Chapter 1
“I wish the mermaids would wreck those rude trade ships every day.”
The child muttered to herself, rosy cheeks puffed out.
From her small fingers lifting a lapis lazuli toward the window to her excited tone, there was pure joy in her voice.
“What ship will they sink tomorrow, and what gem will they bring back?”
In the dim, candleless shop, her expectant voice drifted like a humming tune.
Her eyes quietly traced the dusty, worn-down store as if she could see her voice floating through the air.
Her wide eyes, despite her youthful face and excited voice, held a strange detachment.
After calmly observing the dusty wooden floor, tables, and shelves, her gaze returned to the gem in her hand.
Fixating on the blue-and-gold stone, she brought it up to her ear like a seashell.
She shut her eyes. She thought she could hear the voice of the mermaid who brought her stolen gems every other day.
“Young Miss. You always play with the biggest jewels and wear the prettiest clothes. You should just live happily, without a single worry.”
‘Without a single worry. Just happily.’
It was a phrase repeated like a spell—by mermaids and the townsfolk alike. She probably heard it at least ten times a day.
As she mumbled the familiar words, she fiddled with the sleeve of her grass-colored blouse.
‘Choosing the color of today’s blouse, skirt, and hair ornament is my biggest worry. So why are they always nagging me?’
Pouting her lips, she diligently polished the blue gem against her light pink skirt. The more spotless and shiny the gem became, the more her inexplicable gloom faded.
She lifted the now-sparkling gem high and smiled brightly.
“What more is a carefree, happy life? Just looking at pretty, shiny things like this is enough.”
As if responding, a corner of the gem sparkled.
Her clear laughter filled the dusty corners of the shop.
With the golden sunlight streaming in through the smudged glass, the deep blue jewel shimmered like a wave.
It looked like a slice of the midnight sea—its mysterious blue gently rippling with her laughter.
Then—
“Young Miss! Miss Onju!”
Just as she was basking in the joy of admiring the jewel, a three-tailed monkey and a three-headed dog burst into the tiny store and shattered the moment.
The dusty sliding door slammed open, then shut with a loud bang. A cloud of dust floated up like feathers.
“Cough, cough!”
The girl—Onju—called by the puppy, coughed and swatted at the dust, then irritably loosened the ribbon of her blouse.
Seeing her frown and toss off her blouse, the monkey and puppy froze in shock.
“Y-Young Miss… Why are you taking off your top?!”
Instead of answering, Onju picked up a sewing kit.
With practiced ease, she began sewing the blue gem into the collar and glared at the young creatures.
“Didn’t I tell you not to run indoors? Look at all the dust.”
“Dust is not the problem right now, Young Miss!”
“Shut it! I’m telling her first!”
The little animals bickered about who would speak first.
Then—without warning, the door slid open again.
“Are you the owner of this repair shop?”
A stranger entered, trailing midday sunlight behind him. His low voice echoed through the cramped shop.
Onju turned her head instinctively, narrowing her eyes as she examined the newcomer.
He was unusually large. Dressed in multiple layers of white and blue robes—long coat, jacket, outer vest—his sheer size made him seem even more imposing.
He looked like the summer sky itself had stepped into her shop.
Having lived a decade holed up in the store, Onju gazed at him like someone starved of the real sky.
As their eyes met, his golden irises flashed brilliantly even in the dim shadows.
She winced slightly from her corner in the gloom.
‘Is he not human…?’
But in a blink, his eyes returned to a flawless, jet-black hue—the color of cool midnight. Her favorite color. Just like obsidian.
He held her gaze and smiled boldly.
“So, you’re the famous ‘Young Miss of Suribang’? I heard this shop can fix anything that’s broken, so I came to see for myself.”
His low, clear voice rang directly at her.
Everything about him—his looks, his voice—seemed perfectly tailored to Onju’s taste.
She narrowed her eyes.
‘It’s like he knows exactly what I like. Did he shapeshift to match my type? Is he a fox spirit? The mermaids warned me not to take jobs from fox spirits—they’re all dark-hearted.’
But Onju rarely followed their warnings anyway.
She had grown up in Dongnae-hyeon, a southern coastal town where non-humans outnumbered humans. Strange creatures came and went all the time. Her curiosity often pulled her toward the very things she was told to avoid.
Scanning him again with narrowed eyes, she made an excuse to herself.
‘Fox or goblin, who cares? I wasn’t planning to work today anyway.’
Shielded by this self-justification, she gave him a deliberately indifferent glare and snapped:
“I didn’t say you could come in. Where are your manners?”
“Why should I need permission to enter a store during business hours?”
“…?”
“If you didn’t want customers, you should’ve locked the door.”
Flustered and slightly offended, she frowned deeply and waved her hand dismissively.
“Whatever. I’m not working today.”
Even with her blunt dismissal and rude gestures, the man remained unfazed. He approached her without hesitation.
As he strolled closer, he curiously examined the store.
“Long bar counters and shelves in the back—this place looks like a tavern more than a repair shop.”
Trying to ignore him, she ended up responding with a sigh:
“I wanted to run a tavern. But the people here are so uptight. They can’t stand the idea of a ‘child’ selling alcohol.”
“Well… that figures.”
“Then I said I’d open a restaurant instead, but they all collapsed from shock. So I had no choice but to start a repair shop.”
The man didn’t say much—just let out a vague hum and stepped even closer.
They now stood across a narrow wooden plank—two handspans for him, four for her.
“You suit this better than a tavern or restaurant. Your hands don’t look like they’ve ever cooked anything.”
He leaned slightly and tapped her hand.
Startled by their sudden closeness, the monkey and puppy behind her curled up their tails.
“They’re not usually shy around people…”
The creatures, always chattering away, now trembled behind her. Frowning, she asked:
“What did you do to them?”
