The auction house breathed like a living thing—thick with incense, murmurs, and the clink of jade tokens. On the velvet-draped stage, Kim Taehyung stood motionless, draped in translucent red silk that shimmered under candlelight. His wrists were bound with ceremonial ribbons, symbolizing surrender. Yet his gaze was anything but broken. It cut across the room, sharp and searching, until it landed on one man: Jeon Jungkook, seated in shadow, his royal insignia disguised beneath a traveler’s cloak.

The bidding soared. Nobles laughed, treating Taehyung’s virginity like a trophy. Jungkook remained silent—until the final moment. With a single raise of his token, he silenced the room. No one dared challenge the unseen patron.

Backstage, the air turned electric. Taehyung faced him, no fear in his eyes—only calculation. 'You paid a king’s ransom,' he said softly. 'Now will you take what you came for… or are you here for something else?'