King of Stars Volume 1 (An interstellar ATEEZ Hongjoong fanfiction)

Part Eight: In Which Nothing Goes According to Plan for 10-24

When the Star King said I would be put to work he was in no way exaggerating.

The day after we recovered San I stood alone with the Star King in command. He quirked an eyebrow and shoved a piece of paper into my hand. I looked up at him questioningly. "What is this?"

"Your schedule," He answered simply. "Until I can figure out a way to get rid of you I'll take full advantage of the extra pair of hands." Then he turned on his heel and left me standing in the hall.

Monday I woke up bright and early to meet up with Seongwha in the kitchen. We prepared breakfast for the crew and meal prepped for the week. The amount of meat needed to feed the three headed dog was astounding, a fact that was not lost on Seongwha, who complained while slicing up the eighth raw chicken to for it's breakfast.

"I don't think Hongjoong thought of how much this would cost us taking that animal in..." He said wistfully wiping his hands dry on his apron. It was a soft lilac purple with ruffles.

Afterwards I followed him around the ship and helped him perform a deep clean. He was extremely meticulous in everything he did and was quick to correct me whenever something wasn't done to his satisfaction.

"I want you to go through all the rooms on this side of the ship and clean," He said gesturing to a cart of cleaning supplies. "Remember what I taught you, use the roller first, then sweep, mop, use wet wipes to clean surfaces then the roller once more for good measure." He instructed wiping a stray blond hair from his eyes. "I will be going over your work too so don't slack off."

"Understood."

My life here was not at all what I'd expected.

After a grueling day of cleaning I retired to my room exhausted. I found a cherry juice box on my bed from Seongwha with a note thanking me and telling me to go to bed early that night.

On Tuesday I spent the day doing inventory with Mingi. We took stock of everything on the ship in the hold and separated out valuables from daily necessities needed for the crew. The Star King planned on selling or bartering with anything precious we could find.

The Star King's second in command was very quiet and rarely spoke to me unless asked a direct question. Even then his responses mainly consisted of grunts. So side by side we worked in musty storage rooms and the dark cargo bay for hours on end. Nevertheless the silence was pleasant and the work wasn't hard.

At one point Mingi hefted a box off of a shelf and a spider skittered across it. He screamed, dropped the box, and ran from the room. It took me thirty three minutes to convince him to come back. Even after I had disposed of the spider at his insistence.

The pirates were not at all what I had expected.

After we finished our tasks for the day Mingi surprised me by waiting for me in the hall. He shifted on his feet and looked everywhere but at me. His muscular frame leaned over my smaller one and he awkwardly ruffled my hair. "Good job Ten." He then quickly took his leave before I could respond.

On Wednesday I found myself with Yeosang in command. I gave him a tour and logged him into the ships system. I showed him where things like our digital maps, barometer, and flight plans were located.

While in the large room I noticed a cot from the sick bay pushed against the wall. A familiar plain white cotton blanket rested on top of it.

"Is something wrong with the men's sleeping quarters?" I asked Yeosang pointing to the bed.

His eyes followed my finger to the bed and he shook his head. "No that's just Hongjoong. He's always piloting the ship so he rarely leaves command." He turned back to a screen his face bathed in blue light. "How has your week been?" He asked. I blinked at his sudden question.