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The prince dragged himself through the big bushes, limping and sweating. His black hair was sticking out in all directions, his clothes were torn and dirty, his shoes were scuffed up, and his skin had dirt all over, while his face had tear stains. When he made it to the other side, he was so exhausted that he didn’t even have time to react to being tackled to the ground with a knife to his throat, until one of the guys off to the side spoke up.
“Wooyoung stop! You can’t kill him!” He yelled, tugging on his grown-out hair. “He didn’t do anything wrong!”
The prince looked over and saw who the voice belonged to. A pirate—all 3 of them were pirates. Coming to that conclusion made his brain snap back to reality, and fear washed over his body. His eyes widened, and he became tense. He wanted to plead, beg for his life, but it was all caught in his throat, so frustrated and fearful tears filled his eyes.
“Wooyoung,” the same pirate spoke up again, more sternly this time. He was breathing a bit heavier than normal, and he took slow steps towards his friend. “You know how Hongjoong will react, please just let him go.”
Wooyoung rolled his eyes and didn’t budge. “He’ll rat us out Yeosang!” He shook his head and blinked away his tears. He looked at the prince again and pressed the knife deeper, drawing a bit of blood, but he hesitated.
“You’ll be just like them Wooyoung!” Yeosang shouted desperately. “Look at what you’re doing!”
Wooyoung stared into the scared eyes below him, and his hand trembled. He dropped the knife and the tears he was trying so hard to hold back started to fall, landing onto the prince below him, who had also started to cry. “I’m sorry…”
Yeosang quickly ran to Wooyoung and pulled him from the prince, into a tight embrace. “It’s okay,” he spoke softly and ran his hand over his friends tied back hair.
The last pirate held his hand out for the prince, who was still lying on the ground, bleeding out of his neck. “Sorry for that,” he awkwardly smiled and held his hand further as a signal for him to take it.
The prince hesitantly sat up and put his hand into the bigger palm of the one offering it. He was pulled to his feet, and only then did he realize how tall the pirate was. “So… you’re not going to kill me…?”
“No, no!” He sucked air through his teeth and took a close look at Seonghwa’s neck. “Umm, I think we have bandages on the ship,” he said and gave a sweet eye smile. “I’ll be right back.” He held out his index finger and ran off to the docked ship.
“Hey guys- what happened?!” The short captain rushed over to Wooyoung and Yeosang, not even paying attention to his short-haired friend tackling Seonghwa to the ground just as Wooyoung did.
“San!” The tall pirate ran over with the medical supplies in his hand and pushed his crew mate off the prince. “He’s already hurt!”
“Mingi what are you talking about?!” San yelled, getting up and brushing himself off. He glared at Mingi as he gently helped the prince to his feet, again. “What did you do to Wooyoung?!”
Mingi defensively pushed the prince behind him and stood up to San. “He didn’t do anything!” He defended, “Wooyoung is the one who freaked out and held a knife to his throat!” He scoffed and turned around, pulling the prince with him. He sighed heavily and sat him down on a medium-sized rock. “I’m sorry… again.”
The prince held his hands up and shook his head. “No, it’s okay… I understand!” He gave a weak smile and put his hands in his lap.
Mingi wiped off the prince’s neck, and the small captain walked over, standing to the side with his arms folded. “So, who are you? You know, we can’t just let you go.”
“I’m Seonghwa,” he said and gave a nervous smile. He held eye contact even when Mingi turned his head to the side and watched to wait for what was going to happen next.
Hongjoong’s eyes widened, “like- Prince… Seonghwa?” he asked, a little taken back as he studied him.
Seonghwa sighed, looking at his hands after Mingi put the bandage on his neck. “Well, yes…”
Wooyoung and San both looked over at him with wide eyes. “W-what?! Why are you here? This is so unsafe; you need to go back to the castle, like— yesterday!” San panicked and shook his head.
“I don’t want to…” he said quietly and started to fidget with his hands.
“It’s not like we can let him go anyway,” Wooyoung argued and rolled his eyes.
“Let’s bring him with us!” Mingi suggested excitedly and looked around at everyone. He slumped in and became insecure when everyone looked at him like he just grew another head.
“He’s a prince Mingi, he knows nothing about how we live. He probably hates us because of what they teach about pirates,” Wooyoung said, and stepped closer to Seonghwa. “Monstrous thieves with no mercy or sympathy, right? That’s why he was so scared earlier, and why he’s so scared now.”
Yeosang rolled his eyes and pushed Wooyoung back by his chest. “Anyone would be scared to have a knife to their throat Woo! And you were close to killing him, so of course he’s going to be scared!” He sighed and placed a hand on Seonghwa’s head. “Nobody knows anything until they’re taught. He’s unhappy, he’s just like us before Hongjoong saved us all,” he said, looking each of his crew mates in the eyes one by one. “Can’t we just give him a chance…? What do we live by? Happiness is the most valuable treasure… we can be his map, his compass, we can guide him to his treasure, just like we did for each other.”
“He’s right,” their youngest spoke up and ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe we need him…”
Hongjoong softly smiled and nodded. “I think so too.” He ruffled the youngest’s hair and looked at Seonghwa. “What do you think about it?”
Seonghwa’s eyes lit up, and he looked around at everyone. They were all smiling— except for Wooyoung, which wasn’t a surprise to anyone. “Do you mean it? Are you sure?”
Hongjoong nodded, “I’m very sure. Welcome to our family.” He patted Seonghwa’s arm and studied him. “We’ll teach you everything you need to know, I’m sure you’ll fit in just fine.”
Seonghwa blushed and smiled widely. “Thank you so much… I’ll do my best!” He stood up, and a high-pitched scream left his mouth before anymore words could because of the fireworks going off.
“Hurry up guys!” Mingi yelled and grabbed Seonghwa’s wrist, pulling him towards their ship. “We’re missing the fireworks! Come on!” He whined.
All 8 of them ran onto the ship as fast as they could, and Hongjoong ordered everyone to their roles in the departure. Jongho, Yunho and Yeosang lifted the anchor, while Wooyoung, San, and Mingi hoisted the sails, and Hongjoong went to the steering wheel. Meanwhile, Seonghwa stood in the middle of the deck watching everyone in amazement; they moved so swiftly and worked so well together without any words even having to be said. He wanted to learn and help. He wanted to do something that mattered, something other than sitting there looking pretty for some woman he didn’t even want to marry. He wanted to live his own life, searching for what’s beyond the horizon. Searching for his happiness.
“Yo-ho-ho!” Mingi exclaimed, his eyes wide and full of wonder as the fireworks reflected from them. “It’s...” he trailed off, and his mouth stayed opened as he watched the bright colors in the night sky that overshone the stars.
“Beautiful?” Yunho finished, looking over at his best friend as a small smile tugged at his lips. He threw his arm over Mingi’s shoulders and looked up at the sky, both of their eyes reflecting the same colors.
“Be careful there mate, don’t drool,” Yeosang said and nudged Seonghwa’s arm, snapping him out of his daze. He chuckled and shook his head seeing his startled expression.
Seonghwa returned his focus to the fireworks and continued to watch with eyes full of admiration. “I’ve only ever seen them from the castle, but this... is so much better,” he said, and his gaze fell on one of the towers that peeked out from behind the trees. His expression dropped a bit as he wondered what his family was doing and if they were even worried about him, or just the family image. He let out a heavy sigh and reminded himself; you don’t matter, only your title does. You’re not loved, only your title is. Without your title, you’re a nobody to everybody.
“He hasn’t come back yet...?” The queen asked her husband, her eyes as desperate as her tone. “What if something happened to my boy? What if he’s lost, or hurt? Maybe I pushed him too hard...” tears filled her eyes and she looked down to the floor like it could help her in any way. “The last things I said to him were so awful...”
The king frowned seeing his wife so sad, and he ran a hand through her long black hair to comfort her. “He’ll come back; he has to. He’s the prince, and he holds the responsibility of marrying a woman and taking over the kingdom,” he spoke confidently, even if his expression didn’t reflect that same energy.
“This is why he ran off in the first place!” She cried, throwing her hands up in the air. “Oh, my baby— get more people looking for him. I need him to be okay!” She grabbed her husband’s shirt collar and tears fell down her cheeks. “Please!” She pleaded. “Bring my baby back to me...”
He sighed and pulled her into a hug. “I’ll do everything I can to get our boy back, I promise. I’m just as worried and scared as you are,” he confessed and took a deep breath, trying to hold in his tears. “I love him too y’know... he’s my only son.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed him so hard... I’m so sorry...” she cried out, clutching onto the back of her husband’s jacket with her trembling hand.
He held her tighter and shushed her softly. “It’s not your fault Hwan... it’s not your fault.
It’s Seonghwa’s first day, and Wooyoung is already giving him a hard time. Right now, he’s helping Yunho swab the deck, because it’s the simplest job and he’s great at it. He’s always loved cleaning, but as the prince he never got to do it because that’s what they have maids for. As he was mopping, Wooyoung came up behind him and slapped him on the butt. “You have to move faster than that, landlubber!” He mocked with a grin on his face as he went into the bunker to help the others clean.
Seonghwa sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Yunho stopped mopping and studied him a bit before speaking up. “Don’t worry about him, he’s just... Wooyoung.”
“What did he do?” Yeosang asked, walking out onto the deck with a towel wrapped around the back of his neck. He observed Seonghwa as he started to clean again, quickly getting absorbed right into it.
Yunho shook his head and started to mop again. “Just being a picaroon, as usual,” he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Yeosang hummed and looked at Seonghwa again. He was still in his torn prince clothes and looked even more worn down than when they found him. “Seonghwa,” he spoke, and waited for him to turn around before he continued. “Let’s go back down to the bunker, you could use some new clothes. We can’t have you walking around in them prince ones, can we?”
Seonghwa hesitated, but Yunho chuckled. “We’re finished Seonghwa, thanks to you it didn’t take very long!” He smiled widely and shooed him off with his hand. “I’ll clean this up, don’t worry.”
Seonghwa nodded slowly, and Yeosang grabbed his hand, pulling him along to the bunker. He took him into his own room and went into his closet. The clothes were worn down, but in better condition than Seonghwa imagined them to be. Yeosang went through his closet and got him a white shirt with cross strings on the chest, some black pants, socks, a corset, and a trench coat. “I don’t have much work on the ship, so I’ll be training you pretty often.”
Seonghwa held the clothes in his lap and blinked a couple times, trying to register that this is his new life— the life he chose. He knows very little about everything, and he’s not in the category of top tier people on the ship, because they all exist as equals. It’s new, and hard to adjust to, but he was determined. “I’ll try my best,” he said enthusiastically and gave Yeosang a big smile. “Thank you.”
Yeosang returned his smile with a soft one and made his way to the door. “Come back to the deck when you’re done. There’re some boots in the closet you can wear by the way.”
Seonghwa nodded, “okay, thank you so much, I’ll be quick.”
Yeosang hummed and left Seonghwa to change as he went back up to the deck. He saw Wooyoung at the end of the ship staring off to the horizon, and he went to join him. “Hey Woo, listen... I know you’re upset and thinking about your brother, but you can’t take that out on Seonghwa-”
Wooyoung scoffed, “why are you even defending him? He’s the biggest risk factor we have now Yeosang, and you guys didn’t even hesitate to let him join our family.” He rolled his eyes and continued to stare ahead; ‘irritation’ was written in bright letters on his face, and he didn’t even try to hide it. “He’s a stranger— not even just a stranger, the prince. You know they’re looking for him, and if we’re caught with him, they’ll behead us all.”
“If we explain-”
“There’s no explaining Yeosang! We’re pirates, they hate us! They wouldn’t listen, or even give us that chance,” he scolded, wrinkles forming on his forehead from the stress he was experiencing.
“But...” Yeosang became timid, so his voice came out softer than it usually does, and he also looked ahead. “They would listen to Seonghwa, wouldn’t they?”
Wooyoung sighed, leaning over the rail in defeat. “We’re still thieves, devils in their eyes. They’d take him back and kill us without a second thought or a drop of remorse... stop being so stupid, Yeosang... what makes you think he’d even defend us?”
Yeosang stayed silent and swallowed thickly. Was he right? He wondered. Would Seonghwa just leave them to die? Why did he even care anyway? Why did he have to defend him the previous night and convince everyone to let him aboard?
“Hey, I’m done...”
Yeosang and Wooyoung both turned around and froze when they saw Seonghwa in his pirate clothes. It just— fit him perfectly, like he truly belonged there with them, like he was one of them. “Wow, you look amazing Seonghwa!” Yeosang beamed as his eyes studied everything on the body in front of him.
Wooyoung picked up on the action and glared at Seonghwa as he folded his arms, making the other feel uneasy. He watched Yeosang gently hold Seonghwa’s bicep as the two of them walked off to the deck, and he sighed.
“Which is your dominant hand?” Yeosang asked as he held a sword in each of his hands, a soft smile on his face.
“My right hand.”
Yeosang hummed and tossed Seonghwa the sword that was in his left hand, “here.” He raised his eyebrows when he caught the sword and smiled. “Good job, but don’t be so scared, it’s just me.” Seonghwa nodded and awkwardly held the sword in both of his hands. Yeosang put his sword down and walked behind Seonghwa. He adjusted his hands and posture, studying him carefully. “Like that, okay?” He smiled, and before he could even properly start the training, Mingi started ringing the bell from above, gaining everyone’s attention.
“Guys, we have a problem!” He yelled loudly and looked out to the speeding boat that was coming right towards them. “I think we’re about to get attacked!”
Seonghwa looked at Yeosang with wide eyes, which were full of panic. “What do we do? What do I do? We’re going to die— why did I think I could be a pirate? I can’t do anything on my own, I should have stayed back-”
Wooyoung slapped him across the face to shut him up, and sternly looked into his eyes, shielding his fear with annoyance. “Get it together landlubber or you’ll really end up dying. Stay out of the way, I’m sure you don’t know how to defend yourself,” he said sternly and rolled his eyes, taking the sword from his hands. “They’re probably here for you anyway, your majesty. Look at the flag.”
Yeosang rolled his eyes and stood in front of Seonghwa. “What is your problem? He came here to get away from that life, and you’re just going to act like that? I know you’re angry, but you don’t have to hurt us,” he argued, not trying one bit to hide his annoyance.
“Yeah, well-”
“Well, well, well,” a nicely dressed man hopped onto their ship, 2 others accompanying him. The entire time he walked towards Wooyoung and Yeosang, he had his eyes fixed on Seonghwa. “I see you pirates are really going all out with your stealing, aren’t ya?” He chuckled when Jongho, Yunho, and San joined them, all 5 holding up their swords. “We’re taking the prince back where he belongs, to the castle.”
“He’s not going anywhere,” San spoke, making sure to lower the tone of his voice and furrow his eyebrows to seem more intimidating.
The man chuckled, “you guys think we’d give you some type of ransom? Either you hand him over, or we can just do the execution right here, right now.” He shrugged and looked at everyone, waiting for an answer as Mingi and Hongjoong joined them.
Wooyoung looked at Seonghwa and waited. His eyes weren’t cold like they usually are when he looks at him, but instead they were desperate. Seonghwa stepped forward and stood up straight, just like he was taught to his whole life. He looked at Wooyoung and gave him a small smile. “They didn’t steal me; I came on my own, I asked if I could join them. So, I will kindly ask you to leave and never come back.” He bowed a full 90 degrees and folded his hands in front of him.
The man snorted and grabbed Seonghwa’s arm, roughly pulling him away from the rest of the crew. “Yeah, you could’ve made the story at least a little bit believable.” He rolled his eyes. “Gather them,” he demanded and started pulling Seonghwa against his will to the neighboring ship.
Yeosang was the first to run after the man, while the other members of the crew delt with the other 2 men. The man tried to stab him, but he was quick to block it with his own sword. They glared at each other for a long moment, and shockingly, Wooyoung ran over and stabbed the man, causing him to release Seonghwa. He grabbed his arm and protectively pulled him behind him. “Just get lost, bilge rat!”
“Boss!” One of the other men yelled out from the other side of the ship, mid-fight with Mingi. He took the opportunity to stab the man right through the stomach and threw him off the side of the boat.
The remaining man quickly fled and took his injured boss with him. Yeosang was about to go after them, his eyes full of anger and rage, but Wooyoung held his arm to stop him. “It’s not worth it,” he said, trying to convince himself more than he was Yeosang. “They didn’t take him, there’s no need to put yourself in more danger, we got him one good time.”
Yeosang exhaled deeply and groaned. He threw his sword onto the ground and pushed Wooyoung away before silently storming off to the bunker, while everyone silently watched. Seonghwa stood awkwardly and rubbed his arm, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry...”
Wooyoung sighed and shook his head, "I’ll go talk to him, it’s not your fault Seonghwa.” He quickly made his way to the bunkers and left Seonghwa standing there while everyone else went back to their responsibilities.
Other than that slight bump, the rest of the week went smoothly, and soon it was already Seonghwa’s second week with all of them. Things were already different; Seonghwa cooked for them and did a lot of cleaning. He was fitting in easily, and they all loved his company— even Wooyoung, but he just uses anger to cover it up.
“Seonghwa!” Mingi yelled and shook him, trying to wake him up. “It’s morning, hurry!”
Seonghwa groaned and rubbed his eyes, still trying to fully wake up. “Okay, give me a minute-”
“No come now! We’re having our celebration where we sing and dance and have fun! You have to join us!” He pleaded and tugged Seonghwa’s wrist.
“Okay, okay... I’m getting up...” he groaned and was pulled out of bed. He stumbled along behind Mingi, and as they got closer to the deck, the upbeat music grew louder.
Everyone was on the deck dancing and laughing with one another. Even Wooyoung was smiling and interacting, not even paying attention to Seonghwa’s presence. Mingi pulled Yunho away from Seonghwa and started dancing with him, both smiling ear-to-ear. Seonghwa watched, standing away from everyone by himself, and Wooyoung noticed it first.
“C’mon prince, you have to know how to dance, right?” He yelled out over the music and went back to focusing on his little partner, Hongjoong.
Seonghwa rubbed his arm, watching as they all moved freely. It’s not that he can’t dance, it’s that he only knows how to ballroom dance. He’s never danced this way before. Again, he felt left out, and started to regret running away to somewhere he didn’t belong, but before he could dwell on it, a small-ish hand was held out in front of him. He looked up and saw who the owner of the hand was. Yeosang. “Don’t just stand there, mate. Even Jongho is dancing!” He smiled widely and nudged his hand forward, telling him to quickly take it.
Seonghwa placed his bigger hand in Yeosang’s palm and was instantly pulled closer to the rest of the crew. “I-I don’t really know how to dance this way,” he timidly stuttered out and stood still as a rock while Yeosang stepped to the music, holding Seonghwa’s hands in his own.
Yeosang chuckled and shook his head. “You don’t need to know how to dance! You just need to listen and connect with your partner!” He exclaimed happily, giving a big eye smile. “You get to do what you want, there’re no rules!”
Seonghwa started stepping to the beat and tried to keep up with what Yeosang was doing. It didn’t take long for him to get comfortable, and in no time, it seemed like he had always been dancing with them. He spun Yeosang around and Yunho took him. He awkwardly stood for a moment, his dancing coming to a stop when he realized how alone he was. Then Wooyoung approached him and held out his hand. “What are you doing?” Seonghwa asked, staring blankly.
Wooyoung rolled his eyes and grabbed one of Seonghwa’s hands. “Yunho took your partner and Mingi took mine so I came to dance with you,” he replied sharply, making sure to give as much attitude as he could without looking Seonghwa in the eyes. When he did look into them though, his expression softened, and he sighed. “Don’t just stand there, come on.”
Seonghwa quickly obeyed and started moving to the music again. He watched Wooyoung, who had pink cheeks and would not look anywhere near Seonghwa’s face. He smiled; it made him happy to see Wooyoung not able to fully cover up his true self, even if it was just a little bit, he was so happy to see this side of him. “You know, you would look better if you smiled more. You’re going to get wrinkles before you’re thirty frowning all the time.”
The color in Wooyoung’s cheeks deepened and he rolled his eyes. “Yeah whatever, I don’t care.”
“Your eyes are going to get stuck back there too if you keep rolling them,” Seonghwa warned jokingly.
Wooyoung scoffed, a small smile tugging at his lips. He looked down at their hands and held Seonghwa’s tighter in such a small amount that it wouldn’t be noticeable if he wasn’t paying attention. “You’re like a grandma, only old people say stupid things like that.”
Seonghwa’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “It’s true!” He defended.
Wooyoung laughed and shook his head. “My eyes can’t get stuck in my head just from rolling them Seonghwa.” He smiled, and his expression seemed so relaxed. He was genuinely happy and wasn’t hiding it or afraid.
Seonghwa returned his soft smile and slightly blushed out of embarrassment. “No, but you’ll get wrinkles if you keep being angry,” he said timidly.
Wooyoung smiled even wider, and his eyes shaped into crescents because of it. “You’re a weird guy, your majesty, very weird.”
“It’s been a whole month since he’s been taken by those pirates... they probably have him slaving away, or they locked him up, or they sold him...” the queen said to her husband through her tears and dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief. “He could be dead right now! My only son!”
“Don’t think like that honey, just wait, we’ll find him,” he comforted and pulled her into a gentle hug.
She nodded and held onto the back of his jacket. “Please bring him back… I feel terrible, and what is our kingdom going to do? If they find out about this chaos will break out.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “I can’t do this…”
“Nobody is going to find out. We’re going to find him,” he ensured, trying to convince himself more than he was his wife, because deep down he didn’t even believe himself. “We’ll find him.”
“Seonghwa?”
He looked over at Mingi— who had just walked into the kitchen, and smiled. “Yes? Do you need me for something?”
He shook his head and gave a shy smile as he walked closer to him. “No, I just had a question,” he confessed.
“Oh? What question?” He asked, looking back to his cooking. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah! I was just wondering… why did you leave home?” He asked shyly and hopped up onto the counter near the stove. “I mean, you’re a prince, and you have money and a nice castle with maids and servants and chefs and gardeners…” he noticed Seonghwa’s expression fall, and he felt bad, so he wrapped it up. “I just mean, what made you hate it there so much that you had to leave? It sounds like a great life to me; I just want to understand.”
Seonghwa sighed and looked down, letting his hair—which hasn’t been cut since he joined—fall over his face. So many people would love to live that luxurious life, and he just selfishly gave it up to go run around with some pirates. “It was a nice life to live as a child, but as I got older, they started forcing a lot of things onto me, like schooling and marriage and all of these things I didn’t want. They never paid attention to my favorite colors, or my favorite food, or hobby, or even the fact that I don’t even like girls at all. They only cared about what they wanted, and only accepted me when I was being what they expected from me,” he explained.
Mingi frowned and nodded, showing that he understood. “That’s why I ran away too… where I came from, music and dancing are not really liked, but I love dancing, Yunho too. My Mom would get mad whenever I would dance or play music, and she didn’t like Yunho. My Dad is the one who beat me for it, and Yunho’s family was the same as mine… but one day Hongjoong saved us from there, just like the rest.” He gave a small smile to show Seonghwa that everything is fine, and he’s okay now so that he won’t be too sad over the story.
“I’m glad you got away from there Mingi, I really am. You’re so sweet and deserve better… I didn’t know the kingdom had places like that…” he looked away from Mingi and continued to think in his head as he was finishing up his cooking. If one place was like that, how many more were the same? Or even worse… and why aren’t his parents doing anything to fix it? Why didn’t they tell him about it? Maybe it was a mistake leaving, he thought. Maybe he should have stayed…
“Hey! Let me help you with that!” Yeosang rushed into the kitchen and grabbed 2 of the plates from the counter, a big smile on his face. “C’mon Mingi, he’s already cooked for us, the least we can do is just set the plates out for him!’ He handed his plates to Mingi and grabbed 2 more.
Seonghwa shook his head as redness filled his cheeks. “I really don’t mind! It’s not that much work at all!” He picked up two of the remaining 4 plates, and they were immediately taken by Yunho.
“Nope! You worked hard enough for today, sit down and take a break for a minute, you deserve it.” He flashed a bright smile and followed Yeosang and Mingi out to their dining area.
Seonghwa was going to grab the last two plates, but Wooyoung swooped in and did it before him, a small grin playing at his lips. “You’re really hardheaded, your majesty. You do so much for us, so let us do something in return, would ya?” He followed Yunho out and winked at Seonghwa before leaving.
Is this what it’s like to have a real family who cares for you?
“Oh- Seonghwa?”
He jumped and quickly turned around. He exhaled deeply and watched Yeosang approach him as he clutched his shirt by his heart. “You scared me…”
Yeosang stood next to him and leaned forward on the railing, looking out to the sky. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” He smiled shyly and looked over. “What are you doing out here so late? Even Hongjoong is sleeping.”
Seonghwa shrugged, “just couldn’t sleep…” he ran a hand through his grown-out hair and turned his attention back to the calm waters.
“Something on your mind?” Yeosang asked, his eyes flickering with worry. He still looked at him, even if he wasn’t looking back at him; he just wanted to read him.
Seonghwa looked at him for a moment, a bit shocked that he knew, and he wondered how he did know. “I’ve just been thinking about something Mingi told me a few weeks back… about how bad it was where him and Yunho lived.” He looked at the stars in the sky and frowned. “I didn’t know that the kingdom had places like that… why do my parents let it be that way, and why didn’t they tell me about it? There’s got to be more places like that, if not even worse… and I’m the prince, so I should be getting ready to become the king… I could fix it then…” he sighed heavily and tugged at his hair, groaning in frustration. “But I don’t want to go back… I’m being selfish.”
Yeosang held one of Seonghwa’s hands and pulled it away from his head. “You’re not selfish. You deserve happiness as much as any person. It doesn’t matter if you’re the prince, or a slave… you have a good heart, and you deserve to be happy,” he spoke softly, and gave a small smile. “That’s what Hongjoong taught all of us and that’s what we live by.”
Seonghwa’s cheeks were tinted with a rose color by now, and he had chills from his body heat rising despite the cold air. He looked at his hand, which was being gently caressed by Yeosang’s thumb, and quickly looked away. His words were stuck in his throat, because his thumping heart was in the way blocking them all. All he could do was stare into those dark orbs that were reflecting the stars, hoping they would get the ‘thank you’ from his own. Luckily, they did.
“What are you guys doing up?” Jongho asked, rubbing his eyes as he walked out onto the deck.
The pair pushed each other as far away as possible and ended up on the other side of the ship from one another. They looked off to the side, furrowing their eyebrows as the redness in their cheeks spread through the rest of their faces. “Nothing,” Seonghwa responded as quickly as possible, and folded his arms.
It took a moment for Jongho to process the tense atmosphere and their weird behaviors, but when he did, he raised an eyebrow, wondering the same thing as the other two; “why are you being so weird?”
Yeosang rolled his eyes, “I’m not weird!” He defended and huffed, folding his arms. “You’re the one who breaks apples in half, like a weirdo.” He started to make his way off the deck and bowed his head to hide his burning face. “I’m going back to bed.”
Seonghwa quickly followed, walking with the same mannerisms. “Me too…”
Jongho stood there by himself and blinked a couple of times. “Um, okay then… weirdos.” He rolled his eyes and went back to his room to go back to sleep.
“Hongjoong?” Seonghwa knocked on his door and peeked his head inside.
He looked up from his map and smiled brightly. “Hey there mate, do ya need me?” He asked and motioned for him to come in with his hand.
Seonghwa shuffled inside and looked down at the old, worn-down map of all the waters in the world. “I wanted to ask you something… but I don’t want to make you upset with me.”
Hongjoong sat down, “I won’t be upset, sit down and let’s talk,” he invited and studied him to try to see what was bothering him, but he got nothing.
Seonghwa folded his hands in his lap as he sat down and looked down at them. “Why did you become a pirate? Mingi told me that you saved everyone here, but I only know his and Yunho’s stories… is the kingdom really so bad?”
Hongjoong sucked his teeth and nodded. He rested his elbows on the table and folded his hands together. “Well, my father left me and my mom… people gave us both a hard time for it, and eventually she killed herself. She always told me to be my own person, and I learned that the only way is to live away from everything, away from everyone.” He shrugged and looked down at the map in front of him. “I go back to the kingdom every year to see the fireworks because that’s the last time I saw my mom, and over time, all of the others and I crossed paths.”
Seonghwa frowned and started to rub his hands together. “So, the kingdom is that bad…”
Hongjoong tried to read him again, but it was impossible to know what he was really thinking. “What are you talking about Seonghwa?”
He gave an obvious fake smile and shrugged, looking at Hongjoong, but avoiding his eyes. “Nothing really… thank you for talking to me, and I’m sorry for being nosy.” He stood up and looked at the calendar, his eyes widening. “Oh, I’ve been here for 3 months now…”
“If you want to know anything about the rest of the crew, I’m sure they’d be happy to share,” Hongjoong told him and stood up as well, grabbing a book from the shelf behind him. “San and Jongho came together, and Yeosang and Wooyoung came individually… don’t be scared of Wooyoung if you ask, he’s like that with everyone, plus his situation is fresher than anyone else’s.”
Seonghwa nodded and bowed. “Thank you so much… I’m sorry again for being a bother.”
Hongjoong chuckled, “you’re not a bother mate. Go on and talk to everyone else now, I can tell it’s bothering you.”
Seonghwa smiled and left Hongjoong’s room. He decided to himself that he would go to Jongho or San, but on his way down the hall he ran into Yeosang, and because of his luck, he started talking to him. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked, holding onto his arm gently.
Seonghwa looked at Yeosang’s hand, then looked up at him at a loss for words. “Yeah… w-why?” He sighed and looked away, frustrated with himself for suddenly feeling awkward. His cheeks burned and he rose tint in them showed that.
Yeosang let go of his arm and slid his hand into his coat pocket, his cheeks matching Seonghwa’s. “I don’t know, I guess it kind of seems like you’ve been avoiding me…” he shrugged and looked at the floor, swaying back and forth. “I didn’t know if I did something wrong, and I wanted to ask.”
Seonghwa thought about his actions and mentally kicked himself for them. “I’m sorry… we can talk now if you want, I actually have a question anyway.”
Yeosang’s head perked up and he smiled at him. “Oh, really? Sure, we can talk… I’m sure everyone is asleep right now, so I guess we could go out to the deck if you want.”
Seonghwa nodded, “that sounds nice.”
Yeosang started walking first, and Seonghwa followed right behind him, his hands shoved in his coat pockets for warmth. Their walk to the deck was silent, but not awkward. Once they got up to the deck though, you could hear the water rustling beneath the ship, the sharp winds, and their teeth chattering. They went to the tip of the ship, and leaned over the railing, looking up at all of the stars in the sky.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Yeosang asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the stars.
Seonghwa was mentally brought back, and he took a deep breath. He felt so nervous to ask his question because he didn’t know how Yeosang would react, but he remembered what Hongjoong told him; I’m sure they’d be happy to share. “What made you become a pirate?”
To Seonghwa’s surprise, Yeosang smiled at him and showed no sign of negativity in any way. “It must be bothering you a lot, well, um… it started when I was younger, my dad was in the military, but he died when there was a raid in the kingdom. As time went on and I was growing up, I started looking more and more like him, so my mom started to hate me, until one day she just abandoned me, which is how Hongjoong found me.”
Seonghwa noticed sadness flicker in Yeosang’s eyes before he covered it up with an eye smile, and he frowned. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
Yeosang chuckled and shrugged. “I’m in a better place now so it’s okay! Without it I would’ve never found my real family.”
Seonghwa smiled and looked back out to the stars. “You’re right… thank you for sharing with me, and I’m sorry if I upset you at all.”
Yeosang shook his head and patted Seonghwa’s arm. “You didn’t upset me, I’m glad you wanted to ask…” he smiled softly and looked up at the stars, his blush spreading throughout the rest of his face. He shivered as his body heat increased, clashing with the cold air around him and sending chills all over. “That means you care, right?”
Seonghwa scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Yes Yeosang, it means I care and want to know more about you.” He smiled to himself and shook his head. “You just had to hear it, didn’t you?”
Yeosang shrugged, smiling when he looked over and saw Seonghwa looking up at the stars. “Yeah, I did, I’m very satisfied.”
“What are you guys doing out here?” Wooyoung asked as he waddled out onto the deck.
They both turned around and stepped away from one another. They folded their arms and turned in opposite directions as their entire faces deepened with the color. “Nothing,” Yeosang mumbled out, not moving at all.
Wooyoung blinked a few times and looked back and forth between the two. “You guys are being weird,” he said and folded his arms. “Is there something going on that I don’t know about? Like a relationship or—”
“No!” Seonghwa blurted out as he snapped his head in Wooyoung’s direction and his eyes widened. “We were just talking!” He defended and held his palms out in front of his body, frantically waving them. “That’s all.”
Wooyoung furrowed his eyebrows and silently studied them for a moment more before humming. “Yeah, whatever you guys say, weirdos.” He rolled his eyes and turned away. “Go to bed, it’s cold and late. You’ll be sick,” he scolded before heading back to his room.
Seonghwa bowed his head, “I guess I’ll head to bed, it was nice talking,” he said as fast as possible and rushed off the deck.
Yeosang sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Why was his heart suddenly beating so rabidly? He wondered it to himself as he went back to his own room, but he found no answer. He knew he couldn’t go to anyone about the issue except for Hongjoong because everyone would take it in the wrong way, but he was still afraid the captain would do the same thing.
“How have you not found my son yet?!” The queen yelled angrily at all of the men in the room as tears were streaming down her face. “It’s been almost 4 months! 4 months!”
“Honey… I think it’s time…” her husband spoke sadly and placed a hand on her shoulder. “He can’t possibly be alive-“
“Shut up! You don’t even know what you’re talking about!” She pushed him away and stood in a defensive stance. “He’s not dead, he can’t be dead,” she rolled her eyes. “He’s Seonghwa, he’s my boy, he’s okay, alright?”
Everyone bowed their heads in pity and shame. “We’ll keep looking your majesty!” The captain yelled. “We’ll work our hardest until we find your boy, we promise!”
“Seonghwa~ can I talk to you?”
Seonghwa wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel around his neck and smiled. He set the mop down, and placed his hands on his hips, trying to catch his breath. “Yeah, what’s up San?”
He shrugged and played with the hem of his shirt, bowing his head. “Well, you’ve been here for so long now, and you don’t even know how I came here…”
Seonghwa gave San his full attention and sat down crisscross on the freshly cleaned floor. “Is that what we’re going to talk about?”
San nodded and sat down across from him. “If you don’t mind…”
“Not at all!” He smiled widely and leaned back, holding himself up with his arms. “I’m glad to listen.”
San gave a soft smile and sighed. “Let’s see… well, when I was younger, I got bullied and beaten on because I didn’t have parents, just grandparents, and we were poor; so, I had to work. Long story short, Jongho found me one day and tried to stick up for me, but he was just so small that we both got beaten up.” He chuckled at Seonghwa’s shocked expression and continued. “I know it’s hard to believe, but the reason Jongho buffed up is because he wanted to protect me. My grandparents eventually dropped dead, and Jongho had an abusive household, so we just ran away together… then we found the ship that we thought was abandoned and tried to steal, but Hongjoong found us…” he rubbed the back of his neck and sucked air through his teeth. “He gave us a good punishment, but he also took us in… we were the first ones to join him, then Wooyoung, then Mingi and Yunho, and finally Yeosang— well, and you.”
Seonghwa felt that tug at his heart again and looked away to the floor. What is he doing sitting there when there are other kids and other people suffering? He could go be the prince and fix it, to make their lives better. “I’m sorry you went through that San…” he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I really didn’t know the kingdom was so bad…”
San tried to give him a comforting smile, but it didn’t do anything because he wouldn’t even look at him. “It’s really okay! Because I’m here now with my brothers, and! And… I can always see my grandparents in the stars! They took me on a walk every night and told me that when they go, they’ll be one of those stars, and then one day we’ll be stars together.”
Seonghwa knew that wasn’t true, because he had a proper education, but he kept quiet about it. He just smiled and gently ruffled San’s hair. “When we become stars, will you still be my friend?”
San scoffed, “of course! You guys will always be my family!” He trapped Seonghwa in a tight hug, knocking the air out of him, and squeezed him, causing him to groan out in pain.
“San knock it off,” Yeosang scolded and wacked him upside the head. “Let the poor thing breathe.”
San let go and rubbed the back of his head where he was hit. “Sorry Seonghwa,” he pouted and stood up next to Yeosang.
“Wooyoung needs some help in the storage, do you mind helping him out while I talk to San for a little bit?” He asked Seonghwa and patted San’s shoulder.
“Oh, of course!” He stood up and gave a small smile to them both “I’ll see you guys later then… thanks for talking to me San.” He waved and walked away, a small frown tugging at his lips as soon as he turned around. He went down to the bunker and found Wooyoung scrubbing the walls by himself. He grabbed the extra rag that was in the bucket and stood next to him.
“I got it,” he said sharply without giving Seonghwa a second glance and scrubbed the wall harder. “Go cook, or whatever moms do.”
Seonghwa sighed and ignored his demand. “Yeosang told me you would probably need help, so I came to help you. You can’t just clean the whole storage alone.”
“Yes, I can,” he said even sharper than the first time and rolled his eyes. “I don’t need your help, just go sew some clothes or something.”
“Can I ask you a question?” He asked, completely ignoring his attitude and the tense atmosphere.
Wooyoung groaned and stopped scrubbing. He let out a deep sigh and looked at Seonghwa, annoyance visible in his eyes. “What do you want?! You just completely ignored what I said!”
“Why are you always so angry…? Was it something that happened before you came here, or— “
“Shut up and just leave!” Wooyoung yelled at him, tears filling his eyes. “It’s none of your business! Just go help someone else. You might be here but it’s none of your business to know. You weren’t here when it happened, so you don’t need to know!”
Seonghwa set his rag into the bucket and stood in front of Wooyoung. “Don’t you think it’s a little unfair to be so mean to me without a reason? Unless I did something wrong… you need to communicate these things because it’ll never be better if nobody knows what the problem is.”
Wooyoung’s eyes softened, and the tears he was trying so hard to hold in fell down his face. “It’s not your business…”
Seonghwa reached up and gently wiped his tears away. He cupped his face and looked at him with a small frown. “It’s okay, there’s no need to be so angry… just talk about it, it’ll really help.”
Wooyoung nodded and looked down. “When me and my brother were younger, I got treated badly because my dad cheated on my brother’s mom, and I was the outcome. My brother took all my beatings, and as I grew up it got worse because I looked just like my mom. One day he just took me and left. He said he had a friend that we could go to, and that friend was Hongjoong,” he said and started to fidget with his hands.
“But… where’s your brother now…?” Seonghwa asked, confused as to why Wooyoung ended his story so soon.
“Dead…” he mumbled out and more tears fell down his face. “Only a couple months before we found you, our ship got raided by some scallywags, and I was so focused on San being defenseless that I didn’t even notice myself almost get killed, but my brother stepped in and got shot instead…”
Seonghwa felt bad for asking so many questions, and he felt like he was at fault for Wooyoung’s tears, so he pulled him into a tight embrace in attempts to comfort him. He didn’t mean to make him cry, and it hurt him so much to see his pain that a tear fell down his face as well. “I’m sorry Wooyoung, don’t cry…”
“It’s okay,” he mumbled out against Seonghwa’s shoulder, and his tears started to slow down. “You we’re right… talking about it made me feel a lot better, thank you.”
Seonghwa leaned forward and rested his head on Wooyoung’s shoulder. “That’s good to hear… so, you’re not angry at me anymore?”
Wooyoung struggled out of Seonghwa’s grip and looked him directly in the eyes. “I was never mad at you, I was mad at myself because I blame myself for what happened, but maybe Hongjoong was right… it’s no one’s fault but the one who pulled the trigger, and I didn’t pull the trigger.”
Seonghwa smiled a soft, proud smile and ruffled Wooyoung’s hair. “I’m glad to hear you speak that way, and if you need me for anything at all, I’ll always be happy to help.”
Wooyoung returned his smile with an eye smile, and his stomach growled. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he looked down, then back up at Seonghwa. “Okay then, can you make dinner? I’m sure everyone else is hungry too.”
Seonghwa nodded and patted Wooyoung’s shoulder. “I’ll get right on that!” He gave a bright smile and started walking backwards. “You don’t have to finish the cleaning, I got it later.”
Wooyoung shook his head, “you’re about to make dinner.”
“No really, I got it, go take a break and talk to everyone else. I know they’ve missed you,” he insisted and waved Wooyoung off with his hand. “I like cleaning, really, just go.”
Wooyoung nodded slowly and gave Seonghwa one last hug before he rushed off. “You’re the best, thank you.”
“What do you mean you still haven’t found him?” The king asked and ran his hands down his face. He let out a heavy sigh and let his head fall onto the desk in front of him.
“Sir, he’s nowhere to be found. We’ve been keeping an eye around the coast for the past few months— “
“The coast?” He lifted his head and stared at the men in front of him with disbelief. “You’ve only been searching around the coast?!” He yelled angrily and stood up, watching angrily as all five men bowed their heads. “Do you know how big our waters are?! And you’ve only been searching along the coast for the past 9 and a half months?!”
“Sir, I’m sorry, but— “
“No! There are no buts!” He yelled even louder, now tugging at his hair. “My wife is going crazy without him here, and so am I, but she’s about to drive my head off!” He complained and pointed at the head captain. “I am going to have you head if we can’t find my son! I’ll have all of your heads!” He yelled at everyone in the room, his eyes wide and psychotic looking.
The men started to tremble in fear as they watched their king—who’s usually so kind and takes really good care of them—lose his mind and make a mess of his office that was so neat. Each bang and thud and slamming of things made them flinch and close in on themselves. Nobody knew when he would fully snap and have their heads. That very thing sent worry and anxiety through their entire bodies. They knew they needed to find Seonghwa and find him ASAP.
“Seonghwa~” Wooyoung skipped onto the deck and took the mop from him with a big smile on his face. “I’ll finish, go take a rest before you turn into prince bacon!”
“Prince what?” He chuckled and returned his smile. “But it’s really okay, I was almost finished.”
“Yeosang wants to talk to you, he’s in the kitchen waiting for you,” he said and took the towel from around Seonghwa’s neck. He put it around his own neck to protect himself from getting a sunburn and shooed Seonghwa away. “Hurry and go!”
Seonghwa gave a small, unsure smile and nodded. “Okay, thank you so much!”
Wooyoung rolled his eyes and continued mopping where it was left off. “Yeah, it’s nothing.” He chuckled and shook his head as he ran off towards the door.
Seonghwa went to the end of the hall and went into the kitchen, where Yeosang was sitting on the counter swinging his legs, waiting. “Hey, Wooyoung said you wanted to talk? Is everything okay?”
Yeosang poked his head up and smiled. “Yeah, everything’s great! I just wanted to check on you is all.”
Seonghwa shrugged and stood in front of him, folding his arms and studying him. “Why would you need to check on me? Did I do something wrong?”
Yeosang shook his head, “not at all, I just wanted to know if you were okay is all. You’ve been taking such good care of us and making sure we’re okay… I just wanted to make sure.” He looked back down and started to kick his legs back and forth. He felt embarrassed suddenly, and he didn’t know why.
“Oh, I’m great! I’m the happiest I’ve ever been!” He exclaimed and smiled widely, not even paying attention to Yeosang’s eyes as he watched him. “It makes me so happy to help someone instead of having people do everything for me, and you guys are the best. I never want to go back there, I don’t want to be the king, I just want to stay here with you and live my own life. I chose to come here all on my own and it just feels great.”
A soft smile tugged at the corner of Yeosang’s lips without him even noticing, and he just continued to stare at Seonghwa with his eyes that were full of admiration. “I’m glad you feel happy to be here, because you’ve helped us so much, and I don’t think Wooyoung would ever let you leave. If you ever decided to, he would track you down and drag you right back onto this ship as a hostage.”
Seonghwa chuckled, “he’s really warmed up to me, he almost never leaves my side anymore.” He shook his head and ran a hand through his grown-out hair. “I like the happy him, he’s a lot nicer than when he was so angry with himself.”
Yeosang nodded in agreeance, “I agree, I think it’s best that you came so he had someone to talk to about what happened. I really missed him.”
“I’m glad I could help,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. “It really makes me feel good to help you guys.”
“Good.” He smiled and hopped off the counter. He stood directly in front of Seonghwa, looking slightly up to look him in the eyes, and his cheeks turned pink. Again, he felt so small and embarrassed, but Mingi and Yunho are skyscrapers compared to even Seonghwa. “Well, uh…” he clapped his hands together and looked around the empty room for help. “I have to go talk to Wooyoung, s-so…” he started to back away and ran into a countertop, knocking over a cup of spoons. “Oops sorry,” he quickly apologized and cleaned up his mess. “I’ll just see you later,” he spoke quickly and walked out of the kitchen as fast as he could. What made him feel that way? It’s only around Seonghwa too, it’s never the other crewmates… maybe it’s because they’ve known each other the least amount of time. That has to be it, he tried to convince himself, but for some reason he still had a curious feeling because deep down he knew that wasn’t the answer.
“So, how’d it go?!” Wooyoung asked excitedly, snapping Yeosang out of his thoughts.
“Oh, right.” He looked around, trying to shake off his thoughts, but they wouldn’t go away, so he just tried to ignore them as much as he could. “It could’ve gone better I guess…” he sighed and ran his hands through his hair out of frustration.
Wooyoung frowned, “how come? Did something happen?” He asked curiously, genuine worry in his eyes as he studied his best friend, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
“I don’t know… nothing happened, I just feel like…” he groaned and rubbed his face. “I don’t know, just—something is different about him and I can’t figure it out. It’s not bad at all but it’s really frustrating!” He let out a heavy breath and a small pout formed on his lips. “I can’t even describe what I feel to you Wooyoung, he’s just—special. Like, he makes me feel a special feeling and like I am special.”
Wooyoung smugly grinned and rested an arm on Yeosang’s shoulder, leaning closer to his confused friend. “Oh, so you like Seonghwa?”
Yeosang raised one of his furrowed eyebrows and crossed his arms. “What are you talking about? Of course! He’s part of our family,” he cluelessly defended.
Wooyoung rolled his eyes, “no, I mean you love him, Yeosang.”
“Duh! You nitwit! He’s apart of the family!” He defended again, starting to get somewhat offended by what Wooyoung was saying to him.
“No, idiot, I mean romantically. Like, kissing and stuff.” He studied Yeosang with narrowed eyes and huffed. “Are you that stupid? Or do you just not want to confess your feelings?”
Yeosang scoffed and folded his arms defensively. “You don’t know anything, you weirdo!” He pushed a very amused Wooyoung away and turned his head to hide his red face. “Why would you ask me such a weird question!? You’re like a pervert or something! Get away from me!”
Wooyoung couldn’t even attempt to conceal his high-pitched laughter and he ended up doubling over, clutching his stomach from the pains. “This is too great!” He spoke and took a few deep breaths in attempts to catch his breath. “Oh, it hurts…” he straightened his posture again and ruffled Yeosang’s hair with a cheeky smile. “You better just confess, because you never know when you might lose that chance,” he warned and gave him a stern look.
Yeosang just rolled his eyes, obviously not amused. “Yeah, whatever. There’s nothing to even confess, idiot.”
“Whatever you say Yeosang,” he shrugged and started to make his way over to Mingi and San in the shade. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Why don’t we try traveling elsewhere?” Wooyoung spoke up after swallowing his bite of soup and rolled his eyes when everyone looked at him like he was crazy. “I mean think about it, not everywhere can be the same as the kingdom. There has to be other people like us!”
“What about the fireworks…?” Hongjoong mumbled out softly, looking at Wooyoung with big sad eyes, almost like a puppy. “We see them every year.”
“I know, but don’t you think it’s time for us to move on…? We ran away to escape, yet we’re still lurking in these waters, holding onto our lives.” He looked around at everyone, trying to get anything from their eyes, but they were all holding the same unsure look. “Seonghwa, back me up on this one!” He pleaded, his eyes begging even further than his voice did.
Seonghwa sighed when everyone’s heads turned in his direction and he was put on the spot. “I think he’s right,” he confessed and sighed. “You guys would be so much happier if you could just let go and move on from this place. I think you would be accepted somewhere—actually, I’m sure of it.” He said sternly and nodded. “You guys are all holding onto something that’s keeping you from moving on. So honestly, you just need to break free from that and start over… I think I need to as well.”
“Guys I think he’s right…” Jongho quietly chimed in and kept his eyes fixed on his bowl. “We can start over and live a peaceful life.”
Hongjoong sighed in defeat and tugged at a chunk of his hair. “I just… I’m afraid to let go and forget her…” he looked down at his lap with tear-filled eyes and started to pick at the skin around his nails. “Can we at least see the fireworks one last time before we go?”
“Yes, please?” Mingi joined in and gave puppy dog eyes to everyone at the table. “Just one more time before we go…?”
Yeosang nodded, “another month can’t hurt, right?”
Everyone nodded to show that they agreed, and with that, Hongjoong clapped his hands together. “It’s official, we’ll head out and explore until we find the place we belong. We’ll leave right after the fireworks,” he announced, and everyone excitedly started to chat about possible scenarios.
“Seonghwa, you should stay here to watch the ship with Yeosang, Mingi and Wooyoung. If you’re spotted, then they’ll for sure take you,” Hongjoong told him and continued packing for their travels in the kingdom.
“Eye eye, captain!” Seonghwa giggled and saluted towards his small friend.
“Oh, very good!” Yeosang praised and stood next to him to watch the 4 head off to start their hunt for supplies and other necessities. “You’re finally learning our slang,” he said and threw his arm around Seonghwa’s shoulder with a big smile on his face. “It’s been a year already, that’s crazy! I’m surprised we haven’t gotten caught but the once.”
Seonghwa shrugged, “the kingdom waters are big, and honestly the guards are stupid.”
Yeosang chuckled and nodded. “That’s obvious, but— “
“Mingi and I are going to walk around for seashells!” Wooyoung said, dragging Mingi by the arm, and looked at Yeosang sternly. “Yeosang has something to talk to you about anyway Seonghwa,” he said, nudging Yeosang’s arm as he walked by with Mingi, who held his hand. “See ya!”
Seonghwa watched them walk away and turned to Yeosang with curious eyes. “What do you need to talk to me about?” He asked and tilted his head to the side.
A deep red color spread throughout his face and he looked down, putting his hands in his pockets. “It’s really embarrassing…” he said softly. “Stupid Wooyoung,” he mumbled under his breath and scoffed.
“I’m not going to make fun of you Yeosang, but you don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to.” He shrugged and smiled softly.
Yeosang peeked up at him and sighed. “Wooyoung and San won’t leave me alone about it if I don’t. They’ll probably tell you if I don’t.” He waited for Seonghwa to speak up again, but when he looked up all he saw were his big eyes already staring back at him. He quickly looked away and cleared his throat, looking out to the sun setting against the horizon. “Well… I’ve been pushing this off for a while actually,” he started and ran his hand through his hair, still hesitant to tell him. “I just wanted to be sure, but now I’m just being a coward,” he chuckled and sighed heavily. He ran his hands down his face and groaned out of pure frustration.
While he was too lost in his own thoughts, Seonghwa had his eyes fixed on the bushes behind Yeosang, and he was squinting so hard that you would think his eyes were closed. He stopped listening to Yeosang a while ago, and now he was completely done listening. His eyes widened, and his face went pale as he watched the bushes rustle. He panicked, and for him time just slowed down. He watched 2 guards come from behind the bushes, and one had a gun pointed in Yeosang’s direction. He knew they wouldn’t give him a chance, because he’s a pirate, and he was taught all the same terrible things about pirates that they were. It was his first reaction to push Yeosang to the side and took his spot in getting shot.
“Look what you did, you idiot!” The other guard yelled and took the gun, hitting him in the head with it. “You shot the wrong one!”
Yeosang stared in shock as Seonghwa lied out on the sand, which was being colored red. Wooyoung and Mingi ran over as fast as they could and froze when they saw the scene. Yeosang was already on the floor crying as he held Seonghwa’s head in his lap and applied pressure to the wound with his hands in a panic. Wooyoung and Mingi had a quick reaction and took out the two guards before running to the two on the ground. “What happened?!” Wooyoung asked, his voice raised an octave and his hands shaking as he pulled his shirt off.
Mingi quickly untied Seonghwa’s corset and put Wooyoung’s shirt onto the wound. “Hey, Seonghwa,” he said with a cracked voice and tearful eyes. “Look at me please, don’t go to sleep please, just stay awake, I’ll be right back to treat your wound the best I can, it’s okay.”
Seonghwa was obviously lightheaded already, and his movements were slow. He tried to listen and keep his eyes open, but each blink became longer and longer as the seconds went by. “Yeah…” he said, dragging out his words and giving them the best smile that he could hold through his pain. “I’m good guys… just tired…”
Mingi looked Yeosang in the eyes, “please hold this here. Apply pressure but not too much. You can’t let go.”
Yeosang nodded with wide eyes and put his hands on the shirt, watching Mingi run to the ship for the medical supplies. “Don’t sleep Seonghwa,” he said, his voice shaky and tears streaming down his face. He looked up at Wooyoung, who was sobbing and having trouble catching his breath as he watched Seonghwa’s breaths become shorter. “R-remember, I was supposed to t-tell you something?” He desperately stuttered out and smiled in relief when he got a nod in response. “I was going to say that I love you, like—more than my family.”
Wooyoung started crying harder and hit Yeosang upside the head angrily. “Don’t say it like that! You make it sound like he’s dying!”
“Because he is!” Yeosang yelled back and looked at Wooyoung with piercing eyes, which were trying to cover up his fear. “Do you not see him right now?!”
“B-but Mingi is going to help him…” he said, so innocently and sure. He fully believed that Seonghwa was just hurt, and it wasn’t that serious, because he didn’t want the alternative to be true. Maybe if he believes hard enough, it’ll come true. “He is,” he said with a nod, trying to convince himself that it’s going to happen that way.
Yeosang stayed silent and looked back down at Seonghwa who was dozing off again. He panicked even more and ran a hand over his damp hair from the sweat all over his face. “Hey, listen… you can’t go to sleep yet.” He looked up when he heard Mingi running at full speed off the ship and his eyes shimmered with hope. He wanted to believe Wooyoung so bad and believe in Mingi, but he had so much fear and doubt in his mind that he couldn’t. “Here comes Mingi! He’s going to help you, and everything will be okay!” He started to cry even harder when Seonghwa started coughing up blood. “You’re okay, Seonghwa, it’s okay.”
“Yeosang…” he gave a soft smile and patted his thigh weakly. “It is okay… I’m just going to close my eyes now.” He turned his attention to Wooyoung and held his hand. “You guys let me live a nice life…” he continued to cough up blood, and he took a few breaths before continuing. “Thanks to you I found someone to love, and I got to find my treasure. Tell everyone I’m sorry and I love them… I’m just so tired…”
“Shut up!” Wooyoung yelled as more tears streamed down his face. “Stop acting like you’re dying! Let Mingi help you, or you really will die!”
“Woo…” Mingi said sadly and looked over at him, his eyes full of hurt and sorrow. “I can’t do anything; I never went to school to be a doctor… at least tell him that you love him.”
Wooyoung looked at Seonghwa, and angrily fought back his tears. “You better find me next life so I can beat you up for making me cry again, you scallywag,” he half joked and tried to ignore how little time they had left. “I won’t be angry, okay? I’m going to find you and attack you again next life, understand?”
Seonghwa managed only the slightest chuckle, “yeah… I’m looking forward to it… I’ll be waiting for all of you…”
Yeosang gently stroked his hair and sighed. “Go ahead and rest now, you deserve it…” he bit down on his lower lip to hold back his tears until Seonghwa mumbled out a small ‘I love you’ before closing his eyes and becoming fully limp.
All 3 of them completely broke down as their hearts simultaneously shattered upon the death of their eldest family member. Yeosang held Seonghwa’s body, which was once vibrant, clean enough, and walking around changing all 7 of their lives for the better. How long they all cried in the same spots, no one knew or could even guess because everything just stopped for the 3 of them; until the remaining 4 came back.
“What happened?!” Hongjoong yelled and dropped everything he was holding. He ran over and kneeled in the red sand, tears already falling down his face. “W-why isn’t he awake?” He shook Seonghwa, and completely took him from Yeosang’s arms, which now felt cold. “What’s wrong with him?!”
“He’s dead you idiot!” Wooyoung yelled, “I watched my brother die again!”
Everyone cried together, in a circle around Seonghwa, until it got dark, and even through the fireworks. They didn’t want to leave him even if he was already gone, they couldn’t stand to think of life without him.
“What’re you doing out here Sannie?” Wooyoung asked, walking out onto the rooftop of their apartment complex and lied down next to him. He took his hand in his own and smiled at their matching star rings. “You’re going to catch a cold like this.”
“Looking at Seonghwa,” he said in a small voice and turned his head to look at him. “He’s up there waiting for us.”
Wooyoung chuckled and looked at the stars, even though he doesn’t believe in the same story as San. “How do you know which one is him?”
“That’s easy! He has to be the brightest one in the sky because he’s super special!” He exclaimed with a big smile, pointing at what most refer to as the north star. “Right there. You see him?”
Wooyoung laid his head on San’s chest and stared at the same star. “Yeah, I see him… so is Yeosang with him too?”
“Yep! He’s the other bright star! I wonder if they’re married up there yet.” He sighed and ran his hands over Wooyoung’s neat hair.
Wooyoung scoffed, “duh, of course they are!” He rolled his eyes and stared at the star that San called Yeosang. “They belong together, and we’ll be with them again in no time. Just as it should be.”