Mei brought Dongbin over to her place to officially start his first day as a barber apprentice.
Inside her dedicated training space, she handed Dongbin a black barber cape, carefully fastening it around his neck so stray hairs would not mess up his clean white polo.
In the center of the room stood a sturdy training station equipped with a wig-wearing mannequin head.
"Alright, Bin! Take a look at this," Mei said cheerfully, tapping the artificial head. "This is a training mannequin. It’s the doll model I use whenever I want to practice new cuts. I have plenty of spare wigs in stock, so do not hesitate to experiment, as long as you’re willing to pay for the materials, of course."
Mei picked up a pair of shears and a comb, demonstrating the technique with effortless precision.
"Look closely, Bin. This is called a comma hair style, exactly like the one you have right now."
Dongbin casually rolled his eyes upward, trying to glimpse the front lock of his own hair.
Mei burst out laughing. "Pfft! You really are something else, aren’t you?"
She reached for a hand mirror and held it up right in front of his face, showing off his sharp reflection.
Dongbin stared at himself for a moment before speaking with absolute innocence. "I am quite handsome."
Mei’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she leaned in, teasing him with a playful smirk. "Ooh, look at you! Yeah, you’re super handsome. Wanna be my boyfriend then?"
Without a single beat of hesitation, Dongbin nodded calmly. "Sure. Shall we make a baby right now?"
The room went dead silent.
Mei’s playful expression instantly froze, turning into a lethal glare. Her cheeks flushed bright red, not from romance, but from pure shock and utter embarrassment. She slowly rolled up her shirt sleeves.
SLAP!
A crisp, resounding slap echoed through the quiet room.
With a faint red handprint still glowing on his cheek, Dongbin picked up the comb and shears to practice Mei’s lesson.
"Goodness, Bin! It is a comma hair, not a buzz cut!" Mei shrieked, massaging her temples.
Dongbin casually reached for another wig sample and tried again. The result turned into a towering quiff. He tried again, and the mannequin ended up completely bald. Another attempt yielded a full mohawk like a street punk. Only on his final attempt did he manage to shape a proper, neat comma hair.
Mei stared at her workbench, looking utterly exhausted and defeated. Her entire stock of training wigs was completely ruined, scattered across the floor in tragic piles of useless hair.
"My wigs... they are all gone," Mei muttered, slumping her shoulders in pure frustration.
Seeing her so genuinely saddened, Dongbin felt a rare pang of guilt.
"Mei, I know magic. Would you like to see a trick?"
Mei blinked through her misery. "What kind of magic?"
"Close your eyes first."
"Alright..."
Dongbin raised his hand and lightly snapped his fingers.
In a quiet blink of altered time and spatial restoration, every single ruined wig floated back onto the shelves, neatly arranged and pristine without a single strand out of place.
"You can open your eyes now, Mei."
Mei opened her eyes and gasped, her jaw dropping to the floor. "Goodness, Bin... are you actually a wizard?!"
"No, it is merely a clever illusion," Dongbin lied smoothly with a completely straight face. "In reality, they are still damaged. But I will pay you back for all of them once I start working at your shop."
Hearing that, Mei’s expression softened into a look of pity. Right... his money must be completely dried up after paying for the rental deposit.
"Well, right now you only know three styles: bald, punk, and comma hair," Mei said, crossing her arms with a fond smile. "If you can master ten different haircuts by tonight, then you can start working at my barbershop tomorrow."
Dongbin’s face lit up instantly. "Truly, Mei?"
"Of course," Mei replied, flashing him a warm smile and holding up an OK hand sign.
Dongbin blinked, mimicking her hand gesture with absolute seriousness. Mei burst into a soft, genuine laugh at his cute attempt.
"You really are quite funny, you know that?"
Determined to finish his mission, Dongbin picked up the shears again and dove straight into non-stop practice.
One by one, he shaped the wigs with absolute laser focus, carefully placing each completed model onto the long display table.
Starting from the basic buzz cut, punk mohawk, and comma hair, he rapidly mastered seven more styles: crop cut, undercut, mullet, french crop, curtain bangs, slick back, and pompadour. Ten distinct, sharp hairstyles lined up perfectly across the room.
Meanwhile, sitting on a nearby chair, Mei was struggling to stay awake. She leaned her elbow on the table, supporting her chin with one hand as her head kept dropping. Before she knew it, she drifted off into a deep sleep, a tiny trail of drool slowly leaking from the corner of her mouth.
"Mei! I have completed the task!" Dongbin shouted proudly.
"Woah—?!"
Mei snapped awake with a jolt, frantically wiping her chin with her sleeve. She blinked away her sleepiness and turned her attention to the long table.
Her eyes widened in total amazement. All ten mannequin heads were styled to perfection, looking clean, precise, and professionally done.
"Holy cow, Bin!" Mei gasped, rubbing her eyes. "You actually pulled it off! Alright, a deal’s a deal. You start working with me tomorrow!"
Overjoyed by her approval, Dongbin let out a rare grin and instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling Mei into a tight, warm hug. "Thank you, Mei!"
Mei instantly froze in his arms. Her face flushed bright red, a sudden surge of heat rushing to her cheeks.
Even though she acted like a tomboy on the outside, she was still very much a young woman on the inside. Being held this close to a handsome guy made her heart race wildly.
Meanwhile, Dongbin’s simple mind registered something entirely unexpected. She acts so much like a guy, yet she feels so soft and full... he thought to himself, his eyes casually drifting downward toward her chest.
Catching his subtle gaze, Mei’s romantic embarrassment vanished instantly, replaced by sheer fury.
"Heh! You want another slap across your face?!" Mei barked ferociously, raising her fist.
Dongbin quickly backed off, and both of them burst into a fit of laughter, filling the room with lighthearted cheer as the night settled over the city.
-***-
At the crack of dawn, long before the sun had fully risen, Dongbin was already hard at work helping Mei tidy up the barbershop.
"Mei, do we really have to open this early?" Dongbin asked, sweeping the pristine floor with a broom.
"Of course, Bin!" Mei replied, grunting slightly as she adjusted the heavy barber chairs. "Our fortune evaporates if we wake up alongside the rising sun. Remember the old saying: never let the chickens peck away your morning fortune!"
Dongbin could only offer a faint, amused smile at her lively explanation.
Once everything was spotless, Mei brewed two cups of piping hot black coffee. She handed one to Dongbin, and the two of them sat near the counter, sipping their hot drinks in the quiet morning air while waiting for their very first customer.
Just as Dongbin was enjoying the rich aroma of his coffee, a sharp tintinnabulation rang through the shop.
Cling-cling!
The chime above the front door jingled as the door swung open.
"Are you guys open yet?" a voice called out from the doorway.