Moonbyul & Jin | Oneshots

The Siren's Call

lol hi I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, can't promise I'll be more regular, things are busy right now. Please enjoy this story! 

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Byul knew they were in trouble when the storm came out of nowhere. The day had been perfect for sailing, blue skies, light clouds until a shadow appeared to the east. Her heart had dropped into her stomach at that. She knew that if anything happened to any member of her crew it would be her fault. That made her more afraid than anything else.

It had been several weeks ago when a prominent merchant approached her with a deal too good to pass up. She should have known he was bad news though when he gave her a fake name. He called himself "the black rose" and that was the only name he gave. He had proposed a shipment to her where her crew took over half of the profit from sales. She had never been offered such a high percentage of profit and she wanted it badly. For herself and for her crew.

So she had agreed. She had brought the opportunity to her first mate, Yongsun, and they had both readily assented to the conditions. She should have known the conditions were too vague. She should have known.

The conditions had been simple.

Pick up the cargo from a previously arranged location. At night. Sail out during a new moon. Take a route that led through uncharted waters. Drop off the cargo at a previously arranged location. Collect payment after the cargo drop.

One of the cardinal rules of being a merchant's vessel was to never accept payment after a shipment. It meant that you had to be alive at the end of it to collect payment. And if someone didn't want to pay you they could always just kill you before they had to pay you. Not that she was so cynical she thought the merchant had somehow conjured a storm, but she knew that accepting a shipment through uncharted waters was something that often invited catastrophe.

She wasn't the only one who had noticed the storm. Yongsun and Hyejin were looking at each other nervously when they thought Byul wasn't looking. Wheein was talking quietly with some of the deckhands, giving them directions. Wheein threw a glance across the deck to Byul, and Byul could see the fear clearly in her eyes.

The crew of the Four Seasons had been through many difficult shipments together. Being an all female crew of a merchant's vessel wasn't something that came easily, but they had done it. But Byul was beginning to get the feeling that this might be the end of their time together. And it would all be her fault.

She gritted her teeth and raked a hand through her shoulder-length hair. She straightened her spine and took a deep breath. They had to survive this. She was going to get them through this if it was the last thing she ever did. She couldn't fail her crew now, not after all they had been through.

She began barking orders as if this was any other storm on any other shipment run. The crew, to their credit, sprung into action. They were not afraid of a storm, even if it was in uncharted waters. The storm was coming upon them quickly, more quickly than Byul had ever seen a storm move. When it hit they had barely secured everything on deck.

It hit as a vertical wall of water. Then came the wind and the lightning and the waves. Byul could hardly see from all the rain. She was shouting, but she doubted anyone could hear her. She held tightly to the helm because truthfully it was the only thing she could do in this scenario. Her worst fears played out in front of her as the deck was assaulted by waves and her crew struggled to stay aboard. Yongsun appeared next to her, grabbing onto the helm. She looked Byul in the eye, giving her a silent encouragement.

The storm was ruthless. Their mast swayed as if it was a branch in the wind, and not a tree planted in the boards of the ship. The sails that hadn't been tied down were shredded. They would be of no use until they could repair them. The hull took a battering, but when the waves began to calm down it was intact.