I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

24.

“The teacher… has already left.”

It seemed the children had been playing unsupervised and this incident had occurred. Jian ran his fingers through Sehun’s hair. Cut hair strands fell to the floor in clumps.

Sensing the serious atmosphere, Hyunsu hesitantly approached Jian.

“Sehun’s hair seemed too long, so I just wanted to trim it a little… but it didn’t go well…”

Just looking at the child’s face, it was clear there was no malice. Jian had been thinking about trimming Sehun’s hair when it got hotter anyway.

“I’m not scolding you. Let’s clean up the floor together and eat first.”

“Okay…”

A dejected Hyunsu put the scissors on the table and started sweeping the floor with his hands. Jian brought a garbage bag and put the clumps of hair into it as he picked them up.

After cleaning up all the scattered hair with a vacuum cleaner, he temporarily tied up Sehun’s hair, who had been sitting blankly, with a rubber band.

“Let’s go to the hair salon after we eat.”

Nod, nod.

Sehun seemed unbothered despite his hair being a mess.

***

“Hello.”

The math teacher who was responsible for the afternoon session arrived after they had finished eating the delivered food and cleaning up.

“But why is Sehun’s hair… like this?”

“Well, what happened was…”

The teacher’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Sehun’s hair, and Jian felt exhausted after explaining in detail how the children had been playing and this had happened.

Leaving Hyunsu with the teacher, Jian took only Sehun out. As passersby kept glancing at Sehun, Jian walked while cooling his flushed face with the back of his hand.

“Welcome. Oh my, the child’s hair…”

They received curious looks even when they entered a nearby hair salon. There was a hint of disapproval in the eyes looking at Jian.

To make matters worse, Sehun was wearing the cat T-shirt with a stretched-out neck that he wore almost every day, making him look even more unkempt.

After explaining the situation to the salon owner and leaving Sehun in their care, Jian’s throat felt dry, and he went to the water dispenser and drank three cups in a row.

Having hurriedly calmed himself, Jian walked over to Sehun, who was sitting in the chair. Though it was much better now, at first, Sehun had reacted strongly when someone touched his head.

Placing his hand on the child’s crown, Jian met his eyes in the mirror.

“Sehun, this person is going to touch your head to fix your hair now. Is that okay?”

Nod, nod.

Sehun nodded his head instead of answering verbally. Jian gently stroked the child’s head and stepped back.

“I’ll put the gown on you.”

The hairstylist approached and put the gown on Sehun’s upper body. When the rubber band was removed, hair of different lengths fell below his shoulders.

Spritz, spritz, as the spray bottle misted water, the hair became shiny. Jian stayed by Sehun’s side while the child quietly received his haircut.

Occasionally, when Sehun bit his lip as if it was hard to endure, Jian would hold the tips of his fingers peeking out from under the gown to comfort him.

“The baby’s hair seems to be slightly wavy. I think it would look pretty if we just trim it this much. What do you think?”

Being experienced, the hairstylist finished Sehun’s haircut quickly. Seeing the dramatic change from when they entered the salon, Jian smiled brightly, meeting Sehun’s eyes in the mirror.

He could finally relax now. He had been so embarrassed by the looks they were getting, as if people suspected child abuse – with Sehun wearing old, oversized clothes and his hair in such a mess.

“It looks really pretty. Do you like it too, Sehun?”

The child, who had been touching his crown and the ends of his hair with both hands as if unfamiliar with the shorter length, nodded slightly.

While his appearance had seemed androgynous when his hair was long, the new hairstyle made him look much more like a boy.

“He’s so well-behaved. Usually, other kids can’t sit still, so their moms have to give them something with a screen to watch.”

As the hairstylist praised him and tried to touch his hair, Sehun naturally avoided the touch and got down from the chair. Then he hid behind Jian’s back.

The flustered hairstylist awkwardly laughed with her hand left in mid-air, and Jian also smiled back sheepishly.

“I think it’s because you’re so skilled. Thank you. How much is it?”

“It’s usually 80,000 won, but since the baby is so cute, I’ll do it for 70,000 won. Come again next time. Boys’ hair grows so quickly, you know.”

“Yes, we will.”

On the way out after paying, Sehun held Jian’s hand with one hand while continuously touching his hair with the other.

“Does it feel strange to have shorter hair?”

“Yes…”

It was his first time getting a haircut at a place like this. When he was younger, the researchers would frequently open his head for experiments, so even the slightest touch to his head would make him murderous.

Thanks to the healing potion, there were no scars, but the pain he felt at the time was still vivid in his memory.

Sehun looked up at Jian. The only person who had overlaid happy memories day by day on top of his painful and unhappy memories.

Now that his hair was shorter, would he feel the sensation of Jian’s fingertips lathering shampoo even more clearly?

The reason he had quietly let Hyunsu play with his hair was simple.

As he learned about the outside world day by day after meeting Jian, he came to know that boys usually have short hair.

‘Your hair is long, so you look like a girl. I’ll cut it for you.’

He had thought about cutting it himself, but it was bothersome, so he let Hyunsu do it. He was a bit anxious when Hyunsu excitedly started cutting, but he also calculated that Hyunsu might be disliked by Jian because of this.

Contrary to his expectations, Jian didn’t scold Hyunsu, but Sehun was still happy to be able to go out alone with Jian, skipping class.

Whenever he saw the affection overflowing in the eyes looking at him, Sehun felt a pleasant satisfaction, but also an emptiness as if there was a hole in a corner of his heart.

It wasn’t enough. He wished Jian would look only at him, care only for him, and treat everyone else like dust floating in the air. Just as everything except Jian appeared gray to his eyes, he wished Jian would see the world the same way.

“They’re selling bungeoppang in this weather.”

Following Jian’s gaze, Sehun smelled a sweet scent. The unfamiliar word piqued his curiosity. Having survived only on pills in the research facility, eating delicious food with Jian had become Sehun’s new joy.

“Do you want to try bungeoppang?”

Noticing Sehun licking his lips, Jian smiled and headed towards the truck selling bungeoppang. A mild-mannered looking man was skillfully flipping the molds filled with bungeoppang batter with a skewer.

“Hello. Can I have five red bean bungeoppang and five cream bungeoppang, please?”

“Cash only.”

“Okay. Here you go.”

Excited to taste a nostalgic flavor after a long time, Jian willingly paid 20,000 won.

The man put five pre-made bungeoppang in a bag and added five freshly made ones before handing it to Jian.

“Thank you. Hope you sell a lot.”

Jian bowed his head in thanks after receiving the bag and turned around. He took out one of the bungeoppang on top and handed it to Sehun.

“The cream one is delicious too, but the red bean one will be tastier. Try it. Be careful, it’s hot.”

Sehun held the bungeoppang with both hands, looking curious. The warm heat stung his fingertips.

Jian also took a bite from the head of the bungeoppang, enjoying its crispy texture. He chuckled seeing Sehun nibbling on the head as well.

The child’s cheeks gradually turned rosy. Seeing how much he was enjoying it made Jian feel proud. By the time they arrived home, only two bungeoppang were left.

“Should we give these to Hyunsu and the teacher?”

After hesitating for a moment, Sehun nodded slightly. Jian handed the bag to Sehun and said goodbye.

“Study hard. I’ll be back after work.”

“Okay.”

Two hours had already passed since the break time. After making sure Sehun went inside, Jian hurried towards the cafe. A few hunters standing in front of the closed door greeted him.

“Boss, you raised the prices and now you’re flexibly operating the business hours too? That’s too much.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll give you a 50% discount instead.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I’m the owner, after all.”

He soothed the customers who had become irritable from waiting and prepared for the afternoon business. He was so busy taking orders, making drinks, and cleaning up for the constantly incoming customers that he didn’t notice Hyunwoo standing in front of him.

“Business seems good.”

“Oh, hyung. You’re here?”

“I told you to speak comfortably.”

“I’m more comfortable this way.”

Just as the children had become closer, Jian had also grown closer to Hyunwoo by having many conversations with him.

Hyunwoo’s age was twenty-five, similar to what Jian had expected. Although Hyunwoo said it was okay to speak casually, Jian felt guilty about being too familiar with someone five years older than him.

“Were the little ones well-behaved today?”

“There was a bit of an incident, but it wasn’t a big deal.”

“What happened?”