“The ghosts of yer past be the most dangerous if ye aint careful. But don’t ye be forgetting about the real ghosts for they also be following you out there in the open waters.”

Whispers followed Jimin from that point on as he walked around the town. He felt eyes on him anytime he stepped off the ship. He saw fear in the eyes of old seasoned pirates and curiosity from young rookies.

People started actively avoiding their group.

The captain was so incredibly giddy about it too. Some sort of cocky smirk was always present on Yoongi’s face. It was as if he was oh so proud of having Jimin on his crew. Jimin thought he must have enjoyed the fear that they suddenly garnered.

A hush swept over the tavern as the seven of them strode through the door. Confusion was evident in from the five in the group as they made their way to a table in the far corner.

“Pay no might to them” Yoongi ordered as they all settled into their table “We’re here to discuss our next destination”

Reluctantly, they all comply and focus their attention on the map Yoongi had scrawled across their table.

“What’s got you so excited cap’n?” Jungkook spoke up “usually you don really care what we do.”

Yoongi looked at him, quirking his lips up in a grin “Treasure” he smoothed down the map.

“Oh!” Taehyung’s eyes sparkled in excitement “Do tell”

With that Jimin knew they had piqued the crew’s attention. He wondered how long they would keep it, once they knew where the treasure was.

“It’s legendary” Yoongi explained, hands planted firmly on the table “So many groups have gone looking for it and failed.”

Namjoon motioned to the map “And where is this fabled booty?”

Jimin his lips, moving to show them “it’s in the southern isles”

“No way!” Hoseok exclaimed “You don’t expect us to actually go out there, do you? It’s the most dangerous place in this ocean!”

“You don’t know what even out there” Yoongi argued back “There’s no reason to be so scared”

Jin snorted “We don’t know what’s out there because no one who’s gone out has come back alive to say what we should be scared of”

“That’s not true actually!” Hoseok frowned “I heard when I was a cadet in the navy but the Sandman made it back to his home island by himself in a row boat after losing his whole crew in the southern isles, only to have died in his son’s home.”

Jimin’s blood ran cold, his eyes snapping to where the older man was sitting. He felt Yoongi stiffen in the seat next to him, saw a nervous side glance from the captain in his peripheral vision.

“Just how accurate is that information?” Jin raised his eyebrows in disbelief “Sounds kind of fake-”

“It’s true” Jimin interrupted, shifting in his seat uncomfortably “That’s the island I grew up on”

“Are you for real?” Namjoon asked, slack jawed “Did you know his family? What about his last words? There’s no information out there on is death”

“Don’t ye ever sail the southern isles” he bit his lip “It be where the real monsters lay in wait” Jimin mumbled the last words is grandfather ever said to him and he knew. He knew that they should be scared. He swallowed thickly, knowing that he promised Yoongi that he’d go in exchange for his secret “But I don’t see why that should stop us from going.”

“Like hell you don’t see why” Jin scoffed “This is insane”

“I was appointed captain!” Yoongi says after a long minute of quarrelling “As captain I decided this is what we’re doing”

“If we die, I’m gonna be so pissed” Jin murmured but didn’t argue any further.

~~~~

Jimin could hear Namjoon talking with the shipwright they hired to fix the damage to their boat from where he laid in his hammock. Everyone else was out gathering the last of the supplied they’d need before setting sail. Yoongi got himself a cane to use to walk until his ankle was fixed so he didn’t have to worry about helping their injured captain around any longer. Made him a little lonely. The first mate came stomping down into the dorm from the deck after not too long.

“We’re ready to push off as soon and Yoongi gives the order to.” Namjoon sighed taking a seat in his own cot nearby.

Jimin felt anxiety bubble in the pit of his stomach, clenching his teeth as he replied “Great.”

They sat in silence for a long minute, neither saying anything but Namjoon staring intently at him.

“I can feel you staring” Jimin laughed awkwardly “What’s up?”

Namjoon hummed “You…” he paused “You knew the Sandman’s last words?”

“Everyone in my country did” Jimin lied through the bile in the back of his throat “Everyone knew he’d visit every once in a while”

“I see”

“You don’t trust me, do you Namjoon?”

Namjoon paused, clenched his fists and took a deep breath “I trust you.” He promised “I just feel like you’re hiding something.”

Jimin sighed “Everyone has their secrets.” is lips “Mine won’t interfere with my job on the crew”

Namjoon left it at that.

~~~~

The silence of the night was only interrupted by the thump of Jimin’s boots against the wood of the deck as he made his way to the captain’s quarters. Yoongi had been asking him for all the advice he could remember his grandfather giving him before they set off for the southern islands. Jimin’s not too sure he would be able pull too many memories unprovoked, but he’d do is best – if only for self-preservation and survival.

He took a breath and knocked on the door clearly labeled ‘Captain’.

Jimin spent the next few hours recounting every story he could possibly think of – telling some if only to ear Yoongi laugh for a minute longer.

Eventually he had to go to bed with reminder to get some rest.

They set off at dawn.

~~~~

“Did you hear?”

The nearby nations were buzzing with gossip.

“About the empty ships washing up with red flags stabbed into their masts?”

“What about the rumors that a Park has surfaced in a pirate crew?”

“A Park? Like the Sandman’s family? No way!”

“Well I heard the Neptune’s Jewel was almost sunk”

“Do you think any of that’s related?”

“More pirates have been hung at the navy base”

“Did you hear? Did you hear?”

~~~~

Jimin wasn’t getting the hang of sword fighting that day for some reason. Hoseok was doing his best to teach him but they’d been practicing for hours and Jimin just wasn’t able to understand the lesson Hoseok was trying to teach him. They were both frustrated. Jin was just finishing checking on Yoongi’s injuries on the upper deck when Hoseok threw his wooden sword on the ground with a huff.

“Hey” Yoongi called “Why don’t I train with Jimin for a minute”

Hoseok looked at the older man with a raised eyebrow “Why?”

“Well maybe he just needs a new partner since he’s only trained with you” Yoongi shrugged “Besides, I need to practice too since I’ve been outta commission for a minute now. I’m rusty.”

“What’d ‘a say doc?” Yoongi grinned at Jin “Am I good for some light sword fighting?”

Jin rolled is eyes lightly “As long as you don’t reinjure yourself fine.” A pause “Jimin, go easy on the Captain, alright?”

Hoseok and Jin made their way into the dorm area after that and left the two of them alone.

Yoongi stretched his arm across his chest before picking up his wood sword “Alright kid, I got my own lesson for you”

“Bring it” Jimin grinned getting into a fighting stance.

Yoongi was fast, even with a limp. Jimin could barely keep up with the captain’s movements. Yoongi’s way of fighting was far more aggressive than Hoseok’s. Jimin stumbled back a few times in order to dodge Yoongi’s sword. Jimin would swing back a few times only to be knocked away like a fly before Yoongi would resume trying to smack him.

Eventually Yoongi had driven the two of them up from the lower deck onto the top. Jimin stumbled, and Yoongi paused long enough for the younger man to regain his footing, but by doing so it gave Jimin an opening to knock the sword out of the captain’s hand. Yoongi smiled as he did so only to pull his gun on the younger before the sword had even landed fully on the ground next to them.

Jimin dropped his sword on instinct, hands up and wide eyed.

Yoongi laughed, re-holstering the firearm “That’s my lesson.”

“Explain”

“We’re pirates Jimin” Yoongi shook his head “you gotta learn to play dirty in a real fight”

Jimin cocked his head in confusion “But Hoseok-”

“Don’t buy into Hoseok’s” Yoongi puts up finger quotes “Honor among thieves is honor on the seas bull” rolled his eyes “That would get any normal person killed.”

“Yessir”

~~~~

Jimin found himself lounging around the dock about a week after setting sail. The sun beating down onto the off-white pages of the book he bought before leaving the island making him squint at the little black letters on the page. The sea was calm, no wind, no clouds. The ship wasn’t moving. He could hear Hoseok and Jungkook sword fighting in jest, Taehyung and Namjoon catching fish off the side of the boat.

It’s the calm before the storm.

They all heard Jin call for Yoongi from the crow’s nest. Jimin finds himself watching curiously as the captain attentively climbed the rope ladder. It stays quiet for a minute, Jimin looks back down to his book and all seems peaceful.

He was about to turn his page, but no sooner had he lifted the corner of the paper did Jin come scrambling down the ladder in a way that Jimin was surprised the older man didn’t just fall flat on his face. He heard Yoongi yell something, but it was garbled from the movement the captain was making. They all look to Jin, who’s in the process of unsheathing his sword.

“He said battle stations” Jin held his sword in one hand, testing its weight with a grimace.

Jimin’s head shot up to peer at the crow’s nest, seeing Yoongi set up a riffle.

The two fishing hopped down from their perches on the side of the boat, Jungkook and Hoseok dropped their wooden swords and immediately reached for their real ones.

“Wait, wait” Taehyung frowned “What’s going on?”

Jimin places his book aside just as Jin utters the words:

“Bounty hunters.”

Jimin furrowed is eyebrow in confusion “Bounty hunters?” he stood up “I thought you guy’s have never been seen. How can you have a bounty?”

“The Jewel’s known.” Namjoon answers calmly, loading his pistol with ammo “Anyone and everyone on this ship’s got a fair-sized price on their heads.”

“Including you Jiminie” Hoseok laughed

Jimin’s chuckle is cut sort by Yoongi firing a shot up above them, and when he yells this time they all hear him loud and clear.

“Prepare to be boarded!” the captain calls down “And if any of you idiots die, I’ll kill you”

The 6 of them stand in a circle, backs to each other as they wait for the impending battle to start.

A bang.

A sound of something flying overhead.

The sound of something heavy hitting the water just on the other side of the boat.

Jimin swallowed thickly as the boat started swaying from water the cannon ball disturbed. He wasn’t sure he was ready for his first real fight, but he didn’t have much of a choice here.

Then, they hit something. Hard. The ship lurched forward from the impact. Jimin stumbled into Jungkook. Hoseok and Taehyung start laughing at the surprised noise Namjoon made. Jin’s on his . They’re a little bit of a mess.

The sound of boots hitting the wood of the upper deck were distinct enough to be heard over their chaos. Yoongi shot from above.

A screech of pain.

And yell of at least 20 men echoed out right before more boots hit the deck and more shots went off. Namjoon shot the first man to reach their sight range. More and more men started coming and Jimin knew; it was time to put his training to use.

Their circle broke part quickly once Hoseok decided he was tired of waiting for the crowd to make their way to them and he went running off to fight like a madman.

The air smelled like gun powder. Jimin could hardly see what was going on around him from the smoke. The sounds of metal clashing yells from other men and guns going off filled the air. He had his back firmly against the ship’s mast so that no one could get him from behind. Jimin watched.

A man sauntered through the battle unbothered by his crewmates being taken down on either side of him. The man’s sword still holstered at his hip. He made eye contact with Jimin, and a strange smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. The man reached for is sword and changed his course to walk towards him. Jimin’s blood ran cold at the look in this man’s knowing eyes. He tightened his grip on his sword.

“Care to fight, boy?” the man asked, fast approaching

Jimin clenched his teeth “I don’t got a choice do I?”

The man laughed heartily at that and swung his sword down at him.

Jimin blocked it easily. Moved away from the mast to not be cornered. Blocked another swing.

“You’re rather unfortunate,” The man jabbed toward him “Being up against me in a fight,” his smile never faltered

Jimin stepped away, swinging his own sword only to be blocked “Why’s that?”

“Well” he stepped closer “A few reasons.” His sword almost landing a blow “One I’m the boss of these guys.”

“Oh yeah?” Jimin ducked just in time to not be stabbed in the eye “it’s an honor to be fighting the captain then” sarcasm dripped from his words like venom.

The man laughed as the swords clashed loudly bringing them face to face. Jimin noticed the man was old, his father’s age, possibly older. A level of mirth danced in the old man’s dark eyes. His smile was knowing, and Jimin couldn’t figure out what kind of joke he was missing out on.

He pushed away and stumbled backwards over something. Jimin froze in horror as he realized he’d fallen over a dead body of a bounty hunter.

“Uh oh” the old man crooned from above “Don’t get distracted now.”

Jimin rolled out of the way just in time to dodge the sword coming straight down into the wood of the deck where he had just been. The old man laughing all the while.

“Good job, boy” he pulled his sword out of the wood “I’m not done with you quite yet.”

Jimin didn’t like how familiar this man was with him “ you” he growled swords clashing again.

“Glad to see you have your Grandfather’s eyes, Park” the old man stepped to the side, and Jimin stumbled forward.

Jimin felt his jaw clench tighter as his head snapped to stare at his opponent. How did this man know?

The smirk ever evident on this foe’s face “You look just like him you know.” A pause “It was always my goal to be the one to kill that old man – too bad he was stupid enough to go to the Southern Isles.”

“Shut up!” Jimin hissed

“But now I have you to kill which is almost as fun”

Rage boils up in Jimin’s stomach and he finds himself swinging his sword with reckless abandon. Hoseok’s training staying at the forefront of is mind. His footwork suddenly better than it had ever been while practicing. He lands a blow on the old man’s arm.

All he gets in response is a hearty laugh “I hit a sour note there, huh, boy?”

Their swords clash again, this time their faces so close that Jimin can smell the tobacco chew on the man’s breath.

“ you”

“Your crew” The man speaks lowly “Do they know about your granddad? Doesn’t that seem like a great way to move up the ranks on a ship like this”

“What’s it to you?” Jimin halfway snarled, slowly taking one hand off the hilt of is sword and reaching behind him, taking hold of the clutch of the gun he had tucked away in the waistband of his pants.

“Oh so they don’t know” a laugh “Now why would ye keep old Sandman a secret? How foolish.”

“It’s none of your business .”

“Oh how about when I take your crew, at least the ones that survive, on to my ship I tell them all your little sec-” he was cut off by the deafening pop of the gun Jimin had brought between them.

The old man looked down to his stomach where blood was quickly seeping into his brown coat from the bullet wound. Looked back up at Jimin – this time his smile weary.

“I always dreamed of killing a Park.” He said slowly, dropping to his knees “But I always knew it’d be a Park that killed me.” He wheezed, “you have the eyes of a killer, to be sure” and Jimin watched as the life left the old man’s eyes.

“Go to hell” Jimin mumbled at the dead body at is feet.

He killed at least 3 more men before the deck of ship seemed to go quiet. No more sounds of fighting. No more gunshots. No more yelling. No clang of metal. The air was still thick with gun powder. The smell mingled with that of iron and something else that was utterly disgusting.

It be the smell of death ye be smellin’

“Everybody sound off!” Namjoon’s voice echoed loudly over the eerily quiet ship.

There were 4 familiar voices in response ranging from

“Yeah I’m good!” from Hoseok

To

“Ah dude it smells in rank out here” from Taehyung.

Jimin laughed loud enough for everyone to hear him in response. There’s a noise from the rope ladder and Jimin hopes it’s just Yoongi climbing down from the crow’s nest.

The smoke had cleared, and he could see the rest of the crew carefully stepping over the bodies that lay at their feet by the time the captain came up and clapped him on the shoulder.

“You ok?” Yoongi asked

Jimin looked at him blankly “Hm?”

“You’re covered in blood Jimin”

Jimin looked down at the blood staining his clothes and is red soaked hands “It’s not” he took a deep breath as the realization that he’s just killed multiple men sunk in “It’s not my blood.”

Yoongi just says “oh”

Jimin feels acid burning in the back of his throat and his runs, scrambling over lifeless bodies and discarded weapons to get to the side of the ship to throw up. His eyes tearing up as he regurgitated the contents of his stomach, feeling it come through his nose as well.

Yoongi gently patted his back “First time killing someone?”

Jimin took a gasping breath, nodding his head.

“Yeah that’s rough for everyone” Yoongi hummed, rubbing his back lightly “You’ll be ok”

They stand like that, silently letting Jimin go through his moral struggle. They could hear Namjoon calling orders out as first mate. Everyone having their own conversations as they all dragged the corpses back to the ship they came from.

“did you know that when a person dies their bowels empty” Jin explained as he and Taehyung carried a man up the stairs

“Sick!” Taehyung fake barfed “Is that why is smells like out here?”

Jimin let out an exhausted laugh listening to the rest of the crew.

“C’mon” Yoongi says, leading him by the arm away from the side of the ship “You should lay down, don’t worry about cleaning up we’ll take care of this”

Jimin lets himself be led to his hammock and appreciated Yoongi ruffling his hair to make him feel better.

~~~~

The sea air smelled fresh, a small breeze blew gently through the air, and the sky was clear. The ocean was peaceful. Jimin stared off into the calm water breathing in the salt air. Yoongi came up next to him, not saying anything to the younger man.

“Good morning captain” Jimin sighed

“You’ve been quiet for a few days” Yoongi stated, not looking away from the water “You ok?”

Jimin smiled gently “Yeah, I’m ok. Just thinking”

“Thinking?”

“About my grandpa” Jimin continued slowly “How this was his life”

Yoongi hummed in acknowledgment not asking for anymore explanation. Content knowing that Jimin was alright. They stayed quiet for another few minutes just enjoying each other’s company.

“Jin was thinking of pulling out the lute” Yoongi looked at him, slight quirk to his lips “Tae’s probably gonna pull out the saxophone if he does”

“We have those?” Jimin chuckled “Are they any good at playing them?”

“Better than you’d expect” Yoongi grinned at him, turning away from the water and leaning against the ship’s railing “But no they don’t sound good together at all”

Jimin laughed just as the first note of a lute being strummed sounded from the lower deck.

They hear Namjoon yell out “Oh hell yeah!”

“Dance with me Jungkook!” from Hoseok

Yoongi nods his head to the balcony overviewing the lower deck and the two of them move to watch their crew mess around.

The captain hooked is arm over his shoulder and Jimin couldn’t find it in himself to mind.

~~~~

Jimin never believed in ghosts. His grandpa Sang always used to try to scare him with the concepts of a ghost ship, but Jimin would only ever laugh in response. Not once did Jimin’s nightmares ever include a ghost, nor was he ever spooked by the ‘scary’ playground games his friends would play in his childhood when they tried to summon ghosts. Never had Jimin feared ghosts.

Unfortunately for Jimin, dreams are sometimes more realistic if they’re of things one doesn’t believe in.

He saw it clear as day. A pirate ship, flying its Jolly Roger proudly. An eerie green glow surrounding it and a terrible fog following it through the waters. The ship gave off a sorrowful moan and painful creeks audible even from far away. He saw the faces of decomposing corpses and the bodies skeletons moving about the ship under the moonlight. Only in candlelight did the crew of the ship seem to be human – and even then, something was off.

“Don’t ye be forgetting about the real ghosts for they also be following you out there in the open waters.”

Jimin woke up gasping, his grandfather’s words ringing loudly in his ears. He swung his legs over the side of is hammock and looked at the resting figures of the rest of is crew who all seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He counted five other men, excluding himself, which meant someone was up on the deck keeping watch, too dark to tell who was who. He made quick work of putting his boots on and lacing them up. He figured he could go give whoever else was up some company.

He walked out and caught sight of the captain gazing wistfully at the dark horizon. The stars speckled the sky vibrantly. It was a beautiful sight and if Jimin were an artist he would have painted it. Jimin yawned and started walking to join the older man at the railing o the ship.

“Good evening, captain” he called out as he approached

Yoongi jumped a little in surprise over is should “It’s closer to morning”

“Anything to report?” he asked, leaning against the spot next to Yoongi

“It’s a clear windless night” the captain shrugged “No sight of any monsters either.”

Jimin yawned out a “That’s good”

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Bad dream”

Yoongi paused, looking at the younger from the corner of his eye “Wanna talk about it?”

Jimin thought about it for a moment before shaking his head ‘no’ and then instead asked “Do you believe in ghosts?”

“Ghosts?” Yoongi scrunched his brow “I don’t necessarily believe in them, but I also didn’t believe in sea serpents until a couple months ago so everything’s kind of up in the air for me right now.”

Jimin chuckled “Yeah” he nodded “That’s fair.”

Yoongi patted him on the back lightly, and Jimin felt an odd amount of comfort from the small act.

“Do you think dreams mean anything?” he blurted out after the silence stretched on too long for comfort

Yoongi looked at him a little alarmed before answering “Depends on the dream honestly.” He shrugged “Depends on if you want it to mean anything”

Jimin didn’t know what that meant either. They two of them stood there looking out at the slowly brightening horizon.

~~~~

Yoongi listened intently as Hoseok explained the rout they were planning to take to the far end of the Southern Islands. They were going as far as the southern sea was mapped – as far as anyone had gone to record it. He knew it would be a dangerous trip and as captain he new he should pay as much attention as he could when it came to the trip.

“We should be coming up on a peninsula called the Siren’s Nest pretty soon.” Hoseok pointed to a line of jagged rocks painted on their map

Namjoon leaned over the table to get a better look “Looks more like a group of sea stacks grouped closely together than a peninsula”

“Well, the siren’s sea stack doesn’t sound nearly as ominous now does it Joonie” Hoseok laughed, swatting the first mate away from the map. “So anyways when we pass-”

“No wait” Yoongi interrupted, putting his hand up “One of you go grab Jimin for me real fast”

Namjoon raised an eyebrow at the captain but popped his head out the doorway, yelling for the newest crew member to join the three of them in the captain’s quarters. Jimin entered, looking just as confused as the other two.

“What’s up?” he asked slowly taking an empty seat

Yoongi turned to him, motioned to the map and simply ordered “Tell me what you know about the Siren’s Nest.”

“Well I read that it’s actually a small – and I mean tiny – island comprised completely of sharp rocks that’s far too dangerous for a ship to go anywhere near” Jimin laughs “Which is caused from-”

Yoongi shook his head in amusement “No Jimin. What do you know?”

Jimin closed his eyes and took a deep breath “Aye” he sighed in defeat before looking up and meeting Yoongi’s eyes “There be real beautiful ladies out there, lad, with voices more lovely than honey and tails of fish more beautiful than any treasure known to men.” He bit his lip “They be offering whatever ye be desiring if ye listen to them – even changing themselves to suit yer fancy. But don’t ye be lettin’ yerself hear them” he rubbed his sweaty palms against his pants and glanced at the map “Or a cold and rocky death be waiting for ya by the time ye reach their land.” Jimin blinked slowly looking back to the captain “The sirens be out there – living to drown the foolish sailors who stray to close and let themselves be seduced by their evil trickery.”

There was a long pause in the room where everyone processed what just left the rookie’s mouth.

“Oh, what the ?” Hoseok chortled “Where’d you hear that ?”

“A book” Jimin shrugged

Yoongi leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet up onto his desk “The it’s decided, only four men on deck as we pass the Peninsula, and all of them wear ear plugs. Everyone else in the canteen making as much noise as possible.” He grinned “Just in case”

“Just in case” they all repeat

~~~~

It’s Hoseok, Taehyung, Jungkook, and Yoongi out on the deck the next day as their supposed to be passing the Siren’s Nest. It took a while to find enough ear plugs for all four of them, but Yoongi had purposefully chosen the three men he felt were least likely to be swayed by a siren’s song. The winds were heavy around the coastline of the small island and it took all of Taehyung and Jungkook’s focus to keep the sails facing the right way, Hoseok completely focused at the wheel of the ship. It was raining, and cold and difficult to navigate. Yoongi has the worst ear plugs and he knows it, he could still hear everything although extremely muffled, compared to the other 3 who were completely deaf to the world. As captain he had to take one for the team, he wasn’t even that worried about it.

The problem with being able to hear is that by nature he’s curious. So, as he’s walking up the stairs from the lower deck to the upper deck, he hears a muffled splash in the water next to the ship he finds himself looking over the side of the ship’s railing.

That’s when he saw the shine of beautiful red scales and the glisten of smooth skin. Yoongi stared, knowing what he was seeing was a siren, but a male siren with lean muscle and short hair and a smile that looked all too familiar. He stared in wonder at the siren because it looked just like –

Yoongi froze in place, face contorting in confusion as he stared at this siren that looked almost exactly like Jimin swimming close to their ship with a wicked look in its eyes. His heart rate picked up as he his heel and raced back down to the lower deck to peer into the window to view into the canteen. He saw Jimin laughing at Jin yelling over what he assumed to be a lost card game against Namjoon. And Yoongi remembered what Jimin had said before:

 “Even changing themselves to suit yer fancy”

And Yoongi stood there, in the middle of his deck, by himself.

“Oh” he said, slightly dazed “Oh no”

The ship rocked slightly under his feet and he stumbled onto his knees.

“Oh ”

~~~~

Yoongi had a dilemma. It wasn’t a big deal – really – it wouldn’t even interfere with his everyday life too much. He can still function as the ship’s captain. He hardly even wants to acknowledge that it’s a problem.

But it is a problem.

He has a crush on Jimin. It’s not against any rules by any means, he looked it up. However, it doesn’t mean it’s not a problem for him as a person.

If Yoongi isn’t on high alert of what he’s doing he’s in serious danger of being found out by someone on the crew. Sometimes, when he hears Jimin laugh he’ll stop what he’s doing to listen. Or he’ll watch Jimin’s fighting practice just to see the way the younger man moves. When Yoongi is close enough he can’t help but to touch Jimin in some way – either his shoulder or arm or something.

It’s not a big deal. But it is a big problem.

He could only imagine the kind of hell the rest of the crew would give him if they found out about it. How embarrassing, a crush of all things.

They had made it passed the Siren’s Nest just fine but Yoongi hasn’t felt sane since.

He’d secluded himself in his office to think, smacking his head against his desk a few times hoping he could knock some sense into himself. He’d been in there for over and hour when Namjoon walked in and plopped himself comfortably in the chair Yoongi kept in the corner of the room.

“So,” the first mate grinned mischievously “When were you gonna tell me about your thing for our cute librarian?”

Yoongi sat up, staring blankly at the younger man for what felt like far too long before slowly answering “I was gonna tell you as soon as hell froze over Joon”

Namjoon laughed “What a harsh answer for your best friend”

“ off” Yoongi whined “I’m still trying to figure this out myself.”

“There nothing wrong with having a crush” Namjoon’s dimpled smile ever present “But if you’re trying to keep it a secret, you’re doing a job. You’re obvious as hell.”

“Get out” Yoongi threw and old rolled up map at his friend.

~~~~

Yoongi’s taken to practicing his sword fighting with Jimin, and Jimin for the life of him can’t figure out why. When he asked Yoongi would tell him it helps him loosen up after his injuries, but he says it such a way that Jimin can’t help but to feel like he’s lying straight to his face. It doesn’t matter much to him though; the captain gives him pointers from another perspective besides Hoseok’s. It’s more helpful than bothersome.

He feels like he’s making progress when fighting the captain. Yoongi would tell him if he’s doing well, and something in his stomach would squirm with glee hearing the praise.

“You’re slow” Yoongi laughed lightly smacking the younger on his head with a wooden sword

Jimin pouted at him, quickly looking around his terrain to gain the upper hand. The only thing he could think of was climbing onto the ships railing and blindly swinging his sword at the captain. And it worked! Jimin feels the impact of his sword making contact with the elder’s sword, watching as the hunk of wood clatter to the floor.

“Oh!” Yoongi says, shocked – he sounds cute

Jimin looks at him, ready to gloat, but the sudden movement makes him lose his footing on the wet rail. He slipped backwards. Felt his stomach drop. His heart rate picked up as he saw the blue water hitting the side of the ship, turning into a frothy white come into his sight and grow closer.

Then it stopped. Everything seemed to freeze. He looked back, to see Yoongi caught him by the shirt collar. Jimin laughed. He laughed and turned just enough to grab Yoongi’s arm so he could let go of his shirt and lift him back onto the boat.

Jimin was still laughing as they laid on the deck of the ship together.

“Oh, my hero” he mocked lightheartedly

Yoongi turned his head to look at him, slightly out of breath “You’d better be more careful in the future, my god”

“Aye, sir” Jimin grinned “A dark and watery death be waitin’ a sailor who can’t watch his own two feet”

Yoongi snorted “Shut the up Jimin”

He laughed again, turning on his side to look at the captain. Yoongi’s smiling with his eyes closed, his chest shaking from silent laughter.

 Jimin sees movement from the corner of his eye, looking up to see Namjoon stepping out of the dorm room. They made eye contact, Namjoon looking at the two of them for a minute. A slow grin formed on the first mate’s lips and he winked at them before turning on is heel and walking back below deck. He was slightly confused by that but didn’t think much of it.

The sea was calm and Jimin was content.

~~~~

Dark clouds loomed threateningly over the sea. Jimin didn’t think it was going to rain but the electricity in the night air was palpable. He sat with Taehyung in the crow’s nest, the younger man watching the sea through the binoculars and Jimin was just keeping him company while everyone else slept. Taehyung was chattering loudly about what he was gonna do when they found the treasure and Jimin was laughing at the fantastical ideas his friend was spewing.

“And I’d buy myself a cake at least twice a week!” Taehyung grinned, and then he paused “Wait what the-”

Jimin sat up raising his brow in question “What’s up?”

“Don’t know” Taehyung shrugged suddenly hyper focused “An electrical storm maybe? There’s this green glowing fog.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah check it out” Taehyung held the binoculars out to him

Jimin stood up, taking them from without a word and looking to where the younger was pointing. It took him a minute to find it but wen he did he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Taehyung was right a green fog with an eerie glow was sweeping over the horizon. It looked like something from a dream – it was something from a dream. His breathing picked up as he realized it wasn’t just a fog that he was looking at – there was a ship. His eyes traced whatever patterns on the wood he could make out, trying to read the name of the ship, but it was too far. Jimin’s blood froze when he saw a flash of red fabric.

A crimson red Jolly roger was hoisted proudly on the ships mast.

No. No. No. This could not be happening.

His hands shook as he handed the binoculars back to Taehyung.

“Wake everyone up right now” Jimin gasped “Tae, we need to change course right now! Like all hands on deck or whatever. Now!”

Taehyung scrambled down the rope latter, the urgency in Jimin’s voice spurring him into action.

Jimin knew that jolly roger. The deep red could only mean one thing – The Scrounger’s Night was still sailing a decade after she had been sunk. It shouldn’t have been possible, but they were in the southern isles and anything could happen.

The crew moved quickly to divert their course, not asking any questions only working to get them safe.

~~~~

Jimin kept an eye on the ocean behind them from then on. Too scared that if he looked away the ship would have caught up to them by the time he looked back. The clouds never dissipated; they covered the sky everyday for the next week. It only added to Jimin’s anxiety.

None of the crew seemed to know how to approach him about why he was so resolute on changing their course – on why his eyes were glued to the ocean. He wouldn’t know what to tell them if they asked.
That the spirits of his grandfather’s pirate crew were haunting the sea around the south islands? no. Any sane man would laugh in his face if he said that.

So, he watched the sea.

He watched and he waited.

The sea harbors evil and Jimin was beginning to know that fact all too well.