"It's the stranger! Good evening, young lady," Dahyun greets warmly. Momo smiles and leaves them as she heads straight to the kitchen. "How are the engines going?" Tzuyu asks as she takes out a notepad from her pouch. Sana watches Momo head to a cabin and shut the door behind her. She can smell the food from where she is standing.
"Doing well, Captain!" answers Dahyun with a playful salute. Tzuyu lightly shakes her head and giggles at the older girl as she scribbles on her notes.
After her response, Dahyun shifts her attention to Sana with an excited and eager expression written all over her face. "Hey, I've heard from Chaeyoung and Momo that you were the one who saved Captain Jihyo from falling off the Western Sea!" she says, her hands clasped together.
Sana slightly chuckles and scratches the back of her neck as she slowly nods to answer the question. "Uh.. yeah..," Sana trails off. Dahyun hovers her hands over her mouth as she gasps in amazement. "You're insane!" she adds, giving Sana a thumbs-up.
"Oh, well. Thank you, I'm honored to have saved your captain," she says and bows at Dahyun and Tzuyu, but Dahyun immediately holds her back and shakes her head in disapproval. "Hey, it should be us who should thank you for letting your kindness wash over your hatred toward us," Dahyun states.
Tzuyu nudges her and knits her eyebrows together as she informs Dahyun, "she is not an enemy, Dahyun. She's just a traveler who lost her way."
Dahyun briefly snaps her head toward Tzuyu before turning back to Sana and offers a low bow for an apology. "I am sorry. I didn't know. By the way, my name is Dahyun," she introduces herself, still, head lowered.
"Sana," responds Sana and shakes hands with Dahyun.
Dahyun stands back up and shows her huge smile. "Hi, Miss Sana! Welcome aboard on Horizon!" she greets and waves her arms in the air. Sana raises an eyebrow and utters, "Horizon?"
"It's the name of the ship," Dahyun informs.
Sana nods in understanding, her mouth shaping a circle as she lets out a little, "oh."
They notice Tzuyu keeping her notepad, which means that her business with Dahyun is done, but she is standing still next to Sana. Awkwardness fills the place until Dahyun breaks the silence and honestly speaks, "well, that was embarrassing. Don't stop talking."
"Oh, I just came with Tzuyu. She's touring me around the ship," Sana replies.
"Wow, captain Tzuyu. Bring her around, okay? Take care. I'll head back up when the container of oil that I'm waiting to get filled right over there gets full," the technician excuses herself and runs over the engine before the oil spills.
Tzuyu gives Sana a signal to follow her back up, but Sana asks her if she can check on the kitchen. The supervisor shakes her head and a small smile creeps on her lips, "I'm done with my business with her a while ago before I went to wake you up."
Sana puckers her lips as she stands closer to Tzuyu. She only wanted to have a free taste of the food Momo prepared in the kitchen, plus she is already getting hungry and the cup of coffee that Momo offered to her a while ago is not enough to satisfy her empty stomach.
Tzuyu turns on her heels and chortles as she says, "it's eight of you who pouts now."
"I'm sorry if I annoyed you," Sana apologizes, staring at Tzuyu's broad back as she climbs back up to the main deck. She places a hand over her lips and purses them together while climbing back up with Tzuyu.
Tzuyu pats Sana on her shoulder. "Don't apologize. I think it's cute," she says and walks ahead to the deck where someone's silhouette is seen, controlling the wheels of the ship. Sana suppresses a smile and trails behind the taller girl.
"Hey, Chaeyoung."
Tzuyu and Sana stop meters away from the pilot.
"Hey, so basically right now, I'm doing fine. Just waiting for Jeongyeon to come back, she told me she'll be back after passing by. I think she's just changing her clothes," Chaeyoung reports to Tzuyu. She is not turning to look at Tzuyu so she is yet to acknowledge the presence of Sana. The tall girl nods her head and looks around, only to see Mina sleeping.
"Oh why, oh my. What is Mina thinking to just sleep there?" Tzuyu says and approaches the sleeping figure when Chaeyoung stops her. "Hey, hey, it's fine. We were just chatting a while ago when she fell asleep. Don't worry, I'll wake her up and guide her to bed. You can check up on the others," the pilot says.
"I see," she replies and diverts her eyes to Sana. She mouths to her the name of Chaeyoung and Mina while pointing at them. Sana gives a thumbs-up and a nod, meaning she took note of their names already. When Tzuyu is about to excuse themselves, a loud grumble rings from Sana's stomach.
Tzuyu widens her eyes and accidentally snorts as she can't hide her laughter anymore. Chaeyoung is shocked by the sudden noise. It was really loud, considering that the only thing that she could hear was the sound of waves and the whooshing winds from the past few hours. She immediately shifts in their direction.
"Young lady, you're there," Chaeyoung says and bows. She stares at the both of them, seeing Tzuyu wanting to keep as quiet as possible because Mina is sleeping just a few distances away from them, while Sana is holding onto her tummy, slightly crouching with an embarrassed smile, but it is obvious that she is also, quietly as ever, laughing together with Tzuyu.
Chaeyoung searches for some items nearby and takes a snack she got from Momo a while ago. "Take this," she says and hands it to them. "It's actually for Mina made by Momo, but I can make an excuse out of it when Momo finds out Mina didn't receive her 'specially-made snack'," she assures them. Tzuyu notices that Sana was not taking it, so she takes it from Chaeyoung and asks one more time. "Are you sure?"
The pilot nods nonchalantly and goes back to her work. Tzuyu gazes at the charming pilot before she turns to Sana and gives the snack. "Don't worry. What Chaeyoung says, Chaeyoung does," she says to ensure Sana while pulling her to the cabin once again.
"Try to rest for a bit after you eat. Well, that's pretty much it for the tour tonight, and maybe tomorrow, you'll want to explore more, then I'll gladly do assist you," Tzuyu says as they walk toward the cabin where Sana was resting a while ago. As soon as they arrive in front of the door, Tzuyu smiles shyly and walks away to her cabin, leaving Sana alone.
Sana sighs and looks down at the food she is holding before glancing at Tzuyu as she enters a cabin. A smile unconsciously forms on her lips. After, she enters her cabin and fills her empty stomach as she devours the snack.
At the same time, Jeongyeon leaves her room with another outfit on. She approaches Chaeyoung and asks her to head to sleep immediately. "You're here," Chaeyoung mutters and steps down from the wheel. "Yes, and I advise you to go to sleep already. It's getting late and you've spent almost the whole day replacing me," Jeongyeon replies, Chaeyoung nods, and bows to the older girl before she walks to Mina and wakes her up by lightly shaking her body.
Fortunately, Mina stirs as she wakes up and she is care-free that Chaeyoung did not find it difficult to bring her to her cabin. "Good night, Mina," she whispers when she successfully settles Mina on her bed. Chaeyoung grins at the cute sight of Mina sleeping before she exits the room.
"Chaeyoung."
The girl is startled and snaps her head toward the other girl who is calling her name. "What is it?" she asks. Her heartbeat is undeniably fast, and she has to breathe out heavily to calm herself.
"What are you doing inside Mina's room?" It is Momo.
"I brought her to bed," she says and adds, "about the snack you told me to give her, I gave it to her and I assure you that it'll be her breakfast for tomorrow."
Momo smiles brightly, and there is a hint of relief in the expression plastered on Momo's face. "Thank you, Chaeyoung! I knew I could trust you!" She thanks Chaeyoung and hugs her quickly. Chaeyoung hums and wraps her arms around Momo before they separate ways. "Chaeyoung... Trust?" she scoffs at herself before she heads down the hatch.
Chaeyoung enters the kitchen and looks around the place. It's been a while since she cooked. After she became part of the crew, she didn't get the chance to cook for her crewmates ever since.
She gulps nervously and locks the door behind her. She rolls up her sleeves and approaches the kitchen counter where she began preparing the ingredients. Skillfully, she chops some of the ingredients and sets them aside as she prepares more of them. She is determined to copy the cooking style Momo possessed. Her cooking abilities are beyond professionalism and she might be the best cook Horizon crew could ever have.
"Come on, Chaeyoung," Chaeyoung whispers under her breath. "Don't fail Momo," she utters before she starts cooking.
The next morning, Sana shuts the door behind her and sighs with relief. She internally gasps when she spots Momo standing in front of her, hands on her waist with an eyebrow raised. "What were you doing inside Mina's cabin?" she asks.
Sana swallows. "Ah, well... Cha- Chaeyoung asked me to bring a glass of water to Mina's room.. for her breakfast," she reasons out.
"Oh is that so? So you went inside the kitchen?" Momo asks.
Sana is alarmed. She knows Momo would ask more questions and would grow suspicious of her when she doesn't answer her questions specifically, especially that the kitchen is involved in the conversation.
"Well, basically, I went to the kitchen and found it locked so I asked Tzuyu where I could get the keys. I didn't want to bother your sleep so I took the initiative. Chaeyoung... Chaeyoung helped me a lot last time so I ran an errand for her," she says without blinking an eye. Momo does not respond for a whole minute so Sana starts to question herself. 'Did I make sense? Gosh, I need to practice making up alibis,' she tells herself.
"I see."
'She bought my alibi,' Sana tells herself and congratulates herself, mentally patting her shoulder.
"Well, then I'll head to the kitchen now. Thanks for taking care of the crew, Sana," Momo says with a genuine smile and turns on her heels, but Sana widens her eyes when she hears where Momo is heading to. She quickly calls her name, but Momo calls someone else's name at the same time.
"MOMO!"
"Chaeyoung."
Momo is surprised by Sana's yell so she snaps her head to Sana's direction once again, only to be greeted by her apologetic smile. "I- I am sorry for yelling. I didn't mean it. I was.. was meant to greet you a good morning and have a fabulous day ahead," she says.
"I'll indeed have a fabulous day ahead. Thanks to the both of you, Sana and Chaeyoung," Momo says and smiles at Chaeyoung, who is still processing the situation. "I'll get going now," adds Momo and walks past Chaeyoung to the kitchen.
Sana chuckles and mutters, "I guess you do make unappetizing food, huh?" before she goes off somewhere.
Chaeyoung widens her eyes and follows Sana. "Wait, what do you mean?" she asks, her heart pounding very fast within her. "What do you think I was on?" Sana asks back. Chaeyoung scoffs and shrugs her shoulders. "Of course, I don't know, that's why I'm asking you," she replies.
"I was pertaining to your food, pilot," Sana says and knocks on the door as soon as they arrive in front of a wooden door. Someone immediately answers, causing the both of them to dismiss their topic for a while.
"You're back, Miss Sana," Tzuyu says, and she is kind of shocked to see Chaeyoung standing next to the lady. Sana grins and hands a key. "It's the key that I borrowed a while ago. Thanks for helping me out," she says.
Chaeyoung is just watching them converse in front of her while her mind is still registering everything. She has been panicking ever since she woke up.
"Oh, is everything okay in the kitchen?" Tzuyu asks. Chaeyoung blinks momentarily and looks at the two women from one to another every second. Sana nods assuringly. "I'll head now," Sana excuses herself. Sana doesn't get a response from the supervisor but Tzuyu just turns to Chaeyoung and salutes, "good luck on your job today, Pilot Chaeyoung."
It is a usual greeting Chaeyoung gets from Tzuyu so it was no big deal. "I- I will do well today. Thanks, Tzuyu," she says and follows Sana once again.
"You borrowed the key to the kitchen?" Chaeyoung asks.
Sana smirks. "You heard that I just returned it to Tzuyu."
"So.. so you spotted me there?" she asks and Sana hums as a response. "WHAT?"
Sana enters her cabin and so does Chaeyoung as she continues to follow the stranger. While shutting the door, Sana says, "there's nothing to worry about, Chaeyoung. I was just trying to help you, okay?" Chaeyoung tilts her head slightly and knits her eyebrows.
"You gave me the food that you were tasked to give Mina that night. And last night, I overheard your conversation with Momo just right outside this cabin. I woke up extra early today, not knowing what to do, so I decided to go to Tzuyu and ask about you," Sana explains.
Chaeyoung is still worried. "How about Tzuyu, does she know about me sleeping over in the kitchen?" she inquires.
Fortunately, Sana shakes her head. "Earlier, I walked to her cabin and asked how are you as a cook. I was shocked when I heard that Tzuyu told me that you cook delicious yet unappealing food. So I just asked her for the key to the kitchen and told her I'd just have a glass of water. She didn't ask further and handed me the key," she says.
"She said I cook unappealing food?!" Chaeyoung exclaims. Sana chuckles and places a finger over her lips to gesture to the lady to keep her voice low.
She nods and adds, "yes, she did. So I entered the kitchen and finished your 'creation'. I made it look exactly like Momo's food, and I prepared a drink that suits the food perfectly."
The pilot falls silent for a moment before she asks Sana once again. "You did all of those?" Sana places a hand on Chaeyoung's shoulder and smiles. "I was glad to help," she says before she stands back up and turns her back on Chaeyoung to leave her cabin.
"And Momo... didn't seem to notice anything when we crossed paths a while ago," Chaeyoung utters and stares at the door where Sana had just gone. A smile creeps up on her lips, and she whispers, "thanks, Sana."
A few hours later, Jihyo exits her cabin and goes up to Jeongyeon, who is currently navigating the ship, in the quarter deck. "Let me do it. Take a rest," she tells Jeongyeon. The older crewmate nods and moves away from the wheels so the captain can replace her.
"We're near the destination, captain. Though we're just two miles away, I am expecting a sudden change in the weather so we have to slow down when we almost reach the coast," Jeongyeon reports.
Sana gazes at them from the lower deck. She smiles when she finally spots the captain. Among all the crewmates, she wants to talk with the captain to thank her for letting her stay on the ship. Even if it was a rocky road to convince her, she did the best thing she can do to let the captain trust her – and that is to save her from death.
"Miss, what are you planning for today?" Tzuyu asks her from behind. Sana is startled by the presence, and she slightly jumps in her place. "Hey, there. Uhm.. maybe.. just chill around, I guess."
Sana then notices Nayeon from Tzuyu's back, glaring at her from afar. "That woman... Nayeon, was it? Is she always mad?" she asks.
Tzuyu chuckles and shakes her head. "No, no. I guess she's just checking on you. You're a new member so everyone is still observing you," the supervisor assures the lady.
Meanwhile, Nayeon, who just exited her cabin after finishing another book she acquired from the last stop, calls out Chaeyoung's name. The said lady just passes by behind her. "Chaeyoung."
Chaeyoung raises an eyebrow and halts in her tracks. "What is it?" she asks.
"What do you think of the new girl, Sana?" Nayeon asks straightforwardly. Chaeyoung is confused. "Why all of a sudden?" she replies.
"I'm... I've been watching her and it makes me question my perception of her."
"What are you trying to say?"
Nayeon takes a deep breath. "First, I thought she's a spy, and then, I find her nice by the way the captain treats her, and–"
"What do you mean 'the way the captain treats her'? Jihyo allowed Sana to talk to her?" Chaeyoung cuts her off.
Nayeon shakes her head and continues, "no, it's all indirect actions. Captain commanded us to take care of her, but they have never had a proper conversation yet as far as I know. Sometimes, I think that Sana does deserve the treatment she gets from Jihyo, but then sometimes, I also think she's a bad person."
Chaeyoung understands Nayeon's struggle in trusting someone apart from the crew. As someone who has just experienced Sana's loyalty and kindness, she tells Nayeon, "I think Sana has a great sense of initiative. Even when you didn't ask for her help, she'd always come to contribute help."
Nayeon hums. "You think so?"
"I'm certain," Chaeyoung replies in a confident tone. Nayeon hears the change of tone so she shifts to Chaeyoung with an impressed expression plastered on her face.
"I can't approach the captain now, right?" Sana asks, gazing at the captain. Tzuyu ponders for a while before she walks up to the deck and approaches Jihyo. "Hey, Tzuyu. Where are you going?" she stifles a yell. But she is too late to stop the supervisor, Sana remains in her place while she is biting on her fingernails, afraid that she might have distracted the captain, and the captain will never let her talk to her.
"Sana, why are you here in the middle of the deck?" Jeongyeon asks as she steps down the stairs from the quarter-deck, looking at their surroundings to see what Sana is doing. "Hey," she utters and awkwardly steps back. "What are you doing?" the crewmate asks, a warm smile plastered on her face.
"I'm... I'm waiting for Tzuyu," Sana answers, pointing at the quarter deck where Tzuyu is talking to Jihyo in such a formal way as they maintain a distance between each other.
Just in time, Tzuyu returns after talking to Jihyo. "Jeongyeon," the supervisor murmurs. "Tzuyu," Jeongyeon mutters back. "Take care of her. I'll go ahead," she continues before walking away. Tzuyu nods upon hearing the command and waits for Jeongyeon to leave before she starts talking to Sana.
"Jihyo said that she'll just tell me when it's okay for you to talk to her. She said it's better if you'll have your conversation with her inside her cabin, but I don't know when that might be," Tzuyu reports back to Sana.
Sana understands and she does not want to force the matter. All she can do right now is to look at the captain from afar and stop herself from approaching her. "I just want to thank you," she whispered in her low voice, only audible to herself.
Meanwhile, Chaeyoung is working diligently. She is currently guiding both Dahyun and the captain while the ship is sailing, according to Mina's instructions who has an access to the ocean wide view as she is positioned on the crow's nest with a monocular.
Chaeyoung gets a signal from the captain. She turns to Mina and yells with the loudspeaker she owned, "come down, the captain can manage." Mina hears this and puts the monocular down before she climbs down the high place. Chaeyoung then goes down the hatch and instructs Dahyun to maintain the propeller at a constant speed.
Dahyun nods and goes inside to set the engine. Chaeyoung watches her do her job to assure that she does her job when Mina comes up from behind. "Hey, Chaeyoung."
"Mina, what are you doing down here?" she asks.
"Well.. last night, I do remember that I fell asleep while we were on our shift. And you were the one who also walked me to my cabin," Mina says. The pilot nods her head and eyes the lady for a while. "And also, the breakfast on my-"
"It wasn't me who made it. Momo prepared it for you. It was meant to be given last night, but I didn't bother telling you because you were so sleepy," Chaeyoung says.
"Oh." Mina is speechless.
'Why are you afraid to tell her the truth? The efforts that you have put in to make such food for her will disappear in a blink of an eye when you don't take this chance to tell her that it was you who made it to replace Momo's food which you have given to Sana last night,' Chaeyoung tells herself inside her mind.
"Yes, you should thank Momo for your breakfast. I just came to serve it as your breakfast."