Waiting for yesterday UPDATED 이미 이루어졌다

육 part six- playing hairdresser

"Please," I beg my mum. "

"Okay," says mum.

"After you do my hair."

Truth is, I'm not that interested in dad's book. Are you forgetting I'm seventeen inside? It's obvious what the story is. The mu-tang is me. In the future-future, I write a book about time-travelling, and tell dad mum's Name. Then dad writes a book about that. I need to get my hands on my future book, and I get the feeling that Ethan knows how. Or maybe I just want an excuse to be with Ethan. I don't care if he's not biracial.

I don't actually know how to dye hair. I look around my room and see that there's bleach, and other things which I presume are for perms because they look like the things that I've seen when I've gone to hairdressers, long sticks and rubber bands. Mum says that she wants her hair to be a light brown, but aside from her grey roots her hair is black. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to make her hair lighter. Do I use bleach or will that make her blonde? What is developer? I've never actually dyed hair before and I'm impatient. I decide to use the bleach just on the part that doesn't have roots. I figure I'll leave it just for five minutes, just to lighten her hair so I can dye over it brown.

I haven't spoken to mum since yesterday but it's a bit sad that ten years have passed since we've talked in this magic world. Ten years where I haven't spoken a word to her and said, hey how are you? Let's catch up over coffee, or hey what are you like besides being a mum?

I'm not really sure why I was ever a hairdresser. If this is a dream it's been going on for way too long. It's dawning on me that this is no dream. God actually answered my prayer and made me grown up. I ask mum when I got so interested in hair and beauty.

"Around the time of your higher school certificate," says mum. "You wanted to drop out and do hairdressing."

"Did I really drop out of school?"

"What's going on with you that you can't remember?"

"I think I'm just tired and overworked."

"Of course you didn't drop out, I made you finish high school. But then you went ahead and deferred University and did a hairdressing apprenticeship."

We keep talking about my past when mum suddenly says her hair itches. I take off the silver aluminium foil that I'd used to cover her hair, like I'd seen once before, and mums hair is completely peroxide blonde!

She starts crying, actually crying. I don't know what on earth to do, except drive her to the hairdressers straight away. The whole time in the car she's silent and I have no idea what she's thinking. I realise then how little I know my own mum.

"Mum," I say, "I am so sorry."

"I can't go to work like this," she says. Mum works at an office doing administration work. As far as I know anyway. Maybe ten years into the future she's changed her job. "Mum," I say, "where do you work?"

"Your father and I own a coaching college franchise," she says. "You work there. How can you not know this?"

"Wait, what?" I say. "I'm a tutor not a teacher?"

"Well sometimes you teach but technically you don't have a teaching degree so you're actually only supposed to be doing the tutoring."

"What?" I scream. "I'm a twenty eight year old tutor, not even a teacher?"

I'm completely devastated. I guess technically Matt didn't say that I worked at a school, he just said that I was an English teacher. Mum tells me that after I gave up hairdressing I tried to do a teaching degree but found it too exhausting so I just worked at her coaching college, which she started five years ago. I'm so disappointed that at my age I'm still just a private tutor. That's the kind of work you do in high school to get extra pocket money, not a career. I'm so upset that ten years from now, I'm still a private tutor and I'm married to Matt. Not that I hate Matt, I just don't love him. Completely embarrassed with my life, I escort mum to the hairdressing salon. She's got her hair covered with a shower cap. That's when I see someone very familiar at the hairdressing salon, getting their hair cut.

"I want my hair short," says the man of average height but really good build. He's wearing a really sharp suit and has hair around his ears. It looks quite overgrown. He's speaking in Korean, or at least trying to. When he turns around I see that it's Ethan Lee, all grown up. Here to get a haircut For the reunion presumably. "Where is Lydia Bae?" He asks, in broken Korean. "I thought she works here."

He turns around and sees me.

"Hey," he says. "There you are."

I don't feel it. The way I felt about Ethan ten years ago, I just don't feel it. He's good looking to be sure, but I don't feel a sizzle. That kind of— oh my God I can't breathe sizzle. But I do notice he's an attractive guy. Matt would probably say that I'm a traitor. Also I'm married. Although... technically I don't even remember dating Matt let alone marrying him! I came into the future because of a prayer!

"He wants his hair neat," I say to the hairdresser, somehow knowing that what he means is that he wants his hair short, but not too short. Not like a hippie but not like a military guy either. Just neat.

The hairdresser looks at me and her face splits into a huge smile. Suddenly she's talking a mile a minute in korean, and even I don't understand what she's saying.

"Will you be doing my hair?" Says Ethan to me, except he says something more like, "will you do my hair?" 너 가 내 머리가락을 할 거야? Like that. Like he's proposing in kindergarten,

"Yes," I say.

Everybody stares at me. Presumably the hairdresser was my old colleague and knows I don't work here anymore. Presumably mum also knows I don't work here anymore and also knows that I don't know the first thing about doing hair. I beg them with my eyes not to say anything. But they don't get the hint. They both start talking and I say, in korean, I'll do his hair for old times sake.

Thankfully ethan doesn't know what I said. His korean really is bad. Next thing I know I'm draping an apron around my crushes neck, about to cut his hair. The hairdresser passes me a shaver to shave his hair, and a pair of scissors. I look in the mirror and Ethans eyes catch mine. His eyes are hooded, like that actor. Like Charlotte Rampling, if Charlotte Rampling was a male. I don't know any other male actors with eyes like that. Daniel Henney? There could be more korean actors nowadays but I've skipped ahead ten years in my life so I don't know. He really is so very beautiful. I look across at my mum, who has taken off her shower cap and is getting her hair done by my old colleague. Mum does not look happy at all. She obviously recognises Ethan lee. Ethan and I can't stop looking at each other in the mirror as I bring the scissors to his ear.

"Ethan," I say, "have you by any chance read a book written by me?"

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