IN THE MIST | seongjoong

16

Seonghwa sits on the quarter-deck, his knees pulled to his chest tightly as he leans against the rail around the deck. His eyes are cast down to the ocean below, dark blue waves crashing softly against the ship.

When he and Hongjoong had gotten back to the Mist after the incident, the crew had rushed to them, noting the state of the pair as Yunho assessed Hongjoong's disheveled state, blood seeping through his blouse from a deep cut and his face bloodied.

Yeosang had come to Seonghwa's side, noting the distant state of the siren and he had hugged him tightly, knowing no words he had to offer would comfort the siren.

Seonghwa needed time away from them all to clear his head, to help tell himself what was real and what wasn't.

The person who had shown themselves as a mirror copy of Hongjoong has been a shapeshifter. Rare, but not surprising especially in a place like Trader's Isle. They had cut Hongjoong with a knife laced with porphyria, which though deadly to sirens, wasn't fatal to humans. Yunho had told him it was something used to clear a person's head—a calming antidote for them, yet a deadly poison to Seonghwa. How cruel nature could be, Seonghwa didn't know.

How cruel a human could be, though, he did.

The shapeshifter's words shouldn't be ringing in his head, and he shouldn't be thinking they belonged to Hongjoong and yet he did. He hated that the words hurting him most were the ones that shouldn't have.

I could never love you. Hurting you is so easy.

Seonghwa shuts his eyes tightly as the words ring through his head. He doesn't get it. He doesn't understand. He doesn't get why the shapeshifter had said they could pretend to be Hongjoong for him. Pretend to love him.

He didn't understand what he meant by kissing and fucking him. He's heard people use the words in the past. Usually, the latter was followed with lewd comments so Seonghwa could only imagine that "fucking" was something he wouldn't have wanted that shapeshifter or really, anyone to have done to him.

He was acting as if Seonghwa loved Hongjoong. The idea seems so ridiculous to Seonghwa that he couldn't even fully comprehend it. And yet the words the shapeshifter uttered with love involved hurt him the most.

Seonghwa had realized not long ago that he had grown to trust Hongjoong, perhaps not deeply but enough that he believed Hongjoong when he had assured Seonghwa that it was him after the fight. It was why Hongjoong's abuse of his necklace cut so deep and why his words could soothe and hurt.

He had grown to trust the entire crew, too.

He had never felt such relief after seeing their faces when he returned from the isle, after feeling Hongjoong hold him.

He isn't sure if it was a good thing or not.

Soft steps pull him from his thoughts and he looks up as Hongjoong steps before him. Seonghwa squints at the man, considering that night has fallen long ago and that  his vision can no longer see clearly in the night. Perhaps another repercussion of being in his human form for too long.

"Why are you out here and not inside? It's cold." Hongjoong asks as he sits before Seonghwa, leaning against the rail just as the siren did.

"I have your coat." Seonghwa moves his hands under the coat draped over his body to place emphasis and Hongjoong nods, his fingers fidgeting on his knees. Seonghwa had been surprised that Hongjoong hadn't yet asked or made a move to take the coat back from him, especially after he overheard Wooyoung talking about Hongjoong's odd protectiveness over the coats.

"Why are you here?" Seonghwa asks softly, watching the pirate carefully and Hongjoong looks down to the ocean crashing below before his eyes move to meet Seonghwa's.