“STARRRRR!!!!!!!”

A blood-curdling scream next to my ear woke me up. I shoot up from my bed and glare at the culprit standing next to my bed. I’m about to scold her for waking me up from my beauty sleep, but seeing her panicked face, I swallow words down my throat as panic rises through me.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Did the witch attack us?!” I ask her with my hoarse morning voice. Preparing to receive bad news, I reach for my San dagger on the nightstand. Ready to fight any monsters that will burst into our cabin.

However, there’s no commotion outside. It’s quiet. No one is screaming, only the faint sound of pirates conversing and wooden floor creaking as they walk around. I turn to her, confused.

Yeojin lets out a shaky sigh and sits on my bed. Her worry-filled gaze falls on me. “I tried to wake you up but you didn’t respond at all. I thought you fell into a coma again. If you didn’t wake up, I didn’t know what to do...” Her voice trails off as she presses her lips together.

Fear creeps in me as I am reminded of Alice’s illness. My hands clutch the San dagger to suppress my feelings. Last night was a normal night for me, no dream, no sickness, no dark void dimension.

Does that mean I could die any moment when I sleep?

I might be exhausted so I overslept. Yesterday was tough for my heart and brain. It took a while to fall asleep so it’s normal that I didn’t respond to her morning call. I try to think positively although my heart has gone cold.

Seeing Yeojin’s gloomy face, I try to cheer her up. “C’mon, I woke up fresh and fabulous. You don’t have to worry. Alice’s body is still functioning well.” I flex my non-existing arm’s muscles for her to see. “But if I don’t wake up next time, I allow you to punch me. But don’t punch too hard, my face is very delicate.”

Yeojin narrows her eyes as if she reprimands me through telepathy. Sadly, she didn’t find my humor funny. I pout and turn away from her at the same time my stomach growls.

“I’m starving, let's go eat breakfast.” I quickly change the topic. “You must be hungry too, right? Since you woke me up early in the morning.” I look outside the porthole and see that the light is glaring harshly into the room.

“It's already past lunch time.” She says in a grim voice.

Speechless. Now I understand why she panicked when I didn’t wake up. After I came into this realm, it became a habit to sleep early and wake up in the morning since there’s nothing to do at night.

“Perhaps, my body needs recovery. You know I always wake up in the afternoon in my world. Haha…” My awkward laughter died down as the girl’s face darkened.

“Your world.” Yeojin mumbles, staring straight into my eyes. I subconsciously gulp down, thinking of yesterday's event after I revealed my true identity to her.

Yeojin literally freaked out. She ran out of the room and came back with Yeosang, saying I had brain damage. But when Yeosang confirmed my story, she thought it was the effect of the curse that caused us to hallucinate.

On the other hand, Aurora accepted my story quite fast. She let out a surprise gasp with sparkle eyes. “Wow. That was how you received the seer power. You read our story from the magic box. I wish I get to know more about your world.”

Yeojin threw her hands in the air after Aurora siding with us. Suddenly, she jumped on top of me, pinching my cheeks and yelling. “Does this feel like a book to you!?! This is the real world!!!!!”

I could only cry in pain, feeling like my cheeks would tear off from my face. Yeosang angrily shouted at his sister, trying to yank her away from me. While Aurora pulled Yeojin’s arm with her little strength. We created loud commotion and attracted an uninvited guest.

The quartermaster entered the room with a deep scowl on his face. “What are you lot doing? Your loud noises could be heard from the crow’s nest.”

We all froze for a second and I quickly swatted Yeojin's hands away. Yeosang lifted his sister up and put her on the ground. Aurora looked bashful, she was the one who explained to him. “Umm, Miss Yeojin has a hard time with Star’s story. But we didn’t fight or anything. Don’t misunderstand.”

Seonghwa’s gaze subtly softened as he listened to Aurora, then he turned to glare at Yeojin. Thus the girl had an opportunity to ask him whether he believed me or not.

Seonghwa peered at me, his lips tugging into a half smirk, half scowl and said, “It doesn't matter.” Then he left as fast as he came.

Everyone was left to interpret his ambiguous words. I didn’t know whether he meant he believed me or he didn’t care since I was a nuisance to him anyway. Nonetheless, I didn’t need to have mind reading power to know that the latter guess was the correct answer.

Yeojin quietly sat on her bed, eyebrows knitted together. She finally calmed down. A bit too down.

“So eventually you’ll have to go back to your world.” She spoke up, sounding like she had accepted the truth.

I nod, observing her expressionless face.

“That’s a shame.” She looked at me and turned to Yeosang, and back to me again. “But I got it, you have a happy life there. I hope you’ll get back to your world safely.”

Happy life over there? I didn’t know whether ‘happy’ was the right word to describe my life there. The room went silent when I focused deep in my thoughts. Yeosang spared an apologetic glance at me and dragged his sister out of the room. Aurora placed her hand on my arm and gave me an encouraging smile.

The conversation ended just like that. And Yeojin didn’t speak of it until now.

“I’ll get you food, wait here.” She says quietly and gets up from my bed.

“Wait, let's go together. Don’t treat me like a sick person, alright. I’m fine.” I get up and repeat. “FINE.”

Yeojin snorts, “Alright, but if you pass out again, I’m going to punch you until you wake up.”

My jaw drops to the ground. I believe she’d punch me for real. I shouldn't have made a joke like that earlier. As she sees me being horrified by her threat, she lets out an evil chuckle. Lacing her arm with mine, she pulls me outside of the room toward the kitchen.

We sit in an empty room, only us two and the cook. I quickly swallow food down my throat as the scary girl keeps staring at me. The weather is super hot today. Sweats roll down my forehead and back. I use the back of my hands to wipe sweat away from my face. My hunger level decreased and I finished eating after clearing half of the plate which is very unusual.

“Visit Yeosang if you’re feeling ill. Don’t stay alone in the cabin, or go ask the other guys to accompany you.” Yeojin says and rises to her feet. Her expression becomes a little brighter than before.

“Where are you going?” I ask her. She flashes me a smile, saying nothing and skipping happily out of the kitchen. There’s a few things that make her happy. One of them surely has to do with Wooyoung. Yesterday he broke her heart. Although she became enlightened, I still heard her crying last night. Judging from her smile, I hope that she won’t do something crazy that’s going to ruin their siblings' relationship.

I sit alone in the kitchen with the cook who spares me a glance from time to time. Actually as I walked past the crew, they also gave me a look of anticipation, but I didn’t ask them why they stared at me.

“Mr.Cook, do you have something to say to me?” I ask the man.

He jerks from behind a big pot as he is caught. “Oh, er...” He stammers and refuses to look at me, so I stride toward him and pressure the poor guy.

“Well, miss Star. I hope you choose the right person who’ll make you happy. Your decision can determine our lives.” His eyes sparkle with hope.

I give him a weird look. What with the right person and how does my decision determine his life? Is he always this eccentric? I don’t answer him and quickly leave the kitchen.

I stop in my tracks, thinking where I should go in this hot weather. Staying in the room the whole afternoon isn’t a good idea cause I could turn into a baked potato. The guys are probably busy guarding the ship which I don’t want to bother them. So I went to check on Aurora in her mother’s cabin.

Aurora’s face lights up once she sees me although I can see how exhausted she looked. I sit on a stool while she sits on her mother’s bed, gently wiping damp cloth on her mother’s face. I look at Aurora with a heavy heart, unable to find a word to comfort her. Her mom has no sign of waking up, her skin is the same grayish hue when we first found her. Her father is being held hostage by the witch. His fate is unknown. And worse, her heart is broken.

Noticing my glance, she drops the cloth into a bowl and turns to me.

“Thank you for accompanying me, Star.” Corners of her lips tug upward, but it doesn't look like a smile to me.

“It’s okay if you want to cry, you don’t have to hold it in.” No matter how hard she tries to stay positive, the reality is too harsh to be optimistic.

Her lips quiver as she bites her lower lip. “No, I’m starting to get tired of crying. My mother could hear me, she would be sad.” She takes a short pause and conjures up a smile again. This time brighter. “Well, why don’t you tell me about your world? I’m interested to hear it.”

I watch her, feeling proud. The female lead has become stronger. Since she changed the topic, I didn’t press further. Hence I tell her about the magic box and how I traveled to this world. I throw a joke here and there, making her giggle. I stayed with Aurora for a while after she looked tired of my lame humor. I exit the room and head toward the upper deck instead of going back to my cabin.

An invisible gloomy atmosphere drowns the ship. The half monster-human crews stand in their positions with weapons in hands. They greet me with a curt nod. Their eyes resemble the cook’s and look like they want to talk to me but are afraid to do so.

That’s when I realize what they are trying to tell me...

I’m their last hope. I’m the only person that can determine their lives. I shouldn't stroll aimlessly and do my job as the seeress. With profound determination, I stride toward my ritual place.

Two days left before the full moon. Today I’ll summon you, Seakeeper-nim.

---

“Ummmohhhhehhhohhhh!!” A strange noise and rhythm dominates the entire upper deck as a certain someone sings her heart out.

“Seakeeper-nim, if you don’t come out, I’ll sing until your eardrums are ruined.” The black haired female frustratedly shouts at the figurehead. She has been singing and yelling on the forecastle deck for a full 15 minutes.

The crew around the area all turn their heads away from her no matter how beautiful she is, some even stick fingers into their ears to block her voice out.

“Mr. Jongho, please tell Miss Star to stop singing. Me ears be bleeding.” A blue scaled man whispers to the boatswain, afraid that Star will hear him talking.

Jongho looks at the girl, amused. Her voice is definitely unique; he never heard it from anyone. And the shanty she sings is familiar…

Oh right, she used to sing it when she was drunk. That day was very memorable. He was surprised that the girl survived his cruel crews after offending everyone. Jongho’s eyes twitch when he recalls her calling him cute. His skin is still crawling until these days.

“STEP ONE TWO THREE AND ONE TWO THREE!!! LET’S GO!!!!” Star raises her voice, her body moves in strange movements. Jongho can’t no longer hold himself back and burst out laughing. If she keeps signing and dancing like this, perhaps the Seakeeper might come out to witness her amazing performance.

“Oh! And please ask her who she is fond of. I want to know before I die.” The crew adds. Jongho stops laughing to glare at his subordinate. He’s about to scold the man for intruding into Star's business but someone interrupts him.

“What do you want to know? You can ask me. I’m your captain, I know everything.” A new voice calls behind them. They turn around to see the captain and quartermaster duo saunter toward them.

The scaled man shut his mouth completely, his blue skin fades to pale blue due to shock.

Hongjoong raises his brow when the crew doesn’t answer him. The crew’s legs start to shake, he glimpse at the boatswain for help. Jongho says nothing and a row of rope into the crew chest and jerks his chin toward the ratlines. The crew looks at Jongho with gratitude and quickly flees the scene, climbing up the ratlines.

“They became too obsessed with betting on others’ businesses. Both of you must prevent this behavior from getting out of hand.” Hongjoong says to his quartermaster and the boatswain, but earns hot stares from them instead.

Jongho shakes his head, “Captain, you’ll never know what is in a woman's heart, what feelings she keeps away from the world to know. It’s harder to find out than hunting for treasure. I’m telling you not as your boatswain, but as your friend, you mustn’t play with their feelings or they’ll become like that.” Jongho points at Star’s dancing figure a few meters away. “I’ll resume my work. See you around.” He walks away after giving Hongjoong a lecture.

Hongjoong snickers, eye following Jongho’s back, “That guy has grown up. When he joined us he was still a young lad with so much anger within him.”

Seonghwa nods. “He’s smart, smarter than the man I used to vote for as captain.” His answer earn a glare from the tiny man next to him. “And you should do something with her before her voice turns our crew into sea monsters faster than the curse.”

Hongjoong can’t help but chuckle at the mean remark. No matter how time passes, this guy is still hell bent on picking at Star.

“No one is smart when it comes to love. ” Hongjoong says bitterly, watching the woman that he could no longer call his treasure. His heart thumping painfully inside his chest.

A moment ago Jack went to report to him that Star lost her mind and was about to jump into the water. His heart sank to the ground as he quickly rushed toward the forecastle. His head replayed when he broke her heart in a cold blood manner. Her tears and her trembling lips will forever haunt him.

When he was close to the area, he saw her only singing on top of her lungs. She looked way happier than yesterday. Hence he looked around to find that Jack had disappeared.

That little lad! Hongjoong forgot that the boy always exaggerates everything. He wasn’t sure why he kept Jack as his cabin boy. But he was relieved that Star was in a good condition. He would rather see her smile than cry. He watched her sing in peace until the so-called Mr.Grumpy joined him.

“Um.” Seonghwa hums in agreement, making Hongjoong stares at him suspiciously.

“What did you say to her? She seems out of her mind since yesterday.” Seonghwa crosses his arms, continuing to watch Star with a little smirk on his lips.

Hongjoong furrows his brow after hearing Seonghwa mention about seeing Star yesterday. After the time he talked to Star, Jack reported that she stayed in the room for the whole day. Yeosang and Aurora went to see her, so when did this guy go to her cabin? And for what reason? Plus, he expects to see distaste on Seonghwa’s face, but is surprised to see a small smirk on his lips instead.

Hongjoong brushes off the questions inside his mind and answers Seonghwa. “I told her I let her go.” And I kissed her. Hongjoong said the last part in his mind. Star would look bad in front of this humorless man.

“Pff!” Seonghwa swallows his laughter after receiving dead glare from Hongjoong. “And Aurora? Her face also looks brighter this morning. Did you talk to her too?”

“Um. I did.” Hongjoong answer deadpanned.

Seonghwa can’t suppress his laughter any longer. His voice attracts attention from the crew around them. They look at him in terror. They want to flee from a mad man and woman but they’re on duty.

“How do you know she looks better today?” Hongjoong asks, irritated that his friend found humor in his failed love life.

Seonghwa stops laughing as he doesn't want to anger the tiny guy further. “I visited her mother this morning.”

“Do you still like her?” Hongjoong asks out of the blue, catching the heartless quartermaster off guard

“Who?!” Seonghwa panicked, which is a rare reaction from him.

Hongjoong raises his brow. “Aurora. I said I know everything on my ship. I knew you liked her back then, I even knew you kissed her when you were drunk.”

Seonghwa’s face hardened. Dark red color creeps from his neck to his face. “A past stays in the past. And no, I don’t think of her more than a friend. I don’t want to end up like you.”

Hongjoong squints his eyes scornfully. His gut tells him that his friend is hiding something.

“I’m leaving. That Nuisance’s noise hurts my ears.” Seonghwa cut off the conversation before Hongjoong’s able to ask more question. He rubs his black fins and flees.

Hongjoong ignores his eccentric quartermaster and turns his attention back at Star. She shines brighter even more under the hot sun. Subconsciously, his foot lead him toward her.

---

The combatant enters his cabin to see a girl sitting on his mate’s bed. He stops dead in the track after closing the door.

The blonde haired girl turns around, her smile drops when she sees that it’s the combatant, not her target. San covers in sweat from head to toe, a human hand holds a long sword, and a claw arms looking extra intimidating.

Yeojin turns away and continues folding Wooyoung clothes that have been scattered on his bed from ages ago. His area became noticeably tidy.

Still standing frozen in the same spot, San watches her with hawk eyes. Yet, the girl pays him no mind and continues folding the clothes. After a short moment of silence, San finally speaks to her.

“Crow’s nest.” He hangs his sword on the wall and sits on his bed, staring right at Yeojin as if to tell her to get out of his cabin. However, she only shrugs, resuming to clean Wooyoung’s space after placing all the clothes into a drawer.

Several minutes pass, San is still in the same position but now with a dark aura filling the entire room.

“Can you stop staring at me? I won’t bother you. I’m here to clean Wooyoung’s place.” Yeojin can’t tolerate his glare anymore. Her skin pricks with goosebumps.

“Why?” San asks.

“Why? What?” She barely spoke to the combatant. And when he speaks to her, she doesn't understand him at all.

“He doesn't love you.” San drops a cannonball into the poor girl's heart. The wound from yesterday is still too fresh to be touched upon. She tries to think positively but this guy ruins everything. He’s a combatant for a reason. His glare can suffocate people and his words can be as deadly as his sword.

Yeojin calms her anger down and says, “Even if he doesn’t love me, what important is my feelings. I want him to be happy. That’s all.”

San tears his gaze away from her as if he’s processing her answer. Yeojin thinks she finally has her peace but San repeats the same question.

“Why?”

She rolls her eyes, failing to suppress her irritation. “What is it that you don’t understand? I did this because I want to do it. As long as I can be with Wooyoung, even if I'm his sister, or in any status I’m fine. I just want to be in his life, to be the reason of his happiness.” She huffs, knowing that deep down it’s a half truth. She doesn't want to be his sister, but she can do nothing to change his mind. Wooyoung is strong-headed just like her. Their bad traits are really alike which .

Yeojin eyes San for a moment as she is recently aware of the man's feelings toward her new friend. He’s unfortunately in the same position as her.

“You like Star, right? You should wish for her to be happy, not become the cause of her suffering. She has enough on her plate. She was taken away from her happy world into your ruthless pirate ship and found herself in a sick girl’s body, and she has to take responsibility to save all of you from the curse that isn’t even her fault. And she fell in love with the pirate king, then he broke her heart. Damn, I don’t think I can do it.”

Yeojin stops ranting once San suddenly gets up and leaves the room. She startles, hand flying to , “Oh shoot, did I get Star in trouble?” She quickly runs after San.

---

Someone clears his throat behind me while I dance to the dance break part of Pirate King. I whirl around and almost lose my balance. My heart aches as soon as I see his face. Although, yesterday I promised myself, I would think positively. At this moment the pain from yesterday resurfaces.

“Hi, captain.” I put on a smile and wipe sweat from my face with my sleeve, acting like my normal self. “What brought you here?”

Hongjoong doesn’t answer my question. His face flush red from the heat, his yellow slit eyes wavers, “Star.”

Only a simple call from him, my heart goes weak and a lump forms in my throat.

No, I won’t cry in front of him ever again.

“About yesterday,” He starts speaking. My strong facade that I put up gradually gets destroyed. I wish I could disappear from this place. I’m not ready to face him yet.

“I'm so sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude toward you. But I couldn’t control myself when I saw you cry.” Guilt flashes on his face. “I understand if you won’t forgive me. My action is indeed unforgivable.”

The memory of our passionate kiss intrudes in my mind. Heat rises on my cheeks and I sweat profusely than before. When I ponder on it, I should’ve pushed him away, and not desperately kissed him back. Because of that kiss, it seems like there’s a string between us that couldn't be severed. I need to end our relationship clearly and cleanly.

“I-it was a goodbye kiss, nothing more. I couldn’t kiss you at Wonderland as promised. So I let you kiss me...and that was why I kissed you back. But it didn’t mean anything at all. Really nothing to me.” The more I speak, the more I mess up on my words. So I stop speaking and curse at myself inwardly.

Hongjoong blinks, a corner of his lips threaten to tug upward, then he shakes his head. “You’re making me even more worried. You don’t have to act like you’re fine. You’re allowed to be angry at me or hate me. I won’t blame you.”

I frown. He’s being serious. Does his arrogant side completely disappear? 

I shake my head and answer him. “No matter if it was you who dumped me, or I dumped you. The outcome is still the same. We both know it.”

Hongjoong listens to me quietly, jaw clenched. “You’re too kind.”

I shake my head again. “I’m not, I just stated the matter of fact. But I don’t understand why you didn’t go for Aurora? She loves you, and I think she’s no longer judging you for being a pirate.”

Hongjoong’s eyes glint dangerously, making me shut my mouth. He looks away and mutters under his breath. “How could I love more than one woman at the same time.”

“Huh?” I think I misheard him, but somehow my heartbeat quickens up.

He smiles sadly and sighs, eyes fixate at the figurehead. “You refuse to pour your anger on me but on my crew instead. Why are you terrorizing them with your singing?”

“Terrorizing?! I’m summoning Seakeeper!” I scoff and cross my arms, glaring at the crew around us who secretly peer at Hongjoong and me. They instantly look away.

Hongjoong chuckles. “With your voice, I’m afraid you’ll summon something else.”

“Yah!” I hit his arm out of reflex. Stunned, he looks at his arm where I hit him. I quickly withdraw my hand back to my side. The air around us turns awkward. It feels almost like the same old day when he liked to tease me.

Hongjoong is the first person who regains his composure. He stares seaward, instead of looking at me. “You don’t have to do it anymore. With your health, you need to rest. It’s my responsibility to take care of my crew and the consequences of our actions.”

“So you have a plan? What is it? Tell me.” I stare at his side profile. The resoluteness in his eyes tells me that he has made a decision.

He only smiles. “You don’t have to worry about it. I promise I’ll take you to Wonderland.”

That isn’t the answer I’m looking for. He’s going to do something crazy, even crazier than summoning the sea witch.

“Do you trust me?” He asks, craning his neck to meet my eyes. The pair of eyes that lured me into his trap.

“I trust you but-”

“Good, that’s all I want to hear.” He cut me off.

I look at him doubtfully. He’s such a secretive man. I hate it when he does that. I wish he could share his burden, his thoughts, his feelings with me- Oh wait, I’m not in a position to do that. What am I thinking?

Nevermind, I’ll ask Yeosang or Wooyoung later. Hoping that they won’t side with their captain and hide it from me.

“I want to ask you something.” Hongjoong says while I’m still figuring out how to find the plan that he keep it as a secret. “Can we still be friends?”

I startle. Did I hear it right? Did someone say it in the place of the man in front of me?

“It’s fine, I know you won’t agree.” Hongjoong falters, yet a small smile remains on his lips. “Get back to your cabin. The sun is scorching hot, you’ll get sick.” Then he turns around to leave, but my hand automatically grabs his coat.

He turns around with wide eyes. I bite my lower lip and conjure up my courage. This is what I want in the first place, to be his friend.

“Of course, friends.” I extend my hand toward him and give him a cheerful smile though my heart is being pricked by needles.

Surprised, he looks down at my hand and slowly reaches out. Then a pale hand grips his wrist, stopping him from grabbing my hand. The crew around us gasp in unison.

Startled, we look to the side and see the combatant with a darkened expression.

“Friends?” San says through gritted teeth, glaring at his captain. Hongjoong squints his eyes back at San. “Yes, Star and I are now friends.”

After hearing the answer, San lets go of Hongjoong’s wrist and turns to me, his gaze softens. Emotions swim in his red hue orbs. His lips part as if he’s going to speak to me. But in a split second, he furrows his brow, appearing to be in trouble.

The noise around us gets louder while the three of us fall into a staring game. San keeps staring at me while Hongjoong glances between San and me, knitting his eyebrows. A glimpse of irritation written on his face. I look between both of them, feeling my mouth dry. The scene is so familiar like I have deja vu from the past episode where they argue with each other with me in between. Hopefully, they’re not going to do that in front of the whole crew.

“Well,” I clear my throat, breaking the tension. “Do you guys want to help me summon the Seakeeper?”

Silence. No reaction from them.

I grimace. From now on I won’t joke with them ever again. People here are too serious. While I decide on my escape route, San speaks up.

“Friend.”

I stare at him confusedly, then I see him stretch out his hand in my direction. Shock is an understatement.

The same guy who asked for my love several nights ago, who refused to be my friend, who wanted to follow me back to my world, who ignored me because I rejected him, asked me to be his friend.

Without a second thought, I grab his warm hand as tears well up in my eyes. Finally, he’s no longer torturing himself and lets go of me.

San softly squeezes my hand. His mouth curves upward, I can see his dimples. I smile back at him. Seeing him happy, my heart pounds blissfully.

Then I hear someone clear his throat and I turn to Hongjoong. He gives me a warm smile although he glimpses at San’s hand that refuses to let go of me. And San doesn’t let go easily, he keeps staring at me with his cute dimples. I have to tear my gaze away from his intense gaze.

I see Yeojin standing a few steps away looking relieved. Jongho beside her smiles and nods his head in approval. Seonghwa stands far away from us so I could mistakenly see his smirk.

Weirdly, some of the crew cry with me but for different reasons. Somehow they lost their entire fortune a moment ago. I don’t pay attention to them and turn back to my 2 new friends who are now glaring at each other.

---

However, this isn’t our happy ending. Happiness fades like smoke vapor in thin air. In a blink of an eye, tonight is the last full moon.

The pirates gather at the forecastle deck, watching the orange afternoon Sun that is heading down the horizon. The waves are calm, the wind is still, the weather is fresh like another peaceful day. But in a couple of hours, the moon will rise, and our fate is sealed.

“What should we do?” Mingi asks particularly at no one, despair fills his tone.

Nobody answers him, not even his captain who supposedly has a plan. The tiny guy quietly stares seaward as we stand behind him, staring at his back.

Hongjoong didn’t tell anyone of his new plan. I asked the guys but they have no clue of it. The quartermaster didn’t know either. No matter how hard I tried to pester Hongjoong, he brushed me off like wiping off dust. After the day we became friends, he had been avoiding me. I felt hurt but understood that he also needed time as well.

“How about you guys let me summon Seakeeper again-”

“NO!!!” The entire ship shakes because the crews shout to reject me from performing my ritual. I chew on my lower lip in disdain.

The past two days, I still came to the forecastle deck and called the Seakeeper. Until yesterday Mr.Grumpy banned me from singing on the ship. Surprisingly, no one defended me. They all agreed with him, including Yeojin and Aurora. Fuming, I stopped singing and started dancing instead. San suddenly carried me to his cabin. Emphasize HIS cabin. Although he was willing to be my friend. His action was still the same. He guarded me all the time and sneaked to sleep on my lap whenever he saw the chance.

Does he understand the definition of friend? Anyway, I didn’t reject him like I used to because our time is running out. I rather filled our memories with happiness than being upset.

“Then anyone have a better idea?” I ask them. And of course, no one answers me.

The pirate king whirls around, and looks at all of us. As I stand close to him, I spot a flash of melancholy in a pair of yellow slit eyes before a sly grin appears on his face. “I do.”

We immediately react to his words. Noticing his signature grin, it must be the most clever plan we ever heard. Our faces light up with hope, waiting to hear his plan with enthusiasm.

Hongjoong announces, his voice echoing the entire upper deck. “Throw a feast!”

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Wooooooo Let's throw a feast!! Ateez is coming back on Sep 13th.  Are you team Eternal sunshine or Deja vu?