Long Journey || ATEEZ

Stars And Sunsets

They had long-since lost The Catastrophe to the horizon. A relatively strong – natural – wind had picked up, and so Jongho was finally able to rest. Meanwhile, the rest of the ATINY's crew set about the usual duties: get patched up by Doctor Juyeong or Seonghwa depending on the scale of the injury, mop up the blood and clear away any enemy bodies.

Meanwhile, San had been skittishly squinting at the horizon behind them, gnawing at his nail, pacing from one side of the quarterdeck to the other. He'd tried to pull Dylan back and onto their ship as they left, especially as Zinnia was unconscious. But the demon had refused, kept his ground. He said he'd take the consequences for his actions; it was what he deserved, after all. San sighed and put his head in his hands. Sure, what the demon had done to him was unforgivable, but he was genuinely sorry, and had wanted to see a chance at the demon redeeming himself. And as someone who could see auras... Guilt swarmed him like a horde of wasps.

"What're you doing up here?" came Wooyoung's voice from behind. "The others are celebrating getting the treasure now, since everyone's all healed up."

"Oh," San gave his best friend a tiny smile. "That's great."

"You're looking awfully down for somebody who just single-handedly saved our asses," Wooyoung said, joining the demon's side and putting an arm around his shoulder. "What's up?"

"It's just—I just—I just feel so bad about leaving Dylan behind," the demon said. "And I didn't save us," he added, "Dylan did all the work."

"What?" Wooyoung scoffed. "The bastard that tortured you then had the audacity to blame you for whatever shit happened in his life?"

"He's not like that anymore," San said. "He's changed."

"I don't believe in that," the holin shrugged. "Basic nature never changes. And that bitch's basic nature is a snake."

"Remember – I'm the one that can see auras," San pointed out. "He did change. For real. And he's probably dead at Zinnia's hand by now," he added miserably.

"I think he deserved that," Wooyoung said. San flinched at the holin's bluntness. Of course, he understood. Understood the bitter resentment flickering in the orange glow of his eyes, reflecting the afternoon sun perfectly. Understood why the holin could never forgive the demon most likely rotting away at the bottom of the sea. Dylan's actions had been inexcusable, a sin wrought from the viscous cruelty of man and forged into a blade with an absence of mercy, of feeling. A sadistic shell that didn't care whether its victim lived or died – whether its victim's mind had been in shambles or whole.

"I know," San said quietly, "I just wish things could have been different."

San bowed his head, and there was silence.

"You just have to accept Fate the way it is, sometimes," the holin said gently, breaking the unusual quiet between the two. "It's never kind to us, never will be. Fate decided Dylan should be an arsehole for most of his sorry little life, so, here we are," Wooyoung shrugged. "People can change – well, at least that's what you believe – but they can't change what Fate does to them. Maybe Dylan'll be a better person in his, and our next lives. You never know."

San managed a small smile.

"I hope Arai does give him a second chance," the demon mused quietly. "But anyway – what got you all poetic all of a sudden?" San said, perking up with a mischievous grin. "I didn't know you were smart enough to come up with a speech that deep."

"Choi San you little shit...!" Wooyoung said, flaring up, his hands ready to grab San's shirt in mock rage, but in an instant his temper melted at the sight of the demon's teary grin, at the way the sun shimmered in his tears, making them resemble crystals. San blinked them away, and his eyes became glowing emerald jewels, far more precious than anything from the pile of treasure they'd retrieved from Narcia's island. The corners of his eyes crinkled in that irresistibly endearing way and Wooyoung felt the outside world slip away from his focus. This moment was perfect, bathed in honey-gold as the demon laughed at him with a smile worthy of angels. Wooyoung wondered if time could stop. If he could be stuck in these precious few seconds for eternity, with only bubbly euphoria and self-contented pride gripping his mind. This moment where nothing else mattered; no Cezanne, no Zinnia, no Catastrophe and her crew. Where worries were a mere fantasy and paradise reality. Where Choi San, his best friend and his forever was right by his side and the rest of his crew, his family not too far behind.