Treasure for All

6. London Eye

After being given the scrolls and bidding their good-byes, the crew set off into the city for their small vacation before starting their adventure. The group agreed to meet at Trafalgar Square around four o'clock, and then dispersed in their own ways. Phoebe, Yeosang, and Yunho went to London Underground, Grace-Anne and Seonghwa headed to the Globe Theatre, Jongho joined Wooyoung and Dinah to the London Eye, Mingi and Taeran headed to the Westminster Abbey, and the captain, Dahae, along with San and Celestia made their way to Bond Street. Each crewmember promised to check in with Hongjoong regularly to make sure everyone was safe.

Hongjoong had promised Dahae an engagement ring, and San wanted to get something for Celestia when the baby was born. She had a pearl bracelet her mother gave her when she was a newborn, and he had overheard Celestia say something about doing something similar if they had daughter. When the couple found out the baby's gender, San began searching for ideas based on his wife's bracelet. It had pearls with a gold tint strung onto the chain, but Celestia couldn't wear it until she was about nine years old due to the bracelet's size.

The four of them walked into a small but elegant jewelry store, varieties of gemstones decorating different pieces of jewelry. All of the pieces on display were enclosed in glass cases, much like a typical jewelry store. The walls were red with gold detailing, and the dim lighting lining them gave a romantic atmosphere.

"What can we do for you loves on this fine afternoon?" a slim woman with sandy-blonde curls asked, another woman with dark features following behind her.

"Good afternoon," Hongjoong greeted her and brought Dahae foreward. "My fiancée and I are getting married soon, and we'd like to see some engagement rings."

"Congratulations," she clapped. "Anything particular? Emerald cut? Princess cut?"

As Hongjoong and Dahae were busy examining ring styles, Celestia excused herself to the restroom. Once she was out of sight, San asked the other woman, "Do you have any bracelets?"

"Of course, dear," she nodded as she lead him to the other side of the store. "What kind are you looking for?"

San pulled out his phone to show her a picture of Celestia's childhood jewelry. "My wife and I currently expecting a baby girl, and I overheard her talking about getting one for her when she's born. The one my wife wears is one she's had since she was an infant."

"How wonderful!" She smiled as she examined the photo. "And that's a beautiful one she has. Are you looking for something like it?"

"Something similar, but still unique. Nothing that's an exact copy."

"I think I have just the thing. Wait here." The woman walked into the back and eventually returned with a small box in hand. She opened the lid and displayed was a small silver chain with three small pearls strung onto it. It was similar to Celestia's but the pearls were more blush-pink tinted rather than gold.

"It's beautiful," San commented. "She'll love this."

"I'll start preparing a bag, sir."

"Thank you."

By the time San made the purchase, Celestia had returned from the restroom and met him outside.

"Sorry for taking so long," she said. "Standing is another struggle."

"It's okay," her husband chuckled before pecking her cheek.

Celestia noticed the bag in his hand. "Did you get something?"

"I'll show you when we get back to the ship tonight. It's a surprise."

"You and your surprises," she scoffed. "You're lucky I'm patient."

"Guys, we need to go," Hongjoong rushed out of the shop door, worry plastered on his face.

"Hyung, what happened?" San asked.

"It's Jongho."

"Did he lose his temper again?"

"Worse," Dahae said. "He's gotten into a fight."

The quartet waved down a taxi and requested to be taken to the London Eye.

...

Jongho was a loose cannon at times, and everyone knew it. He had grown up with a lot of anger problems, but he learned to keep it under control as he entered adulthood. However, he had his moments. There had been a time where he was having a bad day and two of the crewmembers had walked in on him working in a frustrated manner only to find themselves getting taste of his wrath when he snapped at them. He never used his hands against them, but he did scream. Jongho had a good heart, but his temper sometimes got the better of him.

The taxi pulled up to the entrance, and the passengers stepped out. After Hongjoong paid the driver, Dinah and Wooyoung were running towards them with a frantic expression.

"What happened?" Celestia asked.

The two caught their breath and explained everything as they rushed to where a crowd of people was surrounding some sort of commotion.

"After Wooyoung, Jongho, and I got off the wheel, some guy starts taunting at us. I said to just ignore them and move on. We keep walking, and then the dude grabs my shoulder to try to turn me towards him. I tell him to back off and show him that Wooyoung is my boyfriend, and then I tried to tell him that grabbing women like that was not okay."

"And did Jongho get involved?" Dahae asked.

"The guy tried to get in my face, but met Jongho's fist instead."

The crowd was loudly chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Hongjoong pushed his way through the crowd to see what was happening. Sure enough, Jongho was in WWE mode with another guy. The man was on the ground face down and half of his face being smushed by Jongho's hand. The younger boy was kneeling, his knee pinning the man down, His free hand was holding the man's wrists together tightly.

"Choi Jongho!" Hongjoong shouted.

The crowd silenced and stared at the captain. Jongho met his eyes, revealing a black eye forming on his left eye. Hongjoong exhaled and closed his eyes.

"Let him go, brother," he ordered as he opened his eyes again.

Without arguing, Jongho released his grasp on his opponent's wrists and let go of his face. The man scrambled to his feet and ran off as blood dripped from his nose.

"Show's over," Dinah told the crowd. "Move along."

They obeyed and went on with their businesses.