TOUGH ROMANCE || scoups || BOOK ONE

15

Seungcheol

I was in a shit mood after a shit night's sleep.

Both of which I blamed on Hani 'Flowers in her Fucking Hair' Lee. After spending half the night tossing and turning, I'd woken up for Kkuma's first a.m bathroom break.

It was the second night of sleep Hani ruined for me because she kept coming into my fucking dreams, and they weren't the pleasant ones.

I pulled into a parking space, staring at the storefront.

The colour scheme - navy with maroon trim - shouldn't have worked. It had sounded stupid when Mingyu suggested it. But somehow it classed up the brick and made Diamond Clipper stand out on the block.

It was wedges between a tattoo parlor that changed hands more often than poker chips and the neon orange awning of Chwe's Pizza & Subs. They didn't open until eleven, but I could already smell the garlic and pizza sauce.

Until a few years ago, the barbershop had been a crumbling institution in Riperia. With a little vision from my partner, Mingyu, and a lot of capital - from me - we'd managed to drag Diamond Clipper into the twenty first century and turn it into a small town goldmine.

On a yawn of my own, I helped my dog out of the truck, and we headed for the front door.

The inside was as eye catching as the outside. The walls were designed with diamonds that brought the mostly dark layout to life.

We'd added leather and wood and denim. Next to the industrial looking reception desk were glass shelves housing different sorts of hair products. Beyond the leather couches in the reception area, there were four hair stations with large round mirrors. Along the back wall were the restroom, the shampoo sinks, and the dryers.

"Morning boss. You're here early." Do, short for Doyoung, had a man's head in one of the sinks.

I nodded in response and went straight for the back room which stored the kitchen. Kkuma climbed up on the couch next to a woman enjoying a coffee and a biscuit.

Do's son, Sukmin, swiveled back and forth rhythmically in the reception chair. Between booking appointments and cashing out clients, he played a stupid looking game on his phone.

Mingyu, my business partner and long time friend, looking up from the temple fade he was doing on a client in a suit and £400 shoes.

"You look like shit." He observed.

Mingyu wore his thick, dark hair rebelliously scruffy but kept his face clean. He had a sleeve tattoo that was hardly noticeable and a Rolex.

"Thanks, asshole. Nice to see you too."

"Sit." He said, pointing with the clippers at the empty station next to him.

"I don't have time for your judgemental grooming." I had shit to do. Paperwork to be inconvenienced by. Women to not think about.

"And I don't have time for you to bring down our vibe looking like you couldn't even be bothered to run a comb and some balm through that hair."

Defensively, I stroked a hand over my hair. "No one cares what I look like."

"We care." the woman with the coffee and biscuit called.

"Yes Hanna" Do called back, shooting me one of his parent looks.

The man that Do was washing after dye, got to his feet and clapped a hand on my back. "You look tired. Got some bags under those eyes. Women trouble?"

"I heard you had a little something going on with 'Not Chae' hm?" Do said innocently as he ushered the man to his chair. The one thing Do and Mingyu loved more than good hair was good gossip.