The Cutting Edge

005

Hyejin emerged from the shower, towelling her wet hair with her favourite Pororo towel. It was Saturday and the house was fantastically peaceful. In fact, it had been rather quiet for a couple of days now, with no sign of her beloved brother anywhere to be seen. As much as she was enjoying the current peace, she couldn't help but feel a little curious about where he was. He wasn't even at home to watch his favourite morning soap drama this morning, and as far as she could remember he never missed an episode.

She walked over to his room and pushed open the door. The room was spick and span—it looked as if he hadn't been home in days.

Shutting the door, she took a left and walked into the kitchen where her father was in the middle of boiling soup for lunch. "Where's Hyukjin?" she asked.

"I don't know. He packed a weekend bag and said he was going away for a short while but he didn't say where he was going. Maybe he decided to take a short holiday to the beach? He's been working hard on the ship all this while so he deserves a good break."

"Why would he go to the seaside when he's already spent a year at sea?" Hyejin mumbled to herself. Sometimes her father made completely no sense whatsoever. Nevertheless, it was good that her brother had decided to go away. It saved her the trouble of trying to get him out of her hair.

"Your brother is trying his best. You should give him a second chance," her father said. "Who doesn't make mistakes? What's important is that you learn from your mistakes."

Hyejin sighed, shaking her head as she walked out of the kitchen. If she stayed any longer, she would no doubt be subjected to yet another one of her father's sermons about how family should behave, much of which would involve scolding her about her coldness towards her only brother.

She wanted to be on friendlier terms with Hyukjin, but each time she was just about to set their feud aside and agree to a truce, he would stir up some new form of trouble that would piss her off all over again. Eventually, she decided that it would be best if they just kept out of each other's way.

Going back to her room, Hyejin sat herself down and took out her sketchbook, picking up her pencil to start a new sketch. She was already almost at the end of this book, having already filled most of its pages with sketches of hairstyles and the occasional hat or fascinator design that she plucked out of thin air. She made a mental note that she would need to make a trip to the bookstore to buy some new sketchbooks soon.

She had barely begun on a new sketch when she heard the doorbell ring. Her father's footsteps could be heard rushing from the kitchen towards their front door.

"Hello, who are you looking for?" her father's voice rang out. There was a momentary pause, and then she heard her father say, "Wait a minute, aren't you the lady who came round to the barber shop a couple of days back?"

"Indeed, not bad for someone your age," a female voice replied. The voice was a little familiar, and cold enough to make hell freeze over. "I'm here to see your daughter, Hyejin. Is she around?"

Hyejin didn't need to wait for an invitation. Out of curiosity, she popped her head round her door, peering at the guest who had stopped by.

Today, Gina had her hair done up the exact same way she always did, in a neat bun, but she had swapped out her navy blue pantsuit for a wine-coloured silk blouse and a tight, black pencil skirt. The condescending look in her eyes was exactly as Hyejin remembered.

"What do you want?" she demanded, strolling out of her room.

"Well that's a polite greeting," Gina huffed, rolling her eyes. The things I do for Ares Hwang, she silently griped to herself. "I'm here to hand you this. I tried calling your brother but I couldn't reach him, so I figured I'd drop by." Reaching into her tanned leather Chanel bag, she fished out a paper envelope, handing it over to Hyejin. "I hope you realise that the Cutting Edge is nothing like your little barber shop, so don't go creating trouble for us. It wasn't easy getting you in."