The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me – Chapter 112

Author: Asternkm

After leaving the operations room, I headed straight back to the residential area.

Maybe it had sensed that the basilisk’s presence was gone, because a few spiders had gathered nearby.

We simply stared at each other for about ten seconds.

Then the spiders ran away first.

‘…This is the first time I’ve seen monsters run away from me while living here.’

Learned fear really was something.

On the way back, I also checked the trap that had been broken earlier.

The scouting team must have inspected it while I was gone, because it had been repaired perfectly.

I walked up to the closed door and knocked.

A voice came from the other side.

“Password.”

At this point, I could tell who it was just from their voice.

It was Jang Gyu-min, who had been assigned to standby duty starting this week.

I let out a small laugh.

“What is this, mister? Did you all come up with a password while I was gone?”

“Hearing your answer tells me it’s definitely Hye-a.”

The sound of metal clinking echoed as the door opened.

Standing beside it was Mr. Gyu-min with his usual warm smile.

Before everything happened, he had been an elementary school teacher.

Unlike his serious-looking face, he was playful and loved making jokes.

When I first met him, his cheeks had been so thin that he looked irritable.

These days, though, he had been eating well and getting enough rest, so his expression had brightened like everyone else’s.

But the moment he saw me, he sucked in a short breath.

“Hye-a… your face… What happened to your hair?”

“Oh.”

I had completely forgotten.

One side had been hacked off in a huge chunk.

Anyone who saw it would immediately know something had gone wrong.

I absentmindedly touched the uneven ends of my hair.

“There was a monster that could turn people to stone. My hair got petrified, so I had to cut it off.”

“Stone… Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“No. I’m perfectly fine, so don’t worry. More importantly, mister, did the scouting team come back? I noticed the broken trap had already been repaired.”

“Ah… They said they’d be back by three today. They wanted to search a little farther out.”

Once the sun began to set, monsters became much more active.

So even before I arrived, there had been one strict rule here.

No matter what happened, everyone had to return before four o’clock.

Even though they had gone farther than usual, I wasn’t especially worried.

We had spent every day together exploring the surrounding area, fighting monsters, and gathering useful materials to make armor and weapons.

More than anything else, everyone understood that survival came first.

None of them would ever do anything reckless.

That was why Mr. Gyu-min’s face only showed concern for me.

There wasn’t much anxiety about the others.

I nodded, said goodbye, and went inside the building.

The lobby was empty.

The adults were probably busy with their own work, and the children were most likely studying.

I had intended to go straight to see the director.

But first, I really needed to do something about my hair.

I had scissors in my bag, so I headed out to the balcony to wash up as well.

Compared to when I first arrived, the shower area had been expanded quite a bit.

It even had a full-length mirror now.

They had removed mirrors from the bathrooms in the empty rooms, attached them to a board, and stood it upright.

It turned out to be incredibly useful.

And the person staring back at me in the mirror…

…looked like a complete mess.

I already knew my hair was ruined.

But I also had cuts all over my face and arms.

Now I understood why Mr. Gyu-min had looked so shocked.

Usually, I came back looking exactly the same as when I left.

I took off my coat, shook the dust off it, locked the door, and decided to take a proper shower.

Afterward, I grabbed my wet hair and started cutting it more evenly.

There were still petrified sections higher up, so I kept cutting.

Before I knew it, it was shorter than shoulder length.

The ends were uneven, making it look pretty terrible.

‘…It’ll look better once it grows out.’

My hairstyle wasn’t exactly important.

Besides, it felt lighter and cooler this way.

After washing myself carefully, I took out the first-aid kit, put ointment on the cuts I could see, and covered them with bandages.

The clothes I had changed out of would become clean if I left them in my room, so I carried them back with me.

On the way, I happened to run into Su-yeong, who was carrying a basket of laundry.

She walked toward me with a bright smile.

The closer she got, the stiffer her expression became.

“Hye-a… your hair…”

“Oh, there was a monster that turns people to stone. My hair got petrified, so I just cut it off.”

I repeated the same explanation I had given Mr. Gyu-min.

Su-yeong looked back and forth between my bandaged arms and legs before letting out a sigh.

“It doesn’t look like you’re seriously hurt. Thank goodness… Are you in a hurry? If not, come back outside with me. I’ll make your hair look nice.”

“You?”

“Yeah, me. Didn’t I ever tell you? I’m the one who cuts everyone’s hair.”

Her casual tone caught me off guard for a second before I understood.

Come to think of it, there weren’t exactly any hair salons left in this world.

Someone had to do it.

I already knew Su-yeong was good with her hands.

Now I was impressed for an entirely different reason.

“You’re seriously hardworking…”

She was already busy from morning until night every single day.

And on top of that, she was cutting everyone’s hair too.

Su-yeong smiled sheepishly and opened the door leading outside.

She brought over a small chair for me to sit on and wrapped a barber’s cape around my neck.

Judging by how familiar it looked, she had probably taken it from the salon that used to be inside headquarters.

After drying my damp hair a little more, she combed it carefully, checked the length, and finally began cutting.

Snip. Snip.

The sound of scissors and falling hair brushed softly against the cape.

I honestly wouldn’t have cared if she’d cut it roughly.

But Su-yeong worked slowly and carefully, trimming my bangs and the sides until she finally smiled in satisfaction.

“There. Done. Take a look.”

She brushed away the loose hairs, removed the cape, and handed me the mirror.

It was even shorter than before.

But it looked much better.

“Thanks, unni.”

“It’s nothing. Still… it’s kind of a shame. Your hair used to reach all the way to your waist.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t growing it on purpose. I just left it alone and it got that long… Actually, there is one good thing about having short hair.”

“Is it easier to wash?”

“Yeah. When I washed it just now, it was so much easier. It dried really fast too.”

“Exactly. Honestly, I cut mine short because I got tired of taking care of it. You even save soap, so it’s a win-win. Da-hye unni’s hair used to be just as long as yours, but she asked me to cut it too. And Ye-eun said she was sick of getting hair in the food while cooking, so she wanted me to shave almost all of it off.”

“…You didn’t actually shave it, did you?”

“I really did. At first she loved it. But then winter came, and she complained that her head felt freezing. You know how Ye-eun always gets up early to make breakfast? She ended up wrapping sweaters and scarves around her head all the time. She said she finally realized how valuable hair is. I guess she wasn’t wrong.”

I couldn’t help agreeing as Su-yeong shrugged.

After chatting a little while cleaning up, Su-yeong went back to her work.

I headed up to the second floor.

When I knocked and entered Room 202, the director froze with the exact same expression Su-yeong had worn earlier.

“Hye-a…”

“Yes, mister. I dealt with the basilisk, but my hair got petrified, so I cut it off. I’m not seriously hurt, so don’t worry.”

“…”

“I’ve been underestimating monsters.”

“I think I need to study properly before leaving headquarters.”

“Could you help me?”

“…Of course.”

Just looking at the director’s face, I could tell he had been waiting for me to bring it up first.