The Night I Found Home (The Forever Pirates) #1

033 [THE END]

A/N: Ya'll are going to hate me for this chapter. But there will be a book two after this. I know no one probably expected this, but uh... Neither did Seonghwa! So.... :)

I love you all, and thank you for reading this. I love this story so much, and I worked so hard on it. ♡

Also random, but I'm sorry it took me so long to get these last two chapters out. I've been busy working so I haven't had the time.

Seonghwa

I felt a light chill as I woke up to an empty bed. My body was so held down by exhaustion that I was so disoriented.

It felt so quiet, and at first, I thought that quietness was peaceful, but after a while, it grew under my skin.

I shifted, getting out of bed, and pulled some clothes on. Like always, I decided to wander the ship and maybe find Hongjoong and keep him company.

I walked out of the cabin, the deck being incredibly bare. That wasn't too abnormal, but it always gave me chills.

The first thing I spotted was Hongjoong sitting by the ships wheel, staring at the waves as he rested his hand on something. I recognized it quickly as his hourglass, or cromer, as he liked to call it.

I smiled, walking up the steps to meet him. "Couldn't sleep?" I asked.

He let out a long, pained sigh, increasing some of my worry. "No, I couldn't."

My smile slipped as I sat next to him, "What's wrong?"

He didn't look at me as he said, "T'is be t'e end of t'e line."

My eyebrows furrowed, my eyes darted across the ship, and only then did I notice the scuff marks and the fact that the plank had been used. "Did something happen?"

"T'ey're all gone." He murmured, his finger tapping against the glass of his cromer.

My stomach churned as I stood up, having a dreadful feeling, and I ran down the steps to check our bunking room.

Not a single pirate in sight.

All of the hammocks laid bare.

"Hongjoong...Hongjoong, where are they? What happened?" I thought I might throw up with how severely panicked I became.

He ticked with his tongue, "I forced t'em overboard."

Even as he said the words, they didn't register. All that did in its place was insurmountable confusion. "....why? Why would you do that?"

His eyes landed on mine, agony filling them. "Ye all can't follow where I'm about t' journey."

My eyes landed on the cromer. "You said it was a family heirloom. It's more important, isn't it?"

He let out a sigh, standing up. "We'll be docking soon. T'at be yer stop, me dear."

"What?" I breathed, taking a step back. "What are you doing?"

"I need ye t' get off. T'e ot'ers can swim. I knew ye can't."

My mouth fell open in shock, "The kids? Hongjoong!"