Eight makes one crew

Loyalty

Yunho stopped at the top of the stairs, staring at Jongho and Yeosang who were off to the right side of the ship and to Wooyoung and San on the left side. He was sorta unsure which one to go to first but then he decided to go to Yeosang and Jongho.

"Would you mind?" Yunho tapped Yeosang softly on the shoulder. Yeosang nodded, kissing Jongho's forehead and walking off to find Seongwha or Hongjoong.

"Hojong, how are you?" Yunho wondered, taking Yeosang's place in front of the maknae.

"Why would he do that? After everything that happened? He made a promise to us Yunho! He promised that we would never have to go back" Jongho tries to hide his tears but failed. Yunho rarely ever saw him cry but, until recently, he has been the second oldest and the second in command so he dealt with slightly more tears and emotional breakdowns than Hongjoong even knew about.

"Listen to me. If they ever try to take us, the first thing you do is you jump over that side of this ship and you swim as fast as you can. Get one of the boats if you have to but do not ever let them take you. Do you understand?" Yunho put both hands on Jongho's arms, turning his friend to face him.

"And do me a favor, if it comes down to it, you get the princes out of here. Leave the rest of us behind if you have to not make sure those four get out. Can you do that for me?" Yunho made sure.

"Yes" Jongho nodded. Yunho shook him a little.

"Promise me! Please?" Yunho waited. Jongho mumbled something, promising Yunho. The older finally pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you, Hojong. Thank you, and I promise, you'll never have to go back" Yunho didn't say it but he was sure Jongho caught the meaning. When they all joined the crew, Hongjoong had made them promise loyalty to each other. And he made them promise that no one woild draw swords against a member of their crew, including him. Yunho knew that if it came down to it, he would break that promise to protect Jongho and Wooyoung.

"I'm okay. I'm going to find Yeosang" Jongho walked off. Yunho looked to the side but San was already holding Wooyoung, the smaller had his legs wrapped around San's waist so Yunho knew they would be fine. San had it under control and for once, Yunho didn't know what to do with himself.

"Hey, are you doing okay?" Mingi walked up behind Yunho, careful not to startle him. Yunho didn't answer, instead just putting his head on Mingi's shoulder and forcing his friend to hold him. No, he wasn't okay but he had to be for his crew.

"It's okay to not be okay" Mingi told him.

"I'm okay" Yunho told himself more than Mingi but the onslaught of tears and sobs that rose inside him and erupted betrayed his words. Maybe, just this once, it was okay for him to not be okay.

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The next time that Yunho woke up, he was laying in Mingi's arms on someone's bed.

"Morning, sleeping beauty" Mingi grinned down at Yunho.

"Piss off" Yunho mumbled, sitting up and looking around.

"Captain wants to talk to all of us. Better get up" Mingi got up first, practically carrying Yunho out of the room and to Hongjoong and Seongwha's quarters.

"Okay, I know you guys are upset with me. And I understand why too, I should've talked to you all before making that decision to start an alliance with the Swan. Especially to you three, I should've asked. So I'm sorry and I hope you'll find it in you to forgive me" Hongjoong kept his hands folded in front of him as he talked.

"I won't lie to you, Captain because we promised never to keep secrets. I am still really angry about it. He killed our families, he tortured Wooyoung and all right in front of us! Just to get to you! And I know this isn't the same person but you heard what Namjoon said: he was the exact same. How do we know that he's changed?" Jongho ranted, letting out every insecurity bottled up inside him.

"Your right Jongho. That is something that I considered but if all we do is think about the what if-s, then it's going to be a pretty boring life. I haven't given you much reason to recently but please trust me. And if I happen to be wrong and I led us all right into a trap, then when we make it out, I will step down as Captain" Hongjoong had already decided. Seongwha looked up at him, surprised. He hadn't known that. Apparently no one else knew about their Captain's decision either.

"You can't!" Wooyoung argued.

"It's only an option if we are betrayed. Until then, I'm still your Captain and I will lead you all to the best of my ability. Do you trust me?" Hongjoong held eye contact with each of them for a few seconds.

"You saved me from my future. I trust you" Seongwha put his hand out, making a fist. He waited for someone else to join him but it took a moment.

"Yeah. And you did kill someone just because you thought he had disrespected me and Wooyoung" San did the same, his hand touching Seongwha's fist.

"You took me in when I needed someone the most" Yunho added.

"You've been a father to me when I didn't have one" Jongho kept his head down as he joined his comrades in showing their support to Hongjoong.

"You've taken care of all of us" Mingi joined in.

"You never judged me for being different than the others" Yeosang admitted. Everyone looked at Wooyoung, waiting expectantly.

"Your my Captain. I'm still mad at you but I trust you" Wooyoung couldn't be the only one not putting his trust in Hongjoong. The Captain put his hand on top of all his comrades, tears gathering in his eyes at the unwavering support. It was then that he knew, no matter what happened or how much he messed up, they were loyal to him for life.