Ivy Gates || PJM || Ivy Book One || ✔

3.

I was the only girl left on the stage. The others had been sold off to men of varying ages, and all that was left was me.

"1216," The man at the podium called, and the guard unhooked the chain and pulled me to the middle of the stage. He re hooked the chain on a loop that was on the ground, and I stood staring out at the eager, lustful eyes that were looking up at me.

"Registered name, Rebecca," The man continued, "Blonde hair, grey eyes. Child bearing hips and no hereditary or current illness present. Comes from a good line, her mother had one other daughter and two sons. No issues with her birth and few injuries growing up. Burn mark on back of her left thigh,"

There were a few cheers and offers, but the man ignored them.

He paused and took a deep breath, "Comes with a Red Warning. Experienced owners only,"

There was an uproar in the crowd in front of me. 

"Why?!" One man yelled, "What's the reason?!"

"She'd be perfect for my son!" Another yelled, "Why can't we just train her ourselves?!"

"I've been waiting for her the whole time, why didn't you tell us from the start?!"

"The Red warning comes from General Park!" The man yelled over the noise of the crowd, and it immediately died down, "Is that correct, General?"

The man who had pulled me away from the guards before nodded, his sharp eyes on the crowd of men, "That is correct,"

Over two thirds of the men in the crowd began to grumble and complain, but they slowly left the area, leaving a few evil looking men standing there watching me.

"The reason?" One of them asked, eyes never leaving me.

"Laid out three guards," The General replied, "And you are not purchasing her, Mr Jung. Your license is still suspended,"

"I will pay twice what she is worth," The man said smoothly, stepping towards the stage, "I don't think anyone else here has the experience for such an aggressive specimen. You included, General,"

I resisted the urge to correct him; I wasn't aggressive at all. I was defending myself. I was obedient, but the men were breaking the rules.

I noticed the Generals eyes narrow before I heard him speak, "You should leave before I have you locked up, Hoseok,"

The two men stared at eachother for a moment, before the man turned and walked away from the General.

"He is right, though," One of the remaining men said, also turning away, "I don't have the experience for someone as aggressive as her. And from the sounds of it, she's not worth the money,"

Slowly, one by one, I watched as the rest of the men turned and left the stage, leaving just the General and his friend standing quietly.

---

JIMIN

"You can do it," Taehyung said, "I know you can. You need to move on from what happened, Jimin. And she doesn't look as wild as Daisy,"

I rolled my eyes, "Fine," I looked up at the auctioneer, "I'll pay ten,"

"The starting bid was fifty," He replied weakly, "Which is still fifty less than the usual starting bid,"

"Ten," I repeated, and after a brief moment of internal debate, the auctioneer nodded.

"Very well," He picked up a big rubber stamp and slammed it on what I assumed was the girls paperwork, "Woman 1216, registered name Rebecca, sold to General Park Jimin of Bangtan City, Region two,"

I turned and walked away, not even looking at the woman on the stage, "Have her delivered to my residence by five pm, after the proper cleansing,"

Now my place of rest would not be as calm and relaxing. I had to make sure that I wasn't murdered in my sleep by a Red Zone woman.

---

BEE

The guard led me off the stage by the chain. I was trying to remain calm, but my heart was thumping in my chest like it was trying to escape.

I had just been sold to General Park. I was going to die.

The guard pulled me back into the building, and then through a different door to the one that led out to the cell I was kept in the previous night. This door led in to a large, bright and warm room, where there were several naked women sitting in large cells.

Care girls.

Care girls were those who were not sold when they were eighteen. They were given to various places to live out their lives, unless they were sold from there. I had heard about the poor women who lived at prisons to entertain the criminals, or at fire stations to keep men occupied while they waited for calls. The ones sent to hospitals worked as nurses until they died of exhaustion, and my Mama had always told me that no matter what, I did not want to be a care girl.

The guard unlocked the cell of one of the women and clipped the end of my chain to the length of chain that came from her collar.

"Cleansing," He said shortly, "I'll be back in two hours," 

The woman nodded and led me through another door, into a large bathroom. Once the door was shut, she turned and smiled at me.

"I'm Tam," She said, "What's your name?"

I hesitated before answering her. I was always told to tell my number, and not my name.

"It's alright," She said, "It's just us. I won't tell anyone,"

"Rebecca," I said quietly, trying to find anywhere to look but at her as she pulled my clothes off, "Mama calls me Bee,"

"That's a nice name," Tam said, pulling me towards what looked like a small pool with steaming hot water, "Did you get an owner?" I nodded, "That's good. I didn't but I don't mind being a care girl, here. We don't actually have to do very much, except take care of cleaning and cleansing. Do you know what cleansing is?"

I shook my head and she stepped into the pool, pulling me with her, "I just have to wash you and make sure that you are presentable for your new owner. Tonight is an important night for you, after all. Who purchased you?"

I felt a shudder go up my spine, even though I hadn't even spoken his name yet, "General Park,"

Tam froze, the soap she was lathering into her hand dripping into the hot water, "G-General..." After taking a moment to compose herself, she looked at me with a serious face, all previous smiles completely gone, "You obey him, do you understand me? You don't disrespect him in any way, and you do as you're told and you'll be fine,"

I nodded, new fear piercing my heart, "I will,"

Tam went back to smiling, "Good. Now lets get you ready for the General,"