Short hair for a boy

Once upon a time in the heartland of America lived a 6-year-old boy named George with his young, 22-year-old mother. One sunny afternoon, his mom took him to a neighborhood hair salon for a scheduled haircut. She had already arranged everything, even prepaying the fee for George's haircut. As they reached the salon, she gently nestled him at the entry and said, "Now sweetie, just go in and say your name is George and the nice lady will know what to do." With a slight nod, he turned nervously to face the hair salon. "Ok, mommy", he squeaked, before walking into the salon. Inside, he found himself greeted by a lone woman sitting behind the counter. She was 53-year-old Yun-Ji, a Korean woman who had grown up in South Korea until the age of 35 before moving to America. Her English was mostly broken, but she managed it well. Standing at a short height, she wore a Korean style pixie cut with bobbing earrings, an elegant blazer over a small white blouse, and a short skirt. With each step she took, her platform sandals echoed through the salon. Her stylish, red painted nails caught George's attention, distinct against the backdrop of her brown eyes, slanting just a little. Nervously, George mumbled, "Um, hi. I'm George." He shyly announced his name, which Yun-Ji registered with an understanding nod. In her somewhat womanly yet accented voice, Yun-Ji replied, "Oh hi there, George. Your mom call in appointment to hair cut come and sit down in chair and I cut hair for you." As instructed, George got himself comfortable in the chair and watched Yun-Ji through the mirror as she began to work her magic. George saw his reflection transform with each snip. Happy with his new look, he carefully hopped off the chair, but, lost in his excitement, tripped over a dip in the salon floor. As he reached out blindly for support, his hand caught onto Yun-Ji, who was heading towards the salon entrance. Instantly, a jolt passed through his hand, causing everything to turn dark in a matter of seconds. He could hear his voice, sounding slightly distant, apologizing to Yun-Ji and wishing her a good day as the salon door opened and closed noiselessly. Opening his eyes again, George noticed he was taller than before. He looked down to see himself dressed in Yun-Ji's stylish outfit; the blazer, blouse, short skirt, platform sandals, and he could feel the subtle tickle of the earrings against his neck. He examined the red nail polish on his fingernails and toenails, and the ring on his left ring finger. Looking into the mirror again, George's innocent eyes shone through Yun-Ji's mature, brown slanted ones. Startled, George rubbed his palms over the skirt and the blouse. He mimicked out, "I'm...uh...scared. I want mommy. Want to go home. I'm a boy. I'm not...uh...a girl." His voice echoed through the salon, sounding very feminine and heavy with a Korean accent. Feeling disoriented and panicky, he had just slipped the platform sandals back onto his feet when a woman entered the salon asking for her ‘usual’. She moved to a chair while George sped back into the salon, tripping over the platform sandals but managing to keep them on his feet. He saw his reflection – the red nails, the wedding ring, Yun-Ji's attire – and retreated under a styling table. His heart pounded against his chest in fear as he kept his terrified gaze on the platform sandals. Overwhelmed and frightened, George whimpered, "I want...uh...mom. Want to go home. I'm not a woman. Why? Didn't do anything...uh...wrong." He curled up under the table, squeezing his eyes shut, hoping that this strange experience would soon pass and he would return to his own body. Little did he know that, for now, he was bound to stay in the body of Yun-Ji, with a new life awaiting him in her shoes. Unforeseen circumstances led him on this journey, and it seemed he was destined to remain Yun-Ji, at least for now, to understand her life better and cultivate a new perspective for himself.