The Great Mermaid | PURINZ

4. Treasure (Booty) Pt. 2/2

They were back to square one.

This stupid push-and-pull dynamic that Yunjin noticed Chaewon was doing— and whether it was intentional or not— it pissed Yunjin off to no end, but then it was partly her fault (which she will never admit to) for aggravating the captain.

Yunjin rolls her eyes as the people around her push and bump into her, saying simple sorry's as they drink down the last drops of red liquid in their cups.

A hand is placed on her shoulder, from Sakura, who's guiding her to the corner of the room to find empty seats.

Sakura motions Yunjin to sit on a barrel while she opts to lean against the wall despite an extra empty one seated next to her.

There were leaks of light from outside but the entire room was mainly illuminated by flaming lanterns hung on the wooden beams. Yunjin furrows her brows, thinking about how the ship so far had no accident relating to fires since there were drunkards all around.

But her mind drifts off to searching the crowd and immediately spotting the short infuriating woman in her red coat, talking to some of the members, while squeezing herself through the crowd until she reached a somewhat makeshift stage and stood on top of it.

The makeshift stage being a larger table surrounded by several kegs and barrels.

Ridiculous. Yunjin thinks.

The stage she meant.

Not Chaewon.

Even more ridiculous if she thinks about it.

Yunjin grumbles but looks at Chaewon who clears her throat, drawing the entire crew's attention onto her. Now she was curious about what speech she was planning to give, after being a first-hand witness to a tragic incident, and which she should stop giving constant reminders of.

"Ahoy to you all— to the fearless women of the seas. This is your captain speaking—" Chaewon starts, and the applause sounds throughout the ship as they chant and whistle her name.

"Captain Kim! Captain Kim! Captain Kim!"

"Now now, pay attention you lot'. We all know why we're here today— because you're all my crew of course— but why? in the sense of a celebration, yes?" Chaewon says smoothly, using her voice to charm the crowd.

And it works perfectly to Yunjin's surprise.

She understands the reason for their hyper energy. Chaewon's voice was silky and honey-like, but those who lasted even a day on this ship knew venom was laced on that tongue.

And when she smiles, round toothy smile— no canines— but Yunjin swears that Chaewon knows how to bite hard. She thinks that Chaewon doesn't necessarily need to be physical to win (most of the time she does), but her words were enough to harm— or even kill someone if she really tries.

"Bravery and strength has always been forthcoming in this ship— but sometimes we fear change, and the unknown path of our little adventure." Chaewon says, pausing, placing a hand against her chest as her voice starts to become louder.

"But yesterday proved to be a testament that we are able to adapt, to step into the unknown and challenge the unconquerable sea. We fought off a formidable opponent—"

And the crew laughs.

"Now now, we must respect the same fellows in the same line of work as us, no?" Chaewon says, yet the laughter escapes her, knowing the fight had been mainly a one-sided massacre.

Chaewon waits until the laughter dies down, coughing to catch everyone's attention once again, "— I'm saying so because they were bigger than us, scarier even, but then we have triumphed against those odds, so what does that say about us?"