Prince of Flour

34. Not a Goodbye

"So." Seonghwa's mother looked between Hongjoong and Seonghwa sternly, the graying hairs on her temples giving her a more cold appearance than Seonghwa had ever seen on her.

Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa completely overwhelmed, his hair still in a disarray even when he had fixed it after countless times of running his hands through it.

"He's a good man, mum.", Seonghwa mumbled sheepishly, letting Tikki grip his little finger a bit more tight. She was sitting on his lap and suckling on his thumb, distracting herself with his much larger hands.

"Is this his kid?"

It was really actually not hard to see, they had he exact same nose but Seonghwa still nodded, peeking over to a slumped over Hongjoong. The mighty captain was not all that mighty now that he was sitting opposite of Seonghwa's mom and Seonghwa pitied him a bit.

"She is. She's called Tikki. Say hello, Tikki." Seonghwa gently pulled his hand away, nudging the shy kid that promptly tried to hide within Seonghwa's clothes.

"She's your granny now, alright? Can you say that, gran-ny?"

She just mumbled into his shoulder and with a smile he petted her hair again. With sly eyes he looked at his mother again, finding her face remarkably softer now. She actually looked as if she was ready to hold Tikki herself, not thinking of her as a dirty pirate brat anymore.

She still send a suspicious glance in Hongjoong's direction.

"I take it your intentions with my son are of no pure nature?"

Hongjoong gasped at that, blushing a deep red that looked even darker around his whitish scar. He hurried to wave his hands dismissively, the panic quite obvious in his eyes.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Are you planning to make him a criminal? Somebody who kills people? I did not want my dear son to grow up like that. I wanted him to live his life without dirtying his hands."

Hongjoong exchanged a quick glance with Seonghwa, Tikki started nibbling at his thumb again.

"I- He does not have to. I have another crew member who does not fight and I can ensure his safety by my side. My crew is not exchangeable or hired per journey as other ones are. We are one team."

She gave a distant hum, still looking between them three hesitantly.

It was actually Tikki who spoke up, letting Seonghwa's finger go with a wet noise.

"Granny angry at Dada? I... needs to protect Dada?", she asked very earnestly, her hands formed to tiny fists already again and Seonghwa had to laugh when he remembered her punching his double last time.

"No, no, granny is just a bit too protective of her son, baby, don't worry." He hugged her a bit closer, watching her nod pensively.

"Granny... Ddeonghwa Dada?"

Seonghwa's mom actually had to smile now, quickly hiding her face with a cough but Seonghwa had already pointed an accusing finger at her.

"There! You can't be angry, face it! You already know he is no bad person!"

She hit the table with a huff.

"I remember your previous crushes, Hwa! This pirate here might be the most dangerous one the world has ever seen and yet you try to persuade me with a cute little kid!"

"I am no kid!", Tikki protested immediately, looking ready to fight again and Seonghwa held her back with a giggle, fondly nodding over at the shy Hongjoong.