The Princess' Freedom | s.mg

Chapter 15

Two Weeks Later

The next two weeks were kind of a blur. We visited the jade clan, headed by Jae-Seong, and then we visited the amethyst clan headed by Dae-Jung. Coincidentally both dropped out of the running after our visit, drawing more suspicion to our concerns about Young Gi.

Mingi and I's secret relationship was flourishing, often consisting of the two of us sneaking away late at night to go on a proper date. Mingi must've been the one because even Seonghwa eased up on him and let me hang out with him without the supervision. 

Today the remaining of us were heading to Wooyoung's estate. The sapphire clan. 

I was greeted pleasantly by his lovely family. Wooyoung and I had grown close over the past months, but he was more of like an older brother figure than a romantic interest. And he didn't seem to hate it. He was the first one to catch onto Mingi and I's relationship. 

Once we were excused to our rooms, I merrily skipped off. 

I was unpacking when there was a soft knock at my door.

I was elated to see Mingi gazing at me with a charming smile.

I quickly let him in, making sure no one saw the action. He gave me a cheeky smile as I closed the door.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" I hummed wrapping my arms around him.

He smiled, leaning in, "Just wanted to see you."

He pressed his lips against mine, the sweetness of his mouth making me euphoric. He gently ravished my lips, expressing his admiration through each breath. 

I hummed into this kiss, making him smile.

He pulled away, breathlessly resting his forehead against mine. He laced his fingers with mine, making my heart flutter.

God this man made me weak. 

"I'm excited to see your fighting skills this weak," Mingi said.

Wooyoung and his family were known for their expert martial arts skills, especially in Taekwondo. I too had a history with the art, so I was pretty excited to try myself out against them.

"I think I'm going to force Sung-Ho and Young Gi to fight me just so I can sock them in the face," I giggled.

"I would literally kiss you if you did that," he laughed.

We spent the rest of the day together, entangled in each other's arms. I smiled into his chest, could it get better than this?

Time Skip

Yes, yes it could. Because today, I had the freedom to beat up Sung-Ho and Young Gi in ways I could've only dreamed of. 

We entered the Jung family fighting space, all dressed in traditional taekwondo outfits. 

They gave me a loaner black belt, proudly showing off their belts too.

"To commemorate this, why don't we start with a match between her highness and Wooyoung."

I approached Wooyoung confidently, bowing enthusiastically at him. He did the same.

The fight started, both of us bouncing with eagerness to attack. I made the first move, throwing a punch that sailed over his head. He tried to counter but I blocked in time, trying to probe him for an opening. It went on like this for a while, the two of us just trying to find an opening.

Finally, I found my chance and landed a gut punch. I freaked out for a second thinking I hurt him, but he recovered quickly, almost landing a punch.

"Yah! Be careful with the Princess!" Young Gi seethed.

Seognhwa sighed, "She can hold her own so please keep your mouth shut."

"Don't disrespect the future king like that you pathetic pile of-"

I chuckled, "It's cute that you think that."

He turned to me with burning anger.

I smirked, continuing to block Wooyoung's attacks.

"Jeez you're amazing you Highness, where did you learn all of this?" Wooyoung asked.

"My father taught me when I was younger and then when he left, I often would watch the royal guard train and practice with Seonghwa and his father," I explained, landing a kick to his side. 

After a bit more back and forth between Wooyoung and me, I managed to grab his arm and flipped him over onto the mat.

"Wow, you're good," he groaned.

I helped him up, shaking his hand, and honoring the good fight.

Mingi tossed me a bottle of water, shooting me a wink as he did. I unscrewed the cap, drinking at least a quarter of it.

"Okay, I think I want to test Sung-Ho and Young Gi in a match," I announced.

Everyone looked at me amusedly.

"Both of them?" Wooyoung raised an eyebrow.

"Both of us," the two of them squeaked.

"Yep. Problem?" I narrowed my eyes.

The two of them gulped, "No your highness."

They shuffled onto the mat, shaking as they bowed. 

"Don't worry boys. I'll go easy on you," I chirped, way too happy with the power I had been given.

I waited patiently, allowing them to make the first move. In Young Gi's eyes, there was this hint of fury and dominance. An obsessive kind. A vengeful kind. However, when he attacked, it was pretty simple, so I just sidestepped and gleefully watched him trip over his own feet.

Sung-Ho tried to swing a punch but also severely missed, hitting Young Gi in the head instead of me. 

I sighed pitifully, easily blocking their duo attack.

"This was disappointing," I sighed, knocking them both down with a sucker punch.

"Good to know the princess can hold her own," Young Gi groaned.

"He city boy, instead of standing there smugly, why don't you try fighting her?" Sung-Ho snarled. 

Mingi shook his head, but I motioned for him to come over. He desperately refused, but I pulled him. 

"Areum you might actually kill me," he whispered.

"I like you too much to do that. Just trust me," I hummed.

We started the match, Mingi throwing very weak punches. Not a single one landed, but despite the several openings he gave me, I didn't attack. I had an idea that would give everyone a kick, except maybe Sung-Ho and Young Gi.

Mingi continued to throw attacks and I continued to block them. Then just as I threatened to pull the finishing punch, I shrieked.

"Ahh! My leg! Ahh! It's cramping!" I yelled, dramatically falling into Mingi's arms.

Mingi held me firmly, quickly catching on to what I was doing. It was funny because Seonghwa, Jiho, and Wooyoung seemed to figure it out, but the two idiots couldn't figure it out for the life of them.

Young Gi scowled, "You threw the match so you wouldn't have to hurt the city boy."

I smirked, "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Who are you to tell me what I did and didn't do?" 

Mingi carried out, followed closely by the others who were laughing and joking like everything that had happened was nothing.

Sometimes, you just gotta take the little wins. And that's exactly what I did.