Chapter 1: Brother and the Hair Salon

"Hey bro, wake up." I said while proding a white gelatinous object with a stick. That white object is my brother on his bed, wrapped up in his blanket.

"Are you really going to do nothing today as well? Are you ashamed?" I pushed.

My brother sticks his head outside the blanket and stares at me blankly.

"Don't you have anything to do today?" I asked.

He takes a moment to think and then he nods.

"Finally, he has something," I thought.

"What do you have to do?" I asked.

He stared at me for a second and then he ducked back into his blanket.

"HEY! Get out here right now!" I pushed.

He popped his head out and he had a disapproving stare.

"Don't give me that attitude! Look at you, I am the one disappointed in you! Be more human for once!" He still has that stare but he looked a bit hurt.

"I mean if you want to change, do something about that hair first!" I commented.

I mean, it is true, his hair is a bit overgrown to the point that it is naturally covering his eyes. 

My brother got up from his bed, walked outside of his room and entered the restroom. He stared at his hair and grabbed the tip of his bangs. He stood there staring intensely at it.

"Maybe he sees that I am right about his hair? At least I got him to come out of the bed." I gave myself an internal pat on the back.

Relieved about the progress made today, I decided to give it a rest. "Alright, bro I am going to head to school now."

I take my belongings and exit the door of our apartment unit. While riding down the elevator, I realized that if my brother goes back to sleep then there is actually no progress made. So all my efforts were for naught!

"I can not let that be!" I declared. "But how do I make sure he does something proactive?"

I stepped out of the elevator and wondered for a bit.

"I still have forty minutes to get to school and maybe I can wait to see if he decides to leave the house. If he doesn't within fifteen minutes, I can go back up and give him hell. I should still be able to make it to school on time!" I reasoned.

So, I hid in the first floor stairwell.

One minute passed...

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

Fifteen minutes. I was ready to go back up when...

-Ding! -

The elevator bell rang and I went into hiding again. Brother came out wearing his nondescript white shirt, A**** sweatpants, and slippers. He looks outside while rubbing the bangs of his hair with his finger.

"Oh, he is moving! He is going somewhere!" I gave myself a high five in my head. Then an intrusive thought hit my head.

"Should I check where he is going?"

So, I decided to follow him. He walked past the nearby apartment park and turned into the street. Waiting at the crossroad, he is still rubbing the tip of his bangs. I, meanwhile, was hiding behind anything I could find. A person wearing vibrantly blue clothes walked past looking at me. I nervously smile at the stranger hoping that they ignore me.

He crossed the road and in front of him is a local hair salon that we have known since we were a little kid.

"Oh, he is actually going to get his hair fixed!" I noted.

But he passed by that place. I sighed.

Then he turned to the bigger street and stopped in front of a fancier hair salon. The owner of the place looked at my brother and covered her mouth.

"Seung-Woo! It has been a while! Please come in, come in!" She grabs my brother by his arms to lead him in.

"Hey look! I actually have a surprise for you!" The owner's voice flowed out into the street to where I was.

I was satisfied that he actually went into a hair salon.

"I should get going." I muttered. Then I stopped. I, for no reason at all, imagined him coming out of the hair salon with a big afro. I tried to dismiss that thought. Then the imagination turned into him being completely bald except the bangs covering his eyes. I let my intrinsic thoughts win.

"I should at least see if he is getting a real haircut." I told myself. I sneaked around and looked into the shop.

"What the heck..." my mouth dropped.

The man sitting on the barber seat was not my brother. My brother was the hairdresser!

"... so, it has been like this ever since you cut my hair, Mr. Kim. I was wondering if you can help me again." The man sitting down explained. My brother nodded.

The man in his mid-thirties had an afro that covered his eyes. Within a couple moments and couple snips later. All the afro fell on the ground and the guy had a perfect two-tone hair style that complemented his sharp eyes.

"Wow, I feel much better!" says the now-handsome customer. The other worker led the customer away to get his hair washed.

Then next to me a pretty lady with long hair walked in.

"I heard that Mr. Kim is back! Where is he? I need him to help me for my picture with the 'Fabulous Hairs Weekly' magazine!" She shouted while sitting down on a barber chair.

My brother washed his hands and walked towards the lady and bowed.

"Ah Mr. Kim, show me your creativity!" She said while winking and shooting a finger gun through the mirror. My brother moves his hand faster than what the eye can track. Meanwhile, as my brother is working, the lady's eye gets bigger and bigger by the second.

"Thi..this... this... THIS..." her face was red and she looked like she was going to blow.

My brother is done with the work and the lady continues.

"Is this your best idea?" She inquired with a red face.

Her hair.... Is a ship... Her hair is contorted to look like an European battleship during the enlightenment era.

"HOW MARIE ANTOINETTE-ESQUE!" The customer shouts while beaming.

She gets up from the chair and runs out the door.

"Thank you Mr. Kim! I am late for the photo shoot! Ms. Owner, I will wire you the payment later!"

The owner waved the customer goodbye and my brother bowed. My brother started to sweep the floor of the hair salon.

"Oh no, this hair is a disaster!" someone said from behind me. I turned around, and I saw the owner of the shop. I was shocked and nervous about being found out.

She is right though, my hair was in a mess since I did not take care of it to study for my aptitude test. I have been meaning to get proper hair treatment.

She grabbed my arms and dragged me inside the shop despite all my attempts to free myself from her grasps.

"Mr. Kim! We have a Class 1 disaster here! I can literally hear the hair fibers calling out for help!" She called out to my brother.

My brother looked up and looked confused. He looked at me as if he wanted to ask why I am here.

The owner looked at my brother's face and then looked at my face then back to my brother.

The owner dropped grip and clapped her hands. "Oh, you must be Mr. Kim's younger sister! I heard so much about you!"

Then she grabbed my shoulders and sat me in a chair. "But, that makes your hair situation more unforgivable! You have a brother like Mr. Kim and your hair is like this? This needs to be fixed NOW! Mr. Kim, fix it!" She ordered.

My brother reached the chair I am in and started to work on my hair. I closed my eyes for a moment since it felt weird having my brother touch my hair.

"Done!" announced the owner. I opened my eyes.

My hair... it recovered. It looked just like this before I went study mode for the aptitude test. Now, it's back! The volume of the hair and also the silkiness came back! I can not believe it!

I can feel myself smiling looking at my hair.

"That looks like a disaster averted!" The owner looked satisfied and my brother was wiping sweat off his forehead.

"It feels amazing to see that one more life saved, Mr. Kim. I am not going to charge anything for this." The owner announced. My brother bowed.

"Since your sister is here, why don't you head home with her? I don't want my regulars rushing and crowding this place when they realize you are here." The owner offered and my brother nodded.

My brother took off the hairdressing tools and clothes and hung them on a rack. We said our goodbyes and left the shop.

While walking, my brother looked at my hair and checked them left and right. Then when he was done, he nodded in approval of the good work he did.

"I thought you went to the hair salon to get your hair done.," I commented. "You actually went in there to work!"

Then my brother put his fisted right hand on his open left hand, like he remembered something critical. He took out a hairdresser scissor from his pocket with his right hand and grabbed the tip of his bangs with his left. Then he cut it and put his scissor back into his pocket.

I stood there trying to understand what just happened. Then it hit me.

"Don't tell me, you just went there to borrow a scissor to cut your bangs!" I asked.

My brother stopped walking and looked back with a face that said "Wasn't that obvious?".

"No, it isnt obvious!" I retorted...

I really REALLY can't handle my lazy older brother!