Kidnap

7

"And why, Yeosang, would you wish to go back there?" HongJoong hummed softly, as though he was merely curious, and though Yeosang knew that a part of the captain was curious, there was a morbid sense of joy in the flinch that Yeosang had taken, that the Captain had known that he would make when asked like that. He sighed, but did not allow himself to waver. It would be his first and likely last mistake to make on this topic. After all, the Captain had to be convinced with a good reason to head to where Yeosang was proposing. He bit his lower lip, a character of nervousness, but otherwise his words were steady when he spoke them.

"The Prince does not know of the Nobility." Yeosang said, vying for an aimless shrug. It did not fully work, he could tell from the slight glint of mirth in the Captain's eyes, he pushed forwards either way, paying no heed to the amusement that his Captain was taking in his discomfort. HongJoong was like that all of the time, and if someone from the crew had not gotten used to it by now, well, they did a hell of a good job hiding it. The Captain was sadistic, anyone with good sense knew not to arise any sort of interest from him. Poor Seonghwa, Yeosang thought offhandedly. The Captain is already horribly interested in him. It would not end well for any of the Crew, but Seonghwa does not have the loyalty or the dedication to vie for his effort.

"Yeosang, are you going to elaborate, or should I take it to mean you have nothing more to say?" Yeosang blinked, pulling himself from his thoughts. He had lost himself again. That was really quite dangerous. Especially in the Captain's presence. He could have done anything, or said anything, and if Yeosang had not heard, he inwardly shuddered to think of what could have happened, unable to be anything but grateful that nothing more was said.

"I apologize, Captain, as I was saying, the boy is not knowledgable of how the Nobles are. I felt as though...perhaps we could sway him a little bit, should he see what they are really like." HongJoong hummed, kicking his leg up so that his ankle was able to rest atop his other leg's knee. He tilted his head to the side, taking time to regard Yeosang curiously, although what made the statement curious, Yeosang could not say. He merely felt a sense of worry that the Captain was taking something he was saying wrong, and he did not know what to do about that.

"What makes you think I need this little Prince's...loyalty?" HongJoong questioned idly. He flicked his fingers out, toying with the sleeve of his captain's cloak. He hummed softly as he waited for Yeosang to answer. He knew this was a ploy to ensure his worry and confusion, in order to make him trip up. It was a power play if there ever was one, and Hongjoong was thoroughly effective when it came to power plays. Yeosang felt himself cringing inwards despite knowing exactly what Hongjoong was doing. It was bothersome, but there was not much that could be done about it.

"I...Suppose I just thought that it would be useful. Having the Prince's loyalty over the Nobility. We know that he holds some sway, even if it is not a lot at the moment. Should we use this chance right, we could get the loyalty of a Noble member of the family. A potential heir to the Kingdom." Yeosang saw the way that HongJoong gave a small smile at that. He relaxed slightly. Of course HongJoong had already intended to do something like that.

"And why, pray tell, do you think I did not whip the boy after he so daringly interfered with your punishment?" HongJoong questioned curiously. Yeosang paused, not wanting to answer that, now knowing he would likely get the answer wrong. Barring that, he had no idea what to say, regarding anything. "Was it because you thought that I was being merciful? Taking pity on the boy? Was that it?" Yeosang cringed backwards, that was exactly what he had thought prior. HongJoong was calling him out on it, in a rather cruel way, but he supposed the Captain had his reasons, just what they were, well, that did not matter in the end.

"I..."

"It is alright, Yeosangie," HongJoong said with a smirk. His voice gentle, and contradicting what his face was showing, that glint. Yeosang wondered if it was ever really gone. He knew that HongJoong could not possibly be so cruel all of the time, or at least, perhaps that was the part of him that was hoping more. "I appreciate that you think I was merciful for that reason, but you are wrong, still. If i were to whip the boy, on his first week here, what do you think would happen?"

"I...Suppose he would resent you, and fear you."

"Exactly, I do not want him to resent me, just fear me, do you understand?" Yeosang nodded, though he would admit he was a bit behind the Captain's intentions if he were being totally honest with himself. "And how is the boy, I would assume our little Princeling is all better now?"

"No, Captain, it will likely take at least a couple of weeks, with constant vitamins, and suppliments, and food for him to get back to a healthy normal. If he has ever been there." Hongjoong sighed out long sufferingly.

"I see." He muttered under his breath. He glanced up towards Yeosang, his eyes catching the Medic's. "Are you sure you are not just wanting to go on a little walk around town? Relive what it was like when you were all alone? No crew? No Wonderland? Nothing?"

"Yes, Captain, I am sure." Yeosang said, his voice low, and there was a select amount of offence covering his eyes. HongJoong smiled, his shoulders relaxing against his chair as he nodded.

"I will think about it." He said simply, waving his hand to dismiss Yeosang. The latter could not really help but feel that he had not really gotten anything done regarding this situation.