Intrigue

On the eve of his mother's tenth death anniversary, CHEOL accepts terms for his Korean, mandatory military service, one he doesn't need to attend since he's an American citizen. It's a hostile and hierarchical environment, but Cheol plans on going to consummate his idea of manhood. That's how he was raised by his father (GONG) based on traditional, Korean standards of masculinity where emotions equate to weakness. He buzzes his hair for his enrollment prior to visiting his estranged father for the death anniversary. He arrives a day early to break the news to his dad, arriving while Gong is at work at his barber shop. Meanwhile, the store is forcibly foreclosed after Gong accidentally snips a client's ear because of his illness: he has leukemia. In the empty home, Cheol finds some medicine - but there aren't enough clues to discern Gong's real condition. When Gong returns home, we find Gong is hiding his chemo-driven baldness with a wig, while he deflects any of Cheol's discerning questions. However, because of that earlier suspicion, Cheol investigates further, eventually discovering his father's condition. There, Cheol's left with a choice - leave his ailing father behind for the military or reconnect with the very person responsible for ingraining those toxic, masculine norms in him. Cheol chooses forgiveness and family, reconnecting with his estranged father by completely shaving his own head. Finally, the two properly grieve the mother together, ten years late, each now without a head of hair.