Soohyun was undoubtedly bothered by what Chanyeol said that morning. She couldn’t get it out her head no matter how hard she tried. She tried distracting herself with the book but it was no use at all. She still kept thinking about Naeun and how is she related to Baekhyun. Who was she? Why did they end up that way? Was she the reason why Baekhyun decided to become a pirate? 

No matter how hard Soohyun tried to convince herself that she shouldn’t pry on someone else’s life, she couldn’t help but be curious. What made her even curious about who Naeun was, was what Baekhyun had said when they talked that night—that he hates betrayal and that he’s going to take back everything that’s his. Was it Naeun that took everything from him? Chanyeol obviously was cautious about giving details about her. She must’ve played an important part on Baekhyun’s life for Chanyeol to react that way. 

“Ugh,” Soohyun groaned in frustration. 

She just spent hours lying on her bed as she kept thinking of the thousands of possibilities of who Naeun might be. She had thought of directly asking Baekhyun about her but then immediately disregarded that thought because if Chanyeol didn’t want to mention her name, then Baekhyun must hate mentioning her name even more. 

Soohyun spent a good few minutes thinking of what she should do next to at least clear her mind from the thoughts running on it but she had come up with nothing at all, except for one thing—she could try asking some of the crew on who Naeun is. Maybe someone would tell her something about her. She really can’t get that name out of her mind and only answers on who she really is would be the only thing that could send her to peace. 

Without thinking twice, Soohyun left her cabin with hopes of finding answers to her questions. As soon as she left her cabin, she immediately saw Jongin walking on the hallway towards the deck. She immediately called him before he could even get away. Jongin greeted back with a smile on his face as he waved a hand. Soohyun had to pause for a moment to catch her breath as she stood right in front of a confused Jongin. 

“What’s the matter?” Jongin asked. 

“I came to ask about something,” Soohyun started as soon as she regained her breathing. Jongin looked at her with anticipation on his eyes as he waited for her next words. “Can you tell me who Naeun is?” 

It’s as if the name Naeun was a taboo, an untouched subject, Jongin held a breath for a moment as his eyebrows furrowed before he finally gave an answer. “Aren’t you hungry?” he asked. 

Soohyun gave a confused look. She suddenly couldn’t understand why Jongin was asking her if she was hungry all of a sudden. She was about to say no and insist on asking more about Naeun until she felt Jongin place an arm around her shoulders and led her to where the mess hall is right away. 

“I think you’re hungry,” Jongin chuckled. “I didn’t see you this morning. Why don’t you go get some snack first? I’ll join you though. I think I’m also hungry right now,” he mumbled through his words. Soohyun couldn’t even get another chance to ask one more time as Jongin kept on blabbing about how hungry he suddenly felt like and how good must it be to grab some snack at this time. 

Right after they arrived at the mess hall, Jongin grabbed some fruits and offered them to Soohyun right away. Though Soohyun wasn’t exactly hungry at the moment, she still took what Jongin has offered her. Jongin stood at the far end of the table as he looked at her. 

“Jongin,” Soohyun called out. Jongin snapped out of his thoughts as he nodded at the mention of his name. “I thought you’re hungry? Why aren’t you eating?” 

“On a second thought, I think I’m not actually hungry,” Jongin awkwardly chuckled. “I have a lot of things to do at the deck. I’m going first. Have lots of fruits, okay? Just...take your time, okay?” 

And with that, Jongin hurriedly left the mess hall. Soohyun looked back at the apple on her hand as she heaved a sigh. Her plan on asking some of the crew about Naeun doesn’t seem like it would work at all. If Jongin reacted that way, then probably everyone will also do the same and avoid answering her. It seems like everyone doesn’t like hearing her name. The mere mention of it makes Jongin act as if she had caught him doing something wrong. From his awkward laugh and his sudden invitation to eat—it just solidified the thought on Soohyun’s mind that maybe whoever Naeun really is, she must be someone they’re not on good terms with. Knowing that for sure even made her more curious as more questions pop on her mind every second that passed. 

Soohyun took a bite on the apple on her hand as she tried to clear her mind even for a while. After a few minutes, she already had finished quite a few of them and still, her mind’s still running wild on the sole question of who Naeun is. She just couldn’t get that name out of her mind. After heaving a deep long sigh, Soohyun stood up and decided to give it one more try. She could try asking one more time and maybe she’d get even a tiny bit of information on who Naeun might be. 

Soohyun walked around the ship, trying to find someone she could ask but it seems like everyone was busy doing their own things that they can’t seem to find the time to even entertain her. She tried going up to Yixing, who seemed like the most laid back person on the ship and would most likely try to give her an answer, but he was also busy on doing some spell casting duties. Junmyeon was also the same. He told her that he couldn’t entertain her for now because he’s preparing for something big—a storm maybe, Soohyun couldn’t even understand what he was saying because he was talking a bit fast—and that he needed to concentrate and work on a quiet space. 

At this point of time, it would be dumb to think that everything’s normal on the ship—the cold atmosphere, the eerily silent glances each of the crew was sneakily giving to each other, and those awkward excuses they would try to say for them not to answer her question— this doesn’t happen everyday and Soohyun was sure of it. Everyone was willing to talk to her no matter what is it about, except for Jongdae who still keeps a pretty good distance from her. Maybe she should stop trying to find out who Naeun really is. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to try to dig in more if everyone’s avoiding the mere fact of even mentioning her name. Though disheartened by the thought of giving up, Soohyun decided it’s best not to pursue it anymore. She then headed back to her cabin and decided to take a nap instead. 

~~~

Soohyun woke up with a knock on her door. She lazily stood up as she tried to open her eyes and fix her hair at the same time while she