VOYAGE II: To Where You Are

Chapter 4

Right Here

The next day Hongjoong woke up with an awful headache, his face morphs into a grimace as he sat up. A hand flying up his face to massage his temples.

He opens his eyes to look around the lightly lit room, soft rays of sunshine piercing through the windows.

There was a knock on the door followed by a "Captain, are you awake?"from a muffled voice that seemed to be Seonghwa.

The groggy man gets out of bed, rubbing the sleep off his eyes, as he made his way towards the door to answer it.

Behind the door was indeed the first mate, who looked fresh as a dew covered garden in the morning."Good morning Captain! Breakfast is ready at the galley."

"What happened last night?"Hongjoong yawned, scratching his head and stretching his arms out.

"You got really drunk."Seonghwa answers truthfully."Honestly we were all wondering about what drove you to drink that much."

"What did I do? Did I say anything weird?"Joong inquired suddenly feeling the drowsiness leave his system. He knows what he's like when he's drunk, so he worries that he might done and said something he would come to regret.

"You were blabbing, a lot."

"About?"Joong made a motion with his hands to continue, and Seonghwa smirked, making the other nervous.

"Why are you smiling like that?"the Captain asked, scared, darting his index finger at the other.

"Nothing."Seonghwa teased.

Scenes from the happenings last night then started flooding Hongjoong's mind. He remembered ranting about her leaving, and not he felt more mortified.

Joong ran his hand over his face, before once again looking at Seonghwa."What else did I say?"

"That you never told her..."

Upon hearing that Joong recalls thinking about Shinji last night when he slept, though he thought it was dream, where he regretted her leaving.

"how.."Seonghwa continued.

Shinji...I never told you..

"you felt."Hwa finished, seeing how the Captain's face get stripped off of color.

The cat was out of the bag. It felt like a wave of ice cold water crashing onto him. The realization that he had revealed himself, his feelings, the ones he tried to keep buried underneath.

His expression was unreadable, blank, as he looked down on the floor, his nape and ears visibly turning into a red tinge.

"Joong, why didn't you say anything?"

The other looks up with an annoyed frown, face all bright red. Seonghwa tried, he really tried, to maintain a serious face. But how Joong looked like right now made him lose it.

The first mate erupts into laughter, his hand around is his stomach, as his head whips back from the series of haha's that escaped his mouth.

"Not funny Hwa, don't tell me you told the others."the embarrassed Captain chides.

The older wipes a tear from his eye, straightening himself up and regaining his composure.

"I didn't."he reassures."It's not my place to tell."

Hongjoong sighs in relief, he knew they would never let him live it down if they found out.

"But tell me, how come you never said anything? Even when they were leaving?"

Hongjoong crosses his arms."I was about to, then I decided to let it go."he says with honesty."But now, months later, I can't help but feel like I regret it."he had a somber look, his hand lightly rubbing the back of his messy hair.

Seonghwa was definitely amused, this was the first time he'd seen the Joong like this. Never had the thought of the Captain having problems regarding love ever slipped his mind. But that didn't mean it was impossible.

"Well if you ask me, you should've told her."Hwa slides his hands in his pockets."Regret is an awful thing to wallow in. But we can't do anything about it right now can we? So, the next time you see her, you'd better tell her."

"Tell who what?"Yunho who appeared to be passing by, jumps into the conversation.

"Tell you to get the Captain something for his headache."Seonghwa replied, seeing a wave of relief wash over Hongjoong who was tense a moment ago.

"Oh right, I'll go and get the brew from the sickbay. Meet ya at the galley then."the blue haired male makes his leave, heading for the infirmary where he'd just left earlier.

***

Haiden, along with Aspen were at the market place. The place was blooming with stalls, selling fruits, greens, meat, clothing, and other things.

The white haired quartermaster hated tagging along with the cook, especially when buying ingredients for stock. He found it boring how the ginger would mumble things about how good the condition of the greens he found was or how the price was too high of too low.

In addition, Haiden definitely despised the stench of the market place. The metallic smell of blood from slaughtered livestock, gave him unwanted flashbacks of the island, and he had to force himself not to feel like puking.

He continued to tail Aspen, who went on his merry way through the stalls, ducking and looking around, occasionally evading other people.

It was a bit difficult for Haiden to do, as he carried the stuff the had bought on his arms, getting in the way of his view.

Curse going to the market place with Aspen! Since when was I the assistant?

As he made the effort of following the cook, with a scowl on his face. Haiden caught a glimpse of someone he never thought he'd see again. He stops in his tracks not taking his eyes off the girl that had just passed beside him.

Her chocolate hair was longer, and her previous dead looking honey eyes had a somewhat new sparkle in them. Dressed in a sage green dress, she carried a basket slung on her left arm, containing a variety of veggies and fruits. A small white dog was also tailing her from behind, as she made her way out of the market.

A smirk makes it way on Haiden's lips.

We'll what do you know, the key to executing our revenge is right here before us.