No Ordinary Love |KTH|

Joy and Pain

"Oooh look at youuu! You look so pretty Ellie." My aunt beams and spins the chair around for me to get first glimpse of myself in the mirror.

But the person I saw was unrecognizable. This girl is absolutely stunning and it takes me a moment to realize that her features, are my features. I watched from the mirror how my mouth stretched into a huge smile and I began to laugh and giggle uncontrollably. Life under control, this is what she looks like.

I couldn't thank my aunt enough as I hugged her with all the might I could. I hoped through this hug she would know how precious of a gift this was to me.

"Anytime hun, don't worry." She told me and went on to the next person who was waiting. Just then the door to the shop opened and the bell ringed alerting us of newcomers. A woman—who had to be arriving just in her mid-forties waltzes in with all luxuries accompanying her. She had a small dog under her arm as she walked with her heels jutting outwards on the ground.

The atmosphere in the salon changed momentarily. All conversations paused, hairdryers stopped, the sound of rinsing ceased when she walked in. Her presence was truly, overbearing. But then there was a gasp, followed by immediate whispers. So much so that they were just loud talking.

The woman came up to the front desk and my aunt greeted her with the same smile she does for every customer.

"Hello welcome, do you have an appointment?" She asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. But I heard a lot about this place from the townsfolk. They said to look for Melissa." The woman glanced over between everyone but landed her eyes back on my aunt.

She smiled. "I'm Melissa love and I'll be more than happy to hook you up. Can I get a name please?"

"Ms. Kim will be fine."

"Alright, then Ms. Kim if you don't mind following me to the washing stations." There's something so interesting about the way my aunt knows how to make anyone feel comfortable when speaking to her.

She never seems to judge based on first impressions and always does her best to make a person feel right at home in her company. While reading a magazine and sitting in an empty chair I smiled to myself and shook my head because I knew it could never be me.

"Wait let me call my son in. He's visiting with me as well." Ms. Kim said, pausing to pull out her phone and places it to her ear. A few minutes later the door opened again and someone had walked in doing the same thing she did.

It was like a pen could drop.

I'm still looking down at the magazine at this time but a hush went silent over the ladies in the salon. There was no immediate reaction from anyone and the air felt a bit harsh and light at the same time. Eyes burned a hole through the back of my head and as I turned in its direction I froze.

There standing at the threshold was Taehyung and he looked just as surprised as I am to see him here. The world around us didn't exist anymore, and it was only us two here. My heart did cartwheels in my chest and it ringed throughout my ears.

He wore a dress shirt that was all colors of autumn. Blues, yellows, and oranges all combined to make his sunny tan skin shine. His shirt was tucked in a french tuck and a belt wrapped around his waist with black solid dress pants.

A beret sat comfortably atop his head with a bag strapped around his body. With the sun coming in through the door he could've been seen as a shining star walking the earth. But his eyes were fixated on me, making me feel somewhat as important as he was.

"Is this your son?" One lady asked not taking her eyes off him as he walked over to the side of his mom.

Ms. Kim laughs seeing everyone's reaction to him and then hands him the dog. She brushed off the fur and sighed. "Handsome isn't he? Thank god for my genes or he would've come out looking like his father."