“Jun!” Seyoon yelled, running towards his captain. “We got a problem.”

Jun stopped his conversation with the village chiefs to turn to Seyoon. “Was is it? I’m kind of busy.”

Seyoon stopped to catch his breath. “I can’t find Chan.”

“What?” Jun looked at him in surprise. “I thought you were with him this whole time.”

“Chan told me to go grab one last box from the ship. So I left him in the warehouse by himself.” Seyoon clenched his fists. “He wasn’t there when I got back. I looked everywhere.”

“Oh no.” Jun said aloud. Chan could be anywhere. He could of gone to report to the royal guards, or he could have sneaked out to find Byeongkwan. Or he could of just plain ran away. There were too many possibilities. And Jun was very worried.

“Maybe he just got lost.” Seyoon tried to reason. “Maybe he’ll come back as soon as he finds his way.”

Jun looked at Seyoon sadly. He wanted to believe in Chan just as much as Seyoon did. But it wasn’t realistic. “Go get Donghun and let’s prepare for departure. We need to get away from here. We don’t know if Chan betrayed us or not, but it’s not safe for us here.”

“Captain...what if he is out there looking for us? We can’t just leave!” Seyoon replied.

“Seyoon, listen to me.” Jun spoke frankly. “I want to find Chan just as much as you, but I can’t put all of our lives in danger. We don’t have enough information.”

“Okay.” Seyoon breathed. “I’ll go get Donghun.”

Honestly, Jun didn’t think Chan was coming back. The best thing they could do now was to stay out of trouble. 

They had just set sail, but Jun ordered them to stay close to dock, just in case. Jun turned to Donghun and Seyoon. 

“Look, we don’t know what’s going on.” Jun replied honestly. “We need more information before we can even hope of finding Chan.”

The other two nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know what kind of situation we will be in if we find him. But if we do find him, I want him alive, understood?” Jun ordered.

“Yes sir.” Both Donghun and Seyoon replied.

Jun sighed. “Okay. We need to know more about Chan, and the best person for that….”

“Byeongkwan.” Seyoon answered.

Jun nodded.

The three of them walked to the room where they had kept Byeongkwan prisoner. Jun opened the door and walked inside. 

Byeongkwan was sitting by himself in the middle of the floor, his hands still tied behind his back. He gave the pirates a long and hard glare, but stayed silent. 

“Chan’s gone.” Jun said. “He ran away.”

Byeongkwan expression went from defiant to confused in a split second. “What?”

“Chan ran away.” Jun repeated.

Byeongkwan shook his head. “No way. Chan wouldn’t do that.”

Jun looked down at Byeongkwan with a hard expression. “What makes you think that?”

“He wouldn’t leave without me.” Byeongkwan replied.

Jun sighed. “I understand that he was your best friend, but let’s face reality. He saw the chance to run and he took it. He valued his own safety over staying with you.”

“No,” Byeongkwan retorted, “You don’t understand. He doesn’t have anywhere to go to. I’m his only ally. I’m the only one who has cared for his safety.”

Donghun cut in. “He has family, doesn’t he?”

Byeongkwan shook his head. “He’s not safe there. Please, you’ve got to believe me. He wouldn’t leave me willingly.”

“What exactly is your relationship?” Seyoon asked.

“The truth is…” Byeongkwan hesitated. He didn’t know if telling them was the right thing to do. Chan might be in even more danger if they knew.

But Byeongkwan knew if he didn’t tell them, nothing would get done and Chan would still be in danger. He had to take his chances.

“The truth is, I used to be his personal knight.” Byeongkwan admitted. “Chan is a noble. He’s an Earl’s son.”

“What?” Donghun exclaimed. “No way!”

Jun scoffed in disbelief. “That’s not possible.”

“It is,” Byeongkwan said. “You have got to believe me. Chan wouldn’t leave without telling me. He’s in danger and I know it. I bet he’s been kidnapped!”

“Please,” Byeongkwan begged, “Please, you have to believe me. He’s in danger.”

The other three stood there silently. They didn’t know what to think. If Chan was a noble, then they didn’t have any reason to help. After all, nobles were evil people. But this was not just any noble they were talking about. This was about Chan.

“He could of just ran away.” Donghun said. “Nobles wouldn’t be able to live in a life like this.” Donghun tried to reason.

“No!” Byeongkwan yelled, “That’s not right and you know it! Chan liked it here. He wouldn’t leave out of his own accord so suddenly.”

“Maybe he went home.” Jun added. “Back to his life of riches.” he added sarcastically.

“Stop.” Byeongkwan cried, “You know Chan wouldn’t do that.”

Jun sighed and walked out of the room. “We’re leaving.” 

“No, please!” Byeongkwan begged, but the door shut behind them and he was left alone in the room once more. 

Byeongkwan slammed his head against the door in anger. The rest of ACE was refusing to help and he was stuck here, without knowing where Chan was. 

“Chan, please be safe!” Byeongkwan prayed.

[few hours later]

Byeongkwan sat alone for what felt like an eternity in that small room. He had tried everything he could do to get out. He had tried wriggling out of the ropes himself, with no avail. He then tried to find something sharp to cut the rope, but nothing was around. 

He found some old floorboards and tried to use the broken wood to scratch the rope, but the wood was too blunt or too weak. Eventually he resorted to body slamming the door in an attempt to get it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

Byeongkwan was battered and tired. Bruises and small cuts were everywhere from him trying to get out of his bonds. 

Byeongkwan was so upset that he got himself in this situation. Chan was probably all alone and suffering, and Byeongkwan was stuck here and unable to be there for him. He was a failure of a knight.

Just when he was about to give up, the door swung open slowly. Seyoon was standing in the doorway.

“Seyoon...” Byeongkwan murmured. 

Seyoon gave a small smile in return. He walked over to Byeongkwan and reached behind him. He took out a dagger and cut Byeongkwan’s ropes. 

“Seyoon!” Byeongkwan was surprised that the pirate was helping him.

“Sorry.” Seyoon apologized. “I can’t do much, but this is the least I can do for you. I’ve prepared a rowboat for you. There are a few weapons inside and some money inside. We’re still in the vicinity of dock, so you should be able to find your way.”

“Will you come with me?” Byeongkwan asked hopefully.

Seyoon shook his head. “No, I need to stay with Jun and Donghun.”

Byeongkwan nodded. He understood. 

“Then at least allow me to say goodbye to you.” Byeongkwan stated, his eyes b with determination. 

He got up on his feet and stood in front of Seyoon, face-to-face. He grabbed Seyoon by the shoulders and pulled the pirate in towards him, until their lips met.

Byeongkwan kissed Seyoon deeply and slowly. 

He closed his eyes, enjoying the soft feeling of the other’s lips against his. After a long few moments, he pulled away and felt his eyes began to tear.

“Goodbye, Seyoon.” Byeongkwan whispered sadly.

Byeongkwan rushed past Seyoon and out the door. It took him no time at all to find the prepared rowboat and he jumped in and lowered himself to the water.

As he paddled to shore, Byeongkwan had nothing on his mind but saving Chan.

“I’m coming for you, Chan. Just you wait!”