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He was being punished.
Or maybe he was being blessed.
Maybe the fact that there was a cute guy curled on the floor down in the brig of Jaebum’s ship (which, as of an hour ago was now Jackson’s), was a sign that he was meant to steal the ship.
Maybe this was his reward for sailing under Jaebum for eight months without organizing a mutiny.
At least he waited until they were at Mark’s port to steal it. Maybe the two could work out whatever weird tension was between them.
So, really, stealing the ship was doing Jaebum a favor.
The guy stirred with a tired mumble and Jackson’s heart might have melted into his stomach.
He wondered what Jaebum wanted with him.
He was clearly poor — the cheap, faded, blue hanbok was fraying at the ends and the straw jipsin on his feet looked as though they were held together by willpower alone. His hair was loose and looked as though it fell just below his shoulders.
Cute peasant guy stirred again, this time letting out a small groan through the pouty lips that Jackson was definitely not staring at.
His eyes fluttered open and Jackson's stomach did a few back flips.
“Where am I?” he mumbled mostly to himself as he sat up and glanced around blearily, still only half present.
He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes, and looked around again a little more urgently.
Then his gaze landed on Jackson.
“Who the hell are you?” he asked, no fear in his voice.
Rather, Jackson noted, he just seemed a bit annoyed.
He tried to remember all the Korean he picked up on his travels and while on Jaebum’s ship. Instead, Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Korean all mixed together into something incoherent and the only thing he could remember was his name.
“Wang...uh…Jackson...Jackson Wang…”
Good job, Jackson.
The cute prisoner raised an eyebrow, apparently not impressed by what Jackson felt was probably his greatest accomplishment.
“So...er...how did you...um...get down here, anyway?”
The eyebrow arched higher. Even without uttering a word, Jackson could practically hear him asking, “how the hell am I supposed to know?”
“Right…” He laughed nervously. “Stupid question.”
“Where am I?” the guy asked.
Jackson noted he still hadn’t said what his name was. Rude.
“Pirate ship,” he answered, drawing himself up a little taller with a confident smirk. “Formerly known as the Defsoul.”
“Formerly?”
“As of an hour ago it has since been renamed the Mighty Leaf,” he declared proudly, chest puffing out a bit.
His cute captive snorted, once again unimpressed by something Jackson wholeheartedly believed deserved to be praised. It took nerve to steal a ship. It took cunning. Prowess other pirates lacked that Jackson—
“Are you trying to impress me or are you always like this?" the prisoner grumbled.
Jackson huffed. Jaebum's hostage was just as rude as he was. Maybe he'd just throw him overboard or leave him at the next port. Not like he had anything to do with Jackson anyway. It wasn't like Jackson kidnapped him.
"You kidnapped me?!"
He really needed to learn how to think quietly.
"I didn't!" he defended himself, because who the hell did this guy think he was, anyway? Jackson was a pirate not some criminal that went around kidnapping people. That was Jaebum.
"Let me out."
"What?"
The peasant stood and gripped the bars of his cell, his eyes staring into Jacksons. "Let. Me. Out."
Jackson stared back. Two things happened at once: a swell of defiant annoyance because exactly who was the Captain of this ship? At the same time, he felt his heart leap and his stomach do another back flip. Cute peasant guy looked better up close.
"Tell me why Jaebum kidnapped you," he said, trying to salvage what little credibility he might have.
"How am I supposed to know?!" the prisoner exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "One minute I'm walking home, the next I'm knocked out from behind and wake up here."
"Are you a noble?"
The prisoner blinked. "What? No!"
"Have any debts?"
His eyes narrowed. "No."
"Enemies?"
"No."
Running out of reasons as to why Jaebum would kidnap a random stranger off the street, Jackson tried the only other possible reason.
"You weren't courting Mark Tuan by any chance...?"
"Who?!"
Jackson waved his hand in front of him. "Never mind."
Sighing, the stranger slumped back on the floor and pressed his face into the heel of his hands with a frustrated noise.
"I never should have left Busan," he muttered.
Jackson felt a little pity for him. After all, no one asks to be kidnapped. Especially by the likes of Jaebum.
Sighing, he unlocked the cell and let the door swing open.
"So...uh...what's your name?"
Warily, his cute hostage stood.
"Jinyoung...Park Jinyoung."
"Jinyoung..." Jackson let the name roll off his tongue, and grinned.
Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.