“Um …”
The owner of the gold and silver shop scrutinized the ring in front of his eyes. With his fists clenched, he looked back and forth to see if there were any scratches or if the gem had faded. He was looking at the ring with my eyes lit to find out even one drawback.
Chersenia had an amazing eye for jewelry since she was young. Among the inexpensive accessories sold at the stand, I always had to find the best quality. Besides, she was so neat. Her belongings were kept intact. She’s sure there won’t be any blemishes on the ring she brought.
She looked at the shop owner, who was struggling to catch even a single piece of flaw. She can’t wait to see what he will say and how he will hit the price down.
“Ehem.”
Soon after, he shook his head with a look as if he was not satisfied with the ring’s quality. In the midst of this, his hand holding the ring was captured in Chersenia’s eyes clearly. What the hell is that hand doing? does it keep clenching from beginning to end? It was quite annoying.
‘I’m not gonna go easy on you.’
In any case, it would not be possible for her to be scammed by someone as she has impeccable eyes for jewelry.
“How much will you give me?”
“I can’t offer a lot because the ring is scratched.”
At his ridiculous reasoning, Chersenia raised one corner of her lips and laughed openly.
“Where’s the blemish.”
It was stored in the best condition, and the jewelry was flawless in its design, which was shining among other goods. Even if she can’t upsell it, she can still get 20,000 shillings, so she wonders how much he’s going to shave off the price now.
“If you look here, you see a little scratch.”
As if he was saying something for no reason, the owner brought a ring in his fist and showed it to her. The ring pointed by the owner’s fingernail had a thin, sharp scratch on it.
It was the first blemish she saw. It was definitely a flaw that the ring didn’t have when she took it out of the dressing table. The blemishes, much less, were determined and sharp as a knife scratch. It’s a scratch that cannot be made by nature or accidentally.
“You see? So I can’t give you 10,000 shillings.”
He was elated as if he had not lied. The owner’s shoulders shrugged and his nose soared to its limit.
‘You’re gonna play it out like this.’
She can’t let it go because she feels disgusted. She clenched the owner’s fist as she collected the ring.
“Ahh! What is it, now!”
She smiled leisurely at the owner, who was screaming as if he was in pain.
“Why is this hand never unfolded and this one is squeezed?”
“Eeh, you’re not gonna let go of this?”
The owner’s eyes shook greatly, perhaps embarrassed. Then he screamed out loud. Chersenia gathered heat in her hand, holding the owner. How dare you deceive me and try to blackmail me with my own money.
“Do you see me as a bing bridge hot pants?” (*)
(*t/: bingdari hot pants means someone who is easily used/deceived because that person looks stupid enough.)
The condensed heat quickly passed into the hands of the owner who was caught.
“Ugh! Ah, hot, ah, hot! “
The owner flapped his arms because it was hot. In the meantime, the hand that holds his fist won’t unfold. There’s something in there, too. From the first time he checked the ring, he was holding his fist tightly, so she observed it carefully.
Then, the owner caught a time to pull something up by moving his fist finger. she didn’t see anything after that because it was so quick.
But Chersenia was genre-savvy.(*) When the owner showed her the ring again, it was scratched, she knew it was not a skill that he had done only once or twice. He made a scratch with his brazen face and he’s trying to hit the price low.
(*t/n: A Genre Savvy character doesn’t necessarily know they’re in a story, but they do know of stories like their own and what worked in them and what didn’t.)
She was disgusted and put more power into her hands.
“Huh? It’s hot.”
“Really?”
Said Chersenia with a smile on her face that says she knew nothing.
“Oh, hot!”
Eventually, the unbearable owner shook his hand, un-clenching his fist.
Clang.
A small razor blade fell on a shelf made of transparent glass.
“Hik!”
The owner panicked and was concerned about the razor blade that fell in a hurry.
“Don’t move.”
Chersenia grabbed the owner’s hand roughly, and picked up the razor blade.
It was a razor blade that looked less than l cm. Even the edge of the blade was sharply divided. It looks like it is specially made to scratch accessories.
“What is this?”
Chersenia smiled and looked at the owner. She was holding his hand in her other hand. There was a big handprint on the owner’s wrist as he looked at himself with his shaking pupils.
The owner had only thought that she was strong. He wouldn’t have imagined that his hands would feel the scorching burn pain like this. He’s never seen anything like that.
“Well, what! I just use it to cut the packaging!”
The owner, who was caught red-handed, was the only one who got angry.
‘Do you want to be found out like this?’
Chersenia rolled her eyes to find the most expensive one of the gems placed on the shelves below. A large diamond-studded ring stood out. At first glance it seems like the most expensive gem in this store. She put her hand on the display rack coldly and broke the diamond ring.
“What is it! Give you this? Do you know how much it is worth!”
The owner rushed in fright. After all it was expensive. Chersenia admired her eyes and turned away from the owner.
She shaved and scratched the razor blades in a dazzling almond shaped diamond ring. As the razor blade passed by, the same scratch as the owner showed was created.
“What is this!”
The owner was amazed with his mouth open. I was amazed at how pretty my stupid face was.
“It’s so identical to my ring’s scratch.”
“You, I know how much you’re squeezing!”
He screamed to the point where the gold and silver room rang.
“Where’s the dog who was barking?”
Chersenia covered her ears with a nasty face. The owner trembled to see if she felt insulted. The face that the owner had had turned red and green.
“It’s incomparably more expensive than your fake! How are you going to compensate!”
She felt like she was too kind. He keeps rambling without knowing the opponent he’s dealing with. Chersenia hit her hand with moderate power over the shelves.
Bang.
The display rack shook with a loud rumbling sound. She wasn’t surprised because she properly controlled her power, but the accessories on the display were scrambled and entangled.
“You have to pay me for compensation.”1
“What, what?”
The owner, who looked at the accessory that had been scrawled with one face in disrespect, raised his head. He stared at Chersenia as hard as a laser.
“I think I don’t mind how you do your business, as long as it’s not with me. Since the evidence is in my hand, rumors don’t matter to you?”
He seemed to be hit by her comeback answer, and he shook his mouth.
“If you pay for my ring, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you today.”
“Yes, yes, your ring! I can only offer 13,000 shillings!”
In the midst of this, he’s still offering her a low price. She was going to let him get away with 20,000 shillings, but now she can’t.
“50,000 shillings.”
“What?”
She said it clearly with strength added into every word.
“Fif. ty. Thou. sand. Shil. lings.”
If it was according to her original plan, 20,000 shillings would be worth the price. But now that she has exhausted her energy and suffered mental damage, she will get it straightened out.
“Huh…”
He groaned briefly as if he was shivering.
“You don’t want to give it to me? Then let’s spread the word. I’m stronger than you thought.”
The owner shuddered at the word of strength. Fear was in his eyes. No wonder her handprint was still lingering on his wrist.
“Four, forty thousand shillings. “
“50,000. “
“45, 000 shillings, no more from me! “
The owner’s attitude changed as he pretending to be good-hearted and raised his smile.
“50,000 shillings.”
The owner clenched his fist angrily and shouted.
“All right! All right!”
He turned around and roughly opened the drawer he had placed on the display. There was a pile of bills inside the drawer as if it was a safe. Chersenia opened her eyes wide and glanced at him. Even if she doesn’t punish him herself, the owner is the kind who causes a great deal of trouble with his own slick tongue.
As she is not as righteous as Hong Gil-dong(*), there was no reason to condemn the owner with her own hands. She only wanted to get paid. She didn’t want to get into trouble.
(*t/n: Hong Gil Dong is a streetwise, smart-mouthed thief with a talent for martial arts that he utilizes for justice and political reform.)
Her goal is just to live in peace, not to be a heroine. The owner stretched out 50,000 shillings with his cheeks loosened up in discontent. His figure resembled a very nasty toad.
“You really should have done it sooner.”
She caught the banknote. But he couldn’t let go of the money because it was such a big amount. The banknote began to be so tense that it was torn apart. Chersenia raised her other hand without a word. It was a ruse to engrave the mark on the owner’s hand again.
“Argh!”
The owner took his hand off the money in a fit of surprise. She was scarier than him. Seeing him acting out when she hasn’t even touched him yet, Chersenia smiled full of victory and put the 50,000 shillings in her pocket.
“This one is confiscated.”
She also packed the razor, and put the diamond ring down on the shelf. She smiled at the owner, who said he was going to go bankrupt and die, and left the room with the gold.
(*t/n: I’d have taken the diamond with me too tbh…)