HC: Handyman | Ch. 106 - Workshop Chatter

Jack unsummoned Snowy, feeling a bit sad to see his silent companion disappear, and entered the Pottery Association. Oddly enough, stepping inside felt a bit like walking into an office. Talking to the NPC behind the counter was starting to feel like a chat with an overly familiar secretary.

"Hello, Madam," Jack greeted.

"Hi, Jack. Will it be the communal workshop?" she asked, recognizing him immediately.

"Yes, please," he replied.

"Very well. Same arrangements as usual. Help yourself to any available workstation."

Jack made his way down the corridor, hearing the echoes of conversations and laughter. As he rounded a corner, he spotted a few familiar faces. There were five potters in the communal workshop today—the biggest crowd Jack had ever seen there. Among them was Felix, Ava—a female potter Jack had seen a few times before—and a few new faces.

Felix gave pointers to a newbie trying to throw their first pot. Seeing how Felix went out of his way to help another beginner, Jack smiled, though with a hint of bitterness. There was a warm feeling in his heart but also a twinge of jealousy.

Here I was, thinking we had something special, old man, Jack thought to himself, watching Felix gesture as he explained to the beginner how to shape the pot.

Felix looked up and spotted Jack. "Hey, Jacky!" he called out with an enthusiastic wave.

The other potters turned toward Jack, and he waved back. "Hey, everyone. How’s it going?"

"Good, good. This is Amanda—her first time throwing a pot," Felix introduced.

"I can see that. Well done! Exciting stuff," Jack said, smiling at Amanda.

"Thanks! Mr. Felix has been helping me a lot," Amanda replied, trying to maintain eye contact with Jack, though her gaze kept drifting toward the giant pot with hovering bees on his back.

"Oh, that? This young man can make the most unique items in pottery. You’ll see," Felix said, winking at her. "If you get the chance to watch him work, take a few moments later. It’ll be worth it."

"Thanks, Mr. Felix... and Mr. Jack," she added shyly.

Jack frowned slightly at being called ‘Mr.’ It was the first time he could recall being called mister by another adult. "Just Jack will do," he said awkwardly.

Ava, the woman with the bandana, nodded at Jack. "Hey, Jack."

“Hi, Ava! How are you doing today?”

Jack chose a workstation away from the kilns. As he unpacked his supplies, his eyes wandered to the workstation across from him, where several white clay statuettes were in progress. It looked like Felix was working on owl figures today.

Jack began wedging his clay, ensuring the moisture was evenly distributed, before rolling coils to start on his pot hives. Crafting these had become second nature by now, and he relaxed into the familiar process.

Meanwhile, Felix wrapped up his lesson with Amanda and returned to his own workstation.

"So, what’ve you been up to?" Felix asked from across the room.

"Not much. I put some ocarinas and pot hives up for sale recently."

"You did?"

"Yeah, sold them for a decent price—enough to cover rent," Jack replied.

"Well done!" Felix nodded approvingly.

"What about you? Still making bears, or have you moved on?" Jack asked with a grin.

Felix chuckled. "Can’t flood the market. I’ve got bills to pay too, you know."

“I really need to try my hand at porcelain,” Jack said, a bit wistfully.

"How high is your agility now?" Felix asked, his interest piqued.

Jack opened his character sheet. “29.”

Felix whistled. "Wow, you’ve been leveling up fast! But hold off until you hit at least 35 before tackling porcelain. Any lower than that, and it’ll just frustrate you."

"Good to know," Jack said. "By the way, I recently crafted an item that gives bonuses when placed in a house. I assume your statuettes do something similar?"

"That’s right," Felix confirmed. "Bears give a strength boost, and owls increase intellect when they’re used as house decorations."

"How does owning a house work?" Jack asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, you can buy cheap huts in the suburbs of gate towns or go all out and snag a prime estate in Eternia. The size of the house determines how many items you can place, which impacts the bonuses you get."

"Do you have a house?"

"Oh yeah, just down the street here in the crafting district. How else do you think I make these little beauties?" Felix said proudly, gesturing to his owl statuettes.

"I see," Jack said, realizing how much more there was to learn.

For the first time, Jack and Felix had the chance to chat leisurely while working. It felt good—rather than distracting, the conversation relaxed Jack and made his work feel easier. He finally understood why surgeons in the TV shows his mom watched were always chatting during operations.

"So, Mr. Felix, do you have a family?" Jack asked, voicing the first question that came to mind as he continued shaping rolls of clay.

"I do. Two children. One of them has children of their own," Felix replied. Jack remembered Felix mentioning that New Earth was a gift from his son, who played in a major guild. He wondered if both of Felix’s children played the game.

"What about a wife?" Jack asked.

"I'm a widower," Felix said.

Jack froze. "I-I’m sorry. About your wife."

"It's fine," Felix said softly. "Nara and I had a wonderful life together, but she was in pain for many years. I'm just glad she's at peace now." His voice wavered slightly, and the workshop fell into a gentle silence.

For a moment, the only sounds were the squeak of the potter's wheel and the soft crackling of the kiln fire. It felt as if everyone present was honoring Felix’s late wife with a quiet moment of respect.

After a pause, Felix broke the silence. "What about you, Jack? Do you have a family?"

"I don’t… I mean, I live with my parents, but I haven’t started a family myself."

"So, the person you're paying rent to is your father?" Felix asked with a chuckle.

Jack smiled faintly. He hadn’t expected Felix to catch on so quickly. "Yeah, you could say that."

Felix nodded. "I respect that—you’re taking responsibility. Your father raised a good man."

"I was kind of forced into it," Jack admitted.

"Forced into it?" Felix laughed. "Did your father lay down the law?"

"Something like that," Jack said.

"Ha! Your father sounds like an old-school guy. Probably has some ‘tough love’ approach."

Jack looked up at Felix and thought, Aren’t you even more old-school than my dad? Shrugging the thought off, he returned to his clay.

"How do your parents feel about you making a career as an online potter?" Felix asked.

"They don’t really know. They think I’m in vocational school."

Felix paused, raising an eyebrow. "Wait—you mean you’re lying about what you’re doing?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "I wouldn’t say I’m lying about what I do, just about how I’m doing it… online."

Felix chuckled. "What’s there to be embarrassed about?"

"Nothing, really. It’s just... my dad doesn’t get the whole ‘online’ thing."

Felix nodded knowingly. "Yeah, I didn’t get it either when my son first got into it—until I tried it myself. Maybe you should invite your father to see what it’s all about."

Jack laughed. "No way. That would never work."

Felix glanced over at him, his expression thoughtful. "So, what’s your plan? You can’t keep this up forever."

Jack sighed, feeling the weight of the question. "I honestly don’t know."

"How long have you been playing this game?" Felix asked.

"About ten or eleven days."

Felix let out a low whistle. "That’s it? So, the whole ‘rent situation’ is pretty recent then. Ha, that’s your first rent, huh?"

Jack clenched his teeth. This old man had eyes on the back of his head! How was he deducing so much from so little? From feeling like a fellow surgeon chatting with a colleague while operating, he now felt like he was the patient on the table, all his secrets being laid bare by Felix’s insightful eyes.

"If I had to guess, I'd say you've spent at least 200 hours in the game over those ten days, based on your skill level," Felix added.

Jack frowned. "I haven’t really kept track."

"Think about it. You’ve put in close to five weeks of full-time work in just ten days! That’s real dedication—nothing to be ashamed of. Your father would be proud."

"Yeah, I guess you’re right," Jack said, though he still wasn’t entirely convinced.

"Jack, few things hurt as much as a father realizing his child didn’t trust him enough to tell the truth."

Jack was beginning to regret opening up to Felix. Now that the cat was out of the bag, there wasn’t much he could do but listen. It seemed Felix was rooting for his father in all of this.

"Let me tell you a story about something that happened in my family," Felix began, his voice heavy with memory. "It was with my youngest son. He was a little younger than you when he got himself into a bit of trouble. Nothing too serious, but he was scared and thought he could handle it on his own."

Jack leaned forward, curiosity piqued.

"He kept telling me everything was fine, that he didn’t need any help. But I knew him too well." Felix smiled softly. "I could tell something was off. He was distant, avoiding eye contact, always making excuses. A father knows when something’s not right. It’s hard to explain, but you can just feel it when your child is hiding something."

Jack felt a pang in his chest. Could his father sense the lie, too? He thought back to their last few interactions and the way his father had looked at him. No, surely his father didn’t know. “I don’t think my father knows about this lie,” Jack said, more to himself than to Felix.

"Oh, he knows something’s off," Felix assured him, his voice calm but certain. "Even if he doesn’t know what you’re hiding." Felix continued, "I didn’t confront my son about it right away. I waited, gave him time to come clean. I figured maybe he needed to sort it out himself or build up the courage to talk to me."

"Knowing he was lying hurt. Every time I saw him dodge the truth, I felt like he didn’t trust me. That frustration made me snap at him more than I should’ve. I thought I was helping, but he saw it as pressure. And every time he lied, I took it personally—like I’d failed him somehow. It became a vicious cycle, and it hurt us both."

Jack’s throat tightened, his heart racing.

"One day, I finally sat him down. I told him, 'Son, whatever you’re going through, I want to help. You don’t have to do this alone.' He broke down and told me everything. It wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d thought, but we’d wasted months arguing when we could’ve been fixing things together."

Felix set down the horn he was using to engrave his figurine and met Jack’s gaze, his expression gentle. "I told him then, and I’ll tell you now: no matter how bad you think something is, telling the truth is always better. A father just wants to help his son. We hurt when our sons don’t trust us enough to let us in."

Felix picked up his tools again, the smile returning to his face. "He learned his lesson, and so did I. It’s better to face things together than let a lie tear you apart."

“Right on!” Ava chimed in from across the room. “The same thing happened with me and my husband. He lost his job and didn’t tell me. When I found out he’d been lying, I was furious!”

Jack’s thoughts swirled. Was he hurting his father the way Felix’s son had? Should he come clean about what he was doing?

As Ava’s story continued in the background, Jack’s heart pounded in his chest, a dizzying weight settling in. He returned to crafting pot hives, but the question lingered: was it time to tell the truth?

Ch. 105 - Empty Brag

INDEX

Ch. 107 - Confrontation