Chapter 4

Seo Hwa's POV

They called it the House of Blossoms but nothing bloomed here except sorrow.

From the moment I was dragged through those crimson gates, I knew freedom was a memory I would only revisit in dreams. The scent of incense clung to every wall, thick enough to smother you. The other girls didn't smile. Their painted faces were masks-each one trained to please, not to feel.

The madam wasted no time.”you will do well here “she said ,circling me slowly.”delicate and innocent.men will pay dearly for that”I flushed at her word but said nothing.

That very night, the training began.

They stripped me of my name, my dignity, my identity. “You are not a noble anymore,” an older courtesan hissed as she painted rouge on my cheeks. “You're a commodity. A fantasy to be bought and consumed.”

Each day brought new lessons.

How to pour wine without spilling.

How to walk with grace, even when your knees shook.

How to bow just low enough to be respectful — but revealing.

Smiling became a skill. Forced, practiced. “Don’t let them see fear,” they warned. “Fear is ugly. Desire sells.”

I hated every second.

Sometimes I’d be left in a room filled with mirrors, made to stare at myself for hours — practicing expressions of charm, seduction, coyness. I no longer recognized the girl in the reflection. She looked like me but wasn't. Her eyes were hollow.

I begged, at first, to see my brother. My maid. Anyone who remembered the old me. But the madam's voice was cold. “You have no family here. You belong to the House now.”

Night after night, I lay awake in my small room, unable to sleep. I'd count the stars outside my barred window and pray silently. Pray for rescue. For death. For anything that would end this nightmare.

But nothing came.

And then one day, everything worsened.

I overheard two older women speaking in whispers outside my door.

“She’s still untouched,” one said.

“Of course. She's not for just anyone,” the other replied.

“They say she’s been saved for someone special... a nobleman. Her father’s friend, no less.”

My breath caught.

My father’s friend?

The words rattled in my skull. My father — who was loyal, just, kind — had always protected me. And yet… now I was meant to serve one of his own companions,the man who caused his death ?

Disgust and betrayal churned in my stomach.

It wasn’t just the strangers who broke me — it was the thought that someone who caused my father's death , someone who knew who I was, would sit across from me as if I were no more than a courtesan.

That night, I broke down.

I cried until my body trembled, until my throat ached, until no tears were left. But when morning came, I painted on the smile they taught me. I bowed. I survived.

Because now, I wasn’t just a girl trapped in a brothel. I was a flame smothered but not extinguished.

They wanted to ruin me. But I would make them regret not killing me first.

Then, I heard a soft knock. Three times.

I froze.

A voice whispered from the dark corridor behind the servant wall. “Seo Hwa… it’s me.”

The door creaked open — and there stood Dam, my childhood maid, and Chung Jo, my brother.

I gasped, covering my mouth as tears flooded my eyes.

“We don’t have time,” Dam whispered. “We paid off one of the girls. Come with us now.”

Chung Jo grabbed my hand tightly. “I won’t let them touch you. I should’ve come sooner.”

“We have to get you out,” Chung Jo said quickly, glancing nervously toward the hall. “But if we all try to escape together, they’ll catch us — and punish us worse.”

My breath caught. “But I can’t leave you both behind.”

Dam shook her head fiercely. “No, you must. I’ll dress like you. We’ll switch places. You slip out as the servant. I’ll buy you time.”

Chung Jo stepped forward, his eyes burning with pain. “It’s the only way.”

They dressed me quickly in a plain maid’s uniform, wiping away my makeup and undoing the ornate hairpin that marked me as a “guest.” Dam took my crimson gown and silk scarf, pulling her dark hair up into a bun just like mine.

The room was thick with tension.

“Promise me you’ll live a good life ,” Dam said softly, grasping my hands. “Promise.”

“I promise,” I whispered, tears streaming down my cheeks.then I hug the both of them one last time cause I didn't know when I would see them again.

As I slipped through the corridors, the weight of their sacrifice pressed on me. Dam and Chung Jo stayed behind, risking everything to give me a chance at freedom.

I crept through the side corridors, silent like shadows. My heart thundered as I reached the back gate.

Then I keep running deep into the forest not aware of where my feet would take me but I kept running running and running until I have no more strength left in me.