Say My Name | Seongjoong

19

Keep it together.

Hongjoong tried. He tried so hard to not break. Letting his guard down once again, he lost people who were close to him. And now he had no one to guide him anymore. He didn't even know if Seonghwa's mother was lying or not, but he hoped. He prayed that Heejin and Minkyu were safe. He had gotten mad, mostly at himself, but also at Seonghwa. Clearly, Seonghwa had known about this, maybe not necessarily all the details, because his parents were probably the best at hiding everything. But he couldn't be mad at Seonghwa. His mother was right, he was at fault here. He shouldn't have led them here.

For all his life, ever since he lost his parents, he had learnt to just not go there. To not let his revenge get the best of him, but now, he couldn't help it. He needed to seek revenge, whether it would be with or without Seonghwa, he didn't know. And whether he killed his parents or not was still undecided. In hindsight, if he did end up killing them, he would be no better than them. But the want, the need to get revenge, to get back what was his, show everyone who the real enemy was. It all gnawed at him. But now with Seonghwa, he couldn't even think straight. He needed to figure out a plan.

He didn't get any sleep that night, neither did Seonghwa, he hadn't returned to the room that night and part of his brain was worried, but he calmed himself down as he traced Seonghwa and found him outside in the garden. He certainly didn't know what to do, and neither did Hongjoong. For the first time in forever, he was clueless. Clueless as to what he was going to do now, unknown of what he could do and so much more. Hongjoong wouldn't like to admit it, but he was starting from zero. Again. Everything he had built up, everything he had seen, and done throughout his life, wasted. He wished upon the stars to give him a simple sign.

The next day, Hongjoong stayed in his room. He didn't even know what to tell the rest. But he couldn't have them blaming Seonghwa, not again. He wasn't at fault. It was his fault for leading them here, for taking Seonghwa in the first place. He should've known that there were grave consequences for his actions. The only star that seemingly guided him was far away now. So he needed to plan. He needed to start now, before anything new happened. Putting up a protective barrier over South Patro, it would tell him if anything was trying to get in. Especially magic wise. He didn't know why he hadn't thought to do it sooner, but Seonghwa's parents hadn't been a threat until now.

Fate has been cruel to him, first losing his parents to those wicked people, and now his godparents. He didn't know what was next, and he didn't fancy figuring it out either. They were going to operate normally, going to behave as if nothing had happened. Hongjoong couldn't take the sight of his crew being sad, worried or mad at Seonghwa, especially when it was his own fault. So now, Hongjoong was going to do what he did best, he was going to format a plan, to help them get that sweet, sweet revenge on a kingdom that shouldn't even exist. Seonghwa's parents were going down, and that was a fact. But for now, he needed to actually start. So he did.

Taking out a few maps, some pens and so much more, he started to trace out a plan for them to get to the Seven Seas kingdom without being noticed. If they went in from the back, that was the most optimal place for them to get spotted. So he needed to find a place to get there without that. Going from the side, however, seemed like a good idea, they could go on land, disguise themselves and get a move on. They'd have to rest at some point, but that was no problem. Hongjoong was doing good with the plan, when he remembered all the traps located around the area he had been planning about.

Pursing his lips, Hongjoong needed a plan quickly, but as he realized how protected the Seven Seas kingdom was, he knew it would only take magic to get them inside. However, locating the crown is what was harder. He was sure it was located in a vault, somewhere safe so no one could steal it. Which led him to a question he had been thinking about for such a long time. Seonghwa's parents were going to curse their own son, because a sorcerer's spell only works once, especially the spell they used to not get cursed themselves. Hongjoong was sure that Seonghwa's parents weren't even aware of this, and were set out to curse their own son.