"Do you already know which one to choose?"
"I do not know." Jungkook looked out the car window, not focusing his gaze on a particular point. "I guess anyone is fine."
Beside him, his mother frowned but remained silent. This surprised the young man, but a song that played on the radio quickly distracted him. He continued to stare out the window as he hummed in time to the song, his fingers tapping the beat against her thighs.
Obviously, he should have known that the quiet was short-lived. They were almost close to the store they were going to, they just needed to make a right turn, park and enter. But of course, just at that same moment, fate decided that it would be a good idea for the traffic light to turn red.
"Tell me what is bothering you." Her mother hadn't even taken her eyes off the road. Jungkook had two options; the first was playing crazy and pretending he didn't know what she was talking about, which was likely to not work, and the second option was telling the truth. But how do you tell your mother that ending up in the same situation as your aunt scares you? "Jungkook, I can hear you thinking from here. Come on, let it go." (❄️... sorry, couldn't help it😁)
While she spoke the first part of the sentence with a touch of concern, the last words were sharper, and not because of the intensity with which she spoke them. No, his mother rarely raised her voice. She was more of the type to tell you to fuck off with a smile and a look that challenged you to contradict her. It was terrifying. So I decided.
"I don't want to go through the same thing as Aunt Hye." The words rushed out of his mouth. Jungkook ran his fingers along the edge of his shirt in an act of nervousness. When he finally dared to look at his mother, she was looking at him. Her brown eyes did not leave Jungkook's, as if she was searching for something, or perhaps confirming that he was telling the truth.
"Agreed." his mother said after a sigh. "I wouldn't talk about it yet, but since it affects you so much, I think the best thing is to take the bull by the horns."
At this Jungkook's eyes widened, almost comically, but he kept silent and swallowed hard.
"I propose a deal. Something very simple. I want you to focus only and only on looking for the gemstone that you like the most or that catches your attention when you enter that store. In return, when we get home we will talk about that ... incident. Do you think you can do that for me?"
Jungkook just nodded, getting a smile out of his mother.
"Perfect." She said as she stroked his cheek lovingly. As if it were a sign.
To say that the store was spacious and well organized was an understatement. From the outside, it might appear that it was like another store specializing in selling gemstones. Like others, it had a small window with various products on offer, and the most exquisite, all placed and decorated to attract the attention of the passerby. At the top lived the sign with the name of the store. Destiny Stone. It was simple and easy to remember. Nothing too pompous. From afar, the letters appeared to be a golden colour that stood out against the red colour of the storefront. But once you were closer, and you looked closely, you could appreciate that in fact, the letters were not gold, but different colours that varied depending on where you looked from; almost like a rainbow.
Once inside, the simplicity was behind us, and the spaciousness of the interior was immense. It resembled the lobby of the corporate building where his father worked, though that's where the similarities ended. It didn't even look like other department stores or shopping malls Jungkook had been to. He just took his breath away and despite looking like an idiot for staring at his surroundings with his mouth open, he didn't care. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that at 12 he was still as impressionable as a 5-year-old.
"This way, honey." His mother said as she took him by the hand and carried him with her. Jungkook got carried away, still immersed in the inside look of the store; its lighting and decoration capturing him.
In reality, its architecture was not that different from other buildings, and yet he could not take his eyes off it. There was something about the environment that made him seem different, gave him a sense of serenity and excitement, something that his mind still could not process more deeply. Once in front of the counter, Jungkook looked around while his mother spoke with the shop assistant.
On the right side of the store, which is where they were standing, there were a couple of armchairs and a coffee table with several magazines on top, probably related to jewellery and precious stones. The U-shaped counter was made in light brown wood, with different brochures and the occasional minimalist decoration.
On the left side were a couple of paintings and a large archway that led into a spacious hall. From his position he couldn't see much; a pair of glass urns whose contents, Jungkook assumed, were precious stones, and a kind of plaque at the bottom of each. At the back of the store, there were several doors, all of them closed and with no inscriptions, so there was nothing for him to pry.
Looking back at the counter, Jungkook paid attention to the conversation between his mother and the shop assistant. It was his first time coming to a site like this, so he thought he might as well absorb as much information as possible.
Apparently, the business had two interconnected functions. While the primary function was to offer various types of precious stones (or gems) that, after special treatment, would find your soul mate, the other function of the business was like that of a jewellery store. Although a gem received special treatment intending to turn it into a stone of destiny or jewel of destiny (the one you would use to find your soul mate), you could also apply another totally different treatment, which would serve solely and only to enhance the qualities associated with a certain stone, and thus be able to use it accordingly. Best of all, the acquisition of a stone of destiny or jewel of destiny was free.
"Hana-ssi will be with you in a few minutes. You can wait in the waiting area or, if you prefer, you can browse our collection in the showroom." The young woman said with a smile as she waved her hand towards the living room.
She decided once his mother turned and walked in the living's direction room with a determined look on her face, her eyes shining with determination. His mother told him she wanted to get a gem with the qualities so that her sister Hye would regain the desire to reconnect with human society.
"It is not healthy to be locked in your room all day doing nothing."
Her mother had said through an explanation. Jungkook understood his Aunt Hye.
He didn't have much reason to leave his room himself. Yes, he had classmates, and sometimes he would meet them in a park or an arcade, but they were not actually his friends. It was not something that worried him; he had always been a reserved boy and enjoyed his time alone with his drawings.
His mother eventually ended up deciding on an Amazonite which was turquoise mixed with white, the effect of which was to provide a calm emotional state by eliminating negative thoughts. With this, she hoped that at least Hye would come out to get some air and catch the sun. It couldn't be healthy to be so pale.
"Excellent decision, Eunji. As always." His mother turned with a smile to the person who was now next to them.
"Hana! Right on time. As always." The informal relationship between the two women did not go unnoticed by Jungkook. "Do you think I have to combine it with another?"
"It depends on the person you want to give it to." The woman, Hana replied, still smiling. She was quite tall and slender, her hair a golden brown that came down to her shoulders. His eyes were light green and his skin was white, slightly touched by the sun.
"I need my sister to stop being a hermit." His mother responded immediately and straight to the point.
Hana raised an eyebrow in response. "I thought your sister was the opposite."
"And she is. Well, she was." His mother gave a frustrated sigh. "Her stone reacted a couple of weeks ago. But it didn't go as well as one would hope."
"I see. Well, you can always combine it with Peridot, so the effect is more immediate and complements that of the main one. I advise you the green one; apart from having the colour of hope, it also combines with your sister's style."
After finalizing the process and the steps to follow for the use of both gems, Hana turned her gaze to Jungkook. The boy almost flinched in surprise. He hadn't expected the conversation to end so soon, least of all for Hana to look at him as if she might pierce him. She was probably not doing it on purpose or intending to make him uncomfortable, but we are talking about Jungkook, a very reserved boy used to having everyone else get all the attention while he just watched.
"You must be Jungkook." The young man nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I can finally get to know the artist up close."
"Artist?" Jungkook asked, confused.
"You draw, right?"
"Uh ... Yeah, but it's just a hobby."
"It could turn into something more than long as you keep your passion and focus."
Jungkook just nodded. He liked to draw practically anything. He was remarkably skilled at it; at least he liked the result, and that's what mattered most to him.
"Well, I think it's time to talk about more important matters. Do you have any idea what stone you want, or would you rather look for one? We have time, so you need not rush."
"When we entered, I came straight here." His mother began. "We can look the other way." With a wave of her hand, she pointed to the opposite side to which they had come.
"Actually ... No need. I know what I want." This caused the two women to turn around. Hana had a neutral gaze, while her mother's eyes were wide with surprise. Then she brought her fingers to her head to massage her temples.
"I think he's in a rebellious stage." Her mother said with all the serenity she had, to which Hana responded with a sideways smile. "I don't know whether to laugh. First, he tells me he does not know what he wants, that 'anyone is fine', and then he tells me he already knows which one he wants." She ended up crossing her arms and pursing her lips as if fed up with the world.
Hana ended up chuckling lightly, although Jungkook suspected that if it were up to her, she would have done it out loud. But this wasn't the right place for it, you had to maintain a professional image.
"Come on, don't start pouting. At his age, you were worse. I remember you spent half an hour trying to decide on one, only to end up choosing the one you wanted from the beginning."
"Sorry for wanting to make sure I chose well."
"You sure it was because of that?" Then she turned to Jungkook with a smile. "Alright, which one do you want?"
"Ametrine."
His mother read the information plate Jungkook pointed to, to which Jungkook nodded. It was a combination of two stones: amethyst and citrine.
"No one has chosen that stone for a long time," Hana said more to herself than to the rest. "Do you like it for any special reason?"
Jungkook just shrugged his shoulders, not quite sure what to answer. How to explain something that you don't understand yourself? So he opted for the simplest and most sincere.
"No. I just like it." Wow, so deep Jungkook, you ought to be given a Nobel prize.
"I mean ... it's like ... like it's a magnet, it just attracts me." And now it seemed like he was talking about girls. This was getting worse and worse. "It's like I've found something I didn't know I was looking for." Jungkook lowered his gaze and observe his Timberlands. He knew he had to have a red face like a tomato.
"If this is how you feel, then you have made the right choice, Jungkook."
Was she serious? Jungkook looked up in surprise. Hana just smiled as she put a hand on his shoulder that the young man found comforting.
From that moment, Jungkook felt relieved. He knew that, if he wanted, his mother could have bought him whatever he wanted, but it was not wanting, but of need. Because that's what the stones of destiny were for, to find the person who was destined for you, the one you needed.
As they left the salon to go to another room, where they had to apply the special stone treatment, her mother lovingly tousled his hair. When he looked at her, he could see the glint in her gaze. It was full of love and pride. Jungkook could only smile, an enormous smile that showed all his teeth, his gigantic eyes narrowing in a gesture of sincere joy.
This story belongs to @nometoloko on AO3. I'm just her translator.