I Am The Sea || Choi San

threat

"This is it," Captain Hongjoong storms out of his cabin, Seonghwa and Jongho hurrying after him with frantic faces. "I have had it with this Gods-forsaken, cursed thing!"
"Hongjoong, wait-..." Seonghwa rushes to grab the Captain's sleeve, but Hongjoong simply twists himself away.
It's late afternoon, a few days after Seonghwa had given up what he knew about the Pirate King to Theo, giving the girl much to think and ponder about during the endless hours of training.

Theo, playing her fifth round of "Blood-Death-Crown" against Yeosang and Mingi, looks up from her cards, watching with furrowed brows as the Captain raises an arm, holding a piece of paper, flapping in the wind.
Jongho stands behind him with wide eyes as Captain Hongjoong takes a few deep breaths.
"Please, Captain, I'm sure there has to be a way," the cartographer says with raised hands. "Don't give up now."
Theo rises from her seat atop a water barrel as she realizes that the Captain is about to release the map into the sea wind, followed by Mingi and Yeosang. San, who had been keeping busy by sharpening two of his beloved knives, sheathes the weapons and stands next to Seonghwa, his eyes flirting to Theo shortly before landing on his Captain.

"What is going on down here?"
Wooyoung swings down from the crow's nest and lands safely on the main deck next to San, driving a hand through his hair. He assesses the situation with a swift glance at his Captain.
"Captain, with all due respect," he starts, "Are you insane?"
"Careful with your words, Wooyoung," Hongjoong snarls. Theo has never seen him so frustrated before.
The Captain turns away from his crew and sighs defeated.
"We've been trying to read this map for over a week now," he says then, "But it doesn't make sense. The coasts keep changing. Nothing is where it's supposed to be. The Pearl might as well be in Davy Jones' locker and we're running out of time."

"Sink me! What's a mapmaker good for if he can't read the map," Wooyoung grins at Jongho with a playful glint in his eyes, "Maybe we should feed the fishes with him then, huh?"
"Try me," Jongho scowls back and rolls his shoulders, but Seonghwa places a steady hand on his arm and shakes his head.
The cook says, "I'm sure Jongho could read the map if it wouldn't constantly change. The map must be cursed with a spell."
"Which means it's useless," Mingi says with his finger on his lips, "Unless we break the curse."
"Good luck with that," Yeosang chimes in, "I studied every book in my father's library and not one of them even mentions a curse. Someone really didn't want the Pearl to be found."

"Someone is trying to run a rig on us, that's all," Wooyoung grabs after the map in his captain's hand and holds it up to his face, "We had to send our own men into the lion's den for this map, we are not throwing it away."
Theo, who stands beside Woo, looks over his shoulder at the map.
For a moment, the both of them simply blink and stare. The map is old, that is for sure, but the ink is still strong and dark. Beautiful, intricate lines form a few ragged coasts towards the North and South of the map. Theo reads over the city names titling a few small dots along the coast lines.
Calcutta.
Adrienne.
Las Gulva.
Priata.

None of the names sound familiar to Theo. Her eyes wander to the the south east corner of the map, where a finely drawn sea dragon is curled around an island in the shape of a slivered moon. There is absolutely nothing around the island for miles and miles, as it seems, and Theo just knows that this is where the Pearl is supposed to be.
"Can you even read?" Mingi murmurs towards Wooyoung who narrows his eyes in response and raises a single eyebrow.
"Fine," he says then and rolls the map up, "I admit it's going to be harder than we expected."

Theo looks at him, hesitating. What does he mean, the Pearl's island was right there. 
"I told you," Hongjoong groans, "The Pearl is probably hidden or vanished or-..."
"What do you mean," Theo speaks up then, "It's right there. To the South East of Priata."
All eyes fall onto her and Theo swallows thickly, taking the map from Woo. She unrolls it again, placing it on a nearby barrel, kneeling down in front of it.
Hongjoong and Seonghwa exchange a heavy look before bending over Theo's shoulders to look at the map.