Where the sea sleeps [HoonHao] ✔

03

He fiddles with his hands as he stands in front of five other guys, one of them being Dino, thankfully. It made it less nerve wracking than having to face a full set of strangers. Beside him is Minghao who, just like the others, he notes, is taller than him. He's having to look up at all of them, and he's not too sure how he feels about it.

While they all seem to have on similar attire, their faces all differ. On the end, beside Dino, is a guy with a darker shade of skin than the rest of them (and he must admit, it's actually quite pretty. Like a golden brown) and he happens to be the tallest out of them. He steps forward after Minghao gives them the go ahead and he's not sure what he expects, but it's certainly not what passes the guy's lips.

"Hey there. I'm Mingyu, part of the crew as you know and I'm the chef. I hope we can be friends," he says and the way his lips curl at the corners, he can tell Mingyu is being genuine. He's got this goofy sort of aura around him; at least compared to the others. If he had to guess the youngest between Mingyu and Dino, he'd go for Mingyu no doubt.

"Is this really how we're going to introduce ourselves?" the person beside Mingyu asks, face scrunching up. With his lips pulling up, it flashes his gums.

"Do you have a better idea?" Dino interjects immediately. "Because if so, tell us. Make it more fun."

"I was just saying," he starts but at the hand raised in the air, he falls silent in an instant.

"Let's just do the introductions so we can get back to work," Minghao instructs. "Or would you prefer I just introduce you all?"

Rather than answering the question, the guy who questioned the way in which they were going about the introductions steps forward and when he smiles, he's gums peak out again. Unlike the others, he's got a bandana tied around his head and there's something about him that has him wanting to listen to every word that may leave his lips. "Seungcheol, but you can call me Scoups. I'm the first mate. I look forward to working with you," he says and the way his words roll out, almost as though he's speaking as if in a rush, only adds to making him want to hang onto every word.

"I'm Vernon," the boy beside him says, lifting a hand. Calm and collected and seeming unphased by the near dispute that occurred. "I'm the navigator. I look forward to working alongside you," he says, gaze casting over to Minghao and mouth pulling to one corner of his chin. "Can I get back to work in the meantime?" With a nod on Minghao's part, he walks off, up the steps behind them and up another set of steps after where the ship is steered. As he does this, the others proceed on with introductions.

"Kwon Soonyoung, but you can call me Hoshi," the guy greets and he recognizes the voice as the one belonging to the guy that had been at the top of the watchtower. He's got these crescent eyes that disappear into his face as he smiles. He's the only one to hold out a hand, which after much hesitance, he accepts. Hoshi's grip is strong and when they let go, he's left with an odd sensation of familiarity. Though, knowing that cannot be right, he turns away as Dino greets.

"We've already met, sort of, but I'm Dino, the medic here on the ship. I'm also the youngest out of everyone," he says politely, bowing his head. "I look forward to working with you, stranger."

"Now that that's settled, everyone get back to your posts," Minghao's voice, while soft, takes on a tone that is quite effective in getting everyone to scatter; he soon loses sight of one or two of them and quite frankly, he's already forgotten a name or two. Though he's sure if they were to present themselves in front of each other, he'd be able to pinpoint the name to the face.

Minghao moves, head gesturing for him to follow and they're by the watch leader post. There's a rope ladder beside it. Minghao grabs onto it and starts climbing and all there is to do is for him to follow. And it's high—really high and the next thing he knows, Minghao is jumping over onto the platform and turning around to look at him. "Jump," he says and it's odd. Odd how just those words have him so willing to do it; no extra coercion needed. Odd how, while thinking this, he's body is already moving; he's already jumped and for a moment, he loses his footing, but then Minghao grabs hold of his arm and tugs him forward until he's steady on his feet. "Careful," Minghao says and when he looks up, his lips are tugging up in amusement.

"Thank you," he says hesitantly, eyes shifting over to the telescope-like device. It's looking out onto the sea which is calm compared to when he was drowning in it.

"This is adjustable." Minghao's hands curl around the slimmer part of the device and he moves it a little to the left. "You can see anything within a certain distance. So, you'll keep watch of the seas and inform us of anything approaching," he says.

"So what if it only looks as though it is coming toward us?" he queries, lifting his head to meet Minghao's gaze. Minghao who still hasn't looked away from him after turning away from the telescope device, furrows his brow.

"You'll still inform us. So we can be prepared in the event it is heading toward us." He steps to the edge of the platform and glances over. "Better prepared than living regretfully, I say." With that, his lips curl at the corners until an odd smile is decorating his face, and then he promises to check how it's going (or send one of the others to) in the next few hours. Minghao leaps off, hands catching the ladder effortlessly and he's left watching as he climbs down. There's a faint murmur as one of the others approaches Minghao and they walk to the wheel of the ship.

Turning around, he makes himself comfortable, leaning forward to take a look into the telescope, and wondering just what he's signed himself up for.