WoW it's finally done! Hope you all enjoy :)
~~~~~
Byul continued her search, working herself to the bone, but she was no closer to finding Jin's family at the end of three weeks of searching than she had been after the first day. She had looked in practically every place Jin could think of and yet she still could not find them. It was like they had disappeared. She was beginning to despair. As she thought about the possibility that she would never find Jin's family and thus never see her family again she started to imagine what an eternity on a half-spirit island with Jin would be like. And to her surprise, she wasn't as loath to accept it as she thought she might be.
The eternity on a half-spirit island part definitely scared her, but being with Jin didn't. In fact, she found the idea oddly comforting. And a small part of her began to hope she wouldn't find his family. Though it was a very small part of her and she was ashamed it existed.
One night after a particularly brutal day of searching Byul was sitting out on a balcony of the house. The house was about as real as the island which was to say not real at all and its shape and architecture were constantly changing. Sometimes it was a one-room treehouse, other times it was a multi-tiered mansion. It was exciting and exhausting to wake up in a different place every morning.
Her legs hung off the balcony and she blew her hair out of her eyes. She was exhausted from this searching. It was physically but also emotionally tiring. As if summoned by her moanings Jin was suddenly sitting next to her.
"Byul?"
"Mm," She could barely force herself to form words.
"I've been thinking," Jin's voice was hesitant which caused Byul to look over to him. He was wearing a loose white shirt and pants and his hair was hanging over his ears. "I think all of this searching is bad for you." That surprised her. She sat up a little straighter. "Don't misunderstand my words... but I think you should take a break." He took a shaky breath, refusing to look into her eyes.
She placed a gentle hand on his arm. He continued cautiously.
"It's not that I don't want you to find my family, but I'm worried about you. I don't want you to be unwell. I want to find my family as much as ever, but you're my family too now and I care about you as well." The words echoed his words on the Four Seasons and she shivered and maybe blushed a little too.
"You're my family now too," She whispered.
"Well we're all the other has at the moment so I should hope so." She laughed loudly and smiled widely at him. She was beginning to find that Jin could be just as sharp and witty as he could be soft and kind. He was many things and he was coming to mean many things to her.
~~~~~
Yongsun had been puking her guts up on the Black Swan for the past two days. She blamed it on Namjoon's driving. Though Hyejin couldn't seem to get enough of the tall captain with the cute dimples. She rolled her eyes before hurling overboard again. Jungkook appeared by her side and offered her a cup of water.
"Thank you," She croaked out.
"The water has been unusually choppy these past two days. Typically this pass is really calm." Yongsun gulped down the water and cleared her throat.
"It seems like the universe is working against us," She grumbled. Jungkook slapped her on the back heartily and she gave him an incredulous look.
"Don't let Yoongi Hyung hear you talking like that, he's very superstitious. He thinks it's bad luck to say negative things like that while we're on the sea." Jungkook smiled wryly at Yongsun while she continued to cough in annoyance.
Several days ago they had decided that they should sail to the pass where Jin had died and Byul had gone missing. There was no precedent for this kind of interaction with a siren, but they thought it was worth a shot, and it wasn't like they had any better ideas. The boys had a plan to fulfill what they thought was Jin's final wish though Yongsun had her doubts about it. They were being very cagey about the details and she had a hunch it was because there weren't really very many details. They were winging it as much as the crew of Four Seasons was.
Her time with the crew of the Black Swan had been surprisingly enjoyable. The six boys - or rather men - were warm to the three girls and they did everything they could to make them feel at home. They had cleared out two whole cabins just for them, while a seventh cabin remained empty of any inhabitants. Yongsun had a feeling it had been for Jin. Every time she thought about their lost brother it made her feel incredibly sad. Not just because their story was mirrored in her own story about Byul, but because they talked about Jin like he was still there with them.
They recalled memories of him and brought him up in conversation as if he was still a living, breathing person among them. It was heartbreaking. She felt like she knew Jin after these several days with them and it struck her that he sounded so much like Byul. Like a true leader.
"Are you alright noona?" Jungkook was peering at her curiously, his giant doe eyes reflecting the light of the ocean. Yongsun nodded weakly.
"I'm alright, just sick of puking out my guts." Jungkook grinned.
"I was like that for at least a month when we first started sailing. Jin Hyung would always make jook for me when I was sick. His porridge was always the best. Not that any of the other hyung's can cook." He said laughing.
"How did you all find each other?" Yongsun asked, curious how the crew of the Black Swan had been formed.
"Namjoon hyung and Jin hyung found us. We were all living on the streets of some disgusting harbor town and he found each and every one of us and brought us back to his ship. He took care of us and provided for us when we had no family." Jungkook's eyes took on a glassy appearance. "They took me in when I was only thirteen. Ever since then they've been family." Yongsun smiled at his story. "What about you?" He turned the question on her and she sighed heavily.
"The four of us were caught up in some trouble in our hometown." She bit her lip. "We grew up together and we were always playing tricks and making trouble when we were younger. But as we got older we started..." She struggled for the right words. "Getting more serious. Stealing from wealthy politicians, fighting with rival gangs." She winced at her slip.
"You were a gang?" Jungkook asked aghast. "But you're all..."
"Women?" He nodded, blushing slightly.
"Not that I don't think women can be strong, it's just I've never heard of a female gang." Yongsun laughed loudly.
"Well, we weren't a very good gang because we got caught, and to escape we stole a merchant's vessel. Since then we've been making a living as merchants."
"You're pirates!" Yongsun shushed him.
"Technically yes, but don't go shouting it from the rooftops."
"We should found a merchant guild," Jungkook said, smiling wildly. "It could be the very first of its kind. Two merchant vessels, neither of them acquired legally." Yongsun whipped around to look at him, seeing his eyes glinting mischievously.
"Now that sounds like a very interesting idea."
~~~~~
Byul hadn't gone out searching for at least four days. She couldn't be entirely sure how many days had passed as time was just as real as the island was. She woke up and glanced over at the brown-haired man beside her. He slept shirtless, lying on his stomach, his hair brushing over his eyes. She didn't know when it happened, but at some point, they started sleeping in the same room. It just felt right. It was just the two of them after all and they were supposed to be family, weren't they?
The more Byul tried to convince herself of the normalcy of their actions the more she found herself not believing it. Neither Byul nor Jin was oblivious to the feeling growing between them, but it didn't feel right to idealize it yet. Byul was comfortable with him and he with her and there was no rush anyway. They were stuck on this island for the foreseeable future. Didn't they have all the time in the world to walk on this path?
Jin's eyes fluttered open and a giant smile broke out on his face as he caught sight of her.
"Good morning Byul." His morning voice was low and raspy with sleep, and it sent a shiver down her spine. He rolled over onto his side and came face to face with her, several inches apart.
"Good morning," She whispered. He brushed a hand through her hair, caressing her face.
"I had a dream last night about you." She couldn't help the grin that broke out on her face. "You met my family." Her smile faded, but he didn't seem to notice. "I would love it if you could meet them someday. They're all the best parts of me." That brought a smile back to her face.
"I will. I promise I will."
"Ah Byul, don't you know by now not to make promises like that?" He grinned cheekily at her. She leaned forward as if to kiss his cheek and then at the last minute bit the shell of his ear lightly. He jumped up, exclaiming loudly.
"You've wounded me!" She laughed loudly and jumped out of bed. "You'll pay for this!"
"Only if you can catch me!" She shouted, running out of the room. The house had decided to take up as a one-story house with open windows and flowing curtains. She ran through the house, curtains whipping around her as she glanced back towards Jin. She made it to the front of the house and burst through the door, running towards the beach. She made it into the brush-like jungle before Jin tackled her to the forest floor.
He sat on top of her, breathing heavily as they both laughed uncontrollably.
"I got you," He got out between laughs.
"So you did. I suppose you can exact your revenge now." He leaned forward, brushing a sweaty piece of hair behind her ear.
"Hmm, I suppose I'll need to do something horrible to get you back." She pretended to think deeply about it.
"Yes, I think that would be only fair. I have to be appropriately mollified."
"Well, I think I can think of one thing that should do that..." Jin trailed off, capturing her eyes with his warm brown ones. He leaned forwards slightly, their breath mingling, then he closed the distance and kissed her as one might stroke a baby bird: gently and with reverence. He leaned back, catching his breath.
"Consider me appropriately mollified," Byul said with a smirk.
~~~~~
The Black Swan was approaching its destination. They would be there within the next day. The mood on the ship had shifted and Yongsun was beginning to feel more and more anxious. To come all this way and not accomplish what they came for - it would be devastating. She looked around at the combined crews of the Black Swan and the Four Seasons though and she thought perhaps they would be able to make it through if they did it together. It was hard enough to lose a family member, to do it alone is even harder. It surprised her to find that she wouldn't mind staying with this band of pirates so much, in fact, she might even enjoy it.
She didn't even dare think of what would happen if they were successful. She was too scared to think past the next day and what would happen when they got to the pass. She didn't want to cause herself to hope for no reason, and perhaps Yoongi's superstitiousness was rubbing off on her.
It was the middle of the night when they reached the pass. Not an ideal time to be on a particularly dangerous part of the ocean, but it was what had happened. They put the anchor down and then they waited.
"We had better sleep." Namjoon finally announced. "We'll do ourselves no favors staying up all night worrying about what to do. Get some sleep and we'll figure out what to do in the morning."
~~~~~
Byul woke to an empty bed. For a second she thought she was imagining it, but then she reached her hand across the bed and realized Jin wasn't there. She looked up and saw he was standing at the window. She stood, wrapping a blanket around her against the cold wind, and walked towards him.
"What's wrong?" Byul asked quietly.
"Do you see that?" Jin's voice sounded far away and Byul slowly looked towards the direction he was gazing in. There was something fuzzy on the horizon. It almost looked... like a ship.
"Has that ever happened before?" Byul asked. Jin shook his head. "Do you think it could be...?" She didn't dare say the words. Jin swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbed.
"There's only one way to find out."
~~~~~
Yongsun woke to shouting. There was something, or someone, in the water. Two someones actually. She sprung into action, running to the deck as if her life depended on it. When she got there Namjoon and Hyejin were dragging two people out of the ocean.
"Byul!" The scream ripped through Yongsun's throat before she could truly understand what she was seeing. She leaped forward wrapping the sopping wet figure in a hug. Soon Hyejin and Wheein had joined her. They were all crying. After a while, she became aware of other sounds of crying beside her. She looked over to see seven men huddled together around one with silver hair and blue eyes. Jin. It had to be.
Byul finally pulled away from them and Jin did the same. There they were, eleven lost children turned pirates, brought together by the mystery of the sea. Jin was smiling through his tears, but his gaze was locked onto Byul. Yongsun understood what that look meant. Jungkook had his hand firmly locked around Jin's arm and she knew what they were all thinking. Jin most of all.
"Why haven't I disappeared yet?" He asked confusedly. "My final wish was to see my family again, and now I have. I should be passed on and Byul should be free." Byul was looking at the ground suspiciously.
"Byul?" Yongsun was staring at her pointedly. Byul scratched the back of her head.
"I made a deal with the sea." She said it so quietly they could barely hear it. Jin sputtered and stepped towards her, gripping her by the shoulders.
"Why? Why would you do that?" Byul shrugged slightly.
"Because I love you." He had no response for that. "I made a deal with the sea so that during the day we would both be free to live in the physical realm, and at night we must return to the island."
"We?" Jin asked quietly. Byul nodded her head once.
"We. I'm afraid you're stuck with me until I die. I've tied you to me now, quite literally." Byul laughed lightly, but Jin wasn't laughing. His eyes had filled with tears and he wrapped Byul in a hug so tight Yongsun was afraid she would be crushed.
"You shouldn't have done that." Byul huffed.
"Well I did, so there's no use complaining about it now."
"Thank you Byul." Her face broke into a grin and then she swept her gaze towards the others.
"Well it would be helpful if you lot just got one ship so that Jin and I could easily find you in the morning don't you think?"
"It'll have to be one hell of a vessel," Yoongi said, smirking. Byul smirked right back, her eyes never leaving Jin.
"Then we'll have to pull off one hell of a heist."
Fin.