Queen of Roses

32) Fears

"How do you not know who Irene is?" Yoongi turned to gape at Jisoo in astonishment.

After the action-packed and (quite frankly) terrifying day they had lived through, the citizens of Donggyeong had decided to hold a celebration to welcome the Princess and thank the group for ridding their town of Mingyu's corrupt officers. Since they could not reward the Princess with the weapons she sought, this party was their method of expressing their gratitude.

Apparently, in Yoongi's strange and confusing mind, this was also the best time to claim his personal reward from Jisoo. He had pulled her away from the celebrations as soon as she had finished her meal for the date she owed him. The idiot didn't even give her sufficient time to finish her dessert.

They had just exited the town's main tavern, where the party was being held, when Jisoo happened to mention the mysterious 'Irene Bae'.

She mirrored his expression, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise, "the question is, how do you know who she is?"

"Because I know everything, obviously," he replied with a completely serious tone, causing Jisoo to roll her eyes. She seemed to do that a lot when she was with him. No one could exasperate her quite like Yoongi.

"Who is she, then?"

"Only the most famous Gisaeng in Goryeo. Everyone from the southernmost villages to the tallest mountains have heard of her beauty and influence."

Jisoo nodded in understanding. Of course, Yoongi would be knowledgeable about the country's most beautiful courtesans. Lord knows how many brothels he frequented in his spare time. Images of him surrounded by dozens of beautiful women flashed through her mind before she could control her thoughts, triggering a strange nauseous sensation in her stomach.

Could it be that Kim Jisoo was feeling a new emotion – an emotion she had only ever heard about and never experienced for herself. Was Kim Jisoo feeling.... jealous? Because of a man she thought she despised?

There was no way.

She shook her head vigorously in denial as they strolled side-by-side through the dark streets of Donggyeong, ultimately deciding to change the topic.

"Where are you taking me, anyway?" she glanced at him curiously, a warm summer breeze rustling through her straight raven-black hair, "and if I remember correctly, this was supposed to be a 'dinner', but we already finished our meal."

"In that case, we are already halfway through the date," he flashed her a rare, gummy grin, "I was being considerate of your time, my fair lady. Shouldn't you be relieved to get this over with?"

Jisoo's eyes widened in surprise, unable to formulate an immediate response. Technically, he was right. But, the fact that she actually felt slightly disappointed at his 'considerate' gesture was what truly shocked her.

"I mean," she began to explain, tearing her eyes away from his sharp ones to focus on the dark, busy road ahead, "if you're going to take me on a date, you better do it right."

"Does that mean I should do this?" he quirked a brow up before suddenly grabbing her hand in his.

Jisoo jumped back, thoroughly startled to feel his cool fingers interlace through her own. She was shocked to say the least. Shocked at his boldness, at the way her hand fit so well in his, and most of all, how a light fluttering (instead of her usual disgust) had begun to grow in her chest.

She half-heartedly tried to pull her hand back and smacked his arm, "that's not what I meant!"

"Well, deal with it for a few hours," all the smacks in the world could not faze him as he clung onto her hand and continued to guide her down the loud streets, "because I'm not planning on letting go."