Seabound-SKZ

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chan sucked in a quick breath, why was the guard there? did Namjoon send him out to find him? how had he caught up to him so fast and how did he even know what direction he was going in? Jungkook raised a hand, bringing Chan's mind to a flying stop, 

"I'm not here to hurt you or any of your...friends," Jungkook glanced around at the tavern distastefully, "And Namjoon doesn't know I'm here, don't worry about that." 

Chan nodded, heartbeat calming down, "Then why are you here?" He kept his muscles tensed, poised to deflect an attack, but Jungkook was leaning back in his own chair now, relaxed, if not a bit uncomfortable seeming. 

Jungkook hesitated for a moment, eyes darting around the room as he thought, "I'm here to ask you about a few things, and to give you a few warnings," Chan frowned,  "Ask then," He invited, tilting his head and opening his hands slightly on the table. 

The guard breathed deeply, "Why did you do what you did? You threw away everything, and for what?" His eyes widened as he spoke, "Do you love these random boys that much?" He seemed distressed now, hands waving around, Chan cocked his head, puzzled, why did Jungkook seem this upset over this particular aspect. 

"I did it because I don't want to be trapped in that life, I hated it. my entire life had already been planned for me, I couldn't stand it anymore, the forced marriage was the last straw for me." Chan started, "it wasn't everything, not for me. The boys are my everything. maybe some people can be happy in the life I left. But I wasn't." 

"B-but who are these boys?" Jungkook continued his questioning, bothered by Chans answers, no one would abandon royalty for a few random peasants, right? thats what he had always heard. why where these boys more special to Chan then he was to...he brushed the thought off, giving his head a slight shake, "Never mind, it doesn't matter." 

Chan was still mulling over everything Jungkook had said, why did he seem so upset? it wasn't as if they were friends, they had spoken maybe once, when the guard had first been appointed. but the other seemed to want to move off this topic quickly, saying; "And my warning for you," making Chans eyes snap back to him. 

"your mother is still livid, word got out very quickly, as I'm sure you know,  and the Kim's will not forgive you for what you did to their daughter. you are in danger. they have already hired huntsmen to track you down. you are lucky I got here before them. you are not very subtle, your tracks are incredibly visible. especially to the trained eye." 

Jungkook studied him closely, Chan sank back in his chair, nodding slowly. he would have to leave, maybe take a boat. get as far away as he possibly could. he combed his hair back, tugging on it nervously.

"Hate to bother you two, but you've been sittin' here pretty long and not eatin', need me to bring you anything?" Kaia was back, now wearing a kitchen apron and holing a tray full of empty glasses, Chan waved his hand to pass politely and she grinned and nodded, "Thank God, I was hopin' to take my break now anyway." She patted him on the shoulder quickly and flashed a quick smile to Jungkook before turning to walk away. 

The storm soon passed over, the sky remaining dark and grey, but the sailors who had docked the day before after hearing about the storm decided to take their leave so they could arrive at their next location on time. 

Chan decided to go visit Squall in the stables, Jungkook trailing him the entire way there to see his own horse, they made uncomfortable small talk as they walked, Jungkook visibly embarrassed by his bizzare questions earlier in the day. 

Squall was standing somewhat nervously in the small stall he was in, obviously disturbed by the thunder. there was a boy sitting in the corner of his stall, he jumped up when Chan opened the door, apologizing quickly, "I'm sorry! he was really upset by the storm earlier and I came to calm him down! I'll leave now, sorry again!" He attempted to leave ut Chan stopped him quickly, "no need to apologize, thank you for watching him." 

The boy soon introduced himself as Wesley, he lived in the village but liked horses so much he spent most of his time in the taverns stables, long enough to be hired as a stable boy by Kaia's father. 

Wesley was a chatterbox, Chan learned that pretty fast, he never stopped talking the entire time he showed Chan where the tools to groom Squall where, Jungkook watching with amusement from his own horses stall and the few other people inside the stable smiling at the boy with adoration, Wesley was clearly very beloved by the tavern regulars. 

Chan finished grooming Squall, deciding he would stay one more day at the tavern while he figured out how to move on from here, he wanted to try to contact the Mer's, let them know what was happening, but he wasn't sure how. 

Jungkook finally left back into the tavern while Chan was still puzzling over the Mer's, he finally headed down to the pier over the water, thanking whatever god that was up there that the tavern was on the sea, he sat on the end of it, feet dangling over the edge. 

He watched the sailors rush to get their ship ready, pulling and tying ropes and yelling to eachother while they prepped, he turned his attention back to the water, it was still choppy and the sky still dark, but the worst of the storm had definitely passed. 

The ship finally left, which made Chan realize how long he had been sitting there, it had to be hours, there was no way they got that sized ship ready to leave so fast. 

Finally the cloud cover broke, just in time for the sunset. brilliant reds and pinks streaking across the skyline, making him almost miss the famillier glint of scales in the water.