Morning came by real fast. Soohyun had to squint her eyes at the bright rays of sun that were tracing the features of her face as soon as she got up from bed. After settling with the brown dress she had gotten from her cabinet, Soohyun grabbed the book and her notes as she went to the mess hall to take her breakfast. 

As soon as she arrived at the mess hall, she noticed that Chanyeol was already there and eating his breakfast at such an early hour. Usually, at this time, it would only be Soohyun who’d be at the mess hall because everyone takes their breakfasts a bit later than her. Soohyun took a seat just in front of Chanyeol who immediately noticed her presence and gave her a small wave. He had this smile on his face as he watched Soohyun grab her own breakfast. 

“I haven’t been able to talk to you these past few days,” Chanyeol started. Soohyun suddenly realized what he said was actually true. He was the first person who kindly talked to her as soon as she arrived at the ship, Soohyun would be lying if she said she didn’t at least missed his rants and stories because she did—she did missed his presence. 

“Yes, a lot of things happened in a blink of an eye. It was quite overwhelming but seeing you here now is nice. How have you been?” Soohyun asked and then took a bite from her bread as she watched Chanyeol shift from his position. The look on his face says that he’s about to spill some beans and to be honest, Soohyun missed that expression from his face. It was genuine and showed only his true emotions. Chanyeol’s transparency amazes Soohyun in so many ways. 

“Fine, but Baekhyun’s been making us do twice the work we’ve been doing. I don’t know what’s going on but I haven’t seen him use his powers ever since you got here. It’s weird because he alwa-“ 

“Wait,” Soohyun interjected. “You said powers? Powers? Baekhyun has more than one power?” she asked as she tried to make sense of what she had just heard. She placed down her food as she intently looked at Chanyeol.  Chanyeol then looked at her with confused eyes. 

“Didn’t you know? He can control both water and fire,” Chanyeol nonchalantly said as if that was the most common thing in the world, as if having more than one power was normal—it isn’t—and Soohyun could feel the immediate rising of her heartbeat against her chest. 

Sudden flashbacks of Jongdae’s rescue came rushing to her. It all makes sense now—Baekhyun’s uneasy figure the moment he sees the fire, the hesitation that was obviously there and Sehun’s words—everything is now fitting its own rightful places. Soohyun had to take in deep breaths as she tried to process everything. That’s why Sehun was telling Baekhyun to take it down, because he can control fire itself but the question is, why didn’t he do it? Why did he insisted on making Sehun deal with it instead? Soohyun tried to think of any possible answers to her questions but none seemed to make sense at all. Why didn’t Baekhyun used his power back then? He could’ve risked Jongdae’s life if he had hesitated a bit longer. If Sehun wasn’t even there to wake some sense out of him, he’d still be frozen on his spot. 

“Hey,” Chanyeol called out. Soohyun snapped out of her thoughts as she looked back at Chanyeol. “Are you alright? You look pale,” 

Soohyun nodded. “I’m fine,” she quickly answered. 

Then it suddenly came to her, the fact that Baekhyun was more than just a notorious and dangerous pirate. He was more than a gifted pirate. He was obviously more than that. The magnitude of Baekhyun’s abilities and powers doesn’t seem real to Soohyun. She has never heard of someone having two actual powers they could control. If someone was to tell her that a few months ago, she’d probably ignore it because it was too impossible to happen but then here she is right now—boarded on a ship with a captain who can control two incredible, not to mention opposing powers. Was this the reason why he was considered as one of the most powerful pirates out there? Most of his crew are basically men who are also gifteds. It that doesn’t give him the advantage over others then what will? The more Soohyun learns about Baekhyun, the more she is astounded by the fact that he doesn’t even sound real anymore. It was as if he was just a powerful character of a myth or a legend. 

Chanyeol’s worried expression brought back Soohyun to reality. She took in a few breaths and calmed both her raging heart and mind down. She looked at Chanyeol and assured him one last time that she is fine and there is nothing he should worry about. 

“By the way, you mentioned he wasn’t using his powers ever since I got here, right? Do you have any idea why?” Soohyun asked. Now that she has asked about it, the realization of all it came to her in a flash. It’s true, Baekhyun hasn’t been using his power these past few days because if he was, Soohyun would’ve felt it. She would’ve felt a pang on her chest even in the slightest use of it but there was none. Worrying about the book and her translations took most of her time. 

“I honestly don’t know. I don’t even know what’s going on his mind. He’s unpredictable, that I could guarantee you, but there’s nothing I could do but to trust him in whatever he’s planning. Baekhyun has never failed us—never,” Chanyeol said. There was something in the way he said those words that showed off a strong connection between Baekhyun and his crew. 

Soohyun stayed silent on her seat. Chanyeol also didn’t said anything after that and finished his food right away. “I’ll be going then. It’s nice talking with you, princess,” he said and with tha