SMHER 09

9. The Brothel and the Red Plum Blossom

Her face still burned as though fevered, but Rejin finally composed herself. Disguising her appearance, she leapt over the wall. The appointed time with Juhyun was approaching, and that thought at least helped pull her from her wandering emotions.

Having sneaked into the residence of Jeong Do-il—an official of the first rank in the Ministry of State Affairs—Rejin soon met Juhyun.

“You’re here.”

His brief greeting made Rejin lift her eyes sharply.

“‘You’re here’? Yes, I am! Since when do you summon someone at your convenience like this?”

She protested with considerable vigor, yet Juhyun showed no reaction. It was as if he had expected such an outburst.

That only irritated Rejin further. What sort of disrespectful greeting was this? She rolled up her sleeves as if to demand justice, and only then did Juhyun speak.

“I apologize. An urgent matter arose, so I had to move the schedule forward. I hope you can be generous and understand.”

His unusually mild tone startled her. If he spoke like that, what was she supposed to do?

“Hmph. Well… since you know your fault.”

Her voice immediately lost its edge. Juhyun smiled faintly, unable to suppress it.

Why is she acting like this today? Did she eat something strange? Thinking her reaction amusing, he continued forward.

“I knew you would understand. Now, let’s go.”

He brushed past Rejin and strode ahead.

Yet for some reason, she felt as though he was teasing her. Huffing in annoyance, she followed.

“Did you find it?”

While searching the storeroom, Rejin asked the question. Juhyun shook his head.

It was supposed to be here. Yet again, nothing. His expression hardened.

Where could it be hidden? He ground his teeth, thinking of the scheming Minister of the Left, Gwak Ji-un.

Though he knew Ji-un was a meticulous man, this exceeded expectations. It was hidden far more carefully than he imagined.

Rejin and Juhyun had visited nearly every residence of the officials close to him, yet the golden Buddha statue remained elusive.

“Where could it be? Where have you hidden it?”

The golden Buddha Juhyun sought was no ordinary relic. Inside it lay a ledger containing Ji-un’s weaknesses.

The statue—a golden, half-seated Buddha said to have been crafted before the sudden death of Dowager Myeong-sun—bore the name “Yeonhwa” engraved on its base.

After the dowager’s death, rumors spread within the palace. Yet they quickly subsided. In the ensuing vacuum, the current king rapidly expanded his power and ascended the throne.

The tenth prince—once considered insignificant—had triumphed in the succession struggle because Minister Gwak Ji-un supported him with great political and financial influence.

The dowager’s death, the king’s rise, and the disappearance of the Buddha…

Something smelled wrong. Since learning of it, Juhyun had desperately searched for the statue’s whereabouts, but it remained only rumor.

Seventeen years had passed since the dowager’s death. Had the Buddha truly vanished? Or had the cunning Ji-un found it first and destroyed it?

Juhyun’s shoulders slumped. He looked like a lost man.

Though the sight pained Rejin, she decided she had to speak.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t find the Buddha, but I will be unable to move for a while. Please remember that.”

“Very well.”

His immediate compliance struck her as strange.

Even if he maintained secrecy regarding personal matters, shouldn’t he offer some explanation? At least an acknowledgment? Complicated thoughts swirled in her mind.

“Listen, the reason I won’t be able to move for a while is—”

“Wait, just a moment!”

Juhyun urgently interrupted.

“Hmm, this is bad!”

Rejin stopped speaking, sensing movement nearby. She drew a breath between her teeth.

Someone had anticipated their intrusion into Jeong Do-il’s storeroom.

No one had ever predicted their movements so precisely before.

They must have acted too hastily. They had left traces.

“Damn it! If we move together, it will be more dangerous. Are you alright?”

“Is this the time to worry about that? Hurry!”

Exchanging glances, Rejin fled the storeroom and escaped in the opposite direction.

“Your Highness, what shall we do?”

Vice-Commander Hyun-seok spoke urgently, watching the two who had split up.

“Of course we pursue.”

“But… Your Highness…”

Hyun-seok’s face darkened at Won’s gesture to follow. They had come out alone under orders to move quietly, never expecting to encounter the Red Plum Blossom.

Worried for Won’s safety, Hyun-seok hesitated.

“If we lose the Red Plum Blossom, can you bear the consequences of disloyalty?”

Won’s voice, heavy as a mountain, broke his hesitation. Hyun-seok bowed and obeyed.

“Your Highness, please be careful.”

Because the matter was urgent, Hyun-seok swiftly pursued one of the fleeing figures. Won chased the other.

‘What a persistent bastard.’

Rejin muttered as the pursuer refused to fall behind.

No matter how she changed directions, he clung to her trail.

A skilled martial artist would have shaken him off long ago.

‘Who is he? Was there anyone in the capital with such formidable skill?’

She tilted her head in confusion. But there was no time to ponder his identity.

If she slowed, capture was inevitable.

‘I’ll be caught soon at this rate.’

Rejin—who had lived as the Red Plum Blossom and a thief for five years—had never been driven into such a corner.

In desperation, she darted through a winding alley and spotted a brightly lit building.

It was the famous brothel of the capital—Shinwol Pavilion (a fictional gibang in the novel).

Without hesitation, she leapt over the wall.

Won, who had nearly caught the Red Plum Blossom, ground his teeth.

He had thought victory was certain, yet the wily thief slipped away like a rat. It annoyed him.

He understood why others feared the Red Plum Blossom, yet her exceptional skill—one that evaded even him—stirred his pride.

‘I will not lose you.’

With determination, Won vaulted over the wall.

But the sight before him froze him in place.

A strong scent he could not identify, the coquettish voices of women, and the lively sound of a gayageum accompanied by boisterous laughter—all of it made him frown.

Distantly, he recognized several high-ranking officials staggering past.

‘Th-those wretched fools…’

Shocked, Won surveyed the surroundings. Were the nation’s officials truly spending lavish nights here?

He burned with anger at the thought of ministers who hoarded rice meant for the poor spending money so frivolously.

‘Just wait. If I catch you…’

As he steadied his emotions and stepped forward—

“Oh my, a handsome scholar! When did you arrive?”

Someone grabbed his arm.

“It seems this is your first time at Shinwol Pavilion. If you have no one you seek, how about me?”

Two women in extravagant attire pressed close.

“Mi-sun, you always steal the handsome ones first! Scholar, what about me? By face or figure, I’m far better than her.”

“What did you say?”

Before Won could reply, the two began arguing.

He flinched at the scent of their perfume and the sensation of their bodies against his arms, quickly pulling free.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I did not come here for such purposes.”

His stiff expression only made one of the courtesans smile.

“How shy, despite your noble appearance. It’s fine. Come, come—no need to hesitate.”

Another courtesan smirked and tugged at his arm.

“Since you met me first, it is only proper that I attend to you. Come with me, yes?”

Won frowned at the woman blinking up at him.

Their behavior displeased him, and his voice turned stern.

“Let me say it once more: I did not come here to spend time with you.”

When he pushed them away again, the courtesans stared in disbelief.

It was unheard of for a visitor to a brothel to refuse female companionship. They tried to understand his displeasure and concluded he must be overwhelmed by their competing advances.

“Because you kept clinging to him, the scholar became upset!”

“What? And what about you?”

Their bickering showed no sign of stopping. Won stepped back uneasily.

His head ached. He wanted nothing more than to avoid further entanglement, so he turned to leave.

“Scholar, where are you going? We must finish our conversation.”

The two women reached for him, and a chill ran down his spine.

The Red Plum Blossom was no longer his concern. If things continued, he might end up spending a night in the brothel—against his will.

Feeling the danger, Won shook off the courtesans and ran.

Like a creature fleeing a poisonous insect, he quickened his steps and finally escaped the brothel. He exhaled deeply.

What terrifying women. He shuddered, fearing they might appear in his dreams.

As he turned the corner of an alley, it happened.

“Ah!”

Unable to see each other, he collided with someone.

Instinctively, he caught the person as they stumbled.

It was a woman. His hand grasped her slender wrist, pulling her upright, and his other arm supported her waist to prevent her fall.

In the impact, the woman’s outer robe slid to the ground.

When her face was revealed, they exclaimed in unison.

“You… you are…?”

“S-Seja… Your Highness?!”