Lunessa smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't deny it anymore, appearance really did change how a person looked.
The girl staring back at her didn't look poor, didn't look timid and seriously didn't look like someone who counted coins before buying bread.
The fitted white dress hugged her waist neatly, the soft fabric falling just right over her hips. Her hair framed her face more gently now, and even her posture had changed without her realizing it.
Feeling strangely foreign, she tilted her head slightly. "I didn't know I could look this good…"
Then she bit her lip, holding herself back from smiling too much at her own praise.
Unconsciously, she took out her phone and opened the camera.
She snapped a picture of herself in the mirror and checked it.
"Aishh… the screen…" she muttered, pinching the image with two fingers to zoom in on her face. She smiled faintly. "I think as long as I look good…"
Not thinking much, she tapped a few times on the screen and slipped her phone back into her bag.
"Wait—"
She froze. Her brows knitted together, "Why did I just do?"
A strange unease crept in. She pulled her phone out again and unlocked it. Her heart skipped.
The photo went straight to My Benefactor.
She stared at the screen in horror.
"I didn't mean to—!"
Too late when she noticed the message status changed.
Read.
Her heart dropped straight into her stomach.
"Oh my god," she whispered. "I just—I just sent it to him."
She slapped a hand over her forehead.
"Why do I keep doing things without my brain's permission?!"
But despite her lips muttering no, she found herself anxiously waiting for his reply when the words My Benefactor is typing… appeared on her screen.
She stood there in the fitting room, phone clutched in her hand, staring at the screen like it was a ticking bomb.
Then the message came in.
"You should send your phone to the museum…"
She read it slowly.
Blinked once.
Then read it again.
The frown between her eyebrows deepened. "What does he mean by this?"
Her eyes flicked down to her phone.
"Is this his way of saying my phone is old?" she muttered, offended. "Huh? Seriously? That's all?"
She swiped her hair back in irritation. "What did I even hope for?"
The hologram flashed into existence without warning.
[CHARMS +20]
Her jaw dropped, "Wait, what?"
She stared at the floating text, then back at Julian's message.
"Both of you are damn rude, did you know that?" she whispered incredulously. "He just insulted my phone and you decided to reward me with that freaking charm at this moment?"
The hologram refreshed.
[MY SYSTEM SETTINGS ARE BASICALLY LIKE THIS.]
[NO INSULT-BASED PARAMETERS EXIST IN THIS SYSTEM.]
Her eyes twitched.
She sneered in frustration. "At this point, if you told me Julian Hale is your creator, I wouldn't even be surprised."
The hologram didn't respond.
It simply flickered once… and vanished.
"Wow," Lunessa muttered. "So now you're ghosting me too?"
She waited a second longer, but the system didn't reappear.
She let out a short, irritated laugh.
"Figures."
Her phone vibrated in her hand.
Another message from Julian.
'Have you paid yet? Is the money enough?'
Her chest tightened.
"Is he showing concern now?" she murmured. "Did the charms actually work?"
She glanced at her reflection one last time, then back down at the phone screen.
"I won't reply to you," she muttered stubbornly and clicked her tongue. "Serves you right for replying so rudely earlier…"
She slipped her phone into her bag and walked toward the cashier, a small, unintentional smile still lingering on her lips.
"I've decided to take these two blouses and these two dresses," Lunessa said, placing the clothes neatly on the counter.
The cashier's eyes lit up. "Of course, Miss. Those are lovely choices."
As the cashier started scanning the items, Lunessa's gaze drifted to the display screen.
The numbers climbed.
And climbed.
"Wait—" She raised her hand instinctively, stopping the cashier mid-scan. "How much is that dress again?"
She hadn't asked earlier. Only now did she realize the salesperson really had a way of flattering her into forgetting the most important detail.
"This one, Miss?" The cashier lifted the white dress with small pink flowers scattered across it.
Lunessa nodded slowly.
"Twenty-three thousand dollars, Miss," the cashier replied politely.
Lunessa's brain went blank.
"Twenty-three thousand?" she echoed faintly.
Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.
That was more than her entire savings from last year. More than her father's hospital deposit. More than a month of Laura's medication.
Her instinct screamed. 'Put it back. Apologize. Pretend you misheard.'
"I—" Her throat felt dry. "Is there… a cheaper version of this dress?"
The cashier hesitated just a fraction of a second. "I'm afraid this is the only one we have, Miss. It's a seasonal design."
Lunessa's fingers tightened around her bag strap.
"Oh," she murmured.
Before she could say anything else, the boutique door chimed.
A woman stepped in, quite tall, well-dressed, with sharp eyes that swept across the displays like she already owned half the store.
Her gaze landed almost immediately on the white dress in the cashier's hand
"That one," the woman said, walking closer. "Is there another piece of that dress?"
The cashier straightened slightly.
"I'm afraid not, Miss," the cashier replied politely. "For the pink-flower design, this is the only one we currently have in this boutique."
The woman frowned. "Only one?"
"Yes," the cashier continued. "Each boutique only carries ten pieces of this dress in total, and each flower color only has one piece per boutique." She smiled before adding, "But if you'd like the one with the blue flower, we still have it."
The woman tilted her head, gaze fixed sharply on the dress. "I love pink."
Then she pulled out a sleek black card and placed it flat on the counter. "I'll take that one."
Lunessa's eyes widened instantly. "Excuse me?"
The woman didn't even look at her. She slid the card a little closer to the cashier.
"Swipe it."
The cashier froze, clearly flustered. "I'm sorry, Miss, but this customer selected it first—"
"No," Lunessa cut in, her voice sharper than she expected. "That's mine. I took it first."
Now the woman turned to her.
Her gaze swept Lunessa from head to toe, lingering just a second too long on her clothes. Then she smiled faintly.
"You can take another one," the woman said coolly. "They're all the same price."
"They're not the same," Lunessa shot back. "This one is the only pink one here. And I already said I'm buying it."
The woman's smile thinned. "I'll pay double," she said, tapping her black card against the counter.