Even as a child, all the adults could tell that Cho Kyuhyun would grow into a brilliant boy with an astounding array of talents and a healthy sense of humor. He was the town’s golden boy; everyone always said that if their little town ever became famous, it would be because of him. In many ways, he was the exact opposite of his neighbor, Sungmin, and the fact that they were the best of friends came as a surprise to everyone. If anything, their completely opposite personalities should have clashed.

As a pair, they were nothing but trouble (this aspect of Sungmin’s childhood probably accounted for most of reason why he chose pirating out of all his potential career options, though they were few in coming). From day one, when a five-year-old Sungmin shoved a four-year-old Kyuhyun into a pond (to be fair, Kyuhyun had been the one to start taunting him), the two formed a love-hate relationship. By the time they started grade school, they were absolutely inseparable.

“He was always teasing me,” Sungmin related, “but I swear he was much weirder than I was, with his nose buried in books all day.”

“And what did you do?”

“I was the kid who no one ever wanted to get into a fight with.”

Yesung muffled a bout of laughter; unsuccessfully, because the pirate threw him a hard glare. He continued still, reliving the memories of his childhood.

Kyuhyun and Sungmin were neighbors. This resulted in them spending nearly all of their waking hours with each other, causing some of their less mature peers to crack jokes about them being married.

“I’m not married to Kyuhyun!” little Sungmin would shriek at them, fists balling (the other kids would back away slowly and not very subtly).

But Kyuhyun simply smiled every time, patting each of the other kids on the head (curse his height) and leading Sungmin away to the beach.

It was Kyuhyun, actually, who had first taken a liking to the vast expanse of water that they lived so close to. But unlike Sungmin, his attraction was purely aesthetic and he’d never had quite the same drive to sail it.

“It’s just so pretty,” he’d said. “Look at the way it glitters when the sun’s out.” And then he laughed, and both the sea and Kyuhyun’s face were so radiant that Sungmin swore that that was when he’d fallen in love with the ocean.

“How cool would it be to get a ship and go places with it?” he’d say. “I can’t wait to grow up so I can leave and go sailing.”

 “We were always poor, but I knew a person who knew a person who was cousins with someone to whom someone owed a favor, so I ended up with my first ship when I was nineteen.”

“The Kanina?” Yesung interjected after processing the string of succession, not believing it. The ship they were currently sailing on was a grand one as far as pirate ships went, and people did not generally have such ships dropped into their hands.

Sungmin knew this and chuckled. “’Course not. Her name was Dolly, and she was more of a fishing boat than a real ship. It was enough for me at the time, though. So I said good-bye to Kyuhyun and left.”

There was a moment of silence.

“And…?”

“And what? That’s all there is.”

Yesung made a face. “There’s no way that’s it. You didn’t even go into the drama of the bittersweet parting and the heartfelt promises to write to each other every day. Or the tearful send-off and the declarations of—”

“What in world are you blubbering about.”

“Well, Wookie and I-”

“Look, I left a note one day and took off. He knew I’d gotten a boat anyway. That’s it.”

“What did he say about it?”

“I didn’t talk to anyone before I left.”

He was projected a look that spoke of nothing but sadness and pity. “You must have broken that poor boy’s heart…”

“I have no idea what you’re trying to imply.”

The Castilian shook his head dolefully. “You must be in such regretful denial. Can you look me in the eye and tell me there was no love involved?”

In response, Sungmin shoved a pillow in his face. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then, he replied in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible.

 “I’m more in love with the sea.”

“I don’t believe you,” Yesung replied bluntly.

The pirate threw the bed’s blanket onto the Castilian’s head and slammed the door on his way out. Yesung clapped his hands together once he successfully rid himself of the sheet.

“I’m glad we had this talk!” he called. “This is one more step toward that nice, peaceful friendship that you so obviously need! Would you like to hear about my Wookie next?!”

There was, unsurprisingly, no answer.

Yesung sighed, getting up to straighten out the blanket back onto his bed. “Sungmin,” he said, half hoping that the other man was still outside of his door and listening, “when you said you’d fallen in love back then, I really think it was Kyuhyun that you’d fallen for. It wasn’t the sea.”

***

“So why pirating?” Yesung asked out-of-the-blue one day, once Sungmin had stopped sulking like a spurned child.

 “Huh?” The pirate gave him a baffled look that was a little out of place on his normally stern face (but Yesung thought that he much preferred this to his PMS-Face).

“Well, out of all of the possible career paths out there, why decide to deliberately leave home and follow an illegal one?”

“I didn’t exactly have many choices that I could make money out of.”

“You could have become a fisherman.”

“I’m allergic to fish.”

“…No one’s allergic to fish.”

“Sure they are. I am. I don’t eat it. I don’t even like looking at it.”

“And you survive on the sea, how…?”

“No one ever said you had to serve fish on a ship.”

“So, right, most un-pirate-like pirate I’ve ever seen.”

“And, right, I never tagged you as one for stereotypes.”

“Yeah, right.”

Their banter continued like this for quite some time. Neither of them really realized it at the time, but somehow, their relationship as pirate-captive had finally turned into a comfortable sort of companionship.

“So, this Ryeowook…”

“Yes? What about Wookie?”

“…tell me about him.”

“He is absolutely the sweetest and most adorable little thing. Ever.”

Sungmin just stared at him.

“All right, all right. Um. I actually met him during the two years I was stationed in Taranto, when I first became a captain. He has this little bakery in a town right next to the sea.”

If someone had asked at the time, Yesung would probably have told them that he felt as if he owned the world. He’d just been promoted and assigned his own crew, and was now stationed in Taranto, an ally of Castile’s.

Except for one thing…

He was really, really hungry. Luckily, the first place they’d landed in was a city bazaar bustling with food stalls and shops, and he had no shortage of money. Looking around, he was subconsciously drawn to the rich smell of pastries coming from a bakery to his right. He wasted no time shuffling over to it.

Once inside, he was greeted by a petite man with delicate features and a voice that made him want to coo over and cuddle the speaker and shower him with flowers and gifts.

“Hello, welcome to my bakery! I’m Ryeowook, and are you new around here? I’ve never seen you before! You must be Castilian, we get a lot of you guys and your coat gives you away. Oh, I’m sorry, I’m blocking your way aren’t I? The food is behind me so, ah, feel free to look around and choose. Oh, you know what? Since it’s your first time, just pick anything you want and I’ll give it to you for free! So what would you like?”

Ryeowook was apparently a rambler on top of being able to speak with rapid-fire speed. All the stunned Yesung could do for the first ten seconds was gape at the small man. Ryeowook realized, and proceeded to apologize profusely for “talking so much, sorry, I just can’t stop when you get me started and I just love meeting new people—“ but Yesung eventually came to his senses and simply laughed with him.

He spent the next fifteen minutes talking to Ryeowook (or having Ryeowook talk at him) about the different types of bread, because everything looked ridiculous appetizing and he couldn’t bring himself to choose. When he finally decided on one, the little baker did an adorable little dance, slicing it up and placing it artistically (somehow) on a plate. It was served to him with a huge smile.

And damn, Yesung was never one to swear, but he’d known right then and there that this was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

“He sounds like a really interesting guy.”

“That’s why I kept going back.”

Yesung visited the bakery nearly every day after that and became Ryeowook’s most devoted customer (the days he didn’t visit were also the ones where he felt terrible and unsettled, but he had no choice because he was still part of the Castilian navy). Three days after meeting the man, he started to call him “Wookie”.

Three weeks later, both admitted to being insanely in love with each other and promised that they’d never have anyone else.

“But I got re-assigned to a station back in Castile two years later. I couldn’t visit him very often, but I did whenever I could. He still has that bakery and welcomes me every time I go back—but—Oh. You probably find this story really boring, um. Sorry for talking so much?”

“…I think it’s sweet, actually.”

***

Things happened rather quickly after that.

One day, when Yesung looked into the horizon (he’d long since been allowed to wander the decks as he willed), he saw land—and not just any land. It was land that he’d memorized the shape of, every time he approached it with fervent anticipation and every time he had to force himself to sail away from it.

“Sungmin…” he mumbled to the pirate who was, at the time, giving instructions to an ill-cooperating Eunhyuk.

“—last time, Hyuk, and—ah, what?” the Albian turned his head after trying to kick his first mate a couple of times.

“…why are we sailing towards Taranto?”

Sungmin smiled—really smiled, this time, and it made Yesung hope against hope that the man would find a reason to smile like that every day because it was like a rainbow after a dark storm, truly—and said, “I thought you’d rather spend the rest of your days with your little Wookie than being stuck on this ship.”

At that moment, Yesung swore he could have jumped for joy and hugged and spun Sungmin round and round in circles.

So he did.

Sungmin did not appreciate it. Or at least, that was what the set of his brows and mouth said…Yesung knew better, though.

Later that day, as the green strip of land before them became larger, more detailed and all the more beautifully enticing, Yesung posed the pirate captain with a question (or two).

“What are you going to do now? Will you settle down, too?” Because he wished he would. He wished that Sungmin would put this life aside and go find that Kyuhyun boy, because damn, he knew he deserved it.

Sungmin was silent for a while; a sort of silence that the Castilian had become long accustomed to in the time he had spent with the man. It meant that the pirate was either in deep thought or that he was conflicted about something—or both. Finally, Sungmin turned his head away from him so that he couldn’t see his face.

“No,” was the answer. “I’m promised to the sea. I won’t leave it for anything.”

Yesung sighed. This was what he had been expecting, yes…but he had still entertained thoughts of Sungmin finally abandoning this misguided obsession to go traipsing back to Albion and reunite with the one he knew the man thought about every day without fail. Accepting that nothing he said would change his mind, Yesung simply drew out a piece of parchment and scribbled a few lines on it.

“This is Wookie’s address,” he said, handing it to Sungmin. “I’m assuming that’s where I’ll be staying from now on, so we can keep in touch through letters that way, and it would be nice if you visited from time to time.”

The Albian accepted it, chuckling. “I suppose I might as well, since I don’t think I’m wanted in Taranto yet.”

And as the ship pulled into the harbor, Yesung felt as though he could fly from the docks and sprint to that little quaint house on foot. He bid farewell to the crew, receiving a hearty man-slap on the back from Eunhyuk and a tackle-glomp-hug from Donghae. Just as he turned to leave, he heard Sungmin’s voice calling to him.

“Yesung!”

“Hm?”

“I’ll try to find him again, alright? I promise.”

Yesung grinned at the man that he had befriended at last against all odds, waved, and continued his journey. He probably had that silly grin plastered on his face during his entire trip home.

When he arrived and was met with the partly disbelieving, slightly ecstatic, and mostly tearfully hysterical face of his adorable little baker, Yesung decided right then and there that, yes, this was what happiness looked like. And it would be nice if the wayward captain of the Kanina could someday find it too.

***

***

***

A number of months later, Yesung received a letter addressed to him from Albion and knew immediately that it was from Sungmin. He ripped it open, feeling a little giddy about finally hearing from the man. When he started reading, his eyes widened with joy.

“Hey, Mr. Ex-Sea-Captain Kim Yesung,

I found him. The idiot never left our town, never got himself a girlfriend, and somehow crashed into me the moment I set foot on the dock. I hope you’re living a relatively peaceful life now with Ryeowook, because I (Here, “stop reading over my shoulder you insufferable lout” was scrawled and then crossed out)

It was him all along.

Yeah, you were right. Are you laughing at me now?

Anyway, I left Eunhyuk in charge of the Kaninaand… Oh heavens. That sounds so wrong now that I’ve written it down on paper. He had better not crash her into Gibraltar or I’ll…

Regardless, Kyuhyun and I have decided that we’re going to sail the seven seas together. Who knows, maybe we’ll come visit you and Ryeowook when we go by Taranto.”

Sungmin had then signed his name with his elegant handwriting, but there was a P.S. at the bottom as well. As Yesung read it, his face stretched into a wide smile. He folded up the piece of parchment, placing it carefully on his desk and standing up to walk toward the kitchen.

“Ryeowookie!” he called as he walked toward the comforting aroma of homemade bread. “We’re gonna get visitors soon!”

“Thank you, Captain.”

END.

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A/N: In the first version of this story, this chapter was a lot shorter, Yewook's story was never talked about and I elaborated very little on Kyumin's story. I prefer it this way, with the new additions, so I hope you all liked it too. Thank you so much to all of you who subscribed, and if you enjoyed this story, I'd appreciate it a lot if you let a comment! :)

ALSO: I'll be writing an extra chapter sometime that details Kyumin's reunion, so stay tuned. :)

...and now I'm off to go back to writing crack.