Profitable Silence

She was a heartbroken, rich, farm girl. He was a frustrated merchant. Such a union could be profitable, if only that. But what if it's not enough? Mineral Town Farm Girl x Won.

Profitable Silence

Profit 01: Golden Silence

He didn't make a lot of profit, though he would never admit it, especially not to her. Silence was golden. She always purchased his apples when he went to her farm to market them in the morning. Then she would come by around mid day, and take a lunch break at Zack's house. She often brought a small gift for Zack, usually the dessert for their lunch, and she always brought something for Won.

Won thought the young farmer was simply conducting good business relations. Zack shipped her products after all, so she needed him to make a good profit in her farm. As for Won, she must be searching for discounts, which she wouldn't obtain. Profit was what life was all about. He didn't know how kind hearted the farmer was, he didn't know how heartbroken she had become after Cliff left.

Cliff, the boy who had come to Mineral Town with no idea of what to do with his life, he was the one who stole the farmer's heart. That autumn day she left early, earlier than ever. She had many things to do. She later heard from some of the Harvest Sprites who were helping her that while she was off in the mines, Duke came by. All she could do was go to the winery and see what he wanted, but he had apparently "already solved it". She had a feeling that he simply assumed she was too busy to help and didn't want to bother her. In the end, she couldn't get Duke or Manna to tell her what this was about.

Later, when it was already too late, she found out that they needed help harvesting grapes. She hastily made it just in time to help at least carry the baskets in. In her rush she forgot that Cliff, her crush, needed a job. Besides, this was just for a day or two, it wasn't a permanent job.

When Cliff left the village, Clair saw him off with tears in her eyes. Won was on his way to sell some apples when he saw the sad goodbye. She wanted to ask him, beg him to stay, but she knew Cliff would tell her he couldn't. She was a hard worker, she could support them both, she didn't mind. She wanted to ask him to marry her, but she knew he would decline. She didn't say it, it wouldn't do any good. Silence was golden and her entire world was falling apart.

She cried as he left, and when the ship disappeared in the horizon, she continued to stare into the ocean hoping that it would return. Eventually the ship came back, but Cliff wasn't there. By then, the entire day had gone by and the sun was sinking into the horizon, yet she was still there, like a lifeless statue.

She felt as if things could have been different. She should have told Cliff about the job at Aja Winery, even if it was temporary. Then she would beg, and bribe if need be, until she got Manna and Duke to offer him a permanent job. In fact, she would secretly pay for it herself if it came to that. But that never happened; she never knew that Duke and Manna would have been happy to offer Cliff a permanent job even without the begging and bribery.

Clair had offered Cliff a job on her farm many times, but he refused. He said that she didn't need to go out of her way to help him. The Harvest Sprites could help her on the farm, it was best that way. He didn't understand.

She wanted to follow Cliff, but found it hard to leave the town she had come to love. She would ask Kai if he had seen Cliff when he came to visit every summer. Kai always told her he had not seen Cliff, but was sure he was alright. Kai didn't have the heart to tell Clair that Cliff had found a job in the city, that there was a girl who liked him, and that he was starting to accept her into his heart.

That time when Kai spoke to Cliff in the city and mentioned the farmer's name, Cliff looked regretful. He had a new life, but he missed the life he could have had. Yet he forced himself to smile and say he was alright. Cliff's past feelings would stay hidden, because silence was golden.