Everyone is there.
Literally every member of the crew is gathered at the main deck, from Seonghwa, who's not cooking the crew's breakfast for some reason, to San, your master, who you know from experience is notoriously difficult to wake up in the mornings.
You try to catch your master's eye, but San simply gives a wide yawn and clutches a stuffed toy dog closer to him while blearily rubbing at his eyes. Jongho simply looks like he's already dozing off, his head repeatedly knocking into Seonghwa's shoulder as he nods off before the whole cycle continues again.
Yeosang pushes you forward gently, and suddenly, before you, is the captain himself.
He looks the same as the last day you saw him, his presence as commanding as the winds that command the ship, vivid green eye burning with fire and the storms of the sea. His red jacket is just as striking in the sea of white and browns, and once again for some reason you can't explain, you feel inexplicably drawn to him.
Mingi, his ever faithful quartermaster and bosun, stepped forward, calling for silence. That really wasn't very difficult, considering it was the crack of dawn and nobody really had the brain capacity be talking much. In under half a minute, everyone has fallen still, the deck seemingly plunged into silence, quietly waiting for the captain to begin.
Captain Hongjoong's eye doesn't waver from yours when he starts to speak.
"Members of ATEEZ, crew of the Treasure." His voice is steady, confident, assertive. There's something that seems almost ceremonial about the way he's speaking, as if he's about to give a grand, well orated speech. You glance back at Yeosang for help, but the navigator's attention is completely fixed on his captain. "We are all gathered here today for an important reason-"
Then he pauses for a moment and his eye glances through the crowd, doing a mental headcount more rapidly than you can see. "Wait, where's Wooyoung?"
"Here, captain!" There's a whoop from above you and you manage to duck just before Wooyoung's booted feet slam into your skull and turn you into human pancake, he untangles himself expertly from the rigging he's just swung over from and turns to grin at the disgruntled crowd. "Sorry I'm late!"
Then he ducks into the gathering before Mingi can scold him.
Hongjoong sighs, shaking his head before he continues, tone completely commanding. "As I was saying, we are gathered here today for an important reason. This day, we will have a new crew mate join our ranks."
There's silence for a moment. Then someone from the back cries out in surprise.
"Captain, you knocked up a town girl?"
Silence.
A conspiratorial whisper. "A baby's on the way?"
Immediately the silence of the early morning is broken as the entire gathering of pirates erupt into uncontrollable laughter. To your surprise, you see the captain's cheeks turn a bright, cherry red, almost as vivid as his jacket, before he's spluttering incoherently in distress and fury.
There are wolf whistles and cries of 'I knew you had it in you, captain!'
"I did no such thing!" Hongjoong hollers in red faced rage and embarrassment, but the crew only falls over laughing and guffawing at their captain's indignant protests. Even Yunho, who was standing behind you, keels over wheezing, clutching at his belly and making sounds that remind you of a dying horse.
"Enough!" Mingi shouts over the din, but he doesn't get far before he's pressed a hand over his mouth, shaking with barely restrained chortles. "I'm sorry, captain."
Hongjoong throws up his hands in resignation and merely decides to wait for his crew to stop laughing at him.
Eventually, the laughter dies down, save for the occasional giggle and snicker here and there. The captain's face is still flushed pink, but he clears his head and attempts to continue.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Hongjoong glares at all his crew members, some of who are still chuckling behind their hands, "We are here today to welcome a new member, who is not my unborn and nonexistent child. But before we do that, we are going to name him first."
Something wells up inside of your chest.
You.
He's talking about you.
Just as you realise that, the captain turns to you beckoning you forward. Your eyes fly open and you glance behind you, as if there were anyone else on this ship with no name.
"Go on." Yeosang nudges you with kind smile and you step forward as if in a daze. Hongjoong strides over to you, taking you by the shoulders as his eyes meet yours.
You can't look away.
"Stowaway." His voice is soft, wholehearted and genuine, but he has no need to raise his volume. The ship is completely silent except for the creaking of rope in the rigging, the gentle lap of waves against the side of the ship. You could hear a needle drop. "Exactly one moon ago, you literally stowed away on my ship. Mingi and Seonghwa found you in the cargo hold. You broke my quartermaster's nose, fell unconscious in the middle of a rainstorm from a raging fever and had the audacity to be carried bridal style all the way from the main deck to the sickbay."
You force down a gulp at his stern tone and Mingi's shake of the head. The quartermaster's nose has long come out of its splint, but there's a little crookedness to it now that you've caused.
"I believed you to be a Royal Navy officer due to the coat you were wearing and your terrible story making skills, but you've proven to be a trustworthy crew member and apprentice to San." His voice suddenly takes on a kinder tone. "You've saved my crew from the Kraken and survived your first battle on board."
Tears prick at your eyes but you refuse to let them fall.
"It is an honour to have you as part of my crew." Hongjoong declares, eye fixed firmly on you. "And now, I'm going to bestow a name upon you, if you don't mind."
He looks at you so seriously that you realise he's actually waiting for permission, not simply asking out of formality.
"Yes." You manage to choke out, a thickness in your throat that you've never felt before. You're going to have a name. "Yes, of course I don't mind."
"Four years ago, we did the same thing for another member of the ship. Today, we're going to do the same for our stowaway."
He lays a hand on your shoulder and gestures towards the crowd. To your surprise, your master steps out from the rest of the pirates.
"The last time, we gave the person a new family name of his own." Hongjoong says, as San rests his hand on your other shoulder. "But this time, San has offered to give you his."
Your eyes widen to the size of dinner plates and you turn to stare at your master, whose face is unreadable and blank as usual. He merely shrugs at you.
"From this moment on, you have a name." Hongjoong declares, and suddenly the heavens shake as if on cue, thunder rolling through the sky. "I wish you all the best in recovering your memories, that you may find the truth of your past even though it may seem as unconquerable as the ocean."
Your eyes fall closed at his sincere, kind hearted words. Tears slip past your tightly shut eyes at your captain's words, but honestly at this point you don't care anymore.
"I name you Choi Chin Hae, family of the ATEEZ crew."
There's silence all about you for a moment as everyone takes time to process their captain's words.
The cheer starts off soft at first, a single person whispering it from the crowd. Then it grows in volume until it becomes a resounding echo throughout the harbor.
"Chin Hae! Chin Hae! Chin Hae!"
The words drown out the sounds of your sniffling, and you feel San pull you into a tight embrace, whispering words of congratulations into your ear. Something feels right, an empty hole in your chest has been satiated after million of years.
A sob leaves you, your shoulders trembling as you try to keep it in. From the side, you see Hongjoong with a small smile on his face watching the cheers.
"Thank you so much, captain." You whisper over the rowdy screams of the crew, who have now somehow managed to turn your name into some bawdy bar song. Somehow, Hongjoong hears you over the din.
"You're welcome, Chin Hae." Is all he replies kindly.
"Woohoo!" Wooyoung slings an arm around your shoulder out of nowhere, sending you staggering forward, a massive grin on his face. "Let's party!"
And seas, do these pirates know how to party.
Because the first place they drag you to celebrate is a rowdy tavern in town.
"Get the alcohol flowing!" Yunho crows as the nine of you sit around a table; the same people who have been the most instrumental in your journey. Your master, San, your kind supporter, Seonghwa. The kind maknae, Jongho, the person's whose nose you first broke the very day you stepped on board, Mingi. The sweet navigator, Yeosang, the cheerful lookout, Yunho. And of course, the captain himself, Hongjoong.
And the head gunner Wooyoung who's kind of just tagging along for the free alcohol.
"And get the pretty ladies here, please!" The man laughs, waving cheerfully at one of the waitress. She blows him a kiss in reply.
Yunho turns to Hongjoong with a expectant smile on his lips. "Hongjoongie-hyung..."
The captain immediately shakes his head, a scowl twisting on his face. "No. No no no. You only call me Hongjoong when you want something from me and I always regret it. No way am I acquiescing to any of your stupid requests-"
Wooyoung slides into the seat next to yours, starting to open his mouth, but Hongjoong cuts him off before he can say a word.
"That includes you too, Wooyoung!"
Seonghwa chuckles as he watches the little scene go on. "It is a celebratory drink though." Yeosang nods agreement as he glances at his captain.
"We are having a celebration, so maybe you could treat us to at least a drink each, Hongjoongie-hyung?"
Yunho and Wooyoung immediately slide behind him, trying to back him up with the full power of their two puppy dog eyes.
You watch with interest as Hongjoong's stern expression cracks just a little down the middle. Yeosang adds a 'please' and you see every ounce of Hongjoong's good, logical thinking just crash down a drain.
"Whatever." He sighs, shaking his head and the two mischief makers exchange an exuberant high five.
"Waitress, one cask of the finest alcohol you have!" Wooyoung shouts across the din of the tavern and Hongjoong's face immediately goes ashen.
"Wooyoung! I said one drink!" He yelps, rising to his feet to cancel the order, but Yunho tackles him back down as Wooyoung goes to fetch the alcohol. The two roll on the ground like a pair of children roughhousing in the mud, except that one is actually the Pirate King of the Caribbean and the other is a deadly ex-gladiator.
"That is technically one drink." San shrugs as he shakes his head at the commotion.
You turn to him curiously. "Are you going to drink, master?"
The healer sniffs at the wooden cask Wooyoung is lugging back in distaste. "As I said before, I abhor the taste of alcohol, most of all rum. It is a vile drink that can turn even the most respectable of men into complete scoundrels. There's a reason we use it to kill the disease causing creatures on our skin, you know."
"San's just a lightweight." Wooyoung calls loudly over the noise of Yunho and Hongjoong both fighting to get the upper hand on the floor as he sets the cask down. The healer turns to give him a deadly glare.
Seonghwa winces in sympathy. "Shots fired."
"What did you say, you little shit?"
Yeosang chuckles a little under his breath, looking at San. "Well, you can't really take alcohol-"
"Let's have a drinking game, right now!" You've never seen your master so pumped for anything, and you'd never have thought the day you'd see it would be because of alcohol. "We'll play truth, dare or drink. Let's see if I'm the one left drunk after this!"
"I'm on!" Wooyoung cracks open the lid, handing out the wooden mugs. "Come on, everyone! Let's see who's the last one left standing! Upright, at the least!"
Hongjoong finally clambers back into his seat, blonde hair mussed from the little fight and his eye patch askew. "What did I miss?"
"They're having a drinking game. Or rather, we're having a drinking game." Mingi sighs under his breath, shaking his head at his crew mates as he takes his mug. "I suppose doing this once in a while is fine..."
Wooyoung snatches a glass bottle and places it in the middle of the table. "Let's get the bottle rolling."
You frown, a little confused. "What's going on?"
The other eight glance at each other before Jongho explains. "Every time before they start drinking, they'll have a game of spin the bottle. If the bottle lands on you, you need to tell a truth, carry out a dare, or just drink an entire tankard."
Entire tankard? You eye the size of your cup doubtfully, unsure whether you can even finish it before the night ends.
"Since this celebration is in honour of you, Chin Hae, why don't you spin the bottle?" Yunho calls as he fixes his hair, grabbing his mug. You carefully reach out and spin the bottle.
The glass bottle spins around in circles, a little wobbly, but in the end it finally settles on the captain.
"I hate this game already." Hongjoong groans, turning to you. "Truth."
You pause. Is there anything you really want to ask the captain?
Then something occurs to you, all the way back from when you'd first come aboard this ship.
"Captain... when I was sick and fell ill... were you the one who carried me to the sickbay?"
Hongjoong freezes for a moment. Then he fills his mug to the brim and knocks back the whole drink in a single gulp, choking out 'next'.
It can't have been more obvious if he'd slapped you in the face with a dead fish.
"But hyung-" San begins to say with a grin on his face, but his captain cuts him off.
"Shut up, San! You can't say a word about it."
Wooyoung and Yunho are in fits of laughter, Mingi and Seonghwa shaking heads at their captain's terrible lying skills. There's a warmth rising in your chest, a certain happiness. That captain may really have not hated you from the beginning at all.
San shrugs, but there's a twinkle in his eye. "I mean, captain, when you were naming Chin Hae, you said something about being carried bridal style to the sickbay... I mean, nobody but the person carrying him could have known that, am I right?"
Hongjoong pauses a moment to think over his words. You can literally see the cogs in his head turning as realization dawns on him.
He slams his head into the table in mortification. "And I already drank the stupid drink. Damn, I hate this game."
Wooyoung pats his captain on his back reassuringly, but there's not a bit of sympathy on his face. "It's alright, cap'n. I mean, all of us already knew except for Chin Hae here."
Hongjoong pins San to his seat with a murderous glare.
"Moving on!" San chirps, suddenly too cheerful in spite of his imminent death looming over him. "Wooyoungie, it's your turn!"
"Yeah!" The head gunner gets up and spins the bottle, the neck finally coming to rest on Seonghwa. The cook's eyes widen momentarily. "Seonghwa!"
"Truth."
Wooyoung frowns as he strains to think of a suitable question. Mingi sighs, sipping from his tankard. "This is stupid. They're going to end up drunk anyway, honestly."
"Remember what happened the last time Wooyoung got drunk?" San muses, and Yeosang snorts as he takes a drink.
"Well, I remember you being flat out wasted right next to him and that you woke up on the main deck butt naked because you ran all the way back to the ship from the tavern while throwing off your clothes and singing 'nothing's gonna hold me down', all while Mingi and Seonghwa were trying to chase you down."
You turn to stare at your master questioning. His face is carefully blank.
"I did no such thing." He hiccoughs and swallows a mouthful of alcohol. "But I do remember what Wooyoung did. He flirted so hard with someone, fell in love and ran back to tell us he was leaving the crew for good, before he woke up next to a potted plant in his bed."
You choke on your rum.
"Argh! I can't think of one right now." Wooyoung runs his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. "Hyung, tell us your most recent secret!"
Seonghwa's eyes widen and he glances over at you. You immediately know what he's thinking about.
To your gratefulness, Seonghwa merely sighs and begins to fill his tankard. Yunho pouts.
"Aww, that's no fun, hyung!"
The cook merely shakes his head with a serene smile on his face as he returns to his seat. "Our definitions of fun are very different. Yunho, it's your turn." The lookout eagerly spins the bottle.
And the bottle lands on you. Their eyes all come to stare at you expectantly.
"Uhh..." You keep your voice shaking from the nerves. "Truth."
"If you were a woman..." Both you and Seonghwa almost choke, Seonghwa on his drink and you on dry air. "Which of us would you be with?"
You cough at the too accurate statement, but luckily for you, no one realises, all too busy extolling their own qualities.
"It's going to be me." Wooyoung insists, patting his biceps fondly. "I mean, look at these guns, baby!"
Mingi snorts as he takes a sip. "Sorry, Wooyoung, but the only guns you have are back on the ship."
The entire table dissolves in laughter.
"Burn!" Yunho crows, waving his tankard around. You dodge to avoid the alcoholic spray. "But Chin Hae, you still haven't answered my question!"
You pause to think about this for a moment.
"Well, if I'm honest... It's probably Master."
San grins at Wooyoung, who looks like he's just been struck dumb. Then Wooyoung speaks, his voice thoughtful.
"But technically the two of you have the same surname, so isn't that like incest?"
There's silence as everyone glances at each other. You stare at your master in horror.
"And wouldn't Jongho be like San's brother or something since he's a Choi too, so would Jongho be Chin Hae's brother in law-"
"Okay, let's drink!" Yunho shouts before the conversation can get any weirder, and everyone happily acquiesces.
Over the course of a few hours, you watch as the tavern turns into complete madness.
Seonghwa, Mingi and Yeosang are drinking quietly and speaking in soft tones, while your captain and master are both singing 'baby don't stop' at the top of their lungs, attempting some terrible dance along the side.
Jongho's at your side, shaking his head at their shenanigans as he downs tankard after tankard, trying to drown his life problems and Yunho and Wooyoung are long gone, attempting to flirt with anything that even remotely moves or breathes.
And they've somehow already started a fire in the kitchen, which the staff have had to desperately put out.
"Hey, Chin Hae."
You glance up to see the gunner, Wooyoung, standing there. You've never really talked to him much, after he abandoned you and Jongho on his little excursion with his lady friends, so you're a little confused to why he's speaking to you now.
He looks abnormally serious.
"If this is about why I didn't choose you for the Truth thing earlier, I'm sorry-"
But he doesn't even acknowledge your words, pulling you out of the tavern by the hand. You're confused, but you follow him to one of the back alleys. He stops to rummage in his pockets, before producing something long and slender wrapped in a velvet bag.
"This is for you." He says, so earnestly that you're puzzled for a moment, but you take the small gift from him and open it.
A beautiful, silver hairpin slides out from the soft velvet.
A gasp falls from your lips. It must be extraordinarily expensive, the hairpin is made of the finest silver with exquisite, elaborate detailing on the pure metal. At the end is the main piece, a sea flower, its petals wrought with fine silver, a single, well polished aquamarine stone set in the very centre.
"Do you like it?" Wooyoung asks softly, as if afraid you might reject it. You're stunned beyond comprehension, turning the beautiful piece of jewelry in your hand carefully, afraid that it might break.
"Yes." You manage to choke out, suddenly a little emotional. No one else has gifted you with such a precious thing before. Then you start to panic. Has he found out that you're a woman? "Yes... but why?"
"Remember the time you went to town with Jongho and I?" Wooyoung smiles genuinely, his eyes crinkling to little crescent curves. "You were looking at the hairpins like you really wanted one. It's a pity you can't wear it now though, your hair is too short."
"But it must be expensive." You breathe in disbelief, tracing your finger down the side of the cool metal. Wooyoung shrugs, a cheeky grin on his face.
"The money I bought it with was clean." You give him a flat stare.
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" He laughs, as you gently slide the pin back into the velvet bag. The you look at him as earnestly as possible and flat out bow to him as deeply as you can.
"Thank you, Wooyoung-hyung."
"You've just gained a name and joined the crew today." The purple haired gunner's face is soft in the moonlight, accentuating his handsome features like magic bringing a carved statue to life. "So happy birthday, Chin Hae-ah."
Happy birthday.
There's a comfortable silence between the two of you, before the back door to the tavern bursts open and Seonghwa, San and Jongho burst out in a panic.
"Don't flirt with Chin Hae!" Jongho splutters, but Seonghwa trips on the stair and falls onto the maknae. The two go tumbling to the ground in front of the two of you, much to your shock. San steps proudly on the two of them like some sort of disapproving parent.
"Don't you dare defile my precious apprentice!" The healer declares, clearly drunk because he's talking to the potted plant at the side rather than you and Wooyoung. Then he shakes the plant vigorously, dirt and leaves flying everywhere. "You hear me, Wooyoung?"
"Come on, I don't look that ugly..." The gunner says as he helps Seonghwa and Jongho to their feet. Seonghwa dusts himself off, giving you a concerned look. Your heart brims at their thoughtfulness.
"Are you alright, Chin Hae? This strange man wasn't bothering you at all?"
Wooyoung shrieks in fury at not being recognised. "I am your crewmate! And I'm not such a lowly person to prey on my own crewmates! I love my pretty ladies, excuse you!"
"Yeah, he was just giving me something." You reply softly, slipping the pin inside your pocket as Jongho tackles him back into the tavern, lecturing him about irresponsible men and sexual predators. Seonghwa nods, pulling San away from his potted plant even as he struggles to continue threatening Wooyoung.
"If I catch you trying to screw my apprentice over again, the next time you get injured I'm patching you up with fishing hooks and barnacle juice-" He squawks as Seonghwa picks him up gently from the back. "Let me go, you fiend!"
"Why is Wooyoung-hyung being so nice to me, though?" You wonder aloud, as the three of you turn back to the tavern, San slung over Seonghwa's shoulder like a little kid throwing a tantrum.
Seonghwa turns to where you and Wooyoung had been standing with a sad, wistful smile.
"It's probably because Wooyoung knows what you're feeling. He understands, after all." The cook says quietly, his expression fond and you can feel the brotherly love Seonghwa has for his younger crewmate.
You frown at his words. "Understands what?"
Seonghwa's smile is heartbreaking.
"What it is like not to have a name."