#pirate hongjoong

[lilacmingi]

RUNAWAY

My works are 14+ ONLY. If you’re under 14 DO NOT interact with me or any of my works

Pairing: Pirate!Hongjoong x pirate!fem reader

Word count: 8,270

Note: This is an imagine from April 2022 from my Wattpad. The pirate Ateez imagines are definitely some of my most popular ones and I’m SO excited to share them here! I wanted to do something to celebrate 200 followers but I don’t have any new stuff ready so I’ve decided to post my Ateez pirate imagines! 🏴‍☠️ Pirate AUs for the other members are linked at the end of the imagine!

The moon hung high in the clear night sky, the bright beam reflecting onto the peaceful waters below. The view of the dark horizon was tranquil and the complete opposite of the pandemonium that was taking place just a few feet behind you.

Singing, hollers of celebration, and the clanking of stein glasses became mere background noise as you gazed at the midnight sky above. The myriad of stars dotting the heavens were almost like fireflies in the forest, giving some light to the otherwise dark sky.

Hongjoong's crew was celebrating another successful day of pillaging—it was exhausting. You'd become rather numb to these so-called celebrations. It's just a bunch of men acting like drunken fools to you.

The crew belted out sea shanties in their intoxicated states, the sour notes coming out slurred and garbled. You cringed. You didn't know how much more of this you could take.

The sound of heavy boots stumbling towards you caught your attention. An arm was slung haphazardly over your shoulder, the force making you jerk forward a bit.

"Y/n." Hongjoong slurred slightly, his breath smelling of rum. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

"Watching the moon." You answered.

"Come join us. You're missing out."

"No thank you."

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I just don't care for celebrations."

"But you've always enjoyed our celebrations."

"Yeah, but it's becoming a bit... how do I put this? Lackluster."

Hongjoong scoffed. "Lackluster?"

"Yeah. I just don't enjoy it much anymore."

"Let me change your mind."

You glanced over to see Hongjoong's hand extended towards you, his many gold rings glimmering under the lit torches.

You started to deny him, but stopped, pressing your lips together in thought.

"C'mon." That all too familiar charming smirk of his spread across his soft-looking lips. "You wouldn't refuse a dance with me, would you?"

"I might." You teased, a playful grin threatening to break out onto your features.

He made a face at you in return.

"Alright." You caved, clasping his extended hand. "I'll dance with you."

"I knew you couldn't resist." He simpered, leading you towards the middle of the main deck.

The drunken singing of the crew was much louder now that you were right in the middle of it. Hongjoong's cheeks were stained pink from the alcohol, no doubt, as he grinned brightly, taking your other hand. The two of you began spinning and skipping to the stomp of the crew's boots against the wooden boards of the ship. Neither of you ever really learned how to properly dance, but when you're a pirate, that doesn't matter much.

As you bounded in circles, you found yourself enjoying it more and more. The two of you danced in no particular rhythm, stomping your feet and bouncing around like fools. Your hands stayed clasped together as you swung them around, your joint laughter filling the air.

Once the chanting and off-key singing of the crew died down, you and Hongjoong ceased your dancing.

"See? That was fun, wasn't it?" He grinned.

"It was." You agreed, fixing the errant strands of his scruffy mullet.

"You always enjoy dancing with me."

"I do." You admitted.

"C'mon. Have something to drink." He pulled you towards one of the barrels set up and took it upon himself to fill up a stein.

He handed it to you with a smile. You reluctantly took it, taking a sip of the dark liquid.

"Next time we dock, I'll try and get some nice wine. How about that?" Hongjoong suggested.

"That would be wonderful. I'm starting to tire of rum."

"Hey, if you won't drink it, I will." Hongjoong reached out to grab the glass from you.

"Wait." You pulled it away. "Are you sure you should have any more?"

"Of course! You can never have enough alcohol."

"How many of these have you had?" You questioned, referring to the large stein in your hand.

"Three."

You pressed your lips together, hesitant to hand over the drink. Then again, Hongjoong is as stubborn as a mule. If you don't give it to him, he'll just make himself another glass.

"Very well, then." You gave in, handing over the glass.

"Thanks, lovely." He winked, taking the beverage from you.

You watched as he sauntered off, joining his crew to clink steins with them. One of the crew members began singing yet another drunken shanty, causing everyone to start dancing again. Hongjoong held his wooden stein up in the air, alcohol sloshing onto the deck as his crew cheered him on.

"Say my name!" He shouted.

"Captain Hongjoong! Captain Hongjoong! Captain Hongjoong!" They chanted, fueling his ego.

You could tell he loved that. He loved being the captain. It was his dream, after all.

A yawn spilled from your lips, catching you off guard. You hadn't realized how tired you were.

You stepped away from the railing of the ship and began to head towards the captain's cabin to turn in for the night.

You and Hongjoong shared a room, exactly the way he wanted. You were the only female on the ship and Hongjoong's dearest friend, as well as his right hand woman, so he wanted to make sure you stayed close, which is why you got the best room on the ship.

On the way to your shared room, you noticed someone sitting on the steps leading to the quarterdeck. He was hunched over, a head of soft, brown hair resting on the top of his knees. You were curious as to who was crouched on the steps alone. You had been on the ship for years and were familiar with every crew member, but you weren't sure who this was.

"Excuse me. Are you okay?" You asked, approaching the male.

He lifted his head, large, brown eyes looking up at you.

"Oh, Minho." You smiled, warmly. "I thought you'd be over there with everyone else." You spoke, gesturing to the celebration taking place a few feet behind you.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm not one for celebrations. They've become too hectic for me. To be honest, I thought you'd be over there. You're always with Hongjoong."

"Yeah, well, I've had my fill of celebrations for the night." You told him. "Hongjoong is on his own tonight. I've decided to turn in for the night."

"Well, I don't want to keep you out here. Sleep tight." He smiled.

"Thanks, Minho."

You stepped into your room, closing the door behind you.

Hongjoong's bed was unmade, as usual and his desk was an absolute mess. He was never one to clean up after himself. Apparently, he "has other things to worry about." You let out a sigh as you walked over to his desk where papers and books were scattered over the surface. The entire tabletop was in disarray. As much as you wanted to clean it up, you knew everything was more than likely left in place for a reason. So, you did the least you could possibly do, which was throw away any wadded pieces of paper as well as collect all of the pens and pencils scattered across the desk, placing them all into a cup.

You told yourself you'd stop and go to bed after that, but you didn't. You ended up stacking all the papers strewn across Hongjoong's desk, putting them in one, neat pile. Upon doing so, you discovered a large map spread across the tabletop. Your head tilted to the side when you noticed a red dot on the map. Normally, a red dot indicated that the town was going to be raided for supplies. You tried to read the name of the town, unable

to see well in the dimply lit room. Your eyes squinted as you leaned towards the map, until you heard a commotion just outside the cabin, which caused you to scurry away from Hongjoong's desk.

You made yourself busy, pulling back the covers on your bed, only to find that it was just a false alarm. The noises you heard were merely drunken crew mates making a ruckus.

You glanced back towards Hongjoong's desk sitting on the other side of the room, tempted to go back and look at the map, but you decided against it, choosing to get ready for bed.

You turned the knob on the oil lamp, dimming the light so you'd be able to rest. You wanted Hongjoong to be able to see when he finally came to bed, so you didn't put it out all the way.

As you laid in bed, your mind began to drift towards the map, your curiosity getting the best of you. Your head lifted from the pillow, your eyes staring across the room at Hongjoong's desk. Then, without thinking you flung the covers off of you and grabbed the oil lamp, moving across the room to the map spread on the table.

The dim glow of the low-burning flame illuminated the chart enough to where you could finally read the name of the town. You blinked a few times, getting a second look at it, wondering if you misread it.

"That can't be right." You murmured.

Worried about getting caught, you scurried back to bed and attempted to go to sleep. Instead of worrying about what you saw on that map, you just chose to confront Hongjoong about it the next day.

The sea breeze blew through your hair as you stood by Hongjoong's side on the forecastle deck.

"There's a town close by that we're going to pillage." He informed you as he steered the gigantic vessel.

"Was that the town you had marked in red on your map?"

"How did you know that?"

"I saw it on your desk last night. That town isn't a bad town. There's good people living there. Why would you plan to pillage it?"

"We need supplies. Plus, they're nearby."

"That's your reasoning?" You questioned.

"Yeah."

"Hongjoong, that town is well known for giving things to those in need. You should find another town to get supplies from."

"If that's true, then looting the town should be easy." He shrugged.

You were appalled, unable to believe what he just said.

"It makes more sense to go there because it's closer. We don't have enough supplies to last long enough to make it to the next town."

"Then ration our provisions."

"I can't do that."

"Yes you can. I'm not asking for much. Ration until we reach the next town."

You could tell Hongjoong was getting agitated, but you wouldn't have him pillage a town that didn't deserve it.

"What I say goes, and I say we're raiding that town."

"I want you to wait and raid another town."

"Well, you're not the captain, are you, Y/n?"

"No, but I am your friend." You responded, harshly, stepping forward to grab the wheel.

"Hey!" Hongjoong shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Steering us away from that town."

You began to fight with him, the wheel being pulled back and forth like a tug of war.

"Why don't you listen to me?" You asked.

"I'm the captain!" He snapped. "Not you!"

Hongjoong shoved you away, causing you to stumble back and fall onto the deck. A hiss left you as pain shot up your hip and elbow. You thought maybe your friend would feel some sort of remorse, but he only stared down at you, looking only mildly surprised at his actions.

You clenched your jaw and pushed yourself up off the deck, knowing you lost this fight.

"Forget it. I'm tired of this."

You stormed off the forecastle deck, getting as far away from Hongjoong as you could. You were absolutely fuming, wanting to unleash the burning anger inside. Hongjoong only raids towns that steal from the poor. Never has he even considered looting a town so generous—until now, apparently.

The way he simply brushed off the fact that he was about to pillage a small town that didn't deserve it made your blood boil. Truthfully, you don't think he understands the weight of his actions. He'll leave that town with hardly anything. They won't have anything left.

The sound of boots hitting the deck pulled your from your thoughts. Turning your head, you spotted Minho approaching you.

"You alright?" He asked.

Your lips pressed together as you briefly contemplated lying to him.

"No."

"I heard a commotion on the forecastle deck and wanted to check on you. I assume you and Captain got in a fight?"

"It's the first fight we've ever had. He wants to raid a town because it's nearby. I tired to talk him out of it because the town provides for others."

"That doesn't seem right." Minho responded.

"It's not. I tried to make him change his mind, but he just kept saying we don't have enough supplies and we have to dock there. I suggested rationing what we have and he completely shot down the idea."

Minho frowned in distaste. "Why is it so difficult to ration?"

"I don't know." You sighed, shaking your head. "He's never acted like this before. I don't know what's happening to him."

"I'm sorry he's being such a jerk."

"Me too. Sorry for dumping all of this onto you. I should have just lied and said I was okay."

"No." Minho shook his head. "I'm glad you were honest. It's not good to bottle things up. If you ever need to talk, I'm here. Okay?"

You nodded, giving him a weak smile.

The day went on and you tried your hardest to keep your distance, avoiding Hongjoong by any and all means. Much your dismay, Hongjoong had announced to the crew his plans of looting the poor town. You were set to dock in just a couple days.

When night settled over the sky, you began making your way towards the captain's quarters, only to stop in your tracks. Did you even want to sleep in the same room as Hongjoong?

You turned on your heel, redirecting your route to the crew's sleeping quarters, heading directly to one room in particular.

Your knuckles knocked lightly on the bedroom door, waiting for an answer. It creaked open just a few seconds later.

"Oh, Y/n. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" Minho asked.

"Yeah. This might sound like a weird question, but is it alright if I stay with you tonight?"

His large eyes widened in surprise.

"Hongjoong and I aren't on good terms at the moment, which you already know, and I don't really want to share a room with him now."

"I understand." He nodded, stepping aside. "Come on in."

You volunteered to sleep on the floor, but Minho wouldn't allow it, offering you his bed. So, that's where you slept.

The ocean was rather choppy today, much like the situation you were currently in. The white-capped waves dominated the majority of the waters' surface, the ship lurching with each forceful push of the sea below, sending a spray of salt water up the side of the vessel.

"Alright men, all hands on deck!" Hongjoong instructed. "There's a storm coming in from the north."

"Yes, Captain." The crew responded.

You wanted to ask Hongjoong if he needed your help with anything, but the two of you were not on speaking terms at the moment, so you held your tongue.

"Man the sails!" Hongjoong shouted more commands, sternly.

He's absolutely deserving of being captain. Despite his small stature, he carried a very powerful and commanding presence, his aura almost threatening at times. However, at the end of the day, he was still the sweet Hongjoong you grew up with—well, up until recently. You said you would follow him to the ends of the earth. He was your best friend, after all. Now, you're not sure who he is.

Years ago, when the two of you had just recently turned 18, Hongjoong had this grand idea to escape.

"We're gonna get out of here." He told you.

"And go where?" You inquired.

"Anywhere. Everywhere." He answered, his eyes twinkling. "Sail the seas."

"You want to be a pirate?" You questioned.

"Yes! It would be so much fun. No rules, no nothing." He turned to you with a smile. "Will you join me?"

The excited gleam in his eye let you know how serious he was about this unattainable dream. Despite that, the idea of sailing the seas and living a rule-free pirate life thrilled you.

"Yes."

Look where that got you.

A loud boom of thunder rumbled in the ominous sky above, dark, menacing clouds swirled over the ocean. You stepped away from the railing, watching as the crew scurried across the deck, preparing for the storm brewing in the atmosphere.

Hongjoong was busying himself by barking orders at crew mates, rushing them along. He was unusually snappy today, no doubt because of your little fight yesterday.

"What are you doing?" He shouted, angrily. "Furl the mainsail! The storm is approaching!"

Truthfully, you were surprised he hadn't said anything to you about not sleeping in your own bed last night. Then again, maybe he didn't care.

A raindrop hit the top of your head, catching your attention. It didn't take long for the stray drops to turn into a torrential downpour. The rain came down in sheets, pounding on the deck, making puddles almost instantly.

You noticed Minho struggling with one of the masts, hurrying over to assist him.

"Thanks." He breathed.

A gust of wind blew by, whipping your hair in every direction.

"We should get inside!" Minho yelled over the howling winds.

You nodded in agreement as his hand found yours, leading you towards the crew's sleeping quarters to get out of the harsh winds and piercing rain.

Little did you know, Hongjoong was watching, his sharp eyes trained on yours and Minho's intertwined hands.

The ship made it out of the storm unscathed and went on its way to the small, unsuspecting town. Part of you had hoped the storm would somehow get the ship off-route and Hongjoong would be forced to ration supplies and hold off on the raid until you made it to the next town.

The pillaging went on as planned. Like all raids, the looting took place at night. Hongjoong always said it was better to do these things under the cover of darkness.

You stayed on the ship, of course, unable to join in on the raiding. Your conscience wouldn't let you. To your surprise, Minho stayed behind too. Like you, he couldn't bear to be a part of the merciless thievery that was taking place.

It didn't take long for the two of you to hear multiple pairs of booted feet thudding hurriedly against the main deck, followed by the sounds of heavy objects being set down. Your heart sank, knowing the raid was over and the town was left without many of their supplies. For the first time since stepping foot on this ship, you felt sick.

It didn't take long for the music and rhythmic stomping of feet to begin, letting you know the celebrations had already kicked off.

Minho's top lip curled in distaste as he stared in the direction of the main deck.

"I can't sit here and let them celebrate this heinous act." You muttered, pushing yourself to your feet.

You stormed up onto the main deck where Hongjoong was standing up on a cluster of crates, barrels, and burlap sacks dancing and celebrating.

"So you ended up raiding that town?" You inquired with crossed arms.

"Of course I did." He responded before turning to the crew. "And it was a raging success!"

The crew cheered with him, which only fueled your anger.

"I wouldn't call it a raging success if you're stealing from people who do good."

"It's not like we killed anyone." He rolled his eyes.

"No, but you left that town to suffer. The attack was unprovoked."

"Don't get your trousers in a wad, Y/n. We're pirates. We pillage and plunder, it's what we do." Hongjoong responded casually.

Your fists unconsciously clenched as you tried your hardest to bite back rage. Instead of opening your mouth and allowing your scathing words to escape, you whirled around and returned to Minho's room.

The door slammed shut behind you as the brown-haired male lifted his gaze, waiting for you to speak.

"Minho, can you keep a secret?"

In the dead of night while everyone was asleep and/or passed out from alcohol consumption, you snuck out onto the main deck with a small bag of your belongings, heading for the rowboat. You planned to escape the godforsaken ship that once felt like home. Minho, who knew about your plan of action, promised not to breathe a word of your whereabouts. He even offered to assist you.

Said pirate followed you outside and helped lower you into the water once you were inside the boat.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" He questioned.

"I'm sure. Being captain has gotten to Hongjoong's head and after that little stunt he pulled earlier tonight, I can no longer stand by his side."

Minho nodded, somberly. "I understand. Good luck."

"Thank you."

The boat was lowered the rest of the way into the water and you began making your way towards the town. Equipped with just the necessities, you started your journey, using just a compass and a messy, hand-drawn copy of Hongjoong's map.

You didn't feel the slightest bit of remorse as you rowed further from the ship, watching as it got smaller and smaller. You didn't really care if Hongjoong knew you left. He made it very clear that he was the captain and what he says goes. It was painfully evident that he didn't need you anymore; if anything, you were doing him a favor. On the off chance that he did freak out in wake of your disappearance, you'd never know, nor would you care.

"Serves him right." You muttered.

To your surprise, it only took you the entirety of the night to arrive at the marauded town. Your arms were throbbing and you were in need of sleep, but were happy to have arrived at your destination. You used an old rope to tie your row boat to the dock before stepping out onto the landing.

The first thing you noticed about your surroundings was the stacks of crates and barrels that had been emptied and toppled over. The remnants of last night's pillaging was obvious and heartbreaking. You slowly made your way off the dock and into the town where you were met with more wreckage—it was horrible. The more you saw, the angrier you became, wanting nothing more than to curse Hongjoong up one side and down the other. Being on a pirate ship for so long, you managed to learn some insults you didn't even know existed and you wanted to use every single one on Kim Hongjoong.

People were trying to clean up the aftermath of the pillaging from the previous night, doing their best to put the town back together. You spotted a nearby hostel, a middle-aged woman crouched on the ground outside, attempting to tidy up the small flowerbed that looked as if it had been trampled on.

"Excuse me." You called out, gently.

The woman lifted her head. "Oh, hello. Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you had any vacancies."

"As a matter of fact, I do." She smiled, softly, dusting her hands off on her apron. "You look like you need a good night's rest. Have you traveled far?"

"All night." You responded.

"I'll get you checked in right away. Follow me." You trailed behind the woman as she entered the house, going behind the front counter. "Sorry. We're a little short-staffed. There was a pirate pillaging last night. All but one of my employees quit—and he can't quit because he's my son. That sort of thing just doesn't happen here, so it really scared the workers."

"If you need help, I'd be happy to lend a hand." You told her.

"No, dear. You need rest."

"It's fine." You brushed it off. "It's daytime anyway. It's best I stay up."

"Are you sure, dear?"

"Of course. It seems like you could really use the extra help."

"If you insist. I won't turn down someone who's so willing to lend a helping hand. I'll show you to your room and bring you some working clothes."

"Great." You smiled, following her to the room you'd be staying in.

It was small, cozy, and equipped with only the necessities.

"So, what's your name?" She asked as you looked around the room.

"Y/n." You answered.

"That's a lovely name. You can call me Mrs. Park."

"Well, Mrs. Park, I'd like to stay here for a few days. How much do I owe you for it?" You asked, turning to her.

"Free of charge."

"I can pay for it. It's fine." You insisted.

Mrs. Park held her hand up to stop you.

"You're doing me a huge favor by offering to help me out. It's the least I can do."

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it."

"Like I said, it's the least I can do. We have running water. If you'd like, you can go wash up and I'll bring you a change of clothes and an apron. Then, we can get started on the work."

You didn't bring a lot with you, so getting settled wasn't a problem at all. You did take advantage of the running water Mrs. Park told you about. Being at sea, you haven't had access to clean water, therefore you've not been able to properly bathe. The closest you got to a bath was a quick dip in the ocean with a bar of soap. Shampoo, conditioner, and soap was provided for you, which you were immensely thankful for.

You felt rejuvenated after your bath. In fact, you felt like a whole new new person.

After stepping out of the bathroom, you spotted a neatly folded stack of clothes on your bed.

Normally, you'd wear a large, cream-colored shirt with ruffled sleeves tucked into a pair or trousers and black boots. The clothes Mrs. Park had provided you with contrasted greatly with your usual attire. In your hands was a long, navy-colored dress that laced up in the back, the garment made with thick material, as well as an apron to wear over the dress. As a pirate, you never wore dresses. They weren't really your thing, anyway. However, you were trying to start a new life, and that new life required you to wear the dress in your hands, so you put it on.

You were surprised by your reflection, hardly recognizing the person staring back. Your hair, which had started to dry, was fluffy and bouncy. The outfit was different, but you didn't hate it. You would have preferred pants, but you were willing to compromise since you had a place to stay.

Not wanting to waste too much time, you headed to the lobby.

"Mrs. Park, I'm ready to get started."

"Y/n?" Hongjoong called out.

He hadn't seen you all day. He was still a bit upset with you for the way you reacted the other day as well as last night, but when he didn't see you, not even with Minho, he began to worry.

"Y/n!" He called out again much louder, hurrying across the deck. "Has anyone seen Y/n?"

No answer.

In a panic, he peered over the side of the ship, noticing the row boat was gone. His head snapped towards the sails where Minho was standing.

"Minho!" He shouted, stomping over to the man. "Where is she?"

Minho didn't even spare a glance at Hongjoong and continued straightening out the rigging.

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere." He responded, nonchalantly.

"Don't make me ask again."

"I don't know where she is."

"Stop lying. I know the two of you have been spending time together. Where is she?"

"Away from you." Minho responded, his tone becoming snappy.

Hongjoong reached for his cutlass, pulling it from its sheath and pointing it at Minho's neck.

"Tell me where Y/n is." He demanded.

"You're the captain, you're smart. Why don't you figure it out?"

Hongjoong's jaw clenched, his patience being pushed to its limits. Then, suddenly, it clicked. You had to have gone to that town.

Hongjoong put his cutlass back in its sheath and turned around on his heel.

"We're changing course!" He announced. "I know where Y/n is. We're going to get her."

Working at the small hostel was wonderful. You found that you enjoyed it very much. Unlike life on Hongjoong's ship where you did the same thing every day, you did something different each day here. It was a nice change.

The day you arrived at the town, you were introduced to Mrs. Park's son, Seonghwa. He normally took care of washing the sheets and putting the beds back together. Sometimes he helped out in the kitchen and cooked meals for the residents. Now that all of the staff members had quit, he had to take up most of the slack. The two of you got along well and it made working at the hostel a lot more fun.

Mrs. Park had sent you and Seonghwa to the market to get some things she had run out of. She rushed the two of you out the door, going on about how dire it was that she get these items. She wanted to make a cake for you, which she had mentioned was her specialty, so getting the ingredients was very important.

"Alright. Eggs, flour, and sugar." You read off the list. "We got the sugar. Just a couple more things and we're good to go."

You picked up a small sack of flour and put it into the basket Seonghwa had tossed over his arm. That was the system. You grabbed the groceries, Seonghwa carried them.

"My mom really appreciates your help. When those pirates came though and everyone quit, she was really scared. She didn't know how she'd be able to take care of the place."

"Seems like I showed up at the right time."

"You did." He nodded with a smile. "I know it's only been a week, but things are starting to get back to normal, I think. Everyone seems to have recovered. I just hope it doesn't happen again."

"Me too." You responded, picking up a carton of eggs.

Unbeknownst go you, Hongjoong's ship had just docked at the town and the captain was making his way down the wharf.

You had just paid the cashier for the groceries and were headed back to the hostel when suddenly your wrist was grabbed and you were pulled away from Seonghwa into a small alley between two buildings. You jerked in the person's grip, trying to break free until you saw their face.

"What are you doing here?" You spat.

"What are you doing here?" Hongjoong turned the question back to you. "And what in the seven seas are you wearing?"

"I'm helping, and if you must know, this is the uniform I was given."

"Uniform?" He repeated, his face twisted in distaste.

"I'm working at a small hostel. Did you know all of the staff quit after your little rampage?"

You could see Hongjoong's eyes soften for a moment before he quickly covered it up.

"Why did you even come looking for me?" You questioned, harshly.

"You're part of my crew."

"Is that all I am to you? Just a crew member?"

"No."

"Well, that's what it feels like. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

You started to walk away when Hongjoong grabbed you again.

"No you don't. You're coming back with me."

"I'm staying here."

"You don't have a choice, Y/n."

You jerked your arm away. "I do, and I choose to stay. You obviously don't need me back on that ship. You wasted your time coming back for me."

"You're wrong. I need you."

"You don't. You're the captain, remember? You make the decisions yourself. You don't need me to tell you what to do because in the end, you'll do what you want."

He opened his mouth to speak, but you continued.

"This whole captain thing has gone to your head. What happened to the Hongjoong I used to know?"

"I'm still the same Hongjoong."

"No, you're not. You've changed."

That's the last thing you said before walking back to Seonghwa, who was standing in the middle of the street with his mouth hanging open, his face as white as a sheet.

"Let's go." You grabbed his arm, pulling him in the direction of the hostel.

"D-do you know him?" Seonghwa asked, his head turned to stare at Hongjoong.

"I used to."

"He's the captain of the pirate crew that looted our town."

"I know."

"What?"

"It's a long story."

"If you're with him, then—"

"I'm not with him. I ran away. He wanted to pillage your town and I told him not to because this town is so selfless, but he didn't listen, so I left the ship."

"You're a pirate?" Seonghwa gaped.

"Yes."

"Is he going to take you back?"

"He's trying to."

Once you got back to the hostel, you gave Mrs. Park the items she asked for and hurried to your room, Seonghwa following behind.

"What are you going to do?" He asked.

"I don't know." You muttered, pacing back and forth. "I didn't know he'd come looking for me."

Just then, a loud thump came from the somewhere downstairs. You and Seonghwa shared a wide-eyed look before hurrying to the door. You peered over the shallow staircase and spotted Hongjoong at the front desk.

"You wouldn't happen to how a Y/n, would you?" He asked.

"No." Mrs. Park lied.

"I know she's here." Hongjoong spat.c"Where's her room?"

"Crap." You whispered, retreating to your bedroom where you frantically began packing your things.

"What are you doing? Where are you going?" Seonghwa questioned.

"I don't know. Away from here."

The dress you wore was restricting you immensely, making it hard for you to move around.

"I hate this thing." You grumbled.

"I have an idea. I'll go distract him while you change and make your escape."

You gave him a nod and gathered the clothes you arrived in, which had so generously been washed by Mrs. Park.

While Seonghwa was downstairs stalling, you quickly stripped off the confining dress, changing into your comfortable pirate attire. Not wanting to leave things in a mess, you hastily folded the dress and apron, lying it on the bed before you snuck out the window.

"You!" Hongjoong pointed when Seonghwa appeared downstairs. "Tell me where Y/n is."

"She's not here."

"Yes she is. Where are you hiding her?" He pressed.

"I already told you. She's not here."

Hongjoong's lip curled into a snarl as realization struck him. He then rushed out the front entrance, turning the corner to catch you just as your feet landed on the ground.

You were relived, feeling like you had successfully made your escape.

"You didn't think you could get away from me that easily, did you?"

Your heart sank.

Hongjoong grabbed you, pulling you out into the streets, yanking you towards the docks. You jerked and writhed in his grip, shouting at him to let go, but he wouldn't listen. Your heels dug into the dirt as you tried to stop Hongjoong, but it didn't work. His grip on you was too strong.

Seonghwa, who rushed out after Hongjoong, spotted him as he pulled you through town.

No one dared to help. It was obvious the townspeople recognized Hongjoong from the pillaging a week prior. They wouldn't dare try and stand up to him.

"I hate you!" You spat.

"I could care less about your feelings towards me."

"Clearly you do. If you didn't care that I was mad at you, you wouldn't have come looking for me."

His hand tightened around your wrist, which let you know you struck a nerve.

"Let go of me." You hissed.

"Not until we're back on the ship."

"Hey!" Someone cut in.

Hongjoong stopped in his tracks, turning to see who had shouted at him. You turned as well, gasping when you saw Seonghwa standing on the dock a few feet behind you.

"Let her go."

"And who do you think you are?"

"Her friend."

Hongjoong scoffed. "You've only known her for a week. You're not her friend. I'm her friend."

"Really? It doesn't look like it."

Hongjoong used his free hand to pull out his pistol, pointing it at Seonghwa.

"Stay out of our business before I put a bullet in your head."

"Hongjoong!" You snapped, pushing the barrel down. "What is wrong with you?"

He gave you a sharp glare before you turned to the man attempting to save you.

"Seonghwa." You placed your free hand on his shoulder. "I need to go."

"What?" He asked in disbelief. "You're going back?"

"I have to. There's things that need to be dealt with."

Seonghwa gave Hongjoong a skeptical look.

"It's not what you want, though."

"It's what needs to be done. Tell your mom I'm glad I could help her out, but that I needed to go. Good luck with your business."

Seonghwa gave you a sad look, but nodded in understanding.

As soon as Hongjoong had you back on the ship, he let you go, beginning to bark orders at the crew.

"Let's get out of here!"

While he was distracted, you hurried off, searching for Minho. You hadn't seen him on the deck, so you thought he was in his room.

You burst into his bedroom, but he was nowhere to be seen. After searching different areas of the ship, you found him in the galley, cleaning the tables.

"Minho!"

"Y/n. You're back." He responded, seeming surprised.

"Not by choice."

"Well, just because you're being forced to stay on this ship, doesn't mean you should be forced to be around Hongjoong. You can stay in my room if you want to."

"Thank you. What are you doing down here?"

"Hongjoong put me on kitchen duty when I refused to tell him where you were."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I don't mind cleaning up down here."

"Well, I appreciate that you kept my secret and tried to protect me." You smiled, giving him a light hug.

Just then, Hongjoong burst into the galley.

"I look away for two seconds and you've run off again. Now I find you hanging all over him."

He stormed over, grabbing your upper arm.

"Come here. We have some talking to do."

"Let go of her." Minho snapped. "You've forced her back on this ship. That should be enough."

"I'll deal with you later." Hongjoong pointed, pulling you out of the room.

You shouted at him as he dragged you all the way to the captain's quarters, calling him every name you could think of. Even when he released your arm, you continued ranting and raving.

"I can't even explain how angry I am right now!"

The door was then locked shut, causing you to spin around, abruptly. Hongjoong stood a few feet from you, his eyes dark as they stared into yours.

"Don't look at me like that. You have no right to be acting this w—"

You were cut off as Hongjoong pressed you against the door, his arms trapping you.

"I have every right to be acting this way. You're mine, remember?"

"I'm no one's."

You had barely gotten the sentence out of your mouth when his lips pressed harshly against yours. You had no time to react and were left frozen in place, your mind scrambling to make sense of what was going on.

Your eyes unconsciously fluttered closed as you allowed yourself to give in momentarily.

Hongjoong kissed you hungrily, letting out small growls that vibrated against your lips. You wanted so desperately to push him away. Your mind screamed at you to do so, but you couldn't. He had your mind in such a fog you couldn't seem to care what was wrong and what was right. Hongjoong's head tilted to the side, allowing his mouth to fit more closely with yours.

This is not right. This is not right.

Your senses finally kicked in and you pulled away, your hand making contact with Hongjoong's cheek as a resounding smack filled the air.

"What's wrong with you?"

Hongjoong placed a hand on his stinging cheek as he took a step back, a mildly shocked expression on his face.

"You got mad that I ran away, chased me down, acted like the biggest jerk ever, then all of a sudden you just kiss me?" You questioned. "What did you think that was gonna do?"

"I..." He trailed off.

"If you thought I would confess my love to you and forgive you, you're wrong. I don't love you. I love the old Hongjoong. The one who isn't this." You said, gesturing to him. "Just so you know, I'm sleeping in Minho's room tonight. If you need me, that's where I'll be." You told him, turning to leave.

"Wait." Hongjoong took hold of your wrist, this time much more softly, almost pleading. "Don't go."

You gave him an expectant look, waiting to see what he had to say. Though he was being a pompous jerk, he was still your friend and you were willing to hear him out.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me lately. You're right. This whole captain thing has gotten to my head. Being a pirate and being in charge of everyone made me feel like I could take whatever I wanted, that included you."

He paused, collecting his thoughts before continuing.

"The truth is, I love you—yes, I said love. Before you and I started this journey together I liked you, but over the years that turned into something more. My feelings for you combined with my sudden superiority complex made me think you belonged to me. In reality, I just couldn't stand the thought of not seeing you again. It made my chest hurt."

Your gaze softened a bit.

Truthfully, you'd held some feelings for Hongjoong. Though, you tried to bury them, they were slowly resurfacing after his heartfelt confession.

"I had no reason to go after you like that. I should have just let you stay. You were right. You don't belong to me." He added.

That's all it took.

You grabbed his collar, pulling him forward and swiftly placing your lips on his. Hongjoong's words meant a lot to you and you were more than willing to forgive him.

He was stiff at first, not expecting you to initiate the kiss. Then, once he registered what was happening he started to reciprocate, kissing you with just as much hunger and ferocity as he was minutes earlier. There was so much passion and desperation in the kiss that it left you breathless. One of his hands made it's way to your waist while the other rested on your upper back, pulling you closer to him. His lips fully encased yours a few times before taking your bottom lips between his teeth. You were blown away by his kissing skills, your mind and body turning to mush.

When he parted ways, you found yourself gasping for breath, your chest heaving up and down. You didn't get a lot of time to relax as Hongjoong began leaving open-mouth kisses down your neck. Your breath caught in your throat as your fingers tangled themselves in Hongjoong's tousled mullet, grabbing at the long strands. Small gasps left you when his teeth grazed your skin. You never thought he would be so bold, but you weren't complaining at all.

Hongjoong pulled away, his eyes glazed over as he stared into your own. His lips were puffy from the intense makeout session and his cheeks were flushed—and this time it wasn't from alcohol.

"Don't ever run away from me again." He murmured hoarsely, his thumb running over your bottom lip.

"Don't do anything stupid and I won't."

He let out a short chuckle. "I promise. I also wanna say that I'm sorry for looting that town. I should have listened to you. I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."

"Whatever it takes?" You questioned.

He nodded.

"Well, there is one thing."

Hongjoong returned the stolen items to the small town, apologizing for his actions. He continuously said he wasn't the type of person to do such horrible things and that he hopes the townspeople could forgive him.

Being the selfless people they were, the citizens forgave Hongjoong and even allowed him to keep some of the things he and the crew had looted. It was just enough supplies to last everyone until they got to another town. Mrs. Park and Seonghwa were happy to see you and understood that, while you had a good time staying in the town, your true home was at sea with Hongjoong. Mrs. Park even gave you her specialty cake as a parting gift.

"I baked it after you left." She told you.

"Don't you want to save some of this for yourself?"

"No." She shook her head. "You take it. Share it with the crew and that headstrong captain of yours."

You chuckled at her choice of adjective.

"He wasn't always so headstrong." You commented, glancing across the way at Hongjoong as he chatted with one of the townspeople. "That's why I'm here to be his voice of reason."

"Good." Mrs. Park smiled. "A man like him needs a strong woman by his side to keep him in check."

You chuckled lightly in response.

"Hey." Hongjoong cut in as he approached, snaking an arm around your waist. "We should get going."

You gave Seonghwa and Mrs. Park a bittersweet smile. "Thank you both for all the fond memories and giving me somewhat of a vacation."

"You're welcome." Seonghwa grinned.

"Come back anytime, dear." Mrs. Park smiled warmly.

With that, everyone boarded the ship and set sail once again.

"Mrs. Park gave me a cake." You smiled, showing Hongjoong. "It's her specialty."

"Looks good. Why don't we try it out?"

"It's to share with the crew." You told him, pulling it away.

"I'll share." Hongjoong responded with pleading eyes.

"I'll make sure you do."

"Hey." He piped up. "You know what goes good with cake?"

"What?"

"A party!"

For the first time in months, a party actually sounded fun.

Sour notes traveled through the night air as the crew sang out of tune. The celebration had just kicked off, so you knew the unpleasant singing wasn't from alcohol, though you expected it to get worse as the night went on.

Even Minho joined in on the celebrating, singing along with the crew and dancing around.

You sat alone on the forecastle deck watching the stars, the garbled singing once again becoming background noise.

The gentle thump of boots approaching caught you attention. You turned your head just as Hongjoong sat down next to you.

"What are you doing up here all alone? The party's not boring, is it?"

"No. I just wanted to watch the stars."

"Well, I brought you a slice of cake."

"Ah. Thank you." You smiled, taking the small plate from him. "What about you?"

"I thought we could share it." He responded, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

You tried to hold back a grin as he took the fork, getting a small bite of cake, bringing it to your lips.

You allowed Hongjoong to feed you, your eyes widening once you tasted the sweet treat.

"Mrs. Park was right. This is definitely her specialty." You commented.

"Wait." Hongjoong reached out, his fingers delicately holding your chin, turning you towards him. "You have something on you."

You didn't have time to respond as Hongjoong leaned in, pressing his lips to yours, his tongue swiping over your bottom lip, sending a rush of heat across your face.

He parted ways, letting out a chuckle as he licked his lips. "Got it."

You playfully smacked his shoulder, turning away in embarrassment.

"I can't believe you did that."

"But you liked it."

"A little." You responded, shyly.

"Oh. I almost forgot." He muttered, getting to his feet. "Wait here."

Hongjoong hurried off, returning moments later.

"Look what I got." He held up a bottle. "I told you I'd get us some fine wine."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Someone in that town gave it to me. He said it's meant to be shared with someone you love and then gestured to you." He chuckled. "I don't know how he knew we were together, but I have wine because of it."

"What are you waiting for? Let's open it."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

He popped the cork on the bottle, handing it to you. "M'lady." He offered.

You gladly took the bottle, taking a sip and humming in approval before handing it to him.

Your head rested on his shoulder as he took a large gulp of alcohol, setting the bottle on the deck.

"I love you, Hongjoong."

The words unconsciously slipped out, but you didn't care. Hongjoong's head rested on top of yours as he responded.

"I love you too, Y/n."

Seonghwa ⟡ Yunho ⟡ Yeosang ⟡ San ⟡ Mingi ⟡ Wooyoung ⟡ Jongho

Masterlist ᝰ — enjoyed this imagine? reblogs & comments are very much appreciated!

DO NOT steal, plagiarize, copy, repost, alter, or translate my works in any way

🏷 @h3arteyes4mingi

[velvetydream]

✎ 🍷 . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Welcome to Aurora - Masterlistˎˊ˗ ꒰ 🥀 ꒱.

Summary : Being the princess of a big and powerful kingdom was not always easy, especially when your father, the mighty king, want's you to marry a prince, just for the sake of the economy.

Was running away from her problems the best idea? Probably not. Was she better off now? Definitely.

Fleeing onto a pirate ship, of which she meet the captain once at the docks, and now being chased by her own father, trying to get her back and execute the pirates that "kidnapped" his daughter, was maybe not a dream life, but freedom.

Pairing : Pirate! Kim Hongjoong x fem! Reader

Genre : Fluff, Romance , Slow burn

Warnings ➵ Blood, Violence.. (More will follow)

Status : On Going - Every Wednesday 18:40 GMT+2

❝ Chapter Overview ᵕ̈

Part 1 -> Meet by Fate

Part 2 -> Take the risk [ Comming soon ]

Part 3 -> The start of a new journey [ Comming soon ]

Part 4 -> The harsh daily life [ Comming soon ]

Part 5 -> The mystery of Aurora [ Comming soon ]

Part 6 -> TBA..

[yourfatherlucifer]

I wanna fuck pirate Hongjoong on his desk next to all his little documents and treasures.

I want him to write about our escapade in his adventures journal about how he plundered the best hole ever. How he’s addicted.

[lemontreefantasy]

Sails and Anchors pt. 4 (FINAL)

pairing: captain!hongjoong x barmaid!reader

genre: smut

wc: 3k

warnings: fighting, a chase scene, sexy scenes

Part 4 - Raise the Anchor

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Hongjoong’s last words echoed throughout your mind for weeks. It was no surprise that after the commotion he caused he disappeared, yet again. You hadn’t heard from seonghwa since then and you dare not reach out to him either. Keeping a low profile was now your main priority but you wondered why seonghwa hadn’t visited you if he was so concerned about your well-being. 

A busying pace lasted for as long as you could remember at the bar, not that you were complaining but there was almost no time for you to rekindle your connection with the woman who told you about your sudden inheritance. You decided to take some time off from the bar to pay the city a visit.

~

“Come sit, darling,” she ushers you to sit.

“My apologies for not visiting you earlier,” you mention.

“Nonsense, I know you are a busy woman. Let us get to the specifics now, shall we?” she says walking into the room with a large tray with a full pot of tea and two small teacups.

“I’m going to be very blunt with you. Your father was very loved by the city. His charity, successful investments and other great feats were building blocks of his career. But as there are persons who love, so are there the ones with jealousy and envy in their hearts. I’m warning you, there will be many persons who will try to come into your life now that he has passed because you are now the sole inheritor of his wealth. Do with that statement what you please, but don’t say I didn’t mention this to you earlier.”

Her stern chat with you had you pensive for the journey back home. It was no secret that your father had assets and a great investment portfolio but you never grew up eating on a silver platter. You had somewhat of a normal life. You started thinking about everyone you had met since the passing of your father.

Were they being nice to me only because of who my father was? 

What do they even think they would get from me?

Many thoughts spiraled through your mind. 

That was until you saw seonghwa... patrolling the city, walking in your direction. 

Suddenly, a hand is plastered over your mouth and you’re pulled into a dark alley way. A mysterious man with the wide-brimmed hat, similar to that of your old lovers’, manages to enter your line of sight. But you realize gaze that now holds you is far from familiar.

He shushes you as he pulls you further into the darkness to conceal the both of you.

“Time’s running out boss… have you decided yet?”

“Give me a few more days. She’s more valuable to us alive.”

You notice the two figures pass by and to your surprise, you couldn’t believe your eyes. Seonghwa and one of his comrades walk past the both of you, failing to recognize your presence in the alley. Confused and scared, you had no idea what to process first. The fact that you made sweet love to Seonghwa and now he is possibly plotting to kill you or that an absolute stranger is holding you against your will in a very suspicious location.

He waits for Seonghwa and the other man to walk a fair distance from you both before asking you a question, “If I let you go, will you promise not to scream or run? I need to speak to you urgently,” Nodding your head furiously, he gently releases his grasp on you and you slowly turn around to face the unidentified man.

“My name is Jongho. I work for Hongjoong. He sent me here to protect you. I must get you back home before I explain anymore details. Please, trust me. We have no time to waste.”

As if you had any say in the matter, you were back home in your study with Jongho. He explained to you that it was to dangerous for Hongjoong himself to explain the mischief that has been going on in the city. Seonghwa was a rogue military assassin. He had been doing undercover jobs and many instances of racketeering. He told you about how the old government had hired Seonghwa to infiltrate the lives of prominent businessmen in order to swindle funds from them. You so happened to be one of his targets. He never wanted you, he only wanted to get his hands on your inheritance to keep the corrupt old governors happy while filling his pocket. It was a crude story of scheming alliances that was way too technical for you to understand but the main concern to you was that Seonghwa was after you. You had no idea how, when or what plan he was devising but you were in grave danger.

~

After a busy night at the tavern, you soothe your aching muscles from behind the counter as you watch your barmaids tidy up for the night. Putting the glasses on the shelves, arranging stools and tables and packing away liquor bottles, you have a seat and meditate on the day as the roars of drunken men have subsided. 

Eventually you bid farewell to your workers and return to your study upstairs. As you close the door behind you, a familiar scent hits your nose and suddenly, your pores raise as you recognize its origin. 

Seonghwa’s cologne. 

“Hello darling...”

You slowly turn around, trying your best to hide the fear on your face. You could cut the tension in the room with a dull butter knife.

“Seonghwa... what are you doing here?” you ask hesitantly.

“Just paying you a late night visit. That’s all. How have you been doing?” he asks, slowly walking toward you.

“F-fine, I’m fine,” you stammered out to him.

How the hell did he even get in here? Was he waiting in your room all night long?

It was like an alarm went off in your brain. Flight or fight responses kicking in. You knew this man was going to hurt you. You knew he wanted you hold you captive and there was no one around to help you. All those times that Seonghwa spent with you as a lie. A scheming plot to get hold of money. You had to escape, but how? You couldn’t run downstairs, you had no weapon up your skirt. 

What the hell am I going to do?

You lunge at Seonghwa and he draws his knife but you knee him in the groin. As he clutches his nether region, you run towards your bedroom window and jump. Adrenaline pumping, you dress linens dancing in the wind of your descent were luckily spotted by Jongho who was ironically on his way to visit you. You could thank your lucky stars when you feel his hands around you as you both find yourselves laid on the stony pathway. You grab Jongho’s hands with haste as you stand up, dragging him away from your tavern. 

“We need to hide!”

The both of you scuffle to a dark alley way, similar to that of one which you had both met previously.

“It’s Seonghwa,” you whisper, “he was in my study... he- he tried to kill me,” you whisper as you try to catch your breath.

“We should leave.” 

“What do you mean leave?” 

“You need to leave this place. It’s not safe for you here anymore,” Jongho insists.

“I can’t leave?! What about my business? What about my workers?” 

“You can’t have a business if you’re dead.”

He grabs you by the hand and leads you through the burrows of the outskirts of the city. He covers your head so as to not expose your identity to any of Seonghwa’s men who may be lurking. Eventually you both arrive at the very end of the dock. It’s lonely and dark, with the only light source coming from a decent-sized ship in front of you and the moonlight. As if your arrival was expected, the men on the ship immediately start assembling the gangway for you and Jongho.

“Stop right there! You filthy bastard pirates stop right there!!” 

Men.

Seonghwa’s men to be specific, were now emerging from the darkness. 

You were being followed. 

You and Jongho scramble onto the steps as the crewmen yanked you over and removed the gangway. Jongho sheltered your head and hurried you into the cabin. Clicking noises fade in the distance as the crewmen load their guns and booming shots fill the air. 

“RAISE THE ANCHOR!” you hear someone yell.

With his hand on your covered head, Jongho shields you to a storage room in the ship and hides you in an old wooden cupboard. Desperate and afraid, you could do nothing but sit and listen to the gunshots and commands being belted out.

Meanwhile, the deck was chaotic. Rogue officers began climbing the ship just to get aboard only to unfortunately be shot down by the crewmen who were dressed more like militants than pirates. Those who were successful in scaling the large wooden ship were given a fatal beating. But they were good at what they did, and not a single man was able to get to you. It was safe to say that the mission put together by Seonghwa and his men was indeed a great failure.

Thirty minutes later, you feel the ship begin to sway and almost causes you to tumble out of the cupboard. With your brows covered in cold sweat and butterflies multiplying in your belly, you decide to risk your exit as the sound of blasting gunshots had ceased.

You grabbed a rusty kitchen knife and slightly cracked the door open only to see Jongho again, in transit to see you and inform you that the captain was waiting to see you.

The captain…

You cautiously followed Jongho upstairs the to captain’s quarters, where he excused himself and ushered you to enter the wooden door.

And there he was, standing, looking out of the small window in his room as his ship now sailed away from that forbidden city. He turned around and walked up to you with a deadly slow pace. Upon reaching your body, he raised a hand to cup your face making you look him in eyes.

“My sweet girl. I finally have you here with me,” he whispered while softly caressing your cheek.

You remain silent. His gentle touch brought back violent memories of his abandonment. The same touch you yearned for for years, now left a bad taste on your tongue.

“Why did you do all this?” you ask, avoiding his gaze. “The spies, the chaos. Why couldn’t you just leave me be.”

“You know why” he responds, “I told you about him. I always knew the kind of man he was. How could I leave you in that place knowing that his sick mind was plotting against you.”

“So how much of it do you want…”

“I’m not sure of what you’re asking me, darling.”

“How much of it do you want... You wouldn’t have saved me if it meant that some sort of compensation was offered.”

Hongjoong chuckles and slowly steps back.

“You do know that I do not love you any less than the day that I first met you, right? It was my fault for leaving, I acknowledge that. But it didn’t make me care about you any less. On my voyages, all I could think about was your smile, our conversations, laughing at all our silly jokes… I- I had never felt such attachment to anyone or anything in my life before I met you,: he says holding his gaze at the floor.

“The odds just didn’t seem to work in my favor whenever I was in that cursed city. I had to be discreet and you know that. I couldn’t show my face on Seonghwa’s ground, else I’d be in big trouble. That’s where Jongho came in. I knew he was capable enough to keep you safe in case something like this were to happen. Luckily enough, we were docked here when this whole scenario took place, or else... you might not have been here with us right now.”

You lean onto an old wooden wardrobe in the room and eagerly listen to his explanation. The fear and anger slowly dissipated from your mind.

“I know I’ve done some questionable things in the past... things that I will never expect you to forgive me for. But this... this is all I ever wanted for you, for us. Just being here with you, the one thing that we couldn’t do for years.

If you choose to never love me again, I knew that the least I could do was protect you from people like Seonghwa.

As for your question, I’ve seen many places in my lifetime. I’ve experienced many things and encountered wealth beyond my understanding. And despite all those things, I still longed for you beside me. Your love was priceless compared to all those things.“

Hongjoong walks towards you and wraps an arm around your waist with his hand on your cheek once more, holding you mere inches away from his face.

“Stay with me, please. As long as I live, I will protect you.”

As the gap between your faces close, you feel his lips press against yours and the grip on your waist tighten so much as if he was preventing you from running away. Memories flash in your mind from the first time you kissed him. It felt like you were finally home.

Deepening the kiss, a slow and careful tread to his bed ensued. He pinned you down gently but his grip was strong. Taling your wrists in his hands, his head dipped into the crook of your neck to leave a trail of dark red bruises along your exposed skin.

Your breathing heightened as you grabbed onto his silky white shirt for support. Slowly, you felt your dress being pulled lower, to reveal your breasts. It had been indeed a while since you were exposed to anyone, especially like this. But you couldn’t hide due to your restraints. You felt a warm sensation engulf your nipples and Hongjoong groaned against your chest upon hearing your noises caused by his minstrations.

“H-hongjoong…”

“Mmmmm- yes my dear?”

“I need you. I-I need you now… please. I can’t take it anymore.”

“Tell me exactly what you want, princess,” he whispers in your ear.

“I need you inside me, please. I miss having your cock inside me.”

Like a moth to a flame, no extra thought was spared. He immediately ripped your flimsy dress off of you and planted kisses down your torso. Very soon, his hands leave your wrists and begin parting your legs wide open, giving him a full view. You could see his bulge practically bursting from his trousers’ seams.

You feel his hands drape down the sides of your legs until you feel him play the hem of your lace panties.

“May I…?”

“Yes, please dear God.”

You watched as he slowly pulled the white fabric from your legs, now suspended in the air.

Lowering his head, you feel his tongue swipe across the one place you need it the most, causing your body to jolt as you let out a needy shriek. Your hands reach down to grip his soft locks, pushing him into you even deeper. You feel his slick muscle enter you with his thumb lightly massaging your sensitive bud. Pure ecstasy flooded your mind as you felt fingers reach up to play with your breasts.

“C-coming, i’m coming,”

Pulling himself away, he trailed kisses back up to your neck. For sure you would have to hide a few marks tomorrow morning.

You feel his naked member brush along your folds signaling his readiness.

“I need you. Give it to me,” you pleaded with Hongjoong, arms wrapped around his neck.

Slowly you feel him breach your walls, a pain so sweet now filling you up. Oh how you missed this feeling, how you craved it. He knew how badly you needed it. Climbing over you, Hongjoong tilted his pelvis and quickened his pace. A pace so rapid, that your pleasure was too abundant to hear the squeaking bedframe. What you do hear is hongjoong’s heavy groans as he buried his head in the crook of your neck as he slammed into your weeping cunt.

Soon you feel him hit the sweet spot inside of you and your climax was fast approaching. With a few more strokes you whimpered as you contracted around his cock, desperately gripping onto hongjoong’s back.

“Cum for me, darling,” he demands with his face right above yours, eyes piercing into your soul.

“I love you…” you whisper.

“I love you too baby.”

Noises of desperation left your mouth as you reached your high. Hongjoong took the initiative to sit up and hold your legs spread as he watched your body recoil from his thrusts.

“Almost there baby-”

A few seconds later you feel a warm sensation fill you up and the weight of you lover now heavy on top of you. With the both of you exhausted and out of breath, you lay there a while. Drowsiness almost took over your body until you feel a warm embrace cleaning up the mess between your legs and water being coaxed at your lips.

There was no worry in the world for you anymore. Your mind was in absolute bliss. The world could come crumbling down and you would not care. All that mattered was that you were with the one person you loved the most. He was here for you now and there was no looking back.

~ The rustling of the waves colliding with the ship woke you the next morning. Rising to your feet, you walked out into the open deck of the ship where you spotted your lover sitting at the bow of the ship. With a subtle smile, you meet him there. Hongjoong stands to embrace your warm figure, slowly pulls something out of his pocket and kneels before you.

A ring. Encrusted with the finest gems you ever saw. You didn’t care where it came from. It was yours now.

“Stay with me, forever, please. I promise I will never let you out of my sight from now on.”

Placing the jewelry on your finger, he encapsulates his love with a kiss. A gesture to commence the years of adventure to come for the both of you.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

a/n: happily ever after the end. feel free to reblog/tag ur friends <3

tags: @cat54321 @iwannabemyselfff @stayoffmybyunsworld @quinnofdisaster13 @corvidqueen319 @star-0813 @marievllr-abg @katelynnsqueendom @eclecticranchzonkcookie @supernintendobabe @ateezourstars​ @voidcupidz @atinyreads @hwaspetals @teezen @joongiesmoon @n0v4t33z​ @norassimpingzone​ @licorne-manon​ @iveivory​ @quinnofdisaster13​ @oingeboinge​ @calipsou​ 

[agustd-essert]

ETERNITY {K.H.J}

group: ateez

member : Hongjoong (but the other members are main characters)

au : Pirate!Ateez, Pirate Captain!Hongjoong x Siren!Reader

wc : enough. -knife emoji- (3.4k)

content warnings: does watching someone sleep count as a warning? San eats shit once but he's fine, reader is mentioned being naked again with mildly suggestive language if you squint.

summary : A siren with a yearning for adventure and a knack for getting information crosses paths with a pirate captain and his eccentric crew in a race against time and other pirates to reclaim a long lost sunken treasure. Will they succeed? or will the captain and the siren get more than they bargained for?

spirit box (a/n): Changed one of the pictures to The Birth of Venus bc who's more fitting in a story about sirens than Aphrodite? anyway apologies for how filler-y this is in that not much really happens beyond some bonding but this chapter made me feel warm and fuzzy writing it. the next one is gonna have some action so stay tuned! also the dice game mentioned in the story was in Pirates of the Caribbean :)

2: Part of the Ship, Part of the Crew

You were fast asleep, the dramatics of yesterday's storm and rescue tiring yourself and the crew to the point where, after they had provided you with clothing and food, you all fell asleep fairly quickly. At least to your knowledge, what you and the crew failed to notice was the captain staying awake through the night, looming on the top of the stairs that led down to the lower deck. As attractive as he found you, he wasn’t fully trusting of you. Not yet. A fact you knew and respected. You would feel the same way if the roles were reversed. So, he watched you…

All night.

He justified himself that he wasn’t creepy, he was protecting his crew.

   The next morning, most of the boys were up and moving early to make sure the ship was in good condition to keep sailing and repair any damages taken by the vicious storm. They were just about ready to set sail, the last thing they needed was a heading, which was where your end of the deal came in. He sent Yunho down to wake you up, figuring that you trusted him the most out of all of them for his kindness back at the docks. In theory, Yunho’s job was easy. Wake up a siren. In practice? He was a pirate tasked with waking up one of the most dangerous things in history to pirates. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, the boards beneath his feet squeaking slightly with each shift. The more he sat there and batted around the possibility of you freaking out and mauling him in his head, the more he inadvertently watched you sleep. It clicked in his brain that he was approaching this all wrong. You saved one of the crew and only offered help to the captain. Yunho took the bet that someone that would do that would think twice before waking up swinging and watching you sleep so peacefully calmed him just enough to approach you.

   The first thing that hit you was the smell. Salty and dank. You were on a ship. The memories of yesterday came back as you slowly returned to consciousness to realize someone was nudging you awake on the shoulder. You blinked a few times before your vision adjusted and you followed the arm on your shoulder up to his face to recognize the same guy you had seen in the bar and spoke to on the docks. You cleared your throat “Yunho, right?” you had pulled the name from the other man you had saved calling him that when you first came aboard. His face immediately changed from apprehension to a calm smile and he let out a sigh. A deep part of him still half expected you to maul him. Yunho nodded “I never did catch your name.” he responded and you quickly gave it to him, slightly embarrassed the crew had seen you naked and didn’t know your name yet. He nodded again “a pleasure to formally meet you. The captain has requested for you to help with the heading. You can get dressed and head on deck.” You thanked him and he gave you a smile that warmed your soul and left with that. The clothes they gave you had been provided by Wooyoung given that he is close to your size however the clothes and boots still fit slightly loose but the clothes would serve their purpose until you got to a port.

   The warm sun hit your face as you inhaled the salty morning air as you stepped on deck. You closed your eyes and listened to the sounds, the creaking of the ship as it swayed gently from the waves, the calling of the seagulls that circled the crows nest, and the voices of the crew bustling behind you. You had never felt more at peace. The deck of a ship below your feet and nothing but open sea and the horizon in front of you. This was home.

“Good morning, pretty. Did you sleep okay?”

   The voice knocked you out of your moment of reverie and you turned quickly to see the captain. His blonde hair was held back by a red and black bandana today with a simple white shirt and brown vest with black pants and boots. He also wore a brooch with a symbol that looked like a compass but was slightly different. Regardless, he looked immaculate as ever which was still shocking to you for a pirate. His playful flirt and kindness regarding your condition caught you off guard a bit but it called back again to the first time you were on his ship and could be dismissed as he was checking to make sure you were still able to hold up your end of the deal. Which, as revealed by a conversation with Yeosang his cartographer this morning, they were painfully lost. So if you could find your way over his cartographer who he would trust to guide him blind, Hongjoong would be thoroughly impressed. “Good morning, Captain. I slept well, thank you. Let’s not beat around any bushes, may I see your maps?” You wanted to get the heading out of the way as soon as you could so you could be sailing before the morning was over and Hongjoong respected that.

   He grinned warmly and nodded before leading you over to the back of the deck near his quarters. Instead of that door however, he opened the one beside it to a smaller side room that you figured to be their chart room. At the table in the center of the room was another member of the crew with short black hair and a face that looked like it was carved from marble. He looked up upon the opening of the door and stood up to come around the table and introduce himself. “Pretty, this is our cartographer, Yeosang. He’ll answer any questions you have but will not assist you in charting a new course. That you have to do on your own. Bring it to me when you’re done.” 

“My name is-” 

“I know your name. Yunho told me.” 

The captain's response should have been cold but the evident smirk on his face and slightly playful tone as he left the room said otherwise. The door shut and Yeosang immediately spoke “Hongjoong is just testing you. Being a pirate is a lot more psychological warfare than you think. You need to be able to withstand anything being thrown at you. That's why it's not only important to be strong but smart as well.” Yeosang’s voice hit your ears like warm honey and it instantly warmed you to his presence. He had a point and you knew that pirates often negotiated on neutral territory at ports from having witnessed it. Outsmarting your opponent was just as important as overpowering them. You just never expected it to come in the form of flirting with a smile that dazzled even you whose job it was to tempt people. You nodded at him and cleared your throat, putting punctuation on that conversation. “Okay, show me everything you know as of right now. Where you last knew for certain where you were, predictions, estimations. Everything.” Yeosang turned and led you back to the table to provide everything you asked for while still maintaining the guidelines of the agreement.

   You threw yourself at the maps for what felt like days but in reality was probably only an hour and a half, creeping into mid-morning. You made little in terms of headway. Once Yeosang had provided all the information he could, he left to let you chart on your own. You slumped down in the chair at the desk and put your head in your hands. You were incredibly lost. You were currently in a part of the ocean you weren’t incredibly familiar with and judging by the time of the last known location, they had strayed at least 75 miles off course but likely more. You could rule out that you weren’t near the islands because the distance traveled would mean you would be close enough to see them if you’d been headed in the right direction. You would have known if they had got turned around because you would have passed Tortuga again so that left two directions you could be, either far West of the island or far South East of the island if the ship had suddenly turned East before reaching the island. Your destination having been revealed to you by Yeosang to be another pirate sanctuary port by the name of Libertia, a two day journey from Lucaria island where the shipwrecked key is supposed to be around. You didn’t know anything beyond the two possible directions you could be and that frustrated you. You couldn’t wait for night to use the stars as being sent off course has already set the crew behind the rest of the pirates headed to Libertia. You needed to solve this. Fast.

   You groaned and picked your head up, taking a cursory glance around the room and its various shelves stocked with books, maps, and charting tools. As if fate was listening to you, your eyes caught something that cracked your whole mystery wide open. 

A book on ocean currents.

   You unceremoniously clambered out of the chair, nearly tripping and slamming into the shelf. You ripped the book off the wall before skimming the table of contents for the section of ocean you were in. You were overjoyed again to see that the waters East of Libertia and West of it had very different currents which means you’d be able to find the answer you needed. You just had to get in the water. Which you would need the captain's permission for so it didn't look like you were jumping ship. You put your hand on the handle of the door and took a deep breath before swinging it open. You squinted as your eyes adjusted to the much brighter light and a voice behind you spoke again. “Have my heading?” You turned around to see the captain perched above you, leaning over the railing in front of the helm of the ship. The other crew was milling around either above deck or presumably below, leaving your presence unnoticed by everyone but the captain. “Almost. I need to get in the water. The current will tell me where we are.” He simply gestured toward the side of the ship and you thanked him as you approached it; however you could still feel his eyes on you, making sure you didn’t try to cut and run. You didn’t plan on it.

   He meant to look away when you started stripping, he really did, but the way your hair fell down your back just so and the curve of your hips left him thoughtless for a moment before being ripped from his thoughts by San catching his foot in a line Mingi was tying and falling flat on his face, dropping the crate he was caring from below deck with a loud slam. By the time he looked back, you had jumped. You hit the water and felt instantly refreshed as you adjusted quickly. You took a swim in the form of a lap around the ship to stretch out a bit before settling still in the water to be able to feel the direction the water was pulling you. You began to float further West and instantly knew your heading. You darted back on board before putting your clothes back on at lightning speed before nearly sprinting back to the charting room. Hongjoong saw you in a flash and turned to Yunho who was preparing the helm to sail. “Guess we’re about to know where we’re going.” Yunho shrugged and the captain laughed dryly before shaking his head in disbelief. 

   With your new knowledge in hand you were able to plot a course for the time being until the night where you could plot a more precise course with the stars but for the moment, you had a heading. You snatched the map from the table and quickly ascended the stars to the helm and to the waiting captain and helmsman, Yunho. You showed them the map and explained your estimations for the heading finishing with “I’ll have the full thing tonight but for now, we head North East.” Yunho nodded, agreeing with your knowledge and Hongjoong sighed. “Alright, North East it is but you’re not off the hook until we see Libertia.” his words were stern and not to be questioned so you didn’t. He told you to go hunt down another member of the crew for some breakfast and then hang around until night and continue your plotting. Below deck, you found the member, named Jongho, in the room that fit a table big enough for all the members but only contained the ones you recognized as San and Wooyoung deep in conversation as well as another crew mate with messy brown hair and another with straight black hair. The one you saved from the water. This was the first time you’d seen him since and you were pleased to see him in seemingly good health as he quietly munched on his breakfast. “Good morning, glad to see you’ve adjusted well although I can’t say I'm shocked for someone who spent their life in the ocean.” you giggled slightly at Jongho’s joke and nodded “Thank you for welcoming me.” “Well when you save one of our own from certain death. The least we can do is give you breakfast.``He handed you a plate of things like sausage and bread as well as some fruit, and gestured for you to sit. You looked amongst the table and saw that San and Wooyoung had noticed you and waved happily and you gave them a smile back but chose to sit at the end of the table, one seat down and across from the mystery member you saved.

   Soon after, San, Woo and the other brown haired member had left to go tend to their duties as by this point, the ship had begun sailing. Jongho was quietly cleaning in the back of the room as mystery man finished his meal and handed his plate to Jongho who took it and thanked him. You thought he would just walk out and that would be the end of it but he stopped at the end of the table, almost right in front of you. You looked up at him and he sighed but you waited patiently to see if he would speak. “Thank you. For saving my life. I thought I was going to die as soon as I went over and I probably would have if it hadn’t been for you so, thank you. I'm Seonghwa. I'm the first mate.” His voice was smooth and calm, much like Yeosang’s but not as deep. You felt the sincerity in his words and introduced yourself in return and he gave you a slight smile and left without another word.

   After your breakfast, Hongjoong didn’t have much for you to do as everyone filled their tasks well on the ship. This left you sitting at the bow, soaking in the sunlight in the mid hours of the afternoon. That was until a voice called to you. “Hey! Would you want to join us?” you turned your head to see that San, Woo and the last unknown member sitting at a table they had set up in the shade that the risen helm deck provided. You walked across the deck and approached the table to see them playing the Liar’s Dice Game. a common game among pirates. You had played and seen it been played countless times at the bar back on Tortuga. Woo quickly got up and grabbed a fourth chair for the table from below deck, allowing you to sit across from the member that was introduced to you by San as Mingi, another deckhand. “Do you know how to play?” Woo asked, causing you to scoff playfully and roll your eyes. “I've played this so many times I could smoke you in my sleep.” The table was first shocked at your boldness but Woo quickly came back with 

“Well put the dice where your mouth is then!” 

“You’re so on.” 

   Hongjoong watched from above as you played with the members of his crew, bantering, laughing and joking like you’d known them their whole lives. As well as handily kicking their asses with your bold proclamations of dice ratios. As much as Hongjoong tried to distance himself from you and be untrusting, you kept giving him reasons to trust you. You melded well with his crew, understanding their quirks immediately and bonding with them at record speed and as far as he could tell, put them back on course, recognizing an island they passed a while back as one on the route to Libertia. You were three for three so far and that meant well on Hongjoongs end. Not only would you be a great help with your abilities as a siren helping him find and reclaim his lost Cromer but also a good crew mate. Only time will tell.

   You had to stop playing once the sun set, much to the chagrin of the other players, but you had a job to do. You took a map and your charting instruments up to the bow of the ship where you could see most of the night sky and got to work charting. With the use of the constellations, pinpointing your position was easy now and you confirmed that your earlier predictions were right and had put the ship back on the right course which you cheered to yourself about. You spent a few hours checking and rechecking your calculations late into the night just to make sure you were correct. You were just about wrapping up when you heard the tapping of boots walk across the what should be silent deck as the crew should be sleeping. You picked your head up and were met with the captain approaching with his hands in his pockets. He shed the vest and bandana he was wearing earlier, leaving him with just the flowy white shirt he had. “Good evening.” he greeted once he was close enough. “Good evening, Captain.” “May I join you?” you nodded and he walked a little closer before sitting with his back against the rail across from you. Thanks to the way the bow came to a point this left a comfortable couple feet of distance between you, enough to hold a conversation without being too loud. 

“I'm almost finished.” You assured him and he nodded “That’s fantastic but that’s not what I came out here for.” You paused your work to hear what he had to say, feeling like this needed your full attention. He took your silence as an invitation to continue. “I didn’t want to trust you at first. You know that I'm sure. The information seemed too good to be true but time and time again you have proved me wrong and so far haven’t given me any reason not to trust you.” He paused to take a breath before continuing. He closed his eyes and dropped his head “You should know that you saving Hwa means more to me than you think. He’s…very important to me. One of my closest friends. For the first year it was just me and him operating the ship. I was absolutely crushed when I discovered he went over. It felt like I was losing everything. First the Cromer, now him. It made me question if I was even worthy of being a captain anymore.” Your heart ached for him. He’d clearly been through a lot of hardships in his time and you felt incredibly touched he was sharing this with you. He looked up at you again and continued to speak “Then you came. And it was like everything was fixed. Like you were the last piece I needed. You saving Hwa, your information. Like it was gift wrapped. Seeing you with the crew today, it gave me new hope. Thank you. I hope you stay with us because I know your charts will be right.” He finished with a smile that you returned before making a bold move and leaning forward to place your hand over his where it was resting on his knee. Joong was shocked to feel his heartbeat a little harder in his chest at the small action but brushed it off as some kind of passive effect sirens had on pirates.  “We’ll get the Cromer back. I know it.” The conviction in your words fanned the fire in his belly for reclaiming his lost treasure.

They will find it and he’ll do it with you by his side.

He went to sleep that night not knowing which part of that statement he enjoyed more.

-> taglist (msg me to be added)

@pinkladybugs-world @chvnnie @rachalixie @isilentprincess @woahfruity @star1117-archives @seonghwarizon @joongs-moon @wishuponthestars @theiraurora

[bteezxyewriter12]

Pirate King/ 2

Pairing- Hongjoong x Named Reader

Word count- 4.5k

Includes- Fluff, oral, blow job, deepthroating, riding, multiple orgasms

⭐gifs are from google

Prompt Series Masterlist

Part 1

Hongjoong POV

I stand near the railing of the starboard side of my ship, Joanne in front of me, our hands clasped together

She looks beautiful, in a simple blue maid's dress, her hair in a pretty braid

She left most of her jewels, her fancy dresses, her fancy shoes, her crown, everything for me

Because she loves me and wants to be with me

And I will be eternally grateful to her for making my dream of marrying her, of having a life with her come true

The sun is low in the sky, sunset nearly upon us

We decided to marry at this time with the sky a mix of beautiful colors behind us

Seonghwa stands in front of us, starting the ceremony

"Dearly beloved...."

I half listen to what he is saying, too busy staring at my gorgeous bride

"Hongjoong", Seonghwa calls

I glance at him and he asks if I'm ready for the vows

I nod

I have been ready for these vows from the moment I laid eyes on her

"Very well. Repeat after me", Seonghwa directs

"I, Kim, Hongjoong, take thee, Joanne of Spain, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith"

She smiles so brightly, happiness on her beautiful face

Happiness that I am putting there and for me that still awes me everyday

I make her happy

It's incredible

"Now Joanne, repeat after me" Seonghwa tells her

"I, Joanne of Spain, take thee, Kim, Hongjoong, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith"

A smile bursts on my face, hearing the words spoken to me by the love of my life

Seonghwa hands me a ring I actually purchased, of course with gold from a raid to put on her finger

I didn't want to use a ring I stole

It's a simple gold band

I couldn't afford to get anything else

Taking her hand, I slide the ring on her wedding finger, repeating the words Seonghwa recites

"With this ring, I thee wed, and with it, I bestow upon thee all the treasures of my mind, heart, and hands"

She smiles so widely, tears in her eyes

Then she takes my hand unexpectedly, pulling a gold band from her dress pocket

My eyes widen at the ring as she slides it on my finger saying, "With this ring, I thee wed, and with it, I bestow upon thee all the treasures of my mind, heart, and hands"

"Jagi...where-"

"I had Maria get it made. I knew I wanted to marry you someday Joongie and I also knew you would not get yourself a ring. I decided to get one for you."

She thought of marriage with me?

And planned ahead, making a ring for me

These facts are boggling my mind

"You...you wanted to marry me?"

"Of course Joongie. I love you", she says simply, "Although I did not expect it to be so soon but yes I always wanted to be with you for the rest of my life"

"I love you Joanne"

"I love you Hongjoong"

"Alright", Seonghwa interrupts, "I pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your bride"

She jumps into my arms, kissing my lips passionately

Of course I kiss her back, feeling like I'm in heaven

Being anywhere with her is heaven

She is my wife now and I will never leave her side

🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

J POV

Kissing my husband, I am utterly happy

I have never been this joyful before

I am with the love of my life and he is mine forever

The kiss goes on, becoming more wild and passionate

"Alright, can you please go to your room before you end up have sex right here on the deck", Seonghwa rolls his eyes

Hongjoong pulls away, glaring at him, "I would never do that"

Seonghwa just raises his eyebrow

Hongjoong, scowls, pulling me away and leading me to his quarters

Once the door is closed, his lips are on mine again, kissing me deeply, his tongue in my mouth

His kiss makes me weak in my knees like it always does

But this time I don't want him to catch me

I want to fall

Moving my lips from his, I press kisses to his neck, feeling his soft skin under my lips

Continuing my kisses, I unbutton his shirt, slowly pushing it off his shoulders, kissing his muscular chest as I move down

I begin to kneel as I kiss my way down his body, spending much time kissing his hard muscular stomach

Sucking on his skin, he moans softly and I run my tongue on the spot when I let go

Licking down his stomach, I undo his pants, pulling them down all the way

I press my lips further, kissing along his cock, his breathing increasing

When I get to his head, I lick all around it, a loud moan coming from his beautiful throat

Taking his head in my mouth, I suck on him, slowly moving down his length the more my mouth moves

"Oh god jagi. Fuck", he groans, his hand moving softly into my hair

I look up at him, his eyes already on me, watching me suck him off

I enjoy sucking on him, I enjoy the feel of him in my mouth and throat, the way he tastes, the sounds makes

I love giving him so much pleasure

Holding onto his hips, I breathe in and move the rest of the way down his shaft, nestling him down my throat

"Jagi, fuck. So good", he pants

Moving my head back, I surge back up, taking him all in again

And again and again, bobbing my head

"Fuck, jagi, your mouth. Oh god. Don't stop. Please jagi, keep going"

Of course I keep going, swallowing on his cock, hearing him cry out in pleasure

I feel his length throb as I move it down my throat

He is going to cum and I want to taste him so badly

Keeping his cock in my throat, I suck on him hard and fast, throwing him into an orgasm, his cum spilling down my throat

I taste him again, after so long and he's even better than before

I keep sucking wanting all of his cum

"Joanne, jagi!", he yells, his legs shaking as he orgasms so fucking beautifully

I cannot tear my eyes away from him

He is ethereal and he's mine

When he finishes, I pull off him, his shaft still half hard

He bends pulling me up to my feet, kissing me wildly as his hands completely rip my dress off and I am naked in seconds

He steps out of his pants, kicking them and his shoes away

He picks me up, turning us and barely making it to the bed

He moves on top of me but I do not want that

I want to please him

Pushing against his shoulders, he breaks the kiss, looking at me in confusion

"Jagi-"

"Shhh", I say softly, sitting up and in turn making him sit up

I continue to push him until he's laying down

"It is my turn to pleasure my Joongie", I inform him, climbing into his lap, leaning down a pressing a kiss to his cheek, "My captain"

I press a kiss to his other cheek, his beautiful brown eyes looking at me in awe although I do not know why

He knows I love him more than anything in this world and I will do anything for him

"My husband", I finish, kissing his soft pink lips as I slide down his cock, pleasure hitting me hard

He moans in my mouth, gripping my hips hard as I rock on him, feeling him become harder inside me

Playing with his tongue, I move my fingers in his hair, softly bouncing on his length

His hands travel to my behind, gripping it hard as I take him fully inside me again and again

He feels fantastic, his thick cock opening me so well around him

I cannot stop the throbbing my pussy is doing around him, holding him so fucking tightly

But I know he loves it and does not want me to stop it

I move a little harder, his tip stroking my spot, making me shiver on top of him and soaking him thoroughly

He breaks the kiss, his head pushing back into his pillow, loud moans escaping his throat

"Don't stop jagi. Please more. Fuck I want you so much", he whines, "Please cum on me. Please"

His begging me to orgasm, arouses me so much adding to the pleasure hits cock is giving me and I am so close

"Please, cream my cock jagi. Please", he begs and the next move down his shaft hurtles me into an amazing orgasm

"Hongjoong!", I cry, the pleasure amazing, my body shaking on top of him

"Fuck, yes jagi. Fuck. Fuck", he groans

I keep moving through the pleasure to give him more

When the massive pleasure ebbs, I sit up and lean back on his thighs, riding him hard and fast

"Yes jagi. I need you to cum again. Please jagi, I need it again", he cries, his eyes moving to where we meet

He bites his lip, watching

"Oh fuck, you're tiny pussy looks so good wrapped around my cock jagi", he whimpers, "Takes me so well, leaving a huge creamy mess. Feels so good, my love"

"Mmm you feel so good Joongie. Love riding your cock"

My god do I love to ride him

Yes I am doing most of the work but the feel of him inside me, impaling me is like nothing else

Watching him in pleasure, watching him orgasm is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen

I love watching him

And I love that when I ride him, I am giving him so much pleasure

"My princess", he whimpers, "Look at you, so beautiful on my cock"

I blush as I continue to move

"Jagi, I need you to cum", he says, his hand moving to my clit, rubbing softly

The increase in pleasure is so much, making me yell from how wonderful it feels

"Yes, my princess, getting so much more wet. Creaming my cock so well. Cum for me"

Sliding down his length, his thumb rubs my spot and I close my eyes, my orgasm hitting me in blissful waves

"Yes jagi. So fucking beautiful. My beautiful princess", he praises

My fingers dig into his thighs, yelling his name as I ride the pleasure

My god it is ecstasy

I finish and he sits up, pulling me to him, his lips crashing into mine

I throw my arms around his neck, his arms around my body, his skin so sweaty and feeling so good against mine

I bounce in his lap, his hips thrusting lightly up into me, going deeper inside

I moan in his mouth but I am not pulling away from his kisses

My fingers find their way into his hair, pulling his ponytail out of then running my fingers through the soft blond strands

"I love you", he says between kisses

"I love you", I tell him

I never loved anything or anyone as much as I love him

He has my whole heart, from the moment I laid eyes on him, in handcuffs in my father's court being sentenced to death

After the first meeting I knew, I knew I was going to do anything to be with him

I knew I was going to marry him

My dream finally came true

"I need you", he whimpers, his forehead against mine as he breathes hard

"I need you", I repeat, "You have my whole heart Joongie. Always"

"And you have mine Joanne. I promise I will keep your heart safe and treasure it always"

My heart is so full of love for him and I trust him to keep my heart safe

I hope he trusts me to keep his safe

I will, always

"I will keep yours safe and treasure it as well. You are the only thing I have ever loved unconditionally"

"As have I. You are my most loved, most precious treasure. I promise I will always love you Joanne", he promises

"I promise I will always love you Hongjoong"

He smiles then kisses me, his fingers running up and down my back, setting every nerve on fire

I kiss him passionately, both of us moving together

I pulse around him hard and his soft "Please" sends me into another orgasm

"Joongie!", I moan, the bliss completely shutting my mind off

"Joanne", he groans, his cock throbbing, his sticky warm cum filling me

His tongue moves against mine kissing me deeply as we cum together

After, he still doesn't pull away and I am glad- I love his kisses and always want them

He keeps me against him, laying us down, our bodies tangling together, our lips glued against each other's

Nothing else matters right now except him and his arms around me

I know he will always keep me safe and I know we will always be together

Nothing will tear us apart

Nothing

🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Seven years later

Saint Lucia 1667

J POV

"Appa water!", Seraphina calls while Kyu pulls Hongjoong's hand towards the water where she and Jacob are waiting

"Again?", he laughs, holding Haru and letting Kyu lead him to the ocean

"Yes again", Kyu answers, "Seraphina wants to try to swim again"

"What about mama?", Hongjoong asks, looking back at me sitting on the sand watching him with our four children

Five year old Kyu, four year old Jacob, three year old Seraphina and two year old Haru

"Mama come?", Seraphina yells from the waterline

She and Jacob know not to go in the water without Hongjoong or I

"Jagi, come", Hongjoong calls

I roll my eyes but smile and struggle to get up

It is hard with an eight month pregnant belly

"Kyu go wait with your brother and sister while I help mama"

Kyu runs to his siblings while Hongjoong jogs back to me

He sets Haru down, then moves next to me, his arms around me as we stand

"Ok jagi?", he asks, smiling

I nod, "Yes my love"

He picks Haru up again, then takes my hand, leading us to the water

"Alright children", he says, "You can go in but remember-"

"Not too far", Jacob says

Hongjoong smiles, "Yes. Not too far. Stay where the water is up to your tummy. And where mama and I can see you"

"Yes appa", they answer then they run into the water

I just giggle watching them

They love the water, just like their father

I step into the cool water as I sit down on the wet sand

"I am going to take Haru in alright jagi?", he asks

I nod, "Ok Joongie"

He goes in a little farther and sits down, sitting Haru down in front of him

Haru moves her hands down in the water, smacking it and splashing

Hongjoong laughs, splashing with her

I watch him lovingly with our baby and I am so proud he is my husband and their father

After we were married, Hongjoong stuck to his word and we sailed to the island, the Bahamas, where Seonghwa's love was

We did not stay at that island

Hongjoong thought it was too dangerous with all the pirates there and I agreed with him

We went to Saint Lucia, his crew coming with us

Once we came here, I used my jewels to buy us a home just off the beach

We can open our front door and the beach is right there

I knew how much Hongjoong loves the sea and I wanted him to be able to see it everyday he was home

I knew that he would spend time away from home because he is a pirate and the captain

I told him it was alright for him to go on the ship, to be away from home as long as he came back

I would never force him to stay on land especially since his ship, the sea was his home for so long

I knew what to expect when I married a pirate and I would not hold him back

I would miss him but as long as he comes home, I would endure it

He reluctantly agreed, waiting until we were settled in the house

I remember standing on the beach, watching him standing at the bow of the ship, looking at me as it began to sail away

My heart was breaking and I was weeping but I was resolved to be the best wife I could be for him

Many women's husbands sail on ships for various reasons and they are left in the house, waiting for them

If they could do it, I could

As I stood there, I watched Hongjoong climb onto the railing of the ship, speaking to one of the crew, my heart stopping in fear

Hoping he did not fall and hurt himself

Instead he dove off the ship as I screamed his name, running into the water

He swam back to the shallow water, standing and running to me as I ran to him

When we met, my arms went around his neck, his around my body, picking me up, squeezing me tightly

"What are you doing Joongie?", I whispered, leaning my head on his forehead, "Why did you jump off the ship, you idiot?"

"I couldn't leave you jagi", he told me, "I can't. Seeing you standing here alone....no. I will never leave you. I promised when we were married, I'd always be by your side and I will. I can't be without you"

"I cannot be without you Hongjoong", I said, "But you are the captain, my love. You love being on the ship, sailing the sea, being free. It's the reason you became a pirate"

"Jagi, I love you more than the sea, the ship, more than anything. When I'm with you, I am free"

I smiled at him, kissing him softly, "I am free with you as well Joongie. You saved me and I will always be grateful to you"

"I love you", he said

I told him I loved him and he carried me back to our house

He told me that he was staying with me and that before he left the ship, he made Seonghwa captain

I was completely surprised and I told him he did not have to do that, that I would go on the ship with him so he could continue to be captain and sail

He lovingly shushed me and told me he was staying right here with me and he was happy with the beach outside our home

He acquired a job at the docks loading and unloaded ships

When I asked why he took a job, since I still had some jewels we could have used, he said he wanted to take care of me, to provide for me like a husband is supposed to

And here we are seven years later, in the same house with him promoted from worker to overseer, my father never finding us

Soon I became pregnant and Hongjoong was ecstatic when we found out, so excited to be a father

And he is the best father a child could ever have

He has been there every step of each pregnancy and right next to me holding my hand while I gave birth

His crew eventually ceased piracy and moved to the island, close to our house and they would watch our children so Hongjoong could be there for each birth

As evident by our four children and the one in my belly, we are still immensely attracted to each other and have sex as much as we can with a house full of children

Thankfully we have our own room and we can be together at night

We see his crew often as they live in homes next to us

Our children are friends with theirs, I am friends with their wives and the men all work together at the docks

I never have to worry about Hongjoong's eye wandering as San, Yunho and Wooyoung always tell me that he does not even notice other women

How everything he says and does revolves around me and our children

How he never goes with the younger men to the tavern

He tells them he would rather be with me and his family

That gives me so much joy to hear even though I always trusted him

I never doubted his love for me or his faithfulness

I know he loves me more than anything and he knows I love him the same

"Jagi", he calls, bringing me out of the past and into the present

"Hmm?", I ask, looking up at him holding a sleeping Haru

"Could you take Haru? The boys want to swim deeper and you know Seraphina wants to go as well but she won't without one of us"

"Of course Joongie", I answer, holding my arms out

He places a sleeping Haru in my arms and I settle her in, smiling at my youngest baby girl

Well youngest for now

Hongjoong kisses me softly on my lips, then jogs towards the boys and Seraphina

The boys already know how to swim very well but we are still wary of letting them go far on their own

They are still too young

Hongjoong is currently teaching Seraphina how to swim

She is still afraid to swim alone without Hongjoong holding her

He takes her in the water everyday to get her used to swimming

I watch my boys swim around Hongjoong, diving under the water and coming back up after a few seconds

Hongjoong is next to Seraphina, holding her under her stomach, her legs straight out and her arms out in front of her

Her arms start moving, her legs kicking with Hongjoong praising her and walking in the water, following her

Ryu jumps out of the water, onto Hongjoong's back, making him laugh

"No let go appa!", Seraphina yelps

"I won't Phina. I promise"

How he manages to hold up Seraphina with Ryu on his back I will never know

Using one hand, he tosses Ryu in the water, still following Seraphina

Ryu comes up from the water, laughing hysterically, "Again appa"

"No appa! Want mama", Seraphina shouts, stopping swimming and holding onto Hongjoong's hand

"Ok baby. I'll bring you to mama", he assures her

He carries her to where the water is up to her tummy, then let's go of her and she runs to me

"Mama", she says, plopping next to me

I put my arm around her, hugging her, "What happened Phina? You don't want to go in the water with appa?"

She shakes her head, "Appa throw Ryu and Jacob scary water. They swim. I no swim "

I smile down at her, "Appa is teaching you though"

"Yes but I still.... no swim ", she replies, "I swim, appa throw me"

I just laugh, "Ok love, whatever you say"

She leans against me as we watch Hongjoong and the boys play and wrestle in the water, a smile on my face the whole time

Hongjoong picks up Jacob while he squeals and giggles and tosses him in the water

When he comes up both him and Ryu jump on Hongjoong, pushing him under the water and he pretends they are winning the wrestle

"Appa, where are you?", Ryu laughs, both of the boys searching the water for Hongjoong

He jumps up behind them, roaring, their screams mixing with the sound of water and splashing

I giggle watching my three boys

I sit with my girls for awhile, enjoying the feel of the low water around us

Seraphina has fallen asleep against me and Haru has not woken up yet

Hongjoong looks over at me and I smile at him

"C'mon boys. Time to go. The girls need their nap and your mama isn't a bed"

"Aww", Jacob pouts

"It's alright Jacob. We can come back later or tomorrow. The sea isn't going anywhere"

"Yes Appa", he grumbles, heading back towards the beach with Hongjoong and Ryu

"You ok jagi?", Hongjoong asks when he kneels down to me

I nod, "Yes. Phina fell asleep"

"And Haru didn't wake up"

I laugh, "No love but you know how much she loves to sleep"

He smiles, "Yes just like her mama"

I playfully glare at him, "Yes well mama has a baby growing inside her and it makes me tired"

His smile widens, "Is baby girl alright? Is she kicking?"

I roll my eyes, "You are sticking with your opinion that it is a girl?"

He nods, "Yes jagi. The way you are now is similar to when you were pregnant with Seraphina and Haru. You're carrying a girl."

I just shake my head, giggling, "I am telling you love, it's a boy"

He just raises his eyebrow, chuckling, "We'll see"

Yes we will

"Our baby", I say pointedly, "is fine. Not kicking right now thank god"

This baby kicks so hard and it hurts my back a lot

"That is good jagi. I don't like it when you're in pain"

"I am fine, love. Thank you"

He is always concerned when I am pregnant and always so doting on me when it gets closer to the birth

He is the best

He picks up Seraphina, putting her on his hip, her head moving on his shoulder

"Can you hold Haru until I help you up?", he asks

I nod

She is small and I can hold her

Hongjoong puts his arm under mine and helps me stand

It is a struggle but we manage

He takes Haru from me, putting her on his other hip

"Mama I'm hungry", Ryu whines

"You are always hungry Ryu. Let's go back home and while you change your clothes, I'll make you something to eat alright?"

"Yes mama"

To Jacob he says, "Race you!" and they take off towards the house

Hongjoong stays next to me, holding his elbow out to me and I take it, wrapping my hand around his

"Do you need help cooking jagi?"

I shake my head, "No Joongie. It's fine. I'll feel the hungry boys."

He nods

"And the hungry husband?", I ask

"Thank god, yes jagi. I'm starving", he laughs

"You're always hungry Joongie", I tease, "C'mon let's go before the boys destroy the house"

Chuckling, he says, "Alright jagi. Let's go. I love you"

"I love you Hongjoong"

He leans down, pressing a soft kiss to my lips, then we head across the beach to our home

[jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets]

Love Beyond the Black - CH 3

Fandom: Ateez Rating: Mature Pairing: Jung Wooyoung/Choi San, with a little bit of Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa sprinkled in AO3 Masterlist

Summary: Wooyoung is the son of a merchant sailor for the King, one of his best. He is coming of age to prepare to take his fathers place as the captain, and so his father takes him on his first sail. After nearly facing death in a raging storm at sea, Wooyoung and his father make port at their destination. Not long after their arrival Wooyoung finds a boy washed up on sea, still alive, and the most gorgeous thing he has ever laid his eyes on. He is instantly entranced by him, taken by this boy with no memory of where he came from or why he had been washed up on shore. Wooyoung couldn't have cared any less about the unanswered questions, but how will he feel when he finds out the boy he has so very quickly fallen in love with turns out to be one of the most revered pirates to have ever sailed the seas?

*** MY WORK IS NOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER SITE WITHOUT MY EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION. THOUGH REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE SUPER LOVED AND APPRECIATED! THANKS FAM!***

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Three

     “Wooyoung!” Someone was calling his name, screaming it with all of the force they could muster, using all of the air in their lungs. He was sure it was his father, but he couldn't see him, his eyes were locked on the wave that hovered over him.

     He tried to run, but his feet were stuck on the deck of the ship, unmoving even as it wretched and rolled in the wrath of the storm. Lightning struck around him, illuminating the wave, deafening him with its thunderous roars. 

     Another brutal flash of lightning hit behind the wave and lingered, giving Wooyoung a glimpse of what lay inside, what awaited him in the blackened depths of the water. Cetea, Poseidon’s dragon. She hovered within the wave, staring straight into his soul. She was the colour of the deepest parts of the most ravaging ocean, branded with razor sharp rows of teeth and blade like scales across her entire body. Her eyes were pure white, almost glowing as they locked onto him and stilled his heart, iced his veins. Wooyoung was sure Poseidon was looking through them, pleased with the fear he had instilled in the young boy, waiting with baited anticipation to watch his pet devour him as the wave crashed down upon him. 

     He could do nothing more then stand where he was, trapped, breathless, terrified. His mouth was open, but he wasn't sure there was any sound coming from it as the wave met its crest and began downward. Wooyoung's knees gave out and he crashed to the deck of the ship. Again he heard his fathers strained voice calling to him, but Poseidon had already sealed his fate. The last thing he heard was the bone shaking roar of Cetea, Poseidon's unholy laugh, and as his last effort he tossed his head back and tried to scream as the weight of the wave crushed him into a void of endless nothing…

     “Wooyoung!” He was shaking, his entire body convulsing, but not of his own accord. “Wooyoung! Wooyoung!”

     His eyes shot open and finally he could breathe again. The weight of the wave had lifted off his chest and his voice had returned in the form of whimpers, though his limbs were still wracked with shaken nerves and a thick cold sweat.

     “Wooyoung!” His eyes jolted to the side to find the source of his convulsions. San was over him, on his knees beside him and grasping both of his shoulders, desperately trying to shake him awake. He sighed when he finally met Wooyoung's open eyes and moved one of his hands to the side of his face. “Thank god you're awake, my angel. You were screaming.”

     “A nightmare,” he panted, leaning into San’s soft touch on his cheek, revelling in the comfort, “not the first one I've had since the storm.”

     “Are you alright?”

     He looked up into San’s distressed eyes, and lifted his own hand up to his cheek. “I am now. Looks like you're my angel too, you saved me.”

     Wooyoung couldn't hold it back any longer and let the building sobs take over and wrack his body. San instantly leaned down and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him up and into his lap to hold his shaking form against his, cradling his head with one hand as Wooyoung cried into the crook of his neck. 

     They stayed on the floor for a while, San rocking Wooyoung gently side to side and rubbing his back. He let him cry for as long as he needed to, said nothing while Wooyoung drowned in his emotions until he was able to surface again. It was a relief to be able to let it all out without judgement, or without his father telling him over and over again that ‘merchant men don't cry’. It was easy enough to hide most of the time, to keep up the charade with his father that he was as strong as he wanted Wooyoung to be, but ever since the storm the nightmares had been plaguing him to a point he was afraid he might not recover. But then came San.

     Where he couldn't find comfort in his father over the nightmares and waking up screaming covered in sweat, he could find it in San. And that's what he did, he let himself fall into this stranger who so easily took hold of him and soaked in everything he was willing to give him, sunk completely into his arms and let him breathe life into him once again. And when San stood with Wooyoung still in his arms, Wooyoung didn't resist. Instead he wrapped his legs tightly around his waist and let San take him to the bed and lay him down. Nor did he protest when San climbed over him and laid beside him, tucking the blankets over both of them and pulling Wooyoung to lay on his chest.

     Wooyoung dug himself into San, wrapped his arms and legs around him and tucked his face back into the crook of his neck. He laid there for a while, perfectly at ease for the first time in a long time, and closed his eyes to focus on the gentle circles San was rubbing on his back and arm. 

     “What was your nightmare about?” San finally spoke, so softly into the top of Wooyoung's head.

     “The day of the storm.” His voice was distant and hoarse from the screaming he had been doing in his sleep. “I almost died. My father was steering the ship as best he could but a huge wave overtook the deck. It landed right on top of me and threw me across the deck, it was a miracle I didn't get washed overboard. But others did. I can still hear them screaming for help in my dreams, I can see them being tossed around by the storm, but worst of all it's the wave that haunts me. In every nightmare I see it hovering over me, like it's taunting me with my inevitable death, and just before it crushes me and Cetea is about to devour me, I hear poseidon laughing, like he wants me dead and he's glad for it.”

     San moved the hand that was rubbing Wooyoung's arm to lift his chin with his fingers, making Wooyoung meet his eyes. “Why would Poseidon want someone so beautiful dead?”

     All Wooyoung could do was softly shake his head. He didn’t know the answer either, if he did then perhaps the nightmares wouldn’t plague him as much as they were.

     “It would only be because he is jealous of you, that you are more beautiful than he could ever be, even as a God.” Then San leaned in the small distance between them, touching their foreheads together as he whispered, “From now on, if he wishes to harm you in any way, he will have to go through me to get to you, and I will not let that happen. I will never let anything happen to you ever again, I promise.” Again, all Wooyoung could do was nod, so taken by his words that he felt frozen in a different way then he had in his dreams, in a way that was so wonderful he never wanted it to end. “Can you try to get some sleep? I'm right here and I promise I won't leave you.”

     “I'll try,” he answered. But it wasn't long before his eyes fell heavy and he felt San pull his head to rest on his chest. 

     Wooyoung was sure that just before he gave in and let sleep take him, he felt a gentle press of lips on his forehead. He had never slept better than he did that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~

     Wooyoung woke for the first time in weeks without a rushing pulse of fear and dread in his veins. The sheets were dry, he had not sweat through them, and he felt a peace that he had thought he would never feel again. 

     Beside him San was still asleep, as beautiful in dream as he was awake, and Wooyoung took the chance to look and touch while he could. He reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair from his forehead, then followed the line of his hair down the side of his face and tucked it behind his ear. Then he moved his hand to softly run the back of a finger down the perfect curve of his nose, then down to cup his jaw so he could rub the pad of his thumb over his beautiful rose lips. 

     “If you wanted to touch, all you had to do was ask.” Wooyoung nearly jumped back and pulled his hand away, but San’s arm around his waist pulled him in and his other hand stopped Wooyoung before he could. 

     San opened his eyes at the same time as he moved Wooyoung's hand closer to his lips and kissed the pad of his thumb. His eyes locked on Wooyoung’s as his mouth trailed further down his arm, laying kisses on the palm of his hand, then his wrist. Eyes still open and full of a lust Wooyoung had never before seen in another's eyes, he placed a sloppy open mouth kiss on the inside of his forearm, his teeth grazing over his skin before he licked the spot. 

     Wooyoung let loose a quiet moan and tossed his head back. He moved impossibly closer to San, tossed his leg over his waist and brought their bodies as close together as he could manage. 

     San continued to move his lips lower, wandering endlessly over every inch of Wooyoung's skin. He was at his shoulder, just about to move his lips over to begin his assault on the wide expanse of neck Wooyoung had laid open for him, when there was a sudden knock on the door. And before either of them even had a chance to answer, Wooyoung's father opened it and walked in.

     Both of them let go of the other, and Wooyoung prayed his father hadn't seen anything, as he turned away from San and felt his heart rate pick up even more then it had just been. Luckily, by the smile and warm greeting his father gave them as he walked in, it seemed like they were in the clear.

     “Boys,” he said, his arms spread wide as he approached the bed, “you must have both been exhausted. You slept through most of the day.”

     Wooyoung turned and glanced out the window. The sun was indeed past the midday mark. “Sorry, Father.”

     “It's alright, I’m sure San needed the rest.” He smiled at them both, then waved an arm. “But I need you both to get up now. The inn is providing us with some food for dinner very soon, and after that we are going to have a ceremony along the beach where we docked for the sailors we lost in the storm. I take it you would want to attend that, Wooyoung?”

     “Yes,” he nodded as he sat up, a sudden solemn tone to his voice, “I would.”

     “Meet us downstairs in less than an hour, we'll have dinner and start the ceremony at nightfall.” Then he looked over to San. “I'll have someone bring up some fresh clothes for you. I don't think you'll fit into anything of Wooyoung’s, but you can't stay in those soiled clothes much longer. I'll see you boys downstairs shortly.”

     Once he was gone, San turned and began shuffling out of the bed. Wooyoung had pulled away so fast when his father had come into the room, the last thing he wanted to do was make him any more uncomfortable then he already seemed to be. But he was surprised when Wooyoung wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him to lay back on the bed again.

     He rolled over so he was facing Wooyoung, and smiled softly as he asked, “What are you doing?”

     “I want to touch,” he replied, returning his smile.

     San took his hand and lifted it back to his face, and placed it on his cheek. He held it there for a moment before he turned to place a kiss on his palm and said, “Then touch.”

     They laid like that for a while, with San staying perfectly still while Wooyoung ran his hands over his face, his neck, his shoulders, his chest. Until there was another knock on the door, San’s fresh clothes, and they both got up, dressed, and headed downstairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~

     The sun had set soon after dinner and the crew had since gathered along the beach by Nero's docks, the same place where Wooyoung had found San. In each of their hands was a small wooden bowl with a candle placed in the centre.

     Wooyoung and San were standing side by side at the front of the group, surrounded by the crew. Wooyoung's father was standing closest to the water, facing them, with a lit candle in his hands. “Tonight,” he started, shouting so the entire crew could hear, “we gather to honour those we lost at sea. We remember them,” he started walking, lighting the candles the crew held as he passed them, “we thank them for everything they did for us, for what they meant to us, and we pray that they find safe passage to the next world.”

     Then he placed his own candle in a bowl and turned to face the water. “As you place your light into the water to help guide the lost sailors away from sea, I ask you to call out a name or say a few words to let them know we are thinking of them.” He stepped up to the water, kneeling down to place his bowl in the soft waves, giving it a gentle push as he said, “for Song Jae Kyung, my right hand man since the very first day we set sail. You are truly missed, my dearest friend.”

     The rest of the crew slowly began stepping forward and doing the same, some calling out names of their fallen crew members and others speaking a few whispered words for all of them. Wooyoung waited a moment, watched as the others went first and caught a few of them on their return back to the group with a few tears in their eyes. 

     He took a deep breath and steadied himself before stepping up to the water. San was right on his heels, following Wooyoung's lead as he knelt down and placed his bowl in the water. “To all the crew we lost that day,” Wooyoung said, then added in a hushed tone, “I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to save you. May you find your way back to the light.”

     San knelt down beside him and let his bowl go, saying a small prayer of his own, though slightly different. “I wasn't on the ship, and I didn't know any of the sailors that were lost that day, but I hope my light helps guide them home. I also thank whoever was watching over Wooyoung during that storm, for saving my angel that day, and bringing him to me.”

     Wooyoung turned and grabbed San’s arm, getting his attention. They spoke no words to each other, but they both conveyed every feeling through their eyes. Wooyoung was touched by his words, and felt the same way about San. He thanked his lucky stars that he had found San on the beach, that he had been alive to do so. He had never felt so connected to someone the way he did with San. 

     They both stood with Wooyoung still clinging to San’s arm, and stood back with the group while the last few sailors trickled forward with their candles. While they watched, Wooyoung leaned into San and let him wrap an arm around his waist. He breathed San in as he pulled him closer against his side, and let the shiver take over him when San turned and placed the softest kiss on the top of his head. 

     “I now ask that you all bow your heads with me in a moment of silence.” Wooyoung's father dipped his head to his chest, and one by one the others followed.

     Wooyoung let his mind wander while they had their moment, but it wandered to dark places. Again he was plagued with memories of the storm, the wave, the screams and cries of the very sailors they were honouring. He felt that helplessness again, felt the fear and the gut wrenching ice cold grip of death. 

     His father lifted his head and ended the ceremony, thanked his crew for coming out to honour the fallen, and urged them to all join at the local tavern for story telling and toasts to their friends. But Wooyoung had no interest in that. Instead he turned away from the group and let go of San, took off from the group and found refuge behind the tall stone wall that protected the kingdom from the sea. 

     He threw himself down and huddled against it with his arms wrapped tightly around his middle. The storm was long gone and his feet were still on dry land, but he just could not shake fear or the hold it had on him.

     “Wooyoung?” San’s worried face came into view, his hands grasping the sides of Wooyoung's face. “What happened? Are you alright?”

     He shook his head as he tried to catch his breath. “It could have been me,” he gasped, “it could have been me! My father could have been out there today honouring and remembering me. I could have died-”

     “But you didn't, okay, you didn't,” he leaned in and rested his head against Wooyoung’s, “you're here, alive, with me and that's all that matters.”

     “But so many other men died,” Wooyoung shook his head, clutched onto San’s arms so hard he was sure there would be bruises, but San didn't pull away, “I can't do this job, San, I just can't. Being responsible for the lives of so many men… it's not a burden I can shoulder.”

     “I know, and when the ship is fixed and we can sail back to your home we are going to tell your father. And just like I promised I will be right beside you when we do.” He moved so he was sitting against the wall beside Wooyoung and pulled him into his chest. He cradled his head there and rocked him while he cried, ran his fingers through his hair and whispered softly to him until he calmed down, “I've got you, my angel, I've got you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

     Blackened, filthy hands gripped the railing of the ship. It bounced gently on the waves where it was anchored off shore, hidden by the darkness of the moonless night. It was barely a sliver in the sky above, illuminating barely even that of the stars, keeping the ship invisible to anyone along the shore. 

     He leaned over the edge, watched the little bowls with lighted candles float by below him. Watched them rock and weave their way over the soft waves and drift off toward the edge of the sea. 

     Another body joined the owner of the charcoal covered hands, their own slender fingers wrapping around the torso of the man leaning against the railing and trailing their way up to grasp and knead at his chest. “Is it there?” The second man purred into the first’s ear, leaning in to bite it before asking, “Can you see it?”

     “It's there,” the first answered and tilted his head so the other could lick and suck along his neck, “the ship we followed into that storm is sitting docked at the port.”

     “When can we go get them? When can we go take our treasure?” 

     “Soon, Seonghwa, have patience, my love.” He moaned, tilted his head even further as Seonghwa assaulted his neck, not caring if he left any marks along his way. “Let them have their little ceremony, let them grieve and weep for their lost sailors. And then, once they have just begun to move past it, we will make our move and graciously rejoin them with their fallen men.”

     Seonghwa whined into the skin of his neck and pulled off with a loud smack. “I wanted to have fun now, I don't want to wait.” Then he trailed his fingers up and dipped them into the low hanging collar of the man's shirt, skin on skin, and ghosted his fingertips over both nipples. “What if I just went over there right now and slaughtered them where they stand? Their blood could drip down toward the water, mingle with the waves at their feet,  and they wouldn't have to wait to be reunited with their friends.”

     “You won't do that, because-” He turned and grabbed Seonghwa from behind him, slammed him against the railing in front of him, and trapped him with his arms on both sides of him. “I am the Captain and you will listen to me. We wait for the perfect moment to lay waste to not just the crew of the ship that managed to elude us, but also the entire kingdom. You will have your fun, my love, I promise you.”

     “And Captain Hongjoong always keeps his promises.” Seonghwa bit his lip and arched his back so his chest and crotch rubbed against Hongjoong’s. His hands lifted to wrap around his neck and he tucked his fingers into his hair, then hovered his lips over his captains. “If I can't kill anyone tonight then at least take me to our chambers.”

     Hongjoong hummed, moved his hands to Seonghwa’s waist and held him in place while he ground their hips together and licked at his lips. “And what do you want me to do once we get there?”

     Seonghwa threw his head back and groaned, throaty and deep, while Hongjoong kept up a steady rhythm. Then he whipped his head back, grasped Hongjoong’s hair tight in one hand and pulled as he whispered in his ear, “I want you to fuck me so hard that the entire kingdom hears it. I want you to fuck me until I can’t stand. I want you to fuck me until everything about me screams you and only you.”

     “Ah, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong moaned, his knees nearly falling weak, “I can do all of that, with pleasure.” He turned them, still holding Seonghwa close and started walking them toward the door to their chambers. “When I'm finished with you, you won't be able to think of anything else but me.”

     Hongjoong lifted a hand to grasp at Seonghwa’s neck, and the other man revelled in it, smiling at the light clench of his fingers. Then he smashed their mouths together in a fiery kiss that was all tongue and teeth, completely devouring, neither of them able to get enough of the other. He backed them into their room, and only let go of Seonghwa long enough to throw him on the bed before jumping on top of him and instantly slotting himself between his legs, their mouths meeting again. 

     The sailors on shore were forgotten, drowned out by their grunts and moans and cries. Seonghwa may be eager but Hongjoong was a patient man. He would get what he wanted soon enough, the treasure he desired would be in his hands, but for now had all he needed. He had promised to fuck Seonghwa, his love, until everyone heard their pleasure, and Captain Hongjoong always keep his promises.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Things are starting to get heated, as promised XD Not quite there yet, but well on their way!

Also, just another little fun fact about the chapter just for funsies. So Poseidon's dragon, Cetea, is actually a thing, I looked it up. And it may not be perfectly accurate to mythology but I did my best, and I also thought the idea of the dragon kind of worked well with the story because the mythology behind it is that it has something to do with a princess being saved by a hero from the Cetea, which I thought worked well with the idea of San saving Wooyoung from his dreams of the monster. So, yeah, we're going to go with that lol

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, more to come soon <3

[vikingkinghongjoong]

Pirate (Captain Hongjoong) 2

Hongjoong’s wife stumbles down the stairs on the pirate ship, she whimpers in pain as she gets a drink of water from the water storage bin, when she hears running footsteps she gives a long sigh, tears come to her eyes when she sees Hongjoong’s panting form.  “Joonige.” she whispers pantingly, Hongjoong whimpers and rushes to her side wrapping his arms around her waist and he whispers, “My love, you shouldn’t be up, your awfully sick, the doctor doesn’t even know what’s wrong with you, so please don’t sneak out of the room when i fell asleep, if you’re hungry or thirsty wake me up and I’ll get you something.” He cups her face gently, worry in his eyes.  Hongjoong’s wife gulps and she whispers softly “I just don’t want to burden you, Hongjoong, I love you too much to do that.” Hongjoong shakes his head at her words and rubs his thumbs against her cheek and neck gently before whispering “I love you much more than you can possibly know, I don’t mind helping to bathe you, feed you or helping you drink water.”  Hongjoong’s wife smiles sweetly at him before wrapping her arms around his waist, and pants against his chest. As Hongjoong kept her close to his chest, a ghostly cloud comes out of his mouth and grows his dragon wings, once they grew, Hongjoong wraps his wings around her and whispers “I’ll keep you warm tonight, i know how cold you can get, especially when you get sick.” 

[eightmakesonebraincell]

ateez as pirates who fall for you (hyung line)

read maknae line here

genre: pirate!ateez x gn!reader (fem!reader for hongjoong), fluff, angst, crack, and as always - a brainrot of every pirate trope to exist

length: 10.4k

c/w: heavy and mature themes - mdni, explicit language (swearing, insults), death, violence, blood & injuries, weapons, illegal acts (piracy, ransoming, verbal abuse, abduction), alcohol, pet names

a/n: maknae line will come yes but who knows when 🤷‍♀️ work has been really testing my dopamine vibes this year 😔👎 thank you @sorryimananti-romantic for keeping a detailed hitlist for me ♡

hongjoong

pov: you're a royal princess rescued by him

“captain, are you sure we can’t toss her overboard?”

jongho and hongjoong watch as wooyoung’s face falls after you pointedly ignore his attempts to make conversation once again

for someone who is technically their guest aboard the arriba, it seems as though you are hellbent on being as difficult as you can be

“unfortunately, we can’t,” hongjoong grouches to the younger, “not unless we want to exchange our payment for a hefty bounty on our own heads”

when jongho sighs, the captain squeezes his shoulder in comfort and adds on, “trust me, i’ve thought about it too”

hongjoong and his crew are privateers - pirates in theory, but technically excused so long as they have their letter of marque to state that they are authorised to attack other vessels

rescuing a royal princess was never explicitly part of the contract, although he thinks that not rescuing you would have pretty much been equivalent to a blatant show of insubordination

you had been taken ransom by one of the merchant ships the arriba had been plundering

needless to say, they had been close to tossing you overboard too; your kingdom had never paid for your ransom

the lack of response from your parents wasn’t anything you weren’t expecting but it’s a sore spot nonetheless

so it’s certainly hard for you to play friendly when you’re quite literally shucked off from stranger to stranger faster than a hot potato

san tugs wooyoung closer towards him and gently says to you, “he’s just trying to be nice - we all are”

the movement doesn’t go unnoticed by you

“i don’t need your pity,” you answer, the only sentence you have spoken today

you’ve lived two decades of your life pretending you don’t see the pitying gazes of your maids and butlers

you certainly don’t need pity from these people - pirates no less

“it’s not-” wooyoung starts to say

but the captain steps in before he can defend himself

“if this is how you’re always acting, i’m starting to see why your kingdom never paid for your ransom”

had hongjoong been less preoccupied by your words, he would have realised that your tone is candid, as if it is only natural for the people around you to pity you

but he’s clouded with his mindset as captain, unable to stand by idly while his own crew put up with your attitude, and so the words come out anyway - shards of shrapnel that bury themselves into your heart

there is only a fleeting second when your eyes dilate with hurt

you conceal it immediately, replacing it with a steely gaze, yet the image has already seared itself into hongjoong’s mind

“maybe you should throw me overboard, then,” you counter, “i’m sure my family will thank you for it”

and even if you have completely neutralised your expression, no one misses the wounded tone of your voice before you disappear down into the lower deck

mingi lets out a low whistle after the resounding slam of the hatch closing

“you fucked up, captain”

hongjoong doesn’t need anyone to spell it out for him

the heavy feeling in his stomach is telling enough

it isn’t until the moon has long since risen that you emerge through the hatch again

you had bypassed the sleeping quarters to the hold, wedging yourself between barrels of grain until you were sure no one would find you

not that they would have tried to anyway - seonghwa had told them all to give you some space

you had run your finger up and down the sides of the barrels repetitively for hours on end, mind simultaneously void and filled with thoughts

the walls you had built around yourself kept you safe, but it had started to become awfully lonely after a while

when it had become a little too suffocating in the hold and you guessed that most of the crew was asleep, you had softly padded back up the stairs and across the main deck

you now sit on the foredeck where the endless expanse of the sea stretches out in front of you, closing your eyes and letting the swaying of the ship lull you into tranquillity

tonight, the moon winks down fondly upon the waters

hongjoong watches you from the quarterdeck

he’s seen you sit at the front of the ship on many nights when you should really have been asleep

he wonders if you’ve always looked so small and fragile with your knees drawn up to your chest, or whether it’s because the flash of hurt in your eyes and voice is still fresh in his mind

“go, captain,” yunho murmurs from where he’s at the helm, “it’s a quiet night”

hongjoong startles at having been caught gazing, clearing his throat and dragging his eyes away

“why should i, if she’s just going to ignore me?” he scoffs

but he knows he’s just being petty at this point and his chest churns in agreement

“maybe,” yunho hums softly in response. “did seonghwa ever give up on you, though?”

it’s rhetorical - hongjoong knows the answer better than anyone

the captain doesn’t say anything but after several beats of silence, he sighs and makes a move to the foredeck where you are

yunho smiles to himself

you and hongjoong may be more similar than his captain realises

your shoulders stiffen when the sound of hongjoong’s footsteps approaches

you’re not sure what to expect and you don’t exactly want to find out and risk getting hurt

but having spent all day swimming alone in your thoughts, you do want to show that you feel apologetic because admittedly, you were being an ass too

getting up to walk away when he’s taken the first step certainly won’t help your case

you hold your breath in awkward silence as he settles down beside you, leaving a respectable distance between your hunched figures

only now is hongjoong realising that he hasn’t actually thought about or decided on what he wants to say to you

but he can feel the confusion rolling off of you in waves, so he grits his teeth and says fuck it

“i won’t apologise for defending my crew, but i’m sorry for how i did it and for what i said”

he hopes you know he is sincere when he continues, “we all have our prickly edges. i can’t fault you for yours”

compassion is a foreign concept to you and so you’re a little stumped for words

hongjoong isn’t sure whether your silence is a good or bad thing, but you have yet to stand up and walk away from the conversation

“there’s only about a week left until we reach port and we’ll leave after you make it back to your kingdom and we receive our payment. i’m not asking for you to be friendly, but let’s at least be civil with each other until then,” he says

you want to nod, agree, anything

and yet you can’t seem to make your head move or the words to come out of your mouth

rome was not built in a day. but neither did its walls fall in a day

hongjoong doesn’t push for an answer when instead, you ask, “how many people have you actually tossed overboard before?”

he resists the urge to laugh at your question, suddenly endeared by the fact that you’re still bothered by his very empty threat

“none, but my offer still stands. you’re welcome to be my first,” he deadpans

you let out a snort and although you quickly turn your head away, hongjoong sees the hint of amusement in your eyes

no further words are exchanged between the two of you and you do not acknowledge him when he eventually stands to rejoin yunho at the helm

but it’s a start

and as with any relationship, be it friend, foe, or lover, there is always that

a beginning.

hongjoong isn’t really expecting much to change immediately so he doesn’t pay you much mind when you walk into the mess hall the following morning

you hesitate at the entrance when you see most of the crew are already present, the conversation you had with hongjoong last night replaying at the forefront of your mind

you chew on the inside of your mouth

wooyoung stops mid-conversation at the scrape of a plate on the table, looking up to find you sliding into the seat beside him with a tight-lipped smile

to your surprise, he greets you with enthusiasm and immediately drags you into the conversation

hongjoong watches as you slowly warm up and add one or two comments of your own in between bites of your hardtack

and when he catches your gaze after staring for too long, he gives you a smile to convey his appreciation; to acknowledge your efforts

you return it with a small smile of your own and unbeknownst to you, it stays on your face for the rest of the day

slowly, there become more and more reasons that elicit a smile out of you

you still sit out on the foredeck when everyone else has gone to sleep, but on most nights, hongjoong will join you even if just for a while

the two of you are content to sit side by side with nothing but the steady pulse of the ocean and intermittent creaks of the ship’s hull to break the silence of the night

tonight though, you find curiosity burning through you

“what’s it like?” you ask

“being a pirate?” he clarifies

you shrug vaguely, unsure yourself either, “being a pirate. being at sea. sailing with your crew”

he takes a moment to gather his thoughts - not because he doesn’t know what to say, but because there is too much he wants to say

when hongjoong answers, his voice rumbles softly from within his chest, tender and heartfelt

“there’s a sense of freedom that you can’t obtain when you’re bound to land and society. sailing the waters, the only limits are those of the open seas and of your own compass… the sunrises, the storms, the moonlight - it all becomes part of your home”

hongjoong leans back to rest on the palms of his hands, tilting his gaze up towards the twinkling sky

he reflects, “you experience brotherhood and gain a family that is worth multitudes more than the treasures you can accumulate, even if you were to live as a pirate for several lifetimes”

you’re enraptured by his words, like poetry that swirls off the pages of a book and drifts into your very soul

“i may be the captain of this crew, but they make me who i am. without them, i am nothing”

his words wash over you and unearth vivid memories

“that’s what the queen always says to me,” you reveal

a small smile starts to grace hongjoong’s face, but it falls just as quickly when he hears your next words

“that without her - without her title - i am nothing”

it’s funny, how the same phrase can hold such different meanings; can evoke such different emotions

you don’t elaborate any further, but hongjoong doesn’t think he needs you to in order for him to understand

he just wishes he had more time to show you that your mother is wrong

he can’t though

tomorrow they reach port and you will return to your rightful place in the palace

“tell me more about your crew,” you attempt to change the topic, “how did you all find each other?”

so hongjoong tells you

he talks for hours and hours and you listen all the while with a heavy heart, clinging onto his every word

on your final night, you two stay like that until the stars disappear and the horizon becomes streaked with the pale hues of sunrise

after the ship docks mere hours later, only hongjoong accompanies you to your kingdom after goodbyes are exchanged

wooyoung doesn’t take it well, and you find yourself holding back tears of your own as you are let through the palace doors with the captain by your side

but you blink them away when you approach the throne room because vulnerability is not an emotion you are willing to display

“y/n”

the queen addresses you curtly when you enter, and hongjoong wonders for a split second whether he has brought you back to the wrong kingdom

he knows your mother does not treat you fondly, but it’s still staggering to see it before his very own eyes

the monarch glances distastefully over him before her eyes flicker back to you

“i did not expect your return,” she states

your eyes remain impassive as you merely answer, “neither am i delighted to be back”

hongjoong recognises this look

he’s seen it when you first boarded his ship; he’s seen it when your hackles were raised

he’s seen it in himself, when he had been a teenager filled with nothing but growing resentment, before he had met seonghwa

your mother sneers, “then you should have made yourself useful and stayed with the pirates. as a whore or a dog, whatever it took.”

hongjoong has understood you since learning of your demons, but right now, he is you

he sees fifteen-year-old kim hongjoong, standing before a couple who are his parents only by title

he sees fifteen-year-old kim hongjoong, who doesn’t know what he has done that deems him undeserving of love

he sees fifteen-year-old kim hongjoong, all alone with no one to take his hand

“or really, you should have died on the ship”

hongjoong is close enough to you to hear the small hitch in your breath at your mother’s final jab

he may not have had someone to save his younger self, but he can do that now

he can be the person he so desperately needed years ago

and so he does just that.

hongjoong grabs your hand and drags you out of the palace

no one stops the two of you from leaving and he is unsure whether his heart hurts for you or sings with relief

you can only stutter in shock as you try to keep up, “hongjoong, what about your payment?”

his determined steps do not slow down, even as he looks back at you with a sure smile, “i told you before. some things are worth more than money”

the comforting squeeze of his hand conveys that you are worth more than any amount of money

the form of the arriba grows bigger in the distance and you think you can see the movement of excitement on deck when the crew spots your figures

hongjoong has slowed down his steps, but he has yet to let go of your hand

“and you deserve to know that. welcome to the crew, y/n”

to a family and love that you never had

you think you like the sound of that

“thank you, captain”

seonghwa

pov: you're a royal navy officer in disguise

you lay awake in your hammock, listening to the soft snores of the crew members around you

sleep doesn’t come easy to you anymore

particularly tonight

you contemplate whether it’s worth the risk to simply not show up

you know what the consequences are if they capture you - a slow and painful death - but you’re unsure whether you want to put ateez on the line too

your ship is currently docked for the night, having made a port stop at alcarres following one of the crew’s wishes to retire the pirate lifestyle and settle in the small town

their last night with ateez had been celebrated with sloshing rum and rowdy jigs, something you had found strange

there’s none of that in the royal navy

when one leaves, it is shameful and through one of three options only; old age, crippling injury, or…death

you had asked seonghwa, the quartermaster, why he and the captain were so accepting when crew members left as they wished

he had simply smiled and answered, “better a small but loyal crew than a large and unpredictable crew”

his words are like a sharp stone in your shoe as you finally slip out of your hammock and make your way off the ship

as ordered, you head to the tavern addressed

you salute the person in front of you and ease into your seat with a formality only when he disregards you

“admiral jang”

“you’re late,” the royal navy officer raises an eyebrow

“sorry, sir. i had to make sure everyone was asleep”

it’s not exactly the truth, but no one needs to know that you had spent an hour in your hammock questioning your morality

he ignores your excuse, jesting as he asks of your captain, “has the pirate king found the chart’s whereabouts yet?”

the charts

centuries ago, a crew of experienced sailors had travelled the six great seas and created the original navigational charts

the charts had become scattered and lost over time, but its value only increased exponentially as more and more sailors became victims to the sea trying to map its waters to the same detail and accuracy as the original charts

of the six originals, only the whereabouts of five are known, with most of them within the possession of the royal navy

it’s rumoured that hongjoong - the pirate king - has his hands on two of them and is currently tracking down the lost chart of the aurorian sea

the only sea that has yet to be chartered after its original map due to its dangerous and unpredictable sailing conditions

you know that your next words can hold an inexplicable amount of possibilities

“not yet. the last lead didn’t get him anywhere. turned out the last of the ahn clan had passed a decade ago”

his lips flatten at the lack of worthwhile information

“where’s the captain headed to next, then?” he probes

for a split second, the thought of lying crosses your mind

you can’t provide a different location - it would be much too obvious and would raise immediate suspicions

but you could give him a different time frame

after all, it’s not uncommon for navigational routes to be one to two weeks off should the waters be unpredictable enough

you find the truth spilling out of you anyway once you’re looking into his stone-cold eyes

“vlasgar. in about three weeks’ time”

for a moment, time stands still as your heart pounds and you attempt to slow your breathing, the officer staring back at you calculatingly

then he finally hums in satisfaction

you think that he is going to dismiss you, but as you make a move to leave, he leans back in his seat

the split second of hesitation was enough

“remember where your loyalty lies, y/n”

the air feels cold with the underlying threat

seonghwa’s words flit through your mind

better a small but loyal crew than a large and unpredictable crew

you swallow, “of course, admiral”

and then you’re dismissed with a nod

the unsettling feeling follows you all the way back to the ship and every miniscule creak of the floorboards underneath you seems to be amplified in the silence

you let out a short gasp of surprise when you’re about to climb back into your hammock, only to see seonghwa blinking blearily at you

“couldn’t sleep ‘gain?” he mumbles

you choke out a response, “yeah”

“i’ll make you tea b’fore you sleep ‘morrow,” his words slur with sleepiness

“okay,” you whisper

but you know it won’t make a difference

after all, there’s no remedy for guilt

it continues to fester the next day, as you linger outside the captain’s quarters

you can’t remember why you had come down to the lower deck, but it doesn’t matter now, not with seonghwa and the captain discussing what you think is related to the aurorian chart

“do you think he’s still in vlasgar?”

“min taesoo? it’s hard to say. but i’m sure he’ll have acquaintances still on the island who may have an idea of where he’s gone”

min taesoo

your brain tries to carefully file the name away, knowing that it’s what admiral jang would want to know, but at the same time, your heart tries to pretend it doesn’t know what you have heard so that you can forget about it

you find yourself scratching the name onto a scrap of paper anyway

unbeknownst to you, at the almost-imperceivable sound of your footsteps walking away, the two men behind the doors share a look

the crew sets sail again in the afternoon towards the next destination - vlasgar - and the scrap of paper in your pocket weighs you down so heavily that you feel off-kilter as you absentmindedly follow jongho up into the rigging to unfurl the sails

you’re near the top of the ropes when a sudden wave lurches the boat to starboard

it’s only a small push, really, but with your mind elsewhere, it catches you off guard and you miss your next step

the feeling of your hand dislodging from the sudden drag of your body weight brings you back to the present with a yell of surprise

(whether it’s your own or jongho’s, you can’t remember)

your sailing experience takes over and you try to swing your body back towards the safety of the rigging

you barely manage to grasp the ropes again but your hands slip down with your weight until they hit the next knot, the hot rush of friction threatening your grip

with adrenaline rushing through your body, you shakily climb back down, where there are several pairs of hands waiting to help you down the rest of the rigging

seonghwa’s hands do not leave you even after your feet are planted on the deck again

dread and shame heat the back of your neck and curl around onto your cheeks, knowing that a mistake like the one you had just made - accidental or not - would lead to a punishment like confinement in the lower deck back in the royal navy

except, when an apology starts to form on your lips, seonghwa bursts out in dismay

“y/n, your hands!”

you let out an unintelligible noise as seonghwa gently turns your palms over and you realise that the ropes have grazed some of the skin off

“it’s fine,” you want to say

but you’re silenced when he leads you to the small sick bay on the orlop deck

even if there is no surgeon on board, there is a small chest fastened to the wall that is home to their few and valuable medical supplies

you sit as he fusses over you with alcohol and strips of cloth

although he does a good job of wrapping your hands, your insides start to bleed with how intensely guilt eats away at you, like a maggot deep inside the core of a festering apple

that night as you shuffle towards your hammock to sleep, you flinch when you find seonghwa already sitting in his

he’s fighting the heaviness in his eyes as he carefully cradles something

upon seeing you, he wordlessly hands it to you with a sleepy smile before he finally sags into his own hammock with a content sigh

you look down and the warmth of it seems to burn through the padded dressing that the man before you has tenderly wrapped around your palms

the sensation travels upwards to burn your heart too

because in your hands is a cup of warm chamomile tea

and yet, despite the emptied cup, you find yourself unable to fall asleep

but in the darkness of the sky, with no witnesses other than the waves and sea foam themselves, a small piece of crumpled paper gets tossed overboard that night

the closer their ship approaches vlasgar, the more distant seonghwa notices you become

he worries

seonghwa thinks he worries for the reasons that he should be

he is the quartermaster; entrusted to protect the crew as the captain’s right-hand man

if that means ensuring no one will compromise the rest of his crew, even if it’s you, then so be it

that’s what he justifies to himself as he walks through the cobbled streets of vlasgar, slinking through the shadows as he follows your figure from a safe distance

(in reality, seonghwa worries for the reasons that he is not quite ready to admit yet)

he follows you into the dim bar of a tavern and carefully situates himself where he can watch over you without being discovered

he orders a mug of common ale as you approach someone

the man is dressed in civilian attire, but seonghwa can tell straight away from his demeanour and expression that he is not as ordinary as he appears

it’s confirmed when he hears you say, “admiral jang”

and then he sees it

the small but striking lapel pin on the breast of the man’s coat - the royal navy’s insignia

seonghwa feels for the sash that’s hidden underneath his own jacket and his fingertips meet the cool metal of the pistol tied inside

“you better have updates for me, y/n. what’s the pirate king’s purpose here in vlasgar?”

seonghwa knows he only has about five seconds to make a decision - one that could jeopardise the crew, or one that could jeopardise you

but you surprise yourself and the both of them when you answer steadfastly, “i don’t know, sir”

despite the din of drunker patrons in the tavern, it seems to fall deathly silent

“am i hearing wrong, officer?” the admiral questions with a disbelieving scoff

to your credit, your voice does not waver when you state again, “no, sir. i believe the captain and quartermaster are lying low. they have not revealed anything to me nor the rest of the crew”

seonghwa suddenly understands why you have distanced yourself

the admiral’s jaw tics

“is that so.”

you do not respond, only focusing on the spot between his raised eyebrows as he leans forward across the table

“where does your loyalty lie, y/n?”

neither the admiral nor seonghwa need to hear your answer to know the truth

a small crew may be outnumbered, but they have strength in loyalty and devotion

there’s a glint of movement from underneath the table as the admiral inches something out from his belt

seonghwa makes his decision

you flinch, eyes wide as there’s a deafening gunshot and the table beside you splinters and scatters the tankards of alcohol onto the floor

instantaneously, chaos erupts

there are drunken yells of fright and weapons clumsily brandished, tables upturned and chairs hurled across the room

it only takes one other misfired shot for the tavern to descend into hellfire as customers who were previously drinking together now turn on one another

nobody notices the two pirates dashing out, not even admiral jang, who is busy wrangling two inebriated men off his arms

your composure dissolves the moment you are dragged into an alleyway several streets away and you look up in shock to discover-

“seonghwa?! why are you here?”

“i could say the same about you,” he counters, hardly out of breath

you’re stunned by the fact that he seems completely unfazed by the mess that he has just dragged you out of

something clicks

“was that you? did you know all along?”

seonghwa smiles, “let’s just say you’re not as subtle as you think you are when you sneak around. plus, it’s uncommon for sailors to have the experience that you do without having had some sort of training”

you curse under your breath and wince, “does hongjoong know too?”

the quartermaster nods and you fear the answer to your next question

“then why has he not…why have you not…”

“killed you yet?” seonghwa chuckles. “i’m sure you’ve realised by now how skewed the royal navy’s beliefs are”

you’re quiet

the royal navy has always been cult-like in preaching the ruthlessness and barbarism of pirates, drilling into the officers the belief that pirates are the scum of the sea

but everything that you’ve known has been proven false since you’ve joined ateez; ironically, the pirates are more humane than the royal navy themself

their crew stand at attention whenever hongjoong or seonghwa walk onto the deck - not out of cultivated fear but genuine respect

when jongho is sore and tired from handling the riggings on a particularly rough and windy day, the others will offer to cover for his chores instead of flogging him into submission

and when mingi is divvying up the shares of the provisions and loot, the others will slip an extra bar of soap for seonghwa, the shiniest ring for mingi, or the largest bottle of rum for yunho, because they want to make each other happy

“hongjoong is the pirate king, yes, but a king should not take the lives of others for his own power. a true king uses his power to change the lives of others for the better…like yours…and like mine”

you frown with a jerk of your head

“what do you mean?”

you can’t see seonghwa as a broken man whatsoever

he gives you a weak smile, “i, too, used to be part of the royal navy”

your jaw drops

everything clicks into place - how he had figured out you weren’t just a common sailor and why he hadn’t confronted you about it

the shame and guilt come rushing back over you in a storm that is much too familiar by now

“i’m so sorry, all i’ve done is betray your trust-”

“but that’s what second chances are for, no?” seonghwa cuts you off, playfully flicking your forehead as he reminds you, “and i’m pretty sure you’ve chosen me over the royal navy”

your cheeks grow hot

“not you. the crew,” you mutter

he laughs and it’s a wonderful sound

“come on, it’s late,” seonghwa beckons. “let’s get some sleep”

when he sees that you’re still rooted to the spot, unsure whether you are deserving to go back, he decides for you and moves behind you to gently nudge you forward by the shoulders

you let him guide you

his hands are warm, you note, even through the linen of your shirt

his hands are also pretty, you observe, when he tries to fluff your hammock once you two have crept your way back to the berth

seonghwa helps you up into the hammock and you watch as he climbs into his

his hands are also teeming with love, you realise, when he wordlessly extends his arm nearest to you in a silent invitation

if you both reach out, you can just entwine your hands together from your respective hammocks

the burns on your palms have healed nicely and without the need for them to be wrapped, you can feel every expanse of his hand covering yours

he doesn’t retract his hand and neither do you, even though it’s not the most comfortable position and you both lose feeling of your arms soon after

but you lay in your hammock, drifting to the soft snores of the crew members around you and the soft tug of seonghwa’s fingers in yours

sleep comes easy to you

particularly tonight

as it will for the rest of your life

yunho

pov: you're the crew's navigator

you know it’s going to happen even before it actually does

you can feel it in the air and from the way the baby hairs around your hairline start to frizz

but you never say anything because you wouldn’t trade it for the moment when the first raindrop hits the back of yunho’s neck and he abandons his duty at the helm to drag you out onto the upper deck

(hongjoong only sighs in defeat before he stations himself at the helm instead)

you don’t like the rain

not like yunho does

you are already looking up from the map spread out in the captain’s quarters, a knowing smile on your face just from the sound of his bounding footsteps alerting you of his presence, when yunho appears with the beckon of rain

you pretend to let yourself be dragged to your feet along to his urges of come on!

but then you dash forward towards the hatch with yunho chasing after your bright laughter

in the short span of time that it has taken him to fetch you, the sprinkle of rain has steadily grown and the weathered planks of the deck are already a dark grey

you feel the coldness of the raindrops hitting the crown of your head and the spreading chill as your clothes start to become damp

but that’s not what makes you feel alive

yunho catches up to you easily and then he is snaking his arms around your waist to lift you up into the air

you barely have time to squeal and steady yourself on his broad shoulders before he is spinning the two of you around, the world blurring away as the spotlight shines on him and he is all that you can see

the deck is your stage and the sea is your audience

rain with yunho is twirling hugs, tiptoed kisses and tinkling laughter. it’s soaked shirts and rosy cheeks and the only thing that matters in the moment

you don’t like the rain, but it’s easy to like the rain when it’s with him

(hongjoong lets the two of you be - so obviously and hopelessly enamoured by each other - because when one sees people in love, one cannot help but watch and smile)

the rain eventually peters out and you and yunho must return to your respective duties, but not until you two have changed out of your drenched clothes and sneaked in a few more kisses

a few hours later, you hear the racket above the deck as a ship pulls up beside the arriba and ropes are thrown across from both sides to lash the vessels close together

hongjoong comes down to join you in his quarters, but he’s not alone

behind him is the captain of the silver light, dae jihoo, and his quartermaster, with seonghwa entering last

you note that this crew doesn’t have a navigator of their own

but you suppose that’s one of the reasons why their captain had implored an alliance for this particular raid

the crew of the silver light are wanting to target the prosperity triangle - an area between three large ports that is frequently trafficked by wealthy vessels transporting valuable goods

it’s a raid that would prove difficult for a smaller pirate crew like your own and the silver light, and especially if they have no navigator

but it’s not uncommon for pirates to form temporary alliances for such purposes, and together, your crews have a good chance of plundering a fortune

you nod your head in acknowledgement when hongjoong introduces you to the two pirates as ateez’s navigator

you don’t miss the way jihoo’s eyes seem to linger on you for a second too long before he flashes a crooked grin and gestures towards the navigational map spread out on the oak table

clearing your throat of discomfort, you step forward and flatten the creases out with your hands

“this is the most open spot within the triangle that the vessel we’re after will pass through,” you tap an annotated spot on the chart, “and this is where we are now”

you slide your finger across, “we’ll follow the rhumb line west to avoid the shallower waters and when we can catch the trade winds, it should be smooth sailing from there”

jihoo challenges you, “how can you be sure we’ll catch the ship within the triangle?”

“they’ll need to sail past the equator and i’m almost certain their ship will be slowed down by the doldrums. we can easily gain knots on them”

he squints at the scribbles you’ve made noting down what you’ve gathered of the wind patterns

you know for a fact that it will mean nothing to him, but whatever he sees must satisfy him because jihoo appears to make up his mind

“when do we set sail?” he directs his question to your captain

“three days from now”

he grunts a noise of affirmation and stands, which hongjoong takes as the cue to see them and the rest of their crew off your ship

you trail behind the group as you all head back to the upper deck

you prepare to emerge from the hatch with a playful wink, knowing that yunho will be craning his neck from the helm to get a glimpse of you, when a sudden holler surprises you out of your thoughts

it’s immediately met with the answering cries of several other pirates - none from your crew - and you hurry to clear the hatch to gain your bearings

you’re thrust right into the throes of battle as ateez are forced to unsheathe their cutlasses to defend against silver light’s sudden attack

having been caught off guard, basically none of your firearms are loaded with gunpowder, rendering them unusable

you will have to make do with the short sabre at your waist

there’s no time to account for the whereabouts and safety of your crew members and you just have to pray that you all make it out of this unscathed

especially yunho

but as ateez retaliate, you all notice something is off about the situation

your crew is very quickly overpowering the other pirates - it was a losing fight for them from the very beginning

it makes no sense to you nor the rest of your crew

the losses of breaking the alliance before the planned raid, much less through betrayal, far outweigh any gains they could possibly make from their choice of action

it makes absolutely no sense

until it does.

you are blocking the swing of a sabre with your own when you are tugged backwards harshly by the collar of your shirt

there’s an angry snarl in your throat as you prepare to turn around, but it’s quickly silenced by the warning shot of a pistol right beside your ear

the cold ring of metal is then pressed to the back of your head

you know that firearms require time to reload and there’s a chance that this pistol is now useless

but, like wooyoung has taught the rest of the crew to do, they may have pre-prepared several pistols and you are not willing to play with fire - especially when you are only the flex of a finger away from death

you vaguely hear someone yell out your name in panic, but you’re not quite sure you hear correctly over the clamour of cutlasses clashing, warcries resounding and your own heartbeat pounding

“stand down or your navigator dies,” the voice behind you thunders

it’s jihoo…and he wants a navigator for his crew

“ateez,” one of your men commands, “lower your weapons”

your crew may make decisions fairly, but in battle, only hongjoong has the power to make commands

yunho has never spoken against his captain or disobeyed orders

until now

the words do not come out of your captain’s mouth but yunho’s

the rest of the members hesitate - they will not stand down unless hongjoong commands them to, yet, they are unsure whether they will be able to follow should he demand them to fight on, even if it means endangering your life

but there is no guarantee jihoo will let your crew go unharmed even after you all surrender, and as the captain, hongjoong must make decisions in the best interest for the crew

“captain!” yunho yells desperately

yunho never yells

“stand down,” hongjoong commands

silver light’s captain steps in closer behind you until you can hear and feel the noise of intriguement that leaves his mouth down the back of your neck

“that your loverboy, hmm?”

he smirks

there’s a false moment of primal relief when the press of the pistol is removed from the back of your head, but it is immediately replaced with fear that is irrevocably worse as he aims it in yunho’s direction and shoots

“no!”

you shriek and pull against the tug of his hold, still fisted around your collar, your pupils blown wide with terror at the sight of the clean hole in the mast right beside yunho’s head

“it’ll be pretty boy’s head next if you don’t come with me,” jihoo coos into your ear

the fight slips out of you immediately

because if you can save him, a life for a life, then you will

even if the sight of mingi holding yunho back from lunging forward when the pistol’s barrel returns to your head makes your heart clench painfully

“y/n, don’t you dare,” yunho pleads, voice filled with anguish

you’re barely given enough time to lock eyes with him and say resolutely, “remember what you said to me,” before you are tugged away to the boarding plank

ateez can only watch helplessly as the planks are removed from over the bulwarks and the last of the ropes are untied, releasing the silver light from their ship for good

jihoo tugs you down the hatch as the ship starts to pull away, and just like that, you’re gone from their sights

“fuck!” yunho shouts furiously, unable to contain his emotions as he turns around and connects his fist with the mast

right where the musket ball had made a hole

his hand pulls away with bloodied knuckles from the splintered wood and the sheer force of his punch

a concerned whine leaves seonghwa’s mouth and he tries to approach the taller, but yunho shakes him off and looks determinedly at hongjoong

“we’re sailing to the banver isle just east of the triangle. we’ll ambush them there”

seonghwa looks between the two, hope flickering in his chest at the potential plan, “you think the silver light are stupid enough to try taking on the prosperity triangle alone?”

yunho chuckles darkly, “they were fucking shitbrained enough to take y/n, so yes”

nobody disagrees and hongjoong smirks dangerously

“ateez, ready the sails for banver isle,” he commands. “prepare for battle”

because not only have the silver light taken you away from ateez, but they have also annihilated the light from yunho’s eyes

gone are his warm brown orbs - they are now black holes thirsty for retribution

there will be lives to pay and even that will not be enough for the void

unaware of what your crew is capable of, jihoo looks down at you with a triumphant leer

“you’ll navigate us to the triangle in three days’ time. don’t even think about lying - you’ve already shown me where the location is”

with an even nod you reply, “of course”

it’s true though - you have absolutely no intention of navigating them somewhere else

because you know yunho will be waiting there for you

amidst chaste kisses exchanged between plush lips cold from the rain, yunho tells you in a brief moment of seriousness

“don’t show them where the real location is,” his breath is warm across your cheeks. “you know the coastal island roughly ten nautical miles away? show them that instead”

you tilt your head to look up at him, “you think they’ll betray us?”

“no,” he reassures you with a deeper, slower kiss, “but we can never be too safe”

and even if your vessels miss each other this time, you have complete faith that yunho will sail to the very ends of the world just to find you

two days before the originally-planned raid, the arriba sails as closely to banver isle as possible without risking running aground

yunho has navigated the ship around the back of the isle so that the form of the rocky terrain conceals them from sight

once the anchor is lowered, the crew members use every ticking moment to make preparations

swords are sharpened and firearms cleaned

mingi distributes the gunpowder and ammunition, which is pre-loaded into muskets, pistols and swivel cannons ready to be engaged

the ship’s sails and riggings are checked and yeosang keeps a keen lookout in the crow’s nest

and it’s as if the world itself can sense the brewing storm that grows inside yunho

the sea is eerily still and silent, but the sky is an omen to something impending, its rolling clouds dark and angry with the threat of rain leering over the waters

yunho doesn’t actually like the rain

he only likes it because it’s with you

rain with you is barefoot dancing, breathless confessions and bashful giggles. it’s drenched locks and fluttering eyelashes and the only thing that exists in the moment

but as the profile of the silver light finally approaches the isle two days later, the heavens split open and you are not by his side

rain without you is falling pinpricks, frigid winds and flaunting mockery and yunho despises it with his entire being

at yeosang’s call of, “vessel approaching from starboard,” up in the lookout, yunho smothers the fervid desire to barrage the other ship with cannonballs like hail from hell; to unleash an inferno that blazes through their hull as he sadistically watches the crew jump for their lives

he stamps out the hunger to shoot the ones that make it into the sea, not to kill, only to maim and induce a long, painful struggle in the open waters until death becomes inevitable - until there is enough blood spilt that it becomes the only stench in the air that stretches across for miles

yunho leashes his monsters with an iron fist

because he will not do anything that could even remotely endanger your life

even if it means that he has to hold back - to sit and wait like prey instead of advancing on the other ship like a predator

at least not yet.

silver light do not know, but this is the calm before the storm

the heavens may be crying, the winds may be howling and the waters may be roiling

but this is nothing compared to yunho

yunho is a tempest of unparalleled rage and their ship is in the eye of his storm

as the bowsprit of the silver light starts to appear around the isle, the members ready their grappling hooks and yunho draws his cutlass with a menacing whisper of unsheathing metal

you are his treasure, and pirates never lose sight of their treasure

today…you return to him

yeosang

pov: you're a tavern keeper

watching the ale reach the brim of the tankard you are holding, you’re about to step away from the barrel when the voice of a patron sounds behind you

“‘scuse me, could i get a mint-”

you look up and turn around in confusion as their voice cuts off

only to have the question taken right from the tip of your own tongue as you’re met with the face of the person you had loved for years

the same person you have spent twice as long trying to forget

eyes searching each other’s in a surprised stupor, seeing kang yeosang standing right in front of you takes you back to those memories that you have tried to remember and simultaneously bury

it thrusts you headfirst into what used to be of your shared love - like the feathery remnants of a dream, so distant from the fingers of your consciousness, suddenly returning to vivid existence when you least expect it

“hey, mint leaf. i’m back”

yeosang at least has the perceptiveness to appear a little apologetic, immediately pulling you into a hug and pressing soft kisses against your hairline uncaring of the other people in the tavern

it’s been several weeks since you last saw him, and whilst he had warned you he would be gone for longer this time, you hadn’t expected it to mean two whole months

he’s a small merchant who also fishes along the coast to earn enough to make ends meets, so he’s often gone for a few days or a week or two

you knew what you were in for when you first made it official with him, but just because you become accustomed to something, doesn’t mean it gets any easier

and he’s never been gone for this long

something must have happened - something good - because he looks alive, cheeks glowing and eyes fiery

“i met the crew”

“the crew?” you ask, hands reaching for the bourbon to prepare him a drink as he lets himself behind the counter to stand beside you in your workspace

he nods excitedly, "wooyoung’s pirate crew, ateez"

you think you know where this is going to go and you hate that your stomach sinks at the thought of what your future may become, because yeosang looks so happy to tell you about this and a happy yeosang is all that you could ask for

“the captain offered me a position as their lookout”

you pick out your next words carefully as you hand him his finished drink - a mint julep with two sugar cubes, just the way he likes it

"aren't…isn't being a pirate dangerous?"

“not as dangerous as you might think, actually. they’ve been showing me the ropes the last couple of weeks and…and i think i want to join them. officially”

there it is

the forked end of the road

you wonder how far two people can keep walking with their hands intertwined before the distance becomes too great and they have to let go

his words become a little muddled when he goes on to tell you about how they divvied up their recent loot to include his share too

how he’s gained more money than he’s made from the last two years of working as a merchant and fisherman combined

if he joins his old friend and his crew, he could earn enough to buy his parents a proper house; earn enough to build you your very own tavern

you want to tell him that you don’t need the tavern, just him, but you also know just how important his family is to him

his filial desire to take care of his parents was one of the very reasons you fell in love with him in the first place

before you can say anything though, the tavern keeper is interrupting to let you know that your shift is over

yeosang immediately perks up and herds you out of the place, claiming that there is a new fishing spot he discovered that he has to show you

and so you sit while he rows his modest boat, only the splash of his oars disturbing the peaceful stillness that has settled over the waters as the sun dips below the horizon

the waning light casts a soft, warm glow over him, like a gentle kiss against his skin and birthmark

if angels graced the earth, there would be one sitting right in front of you

“i missed you, mint leaf,” he confesses, gaze shyly averted. “i thought about you when i was gone”

“did you think about showing me this place?” you feel a little breathless

he nods, “every single night”

and that’s enough for you

it feels like everything is okay again

it doesn’t matter if you’re standing at a forked road

you think that perhaps, for him, you can walk on an unpaved path - just so that you can keep holding his hand

“y/n”

yeosang’s voice is deep

the word sounds foreign to your own ears but you don’t dwell on it

(because if you do, you’ll wonder whether it’s because you’ve forgotten the sound of his voice or because you want to hear him calling you something else)

“what would you like to order?” you ask

(because it’s easier to pretend that he’s just another patron than to admit that he used to be all that you ever knew)

yeosang fumbles a little but then regains himself, “oh, um- just a mint julep, please”

you turn your back to him to prepare his drink, hands reaching for the barrels lined along the bottom shelves without needing to look

you’ve made this drink too many times to count

half of those times were in the safety of the darkness that midnight offered; when the tears could flow freely without anyone seeing

it’s only when you start to mix his cocktail that yeosang realises he didn’t ask for his sugar cubes, but he figures the drink will taste bitter tonight either way so he opts to watch you instead

he wishes that he could walk past the counter like he used to and wrap his arms around you

he wishes that he could whisper endearments into your ears and press them against your lips

he wishes that he could show you that he still loves you

“do you still love me?” your voice wavers with hurt as you stand in front of him

he’s finally back after being gone for four months this time and you hate this conversation as much as he does, but it was bound to happen eventually

yeosang pleads, “more than anything”

“then why does it hurt so much? loving you…and being loved by you”

he doesn’t have an answer

but god be damned if he doesn’t try to find a way to fix things

“tell me, mint leaf, what can i do?”

you blink back your tears furiously, having already made up your mind while he was still at sea

“let’s break up”

because in the end, unpaved paths have too many rocks, too many thorns and too many arched roots; they were never meant to be walked along

you pass yeosang his finished drink without another word and then move further down the counter to serve a different customer

his eyes linger on you wistfully before he tears them away from you

it’s a good thing his hair has grown long enough to cover his face when he looks down

because his eyes start to grow wet at the sight of the mint julep you have made him

with two sugar cubes in it, just the way he likes it

perhaps, once you’ve loved somebody, you never really stop loving them

yeosang shows up again the next day and seats himself at the bar

you don’t serve him though, actively avoiding his end of the counter and letting another of your staff tend to him

he orders his usual but he leaves out his request for additional sugar cubes

it feels wrong for him to order it from someone that isn’t you

but you’re watching out of the corner of your eye as the worker mixes the bourbon, sugar and water, topping it with a few mint leaves and then sliding it across the counter for him

you let out a little sigh, half amused, when he takes a small sip and smacks his lips together at the bitterness

you take two sugar cubes and drop it unceremoniously into his pewter cup before you realise what you’re doing

yeosang immediately seizes the opportunity to talk to you

“my crew’s docked for the fortnight…” he waits to see if you’ll respond. you don’t, but you also don’t move away, so he continues. “we’re making some repairs to the hull and sails before our next raid”

you have half a mind to walk away after you reply, “i didn’t ask” 

he forges on regardless

“we’re going to work with another crew for this one. it’s going to increase our chances of a successful raid because-”

your voice comes out a little harsher than you mean for it to when you hiss again, “i didn’t ask”

yeosang’s mouth closes as he pulls away slightly, back straightening

then he says in a softer voice, “i’ve been doing well. wooyoung still takes care of me, even though i’m not new to the crew anymore. i also saw my parents today and they’re happily retired now…”

you don’t stop him from talking this time

because how many sleepless nights have you spent sitting outside your tavern looking up at the stars; how many times have you served a mint julep to a patron and accidentally added sugar cubes; how many moments have you been consumed by the thought of him, simply wondering if he is living well?

this is everything that you have ever wanted - yeosang in the flesh letting you know that, yes, he has been well

but it is also everything that you have ever feared - that he has been well even without you

you don’t know what to feel

“my parents asked about you,” he says gingerly. “how have you been?”

his voice is barely audible, as if he is afraid of what you might say

or perhaps, afraid that you might not say anything at all

“good. excellent,” you force a small smile, your eyes still focused on the mint leaves floating in his drink. you don’t think you can look at him. “i own this place now”

his body loses its tension, cheeks rounding as he looks at you with genuine relief

“that’s…that’s really good to hear”

his words sting

you are unsure if it stings your ego or if it picks at the wound in the shape of the person you have lost

but it hurts to know that he has worried over you in the exact same way you have over him, the whole time you two have been apart

you’re suddenly overwhelmed by the realisation and hot tears well in your eyes almost immediately

your bottom lip starts to crumple so you rush into the back room to escape

“y/n!” yeosang calls out after you, alarmed

when you don’t stop, disappearing into the storage, he jolts up from his seat and follows

your body shudders with every heaving breath you take, unable to stop yourself from crying even harder when you feel him tug you into his chest

you try to pull away but his sturdy arms tighten around you

yeosang refuses to let you go once more

“i hate you,” you sob, struggling against his hold as you hit his chest weakly

he hushes comforts against the crown of your head, soothing noises as he endures your fists

“you have every reason to”

yeosang holds back tears of his own

he feels your body gradually losing its fight, sinking into his embrace instead, hands desperately holding him close

your voice is so impossibly small when you tearfully confess, “but i still love you”

“oh, mint leaf,” he brushes the stray locks of hair away from your face and cradles your jaw tenderly, “i still love you, too”

he presses a soft kiss against your forehead, pulling away once only to reaffirm, “so, so much”

when he kisses you again, his lips taste salty against your own, but nothing has ever tasted sweeter than this

your breath no longer stutters but the tears continue to run down your face because your heart finally feels right after all these years apart

and yet-

you pull away

“we can’t do this”

yeosang feels his heart shattering

“why not? i don’t understand,” he whimpers

“you know why,” you say distressingly, “my life is here, yeosang. i can’t just leave and return whenever i want. but you, on the other hand? you can. you go where your crew goes - you belong with them”

“but my heart belongs to you. please, y/n,” he begs

his arms are still wrapped around you and you feel his desperation as his fingers cling onto you like a lifeline

you look earnestly into his bloodshot eyes, your own vision blurry, “yeo, you’re not the one who gets left behind here. you’re not the one who waits weeks, months, years on end, just hoping that the next person to walk in is the person that you want to see”

he wants to plead that he waits to see you, too, but he knows that he’s the one who leaves, too

“you’re the right one for me - the only one for me - but it’s not the right time,” you tell him gently

slowly, his arms lower themselves from around you

“it wasn’t the right time then and it isn’t the right time now,” he repeats, “then when is the right time for us?”

you shoot the question right back at him, “when is the right time for someone whose life is to sail the world?”

neither of you know the answer

nobody does, because loving a pirate has no certainties

but yeosang doesn’t give up

“if we can’t ever be sure, why don’t we just make it the right time ourselves?”

you caress his cheek sweetly, and despite having stepped away from you earlier, he leans into your hand, starved of your loving touch and affection

“yeosang…what if we’ve already had it? what if…meeting each other was already it? what if we’re just meant to love from a distance, not side by side?” your voice is poignant but resolute

he brings up a hand to cover yours, still warm and tender against his wet cheek

how is it that he can be touching you yet simultaneously feel worlds apart from you

“okay,” he accepts with a whisper

if loving you silently is the only way he gets to love you, then he will choose it in a heartbeat over losing you entirely

he thumbs away the remainder of your tears

“can i kiss you? one last time?” he asks

you nod

“one last time”

your lips slowly meet, slotting together as they find their home in each other’s dips and curves

his hands cradle the small of your back and neck and your own hands rest against his chest

the kiss you share is steady, longing and bittersweet

it conveys everything that you want to say to each other, and even then, it is hardly enough

thank you

i’m sorry

i love you

goodbye…

you can feel your eyes burning up again, but you focus on the feeling of yeosang’s lips against yours instead

because you know that the moment one of you pulls away, that is it forever

in the world of love, there are people who are ill-fated

they meet the right person, but at the wrong time

and then there are people like you and yeosang

not ill-fated, but star-crossed lovers

the right person…

but just not meant to be

[starillusion13]

Hi!!! can I request a poly pirate ateez x reader fic? they chose another girl over her and betray her but they regret and chase her back but the reader doesn’t forgive so easily

Pirate’s Heart

Pairing: Ateez! ot8 x fem! reader

• Genre: Angst, Pirate, Mature

• Warnings: crying, misunderstanding, betrayal, choosing someone else, trusting a stranger, false accusations, lies [plz tell me if I have missed something] also oc doesn't forgive easily coz they chose someone else. Come on bfr, I’m searching for you girl.

• W.C: 5k (it’s not how I thought it to be)

Note: please I want to thanks to people for reading and reblogging. Reviews are always appreciated. I tried to put more emotions into it but still I know it’s not how I wanted. I don’t know what to add more into this.

Network: @cultofdionysusnet @k-vanity

Eight men laughing all around the room and a girl sulking in the corner, sitting on a wooden stool beside the youngest man among them. he pats her back and trying to hold back his laughter.

“Mina…it’s okay.”

“No! you all betrayed me yesterday and I was alone roaming around the market.”

Jongho looks over at the captain who is grinning widely across from the old wooden table when he spoke up, “we were just busy with some things of ours.”

“Things?” she whines, “you all were trying to find her. Why? She can find her way back to the ship.”

You hiss to her words and mentally scoff from outside the room. But the surprising fact is that. They followed you? You don’t think that something about you even matter to them. Maybe, they don’t care if you had been attacked by their enemy. They were only following you to keep an eye, if you are not betraying behind their back.

“and you could have flirted more.” You mutter under your breath.

You hear captain’s voice and your feet scoot closer towards the dark wooden door. Tears pooling in your eyes. When was the last time he laughed with you? Or any of them spent a little time with you?

“That’s not true. You are familiar to this place but she has never been to here.” The captain stated and Seonghwa nods slowly which made her scowl.

I shouldn’t have ever stepped to this place. Your life has become upside-down after stepping a foot on this land and then suddenly Mina stumbling in your way. You still hate this from last year when she snatched your lovers.

“still…” she whines and you cringe at her tone. Yunho got up and cups her cheek, “next time, we will go to the market with you. Promise.” He brings a grape to her lips and she happily eat it. They all cooed and laughed at her cuteness.

Their laughs pierced your heart which made the tears flow down your cheeks and so you ran away from the door---behind which lies a lot of secrets.

It sounds like you're feeling hurt or disappointed because someone you liked chose someone else over you. This is really tough to deal with. It's important to remember that everyone has their own preferences and reasons for making choices, and it doesn't necessarily reflect on your worth as a person but it's not caused by some certain person.

It's about your lovers. The eight pirates who once vowed to give you a family, the love you deserve and pledged their loyalty towards you.

But now, it’s all gone.

They have turned their back to you, never glancing at the most treasured gem of theirs---their heart.

Their Y/n.

Their only Aurora.

>>>> <<<<

In the azure expanse of the Sea, where the sun dancing upon the waves like golden fire and the salty breeze whispering secrets of the deep, there you stood upon the deck of the ship. The locks swaying with the light wind and your eyes closed, facing towards the sun.

Once where existed—a tale of love. Now, it’s all about betrayal and redemption, woven amidst the tumultuous seas and treacherous shores.

In the heart of the sea, you have always dreamed of adventure beyond the horizon, of a life filled with excitement and romance. Even if you stood in front of the danger, you had a smile adorning your face with the strong belief that you have the most powerful and fearful pirates of the sea with you and nothing can ever put you nine down.

 But all the hopes are gone now.

Little did you know in your childhood that your destiny would intertwine with that of eight notorious pirates whose names echoed through the taverns and harbors of the sea --- The Ateez.

Led by their enigmatic captain, Kim Hongjoong was feared and revered in equal measure, their ship, the Blue Bird, striking fear into the hearts of merchants and sailors alike.

But beneath their fearsome exterior lay hearts yearning for something more—a love that transcended the boundaries of the sea. Your love.

It was on a moonlit night, with the stars twinkling like diamonds in the sky, when your path first crossed with that of the Ateez. As you walked along the deserted shores of Halazia, your thoughts lost in the gentle rhythm of the waves, you stumbled upon a sight that would change your life forever.

There, stranded upon the sands, lay a man---a pirate surrounded by seven other figures, his clothes torn and his face etched with pain. Without hesitation, you rushed to his side, heart racing with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

To your surprise, the man stirred, his eyes flickering open to reveal a gaze as deep and mysterious as the ocean itself. It was none other than Captain Hongjoong, his aura of danger and intrigue drawing you like a moth to a flame.

“People fear me a lot but I don’t want you to fear me. I’m not scared to lose anything but you.”

In that moment, amidst the crashing waves and the swirling mist, a connection sparked between you both—a connection that defied reason and logic, binding your fates together in ways you could never have imagined. His sea brothers, whom he gathered and grew up together with from the beginning pledged their loyalty to you.

As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, you found yourself drawn deeper into the world of the pirate Ateez, your bond with Captain and the crew growing stronger with each passing day. Seonghwa, the Quatermaster was always the one to accompany you whenever the captain was not around and the bonding grew into more intimate. His soft and comforting smile with the warmth of his skin against yours was enough for you to feel at home.

“love, we will always run to each other if we feel threatened. Your love is the strongest weapon to me.” He said and smiled down at you in his arms.

The cook who was also the head Rigger, Wooyoung was the playful menace of the crew and even though, you felt scared by others, he would be the one to grab your hand and run away to the vast fields or cuddling with each other on top, the crowsnest. Sometimes, the surgeon of the ship, Yeosang would also tag along with you both.

“I never had more fun spending time here but with you, I don’t want this to end any day.” You smiled towards the Rigger and nodded.

The surgeon planted his feet on the wood and left the rope’s grip, “I should agree too. Nothing can cure me more than your love, Y/n.”

You feared the first mate and the pilot, Yunho. His intimidating stare and the fire glinting in his eyes with a flick of curiosity to know if you were a stowaway on the ship made him distant with you but once when you risked your life for his. He became determined since that day that he would be the one in charge for your safety.

“I can risk everything to save you, pearl. You are the precious gem to me.” he cups your cheek before placing a kiss on your lips.

Mingi, the gunner was always the one to approach you with a welcoming aura but the weapons with him scared you at first. Eventually, when you spent nights with him, sharing deepest secrets, he knew your heart has been kept safe with him.

“you made me feel emotions which I didn’t know I could ever feel. Thank you, y/n.”

Jongho, the sailing master. You have watched him from afar while spending time with others but never once tried to approach him because of his cold appearance. You doubted his personality whenever you had caught a glimpse of his gummy smile. Once, when he was directing the other mates on the ship, you found out that Yeosang was also the navigator of the cabin crew. Yunho would always be with these two to ensure the perfect course of the journey.

“Jongho…you must be tired.” Your concerned voice made him smile towards you.

“never. I can’t ever be tired when I’m with you. You are my greatest strength.”

In the end, San, the striker and helmsman was the one who gave you the warmth in the ocean of coldness. His piercing eyes following each and every movement of yours around the ship was enough to feel you under watch. He was always hiding behind the darkness but one day when you risked your life for them, he stood under the spotlight to kill every individual who pointed their swords at you, even a single finger.

“even if I look back for once, I would look back at you before killing everyone who dared to point a finger.” He hugged you tighter.

He was the last one to fall in love with you but first one to accuse you. The days can’t be always be smooth and peaceful, just like the waves in the sea bed. Once, its silent then in the next moment it would be a roaring storm thrashing around.

Similarly, lurking in the shadows of your burgeoning romance was a darkness that threatened to tear you apart—a darkness in the form of another woman.

Driven by jealousy and vengeance, Mina vowed to destroy everything the Ateez held dear, starting with their heart--- you. And so, with her wiles and charms, she ensnared the affections of the eight pirates who had once pledged their love and loyalty to you.

One by one, they fell under her spell, their emotions wavering in the face of Mina's deceit. And though you fought with all her strength to reclaim their love, your efforts were in vain, for the pirates had chosen someone else—a betrayal that cut deeper than any sword.

>>>> <<<<

But, one fateful day, as you stood upon the deck of the pirate ship bound for distant lands, a familiar sight caught your eye—a merchant’s ship, its sails billowing in the wind, its bow cutting through the waves like a knife through butter.

“y/n…what are you doing?”

His voice made you flinch but still your attention on the merchant ship in distance didn’t waver. You gripped the railing tightly to fight back the weakness in front of him. his heavy boots hit against the wooden plank and the creaking sounds made shiver run down your skin.

When was the last time he called your name?

“I don’t know where she is. Go ask others.” Your reply was cold and he nodded to himself before stepping closer. As the two ships drew closer, your eyes followed the waves when you suddenly turned around and glared, “stop right there.”

He stopped in his track.

You felt a surge of emotions coursing through your veins—fear, anger, longing. But above all else, there was hope—a glimmer of hope that perhaps, just perhaps, the tides of fate had finally turned in your favour.

No one has ever dared to command anything to the captain except Seonghwa. Maybe you as well. As if by some twist of fate, today Captain has appeared before you, his gaze meeting yours with an intensity that sent shivers down your spine. You stood on your spot strong, with the fire in your eyes towards him.

"Y/n" he said, his voice a low rumble that echoed in the depths of your soul. "I am asking about you not her."

For a moment, you were speechless, your heart pounding in your chest as you struggled to comprehend the magnitude of what was happening. Could it be true? Could he still harbor feelings for you after all this time?

“because you can’t find her anywhere and thinking it’s something has to do with me.” your emotionless tone was pinching his skin. He licked his lips, staring at you with a hope to listen your sweet words. Your eyes wandered around and you felt odd. No one was in the sight and the ship was undoubtedly quiet. But when your eyes landed on the round stairs from the master cabin, you saw other seven figures descending down towards the plank where you stood with the captain.

Before you could formulate a response, Hongjoong took your hand in his, his touch sending a jolt of electricity coursing through your veins. "I know I have wronged you, y/n" he said, his eyes brimming with sincerity.

Why is he suddenly saying all these?

You snatched your hand from his grip and glared, the same look you sent towards the others when they approached near, “Why are you all here?” you again looked around, you leaned forward towards the railing to peek below, “where are the men and other workers? What’s going on?”

Seonghwa stood closer than others, “we sent them to collect all our necessary items for the journey.”

“Journey?”

“tomorrow before the dawn, we are leaving for Utopia.”

“and where is she?”

This time Wooyoung spoke up, “that’s something about which we are here to talk with you.”

“I don’t know anything about her.”

Even if you wanted to look strong yet you felt so weak under their heavy gazes. All their stares after so many months feeling so unfamiliar and strange. The last time when you had all their gazes on you was when you pointed Mina’s reason to be with you and they accused you of jealousy. They referred you as a child wanting to have their attention, being selfish with others. They said that you don’t have a little feeling towards a girl who seems like a sister.

More like an evil sister, who was there to ruin your family.

“of course you don’t know, y/n.” Wooyoung said softly but you scoffed, “then?”

“We did wrong for not believing you.” Seonghwa’s voice was soft, just a pitch higher than the whisper.

“why? She didn’t agree to sleep with you all?” you smirked, throwing a dirty look towards them.

“Y/n!” Hongjoong’s stern voice made you flinch. His clenched jaw and tight fist, the anger building inside him at your words. But you continued to fuel the fire of anger.

“do you want me to convince her for this? Just to let you know,  I can’t.”

“what are you saying? Why are you thinking of us like this?” Yunho asked you but deep down, he asked it to himself as well. He knew the reasons very well. He knew you were hurt for their deeds but he thought you will understand their ends.

“really? You are asking me this. So what else do you want me to think? That tomorrow morning, when we will be in the bed of the sea and with the best opportunity, you will throw me into the waters.” 

“What are you saying?” Yeosang’s low voice made you glance at him and his orbs searched for a little softness in you. The scene unfolding in front of him was so unusual. Basically, pirates should be the ones with emotionless and rough appearance but here they were asking helplessly from a mere girl.

Mere? No.

From their love. Their heart.

“where is she?” you asked again.

“in the brig.” You raised your brow at Hongjoong’s words. Why is she there? What did she do? Or are they here to take you to lock you up there? goosebumps appeared on your skin but it was hidden under the sleeves of the shirt. Your mind racing with the thought that now how has she accused you guilty this time that they all are here to escort you to the brig.

“I-I haven’t done a-anything.” Your voice broke and you turned around to face the sea.

Whenever you felt suffocated, your feet move on its own to stand at the edge of the quarter deck and inhale the scent of freedom. The village life was so harsh to you and after these pirates took you in with them for the long journey, you felt as if you have started a new life. A new dream with a new life beyond the horizon but last year, they turned their back at you. Leaving you behind all alone.

Seonghwa hugged your shaking body from behind, “hsshh love why are you scared?”

He made himself turned around with you in his hold, making you face them. You looked down to hide the falling tears of fear.

“what happened?” Hongjoong held your chin up to stare in your eyes. Your scared pupils reflecting the hurt and loneliness.

“I will serve you well, masters. But please don’t take me to the brig. I have no where else to go but please don’t end my life.” You wiggled under the oldest one’s hold but he held you tighter. He knew very well that if he lets you go, you would probably run away and won’t talk to them.

“Masters?” San was confused with your tone like others and the way you were addressing them. “why are you calling us this? And we are not taking you anywhere. We are here to…apologize.”

Your raging yet scared eyes stared at him, “apologize? For what? You have already given up on me. you all left me alone for…. For that girl. Calling me selfish because I wanted my lovers away from an outsider. Blaming me for every little mishap caused to her. Trusting the false accusations against me.”

You again tried to break free when he gripped your arms tighter, “stay still. You are not going anywhere unless we are done speaking with each other.”

“I don’t want to talk with you all.” But deep down you want to talk to them. Shout at them. You want to look at them longer, feel the warmth in their embrace. You want to feel their love for you again. If there’s still any feelings left for you.

“y/n…we didn’t give up on you for her.” Jongho spoke up and looked over his brothers. He realized how they have messed up the relationship for these past months because the new girl really lured them into trusting the lies but in the end, Yeosang really found out her real intentions behind all this.

“Yeosang found out that she befriended us to destroy us.” Mingi said and nodded along with Yeosang. The surgeon sat on the wooden drum and leaned forward, “she lied to us that she stays alone here. She has been sent from our enemy.”

“but still you all trusted her once. You all believed when she said I’m related to the captain Chan. You all even kept watch on me to see if I’m betraying you all.” You hissed and stepped forward when you felt the grip loosened around you. You glared back at him and walked towards the stool beside the boxes and sat on it. Wooyoung was standing closer to you.

Tears fell from his eyes when he saw your figure tired and lonely. They really kept themselves so busy to even take a little look at you in all these months.

“we are really sorry for that, y/n.” Hongjoong apologized and glanced at others.

“speak for yourself.” You rubbed your eyes and wiped the tears from the cheek, “I don’t think each of you is feeling the same.”

“No, it’s true. We are really sorry.” Seonghwa supported the captain’s words. Wooyoung slide down against the boxes and leaned back, “we shouldn’t have doubted you.”

Yunho folded his hands in front. Standing in front of you, looking the perfect pilot of the ship but somewhere a sense of betray reflecting from him. He shook his head, “I don’t know how we trusted her everything and didn’t believe you. I’m really sorry.”

“I know you are hurt, y/n. but please forgive us.” Yeosang stood beside Wooyoung and both of them eagerly waiting for your response.

“You all made me feel like a stowaway in my---your ship. I felt like an enemy lurking around you. You all were spending so much time with her. Your gazes were filled with love and admiration while looking at her but whenever your eyes fell on me, there was visible fire of hatred. It hurt me. I felt like to run away far from you. But I didn’t know where to.”

“This is also your ship. You are the aurora in the night sky for our journey.” San stated and smiled but it quickly disappeared when he saw your teary eyes looking back at him.

Mingi placed his elbow on top of a drum and leaned to his side, “you aren’t a stowaway. You are a part of the family. You are more than that. You are our heart, y/n.”

“didn’t you feel your heart ache while believing a liar and laughing with her despite my presence just near you?” you shot an angry look towards him.

Jongho stepped forward and stood beside the captain, “we are really guilty. Please give us a chance to prove that our love has not wavered.”

You bitterly chuckled, “Love?……pirate’s only love is their desire to sail free all around the sea with their conquered treasure.”

“And, you are our treasure, and our only desire is to be with you.” Wooyoung said it loudly, earning everyone’s attention on him. he flinched when he saw your intense gaze on him. He wanted to hold your hand run to the crows-nest and hug you tightly, promising everything to protect you and to never betray you.

“Where do you go every afternoon for these last few months?” Yunho’s question perked everyone’s ear, even yours. He noticed? Their curious gazes on you made you shift in your place.

“You don’t have to know about it.”

“y/n…please do let us know if you are in any danger.” Jongho asked you politely. You shook your head and looked to your side, avoiding their eyes. You didn’t notice when San came in front and kneeling. “Please, tell me.”

You casted a glance at him then to others before looking at your hands, “I was planning to run away with a help of a friend.”

“Run away with a friend?”

“His name is Ten. You all were busy ignoring me all these months…almost a year. He is a sailor and we met at a fortune teller shop. He offered me a helping hand to have a life on my own.”

San was shocked, “you trusted him?”

You nodded, “like you all trusted her. I have heard from others and they all were praising him. He is a good person. He listened to my stories every day, he showed me around the place, laughed with me, taught me new things……he spent time with me.” you paused and nodded to yourself before continuing, “maybe I’m selfish…I’m selfish because I want you all to myself. I felt jealous seeing you with her. Or maybe I should have open myself to others, should let myself to make more friends so that even if you think of leaving me one day. I should not feel hopeless but can continue my life ahead. Not beyond the horizon but beyond those mountains and low valleys.”

“Y/n…don’t leave us like this.” Wooyoung scooted towards you and the captain and quartermaster stepped closer, followed by others. They were surrounding you and you were sitting like a helpless one under their shadows.

“and why? How can I trust that you all will not accuse me of betraying again?”

Hongjoong glance at Seonghwa before stating, “if you leave us then we will be scattered, y/n.”

“and what about me? you all already made my feelings shattered when you all chose her over me because she proved me as a liar with some fake evidence. You all broke your own rules.”

Don’t trust a lie and never betray your family. --- their only rule.

Yeosang shook his head, “no, y/n. it won’t happen again.” Mingi nodded when agreeing with him. the scenario can’t be ever believed that the notorious group of pirates are helplessly asking forgiveness to you.

Before Yunho could speak whatever he was going to, you spoke up making him shut, “I really loved you all. When I promised not to betray you, I meant it. Even if you kill me someday, I will still have a belief that you are the only family I ever got in my life.”

“Y/n…”San whispered your name not to show his weak voice. 

“Are you not leaving us, right?” Mingi asked you when you stood up.

“I don’t know but I’m going to meet him now.” You placed your fingers over the belt to feel the knife well hidden underneath it. Hongjoong held your elbow stopping you from walking further, “you are not going anywhere.”

“And you are no one to tell me anything.” You jerked off his hand.

Yunho blocked your way when you turned towards the gangway. You shot him a glare but he returned the similar gaze directed to your soul, “don’t be stubborn. We are leaving tomorrow and don’t go anywhere today. We have to deal with Mina---”

“don’t say her name in-front of me!” you grabbed his coat and clenched your jaw. His hand moved up to cup your cheek but you swatted it away. “don’t touch me.” you pushed him aside. They watched how you stumbled a little while walking down the gangway and jumped to the shore from the last step. Seonghwa signalled something towards San and the latter nodded before following behind you.         

And in that moment, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the stars began to twinkle overhead, they knew that you had a choice to make—a choice between holding onto the pain of the betrayal or embracing the promise of a future filled with love and redemption.

You stopped in your track before entering the market, heart soaring with the knowledge that true love conquers all—even the darkest depths of the sea. And your true love really pulled them towards you again.

For in the end, it is not the storms or the tempests that define their journey, but rather the unwavering belief that no matter how far they may drift apart, they will always find their way back to each other, guided by the light of love that burns eternal in the darkness. And so, as the waves carry them toward new horizons and unknown shores, embark on a voyage of discovery—one filled with adventure, passion, and the promise of a love that will endure for all eternity.

Taglist: @mymoodwriting @justhere4kpop @anyamaris @yeoobin @icchyi @jwnghyuns @piratequeen-queenofgames @dinonuguaegi @oreharuuu @hwanring @sanwifesstuff @kiwiisnthereoops @kiwiraccoon @hyuukah @kazscara @aceofspadesbiofalltrades @nvdhrzn [open!]

[acupoftaewithsomesuga]

Lost at Sea • Hongjoong Kim

pirate hongjoong x fem!reader

summary• You are a runaway who snuck onto a ship to get away from your enslavers, the royal family. You hid behind some barrels under the floorboard until you became hungry, forcing you to make your way up to the deck. On your way to voyage for food, he found you, the boat's captain.

warnings• mention of beating and torture, mention of slavery, mean hongjoong, dom!joong, sub!reader, SMUT (this shit is filthy), pet names (sweetheart, slut, baby, captain, daddy, master), rough sex, voyeurism (m!watching), big dick joong, slight BDSM, oral (face fucking m!receiving), nipple play (f! receiving), fingering, overstimulation, unprotected sex, slapping, scratching, hair pulling, biting, and choking. *let me know if I miss something*

videos/audios to watch before you read•

wc• 6.9k

a/n• I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone and here we are! I want to expand on my storytelling and convey that through this. This was a huge challenge for me but I put my big brain in for this one. I tried really hard so please don’t judge me too hard ^•^ Remember to take the survey at the end so I can write part 2! Enjoy y’all! 💜masterlist💜

taglist 💜 • @joongss @mingisdoll @st4rhwa @sugarnspice630 @joongiesmoon @sanipan @no1likevie

add yourself to the taglist 💜

Your bare feet ran across the sand, stumbling at times trying to get away from your captures. You hid behind a rock covered in seaweed hoping that they wouldn’t find you and bring you back. You were born into poverty on this island and the sad part is that you knew it growing up. You tried to escape multiple times and this was 1 of the 4. You were tired of the demands and the way they treated you. The long hours of working from dawn to night, the beatings, and the disrespect. They spoke so highly of the royal family of this island but civilians didn’t know the frequent mistreatment that they put their slaves through. Y'all barely got to shower or eat, and barely saw the light. And you in particular stayed down in the lair for days on end because of your behavior. So when you ran out of the back doors of the palace, the light hit your eyes, disorienting your site. You would have thought that the Queen would have killed you by now seeing that you were a liability. But in reality, the Queen knew you were fertile and wanted you to have more babies for her. Just so she can take them away from you, just like she did your mother. You had no family and it was driving you insane, you had to leave. 

“Over there!” you heard a soldier belch running by you and clinging onto another girl with torn garbs. You let out a slight chuckle, the soldiers have never been the brightest. You needed to leave, you couldn’t stay on this island any longer. Knowing the Queen she would find you again if you didn’t leave. You knew that the soldiers would be sent out again to find you after they presented the wrong girl to her. As soon as they were out of sight you got up and ran to one of the nearby ships. You ran to the one that looked the most polished and shiny. There was a mermaid figurehead that rested beautifully at the end of the ship. The sides of the ship were embroidered with well-crafted designs. The ship's flag swayed in the wind, showing its black lines and writing at the bottom that you couldn’t make out. You knew that they had wealth but you also knew that if they caught you, you could get thrown from the ship. You took your chances this time, boarding the ship freely via the ramp that was laid out. You knew they would be back soon so you quickly ran to find something to eat. You found bread, cheese, and bottles of what you assumed to be wine. You grabbed two of all of them, hoping that no one would notice food missing. You then climbed down multiple ladders to get to the cargo hold. You hid behind multiple barrels hoping that no one would find you. 

You started to devour the bread desperately, getting every crumb that managed to escape your mouth. It was such a sweet bread that it made you crave more. The cheese melted in your mouth, it was soft and silky compared to the outer crust that was on the cheese. The wine was bitter and attached to your taste buds. You never tried wine before and it didn’t help that it was strong. You finished everything within a few minutes and you wanted to grab more. You get up and make your way up the ladder but you hear a cluster of boots thud on the floorboard above causing you to tense up. You cover your mouth to stop from making an audible noise and move carefully back into the corner. The idea of multiple men finding you instilled fear in your heart but the idea of going back to the royal family frightened you the most. You sit in the corner listening intensively. 

“Alright lads, let's get the ship going!” You heard someone yell followed by other men cheering in agreement. You heard small chatter from the men as they set up the ship to sail. You heard the ship creek as there was so much movement on the ship. You heard them put more cargo on the ship, hearing barrels roll across the floorboard. “Don’t strain yourself boys!” a man said followed by a “You worry about us too much Captain.” You heard the sound of the ramp being dragged back in, the wood scraping onto eachother. You heard the sound of a rope tethering, followed by a loud clunk against the floorboard. You realized that they brought back up the anchor and a smile formed on your face. “Alright boys release the flags!” You heard followed by boots running above you. You felt the ship jerk aggressively moving you and the barrels in front of you. You heard the boys cheer and the ship creek. The ship swayed back and forth and you couldn’t help but cry softly to yourself. It was finally over and you were off of that island, but now you had to face another problem. You closed your eyes for a moment and suddenly dozed off, listening as the waves hit the bottom of the ship. 

Your chest fell and raised rapidly as you heard footsteps right above your head, forcing you out of your slumber. You heard an abundant amount of cheers and laughter. You wanted to sleep but couldn’t and the ship swaying back and forth didn’t help either. You hear chugs clink together and as if it couldn’t get worse they started to sing drunkenly. At this point, you laughed at the situation you got yourself in. You giggled to yourself as you heard them sing the words of the song unclearly and the way the floorboard creaked because of their dancing.

The noise started to die down and footsteps started to lead out of the room above you. You counted all of the ones that walked out, counting 7 in total. Minutes went by to see if you could hear another and nothing. You got up slowly from your corner, walking quietly to the ladder. You just needed to go up two ladders to get to the food. That’s all you had to do, just two ladders. You went up step by step, wincing as the ladder started to creak along with the connected floorboards. You peeked your head out slightly looking from left to right. To the right, you saw light illuminating the room that they were in causing your heart to race more. Once you didn’t see anything you proceeded to rise from the opening in the floor, keeping your eye on the room. You went up the second ladder, the cold ocean breeze smacked your face causing you to breathe in. You looked up and saw the moon shining brightly along with the stars. Your first night of freedom and it couldn’t be more beautiful. You were in a daze looking at the different stars and their sizes. You looked at the full moon's roundness admiring the yellow hue it glowed. You rose your head up parallel with the ocean, closing your eyes, and spreading your arms wide. You let the breeze move through your fingers and against your arms. 

You snapped out of your trance when you heard your stomach growl. You remembered what you were up here for and started to look around the deck. You found the basket of bread again, reaching out to grab one. You would have proceeded but you felt a sharp metal object pressed against the back of your skull. You froze in place knowing that this would be the end. “Who goes there? State your business.” You heard a voice calmly say. “We don't do trespassers.” The pressure of the object got stronger against you. “Speak, or I will make you speak.” You were frightened to your core not knowing what to say. How could your actions be justified? “I– I ran away from Makara Bay.” You uttered waiting for him to respond but the only response you got was the wind whistling. “My name is y/n, and I was a slave for the royal family on Makara Bay.” Again not a response from him. “I just want to start my life over and to do that I had to get off the island. I found the nearest ship and boarded it while getting chased.” You confessed. You suddenly felt the metal object disappear from the back of your head. 

You involuntarily forced your eyes shut as you turned around, scared to see who was behind you. You slowly opened your eyes and were met by a man staring directly at you. You shuddered in fear as he towered over you, eyelids low, and a devilish smirk on his face. “What a pretty girl,” he chuckled, grabbing your jaw with his fingers and pulling you closer. “You poor thing, you must be so lost.” he suddenly gave you a pouting expression. “I can fix that sweetheart, I’m the best captain in all the fine seas', he whispered, the corners of his mouth slowly forming a wide grin. You swallowed as his hands moved from your jaw to your neck, gripping it tightly. He looked into your soul and squeezed tighter around your neck until a slight whimper escaped your mouth. 

A slight chuckle came from him as his eyes wandered down your body. He saw that your thighs were held tight together, causing him to raise one of his eyebrows out of curiosity. He then leaned in closer to you whispering in your ear, “You make the most heavenly noises.” His other hand sheathed his blade into his holder and made its way to your waist, sliding it down your thigh. He pulled up your dress and gripped your inner thigh. Another whimper came from you as you felt his fingertip slide softly against your core. “The royals didn’t give out panties I see,” he chuckled, moving his middle and ring finger across the outside of your core. You couldn’t help but hum at the sensation of him touching you. You haven’t been touched like this in such a long time, causing you to think the naughtiest thoughts. You wondered how good he would look on top of you with nothing on or how he would look moaning your name. He then pressed his fingers against you, rubbing his fingers against your folds, running them from your entrance to your sensitive clit. “Naughty slut, already soaked hmm?” he grinned as he watched you bite your lip and nod in agreement. 

“Captain! There is a leak– oh?” You both snapped out of it. You looked and saw two men about 6 feet standing in the middle of the doorway. Captain soon removed his hand from under your dress and you quickly patted it down. The two men just stood there in awe, wondering what would have happened if they didn’t say anything. “What is it Yunho?” Captain replied, tightening his jaw. “There is a leak in the gallery,” Yunho said, staring at you. “And? You and Mingi couldn’t get it yourself?” Captain’s fist started to ball up, you could tell he was pissed. “Hongjoong, we need help to get the papers out of the room so San can board up the leak,” Mingi replied calmly. “Fuck, okay well take Ms. y/n to the captain’s cabin and heat her some water so she can freshen up,” Hongjoong said to Yunho, Yunho nodding in response. With that, you say Hongjoong and Mingi rush through the door and down the ladder. 

Yunho flashed you a smile and guided you to the captain's cabin. Upon entry, you couldn’t help but notice the beautiful nature of the room. There was embroidery on the bed frame that looked like it was only fit for a king. You saw elegant sheets on the bed in patterns you had never seen before. On the floor, there was a huge antique rug that looked like it came from another country. On the ceiling, countless arrays of lamps and jewelry hung downwards, they all looked like they had important stories. The walls were covered in drawings and paintings of scenery from around the world. And in the corner of the room, there was a tub. Usually, pirates didn’t have baths but this ship was wealthy enough to have a small wooden bathtub in the corner of the room. This just made you curious about the other rooms on the ship. You were too scared to move, feeling like you would break something by looking at it. Everything looked so expensive and polished, it was one sight for the eyes. You were taken out of your thoughts when you heard Yunho laugh followed by saying “Pretty ain’t it.” All you could do was look at him, smile, and nod. Yunho then left the room, forcing you to look at the art on the walls in detail. 

After a while, Yunho came back inside the room with a wooden bucket filled with steaming hot water. You watched Yunho one by one bring in hot water that he warmed up from the fire in the kitchen. You insisted on helping but he refused saying something along the lines of “You are our guest.” You were so used to working for others and it was weird to see someone working for you. You just had to accept the fact that this was how it was going to be for you. You looked outside at the full moon, spacing out, thinking about how your days of abuse and neglect were over. Usually, you would start to cry but all you did in that moment was smile. You were happy that you were miles away from that place, escaping with no trace. 

“You're a runaway huh?” Yunho asked, breaking the silence. “What gave it away?” you responded, turning to look at him. “Well, let's just say only desperate folk board unknown pirate ships.” He said and the room fell silent again. “You made the right choice with this ship. If it was other ships they would have killed you. We are pretty friendly around here unless we are forced not to.” Yunho said, throwing the last bucket of water into the tub. Yunho then turned around and proceeded to leave. “Wait, what do I do with the water after I am done?” You asked. “Joong will take care of that once he gets in here, it was nice meeting you, y/n.” He said flashing a smile at you before closing the door shut.

You looked at the tub and saw the steam emanating from it. You needed the water to cool down a bit so you started to look around the room for some extra clothes. You went through Hongjoong’s drawers and found an oversized white button-down shirt. You took it out, placing it on the end of the bed. You walked over to the tub and felt the water making sure it was okay to get into. You haven't taken a bath like this before so this was new to you. Usually, the royals would just hose you down, not caring about the temperature of the water. You placed one foot in the tub and then another. A chill went through your body when you finally sat down in the wooden tub. It was so warm, it was hugging you like a warm blanket. You breathed out and finally relaxed, splashing water all over your body. You grabbed a rag that was next to the tub and rubbed off any dirt that stuck to your skin. You looked to the side of the tub and found a mug. You grabbed it, scooped up water, and dumped it slowly through your hair. 

After cleaning yourself up you sat in the bathtub, enjoying what was left of the warm water. You suddenly thought about how Hongjoong was touching you earlier. His hand on your neck while running his fingers through your folds. The way he looked at you was intense as he stared into your eyes watching how you reacted to every touch. You started to move your fingers to your core, rubbing yourself at the thought of him. You haven't had a man touch you in years and the idea of him having his way with you for the first time in a long time made your head spin. Every time you closed your eyes all you could see was him, you started to become desperate. You laid your head back, closing your eyes. You moved your other hand to your nipple, flicking it lightly. You started to rock back and forth on your fingers, letting them rub against your sensitive nerve. 

You kept going thinking about his fingers replacing yours. You think about how he would treat your needy cunt and how he would fuck you to oblivion. You started to moan as you continued to play with yourself, thinking about him. The way his whole hand wrapped around your neck, making it hard for you to breathe. “Hongjoong,” You moaned out his name as you got closer to release, scrunching your eyebrows together. “You can call me Joong baby,” you heard a deep voice say. You quickly open your eyes and remove your hands from your core and nipple, covering your breasts with both arms. You blush as you see Hongjoong standing in front of the tub, a tent forming in his pants. “Why did you stop sweetheart?” he said uncuffing his cuffs, followed by unbuttoning his jacket and tossing it on the dresser. You couldn’t speak as he kept direct eye contact with you with the same expression from earlier. “You can also call me Captain or Daddy, whatever you see fit baby.” he then paused and chuckled. “Or master,” he growled, causing you to become lightheaded. He saw how you reacted to him, your fingers digging into your shoulders and you biting your lower lip. He knew you liked the way he talked to you and how much that caused your core the throb. 

He undid his white button-down, removing it completely. “Look at what you did baby,” he expressed looking down and gliding his hand across his hard dick. You gulped down your saliva as he walked to the side of the tub. You looked up as he towered over you, his body illuminated by the moonlight. “I– I didn’t mean to,” you stuttered as your eyes altered from his face to his dick. He just smiled at you and held out his hand, waiting for you to take it so he could lift you up. You removed your arms from across your chest and took his hand. You rose from the bath as water dripped off your body, making it glisten like a piece of shiny jewelry. You stepped out of the bathtub while holding onto his hand. “Gorgeous,” he cooed, causing you to blush. Without hesitation he pulled you closer to him with his arm around your waist, digging his fingers into your side. You placed your hands on his shoulders looking into his eyes. His dick was pressed against your stomach, you could feel him twitch against your skin. He then gripped the back of your head, ensuring you couldn’t run away. His soft lips meet yours and you melted in his grasp. The kisses were slow as you moved in harmony, loud smacking noises coming from you both. You moaned into the kiss causing him to smile. “Needy girl,” he stated, slapping your ass lightly making you whimper. 

He suddenly pinned you against the wall, both of your wrists above your head. He used his other hand to grab your jaw, kissing you roughly. You both kissed with desperation and eagerness. He bit your bottom lip causing a slight moan to escape your lips. He smiled and looked into your eyes before he moved his lips to your neck. He started to kiss your neck, sending you over the edge as he found your weak spots. He started to suck on all over your skin, causing bruises to form in multiple areas. This caused you to press your thighs tightly together as you threw your head back at the new sensation. His tongue then licked the bruises after he placed them on your skin. “Look at you letting me do whatever I want to you,” He whispered, and you responded with a whimper. “Will you do whatever I tell you to?” He asked, grabbing your jaw and making intense eye contact with you, waiting for you to respond. Your heart rate skyrocketed when he asked you this. You were scared, but you were also curious about what deep fantasies this man had. All you could think about at that moment was pleasing him, no matter the cost. “Yes Captain,” you answered followed by a desperate nod. He smirked at your answer and his eyes grew dark. “Get on your knees.” He demanded and you obeyed, anchoring your hands on his thighs, getting down on both knees. 

You looked up as he started to unbuckle his belt followed by unbuttoning his pants. He removed his belt from his pants and kneeled down. He grabbed your hands from your lap and wrapped the belt around your wrist. He buckled the belt tight, tugging on them to make sure you couldn’t break free. “Please,” you breathed, not knowing what you were begging for. “I’ll give you a reason to beg sweetheart, just wait.” he chuckled, removing his pants. You watched as his pants fell to his ankles, your eyes grew wide as your eyes met his huge dick, Hongjoong smirked at your reaction. “Holy shit.” you gasped, pulling your hands to your face in shock. “Hmm?” Hongjoong teased, swaying his hips left and right causing his dick to sway as well. 

“Open baby,” he demanded, at first you were hesitant because you genuinely didn’t know how he was going to fit in your mouth. But you soon obeyed, opening your mouth wide, sticking your tongue out, and looking up at him. He groaned at the sight of you like this, so obedient and ready to please him. The blood rushed rapidly through your body as you saw him above you. The way he looked at you with such urgency made your core throb. He placed one hand on the wall behind you while his other hand gripped onto the base of his cock, slapping it against your tongue. In response you swirl your tongue around his tip, watching as he bit down on his bottom lip. You then wrapped your lips around his tip, causing him to hum at the feeling of you around him. You moved your head back and forth, slowly inching closer with every forward movement, just until you were almost to his hand. He moaned suddenly when you finally took most of him in, removing his hand from his base so you could take down more. 

You started to choke when you got to the last few inches of his length. “Slow baby,” he moaned, reassuring you. “We have all night sweetheart.” He threw his head back as he felt his dick go down your throat, causing him to twitch. He looked back down and saw you looking directly at him, his dick disappearing in your mouth. You moved your head back and forth, taking every inch of him in you. You watched as his eyes rolled back, motivating you to go faster. His lips separated as he moaned loudly, your throat making the filthiest noises. “Good fucking slut.” he growled, grabbing your jaw tightly. You continued to force his dick down your throat as he moaned in ecstasy. There was saliva escaping from your mouth and tears running down your cheeks. You moaned onto his dick sending a vibration through his body and you started to play with your sensitive core. You lapped your fingers onto your clit making you moan against him. You wanted him to force himself down your throat as you touched yourself, you wanted all of him. 

He looked down and grabbed onto your hair, pulling all your hair strains together to make a makeshift ponytail. He tugged at your hair making you stop at a halt, “Good girl.” He praised you, slowly moving his hips forward, and thrusting into your mouth. “Keep playing with yourself while I fuck your throat,” he demanded. His words made you whimper and your eyebrows scrunch together. Your middle and ring finger moved rapidly against your clit in desperation while he started to thrust slowly into your mouth. You both looked into each other's eyes cherishing this moment. Just a few hours ago you were fleeing from an island and now the captain’s dick is deep down your throat. 

He started to thrust faster into your mouth causing you to choke slightly, but you took every inch of him. Your face kept making contact with his pelvic bone causing your saliva to stick to his skin. Your mouth was making the wettest noises as he forced his dick down your throat. Your eyes were no longer making contact with him but instead were rolled back. Hongjoong moaned loudly, making it echo through the room, piercing into the wooden walls. You could tell me was close by the way he twitched in your mouth. You were close yourself as you felt the knot in your stomach start to form. Your legs started to shake making it hard for you to stay up. His body started to jerk as he watched you almost meet your high. “Cum for me baby,” he breathed, causing a shiver to go through your body. You couldn’t hold back anymore you had to release. “I’m gonna cum sweetheart, I’m gonna cum down your throat!” he moaned, his thrust becoming sloppy. You moaned on his dick as you felt the knot in your stomach pop, releasing all over the carpet. Hongjoong then followed, forcing your face down on his dick, and sending his load down your throat. 

His dick twitched in your mouth as his head was thrown back. You swallowed all of his cum, leaving no trace. His fingers were still tight around your hair as he caught his breath. He let go of your hair slowly, caressing your face, and looking at you with a huge smile. You couldn’t help but giggle at the way he was looking at you, the corners of his mouth spread from ear to ear. He helped you get up from your knees and pulled you close into an embrace. “That was fantastic sweetheart, do you think you can take more?” He asked, looking into your eyes and waiting for a response. “Yes Joong.” you responded. With that, he swept you off of your feet and threw you on top of the bed. He lifted your wrist above your head again and climbed on top of you, your legs on either side of his thighs. He pulled you in closer by your knees until your thighs met together. Hongjoong removed his hand from your wrist and placed both of his hands on either side of your head, sinking them into the mattress. He stared at you for a moment until he lowered his head to meet you face to face. “Do you want me right here?” he teased moving one of his hands down to your core, lapping his fingers against your soaked entrance. A soft whimper escaped your lips at the sudden sensation of him, causing you to buck into his hand in agreement. “P-please.” that's all that you could utter. He let out a low chuckle seeing how his actions affected you. “Please what sweetheart?” he smirked, pressing his middle finger into you. “Fuck me please Captain,” you gasped as he pumped his finger in and out of you slowly. “Good girl,” he whispered, kissing you passionately. 

You hummed into the kisses as his finger caressed your sensitive walls. You involuntarily bit onto his lip and he responded with a groan. He started to move his finger in you faster, causing your eyes to roll back. He then added his pointer finger into you making you moan loudly. “Right there,” You groaned as his fingers rubbed against your g-spot. Hongjoong broke from the kiss and started to trail kisses down your neck to your chest. You felt his tongue suddenly run circles around your sensitive nipple before he started to flick his tongue on it. While pumping both fingers into you he moved his thumb forward, rubbing your clit. You were in pure ecstasy as you felt all your sensitive parts being fulfilled at once. His eyes looked up at you as your body shook vigorously. Your mouth was wide open moaning his name so everyone could hear. Your eyebrows were scrunched together and your lips were quivering. Your legs were shaking and your toes were curled. Your back was arched and you were thrusting into his hand in desperation. 

“Faster,” you demanded and he obeyed. He pumped faster into you causing a loud smacking sound to fill the room. His tongue moved faster on your sensitive bud and his thumb moved faster. Embarrassingly you were about to cum again. You couldn’t hold it anymore as you screamed in pleasure as you came all over his fingers. Your body shook but he kept going, causing you to see stars. He rose and continued to finger you, watching as your body reacted to being over-stimulated. Your fists were clenched together, your eyes rolled back, your mouth wide open, your head laid back, and your body squirming. “Joong!” you yelled as he continued, smirking at your heavenly noises. You were going to cum again if he didn’t stop and he knew that. He slowly slowed down and stopped to a halt, allowing you to catch your breath. You looked down as your body involuntarily jerked at random moments, your breathing intense. You saw him take his fingers out of you and smirk deviously. Your eyes widened when he stuck his fingers into his mouth, sucking all your juices off of them. “You taste so good baby,” he growled, moving his hand to stroke his dick. You saw the precum leak from his tip, causing you to whimper. 

 “Do you think you can take me?” he said, smirking and slapping his dick against your wet core. Again you were hesitant to speak, you never had someone big like him before. Your eyes darted around the room trying to find the answer to the question as he patiently waited. You were so eager for him to slam into you and fuck you, but you knew that he would destroy you if he did. “I can go slow,” he said, flashing you a smile. You felt butterflies flutter in your stomach at his words causing you to nod and smile back. He then leaned down and stared into your eyes, grabbing your chin and kissing you passionately. You hummed softly as you felt him slide his tip against your center, preparing you for entry. He looked at you as he gently pressed his tip inside you making you moan and close your eyes. Hongjoong gulped as he felt you grip around him, a sensation that he hadn't felt in a long time. He pushed into you a little bit more, stretching you out around him. A broken moan escaped your lips as he pushed himself further into you, your fist forming into balls. You gasped for air when you felt him push himself all the way into you, you opened your mouth to moan but nothing came out. Hongjoong grunted at the feeling of you squeezing around him, sending him into a spiral. 

He then pulled out slightly and slowly pushed back in, making you both moan in unison. He repeated making sure you were comfortable with his size. “M-more,” you expressed, wanting him to pick up the pace. He then anchored his hand by your head and wrapped his other arm around your waist bringing you closer. He started to thrust at a steady pace as he looked into your eyes, watching as he pleased you. “Joong,” you breathed as he started to go faster. You looked at him and saw that he was staring directly at you, his hair was in the way of his eyes but you could still see him staring with his eyebrows scrunched together. Soft moans echoed and bounced through the walls along with the sound of your skin lightly slapping against each other. You then wrapped your tied wrist around his neck and he pulled you up. You pulled him into a kiss, pressing your tongue against his lips, him separating his lips to invite you in. You were now straddled around his waist, your chest pressed against each other. He held you by your hips as your arms were draped over his shoulders. The belt made contact with the back of his neck, helping support you up. One of his arms was gripping your waist while the other hand was holding you up by your ass. Hongjoong started to thrust deep into your pussy causing you to moan loudly. The room filled with both of your erotic moans, they were so loud that they echoed throughout the ship. You both looked into each other's eyes as he pounded into you repeatedly, your soaked core making contact with his pelvic bone. You couldn’t help but claw at his back, causing red marks to form on his skin. “Fuck,” you moaned gasping for air as he hit your sensitive g-spot. He was fucking you to oblivion as the bed rocked vigorously, making a loud thud against the wooden wall. The window in the room started to fog as you both groaned and moaned repeatedly. You both became drenched in sweat as you both continued to fuck in desperation. You threw your head back as Hongjoong started to say sweet nothings to you, “You feel so fucking good baby, so tight for daddy.” All you could do was clench your walls around him in response. Your body was practically numb as he fucked you. 

You suddenly heard footsteps come close to the door. The door then slowly creaked open causing Hongjoong to smirk maliciously. Multiple thoughts were going on in your head. Why is the door suddenly open? Were we that loud? And why is Joong suddenly fucking me harder? Your head was spiraling and you had no idea how to control them. “Let them watch how good I’m fucking you, sweetheart,” Hongjoong whispered in your ear while keeping his steady pace. The fact that other men were watching turned you on causing you to squeeze tighter around Hongjoong. You threw your head back and nodded, moaning loudly as he slammed repeatedly into you. “Holy shit,” you heard a voice say. 

Hongjoong then suddenly started to slow down, causing you to pop your head up in confusion. He then removed your arms from around his shoulders and laid you back on the bed. “Hold on baby,” He said as he pulled out of you slowly, a small whimper fell from your lips. You looked down and saw his dick covered in your juices. He noticed that you were looking and smirked. He then picked you up and placed you horizontally on the bed. You turned to your left and saw the shadows of 2 men, the light illuminating from the moon hiding their features. They were both here, so eager to watch you get fucked. “Turn around,” Hongjoong said breaking you out of your gaze with them. You then rolled over, your ass facing Hongjoong. Your left cheek made contact with the mattress, looking at them. Your arms were under your body, the belt still tight around your wrist. Hongjoong then spread your legs wide and pulled your hips up. Your ass was propped up in the air, your knees pressed against the mattress, and your legs rested on both sides on Hongjoons thighs. 

You felt him grip onto your ass as his dick moved through your folds. You were so impatient and pushed yourself backward as soon as his tip aligned with your entrance. Both of you moaned at the feeling of Hongjoong being deep inside you again. You moved your hips back and forth as he stayed still, your ass slapping against his pelvic bone. He watched as you took control, looking at how your body moved against him. You looked at the two men as you fucked Hongjoong, making the most lude noises. You smiled as you watched the tents in their pants grow. “S-so g-good,” you moaned as you reached for your clit, rubbing it softly. You started to grip tighter around him causing him to buck into you. The noises that Hongjoong was making were loud and filthy. His eyes were rolled back as he felt you thrust faster onto him, his fingers gripping tightly to your hips. “Touch yourself,” you demanded, looking at the men. “Naughty little slut,” you heard Hongjoong growl, slamming himself into you. Your eyebrows scrunched together as you felt him thrust rough into you repeatedly. “P-play with yourself while y-your captain f-fucks me!” you said through broken moans. You watched as they both unbuttoned their pants, sliding their hands down them. They started to move their hands up and down their shafts as they watched you and Hongjoong. “Fuck,” one of the guys moaned, throwing his head back. “Just like that,” you breathed, watching them but also feeling how good Hongjoong was pleasing you. 

You ran circles around your clit as you watched them get off to you being fucked. You could only see their shadows but that didn’t stop your imagination from running rampant. You listened to them give you compliments as they jerked themselves off in front of you. “You look so beautiful taking all of him,” one of the guys grunted, causing you to smile into your moan. They continued to praise you, making your head spiral as you almost met your high again. “Right there Joong, please,” you begged as he started to hit your sweet spot. Your knees started to shake as you felt your orgasm coming. Moans filled the room as the two men were close to cumming as well. Hongjoong slapped your ass as he rammed his dick into you making you scream in pleasure. Your fingers vigorously moved against your clit, making you bite your bottom lip. You couldn’t help but moan Hongjoongs name as he sent you into overdrive. “I’m cumming,” you suddenly heard one of the men say, as he moaned loudly, releasing himself in front of you. “I’m so close,” you heard the other one groan, sending a wave through your body. “Cum for me,” you choked, so close to releasing. “Shit!” you screamed, your legs shaking rapidly, letting your orgasm consume your body. The other man also grunting and releasing in his pants.

You were fulfilled but Hongjoong couldn’t stop fucking you. Your overstimulated core was twitching around him, your walls suffocating his throbbing dick. Your fists clenched together watching the two men leave the room and shut the door. “I’m really close baby, just give me a second,” he groaned, a slight whimper scaping your lips in response. Your fingers continued to lap your clit as Hongjoong hit your g-spot multiple times. You felt like you were going to explode at how good you were feeling. Hongjoongs thrusts were starting to get sloppy as he felt your walls get tighter around him. He couldn’t hold it anymore; he needed to fill you up. “Sweetheart, I’m gonna cum in you,” he grunted, looking down at how your body looked against him. “Cum in me Daddy,” you gasped as you felt him twitch against your walls. Hongjoongs mouth fell wide open as he threw his head back, eyebrows scrunched together. “Y/N,” he screamed, squeezing your hips tightly. You felt his warm cum coat your walls and slowly drip down your thighs. You felt him shutter from behind you as he gasped for air. 

As soon as he caught his breath he started to rub your back. He then slowly pulled out and watched your body lay flat on the bed. Hongjoong took this time to lay you down on your back and pepper you with small kisses. He reached down and removed the belt from your wrist, kissing them as well. He placed your hair to the side, cupping your face, and running his thumb across your cheek. He then grabbed the white button-down that you threw on the bed earlier, wiping the sweat away from your face. He placed kisses on your forehead and smiled at you softly. “You have such pretty eyes y/n,” he cooed, causing you to giggle. He then kissed your nose and made his way down to your core, wiping up the mess that he made between your legs. “My pretty girl,” he whispered against your inner thigh before kissing it gently. He then crawled back up to you and held you tight in his arms, burying his head into your neck. You reached for his head and stroked his hair as he sang a pretty tune. His fingers ran circles around your thigh as you both listened to the sound of the ocean, feeling the light sway of the ship.

[bvidzsoo]

Heavy is the head that wears the crown

Author: bvidzsoo

Warnings: slight cursing, mentions of human trafficking

Pairing: Jung Wooyoung x female reader

Word count: 24,9k

Summary: Jung Wooyoung was a prince. Raised to be a King one day. Except that nobody asked him if he wanted to become one, it was his duty. Wooyoung thought he'd be able to travel the world, sail out and go on adventures, however that is just not how his story was written. So, one day, when he was only thirteen years old, he decided to take the pen in his own hands and change his own story. He became a Pirate. You, you were also a princess, soon to become Queen. Your groom disappeared when the two of you were thirteen and you figured you wouldn't get married now, so there was no reason to stay at your castle and live a boring life. You ran away, living quietly and humbly. That is, until Wooyoung came stumbling through your living room door. (Reader is called Oh Haneul in the following oneshots.)

A/N: Buckle up my friends, this one is a longer one; but it became my absolute favorite one lol. This oneshot now definitely has a special place in my heart. Next part won't be up too soon as I'm busy with things, I hope y'all can understand, I can't wait to write my pookie Mingi's part lol. I hope you'll find it as funny as I do and don't shy away, leave feedback! Enjoy now!

Taglist: @pingyu-in-wonderland @marievllr-abg @lelaleleb @loveforred @horanghae8 @jeonghanscarat7 @orshii @mundayoonimnida @m3tavita @silentcry329 @icarusignite @cooljuni @sharksandminhos @mountiiny

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           The life of a princess was lavishing and comfortable. The people around you always had everything you needed and would deliver it to you before you could even ask for it. It was as if they could read your mind, anticipate your thoughts and actions. Princesses were supposed to be beautiful and humble, respectful, with a smile always on their faces. They were supposed to hide their mouths when they laughed, never too loudly, of course, and they weren’t supposed to keep eye contact for too long with a man. Princesses were supposed to be well mannered and studious, and able to hold a conversation about any topic. Princesses were supposed to speak softly and slowly so that everyone could understand them, yet they shouldn’t speak up first, unasked. Princesses were supposed to hold their chins up high and stand with their backs straight, almost gliding when they walked, never allowed to run. Or to skip their beauty sleep, meaning they always had to go to bed early. Of course, they weren’t allowed to be seen with any man, other than their betrothed, and they weren’t allowed to sneak around. Princesses weren’t allowed to talk back to their parents and they had to accept whatever future they built for them. Princesses couldn’t say no to ruling if they were next in line to the throne and they also weren’t allowed to choose their own lovers. Not when they were supposed to marry the prince in the neighboring kingdom who was the same age as them, their marriage unifying two powerful forces: The Sun Rise Kingdom and The South Kingdom. But what was a princess supposed to do if their betrothed disappeared one day without a trace? If he got kidnapped by pirates and then never returned to his parents? To his Kingdom? To fulfill his duties as a monarch and man? What was a princess supposed to do then? I still haven’t figured out that part yet, but for once, I decided to take the reins in my owns hands and write my own future. If my betrothed could disappear off the surface of Earth, then I could do it too. And that is exactly what I did when I turned twenty. I waited for my mother to fall asleep and then quickly packed everything I deemed precious and important for my journey into a briefcase, then dressed in my maid’s clothes and made sure to conceal my face. I had to be swift with my escape and if anyone recognized me, I knew my mother would never let me out of her sight. I wanted to live a free life, to see what I would become if I was stripped of my title. Would I still live comfortably? Would people be finally genuine with me? And not pretend to like me for the sake of a title I inherited by being born into the royal Oh family? I wanted to see if I could fend for myself. But most importantly, I wanted to get away from my mother’s scrutinizing glares and sharp words reminding me daily of who I was. Princess Oh Y/N, next in line to the throne, still waiting for her betrothed to return. At some point I had given up on the fantasy of ever seeing him again. But my mother, however, vehemently believed that my prince would return soon and fix all of his wrongdoings. To be fair, I only remembered his family name at this point, Jung, and barely the shape of his eyes and their color back when he was eleven. We’ve met once in our lives, when we were eleven, and then never again. Because three days later, he was gone. Apparently captured and taken by pirates. Many believed he was dead, many believed he joined those pirates willingly. His family shut down those silly rumors quickly and reassured my mother that he would return and then we’d finally get married.

But I didn’t want to wait for him anymore. It was useless. I didn’t even love him or want him. I didn’t want a total stranger as my King. And as I ran as far away from the castle, heart thumping wildly and feet aching from such strenuous activity for my sheltered body, I realized I didn’t even want to become a Queen anymore. Why would I even want that? To become like my mother? Rigid and vengeful, always having to watch my steps because someone was out for my head? Her own husband tried to kill my mother, my own father, did I truly want that life? For my King to abandon me and wish harm upon me? I did not regret escaping the safety of my castle, of my nation, of my Kingdom. The sailor ship I snuck on was nasty and dirty, filled with drunken sailors as they screamed their lungs out, too wrapped up in their songs to notice a woman struggling to pull her briefcase over the railing. They either didn’t care, or I just hid too well, because they never even bothered looking for me the following days. They never came towards the supply room I was hiding in, and if they did, they quickly grabbed the rum off the shelves and then left the room, whistling loudly. I counted the days, somewhere around five, by the time we decked down. I had no idea where I was as I made a run for it, knocking a few sailors off their feet as I got off the ship, panting and struggling to carry my briefcase. Their shouts were loud but they never bothered chasing after me. I had no idea in which Kingdom I was in, perhaps it was still the Sun Rise, just a smaller island of it. I hoped that wasn’t the case, because I would be back home in no time if anyone recognized me. But in the three years I’ve been living on my own, my identity remained a secret to the people around me, nobody ever recognized me or suspected me of being royalty. Perhaps it was because I lived on one of the Nordic island’s from the South Kingdom, perhaps it was because people never looked for too long at you. They rarely questioned your origins or your life story. Here, everyone seemed to be busy with their own lives and problems. People also weren’t as nice and friendly as back home, but I found it refreshing. For once in my life, I felt like I was truly invisible, left alone and unbothered. Nobody pried for something which didn’t concern them and nobody forced their kindness on you, expecting you to return it one day. If someone here did something for you, it was because they wanted to and not because they secretly wished for you to do the same for them.

I found it easier to live here, the town I settled down in was well off and progressive. Women here were allowed to do as they wished, and so, they opened an institute for the younglings, where governesses would teach them everything they had to know about our world. Girls and boys alike were welcomed, poor and rich, their differences placed aside. The institute is where I found myself working, as a smaller governess, someone who taught the children etiquette. It was a sudden thought I had one night, as I was wondering how I would earn my own money since the one I brought with myself from the castle wouldn’t last me forever, and I realized that for once in my life I could use all of those years of living as a princess to my advantage. Everyone loved well-mannered, well-spoken and studious people, I found myself perfect to do such a job. So, the next day I walked to the institute and proposed to teach said subject and everyone was thrilled by the idea. I didn’t demand for a high pay, the cottage I was living in was fairly cheap when I bought it, and food here seemed to be a lot more accessible than back at my own kingdom. The only pricey items were my canvas, brushes, and colors. I loved to paint and I couldn’t imagine my life without it. Whenever I had free time, which I had lots at the castle, I would sit in the gardens and paint whatever I felt inspired by. Here, in the town, I had less free time, but I managed to balance my attention onto everything. The young mothers seemed to adore me and often brought cookies and delicious meals for me at the institute as a show of gratitude for the work I put in with their children, I often found myself not having to cook anything at home. Living here for the past three years has truly been liberating, however, I couldn’t deny it, I did find myself missing the posh lifestyle from time to time. Sometimes I would wake up in the morning and unconsciously reach for the bell to ring for my maids to come open the curtains and window for me. Or sometimes I would find myself sitting at my stand, painting, and if I forgot something I needed, I would scream the name of my most trusted maid, only to realize she wouldn’t be coming around. There were evenings when I was so tired I wanted someone to warm up the water in the bathtub for me and cook me a chicken noodle soup, but unfortunately, I now had to do all that by myself. I couldn’t complain, unless my body was aching from having a strenuous day, which happened less often lately. It was a comforting thought. It means that I was finally becoming familiar with the chosen lifestyle.

I had just finished up my lessons at the institution and after locking up, I walked to the market to see if I could buy some vegetables. It was late in the evening, but some vendors stayed out until the sun was setting. My favorite vendor was still there by the time I walked through the square and I quickly approached her, greeting her with a warm smile.

“Oh, dear,” She smiled back brightly, her hair a light gray color, “I had a feeling you would come by today, I waited for you.”

“You shouldn’t have, Mrs. Chwe.” I picked up two carrots and three potatoes, placing them in my handbag once Mrs. Chwe saw them, “Let me walk you back home, then. The sun will be soon gone, you shouldn’t walk alone.”

“Do not worry about me, dear.” Mrs. Chwe chuckled and handed me two tomatoes with a wink, “I know my way around here better than you do. Nobody casts a second glance at an old dame, unlike you—a beautiful young lady. You better head back quickly.”

I chuckled and grabbed ten pennies from my pouch, “I insist, Mrs. Chwe.”

“And I insist too.” She was a stubborn old lady, “You had a long day, I heard you stayed at the institute all day long. The headmistress stopped by not long ago.”

“Of course,” I chuckled and handed Mrs. Chwe the pennies. The headmistress loved to gossip and talk nonsense, it didn’t surprise me she was quick to let everyone know of my packed day. She was a lady I didn’t quite like, “Are you sure you don’t want me to wait until you pack up at least?”

“No, no.” Mrs. Chwe shook her head and ushered me away with her hand, “Go home and cook something tasty.”

“Alright, have a good night, Mrs. Chwe!” I bowed with a polite smile and the old lady waved briefly before she turned around with a sigh and started packing away the remained vegetables. I turned around and walked the way I have come, until the main road came to an end and I turned to the left, walking down the deserted street. People were getting inside their houses and getting ready for the evening, the squeals and laughter of little children in the gardens the only sounds besides my footsteps. I sighed and stared up at the sky for a brief moment, taking in the tranquility of the evening. I liked it when nobody was around after a long day. It allowed me time to shake off the stress and plan what I had to do the next day. I turned to the right, walking down a dirt path, small cottages on both sides. A few of my neighbors were out in the gardens or standing in their doorway, conversing with each other. My little cottage was second to last on our street and I walked up to the short stone covered path which lead to the back of the house, greeting my neighbor in the process as he was sipping his tea, holding a book to his face. The entrance was at the back of the house, and I didn’t mind. It was actually what convinced me to buy it. I liked the intimacy it offered. No one could see when I came and went, I knew a few mothers on our street liked to monitor everyone’s steps. I placed the handbag on the ground and reached for the key in my pouch, feeling around for it until I found it. As I pushed the key into the keyhole, I realized my door was unlocked. My eyebrows furrowed and I stared down at my hand, wondering whether I have locked it this morning or not. Did I not lock it? How could I forget such important thing? I scoffed and gently pushed the door open, grabbing the handbag off the ground and stepping inside. Dusk settled upon and it wasn’t bright anymore outside, or in the house, but you could still see well without a light source. As I closed the door behind me and looked ahead, I froze. There, an unknown man, was standing across from me in the room. His back was turned to me and his hands were behind his back as he seemed to be staring up at the wall. At my paintings. I stopped breathing, fearing that he could hear me. He probably heard me enter, yet he hasn’t moved. I carefully placed the handbag on the ground as I kept my eyes on the man, slowly and silently reaching for the vase standing on a stand to the left of the door. It was heavy and old, I brought it with myself from the castle. It was my great-grandmothers. It could also serve as a weapon if necessary. I took in the attire of the man and realized he wasn’t a lieutenant or soldier from the Navy, so he couldn’t have been sent by my mother. But then…who was he? His black cotton pants looked loose around his frame and I could see a white collar peeking out from underneath the heavy coat he was wearing. The jacket looked odd, old and patched up in multiple places, different fabrics stitched to the original one. I didn’t dare assume who this man was, but he looked like he wasn’t exactly a good guy. The second he hummed I knew I had to proceed, so I threw the vase towards him, aiming for his head, but before it could touch him, he jumped away. The vase crashed into the wall and shattered into million pieces, making me frown at the destroyed relic. My mother would kill me right now if she were here with me. The unknown man sharply whirled around, his face morphed into shock as he gasped loudly, dramatically.

“That could’ve been my head!” The man’s voice was squeaky as he pointed at the wall, which the vase initially hit. My eyebrows furrowed at the man’s words and I scoffed, eyes falling onto the pillows I had on the sofa. I didn’t dwell much on the thought just jumped on the couch and grabbed two bigger pillows as I hauled them in his direction. The man screeched as one hit him in the stomach and he suddenly took off towards me, face red.

“Stop right there!” I commanded, heart thumping wildly as I held another pillow out threateningly. The man suddenly froze and he eyed the pillow with narrowed eyes, scoffing when he looked back at me. His face was chiseled and sun-kissed, his jawline sharp. His full lips were cherry colored and his nose big and fitting for his face shape. His eyes weren’t too sharp and held friendliness in them despite the situation we found ourselves in, a mole stood proudly underneath his left eye.

“So, will you throw that one too?” He raised an eyebrow, taunting. His voice was smooth, sounded nothing like the screech he let out mere minutes ago. I gulped and glanced at the pillow I was holding before looking back at the stranger, a handsome one. Without saying anything I threw the pillow at him and he caught it easily, lips pulling up in a lopsided smirk. I quickly took the other two pillows, the last ones, and stood up, staring him down. He dropped the pillow and raised both hands in a motion of peace, but that moved his long coat, the handle of a sword glinting. I gulped before I looked back into his eyes.

“You don’t have to be so aggressive; I didn’t even do anything.” The man said with a tentative smile and my eyebrows furrowed.

“You broke into my home!” I answered incredulously and suddenly realized how smart it was to have soldiers littered around your castle. There was someone who’d be able to protect you from intruders, yet here I was, forced to defend myself on my own. I had to run away while I still could. I had no idea who this man was and what he wanted from me.

“Not my smoothest move, I admit—” The man cleared his throat, still holding his arms up, “But all of your windows were locked.”

“Of course, they were!” I exclaimed, irritated with the man, “So that they keep people like you out.”

The man chuckled and lowered his arms to cross them in front of his chest, “Yeah, and look where that got you—”

I threw one pillow forcefully, managing to knock it into the man’s face. I bit my lower lip to keep myself from laughing as his eyebrows were furrowed and he looked appalled, “Right as I was about to tell you how pretty those paintings are…”

I glanced briefly at my paintings, but took a step back when the man took one towards me, “Thank you, I made them myself. Will you kindly walk out of my house so that I don’t have to scream for my neighbors to call for the constable?”

“Would you not report me if I left now?” The man asked with both of his eyebrows raised and I smiled, remembering all those hours at the castle where I had to learn how to hide my own emotions and how to be persuasive.

“If you don’t harm me, I won’t.” I said softly and the man narrowed his eyes at me, leaning a bit forward, as if he was trying to get a better look at my face. I kept my face neutral and looked him back in the eyes, trying to read his emotions. But his face was a mask of blankness, just like mine, that is until he smirked smugly, stood up straight, and ran both hands through his jelled back black hair.

“I’m not here to harm you, princess.” I couldn’t help the involuntary flinch of my body at the mention of the title, but quickly covered it by starting to fidget around as if I was feeling nervous all of a sudden. The man watched me closely, same smirk still on his lips, “I’m not a savage like that, you know?”

“Then what do you want?” I asked quietly, feigning fear as I quickly made up my route of escape. I throw the pillow at his head again and dash for the door. Then I run down to my neighbor’s house and ask for help. Certainly this man wouldn’t follow through with his plans if I wasn’t alone anymore.

“Money, lots of it.” His answer sounded strangely genuine and I gulped.

“I don’t have much, but I can give it to you—”

“Here you don’t have much, princess.” The glint in his eyes suddenly made me nervous and I tensed, wondering whether that truly was just a nickname or he knew about my true identity. I let out a quiet breath and took the tiniest step towards the door, ready to proceed with my plan, “You wouldn’t have been able to bring much alone, right? Princess Oh Y/N?”

I gasped and gaped at him for a few seconds, millions of questions running through my mind. Who was he? Who sent him? How did he know? What did he want? But as he started looking smug again, I quickly jumped into action and threw the pillow at him, dashing for the door. I successfully flung it open and as I went to run away, a strong arm wrapped around my middle and yanked me back inside the house. I was pressed up against a hard chest and before I could scream, a foul-smelling handkerchief was pressed against my nose and mouth, the man forcing me to inhale it. I tried to wriggle out of his firm grip, but it was useless as suddenly the world started spinning around me, darkness wrapping around my mind before my body went numb, kidnapped by a dreamless sleep.

            The first thing that bothered me was the overwhelming smell of cologne. It reeked of men in here as I blinked my eyes open, only to jump up from my sprawled-out position in the unknown bed. The room rocked from left to right violently and for a second I thought my head was spinning, but then I looked out the small circle window, eyes widening when a huge wave crashed against it. I whipped my head around, a horrible realization dawning up on me. I was in a room on a ship! My heart started thumping wildly as I jumped off the bed and stared with my mouth open at the two opened briefcases on the floor, filled with my belongings. Blank canvas and different colored acrylics were scattered around on the floor, and I looked down at my body, realizing that I was wearing my long black coat. That man! He kidnapped me! I wanted to throw something against the wall as I started pacing up and down in the room, realizing that whoever he was, his intentions couldn’t be pure. If we were still close to the shore, I could jump off the ship, and swim back to the beach. But if we were out in the open sea…I was doomed. Was he really here to take me back to my mother? I groaned as I ran my fingers through my hair, glancing at the door. Could it be unlocked? He wouldn’t be so clumsy to leave the door open, right? I hoped he was, because then I could try and escape. I took a deep breath and decided to try my luck as I walked up to the door and grabbed the doorknob. I counted to five before turning it and pushing the door open, making it horribly creak open. I grimaced and hoped nobody was in the corridor to hear it as I realized nobody stood in front of the door. My little moment of happiness was soon crushed as I went to take off towards the right but crashed into a firm chest, a gasp leaving my lips as I recoiled from the body. The sight of the same man who kidnapped me brought little comfort as he raised his eyebrows at me, hands placed on his hips, an almost scolding look on his face. I sighed and knew there wasn’t much I could do now, and as if he read my mind, he took a step towards me, making me take a step backwards.

“Escaping already, princess?” He asked with a chuckle, “I heard you’re good at that.”

My mother would’ve had a fit if she saw me rolling my eyes at the man. He took another step forward and I took another one backwards, back inside the room, “I don’t know who told you that I’m a princess, but they were wrong.”

The man’s face morphed into a fake pout, “I wonder how you made enough money in three years to buy that cottage then.”

“Sold the goods I owned.” My lie was too quick and simple. Nobody would believe it. He took another step towards me, making me back further inside the room.

“Sure you did, princess.” He scoffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest, “There’s no use to lying, I can smell a princess from miles away when I see one.”

“Disgusting.” I scrunched my nose, making the man’s eyes widen.

“Not like that!” He defended himself quickly before he sighed, “You know…there’s a large sum promised to the one who brings you back to your kingdom.”

I gulped and took another step back when the man proceeded to walk closer, “I figured I should try my luck and try and find you. It was a lot easier than I expected, I bet your mother misses you like crazy.”

“Well, I don’t miss her.” I snapped and jumped backwards when the man reached out for me, “And I don’t want to return, so I demand you free me. I can still pay you lots of pennies and even gold—”

“Ah, ah.” The man smirked and I stumbled onto the bed when he took another step, too close for my liking, “I want the royal gold, not second hand one.”

“It wouldn’t be second hand!” My voice rose a few octaves, outraged by his assumption, “What do you take me for?!”

“A spoiled princess who thought she could get away until the end of times by hiding away in a painfully small village, way too close to her own kingdom.” I opened my mouth and was quickly left speechless as the man leaned down; head too close to mine for comfort. I tensed and leaned my head back a bit, looking up into his eyes. There was a playful twinkle in them and he licked his lips, chuckling, “I must admit, you look nothing like you were described.”

I gasped in offence, leaning back into the man’s face as I glared at him, “You are one to talk you—ogre!”

Indeed, I admit my insult was weak and didn’t even make sense. The worst thing was the shrill, high-pitched, almost crazy sounding laughter which left the man’s mouth, head thrown back as he started hysterically laughing. My cheeks flushed a deep shade of red as I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest, averting my eyes as the man started to calm down as he wiped away tears from the corner of his eyes, eyes falling on my face. I knew he could read the embarrassment on my face; it was futile to try and hide it now, “That’s the funniest thing anyone has ever called me.”

I huffed and refused to look at him, that is until I felt his soft hands wrap around my wrists. His hands felt cold as I glanced down at them and then back into his eyes. He had amusement still written all over his face, lips pulled up into a grin. I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what he was about to do.

“You truly are a princess, princess.” He chuckled, his hands moving mine away from my chest, “You can’t even curse me out normally.”

“Oh, I can.” I smirked at him, making him raise an eyebrow, “I just choose not to, my genius is above that.”

“What a well-educated and well-mannered princess.” The man whispered and I gulped as I got lost in his warm brown eyes. His hands didn’t feel too cold anymore, however I felt something foreign against the skin of my wrist, something harsh. By the time I looked down my right wrist was yanked towards the headboard of the bed by a rope around it.

“What are you doing?!” I exclaimed as I tried to free my other wrist from his grasp, but he was quick as he overpowered me and pulled my wrist next to my other one, the rope already binding them together. My mouth fell open as I tried to free myself, moving as much as I could so that he wouldn’t tie me against the bed, but it did nothing as the man made an intricate knot and huffed as if it was the hardest mission of his life to tie me up, “You—you monster!”

The man stood back with his hands on his hips, looking very unimpressed. He squinted his eyes at me and then smiled fakely, “I’m not a monster nor an ogre, princess, I’m a pirate.”

“That’s even worse.” I sighed out as I moved my wrists, checking to see if there were any chances I could free myself. The man chuckled and stepped back, looking down at my belongings.

“You’ll have to clean up this mess at one point, I hate it when a place gets messy—”

“You do it, then.” I cut him off with a glare, tugging on the rope to no avail.

“I’m not your servant, princess.”

“Stop calling me princess.” I snapped, eyebrows furrowed as a grin stretched onto his lips, “I have a name, you know.”

“And so do I, princess, but I don’t hear you calling me that.” I groaned as I threw my head back, wondering whether he was doing this on purpose. Trying to annoy me.

“Because I don’t know your name, pirate, that’s why.” For a second the man looked surprised and then he scoffed, acting as if he hadn’t forgotten he never told me his name.

“It’s Wooyoung.” The man, Wooyoung, said and I looked at him, his name oddly familiar. Perhaps I have met someone with the same name before.

“Thank you, pirate, now I’ll know exactly who the royal guard will have to catch..” Wooyoung suddenly became serious as he threw an unimpressed glare my way, before wordlessly walking away. I stared at him wide eyed as he left the room, grabbing the doorknob as he stopped in the doorway and glanced back. Was he about to leave me alone? Tied against the bed?!

“What are you doing?! Where are you going?!” But Wooyoung didn’t answer as he smirked and closed the door, which creaked very loudly once again, and then walked away while whistling loudly, leaving me annoyed and frustrated as I tried to free myself form the bounds, but the rope burned my skin the more I tried. I stopped and groaned loudly, kicking my feet, making a mess of the blanket which was underneath me. This couldn’t get worse, right?

            Two days of pure anguish passed by way too slowly, my arms sore and wrists burning from being bound to the bed for so long. No matter how much I asked Wooyoung to release me at least when I was eating, he would act like he was thinking about the idea, and then he’d smirk and draw out a no, then walk out of the room and leave me on my own, struggling to even grab the fork to eat my meal. The food was rather good, but I would never tell Wooyoung; I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I appreciated at least one thing he did for me, which was as simple as bringing me food. In order to keep me alive, because eating is a necessity every human has. Even a princess. But to make matters worse, he’d leave the door slightly ajar, taunting me even more by how I couldn’t get to it. He made me want to conjure up all the swear words I knew and hurl them at him, curse him out like a sailor as if there was no tomorrow. Wooyoung was a very frustrating person. He would come and try and have a civil conversation with me, genuinely curious about the way I lived on my own for three years, and then suddenly, like a switch was flipped inside of him, he’d start grinning like a Cheshire cat, and the teasing that followed was relentless and sometimes even offensive. He loved pointing out the fact that I was a princess, and how I had everything always handed to me, acting as if I didn’t live on my own for three years without anyone’s acknowledgement of my true identity. He loved to blabber on about whatever he was supposed to do on deck, something about adjusting the sails accordingly to Jongho’s instructions, whoever that was. And then, as any regular man, he loved to show off his skills and talents. Yesterday while struggling to eat my dinner, he randomly pulled out his sword from his sheathe and took a step back in order to be able to show off his swordplay, shouting at nothing and stabbing the air as if his enemy stood there. I couldn’t help but gape at him, rice almost falling out of my mouth, which was very not princess like, until Wooyoung looked at me with the proudest expression on his face, making me burst out laughing. It was loud and so very unlike the way I would usually laugh, the feeling freeing, the shrillness of my squeals foreign even to myself. In my chaotic laughing fit I even managed to almost choke on the unchewed food in my mouth. Realizing what I was doing, I quickly covered my mouth with my hand and tried to quiet down, but one look at Wooyoung’s face made me burst out in laughter once again, tummy aching, as he looked at me with utmost confusion, eyebrows furrowed, and one hand on his hip as his other held the sword.

“Why are you laughing?” He had genuinely sounded offended, and I hiccupped as I forced myself to gulp down the food.

“Because—” I had to take a deep breath before continuing, “what are you doing, Wooyoung? Is this what pirates do? Fling their swords around in the air at nothing?”

“I’m not flinging my sword at nothing!” Aggravation filled his voice as he stared at me wide eyed, “I’m—I’m practicing this new technique San showed me.”

He didn’t sound very convinced, and I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him amused, “Is that it? Are you sure you aren’t trying to impress the princess?”

“As if!” Wooyoung scoffed appalled, and placed his sword back in its sheathe, “That’s least of my concerns.”

I grinned as I tried to lift the fork to my mouth to eat some more, “Yeah, well, I grew up around Navy soldiers, pirate, a weapon doesn’t impresses me anymore.”

“I wasn’t trying to impress you.” Wooyoung quickly defended himself, raising his chin high, the front strands of his hair falling back. His hair was relatively long, it framed over his face. I hated to admit it, but it looked really good. It suited him. I didn’t realize I had started staring until Wooyoung’s eyes snapped onto me, quirking an eyebrow as a smirk slowly etched onto his lips. I sighed loudly before averting my eyes, pretending that I wasn’t openly admiring him, just staring at him in disdain. I ignored the flush of my cheeks, knowing well that if I acknowledged it, then I would become embarrassed and blush even more. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he could make me blush. I dug around in my food, hissing when the rope cut into the skin of my wrist, unable to grab the last pieces of my rice, slowly becoming frustrated. I didn’t notice Wooyoung creeping closer, smirk still present on his face, clearly enjoying my struggle. I really hated being tied up. There was no logic behind it. Where would I run? Up on deck and then do what? Jump into the sea? I wasn’t suicidal, but it seems like Wooyoung didn’t want to understand that I had no intentions of running away. Because I had nowhere to run to. I hadn’t accepted my fate yet; I wasn’t going back to my Kingdom and to my castle, to my mother, to be locked up for an eternity while I wait for my long-lost betrothed. I didn’t want to rule. I didn’t even want to see my mother. I had asked Wooyoung to release me twice already, but he just shook his head and walked off whistling, a pleased look on his irritating face, annoying me like there was no tomorrow. I groaned quietly when I realized I wouldn’t be able to eat the last bite of my dinner, and clumsily threw the fork onto the plate, creating a loud clattering sound. I wonder how these porcelain silverware don’t break on a, sometimes, violently rocking ship. I raised my head with a loud sigh and my eyes widened when I found Wooyoung barely inches away from my face. He raised his eyebrows as I flinched back, putting distance between our faces, his breath fanned over my cheeks. I did not want him that close to myself. When he wouldn’t move away, I glared and placed the plate on the bed next to me, balling up my hands into fists, ready to fight if he tried anything. I didn’t know him and despite him looking harmless he was still a man, and a pirate. All the tales I have heard about them were horrible, and suddenly I felt unsettled as all emotion disappeared from Wooyoung’s face and he looked all over my face, as if he was trying to memorize my features. I gulped, suddenly flustered, my own eyes running over his handsome face. I always thought pirates would be ugly and old. Nobody has ever told tales of young and handsome pirates who returned princesses to their kingdoms. Wasn’t there a price on their heads? What horrible things has Wooyoung done? Suddenly, Wooyoung tsked, and I watched as his eyebrows furrowed.

“I swear,” He mumbled, rubbing his chin, leaning uncomfortably close, “I feel like I have seen you before.”

My heart somersaulted in my chest for an unknown reason, and my eyes briefly glanced at his plush lips, before I looked back into his eyes. I hoped he hadn’t seen my slip up, because I had a feeling he would definitely mock me for it later. Wooyoung, however, didn’t look familiar to me. I was positive I have never seen him before; his name, on the other hand, sounded peculiarly familiar.

“Of course, you have seen me before, idiot.” I snapped, trying to ignore the rapid beats of my heart, “I’m a princess. There’s portraits of me, you know?”

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, and finally, stepped back, but still not far enough. Our knees were touching as I sat by the edge of the bed, looking up at him as he huffed loudly, “I’m not talking about the portraits, silly.”

“Are you saying we have seen each other in person before, then?” I raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this peculiar thought of his. Where and how could we have seen each other before? It’s not like a pirate was often invited to join the socialite parties organized by the Queen herself. Unless Wooyoung wasn’t a pirate all his life. That thought made me gasp silently, and I allowed myself to look all over him again, eyes taking in his attire. Everything about his clothes screamed expensive and they looked fairly new. Not a speck of dust dirtied his outfit, and everything else looked exactly just like that on him, perfect. His buttons were all done, shirt tucked carefully inside his pants, and even the belt seemed to hang around his hips at a perfect angle. His hair, too, was styled and it seemed that he gelled it back in order to keep it out of his eyes. No dirt was smeared on his face nor clothes, and his stance seemed strong, shoulders pulled back, back painfully straight. I haven’t seen a pirate before, but this certainly wasn’t the way they looked. No matter how gentleman like they were.

“I doubt a princess like you roams places like the ones I do, so no, that’s impossible.” Wooyoung retorted, giving me a look which made it obvious that he thought I was dumb. My jaw clenched at his very subtle jab, but I just smiled at him sweetly, too sweetly.

“Unless you weren’t a pirate your whole life, Wooyoung, we might have crossed paths before then.” My sentence should’ve been laughed at, the thought quite out of place and nonsensical. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to be a pirate willingly. But the way Wooyoung’s body seemed to suddenly tense and eyebrows furrow was a reaction I did not expect. My eyes narrowed at him as he suddenly cleared his throat and stepped back, snatching the plate off the bed, “Do I happen to be right?”

Wooyoung didn’t answer straight away, just threw a glare my way before he grabbed the handle of his sword tightly. I eyed it as he scoffed, trying to play off the tense air around him, “A princess like you knows nothing, Y/N, stop being silly and shut up.”

“And a pirate like you wouldn’t be so defensive all of a sudden if I wasn’t right—”

“Ah, really, now.” Wooyoung cut me off with a smirk on his lips, again, leaning down to be eye level with me, “You just had to get mouthy when I was starting to debate whether to release you or not.”

My eyes widened as Wooyoung chuckled and ran for the door, just as my mouth opened, “Wooyoung! You nasty pirate, release me, right now!”

He was out the door before I could stop screaming at him, but he had the audacity to poke his head back inside with an amused look on his face, “You can’t command me around, I’m not one of your servants.”

“Yet you bring me everything I need, like a servant.” I fired back at it, a grin pulling onto my lips, the sudden anger disappearing for a few seconds, until Wooyoung slammed the door shut behind him without saying anything else. I let out a frustrated scream and trashed my legs around, until I registered the pain coming from my wrists, realizing I was straining the rope against the already damaged skin. My mother would kill me for turning up bruised after three years of not seeing me.

And I wished Wooyoung’s teasing stopped there, but it didn’t. The following day each time he came inside the room, he would somehow manage to pretend that he was going to release me, only to run away cackling as I just fell back against the hard mattress, biting my lip and blinking away the frustrated tears which threatened to fall. I did not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. It wasn’t worth it. In four more days I would be released, perhaps I could survive that much. Hopefully the rope wouldn’t create an actual wound against my fragile skin. It was somewhere around late evening, the light coming through the small window barely strong enough to light up the room I was held in. I figured it was Wooyoung’s room when he came to retrieve fresh clothes this morning, of course mocking me for not having escaped yet. Perhaps if the bounds weren’t so tight I might’ve done just that. I was sitting on the bed, back pressed against the wooden wall, sighing as I played with the pencil in my hand. I somehow convinced Wooyoung to hand me my sketchbook and a pencil, desperate to do something since I couldn’t sleep and stare out the small window all day long. But the light wasn’t enough anymore for me to see the lines I was creating, and my wrist was aching from drawing all day long. Suddenly, the door was slammed open and I jumped, tensing as I thought it was someone other than Wooyoung, but it was him. He was holding a lantern in his hand as he strutted inside while whistling, looking awfully happy and smug, as he cast me a glance from the corner of his eyes. I scoffed and stared up at the ceiling, refusing to look at him after he pretended to cut the ropes while I was eating lunch today. I did not appreciate his humorless jokes. Especially since he was mocking me with them.

“Enjoying the sunset, princess?” Hearing the title roll of his tongue so smoothly only irritated me furthermore, and I refused to answer as he placed the lantern on the desk. He brought that in just for me, actually. But I’d rather sit in darkness than be tied up. Wooyoung paused and placed his hands on his hips, looking at me expectantly.

“Not in the mood to talk? That’s new, you always have something to say.” I had to steel myself from rolling my eyes at him as he jutted his lips out in a disgusting pout. How was this man a pirate? Even if he were to threaten me with taking my life, I wouldn’t be able to take him seriously anymore.

“I see you’ve been drawing today.” He muttered, more to himself, as he approached the bed. He leaned one knee against the hard mattress and leaned forward, grabbing my sketchbook. I wanted to swat his hand away, but I didn’t react as I kept ignoring him. Perhaps he’d get bored of teasing me if I didn’t react any way and he’d go away.

“Oh,” Wooyoung’s eyebrows rose as he glanced at me, “have you seen our ship before?”

We made eye contact but I didn’t answer him as Wooyoung raised his eyebrows even more, waiting for my answer. But I remained unresponsive and he rolled his eyes, “Fine, don’t talk then. The drawing looks eerily similar to our ship, princess. That’s why I asked.”

He was quite dumb if he thought a princess like myself has seen a pirate ship before, let alone this one. Wooyoung dropped the sketchbook into my lap, lips pulled in a straight line as he remained leaning close to me.

“I was in a good mood before I came to visit you, what a pity.” Wooyoung sighed dramatically, eyebrows furrowing and mocking my voice suddenly, “I really thought of releasing you, but—your attitude needs some fixing so I’m giving you a lesson by not setting you free, understand?”

That was the last straw. The tone of his voice, the mocking and malice laced into it made my blood boil as my head whipped forward, face scrunched into a scowl. Before Wooyoung could even react, his proximity allowed for my left hand to smack against his cheek. Despite it being the back of my hand, the slap was strong and loud as Wooyoung jumped back with a loud cry, holding his reddening cheek. His eyes were rounded as he stared at me in shock, and I was breathing hard, glaring at him furiously. Nobody moved or said anything for a few seconds, and suddenly I heard hurried footsteps barreling down the hallway, headed our way. Thanks to Wooyoung leaving the door open, I watched as two men tumbled inside the room, eyes wide and hands on the handle of their swords as they looked around, assessing the situation. They both were tall, but the one on the left was taller, and his black hair was wavy. The man next to him had sharper features and his long hair was pulled into a half ponytail, his corset showing off his delicate curves. My mouth slightly dropped open at the sight, hardly believing that these two handsome men were pirates. But suddenly, the taller one looked at Wooyoung and burst out into loud laughter as Wooyoung whined with a childlike frown.

“Seonghwa!” He exclaimed like a little kid, making me look at him with wide eyes. Why did Wooyoung sound like he was about to tell on me to his mother?

“What are you two—” The taller man’s laughter boomed around us, it brought a smile on my own face, and Seonghwa, the ethereal looking man, seemed to throw him a subtle glare as he had to raise his voice in order to be heard. But Wooyoung left him no chance to speak.

“The princess whacked me—”

“You keep teasing me—”

“Because you’re entitled—”

“I’ve been living on my own for three years, for Heaven’s sake, how am I entitled—”

“You’re still a princess and you keep commanding me around—”

“So you keep mocking me that you’ll release me only to walk away?!” Wooyoung and I were screaming over each other at this point, silencing the taller man’s laughter too, and making Seonghwa look at us puzzled, “It hurts! My wrists are sore and I can’t feel my arms, Wooyoung!”

“Well—well—” Wooyoung went to scream back something, but all he did was open and close his mouth, eyebrows furrowed as he started rubbing his cheek. The tall man snorted loudly, but one look from Seonghwa quickly silenced him. He pinched the bridge of his nose before he cast me a glance, eyes softening for a second, only to turn into a glare as he looked back at Wooyoung.

“Wooyoung,” He started, voice steady and soft, “Why is the princess tied up?”

My head whipped back to Wooyoung as I waited for his answer, glare burning into his forehead as Wooyoung seemed to be avoiding looking at me. He gulped, but said nothing. The taller man had to bite his lower lip as his body started trembling, on the verge of another fit of laughter.

“Yunho.” Seonghwa snapped, “Stop it.”

“Sorry.” The man mumbled, barely, as he rubbed his stomach and jaw, eyebrows furrowing in a funny way.

“Wooyoung, I asked you a question.” Seonghwa said with a sigh and Wooyoung suddenly crossed his arms, looking like a child.

“I tied her up, because—” Wooyoung shrugged, licking his lips as he rolled his eyes, “I wanted to.”

“You bastard!” I snapped, glaring at him, making Yunho snicker until Seonghwa elbowed him in the stomach harshly.

“Untie her, now.” Seonghwa said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, looking at Wooyoung unimpressed. He looked like a parent who was scolding their mischievous child. Definitely didn’t fit the image I had of pirates in my head. But perhaps Seonghwa was a leaderlike figure, because Wooyoung grumbled quietly to himself, but grabbed a dagger from his boots, and looked at me with a glare. If it weren’t for already knowing Wooyoung, I perhaps would have been scared to have a pirate look at me like that with a weapon pointed my way, but all I could do was smirk at him. Wooyoung scoffed as he very slowly approached me, drawing out the action on purpose, taking his time in cutting the ropes as Seonghwa and Yunho watched. The later more amused as he kept giggling, making Seonghwa sigh until he had enough and pushed Yunho outside. I let out a sigh of contentment when the ropes were finally gone from my skin and stared at my bruised skin, hissing as I touched it. This would certain require some time to heal and it also wouldn’t be as painless as I had hoped, but at least I was free. Wooyoung said nothing as he stormed off, punching Yunho’s shoulder in the process when he walked past him, making the taller man burst out into laughter again as he followed after his fellow mate.

“I’m sorry for the discomfort caused, princess, but I had no idea Wooyoung was treating you like that.” Seonghwa’s voice was oddly soft and friendly as he stepped further inside, grabbing the rope and gathering it up in his hands. His words made it sound like Wooyoung was doing something very horrible to me and I had the sudden urge to clarify the situation.

“He didn’t hurt me,” I spoke up, looking at Seonghwa warily as he shook his head slightly, “and he fed me regularly, it’s just that—I was rather frustrated by his constant teasing. Hence why I reacted the way I did, I know it wasn’t particularly nice.”

Seonghwa suddenly chuckled and looked at me with an amused twinkle in his eyes, “You’re rather protective of your kidnapper and captor’s actions, princess.”

“I am not!” My response was too quick, it made Seonghwa chuckle. I looked away embarrassed, and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“Well, then…” He cleared his throat and stepped back, pocketing the rope, “You’re free to do whatever you want while you’re on the ship, except jump into the water. I can assure you that we will not save you by sacrificing one of our own. Your mother wants you back safe and sound, princess, we’re not here to harm you, we’re here to collect the copious amount of payment.”

“You mean Wooyoung is? Since he was the one to find me…” My voice got small as Seonghwa hummed and headed towards the door.

“Indeed, Wooyoung is, but he’s nice enough to share it with his brothers.” Seonghwa grabbed the doorknob as he stepped outside, “I wish you a pleasant evening, princess.”

“You too, pirate.” I bowed my head as Seonghwa bowed his, and then he closed the door behind himself. I quickly jumped out of bed and stretched my legs and back, moaning at the pleasant feeling of my bones finally popping, and my muscles pulling. Wooyoung could’ve avoided all of this ruckus if he were nicer.

            I couldn’t have been more excited to finally breathe in fresh air, so, after breakfast I was already up on my feet and changing into a baby blue silk dress, one of my favorites’, which I had brought with myself from the castle. It screamed richness as the collar was decorated with royal opal stones and it missed its matching headpiece, my tiara. I didn’t have the heart to bring that with myself when I left, scared that it would be a giveaway of my origins. After all, the royal opal was a significant gemstone of the Oh family and of the Sun Rise Kingdom. Seonghwa had been kind enough to show me where the washroom was, a small chamber with a barrel inside, which served as a bathtub; it was rather horrifying, until I reminded myself that I was currently on a pirate ship. I couldn’t wrap my mind around having to live like this. Wooyoung, for once, seemed to be avoiding me as he brought me breakfast and left wordlessly or without even glancing my way. I was ready to put our little shenanigans past us and greet him a good morning, but he barely stepped inside and placed the tray of food on the end of the bed before he was already gone, shutting the door after himself roughly. If it wasn’t for Seonghwa coming to check up on me thirty minutes later, I perhaps would’ve burst out crying from having to sit all dirty and coped up in this annoying pirate’s room, which still smelled strongly of cologne. This was also peculiar, because when I started walking down the corridors, all kinds of smells invaded my nose, making me feel nauseous. For a pirate, Wooyoung oddly smelled like a prince. Gripping the skirt of my dress, I slightly lifted it so that I could climb up the stairs, headed towards the blinding sunlight. The salty air felt refreshing as I arrived onto the deck, the wind slightly stronger than it usually would be on the beach back in the village I lived at. The sky was crystal clear, no clouds decorating it, and the vast sea was a beautiful deep blue, glistening and foaming as the ship sailed smoothly. I had approached the railing and looked over it, marveling at the beauty around myself, never having seen such sight before. When I escaped from my kingdom I was forced to hide under the deck the whole ride, I didn’t have the opportunity to look at the sea. There was something very calming and beautiful about it, I loved sitting on the beach in the evenings and watching the sunset. Suddenly, my heart clenched when I realized I would no longer be able to do that, the city where the royal Oh family resided was a four-hour long carriage ride away from the beach, my mother would never allow me to travel back and forth.

“Careful, you might fall over.” A very deep voice suddenly spoke up next to me and I was startled as I stepped back from the railing, looking to my right. A friendly looking man stood next to me; his lips pulled into a small smile. His angelic features didn’t match his low voice at all. I smiled at him and bowed my head slightly.

“Seonghwa told me you wouldn’t rescue me if that happened.” I said with a chuckle and the man’s eyebrows furrowed.

“That is quite incorrect, we don’t leave one of our own behind.” The man said with conviction and glanced past me, eyes slightly narrowing. I followed his gaze and my eyes settled on Seonghwa, who was gripping the wheel and holding a binocular to his eye as he gazed out towards horizon.

“Perhaps he was trying to scare me, then.” I chuckled and looked back at Yeosang, offering him my hand, “My name is Y/N.”

“My name is Yeosang.” He took my hand, and to my surprise, swiftly pressed a kiss against it, slightly curtsying, “Pleasure to meet you, Princess Y/N.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I pulled my hand back, having not been treated with such respect in the past three years. The feeling was foreign, yet it felt right. I didn’t miss it, but for the first time I felt like someone on this ship truly respected me. Unlike with Wooyoung, I could see myself becoming fond of Yeosang. And then, suddenly, there was a quiet squeak behind him, and he slightly turned his head, a fond smile appearing on Yeosang’s lips as he looked down. My eyebrows furrowed, and I tried to look over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. Then his lips moved, but his voice was low and the crashing of waves completely overrode his words. I stood watching curiously as Yeosang nodded, and suddenly, a head popped out from behind his shoulder. My eyes instantly widened as I looked at the young girl, her sharp eyes wide with wonder and admiration as her eyes quickly stopped on my dress.

“This is Hana.” Yeosang’s hand suddenly gripped the girl’s, their fingers intertwined. She looked so small next to him, she was smaller than even myself, and I wasn’t a very tall woman, “She’s shy, but she wanted me to tell you that she adores your dress.”

My lips pulled up into a wide smile as I beamed at her, gripping the fabric of my dress, “Thank you, Hana! It is my favorite dress, actually.”

“You’re pretty too, Princess.” Hana’s voice was velvety and quiet, but I heard her. I bowed my head and her eyes widened as she quickly bowed back, seemingly not knowing how to react. She was wearing clothes like the rest of the pirates, albeit the shirt seemed too big for her frame, and a belt held the pants against her narrow hips. She looked a bit malnourished, but her cheeks were full of color despite her pale complexion.

“Thank you, Hana, you’re very lovely yourself.” Hana’s lips pulled up into a huge smile and her head turned quickly as she beamed up at Yeosang. The man’s attention seemed to be on her only, his ears-tinged red, as he nodded at Hana, a proud glint in his eyes. Hana’s cheeks were pink and she hid herself behind Yeosang, completely disappearing. It was endearing watching the two, watching how Yeosang’s built frame offered the girl protection, shielding her from unwanted eyes and any harm.

“She’s still learning how to accept compliments.” Yeosang explained and I nodded, not wanting to probe for a reason, nevertheless still curious. Yeosang placed his hands in his pockets and slightly bowed his head, “We’ll be on our way, Princess, we’re quite busy today. Taeri and I have collected some new herbs, and I’m excited to make a new tea I have learned not so long ago.”

Taeri. So there was one more woman on this ship besides Hana. It felt nice knowing that I wasn’t the only female surrounded by slimy pirates, although they proved to be quite the opposite of slimy. Yeosang’s comment caught my attention, however, people who knew how to use herbs to make teas were usually healers, “Excuse me, Yeosang, do you happen to be a healer?”

“I’m a doctor, actually.” He corrected and I let out a sigh of relief before I slightly pulled the sleeve of my dress up on my left arm. Yeosang’s eyes fell onto my wrist, eyebrows furrowing when he saw the red skin and dark bruises, “That isn’t good. It hurts, right?”

I nodded wordlessly and noticed Hana just barely poking her head over Yeosang’s shoulder, standing on her tip toes, but she quickly cringed away when she saw the bruises. They didn’t even look that bad, but perhaps she had a reason why she reacted that way.

“I will stop by after lunch with some ointment and a tea, you’re staying in Wooyoung’s room, right?” Yeosang asked with a smile and I nodded with a long sigh, making Yeosang chuckle, “Well, then you’re never bored.”

“I wish I was.” I muttered as Yeosang and Hana passed by me, Hana slightly waving at me before hiding her face in Yeosang’s back. I chuckled and smiled after them, the scent of freesias’ strong as they passed by. I watched the two as they disappeared below deck, Hana bouncing off the stairs more freely when it was just the two of them. I couldn’t help but feel happy that nice people were present on this ship and that I felt like I was welcomed here. As I looked around, I noticed Seonghwa had abandoned his post and was leaning against the railing of the quarterdeck, nodding his head in acknowledgment as we made eye contact. Another man had taken his place at the wheel, significantly shorter than Seonghwa, and with eyes sharper, and an aura which screamed dominance. His hair was blonde and the back strands had reached his shoulders, a black cloth was wrapped around tightly over his shirt on his right bicep. It didn’t take long to realize he was the Captain. I sighed, and turned around, realizing that I still didn’t have much to do. I was free, but still captive in some way and since I was a princess on a pirate ship, I really couldn’t do anything else than stay in Wooyoung’s room all day long and come up on deck for some fresh air from time to time. And perhaps that was the smartest choice, because as I decided to head downstairs, I caught the eyes of some older looking pirates, which looked just like I had imagined them. They were leaning against some barrels, sharpening their knives and daggers as their eyes followed every movement of mine. I gulped and hugged myself around my middle as I straightened my back; a princess never shows weakness. The pirates chuckled, seemingly amused by my actions, and I held my chin higher as I went to take off, only for my upper arm to be gripped and slightly pulled back. The stench hit me first, before I could even turn around, and I yelped once I came face to face with a very old pirate who looked like, and smelled like, he hadn’t had a bath in years. One of his eye was fully white and his beard awfully outgrown, clothes ragged, and a stain on his cheek which I could only hope was some sort of oil.

“Royal flesh on the ship—” The pirate spat on the floor and I gasped, taking a step back but his grip on me didn’t allow for me to go too far, “Flaunting ye wealth while we rot away. Shark food is what ye are, rat. I might push ye over—”

“Easy, mate,” I never heard him approaching us, let alone unsheathing his sword, but it was pressing against the old pirate’s Adam’s Apple in a blink, “Don’t play with something that isn’t yours. Release her, now.”

“Claimed her as yers, eh?” The old pirate grinned sickly and a few of his teeth were missing, eyes twinkling as he looked Wooyoung in the eyes. I tugged on my arm, but the man’s grip wasn’t easing up just yet.

“The Princess is mine, mate, and I don’t like it when someone touches what’s mine.” Wooyoung’s voice dropped dangerously low and my eyes widened as I looked at him, his glare on the man menacing. The old pirate just laughed, a throaty and hoarse sound, before suddenly his grip was gone as Wooyoung’s sword was swiftly raised in the air, coming down towards the man’s wrist. The old pirate yelled and jumped backwards, clutching his unharmed wrist to his chest, eyes crazed and wide as he stared at Wooyoung, “Go tell your old little friends that if anyone touches the Princess their hands won’t be no more. Both hands.”

“The Captain will hear about this—”

“And he’ll do nothing about it,” Wooyoung smirked smugly as he pressed the sword against the wooden floor, leaning his weight against it as his hands rested on top of the handle, “I’m sharing the prize with him, do you think he won’t side with me?”

“Royal scum.” The old pirate spat and wobbled off, his comment making Wooyoung laugh as he placed his sword back onto its sheathe. I watched as the old man joined the pirates who had been previously eyeing me hungrily and spoke furiously to them, probably recounting what happened just seconds ago. Wooyoung looked at me for the first time today, and I couldn’t help but let out a shuddered breath. I wasn’t so safe on this ship, after all, and not all pirates were like Wooyoung. Or like Seonghwa, Yunho, and Yeosang. I subconsciously rubbed my wrist, wincing at the pain; I had forgotten they were bruised. Wooyoung’s eyes followed my actions and he gulped when I showed signs of pain, but didn’t speak up.

“Thank you for that.” I said quietly, suddenly feeling shy as I looked away. Wooyoung hummed and rubbed the back of his head, patting his sleeveless tank top down. His clothes seemed to be fresh once again. How did a pirate constantly wear a new set of clothes, wardrobe never seeming to empty out? Did they even have that much money? Why did the pirate say royal scum? Did he refer to me? Then why did he say it to Wooyoung? My eyebrows furrowed as I looked back at Wooyoung, who seemed rather modest despite helping me out. I thought he’d be smugger about it.

“No need to thank me, it’s the least I could do.” He shrugged and cleared his throat, “Uh, you’re—you’re not mine, I just had to make sure that man wouldn’t bother you anymore. Pirates tend to be…more possessive of what’s theirs so, uhm, by saying you’re mine I made it clear that if he touched you he’d be facing punishment.”

I could’ve sworn Wooyoung was blushing, but he turned his head around, pretending to be looking for someone as his eyes searched the deck. I appreciated his explanation, but for some weird reason I didn’t find it infuriating that he pretended to claim me. By no means was I an object to be claimed, but the way he said it…it felt different. Like it meant more than just a simple claim. Before my thoughts could steal me away from reality, a man called out for Wooyoung.

“Stop flirting with the Princess and bring your ass over here!” It was Yunho, and he was standing next to a man I hadn’t met yet, but he was glaring at the arm Yunho had slung over his shoulders before he went and brushed it off, “Jongho is upset again, you overslept and didn’t do your duties.”

Wooyoung groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose as he glanced back at me, “Sorry, princess, but I have to tend to my real duties now.”

I couldn’t help but allow a smirk to sneak onto my lips, “So, you do admit that the other day you were just trying to impress me if whatever you’re about to do is your real purpose on this ship.”

“Yeah, I—what?!” Wooyoung exclaimed appalled and his eyebrows furrowed, “I wasn’t trying to impress you, stop making things seem like something they aren’t!”

“But you just almost confessed to it.” I smiled sneakily and Wooyoung groaned.

“Go have a beauty sleep, princess, you look like you need one.” I gasped, but before I could throw an insult back at Wooyoung, he ran off to Yunho and Jongho, I assume, getting tackled into a headlock by the man I wasn’t familiar with yet. I held my chin high and turned around, storming down the stairs and towards Wooyoung’s room, knowing that he stored a mirror in one of his drawers, eager to see whatever he was talking about. There was no way I didn’t look spectacular today, I made sure there were no signs that I barely got a wink of sleep since I had gotten onto the ship. Outrageous. Wooyoung was so annoying.

            Another day had gone by fast without much happening on the ship. Wooyoung was busy with that Jongho pirate, apparently he had been slacking off lately and the Captain had summoned him this morning, asking for an explanation. When Wooyoung didn’t show up with breakfast, I thought about wandering around in search for the kitchen, but Seonghwa beat me to it as he brought me breakfast and let me know that I might be seeing less of Wooyoung the following days. I didn’t mind, in fact, I was grateful that he wouldn’t chew off my ears anymore; at least now I had a little bit of peace of mind before we reached my Kingdom and castle. It gave me time to figure out a plan which would help me escape my mother once again. I knew she’d hate me and probably exile me from the Kingdom, but it’s exactly what I wanted. To get rid of my royal duties as next in line to the throne. I didn’t want to rule in a place which felt like a prison, in a place which wasn’t complete without its King, and in a place where I would never be taken seriously. All of my mother’s advisors dislike me, and had always been against me inheriting the throne, always encouraging my mother to try for another baby in hopes of it being a boy so that he’d bear the crown. But my mother didn’t want another child as her labor was difficult with me and she almost lost her life in the process of giving birth. I was her only hope, and despite that, all I kept doing was disappoint her. I should’ve felt bad about it, but I stopped caring when she started becoming more and more demanding and pressuring. Perhaps if I could somehow convince her that I was back for good and intended on staying, that I have matured and grown to regret my decision, I would earn her trust again, after all I am her only child, then perhaps she’ll crown me and unknowingly fall into my trap. She’d willingly and legally hand over all the fortune which I would run away with later, once I have ruled for enough time to get everyone off my back. But for that…I need someone on my side, someone who would help me. But who would be that person? I didn’t know many people who would do that for me, let alone whom I trusted enough to tell the plan to. Perhaps…would a pirate be interested in playing along with me if I promised enough gold in return for their services?

That was a question I didn’t know the answer to, and I sighed as I glanced back up at the horizon, sky coated in dark shades of pink mixed with purple and a little bit of orange. The sun was setting, creating a beautiful landscape as the ship swayed gently side to side. A few clouds decorated the sky here and there, promising a storm free night. The breeze was gentle as I sat by the railing, feet pushed through the gaps and dangling off the side of the ship as I swayed my legs from time to time, trying to avoid numbness in them. My right hand held my sketchbook as I held a dark blue crayon in my left hand, drawing out the waves onto my drawing. A few more colored crayons sat carefully by my thigh as I made sure they wouldn’t roll away; my heart would break if I lost any colors. I couldn’t live without painting or drawing; it was the one thing I couldn’t leave behind alongside with my title.

The setting was peaceful, and I enjoyed the fresh air and solitude for as long as I could, no pirate in sight as the deck was empty. I thought they never left the deck unsupervised, but perhaps so far out in the sea there were no dangers of other people showing up. Or perhaps these pirates were just confident about their combat skills and they didn’t have to be on the lookout at all time. However, the girl sitting next to me was so quiet, that I completely forgot about her existence if it weren’t for her sneezing, making me jump. My eyes widened as I turned my head and looked at the petite girl, her cheeks rosy as she looked away embarrassed. She has been sitting by my side for the past hour, not saying a word, just watching my drawing. She looked curious as her wide eyes watched carefully each swipe of my hand, her fingers sometimes itching as she reached out, only to sit back and place her hands underneath her thighs. I didn’t know if she whether wanted to be acknowledged or not, so I remained silent, and allowed her the choice to speak up or remain silent. She seemed content in my presence, and it made me smile to myself as she gasped when I created ripples in the water on my sketchbook, leaning forward on her hands as she pocked her head closer.

“Are you feeling cold, Hana?” I asked as I stopped drawing, looking at the younger girl. She jumped and quickly leaned back; cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Her nose was red and she had started sniffing as she sneezed again. When Hana realized I wouldn’t continue drawing until she gave me an answer, she quickly shook her head no. I nodded, but decided to take off my shawl from around my shoulders, and hand it over to her. Hana eyed the piece of clothing curiously, reluctantly taking it, “You keep sneezing, wear it, so you don’t catch a flu.”

“Oh, Princess—” Her eyes widened as she bowed her head deeply, her hands clenched, “I really shouldn’t—”

“You most certainly should, Hana,” I chuckled and placed the shawl on her lap, “I insist. Besides, I’m sure Yeosang would be rather worried if you suddenly were to become sick.”

“I’d rather not have him worried about me again…” Hana whispered and quickly wrapped the shawl around her shoulders, the orange fabric complementing her skin tone. I hummed and went back to drawing, the late evening breeze was colder, and it made goosebumps erupt on my skin. I should follow my own advice, and head back to Wooyoung’s room soon, get ready for bed and dinner. It wouldn’t be long until he’d bring me dinner, perhaps I still had time to quickly wash up. I watched from the corner of my eyes as Hana followed each movement of my hands with her eyes, lips opened in awe, looking like she was trying to memorize each line I was drawing.

“Tell me, Hana,” I spoke up as I grabbed the orange crayon, “Do you happen to enjoy drawing?”

Her eyes widened and she nodded eagerly, her lips pulled into a wide smile, “I do, Princess! I have made a few sketches myself ever since Yeosang gifted me some canvas and pencils.”

“I actually prefer to paint, but I think the pirates would’ve been outraged if I brought my whole equipment up here.” I rolled my eyes and Hana chuckled, hiding her blush with the shawl.

“Some of them are actually really nice, and Taeri is very helpful and attentive—” Hana abruptly looked away, it looked like she was about to cry, “they take good care of you here, it’s weird. I bet you expected them to be barbarians, Princess, and yet sometimes these men act like little children.”

I laughed quietly and nodded, thoughts straying to Wooyoung. He definitely didn’t act like a pirate, his antics resembling that of a spoiled little child. Taeri I have met earlier today, when she came to Wooyoung’s room, asking if I needed anything or if Wooyoung was bothering me in any way. She had a very motherly aura as we conversed, and I was surprised to find out that she had been living on the ship for ten years now, a pirate herself. Before our conversation could stray to the reason why I ran away from home, Yunho came looking for her, boyish grin on his lips as Taeri told him she’d be joining him in a second. Apparently, they had to check out the supply room, making sure we had enough of everything until we reached land. As I went to close the door after Taeri and Yunho’s departure, I caught a glimpse of Yunho pressing his lips against Taeri’s neck, pushing her down the corner as they disappeared from sight. I closed the door with a shake of my head, wondering if Wooyoung had anyone like Taeri in his life. The thought was sudden and surprising, and before I could dwell more on it, I quickly shook my head and went to dig through my briefcases, searching for something which would keep me warm if I went up on the deck.

“They certainly left an impression on me,” I said with a chuckle, making Hana nod, “but I can’t help feel resignment towards them, especially Wooyoung. He’s the one who captured me, and he is the reason why I’ll be seeing my mother in just a few days—”

“But being a princess must be so nice, I can’t find a reason why I would run away if I was in your place, Princess.” Hana cut me off, words tumbling out of her mouth eagerly, as her eyebrows were furrowed. I hummed and looked off in the distance, eyes unfocused as my grip loosened on my sketchbook. Yes, perhaps, this is how outsiders think of a privileged life. They don’t really have a chance to find out about our hardships, and even then, are we allowed to whine and complain? Are we allowed to wallow in desperation when other people have it so much harder? When other people barely have anything, and are fighting to survive day to day, meanwhile I cry myself to sleep because my mother wouldn’t allow me to paint unless I have attended my etiquette class? As I turned to look at the girl next to me, I couldn’t help but wonder about what her life was like. Wonder what her biggest worries and fears were, anything which would take my head out of the gutter and ground me back to reality. Here I was, on the verge of throwing a fit about not wanting to return home, when the girl next to me seemed to jump at any loud sounds, seemed to become smaller when a man came into sight, seemed to hesitate every time she spoke up, seemed to have scars peeking out from underneath her long sleeves. She was pure and innocent yet the look in her eyes made her look older, tired, and horrified of the world around her, as if she’s seen horrors nobody else has. I didn’t have it in me to tell her the reason why I didn’t want to return home, it felt like I would be making fun of her, taunting her even, so, instead I dodged her question as best as I could.

“Please, call me just Y/N,” I smiled at her and watched as her cheeks turned pink, “I haven’t been a proper princess for three years, it doesn’t feel right.”

“Oh, alright, I shall do that—” Hana seemed to struggle for a second until she ducked her head and whispered, “Y/N.”

I smiled fondly at her and nodded, looking down at my almost finished drawing. The sun had almost disappeared and the air has turned cold, making me shiver. I grabbed a purple crayon and quickly finished the sketch, bringing it up to my eyes, making sure it was finished. I could see Hana lean closer, wide eyes filled with curiosity as I turned towards her and handed her the sketchbook. She looked surprised, but eager as she took it from my hands, staring at the sketch in awe. Her small fingers delicately traced the same lines I had done minutes ago, eyebrows furrowed as she examined my technique.

“It’s for you, Hana, you can keep the drawing.” I found myself saying, taken aback when Hana looked at me with tearful eyes. She was smiling still, but she looked overwhelmed. I didn’t know what to do or say, taken aback by her reaction, so I settled for, “It’s a gift, so you can’t refuse it.”

It made Hana cry and my eyes widened as I panicked, thinking that I have said something wrong, but she quickly clutched the sketchbook to her chest, and smiled so widely her cheeks must have hurt, “Nobody has ever given me a gift so beautiful!”

I felt my heart warm at her words and I chuckled, leaning forward to wipe a tear off her cheek, “Don’t cry, Hana, your eyes will be puffy in the morning.”

She giggled and wiped her tears away quickly, bowing her head in thankfulness, “Thank you, Princess Y/N.”

“You said you only had pencils?” I raised my eyebrows as I grabbed the crayons from next to me. Hana nodded as she carefully ripped the page I have gifted to her out of the sketchbook before she handed it back to me. I took the sketchbook and grabbed her wrist, turning her palm, “Take the crayons too. The world would be so grim without colors, I’m sure your drawings will look even prettier with them.”

I placed the crayons in her palm and Hana gasped, gaping at me as I stood up and dusted off the skirt of my dress, bringing my arms around myself in order to try and warm up. Hana scrambled to her feet, and having noticed that I was feeling cold, she went to hand back the shawl, but I stopped her with a raise of my hand, “Keep it, I have plenty of shawls like that one.”

“Oh, Princess—” She brought a hand to her mouth as her lower lip trembled and I just chuckled, feeling slightly concerned. What has happened to this girl before that she was reacting in such way? I’ve never seen anyone so overwhelmed at the simple action such as receiving gifts, “I am so grateful! Thank you so much! I don’t—I don’t even know how to repay you—actually! Come join us for dinner tonight…Ara will sing for us, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Her voice is so pretty, and she’ll be so happy to sing for a Princess like you, Y/N.”

“There’s another girl on the ship?” I asked surprised, eyebrows raising as Hana grabbed my arm softly, and started pulling me towards the stairs.

“Yes, but she rarely leaves her room. She’s—” Hana stiffened for a second, I wouldn’t have caught it if she didn’t stop walking, “San doesn’t like letting her out of his sight, he’s—Would you like to meet Ara before dinner?”

I listened to Hana with furrowed eyebrows, taking in the new information, slightly confused about who San was. Wooyoung mentioned him once briefly, something about learning something from him, but I haven’t seen the man yet. I hadn’t even known there was another woman on the ship, nobody ever talked about her, it was peculiar. But Hana seemed very eager, and so I nodded, not wanting to ruin her good mood as she pulled me after herself, leading us underneath deck. She turned to the left and walked down the corridor, we passed by four doors, until she suddenly stopped walking. I almost ran into her, but noticed in time. Hana was suddenly tense, and I looked down at her, eyebrows raised, but she quickly let go of me and pressed herself up against the wall.

“Her room is the last on the left—” A loud crashing sound echoed down the corridor and Hana sucked in a deep breath, “I—I can’t go closer, I’m sorry, I should walk you there, but I—”

“It’s fine, Hana.” I stopped her rambling, offering her a comforting smile. Hana gulped loudly and nodded, looking down at the floor, “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

She nodded quietly and slipped past me, figure tense, “I’ll see you at dinner then, Y/N. Thank you for the gifts.”

“Of course, I’ll see you later then.” I bowed my head back as Hana curtsied, and turned back towards the end of the corridor, wondering why Hana wouldn’t walk me to Ara’s door. I thought she would like to see the girl, but perhaps I was wrong. I sighed and took off again, but the closer I got, the louder the voices were from one room. As I came face to face with the door Hana told me about, the mentioned voices seemed to come from inside, loud and angry. It was mainly a male voice, shouting about something he didn’t care about as he claimed that it was his job and nobody could stop him from doing it, and then, a shrill feminine voice shouting back that he couldn’t do this, that he was hurting people and ruining lives. I gulped and was about to walk away when the feminine voice shouted for the man to get out, and suddenly, the door was ripped open and I found myself face to face with a fuming man, who’s sharp eyes looked like they could kill anyone if he stared at them long enough. His chest was heaving, jaw clenched as he took me in. I glanced behind him and found a shorter girl, crying, as her big brown eyes stared back at me. Why were all the girls crying here? Suddenly, the man hissed, and I straightened my back, giving him a glare.

“What do you want?” He snapped, glaring me down.

“Is that Ara?” I asked as I glanced at the girl again, who was quick to wipe her tears away and pat her short hair down.

“What do you want from her?” The man now blocked my path, chest puffed out and stare pinning me to my place. But that wouldn’t work on me, I have been facing scarier looking men compared to him since a young age.

“I would like to talk to her—”

“No, walk along now—” The man didn’t even let me finish my sentence as he cut me off, nose flaring as he became angrier. Perhaps this person was San, Hana did say he never let Ara out of his sight.

“I am here,” I was the one to cut off his words now, taking a step closer as we stared each other down, “to talk to Ara. Whether you like that or not, it will happen, pirate. Step aside.”

The man scoffed and narrowed his eyes at me, sneering, “We aren’t in your fucking palace, Princess, you won’t command me around. Do you even know who I am?”

I chuckled, crossing my arms in front of my chest, “Do I have to know? Clearly, you are a very overbearing person who’s getting on my nerves right now. You should do what I ask while I’m being nice, pirate.”

“Listen here, spoiled brat—”

“That is not how you talk to a Princess!” Ara shrieked and before the man or I could react, she was by his side, pulling him away from me. I watched the two with narrowed eyes, glaring at the man as he scoffed, but looked at Ara when she grabbed his bicep, “San, treat her with respect, she’s royalty. The next Queen.”

“I don’t give a fuck about who she is.” He chuckled, but it was humorless. Ara bit her lower lip and spare me a quick glance before she took a deep breath.

“San, please—”

“I said no, Ara, you’re not going with her.” San snapped, and shook Ara’s grip off himself, “So that she can feed more bullshit into your head?! Like Taeri has? No, Ara. Get lost, Princess.”

San’s eyes snapped onto me, glaring as he went to slam the door in my face, but before I could react, Ara was stood in front of him, standing in the doorway, and not allowing him to close it. I watched with furrowed eyebrows as Ara grabbed San’s cheeks and brought their foreheads together. San’s body grew tense and his jaw clenched as the girl clung onto him.

“Please,” Ara’s voice was barely over a whisper, I strained my ears to hear her words, “I—I will stop. Everything. San, please, let me walk with her. No more Taeri, I will never talk to her again, I promise just—let me talk to the Princess. It’s my only chance to be around royalty, you know that.”

San swiftly grabbed Ara’s nape, leaning slightly down so that they would be eye to eye. He raised his right hand and pointed his forefinger at the woman, “You better keep your word, angel, or else you will regret it.”

Ara nodded wordlessly and after an uncomfortable moment of silence, San released her and stepped back, sharp eyes falling on me. His demeanor seemed to change, he almost looked calm, almost. He pointed his finger at me, “You have twenty minutes with her.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes as I grabbed Ara and pulled her out of the room, slamming the door after ourselves. My blood was boiling as I took a deep breath, trying to assess the situation and the relationship these two seemed to have. Ara was an anxious mess next to me as she fidgeted with her fingers and when I glanced at her, she gasped.

“I am so sorry, Princess, he shouldn’t have treated you like that nor spoken to you like that! San has issues controlling his temper, I can assure you that he didn’t mean any of that—” I placed a hand over Ara’s shoulder, she quickly averted her eyes.

“Do not apologize for him, Ara, and do not defend him when he behaves like that with you. He meant everything he said, no need to try and turn his words around.” I couldn’t help but feel aggravated as Ara chewed on her lower lip, suddenly bowing deeply.

“I apologize profusely, Princess, this is certainly not the way I hoped to see you for the first time—” She suddenly sniffed and my heart clenched, “I am so embarrassed right now, I can’t even put it into words.”

I sighed and grabbed Ara’s hand, making her stand up straight. I offered her a small soft smile, raising her chin up as her eyes were filled with tears, “Your actions are admirable as many would’ve cowered in front of him. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Let us walk then…”

Ara forced a smile onto her face as she stood next to me, and we took down the corridor. I had no idea where we could walk to, but perhaps going to Wooyoung’s room for starters was a good idea. If she didn’t leave her room often, I didn’t know if bringing her on the deck was too smart, maybe it would make San leash out on her again, and I didn’t want that to happen.

“My name is Y/N, Hana told me you would be singing after dinner tonight?” I spoke up when the air was filled with tension. Ara’s shoulders were suddenly pulled back, her demeanor changing scarily fast, as a very charming smile appeared on her lips.

“Yes, Princess Y/N, I shall be your entertainer tonight, my name is Im Ara.” She curtsied quickly and I chuckled, intrigued by her change of character.

“Have you entertained aristocrats or royalty before?” I asked curiously, her attitude way too professional. It certainly didn’t seem like this would be her first time speaking to important people.

“You would be the first one, Princess Y/N.” Ara bowed her head slightly and I looked at her surprised as we reached Wooyoung’s room. It was on the other end of the corridor from San’s room.

“What is an entertainer and a beautiful lady like you doing on a pirate ship?” I asked, genuinely curious, as I pushed Wooyoung’s door open, the room empty. He was always absent before dinner, I wondered where he disappeared to every day. Ara seemed to tense because of my question as I led her inside, suddenly embarrassed about the mess in the room. My things were thrown all around the room, dresses falling out of the briefcases messily, and my paintings were laying around on the floor. Ara took in the sight surprised, but when we made eye contact she quickly masked it with a pleasant smile and placed her hands behind her back.

“I was kidnapped by San.” The look on her face didn’t match her words, and my eyebrows furrowed as I stared at Ara, waiting for her to tell me the real reason. But when she just continued staring at me with an emotionless smile on her face, my stomach dropped.

“He—you what?” I asked shocked, and Ara’s smile fell as her face turned solemn.

“I was walking home from the Inn I worked at one night. My boss warned me that Ateez were in town, but I thought I was safe, that nothing would happen to me. That’s when San kidnapped me to sell me off to a wealthy man, but as you can see…I had the misfortune of staying with him—”

“This is horrible!” I gasped as I placed a hand over my mouth, watching her in horror as Ara seemed unaffected by whatever she was saying. Like she had accepted her fate.

“I begged him to let me stay with him, I wanted this,” She sighed, her shoulders slouching forward, “Trust me, Princess, staying here and living with him is a lot better than whatever fate was waiting for me once I was sold.”

I shuddered just at the thought of getting sold off by someone, “Does he do this often?”

Ara chuckled humorlessly, “It’s one of the many businesses he gets by, we were just arguing about it earlier before you came. I don’t understand why I bother to try to change his mind, it’s fruitless. But I—I can’t just stand by and watch as he ruins so many lives—not when I went through that. Not when I know the kind of thoughts which cross your mind during those moments, the dread which fills your body, the despair and uncertainty of what will happen to you. I have to stop him, Princess, I’m trying so hard, but he’s—too strong. He holds too much power, and he doesn’t care at all about the consequences of his actions.”

“He seems to care, since he gave in so quickly to you.” I muttered and Ara shook her head sadly.

“He only gave in because he got something out of it.” I gulped at Ara’s words, feeling the weight of them.

“Will you—stop? What you were doing before, whatever that is?” I inquired quietly, and suddenly there was a glint in Ara’s eyes, but she quickly masked it as she frowned, looking around with fake sadness etched onto her face.

“It’s best if I don’t bother a Princess with such topics, isn’t it?” I smiled, understanding the hidden message in her words, and hummed, looking around, eyes falling on my gowns. I looked back at Ara, noticing her gaze on the gowns too. I smiled and walked up to the briefcase, picking up a beige colored cotton gown, glittering golden like stripes decorating the long sleeves of it. Ara’s eyes widened as she stared at it longingly. I let my eyes run over her form before I looked down at the gown, mentally comparing her frame to my gown. She was slightly taller than me, but seemed to be around the same dimensions as myself, so, with a big smile I extended the gown towards her. Ara’s eyes widened as she looked at me, taking a step back taken aback.

“What—what are you doing, Princess?” She asked alarmed. I chuckled and approached her, pulling her hands from behind her back.

“The entertainer must look stellar when on stage, especially if they have a Princess in their audience.” Ara’s eyes widened as she grabbed the gown, hugging it to her chest, “I think it will fit you nicely, Ara.”

“Thank you, my Princess,” Ara bowed her head deeply, beaming with happiness, “I will forever be grateful and indebted to you.”

“Oh, well,” I chuckled and waved her words off, “you could start by simply calling me Y/N, and I suppose your debt would instantly disappear.”

“I could never do that, Princess!” She gasped and watched me as if I had two heads, “You deserve respect and to be properly addressed to.”

I chuckled and pretended to think, “Well in that case, keep the gown. It’ll show just how grateful you are.”

Ara’s eyes widened and she bowed again, making me bow back, alarming her as she quickly pushed me to stand up straight. I giggled and Ara huffed, as if I had been a disobedient child antagonizing her. She seemed lovely and very well mannered.

“I shall go and get ready, I look forward to seeing you later, Princess.” Ara curtsied and I nodded with a smile, waving at her as she left the room. As I went to close the door after her, I heard a high-pitched squeal echo down the corridor, making me chuckle to myself as I debated whether I should wear or not a representative dress of the Oh family to make Ara even happier.

            I didn’t want to out dress Ara as I had given one of my most beautiful gowns to her, but I knew she would absolutely love seeing me in the Oh family’s colors, therefore I chose to wear a dress which has been passed down for generations. It was a cotton dress, dark blue with silver highlights and a belt decorated with royal opals. The dress was heavy and different from the gowns in our times, but it always had a special place in my heart. I couldn’t leave it at the castle, secretly hoping that I would have a reason to wear it at least once. And Ara offered me just that chance, making me feel excited as I pulled the front strands of my hair back and tied them into a braid. The dress was warm and I was thankful as I had been feeling rather cold since coming back downstairs, the fabric sitting snugly against my body. Once I was ready, I left the room and searched for the kitchen a little confused, each room’s door was closed on this corridor and no loud chatter came from the insides. Pirates wouldn’t be so quiet at dinner, right? And then, just as I was about to give up, I remembered the corner Taeri and Yunho rounded yesterday, and I headed towards it, finding a new set of stairs leading downstairs. I grabbed the skirt of the dress and raised it above my ankles as I carefully made my way downstairs, finding less doors on this hallway. And just as I took off towards the right, the louder chatter I expected echoed down the hallway, a cacophony of sounds as I couldn’t make out one comprehensible word. The door was closed, yet it wouldn’t make much difference if it wasn’t, in my opinion. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, pulling my shoulders back as I exhaled. I knew everyone would be staring at me, especially when I was wearing such a dress screaming of my origins and wealth. I had to remind myself that I was doing this for Ara, that thought would stop me from running back to Wooyoung’s room. The woman seemed so sad and tired, I felt like this was the least I could do to cheer her up. She held so much respect and admiration for me as we talked, my heart would break if I were to disappoint her. So, masking all emotions from my face, I placed my hands in front of me and straightened my back as I pushed the door open, pretending that I was walking inside the throne room during one of my mother’s extravagant balls. You don’t look at anyone, you don’t make any faces. You can’t hear and you can’t see. You focus on how you walk and hold your chin high, shoulders pulled back. Your one and only mission is to reach your chair next to your mother. These were the words I was taught in etiquette class, I never thought I would have to actually remind them to myself. Especially not on a ship infested with pirates.

As I stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind me, startling me, but I didn’t react. The chatter continued for another split second, until the vast kitchen went completely silent, all eyes on me. My blood froze over and suddenly I started sweating as all the pirates stared at me, some openly gawking. I didn’t know where to sit. I didn’t even know if I was welcomed here. The older pirates watched me as if I were a prize, something they could play with until they got bored of. It made my skin crawl as I stepped further inside, eyes sweeping over the long table. There weren’t many vacant places, and I noticed Wooyoung’s absence from it. Where was he if he wasn’t having dinner? Seonghwa had a pleasant smile on his lips as he nodded briefly in acknowledgment, however, the cat-like eyed man next to him didn’t look too pleased as he took in my attire. He was the Captain. Hana was nestled close into Yeosang’s side as she sat in between him and Taeri, who’s lips were pulled into a huge smile as she stared at my dress. Yunho was grinning as he nudged the man sitting next to himself, who’s mouth had fallen open at the sight of me, and I could see the rice he still hadn’t chewed, making me scrunch up my nose in disgust. He quickly closed his mouth and looked away embarrassed, pressing a ring clad hand against his face in an attempt to hide himself from my eyes. I almost chuckled as Yunho started whispering something to him, making the man’s eyebrows furrow as he elbowed him. I noticed San wasn’t here, nor was Ara. Would she not sing tonight? Did I mess up by interfering with their fight and by giving her the gown? My heart beat picked up as anxiety coursed through my veins; perhaps coming here was a mistake. And then, suddenly, I heard dishes clanking loudly, and suddenly, Wooyoung’s head popped into view as he gaped at me blatantly. He threw his hands out and gesticulated towards my body, face scrunched up in shock and mild disgust.

“What are you wearing?!” He asked alarmed, eyes taking in the ancient piece of clothing, “What if food gets on it?! That’s anci—”

My eyebrows furrowed as Wooyoung sharply sucked in a breath, cutting himself off. He seemed dumbfounded by his own reaction as he gulped loudly, adjusting his shirt all of a sudden as he averted his eyes. I narrowed my eyes at him and stepped closer, his words replaying in my mind. Did he just recognize my dress? Of course, it wasn’t hard to recognize when it screamed of royalty status, but those who weren’t in close contact with the royal families wouldn’t know the real meaning of it, or the ancestry of it. Royalty were taught about each other’s emblems and relics, family heirlooms, and anything which was representative of their family’s name. Unless Wooyoung was seriously invested with royal families stories, he had no reason knowing about the origins of my dress. He couldn’t have so easily recognized it as if it was burned into his memory. Suddenly, someone from the table cleared their throat and spoke up.

“Wooyoung, your food will get cold, come sit and eat,” It was Seonghwa, voice pleasant as he gestured towards the empty seat from across him, “You too, Princess.”

“Thank you, Seonghwa.” I bowed my head and he smiled pleasantly as he glanced around the table, throwing a glare at the pirates who haven’t stop staring, making them quickly avert their eyes. The Captain just sighed loudly and shook his head, grabbing his cup and drinking from it. He almost looked fed up. I looked at Wooyoung, whose face was expressionless as he turned around and walked to his spot, looking back at me lazily.

“Wouldn’t a princess want to sit down while eating?” He raised one eyebrow, making me squint at him, “I bet your fragile legs wouldn’t last for long if you were to stand on your two feet the whole night.”

I huffed as a few pirates snickered, but didn’t let my irritation show as I walked up to Wooyoung, pushing him over to make space for myself. He gasped as he almost fell into the pirate who Yunho had teased earlier. Wooyoung whipped his head around and glared at me flabbergasted. I grinned as I graciously sat down where Wooyoung was supposed to sit, nodding at the pirate next to me who was taken aback by my presence. The man quickly scrambled to pour some wine into my own cup and I chuckled as I quietly thanked him. Wooyoung scoffed loudly and wriggled himself in between myself and the taller pirate next to Yunho, glaring at my profile as I carefully took a sip of the wine, expecting it to taste awful, but it didn’t. It was actually very tasty and almost sweet. I haven’t had wine like this before.

“Of course,” Wooyoung grumbled as he pulled his plate towards himself and away from me, “you came here to show off, didn’t you? Do you enjoy the attention everyone is suddenly giving you? Of course you are, you are a spoiled princess after all.”

I rolled my eyes and turned to look at Wooyoung with a fake smile on my lips, “I love how you answer your own questions, Wooyoung, it’s like you’re talking to yourself.”

The man on Wooyoung’s left suddenly snickered, hiding his face when Wooyoung’s head snapped towards him to glare at him. I chuckled and thanked Yeosang as he handed me a clean plate for dinner. I looked around the table, finding a lot more food than I was expecting. Perhaps the cook made a special dinner since Ara would sing for us tonight. I placed a bit of chicken meat on my plate and a few vegetables which looked very tasty, thanking Hana when she eagerly pushed some rice onto my plate. She looked away shyly when I complimented her lovely outfit. She wore a white dress with floral imprints on it, the orange shawl I have gifted her earlier wrapped around her shoulders tightly. She seemed to be leaning into Yeosang’s side completely, and as the man was finished with his dinner and sipping on his wine, I noticed the protective arm he had around her hips. Hana seemed happy as she ate her dinner, paying attention to the conversation Yeosang was having with the Captain. I quietly enjoyed my dinner, completely impressed by the cook’s talent as rich flavors exploded in my mouth. Everything was so tasty. It seemed even better than the previous days Wooyoung had brought me food. I took a sip of my wine to wash down the meat, and hummed contently. Wooyoung was quiet for once as he carefully ate his dinner, and I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was holding the silverware correctly as he carefully cut up his meat into equal pieces, and he never rushed as he ate, never putting too much food into his mouth. He chewed slowly and would pat his mouth from time to time with a handkerchief, only grabbing for his cup of wine when he was finished with his food. My eyes narrowed as my thoughts started wandering, thinking of how much etiquette Wooyoung seemed to be aware of. I even dared to think that he was acting like a prince would at the dinner table with his family. When Wooyoung’s eyes fell on me, I quickly averted my eyes and took another gulp of my wine, embarrassed that he caught me staring.

“I didn’t choke despite you wishing for me to do so.” Wooyoung mocked, yet I never wished for that to happen to him, however, I didn’t tell him that.

“Pity,” I muttered over the cup before clearing my throat, “I wonder who the cook is. I’ve been intending to tell them how tasty the food is. You pirates are lucky to have him, otherwise you’d be long dead without him. Especially you, Wooyoung. I bet you’d be the first one to starve to death—”

I couldn’t even finish my sentence before the man next to Wooyoung moaned loudly, barely gulping the food down in his stuffed mouth, “Mate—Wooyoung, you really outdid yourself tonight. I haven’t eaten anything this good like—ever!”

“Thank you, Mingi.” Wooyoung smirked smugly as his eyes fell on me, one eyebrow raised. My mouth fell open, I couldn’t help myself even if it wasn’t princess like. Wooyoung was the cook? And I just accidentally complimented him while also insulting him? I hated how quickly my face flamed up, but I acted as if I didn’t feel it, staring Wooyoung down as he looked at me challengingly.

“And you were saying, princess…” He clicked his tongue loudly and I huffed as I looked away, licking my lips in frustration. I would certainly never hear the end of this, “I’m glad you enjoyed your dinner, the cook, myself, is rather flattered at the moment.”

I would’ve rolled my eyes if it wasn’t for Wooyoung’s sudden proximity. His strong cologne invaded my nostrils as I felt his breath hit my ear, his warmth engulfing my slightly tingling body. I haven’t drank alcohol in long, and it was hot inside the kitchen, it was slightly getting to my head. But I gulped and sat up straighter, turning to glare at Wooyoung. However, I found myself speechless as I was face to face with him, his skin flawless from so close. My eyes fell onto the mole underneath his left eye and I gulped, looking back up into his eyes. Wooyoung watched me curiously, and I felt his fingers sneaking towards my wrist, feeling the fabric of my dress. I looked down the same time he did, my heart racing in my chest. Why was I reacting in this way?

“Why would you wear this to dinner?” He asked in a whisper, looking back up into my eyes. I gulped as I stared into his eyes, suddenly mesmerized by the color of them. Wooyoung had really pretty eyes.

“I promised Ara I would come watch her perform,” I whispered, feeling like a cocoon fell over the two of us as the pirates loud chatter downed out our quiet voices, “I figured wearing something specific for my family would make her even happier. She seemed rather taken by me.”

“Her life purpose was to sing for the royal families and aristocrats,” Wooyoung’s lips pulled into a small smile, I felt his finger graze against my skin, where my bruises were already fading, “She’ll appreciate your gesture, Y/N.”

The breath caught in my throat. Wooyoung has never called me by my name before. As I fought the smile off my face, hating how badly I was blushing, Wooyoung seemed to realize his slip up and he quickly cleared his throat, withdrawing, and looking away. I gulped and reached for my cup of wine quickly, catching Taeri and Yunho’s knowing glances, my body shuddering at whatever those two were trying to imply by the simple look on their faces. Wooyoung was insufferable, there was no way I was starting to take a liking to him. Before I could dwell more on my mixed feelings for Wooyoung, the kitchen door opened, and Ara walked inside. The gown fit her perfectly, accentuating her curves and complementing her skin. Flowers were placed in her short hair and there was a slight red blush to her cheeks, unnatural. Her lips were redder than before and she threw a beaming smile our way. Nobody would be able to tell how she truly felt, her eyes were empty of any emotion and her face was a mask of calmness. My lips instantly pulled up into a huge smile and as Ara’s eyes fell on me, they widened, and she placed her hands over her heart. The gown had a sweetheart neckline, a simple pearl necklace sat around her neck snugly.

“Good evening, lovely ladies and gentlemen—” Ara extended her hand, pointed towards me, “my Princess, Oh Y/N, from the Sun Rise Kingdom.”

She curtsied and I bowed my head, smiling at Ara’s adorableness. She would’ve been so beloved if she would’ve been able to follow her dreams. My mother would’ve certainly loved her for her adequate manners and deep respect.

“Tonight, I, Im Ara, will be your entertainer.” She bowed slightly and the pirates started clapping furiously, everyone seemingly liking the lovely girl. Ara waited patiently for the room to quiet down, I couldn’t help but join in on the clapping, “After my opening act you are all welcomed to requests songs and join me on the dance floor.”

The pirates roared again and I chuckled, looking around impressed. I would’ve never thought I would witness such things one day.

             As the night progressed, the atmosphere seemed to get livelier and livelier as the drunk pirates enjoyed themselves. If anyone would’ve told me a week ago, that I would be sitting on a ship full of dangerous pirates, who gather around in the kitchen and sing their hearts out as they drink their sorrows away, I would’ve probably laughed in their face. Ara was like a bright star in the late hours of the night, guiding you through the darkness. She laughed and twirled around, her beautiful voice carrying through the vast room, allowing the pirates to pull her into their arms as they danced around. She was glowing, and when I decided to join the dancing circle, her face lit up even more and her voice rose a few octaves, her song turning even livelier as she sung about a hidden treasure, about a lost woman finding herself while on the hunt for it, and about a rather dumb man who fell head over heels for her, worshipping her as if she were the last woman in the four seas and four kingdoms. The pirates seemed to love this little tale as they joined Ara, their manly voices booming over hers, making me laugh as I was suddenly pulled into a hard chest. My eyes widened when I realized it was the Captain, but the displeased look was gone from his face and his eyes weren’t as sharp as before, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol. I chuckled as he made a comment about my dress, before twirling me around until my head was spinning and I had to excuse myself, stumbling into the wall near the exit. As I caught my breath, I noticed movement from the corner of my eyes, head still spinning, and I turned to see who was standing in the doorway. It was rather surprising as San and I made eye contact, his eyes narrowed as he threw me a warning glare, probably telling me to shut up. I didn’t say anything as his eyes fell back onto Ara, who was in the arms of Mingi, giggling and helping him stand up straight as he has had too much wine. If it weren’t for San’s clenched fists, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that he was bothered by that simple gesture. His face remained emotionless until he sucked in a harsh breath and stormed off, body rigid. Before I could dwell more on the man’s actions, Taeri was gripping my hands and asking me to join her in a dance as the pirates took over with a sailor’s song, Ara just laughing as she continued struggling to dance with Mingi. However, I had to refuse Taeri as my legs were aching, not having danced this much before. The stuffiness of the room was also getting to me as it was making my head spin more, the hotness of the room bringing a flush to my cheeks. When I thought nobody was watching, I made sure to look around, I slipped outside the kitchen and took a deep breath as cool air instantly hit my face. I raised the skirt of the dress above my ankles and carefully padded down the corridor, headed for the stairs. I sighed as my feet felt heavy as I climbed them, yearning for some fresh air. Instead of going to Wooyoung’s room, I went up on deck, raveling in the tranquility around me. The breeze was slow and small, the cool air felt refreshing against my flushed skin. I walked towards the railing and gripped it, staring up at the clear sky. The moon was beautifully reflected in the seawater, ripples disturbing the image as a wave would crash occasionally. I have missed this. Gazing up at the stars as the world was quiet around me.

The soles of my feet felt sore and I stepped out of the high heels I have found nestled underneath my dresses in one of the briefcases. Wooyoung, surprisingly, has packed a lot of my things. Things which I wouldn’t have even considered bringing with myself if I were to come willingly. My thoughts seemed to fixate on Wooyoung as the image of his eyes and that one mole underneath it plagued my mind suddenly, making me sigh as I allowed my head to fall back. My eyes fell on the Evening Star, and I couldn’t help but compare it to Ara. It was bright, beautiful, and so far away. Ara seemed to be a sweet person, but whatever was happening to her because of San was dimming her light. It made me feel helpless that I couldn’t help her in any way, it made my blood boil. How could someone be as horrible as San? Did he not have a mother? A sister? Did he have no respect for women? My throat closed in on me as I forced my thoughts to stop spiraling more about the mistreatment Ara must go through because of that horrible man, and instead, I found myself feeling grateful that the only thing Wooyoung seemed to be doing to me was to annoy me. He fed me since the beginning and even tried to hold a civil conversation at times; there was an attempt at trying to get to know me better. Besides the fact that he was a pirate, who quite frequently dodged his duties, and cooked for his crew, I didn’t know much about him. I wondered where he was from and why he was living this life. He stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the crew, something about the way he held himself and spoke set him apart from the other men. Seonghwa was an elegant man, but his façade would slip frequently, and you could see that he was simply just a man, raised by probably someone very savage. The Captain couldn’t even be compared to Wooyoung, his exterior and behavior were rough. The only person who came close to Wooyoung was Mingi, who’s steps were light and posture always straight, as if it had been grilled into his mind that was the adequate way to carry himself. And yet, Wooyoung dressed in expensive clothes, smelled expensive, and more often than not acted like someone who was raised in posh conditions. His skin was flawless and hands soft, despite handling a sword, no bruises decorated his palms. He spoke freely yet was careful with his words, and I have never heard him cursing. His gaze was intense when he watched you, attentive and analytic, yet never intrusive. Even tonight, I could feel his gaze on me almost at all times. I supposed he was keeping an eye on me since the older pirates were there with us and would look at me like I was a piece of meat. Perhaps Wooyoung’s warning hasn’t been harsh enough.

The wood cracked behind me and I flinched, head whipping around quickly, praying that it wasn’t any of those awful pirates. I probably wasn’t powerful enough to overpower them and with the fiesta happening downstairs, nobody would hear my pleas for help. And to my fortune, it wasn’t a scary pirate. It was just Wooyoung. Which made my heart beat fast all of a sudden, the cool air doing nothing against the flush of my cheeks. He came closer, eyes watching me carefully before a small smile appeared on his lips. I didn’t say anything, but I returned the smile, a bit reluctantly, as he came to a stop next to me. He left little distance between our bodies as he leaned against the railing, looking off in the distance. His gaze seemed unfocused as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes lightly. The soft breeze brushed against his dark hair, and I noticed he let it sit freely for once against his face, framing it. It made his features seem sharper, and I gulped as I looked away, blaming the alcohol for all the things I was noticing about him. We remained silent and the silence was comfortable around us, pleasant even. Wooyoung’s hand rested close to mine against the railing, if I were to extend my pinky finger, it would poke his. My eyebrows furrowed at the thought and I cleared my throat just as Wooyoung turned his head to look at me. I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for some reason, so I continued gazing out towards the dark sea.

“Are you feeling alright, Princess?” Wooyoung asked quietly, as if to not disturb our serene surroundings. I looked at him slightly surprised and nodded wordlessly, chewing on my lower lip.

“It felt too packed inside the kitchen, I needed some fresh air.” I explained and Wooyoung hummed, his eyes never leaving mine. I couldn’t help but gaze back into his, taken by the glimmer in them. His features were soft, for the first time, he didn’t look like he’d say anything malicious.

“The dress Ara is wearing tonight…you have that to her, didn’t you?” Wooyoung asked quietly and I nodded with a small smile, “And the orange shawl on Hana, is that yours too?”

“Yes, I gifted them to the girls.” I said nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders, “I also gave Hana my crayons. Once I’m back in my kingdom I’ll be able to purchase tons of them—unless my mother bans me from drawing or painting ever again, of course.”

My voice turned a bit sour and I averted my eyes when Wooyoung looked at me with confusion, “Did you know Hana loves to draw?”

I knew he wanted to ask about my mother, but I didn’t allow him as I quickly changed the subject. Wooyoung seemed to be thinking for a second before he quickly shook his head no. I smiled and stared at the moon’s reflection in the sea, “All of the ladies living on the ship seem to be lovely. However, Ara—you should take more care of her. Forbid San from going close to her.”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that, princess,” Wooyoung’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked away when my heated gaze fell on him, “We don’t meddle with each other’s businesses. Whatever San and Ara do is between the two of them—”

“What if one day you all wake up to find Ara dead?” My voice hardened and Wooyoung’s jaw clenched.

“Then she’ll have a funeral and people who’d mourn her.” I scoffed at Wooyoung’s harsh words, taken aback. His eyebrows were furrowed as he turned to look at me, face pulled into an irritated grimace, “We’re on the sea, princess. You’re surrounded by pirates. You’re on Ateez’ ship, we’re known to be merciless and dangerous. The laws from your kingdom don’t apply the same way here on the sea, on this ship.”

“You should treat people more decently, at least.” I snapped and Wooyoung rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Tell me, princess, were you not treated decently while traveling with us?” I bit my tongue, unable to deny his question. I was treated well, a lot better than I expected, but what about all the other people who weren’t? Who died by their swords? Who were tortured and taken away from their familiar lives? What about them?

“This isn’t about me.” I whispered, gulping when Wooyoung shook his head, seemingly annoyed.

“Then who is it about?” He pressed; voice laced with annoyance.

 “Everyone else who suffered a fate worse than mine.”

“Quit acting like a kind soul who’s worried for everyone around them.” Wooyoung’s voice hardened and my eyes widened at his next words, “You abandoned your people. You ran away from home, because anything is allowed for a princess. Because you got bored one day of the comfortable life you were living and ran away, proving my point that you’re a spoiled brat. You think anyone can just do that? Leave everything behind and build a new life without consequences? Live comfortably despite having nothing?”

My blood boiled at the hear of his words and my jaw clenched as I took a step closer to him, shoulders squared back as I glared at Wooyoung, “You sure know how to judge and hold a speech about someone who you don’t even know, pirate. I couldn’t care less about what you think of me, but when you make such outrageous claims about me I won’t remain quiet. Not when—someone who’s hiding his true identity preaches to me about what’s right and wrong. I know you’re not a pirate Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung’s lips parted in surprise and his eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at me, just a few inches between the two of us. My heart stuttered in my chest, but I paid it no mind as my cheeks flared from anger, glare hardening the longer Wooyoung remained silent. It only further proved my theory. He wasn’t a pirate. I had caught onto his poor façade.

“You’re right,” He cleared his throat, lips pulling into a tight smile, “I am not a pirate.”

“Then who are you?” I quickly questioned, anticipating his answer. My skin suddenly tingled for I was right. I saw through his little act and now he was about to confess his true identity to me. I shouldn’t have felt so victorious over such a small thing, but I couldn’t help myself as my glare disappeared and my eyebrows raised in urgency the more Wooyoung stalled with his answer.

“Jung Wooyoung,” He breathed out, looking uncomfortable as the next words left his mouth, “Crown prince of the South Kingdom. I ran away when I was thirteen on a whim, and joined Hongjoong’s crew. I never wanted to rule, my parents forced me into taking a decision. Be the crown prince or be forever locked away in a castle far from any humans. I craved a life full of adventure and freedom, far from my controlling and ruthless parents.”

My eyebrows were furrowed as I listened to Wooyoung’s story, heartbeat picking up again as I looked at him confused. He was Jung Wooyoung? The next in line of the South Kingdom? He was…he was the thirteen years old Wooyoung I have met all those years ago? A pang, which felt like a dagger to my heart, traveled through my body as I gasped and took a step back, staring Wooyoung down. My eyes ran over him, and suddenly all the repressed memories of the little boy came rushing back. The pretty eyes, the mole underneath his left eye. His loud laughter, which was ear piercing and irritating. His put together attire despite him constantly running and hiding in impossible places. His mischievous nature and his snarky comments. The whispered promise before we parted ways of us conquering the world together, of fighting our hardships together, of a love which would be eternal. And then…not even a week later, the news of the little prince going missing. The many letters his parents sent apologizing and promising to find him, promising to wed us as soon as he’d be found. Jung Wooyoung, the missing little prince, presumed to be dead, yet never quite forgotten.

My lips quivered at the discovery and I shook my head as Wooyoung watched me with a confused expression, reaching out, but I slapped his hand away, “No. You—you’re here preaching to me about what’s right and wrong—about running away when you did the same thing! When you abandoned your duties, when you—when you left a little girl worrying and waiting for your return for her whole life! You made her life miserable with your departure, and you never even considered the repercussions of your actions! You don’t get to talk to me like that, Wooyoung, leave me alone. I don’t need you bringing me meals anymore, I know where the kitchen is. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

I stormed off with an aching heart, tears streaming down my face. My betrothed had been right by my side all this time, almost making me second guess everything I had done in the past three years.

            Wooyoung respected my request, for the past two days he hasn’t come near me. I haven’t seen him during breakfast, lunch, nor dinner. I didn’t know where he went when I was in the kitchen, and I wasn’t curious. I was beyond hurt and mad at him. I couldn’t believe the prince I was supposed to marry was the one who’d return me to my mother, make me a prisoner of a life I didn’t want anymore, meanwhile he would return to the life of a pirate where he had no care in the world, no commitments, and no troubles. The thought didn’t sit right with me, it made my blood boil. I couldn’t let that happen; I couldn’t allow Wooyoung slip through my fingers unpunished. But if I wasn’t smart about it, then the both of us would be doomed for a lifetime. Therefore, the plan I had been twisting and turning in my mind, found its perfect side character. Jung Wooyoung, the man who would pretend to be in love with me, get married to me, and then…run away with me. If I were to follow my heart, I would leave him behind, but he could easily find out about my whereabouts and then all my efforts would be in vain. I couldn’t let that happen. I didn’t have much time, the sun was close to setting, anchor already settled as we have reached the coasts of the Sun Rise Kingdom. I was nervous as I paced up and down the hallway in front of Wooyoung’s room. I left the door open when I left, that’s how I knew he was inside. There was no better time than right now to rope Wooyoung up into my plan. There was no time left. I had to act now. So, I pushed the door open and closed it behind me quickly, turning to march up to Wooyoung all confident, back straight and chin held high. But the sight in front of me halted me in my steps, making Wooyoung cry out as his wide eyes fell on me. The pants he wore hung low on his waist, undone, and a black tank top was clutched in his right hand. My strong façade broke as my eyes traveled down his bare torso, skin tan and smooth, muscles hard and worked. His stomach wasn’t lacking either as a six-pack stared back at me. Staring so blatantly was very much so not princess like, but it wasn’t often a man stood half naked in front of me. Let alone a handsome man like Wooyoung.

“Hey!” Wooyoung yelped, suddenly snapping out of his initial shock as he clumsily covered himself with his hands, “Stop staring at me! Just because I’m a man doesn’t mean I don’t deserve privacy! This—this is outrageous and unacceptable! Get out, princess—”

“Stop fussing, and shut up.” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest, “You wouldn’t be exposed anymore if you used your brain and put on that tank top you’re holding.”

Wooyoung opened his mouth to fire something back, but realized I was right, and he quickly whirled around as he dressed himself, doing the lace of his pants as I rolled my eyes at his childishness, “What do you want? I thought you said you didn’t want to see me ever again.”

“I changed my mind,” I snapped, watching as Wooyoung faced me again, his cheeks tinted pink from embarrassment, “You’re not allowed to say no to what I’m about to tell you. And you need to keep your mouth shut about it too, can you do that for me, Prince Jung Wooyoung?”

“Don’t call me that, I haven’t been a prince for—” Wooyoung’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed and he looked appalled, “You can’t command me around, Princess Oh Y/N, I won’t listen to you or do whatever you want me to do.”

“We’ll see about that later,” I muttered with a smirk as I walked closer to Wooyoung, raising an eyebrow at him, “What’s my name?”

Wooyoung looked at me like I grew two heads all of a sudden, “Are you dumb or something—”

“Say my name.” I snapped, glaring at him when he didn’t want to do what I told him to. Wooyoung scoffed and placed his hands on his hips, looking irritated.

“Princess Oh Y/N.” He finally said, making it sound like it was forced out of him, it might as well been.

“And you’re Prince Jung Wooyoung.” I said firmly, making Wooyoung look at me confused. Uncomfortable silence fell around us as I kept staring at him, hoping that he’d realize by himself, but apparently Wooyoung was too daft for that, “Didn’t you have a betrothed, prince? From the Sun Rise Kingdom?”

“Yeah, I did,” Wooyoung rolled his eyes, “But it was ages ago, I don’t even remember what she looked like, except for her name which stuck with me, because she loved gazing at the stars at night and her name meant sky. Princess Oh—”

A wide grin spread onto my lips as Wooyoung’s eyes widened, mouth dropping open. He shakily raised a finger and pointed it at me, making me chuckle amused, “That’s right, Wooyoung. It’s me, I’m that girl. I’m your betrothed. I don’t understand how you didn’t figure it out straight away, you’re quite daft, have you been told that before?”

“I am not, I—” Wooyoung seemed speechless as he exclaimed, huffing loudly, “I just…didn’t make the connection because I made sure to forget everything about my life before I became a pirate.”

I licked my lips, heart clenching weirdly at the knowledge of Wooyoung purposefully wanting to forget about me, “Well now you know. And you’re going to help me out. I don’t want to rule either, not when I know my mother’s men will make my life a living hell. All I want to do is paint and live by the sea, gaze up at the stars at night, and perhaps teach etiquette to little children. And for that to happen, I need your help, Wooyoung.”

The prince’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked very repulsed by the idea of mingling into the life of a royal, but as he was about to refuse me, he looked me in the eyes and paused. I was grinning at him, skin tingling just at the mere thought of my plan working out, of having Wooyoung by my side in the process. Something in his demeanor changed as a light glimmer appeared in his eyes, the mischievous boy I remembered suddenly stood right in front of me.

“What’s the plan, Princess?”

            For a second all I could hear was the loud pounding of my heart as my mother’s scrutinizing gaze rooted me to my spot. Nothing really changed around here. The Throne Room was still decorated the same, still as cold as it had always been. If it weren’t for the presence next to me, for the warm hand gripping my hand back tightly, I probably would’ve fainted on the spot from my nerves. I was sweating, I was feeling hot and cold at the same time, and my head was thumping wilder than my heart. This was the day everything would change. I heard Wooyoung suck in a quiet breath next to me as my mother and her most precious advisor took off, headed towards us. Wooyoung and I stood in the middle of the Throne Room, their trek strenuous and nerve-wrecking as they took careful and slow steps towards us, almost as if they couldn’t believe the Princess was back. I couldn’t imagine how Wooyoung felt after so many years of evading his Kingdom and origins to be standing in a Throne Room, about to utter some crazy words. I felt like I couldn’t breathe for a second as my mother stopped a few steps away, her advisor standing behind her, glaring harshly at me and at my joined hand with Wooyoung. His palm was sweaty, but our intertwined hands would never allow the other’s hand to slip away.

“Child,” My mother’s voice was hard as it boomed around us, and I gulped drily, “you have returned, I see.”

Wooyoung and I acted at the same time, my body folding in two as I bowed in front of my mother, in front of the Queen. Wooyoung got down on one knee, bowing his head deeply, showing her the utmost respect. After a few seconds of not moving, I dared raise my head and peek at my mother. She watched us shocked and as she cleared her throat she spoke, “Stand up, you fools.”

Ah, yes, her affection never ceased to impress me. I tried to keep off the sour grimace from my face as I stood up straight, shoulders pulled back, and Wooyoung got back to his feet, averting eye contact as he stared at the red carpet we stood on.

“Princess Y/N, how pleasant your presence is,” The advisor spoke up, making my jaw clench, “Almost as if you haven’t been gone for three years. Did you enjoy yourself?”

The insult was on the tip of my tongue, but Wooyoung’s slight tug on my hand stopped me from saying anything to the blatant mocking of the insufferable man. My mother hissed in his direction and raised her hand, that was a first. She adored listening to that monkey of hers.

“I want to hear what this is, right now.” She gestured to Wooyoung and I, glare falling on our joined hands. I allowed a small smile to slip onto my lips, everything carefully planned out last night. The spotlight was on Wooyoung now, he better be a good actor.

“Your Majesty, Queen Oh,” He bowed his head again, bringing his free hand up to his heart, “My name is Jung Wooyoung, the South Kingdom’s crown prince.”

He paused for dramatic effect and I almost rolled my eyes, his words made the advisor gasp as my mother’s eyebrows furrowed, “I know my return is sudden and unexpected, but after the pirates kidnapped me I was lost. I was merely a child, I couldn’t tell wrong from right, I thought their lifestyle was something to envy. That is until I realized my mistake and ran away from them, going into hiding out of fear that they would find me and kill me for good this time as I had stolen gold from them to fend for myself. I lived in a humble town for years, alone and scared most of the time, until…until your daughter, Your Majesty, showed up and reminded me the joys of life and—love. Until she showed me what it felt like to feel loved, to be in love. I am in love with Princess Y/N, Your Majesty.”

My heart fluttered at Wooyoung’s words and I could only hope it had a similar effect on my mother and her advisor, “I—I regret running away, mama, but if I didn’t do it—I would’ve never found the Prince, mama. I love him and I want to marry him. We’ve been sheltering our love for the past three years, scared of returning because we didn’t know what was awaiting for us. We were scared to face your wrath and his parents wrath, scared that you would separate us despite us being betrothed at an early age. I realized how much my people mean to me; and Prince Wooyoung and I want to rule together, we want to join the Kingdoms and become the next King and Queen under your blessings, mama.”

I watched my mother’s strong façade waver for a second as her eyes filled with tears, a reaction I would’ve never expected from her. She didn’t even cry at her own husband’s funeral. She glanced behind her, at her advisor, and I quickly nudged Wooyoung as they weren’t paying attention to us.

“Your Majesty, we—” He looked down sheepishly, cheeks flushed, making me wonder how he made himself blush so easily, “We would like to get married this week, if possible and allowed. I do not wish to separate from the Princess, therefore may I ask for a letter to be sent to my parents?”

“Oh, what a shocking change of events!” My mother exclaimed, pressing a hand over her mouth, the advisor not looking happy at all, “I thought I lost you, my child, forever, and here you are! Doing the right thing! I am so proud of you!”

Of course, she was only proud of me because I was doing what she wanted, not what made me happy. I almost scoffed, but Wooyoung’s quiet sigh grounded me, making me focus on the task at hand.

“I give my blessings for the weeding to happen this week, but your parents also have a say in it, Prince Wooyoung, they haven’t seen you in too long, they might not be as lenient as myself.” My mother’s eyebrows were furrowed as she placed her hands in front of her. Of course, she was only lenient because I came back with my betrothed wanting to get married and take over the throne. Pathetic.  

“I am sure Your Majesty will be able to work things out with them, they have always had a spot for you, my Queen.” Wooyoung, always the sweet talker and charmer, smiled at my mother with a dashing smile on his face, my eyes staying on his face for a second too long. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes and I quickly averted my gaze, suddenly turning red as a tomato. Why was I blushing so hard?

“Very well, Hugo, go prepare a parchment and my pen, this is an urgent matter!” My mother clapped her hands together, and I couldn’t help but allow a victorious smile stretch onto my lips as Wooyoung squeezed my hand once, biting his lower lip to stop himself from smiling too hard.

“Yes, my Queen.” The advisor muttered with distaste and after a nasty look sent our way, he stormed off. My mother was smiling expectantly at us and I gulped, realizing that we weren’t exactly displaying any joy at the outcome of the events. So, I quickly took action as I turned towards Wooyoung, letting go of his hand and cupping his cheeks as he faced me instinctively.

“Oh, Wooyoung!” I let out a dreamy sigh, faking that I was on the verge of crying, “The world will finally know about love. I’ll be finally your wife—”

“And my Queen.” Wooyoung cut me off, mesmerizing eyes boring into mine. My breath caught in my throat as I gulped nervously.

“And you shall be my King.” For a second, nothing happened, but then Wooyoung’s eyes fell onto my lips and my heart started beating fast again, breath faltering as he leaned in closer. I knew we had to do this because my mother was watching, waiting for us to slip up despite her acts of kindness. So, I closed my eyes when Wooyoung’s lips brushed against mine barely, my whole body flaming as I pushed my head forward, connecting our lips firmly. My mind blanked for a moment and I didn’t dare move, as I felt Wooyoung’s hands on my waist, pulling me closer. My hands on his cheeks tightened and I almost gasped as he suddenly moved his lips, capturing my lower lip in between his as I returned his kiss. His lips were soft and warm, they fit perfectly against mine as we found a rhythm comfortable for the both of us, the feeling of kissing foreign. My skin tingled as the kisses were slow, until I forgot about the presence of my mother and I found myself pressing into Wooyoung’s body, breathing in his strong cologne as his lips picked up their pace, more urgent than before, and my head was suddenly spinning. My fingers dug into his cheeks painfully as Wooyoung’s grip tightened on me as well, lungs screaming for air, yet I couldn’t pull away just yet. Something felt addictive about his lips, about his kisses, about his warmth and his cologne. Wooyoung was the first to break the kiss, much to my dismay, and as I gasped in a deep breath of air, a short but deep kiss was pressed against my lips once again, our eyes slowly opening at the same time. I was breathing hard as we stared into each other’s eyes, Wooyoung’s chest rising and falling rapidly, his hot breath hitting my face in quick puffs. I chuckled, biting my lower lip at the absurdity of the situation. Wooyoung’s eyes quickly looked to the side, but my mother was gone. It was just the two of us. I don’t know when she walked away and I didn’t care. As Wooyoung looked back at me again, my eyes fell on the mole underneath his eye and I had the sudden urge to press a kiss against it, but I willed myself not to. I shouldn’t give in to some absurd urges so early on. His lips seemed slightly plumper and redder than before; I supposed mine looked similar.

“I have to admit you might be a genius, Princess.” Wooyoung whispered and I couldn’t help but grin at him.

“And you might just be the partner in crime I needed, my Prince.” Wooyoung’s lip twitched up into a handsome smirk and I stepped back embarrassed, our hands finding each other again as our fingers intertwined.

My fate might’ve turned out to be even better than I could’ve ever dreamed of. With a Prince like Wooyoung by my side, I knew success would follow. And perhaps a lifetime of adventure, danger, and mischief. And maybe…an abiding love as well.

Next part (divider)

[velvetydream]

꒰ :🥀 [ Meet by Fate - Welcome to Aurora ] ”♡ᵎ꒱ˀˀ ↷ ⋯

Part 1 - Meet by fate

Summary : It was a normal day for you or so you though, while enjoying one of your last walks through the town and docks, you meet some strange people.

Pairing : Pirate! Kim Hongjoong x fem! Reader

Word count : 1981 Words

Genre : Fluff, Romance , Slow burn

Warnings ➵ None??

a/n : First part of this new story! Also don't worry only the first 4 chapters will be a bit shorter, bcs those are the ones I wrote back in 2021, new ones will defi be longer!♡

《 Masterlist 》

┌───────────────────────── ·  ·  ·  · ♡

Being the princess of a mighty and powerfull king was definitely not always easy. You had duties to full fill, always had to be formal and like the perfect little princess everyone wanted to make you out to be.

But for what? You had no freedom, no say what to do in your life, who to marry and what not and all this would be even much worse soon.

Just recently did your father announce that you would to be married to Prince Chris of some really wealthy island, did you want that? No, of course not.

You may have meet him a few times, he wasn't a bad guy at all, you just didn't want to get married this young and on top only for the sake of your kingdoms economy. But your mother always told you, a princess had to marry a prince, even though you never understood that, why couldn't a prince or princess rule their kingdom alone? And maybe even find love someday and marry the person you love. Beside you weren't even next for the throne, it was your brother Jae.

And that arranged marriage got you to where you were right now, taking one of your last strolls through your town, through the dock and seeing all the lively and happy townspeople, this all would come to an end soon. Wanting to taste this freedom one last time, before your would be selled off to another kingdom, much to your dissmay.

Not watching where your feet took you, you bumped quit hardly into someone, making you stumble and fall to the ground. Of course wanted one of your guards to immediately run to you, but you stopped them, as soon as you noticed the hand of the stranger you bumped into extend towards you.

"I'm so sorry miss, I should've watched where I was going, are you hurt in any way?" The stranger asked as you take his hand in yours and let yourself be helped up, just now you noticed how pretty the man in front of you truely was.

He looked like some kind of prince, he had blond hair and a almost perfect face, you never knew someone so pretty was living in your town. "Don't worry, I'm fine." Eyeing your guard, you make it clear to him to stay back.

"May I ask for your name? I think I never saw you around." Looking at the pretty stranger, he immediately starts to smile, making him a lot more attractive. "My name is Seonghwa Miss, may I ask about your too?" Starting to smile, you answer him, making his eyes go slightly bigger, he probably knew now that you were the princess. "So you're probably the princess I assume, I'm again very sorry for my manners your highness." Seonghwa apologises again, after you confirmed to him that you indeed are the princess.

"Seonghwa, Yunho is looking for you, he wants to know what you got in this town." A man talked, slowly approaching the two of you, he was slightly shorter than Seonghwa, had brown hair and just now did you notice how odly dressed both were. "Ah Hongjoong, I'm sorry, I got caught up in a conversation with the princess." The man, Hongjoong, now stood beside him, eyeing you up and down. "The princess huh? It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness." Hongjoong starts talking to you, giving a smile your way, these guys really seemed somewhat odd.

Seonghwa quickly left after Hongjoongs arrival, making the it to be only the two of you now, if you ignore your guard at that.

"So, what brings the princess into the town? Shouldn't you be in your castle?" Hongjoong now asks, he still seemed somewhat strange, but you tried to ignore this feeling. You explained to him, that you would be married to some wealthy prince soon and wanted to taste the last bit of freedom you could get, making him slightly chuckle, which offended you just a slight bit. "And what buisness brings you here?" Asking this, got you another chuckle from the man in front of you.

"We are just stocking up on some supplies before we set sail again." Hongjoong explains, making it clear though, that he doesn't want to go further into detail about his stop in your town.

"We'll still be here for two days, find us if you need anything princess." The odd man bows slightly and makes his way to a ship, further away from the other ships, written on it stays 'Aurora', probably the ships name. Just as he walks away do you notice the sword and revolver on his belt, which makes you even more suspicious of the man and his ship. Even the way of dressing was different, to what you normally saw sailors in, which ment they probably are something different.

For now you decided to go back to the castle, not wanting to upset your parents by not showing up to dinner.

Which wasn a good idea too, at dinner your father, the king, talked about some pirates having a stop in the harbor, much to his dismay. Thinking back, Hongjoong and Seonghwa kind of gave off this dangerous aura of pirates, even though they seemed nice, there was something strange about them, maybe you really meet the pirates.

"Also . . Chris will arrive in three days, so we cam prepare the wedding." Your mother announced and immediately after she said that, your appetite was gone, of course this had to be brought up just now. Laying your utensils down, you tap your mouth with the napkin.

"Excuse me, I'll go to my chambers now, I want to sleep early and visit the town again, goodnight father, mother, brother." Now standing up and making your way out of the big dining hall and in the direction of your chambers.

Falling on your soft bed, you let out a quit sight, what would you give to not marry that prince, what would you give for freedom, hell you would give up you royal blood if that meant freedom.

Opening the balcon doors, you walk to the edge, eyes on the dock now, eyeing the ship with the writing Aurora on it. What would you give for their freedom. To roam the seas, free of rules and duties.

Shaking your head you make your way inside again, you shouldn't think like that it's your duty to serve your kingdom and ensure it's wealth, even if that meant giving up your freedom. Getting ready for bed now, you think about the things to do tomorrow in town, maybe visit the little bakery or the florist.

With your thoughs by the next day, you fall into a deep sleep.

Getting up the next day, you got dressed in something light again, ate with your family before making your way into town again, followed by your guard of course.

The first stop was the bakery, getting yourself a little muffin, which you ate while walking, it doesn't matter anymore if you have to keep a good look as the princess, soon you wouldn't be here anymore either way. So why not enjoy your time.

Walking along the dock again, you found yourself in front of the writing Aurora again, not really knowing how you got there, your guard now closer than before, probably knowing who this ship belonged to.

"Hey pretty girl! Got lost?" A voice called from the ship and as you looked up, you were meet with yet another handsom man, looking down at you from the ship. His hair was similar to Seonghwas, just did his hair have an ashy undertone. "Wanna get on board?" The blonde man asked with a big grin on his lips, before a slap landed on his head. "Don't invited strangers on this ship, Hongjoong will get mad at you Wooyoung." A brown haired man told Wooyung now and by now you really asked yourself how all of them could be so handsome.

"Good thing she isn't a stranger, come on up, you can take a look at the ship." Called a voice you already knew, Seonghwa walked by you, a big bag in his hand, and to the direction of the small bridge connecting the ship and dock.

A look at your guard and he was standing still, while you followed Seonghwa excitet onto the ship called Aurora.

When you stood on the railing the little bridge was connected to, the man called Wooyoung held out his hand for you to take, which you gladly took and thanked him of course.

"And Jongho, be nice to the princess." Seonghwa told the brown haired man over his shoulder, making his eyes go wide, same goes for Wooyung.

"Wait you're the princess? Like a real life princess of this kingdom?" Wooyoung asked in shock, looking you up and down real quick, making you giggle slightly. "I am indeed still the princess of this kingdom." After you answered, your eyes immediately wandered across the ship, out of curiosity.

Wooyung immediately offered to show you the ship, taking the offer gladly, following Wooyoung around, meanwhile Jongho stayed back with a slight look of distrust towards you.

"Don't be to intimidated by Jongho, he is actually a really nice guy." Wooyoung explains to you, walking up a small set of stairs to the quarter deck, where the steering wheel was, from that point you could see the whole ship, which was quit impressive.

Following Wooyoung down the stairs again, you now could make out two new voices you never heard before, talking to Jongho. As you looked up, you weren't believing this world anymore, there again stood two handsome man and by now you believe everyone on this ship is handsome.

One of the mand had dark brown hair with reddish streaks in them and about average height, while the other one was quit tall, with brown, slightly swept back hair.

"Wait we have the princess on board right now?" The one with reddish streaks in his hair asks surprised, Wooyoung who heard everything laughed, making the group turn towards the two of you.

"She is pretty!" The brown haired one immediately said, going over to the two of you and holding out his hand, which you shake smiling, while he introduces himself. "I'm Mingi, it's a pleasure to meet your princess." Now the other man stood by Mingi, he was giving you a charming grin. "I'm San, did you meet the whole crew by now?" San asked and just when you wanted to answer, echoed a thud amogst the deck and boots clicking against the wooden flooring.

"Even if she didn't, she won't, cause she will be going now, this is not the place for a princess. Who even let her on here?" Hongjoongs voice echoed over the ship, right now he was obviously a pirate, a pirate hat sitting among his brownish hair, as he now looked over at Seonghwa, who spoke up.

"I let her on, she was curious and I saw no harm in it." Seonghwa answered, making Hongjoong roll his eyes just slightly, by now you could assume Hongjoong was the captain of this ship.

"Maybe for her, but I definitely don't want to be executed, when the king finds her here." Jongho spoke up, but keeping quit again after Hongjoong send a glare his way.

"He is right, the small talk was fine, but this isn't, I'm sorry but you have to go princess." After this sentence, Hongjoong makes his way into his cabine, giving Seonghwa one last look, probably making it clear to get you off the ship.

"I still hope you had a good time." A few smiles were send your way as Seonghwa layed a hand on your lower back and guided you off the ship, you waved one last time, Wooyoung and Mingi waving back, with a sad pout on both their face, making you giggle.

Making your way back to your guard now, you tell him to get going to the castle again, making him swear to keep the event today to himself and not tell anyone.

Back at the castle was wating a unpleasant surprise for you though . . .

[icarusignite]

the ships have come to carry you home (Kim Hongjoong)

Pairing: Captain Hongjoong x Runaway Princess Reader Summary: Desperate to escape a horrifying marriage to the man who murdered your family and stole your father's crown, you escape your opulent life, only to realize that your longing for freedom has landed you in the clutches of ruthless pirates who are willing to trade your life for one of their own. Determined to prove your worth, you must persuade the enigmatic captain that you are indeed worth keeping after all.

Word Count: 5.7k

Genre/warnings: Hurt/comfort, angst to fluff, captain is kind of a jerk in the beginning

PIRATE! ATEEZ MASTERLIST

The damp, dark underbelly of the ship seemed to swallow you whole as you pressed yourself into the corner, drawing your knees up to your chest in a desperate attempt to make yourself as inconspicuous as possible. Above you, the reverberating boom of an explosion echoed through the wooden planks, sending shivers down your spine.

Your heart pounded in your chest like a war drum as you prayed fervently that whoever was raiding the ship above had no interest in you, that they would simply pass by without a second glance. But fate seemed determined to thwart your hopes as heavy footsteps clambered down the rickety wooden steps, each one resonating ominously in the darkness.

You squeezed your eyes shut, willing yourself to disappear into the shadows as the sound drew nearer. When the figure finally emerged into the dim light, you felt your stomach lurch in dread. He was a muscular man with sharp eyes that seemed to pierce through the darkness, searching every nook and cranny for any sign of life.

"Found her, Captain!" the man called out to someone above deck and your blood ran cold. 

Panic surged through your veins, but you remained frozen in place, hoping against hope that somehow, by some miracle, you might escape notice.

But the man's sharp gaze landed on you immediately, you knew your hopes were in vain. He approached with purposeful strides, his every movement calculated and precise. When he reached your hiding spot, he crouched down beside you, his expression almost apologetic. 

"Come on, then,” he said, his voice surprisingly gentle despite the urgency in his tone. "There’s no use hiding. You'll only make things harder for yourself."

You shook your head frantically, your breath coming in shallow gasps. You knew you had to fight, to resist with every ounce of strength you possessed, so when the man reached out to grab your shoulder, you recoiled instinctively, fear overwhelming your senses.

He sighed heavily, a sound laden with weariness and regret. "I'm sorry, truly I am," he murmured, his voice barely audible above the din of the ship. "But orders are orders.”

With that, he seized your arms firmly, his grip still gentle despite the urgency of his actions. You struggled against him, your muscles tensing with the effort, but it was futile. The man's strength far surpassed your own, and with a determined grunt, he began to drag you towards the stairs leading back up to the surface. You kicked and screamed with all your might, and in a desperate attempt to break free, you lashed out, your elbow connecting with the man's nose with a sickening crunch.

A string of curses erupted from his lips as he stumbled back, clutching his bleeding nose. "Careful, Captain," he growled, glaring at you with annoyance. "She's a feisty one."

“Thank you, San,” the captain presumably, responded with a sigh as you were unceremoniously dumped at his feet. 

He stood before you, a tired expression etched features, shadows lurking beneath his weary eyes. He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair, muttering something under his breath as he regarded you with a mixture of exasperation and resignation.

"You're more trouble than you're worth.”

“That’s right,” you nodded frantically. “I’m nobody. I’m irrelevant, and of no use to you, so please…please let me go.”

The captain scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "You? Unimportant?" he retorted, shaking his head in disbelief. "Sorry, Princess, but I find that hard to believe. You are our most important cargo, and we've been tasked with returning you home."

Home.

That wasn’t even the word you’d call it anymore. Bile rose in your throat once again. You couldn’t return, especially not after what had happened to your family. Not after what they would do to you. 

You had hoped against hope that you could somehow escape that nightmare, that you could slip through the cracks unnoticed and reclaim your freedom, but now, faced with the harsh reality of your situation, you wondered if your fate was sealed.

"Please don't make me go back,” you tried again. “I was going to leave. I promise I'd be no trouble at all. I was going to go away and never come back."

The captain's expression hardened at your words, his frustration evident in the furrow of his brow. He knelt before you, his grip firm as he grasped your chin, forcing you to meet his gaze. His eyes bore into yours with an intensity that sent a shiver down your spine.

"Are you really that hopelessly naive to think that these people would have simply dropped you off at the next harbour?" he spat, his voice laced with bitterness.

Your heart sank as you glanced around at the crew of the ship, your stomach churning with dread. They had been subdued and tied up by this new captain’s crew, their faces grim and resigned to their fate. 

"No, they were going to sell you out just the same," the captain continued, his voice low and menacing. "At least this way, you’ll be helping to save someone’s life.”

He seemed to seethe with anger, his fist clenched at his side as he struggled to contain his emotions. But then, a hand rested gently on his shoulder, and he glanced up to see another man standing beside him, his expression calm and reassuring.

"Ease up, Hongjoong," the man said softly, “you’re scaring her.”

“I don’t care, Seonghwa. Can you imagine how Jongho must be feeling right now? And to think we’ve sailed halfway across the continent for this pathetic creature, in exchange for his life. It’s ridiculous!”

“I know you’re worried about him…we all are, but this is no way to act.”

Hongjoong sighed, his bruising grip on your jaw easing before letting go completely as if deciding that you simply weren’t worth his energy. He felt the smallest stab of guilt at his behaviour, particularly when he caught the flash of hurt that crossed your wide eyes. It wasn’t your fault that the new king had decided to capture their youngest crew member, holding him ransom until you were returned to your kingdom. By the looks of it, you didn’t seem too fond of the new sovereign either, but he did wonder what it was that you were so desperate to escape from back home. 

He jerked his head to the rest of his crew, “Take what you can of value, and prepare to return to our ship.”

Back on the captain's ship, the crew was abuzz with activity as they prepared to set sail. Your captor, San, seemed distracted as well, and you took this moment of distraction to break free from his hold again and do the only thing you can think of, throwing yourself overboard.

Just as you can though, strong arms wrap around your waist, pulling you back with a force that knocks the breath from your lungs. You gasp in shock, the world spinning around you as you find yourself ensnared in another's grasp.

"By God, are you insane?" a voice exclaims, the words ringing in your ears. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

It's Hongjoong, his voice filled with disbelief and concern. You thrash against him, your body writhing with the desperate need to break free, but he holds you tight against him, his arms like steel bands around your trembling form. Upon further struggle, he bends to place his arms beneath your knees and sweeps you clean off your feet, and despite your protests, he carries you effortlessly, his stride purposeful and determined.

If you weren’t quite so hysterical, you might have been comforted by the warmth of his frame against your frigid one, but there is no comfort to be found. When he finally places you on your feet again, you are in what you assume to be his personal quarters. 

“Do not even think of doing what you just did again!” he snarls. “You are of no worth if you’re dead.”

“I shall do just as I please,” you return with just as heatedly. 

“If you’re going to cause trouble, I’ll put you in the brig. See how long your act lasts in the company of the rats.”

With that, he stormed out, slamming the door to his chambers behind him, and even as you rushed toward it, you heard the resounding click of a lock being turned, effectively making you his prisoner. 

You spent the next few hours pacing the room, rummaging through his belongings in an attempt to find something, anything, that might aid in your escape. There was a large table strewn about with maps, and he owned an absurd amount of books, which was a little surprising as you didn't think pirates read. Still, when you realized your search was futile, you slumped to the floor in the corner, picking up one of the books to thumb through. 

Eventually, a soft knock on the door came, followed by a familiar click as it opened slowly with a creak. It was San, his frame filling the doorway for a few moments as he hesitated at the threshold. He held a tray of food in his hands, and behind him, darkness swallowed the rest of the ship, by which you assumed night had fallen. 

“Captain says you have to eat,” San mutters, setting the tray down in front of you, but you turn up your head. 

Almost as if he was inside your head, Hongjoong’s voice echoed from outside.

“Tell the snobbish princess that if she doesn’t fancy starving, she had better eat what she’s given.”

Your lip curled in disgust, and you turned away from the tray with an even more aggressive shake of your head. San sighed softly, before settling himself on the captain’s bed to simply watch you. You noticed that he had cleaned up his nose and you felt a stab of guilt. After all, he was simply following orders too, and you had decided that if anyone was to be the target of all your ire and hatred, it would be Hongjoong. 

“I…” you began hesitantly. “I’m sorry about your nose. I didn’t mean to…”

San chuckled, “Yes you did.”

“I…I mean I did but I didn’t—”

“It’s okay,” he shrugged. “Hazards of the job, I suppose.”

“Still. I am sorry.”

When Hongjoong finally returned to his chambers, his weariness was palpable, etched into the lines of his face and the slump of his shoulders. But as his eyes fell upon you, curled up in the corner of his room, a pang of guilt tugged at his heart. You were a sorry sight, alone and vulnerable in the darkness, and he knew he could not put you in the brig. A person of your station must have always enjoyed the finest things in life, so being here must be quite an adjustment, and despite his earlier animosity, he did not wish to cause you greater discomfort. 

He approached you slowly, his footsteps echoing softly against the wooden floorboards. The sight of the untouched food on the table made him sigh in resignation. With a weary yawn, he ran a hand through his tousled hair, his exhaustion evident in every movement.

"Hey," he said gently. "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor or something."

You shook your head stubbornly, your lips pressed into a thin line of defiance, but Hongjoong could see your weariness and it mirrored his own. He sighed, realizing that arguing with you would be futile.

"It'll be uncomfortable for you on the floor," he tried again.

Still, you remained silent, your gaze fixed on some distant point in the darkness. Hongjoong rolled his eyes in exasperation. 

"Suit yourself.”

As he began to undress and prepare for bed, peeling off his shirt with practiced ease, you couldn't help but let out a squeak of surprise, your cheeks flushing with embarrassment. You turned your head away so fast it was almost comical, your heart racing in your chest.

Hongjoong chuckled at your reaction. "Relax," he said with a teasing grin. "It's not like you haven't seen a shirtless man before."

You hadn’t, and it made your face redden even more. You huffed indignantly, refusing to meet his gaze. When he realized, he cleared his throat awkwardly, hurrying to put on something, internally berating himself for such a comment. You were a princess, brought up in refinery, so he should refrain from making such crass comments around you. 

When he settled down for the night, you remained in your place on the floor, eyes wide open in an attempt to evade sleep. However, unfortunately for you, it proved a fruitless endeavour, and eventually, the subtle shifting of the ship on the calm ocean waves lulled you into a restless slumber. 

You dreamt of fire and bloodshed, and the violence that seemed to haunt your every waking moment, following you even to the realm of Morpheus. You had to watch your family be slaughtered in front of you all over again, their blood seeping into the cracks of the pristine marble of your castle’s floors. The new self-proclaimed king, the usurper, grinned manically while the gore dried in the creases of his palms, his sword held aloft as he prepared to deal the final blow. You wished he would kill you, end your suffering once and for all and send you to be with the rest of your family, but he had much crueller plans for you. 

Hongjoong’s sleep was just as fitful as yours as he tossed and turned, and it was only made worse when he heard the quiet sounds of your sniffles. It made him bolt upright, gaze falling to your frame, curled up in a fetal position in the dark. Cautiously he approached you, only to see that your eyes were still screwed shut tightly, but a steady stream of tears flowed from behind your eyelids, and a pained whimper escaped your lips every now and then. 

The captain shook your shoulder gently in an attempt to wake you, but whatever dream you found yourself trapped in seemed to have its claws embedded too deeply and you only flinched at his touch. He sighed, mumbling a brief apology before lifting you from the floor. 

Almost instinctively, you curled into him, tucking your face into his chest, still in the throes of sleep, and Hongjoong froze. With a great sigh, he placed you on his bed, smoothing back the matted tangles of your hair away from your face. Your features were troubled, and he pressed his index finger against the wrinkle between your brows, easing your frown a little. It seemed to help a little, at least to the extent of halting your tears, but your face retained its characteristic pinched expression. 

Hongjoong watched you with fascination. He would not be cruel, he reminded himself. He would be kind to you and hope that wherever Jongho was, he was being treated with kindness in return. He doubted the new king’s ability to be kind, but there was little else he could do besides hope for the best. He was no stranger to the new king’s capability for cruelty, so it made him wonder just what had driven you from home, so desperate not to return. 

The next morning, you woke up with damp cheeks, and a throbbing headache, but much to your surprise, you had been covered by a threadbare blanket, and you were no longer on the cold, damp wooden floorboards. A tray of breakfast had been left out for you, but despite your rumbling stomach, you pointedly ignored it. 

That is how you spent the next few days. Hongjoong no longer returned at night, leaving you the sole occupant of his room, and when eventually your curiosity got the better of you, you decided to settle down with some of his books, biding your time. 

The opportunity presented itself one night when San arrived to bring you your evening meal, and when he left, you noticed that there was no telltale sound of the lock clicking. You crept up to the door and it swung open without much protest. 

The ship was bathed in darkness, and you could hear the distant sounds of the crew members, but they were muffled. Slowly you inched up the steps to the main deck, arms outstretched as you felt your way, holding your breath in anticipation. You hoped that everyone would be too busy with their own endeavours to pay you any mind. 

The surface was bathed in silver moonlight and it was almost ethereal, the way it reflected off the softly lapping waves. The sea was calm, but as you made your way to the edge, you were almost taken aback by its vastness. The murky depths stretched out as far as the eye could see, almost too infinite to fathom, and with a grim sort of resignation you realized that there was nowhere for you to go. No escaping your fate. 

You slumped against the wooden railing, almost listless, as you turned your attention to the stars above, charting the constellations that you could make out in the clear night sky as your father had taught you. You missed him terribly, and the prospect of having to marry the man who killed him made you want to pitch yourself overboard. 

Still, you had some sense of self-preservation because you remained with your feet firmly planted on the wooden deck. There were other ways, perhaps, for you to prove that you were worth more, that you could be of use to these pirates who were determined to return you to a monster. 

“Good to see you aren’t as determined to escape us,” came a voice, startling you. 

You felt a frown pull at your lips when you saw Captain Hongjoong standing right behind you, arms crossed over his chest, a satisfied smirk on his face. 

“What do you want?” you muttered sullenly. 

“Just testing out a theory.”

“I’m not your guinea pig!”

“No, you’re not, but you’re also not as determined to die as I had previously thought.”

“No one really wants to die,” you pointed out somberly. “It is our circumstances that drive the urge.”

Hongjoong hummed thoughtfully, coming over to lean against the railing beside you, and that is how you remained for several long moments, each one of you lost in thought. It was a comfortable sort of silence, one you didn't think was possible between the two of you, but you supposed he wasn’t entirely unpleasant to be around, provided he kept his mouth shut. 

“I am sorry, you know,” he spoke first. “I may have been…”

“I believe asshole is the word you’re looking for?”

“...excessively harsh,” Hongjoong finished sheepishly, still staring straight ahead. “Nonetheless, I apologize. I should have minded my manners, and that was no way to treat a princess.”

“That was no way to treat a person,” you corrected immediately. 

“Yes, you’re right. I was terrible. I’m truly sorry.”

You watched him from the corner of your eye, not missing the way the moonlight highlighted his sharp profile. You found it difficult to resist his apology, particularly due to the sincerity that was so evident in his tone, but you didn’t say anything in return. Perhaps, you’d let him ramble on, giving you the opportunity to figure him out, and see if there was any way to convince him not to take you back. 

“It’s not about the money, you know,” the captain continued, running a hand through his hair, dishevelling it even further, and you resisted the urge to brush a wayward lock away from his face. “It’s been a terribly worrisome few weeks…and it’s all my fault. I should have been more cautious, less naive. Jongho was taken because of me. He’s imprisoned, out there all alone because of me. Who knows what they’re doing to him, and there is nothing at all that I can do.”

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, although you didn’t know what you were apologizing for. Somehow it felt like it was your fault. 

“It’s not your fault,” Hongjoong suddenly turned to you, his eyes heartbreakingly earnest, and you swore you could see the glint of tears in the moonlight before he blinked them away. “But, you understand why we have to take you back now, don’t you?”

You were taken aback by the intensity of his words, the desperation of a madman almost. 

“I’m not sure I—”

“The king…he said he’d return Jongho to us, if we found you and returned you to your kingdom. It’s the only way we’ll get him back. 

“The new king is a cruel man,” you spat bitterly. “There is no telling he’ll keep his word.”

“But I have to try,” Hongjoong continued desperately. “I owe it to Jongho to try. His life is worth at least that much.”

And what of my life? What is my life worth? 

You closed your eyes, trying to block out his words, guilt and bitterness warring inside of you. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. You didn’t ask to be a pawn in this terrible game of chess. You didn’t ask to be born into such a family. You just wanted to be happy, to be free. Were your dreams worth so little, were you that insignificant to the fates?

Hongjoong pulled away, composing himself and clearing his throat, “It seems I have upset you again. I am sorry.”

“Another apology?” you scoffed. 

“It seems I have many things to apologize for,” he laughed self-depreciatingly. “I am a man of many flaws, and these days there is little I can do right.”

“It wasn’t your fault either,” you blurted, feeling the sudden urge to comfort him. It was strange, you should have despised him, but you felt that you understood him in some way. And besides, it had always been in your nature to be the peacemaker, to always out the feelings of others before your own. 

“Of course it was. I was there. I watched them take him away and could do nothing about it.”

“The…your crew member’s captor. He is a cruel man. I am certain there was nothing you could have done to save him.”

It was Hongjoong who watched you carefully now, “Is that why you do not wish to return?”

You found yourself unable to answer him. There were no words to describe it. No way to speak the terrible things you had witnessed out loud, and if you did, you would only cause the captain further worry, as his crew member was still in the king’s possession. 

“You do not have to tell me, of course,” he amended quickly, finally stepping back to take his leave. “I shall let you get your rest, princess. I do hope you’re finding my bed to be far more comfortable than the floor.”

And then with a polite bow that seemed much too formal on one such as him, he was gone, leaving you to contemplate your pitiful existence. Unbeknownst to you, Hongjoong felt your burdens deeply as well. His brief conversation with you made him feel even more guilty, but there was nothing to be done. He had a duty to his crew, to protect them and do whatever it took to ensure their life and safety. His crew had to come before some foreign princess. Jongho had to come before you. There was nothing else to do about it. 

The next morning you were pleasantly surprised to see that the door to Hongjoong’s chambers had been left unlocked again, and when you made your way to the deck early in the morning, no one stopped you. A few of the crew members nodded politely at you as you wandered the ship, and San even granted you a smile. Hongjoong, as usual, was nowhere to be seen, and briefly, you did wonder where he had managed to hole up when you had taken over his quarters. 

Over the next few days, you put your only plan into motion. You learned the names of every member of the crew, attentive in your endeavours. After your conversation with the captain, you realized that he wasn’t entirely cruel and that perhaps there was still hope. If you proved yourself to be a useful enough member of the crew, perhaps he’d let you stay. They were pirates after all, and surely, if they liked you enough, they’d manage to come up with a way to keep you as well as rescue their youngest crew member from the cruel king’s clutches. 

You helped Wooyoung in the galley, and Mingi with polishing the canons. You even offered to mop the decks; anything at all to remain useful. You had been schooled in the arts of diplomacy as a princess, but you found that you did not have to make a great effort to pretend to be interested in their tasks. You genuinely enjoyed hearing their stories as they amicably conversed, and watching them during the night, when despite the subdued air about them due to their missing member, there was a sense of camaraderie to them that you desperately yearned for. The way each of them cared and valued one another was truly astonishing, particularly to someone like you who had never before seen such friendships. 

Hongjoong’s relationship with them in particular awed you. You imagined a captain to be harsh and commanding with his crew, but Hongjoong was anything but. They obeyed him because they genuinely respected him, and valued what he had to say, and in return, he treated every single member aboard the ship with that same courtesy, everyone including you. Sometimes he’d flash you one of his charming smiles, as he’d go about his day, and you found yourself wishing to stay even more desperately. It felt almost pathetic, caring this much about a group of people who surely did not care for you. 

However, what you didn’t realize is that your desperate efforts had indeed endeared you to the crew, the captain most of all, and when the day arrived for the ship to dock at the harbour, the sky seemed overcast in shadow. 

It could be put off no longer. You had to be returned, and they would be reunited with their brother. You supposed you could beg, plead for them to let you stay, but if you were to bear what was to come, and their inevitable denial, you needed to hold on to whatever shred of dignity you had remaining. You would not cry, you would not say a word. With grace, you bid your goodbyes and hoped that you weren’t imagining it when the crew seemed almost sad to let you go. 

Perhaps they might remember you as they set sail on their next adventure. Perhaps your memory would receive the freedom your physical form could not. 

It was Hongjoong who led you to your castle, its towering spires no longer comforting. You held your head high, as the guards led you to the throne room where the usurper sat upon your father’s throne, wearing your father’s crown. To the side stood another three guards who held down a chained young man between them, beaten and bruised. Hongjoong’s fists clenched at the sight of him, so you imagined that this must be the infamous Jongho. 

“You have returned,” the king drawled, slowly descending the dais. “I did not think a pirate capable of it.”

“I am a man of my word,” Hongjoong stated through gritted teeth. 

“As am I,” the king gestured toward his guards who promptly let go of Jongho’s chains. “You may take your scoundrel and be gone.”

Before the king could reach you, and before Hongjoong could move toward Jongho, your hand shot out to grab his wrist. It was an unconscious movement, your body moving against your will. You had promised yourself to show dignity, you had promised that you would not beg, but you could not deny yourself this small act at least. 

Hongjoong looked at you in surprise, his heart hiccupping in his chest when he saw the tears pooling in your eyes. 

“Please,” you mumbled, fingers squeezing around his. “Please, don’t leave me.”

“I’m sorry.”

With great difficulty, he wrenched your hand away from his, lowering his gaze so that he did not have to watch as your expression plummeted at the act. He took measured steps toward Jongho, kneeling to help his crewmate stand, providing much-needed support to the injured man. 

You, on the other hand, swallowed bile as the king approached you slowly. When he was before you, he trailed a single finger down your cheek and you flinched, feeling sick. 

“I did miss you, you know,” he lamented. “You had to know, I’d do anything to have you back.”

Then he struck you. 

The blow was sharp, sending you sprawling to the floor with the force of it, but you pressed your lips together defiantly. You would not cry out. He would not get the satisfaction of watching you come undone. 

“Did you really think you could run away?” he snarled, grabbing you by the shoulder to haul you up. “There is nowhere that you could go to escape me. I would drag you back from the underworld if I had to, and if you are to meet death, it would only be by my hand.”

“You cannot command death,” you spat, despite the blood dripping from your lip. “Not even you are that powerful.”

“I commanded it just fine when I ended your family, and I can do the same to you if you do not silence yourself. We are to be married tomorrow, so I suggest you make your peace with it. There is nowhere to run anymore.”

Before you closed your eyes, your melancholy eyes met Hongjoong’s one last time as he strode out of the throne room, Jongho in tow. Despite everything, you could not bring yourself to hate him, and you hoped that perhaps he did not despise you that much after all. 

It was well past midnight when you heard the knock on your door. You had been moved to one of the towers, a prisoner within the stone walls until your impending nuptials, so you most certainly were not expecting visitors. It could only be one person and your blood ran cold. Having to marry him tomorrow was one thing, but if you had to see him tonight, you would fling yourself out of the balcony that very instant. 

The knock came again, urgent and sharp. 

“Go away,” you whispered. “Please, please, please, go away. I’ll marry you, so please, just go away.”

Another knock and rage bubbled in your chest. How dare he impose himself on you like this. How dare he take and take from you until you had nothing more left to give. No, you would not stand for it, but before you could make a move, the door wrenched open and there stood the last person you expected to see again. 

“Hongjoong?”

The captain was out of breath, and there was a nasty cut on his forehead that bled into his eyes, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. He did not let you utter a word before grabbing your wrist and dragging you down the isolated hallway. A quick glance backward revealed the incapacitated guards that lay slumped at the threshold of your door and your brow furrowed in confusion. 

“Hongjoong, what are you—”

“I couldn’t leave you!” he blurted, still dragging you along, pausing every now and then to duck into a different alcove, or through some hidden passageway. “I couldn't bear to leave you behind.”

And it was true. The sight of you, teary eyes pleading with him as he walked away was the final straw. He would not have been able to live with himself if he had left you to the vile creature you were to marry, especially after seeing how he treated you. 

The two of you emerged into the dark night panting, the cool air soothing against the sting of tears in your eyes. 

“You came back for me?” you could hardly speak the words, lest they turned out not to be true.

“Of course, I came back for you. I had to!”

“But—”

“We still have to hurry. They might not have noticed you are missing just yet, but they soon will, and when they do, we need to have set sail far away from here.”

Only when you had reached the docks did he let you pause, ducking into an abandoned alleyway to catch your breath. 

“But, the others…”

Hongjoong laughed, “In case you hadn’t noticed, they adore you. They may even like you more than me if I’m being entirely honest. No doubt, they’d have threatened mutiny if I did not bring you back.”

Your shoulders slumped, “So…you came back because of them?”

It was pathetic. You should have been grateful regardless, but you couldn’t help the stab of disappointment you felt. 

“No!” the captain frantically shook his head, taking your face in his hands ever so gently. “I came back because of you…because of me…because I could not bear not having you around. I came back because I had to.”

“Oh.”

“And I am sorry I have been such a fool. I should have done something different, planned it so that you did not have to spend even a moment with that wretch of a man who does not deserve one such as you.”

He brushed away your tears, his thumb pausing at your split lip. 

“I’m alright,” you tried to put on a brave smile, but it came out more of a grimace, and he chuckled. 

“No, you are not. And you do not have to pretend to be. Not here, not with me, not ever again.”

And then he was kissing you. It was just a mere brush of his lips against yours as if he was afraid of hurting you further, but he tasted of freedom and possibility and something so distinctly right with the world, that it stole the very breath from your lungs. 

It was over all too soon, and then he was pulling you forward again, eager to return to his crew and to the net adventure that now awaited the both of you. 

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this one. Comment to be added to the taglist. Comments/reblogs are highly appreciated, as I'd love to hear what yall think <3

[lemontreefantasy]

Sails and Anchors - Part 3

​Sails and Anchors - Part 3 

genre: smut, angst

warnings: some filthy and degrading scenes, possessive! hongjoong, gunshots

wc: 2.6k

taglist: @stayoffmybyunsworld @kirooz @nora-shhh @iveivory @licorne-manon @n0v4t33z​

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this is a continuation of Part 2 - Batten Down the Hatches

Part 3 - A Broken Reconciliation

You sat silently in your study looking at hongjoong, your mind blank as to how you should respond to him. But then you remember. You remember the emotional rollercoaster he put you on. Every day you would wake up and look around to see if he would appear out of the crowd of people, look to see if you would see that black, wide-brim hat or that cheeky smile. But after months of waiting, you never saw it. You were like a child on their birthday, except your present never came. You waited and waited and he never showed. You felt empty. You felt angry. Angry because you were so naïve to believe in a man for that long. Angry because you accepted that kind of treatment when there were men like Seonghwa and San who were ready to sweep you off your feet and escape with you at a moment’s notice, yet you still longed for hongjoong to return in some romantic manner.

“Do you know what I went through these past few months?” you stood up and looked down at him.

He said nothing while tilting his head up, holding your gaze.

“You know that I waited for you, right? All these months I waited to see when you return… if you would even return. One month, two, four, six months went by. How long was I supposed to wait? I would sit right here in this very room and sob, hoping that one day you would come back and hold me in your arms.”

“I’m so sorry darling“ he walks up to you, cupping your face in his hands.

“Don’t. You’re not sorry. Did you really expect my eyes to not wander?” you say ripping yourself from his grasp, “It seems like everyone in this town makes me a priority besides you. And yes, I have made a few friends. Maybe I’ve even fucked them because you weren’t here to give me what I want. Those ‘friends’ that showed me what real commitment to a partner is like, all of the things that I was missing out on.”

Hongjoong’s blood started boiling at the thought of someone else having their way with you. Everything you said after that went in one ear and out the other. His thoughts were flooded by what could have possibly taken place while he was gone, who touched you, who kissed you. To him, you were his private property. If anyone hurt you, he would slit their throat in the middle of the night no questions asked. And now that he learned of others impeding on his prized possession, it did not sit well with him.

He gripped your waist, shoving you into the wooden desk behind you, “Who. Tell me who. Who is it,” he demanded. You see him reach for something out of his waistband and suddenly feel a cold metal press against the bottom of your chin.

“Tell me darling.”

“It’s none of your fucking business now,” you grumble even though you know you’re on thin ice with him.

“I bet it was fucking twinkle toes was it. I saw the way held on to you. Like a needy dog. Or was it Mr Prince Charming?” he says twisting the barrel into your flesh “Was it him darling?” He chuckles and his expression changes and you’re oddly uncomfortable with his tone. “Tell me, was he the one? You know that son of a bitch used to work for me, right?”

What?

“W-Work for you?” you managed to stammer out.

“Yes, my love. He was actually… an old friend of mine… a good friend,” he says as his grip on your throat slackens.

“What h-happened between the both of you?” you ask carefully as to not upset him further.

“He was too ambitious. I kicked him off the ship. Now tell me, was it him? Was he the one that touched you while I was gone?” To be honest, you were hesitant to answer. The last thing you wanted was to compromise his safety.

“I won’t hurt him, I promise. I’ll just resist the urge to stab him in the chest if I ever see him again.”

You slowly nodded and hongjoong chuckled. Walking to the other side of the room he mumbled to himself, “I should’ve killed that fucker when I had the chance.”

“At least he was man enough to not disappear on me during the night.”

Hongjoong froze. He couldn’t believe the words that just left your lips. He felt his temple twitch and the devil’s rage seemed to fly to his head. There was no other way to put it. He was mad. He slowly turned towards you and looked you dead in the eyes.

“What did you just say to me?” he asked, eyes squinting at the mere sentence while he walked towards you.

“You heard what I said. Don’t act like all that sea water makes you deaf,” you retorted. You knew it was a dangerous game you started but you loved seeing him riled up like this. This newfound feeling of rage fueled by jealousy seemed to excite you.

Hongjoong was never excessively rough with you, not until now. He grabbed you by the fabric of your dress and shoved you against the said table once more.

“Did you forget about what also happened that night? Or do I need to show you again?” he says, ripping your dress at the seams, leaving your bare body exposed to the night’s cold.

He held you by your waist and turned you around, bending you over the table. You hear the faint noise of his belt buckle being undone as he yanks you by your hair to whisper to you,

“I guess I have to remind you of what you were craving for so long.”

And with that, you feel his hardened member grazing against your folds until you feel a hand shift to your panties, sliding them to the side. Your back arches at the sensation as you desperately try to cling to the old wooden desk. With one hand gripping your hair and the other on your back, hongjoong creates a rhythm in which he drives his shaft into you. You can’t help but cry out as you feel him against your clit, walls clenching around him.

“That’s right. Let him hear how good I can fuck you,” hongjoong whispers as he continues his ministrations. The room is filled with your moans and cries and the sound of skin slapping. Hongjoong grabbed you by your hair and you catch a glimpse of your reflection in a large glass artifact at the corner of the room. The view alone could make you cream yourself, seeing him behind you with messy hair, chest heaving.

Your knees begin to give way and your breath becomes unsteady as you feel your release approaching. You can’t gather your senses to say anything but hongjoong can feel you tighten around him as he quickens his pace. Seeing you like this, bent over just for him turned on a primal instinct that he unleashed on you as he continues his pace.

“I’ll fucking fill you up darling. Go back to him with your cunt full of my seed I dare you,” he growled.

As much as you hated how he reminded you of seonghwa, you loved that he made you feel like such a slut. He knew exactly what to do to hit that sweet spot of yours and he made sure to attack with relentless force. This is what you wanted. This is what you needed for so long. Hongjoong manhandling you was the leash that he had you on. The yoke that he knew he could control. After emptying himself inside you he spun you around, leaned over your body and grabbed your throat as he sucked on your bottom lip.

He heists you up onto the desk and pushes you down to lie flat on your back. Lowering himself, he gently sucks on your clit while sneaking a finger into you. Your moans were like music to his ears. It was exactly what he needed to egg him on. You missed feeling his tongue against you while his hands pushed your legs apart. You tangle your fingers in his hair and he can tell you’re close from the way your breathing changes.

He sits up and slowly eases himself into you once more until he finds his rhythm again and quickens his pace. He holds on to your legs as leverage to pound himself deeper into you. The oh so familiar sound of skin slapping and breathy moans fill the air and you find hongjoong spreading you wide open. He spilled his seed in you with no regret and left you spread on the desk, pulling his pants up, buckling his belt. He turned away from you and you lay there feeling his release leaking down your legs. You felt used but hated the fact that you liked it because this was the most attention you had gotten from him in a very long time.

You sat up and looked at him. You couldn’t quite tell what the expression on his face meant but it almost looked as if he was ashamed of what he had just done. He paced around the study rubbing his forehead, pushing his hair out of his face.

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

“I- I don’t know. I’m sorry… I should go.”

And with that, he disappeared again. You weren’t surprised you had to admit that you felt disappointed, alone and the sadness you once felt months ago began to fester in your heart once more.

~

A few days had passed and even though your love life was in a bit of a pickle, you still had a business to run. The week was neither slow nor busy and nothing too peculiar happened, which was a relief on your end. That was until a fairly matured woman came into the pub looking for you. Her appearance was striking and you could tell that she wasn’t from town. She wore a polka-dotted black and white dress that flowed to her knees. She wore black heels and has a small parasol along with a small black purse. Her hair was short but done up in fancy waves and you noticed her sharp facial features.

“My dear, is there any way I can speak to you in private?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but, do I know you?” you replied.

“Apologies,” she whispers, “I was a friend of your father’s. Please, I must speak to you away from prying ears.”

Her statement takes you aback. You weren’t about to just take a random woman that you just met up into your private study but if it’s true that she knew your father you couldn’t deny her request. You lead her upstairs and offer her some tea but she politely declines.

What she explains to you absolutely baffles your mind. You sit there listening to the words that come out of her wrinkled mouth and you have so many questions yet so many answers revealed. Your mind buzzes and the information suddenly becomes too much for you to handle. Your father, who’s death seems to haunt you ever so often, has once again resurfaced in your life even though he is longer alive. This time, in the form of a secret trust fund with millions of dollars. His private fortune dedicated to you after he had

passed which this woman, Mrs. Farley, had been managing on his behalf. She was given instructions by your father to give you access to the money after he had passed and after the legal paperwork was completed, it was now time for you to access your inheritance. This would now make you one of the youngest, richest women in the city.

“You were very special to him. He’s never told you about this?” she asks.

“No… he’s never mentioned anything of this nature to me.” you retort.

“Well, I understand this might come as a pleasant surprise to you. Don’t let it confuse you too much. If you have any questions, you can always contact me,” she says, handing you her card with her name and address.

And so, upon signing a few documents, you were officially a millionaire.

~

At the end of the week, you were in your study making a plan of what you should probably do with some of the money. Renovations to the bar, importing different alcohols, purchasing a house so you don’t have to be cramped in your small room upstairs the business… That was when you heard a knock on the door, your barmaid claiming the captain had asked for you.

You came downstairs and took him aside to a table, pouring him a drink. You both spoke in a low tone to not inform others of your inherent relations.

“I really want to apologize for leaving you that night. I came to explain the truth and my temper took hold of me. Please… tell me you’re not with him. I can’t bear to see you with anyone else.”

If you weren’t in the proximity of others, he would have held your hand in his.

“I don’t care if its twinkle toes, just not him,” he says.

“You’re bold to come in my establishment to tell me who I should and shouldn’t drop my knickers for, you know that?” you spat.

A long pause followed as he lets out an exhausted exhale and looks to the floor after gripping his drink and taking a swig.

“I love you. I will always love you… and only you. I don’t care what you think of me. I’m your dog. I’d do anything you tell me to. You know that,” he says in a calm voice, never breaking eye contact with you.

“I love you as well, captain. But you hurt my heart too much. I can’t keep up with you. Every time i give my heart to you, I always end up having to piece myself back together afterwards. It’s exhausting. Love is not supposed to be exhausting.”

“Please, stay away from him. For my sake. Seonghwa is not the man he portrays himself to be. I’ve worked with him before; I know what he is like. Don’t fall for his charm.”

Just then, there was a loud BANG of the pub doors being pushed open, with no other than seonghwa and his soldiers barging through the bar.

“Over there!” one of his men shout. Guns now cocked towards the table at which you and hongjoong sat.

In a fury, hongjoong draws his gun and fires a shot, causing a distraction so that everyone dives to the floor. In a split second, you look up only to realize that, like the wind, he was gone again… right out of the second pair of pub doors.

Seonghwa rushes towards you, “darling, are you alright?” he asks, holding you in his arms. You look up at him, eyes wide from shock. “Do you know that man?” he’s wanted for the stunt that was pulled at the ball the other day.”

You don’t know whether or not you should tell seonghwa the truth. Your mind went blank at that very moment the gunshots fired. If you tell seonghwa, they might have you killed for conspiring with a man like hongjoong. Hell, hongjoong might even slaughter you first if your shared little dirty secret got out. But what if seonghwa finds out and accuses you of being a filthy liar the entire time you’ve known him? You didn’t want to betray either man so you had to play your cards well. Not for your sake, but for the sake of your business and your reputation.

to be continued...

[agustd-essert]

ETERNITY {K.H.J}

group: ateez

member : Hongjoong (but the other members are main characters)

au : Pirate!Ateez, Pirate Captain!Hongjoong, Siren!Reader

wc : 3.3k

content warnings : some alcohol consumption, brief mention of weapons, suggestive??? idk the reader is naked at one point but no one sees anything important. that's it.

summary : A siren with a yearning for adventure and a knack for getting information crosses paths with a pirate captain and his eccentric crew in a race against time and other pirates to reclaim a long lost sunken treasure. Will they succeed? or will the captain and the siren get more than they bargained for?

spirit box (a/n) : I wanna clear up that reader knows the location to the island with the pools on it. to which there is only one map to if you haven't been there before. The key is supposedly in a shipwreck near a known island that's just dangerous to get to. two separate islands, one known and the other unknown. just in case there was any confusion :) Also wanna say a huge thank you to all the love on the prologue. I'm a small blog and the love it's been getting really warms my heart so thank you <3 ANYWAY ENJOY!

1 : How To Become A Pirate

The rising sun over the horizon warmed your face and you closed your eyes and smiled, taking a deep breath of the salty morning air. Your boots hit the planks of the dock and you paused for a moment.

You have no idea what his ship looks like.

You have no idea what his ship looks like.

     That wasn’t gonna stop you though as you adjusted your bag on your shoulder, mentally flipped a coin and picked a direction of the docks to walk first. They were busy as they always were in the morning, especially with the number of ships currently in port. Men loading boxes into cargo holds, various orders being barked, deals being made, none of it included the face you were looking for. You walked down the other side of the dock and marveled at the massive pirate ships in front of you. The wood creaked as the sails flapped and waved in the gentle morning wind, slowly rocking on the water as the crew bustled around it, loading it with barrels and boxes of goods, presumably for the voyage ahead of them. ‘Destiny’ Pretty name for a pretty ship.’ Your thoughts were interrupted as you spotted a face that raised alarm bells in your head. Coming down the ramp next was a taller guy with shaggy black hair wearing just his white blouse and some brown pants with black boots. The guy you saw in the bar the night before! He’s on Hongjoong’s crew! 

     You jogged up to him and waved, he saw you and cocked an eyebrow before putting down the box he originally came out to grab. “Can I help you?” Yunho was cautious but the girl was significantly smaller than he is and he didn’t sense any ill will off the bat. “Yes, are you part of Captain Hongjoong’s crew?” He paused for a moment and ruffled his hair “Yes I am, why?” “I have information for him.” He paused again. “What do you want in return?” His tone was cautious and held an air of suspicion. “I want to sail with you.” He looked taken aback before looking you up and down. He uncrossed his arms and approached you explaining “Okay but I’ll need you to hand over any weapons you're carrying and I’ll hold onto them and your bag until you’re done speaking with him, then you can have them back.” You nodded and handed him your bag as well as the two daggers you kept tucked in your belt against your back. He nodded and gestured for you to follow him and you did, up the ramp and on deck. As soon as your feet hit the wood of the deck you felt immediately at home, intimately familiar with the workings of a ship. “Who’s this, Yunho?” ‘So that’s his name..’ You turned around to be met with another taller male with straight black hair. He was slightly shorter than Yunho and was dressed in a coat over a vest and a black top, his face was angular and he kept a rigid expression on his face. “Says she has information for the Captain.” He shrugs and the other male nods, shooting you a suspicious look but saying nothing else.

     Yunho led you below deck and to the back of the ship in front of a singular door before knocking gently. A muffled ‘come in!’ was heard from the other side and Yunho opened the door, stepping in first before shutting the door after you walked in behind him. The captain’s quarters were beautiful and clean, well decorated with trophies and swords he’s no doubt taken from his enemies he’s beaten. There was another wall with a door separating his office from what was presumably his bedroom. The captain himself was sitting at his desk with his feet kicked up to rest on the corner. He wore a similar casual outfit to Yunho but had black pants instead of brown. The morning light streamed through the windows on the back wall and cast him in a golden light, his hair unstyled and resting gently on his forehead, the jewelry in his ears glinting in the light much like they had the night before. You couldn't deny how attractive he was or how attractive his entire crew was, something you’d noted the night before. He looked up at you and held a neutral expression. “Hello. How can I help you?” His voice was smooth and strong, clearly trying to seem like the authority, which you were more than willing to accept. You tried to speak but choked on your words and tried to hide it with a cough ‘Great I haven’t even spoken to the guy and I’m already embarrassing myself. Get it together!’

     You cleared your throat and tried again. “Yes I have information that I think would be helpful to you and in exchange I’d like to sail with you.” Your voice held strong and you thanked your lucky stars for that. The captain raised his eyebrows before standing up and walking around his desk. “What kind of information, pretty girl?” You shuddered at the compliment but you didn't know if it was fear or something far scarier. “I know the island where you can find the key to the Cromer chamber and I also know where to find the island that contains the Pools of Eternity.” The captain laughed dryly and leaned against his desk. “Yes the key is rumored to be around a set of islands so that is no concern. There is no way you know where the island with the pools is. There’s only one map and it was stolen-” “By Captain Blackjack.” His eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head. “Blackjack has it?” “Yes he found it at the camp Jacob Aster got the journal he gave you from. Blackjack was showing it to the local fortune teller last night.” Hongjoong laughed dryly again and rubbed his chin. He could not believe what he was hearing.

He wanted to believe you. Fuck, he really did but he couldn’t.

     The information you were offering him could easily be a lie to try and get away from port for some specific reason a person would need to. He crossed his arms in front of him and weighed the options. He wanted to believe you and at least keep you around long enough to get the information he needed but he couldn’t risk the lives of his crew or jeopardize his mission by bringing some random woman from port on the ship. There was far too much at stake for him to do something like that. He shook his head and as much as it pained him to kick the pretty woman off his ship, “I’m sorry but I can’t help you. I can’t trust the information you have without proof.” He dropped his head so he wouldn’t have to see your face. You sighed deeply, a part of you was fuming with anger but you also understood that a good captain cared for his crew first. You nodded and tried to keep your voice as steady as you could as you spoke. “Thank you for your time, Captain. I wish you luck. I’ll be rooting for you.” The last part drove a dagger through Hongjoong’s heart and his chest ached with the pain of letting both you and the potential information go but he stayed silent as you turned on your heel and left the ship swiftly of your own accord, fighting back tears of having your dreams slip right through your fingertips.

     Some time passed and the sun began to set on you sitting on the dock where the ship Destiny had left port soon after you’d left it, along with Captain Blackjack and most of the other pirates. You went to a local merchant and obtained a bottle of rum that you had all but finished at this point. There were a few people you observed toddle around the pier, clearing it of any debris from the pirates that left on it. You took another swig as the voices of two of the locals cleaning the pier hit your ears. “Did you hear? Fishermen that came in this morning said there’s a huge storm brewing east. I hope no one gets caught in it.” “Yeah supposed to be close to eight foot waves. May the sea bless any sorry bastard that tries to go through it.” Your blood ran cold and you froze completely. East? Lucaria island was east. Oh god if no one told the pirates they’d be sailing right into it and not know unless they spot it which is harder than it seems while also sailing a ship. You tossed the bottle onto the ground and shattered it while standing up to bolt to part of the docks that was unoccupied before stripping and diving straight into the water. It took a moment for you to adapt and be able to breathe underwater as you watched your scales develop all over your body and your legs blend into a tail with long frills. You checked your hands to make sure the webbing was there before bolting off to swim east in search of one ship in a whole side of the sea. In a massive storm. Should be an absolute cake walk.

     Hongjoong and his crew weren’t faring much better. They had only spotted the storm once it was right on top of them and it hit hard and fast, giving the crew little time to prepare. The deck was in uproar with everyone yelling different orders to keep the ship upright and going the right direction however it was quickly noted by the cartographer to the captain at the helm that they were most likely already off course thanks to the waves that were big enough to crash over the deck and drench the already soaked crew. Waves slammed the ship, making it list heavily side to side and knocking anyone not holding on off their feet while the strong winds made it impossible to turn the sails in any direction the wind opposed. Hongjoong struggled to keep the ship straight at least as the only thing they could do was keep going and pray thanks to the rain making it nearly impossible to see. He knew they were in open ocean so they wouldn’t run the risk of colliding with any islands as long as they didn’t run too far off course. On deck, a crew member noticed some barrels that had been tied down to the railing beginning to come loose, not wanting to lose them or have them fly into anyone, he moved to try and secure them again. At that moment, a swell slammed the opposite side of the ship, causing it to violently jerk to the side, tossing everyone off balance and tossing the crew member as well as the unsecured barrels over the rail and plunging into the dark, angry sea.

     It had been hours and you were in the thick of the storm, even underwater you could feel the swells pushing and pulling the water in every direction. You’d spotted the rutter of a ship in the distance a few minutes ago and swam after it closing the distance slowly as the ship was moving quickly thanks to the strong winds. You didn’t know if it was Hongjoong’s ship but you just needed to get close enough to see the name and if it wasn’t you’d keep looking. You were less than 50 feet from it now and before you could surface something plunged into the water next to you, scaring the living daylights out of you. The bubbles cleared and a person was swimming to the surface ten feet away from you. A person you recognized. The guy from earlier who questioned why you were on the ship. You questioned briefly how his crewmates kept falling into your lap but you were brought back by a wave shoving the boy back underwater, this time struggling to find his direction. You knew what you were about to do was risky but it was your only shot and you couldn’t let him drown so you swam over to him, grabbed his bicep, and pulled him back to the surface. You grabbed one of the barrels that had fallen off the ship and was floating nearby for him to hold on to and he took labored breaths as you backed up to not crowd him. He blinked a few times before looking around and locking eyes with you and you watched as his face morphed into one of either shock or panic. You shouted over the loud rain “I’m not gonna hurt you but we’ll have to ride out the storm before we can look for the ship!” “You’re the girl from earlier! From Tortuga!” You nodded and before he could ask any more questions you watched his eyes flutter and his head fall onto the barrel. You gasped and swam over to him, supporting his body so he didn’t fall and checked his breathing. Passed out, likely from exhaustion but it didn’t matter. You were gonna make sure he got back to that ship.

     What felt like days but was in reality a few more hours, the storm broke and the clear blue sky and shining sun quickly returned. It wasn’t easy being pelted with rain and waves while supporting another person but you did it and the man was still breathing. You sighed in relief as the last of the rain sprinkled onto you. Looking around for a moment you managed to spot another ship on the horizon, at least a good few miles but clearly there. You shook the man on the barrel gently while splashing some water on his face and was delighted to hear him groan and watch his eyes flutter open, slowly adjusting to the light level before focusing on you again, still resting his head on his arm. “you’re still here?.. Are you an angel..?” his voice was hoarse and slurred, he was clearly exhausted and delirious. “We need to get you back to the ship.” you stated firmly and he shook his head and mumbled “long gone.” you shook your head and pointed, he followed your finger, slowly lifting his head and turning to look. “Its A ship, might not be MY ship.” “Well I'm not gonna leave you on a barrel in the middle of the ocean.” you quickly grabbed his arms and placed them around your neck so he was on your back, which he only fought you verbally on with. “Why should I trust a siren? You eat men like me.” “I saved your life. That's why.” Too weak to fight the man relented and you began to swim to the ship, doing your best to help him keep his head above the surface. It wasn’t long before you actually reached the ship and after checking the name you noticed that they had both anchored and lowered their dinghy again, which would be easy to put the man on your back into, to then be pulled up to deck so he didn’t have to climb the ladder on the side. Which is exactly what you did, noticing he’d passed out again you swallowed your fear of people knowing what you are again and called out to the deck. “HELLO? I HAVE YOUR FRIEND!” 

     The deck itself was quiet with only two crew members somberly mulling around, cleaning what they could from the storm before. It got to a point where the captain said it would be safer to anchor and wait it out and it was soon after they realized someone was missing as no one saw him go over. The entire crew assumed he was dead and currently grieved in their own ways. Until a voice caught his ears and he darted to the railing of the ship, spotting you in the ocean near the ship. You smiled and waved but he ended up panicking and running off with a shout of “CAPTAIN! SIRENS!” ‘Well thats one way to get everyone’s attention…’ you shook your head and pinched the bridge in annoyance. You looked up again to see the entire crew leaning over the side of the ship staring at you. Amongst them you spotted Yunho and the captain who was white in the face upon seeing you. He recognized you instantly. You gestured to the dinghy and reiterated “I saved your friend.” They all looked over to see him laying in the boat unconscious and started scrambling to get him back up. You took the opportunity to pull yourself out of the water enough on the latter for your tail to morph back into legs, only having a tail in the water. You climbed it and bent over the railing, opting not to go on deck as they were just carrying the man off the dinghy and onto deck. You made sure your arms resting on the railing were covering your chest and the rail itself covered anything else as you were butt naked after morphing in front of a crew of young pirates. They all looked him over and one of them spoke “he’s freezing and probably starving but alive.” all of them looked pleased and a smile broke across your face at the news as well. The captain turned back to presumably find you in the water only to find you on his ship. Naked. He shook his head quickly and took a few steps towards you. “You’re the girl from earlier. Who offered me information. You’re a siren?” you nodded “But I mean no harm to you or your crew. I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to help. I wish you could have found out in a better way.” 

     Others from the crew took notice and the ones who weren't tending to the injured cautiously approached you as well. Hongjoong connected the dots in his head. The information you offered was true. If you were a siren you were one of the most likely people to have been to the island. He was still hesitant in taking you on board but before he could say anything else his cartographer Yeosang was in his ear. “What information did she offer?” the captain sighed and turned around to keep his back to you as he spoke privately. “She told me she’s been to the island with the Pools of Eternity. I didn’t believe her until now but I still don’t trust a siren.” Yeosang nodded and thought for a moment. “We could test her knowledge. Have her guide us back on course and to our next port. If you still don’t trust her, we can leave her there.” The captain thought about it for a moment. It was a good idea, testing your knowledge of the sea to figure out if your claims hold any weight and get the chance to get the information out of you he wanted if it came down to it.

The captain nodded and turned back around to see you conversing with the other two crew members who had taken a few more steps closer to you. You opted to answer any question they had for you as best you could to try to gain their trust which you seemingly did quickly. You learned their names to be Wooyoung and San and they instantly made you feel much more comfortable. The captain cleared his throat which caused both boys to back up and quiet down. Hongjoong wasn’t the biggest or the meanest looking but his crew really respected him and you respected that. He looked at you and spoke “Alright fine. You lead us to our next port correctly and in our timeframe and you get to stay and help us find the Cromer. Lead us astray or try to betray us in any way and we will kill you.” You nodded and shrugged “You’ve got a deal, Captain.” You purposely made your tone low and flirty and you saw the tips of his ears turn red which made you giggle and he turned to his crew again.

“Show her the hammocks and the food stores and for the love of God get her some fuckin’ clothes..”

~~~~~~

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