Memories of the Sea I BTS X OC I

Chapter 10 - Miss Right

Two weeks had passed, and Hae had grown familiar with the rough-and-tumble life of Ma City. It rained nearly every day, thick clouds gathering at the mountain tops on the far side of the island like clockwork. The people were gruff and not very welcoming, but they weren't outright hostile, at least for the most part. Even if they had been – she was never alone when she ventured out into the town.

The repairs on the Truth had been finished, and the ship had been scrubbed clean from the top of the crow's nest to the stores below. Still, they stayed anchored, the brig overviewing the bay while her sailors enjoyed the benefits of an extended shore leave. Youra, at least, was making the most of it, spending nearly every waking moment with her lover while Hae preferred to stay on board of the Truth, doing small menial tasks to starve off the boredom. She didn't like the cramped feel of the city. The narrow alleyways made her feel trapped, and she longed for the freedom of sailing on the open sea, no land to be seen.

Hae had been tending to some nets, sitting on the stairs leading up to the Forecastle, when Teahyung approached, his face grim. She stopped fiddling with the knots and watched him climb the steps, coming to a stop before her.

"The captain wants to see you. Now.", he said, and the girl looked up at him, clearly startled by his brusque manner. She wanted to object, make some witty remark and to argue about his rudeness, but something in his face told her that this was urgent. He led her to the captain's quarters, and she couldn't help but feel a little nervous when they reached the door. What could Namjoon possibly want from her?

Teahyung entered without knocking, and she followed hesitantly, closing the door carefully behind herself. Namjoon was pacing on the carpet in the middle of the room, obviously agitated. The rest of the officers were spread out, but they all seemed tense. Yoongi, who was leaning against the massive writing desk on the far side of the room, nodded at Hae in greeting. His cool gaze lingered on her, but his neutral expression remained unchanged.

Hoseok was there too, stretched out on one of the couches, with Seokjin and Jimin at his side. The helmsman was still a bit pale, and his injury hadn't healed completely, but the two weeks of rest had done him a lot of good. Hae looked around, counting, and came up one short. Jungkook was still missing.

Namjoon cleared his throat, and Hae flushed as she turned to face the captain of the truth. Suddenly, she was nervous. What did they want from her? Immediately, her mind started to come up with some possibilities. Maybe they wanted to leave her here, in Ma City. She wasn't really a sailor on board the Truth Untold, not officially at least – she had no right to stay. None at all.

Or maybe they had found some clue or other about her forgotten past, and intended to send her off with someone else? She didn't want to imagine that either.

"Take a seat. This could take some time", the captain told her, and Hae hurried over to one of the red velvet armchairs, sitting down gracelessly. She just wanted to get this whole ordeal over with as soon as possible.

Namjoon took a deep breath, pacing again, speaking while he walked. "After what happened at Solseom, we had to regroup, and gather intelligence. They took us by surprise, and that shouldn't have happened. The Admiral isn't pleased that something so big slipped by us – we're scouts, we're supposed to catch attacks and prevent them, not stumble blindly into traps. So we send a spy to Solseom, to see what can be done before the Admiralty has to make a move."

"Jungkook", Hae muttered, and the captain nodded sharply. "As people tend to forget our faces and names rather easily, it is usually one of us that takes on the role. But this time, something went wrong. He should have returned a week ago – or at least send a message confirming his arrival. We haven't had any news at all. He has been captured, or so we assume."