"I have a stylist at this shop. He can pick out clothes for you in a minute, so stop looking like you’re about to be executed." Moon said, his voice echoing off the luxurious marble walls as he walked into the store.

Outside, Verso just stood there, his feet glued to the sidewalk as he stared at the building.

This place did not look like a shop from any angle, it looked more like a cathedral that was repurposed into a designer gallery.

The entrance had two massive carved marble statues of warriors that looked more lifelike than most of the people he had seen on the street. Even the air that drifted out from the open doors smelled luxurious, it’s scent like oud and leather.

’Fuck my life...’ Verso whispered.

He clutched his phone in his pocket as he walked through the doors with the desperate hope of at least getting out with a single basic outfit that didn’t require him to sell his kidneys.

"Hello, Mr. Bloodveil! It is an absolute pleasure to have you visit again!" A man in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit glided toward them the moment they walked in.

Before Verso could react, the man had already bypassed Moon and placed a firm, measuring hand on Verso’s shoulder, realizing that his precious VIP customer had brought in a friend.

"Hey Rani," Moon said, not missing a beat. "This is my buddy, Verso. I want you to quickly style him."

Rani’s eyes narrowed behind his lenses as he looked Verso up and down.

For a heartbeat, a look of pure judgment flashed across his face as his gaze lingered on the holes in Verso’s hoodie.

Then, as if flipping a professional switch, his expression shifted into one of fake excitement.

"Ah! I see, I see!" Rani chirped, his hand still on Verso’s shoulder as he began steering him deeper into the labyrinth of clothing racks.

"You are trying that new Homeless aesthetic? That’s incredibly bold, man. Very avantgarde."

’Did he just politely call me homeless...’ Verso froze for a moment, his face twitching.

The group roamed the store for a long ten minutes. Rani moved around with speed, picking out clothes that he felt like would suit Verso’s frame well.

"You should go try these on immediately," Rani said, his arms piled high with clothes as he turned to Verso.

"We have a few private rooms reserved specifically for our VIP customers. Why don’t you head down the hall to Room 3?"

He dumped the mountain of expensive clothes into Verso’s arms.

"Okay, I guess..."

Verso staggered slightly under the weight of the clothes before he started walking down the hallway, his eyes scanning the doors.

’Which one is three...’

His eyes fell on a door with a polished brass plate. The number was etched in a fancy, serif roman font that made his eyes blur.

On the plate he saw the word ’VIP’ and some lines that looked like the number three.

’That should be it.’ Verso paused, turning back for a second to see what Moon was doing.

The noble was casually leaning against a counter, looking at a display of watches while chatting with Rani.

It seemed he was content to wait until Verso was done so they could finally head to the dungeons.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Verso turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Instantly the smell hit him.

Inside the room did not smell like the rest of the shop, rather it smelled fainty of strawberries and a faint floral perfume that made his head feel light.

As the door swung wide, the breath left Verso’s lungs as time seemed to halt.

In the center of the spacious, mirrored room stood a girl.

She was breathtaking. Fair, supple skin that looked like porcelain under the soft lights and a cascade of hair so white it shimmered like fallen snow.

Although her beauty had startled him, what had completely broken his mind was something else.

She stood there in a laced pink underwear set that left very little to the imagination. The delicate fabric hugging her curves, emphasizing the dip of her waist and the soft glow of her skin.

In her hand, she held another set of lace underwear as her body was half turned toward the mirror.

She froze. Verso froze.

And for a long, agonizing second, neither of them moved.

The silence in the room had just built up the tension even more. She looked at him, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and rising embarrassment, her lips slightly parted as she failed to find words.

"Scum! You still haven’t gone in to try your clothes?"

Moon’s loud, obnoxious voice shattered the spell from behind him in the hallway. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The sound snapped Verso back into a reality as his face erupted into a brilliant burning crimson. He slammed the door shut with a force that made the brass plate rattle.

His eyes darted to the number on the door just to realize that it wasn’t ’III’. It was ’II’.

’I entered the wrong room... I’m a dead man. Should I apologize? I have to apologize, right?’

His mind was a chaotic mess as he reached for the handle again, his hand shaking but before he could make up his mind to face the girl again, he felt a rough tug on the back of his hoodie.

"That’s the wrong room, idiot. This one over here is Room 3." Moon said, his tone impatient as he pulled Verso a few feet down the hall.

"Now quickly go in and try your clothes on so we can leave for the dungeon."

Moon reached out, gripped the handle of Room 3, and physically pushed Verso inside before he could utter a single word of protest.

Click.

The door locked behind him.

Verso stood in the middle of the actual Room 3, his mountain of clothes still in his arms, his heart hammering against his ribs like it was trying to escape.

’But- But what do I do now?’

His entire head felt like it was on fire. As he felt like he could still see the image of her standing in the center of the room.

’Do I go back out? Do I just act like nothing happened?’

He paced the small room, his mind racing.

If he went back out, he would have to explain it to Moon, and Moon would never let him live it down.

Worse, the girl might still be there and he did not think his heart could survive a second encounter.

Deciding that his only chance at survival was to embrace total denial, Verso let out a shaky breath and looked at the mountain of clothes.

’Act like nothing happened.’

With trembling hands, he began to strip off his hoodie, trying desperately to push the image of the girl from Room 2 out of his mind and focus on the task at hand.

But as he looked at himself in the mirror, his face was still bright red.

’Fuck...’