Chapter 427

Side Story (44)

Whether I should get a haircut or not had long been one of the biggest debates among Seras.

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— Can’t they just cut Yutae’s hair once? ㅜㅜ Every time I see other idols getting all kinds of different styles, I’m so jealous ㅠ He’s got such a handsome face, why waste it like that└ Tasteless. Sense: dead. Not even engaging

└ This woman doesn’t know anything. Long hair actually allows for more diverse styling. Do you not remember how Seo Yutae absolutely KILLED IT when Prism all wore hanbok and performed with a Hwarang¹ concept for the New Year? There’s simply no comparison between that and fake hair made with wigs or mixing in modern hairstyles just to make them look pretty. They’re on completely different levels. There’s no soul in those — Yeah, yeah, okay. The great “Seo Yutae: Long Hair vs. Short Hair” war is back again, huh? Welcome back— Long hair is a privilege. You have to be not just decently handsome but fucking handsome to pull it off. There are plenty of guys who look pretty decent when their hair is short, but when they cut it, you end up going, ‘Huh…?’. Long hair makes every flaw in their facial features stand out all of a sudden, so their eyes, nose, and mouth have to be flawless. Men like that are an endangered species. We have to protect them└ Still ㅠ Since it’s not a conventional hairstyle, there must be people who see it as a barrier to getting into the group, right? — What would even happen if Yutae cut his hair? Would he get a poodle perm like Lee Danbi? Or would he go ‘Okay ㅠ‘ and tie his hair into an apple bun when his hairstylist tells him to tie it up, like Han Seungbeom? Or get that sickly yet beautiful artist hairstyle like Baek Kiryang? At most, he’d just end up doing a half-up style, slicked-back hair, a wolf cut, an undercut, a leaf cut, a SWAT cut … wait, FUCK, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, I DO KIND OF WANT TO SEE THOSE STYLES TOO. I’M SO ANGRY└ Wouldn’t Yutae look exactly like Byul if he got a wolf cut? Their facial features already look similar since they’re brothers lolol

└└ I wish Yuseong would cut his hair short too. A few years ago the impression was just “it’s a moderate wolf cut~“, but it’s gotten longer and longer. Isn’t it long enough for him to tie it into a ponytail now? Plus his hair is naturally wavy, so it just looks ridiculously unkempt, PLEASEEE CHANGE SALONS … It’s so painfully obvious they put zero effort into Seo Yuseong’s hair and makeup, it pisses me off so much

└└└ But we can’t rule out the possibility that Seo Yuseong is just leaving it alone because he’s too lazy to bother with it. The other members switched to salons that suited them better when they started their solo activities, but the Seo brothers still go to the same place Prism used to visit as a group

└└└└ Seo Yutae has such a clear sense of personal style, though. With his long hair, striking facial features, and all those tattoos, he might actually look like too much if they dressed him up excessively. But I don’t get why they style Seo Yuseong that way. Isn’t that what salons are for? Even if celebrities aren’t interested in styling or don’t know much about it, the salon is supposed to make them look pretty, right? His features are softer than his older brother’s, and he has long eyelashes too, so I think he’d suit the trendy idol-style looks these days

└└└└└ I’m an Iris fan just passing by. Did you just say Seo Yuseong has soft features…? Nvm, I’ll just be on my way

└└└└└└ Not to be rude, but why do people keep saying things like ‘I’m a [fandom] fan just passing by’? NOBODY ASKED. We don’t care. Don’t go out of your way to announce your fandom in other fandom’s spaces

└└└└└└└ God, why are Seras always so damn prickly … lmao

— The salon Nam Yihwon goes to is fucking insane. Just look at how they style him. Wow. His face is already so striking, and lololol. I still remember when they put him in a ridiculously revealing knit sweater and piled on the blush for that bed commercial shoot. I was in total awe. The most visually stunning guy in Prism truly lives up to his reputation└ Nam Yihwon will literally drop a salon without hesitation if they can’t do his face justice lmaoo … Yoo Jay is the same… He went to Wiz for, what, a month? And switched right away lololol. If I were a Wiz employee, I’d have cried — PLEASE~ SEO YUTAE AND SEO YUSEONG, CHANGE SALONS ALREADY. Rode is seriously lazy~~ Other idols get dragged by their fans for going there too, and they’ve all stopped going there now ㅠ The only ones who keep going are the ridiculously handsome guys who don’t seem to realize it. Just because their faces carry the half-baked styling^^ without flopping … Change salons and try something different with your hair└ I SAID NO CUTTING THE HAIR!!!!!!! (Screaming court official meme)— Calm down. Why is everyone acting like angry otakus?— Long-hair obsessives incoming! Retreat! Why are there so many Seo Yutae fans obsessed with long hair? lololol└ Seo Yutae’s been promoting with long hair for years, so obviously every long-hair lover across the globe was bound to get hooked — I’m not even someone who particularly likes long hair, but I just hope he doesn’t cut it. It just feels so Seo Yutae. Cutting it takes a moment, but how many years would it take to grow it back to that length?└ Ah, REAL. I used to like neat, short hairstyles, but Seo Yutae made me start liking long hair

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By now, they’d argued about it so many times that it felt like everyone was just bickering for the fun of it. Regardless, even as time passed, my hairstyle remained one of those things they could never quite reach a consensus on.

‘From what I can tell, there were more people telling me not to cut it, though.’

Honestly, having long hair comes with quite a few inconveniences.

It took ages to shampoo and dry, and it tangled easily or often got caught in other people’s hands or clothes. It was hot too. I wasn’t particularly sensitive to heat, so I had it relatively easy, but if my hair stuck to to a member’s sweat-drenched skin, it could become an unpleasant experience for both parties.

“Ah, hyung! You didn’t dry your hair again! I told you you’re gonna catch a cold if you leave it like that!”

“Too much work.”

“Good grief, what am I going to do with you? Where’s the hair dryer? I’ll dry it for you.”

“Don’t bother.”

“Look at him. I’m literally offering to do it for him and he’s acting like this.”

On top of that, I was absolutely terrible at taking proper care of myself, so I kept having to rely on the people around me. Those guys could simply leave me alone if they found it bothersome, but instead, they couldn’t stand to let me be and kept nagging me about every little thing.

‘I wonder how the Prism and Pantheion members would react if I told them I was cutting my hair.’

Granted, I’m hardly one to talk given that I grew my hair out this long purely out of spite toward the company, but celebrities generally weren’t supposed to make major changes to their appearance, such as changing their hairstyles or getting plastic surgery, without consulting their company first.

‘Though I suppose that also depends on how well-known the celebrity is and how long they’ve been in the industry.’

I suppose I respected Choi Jeokhyeon—for the time being, at least—as my business partner to a certain extent. Kang Hyeokwoo and I had the worst possible relationship, so there was no need to ever consult him about my styling, but Choi Jeokhyeon deserves a slightly different treatment.

“So, what do you think? Do you think it’d look good if I cut it?”

So, I asked him.

Truth be told, since a substantial portion of the fans wanted me to keep my hair long, I had no actual intention of cutting it. I had just tossed out the question purely on a whim after looking at old photos and thinking, ‘That look wasn’t too bad either.’

‘Because of my hair length, I can’t even wear a wig for a special event.’

Weren’t you curious?

About what he would say.

‘Well, I can more or less guess what he’ll say.’

Choi Jeokhyeon was predictable.

He’d give me that characteristic smile that never revealed what he was thinking and deliver a flawless answer like, ‘That’s entirely up to you.’

“……”

…Why wasn’t he saying anything?

Somehow, things were going in a direction I hadn’t expected.

As if he’d glitched out, Choi Jeokhyeon stared blankly at my face, then, without changing his expression, rolled only his eyes over to stare intently at the photo in my hand.

What. What am I supposed to do about it?

Why was he acting like this?

The mouth that usually teased me so freely had suddenly gone quiet.

“……”

‘Oho, look at him?’

Then, out of nowhere, he scowled deeply.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Choi Jeokhyeon frown that much.’

He seemed to hate the idea, but whatever his reason was, it seemed like something he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud.

“Was my look that terrible back then? I’m not that skinny anymore, so it might actually look decent on me now.”

Judging from how displeased he looked, I roughly guessed, ‘Ah, I guess short hair didn’t suit me very well‘, and asked again in a slightly bitter tone. But Choi Jeokhyeon’s reaction only got worse.

It was true that I’d been quite skinny back then because I was struggling financially. So maybe my appearance hadn’t been all that great, and I wondered if that was why he was against it.

However, seeing Choi Jeokhyeon’s expression grow even stiffer, that didn’t seem to be the reason either.

“If that’s not it … did you already know the fans were against it?”

As if he didn’t understand why the word ‘fans‘ had suddenly come up, he raised his eyebrows, and the crease between his furrowed brows briefly smoothed out.

‘Guess that’s not it either.’

On second thought, Choi Jeokhyeon never really cared much about the fans. He paid so little attention to them that I sometimes wondered if it was even appropriate for an entertainment company CEO to act that way. He generally just let the celebrities under his company do whatever they wanted. I was a fool for assuming Choi Jeokhyeon would pay attention to fan reactions.

In the end, giving up on trying to guess what was going through Choi Jeokhyeon’s mind, I picked up the photo and prepared to get up.

“I’m taking this photo with me. Since I’m not cutting my hair, I should at least show them something like this.”

In the blink of an eye, Choi Jeokhyeon abruptly grabbed my hand and snatched the photo away.

“No.”

Having never expected Choi Jeokhyeon to be this adamant, I was left with the photo taken away from me, staring stupidly down at my now-empty hand.

‘Huh?’

To begin with, Choi Jeokhyeon was the one who had printed out those photos and neatly organized them into an album.

So technically, if Choi Jeokhyeon said no, I had no grounds to argue back, but ……. couldn’t he just get the photo printed again as many times as he wanted as long as he had the original file?

This was the same guy who didn’t care at all whether I took the luxury goods or cash from his house.

Was he unexpectedly the sentimental type who treasured things like photos?

“Then what about this photo? Can I take this one?”

To resolve that question, I pointed at one of Choi Jeokhyeon’s childhood photos and asked. Choi Jeokhyeon briefly gave me a look that seemed to say, ‘Why would you need something like that?‘ as if he were looking at someone collecting trash. Then he returned to his usual pleasant expression and answered.

“Do as you please.”

I really couldn’t understand Choi Jeokhyeon’s standards…….

His attitude suggested that, as long as he could divert my interest away from my own photo for the time being, he was willing to hand over any number of his childhood photos. If I remembered correctly, there were so few photos of Choi Jeokhyeon’s past that I could count them on my fingers.

‘The fans would be so disappointed…….’

I’d hardly ever released any childhood photos, and photos taken after my mother passed away were even rarer. I didn’t even have any graduation album photos beyond middle school, so just how curious must the fans be?

“Then send me the file. I’ll get it printed myself.”

“…….”

I offered another alternative out of disappointment, but Choi Jeokhyeon simply looked away again, pretending not to have heard me.

Is this … some kind of copyright claim?

I had no idea.

‘Right, who am I to dare try to read Choi Jeokhyeon’s mind? Let’s just stop thinking about it.’

Just as I was thinking that, Lee Hwayoung, whom I’d contacted, opened the study door and came in.

Then, upon seeing me holding the album against my chest, he gave Choi Jeokhyeon a triumphant smile.

“Hmph, that’s what you get for kicking me out. You can’t say a single thing to Seo Yutae. You do know that Seo Yutae usually listens to what I say, right?”

‘I literally just got the photo snatched away from me, though.’

Hey, hey. I haven’t won yet.

It’s too early to be looking that smug.

I awkwardly rubbed my now-empty hand against my pants, then handed Lee Hwayoung a photo of Choi Jeokhyeon that had been lying nearby.

“Look at this. It’s a photo of your uncle when he was little. Pretty cute, isn’t he? I think he looks a bit like you too.”

The moment Lee Hwayoung heard that it was a photo of Choi Jeokhyeon, he made a face that said, ‘Why on earth would I even need to see that?. Even so, perhaps he was secretly curious about what the man had looked like in his youth, because he discreetly shifted his gaze and stole a glance at the photo in my hand while pretending otherwise.

And then he came face-to-face with the snow-white, slender, rosy-cheeked pretty boy in the photograph.

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Translator’s Corner:

1. Hwarang (Korean: 화랑; Hanja: 花郞; lit. ”flowering youths”) were an elite warrior group of male youth in Silla, an ancient kingdom of the Korean Peninsula that originated from the mid 6th century and lasted until the early 10th century.

   During Silla Dynasty (57 BC – 935 AD), hairstyles were a crucial indicator of social status, gender, and marital standing. Because the ancient Koreans practiced Confucian philosophies and ancestral respect, cutting one’s hair was largely forbidden, which means both men and women grew their hair exceptionally long. Before marriage, young Silla men kept their hair long and completely down or meticulously braided into a single strand down the back. The Hwarang warriors themselves are well known as a group filled with “flower boys”. ↩︎

Someone please check the genre again … why is my heart fluttering while translating this,,,,,,

Thank you Vagabond for the Coffees!

(also thank you everyone for the coffees T_T I think I’m currently living through apocalypse simulation, so the coffess helped a lot, thank you so much T_T since food prices have gone ridiculously high here … like, they’re 2-3x what they were just early this year??? and i have to buy a gallon of drinking water every day too since there’s no other water source available. to make the matter worse, the weather forecast says the rainy season won’t start until mid-december at the very least …. I lived for 20+ years in this town and this is the first time the dry season is this severe, we’re so over……)