Yiyoung consistently practiced taking a few steps outside alone. She would improve each day, and the feeling of slowly returning to her normal life set her heart aflutter. She felt like she could fly in the open sky. Yiyoung had decided to visit a hair salon first once she was finally able to walk outside properly. Yiyoung decided that once she could finally walk alone outside, she would go to the hair salon first. She was determined to straighten her curly hair, wanting to try a different look for herself. And with that longing for freedom, Yiyoung persisted in her attempts to face the world independently.

Once she felt good enough, Yiyoung began to search for salons near her place. Aside from getting a basic haircut, she had never had her hair done. Taking Jaehee’s advice, she looked up a salon close to her house which had the best reviews and made a reservation. Then, she left the house confidently, trying to make it to the appointment on time.

On the way to the salon, Yiyoung was gripped with the impulse to go back home a few times. As she walked on, she kept one hand on the walls of the buildings, the other hand clenching a paper bag. Whenever she was faced with a crosswalk, she grew scared. And when there were no walls around her to rely on, her body trembled in fear.

But she never gave up. She wanted to surprise Muyeol with a new hairstyle. By the time she finally reached the salon, her body was soaked with sweat.

“Are you okay?” the staff asked her.

Yiyoung smiled in response. She succeeded in her journey; she could finally tolerate being outside. Everything was going to be fine now.

But then she had to sit down for a long while, and the ache in her hips made her sigh deeply. As she waited for her hair treatment to be completed, she grew sleepy. She didn’t know it would take so long; she wished someone had informed of this before. Since she had never sat for so long, her back began to hurt, too.

“It’s almost over,” the hair stylist said when she noticed Yiyoung falling asleep, “Thank you for your patience.”

“Oh, really? Thank you.” Yiyoung drew a breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The hair stylist had sprayed neutralizer on her mane-like hair. The next step would be washing it out.

Yiyoung wondered how she was going to look after the treatment was done. She couldn’t imagine herself with straight hair. Would her hair be silky-smooth, or would it look too heavy? She hoped it would feel smooth since that was a feeling she had never experienced.

If she liked the outcome, Yiyoung wanted to take a nice picture for her passport for when she would accompany Muyeol on his business trips.

Just thinking about it made her heart flutter, and her eyes brightened.

“Come this way, please. We’re going to wash your hair now,” said the hair stylist.

Yiyoung grew excited; the procedure would end soon!

But when it was over and her hairstyle was complete, Yiyoung looked at the mirror skeptically. “Did you… put something in my eyes?”

“No, it’s your hair. Look at how great it turned out!” The hair stylist ran a hand through Yiyoung’s hair and lifted it before dropping it to show her how smooth her hair had turned out.

Yiyoung was ecstatic to see and feel such sleek hair. Even though the wait was long, the result was great. Yiyoung stood up. “You’ve shown me a miracle. Thank you.”

“We want to thank you,” said the staff.

When Yiyoung was paying at the register, she looked out the window and spotted some tree branches swaying in the wind. She thought of how her hair would flutter in the same wind and was delighted.

She wanted to get a good picture of herself while her hair still looked so great. “Excuse me, I’m sorry. Could you please take a picture of me?”

“Of course.”