The charming jeweler

The jewelry shop was located next to the stands, so it didn't take Mingi long to get there. It was a small brown house with round windows on each side of the door. Small flowers decorated the outside of the house in majestic colors of the rainbow. He loved the look of his friend's shop. He would always come here to relax, sometimes taking care of the little flowers when he had the time for it.

A small knock on the door had someone yelling at him from inside, telling him to wait for a few seconds. Mingi gladly waited for his friend, eyeing the villagers who passed by every now and then. When the door finally opened, his friend greeted him with a kind smile, showing his shining teeth to Mingi. "Hi." The blonde boy waved shyly, stepping inside the shop when his friend moved out of the way, closing the door behind them. "Sorry for barging in so early, Seonghwa. I had to get away from my father for a moment." He chuckled, running his fingers along his markings in thought. "I have about thirty minutes to chat before I have to go back for breakfast." He explained.

Seonghwa tilted his head to the side with a smile, patting Mingi's back with a careful hand. "It's fine, Mingi. You're always welcome to my humble home." He laughed, taking Mingi's hand and dragging him to the living room. Seonghwa's shop was small, but it definitely fit him. It looked more like a fairy's home than an elf's, but Mingi knew Seonghwa had always admired fairies a lot, and it showed.

After the jeweler had dragged the blonde boy into his living room, they sat down in the corner that was decorated with soft pillows. The walls were painted with a warm pink colour, the violet fairy lights attached to the ceiling fitting the colour scheme perfectly. The pillow fort in the corner was one of Mingi's favourite things about Seonghwa's little shop. They always drank tea in the corner and gossiped about other elves. It brought warm memories into Mingi's mind and it made him smile in adoration. Seonghwa's lips formed into a smile as he watched the blonde boy look around his living room for the millionth time.

"Is the chief being an asshole to you again? What did he do this time?" Seonghwa asked, patting the pillow so Mingi would take a seat next to him. The other smiled and whispered a small thank you before seating himself next to Seonghwa. "You said you wanted to get away from him when you came in." He said, leaning against the pink pillow behind him, crossing his legs and turning to look at the other elf.

Mingi scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, looking anywhere but at Seonghwa. His eyes found the violet fairy lights, examining every single one of them individually. "He saw the piercing on my ear." He muttered quietly, his hand finding the piercing on his ear and fiddling with it. The golden accessory felt cold against the palm of his hand. "I promised him not to get more piercings a while ago. But in the end, I visited your shop and got another one. He wasn't happy about that, but what can I do, he's always grumpy when I wear something he doesn't like." He said, eyes finding Seonghwa's warm ones in an instant.

Seonghwa sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's literally your own body, Mingi. Your father has no say in this, you know? If you want to get a piercing then you should be allowed to do so." He said, taking Mingi's hand in his and squeezing it in a reassuring manner. He had never liked the way Mingi's father treated the blonde boy. It always made him angry when Mingi came running to his shop with tears in his eyes. He'd like to have a serious discussion about parenting with the chief. "Did he say anything about me?"

Mingi blinked, a small grin plastered on his lips. "He said he'd personally come to your shop and ask you to stop piercing me if I get another one." He chuckled, his hand running along his markings, feeling every curve and corner. Mingi did this a lot when he was anxious or worried. It made him feel more relaxed, and since it was the most sensitive part of an elf's body, he usually didn't let anyone else touch them other than Seonghwa. The two didn't have anything going on, they were just friends who were very, very close. He let Seonghwa touch his markings only when he was feeling sad or perplexed about something.

The jeweler snorted at that, playfully rolling his eyes. Mingi looked at him in curiosity, but didn't comment on Seonghwa's sudden childish behavior. "He can ban me from the village if he wants, but I won't quit my job just because some old man didn't want his son to get any piercings." He laughed, putting a reassuring hand on Mingi's right shoulder. "If you want another one, I'll give you one, don't worry." He winked, standing up and brushing his pants with one arm. "Anyways, I'll go make some fairy dust tea for us, I'll be quick, okay?" He said, gaining a shy nod from Mingi.

The blonde elf watched as Seonghwa made his way to the kitchen with quiet steps. Smiling to himself, Mingi took a pillow from beside him and buried his face in it, his legs swinging up and down in excitement. He has been friends with Seonghwa for years. They first met at a clan meeting Seonghwa's mother had participated in. Mingi's father had dragged him to see the meeting because he wanted Mingi to see what it was like to rule over the biggest elf tribe.

Ever since then, they've been inseparable. Seonghwa has always been quite the charmer, his looks were a no-joke, after all. And because of that and the fact Mingi was the prince, they got a lot of attention. Seonghwa liked the attention but Mingi hated it. As a shy individual, he disliked pointless conversation with strangers from the village. Seonghwa had noticed Mingi's discomfort at some point and he gladly accepted Mingi's request of staying indoors every time they met.

While Seonghwa was older, he was also shorter than Mingi. His silver locks were in everyone's mind as soon as one had seen him, and his markings were also marvelous. The Iris was in the back of his neck for everyone to see. His red markings slithered around his back towards his hips and ended on his stomach, making him look like a living painting. Mingi really admired his friend's appearance. People usually had bright colored markings, but Seonghwa was a beautiful example of someone who had darker markings on their body. It was as if red, warm flames engulfed his body in endless symbols and lines, the Iris in the back of his neck being the main attraction.

The jeweler's attire was quite ravishing, too. He usually wore a red see-trough crop top — to match the markings on his body — that was decorated with a golden neckline. His pants were similar to Mingi's, black, but they were made from the finest leather one could find. Mingi always wondered how much they cost, but he didn't have to ask to know they cost a fortune. Seonghwa didn't wear any boots inside, but he usually had a pair of elven boots on, which he made himself. Even though Seonghwa was the owner of a jewelry shop, he didn't use many accessories on himself, only a small necklace around his neck with a small orange flower hanging from it.

As Mingi waited for his friend to come back with two steaming cups of fairy dust tea, a sudden sharp sound made his ears perk up. He also heard a quiet curse as something fell on the floor where Seonghwa was. Mingi stood up, placing the pillow back in its original place, and went to check on the older. When he got to the kitchen, he saw Seonghwa crouched on the floor with a wet rag in his hand. Mingi could clearly see the red iris in the back of Seonghwa's neck from his current position. "What happened here?" The blond voiced, startling the other elf.

Seonghwa sighed, standing up and wiping his forehead with his hand. "As you can see, chaos happened." He grumbled, throwing the wet towel in the sink while pursing his lips together. What was left on the floor was a broken glass jar, its shards spread around everywhere. "All my fairy dust is gone." He murmured angrily. Mingi could imagine how furious Seonghwa must be right now. Fairy dust wasn't cheap at all, it cost at least a few gold coins, which was a lot because you could get a months worth of food with the same amount.

"I guess we won't be having fairy dust tea." Seonghwa whined. It was his favorite drink, and now he had to save money for a new jar of fairy dust. The older turned to Mingi, a frown on his face, but he tried not to show his disappointment too much. "Mingi, you like cinnamon tea, don't you? I can make a few jars of it for you if you want. You can take the jars back with you when you leave." He requested, the younger quirking up an eyebrow in surprise.

Mingi shook his head with a sweet smile, helping Seonghwa pick up the shards of the jar that had spread across the floor. "You don't have to make it. I don't have much time anyways." He explained, putting the small shards of glass in the trash bin. Seonghwa hummed, doing the same. "But, do you have any earrings I could buy? I wanted to change my current one to something else." He said, pointing at the piercing on his ear, Seonghwa nodding in thought.

"Of course I do, I own a jewelry shop, after all. Is it for Lenaia?" Seonghwa asked, getting a small nod from the blonde elf. He chuckled, walking out of the kitchen in a hurry to find the thing he needed. He turned left after leaving the kitchen, walking to his storage room, and stepping on a low chair. The room was a mess, boxes of jewelry and all kinds of accessories lying around. The shelves were even more messier, full of little boxes filled with gold and silver. He searched for the right label on the many shelves, and after finding the one that read 'earrings', he yanked the box out of the shelf, almost falling down the chair in the process. "Here we go." He whispered to himself with a smile plastered on his lips.

Mingi watched in expectation what kinds of earrings the other would bring, and when he saw the silver haired elf return, his stomach was bubbling with excitement. "What did you find?" He asked enthusiastically, eyes wide in happiness. Seonghwa giggled lowly, placing the small box on the kitchen table and opening the lid. Mingi's eyes focused on the box, his mind blanking as he saw all the beautiful accessories in it. "Wow." He simply stated, mouth hanging loose as he stepped forward to get a better look at the jewelry.

His eyes fixated on a specific earring. Seonghwa watched in amusement as Mingi picked up the earring, inspecting it from up close. "I knew you'd like that one." He smiled. Mingi didn't answer anything, he just stared at the earring in awe. "You know, it has a small spell embedded into it. It helps the bearer when they're distressed, it spreads happiness to the body when worn." He explained, Mingi nodding emptily at his explanation. "It'd also look hot on you, not gonna lie." He smirked playfully, Mingi choking on air after hearing that. "What? I mean it."

Mingi could feel his face heat up from embarrassment upon hearing Seonghwa's bold comment. His ears were red and hot, and if Seonghwa noticed, he chose not to comment on it. "I — I guess..." The blonde said with a stutter. "How much do I have to pay for this?" He said shyly, eyeing the earring. Seonghwa laughed quite loudly after hearing Mingi's question, the said elf raising up a confused eyebrow.

"You don't have to pay for it, darling." Seonghwa grinned, closing the box and picking it up from the table. Mingi looked perplexed for a hot second before nodding slowly. The older couldn't help but smile at Mingi as he stared at the piece of jewelry in his frail hand. "You really seem to like it, huh?" He said, leaving the kitchen to return the box to its previous place. When he came back, he saw the blonde elf taking out the piercing on his earlobe and replacing it with the new one. "Like I said, it looks good."

Mingi had to bite back a smile at that, a giggle leaving his lips instead. "T- thank you, Hwa. I think I'll take it." He said with a shy smile. Seonghwa flashed a grin at him, patting Mingi's head like a puppy's. "Anyways I think I have to go now. I don't want to keep my father waiting for too long. That would result in a disaster, after all." He said, smiling cheekily at the older.

Seonghwa chuckled at Mingi's cuteness. Walking to the blonde's side, he placed a secure arm behind Mingi's back and accompanied him to the front door. "I assume I will see you at the Lenaia festival?" He tilted his head to the side. "Your father will probably drag you with him to watch the other tribe members fight." He sighed, noticing the sudden change in Mingi's expression.

The said elf hummed nonchalantly, hand finding the new earring on his right ear. "I guess so." He simply said, giving Seonghwa a smile of reassurance. "But I'll be fine, Hwa. You don't need to worry about anything." He stated, the silver haired elf narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Come on, have some faith in me, will you?" The blonde chuckled.

Seonghwa hummed as an answer and slowly nodded. "Right, of course. Let's act like you don't hate violence." He spat, ripping his gaze off Mingi. The said boy stared at the older in confusion for a while before breaking into soft giggles. Seonghwa eyed Mingi with narrowed eyes, not buying it. "If your father does something sudden to you, please, look for me, okay?" He said, worry laced with his voice. Mingi stayed quiet for a second, contemplating what to say next. He knew Seonghwa was worried about him, but Mingi didn't want him to get involved with his family business. His father would like it even less.

Mingi ran a hand trough his blond locks, a sigh leaving his lips. "He won't do anything, Hwa. But if he does do something, you'll be the first one to know about it, alright?" He smiled softly, his words making Seonghwa's shoulders slump down in relief. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to leave." He grinned, taking Seonghwa's hand in his and shaking it in a playful manner. "Bye, see you at the festival!"

The silver haired elf watched as Mingi ran off with a cute wave, almost tripping on some rocks because he didn't look ahead of him. He laughed at his friend's goofiness, closing the door and returning to his work space.