Chapter Text
Hongjoong stepped on the deck, taking a deep breath. It had been a long night, a storm came through and everyone had stayed up through the night to ensure nothing happened to the ship.
He looked around and saw that most of the crew was on deck, cleaning up what the winds from the storm had scattered across the deck. He smiled, he had a damn good crew on board and was grateful for that. They certainly made life easier for him.
He walked up to Jongho who was standing at the helm.
“Is everything on course?” Hongjoong asked, looking at the compass that Jongho was holding.
“I just corrected the ship's course, we should be going in the right direction now. The storm had us facing south, and I’m not sure how far off course we are just yet.” Jongho reported, giving Hongjoong a grin. “It shouldn’t be too far off, that storm last night was nothing.”
Hongjoong snorted, “Tell that to the rest of the crew. We were lucky though. If we had a smaller ship, or if Yunho hadn’t spotted the storm rolling in, we could be in a trickier situation.”
Jongho laughed, and looked over the deck. Most of the crew looked exhausted from being up most of the night. “Oh they’ll be fine, we’ve had worse.”
Hongjoong chuckled and was looking at the horizon when something in the distance caught his eye. He pulled out his spyglass, raising it up to his eye and looked through. There was what looked to be what remained of a ship, slowly sinking in the water, with a lot of debris surrounding it, floating along the waves.
He lowered the spyglass, “Looks like not everyone was as lucky as we were. Looks like a ship sunk just ahead of us.”
Jongho looked ahead, “Should we go closer to it? Maybe there’s supplies we could get.”
Hongjoong nodded, “Most of it may be destroyed, but it’s certainly worth a look at the very least.”
Jongho nodded, taking hold of the helm and steering the ship in the direction of the remains.
Hongjoong walked over to the rest of the crew, “Alright boys, get ready to fish supplies out of the water, if there’s any left that is. Looks like a ship didn’t get lucky and sank last night.”
A chorus of aye’s rang out as Hongjoong walked away.
~
The trip to where the ship sank didn’t take too long, only 30 minutes. Hongjoong leaned against the guardrail as they grew closer, keeping a sharp eye on the waters to try to spot anything floating that they could salvage. He looked over the various pieces of debris, not seeing anything of use until he noticed something moving slightly on a larger piece of wood a little further out than the rest of the debris.
He leaned over the guardrail and squinted to try to get a better view, before giving up and grabbing his spyglass. It was hard to make out with the waves constantly moving the debris around, but when he finally realized there were two figures clinging to the piece of wood, he yelled at Jongho to lower the anchor and raced over to where they had the rowboat.
“Mingi, San, help me get this in the water!” Hongjoong yelled. “There’s survivors out there! Mingi, I’ll need your help getting them in the rowboat.”
Mingi and San ran over and helped Hongjoong get the rowboat over the guardrails and into the water. Hongjoong quickly jumped over the rail, landing in the rowboat with Mingi following him. Hongjoong sat down and started to row the boat towards the piece of wood, rowing as quickly as he could. The trip seemed to take hours, but they finally made it after 10 minutes of rowing against the waves.
Hongjoong quickly put the oars aside and turned to grab one of the survivors when he realized that there was only one person on the wood now.
“Mingi, help him in the boat, quickly!” Hongjoong ordered, as he kicked off his boots.
“What are you doing Captain?” Mingi asked, watching Hongjoong stand up.
Hongjoong jumped into the water, not responding to Mingi’s question, and began to swim down. His eyes burned as he looked around the dark water, until he saw something flicker faintly just below him. He swam as fast as he could towards the small flicker, until he was able to make out a figure. He reached out and managed to grab the figure by their arm, and began to swim as hard as he could up towards the surface.
When they finally surfaced, Mingi had already pulled the second person into the rowboat with him, and looked as if he was getting ready to dive in after Hongjoong.
“Are you crazy Captain? There’s no telling if there’s sharks in these waters or not, and the current could have taken you away!” Mingi yelled, clearly panicked.
“You can yell at me later, help me get him in the boat first though,” Hongjoong yelled back, coughing on the water that had slipped in his mouth as he struggled to keep both him and the unconscious man afloat. Mingi reached down, grabbing the man by both shoulders and pulled him into the boat, reaching down and helping Hongjoong after. Hongjoong quickly pulled himself up and looked at the man.
“Fuck he’s not breathing,” Hongjoong realized, quickly moving the man flat on his back. He began to push on his chest, in a rhythm that Wooyoung had taught him a few years back. After a few beats, he stopped and bent over the man's face to breathe air into his lungs. After a few rounds, the man began to choke, water bubbling in his mouth. Hongjoong quickly shifted the man to his side and the man coughed, spitting out a lot of water.
Hongjoong breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back on his heels. He looked over at the second man who had passed out.
“Is he ok?” He asked Mingi who nodded his head.
“He was awake when I helped him in the rowboat, said his name was Yeosang and was panicking over his friend there until I told him you had gone after him. He seemed really shaken up.” Mingi said, frowning. “Do you think there might be any more survivors? I’ve been looking but I haven’t seen anything.”
Hongjoong shook his head, “I doubt it. I’m surprised that these two managed to survive it, that storm was nothing to take lightly.”
Hongjoong sighed and sat back down on the seat of the rowboat. The man had stopped coughing and had passed out, thankfully still breathing. He picked up the oars and began to steer the rowboat back to the ship. “Let’s get these two on board and into some dry clothes. I’m sure they could use some rest too. We’ll talk to them after and figure out what to do next.”
~
By the time they were able to get the rowboat back on the ship, the sun was beginning to set. Hongjoong hoisted the man he had saved up into his arms and climbed onto the deck of the ship, Mingi following with the second man. Hongjoong moved forward, but stumbled forward. San moved forward from where he was assisting with the rowboat and managed to catch Hongjoong before he fell and kept the man in Hongjoong’s arms from falling.
“Here,” San said, motioning to take the man from Hongjoong. “Let me carry him, Yunho, can you help Hongjoong?”
Hongjoong let San take the man from him, however, he shrugged Yunho off when he tried to help. “I’m fine, I just got tired for a minute. Just take them to my cabin for now and put them in my bed. We’ll have to wait for them to wake up to find out what happened and where to go from there.”
San nodded, motioning for Mingi to follow him. They left towards Hongjoong’s cabin, leaving Hongjoong and Yunho standing by the rail. Bang Chan and Jongho had taken care of the rowboat, putting it back where it belonged. Hongjoong let out a sigh, and slowly sat on the deck, leaning against the railing.
Yunho looked down at him, concern flooding his eyes. “Are you sure you’re ok Captain? You look really pale.”
Hongjoong nodded, closing his eyes. “I’m fine, I just overdid it a little bit with swimming. I just need to rest for a minute, don’t worry.”
“If you’re sure,” Yunho said, resting his hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder. “I’m going to go find Wooyoung, he should probably check them two out to make sure they’re ok.”
Hongjoong nodded, not opening his eyes. His heart was racing and he knew he needed to slow it down, taking deep breaths every few moments. How he managed to save that man was beyond him, but he had a feeling he’d be paying for it for a few days with the way his body was already reacting.
~
Wooyoung was in his room, getting ready to go to bed. He’d been up most of the night with the others during the storm. He never could get used to the storms, no matter how many he’d experienced while aboard the Halazia and there had been many. He heard a soft knock on the door before the door slowly opened, Yunho poking his head in.
“Hey Yunho,” Wooyoung said, smiling softly. “Did you need something? I was just about to go to sleep.”
Yunho nodded, apologetically. “I’m sure you’re exhausted, but we just found two people that survived the shipwreck we saw. I was going to see if you could check them out to see if they’re ok?”
Wooyoung frowned, “There were survivors? That’s not usual, especially with that storm last night.”
Yunho nodded, “Yeah, Hongjoong saw them and went to go save them with Mingi in the rowboat.”
“Please tell me Hongjoong didn’t play the hero and over do it again,” Wooyoung moaned, already knowing the answer.
Yunho chuckled, “Do you really want me to answer that question?”
Wooyoung groaned, shoving past Yunho gently as he left his room. “No, because I already know the idiot did, the man has a death wish I swear.”
They walked up the steps and began their way to Hongjoong’s cabin. The deck was quiet, only a few people were still awake to enjoy the cool night breeze. Wooyoung looked over and saw Hongjoong by the helm speaking with Jongho. He narrowed his eyes as he took in the older’s appearance. Making a mental note to check on him before he turned in for the night, he turned back to see that they reached Hongjoong’s cabin and Yunho had opened the door, waiting just inside for Wooyoung.
Wooyoung walked in, quick to spot the two new men who were curled up against each other on Hongjoong’s bed. He frowned, noticing how young they looked. He wasn’t expecting them to be so young, they looked as if they were close to his age. Both men were lean, and looked well fed. One had black hair down to his shoulders, the other had short brown hair and a flower petal mark just under his left eye. He walked up closer to them, when the man with the birthmark stirred. He shot straight up, with a look of panic on his face, until he noticed the man in bed with him and calmed down.
“Hey, it’s ok,” Wooyoung said, quietly so as to not startle him even more. “You’re safe now, you’re on board the Halazia.”
The man looked at Wooyoung, and it was clear to see that he was nervous and wary of both Wooyoung and Yunho, who was still by the door. Yunho smiled gently when he noticed the man looking at him.
“My name is Wooyoung,” Wooyoung said with a soft smile. “That’s Yunho. Can you tell us who you and your friend are?”
The man opened his mouth to say something, only to have a small coughing fit overtake him.
Wooyoung walked over to the cabinet where a bucket of water sat. He grabbed one of the cups next to it and dipped the cup in, and walked the cup of water over to the man and held it out in front of him.
“I’m sure you have to be thirsty, drink this,” He said. The man accepted the glass of water and started to drink it quickly. “Slow down, you don’t want to get sick,” Wooyoung said, grabbing the bottom of the cup and pulling it back a little. “If you drink too fast, you’ll just throw it back up and that won’t be any good.”
The man nodded, and took another slow drink. “Thank you,” He said, with a deeper voice than Wooyoung expected. “My name is Yeosang and this is my friend Seonghwa. I can’t tell you how grateful we are that you saved us. I was beginning to think it was over for us.”
Yeosang turned his gaze towards Seonghwa, who was still asleep. “If it wasn’t for him, I would have drowned but he kept me on that piece of wood we found and refused to let me go. I’m not sure how he slipped, but whoever went down in the water after him and saved him has my eternal gratitude.”
“That’s not needed,” came a voice from just outside. Hongjoong stepped inside, giving Yeosang a smile. “I’m just glad that I was able to find him, it was fairly dark down there. A second later and I might not have been able to save him.”
Hongjoong walked further inside, offering the clothes he was holding in his arms. “I figured you and your friend might want some clean clothes to wear when you both woke up. I’m not sure how long you’ve been in the water, and we wouldn’t want you to get sick or anything. My name is Hongjoong, I’m the captain of the Halazia. You’ve met Wooyoung, he’s our doctor on board, and Yunho here is our lookout.”
Yeosang accepted the clothes, pulling them into his lap and he gave Hongjoong a small smile. “I cannot tell you how much we appreciate this. Your generosity is too kind.”
Hongjoong smiled, and took a few steps back. “It’s no problem at all. I take it the storm caught your ship by surprise?”
Yeosang nodded. “Almost everyone was asleep when the storm rolled in. Seonghwa couldn’t sleep and neither could I so we were up on the deck watching the waves when the storm started. It was terrifying, I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. The ship was doomed from the moment it started, it was just a small merchant ship, it wasn’t built to endure anything the hell that storm brought upon it.”
Hongjoong nodded, “It hit us too, kept us up all night trying to make sure the ship would make it through it. I can imagine that your ship went fast, especially with people still asleep. I’m sure that not being able to sleep saved yours and his lives.”
Yeosang nodded, reaching over to hold Seonghwa’s hand in his. Wooyoung cleared his throat, “Do you mind if I look you both over really quick, just to see if there’s any wounds we need to tend to?”
Yeosang shook his head, “Not at all.”
Wooyoung walked over to check them over and Hongjoong made his way to Yunho.
“For tonight, they can stay here. I’ll just sleep in one of the extra cots below deck tonight, and then tomorrow we can talk to them further and find out what to do. They look like they can handle their own, so I may offer them a spot on the crew if they’re willing.” Hongjoong said quietly, looking at Yunho to gauge his reaction.
Yunho nodded, and looked back at the bed. “I agree. Go get some rest Captain. You did well today.”
Hongjoong smiled, and walked outside heading down the stairs. He gently rubbed at his chest, and thanked the stars he got through another day.
~
The light had just started to filter in the window, when Seonghwa stirred. He felt like he’d been hit multiple times and felt a strong throbbing in his head. He groaned, holding his head with both hands.
“Here,” A voice said, startling him. He looked up to see a man holding out a cup of water. “Drink this, it will help.”
He slowly took the cup from the man, glancing down to see it was full of water. Tentatively, he held it to his lips and took a small drink. He didn’t realize how thirsty he was until he had drank over half of the cup, with the other man telling him to slow down. He pulled the cup from his lips, and held it back out to the other man who took it and placed it on a nearby table.
Seonghwa watched him for a moment, until he remembered what happened and quickly looked around frantically until his eyes landed on Yeosang, who was sleeping peacefully.
“Where are we? Who are you? How did we get here?” Seonghwa asked, not as panicked once he had located Yeosang, but still scared as the last thing he could remember was slipping from the piece of wood he and Yeosang were drifting on.
The man looked at him and offered a soft smile, “Don’t be scared, everything is going to be just fine. My name is Wooyoung, you are on board the Halazia and we found you drifting in the ocean near a shipwreck and pulled you and your friend on board.”
Seonghwa wrapped his arms around himself, processing what Wooyoung had told him. He remembered the storm, it was the worst storm he had ever seen and it came out of nowhere. He remembered being terrified, and trying with all of his might to keep Yeosang and himself afloat.
“Do you mind if I check you over? I’m the doctor here and I just want to make sure you’re ok,” Wooyoung asked, motioning for Seonghwa to come to the edge of the bed. “Especially since Hongjoong had to breathe for you, you almost drowned from what he told me.”
Seonghwa nodded, slowly moving to the edge of the bed. Now that Wooyoung said that, it explained the dull throbbing in his chest. Wooyoung reached over and began to check him over, looking at his chest to make sure nothing was broken and for other injuries he may have obtained.
Once done, Wooyoung stood back up, wiping his hands on the back of his pants. “You two were incredibly lucky. I don’t see any cuts and I don’t believe either of you have any broken bones. To walk away from a sinking ship with just bruising, that’s practically unheard of.”
Seonghwa breathed a sigh of relief at hearing that Yeosang wasn’t hurt during the storm. He looked down at Yeosang and reached a hand out, resting it gently on Yeosang’s head. He ran his fingers through Yeosang’s hair, thanking the God’s above that no harm had come to them.
Wooyoung walked back to the chair he had sat in through the night, in case he was needed. He grabbed his jacket and turned back to Seonghwa.
“I’m going to go and get the Captain,” Wooyoung said, and motioned to the door. “He asked that I let him know when you woke up, I’m sure Yeosang will be up soon as well. He needs to talk to you two. I won’t be but a moment, but if you need anything just let someone know. That door right there leads right out to the deck, so you won’t have to go far.”
Seonghwa nodded and moved up the bed so that he could lean against the wall. Wooyoung left then, leaving Seonghwa with his thoughts. He sat there, running his hand through Yeosang’s hair, as he thought back on the storm. He shuddered, knowing how lucky he and Yeosang were to be saved like they were, let alone alive. He wasn’t left to his thoughts for too long, as he felt Yeosang slowly waking up.
He looked down, and smiled softly at the sight of Yeosang staring back at him blearily. “Good morning sleepy head, good of you to join me.”
Yeosang stretched, pushing his head against Seonghwa’s thigh. “Oh leave me be. I’m exhausted and could probably sleep for the rest of the day.”
Seonghwa chuckled, knowing well that if Yeosang went back to sleep he very well could sleep the rest of the day away. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor would it be the last time.
“Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it sounds like the Captain is wanting to talk to us so you can’t go back to sleep.” Seonghwa said, poking Yeosang in the cheek.
Yeosang groaned, rolling over and throwing his arm over his head. “But sleep is more important, why can’t you just talk to him alone?”
Seonghwa shrugged, “All I know is Wooyoung said the Captain wanted to speak to both of us. I’m not sure exactly what he wants to talk about, but we do need to figure out where we go from here. Since the ship sank and all, we’re pretty much homeless.”
Yeosang slowly sat up, moving to sit next to Seonghwa and laid his head on Seonghwa’s shoulder. Seonghwa leaned his head against Yeosang’s and took a deep breath. “I’m scared Sangie, what if we have to go back-”
“Absolutely not,” Yeosang cut Seonghwa off. “I don’t care what happens to us, we are not going back there. I’d sooner die than let you step one foot back in that hellscape. We’ll figure something out, we always do.”
Seonghwa nodded, grabbing Yeosang’s hand. Closing his eyes, they sat there enjoying each other's company. They weren’t alone for long, after a few minutes the door opened and Seonghwa opened his eyes to see a man with short, fiery red hair standing in the doorway. He nudged Yeosang with his shoulder, who sat up and nodded at the man.
The man walked further into the room, grabbing the chair Wooyoung had left and moved it to the side of the bed, taking a seat. “Good morning, I hope you slept well.”
Yeosang nodded, “Good morning Captain, of course, thank you for letting us stay here.”
The captain smiled, “Of course, it’s the least I could do.” He turned to look at Seonghwa directly. “We didn’t exactly get a chance to introduce ourselves, my name is Hongjoong. I’m the captain of Halazia.”
Seonghwa nodded, “My name is Seonghwa. Thank you so much for your kindness and for saving us.”
Hongjoong nodded and cleared his throat. “Wooyoung advised that neither of you are injured, which is good. I’m afraid that you two are the only survivors, we couldn’t find anyone else when we were saving you.”
Seonghwa gripped Yeosang’s hand tighter, tensing at the news. Of course he didn’t expect there to be other survivors, not with the intensity of the storm, though he had a little hope since he and Yeosang survived there might be others. Yeosang squeezed his hand in return as he rested his head on Seonghwa’s shoulder again.
“We do need to talk about the future, more specifically your future.” Hongjoong said, leaning back in his chair. “You are more than welcome to stay as long as you’d like, we will be stopping at a port in about two weeks so if you’d like to be dropped off there, we can arrange that. Or if you would like, we do have room on board for two more. We would be more than happy to welcome you to the crew. Before you decide either way on that, let it be known that we are pirates.”
Seonghwa’s eyes grew, fear flooding through his body as he clenched onto Yeosang’s hand tighter. He had hoped it was another merchant ship that found him, to hear that it was pirates though, that terrified him.
Hongjoong saw the fear in Seonghwa’s eyes and held out a hand to calm him down, “We’re not the bad pirates, you have my word. You will not see us raiding villages and causing chaos and destruction. We do not work that way. We just do not answer to anyone other than ourselves.”
“We’re also not going to keep you here against your will. You have my word, if you want to leave the ship when we reach port, you are more than welcome to. The decision is yours and yours alone.” Hongjoong said, in a gentle tone.
Seonghwa could hear the sincerity in his tone, and a voice in his head said he could trust the words the other was saying. He nodded his head, “Is it ok if we think it over?”
Hongjoong nodded with a gentle smile on his face, “Of course, I didn’t expect an answer right now. Now that that’s out of the way, go ahead and change into the clothes I brought over last night and come with me. I’ll show you two around and then show you the room that you two can use for the next two weeks. You’re more than welcome to explore and do whatever you’d like. I’ll be right outside, so when you’re done, join me out there.”
Hongjoong stood up and moved the chair back to where he had retrieved it from. He walked outside, leaving Seonghwa and Yeosang alone again.
“Pirates..” Seonghwa said quietly. “We were saved by pirates. I didn’t think pirates would be the type to save anyone that wasn’t in their crew.”
Yeosang shrugged, “For pirates, they’re all really nice. I only really met him, Wooyoung and a man named Yunho last night before I went to sleep.”
Yeosang moved to climb off the bed, walking over to the dresser. He grabbed the stack of clothes and after looking through them, grabbed a shirt and pants and tossed them to Seonghwa who caught them. “Here, these look like they should fit. Best get changed.”
Seonghwa stood, stretching his back out. He quickly changed, the new clothes a little too large for him but at least they were clean. He picked up his clothes that he had set on the bed, and joined Yeosang who had already changed and was waiting by the door.
“Let’s go see our home for the next two weeks, shall we?” Yeosang asked, poking Seonghwa in his side. Seonghwa gently shoved his hand away, chuckling.
“After you.”
~
“Last but not least, here’s the room you can stay in. I have Wooyoung and San getting a couple cots to bring in here, and we had some extra clothes put in the dresser for you two. If you need anything else or have any questions, feel free to ask anyone.” Hongjoong said, standing in the doorway of Yeosang and Seonghwa’s temporary home.
Yeosang thanked Hongjoong while Seonghwa looked around. It wasn’t a big room, but it would be enough for him and Yeosang. They had a window at least, that way Seonghwa could watch the waves if he couldn’t sleep at night from his room instead of going all the way to the deck.
Hongjoong left then, leaving the two alone.
“What do you think?” Yeosang asked Seonghwa, coming to stand next to him by the window. “It’s not too bad, and the people we met were kind and warm.”
“I agree,” Seonghwa said. He opened his mouth to say something else when the door opened again.
San and Wooyoung walked in, each carrying a cot in their hands, Yunho following behind with blankets and a couple pillows. “Hey guys, sorry we took so long. We had one hell of a time getting these out of storage.” Wooyoung said, taking a cot to one side of the room.
“We would have been here sooner if Wooyoung had just listened to me,” San grumbled, taking the other cot to the other side. Wooyoung shushed him as Yunho laid a few blankets on one cot and a pillow and left the others on the second cot.
“Hush you two,” Yunho said, chuckling. “Did you two need anything else? Hongjoong showed you where the mess hall is right? And the bathroom?”
Yeosang nodded, “Yes, and we should be fine. Thank you all so much for this. It’s incredibly kind.”
Yunho smiled, and nodded. “It’s no problem, really. Just let us know if you need anything, San and I are in the room 3 doors down and Wooyoung is across the hall from me. We’re happy to help.”
Yeosang and Seonghwa smiled at the three men as they left, giving a small wave. The door shut behind them, leaving them alone once more.
They made their beds in quiet peace, each taking time to sort out their thoughts. Seonghwa sat on his bed and leaned against the wall. “This is not what I expected when Hongjoong said they were pirates. I was expecting them to be rude or hateful. Everyone’s so much nicer than I thought they would be.”
Yeosang nodded, “Yeah, they don’t seem like your typical pirates. Do you think you’d want to stay?”
Seonghwa thought about it for a few minutes, before looking at Yeosang. “Let’s see how it goes until we get to port. I want to say yes, but I want to make sure that this isn’t just an act.”
Yeosang agreed, laying back on his bed. “If we do stay, should we tell them the truth? I know we didn’t tell the merchant but this could be different. I already feel so much more welcomed and wanted here than I did with the merchants.”
Seonghwa looked at him, “I’m not sure. Like I said, I want to make sure this isn't an act first. I do feel the same way though. I just..” Seonghwa stood up, walking to the window and gazed outside. “I don’t want to tell them that I’m the lost prince, and then they turn on me to take me back to the kingdom for the ransom.”
Yeosang got up from his bed and walked over to Seonghwa, holding his hand. “I understand. We’ll wait and see then.”