Stray Kids‘ Hyunjin was known for his gorgeous long locks… but all that just changed with an unexpected haircut.

Hyunjin debuted his long hair all the way back on May 27, 2020, when the group released their trailer for “GO.” As if the video wasn’t exciting enough, fans went crazy when Hyunjin appeared on screen with neck-length hair and a ponytail.

Stray Kids’ Hyunjin (front) | JYP Entertainment/YouTube

The new look wasn’t actually the first time Hyunjin had gone beyond short hair. He also had a mullet back in 2018…

… and he repeated the look in 2019 too.

That said, his long hair for “GO” was a much more intense and dramatic change. From then on, he continued to grow his locks out longer. Over the period of a year or so, he showed off long blonde hair,

long pink hair,

long black hair,

| @realstraykids/Instagram

… and everything in between. In time, he soon became known for the style, even among non-STAYs. Many are convinced Hyunjin’s haircut even set a trend among boy group idols, many of whom have grown their hair out following Hyunjin.

| JYP Entertainment

Fans got so used to long-haired Hyunjin, many never even considered that he might go back to short hair—which is why everyone fell into shock when he suddenly appeared with a haircut!

When Stray Kids began promotions for B-side track “DOMINO” on Music Bank, many fans were suspicious when they saw Hyunjin hiding his hair under a hoodie in fancam photos before the episode aired.

However, since Hyunjin has hidden his hair for no real reason in the past, many didn’t believe there was anything suspicious going on. But then, the “DOMINO” performance was revealed… and STAY social media went crazy when they saw this:

HYUNJIN SHORT HAIR ENDING FAIRY pic.twitter.com/qvfn4iYQvy

— 냠 (@ctrlhwng) September 24, 2021

For the first time in 16 months—almost a year and a half—Hyunjin had short hair again!

Within less than an hour, the star made it to Twitter‘s top 10 worldwide trends as STAYs sent out hundreds of thousands of tweets in the aftermath of Hyunjin’s surprise haircut. While some mourned the loss of his long hair, others were excited to see something new—especially new fans who’d never seen short-haired Hyunjin before.

the long hair was iconic but let me just say, hwang hyunjin himself is the BRAND istg. no matter what look he pull up with he is always, ALWAYS, look high end EXPENSIVE!

— 댕까스 (@duljisung) September 24, 2021

Of course, no matter how much you loved his old look, there’s no denying Hyunjin is equally handsome no matter what haircut he has. The proof? His first set of selfies with short hair surpassed 2 million likes on Instagram in less than 24 hours.

| @realstraykids/Instagram

Before long, Hyunjin started a live broadcast to talk about his new look. While he knew some fans may be shocked and a little sorry to see his long hair go, he emphasized that he’s still the same person with short locks.

Your browser does not support video.| @babyhhj0320/Twitter 

Do I feel sad to cut my hair? Not sad… I’m excited about the stages to come. It’s going to be fun.

­— Hyunjin

Hyunjin also added that fans shouldn’t worry since his hair grows very quickly: “So I can go back to long hair anytime I want.”

Since he suddenly showed up with short hair after almost a year and a half of long locks, fans’ reactions have ranged from shocked to disappointed to happy to awestruck. The funny part? The members’ reactions were just as varied. In a live broadcast, Hyunjin also revealed what each member said when they saw his unexpected new look.

1. I.N

Maknae I.N has long been a vocal fan of Hyunjin’s long hairstyle, so it should come as little surprise that he was disappointed with the star’s new short haircut. What is surprising, however, is that Hyunjin revealed I.N was even “more sad” than he was himself—so sad that he “practically cried!”

I.N and Hyunjin | @realstraykids/Instagram

I.N was, quite depressed when I cut my hair. But hair grows back. I can go back to the long hair whenever I want.

— Hyunjin

2. Seungmin

Seungmin may have had the most hilarious reaction to Hyunjin’s new look. When he saw the haircut, Hyunjin says Seungmin asked if he could flick him in the head!

Seungmin and Hyunjin | @realstraykids/Instagram

Seungmin asked if he could flick me in the head. I had a haircut and out of nowhere, he goes, ‘Hey, can I flick you?’ [He] said he wanted to flick me because I looked like a kid.

— Hyunjin

3. Changbin

Did you fail to recognize short-haired Hyunjin when he appeared in the Music Bank “DOMINO” performance with short hair. If so, you’re not alone—even Changbin didn’t recognize him at first.

Hyunjin and Changbin | @realstraykids/Instagram

Changbin said, ‘Who are you?’

— Hyunjin

4. Bang Chan

While some think Hyunjin looks hot with his new short hair, others think it falls more on the cute side—including Bang Chan.

Hyunjin and Bang Chan | @realstraykids/Instagram

Chan said I looked cute.

— Hyunjin

5. Felix

Felix just yelled Hyunjin’s name when he saw the hair cut… if that’s not relatable, we don’t know what is.

Felix and Hyunjin | @realstraykids/Instagram

Yongbok[‘s reaction]… ‘HYUNJIN!’

— Hyunjin

6. Lee Know

The award for the most unrelatable reaction has to go to Lee Know, who simply remained calm in his response according to Hyunjin. Who could be calm about that?!

Hyunjin and Lee Know | @realstraykids/Instagram

Lee Know? He… was just calm. ‘Okay, you had a haircut’—he said something like that.

— Hyunjin

7. Han

Last but not least, Hyunjin says Han told him he looks like a different person—and he has a point. He may still be the same Hyunjin underneath, but this is definitely one dramatic change.

Hyunjin and Han | @realstraykids/Instagram

Han said I looked like a different person.

— Hyunjin