Chapter Text
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"Captain!" The rain was getting even stronger, soon enough the ship would be going in and out of the water. Everyone on board hoped not to meet any more difficulties but it was going to be a tough task with so few mates and the enormous storm that was going on.
"I'm here!" He shouted from the prow making his way to the centre of the ship. Everyone was soaking, the rain didn't let them see clearly and the low clouds made the mist too thick to see from one end of the ship to the other.
"Captain we're approaching a wave of almost 10 meters!" The quartermaster announced.
"Okay! Guys, take the foremast and rotate it port¹! The other two, go right to the mizzenmast and move it all the way to starboard²! Batten down the hatches, NOW!" He said in a breath, running to the mainmast where the lookout was, going up the ratlines to help him strengthening all the knots and making sure the ship was ready to face the storm.
"AYE AYE³ CAPTAIN!" They all said.
The tensions never left the ship in situations like this, all the crew knew that in these kinds of moments the best thing was to obey their Captain, that was someone with experience who they trusted.
The sky groaned, followed by a bolt of lightning that made the dark night appear like day. In that millisecond, Hongjoong was able to see the massive wave that was coming to them. It was so big, Hongjoong thought it came from the the fury of a kracken that was trying to devour them. Would they be able to get out of this one?
"EVERYONE, HOLD TIGHT!" The Captain shouted. It was the last thing they all heard before the gigantic wave crashed upon them.
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"Fuck, I feel like shit," The helmsman said, still covered in water. At least they were able to have their really needed shower.
"Shut it, Choi," the gunner let out tired, everyone was laying down on the boat's main deck, some spread out and other's trying to dry their clothes, squeezing and rolling them until the last drop touched the sea.
"Look who's talking, Choi lassie⁴," the aforementioned replied.
"Hey, don't start a fight again. I've had enough today." This time, the one who spoke up was the boatswain, who was barefoot, taking water out of his shoes.
"Aye⁵ sir," both Choi's said in unison, a little scared of what the man could do to them if they didn't follow his rules. Maybe both woke up without a tongue the next day.
Kang Yeosang, the boatswain⁶, was the most feared man aboard. A normal man would fear all of them to death but in this ship filled with thieves and murderers, Kang Yeosang won by far.
He was known for his skills with the knife and his clean kills every time they stole a ship. He was able to kill ten men in a couple of minutes without them even noticing. One precise cut and they were out.
It is not that he made his victims suffer or created a great spectacle, it was how he could kill you in matter of seconds and how he could cut all your fingers in just one try. He was as quiet as a feline and as accurate as a compass.
Apart from his amazing killing skills, he was a cold hearted person that only cared for his crewmates and hated everyone else in the world. He came from nowhere, was noone and never gave information about his past. He was just a live-less assassin and pirate, just a butcher. As much as they knew, Yeosang could not be his real name and maybe he wasn't 22 years old as he said. But his mates decided to trust him on that. Something about him felt trustworthy, and even if he was a filthy liar, he was an advantage for the crew.
"Yeosang," the tallest man aboard then spoke, sitting on top of a broken wood piece he wasn't really sure where it belonged. "Don't dare to make any of their body parts disappear," he laughed. The killer shrugged, never promising a thing.
It had been a horrible night. The guys may have been awake for more than 30 hours by now. The rain and wind made navigating to the direction they were going ten—no, even twelve times harder.
"Guys, I don't think going to the kingdom's territory in storm season was one of our best ideas..." The oldest Choi talked again.
"And we marched on a Friday, what were we thinking? Everyone knows it is bad luck to set off the port on a Friday..." The youngest man, going down the ratlines, said.
"This was our best idea to date, listen up. If we were to go any other time, our steps would be traceable. But if we go now, in storm season, on a Friday, first, they won't expect us; and second, it would be way easier for us to ambush their rich ass ship filled with food, gold and diamonds. Also, we know they always trade jewellery with neighbour kingdoms this time of the year."
"All be for the booty⁷!" A voice shouted from far up, he was at the lookout.
"We've been planing this, San, so let's keep it going."
That was Song Mingi, the crew's navigator. He knew from memory all the constellations and where they were placed at different times of the year. He probably was the smartest person on that ship.
He had been navigating the seas with his father since he was born, he was practically raised on a ship. Son of pirates, he became one as well and left his family at the age of 17, being able to navigate by himself at such a young age.
He stumbled upon Hongjoong some years ago, when they met at a port and he saw the older with another boy arguing with an old man.
Turns out the now Captain and the First Mate were being kicked out of their work with a bad reputation pirate. Since then, the three of them have been together recruiting people and stealing ships as one of the bests rewarded heads in the entire Pacific.
Hongjoong's head alone was bounty⁸ 2,000 golds. Other pirates would love to get just an ear of this man.
Who is the First Mate then?
"Mingi's right, if we do this right, our pirate life's could be over! I will buy an entire island with just my part of the treasure!"
That was him, Jeong Yunho, the First Mate and Quartermaster—Hongjoong's right hand—, and also the tallest mate. He was in charge of taking the lead when the Captain wasn't there or if something happened to him. He was the second most respected person aboard, also being the one who took care of food and water supplies.
He had the right to even punish the people who didn't follow the Captain's orders in certain moments, even though there weren't many instances were the Captain was completely on charge. The majority of the routes and decisions were made by voting. The only times where the Captain gained full control were those like hours ago, when the storm almost ended with all of them.
Yunho had always been with Hongjoong, since they were kids. Yunho was 5 and Hongjoong 6 when they met on the streets, not separating since then. They became professional scammers to get food and sleep anywhere they could. Their parents? no where to be seen or known about, so they grew together as brothers. Then, when one was 17 and the other 18, they met Mingi, one of the many great boys who would form part of their crew. They were now 23 and 24 years old, so it had been 7 years.
"Oh oh! What about kidnapping someone important and asking for the double of money for his rescue?!"
"San, no please, no more kidnapping. The last time we did that the man killed himself and we got zero money out of it, he just finished our July supplies..." Hongjoong said bringing some food for his people and passing it.
Choi San; he helmsman. Was in chandge of basically making sure the ship didn't crash and that they were going on the direction Mingi suggested. He had the rudder⁹, the control. A young 20 year old that since being a kid had loved riding the sea. His plans weren't exactly becoming a pirate, but instead a navy pilot, guess life does have plot twists.
His position changed from being from a wealthy family to being exiliated from his town after killing his father. Only his crewmates knew he killed him after seeing him hitting his mother and sisters, trying to save them. But for everyone else, he wasn't a sweet hearted man, just a killer pirate who was crazy enough to kill his father and smile about it afterwards.
"Choi, leave the ideas to literally everybody else." The other Choi said on monotone. He loved pissing off San. They had this ongoing rivalry that sometimes became a little too real.
The second Choi was Choi Jongho, the youngest out of all. He was only 13 years old when he joined the ship. To be honest, Hongjoong took him from the streets because he reminded him of himself. Of course, without knowing he was one of the most brutal man to ever step his ship.
This man wasn't scared of dying at all and with just 17 years was able to break almost all your bones with his bare hands. But that wasn't enough, the boy also had experience in gun fight. With his ability and strength, he couldn't have any position other than the gunner master. He was the one to charge the cannons and explode whichever boat they didn't want to steal but just get rid off.
If there was something Choi Jongho feared, it was Kang Yeosang.
"Woohoo!" The skinniest boy said going down the ratlines¹⁰ and hanging upside down beside San. "I think San's idea is good though?" he smiled.
"You think everything San does is cool," Yeosang said giving him a dead glare. To which the bat boy didn't even responded.
That was Jung Wooyoung, the 18 year old lookout and cook. He wasn't an expert cook, he just was better than the rest.
The thing that he mastered thought, was climbing. And thankfully his eyesight was also perfect. That's how he gained his position. He was in charge of the upper parts of the ship like the main mast, the crow's nest and securing the sails¹¹ so they would push the boat.
He was agile and fast, he could climb the tallest mast in 2 minutes.
He was maybe a little dorky and annoying, but he made up for it being one of the best thieves of his old town and now the best one on the ship.
Using ropes and his monkey like abilities, he could steal 2 kilos of diamonds all by himself.
"I might think everything San does is cool, but I think that everything you do is hot," He winked. Oh wait, did I mention that Wooyoung was the king of flirting with his mates? Specially with his best friend Yeosang. Even though he was just 18 and Yeosang was 4 years older than him, those two had something going on.
"Okay, enough talking now. San, to the helm¹². Wooyoung, get up there again and tell us if you see land. Mingi, recalculate were we are right now, I'm sure the storm pushed us back, we'll have to be some more days than planned here. Jongho, Yunho, Yeosang, clean this mess and tell me what prices are gone or broken. Try not falling into the ocean because of the missing barrels." Hongjoong said getting up.
"Aye Captain!" Some immediately answered.
"And what will you do?" Yeosang asked arm crossed.
"Me? I will plan how to destroy those bastards and get those millions. " He smirked and turned around to the Captain quarters.
"Not gonna lie, that was hot," whispered Wooyoung-still upside down- to Yeosang. The taller simply smacked his young friend's head and got to work.
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"LAND IN SIGHT!" Shouted Wooyoung from the tallest mast. It had been five days since the storm, and the seas looked almost as "Fuck, not only land..." He said when he took off the spyglass and looked south. "SAIL, HO!¹³" He quickly announced another ship was in view. And it wasn't only other ship, it was the ship they were looking to ambush.
San stopped drinking his grog¹⁴ and took the wheel under his hands. Yeosang took his cutlasses¹⁵, Jongho prepared the cannons and Wooyoung got down and took his sword and pistol, passing another pair to Hongjoong, which they all hid under their clothes.
The other ship was slightly bigger than theirs and as planned, it approached through the mist without really noticing the pirate ship at starboard.
Hongjoong was preparing the ropes and lifting a-fake-white flag. The tactic was to seem friendly at first, get near enough and then crush their ships and take all the loot¹⁶.
They weren't stupid, they knew they were only 7 people, so the ships they always attacked were small but filled ones. Making sure they had enough cargo to make it worth it.
This time, the ship was just a bit bigger, making the challenge a lot more difficult. They hoped not a lot of people were abroad and that they would easily surrender-Hongjoong knew it won't happen, why would a ship filled with pretty stones not be fired up? The 6 killers and their friendly bucko¹⁷ San then would end with the life of all of them without even thinking it twice.
Once the ship was close enough for them to
throw their ropes and canes and climb in, Hongjoong gave his last words.
"Okay guys, and remember: Dead man tell no tales.¹⁸"
With that, the 7 pirates infiltrated the boat and slayed throat after throat. Jongho went first, even when he was the youngest. With his bare hands and a pistol on his ankle, he was fighting in a 3 against 1. No one really cared, they knew he would be alright.
Next was the Captain, a sword on his right hand and a gun on his left, he was the first one to throw a "warning shot" to the tallest man on board and then run agile to where the cargo was slicing some ankles on his way, leaving them perfect for San to finish the work. "Blow the man down," was a popular order from Hongjoong always directed to Choi San.
When San got in, some faces went pale, everyone knew the face of the psycho kid who killed his own father. Everyone believed the lies they were told and San took advantage of that. "Surrender or die," He said to five sailors, all of them threw their arms away and kneeled down. Then, from the dark, Yeosang had it perfect to kill all of them in one go. The perfect team work.
And when Yeosang was not teaming up with San to kill men like one ate pickles, he was too busy killing the highest ranks on the ship one by one to make sure they didn't inform anyone of the happening.
While these four distracted, Mingi, Yunho and Wooyoung took all the gold, food and shines with them. Mingi was emptying the inside, Yunho moved the bags from the main deck to where the two ships connected and Wooyoung flied their booty from one ship to another making sure no one touched their boat.
Another kill, another drop of blood on their dirty cloths, another piece of gold. And after half an hour, everyone was down.
"WE DON'T NEED THIS BOAT, EVERYONE BACK TO ILLUSION! SAVVY?" Hongjoong yelled with the last bag of the fresh loot.
"But Captain-"
"NOW!" Somehow he felt something was wrong with that ship.
"Aye aye,"
Back on Illusion-the name Yunho gave to their ship-, the Chois counted all the booty and Wooyoung and Yunho storages all the new food. Yeosang was peacefully cleaning his precious cutlasses and Mingi was on San's position planing where they should go next. Wooyoung was behind Jongho cleaning the wounds on his back.
The Captain made his way inside of the quarters, but before he entered Mingi shouted at him from the quarter deck.
"Hongjoong! What about going to that no man's land to get some other human touch?" He smirked.
"All you want is women right?" Hongjoong laughed off.
"I mean, a man has priorities,"
"I agree with Mingi!" San shouted from above in the main deck, one boot on his hand.
"My hearties²⁰ just want a good wench after all... Then put up a Yellow Jack²¹ Wooyoung! We're going to no man's land! Let's celebrate!" And with this words, Hongjoong entered the Captain's quarters, ready to plan how to sell all those shiny-
"Surrender," Gunpoint.
Hongjoog was at gunpoint. A man had entered their ship.
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