“Going to work?”
“Yeah.”
As expected, it looked like he was heading out for his shift. Most people go to work in the morning and come home at night, but Gu Taehwi and I were different. We went to work at night and came home in the morning. There are all kinds of ways people live in this world.
Just then, Taehwi, who had slung his jacket over his arm from the hanger, lightly tapped my cheek.
“We’ve gotta collect from those bastards to squeeze out even a little more money for our Sahee.”
“Yeah, right. I know you’ve already got plenty saved up.”
“Then why don’t you help me earn more?”
With that pointless joke, Gu Taehwi trudged over to the shoe rack. I quickly tucked what he had given me under my pillow and started straightening the bedding.
I should wash up before sleeping, but I was too exhausted for that. I’ll just get a bit of sleep and wash up later, I thought, wriggling under the blanket. Just as I was about to close my eyes, I heard the sharp sound of dress shoes hitting the floor.
“You’re not going to see me off?”
What was he even talking about? It’s not like we’re dating. I snorted and pulled the blanket over my head.
“That brat… honestly, when is she going to grow up?”
“…Shut it.”
At my attitude, I heard Taehwi click his tongue. He could curse all he wanted. I stayed shamelessly indifferent.
“Hey, Kim Sahee.”
How much did he give me today? I was half-counting it in my head, my eyelids fluttering with sleep, when suddenly everything went dark. Taehwi had turned off the light above my head. I blinked slowly, struggling to adjust to the sudden darkness. Before long, his voice followed.
“Goodnight, babe. I’m heading out.”
As if by magic, my eyes slipped shut.
Was it because of the rain? The salon was unusually packed today. I hurried across the floor. A normal salon would be dead on a rainy day, but Juju Hair Salon was different. Located in Building No. 3 of Migang-dong, most of our customers were host bar workers and bar girls. Maybe that’s why business exploded the worse the weather got. When it rained, people craved alcohol—and other people.
I stood behind Mina, who was sitting with her legs crossed, and picked up the hairdryer.
“Unni, want me to lift your bangs?”
“No, just keep it natural today. It’s raining—any volume will fall flat anyway.”
Mina, who had been smoking, spat into a paper cup.
“Damn it, this weather can’t make up its mind—rain, stop, rain again.”
“Seriously.”
I nodded, picking up a tail comb. I decided to leave her bangs alone and add volume to the back instead. Just as I was about to turn on the dryer, the salon owner called out to me from afar.
“Sahee! Take Heejoon’s rollers out quickly—and wash his hair too! The triple bongo will be here soon!”
I only had one body, but three or four tasks thrown at me at once. As I let out a small sigh, Mina gestured for me to go ahead. This was why regular customers were great. I gave her an apologetic smile and headed toward Nam Heejoon, who was sitting at the end.
Nam Heejoon was one of the top guys in the area, and recently he had become a regular at our salon. I heard he used to go to Rose Salon across the street, though who knew what made him switch. I wiped my damp hands on my apron and stood behind him.
“Hey, noona.”
“Yeah.”
He winked as he greeted me. I gave a half-hearted reply and began removing the rollers wrapped around his hair. I needed to finish quickly and get back to Mina’s styling. While I busied my hands, Heejoon suddenly spoke.
“Noona, you working tomorrow too?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Too bad. I was thinking of going on a date with you tomorrow.”
Honestly, this was why guys like him were hopeless. They didn’t care about time or place—always trying their luck whenever they got the chance. I shot him a tired glare through the mirror.
“Why would you go on a date with me? Planning to run a scam?”
At the word “scam,” Heejoon flinched and widened his eyes.
“Come on. You think I’d scam you when I know your situation?”
“I don’t trust guys like you.”
“That’s prejudice, you know?”
Guys like him clung to anyone, even women with nothing, just to leech off them. If he got attached to me, it would definitely become a headache. Just then, Mina, sitting nearby, flicked her cigarette ash and spoke up.
“Hey, Nam Heejoon. Stop hitting on Sahee and just get your hair done.”
“Man, why are you always picking fights with me, noona?”
I shook my head and removed the cutting cape draped over his upper body.
“Get up. I’ll wash your hair.”
Without complaint, Heejoon got up and followed behind me. Reclining in the black chair with his eyes closed, he hummed to himself. I drew the curtain and set the shampoo and treatment near his head. Just as I was about to adjust the water temperature, a cold hand slid onto my thigh.
“Sahee noona.”
“…”
“Let’s do it once.”
The blatant proposition left me speechless. I stared at him blankly. Heejoon smirked, his hand creeping over my body, wearing that greasy smile that might work on rich housewives.
“You know I switched from Rose Salon to Juju because of you, right?”
“…”
“These days, I imagine you when I’m with clients. It’s bad—I’m seriously hooked.”
Why were there so many guys like this lately? Honestly, the customers were the real problem in this line of work. With a tired expression, I pushed his hand off my thigh.
“Stop it. I’ve never seen anything good come from getting involved with host bar guys.”
“I’m different. I mean it. Noona, I’ll even open a salon for you, okay?”
As he kept whispering sweet lies, his touch grew bolder. The sticky sensation made my exhaustion surge all at once. I was about to slap his hand away when—
The curtain to the shampoo room was suddenly yanked open.
Heejoon’s hand, which had been under my skirt, froze instantly.
“Well, well… look at this piece of shit.”
It was Gu Taehwi.
Dressed in a black suit, he strode into the shampoo room and came straight toward me. Then he grabbed Heejoon’s wrist in one swift motion.
“Hey, Heejoon, you bastard. You wanna have your wrist snapped by me?”
“Ah, shit—! It hurts, hyung! Aah!”
Heejoon screamed as his wrist twisted at an unnatural angle. Taehwi didn’t even look at him—his eyes were fixed on me. I met his visibly angry gaze and spoke as if nothing was wrong.
“What, Gu Taehwi. When did you get here?”
“Why were you just standing there?”
“Huh?”
“That bastard was touching your ass—why didn’t you scream?”
“…”
“Like, ‘Aaaah!’ or something. You couldn’t even do that?”
I found it ridiculous that he was suddenly making a big deal out of this.
“Why would I? It’s not like my ass is going to wear out from being touched.”
“…”
“And what, scream and lose customers?”
How many decent people do you think come to a place like this? And it’s not like this kind of thing only happens once or twice. I looked at him with tired eyes. At my indifference, Taehwi let out a deep sigh, as if he couldn’t believe it.
