Farewell to the Pink Hair
—Hyung, help me. I’m really in big trouble.
Around 5 a.m. Jeongbae had just been about to fall asleep when he received the call. The voice of his youngest sibling from the orphanage on the other end of the phone was terrified.
“What is it, what happened?”
—I crashed my motorcycle into a car.
“……”
Jeongbae’s mind went blank for a moment.
“Are you hurt?”
—Nnn-no. I just got scraped up a bit.
Jeongbae let out a big sigh of relief.
“What about insurance?”
—…….
“How much?”
—With the other car’s repair costs and everything… I think it’ll be a few million won. What do I do?
“What do you mean what do you do? You have to pay for it.”
—It was a parked car….
At least he was grateful no one was injured. After calming down the frightened kid and hanging up, Jeongbae immediately checked his bank account balance. Since it was the end of the month, all the utility bills had already been deducted, so there wasn’t much available cash. Sejin had just started his job and hadn’t even gotten past his probationary period yet. The kid could barely afford his own living expenses—there was no way he’d have money. Bank loans, credit card cash advances. Jeongbae’s hands busily searched for places to borrow money. But for someone bouncing between restaurant part-time work and substitute driving, there weren’t any suitable places to get emergency funds.
‘Should I break my savings account after all? There’s not much time left until maturity…’
The “casino pub” suddenly came to mind. If he hustled hard with two jobs—the restaurant and this instead of substitute driving—for just a few months, he could make it up quickly.
Even if it was work he hated, he had to do it.
Right now, he had no choice.
Jeongbae picked up his phone and redialed the number he’d pressed yesterday.
“Hyung, is that job you mentioned yesterday still available?”
The place he visited with half curiosity, half anxiety was smaller than expected. The sign had “Lunar Pub” written in gold lettering, and the dim interior was lit by soft indirect lighting.
For a “casino,” it was a modest space. Just a bar table with a bartender, a space for darts, five blackjack tables, and poker tables. In the cozy back area, partitions were set up so people could comfortably chat and drink.
Alcohol, light betting, and games.
It was literally a “bar-slash-event hall.” Jeongbae felt somewhat relieved by the trendier and younger atmosphere than expected.
“First time?”
A manager in a black suit looked him up and down.
“Yes, at a place like this.”
Jeongbae forced a smile. The shirt he’d taken out after a long time felt awkward.
“You’ll need to change your hair to black. Pink is a bit… on our end. We also have a separate uniform, so please pay attention to that.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll go dye it right away.”
The manager handed him documents and nodded briefly.
“As long as you work diligently, you’ll be able to work here for a long time. Oh, the tips are pretty good too.”
Jeongbae bowed his head and smiled.
‘As long as I make good money, that’s all that matters.’
Scritch scritch.
A narrow bathroom where dawn light hadn’t yet entered. The scent of shampoo mixed with warm steam. The sound of scissors occasionally rang out.
“Hyung, you’re the one who cleaned up that bastard Sejin’s mess, right?”
“No…”
“Don’t make me laugh. What money does he have to fix that? Hyung, just cut ties with us—we’re not even blood-related—and go your own way.”
Jeongbae looked at Dogyeom’s face in the mirror and chuckled. It felt like just yesterday when he’d patched up his own hair, but he’d gotten quite skilled now that he’d built up some experience. Dogyeom was the sibling from the orphanage who’d matured the earliest. He looked cold, but inside he was the most tender-hearted and affectionate. Even now, looking at how he worried like this.
“When I’m old and can’t work and have no strength, you guys will support me.”
“……”
Scritch scritch.
In the flowing silence, only the sound of scissors echoed in the bathroom for a while.
“So, how is it?”
“Wow… it’s awkward. I haven’t had black hair in a really long time.”
Jeongbae stared at his reflection in the mirror for a while. The rough-looking appearance was nowhere to be seen—he’d become a clean-faced good student. He deliberately bared his missing teeth and made a comical expression.
“What a waste. The pink hair was legendarily unflattering…”
“What? I liked that hair.”
“Hyung, you really lack self-love.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Normally people fussily worry about how to look cool, what suits them best… but hyung doesn’t care about any of that.”
“Haha. A guy just needs to change his underwear every day, that’s it.”
“I’ve been deliberately giving you the most unflattering hairstyles for years and you never said anything.”
“What? No, why!”
Jeongbae was indignant. So he’d deliberately been giving him ugly-looking hair?
“Because all kinds of trashy alpha bastards keep hitting on hyung. Ah, this time it came out too pretty. Damn it…”
Dogyeom, who’d been drying his hair while clicking his tongue, abruptly turned off the dryer. Jeongbae was about to laugh it off but instead looked at himself in the mirror one more time.
Really… he looked, a bit different.
He looked clean enough to feel unfamiliar.
“Well, hyung will be thirty in just a few years.”
“What?”
“It’s about time you dated. Unlocking you today.”
“…Hey, what nonsense are you talking about?”
“I don’t know. Just don’t follow anyone around.”
Jeongbae grinned for no reason.
“Even you think I’m handsome.”
“Yeah, if you just keep your mouth shut. What’s with those teeth?”
“They’ve been rotten for a while, but I’m scared of root canal treatment.”
“Ugh… Hyung, you’re really hopeless.”
Dogyeom sighed as he ruffled Jeongbae’s hair.
***
“Welcome!”
“You…”
Jaehyuk found himself pointing with his mouth hanging open.
Black hair. Instead of pink, neatly arranged black hair.
Jaehyuk’s pupils wavered for a moment. It was definitely the same person, but a completely different person was standing there.
Under the rice soup restaurant’s fluorescent lighting. The white neckline contrasted sharply with the black hair that slightly covered his forehead. Large eyes without double eyelids. Slightly upturned eye corners. A smooth nose bridge and slightly full lips. Kang Jeongbae, who’d had a rough and cheap look, was nowhere to be seen—instead, a neat and clean face was carrying rice soup. Just from one hairstyle change, looking at the impression that had become as tidy as a gentle puppy, Jaehyuk couldn’t continue speaking.
“You’re early. The special?”
Unlike Jaehyuk, who was frozen in shock, Jeongbae was nonchalant. As if nothing had happened, he held his order pad and smiled. At that familiar smile, Jaehyuk’s heart beat a beat late.
“Yeah.”
As soon as he managed his expression and sat down, Jeongbae brought over hot rice soup.
“I put in extra meat specially. Let me know if you need more rice.”
Jaehyuk could barely nod his head. He’d realized that when he came alone, Jeongbae acknowledged him quite a bit, so he’d changed his strategy. It was fortunate anyway since it was annoying to make appointments with someone every time.
Jaehyuk picked up his spoon and hurriedly shoveled down the rice soup he ate about once every two days. Like Kang Jeongbae, he still wasn’t tired of pork rice soup either.
The rice soup restaurant he visited like a routine. He’d long forgotten why he started coming. He came because he wanted to. For now, that was all.
“Why’d you do your hair like that?”
“Ah, my younger sibling did it for me.”
Jaehyuk barely managed to say one thing to Jeongbae, who’d come to clear his finished bowl. Jeongbae, who answered briefly as he was busy with the customers who’d rushed in, soon turned away.
Jaehyuk felt regret. He wanted to talk more. Why he changed his hair, whether it was a younger sister or brother, if he’d found a new job since he was quitting, and if so, where… He felt like he understood the feelings of those people who always sent him trivial calls or texts. It was strange. No matter how pretty or great someone was, he’d never been this curious before. Indifference and expressionlessness had always been Jaehyuk’s default—he was deeply confused. At the same time, he wanted to find the reason. He had to solve this maddening curiosity that wouldn’t leave his mind.
‘I want to talk as much as I want somewhere quiet, just the two of us, not this hectic rice soup restaurant.’
Without even realizing that people in the world called such things a “date,” Jaehyuk shuffled out of the rice soup restaurant again.
Even after paying and leaving, he loitered in front of the rice soup restaurant like a somewhat foolish person. It happened to be drizzling. Using the excuse of avoiding the rain, he settled under the shop’s eaves, when…
Rustle.
Something moved slightly under a garbage bag in the corner.
“What, some puppy…”
The plastic rustled, and a soaking wet dog lifted its head. Its ribs were all visible through its wet fur. As Jaehyuk frowned and tried to move away, he heard a familiar voice.
“Eat this at least. Eat quickly and go inside.”
It was Kang Jeongbae. It seemed he’d brought something to eat in a container. The starving dog stuck its nose in desperately and made eating sounds.
“What are you doing? Stray dogs bite people. What if you catch a disease?”
Jaehyuk found himself using a sharp voice. Jeongbae, who’d been crouching down quietly watching the dog eat, looked up. Was it because of the rain? He could see black eyes that seemed somehow tearful. For some reason, he wasn’t grinning and had no expression. The thickening rain poured down on him. He looked exactly like he was holding back tears, and Jaehyuk unconsciously took a step back.
“She gave birth not long ago.”
“So?”
“Just. That’s all.”
Brief silence. The rain poured down, and only the sound of the dog hurriedly eating filled the surroundings. When Jeongbae smiled slightly, Jaehyuk said quietly,
“Don’t get attached to strange things. If you get attached, it’ll hurt more someday.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“What?”
“The day before yesterday… the puppies died.”
Jeongbae murmured. Jaehyuk couldn’t respond at all. The sound of rain echoed between them.
Jeongbae stood up. Black hair dampened by the rain. Long eyelashes with water droplets on them. Kang Jeongbae with an unfamiliar face looked at Jaehyuk and smiled. A face that looked like it was about to cry barely lifted the corners of its mouth. Seeing the trembling lips, Jaehyuk felt a strange tingle in one side of his chest.
“You’re going to get all wet. Get home safely.”
Jeongbae, who’d patted Jaehyuk, disappeared into the shop. Jaehyuk stood there for a moment. Raindrops slowly dampened his shoulders.
On the way back in the rain, Jaehyuk agonized. It had already been a month since he started showing his face at the rice soup restaurant. At this point, even Jaehyuk had to admit it.
‘He has absolutely no interest in me. Then why the hell am I doing this?’
Jaehyuk, a thorough analytical type, organized his thoughts once more.
Kang Jeongbae. Twenty-eight-year-old repeater aiming for medical school. A promiscuous omega who receives tutoring through one-night stands. Occupation: rice soup restaurant employee and substitute driver. Has a younger sibling who does hair and a clingy doctor, and a constitution that doesn’t go into heat. An ugly guy missing two teeth. What about him could possibly compare to me? That was the case when looking at objective indicators alone.
But…
From the moment they met until now, he’d always had a brightly smiling face. Throughout his work, he diligently greeted customers and carried rice soup. He’d never once seen him frown. That unforgettable night, the touch that endlessly comforted and warmly embraced him. The expression of apologizing when he took out his problem book and made cup ramen, saying it was instead of tutoring fees.
And the tearful eyes looking at the stray dog just now wouldn’t disappear from his mind.
Kang Jeongbae was honest, diligent, and warm. And he was someone who didn’t owe debts.
‘That kind isn’t common.’
He wanted to see more of that apologetic face. He wanted to make him indebted to himself. Preferably a whole lot. Jaehyuk, faithful to his desires, soon defined it that way. But what about after that? He didn’t know. He didn’t particularly want to know right now either.
Jaehyuk once more recalled Jeongbae, who’d gone from pink head to black head.
‘The pink was good because it was easy to see.’
No, what crazy thoughts am I having? His head was full of Kang Jeongbae.
Jaehyuk took out his phone and began scrolling through the contact information of the partners he’d brought to the rice soup restaurant. Maybe he was doing this because it had been a while since he’d been intimate with someone since returning from the military.
‘Yeah, it’s probably just because of a simple gap period.’
He needed a different partner. Someone more suitable and necessary for him.
