Owl With a Feather Pen

Seonghwa turned towards the giant, reaching to take the cloth back, but the bell above the door dinged and his heart lodged in his throat as he turned back.

“Good morning!” Hongjoong greeted. He observed Seonghwa and his grin turned sharp. “What’s the matter? Not who you were expecting?”

Seonghwa scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure.” Hongjoong looked at Yunho who nodded.

“He’s about to jump out of his skin,” Wooyoung said.

Seonghwa opened his mouth to retort, when the door opened again and he turn back to it, stiff posture and strained smile. But, it was only Mingi. The younger man looked at him in surprise, and then concern.

“You okay, hyung? You look pale,” the younger man said as he made his way towards the counter. While Hongjoong and Yunho chuckled, Wooyoung cackled before heading to the back room. “You’re not getting sick again, are you?”

“No,” Seonghwa said quickly. “I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep.”

“Were you nervous about today? It should be fine. All the talks have gone well so far.”

“Hyung is worried about more than the business side,” Yunho said, draping an arm over Seonghwa’s shoulders.

“What else would there be to worry over,” Mingi asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Hongjoong just shook his head at the obliviousness, grin still firmly in place.

The door opened again and Seonghwa shoved Yunho off with enough force to shock the group. He straightened his apron and made his way out from behind the counter. “Good morning, Nari.” His smile went from strained to natural as she greeted him brightly. He almost missed the young man that had walked in behind her.

“Good morning!” she said. “Looks like everyone beat us here.”

Everyone gave their greeting and she waved in response, then turned a bit so that she wasn’t blocking the person behind her. “Seonghwa, this is my publisher, Choi Jongho. Jongho, this is the cafe owner, Park Seonghwa.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Seonghwa said as they shook hands.

“Likewise,” Jongho said. “I look forward to working with you after everything Nari noona has said.” He looked around the cafe as Hongjoong and Mingi joined them. “You’re right, Noona, I think this is the perfect venue for your book.” He gave her a smile then turned to the giant. “You must be Mingi.”

He held out a hand and the man took it. “It’s nice to meet you in person.”

“Nice to put a face to the name,” Mingi said. “This is exiting. Talking through plans in person should make things more cohesive than email correspondences.”

“Agreed,” Jongho said. “Glad you’re here too, Hongjoong hyung. You didn’t have take time out to come, but it’s good to see you.”

“How could I miss out on this?” Hongjoong said. “Our little writer is finally spreading her wings. And it only took a stranger to convince her.” He bumped into Seonghwa, who looked at him in surprise. “Though, I guess they’re hardly strangers at this point.”

Jongho and Hongjoong gave each other a look and Seonghwa stiffened up.

“True,” Mingi said. “With her working here all the time, it sounds like she’s basically part of the cafe family now.”

“Of course,” Seonghwa said, trying to steer the conversation. “W—Well. Shall we move to a table so we can start working on the plans? I’d like to get out of the customers’ way too.”

“Yes,” Nari agreed quickly.

“Mind if I order something first?” Jongho asked. “I’d like to try something since it’s my first time here.”

“Of course,” Seonghwa said, stepping to the side so that the younger man could walk to the counter. “I was going to just make coffee for the table, but we can take your order if you want something specific.”

“Ooo, in that case, I want a Cold Crescendo,” Mingi said.

“You can wait your turn to order,” Yunho said, now behind the register. “I got this hyung,” he said to Seonghwa, then turned to the back room. “Wooyoung, get out here, time to get to work!”

“I’m coming!”

Seonghwa sighed at the shouting then turned to Jongho. “I apologize,” he said.

“No worries,” Jongho said with a chuckle. “You’ll find we’re very casual when it comes to business meetings. Unless true professionalism is needed.”

Hongjoong nodded in agreement.

“What am I starting?” Wooyoung asked as he emerged from the curtain.

“Mingi-shi can go first,” Jongho said. “Let me look over the menu real quick.”

Mingi stepped forward and opened his mouth, but Yunho already had the order put in while Wooyoung was already prepping ingredients in the back.

“You can tap your card when you’re ready.”

“You obviously knew what I wanted,” Mingi said as he pulled out his card. “But you were in the back when I said my order,” he said to Wooyoung. “How did you know what to start?”

“You’re predictable.”

Mingi huffed and Hongjoong chuckled as he pushed his way in front of the taller man to give his own order. “I’ll take a Selfish Waltz,” he said. “Haven’t tried that one yet.”

Seonghwa sidled up to Nari, casually taking her bag from her while she watched the others order. She looked up at him in surprise, but let him take it.

“This is heavy,” he commented, trying to stay casual. “Did you just want plain coffee today?”

“Actually, I think I’ll get the Dreamy Day,” she said. “I haven’t had it.”

“Okay, I’ll—”

“Noona, come order yours,” Jongho said suddenly. “I’ll get it today.”

“Oh, Jongho, no. You don’t have to,” Nari said, reaching to take her bag back from Seonghwa, but he started towards the counter, stepping out of her reach.

“It’ll be on me today,” he said to Jongho, then turned to Yunho. “Please add two Dreamy Days to that order.”

“Got it, boss.”

“Hey,” Mingi sputtered.

“What about us?” Hongjoong questioned, crossing his arms.

“It’s for business relations,” Seonghwa said, not looking at either of them.

“But we’re here for business too,” Mingi argued.

“You get plenty of free drinks,” Seonghwa stated as he tapped his card.

“This is favoritism,” Hongjoong muttered.

“Thank you, Seonghwa-shi,” Jongho said.

“It’s my pleasure,” Seonghwa said, then turned back to Nari. “The usual table is reserved.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Oh, the one in the back?” Hongjoong asked, his gaze sliding from her to Seonghwa, who nodded. “Cool.”

The group moved to the table following Hongjoong, and Seonghwa followed last, closely behind Nari. She slid into the booth next to Jongho then turned to him as he handed over her bag. “I’m going to help with the orders, then I’ll be back,” he said. “Feel free to get started. I can catch up when I get back.”

“We can wait,” Jongho said. “Take your time. I appreciate the free drink.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Mingi snarked, still miffed that he had to pay for his.

Seonghwa just rolled his eyes at the comment and walked away. Once he was behind the counter again, he got to work on one of the drinks.

“Good job, hyung,” Wooyoung said, sidling up to him. “Found another excuse to treat noona to a free drink.”

“You’re going to go broke with all the free things you give her,” Yunho said as he joined them.

“Stop talking nonsense,” he said.

“You jumped in so fast when her publisher said he was going to treat her,” Yunho teased as he handed over the chocolate syrup. “Couldn’t have another man paying for her, huh?”

Seonghwa rolled his eyes but thanked him for the help.

“You need to ask her out,” Wooyoung said, gathering the finished drinks onto a try. “Before someone else does.”

“Please, drop it,” Seonghwa begged. “I’m already stressed out today.” The chocolate squeezed out inconsistently, making the drizzle look sloppy. He sighed, placed the bottle down, and braced himself on the counter as he took a deep breath.

The two stopped and really looked at him, then grew more serious.

“Sorry, hyung,” Yunho said.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how stressed you actually were,” Wooyoung added, taking the chocolate to squeeze on the other drink so that Seonghwa didn’t have to worry about it.

“It’s okay,” he said, thankful.

“Everything will go well today,” Yunho said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure of it. And we’ll take care of the customers. So just focus on the event and don’t worry about a thing.”

“Yeah,” Wooyoung agreed as he took the full tray. “We’ve go you.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“Don’t mention it. Now let’s get you out there,” Wooyoung said, leading the way back to the booth with the tray in hand so that Seonghwa didn’t have to worry about it. Instead, he grabbed a chair from the bar, and after Wooyoung unloaded the tray and stepped back, Seonghwa sat at the end of the table.

“Thank you, Wooyoung,” he said.

“Let me know if need anything.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit in the booth,” Nari asked him. “We can scoot in.”

He looked at her and smiled gratefully. “It’s okay,” he said. “This way we’re not too crowded, and I can get up quickly if the cafe suddenly gets too busy for them to handle on their own.”

“Okay,” she said.

When he looked away he met Hongjoong’s eyes and chose to ignore the smirk his best friend was giving him.

“Shall we get started,” Jongho said. Seonghwa was thankful the younger man was taking charge with getting them going. “Mingi-shi, would you like to go first?”

“Sure,” the taller man said. He looked down at his notebook, clicking his pen a couple of times in thought. “I guess, first, I’d like to hear your opinion on the cafe itself. That way we can get an idea on decorations, or any changes that need to be made. I went over some details on the book that Hongjoong hyung sent me, and I think so far the theme already feels close. But I wanted to see if there were any specific additions or changes that needed to be made.”

Jongho and Nari shared a glance, then Nari turned back to him. “Since the book theme centers around a star, I think the atmosphere and decorations present are already perfect.”

“After seeing the cafe,” Jongho added, “I agree. However, I think it would be good to add a couple temporary decorations to set it apart from what it looks like every day.”

“Glad we’re on the same page,” Mingi said. “I have some ideas if you would like to see.”

“That would be great,” Jongho said. Mingi pulled out his tablet and handed it over to the publisher. Nari leaned in while Jongho swiped through and Seonghwa scooted closer as well, trying to get a peak.

Nari noticed him and leaned back a little to give him a better view. “Have you not seen them yet?” she asked.

“No,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Jongho turned the tablet so he could see the reference photos Mingi had compiled, as well as some sketches he’d done.

Navy with a mix of gold and silver moons and stars. Draped fabrics falling down the walls and pooling on the floor with fairy lights hanging down. Vases of flowers placed strategically.

It was elegant but cozy. Mixing perfectly with the aesthetic of the cafe while adding a certain enchanting element to it.

“I love this,” Nari said. “It’s exactly the kind of environment that pulls you in.”

“Yes,” Jongho said as he handed the tablet over to Hongjoong so that he could get a look. “It’s not too much, but I think it will transform the space just enough to make the event feel special.”

“Excellent,” Mingi said. “I’ll start making arrangements. Keeping in mind yours and Seonghwa’s budget.”

“Did you have specific flowers in mind?” Hongjoong asked. “Or will you ask your florist for recommendations?”

Mingi turned bright red. “Hah, my? Hah, hyung what do you mean by that? She’s not mine. Wha—Don’t say stuff like that.”

“What are you talking about?” Hongjoong said with a smirk and Seonghwa was happy to not be on the receiving end of the teasing for once. “I just meant the one you work with regularly for events.”

“R—right, of course,” Mingi sputtered, then took a long drink. But the red in his face was not subsiding.

Nari looked at Seonghwa who smiled and nodded at her. She turned back to Mingi and looked like she wanted to coo over how cute he was with his obvious crush.

“Um.” Mingi cleared his throat, trying to get back on the matter at hand. “Seonghwa hyung recommended live music to start out the evening. Something to fill the empty space while people are arriving. And it could pull in more guests as well.”

“I like the idea,” Jongho said, then looked at Nari who confirmed with a nod.

“We have someone in mind too,” Seonghwa said, jumping in to the conversation as he pulled out his phone. “He’s done a few live sessions here in the past. I’ll admit, I am a bit biased since we’re roommates. But I think he would fit the theme well. Here.” He pulled up a video and handed his phone over to Nari, who held it so that both her and Jongho could watch.

San’s cover of Moondance started playing, and both watched and listened, enraptured. When the video was done, it immediately started playing his cover of Breathe.

Nari grabbed Jongho’s sleeve and started shaking his arm. “He’s perfect,” she said, breathless. “We have to use him. Oh and,” she turned to Jongho with a bright smile. “I’ve already met him once. He’s so sweet.”

He chuckled at her excitement. “Looks like that was an easy decision,” he said.

“Does he have more videos?” Nari asked Seonghwa as she handed his phone back to him. “I want to hear more.”

A small pang of jealousy poked at his chest, but he shooed it away. He was happy his friend was getting more recognition. “Yes,” he said. “I’ll send you the playlist.”

“I’ll talk to San about a song list,” Mingi said. “And let him know we’re interested.”

“Then I think the next step is finding a date,” Jongho said.

“Yes,” Mingi agreed. “We won’t be able to move forward much without something in place.”

From there, the conversation shifted into topics Seonghwa didn’t feel he needed to input on much. But, he tried to stay focused. Still, every now and then, he would look at Nari, who also seemed to feel the same as him. Temptation told him to pull out his phone and text her so that they could have a secret conversation. But he resisted the urge.

Once some tentative dates and times were set, and other more technical details were in place, the conversation got turned to him about menu options for the night. A special drink as well as set options so that they could work more efficiently behind the counter. As well as some goodies they would have catered from the bakery next door.

“I’d like to debut one of our new drinks for the event,” he said. “The cold version is rather intricate. But the hot version should be fairly simple as long as we do enough prep work.” He turned to Nari. “It’s the strawberry dark chocolate mocha. What do you think?”

“I love that!” she said quickly. “Would you be able to do the star shaped strawberries?”

“Yes. We can cut them the day before, and more day of if we run out.”

“Does it have a name yet?” Mingi asked, and Seonghwa shook his head.

“Still debating. But I’ll let you know as soon as I decide so that you can get it on marketing materials.”

“Why not just leave it as a surprise till the day of?” Nari suggested. “People love mysteries. I’m sure if you just promoted at as a new surprise drink reveal, it will make people curious.”

“She’s right,” Mingi said. “Nice thinking, Nari-shi. Don’t worry about the name for now hyung. I know how to promote it. Alright, I think we’re just about done.” Mingi looked over his notes then nodded. “Yeah, we’ve got decor, dates, schedule, entertainment, menu… That’s all that I have down. Was there anything else you wanted to go over?”

Jongho looked over his own notes. “I think that was it, but I might be missing something.”

“I, um,” Nari started, then stopped. Everyone looked at her expectantly. “I was wondering if we could have a little gift for attendees? Maybe just some simple bookmarks or something.”

“That’s right, you’d mentioned that before,” Jongho said. “I’m so sorry. I completely forgot.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I mentioned it the first day we talked about the event and there was a lot going on.”

“A small gift is a great idea. Especially bookmarks, because we can just slip it into the book they buy,” Mingi said. He sat back and crossed his arms in thought. “Bookmarks that match the aesthetic would be best. It would be great if we could have some made with quotes from your book, but that might be too much.”

“I could design them,” Hongjoong offered. “I’ve done some bookmark designs here and there, and I’ve already done several art pieces for the book, some that won’t even make it in, so it wouldn’t take me long to finish the designs. And they are inexpensive to make.”

“Alright, hyung,” Mingi cheered. “Already one top of it.”

“That’s Hongjoong hyung for you,” Jongho said. “Always a step ahead.”

“Thank you so much, Hongjoong,” Nari said. “Your art would be perfect. And I think I have some quote ideas already.”

“Perfect. Just send them my way and I’ll get started immediately.”

“Excellent!” Mingi closed his notebook in excitement. “Meeting adjourned. Who wants lunch?”

“Food sounds amazing,” Jongho said. “Is there somewhere nearby to eat?”

“We have some great options in the neighborhood,” Nari said.

Seonghwa stood up before the disappointment set in and she looked up at him.

“I’m sorry. I’m afraid I won’t be able to join in,” he said. “I don’t want to leave the guys alone after they’ve already covered for me for so long. But I hope you all have a good lunch.”

They all looked a little disappointed at the news, especially Nari, and he almost retracted his statement. But, he knew he couldn’t.

“That’s understandable,” Jongho said. “Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule and allowing us to meet up here. Seeing the cafe in person really helped me visualize the event.”

The group began to slide out of the booth while Seonghwa put his chair back. When he turned around again, Nari had started to gather some of the glasses. Before anyone could move to help her, Seonghwa stepped forward. “You don’t have to worry about it,” he said, taking her glass from her. “I’ll just grab a tray to gather everything on.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Thank you though.”

“Thanks, hyung,” Mingi said. “Alright, let’s go everyone. Before my stomach gets loud enough to alert the whole neighborhood.”

They started to walk towards the door, saying goodbye to those behind the counter, but Nari didn’t move. “I’ll be back after lunch to work on editing,” she told Seonghwa.

“Oh, really?” Happiness welled up in him and he had to stop himself from smiling like a madman. “Do you want to leave your things in the booth? We’ll watch over them.”

“Actually, I think I want to sit at the counter today,” she said.

“Then, I could put your things in the staff area,” he offered. “If you’d like.”

“If you don’t mind,” she said, slipping her bag off of her shoulder. She fished her purse out before handing over the heavy bag. “Thank you for always offering.”

“Of course,” he said. He opened his mouth to say something else. He wasn’t sure what though.

“Noona. Are you coming?” Jongho called from the door.

“Yes. Be right there,” she said to the group, then turned back to him. “Thank you so much Seonghwa. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“See you then,” he said.

He watched her go and didn’t move till she was out the door. As they walked past the window, she glanced back inside, meeting his eyes, and his heart flipped. Then, she was gone.

He took a step back, then stumbled as his legs almost refused to work.

“Man,” Yunho said, now beside him with an empty tray. “I know it’s been said before, but it still amazes me. You’ve got it bad, hyung.”

“I know,” Seonghwa said. “Believe me, I know. But,” he smiled, eyes still on where he had last seen her. “I think I’m pretty okay with that.”

First, Prev, Masterlist, AO3

The shouting stopped with a grunt, which was quickly followed by more, regaining their attention. Apparently the crew members had gotten tired of listening to unknown words being shouted at them. The captive was curled up on the floor now, protecting himself the best he could with his arms bound behind while the three men kicked him. Yunho and Alessio quickly averted their eyes and Alessio squeezed Yunho’s arm in comfort.

“What is all this noise?” the captain boomed as he appeared from his quarters.

The men gave a few more kicks before turning to face him. All except Alvize, who bent down and searched the captive’s clothes. When he stood back up he held a pouch in triumph.

“Sorry for the commotion, captain. This rat cheated and stole from me,” Alvize said, then delivered another kick. “Unfortunately, his friend got away. But don’t worry. I’ll finish teaching him a lesson then dispose of him.”

The captain marched over and kicked Alvize and the two others in the shin. “Who else was involved?” No one else moved, though others had been with them. “How many times do I have to tell you? If you’re going to go have your fun then do it without causing me trouble. We don’t have the time or resources to clean up a new mess every time we dock.” He looked down at the young man still curled up on the ground then tilted his head in thought. “Sit him up.”

Two other crew members were quick to comply and the captain bent down to get a better look. He grabbed the stranger’s face and turned it this way and that to get a better look at his features. “Hmm, not bad. I might be able to make a penny off of him.”

“Get your dirty hands off of me,” the man hissed as he tried to pull away.

“What’s your name?” the captain asked, but didn’t get a response. “Name! What is it?” When he still didn’t get an answer he turned back to Alvize. “You lost to someone who can’t even understand us?”

“He can though!” Alvize argued. “Maybe not much, but he did talk to us during the game.”

“Really now?” The captain looked at the stranger again, released his face, then slapped him. “Now, let’s try that again. What is your name?”

“Wooyoung. My name is Wooyoung,” he spat out. “There, are you happy now?”

The captain slapped him again and grabbed his face in a bruising grip. “My ship. My language.” He let go and stood up to search the deck. “Stefano, come here!” he called when his eyes landed on Yunho.

“Careful,” Alessio whispered.

Yunho gave a single nod then made his way across the deck. “Yes, captain,” he said as he stood at attention, his head bowed.

“Can you understand him?”

The stranger, Wooyoung, was eyeing him now in surprise and Yunho adjusted under his gaze. He wasn’t sure which answer would lead to a safer outcome and mentally weighed the possibilities.

“Can you understand me?” Wooyoung asked with a spark in his eyes. He grinned when Yunho met his gaze. “You can! Tell him he can dunk his head in the ocean. My crew will find me and get me out of here.”

“What did he say?” the captain asked.

“I’m sorry, captain —”

“You useless waste of space!” the captain bellowed as he raised his hand.

“Captain, don’t you think selling him would be unwise?” Alessio asked suddenly, now crouched in front of Wooyoung.

Yunho inhaled sharply as the captain turned his hateful gaze on his friend for interrupting. Alessio’s attention was solely on Wooyoung though, seemingly oblivious to the situation. “He looks strong and we need a new deck hand. Even if he doesn’t understand much now, I’m sure he will over time.”

“This isn’t a matter I need your advice on,” the captain said, his attention now completely off of Yunho. “So why don’t you just go back to your maps and charts and leave the dirty work to us.”

“I just think it would be more beneficial to keep him is all.”

“And I think I’m tired of you always imputing your opinion where it doesn’t belong.” The captain’s hand came to rest on his sword as he fully turned towards Alessio and Wooyoung. Yunho stiffened as he took a step forward then immediately paused. He had left his weapons back where he had been polishing them. He tried to catch his friend’s eye to make him stop, but Alessio only kept on.

“He must be pretty smart like our Stefano too, if he was able to cheat and not get caught by your crew like he did.” Alessio said as he got to his feet.

“Hey! You better watch your mouth,” Alvize shouted. “Not so smart if he got caught.”

“Not before giving you a shiner though.”

“That was his friend, he was like a bear. This one was eas—”

“Enough,” the captain said. “You’re not going to let this go, are you, Alessio?”

“I will follow whatever you decide, captain. I just think he could be a beneficial addition. And it might be hard to sell him in this port since he has friends that will likely be looking for him.”

“I’ll take that into consideration. For now, throw him in the brig. And you three idiots,” the captain turned on Alvize and his gambling buddies. “Come to my quarters. I expect to see every ounce of money from that pouch.”

“But captain—”

“Do you want a lashing instead?”

They grew silent and hung their heads. Yunho let out a deep breath as the captain began to walk away and Alessio smiled as he released his own.

“Ah, Alessio,” the captain said as he stopped and the both stiffened again. “How goes our, smart, Stefano’s teachings? You said he showed some potential as a cartographer, but I never asked you for a progress update.”

“I—it’s gone really well sir. He’s quite knowledgeable now,” Alessio smiled at Yunho proudly, but Yunho’s heart stilled.

No. Stop. Be quiet.

“How would you rank him in comparison to you then?”

“He knows pretty much everything I know now. He was a quick study. There are only a few really specific things that he doesn’t know. But that doesn’t really hamper his abilities.”

“Good, good,” the captain said as he walked back over to Alessio. “I’m glad to hear it wasn’t a waste of time. I guess that means he can do the work of two men now?” He rested a hand on Alessio’s shoulder and the cartographer’s smile dropped in understanding. “I would say it was nice to have you on board, but in all honesty it was annoying. You just didn’t have the guts for this work. I’ll never understand why the Admiral thought you would be the best fit. Oh well.” His hand dropped to his sword and Alessio’s eyes widened as Yunho rushed forward.

“Captain, I —”

The captain swung up and a deep red line appeared across Alessio’s throat. His hands raised to cover the wound and then he fell.

“No!” Yunho cried out as he closed the distance then immediately dropped to his knees at Alessio’s side. “Hyung,” he choked out as he tried to stop the bleeding, but even through the tears blocking his vision, he could tell he was too late. Someone grabbed his arms and shoulders to pull him away, but he threw them off and gathered his brother in his arms. “Don’t touch me,” he growled. Then his eyes found the captain. “I’ll kill you for this. He didn’t deserve to die.”

“That’s enough, Stefano,” the captain said, looking down at them. “He’s responsible for his own death. It’s nothing to get so worked up over. Henry, take Stefano below deck with the captive. I’ll deal with his outburst later.”

“No!” Yunho screamed as strong hands grabbed his arms and pulled him away from the body. He tried to break free even though it was pointless against Henry, the only member of the crew that could subdue him with strength alone, and the captain knew that.

“Someone throw the body overboard and clean the deck before it stains,” the captain ordered and Yunho doubled his efforts.

“No! Don’t touch him! How could you? Don’t touch him! I’ll kill you! I swear—” he coughed in pain as his breath was knocked out of him.

“Looks like you need to be reminded of your place,” the captain hissed in his face. “And I’ll be more than happy to remind you. Secure him to the beam and silence him if he continues this tantrum. No food or water for him or the captive until I say so.”

Once they began to pull him along the deck, he grew silent, no longer struggling as he watched his only friend get thrown into the cold waters. Instead, he held in the sobs and buried the fight inside him for later, when he would have a better chance. He didn’t resist as his wrists and ankles were shackled and his arms were raised above him. Resisting at this point was useless.

“Look at the high and mighty Stefano now,” Carlo taunted after he locked Wooyoung in the cell. “And here I thought you had become an emotionless weapon for the captain to point at whoever. Guess that didn’t include your precious, what was it you called him? Hyung?” He snickered. “Like I kept saying, once a slave, always a slave. Glad you’re finally being reminded of that.” Carlo punched him in the gut and he tried to hold in the grunt of pain but the attack was too sudden and had only begun. Before long, Yunho was heaving in what air he could between strikes.

“That’s enough, Carlo,” Henry said flatly. “He still needs to be conscious when the captain comes down to deal with him.”

“Fine,” Carlo said. “I’m sure his punishment will be a flogging anyways, and I’m looking forward to it.”

“That’s too bad Carlo,” Yunho mocked. “It’s been a while since you could take me on your own. And now you’ve got me in the perfect position.”

“Don’t provoke them,” Alessio’s words rang in his mind but he ignored them. He didn’t care right now.

Carlo punched him again, then grabbed his throat. “Listen here you good for nothing street urchin. Just because you’re as skilled as you are doesn’t mean you’re special. You’re nothing more than the captain’s tamed hunting dog. Once he’s done with you he’ll throw you away just like he did that spineless bookworm.”

Yunho lunged forward with a growl and Carlo jumped back.

Wooyoung began to howl with laughter from his cell and Carlo turned towards him, his face red.

“Man, it says a lot if you’re that afraid of a bound man,” Wooyoung said through his laughter.

“Just because I can’t understand you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch your mouth!” Carlo shouted.

Wooyoung just stuck his tongue out at him.

“Argh!”

“Carlo, enough. Let’s go before you cause more problems. The captain’s fuse is already short as it is.” Henry grabbed Carlo by the arm and began to pull him towards the door, but the shorter man shrugged him off.

“I can go on my own,” he huffed and they both left. Carlo threw one last glare at Yunho, but all he got was a smirk in response.

When they were gone though, the smirk dropped and reality settled in. The tears he had tried so hard to push away pushed back. They started silently at first then small sobs escaped him. His chest tightened at the memory of his friend falling lifeless to the ground and he began to gasp for air as the sobs grew stronger.

The other occupant of the dim space stayed silent and Yunho appreciated it. Even though they were complete strangers he felt like he was being given some support until the tears began to slow.

He tried to turn his mind away from the dark thoughts crowding in. He would still mourn Alessio, but later, when he had time and space to do so. Now however, he needed to find a way out. He needed to help Wooyoung escape so that Alessio’s life wasn’t lost in vain.

Footsteps above made him stiffen and thoughts of an escape plan were put on hold. He hoped Wooyoung stayed quiet. Yunho didn’t want him to be subjected to Captain Niccolò’s torture.

Wood creaked above him and Yunho stood straighter, head high, and face schooled into as blank of an expression as possible.

The captain clicked his tongue as soon as he was in the room with Henry and Carlo right behind him. “Poor, poor, Stephano,” the captain said. “When was the last time we were down here, huh?” Yunho saw the bag in the captain’s hand and his breath hitched as his legs nearly gave out. “One year? Two? You’ve been so well behaved that I even gave you some room on your leash.” Henry and Carlo grabbed Yunho and turned him around to face the post, then pulled his shirt up and over his shoulders to expose his back before stepping away. “That little taste of freedom must have given you the wrong idea about your place here. So it seems it’s time for a reminder.”

The first lash across his back made him grunt and stumble forward.

“You are not a member of this crew.”

A second lash.

“You’re nothing more than a weapon, a tool for me to use when and how I see fit.”

Third. Forth. A whimper escaped him.

“Shall I give him a gag, captain?” Henry asked.

“No. Let the others hear him. He needs to be humbled.”

Fifth. A groan.

“Usually, when a hunting dog bites its owner, it’s put down.”

Sixth.

“But I’ll let you off easy.”

Seventh. Eighth.

“I’ve always let you off easy, and what?”

Ninth.

“You threaten to kill me?”

Tenth.

♥

Wooyoung didn’t want to watch. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to block out the screams and cries that were escaping the man that was being whipped, but with his hands still secured behind his back it was no use. The man’s arms and legs were trembling and Wooyoung wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to hold out.

In between every strike the captain spoke such hateful, degrading words, and Wooyoung was relieved he couldn’t understand everything that was being said. But it still made his heart ache. He hoped the others would come soon and rescue both him and the stranger.

When the captain eventually stopped, red, slowly bleeding lines had replaced the scars covering the man’s back. His legs had long since stopped supporting him. The other two pirates stepped forward, and after pulling his shirt back down to cover his back, turned him around once more. The shorter one shoving him into the beam, pulling out another groan of pain, but the tortured man kept his head down. All fight seemingly gone.

The captain stepped forward again, whip now passed off, and grabbed the man by hair to pull up his head. “There we go. Just like a well trained animal. Maybe next time don’t bite the only hand your given.”

The words made Wooyoung’s blood boil and he wanted to shout at the captain, but one look at the whip told him to hold his tongue.

“I want an apology from you. Or a thank you for being kept alive.”

The man stayed silent, though based on his uneven breathing, Wooyoung doubted he would be able to talk even if he wanted to.

“No food or drink till you do. Tomorrow you’ll be tied up under the sun. We’ll see how long this rebellion lasts.”

The captain left with the other two in tow after that, but Wooyoung stayed silent in case someone came back, and to let the man rest. Eventually, the stranger was able to get his feet under him again, but he had to lean back against the beam, making him groan in pain and struggle to catch his breath once more. When he seemed to be settled and his breathing was less labored, Wooyoung scooted closer to the cell door.

“I know this is a stupid question, but, are you okay?” he asked, but got no response. “I’m sorry about your friend. That happened because he was trying to help me, right? I couldn’t understand everything he said, but he seemed like a good person, unlike the rest of the crew on this ship.” The man looked at him, so he kept on. “You called him Hyung, right? So, I take it you can understand me, unlike what you told your captain. Captain, bleh, he doesn’t deserve that title.”

“Hyung wouldn’t have blamed you and he wouldn’t want you to blame yourself either. The captain hated him, but needed him. He’s been looking for an excuse to get him off of the ship for a while, but I didn’t think… It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t your fault.”

“So you can understand me.”

A tired nod was the only response.

“Then why didn’t you tell the captain that you could?”

“I was going to tell him that he wouldn’t want to know what you said, but he didn’t wait for me to finish. Even if I had though, there was no telling which response would have been better.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now anyways. My crew will probably rescue me tonight.”

“You better hope they do. If not, then hope Captain Niccolò decides to sell you. You’ll have better luck getting a safer master that way, rather than being stuck here.”

“It would be better if he doesn’t. That way, if my crew can’t come tonight, it will still be easier to find us.”

“Us?”

“Yeah. I’m not going to leave my new friend with these lunatics.”

“Friend? You don’t know me. And, I doubt your captain will welcome me so easily. Especially since you won’t likely be in his good graces after this.”

Wooyoung winced. “Trust me, I’m not looking forward to the scolding Captain’s going to give me. But I kind of deserve it. As well as the extra chores I’m sure I’ll receive. But that doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

“Scolding? Extra chores? That’s…that’s it?”

“Hey, don’t underestimate Hongjoong hyung’s tongue lashings. I did and quickly regretted it.”

“But, aren’t you a pirate?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Floggings, starvation, being tied up on deck.”

“That’s awful.”

“That’s normal. For a pirate, that’s only scratching the surface of how bad punishments can be.”

Wooyoung shrugged. “We’re not normal pirates.”

The man rested his head back against the post and released a humorless laugh. “I’m starting to doubt your friends will have what it takes to rescue you then.”

“Just because we’re not heartless like this crew, doesn’t mean we can’t hold our own,” Wooyoung huffed. He looked over the man again and noticed the minute trembling of his muscles and the clear exhaustion. “I’m Wooyoung by the way.”

“I heard.”

Wooyoung held back a snarky comment. This man’s walls were high, and after seeing everything, it was justified. So he just kept trying. “What’s your name? Surely not Stefano.”

“No, it’s not.” The man turned to look at him. “So, what makes you different from normal pirates?”

Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at the change in subject. “We’re currently hunting other pirates and trying to find some people who were kidnapped and illegally sold into slavery by some corrupt government officials. Captain Hongjoong was a part of that pirate crew until that incident and one of the people that was taken was Seonghwa hyung’s…fiance? Or something. She was important to him, but he doesn’t really talk about her. Granted, we haven’t been a crew for very long. Say,” he scooched forward again then pulled out a pin to start picking at his shackles while he talked. “You haven’t heard anything that might help, have you?”

“No. I’m not really a part of the business dealings that Captain Niccolò decides to get into. Besides, he doesn’t really like dealing in slavery. He says it’s too much work most of the time.”

“That would be his reason. Really great guy this captain. Don’t worry, you’ll like Hongjoong, and he won’t think twice about accepting you.”

“I appreciate the optimism, but I’m afraid I’ve learned not to hope too much for things.”

“Because of what that Carlo guy said? And the captain? You’re a whole head taller than both of them. They wouldn’t stand a chance if you fought back.”

“You saw what happens when I fight back. And it’s not only that. I don’t have any memories before this life. It’s all I’ve known. Being beaten till I can’t stand and starved till I don’t have the energy to move. He broke me early. Like he said. I’ve been shaped into a weapon and trained into submission like an animal.”

“So that’s it then? You’re going to let him keep control over you? After what he did to your hyung?”

“I’m one man against a whole crew.”

“Not anymore.” There was a satisfying click and Wooyoung let the shackles fall to the ground as he hid the pin once more and got to his feet. The lack of restraints made the other man’s eyes widen and Wooyoung grinned. “Like I said. I’m not leaving you behind. We’re friends now. So, shall we try again? Hi. I’m Wooyoung.”

“I’m Yunho.”

“Yunho…It’s nice to meet you.”

⸶⸸⸷

Yeosang silently dropped down between Seonghwa and San, making them both jump.

“Well,” Seonghwa whispered as his heart steadied back to an almost normal pace. “What does it look like?”

“The deck is mostly clear,” Yeosang said. “One in the nest and two guarding a door that leads below deck.”

“Sounds like what we want. Do you think we can get in quietly?”

Yeosang nodded. “Follow me.”

They followed his lead from the dock, onto the ship as quietly as possible and directly into a blind spot. They made their way through the shadows across the deck until they could see the guards he had mentioned.

“Okay, how do we get past them without causing a commotion?” San whispered. He turned to the others but Yeosang was gone. “Wha—?”

There was a small thud and he turned just in time to see one pirate on the ground while Yeosang cut the other one’s throat and slowly lowered him to the ground to avoid causing more noise. After a moment of silence with no alarm being raised, he waved them forward.

San was eyeing the bodies and Yeosang in surprise while Seonghwa just watched Yeosang clean his blade with no sign of emotion on his face or in his thoughts. Seonghwa placed a hand on Yeosang’s shoulder as he passed and moved to open the door.

“Are you okay?” San whispered to Yeosang.

“Yeah…I’m fine?” Yeosang said in confusion. “They didn’t fight back.”

That wasn’t what San had meant and Seonghwa knew that, but it didn’t look like Yeosang did. Something for later.

Seonghwa refocused on the task in front of them as he descended the stairs. The first thing he saw when he made it to the bottom wasn’t a cell or Wooyoung, like he had been expecting. Instead, a complete stranger stood against a beam with his arms shackled above him.

“Looks like your friends made it,” the stranger said, his voice strained.

“Really? Guys, is that you?” Wooyoung called out and Seonghwa nearly collapsed in relief.

“Wooyoung.”

“Wooyoung-ah!”

Yeosang and San replied, passing Seonghwa in a sprint to get to their friend.

“Yeosang, Sanie! Thank goodness!”

Seonghwa glanced at the stranger once more as he came to the base of the stairs, then focused on Wooyoung now that he could see the cell.

“Are you okay?”

“Did they hurt you?”

Yeosang and San grilled Wooyoung as Yeosang began to pick the lock on the cell door.

“I’m fine, just a couple of bruises,” Wooyoung said. He winced when he spotted Seonghwa then smiled bashfully. “You’re here too hyung? I’m sorry for causing trouble.”

Seonghwa shook his head. “Let’s focus on getting you to safety first. Hongjoong will deal with you later.”

Wooyung winced again.

As soon as Yeosang had the cell unlocked, he swung it open and Seonghwa smiled as the three embraced. But quicker than he expected, Wooyoung pulled away and started towards the bound stranger.

“Help me release my new friend,” he said as he pulled out a pin and began to pick the lock on the shackles around the man’s ankles. “This is Yunho.”

“What?” San voiced what Seonghwa was thinking.

“I’ll explain later,” Wooyoung said as the siren began to observe the man again.

He was clearly worse for wear, and though he seemed to be smiling gratefully at Wooyoung, he was radiating anxiety. And then there was the sorrow in his eyes. He caught Seonghwa staring and after a moment of eye contact his eyes widened and mouth opened in understanding of what Seonghwa was, but he didn’t say anything.

San moved to unwind the chain from the wall that was pulling Yunho’s arms above him as Wooyoung stood, already finished with the locks. As the chain was released, the man stumbled forward and both Wooyoung and Yeosang caught him, making him wince in pain.

“Sorry,” Wooyoung said. “Are you okay?”

Eyes closed and face scrunched up, the man nodded.

“We’ll get you patched up back on our ship.” Wooyoung released him into Yeosang’s hold and began to pick the shackles on his wrists. “Do you need to grab anything before we leave?”

“No, I don’t have any possessions.”

Wooyoung huffed. “Is there anything of your friend’s that you want?”

Yunho hesitated, then shook his head sadly. “No. We should just go.”

“Can you walk?” San asked, his eyes focused on Yunho’s back with his brows pinched in concern.

“Yes. I’ll be alright.”

“Okay,” Seonghwa said. “Let’s go then. San, you take Yeosang’s place. Yeosang, you cover our rear. I’ll go up first. Hopefully we can get off without anyone noticing our presence. If not, the captain and Jongho will provide back up.”

The group nodded and once San had taken Yeosang’s place, Seonghwa headed towards the exit, hand on his sword.

It was still quiet on the deck. No one had noticed the absence of the guards, but Seonghwa continued forward with caution. They were barely all on the deck when a shrill whistle sounded from the crow’s nest, and the lookout began to shout.

Seonghwa drew his sword as shouts and heavy footsteps thundered throughout the ship. Yeosang held some knives out to Wooyoung as the stranger released both him and San to stand on his own.

“We collected them for you,” Yeosang said as Wooyoung took them, his relieved smile turning dangerous.

“I left my weapons over there earlier,” Yunho said as he pointed to the side of the ship, just a few feet away. “I can help if I can get a hold of them.”

“Well then, let’s go get them,” Wooyoung said. “Then we can fight our way out of here. Which way off?”

Yeosang pointed to the opposite side of the ship. “Through them,” he said as pirates now filled the deck.

“If I’d known we were having guests I would have prepared a welcome party,” a man said as he stepped to the front of the opposing crew. He was decked out in an ornate hat and coat, the telltale signs of a captain.

“These are my friends,” Wooyoung said. “You messed with the wrong crew.”

The captain threw back his head and burst out laughing. “We’ll see about that. Stefano, I see you still haven’t learned your lesson. Surrender and I’ll go easy on you. You don’t have to go down with the rest of them.”

Yunho stood taller with a look of determination. “No. I’m going with them.”

“Listen to your master, boy!” the captain bellowed.

“You’re not my master. Not anymore. And you’ve never been my captain.”

“You insolent ____. We’ll see what you think when I’m done with you. Kill the others but leave Stefano alive. I’ll deal with him personally.”

Chaos broke out as the pirates charged at them. Seonghwa cut through several of them as he tried to cover Wooyoung and Yunho who were trying to get to the weapons Yunho had mentioned. Yeosang and San were holding their own just a few feet away from him, but he could tell they would quickly be overwhelmed.

I gun shot rang out and he ducked, but a man fighting San went down.

Their backup had arrived.

“I’m here to pick up my crew,” Hongjoong shouted from somewhere up high up and Seonghwa spotted him hanging from some rigging. “You must be the pirate who was foolish enough to take one of my men. Niccolò, was it?”

“Captain Niccolò,” the opposing captain shouted, raising his pistol towards Hongjoong. “And just who do you think you are?”

“Captain Kim Hongjoong.”

“Never heard of you.”

“Well you have now.” Hongjoong lifted both of his pistols and shot two of the pirates near Niccolò. They fell dead.

Hongjoong jumped down, joining the fight, his sight set on Captain Niccolò.

Several pirates fell from the other side of the ship and Jongho appeared among them. Sword drawn, his strikes were powerful and precise as he moved forward, calm, yet intense.

Seonghwa allowed himself to be pushed back towards Wooyoung and Yunho as the others pushed forward. They would need to make their way back to the other side of the ship, but for now their strength was in backing each other up. He was almost to Wooyoung and Yunho, who, now both armed, were working together surprisingly well considering they had never fought together before. Between Wooyoung’s swift, unpredictable movements, and Yunho’s efficient, sturdy ones, Seonghwa didn’t think he was needed.

“Let’s go!” he called out to them and turned to head towards the others, but felt a large presence at his right. He ducked just in time to avoid a blow that had been aimed at his neck. He raised his sword to block a second blow and grunted under the strength of it, his legs nearly buckling. The pirate that stood over him was a giant and while Seonghwa had seen plenty of men with his strong build, he had never seen someone that tall. The man pushed forward, which pushed Seonghwa back, then he pulled away and immediately struck again. Seonghwa swung to knock the sword away, but he wasn’t sure he would be able to block another blow. It broke his grip on his sword, making it clatter to the deck as he stumbled back and caught himself on the ship’s railing. He looked down at the ocean and held in a smirk as the pirate came closer. Clearly more of a man to use his own hands over a weapon, he threw his own sword to the side then grabbed Seonghwa and effortlessly lifted him up and over the side of the ship.

🟈

“No!” Yunho screamed as he watched Seonghwa get thrown overboard by Henry.

“He’ll be okay,” Wooyoung said. “Just wait.”

“Looks like you just lost one of your crew,” Captain Niccolò taunted as he and Captain Hongjoong traded blows. “Just surrender before you lose anyone else.”

Captain Hongjoong scoffed, then let out what Yunho could only describe as a mad giggle, which gave him goosebumps. “Regret often comes too late,” Captain Hongjoong said. “You won’t underestimate my crew after this. I have a professional assassin, royal guard, and siren. Guess which one just got thrown into the ocean?”

Captain Niccolò’s eyes widened and then narrowed. “You really think I would believe—”

A splash cut him off and then there was a thud as Seonghwa landed on the ship’s deck. Already in a crouch, he immediately swept Henry’s feet out from under him and the giant man fell with a crash.

“How was your swim?” Captain Hongjoong asked with a grin as Captain Niccolò took a step back.

“Refreshing,” Seonghwa said. “Shall we wrap this up, Captain?”

“Yes, I think we should.”

Henry began to get to his feet again but Seonghwa kicked him across the face. This time, to Yunho’s surprise, he stayed down. Knocked unconscious or dead, it was hard to tell.

“Let’s go, Yunho,” Wooyoung said, then charged forward with a shout. Yunho smiled, then followed.

The two soon had their rescuers around them as they fought off the pirates and made their way towards Hongjoong.

Yunho was so close. Alessio had been right that Wooyoung could provide his escape. It almost felt like a final gift from his friend. Hope was blooming in him, a feeling that had wilted a long time ago, but Wooyoung and his friends were watering it.

He had rarely seen anyone as skilled as Wooyoung and Yeosang, and their captain was equally terrifying as he fought with a wild grin.

There was a shout of pain behind him and he turned quickly.

“San!” Wooyoung cried out, reaching for his friend as he fell.

Yunho stepped forward just in time to block a strike aimed at the two as Carlo took advantage of the situation.

“You’re a dead man, Stefano,” Carlo said with a sneer. “And I’ll be the one to send you to Davy Jones myself.”

“Didn’t you hear Niccolò?” Yunho shot back. “He wants to deal with me personally. Besides, you don’t have the skills to kill me. If one of us is to die in this fight, it won’t be me.”

Carlo growled and lunged at Yunho, but his blows were slow and sloppy, which left him open and easy to nick. “This was why your father preferred me over you Carlo,” Yunho said as he blocked another swipe then kicked Carlo away. “You get too emotional when you’re fighting and it makes you an easy opponent.”

Carlo’s grip broke on his sword and it skittered away. But instead of backing down he swung his fist. Yunho caught it and punched back, knocking Carlo to the ground.

“Know your place. Stay down.” Yunho turned away from him to check on the others, but Carlo scrambled behind him then shouted and Yunho spun around and stabbed. Carlo grunted in pain as the blade impaled him and his raised sword dropped from his hand. Yunho pulled his sword back, ignoring as the blood spattered and Carlo fell to the ground, and turned back to the others.

Seonghwa and Yeosang were holding off more attackers while Wooyoung was checking on San, but most of the pirates were not daring to come close enough. San was laying on his back, face scrunched in pain as blood seeped out of a diagonal cut across his chest. Wooyoung was pressing a cloth against the wound, but it was already soaked. The wound would need something more to stop the bleeding, and soon.

Yunho sheathed his sword and crouched down. “I’ll carry him, we need to get off the ship quickly,” he said.

“But what about your wounds?” Wooyoung asked, his words choking in his panic.

“I’ll be fine, just hurry. I can carry him while you help the others get us through.”

Wooyoung only hesitated another second before he was helping San onto Yunho’s back. Yunho held in a grunt of pain as his wounds screamed in protest.

“Hyung, we need to go,” Wooyoung said and Seonghwa nodded. He and Yeosang doubled their efforts and it wasn’t long before they made it to Captain Hongjoong. Without a word, Seonghwa began down the gangplank and ushered Yunho to follow while the rest took up the rear to defend them. There were a couple of shots fired their way as they ran down the dock, but no one slowed or halted. The shooting stopped and to his surprise, his former crew didn’t pursue them. Still, his heart hammered in his chest as he tried to keep his running as smooth as possible. It didn’t stop the warmth spreading across his back, or help the weakening heartbeat of the man he was carrying there.

He skidded when Seonghwa turned suddenly and boarded a small boat, but was quick to follow.

“This way,” Seonghwa said and led him to a door that led to a small room.

“Everyone inside!” Hongjoong ordered as Seonghwa led Yunho to a table, removing a few scattered items before helping him lower San onto it.

“Someone get hot water and some clean cloths,” someone said as he rushed forward and Yunho reasoned that this was Jongho.

“I’ve got the cloth, as well as some medicines and a needle,” Yeosang said, rushing to a bag. “We need some alcohol.”

The two bustled around San as the others hurried to help them get supplies. Yunho tried to stay out of the way, but the sight of San steadily bleeding out made it hard for him to move. The thought of losing someone else in one day, or one of Wooyoung’s friends dying after taking the extra time to save him as well…

There was a light touch on his arm and he jumped.

“Sorry,” Wooyoung said. “We should go ahead and take care of your injuries. You don’t look very good.”

“I’m fine,” Yunho said as he tried to smile. “I don’t want to keep you from your friend.”

Wooyoung looked over at San and the bustling that was happening around him, then shrugged. “I’d just be in the way. Plus, this would be a good distraction for me.”

“I’m really okay.”

Wooyoung grabbed his arm and pulled him over to a chair. “Sit down and I’ll get what I need to dress your wounds,” Wooyoung said as he walked off.

Yunho hesitated for another moment, still unsure.

“That’s a lot of blood,” someone said behind him.

He turned in surprise and the captain was looking him over in equal parts concern and suspicion. “What’s your name?”

“Yunho, sir,” he responded, standing a little straighter as he dropped his eyes to the ground.

“Go ahead and hand me your shirt,” the captain said and held out his hand. “I’m sure Seonghwa can get the stain out. I’ll get you something to wear in the meantime.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The captain waved his hand in dismissal then held it back out, so Yunho quickly removed the shirt and handed it over.

“I want to speak to the two of you when you’re done,” the captain said as Wooyoung rejoined them. Then he walked off, Yunho’s bloody shirt held away from him.

“What did he say?” Wooyoung asked as Yunho sat backward on the chair.

“Just that he’d get me another shirt and someone would wash mine,” Yunho said as he crossed his arms over the top of the chair and rested his chin on them.

“Good. If he’s going to have your shirt cleaned, he’s not thinking of kicking you off. Okay, brace yourself,” Wooyoung said.

Yunho flinched and held in a groan as Wooyoung began to clean the lacerations on his back as gently as possible. After what felt like an eternity, Wooyoung had him sit up so he could bandage him. It was then that the siren came over with a shirt and some water for Yunho.

“Thank you,” Yunho said. He drank the water quickly, uneasy under the siren’s gaze. When he was done with the water, Wooyoung helped him ease the shirt on.

“How’s San?” Wooyoung asked as he attempted to tie the shirt closed for Yunho.

“They’re almost done patching him up and they gave him something for the pain. He lost a lot of blood and could take a turn for the worst. But all things considered, they think he’ll be okay,” the siren said. He gently pushed Wooyoung’s shaking hands away and took over tying the shirt. “I’ll go let Hongjoong know you’re done. You can rest when he’s done talking to you. Yunho can take one of the beds and San will need the other one tonight, okay?”

Wooyoung nodded in response and Seonghwa walked away. “I’m going to go check on San. They look like they’re almost done. Do you need anything?” Wooyoung asked.

“No, I’m okay, thank you,” Yunho said.

Wooyoung walked to the other side of the room, which was only a few feet away in the small space. Yunho looked around the room that they had attempted to divide into designated spaces and felt even more like he was intruding. Wooyoung insisted on him joining, but he didn’t see how there was room. If they agreed to let him stay, he could sleep on the deck, it wouldn’t be a first. His eyes came to rest on the small group gathered around San. The two working on him were working with decent experience, though they occasionally struggled with working around each other. Meanwhile, Wooyoung stood behind Yeosang, just to the side, and watched.

When the captain and Seonghwa returned they stopped for a moment and watched as Yeosang and Jongho began to carefully bandage up San. Then the captain placed a hand on Wooyoung’s shoulder to guide him back over to Yunho. Yunho began to stand but the captain waved his hand for him to stay seated, while he took his own seat.

“There’s no reason for that. You need to rest as much as possible with those injuries,” the captain said. “You, however, can stay standing,” he said to Wooyoung. “I’ll be talking to you and Jongho about your actions later. But for tonight, I think everyone should focus on resting.”

“Can’t you just go ahead and scold me now?” Wooyoung asked. “Jongho didn’t do anything.”

“No. You’ll wait,” the captain said. When Wooyoung whined, he crossed his arms and raised a brow, then shook his head. “For now, we need to discuss your new friend.”

Wooyoung brightened, though his hands still fidgeted. “This is Yunho.”

“Yes. He introduced himself earlier. He has manners.”

“Oh, uh. He’s a really good fighter.”

“I saw.”

“Um…”

“Calm down, Woo, I’m not kicking him off tonight, so you don’t need to justify him being here,” the captain said with a laugh, then turned to Yunho. “Thank you for carrying San here, especially in the shape you’re in. Can I ask why you were on that ship? Niccolò made it sound like you were a member of the crew, but it didn’t really appear that way if I’m being honest.”

Wooyoung opened his mouth to speak but Yunho grabbed his arm. “It’s okay,” he said, then took a deep breath. “I’ve been on that ship for as long as I can remember, and I can’t really recall how I ended up there. But I was never considered a part of the crew. I was just a slave to Niccolò. A weapon.”

The captain carefully patted him on the shoulder and gave him a small, warm smile. “You did a good job surviving it seems. And you held onto where you came from. Most people lose languages over time with disuse. You still seem fluent though.”

“That was mostly thanks to Alessio. He was forced to join the crew after I had been there for a while and encouraged me to practice in secret. I even taught him some. He was my only friend and I considered him my hyung,” Yunho bowed his head as he spoke, fighting away tears.

“I’m glad you had someone there for you.”

“He helped me stay human,” Yunho said. “While Niccolò trained me to become a tool to be used, hyung taught me how to read and write, and how to navigate.”

“You’re a navigator?” the captain asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Not really,” Yunho answered slowly. “Hyung was the cartographer and taught me most everything he knew. But, I’ve never actually navigated before.”

“But you could.” The captain leaned in closer which made Yunho pull back.

His eyes darted from Wooyoung to Seonghwa, but they seemed equally as excited as the captain.

“I suppose so.”

“Wonderful!” The captain clapped his hands together and jumped from his seat. “Well done Wooyoung. Well, Yunho, we are in desperate need of your skills. Only San and I are able to navigate, and we’re honestly terrible at it. So, if you would like to stay on, we would greatly appreciate it. What do you say?”

“Um, I…”

“Ah, sorry, sorry,” the captain apologized quickly. “I’m getting ahead of myself. You don’t have to decide right now. And if you don’t want to, we won’t kick you off immediately or anything. I wouldn’t blame you. I’m sure you want to enjoy your new found freedom and it’s pretty cramped. Unfortunately, we haven’t had much luck finding a larger ship.”

“I…would like to think about it.”

“Alright. I’ll leave you to get some rest. We’ll probably head out at dawn. Would you like to eat anything before you get some sleep?”

“No, I’m okay,” Yunho answered quietly. His stomach grumbled in contradiction to his statement and his face heated up.

After a beat of silence, both Wooyoung and the captain started to laugh loudly. Seonghwa immediately shushed them, his eyes darting to San, but Yunho could tell he was holding in his own laughter.

“I’ll make something really quick. I’m sure everyone could use some food. I myself am famished,” Wooyoung said.

“You need to get some rest too once you’re done,” the captain said through the last of his laughter. “I’ll need your help with casting off in the morning.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Wooyoung responded playfully.

“Watch it,” the captain said with a grin, then turned to Yunho. “Feel free to let me know if you need anything or have any questions. The beds are over there.” He pointed to a back corner where a bunk was, then walked off and went back to the deck.

Unsure what to do, Yunho stayed seated and watched as Wooyoung busied himself with preparing food.

“Is the top alright?”

Yunho jumped in surprise. He hadn’t realized that the siren was still there.

“I think it’s the only thing we have that will fit you, but I’m sure we can get you something else the next time we dock,” Seonghwa said. “And if you ever need help tying it, you can ask any of us. It took me a while to figure it out.”

“Thank you,” Yunho said. “I’m grateful for everything you all have already done for me,” Yunho said, and Seonghwa gave him a small smile.

“Is it okay though? I want to make sure.”

Yunho moved his arm around to test the mobility at the siren’s prompting. It certainly wasn’t a long term solution, but it would work as long as he didn’t need to fight. Then he rubbed his hand down the soft fabric. “It’s nice. Thank you.”

“I’m just glad I had something.”

“Dinner is served,” Wooyoung said as he came over and held two bowls out to them. “Thanks for the abalone, hyung. It’s perfect for juk.”

“It smells amazing,” Seonghwa said as he took the offered bowl. “Did you take some to Hongjoong?”

“Not yet.”

“You take this one then. I’ll make him and I one. You should get some sleep when you’re done eating. I’ll take care of the dishes.”

“Thanks, hyung.” Wooyoung took the bowl back and took a seat as Seonghwa walked away. “You should hurry and eat before it gets cold,” Wooyoung said to Yunho, gesturing at the bowl.

Yunho smelled it and stirred his spoon in the thick food. “It looks like porridge,” he said skeptically.

“It might be similar. It’s a simple comfort food from home, and we luckily have some abalone thanks to Seonghwa, so it’s on the nicer side.”

Yunho took a bite then hummed and took another. “This is really good,” he said between several mouthfuls.

“Woah, don’t eat too fast. The food isn’t going anywhere. Man, I know my cooking is good, but it’s not that incredible. You look like you haven’t had a decent meal in years.”

Yunho’s eyes darted up to him then back to the food, which he stayed focused on.

“Oh…I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is. And I’m here now, so…”

“That’s right. And I’ll make sure you get lots of good food from now on.”

Silence fell after that as they finished their food. When Yunho’s bowl was empty, Wooyoung offered him more, but he turned it down. The amount he had been given was already more food than he was used to and he was stuffed.

“Wooyoung, thanks for the food,” Yeosang said as he came over. “Can you help us move San to the bed when you’re done?”

“I’m done now,” Wooyoung said as he took the last bite and got to his feet.

“I can help too,” Yunho offered.

Wooyoung opened his mouth but Yeosang beat him to it. “No, that’s okay. You already carried him all the way here and I saw your injuries. We’ll be okay,” he said, then bowed his head quickly. “I’m Yeosang. Thank you for the help. I’m sorry you had to be locked up with Wooyoung. He can be…” He sucked through his teeth then gave a strained smile.

“What?” Wooyoung scoffed then whacked Yeosang’s arm. “I can be what? Huh? Go ahead and finish that.” He kept hitting Yeosang, but the man just laughed and raised his hand in a sad attempt to block the attack.

“See what I mean?” he said when Wooyoung stopped, making the man hit him one more time before he grabbed Yunho’s bowl from him and walked away, grumbling under his breath. Yeosang chuckled one more time then gave Yunho a smile before following his friend.

He watched them for a moment, then a yawn escaped him. Without anything else to do, he carefully climbed into the top bunk. When they were done moving San to the bed below him, Wooyung handed him a blanket then spread his own on the floor next to the bed and laid down. He stretched his arm out and closed his eyes, and Yunho assumed he had taken San’s hand in his own. The action stirred something warm and familiar in Yunho. How many times had Alessio done the same for him when he wasn’t well?

Silent tears escaped him and he closed his eyes.

With the ship falling into a peaceful silence, it wasn’t long before Yunho drifted off.

First, Prev, Masterlist

This chapter is dedicated to Dragon. I remember her reaction when I first shared it with her.

Sorry for the trauma. Hope you all are okay.

“Wooyoung…” San cautioned.

“I’m not stuffy,” Jongho snapped. “Just because I don’t enjoy hurting others doesn’t mean I don’t know how to let loose.”

“I didn’t hurt anyone, unlike you, I’m sure. People like you only follow the law without thinking about who it affects or enjoy when you can use it to abuse common folk.”

Jongho grabbed Wooyoung’s collar, his hands shaking. “I have never abused my power like that. I’m helping people. That’s what we do. We help them and protect.”

“No. That’s just what us common folk are told. All you and your fellow trained dogs protect are the nobility and aristocrats.”

Jongho pulled back his first, but his arm was caught before he could lash out.

“Let him hit me,” Wooyoung taunted, pulled forward by Jongho’s grip still on his shirt. “Prove me right.”

“Wooyoung, no,” Yeosang said, getting in between them. He wrapped his arms around Wooyoung and started to push him away while San wrapped his arms around Jongho and pulled him back.

“Guys, stop,” San said. Though, it came out as a grunt with the effort he was exerting trying to pull Jongho away.

“That’s enough!” Hongjoong’s sudden bellow made everyone freeze in place. He marched over, making them all take a few steps back. The tone, presence, and scowl made Jongho think of his training days and he instinctively stiffened into attention, his eyes dropped to the floor.

Hongjoong hadn’t blown up once at them, he’d barely been strict. But in that moment, Jongho could see a captain. Stern and commanding. A leader.

“Now I know we didn’t all come from the same background and we’re going to have differences of opinions and argue. But I will not have physical fights on my ship unless it’s for training. You two can either walk away, or talk it out.”

“But Hongjoong—”

“Wooyoung, do we need to go below deck?”

“No, Captain,” Wooyoung said quickly with a gulp. His wide eyes dropped to the ground and he took a step back without another word.

“These rules apply to everyone,” Hongjoong continued. “Am I understood?

Everyone replied quickly with either a “Yes sir,” or “Yes Captain.” Then Wooyoung sulked off to the small room below deck. That meant unless Jongho wanted to be with him in the tight space, he was stuck on deck with the others.

Most of them went about their business, but San was eyeing him in frustration until Yeosang pulled him away to help put away the supplies they had bought. With nothing else to do, Jongho made his way to the side of the ship and took a seat on a random crate.

He mulled over Wooyoung’s words, which stung, but weren’t necessarily a lie. He’d found out first hand just how corrupt some of the other soldiers and government officials were. He’d nearly lost his life finding out.

Wooyoung had likely spoken from experience and in the end, regardless of their methods, they had the same goal. As long as no one innocent was hurt, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to cross some of his lines. He was already going against his superiors as it was.

But, Wooyoung had been out of line calling him stuffy. He was not stuffy.

They just didn’t know him yet.

♠

“Wooyoung.” Jongho marched up to the lounging pirate, making him jump. “We need to talk.”

“Why?” Wooyoung snapped. “So you can criticize me some more?”

“No.” Jongho took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for earlier. You were right about the corruption. I discovered it first hand only recently and it’s hard for me to accept. My father was a guard and I wanted nothing more growing up than to serve the kingdom. But those I trusted to have the kingdom and its people’s interest at heart tried to have me killed when I brought the slavery situation to them. All this time I thought I was helping people, but now, after all this, I’m not sure. I took my frustration out on you and I apologize.”

Wooyoung sniffed in thought then smiled. “Apology accepted. I shouldn’t have antagonized you either,” he said. “I wanted to get a rise out of you, but I pushed too hard.”

“You were right though. Except for me being like them. Or being stuffy.”

Wooyoung burst out laughing at the almost pouted defense.

“I’m serious! You might not believe it, but I used to get in trouble with my superiors when I was in training.”

“You were a trouble maker?” Wooyoung said in shock. “You’re right, it’s hard to believe. But I knew you’d be a perfect addition to the crew.”

Jongho’s mouth opened in surprise. He’d forgotten that Wooyoung had been the one to encourage him to join and suggested him to the captain. He had been the first person in a while to vouch for him.

“Teach me,” Jongho said and Wooyoung tilted his head in confusion.

“Teach you what?”

“How to cheat and talk my way out of a bad situation. Teach me how to be a pirate so that I can be a part of the crew.”

“You want me to teach you how to swindle people out of their money?”

“Only those that deserve it. Like you said. Cheating a cheater isn’t a big deal. The money doesn’t belong to them in the first place.”

“Alright.” Wooyoung jumped to his feet then walked over and grabbed Jongho’s shoulder. “Let’s get going.”

“Wait, right now?”

“No time like the present. Best way to learn is on the job.”

“But it’s almost night.”

“Exactly. There will be way more games going. People are braver and more reckless under the cloak of night.”

♠

Jongho watched and listened during the first couple of games and after each one Wooyoung would explain how he cheated. He explained why he would choose a target, things to look for before, and things to watch for during a game to make sure you didn’t push your luck.

Then Jongho joined him for a game. He didn’t make many moves without a sign from Wooyoung and was shocked the first time Wooyoung secretly slipped him a piece he needed to win. Wooyoung kept that up. They’d play one or two rounds of a game and won most of them and Jongho understood. It was addicting. The thrill and the success. He understood why Wooyoung and San made a living at it and why the captain had joined a few games himself while they had been in this town.

He weighed their bag of winnings and grinned as they walked away from another successful game.

“Wow! I didn’t expect a smile like that from you,” Wooyoung said with a laugh as he nudged Jongho. “Guess you’re not so stuffy after all.”

“It’s more fun than I expected. I get it now.”

“That’s why people get addicted and ruin their lives. It takes self control as well as skill.” Wooyoung stretched then patted Jongho on the back. “We better head back now. I’d say that was a pretty successful first lesson.”

Jongho nodded, then paused in his tracks when he saw the commotion from another game. “Let’s do one more,” he said, pointing to the spectators. “That must be a good one. It has a big crowd.”

Wooyoung hummed as he observed the people on the outer edge. “I don’t know. I really think we should head back. It’s getting late.”

“Last one,” Jongho urged. “It must be a big game. Let’s at least watch.”

Wooyoung hesitated for a moment then shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

They pushed their way to the front and found a fairly large card game in progress. The players were on the rougher side and a few of them were clearly pirates.

A few people around them were quietly complaining about the cheating game host and the merciless pirate crew that the men belonged to and Jongho traded glances with Wooyoung.

“You should play a round,” Jongho said. “And since they’re pirates, maybe we can get some information.”

“I don’t know, Jongho. There’s something about them that’s rubbing me the wrong way. I don’t know if we should risk it.”

“Come on. They can’t be any worse than any of the others you’ve played against today. And besides, we’ve been in this town for two days and still don’t have anything. We might finally get a lead.”

“I don’t know the language they’re speaking very well though. If it goes wrong —”

Jongho huffed and crossed his arms. “Alright, if you don’t have the confidence to do it, then let’s just go back to the ship, hyung.”

He started to walk away but Wooyoung grabbed his arm. “That’s the first time you’ve called me hyung.”

“Is it?”

“I know what you’re doing, just so you know. But fine. It couldn’t hurt to try.”

“Just play it safe like you’ve been doing and if they still seem dangerous, you can call it quits and we’ll leave.”

“If I’m doing this I’m seeing it through till the end. I’ll show you a master at work.”

Wooyoung adjusted his shirt and checked on some of his hidden cards, then made his way towards the players. “I’d like to join if you don’t mind.”

The response he received was in a language Jongho didn’t understand, but Wooyoung was able to respond back in it. Though, a little awkwardly. Some of the pirates were giving Wooyoung a look that almost made Jongho tell him to stop the whole thing. But, he held it in and kept a close eye on them in case they tried anything.

After one round with a losing hand, followed by several wins, Jongho realized Wooyoung wasn’t playing it safe anymore. But the other players didn’t look like they suspected anything, even though they were growing more frustrated with each loss.

Finally, Wooyoung gathered his winnings and said what sounded like a farewell. While the others were grumbling, they didn’t protest as he stood and joined Jongho.

“What did I tell you? Master at work,” Wooyoung said. “Let’s go get a meal. I wiped them out.”

“Shouldn’t you wait until we’re farther away to start boasting?”

“Nah. They can’t understand us. I couldn’t understand everything they were saying, but I’m pretty sure they were mocking us, so I just gave them a friendly lesson.”

“I still think you should have been more careful with your wins. I’m surprised they didn’t accuse you of cheating.”

“They didn’t think I was smart enough to. And, seeing as they’re not coming after me already, I’d say they’re good sports.”

“Alright, I’ll trust your expertise then.”

They found a small restaurant with stew just off the road and Wooyoung ordered them some food and drink. After they were a few bites in, Wooyoung cleared his throat and adjusted awkwardly in his chair. “So, you said someone tried to kill you when you tried to expose the slavery incident?”

Jongho nodded. “An official in your town if you’d believe it.”

“Do you remember his name?”

“Of course,” Jongho said, then took a drink. “I recorded everything about him so that I can report everything at the castle once I know more about the situation and find more who are involved. His name was Kang —”

Wooyoung cut him off with a scoff. “Of course it’s him…”

Jongho’s eyes widened as Wooyoung downed the rest of his drink. “You know him?” Jongho asked.

“We have some…history with him. I guess you could say I’m not really surprised. The good news is he doesn’t have a very skilled assassin at hand right now…probably. So you should be safe. Especially now that you’re with us.”

“Do I even want to know?”

Wooyoung smirked, but it wasn’t with his usual mirth. His eyes caught somewhere behind Jongho before he could respond and he stiffened, then ducked his head. “Time to go,” he said. “Looks like I was wrong about them being good sports.”

“Wha—”

“Don’t turn around.” Wooyoung placed a few coins on the table and stood slowly. “They might only be here for food, but let’s just quickly slip out the back to be safe.”

Jongho got to his feet and followed Wooyoung’s lead. They were nearly to the door when someone behind them shouted.

“Run!” Wooyoung shouted and broke into a sprint. They burst out the back door and were met with a dead end alley whose only exit led back to the front. “Great.”

They paused, both trying to formulate a plan.

“I told you we should have gone back to the ship. You were arrogant.”

“It was your idea to play against them in the first place! Come on. Let’s just hope they don’t have anyone keeping watch out front.”

They started towards the alley’s exit as someone burst out from the door behind them and shouted again. Wooyoung pulled out his knives but rammed into someone at the exit and fell to the ground, the knives clattering away from him. A much larger man reached down and pulled Wooyoung to his feet without any effort, and immobilized his arms behind him.

Jongho dodged as someone grabbed for him. Another lunged at him, but he punched the man, making him fall instantly.

“Jongho, go back to the ship!” Wooyoung shouted, still struggling against the giant man. “Get he—” He cut off with a grunt as one of the players punched him in the gut.

Jongho grappled with another man, then knocked the pirate into the wall as he made his way towards the exit where the other pirates were leaving with Wooyung. He tried to follow, but a shot was fired, and the bullet barely missed.

“Jongho! Get out of here!” Wooyoung shouted again.

Jongho hesitated. If he had his sword, or they didn’t have guns, he would be more confident. But as it was, going and getting help would be smarter. So, as they started towards him again, he gave Wooyoung a nod, then turned and ran as fast as he could.

The footsteps pursuing him died out before too long but he didn’t stop or slow down. When their little ship came into view, he shouted, hoping someone was on deck.

Someone draped in shadow leaned over the railing and his voice caught in relief. Once he was closer, he could make out Hongjoong’s features. “Hyung!” he cried out. “Help! Wooyoung was taken.”

First, Prev, Next, Masterlist

How did he know?

No. There was no way. That was ridiculous.

She reached for the phone, hoping it didn’t go to voicemail before she could answer it.

“Hello?” she said.

“Hey, Nari. You busy?”

“Nope,” she said, a little too quickly.

“Um…is everything okay?”

“Yes! Of course. Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting your call. What’s up?”

“Right…Well, I was calling about the mock-ups Hongjoong hyung sent. Have you had a chance to look at them yet?”

“Not yet. I’m sorry, I’ll do that right away.”

“Just when you have a moment. But before the end of the day if you could.” He sounded hesitant. Careful. Which was how she felt. “Sorry. I know you’re stressed with the editing.”

“No, it’s fine,” she said, confused as to why it sounded like he was walking on egg shells.

“There was one more thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

Why did that sound like bad news?

“What? What happened?” Was it the printers? Or did one of the stores not want to carry her books anymore?

“Nothing,” he said quickly. “Nothing bad, promise.”

She took a deep breath and nearly collapsed.

“I have really great news actually. We just got another order for your last two books! 2,000 copies a piece.”

“Wait, really? Are you serious?”

“Of course!”

“That’s incredible! Oh my word!”

“And we have interest from an international publisher too! They want to start translating your last book and order a few thousand.”

“I…I can’t believe this! This is amazing!” Tears sprang to her eyes at the news. “I never imagined…”

He chuckled and she could nearly hear his smile. “Team dinner in celebration,”he said. “How does tomorrow night sound? And you can invite your friends. I’ll contact Yeosang and Hongjoong hyung.”

“That sounds great! Thank you so much Jongho! Thank you.”

“Thank you. This is because you’re a great writer.”

“You’re the one who saw potential in me and pushed me. I wouldn’t have gotten here without you.”

“Then, to teamwork!”

“To teamwork,” she agreed.

“On that note, there’s one more thing I want to add, even though I know you’re going to turn me down again. But I really think we should consider doing a book signing event for your new book. You can’t say you’re not popular enough anymore.”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

“Now before you—wait…what?”

“Let’s do it,” she repeated herself as a laugh escaped. “I wanted to talk to you about that today anyways, but I didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“Wait, really?” She could hear the disbelief in his voice and she didn’t blame him. “You can’t take it back now, okay?”

“I won’t.”

“Why the sudden change in heart?” His disbelief and joy turned into suspicion.

“I just…had someone ask if I would do one and they had some good ideas. So I thought, maybe it was time.”

“I see. So I’ve been trying to get you to have one for how long now? Even Hongjoong hyung. And it took an outsider to convince you? Wow.”

“Please don’t take it that way,” she said quickly, trying to fix it. “But the two of you are my friends. Of course you’re going to think it’ll do well. I just…”

“You were just worried.”

“Yeah.”

“Nari, I don’t make bad business decisions. And I don’t make decisions that I think will hurt my friends. If I thought a book signing would be a good idea it was because of your excellent writing.”

“Thanks, Jongho. I know. I was just scared.”

“And now you’re not, thanks to an outsider,” he said with a little pout in his voice. Something he rarely did. “Was it a fan at least?”

“Not really. It was…the owner of the cafe.”

“Aaaah, really? Well, if the cute cafe owner suggested it then who am I to get upset? At least it wasn’t a total stranger I guess.” He let out something that was between a huff and a laugh.

“Jongho…”

“I’m kidding. Hongjoong hyung said they’re best friends, so I’ll trust him for now.” He chuckled and she breathed a small sigh of relief. “So, tell me about this great idea that finally made you sway.”

“Um, well. His marketing manager is going to come up with a more concrete plan, but he was wanting to maybe host a book launch at his cafe. He said it could be a book signing, reading, and maybe some live music. It was all very much just an idea he wanted to run past me and said to let him know if we like it at all. Then we can make actual plans.”

“Hmm. I have seen a few book launch events like this, it seems to be popular right now. They’re really cozy. And they can either be by ticket or open to the public. I think if we coordinated it right, and agreed on the plan, it could be a good decision. And then we wouldn’t have to worry about the venue.” Jongho hummed in thought for a moment. “Okay. If you can get me in contact with the marketing manager, I’ll see what their thoughts are so far. We have plenty of time to plan something. And Nari.”

“Yeah?”

“I want to make sure you have the final say about everything. If they try and do something you don’t like, just let me know. I’ll put my foot down.”

“Thanks Jongho,” she said, resting against her bed, the stress finally beginning to leave her. “But it’s not something I’m too worried about. Seonghwa already said if I was uncomfortable with anything we could figure out something else. Oh! And guess what else! The cafe is already the perfect theme!”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s called The Wishing Star, and there are star motifs everywhere. Even some of the drinks are on theme.”

“That’s great! That means we won’t have to put as much money into decor.”

“Maybe we can put it towards a little gift for attendees? Like bookmarks or something.”

“That’s a great idea, noona. Okay. Send me the contact info for whoever I need to talk to and we’ll get this ball rolling. I need to let you go now. See you tomorrow for dinner.”

“Thank you, Jongho. See you tomorrow!”

When she hung up, she slid sideways, flopping fully onto the floor, and stretched out with a silent scream. No one was home yet, so she couldn’t tell the girls her good news about the reorders on her books, or the event. But she needed to tell someone. She kicked her legs and squealed. Then grabbed her phone again.

Hey Seonghwa, are you busy right now?

She rolled onto stomach, her nervous energy coming out in slowly kicking her legs. When he didn’t answer right away she texted again.

I have some exciting news.

She checked the time, realizing how late it was. He was probably either working on his after close routine, or on his way home. She rolled onto her back again and waited. Hoping. Her phone buzzed and she nearly dropped it on her face. But it was only a text from Hongjoong congratulating her and saying that he was excited about the celebratory dinner. Another text came in from him, and at a quick glance, Nari saw “event” and “Seonghwa” and decided she didn’t want to read whatever teasing text he had sent.

It buzzed again and she sat up when she saw the name.

Just fixing to lock up, then I’m free.

Give me just a sec- Seonghwa💫

Take your time!

It wasn’t even a full minute when the chat disappeared, replaced with a picture of the note he’d doodled for her, and the accept/decline buttons.

She couldn’t answer fast enough.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Nari. Sorry for the delay.”

“No, no. You didn’t keep me waiting,” she said. There was some squabbling happening in the background on the other end of the phone to her surprise.

“Sorry,” Seonghwa said again. “Wooyoung and Yunho are still with me. Is it okay if I put you on speaker? They’d like to know what your good news is.”

“Of course,” she said, trying to hold back from laughing at the chaos she knew Wooyoung was causing on the other end.

“Thanks,” Seonghwa said with some relief.

There was a slight pause and then --

“Noona!”

“Hi, Nari noona.”

Wooyoung and Yunho chimed in.

“We’re going to go get dinner!” Wooyoung said. “You should join us. We can celebrate!”

“You don’t even know what my good news is yet,” she said, a chuckle finally escaping her.

“Doesn’t matter. Good news is good news.”

“Give me back my phone,” Seonghwa grumbled before the speaker picked up the sound of something being brushed up against it. “I’m sorry, Nari.”

“It’s okay. I’d love to join if that’s okay,” she said as she got to her feet to start getting ready, putting them on speaker. “Where are you going?”

“We haven’t decided yet.”

“I vote pizza,” Wooyoung said.

“I think soba sounds good,” Yunho said.

Seonghwa sighed. “We talked about it the whole time we were closing and never decided on anything.”

“Oooo, what about pasta?” Wooyoung added.

“Stop coming up with more options,” Seonghwa shot back. “Do you have any preferences, Nari?”

“Not really,” she said. She was glad they weren’t sure. It gave her more time to make herself presentable. “I’m up for anything.”

“What about rock, paper, scissors?” Yunho proposed.

“Deal!” Wooyoung agreed.

Nari listened to the championship level game as she got out of her sweats and refreshed her hair.

Yunho ended up winning and chose a soba place that was close by. She met them there in only ten minutes, now sporting a turtleneck, sweater, and loose jeans. The group was waiting outside when she arrived, waving in greeting, Wooyoung bouncing on his feet in excitement, or from the cold. Seonghwa opened the door to the quaint little restaurant, herded them all inside out of the cold before real greetings could be made.

“Let’s order first,” Seonghwa said, before Wooyoung could bombard her with questions. “There will be plenty of time to talk once we’re settled.” He kept things moving by placing their orders, then when everything was done, he gestured to Nari. “Okay, Miss Nari. You have the floor.”

The sudden formality surprised her, but she was quick to note the sparkle in his eyes. Wooyoung bounced in his seat next to him. “Yes! I’m so excited! Tell us.”

She blushed under all the attention, but leaned in, their excitement urging her on. “Well, I got more orders on my last two books. 4,000 copies in total.”

Their eyes widened in surprise and Wooyoung whistled, impressed.

“And there’s an international publisher who wants to translate my books for overseas distribution.”

“That’s awesome,” Yunho said with a thumbs up. “Way to go.”

“Yeah!” Wooyoung jumped in. “I mean, I don’t know the first thing about the industry, but that sounds really impressive.”

“It’s a really big deal for us. For me,” she said. “We’re still a small publishing company. And I’m still a rookie author. So, to not only have such a large reorder, but to also have the attention of overseas publishers…” she trailed off, overwhelmed. “It’s not something I ever imagined.”

“You deserve the recognition,” Seonghwa said with conviction.

“Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate it. But, you haven’t even read my books, so I don’t know how you can say that with such confidence.”

“Because we know you,” Wooyoung said.

“And we have read your work,” Yunho said. “Even unedited, it’s great.”

Seonghwa nodded in agreement.

“Speaking of, how is the editing going?” Wooyoung asked as their food arrived at the table.

“Good,” she said. “I’m almost done with the second draft, and then, I think we’ll move on to the final draft. My editor and I still have to discuss things.”

“Sounds like you’re getting close to publishing,” Yunho said before digging into his food.

“I think so,” she said. “Maybe one or two more months.” She looked at Seonghwa who had just lifted some noodles with his chopsticks. But the minute he saw her attention was on him, he lowered the food. “My publisher asked me again if I would do a book signing, and I agreed. I told him about your idea, and he thought it sounded like a good plan.”

“Really,” Seonghwa brightened.

Nari nodded and looked down at her bowl, stirring the noodles to try and hide her nervousness. “He wants to start discussions so that things can get moving.”

“That’s wonderful news.” He set his utensils to the side and reached for his pocket, ignoring how the other two were looking between them. “Here, I have my business card, and Mingi’s. You can pass them on to him.”

“Thank you,” she quickly reached for them, trying to ignore as their fingers brushed and focusing instead on carefully storing the cards in her purse. “I’ll pass it off to him first thing tomorrow.”

“I’ll let Mingi know as well,” Seonghwa said. “He’s been wanting to plan an event for a while, so he’ll be excited.”

“I’m sure he already has a plan started,” Yunho said.

“This is the first time I’m hearing anything about it,” Wooyoung pouted. “Why are you two keeping things from us?”

“You should eat before your food gets cold,” Seonghwa told him, ignoring the comment and digging into his own food instead. Nari nodded and followed suit.

Wooyoung scoffed but Yunho just grinned at him. “You didn’t already know about it?” Yunho asked, grin growing wider.

“What’s that supposed to me?”

Yunho just shrugged and dug in.

⁕⁕⁕

The next day, high in the good news, the productivity seemed elevated. Nari edited with passion, her mistakes hardly bothering her now. She used that high, knowing it might not last long. She had to take full advantage of it while she could.

Wooyoung, seeing her determination, kept her coffee mug full without complaint, and Seonghwa made sure she took a break for lunch. The care and quiet support warmed her and kept her going. She was excited to report the excellent progress at the celebratory dinner. She couldn’t remember the last time she had edited so efficiently and was sure that both Jongho and Yeosang would be impressed.

This would be her best book yet. She would make sure of it.

A shadow fell over her notes, and she paid it no mind at first, sure it was one of the others refilling her coffee once more.

“You’re really hard at work,” a deep, unknown voice said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anyone so focused before.”

She looked up at the person leaning over her and immediately shrunk away, eyes wide.

“Oh,” he said quickly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He didn’t pull back but shifted to the side and held a hand out to her. “I’m Mingi. You’re Nari, right?”

She nodded and took his hand.

“Great! Seonghwa hyung just told me the good news and I wanted to come and introduce myself real quick,” he said with a grin, his eyes crescenting. He finally leaned back, placing his hands in his pockets. “I look forward to working with you.”

“I look forward to working with you too,” she said. The surprise and tension eased now that she knew who he was. He was much more intimidating up close than he had been when she had seen him and Wooyoung taking photos. But he softened when he smiled and she could see the person the others had spoken about. “I’m surprised you recognized me.”

“How could I not remember someone like you?” he said with a wink. She barely had time to register what he said and keep her mouth from dropping open before he continued. “I hate to disturb you while you’re working, but I’ve got to hit the road in a minute and wanted to discuss a couple of things with you first if possible.”

“Oh, sure,” she said, glancing at the time and her open doc. She could spare a few minutes. Even if his forward comment still had her in shock.

To her surprise, and maybe relief, he didn’t sit.

“Thanks,” he said, smile growing. “I promise I won’t take up too much time. I’ve already reached out to your publisher, and I plan on all emails regarding the event to include him and Seonghwa hyung. I’d like to include you on the emails too if that’s okay. I want to make sure you’re kept in the loop on the plans, that way you can veto anything you don’t like.”

“Oh, yeah, that would be great,” she said, surprised at how quickly he was getting on top of things. “Let me get you my card.” She turned and riffled through her purse as he continued.

“I was also wondering if you have a synopsis ready for your book. That way I have something to go off of for theming.”

She handed the card over and thought for a moment. “I can try and get something put together,” she said. “But it might take a little while. I haven’t taken the time to write a synopsis yet.”

“Oh, I don’t want you to go out of your way to do that,” he said. “I’m sure you have your hands full with editing right now.”

“I have some excerpts you could read. Well, Hongjoong does. He pulled some key passages to come up with some ideas for the book cover and art inserts. I can ask him to forward those over.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I can text Hongjoong hyung so that I don’t take up more of your time. Thank you.”

“Thank you!” she said. “You do an amazing job with the cafe’s socials, so I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

He chuckled, pink dusting his cheeks. “Thanks. I just hope I can live up to your expectations. Seonghwa hyung said this is the first event you’ve held for any of your books. I’d hate to disappoint or do anything you wouldn’t like.”

“You can start by not taking up all of her work time,” Seonghwa said, appearing behind the giant, glower on his face.

The younger man yelped, then turned to face Seonghwa. “Hyung, why would you scare me like that?”

“I thought you said you were leaving?” Seonghwa said, crossing his arms. “Why are you over here bothering her?”

“I’m not,” Mingi argued back. “This is a work related conversation.”

Seonghwa turned to her and Nari nodded in confirmation.

“See,” Mingi shot. “Besides, we were just finishing. I’m going now.”

Seonghwa eyed him skeptically and the taller man huffed.

Yunho appeared behind Mingi, taking both of his shoulders, ready to pull him away. “Mingi, I’ll walk you out.”

“My word, what is with you two? Fine, I’m leaving now,” he said then turned back to Nari and winked again. “It was lovely meeting you and I look forward to this event. Please let me know if there’s anything you don’t like, or if you have anything in particular that you want.”

“Thank you, Mingi-shi. I can’t wait to see what you have planned. Have a good day,” Nari said, still trying to make sense of what was happening.

Yunho drug his best friend off, whispering fiercely at him about having a death wish while Seonghwa watched them go. When they were completely out of earshot, Seonghwa sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I told him you were busy working and not to bother you. He didn’t make you uncomfortable, did he?”

She quickly shook her head. “No, he just surprised me is all.”

“Okay,” he said, smiling in relief. “Good. He’s harmless. Mostly.”

“Just a bit flirty?” she asked.

“Yeah, him and Wooyoung like to turn on the charm,” Seonghwa said, then smirked. “He fails spectacularly when it’s someone he actually likes though.”

“Aaaw,” she cooed as he slid into the booth across from her. “That’s actually really cute.”

Seonghwa chuckled. “It is. He acts cool most of the time and then turns into a puddle when he has a crush. I do wish he’d reign in the charisma sometimes though.”

“As long as he doesn’t do anything harmful, I’m sure it’s fine,” Nari said, turning back to her work. “Are you on a break?”

“No, not really,” he said with a sigh. “It’s just slow right now, so I wanted to come check on you. Do you need anything?”

She glanced up at her half full coffee mug that was probably teetering towards cold now. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d touched it. “No, I’m okay.” She looked up and met his eyes, her heart picking up it’s pace just slightly. “Thank you though.”

“Will you be staying much longer?” His hand twitched and her eyes shot down to it.

It was only a few inches away from hers. If either of them reached forward just a little bit, their fingers would brush…

She looked back at her laptop, pulling her hand closer to herself. “Probably just another hour,” she said. “I need to go home and get ready for a company dinner. A small celebration for yesterday’s good news.”

“That’s great,” Seonghwa said. Something in his tone made her more disappointed she was having to leave. He started to stand and she looked up at him. “I’ll let you get back to it. Don’t want to take up the rest of your work time.”

She wanted to tell him it was okay, that she wanted him to stay longer. But, that would be too much. They were both still working. She couldn’t ask him to stay just because she wanted to be close to him a little bit longer. Not when he had customers and she had editing. “Okay,” is what she said instead, hoping that the disappointment didn’t show.

After he walked away, she couldn’t get her head back on her book, but kept at it. When she started to get texts about the plans for dinner, she sighed and began packing her things. It wouldn’t do to push what wasn’t happening when she didn’t have much time left. When she was done, she glanced over at Seonghwa and just watched him for a moment.

Golden hour was hitting, spilling in through the window and perfectly illuminating his features. His eyes were sparkling in the sunlight as he smiled at something Yunho was saying. Wooyoung joined in, making them laugh and Seonghwa’s eyes became like crescents as his smile grew with his laughter. Something in her melted and she wished she could just capture that moment and live in it longer.

Then, she caught Yunho’s gaze out of her peripheral. He was looking at her with wide eyes and an amused, knowing smile. Her eyes widened, face heated up, and she looked away, hurrying to gather all of her things.

She’d been caught red handed.

But maybe he didn’t know?

Maybe his expression was just from whatever they had been talking about.

She paused as her purse strap slipped off her shoulder for the third time in her haste and tried not to groan.

If he did figure her out, he wouldn’t say anything to Seonghwa, right?

Taking a deep breath, she passed bye them, giving a bright goodbye and praying she didn’t look like she was running away.

“Wooyoung, focus please,” Seonghwa urged. “It’ll be done faster if you stop stalling.”

“Ah, Hyuung,” Wooyoung drawled, flopping back onto his rear. “It’s boring. Can’t we make it fun at least?”

“We’re cleaning.”

“Tell us a story. About you. We still don’t know anything about you.”

“Wooyoung…”

“Like, what this is?” Wooyoung held up a norigae, decorated with pearls. “Where did you—”

Seonghwa had Wooyoung’s wrist in a vice grip, pulling him up from the ground and taking the accessory back before any of them could blink. When he let go, Wooyoung fell back to the deck and gawked up at the eldest in shock.

“How did you get this?” Seonghwa growled as he checked his clothing.

Even though everyone seemed to be focused on Seonghwa, Jongho’s attention was on Wooyoung. He could only see Seonghwa’s back from where he sat, but whatever expression he had was making Wooyoung scramble away. His friends were watching with wide eyes and bated breath.

“I—I’m sorry, I just — I was curious and took it off you after breakfast. I didn’t think—”

“Don’t touch it again.”

“Seonghwa,” the captain called out, interrupting them. “He didn’t know. Go cool off.”

The man didn’t show any sign of acknowledgment at first, then turned sharply to where Jongho could see his face. The youngest dropped his apple, making it thud and roll across the wood, and Seonghwa’s eyes were immediately on him. Brightly glinting, non-human eyes with sharp, narrow pupils. Jongho held his breath but Seonghwa’s gaze was off of him in an instant, the anger in them flashing to something else Jongho didn’t have enough time to recognize.

Seonghwa shed his jacket and top, making a pair of gills along his collarbone visible, then kicked off his shoes and jumped overboard.

The sound of the splash did something in all of them. Jongho could breath again and stood from the barrel as San and Yeosang ran to Wooyoung’s side.

“What were you thinking?”

“Are you okay?”

“We don’t steal from friends.”

Their rambling was drowned out as Jongho tried to process what had just happened.

“He’s a siren,” he said suddenly and everyone grew silent and turned their attention to him. He’d known that there was something different about Seonghwa, but this… “Did everyone already know?” Jongho knew, he knew that they didn’t trust him yet. He didn’t trust them. It had only been two days since he joined. But this was still something he felt was important to know.

“He didn’t tell any of us,” San said. “I just figured it out. But my father’s a fisherman and I basically grew up on the ocean.” He finished off with a shrug.

“I found out a few nights ago,” Yeosang said, his eyes out on the ocean where Seonghwa had disappeared. “He was singing on the deck.”

“I just knew. I guess I thought it was obvious,” Wooyoung added.

“And yet you thought it was a good idea to provoke him,” San grumbled.

“I’m sure it makes sense why he doesn’t really tell people,” Hongjoong said as he made his way across the deck. “He’s not very good at hiding it though.” He gave them a small smile then collected the discarded garments and placed them neatly on a barrel by the railing. “He’s not dangerous,” he continued. “At least, not to those he trusts. I almost feel bad for the person behind all of this. Only almost though. They deserve whatever’s coming. That norigae is really important to him,” Here he fixated Wooyoung with a sharp look. “I recommend you apologize and never touch it again.”

“Yes sir,” Wooyoung said, and for once, Jongho didn’t detect anything other than sincerity in his tone. “It belonged to her, didn’t it?”

Hongjoong nodded with a tight smile, then pat Wooyoung’s arm before he went back to steering.

San and Yeosang also patted Wooyoung before going back to what they had been doing previously.

Wooyoung stood lost in thought for a moment, then grabbed his discarded rag and began to clean in earnest.

“Well Jongho,” the captain called to him. “Do you want us to let you off at the next port now that you know? Or will you stay?”

Jongho met his eyes for a moment before collecting his discarded apple. “I’ll stay for now. If he can keep from killing after all that then my level of trust hasn’t changed. Besides, I would have thrown the thief overboard.”

Wooyoung sputtered in protest while the others laughed at his expense. Jongho ignored it though and went below deck.

♥

Wooyoung shifted from foot to foot as he waited for Seonghwa to finish tying his belt, back still towards him. It hadn’t surprised him that the siren was ignoring him.

“Hyung,” he tried, and Seonghwa stilled. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t know, but that’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have taken it from you. It won’t happen again.”

Seonghwa’s shoulders slumped slightly and he turned to face Wooyoung. He didn’t say anything or meet Wooyoung’s gaze, but his brow furrowed when he caught sight of the already blooming bruise that was poking out from under Wooyoung’s sleeve.

Wooyoung moved to hide his arm behind him but Seonghwa gently grabbed his elbow before he could. The siren pushed up his sleeve then inhaled sharply once the full extent of the injury was visible.

“I’m sorry,” Seonghwa said with a deep sigh.

“No, don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have —”

“Stop. No matter how important the norigae is to me, it’s no excuse for what I did. I lost control and could have done worse. It won’t happen again,” Seonghwa said then began to pull Wooyoung across the deck. “Why didn’t you bandage it?”

“It’s really fine, hyung,” Wooyoung tried to ease as Seonghwa grabbed a salve and bandages. “I’ve had worse.”

Seonghwa fixed him with a raised brow then pushed up Wooyoung’s sleeve, making him hiss in pain. Without another word, Seonghwa began to apply the salve then wrapped the bandage over the bruise. When he was done Wooyoung looked it over, impressed.

“Surprised?”

Wooyoung rubbed at his neck and smiled. “Kind of. I didn’t think a siren would need to know how to bandage a wound, since bandages can’t really get wet.”

“You’re not wrong. I’ve never really had need of them for myself.” Seonghwa started cleaning up, his gaze dark again. “I helped Nari a few times after she got done with work. She showed me how.”

“Nari…is that…?” Wooyoung didn’t finish the question, afraid of crossing another line.

Seonghwa nodded his head though, his expression softened as a sad smile appeared. “She’d already been through so much, and then.” He stopped, his expression darkening once more.

“It’s a really pretty name,” Wooyoung said quietly. Then he looked up at Seonghwa with determination. “Don’t worry, hyung. We will get her back.”

♠

Jongho tried not to let it show as frustration ate at him, instead downing the drink in his hand as he and the majority of the crew tried to eavesdrop on the conversations around them.

Two days. They had been in this port town for two days, trying to get any information they could, only to come up empty handed. But the captain was positive they would get something here. The town was bustling with pirates and traders and other sorts from all over the globe. Many of the languages being spoken were completely foreign to him, though the others didn’t seem to be having as many issues understanding those around them.

It was the first time he’d been on foreign soil, though he wasn’t sure who exactly this town belonged to considering the diversity.

“Captain,” Yeosang said suddenly. “We’ve been here for a while and aren’t mingling. We should probably move on.”

Hongjoong hummed in thought then turned in his seat to view the rest of the tavern. “How about you and Jongho go purchase some supplies and track down the duo. Seonghwa and I will meet you back on the ship in a couple of hours. I want to try a more direct approach, and ask around about a ship.” He stood and started towards a rowdy corner table that was predominantly speaking an unknown language. Seonghwa stood a moment later and followed after handing a paper and pouch to Yeosang.

The silence that followed was awkward. Jongho hadn’t yet had a one-on-one conversation with Yeosang, who seemed to only really spend time with the troublemakers. Though he himself was quiet most of the time.

“Um…Seonghwa hyung gave me a list and some money,” Yeosang said hesitantly. “Should we get going?”

“Yeah,” Jongho said with a nod, then downed the rest of his drink. “We should probably hurry before your friends get into trouble.”

Yeosang let out a small laugh as he placed some coins onto the counter, but quickly covered it up and started towards the door without any other response to Jongho’s comment.

Silence prevailed again once they were outside and while Jongho didn’t usually mind, this time it was uncomfortable. And, he had questions. Like, how did someone who came across as a noble or scholar know how to fight the way he did? It was common for nobles’ sons to learn swordsmanship and archery, but the way Yeosang had jumped him, the way he fought, his strength, did not line up with the appearance he gave off. And if he was a noble, why was he so close to the riffraff that San and Wooyoung clearly were? Their upbringing was clearly different.

“Would you…” Yeosang started and stopped and Jongho looked at him hoping it would encourage him to continue. “Would you like to spar some time?”

“Why?”

That came out wrong.

“Well, I just thought it would be good to practice…and know each other’s fighting styles so that we can work together better, but—”

“No, you’re right,” Jongho said quickly, surprised at the sudden quick rambling from the quiet man. “It’s a good idea. We all have different training. If we end up in an altercation, and we likely will, it’ll be important to be able to work together with minimal issues.”

Yeosang nodded, then fidgeted with his sleeves. “My training makes it easy to analyze other fighting styles in order to combat against them, but not with them. Sparring with the others has been helpful since Wooyoung and San grew up training together and the captain was a part of a crew. Seonghwa hyung and I are the only ones who don’t have that experience.”

“You seem to have the most professional training based off of what I’ve seen from the spars,” Jongho said. “And from what I’ve experienced. What was your training for? Since you’ve known Wooyoung and San for so long I’m just surprised you didn’t train with them. You’ve also got some techniques that aren’t a typical training style, so I’m curious.”

Yeosang’s expression became more serious. He opened his mouth then closed it again and his eyes flicked around the market stalls, looking for something. “There’s potatoes. We should purchase some,” he said, ignoring the question, and when he reached for a potato, Jongho could see his hand trembling. So Jongho dropped it.

Things were quiet and awkward once more after that. Jongho had clearly touched a sensitive topic. Unsure how to break the tension again, he kept silent, only offering his opinion here and there on prices and haggling them when necessary. They made their way into a rougher area with people gathered around street fights and various gambling games.

Jongho wrinkled his nose at the spectacle and opened his mouth to comment when he heard a familiar voice.

“Oh good,” Yeosang said, heading towards one of the groups. “We don’t have to search for them now.”

Jongho hesitated before following Yeosang, who was pushing through the rowdy crowd. San and Wooyoung came into view just as San threw his arms up with a victorious shout.

“Good game,” Wooyoung said as San started to pull his winnings to him. “We appreciate your contribution to our cause.”

Jongho could see the other players growing more upset with Wooyoung’s words, one of the men reaching for her knife.

“You cheated!” one of the men shouted and Wooyoung crossed his arms. “That’s the only way you could have won.”

“You can’t predict the winner of a game of chance unless you yourself are a cheater,” Wooyoung said smoothly. Jongho moved forward to intervene before things got out of hand, but Yeosang put a hand up to stop him.

“Just watch,” he whispered.

“Come on friend,” Wooyoung continued, putting on a winning smile. “We’re all good sports here. My friend here just has traveler’s luck and we’d stay for another round, but our crewmates are here so we have to go. It’s such a pity too. This is the most fun I’ve had in a while. Ah!” Wooyoung stepped towards one of the spectators. “You sir! You look like you’re ready to try your hand at this game. Give it a go. These men really play a good game.” Before the stranger could respond, Wooyoung seized his wrist and pulled him to the center. “Ever played before?”

The stranger nodded, still in shock.

“Of course you have! You look like you would be a great challenger. What do you say?”

The stranger looked at him, then at the player who had been shouting at Wooyoung, then smiled. “Sure, why not. I have some extra coin today. Bet I could take the rest of your money with it.”

“I’d like to see you try,” the other man said. “Take a seat. We’ll see if you can put your money where your mouth is.”

With that, all of the attention that had been on San and Wooyoung was now on the next game, and the two were with them before Jongho had fully processed what had happened, all smiles and hidden laughs. They turned to walk away and Wooyoung threw his arm across Yeosang’s shoulders. Once there was distance between them and the group and had started shopping again, Yeosang spoke. “Did you cheat?” he asked and Wooyoung smirked.

“Of course.”

Jongho stopped in his tracks, making the others nearly run into him. “You what?” he hissed, turning to face them.

Wooyoung’s smirk didn’t drop, but his brows lifted in surprise. “You thought I was going to play fair? When he was cheating everyone out of their money before we stepped in? I just won back some of the money that didn’t belong to him in the first place.”

“That doesn’t make it right.”

“Guys,” San said, stepping between them. “This isn’t the place. Let’s finish getting what we need and head back to the ship.”

“We shouldn’t cause a commotion here,” Yeosang added when neither of them moved.

“Fine,” Jongho said, starting once more down the street. “But we are talking about this.” He didn’t wait for a snarky response, but was sure Wooyoung had rolled his eyes at the comment.

Seonghwa and Wooyoung grimaced at the image of Hongjoong behind the counter. He’d likely try to help with preparing a drink, only to end up somehow burning something.

The bell above the door jingled and they turned to greet the customer, but were instead greeted by their friends.

“Hello,” San said, his tone taking on a cute lilt. “We have arrived. Song Mingi in the house.” His voice raised in volume, and Seonghwa’s eyes darted to the few customers already in the cafe.

“Morning,” Mingi said, voice just as loud. “Who’s ready for promo time?”

“We’ve got everything prepared for you,” Yunho said, gesturing to the box.

“And this,” Wooyoung said, as he pulled off his apron, “is for you.” He threw it at San, who barely caught it. “I’m so ready to take some nicer photos than our every day ones.”

“Just remember not to get too loud,” Seonghwa said. “People do come in here to study.”

“And work,” Wooyoung said with a wink which received a glare from the oldest in response.

“I’ll get started on some of our seasonal drinks,” Yunho said and headed towards the counters, dragging San along with him.

“Wooyoung, can you make one with art before you start on the photography?” Mingi asked as he shed his coat, which Seonghwa took from him. “I’ll start getting a background set up.”

“Sure thing!” Wooyoung left them quickly and Seonghwa looked at Mingi with a raised brow.

“You’re going to drink that one, aren’t you?”

“He never makes us fancy ones,” Mingi said. “Is it wrong for me to get one with art out of him every now and then under the pretense of work? At least it’s not going to waste.”

Seonghwa couldn’t argue with that. He was just happy to have the help with promotions. “Oh hey, I have an idea for an event I’d like to run by you later. But it can wait until you and Wooyoung are done,” he said, readjusting his apron as his eyes darted to the front door.

“Oh, yeah?” Mingi seemed to brighten. “That’s new for you. I’m excited to hear about it.”

Seonghwa half-heartedly bumped into his shoulder at the teasing. “I’ve got to get to work,” he said instead. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do, hyung.”

“And remember, please be mindful of the customers.”

“Don’t worry.” The response was instant, casual, like he’d said it a million times. Which, he had.

Seonghwa shook his head with an endearing smile as he walked off. Wooyoung was finishing up the design on a latte when he joined the others behind the counter.

“Changbin just texted and said they’d be bringing the baked goods over in about fifteen minutes,” Wooyoung said. He carefully placed the latte onto a tray and started to make his way out.

“Oh, good,” Seonghwa said. “That way we can add a couple items to the photos.”

“Wooyoung,” Yunho called out before the younger man could leave the space. “Let me know when you’re almost done with that one so that I can start the next one.”

“Will do.”

Now that the chaos from set up was under control, Seonghwa took a deep breath and went through his mental checklist of what needed to be done. The rush wouldn’t hit for a while, and all the current customers were set with their orders. The case was ready for the bakery items and Nari wasn’t in yet. There wasn’t much to do now except make drinks as Mingi needed them and make random orders as more customers came in.

He busied himself with cleaning that wasn’t necessary, making mental note of stock as he went. Before too long, their neighbors showed up with pastries and he filled the case while Yunho made the next drink for the photos.

“How’s it going with the regular, hyung?” Changbin asked as he started placing cookies on the top shelf. He nearly dropped one, eyes darting to the two in front of him. Felix’s eyes were sparkling, and both held equally knowing grins.

He cleared his throat and focused back on the cookies. “I don’t know what your talking about,” he said.

They looked at each other and rolled their eyes, Felix’s grin turned into a smirk. “Wooyoung hyung has been keeping us updated. We know all about her,” he said.

“Don’t you two have a business to get back to?” Seonghwa insisted. How many people had Wooyoung told about his crush?

“He said she’s the reason you insist on having multiple slices of the strawberry cake available every day,” Changbin said. “Here I thought you just wanted leftovers for yourself or San.”

“Don’t worry, hyung,” Felix said, raising a fist. “Fighting.”

They both left after that, chuckling and meeting Wooyoung’s eyes as they exited.

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” San said.

“Not you too,” Seonghwa groaned, closing the dessert case with more force than necessary. “We’ve been over this. She’s a customer. I’d be overstepping.”

“If you say so, hyung.”

Another customer came in and Seonghwa nudged San. “Focus please.”

When the transaction was done, he started on the drink, giving him an excuse to ignore San’s teasing. Instead, he focused on figuring out how to best execute the plan he had in mind.

What to say.

What to offer.

How to offer without it coming across as out of the blue or feeling like a burden.

“Hello, welcome to The Wishing Star,” San greeted brightly.

“Noona!” Wooyoung shouted and Seonghwa’s head shot up, eyes darting to the entrance in time to see Nari give a small wave to Wooyoung before continuing to the counter.

Seonghwa couldn’t escape his drink making to meet her there.

San glanced back at him with a knowing smile before turning back to her.

“Hi,” he said, more enthusiastic than when she entered.

“Hello,” she said, unsure.

“You must be the regular hyung talks about,” San said.

“Oh,” she said as she glanced behind San to seek him out. Their eyes met and pink dusted across her cheeks.

“Hi Nari,” Seonghwa said quickly. “I’m just finishing this drink, then I’ll be right there.”

“D—don’t worry about it,” she said.

Still, he finished the to-go order as quickly as he could, listening in on their conversation in case he needed to do damage control for anything San said.

“Are you San?” she asked.

“I am?” San said in surprise. “How did you know.”

“Intuition,” she said. “It’s nice to finally meet the famous roommate.”

“Psh, famous? I’m not so sure about that.”

Seonghwa could hear the blush in San’s tone. If he were a bird his feathers would be puffed up.

“Look’s like we’re both meeting celebrities today then,” San said as Seonghwa handed the drink off to the customer, then started to rush back. “The famous regular that plays animal crossing and writes books for a living.”

“I’m not…”

“Nari,” Seonghwa said when he was close enough. She looked up at him as he quickly closed the distance, hopefully missing how his hand latched onto San’s shoulder with a little more force than necessary. “More editing today?”

“Of course,” she said. Then, she looked behind her, towards the two by the window and dropped her voice a bit. “What’s going on today? Who…?” She didn’t finish the question, but he could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

“That’s Mingi,” he said. “He’s our marketing and promotions manager. And Yunho’s best friend. We’re getting more professional photos today of our new and seasonal drinks to post on socials for the next month or so.”

“And Wooyoung is getting to take the photos?”

He nodded and she beamed.

“That’s great!” she said. “He’s such a good photographer. It’s a shame he doesn’t do it more.”

Seonghwa opened his mouth, but San spoke before him.

“That’s what I keep telling him. He’s been using every excuse in the book lately about why he hasn’t been taking any photos,” he pouted.

“We’ve all been trying to get him to take some time to work on it,” Seonghwa said. “But he won’t listen.”

“Ya!” Wooyoung shouted. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

San raised a finger to his lips to shush their friend, who just started grumbling under his breath as he went back to work.

“I’m taking photos now, aren’t I?” he huffed to Mingi, who just patted him on the shoulder.

“In his defense,” Yunho said, joining them. “It has gotten a lot busier here lately. There’s not really a good time for him to take off.”

“I’ve offered to cover a shift or two,” San said, pouting again.

“Why don’t you focus on the shift your covering now instead of berating me for something completely unnecessary and wasting everyone’s time? Hmm? Hmm?” Wooyoung said, speaking 90 miles and hour as he walked over.

Seonghwa raised his hands, gesturing for Wooyoung to calm down before he bothered the customers. “Okay, okay,” he said. “We’ll drop it.”

“Thank you,” Wooyoung huffed. “I swear, no one ever takes my side. Yunho, can you start on the next drink please? I’m nearly done.”

“Of course,” Yunho said, holding back his laughter from the mild altercation. “I was taking your side, by the way.”

“Whatever,” Wooyoung said, with a wave of his hand as he walked back over to the photo area where Mingi was watching, mildly confused.

San started typing on the tablet in front of him, then looked up at Nari. “Just coffee, right?”

“That’s right,” she said, in surprise. “Guess I really am famous. Or does my order just annoy Wooyoung that much.”

“What do you think?” San said with a grin. “If you really want to annoy him, you should order something else today when he’s not working.”

“Hmm,” she hummed in thought. “Maybe…”

“Noona! Don’t you dare!” Wooyoung whined, stomping his foot once.

She chuckled at the response as she fished her wallet out of her purse. “I’m only teasing,” she said. Her eyes shone like stars, completely captivating Seonghwa’s gaze. The light brown shone in the sunlight, with little flecks of sparkling gold, and he felt like the air had left his lungs.

“I’ll…get started on you coffee,” he said, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his apron and turning away. “You’re table is open.”

“Thank you, Seonghwa,” she said, her voice light. The way she called his name was gentle, and he couldn’t help the blush from rising to his cheeks.

Still, he turned and smiled at her, praying that the evidence of his crush wasn’t too visible. “Of course. Do you mind if we use your table to eat lunch again?”

“Not at all,” she said. “I’m always happy for the company.”

He turned away again to fix her mug of coffee, hoping that the heat on his face would die down enough that he could actually take it to her.

The bell above the door dinged, thankfully knocking him to his senses. The following sound of the late morning rush had him hurrying to drop off her drink with a promise to check on her once everything had died down again, before he was back to work.

His and Yunho’s hands were full with keeping up with the orders, as well as making sure San didn’t get too overwhelmed or confused. But, just as quickly as the rush had come in, it was gone and he was left catching his breath along with the other two behind the counter.

“I don’t know how you do this every day,” San said. “Multiple times a day. I’m wiped.”

“You’re doing great, Sannie,” he said, ruffling the younger man’s hair. “Don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“Hyuuung,” San huffed, pushing Seonghwa’s hand away to fix his hair.

“I’m going to get started on the next drink for Mingi and Wooyoung,” Seonghwa said. It was one of his favorite new additions, so he was excited to work on it. Excited to share it. But he had two versions to work on, so it would take him a little bit.

“Then, I’ll go around and check on customers,” Yunho said, grabbing the coffee pot.

“Okay,” Seonghwa responded, too focused on gathering the ingredients and going through the checklist. He’d have it memorized before too long, but he had to make sure this one was perfect…for the photos.

After starting the espresso and prepping the dark chocolate, he pulled the pre-cut strawberry stars and star ice cubes from the mini freezer, then the homemade strawberry compote from the fridge, along with creams. Everything was a matter of timing. He grabbed one of their new latte glasses and filled the bottom with the strawberry compote. Then he carefully added in the star strawberries, using the ice to help hold them in place along the side of the glass before drizzling some chocolate to help hold them a bit better.

The espresso finished just as he was ready for it, and he quickly poured it into the mixing glass with the dark chocolate and mixed them together. He then poured it into the glass in tandem with some cream, allowing the liquids to marbleize. Then, he topped it with a healthy amount of whipped cream and added a couple more strawberry stars as a garnish. The finishing touch was a sprinkling of dried strawberry crumbs.

Satisfied, he stepped back. It was perfect.

“Ooo,” Yunho said. Sidling up next to him. “Looks good, hyung. You finally perfected it. Got a name yet.”

Seonghwa shook his head, quickly getting to work on the hot version of the drink. “No,” he said. “But it will come to me.”

“I’m surprised. You’ve never really struggled with naming one before. And this is the only new one without a name.”

“I know. I just want to make sure it’s perfect.”

“Whatever you decide will be great,” Yunho said, his voice encouraging.

The name was taking a surprising amount of time, and it irritated him. He wanted to get it on the menu as soon as possible, but couldn’t until he made a decision. Still, he knew what was holding him back. Why he wanted to be perfect.

Finishing touches on the hot drink, he loaded the two onto a tray, then retrieved a slice of strawberry cake that he had set aside earlier. Then, more careful than was probably necessary, he took them to the front.

“Perfect timing,” Mingi said, him and Wooyoung looking up from the screen of Wooyoung’s camera. “We just finished with this one.”

“I’ll take it off of your hands then,” he said as he carefully unloaded the items on the tray to the table, then grabbed the other hot and cold drinks. “San has been waiting patiently.” The whip cream on the hot chocolate had certainly deflated, making the mint leaf and cookie droop a little sadly, but the mint chocolate lover wouldn’t mind.

He turned to see the temporary cashier watching him with crescent eyes. Hands clenched and shaking on the table as he tried to contain his excitement. He was certainly earning the drink today.

“Wait,” Mingi said before he could walk away. “I want one of those. Does he get both?”

“No, one of those is mine,” Wooyoung said. “San and I have been trying to get a mint choco drink on the menu for ages and he finally listened to us, so we have dibs.”

“But I like mint choco too,” Mingi whined. “You can get one whenever since you work here.”

“Then just come by more frequently. Besides, you took the latte art one earlier,” Wooyoung argued back as he started to arrange the drinks and cake for the perfect photo. “Ooo, your labor of love,” he teased the oldest. “Finally ready to debut?”

“Almost,” Seonghwa said. “Just needs a name. Here,” he handed over the cold mint chocolate drink. “Share it.”

“I don’t want to share,” the two said in unison.

“Then rock paper scissors for it,” Seonghwa sighed. “Those are mine when you’re done.” He pointed at the strawberry based items, ignoring the whining.

“Just yours?” Wooyoung said, wiggling his eyebrows, but Seonghwa ignored him and turned to head to the counter. He handed the mint hot chocolate to San, who took it with glee, ignoring the rock paper scissors game happening behind him.

San took a long drink of the now mostly cooled liquid and hummed in satisfaction. Then he sent a wink at the oldest. “Do I get a bite of the strawberry cake?” he asked innocently.

“No.”

“But—”

“No buts.”

San pouted, then took another sip of his hot chocolate and was satisfied all over again. He grabbed the mint chocolate cookie, that was barely floating now, with his teeth and it fell apart on him.

“I’ll get you a spoon,” Seonghwa said, starting to round the counter. “Don’t make a mess.”

✧✧✧

It took longer than he was hoping, but they finally finished and were on to the next drinks. He took the items to Nari’s table with light steps, careful not to spill them. They weren’t as pretty as they had been, and probably not as good, now closer to room temperature.

Carefully, he set the cake in Nari’s peripheral, then the two drinks. She looked up, watching as they appeared one by one, then look at him in surprise.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“New seasonal items,” he said. There was some awe in her expression as she looked back at the drinks, and he couldn’t help but be filled with pride. “I wanted to make something for the season that complemented the strawberry cake. Since it’s a favorite.” He added the last bit quickly. “And it will be a collaborative promotion with the bakery next door.”

“Well, they look amazing,” she said. “Are you getting to take a break now?”

He nodded and slid into the booth across from her. “Just for a minute. Which one do you want?”

“I’m sorry?” she asked, eyes wide. “I get one?”

“Of course,” he said. “I want to get your opinion on whether or not they actually complement the cake.”

“Are you sure?” her hands hesitated forward, but he could see the anticipation in her eyes. “I’m sure one of you is a better judge of that. I don’t know the first thing about coffee.”

“But you’ll be able to tell if they go together.” His tone was insistent. “It’s good to get customer feedback, and I trust your opinion. Plus, you’ve been working so hard. You deserve a treat here and there. So,” he nudged them towards her slightly, “which would you like?”

“Then…” she reached forward and slowly slid the cold one towards herself. “I’ll take this one.”

He smiled and slid the hot, now cold one, towards himself.

She took a long drink from hers, closing her eyes and really savoring it. She hummed in delight then finally opened her eyes and looked at him. “This is amazing!” she said.

He held out a small fork for her, then slid the cake a bit closer once she took it.

“You have to stop spoiling me with all these free treats,” she said even as she readily sunk the fork into the spongy cake.

He wanted to tell her he would happily spoil her every day, in greater ways. That the drink was made specifically for her. That she was quickly becoming his favorite person.

But he couldn’t.

So, instead, he told a half truth. “Let me treat my favorite customer every now and then,” he said.

She looked up at him in surprise, fork still in her mouth. Pink dusted her cheeks as her eyes shot back down to the table, cake, laptop, anything but him.

She took another drink, then swirled the straw around in thought. “You treat me a lot though,” she said.

He shrugged, but she didn’t see it. Instead, she continued.

“Tell me about the drink,” she said. “What all is in it?”

He scooted forward in his seat, and explained it in detail. She looked at him again, met his gaze, her attention matching his excitement. There was still a light dusting of pink on her cheeks, and he was sure his matched. Especially once Yunho called for him to come back.

He stood reluctantly, hand still on the table. “I’ll be back in a little while to eat lunch,” he said. “If it’s not a bother.”

She shook her head. “It’s never a bother.”

“Then,” he cleared his throat, to overcome with her response. “I’ll have the others come eat lunch first.”

“Okay,” she said, then lifted she glass slightly. “Thank you again, Seonghwa. I think this will be a big hit. You did a great job.”

“Thanks,” he forced out, then walked away. His face was burning. He needed a minute. But one look at the others told him he didn’t have that. So he swallowed the embarrassment and joined them. Shooing Yunho away to take his lunch break.

✧✧✧

It was another hour before Mingi and Wooyoung were done. They joined him and Yunho behind the counter with the props and final drinks and Wooyoung slouched against him dramatically. “I’m starving,” he whined. “I could practically fade away.”

“Then go eat,” Seonghwa said. “I’m not stopping you. It’s long past your normal break time.”

“Thanks, hyung!” Wooyoung cheered, then tried to plant a kiss on Seonghwa’s cheek. But the oldest was faster, pushing him away before he even got close.

“Don’t,” Seonghwa said with a grimace. “Just go eat.”

The youngest saluted, then disappeared into the back to grab his food.

“I’m going to head out to eat,” Mingi said. “As long as you don’t need any other photos taken.”

“No. But, before you go,” Seonghwa said, stopping him in his tracks. “Let me give you some money for lunch and…” He trailed off as he searched for his wallet.

“What’s up?” Mingi asked when he didn’t finish.

“I just wanted to go ahead and run my event idea by you so you could start thinking it over.”

“Oh yeah! I completely forgot.” Mingi put his hands in his pockets, attention fully on Seonghwa in anticipation. “What were you thinking?”

“Well, what about a book launch event? A reading and signing with the author. Maybe some live music. I’ve heard it can be a really great evening event. Especially in the winter.”

“Sounds good. Do you have an author in mind?” Mingi’s eyes were wide and curious as he leaned forward in excitement.

“I do,” he said, matter of fact. “She has a book coming out soon, but I don’t know the exact date yet. It might not work out timing wise. Or she or her company might not be interested. I wanted to run it by you before bringing it up.”

Mingi nodded in thought. “It would fit the atmosphere of the cafe well,” he said. “And a rare evening event could pull in more people. San could probably sing…” he trailed off, then looked at Seonghwa and smiled. “I like it. Why don’t you go ahead and reach out to them, see if there would even be any interest, find out a timeline. And I’ll start brainstorming some ideas.”

“Really? You like it?”

“What’s not to like, hyung?” Mingi said with a chuckle. “Whether you believe it or not, you have good ideas.”

“He’s right,” San said, joining them.

“You don’t even know what we’re talking about,” Seonghwa said.

“Don’t need to,” San argued. “Mingi said you have good ideas, that’s all I need to know to agree.” He grinned at the oldest, adjusting his apron. “I’m ready to get back to work boss.”

“And I’m going to head out,” Mingi said, happily placing the offered lunch money in his pocket. “I’ll get to work on the photos after lunch and reach out to you tonight or tomorrow about any extra information I need to start posting.”

“Thank you, Mingi.”

“Just keep me updated on the event idea.”

“Will do.”

Mingi headed off and San turned to Seonghwa curiously. “What event idea is he talking about?”

“Something that is still very much just an idea. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” San said, taking his spot back behind the register.

“Thank you again for the help today. You can go as soon as Yunho and Wooyoung are done with their lunch.”

“I don’t mind staying longer if that would help. That way they have an extra hand while you take your break. And then, you can take your time.” He looked at Seonghwa with meaning and the eldest looked away, busying himself with cleaning the already spotless counter. “But really,” San continued. “I’m happy for the extra income after losing so many days to that stupid bug.”

“Do you have enough gigs lined up right now?” Seonghwa said in concern.

“Yeah. I’m booked up the rest of the week, so I’ll be okay. The rebooking and slow start back just stressed me out a little. But it’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Just let me know if you need some extra hours. I’m sure we could figure something out. You could sing here on the weekend maybe. Get some tips.”

“That might not be a bad idea. Thanks, hyung. I’ll let you know.”

✧✧✧

Seonghwa took a slow bite of his food, trying to figure out how to start the conversation.

Nari was editing her story, and he didn’t want to interrupt her, but he also knew she still hadn’t eaten. And, he didn’t want to wait another day to talk to her about his idea.

When she started tapping a key in thought, fingers no longer flying over the keyboard, he took a risk. Carefully, he tapped her hand, and she looked at him. Her eyes weren’t really focused on him though, her thoughts still clearly somewhere on the story, and he couldn’t help but smile at her concentration.

“Why don’t you take a break and eat?” He said. “You look like you might be stuck.”

She sighed and leaned back in the booth. “I am,” she said. “That obvious?”

He nodded. “You weren’t typing as fast, and it looked like you might have erased a line a couple times.”

“I did. It’s just a sentence that I struggled with when I was writing the first draft. I still can’t seem to clear it up. Even with my editor’s notes.”

“Well, maybe taking a break will help. Clear your head. Give it some fuel.”

“You’re probably right.” She closed her notebook and pushed it to the side, then her computer. “It’s just hard to take a break once you start making progress.”

“But, you’re not making progress at the moment,” he said, helping her clear a small space for her to eat. “So that means it’s time to rest.”

“Thanks,” she said with a small smile. Then she pulled out a rapped kimbap roll. “It’ll come to me.” The small space filled with the sound of foil and the nervous tapping of her foot under the table. “It’s just this sentence. I just can’t…” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “It’s fine. Sorry. You don’t want to listen to me rant about this.”

“I don’t mind.” He said, bumping her foot with his. She immediately stopped bouncing her leg. “If it helps you destress, I can listen.”

She smiled, hand coming up to rub the back of her neck. “Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate it. But I would rather talk about something else while we’re both on break. Get my mind off of it.”

“Okay,” he said. “Um, it’s still work related. But I had something I wanted to talk to you about, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, sure,” she said, eating a piece of her kimbap.

His leg started bouncing under the table as he tried to formulate the words. Her foot bumped his, mimicking his earlier action and he smiled at her in gratitude. “Have you ever had a launch event for one of your books?”

Her eyes widened in surprise and she shook her head. “No,” she said slowly. “I’m not really well known, so I haven’t seen a reason to.”

“Well…I was looking at event ideas for the cafe this winter, and there were couple book themed ones out there. The book launch seemed interesting, and with your book being published soon, I thought it might be a good one.”

She leaned back in her seat, face scrunching in thought before she bit her lower lip. Then she sat forward again. “What exactly would that look like?”

“There’s a couple of ways to go about it,” he said, putting his food down to really focus on explaining. “Usually a reading of the first couple pages or the first chapter. Or a random exert from the book. Sometimes a book signing. Sometimes live music. Something calm to match the atmosphere. From there the details vary.”

She looked away in thought, chewing on her lip again. “It sounds like a really fun idea,” she said slowly. “But I don’t know that my book will pull in very many people, and…I don’t know if I would be comfortable reading in front of others. Public speaking was not my forte in school.” She smiled, but he could tell it was somewhat forced. “I can see if there’s another, more popular author who might be a better choice though.”

That took him by surprise. He wasn’t even sure how to respond at first. But he met her eyes and didn’t back down, reaching across the table to gently wrap his fingers around her wrist. “I don’t want another author though,” he said. “The reason the idea caught my eye was because it made me think of you. This isn’t about big numbers or a grand promotional event. This is about creating a cozy, friendly atmosphere. Giving people a something to enjoy on a cold winter night. And collaborating on something with someone I care about. Besides,” he smiled brightly, switching his grip to her hand and giving it a little squeeze, “I’m sure you have plenty of readers who would be interested. And we have regulars who I’m sure would be happy to discover your writing.”

She smiled back at him. Less forced, but still unsure.

“But, what if no one comes. It will be such a waste of time and money.”

“It won’t,” he insisted. “Promise. No matter the outcome.” She started chewing on her lip again and he pressed on. “And if you don’t want to read, we can just have someone else do it. I was also thinking San could sing while people are arriving. His voice fits the vibe perfectly. I can send you some of his recordings.”

“I like the idea,” she said. “I really, really do. I’m just not sure.”

“I am. But I don’t want to force you into it. So why don’t you give it some thought today, and talk to your publisher about it. Mingi already said he liked it and is going to start making a plan.”

She took a deep breath then squeezed his hand back. “Okay. I’ll think about it,” she said. “You won’t be upset if I decide not to though, will you?”

“No,” he said quickly. “Of course not. It’s whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Okay.” She smiled, more genuine this time. Relief noticeable in her shoulders. “Thank you, Seonghwa.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he said. His eyes landed on his hand on hers, and he rubbed this thumb across her palm. In comfort, in support. “I’m sorry if this stressed you out. I didn’t mean for it to.”

She squeezed his hand back and he looked at her again. She shook her head then met his eyes. “You were just thinking of something that would benefit both of us,” she said. “That was really thoughtful. I’ll let you know once I make up my mind.”

Perhaps people just weren’t as good as he had always believed.

The group turned away from the street gambling one of them had participated in and continued down the street towards his hiding spot. He turned quickly, pretending to admire some of the wares from a merchant’s table as they passed him. Then, once they were far enough away he followed them through the tight crowd.

He kept hoping they would head back to their ship. Following them without being noticed was becoming increasingly difficult.

While he often unintentionally snuck up on people, doing it purposefully had never been his strong suit.

⸸

Yeosang carefully checked their surroundings again, noticing once more the person that had been in their vicinity for the past hour. If their tail knew he had been made, he’d given no indication of it, so Yeosang had just continued to observe.

But it had gone on for too long now.

He couldn’t tell what danger the man posed. All he knew is it wasn’t someone his father had sent after him. He were too obvious.

Still, they needed to be cautious.

He sped up from the back of the group to come beside Hongjoong, trying to remain as natural as possible while crossing into the personal space of the man he still considered a stranger. “Captain,” he said with a smile. The pirate stalled slightly in surprise. They had yet to trade many words, so Yeosang didn’t blame him. Still, he was greeted with a smile that helped him carry on, though now with a lower voice. “We have a tail,” he continued with his head ducked slightly. “He’s been following us since before the game we stopped for. But, I can’t figure out his intent. He may be harmless.”

The captain hummed, nodding with pursed lips. “Good catch,” he said, then grinned as a glint entered his eyes. “If we try to create some distance for a sneak attack, do you think you would be able to pin him?”

Yeosang tried to remember the build of their stalker, but he’d struggled to even estimate an age. “Maybe. The only successful read I’ve gotten off of him is that he’s likely had military training, just based on his gait and posture. So it might be good if Seonghwa hyung is prepared too.”

“We should all be prepared. When I start weaving through some alleyways, I’ll let him know. You make your way to the back again to tell the others, and then get ready. I’ll signal you.”

“Yes captain,” Yeosang said with a quick nod before slowing his pace.

“Hey Seonghwa, check this out,” Hongjoong said, waving him over.

When Yeosang’s pace was even with Wooyoung and San once more he whispered, “Get ready,” as Hongjoong did the same with Seonghwa.

Wooyoung and San tilted their heads in response, their brows raising in confusion, but he focused his gaze forward, hand twitching as he prepared himself.

♠

They’d sped up some, no longer moseying through the market, but instead wove through the allies. He wasn’t positive, but it seemed as though they were beginning to head towards the outskirts of town. The area was getting less populated, and there were less shops around. But that didn’t make sense. There would be no reason to head into such a dead area.

Unless…

He paused in his tracks, wondering if he had been made.

But there hadn’t been any indication…no. That wasn’t true. The one that had been at the rear had suddenly gone to the front and traded words with the captain before falling back again.

They knew about him.

Sword ready, he rushed forward as they entered another alley. Whether they were planning on running or fighting, he was prepared.

They went down another alley, then another, and another, and each time the distance between them grew until…

He stopped in his tracks.

They were gone.

The path ahead led to a three-way split. If he continued, the chances of him choosing the correct direction weren’t great.

He needed to stop and think. If he could just think—

The world in front of him went dizzy as something grabbed him and spun him around and the breath left his lungs. When the world was still again he registered two things. Someone had a firm grip on him, with their arm wrapped around his throat, and there was a knife in his peripheral.

“Drop the sword,” a deep voice whispered. He hesitated, but the knife was brought closer to his throat, so he complied. “I’ve got him Cap—”

He lurched backwards, slamming his assailant into a beam, grabbed the arm around his throat, then threw the man over his shoulders. The pirate was only dazed for a moment before his legs lashed out and they were both on the ground. The knife was at his throat again, but he grabbed the pirate’s wrists, twisting and squeezing. To the man’s credit, he barely groaned at the pain.

“Drop the knife or both your wrists will end up broken,” he ground out as the pirate tried to get free. The close proximity gave him a better look at which pirate had attacked him and he nearly let go in surprise. It was the one that had been in the back, that hadn’t looked like he’d fought a day in his life. But the strength with which he was resisting proved otherwise.

“That’s enough,” a new voice said sharply as two swords appeared in his vision, his throat once more the target. “Let him go.” The captain stood over him, one of the swords firmly in his grip. “His wrists or your throat, you decide.”

He glared at the captain then let go.

“You alright, Yeosang?” the captain asked and the assailant nodded in response while two other pirates descended on him to check his wrists, but he gently pushed them away.

“Would you care to explain why you’ve been stalking us?” the captain asked, gaining everyone’s attention.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he said as he got to his feet.

“Oh really? How long did you say he’d been following us, Yeosang?”

“Around an hour, Captain,” Yeosang responded.

“And we just took a maze of turns to confirm you were in fact following us,” the captain said. “I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a misunderstanding, you see. So I’ll ask one more time. Why? You’re clearly with the military or the royal guard.”

“How did you…?”

“Please, you reek of it.” The captain sheathed his sword then crossed his arms. “But, as far as I know, we haven’t done anything wrong to gain the authorities attention.”

“Haven’t done anything?” he shouted, his hands balled into fists. This was it. He would finally get some answers, even if it killed him. This wouldn’t end in a punishment like when he was training. But he had already gone this far. “You kidnapped people! And I’m sure, sold them! Both of which are illegal. The people you bought were normal people, living normal lives before they were taken. And you want to try and tell me you’re innocent? But, right, you’re lawless pirates. What do you care about the lives of others.”

Both the face of the captain and the man behind him darkened.

“So that’s what this was all about,” the captain said, just above a whisper. He turned, clapped a hand on the shoulder of the taller man, then started to walk away, the trio right behind them. “Leave him. We should get back to the ship.”

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“I admire your drive. But you’ve got the wrong crew.”

“Liar! I saw you with them.”

The captain paused, then the others.

“There were children, women, and elders. All herded onto a ship to never see their friends or family again.”

“Would it have mattered to you if they had been slaves?”

“What?”

“If they had already been slaves and then bought and sold, or those that were in debt, would you be stepping in? No. Because what does the law do for those people? And another question. You watched as they were herded onto the ship, which means you saw the captain. Correct.”

“Well, yes.”

“Was I the captain?”

“I…” He stopped and sputtered as the man eyed him. But he clenched his fists, determined. He wouldn’t let them sway what he knew. “That doesn’t matter, you were with the crew.”

“Not when they did that. I was busy patronizing a pub.” the man took a deep breath and faced him fully when he didn’t waver. “Alright then. Were any of these men there?”

He looked at the unfamiliar faces, and couldn’t place them. “I don’t remember,” he shot back.

“You do. Answer truthfully.”

“Fine. N-no, but—”

“You’re looking for the Mad Tiger pirates. I left that crew after I found out that the captain,” the title was said with such venom it almost made him step back. “had bought humans like they were cattle. I was not a part of that, but I am trying to set things right. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

As the captain turned again, one of the others whispered into the man’s ear, who then motioned the rest of them into a whispering huddle.

He watched them, unsure what was happening and wondered if he would be able to grab his sword to get away while they were distracted.

But even after his outburst and accusations, it didn’t seem like they were planning on killing him. In fact. They’d seemed intrigued, their hard expressions turning soft as he ranted.

The captain turned around suddenly, breaking up the huddle, and held out a hand with a wide grin on his face. “I’m Captain Hongjoong, and it seems as though we have similar goals. My crew thinks it might be in everyone’s best interest if you join us. Even if you might kill us in our sleep. But you have information resources we don’t, and, I’m sure, vice versa.”

He stared at the captain, then the crew. It could be a trap…but there were enough of them that they could have done whatever they wanted to here and now instead of complicating things. “Did you really think I’d trust you that easily?” he snapped.

“Someone I love was taken by those pirates,” the man behind the captain spoke up, gaining his full attention. There was a softness under the sharp features that intrigued him. “We’re trying to get her back as well as save the others.”

“You might as well accept the offer,” the one that had whispered to the captain snarked, posture radiating defiance. “I doubt you have many other options since you’re likely going against your superiors to do this.”

“Wooyoung’s right,” the captain said, regaining his attention, hand still stretched out. “What do you say, Mr. Guard?”

“Inspector,” he corrected. “Inspector Choi Jongho.” He firmly took the offered hand and the captain smirked at his show of strength.

“Quite a grip. Don’t take this the wrong way, but aren’t you a little young to be an inspector?”

“Aren’t you a little young to be a captain?”

Hongjoong laughed, then patted his arm before releasing him. “I think you’ll fit right in. Come on. We’ll take you to our ship and you can see for yourself that we’re telling the truth.” Then the captain turned and once more started off, the others following quickly. Some gave him a smile as they turned, but not another word was spoken and none of them checked to make sure he was following.

Jongho hesitated for a moment then sighed, picked up his sword, and fell into step a few feet behind the group. Seeming to notice, Wooyoung looked back at him with a smile.

He almost smiled back, caught off guard at the genuine friendliness in it. But, whatever the pirate was doing to try and get Jongho to lower his guard, wasn’t going to work. He shoved the blooming trust back down and focused on the path they were taking in case he needed to make a quick escape.

To his surprise, they were heading to the docks. He had already checked for the ship with no luck. There was a chance they had come to shore from it on a dinghy, but it didn’t matter. He’d search the ship for evidence as soon as their guard was down.

They passed one bustling vessel after another, cargo, ferry, some dinghies, then stopped, in front of a very small ship. Or maybe it was a large boat.

He waited for the joke, for one of them to start laughing and redirect him to another ship, but instead, the captain took the lead and boarded. The rest were right behind him and quickly got to work on various tasks.

The captain and Wooyoung headed towards a door that must have led to a small enclosed quarter or below deck, while the others got busy with ropes and supplies.

“You can follow the captain and put your things away,” the one who had not yet interacted with him spoke up, pausing in his work with the ropes. “I know this isn’t an ideal situation, and you don’t trust us yet, but we are trying to help those people. And I hope we can help each other.”

“What do all of you have to gain though?” Jongho asked. “You’re risking your lives for complete strangers. What? Out of the goodness of your heart?”

The pirate smirked at him, amused but not mocking. “There are more selfless people in the world than you think. I’m San by the way. Welcome aboard.”

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Another member has joined the family/crew!!! Our baby bear is here!!!

Just like Scribbles of Courage, I think I'll start posting this one on AO3 as well. I'll update the master list with a link as soon as that happens.

As promised, he returned quickly and she held the bundle of pages out to him.

“Right here,” she said, pointing to the sentence that was giving her a headache. “Both my editor and I can’t decide the best way to fix it. We’re in too deep.”

His eyes went over the sentence a couple of times and he tilted his head in thought.

“Do you mind if I read the page to get a bit more of an idea of what’s going on?” he asked, now leaning on the counter.

“Of course,” she said. “If you have the time. I’d really appreciate any help I can get right now.”

His eyes tracked across the paper several times, then he flipped to the previous page for a moment before flipping back. Without looking away from the page, he grabbed a pen from his pocket and leaned forward as he placed the pages on the counter. “I think…” his brown scrunched as he made some notes, “this might help…” His focus didn’t waver as he looked over the page once more. “It really doesn’t need much,” he said then looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers over the rim of his glasses.

She felt herself go rigid as butterflies fluttered inside of her.

“Thanks…” she said as she slowly took the pages from the other side of the counter, unable to break eye contact.

He suddenly cleared his throat and stood straight, looking away. “I don’t know that what I wrote even makes sense. I’m definitely not a writer.”

She looked over his note, trying to force her brain back into “work” mode.

His rewording was good. Really good.

“This is great,” she said as she snapped a picture to send off to Yeosang. “Thank you. It really does help to have a fresh pair of eyes.”

“I’m just glad it made sense,” he said. The door dinged and he looked up as multiple voices filled the space. “Looks like a rush. I’m going to get back to the others. Let me know if you need anymore help.”

“Thanks Seonghwa. Good luck with the crowd.”

It looked like a group of high schoolers and she did not envy him.

Her phone vibrated, pulling her attention back.

Looks good. I think we should go ahead and change the sentence to that. - Yeosang

She felt like she was glowing a little bit with pride, even though the edit was not her doing. But, she felt like she had asked the right person.

I agree. It was a friend’s recommendation

Looks like they know what they’re talking about. - Yeosang

Was it someone at the cafe? - Yeosang.

Yep

You’re not just putting your work on your new “friend” are you?” -Yeosang.

Of course not!!! And whats with the ““? They are my friends

Hmm.

And it’s “What’s” - Yeosang

I’m gonna smack you

He went silent after that and she was sure he was chuckling to himself. This was probably Jongho’s fault. She was sure he’d said something, because up till this point Yeosang had been completely oblivious to her crush. If he knew now, she was sure to get all kinds of remarks.

She just needed to keep them both away from the cafe and she would be fine.

Her phone dinged and she glared at it, expecting another snarky remark from her editor.

Heeey ~

How’s my favorite author doing? - HJ 🐿️

“Oh.”

HI!

Woah…

Someone’s excited

Guess your book is going well? - HJ 🐿️

We’ve made excellent progress in the editing

Does that mean I can read it and start designing the cover soon? - HJ 🐿️

Yes!

How soon?? - HJ 🐿️

I can send you the draft tonight if you want

YES - HJ 🐿️

Meeting in two days?

Perfect

I’ll let Jongho know

We can meet at the cafe you’re always talking about - HJ 🐿️

Oh We can meet somewhere else

Nope

I’ll see you there, Friday at 11 - HJ 🐿️

We can just meet at our usual place You don’t need to come all the way over here

Nope. I want to meet him.

Now let the inevitable happen - HJ 🐿️

She blew hair out of her face, frustrated. Had Jongho told him too? Or had she let something slip the last time they had hung out?

Him? Who?

Nice try.

I’m not stupid.

It’s clear you have a crush on the “friend” you were taking food to - HJ 🐿️

Joooong…

I won’t say anything to him.

Promise.

But if I figure out which one it is, you get to treat me to coffee. - HJ 🐿️

And if you don’t figure it out in one try you’re dropping it.

Deal.

But I will figure it out - HJ 🐿️

She let her head drop to the table then groaned as it hit harder than she intended.

“Nari!” Seonghwa called as he rushed over. “Are you okay?”

She rubbed her forehead but kept her face down as she nodded, feeling it already heating up. “I’m alright. Sorry,” she said, waving him away.

“Did you need help with something else?”

“No, no. My friends are just being…annoying.” She sighed and flipped her phone face down so that the evidence was hidden.

“Mean annoying? Or…Wooyoung annoying?”

“Hey,” said man interjected as he walked by. “I am entertaining and keep the mood up.”

She knew Seonghwa was likely rolling his eyes without even having to look at him and she giggled. She sat back and smiled, her heart warming as Seonghwa looked at her in concern. “My friends are like Wooyoung. They’re just teasing me but don’t mean anything hurtful by it.”

“That’s good,” he said as his worry melted into a soft smile.

“Oh,” she sat forward ignoring the thump her heart made. “My editor liked how you changed the sentence. Thanks again.”

“Of course,” he said. “I’m at your service.” He gave a little bow and her heart thumped again.

If Hongjoong really came then there was no way she would be able to hide her crush from him.

~~~

The plan was simple. Get to the cafe early enough to get the booth and order their drinks so that she could limit her interactions with Seonghwa in front of Hongjoong.

Simple enough.

She doubted Seonghwa would stick around much to chit chat if he knew she was having a business meeting.

He wasn’t like Wooyoung who probably wouldn’t care and would likely talk up a storm to Hongjoong. But she wasn’t worried about Wooyoung. Or Yunho who would just be the normal level of friendly.

Yes. Things would be fine.

Fifteen minutes early would be enough to have everything in place.

She pulled out her phone as she entered the cafe, ready to text Hongjoong where she would be sitting so that he would head straight to the table and—

“Noona.”

She stopped in her tracks, barely in the door, and she looked at the counter with wide eyes.

Hongjoong was already standing there in a conversation with the entire crew of the cafe. His grin was that of a cat that had eaten the canary and she almost turned back around to leave.

“Noona?” Wooyoung asked while he and the others looked between her and Hongjoong with wide eyes.

He just nodded and turned back to them. “Yeah, she’s two years older than me,” he clarified.

“Wait,” Seonghwa said, fidgeting with his apron. “You two know each other?”

She decided it was too late for her to escape and continued towards them.

“No,” Wooyoung cut in. “More importantly. If you’re two years older than Hongjoong hyung, then you’re two years older than Seonghwa hyung.” His look of shock slowly morphed into a grin as he snickered. Then he stopped. “Can I call you noona too?” he asked, his eyes suddenly locked on her.

“Sure,” she said and shrugged, trying to calm down. She shot a glare at Hongjoong and hissed, “You’re here early,” under her breath.

“Is it a crime for me to catch up with my best friend?” he asked, still grinning.

Her eyes widened again. “Best friend?”

“Yeah.” He pointed at Seonghwa. “We’ve been friends since college. I didn’t realize his cafe was the one you frequent until you sent me the address. I’m surprised we haven’t run into each other yet. But I also don’t make it over here very often.”

She looked at Seonghwa who was looking at her in equal surprise.

“So…” he started, then cleared his throat, “how do you two know each other?”

“We’re coworkers,” Hongjoong said before she could respond. His brow ticked up as he watched his friend. “I design her book covers.”

“Oh.” Seonghwa’s shoulders seemed to relax a little and an unsure smile replaced the shock that he’d had since the whole interaction started.

“We’ve also been friends since college though,” Hongjoong continued. “I’m honestly surprised this hasn’t happened yet.”

“Funny how everyone can be connected and never know it,” Yunho said. “That’s too bad. We could have all been friends sooner.”

“Yeah,” Nari said. She risked a glance at Seonghwa and met his eyes. The surprise eye contact made them both quickly look away and she turned to Hongjoong. “Did you already order?”

He was grinning again, his gaze on Seonghwa before he turned to her. “Nope, but I’ll order if you want to go ahead and sit down.”

“You’re not paying for me,” she said, and crossed her arms.

“Come on noona.”

“Nope,” she said then stepped forward and looked at Wooyoung who was directly behind the register. “I’ll take my usual please.”

“The boring coffee?” he asked with a frown. “Or the mocha?”

“Just the coffee today,” she said. “We’re going to be brainstorming for my book cover. It’s a work day for us.”

“Still. It’s not a normal work day.”

“Maybe later,” she conceded. “But just coffee for now.”

“Always so practical,” Hongjoong said.

“And boring,” Wooyoung teased.

“Leave her alone you two,” Seonghwa said, jumping in. “Let her order what she wants.”

“Thank you, Seonghwa, I appreciate it. And I’m paying for mine,” she said pointedly at Wooyoung.

“I’ll take the same as her for now,” Hongjoong said as he handed his card to Wooyoung before she could finish fishing for her wallet. “You can pay for the second round.”

Wooyoung took the card, eyes darting between the two as he rung up the transaction. “Sorry, noona, I’m more afraid of him,” he said quickly at her glare.

“I’ll go make a fresh pot just for you two,” Yunho said, effectively escaping.

“Fine,” she said with a slumping sigh. “I’ll go get us a table.” She sent another frustrated glare at Hongjoong, then walked off.

She found her usual booth open to her relief and slid in, back to the front of the cafe. Hongjoong slipped in across from her before she finished unloading her supplies and she spared him a glance.

“I’m buying lunch,” she said as he settled in.

“Fine,” he said with a huffed laugh.

“So,” she started, not giving him a chance to start asking her questions about her supposed crush. “What did you think? Do you like it so far?”

“Were my constant messages while reading it not enough?” he asked. “I already have a page of notes and several sketches for ideas.”

“I can’t wait to see what you have in mind.” She scooted closer as Hongjoong placed his sketchbook and a marked up copy of her draft on the table. She reached for his sketchbook but he slammed his hands on the cover. She met his eyes that were full of mischief. Mouth pulled into a grin.

“So,” he drawled out.

“Please, Joong, let me see,” she pleaded, trying to keep her eyes from darting to those behind the counter.

“I will. But first.”

“Not now,” she hissed in a whisper. “And remember, if you’re wrong, you drop it.”

“I know I’m right though.” His grin grew and he pulled his sketchbook away from her.

“Joooong.”

“Coffee,” Yunho said cheerfully as he came towards their table. He juggled the pot, holder, and mugs with ease as he placed everything between them, then pored the first serving for them. “Just holler if you need anything else, hyung, noona.”

He traded a knowing glance with Hongjoong, then strolled away.

“What was that?” Nari asked, eyes narrowing.

Hongjoong ignored her, instead opening his sketchbook and turning it to her. “What do you think?”

Her eyes narrowed on him farther before she glanced down at the open pages. Then she gasped.

It was a beautiful illustration. One that she immediately recognized as one of her favorite scenes she had written. “Joong,” she breathed as she reached for the book. “This is amazing.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I don’t think it will work for the cover, but I loved the scene and wanted to recreate it.”

She flipped to the next page and then the next, and each time she was blown away. “You’ve captured the essence of my book as always.”

“You bring the stories to life in the way you write them,” he said as he lightly touched her hand to push the book flat so that he could see the pages. He didn’t move his hand though, much to her surprise. “There’s a reason I call you my favorite author. You make the book art easy.”

There was a clang on the table that made her jump and Hongjoong pulled his hand away as they both turned. A grin on his face if she wasn’t very much mistaken.

“I brought over some cookies,” Seonghwa said, eyes on the book with a strained smile. “Thought you could use some fuel.” He looked at her and she felt her face flush. He looked upset, even though he was smiling, but she couldn’t place why.

“Thanks, Hwa,” Hongjoong said as he reached for a cookie. Seonghwa turned to him sharply.

“My pleasure. She’s always working so hard, and now that I know she has to put up with you I wanted to offer some more encouragement.”

“Thank you,” Nari said as she grabbed a cookie herself.

He turned back to her, his expression softer. “Of course.”

“I’ll have you know, she enjoys and appreciates my company,” Hongjoong said, gaining Seonghwa’s attention again. “I help her with her fashion taste and she’s my muse.” The strained smile was back to Nari’s surprise, but Hongjoong seemed to not care. “I don’t know where my art would be without her. Here, see.” Hongjoong took the sketchbook from her hands, brushing his fingers against hers and there was a sharp inhale. “What do you think Hwa? My art has definitely gained some life thanks to her writing.”

“It looks great,” Seonghwa said. “I better let you get back to it then. Sorry for interrupting.” He turned and quickly walked away.

She opened her mouth to say it was fine but the words died on her lips as she watched him go, surprised by the change in his countenance. She was even more surprised when he went into the back room, throwing the curtains aside with more force than usual.

Hongjoong was chuckling to himself, eyes also on where his friend had gone, and Nari couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to.

“Joong,” she said. “What was that?”

He turned back to her, surprised. “What was what?”

“Don’t,” she snapped. “Why were you acting like that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said with a grin and shrug.

“Don’t try to pull that,” she whispered. “You never act like this. What are you doing?”

“I’m just having some fun,” he said. “You made a good choice.”

She sat back in surprise and some of the teasing left his expression for something a little more genuine. “As soon as a found out this was the cafe, I had a feeling. Because Wooyoung definitely isn’t your type.” He looked over at the two bustling behind the counter. “I guess it could have been Yunho…but I only needed to see you and Seonghwa interact for a couple seconds to confirm things.”

She looked down, her face burning. “Please don’t say anything to him. They’ve all been so kind to me and if he finds out, I’m going to feel too embarrassed to come here. And, I don’t want things to get awkward.”

“You think he’d turn you down?”

“I don’t want to risk it. The more I get to know him, the more I enjoy being around him, and I don’t want to lose that on the off chance that he feels the same way. Besides,” she picked up her pen and played with it. “If he likes me, I’d want him to ask me out on his own.”

Hongjoong crossed his arms and sat back, thoughtful. “You’re right. I’m sorry for teasing. I can imagine you’re in a rough spot.” He sat forward again and smiled. “Okay, I won’t play cupid or matchmaker. But, I’ll be cheering you on. I think you two would make a cute couple.”

“Thanks Joong,” she said, matching his smile with a small one, more relaxed now. “Now, do you think we could focus on the book cover? I kind of want to get my mind off of this.”

“Of course,” he said. Grabbing his notebook, he turned it to a page that was already covered in notes, then grabbed a pen. He paused for a second. “Noona, I really am sorry if I pushed too much.”

“It’s okay Hongjoong,” she said. “I know you were just looking out for me.” She smiled and narrowed her eyes. “And I know you’re nosy. But it’s always in fun, so I’m not worried. You wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.”

“No, I wouldn’t. And, I’m glad it’s Seonghwa. That way I know you didn’t fall for a random creep.”

“I guess I have good taste,” she said with a shrug.

“If you did you wouldn’t have turned me down.”

“It’s been five years. When are you going to let it go?”

“Never. Even though I got over it quickly.”

“You were never serious about it to begin with,” she said, her voice a little sharper. “Really threw me off.”

He laughed, his eyes sparkling again in mischief. “No hard feelings then.”

She rolled her eyes then turned back to the notebook. “Just know, the next time you have a crush, I’m not holding back on the teasing.”

“Noona,” he whined.

“Don’t dish it if you can’t take it Joong.”

“I just won’t tell you then,” he said as he crossed his arms.

“Like you won’t be keeping me up all night to help you pick outfits.

~~~

Nari stretched, contented with the day’s progress.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “It’s looking so good.”

“I’m glad,” Hongjoong said. “I’ll start getting some final drafts ready to send to you.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” She slumped in the booth and closed her eyes. “Time for dinner. I’m in need of fuel.”

“Want to go grab some kimbap?”’ Hongjoong asked.

“Nah,” she said. “I have some left overs at home. And my mom brought me some side dishes I need to eat.”

“Very well.” He started packing up his things and she followed suit.

“Next time,” she said. “Once we finalize the cover design, I’ll treat you to some barbecue.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Are you leaving?” Wooyoung asked from behind the counter. “Did you get the design done?”

“Almost,” Hongjoong said. “I have to make final revisions. Then we’ll be good to go.”

“That’s awesome!” Wooyoung left the counter area and began to collect their coffee dishes. Continuing to chat, but making it look like work. “I can’t wait to see the final product.” He looked at Nari and winked. “Do I get an autograph?”

“You want to read my book?”

“Of course!” Wooyoung placed the dishes back on the table with a huff. “Why wouldn’t I? I’ve been watching you write non-stop to finish. Of course I’m going to read it.”

She smiled, his words warming her. “I will gladly sign your copy,” she said.

He grinned and collected the dishes again. “I’m going to be first in line at the book signing.” He said stated proudly.

“Book signing?” Seonghwa asked as Yunho and him joined the conversation. “You’re going to have a book signing?”

“According to Wooyoung I am,” Nari said with a laugh.

“Might be something to think about,” Hongjoong said. “You should run it by Jongho.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t think I have enough readers for that.”

“I think you’d be surprised,” Hongjoong said.

“I agree,” Wooyoung said. “You just have to promote it super well. I’ve come across a lot of really interesting sounding books when doom scrolling.”

“I don’t know,” Nari said with s small shrug. She really wasn’t ready for the disappointment of hyping herself up, only to crash and burn when no one showed.

“Just a thought,” Hongjoong said, noticing the shift in her mood.

“If you decide to do it, let me know,” Seonghwa said. “We’ll close up shop so we can come.”

“Oh, no,” she said quickly. “I wouldn’t want you to loose a days worth of business over something silly like that.”

“It’s not silly,” he said, sliding into the booth to sit next to her, then tilted his head so that he could hold her gaze. “You’re our friend, and we want to support your work.”

She smiled at his words, trying to ignore the heat rushing up her neck. He was being so sincere, and it meant everything to her. More than he could probably know.

“Thank you,” she said, ducking her head. “That means a lot to me.”

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