“Why does this keep standing up? I lay it down, and it stands up again. What’s with all this energy?”
To someone listening with their eyes closed, this might sound a bit misleading, but it’s just a conversation about hair.
“Should I just cut it off?” the barber asked, grasping the tuft of hair sticking up from the crown of Satin’s head. Satin was about to say yes but hesitated.
“No, you can leave it,” he replied. It’s not a crime to have hair that stands up.
…This is still about hair.
Before reuniting with Cain, Satin would regularly get his hair cut. The village where he lived didn’t have a barbershop, but there was someone who was quite skilled at cutting hair. Not just Satin, but everyone in the village would go to this person.
While traveling with Cain, Rita, and Edward, there was never a good time to get a haircut. As a result, his hair had grown quite long. Just a little more, and he would be able to tie it back.
‘Tying it back feels a bit embarrassing.’
Satin had seen men with long hair before. Even the barber currently handling his hair had it neatly tied back. Satin doubted anyone would think it strange if he grew his hair out.
Yet, he still felt embarrassed. Long hair seemed like something only very handsome men could pull off. It was hard to shake off long-held prejudices.
‘It’s a bit ridiculous.’
In his life, Satin had never once imagined dating a man. He had, however, imagined growing his hair out a few times.
Yet now, even though he was in a relationship with a man, he still couldn’t bring himself to grow his hair out. He realized he still had a long way to go to become more open-minded.
As Satin reflected on his narrow-mindedness, the barber finished his haircut. He ruffled Satin’s trimmed hair and brushed off his neck with a soft towel.
“Where are you headed now?” the barber asked.
Satin blinked, puzzled. Where would he be going? His aspiring arsonist was waiting for him at home.
“No girlfriend? I was going to style it nicely for you if you had somewhere to go.”
“Oh.” Satin finally understood the question. He cleared his throat softly and made a request.
“Please do. Make it… look good.”
***
Before leaving for the barber, Satin had given Cain two tasks. One was to wash the sheets that had gotten dirty the night before, and the other was to straighten the scarecrow that kept leaning to one side.
‘The scarecrow isn’t leaning; its face was crooked from the start.’
Cain kept this thought to himself and simply agreed.
After seeing Satin off, Cain first tackled the laundry. Having done it the day before, he finished quickly.
Instead of pulling out and replanting the scarecrow, Cain just turned its head. It looked straight enough now.
‘No need to mess with it anymore.’
―If I may say so, your drawing skills are quite lacking. The eyes, nose, and mouth are all in the wrong places.
Cain was holding the Sacred Relic that Satin had left behind.
Lately, the usually quiet artifact had become quite chatty. It would act pitiful if buried in the dirt or submerged in water, but it never seemed genuinely depressed.
‘I suppose it would be strange if a demon felt depressed.’
Cain was in an unusually good mood. Even the demon’s chatter didn’t bother him. He had felt light on his feet since waking up that morning.
―Why are you just standing there? Did you exhaust all your energy last night? You don’t look tired, though. Your friend must be quite—ah, what are you doing?
Cain tucked the Sacred Relic into the pocket of the scarecrow’s shirt, which Satin had gotten from a neighbor who no longer needed it.
―You’re not going to leave me here alone, are you?
Ignoring the plaintive question, Cain surveyed the garden. A few weeds had sprouted in the empty row where the green onions had been harvested. He pulled them out and checked the spinach seeds under the eaves.
A few impatient seeds had already sprouted overnight. Cain thought they could be planted the next day.
―What would my master think if he knew I was being treated like this? Have you ever considered that?
The demon inside the scarecrow’s clothes muttered a mix of threats and complaints. If someone encountered it at night, they might mistake it for a ghost-possessed scarecrow.
But it was daytime, and Cain wasn’t afraid of ghosts, so he ignored it.
‘The fence is fine, and the drainage is good too.’
Satin had mentioned that while he was good at household chores, he wasn’t skilled at repairing buildings. He had laughed, saying this house was too big and worried about maintaining it compared to his previous cottage.
His worries were unnecessary. If Satin couldn’t do something, Cain would handle it. If it was beyond Cain’s abilities, he could hire someone. Satin had nothing to worry about.
‘I never imagined it could be this good.’
Cain had never thought about living a normal life before. In fact, he didn’t really know what a “normal” life meant.
Every place Cain had been was different. From a crowded orphanage to the spotless home of a crazy couple, to streets where fighting and stealing were everyday occurrences, to an insane old man’s dark magic laboratory. There was no common thread among them.
At the orphanage, he thought that was normal. When he was adopted, he thought that life was normal. Even when he was wandering the streets or living in a secluded school in the woods, he adapted.
For Cain, normalcy was adapting to whatever situation he found himself in. He never feared or felt uncomfortable, even when he didn’t know what the next day might bring.
‘But now…’
Satin would likely return before dark. He wouldn’t think about leaving this house, not today or tomorrow. He would plan what to plant after harvesting the spinach before winter and might even consider a small adventure.
With Satin, Cain was learning what true normalcy felt like. Satin didn’t need to explain it; Cain could feel it.
The son of a murderer, who didn’t know what normalcy was, was teaching Cain about a normal life.
Before meeting Satin, Cain had never known fear. With nothing to lose, there was nothing to fear. His life had been driven by anger, resistance, and a bit of pride.
Now, none of that mattered.
Cain now understood fear, and with it, the value of the present. He looked forward to each day with Satin and cherished every moment.
‘When will he be back?’ Cain wondered, peeking out the door. The demon chattered again.
―Oh, it’s windy. If I blow away, your friend will be very sad. You shouldn’t leave me here! He’ll be very upset with you!
Ignoring the empty threats, Cain checked the laundry drying outside. He didn’t want the wind to blow it into the garden.
The sheets he had hung earlier were still damp, but the ones from yesterday were almost dry, fluttering in the breeze. Watching them, Cain felt a strange excitement, as if it were a spring breeze rather than the end of summer.
As Cain enjoyed the moment, the demon shouted even louder.
―Your friend is coming back! He has a gift for you. He must be very pleased with your service last night!
“You really need to stop talking…” Cain muttered, shaking his head. But he couldn’t help smiling.
Just then, Satin appeared at the fence, holding a small bouquet. They spotted each other at the same time.
Instead of saying hello, Satin waved the bouquet.
“Is that for me?” Cain asked, remembering the demon’s words.
Satin’s eyes widened. “Well, it’s not exactly a gift…” he said, laughing. His neatly styled hair made him look more mature than usual.
Satin walked through the garden towards Cain. “You look like you’re in an advertisement, standing there,” he said.
“An advertisement?” Cain asked, confused.
“It means you look good,” Satin explained.
Cain nodded, not fully understanding but happy with the compliment. “You look… really good too,” he said, glancing away shyly. He noticed a small weed but didn’t feel like pulling it out. His heart was racing.
‘Why am I so nervous just because he got a haircut?’ he thought. It wasn’t the first time he had seen Satin like this. He had dressed up for important events in the capital before.
But back then, they weren’t in this kind of relationship.
Cain tried to sound casual. “If you’re going to give it to me, just do it.”
“Oh, right,” Satin said, handing him the bouquet.
Satin handed Cain the bouquet. It wasn’t fancy, just a simple bunch of flowers. As Satin was about to say something, the demon interrupted, oblivious to the mood.
―Is this what humans call a ceremony of commitment? Should I be the witness? There is no better witness than me.
Satin, unaware that the Sacred Relic was nearby, jumped in surprise and touched his forehead.
“What are we going to do with that con artist? Anyway, let’s go inside. It’s hot out here.”
“Okay,” Cain replied, a smile tugging at his lips as he followed Satin.
Satin glanced back and scratched his neck. “Actually, those flowers are edible.”
“Why would you eat flowers?” Cain asked.
“You can put them in a salad,” Satin explained.
“Really?”
“Well, I went to buy flowers and saw these edible ones. I thought, why not?”
Despite his stylish haircut, Satin had brought home what amounted to a bouquet of vegetables. Cain laughed at the absurdity, and Satin’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“Now that I think about it, it’s not very romantic, is it?” Satin said.
“No, it is,” Cain reassured him.
They stood at the front door, the sky-blue paint seeming special today. Before Satin could open the door, Cain stopped him.
“Since you gave me flowers, I want to give you something too,” Cain said.
Satin seemed to know what was coming. His eyes narrowed slightly.
After a soft kiss, Satin whispered, “This is just like the flowers.”
“What do you mean?” Cain asked.
“Flowers and kisses. They’re universal for lovers. The feelings are the same everywhere.”
“Everything is the same, yet everything is special,” Cain replied.
He opened the door, and Satin walked in first. As Cain followed, the demon shouted from behind.
―I am the witness! You two are no longer just friends! Aren’t you going to take me with you? I’m the witness! Hey, you unbelievers!
We got cockblocked lol.