[Trigger warning - blood, violent, panic attack, this chapter contains so much intensity that...well just be prepared]

〜(＞＜)〜

Yeosang carries me out of the quarter room with Wooyoung, Aurora and Yeojin trailing behind. They are jumping up and down in excitement. The first mate can’t stop laughing in his dolphin voice, he blabbers about the things he wants to do after breaking the curse. Yeojin joins him, saying she’ll follow him everywhere he goes, and her remark causes them to bicker nonstop. Aurora giggles at them on the side and also chimes into the conversation, saying she’ll wish for her parents to return.

While listening to their wishes, I peer at Yeosang expecting the same enthusiasm from him, yet a frown appears between his eyebrows and he seems to lose in his thoughts. Noticing that my stare, his gaze falls on me, his expression becomes bright with a smile blossoming on his lips. “Hang in there. We’re almost reached Wonderland. You’ll be fine.”

I nod as a reply. Then I notice his stare linger on my lips. Startling from the memory, we both immediately whip our heads in different ways. Yeosang turns slightly rigid, looking straight forward and accelerating his pace, a frown reappears on his face. “Please forgive me for what I did earlier. I- I didn’t know what got into me.” He stammers nervously.

My face flares from fever and mortification. I blink rapidly, believing that the devil who possessed Yeosang is gone. This shy version of Yeosang makes me feel like I was the one who forced him to kiss me instead.

I wish I could tell him to not worry about the kiss because I understand that he didn’t have bad intentions, but my throat isn’t cooperating. So we end up in awkward silence with the trio’s chatter in the background.

As we approach the deck, the cheering noise of the crew from the deck grows louder, making my blood pumping. My hands become clammy. Whether it is fear or anticipation, I can’t tell at this point.

Soon we arrive at the open. My heart pounds loudly in my chest as I scan the surroundings. The main deck is lit up by torches. The atmosphere is uplifted in contrast to the depressing farewell party a few hours ago. The half monster crews are celebrating and hugging one another. Tears of joy and smiles visible on their faces.

Then something from ahead of the ship catches my eyes.

A purple light at a size of a tennis ball hangs low in the middle of the midnight blue sky. Its bright rays of light shine upon an island land below. The whole island is illuminated above the ink black sea, appearing like an ethereal painting. By just staring at it, I sense electricity running through my veins.

It’s the real Wonderland.

My tears threaten to come out. The feelings are so overwhelming that I let out a soft whimper. I accomplished my arduous task to rescue Ateez. From lying about being a seer into becoming a heroine, I made it.

And it's time to go home.

A sense of loneliness rushes through me as I’m thinking of my empty apartment. It's only been 2 months but I’ve grown so attached to this place. I can’t imagine myself returning to my old life. My eyes avert to the happy people around me and the emptiness only grows larger in my chest.

But no matter what, I don’t belong here. I can’t stay in Alice’s body since her body is dying. People here will continue living their lives and so do I.

I swallow the truth and crane my neck to see the moon above. Luckily, it hasn’t turned completely red, only a half of it has dyed red. I breathe out a long sigh. Although I feel relieved since my soul won’t be stuck in the dark dimension for eternity, the back of my mind doesn’t feel at peace.

The fact that we reached Wonderland a little too peacefully, isn’t it too suspicious? The past experience caused me to become paranoid.

Anyhow I brush my intrusive thoughts away, hoping my doubt won’t manifest into reality.

Chilly wind seeps into my bones, making me shiver uncontrollably. I let out a dry cough and tuck the red coat from one of Hongjoong’s collection to cover my mouth. I groan soundlessly as my stomach hurts from coughing.

Yeosang embraces me closer to his body, staring at me worriedly instead of looking where he steps. He almost collides into a passerby. A pufferfish-headed man turns around to see what crashes into him. Both Yeosang and I hold my breath after seeing his cheeks start to inflate until his head turns completely round. Suddenly, he yells my name as if I’m his debtor. His voice alerts the nearby crews and they immediately surround us.

I instantly forget that I’m sick as I almost jump out of Yeosang’s embrace and run away. I admit that the human Revenge crew are scary, but the half monster crew are on another level. If it was in the past, I’d pee my pants. But since I’m lying in Yeosang’s arms, I need to save my dignity and of course, his precious arms.

The surgeon furrows his eyebrow and opens his mouth to scold the crew for blocking our path when they suddenly shout in unison.

“Miss Star, thank you for saving us!!!”

The ship falls silent for a moment then a loud cheering erupts, more and more people join the circle. They come to thank me for saving their lives. It’s the first time that I see a twinkle in their eyes that they normally look at Aurora.

My mouth breaks into a smile. So this is how a hero feels like. Although the responsibility is heavy like a burden, the outcome is worthwhile. I know instantly that I made the right decision by choosing to stay here and save them.

Yeosang’s body becomes relaxed, a gentle smile appears on his face. He whispers to me along with the crew. “You’re our Star who guides us, the lost pirates. Thank you.”

His words have a great impact on me as I can no longer hold back my tears and cry an ugly sob. Yeosang panics when he spots my tears. He looks for help, but Yeojin and Aurora also quietly shed tears. Wooyoung, who’s standing between them, shrugs his shoulders as he isn’t sure what to do with three crying women.

Surprisingly, I hear low sobbing sound from people around me. Some of the crew also cry with me, saying they feel bad for seeing me gravely ill. And some brave souls even attempt to hug me. Yeosang and Wooyoung try to defend me from my new fanclubs when an authoritative voice shouts from outside the circle.

“Go back to work!!! Do you lot not wanna go ashore and break the god damn curse!?”

The crew disperse as quickly as they gather. But they don’t forget to give me giant smiles before they leave for work.

Yeosang’s body becomes tense as he looks toward one direction. I follow his eyesight and spot several Ateez members advancing toward us.

Hongjoong in the front still looks stern, but his body is less rigid compared to the time I talked to him at the forecastle deck. His yellow slit eyes grow in the dark, making him look extra feral like a wild animal. Silver scales peeks from his neck alarms me, I didn’t notice it when I last saw him. The curse might not stop until we make a wish at Wonderland. So my task hasn’t finished yet.

Beside Hongjoong, the quartermaster watches me with a frown. I spot his black fin ears have become larger. A corner of my mouth threatens to curve upward. He raises his eyebrow when I stare at his ears for too long. In contrast to the navigator next to him, Yunho beams at me dazzlingly, his stingray tail wiggle left to right. He looks like he wants to talk to me, but Hongjoong starts speaking in a serious tone.

“Accompany the ladies into the rowboat and bring several best gun crews with you. Seonghwa will lead the scavenging team and your boat will follow them.” Hongjoong orders directly at the first mate and turns to the combatant behind him. “San, you go with them.”

The combatant nods and looks at me. His face reveals no emotion. Somehow I know deep down that he hides his feelings for some reason. He often wears a blank expression when he’s being upset. Well, actually he always has an expressionless demeanor, but there’s a level of blankness he possesses. This time my gut tells me that his current blankness is directed at me. I try to remember what I have done to upset him, then a flash of image where Yeosang fake kissed me during the feast resurface.

I quickly brush that memory away. Since he and I are now friends, he wouldn’t take it into his heart. It could be something else that bothers him.

While I stare at him, searching for a clue, San strides past me toward the rowboat without waiting for anyone. My heart sinks a little lower when he ignores me.

His best friend notices my expression and pokes my cheek. I turn to look at Wooyoung questioningly. He leans in and whispers into my ear. “Can I ask you a favor? Before you leave for your world, can you atleast tell San how much you cherish him? Well, even if it's a lie, I don’t want to see him being heartbroken forever.”

Wooyoung stares at me with shocking sincerity. I nod, not because I’m going to lie, but I really appreciate San as one of my most important people. Without him, I must’ve long been dead. He saved me so many times that I lost count. Once I’m gone, I hope he’ll open up to new people who will come into his life to give him something I couldn't reciprocate.

“Thanks, Little Star. You’re so nice, I could ask you to marry me now.” Wooyoung smiles teasingly and juts out his lips as if he intends to peck my cheek. Yeosang quickly steps to the side so the kiss is missed. Yeojin grabs Wooyoung’s collar, glaring at him, “Lucky Star is taken by our brother, can’t you see!?”

Wooyoung chuckles and peers at Yeosang. “Well, sorry Yeo, but I placed my bet on my mate.”

Both Yeojin and Yeosang snort at the same time upon hearing his answer while I roll my eyes at him.

“Traitor, even I bet on Yeosang.” The navigator shakes his head at Wooyoung in disappointment.

Yeojin gives Yunho a thumbs up. “And we won the bet.” They both giggle together. The girl makes a kissy face while Yunho winks at me teasingly.

They’re the real traitors! I’ll steal their money before going back home!

I grimace and hide my flushing face under the red coat. Why do they have to bring the kiss up when Yeosang is the one who carries me now? And Hongjoong and Mr. Grumpy are standing in front of us.

“Stop with the foolish act and get prepared.” The quartermaster annoyingly snaps at us, but his sharp gaze only directs at me. My eyes bulge out as I become the victim of his accusation when I’m just lying in Yeosang’s arms the whole time. Wooyoung, Yunho, and Yeojin are the ones that need to be rebuked. I promise myself to give Seonghwa a long preach before returning back home or I won’t be at peace.

Hongjoong ignores everyone and walks up to me. eyes turn slightly soft. “Be safe, I’ll meet you on the island.” He brushes away my dried tears with his finger and gives me a tight lipped smile. He looks like he wants to say something but decides against it, he quickly pulls away and hurries us to embark the rowboat. My gaze follows him as he leaves to give order to the other crews.

The members stare at Hongjoong with bewildered expressions as if they expected a different reaction from him. In the past, he would nitpick them for fooling around me. The others look at each other and glimpse at me.

I guess Hongjoong has made up his mind. Once he is determined to do something, he’ll do everything to achieve it. Thus, he did his best to let go of me.

Up until now, he has made it clear that he wants to let me go. He had been acting indifferent since the day he ended our relationship. Although he agreed to be my friend, he still keeps a distance. And at the quarterdeck where I confronted him before passing out, he tried to push me away. But because of my teasing, he accidently revealed his real emotions, even though it felt like an illusion because when I woke up in his quarter a moment ago, though he was worried about me, he held himself back and this time as well.

I understand his intention, but I don’t understand why my heart is still in pain. I thought I got over him, but I was totally wrong. I tried to push him away in the past, but when the roles were reversed, I was the one who can’t let go. Karma is indeed a .

Whether Hongjoong still loves me or not, it doesn’t matter anymore. He’s doing this for himself and me. So I’ll respect his decision and let him go as well.

I catch sight of Aurora also staring at Hongjoong’s figure. Her sorrow is clearly spotted on her face. It’s obvious that she still has not gotten over him. From my observation, Hongjoong tended to avoid her too. A moment ago, he didn’t acknowledge her at all. It must be so painful for her.

Perhaps once I leave, will they get back together? Their feelings might spark again once I’m a goner. When I’m back in my world, will their happy ending show in fiction?

However, the bitterness on the tip of my tongue makes me realize that my heart isn’t wide enough to see my man fall in love with another friend. I might end up reporting the story.

Suddenly, Aurora averts her gaze to me. When our eyes meet, we jolt and quickly look away. I feel bad for thinking negatively toward her.

Apparently, the people around us notice our actions. Wooyoung sighs loudly while Yeojin squints her eyes at me. Yunho glances worriedly between us. I don’t have to look at Mr.Grumpy to know what kind of face he makes. And lastly, Yeosang. He hugs me tighter while giving me a concerned look.

I ignore all of them and look elsewhere. The master gunner and several gun crew appear from the lower deck. As soon as Mingi spots me, he dumps all of his weapons in his hands to the closest person next to him and races toward me. He opens his arms widely to hug me, but Yeosang turns around to avoid the hug. The others chuckle at him when he stares blankly at Yeosang’s back.

“Mingi, you’ll ride the same boat with me and Yunho.” Seonghwa breaks the bad news to him as Mingi starts sulking. He declares he wants to ride the same rowboat with me but Seonghwa crushes his dream. Because of frustration, he unconsciously zaps the nearest man next to him, the stingray navigator. Thus Mingi is able to calm down or else Yunho’s going to stab him with his deadly tail.

Before we embark into the rowboat that hangs at the side of the ship, Aurora gasps and turns to Wooyoung. “Oh no! My mother’s still in her room. Could you please help me carry her?”

Wooyoung nods, then they advance toward the lower deck. Yeojin looks at them with a slight frown but doesn’t protest anything.

“Miss Nuisance and your annoying sister can leave first. Aurora and Wooyoung can travel with the other boat.” The quartermaster orders coldly.

Yeojin rolls her eyes at him. “Nope, I’ll go with Woo.”

“Whatever.” Seonghwa ignores her and heads toward another rowboat with Yunho and the sulking Mingi.

The combatant climbs into the boat that is hanging in the air and extends out his arms toward Yeosang who’s currently carrying me. I accidentally look downward at the gap between the ship and the boat, something flashes into my eyes. I unconsciously hug Yeosang’s neck tightly and glue my eyes to the water. Moonlight reflects the waves but not enough for me to make out what it is.

“Starry, we won’t drop you.” Yeosang mistaken that I afraid of the height and reassures me. I shake away my doubt, thinking it could be the shadow of the ship, and reach my hands toward San.

When Yeosang is about to pass me to San, a lighting suddenly lightens up the darkness of the night, followed by roaring thunder. The light stays for a split second, but I can clearly see what is awaiting for us in the dark.

My heart, including every human’s heart on the vessel, almost stops beating.

Not far from the ship, a familiar tentacle rises above the sea, a herd of sea monsters are floating in the water, surrounding our ship.

The Revenge falls into dead silence, no one dares to breathe. We all wish that it was just an illusion, but when the lightning flashes for the second time, it confirms that our nightmare has become real.

“Monsters!!!!” Everyone yells in sheer horror. A wave of panic attacks the crew as they cry out terrifying screams and scoot away from the rail.

Yeosang’s body tense up against me, his eyes fixate on the monstrous creature as he instantly back away from the rail. San pulls out his sword and climbs back into the ship, guarding in front of me. My hand travels to my belt and clenches around San’s dagger.

The voice of Seakeeper rings in my mind, reminding me of one of my duties that I want to steer clear away the most– to defeat the villain of this realm.

A familiar chilling laughter of a woman echoing from afar, her voice haunts our consciousness like a never ending nightmare. My skin crawls and my stomach churns when I spot a figure on the head of the Kraken as it moves closer to our ship.

“Pirate King, how foolish of you to think that you could escape me.” The voice I despise so much is directed at Captain of the Revenge.

“I’ve been following you since the day I summoned you. Because I know that old hag will use her power to help you. Now she’ll be even weaker. Then I’ll have my revenge and rule over Wonderland in one night.” She chuckles evilly.

My already dry mouth becomes even more dry. The witch is so cunning. She decided not to appear right after the sunset as she waited until Seakeeper used her power to guide us to Wonderland. And she waited to ambush us once we arrived at the island.

I peer at the purple light that begins to shine dimmer and worry about Seakeeper. I wonder if she expected this incident to happen. Perhaps she knows it’ll happen since Wonderland showed her to give witch bane dagger to me. Eventually, I’ll have to get into the bloody fight with the sea witch.

My fist curling around San dagger is shaking terribly. My breath becomes shortened. Forget how I am going to fight the witch, I can’t even hold myself together.

“Why so quiet, Pirate King? Are you so scared to turn into my slave?” She taunts Hongjoong when he doesn’t respond to her at all. Normally, he’d retort to her with his sharp-tongued.

Hongjoong saunters toward the rail. I look at his back and see him appearing calm and collected as if he has already expected for the worst. He remains silent, staring at the witch’s figure indifferently. The witch scoffs when she can't provoke her prey so she directs her attention to the new prey.

“Oh, my dear Aurora, do you like my gift?” She changes her target once Aurora and Wooyoung emerge from the lower deck with Aurora’s mother. Both of them freeze in their tracks.

“What did you do to my mother!?” Unexpectedly, Aurora fearlessly yells at the witch. Her voice is slightly shaking, but it fills with pure anger.

The witch laughs evilly, “Don’t be too angry, it doesn’t suit your beautiful face. I gave you a little present because you used to be my loyal servant, ”

Aurora’s body visibly trembles, she clenches her jaw trying her best not to cry. Wooyoung whispers something to her and she gains her control.

The sea witch snorts once she sees that her provocation isn’t working. “I have another gift for you. Something you always wanted and betrayed the pirates.” Right after her remark, another lighting flash and we see a glimpse of a man in tattered clothes standing next to her. Because the surroundings become dark again, we can only see his silhouette standing still.

“Father!?” Aurora gasps, this time she’s unable to hold back her tears and begins to cry. We look at her pitifully. Her mother is still in coma and her father is under the hand of the sea witch. Life is so cruel for this young woman.

“If you want your parents back, do as I say.” The witch’s voice drips with venom, ready to lure an innocent girl into committing a sin. “Take that witch bane dagger and kill the girl from another world, and destroy the dagger!”

I know she’d order Aurora something like this since the witch always wants me dead. I peer at Aurora’s figure, not because I’m afraid she’d kill me, but I feel helpless for not being able to help her.

“Shut up, you ugly squid!! Seakeeper and us will get rid of you!! You’ll rot in the bottom of the sea tonight!!” Wooyoung shouts boldly and followed by Mingi’s cheer after his friend’s speech. I want to facepalm. Even the Seakeeper doesn't have the confidence to kill the witch and they incite her to be angier. We might sink into the seabed before stepping foot into Wonderland.

“You human…” The sea witch seethes through her teeth like a snake. Suddenly, the crew shout in pain and fall to the ground. As Yeosang loses his strength, San catches me before I hit the hard floor, using his human arm to hold me. He grunts while trying to subdue his pain. However, he couldn't tolerate the torment and slides down on the floor. I’m half lying against his icy body as I’m too weak to sit by my own strength.

The only man remains standing is the captain of the Revenge. Hongjoong double over, clutching over his heart.

“I-I have an offer.” Hongjoong speaks while panting heavily. He tries to stand up strongly but the pain betrays him as he has to lean against the rail. “Let go of all of my crew and return Aurora’s parents, and I’ll be your slave forever.”

His sentence came like thunder. Even though the crew are in great pain, they try to shout to stop their captain's maddening proposal.

My mind rushes back when Seonghwa was furious with Hongjoong. It was because he planned to sacrifice himself if the other plans went south. The reason why he looked as if he gave up on everything was because he was actually ready to lose everything.

I choke on my saliva as a lump forms in my throat. My tears blur my sight while I stare at Hongjoong’s back.

The sea witch laughs satisfiedly. “Pirate king, you’ve fallen from your grace. Did you hear how pathetic you sound?” She laughs even harder and the monsters screech alongside her.

“Since you look so defeated, fine, I won’t turn your crew into monsters…” As soon as she speaks, the crew stop groaning in pain. For stronger people, they regain their strength quickly and help the others to their feet.

San crouches down beside me, brushing my tears away as I mumble disheaval words while trying to catch my breath. ‘Please stop him. He can’t sacrifice himself.’

San’s eyes become so dark that I have no idea what he’s thinking. He says nothing and continues to wipe my flowing tears.

Yeosang and Yeojin rush to my side, checking my condition. I lean against Yeosang's body weakly and mumble the same sentence. The siblings exchange worried glances but are unable to do anything.

The Revenge crew all stare at their captain’s back. The quartermaster stands behind Hongjoong, his body trembling with anger. “Hongjoong, don’t you dare do it. I’ll never forgive you.” He clenches his jaw, eyes switch between the witch and his captain, fear and desperation plaster on his expression.

“You can’t leave us! You told me to work for you for 50 years!” Yunho yells while patting Aurora’s back as she sobs into his chest.

“Captain, this is the most stupid plan!” I hear Jongho’s shout from afar. He sounds so angry that I have ever heard.

“I don’t want to be captain anymore. I don’t want your position anymore. You’re my only captain.” Mingi cries in the background.

The other crew continue protesting at Hongjoong, yet there’s no reaction from him. Seonghwa turns to my direction the same time his words echo in my head.

‘Knock some senses into that guy. Only you can stop him.’

I take a deep breath and signal Yeosang to carry me toward Hongjoong. I swayed his heart once, I hope he’ll listen to me and change his mind.

In no time, Yeosang stops beside Hongjoong. I stare at his expressionless side profile and call him weakly. “H-hongjoong…”

He startles, yet remains focused forward where the witch locates. My trembling hand reaches toward him and rests on his hand above the rail. “Please…”

“I’m sorry.” His voice sounds weak and hoarse. I believe he doesn’t want to do it, so I need to try harder.

“Please…” I say again. This time, he pushes my hand away and says coldly. “Yeosang, take her away from the rail.”

His response is enough to stab me in the middle of my heart.

“Hongjoong! you can’t-” Yeosang’s sentence is cut off by the witch’s laugh.

“Oh, don’t be too happy yet. I haven’t finished my sentence.” A devilishness in the witch’s tone shook to the bottom of my heart. “I won’t turn your crew into monsters, but I’ll kill them all and make you watch.”

After she finishes her sentence, the monsters immediately attack the ship. They start climbing up and fling themselves into the upper deck. Everything is happening too fast for us to react. Many unprepared crews become the prey of bloodthirsty monsters. The terrifying cry dominates the ship once again.

Because of the power of the witch bane dagger, no monsters dare to come in my direction and target the other victims.

Hongjoong curses and shoots at the nearest monster that is climbing over the rail. Then he whips his head toward me and is taken aback by my nasty glare.

I wish I could pull his mullet right now. How could he become so stupid to believe the witch’s word?! Damn, I cry for nothing.

I use my little strength to pull San dagger out of my belt and almost drop it when San suddenly jumps in front of me. He catches it and puts it in my hand. Then he pounces at a fish headed monster, slashing its body into half with his claws. 

Hongjoong and Seonghwa roar out orders for the crew to fight back. The men holler in unison. When it comes to fighting, whether it's a man or monster, as long as they’re an enemy, the Revenge crew fight brutally and forget that they were once being scared a second ago. The sound of gunfire and cannon bloom around the ship.

However, it isn’t an easy fight. The Kraken sends gigantic waves against our ship. The ship rocks violently, causing the crew to lose their stance to fight back the sea creatures. In a few seconds, a handful of men have already met their ends.

When I look at the Kraken’s head, the sea witch and Aurora’s father have disappeared. I scan around the ship in fear that she’ll pop out of nowhere. The warzone is overcrowded with men and monsters. I feel dizzy to the point I can’t keep my eyes open. The foul odor of monsters and human blood makes me gag.

“Take the women to Wonderland now!! Seonghwa makes sure the rest of the crew leave the ship!” Hongjoong shouts his command while fighting off a monster that tries to chew his crew's face.

“What about you!” Seonghwa shouts amidst firing at a nearby monster that is about to charge at him.

“I’ll remain here until every crew reaches Wonderland!” Hongjoong shouts back.

“If you stay, I’ll stay!” Seonghwa furiously yells back.

Hongjoong kicks a monster away before shouting at the boatswain. “Jongho takes Seonghwa with you!!”

“But-” Jongho, who’s fighting next to him, stiffen, looking between Hongjoong and Seonghwa in a dilemma.

Hongjoong shouts at the younger boy and pushes him toward Seonghwa. “Go!!!”

“No, you must come with us!! I won’t go without you!” Not sure where my strength comes from, I shout on top of my lungs, it sounds so raspy to the point it can be mistaken as a monster's squeak. My throat burns from yelling, but I don’t care. If he doesn’t leave with us, then he won’t survive. Although the monsters don’t attack him, the witch is targeting him.

Hongjoong halts in his momentum and whirl around to stare at me. “I keep my promise to take you to Wonderland, now go!!” As soon as he shouts, the tentacle wrecks in between me and him, breaking the upper deck, separating us apart.

The combatant pushes Yeosang and me away from the tentacle radius. Yeosang stumbles to the ground, hugging me tightly. San uses his back to cover me from thousands of splinters. I feel it glaze my legs but the pain is nothing compared to fear of losing Hongjoong.

“Nooo!!” I reach out my hand toward Hongjoong’s silhouette where he turns around and fights with sea monsters that harm his crews. Soon his figure disappears into the crowd.

I hear Seonghwa shouts his name in the background and tries to cross the broken deck. The boatswain uses his strength to drag the older man away from the big hole.

“To the rowboat!!” Jongho shouts toward our direction.

San immediately lifts me up and drapes me over his shoulder. He starts running toward the rowboat. Monsters part way for us as I carry San dagger. Yeosang, Yeojin,and several crew follow us closely.

While we’re embarking the rowboat, Jongho and Seonghwa guard us from approaching monsters. Once the boat is full, Jongho carries Seonghwa and dumps him into the boat.

“Go!! I’ll leave with the others!!” Jongho shouts and heaves the rope to lower down our boat into the sea where the monsters are awaiting for us. Seonghwa curses at the boatswain and tries to climb back into the ship, but the others hold him back. He furiously struggles for a while and eventually gives up. “Take Hongjoong with you!”

The younger man nods his head with determination in his eyes.

“Yahhh!! Purple head, get Jongho and captain with you!!!” The master gunner shouts at Wooyoung who’s helping Aurora to board the rowboat next to us.

Mingi ruffles his hair fumingly, but quickly orders the gun crew to shoot at the monsters below to clear the path.

I lie weakly in San embrace, feeling so helpless witnessing my friends fight for our lives. San uses his claws to slash monsters into half when they try to climb our boat. And he checks my condition from time to time. Yeojin, Yeosang, Yunho and the others use all their strength to row the boat toward Wonderland. Mingi and Seonghwa pour their anger on the monsters by firing nonstop.

Because several rowboats are dispatched from the Revenge. Monsters instantly change the target to the rowboats.

Yeojin screams when it tries to take her oar away and pulls her into the water. The quartermaster swiftly shoots at its tentacle, it screeches and leaps back into the water. Still, we have less monsters pestering us compared to the other rowboats due to the existence of witch bane dagger.

It’s been a few minutes since we rowed the boat, but we’re getting nowhere near wonderland. The red color has covered ¾ of the moon. My hope turns dim as the distance to Wonderland seems far away like a mile with the monsters in between. For the first time, I want all of this to be a mere fiction. At least if they die, the author could still rewrite the story. I could pretend that these people aren’t real and my heart wouldn’t be tormented like this.

Terrifying screams continue endlessly. A female shrink reaches my ears. I whip my head to see that one rowboat gradually sinks. The monsters swarm that boat and try to pull it to one side. I instantly know right away that it’s Aurora’s boat. Wooyoung, Hongjoong, and Jongho ride on that boat. If they end up in the water, there’s zero chance of their survival.

The moment their boat turns upside down, I scream in my head.

‘Seakeeper-nim. HELP!!!!’ I feel my little strength pull away from my body and I fall limp on San’s chest, almost black out.

Suddenly, the purple light above Wonderland brightens up. The monsters screech by the light and disappear into the water.

The whole place instantly quiet down. None of the bloodthirsty monsters can be seen above the water. The pirates are confused by the abrupt disappearance. However, it didn't take long for them to understand the situation. The pirates cheer up in triumph, and they quickly rescue survivors floating in the sea.

Luckily, our boat found Wooyoung and Aurora swimming in the water. Yeosang immediately checks both of them. Aurora is shaking up, there’s a few minor scratches on her arms. On the other hand, Wooyoung got bitten on his left shoulder. Blood heavily flows from the wound and doesn’t look like it will stop easily.

“Where’s Hongjoong and Jongho?” Seonghwa asks the first mate while Yeosang tries his best to stop the bleeding.

“Jongho wouldn’t come with us, he said we should leave first and he would find captain all by himself. There were too many monsters attacking us so we had no choice.” He covers his face, unable to meet anyone in the eyes.

“You’re saying they're still on the ship?” Seonghwa asks, his face hardened.

“I don’t know.” Wooyoung answers weakly.

Seonghwa and the others are speechless. However, they don't blame Wooyoung and stare at the Revenge. The remaining crew on the ship jump into the sea and swim toward the island.

As the monsters disappear, the other boats use this opportunity to speed to Wonderland, except our boat that is staying still.

“H-help them…” I whisper.

“We’ll rescue them.” Seonghwa says as if he heard me. The others nod, and vigorously row toward the Revenge.

As we’re halfway toward the ship, the witch suddenly screams from out of nowhere. “Don’t let a single one of them get away!! Kill them all!!”

Right after her scream, the purple light fickles and the monsters slowly emerge from the water.

“!” Seonghwa curses, shooting at monsters that start to head into our direction. The fight unfortunately breaks for the second time.

Suddenly, Yunho shouts and points in one direction where several monsters are heading toward a man floating above the sea. “That’s Jongho!”

Seonghwa instantly orders the crew to row toward the victim's location, however the man has already vanished from the surface once we reach there.

Mingi immediately gets up and about to leap into the water when the others quickly hold him back.

“Let me go!!! I won’t see my friend die again!!!” He shouts furiously and tries to wiggle himself out of the grasp.

With a shaking hand, I raise my dagger toward Mingi. He notices my gesture and grabs San dagger. “Thanks.” He says, then fearlessly dives into the sea.

The monsters part ways for him. Our anxiety rises up when he’s gone for too long. Yunho prepares to jump after Mingi when the red haired man comes up with the younger guy. Yunho and Seonghwa quickly help them climb up the boat.

The boatswain coughs out water painfully. Bitten wounds are spotted on his face and body, luckily they weren’t fatal. After calming down, Jongho stammers out words. “C-captain said he would leave after me…b-but I don’t know where he is.”

His confession is like a slap to our face. We turn our heads toward the Revenge. The kraken fully wraps its tentacles all over the vessel, trying to drag her down. From our bare eyes, there’s no man on the ship anymore. Then, we’re scanning at the sea and only spot the monsters.

So where is he?

Suddenly, we hear a man screaming from the ship's direction. In one of the grasp of the kraken's tentacle is the man we’re searching for. The kraken lifts him up into the air. Hongjoong struggles to break away from the grip but it is no use.

Everyone stares at the scene in horror. The boats that are heading toward Wonderland are frreezing in their tracks. “Captain!!” The crew shout frantically. They rain bullets at the kraken, yet it does no damage to it at all.

“Go!!!” Hongjoong still manages to shout at us. It seems like the Kraken doesn’t mean to squeeze him to death but to hold him hostage.

“No…” Tears swell up in my eyes. I hiccup, having a hard time breathing. An unbearable pain hit my heart. Yeojin pats my back to calm me down, but she’s also shaking in fear.

“What should we do?” Someone cries out. The pirates busily defending the boat, but their eyes remain fixed at Hongjoong’s figure. They anxiously wait for somebody to give them command. However, the quartermaster is too stunned to give out the suicide mission.

Returning to rescue Hongjoong means that they have to face off the kraken. Although they’re armed, it’s like they fight with bare hands when confront with the legendary creature. And they might not make it to Hongjoong’side as more and more monsters trying to sink their boats.

Everyone understands these points, and sadly Hongjoong knows the points as well. He keeps shouting for us to leave. No matter how many times he shout, none of his crew row boats toward Wonderland.

The combatant suddenly takes San dagger from my hand. I look at him confusedly.

“Star, I won’t let you cry anymore. Remember, I’m your dagger.” He whispers to me, his midnight gaze stares at me as he leaning his face closer. Then he presses his cold lips against mine and suddenly gets up.

“Take them to Wonderland.” He speaks to Seonghwa before jumping into the sea. Icy droplets splash to my body like needles stabbing me. I cry soundlessly to stop him, but it’s too late.

The pirates shout at San in terror. Wooyoung tries to follow after San but his friends hold him down. We helplessly watch him swim toward the Kraken’s direction.

Without the presence of San dagger, monsters advancing toward us like moths attract to flame.

“Seonghwa, what do we do?” Yeosang shouts while trying to protect me, who's still in shock and unable to defend myself. The boat sways to one side, causing an unlucky crew to fall into the water, the hungry monsters immediately swarm at him before his mates are able to rescue him.

“Leave!!!” We hear Hongjoong’s desperate shout once again.

The quartermaster looks down at his feet and gives us orders with a trembling voice. “To Wonderland.”

—

Around 50 survivors make it to the shore of Wonderland. Less than half of the Revenge crew survive the long journey. We situate at the beach, staring at the fallen Revenge, at the friends who didn’t make it, at those vile monsters that depart our loved ones.

Fortunately, monsters couldn’t follow us to the island as there’s an invisible barrier protecting the island and preventing the monsters from going inside. Although we're now safe, no one has a heart to celebrate at all.

I lean against Yeosang, allowing tears to flow freely. Even though I gained a little strength when I stepped foot onto the island, I can’t bring myself to use my own strength. The pain from losing two dear people wrench me apart.

Hongjoong and San are still out there. It’s been 10 minutes since we’ve arrived on the island. Although 10 minutes might be a short time, it feels long like an eternity has passed. Many terrible thoughts evade my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut and bury my face into Yeosang’s chest.

His body is also trembling from crying silently. He hugs me tightly and pats my head. Yeojin sits on the other side of him, she too weeps into Wooyoung’s shoulder. Wooyoung stares angrily at the sea, his eyes turn red from the loss of his close mate.

Next to us, Aurora sobs into Yunho’s chest while he’s comforting her quietly. “Mother…” Unfortunately, her mother’s body was lost when their boat sank. Yunho pats her back, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Captain.” The crew wail for Hongjoong. They’re too weak to get out of safe zone and fight with monsters.

Seonghwa sits solemnly apart from the other crew since we arrived here. Suddenly he stands up and stomps toward one of the rowboats. Jongho and Mingi quickly intercept him. “What’re you doing?!”

“Hongjoong and San are still out there. I can't leave them to die. I’m going to save them!” Seonghwa shouts, voice cracking.

“Get it together Seonghwa! You’re now in charge! The crew need you, we need you!” Mingi yells. He angrily wipes his tears away. “I beg you, I can’t lose my friends anymore.”

As Mingi pleaded, Seonghwa’s knees hit the sand, his hands cover above his eyes. Mingi falls down next to him, engulfing him in a hug. Jongho peers at them and clenches his jaw, he looks up into the night sky as if it’ll stop him from crying.

“San has your dagger. I’m sure he’ll rescue Hongjoong and return to us safely.” Yeosang murmurs. I want to believe his words but they’re against a horde of monsters and the witch. Their chances are too slim.

Then someone yanks me away from Yeosang. My body clashes into a hard body of a man.

“Alice!!” The person hugs me tightly. “We made it to Wonderland. Quick, make a wish.”

To my surprise, the young commander survives. Chris pulls away to look at me with a hope-filled gaze. His handsome face is swollen with purple bruises and smeared with dried blood and dirt. He smiles widely with splited lips. “After you recover, I’ll show you the world and sail anywhere you want to go.”

I peer at him, at a loss of words. His sister died 2 months ago. After my soul leaves Alice’s body, he’ll learn that his sister is dead.

“Sure brother, we’ll travel the world together.” I lied. At least, I want to make this villain happy for the last time.

Chris grins wider, he pats my head in a loving manner. Suddenly, he is jerked away by someone. Jongbin kicks Chris into the gut and punches him incessantly. A vein pops up on Jongbin’s temple, his entire face and neck turning red. “This world doesn't need a person like you. Today is your last day!”

Chris groans from the hit, yet he doesn’t fight back. He lies motionlessly on the sand and becomes a punching bag.

Jongho runs toward his raging brother and seizes him before he literally kills Chris.

“Stop it! Even if you kill him now, it’s not going to make a difference. We’re at Wonderland, you can make a wish for those soldiers to come back alive. Then you and your friends can take revenge whatever you want!” Jongho forcefully throws his brother to the ground. The lieutenant glares at his younger brother and looks away.

As Jongbin doesn’t have an intention to fight Chris anymore, Jongho sighs and turns to Chris. He still lies on the ground, blood spurting from his mouth and nose. The other pirates watch the scene with disinterest and focus back to the chaos beyond the island once the fight is deceased.

“Look!!” Someone yells, alerting people on the beach. He points at the water where two figures float toward the island. The pirates lift their weapons up toward the direction. They squint their eyes to see whether the figures are human or monsters.

“!” Wooyoung suddenly curses and stands up, sprinting into the water. Several men go after him. A moment later, they carry two bodies onto the shore.

“Captain/San!!” The others yell in surprise and dart toward them. As soon as Yeosang sees who they are, he flies toward their location without waiting for me. Yeojin gives me a piggy ride and runs after him. Aurora closely follows us and we arrive there as the last people.

The crew surround two bodies in a large circle, watching the surgeon and his apprentice to save both of them.

“Joong!” Aurora cries, pushing past the crew into the circle. Yeojin whips her head between Hongjoong and San direction, but can’t decide where to go. When she hears Wooyoung’s indistinct shout, she heads toward that way.

She drops me next to the combatant. His condition makes me grasp, tears gathering in my eyes. San is unconscious. His shirt shredded to pieces, revealing three deep grazes on his body from his right shoulder to his left waist, blood heavily flowing from big and small wounds. His monstrous arm twists in a weird angle. The first mate and a few crew members try to stop the bleeding using their own clothes.

They shout something to one another but my ears no longer receive noise. My heartbeat drum in my ears, black spots appear in my sight. My body feels numb and my brain goes blank.

“Breath.” I hear Yeojin’s voice and feel her hand patting my back. I try to breathe air into my lungs, but my body doesn’t listen to me. My breath starts to shorten, cold sweat breaks on my back. My body quivers on its own. Yeojin begins to panic and shakes me. “Stay with me! Get it together, Star!”

Then I hear a painful cough from the man beside me. San opens his eyes and observes his surroundings. When our gaze meets, I regain my senses.

“San!” My voice leaves my throat and my body automatically shifts closer to him. He looks at me, a flash of pain shows across his face. ‘Don’t cry anymore.’ He mouths at me. His words make me cry harder. He raises his human hand holding a dagger soaking with murky blood. My shaky hand extends to grab it and use another hand to hold his hand. San smiles and rests his gaze on my face. The crew continue to dress his wounds with difficulty, yet he doesn't let out a single painful grunt.

“He’s not breathing!” From behind me, I hear the surgeon yell with panic. I whip my head toward Hongjoong and I look back to San.

‘Go.’ San whispers. I nod. As Yeojin tries to help me up, the master gunner appears from behind her and carries me toward Hongjoong.

He settles me down next to Hongjoong’s unconscious body. It looks like he’s sleeping peacefully. I reach my hand to touch his face. Coldness seeps into my skin. My tears begin to come out and blur my sight. The crew around me are weeping loudly. Yeosang continues to pump Hongjoong’s chest. Aurora beside him cries into Hongjoong’s hand. And the quartermaster terrifiedly stares at his captain’s body beside her.

“You can’t die. I don’t allow it” I hiccup in between my words. We successfully reached Wonderland. He can’t selfishly leave me first. I didn’t risk my life just to see him die. I promised I’d take him to Wonderland and break the curse so wake up!

I grab his chin and open his mouth. The others quiet down and look at what I’m doing. I take a shaky breath and ready to breathe live into his mouth. Then the supposed unconscious man suddenly spits water into my face. He coughs for several seconds and his eyes flutter open.

Seeing their precious captain gain consciousness, the crew immediately cheer in unison. I wipe my face, unable to believe my eyes. Hongjoong raises his hand to clutch his chest. His motion confirms to me that he’s alive. Happiness, joy, and whatever emotion it is explode in my heart. I let out a tearful laughter and wipe my tears that never stop gushing out.

“Damn, he should’ve waited a little longer.” Wooyoung says and gets hit by Yeojin. Wooyoung cries and grabs his wounded shoulder.

Yeosang helps Hongjoong sit up. He groans and massages his temple, then he scans the area. The crew smile at him, yet he is strangely quiet. Until his gaze falls on me, he suddenly engulfs me in a hug.

For a long moment, he pulls away and asks the most stupid question. “Is this a dream?”

I snort through tears and pull his mullet gently. His eyes become bright and he begins laughing heartily. The crew holler in joy together with him.

He thanks Yeosang and greets Seonghwa, and the other crew. He smiles at Aurora and turns back to me.

“If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.” He says cheesily and cups my cheeks, staring at me with so much sweetness in his eyes. I feel warmth restore in my heart and say a cheesy answer back to him. “If you’re inside this dream, I don’t want to wake up from it either.”

Listening to my answer, his lips curve upward into a sly grin. Suddenly, he kisses me in front of everyone. The crew all cry out because of their captain's shamelessness. Yet, he doesn’t let me go easily. His lips taste like yearning and longing. My body melts down and becomes lighter, my mind becomes hazy, tears of happiness spill from a corner of my eyes. We’re lost in the moment until many people cough loudly.

I have to be the one who needs to pull away from him and cover my face from embarrassment. The crew tease their captain and me, making him chuckle satisfyingly.

“Miss Star kissed 3 men today so who does she really like?” Someone says out of the blue and the whole place becomes silent.

We all turn our heads to the culprit who ruins the atmosphere. Because of the attention, Jack covers his mouth and hides behind Jim. No matter how happy I see him alive, that little Jack dared to expose me, I gotta teach him a lesson. And most importantly, I wasn’t even the one who initiated the kisses. I was the victim!

“Three.” Hongjoong mumbles in a low voice, raising his brow and scanning his crew in scrutinizing manners. They all turn away from him, except two men who return his gaze. Yeosang who sits beside him and San who’s now able to sit up straight.

They stare at each other without exchanging words and look at me at the same time.

I jolt in my seat, feeling like fainting again. I blink at them, not knowing what to say. I look around for help but all of my friends look everywhere except me. Thus I sigh and say. “Friendly kiss?”

The three men, including the crew all snort at my answer. I scrunch my face in grimace. I want to tell the world that these men kissed me and I didn’t kiss them!!! Stop judging me!!!

Fortunately, the quartermaster breaks the ridiculous tension and saves my life. “We should travel inside the island. It’s not safe here.” He looks slightly annoyed and of course, he glares at me again.

This time I glare back at him, causing him to scoff and look away.

“You feel better?” Hongjoong asks. Then I realize that I indeed feel much more strength in my body and I can speak in a full sentence. I try to get up by myself but my legs give way. Two pairs of hands reach to catch me. Hongjoong and Yeosang glance at each other.

“Captain, you just drowned so let me carry her.” Yeosang says, sounding like his devil mode is .

Hongjoong snickers. “Surgeon, thanks for worrying but I’m fine. You can look after the other patients.”

I swear, I see fire in their eyes. I sigh at their childish behavior and swat their hands away. They become sheepish by my reaction. Luckily, the master gunner breaks in between us and lifts me in the air. “I’ll carry Shooting Star, everyone back off.”

The others snicker but allow him to carry me. Mingi smiles at me proudly and walks ahead of everyone into the island. Seonghwa shouts for the crew to follow after. Aurora stands beside him. Her gloomy gaze peers at Hongjoong. I realize we just kissed in front of her and feel ashamed. Hongjoong should’ve been considerate of her feelings. What he did was really mean.

Then a small voice in my head whispers to me. If Hongjoong loves her, he should’ve kissed her, not me. That means he loves…

I look at Hongjoong who is drilling holes at Mingi’s back. He’s closely trailing after us. He gives me a grin once our eyes connect. Even though I see his flirtatious grin countless times, my heart is still pounding like I saw him for the first time. I break our eye contact as the feelings that I try to bury start to resurface.

Moreover, I feel two other pairs of eyes on me. Behind Hongjoong, Yeosang looks at me worriedly. He and Yunho support San to walk. San being stubborn, he tries to push them away and walk faster to catch up with Mingi. But he ends up getting scolded by the surgeon. His face gets darkened as a result.

Then I hear Wooyoung and Yeojin’s voice bickering at each other from behind them. And at the very back, Jongho helps carry Chris and Jongbin walking a little far behind.

Peering at the moon that almost turns red, fear creeps from a corner of my mind. My time is running out. Yet, the ending of this journey is unknown.

Outside the island, the Kraken and monsters try to break the invisible barrier. Their screeching noises raise hair on my arms. The sea witch resentment screams causes my hand to clench around San dagger.

My nonexisting seeress power warns me that my fight will come soon. 

( ╯°□°)╯ ┻━━┻

OMGGG!!! I hope everyone have a good rest after reading this chapter. It was so intense ( ಥ ʖ̯ ಥ) I took a lot of time editing because it wasn't intense enough lol. My spoiler for next chapter is it'll be much more __(fill the blank)__ than this chapter. So be prepared!