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“Jeongguk, are you sure you have to go? I don’t think I’m going to survive this place without you.”
Jeongguk’s good friend, Jimin, helped him with the formalities. It had been months of hard work, long hours, and a lot of disappointment, but today was finally the day. Jeongguk was finally being dismissed, able to be his own person.
“You’ll be fine, hyung. If anyone’s able to put up with that man, it’s you.”
Jimin only laughed. “I wouldn’t be so sure, Kook-ah.”
The parting ceremony was big, and much more than anything Jeongguk had wanted. He had hoped he could just slide away, go unnoticed out of Isla de Sudao. Obviously, that wasn’t what anyone else had in mind as they paraded the streets, Mister Royale himself in the center waving.
Ah, that’s what this is all about, He thought, It’s not for me. It’s a publicity stunt.
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It must be his eyes. The colour of the earth short of a rain, open, like spirals of brown intertwined with honey-coloured pride. Proudly curious, yes. Except when Jeongguk was angry, where they grew piercing yet melancholy. It lit them up horribly.
Jeongguk stood before the entrance of the Minor Talhorn, the tavern that he and Jimin had often occupied during their time as soldiers. Jimin remained, but Jeongguk had 9 reasons to leave and that was more than enough.
He was lean and muted, his hair never able to stay in one spot, ruffled like it was the home of some aviary. It was a stark contrast to the other occupants around him. Upperclassmen of all sorts bustled about, their long trousers, tail coats, tall stovepipe hats, and starched white collars hurried in all directions.
“How can God claim credit for this place? This is hardly Paradise. Hades. Bloody Hades. I hate it here,” He said.
There were ships leaving at noon. He had to get a move on if he were to sneak on to anything with enough time for them not to notice a stowaway.
Once he hit the docks, it didn’t take long for others to notice. He didn’t have many clothes, the coat of his soldier’s uniform paired a striking contrast to the tunics of some of the lower-class, and definitely put Jeongguk lower than the rest. Two of the upperclassmen reached out and thumped Jeongguk against the back of his head on their way past.
Ah, well, that was it.
Before better sense could stop him, Jeongguk rapped his umbrella across the nearest opposer’s back. When they wheeled, Jeongguk stood in the en-garde position, umbrella posed like a sword. There was nothing playful about his action. His position and stance were those of a skilled swordsman. Survival was instinctive with Jeongguk- that and a keen sense of good form.
“You ought to know better than to put your hands on a soldier.”
Except that he wasn’t any more. He had resigned that title, along with his upper class. He was nothing more than a lowerclassman in a soldier’s uniform now, set to be for the hands of these prats.
“Sure,” The eldest looking one sneered, looking him over. “And do you have a name, soldier boy?”
“Jeongguk. Jeon Jeong...”As his mouth moved to form the words of his father’s name, his courage failed him. And in that split instant, the boys suddenly knew to whom they were talking to. Everyone knew about the bastard son of Sir Jeon Jaehwan, enlisted to avoid the responsibility and humiliation.
“Right then, Jeongguk. Here’s to hoping your ship goes down under.”
Jeongguk entertained the mental image of his umbrella passing cleanly through the boy’s brisket and out his backside with a perfectly executed cappo ferro thrust. The fencing master who had tutored Jeongguk in the skills of the sword during his childhood would have applauded his good form. Even with an umbrella.
Common sense caught up with Jeongguk then, and in a rage, he lowered his umbrella and stormed off. For all of Jeongguk’s wit, his emotions took a much heavier toll on his judgment. He continued his angered stalk for the longest of time, and when he finally came to his senses; his pocket watch rang a prominent noon thirty. Bollocks.
At least he hadn’t given any of his things away ahead of time- they’d be able to accompany him on the next trip, not be thrown away with all of the other abandoned things in the New World.
Jeongguk took to wandering- his boots leaving small prints in the sand. He’d step up as the shore came close, carefully avoiding the minuscule waves. He noticed the way the rocks shot out of the ground, jagged blades bursting through the water as if the sea had claimed war upon the sky. Jeongguk vaguely wondered how many lives the sea had taken in that battle. Definitely more than he could count.
The rocks continued as Jeongguk walked, forming an arch with the cliff on the other side of him. One of the spikes seemed rounder than the others, he observed. Upon closer inspection he saw it wasn’t a rock at all, but a long pillar of wood. An odd sight, definitely, and Jeongguk picked up the pace to go observe.
He’s oblivious to the rope he trips over, low to the ground and an obvious trap.
He falls against the sand and grunts, lifting onto his elbows to look at his attacker- the rope. He glares at it, muttering something about bloody college students. Someone clears their throat, but it wasn’t Jeongguk.
“You don’t have any business here.”
That wasn’t his voice, either. Jeongguk’s up in seconds, turned around and hand on the hilt of his sword. There’s a man standing there, but he wasn’t one of the college boys Jeongguk was expecting. His clothes were a mess that matched his hair, and a pair of green eyes were staring through Jeongguk and straight into his core. Everything from his holster to his expression screamed what this man was, and discharged soldier or not, Jeongguk was defensive.
The whole purpose for his division was to ward off pirates, and he was going to honour that tradition. This other man had a sword, too; a shamshir. It scraped against Jeongguk’s rapier, and the sound of metal against metal reverberated down the coast.
“I do believe we are misunderstanding each other,” Jeongguk offers, in between dodging a lunge and another clash of blades.
“Well, I believe you’ve overstepped your boundaries.” So that’s what that was. A boundary line. Which Jeongguk had so gracefully fallen over, into this pirate’s claimed territory. Except Isla de Sudao was free, even the tiny corner of the coast. It simply wouldn’t be Isla da Sudao if pirates walked here.
“I am sorry, but I can’t let you walk away from this.” Jeongguk doesn’t think he’s actually sorry. He lurches forward with his rapier, but the other is clearly skilled, and easily dodges. “It’ll take more than that to get me, soldier boy.”
Jeongguk was at a disadvantage from his sword, the thin blade was worth nothing more than to pierce, while the pirate’s was made to slice- to tear its opponents open.
“I am no soldier.” Their fight grows more violent, more brutal. But every slash, and every counter opened Jeongguk’s eyes more. This pirate could be his ticket out of here. They would take him prisoner, that’s what pirates usually did with losing soldiers, and then either converted them or threw them overboard. It was worth the risk. He could convince them to leave Isla de Sudao, and take off wherever they board next.
The pirate swings in for a fatal blow, and Jeongguk closes his eyes as the blade buries itself in his shoulder. He doesn’t scream. He doesn’t hiss. He opens his eyes back up, and sees the pirate staring back at him in confusion.
“You’re going to give up, just like that?”
“Have I truly got a choice?” Jeongguk’s reply was quick, waiting at the tip of his tongue. The pirate seemed pleased.
“I think that’s for the Captain to decide.” Just like that, the sword was painfully torn out of Jeongguk’s shoulder, and the ex-soldier was dragged along the shore until he came nose-to-nose with what was once his worst enemy – the slightly rotten and venomous wood of a pirate ship. But this was hardly the classic pirate ship; in fact, it was so cleanly scrubbed and polished that Jeongguk would have mistaken it for the ship of a royal crew member had he not known already who occupied it.
Jeongguk’s breaths had begun to deepen with his effort to stay upright. He needed his shoulder wrapped, sooner rather than later.
He didn’t fight when the pirate forced him onto the ship. It was with a bit of struggle, only having one arm available, but Jeongguk did so nonetheless.
He was drug down to the hull, and then to the cargo load, before finally being tied down and dismissed. It wasn’t a long wait, just an uncomfortable one with the pirate glaring at him and cleaning Jeongguk’s blood off of his sword. Soon enough he heard soft footsteps approaching from behind, but Jeongguk knew better than to turn his head.
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” The new man swooned, although the sentiment behind the words was vacant. He was careful not to step into Jeongguk’s view.
“Not ‘t all,” The pirate grumbled, scrubbing the last bit of his sword before dropping the rag and hurriedly vacating the area. Jeongguk didn’t have to wonder why. He knew exactly who was standing behind him.
“Now, tell me something. Why are you on my ship?” The captain finally moved forward until Jeongguk could see him clearly. He was shorter than Jeongguk had expected him to be, but no less regal. Jeongguk had already noticed that the ship looked awfully clean, too clean to be a pirate ship. This seemed to extend to the crew, and the captain especially. He brandished a coat that was stolen from the Royal Navy, re-detailed with silver to show off its new ownership. Everything from the tunic he wore to the leather of his boots seemed to be of fine, imported quality. It made the uniform Jeongguk had loved to wear appear weak in comparison.
Jeongguk’s reply was simple. “I lost a fight with one of your men.” The other man didn’t believe a word of it.
“You’re a soldier, trained to fight against people like us. It’s screwed into your tiny little heads from the moment you enlist that you are going to lay down your life before you accept defeat. If that were truly the case, you would’ve fought much harder before ended up in this position. Yet there’s no struggle coming from you. So, I ask you again, why are you here?”
Smart captain. Jeongguk’s lips curled up into a smile. “I am no soldier, Captain. Not anymore.”
“And I am no pirate, yet you’re going to continue to believe so.” Jeongguk stopped thinking this crew was made up of just pirates since the moment he boarded their ship. He snarled in response.
“I wouldn’t think for other people, Captain. It’s embarrassing when you guess wrong.”
His snarkiness wasn’t taken very lightly. Rather, it was greeted with a sword lodging itself in the pole just above Jeongguk’s head, missing him by millimeters. “You were saying something?”
“Do you have a name, Captain?” Jeongguk tried to change the subject. “Names always make people more friendly. I’m Jeon. Jeongguk.”
There was a scoff, but the Captain replied. “Min Yoongi. Speak it out loud and your tongue will be my crew’s next meal.”
Jeongguk dreamed of grabbing Yoongi by the rich fibers of his coat collar and plunging a sword through his throat. Many of his current problems would be solved just like that. He hardly saw the problem with it.
“Now, you’re going to answer my question. Why are you on my ship?” It wasn’t so much of a question as a demand. Judging by the fact that Yoongi’s sword was still firmly lodged above Jeongguk’s head, it would be in his best interests to answer this time around.
“I needed an out, Captain. Your team will leave here soon enough, and it was an awfully convenient way to get the hell out of here.”
“So that’s what we are to you? A transportation system?” Yoongi’s eyes lit up with amusement. In any other circumstance, Jeongguk would have mistaken the expression for a pirate’s bloodlust. The looks were awfully similar.
“You’re a way out. It doesn’t matter if I’m killed, or imprisoned, I’ll be the hell off of this island.”
Maybe Jeongguk was wrong. The look in Yoongi’s eyes could easily be the need for blood. Just, not Jeongguk’s. “If you hate this island so much, then how about we go out with a bang?”
Jeongguk’s smirk met Yoongi’s in kind. “What do you have in mind?”