Chorong loved going to town.

Whether it was to loiter around the marketplace thriving with so much life or visiting the quiet public library, it was definitely a lot better than being holed up in the palace. That’s right, though she may look like an ordinary commoner, all dressed in a simple beige tunic and skirt, Chorong is a princess.

Following her around and keeping the lady under close scrutiny are Kang Ho Dong, the princess’ advisor, Hyojung, her personal servant and two guards that keep a safe distance as to not attract attention. Though it doesn’t give her much privacy and freedom, it is understandable given the terms her father advised.

“Milady, I thought you said you wanted to buy a book? Why are you heading over there?” Ho Dong scurries after Chorong who walks fast, following into the crowd.

As the man looks up, taking note of the scenery, oh no. He must pull the princess out of that place. Standing tall and proud, it is indeed one of the main attractions for the town. Citizens and even those travelling from far places all come here to watch a grand show. Beautiful, stone structures shaped in a perfect circle, pillars that surround the sphere, it is a piece of artwork from outside. But inside, it is different.

This is the Coliseum.

One that the King had warned Chorong to stay far from, simply because of its violence and brutality. It is a sort of entertainment for adults who gamble on combatants who then, fight to their death. The advisor knows that bringing a princess to such a place, would have no meaning at all. If anything, it will just spoil and traumatize the mind of a young, innocent maiden whose dreams should be protect with utmost care.

“Milady! Oh, my heavens, you must not go there! Please come back. Let’s return to the palace.” Ho-Dong pleaded.

Chorong gives her advisor a look. She takes one step down and slowly approaches the man. “If I am to be Queen one day, I must be willing to see both the good and bad sides of this kingdom.”

This leaves Ho-Dong is cornered.

There is nothing he can refute on this statement. The man knows that the Princess is cunning, but she also has a way with words. That’s right. Chorong is no longer that seven-year-old little girl who needed to be sheltered from the world. She’s twenty, wise enough to make her own decisions and the following year, she will be having her coming-of-age ceremony that will mark her eligibility to become Queen of Muhwa.

“Oh dear, Milady. I still think this is an absolutely terrible idea! Your Father will be very angry once he finds out! And if he will accuse me of influencing you into this- atrocious activity!” Ho-Dong stutters as he restlessly sits on the seats.

They are now inside the Coliseum, having bought tickets and got a view far away, as to not attract any attention. Chorong chuckles at her advisor who is simply overthinking too much.

“Please rest easy. Let me take responsibility for my own actions.”

“If you say so, Milady.”

Ho-Dong lets out a shaky sigh as he watches the servant and guards gather around. “But I simply do not want you to be scarred for what you are about to see. The Coliseum is filled with nothing but horrors!” The man continues to persuade the princess, but it is to no avail.

“Didn’t Father said that once I become of age, I would need to start finding a bodyguard for myself?” Chorong hums as she looks at Ho-Dong who suddenly grows small at that. “I know Father has been planning to hire a soldier who probably spent his whole life training in an academy. But I think there is more value to choosing a bodyguard based on real experience.”  

“Oh dear…” Ho Dong lowers his head in defeat.

“Milady, the show is starting!” Hyojung says as she gently pats on Chorong’s shoulder.

“Good people of the Muhwa Kingdom! Welcome to the Coliseum!” The ringmaster bellows loudly.

Chorong looks on in amusement as they reveal the two combatants for today’s round. When the iron bars raise upwards, a big, muscular man greets the crowd with a heavy sledgehammer.

The arena echoes in a loud cheer, leaving the princess quite stunned at the enthusiastic energy. On the other side, the second combatant is revealed. To the princess’ surprise, it is a small, young girl armed with nothing but a mere blade. At first glance, Chorong thought that she was going to lose immediately.

But little does she know that, the crowd cheered even louder at the appearance of the girl.

Deciding not to dwell on her internal thoughts, Chorong watches the match unfold quietly. The moment the horn blows, the man attacks first. He swings his hammer like it’s nothing. The girl dodges it easily and manages to strike a blow at his abdomen. His scream echoes loudly in the arena while the crowd thoroughly enjoys his suffering.

Chorong can hear Ho-Dong and Hyojung grimacing at the cruel sight. But the princess isn’t fazed. If anything, she is very intrigued by this blood match. The girl jumps around the man, taunting him with her small blade. This angers him as he tries to swing his hammer again. But the girl takes the chance, prances onto the man like a monkey, locks her thighs between his neck and slices his head apart. 

As it falls to the ground, Chorong sits there in awe as the crowd bellows loudly in cheer and whistles. She was wrong. She thought that the man would win. But instead, it was this little young girl who was probably a few years younger than her, that won. And even when she did win, she didn’t even show a single hint of expression.

Nothing happy. Nothing sad. Just emptiness inside.

The princess hums in amusement as she crosses one of her legs. “Interesting.” After today’s visit to the Coliseum, this thought has never left the Princess’ mind. Even on the way home in the carriage, Chorong suddenly has a profound interest in the Coliseum, especially that girl who fought like a beast. She has definitely caught her attention.

“Do combatants have names?” Chorong asks Ho-Dong.

“No, Milady. Combatants are represented by numbers.”

“Why?”

“Because combatants are either orphans or criminals looking to shorten their sentence. No one in their sane mind would actually dream of becoming one.”

“Then do you think that girl today did anything wrong?”

Ho-Dong looks over at the princess with a tired sigh, having enough with the non-stop Q&A session. “Milady. We have arrived at the palace. It has been a long day out and I suggest that you rest in your chambers. Any other questions, I will answer them tomorrow.”

Chorong pouts and gets out of the carriage with a disappointed “fine”. As Hyojung helps her with the clothes and bath, she wanted to get her servant’s opinion on the Coliseum. But of course, she isn’t surprised when Hyojung replies that she gets squeamish upon the sight of blood.

“Milady, are you actually considering of choosing a combatant from the Coliseum as your bodyguard?” Hyojung asks hesitantly.

Chorong nods as she comfortably leans at the back of her tub, sinking deeper inside the warm water as Hyojung continues to massage her head with soap. “I am. In fact, I have already chosen one by heart.”

When it comes to decisions, there are no second thoughts.

Chorong knows exactly what she wants. The princess believes that girl’s raw yet barbaric talents can be further sharpened if brought under her wing. Not only that, she will be given a better life here at the palace. She’s doing a good thing for her.

Weeks pass after that one visit to the Coliseum.

The King eventually finds out. Although enraged at first, Chorong manages to logically talk it out with her father, surprising the man himself at how much his daughter has grown. The princess then, proposes the idea of recruiting the combatant from the Coliseum, letting the palace train her into a proper bodyguard. One may call it, a long-term investment.

This is then, brought up onto the Council of Elders in the presence of advisors, high-ranking officials and army generals. It was baffling at first but, as Chorong continued to press on with her logical reasoning, insisting that a bodyguard built through experience and not through the textbook, would deem a more suitable fit, has left them impressed.

Looks like the Muhwa Kingdom does not need to worry about their female successor. Chorong will soon become a great Queen.

Three knocks on the door as Hyojung announces to the princess that her highly anticipated guest has arrived, leaves Chorong rushing out from her chambers. She hurries to the entrance, taking full note to hold her hanbok skirt so that she doesn’t embarrassingly trip and fall. The princess watches as the carriage arrives slowly at the palace entrance and the same girl from the arena shows her presence.

Their eyes finally meet.

To this girl whom Chorong saw was brave, merciless and overflowing with confidence. But this girl she meets, is different from the Coliseum. Here, she is small, scared and shy.

Long, black, messy hair draped down to her back. Grime and dirt all over her face. Sturdy, toned body that shouldn’t belong to an eighteen-year-old, loosely worn over a torn rag-cloth that barely covers her feminine areas. She is exactly as what the princess imagined her to be.

Realising that she’s been staring too long in silence, she introduces herself with a graceful bow.

“Greetings. Welcome to the palace. My name is Princess Park Chorong.”

The girl ducks shyly and slowly kneeled on the floor, head down. Now, the princess is used to have people kneeling down at her, ushering the land that she walks on. But this is different. For the first time, there was this sense of pity beating in her heart. She feels sad as her chest twists oddly.

“Thank you.” The girl’s head remains down on the ground. “Thank you for freeing me, dear princess.”

Chorong approaches her, bends down and reaches out her hand. This action shocks everyone at the scene, including the palace guards, servants and advisor Ho-Dong.

“Do you have a name?”

“I…” The girl raises her head to look at the princess, captivated simply by just how she looks so beautiful in that elegant hanbok. She lowers her gaze, suddenly avoiding eye contact and shakes her head in response. “I don’t have a name. I only have a number. Eight one eight…”

“Then I will give you a name.”

Chorong gently Eunji’s chin up with one finger. She can hear her servants and advisor gasping because never would a princess dare land a touch on such “filth”. But that doesn’t matter. The princess has seen a lot during her trip to town. She hates having to draw a line between the rich and poor.

“Eunji.” Chorong smiles warmly. “Your name is Eunji.”

“Eun…E-Eunji…”

The girl tries to pronounce the name given to her. She wants to make sure that she says it right. After all, it is already an honour for the princess herself, to give her a name. A name that she never had in the beginning and a name she will now keep forever.

“That’s right.” Chorong nods as she rises from her feet. “Now then, Eunji. Please follow me.” 

The princess walks back into the palace as Eunji follows her from behind. Hyojung rushes over to clean Chorong’s finger with a wet cloth, now infected with dirt. Honestly, there is no reason to do this. But everyone in the palace still holds prejudice against the lower class and there’s sadly, nothing she can do but accept this discrimination.

As Chorong leads Eunji further into the palace, walking through the wide, spacious corridors with open gardens left and right, this is a dream. She notices a group of servants marching in line, carrying various equipment as they head off somewhere. She also takes note of the number of guards patrolling the vicinity. In the far distance, she hears the faint laughter of another group of servants who are washing the laundry together.

Everything here is so peaceful, serene and filled with so much of colour. This is nothing like the Coliseum, no blood, no torture, no darkness, no pain. If Coliseum is hell, then the palace is heaven.

“The two of you may leave.” Chorong tells Hyojung and Ho-Dong who followed the princess all the way to the entrance of her private chambers. She knows that from the look of their faces, they certainly do not trust leaving her alone with a young girl who can kill. But Chorong wants to prove them wrong.

She gives them a scary look, the kind that sends chills down their spine. The results are immediate as the two bowed in unison, quickly scurrying away as Chorong and Eunji are now alone.

“Come on in.”

Chorong pushes the door open and looks at Eunji who has been remaining very quiet and avoiding eye-contact. She seems very hesitant to do anything. “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid.” The princess takes Eunji’s hand and pulls her in. This flusters Eunji as she almost jumps at the sudden touch.

No one ever holds her hand. She also notices that the princess’s hand is very warm and soft which feels so new. This is because every time Eunji looks at the bodies of her fallen opponents, they always end up being very cold and stiff.

“Eunji.” The princess calls out as she closes the door. Eunji answers a quiet, shaky, “yes?” while awkwardly standing around the bedroom chambers.

Her feet rests on the soft, smooth tatami floor. Nose catching hold of this floral scent flying around the space. Ears fully aware of this comfortable silence ringing inside.

“Take off your clothes.”

“My…clothes?” Eunji blinks as she looks down at her rag-cloth barely hanging onto her chest. Oh. The girl thinks that she probably is being very inappropriate by dressing like this in front of the princess. She quickly apologises and starts to flutter her arms about, unsure what to do but she stops when she hears the princess laugh.

Eunji looks up to see such a wide smile spread across the Princess’ face. A smile like the sun. So beautiful, so comforting.

“Silly. You need to take a bath.”

“…Oh.” Eunji realises as her cheeks start to redden at the thought of having to strip in front of the princess. No, not that its humiliating but she just, hasn’t been told to do this before. But if the princess tells her to strip, then she will strip.

Eunji inhales and removes her rag-cloth. Chorong looks on quietly at the display of her bodyguard’s muscles starting to show itself, the line between her abs carving through, the princess wonders just how hard Eunji must’ve been training. She also notices how even with all of her muscles; she is still very thin and lacks proper nutrients.

“Good. Let’s get you cleaned.”

Chorong motions Eunji to follow her into the private bathroom just adjacent her chambers. There is a large tub situated in the middle with an equipped well, full of water. She also notices some unfamiliar things she has never seen in her life, like strangely bottled liquid and a coloured stone.

She orders Eunji to sit inside the tub so she does. But what Eunji doesn’t expect next is to have the princess herself, undoing her hanbok in front of her.

“P-Princess? W-What are you doing?”

Eunji jumps as she quickly looks away, cheeks going redder by the second. Chorong looks back as she laughs, thinking that her bodyguard is indeed an innocent child by heart. To think that this was the same girl who coldly slaughtered an 8 feet-tall man weeks ago.

“Do you think I’m going to clean you while I’m in my dress?”

“P-princess I can wash myself, it’s totally fine, you don’t need to-“

Eunji stops as she freezes at the reveal of Chorong’s bare body showing itself in its true, natural form. Her skin is glowing. She gapes as the princess enters the tub and shifts nervously in the water. This makes the princess laugh again but she doesn’t say anything else.

Instead, the princess focuses on cleaning Eunji. She takes the “mysterious” bottle from the table and squirts some foam out. This scares the out of Eunji because she’s never seen anything like it before. The bodyguard panics but Chorong comforts her, telling her that its okay.

When she starts rubbing some of the foam onto her skin, Eunji calms as she looks on curiously at this odd soapy thing on her arms. The princess knows that this is all very new to her, and decides to teach her about the smallest things in her everyday life.

As Chorong washes Eunji up, she teaches the bodyguard about the usage of shampoo and soap. She also teaches Eunji the importance of hygiene and maintaining one’s appearance. When she pours water over Eunji, the girl gasps at the sudden coldness but lets out a refreshing sigh, understanding what it means to be “clean”.

“…Princess.”

“Yes?”

“Can you teach me how to be a human?”

Although it’s a very simple question, but to the princess, it’s a question filled with so much of sadness and pity. To Eunji, she’s never had the opportunity to experience the smallest joys of living in a proper household like getting a wash or eating healthy food. When Chorong picked Eunji as her bodyguard, she also gained the responsibility of training her to become like one, to groom the girl into the requirements achieved by ordinary soldiers.

“Of course.” Chorong smiles as she brushes her fingers along Eunji’s long hair. “I will teach you everything.”

After the bath, Chorong starts to groom Eunji by cutting her hair. The girl sits still on the floor, hugging her knees as she lets the princess do her job. As she combs the edges of her hair, now around the length of her shoulders, Eunji notices Chorong pouring something from the bottle and applying it to her roots.

“Princess…”

“This is hair oil. It’s to moisturize and add balance to your damaged hair.” Chorong explains as she massages Eunji’s scalp, receiving a quiet purr. This makes the princess giggle again because for a moment, she thought that she was taking care of a pet.

“Eunji.”

“Yes?”

“I want you to know that its okay to be yourself. You are safe here in the palace. You are free and far from the Coliseum. Starting from now on, you are to serve under me as my bodyguard. I chose you with the expectation that you will protect me because your skills have shown me that you are the strongest fighter.”

Eunji nods as she listens to the Princess, knowing that this is her new destiny now. At first, she simply thought that living was to keep fighting, to keep winning and survive. But now, her goals have changed.

Her new destiny is to protect the Princess with her whole life, even until she grows old, even until she can no longer move. This is her duty and sole purpose now.

Eunji turns as she kneels with one knee, hand positioned at the front as her head bows.

“I vow to serve you for the rest of my life, Princess.”

Chorong smiles softly as she ruffles her bodyguard’s hair.

“I look forward to working with you, Eunji.”

And with that, a year has passed.

One year of teaching Eunji all that the world has to offer. One year of rigorous training with the general to become a skilled bodyguard. One year of spending time with the kind princess who has changed her life forever.

Today marks the day of Princess Chorong’s coming of age ceremony, as she turns twenty-one.

--

a/n: i know what y'all are thinking, the whole bath scene becoming lmaooo not today fellas :P this gonna be some cute uwu fluff for now. princess chorong and her bodyguard eunji's adventure begins now! how are you guys finding the story so far? let me know in the comments and i'll see you in the next update~ ^^