Chapter 3.1

Endo wouldn’t talk to a customer at all unless they talked to him first. The younger customers seemed to admire his coolness. Kodai was always impressed by how he was able to satisfy customers with both his looks and skills.

Kodai was the exact opposite type. He preferred to talk to customers and understand as well as work to their tastes. He also found himself talking to people of all ages.

Of course, he prioritised his customers’ wishes and tried to accommodate their preferences, but, as birds of a feather flock together, his customers were mostly chatty.

“I thought that the neighbour’s wife was the killer, but didn’t she die as well? I can’t tell at all who the real culprit is.”

“I know right? I suspected her too because she had a bad look in her eye. But, don’t you think the convenience store owner is suspicious as well?”

“The balding one that looks like a boiled egg?”

“Boiled egg! Komai-sama, are you a comparison master?”

They excitedly discussed a serial drama as Kodai blow-dried her hair. Kodai was familiar with practically all the main serial dramas. He already liked them but, since he came to this city having no friends other than Endo, he started to watch them more.

Next to the two merrily guessing the killer, Endo was once again silently cutting a young girl’s hair perfectly.

In moments like these, Kodai would wonder for a second what Endo thought of him.

And, by that, he didn’t mean it in the romantic sense.

Did it stress him out that he worked with someone with such an opposite personality to himself?

From such a silent prodigy like Endo’s point of view, would working with such a talkative person make him fed up?

But, since Endo was such a blunt person, was the fact he hadn’t told Kodai to go back to Tokyo a sign that he wasn’t unsatisfied?

Wait, or rather was it that Endo was in fact hinting at it, but Kodai’s perception was so bad he hadn’t realised it?

Perhaps since their young assistant was afraid of Endo’s cold treatment, and three people had already quit in one year, Kodai really just was obtuse.

It wasn’t problems with their mentality that was the problem, the development of dermatitis and allergies were also contributors to the low staff retention rate in the industry. Staff are instructed to wear gloves when shampooing and colouring but some people even develop allergies to the rubber glove material.

Kodai laughed strained—thankfully, his parents had given him healthy skin, and his resolve was strong due to their discord.

The bell at the entrance rang unexpectedly and a regular customer came in. She had been a regular since Endo’s mum was running the store, but her appointment definitely should have been the following day.

“I haven’t gone crazy and gotten the day wrong,” the older female regular excused laughing, dropping a large shopping bag in front of the register.

“Here are some daikons and gobos¹ Daikon – radish Gobo – burdock root that we harvested, if you would like, split it between yourselves and enjoy.”

One thing that had surprised Kodai since he came here was that people came by to drop stuff like this all the time. People dropped things around Valentine’s Day at their old salon but here the frequency and items were totally different.

“Thank you,” Endo said faintly, accepting it with a nod.

Kodai paused his actions and excused himself from his client and went to the counter to say his thanks.

“Thank you for everything! Wow, these are really high-quality daikons! The leaves are so green.”

“They’re pesticide-free so you can use it up to the leaves! Use it for nameshi.”

“Nameshi?”

“Oh, you don’t know? You quickly boil the leaves, cut it thinly, then salt-”

“Ah, wait a second.” Kodai grabbed a notebook and pen left on the counter and wrote down the recipe.

“Thank you. I will try it as soon as possible!”

“If you say it like that, I’ll get competitive. Masui-kun, you’re such a good kid. Almost like Shin-chan’s wife.”

“Is that so? My husband is always making trouble…. No, rather, give this wife a break,” he joked with a laugh.

“If you were a girl, you guys would suit each other so well and I’m sure Rumi-san would be pleased.”

‘Rumi-san’ was Endo’s mother.

Kodai opened his mouth to give a more serious answer but Endo was quicker.

“Please stop saying those things,” he let out, annoyed.

The room went still for a moment. Kodai immediately smiled and followed up.

He acted dramatically and said with a pout, “Don’t be so prejudiced, manager,” causing laughs from the customers. “Unfortunately, I have a girlfriend so I couldn’t be his wife even if he begged me.”

“Ah, Masui-kun, you’re dating someone?”

“It’s a long-distance relationship so we can’t see each other much,” Kodai put on a fake smile and said it with a lot of manufacturing feeling.

He had been pretending he had a girlfriend since he started working at the shop and Endo also thought so.

Kodai’s biggest fear had been his love for Endo being exposed.

To stop that, his best option was to pretend he had a romantic partner. He even made sure to pretend to smile at his ‘girlfriend’s’ messages in front of Endo or go back to Tokyo to meet ‘her.’ In reality, it was usually a friend or Yashiro. 

He didn’t have any desire to go out with Endo at all, but when he displayed his displeasure like just then, Kodai couldn’t help but get a little depressed. He wished that customers would stop those jokes if they could. Even more, Kodai had a strong service spirit, so it was probably easier for them to tease him.

He saw off the elderly regular customer and went back to his client. As he continued blow drying her hair, his eyes unintentionally to Endo’s deft fingers as he randomly inserted the scissors into the back of his client’s bob.

Their careers as hair stylists were identical, and yet, Kodai couldn’t catch up to Endo’s cutting skills. They learnt at school, both worked in the same store and took part in courses even now to polish their skills, but to achieve more than that, it has to be talent after all.

The intuition to replicate an image, and the sense to create the image in the first place, cannot be acquired just by learning.

Watching Endo cut hair was mesmerising. Kodai thought that being able to work on the same floor from morning to night and being able to see Endo’s work up close all day long was a much happier thing than love. 

Because he squeezed in a perm without an appointment, he finished work late today as well.

“En-chan, are you going to Kinmokusei again tonight?” he asked, hoping to be able to tag along.

“Nah,” he replied bluntly. “I’m going to eat at my family’s house.” 

Endo lived alone but ate with his father a few times a week.

Kodai glanced at his watch. “If that’s the case, then go home early. I’ll finish cleaning up and check the locks.”

Endo looked over blankly. “Do you want to come too?”

Kodai turned down the rare invite immediately. “I don’t want to get in the way of a father and his son, so I’ll pass.”

“Even though you’re always so enthusiastic to go to Suzu-chan’s place?”

“Well, that’s not…”

“I’ll tell him that you didn’t want to eat food made by an old man.”

“Don’t! That’s not it. Your house is different from a restaurant and it would bother him if another person came. Plus, when Nomura-san comes tomorrow, I want to tell her my thoughts on her nameshi recipe so I have to go home and try it.”

“I’ll tell him you didn’t want to eat his food so you came up with a range of excuses.”

“I’m telling you, don’t say that! Tell him I’d love to come another time! You better not say something strange!”

The corners of Endo’s mouth lifted at Kodai’s desperate pleas. This precious smile made Kodai’s chest ring but he pretended like it was nothing and pulled a daikon from the bag.

“With that, I’ll have this one.”

“None of that, take half of them.”

“Well, one is already more than enough for a man who lives alone.”

“My father and I also live alone.” He said his fair point, carried the heavy shopping bag, and went home.

Kodai took the towels from the dryer and folded them before placing them on the shelf and left the shop after turning off the lights and locking the doors.

The cold felt stronger on the country street than in Tokyo.

He carried the daikon under his armpit and tucked his hands into pockets, breathing out white clouds as he returned to his apartment.

His one-bedroom apartment was twice as big as his old room in the city, for half the rent, making Kodai feel the blessings of the country city.

Looking at his notes and a recipe site, he mixed his prepared nameshi ingredients with some microwaved frozen rice. He also made miso soup with the daikon body. Unlike the supermarket daikon, they softened surprisingly quickly. As usual, he turned on a serial drama he had recorded and clapped his hands together. “Itadakimasu²Something you say before you eat a meal as thanks. .”

“Uwa~, so good,” he spoke without thinking.

It wasn’t like he was good at cooking—the kitchen at his old place was bad and not user-friendly so he usually bought takeaway or ate meals from the convenience store. Since he came here, Kodai received many ingredients so he learned how to make simple dishes.

As he sipped on the miso soup, he thought about how Endo would be eating with his father at the same time. 

Kodai met Endo’s father immediately after he had moved here and he was the exact opposite to Endo. If he had to say, Endo’s father was a bright, sociable person, and was closer to Kodai’s personality type. His hair-stylist mother was apparently also quite friendly so it was like Endo was an abnormality.

“It must be lonely moving to a place you don’t know. Treat me as your father and rely on me, alright?”

Since he said those words the first time they met with a kind smile, he often invited Kodai over to eat through Endo. Kodai usually came up with a reason and declined.

Kodai had nothing but goodwill towards Endo’s father and wanted to accept his invitations. But, his feelings for Endo made him feel guilty.

He usually wasn’t trapped by such negative emotions. He just had an unrequited crush on him, and nothing would come of it, so there shouldn’t have been any reason to feel uneasy. 

But, when he stood in front of Endo’s father, he became disgusted towards himself who was hiding his feelings towards his son, and felt almost apologetic.

Rather, if Endo got married and even had kids, it would be easier for Kodai to meet with him. He didn’t think anyone would understand this way of thinking even if he tried to explain.

–

T/N

kodai :'(((

• 1
  Daikon – radish Gobo – burdock root
• 2
  Something you say before you eat a meal as thanks.