"Cap'n, he refuses t' eat."
On the quarterdeck of The Lonely Whale, the first agenda that Yeo Wol's first mate reported to her, was in fact, about the man that has been on her mind ever since they pulled him out from that bush on the beach.
Gazing into the far distance of the endless open sea, Yeo Wol showed no signs that she had heard her first mate, for her eyes remained fixated on a point beyond the rowdiest of waves, and the finest of the lines where the horizons and seas meet.
Despite that, the Captain did answer, although her words seemed to hold the same qualities of a soft sigh with a hint of thoughts adrift, rather than the usual indifferent harshness that embodied Captain Yeo Wol.
"Is that so?" She spoke.
"Do we force it down his throat?" Her first mate suggested.
"Now now, there's no need for such churlishness. He hasn't done anything wrong...yet. Let him be." Yeo Wol dismissed him with one wave of her hand, as she turned to face her first mate, eyeing him with that same look of iciness they were all used to.
"Aye, Captain." The man bowed before he left to conduct his duties again.
Alone once again, Yeo Wol pulled out the map she had been holding, rolling it out against the fluttering wind as she began to study the map intensely.
Her wavy raven locks danced with the wind as the Captain traced the route they were currently on with her eyes.
It only took the Captain a minute to make her decision.
It took another minute for her to count their supplies mentally in her head.
And with that, she let the map roll back on itself and left to conduct her business.
☠☠☠
It turns out her business was the man currently sprawled against the floor of their dungeon.
Just as before, the man laid unmoving, as if he had been confined to a mere square foot of the sufficiently spacious cell.
With his eyes closed, he looked as though he was resting, or perhaps that wound painting his torso a darker shade of red had sucked the life out of him.
Regardless, that did nothing to stop the Captain from slamming the door shut, causing the metal to rattle angrily at the weight of her palms.
An inaudible groan could be heard then, as the man shifted slightly, peeling his eyes open ever so slowly as she came into his vision.
"I see you haven't eaten anything we gave you." Yeo Wol stated, noting down the plate that was merely sitting by his left hand, left to crumble into nothingness.
Unsurprisingly, all was silent in the cell as their prisoner made no move to answer her.
If his eyes hadn't been opened, Yeo Wol would have assumed that he hadn't heard her enter.
Shaking her head slightly, the Captain found herself doing something that was rather out of character for her as she pushed the cup into his hands, using her boots to nudge it as close as possible such that he could easily drink from it if he wished.
"At least drink some water. You wouldn't want to risk kidney failure, would you?" Yeo Wol added coldly.
For a minute, there were no movements from either of them until finally, Yeo Wol saw his hand tighten around the cup from the corner of her eye. Using the cup as leverage, the man sat up slowly, barely containing the moans threatening to escape his lips.
Every movement hurt him.
Sitting up felt like his flesh was being torn apart again only to be stitched back together. He could even feel the blood gush slightly from his wound and his back muscles protesting crankily.
But the urge to quench his thirst was stronger and Jeongjo wasted no time in gulping down the water as he felt large mouthfuls of water run down his drying throat.
Relief.
He finally found relief.
But with relief came another hurdle that he had to navigate out of. This time, he wasn't sure if he would make it out alive.
It was becoming clear that he had become a stowaway on a pirate ship, and if his gut feeling was right, this wasn't just any pirate ship.
The whole situation was mired.
Jeongjo knew he had to be careful because the risk of anyone on this ship finding out his true identity was too high of a price to bear.
Meanwhile, Yeo Wol remained none the wiser to the man's thoughts as she observed his physique silently. Not one to shy away from anything, the Captain didn't even avert her eyes as most people would, when their eyes met across the tight space they were in.
She was bold, he could see it in her eyes.
He was cautious, she could see it in his.
Yet, they were shocked to see the hidden turmoil in the other's eyes once again, for it wasn't often that you would meet someone who could share your pain.
Nor do you usually meet someone who could understand every thread of pain in your heart that easily.
But of course, neither of them chose to comment on what they saw, for their position did not allow them to do so.
Nor were their hearts open to letting anyone else in but themselves.
"Tell me your name." Yeo Wol asked in a rather clipped manner, although her speech embodied the grace and power of her status.
"That isn't information I share freely with anyone." Jeongjo rasped between the small bouts of uncontrollable coughing.
"What were you doing at Sakura village? In a bush, no less. You've suffered a grievous wound. Who did that to you?" Yeo Wol began her rapid line of questioning.
"We were attacked. They came out of nowhere." Jeongjo phrased vaguely.
"Who's we?" Yeo Wol narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Jeongjo.
"My...friends. I don't know where they are if you're wondering. As you can see, I'm here and they are..." Jeongjo gestured around him to prove his point.
"So you were attacked? Just like that?" Yeo Wol confirmed.
"I presume we were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time." Jeongjo attempted to shrug his shoulders, only to tremble when he felt the ache in his muscles intensify.
"Why do I find that so hard to believe?" Yeo Wol wondered aloud, her eyes cold as she ignored the man's trembling.
"We all choose what we want to believe even when the truth is right in front of our face." Jeongjo reasoned hoarsely, much to Yeo Wol's frustrations.
Let's face it, she was already frustrated enough that the man was being so secretive about his name. A part of her also suspected that the man before her held a certain status in their world, for the way he spoke held an air of regality and intellect far beyond an average person.
He spoke little...It surprised her that a man like him didn't feel the need to assert any form of dominance, even in the face of danger.
More interestingly, his coldness matched hers. That was a first.
He was making it immensely difficult for her to figure him out when breaking people was usually Yeo Wol's forte.
But, Yeo Wol was determined.
"Where did you get this sword?" Yeo Wol demanded a minute later as she pulled out the sword in question.
Out of self-preservation, Jeongjo decided to play dumb, recognising the dire need to analyse the situation he was in before he throw himself into deep waters yet again. Containing the recognition in his eyes, the man cleverly dismissed the sword despite the history it held.
"How bold of you to assume it is even mine, to begin with. If I knew how to wield a sword like that, would I even be in this situation? I could have used that to defend myself." Jeongjo spoke seriously despite his racing heart.
He could only hope that a Captain with eagle sharp eyes like hers, wouldn't see past his lies and call him out for betraying her trust...
...not that she trusted him yet.
But she would. Winning her trust was vital to his survival. Of course, that was easier said than done, for it wasn't easy to win her trust in the first place.
But Jeongjo was determined.
Each with their agenda in mind, who will emerge victorious?
Right now, Jeongjo was determined to keep the truth from her and she knew that.
Yet, would the truth change anything?
Even if the man was a threat to them, Yeo Wol was confident she could take him down single-handedly. Besides, the man was injured; grievously so.
A fight against him would be optimistic, ergo, he was no threat to them as of now.
Since Yeo Wol wasn't heartless enough to toss him overboard, she settled for the next best alternative.
Probation.
Squatting next to the man's face, Yeo Wol pulled out her dagger, using her trusty blade to lift his head by his chin, such that one wrong move would send him to his demise. Similarly, her words bore the same harshness of her actions, as she fixed him with a cold gaze.
"Listen, I don't intend to keep you prisoner here. If you're on this ship, you have to earn your keep. If I ever catch wind of foul play on your end, trust me when I say that you will be as dead as a rat once I get my hands on you."
Just like that, she started to walk away, but his soft baritone stopped her movements.
"You could have left me there. Why did you save me?" The man breathed weakly, his tone curious yet dark.
Indeed, why did she save him?
Truthfully, Yeo Wol didn't have an answer to that.
So, she left, without so much as turning her head back; a lone shadow meant to walk alone.
The door stayed open; ajar with the promise of freedom to the man in the dungeon.
But at what cost?
Would he take this freedom?
☠☠☠
That night
The night was wild.
They had expected a storm, of course, but none of them had been prepared for a storm that held all of Poseidon's ferocity.
The winds were strong; unforgiving as they tossed their sails back and forth against the flashes of white on grey, as the crew onboard tumbled with every step.
Beneath them, the briny waters were equally treacherous; turbulent as they threatened to rock their ship past its tipping point.
Around them, the air pulsed, whereas the roiling waves would erratically grow in crescendo, before crashing down on them with their magnificent glory. It was concerning, how the waters were breaking and flowing all at once, for the rage of the seas was too much to bear for a band of pirates trying to build a home on their ship.
The clouds darkened.
The gales screamed.
Onboard, shouts could be heard amidst the roaring winds.
Yet, while all this was going on, Captain Yeo Wol was in bed, waiting for sleep to claim her as their ship continued to rock shakily against nature's fury.
She had been tossing and turning the past hour.
Yet, her sleeplessness had nothing to do with the storm, for she was confident that their ship was sturdy enough to survive this. No, the reason behind her restlessness was because of him.
Her senses were on overdrive. It has been since she left the dungeons.
She was simply infuriated. Not just by his speech, but by his actions and his impassiveness too.
The more she thought about their exchange, the more infuriated she felt.
The hissing wind was doing nothing to contain her frustrations, and Yeo Wol found herself sitting up a second later.
With one swift motion, Yeo Wol untangled herself from the blankets and swung her legs over her makeshift bed.
Her calfskin boots met the ground with a dull thud, and a heavy slam indicated that she had left the Captain's quarters for goodness knows where.
She walked with no destination in mind, letting her feet carry her to the very man who was the root of her restlessness that night.
She stopped.
"Why are you here, Yeo Wol?" She seethed beneath her breath until a gentle snore snapped her out of her fury.
Momentarily, all the anger left her, when she found the man curled up uncomfortably against the wall, sleeping past the choppy night that they were sharing.
There was something so vulnerable about the man as he slumbered on, that left the Captain wondering why she was so mad at him in the first place.
Now and then, the man would shift in his sleep, trembling slightly at the drafts of winds seeping into his cell.
She wondered why he never left.
She wondered why he chose to sacrifice his freedom for such discomfort.
Above all, she wondered why the thought of him infuriated her, yet enthralled her so.
Perhaps it was because he was her mystery to solve. Or perhaps, there was some physical attraction hidden beneath the surface. Whatever it was, it caused Yeo Wol to let down her guards momentarily, as she picked up a stray blanket and dumped it on him.
Startled awake, Jeongjo could barely make out the Captain's lone figure walking away from the cell door through the haze in his mind. He too was confused why she was in his cell in the middle of the night.
Yet, he thought little of it as he slipped back into his dreams, subconsciously tightening his hold around the warm fabric that made up the blanket she had given him.
With that, the last lingering thought in both their minds was:
What now?