"Wait, so you're serious?" inquired a woman at the other end of the phone line. "Sana, you're actually going to get a ring and propose to Momo?" The woman's tone indicated that she was displeased and found it foolish.

Sana placed her ear to her shoulder, holding the phone in between, because she wanted to open the door of her bright red Bentley Flying Spur, a luxurious car, and then retrieve the key and finally the handbag from the passenger's seat.

"Yes, Jihyo," Sana responded calmly, despite being irritated by the repetitive question. "What made you think I was joking, anyway?" she questioned as she stepped out of her car. She had to check if the doors were locked by pressing the small remote that came with the key.

Sana then removed the phone from between her ear and shoulders. "Aw, that hurts," she said quietly, snapping her neck to the other side, feeling as if she had pulled a vein in the previous position.

When she felt a little better, she returned the phone to her ear, hearing Jihyo repeatedly say "hello", thinking that Sana had been disconnected from the call.

"Hey," Sana responded with a chuckle. "I'm sorry, I stepped out of my car," she said. "Did you say something while I wasn't listening?" she said as she moved towards the front of a store.

"Yeah, I said you're not thinking right," Jihyo remarked casually.

"And why is that, Park Jihyo?" Sana inquired. "Come on, we've been together for eleven years; it's about time I started thinking about us settling down," she added. "I've also saved enough, so I'm ready."

"But is she?" Jihyo inquired, despite knowing the answer. "You're the one who informed me that whenever you tried to talk about marriage, she'd shift the topic or pretend she had something else to do," she added, her voice tight.

"Or maybe she just doesn't understand what I'm trying to tell her," Sana remarked, still standing by herself despite the fact that Jihyo might be right.

"You know how she can be, Jih," she muttered under her breath. "Even if I spoke to her in Nihongo, she wouldn't pick up what I mean right away."

Jihyo couldn't help but laugh. Well, it's not like Momo had a pea brain or something. She's just slow at grasping things, which is largely due to being distracted by something else.

"Fine," Jihyo said, sighing. "I'm giving up because it's so hard to convince you just to think about it for a little longer," she said. "I mean, that's all I'm suggesting... really."

"Trust me, Jihyo," Sana said, despite the fact that Jihyo couldn't see it. "I've been thinking about this for longer than you know," she added.

"Yeah, I'll put my trust in you on this one, Sana."

"Thank you," Sana said almost quietly. "I'll have to end the phone call then," she added, "because I need to get a ring for my lady."

Sana couldn't help but be captivated as she stepped through the door. The collection is diverse and poorly organized, but that is what makes this feel like an authentic antique store. Even the smell of this place reminded her of the earlier centuries, which she had never experienced, by the way. What I'm trying to get across is that the experience of being surrounded by all of these things felt like travelling back in time.

If you looked around, you'd notice gleaming stones, polished gold and silver, jade kitchenware, glass vases and sculptures, high-quality wood in furniture and other crafts, vintage luggage sets, intricate frames, first-edition books, globes, lamp bases, vinyl records, electronics — far too many to mention.

And it was all of this that made Sana's eyes light up. She had always wanted to visit a place like this but had never had the opportunity until now. Oh, she just hopes she doesn't spend money on too many items when she came solely for a ring.

"But where is the dealer?" Sana inquired quietly, her upper body and head constantly moving around to look about.

She was trying her very best not to bump into anything because she was always clumsy, especially when everything around her was expensive. Her bodily movements become brittle and eventually snap, putting her in a difficult situation if she is unlucky.

"Why would a place like this be left without supervision?" she wondered, tilting her head. "There don't seem to be any security cameras anywhere either, which should be worrisome," Sana said to herself as she moved carefully between a globe and a porcelain oil lamp

"With all the stuff here?" asked a pale-skinned young adult Korean female with a wolf haircut who emerged from the shop's storeroom.

It led Sana to flinch, her elbow colliding with the lamp. The good news was that she seemed to have good reflexes, thanks to her constant practice owing to her clumsiness.

Sana nearly broke something worth $6,000 dollars, which made the antique merchant snicker a little. "With all of this stuff here, you wouldn't notice the tiny cameras installed all over the place," she continued. Then, when she stepped towards the cashier's counter, she smiled and said pleasantly, "Welcome to my shop. What can I help you with, ma'am?"

The longer Sana stared at that face, the more challenging it became to look away. Something about the other lady's appearance is too enchanting to ignore. "Um," Sana gulped, continuing, "do you also deal in jewelry?"

"Yeah, I got basically everything," the other lady shrugged, pompously beaming. "Why don't you come closer?" she asked, and it was only then that Sana realized she was frozen in place, still touching the lamp that was about to fall.

Sana slowly stepped away from that area and began to stroll up towards the other woman, not wasting any more of her precious time. When she finally arrived at the glass and wood counter, her gaze was drawn downwards to see what was inside. Although it wasn't what she came for, the sight of this massive coin collection couldn't help but fascinate her.

"Pretty cool, right?" the dealer replied, noticing how absorbed Sana had gotten.

"I can barely see some of the coins with all that grime covering them," Sana admitted honestly, wondering why these couldn't be polished or cleaned a little bit. However, she kept it to herself.

"Cleaning any potentially collectible coins may lead them to losing value, and most coin cleaning chemicals are abrasive and may damage the coin," the woman had to explain, even though the other had not requested one. "Coins have a rich history; if fully cleaned, then history would fade away."

Sana's gaze turned to the antique dealer. "That makes me want to own a collection or two," she smiled, "but they aren't what I'm here for right now," she added, recalling the ring she was supposed to get.

"Jewelry, you say?"

"Please," Sana responded.

The other lady heaved herself up from leaning on the glass and wood display case. "Come in," she said, motioning for Sana to enter. However, because the latter looked uncertain as to how she could cross past the counter, the antique collector was compelled to intervene. She lifted the top of the counter's end, then pushed the remaining wood barrier.

"Oh, that counter is an entrance," Sana said, realizing that just now.

"Yeah," confirmed the other woman, softly chuckling at Sana's reaction to something that wasn't really that uncommon. "I don't use it,