Somewhere Between the Sea and the Sky.

Episode 1: Chapter 3.

"Hoshi...?"

At first the pirates were just confused, but Yunho's voice managed to make some fear grow on them. The soldier wasn't just scared, he was terrorized by the name he heard, he was almost trembling . Mingi and Wooyoung looked at each other, they didn't even know what to ask. Should they even ask?

"Oh, you know who I am? Cool!" Soonyoung said in a cheerful tone. The guy just turned Yunho into a frightened mess, but he seemed so happy.

"You— Of course I know." Yunho gulped and gave himself a moment of silence. To the pirates, it seemed like he was thinking about what he was allowed to say. "You're the leader of the Specialists combat unit."

"Wait— Wait!" The silver haired interrupted, breaking the dense atmosphere around them. "The Specialists? I thought they were a lie to scare pirates."

"Now that's what I'm used to." Soonyoung replied, clearly disappointed. "How can you be the friend of a specialist and think we don't exist?"

"He's— Is he a specialist...?"

But despite asking, the silver haired wasn't ready for an answer yet. He directed his gaze to the floor, going silent like he needed a moment to assimilate what was happening. The soldiers noticed and remained in silence too, making the scene even more uncomfortable for everyone but Soonyoung.

For Wooyoung every second in silence felt like an eternity, pure and burning anguish growing inside of him. But he didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to break the spell of the moment. Luckily for him, his crewmate was there to help.

"What the fuck are the Specialists?!" Mingi finally spoke. "Why do you guys wear a black uniform if you're from the White Army?! It doesn't make sense!"

He was so fucking confused. Why did Yunho know about them? Why wasn't he warned? He knew the soldier for so long, they both shared some fucked up and deep secrets. Why didn't he tell him about the weird as shit soldiers with black uniforms?

Now that he got to think about it, hadn't he seen a black uniform before?

"That's the thing." Yunho started to explain after some seconds, once again measuring his words. "The army doesn't want people to think of them as soldiers—"

"I am beyond offended right now." Soonyoung added.

"They're expert fighters and an excellent team, but—" The other kept explaining. "They're an absolute chaos. Practically uncontrollable."

"I wouldn't put it that way. We are in control, but we don't fully obey the Army." Soonyoung took a moment to stare into the pirates eyes. "We obey our captain first, those rude uniformed guys last."

"You are exterminators. You destroy your targets without any mercy." Then he chuckled. It was an awkward laugh, probably to release some tension from his body. "Even the soldiers fear you. The Specialists are monsters."

"We are soldiers like you. We are humans." Soonyoung paused for a moment. "Most of us. I'm pretty sure Hansol— I mean Vernon! I think Vernon is a human too, but I still have to make sure. "

"Wait, wait." Mingi finally understood. "Vernon? Isn't that how the ugly monster was called?"

"Oh, you met Vernon Junior! Isn't he cute?"

"That bastard is gross."

"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP."

The boatswain's shrill voice pierced everyone's ears and earned some silence once again, but he wasn't tense or confused then. He was serious, his gaze fixed on Soonyoung's red eyes. God, those eyes were weird, but he just said he was a human. How could that be? The thoughts invaded Wooyoung's mind, for a moment it made him forget what he wanted to say. The soldier already said he wasn't a liar, were there really humans with bright bloody eyes?