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Chapter Text

The ocean was peaceful, when everything came crashing down on him.

Seonghwa was woken by one of the crewmates harshly shaking him out of his sweet and frankly needed slumber and yelling at him to start his duties.

Another day on the merchant ship started, and he was immediately reminded of his position on it, scrubbing the floors, checking the supplies and other exhausting chores, all the while trying to stay out of the crew’s way and, most importantly, his father’s.

He supposed it should have been weird, being treated as a mere deckhand and being the captain’s son, but Seonghwa really had no idea how a healthy father-son relationship actually was (he did, but it was foolish and useless to bask in an impossible fantasy just to be confronted by the hard truth).
After hours of draining tasks that left his arms feeling like wooden logs, Seonghwa heard the cook call the crew for lunch.

Sounds like it’s time to see if today is one of the good days, he thought bitterly.
He waited for all the sailors to enter the canteen, before sneaking along the hallways that led to the kitchen in absolute silence, always careful to not be seen.

No one on the ship actively went out of their way to cause Seonghwa harm, but if they came across him they had no qualms in refraining themselves from a too forceful shove or from poorly concealed hits that more often than not resulted in nasty bruises (that went adding to those his oh so kind father gave him when he "stepped out of line").

It seems like luck in on my side today, Seonghwa would have thought had he he not been far too aware of luck’s easily changing tides as he was able to exit the kitchen and reach his secluded spot by the brig with a piece of bread and some water in hand.
Seonghwa ate in silence, and when he was done he quickly climbed the stairs back to the deck, as he knew the job of cleaning after the crew’s meals fell on him (no one wanted to deal with that mess).

Unfortunately, today was definitely not one of the good days, Seonghwa realized as he heard his father’s unpleasant and slightly tipsy voice calling him, supported by the sneers of a couple other sailors.
“Ah! The bastard is here!” The man said, swaying towards him “What are you gracing us with your presence for?”
Seonghwa knew better than to respond to such blatant eggings, so he just stared to the ground and, in the most remissive tone he could muster, Seonghwa said: “I came to carry out my duties, I did not mean to get in your way, father.” This was the first error.

He almost felt the pain before the harsh slap hit him, the rings on the captain’s hand digging in Seonghwa’s cheek, leaving long red marks. “I have no son!” the man’s face was starting to get redder, his voice dripping with venom and straight up disgust “And if I did, it wouldn’t be a useless bastard with no honor such as you!”

Seonghwa had learned long ago that honor had no use for someone in his position, for it only brought more pain, and a wounded spirit was always better than a sword in the gut (Seonghwa had come really close to tasting the metal more than once).

“Get out of my sight before I take you out myself.” he was brusquely ordered, complying before his father- no, the captain could have an excuse to follow on his word.
With a whispered “Yes sir” Seonghwa quickly went to stand in the furthest corner of the room, quietly watching as he waited for the man and his goons to exit the room.

When he was sure they wouldn’t come back, Seonghwa sighed at no one, and started cleaning the mess the crew had left him.
He really didn’t know if the sailors did this just to spite him or simply because they were savage animals with no sense of personal hygiene.

It’s probably both Seonghwa settled on as he started scrubbing at the pile of plates and cutlery piling in the sink (but not without mentally judging everyone on that damned vessel).

When he was done in the kitchen, Seonghwa headed to the hold, where the cargo was situated, to start his daily check of the merch. This was by far the task he hated the less in his enormous entourage of jobs he had to carry out on the Bloody Mary (a name hardly suitable to a ‘pacifist’ merchant ship, but whatever), because it left Seonghwa no time to think, and thinking for so long never did him good. Considering that all his other chores where physical and left his mind to wander, having some time to get out of his own head and just count the wine barrels or the number of munitions stored was a real blessing.

After an undefined amount of time (the hours blurred together when he was under deck and didn’t have the sun to establish what time it was) Seonghwa went back on deck, only to realize the sun had gone down and it was time for dinner.

Here we go again he thought, hoping to repeat what happened at lunch (minus the unpleasant encounter) and to get something in his stomach.

Unfortunately, Seonghwa was forced to come to the conclusion that today was definitely not his day when, before turning the corner that led to the kitchen, he heard the voices of two crewmen coming from the room.
Seonghwa tried waiting in hope they would leave after a while, but to no avail.

After something close to an hour of standing behind the corner with his ear lent to any sign the two men leaving, Seonghwa came to the conclusion that they probably weren’t going to, so he resigned to the fact the he wasn’t going to get anything to eat that night, for seeking conflict with the two was absolutely out of question (his neck was starting to cramp, too).

Seonghwa sighed (he sighed so much it was probably unhealthy) and scurried in silence to that same reserved niche where he would have eaten had he been able to get his hands on some food.

Thankfully, he was able to reach the spot without further encounters (he swore he was going to throw a fit if someone else dared bother him) and he tiredly laid down on the pillow and ragged blanket he had managed to steal some months ago.
As he waited for sleep to overcome him, Seonghwa thought back to the encounter in front of the kitchen, and the more he thought about it, he realized it was probably a stupid punishment that his dumb father had cooked up as revenge for their little face to face earlier that day.

By the time he had fallen asleep, Seonghwa had come up with a fairly impressive number of petty (and pretty freaking vulgar) terms to address the pathetic excuse of a father he had.

~*~

It wasn’t the yelling that woke him, but the smell of smoke and the loud thumping coming from above.

Seonghwa groggily rose to his feet, his back aching from the pain of sleeping to the ground, and when he realized what the noise and smell could mean, he frantically hurried to the deck, almost face-planting on the stairs a couple of times.

Outside, hell seemed to have broken out, fires eating through the main deck, that was overshadowed by the massive vessel accosted to them, sporting black flag with a with skull and two crossed bones. The crewmen were not trained for combat, so even against the small number of clearly well versed in the art of sword fighting hostile men (he could almost count them on one hand) they were unable to do anything to jump ship and hope not to drown.

Where the soft light of dawn wasn't strong enough to reach, raging fires lit up the deck, blazing flames projecting black clouds above his head.

Seonghwa just stood, eyes searching for a way out-
The cold sting of metal pressing to his throat halted whatever thought that was fluctuating in his panicking mind.

Seonghwa turned his head, careful of not worsening his situation, and came to face with the man holding him at sword point. He was wearing black trousers, high leather boots that reached under his knee and a long dark brown coat over a white shirt that looked far too expensive to be worn by someone at sea. Pinned to the man’s collar was a golden brooch that every ship captain wore, no matter what kind of crew they led, signifying his status.

The pirate grinned and yelled at no one in particular “This ship is ours now, prepare to die!”.

Chapter Text

“This ship is ours now, prepare to die!” Hongjoong yelled, pointing his sword at the man’s throat. Goddamnit, he thought, Yunho’s dumb dramatic flare was starting to get him too.

Suddenly, a hand pulled the boy from his blade’s range, the man it belonged to standing in front of him.

“Leave the boy alone, you have no business with him!” the man exclaimed, and Hongjoong could clearly see the bewildered look on blondie’s face (nicknames weren’t Hongjoong’s strong suit), as if he didn’t expect the man to protect him. After a second of confusion, his expression settled on understanding, his brow pulled in a frown.

His attention was brought back to the older man standing in front of him “Who are you, and what is it that you want from us, we have never associated nor come into contact with your crew before!” he asked, clearly stalling , waiting for something from the boy, if the poorly concealed glance he threw him (and the honestly dumb-ass questions, because really, what is a pirate crew going to do on a merchant ship??) was anything to go by.

Then, blondie moved, but definitely not to do what the other man wanted, seeing as he rose from where he had fallen on the ground to punch the older man in the face and knocking him to the ground, following the action with a venomous “Shut the fuck up for once, Father. Can you really not recognize one of the most feared outlaws of the eastern sea, the so-called Pirate King, Kim Hongjoong?”

Yeosang, who had reached his side along with Mingi, said under his breath “I like this one”.

The other captain was about to reply, but shut up immediately when Hongjoong pointed his sword at him. Then, the pirate looked back at the boy, “You are one of the few that recognizes me before I’m about to plunge my sword into their necks, and it's not like anyone lived long enough to give a precise description of what I look like, so what gave it away?” he asked, amusement clear in his voice.

From behind him, Hongjoong heard Yeosang whisper “It’s the mullet”, eliciting a snort from Mingi and the others, that had finished taking everything valuable on the ship and had gathered to watch the scene unfolding on the main deck. He ignored them.

“It’s not everyday that you see a seven men crew on a ship that seems to hold itself just fine without seemingly no one on board, and those that are stupid enough to not fear you just because there's few of you or because you’re young are already dead”. Then, after a pause he asked, his brow furrowed in deep thought “Is it true, what they say?” he looked at Hongjoong “That everyone that asks has a place on your ship?”

“Oh? Even if it was, what makes you think that you’re going to be usefu- “

“That’s enough! I have had enough of this stupid nonsense, boy!” Honjoong watched with unamused eyes as the man (the boy’s father?), that had previously stared at the discussion with shock, rose to his feet, yelling at them “I will not stand this foolish banter on my own ship! I own you, child, and now I demand that you damned pirate scum leave in this second or else-“

Hongjoong had had enough “Or else what?” he interrupted “Look around, every single member of your crew is dead, or about to drown, and your so called ship is sinking, you are in no conditions to make demands,” the man took in his surrounding, eyes suddenly aware “also, I was having a conversation, so shut up for a bloody second, will you?” when the man didn’t reply, Hongjoong brought his attention back to the boy, who was wearing a satisfied look in his eyes “So, as I was saying,” he began where he left off “what makes you think you are going to be of any use on my ship?”

The boy replied quickly “I can fight, I can handle myself quite well on a ship” he paused for a moment, throwing a glance at the man on the ground, “and I know the most important merchant routes.” Now, it was Hongjoong’s turn to be surprised. “Somehow,” Blondie continued, now referring to his father “for someone who values themselves better than others, you were stupid enough to leave all your naval maps where anyone could read them”

He could be lying, Hongjoong thought, but his lie would be useless the moment they asked him to track down any merchant ship. On the other hand, if he wasn’t lying, he was going to get them some good money. After some seconds more of deep thinking, Hongjoong shrugged and said “Well, there’s no evil in trying, and if I find out you’re lying I can still leave you to the sharks!”

“I don’t think you should be telling me that”

“I don’t care. EVERYONE! We’re leaving now!”

The other captain (it didn’t matter to Hongjoong who the man was) seemed to have realized he was going to die, so he did what people like him did when their lives were being threatened: he begged.

“Please, don’t leave me here to die! I can be useful, ten thousand times more than that bastard!” he said, grabbing the pirate’s coat.

“Look at you,” he replied, yanking his jacket from the man’s grip “only now you lose your stupid pride, just to beg for your pathetic existence. Sorry, but I have no need for cowards like you on my ship.” He turned and started walking toward his ship, not stopping when he heard a quiet “Goodbye, father.” coming from behind him.

The ship was already mostly submerged, so he didn't bother giving the order to give it it's final hit.

Ten minutes later, Hongjoong found himself on the main deck of his ship with his now-seven-members-crew. After a couple of awkward seconds of silence, Hongjoong said “Well? What are you standing here for? Go back to what you were doing before!”

“Ah, wait a second”, came a quiet voice from the side “can you at least tell me your names? I can’t keep calling you red hair number one and two in my head.” The boy (his new crew mate, Hongjoong supposed) said, pointing in the general direction of San and Mingi. “Also, you haven’t assigned me a job yet" he added, more to himself than other.

“You could,” San exclaimed, then turned to stare at Mingi “if Mingi over here didn’t go and decide to copy me.”

“Excuse me?! You know that this was an accident," he pointed to his flaming red hair "and by the way I look ten times better than you, if you must know”

“Are you serious? Everyone here thinks you look like a rotten tomato but they’re too sensitive of your feelings to say it out loud!”

Hongjoong sighed, but was interrupted before he could stop them by an over excitable Yunho, who shoved the two bickering pirates (or should he say children) out of his way to tower over the blond, smiling.

“Hi, my name is Yunho, welcome aboard the Illusion! Don’t mind San and Mingi, they have self-esteem problems!” (The two in question were too busy bickering to respond)

“…You look like a puppy.” Said the boy, taken aback by Yuhno’s whole personality. (Hongjoong could’t disagree with him.) Then, he realized what he said, his eyes widening, and noticed the hand the boy in front of him had still extended.

“I-I’m sorry” he took Yunho’s hand “my name’s Seonghwa”

“Well Seonghwa, it’s nice to meet you!” Yuhno started. “You know already San and Mingi, and Hongjoong apparently, so these are Jongho, Yeosang and Wooyoung.” He said, pointing at each of the three people left to introduce.

Yeosang approached Seonghwa and asked “How did you know that Hongjoong takes anyone who asks on board?”

“I mean, I wasn’t really sure you wouldn’t have just cut my throat on sight, but I heard that once in a tavern about three years ago, but after that I didn’t hear no body talking about it anymore, so it was kind of a long shot, asking. Then, he looked at Hongjoong “Why do you do that? Welcoming random people on board, I mean.”

“Five people before you were brave enough to ask that, and they all proved to be interesting and useful enough to keep on board.” Hongjoong answered him.

“Actually, it’s  because he couldn’t say no to Wooyoung and Yeosang when they asked, and by the time San came around, that stupid legend was already set free and he had a ‘reputation to maintain’” Jongho piped up, and Hongjoong could feel his eye twitch.

“I am this close to throwing you off board, Jongho.” He raised his hand, leaving a few millimeters between thumb and index finger. Jongho only scoffed “Like you’re strong enough to succeed in that”. He was right, obviously, so Hongjoong ignored him (although Hongjoong might have been a better swordsman than Jongho, he had seen the boy break in half a watermelon twice the size of his head with a punch, and he wasn’t stupid enough to start a fight he knew he was going to lose).

“Ok, now that the introductions are done, go back to your tasks, I’ll deal with the newbie! Come on Wooyoung, go away” Hongjoong had to shoo the boy away, ignoring his lamenting that he hadn’t had the occasion to speak to the new recruit (The boy always wanted to be at the center of attention).

“Okay then” Hongjoong turned to face blondie- no, Seonghwa, and said “this is how it works on this ship.”

Chapter Text

Seonghwa woke up to screaming, but before he could sigh and get up, he realized it wasn’t yelling, but… laughter? No one ever laughed, on the Bloody Mary.

Then, he remembered. The assault, him yelling at his father (one of his proudes moments, honestly), Hongjoong, Yunho and the others…. He really was free.

Oh shit, he thought, I might not be under my father’s command, but I still have things to do! He quickly rose and started his first day on board of the Illusion (a name ten times better than the “Bloody Mary”, like,  really?).

His occupations on the pirate ship weren’t really different from those he had before, and yet he didn’t feel caged and constantly tired, this time around. No one yelled at him, if he wanted to stop for a couple of minutes he could easily spend them chatting with one of the others (usually Yunho or Wooyoung): he felt like he could jump off board and take flight.

While he scrubbed the main deck along Mingi, he recalled the night before.

“Yuhno is my second hand, but only because he’s the oldest and I don’t trust the others, Wooyoung is the quartermaster and also the cook, because we don’t have enough crew members for that,” Hongjoong had started, listing all the crew members and their positions on the ship ” San is the sailing master, Yeosang is the surgeon, Jongho the boatswain, so he tells me everything that goes on on board that I don’t already know…” The captain had trailed off and Seonghwa had felt like he was already starting to forget everything the other had said “and Mingi! He’s the gunner, so he’s kinda deaf on the right side. But no one actually does what they should, so you’re probably going to end up doing what there’s need for at the moment.” The captain had shrugged, and Seonghwa had felt relieved that he would not be confined to one specific task every day.

“We have two meals a day, at twelve and eight in the evening” Seonghwa had almost commented that not having breakfast was really unhealthy, but then remembered that he was lucky if he could have even a meal a day, so he had said nothing. The other had continued “And we have three look-out rounds, from lunch to dinner, from dinner to four in the morning and from that to lunch hour.” At that, Seonghwa had frozen up and blurted out “Please don’t make me go out at night” He had been aware he sounded like a kid afraid of the dark, but he could not afford anyone knowing what he was trying to hide.

The captain had, surprisingly, just paused for a second and then accepted it as if he hadn’t practically outright refused to do the job no one surely wanted to but everyone had to do sooner or later.

“…Okay. I won’t give you the night shift, but you don’t have the privilege to not do anything every night so I’ll have Yuhno give you something to do at night under deck.” After that, Hongjoong had dismissed him, and before heading to what Seonghwa assumed was the captain’s cabin, he had given him swift indications on how to reach his own cabin. When he arrived there, Seonghwa hadn’t even laid his head on the pillow that he was out like a light, the events of the day catching up to him.

Seonghwa had never met a pirate captain like this one (he had never met a pirate captain at all, but we’ll skip that part). Hongjoong, as far as Seonghwa knew -considering he had been on his ship for less than twenty-four hours- was far kinder than all those mariners and sailors that the state had deemed enough to be ‘the good guys’. He had taken him onboard, when he could have been useless or even outright damaging, he didn’t say anything about his aversion to going outside at night, and he even gave him his own cabin, for fucks sake! Seonghwa was rationally aware that it was simply because, as there were literally eight people on a ship made to host twenty-something sailors on it, there was plenty spare place, but Seonghwa expected to be told to find a spot on the ground and be done with it. Obviously, he accepted without saying anything.  Seonghwa had never been one to look in a gift horse’s mouth, but no one would be after living for something more than twenty years with a man that did everything to take him out of his life (his father couldn’t outright kill him, but starving him and generally making his life hell in hope he would throw himself off the ship didn’t technically count as killing him).

His train of thought was briefly interrupted by a voice from the galleys (Seonghwa wasn’t the best with names, but he was pretty sure it was Wooyoung calling, the boy that was wearing a fur jacket the day before) calling for lunch. Well, Seonghwa thought, sitting to the end of the table next to surgeon boy (Yeosang, he remembered) time passes much faster when you’re not worried for your life.

Also, the captain looked nothing like Seonghwa had expected him to, but everyone talked about him as he was a rabid, blood-thirsty dog with no mercy that had to be killed on sight, so excuse him if he essentially pictured his father but with a black patch on one of his eyes and covered in scars.

What he did not expect, was a young man his age with both eyes in their place, no missing limbs and no visible scar on his face.

But what baffled Seonghwa the most was that the captain was… small.

Seonghwa was aware he was not the tallest out there (especially with the help of malnutrition), but in that moment, sitting between Yuhno and San two seats from him, laughing quietly at something the first had said while waiting for Wooyoung to serve lunch, the pirate looked almost tiny.

Then, he caught Seonghwa staring at him, and suddenly the plate he had in front of him was the most interesting thing Seonghwa had ever seen in his life. It looked like some kind of stew, and the meat was kind of greyish, but as we already said, Seonghwa didn’t have the privilege of being a picky eater.  Seonghwa absentmindedly brought the spoon to his mouth, imitating everyone else around him.

It wasn’t inherently bad, it just had the consistency of a sponge and tasted like nothing. What he thought must have showed on his face because Yeosang said, inconveniently gathering the attention of everyone else “It’s bad, isn’t it?” Seonghwa panicked. “No no no, it really isn’t-“

Wooyoung interrupted him with a sigh “Don’t worry, you don’t have to pretend you like it, everyone remembers me I suck at cooking during every meal we have, which is twice a day. And if you really don’t want to eat my terrible cooking” he said, shifting his attention to the others, making Seonghwa sigh in relief that the attention wasn’t on him anymore “why don’t any of you try to cook?”

“I already told you I am more than willing to take on the task, but every time I offer you shut me down before I'm even finished speaking!” Mingi started, but was quickly interrupted by the captain “Yeah, and there's a reason for that. I’m not doing the error of leaving you alone and unsupervised in a kitchen another time.”

“What do you mean, I’m a great cook!”

“The last time you set half of the food supplies on fire and melted a pan, Mingi. I mean, I’m actually surprised you managed to fuck up that bad.” Mingi’s embarrassed protests got drowned by the other’s laughs.

“I can cook” the words were out of Seonghwa’s mouth before he could even process the thought, and everyone’s attention was back on him. Great.

“God please, I’ve had enough of this swamp-water-soup-thing, everything is better than that.” Jongho, who was sitting in front of him said, leaning over the table to grab his shoulder in fake desperation. Another round of laughter ensued.

“It’s settled then!” Wooyoung said in a fake pompous voice, rising his hand and the ladle he was holding “I am, from this day on, free of your evil judgement, thanks to the newbie” then he turned to Seonghwa with mock respect “I really owe you one, thank you”

“Hey, pay respect to your elders!” Hongjoong exclaimed, whacking the younger on the back of his head.

“Oh yeah, how old are you by the way?”

“I-I was born on April third, 1668” Seoghwa stuttered out, unsure of where this was going.

After a couple of seconds where the others’ expressions went from surprised to weirdly smug, they all started laughing and smacking the captain’s back, who had an almost stricken look on his face.

“Uh, what’s going on, why are they laughing?” Seonghwa asked Yeosang, who was the only one who had retained some decency.

“Now that there’s someone older than him on the ship, he can’t keep saying that he’s the oldest a justification to everything.” He shrugged, “I mean, it’s not like anything is going to change, and he’s still the captain, but it’s nice to use this as an excuse to tease him.”

It wasn’t long before meal was over and everyone was back to their tasks, and for the first time in his life, Seonghwa felt a pure and unaltered sense of freedom.

At this point, after interacting with the crew for not more than twelve hours, he knew that if he asked, he could most likely leave the ship and find somewhere to settle down in the mainland, but he didn’t want that. A stable, safe life on land had never suited Seonghwa. He had always adored the feeling of sailing, wind in his hair and the saltiness of the ocean on his skin, but his love for the sea had always been shoved down by fear.

But now, now that he was free, he could enjoy being alive among this crew that looked like pieces of different puzzles that somehow fit together perfectly. And if he had to be honest, to Seonghwa it didn’t look like a team,  it was so much more like a family, brought together by the waves.

That night, when he laid in his bed, Seonghwa dreamed of a song. No, it was not a dream, it was a memory, the last and only memory he had of her, her voice soothing and hauntingly sad. She was not singing of a story, or of heroic adventures; no, she was making him a promise, a promise of protection. And with that, Seonghwa fell into a dreamless slumber.

Chapter Text

It was the third day on the ship for Seonghwa.

He seemed to have adjusted fairly quickly, settling in comfortably with the other boys’ dynamics. Hongjoong didn’t know what it was, but there was something about the blond that made him curious. He wasn’t suspicious (the boy was far too sincere about his feelings to be hiding evil intent), but whether it was his aversion to going outside at night (Hongjoong highly doubted he was scared of the dark) or the sad look his eyes sometimes had when he thought no one was looking, the other gave him a foreign need to know what was going on.

Well, it didn’t matter what he wanted, he was not one to pry someone’s secrets out of them.

At this moment, he was sitting at his desk, which was covered in nautical maps. “Wait a second,” he told Yuhno, who was about to leave after telling him of some unimportant and easily resolvable problem, “bring here Seonghwa, I need him to hold his end of the bargain.” Hongjoong might have been a unorthodox pirate, but he still wanted some kind of gain from his actions.

After a couple of minutes, the boy returned with the other in tow, his expression slightly preoccupied. He was wearing a simple with shirt, brown pants and black high boots, but the outfit did nothing to hide the subtle signs of malnutrition. Hongjoong just waved offhandedly at the chair on the other side of the desk, inviting him to sit without a word. Yuhno left swiftly with a quick bye.

When he saw the maps in front of him, Seonghwa understood immediately what Hongjoong wanted from him. Well, he thought, at least he’s not completely oblivious.

“We picked you up here, right under Taiwan” he pointed at the island  “and right now we are here,” Hongjoong said, circling a spot in the middle of the Yellow Sea with his finger, “ so if you know all the most used trade routes, now is a great time to tell me.”

Seonghwa started immediately pointing at various coastal cities and listing the most common ships and vessels that traveled along those routes. Hongjoong had to admit he was pretty impressed: he was sure he would not remember all those city and ship names so clearly after seeing them fleetingly on someone’s desk.

The other’s speech faltered for a second, making Hongjoong rise an eyebrow, inviting him to say what had made him hesitate.

Seonghwa continued, unsure. “The last time we were on land, I overheard my father talking with another merchant,” when he mentioned his father, his face turned sour “and the man was boasting over the fact that some Chinese lord had bought from him an important cargo of precious spices and jewels.” That captured Hongjoong’s attention. “It’s wild, how people get so lost in their own egos, and with enough alcohol in their systems, to go around yelling to the world information they should really not be telling anyone.” Hongjoong made a gesture with his hand at him, urging to continue.

“He obviously didn’t tell me in detail the route he was going to take, but he did say he was departing from Fukuoka, in Japan, and arriving at Shanghai’s port on the twenty-seventh of May. And” at this point, Seonghwa was looking everywhere except his eyes, waving his hand almost frantically. “And this is all speculation, but if I’m not wrong, there is one route all spice merchants take from Fukuoka to shanghai, and seeing as the journey takes about three days, and their arrival is planned for the evening of the day after tomorrow, I’d say our paths are going to meet approximately tomorrow morning.”

Hongjoong raised his eyebrows, impressed by the smart thinking the other applied on the little information he had at his disposition.

“I am obviously not totally sure if I’m correct so maybe we should make a safe decision and use one of the routes we are actually sure-“ Hongjoong interrupted his rambling by raising his hand and saying “Thank you for the information, I’ll inform the others at lunch. You can go.” After that, Seonghwa left with a small nod of his head, his eyes slightly confused. Hongjoong knew they could be potentially wasting precious hours going off-route for a lead that could turn out to be wrong, but if Seonghwa was right, it was going to get them some good money (money had never been Hongjoong’s main goal, but he had to feed the kids somehow). Other than that, and he would never say it out loud, Hongjoong kind of trusted Seonghwa. He didn’t know why and it confused him, because frankly speaking, in the three days the other had been on the ship, the two hadn’t exchanged a lot of words. But he new secretly that it was the raw genuinity and honesty in the other’s eyes that made Hongjoong trust Seonghwa so easily: it reminded of his boys. Hongjoong was not under any pretense that he had taken Seonghwa on board for the sole prospect of riches and money. He had watched in the other's eyes and he had seen someone similar to himself and to his friends. He had seen someone lost, and in need of help, and the only thing he had been able to do was give it to him.

That day at lunch (meals had become a much more pleasant affair after Wooyoung had given up the title of cook), Hongjoong told the others the news, informing that they should start preparing for a boarding the next day. After seeing the boys get so excited, Hongjoong didn’t have the strength to tell them he wasn’t sure they would be able to, and San’s little yell of joy completely stopped him from saying anything: the boy had been wanting a new pair of earrings for some months now.

“Also” he continued, addressing Seonghwa, who was sitting next to Yeosang (again) “do you know how to use a bow?”

“Uh, Yes” (Hongjoong didn't question why)

“Great, tomorrow when we approach the ship, you’re going to the look-out post to cover our backs, there already is a bow and plenty arrows up there.” (Honestly, Hongjoong was afraid that the boy wasn’t yet in the conditions to face a full-on battle without collapsing from fatigue, so he preferred leaving him away from the heart of the fight.) After that, he proceeded to tell the boys their ‘battle scheme’, as Yunho liked to call it.

At one point, Seonghwa interrupted him, confused “Wait, if no one is going to stay on the ship, who’s going to man the cannons?”

“I mean, the cannons don’t really need manning in a close range fight, because they fire on their own and only need to be reloaded, but usually we don’t need more than two rounds of cannon fire to win” Mingi interjected, talking about the ship being semi sentient as one would talk about their house pet.

Seonghwa stared at him as if he had grown a second head (which was perfectly understandable,from an outsider’s point of view), and after a couple of seconds of complete silence, he said with a deadpan expression “You know what? I’m not even going to ask, I’ve heard worse.”

~*~

The next day, in the late morning, everyone heard Mingi, who was on lookout, yell “Ship on portside!”. Immediately, everyone started moving to get ready, even Seonghwa, who was waiting for Mingi to descend the mast to reach his position in the look-out post. Hongjoong was pleasantly surprised to see someone who had most likely never been in a fight (even though the other had said he was capable of fighting, practice was different than an actual fight) so fast to react to the indirect order to get ready and not get in everyone’s way like he had thought he would. Also, the boy could climb the mast so freakishly fast that Jongho choked the first time he saw him do that.

In a couple of minutes they were flanking the ship, and after a few seconds where Hongjoong could see understanding dawn on the confused faces of the mariners on the ship in front of him.

“BOARD THE SHIP!” Hongjoong yelled, and everyone moved as one body, the gangplanks already lowered between the two ships.

The inhabitants of the merchant vessel, taken aback and completely unprepared, didn’t stand a chance. Most of them were not trained for a fight, and those who Hongjoong guessed were supposed to be some kind of escort fell like flies in front of their swords.

At some point, one of them managed to get a hit on Wooyoung, slashing a deep cut in his forearm, but Hongjoong wasn’t particularly worried; the boy was going to live (actually, he always felt deeply terrified every time any of the boys was in danger, but he was definitely not going to say that, so he transformed those feelings in anger). But before he could even move to stab the fuck out of the bastard, the man fell to the ground, an arrow stuck in his forehead. He turned around, eyes travelling to the crow's nest, where Seonghwa stood, bow in hand, and a sad but resoluted expression on his features.

Looking around, Hongjoong realized there were a lot more bodies on the ground with an arrow sticking out from them than he realized.

Seeing as he couldn’t see anyone left on the deck, Hongjoong told Wooyoung to go back on the Illusion and wait there for them to come back. The boy tried to protest, but Hongjoong didn’t give in.

Then, he gathered everyone else and told them to start gathering on the main deck and to check if there was someone left alive. “I’ll go check the captain’s cabin” he finished, dismissing them.

The cabin was a nice room with bookshelves covering the walls and a mahogany desk in the middle. Under it was poorly hiding a man who was trembling and… praying? Talk about pathetic. Hongjoong knelt in front of him, getting on face level “So you’re the dumb fucker who went around spouting informations like an idiot to the whole word, huh.”

 The moment Hongjoong dragged him out from under the desk, the man started begging and honestly Hongjoong didn’t have neither the time nor the patience to deal with the annoying promises of wealthiness and power the man was offering him if he spared him, so he whacked the loser on the head with the hilt of his sword, putting him to silence.

In the room there wasn’t anything interesting except some maps and a box containing some jewels, so he took those and went back to the main deck, where Seonghwa had joined the others to bring everything of some worth back on the Illusion.

Some minutes later, after all the boxes of spices and jewels had been brought back on board and everyone was safe on the deck, Mingi fired the cannons one last time.

If there had still been someone alive on board of the other ship, Hongjoong thought, watching it disappear completely underwater, now they sure are not alive anymore.

Chapter Text

That day at lunch, Mingi served the meal to leave Seonghwa the time to fuss over Jongho, whose arm had been patched up by Yeosang minutes before. He knew realistically that it was a minor wound and that that the boy had probably suffered worse in the past, but Seonghwa could not help but let his protective instincts kick in.

“I’m really fine, there’s no need to worry.” Jongho said, the small smile on his lips reaching his eyes.

“Ok, then, if you say you’re fine I trust you, but you should be more careful when in situations of danger like those.” He ruffled the hair of the boy sitting next to him. Then, he seemed to realize his action and immediately retracted his hand, a sad look in his eyes.

“ah, sorry I’m just…” Everyone sitting at the table had now made themselves quiet, sensing the somber mood “…you really remember me of someone.” Seongwa could see the curiosity in their eyes, so he continued “You remember of my little sister”. A sad smile. “And it’s stupid, because I know you’re not nine-year-old girls, but I can’t help but see a similarity.”

“It’s not stupid” said the captain, voice so feeble Seongwa thought he had imagined it.

“Can you tell us about her? How is she?” Wooyoung asked, not able to keep his interest in.

“Wooyoung shut up, can’t you see it a sensitive argument?!” Mingi hissed at him under his breath.

“No, no, it’s ok, I want to tell you, it’s not right for you all to know nothing about me.” (That’s a bit hypocritic, Hongjoong thought, considering you don’t know practically anything of us) “She’s… she was the kindest person I have ever met” if the stricken expression on the other’s faces was anything to go by, it was safe to say everyone had noticed the tense change. He scoffed “Not that I have met a lot of kind people in my life. But Hyejin was the purest soul. Funny thing,” Seongwa let out a laugh, devoid of any mirth, “she hated that name. She wanted me to call her Hwasa, because she said that that way a piece of her could still be with me when we were apart. I think she already knew what was going to happen to her, she had always been too smart for her own good.”

Seongwa took in a shaking breath, pausing. No one said nothing, but he could feel their comforting presence (It was weird, how attached he already felt to those people after knowing them for less than a week).

“She was ill. Seeing as she was his only legitimate child, my father initially did everything possible to save her, searching everywhere for someone capable of curing her.” His expression turned sour. “But when he realized even looking for a possible cure would have costed him more than what he could have gained when he would have eventually sold her in marriage to the highest bidder, he stopped caring.” Seonghwa could feel the rage emanating from the boys surrounding him, and he knew some of them wanted to stand up and just curse the man. Seonghwa smiled, comforted at the thought of such caring people supporting him.

He continued with his story. °Obviously he couldn’t just say he would have left her to die, he still had a reputation to maintain.” His voice was dripping venom, the implication that to his father his reputation mattered more than the fact that he was essentially killing his daughter clear as day. “So, for about two months, we settled in a small cottage in the outskirts of some coastal town. Jinnie’s mother had died when giving her birth, and Father obviously didn’t care to hire someone to look after her, so when he was away, which was practically always, I took care of her. He left for ‘work’ and didn’t come back for weeks at time, and I honestly would not be surprised to find out I have a dozen bastard siblings.” He stopped to try and contain his anger, but calmed immediately when he felt Jongho take his hand. Seonghwa sent him a grateful smile, trying to reassure him that he was okay.

“She always told me how our father wasn’t really part of our family ant that when- that when she would be fully healed we could run away and get our own boat and travel the world living off of fish we captured and helping other kids in need of help like her, not caring about all the boring rules Father wanted her to follow. She loved the sea just as much as me, and father made her spend her last days away from it.” Seonghwa felt a knot form in his throat and the tears threatening to spill, but he gulped them back down. “Honestly, I think she already knew how it was going to end for her, and she was just trying to comfort me. Her last day” He felt a single tear slip out “Her last day she told me to be kind. She told me to be free and to live happily but never at the cost of others and to never enjoy the suffering of others like our father did.” He let Jongho’s hand slip from his grip to take his face in his hands, covering his eyes from the others, hoping they would not see the pathetic state he was in “God, what would she think of me if she saw me right now… I’m a pirate, running from the law and I’ve hurt- fuck, I’ve killed more people than I can remember.” This time, Seonghwa didn’t try to reign the tears back in, letting them flow from his eyes.

After a couple of seconds, Seonghwa felt someone gently pull his hands away from his face, that was now streaked in tears.

‘I don’t know her and I don’t want to talk for her, but from what I’ve heard, I think she wouldn’t be anything but proud of you” Yunho, who was still holding his wrists in his hand, softly said, his eyes kind.

“…What?”

“She sounds like a lovely girl, and I wish I could undo what that man has done, but  as you’ve told us, she wanted you to be free, and look at you, here you are, free and traveling the world not bothering to follow the rules those boring adults set”

“But at what cost?”

“How did you feel when you killed those people?” When Seonghwa didn’t respond, his brows furred in confusion, Yunho repeated “Did you enjoy hurting them?” At that, Seonghwa’s eyes widened “No! I would never!”

“See? No one here kills or hurts others for pleasure, but only if there is strictly need to, and we never involve innocent people in our fights.”

“And you have been nothing but kind to us, who you have known for less than a week.” Mingi continued where Yunho left off, all the others nodding their heads in approval at his words. “All of us are here because we realized that living on the side of the law was unbearable and impossible for us, but we still hate what they call ‘the pirate code’, so we decided to sail under our own rules, not caring about the law nor the pirate morals. And I know you’ve been here for like, four days, but I feel like you’re already part of our weird patchwork family”

Seonghwa, who had just stopped crying, felt the tears threatening to escape again, but this time the freezing, desolating sadness that he felt in his heart was replaced by a feeling of belonging that made him think that maybe, maybe he was where he was supposed to be, free from his father and finally able to enjoy his life, just like his sister had wanted him to.

And, for the first time since the day six years ago when he lost her, he felt like he was allowed to mourn her loss. Ever since she had died (even thinking about it made Seonghwa’s heart splinter in small fragments) he didn’t have a second to cry the loss of the only good thing in his life, too occupied to survive his father, whose attention was now completely focused on making his life a literal hell.

But now, surrounded by his new family (Seonghwa was still afraid of the speed at which he had found himself totally attached to these people, but it seemed to be a two-way feeling) he felt authorized to let his emotions flow free, together with his tears.

It felt good, to let himself feel all the pain and the letting it go, without remaining shackled to it and instead using it to power his drive to never let anyone close to him feel that kind of pain.

While Seonghwa cried, he felt the other’s eyes on him, but their stares weren’t pitying him. No, the were empathizing with him, and he felt sustained through his pain.

                                                                                                                         ~*~

The rest of the day passed in a flash, the silence up in the look-out post interrupted by the waves and the rocking of the boats lulling his thoughts.

That night, before preparing himself for bed, he sat on the soft mattress and pulled from inside his shirt a thin bead necklace. It was the last thing he had of her.

It was a simple thing, just a thin string with blue beads secured with small knots and a single golden round pendant in the middle. On it was engraved a wave, and on the back was a simple phrase: ‘Follow the waves of your heart’

His train of thoughts was interrupted by a single knock on his door. Seonghwa’s head snapped up immediately. “Come in” he said, not bothering to ask who it was. It was probably just Wooyoung telling him goodnight.

Turns out, it was not Wooyoung telling him goodnight. The door opened to reveal the captain of the ship, standing there leaning on the door frame.

Seonghwa confused. He and Hongjoong had not exchanged more than a couple words and always in a (sort of) formal situation, but now the man stood at the door of his room looking like he had something to say but didn’t know how to.

Then, he saw the necklace Seonghwa was still holding and asked “Was that your sister’s?”

“Ah, yes, she made it when she was bedridden and she hated not doing anything, so she did this for me.” Now he was even more confused.

After a couple of seconds of awqward silence, the captain started again “You know, I wasn’t always a pirate.”

Chapter Text

Honjoong had absolutely no idea of what he was doing there, on Seonghwa’s doorstep, about to tell him his story, and yet still not knowing why he was.

The two of them had yet to exchange a conversation longer than ten words over something that wasn’t strictly business, and yet he was about to tell him about those memories he had tried so hard to bury.

Although their stories were different, what he had come to know about the other had struck somewhere too close to Hongjoong for his liking, bringing back memories he had worked long to bury. But today, seeing the blond cry freely, freeing himself of all his grief had remembered Hongjoong of all the tears he had never shed.  And yet, he hadn’t said anything, never having been one good at comforting, leaving the job at the others. It was not that he didn’t care, he had been just too immersed in his own thoughts, painful memories resurfacing.

He would not, he could not allow himself to cry, when he had six, now seven other people who looked up to him to be their safehouse, the roof over their heads, a warm smile in times of unsureness; he could not show himself weak to those who counted on him the most to be strong.

So, instead of letting himself feel, he told his story to someone else.

“My parents owned a tavern in a little coast city, I helped them serving the tables. The city was really small, not bigger than a village, but informally considered neutral territory to both pirates and the navy. No one had business to carry out in town, just wanted a place to sleep for a night and maybe a hot meal, and then to be gone without a sing left of their presence there.

It was nice there. Nothing really interesting ever happened, but I wasn’t unhappy. I had my family, a roof over my head and three meals a day. Sometimes sailors would tell me stories of their journeys, if they were in a particularly good mood or had downed enough wine to be tipsy enough to let their caution go but still sober enough to string together full sentences.“ He let out a short burst of laughter.

“I was completely captivated by their stories of treasures and beautiful lands of crystal-clear water and white sand with their tropical foods and people. So I decided that when I grew up I would have traveled the world, exploring its every secret and hidden slice of heaven.” He smiled sadly, thinking about his foolish innocence, wishing he could go back to the times where he still believed in foolish stories.

“One day, we heard cannons fire” Seonghwa, who had been previously been sitting silence, curiosity on his face, furred his brow in a mix of sadness and anger.

“The navy was ambushing a notorious pirate crew that was resting in our tavern that evening. After completely destroing their ship, they entered the tavern, where the pirates were eating dinner. They killed them on the spot, not even leaving them the time to unsheathe their swords. They didn’t even stop and and try to distinguish pirates from civilians, killing everyone in their line of sight.” Hongjoong inhaled a ragged breath, moving his eyes to the ground, unable to sustain the look the other had on his face. His eyes were not pitying him, no, they were in pain, as if he could feel the storm of emotions that was currently ravaging trough Hongjoong.

“The youngest was no older than fourteen, maybe a couple of years older than me. My mother begged for them to spare him, that he was just a kid. They cut her throat in front of me, and they were laughing at her while they did it, saying that no one is too young to be scum of the earth.” He squeezed the hem of his shirt in his fist, trying to contain his anger. “My father tried telling them that we weren’t pirates, that we were just civilians. He died just as fast as my mother. After a while, they stopped fighting and took the few left of the pirates and all the people unlucky enough to have found themselves on the streets when the navy arrived and loaded us on their ship. Some died of wounds, and trust me, the smell of days-old bodies is nothing anyone should know how it is.”

Hongjoong heard Seonghwa inhale sharply, but kept going.

“When we arrived, they brought us in the main city square, and put us in rows of six to be hanged, as if our deaths were entertainment for them. One of the first to be hanged was a lady that lived in out tavern all year long. She was innocent, but was killed for the simple fact of having found herself in the same place as pirates.” She was a kind lady to Hongjoong. She owned a small bakery near the tavern, and she never forgot to bring him something for his birthday. Hongjoong wished he could have helped.

“They knew that they were killing innocent people. She was blind.”  Hongjoong lifted his head, seeing rage and comprehension on Seonghwa’s face.

“I don’t know what happed, but I think one of the pirates had managed to steal a knife somehow and free himself. He killed the hangman, and the next thing I knew, we were all running in different directions. A man that frequently visited us back home took me and we run. They found us the next day.” Hongjoong knew Seoghwa was struggling to stop himself from saying something, and he was glad he didn’t say anything. He didn’t know how much longer he could contain the tears.

“He tried to sell me to the marines for his life to be spared. I don’t blame him, he was just trying to get out of there alive, and without him I would have died in that square without even being able to escape them. So I pushed him over them, and while they where dealing with him I somehow managed to run away. He was the first person I killed.”

Apparently, Seonghwa had had enough of sitting there in silent, so he rose from the bed where he was previously sitting, the bed frame creaking and alerting Hongjoong, who raised his head to see the other taking tentative steps towards him.

“Why are you telling yourself not to feel?”

“I can’t. Everyone on this ship is counting on me to be to be strong for them, and I can’t let them down by being weak.”

Seonghwa smiled sadly at him. “I don’t think that’s how the others see it.” Hongjoong furrowed his brow in confusion. The man in front of him continued “You should stop trying to carry all the weight of the world on your own. They need you to be there for them, not for you to shove all your feeling down. And,” Seonghwa rose a hand, as if to touch him, but let it fall back to his side immediately “showing feelings is never a sign of weakness to me, on the contrary I think it takes an enormous amount of strength to show yourself vulnerable to those close to you.”

Hongjoong looked him in the eyes. He didn’t understand. How could someone have seen so many horrible things in their life and yet remain so pure? He thought.

Shit. Did I say that out loud??

“Trust me, I am not pure as you might think” The other involuntarily responded to his mental question, smiling “I have killed before and I’m not so stupid enough to think I won’t do that again. But I think you are a better man than you allow yourself to think you are, you just keep seeing the bad thing about yourself, ignoring all the good you have done. For a long time you have been a shoulder to cry on for these boys you took in like stray cats, I think it’s time to allow yourself to cry a little. Everyone needs to cry a little at one point.”

Hongjoong didn’t know what to say.

After a couple of seconds, he lifted himself from the door frame he was leaning on, and said, baffled “…You are too kind for your own good.” And with that, he turned and left the room. As he walked back to his, he could almost fell the small smile on Seonghwa’s face as he closed the door (this was not life-changing progress, Seonghwa thought, but even little is better than nothing).

                                                                                                            ~*~

When he reached his room, he just removed his boots and coat before throwing himself on the bed, mulling over what had just happened.

Unconsciously his hand went to the red earring he always wore.

A wave of sadness washed over him, together with the memories the small object brought. After he knew it was safe to go, he had gone back to his hometown, only to find it deserted. The few people left there had packed and left immediately, not even taking the time to bury the dead, too afraid of a possible return of those that were supposed to protect them.

Hongjoong had entered the tavern, the smell so revolting he had run out to throw up everything he had in his stomach. But he had a job to do, so he had tied a scarf over his nose and mouth and, though the tears, he had gathered the bodies of his parents. He started digging the ground in the back of the tavern, the back of their home, where a small garden hosted a tall tree. It was covered in flowers, the day he buried his family.

Before he had laid their bodies in the graves, Hongjoong had taken one of the earrings from her mother. It was beautiful, a present from his father to her for their tenth anniversary. They had eaten only plain, cheap bread for a month after that, but it had been worth it. At the memory, Hongjoong had smiled trough the tears, and then, he had promised himself to never cry again.

Now, in the comfort of his room, Hongjoong felt himself break that promise. He let out a quiet sob, and cried for his mother, his father, his home and everything he had lost, only comforted by the thought of the other of the pair, that oh so precious earring, and that it would always be with them.

Chapter Text

Seonghwa and Hongjoong didn’t immediately become best friends, obviously, but something changed between them.

While before they never exchanged more than a couple words a day, now Seonghwa found himself enjoying calm conversations about nothing and everything at their table during lunch. Sure, the other pirates’ participation in their conversations provided a certain buffer to their relationship, but Seonghwa was kind of glad that he had yet to find himself again in a one-on-one situation with the captain.

The other inhabitants of the ship had noticed a change in Seonghwa and Hongjoong’s behaviour towards eachother (Mingi was half deaf, not blind), but decided not to say anything.

Now, two days later, they arrived in Fukuoka.

They didn’t stay for long, they just needed to replenish the food stocks, and then they would be gone again.

Seonghwa didn’t even get down the ship, staying on board to help Mingi, San, Wooyoung and Jongho load the barrels and boxes on board while Yunho and Yeosang paid the men that they had bought the merch from. After a while, Seonghwa realized that the caprain had vanished the second they had dropped anchor.

When he asked Jongho, he just pointed at San and just said “Ask him.” And then went back to trying to balance two apple boxes under his arms.

Seonghwa repeated the question to San, who gave a short, embarrassed laugh and said “Ah, he’s getting me a lotion for the pain” when he saw Seonghwa’s brow furrow in confusion, he lifted the hem of his shirt to reveal a big burn scar that covered  a large part of his abdomen, the skin tissue bright pink. “I got this a couple years ago in a nasty encounter with the navy, and although it completely healed, sometimes the pain flares back”

The expression on Seonghwa’s face was only getting more and more worried, so San waved his hand in front of himself, trying to assure the other that he was fine “Don’t worry, it was a long time ago! And the pain comes back rarely, and when it does, the lotion Yuta makes me is really helpful!”

“Ok… Who’s Yuta, by the way?”

“He’s the medic that provides me with the pain lotion! We saved him from being hanged for a crime he didn’t commit, and now he’s sort of our on-land doctor for situations Yeosang can’t handle alone”

Their conversation was interrupted by Yunho and Yeosang, who drammatically dropped himself on the deck. After a couple of second, Seonghwa saw Hongjoong climb the footbridge and quickly give San small wood box.

Seonghwa diverted his attention onto Yeosang, who was currently lying on the ground, complaining with far too much flare than needed for the situation.

“I can’t believe they made me pay more just because I accidentally told them they smelled instead of thanking them!”

“Stop whining like a child and get up, Yeosang” Hongjoong poked him in the ribs with the point of his boot. Yeosang only squirmed away from the captain and glared at him.

“You don’t have the rights to tell me anything, seeing as Yuta can speak Korean perfectly, while those rude merchants taxed me for not understanding their language although they couldn’t even pronounce my fucking name!!”

“Uh, if you asked me, I could have helped, I know Japanese.” Offered Seonghwa, a little embarrassed that he had not thought about that before.

Yunho, who was sitting next to Yeosang (who was still sprawled on the ground), looked at him and asked “Really? Do you know other languages?”

“Yes actually, I also know Greek, Cantonese and a bit of the language spoken in the Sicilian Island, as me and my sister lived there for a couple of months” (It felt nice speaking and thinking of her without feeling guilt).

“Ok then!” Yeosang declared dramatically, rising to his feet and patting imaginary dust away from his pants “You are from now on officially in charge of dealing with rude merchants!” He then turned around and stomped away, muttering about hypocrite merchants and robberies.

Hongjoon just laughed and walked away, yelling to set the route, the anchor lifting and the sails unfolding by themselves (Seonghwa was still kinda scared of that).

Huh, Seonghwa thought, I’ve never heard him laugh before.

                                                               ~*~

The next two days of sailing were calm, only with the minor inconvenient of an unplanned meeting with another ship, but the other vessel had steered away from them at the speed of light the second the black flag they sported was recognized.

They planned to arrive at Incheon port with two more days of travel, but before, the captain had decided it was time for another incursion. They were bound to to cross paths with another ship from the ones Seonghwa had pointed out days before, so Hongjoong had decided to take advantage of that.

Seonghwa was, once again, relegated to watch duty, his job to cover everyone else’s back. Everyone was reading themselves, and the closer they got to the other ship, the harder Seonghwa’s heart beat, the sound of the blood pumping almost deafening to his ears.

The second they flanked the ship, and Hongjoong yelled the command to board it, Seonghwa realized something was wrong. The other vessel was completely silent, no one scurrying to find repair, no yells of terror, only silence, accompanied by the crashing of the waves against the ships’ hulls.

Then, he noticed the crew of the ship. They were standing still on the ship’s deck, visible only to Seonghwa, and they were all sporting swords.

It’s a trap. “It’s a trap!” he yelled, but his voice was quickly carried away by the wind. Shit, they can’t hear me.

He didn’t have the time to climb down the mast, so he jumped down, not even thinking of the consequences. Before plummeting to his death and leaving an unpleasant Seonghwa-shaped stain on the deck, he gripped on a rope, slowing his free fall and completely obliterating the skin of his hands. He let out a yelp of pain through gritted teeth, and the second his feet touched the deck, he sprinted towards the others, that had now lowered the footbridge between the two ships. “Stop!” He yelled at them, “It’s a trap!”

The men on the other ship, knowing their presence was discovered, exited their hiding spots. After a couple of seconds, he heard the tell-tale sound of a gun going off, and an instant later a pained scream ringed through the ship, followed by a heavy thud. “Mingi!” Seonghwa heard someone yell behind him, and he wanted nothing more than to turn and help, but he couldn’t do that until everyone was safe.

The captain was still on the foot bridge, so Seonghwa shot a bloody hand out, grabbing the man’s collar and yanking him behind the ship’s parapet, out of the pistols’ range. Hongjoong let out a small noise of surprise, but quickly dived tto repair, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the head.

“We have to leave, NOW!” he yelled, and the ship put itself in action, wind filling the sails (In that moment, no one, not even Hongjoong and Seonghwa themselves, realized that the ship moved to the orders of someone that was not the captain of the ship, an occurrence that had never happened before).

Neither ship dared firing their cannons at such a close distance, for the could only mean death for both of the crews, but the pirates new that, the second they were distant enough from the others, they would be immediately hit by a rain of fire and flames, only hoping to come out winning thanks to Illusion’s fast ammo reload.

They waited for the first shot to be fired, and yet it didn’t come. The six of them (Yeosang had brought Mingi to the infirmary) waited for the hit to come, for it to never arrive.

Then, a figure walked up on the deck of the other ship, face split by a malevolous grin, not unlike the one of a wolf toying with its prey.

Seonghwa heard a gasp from his side, and turned in time just to see a mixed look of horror and fear on Yunho’s face before the man turned and ran away. The captain immediately turned to follow him, but before he could leave after Yunho, Seonghwa grabbed his arm, once again ignoring the pain in the palm of his hand, and told him “Wait, right now Mingi needs you more, I’ll go after him.”

The captain stared into his eyes, then nodded and silently headed to the infirmary.

Seonghwa found Yunho laying on his side on the bed in his cabin, door wide open. He knocked softly on the doorframe, alerting the other of his presence.

“You don’t have to talk about it.” He started. “Just know that if you need anything, all of us ae here for you.”

After a minute of silence where Yunho didn’t give sign of response, Seonghwa turned to leave, but was stopped by the noise of the bead creaking under the shifting of its occupant.

“That man on the ship” he said, voice slightly shaking. “He was my officer in command, when I was in the military.”

Chapter Text

He…he was in the military?! Seonghwa couldn’t believe what he just heard, but he had to keep quiet and let Yunho talk, because he knew how hard opening up was, and asking too many questions wasn’t going to help.

“You didn’t expect that, did you?” he let out a short, mirthless laugh, then continued without waiting for an answer. “I always wanted to join the mariners, when I was a kid. I loved the idea of them, a group op people that fought criminals to protect the people. It took me too long to realize that that was all they were: an idealization.” He sighed, eyes downcast.

“I joined on my eighteenth birthday and was put in training for a couple of months. After that, I was placed under the supervision of Commander Lee Seunghyun, one of the youngest to achieve that title.” His face turned sour. “He was praised by everyone for his admirable work, but in reality, he was just a blood thirsty monster that took advantage of the power that came with his position. And he wasn’t the only one, just the worst. It took a woman begging me not to hurt her and her child when the kid ran in front of me, to fully realize that rarely, mariners were in the military because they cared.”

“That night, I left. I went to the docks, and boarded the first ship I saw. I must have been completely out of my mind from the delusion and shock, because I boarded a pirate ship and didn’t realize until one of them found me hiding between apple boxes. I was still wearing my uniform,” Yunho smiled at the memory, “the second they noticed, they were ready to throw me at sea and be done with it. I begged them to believe me, that I was running from them, that I was not there to hurt them. I was sure I was going to die, when their captain told them to let me down and to let me to explain myself. He… he gave me the benefice of doubt, something that I had never seen a mariner do, and to see a pirate, a criminal I was taught since childhood to regard like scum of the earth be compassionate to his enemy, completely destroyed my world.”

Seonghwa was starting to get an inkling of who this captain was, and once again, he found himself in complete awe of the man.

“He… Hongjoong saved me, both my body and my mind. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I was to go back and live along the injustice without being able to say a word.” Yunho raised his head and stared deep into his eyes “I think you understand what I mean when I say I owe him my life. I don’t think I can ever repay-“ Yunho’s speech was interrupted by a piercing scream, pain latching the familiar voice.

Yunho sprang to his feet, eyes wide and whispered “Mingi.” And exited the room in a sprint, Seonghwa hot on his tail.

In the infirmary, they found the rest of the crew, around the bed on which laid Mingi, but still far away so to not get in Yeosang’s way, who was currently attending the man, that had just passed out from the pain. Apparently, during the fight, Mingi had been late to hearing his call to get down and had been hit twice, once in the right forearm and once in the shoulder. Fortunately, he was hit far from the heart, and no main blood vessel had been caught, but removing the second bullet had been a pain, both for Mingi and Yeosang.

Now, the ship surgeon was disinfecting the wound and stitching the skin back together. When he was finally done, he turned to the others and dismissively said “He’ll live, now all of you except San, scram, he needs to rest.” Yunho tried to oppose, but with a glare from the blonde, he turned and left.

Seonghwa turned to leave, but was stopped when Yeosang noticed the state of his hands (Seonghwa had to say, that although they hurt like hell, he had momentarily forgot about the blood and tender skin that covered them).

“Ah, wait. Hongjoong, take the gauze and clean his hands, then leave, I have stuff to do.” After that, he proceeded to turn and carefully insert a syringe needle in both San and Mingi’s right arms. The two needles were connected by a thin organic-like cord, that filled immediately with blood the second both needles were in position, the red liquid flowing from San, who was perched on a stool next to the bed Mingi was laying unconscious on.

Alerted by a soft pat on the arm, Seonghwa turned to see Hongjoong, who pointed without saying a word to the other bed in the room, a roll to gauze and disinfectant in the other hand (he supposed that in the infirmary, not even the captain had power over Yeosang). From his position on the soft mattress, Seonghwa watched the man put down the things he had in his hands on the night-stand beside the bed and go fetch a stool, on which he sat in front of him. Silently, the man started working on the wounds on his right hand, carefully cleaning the blood with a wet cloth. After he was done removing the dried blood, he took a wad of cotton soaked with disinfectant and started gently dabbing it on his hand.

Seonghwa flinched instinctively, retracting his hand out of reflex, but the captain’s strong yet kind grip on his wrist stopped him from jerking it away. After a couple of seconds, Hongjoong released him for an instant to take the gauze, then carefully wrapped it around his hand, minding to tighten it enough it didn’t fall of at the first movement but still loose enough it wasn’t going to hurt him.

He calmly cut the gauze and started the same process on Seonghwa’s other hand.

This is… nice, Seonghwa thought. Although the oddity of the situation, he found it peaceful. In the quiet of the infirmary, Seonghwa himself took some time to observe the captain. It was in moments like these, the man sitting cross legged on the wooden stool (that must have been extremely uncomfortable), eyebrows furrowed in concentration, when Seonghwa almost forgot where and who he was. He could almost imagine to be a normal man, who had accidentally hurt himself falling, and whose friend was tending to his wounds on a normal, boring day.

That thought didn’t last long. After all, that person could never be Seonghwa, just a bad, boring copy.  He had already accepted who and what he was, and he was ok with it, it didn’t matter if everyone else thought he was wrong, as long as he had his new family- no, scratch that, this was his only family, his real one- on his side, he knew he was fine (he also had a debt to pay back to the captain, and he wasn’t going to stop until they were on par).

That night, after a quiet dinner, everyone went to bed directly, tired from the day’s events, except for Yunho, who headed for his spot on the crow’s nest for the night.

“Wait.” Seonghwa intercepted him before he scaled the mast. The other turned, expression questioning. “Just know, that although I wasn’t there when you joined, I’m proud of you. I think if that there were more people like you, the world would be a less bitter place” Yunho’s eyes widened, and he gasped softly.

“I-I… I don’t think I’m that good as a person. I just turned and run from the injustice without doing anything about it”

“You are just one person Yunho, you could not do anything then, but if everyone started saying no, opposing to the mariners’ power abuse, then they could not do anything about it but accept it. Change always starts with a small action.” The other let out a chocked sob and pulled him in in a bone-crushing hug.

“Thank you, hyung.” He whispered. Seonghwa recovered from the shock of the abrupt hug and latched his arms around the frame of the other, gently patting his back.

Then, Yunho pulled back from the embrace and stared at him, a small grin gracing his features, the serious mood completely shattered, and said “You know, you sound surprisingly similar to a mother, for a man in his mid-twenties.” Seonghwa let out a surprised laugh, the drastic mood change giving him whip-lash. But he recovered quickly from the shock, and raised a hand to Yunho’s had ruffle his hair (had the other been less of a bean pole, he would have gone for a head-lock, but he was too afraid he was just going to embarrass himself).

The other escaped by climbing the mast tree, his joyful laugh carried through the rapidly darkening sky. Seonghwa hurried inside, not wanting to wait for the moon to rise and put an end to his joy.

That night, he went to bed with a smile on his lips, sleep coming to him easily as if it had never evaded him.

~*~

By the time they arrived at the Incheon port, Seonghwa felt like a new man, his ribs almost invisible thanks to the full meals he had at disposition every day, and his hair and skin clean and not greasy and dusty as before (bath time is underrated, he thought).

During lunch of the fifth day at sea, Hongjoong informed them all (Mingi, who had woken that morning after a full twelve hours of sleep, had insisted to join them) of the plans for that day when they arrived on land (It was mostly to inform Seonghwa, as apparently the plans rarely changed).

“Mingi is obviously going to stay on board, and Wooyoung is going to stay with him, both because I don’t fully trust Mingi unsupervised on the ship and because we still need someone to look after the ship. The remaining four of you are going to go to the market to sell everything we gathered,” Hongjoong said, pointing to everyone but himself and Seonghwa “you can do what you want, just don’t start a fight.” His voice now sounded those of a parent telling their children not to get in trouble for the hundredth time. While he said the last part, he stared pointedly at San, who was laughing sheepishly, avoiding the captain’s eyes at all costs.

 “I’m going to meet with Heechul, because he’s still bothering me to be paid for that damn tip on the mariners.”

“What am I going to do?” Seonghwa asked, furrowing his brow.

“Oh, you’re coming with me.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, first off, I can’t go by myself, Heechul is obviously waiting for the moment he can slit my throat and rob me once and for all, but if I have someone with me he’ll refrain. I still don’t know how good of a fighter you are, but he and his men will think you’re good enough. I could have brought one of those two” the   captain pointed at Yunho and Wooyoung, who were currently trying to balance a spoon on each other’s noses, egged on by Yeosang and Jongho, “but Heechul has already seen them try to do a handstand on a barrel, so the intimidating effect has worn off”.

~*~

The Incheon market was beautiful, it’s stands colourful and filled with the most diverse merch and people, variating from exotic fruits to colourful, precious fabrics. It was one of the most enchanting places Seonghwa had ever visited (he had travelled the world on his father’s ship, but he had never been allowed off board).

A dozen of minutes after they had parted from the others, Hongjoong stopped in front of a sketchy stall on the outer sides of the market. On the table in front of them laid a variety of objects ranging from pretty, fragile-looking hairpins made of what could have been only jade to sharp, small knives that looked like they could be easily hidden between someone’s clothes (Seonghwa doubted that the man behind the stall had less than three of them on himself).

“Captain Kim! What a pleasure to see you, what brings you here on this fine day?”

Seonghwa chose to simply stand behind the captain, trying to muster the most passive expression he could without ending to look bored.

“Cut the crap, Heechul, you know I would rather be dead than here if it weren’t for your stupid nagging.”

The older man only laughed, amused, “Okay, okay, no need to get angry” he interupted himself, only now noticing Seonghwa, looking at him with curious eye.

“Oh? Is this the new little birdie that joined the family?”. Seonghwa stiffened, and he could see the captain do the same. He knew that sooner or later it would be known that someone had joined the infamous crew of the Illusion, but not this soon. Not even two weeks had passed, for fuck’s sake!

“It doesn’t matter who he is, just take your payment and never contact us again.” The captain said rigidly, spilling the contents of a small leather pouch on the table. From it reversed a cascade of precious jewels, ranging from gold chains to pearl earrings. After that, Hongjoong immediately turned and started walking back from where he came, Seonghwa on his side.

“It’s always a pleasure to do business with you!” came the man’s voice from behind them “but I’m warning you, you should be careful. Things are changing, and they’re not going to be good.” He seemed to think about it, then shrugged and said “Well, for you, at least.”

~*~

Walking back to the ship, Seonghwa was so immersed in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Hongjoong stopping abruptly in front of him. He was about to apologise for bumping into him, when he noticed what the other man was staring at. It was eight wanted posters, and on it were eight familiar faces staring back at him.

“What! I don’t look like that! And they didn’t even get the nose right!” Exclaimed the captain, somehow totally unbothered.

Seonghwa stared at his own face, terrified of what the existence of a wanted poster made specifically for him could imply.

Chapter Text

FUCKFUCKFUCKSHITFUCKFUCKFUCK SHIT FUCK SHIT FUUUUUUUCK. Shit. This is probably what you could have heard if you read Seonghwa’s mind in that precise moment.

He didn’t even want to think what the existence of the poster could mean, so he decided to concentrate on the man next to him, that had finally stopped complaining about the fact that they made him look like a rat. Now, he started tearing the paper from the wall and shoving them in the bag he wore across his shoulder.

“This is the first time I see posters about us” Honjoong said, confusing Seonghwa once more. They were one of the most notorious and infamous crew of pirates, how could they not have wanted posters?

As if to answer his question, the captain started “No one has ever survived to describe our faces, and we never put ourselves in a situation where we had to kill innocents just because they saw how we look”

“But you,” he continued “I would have thought you would be declared deceased along with all the crew on the ship we found you on. I mean, I knew that sooner or later the mariners would come to know of another member of our crew, but not this soon.” Seonghwa dreaded the moment the captain would say what he was trying so hard not to believe since he found himself in front of the posters. “And unless someone from the ship we attacked thanks to your informations, it must mean that your-“  His words were interrupted by a scream.

Seonghwa was thankful for whoever had yelled.

Then, he realized what the man was yelling.

“There! Those two! Arrest them!” Seonghwa turned and noticed a small group of men running towards them, shoving stalls and people out of their way. They were wearing military uniforms.

“Shit. RUN!” Seonghwa felt a hand grab his wrist, somehow still careful of his bandages, and then he was running after the captain, evading shoppers and merchant stalls the best he could. While running, he turned quickly, just for the couple of seconds he needed to see how many mariners were following them. He counted around six, their number slowing them down, but Seonghwa knew that if it came to a proper fight, they had low chances of getting out unscathed.

“There’s too many of them!” he told the captain “We can only try to run!”

Hongjoong nodded, looking around for a way out.

He seemed to have found somewhere he deemed secure enough to hide, because he turned to Seonghwa and said, “Follow me!”. The captain grabbed his wrist again and pulled him behind a corner.

Thankfully, they had distanced the mariners enough that the men saw them turn the corner but not hide under a stall. The table was covered by a thick wool cloth that reached to the ground, providing a perfect hiding spot for the two of them.

In the dim light of the cramped space they found themselves in, Seonghwa saw Hongjoong bring a finger to his lips signalling him to not make a sound.

The captain turned his head, listening to the steps and angry voices of the men running outside. After a couple of minutes, when they were sure the mariners were gone, he lightly nodded his head, giving him the all clear to go ahead.

They didn’t stop, setting off again in a sprint, not giving themselves the chance to be caught again. They weaved through stalls and alleys, only stopping when they found themselves in a narrow backstreet in the edges of the market.

Seonghwa crouched, panting, and saw in the corner of his eye the captain do the same. Then the man started laughing.

“Are-Are you laughing??” Seonghwa asked, trying to catch his breath. The other ignored him, and continued his mad cackling on the ground.

“What the hell, Hongjoong, we just almost died, how is that funny???” (his confusion didn’t waver).

The man sobered up, and said, with a small smile on his lips “We’re pirates, we don’t have the luxury to feel shocked after every little situation of danger we find ourselves in. If we let everything get to us, we’d go crazy with anxiety and useless worry. If we must die today, we’ll die today, if we get to live one day more, well, cheers to us!” Hongjoong shrugged, then rose to his feet and motioned at him to follow him “Come on, we have to get back to the others.”

The walk back was silent, the two of them choosing to follow along dark alleys and empty streets, avoiding crowded places the best they could, walking at a pace fast enough for their likings but not enough to be suspicious to the eyes of the few people they crossed on the streets.

How could someone be so disregarding of their lives? Seonghwa thought. No, it’s not like that, he doesn’t jump into dangerous situations without a care, and I’ve seen how much he cares, especially about his family. He… he came to pacts with the facts that he’s unlikely to die of old age, and he doesn’t let that stop him or the fear of death freeze him.

This man, he was the polar opposite of the one he (unfortunately) had called father. So kind, so caring and yet carefree, always quick to lend a helping hand and never eager to make others suffer. Seonghwa really owed him everything.

His father, on the other hand, had been a being made of greed and hate, so attached to his money and life, never caring for another. Seonghwa knew he was lying to himself, but he still remained attached to that fragile possibility that the man wasn’t still-

His thoughts were interrupted (Seonghwa was extremely grateful, as he couldn’t stand being stuck in his own head any longer) by the captain’s voice, who was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

“Before,” he started, “you called me by my name”

“Wh-what?”

“You never do that, it’s always either captain or nothing at all.”

“Uh, sorry, I won’t-“

“No, it’s ok, captain sounds too formal.”

Seonghwa didn’t know what to say, so he turned his head and kept walking. After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the dock, and the Illusion came soon in their sight. The closer they got to the ship, the clearer it became that something was wrong. They expected the others to not be back yet, as they had more merch to sell, but everyone was currently on board and frantically gesturing for them to hurry up.

Seonghwa just gave Hongjoong a questioning glance, one eyebrow rised, and after the other nodded in response, they sprinted back, hastily climbing the ladder and getting on board. There, Jongho informed them over what was going on.

“We have to leave, right now! We arrived here a couple of minutes before you, after a nice encounter with the mariners and they haven’t found us yet, but it’s not going to take them long to spot us!”

The second he heard about the mariners, Hongjoong immediately gave the order to leave, and as if responding, the anchor lifted itself and the ship got ready to take to the sea (Seonghwa wasn’t proud of the small “eep!” of surprise he let out when the sails unfolded).

After what must not have been more than a minute, the pirates (except Yunho, because the ship still needed some kind of manning), who had gathered astern, noticed a small military vessel chasing them, but they were too far away for their cannons to reach them and, as Hongjoong said while patting the ship’s parapet, “No mere military dog’s ship can beat this baby in a speed match”.

They knew they were completely safe, but they still remained there, eyes glued on the other vessel until it completely disappeared in the distance.

After that, they scattered, Seonghwa leaving for the kitchens. He liked cooking, both because he felt useful although it was nothing special, and because in his life he had never had the pleasure of enjoying a meal in peace, so being able to provide that to his friends (Seonghwa didn’t want to admit that he already saw them more like a family than friends) made him feel at peace.

Soon the food was served and Seonghwa found himself listening to Yeosang recounter their meetings with the military.

It hadn’t gone differently than what happened to Seonghwa and Hongjoong except that, seeing as they didn’t know of the posters, they were assuming that the mariners didn’t specifically recognize them and thought they were simply pegged as a general pirate crew. So, when it came to the two oldest to tell their little ‘adventure’, Hongjoong pulled the posters out of his bag and laid them on the table.

The shocked silence that had fallen over the occupants of the table was broken by Yunho, who had somehow taken the captain’s own poster and exclaimed, “Hey, they got your look perfectly!” Hongjoong gave him an icy glare, but Seonghwa knew the man was secretly relieved that Yunho had broken the thick tension that had previously fallen over them.

“We found these in town.” Hongjoong’s voice had a tone of finality.

“But… this has never happened before, we always make sure to never leave witnesses!” San said, confusion latching his expression.

“It… could have been an error on my side. When we took Seonghwa in, I made the mistake of not shooting the last shot, because I knew almost everyone was already dead.

“What?!”

“It’s my father” Seonghwa hated it, the bare thought making him nauseous, but it was reality, and right now he wanted to have nothing to do with it.

“He’s still alive”

Chapter Text

Everything went back to normal, for a while.

Well, as normal as a pirate crew running from the law on a semi-sentient ship could be. Seonghwa tried his best to keep his father out of his mind, but he could sometimes see one of the others throw a worried glance at him, and his dreams were crowded with leering sneers and sharp words.

The silence up in the crow’s nest that before provided him peace, now only served to further his thoughts, sending him spiralling in worry. He feared the man, although he knew, rationally, that right now he could not touch him, but his mind only provided him images of his friends, his family, suffering at the hand of that cruel monster.

His rapidly declining train of thought was interrupted by the sound of laughter from the deck, where Yunho, Mingi and Jongho where standing laughing with each other, hitting one another’s backs with friendly punches (still careful with Mingi’s persisting wounds. He smiled softly, the scene erasing momentarily his fears. They’re safe, he thought, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep it that way.

They let a couple of weeks pass calmly, leaving Mingi the time to heal properly, avoiding contact with any hostile forces and stopping on land for no more than a couple of hours. Around the fifteenth day of undisturbed travel, they decided to set route for Manila.

 By what Seonghwa had gathered from what the others had said, the city was, formally, under the control of Spain, but it had been years since the military had been able to make their power stable, deciding to leave the island to the control of pirates. The city was a safe haven for outlaws, where they could find housing for a couple of nights without having to look behind their backs every second.

Manila stood tall and mighty thanks to one, single rule: ‘those who seek shelter will be given it without a second thought, as long as they keep their weapons sheathed and their violence contained’. The rule had been placed by the first pirates to take control of the city, the same people that installed a form of government. Although pirates refused to abide to any law, control was still needed in a city such as Manila.

The journey was going to take a little more than three days, and Seonghwa couldn’t wait to see the city his friends were so excited to visit again.

“The city” Wooyoung told him during lunch, his eyes shining “is made so that if you don’t know how to navigate it, you’ll get lost! That’s why a lot of the people that live there all year long work as guides for those who need it!”

“But!” interrupted San, shoving the younger a little to sit closer in front of Seonghwa (at this point, Seonghwa was already used to the boys’ antics, and didn’t bat an eye), “We don’t need one because Hongjoong here can perfectly navigate the streets!”

“Who cares about that!” Wooyoung didn’t hesitate to shove San back in him spot, and continue speaking. “The buildings in the centre of the city are really tall and most of them are connected by boardwalks, and I remember the first time we visited I almost fell off!” He said that with a smile as if he had just told Seonghwa about petting a dog and not his almost death by plummeting to the ground from an unstable structure. Seonghwa was mildly worried.

“But that’s not the best part!” piped in Jongho fom his side, and Seonghwa didn’t really know if he was referring to Wooyoung’s almost death or to the city, so he decided to ignore that. “Before entering in the city, when you disembark in the port, there’s a system of stilts that completely covers all the coast of the city!”

All of the youngers were eager to tell their part, often interrupting eachother, but it seemed that no one really cared, so for an hour or so, with even a few inputs from the captain, that had previously remained silent.

Well, after all he had heard about the city, to say that he was excited to land was a bit of an understatement.

                                                                                               ~*~

The morning of the last day of travel, after the captain announced they were to arrive in the early afternoon, Seonghwa found himself on deck, where Yunho and Mingi were talking under their breaths, huddled close together, smiling softly at each other.  Then, when they seemed to be done, Yunho took a step back and sauntered off to do whatever, but not before sending the redhead a thousand-watt smile.

“So.” Seonghwa said, approaching the other, “Yunho, huh?”

Mingi let out a comically shrill scream, jumping in surprise. When he turned to see the amused smile on Seonghwa’s lips, his face started getting redder and redder, to the point it was as vivid as his hair.

“Uh… S- Seonghwa… hi?” Mingi stuttered as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have to.

“I’m sorry,” he laughed, “I didn’t mean to scare you”

Seonghwa didn’t ask what they were talking about, he knew when to respect people’s privacy, and whatever they had said to each other looked far too intimate for Seonghwa to be a part of it.

“So.” Seonghwa started again. “You and Yunho look like great friends”

Mingi had just gone back to an acceptable colour, but at the mention of the other, a gentle rosy colour started spreading on his cheeks (It was a different kind of blush, and Seonghwa was perfectly aware of that).

“Yeah…” Mingi said, a gentle smile spreading on his lips “He was the first friend I made on the ship… Well, he was my first friend period.” His eyes turned sad.

“When I joined, I wasn’t in a good situation, but he helped me get myself out of my own head. I guess it was inevitable for me to fall.”

Well. Seonghwa didn’t expect the younger to be so upfront with his feelings, but oh well.

Mingi seemed to realize what he said only after he had uttered the words, and a look of panic overtook his features.

“I-I mean- its not- that’s not what I wanted to say-“ He interrupted his rambling to hide his face in his hands. “I guess there’s no way I can save myself from that one, is there?” he sighed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, you have my word, and if it helps, I already had a feeling about this.

“That does definitely not help, but thanks for trying. Am I really that obvious?”

“Not really, especially considering that most of the crew of this ship has the attention span of a teacup, and that’s far too short to notice someone’s feelings.”

“I feel like I’m included in that group of people.”

“You are.”

“Wow. You somehow managed to make me feel better about myself while simultaneously insulting me.”

They stared at each other, Mingi’s face showing fake betrayal.

After a couple seconds of silence, Seonghwa said “Are you going to do anything about it?” MIngi’s smile dropped, his eyes sad once again, the mood switching from playful to sombre.

“I don’t think so. I mean, it’s highly improbable that he feels the same way and even in the remote possibility that he does, our life is not one suited for love.”

“Mingi, don’t talk like that. You are a great kid-“

“I’m three years younger than you”

“-don’t interrupt me, and I’m sure Yunho knows that to, or he wouldn’t have stuck to your side since you met.” The small smile on mingi’s lips assured Seonghwa that he wasn’t total crap at comforting people.

“I know this might sound a bit too cheesy, but you really miss all the shots that you don’t take, and I’m not trying to get you to tell him if you don’t want to, but think about it. And the thing about our lifestyle not being one for love, that’s complete bullshit, no offence.” The taller only raised an eyebrow, prodding him to go on.

“I could give you a lot of examples of famous pirates that had a significant other or were straight up married, but I think the best example is captain Hyojong of the infamous Dawn and his wife, Hyuna.”

“They did get killed by the mariners in a surprise attack.”

Damn, Seonghwa thought, this kid really doesn’t know better than to interrupt his elders, huh.

“Do you want to listen to me, or are you just trying to prove me wrong?” He didn’t wait for an answer to continue. “Now, while it’s true that they died rather sadly, it was because one of their crewmates betrayed them, and they didn’t go easily, not after reigning on the seas practically undisputed for almost fifty years. They were not called the sea’s emperors for nothing.”

“You did your researches, huh.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

Mingi’s smile faded into a small grimace, his brow slightly furrowed and his eyes looking everywhere except into Seonghwa’s, as if searching the right words.

“I… I’m not good with words, but I guess that what I want to say is thank you.” He inhaled. “I’m still afraid, and I’m not sure of what to do, and surely all this shit with Seunghyun and the marine being after us It’s even a worse time to do this, but it’s good to know that I’m not alone in this. Thank you for being here for me, hyung. I might be unable to express my feelings in a good way, but know that im extremely thankful.”

“Don’t worry, all of us will be here when you need us.”

                                                                                                ~*~

An hour and a half later, Seonghwa found himself staring at the land becoming increasingly bigger at the horizon.

Chapter Text

In front of him, a system of stilts so dense he could not see the actual buidings on land stood on thick wooden poles that dived in the clear water, the barracks connected by thin boardwalks that looked far too shaky for Seonghwa’s taste. People of all age, race and gender crossed the wobbly walks with agility and ease, as if they were doing that since their first days (they probably were) but Seonghwa noticed a slight majority of kids, that ranged from what couldn’t have been more than five to late teens.

Seeing his perplexed face, Wooyoung leaned over and said “Those are the guides, most of them are the children of pirates that decided to settle down here, they know the city like their own pockets. Also, about pockets, be careful of yours because these little rascals aren’t against getting themselves a little tip, whether you like it or not.” He then smiled and ran down the walk, jumping on the wooden docks (Seonghwa made sure to place all his valuables in the pockets inside his jacket).

Wooyoung was about to shoot off to the centre of the city when the captain, who had somehow sneaked behind him unnoticed, shot out a hand, grabbing the already running man by the neck of the shirt.

“Wai a second, before running off.” he said, ignoring the chocked sound the other made, “As I already told you before, today we’re not here on business, so if you want to split, either follow me or Jongho, who’s the only other one who has a chance to not get horribly lost, or if you really want to, get yourselves a guide. Now,” Hongjoong said immediately after, knowing the others were just waiting for the occasion to make a run for it, “I know how you can get when you’re excited, but you better not cause a fight because I swear to god, if I have to pay for something you broke another time I’m dropping you to the mariners.”

“You’re no fun.” San whined when the captain threw him a frigid glance, as if warning him especially, but his laments where quickly interrupted by Yeosang, who grabbed his hand and started running, the other four hot on their tail.

“Remember to meet back at the hostel at eight!” Hongjoong yelled at their retreating backs, only to receive a ‘Yes, yes’ and a dismissive wave of hand from Mingi, who was still holding his not-quite-yet-healed arm close to his chest.

Hongjoong sighed, taking his face in his hand, and jumped a little when Seonghwa asked “Are they always like this?”

“Oh.” He turned to face Seonghwa “You’re still here, I thought you had run off with the others.”

“I really love the boys, but they can get a bit too rowdy for me, at times.” Seonghwa said with a fond smile, lightly shaking his head.

“Well, then.” The captain said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and nodding his head to the direction where the others had disappeared into. “Shall we?”

“Make way.”

~*~

First, they visited the market street.

It took them not more than fifteen minutes to reach it, but Seonghwa thanked every possible deity during the short period because he was acutely aware he would have found himself lost at the second crossroad they encountered, hadn’t it been for Hongjoong and his impeccable sense of direction (Seonghwa hadn’t ruled sorcery out of the possibilities for how they hadn’t lost themselves yet).

The thing that captured Seonghwa’s attention the most, were the plants. On the top of every building in the city, with no exception, grew an enormous variety of plants, from fragile, coloured flowers to tall and imposing trees.

Some of the alleys they crossed found the buildings so close together that the greenery had crossed the space between the two sides to form a roof over their heads, the foliage thankfully not thick enough to completely block the sun rays from passing.

Seonghwa was too busy looking around, trying to assimilate the most he could of his surroundings to notice the small fond look on the captain’s face.

The alley they were walking abruptly opened in a much larger street, where people were busking around, going about their day.

Differently from the ones Seonghwa had previously visited, the market of Manila wasn’t a temporary thing, and instead of dingy stalls and loud vendors, quaint little shops were encased in the sides of the stocky buildings that lined the market street.

The shops sold a variety of goods varying from steaming food to sharp weapons to small, precious accessories, the thought of them being probably stolen crossed Seonghwa’s mind for an instant, but he quickly dismissed it in favour of the fabric pieces that were hanged up over the street. The large pieces of cloth were, in some places, stitched together, and shielded the shoppers that mingled beneath them at repair from the harsh sun.

Each piece was dyed a different shade, bathing the street in a kaleidoscope of different colours, creating shadows and coloured spots that Seonghwa couldn’t help but stare at.

“They’re sails.” Hongjoong’s voice brought back Seonghwa. “Every time one of the city’s ships is irreversibly damaged, their sails are repurposed, along with all the salvable pieces. Even the main square of the city is like this, since the sun can get really unforgiving in summer.”

“Wow…” let out Seonghwa, eyes sparkling with childish wonder.

They spent the next hour and a half entering all the shops Seonghwa found interesting (which meant literally all of them), although he was pretty sure the captain wasn’t following him out of his own curiosity, seeing as he seemed to know even the smallest nook of the city.

Seonghwa couldn’t get enough of Manila, the city mystical, its people so diverse (albeit kind of rude sometimes, he thought after a buff man with a scar crossing his face glared frigidly at him after he stumbled into him as he was exiting a shop. Seonghwa was fairly sure he would have been long dead, hadn’t been for the city’s non-aggression rule.). He was temped to buy every small object he found in the boutiques and emporiums, but he, very difficultly, refrained, limiting himself to a beautiful pair of blue and gold earrings and a surprising variety of exotic, appetizing foods he found in a nice bakery owned by a tall, stoic lady.

As they were navigating once again the labyrinthic streets, their stomachs fuller and wallets considerably lighter, Seonghwa asked “How do you know the city so thoroughly?”

Hongjoong glanced at him, then brought his eyes back to the ground and let out a small sigh, “I spent a lot of time in Manila’s twin city, Colombo. They are practically the same, and where they differ, its easy to not get lost when you know how to navigate the city.” He said, feeling satisfied with the amount of information disclosed, as if that didn’t confuse Seonghwa even more. Every time the other talked, Seonghwa found himself more and more intrigued in the man, letting his curiosity take over.

Kim Hongjoong was a mystery wrapped in secrets, and every time Seonghwa thought he had peeled back the final layer of unknown, ready to see the truth underneath, he found himself in front of another wall of secrecy, but there was no way he was going to give up.

His train of thought was abruptly interrupted as once again, the back alley they were in opened on a much larger space. Just when Seonghwa thought nothing could surprise him anymore, he found himself once again struggling to close his mouth, his jaw on the ground from the stupor. Hongjoong let out a giggle (a honest to god giggle. Seonghwa would have treasured that moment a bit more, had he been less distracted), but Seonghwa ignored him in favour of staring at the colossal tree that stood in the centre of the city’s main square. Its leaves were a deep ruby red, and as the captain had previously mentioned, to its trunk were hanged sails much like those in the market street, but these ones where bigger, some of them even twice the size.

The tree was so tall that Seonghwa had to ask himself how he had not noticed it from the port. At its base people were loitering around, from groups of teens to couples to old men and ladies sitting on wood benches and talking in low voices.

It was in moments like these that Seonghwa found it hard that these were pirates and not normal people, but after all, what where pirates if not normal people that could simply not stand to live under rules imposed to them and had decided to just make rules for themselves?

“How old is the tree?” He asked, still staring at the flam-like colour of the leaves, mesmerized by their shifting in the soft wind.

“Mmh…” The captain seemed to think about it for a second before he answered. “I’m not really sure, around a couple of centuries. It’s here since it was planted here by the pirate that conquered the city all that time ago. Even the square is named in her honour. ’24 hours square’, that was the time it took her to take over the city from the inside. She’s said to have been one of the fiercest pirates of her time. They called her The Siren, for both her beauty and her ability with words.”

At that, Seonghwa froze imperceptibly, but then forced himself to relax, hoping the captain hadn’t noticed. There was no reason to worry, he was just making himself worry for no reason.

Nonetheless, he passed the next few minutes tensed up, until he was able to distract himself thanks to a man that approached them.

The man, maybe a couple decades older than them, had apparently recognized them from the posters, and although Seonghwa still wasn’t sure on how he felt about them, found himself listening to him and Hongjoong exchange stories of the sea. At one point, a friend of the man, who had introduced himself as Jaebum, had joined them, and suddenly Hongjoong was in the centre of a circle of curious pirates that didn’t give up the opportunity to listen to the stories of the great  Pirate King.

For the next hour Hongjoong was trapped by the people of the city unable to move from his spot until he was able to move the attention onto Jackson, Jaebum’s friend, an in an instant the captain was able to scuttle away from the crowd, taking Seonghwa’s hand and taking a side street before they were spotted again.

“I thought they were never going to let go of me” The captain said with a laugh.

“Hey, I was thoroughly enjoying the tales!” Seonghwa rebutted, but when their eyes met they dissolved in a fit of laughter. The sun was starting to set, and the time they had set to meet again with the others was approaching, so they started their way to the hostel they had decided to meet at.

The captain didn’t let go of his hand until they reached the inn’s door, where he simply glanced at their intertwined hands, and let go to open the door.

Chapter Text

The inn’s pub is loud, pirates chattering and drinking and eating and laughing, but Seonghwa isn’t bothered, considering he’s sitting to one of the loudest tables of the room.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong had entered the building a few minutes late to the established time, and had to listen to the joking teasing of the six who were boasting about arriving earlier than Hongjoong, which was apparently something that had never happened before.

Then, when they where all sitting with a plate in front of them, they proceeded to recount them their day, preferring talking one over the other to taking turns.

“Oh!” San interrupted Mingi’s story on how they almost managed to get eaten by a carnivorous plant (Seonghwa didn’t bother asking) “I forgot to tell you! We met Jisung and Chenle and they asked us to tell you they said hi!”

“You do realize it was just a distraction, right?” Said Yeosang, snickering.

“What? No, they did it because we’re friends and I’m cool like that!” San said, brow furrowed, as if offended that the other would think such things.

“Really.” Replied the other, a deadpan expression on his face. “Where’s your wallet, then”

“It’s right here…” San patted his jacket’s pocket, betrayal dawning on his face when he realized that the wallet was, as a matter of fact, not there. “Those little… I’m going to skin them alive when I find them!”

Yunho, who was trying to contain his amusement, exploded in a loud fit of laughter.

“You all knew, didn’t you?” San asked the five laughing boys, his shoulders hunched in surrender. Then, he seemed to come to his senses and started yelling at them, asking why they didn’t intervene, only to receive more laughter.

Seonghwa decided to tune out the screaming, and turned to the captain, who was sitting next to him. The man was wearing a fond expression, watching his boys with a small smile.

All of a sudden, silence fell over the occupants of the tables all around them, and soon, the only noise that could be heard was that of the door slamming shut.

Seonghwa, who was sitting with his back to the entrance, turned slowly, back as stiff as a log, worry etched in his expression, only to be faced with the worst sight he could imagine.

In front of the door stood a man Seonghwa had seen only once in his life, and yet whose face was carved securely in Seonghwa’s memories. The mariner didn’t look worried, although he had just entered a room full of the most dangerous criminals on that side of the planet, donning his uniform proudly. And he was staring at Seonghwa.

Seunghyun took a step further into the room, then another, bringing himself closer and closer to the table where Hongjoong’s crew was sitting. Seonghwa knew, rationally, that no one could do anything, the probability of mariners waiting just that to attack too high to even lay a hand on the man, but he was just not ready to interact with the man.

Slowly, Seonghyun took a seat in front of Seonghwa, who was highly aware of the eyes of everyone in the room, who had interrupted everything to watch the situation unfold. Although anxiety and fear were crushing him, Seonghwa found their attention reassuring, not because he knew them personally, but because he was aware of the hatred towards mariners that united all pirates.

“How did you manage to enter the city?” Wooyoung snapped at Seunghyun. Next to him, Seonghwa could see Mingi reach for Yunho’s hand, the taller’s face white I fear.

“It doesn’t matter how I got in, just that I did.” Seunghyun said, his grin almost animalistic.

“I assure you, the second you make a suspicious move I’ll make sure you’ll find yourself a nice sword in the neck, so don’t even try it.” Hongjoong warned him, a hand on the hilt of his sword.

When the mariner simply raised an eyebrow as to ask further explanation, the captain continued. “At the table behind you sits the crew of the Insomnia, they just lost a crew member and close friend to the your people, so you understand they’re not too fond of your presence here.” He then nodded to another table, where four women where sitting, staring at them intently. “Over there you can see Captain Jennie Kim, The Ruby Queen, and her lady friends. They’re the crew with the highest body count among mariners. I could go on, but I have the feeling you understood perfectly.”

Seunghyun just hummed, amused, and said “It seems we’re in a bit of a stalemate, then. On one hand, you can’t lay a hand on me in fear that my men will completely raze this place to the floor, while on the other, I unfortunately can’t kill you all because the second I slit one of your pretty throats all of these savages will be out to gut me.” He stared into Seonghwa’s eyes, his own cold and ruthless. “It seems like the only solution that doesn’t end in both our deaths is to talk.”

Seonghwa hated how, although the man had made it sound like a situation where both parts where on the same plane, the situation was clearly in favour of Seunghyun twisted plans.

“Let’s get to business, then. But before,” He brought his eyes back on Seonghwa “Lord Ahn warned me about you. I’ll have to cut off that tongue of yours and make sure you never utter a word again, next time we meet.”

Seonghwa stilled, fear taking over him, paralizing him to the point he didn’t know where he found the strength to hold back the captain the moment he rose from his seat, ready to unsheathe his sword, a curse on his lips.

The other occupants of the table where similarly ready to trow it all to the wind, but before they could, Seonghwa somehow found the strength speak up. “Don’t” He said to his friends. Then, back to Seunghyun. “Lord?” He asked, voice lightly shaking. Next to him, Hongjoong took Seonghwa’s hand in his and squeezed it lightly in comfort.

“Haven’t you heard? Daddy dearest was compensated for his great deeds to the nation and was gifted the title for helping enormously to further the mission of capturing your bunch of evil outlaws.” With each word, as Seonghwa’s face lost more and bore colour, Seunghyun only smiled wider.

Seonghwa felt cold, the feeling spreading from the tips of his fingers to his very core, paralyzing him in terror. This was everything he had always hoped for to not happen. Although the man had always had power on him, his tyranny was limited to their small bubble.

And now that he had escaped it, that he found himself living freely, enjoying his life for the first time, he found himself in a bigger game of cat and mouse.

Seonghwa should have known. He could never be free from the man, and right now less than ever.

Then, a squeeze of his hand brought him back to reality. Seonghwa tightened his grip on Hongjoong’s hand, anchoring himself to the other’s presence. He could not loose himself right now.

“Now, onto the reason why I find myself in this shithole of a city.” Seunghyn trudged on, disgust clear on his face. “Unfortunately, as much as I would like that, As much as this saddens me, I’m not here to kill or even lightly mutilate anyone, but rather as a messenger. As of this moment I’m still under your father, when it comes to ranks, but fear not, its not going to be this way for long-“

“Get to the point, we don’t have all night to waste talking with the likes of you.” Interrupted San, icy glare fixed on Seunghyun’s eyes.

“Okay, okay, calm down!” Seonghwa hated the man’s careless tone, how he was aware of his position of subtle vantage. He placed an elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand, acting nonchalant as if he were hanging out with friends.

“I’m here under the Lord’s orders. He wants to let you know that he won’t hold back against you, and that from now on, its open war.” He interrupted himself, raising his head to wave a hand dismissively.

“I’m not going to lie, the man is as pathetic as one could get, thinking that just because he’s been lucky enough he’ll be spared another time, that everything is owed to him”

Seonghwa understood now what this was actually for. It was just a show of power, showing up in a city populated only by pirates, proudly donning the navy uniform, and leaving without a single scratch.

“Why are you doing this then, you have never been good at following orders.” Yunho added, face as white as a blanket.

“Oh!” Seunghyun’s eyes lighted, wolfish smile appearing once again. “I remember you you-“

“Answer the damn question.” Snapped Mingi, who had noticed that Seunghyun’s attention was only aggravating Yunho’s terrorized state.

Seunghyun sighed, rolled his eyes in an almost playful way, and answered. “Because it’s fun.” He laughed at the enraged faces the pirates made. “I think im going to enjoy quite a lot, chasing you around and watching you scramble in fear.” the mariner rose from his seat and nodded his head. “Gentlemen, I’m afraid I’ll have to take my leave. I’d say its been a pleasure, but frankly, it hasn’t.”

And with that last farewell, he turned and exited the building.

Chapter Text

Seonghwa was lying on his bed, where he had been since he entered the room in a state of trance, not bothering to change into more comfortable clothes or even take off his boots.

His mind was in total disarray, thoughts swirling together forming a monster of self-deprecation and fear, not for himself but more for his friends.

In his alienation, Seonghwa heard the other bed in the room creak under the weight of a body sitting on it. It was probably Jongho, who had been assigned to his room earlier this evening.

Seonghwa didn’t bother to turn his head and find out.

Minutes passed in silence, and with each second, the weight on Seonghwa's chest only got heavier and heavier.

Then, the occupant of the other bed spoke up, but it wasn’t Jongho.

“I know you don’t want to speak about it, and I’m not asking you to.” Said Mingi, voice flebile, almost inaudible.

“I might not know exactly what you are going to, but I can understand to some extent.” He let out a short, mirthless laugh. “I didn’t have a great relationship with my parents either. It wasn’t that bad, I guess, from a rational point, but you know how that shit is, it leaves marks on people.”

Seonghwa didn’t answer, but that didn’t mean he was ignoring the other.

“Just know that all of us are here for you, you are part of our family now, and we take care of each other. Even if it’s just to chat about nothing serious, never hesitate to come to one of us.”

He knew that he would have to talk about it sooner or later, but in that moment he sure as hell wasn’t in the right state to do that, as sure as he was that the second he opened his mouth, the dam he had managed to put up was going to collapse, flooding him with every thought he was trying to suppress.

After a couple of moments of silence, Mingi sighed and stood from the bed, the mattress creaking, and left the room, closing the door with a soft “good night.”

Seonghwa didn’t sleep.

His mind swirled with thoughts, questions, and the more time passed, they just turned more and more nonsensical. A part of Seonghwa knew that this wasn’t going to help in any way, rather sending his mind in an unhealthy vicious circle of fears and overthinking.

At one point, Seonghwa heard the door being opened and someone slide under the covers of the other bed, but didn’t pay more attention than that.

Sometime after that, in the middle of the night, Seonghwa slipped into a fragile state of unconsciousness, his sleep tormented by nightmares populated by creatures with hash hands and words, monster void of fangs or claws, and yet Seonghwa couldn’t move, paralyzed in terror.

~*~

They didn’t leave immediately the next day.

The captain had business to carry out, Jongho informed before leaving their room for breakfast.

Seonghwa only hummed, not moving from his position on the bed.

He had woken a couple hours before, startled by a particularly terrible nightmare, unable to go back to sleep after it. Dark circles where already visible under his eyes.

Seonghwa didn’t move until evening, not when Wooyoung called him for lunch, nor when Yunho popped in to ask him if he wanted to join them outside. He didn’t bother asking what they had in mind, feeling already tired at the simple thought of getting up from the bed.

The sun was low in the sky when the door of the room opened once again.

“The captain is back, we’re leaving” Yeosang said, voice unsure. Seonghwa was thankful of their carefulness, but and was glad that no one was trying to confront him, but that was not what he actually needed. His mind and heart wished to be left alone with his pain, even thought he was, at least in part, aware of how unhealthy that was.

Right now, what both his body and mind needed was a wake-up call. Stewing in his own thoughts wasn’t going to help anyone, but he couldn’t do that by himself, too preoccupied with overthinking.

So, Seonghwa picked himself up, gathered his few belongings and followed Yeosang out of the building and back on the Illusion.

He saluted the captain with a slight nod of his head, not failing to notice the wary look in his eyes and the thick envelope in his hand.

Not making much of it, he retired in his room, where he laid again on the bed, going back to ignoring everything around him.

~*~

Two days had passed since they had left the docks of Manila, and three since Seonghwa had eaten anything.

The rest of the crew was growing increasingly worried, no being able to do anything about except bringing him food twice a day and hoping futilely that he would eat.

There was a part Seonghwa’s mind, pushed to the back of his cunciousness that was aware of what he was doing, both to himself and his family, but he wasn’t able to find in himself the strength to react.

Then, the captain had had enough, apparently.

That evening, the door of his cabin opened without a knock to warn him.

This was the first time he saw Hongjoong since he had started his reclusion, and the man looked slightly worn. Nothing actually notable, but Seonghwa had become good at spotting differences in the man’s posture. The captain’s shoulders where tense, his brow slightly furrowed.

“Get up.” Hongjoong’s voice was stern, and didn’t accept contesting.

“I understand how you feel, and I know that it must be hard to escape from the clutches of fear that have had control over you for so long,” the captain said, voice softening but not giving in. “But you have to see that what are you doing is exactly what they want. We are all afraid, but we can’t give in to fear, or we are playing according to their plan. They want us to crumble, to be divided and weak, that was the point of their declaration of war.”

He sighed. “If not for yourself, do it for the boys. They can’t do it without you, they need you to be strong.”

Seonghwa went to reply, but before he had uttered the first word, he was interrupted.

“And please, don’t say stupid shit like you being new and not deserving of their admiration, because you know that’s a load of crap.

Seonghwa didn’t reply, hating how spot on the man was. Not hearing a response, Hongjoong continued.

“When will you understand that you are a part of our family now? There is no one more important than one another, on this ship, it doesn’t matter how long we’ve been here.”

He took a step back.

“We’re not whole, with a piece missing. We can’t do I without you.” Hongjoong exited the room, closing the door behind him.

~*~

It was surreal.

Seonghwa had never heard a silence so deafening hover on the dining table, its occupant busing themselves with staring passively into their plates, eyes downcast, so immersed in their own thoughts they didn’t notice Seonghwa approaching them until he had sat in his usual place.

Wooyoung, who was sitting in front of him, was the first to notice him, eyes regaining their light.

“You’re here!” He exclaimed, voice loud over the cacophony the other had started upon seeing him at their table.

“I’m sorry for making you wait.” Seonghwa said, lowering his head.

Then, a memory popped into his head.

“I hate apologizing,” she had said.

“I think thanking people is much better, don’t you think, Oppa?” (Hyejin‘s always been too smart for her own good, Seonghwa had thought)

“No.” He corrected himself.

“Thank you for waiting for me. Thank you for being on my side.” Seonghwa said with a smile.

Chapter Text

The next morning passed in a blink, all of them holding up a pretence of normalcy, Seonghwa distracting himself with mundane, whether it was cleaning the deck or fixing and replacing the frayed ropes of the mast.

The meals where a rowdy affair, and Seonghwa was glad for that, although he noticed the glances the others threw at him when they thought he wasn’t watching. They were a mix of worried and sympathetic, but never pitying or blaming. Seonghwa was extremely thankful of their support, knowing that they could have much more easily thrown him out the moment his presence on the ship turned from mildly useful at best to inconvenient.

That evening, after dinner, Seonghwa found himself unable to sleep, so he threw the covers aside and started pacing around the cabin. He was in no way ready to completely open up, but maybe there was no need for that right now.

Then, a thought came to his mind.

As immersed as he was in his thoughts, Seonghwa knocked a glass of water from his nightstand, the object shattering on the wooden floor, water spilling everywhere.

“Fuck” he said. A second later, a knock came from the wall to his right, followed by a sleepy voice.

“I can hear you thinking from here, man.” Grumbled a very annoyed Wooyoung, who had had the misfortune to find Seonghwa’s room located directly next to his. “Whatever you’re thinking about, just do it, it’s useless to keep mulling over it like that.”

“Also, you’re interrupting my frankly deserved beauty sleep.” He added after a second.

“Sorry.” Seonghwa said to his neighbour, embarrassed that someone had assisted to his midnight crisis. Wooyoung didn’t respond, probably having resumed his ‘beauty sleep’.

Seonghwa sighed, and slipped back under the bed’s covers, aware of the late hour. He was going to follow Wooyoung’s advice (even though it was not given in a moment of total consciousness), but not right now.

For now, he settled for thrying to sleep, hoping for sleep to hit him as soon as possible.

That night, Seonghwa didn’t dream, his sleep instead filled once again with a sweet melody, the voice soft and reassuring.

~*~

The following day passed in similar fashion, until the moment where they all retired to their rooms, except for Hongjoong, who had the night’s turn in the crow’s nest (Seonghwa still felt guilty for not being able to help with that, no matter how many times he was told it was ok, really).

After sitting for ten minutes on his bed, trying to gather his thoughts, he stood, and with a serious expression walked out of the room, finding himself in front of an identical door to his, hesitating to knock, fist raised in the air.

He inhaled deeply and rapped his knuckles on the wood twice.

Mingi was wearing comfortable-looking pair of pants and a large shirt, a surprised look on his face. He recovered quickly from the shock, wordlessly stepping back to let Seonghwa in.

Seonghwa looked around the room, which was a precise copy of his, except that it was more lived. Mingi fetched a chair from the side of the room, gesturing at Seoghwa to sit, while he sat on the still made bed.

“I don’t think I’m ready to talk yet, but maybe I can listen, if you would like.” Seonghwa started. The taller only raised an eyebrow in confusion, asking for more explanation. “The other day, you mentioned your parents.” He simply said, not needing further explaining.

The surprise was clear on the redhead’s face, but Seonghwa could see that he was considering it.

In his thinking, Mingi started biting his lip. Seonghwa didn’t think the other was aware of it.

All of a sudden, Minghi sighed, letting his hands, which he had been fiddling with, fall limply to his side.

“My family was extremely rich.” He stated, voice sombre.

“Both with acquired and earned wealth. My father was a famous politician, and he wanted my older brother to follow in his path. He was much older than me, so I was just a toddler when he started gaining prestige.

I knew since I was little that I wasn’t a planned child.” Seonghwa could already see where this was going, and he hated every bit of it.

“Everything in my life reminded me that my brother was the golden child, the prodigy of the song family, while I was just an error in planning. Nobody ever told that to my face, they just made sure with their actions that I never forgot.

I don’t even think they knew what they where doing. It was ok, I guess, from an external point of view, I guess. I had a roof over my head, three meals a day and servants to my dispositions whenever I wanted. I simply was never a priority in my family’s life, I don’t even think I was taken in consideration in their decisions.

They would have probably loved me, if we lived in different conditions.” Mingi shook his head at his own words. “Look at me, still trying to excuse their behaviour.”

“It’s not like they hated me, or even ever laid a hand on me, they just didn’t care enough to love me.”

Seonghwa’s heart broke at those words. He knew he should have been used to the reality of terrible parents, but hearing his friend, a member of his family, talk like that about himself, like he understood their behaviour, that was what really struck deep. He wanted nothing more than correct the other, hug him and tell him how wrong his parents were, and how deserving of love he was, but he knew that he could not afford to interrupt the younger, words flowing freely from his lips, tears threatening to do so.

So, he sat still, limiting himself to taking the other’s hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly.

“The day of my eighteenth birthday, my brother was elected for some political charge I don’t even remember, so my parents decided to throw him a party. When I left my room that morning, my mother mistook me for one of the valets they had hired to décor the house.” The boy’s voice started wavering, but he trudged on, eyes watery. “When she asked me what my name was, I ran.

Hongjoong found me at the top of a cliff over the sea.” Seonghwa’s breath hitched, the implications of the younger’s words stabbing another wound into his heart.

“He picked me up like a stray,” Mingi said, the first genuine smile of the evening curving the edges of his mouth. “and gave me everything my blood family could not. It might have been stupid, leaving everything I had behind for this life, but I would not give it back for a million pieces of gold. I feel like somebody, you get it?”

Tears started spilling from Mingi’s eyes. Seonghwa found himself unconsciously raising a hand, using the hem of his sleeve to dry the tear tracks on the other’s cheeks.

“I know,” He said softly. “Don’t cry.”

“I owe him my life” Mingi stopped crying, but Seonghwa knew his sadness was far from gone.

“I know.” He repeated, smiling gently. “I do too.”

“It’s becoming an unhealthy habit of his, that of picking random desperate people out of horrible situations.” Mingi said, chuckling quietly.

“I guess it’s a nice thing, right?” Seonghwa said, smile getting slightly bigger. “It brought me to my family, didn’t it?”

Mingi’s smile dropped, eyes turning glassy again, and Seonghwa started to apologize, worried he had said something wrong, but before he could utter a word, he was hit with a teary version of a bear hug.

Seonghwa let out a startled laugh, relieved he hadn’t upset the other, and patted his back.

After a couple of minutes of comfortable silence, Mingi spoke up.

“You are my family too. All of us think this.” He retreated from the hug. “Thank you. I needed to let it out, and you helped so much.” Mingi said genuinely, before letting out a tired yawn. Seonghwa took that as his signal to leave the other to his sleep.

Seonghwa rose from his chair, bringing it back to its previous spot.

“Ah, before I leave.” He said, attracting the attention of a very sleepy Mingi. “Your parents where too blind to see how great you are, but no one on this ship is so foolish to make their same error. You are amazing, Mingi, and I promise that we will make sure you know that.” With that, he closed the door behind himself, not waiting for the other to assimilate the words.

Quickly, he returned to his room, and in a few minutes, he was in his bed.

That night, the both of them slept better than they had in a long time.

Chapter Text

Hongjoong left his room early in the morning.

He had spent the night thinking, the encounter of the day before fresh in his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Seunghyun’s damned face impressed in the back of his eyelids, wolfish grin permanently engraved in his mind.

Hongjoong’s thoughts swirled with unanswered questions, and the captain could not stand to leave them that way. He rose from his bed, the sun barely starting to make itself visible in the sky. Yeosang, his roommate for the night, was still fast asleep in his bed, breathing soft and regular.

He got dressed, hastily leaving behind a note on the nightstand with vague information of where he was going and that he didn’t know many hours he would be gone for.

His mind was swirling with unanswered questions, and he was not about to leave them like that. Thankfully Hongjoong knew just the person he needed, he simply had to find him before, and that always proved to be quest of its own.

Hongjoong felt a begrudging respect for the man’s dedication to being like a ghost, almost untraceable. It was almost like a game for the older, if you managed to track him down in whatever rotting hiding place he had managed hole himself up into, he was willing to answer your question. And even asking him questions after stumbling into him accidentally and pretending to have been looking for him didn't work, because he somehow was able to tell even that.

The man had been able to get himself an impressive number of informants, creating the most extensive network of information, all of which obviously arrived directly to him, all in less than a decade.

A lot of legends circled around about him: some said he was a runaway prince who, unable to stand his father’s tyrannous reign, had decided to turn to piracy, some that he was the love child of a couple of ferocious pirates. Hongjoong could have gone on for hours telling gradually more ridiculous and improbable stories, but he honestly didn’t have the time nor the patience for that.

All in all, it came down to a simple fact: he knew everything about everyone, and no one knew anything about him, just the name he went by.

Hongjoong spent most of his morning checking the spots he had previously found Eden in before, because although unluckily, he was not going to waste an easy find, as it had happened before.

First, he scaled the almost unending staircase that led to the roof of the tallest building in the city, where e had once found Eden carefully tending to some yellow dandelions. Not finding himself in luck, he turned back to where he came from and proceeded to the next destination (but not before cursing and glaring at the colourful flowers, their unassuming petals gently swaying in the breeze).

The next stop was Madame Choi’s tea shop, because that was a thing, yeah. And, as Eden had said the third time he found him there, nursing a hot cup of tea and a piece of cake, “We’re pirates, not savages, we can enjoy a damned tea break! Also you totally have to try the new raspberry shortcake…”. Hongjoong had decided that was the appropriate moment to stop the older.

And once again, he found himself leaving (metaphorically) empty handed, after entering the local to find only a couple patrons and the owner, Madame Choi, plus a rather burly man who was buying a set of pastries and that barked a ‘what?!’at him when he stared for a second too long.

Hongjoong spent the next several hours like that, entering buildings only to exit in an even sourer mood or ending in empty dead-end alleys.

It was already a couple of hours after midday, when Hongjoong exited the last place he could think the other could be hiding in. He looked around himself in frustration. To his left, the city spread to the sea, while at his right nature ran wild, a high hill standing taller than any building- wait.

On the very top, a small black blotch stood out on the green of the grass. Quickly, Hongjoong whipped his spyglass out, pointing it in the direction of the top of the hill. The small object didn’t have the power to provide him an image of a human figure sitting on the grass.

“Is he fucking serious??” He exclaimed, already resigning himself to the horrible perspective of climbing the steep under the sun and the relentless attacks of insects and sort.

With another curse, he started climbing. To no one’s surprise, he didn’t stop cursing for the next couple of hours.

When he arrived finally at the top, he rested his hands on his knees, taking a minute to breathe.

The second he lifted his head he realized something was terribly wrong. Where he was expecting a man in hi thirties, was sitting a wooden doll, on its chest was nailed a piece of paper.

‘Ha ha.’ He read, disbelief clear in his expression.

“MOTHERFUCKER!” Hongjoong yelled, kicking the doll in anger. To his further frustration, under it was another sheet.

‘Now, now, anger is never the answer, my dear Hongjoong’ The words were written carefully I wat Hongjoong recognized as Eden’s calligraphy.

With a rage-filled yell, Hongjoong teared the paper, leaving to the wind the duty of carrying away its shredded pieces.

One thing Hongjoong could absolutely not stan about the older man was his weird, ominous all-knowing bullshit. And when Hongjoong said Eden knew everything, he meant everything.

 Defeated, he laid on the ground, letting the nature soothe him (it didn’t really work, and the grass’ tickling was starting to seriously get on his nerves).

After a couple of minutes, he got up and, after kicking the doll a couple more times, he began his descent. By the time he arrived at the feet of the hill, the sun had started its descent, so Hongjoong decided to head back to the hostel, sighing in defeat. He was going to have to find his answers somewhere else, although he knew no one reached Ede’s level of precise information.

 He was crossing the main square when he noticed a glinting between the branches of the massive tree that stood in its middle. With a raised eyebrow, he approached the tree, until he was standing directly under it, peering through its leaves.

Hongjoong thought he had reached the peak level absurdity when he had found Eden hiding under the counter of a bar, sipping calmly on a beer, and yet, here he was, staring at the man, that was sitting on a sturdy branch, peeling an apple with a shiny golden knife.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hongjoong asked, utterly done.

When all the other did was look up from his apple and smile, Hongjoong snarled “Eden, you elusive son of a bitch, get down here or so help me!”

Eden limited himself to chuckling and raising an eyebrow. “You might have found me, but you haven’t gotten me yet.”

“Are you serious? What the fuck does that even mean??” Eden stayed silent, smiling expectantly.

Hongjoong sighed, staring at the tree trying to find a way to climb it.

“I can’t believe this shit, what the hell.” He muttered under his breath as he unsheathed his pair of twin daggers, using them to climb the tree’s trunk, blades sinking deep in the bark.

He settled on the branch next to Eden’s and grabbed his wrist, making the apple he was holding fall out of his grasp, but the man had already reached a hand out to grab it, not flinching.

“Now that I’ve ‘got you’, are you going to answer my questions?” he asked, slightly out of breath.

Eden hummed satisfied, and Hongjoong asked his question, even though he felt like that was not really necessary.

“What do you know about Lee Seunghyun?”

“Lee Sunhyung, recently promoted to vice admiral, officially skipping ahead of more honest peers by jumping ahead of quite a few ranks, achieved this rather impressive rank climb by appeasing rich lords and merchants under the favor of the emperor by following in their bloody mission of eradicating piracy as we know it. Joined the navy not guided by a sense of justice but rather by his own thirst for blood and power. I heard he made a little guest appearance yesterday, am I right?” He started listing off facts, most of which Hongjoong already knew, but he was aware that Eden was just getting started.

“Yes, he wanted to declare war on behalf of one of said lords under the emperor’s protection. But that’s not the important part. He was wearing a ring, but it didn’t look like a normal ring, the pat that made me suspicious was the gem on it. It was green, some sort of precious gem, but it looked… alive.” Hongjoong said. He was aware that he had been the only one to notice such a small detail, and it could have been paranoia, but the object didn’t sit right with him, making his skin crawl.

“Now that I think about it,” Hongjoong continued “it looks exactly like the one you are wearing.” He continued, pointing to Eden’s hand, where an exact replica of the one Seunghyun was wearing the day before sat, except this one was sporting a deep violet gem, and it didn’t awaken in him the feeling of wanting to take the object and chuck it as far away as possible.

When he brought his gaze back to Eden’s eyes, he saw them shimmering with the same tone of purple as his ring for a second, before they went back to their usual black.

“I’m afraid to tell you that I can’t give you this information right now,” What. That had never happened before, and Eden had clearly made it sound like he did have the information but didn’t want to give it to him for some reason. Before he could object, Eden started again. “BUT!” He exclaimed, pulling a thick letter from the inside of his jacket. “Thake this, and open it when you need to, everything you need to know is written here. You will know when to open it, but be careful to never open it before its time.”

And with those words, he jumped down the branch landing smoothly on the ground and disappearing into an alley before Hongjoong could say ‘fuck you’.

Hongjoong stared at the alley the man had disappeared into with complete incredulity, before starting his descent with a curse.

“I hope he falls and breaks a leg the next time he does that.”

~*~

Hongjoong walked back in silence, the letter heavy in the pocket of his coat, a sweet temptation he knew he had to resist.

Chapter Text

Seonghwa forced himself to shove his fears into a corner of his mind, not letting them reign over his mind. A couple of weeks had passed by since their less than pleasurable meeting with the mariner, and a thin semblance of tranquillity seemed to have fallen over the Illusion and its crew.

Nothing worthy of note had happened, and Seonghwa was grateful for that. Seonghwa didn’t want to jinx himself by saying that things were looking good, because he was too self-aware of his terrible luck, and although he wanted that more than anything, he could not disregard completely the imminent threat his father posed.

The eight of them had talked about the situation extensively, but had not been able to formulate a plan of action for the moment, even with the information Hongjoong had provided them after his meeting in Manila.

Seonghwa was, like everyone else on the ship, wondering what was inside the letter Hongjoong had brought back, and although he knew that the info it contained could prove to be substantial to their cause, he trusted his captain. When one of the youngers had suggested to disregard Eden’s suggestion and open the letter in that moment, Hongjoong had been unmovable from his decision, shaking his head firmly. “Eden has never been wrong before,” He had said “I’m not going to start ignoring his words now. Hell knows how he does, but if he says we will know when the time is right, I trust him.”

Seonghwa had found peace in the last few days of calm, feeling everyday a bit more at rest. At this point, even in the middle of an attack on another ship he had found himself smiling, able to enjoy the thrill of adrenaline coursing through his veins. Later, while celebrating with his friends, he realized with a light heart that he hadn’t worried about his father all day, and all that mattered was that he was there sitting with his family, all of them safe, happy and uninjured.

Well. That last one was not completely true, seeing as Wooyoung had tripped while bringing back on board from the recently sacked ship a set of twin swords, somehow managing to stab himself in the hand and twist an ankle at the same time. Yeosang had yelled at him for the entirety of the twenty minutes it took him to patch the other up, but Seonghwa figured it was ok when he later found the two asleep in Wooyoung’s room, the medic holding his best friend’s uninjured hand.

Days later, Seonghwa stood on the main deck, staring at the morning sky. The sea was placid, and they where travelling without a precise destination, letting the ocean carry them. On calm days like these, where no one had a lot to do, and most indulged in languid conversations, Seonghwa and Hongjoong often found themselves talking about nothing ad everything, recounting stories or even just talking about what they did and didn’t like.

Seoghwa felt that, with every conversation, he came closer to understanding the other man. Seonghwa admired how the captain had never let the world and its harshness tarnish his kindness, instead learning from it and using what he learned to protect better who he loved. Months had passed since their first meeting, and Seonghwa realized that his first impression of the man could have never been this wrong.

The man he had thought insensitive and that only cared about profit, was one of the kindest, and although he often put on a mask to keep others out, Seonghwa could see how easily shattered it was when it came to his crew mates. Seonghwa found endearing the smile that quickly took over Hongjoong’s features whenever one of the youngers where named.

Seonghwa also found extremely amusing how easily irritable Hongjoong was, especially by San, Wooyoung and Jongho who apparently had no better way to entertain themselves other than getting on the captain’s nerves to the point the older threatened them with unmentionable tortures everyone knew were but empty threats.

Later that evening, after most of them had spent the better part of the last five minutes laughing at a struggling Wooyoung, who was having a hard time eating with his left hand (his right one was still out of order), Seonghwa looked at the boy and his best friend, who had been forced to feed the other, having given up on feeding himself, and couldn’t help but wonder. Although it did not show easily, if you observed long enough, you could notice that the bond the two shared was not a common one. Seonghwa could feel affection radiate off the both of them whenever in the presence of the other, and he knew that bonds like these where not easy to find. Seonghwa spent a good part of dinner deep in thoughts. After Mingi’s telling of his years before Hongjoong had found him, Seonghwa couldn’t help but wonder what the two had passed to lead them to leave whatever they had before to join a band of wanted criminals- No, that wasn’t right, was it? A memory popped back into Songhwa’s mind. On his first day on the ship, Jongho had mentioned that Yeosang and Wooyoung where the first to join, followed then by San, and by what he had gathered from Mingi, when the taller had joined almost three years ago, Yunho was already part of the crew. But Jongho had talked as if he had been there to assist everything, so, if he was right, Wooyoung and Yeosang had joined more of a duo of unexperienced pirate wannabes.

This only brought to Seonghwa’s mind other questions. Where did they find such a ship just the two of them? How old where they when they set sails for the first time, alone in a vast ocean, its inhabitant adverse to them, alone on a ship bigger than them, with the only company of each other. How could one go from a teenager taking care of a child (from his estimations, Hongjoong couldn’t have been older than 20  when he decided to become a pirate, making Jongho terribly young at the time) to one of the most feared pirates of the eastern seas?

His ponderings where thankfully interrupted by Yunho, who pulled him into a rather peculiar discussion over frogs, lizards and other reptilians, definitively distracting Seonghwa from his previous mulling (Seonghwa was quite entertained for the rest of the night).

~*~

The next day, Seonghwa sat in the crow’s nest, scouting the horizon for possible threats, mind wandering once again. Ever since Seunghyun had talked to them, the members of the crew had grown curious of the words the mariner had said.

“Lord Ahn warned me about you. I’ll have to cut off that tongue of yours and make sure you never utter a word again, next time we meet.” Seunghyun had said. By now, most of his friends had forgotten about their suspicions, shrugging the words simply as an overly specific threat, but Seonghwa knew the captain was far too observant to let such detail slid off unnoticed.

Seonghwa had noticed Hongjoong throwing him observing glances when he thought Seonghwa wouldn’t notice, but he always did. Somehow, Seonghwa was constantly aware of Hongjoong when he was in his vicinity (Seonghwa’s ears went red at the thought, but no one was around to make fun of him, so).

Seonghwa knew that sooner or later he’d have to talk to them, all of them, but he couldn’t help but wish he could stall a bit more. He had decided after talking with Mingi that he had to tell them the truth, so why was he hesitating? He knew it was the right thing to do, he had to do it for them; it wasn’t right to keep important information from them, they had a right to know. He was aware rationally, that the truth would not change anything between them.

And yet, a big ‘what if?’ lingered in the back of his mind. What if they’re just like him? What if the second they see who I am, what I am, they turn away from me?

The second those thoughts appeared in his mind, he felt horrified by himself, hating how he could even think like that of the people that saved his life. They trusted him, so why did he hesitate to do the same for them? This is ridiculous. He thought. He decided that no matter what the outcome was, he wanted them to know.

But under the irrational worry he couldn’t help, he knew he didn’t have anything to worry about, the seven of them had accepted him into their small group without knowing anything about him, he knew they wouldn’t change their ideas of him. Well, maybe a little, but not in significant ways.

A gentle drizzle started falling, and Seonghwa looked up to the sky that had started greying with rain clouds whilst Seonghwa was thinking. Initially, he didn’t mind the water, but then, the light drops turned into a full on storm.

“Are you kidding me…” Seonghwa muttered to himself.

Then, he noticed a spot in the distance. “…Are you fucking kidding me??” He asked incredulous as he pulled out his spy glass, pointing it at the spot, which turned out to be a very hostile ship, and it was very much headed their way.

After screaming in frustration at the air, he breathed in and yelled as hard as he could, hoping to be heard over the pouring rain “HOSTILE SHIP COMING FROM REAR!” There was no time to unfold the sails and gain speed: they could not outrun the other ship, which was made specifically to be fast and swift, only prepare for battle. In a second, everyone was running frenziedly, gathering themselves and readying for battle.

As the ship was getting closer and close, he recognized the flag the ship sported as the one all the vessels of the army sported. As the ship flanked the Illusion, Seonghwa could hear the order of firing the cannons being given. “PREPARE FOR IMPACT!” Seonghwa yelled an instant before a booming sound resonated between the two vessels.

As the Illusion shook, Seonghwa struggled to regain his stance. The second the ship stilled under him, Seonghwa made eye contact with its captain, Seunghyun’s obsidian eyes staring directly into his soul.

Chapter Text

Seonghwa could not understand. From the look on Seunghyun’s face, this was anything but a casual encounter, so how? How had the mariner been able to intercept their ship when no one, not even them, knew where they were headed? They had decided to not take a precise route for a couple of weeks, just to make sure that no one was able to follow them, but that had clearly not worked how they wanted.

There was also something else that didn’t sit right with Seonghwa. The ship Seunghyun had approached them with was once again clearly designed for fast travel, not strong enough to withstand the attack of a much bigger boat such as the Illusion.

Below him, on the deck, the captain’s voice, full of rage, ordered “FIRE ALL THE CANNONS!”

This time, Seonghwa braced himself against the wooden railing and looked over to the inhabitants of the other ship. What was Seunghyun trying to achieve, entering a lost battle with them on a weaker ship with no more than ten men on his side? Seonghwa stared down the navy men, but no one moved a step, limiting to steadying themselves after the hit.

The enemy captain smiled, and Seonghwa felt a shiver travel down his spine. There was something wrong with the man, his wild grin a bit too wide, his teeth a bit too pointy and his skin pale, almost a sickly green.

Seonghwa didn’t know what happened to the man, or what he was becoming, but it made his body run cold. Seunghyun shook his head, breaking eye contact, and turned around, inhuman grin still in place, and told something to the crewman closest to him. Then, he faced them once again and rose both hands in the air, as if admitting defeat. Slowly, the ship started retreating, its sinking, caused by the too many holes in its hull, inevitable.

Everyone on the Illusion watched tensely the enemy vessel sail away, waiting for something to happen, incredulous to have exited the encounter almost untouched.

Just as the ship was close to exiting their range of fire, Seonghwa, who was still on the crow’s nest, was the only one to see the mariners’ rear cannon move, readying to shoot. With horror in his eyes, Seonghwa watched it be moved far too high for it to be aimed on the ship. As he yelled a ‘Watch out!’ full of despair, the cannon ball hit the deck right in front of Wooyoung and Yeosang, the wood splintering in every direction. Seonghwa felt powerless, only able to watch as Wooyoung pushed his best friend out of the explosion’s path, taking the brunt of it on himself.

“No!” Yelled Yeosang with tears in his eyes as the younger’s body hit the floor with a thud, blood slowly spreading on his clothes.

In an instant, Seonghwa was kneeling to his side, joined by the rest of the crew.  Seongwa could feel the younger starting to hyperventilate, shaking hands hovering over his friend’s unconscious body, unable to get a grip on himself.

He turned back to where the enemy ship was finally sinking, only to see the mariners boarding another vessel, aided by its own crew. Seonghwa’s eyes widened in shock the second he noticed the flag the aiding boat was sporting. Pirates. But why would a pirate crew help their sworn enemies, the marine? But right now Seonghwa had more pressing matters to attend, so, no matter how much he wanted to indulge in that train of thoughts, he shoved it in the back of his mind and turned back to his friends.

Seonghwa put a hand on Yeosang’s shoulder, trying to pull him out of his frantic state. “Yeosang, can you listen to me?” After a second, the boy lifted his face, cheeks streaked with tears, “I-I-I have to help him.” He stuttered out, and immediately brought his eyes back on the boy in front of him.

Seonghwa took in a shaky breath, trying to keep his own tears in. He maintained his sight on Yeosang, blocking out any though of Wooyoung’s state, because he knew that the second he let himself think about him, there was nothing he could do to keep the dam closed, and right now, he could not afford to  do that. In that moment, everyone counted on him to handle the situation, and Seonghwa could not let them down right when they needed him the most.

“I know. That’s why I need you to calm down. Wooyoug needs you, and you can’t help him if you’re not calm.” He said, but the younger did not hear him, still focused on his fear of loosing Wooyoung. Seonghwa called his name again and again, every time without being heard.

Seoghwa leaned back on his heels, desperate eyes making contact with the captain’s. In a second, Hongjoong was standing. He walked around the others, that were all kneeling beside their fallen friend, and reached Yeosang. Brusquely, Hongjoong pulled the boy to his feet, and shook him firmly, hands paced on both of the other’s shoulders.

“What are you doing, kid?!” Yeosang’s previously vacuous eyes focused on the angry scowl on the captain’s face. “Get a grip on yourself. You aren’t going to help anyone in this state you are right now, do you want to let your best friend die?” Yeosang shook his head frantically, eyes wide with fear.

“Didn’t think so. Now go do what you do best and save his self-sacrificing ass, idiot.” Hongjoong patted him on the back, and Yeosang steeled himself, preparing for a long afternoon in the infirmary.

“Jongho, go prepare my instruments and ready the infirmary’s bed, Yunho, fill a bowl with the sterilizing alcohol and bring out all the gauze you find, Mingi, you help me bring Wooyoung inside.” Yeosang started ordering as started lifting the unconscious boy from the ground, beckoning the taller to aide him.

Seonghwa followed them inside, where the two positioned Wooyoung on the soft sheets of the bed. Yeosang started immediately sterilizing his instruments, but Seonghwa could still see his hands lightly shaking.

“It’s okay.” He told the nurse. “He’s going to make it.” After meeting Seonghwa’s eyes for a second, Yeosang nodded, took a deep breath and steadied his hands, diving in on his friend’s wounds.

“Come on,” he said to the others, nodding his head towards the door, signalling them to leave the room. “Let’s leave him to his work, it’s better if he has no distractions.” With a look of defeat in their eyes, everyone filed out of the door in silence.

As he closed the door of the infirmary behind himself, Seonghwa felt a hand grab his wrist and puling it up.

“If you keep hurting yourself like this, you’re going to injure your hands permanently.” The captain said, examining Seonghwa’s bloody hand. Seonghwa stared at the red coating his hands. He had been so caught up in the adrenaline and terror that he hadn’t even realized that, in the haste of getting down from the crow’s nest and to Wooyoung’s side, he had unintentionally scraped his hands on the rope once again. As if a switch had been flipped the second Hongjoong had made him realize the state of his hands, the pain flooded him instantly, making him flinch.

The captain sighed and raised his other hand, which was holding gauze and a small bottle of sterilizing alcohol. “Don’t worry, I come prepared.” Hongjoong said, then beckoned his to follow him.

Minutes later, Seonghwa was sitting on his bed and the captain was perched on a wooden stool, leg folded beneath himself, tending to Seonghwa’s wounds carefully. Seonghwa flinched slightly when he felt the alcohol burn on his scrapes, but for the rest, the room was completely silent.

The first to break the silence was the captain, who raised his gaze from Seonghwa’s hands for a second to look hi in the eyes. “You know, you don’t have to do everything on your own.” He said, then resumed cleaning the blood.

“…What?” Seonghwa asked, confused.

“Back there, on the deck, you felt like you had to take the weight of the world on your shoulders, didn’t you?” Seonghwa stayed silent, as he knew that the captain already had his answer.

“We’re a team, we work to help each other out, and when someone need help, the others are there for him, knowing that everyone would do the same.”

“I… I guess I just feel responsible, as the oldest.” Seonghwa sighed, wishing he could hide his face in his hands. “For the first time in years I am once again responsible of the lives of younger people that look up at me, and I don’t know what I’ll do if I let them down, too” At Seonghwa’s words, Hongjoong’s hand stopped wrapping the gauze on Seonghwa’s for an instant, but he continued the second later.

When he was done, he leaned back on his seat, and looked Seonghwa in the eyes. The older could see pain and uncertainty in his captain’s expression, but he was sure his own mirrored those same emotions, so he didn’t comment on it.

“I’m sure I don’t have all the fact on what happened with your sister, but from what I know I can assure you that no parts of that where your fault, and I’m sure she would not be disappointed in you, and neither are none of the boys.” Seonghwa inhaled sharply. He didn’t think that Hongjoong wold bring her up so explicitly.

“In all the years I’ve lived with those trouble makers, one thing I’ve come to learn is that they’re pretty good judges of character, so if they look up to you that way, they know you are not going to let them down that easily.” Seonghwa felt out of breath. He didn’t know what to say, how to thank Hongjoong for all he did for him.

The small rose from his position, being done medicating Seonghwa’s hands. “I’ll go now, and leave you to rest.” He opened the door, giving him a last nod with his head. But before the door closed completely, Hongjoong spoke up again.

“It’s okay to need help, and we’re all here if you ever need anything, just know that, okay?” And with a quiet ‘Rest well, Seonghwa’, the captain was gone.

Chapter Text

The hours after the attack seemed to never end, passing at a pace excruciatingly slow, leaving the members of the Illusion’s crew with noting to do but worry and fear. Although all of them had the utmost faith in their surgeon’s skills, they couldn’t help but let that irrational part of them take over.

Seonghwa tied visiting the infirmary twice before the sun set completely, and once again when the sky was already dark, stars shining bright, but to no avail. The door stayed close, and from inside the room, Seonghwa could hear Yeosang’s soft voice as he talked himself through the operation. On his way back to his cabin, Seonghwa crossed paths with Yunho, but Seonghwa could see the tension in his shoulders, so he limited himself to a comforting smile, which the other returned, if not a bit strained.

After that, Seonghwa decided to permanently settle in his room for the night, but although he felt completely and thoroughly spent, he could not seem to be able to sleep, mind running frenetically in circles.

At this point, he found himself thinking, pondering has become the main activity of my nights.

But how could he not, with everything that’d been happening lately? There were too many unknowns and unanswered questions, and Seonghwa hated not knowing.

At one point of the night, Seonghwa somehow managed to fall asleep, but his sleep was short and turbulent, plagued with demonic eyes resembling those of a snake and a laugh that made Seonghwa’s skin crawl.

In total, Seonghwa estimated that he had managed to get a good hour of sleep in total, so when he woke with a jolt for the third time to the first rays of sunlight peeking from the horizon, he figured it was good enough and rose from his bed.

It was around some time after five in the morning, but Seonghwa knew everyone else on board was already awake and alert, and even Jongho, who had just left the crow’s nest to Mingi was roaming the ship without even trying to catch some rest.

Seonghwa was standing on deck when, not even half an hour after he had woken up, the captain finally exited his room, the thick envelope sporting Eden’s mark in one hand.

With a nod of his head, the captain nodded at his crew to follow him, and everyone except Mingi, who still had to keep watch, followed him to the infirmary. Inside, Wooyoung is still asleep on the bed, body covered from head to toe in bandages and plasters, his hair a purple-ish grey among the white of the gauze. To his bedside, Yeosang is sitting on a stool, resting his head on the sheets and holding his friend’s hand, even while fast asleep.

For a minute, the five of them stood there in silence, not being able to gather the strength to wake up the boy, who had spent all the night working to save a life so dear to him. Then, a second later, Yeosang stirred in his sleep, opened his eyes and raised his head from where he had rested it on his arm.

“What.” Was the first thing he said upon laying his eyes on them. “Why are you all standing there like idiots?” Seonghwa snorted quietly. It was so typical of the younger to find something to insult them over even in a situation like this, but Seonghwa was grateful for that. With a couple of words, Yeosang had been able to lift a bit of that weight that had been oppressing all of them since the day before.

“Well,” Started San, voice sarcastic, “I’d be more than glad to answer your question, if I knew why we actually are here. The captain called us here without telling us, so you are in no luck.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes and lifted his right hand, in which he was holding the letter. “I figured that it was, as that old cot said, ‘time’.” He said, emphasizing the last word.

Without hesitating more, Hongjoong broke the violet seal that kept the envelope closed with a sharp sound, and pulled out the sheets of paper it contained. He unfolded them, removing the crinkles that had formed over the paper. From his position, Seonghwa could see that the first page sported, in an elegant writing, all of their names, except for Wooyoung and Mingi’s. The knowledge that Eden could have known who would be present to hear the letter be read days before it even got opened unsettled Seonghwa to his core.

According to the looks on the others faces when the captain read their names, he was not the only one to feel that way, maybe with the exception of the captain, who seemed already far too acquainted with the older’s creepy future-seeing shenanigans.

Hongjoong kept reading, brows furrowed. “I feel like I owe you some explanations. What happened yesterday was, in part, my fault.” Hongjoong halted for a second, and Seonghwa wondered both how he was tied to that and how much the man had known in advance. “As I write this, Hongjoong has not found me yet, but He has. I reckon you have already had you rather unpleasant meeting with him, less that a day before these words are being written.”

After that, everyone knew who Eden was talking about.

“Somehow, I could not see him coming, and he was able to catch me unprepared. I knew the second I saw him, that I either would answer his questions or I would not have a good end. He simply wanted to know where he could find you, when he could find you unprepared, and I had to tell him.”

As he kept reading, Seonghwa could see him straining to not crumple the papers in his hands, and Seonghwa could understand perfectly. To know that someone could have prevented all of this, one of them getting so hurt, made Seonghwa so mad he couldn’t stand it.

“Understand, that I could not have warned you without signing my demise, and I knew no one of you would suffer permanent damages, and, even though you are almost like an annoying little brother to me, it was either your friend suffering a bit or me, dead in a ditch, and that is as irreversible as it gets.”

All of them could understand that reasoning, but they couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“As for the reason of that attack, you must have realized that it was no done with the intent of actually permanently damage you, but it was, once again, a show of strength. Or, better, a show of the alliance that has been signed. As you might have noticed, the crew that attacked you was supported by another one, but this last one sported the black flag.” Finally, Seonghwa thought, finally answers to the biggest question.

“As of three days before the attack, the emperor emitted an announcement saying that, whoever would be able to bring the heads of the Pirate King and his crew would gain the favour of his Imperial Majesty.”

Immediately, all the presents exploded in a chorus of worried voices, but with a strong ‘Silence!’ from the captain, everyone quieted again.

“This was clearly structured to bring pirates on their side.” Said Jongho. “That’s literally every pirate’s dream, to be able to roam freely the seas without constantly fearing the marine.” Everyone else nodded. They, too, could not remember a time when they where not on the run.

Hongjoong sighed and kept reading. “Although a lot refused to turn back on one of their own, their honour stopping them from committing such felony, a lot, those with no care for no one except themselves, have agreed without a second thought, jumping at the chance, so be very careful of who you trust.” The more the captain read, the lower the crew’s spirit fell.

“Now, onto the last argument of the day: the rings.” The second Hongjoong hongjoong uttered the last word, confusion spread through the faces of the room’s inhabitants. “Rings? What rings?” Asked Yunho, brows furrowed in confusion.

“Both Eden and Seunghyun were wearing the same ring, the only difference between the two the colour of the gem. I don’t know what they were, but they seemed… alive, and, as it seems, I was apparently right to think that there was something suspicious about them.” The others didn’t seem comforted by his answer, but they let it go in favour of listening to the letter.

“No one knows where they come from, what they are, or how many of them there actually are, just that each of them gifts the bearer of a distinctive power. Mine for example, permits me to see people’s future. I have no idea of what it’s limit is, but it seems to be working to my necessities, providing me with the information I might need to provide someone else with.” That explained a lot. The man’s ability to be always aware of everything, even his peculiar elusiveness.

“There are ancient books on them, but no one that has made research on them has been able to find out anything about them, ad limited to classify and register the ones they encountered.”

It made totally sense now. How Seunghyun had been able to enter and leave Manila, the city where no one even remotely associated with the marine could put a foot in without loosing it, completely undetected. The problem now was: what power did that cursed ring gift him with?

“As a repayment for all the trouble I have caused you, I can provide with a bit of help. I have read stories of one of these rings, the jewel of the sea, and reckon it could be useful to you in keeping at bay the ones looking for you at sea. Not even the pirates are stupid enough to go against the ocean herself.”

“That’s great!” Interrupted San. “Does he say where to find it?” He asked, smiling hopefully, but that smile fell quick as the captain simply stared at him, a grave look in his eyes.

“Unfortunately,” Hongjoong kept reading as an answer. “The book I read was written too much time ago, and the actual location went probably lost in time, but if you do find it, I have to warn you: the book talked about a trial, to prove the worthiness of the person looking for the ring.”

Hongjoong and Seonghwa exchanged a look. In most cases, trials meant especially complex traps that ended up killing you brutally.

“Furthermore, this is the reason I told you to wait to read the letter. Had you tried to look for the ring beforehand, you would have probably been all judged unworthy, and I do not want to see a man like Seunghyun gather even more power than he has right now. That said, I believe in you boys, and trust you to bring an end to the madman’s reign.”

And with that, Eden ended his letter, leaving the six of them with an even bigger weight on their shoulders.

Chapter Text

In the days following, while they where waiting for Wooyoung, it seemed that, as of mutual agreement, spending the hours after dinner all gathered around the unconscious boy’s bed had become routine. Some spent time reading a book, some chatted the hours away with soft voices and even softer words, some just sat there, taking comfort in the quiet of the night, the waves gently rocking the ship from side to side, the sensation familiar to all on board.

Hongjoong found himself, more often than not, part of this last category, preferring loosing himself to his own thoughts, letting each and every smallest noise wash over him, reminding that everyone he loved was around him, safe and well, or on their way to being.

In that moment, everyone was present except San, who had taken on Wooyoung’s turn in the crow’s nest. Outside, the sun was starting its descent, the yellow orb close to dipping fully into the sea, where the water was beginning to reflect its reddish hues.

Hongjoong watched as Yeosang changed said boy’s bandages and, when he was finished, as he injected the thin needle of a syringe in his arm. The second he was done, he set everything he had in hand down on the nightstand and sat in his chair with a deep sigh.

Jongho, who was sitting to the bed’s feet, leaning on its side, raised his gaze and smiled at the older. “It’s going to be ok.” He said “He’s going to wake up in no more than a couple of days, you said so yourself, didn’t you?”

“I- Yeah, but I just can’t help being scared. Every time, he manages to get himself hurt, and what if one day the mess he gets himself into his too big for me to get him out of, I don’t know what I’d do.” Hongjoong knew that, although he could relate to the feeling, what the two had ran much deeper than that.

Hongjoong remembered their first meeting, remembers standing in front of them, himself barely an adult, as the two boys, barely into their teenage years, held hands, holding their free hands in tiny fists, ready to defend each other. Their faces had been covered in dirt, and their clothes reduced to no more than raggedy tears of what they had once been, but a particular fire shone in their eye, reminding of something Hongjoong had already seen, and would see again in his future.

And yet there he was, after having spent the better half of a decade taking care of said kids, still not knowing where they had come from. Hongjoong had never pressured the two to share, because ha knew that would have been a bit hypocritical.

Hongjoong, as most of the members of the crew had shared the basics of what had lead them on the path they had chosen, but had decided to keep some crucial and too sensitive details a matter of privacy. One might have argued that, until you knew someone to the smallest particular, trust could not truthfully exist, but Hongjoong could not have disagreed more.

To Hongjoong, anyone’s past didn’t matter on his ship, that’s why they joined: to start a new life, leaving behind someone they didn’t want to be anymore. In a world where trusting the wrong person could cost your life, Hongjoong didn’t think someone’s past really mattered, but rather their actions did.

“He’s always been the only constant in my life.” Yeosang said, his voice bringing back Hongjoong to reality. “Honestly he’s been a beacon of light in my life, I think I would be lost without him.”

As most of you know,” The brunet kept his eyes glued to where he was holding Wooyoung’s hand “when we joined Hongjoong, we had been living on the streets for the entirety of our lives.” Hongjoong glanced to the side, where Seonghwa, the only one who was hearing of this for the first time, was sitting on a wooden stool, eyes sad and understanding.

“And although that might not be a total lie, it’s also not the complete truth.” After that, it seemed that a dam had opened, and Yeosang kept talking until he was out of words and had spilled all his feelings out. He told them how all he had known for the first half of his life had been the small orphanage his parents had managed to abandon both him and Wooyoung at right after they had been born, and how the director, the city’s governor’s son, had been given the role as a punishment by his father.

 Then, as everyone suspected, the boy started talking about the man’s less ideal direction of the establishment. Yeosang’s voice was bitter when he talked about the days all of the children the two of them had lived with had passed without a single crumb of food or a drop of clean water, just to be told that that the person that was supposed to care for them had simply forgotten about them, and would not do that again, just to find themselves starving once again a couple of days later.

Hongjoong’s fingers involuntarily curled around the cloth of his pants, gripping it so hard that his fingers turned white. Hongjoong remembered how the two had acted the first moths with him, eating every meal like it was going to be their last or someone was going to come and take it away from them. At first, Hongjoong had blamed that on the years of living on the streets, where nothing was guaranteed and everyone was out to get you; but this? This was even worse.

With a scoff, Yeosang talked about the countless times they had tried talking to the soldiers, asking them for help, and of the way the only thing the men had deigned them of was a dirty glare and a handful of harsh words. Hongjoong was perfectly aware that everyone in the room knew more than enough about and had their own fair share of people in power that disregarded those they had vowed to help in favour of using their power to oppress the ones in need.

Yeosang’s expression was grim as he recounted their last night in the orphanage. The man had come back from a night of drinks in the middle of the night, and completely wasted, had somehow knocked a lit candle on the wooden ground, and had not realized. Thankfully, the two of them had been still awake, because of a nightmare Yeosang had been having for the previous nights, and had been able to exit the building before it burned to the ground completely.

The other kids, though, had not been as lucky as them, and the fire brought them down together with its own accidental creator. Yeosang’s voice trembled as he thought back to all those kids, their lives extinguished far too soon by the mistake of a drunken man. He had been in no way close to any of them except Wooyoung, but to know they had suffered such a cruel end and that he had not been able to save them…

“He’s always been the strongest out of the two of us.” Yeosang said, caressing gently Wooyoung’s hand. “Even though he’s technically younger than me, he always took care of me.” Hongjoong could see Seonghwa was about to speak up from his side, but was interrupted by another voice before he could utter even a word.

“Yeah,” Wooyoung said, eyes still closed and a tiny smile gracing his lips, “You probably would have tripped on your own feet and died on the spot if it hadn’t been for me.”

In an instant, everyone was surrounding the bed and Yeosang, after shouting the other’s name, eyes filling with tears, immediately latched his arms around Wooyoung neck (as best as he could while the other was still lying down and covered in wounds and bandages.)

With a smile, Hongjoong watched the younger slowly get livelier, colour returning to his face. Although he could not stand yet, it looked like he was already feeling well enough to start teasing Yeosang yet again, as if he hadn’t just woken up from a days-long coma.

While the others caught Wooyoung up to date, telling him all about everything that happened while he was unconscious and about what they had learned from Eden’s letter, Seonghwa briefly left the room and returned minutes later holding in his hands a tray with a glass of water, some bread and a bowl of stew from the previous meal.

Wooyoung’s eyes lit up at the only thought of food and, albeit with a lot of struggle and the help of at least three other people, he managed to sit up and scarf down everything in under five minutes.

Hongjoong couldn’t help but hope that everything would finally go back to normal and, even though he knew what an irrational and foolish dream that was, he couldn’t help but feel comforted in that thought.

~*~

That night, as he was making his way back to his room, which was situated at the end of the corridor in which the private cabins where positioned, he found Seonghwa standing in front of his door, arms crossed and face dark.

The moment the blond heard Hongjoong’s steps fast approaching, his eyes, that where previously glued to the wooden floor, snapped up, meeting the captain’s.

“There’s something you need to know.” Started Seonghwa, avoiding useless turns of words. “All of you.” Hongjoong wanted to know where this was going, but let the other talk at his own pace.

“Is there some way that we can find a pace where we can talk, all eight of us, without being an open target?”

Hongjoong didn’t ask further questions. Seonghwa had already earned his trust, and if Hongjoong could provide something the older needed, he was going to do it gladly.

“I know a place that only people that live on this ship are aware of, but itll take a couple of days to get there.”

Seonghwa nodded, and with a grateful ‘Thank you’, he went back to his room.

In their rooms, both of them went to sleep with a mind full of thoughts and a heavy heart.

Chapter Text

Hongjoong tells them where they’re headed the next morning.

Out of the seven other inhabitants of the ship, only four have been around long enough to know what or where Death’s Jaws Bay is, but the remaining three sure don’t seem comforted by its name, and honestly, Hongjoong gave it that name for a reason.

No one knows what is going on exactly, and not even Hongjoong is totally sure of what is going to happen once they reach their destination, but one of them needs help, so they trudge on.

In the following day and a half it takes them to reach Death’s Jaws Bay, Seonghwa becomes eerily quiet, choosing to listen passively to the talks made at the dinner table and taking on his turns in the crow’s nest more eagerly than usual.

Time passes slow, each second ticking by at a snail’s pace, but the eight of them find a way to occupy the time, filling every instant with loud voices or equally meaningful silences. Hongjoong revels in the fact that between them there is a bond so strong that one simple look equals a thousand words.

And so they sail, and Hongjoong knows better than to worry, because although Seonghwa is quieter than ever, he hasn’t shut them out. He still smiles whenever someone says something silly, and he still ruffles their youngest’ hair when they cross paths on deck. Seonghwa is still there with them, and that’s all that matters, even though he is a bit more sombre.

It’s early morning when they reach the bay, the sun peeking its first rays over the horizon, gifting the ocean with its reds and orange hues.

Death’s Jaws Bay is, as a matter of fact, a death trap.  Its shores are white and pristine, water crystalline with that particular shine only places that have never touched by mankind hold. Under the soft waves hides what truly makes accessing the small piece of natural heaven such an impossible task: sharp underwater rocks make up the seabed in front of the bay, the sun’s rays hitting the surface of the sea in a way that makes it impossible to actually see what is hidden underneath.  

Accessing its shores is in all and any ways, not humanly possible. That is, unless if you happen to have under hand an almost sentient ship whose movements can be controlled to the millimetres. Then, you have a chance of surviving that might fluctuate around forty to forty-five percent of surviving. So really Hongjoong doesn’t feel daring enough to defy literally every shred of critical sense left and visit the place more than he strictly is in need.

That is why, out of the eight of them, only five have been on board long enough to have the unpleasant experience of potential death by ship impalement.

Hongjoong remembers stumbling upon the place years before, when he was not the renown pirate he is now, but a teenager taking care of the twelve year old that had been plopped in his responsibilities by a bunch of wildly unqualified people, but then again, he was nineteen, and definitely was not prepared to practically parent a kid seven years younger than him, but that’s not the point.

As we were saying, the two of them, while trying to outrun a navy ship without success, had been passing in front of the bay, to which Hongjoong had not paid a second look. But Jongho, at the ripe age of almost thirteen, had been somehow able to spot the particular condition of the bay and, in an act of strategic intelligence surprising for, and Hongjoong cannot stress this enough, a twelve year old, had told him to sail the ship into the bay, being careful to mind the very sharp and very deadly rocks hidden in the water.

The two of them had been able to release their breaths only when the navy ship had completely sunk, not leaving anyone to hunt them anymore. After that, the ship did need severe reparations to be made, but Hongjoong would like to think that, for a first try, it had been a pretty good one.

After that, only a handful of occasions had occurred that needed them to hide at Death’s Jaws Bay (Hongjoong has to admit that for a couple of rocks and some sand, the name is a bit more theatrical than needed, but when he had named it, he had been under the influence of quite a lot of alcohol and of an equally, if not more, drunk Wooyoung, and after that the name had stuck).

Since the last time they had been there, more than three years had passed, and so the three latest entries of their crew had yet to enjoy the experience.

The moment the Illusion was positioned directly in front of the bay’s entrance, Hongjoong left his spot at the steering wheel, and settled in front of the mast tree, legs crossed and palms flat on the smooth wooden surface, eyes closed to muster all the concentration he could get.

Most of the others on board had long stopped finding this interesting, having witnessed him doing this in numerous occasions, but Hongjoong could still feel a pair of eyes boring holes in the back of his neck, so he opened his and turned his head. A couple of meters to his side stood Seonghwa, who was leaning on the ship’s railing and twisting his hands together, blonde hair falling softly on his forehead.

The second his eyes met Hongjoong’s, Seonghwa napped his gaze away, a pink blush creeping up his neck and ears. With a small smile, Hongjoong turned back to the mast tree and closed his eyes once again.

Although Hongjoong was aware of the ship at all times, always knowing if it needed any kind of fixing and was able to control it with a simple thought, this type of process was a bit more complicated. There was no way any of them would be able to see each rock in time for him to steer the ship away from all of them, but like this, Hongjoong became an integrant part of the Illusion.

He didn’t know how to explain it, but if he focused on the link he had with the vessel, Hongjoong could reach a level of control over it that permitted his to feel the rocks a second before they made impact, giving him enough time to actually avoid contact.

All the while he did this, though, Hongjoong lost all control and perception of his own body, so he knew that if ever an enemy would find him in this condition, he’d be as good as dead. But this was not the case; he was at home, surrounded by his family, so he headed right in with no fear or hesitation.

The exact second the ship was on the other side of the line of rocks, Hongjoong let go of the connection, immediately falling backwards, chest heaving from the mental and physical strain an action such as controlling a whole vessel naturally brought. A second later, he could feel his head being lifted gently and a soft object positioned under it, making the whole position more comfortable.

Slowly, all his other senses started fading back in, the slightly preoccupied voices around him getting clearer with every second that passed.

After a couple of minutes later, when he had caught his breath again, he opened his eyes to all of the others kneeling over him, except for Yunho, who Hongjoong could see with the corner of his eye standing at the steering wheel, sailing the ship the rest of the way into the bay. Seonghwa, Hongjoong noted, was not wearing his coat anymore.

The second he noticed Hongjoong had opened his eyes, Wooyoung started yelling at him, in perfect Wooyoung fashion.

“You do this every time! I don’t even know why we still worry! I keep thinking this is the time he actually leaves us all!”

With a slap to the back of his neck, Yeosang shut the younger up in an instant, reprimanding him for his volume and general excessiveness.

“And every time I tell you that he is not going to die, but yelling in his face surely is not going to help, idiot.” Yeosang’s voice is stern, but Hongjoong can see the fondness hiding in his eyes. 

When he’s sure he can stand without falling to the ground again, he gets up from the floor and picks up the coat he used as a pillow. Mingi hovers around him, hands raised from his sides as if ready to catch Hongjoong in the eventuality that he could fall. With a snort, Hongjoong swats the younger’s hands away from him, and hands Seonghwa his coat, smiling thankfully, not needing any words.

Barely an hour later, as all eight of them seat at the dinner table for the first time, Jongho is the first one to ask the question everyone wants to ask.

“Hyung, what is it you wanted to tell us?” Jongho asks, not even trying to hide the curiosity in the look he points to their oldest, and Hongjoong kind of wants to curse Jongho’s bluntness.

“Ah.” Seonghwa freezes on the spot, fork halfway to his mouth. With a clink, he puts it down and smiles an awkward smile “I’ll tell you later, for now enjoy the meal.”

In a surprising show of maturity, none of the boys press further, and go back to their food and meaningless chit-chat.

~*~

After eating, they find themselves sitting in a circle on deck, a lantern positioned in the middle of their group, providing them with the light the moon, that is currently shielded by the clouds, can’t provide them of.

Looking at the dark sky, Hongjoong is reminded of one small particularthat he has not thought about since Seonghwa’s first day on the ship. Looking at the blonde, Hongjoong sees a tinge of fear on his face, and can’t help but once again wonder what could bring such a strong emotion in the older that in all the months he’s known him, Hongjoong has never seen Seonghwa outside after sundown.

“I’m not like all of you.” Starts Seoghwa, breath shaky, and Hongjoong is a bit confused, but he doesn’t say a thing, and lets the other proceed.

“And I don’t mean that I have lived a different life than you, or whatever. I…” Seonghwa’s voice falters for a second. “I’m not human, not completely.”

The moment Seonghwa utters those words, the clouds move to reveal the moon, its rays bathing all of them in white light.

And Seonghwa, well, Seonghwa shines.

Chapter Text

Seonghwa, under every aspect, shone under the soft moon light. With that, Hongjoong did not mean that he was beautiful (he was, but Hongjoong was not quite ready to admit it to himself, let alone say that out loud), no, but that his skin had assumed a subtle… sparkle. Although that was not the best term, Hongjoong didn’t know how to express what he was seeing with words.

More than a shine, it was like Seonghwa’s skin absorbed the moonlight and then reemitted it under the form of a gentle rose-gold glow, the light far too soft to reach no more than a couple centimetres away from his skin giving the older an ethereal look. Seonghwa’s blonde hair looked like a halo around his head, framing his face like a golden aura.

Hongjoong widened his eyes, uncredulous of what he had heard and seen. Around him, a round of shocked gasps rose from the circle, and under the disbelieving gazes of seven others, Seonghwa lowered his head, pulling the sleeves of his jacket over his hands.

The first to break the silence was Jongho, who was somehow managed to collect himself enough to ask the question that was floating in the air, unanswered.

“What do you mean you’re not human?” He asked, voice still filled with surprise. “I mean, I can see that you are not, I don’t think any of us can do… that, but if you aren’t human, what are you?” Hongjoong knew in the back of his mind that a question like that could be insensitive, but in that moment he really couldn’t find it in himself to reprimand the youngest or do anything about it, the need to know too strong for him to care about anything else.

“I am, technically, half human. Unfortunately, the man you saw when we met for the first time was- is my biological father and even if I wish I could say he’s some demonic hellspawn, he’s one hundred percent human.” Somehow, with that, Seonghwa had been able to lift a bit the mood of the room. It was still less than ideal, but Hongjoong didn’t feel like he couldn’t breathe anymore.

“My… my mother, she was a siren, like the one from the stories.” Seonghwa stuttered a little, but Hongjoong was too deep in thought to notice. Sirens… Hongjoong had heard plenty of stories told by mariners of all ages and provenience, horror tales of marine monsters that could make themselves look like beautiful women to lure the unfortunate into the sea and drown them in the depths of the waters, tales of enchanting songs, able to enslave even the strongest of men with just one note, but he had never believed them, thinking they were just stories to prevent kids and teens to try and escape at sea.

But now… everything was true? And Seonghwa was one of the monster of those stories? Hongjoong struggled to believe that. Kind, gentle Seonghwa, who was too mindful of people’s feelings to point out their mistakes, a heartless monster that killed for fun? Excuse him if he found it hard to grasp that concept.

“A siren? Like the one from the stories?” Wooyoung asked, voice hesitant.

Seonghwa nodded, eyes still glued to the wooden floor. “I wish I could tell you that all those horrendous stories are made up, but I’m afraid I cannot do that. All my knowledge about my mother’s species comes uniquely from books and retelling, for I have never met another one.”

Ah, Hongjoong thought, not liking where the story was heading. With the way he was talking about his mother, eyes downcast, his expression sad, Hongjoong doubted Seonghwa’s mother had simply left. Yeah, Hongjoong did not like this one bit.

Before anyone could pose more questions, Seonghwa continued. “Everything I know was told me by the nanny that raised me. She was the servant of my father’s wife, and the only woman on board beside my stepmother.

Ara, my nanny, told me that she was charged with taking care of my mother when she was found. My father was convinced that sirens where real and had made it the goal of his life to capture one. He thought- he thought that he could make a ton of money from selling one of them.” Seonghwa’s face contorted into a frown of disgust, his hands clenched so tight Hongjoong could see the blood draining from them.

In that instant of silence, the captain shook himself out of his shock and put his hand on Seonghwa’s fist that was resting on his knee. At the contact, Seonghwa’s head snapped to the side, his eyes boring into the captain’s, and Hongjoong could not do anything more than offer a small, comforting smile, the tense expression on Seonghwa’s face softening for an instant.

“I don’t even now how they did it, but they where somehow able to capture her. She didn’t know how to speak our language, but Ara was able to get her to tell her her name: Sooyun. She was beautiful, a creature from another realm, and my father was a beast, a vile bastard who did as he pleased” Seonghwa spit those last words with venom, “so I think you can guess what happened.” Hongjoong could feel the blood boil in his veins. Hongjoong was aware of the reality of the world, that things like this happened daily, and yet couldn’t help but feel revolted every time.

For a second, Hongjoong moved his gaze from Seonghwa’s expression of pain and hatred, directing at the younger ones. Hongjoong knew the others felt the same as him, and he knew they wanted to say something, but with a firm look and a short shake of his head, he stopped them from saying anything. Hongjoong didn’t know if Seonghwa would be able to continue talking once he was interrupted, but he didn’t want to risk it, so he limited himself to squeeze the blonde’s hand gently (Hongjoong didn’t realize that Seonghwa had moved his hand and they had held hands the whole night until he found himself in his room).

“My mother was somehow able to hide the fact that she was pregnant until I was born. Ara said she must have used magic, because not even her, who took care of her every day noticed. But when I was born and she could not hide me anymore and my father came to know, he was furious. Ara said he had never seen him so mad, so out of his mind he lost all sense of logic, going crazy with rage. Before he- before he killed her-“ Seonghwa stumbled over his words, choking a bit over those last ones. Hongjoong was pretty sure he spoke for everyone else on board when he said that, in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to see that bastard lying in a puddle of his own blood.

Seonghwa inhaled a shaky breath and kept going. “She knew she was going to die, but before he killed her, she sang her last song. In all the tales, a siren’s strongest weapon is their voice: a siren’s song, if executed completely, can make a human do the siren’s bidding until the human’s death.”  In an instant, the rage vanished from Seonghwa’s face, replaced by sadness mist guilt.

“She could have saved herself and escaped to safety, but she decided to protect me, the product of everything she had passed at the hands of that man.”

Tears pooled in Seonghwa’s eyes, a thin veil of control stopping them from falling uncontrolled. On the blonde’s left side, Yunho scooted over silently, bringing an arm to rest on Seonghwa’s middle and placing himself so that his head was resting on the older’s shoulder.

“It’s ok.” Yunho said. “She loved you.” With that, that last shred of control Seonghwa was gripping onto crumbled, the dam letting all the tears flow without restraint.

For several minutes, Seonghwa cried, and the seven of them let him.

Then when he was finally able to regain a hold on his erratic breathing, steading it, he smiled weakly at them, thanking them for the patience.

“The memory of her singing… it’s the only tangible proof of her I have, and the only one he could not have taken from me.”

Seonghwa dried his tears with the hem of his sleeve, then looked to his side, where Yunho was still leaning on him, and ruffled the taller’s hair, a sad smile blooming on both of their faces.

“Ara told me that when my father tried to kill me the same way he did with my mother, he could not move a muscle.” When Seonghwa started talking again, the bitterness and anger where back in his voice.

“The following years were hell. Every occasion was good for him to try and put an end to my pitiful existence, but he never could. He tried dumping me off board, starving me to death, or making someone else kill me for him, but my mother had spent moths and months thinking up every small particular on how to protect me, and her spell wasn’t going to be found lacking even in the smallest particular. My stepmother, Minseul, also found it delightful to make my life dreadful. She put all the fault of her husband’s unfaithfulness on me, as if I had been the one to betray her.”

For a second, Seonghwa’s grip on Hongjoong’s hand tightened, but the second he noticed, Seonghwa let go.

“She never laid a hand on me, no, she liked better reminding me how worthless and unwanted I was every day. Let’s say I wasn’t really destroyed when she finally died giving birth to Hyejin.”  

“My father had wasted his first occasion in a fit of rage, but he wasn’t going to ruin his second chance, so you can imagine his joy when he got his hands on a book that said that sirens bled gold. He made sure that the book was wrong before he gave up.”

Seonghwa brought his left hand to the inside of his right forearm as if it was an afterthought, he didn’t look aware of his action, but the simple movement made a new surge of rage curse through Hongjoong. A round of enraged gasps and whats immediately filled the silence, but after a sharp ‘Shut up!’ from their youngest, everyone quieted down.

“In the end, he found that, even if my songs where nowhere as powerful as a true siren’s, they were strong enough to freeze a pirate crew long enough for him and his men to take all their riches.  My father, who went on and on on how he loathed pirates, didn’t realize that he was one of the worst species. We ventured on purpose in pirate-infested waters, and when the pirates had boarded our ship, he made me sing so that they could kill them without facing any risk.”

In an instant, Hongjoong’s mind went to their first meeting, how Seonghwa’s father had looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for something. As if reading his mind, Seonghwa said “Do you remember when we first met, that should have been another one of my father’s schemes, but we never planned to run into pirates like you, always opting to go for smaller, weaker crews.”

“I am so glad we raided you ship.” San said, smiling encouraging, hoping to lift a bit the mood.

“Me too.” Seonghwa replied, returning the smile.

After a couple of seconds of silence, when it was clear that Seonghwa didn’t have anything to say, Wooyoung piped up and asked “If you’re a siren, why don’t you have a tail?”

Chapter Text

“If you’re a siren, why don’t you have a tail?”

Songhwa blinked. After a beat of incredulous silence Yeosang, who was sitting right next to his best friend, slapped the younger on the back of his neck and yelled at him to shut up.

From his other side, Mingi piped up, voice not nearly as serious as Yeosang “Yeah Wooyoung, you can’t just go around asking people why they don’t have a tail.”

Seonghwa could see that most of them were holding back a laugh, unsure if it was ok for them to joke about something like that, so when he smiled at them, signaling that it was ok, the deck was flooded with the sound of laughter and giggles. Seonghwa was actually glad that Wooyoung had been able to lift the mood with a single sentence, as Seonghwa had never been one to thrive in tense situations.

After a couple of seconds, when the laughter had finally died down, the attention back on Seonghwa, and the blonde could practically feel curiosity radiating off of everyone around him, and it wasn’t like they tried masking it, so waved his free hand (the other was still holding Hongjoong’s) at them and told them to go wild with their questions.

The kids (Seonghwa knew there were not that many years of difference between him and the younger ones, but they had permanently taken the spot of annoying yet endearing younger brothers, so Seonghwa had decided that kids was an appropriate term) took that statement quite literally, as they started trowing each and ever question that passed through their minds at him with no seeming shred of order.

But with a loud ‘Shut up!’ from the captain, the six of them quieted down impressively fast, and even had the decency to look sheepish.

“Now,” Hongjoong continued, glaring at them without any actual malice, “ask your question one at a time like you are sensible people and not the yelling bunch of seadogs you actually are.” From his side, Seonghwa could hear the man grumbling about undisciplined children and a ‘failed education’.

He sure has a short temper, Seonghwa thought, remembering countless other occasions where the captain had gone red in the face and started yelling at whoever walked closer to him. At this point, Seonghwa was able to distinguish between one of Hongjoong’s rage fits and when he was actually angry (the last one had happened only a couple of times, and only when one of them endangered themselves recklessly, and as for the first one, most of the younger ones, especially San and Wooyoung found it entertaining to rile him up even more).

In no more than a couple of seconds where the six youngest exchanged gazes that somehow held enough meaning to entertain a silent conversation, questions started coming in a seemingly orderly fashion, one at a time.

The first to pose a question was their very youngest. “What are your powers?” Jongho asked, effectively cutting down by half the questions that Seonghwa was sure most of the others had in store for him.

“Well,” Seonghwa started, pensive, “I never stopped to try and find to what extent my powers go, but as I am aware of, other than my songs and the fact that I can breathe underwater, I am as human as all of you.” At that addition, a collective gasp of awe rose from the circle and Seonghwa could see Mingi’s eyes gleam with wonder.

“Don’t forget your ability to glow like a firefly at night.” Added Hongjoong from his side, a small grin on his lips.

“Ah, ” Seonghwa was not sure how him blushing would translate with all the, as Hongjoong had put it, glowing like a firefly at night business, so he shoved it to the back of his mind. “But I wouldn’t call it a power, more of an unpleasant side effect.”

“And still, compared to what a full-fledged siren can do, my powers are extremely reduced,” he continued, playing with the fabric of his pants in awkwardness. “At least, that’s what I gathered from books and tales, as I never met another.” Still, the look of fascination didn’t seem to fall off their faces.

After a beat of silence, when it was clear that Seonghwa was done, another question arrived, this time from Mingi.

“So what do you think are the extents of a pureblood siren?” The tall brunette inquired, leaning forward a bit, “And how where you able to decide what was true and what wasn’t, because I’m pretty sure most books about sirens are either made up tales or completely misguiding facts.”  Seonghwa nodded, remembering all the books he had read that had contained the most wildly incorrect facts.

“Most of the books I found were completely useless, but my father had been able to get his hands on the journal of another sailor who had been able to capture a siren and instead of killing them on the spot had befriended them enough to get them to reveal the secrets of their species. I almost died when he discovered I’d read the book, but it was worth it.”

Seonghwa remembers being fifteen and way too desperate to understand, just after Ara had told him the truth about his mother. He remembers sneaking in his father’s cabin, and reading the journal. After that, only pain. And loud, loud yells, and the sound of fists hitting his fragile adolescent body. Ara had taken care of Seonghwa the following weeks, and somehow his father had not bothered him until he could stan on his own. Then, he had never seen Ara again. Seonghwa knew better than to ask, so he never knew, but after all, it wasn’t really hard guessing where she ended.

“The sailor, Min Yoongi I think his name was, did not keep the siren in captivity, instead offering him to come and go as he pleased. He didn’t know why the siren actually came back after he let him go, but in the end the two of them built a friendship that lasted for decades.” Then, scoffing, he added “I guess his greed overpowered any other part of him that may have tried to follow in the path of the only other one that had succeeded in his feat.”

Seeing the spirit of the ones around his start to fall down again, Seonghwa veered the topic on something more lighthearted. “ As for supernatural abilities Yoongi wrote that his friend, Jimin, could obviously breathe underwater and even, to some extent, control the sea’s course. On their own, a siren doesn’t have nearly enough power to do much more than violently rock a boat, but if in groups, their power could amount to just enough to sink all the ships that veer too close to their homes.” Seonghwa smiled at the amazed gasps that rose through the night and had to contain a giggle at Yunho’s whispered ‘That’s so fucking cool…’, but other than that, no one else interjected, preferring to leave the talking to Seonghwa.

“But a siren’s strongest weapon is their voice. While my songs are barely strong enough to stop those that hear in their action, they work more like hypnosis. The song of a full-fledged siren is the closest to actual magic you can get. They can mold that magic as they please, and it can make people do everything the siren wishes, from influencing their feelings and minds, to making them wage wars against each other.”

“But if they are so powerful, why are sirens not completely reigning over humans?” Asked Mingi, and Seonghwa nodded again, the question a legitimate one.

“Yoongi asked this too, but apparently sirens were neve keen on interacting with humans, nor too interested in power over them. Even then, sirens were never a numerous race, with no more than a couple thousands of them all over the planet.” At that, seven pairs of eyebrows rose, stunned by the infinitesimal number offered

“And after all of that, Jimin revealed his race’s biggest secret. While singing, a siren is essentially defenseless, to the point where sirens never sing for a human unless forced, preferring to use other less magic but just as deadly means.”

“Huh.” Hongjoong murmured to himself, as if thinking out loud, “He must have really trusted his friend if he was willing to share something so dangerous to both him and his whole species.”

Seonghwa had thought about the two unlikely friends for years after that, sadly wishing he’d been a product of a relationship alike that of the sailor and his sea-dweller friend, and not that of a power hungry monster and his beautiful victim. But years had long passed since the last time he had let himself dwell in such wishful thinking, so he shook himself out of that daze and went back to the conversation.

“And to answer Wooyoung’s question, I do not have a tail simply because I’m a siren, not a mermaid.” Seonghwa could not hold back a playful smile at seeing the expression of complete confusion that donned the younger’s features after that.

“Uh… There’s- there’s a difference?” Wooyoung said, uncertainty lacing his words, as his eyes traveled everywhere to avoid Seonghwa.

“Of course!” He scoffed. “Mermaids are much more underdeveloped than sirens, still living as nomads, killing and eating humans like savages!” At that, the others grimaced, and honestly, Seonghwa didn’t blame them. “Apart from the blatant differences in biology, their magic is essentially different. The results might be the same, but theirs is basically illusions with extra steps.”

Seeing the confusion laced on most of the others’ expression, Seonghwa clarified. “Basically, a siren’s song influences a person’s mind, but can also work as a sort of a curse, putting the person that hears the song under the conditions of the siren. A mermaid’s is more rudimental, and basically formulated with the only finality to kill. Whoever hears a mermaid singing starts seeing the thing they desire the most, to the point where they’d do anything to get it, most times ending up jumping offboard and into the arms of the mermaids.”

“This all seems… way too gruesome for my tastes.” Yunho said, who was looking a bit too green for it to be normal. Seonghwa tended to agree with the sentiment.

“It definitely is, but it’s not like they’d ever admit it. I had the displeasure of meeting one of them some years ago, and let me tell you she was quite unpleasant for someone who was deemed a royal by her people. Not only she insisted with thinking that it was perfectly normal to feed on other sentient beings such as humans, but she was so arrogant and egocentric, she could not stop talking about herself!” Seonghwa finished the spiel and noticed at least a couple of the other pirates where struggling to hold their laughter, and felt heat crawl up his neck. He realized now how fired up he had gotten over the last couple seconds.

As Yeosang said “You seem to be getting this a little too much on the personal.”, Wooyoung completely lost it, exploding in a fit of giggles that resonated over the ship, and a second later, all of them where laughing with him.

Chapter Text

That same night, Hongjoong laid on his bed, unable to fall asleep, the events from the evening swirling around in his head like buzzing flies. Hongjoong still struggled to comprehend whet he had seen just hours before.

Hongjoong had never been a firm believer in the supernatural, and after not only being confronted with it’s existence but also being told that one of the people closest to him was not human, Hongjoong is really not sure how he was able to keep a calm façade. Maybe everything hadn’t settled in properly yet, but as the seconds passed by, the captain felt his own thoughts spiral down a vortex of frantic confusion.

But most of all, Hongjoong was glad that Seonghwa felt comfortable enough, safe enough in their midst to admit to a secret so big, and even through the mess that was his head in that moment, could see how hard doing something like this could be.

Sirens… although he could not fathom something like this, Hongjoong had to admit that it made sense. The second the confession had left Seonghwa’s lips, Hongjoong could not help but find it believable. He didn’t know what it was precisely, but the captain felt that something was different in the man.

Whether it was the platinum of his hair, or how his eyes seemed the colour of the ocean when the sun hit them at the right angle, or simply the way each of his movement was a bit too fluid and smooth to be human, he could not tell, but the second Seonghwa had told them, Hongjoong had felt like the pieces of a puzzle he could not solve had slid together magically.

The kids had taken everything in stride, as usual, not giving Seonghwa a moment to breathe before unloading every single question that passed through the back of their minds on him, no matter if they made sense or not (Yes, Wooyoung, Hongjoong thought, I’m absolutely talking about you.).

Hongjoong obviously had questions too, but he knew Seonghwa had enough with six overexcited puppies keeping him occupied, so he figured he’d ask when the younger ones had exhausted all ideas. 

Seeing as by the time they had decided to go back to their rooms the moon was starting her descent in the sky, they had decided to stay in death’s jaws bay another day, and leave the following evening. Right when Hongjoong had been about to enter his room, Seonghwa had stopped him with a quiet ‘Wait a second.” Hongjoong had turned around to see the taller standing in the hallway, shuffling on his feet and fidgeting with the ring he wore on his index finger, eyes dodging the captain’s.

Patiently, Hongjoong had waited for him to speak, the silence deafening.

“Please don’t force me to sing.” Seonghwa had blurted after few instances, eyes finally locking with Hongjoong’s, and the captain could see a hint of desperation in them.

“What?” He had asked, confused.

“I… after all the people I had to k-kill under the orders of my father… I-I don’t want to use my voice to hurt anyone again.” Seonghwa’s voice was weak, and his words stuttered, but Hongjoong had heard him loud and clear. “So please, don’t make me do something like that again, please.”

“We won’t. I promise you, your voice is only yours.” After his words, Hongjoong could see a weight lifting from the blonde’s shoulders, and in his eyes had filled with relief.

For a brief second, Seonghwa’s hand had rested on Hongjoong’s shoulder, the weight in an instant, and with a quiet ‘Good night, captain.’ The siren had tuned and made his way down the corridor, disappearing behind a corner. Now, hours later, Hongjoong could feel that same spot tingling gently. He sighed and rolled in hid bed turning to the window, behind which the sun was starting to peek it’s rays over the horizon, machining the sea shine like a myriad of precious gems.

In a last vain attempt to get a couple hours of sleep in before he had to get up and deal with life, Hongjoong closed his eyes and pretended he’d be able to fall asleep.

~*~

That same morning, some hours and no shred of rest whatsoever, Hongjoong found himself sitting at the lunch table assisting to probably one of the most quiet meals that had taken place on board of the Illusion, it’s crew far too tired and still half asleep for the usual ruckus. Most of the pirates looked like they’d been pushed down their beds a second before, and Hongjoong was sure the truth was not that far from that, and had he been able to catch some rest, he’d find it extremely amusing (if there’s something the captain found adorable, it was surely a just-woken Yunho, bed-head, bleary eyes, rosy cheeks and everything else included).

After they’d been done eating, Hongjoong tapped his empty cup on the table, attracting the attention of the others.

“Now that we’re done with everything else,” He addressed the pirates, “we have a magic ring or whatever to find, and we have no idea on where to start, no thanks to Eden. Any idea is welcome.” Hongjoong said, prompting anyone to speak up.

In the end, they decided on a couple of stops where they had connections, hoping to find anything on the location of the jewel.

As the sun started falling back, they lifted the anchor and Hongjoong manoeuvred them out of the bay, almost fainting from the mental and physical effort of performing such straining activity twice in a short period of time. As he sat against the main mast tree, Hongjoong watched the sea tint with all the shades of red and orange, the sun bathing all of them in int’s dying light.

 First destination, they had decided, was Jeju island.

~*~

On week three of search, after three stops and five different informants, the eight of them had absolutely nothing. Hongjoong was not one to despair easily, but no one had even heard of something such as the ring described by Eden. Although almost all of the people they asked where aware of the legend of the rings, they had all discarded it as a mere fairy tale. Even when they had thought they’d finally be a step closer to finally finding the location of the object, a pirate ship that had decided to side with the navy had attacked the city’s harbour and they had been forced to flee, parting from their informant before they had acquired any useful information.

And, to add salt to the wound, that had not been the last encounter with unfriendly pirates, and at the third confrontation, both the morals and the physical strength of the crew started to wear down.

 Hongjoong could simply be grateful that the only ones to give in to their greed for power and money where low lever pirates, not strong enough to truly hurt them. This fact settled in even more as they were passed by the Black Swan and its captain simply stared down at them from the height of his vessel, almost twice as big as the Illusion, its black hull towering over them, and nodded at Hongjoong when their eyes met.

On the fifth day of their third week of research, during what they hoped would be one of their quiet afternoons, the peaceful silence was interrupted by Jongho’s powerful voice, announcing an enemy approaching. In an instant the quiet was gone, replaced with a flurry of people moving to get ready for battle.

Hongjoong didn’t move from his position on deck, simply unsheathing his sword. With the side of his eye, he saw Jongho leaving his position in the crow’s nest, quickly replaced by Seonghwa. As he noted the speed at which the older had scaled the mast, and remembering how many times the man had ended getting himself hurt on the ropes, Hongjoong made a mental annotation to get Seonghwa a pair of resistant gloves.

Like the previous three battles, their foes where not nearly as strong enough to even hurt them, just enough to inconvenience them (and piss Hongjoong off a whole lot).  In less than half an hour, all the enemy pirates had been neutralized, and the eight of them where laying on the deck, trying to catch their breaths.

Soon after, when the sinking remains of the  defeated ship were still visible under the pristine waters of the sea, Hongjoong sprang upright, feeling something deeply wrong. He didn’t understand what it was, but it seemed that the others around him had felt it too, albeit on a much smaller scale. He stood up, and then he realized what felt wrong. Hongjoong didn’t know how, but it felt like an enormous presence was holding a hand over the Illusion, controlling it like a wooden toy.

As Mingi went to stand too, the ship jerked violently and changed course, making Hongjoong tumble to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed his control of the Illusion was too weak against whatever was controlling them.

A second later, as confused voices rose around him, everything clicked. “Fuck.” He exclaimed. Yeosang, who was closest to him, turned to him, a question on his lips. “Captain, what’s going on?” He asked, confusion and a hint of fear in his voice. “Where are we going?”

“We’re headed to Colombo.” Hongjoong answered, then turned to their youngest. “We’re going home.”

Chapter Text

“We’re headed to Colombo.” Hongjoong answered, then turned to their youngest. “We’re going home.”

Hongjoong doesn’t give any more explanations after that, and everyone else leaves it at that, retiring to their own duties.

As he sits in the crow’s nest, pondering, Seonghwa thinks back to their visit in Manila. Hongjoong had said that he’d spent long in its sister city, enough to know its every street and nook like his own pockets, but to go as far as calling it home? Seonghwa really doesn’t know much of his captain.

Thinking back to how Hongjoong had been looking at Jongho when talking about home, and how the youngest had been the only other one to be able to navigate Manila’s streets without getting lost, Seonghwa wonders how far back their story goes. Seonghwa doesn’t know if the others are in on everything, or even if they know something more than him, but Seonghwa can’t be sure.

The first day of travel passes without much fanfare, time trickling by without notice, and Seonghwa lets it flow over him. Hongjoong tells them he has no control over the ship anymore, so any kind of detour is impossible, and when asked why he answers with a shake of his head and a cryptic ‘You’ll see when we get there.’

They are set to arrive in Colombo on the morning of their sixth day of travel, so they just have to wait for the week to pass by. The weather is getting colder with every day that passes, and Seonghwa finds himself shivering in the evening breeze when Yunho approaches him and offers him a long coat, the strip of greyish fur that lines its collar soft under his hands, and Seonghwa puts it on quickly, directing a grateful smile in the taller’s direction.

They talk about everything and nothing, and Seonghwa feels warm, but it’s not related to the heat his new coat provides him, but instead to the feeling of belonging that spreads from the root of his hair to the tip of his toes.

He sleeps placidly, and wakes up refreshed. He doesn’t know where he’s headed or what is waiting for him at their destination, but for once, Seonghwa finds that he doesn’t mind not knowing everything, as long as he’s with the people he trusts.

It’s the morning of their second day, and Seonghwa is standing on deck, gaze set on the sea, where the last rays of autumn are still soaking the waters, making them glitter, not as warm as summer but just as bright. There’s not a lot to do on board on days like these, so everyone is relaxing, either taking this as a chance to lounge in bed and do nothing all day or simply chatting the hours away, talking in quiet voices about nothing at all, simply enjoying each other’s presences without having to worry about anything.

Seonghwa doesn’t know when he got there, but when he turns his head to his side, Honjoong is standing there, hands clasped behind his back, eyes pointed ahead, gaze calm. After a second, the captain turns to Seonghwa and mutely hands him what he’d been holding in his hands.

Seonghwa looks down at it, finding it to be a pair of black leather gloves. As if sensing Seonghwa’s puzzlement, Hongjoong laughs a little, and answers the implicit question. “You might need them, seeing as if you keep going into battle like this you might end up not being able to use your hands anymore, counting the ties you hurt yourself in the same exact way.” His voice is a mix of unamusement and chastisement, but Seonghwa can see the edges of Hongjoong’s lips curving upwards, so he knows there’s nothing to worry about.

Seonghwa lets out an embarrassed laugh, and takes a look at the palms of his hands, that are still red, not completely healed over; and even under that, he can see the hundreds of tiny scars that had formed the previous time.

He takes the gloves from Hongjoong’s offering hands, and turns them in his own, weighting them and checking them. They probably were an old pair of the captain, Seonghwa figures, as they have clearly been used, but are still in great condition, and will probably be a bit of a tight fit on Seonghwa, who is quite bigger than the other. But despite that, Seonghwa doesn’t mind at all, instead deciding to pull them on that instant, then rising his head to give the captain a wide smile.

At that, Hongjoong’s amused expression falters for a second, the slip so fast Seonghwa thinks he must have imagined it, but under that Seonghwa sees… something else in Hongjoong’s eyes, something he doesn’t understand, nor can’t identify.

Seonghwa turns his attention back to his gloved fingers, flexing them to get used to the feeling. As he looks away from the other’s face, he misses the tiny frown that itches itself into the captain’s brow for an instant, painting his features with an expression of conflict and confusion.

Before Seonghwa can even thank him, Hongjoong says “This is temporary, we’ll get you a new pair the sooner we can, this is just a precaution, but knowing how propense you are to hurting yourself, you’ll probably nee them.” Then, as silently as he arrived, he turns and leaves.

Bewildered, Seonghwa can’t do anything but stand there and shout a confused ‘Thank you!’, wondering what had prompted that.

Some few seconds, Jongho, who had come on deck just to see the captain turning ad walking away, comes up to him, and with a look of perplexity mirroring that of Seonghwa, he asks “What was that?” “I have no idea, honestly.” He answers.

Seonghwa doesn’t see Hongjoong until they dock in Colombo’s port, save for the seconds it takes him to take a plate of food and bring it back to his cabin.

They’re one day away from their destination, and after so long without anything to do, Seonghwa starts feeling bored, wishing for something, anything to do. Maybe this is the reason of why, when confronted with the possibility of leave the ship, and settle down on the main land, he chose to stay, he chose a life made of uncertainty over a calm, safe life. He has never been used to relaxing, and after wishing for years for a break, now that he has days of it to his hands, he hopes for something to happen. Seonghwa doesn’t find amusing the irony of it all.

As he lays on the forecastle the night before the arrive, Seonghwa stares at the night sky, not bothered by the chill breeze, and fruitlessly trying to count all the stars shining in the dark. (Seonghwa is aware of the faint glow he’s emitting, and from his position he can’t see Yeosang up in the crow’s nest, but he can practically feel his gave on himself every couple of minutes.)

Seonghwa knows that he should go to bed if he wants to be fully awake and rested tomorrow, but after five days of complete rest, Seonghwa has had far enough of it. Seonghwa from a year ago would have laughed if someone told him he would get to the point of having enough of resting, Seonghwa thought, absentmindedly fidgeting with the lapels of his coat.

“You look like one of those glowing squids” Comes from somewhere to his left, and Seonghwa really does not know what to say.

He lifts his head, and stares at the owner of the voice, who seems to have just realized what he had said.

“Wow.” Seonghwa says, dropping back to the wooden plank, head hitting the deck with a soft thud. “I’m so incredibly flattered. No, no truly, I mean, you have such a way with words.” He snickers, San’s struggling attempts to redeem himself only making his laughter louder.

When the laughing settles down, San joins him on the floor, their arms pressed together comfortably, silence covering them like a thick blanket.

“I’m happy you’re here with us.” San says, and Seonghwa feels his heart swell with fondness. He has not spent much time lone with the younger, but he has had passed enough time in his company, weather alone or not, to feel as though he were his younger brother.

“Me too.” Seonghwa moves his hand, so it’s resting on San’s smaller one. There’s no need for many words, but both of them know what the other means, for they feel exactly the same.

They fall asleep like that, which, in hindsight, is not the greatest idea if you don’t particularly want to catch a cold, but they don’t care in that moment, waking up only when Yeosang comes down from the lookout spot and wakes them, telling them to go inside before they get sick.

Seonghwa pulls San from the ground, movements numbed by both cold and sleep, and walks him back to his room, making sure the other in in bed before heading to his own. The instant his head hits the pillow, Seonghwa is out like a light.

~*~

The next morning, they dock in Colombo, and Seonghwa finally sees the captain for more than five damn seconds. He doesn’t look exceptionally excited at the thought of having to deal with whoever had them come here, but Seonghwa has a feeling it won’t be pretty.  

Chapter Text

“I’m here against my own volitions, so I sure as hell am going to take my sweet time with this, fuck those old hags and their freaky obsession with control.” Hongjoong fumes the second he stepped foot off the ship, immediately walking away without checking if the others are following behind. Seonghwa chooses to walk behind him side to side with Jongho, the captain keeping his annoyed mumbling quiet enough for them to not be able to understand his words, but strong enough for them to her his angry rumbling.

Seonghwa doesn’t know where they are going, or who called them here, and neither seem to know anyone else, so he asks Jongho, the only one who knows something, apparently.

“Hyung doesn’t particularly like being told what to do, especially by the people who brought us here, but he doesn’t really have a choice, seeing as they might be our only way to get to the jewel, so he’ll comply.” After a pause, Jongho adds “That doesn’t mean it’ll be a pleasant affair, for us nor them.” Apparently satisfied at that, the boy starts walking faster, falling into pace with the captain’s angry stomping. Seonghwa still has no idea on who ‘They’ might be, and it looks like he’ll have to wait to know.

Seonghwa is glad that they didn’t have to come here in the middle of the summer, the heat of the first weeks of autumn still raising a humid, hot wind that only worsen his state

Hongjoong’s march stops in front of a dingy tavern, the building old but well kept. Inside, a middle aged woman welcomes them in a foreign language, but after a couple seconds of routine pleasantries, she stops her words and does a double take, wide eyes going back and forth from Hongjoong and Jongho’s faces, who stand there with small twin smiles. She freezes for a second, and after shouting a shrill yell of surprise, she turns around and runs into the the back of the tavern, entering a door to the side of the counter.

“Darling! Darling, come here, the kids are back!” She yells, this time in korean, involuntarily alerting the few other patrons, who look around startled for a second before going back to their business. One thing Seonghwa can say about pirates, it that they don’t bother sticking their noses in other people’s affairs.

“Uh.” Yunho says with incredible eloquence. “What happened?”

The captain only laughs, and at that, San stops his foot petulantly and crosses his arms, glaring at the older. “What the hell is going on, and will you please stop being so fucking cryptic, its seriously getting on my nerves.” Before Hongjoong can laugh once again in San’s face, they are thankfully interrupted by the swinging of the back door. From there re-emerges the woman, this time with a tall, lanky man in tow.

They stop in front of them, and the man seems as shocked as his wife had been minutes before. “Hongjoong-ah, Jongho-yah, you’ve grown a lot since the last time we saw you.” She says fondly, and looks the two of them from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes, as if checking their state. In that moment, Seonghwa is harshly remembered that both the captain and the youngest have spent a long time in the city.

“She’s right, ya know.” The man’s voice is raspy, but somehow still soft, as he regards Jongho with a hair ruffle. The boy doesn’t even try to oppose, and for a second, Seonghwa sees him as the kid he still is. “Well, at least for the young lad here. Ya don’t look a centimetre taller than all those years ago, son.” Hongjoong goes red, and the lady smacks her husband on the arm, playfully reprimanding him.

“How many years has it been, dear, five?” She asks, patting them both on the arms, and the scene looks so domestic Seonghwa feels like he’s interrupting something private. “I think it’s closer to seven, Thevindi.” The woman- Thevindi, gasps, and brings a hand to her heart. “Oh my, how time flies, I can’t believe it. Just yesterday you were just  a couple of kids running around the streets and now look at you; you’ve grown in such handsome young men.”

At this point, Seonghwa tunes out Hongjoong embarrassed spluttering and Jongho’s unashamed laughter. The tavern’s owners still seem none the wiser to the other six’s presence, so the pirates stand there awkwardly, shuffling their feets. Seonghwa uses this moment to observe the particular couple, still tuning their words out (not that it is needed, seeing as, after a while, their comprehensible Korean mixes with a rapid spitfire of what Seonghwa guesses is the local language.)

Thevindi is a short, stocky woman, her dark skin shows the first signs of the passage of time, and her hair is starting to grey, but she has the vivacity of a teenager. Her husband, whose name he learns to be Moon Eunsoop, is a tall man, his figure towering over all of them, but his figure is not imposing. His hair is all black, but his face is signed with the deep lines of age.

The four keep their conversation up for a couple more minute, until Thevindi seems to notice the six other pirates awkwardly standing there, shuffling around holding their own hands in embarrassment. “Oh darling, how did I not notice you kids standing there!” Thevindhi says, immediately ushering them towards a table in a secluded area of the room. “You must be tired after a long travel, please sit down and take a rest!”

With a quick gesture, she shooes her husband away before he has the time to utter a word.  “Eunsoop will get you something to eat in a minute, all on the house naturally” When Hongjoong tries to protest, he is silenced with a gaze. “Excuse my rudeness from earlier, but I guess it could not be avoided. Please let me introduce myself.” Her voice is sweet, and she looks at them with immediate fondness, like the love she has for Hongjoong and Jongho is projected on them too. (Seonghwa is frankly at a bit of a loss of words.)

“My name is Thevindi, and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing these two in their fase of rebellion. Although I guess they didn’t really grow out of it…” While Hongjoong hides his flushed face in his hands and mutters “This was such a bad idea.”, Jongho simply laugh.  “But it looks like they have you bunch to keep their heads right o their shoulders, so I feel reassured.” Seonghwa is once again caught off-guard by the sheer friendliness she exudes, but the others don’t hesitate to fall into step with her excited chattering, the lively talk not faltering at the arrive of food and drinks. They talk about everything, from how the eight of them met, to their adventures, to, to Hongjoong’s dismay and Jongho’s mirth, embarrassing childhood stories, which Thevindi and Eunsoop seem to recount wildly differently, so Seonghwa doubts half of what they say is actually true, but it’s fun nonetheless.

Seonghwa doesn’t take part in the conversation too much, save for a couple comments, but he sees the captain throwing spare glances at him, trying to make sure he’s comfortable, and Seonghwa feels warm at the thought.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why are the lot of you here, because I doubt you came here to say hi to these old coots.” Eunsoop asks at one point, grey eyebrow rised higher than Seonghwa thought possible, and Seonghwa hopes to finally get an answer that is not cryptic gibberish.

Obviously, that is too much to ask.

“It’s those hags, with their stupid fixation on wanting to seem all cool and mysterious, when they just end up just being really fucking annoying. I’m sure they’re not even bothered that they have to wait, those condescending, arrogant wenches.” Seonghwa is honestly surprised at the level of fomentation the captain shows at the simple question (Seonghwa chooses to ignore that, once again, his requests for a clear answer are discarded for more… that.)

“Ah, those lassies are going to get themselves in trouble if they keep it up like this. Someone’s going to take it upon themselves to set their fancy robes on fire one of these days, let me tell ya’.” Eunsoop says and the captain replies with a ‘God, I sure hope so, I might end up being the one.’, and Seonghwa wonders if he has to start wondering about pyromaniac tendencies. Jongho, once again, laughs.

~*~

The next morning, Thevindi and Eunsoop see them off, asking Hongjoong and Jongho to maybe not wait another seven years to visit again.

As they walk through the narrow streets, Seonghwa almost feels the curiosity trying to burst from under his skin, making his steps a bit faster. This, though, does not help, because the captain seems determined to walk as slowly as possible, and stopping to talk to as much people as possible, to the point Jongho has to interrupt his conversation with a young woman with short blonde hair.

“Hey!” Protest the captain, trying to uselessly pry Jongho’s steel grasp on his arm. “Siyeon was telling me about her girlfriend’s twelfth cat, that was really interesting!” His excuse doesn’t really hold, Seonghwa thinks. “You don’t care about Bora’s nth cat Hongjoong, and no more stops for you from now on.”

“Are we sure Jongho’s the one six years younger?” Mingi whispers to him, and Seonghwa just shakes his head hesitantly. The red goes back to speculating the nature of ‘Them’ with Yunho, the two tall figures hunched on themselves, and Seonghwa can see the fain blush on Mingi’s cheeks every time their hands accidentally touch.

In front of them, Hongjoong is still valiantly trying to defend Insomnia, the cat in question, and Jongho looks conflicted between throwing the older on his shoulder and then down a pier or simply lying on the ground and let death take him.

Soon, they’re standing in front of a decrepit building, the wooden front almost fatiscent, and Seonghwa is about to ask if they’re in the right place when he notices the door and the banner over it.

The door is painted gold and red, with intricate swirls of colour, making Seonghwa wonder why it is so well kept at the expenses of the rest of the building. The sign, in those same colours, recites a simple a simple phrase:

‘One In A Million.”

Chapter Text

The captain pulls the door open with more strength than needed, and wen it slammed against the old wall, Seonghwa feared for a second that the whole building would come crumbling down.

The seven of them followed their stomping leader into the building, and the second he stepped inside, he was hit by a sensation he could not describe. It was like standing in a furnace, but without heat, only the pressing feeling of unsettlement remaining. Seonghwa didn’t feel outight danger, but he knew that the longer he remained here, the higher the chances were that something happened to him.

Ignoring that, the shop was a quaint little thing, the only furniture being the shelves that ran along every inch of the walls, each one cramped full of the most bizarre objects, varying from jars of herbs and colored rocks to a tank containing what Seonghwa was pretty sure were fish with little hands instead of fins, and a nondescript mahogany counter facing the entrance.

On the counter, next to a vase of flowers (Seonghwa could swear he had seen one of the lilies move on its own), sat a wide tome open in its middle. From where he was standing, Seonghwa could see that its thick, sepia pages were filled with ink letters, but he couldn’t make out what they said, so he moved his eyes back to the flowers in hope to find them still as any reasonable flower, and to be proved wrong, that what he had seen was a play of light. The flower sat still in their vase. Then, the same lily as before trembled a little, and if a flower could laugh, Seonghwa was pretty sure that was the closest it got to it. He was getting laughed at. By a flower. Seonghwa wasn’t sure if he was losing it or had already lost all sanity long ago.

“Give me a second and ill be there!” Called a feminine voice from a door behind the counter, effectively pulling Seonghwa back from his desperate musings. At the sound, he saw the captain stiffen, back straight and head held high, as if waiting for something to drop. Worried, he leaned to ask Jongho “Should we be actually worried? I put it off until now, but I have this feeling that tells me something weird is going to happen, and with the way the captain is acting I don’t feel better at all.”

Jongho sent him a reassuring smile and shook his head. “You don’t have to worry about it, this is just the captain throwing one of his temper tantrums. If we were in actual danger he would have warned us and made sure we were safe. And for the unsettling feeling, that’s just how they are.” Seonghwa didn’t know if he had to feel reassured or even more worried.

As the sound of steps resounded from the back door, Jongho added “Oh, and you’re right, something is definitely going to happen, but you shouldn’t bother about that too much, it’s not like you’re going to be able to do anything about it.” Great, Seonghwa thought, even more worried it is.

Seonghwa turned back to the counter when a figure emerged from the door. The woman had bright red hair, the color a bit too bright to be natural, and was wearing a long dress, the blue gown reaching to the ground. Her black corset was decorated with golden swirls, and the white, puffed sleeves of her shirt reached the middle of her forearms. In her ring laden hands, she held a folded paper, its edges ruined with time and usage.

Seonghwa scrutinized her face. She looked like she could have been anywhere between the ages of fifteen and forty. She looked ancient, and yet didn’t sport a single wrinkle. Her eyes were way too knowing, and Seonghwa felt like they were looking straight into his soul.

“What brings you children here?” She asks, a smirk sitting on her red-tinted lips.

“What brings us here? I’d say a crazy hag with a tendency for scheming, but you might be offended.” Bites back Hongjoong, and Seonghwa is pretty sure the captain is looking for something bat to actually happen. But the woman doesn’t seem offended, her smirk only widening in amusement.

“Oh, come on boy, I’ve wanted to meet your ragtag band of misfits since tall one and two joined!” She points at Mingi and Yunho as she says this, and Seonghwa is sure that at this point Jongho is the only one that doesn’t look profoundly uncomfortable. The teen doesn’t look fazed at all, maintaining a look of ease (Seonghwa can’t help to feel both impressed and a little scared of him).

“You know, last time I checked, your thing was creepy meddling and weird controlling obsessions, not that all knowing bullshit.” Hongjoong shoots ant the woman, who has pulled a row of vials the length of her hand filled with colorful liquids from under the counter.

“I asked dear Mina to keep me updated on what you boys were up to, I don’t want you kids getting in danger now, do i?” She answered, not looking up from the vials, which she was now labeling with a series of different paper tags, and after catching a glimpse of a skull with crossed bones being affixed to a bright pink flask, Seonghwa decides he’s better off not knowing.

Seonghwa shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. It was the second time in a short period of time where six out of the eight of them found themselves standing in the middle of a conversation they were not part of, and it was starting to feel extremely awkward. The only thing Seoghwa found comfort in was the fact that he was not alone.

“Are you going to tell us why we were brought here with no warning or reason whatsoever or do you intend to keep this up?” Hongjoong asked, and Seonghwa hoped that the woman would give them any kind of answer.

“Hongjoong, boy, are you going to introduce me to your friends? You’ve been quite rude to them until now.” The woman asked, choosing to completely ignore Hongjoong’s words and continue in her way to crypticness and evasiveness.

“I won’t waste breath telling you who they are because I’m sure you already know” and if Seonghwa hadn’t been unsettled already, he would really be by then. “so: everyone, this is Jihyo, she’s some kind of witch, I don’t know, but she doesn’t have any kind of common sense so don’t trust her.” At this point, Seonghwa was sure that the banter between the two was in good spirit and all, but he couldn’t help but hear a tinge of bitterness in the captain’s words.

“Oh, come on boy, that’s no way to talk about the one who welcomed you when needed it.” Jihyo shoots back without lifting her head from where she’s now scribbling something on the red vial’s tag with a long black quill.

“You thought it was a good idea to give a teenager control of a half sentient ship and an eleven-year-old.” The captain said, and yep, there was the slight acid in his words. Hongjoong was about to add something else, but was interrupted by the swinging of the main door, accompanied by a gust of wind.

They turned around, and were confronted by a slender figure and, strangely enough, a stag. As the person, a woman with long auburn hair, entered the shop, Seonghwa was able to identify the strange lump perched on her shoulder as a hawk. The part of Seonghwa’s mind that wasn’t occupied having the second weirdness-induced meltdown of the day wondered if the woman’s shoulder hurt at caring such a weight.

As the stag struggled to fit its impressive antlers through the doorframe, Jongho, as calm and collected as ever, cheerily waved at the newcomer. The lady only waved back, the hawk on her shoulder jostling a bit to maintain its balance.

From behind them, came a sigh. “Sana, darling, what did we say about bigger animals?” Jihyo asked, and the fact that this was a common occurrence didn’t surprise Seonghwa anymore. The woman, Sana, who was previously smiling like Christmas, seemed to deflate a bit as she turned and told the stag to leave. Unsurprisingly, the animal stopped its worthless efforts, turned around and left from where it came.

Sana waltzed into the room, but as she passed them, she stopped in front of Yunho. As she scrutinized him, Seonghwa could see the confusion and wariness on the taller’s face. As she seemed to have finished her examination, Sana reached to the hawk’s tail and gently pulled a long feather out. The bird didn’t seem bothered by that at all, content with nibbling at the treat she provided after the collection.

Sana offered the feather to Yunho, and the man took it hesitantly.

“Did you know that a hawk’s tail feather is a talisman for bravery and courage? Especially in love.” She smiled at him, and with that she was on her merry way, disappearing into the door behind the corner, a light skip in her step.

Dumbfounded, Yunho stared at the brown feather. Then he tucked it into the breast pocket of is jacket. Just to be sure.

“Well,” exclaimed Wooyoung, “that was interesting.”

“Tzuyu, sweetheart, could you please hand me that vial rack from the bookshelf, the one next to the shaking leather chest?”Jihyo, who had now finished her work on the vials, piped up, voice sweeter than when he talked to Hongjoong. Seonghwa didn’t understand who she was asking, until the sharp noise of a book slamming closed resounded, startling the seven of them (Jongho once again didn’t seem at all bothered by the dramatic events of that afternoon).

In a crimson, plush armchair next to the main door sat a woman- a girl, in her hands a thick book she was apparently reading. Seonhwa didn’t bother asking himself how he hadn’t noticed her when entering. She scowled at them, bothered at being interrupted, but got up nonetheless, taking a small metal rack from a bookshelf (the chest by its side was, in fact, slightly shaking as if alive) and handing it to Jihyo.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Tzuyu only shrugged, ten went back to her armchair and book.

“And for the reason you’re here,” Jihyo said as she finished stacking the vials into the metal rack, then she pushed them to the side and slid forward the folded paper she had brought in initially.

“This is what you’re looking for.” Se smiled, but Seonghwa didn’t feel reassured.

Chapter Text

“This,” Jihyo says, her voice amused as if privy to a secret they were not, “is the map to the location of the Sea’s Jewel.” Hongjoong lifts his head to stare in the woman’s knowing eyes, meeting them with his own in a mix of suspicion and questioning. On is sides, he can hear six other voices mingling together in surprise (Jongho remains, as it seems to be his default setting by now, stoic and unconcerned).

The red head smiles as if giving him permission, and at that, Honjoong instantly grabs the paper, unfolding it with bathed breath. Around him, the voices lower, and Hongjoong stares at the dark ink on the paper, clearly old and worn but still as black and clear as new.

“This,” Hongjong utters after a beat of silence “is a map to a forest. In Latin.” Hongjoong stares at the foreign words. Each landmark, every single useful piece of information is written in Latin, from the names of the paths to the inscription in golden ink that ran across the bottom edge of the map. Hongjoong doesn’t feel all that elated when he is able to recognize two of those words, one being forest and the other being death (although he could have easily deduced the meaning of that last word thanks to the very helpful drawing of a skull next to the letters).

“It’s not just a forest.” Jihyo says as cryptic as ever, her small smile not budging at all. “But other than that, you are correct.” Hongjoong stares at her, hoping to transmit the disbelief he is feeling, but she remains unperturbed.  The pirate is about to bite back once more, but as he opens his mouth to talk, the noise of what Hongjoong guesses is a small explosion shakes the building from top to bottom. The noise, coming from the back of the store, is followed by a string of curses in a foreign language.

“Wh-what was that?” San asks, sounding a tad concerned.

“Don’t worry about that,” Jihyo waves her hand dismissively “Nayeon has been having trouble finding some rare ingredients for her potions, so most often than not they end up blowing up, but it’s fine.” As she says this, the cursing becomes progressively closer, accompanied but a furious stomping, and seconds later, the door behind the red head slams open, revealing another woman. The familiar face is covered in a layer of black soot, and the previously-neat braid the woman’s hair is tied in is now askew, with locks of honey-brown hair hanging out in random places. Her attention seems to be focused on the round vial she is holding, its content what seems to be a black slush of semi liquid stuff. She places a cork on top of it, and without looking up from it she addresses Jihyo. “Cross dust of Komodo dragon claws from the list of possible substitutes for frozen hollyberry leaves, I only managed to burn the potion even more than before.” She doesn’t seem to notice the other eight occupants of the room, too busy with labeling the vial with the same labels Jihyo used minutes before.

Jihyo sighs, and turns to face the newcomer, “Darling, we have guests, please at least clean the ash from your face, you look like you jumped into an unlit fireplace.” At that, Nayeon’s head snaps upright, finally taking in the pirate crew in front of her.

Her eyes light up and she says “Hongjoong! And Jongho! You brought friends! How nice to see you again!” She straightens up and waves a hand in front of herself, the black on her face and clothes disappearing in an instant, although she doesn’t quite fix the way her hair shoots out a little. (Hongjoong is pretty sure Wooyoung’s gasp is audible all the way from outside the shop, but thankfully no one says anything about it.)

“I would love to stay more and catch up on everything, but I’m afraid this endless flame potion is not going to prepare itself, so I must go!” She continues, and before he can even tell her that really, he does not have any interest in ‘catching up’, she is already gone, leaving behind her a light stench of burnt hair.

After a beat of silence where all of them stare at the door in confusion, Jihyo turns around and clasps her hands together loudly, effectively snapping the rest of them out of their daze.

“Well, that was interesting.” She says, and Hongjoong can list at least six other words more appropriate than ‘interesting’ “Anyhow, this is all, so are you going to accept the help or are you going to leave empty handed?” The devious witch smiles, making Hongjoong glare even more. The captain can feel the heavy stares of his crew on him, so he huffs and goes to grab the paper, but before he can lay a hand on it, the redhead snatches it from his grasp with a quick move.

“I’d ask what your problem is, but I’m pretty sure you have more than we could count in one day.” Hongjoong throws at the shopkeeper, throwing his hands in the air in irritation. He is promptly ignored.

“You must have misunderstood. What I was asking was if you are willing to pay for this.” Hongjoong only stares (At this point he’s afraid his eyes might dry up, with the amount of staring he’s been doing lately). “You dragged us here in your mad house, wasted days of our time and now you want to make us pay?” Jihyo only shrugs, and Hongjoong would have probably destroyed something by now, hadn’t he been used to this by several years of enduring it.

“How much money is it going to cost us?” Asks Mingi, poor, naïve Mingi. It really isn’t going to be that easy. As predicted, Jihyo smiles and says “Oh, I don’t want money!” At that, Mingi makes a confused noise, someone outside of Hongjoong’s sight range shuffling nervously on their feet. “What do you want then”, asks the taller.

“I don’t know,” Jihyo shrugs again “surprise me.” Before any of them can ask what that mean, or voice their (absolutely reasonable) complaints, Hongjoong turns around, wearing a scowl deign of the worst lowlife criminal, and addresses each one of his crew members “I’m calling an official crew meeting, now.” And with that, he strides purposefully to the corner of the room farthest from the despicable wench. The eight of them huddle close together, and immediately chaos of poorly hushes voices bursts out, six different question fusing together in an undistinguishable mess.

With a move of the hand, Hongjoong obtains quickly silence again, and with that he nods his head at Jongho, who had preferred throwing a short glance at him than jumping in the chaos. Jongho had always been the people one of the two of them, so Hongjoong had always let him deal with Jihyo when they were forced to, not to mention the fact that he had known her for essentially all his life, so it wasn’t it a hard choice to let Jongho guide them on how to appease the woman.

“She could accept practically anything, but it must have a meaning.” The youngest starts. “She always liked putting people on the spot like this. We’ll need either something that she needs or something that amuses her.”

“Totally not vague or completely unhelpful at all mate.” Yeosang snorts, and Hongjoong can see in the eyes of the rest of the crew that they agree.

“Ok ok, let’s go step by step,” Wooyoung says, waving his hands in front of him, almost hitting Yunho with how close they’re huddled together. “On the ‘useful to her’ department, I don’t think we’re going to have success, honestly.” The boy has a point, Hongjoong has to admit. He doubts there is anything he or his band of rejects could provide to a literal magical entity.

“But if we’re talking about amusement,” He continues, assuming a self-satisfied expression, hip cocked on one side and arms crossed on his chest, “you couldn’t be in better hands.” Suddenly, all acknowledgement Hongjoong might have gathered moments before for the boy’s intelligence vanishes in an instant.

“Yeah, no.” San immediately shuts down, pushing a hand on the side of the other’s face. “Sorry not sorry, but that’s one way to get kicked out, if anything.”

“Or,” Jongho pipes up again, promptly ignoring Wooyoung’s yell of indignation, “she sure is going to enjoy something that is going to inconvenience us.”

“Define ‘inconvenience’.” Yunho says, looking slightly worried. “Like, leaving our shoes behind and having to walk back to the ship barefoot inconvenience or stabbing ourselves in the gut inconvenience?” And yeah, at this point that is a legitimate question, and Hongjoong understands the apprehension.

“She isn’t one for needless violence, and she doesn’t want us to actually suffer,” He reassures the taller, “she just likes seeing people grovel in irritation. We’ll have the best chances to appease her with something valuable. Not monetary value but sentimental.” Something that held memories. Something- A thought appeared in his mind, a painful jab striking his heart. His hand unconsciously shot to touch the red earring dangling from his right earlobe. The cold metal under his hand brought a memory to his mind, one of a kind smile and even kinder words. One of safety, of family.

As if he had heard his thoughts, Seonghwa turned to him and said “No.” His eyes were firm but not cold, his brow furrowed.

“The map is more important; I have to give this away.”

“I’m sure we can find something else.”

“You’ve seen how hard this is, I’m not giving up what might be the only chance of finally getting what we’ve been looking for.”

As the blond made to talk again, he was interrupted by San’s voice “Um, excuse me, not to interrupt but what’s going on, exactly? We’d like to be part of this, thank you very much.”

“It doesn’t matter, I know what we can pay, feelings are not relevant.” Hongjoong says, and that is his final decision.

“What you are looking for is closer than you think.”

Hongjoong’s head snaps back. The owner of the dreamy voice is standing on Seonghwa’s side, staring up at him with a relaxed smile. She’s tiny, a good head and a half shorter than the man, and her hair is a soft pink, but that doesn’t stop Seonghwa from startling so bad he almost jumps.

“Wha- who- who are you? When did you get here? And what do you mean?” Seonghwa asks, and Hongjoong simply watches the interaction unfold.

“You can’t hope to solve a problem if you don’t have all the factors of it, can you?” She continues, completely ignoring the questions. “Like making a puzzle without all the pieces. Impossible right?” She giggles a little, and Hongjoong is pretty sure Seonghwa is sweating under the girl’s stare. “Like preparing a dish but missing a step in the recipe.” She starts walking away, her green dress moving like animated by an imaginary breeze. “Or an ingredient.” The woman’s eyes glint as she says this, but Hongjoong figures it’s the complete madness. A second later, she’s gone. She was making sense, in a completely twisted way, until the last sentence. She completely lost then, Hongjooong thinks.

…Or maybe not, because Seonghwa’s eyes widen in understanding (of what, Hongjoong doesn’t know), and he turns to Jongho.

“Under the category ‘something useful to her’, is she going to accept something that could help one of her… friends?” He asks the younger, and Hongjoong is perplexed at this point. They had ruled that option out for a reason.

“Yes, I suppose.” Jongho says, uncertain. “But we don’t even know what they could want, let alone be able to get it.”

“The explosion lady, Jihyo said she was struggling with rare magical ingredients.” Seonghwa states, and suddenly Hongjoong doesn’t like where this is going.

“Even when not completely pure, siren blood has extremely powerful magical properties.”

Yep, here it is.

Chapter Text

“Even when not completely pure, siren blood has extremely powerful magical properties.”

Hongjoong stares at the blonde on his side. He keeps staring. Then he stares some more, because he can’t believe the incredible idiocy of the words he just uttered. The blonde shifts uneasily on his feet, trying not to squirm under the heavy stares of his seven comrades.

As he opens his mouth to say something, Hongjooog precedes him “Have you completely lost your fucking mind?” The captain asks, and the others crow their agreement at his words.

“We can’t ask you of this, it’s too much!” San said, wildly his hands. On his side, Yunho and Wooyoung nodded their heads in frantic sync.

As the kids crowd Seonghwa with their disagreement, the blond only stares with an expression of genuine surprise, and Hongjoong feels anger grow inside of him. Not at Seonghwa, but at those who made him feel like bodily harm and literal exsanguination was a viable option. It wasn’t particularly hard to notice the certain grade of disregard Seonghwa had shown since they had first met, but it had never been this bad, and boy does it make Hongjoong mad, to see one he regards as family think so low of himself.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to give enough blood to injure myself.” Seonghwa says, as if thinking that somehow makes things right. And really, it’s somehow worse, realizing the blond knows exactly how much blood he can lose before hurting himself.

“There’s no way we’re letting you do that, that’s way too much!” Says Wooyoung, and is soon crowed after by the others. From behind the counter, Jihyo observes amused, a small smile resting on her lips. Hongjoong glares at her, but she only chuckles silently, choosing not to intervene in the messy argument.

“Also, not to be annoying, but I’m pretty sure that can be included in the ‘stabbing ourselves in the gut’ category of inconveniences, and I thought we ruled that one out.” Mingi pipes up, entirely unuseful and quite annoying, despite attempts to be otherwise.

“They’re right, Seonghwa.” Hongjoong starts, turning his attention to the half-siren. “The map is important, but there’s a difference between sacrifices and what you’re proposing.” Seonghwa straightens, and his eyes soften, serious but kind.

“I understand why you say that, but think about it. It might seem too big of a price right now, but it’s either I give some blood right now, or we leave without that map, and we inevitably face death sooner or later.”

And fuck, the way he says those words, as if he was asking him to pay a penny for a castle, it makes Hongjoong want to say yes. He doesn’t know whether it’s part of his inhuman nature or something else, something inside Hongjoong, but it makes those words sound right, in some way. But no matter that, Hongjoong knows Seonghwa is right. It doesn’t mean he has to like it, but it is true nonetheless.

Hongjoong sighs, and he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, seven pairs of eyes bore into him, waiting for his final decision.

“If you think this is the only way,” He says, looking straight into Seonghwa’s dark eyes. “I cannot stop you from this decision, but only if you are completely sure. Do not make this decision thinking of anything else other that what you think is right.” Seonghwa smiles relieved, but as he goes to say something, Jihyo’s voice interrupts him, startling the ones that had forgotten of her presence.

“If that’s what you have decided, I will go retrieve Nayeon.” She then turns, promptly leaving the room through the back door.

“And,” Hongjong exclaims, raising a finger “Yeosang is going to supervise the whole thing. The second he says it’s enough, we stop. I don’t want an member of my crew more injured than strictly necessary.” Seonghwa nods wordlessly, and he and Yeosang walk to the counter.

From the door exits Jihyo, this time with the same soot-covered woman as before in tow. Nayeon’s braid seems ever more ruffled than before, strands of frizzled hair shooting out of it. Her eyes are shining, and she’s donning a quite creepy smile, one that Hongjoong knows is prelude to nothing good.

Her stare focuses on Seonghwa, and Hongjoong can almost see him sweat-drop under her heavy gaze. “Ah” She exclaims, voice giddy. “I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting a siren, this is fascinating!” She claps her hands together in self-satisfaction, before rounding the counter and coming to stand in front of the man, who is by now looking quite unsettled.

“Jihyo has filed me in, but forget about the blood,” she takes his right hand in her own, smile turning almost predatory “how would you like staying here for a while, and provide me with information on your kind?” Seonghwa tries to reply, but he’s not fast enough.

“Naturally I wouldn’t make you do this for free. Just ask what you want, I can get it for you. Wealth, knowledge, eternal youth, the finest clothes there can be. Whatever it is you-“

“Nayeon.” Hongjoong interrupts her, pulling her hands away from Seonghwa’s.

“Oh my, these youngsters!” Nayeon gasps quite dramatically, bringing her hands to her chest. “Have I lost all your respect, that you call my name so coldly?” Hongjoong rolls his eyes, but apparently she is not done yet, because she lays the back of his right hand to her forehead and leans on the counter. “I still remember when you called me Noona! Ah, to lose a decade, and live those better times once again!”

Hongjoong is pretty sure he hears someone whisper a ‘what the fuck’ from the back, and honestly, Hongjoong could not have said better.

“Darling, get a hold on yourself.” Jihyo scolds the other woman lightly, but otherwise does nothing to stop her. At those words, as if sobering up, Nayeon stands straight and pats her dress as if that could do something to salvage the piteous state of the thing.

“Sorry, sorry. We were saying? Ah, yes. So, what would you say about that?” she asks Seonghwa, this time in a much more contained way. The man fumbles for a couple seconds, mouth opening and closing several times not knowing what to say, before he shakes his head and says, very hesitantly “…We’ll take just the map.”

“Oh. Too Bad.” She says, shrugging and rounding again the counter to stand next to the other woman, who has at some point pulled out a small book and is reading it intently.

“If you ever have a change of mind about that let me know.” She crouches behind the counter, and re-emerges holding a thick glass bottle as tall as a hand and a half. She paces it on the counter and smiles widely. “Shall we start?”

After a beat of silence, Seonghwa glances at Yeosang and steps forward, removing his coat and rolls up his right sleeve. Yeosang pulls out the medical kit he has always on him, and from it a small but sharp surgical knife. He lays a gentle hand on his arm and with a finger he points at the external side of the forearm, tracing a line down its length, explaining to Seonghwa in a soft voice where he’s going to cut to have the optimal flow of blood with the least pain possibly.

Hongjoong smiles at that. The surgeon, for how much he acted annoyed at everyone, had always had a way to reassure everyone around him with his words.

Seonghwa bringhes his arm over the metal funnel Nayeon had predisposed, and Yeosang lays his knife on the smooth skin, but before cutting he turns once again to his friend. “Are you sure you want to do this?” His voice is soft, and even softer is Seonghwa’s when he reassures him.

The surgeon nods and steels himself, then presses the knife into Seonghwa’s arm. Red starts flowing immediately, and Seonghwa winces visibly, but doesn’t utter even a sound of discomfort. Hongjoong finds himself bringing his eyes anywhere but the red flowing into the bottle. He’s seen his own fair share of blood as it is part of the job, and far worse wounds, but when seeing it on one of his own it becomes ten times worse than the deadliest of injuries.

After several, excruciatingly long minutes, the bottle is almost full, and Yeosang pulls a thick gauze from his kit, immediately starting to bandage the cut. “We’ll need to stich it up when we get back to the ship, so apply pression to it for now.”

Seonghwa nods, but his eyes are glazed over, and his movements are sluggish. The moment he moves from the counter, he stumbles, but Hongjoong is already there to catch him. He places one arm around his waist and Seonghwa smiles at him with foggy but genuine eyes.

He hears a click, and turns his head to see Nayeon closing the bottle with a satisfied smile. She doesn’t even care to say anything to that, turning around and leaving the room muttering to herself on the possibilities of the blood.

“Well then, this is all yours. It’s always a pleasure to make business with you.” Jihyo says, sliding the map towards them. “Now shoo, get out of my shop.” And with that, they leave, one map of questionable usefulness richer and half a liter of blood poorer.

Chapter Text

hey yall, this is, as you might have noticed, not a new chapter. sadly, i have decided to put this work on hiatus.

i really wish i didnt have to, seeing as this is the first time i had found the courage to upload something of mine, but alas, god charged her nerf gun with the depression&anxiety combo and shot me dead.

I'm struggling with both myself and school, not to mention family, and the fact that i dont have the plot written down , writing each chapter as i go is not helping me. moreover, i dont want to force myself to write, as that would bring myself to associate something i should love to an anxiety inducing task.

i am confident this hiatus wont last long, but i cant tell you precisely how long. ideally, id be back in a couple of months, but to be realistic, it might be a year.

i hope to find you all still here when i come back, and for those i wont, i hope you enjoyed you stay.

Chapter Text

hey yall, remember when i told you i was gonna come back to this even if it killed me? yeah apparently mama raised a liar AND a quitter.

i feel horrible writing this, because this work has been my first try at writing, something new and different id never tried before. but now thinking about this only makes me anxious.

i started writing this right at the beginning of the pandemic, with no plan nor a sketch of where i wanted to go with this, only a couple scenes and an extremely vague idea. even now, more than two years later, i wouldnt be able to tell you how this could continue or finish.

as i think about how i wrote this, its easy to see how each chapter was cooked up one by one, and if i could go back i would write so many things differently. as time passed, my writing evolved, and now looking at these words i feel estranged from this work. 

now, as i approach the end of my highschool career, stress is at an all time high, and even thinking about this work puts me in a terrible spot. maybe one day, when im finally in a better place with myself and everything around me ill come back and rewrite this, maybe complete this work, because it still holds a place in my heart.

and even through my mediocre writing and unpredictable posting schedule, you guys supported me with overwhelming strenght. i could honestly not have dreamed to get this much approval from so many people, so thank you, because even though it might have been just a touch of a button or a couple thoughtless words for you, it has been what powered me through all this, and made me keep going.

anyways like. ill be writing batfam fics on my other pseud if youre ever interested lmao bye thanks

i probably forgot to say something but whatevs