Chapter 42

My hair had already grown to my waist. I had left it as it was since I didn’t care much about my appearance and rarely went out. If Muk Ha-neul had come, I might have asked her to help me with my hair, but now that I had no intention of hiding myself, going to a beauty salon didn’t seem like a bad idea.

“Does my hair look messy?”

“Not too much, but your hair is quite long. And it’s important to take care of your hair, and it looks like you haven’t done anything about it, so I think you should check its condition.”

Can you really check hair at a beauty salon and not a hospital? It wasn’t that strange of a suggestion. Although I was slightly hesitant, I found myself agreeing. I hadn’t gone out for quite a while, and I had been planning to go to a beauty salon to get it sorted out eventually.

Of course, I was uncomfortable with a stranger touching my hair, so the place I usually went to was more like a cheap barbershop than a beauty salon. However, with my current condition, it would probably be impossible to go to that kind of place.

“Let’s do that, then.”

Ham Yejin nodded. I returned to the room and changed into casual clothes—an ordinary short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts. It was still quite warm, so this outfit was just fine.

“Are you ready already?”

“Yes.”

After all, I wasn’t a real woman, so it wouldn’t take me long to get ready. My long hair was a bit uncomfortable, but there was no helping it. However, when I showed signs of discomfort, Ham Yejin took a black hair tie out of her handbag.

“What’s that?”

“You look uncomfortable, so how about tying it up?”

“I don’t know how to tie it.”

“I’ll tie it for you.”

I didn’t refuse unnecessarily. I didn’t particularly like the idea of a stranger touching my hair, but Ham Yejin didn’t feel like a stranger to me.

Ham Yejin tied my hair into a single ponytail. A ponytail? It suited me quite well. I wasn’t particularly happy about it, and Ham Yejin didn’t make any oblivious comments.

After finishing up, we headed outside. Unlike me, who planned to casually look for a neighborhood beauty salon, Ham Yejin led me to her car parked in front of a house.

“A car?”

“Oh, I have a beauty salon I used to go to, so I plan to go there.”

A beauty salon frequented by someone like Ham Yejin? Well, it certainly seemed better than creating unnecessary gossip at a neighborhood salon, but wouldn’t the prices be outrageous at a place she went to? As I pondered this, Ham Yejin said,

“This much is just considered welfare. It’s not that expensive, and I’ll pay for it, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Thinking of it as welfare wasn’t unreasonable, but that thought made me feel like I was relying too much on Ham Yejin, which made me feel uncomfortable. I was already depending on her a lot at home. I wouldn’t let it happen, but if Ham Yejin suggested anything, I would be in a situation where I could be kicked out of the house overnight.

“You really don’t need to worry about it. If you’re that uncomfortable, it would be enough that Seol-guk buys us dinner.”

With that, I could relax a little. Buying dinner wouldn’t be too burdensome, and it would save face somewhat. Eventually, I got into Ham Yejin’s car.

It seemed my condition had improved significantly, as I felt much less nauseous than before. My body felt a bit more stable.

The beauty salon was apparently located in the suburbs of Seoul. Upon arrival, the salon was quite flashy and glamorous, and no matter how I thought about it, Ham Yejin’s claim that it wasn’t very expensive felt like a kind-hearted lie or a reflection of her standards.

“It’s a bit more than I expected…”

Ham Yejin didn’t seem to listen to my slightly anxious words and walked inside. Left alone, I had no choice but to follow her.

It seemed Ham Yejin wasn’t lying about being a regular, as she chatted skillfully. Given that she had already made a reservation, she likely intended to bring me here from the start.

At this upscale salon, which operated on a membership basis, I had to follow Ham Yejin awkwardly.

The process that followed was quite interesting in many ways. The staff seemed to recognize me, but professionally, they didn’t say a word. I didn’t understand why I had to wash my hair again since I had just had it washed, but anyway, they applied various shampoos and lotions and washed my hair again.

Then they showed me a catalog, asking how I wanted my hair cut. As I had no idea about that sort of thing, I simply said I wanted it cut suitably. I didn’t like anything too short, but I didn’t want to leave it long either. The stylist nodded and started to tidy up my hair.

The delicate touch of the female stylist usually annoyed me, but perhaps because it was a high-end beauty salon, this time it felt more like a slight ticklishness and softness rather than discomfort.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep because when I regained consciousness, I was still sitting in the salon chair. Wasn’t the haircut over yet? I felt something applied to my hair.

When I opened my eyes and glanced around, I met Ham Yejin’s gaze, who was looking at magazines in the salon.

“Are you awake?”

“What’s this on my head…?”

“Oh, that’s a treatment product. It’ll be over soon.”

As Ham Yejin said, a stylist soon came over, applied something to my hair, and started working on it again. Soon, a refreshing feeling spread through my head.

“It’s done.”

The stylist said as they removed the salon gown. When I leaned in closer to look in the mirror, I saw my neatly arranged hair shining brightly. I had been somewhat worried about having white hair, but fortunately, I didn’t need to worry.

Well, considering it took several hours for my hair treatment and I even dozed off, it would indeed be problematic if they made me worry too much.

The length of my hair was just right. Well, it would grow back quickly, so I would have to cut it again in no time, but for now, this length was appropriate. The stylist handed me the hair tie that had been removed earlier.

Since my hair was just long enough to tie up, I looked at it considerately when Ham Yejin came over, took the hair tie silently, and tied my hair for me. Thanks to that, I ended up with a short ponytail.

While I was waiting, it seemed Ham Yejin had finished settling the bill.

However, while she was coming over, Ham Yejin accidentally dropped something. It was the receipt. I naturally picked it up and, upon seeing the amount written on the receipt, I froze.

“W-what? 270,000 won?”

“Oh.”

Of course, I had thought it would be expensive, but I never expected it to be this much. The burden increased instantly. She just said that in exchange, she’d buy me dinner, but was I supposed to take her to a high-end restaurant or something?

“You really don’t need to worry too much.”

“Th-that’s not a small amount.”

Just a moment ago, with my long hair tidied up, I felt relieved, but after seeing the receipt, this light hair suddenly became incredibly burdensome.

“Really, it’s not a big deal, so you don’t have to stress about it. There’s no need to overthink it.”

…Right. Well, let’s think of it as not a big deal. After all, I was a bestselling author. While it was hard to think of spending 270,000 won on my hair, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to treat someone to a meal of that value. With a big heart, I said,

“…How about we go for an omakase dinner?”

~

Although Ham Yejin said it was fine, I stubbornly searched for a nearby omakase sushi restaurant. She insisted it wasn’t necessary, but this was a matter of my pride.

Eventually, I found an omakase restaurant priced over 150,000 won per person. I called and told them there would be two adults, and fortunately, there was one spot available for dinner. Perhaps due to my voice, the person on the other end seemed a bit surprised to realize we were adults, but there wasn’t really a problem.

Unable to break my stubbornness, Ham Yejin eventually willingly drove us to the omakase restaurant.

The problem was… that’s when things occurred.

As I entered the omakase restaurant and called for the staff, I announced that we were the two adults who had made a reservation. An older staff member soon came out and displayed significant surprise upon seeing me.

“Welcome… huh?”

“You said two adults?”

The older staff member seemed to misinterpret my words as a joke and blurted out an odd question.

“…Excuse me, but how old are you? We have a no-kids zone, so middle school students and up are allowed.”

“I said I’m an adult. Here’s my ID.”

“P-please don’t joke like this.”

Even when I handed over my ID, the staff member didn’t seem to believe me at all. They thought it was a counterfeit. Even Ham Yejin tried to vouch for my identity, but it was of no use. While we were arguing at the entrance, another staff member came out. This one looked at me and approached the older staff member, who was arguing with me, with a thoughtful expression.

“Uh, I think this person is actually an adult. Please check this article.”

Even without seeing the article, I could understand the significance of what that staff member was showing. The older staff member, still distrustful, ultimately allowed me to enter.

I felt rather uneasy even before starting the meal, but it was a situation that couldn’t be helped. It was clear that I didn’t look like an adult.

As the sushi was served and I took a bite, I couldn’t help but grimace for a moment. This was too… overwhelming. The taste was fine, but it was just too much. Was there too much wasabi? Seeing my reaction, Ham Yejin spoke to the sushi chef.

“I’m sorry, could you reduce the wasabi a bit?”

Thanks to that, the sushi served thereafter was much more palatable. No, it was delicious. In fact, it was my first time having omakase, and it was far better than I had expected. Well, spending 150,000 won, it would be problematic if the taste wasn’t excellent.