"You're leaving?" Hoseok's mouth gaps in disbelief, sitting on top of the drum he has turned upside down. Both him and Taehyung stare at him, speechless, with Jungkook leaning against the railing on the side, muscled arms folded over his buff chest.
They are at the quarterdeck, sitting amongst themselves. Yoongi stares down at the two sailors before he nods. It is better to tell them now than later.
"As soon as we reach the cove, I will leave." He explains, the words heavy in his own tongue. Who knew there would come a day like this?
"Is that what the Captain decided?" Taehyung mumbles from his place close to the pot of fire. Poor boy, he catches cold quite easily. But now that he sits there, he seems to be turning cold for an entirely different reason.
"Guess he does not need me by his side anymore." The oldest sailor sighs out, a bitter chuckle to his pink lips.
Jungkook observes the whole scene, quiet at first cause he knows it is none of his concern. But with how the situation turned out, it is going to interfere with what he wants. And he is not ready to give up yet. "You and the Captain have been together since young." Yoongi's dark eyes fix on him when he speaks. "Maybe it is just temporary."
He has not been together with the crew, nor has he worked the way they do, the rules that apply for them are a lot different than the rules Jimin has set for him. A look around the three men, and he can tell they somehow knew this was going to happen.
Hoseok's next words just confirmed it. "This is how Captain punishes."
Jungkook starts to understand the situation a bit better now. It is amazing how secretive they are. If he was not so observant, he would have a harder time trying to break down the walls all of them have built together.
It does not mean it is easy for him either. The mystery that is this ship and its sailors, they come close to a second from the Queen. An enigma that is Queen Y/n.
No matter how much he tries, there just seems to be a wall behind those doe-like eyes, irises that seem to shine the light of a galaxy in them. It is hidden so well that if he did not spend a good time in his life in Joseon, and did not see what was happening there after the sudden death of the King and the Queen, he would think she is just a normal person.
And if he has noticed it, then the Captain must have seen it the moment he met her. But the man chooses to remain quiet, always the one who observes more than the one talking. Quiet and timber, patient and strong.
A man with icy blue eyes.
"What would you do, hyung?" Taehyung asks, perked up in his seat with round eyes.
Yoongi watches him. "I will find a sponsor. Probably fight with them."
Jimin could have executed him for the fire bust if he wanted to in the first place. But he knew, dying doesn't mean much to Yoongi. He has been dangling from that threat for a long time now. Yoongi should have seen this coming.
It is not that he excused Yoongi for what he did. He was waiting, silent and patient. And when the opportunity for war came in, Jimin decided to send him away. He knows not being able to fight beside him in the war will affect Yoongi more than anything.
He played his card like he always did. A fair play.
"Against the Captain?" Jungkook blinks at that, cause that is not he was expecting to hear at all.
Yoongi turns to him again, this time with no softness in his gaze. "Why are you so curious? Don't you already know everything? Since you and Jimin have known each other for so long."
Jungkook stares back, not wavering away from the intense glare one bit. He stays quiet, pride in his stance. And it completely ticks Yoongi off.
Both sailors shift their gazes between them, confused at the scene. "What do you mean, hyung?" Hoseok questions, his brows furrowed.
"You have met before," Yoongi speaks, though he is looking at Jungkook still, it is meant for all ears on the quarterdeck. "Way before you claim you did. You have been communicating, and meeting up for quite some time. Why don't you explain that?"
They stare down at each other, a cold chill passing by the ship flying in between thick clouds. What Yoongi said sounds absurd, but Jungkook's silent screams every bit of conformation they need.
Hoseok and Taehyung twists their heads to stare at each other, puzzled at the sudden bit of information no one was looking for. Why would Jimin keep this a secret from them?
"How long have you known the Captain?" One of them asks Jungkook. Back in the ballroom, both him and Jimin greeted each other as if they are meeting for the first time.
Jungkook exhales, shifting his dark gaze away from the cat-like sharp eyes. "It is kept hidden for a reason." He tells the two sailors, wanting them to understand. "It is the Captain's order."
That sentence alone quiets the thoughts circling around Hoseok and Taehyung's heads. It is confidential. Jimin knows what he is doing. There is no questioning the Captain's decision.
Jungkook does not notice the sigh he releases when he sees the two sailors nodding their heads, understanding and respecting the orders given by their Captain. But one look at Yoongi and he realizes how stubborn he is.
"Is it?" The older Blacksmith pressures. "It is really the Captain's order?" His glare hardens over Jungkook.
"It is not like I am the only one hiding something." So the young Smith lets go of the card he has been playing with for quite some time now. There is nothing as satisfying as letting people be aware of their dirty little desires.
They think they are hidden just cause they are not spoken into the air. But Jungkook prides himself on being someone who can read the room easily.
"We all have our own selfish needs." His gaze flicks around the room. "Each one of us, we all want something we cannot have. We desire the things we don't deserve. So tell me, how is it that I am the only one in the wrong?"
The cold wind could cut the silence that settles over the ship. They would rather die than admit those words, but they are all true. Jungkook managed to notice things in a matter of two weeks.
Then there is no way Jimin hasn't noticed. The Captain knows everything.
Dread lumps Taehyung's throat, and as much as he tries to swallow it, it stays there. Guilt grips their bones. Not for what they feel, but that the Captain still smiles at them even when he knows what is going on in their heads.
It is like he is testing them, observing them. This conversation is probably not a secret from him either. He is a part of this ship, so he can probably hear them. That thought alone is frightening.
The said man is currently stepping up the stairs. His steps are so light, that no one can ever hear the thumps of his soles. But they can hear the clinks hanging from his boots as he gets close.
Soon enough, they all feel the heavy gaze of the entire ocean on them. He is staring down at them from the top stairs, they can feel it.
The man who owns the very ship they stand on silently moves towards the wooden ship wheel. His authorizing hands grip the helm, and he spins it around to lower the ship from the sky a bit.
They watch his back, body tense with their breath stuck to their throats. The air that surrounds him is heavy with a silent rage.
If that rage is terrifying, then the disappointment they can feel from him is even more horrifying. Their Captain has done everything he can to make sure they live a comfortable life.
Is this what they pay him back with? Have they scooped so low?
"It seems I have let all of you fuck around as much as you like." Jimin's voice is their death incarnate when he speaks.
They hold their breath when they see the blue of his mana electrocute around him, his back broader and menacing.
He slowly twists his body around, and they cannot meet his gaze anymore. "To the point, some of you have forgotten where you stand." He growls, yet it is so low in authority, that it stays only between the five of them. "The chaos in this ship. And then having my fiancé involved. Have you bastards lost your fucking minds?"
Taehyung's head is hanging low, completely frozen in time. It reminds him of what happened two days ago, back in the palace after Jimin summoned him to his office the next morning they came back from the brothel.
Taehyung still remembers the impact of that strike, the heaviness of seething disappointment that almost had him stumbling on the ground. The redness dripped from his cheek as he was dragged from the back of his collar and thrown out of the office.
Jimin's eyes were glinting his death when threw him out the door. Yuna who was lingering about his office door froze at the sight, wide innocent eyes watching as a man as tall as Taehyung was handled like he weighed nothing by the Captain.
That very day as night fell over them, Taehyung sat on the ground outside the kitchen with a meat wrapped in a cloth pressed to his cheek. He remembers the young maid sneaking up to him, pressing a small box of balm to his fingertips.
He has looked up to her and then at the ointment in her hold. "You were asking for an ointment. This helps you heal faster." She had said, acting as if she did not care.
His lips tilted up in a smile, and he grabbed her by the wrist which holds the ointment. She let him pull her to his side, grumpy as she sat on the ground close to him. "Be honest, kid." He smirked. "Do you, by any chance have a crush on me?"
Yuna stared him dead in the eye before her face crumbled into something akin to disgust. "In your wildest dreams."
The man bursted out laughing, releasing the gentle hold he had on her wrist as he leaned his back on the wall again. Yuna trailed her innocent eyes over his cheek. It is so red and swollen, that there is even skin that is marked up maroon because his veins have bursted. She cannot believe a simple hit can do that to someone.
But then again, it was from His Highness.
"My lady told me to bring it to you." He remembers her telling him.
He perked up at that and turned to her with wide eyes. "Really..?"
Yuna purses her lips and nods her head. "She saw your swollen cheek. So she asked me about it. I did not tell her so do not worry." She immediately puts in when she sees him freezing up. "I just told her you got your ass beat by a man after he found out you slept with his wife."
Taehyung visibly relaxes at that, before her words actually register in his head. "That is quite an image you put in her head about me." He shakes his head at her pouting at him.
"Hey, I tried." She grumbles. "However, she was worried and knew you might be careless with it. So she told me to take this to you." She puts the ointment in his open palm.
Taehyung listened to her words quietly that day, his heart hammering in his chest. A soft smile slowly lifts his lips. "That's my precious."
The ointment did help a lot. And since it had some type of mana in it, his scar has also faded a bit.

When he came back to the ship yesterday, no one questioned him about it. Cause they know only one person who can leave a scar like that. And that is the Captain.
So at this moment, as Jimin glares down at all of them, they are reminded of a certain little one whose mere existence is enough to ground the Captain's anger.
And they wish that the little one can come up and save their asses from being burned to the ground.
But of course, that is just wishful thinking.
Jimin's hair starts to sway with the wind. "Should I remind you all? Just who you are standing in front of." The clouds around them thunder with the rage of the Captain, clear sky slowly starting to foam with dark clouds.
They all shiver in their places, frozen and unmoving.
Electric blue vibrates Jimin's fingertips, and his glaring gaze swarms with the violent waves of his sea. They stare at him wide-eyed, breath stuck to their throat.
This is it. They are going to die.
"Jimin.."
Suddenly everything halts in its place when a soft little voice chirps. Their heads whip to the side towards the stairs, where Y/n slowly steps up all in her soft glory.
The petals that shy the strands of her braided hair are as soft as her presence. Suddenly, the air smells like flowers, and even the clouds settle down.
She blinks those irresistible doe eyes at him and then at them, noticing how they all look caught off guard by something. "Sorry.." She mumbles. "did I interrupt?" She asks, clueless.
Jimin finally releases the breath he was holding, tense shoulders relaxing a bit. And he only remains guilty in the end. His anger got the better of him. She was already on her way over the staircase. One moment short, and he could have hurt her badly.
The men in the deck release a deep breath too, relief passing through their veins. Their hearts pump loudly in their ears, having seen death from up close. Even Jungkook seems to have lost the color on his face.
On the other hand, Y/n's head rings loud in her ears now. She has ignored the symptoms of her cold all day, and now she silently suffers the consequences of it. She takes notice of how the quarterdeck is colder compared to the other parts of the ship.
A shiver crawls down her spine. Oh no. This is not good for her headache one bit.
Her red cheeks are quite hard to miss. They stare at her. It could also be because of the cold, but she seems to be swaying in her feet a bit.
Jimin stares into her dazed-like eyes when she steps close to him.
The man's body turns to her and his eyes finally soften up at the sight of her round face. She stops in front of him, her little fingers lingering near his.
He immediately pulls back his mana, and Y/n grabs a hold of his index finger and curls her whole palm around it. She squeezes his skin and tilts her head up at the man.
She should tell him. Yuna gave her a big talk about it back in her room. But she hesitates. He is already busy with his work, and the sudden sail has also stressed him enough.
She cannot just tell him about her cold and distract him further from his work. It feels too selfish. (nah but can you guys imagine her, small and pouty, looking up at him with his finger in her hold dnsjsjw pls she is his sick little baby 😔🥺)
"It is kind of cold.." She mumbles, not realizing how foggy her brain is getting. "Are you not cold?" She asks, small and polite.
Jimin studies her face, immediately knowing something is not right. Y/n looks down at his chest, his warm skin that will surely take the pain away. So she leans herself against him by resting her head on his chest.
And a frown furrows his brows when he feels how hot her forehead feels. "My love?" He calls, his arms wrapping around her to secure her against him. "God, you are burning up."
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Me and my writers block need to have a good conversation. We need to sort that bitch out.she is getting out of hand. It is literally so annoying, and I think it's probably because of my job. It's so fucking stressful being there, my manager is a complete ass. I got so sick the last Tuesday that I asked for a half day off and you know what he said to me. I'm dying out here and he is like "I will only send you home like this just one time and never again. You just started and you already wanna leave. If you're sick just stay at home." This mother fucker. The only reason I went to work that day even when I felt sick the moment I woke up was because he told me he wants to shift me to a part time because I have taken quite a few days off work. I wanted to tell him that I'm a sick as bitch, I get sick really easily and than I knew he would hit me with the "than why did you apply for this job?" GOD IM RANTING ARENT I? I'm so sorry guys. I've lost my cool 😔
However, leaving my problems behind. How have you guys been? Life treating you well? How's the BTS military departure treating y'all? I still can't believe it. I think it's gonna hit me hard in the face TT. But let's not be disheartened. Now that we are left unsupervised, let's achieve the things we couldn't and want to achieve in our lives.
I hope you guys like this chapter. I will update Cigarettes and condom next, so look out for that one.
💜