After that girl a few more customers came in, a few girls that begged for his number and a few men that simply wanted to get tattooed and leave. There was one young boy also who seemed to be interested in him, he kept blushing and stuttering every time Kai looked at him during their session but he hadn't said anything.
Time went by smoothly and the man had almost forgotten the visit of his friend and the little piece of paper that he had thrown in the bin upstairs. He had gotten down now since it was closing time and he was helping John organize a few of the magazines the customers had messily left away and wash their cups. The young employee while they were washing them had kept looking at him, his eyes squeezed as he dried the mugs and once they were over Kai couldn't stand it any longer. He stepped outside and as he wore his coat he looked at him.
«What is it John?» he asked him, wondering why the boy wouldn't stop looking at him.
«Boss, I am curious.» he told him and rubbed his chin as if he was thinking something really deep. Kai knew though from experience that he was probably going to say something the least idiotic. Nonetheless, he didn't leave but waited for him to speak. «Why do you reject all the girls that hit on you, some of them were really pretty» he asked and Kai sighed. Stupid, exactly like he had predicted it.
«John, you know I don't like women.» he said.
«Yes, but men have hit on you too. You have rejected them all. I mean you're so handsome you could have anyone you want but sometimes I think you're not even looking at people properly.» John told him and Kai frowned. John had the tendency of being very naive some times but also he was a very good judge of character. There were many occasions when he had commented on a habit of his or something he did, he himself hand't noticed. That was one of the reasons he didn't talk much with the human boy, not that he was fond of speaking in the first place but he considered it very possible if they began talking that he could suspect he wasn't like other humans. Today though he didn't feel so secretive, maybe because Lun had visited, many memories had surfaced so he decided to answer him.
«I am not interested in falling in love.» he stated and John raised an eyebrow.
«What about sex then?»
«You don't have to worry about that.» Kai said with a grin. His employee scoffed, surprised by his bold answer but kept talking anyways.
«Did you ever have a boyfriend?»
«I did. A long time ago. Years back» he said.
«Years back? Like in highschool?» he asked him not really having the same sense of time Kai did. The blonde man almost laughed at his question.
«You could say that.»
«Where is he now, did you break up?»
Kai stopped for a second. Where was he now? He wondered. The last time he had seen him, the last time Kai had locked eyes with he was…
«He died» Kai said and John's eyes widened in surprise. He definitely did not expect an answer like that. He coughed, feeling extremely awkward and his eyes landed on the time on his phone's screen.
«Oh, look at the time. We better go» he said with a forced smile and Kai nodded. It was late indeed.
After he wore his coat he turned off all the lights. John had left first. It was his job to make sure the shop was locked, that everything was alright. He closed the door and twisted the key hearing the familiar sound of the door being sealed. The building had turned dark now, a black mystery between the tall and lit up skyscrapers.
The neighborhood Kai had chosen to open his shop had many alleys. Narrow little roads with little to no light filled with trash and angry cats. Whenever he passed through one to get to his apartment he would hear rats squeeking and then the hurried footsteps of a cat going after them. Tonight too he found himself in one of those alleys, the stench of the trash intense as he stepped on a trashbag that had been ripped. He frowned and kicked it to the side, clearing up his path.
It took him a while to realize but as he got deeper into the mysterious alley, as the light from the main road seemed to lessen and the exit looked far away Kai noticed that the usual sounds of the city had gone silent. A wrinkle formed between his eyebrows while his expression changed and he warily looked back, questioning if someone was following him. No one was there though. He started walking again, reaching finally the end of the alley and finding the lights of the city. The sound that followed though made him step back and hide.
First it was laughter, teens or more like young adults. Male all of them he realized. Five or maybe six? He wondered but didn't dare to look. He wasn't afraid of humans, he had never been and most of his life he was not afraid of any of the other superhuman creatures. Years had passed though and his confidence had lessened. His spirit was definitely not the same so when he heard these boys howl as they laughed and joked he stepped back, hiding in the dark.
Wolves, his people's sworn enemies.
«Why are wolves…» Kai mumbled confused as he rushed back to where he came from. «That's what Lun wanted to talk to me about.» he told himself as he sighed. He had returned to the shop, unlocking the door in a hurry and heading upstairs. He turned the bin upside down and searched through the papers to find the one he was given.
He would have to go after all.