Falling for the Oiran

It was the very moment I braced my hands against the floor, attempting to scramble up and escape this place. Creak. The sliding door, which had been firmly shut, slid open. "A pleasure to meet you, Hwawon-nim." The woman who stepped into the room was so beautiful it felt surreal. Her porcelain skin, cherry-red lips, and delicate neckline—I was so captivated that I forgot I had been trying to stand up, simply staring at her in a daze.

"Oh my, Hwawon-nim. Why are you in such a rush to rise?" The courtesan approached with a radiant smile and gently caught my sleeve. The subtle scent of powder and the soft touch of her hand made me tense up, and I swallowed hard. Drawn in by her beauty, I rationalized the situation to myself and sat back down obediently in front of the small dining table. 'Right... this can't be helped. It's a royal order, and it's a System mission, after all.'

"Come now, let us have a drink, Hwawon-nim."

"Yes, yes..."

With elegant movements, the courtesan lifted the sake bottle to fill my cup, and I, in turn, poured for her. The sweet yet sharp sake slid smoothly down my throat.

"I have never in my life met someone from Joseon. Your face is so handsome... but how is it that you speak our language so well? Are all people from Joseon this clever and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good-looking?"

Perhaps it was the slight intoxication. Between the courtesan's alluring, nasal voice and her blatant flattery, my guard dropped, and words tumbled out before my brain could filter them. "Ah, I actually studied abroad at Meijin University in Tokyo a while back. I lived there for about five years, so..."

"Pardon? Tokyo? Where is this place called Tokyo? And... Meijin University? You lived there for five years?" The courtesan's round eyes sparkled with curiosity. It was a natural reaction, given that I had blurted out 'Tokyo' and 'University'—terms that didn't exist in the Edo period. A cold sweat broke out down my spine, and I snapped back to reality.

"Ah, ahaha! My mistake. I meant a special school in Joseon... I meant that I spent five years there, racking my brain to master the Japanese language."

"Oh my, there are so many fascinating places in Joseon, aren't there?" Tilting her head, the courtesan smiled with her eyes and poured me another drink. As soon as I emptied the cup, she picked up a long, baked traditional Japanese snack that looked like a Pocky stick from the table. She then bit one end of the snack and leaned her upper body toward my face.

'Wait, the Pocky game existed in the Yūkaku of the Edo period? I can't believe I'm seeing the same game the hostesses play in modern hostess bars right here...'

As I sat there, frozen and holding the other end of the snack in my mouth, the courtesan gave me a seductive look and took a crunching bite. The distance between our lips closed in an instant, as if a zoom lens had been pulled tight.

"Hwawon-nim, don't you want to get closer to me? Go on..."

Her beauty and her breath made my head spin. Just as I was trembling and nibbling on the snack, thwack! The courtesan grabbed the back of my neck and slammed her lips against mine. It was, quite literally, a storm of a kiss.

"Ughhh!!" Startled, I lost my balance and tumbled backward with a loud thud.

"Oh my, why are you so surprised? You're embarrassing me..." The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠courtesan pouted as she looked down at me. With a flushed face, I hurriedly adjusted my clothes and made an excuse. "I-I'm sorry. In my country, this kind of hospitality is rare... I was just quite taken aback."

"Hoho, how innocent you are." Suddenly, the courtesan gave a seductive smile and blew out a few candles in the room. In an instant, the room was plunged into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an intimate darkness. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crawled toward me, looming over me, and whispered provocatively, "Then, Hwawon-nim, shall we have some real fun now?"

'Right, I'm a man too. And this is a mission. This is a mission for survival, and it can't be helped!...'

I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded. The courtesan's soft hands peeled away the outer layer of my hanbok, and she followed by boldly shedding her own gorgeous kimono. However, as her silhouette emerged in the darkness, I felt a strange sense of dissonance. Her chest was completely flat, with no curves at all.

'Huh? Is she flat-chested?'

The moment I lowered my gaze to her lower half in confusion, I froze in place.

"Hah!"

Revealed between the folds of the fallen kimono was not a woman's undergarment. It was a fundoshi—the loincloth worn by men, with a rough cotton cloth firmly covering the front. I opened my eyes wide and looked closer; the area inside the fundoshi was bulging in a way that could never belong to a woman.

BOOM! Lightning struck my brain. A memory from a Japanese history book I had read flashed by. In the Edo period, rather than the harmony of yin and yang between men and women, the 'harmony of yang and yang' between men was more popular, and beautiful male prostitutes dressed as women were all the rage in every Yūkaku!

"Hwawon-nim?... Why are you like this? Why are you so surprised?"

"Wait a minute!! Time! Time out!!!" I screamed, scrambling to gather my gat and clothes that I had tossed aside.

"Oh my, Hwawon-nim! Why the sudden change? There's no need to be shy." As if finally revealing his true colors, a thick, masculine voice came from behind me, and he grabbed my wrist tightly. Feeling the powerful grip on my wrist, I was certain. He was 100% a man.

"Let go of me!!" Terrified, I shook off his hand, kicked open the sliding door, and bolted.

"Fujiwara!! Mr. Fujiwara!!! Where are you?!" No matter how much I shouted, Fujiwara was nowhere to be seen. Behind me, the sliding door opened again, and I heard the male prostitute chasing after me, saying, "Hwawon-nim, calm down and enjoy my affection...!"

I didn't even look back; I just started running. My heart hammered against my ribs like it would explode as I navigated the maze-like corridors of the Yūkaku. I threw on my clothes, shoved my gat onto my head, and scrambled out into the main street of the pleasure district. I was panting, scrubbing my lips with the back of my hand, and trying to fix my appearance when a rich, fragrant floral scent hit my nose.

Drawn by the scent, I turned my head. "Whoa..." A gasp escaped my lips. The crowd of onlookers parted like the tide on both sides of the street, and the area began to stir. Cutting through the gathered crowd, a group of incredibly gorgeous courtesans appeared in the center of the main street. Walking with high wooden clogs and radiant smiles on their faces, they looked as fresh and beautiful as a cluster of cherry blossoms in spring.

The men around me were drooling and whispering in awe, and some even knelt on the ground, jokingly bowing to them. My gaze, which had been blankly watching the spectacle, locked onto a single woman standing in the very center of the procession. A courtesan with dazzlingly ornate hair ornaments and an aura that felt untouchable. In that moment, my heart dropped.

'...Mina?!'

It was definitely the same Mina I had eaten dinner with at the minshuku before coming to the past. I never dreamed I would meet her here. With trembling hands, I gripped the brush inside my robe. 'Is there no mission to record that woman? If I could record... I want to record that courtesan, no, Mina.'

As if responding to my desperate wish, the brush vibrated, and a blue System window popped up before my eyes.

"Level too low?... There was such a thing?" As I muttered in despair, a familiar voice came from behind me. "Hwawon-nim. Were you here?" Fujiwara, who had appeared out of nowhere, looked at the procession following my gaze and said in an admiring voice, "The person in the middle is the most famous and popular top-class courtesan in this Yūkaku, 'Mina'-nim. They say there is nothing she cannot do—dance, instruments, poetry, and calligraphy. She is so popular that even the Lord cannot meet her easily. Great merchants and samurai from all over the country pack their money bags and flock here just to see her procession."

"Ah... is that so?" To my dejected expression, Fujiwara suddenly asked as if he had just remembered something. "But... Hwawon-nim, you should be in your room, so why are you out here?"

I swallowed hard, recalling the horrific memory of the male prostitute from just moments ago. "Ah... that is... the Daikan left early."

"Pardon? Surely there was a very good time waiting for you afterward; did you just come out without enjoying it?" When Fujiwara asked back with an expression that suggested he couldn't understand at all, I smiled awkwardly and pulled my collar tight. "Haha, I was so drunk that I just wanted to return to the inn and rest."

"Ah, I understand. I will call for a palanquin, so please wait a moment." Fujiwara hurried off to call the palanquin bearers. I turned my head and stared blankly at Mina's gorgeous back as she moved away. She was pretty in the present, but wearing the Oiran attire of this era, she was truly beautiful enough to blind me.

'Right. I have to level up.'

The desperate desire to meet her began to boil in my chest, mixed with a strange sense of competitive spirit and a burning heat.