Gary came back to the shed at 2am. Jihyo was sleeping, so he gently woke her up. He untied the ropes that tied her legs, and led her to the pier, where she would be released. He didn’t ungag her, partially because it was the policy (in case the victim screams and alerts others), but more because he didn’t want to hear her pleas. He wouldn’t be able to remain firm for so long.

The street was dead quiet. Gary was worried for her. She was a lady after all. What if she crosses paths with some drunkards or thieves?

“I’m going to untie your hands, okay?” Gary said. She nodded.

“Take care,” he muttered. He hid behind a tree swiftly before Jihyo took off her blindfold. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, after being blindfolded for days. She hasn’t left her house for so long, not to mention at night, so it took a while for her to orientate herself. Unable to contain his worries, Gary decided to follow her, just in case anything happen.

I’d just make sure she gets home safely, he thought. I’ll be extremely careful.

Just as he worried, Jihyo seemed lost. She kept walking back and forth, like she didn’t know which way was right. Suddenly, she turned back again. Gary quickly hid into the shadows.

She walked towards him. Gary held his breath, afraid that she would discover him.

She did. They stared at each other for a moment. Jihyo spoke first, “It’s you, right?”

Gary refused to reply, knowing that she would recognise him by voice. Instead, he shook his head.

She smiled, reaching out for him. He flinched. “You are worried for me,” she said.

Gary still hadn’t reply. She spoke again. “I don’t want to go home. Let’s run away. You don’t have to go back to the ship, and I don’t have to go home. We can live with another identity somewhere else. Nobody will find out.”

This time, Gary finally responded. “No, I have to go back to the ship, and you have to go home, Jihyo. It would be too irresponsible to just leave. I can’t have the boys worrying for me their whole lives. You can’t have your parents worrying for you, either.”

“No, they don’t care for me.”

“They do. They wouldn’t have gave the ransom otherwise, Jihyo. Please, you deserve someone better. I can’t provide the same amount of protection and wealth your parents can. You’d marry someone with status compatible to yours, who can let you live the life you have always lived,” Gary said, prying her hands off his.

“No… no… I only want you,” Jihyo said, tearing up.

“Listen, Jihyo, you don’t love me. You’re only being like this because I was kind to you. There would be many others who would treat you hundred times better than I do…”

“Don’t I understand my own heart?”

“We never understand our own heart,” Gary scoffed. “Go home, Jihyo. Go along this street and turn right after you see the noodle store. Then you’d see your home already,” he told her, ignoring her protests. He knew where she stayed because he was part of the stalking team before.

“Go, Jihyo,” he told her.

Rejected and disappointed, Jihyo ran away with tears in her eyes. Gary turned and left too, tears in his eyes.

It turned out that Jihyo’s dad only paid the ransom because a wealthy guy from another village wanted to take her as his mistress, and he was the one who paid the ransom. Plus, he gave Jihyo’s father even more money. The next morning, when her father found out that she was home, the first thing he said was to get ready for her wedding in 5 days. He didn’t even ask about her, ask if she was injured or ill-treated. He didn't ask for her opinion on the marriage either. Her heart sank further than it ever did. She was right. Her father never cared. For a moment, when Gary told her that her father paid the ransom, she thought she had been mistaken all along. And she wanted to cling onto that belief no matter how absurd it was; no matter how much her logical mind tries to deny it. But alas, she had been right all along.

Gary tried his best to act normal, but even the youngest pirate could tell that something was off with him. But no one except Jong Kook and Dong Hoon knew that it was because of Jihyo. They tried to get him to talk about it, but he refused. They decided not to press him any further.

Jong Kook decided that they all should dock at the pier, since the winter winds were harsher now. They would be safe, because no one knew of their identity as pirates. They would still stay on the ship, but they would be having their meals and what nots on the land.

Two days after releasing Jihyo, a young pirate came back with a gossip that Jihyo would be married off to the next village. It was the talk of the town, because it was unusual that a wealthy girl like her would be mistress, and it was no doubt that they heard it. She even have to take a boat from the other pier to cross the straits by herself, because she wasn’t the official wife. When Gary heard about it, he couldn’t control his anger. How could a girl as precious as Jihyo be married off as a mistress?!

Maybe he was r