Lighting flashed and thunder clapped outside accompanied by a high-pitched wailing wind, giving the quiet barber shop a spooky atmosphere on a late October evening. 

Mr. Kim was in the process of finishing up with a customer, both of them happily chattering away. Ryeowook was flitting about here and there in the store, muttering to himself anxiously as he completed basic tasks that were previously assigned to him by his father. He was expecting his best friend to arrive for a haircut shortly thereafter and was in the throes of extreme anxiety because of it. He had spent months bragging to his game-less, computer-less, DS-less and grounded best friend over the phone about his expert hair cutting skills and how he was frequently complimented by customers on the quality of his haircuts as well as the sound of his voice as he serenaded them during their haircut. But after what had happened with Mr. Choi and Jiyoung-hyung the week before, Ryeowook was reluctant to touch a pair of scissors ever again. 

He glared at his father from behind the cash counter. His father had impressed upon him several times that he, Ryeowook, would be the one to cut Kyuhyun’s hair that day, no excuses. The boy had already sketched a hairstyle for Kyuhyun earlier during the day and, having already made the necessary preparations, had attempted to wriggle his way out of having to be present at the barber shop by volunteering to attend his mother’s knitting class - with the hopes that his father would follow through and do the haircut for him. But alas, his father walked into the room just as he was sweet-talking his mother. He was caught red-handed and was assigned his current chores as punishment. Ryeowook threw his father another hateful glare as he started to wipe down the counter with a rag.

By the time the Chos arrived, Ryeowook had worked himself up into a nervous panic and had to stop himself from running away crying. He hesitantly put on his apron, his hands shaking, then shuffled over to the barber chair, taking an exhorbitantly long amount of time to set things up. He left all the introductions to his father. 

Ryeowook felt a hard thump on his back. 

“Oh, well if it isn’t the Master Barber Kim Ryeowook,” said Kyuhyun sarcastically as he flung himself into the empty barber chair. The boy’s mother had quietly seated herself in the waiting area, occupied with her cell phone. “What magical hairstyle will the magician Kim Ryeowook bestow upon me today?” He teased, sticking his tongue out at Ryeowook. 

The older boy mouthed like a goldfish, caught between wanting to retort rudely and squeak in fear. He was full-out shaking now, with beads of sweat building up on his forehead. He looked seconds away from breaking down into tears. 

“Oi, Ryeowook-ah, what’s wrong?” Kyuhyun toned down the teasing, concerned upon seeing his friend’s fretfulness. 

The barber came to the rescue, encircling his son in his arms and holding him close as he explained the situation to the younger boy. 

“Last week an elderly walk-in customer came in asking for a basic trim. Now since Ryeowook had been getting so good at the basics of haircutting, I encouraged him to cut it – with the customer’s permission of course. The man seemed like a reasonable guy with a patient temperament and the trim itself was pretty simple so I figured it would be a good opportunity for my son to transition away from working with only regulars. Since Ryeowook had successfully done so many trims similar to this one, I confess that I wasn’t as diligent as I usually am while I was watching him.” 

He took a breath and ran his fingers through his hair, annoyed. Tears began to fall from Ryeowook’s eyes.

“Unfortunately, when Ryeowook finished the man’s trim – which, might I add, was not drastically different from what I would have done myself – the gentleman decided that he did not like his new hairstyle. He ended up complaining quite loudly and obtrusively at my son for a quarter of an hour until I offered to comp his haircut. Funnily enough, he became quite agreeable the very second the word ‘free’ left my mouth.” The barber shook his head, his cheeks flushed. “You get all sorts of shady types in this business.” 

Kyuhyun laughed. 

“Oh come on Ryeowook-ah, that’s not bad. There are ty people everywhere.” 

A weak “Kyuhyun, language...” was muttered from the waiting area. 

Ryeowook shook his head, his face buried in his father’s shoulder. 

“That’s not all that happened. Tell him appa!” The muffled voice of Ryeowook whined. 

Mr. Kim rubbed the boy’s back, continuing on with the tale. 

“Well, after that debacle, Ryeowook was understandably upset. I reassured him that his haircut was fine and that there are shady people everywhere who just want to cheat hardworking people out of their money.” 

The barber paused for a second to breathe, having gotten somewhat agitated. 

“Ryeowook-ah understood, having seen other idio-, I mean, other unpleasant people similar to that…gentleman….in the store before. But my courageous son is an amazing trooper, so he stubbornly insisted on doing the haircut of the next customer who came in. Unfortunately, our next customer ended up being Jiyoung, one of our regulars with a taste for tricky, eccentric hairstyles. Incidentally, he comes here because he enjoys Ryeowook’s hairstyle designs, so he’s similar to you Kyuhyun-ah.” He smiled. 

“But the hairstyle that Ryeowook had planned for him for that particular appointment was quite complicated. I limited Ryeowook to doing the things he could do, while I worked on the more difficult parts of the hairstyle. Ryeowook did his part perfectly, so I opted to teach him how to perform a new skill with hair dye to lift up his spirits. We mixed up the different dyes and I showed Ryeowook where to apply them, but I guess in his excitement, he didn’t listen.” 

The barber sent his son a sly look. 

“In the end, it looked like a circus had exploded on Jiyoung’s head. He didn’t seem to mind particularly, in fact, that strange man seemed to like it immensely, but Ryeowook was beside himself, calling himself a failure. Ah, my perfectionist son is so dramatic.” 

The barber bent over and cuddled his son, who had settled himself on the floor, rubbing his eyes. 

“What did we learn from this Ryeowook-ah?” 

“That I’m never going to be a barber!” 

“You’re so stupid Ryeowook-ah!” Kyuhyun spluttered. 

(“Language…” was whispered somewhere behind them.)

“I’ve entered a lot of competitions: math competitions, gaming competitions, sports competitions and other types of competitions,” said Kyuhyun, now worked up. “Do you think I aced them the first time? No! Especially in my first gaming tournament. There was this kid that kept on looking at me the wrong way and I wanted to beat him so badly but then he owned me! It was so embarrassing that I had to hide from the gaming forums for weeks!” He wheezed, catching his breath. 

“And then there was that useless moderator who couldn’t figure out who was who and then said I came in last place even though I should’ve been first! And then that kid who was stalking me on the gaming forums and commenting ‘noob!’ after every single one of my comments because he practically steamrolled me during our first match! I got so angry that I practiced and practiced and practiced until I was as good as a pro and then I played him again and I got sweet, sweet victory.” Kyuhyun laughed darkly, looking positively diabolical, “So then after that me and Changmin got a bunch of kids to follow him around and post ‘loser!’ every time he commented. He got so angry that he challenged me to a rematch lots of times but I’ve never let him win. What a loser. And then-” 

The Kims watched Kyuhyun continue his impassioned soliloquy with shock, having not expected the tirade that was happening. Kyuhyun continued on, sharing every detail about his foes and failures and his dedication to exacting equivalent revenge. The Kims just nodded quietly every so often, their faces blank, hiding their confusion and slight fear. 

Mrs. Cho coughed lightly, having just clued in to the ongoing situation.

“You know, once he gets started, it’s quite hard to stop him. Ahra, his sister, has banned gaming talk anywhere near her because to be honest, once Kyuhyun gets talking about games, he does not shut up. I wish I could help you, but all I do at home is tune him out until he’s done - and that can take a while. Good luck.” And she returned to her phone, still distracted.

The Kims exchanged apprehensive glances. Mr. Kim let go of his son and stood up, looking for a chance to interrupt. 

“So,” he said, but Kyuhyun kept on ranting. He cleared his throat. 

“So,” he said even louder, hoping that the boy would hear him, but to no avail. 

“So,” he yelled forcefully, finally putting an end to the boy’s impassioned speech, “I guess what you’re saying, Kyuhyunnie, is that whatever you do, you have to give it your all! One hundred percent! You need to be able to pick yourself up from your failures and mistakes and work hard to build up your confidence so you won’t make the same mistake next time. Ryeowookie, do you see how determined Kyuhyunnie was when he was speaking? Even though he failed multiple times, he always picked himself up and worked hard, right?” Mr. Kim said in a cheery voice. “Ryeowook-ah, when I was young and learning how to cut hair, I made a lot of mistakes too. But now, you see, I’m really good! And if you keep on practicing, I’m sure you’ll become a skilled barber too.” He turned to Kyuhyun. “And same with you, Kyuhyunnie, I’m sure regardless of whatever you do in the future, you’ll be extremely successful.”

Kyuhyun nodded confidently, sharing a significant look with the barber. 

“So what do you think Ryeowook-ah? Do you think you’re ready to cut Kyuhyunnie’s hair this evening?” 

Ryeowook wiped the tears and snot off his face. 

“I’ll do it appa. I won’t give up!” 

“Good for you Ryeowook-ah!” He breathed a sigh. 

Kyuhyun settled into a barber chair. 

“Okay, good, sing me Guckkasten’s Manicure then,” he requested haughtily. 

Ryeowook raised his eyebrows, having no idea what a Guckkasten was and why it needed a manicure, then started enthusiastically singing GFriends’s Glass Bead as he draped a gown over Kyuhyun. 

“What happened to Guckkasten?” Kyuhyun whined, wishing he could stem the flow of girl group songs. 

“I’m not a karaoke machine, Kyuhyunnie, I only know the songs I hear on the radio.”

Ryeowook positioned himself on the stool behind the barber chair, took a deep breath, centering himself, then started violently slapping the top of Kyuhyun’s head. 

The younger boy braced himself, covering his head. 

“What the hell, Ryeowook-ah?!” 

“You’re getting too tall Kyuhyunnie! I have to make sure you don’t grow anymore otherwise you’ll be too tall for me.” He lightly brushed through his friend’s hair, assessing it. 

“So what are we doing today, Ryeowook?” asked the barber, shaking his head at his son’s antics. 

Ryeowook succinctly explained the hairstyle he had planned for Kyuhyun then broke it down into what he was going to do based on his skill and what his father had to do. Then he restarted singing. 

Kyuhyun sighed, resigning himself to his fate. 

“Honestly, sitting through all these pop songs requires all of my determination,” he muttered. 

The haircut went off without a hitch. Ryeowook was calm yet noisy, performing the skills he was confident in with perfection. After Mr. Kim completed his part and added the finishing touches, Kyuhyun surveyed himself in the mirror, noting that Ryeowook had chosen a hairstyle that had a bit more of a ‘rock’ feel. 

“How did you know I’d like a style like this, Ryeowook-ah?” 

“I looked up that group you mentioned last time, GTA ISLAND, I think, and kind of copied their style. I’m glad you like it!” He placed his hands on his hips, laughing loudly. “I’m a genius, of course.” 

“It’s FT ISLAND, genius,” Kyuhyun corrected, shaking his head, amused, “Now if only you’d look up their music.”

Ryeowook averted his eyes, noncommittaly shrugging his shoulders, looking inconvenienced. 

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. 

“Well, I’m happy you’re feeling better anyway. I said I’d support you as a barber and I always keep my promises.” 

Ryeowook demeanor softened. He smiled shyly. 

“Thank you, Kyuhyunnie, for helping me again. You helped me last time too. I wish I could make it up to you…” He paused, looking out of the window into the tumult of rain and lightning outside, thinking. “Oh I know! I’ll treat you to ice cream!” He announced, happily giddy as he dusted off the hair from Kyuhyun’s gown and yanked it off. He then grabbed Kyuhyun’s hand and ran to the convenience store next door, pulling the other boy along. Kyuhyun’s protests could be heard all the while: “Ryeowook, you don’t have to!”, “I don’t like ice cream!”, “There’s a thunderstorm outside!” and “It’s freaking Octoberrrr!” 

Mrs. Cho sighed and stood up. 

“It seems like your son has got his energy back, hmm?” she said. 

The barber laughed. 

“Seems so.” 

“Kyuhyun likes his new hairstyle, as per the usual. It seems like he’s getting into rock music these days.” She sighed deeply, misty-eyed, as she approached the cash counter where the barber was standing. “Ah, that reminds me of my childhood. I know I still have a Beatles record somewhere in my house. Rock ‘n’ Roll was so popular back then.” 

The barber nodded in understanding. 

“I was a Rolling Stones fan. I had posters all over my house. My mother used to yell at me for ruining the walls,” he said, chortling.

The two eagerly reminisced about the old days as they waited for their sons to come back. 

Their conversation was cut off when they heard the loud sounds of Ryeowook singing outside. 

Naega jeil jal naga!

Mrs. Cho chortled. 

“Are you sure little Ryeowookie isn’t drunk?” She asked, tittering. 

“He’s going to be on a sugar high for the next couple of hours so honestly, I can say that for all intents and purposes, he could be considered as drunk.” The barber grinned. “I feel bad for your son right now.” 

“Don’t worry, Kyuhyunnie needs some time away from playing games on his computer. Ever since his father gave him back his computer, he’s been practically glued to his computer screen. Even when he’s with his friends, all they talk about is games.” 

“Oh, I heard Kyuhunnie was banned from his computer and grounded. What happened? Was it because of his last appointment here?”

“Ah, from what I know the grounding did start during his last appointment. But I wouldn’t say that their disagreement started here. My husband and Kyuhyun have been butting heads about this and that all the time these days - especially when it comes to singing. Fortunately, my husband isn’t too creative with his punishments. They’re always the same: take something away, make Kyuhyun promise to change his behaviour, then reinstate it. I don’t blame him though, getting Kyuhyun to do anything is difficult - he’s such a smart child! In fact, the only reason Kyuhyun was ungrounded and got all his things back is because he had to swear that he wouldn’t even think of singing or going into the music business ever again. Of course Kyuhyun lied - I saw his fingers crossed behind his back myself! But you know, my husband will always think the best of Kyuhyun. He may seem very strict but he’s actually quite enamoured with our son and so he’s always in denial about Kyuhyun wanting to do anything that deviates from his ‘future plan for success’ as he calls it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m quite sure Kyuhyunnie has been taking advantage of it ever since he was a child, although these days he’s becoming more stubborn about his beliefs. If I’m not mistaken, the first thing Kyuhyun did after being ungrounded this time was go meet up with his old music club friends and start forming a band - after spending some time gaming with Changmin of course. Ah, teenagers, they never listen.” She shook her head dramatically, smirking.

Mr. Kim chuckled. 

“Kyuhyun is quite sociable isn’t he?” 

“Oh yes yes, especially among the girls,” she said conversationally. “Every Valentine’s Day he returns home with more bags of chocolate than he can carry, looking as if he just survived a war,” she said, laughing. “What about Ryeowook? He seems like he’s quite a social butterfly as well?” 

“Hah! Ryeowook is friends with every single girl in his school - not in a romantic way, of course, he's still too young for that - but more like siblings. He also gets tons of Valentine’s Day chocolates, but I think that’s mostly because they like seeing him in his sugar-high mode. Actually Valentine’s Day is very difficult for my wife and I because Ryeowook is extremely hyper after coming home from school. We have to take shifts and watch him otherwise he’ll eat more chocolate and stay awake, bouncing off the walls, all night.” He groaned, as if re-living the memories. 

Mrs. Cho smiled faintly. 

"Kids grow up pretty quickly these days, Mr. Kim,” she stated sagely. "You never know when things will suddenly change - especially at this age. You should treasure these days. I feel like Kyuhyun's changing before my very eyes. It's not long before both our sons will be adults." 

Mr. Kim nodded in understanding. 

"I agree, I think-"

“We’re done appa!” yelled Ryeowook, abruptly putting an end to the somber atmosphere as he pushed open the barber shop door, ice cream smeared all over the front of his mouth. “I had the caramel-vanilla ice cream cone today!” 

Kyuhyun trundled in behind him, looking harassed. 

“What did you have Kyuhyun-ah?” asked Mr. Kim, shaking his head, amused. 

“I had a hot chocolate.” 

“Oh, you got away without eating ice cream?!” 

He groaned. 

“I received a long, long speech about betrayal and celebrations and something else. I don’t really know. I had to promise that I would eat ice cream with him in the summertime, I think. I may have sold him my soul too.”

Mrs. Cho chuckled. 

“Sounds like your son is really back to his usual self.” 

“Well, not for a couple more hours I’m afraid.” Mr. Kim winked, pointing to Ryeowook, who was in the midst of dancing Hyuna’s Ice Cream while making pouty faces in the mirror. 

The woman laughed as she paid the bill. She placed her hands on his son’s shoulders, massaging them. 

“We’ll see you next time! I’ll try my best to come instead of my husband. Seems like it’s more comfortable for both of us this way.”

The barber nodded, smiling. 

“Seems like it is.” 

“Say bye to Ryeowookie, Kyuhyunnie,” Mrs. Cho said kindly. 

Kyuhyunnie glanced at Ryeowook then turned back to his mother, disgusted. 

“Hell no, umma. Hell no.” 

“Language, Kyuhyun!” she said as the two stepped out into the rain.