Chapter Text
The sea was calm. It mocked her.
JiU stood at the bow of the Obsidian Gull, the ship she'd called home for the past two years, and resisted the urge to throw something into the water. Preferably her now-former captain. Or herself. Whichever came first.
"You can’t just do that!" she had yelled twenty minutes ago, pacing the deck, fists clenched, voice sharp with disbelief.
Captain Junseo—smug, condescending, and utterly useless - had just shrugged. "If you don’t like how I run things, JiU, you’re welcome to leave. Go start your own crew, if you think you’re so clever."
She had stared at him. Really stared. Let the full weight of her disdain simmer into silence.
Then she’d smiled.
"Maybe I will."
And just like that, she left.
No dramatic exit. No parting speeches. Just her boots hitting the dock one final time and the Obsidian Gull sailing off without her. Good riddance.
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
The port town of Polaris was loud, salty, and full of people who didn’t care about her problems. Perfect. JiU wandered the docks, the weight of her sudden freedom settling on her shoulders. She had no ship, no crew, and no plan.
But she did have an appetite.
A little restaurant called The Salty Spoon caught her eye - mostly because someone had crossed out Spoon and scribbled Regret underneath. JiU pushed open the door and was immediately met with the sound of shouting from the kitchen.
“I told you, the scallops are OVERCOOKED—”
A plate shattered. Someone yelped. Something caught fire.
JiU took a seat at the bar, amused.
A woman in a stained apron stormed out of the kitchen, her dark hair tied back in a frazzled ponytail. She had the look of someone who had been pushed to the edge and was now dangling one foot over it.
“What do you want?” she snapped, slapping a menu down in front of JiU.
JiU blinked. “Uh. Food?”
The woman—SuA, according to her crooked name tag—rolled her eyes. “Wow, what a shocking request in a restaurant.”
JiU grinned. “You know, you might wanna work on your tableside manner.”
"I'm a chef,” SuA snapped. “They’ve got me waiting tables because we're short-staffed. If you want charm and table-side service, I suggest you find a five-star cruise liner and get the hell out of my face.”
JiU took a long sip of water to hide her grin. This one had fire. She liked that.
“Well, clearly you’re short-staffed,” JiU said, glancing at the chaos behind the counter. “Though in your case, I think it’s more like short staff.”
The chef - short, yes, but radiating enough fury to make a grown man flinch - narrowed her eyes. “Say that again.”
JiU leaned back lazily in her chair, smirking. “Just observing. Don’t throw a frying pan at me. I might take it as a love confession.”
SuA did reach for a pan, but only to hurl it through the kitchen door, where it crashed somewhere unseen and someone inside screamed, “HEY!”
JiU’s grin widened.
Oh.
Oh, she’s perfect.
By the time the food arrived, a sizzling plate of something spicy and glorious, JiU was already planning how to steal her.
Not literally. Probably. But there was something about this chef that sparked in her the same feeling she’d had the first time she picked up a sword, or stood on the deck during a storm and knew she wouldn’t die.
It was instinct.
And JiU always trusted her instincts.
SuA returned, arms crossed, watching her eat like she expected criticism. Or a fight.
Instead, JiU put her chopsticks down and said, “Join my crew.”
SuA blinked. “What?”
“You’re wasted here. You’re clearly good at what you do. Angry as hell, but I like that in a chef. Come with me.”
SuA stared at her for a long moment. “You’re serious.”
“Deadly.”
“You even have a crew?”
JiU considered this. “Not yet.”
“You have a ship?”
“Also working on that.”
SuA looked mildly horrified. “You are either insane or incredibly confident.”
“Why not both?”
SuA opened her mouth, probably to tell her to get lost, when the kitchen door burst open. A red-faced manager pointed at her. “SUA! The risotto is burning!”
SuA’s expression darkened. She turned back to JiU. “...Do I get to hit people with frying pans?”
“Encouraged, honestly.”
SuA yanked off her apron and threw it at the manager. “I QUIT.”
JiU stood, tossing a few coins on the counter. “Great! Let’s go find us a ship.”
SuA followed her out, muttering, “I can’t believe I just did that.”
JiU slung an arm around her shoulders. “Welcome to my crew.”