𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗦𝗧 | ateez ✓

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟓

the gunner stares at the liquid inside his mug, swirling it around as he manages to give a hum for a reply. all throughout their training, hongjoong had only observed them- soojin and the boys he had entrusted her training with -he notices the way wooyoung moves around her. caution? no, maybe it was something else but the captain couldnt pin point what it was.

"are you still getting those nightmares?" he suddenly asked which grabbed the attention of the gunner. wooyoung stares at him for a while before nodding his head "is it getting better?"

another round of staring started before wooyoung looks down once again. the image of a certain someone popping into his mind "i dont know if it getting better or worse"

-

"get ready to lower the anchor!" hongjoong shouts from the quarterdeck, repeating orders as the crew moves hurriedly. they get their ship ready to port as the island came near them. when treasure landed, the commotion around the deck slowly died down as the captain gathered his crew "you may rest for today and tomorrow as we'll set sail to cheseu next"

the navigator and the rest if them were inside the captain's chambers. they decided to discuss what their game plan would be as they go down to town.

seonghwa, yeosang and wooyoung would be the ones to buy the important stuff like meat, eggs, vegetables and the likes in the market, while yunho and mingi would be looking for a place around town that sells barrels and bottles of beer and rum, and lastly soojin, san and jongho were assigned to look for herbs and spices that could be used for both cooking and medical purposes.

hongjoong returns to his cabin, seeing how the group was scattered around his room. he sits by his desk as he places both his elbows on top "are you guys ready to head down? i would love to join but i couldnt leave treasure here" he said.

yunho gives him a knowing smile "its fine. we already knew that you wouldnt go down" the giant gives an airy laugh as hongjoong smiles back.

the group bids their captain farewell as they carefully climb down the ladder and land their feet on the docks. the three groups went on their separate ways as they went ahead and searched for their assign goods.

"what do you need?" soojin asked as she trails behind her brother who leads the two around town.

"well.. dried chamomile and ginseng are a top priority to get and as for the rest im not sure yet. i'll just take a good look around the shop and pick out the ones that we need" he says, turning back to the two before taking a left around a corner. the prince knew his way around this town as it was not his first time to visit jusue island.

the three stopped outside a shop. the signage was rusted, showing a picture of an herb soojin was familiar with. the exterior showed age as the wooden structure seemed like it was going to collapse anytime soon.

they enter the shop as the bell by the door rang "welcome to sole mio" the boy by the counter said.

"hi rowoon" san replied as he gave the other a small hug "where's your grandpa?" rowoon had scratched the back of his head "he's sleeping right now, that why im minding the shop"

san only nodded before roaming around "oh! this is my sister by the way" soojin waves "and this is my friend" jongho nodded in acknowledgement as rowoon smiled.

"feel free to roam around. i'll give you a discount since its been so long, plus" he turns to the princess "you brought your beautiful sister" he winks.

soojin stares at him, not knowing how to react to the boy. she gives him an awkward smile as she turns, leaving jongho glaring at the shopkeeper.

her eyes trailed around the endless assortment of herbs and spices. from star anise to epazote, they had them all. the princess's eyes lits up in excitement as they pass by.

a smile creeps up on jongho's face "you look excited" he said as he grabs a handful of dried oregano before releasing it back to the pile.

the princess nodded eagerly "its my first time seeing this many herbs and spices in one place, even back at zeeta's royal pantry we didnt have this many"

jongho looks around for himself and points to one object in particular "what do you call these?" he held a handful of some sort of weird looking coffee beans.

soojin searches her mind as she tries to remember what it was from her and yeosang's many many lessons "ah! thats kopi luwak"

"what is it?" jongho touches it and crumples the beans in his hand.

"its basically cat poop coffee" she said with a laugh as jongho immediately retracted his hand and wipes it into his pants "you could have said it earlier! who would even buys these??"

-

yunho and mingi walk side by side as they search around town for a liquor place. their fingers brush against eachother making mingi's cheeks tinted with a slight pink.

the quartermaster looks at him with a grin before taking the other's hand and continue to walk straight as if he hasnt done anything. mingi at this point turned red as a tomato and yunho- even though he acts confident -had his ears betray him as a its tips turn a little pink.

their matching bracelet clink together as they walk- each bearing a shy yet goofy smile.

they finally found a bar and liquor shop, hiding in the dark alleyways of jusue island. they enter the building, the bell catching the attention of the young bartender whose hands were busy cleaning away the mugs and glasses.

inside was dimly lit, with only a few candles lighting up the area. they both release their hold as they sat in front of the bartender, placing their elbows on top of the wooden surface.

mingi talks with the man, asking if they had the items they were looking for. the quartermaster looks around for a bit, his eyes suddenly catching someone familiar seating in the booth by the corner. who's he with?

"hon" mingi said as the blue haired turned to him "he asked how many we'll be needing"

"maybe five big barrels of rum and 30 cases of beer" yunho and mingi spoke with the person together, asking the man if he and his accomplices could help them bring the large amount back to their ship.

they leave the bar as the man- who they learned was named inseong, told them that he will have his men deliver the products to their ship before sundown.

as they walk back to their vessel, the quartermaster felt something wrong with the guy he saw earlier but he just decided to shrug it off and enjoy his time with his lover.

-//-

im lowkey back on my writing grind and im excited to post the chapters i've written in advance~

the amount of words for each chapter is kinda weird because some has around 1000 words, some 1500 and some even close to 2000 akznakak