Prince of Flour

6. Captain Kim Hongjoong

Captain joined Seonghwa a while later with the man he had called Yeosang by his side. Seonghwa had proclaimed him to be the navigator of their ship. Yeosang seemed quiet and reserved, but less brooding than the others. He had taken Captain's boots away from Seonghwa's arms, handing them back to the leader of the pirates. While the captain sat down with a knife and some rag on his bed to absent-mindedly clean his boots, Yeosang perched on the massive chest at the bottom of the captain's bed.

The room itself bothered Seonghwa. Some maps lay strewn around, the books disclosed their contents blatantly on the desk and the sheets of the bed were rumpled. However, Seonghwa's momentary interest was stuck elsewhere.

He had discovered something at Captain's neck, something he had thought to be some kind of tight-fitting necklace before when it really was not.

The necklace really was a scar comprising silvery lines that circled his neck, apparently entirely. (Seonghwa could not peer beneath the horrid mullet.) It looked as if something had chafed his skin with too much pressure and then those wounds had healed badly. Seonghwa's own neck tried to copy the sensation after the view of it alone made him queasy (he had first thought it had been a knife) and, surprisingly, he felt as if he had experienced it before.

That, or Captain had some run-in with Jack Ketch once and lived through it.

"Yeosang here was a prince once too, you know? His kingdom fell before we could return to him, so he stayed with us. You have a lot of similarities."

Seonghwa gawked at Yeosang. A real prince. His unique heritage explained his stance, being able to read the maps and logs. Respect filled Seonghwa's chest. Yet, he could not wrap his head around the idea of a noble prince staying here voluntarily.

"I figured it would be nice of me to let him help you. Finding your way around a ship is challenging if you had nothing to do with pirates before," the captain mused. He was occupied with his boots, not looking up, but Seonghwa grew restless. Did the captain suspect him already? Did Seonghwa mess up? A real prince would see right through him.

Seongwha waited for Captain to lift his gaze and stared quizzically into his fire-born eyes until a toothy smirk appeared on the pirate's lips.

"Aren't you grateful? You can spend time with one of your kind." His voice tilted cheerfully, but his gaze stayed dark, stayed dangerous. Seonghwa took back what he had said about befriending Youjin. This man would not hesitate to slice him open if he discovered Seonghwa's true identity.

Seonghwa shivered, suppressing his distress.

"That's a marvellous opportunity for sure. Thank you, Captain."

At that, the other man chuckled. He set his boots down next to the chest that Yeosang waited on with smooth patience.

"We will reach the shore tomorrow. I want you two to take the day off and for you to get more useful around the ship. I don't need you to hinder my men."

Yeosang nodded and rose from his trunk. Seonghwa was uncertain whether to follow the order and to spend time with Yeosang now. Fidgeting with his hands, he stood.

"If you behave, you may join Yunho and the others on their nightly tour. Don't need me a frustrated prince on board. Don't think you can escape, though. I'll send Jongho with you."

Whoever that was, thank you.

Still, that sounded terrific. Even if Seonghwa shouldn't test the captain's patience now, he could imagine how these trips on land may come in handy later. Did the pirates get drunk during that? They hat to get drunk. And once they fell asleep, Seonghwa could sneak away. That was the loophole he had been looking for. Now he just had to pretend until then.