a/n: this chapter takes the cake for being the longest chapter in this book! :D with a word count of 2165 words & 10,240 characters excluding spaces :D
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The crew's ship had stopped in a dock, a couple members of Captain Bang Chan's crew hopping over to theirs to help steer the ship into its port.
This island looked a lot more lively than the others the crew had been to, the ports were crowded and bustling with people. Yeonjun looked around the ship ports as the anchor was lowered.
"Captain, where are we?" he asked.
"For once, I don't know," Soobin replied worriedly, "I don't think I've ever been here before... either that or it's just changed so much I barely recognize it anymore..."
"If I had my map I would've had a decent idea," the captain murmured, taking a swift look around.
"I think I know where we are," Hueningkai commented bluntly, "Horizon Island, known for their colorful sunsets and night views."
"My parents took me here once for a fancy dinner!" Hueningkai informed proudly, "We rarely traveled though, I've only been here once to see family."
Beomgyu nodded, "You think we could find someone to help us out here?"
"Most likely," Hueningkai reassured, glaring at Captain Bang Chan, "If we find a way to escape."
The crew waited until Bang Chan's crew were gathered elsewhere, the five of them huddled together and quietly formed a plan.
"We're still going with the plan of Taehyun and Yeonjun going to find help, right?" Beomgyu asked, raising an eyebrow, "If I could get my foot free I might be able to get that knife over there."
"If we don't have any other options, that's all I could think of," Soobin sighed, looking at the rest of the crew, "Kai, Beomgyu, you stay here with me. We just need a distraction long enough to get Taehyun and Yeonjun off board."
Yeonjun faltered, "Where will Taehyun and I go? Hueningkai should come with us since he's familiar with the area."
The boy hesitated, and shrugged.
"I don't think I would be much use..." He mumbled, "I don't fight, I haven't been here in ages, and the list goes on!"
Beomgyu groaned in frustration, rolling his eyes.
"Now's not the time to mope," He said firmly, "We better decide fast or we'll all walk the plank."
Hueningkai hesitated, clenching his fists. He looked up at the other crewmates hopefully.
"I'll go with you two," he said finally, looking over at the other two.
"There's a marketplace in the plaza where a lot of richer folk are, its best to avoid somewhere like that. Especially with the condition we're in..." he said, wriggling his hands in the tight rope.
"So," Hueningkai said carefully, "There's a trading post in the plaza where a lot of other pirates go sometimes. My family used to tell me to avoid that place, but I beg to differ."
Taehyun and Yeonjun listened attentively, as Hueningkai continued. Beomgyu and Soobin were keeping an eye out in case anyone else had been listening to them plan.
"If you can't find someone to help us," Beomgyu suggested, "There's always the option of the five of us escaping together and abandoning the ship—"
"I'm not gonna leave the ship!" Soobin replied firmly, "It's gonna cost us a fortune to buy another one, by the time we get on the way again, Captain Bang Chan'll probably catch up to us!"
Hueningkai huffed, and nodded.
"If you ever run into anyone with a pair of spiked boots," Beomgyu interjected, "Tell him I said hi."
Taehyun sighed deeply, glancing over at Yeonjun nervously. His usual calm demeanor had vanished, he's never openly shown his fear like this until now.
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Later that evening as the sun had barely set, Beomgyu wriggled his foot free and quietly tried to reach for the dagger on the floor. The tips of his toes touched it, Beomgyu quietly turning it in his direction.
He nudged it closer to himself, Soobin glancing over at Changbin and Jeongin who were on the main deck. It looked like most of the crew had gone into the town, and it was the perfect time to escape.
"HEY! Changbin!" Yeonjun called, smiling sheepishly at the other. Changbin turned his head, raising an eyebrow.
"Do your old friend a favor, won't you?" he grinned, "Do you think you could get these tight ropes off of me? They're burning my arms, and you know how I get when my skin is irritated!"
Changbin rolled his eyes, and shook his head.
"Sorry Yeonjun, captain's orders," he replied, "I'm sure you'd understand, right?"
Yeonjun huffed, "Come on, even just a little bit—? Not even a lot, just loosen them a little bit."
"Yeah— No, sorry Yeonjun," Changbin sighed, "Listen, I'm sorry the others put you through this. It wasn't my choice to throw you overboard..."
Carefully, Beomgyu managed to scoot the knife close enough to lift it up with his foot.
"But Changbin~" Yeonjun said teasingly, "My captain's got a fear of tight spaces, he's been in agony these past few hours. We promise we won't run off, we mean you no harm!"
Taehyun and Hueningkai nodded in agreement.
"You could tie us by our hands, and not to the mast," Hueningkai added, "If you insist on keeping our hands tied, of course."
Beomgyu used his free hand to lean over and slowly reach for the dagger. Changbin crossed his arms across his chest, and still refused.
"Nope, I'm listening to my captain," Changbin refused, "We're not letting you go that easy."
Quickly, Beomgyu began to saw at the ropes with the dagger he picked up.
"Then I guess we'll just have to untie ourselves," Beomgyu boasted with a smirk, "Since you can't do it, we'll just take the initiative."
Hueningkai looked around the ship, seeing the glass bottle containing the map sitting on a crate off in the distance.
"Over there," He whispered to Taehyun and Yeonjun, "Once Beomgyu cuts us free, we'll distract them while you three make a grab for it before the other crewmates find out."
Taehyun and Yeonjun exchanged a nod.
"Didn't we take all of your weapons though?" Changbin scoffed, "You think you're just gonna get out with your bare hands?"
Beomgyu smirked, quickly finishing one more slash and slicing the ropes off.
"Something like that," he smiled. Quickly, he cut the last fiber the rope was clinging onto as the heavy, burlap rope tying the crew fell onto the deck.
Changbin's eyes widened with shock, quickly shouting for help when Captain Soobin covered his mouth.
"You three! Go!" Captain Soobin ordered, as the crew hurriedly wriggled themselves free. Taehyun and Yeonjun sprinted towards their confiscated weapons, grabbing their swords.
Hueningkai made a dash for their weapons, grabbing Captain Soobin's blade and tossing it to him.
"Captain! Catch!" he exclaimed, tossing the captain his sword. Jeongin perked up, seeing the commotion and quickly rushing over.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?"
Beomgyu quickly sprinted for his coat, scooping it up and fitting it back on. While Jeongin was distracted, Taehyun made a run for the map. Quickly, he swiped it from the crate and tucked it in his coat pocket.
"Yeonjun! Kai! Come on!" Taehyun shouted, as they ran to the edge of the ship. The three of them hurried down the wooden board and jumped onto the dock.
Taehyun glanced behind him, seeing Captain Soobin fight off Changbin easily. He sighed a huff of relief, clutching the glass bottle tightly.
"Come on, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the crew shows up," Taehyun murmured to the other two.
They hurried down the dock, not sparing a glance back at Beomgyu and Soobin. They could hear indistinct shouting behind them, unable to tell if it was from Captain Soobin or other sailors at the docks.
Hueningkai glanced over his shoulder as they got further away, seeing Captain Bang Chan returning to their ship.
The three sprinted into the town, hoping to blend into the crowd to catch their breath. They slowed their run into a walk, leaning against a cobblestone tavern.
"Well," Yeonjun huffed, "That worked. Now all we need is to find someone to help."
The other two nodded in agreement, putting their hands on their knees.
"They'll notice we're gone and come to look for us," Hueningkai mumbled, running a hand through his hair, "We probably should've swapped the map with a fake."
"That'll make them think they have the real thing and take off without us, then we'll be left here," Taehyun objected, "I think we're doing okay, we just need to find help while they're still here."
Yeonjun looked down at his bloodied and dirty clothes, his chest heaving after running from the ship.
"I think we'll need to clean ourselves up first." Yeonjun brushed himself off, looking around.
The three of them wandered through the busy town, weaving their way through crowds in front of shops. Hueningkai occasionally glanced over where the docks were, the ship masts were so tall they could see them behind the roofs of buildings.
"We should find something to eat first too," Taehyun mumbled, clutching his stomach.
"I think they emptied our pockets when we were captured," Yeonjun sighed. The crowd seemed to clear up as they walked further into town and they could see another ship in the harbor.
It was unlike the others, it was black and a flag which was raised high in the air. Taehyun gave Yeonjun a nudge, the three hurrying to the dock to get a closer look at the other ship.
"That kind of looks like the ship Beomgyu and I saw back in Miroh," Hueningkai said quietly, Taehyun nodded.
Smiling hopefully, he watched as the ship's anchor lowered and turned to the other two.
"I think we just found ourselves someone who could help," He said proudly, crossing his arms. The three of them hurried back to the docks, seeing their own ship in the far distance.
The three of them watched as a couple of crew members climbed down from the sides of the ship, landing on the dock smoothly. They hid behind a couple of crates, listening to the other crew.
"What was Beomgyu's friend's name again?" Hueningkai asked quietly, the other two shrugged.
"Beats me, I forgot. They barely address each other by name," Yeonjun whispered back.
"Quiet, I think I see someone," Taehyun shushed the two of them. While the others were tying the sails and securing the anchor, two crewmates carefully stepped off the ship.
One boy with raven black hair stepped down from the ship, his hair parted slightly to the side. He wore a black coat, embellished with silver chains and a single, silver earring hanging from his left ear. His sword was tucked neatly in his waist belt, tied neatly with a vibrant red sash.
The boy with him was a little shorter, his hazel brown hair with deep red highlights at the tips. He had a silver-tipped spear tied to his back with a leather strap.
"For such a nice city you would expect it to be a little more... welcoming," One of them complained, dusting himself off.
"It's not as bad as I thought," The other replied with a scoff, looking around, "There's lots of opportunities, just take a look around. The docks are unguarded, making the other ships more vulnerable."
"And it makes our ship more vulnerable too." The boy with red highlights crossed his arms across his chest, and huffed.
"You worry too much," the other spoke slowly, "Captain has his orders, I just follow them."
"Besides," He continued, looking around, "I kind of like it here, I think it's very pretty."
"Eh, I've seen better," the smaller boy scoffed, resting his hands on his hips. The other chuckled, hitting him playfully.
Taehyun and the other two waited patiently, then huddled together to come up with another plan.
They looked for a little while longer, peeking over the edge of the crate.
"I don't see Beomgyu's friend getting off the ship anytime soon," Yeonjun commented, lowering his voice to a whisper, "We could sneak aboard and look for him, if anything, he'll probably be the easiest to convince."
Hueningkai hummed in response, gesturing over to the boy with raven black hair.
"He looks like the captain, I bet he's the one in charge," Hueningkai said softly, "We'll just talk to him first, that way, the rest of the crew follo—"
Taehyun was sneaking another peek at the other two, when they suddenly noticed he was looking at them. Taehyun ducked behind the tall crates again, pressing his back against the firm wood.
"I think they saw me," he whispered, the three of them hearing footsteps draw nearer. Yeonjun grabbed Taehyun's hand, squeezing it.
Yeonjun cursed under his breath, the three of them silently waiting. The dark haired boy slowly walked closer, then called the other over.
"Jongho, move the crates aside."
Taehyun gulped, looking at the other. The three of them scrambled up, showing themselves to the other two standing there.
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a/n:
ok the next update might take a little more time– but yeahahhaha i hope you enjoyed this chapter! sorry for the unusually long chapter !