Sunggyu had two reasons for spending four days in the town. One, for the team to recharge before the final push to the capital. They had comfortable rooms to sleep, good food at every meal and time to talk over the details of the plan till every fine point was understood and agreed. Second, he wanted to purchase a small caravan with two strong horses to travel in the last part of the journey which would be on a smooth paved road to the capital.  It was worth the risk even with the guard posts on the road as there were many enemy soldiers patrolling the paths off the road as well. He figured disguise as a family traveling openly and faster in the day would be safer instead of traveling slowly in the night and looking for places to hide in the day.

The second night after another nourishing dinner, he gathered all of them in the room he shared with Dongwoo and Hoya and explained the reasons for the disguise.

"So, now you know why, let me go through the roles for each person. Since my face has to be hidden the most, I will be the grandpa of the family."

Loud snickers. Sunggyu cleared his throat and continued.

"Dongwoo will be the mother, Hoya the father. Sungyeol, the uncle. Woohyun and Myungsoo the sons." He paused for a second. "Finally, Sungjong, the daughter."

The men who had been struggling to control their giggling up to this point became quiet, expecting a full on Tenshi storm.

Sungjong said nothing and LOOKED at Sunggyu.

"Sungjong, the thing is, if you haven't noticed, wherever we go, men have been stealing glances at you. Erm...you're quite lovely you know, a bit like the famous actress Hye Gyo. And I think we could use you as a distraction in case Empire soldiers question us too much....." Sunggyu trailed off.

A sudden wind blew through the room, the window opened violently and the Tenshi had disappeared into the night. Sunggyu sighed.

"Don't worry, General, give him time to cool off. He'll be back." said Myungsoo who had spent the most time with theTenshi on the rare occasions the angel felt like talking to the mortals.

"Besides he had sworn to see through the end of this mission. Tenshis don't lie. So have you found the caravan and the horses?" asked Woohyun.

"I've had a look at a stable nearby. They have some good horses there. Dongwoo, come with me tomorrow to purchase the horses. We'll get the caravan as well.  Woohyun, you're the closest thing we have to a man of the theatre. I need you to get the disguises. Take anyone of the team with you."

With that, Sunggyu released the men to turn in for the night. Woohyun had other plans though, he missed the nightlife and specifically, the company of lovely willing young ladies. As soon as they were out of Sunggyu's room, he linked arms with Myungsoo and Sungyeol and hurried them downstairs.

"What's going on, Woohyun? Where're you taking us?" asked Sungyeol as he pushed them out the front door of the tea shop.

Woohyun turned around to the tea shop owner. "Don't wait up for us, ma'am, we'll let ourselves in!  Could you give us the spare key? Just going out for a  lads' night at the pub." He said sweetly with a cheery smile.

The tea shop lady smiled at him and handed him the spare key. What a charming young man he is! I wish I had a son like him, she thought. 

Woohyun scooted out the door with key safely in his pocket. He looked at the two young men waiting for him in the cold autumn air and grinned at them.

"Guys, we're going on a dangerous mission and we have to prepare for the unexpected. So let's have some fun while we still can. And I happen to be a young man with money to spend and kind hearted enough to share with his brothers." He walked quickly with a spring in his step. Sungyeol and Myungsoo looked puzzled and followed him.

After two corners, they were on a busy colorful street lined with noisy pubs. Woohyun passed the pubs and stopped them in front of a shop with heavily curtained windows called "Ms Young's Establishment for Fine Gentlemen".

"This looks promising!" and walked right in with the still puzzled Sungyeol and Myungsoo.  Once inside, they found themselves in an elegant hallway. There was a small round marble top table with a bell which Woohyun rang. A door at the side opened and a woman with a heavily made up face walked into the hallway. She introduced herself coldly as Ms Young when she saw the clothes they were wearing. Woohyun emptied a small bag full of silver coins on the table. Ms Young's attitude immediately changed a 180 degrees and she ushered them through the side door into a room with large puffy armchairs and trays filled with glasses and wine bottles.

"Young sirs, please be seated. The ladies will be here shortly." She had a smile that never reached her eyes. Sungyeol and Myungsoo sat awkwardly while Woohyun had a smile on his face. The smile turned broader when six women in dresses of lace and silk came into the room.

"Gentlemen, our finest young ladies." said Ms Young. "Please be acquainted and let me know which one takes your fancy. I will return shortly for your choice." With a smart curtsy, Ms Young left the room.

Five of the women launched themselves at Woohyun (feeling absolutely delighted), Sungyeol (speechless but thanking his lucky stars) and Myungsoo (a familiar queasy feeling starting to grow). The sixth woman dressed in a soft white dress was standing back quietly with her head slightly bent. The five women were pouring wine into the glasses of the three young men and for themselves. Very soon, fingers were roaming and giggles at meaningless conversation were heard. Woohyun had one woman on his right and another on his left hanging on to his every word. Sungyeol now with a big goofy gummy smile had his arms around a young thing on his lap who was telling him about how she had been absolutely waiting for someone like him since forever.

Myungsoo was a different story. The women seated on either side of him were dazzled by his handsome face. They kept gushing about his looks while his face and holding each of his arms tightly. He was frozen, he thought the women were very beautiful but this kind of intense attention was beyond him. He had received adoring looks from the girls in his village but he had run away before the village girls could reach this far. Right at this moment, all he could think now was how could he escape.

Ten minutes later, Ms Young came in again. "Gentlemen, have you decided?" She asked with her non-smile plastered on her face.

Woohyun announced, "Ms Young, I cannot choose! They are both delicious! I'll take them both!" The two young women gave high pitched happy squeals. Ms Young nodded and opened a different door to reveal a corridor lined with multiple rooms. Some rooms had closed doors while others had open doors showing they were available . The two women pulled Woohyun up and skipped with him into the corridor. Soon they disappeared into one of available rooms and slammed the door shut.

A light bulb had gone off in Sungyeol's brain. He carried the woman that had been sitting on his lap and scampered through the doorway into the corridor. A few seconds later, the sound of a second door slamming shut was heard.

Myungsoo was sweating profusely now. The two women started to plead with him to pick one of them. He looked up and saw the sixth woman who was still standing quietly by herself. Out of desperation, he struggled out of the grip of the two women and squeaked, "I pick her! I pick her!" while grabbing the quiet woman by the arm and ran like his life depended on it into the corridor. He didn't stop running until he entered the first open room and hurriedly shut the door.