Stories from the Barber - Enlistment by Nanashi

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It had been a rather slow day, being in the middle of the school "summer" holidays, but considering being in a tropical country it's always summer, there really wasn't much of a difference.

I had barely any customers in the morning, and was just reading some magazines to pass the time. Besides, when the holidays end, there's always a rush of shaggy kids that need a shearing before school starts again. I was almost tempted to close up early, considering keeping the store open was just wasting money on electricity. Perks of being your own boss I guess.

After a slight spike in traffic during lunch hours as some office workers came over to get a trim, it was back to being deserted.

I run a small barbershop in a relatively older district, surrounded by quite a few schools, which are my main clientele. I'm quite popular with students, which I attribute to my age. I only graduated from barber school about 2 years ago, being only 24, I guess it makes me a "better" choice than older barbers as I'm closer to them in age and probably wouldn't scalp them.

My shop doesn't have much, with just one plush leather chair and a small hair washing area at the back of the shop, with the "waiting area" being a small 2 seat sofa.

As i was making myself a cup of black coffee in the back room, I heard the door open.

Boss? You there?

I recognised that voice almost immediately.

Ivan, give me a sec yea?

You see, I wasn't the original owner of this shop. I was attached here as an apprentice in barber school and the previous owner, Jason, took a liking to me. He was close to retiring anyways, so he decided to sell it to me after I graduated. Anyways, Jason has been cutting Ivan's hair since he was a kid, and he had become a good regular of mine. We had become good friends during my apprenticeship, with his head being one of the first few I practiced on come to think of it.

Take a seat first, I'm making some coffee, u want some too?

After hearing some murmuring, he replied, 2 cups thanks.

2? Curiosity got the better of me and I peeked out of the back room.

Ivan had already taken a seat, with his usual short wavy undercut, and a stranger sitting at the sofa. The stranger was rather scrawny, with a rather nervous energy to him. He has the popular korean "mushroom" bowl undercut, with his fringe framing his spectacles, and his sides just covering the tip of his ear.

Yea, his name is Jae. He's one of my classmates.

Well, it wasn't a surprise Ivan brought a friend over. He has done so quite a few times, and his friends usually end up being regulars afterwards too.

Here's the coffee, placing it on the coffee table in from of the sofa.

Jae seemed to nod in thanks, but was visibly trembling when picking up the cup. I wonder why, normally Ivan would reassure his friends before coming. Still, I didn't think much of it.

Coming behind Ivan, I was observing his hair in the mirror.

The usual? Also, didn't I already remind you to stop using so much clay? I mean, I get it, with your wavy hair and hand combing, there's a very nice texture and definition to your layers. But still, you're damaging it. And it's a pain to wash off cos of how much you've used and how thick your hair is. Or you just like to hear me complain praise your hair every time huh? To which he replied with a snicker. Meanwhile, at the corner of my eye, I could see Jae start to shake abit, avoiding looking at us.

Well, you see, you don't have to wash it today, he replied, before showing me a picture on his phone.

It was his enlistment paper. As some background info, conscription is compulsory in my country, where after college they would have to serve for 2 years. It's a "rite of passage" for all male citizens(we don't have a say). The usual practice to get your hair cut before your enlistment, mainly because the barbers they have are horrible and often leave them looking like a badly mowed lawn.

Well, you ready?

As much as I hate it, yeah. Let's do it. Just...make it fast yea.

Sure. I could tell it was he was rather reluctant, being someone who always took pride in his hair.

While caping him up, I looked towards Jae and asked, "and you?"

He was fumbling with his words, and I could already sort of guess why he was here before Ivan spoke up and said, "same reason"

"I see, don't worry man"

Jae was visibly nervous, and plugging in the clippers didn't help. As soon as I turn it on, I could see a visible reaction as Jae's body shook.

Ivan, on the other hand, stuck his hand out from under the cape, phone taking a photo and starting to record it.

Really?

Might as well right?

Running my hands through his hair one last time, messing it up from its previously rigid style, I asked, "You ready?". To which he just nodded.

Starting from the sides, with no guard on the clipper, I ran it up from the side to the undercut part, removing about half an inch of hair to reveal white skin. Jae was already starting to shake. As per Ivan's request, I quickly peeled away the remaining short hair on the sides and back. Left with just the top, I placed it at the right side of the his forehead, before running it towards his crown, leaving nothing but white skin behind. Jae was looking paler by the minute. Ivan tried to reassure him as I continued demolishing the top of Ivan's scalp, only to end up eating a few tufts of his hair, causing us to both chuckle but seemingly causing Jae to be more agitated. As much as I enjoyed it, it was also kinda sad considering how long I've spent on helping him perfect his hairstyle.

Leaving barely any stubble, I cleaned up his sideburns and neckline before dusting off whatever hair was left, and then removed the cape, walking him to the washing area and cleaning up the stray strands of hair with a wash.

Finally done, he walked over to Jae and asked how'd he look. Jae, finally seeing Ivan from the front, seemingly freaked out and bolted, causing Ivan to chase after him. I was honestly quite amused, I've seen my fair share of unwilling conscripts, but it's the first time someone actually ran out. I trusted Ivan would be back for the payment, so I just continued the cleaning process by sweeping up his hair. Considering the length of Jae's hair, it would've been really fun. Well, what a shame.

Luckily for me, less than 5min later, both of them returned, much sweatier than before. Whatever product Jae was using beforehand started clumping up due to sweat and the back of his shirt was soaked.

He apologised, saying he was quite nervous and kind of freaked out.

Hey, don't worry bro. I know how you feel. It sucks, but I'll try and make it more tolerable.

After some more coaxing from Ivan, he then gingerly sat in the chair. While caping him up, I asked how he would prefer me to do it. I could use clippers like Ivan, it would be faster but more drastic, or I could use scissors too to gradually bring down the length

Option 1

Just finish is fast please…

Starting from the back, I ran it up his thick plush hair, making it a point to ensure the hair ends up on the floor instead of the cape. Thankfully, with the view he had, he couldn't see much difference yet, so he remained rather calm.

However, when I moved to the right side, it didn't go as well. Rather quickly, his ear was being uncovered, and I could see him start to tremble more. Ivan continued reassuring him, but to not much luck. He was beginning to tear up when I was done with the right side, and the worst was yet to come.

From the right side, I slipped the clippers under his fringe and ran it up, and with 2 quick swipes obliterated most of his fringe and top. Unfortunately, he didn't have a fringe to absorb the tears anymore and it just rolled down his face. I just tried my best to clean up, and within a minute I was done.

He didn't say much as I uncaped him, and seeing the massacre on the floor didn't help. Ivan just asked him to go out first while he settled the bill. He reassured me that he would be fine, and thanked me for not dragging it on.

Well, good luck in the army man, take care of him too.

It was rather good day altogether, considering the drastic changes I enacted. Still, there are many much more cruel and entertaining stories I'll share another time.

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