I wish I had a camera with me so I could snap a photo of the crews' expressions after their captain announced to throw a feast. The picture could be the most viral meme of 21th century.

But sadly, this wasn't a time for jesting. Our lives were in danger, yet, the notorious pirate king of the seven seas came up with that idea?

Hence we thought he was joking to lift up the mood, but he proved us wrong as he proceeded to order the cook to bring out food and liquors, and ordered the crew to play sea shanties.

Nobody moved a single muscle, still didn't believe their ears. They waited for the next command that never came.

Hongjoong's sly grin faltered as his crew stared intently at him as if he had turned into a turtle wearing a red coat. His strong gaze faded while scanning their faces. Slight creases appeared between his eyebrows. He didn't look angry, but rather...sorrowful and remorseful.

"This is what I can do as your captain for the last time."

His grim voice was carried by the soft breeze throughout the deck as he continued. "I failed as a captain. I promised you prosperity but I led you to calamity. My brothers, thank you for trusting me and accompanying me all these years. Pirate king's Revenge wouldn't make its name without any of you. If there's another chance, I hope we meet again somewhere under the same sky, and sail above the same sea." He lowered his head and placed his hand above his heart.

There was a grave silence before the scary Revenge crew began weeping. The crying sound started small and got louder until it echoed throughout the quiet devil's triangle. Some walked up to Hongjoong and gave him respect. They didn't blame him at all. The crew hugged one another, saying goodbye. Some of them also expressed their gratitude toward me.

My eyes felt hot by the heart wrenching scene that unfolded around me. It had been two months since I travelled into fiction. I became closer to the pirates and no longer saw them as book characters. They were human with feelings and pain even though they were bad guys that repent their wrongdoing when it was too late. This was their real life, their loss and death, their final scene that I failed to change.

I heard a sniffing sound from beside me and saw Aurora had already shed tears. She used to hate the pirates to the bone but now she cried for them. Her admirers surrounded her, bidding farewell.

On another side, Yeojin hugged her brother and wailed into his chest. Yeosang patted his sister's head, a single tear slipped from his red eyes.

Although the other Ateez members didn't shed tears, their grim expression saddened my heart. The social butterfly members went to bid farewell with other crews while the introverts remained in their spot watching the scene with heavy glances.

Among the crowd, Hongjoong's gaze found me. A small smile imprinted on his lips. His expression was serene as if he already gave up everything which made me concerned. He's a fighter, he wouldn't surrender easily. I refused to believe that the feast was his real plan.
 

True to my suspicion, after the crew started partying, he called Seonghwa and Wooyoung into the bridge. They disappeared in there for half an hour and didn't come out until now.

My sight glue to the closed door while leaning against the main mast. Hongjoong didn't allow anyone to go inside the room so now I can only suppress my anxiety that is about to take over me.

The instruments are loud and the crew singing voices are even louder. After flooding the ship with their tears, they threw the feast as Hongjoong ordered.

There are three types of people at the farewell party; those who quietly weep bitter tears in a corner, those who have the blast of their lives, and I represent the last group, the paranoid.

I glimpse at the sun lowering down from the orange sky with a clenched heart. My hand touches San dagger at my waist, afraid of what to come when the sun sets. My stomach feels sick and my thoughts race with possible tragedy scenarios, making me shake up in my skin.

"One hour left before the sunset." The navigator estimates the time. His face and voice are gloomy. But when he turns to me, he reveals a bright puppy smile. "Why don't you eat anything? Aren't you hungry?"

I shake my head. Even though I should fill my stomach in order to store my energy, I can't force food down my throat. Yunho doesn't eat anything either. He acts as if he enjoys the feast but I see how his body is rigid and his hand wraps around his pistol all the time. Undoubtedly, he's also categorized in the same group as me.

And the other two members of the group are the two women beside me.

"Who is in the mood to eat anyway?" Yeojin grumpily says. She has been biting her nail anxiously and stares at the water since the feast started. Her eyes keep darting from left to right.

Aurora on the other side clutches a dagger that Wooyoung gave to her against her chest. Her other hand raises up the sapphire blue teardrop pendant in front of her while she whirls around for hundreds times, in hope that it'll shine and direct us to Wonderland. But the color remains dull. Despair and fear clearly written on her pale face.

Four of us are about to lose our sanity. At this point, the unharmonized singing voices of the drunken crew intensifies as well as the weeping sound.

However, one person is an exception. He doesn't belong to any category.

Standing at the rail, the combatant's predatory gaze scans across the deck and the sea. He carries a long sword on his back, and a few short and medium length daggers around his waist belt. His dark aura amplifies, looking as if he'll start a war. The crew make sure they won't go near him no matter how drunk they are.

Then San's gaze met mine. The bottomless darkness of those pairs of eyes makes my heart go cold, not because I'm scared of him being in devil form, but because I'm scared that he'll get hurt for protecting me again which I don't want that. He has done enough for me and I can't repay him back. Deep down I know he doesn't think of me as a friend. But I'm turning a blind eye and treating him like one of my friends. My sincere friendship is what I can offer for him.

Seeing San all alone, I beckon him to join our little paranoia group. He looks at me, his expression slightly softer, then he scans the other participants and turns away as if to tell me that he's not interested in joining us.

"Sannie!" I call him. His jaw immediately clenches and his ears turn red. Yet, he decides to ignore me. I guess he despises that name so much.

As I shout at San, the others, especially Yeojin, look at me like I've committed a great sin.

"Only you can call him that and still survive." Yunho jokingly says.

"Wooyoung called him Sannie many times and still breathing. You're being exaggerated." I scrunch my nose at Yunho.

Upon mentioning Wooyoung, Yeojin stops biting her nails and mutters. "He must've had a hard time on the ship. Poor Woo, I should've been there for him."

We blink at her and decide to abandon the conversation. When I look back at San, he has turned around with his back facing me.

I avert my gaze back to the bridge's door. Hongjoong is taking too long with whatever secret plan he has. Before I decide to barge into the bridge like a wrecking ball, the surgeon emerges from the lower deck. He scans the crowd like a lost kid.

"Yeosang!" Yeojin's face brightens up, shouting and waving her hand in his direction. The poor girl had been down since Yeosang went to check up on his patients. She wanted to follow him, but Yeosang insisted that she needed to enjoy the feast.

Yeojin lets out a shaky sigh, sounding as if she'll cry a second time. "How could he work so hard until the last day of his life? This isn't fair. He deserves to be happy."

Yeosang arrives in front of us with a tired smile. He looks at his sister, sorrow flashes across his face but he says nothing.

Yunho gives him a tankard of wine from one of Hongjoong's collection. Yeosang takes a small sip and glances at Aurora. "Your mother is doing fine..." He pauses, looking conflicted. "I mean she's still unconscious and um...still the same."

Aurora shakes her head, "It's okay, Yeosang. Thank you so much for taking care of her."

The surgeon nods, not meeting her eyes.

Sensing Yeosang's guilt, Yeojin tries to lift the mood up. "Why don't we all dance and enjoy the feast instead of suffering and waiting for death?"

Although we know she meant to cheer us up, none of us are in the mood to dance.

As if on clue, the master gunner who belongs to the second category staggers our way. He ignores the others and comes straight at me. "Shooooting Staaar, come dance with meee!" He grins from ear to ear, face red, looking tipsy.

"Sorry Mingi, I'm not a good dancer." I refuse right away. Although I didn't want to let him down, I needed to stand on guard in case the sea witch pops out of nowhere.

"C'mooon. Your dancing is impressive." He pouts, jutting his lower lip. As soon as he complimented me, the particular puppy man let out a 'Pft' and covered his mouth with his hand. Yeosang side eyes him so he pretends to cough. Both Aurora and Yeojin have small smiles on their lips.

I almost scoff because of Mingi's remark and my friends' reaction. I know my skill level. It's not just impressive, but extraordinary.

"Please." Mingi continues persuading me, grabbing my wrist. Suddenly, an electric shock ran through my arm, making me yelp in pain. "Ouch!!"

Panicked, Mingi quickly withdraws his hand away and immediately apologizes. "Oh no, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He looks like a kicked puppy, hiding his eel arm behind his back.

Yeosang quickly grabs my numbed wrist, worry written across his face. When spotting no injury, he turns to Mingi with a cold expression. "You should be more careful."

Under the judgemental gaze from the others. The red haired male falters even more, he apologizes to me again in a small voice.

"Nevermind, it's not that hurt." I wave my arm around and smile to assure everyone that I'm fine.

Suddenly, I feel goosebumps rise at the back of my neck. I look over my shoulder to a specific location and see the combatant glaring in my direction.

"He's going to cut off your arm." Yunho mumbles and fake shudders, earning a horror expression from Mingi.

"Sure, he will." Yeosang adds.

"Better say goodbye to your eel arm." Yeojin chuckles evilly. While Aurora nods her head in agreement.

The master gunner recomposes himself and scoffs, "Yah! Yah! I'm the master gunner of the Revenge, I'm not scared of him at all!" Yet he attempts to hide behind me and whispers, "Save me, shooting Star."

Because of his contradictory actions, I blurt out laughing until my stomach hurt. The others also laugh along after succeeding in scaring the poor Mingi.

"You can zap San before he cuts you. Well, if you're fast enough" I told Mingi, making him snort.

"Before he cuts my arm, I want to dance with you first." He uses another hand to tug at the hem of my shirt.

"Hey, why don't you dance with me?" Yeojin tiptoes and drapes her arms around the tall guy's shoulder.

"Huh? No way!" Mingi protests and pushes her away, but he's powerless against Yeojin. She winks at Yeosang and peers at me with a sly grin before successfully dragging Mingi into the drunk crowd.

The navigator, after laughing at his friend's misfortune, clears his throat and turns toward the rose golden haired girl, "Aurora, may I dance with you?"

Aurora's eyes turn round, surprised. Rosy color appears on her pale cheeks. She peers at me as if looking for permission. I nod encouragingly. It's better for her to have fun than being a nervous wreck.

Aurora smiles shyly and places her hand on Yunho's. The navigator wiggles his stingray tail cheerfully. Before he leaves, he speaks to Yeosang. "Please take care of Starfish. Don't let her attach herself to our mainmast." He giggles when he notices my dead glare. Even though he no longer calls any of us Polaris because he didn't want us to be upset, he called me Starfish to get on my nerves.

Yunho and Aurora walk into the middle of the crowd and join Yeojin and Mingi who's trying to escape from Yeojin's claws. Yunho starts doing strange movements while Aurora giggles at him. Surprisingly, she tries to copy him and they both laugh. I giggle, seeing my friends are happy and loosen up.

Anyway, they're worse dancers than me.

The boatswain who's playing a fiddle misses a note as he's too focused on both couples. He shakes his head, but a tiny smile spots on his face.

"Um, Starry..." Yeosang calls my attention while I hurt my stomach laughing at those bad dancers. I crane my neck toward him at the same time he asks me, "Do you want to dance with me?"

I blink profusely at him since I don't expect him to ask me. For some reason, I became conscious of my dancing skill. I'd look like a clown next to him.

Yeosang's face turns dim when I take a long time to answer him.

"Sure, let's dance." How could I reject my angel?

He smiles brightly upon hearing my answer. Instantly, he shoves the tankard to a nearby random crew, his left hand grabs mine and his right hand circles around my waist.

Wait a moment, are we going to ballroom dance?

I, who has never tried ballroom dancing in my entire life, awkwardly place my left hand on his shoulder. As he leads me, I accidentally step on his foot. The first time, his face remains gentle and says 'It's fine'. But then there's the second time, third, fourth, fifth....

"Starry, I think my feet are bleeding." He stops dancing. His blue nose scrunches up cutely.

Embarrassed, I let go of him and say something to embarrass myself even more. "Then let me show you how I dance." Before I'm able to show my extraordinary dance skill, the master gunner clashes into me like a meteor.

"Shooting Star, quick! Dance with me before that crazy woman captures me!" He literally squeezes me into his chest, making my world go dark.

"Yah! How dare you zapped me?!" I hear a woman's voice shouting among the crowd.

"I'm dancing with Shooting Star, go away!!" He shouts with his thunderous voice, making my ears ring so I can't hear what Yeojin says to him next.

Fortunately, Mingi successfully escapes from Yeojin as Yeosang intercepts her, and forces her to dance with him.

Smiling widely, Mingi grabs my hand, motioning me to turn around. As I whirl around, he giggles like a child getting his first toy. Then he makes me circle around again and again and again....

"Mingi, I start to feel dizzy." I tell him while I try to balance myself and shake my head.

"Fine, but promise me, I'm your only best friend and no one else." He whispers to me, looking serious.

"Of course." I nod, earning him a giant smile. "But you gotta spin around like I did." His smile immediately fades. His brows furrow as he's in a predicament. I thought he's gonna refuse. But not long after, he takes a deep breath and starts spinning.

The drunk Mingi clashes into people around him, but that doesn't stop him. The crew stop whatever they're doing to stare at him. Whilst I clutch on my stomach and laugh until I choke on air.

"Is he going to transform into an eel?" Yeojin snickers, squinting her eyes at the spinning figure. Yeosang stifles his chuckles and shakes his head at me for tricking the drunk man. Both of them stopped dancing when Mingi collided with them.

Feeling slightly guilty, I'm about to stop the poor guy, but the navigator interrupts me. "Let him be." He says, a mischievous smirk imprints on his lips. Then he turns to me and embraces me into a bear hug.

"Do you remember when I asked you to be my friend on the island and you said yes?"

I nod, thinking back when I got into trouble after sneaking out of my tent to stop the war between Mingi and San, causing me to get in trouble with Hongjoong and Seonghwa. Yunho comforted me when I was feeling down.

"I don't care if I'm your number one friend or your number hundred friend. I'm happy that you accepted me as who I am. I had so much fun being with you." He squeezes me tighter and pats me on the back softly. "I'm going to miss you."

"Hey! It's not time to say goodbye." I hit his back, feeling my eyes hot. "But yeah, I'm going to miss you too." I squeeze him back and try to hold back my tears. That's when Mingi halts spinning and tries to break us apart. Since he can't yank Yunho away, he embraces both of us.

From the outside, the scene might look heartwarming, but in reality these two literally argue above my head.

"Back off, you puppy, I'm her best friend." Mingi sneers.

Yunho scoffs, "Starfish likes her friends equally, don't be too smug, you eel."

While I'm being suffocated by the two giants, another second they are yanked away by someone.

The combatant grabs the back of their shirts, glaring at them with an icy gaze. The master gunner and the navigator are about to curse at that person but completely shut up when they see who it is. San lets go of them and peers at me before he returns to his previous position at the rail.

Yunho exhales and pats his chest while Mingi shouts after San. "Yah! Your claws dug into my back!"

I snort and turn my head to the sound of giggles. Yeojin and Aurora sure have fun seeing me crush between the giants and witness a dark knight in shiny claws come to rescue me.

Yeosang walks up to Mingi and pokes the holes on his shirt. "You're fine, you're not bleeding."

A betrayal look flash across Mingi's face as he stares at Yeosang. We laugh at his reaction, causing him to sulk. After that we stop teasing the eel-armed man and start talking about happy memories, my nervousness level decreases and I forget about the sea witch for a moment until a drunk brave soul yells out of nowhere catching our attention.

"Miss Star, since it's the last day, please tell us who you are fond of!"

My jaw hangs open by the unexpected question. The crew look at me with eagerness. I always know they gossip about my love life, but they're getting too bold. I hide between Mingi and Yunho as I become the center of attention.

Under the pressure and awkward moment, another brave soul shouts back, "It's Yeosang!!"

I whip my head toward Yeojin. She smiles so confidently that I want to wipe off that smirk with my palm. Yeosang tries to clamp his hand over his sister's mouth but she dash to my side, pushing Mingi away from his spot.

"Say Yeosang or if I lose all of my money, I'll blame you." She whispers to me and pinches my waist. Gasping slightly from the pain, I narrow my eyes at her yet she looks at me innocently.

"If you don't trust me, then Yeosang's going to kiss her!" She shouts toward the crowd again. This time I pinch her waist back, but she only chuckles evilly in .

"Fine! If they kiss, I'll give you all my coins and my peg leg." A one legged man declares. The other crew cheer in agreement.

Yeojin grins wider and whispers a little too loud at Yeosang. "This is your last chance. Go for it!" She pushes Yeosang toward me. He stops himself from crashing into me. His face and neck flush pink as he scratches his nape bashfully while glaring back at his sister.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The crew shout loudly while they make a circle around Yeosang and me. We helplessly glance at each other and the wild crowd. I wish the sea witch would appear and completely turn them into sea monsters.

Yeosang looks at me apologetically. "I'm sorry that my sister put you into this situation."

I let out a dry chuckle, cursing at his sister inwardly.

"C'mon Yeosang, don't be such a coward!!" Yeojin screams frustratedly and the crew boo at him. The poor surgeon turns pale by the accusation. He stares at me, his Adam's apple bob up. Then he grabs my face and leans in.

His lips presses against his thumb where he places it between our lips. He stays there for a split second and pulls away. Although our lips didn't touch, I stood frozen, my soul leaving my body.

Since the onlookers didn't see that it was a fake kiss, the crew scream in unison as if they saw the kraken. While Yeojin jumps happily into the air, "Hahaha!! Now I'm rich, give me all your money!"

Even though some of the pirates lost their money, they smiled happily and cooed at Yeosang and me. On the side, Yunho and Aurora giggles together. Mingi pouts and says something like he wants a kiss too.

"I'm sorry. They wouldn't stop if I didn't comply. Are you angry?" Yeosang says, looking anywhere but me. His face turns beet red in contrast to his blue nose.

I scratch my cheek. My face burns with mortification. But I couldn't be angry at him, could I? "Why should I be angry? You saved Yeojin's wallet. And you didn't kiss me on the lips anyway."

"I want to but there're too many people here." He mutters.

My eyes bulge out of their sockets, staring at him unbelievably. Did I hear him correctly?

"But I'm not in the right status to do so." He continues, looking at me with a gloomy expression. Then he quickly walks away.

"..." Speechless, I stand there not knowing what to do. Was he just kidding or...?

However, Yeosang isn't the type to flirt around. And I also know his strong affection toward me through his actions. My chest weighs heavy with guilt. I broke another good man's heart.

When I decide to go after Yeosang, I already lose sight of him. Plus, some people walk up to me to congratulate me on my relationship. I become even more flustered. I glare at the culprit who is happily busy collecting her money to notice anything.

"Miss Aurora, what about you? We want to know too!" The spotlight then shines on the new victim.

Aurora is startled like a deer caught in headlights. She looks around for help. Yunho tries to defend her but the crew ignores him. When she doesn't answer, the crew start to shout louder.

"The person who is always in my heart..." When she starts speaking, the crew quiet down, paying full attention. Somehow, I feel like she'll answer Hongjoong.

"It's me!"

Jack jumps into the middle of the circle in front of Aurora. "I'll grow up into the most handsome man and marry her." The lad puffs out his chest proudly and beams at his goddess.

Everyone simultaneously booed at him.

Jack's face instantly turns red with anger. Stomping his foot, he begins to argue with the older crew. As the attention turns away from Aurora, she sighs and speaks something to Yunho, then he escorts her out of the area. Even after their goddess was gone, her fanclubs are still arguing.

Then a corner of my sight catches the bridge's door open. The first mate exits the room and descends down the stairs.

I instantly advance toward him, pushing past a sea of people. Wooyoung reaches the main deck. He picks up a tankard of beer and gulps down the content. With eyebrows tightly knit, he mumbles something under his breath and picks up a second tankard.

"Wooyoung!" I call him. He cranes his neck toward me and lowers the liquor down. "Hongjoong was talking about the plan right?"

Wooyoung instantly smirks. "Little Star, you're smarter than you look."

I grimace, rolling my eyes. However, this isn't my real body so that means he insults Alice, not me.

"Cut the crap, and tell me about the plan." I cross my arms as a sign that I don't accept any bullsh*t today.

His smirk drops. Shifting closer to me, he leans in and whispers into my ears. "We'll negotiate with the sea woman to take us to Wonderland. Since she wants to get rid of the Seakeeper, we'll help her achieve her goal."

I raise my brow, studying his serious face which I believe he didn't lie to me. That was Hongjoong's previous plan. I know Hongjoong won't side with the witch, he just wants to trick her into leading us to Wonderland.

But the sea witch isn't stupid. She's even more sly than him. The last time we failed to summon her and she sent Aurora's mother to scare us. If the plan fails then what's next...?

Wooyoung shrugs his shoulders as if he could read my thoughts. "It's the best thing we can do right now. Well, at worst, I'll turn into the most good looking sea monster. But I feel bad for the others though, they'll probably become so hideous." He shudders and chuckles to himself.

I stare at him blankly until his pretentious playfulness fades. My sight begins to blur, but I still catch sight of his panicked face. I use the back of my hand to wipe my tears away.

Damn, his lame joke makes me cry.

Wooyoung places the tankard down on a crate and pulls me into a hug. Burying his face into my shoulder which I can feel his body slightly tremble.

"I don't want it to be like this either." He says, voice hoarse. "We're so hopeless, Star. "

His confession is like a slap to reality. There's really nothing we can do about it. No counter strategy, no single ray of hope, only the painful ending awaiting for us.

The fact that Wooyoung didn't call me Little Star makes me cry harder.

"I'm sorry." I say. If I successfully contact Seakeeper, they don't have to suffer like this.

Wooyoung hugs me tighter, "No one blames you, except yourself. This is our fate, no one can help us." I pat his back. I never heard him sounding so mournful until today.

After several seconds, he pulls back, his eyes become so red that I thought he cried, "But there's another plan." He says grimly, hesitating whether to say the next sentence or not. "If we fail to negotiate with her, we'll get rid of ourselves."

"What!!" I exclaim. Do they mean to K word themselves?

"Hell No! I'm absolutely against it. I won't let you guys do it. Not over my dead body!" Red hot anger rises up from the pit of my stomach, it spreads and pulses in my veins.

"If we turn into monsters we don't know if we'll hurt you or not." Wooyoung looks away, speaking emotionlessly as if the plan doesn't bother him.

"But that's terrible, I won't allow it. I don't think the other crew will agree with this plan either." My tears stream down my face and I angrily wipe it away.

He sighs, "I don't want to do it either. As for the others, I don't know. But one thing for sure we don't want to be slaves under that wench. Death is better than living for eternity as a monster."

I quiet down as my anger dies down. Looking from his perspective, he's right. Because If I were them, I don't want to live in a monster form forever. That must be more terrifying than death. Still, it's horrible to think they have no choice but to give up on their lives.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not allowed to tell you this plan. Because he knows you'll be like this." Wooyoung continues, picking up the tankard and continues consuming the liquor.

"I'm talking to Hongjoong." I instantly head toward the stairs, leaving Wooyoung behind.

"It won't change anything!" He shouts after me.

As I climb up the stairs halfway, the door of the bridge slam opens, an angry yell can be heard from above. I stop in my tracks and eavesdrop.

"I won't let you do it! You can't carry all of this burden alone! Do you think if you sacrifice yourself they'll be grateful?!"

Sacrifice? Is there something else Wooyoung didn't tell me?

"Seonghwa," An exhausted voice responded. "I don't care what you think. I'm still your captain, remember? Follow my order and relay my words to them. "

"I swear, I won't let you do it." Seonghwa seethes and stomps toward my direction. His face is hardened with a clenched jaw. He breathes heavily as if he's trying his best to control his wrath.

I never seen Seonghwa this angry before and I barely hear him shout at Hongjoong. As he descends down the stairs, I press my body to the side, trying to make my body small so he won't snap at me to vent out his anger.

Unfortunately, he stops next to me. I cautiously peer at him. The rage on his face has slightly subsided, it became more of a despair. Suddenly, he places his hand on my shoulder, making me jump 10 feet above the ground.

In normal circumstances, he'd smirk, or judge me so hard with the fact that I eavesdrop their conversation. This time he looks a little pleading. "Knock some senses into that guy. Only you can stop him." He says and continues walking downward. My eyes follow him until he disappears into the lower deck.

I exhale and press my hand on my beating heart. That was mind blowing. Hongjoong's plan must be ridiculously insane since Mr.Grumpy talks to me nicely.

I quickly climb the stairs and reach the quarterdeck. The red coated man stands at the rail watching his crew having fun below. The serene look that I saw when he announced his last speech to the crew returns on his face. It doesn't suit him, it's like he is ready to give up everything.

"What are you trying to do? And what does Seonghwa mean by sacrifice?" I start to interrogate him, staring at his side profile.

"Take you to Wonderland." He answers curtly, not sparing a glance at me.

"If you're going to harm yourself, I won't let you do it. The witch also wants me. If I agree to lead her to Seakeeper, she may let you guys go."

"Star!" Hongjoong whips his head at me, rage burns in his yellow slit eyes. I unconsciously recoil by the anger in his tone. "This is none of your business. Don't sacrifice yourself for us. We can't repay you. "

Every one of his words pierce into my skin. How is this not my business? I stuck in this sh*t and became a shareholder. I hate how he puts a wall between us and doesn't share his thoughts with me. It's like he doesn't trust me.

"I don't want repayment. I just want all of us to stay alive." A lump forms in my throat, but I refuse to cry in front of him.

His fierce gaze softer so as his voice. "You'll stay alive."

I walk closer to him. "You promised me that you'll listen to my opinion. Such a liar."

Hongjoong tears his gaze away and puts on his heartless captain mask. "Go back down there, they're waiting for you."

I frown, looking downward and seeing our friends all staring at us. Yeojin looks like she wants to come up here but Wooyoung stops her. While the others look solemnly. I guess Wooyoung has informed them of the plan.

I turn my attention back to the man in front of me. He asked me to be his friend, but is this how friends treat each other? Not only did he exclude me from the plan, he avoided talking to me these past days.

"Why are you trying to avoid me?" The question slips out of my mouth. It would be a lie if I said I didn't get hurt after the end of our relationship. Still, I had the guts to face him. Even after he and I remained friends, it was more painful to see him avoiding me.

His body tenses up and his lips twitch, "Because you still love me."

His answer makes my breath hitch. My body numb with a sense of shame. He speaks as if he gets over me already. Those pairs of eyes are so cold and void of affection. The man who once looked at me and called me his little treasure is gone. Perhaps, he really did get over me.

Stepping closer to him, I reach my hands to cup his face. He looks at me wide eyes as I lean my face closer. Yet, he doesn't resist me, his eyelashes quiver as he scans my face. My hand travels down to his neck.

And I pull his mullet with all my might.

"Ack!" He yelps and grabs his hair, looking at me with disbelief.

I scoff and fold my arms, giving him a smug smile. "Captain, seem like you still love me too."

Hongjoong chews inside his mouth and regains his composure. He looks at me with an unreadable expression. Whether my statement is true or not, he doesn't answer me back.

The air immediately turns awkward.

Hongjoong tears his gaze away from me while I step backward. My heart palpitates in my chest. I want to slap my mouth for blabbing nonsense. Our fragile friendship is going to ruin because of my running mouth.

After a short moment, I gather my courage and face him again. "I'm saying this as your friend, please don't do something stupid. We'll survive this together, all of us."

"I'm not sure, Star." His voice comes out surprisingly weak. He turns away from where people can see him. The facade he puts on crack open, revealing a boy with so much pain and grief.

Not caring if he still loves me or not, I embrace him in a tight hug since this is what friends do to comfort each other. Because of his captain title, he rarely shows his affection toward his friends. He has to act as the toughest man who never reveals weakness to lead the crew. However, at this moment, I want him to be just a normal man and share the burden with me.

The sad part is he doesn't hug me back. He probably doesn't see me as his friend.

However, he says something that makes my mind go blank. "Perhaps you're right."

Before I'm able to interpret his meaning, my eyes catch a glimpse of familiar looking people. When Hongjoong's arms are about to circle around my waist, I break free from him and point at the main deck with my mouth hanging open.

Hongjoong'gaze fix on me for a moment and follow my sight downward.

Behind Seonghwa stand Chris and Jongbin. They look worse than the last time I saw them. The lifeless in their eyes, torn clothes and unhealed bruises remind me of zombies. Seonghwa ordered a crew to unlock chains around their wrists. Once Chris spots Aurora in the crowd, he tries to lunge toward her. Seonghwa grabs his collar and pushes him to the ground. Chris is unable to get up as he clutches the stab wound on his stomach. Then the mad Jongbin push forward to strangle Chris. Thus the pirates have to chain their wrists again.

I glance back at Hongjoong, searching for an explanation.

"If we fail, they'll take you back safely. I doubt the Royal Navy will accept Chris back without giving him severe punishment so tell him to find Erik. He's a loyal and my most trusted man, he'll take you to Wonderland no matter what. And most importantly, never reveal that you aren't Alice. That guy has gone insane. You might be in danger."

I stare at Hongjoong without blinking. Those men are his sworn enemies. I thought they were dead. In fact, Hongjoong planned for them to save me. How stupid I am to unable to see that Hongjoong's actions all point to the fact that he cares for me. He tries to keep his promise. I was blinded by my own false judgement becuase of his cold attitude.

"Because you think you're going to die so you let go of me and Aurora?" I ask him, tears begin to well up in my eyes and I allow them to flow down by gravity. The day he decided to let me go, I thought he'd go to Aurora but when let her go too, I couldn't find the reason why. Now it makes sense.

Hongjoong is taken aback by my question. He doesn't answer, but reaches for my hand. "The sun is almost set, I'll you back to my quarter. Lock the room and never come out until Seonghwa comes to you. If anyone tries to break in and hurt you, don't hesitate to use it." He hands me his pistol, I receive it with a shaky hand.

Now I understand what he meant by saying that I was right. The familiar gaze when he usually looked at me like I'm his most precious treasure now stares deep at me. He doesn't need to say any words to confirm me. I already found the answer inside his heart.

Then he turns around, pulling me to follow him, yet I refuse to leave. From where I stand I can see the whole upper deck. Today could be the last day I'm able to witness this view and these people. The memories surge in like someone opens a water valve.

I remember how I jumped into the ship and the pirates were all skeptical of my power. Incidents happened after incidents. I became friends with them. Love blossomed somewhere along the way. It was a long journey. Yet, it feels like an illusion as it's about to end.

I see Aurora and Yeojin are escorted to the inside, and followed by Chris, Jongbin, and the cook.

Hongjoong squeeze my hand gently, motioning me to follow him. I walk after him like a person missing her soul.

'We are so hopeless, Star.'

Wooyoung's voice repeats in my mind. We're indeed hopeless, there's nothing that I can do to save people I love.

As the sun touches the horizon, the singing and music dies down. The sky has painted red like fresh blood. The crew silently watch the sun sinking down into the ink black sea.

Seakeeper-nim, please save us.

I pray for the last time.

Then I halts in my step, making Hongjoong turns around in question. "Do you still believe that I'm your miracle?"

A corner to his lips tugs upward. "You're always my miracle."

I smile back at him, feeling the peace that I haven't felt a long time ago.

Suddenly, a thunder strike inside my head, I groan and clutch my pounding head. My vision turns into dots. My legs lose strength and my body sways to the side. I hear the faint sound of people shouting my name and see Hongjoong's panic expression. Then it all turns dark.
 

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My dear readers, sorry for the long wait. My laptop died on me so I had to update on my phone. Hope the format isn't too strange and sorry if you spot any errors.

And don't forget to stream queen Eternal sunshine and king Deja vu♡ but actually my fav is Rocky lol