3059 words
Unsurprisingly my bunny is the one to immediately claim the seat beside me. He insists I sit on the driver's side of the vehicle, which honestly I confused for the passenger side at first since in both the United States and Korea the steering wheel is seated on the opposite side of the car as it is in Europe.
After only a few minutes of driving, I am able to work out why he let me have this seat. I look out the window at my first glimpse of the Meditteranean Sea. I realize I am not getting the full picture of it just seeing it from the window of the SUV, but I can already tell that no photo will ever be able to capture its full beauty. I smile as I feel Jk grasp my hand in his and weave our fingers together. I look over at him. "Thank you for insisting I sit here, Bunny."
He blushes softly but nods. "You are very welcome, Sweetheart."
The car ride is only fifteen minutes long, and before I know it we are arriving at the pier. There is a flurry of activity as the production team scurries out of the last two SUVs before we get out, and sets up so they can record us getting out our luggage and capture our first sight of the small charter cruise ship we would be staying on.
When we see it for the first time I realize that small might have been underselling it, although compared to a commercial cruise ship it probably is at most only a little over a quarter of the size. "So, this will be our home on the water for the next two weeks." I state as I sense the cameras focusing on the ship in front of us. I'm suddenly past my annoyance at MMV and feeling nothing but excitement about the trip itself.
Hobi apparently can't keep his excitement to himself. He lifts me up and twirls me around sharing his exuberance not only with me, but with the world around us. Then he remembers the cameras and he puts me down with a soft apology which I assure him was unnecessary. I don't mind him sharing his enthusiasm with me like that, cameras be damned.
Namjoon leads us on the ship. His camera is focused in front of him so the viewers can get a first person point of view. There are seven members of staff lined up waiting to meet us.
The first person in line I know right away is the ship's captain not only due to the hat he is wearing, but there is a certain presence about him that screams authority figure. He proves me correct when he smiles and introduces himself. "I am Krispin Oliviero, but you can simply call me Captain."
The next person in line is a striking woman, probably in her late thirties at a guess. "I am Alaya Molinari. I'm the ship's Staff Captain which makes me second in command aboard the ship. I oversee the staff, but my biggest job is taking over the helm when the Captain isn't at the wheel. Feel free to call me Alaya."
The next woman in line greets us with an amazing smile. "I'm Victorina Casan. I also don't mind being addressed by my name instead of my title which is Officer of the Watch." She pauses as that title sinks in and chuckles. "Yeah, definitely part of the reason I don't mind you calling me by my name. It's kind of a mouthful. Truthfully my main responsibility is navigation, but we have taken this trip so many times that I am hardly needed since we know these waters like the back of our hands at this point. However, should a storm arise while we are in the middle of the waters one can easily get confused and turned around. That's where I come in. I also sometimes man the helm if both the Captain and Alaya are occupied."
Due to the chef's coats that the next two in line are wearing it is pretty easy to decipher that they are the ones that man the galley. The first in line is older and has naturally curly white hair. He has a full beard that I am happy to see is neatly trimmed. "You're calling me Beppe. My full name it is Beppe Virtu. I am head chef." His English may be broken, but it isn't hard to understand him. I smile brightly at him and nod. His smile in return lights up his weathered face.
The man next to him is surprisingly young, especially in comparison to Beppe. I would guess him to be probably mid twenties or at most early thirties. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that he was strikingly handsome with his large hazel eyes, tawny skin, and bright smile. I glance over at Tae as I realize this. Yeah, no contest. I laugh in my own head. "I'm Feliċ Coleiro the sous chef aboard the yacht." I hope my eyes don't bulge out of my head at that announcement. Beppe must hold his abilities in high regard to hire someone so much younger than he is as his second in command in the kitchen.
"We do have another three chefs that work in the galley, but we thought more than seven staff members might be a bit overwhelming." The next gentleman in line says and my eyes pivot his direction. I nearly gasp aloud when I realize that him and Feliċ are identical twins. "I'm Nikola Coleiro, and yes Feliċ and I are identical." He leans in toward us as if to whisper a secret. "I had the job first and recommended him when the sous chef position opened up." We all laugh at that which has him widening the bright smile on his face. "I'm the yacht concierge. That means I will be on hand at all times if any of you should need something. However, if for some reason I am unavailable there are four members of wait staff that will be readily available to handle your needs." I'm honestly not sure how much we will need them having the production team and security onboard.
The last person in line is a middle aged woman with a sweet motherly smile. "My name is Tereza De Lucca. I am Head of Housekeeping. The wait staff that Nikola mentioned also work underneath me when they aren't busy in the dining rooms or elsewhere on the ship."
I do some quick math and realize that means in total there are fourteen staff members on the ship. I'm surprised because I heard that over two hundred staff tend to man a full sized cruise ship. As if to answer my unspoken question the Captain interjects. "We skimmed down the amount of staff quite a bit for this trip. Normally there would be at least thirty-five staff members aboard."
"Ready for the tour of the ship?" Nikola asks and guides us further onboard. "We will have the wait staff take your luggage down below for the time being. I heard you have a unique way of deciding who stays in which room." He flashes that bright smile once again.
"Yes, with the exception of Daisy. We already decided that she would receive the best accommodations available." Namjoon quickly states, and the rest of my soulmates all give a brief nod letting me know that at some point they did indeed discuss this.
Nikola addresses Tereza, who remains only a few feet away. "Can you let the wait staff know to put Ms. Keegan's luggage in the Owner's Suite?"
She smiles broadly and winks at my soulmates. "Good, you pamper your soulmate. I like to hear that."
"Anything for my Princess." Jin announces proudly.
I find my cheeks turning pink at the attention. We discussed whether or not to use pet names while on camera, and the consensus was that it would be too difficult to stop using them now. The only exceptions are that Namjoon isn't allowed to call me Baby since he used to call Army that. I am not allowed to call Yoongi Bear since most Army refer to him as a cat, and they would probably not appreciate attaching a different animal reference to him.
The first room we come to on the ship is a large lounge. "I thought you might like to use this as your main area to gather when you are mostly filming while on the ship."
Namjoon nods and quickly rattles off in Korean to the production staff behind us that it would probably be smart to leave the camera equipment behind here once we are all settled in our rooms so it won't clutter the crew's rooms. After all, we are the only guests and shouldn't have to worry about the equipment being left behind here.
Then we are shown the large bridge where the helm is held. Since we are docked it is unsurprising that the Captain isn't standing at the helm. "We also have another helm on the top deck. That way the Captain can appreciate the sun and salty sea air."
Then we are guided through the Galley where we find the three chefs that we hadn't been introduced to. They are completely engrossed in a task preparing something to eat. My stomach quivers for a second at the thought of food. I am definitely hungry but it isn't fully growling yet, so at least I know that I can wait a bit longer.
Through the galley on the opposite side we find ourselves in a large dining room reminiscent of any high quality restaurant. "This is the dining room we use most often on our cruises. I thought your staff could still eat here. However, I picked out a more private area for you to eat at when you wish to dine inside away from the salty sea air." He guides us to a room with a large oval table and eight plush dining chairs. "Normally this room has ten chairs, but I removed them and spaced out the chairs more for this trip. Soon, I will also show you the outside dining area where you might wish to eat at nights while the cool breeze comes off the sea."
The next room we come to completely surprises me. It's a full entertainment lounge. There is even a piano on an elevated stage. "We weren't sure if you would want to use this room or not. We did however decide to forego the lounge singer, due to copyright laws and what not."
Next he leads us outside to the top of the yacht. I find it humorous to discover that there is a bar with those very words emblazoned above it. "Is this where you were suggesting we eat while outside?" I can't help but ask. I frown because none of the tables are big enough here to accommodate all of us.
"No, perhaps a snack occasionally, but I have another area in mind for that."
He leads us further down the deck where we find several double sized lounge mattresses. I can totally see this causing potential small arguments on who lounges beside me in the near future. Although truthfully they don't really argue that much about spending time with me. There's a few small tiffs, but nothing worth worrying over.
There is a set of stairs behind this area and he leads us down them. Immediately I know this is where he intended when he mentioned a place to eat at night. A large oval table that has to seat normally twice as many people sits just past the overhang giving a clear view, to most of the people that would sit here, of the night sky above them. There are also a few lounges here further out on the deck and a huge television directly under the awning. I'm also unsurprised to find a hot tub and a small pool nearby.
"That's it for the tour outside of your rooms below deck."
"Why don't you tell us about those rooms before we head down. Then we can decide how to proceed to work out who sleeps where."
"You all will have accommodations on the fourth floor deck which is the lowest accommodations available on the ship. So you will have the utmost privacy available to you. As you know the Owner's Suite is the best room available. It is 41.53 sq meters total in size and has a separate bedroom from the rest of the living area that houses a queen sized bed and a flat screen television. The head, or master bathroom, has a steam shower housed with a massage showerhead and a separate two person sized tub to soak in."
Talk about being pampered. I definitely can't wait to see my living arrangements. We had already discussed it, but every night one of my soulmates would spend with me. Even tonight, despite the fact that I plan on only resting due to not only being already exhausted, but also because of my period.
"The next best accommodations is the Admiral Suite. It measures in 34.8 square meters of living space. It also houses a private master bedroom with a queen bed and a bathroom with similar amenities as the Owner's Suite. Although the tub and shower space are both a bit smaller. It could probably house two of you comfortably although I do assure you that we have the space for each of you to have your own accommodations."
"The final room choice is the Commodore Suites. We have eight of them available, hence why I said you could all easily acquire your own private lodging. They each measure 36.23 sq meters, and could once again probably accommodate two of you comfortably. The bathrooms are of course quite a bit smaller, but on the plus side there are two of them in each room. So, should two of you end up in one of those rooms, at least you will have your own bathroom to yourself. They each house a queen sized bed."
I turn to my soulmates. "So you have heard about them all. Now how are you going to decide who gets what room?"
The production team has the answer regarding that. They have folded up sheets of paper with numbers on them determining the order in which they will choose. Jimin ends up getting first, which honestly I am kind of happy about with how hard he has been working. I just hope he ends up with the Admiral Suite. Namjoon ends up with the second choice, which also makes me pretty pleased. The rest of the choices don't really go how I might wish they would, but I am not horribly displeased either. Jk ends up with the third. Yoongi the fourth. Tae the fifth. Jin the sixth. And my poor Hobi ends up with the last choice.
Tae and Jimin end up both choosing the Admiral Suite which somehow I am unsurprised by them ending up making the same choice. Perhaps they are in each other's heads too much. Somehow, luckily enough, everyone else ends up with a single Commodore Suite.
Each of my soulmates turn off their video cameras for the next decision. "So, I guess the question now becomes who is spending the first night with Daisy?"
Tae immediately shouts, "Me!"
Namjoon nods. "State your reasoning you think you deserve the first night with her."
"I think Jimin could use the first night alone to recoup and unwind, but also I think I have been pretty selfless with my choices up until now. When I saw the joint mattresses on the flight I was pretty bummed honestly to have given my opportunity to share that time with her away like that. Plus, I am a superb cuddler!" Honestly his argument is pretty sound but I can't help but chuckle at Yoongi's rebuttal.
"If you ask Daisy though I am the comfiest."
The day isn't really a very active one. We stay on the ship and honestly we all just lounge around. Tae and I even sneak off in the middle of the day to have a nap. I'm exceptionally unsurprised that there is a third body in bed with us when I wake up. I didn't bother locking the door because I have just grown too accustomed to my soulmates coming into my room to snuggle with me or for other salacious activities.
I suspect Jimin to be the guilty party so color me surprised to discover it's Yoongi wrapped around me from behind. "Bear?" I try to wiggle free from his embrace, but Tae's also managed to cuddle me with his whole body on the opposite side. I can't even work out how both of them are able to cuddle me so closely from either side. "Taeger?" All I'm missing is the lion and I would feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Lions, and Tigers, and Bears oh my indeed.
After trying for several minutes to rouse them they each make an indistinguishable grunt in response. "I have to go to the bathroom." That must have been the right thing to say because they both immediately give me room so I can get out of bed. Once I get back I find them both trying to fall back asleep and nearly cuddling each other. "I think we should probably wake up so we can get used to the daylight hours here and not mess up our schedules for the next few days."
I don't know how that comment ends up working exactly. They both look exceptionally exhausted but my stomach does growl in the next moment, and they are both at my side to try to cater to my needs and find me something to eat.
We all end up turning in pretty early that night. I can't help but profusely apologize to Tae that other than sleep nothing else will be happening in this bed. Luckily, he is totally understanding and sweet about it. "Angel, love doesn't mean sex. It means being there for you no matter what." I fell asleep cuddled in his arms and smiling softly at that sentiment.