Hairstyle
The alarm blared with a shrill beep-beep-beep, even though it was the weekend. Suhyun wanted nothing more than to reach over and silence his phone, but he couldn’t. Today wasn’t a day for rest. He had shopping plans with the rest of the Spirit members.
Even taking that into account, ten in the morning still felt unreasonably early. And that was all because Hana had called him out separately. She’d declared she was going to make him cut his hair, and she’d followed through by scheduling an early appointment at the salon.
Suhyun stared blearily at the flood of messages. Typing felt like too much effort, so he simply sent back a single thumbs-up puppy emoji. More vibrations buzzed from behind him, but he dragged himself into the bathroom first.
He brushed his teeth and washed his face. When he turned the lever all the way to hot, the water that came out was only lukewarm at best. The moisture clung to his hair, forming the thick strands typical of long hair. And the moment he started shampooing it like that—
“...Wait a second.”
This… don’t tell me… is today really the last day I’ll have this hair?
He had kept it like this for the sake of Rock Spirit for a full year and a half. The thought that it could all vanish in less than an hour, completely at someone else’s whim, sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine despite the warm water.
Now fully awake, Suhyun faced two options.
Option one: Be honest with Hana and ask to cancel because he didn’t want to cut it. There was nothing stopping him, but from her perspective it might feel like a total letdown. After all, she had probably woken up earlier than him to get ready.
Option two: Convince her. Show her that this hairstyle was actually really cool. The longer a guy’s hair was, the more variations he could pull off. Short hair barely changed no matter how much you dried or styled it. But once you reached a length like his—somewhere in the middle, almost androgynous—the story changed completely.
Today, as always, Suhyun wandered the internet. He sent endless thanks to the kind YouTube teachers who explained everything even when he didn’t ask. He followed along with the tutorial, awkwardly running his fingers through his hair like the video instructed.
[Use all ten fingers like this and sweep your hair back.]
Even while copying the motions, the awkwardness refused to fade. Like a total beginner assembling a plastic model kit for the first time, Suhyun stood in front of the mirror and mimicked the instructor on screen.
[And finally, press down firmly right here! Done!]
“Oh.”
A short sound of surprise slipped from Suhyun’s lips. He wasn’t sure if it looked good or not, but at least the shaggy bangs that had always earned him the Sapsalgae nickname were now neatly swept back. It did look cleaner. But losing the curtain that had always hidden his eyes felt strangely exposing.
Still, if this much effort and preparation could protect his hair, it was worth it.
He threw on his usual jeans and white t-shirt and headed to the meeting spot with Hana.
At the same time.
Hana, who had woken up at eight-thirty and done her full makeup, tapped impatiently at her phone screen. Every time the tip of her pale pink nail touched the glass, it made a distinct tap-tap sound.
[Hey. You. Why are you late]
Yoon Hana had been sulking since morning over Suhyun’s half-hearted replies. She had sent him eight messages, and all he’d thrown back was a single emoji. She was about to give him an earful when she saw him and froze.
“What the…?”
“Hm?”
“Did you cut your hair?”
“Huh? No? I just styled it back.”
With nothing more than simple styling, Suhyun’s whole vibe had changed. Of course he was still wearing the same clothes he usually wore to school, but Hana felt a strong sense of unfamiliarity. A good kind, though.
“You said you were going to the salon, so why are you showing up like this? You’re getting it cut anyway.”
The criticism she’d been ready to unleash suddenly felt embarrassing, so she nitpicked instead.
“Hana.”
Suhyun suddenly grabbed both her shoulders with his hands.
“...Ah?”
What? What is this? Two surprise moves in the first minute of seeing each other!
After catching her off guard with his appearance, he’d now done it with his behavior too. Suhyun swallowed hard.
“So, um. You know…”
Like piecing together a puzzle, Hana quickly gathered the clues.
This was totally…
“W-wait a second!”
“Yeah?”
“Does it… have to be right now… at a time like this…?”
She understood that Lee Suhyun liked her. She had thought it was possible. She had even imagined it herself. But this kind of timing was unacceptable. No. To be precise, she didn’t want it here. It should happen in a more proper atmosphere… at the very least after a successful performance. That was the bare minimum courtesy… Wait, who confesses in the middle of the street in broad daylight like this…?
“Yeah. I feel like if I don’t say it now, I won’t be able to.”
At his words, Hana felt like she’d been slapped across the face multiple times.
“O-okay.”
She took a small step back. Her face felt hot, so her head tilted downward at an angle.
Lee Suhyun probably feels the same looking at my face… He must be embarrassed too. This is consideration. …Consideration, right.
“...Go ahead.”
She wasn’t used to reacting this way. Normally, when other guys tried to confess, she would just sigh heavily. It felt like Park Juyeon had possessed her body.
“This isn’t something I’m saying lightly.”
“Hana. If I look okay in your eyes…”
Thump-thump.
“Yeah…”
I can’t even look up…
“Can I not cut my hair?”
Silence fell. A very long one.
When Suhyun finally met her eyes again, he couldn’t read her emotions. Or rather, he wasn’t sure if what he was feeling was correct.
“Are you… mad…?”
He slowly checked his guess.
Meanwhile, in that short moment, Hana had been swept up in a whirlwind of emotions—shame, irritation, self-loathing, and a string of curses aimed at Lee Suhyun.
“I’m not mad!”
Hana practically screamed.
Hm. She’s mad.
Anyone could see she was angry. That was Suhyun’s diagnosis. If that tone wasn’t from someone who was mad, then what was it?
Ugh… YouTube teacher… I guess the completion of a hairstyle really does depend on the face, huh…
They had formed a brief teacher-student bond, but the disciple had suffered a crushing defeat in the ring. He wouldn’t dare call himself her student anymore. This must be how soldiers feel right before they shave their heads for the military.
“Then… at least… could you just trim it a little…? This hair was passed down from my parents…”
Suhyun was now rambling nonsense, even dragging in some half-baked Confucian excuse.
“Ah, forget it.”
Hana spun around, turning her back on him. Her gesture made it clear she didn’t even want to look at him.
“Is it really that bad?”
When Suhyun asked in a dejected tone like a wilted puppy, Hana let out a long sigh.
“It’s not.”
“Then why are you acting like that?”
“If you hate the idea of cutting it that much, then just keep it.”
Now that she looked again, with a bit more styling it could actually look quite charming. If someone helped him with a curling iron before performances, it would probably be fine.
Hana turned back toward him and steadied herself.
“It looks better with your bangs swept back.”
It was the first time he’d received any evaluation about his hair. A smile bloomed on Suhyun’s lips.
“Really?”
“Yeah. But for performances, you’ll need to style it a bit more.”
“Does that mean I still have to go to the salon?”
“No. I’ll do your hair with the curling iron on the day of the show.”
She made the promise in advance. For some reason, if she didn’t say this now, she had a bad feeling that Park Juyeon would end up doing Suhyun’s hair instead. Anyone who observed them even a little could tell that the distance between those two had shrunk dramatically lately.
“Really?”
The sense of accomplishment at having protected his hair, plus the financial satisfaction of not having to spend money at a salon. Having successfully completed the mission, Suhyun broke into a wide grin.
“Yeah. Why would I lie about something like this?”
“Thanks.”
They were supposed to meet Juyeon and Seoeun at noon. That left them with two hours of free time.
“W-want to get coffee?”
Suhyun, who felt awkward just standing on the sidewalk, asked Hana.
“...Sure.”
“I’ll buy! Since you’re doing my hair for me.”
Even if they were friends, this was clearly in the realm of a service. A cup of coffee was a cheap price to pay.
“Okay. I want something expensive.”
“That’s fine. Go ahead. Get whatever.”
Suhyun laughed as he started walking toward the café. Hana watched his back for a moment, then comforted herself as if under a spell.
Yeah. Lee Suhyun knows too. He knows that confessing at a time like this would be like a frog leaping out of nowhere. He must have held back today because he knows. There’ll be a bigger chance later, right? He wouldn’t just give up, would he? So stop. Stop feeling so disappointed, Yoon Hana.