sweets ✧ r.kaji ˣ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

chapter nineteen : hair dye

"ah—you!" you spotted a familiar ravenette head of hair covered by white headphones lingering in the hair dye section. uh, what was his namee... "kaji-kun!"

he looked up to see you, and a slight uncomfortable expression flickered through his features. "l/n-san," he mumbled, almost to himself to recall your name. he wore a simple white hoodie and jeans.

it looked similar to your outfit—a comfortable white sweatshirt and denim shorts. you couldn't blame him for forgetting your name, you two weren't close. and, it was in the middle of your summer break before high school. "nice to see you again!" you approached him. oh what the...he's taller than me now.

"um...nice to see you again too." he looked like he didn't really mean it though, judging by his stiff stance.

"what are you doing here? y'know, in the dye section," you said, trying to start a conversation.

"i planned to dye my hair before high school." he looked away, back to the many cans of hair dye, and placed one hand to his forearm.

a smile made its way into your face at the interesting subject. "dyeing your hair? what color?"

"i'm not sure yet, so i'm looking around for ideas," he replied.

"how about i choose for you?" without waiting for an answer, you framed him with your fingers as if taking a picture. "i helped my other friend choose a hair color as well, and it looks soo pretty on her. hmm...what's your opinion on blonde?"

"uh...as long as it's not, like, piss blonde," was his quiet answer. (like atsumus 😞)

"a nice pale blonde," you assured him. "i also know exactly what brand we should use. want me to help you?" you knew that spending time with the stranger wouldn't have any merit for you, but you just wanted to just get to know him. plus, it never hurt to be nice.

"i...if it's no hassle for you..." he trailed off.

you took that as a yes. "okay, first, you shouldn't look there. the higher quality but cheaper ones are the best choices, and you can find them here," you explained, walking towards another shelf.

he followed you, listening intently. honestly, he was kind of leng—actually, more of cute—that he was so into dyeing his hair properly. his face card was slightly more interesting than other guys you've encountered as well.

you held a plain-looking can of blonde hair dye. "this one is good." you paused to check the price. "and it's just 599.99 yen, too!"

"i also heard that you need bleach or something for dark hair," he said.

you eyed his black hair. "yikes, we're gonna need a lot."

୨୧

after choosing and purchasing all the materials you needed to get the boy a glow up, he suggested—or you convinced him—to let you come over to his house to help. after all, the dyeing process was gonna be the hardest without help.

you made sure to remove your shoes before stepping in. "you don't live with your parents?"

"they're always overseas for work," he answered simply. "my aunt lives in the next town, so it's not really a problem for me to stay here."

you nodded in understanding, looking around. his house was relatively empty—at least the living room was—but had a weird cozy vibe to it. the wallpaper was plain white, and the wooden plank floor wasn't cold. "we need to bleach your hair first," you said.

"we can do it in the bathroom," he suggested.

"ah, wait, do you have a sacrificial towel and shirt? and a bowl."