will edit this after work.

Chapter I - In Valhalla

She was daubing herself between the chest with translucent glitter, checking herself out in the mirror. "Not bad, darlin'" Ma Cherry, the club owner, commented from the curtain they called a door. "I'm here to tell you your regular just came."

Dara snorted, now adjusting the straps of her barely-there undies to make sure she was keeping and exposing just the right amount of skin. "Good for him. My stage's next."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"My work contract only requires me to strut my stuff and grind on customer's clothed —and I am not going to do more than just that, Ma Cherry."

"Imagine the jump in your paycheck if you do more than just create a tent in men's jeans, Mia." Ma Cherry told Dara whose expression spelled out disgust at what the club owner was suggesting. "Just sayin'. Gets you filled and pays your bills. What more could a girl ask for, huh?"

Dara noted the fact that Ma Cherry had called her by her club alias and wondered why the older woman hesitated to bring the topic up while addressing her personally. Unfortunately, she didn't really have the luxury of time to dwell on that as she grabbed the flimsy mask they were all required to wear during operating hours.

"What more could a girl ask for, you ask? Maybe some respect for her own decisions?" She belatedly shot back at Ma Cherry who shrilly laughed, patting her bum as Dara strutted to leave the makeup room. "You're just like your mama. Always had a smart retort for every remark heard."

"That's where you're wrong. My Ma and I—we—are nothing alike. Now, if you just excuse me—"

"Your set's up. Don't break a leg."

"I'd be in a big bind if I do, eh?"

***

Valhalla was a strip club located at the center of Gangnam. This particular strip club was the dirty little secret high-profile clients frequented. Its impressive clientele mostly consisted of the filthy rich—powerful men in politics, seeking bachelors, professional doctors, real estate moguls, and sometimes lonely husbands looking to have some good time. Valhalla operated solely for the elite members of the society and it didn't disappoint—

During the day, Valhalla looked oddly out-of-place in the busy streets of Gangnam as the establishment's architecture was hugely based on its name's Norse mythology roots. Unlike strip joints which are identified by red blinking lights that screamed the establishment's name, Valhalla didn't even need any kind of sign board for it to be well-known. Its roof was made of golden stacked-up shields, its rafters of golden spears, its seats of golden plates and its stage, private rooms, and gates were guarded by golden wolf statues on all sides.

The ambience in itself was perfect already—and the management had made sure its ladies of the night were nothing short of perfect as well. They all wore masks to protect their identities but their bodies were attractive and manners were also impeccably attentive. They loved engaging with their clientele, no matter how tired they may be...no matter how late it may be.

At night, Valhalla looked like the epitome of Paradise. Some would go as far as to say Valhalla was the reincarnation of Heaven and they truly believed it was.  Dara didn't, though. Underneath its all-gold façade lies the heart of the country's debauchery industry.

Dara sniggered. Behind its perfectly manicured lawns and well-kept halls, Valhalla was the exact of the replica of the erse South Korean society. On the outside, one would see its golden grandeur but no one knew of Valhalla's ornery lewdness and unhealthy bacchanalia. In a larger scale, people were very familiar of the country's explosive Hallyu wave and al girl group members but no one ever tried to question its society's tolerance for excessive alcoholism and welcomed adultery. Which was sad, considering these were issues that aren't meant to be overlooked on in society.

But what could she do?

Nothing, of course.

Better keep and mind shut if she wanted to survive the coming fall.

She was only a mere stripper, after all.

”Earth to Mama Mia~ I'm calling you out next~" An outstretched palm slapped her bum, waking her up from her dazed moment. It was her club manager Bom, who gave her the sweetest of smiles before going up the stage.

***

It was this stage five months ago that he got enamored by her.

He came to Valhalla after a little argument with his wife over who was going to take little Rue to daycare the next day just didn't get settled. He was pretty well-off, having worked hard for his jewelry business Haru's to take off. It was well worth it when he was named Entrepreneur for Small Businesses of the Year for two consecutive years and it was because of that title that he was somehow included in the very selective email list of potential clients at Valhalla.

He never thought that he would finally give in to at least one of the RSVP emails the strip joint has been flooding him with. He wasn't a cheat. He never thought of cheating on his wife. He loved Sihyun a lot and loved their son Rue even more. But after that little argument, he had left their place with arms up in the air, signifying that he was giving up on their argument. For that night, at least.

His visit to Valhalla was only supposed to be a one-time thing but that one-time thing stretched longer and now, five months later, there he still was. At his usual spot, the olive off his gin and tonic and concentrating on her every sinuous move against the pole. Maybe it was because he was tired of himself and bored of the same damn routine called his life, but it had only taken him one press onto the I'm coming macro button for him to keep coming back for more.

And it was all because of her.

Mia. The fiery dancer Mia.

The masked woman in red lace.

His mystery woman on the stage.

***

Five months later, he still didn't know what she looked like behind that mask. He barely knew her. But she knew him. He became her regular. She was what they all considered the cream of the crop, the freshest one of the bunch of dancers Valhalla is famous for. She certainly had the gracefulness and fluidity of a skilled dancer. What was she doing here then?

He made the mistake when he asked her that once. In the middle of a private VIP session, she had stopped grinding on him , got off from his lap and left him alone without any moment's notice. She was brought back by Ma Cherry and she had reluctantly climbed on top of him to finish off an already paid-for .

"I didn't know I offended you when I asked, and for that, I am sorry—" He had whispered to her, grunting as she only rocked her hips against his harder. He had attempted to talk to her before too but she was always met with piercing silence and truth be told, he had not expected for her to reply to him then.

"Stripping pays the bills. Dancing professionally doesn't," was her first ever reply to him. Of course, that answer was very practical. How insensitive of him to ask her about what she was doing in Valhalla. People had their own reasons for being and he had to learn to respect that. After all, he was here as her client and he was most likely helping her in a way, too. Pay for whatever bill she has, that is.

But that was then when their sessions only consisted of seductive dancing and excessive grinding on her part. She didn't care for words and he had a lot of them. He had talked a lot about his life in general.  She only came to talk more when she realized the more he talked to her, the larger her tip was.

She was most likely taking advantage of him and he knew that but he had the money to spend and she had the moves to keep him happy so there's that.

A raining bucket full of tips for his mystery Mia.

A zero sum game for both of them. 

***

THE ODIN – VIP ROOM

"You're in a chipper mood tonight, Mia." Hae stated as Dara straddled him, grabbing his jaw and forcing his head back before doing some bod