Somewhere Between the Sea and the Sky.

Episode 0: Chapter 6

At a remarkable distance from the beach where the Aurora was, footprints left a clear path in the sand. Those were the steps of Wooyoung, who took the opportunity to leave as soon as they arrived on land to avoid his captain giving him too much work. It wasn't unusual for the silver haired to disappear for a while when they reached some islands, since he was aware that he was essential and they wouldn't leave him behind.

However he was coming back earlier than normal. He saw some White Army soldiers and had to alert Hongjoong before they reached Aurora.

He was approaching the port where the ship was docked at a fast pace, worried about his captain, but something crossed his path. Rather someone.
It was a boy he couldn't recognize, with dark hair and much taller than him. He was going in the same direction as him but at a much calmer pace, so it wasn't difficult for Wooyoung to approach him from behind.

He couldn't let him reach the Aurora.

He tried not to be heard by the opponent, and finally he took one of his daggers and put it behind the stranger's back. He made sure the other noticed the edge through the long coat he wore, but without hurting him. He had a smooth sentence planned to threaten him and get him away from the beach, but what happened was very different.

The stranger didn't expect anyone to be nearby, so he let out an unexpected and shrill scream as soon as Wooyoung did that.

To his surprise, the boatswain screamed too, later covering his mouth to avoid attracting more attention. That disaster allowed the stranger to turn around to see who had pointed his weapon at him. It was then that Wooyoung was able to clearly see that individual.

It was a young man with dark eyes like his hair, with his hair slicked back. His sharp features contrasted with his lips, something Wooyoung couldn't help but notice. Although he had all the cards to be intimidating, his expression and way of looking at the other gave the opposite energy.

He was more than confused by the situation.

Wooyoung's attention was also drawn to a mole on the stranger's right cheek, though he couldn't see any more details before he spoke.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Are you blind?! I was going to threaten you but you screeched like a seagull!"

Thank the gods there was no one else to hear that, for once someone's screams competed with Wooyoung's.

"Threaten me?!" The stranger seemed more outraged than scared. "Do you want the reward?! I'm not gonna get caught so easily!"

Hold on. Reward? What was he talking about?

The silver-haired man took a moment to breathe and avoid more screaming, aware that it was not in his interest to get the army's attention.

"Exactly. That's what I want." He said. To what extent could he deceive the other to get information from him? "So stop yelling or it will be worse for you."

"Hah, you can't catch me!"

Saying this, the stranger moved away from Wooyoung a bit and drew two swords from under his coat. The silver haired did not react, the other seemed to be bluffing.

"I am the great pirate Mingi! The White Army's nightmare! The one who defied the masked spirits! The one who...!"

"Enough already." Wooyoung interrupted him.

The other was clearly lying but if anything caught his attention it was that he mentioned the masked spirits.

Said spirits were magical beings known to reflect the repressed darkness of humans. These could come to possess people, if so they would be persecuted and eliminated by the church.