Memories of the Sea I BTS X OC I

Chapter 7 - Ma City

The Truth's sails were torn, the hull breaking apart under the crushing strength of the ocean, even as Hae tried, desperately, hopelessly, to safe the ship. She saw the officers, all seven of them, gathered on deck like pristine puppets, motionless. Their eyes followed her every move, their smiles placid. Uncaring. Merciless.

The steering wheel wrenched itself out of her grip, spinning madly, and Hae wanted to scream in frustration. She was weak, and she hated it, even more than the heavy collar that closed around her neck, marking her as something less. She caught one of the lines of the foresail that had been severed, and tried to attach it again, but the frayed rope was too short, and she let it go.

Why was she alone? Why would nobody help her? Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to cry, not now. Not when they were all watching her. She didn't want them to see that part of her.

A shudder ran through the ship, and the loud crack that followed made it very clear: Hae had lost, irrevocably. The Truth Untold would sink.

She stumbled to the railing, looking desperately for a way to escape. The collar tightened against her skin, and hands grabbed her, pulling her back, down below, where her cell waited. She fought against it, shaking with a feeling that was half rage, half fear. But it was no use.

The dark enveloped her, the salty water lapping at her ankles, steadily climbing higher, reaching for her calves. She knew, without any doubt, that she wouldn't be able to escape a second time. Panic swept through her as she turned, and looked into a familiar face.

Hae woke with a start, her heart pounding in her chest. She was shaking, shivers racing down her spine, cold sweat covering her body. The darkness of her chamber was pressing down on her, suffocating. She hastily got up, throwing the door open. Leaning against the doorframe, she greedily sucked in the fresh air, exhaling shakily.

The ship was quiet, and Hae got the impression that it was far too early to be up and about, but returning to bed was out of the question. She was wide awake. Instead, she turned to the kitchen. There was already light falling through the half-closed door, and she could hear someone bustling about, preparing the food for the first meal of the day – Seokjin, probably. It would be nice to see a friendly face after the dream she just had had.

The Truth's kitchen was a small and relatively cramped affair, with cupboards and shelves covering every inch of wall space. There was a small table for preparing the dishes, and, of course, the black iron stove, that was conveniently places under the only window so the heat could escape.

In the middle of all that stood Jungkook, covered up to his elbows in flour, kneading a big ball of dough. He turned to face her as she entered, and smiled politely. "Good morning!", he greeted, and Hae replied in kind. If he was surprised that she was up that early, he certainly didn't show it.

"What are you making?", she asked curiously, looking around the kitchen, and noticing the sack of walnuts under the table.

"Hotteok, for breakfast", he said, smoothing the dough one last time before he dumped it into a bowl and covered with a dish cloth. Jungkook looked at her for a moment, considering, before he added: "The dough needs to rise now, so there's time to prepare the filling. Would you be willing to help me with that? We'll need to crack the nuts first."

"Sure", Hae replied, and washed her hands quickly in the small basin in the corner. Then she joined him at the table, were they worked together for some time. It wasn't too difficult, and soon, Hae had almost forgotten her bad dream. Jungkook was pleasant company, and after only a few minutes, they were chatting away like old friends.