened.
At the same time, I found myself a little curious—was it really that flattering on me? Part of me wanted to find out.
"Then… once, next time. I think that would be fine."
"Oh my, oh my—really?"
"Yes."
"Hehe. Thank you. Truly, thank you."
After exchanging contact information with the grateful Kim Gayoon, I rose from my seat.
The deal was simple: the next time I wanted a haircut, I'd contact her, and we'd do a single photoshoot then.
She'd even offered to work entirely around my schedule, which suited me perfectly.
Anyway.
"Hyewon."
I walked over to Kim Hyewon, who was still staring at me blankly.
"So, um… what do you think?"
And then—
"…You're too handso—mff."
She cut herself off mid-sentence, clamping her mouth shut.
"…You're too handso—mff."
I stopped myself just in time.
Of course I'd always known he was handsome. If I grabbed random strangers off the street and asked them what they thought of Baek Seojun, every single one would say the same thing without hesitation.
But still—
…He got a little trim, and… it did this?
The overgrown hair was gone, and with his face fully exposed, my assessment shifted.
He was handsome before, yes, but with his features suddenly so starkly on display, how should I put it…
Ah.
Yes.
It was exactly like looking at a male idol. Except this one had barely styled himself at all, and somehow looked more effortlessly good-looking than any idol could manage.
Which was why I couldn't take my eyes off him.
It was then that Kim Hyewon realized something for the very first time.
…I like good-looking guys.
The reason she'd never been drawn to any of the boys who had confessed to her, the reason men had always felt like nothing more than a nuisance, was simply that none of them had been attractive.
That she, like any other girl, possessed the perfectly ordinary preference of liking handsome men.
And that Baek Seojun fit that preference precisely.
"……"
Her face burned.
Somehow, she wanted to hide herself away somewhere.
But where, exactly, would one hide inside a hair salon?
"…Unnie. Please cut mine quickly."
So she simply had her hair cut as fast as possible.
She wanted it done and to get outside, to breathe in the cold air.
And then the plan was to move on naturally—a café, maybe a park. The date she'd been imagining?
None of that mattered right now. Cooling this feeling down came first. Otherwise, she was fairly certain her heart would burst.
But then—
"You look gorgeous."
Baek Seojun, complimenting her the moment she emerged from her haircut.
"It suits you, Hyewon."
The way he said it so calmly, so matter-of-factly, as though it were simple fact.
"…Really?"
"Yeah. I bet guys will be turning their heads left and right as you walk down the street."
He made her heart pound far, far too much.
"…What about you?"
"Me? Hmm… I see you all the time next door, so it doesn't really hit me the same way."
"So you're saying you do look."
"…I guess I do."
"Am I pretty enough for that?"
"…Yeah."
Oh my god.
It was going to burst. Her heart was going to burst.
Once both haircuts were done, the bill arrived.
Kim Gayoon insisted she couldn't possibly accept payment—claiming we'd gotten the better end of the deal—but I firmly refused on our side.
Paying a fair price for the services rendered.
That was one of the lessons I'd learned from my father and mother, growing up in an entrepreneur's household.
So we settled the bill, stepped outside, and were walking along when—
"Seojun."
"Hyewon."
"……?"
"……?"
We had called each other's names at the exact same moment.
I was still blinking at her in puzzlement when Kim Hyewon gave a small cough.
"You go first, Seojun."
Thankfully, she yielded her turn.
"Do you, uh, happen to have time after this?"
"…Me?"
"Yeah. You, Hyewon."
Kim Hyewon nodded slowly.
Thankfully, she had time.
"I do. Why?"
"Nothing big—I just figured if you're free, we could stop by a café together."
"…A café?"
It sounded suspiciously like asking someone out on a date, so I scratched my head as I said it.
"Yeah. This is the first time we've actually met up outside, and it'd feel like a waste to just get a haircut and head straight home."
Besides, there was that promise from before—I'd said I'd take her somewhere that served good bingsu, back at the convenience store.
So since we were already out, I thought it might be nice to stay a little longer, and I asked what she wanted to do—
"!"
I could see Kim Hyewon's face light up in an instant.
So visibly that even I, watching, found it strange.
Does she… like me?
Whether she did or not, Kim Hyewon nodded with sudden, vigorous energy.
"Sounds good. Lead the way."
"Got it."
Whether it was the bingsu she was excited about or the café trip itself, I couldn't tell—but hey, as long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.
"By the way, what were you about to say back there?"
Our words had clearly overlapped a moment ago.
"…It was nothing."
"Really?"
"Mm. Hurry up and lead the way."
Given her expression, I figured it really couldn't have been anything important.
If it had mattered, she'd tell me later.
The fact that she had been about to say the exact same thing—that if I had time, she wanted to hang out a little longer—was something I wouldn't learn until much, much later.
.
.
.
.
Hyewon and I entered the café, ordered a bingsu and drinks, and took our seats.
Since we'd spent the wait making small talk, our order arrived before long.
Kim Hyewon's eyes sparkled at the sight of the corn bingsu and drink set down on the table.
Then, straightaway, she lifted her smartphone.
Click—
She took a photo of the bingsu.
So even someone as deadpan and cold-eyed as her was, in the end, still a girl?
That observation lasted right up until the moment she snapped the picture and took her first spoonful of the bingsu.
"…This is incredibly good."
"Right? This place is amazing."
"Mm. How did you even find a place like this?"
"Just… I had to look a few places up a while back, and I stumbled on it."
What I couldn't exactly say was that I'd found it while researching cafés to take Kim Chaeeun to.
It felt like re-visiting a place with my current girlfriend that I'd scouted out for my ex.
Even though, in reality, Kim Hyewon wasn't my current girlfriend, Kim Chaeeun wasn't my ex, and neither of them had ever been here with me.
"Thank you for bringing me somewhere like this."
Regardless—my conscience prickled a little, but Hyewon was happy, and that was what counted.
She's cute.
Watching her happily nibble away at the bingsu, a smile crept across my face all on its own.
Besides, her enjoying it put me in a good mood too.
I found myself thinking I should bring her to more delicious cafés like this in the future.
And as I sat there savoring the sight of her eating—
Swoosh—
Kim Hyewon scooped up a spoonful of bingsu and held it out toward my mouth.
…With the very same spoon she'd just had in her own mouth a second ago.
"Don't just eat it all yourself. Have some too."
Am I… allowed to eat this?