pirate king (pirate!au) ➵ ateez ✔️

cave

You step onto dry land and for the first time in your life, you're not sure whether you want to kiss it or hightail back to the ship screaming.

The rocks are slippery and slimy beneath your boots, the stone worn away by the ages and the unrelentless sea. You nearly slip and fall flat on your face, but Seonghwa is faster and manages to catch you right before you can faceplant the ground.

"Careful." He mutters softly, clearly on edge as the rest of the crew are. The tension in the air is so thick you could cut through it with your cutlass, you can see it in their tightly wound shoulders, how their hands are resting on their cutlasses, as if ready for a threat to spring at them from any second.

Only six people have disembarked the Treasure with you. Seonghwa and San, who have been with you in investigating this mystery from the very beginning, your captain and Mingi, who refuses to let him go into the unknown without him and finally Jongho and Yunho as your guards.

But Wooyoung...

Ever since you had heard the sound of that musket shot, you had been on edge, worry for Wooyoung looming in your mind. What had happened? What did your captain mean by 'mood'? You had wanted to run out of the sickbay to see exactly what had happened, but then San had wrenched you back by the arm, a grim look in his eyes as he gazed at the door forlornly.

You stared at him in shock and confusion.

"Master-"

"Let Hongjoong-hyung handle this." San had murmured softly, shaking his head, but his words were indisputable. When you had opened your mouth to protest, your master had added on, in a quieter voice. "Wooyoungie... he wouldn't want you to see him like this."

That had just made you even more worried about him, the anxious butterflies in your stomach were more like angry pigeons now, tearing you up from the inside. Even after the ship had dropped anchor at the rocky outcrop that was supposedly the entrance to the lair of the sea witch and you'd finally stepped onto the main deck once more, you hadn't spotted that head of vibrant purple hair anywhere.

Seonghwa had reassured you Yeosang was staying with him to calm him down while the rest of you left the ship to meet the sea witch. For a moment, you had wondered if Seonghwa and San were conspiring to give you a heart attack, because all they were doing was getting you more and more perturbed.

If even Yeosang had to be involved, what exactly had happened to Wooyoung?

"Chin Hae?" Hongjoong's voice comes from somewhere in front of you, and you raise your head in surprise to see him glancing at you over his shoulder. He's already standing in front of the cave entrance, a lighted torch in hand. The other guys have joined him as well, all waiting expectantly for you. "Let's go."

Well, even if you feel like you're about to chew through your entire lip in worry, there really isn't much you can do now. You turn back to look at the ship one last time, hoping your thoughts will somehow reach Wooyoung even from here, before you move towards the cave entrance, Jongho helping you up the last set of slippery rocks.

You're about to see a witch.

You honestly don't know what to expect from this. All you know is that you've made a deal with the sea witch, one that likely gave the body of a golem and erased all your memories in the process. At the very least, she might have some answers for you regarding your identity. It's got to be more than whatever you have right now.

The opening to the cave is large, tall enough that even Yunho wouldn't hit his head on the ceiling and wide enough to fit four men abreast comfortably. But it is dark and creepy, and from the way Mingi's teeth are chattering loud enough for the sound to echo around the cave, he's completely terrified.