The warm water caressed his feet as he slowly dipped himself in the bath. His body stung from the cuts he had but that didn't bother him at all. He felt all the tension leave his body as he floated on the water.
"Haaaa." He sighed closing his eyes.
'This is it ' He thought in contempt. He heard a slow splash on behind him. Garam had also entered the pool though he decided to seat on the stairs instead. The water reached up to his chest and Garam let out a small sigh of relief.
After floating for a while Jikad swam towards Garam and sat beside him on the stairs. Taking out the bar of soap that Glory had given him, he rubbed it on his arms . He watched the dirt flow out of them as he scrubbed his hair. He now realized how dirty it was. Massaging his head, he ran his fingers through his hair as it foamed from the soap. He dipped his head under the water to rinse it.
He continued to scrub every inch of his body until the bar of soap looked like it had reduced by half. He could not find the words to describe the level of relief he felt afterwards. It was as if he could finally breath. Garam was also busy slowly cleaning himself next to him. Jikad leaned his head back and stared at the damp ceiling . His eyes fluttered shut from the rhythmic sound of Garam scrubbing his hair.
"Wakey wakey!" A bubbly voice jolted Jikad awake. Above his head was Glory holding a bundle of clothes. He giggled
"You must have really enjoyed the bath to be knocked out like that-"
Glory paused and his cheeks suddenly flushed when Jikad opened his eyes. He glanced at Jikad and Garam his eyes widening for a bit.
"Wowza!" He exclaimed in awe." You two have some serious visuals ! No wonder you were brought to the lotus cave."
Jikad still recovering from drowsiness groggily asked "What?"
"I mean you're both very attractive!"Glory repeated putting the clothes on a rack.
"I could hardly tell since you were both so filthy at first." Jikad could hardly tell if this was a complement or not.
Though he was used to people complementing him on his looks all the time in his previous world. He was sure he didn't look like he used to so he didn't understand why Glory insisted on them being good looking.
Jikad glanced at Garam and almost exclaimed as well. Even when his face was half covered in soot,one could easily tell that Garam was good looking. Jikad had thought the same when he first saw him at Purgatory. But now with his face cleaned,it was apparent that he was more that just good looking. Jikad was also shocked to realize that Garam's dark brown hair was actually lighter shade than before. All the dirt must have made it appear darker.
'These guys are the real deal ' Glory thought to himself glancing at the two. 'They're going to make it to second level in no time.' Glory knew that beauty was a huge determinant of the levels assigned to the blooms of the Lotus cave. Even though each of them would be assigned the first level at initially,it was only a matter of time before one of them caught the eye of a VIP customer.
'Especially that one ' Glory glanced at Garam.People usually regarded bright colored complexions as more superior. For example, people with a bright color of hair or a sticking color of eyes. But this boy in front of him had the most common color palette(brown) and yet one couldn't help but be drawn to him.
'Maybe it's his calm aura' Glory wondered sensing a gentle stillness in the brown haired boy.It was as if nothing in the world bothered him.His natural brown curls framed his pretty face giving him an innocent cute look.
His skin was smooth and flawless enough to qualify him a modeling contract. His brown eyes had a pretty almond shape that made them stand out even more.His bow shape lips were light pink with his bottom lip plumper than the top one.
A beauty mark under his left eye made him more lovely if that was even possible.
The boy next to him was not less in anyway. Glory glanced at Jikad who also seemed unreal.' And this one looks like a porcelain doll.' Glory marvelled at
Jikad's fair skin. That kind of paleness was something most blooms yearned to achieve and yet this new boy had it naturally. He had jet black hair that made his fair skin stand out even more. Not to mention his long dark lashes that gave him a pretty allure. His eyes were a pale green so vivid it almost looked grey. Unlike the cute vibe of the brown haired boy, his face gave of more of an ethereal vibe .
'Things are going to be quite interesting in the lotus cave from now on.' Glory shook his thoughts away and cleared his throat.
"I brought you both a change of clothes." The ones they had on before were so filthy that he had to burn them. He flashed the two pretty boys a huge grin. He had decided it was better to be friendly with the possible new stars of the lotus cave.
"Oh,thank you." Jikad answered and Garam simply nodded curtly. After wiping themselves down with the availed towels,they wore their clothes. It was the same pink and white combo that Glory was wearing. Jikad also noticed that there was a tiny lotus flower painted on the left side of the chest.
Glory looked at them expectantly his eyes shimmering with anticipation.
"Erm, the clothes are great." Jikad added thinking that maybe that's what Glory was waiting for.
"I'm glad you like them." Glory added but the eagerness in his eyes didn't dissipate.
"Is there something else?" Jikad asked breaking the awkward silence.
"Your names." Glory glanced between the two of them.
"oh, right" Jikad was still not used to introducing himself due to his immense popularity.
"I'm Jikad." He said and glanced to his side.
"Garam." A flat answer came afterwards.
"Jikad and Garam how wonderful!" Jikad did not understand Glory's excitement at learning their names. He then reminded himself that people in this world were indeed weird.
"So,Jikad and Garam" Glory repeated," You are both first level blooms now. How you carry yourselves will determine how fast you can climb to the next level. It may take a while but if you work hard then one day you-"
"Excuse me,sorry to interrupt " Jikad raised his hand stopping Glory from his on going ramble." Why would we want to climb in the levels?"
Glory blinked in confusion but quickly composed himself and answered.
"Well, for starters the higher the levels the more VIP customers you get to serve. First level blooms like us don't even get the chance to attend customers at all." Glory looked at Jikad hoping that the explanation had answered his question.
"So...,I'm asking just so that were clear. When you say 'attend the customers ' you mean...." Jikad trailed off.
".....to serve them." Glory to completed his statement.
"To serve them how.. exactly?"
" In whichever way the customer prefers."
"....."
"..."
" I don't think you get my question here."
"What do you mean then?"
"What exactly happens in the lotus rooms or whatever you called them?"
"Well in the lotus suites, the blooms attend to the customer's every desire."
"Every...desire?"
Glory nodded his head and proudly proclaimed "The esteemed Lotus Cave is known for fully satisfying their customers. Making it the most sought after place in the entire Paradise city."
"So sex." Jikad mumbled to himself but Glory heard it and interjected.
"Not only sex,but also other pleasures that the customers might want."
Jikad sighed without listening to what Glory was saying. 'So we were trafficked to a brothel.' He thought bitterly. 'I guess it's better that having my head cut off and stacked on a wall like a skewer '
"But as a first level bloom you can't access the lotus suites unless you are instructed by the patron." Glory added.
"Haa. Then what exactly do first level blooms do?" Jikad asked running a hand though his hair.
"We are in charge of cleaning the buildings, cooking the meals, preparing food, readying the baths, welcoming newcomers.."
Glory continued narrating a long list of never ending chores some of which Jikad didn't even know existed.
"Wait, reading out scriptures to lotus cave stars? What does that even mean?" Jikad asked confused.
Glory's eyes sparkled at the mention of 'lotus cave stars.
"The stars are the highest level of blooms in the lotus cave. They are like the fourth level of blooms in this place. And among them is of course the famous one and only golden bloom." Glory held his head high in pride.
"I'm sure you've heard of him."
Jikad was going to refuse but realized that he had infact already heard of this name. At the reception desk there seemed to be an uproar about this 'golden bloom'.
' So the stars of the lotus cave are like celebrities or something.' Jikad thought to himself.
"There are three stars in our lotus cave!" Glory said excitedly," The diamond bloom,The jade bloom and of course the Golden bloom. They are the most beautiful single crafted beings meticulously molded by god himself!Not only are they the most graceful-"
"That's enough." Jikad cut him off, Glory was nice and all but all the innecesant talking was giving Jikad a headache.
He had already heard all he wanted anyway. This lotus cave was like a five-star brothel or something and this underground city was called Paradise. It made sense since the place that brought them hear was called Paradise Express.
The 'blooms' refer to the prostitutes and there is apparently a rank to them. The lower the rank the more work there is. The top dogs in this place are called stars and they are three in total. Jikad still didn't understand why anyone would want to climb the levels. From what he had heard from Glory,it seemed that first level blooms didn't directly serve customers unless summoned by the patron which was a good thing to Jikad.
The security didn't seem all that tight in this place. other than the two bandits at the reception and the two that brought them here, Jikad hadn't spotted any other form of security. That was,other than the wall.
This was good. Very good. It meant that escaping this place would be easier than he had thought.
He wasn't worried about the truck load of chore as much as he was at the chance that he might get prostituted. He had noticed that a large number of these customers were men. That just didn't sit right with him. He had nothing against people indulging in whatever their preference was, as long as that preference wasn't him.
And Garam made him worry even more. He had already grown attached to this quiet boy who he had known for a very short time. He was worried that some perverted creep might grab him and drag him away to the lotus suites. Jikad shook his head adamantly. There was no way he'd allow that to happen. So they had to find a way out of this place and fast.
This place also had tied to bandits which made it even more unsafe for stay.Jikad remembered the scary bandit leader that tormented him earlier .
' If that psycho was the patron then I have to get out of here even sooner.'
"Hey Glory-"
"Yap! ask me anything."
"Erm-so the patron of the Lotus cave wouldn't happen to be a huge red haired bandit that carries around an abnormally huge sword would he?"
"huge red hair bandit? No our patron is a beautiful lady-*Gasp!Wait!! You met Taker!?" Glory suddenly exclaimed grabbing Jikad's shoulders.
"Huh? what-"
"Tell me! Tell me!!! You met him right? Taker?!" He was shaking Jikad like a ragdoll barely able to contain his excitement and shock.
"ugh! Who,who is Taker?" Jikad groaned feeling lightheaded from all the shaking.
"Didn't you just say a hot red-haired sexy hunk?! My goodness I can't believe you actually met THE Taker!" Glory screeched like an excited highschool girl watching their favourite idol perform.
Jikad did not have any recollection of describing the lunatic who robbed and tormented them as a ' hot sexy hunk '. But he was now convinced that everyone in this world suffered from a bipolar disorder,apart from Garam that is.