Prince's Gamble | HAOBIN

6. Swords and Other Things

Zhanghao didn't know what to say to his mother when he walked into his home after selection day. For how could you gently tell a mother that her son was about to be put in a competition like a pig to the slaughter? 

— 

The next morning, Zhanghao opened his front door to find two royal guards on his doorstep. Both in armor, they each had a sword strapped to their belts and a heavy looking helmet resting on their heads. 

"Might I ask what you are here for?" Zhanghao said, politely. 

"We were sent to escort you to the castle." One of the guards replied. 

"Oh." Zhanghao's hand unconsciously came up to his mouth as he spoke. "Let me finish getting ready and I'll come back out." He was about to escape back into the house when he poked his head out the door again, "What will I be doing at the castle?"

The guards thought for a moment, "I assume it's some sort of training." 

Zhanghao nodded in response, rushing back into the house and up to his room. He changed into fairly light clothing, something he would be able to move in easily. After changing he grabbed a few of his things before heading back towards the door. 

Opening the door, he joined the guards outside. 

"Let's go." The guard motioned for him to start walking. One guard walked on either side of him, as if to either protect him or to make sure he didn't run away. When they reached the castle, Zhanghao was shocked at the large stone building. He had only ever seen the castle from a distance let alone been inside it. 

The guards now walked in front of him, leading him into the castle. Zhanghao's mouth was still open in awe as he gazed around at the shiny floor, high ceiling and enormous chandelier which completed the grandness of the place. He wondered if he would see Hanbin in here but that thought was pushed away as the guards led him into a room that was stocked high to low with weapons sitting on racks and mats laid out on the floor.    

As the guards left him in the room, he looked to his right to see Kim Taerae sitting on a bench, waiting. Zhanghao walked over, wondering where the rest of the competitors were. As he sat down next to him Taerae looked up, surveying Zhanghao. 

"Do you know what all this is about?" He gestured towards the weapons. 

Zhanghao peered at them, "I have my guesses... but I hope they're not right." He said with a grave tone. 

"You're not saying.. We'll have to.. like.. kill each other, are you?" Taerae said. 

"I'm not saying that but it certainly looks a bit like that." Zhanghao replied. 

Just then, a man walked into the room, eyes piercing as he let the door close behind him, staring at Zhanghao and Taerae. Zhanghao couldn't help but notice his tall height and stocky build which made him look intimidating. Not to mention the tight black clothes he wore which showed his muscles annoyingly. 

He walked over to Zhanghao and Taerae, gaze still stern and sharp. 

"So you must be Zhanghao and Kim Taerae." He said. "I'm Park Gunwook and I will be the trainer for the two of you over the competition period." He smirked. 

"The two of us? What about the other competitors?" Zhanghao asked, curiously.

"The way the King has assigned it, is that there will be one trainer for every two competitors." Gunwook stated. 

"Ahh..." Zhanghao and Taerae sounded at the same time. 

"So let's get to work." Gunwook smiled, hands clasped. 

As much as he might have been scary and intimidating, the trainer turned out to be much more soft and kind as he led Zhanghao and Taerae through training. They had started with a simple assessment so that Gunwook could check their fitness and skill levels. Zhanghao was pleased when he found Gunwook's eyes widened during his skills assessment. 

"Not bad, Zhanghao." Gunwook said after finishing a fencing duel with him. "However, during the different rounds of the competition I highly doubt there's going to be fencing equipment lying around for you to use." He said before walking over and picking up two swords from the weapons rack. "Try it with this." Gunwook said, handing one practice sword to Zhanghao, before handing the other to Taerae. 

The sword was definitely heavier than a fencing sword, but Zhanghao would just have to adjust. Holding the sword in front of himself at an angle, he gazed up at Taerae, pivoting slightly.

"Ready to be beaten?" He smirked at Taerae. 

"Oh, I would be more worried about your pretty face being hurt." Taerae smirked back only for Zhanghao to blush slightly. But he wouldn't let Taerae distract him as he stood firm, looking up at him one more time before he lunged, sword swinging straight at him. 

"I'd say that was a pretty successful training session." Gunwook said, handing water to both Zhanghao and Taerae. Zhanghao nodded in thanks, taking the water from Gunwook. Taerae looked at Zhanghao, waiting for him to finish taking a drink before he asked, 

"Wanna hang out with me?" Taerae said. 

Zhanghao looked at him, about to respond before another figure walked through the doors, diverting Zhanghao's attention. It was Hanbin, dressed in his royal attire rather than the school uniform which Zhanghao had only seen him in so far. His eyes lit up as he saw Zhanghao, 

"Zhanghao! There you are. I looked through about four other training rooms before finding the right one." Hanbin shook his head in exhaustion. "Training's finished, right?" Hanbin looked towards Gunwook who only nodded in response. Hanbin turned back to Zhanghao, "I have a surprise for you." He smiled, "Only if you want to though." 

A surprise? Zhanghao thought, getting up to his feet and going over to Hanbin. Then he remembered Taerae. If he was honest, Taerae's request had been sudden and unexpected as Zhanghao didn't know if he felt that close to Taerae yet. 

"I'm sorry Taerae, maybe we can hang out tomorrow?" Zhanghao said, apologetically. 

Zhanghao thought he saw a flash of frustration in Taerae's eyes before he replied, "Yeah, it's fine. Enjoy your surprise." He sighed before giving Zhanghao a smile. 

Happy, Zhanghao followed a smiling Hanbin out of the training room and into the castle. 

"Fucking Sung Hanbin." Taerae mumbled under his breath as he watched Zhanghao follow Hanbin out of the room, joy beaming on his face. 

"What was that?" Gunwook turned to him, assuming Taerae had said something to him.

"Oh nothing." Taerae said, but Gunwook knew jealously when he saw it.