Treasure EP. 1: All to Zero

Chapter 9: The Pirate King

The six boys were trapped in the jail cells of the pirate ship. Hongjoong leaned on the bars on the front of the cell, and Seonghwa leaned against the wall.

"*Sigh*...what are we going to do now?" Seonghwa asked.

"I...I don't know." Hongjoong replied quietly.

"I'm scared." Wooyoung said.

San put his arm around him.

"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing." Yeosang said as he stood up, "We need to find a way out of here."

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and Yeosang immediately sat back down. A boy walked into the room. He was wearing a white shirt and a checkered jacket and white pants. His hair was dark brown and a small part of his bangs was braided. He looked similar to the captain, but at the same time, he looked like one of the crew mates. He was holding a basket of bread and some plates. He went to the three jail cells and placed the bread on the plates, then he slid them under the cell bars.

"...thanks." Hongjoong said nervously.

"No problem!" The boy said, smiling warmly, "I'm just doing what the captain says! He may seem mean, but he doesn't want you to starve!"

"Who are you?" Jongho asked, "You don't look like a crew mate."

The boy smiled at him.

"That's because I'm not a crew mate!" He said, "I'm the first mate! My name is Yunho!"

"The first mate, huh?" Hongjoong said, "So...can you tell us about the captain?"

"Of course! I've known Mingi for a very long time!"

"Mingi?"

"That's the captain's name. Captain Mingi!"

He moved a chair in front of the cells and sat down.

"Okay, where do we start..." He said, "Alright, the story of captain Mingi is also the story of the Pirate King. And it's an unbelievable story..."

Several years ago, Mingi was kidnapped and brought aboard this ship. He was just a child, so the captain of the ship had him thrown into a jail cell, and I was tasked with bringing him food. He seemed scared, but the captain told me not to speak to him.

But I didn't listen to him. I spoke to Mingi every day. As time went by, we got closer and closer, to the point where I decided to help him escape the cell. When no one was looking, I let him out of the cell, but he didn't get far before the captain saw him. But when he approached Mingi, he was a bit too close to the edge of the ship, and when he reached out to grab Mingi, Mingi fought back. He pushed the captain right off the edge of the ship and sent him falling into the ocean. As soon as he did, everyone looked at him and bowed down, even me. Mingi didn't know it at the time, but he just became the captain of the ship, and the king of all pirates, and he was just a kid. Mingi's just a few years younger than me, so I found it a bit odd being the first mate at the time. But as the years went by, Mingi realized his place, and now, he's the captain of this ship. His name is feared across the land. He is truly the Pirate King.

The six boys were amazed at the story.

"Wow..." Hongjoong said, "That's an incredible story!"

"It is!" Yunho said, "By the way, I think your friends are sleeping."

Hongjoong looked over at the others. Surely enough, they were all fast asleep.

"Hey..." Yunho said as he walked up to Hongjoong's cell, "I'll talk to Mingi. You guys definitely don't deserve this. I'll get him to listen. Promise!"

Hongjoong smiled. Then he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Yunho seemed like someone he could trust. Hongjoong fell asleep as the boat gently rocked back and forth on the water.