Transient Waters

14

Hongjoong had no idea what had rushed this sort of feeling in the Omega. He had no idea that WooYoung had even left the Omega alone, but it would seem that he would have to keep a closer eye on him then what he had previously thought. The only thing he had known was Mingi screaming for him and the next thing that he knew he had a armful of distraught Omega. He had not really known what to do, just allowing his instincts to take control as he brought him to the Captain hold and sat down on the bed with him, letting him curl around him desperately. HongJoong may not be the most bright person in the universe, but it was obvious that SeongHwa had no idea what to do with himself here.

As much as HongJoong hated the idea of making SeongHwa do anything, he was beginning to wonder if it would be better for the other's mental health to do something...anything...considering the fact of the matter, he was terrified. He was scared and obviously he had some rather deep-set trauma. He did not really know much about Omegas, but he did know that this one was incredibly attached to WooYoung. He also knew that attachment went both ways. SeongHwa was not the only one attached to WooYoung, Wooyoung cared for the Omega deeply as well, hence why HongJoong had known that he would need to bring the boy with them if they were going to get anywhere. That and there had not really been much time to contemplate what to do. WooYoung was obviously going to continue fighting to keep SeongHwa, and though Hongjoong was not entirely all that happy about being challenged for WooYoung, even he knew that there was a special commitment there for someone to challenge a higher rank than themselves just for the safety of someone they cared about. It was hard, and it took guts and a level of care that HongJoong had been shocked to see someone develop in the month that WooYoung had been gone. Still, he could not bear to leave him.

Now...He had originally wanted to wait until SeongHwa was a bit more settled to give him chores, but he knew there was no way around it, SeongHwa would have to be given something to do to keep his mind of wanting to throw himself into the water. A suicidal Omega was definitely not on a list of things that HongJoong had suspected he would have to worry about, but he should have guessed. Sighing, Hongjoong merely carded his hands through the silky strands and contemplated what he should do. He did not know anything that needed help with, and he definitely did not want to leave him alone with YeoSang. The other would fight him tooth and nail, goodness knows why, but HongJoong was not inclined to argue with him. He also did not want to leave him with WooYoung and San, if anything the separation was necessary to continue forwards. HongJoong supposed he could stay with him, but he was not really sure if SeongHwa would feel comfortable with that.

He really hoped that they would make it to the encampment soon. He needed to ask so many questions, and he had no answers. He should have asked them the last time, or any other time that he had been to visit Taemin, but had not really thought he would be in the position that he was in now. Curse his lack of forethought. It was not as though Omegas were common, though, and even less considering he was a Pirate. Taemin was the only one that HongJoong knew was actively involved with the pirate game. That had mostly to do with the revenge he had craved, and gotten. Taemin was a unique omega in that sense.

"Captain!" WooYoung burst through the doors, eyes wild as he paused, taking in a sharp breath as he saw SeongHwa curled around HongJoong's torso. HongJoong saw WooYoung's fingers twitch anxiously. It was almost as though he wanted to rend the Omega from his lap, but also held enough respect for his Captain and friend not to do so. HongJoong was grateful for his restraint. "What...What happened?" He asked softly.

"Mingi stopped him from jumping into the ocean." WooYoung let out a wounded sound at that, body stiff still as he forced himself not to rush to the Omega. It was dangerous, they all knew that, and even HongJoong could not be certain that his Alpha would not attack WooYoung should he try and take SeongHwa from him at the moment. "He called for me immediately after and I brought SeongHwa here. He fell asleep not too long after."

"Fell...asleep?" WooYoung blinked, unable to really compute what was going on.

"Is that not normal? He was exhausted." Wooyoung rolled his eyes at that.

"Hyung, SeongHwa Hyung is always exhausted, it is not really all that shocking. I am more worried about his trying to jump into the ocean. What...Why do you think he did that?"

"From what SeongHwa told me before drifting off he felt useless because you did not need him anymore."

"That's ridiculous!" WooYoung instantly rebuked. HongJoong laughed a bit dryly.

"Well, when he wakes up tell him that. For now, tell Mingi that we need to speed our course up as best we can. I need to talk to Taemin as soon as possible."

"You...You think maybe...maybe he felt like that because San and I left the room?" HongJoong shrugged, he had no idea. What he did know was that SeongHwa's mental state was very fragile at the moment, maybe more than what any of them would like to admit. It left him vulnerable, and fragile. It was probably a lot of things that drove SeongHwa to try and die by jumping over the edge of the boat, but he did not wan to tell WooYoung that, the boy already felt horribly guilty as it were.

"I think right now he definitely is going to need something to do to feel useful. If he feels useless not having to watch you all the time, I figure it may help to have him do something. Don't worry, WooYoung-ah, I will make sure that he is okay."