𝓢𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓷'𝓼 𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓵

⏳Drift⏳

As the sun rose and bathed the ship in its light, Wooyoung decided he wanted to make breakfast for the day. Since Seonghwa now had free time, he spent it with his husband and son. "O...Om..ma...Do you..h..ave to go?" Anh was able to muster out. "Yes, honey, we do, but we'll be back before dinner, just like last night." Hwa said, holding Anh. "Didn't you have fun with Uncle Mingi yesterday?" Hongjoong asked him. "I..I did..b-but..I missed y..ou" Anh replied sadly. Hwa poked his lip out slightly in awe and slight sadness. "We missed you too, Anh, but I promise only a couple more days of this and then we're done with what we need to do, and we can go back to the mainland so you can meet your grandparents and your other uncle." Hwa said. Anh got slightly excited before they heard his stomach grumble. "Let's go see if Wooyoung is finished with breakfast." Hongjoong stated with a little laugh, causing Hwa to nod in agreement before they got up and went to eat Woo's cooking.

As they left, Seonghwa waved goodbye to Anh from the water before going under. Anh looked sad to see them go, and it only made Hwa want to get back to the ship as soon as possible. After he was submerged, he felt Hongjoong's hand on his shoulder. "What's the plan for today?" He asked. "We need to find Raden." Hwa replied.

As they swam towards the castle, they talked to each other. "So, who exactly is Raden? Like I know his role in the castle, but like, who is he?" Hongjoong asked. "Raden is my best friend. We grew up together." Hwa said happily. It was the first time Hongjoong saw Hwa happy on this trip other than on the ship with Anh. "Why don't you tell me more about him?" Hongjoong said. "Well, when we were kids, Raden was abandoned by his parents. I found him while I was playing in the garden because he just happened to be lurking around. He was hungry and alone...so...we took him in. I guess my parents took pity on him for his parents' leaving, and he just struck a soft spot in their hearts. You could say I got attached pretty quickly. Seojun was older than me, so it was hard for us to connect, so when they brought in someone my age, we kind of just clicked." Hwa said, causing Hongjoong to nod. "What about his personality?" Hong asked, trying to find out a little more about Hwa's childhood friend. "Well, he's kind of an introvert, pretty quiet and...well...a dark humor type of guy. He was kind of cold and nervous around me at first, but he just needed to get used to me. Now we're good friends, and he's kind of like my therapist." Hwa stated.

They swam to the castle, and Hwa thinks that Raden would be in the study, probably working on a plan for the raid. When they arrived at the study's doors, Hwa pushed them open to no one. Raden wasn't there. Hwa sat there for a second, thinking about where else he could be. They went and checked his room, the throne room, and the kitchen. Hwa was out of ideas of where he could be. Hongjoong noticed an area covered in coral and other plants that could survive down there. He asked Hwa what the place was. "It's a garden. I remember my mom would visit it often...it was her favorite place." Hwa replied. They swam for a bit around the garden and were about to leave when Hwa bumped into someone coming out of the shadowed part of the garden. Hongjoong checked Hwa to make sure he was okay before the figure spoke. "Well, I didn't expect to bump into you here." Hwa and Hongjoong met eyes with the siren...it was Raden. "You were gone for a long time. We thought you were dead." He said. Hwa got up and wrapped his arms around Raden. "Out of everyone here, you were the one I missed most." Hwa said happily. Raden's arms tensed, and he put his hands on Hwa's hips, gently pushing him back without returning the embrace. Hongjoong didn't like the contact between them at all, his jaw clenching. Seonghwa didn't seem to notice his husband's discomfort. "Oh yeah, right. I forgot you aren't a huggable siren." Hwa said, laughing as he rubbed the back of his neck. Raden looked at Hongjoong. "Who's this..." He asked, his tone remaining cold and nonchalant, seeming slightly on edge. "Oh uhm...this is...My friend, Hongjoong." Seonghwa said, putting his hands on Hongjoong's arms. Even though Hwa was trying to be secretive about Hongjoong being his husband, it seemed like Raden could see that it was a lie. "Yea...friend..." Raden said, narrowing his eyes before side-eying Hwa jokingly. Hongjoong then offered his hand to Raden for a nice greeting, but Raden just stared at it. "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not really the type of siren that does physical touch," Raden said, rejecting the handshake. Hongjoong took his hand back and tried to think about what to say, but Raden beat him to it. "Well, it was nice, but duty doesn't stop for reunions. I've got work I need to tend to." Raden states, turning to Seonghwa. "So do you." He added before leaving. Hwa turned to Joong. "He's right...We should probably go to the Great Hall. There should be a meeting there." Hongjoong followed Hwa. "The others should be heading this way. We should stop and wait for them." Hongjoong said, causing Hwa to agree.