**I know I updated last week and I'm doing biweekly for now, but I finished and there's a couple of important things!

Above is the map of Cutlass (which also goes for XMTS).

oo4

Setting Off

It was one thing not to be tired, but being too paranoid to fall asleep was painful, and Jinqiong lay in the bed staring at the ceiling for a good hour.

She was exhausted. She’d gotten used to it for a while, especially because sleep was a luxury she had been barely able to afford for the longest time, but now, lying in the first comfortable bed Jinqiong remembered being in for months, actually being safe—she couldn’t fall asleep. There was no threat of the families there, no Byun Junsu. And despite the fact that her body was protesting, despite the fact that she actually wanted to rest, she couldn’t.

Frustrated, Jinqiong turned to the other side of the room. The curtains were thick enough to not let too much light through, drawn tightly. It was, compared to what they’d been through for weeks and months before, a perfect place to sleep. And yet she couldn’t.

Maybe it was because, despite the comfort, the homeliness of the place made her uncomfortable. The comfortableness of it made her uncomfortable. Watching Song Hei go around the kitchen to prepare a drink for all of them, knowing where everything was in the shelves, that atmosphere—Jinqiong hated it. It wasn’t necessarily any of their faults, but watching it brought a distinctly bitter taste that wasn’t even fixed by the sweetness of the drink (which was why she stopped drinking it). Bittersweet really didn’t go well together.

She must’ve somehow drifted off anyway, ridden with anxiety and fear and uncertainty about what the next day would bring, but the fatigue must’ve overcome that.

It was a restless sleep. When Jinqiong blinked back into consciousness, she didn’t feel any better rested than she had been before, but the heavy exhaustion had lifted and she forced herself to sit up. It felt like a minute ago that she’d closed her eyes, but it was brighter outside, which meant that it had been longer. Stretching, she pushed herself from the bed, limbs stiff, and scanned the room again.

It was relatively empty—it was a guest room, after all—there was a decorated carpet on the floor, the curtains had pretty patterns on it as did the bed sheets, but that was practically all there was to the room that gave it any sort of color. The rest was plain.

Suddenly not wanting to stay in the dark any longer, Jinqiong headed abruptly for the door. Perhaps she could go outside for fresh air. The house was relatively secluded, anyway, and Byun Junsu wouldn’t be able to go anywhere since it was light outside. She was safe for the moment. Depending on whatever Hei and Baekhyun had decided, she’d either be better off the next day than she’d been for a couple months straight, or she’d be in the same predicament, except with no Jongdae (so, technically, better) and no solid plan of where to go.

It wasn’t anything new. But being turned down after putting so much desperate hope in something she didn’t even want to—it really did hurt her pride to admit that—Jinqiong really didn’t know what she had left if they couldn't help her.

The door creaked loudly when she pushed it open. Jinqiong stepped outside the hall—the door was just a couple of paces away—but before she could, the other door, on the other side of the hall and just a bit further down, was also pulled open and Byun Baekhyun stepped out.

He didn’t look nearly as tired as Jinqiong still felt (then again, she’d gotten used to the feeling, and Jinqiong couldn’t remember the last time she’d rested properly. Ever since running away from the Song family, she’d been too paranoid to ever sleep soundly), but she could still tell that he was tired. Still, his gaze on her was sharp, scrutinizing, and all of a sudden, Jinqiong realized just what it was about Byun Baekhyun that the families were so wary about. It was his perceptiveness, something that had him ahead of them for a lot of steps.

“Where’s Song Hei?” she asked him instead.

His gaze didn’t leave her. Jinqiong shifted, trying not to let him see how uncomfortable she felt, hoping that he’d go on doing whatever he had been after he answered her question.

“She’s not here right now.” Baekhyun shifted. His tone was curt, and, Jinqiong thought, she’d been mistaken in the beginning. She really couldn’t expect the same man she’d seen around her half-sister. Byun Baekhyun wasn’t that, and she’d almost forgotten. And seeing him then, with no Jongdae or Hei to interfere, she was pretty sure sympathy wasn’t something she was going to get. Neither was any friendliness, which should’ve been a given, but she was still somewhat surprised.

Still, all the better. The last thing she wanted was sympathy. Nor fake pity.

“So?” Jinqiong asked. “Have you decided? Do you lock Jongdae up in a safehouse somewhere and send me off to my death again, or are you going to help?”

She could see a vein ticking in his forehead, jaw clenching before he gestured towards the door. “Come outside with me for a second,” he started quietly, “I want to talk to you and Kim Jongdae is sleeping in the living room.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond, just turned heel and started to head towards the door. Any other person and Jinqiong was pretty sure she wouldn’t have taken them seriously, half-dressed in pajamas with hair all over the place, but Baekhyun was another story. There was a quiet sort of command in his voice, and she really wasn’t in the place to refuse.

Baekhyun didn’t say a thing until he reached the door, pushed it open and stepped outside onto the porch. A bit wary of what he was going to say, Jinqiong followed his steps and shut it behind her.

It was a brilliant day outside, and the landscape was beautiful. She could see why anyone would choose such an area to settle down—right in the middle of a field, dotted with flowers, the sea a short walk away. It was secluded, too—the town near it was small, and the place was quiet enough that no one would’ve given a second glance at the man who’d been the families’ biggest enemy for nine years and counting. For a small moment, jealousy swept through her, but Jinqiong shoved it down.

“Well?” she asked him, folding her arms over her chest. “What do you want to say that’s so important that you have to say it out here?”

Baekhyun eyed her. He still hadn’t answered her question about where Hei meant, and Jinqiong had a feeling that he was either avoiding it because he didn’t want to tell her, he’d forgotten, or he was doing it to irk her. He seemed to be trying to take her apart piece by piece until he finally said, “We’re leaving on the first passenger ship we can catch to mainland.”

That wasn’t what she’d been expecting to hear. Taken back for a second, Jinqiong didn’t reply, then narrowed her eyes at him. “And what does that mean?”

“Hei believes we can save Taeyong and free you from the gem at the same time,” he replied brusquely. “I don’t want to risk any of this, especially when it comes to making an enemy as powerful as Byun Junsu, and I sure as hell don’t want to go through that place again to reach Lee Taeyong.”

Jinqiong raised an eyebrow at him. “Yet here you are.”

Baekhyun didn’t reply. “I don’t understand how you even found Hei and I,” he finally started. “We’ve made sure to clear everything so the families can’t trace us.”

“Yes,” Jinqiong agreed. “Song Hei and Byun Baekhyun have completely disappeared from the face of this place. No one knows where they are. But there’s a Cha Hyesun that I found, living near a small coastal town with her husband.”

His eyes narrowed. “How did you—”

“She told me at Hong Chul’s gala,” she interrupted, “You should’ve chosen another name to use.”

It wouldn’t have really mattered, technically speaking. Jinqiong hadn’t thought of searching for Cha Hyesun until she’d been completely lost, having reached so many dead ends searching for them. It was a coincidence, one intercepted letter, and conveniently, Jongdae and grudgingly admitted to it afterwards too. She highly doubted they had to worry about it—she was one of the only people who knew about it from the gala, and even if someone had heard that alias before, it was unlikely they’d do connect it. And even then, it had been Jongdae’s idea to even go to them (which Jinqiong hadn’t been able to piece together—whatever he wanted to do with Lee Taeyong pieced everything together), and she wouldn’t have been able to get there so fast if he hadn’t given directions.

“Look.” Baekhyun raised his eyes. In the midday sun, standing there in an open field, Jinqiong felt awfully exposed. So many months of hiding and running way had made her paranoid, and she wondered briefly if he’d be annoyed if she asked him to go back inside. The answer was probably yes. “I know we agreed to help you, but if there’s ever a moment—” he paused. “Hei thinks you’re a sister. She thinks you’re different from the rest of the family.”

Jinqiong tilted her head at him. “It’s not as if I told her to.”

“I’m not joking around with you,” he snapped. “None of us know you well. I’m helping you—and I’ll do everything to ensure that we’ll finish this as soon as we can and it’ll be safe not because of you—but if it ever comes to abandoning this whole thing because it jeopardizes her safety, or even Kim Jongdae or any of my crew more than it has already—I won’t hesitate. And if it ever comes down to handing over you and the jewel to Byun Junsu, then I’ll do that.”

It wasn’t surprising. It really wasn’t. Jinqiong could tell that he still didn’t like her even when he mentioned that they’d agreed to help, but it still stung a bit. She shoved the feeling back. “What do you think I expected of you?” she shot back. “You’re just stating what’s already obvious.”

“I thought I’d clear it up,” he replied, tone frosty. “One last thing. I don’t know where you’re going after all this is finished, but if you intend on running off again, then don’t raise her hopes.”

Taken back for a moment, Jinqiong blinked, not quite comprehending what he was talking about before it hit. Baekhyun didn’t leave her much of a chance to reply, hostility already radiating off him. “You either do it, or you don’t,” he said. “If you won’t—if you can’t—be a proper sister, and I sure as hell don’t expect you to be, then don’t try.”

Before Jinqiong could think of anything to reply with—she wasn’t looking for a younger sister either, it wasn’t as if she cared anyway, he wasn’t even the least bit threatening—Baekhyun had turned sharply on his heel, yanked open the door, and headed inside. He seemed to forgotten about being quiet because Kim Jongdae was asleep, because it slammed loudly after him. Jinqiong stood, frozen for a while, irritated. It wasn’t her fault. They’d agreed to help? It was their problem too. And she could do whatever the hell she wanted, so if Song Hei wanted a sister, she could sure as hell look for one somewhere else.

There was no Baekhyun to yell all of that at, so she reached for the door, intent on having the last word.

It was locked. Surprised, she tried again harder, but it was fruitless.

“Son of a ,” she snarled, and went for slamming her fist against the door.

It didn’t open.

***

Hei found Jinqiong on the front steps of the porch, knees pulled to her chest as she idly yanked grass out of her front lawn. There was already a patch that was looking a bit more bare than the rest, and, a bit horrified at the sight, she hurried over to stop Jinqiong.

To her relief, Jinqiong stopped ruining the lawn when she spotted her. She looked a little bit better than when Hei had first seen her—her short hair had dried so it wasn’t sticking to her face anymore, she’d cleaned up, but she still looked tired. All of them did, really.

“That’s her?” Luhan asked just as they were reaching earshot.

Hei nodded, still confused as to why Jinqiong was outside. She’d explained the whole situation to Luhan as best she could over breakfast because none of them had eaten and everyone else was asleep back at home. Luhan seemed more confused about the whole thing than going to downright refusal, as Baekhyun had, and even along the way back, he hadn’t finished peppering her with questions. Hei was pretty sure that she had told him “ask Jongdae for more information” over fifty times, because she genuinely had no idea how to answer half of the things he wanted to know. At least he’d agreed that he’d send messages to the rest of the crew as soon as he got back and arrange the next possible trip to the mainland.

Jinqiong stood up when they neared a bit more, arms folded across her chest. Hei tried not to think of the patch of grass she’d destroyed because it was pretty noticeable, but she couldn’t help but glancing towards it again.

She stopped in front of Jinqiong. Luhan followed close behind, quiet then, and Hei shifted. She still wasn’t used to Jinqiong just… being there, and while her presence didn’t exactly unnerve her, she was unused to it. The fact that she was her half-sister made it stranger, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“This is Luhan,” she finally told Jinqiong, then shifted. “He’s… Baekhyun’s… ex-first mate?”

“That sounds like either I disowned him or the other way around,” Luhan grumbled, then offered Jinqiong a hand. “Song Jinqiong?”

She took his hand, movements already looking stiff. She could tell from the way Jinqiong’s eyes were flickering, looking anywhere but Luhan’s face, that she really didn’t want to be there, and Luhan pulled his hand back after a couple of seconds, looking also slightly awkward. Hei cleared . “Why are you outside?” she asked. “You should’ve rested longer. Both you and Jongdae looked exhausted.”

“I wasn’t that tired,” Jinqiong replied. There was a bit of an edge to her tone that made Hei frown, but she did have a pretty snappish way of speaking, so she wasn’t sure. “And your husband locked me outside.”

Hei blinked. “Baekhyun?”

“I don’t know who else you’re married to,” she said drily.

Hei stared at her in confusion for a couple more seconds, not quite comprehending the words. “Wait a second,” she started. “Baekhyun locked you outside? He wasn’t asleep?”

Jinqiong shrugged. “Apparently not.”

She opened , closed it, opened it again and then decided with, “I’m sorry. I’ll have a word with him.”

“No need.” Jinqiong waved it off with a hand. “It hasn’t been that long, anyway.”

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