Change (1)
After spending an entire week cooped up in bed, his hair was a complete disaster.
It had already been well past time for a cut before that, but now, flattened and unwashed for seven days straight, looking at himself in the mirror was almost unbearable. Now that he had made up his mind to return to school tomorrow, there was no way he could show up looking like this. Seo Jinhyuk slipped his wallet into his pocket and headed out the door.
His regular spot was a little neighborhood barbershop just a short walk from home. A haircut cost eight thousand won, and the middle-aged proprietress always greeted him the exact same way the moment he sat down: "The usual?"
When he arrived, however, the metal shutters were pulled all the way down. A single handwritten notice was taped across the corrugated steel.
Thank you for everything over the years.
"……"
Jinhyuk lingered before the shutter for a quiet second, then turned away. He had to get it cut today, no matter what.
Heading toward the main avenue, the bright sign of a franchise hair salon caught his eye. It was a chain name he had seen around before. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors, the interior was in full view: gleaming polished floors, radiant lighting, and a customer occupying nearly every styling chair.
"……"
Jinhyuk hesitated at the entrance. Just in case, he pulled out his phone and ran a quick search, only to find that every single stylist on staff was a woman.
'Should I just go home?'
Yet the thought of walking away and hunting down another shop felt utterly exhausting. Jinhyuk gave the glass door a hesitant push.
"Welcome!"
A chorus of cheerful voices chimed in unison. Jinhyuk simply ducked his head in greeting.
"Did you make an appointment?"
"Ah, no, I didn't."
"That's perfectly fine! We can take you right away. Right this way, please."
He was guided to a chair facing a sprawling wall of mirrors. Not knowing where to direct his gaze, Jinhyuk kept his eyes glued firmly to his knees.
"How would you like it styled today?"
"……Just neat and tidy, please."
"Neat and tidy?"
"Yes."
"Mhm, then let's clean up the sides and back, and just lightly trim the front."
The stylist assigned to him was a young woman. She looked to be in her early to mid-twenties, her hair dyed a vivid bleach-blonde. The rhythmic snipping of shears began, and it wasn't long before she let out a soft gasp.
"……Whoa."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, nothing, it's just… you're seriously handsome, you know that?"
"……"
Unsure how to respond, Jinhyuk merely blinked.
"Are you a student?"
"Yes. High school."
"Wow, you must be crazy popular."
The scissors clicked steadily through his hair.
"Honestly, you could debut as an idol or an actor right now."
"No, not at all."
"I'm serious! I see dozens of people in this chair every single day, and someone with your looks is……"
Jinhyuk refused to look up at the mirror, keeping his focus locked onto his lap.
'……I guess this is just customer service.'
It had to be the kind of routine flattery stylists showered on patrons to make them feel good. He seemed to recall hearing somewhere that salons were always like this.
"Hello, Manager!"
"Oh, hey."
At the stylist's abrupt greeting, Jinhyuk finally flicked his eyes toward the glass. Another woman was approaching from the side, appearing to be somewhere in her thirties.
"……Goodness, your hair texture is wonderful, student."
"Ah, yes…… Thank you."
The woman addressed as the manager smiled warmly, lightly examining the drape of Jinhyuk's locks.
"Don't bring the bangs down too low. It'd be a crime to hide a face like that."
"Right? That's exactly what I was thinking!"
Jinhyuk sat entirely still until their conversation wrapped up.
Once the cut was finished, the stylist held up a handheld mirror behind him to display the back.
"How does it look?"
"……It looks great. Thank you."
"Please visit us again! Just ask for me next time."
Another shower of bright farewells followed him out the door as he paid the bill. Stepping back onto the sidewalk, Jinhyuk let out a long, heavy exhale. Unfamiliar places were exhausting after all.
His reflection shimmered in a plate-glass window. His hair was undeniably clean and well-proportioned now. That, at least, was a relief.
Jinhyuk turned on his heel and walked straight back home.
The following morning.
Passing through the front gates of Saetbyeol High School, the same mantra looped through Jinhyuk's head over and over.
'Don't let it get to you.'
What happened a week ago was already in the past. Rumors would swirl for a little while, but given time, everyone would move on and forget. Keep your chin up, stay calm, and act completely normal. He had repeated those words like a spell ever since stepping out his front door.
He arrived outside Class 1-3. Grasping the door handle, he drew in a steadying breath.
Rattle.
The sliding door rolled open.
"……"
A hush fell over the entire classroom.
'……Just as I thought.'
Jinhyuk cast his eyes downward and made a beeline for his seat. It was only natural. After vanishing for a full week—especially in the immediate aftermath of an incident like that—stares were inevitable. He had prepared himself for this.
He hooked his backpack onto the side of his desk and sat down. The weight of dozens of eyes remained glued to him.
"……"
"Hey."
"What?"
"Who is that?"
"……"
"Wait, uh, is that…?"
Hushed whispers drifted from the desks behind him. Jinhyuk couldn't make sense of what they were saying. Who did they think he was?
Right then, someone walked over from the neighboring row. It was an approachable male classmate—the kind of casual acquaintance he occasionally lent homework to and hung out with during gym class.
"Huh?"
"Ah, hey."
"Jinhyuk?"
"Yeah."
"It's really you, right?"
"……Yeah."
"Oh, uh, wow. S-So it is."
The boy rubbed the back of his neck, lingering awkwardly as if scrambling for something to say.
"L-Long time no see."
"……Yeah."
"Are you feeling okay? I heard you were out sick."
"……I'm fine now."
"Ah, that's a relief. Well, uh, catch you later."
The boy flashed an awkward grin and hurried back to his own desk.
Jinhyuk sat staring straight ahead, his heartbeat picking up speed once more.
'What do I do?'
He had told himself to stay composed. He had spent the entire morning rehearsing it. Yet now that he was here, people were stuttering around him. And stuttering meant one thing: everyone knew about the rejection, and nobody had any idea how to talk to him anymore.
'……What should I do? What do I say?'
Should he smile first? Should he strike up a casual conversation as if nothing had happened? But what words was he even supposed to use?
In the end, Jinhyuk couldn't bring himself to do anything, his eyes pinned hopelessly to the wooden grain of his desk. Morning assembly was about to begin.
"Seo Jinhyuk."
As morning assembly concluded, Class 1-3's homeroom teacher, Park Junseok, called his name just before stepping out into the hall.
"Come by the faculty office once homeroom wraps up."
"……Yes, sir."
The classroom briefly quieted down again before erupting into renewed murmurs.
'Here it comes.'
Jinhyuk rose from his seat. A full week of unexcused absences. Getting chewed out was a foregone conclusion, and the lecture might delve into far harsher territory than that.
His hand felt like lead as he slid open the faculty office door.
"You're here."
Park Junseok looked up from his desk by the window. Jinhyuk stepped forward and immediately bowed his head low.
"I'm deeply sorry, Teacher."
"……"
"I'm also sorry for ignoring your calls."
"Ah, right, right."
"……"
"Tsk, hold on a second."
Jinhyuk lifted his head. Park Junseok pushed his glasses up his nose, studying Jinhyuk's face. He blinked once, then squinted, scrutinizing him all over again.
"Did you… change quite a bit?"
"……Ah, yes. Haha."
Jinhyuk offered an awkward chuckle. Having seen his own face while washing up this morning, it wasn't as if he was completely oblivious. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and the blemishes that had constantly plagued his skin were completely gone. He was aware of that much.
'Oh, right.'
Come to think of it, he had almost never taken off his glasses in front of others. Not in the classroom, not even during physical education—he had kept them on at all times.
'That's why they didn't recognize me.'
Jinhyuk reasoned it out in his head. The awkwardness from his classmates earlier, the hushed "Who is that?" from behind—it all made sense now. Without his thick frames, his face must have looked completely unfamiliar to them.
Park Junseok gave him one more searching look before glancing down at the paperwork on his desk.
"I heard about what went down that day."
"Pardon?"
Jinhyuk's shoulders tensed up.
"Disappearing for a whole week is another matter entirely, but we can talk about that later."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Right."
Park Junseok paused, seemingly choosing his words with care.
"Yujeong feels guilty about it too, so try to get along with each other going forward."
"……"
Jinhyuk couldn't process the words right away.
"Sir?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Ah, no… it's nothing."
"Silly kid."
"……Yes, Teacher. I understand."
Jinhyuk bowed respectfully and exited the faculty office. It was only after taking several steps down the corridor that his thoughts finally began to catch up.
'Yujeong feels guilty?'
It didn't make any sense. To be sure, Jinhyuk still couldn't comprehend why she had reacted so furiously that day. She was the one who had coaxed him into writing a letter, and she was the one who had told him to give it to her in the classroom. Why she had flown into such a rage remained a complete mystery to him.
Even so, he had never expected—or wanted—an apology.
'……That's not how it works.'
He had never once considered himself entitled to one. He still wasn't entirely sure what he had done wrong, but intuitively, he felt the fault lay with him. In the end, he had handed her that letter in plain sight of everyone, putting Yujeong on the spot. If that incident had escalated to the point where she was hauled into the faculty office by their teacher, he was the one who ought to be apologizing.
'What on earth is going on?'
His mind spiraled into a tangled knot once more.
Jinhyuk made it back to the classroom just before the first period bell rang. The students glanced his way for a fleeting moment before returning to their own conversations.
Sitting down at his desk, he pulled out his textbook. Then, his hands froze.
No matter how desperately he tried not to look, Lee Yujeong was inevitably sitting somewhere in this very room. He knew he shouldn't look. But after hearing what the teacher had said, keeping his eyes away proved impossible.
What did it mean that she felt guilty? What kind of expression was she wearing right now?
Jinhyuk summoned every ounce of courage he possessed. Ever so slightly, he tilted his head toward her side of the room.
"……"
Lee Yujeong was looking directly at him. Their gazes locked.
'Gasp!'
In sheer panic, Jinhyuk whipped his head back toward the front, nearly slamming his nose straight into his textbook.
'What do I do? What should I do?!'
Was he supposed to say hello? Or was it better to pretend he hadn't noticed? The teacher had told them to get along, but those were the teacher's words; there was no telling if Yujeong actually wanted that. He wouldn't even know where to begin. Should he apologize for that day? Wouldn't bringing it up just make things even weirder?
"……"
Jinhyuk sat motionless for a long time, staring blankly at his open textbook. Then, another thought struck him out of nowhere.
'Oh… wait.'
Jang Yuna, his childhood friend who had attended the same elementary, middle, and now high school with him.
He hadn't touched his phone once during that entire week. Ignoring his homeroom teacher's calls had been bad enough, but he had completely ghosted the girl who waited for him at the school gate every single day at dismissal without uttering a single word of explanation.
'I need to go find her.'
Only now did the realization finally hit him.