“Wake up!!”

Sharp searing pain shot through the side of his body. It was so painful that the clouds fogging his mind scattered. He opened his eyes and met with a dim ceiling. Confused by the unfamiliar place, he motionlessly lay there until a rough looking man with tangled beard and hair came into his line of sight.

“Get up ye fool!” The man swore and stomped on his stomach.

Soft cry escaped his mouth, the blow almost sent him unconscious. Tears swelled up in his eyes as pain spread inside his stomach. Panic and anger pulsed throughout his weak body. He glared at the man who had just kicked him twice. Yet, he was unable to recall who this man was. His mind was too fuzzy to think straight. The last thing he remembered was…

Grandma!

The thought instantly poured fear and sorrow into his chest although he couldn’t recall all of his memory. It was a blurry image. Dark grey sky above the frenzy sea. He stood on a beach watching gigantic waves swallow a woman. His mind automatically knew that the woman was his grandma. Then he saw himself going after her into the sea and then he woke up here. Other than that, he couldn’t remember anything else.

“I said get up!!!” The raging shout woke him from the trance. Before the rough man kicked him again, he slowly got up while clutching his throbbing stomach.

Scanning around the strange place, he saw many children around his age huddled together in a corner of the small dim room. They were thin, hollow eyes and cheeks, clad in ragged dirty clothes

There was another man unlocking the chain from these children's wrists and turned to him. Then he realized he was also chained up like those children.

“Time to work!” The man who kicked him shouted. They pushed the children outside the room into a dim passageway. He could feel a small rocking motion from under his feet. It made him feel queasy when added with a foul smell in the air. They walked in a line and joined with several adults who were also in poor condition.

He wanted to ask someone what was going on, but all of them looked like a walking corpse.

Then he felt someone nudge on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a kid with bright red hair flashed him a toothy grin.

“Hey newcomer, wanna be friends?” The boy asked.

He could only blink his eyes at a strange boy's eccentric question.

“Shut up Mingi, no one is seeking friends here.” Another boy said from behind them and gave the Mingi boy a nasty glare.

Mingi pouted, yet he turned to give him a big grin. “So what’s your answer?”

“What’s this place?” Instead of giving an answer, he asked the question that lingered in his mind. His voice sounded small and weak.

“The place where you wish you were dead.” Mingi immediately turned solemn and his mouth twisted bitterly, “A pirate ship.”

The answer made him frown. A pirate ship?

His mind didn’t ring a bell at all. He had absolutely no idea how the pirates captured him.

“Wow, you were the first one that didn’t cry after knowing you’re enslaved by pirates. That’s impressive. I was crying so hard when I was kidnapped by bad men from the street.” Mingi pouted again. He had to say that Mingi’s expression didn’t suit his intimidating look and height. That lad was almost as tall as the adults.

“How did I end up here?” He continued asking.

“The first mate found you drowning so he took you in because they were short of laborers. So unlucky, now you will be bound by them forever.”

The answer caused him to frown harder.

“So what’s your name?” Mingi asked him.

He didn’t need to think hard as a word popped right up in his mind.

“Hongjoong.”

---

After the day he woke up and lost his memory, Hongjoong had been working for a month on the most feared pirate ship called The Deadly Sea. Captain Flint, the merciless pirate king, and his savage crews ruled the seven seas, terrified people, killed innocents, raided vessels, pillaged villages and all bad deeds that other humans couldn’t imagine.

Hongjoong was assigned as a swab, the lowest rank of the entire crew. Because the quartermaster deemed he was too small and weak to climb onto the ratlines. Everyday he woke up at dawn and had to scrub an entire deck until the sun rose from the horizon. After that they fed him scrapped food that didn’t provide energy to him so he got thinner as day passed by. During day time, he would do whatever work they assigned, there was no time to breathe. At night the pirates locked the children in the same room where he woke up and chained their wrists.

The children were dead tired and slept like a log, except for one boy. The red haired kid that befriended him on the first day. Mingi worked as a powder monkey so they barely interact with each other. However, Mingi slept next to him and filled his ears with an endless rant and insisted him to be his friend. Hongjoong was sure he wasn’t an easily irritated person but he often glared at the boy to shut him up.

Whenever the pirates attacked other ships, the crew locked the slaves in the rooms. Hongjoong and the children were shaken up by the agonizing sound of victims that haunted him every night, but when it repeated countless times, his heart started to get numb.

Many slaves, if not sold, died from inadequate food, diseases, and the crew beating. When they were furious they beat the slaves, or when they were bored they still did it. Everyone had at least a wound on their bodies. So some of them decided to end their ill fate by jumping off the ship, however, no one survived. The pirates made sure whoever escaped would meet their end. They would shoot at the person until the water dyed red.

To sum up, it was hell on earth.

And Hongjoong had enough. He needed to get out of here or he’d go insane. Most importantly, he must find his grandma. Although his memory didn’t return much, he remembered that he lived with grandma on an island until one day she was drowned by the giant waves. He recalled his grandma told him that she was the Seakeeper. So whenever he looked at the sea, for some reason, he believed his grandma was still alive.

One day he planned to steal the keys that can unlock the door and the chain which pirates lock their wrists at night from the second mate who always sneaked to take a nap in one of the storage rooms during the afternoon. He let Mingi watch the way while he tiptoed inside the room.

The second mate slept behind stacks of barrels. When he made his way around, someone bumped into him.

His heart dropped to the ground, thinking it was the second mate. However, in front of him stood a black haired boy he recognized as one of the slaves.

Then he heard a clanking sound against the wooden floor. He looked down and saw the keys lying near his foot. The black haired boy cussed out and reached to grab the keys. However, they heard a groan from the sleeping man. Hongjoong immediately kicked the keys behind the line of the barrels to hide evidence.

The second mate quickly spotted them. He got up and fumbled his pants pocket for the keys but couldn't find it. Hongjoong’s brain screamed at him to run, but he knew it was useless to flee. The second mate angrily pointed at them and they knew they were doomed. “You thieves!”

---

Hongjoong thought that they were gonna be hung above the yardarm. But since the pirates couldn’t find the keys on them and later found it inside the storage room, they didn’t give the boys a death sentence. However, the second mate got suspicious and still punished them harshly. They both were locked up in a brig for a week without food.

“It was your fault.” The black haired boy sneered from the corner of the brig.

Hongjoong glared at the boy from another corner. He remembered this boy had never conversed with anyone. He was the only person who Mingi refused to befriend with as he said the boy was scary. If he remembered correctly, his name was Seonghwa.

“Tsk, you were the one that ruined my plan.” Hongjoong retaliated. If he was faster to secure the keys, he’d be free by now.

“You tiny .” Seonghwa swore.

“Take that back.” Hongjoong clenched his fists, his blood boiled when he heard the word tiny. The crew always ridiculed him by that name.

Seonghwa smirked and emphasized each word. “You.tiny..”

When Seonghwa gave him a taunting smirk, it was his last straw. He lunged toward the boy and landed a punch on that annoying face. Seonghwa punched him back. They both rolled on the dirty ground and cursed at each other. The guard came in to check on them and left right away because they didn’t care about the children's fight.

After exchanging several punches and kicks, they stopped because their energy was running out.

“Hey.” Hongjoong spoke up on the 6th day of confinement. “Do you wanna join me?”

Seonghwa snorted. “I’d rather escape on my own.”

“You can’t escape without help from others.” Hongjoong reasoned.

Seonghwa quieted so he didn’t know whether the boy agreed or not. Hongjoong shrugged and closed his eyes. For the past few days, he had been thinking of a new plan which he could escape with Mingi. How hard could it be anyway?

---

Two year passed in a blink of an eye since the incident. Hongjoong couldn’t find a chance to escape at all. The second mate kept an eye on him and even assigned him to be captain Flint cabin boy. It became even more hellish because the man was abusive and punished him whenever he made a slight mistake. He could only swallow resentment and wait for the day to return it.

The only hope in his life was the thought of his grandma. He promised himself that he would survive and find her.

But life as a slave on a pirate ship was brutal. While the pirates flourished with their unethical business, Hongjoong started to lose hope day by day. The thought of eternal binding to the ship ate him alive. It gradually tore his sanity away.

Mingi, still working as a powder monkey, remained bright just like the first day they met. But when they spent time together, he learned that behind the cheeky smile hid a broken boy. He felt thankful toward the talkative boy that befriended him. Yet, he noticed that the boy began to talk less and less.

As both of them struggled to survive each day, the black haired boy never gave up. Seonghwa stayed determined. One day, he got in trouble for trying to steal a rowboat when they reached Port Royal. Hongjoong saved his from Captain Flint’s wrath by saying he misunderstood the captain's command and ordered Seonghwa to get stuff from the city.

Of course, the pirate king of this era wasn’t stupid. Thus both of them were being punished in the same old brig once again.

However, this time they didn’t fight.

After that, Seonghwa was surprisingly less bitter and later hung out with Mingi and Hongjoong though he’d occasionally throw sarcasm here and there. Three of them became closer. They watched each other back. Hongjoong trusted both boys with his life; he told them about his grandma and his plan after escaping. They didn’t laugh at him and even support him. They said they would sail together to find his grandma since both of them were orphans.

Now they just waited for the right moment to escape together.

Nevertheless, that day never came true.

One day Mingi accidentally damages the gunpowder which he was badly beaten up by the quartermaster.

“Ye rascal!” The raging quartermaster raised his hand to smack Mingi’s head but was stopped by an unfamiliar man.

Mingi’s rescuer was the new master gunner. Rumor had it that he lost in a gamble and had to board The Deadly Sea to pay off debt. Although he was a fierce gunner, he had an air of carefreeness and he never beat anyone. Mingi became fond of the master gunner and followed him everywhere like a lost puppy. Even Hongjoong and Seonghwa looked up to him.

Nonetheless, the ship full of greedy men could never find peace. On a fateful night, the quartermaster led a mutiny but failed miserably. All of the mutineers were killed and the leader was tied to the mainmast. However, he blamed the master gunner as the master mind. Captain Flint, blinded by rage, tied both of them against the mainmast and planned to hang them once they landed at Nassau.

“I’ma rescue him!” Mingi growled and got up abruptly. Hongjoong quickly yanked the boy back down before he was able to leave the storage room that became their hideout. They all knew how the red haired boy respected the master gunner.

“How? Walk up there and cut the rope? And then we all gonna die because of your foolishness.” Seonghwa gave a mean remark to Mingi.

The powder monkey boy let out a frustration grunt and sat back down. Hongjoong patted Mingi on the back and said, “We couldn’t win them with force. We need a plan.”

“You have a plan?” Seonghwa raised his brow. “We planned to escape from this hell of a ship but never succeeded so tell me how are we going to rescue the man that ties up at the mainmast where those thugs roam around all night?”

Hongjoong, who had become familiar with Seonghwa sarcasm, grinned slyly. “Since we can’t run away, should we carry on the mutiny?”

Both Seonghwa and Mingi looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

---

When they boarded at Nassau, the trio volunteered to do a job in the city. Captain Flint surprisingly allowed them since half of the crew were lost by the mutiny. Moreover, Hongjoong had gained trust from the merciless captain by feigning loyalty. However, one crew was sent to guard them.

The crew, fortunately, was one of the gun crews. Hongjoong was able to tell that he hated the captain from a single glance. And instead of guarding them, the man went to a tavern and drowned himself with liquor, grieving over his master.

“What do we do now? We could hide on a merchant ship to leave Nassau.” Seonghwa suggested. The trio hid in a dark alley next to the tavern as they brainstormed.

“You guys leave. I’m going to rescue Mr.Donne!” Mingi his heel but stopped by Hongjoong.

“Who said we’re not going to rescue Mr.Donne.” Hongjoong said, causing Mingi to eye the black haired boy.

Seonghwa sighed, “There would be no chance like this in the future. Understand that he saved you once and is a little nicer than other pirates but don’t forget that he’s still a pirate.”

The words sank in their mind and Mingi pouted. “But you know him. He’s not that bad. He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met. He listened to my story and even taught me how to use a gun.” The more he spoke, the more muffled his voice became. Mingi used the back of his hand to roughly wipe his eyes.

Seeing Mingi’s condition, Seonghwa helplessly turned to Hongjoong.

“Alright stop.” Hongjoong told Mingi. “We’ll rescue Mr.Donne and stick to my plan.”

He peered at both of his friends as his expression started to turn dark. “We’ll leave when we have our sweet revenge.”

---

After they made up their mind, they headed to find a drugstore. Since they couldn’t get into one in the town as the crew might spot them, they traveled out of its vicinity and found one.

A boy around their age stood behind a counter, managing variety of herbs. He looked up to greet the customers with a kind smile. He had curry ash blonde hair and a pair of soft brown eyes.

“How can I help you?” The boy’s voice was deeper than how pretty he looked.

“We need lots of poisonous herbs.” Seonghwa spoke.

“Our store doesn't sell drugs to pirates.” A feminine voice cut in. They turned to look at a young girl who resembled the boy behind the counter.

Seonghwa instantly snorted. “Pirates rule this city. Because you don’t sell to them, that’s why your store looks so poor.”

“You!” The girl shouted angrily and pointed at Seonghwa’s face.

“Yeojin, manner!” The kind boy scolded the girl.

“But Yeosang!” The girl whined and glared at the trio. “They always bring trouble to us!”

The boy named Yeosang simply peered at her and she immediately shut up.

“Woah, who do we have here? Aren’t y’all the crew of the Deadly Sea?” Another faded purple haired boy walked out from behind the store.

Alarmed, three of them exchanged glances. They didn’t expect a random boy from a drugstore to recognize them.

“Yeah, so what? You have a problem?” Mingi replied, acting irritated to hide his uneasiness.

“No need to be so worked up, I just saw you guys leaving the ship this morning.” The boy shrugged. “And yeah we don't blindly sell drugs to pirates, especially poison cause it could get us in trouble. Some of them buy poisonous herbs to kill their captains and comrades, so what do you need it for?”

Hongjoong and Seonghwa remained still, but Mingi started to sweat.

Witnessing their reaction, the purple haired boy let out a high pitched laugh and the Yeojin girl hit his shoulder to stop him.

“So will you sell it or we’ll find another store?” Hongjoong ignored the crazy kids and turned to Yeosang.

“We actually don’t have poison, but we have sedatives.” The Yeosang boy answered honestly.

The trio glanced at each other and retreated to a corner of the store to discuss.

“It might do, we just need to rescue Mr.Donne.” Seonghwa whispered among them.

“But aren’t we taking over the ship?” Mingi whispered back a little too loud.

“Ugh, do you really believe him? That guy was just talking big because he's tiny-” Seonghwa’s sentence cut off as Hongjoong cleared his throat and said through gritted teeth. “I thought you agreed with my plan.”

“Who would be so crazy to mutiny the pirate king!?” Seonghwa whisper-shouted.

They suddenly stopped talking when the purple haired boy stuck his head into their little group.

“This is fun! Y’all gonna mutiny the pirate king-” Seonghwa slapped the boy’s mouth shut before this guy alerted the whole town with his loud voice.

“Hey, don’t hit Wooyoung!” Yeojin hit Seonghwa’s arm and pulled Wooyoung back to her side.

“Yah!” Seonghwa growled at the girl, but both Hongjoong and Mingi held him back.

The purple haired boy grabbed his chin, “Hmm, so you guys are the master gunner’s men who failed the mutiny. How do y’all manage to stay alive then, I heard that they all died. Oh, right, Captain Flint’s going to hang him tomorrow’s morning in front of the whole town.”

“It’s not true, our master gunner didn’t do it!” Mingi yelled. Hongjoong and Seonghwa wanted to face palmed

The Wooyoung boy quieted down and observed them. A mischievous smirk gradually spread across his face. “How about I help you, but you need to pay ten times higher than the sedative price.”

“Wooyoung!” Both Yeosang and Yeojin shouted at the same time, Wooyoung held up his hand to stop them and stared at Hongjoong.

“We don’t have money.” Hongjoong answered blandly.

“Not now, in the future when you succeed.” He crossed his arm, smirking wider when he saw a surprise flash across the trio’s face. They glanced at each other, communicating through their eyes.

“How are you going to help us? And what if we fail?” Seonghwa asked skeptically.

“Ya know how words travel faster than sailing ships, especially with those drunk men in the taverns. I happened to work in one of the biggest taverns in town. So I know a lot of stuff going on around here. If I were to say there’s a merchant vessel carrying one million gold coins thirty miles away from here. What will those greedy pirates do?” Wooyoung smirks proudly and continues, “They’ll be so thrilled and leave Nassau tonight. After that it’s on you guys, whatever you’ll do with the sedative. And if you fail then you’re dead so try not to fail and waste the sedative.”

---

The siblings watched the three boys leaving with free sedatives.

“You two must’ve gone mad. How do those scrawny boys defeat the pirate king?” Yeojin glared at Yeosang and Wooyoung. When none of them answered her, she went back behind the store while cursing non-stop.

“Are you borrowing their hands to avenge mom and dad?” Yeosang frowned and peered at his friend. He knew Wooyoung had been waiting for the day to take revenge. Captain Flint was the cause of their father's ship being captured by The Royal Navy. Apparently, the Deadly Sea and their dad’s crew were enemies.

Wooyoung didn’t respond to Yeosang, he kept smirking with eyes burning with aversion. Yeosang questioned himself did he do the right thing, but deep down he also wanted revenge.

---

True to Wooyoung’s words, Captain Flint postponed the execution as he got the lead of the gold. The Deadly Sea departed Nassau that night.

The trio couldn’t believe that Wooyoung actually succeeded. So they executed their plan. They dumped sedatives into water and food for the crew to eat. With the help of the gun crew who hated the captain's gut, he gathered a couple dozen of trustful men and the plan went smoothly.

When the drug activated, the crew passed out on the floor. They tied those men with cannon balls and threw them into the sea.

“Bye ers.” Seonghwa spat into the sea after they threw the second mate overboard.

Then the mutineers proceeded to the captain's cabin. They lit up smoke and lured him outside.

“What the is going on?!!” He growled. As soon as he stepped outside the room, all kinds of weapons pointed at him.

Hongjoong stood in the front with Seonghwa and Mingi on both sides. “Well captain, may I have your head hanging on the yardarm?”

The last thing that Flint saw was a maniac grin of a cabin boy he used to beat.

---

“Congrats!!” Wooyoung yelled as soon as the trio stepped into the drug store.

“Words sure traveled fast.” Hongjoong chuckled. The air around him felt different, it was like he grew bigger although he was still the same size.

Wooyoung grinned, “I know everything going on in Nassau, Captain Hongjoong of Pirate King’s Revenge.”

The remaining Deadly Ocean crew chose him as their new captain. So he renamed the ship as Pirate King’s Revenge. It was the hottest topic in Nassau. When they sailed into the harbor and tossed the pirate king's head onto the ground and declared the end of the terror era.

“I thought they were gonna vote for me.” Mingi mumbled, sulking because he received no vote, not even from Mr.Donne.

They all chuckled at Mingi’s grimace.

“So where’s the money?” Wooyoung asked.

Seonghwa then lifted up a big leather bag onto the counter. Wooyoung quickly opened it and his eyes were wider than the size of an egg. “Yeojin, we’re now rich!!” He screamed and ran to the back of the store.

Ignoring his crazy friend, Yeosang asked Hongjoong. “Are you planning to become a pirate captain?”

Hongjoong gave him a bitter smile. “All these past torturing years, it taught me that a man with power is the one winning. Those without power always get stomped under their feet. I don’t want to be in that position ever again.”

Yeosang faltered by his answer. It was true, his store was located outside of the town because Captain Flint’s men control almost every business.

“But I won’t be like them.” Hongjoong added. He was going to be a captain that won’t beat his own crew and he has a secret mission to find his grandma.

“We’re asking if both of you are interested in becoming our crew.” Hongjoong asked when Wooyoung came back outside.

“No! Absolutely not!” Yeojin shouted and appeared next to Wooyoung.

“Think about it. You don’t have to work in a small store or tavern any longer. You will have freedom. You don’t have to worry about money. People are going to fear you because you’re powerful.” Hongjoong spoke. His words worked like a hypnotize as two boys lost in their thoughts.

After a short while, Yeosang finally answered. “Okay, we’ll join you.”

---

The newly risen pirate band called Ateez’s reputation spread far and wide. They were the most powerful pirates in the new era. Hongjoong gained his title as the new pirate king within a span of one year with a help of his trusted crew; his partner in crime the quartermaster Seonghwa, the smart and handsome first mate Erik, the master gunner Donne, his talkative friend Mingi who still followed Mr Donne like a lost puppy and aimed for his captain seat, the kind and sometimes scary surgeon Yeosang, the talkative second mate Wooyoung.

They were strongly established in Nassau by partnering with Governor Nicholas. They had flourish businesses in major pirate cities which were managed by Seonghwa.

Because of their reputation, they made an enemy of The Royal Navy captain, Christopher who hunted them and failed every time.

Many sailors wanted to join Ateez and the young Jongho was one of them. He ran away from home and accepted into the crew because he passionately hated the Royal Navy. And because of Jongho’s intelligence, he was promoted as the boatswain in less than one month.

Their power expanded. Hongjoong titled his trust crews to captain other vessels and one of them was Erik. So Wooyoung was promoted as the first mate. However, Yeojin ran away. The surgeon and the first mate were devastated. Wooyoung became flirtatious with women to cope with his broken heart. And Yeosang no longer smiled, he locked himself in the sickbay most of the time.

Because of the battle with Chris, they lost a navigator. As they traveled to repair their ship on an island. They found a blue haired boy marooned on the island. Learning that he knew about navigating, they tricked him into signing a 50 years contract. Yunho hated them at first but soon warmed up to them.

On a bright sunny day, they spotted the red sky and sea from far away. Hongjoong didn’t hesitate to sail into the area without listening to the crews’ protest. They found a boy on a ship full of corpses. Hongjoong quietly stared at the blank-faced boy and immediately accepted him as his crew. They had no idea that the boy was a devil in the battle because he normally showed no emotion and kept to himself. The crew were all scared of him. San became the combatant and later labelled by the outside as the devil.

It could be that they were blinded by wealth, power, and fame. They did everything they used to hate. They became the new symbol of terror. Sadly, Hongjoong disregarded his first intention to find his lost grandma.

One day, the ship accidentally sailed into siren lore. Lured by the sweet siren’s singing, the crew unconsciously went overboard and got torn to shed by the creatures.

Mingi fell into the sea, the siren immediately attacked him. They dragged him under the water, tearing his skin with their sharp teeth.

Seeing his beloved crew harmed, the master gunner fearlessly leapt into the water. He stabbed the sirens to free Mingi. The boy swam to the surface. The crew quickly rescued him onto the ship.

However, the master gunner never resurfaced. They lost the most important person on that day.

Not long after that the Revenge came back to the lore, fully armed and ready to take revenge with the new master gunner named Mingi. They captured the sirens and sold them in black markets. As their business soared, they captured other kinds of monsters as well.

They were unstoppable until the day of their punishment.

Sea witch rose from the sea and cursed them. She gave them 3 full moon cycles to fully change into sea monsters.

The pirates learnt how to fear again. They find every way to lift the curse. Hongjoong remembered Captain Flint mentioned about the Wonderland where they could make a wish. So they began hunting for the Wonderland map and finally got the lead after a month.

It was the first full moon when they found the passenger ship heading to Havana. They captured a woman who possessed the Wonderland map. She was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen but she hated pirates with all her heart.

The adventure started. They went to Port Royal, took the map and went to the wrecked ship to secure a crescent dagger. They fought with enemies countless times and survived.

The longer they stayed with Aurora, their hearts started to sway. Hongjoong became less hostile, Seonghwa became less bitter, Wooyoung got over Yeojin, Yeosang finally smiled brightly, Mingi had his first female friend, Yunho adore her, and Jongho drawn to her kindness.

Except for one man.

“San, can you stop doing that? You scare Aurora!” Mingi shouted from the large table inside the bridge, glaring at San who was sitting on the window sill.

San stopped honing his daggers and lifted up his head to peer at the golden haired girl. Aurora jolted and looked away.

Then San resumed honing the daggers, exuding even more demonic aura.

“Tsk tsk, that guy, when will he learn to love another human being.” Mingi whispered to Wooyoung where he sat on the opposite side of Aurora.

“The day he learns to love someone, I’ma kiss Seonghwa on the cheek.” Wooyoung jokingly said, making Aurora giggled.

“Pff, then I’ll kiss Hongjoong on the forehead if that person like him back.” Mingi laughed and Wooyoung followed him. Their laughter filled the entire room.

Suddenly, a dagger plugged into the table in front of them. They peered at the devil and turned pale.

The love story between the pirates and Aurora had no progress when they found out Aurora was their sworn enemy’s fiancee. They used her to tortured Chris but they also tortured themselves because they couldn’t stop the feelings from growing. Aurora insisted she never had feelings toward any of them and still hated pirates. So some of them gave up, but some didn’t. However, no matter how hard they tried to pursue her, they couldn’t win over the girl’s heart.

Eventually they reached Wonderland. They were so close to lifting the curse, but Chris appeared out of nowhere and attacked them.

They were defeated.

That was how it ended.

All of the memory flashed back to Hongjoong’s mind. He groaned and clutched his head. When the pain subsided, he blinked his eyes to adjust to the surrounding and found a girl that was always in his heart.

“Aurora.” He got up and walked toward her. His body plummeted on the floor and he pulled her into a tight hug. “I remember everything.”

The pain that was worse than the curse pierced his heart. His love was always right before his eyes, but he ended up hurting her.

Then the corner of his eye spotted another woman. Her aquamarine eyes were b with tears. Pain written across her face as she stared at them.

His arms instantly released Aurora from his embrace. Words caught in his throat. Her tears made his pain worsen, he wanted to comfort her but his body couldn’t move.

Then her beautiful face twisted into a scowl.

“You tiny !!” She cursed and lunged at him. His back hit the ground while she angrily yanked his hair.

☆*:･☆*:･☆*:･☆*:･☆*:･☆*:･☆*

Yoooooooo I'm back. Since Kingdom ended, I have more time to write. Sooooo here the double update. Make sure to check out chapter 71 ＼(≧▽≦)／