"I'm finished. This is your business now"
Those were the last words from his father before the old man journeyed into some unknown rural area, not only for medical care, but also an excuse to ditch his work and started travelling to see the world. He was too stubborn for someone who almost reached sixty, saying he wanted to make peace with life, no longer dealing with the fussy people. And Niel, however much he wanted to slap his own father, ultimately had to obey the superior hierachy within the family and let him skipping away in glee.
It was the first day of the week In the capital city of Harafin. Even the laziest bunch of the folks would get up at dawn, preparing themselves for work or manual labor. When the sun started to climb the sky, the street would already be bustling with the open shops, and filled with yells of the vendors competing with each other.
Around this time, Niel should be walking with his father to their owned jewelry store. But that all had changed, and he trudged to the store with heavy steps, all alone, with muttered curses under his breath, until he arrived at a building of weathered bricks and growing mosses. An old sign made of oak hung on the window, the writing almost faded as it read 'Pendulum'.
"What sickness? He just wanted an excuse to quit" He grumbled, fiddling with the keys to unlock the door.The rusty lock still rattled stubbornly even after a few tries.
It took a few minutes before the young man could finally enter. The inside of the store was a lot nicer and well-preserved compared to the outside. The wall was painted with colour of cream which paired nicely with the marble tiles, creating ambience of luxury. A chandelier hung above the display case, casting warm glow over the valuable pieces. A set of velvet couches arranged around a small coffee table for clients to rest and have a talk while they peruse the choices.
The routine was repetitive. Sweeping the floor, wiping off the dust in the store, arranging unsold pieces of jewelries. He then went to the back, where a huge partition of the building was built as a workshop. Sometimes, his dad had crafted some commisioned pieces to be wrapped up. But using 'sometimes' would be exageration as this only happened in once or twice a year. With dwindling number of patrons, Niel only had to brood away at the counter for the whole day, doing nothing.
Pendulum was once an established jewelry store in the past with reputable history of cattering to royals and the upper classes. Every rings, necklaces, and many more decorative items were crafted with melticulous care under precise eyes of skilled craftsmen. Niel had heard the story countless times. Of how his great great grandfather had crafted a crown from the finest mineral for the Sun King of South. Or how his ancestors were given the highest honors alongside knights and warriors for their craftmanship.
It all changed a few generations ago, when the young emperor of Harafin took all minerals for war against another empire. Pendulum was too prideful to adapt to cheaper materials, and they suffered the consequences over time. No one cared for a nice bracelet during hardship, not even the most reckless splender of the empire. And when the period of crisis ended, its name had long been forgotten for anyone to care.
But it was because of those past stories Pendulum could still stand to this day. His grandpa took pride of every words of the tales and pushed through despite the struggle in finance. His father? Not so much, and that was apparent by how quick he was handing over the family business without any qualms.
Niel looked up when the door opened. Luck was good to him today.
"Hello" The customer of the day, a girl with bright red dress greeted.
Niel acknowledged the greeting with a nod "How can I help you?"
"Oh, I'm just looking around" The girl said, shyly averted her eyes away. But Niel noticed the secret glances when she pretended to inspect bracelets in the display case, and that was enough to tell him how easy she'd be.
Surpressing a smirk, Niel walked up to the girl, who flinched when he leaned against the display with both arms propped up "That one would look amazing on you"
The girl felt her cheeks warming up, her heart quickened. But she didn't dare to look up to meet this man's eyes, who had captured her interests a week ago when she walked down the street, passing by this store. At that moment, she noticed a man with pink hair and a set of bright blue eyes, sitting at the counter and cleaning some jewelries.
The man's skin was smooth like a piece of porcelain, his eyes glimmered like the stones he handled in daily basis. The way he dressed was too casual for the luxurious atmosphere of this jewelry store, with the collar of his shirt unbuttoned, revealing the collarbone and a peek of the chest. She had mustered up courage for the whole week just to walk in, but still got flustered when finally seeing him up close.
"I...I don't think I can afford these actually" The girl said in a low voice.
But Niel wasn't just about to let it go. Smoothly, he replied "We actually have a deal for first time buyers. Items like bracelets, rings and headpieces will get half price off"
The girl looked up, eyes widened at the huge price cut "So that would be..."
"This one will go from 20 silvers to 10" He tapped at the glass, pointing at a silver bracelet with flower carvings "Do you want to try it on?"
Before she could say anything, Niel had already taken out the bracelet within a second, setting it over the counter. "May I?" he opened a palm and gave the sweetest smile. She shyly put forward her wrist, her heart beating faster.
When the clasp fastened, the girl admired the bracelet in awe. She traced the swirling carvings of vines and flowers, and how light reflected over its surface. No matter how much she liked it, a thought kept nagging at her over how she could've spent the same amount of money on food or something necessary.
Niel seemed to have sensed her distress and said "You should be able to treat yourself with nice things" He looked at her with sincerity in his eyes "And, it'd be a waste if it doesn't go to a girl this pretty. I can lower it to 7 silver" He winked.
The girl immediately went red, as red as the colour of the dress she wore "I'll take it!"
Once the bracelet had been paid and the customer exited the store, the smile instantly dropped from Niel's face as he sighed with relief.
The bracelet was one of the many pieces that didn't sell out for a long, long time. The original price was put at 25 silver, and the price just kept going down and down until it reached the ground. There was no first-buyers deal in the first place, and Niel certainly didn't lower the price only because she was pretty. The bracelet was already dirt cheap, and she could actually haggle the price to be lower. In fact, someone could just take it away for free and the store wouldn't even suffer any kind of loses.
Niel rubbed his jaw. Maybe he should hang a picture of his face in front of the store. It made more money than the jewelries anyway.