Captain's Will

4. Return of the Surgeon

Two days' worth of journey separated the Grief from Yeosang. Hongjoong couldn't wait to see his surgeon again. While he dreaded him to shun Hongjoong in the same way Mingi did, Yongguk's and San's narratives about him sounded positive. Yeosang had stayed with San in Yongguk's home after their defeat against the kraken and had monitored his healing progress. He had been the one to suggest this plan and Yongguk had aided their search until they found a weapon strong enough to ensure their win.

The familiar creaking of the Grief lulled Hongjoong as he studied Yeosang's logs. They encompassed the last two years the surgeon had spent with the cartographer and their injured mate. They had met up with Mingi once to have him make the peg leg that now carried San everywhere, but apart from that, their logs were as mundane as Hongjoong's. Yeosang rarely wrote much, so his records of their recovery were sparse. He described the occasional nightmare and resentment toward the kraken that still haunted the oceans. Aside from that, he had little to confess. Neither missing the sea, nor hating Hongjoong for what had happened, came up.

Hongjoong flicked through the crinkled pages with a frown on his forehead. A bottle of rum accompanied his evening studies, but he needed it less than he had feared.

San and Yeosang weren't mad at him. They wanted to see Hongjoong's fight to an end. Yongguk had skimmed book after book to assist the crew and as soon as they had discovered the abandoned ship, the Dungeness, they had hurried to ready a journey. How they had found out where the other crew members were remained a mystery. At least, Mingi and the Grief had been nearby to pick them up.

Reminded of the disdainful glance his boatswain had given Hongjoong earlier, the captain slumped into his chair. His fingers circled the rim of his bottle before he took a sip.

Wooyoung and Jongho didn't know of this hazardous endeavour yet. Perhaps they would refuse to join, or perhaps they would curse at Hongjoong. Where San was, Wooyoung was usually never far, but how would that have developed after two years apart?

The captain rubbed his brow and emptied his bottle. As he rose to get a new one, he urged himself not to fall into anguish. He could always stop this. This time, he was wiser. The same decision he should have made back on that volcanic island where they had left Seonghwa; he could still make it today. No blind rage urged him for vengeance this time.

He only wished his crew to be happy.

-

The sailors for hire that had supported Mingi while he had been captain proved their skill when, exactly two days later, the Grief of the Damned anchored at the port town near the pirate cove. Most of the leafy figures darting between the houses matched the pirates from before, but the navy had a tighter reign in this place. The border of who ruled the town constantly shifted along the middle.

Hongjoong emerged from his cabin when the sailors outside exchanged orders of the tasks they needed to accomplish. With the warm wind ruffling the inside of his loose shirt, Hongjoong descended the stairs. Up ahead, near the plank, Yongguk stood with Mingi. They sported similar gloomy expressions.

San limped over the quarterdeck as he commanded their powder monkeys to gather more ammunition. Since he was busy, Hongjoong stepped to join the other two. With his head held high and his arms crossed, he met Mingi's penetrating gaze. Yunho perched on his shoulder and cleaned his wings.

Yongguk grinned, but it might as well have been a grimace.

"Captain," he greeted Hongjoong with the grace of one who couldn't be bothered less about the poor decisions made aboard this ship.

"Ye will be leavin' us now?"

Yongguk nodded and hooped his hand around the strap of his bag.

"I told Yeosang everything I know; the rest is on you. I would prefer good news over yet another failure, but my door is open for you and your crew if you need my aid again." Yongguk politely bowed his head. When his eyes fell on a person down at the docks, Hongjoong followed his line of sight. Yeosang hastened across the wooden jetty. Whenever he almost knocked into a person, he apologised sparsely before dashing ahead.