TREASURE || ATEEZ

14- swept to shore

ep. 14
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"Land ahoy!"

You turn your head to the direction where Jongho's hand is pointing toward, the sun blaring in your eyes as the sound of seagulls echo in your ears.  Your feet eagerly tap on the floor of the crow's nest as the ship inches closer to land and you wonder if you even remember how to walk on solid pavement. It's been a while since you stepped on actual ground, so seeing the island in view makes you smile widely.

Hopefully, you'll be able to leave the ship and take a look around the island with the permission of that awful captain.

You lose focus of the sight before you when someone taps you shoulder, seeing that Jongho is indicating that we should descend from the view point. With that, you travel down the ropes, with the assistance of the first mate, and safely arrive back to the ship's deck. Guiding you through the ship, Jongho returns you to the sickbay where Seonghwa is currently resting before he leaves to inform his captain about his findings.

With that, you simply observe the medic of the ship looking through his inventory of herbs and medicine, hearing a groan of frustration from him. Bottles are shuffled around the shelves, and eventually, Seonghwa flops into his chair while leaning his head back against the edge of the back rest. His hands come to cover his face before slowly dragging his skin down.

"I'm out of Sanguis Draconis," he wails in agony. "These stupid pirates keep hurting themselves and now I have no more."

Momentarily, he glances over at you and then approaches you, placing his hands on your shoulders before shaking you back and forth. "What will I do Hama? If these fools get injured one more time, I'll have to throw them overboard."

You are getting too dizzy with the blond male rocking you aggressively, but you manage to lift a finger up and mumble, "Jongho saw land near by, so maybe we can stop by and someone can go pick some up for you."

The shaking comes to a stop, and a gasp of relief echoes in your ears. You suddenly are pulled into a hug, which is accompanied with a squeal. "Oh my goodness, you are a genius! I'll go ask the captain right away!"

Within seconds, Seonghwa bursts out of the medical bay, leaving you by yourself in the room. Fortunately, there are no patients resting, so you have time to separate yourself from reality that's outside the door. A sigh escapes your thin lips, and you lie down on one of the beds to face the wooden ceiling.

Despite yearning for this silence for some time, it feels a bit lonely with no one around. You miss the market that you always visit to buy groceries, you miss the beach that you would always sit on the sand as you listen to the waves, you miss your sister who you treasure dearly...

You miss home.

You don't belong out in the seas, on a ship. You belong back on the island where you can be happy.

If only the Pirate King didn't raid your island and kidnap you...

Your train of thought stops in an instant when you hear knocking and the door opening. Turning your head over to the entrance, you notice an unfamiliar figure peer their head into the med bay before slowly entering. Their eyes wander the room, as if in search of something in particular, until they land on you.

"Are you Hama by any chance?" they question, their voice as deep as the endless depths of the ocean.

You nod your head cautiously, your gazed glued to the pirate.

He shoots you a small smile and opens the door completely, which reveals a tall brunette in a black top covered with a leather coat. A dog tag hangs around his neck and leather gloves cover his hands, while his lower body is covered in pants with a plethora of brown tones and black boots. His height reminds you of Yunho, seeing that they are roughly the same height in your eyes.

"I'm here to take you to the island with Jongho and I," he informs, bringing his hand to rub the back of his neck and glancing away from you. "Captain's orders."

Your mouth forms a shape of an 'O,' and you stand up from the bed to make your way to the pirate. You wonder why the captain has allowed you to leave the ship after the commotion you have caused the past few days, seeing that barely anyone here trusts you, but you simply take this opportunity to stray away from those thoughts. The man leads you out of the room with no words left to say and brings you back to the deck, the ocean breeze welcoming you from your return. A small smile creeps onto your lips as your skin basks in the sun once more.

"I'm Mingi, the boatswain." You turn your head over to the pirate who just spoke and softly smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Mingi."

A chuckle escapes his lips as he stops in place and looks at you. "You're pretty as San says."

You feel flattered by the compliment, yet sad by the mention of the navigator, who you haven't seen since the incident with Wooyoung. Hearing San's name reminds you of the good things he has done for you since you boarded the ship, and you miss him. This is no time for reminiscing these memories, however, so  you shake your thoughts away and thank the man for his flattering words before you spot Jongho approaching the both of you from the side.

Jongho softly bumps into Mingi with a giggle and flashes you a wide grin. "You ready to go, Hama? We're in charge of refilling supplies for our ship, and Seonghwa told me that you know what the sickbay needs in terms of medicine and herbs."

"Yup!" You give him a thumbs-up, now excited that you'll be able to leave the ship for once. Hearing that Seonghwa trusted you to retrieve medical supplies also makes you feel better about yourself, that maybe everyone will return to normal between you and everyonne else.

And once the ship docks at the harbor, you and the pirates adventure off into the island.