That's a 2-handed paddle he's talking about. It's huge and hurt-y.

Hmm. So given what we know about braids and what they mean in this world, I'm going to take a stab at armchair psychology. I doubt Danbi is braiding his hair to signal that he's single and available. It's pretty obvious he's not happy about being forced to cut off the white lock of hair. He's doing his best to act like he's okay with it, but I'd imagine he feels a violated by this. He's kept that lock all this time despite needing to hide it in a braid (a no-no for Suyori), so clearly this physical manifestation of his mother means a lot to him. Having it taken away must be painful. If I had to guess, I would say he's braiding it again because he needs some sense of normalcy, to pretend it's still there somehow. Leaving it loose, although the socially proper thing for Suyori, would only be a constant reminder that he's lost something. At least with it still braided, it'll feel like nothing has changed and he can push it to the back of his mind for a little while.