Prince of Flour

9. Sickness

Seonghwa felt queasy the next morning. He awoke when it was still dark out, Youjin snoring peacefully next to him. His stomach was in knots, digging through his body with the urge to vomit. In pain, Seonghwa tried to remember what he had eaten those few days and mentally checked his body for other signs of illness. He hadn't caught some sea illness, right? What if his meals had gone bad without him noticing?

When no answer echoed in his tortured body, Seonghwa gnawed on his lips. A slow dread crept closer into his heart as another thought appeared in his head to poison his mind.

He was not- He absolutely, 100 per cent, never could get pregnant from Hongjoong, right?

Seonghwa exhaled and gritted his teeth as another pang of pain shot through him. No, that could not be. That could never be. Right? He needed his mother right now, needed to hide in her arms and let her assuring voice soothe him. His terror weakened him further as both his body and mind suffered from fear.

Seonghwa had to check. If this was anything but a regular sickness, Seonghwa had to prepare for much more pain. Should he talk to Hongjoong? What would Seonghwa do with a kid onboard? No, he should leave the ship immediately if that was the truth. Hongjoong would not accept a kid running around between his legs; he would kick it into the sea even if it were his own flesh and blood. But would Hongjoong let Seonghwa go?

Seonghwa feared for the life of this poor unborn thing; protectively slinging his arms around his flat stomach. No, he could not let his child get killed just because Hongjoong thought it necessary to get rid of. He would rather flee and raise the kid on his own, as his mother did to him. If Seonghwa never saw Hongjoong again, the child could grow up and never had to know who their father was. He had heard of too many revenge stories to allow that. As miserable as he would be to see the kid grow up with only one parent, it had to be done. Once Seonghwa found his way back home, his mother would know how to help.

No wait, was Hongjoong the father, or Seonghwa? They were both males, after all. But if Seonghwa gave birth, that made him the mother, or did it not?

He was not ready to be a mother!

He silently cursed Hongjoong and promptly froze as he heard someone shuffle further down the corridor. Seonghwa had discovered what he assumed to be the main crew (Yunho, Mingi, San, Wooyoung, Jongho and Yeosang) sleeping on the same level as the rest of the crew in their hammocks. They had berths stacked on top of each other, eight of them, in the back behind the ladder.

When the slow steps retreated towards the storage area, Seonghwa breathed again.

Now, where was he?

He would keep his child, that was for sure. He would not allow Hongjoong any intimacy with them, would not even consider letting them become a pirate. Perhaps Hongjoong not knowing about his offspring, promised the most safety.

Downstairs, the noise of a blade hacking into wood created a horrible wake-up call. Yunho must have been preparing breakfast, indicating the nearing of dusk.

Abruptly, Seonghwa remembered Yunho was a doctor, next to a cook. He could ask him what to do!

Seonghwa rolled out of his hammock to sneak deeper into the ship's belly. He followed the noises of Yunho slashing away through the dark and found the kitchen lit in a dancing lantern light.

Just as Seonghwa appeared in the doorframe, Yunho whirled around to haul his kitchen knife at him. The blade embedded itself deeply into the wood right next to his head with a dull thunk. The grip wobbled for a second before it stilled.

Seonghwa smiled hysterically.

"Good morning to you too." Seonghwa yanked out the bloodied knife. He willed his shaky knees to step into the room to hand the weapon back to Yunho.