A: Honestly, I don't know why I'm sitting here. One second I was somewhere else; the next, here I am at your mercy. Now I think perhaps I had no choice. It's drizzling outside, the whole street is black, and yours is the only place with its lights on. As though you summoned me inside. You understand? I didn't actually want to come tonight. There was no particular reason I had to be here tonight. The person I was supposed to meet has gone. I sent him messages; he doesn't answer. Disappeared. Vanished from the face of the earth. There is only you. But I don't know you. My head is in the hands of a stranger. So I am forced to trust you. Can I trust you?

B: Mm.

A: That came easily. Good. It means you're confident. If tonight is a disaster, it is much better to fall into the hands of a confident man than be destroyed by a coward whose hands tremble. At least while my eyes are closed, I can imagine this stranger's confidence comes from somewhere, that he really has some ability—even if experience suggests men like that are usually the least reliable. I have a theory. Want to hear it? The truth is, everyone wants to be ruined by someone confident. To be sacrificed for something unequivocal!

B: You can relax with me.

A: Hearing you say that puts me at ease. To tell you the truth, after you took off my glasses just now, I couldn't even see the full-length mirror in front of us. I'm no different from a blind man. All I can see is that I am sitting, you are standing, and you are walking into me holding a pair of sharp scissors. Not even the most intense love could encompass this moment! I am tied to this chair. I surrender everything to your judgement.

B: Good. Do you usually comb it left or right?

A: To the right, though it can go left. Or up or down. Again, everything depends on what you think is best.

B: Mm. It's quite long. Been a while since your last cut?

A: Tomorrow night, I have a very important conference, you understand? I play an important role in it. All right, no point hiding it: I am the host. So I need a very good hairstyle. Not the ordinary kind of good that slowly grows into itself. Good enough to be seen tomorrow. You understand?

B: No head I've worked on has ever had a bad word to say.

A: You are the supervisor, after all! Though I can't tell the difference between supervisor, director, and chief. Does this industry consist entirely of management? Wait. What is that sound? Are you shaving my head? Excuse me? Sorry, could you stop for a moment? Are those clippers?

B: Mm.

A: You're not using scissors? I haven't had clippers used on me since I said goodbye to the crew cut. Tony here never used clippers on me before.

B: Classic joke made by an amateur. Thinks scissors are more sophisticated. Let me tell you: from the time I started learning twenty years ago, I've chosen the tool to suit the head. The tool isn't important. The cut is what matters. Different cuts need different tools. When it's time for clippers, you use clippers. You think scissors can get the sides as smooth and even as clippers?

A: There is some sense in that. Please continue.

B: Trust the professional. Trust science. Trust common sense. Trust your own instincts. For a slick-back, how are you supposed to use scissors before clipping the sides flat and smooth?

A: When did I say I wanted a slick-back?

B: You're hosting a conference. What could stand out more than a slick-back? You want to teach me?

A: I don't want anything greasy. That is my only request.

B: Which is why, as you can see, I didn't take it all the way down. I kept your requirement in mind. The ultimate slick-back has both sides shaved bare. I've left you a little.

A: I can't see. At this point, whatever you say is true.

B: A quick smear of styling gel. Perfect.

A: So the scissors aren't coming out at all?

B: Don't be impatient. I'm just about to use them. Want a little off the fringe? Good lord, there's a stray tuft here! Look! Even if you can't see it, you can feel it, can't you? No stylist ever noticed it before, did they? The devil is in the details. These are precisely the details that affect the quality of a slick-back. Now the stray hairs are gone. Clean, isn't it? Go and have your hair washed. I'll blow-dry it, add some gel, and give it shape.

A: Give me my glasses. Let me look first.

B: Don't move! Move now and all our work will be wasted. Wait until I've dried it. With hairdressing, you must never rush. A hairstyle is the window to a person's soul. Can you fling a window open and shut any way you like? No. You have to be a perfectionist. At home, blow it upwards. And the gel—you work it in one tuft at a time. Patience rewards you. One more moment. Pinch this part in front. Turn the tip. There, that's the way. All right. Perfect! Put your glasses back on and look. Well? Handsome, isn't it? Tomorrow you will absolutely dazzle! What do you think? Mm? Speak up, I can't hear you. A little thinner on top? Impossible! There is no room for improvement. This is a basic question of aesthetics. Oh, you won't sit a while and have some tea? Ah Si, bring the gentleman his things. We hope you'll come again!