Until We Become Untethered (The Forever Pirates) #3

003

Wooyoung 

I didn't know how to explain it, there wasn't much of a way I could if I was being honest. I didn't want to be rude, and my grudges only went so far. I made Hongjoong food. He rarely ever left his captain's quarters, it felt like old days, him having something new to obsess over. Yunho said that he was looking into something for him, and when I tried to ask, he told me he already promised to keep his mouth shut. 

Maybe I was waiting for one person besides Seonghwa to interact with him, waiting for the first pebble to fall in the rockslide, because the next thing was me walking to the captain's quarters and knocking on the door. 

I waited for a few minutes, debating whether I should just leave the bowl of soup sitting outside the door, but I felt like it might get spilled as the ship swayed, so I stayed. A couple more beats and the door then opened. 

Hongjoong stared at me, his eye widening a fraction. I still wasn't used to it, remembering now when I told Seonghwa to take that horrendous ring off, I never even considered it was his eye. It made sense now. 

"Wooyoung..." He breathed, just as shocked as he seemed. I held the soup out for him and his eye dropped to it quickly before going back up to me. 

"Ye don't usually eat. 'ere." I said, my voice quiet. 

He swallowed, taking a breath before grabbing it from my hands. "Be t'at all?" 

I hesitated. 

"Would ye like...t' talk?" He treaded lightly, and I could see the worry in his body language, how scared he was to scare me off. 

"Ye were on my side... even when nobody else was." I said, my voice stayed the same volume, like I could not bear to raise it any higher. He looked away, trembling slightly as he stepped to the side. "T'is where ye isolate yerself?" 

"I don't believe I'm welcome amongst t'e crew." He replied, going to the desk to put my bowl down. "May I be granted t'e ability t' apologize?" 

I smiled slightly at him, "Seonghwa said ye were incapable of apologies." 

He winced, "Seonghwa and I are more complicated. I feel differently wit' ye, I feel... I never wanted ye t' t'ink I didn't care about ye. And I did. I did make ye all t'ink t'at way-"

"I want t' know. About w'at really happened. Why did ye do t'at? I owe ye everyt'in." 

"Ye owe me not'in." 

"Aye, I do. San was t'e one t'at found me, but nobody cared about me. Ye did." 

He smiled wistfully, "Ye were important. Ye always were." 

***

"Ye brought me a stray?" The captain asked in distaste, a doubtful look in his eyes as he looked at the man next to me. 

"He pickpocketed me." The man replied, coldly. He couldn't have been that much older than me, if he even was. He looked young, scrawny, but there was an anger in his eyes as he stared at the captain. Their history was something I wasn't sure I wanted to know. 

"And? Did ye get yer feelin's hurt, San? What do ye want me t' do wit' him?" 

San, I found out was the boy's name, just huffed.