Irene was just as beautiful and intimidating as the rumors warned. Chaeyoung just wished they could have found her sooner. From Donggyeong, it took them a 3-day trip on land and 2 days via boat to reach the tiny island of Usan, where the courtesan’s main residence was located.

And it was by no means a peaceful or enjoyable journey. On the one hand, there was the ongoing issue of food and water, two commodities that seemed almost impossible to find for a camp of ten with the current state of the country. To further exacerbate the situation, there were only two tents which resulted in cramped, uncomfortable sleeping quarters. Not to mention some of the group members simply did not get along. Seokjin and Jennie, Jisoo and Taeyong, Jennie and Chaeyoung, Yoongi and pretty much everyone else – to name a few.

By far the most tense environment of all, however, existed between the two arguable leaders of the pack – Chaeyoung and Taehyung. Because ever since their brief moment of weakness in Donggyeong, they had barely spoken two words to each other, both adamantly focusing on the task at hand. Hoseok’s letter had been a wake-up call as it not only mentioned the location of the woman who currently possessed all of Goryeo’s finest weaponry, but also outlined in detail every single corrupt action Mingyu had taken since the beginning of his reign as king.

It had become blatantly clear that they could no longer prioritize the matters of their hearts over the matters of the country.

Thus, given the stressful week, Chaeyoung could not be happier to finally find Irene’s brothel, ‘Black Velvet’.

As someone who had led a sheltered life with a history of ethical upbringing, she had never stepped foot inside such a place and was not sure what to expect. The outside of the building had a palace-like aura with high ceilings, polished dark wood framings, and elegant lanterns all around. If it were not for the loud music, intoxicating scent of roses intermingling with liquor and boisterous laughs surrounding the area, Chaeyoung would not have even realized it was a brothel.

There was an intrigue emitting from the Black Velvet brothel, like an enchantment that mesmerized one into entering the premises and never leaving. It was the temptation of acting upon forbidden desires. A place where your wildest dreams could become a reality.

Whether it was the scent of the roses or the pull of the unknown, Chaeyoung could not deny the immediate curiosity she had developed for the place.

“How about the ladies stay outside?” Yoongi suggested as he began to approach the finely sculpted brothel doors.

“Why, so you guys can freely ogle at the women and have fun without us?” Jennie quirked a brow before firmly pushing past him to open the door herself, “I don’t think so.”

The doors flew open to reveal a well-lit main corridor, furnished with red and black patterned rugs with matching cushions. The room was almost completely filled with drunk men of all ages and backgrounds, with at least one barely clothed woman eagerly accompanying each one. Chaeyoung gasped and immediately averted her eyes as they passed by a couple heavily making out right in front of the entrance. But then her eyes landed on an old man who had just begun to remove his clothing, and she wondered if she should just keep her eyes closed for the duration of their time there.

If she was having such a difficult time adjusting, she could only imagine what poor Namjoon, the monk, was experiencing behind her.

A mild throbbing sensation was beginning to brew at the base of her skull from collective body heat of everyone in the room. She was beginning to feel dizzy from the stench of sweat and alcohol which the rose incense in each corner of the room was working very hard to mask. It was like everyone in the room was in a daze, drinking and laughing to their hearts’ content with no worry in the world.

Before they had even reached the front desk of the brothel, numerous scantly dressed courtesans with extravagant hairstyles and bright, ruby-red lipstick approached them, clinging onto the men’s arms. Some of them even tried to hit on Jisoo, but she wasn’t having it.

“How can we help you?” the most outgoing one, a petite, dark-haired woman with large doe eyes and an impressive chest to match, asked in a seductive voice as she tried to loop an arm through Taehyung’s, “it’s not everyday that we see handsome men like you around here.”

Chaeyoung cleared and casually stepped in between the two of them before she could even lay a finger on him, “we’re here to request an audience with Miss Irene Bae.”

“And you are?” she asked with a stiffly polite smile, though the annoyance in her tone was unmistakable.

“The Princess of Goryeo,” Chaeyoung ignored Taehyung’s amused grin, her eyes burning into the petite woman with a mixture of anger and authority.

Apparently, the months the princess had spent with Taehyung and Yoongi had paid off, because her glare had effectively intimidated the courtesan into leading them to Irene.

“Follow me,” she gulped, turning with the quick flip of her curled hair.

Chaeyoung immediately followed behind her, making sure to throw a quick ‘behave yourself’ glance up at Taehyung as multiple woman with golden platters of drinks brushed past them. Because, since he had walked in, all eyes were glued to him as if he was a walking masterpiece, which although not far from the truth, made Chaeyoung slightly uncomfortable. And the fact that any other woman in that room possessed a much more realistic chance of being with him than she did only aggravated her frustration.

He responded with a short roll of his eyes, because they both knew that he had not looked at a single courtesan since they had entered, keeping his focus solely on the path ahead. With the amount of cleavage, bare skin, feminine figures, and pure temptation all around them, Chaeyoung was impressed with how unaffected he appeared to be.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the other men.

“You guys go ahead,” Yoongi muttered distractedly as he slung an arm over the shoulders of a pair of red-haired twins, “I suddenly have some important business to attend to.”

“I concur,” Seokjin grinned as a flock of women fawned over him, “we shall join you shortly.”

“The hell you will,” Jisoo snapped, grabbing both men by the collar and practically ripping them away from their new ‘friends’.

They followed the woman all the way to the back of the large room and then up a winding staircase to the second floor of the building, all while dodging drunk, giggly couples and ignoring flirty remarks. They had almost made it up the staircase when one man made a vulgar comment about Chaeyoung, which was shocking considering how conservatively she was dressed, and Taehyung almost lost it.

“Damnnn,” the drunk young man turned around to whistle after passing by Chaeyoung, “does she work here? I’d love to tear that skirt off and see that fine —”

Taehyung had leapt towards him in an instant, landing a powerful punch across his jaw which not only caused him to topple down a few stairs, but also effectively shut him up. But Taehyung was obviously not satisfied enough with his punishment, his fists still clenched tightly and his eyes livid as he began to follow him down the stairs.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Namjoon said, as Jisoo, Yoongi, Seokjin, Jimin, and Lisa all stepped in front of him to block his path while Jennie tried to hold him back, “you cannot start a scene here. We need to make a good first impression on Irene and scaring her customers is most definitely not going to do that.”

“I don’t ing care,” he growled, trying to push past them as the man began to scamper down the stairs, “somebody ought to knock out all his teeth so he can never speak like that again!”

After recovering from her initial shock, Chaeyoung managed to pull herself together quickly enough to take control of the situation by touching his arm gently, “Tae, it’s okay.”

It was oddly satisfying to feel his muscles relax at her touch, the tension in his body visibly diffusing as he turned to glance at her with a torn expression in his eyes. She never realized how much of an effect she had on him, but she also knew that if the situation were reversed, she would feel the exact same way.

The complexity of their relationship was no secret. What had begun as a frustrating misunderstanding had eventually propelled them into each other’s lives, and slowly but all at once, they had invaded each other’s hearts too. There were times where Taehyung would be so stoic and cold that she wondered whether he cared about her at all, but then there were moments like this where it was hard to believe he could ever love anyone but her. A part of her wanted him to just reveal his feelings already and put her out of her misery, while another wiser part of her knew all that would result in would be a more painful parting at the end of all this.

He clenched his jaw and tore his gaze away from her, but nevertheless turned around towards their hostess again.

“Yoongi was right,” he muttered as he passed by Chaeyoung without another glance, “this is no place for a lady.”

“Wait what was that? Could you repeat that? Yoongi was right?” Yoongi gaped at him, laughing in disbelief, “everyone heard that right?”

“Ya it doesn’t happen very often, we all know,” Seokjin remarked with a loud laugh, smacking him on the back playfully.

They all climbed up the staircase and waited for their tour guide to continue leading them, but she had just fallen head over heels in love with Taehyung and there was no stopping her this time.

“Oh my,” the courtesan purred as she walked closer to Taehyung, “handsome and strong, that is very attractive.”

“Really?” Jisoo asked in pure astonishment and disgust, pulling Taehyung back before she could pounce on him, “after what he just did for this OTHER woman standing right in front of you? You’re just goi