It was the sun’s warmth that first greeted Soohyun the moment she opened her eyes. It felt great and absolutely welcoming. The small window on her cabin didn’t fail to give her the view of the clear sky along with the warmth the sun has been generous of giving. She stretched her arms and sat on her bed. It wasn’t a few moments later until she heard a knock on her door. 

“Come in,” Soohyun voiced out, though it came somewhat rough and raspy because she had just gotten out of bed. The door opened, revealing an unknown figure standing in front of it. Soohyun was quite expecting it to be Chanyeol or even Baekhyun because they were the only familiar faces she knew at the ship. It was hard not to notice that this man standing right at her door that had the most beautiful skin she might’ve seen in her life. He was tan and he obviously shone through the rays of the sun that were bathing against him. Soohyun had to take in a moment before asking him what had he come for. 

“Name’s Jongin, in case you’re wondering,” Jongin said with a smile in his face. All of a sudden, Soohyun remembered how pirates were described in newspapers and books— they were burly men— but as far as she could remember, she haven’t met anyone on the ship that fits that description. “You’re Soohyun, right? Baekhyun has briefed us about you. Glad to have you here, princess,” he bowed, bringing his hand behind his back as he lowered his head for a few seconds. He brought his head back up, again with a smile, and looked back at Soohyun.  

“I’ll be bringing your meals from now on until Baekhyun decides to change it or what,” he nonchalantly said. Soohyun looked back at him and examined him for a while. She looked at his hands and saw that he was holding nothing—no food or anything— his hands were obviously empty. Soohyun looked down at the floor thinking that maybe he had placed it down there for a while so he could make his introduction, but to her surprise, the floor was clean and there was no sign of food there. Jongin noticed the examining look Soohyun kept giving at him and suddenly came to a realization. His mouth went into a wide ‘oh’ as he looked back at her. 

“Oh, did I really just forgot to bring your meal?” Jongin talked to himself, his eyebrows were furrowed as he drowned himself in confusion. He looked everywhere and saw nothing as well. 

“I think so?” Soohyun said along with an awkward laugh. She wasn’t sure if he did that on purpose or if he really forgot to bring her meal which seemed funny because it was his task, supposedly. Jongin quickly apologized and said he’ll go get her breakfast real fast. He wasn’t kidding though—he really went fast and literally disappeared right in front of Soohyun’s eyes. Soohyun marveled at what happened. She blinked as she tried to process what just happened. Did she just witnessed what people call ‘teleportation’? That seemed like it because Jongin disappeared in a snap. He’s a gifted. Before she could even give it a thought, Jongin was back with a tray of food in his hands along with a playful smile on his face. 

Jongin walked inside Soohyun’s cabin and placed the tray at her small table. “Sorry for that. I guess I was too excited to meet you. It’s been a while since we had new people on our ship,” he chuckled. 

“You’re a gifted,” Soohyun said as she took a bite from the piece of bread at the tray. The food she has been eating for the past few days weren’t as grand as to what she’s used to in the palace but for some reason, it made her feel full than before. Eating along with the King and her siblings never really appealed to her. There was this tight atmosphere between all of them that it always feels suffocating to be in there. 

“Yeah,” Jongin casually answered as Soohyun looked back at him. He brushed his hair for a moment before making himself at home as he sat comfortably on Soohyun’s bed. “I heard you’re also one. That actually came as a surprise when Baekhyun mentioned it because everyone knew about you, that one princess in Eristonia who isn’t a gifted, but it turns out you actually were.” 

Soohyun looked away. She didn’t want to talk about anything that concerns about her being that princess everyone knew. Though it wasn’t anyone’s fault that they already had a judgement on their minds on who she was, she could still feel a pang deep down her heart. It made her feel useless. Those whispers and stares she would always get whenever she’s with her siblings, how everyone would question her being a princess without an actual purpose in the palace, and how everyone were quick to disregard her in any way just because she wasn’t a gifted like her siblings, those things hurt and constantly hearing them got her fed up with their words. They knew nothing about her—absolutely nothing—yet they were so quick to judge based on the King’s words about her. At the end of the day, Soohyun would always wonder why the King had chosen to introduce her to the public as someone who isn’t a gifted. For what reason? 

Soohyun cleared before her thoughts could eat her up once again. She looked back at Jongin who was busy entertaining himself by looking and examining the room. 

“You can teleport?” Soohyun asked because the more silence that enveloped them, the more she felt awkward with him. She barely knew him but he acts extremely casual in front of her which kind of puts her in a difficult position. She doesn’t know how to exactly act in front of him. Jongin just nodded at her question and continued whatever he was doing. Soohyun walked a bit closer to him and stopped just a few meters away from him. 

“Are there any other gifteds here besides you, Baekhyun and Junmyeon?” Soohyun asked. Now that she had come to ask that question, she was suddenly reminded of the thought that lingered on the back of her mind—Baekhyun’s crew were powerful people, people who are gifteds— and that thought gave a slight shiver to her bones. It somehow amused and terrified her at the same time. She couldn’t imagine how powerful they are during times of war at sea if there were more than one gifted aboard the ship. Just how did Baekhyun managed to get gifteds to work for him?