Epilogue
“Teacher, did you know?”
“What?”
The boy with freckles scattered across his nose was named Cole. He was the son of a grocer that Satin frequently visited. This year, he turned ten.
Cole had a serious expression, as if he was about to share something amazing.
“In the southern countries, they steam rice and eat it. Isn’t that weird? Teacher, do you know what rice is?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Isn’t it really weird? They don’t even add salt. What does it taste like?”
Cole had no idea that someone who had lived for 20 years eating steamed rice without salt was right in front of him. It was understandable.
Instead of explaining what rice was, Satin just smiled.
“Stop daydreaming and finish your work. You still have one page left.”
“Aww.”
Cole looked back down at his worksheet, grumbling but still scribbling down numbers.
For the past few days, Cole had been learning basic arithmetic from Satin. In this Korean-style fantasy world, the literacy rate was quite high, but few people were interested in other academic pursuits.
Classics, history, philosophy—these were subjects that people didn’t care much about. Mathematics was one of them.
People seemed to learn simple calculations, but that was about it. They didn’t study mathematics at a higher level. Anything that wasn’t practical for daily life was considered a hobby for the nobility or the wealthy.
‘I wonder if running a study hall for kids would be profitable.’
If it were free, some people might send their kids, but Cain probably wouldn’t like it. He might even offer to pay Satin to stay home instead. He had said something like that before.
‘He’s so funny.’
When Satin told Cain that he would be tutoring Cole at home, Cain was overjoyed. He seemed pleased that Satin wouldn’t be going out and would be working from home. Or maybe he just didn’t like the other job ideas Satin had mentioned.
“Take care of an elderly person? After all those years of serving that old man?”
Cain seemed to be bothered by the fact that Satin had lost his memory and pretended to be the grandson of a Black Magician. Even though it was all in the past, Cain’s expression would darken whenever the topic came up. He would even grind his teeth.
‘He seems to hate anything that reminds him of those days.’
Maybe Cain wasn’t actually happy about the tutoring; he just thought it was the lesser of two evils.
‘Well, I’ve already agreed to do it, so I’ll do my best.’
In exchange for the tutoring, Satin would receive some dried abalone, a rare delicacy in this world.
‘Maybe I should make samgyetang with the abalone, since it’s been so hot lately.’
Samgyetang wasn’t difficult to make; it just took time. Satin pondered what he could use instead of ginseng. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.
‘What if I raised some chickens?’
Every morning, he heard the sound of a rooster crowing somewhere nearby. That meant someone close by was raising chickens.
‘Should I buy a couple and raise them myself?’
In his imagination, Satin bought two white chickens—a rooster and a hen. The hen laid eggs, which hatched into chicks. Those chicks grew into chickens and laid more eggs.
By the time Cole finished his worksheet, Satin was wondering what to do with a mountain of eggs.
“Teacher, I’m done.”
“Oh, really?”
Satin snapped out of his daydream and checked Cole’s worksheet.
“You’re still struggling with division?”
Cole was good at multiplication but had trouble with division. Satin marked the incorrect division problems with his pen, and Cole grumbled.
“It’s too hard. But I’m doing pretty well, right?”
“I’m not sure.”
Satin wasn’t trying to be mean; he genuinely didn’t know. What was the average level for a ten-year-old?
After finishing all the grading and assigning homework, the tutoring session ended right on time. Cole, who had been complaining about the amount of homework, quickly packed his things, his mood brightening instantly. He seemed eager to get home, his hands moving swiftly.
Amused by Cole’s enthusiasm, Satin casually remarked, “Do you have a golden calf waiting at home?”
“Huh? What does that mean?” Cole asked, puzzled.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Satin clarified.
“You always make weird jokes, Teacher,” Cole replied, shaking his head.
It seemed Cole needed literature lessons more than math. Satin considered talking to Cole’s parents about it. As Satin pondered this, Cole finished packing and stood up.
“See you tomorrow,” Cole said.
“I’ll walk you out,” Satin offered.
“No need. It’s just around the corner,” Cole replied confidently.
Satin got up to see him off anyway. Cole rushed out of the dining room and flung open the front door, only to collide with what felt like a massive wall.
“Ouch!” Cole exclaimed, rubbing his forehead. He looked up to see Cain towering over him.
“What the…?” Cain muttered, looking down at the small boy who barely reached his waist. Cole, too startled to apologize, hiccupped once and scampered away like a mouse.
Left alone, Cain frowned and watched Cole disappear. “Why does he always react like that when he sees me?” he asked.
‘Because your expression is scary,’ Satin thought but said, “Who knows?” with a shrug.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Cole always checked if Cain was around whenever he came over. If Cain was home, Cole would remain silent throughout the lesson, even though Cain never paid him any attention.
Satin remembered the first time he saw Cain years ago. He had thought Cain was incredibly handsome, with a face that seemed to glow even when he scowled. But familiarity breeds contempt, and now Satin could objectively assess Cain’s appearance.
And the conclusion was: Cain had a stern expression.
Especially children found Cain intimidating.
‘Come to think of it, even back then, kids were scared of Cain.’
It seemed that Cain’s good looks were overshadowed by his stern demeanor. Cain, oblivious to his own intimidating aura, muttered, “I don’t get it.”
“Come inside. How long are you going to stand there?” Satin said.
Only then did Cain step inside, closing the door behind him. Satin noticed Cain was holding a bundle of letters.
“Why do you have so many letters?” Satin asked.
“They’re all for you,” Cain replied.
“For me?” Satin was surprised. He didn’t expect to receive any letters.
Cain smiled slightly and said, “You’ll see.”
Instead of handing the bundle to Satin, Cain walked into the dining room. The table, which doubled as a desk, was cluttered with papers and books. Cain cleared a space and placed the bundle of letters on the table.
Satin sat down and picked up one of the letters. He didn’t recognize the sender’s name, which was written across the envelope.
“Who is this from?” Satin asked, puzzled.
“Rita,” Cain replied nonchalantly.
“No, it’s not… Oh, it is Rita.”
Satin finally noticed the name “Margarita” in the middle of the long name. He had never heard Rita’s full name before and was surprised by its length. He felt a bit embarrassed for not knowing his friend’s full name.
‘But she doesn’t know my exact age either…’ Satin thought, trying to justify his ignorance.
He examined the other letters; they were all from Rita. He wondered what could be so urgent.
“Why did she send so many letters?” Satin asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? She probably kept sending them because she didn’t get a reply. She didn’t consider the distance,” Cain explained.
“That makes sense,” Satin agreed.
He opened the letter with the oldest postmark. Despite Rita’s cheerful personality, her handwriting was surprisingly elegant, which impressed Satin.
Of course, the content wasn’t as elegant as the handwriting.
To my friend Satin,
Summer is in full swing. I hope you’re doing well. I know you’re the Messenger of God, so I doubt you’d be sick, but I thought I’d ask just in case.
The carriage has returned today. The one I lent to you and that leech. I asked the Temple Knights about you, but they were so stiff and formal. I almost died of frustration talking to them.
‘Stiff and formal?’ Satin thought. The Temple Knights he remembered were all dramatic and full of talk about glory and holiness. Just a few words with them would leave him exhausted.
He continued reading, even though he didn’t fully understand.
Anyway, I heard you ended up dating that leech. Even the stiff Temple Knights blushed when they talked about it. They said you kissed in front of thousands of people.
Satin had indeed kissed Cain after they emerged from the Tunnel of Love.
‘That’s a bit of an exaggeration. There weren’t thousands of people watching,’ he thought.
Couples exiting the tunnel often kissed as a ritual, and Satin had been caught up in the moment. He remembered thinking that someone might see them, but he didn’t care. Everyone seemed too busy enjoying the festival.
He hadn’t realized the Temple Knights had seen them, much less that they would tell Rita.
Coming from a country with strong Confucian values, Satin felt a bit embarrassed. Even though it had happened a while ago, he could feel his face flush with embarrassment.
The next paragraph was even more exaggerated.
I heard you wrapped your arms around that leech’s waist and kissed him like you were going to devour him. I still can’t believe it.
‘That’s not what happened…’ Satin thought, his mouth agape in disbelief. His face grew even hotter.
“Are you hot?” Cain asked, seeing Satin fanning himself.
“No, I’m fine,” Satin quickly replied.
Although I don’t understand how someone as wise as you could make such a choice, I respect your decision. I’m a bit hurt that you didn’t tell me first, but I’m glad I know now. Lovers come and go, so maybe you didn’t think it was important.
‘Oh boy, if Cain sees this, there’ll be trouble,’ Satin thought.
