#jisan

San walked out of the bathroom, a towel around his neck that he used to dry the few stray droplets of water falling from his hair.  

On the other side of the room was Jieun, sitting at the desk with her phone propped up like a mirror. A straightening iron rested on top as Jieun sprayed heat protectant all over her hair.

“Choi San, put a shirt on!” she exclaimed, seeing the older boy in the corner of the screen. 

He grinned sheepishly, opening his drawer to pull out a shirt. “My bad.” After slipping it over his head, he rubbed his hair with a towel to get rid of the excess water. San looked over at the girl, quietly watching as she sectioned her hair before picking up the straightener, using it to curl her hair. 

Curiously, he walked closer to her, taking a seat on the bed beside the desk. 

“What’s the special occasion?” he asked with a small tilt of his head. “You never curl your hair.” 

Without looking at him, Jieun shrugged. “I don’t know. I just felt like it.” 

“Are you going out?” 

She nodded, continuing to curl her hair piece by piece while he watched. “Wooyoung-oppa asked if I wanted to try out a restaurant he heard about. Apparently they have really good steak.” 

“Just the two of you?” 

“I guess so.” 

San stood up, slowly reaching in front of the girl before carefully taking the tool out of her hand.

“Here, let me help.”

“It’s ok, I can do it myself.” She looked over at him, reaching for the straightener, though he held it out of her reach.

“It’s fine, I got it,” he responded, taking a section of hair. “Besides, I know you hate curling the back of your head.”

She looked at him through the reflection of her phone, watching the older boy’s concentrated face as he carefully curled each section of her hair before placing it over her shoulder to keep it out of the way. 

“Where’d you learn how to curl hair?” 

Upon her question, a small smile made its way onto San’s face. 

“I have an older sister, remember? She’d complain her arms were tired and make me do her hair for her,” he chuckled. “Plus, I’ve been watching the stylists curl your hair for the last- what? Six years? I think I’ve picked up some things in that time.” 

Jieun nodded, continuing to watch as he curled her hair through her phone screen.

“What restaurant are you guys going to?” San asked. 

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. He wanted to keep it a surprise.” 

The older boy nodded, quickly glancing at her reflection before looking back to her hair. “You guys have been hanging out a lot.” 

Jieun thought back to all her recent hangouts with the boy. Just the night before Wooyoung had come over to their room to watch a movie with her, but surely they hadn’t been hanging out so much that it was worth pointing out?

“Making up for lost time, I guess,” she eventually answered, slight confusion in her voice at the sudden comment. 

“Did he ever tell you why?” 

The girl froze for a moment, glancing at the phone screen to see San watching her, having temporarily stopped curling her hair to gauge her reaction. After a second of hesitation, she slowly shook her head. 

“No…” she answered slowly, shaking her head immediately afterward and giving a tight-lipped smile. “But…it’s fine. He’ll tell me when he’s ready.” 

Before she could look at San’s reaction, a notification on the top of her phone screen distracted her. Jieun reached forward and grabbed her phone, opening her messages to see what she’d been sent.

Wooyoung oppa: You almost ready?

She read the message over a couple times, fingers hovering over the keyboard as she tried to decide what to say. A chuckle behind her made her raise her head despite the fact that she couldn’t see her reflection.

“I’m almost done, don’t worry,” San said, having read the message over her shoulder. 

Jieun smiled, humming as she turned back to her phone. 

Me: Yeah, I’ll be done in a bit

Without waiting for a reply, Jieun locked her phone and placed it face-down on the desk before adjusting her posture. She let out a small sigh, waiting patiently as San continued on her hair. 

A couple minutes later, San placed the straightener back down on the desk. He ran his fingers through her hair, brushing out the curls before placing her hair over her shoulders. 

“Alright, all done,” he said, taking a step back. 

Jieun stood up, walking over to the mirror to see the results. The moment she saw her reflection, a wide smile spread across her face. 

“You’re better at curling my hair than I am,” she commented, brushing a few parts of her hair. Jieun turned to the older boy, who watched her with a fond smile. “Thank you, oppa.” 

San shook his head as he walked up to her, patting her on the head before moving back to his bed. 

“You should get changed now. Don’t want to keep Wooyoung waiting too long, do we?” 

Jieun immediately nodded and without waiting, turned back and opened her drawers. She looked through her clothes for a couple seconds before picking out a few pieces and throwing them over her shoulder. With one final smile in San’s direction, Jieun retreated to the bathroom. 

She emerged a couple minutes later, wearing a white dress with a brown leather jacket over it. San watched as she walked around the corner with a sheepish smile, brushing herself off. She looked at him expectantly.

“Give us a spin, Eunnie,” he said with a grin. Jieun laughed as she walked in a circle, placing her hands on her hips. San raised his hand to give the girl a thumbs up. “Tell Wooyoung to have you back by 11.” 

She rolled her eyes lightheartedly, shaking her head at the boy. “You sound like Hongjoong-oppa.” Without waiting for a response, she reached for her bag and one of the room keys before slipping her shoes on. Before walking toward the door, she waved. “Bye, oppa.” 

“Have fun~” San sang, smirking to himself as she disappeared from sight.  

The moment he knew she was out of the room, San immediately went to his contacts and pressed on one, holding the phone up to his ear. After a couple rings, a “hello?” from the other side sounded through his phone’s speakers.