Another long chapter ^^

Afternoon supposed to be the hottest time of the day, however, the temperature inside the quarter tent has dropped significantly due to the presence of the devil duo; the notorious pirate king and his cold-blooded quartermaster.

A dull sound of finger tapping on a wooden table ticking like a time bomb belongs to the wrathful captain. He listens to Seonghwa's report whilst his grin widens over time. But don’t mistake it as him being happy, it’s the grin that the victims last saw before the devil took their souls.

His burning gaze sweeps through the 4 wrongdoers. San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and I stand in a line in front of Hongjoong’s desk, waiting for final judgement and leave the world for good.

“Seonghwa, your punishment was too weak. They have the guts to break the rule twice.” Hongjoong leans toward Seonghwa who standing beside his desk.

“Sorry, captain. I’ll give them severe punishment to make sure that they won’t do it for the 3rd time.” Seonghwa clenches his jaw, glaring at us in the corner of his eyes.

But Hongjoong waves his hand to dismiss Seonghwa. He nods and steps aside. Hongjoong turns to us. “Why did you lot fight in the woods?”

No one answered him, neither met his eyes.

“I don’t raise a coward here. Speak!” Hongjoong slaps the table, making us flinch at once. When nobody replies, he gets up from the chair and advances toward the tallest guy. “Mingi, who did you shoot at?”

Mingi’s body jerks in surprise, he doesn’t expect that he’d die first. “I...” He glances at Wooyoung but doesn't say the name as he lowers his head down.

Hongjoong follows Mingi eyesight, he shifts toward Wooyoung. “Did you provoke Mingi?”

The daring first mate now also stares at his shoe.

“Or San?” Hongjoong eyes the expressionless combatant. He doesn’t acknowledge Hongjoong as he directs his unfocused gaze somewhere else.

“Not answer me? Very well.” Hongjoong scoffs at their reaction. He walks back to his desk, tuning around. “Bring out your weapons.” Hongjoong’s order makes the trio snap their heads toward him in alarm.

“You guys want to kill each other then go ahead. I allow you.” He grins, folding his arms.

No one moves a single muscle but they exchange stare among themselves.

“Captain, we didn’t want to fight anymore.” Wooyoung is the first one to speak up.

Hongjoong chuckles darkly. “Don’t want to fight anymore?” He repeats Wooyoung’s sentence as his eyes glow darker. “If I don’t see bloodshed here, no one will leave the tent.”

Wooyoung and Mingi fidget nervously, even San has slight frown.

“I’m waiting.” Hongjoong stormy rage doesn’t subside an ounce while the guys get paler.

Every second passes like an eternity. The suffocative silence makes it hard to breath. I cast a nervous glimpse at the trio, hoping they won’t follow Hongjoong’s insane order.

I peer at Hongjoong and regret it when our eyes meet. Those hazel orbs observe me. He slowly walks toward me as I quickly duck my head down.

I bite my lip, wailing inside. It’s my turn to die.

I see his boots get into my view. A familiar hot breath fan into my forehead.

“Miss Star,” Just a sound of my name, my legs lost strength. But 2 strong hands grab on my shoulder before I fall to the ground.

I lift up my head and see Hongjoong’s face right in front of me. I let out a squawk and step backward.

He lets go of me and snickers. Then he notices a bag in my hand, he snatches it and opens to see the content inside.

“Two hardtacks for my foolish crew. How kind of you.” He says sarcastically and turns to the trio.

“You 3 should be grateful toward her. This is your only food until we leave the island.”

Mingi and Wooyoung drop their jaws. “Captain...” They call him weakly.

“What? You aren’t satisfied with my punishment?” Hongjoong raise an eyebrow as he shift toward them.

They shake their heads and look down again.

I squirm anxiously. Because of a misunderstanding, the issue escalated which resulted in the trio having to receive such harsh punishment.

“Hongjoong.” I call him because he went too far. “It’s all about misunderstanding. They-”

His eyes snap at me. “Miss Star, this isn’t your business. You’re a guest then act like a guest.”

The way he spat caused an anger rise within me. After a long 1 month, he still thinks I’m still a guest?

“Captain Hongjoong, it’s a misunderstanding. You shouldn’t give unreasonable punishment toward them. San didn’t hurt me. Mingi and San certainly regret their action. And Wooyoung just wanted to check after his friends so he went into the woods. Mingi accidentally pulled the trigger. And the fact that you saw Wooyoung was choked by him was because…” I pause, trying to think of a lie. “Because they were just playing.”

I hear Wooyoung snorts but I ignore him and continue. “If you order them to work all day and night without food, how are they going to function well? We’re heading to Wonderland, into the devil's triangle. We don’t know what incident will happen inside...I mean what if I don’t receive prophecy in time? They’re your best fighters. They should be in the best shape to defend your ship. Your punishment will only make them weaker. If you want to punish them, then punish me instead since I’m the cause of the problem.” I rant without breathing and later feel like a clown as they stare at me deadpanned.

The anger vanishes once I hear Hongjoong laughs. The way his eyes glisten tells me that I’ve made a grave mistake. “You’re willing to accept a punishment for them?”

I hesitate but my ego got the best of me so I nod, “Yes.”

As soon as they hear my answer, Seonghwa is the first one to scoff. Mingi and Wooyoung shake their head at me. Hongjoong laughs louder and saunters closer to me.

“So you’re ready for your second punishment?” He emphasizes the word second. The others notice a strange vibe coming from their captain, their gaze dart between us.

Like an ice bucket throws over me, my body feels numb. I absentmindedly stare at his lips. The feeling of soft touch on my forehead yesterday night intruded in my mind and heat instantly rose to my cheeks. I tug my face downward and blurt, “No!”

Hongjoong snorts. “If you want to play a heroine, should you play it until the end?”

No, I don’t think so anymore. If I confront him, I’d turn into a dumb canon fodder, instead of a brave heroine.

A rough hand grab on my chin, bringing my face upward. Unlike the sparkle eyes I witnessed from last night, I meet with a stormy gaze ready to destroy whatever in his sight.

“Let me think of your second punishment, hmm...Should I do it here?” A corner of his mouth tug upward into a devilish smirk.

“No,” I manage to answer him in a frail tone, earning low chuckles from him.

I peer at my side to see Mingi and Wooyoung stare at me pitifully. My hand reaches to tug at Wooyoung’s shirt but he swats my hand away.

Damn traitors, I just save your asses.

So I look further to my life savior, San. But this time he roots to the ground, not looking at me at all.

“No one can save you here.” Hongjoong chuckles at my futile attempt.

Thus I look at Seonghwa for my last resort, his face scrunching up at the scene. I hope he understands my signal and stops his crazy captain from doing whatever it is. Seonghwa steps forward, however, another figure bolts inside the tent.

“Captain!” Suddenly, Jongho run up to Hongjoong. “Can you visit the ship for a moment? There’s a leak at the hull.”

Hongjoong lets go of my chin and curses. They only have two days left to repair the ship. He chews his lower lip in annoyance.

Jongho subtly glances our way, appearing concerned as he’d heard the news from the crew.

“Consider yourself lucky, I’ll deal with you guys later. Now all of you follow me.” He glares at the trio and he casts a last glance at me. “Yunho, send Miss Star back to her tent.”

“Aye captain.” A soft voice belonging to Yunho answers from behind me. I just realize Yunho has been sitting inside the tent from the start.

I heave a long sigh. Jongho, you saved my life, I’m forever grateful to you.

Hongjoong immediately follows Jongho outside the tent and San walks after him closely. Mingi looks at me, nodding apologetically and turns to leave.

Wooyoung, instead of following his crew, stood still.

“That was a miracle. We survive!” Wooyoung pats his chest in an exaggerated way.

“Yeah, if it’s not for Jongho, I’d be the one that dies first.” I grimace. Wooyoung laughs at my reaction.

“Nah, he wouldn’t hurt you, he was just playing with you.” Wooyoung recalls the look in his captain’s gaze, even though rage was visible, there was something else in them. Wooyoung smirks to himself, things start to get interesting.

“By the way San wants to say sorry to you.” He says all of a sudden.

“How do you know?” I frown. San didn’t look at me at all and appeared stoic as usual.

“I’m his best friend, of course, I know. The fact that you are safe and sound is evidence.”

His explanation doesn’t answer my question so I shrug, not believe him one bit. San may act out of character lately but the San I know never once says or feels sorry toward anyone.

“He’s not a person with complicated feelings. If he doesn’t like you, he kills you. But if he likes you, you survive, see.” He points at me, showing that I’m still alive and in one piece.

“Maybe he just wants to play with his prey.” I say and shudder, thinking of his creepy smirk.

“Nah, he isn’t sadistic like Hongjoong...er, maybe he is.” Wooyoung revises the sentence once he remembers how San deals with the enemies. “He doesn’t know how to treat a lady. Well, he probably doesn’t know how to make friends...” Wooyoung trails off and sighs tiringly. It seems like he’s talking to himself. “It took years for him to open up to us.”

“Wooyoung.” A deep voice calls from behind us. We realize that Seonghwa is still inside the tent. He glares at Wooyoung, telling him to shut up.

“Aye, sir. I’m leaving.” Wooyoung gets the clue and cheerily chirps at Seonghwa.

Then he whispers to me. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach him how to court a lady properly.” He winks and skips outside the tent.

I blink and later scrunch my nose. He’s going to feed San with weird stuff.

“Sannie!” Wooyoung shouts in a sing-song voice. “The first lesson is to give her a pet name!” His loud voice draws attention from the passerby, except San.

“Stupid.” Seonghwa pushes past me and leaves the tent. I wonder if he scolded Wooyoung or me. Since he didn’t look at me, I believe it was for Wooyoung.

Once everyone left the tent, Yunho came to stand beside me. “Shall we leave?” His soft blue orbs stare at me worryingly.

I nod and beam at him as he smiles back.

---

Hongjoong stomps his way toward the ship. His murderous aura scared the entire crew as they quickly part way for him.

He suddenly whips around to face San who walks behind him. The younger guy stops right in front of him.

“San, what was wrong with you?” His tone hardened.

Silence is San’s answer.

“Even if you’re my favorite crew, if you lay a hand on Star, I won’t let you off easily.” Hongjoong glares at him. San locks eyes with Hongjoong for several seconds and turns away.

“San! I wasn’t talking to you. This is my order, do you get it?”

San’s stares may appear blank but if looked closely, red twirls inside his iris.

“Do.You.Get.It?” Hongjoong seethe.

San loops his eyes downward. “Aye, captain.”

Hongjoong scoffs and walks away.

Then Mingi brushes against San’s shoulder. “Not only captain. I won’t let you off either.” He says without sparing a glance. San’s hand impulsively clenches around the dagger’s hilt at his waist, luckily the fiery red hair boy already stride away or else, the 3rd fight would break out here.

“Sannie,” Wooyoung drapes an arm over his shoulder. “Don’t listen to them, they’re just being bat crazy when they’re angry.” Wooyoung fakely sighs, “It’s my fault for not teaching you the good stuff.”

San elbows Wooyoung in the gut but the latter guy laughs it off and sprints away.

Then San feels a soft pat at his back. A black shirt of Seonghwa comes into view. He doesn’t utter a word but nods at San.

---

“Sulking doesn’t suit you.” Yunho opens the conversation. Rather than escorting me to the tent, he takes me to the beach. We sit next to each other, staring at the beautiful horizon.

“Hongjoong is indeed scary I even admit it.” He continues.

I laugh dryly at his comment. Hongjoong was so scary that none of 5 grown men in the quarter tent decided to save me.

Yunho scratches his neck awkwardly when he gets pierced by my gaze. “Um, trust me Hongjoong and the guys wouldn’t hurt you. They’re just indulging in threatening people.”

“Wow, even you notice that.” I say, stretching my legs into warm sand.

Yunho shrugs, “Well, I have been with them a long long time.”

“But do they usually fight with each other like that?” I’m quite shocked at how the fight easily breaks between them. In the book, they barely confront each other, even though they fight for ‘Y/N’, it never once gets into physical.

“Dispute happens all the time. But they hardly fight because the punishment is fatal. You might hate our rules but that’s how we control a big group of bandits. We have no room to show mercy. For most of us, mercy means weakness and weakness means death.” His eyes dim when he explains to me.

I nod, feeling distraught to know that they live in such a mess up world.

“Are you angry with them?”

I shake my head although I feel slightly upset.

“See, you’re too kind. Be careful or else they’ll take advantage of your kindness.”

“Maybe it’s too late Yunho.” I sigh. I lost count of how many times they threatened me.

Yunho stifles giggles when he notices my sour expression. “Anyway I kinda understand why they fought.” He smiles mischievously.

“Why?”

He doesn’t answer but wiggle his eyebrow at me.

“I didn’t know you have this side.” I squint my eyes at him. I barely talk to him alone. According to his character in the fiction, he’s kind but also has a playful side at an acceptable rate, unlike Wooyoung.

He chuckles. “There’re many sides of me for you to find out.”

I scrunch my nose, making him laugh.

“This is the first time seeing the guys open up to a stranger.” He pauses. “But you’re no stranger to us anymore. You’re our...friend?”

Hearing the word friend, my lips quirk up. But recalling a certain captain calls me a guest, my sour expression returns.

“Oh no, how disrespectful of me. How could a proper lady befriend pirates.” Yunho turns to be the one sulking.

I stare at him, feeling complicated. I dislike their pirate side, but I like being their friends.

“I’d love to be your friend, Yunho.” My response earned a shocking expression from him.

“Wow! really? Wow!” He opens his arms, intends to hug me but halts his action. “Uh, sorry sorry.” He hugs his arms embarrassingly.

I chuckle to hide my embarrassment because I almost extend my arms to hug him too.

We fall into an awkward silence. I play with a lock of my hair while he plays with the sand.

“What will you do after Wonderland?” He begins a new conversation.

“Going home.” I answer. It’s been my one and only plan.

“Right, your family must be worried sick. A beautiful daughter captured by pirates. If they know, they probably hire bounty hunters to hunt us down” he sighs.

“You’re being exaggerated.” I giggle.

“No really. I kinda feel bad that you have to be in this situation. It’s our problem that entrust into you. But at the same time, I’m glad you are aboard our ship. We were lost for a whole month. Then you came in and gave us hope. You’re the strongest girl I ever knew.”

I point at myself, giving him are-you-sure look.

“Yes. Unlike me, the first time I was aboard the ship, I was so scared I couldn’t eat or drink for weeks.” His eyes lost into the seaward.

I know a little about his background. I only learn that he joined the crew after Hongjoong became pirate king.

“My father worked for a merchant, I was his apprentice, learning to be a navigator.” He smiles gently at the memory. “But if you can guess, pirates attacked us, they took my father and marooned me on a small island.” A smile still present on his face but his eyes turn dim.

“They left me a gun with a single bullet. I was starving on the island and thought of taking my own life. Fortunately or not, Hongjoong’s ship sailed past the island. They took me in. They spare me cause I’m a navigator and they were in need of one. So I made a contract with them. Working 5 years for them and they would avenge those pirates in return.” He paused. I shift closer to him and pat his back.

“Imagine hating pirates so much but had to work for them. I felt like living in a hell hole.” He chuckles bitterly. “Later, we found the pirates that took my father...” He swallows, voice hoarse. “But we were too late. My father...they..” Yunho looks down for a moment and crane his neck at me.

“Why are you crying?” He asks, knitting eyebrows. He was too carried on talking about his story to notice a girl beside him is a crying mess.

“Your past is so heartbreaking. I feel sorry for you.” I sniff and wipe tears away from my face.

Yunho chuckles and pat my head. “Well, the past is in the past. And I already got my revenge. But the hole in my chest never left.” The last sentence came out like a whisper.

“You’re not alone anymore.” I grab his hands in mine. Yunho’s taken aback by my gesture. I quickly detach my hands from his and scold myself for being blunt.

Pink tint creeps on his face. “Sorry, I sorta think about your situation, it reminds me of my past. And I feel restless being on an island. Now I’m perfectly fine. I found my new family. It was so weird. I don't remember when I warmed up to these guys and became one of them.”

I smile, knowing that he trusts me enough to open up to me.

“You said a contract for 5 years so where will you go after it’s over?”

Yunho scoffs, “When I re-looked at the contract, I noticed a small 0 next to 5. Well, I have to be stuck with them for 50 years.”

I laugh. These pirates are so crafty. Poor Yunho. Instead of feeling bitter, Yunho follows, laughing along with me.

When the laughter dies down, we feel a shift in atmosphere.

“Mingi and Wooyoung have a pet name for you, can I call you one?” He means Shooting Star and Little Star.

“I hope it’s not something weird.” I nod.

“Better than a puppy, trust me.”

I hit playfully at his arm and he let out a lighthearted laugh.

“How about Polaris.” He glances at the bright afternoon sky, although he doesn’t see the star at this moment. “It means north star. I navigate by using the north star. Just like you, you guide us when we are lost.”

I can feel my heart explode. I don’t know where to put my hands so I hit him one more time.

“You don’t like it.” He has fallen expressions after I hit him.

“Of course, I love it!” I flash him a bright smile and his smile returns. I feel an urge to pat his head so my hand spontaneously reaches to pat him. He pouts and abruptly gets up.

“Let’s take you back to your tent. If Hongjoong find us, we’ll be buried here.”

“Alright.” I get up, patting my pants. I skip happily next to him all the way to the tent.

Polaris

I repeat the name in my head. A giant grin plasters on my face. Then it froze when I remembered a scene from the book.

Polaris, it’s the same name that Yunho calls female lead in fiction.

---

Day 7th, the last day on the island. I’m truly grounded because I’m not allowed outside the tent and nobody visits me, except Jim who came to serve food and medicine. I tried to pry information from him of what punishment the trio received but he never uttered a single word because Hongjoong didn't allow him to tell me.

To my relief Hongjoong didn’t visit me for his second punishment because he was busy with the ship. So I survive another day.

Besides, I wasn’t bored to death like a few days ago because my mind is currently occupied by Polaris.

I’d be on cloud nine if not for the fact that Yunho calls Y/N that name. I realize I made a mistake by drawing the spotlight to myself when it rightfully belongs to Aurora. I messed up with the storyline so badly.

Did I really steal Y/N’s career?

My brain hurt from thinking how to fix the plot but nothing came to mind. When I see Aurora, I feel guilty toward her, even though she wouldn’t care whatever was going on between the pirates and me. Because all she cares about is escaping from them.

Aurora heard the news of the fight, she was concerned and rebuked the pirates intolerable behavior. And another fury of hatred added into her eyes. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that the members and she might not have a good ending. If the author or readers learn of this circumstance, they're gonna report my account.

In the middle of that night I wake up to the sound of Aurora’s gasp. She gets up and leaves the tent.

I shut my eyes to go back to sleep because Jim told me we’ll set sail at first light but something nag me to follow her in case she's hurt by some crazy crew. I groggily exit the tent and meet with a cool breeze.

Aurora’s silhouette walks toward the rocky beach. I quietly follow her like a creepy stalker. The path is visible as the full moon hangs in the clear night sky. However, the eerily silent envelopes the island since the crew finish their work and the ship is ready to sail tomorrow.

When she stops near the water, I tiptoe toward a coconut tree and hide behind it. Because I’m quite far away from her, I have to squint my eyes, trying to see what she's doing here.

A minute pass but nothing happens so I plan to go back to bed. I assume she only came here to find peace of her mind. I twirl around to leave but freeze in the spot when I see it.

A fuzzy shadow emerges from the water. My breath hitch in my throat and goosebumps rise all over my body.

Who is it? Did she have a secret affair with one of the crew?

I stare at Aurora who stands on sand while it stands in the water. No matter how hard I squint my eyes I can see a cloud of dark shadow instead of a human figure.

The shadow extends its arm(?) to her and Aurora raises her arm toward it. I unconsciously step forward to get a closer look, however, pebbles below my feet make a sound.

They both turn to my hiding place. Luckily, I already hid behind the tree but still not sure if they caught me or not. Nevertheless, a voice at the back of my head screams at me to run, I step backward and hit with a hard object. I scream but a hand covers my mouth.

“What’re you doing here?” A man angry whispers at me.

I bit his hand and he instantly let go while cursing some words under his breath.

“Oh my god.” When I see it’s one of the members, I let out a long sigh of relief.

Seonghwa glares at me but I ignore him and turn around to see Aurora and the shadow. But they’re already disappeared. “Where did they go?” I mumble confusedly.

“Who? I see no one except you.” Seonghwa glances at the beach but sees no living things except this nuisance girl in front of him. He spot her sneaking outside her tent so he followed her to make sure that she didn't cause another ruckus.

I whirl around to face Seonghwa. “Weird. I really saw them.”

“Who did you sneak into this time?” Seonghwa disregards the girl’s blatant lie.  He doesn’t understand how she makes his crew act out of their mind. His dark eyes stare into those aquamarine orbs. Even though there’s not enough light, her eyes spark like stars in tonight's sky. Seonghwa snaps out of his trance and contorts his face.

“Go back to your tent or I’ll tie you to a tree and maroon you on this island.” He spats and turns on his heel.

I stick out a tongue at him when his back faces me. I look back at the previous spot once again. No trace of Aurora nor the shadow but I somewhat feel sick to the stomach. The atmosphere is spooky, I shouldn't come here in the first place. 

“Wait for me!” I run after Seonghwa.

But the heartless man quickened up his pace.

---

I come back to the tent and see Aurora's sleeping soundly. I sit down, scratching my head in perplex. Did I imagine it? Or sleepwalking? But I swear I saw her and the shadow. I wanna wake her up now but her gorgeous sleeping face prevents me from doing so. Hence I take a mental note to confront her tomorrow. Whatever that shadow is, I don’t have a good feeling about it.

I shake my head, feeling exhausted for no reason. So I go back to sleep.

Aurora opens her eyes and peers at Star’s sleeping figure next to her. Her shaky hand tightly clutches an object in her grasp.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

(」°ロ°)」 Omg what's going on!?