“Since you’ll be going to The Grand Temple tomorrow anyway, I only did a simple treatment,” the staff member said.
“Yes, thank you,” Satin replied.
“Still, if you feel any discomfort, please let me know. I’ll contact The Grand Temple immediately.”
“No, it’s alright,” Satin quickly waved his hand. There was no need to call a priest. He hadn’t been injured doing anything significant; he’d merely slipped while climbing out the window in the middle of the night. Now, his scraped palms bothered him more than his ankle.
“Then, I’ll be going now.”
The staff member who had administered the treatment left the room.
Alone, Satin finally checked the time. Every room in the state guesthouse had a clock as part of the decor.
‘About eight hours,’ Satin thought, mentally calculating the time, and clicked his tongue inwardly.
To think that the time he’d spent running away was only eight hours. Wasn’t that the working hours of an ordinary office worker who didn’t work for a black company? And that was excluding lunchtime.
He felt quite bitter about such a pathetic result. Oblivious to Satin’s feelings, the Demon God spoke nonsense.
―Hero, in my opinion, it would be better to apologize for the sake of your friendship. Your friend seems to like you very much, so as expected, you should be the one to—
“Shut up,” Satin snapped.
―Yes……
At the cold rebuke, the Demon God fell silent. Just then, the door opened and Cain entered.
“Is the treatment over?”
Cain asked in a nonchalant tone as if nothing had happened, but Satin couldn’t answer. His shoulders involuntarily hunched.
‘His eyes look a little crazy.’
Well, it was understandable. Cain had always had separation anxiety. Today’s events would have only worsened it, not improved it.
‘I would have given up if he had disappeared completely, but this is counterproductive.’
He could only hope Cain wouldn’t try to tie him up somewhere.
As Satin was looking at him cautiously, Cain strode over and plopped down in the chair opposite him. When Satin tried to lower his leg, which he had propped up on a footrest, Cain told him it was alright and held it in place. And instead of letting go, he continued to stroke it.
“Does it hurt?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Stroking the tightly bandaged area yielded no sensation. But it was awkward to just watch him. It felt like Cain might say, “Then I’ll make it not fine,” and snap his ankle at any moment. He wouldn’t really do that, but his eyes suggested otherwise.
What should he say? Satin racked his brain. He had been alone with Cain countless times, but now he felt as uncomfortable as if he were facing a stranger.
Fortunately, Cain spoke first.
“How far were you planning to go?”
“Um, I hadn’t really thought about it……”
“Did you forget what I told you before?”
What did he say?
As Satin blinked, Cain smiled faintly.
“I told you I have no intention of breaking up with you. Not now, not ever.”
“……You did.”
Satin awkwardly smiled back and nodded.
Just because Cain had no intention of breaking up didn’t mean Satin had to stay by Cain’s side. Everyone had their own thoughts and desires. Sometimes those desires conflicted.
This attempt had failed, but if Satin planned more thoroughly and hid somewhere no one could find him, what could Cain do then? He would have to accept the separation.
Cain, who had been looking at Satin’s leg, lifted his head and met his gaze.
“Don’t you think things won’t go the way I want?”
Had he read his mind?
When Satin didn’t answer, Cain smiled again.
“If I hadn’t found you by the end of today, I was planning to set this place on fire.”
“What?”
“Next, I would have set fire to the building across from here, and then the one across from that. Eventually, you would have come back.”
“……Are you kidding?”
“Think what you like.”
“No, what’s good about thinking what I like when there’s nothing good here?”
As Satin frowned in disbelief, Cain tightly gripped the ankle he had been caressing. Satin flinched, and Cain immediately loosened his grip but didn’t let go.
Cain slowly exhaled. It seemed more like a deep breath than a sigh. After taking a deep breath as if suppressing something, Cain asked, “You ran away because you were afraid of regaining your memories, weren’t you?”
“Something like that……”
There was no reason to be afraid of regaining his memories. He was just worried about what would happen after the process of regaining them. Because he wouldn’t find anything.
“Then, if I said you don’t have to regain your memories, you wouldn’t run away?”
Was he being serious?
Satin stared at Cain for a moment before asking back, “What meaning do I have to you if I don’t have my memories?”
“Are you the one kidding right now?”
Cain was taken aback, but Satin was being sincere.
“Cain, haven’t you ever had this doubt? That I might not actually be the person you know, but just someone who looks similar, a completely different person?”
“That can’t be.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“How can I be sure? Because it’s not.”
Cain didn’t even try to entertain the possibility. Satin was the only one feeling anxious.
“Maybe magic, or some very strange power, changed the core of who I am. So, what I’m saying is, this body is the person you know, but the truth is—”
Unable to find more words to explain, Satin trailed off and lowered his head.
Satin had always wanted to be a good person, but at this moment, he wished he could be worse. Just enough to nonchalantly take what he knew wasn’t his, just that much.
He wanted to become the real person who would be restless with anxiety at the thought of Cain disappearing. He wanted to be someone irreplaceable. He knew it was impossible, but wasn’t it okay to wish for it?
Would God grant such a wish?
Cain, who had been quietly looking at the top of Satin’s head, asked, “You don’t know either?”
“……That’s right.”
He actually knew, but he couldn’t say he did, so Satin nodded. Cain seemed to be thinking quietly for a moment before suggesting, “Then let’s do this.”
“Do what?”
“Let’s try to find your memories first, and if you still say you’re not the same person then, let’s break up.”
Was he being serious?
Satin subtly lifted his head to observe Cain’s expression. Cain was looking at Satin’s ankle with his eyes lowered. When Satin didn’t answer, Cain raised his head.
“You can do that much, can’t you? Huh?”
Satin felt a sense of unease in Cain’s expression.
‘Why is he smiling?’
He hadn’t said anything funny.
As Satin hesitated, Cain pressed him again.
“What are you going to do?”
“……Alright.”
***
What’s the possibility that an apple isn’t really an apple? What’s the possibility that an apricot isn’t really an apricot?
‘Zero.’
Cain wasn’t worried at all. Satin was Satin. Even if Satin himself wasn’t sure, Cain was certain.
However, there was one thing Cain found puzzling.
‘He wasn’t afraid of regaining his memories.’
In Cain’s eyes, Satin seemed rather afraid of not regaining his memories. Not afraid of the current state of amnesia, but afraid that even if given the chance to recover his memories, he wouldn’t find anything.
‘Why would that be scary?’
Cain quietly gazed at Satin’s sleeping face. If he kept looking like this, wouldn’t he eventually find the answer?
‘That can’t be.’
His expressionless face looked peaceful. At a glance, it even seemed like he was smiling. His eyes had downturned corners, while the corners of his mouth turned upward. People were often deceived by his face that seemed to smile even when he was still.
If one wanted to know what Satin was thinking, they shouldn’t be misled by his calm expression.
Rita wasn’t interested in Satin’s past. When she first met Satin, he had already lost his memories. Rita only knew Satin after he lost his memories. She had no reason to be interested in what Satin was like in the past.
Edward was probably more interested than Rita, but not by much. Since Satin lost his memories after an incident Edward was involved in, he only felt a slight sense of responsibility. But in fact, it wasn’t Edward’s fault.
The person most interested in Satin’s memories was, of course, Cain. Cain knew Satin before he lost his memories and cherished those times.
The answer was clear.
‘It’s because of me.’
Rita didn’t care whether Satin regained his memories or not. Edward would be happy if Satin regained his memories, but it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t. Satin didn’t need to be concerned about these two.
Only Cain desperately wanted Satin to regain his memories.
‘He was afraid I’d be disappointed.’
There’s always a reason why someone cares about another person’s reaction. Because they feel competitive, want to look good, like them, dislike them, or want revenge.
It was unlikely that Satin felt competitive towards Cain. He also didn’t seem to dislike Cain. Revenge was out of the question.
Was it possible that Satin wanted to look good to Cain? Didn’t not wanting to see Cain disappointed mean something like that?
Everyone wants to be the person their loved one desires. Cain also wanted to show only his good side to Satin. Just like Satin to Cain.
‘Satin likes me.’
Cain’s eyes widened in surprise at his own thought.
Satin was sound asleep. After doing something absurd since dawn, he must have been exhausted, as he had gone to bed while it was still bright outside. This was the first time he had slept so deeply since they returned from the Demon Lord’s castle.
Hesitating for a moment, Cain carefully touched Satin’s face. At that moment, Cain felt heat on the back of his neck. He reflexively recoiled and looked around. Of course, there was nothing there. However, the unidentified heat gradually rose, and now his entire face was hot.
‘Satin likes me.’
Before losing his memories, Cain and Satin were friends. There was a special bond between them. And now, after losing his memories, this again.
Suddenly, he felt a sense of bewilderment.
‘Is that the same as this?’
Cain looked at Satin’s face again. Downturned eyes and upturned lips. It was just how he was born, but it looked as if he was smiling at Cain.
Cain blinked a few times and quickly left Satin’s bedroom.
Bro is down bad
Delulu much?