Today was possibly the most tiring day that Hyejin had ever been through for as long as she could remember, but it was also the most satisfying day that she had had in a long time. The pop-up haircutting service attracted a long queue of villagers, some of whom even came bearing gifts of homemade kimchi and sea produce as a form of payment for Hyunwon's services. In between attending to the villagers in the queue, listening to Hyuwon's stream of never-ending instructions and actually being able to cut someone's hair again, Hyejin hardly had enough time to breathe in between.

She was now staring at the back of an elderly lady's head, whose bob of curly, white hair looked like a fluffy cloud sitting on top of her head. Just looking at the sheer volume of hair on the lady's head was enough to make Hyejin nervous—voluminous hair was the most difficult to deal with because you had to work through many layers and each layer had to be perfect in order for the overall shape to turn out well. This was not a job for a shaver.

"Are you alright, my dear?" the old lady asked, turning around to look at her quizzically. "Is something the matter?"

Hyejin had been standing there holding her scissors in her hand for quite a while, doing nothing but stare as she tried to think about where exactly she should start. She had seen Hyunwon cut the hair of grannies with similar styles earlier and it had seemed so much easier when he was doing it. Now that it was finally her turn, it seemed like an almost impossible task at hand.

She was about to give up and let Hyunwon take over when a firm voice appeared by her left ear. "Start with the bottommost layer and slowly work your way up to the top. Use the pins to separate the layers so that it doesn't seem so daunting."

Surprised, she turned and looked at her mentor who was standing beside her with his arms folded, evidently not intending to rescue her from this situation.

"I'm not sure I can—"

"If you can't, then just pack your things and go home. The Cutting Edge won't keep someone who runs away instead of stepping up to a challenge," Hyunwon replied.

Taking a deep breath, Hyejin turned her attentions back to the old lady's hair, her hand trembling slightly as she raised the pair of scissors in her right hand. With her left hand, she slowly pinned up the lady's hair according to the different layers, just as Hyunwon had instructed.

"Don't worry dear, just do your best," the old lady smiled and said kindly. Reaching out her wrinkled hand, she gave Hyejin a comforting pat on the back of her hand.

"Now take the bottom layer and start with trimming it to the correct length. Then, you'd want to thin the layer so that the final outcome isn't overly voluminous," Hyunwon said.

Hyejin obediently did as she was told, her scissors hesitantly snipping away at the bottom layer of the lady's hair. She had only learnt the skill of layering earlier today and she was still a far cry from being confident at it; things were never so complicated when it came to cutting guys' hair. Just as she had finished adjusting the length of the layer and was about to move towards thinning it, Hyunwon's hand suddenly reached out and grabbed hers before she could make the snip.

"Are you insane?" he hissed in her ear, just loud enough for her to her. "You can't thin the layer using the same pair of scissors! If you do that, the poor old lady is going to end up looking like a hippy punk!" He took the pair of scissors out of her hand and replaced it with another that had grooves along its blade. "Remember that layering requires a different pair of scissors."

Nodding her head quickly, Hyejin tightened her grip around the new pair of scissors and began snipping away tentatively. This was the most gruelling haircutting experience she had ever had, being so uncertain about every move and with the eagle eyes of Hyunwon observing everything she did.

Sensing her lack of confidence, Hyunwon sighed. He wrapped his hand around hers and took control, saying, "Just keep your composure and remember the basics. What is the purpose of layering? It's to ensure that customers with thick, voluminous hair don't look as if their hair is constantly weighing them down. It's always the person who should be wearing the hairstyle, and not the other way around."

With his hand guiding hers, Hyejin felt a sense of security as they proceeded with the haircut. As long as Hyunwon was in control, nothing could possibly go wrong. She had watched him in action several times back in the salon, but today was when she truly understood just how great he truly was at his trade. The people that came through this place were not the same as the customers they received at the Cutting Edge. At the salon, the people they saw were the rich and famous who had the luxury of undergoing hair treatments multiple times a month, which meant that most of them had excellent hair quality that was easy to work with; the people from the village worked long hours in the fields and out at sea, and all that hard labour over the years had left them were dry and tangled hair that they hardly had time to bother with. Even so, Hyunwon still worked like an expert and the people that left the church after he was done with them looked almost as suave as any film star.

Not wanting to let him down, Hyejin was concentrating so hard on the haircut that she didn't even notice that somewhere along the way Hyunwon had already let go of her hand, allowing her to fly solo.

"Alright! It's done!" she declared proudly when the final wisp of white fell to the floor. She admired her masterpiece for a second, deciding that it had turned out a lot better than she had expected. Turning to Hyunwon, she waited expectantly for what he had to say.

To her surprise, he was no longer standing beside her. Instead, he was busy attending to another customer (yet another granny from the Hyunwon fanclub).

"Sweetheart, Hyunnie is a good boy," the elderly lady whose hair she had been cutting had said to her. She had already stood up from her seat and was dusting the loose strands of hair away from her clothes. "Although I have a grandson of my own, I must say that I would have been over the moon if he were but half of what Hyunnie is. If I were you, I would keep a close eye on my man and make sure that he doesn't slip out of my fingers!" she said with a wink.

Hyejin's eyes widened in horror and she frantically waved her hands about in the air. "No! I mean, things are not like that!" she blurted out. "Hyunnie, I mean, Hyunwonis my mentor, and that's all there is to it."

"Oh, is that so?" The old granny looked slightly disappointed to hear that. "Well that's a pity. I thought you might be the girl that Hyunnie always talks about. We've always been waiting to see his girlfriend but he's never brought her down to meet us. Since you were the first girl he's ever brought over, I just assumed you were the one."

"He has a girlfriend?" Hyejin asked in surprise. This was the first time she was hearing about this.

Shrugging her shoulders, the old lady began shuffling her way towards the exit. "Well yes dear, of course he does," she replied. "I'd be surprised if a good boy like him still doesn't have one, although everyone here probably has a granddaughter that they're dying to introduce to him. Thank you for the haircut, I do hope you come back with Hyunnie again another time!"

When the little old lady had disappeared out of the door, Hyejin turned her gaze towards Hyunwon who was focusing intently on the job at hand, scissors flying at the speed of light. As he carried out the haircut, he still bothered sparing some time to entertain the other elderly folk who were seated around, responding warmly to their barrage of sometimes odd questions (like "do you know that abalone is good for virility?").

As she watched him in action, she couldn't help but think about the new nugget of information that the old lady had just given her.

Kang Hyunwon has a girlfriend? Really?

Seriously, who would fancy a man like him?

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Two pairs of eyes stared at the two sets of pillows and blankets sitting in front of them.Two sets of pillows and blankets. In one room.

"I'm sorry, Hyunwon. I thought you were the only one who would be coming down so we only prepared one room," the priest had said apologetically when he showed them the room. "You might have been able to share a room with Yubin but unfortunately his brother is here to visit so there's not enough space to fit another person in there. I hope these arrangements would be alright for the both of you."

Of course they said it would be alright, because it would have been rude to have said otherwise—but it really wasn't alright. This was the only room available within the church premises, a room located in a standalone building that was on the left side of the main church building. The room was neither big nor small and it would have been a comfortable fit for two people if it had been two different people. Right now, Hyunwon and Hyejin stood by the doorway and studied their accommodation for the night in dismay.

"Maybe we should just go look for a hotel," Hyejin remarked.

"There is no hotel. In case you haven't noticed, this is a rural village that doubles up as a senior citizens' retirement home," Hyunwon replied drily.

"Well then maybe you should go find one of those old grannies from your fanclub and go stay with them for the night. How about Granny Kang? She seemed to like you a great deal."

Hyunwon rolled his eyes and turned around, heading out of the room. He had seriously contemplated the option of driving back to Seoul tonight but the rational part of him told him that it would be a bad idea because he was exhausted from a day's work and all he needed right now was some warm food in his belly and a good night's sleep. If he couldn't get the latter then he was at least going to make sure that he got the former. Ignoring Hyejin, he walked towards the kitchen.

Hyejin sat down in the room and thought about their situation for a moment. Then, she began building her fortress. The first thing she did was to divide the room into two equal halves using whatever she could get her hands on—slippers, towels, the emptied contents of their bags. When she was satisfied, she sat back down and admired her handiwork.

That should do it. He can keep to his side of the room and I'll keep to mine, and everything will be just fine.

"Where did he go?" she murmured to herself, poking her head out of the door and seeing no sign of Hyunwon anywhere. "Maybe he decided to go look for another place to stay after all?" Picking herself off the floor, she headed out in search of him.

Hyejin liked the church—it was a quaint, little building that was made out of red brick, aged and worn from the dozens of years of rain and shine it had weathered since it was first built. In fact, she decided that she quite liked the entire village for its rustic nature and olden buildings that seemed to have remained unchanged since the sixties. Unlike Seoul with its skyscrapers and tall apartment blocks, this place only had little houses scattered here and there, its inhabitants still sticking to their old ways of life. If ever she had to retire, she reckoned this would be the sort of village she would fancy living in.

Admiring the quiet scenery around her as she walked around the church grounds at dusk, her nose picked up the scent of something cooking on the stove. Right on cue, her growling stomach disrupted the peaceful silence around her.

Following the smell of the food, Hyejin found her way to the little kitchen that was round the back of the church. Inside, a familiar silhouette was standing in front of the stove, stirring an old copper pot with a wooden spatula. Taking a deep breath, Hyejin inhaled the aroma that filled the kitchen, her stomach gurgling cheerily in response.

Hyunwon turned towards the doorway and frowned, glancing down at her noisy stomach. A little embarrassed, Hyejin wrapped her hands round her tummy, willing it to be quiet. "What are you making? It smells amazing!" she said, walking over to the stove and peering into the pot. It was a simple kimchi stew, but anything edible would have been a delicacy to Hyejin right now. "I never knew you could cook!"

"It's not any of your business whether or not I can cook," Hyunwon replied, shoving her aside so he could reach for the salt and pepper. When he had added a sprinkle of each, he stirred the contents of his pot once more and tasted a tiny bit of his stew. It was just about perfect. Switching off the gas, he removed the pot from the hob and headed outside, placing it on the small table he had set up on the outdoor platform.

Hyejin followed behind him like a hungry puppy, her nose unable to resist the smell of the stew. She sat herself down on the platform and folded her legs, waiting eagerly for the rest of the meal to be brought out.

To her dismay, Hyunwon went back to the kitchen and returned only with one bowl of rice and one bowl of seaweed and anchovy soup.

"Why's there only one set? What about me?" she wailed.

Picking up his chopsticks, Hyunwon started putting rice into his mouth, chewing calmly as if he couldn't sense her anxiety. "If you want food then you should make it yourself," he replied. He dipped his spoon into the pot and fished out a piece of tofu, trying his best not to laugh at the sorry look that was on Hyejin's face right now. When he had swallowed his tofu, he looked up at her pitiful face and jerked his head towards the kitchen, saying, "There should be some rice leftover, although I can't be sure it's enough to feed that stomach of yours."

Hyejin's eyes immediately lit up when she heard what he said, and she scrambled off the platform and ran back to the kitchen. Minutes later, she reappeared with her own bowl of rice (piled to the brim) and soup, all ready to tuck in to that delicious pot of stew. Hyunwon said there were only leftovers, but when she opened the rice pot it was obvious that he had cooked her share as well—he was just pretending because he was annoying like that.

"This is really good," she said with her mouth full. "If you ever decide to quit being a hairstylist, you could set up your own restaurant."

Hyunwon scoffed, shaking his head at the greedy girl in front of him. She was gobbling down her food so quickly that he was almost afraid that she would choke and throw everything up. He poured a glass of water and placed it in front of her. "Can you slow down? At the rate you're going there'll be none left for me," he said sternly.

Hyejin pulled a face, but she knew that look in his eyes all too well to dare to disobey it. Swallowing the radish and tofu she had in her mouth, she took a gulp of water from the glass that Hyunwon had poured for her.

By now, the sun had set in the horizon and above them were a sprinkling of stars in the clear night sky. Although the night air was chilly, the hot stew and warm rice kept the temperature just right.

"So many of the old grannies were calling you Hyunnie earlier. Sounds cute. Why doesn't anyone in Seoul call you that? I think Hyunnie sounds much more welcoming. Can I call you that from now on?" Hyejin asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because only people I'm close to and people over fifty are allowed to call me that, and you don't belong in either category."

Hyejin sulked and continued slurping her stew, though she scolded him a couple of bad names in her head. She was only trying to start a conversation to be friendly, in return for him having taught her a great deal today and having cooked her this meal, but clearly he was being a rude prick as usual. She wondered why she even bothered.

The more she thought about it the more bizarre she thought it was. It was as if Hyunwon had two contrasting personalities residing in the same body. When he was Hyunwon, he was this strict and uptight prude who was pretty much the most detestable and unfriendly person you could ever imagine; but then there was Hyunnie, the one who would smile warmly when he spoke with those grannies and granddads and would cook her share of dinner even though he refused to admit it.

"Thank you," she suddenly burst out.

Hyunwon almost choked on his soup when he heard her. Coughing and spluttering, he quickly downed some water and said, "Excuse me?"

"I said thank you," she replied, "for everything."

Clearing his throat, Hyunwon picked up his bowls and stood up abruptly. "I'm done. Since I cooked you can wash up," he declared, walking quickly back towards the kitchen. He wasn't quite used to her talking to him like that, so the best thing he could think of was to run away from the awkwardness.

When he returned to their room, he noted with interest the Great Wall of China that Hyejin had constructed right down the middle. Does she take me for some sort of pervert? he thought to himself in slight amusement. If anything, he should be the one defending himself against her, given how she had a penchant for grabbing onto him when he least expected it.

Shaking his head, he quickly laid out his sheets and buried himself in layers of blanket, pretending as if he wasn't actually having to share this room with someone else. He heard the door swing open when Hyejin came back in, but he simply kept his eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.

"Are you really asleep already?" Hyejin asked suspiciously. It seemed a little too quick for that—she didn't think she took that long to finish washing the dishes.

There was no reply.

Shrugging her shoulders, Hyejin grabbed her toiletries and pyjamas and headed out to the bathroom to wash up. When she returned, she carefully adjusted her great wall to make sure there were no gaps through which the boundary could be breached. Once satisfied, she quickly switched off the lights and flopped back down on her sheets, wrapping herself up with her blanket like a burrito.

"Goodnight Hyunnie," she whispered across the wall.

"I told you not to call me that," his voice replied.

"I knew you were just pretending to be asleep."

Hyejin 1: Hyunwon 0.

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