Thorns on a Beautiful Flower (1)
The sound of measured footsteps, which had been echoing across the oiled ebony stairs, finally came to a sharp halt right in front of me.
A rich fragrance washed over me in a sudden wave.
The heavy scent of musk mingled with the blooming aroma of crimson peonies, sinking deep into my chest.
“……”
A heavy silence settled.
I rose slowly from my seat, lifting my head with a leisurely smile.
What filled my vision was nothing less than a single, fully bloomed flower of wealth and honor.
Over robes the color of fresh blood, enormous peony patterns embroidered in gold and silver thread writhed and shimmered brilliantly beneath the lantern light.
Her glossy black hair cascaded down as if carelessly tossed, yet it only accentuated her seductive beauty, framing her shoulders like a dark waterfall. Between those strands, a face as white as jade held eyes that gleamed with an almost chilling blue hue.
‘Magnificent.’
Just as the rumors claimed—perhaps even more so—she was an absolute beauty who perfectly satisfied my notoriously picky aesthetic standards.
“It’s Baek Mo-ran!”
“The Baek Mo-ran of the world has come down herself!”
Her mere appearance made the air inside the guesthouse boil over. The men’s lust-filled shouts erupted with enough force to pierce the ceiling.
Yet Baek Mo-ran didn’t spare a single glance at the seething chaos around her.
“Haa… haa…!”
Breathing hard, she didn’t even take a moment to steady her ragged breaths. Her gaze was fixed solely on me with blind intensity.
And the instant those sharp, icy eyes finally locked onto my face—
“……!?”
Her shoulders visibly flinched. A flash of unmistakable shock crossed those blue pupils as she swallowed hard.
Two pairs of eyes tangled in midair.
To outsiders, it might have looked like the dazzling encounter of two peerless beauties. In truth, it was a chilling reconnaissance battle between Murim masters on the verge of a life-or-death duel—reading each other’s breathing, intent, and techniques. An invisible clash of sword qi sparked like fire, creating a suffocating, razor-tight standoff.
‘Interesting.’
In that brief moment our gazes met, my eyes—which had embraced countless women—had already seen through everything about her.
Her movements were as graceful and fluid as a flower.
Yet even in the smallest shift, her upper body remained perfectly straight without the slightest sway, and her lower stance was firmly rooted. I instantly recognized that these were not the coquettish gestures of a courtesan trying to seduce a man, but movements forged by rigorous training etched into her very instincts.
And then there were her fingertips.
The pads of a musician who plucked strings should have been soft and delicate. Instead, her fingers bore hard calluses—the kind only those who had gripped swords or hidden weapons for years would possess.
‘She’s no courtesan.’
Most decisive of all was the cold, sharp glint that had flickered deep in her pupils the moment our eyes met.
There was no doubt.
The woman before me was undoubtedly a martial artist wearing the mask of a courtesan.
‘And this unpleasant demonic qi… It feels strangely familiar…’
I rested my chin on my hand, eyes gleaming with interest, and slowly curled my lips into a smirk.
“…Ugh.”
In complete contrast to my relaxed demeanor, Baek Mo-ran couldn’t hide her agitation.
She moved her lips as if trying not to reveal her inner thoughts, then clenched her right hand into a tight fist and asked me a question laced with wariness.
“Who… are you?”
The moment I heard that razor-sharp voice, I shook my head internally and clicked my tongue.
‘Tsk tsk. A courtesan who should be serving guests suddenly calls someone “you” like that?’
Revealing her emotions so blatantly was a failing grade for a courtesan. A proper courtesan was supposed to smile with seductive eyes, tease with lingering implications, push and pull subtly, and burn a man’s heart to ashes.
…Well, looking at this shell, I suppose I’m not exactly a man right now either. Since things have come to this, shall I give this arrogant young lady a brief demonstration of what a courtesan’s true art of conversation looks like?
“Hehe.”
Savoring her impatient inner state at my leisure, I pretended to adjust my clothes and deliberately took my time. Then, with movements as smooth as flowing water, I slowly brought my hands together in front of my chest and bowed with perfect courtesy.
“Namu Botajon.”
“….Huh?”
At the sudden Buddhist invocation, Baek Mo-ran’s expression went completely blank.
Not missing the opening, I offered the gentlest, most benevolent smile in the world and lowered my head.
“You must be Lady Baek Mo-ran. You truly are as remarkable as the rumors say. The geomungo you played earlier, and that song… They were so heartfelt that they moved my soul. Indeed, there is a reason people unanimously call you the greatest courtesan in Yeongpa.”
“……What did you just say?!”
The moment I finished speaking, Baek Mo-ran’s face flushed crimson with humiliation.
My current sly praise was a sharp dagger slicing at her pride. Through the duet we had just shared, she would have felt more keenly than anyone that her skills didn’t even reach the soles of my feet.
To be utterly defeated in artistic skill by an unknown woman, then praised like a child performing tricks in front of an adult—could there be any greater humiliation?
“So it really was you who played that piece just now…!!!”
She bit down hard on her lower lip—painted a vivid red—as if trying to swallow the curses threatening to spill out, glaring at me with eyes as sharp as blades.
“By the way, this is hardly a place someone like you should be stepping into. Just who are you?!”
Her voice cracked slightly at the end.
It wasn’t simple curiosity. It was thick with anxiety over a situation she could no longer control.
‘Heh heh. Of course you’d be curious.’
A peerless beauty of noble bearing—who looked barely past twenty—had walked into this murky guesthouse vibrating with men’s lust. Not only that, she had challenged the establishment’s star courtesan with both song and music, and even overwhelmed her.
To her, and to common sense itself, it was an unsolvable riddle.
‘As long as that question remains unanswered, I hold complete control over this conversation.’
Satisfied with how things were progressing as expected, I put on a deliberately troubled expression and smiled as elegantly as a flower.
-Swish.
Instead of answering, I lowered my hand as if straightening my skirt, deliberately revealing the antique scabbard at my waist while maintaining the most compassionate expression imaginable.
“I am merely a humble disciple of the Buddhist sect, wandering the rivers and lakes in search of enlightenment and observing the karmic ties of this turbid world.”
“……What—?”
“While passing by, I heard such a sorrowful and heartrending song coming from this guesthouse. The grief in it sounded like the cry of a lost soul, so I found myself drawn here as if possessed.”
The shameless nonsense I spouted without blinking once only plunged Baek Mo-ran into greater confusion rather than resolving any questions. Her brows furrowed as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“A disciple… of the Buddhist sect? You?”
Baek Mo-ran’s voice rose in shock. The reactions around us were equally entertaining.
While every man in the guesthouse had been struck speechless by my answer, one person reacted with particular violence.
“Hah, hahaha! Unbelievable! This is absurd!”
The greeter who had argued with me at the entrance earlier burst into repeated hollow laughter, even pointing at me as if he had witnessed the greatest con artist of the age.
‘Heh. Well, even I have to admit it sounds ridiculous…’
I somehow suppressed the laughter bubbling up from my stomach and maintained the most merciful, gentle smile in the world, as if my face were plated with iron.
What kind of insane Buddhist disciple would hear the sound of a geomungo while walking along a remote cliff and wander into a guesthouse? Even if one were to stretch the truth a hundred times and accept the story, how believable was it that a mere seeker of the Way could display skills superior to the greatest courtesan in Yeongpa?
But that very absurdity was the point.
By cleverly mixing lies within truth, the more answers the opponent received to a single question, the more new questions would sprout. It was a conversational technique that dragged the other party into a swamp of confusion, making them flail helplessly, while I hid my real information behind a veil called mystery.
This was the true art of conversation used by courtesans—by enchanting flowers of the world—to stimulate curiosity and seize control.
-Woooong—
“……!”
As if driving a wedge into the confused Baek Mo-ran, I gently released Seol-hye’s pure and clear inner energy like a faint mist. The moment she sensed my presence, her pupils began to shake violently as if struck by an earthquake.
‘Now then… how will you respond?’
After a long silence, Baek Mo-ran, having shed one layer of her wariness, finally spoke with probing eyes.
“…You said you were a disciple of the Buddhist sect.”
The murderous edge in her voice had softened considerably. In its place bloomed a deep curiosity.
“May I ask your Dharma name?”
“Ah, my name is Wi—”
Oops. I must have been too enchanted by the beauty’s eyes.
I had almost given my real name, Wi Yeon-seol, but without showing any sign of panic, I smoothly continued and smiled with my eyes.
“—I am called Seol-hye, one who follows the will of the great Buddha.”
Having finished speaking, I immediately closed my mouth tightly, making it clear I would give no more information.
“Mmm…!”
In the end, it was Baek Mo-ran whose patience ran out first.
She bit her red lips hard as if to soothe her burning insides, then gestured toward me with eyes filled with curiosity, a competitive spirit, and some inexplicable pull.
“Your skill in song and geomungo is clearly no ordinary talent. A noisy place like this isn’t suitable for conversing with someone as esteemed as yourself.”
She took one step closer.
“If you have the time, why don’t you come to my quarters? Shall we discuss the unfinished matters of romance and elegance in private? There are so many things I would like to hear about you, Lady Seol-hye.”
From a distance close enough for our breaths to mingle, her blue eyes sparkled with a bewitching, seductive light.