X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the Server‘Dream’
Han Jay’s mood was extremely low. It was understandable, as today was a day with exceptionally few customers.
He couldn’t help but worry.
Even without monthly rent, maintaining this shop cost a lot of money.
No matter how much he scrimped and saved, fixed expenses were unavoidable.
With so few customers, he just worried if he could maintain the shop properly.
Long numbers floated in Han Jay’s head.
He barely held back a sigh because he didn’t know when a customer might enter the shop. If it’s a shop where the owner only sighs, even if he were a customer, he would leave again.
As if someone peeked into his mind, just then the shop door opened. Even though he wasn’t prepared at all, Han Jay habitually smiled.
“Welcome.”
At the quite polite greeting, the person who opened the door and entered showed a flustered look. Han Jay intuitively knew.
That he wasn’t someone who came to buy jewelry.
“Um, I’d like to ask for directions.”
“I see. Where are you looking for?”
Although disappointed, Han Jay didn’t lose his smile because of the hope that this person who entered by chance might return as a customer someday.
Even if such things rarely happen.
After he gave directions, the person left the shop with a very relieved face.
Is it because of the shop’s interior after all? Since it wasn’t a luxurious interior at a glance, it seemed they didn’t feel burdened to come in to ask for directions.
There was no difference from other jewelry shops nearby either. It was far from Han Jay’s taste.
It would be much better with just a little touch-up. It could also attract the attention of passersby. Although he thought so, money was the problem after all.
Suddenly inheriting his parents’ property, Han Jay had to pay quite a lot of inheritance tax. As a result, available cash hit rock bottom.
Since he took over, the shop’s sales were also poor, so he always had to be on tenterhooks.
Both the shop and the house where he lived with his parents, he wanted to protect by all means. He didn’t want to put them up for sale for money.
So his head was always complicated.
He also hated his hands being idle due to lack of work. When he was blank, his head only got more tangled like a tangled skein of thread.
He wondered if it would be better to close the shop early and go home, but the house full of memories couldn’t become a sanctuary for him either.
He still couldn’t properly accept the fact that his parents and brother were no longer in the same house.
Maybe he will never be able to accept it forever.
Because he couldn’t answer the phone that rang all night, because he couldn’t hold his father’s hand calling him, it would be natural to continue receiving punishment.
Han Jay forced a smile on his face. Today was a day when smiling was quite hard.
Through the window he kept glancing at wondering if a customer might come, he saw the sky darkening.
Han Jay couldn’t stop his eyes from frowning automatically.
The weather wasn’t good either. On a day like this, even fewer customers would come.
As soon as he thought it would rain soon, moisture began to form on the show window. Then soon thick raindrops began to fall.
Han Jay let out a long sigh this time for real. Even the people sparsely coming and going on the street seemed to have taken shelter, as the street became empty.
Should I close the shop early and go to a pojangmacha? Wouldn’t it be best to just have pajeon and makgeolli? Han Jay took his eyes off the door, recalling an option he would be least likely to choose.
What he chose wasn’t closing the door but wiping the glass display case, where not even a speck of dust was visible, once more.
It was then that he heard the sound of the door opening, which hadn’t moved.
“Welcome.”
Han Jay smiled reflexively and hid the rag in his hand.
The person who entered the shop was a tall foreigner. With impressive blue eyes.
He was a man handsome enough to be mistaken for a model for a moment.
No, if he were a model with that face, he would be famous enough that Han Jay wouldn’t be unaware of his name.
His appearance was that impressive.
Although he looked strangely familiar, he was definitely not someone Han Jay knew.
The man walked straight towards Han Jay.
“What brings you here?”
Han Jay realized a beat late that his question was quite strange. Not ‘What are you looking for?’ but ‘What brings you here?’
To confess the truth, Han Jay was quite flustered. For a customer dressed only in top-quality items from head to toe to enter a jewelry shop where customers rarely come. Even when the street is completely empty.
The man approaching him looked mysterious, as if a person who shouldn’t exist in this world was moving.
“I’d like to see rings.”
Even his voice was good. Normally, he should feel bad about a customer throwing informal speech abruptly, but he didn’t even feel unpleasant feelings toward the man. Perhaps this man was very used to commanding.
“If it’s rings, they are displayed over here.”
The man looked down at the display case with quite serious eyes. Come to think of it, he speaks Korean well for a foreigner. Han Jay had a somewhat dazed impression.
But he had to come to his senses soon. Because he saw a look of disappointment settling on the customer’s face.
“Is there nothing besides these?”
“We can also make it to order as you wish. Do you have a shape you want?”
The man looked at Han Jay with those blue eyes. Eyes like a lake, Han Jay thought.
Water deep enough not to see the bottom. It seemed to contain water deep enough to fear falling into.
Or he also thought they were like clear, top-grade blue diamonds.
“Blue diamond.”
“Pardon?”
Han Jay was flustered because the same words he thought of in his head came out of the man’s mouth. He realized a little late that it referred to the gem to be used for the ring.
“Platinum band with a blue diamond. The gem inserted between the band as if suspended in the air.”
“Are you talking about tension setting?”
“So that’s called tension setting.”
The man seemed to have a clear image. Han Jay took out an estimate sheet and drew a picture. Adding his own design to what the man requested. Just like drawing something that already exists, he wasn’t blocked for a single moment.
“How about something like this?”
The result drawn on paper looked quite good to Han Jay’s eyes. If it’s a platinum band with a blue diamond, the price was also significant, and he could also show his technical skills with the tricky method called tension setting. It was a condition he couldn’t miss.
I hope the customer likes the design.
It was when Han Jay was waiting for the answer a little anxiously. The man’s lips curved gently.
“As expected.”
That’s a relief. Han Jay was relieved inwardly.
“What size should I make the ring?”
Han Jay gauged while looking down at the man’s hand placed on the display case. The design he drew was a simpler one for men. Since this shape is suitable for wedding rings too, it would be good if he ordered a pair while at it. He also harbored a merchant-like wish.
“One fitted to my hand.”
One?
While raising a question on one hand, Han Jay gauged the size of the stretched finger placed in front of him. Size 19. Although it belongs to the average size, considering his tall height, it could be said to be on the thin side.
“And another one of the exact same shape…”
So it was a wedding ring after all.
Han Jay tried not to make an overly happy expression. In the meantime, the customer had an expression agonizing over the partner’s finger size.
“Right, doing it the same size as you will do.”
When he made eye contact with the customer again, this time he had to try hard to hide his surprise.
The man probably thought of the partner to share the pair of identical rings. His blue eyes seemed deeper. Even knowing it wasn’t a gaze directed at him, Han Jay could read the longing cast in the blue pupils at that moment.
****
A large sum was at stake for the request received on a day without customers. Han Jay inwardly excused himself saying that’s why he had to work hard, but his touch handling platinum contained sincerity beyond that.
Thinking about it, it was a strange order. Even for wedding rings, ordering a pair of identical rings was rare.
Usually, the design for women was flashier. But that customer asked for exactly the same design, with the smaller one matched to Han Jay’s own finger size.
Han Jay put down the platinum he finished forging and stared down at his hand. Although not bigger than others, it wasn’t a small hand either. Size 17. A size belonging to the average ring size for men.
Same size as himself, is the partner also a man?
Being curious about a customer’s personal taste isn’t a requirement for a good merchant. Yet Han Jay became curious.
Even if the band is completed, the ring cannot be completed. Because supply of the blue diamond takes time.
A pair of identical rings embedded with hard-to-get gems.
Ruminating on the meaning, Han Jay suddenly sighed.
He felt a little, just a very little envy for the person who would receive the emotion contained in those blue eyes, not as merchant Han Jay but as individual Han Jay.
****
When the blue diamond was barely supplied, Han Jay shouted in joy. It was a problem that had been bothering him for quite a long time. Making a customer who paid all costs in advance wait indefinitely was very uncomfortable. And he hated being seen as an incapable jeweler.
What Han Jay barely obtained was a raw stone, and he welcomed that fact more. Polishing an expensive blue diamond was certainly burdensome, but it would be rewarding as much.
To be honest, his heart pounded quite a bit. Because while running a common jewelry shop in Jongno, occasions to handle such rare gems were rare.
Right, that’s why I’m putting so much effort into it. Han Jay thought as if excusing himself.
And soon such thoughts were forgotten.
All he could see was the slowly completing blue diamond. That was enough. Han Jay was becoming captivated by the blue light emitted by the diamond.
Perhaps what I was truly captivated by was those blue eyes.
Han Jay ended up thinking so when he saw the man visiting the shop again after receiving contact that the rings were completed. And he was just as dumbfounded at himself. A person who already has a partner to match wedding rings with. Moreover, this was only the second time seeing him.
Did I perhaps fall in love at first sight?
Han Jay had no choice but to consider the thought he came up with as a delusion.
He pulled himself together like that, but his heart wavered again at the man’s one word.
“As expected, good.”
It was a tone as if he knew Han Jay’s crafting skills well. It also meant he liked the pair of rings placed in front of him. He felt his heart beating fast.
Like an idiot.
Han Jay cursed himself for wavering even at words the man probably spat out without much meaning. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it was.
Han Jay rather wished the man would leave this shop quickly.
He was putting the slightly larger ring on his hand. Then looked at the ring settled on his hand with a quite pleased expression. His blue eyes seemed to look deeper.
Wavering for such a person was no different from throwing himself into a hopeless matter. Han Jay couldn’t bear how ridiculous he was.
But when those blue eyes turned to him again, Han Jay felt like something fell. He looked at him as if unexpected.
Did I reveal strange signs outwardly? Han Jay’s expression hardened further. He looked into such him quietly again.
Why. Why am I greedy.
Han Jay even wanted to cry. The fact that those blue eyes were not directed at him was very disappointing.
Even though it was determined so from the beginning.
It was a moment he wanted to close his eyes altogether.
“Jay.”
His name was called.
Did I tell him my name?
It was the moment Han Jay’s mind became confused. Eventually, he realized. The fact that that man knows him.
Right, he knew him.
There was a unique resonance in his name coming from his mouth. As if drawn by that resonance, Han Jay, Jay’s mouth opened on its own.
“Philius…”
Philius, that was that man’s name.
His blue eyes were looking at him. Those eyes that shook him even when he had forgotten him.
At that moment, Jay realized. The fact that he was dreaming.
Dreaming of him appearing in a world where he lived one life, where Philius didn’t exist.
Philius’s eyes curved roundly. It was a familiar expression.
And he naturally held Jay’s hand. The ring that was in the case came onto Jay’s finger. The ring fit perfectly as if it was natural for it to be there.
****
When he opened his eyes, Jay could meet the blue eyes looking at him. At that moment, Jay felt he was relieved.
He reached out his left hand. Naturally, a ring was on the fourth finger.
Jay reached out a bit more and rubbed the corner of Philius’s eye.
“I had a dream.”
The voice just waking up from sleep was subdued. Still, there was no problem conveying the meaning.
“What dream?”
Philius held Jay’s hand. And kissed the palm.
“A dream meeting you in a world where you didn’t exist.”
Philius, who seemed to pause for a moment, soon reached out and hugged Jay. The emotion conveyed by his embrace, having a body temperature contrasting with his, became sufficient comfort.
The dream where he was tied to the lake bottom and couldn’t get out of the water, the dream where he released the chain dragging his ankle down came to mind. Relief like what he felt then was conveyed.
He doesn’t regret everything from when he was Han Jay. There were many memories in that life too.
But still, he came to think it’s a relief, a relief that he can live again with the name Jay.
Jay also wrapped his arms around Philius’s back.
Jay felt the strength in Philius’s arms hugging him become a little firmer. So he laughed a little.
It was a peaceful morning as usual.
‘Dream’ End
Loving this chapter? You'll be hooked on Villainess, You're Supposed to Be Evil, So Stop Oozing Hearts!! Click to explore more!
Read : Villainess, You're Supposed to Be Evil, So Stop Oozing Hearts!
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂
Whattt was it end of the story 😭🍾