Presenting 10k words chapter (°ロ°) ! Read at your own risk.

[Trigger warning: violent, blood, gore]

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Unlike the fake Wonderland, the real Wonderland doesn’t have strange glowing trees that eat humans. Instead, the plants here bear bizarre-looking fruits which I’ve never seen before. Darkness falls upon the whole island, only a faint light from the purple star above illuminates a narrow trail heading toward the heart of the island.

As we go deeper, the air is less chilly than the beach. However, my body won't stop shivering. Although my fever seems to have broken, the screeching sounds of the sea monsters intensifies my anxiety. Who knows when the invisible barrier will be taken down by the sea witch. I hope that the pirates and I are able to make a wish in time to avoid the bloody fight.

The pirates probably think the same as they move at a fast pace. The master gunner, who carries me, leads the groups and the others follow us in silence.

“So you’ve made up your mind…” Mingi speaks up after being quiet for a while. “To leave?”

I avert my gaze to him. His expression is slightly gloomy. He avoids my eye contact and looks straight at the path.

Even though I expect that my friends will ask me this question at Wonderland, it’s difficult to answer because I don’t want to see their hurtful expression. Nevertheless, I want to be clear and not give them false hope. I can’t selfishly stay in Alice’s body with Seakeeper power. Stealing her identity while Chris and her family are waiting for her doesn’t sit well with me. Imagine how heartbroken they will be, when they learn that she ran off with the most notorious pirates.

Hence I nod to Mingi and brace myself for whatever comment from him.

Surprisingly, his mouth spread into a small smile. “Well then, promise me you’ll live impressively. And I allow you to have a new best friend so you won’t be lonely.”

His response sends electric shock to my heart. I bite my lower lip, trying my best to not break down in front of him. I swallow a lump in my throat and give him a smile. “Thank you, Mingi. You’ll always be my number one best friend.”

Mingi’s smile turns into a smug grin. “Of course, you can’t find anyone as impressive as me.”

Both of us chuckle at his own statement. I rest my head on his shoulder. My chest feels a lot lighter after conversing with him.

Then someone coughs loudly behind us. I glance at a tiny man struggling to keep up with Mingi’s long legs. He clutches his chest and continues coughing. As he notices that I glimpse at him, he returns the stare, a flash of mischievousness passes across his yellow eyes that are glowing in the dark. “Aish! The sea water was so salty, I crave something sweet.”

I scrunch my nose at him, remembering when he exposed our kiss to everyone by saying he had tasted something sweet. Unfortunately, sea water returned him into a shameless and cunning man. The image of the sacrificial captain was completely thrown away. 

Hongjoong grins when he sees my reaction. My stomach makes a weird flip. I quickly tear my gaze away from him and shake my head to suppress the old feelings. It was already bad enough that he kissed me in front of everyone, but it was worse that he acted the same around me when he was supposed to keep a distance. His action is making my heart sway. And that is what I’m afraid of the most.

“Hongjoong is in the mood to eat now?” Mingi mumbles, making me giggle at his innocence. “Captain, if you're so hungry, we can pick these fruits on our way back!” He shouts at Hongjoong, making me laugh harder.

Hongjoong responds to Mingi with a scoff. Not long after, he lets out a fits of cough, sounding so painful that I start to worry. His body hasn’t recovered from drowning and he has to walk a long distance. His heavy panting can be heard clearly. Yet, he gives me a grin whenever I peek at him. Eventually, the surgeon walks up to Hongjoong to check his condition and offers to carry the sick captain. Hongjoong refuses Yeosang and increases his speed, walking past Mingi and I to the front.

“I’m the captain, I need to lead my crew.”

We hear him mutter the words to himself and sigh at his stubbornness. Yeosang shakes his head and goes back to help Yunho, supporting San who is in worse condition than Hongjoong. He looks like he’ll lose consciousness any minute. But when he detects my worried gaze, he tries to walk by himself and get scolded by both Yeosang and Yunho. Wooyoung behind him also joins in nagging his mate. I believe the latter guy finds an opportunity to pick on San since normally he won’t be able to do so without being retaliated.

“Shut up.” Just a simple word from the injured man, the first mate snorts and shuts his mouth.

Then we resume walking in peace with a horrible background music singing by sea monsters.

In a short while, our group reached a cave. Strangely enough, faint light emits from the entrance, reminding me of the fake Wonderland. But the purple star from above assures me that this is the real one. The sea witch is a copycat.

Hongjoong’s body tense up, staring at the cave entrance. The crew stare at his back, waiting for his order. In the next second, he turns around. His expression is frightening, especially with a pair of yellow slit eyes. He scans the crew who all look battered and worn out.

“Fifty of us made it for the second time.” He whispers, a hint of pain in his tone.

The crews’ face fell because of his remark. Last time there were a little less than 100 of them that made it to Wonderland. Now it is reduced to half. Some of them can’t help but throw a nasty glare at the sworn enemy who caused their death.

The young commander is half conscious, carried by the boatswain. Jongho clenches his jaw, but doesn't intend to throw the man to the ground.

“Let’s do this .” Hongjoong seethes, whirling around and leads everyone inside the cave.

After a short walk, we entered a large cave hall. A vast pool is located at a half end of the big space. The ceiling is open, allowing us to see the blood red full moon and tiny purple star. The light travels into the cave and illuminates the water into a glowing blue hue. The hall looks exactly like the fake Wonderland. I start to wonder how on earth the witch was able to mimic her lair to Wonderland.

Mingi settles me down on a giant rock near the pond. Then Yeosang and Yunho help San sitting next to me. His complexion turns pale from blood loss. The thick clothes that wrap around his body are completely soaked with his blood. San rests his head on my shoulder and shut his eyes. The iciness of his skin frightens me. I want to hug him to warm him up, but afraid that I’ll accidentally touch his wounds so I only hold his human hand.

Yeojin and Aurora stand next to me while Ateez members stand loosely around us and the crew scatter around the area. We’re a little surprised to see no one here. I thought Seakeeper was waiting for us. They shouted for her, but a minute passed, and nobody made an appearance.

“If you don't come out, Little Star is gonna sing!” Wooyoung walks up to me, his annoying dolphin voice echoing in the cave multiple times. Yeojin lifts her hand ready to hit him but remembers that his shoulder is wounded so she pulls his ear instead. Wooyoung grunts and rebukes the girl. And they end up bickering again.

“Isn't she supposed to welcome us?” Seonghwa mumbles, side eyeing me.

I shrug. I have no idea where she is. I’m not a real seer, alright. I want to tell him this but it’s not a time to be sassy.

“There’s no stone inscription at the front of the pool. So are we supposed to drop our blood into the water like the last time?” Yunho says. His words cause Aurora to slouch her shoulders. Realizing his mistake, he clasps his mouth and looks at the girl apologetically.

“How did you make a wish last time?” Seonghwa changes the topic by asking Aurora.

“I wasn’t sure. But I was wishing when Joong was…” Aurora didn’t finish the sentence because we all know what happened. “I also remembered that my necklace was glowing during that time.” She grasps her necklace that became dull after the witch took it.

Upon hearing her answer, we are still not sure how to make a wish.

I peer at Hongjoong who stand a little far away from the group. He stares at the pond, clutching over his chest. The quartermaster calls for his attention when notices that he doesn’t pay his mind to our conversation. Hongjoong turns around, his stern face changes to a mischievous one.

“So Star has to sing then.” He teases me with a sly grin. The others chuckle, even San who suffers from severe wounds displays a small smirk.

I raise my eyebrow at him. The more he tries to be playful, the clearer I see through his intention to hide his pain. Not wanting to call him out, I decide to play along. Taking a deep breath, I mean to shout Seakeeper name, but spot some people already covering their ears. And I think I see Yeojin as the first person to cover her ears.

I haven’t yelled yet when the pond water starts to vibrate. Water slowly rises up in the air. Ateez immediately guards in front of us, women. Whilst the crew point their weapons at the strange movement. The water rises higher and magically forms into a human shape. We hold our breath until the water solidifies into human flesh.

A middle aged lady with long blonde hair reaching the floor, clad in a long white dress, emerges from the water. Her pale feet step onto land and stop a few steps away from our group. As she goes closer to us, I see how her body strangely appears transparent and blurry. Her sparkly blue eyes scan the people before her.

Seeing that she’s no threat, the pirates take their weapons down and stare at her, too stunned to utter anything.

“It’s her.” San whispers, eyes fixing at the woman figure.

The white dress woman smiles gently at San. “Poor child, you’ve done well.”

San instantly frowns, probably getting offended by being called ‘Poor child.’

“Seakeeper nim?” I ask her although I’m sure she’s the real Seakeeper, judging from her graceful aura.

She smiles as an answer. “Hello child, it must be a long tiring journey. You, too, have done well.”

I smile back awkwardly, remembering how I threw my frustration at her in my dream and embarrassing myself for a span of 2 months.

The pirates also have awkward reactions, for example Wooyoung who challenged me to sing back then, now becomes timid.

Seakeeper’s eyes travel to the man standing in the front. Her gentle smile disappears, causing her to suddenly look intimidating.

“Stupid child.”

Being called out by Seakeeper, the infamous captain startles, then he gasps.

“G-grandma?” He stammers, shocked written all over on his face.

Because of Hongjoong’s remark, everyone's minds are blown away. So Seakeeper is really his grandma! However, she looks too young to be a granny. And she doesn't deserve to be called an old hag from the sea witch either.

Before Seakeeper confirms him, Hongjoong drives into embrace her, but his body goes right through her body. “Grandma! What’s wrong?” He cries, staring at her in disbelief and fear.

Seakeeper’s features soften. “Stupid child, how many times do I have to tell you that I’m not your grandma.”

The words are like thunder striking at Hongjoong. He takes a step backward, shaking his head in denial. “Even my memory was hazy, I remember you. We lived on the island together. Then you disappeared and I somehow drowned in the sea with lost memory. What was going on!?”

The onlookers quietly observe both of them, equally confused by the situation.

“Do you want to listen to your childhood story or break the curse?” Seakeeper says calmly, but it has a great impact on the listener.

Hongjoong is taken aback by her words. He looks down in defeat and nods his head. We look at him with concern, but not sure what to do in this situation.

In a split second, he looks up with a calm demeanor. “Alright, we’re here to break the curse, but you owe me an explanation.”

The older woman smiles in return, “Close your eyes and wish for the thing that you desire the most at this moment.” The pirates obediently follow the instructions and shut their eyes tight. “If you want to return back time, I’m afraid I can't assist you on the next journey.” She says, peering at Hongjoong. He frowns and avert his gaze to me. I shake my head at him, signaling him that it’s not a good idea. Seakeeper is at her weakest point. Sea witch will surely attack her since she already knows the Wonderland location. And it’d be a disadvantage if the pirates all lose their memories again. And most importantly, I might not go back in time with them.

“A wish for yourself.” Seakeeper speaks again. I nod at Hongjoong, hoping he won’t make a wish for me. He sighs and finally closes his eyes.

Yeojin, Aurora, and I watch the pirates in anticipation. My heart is beating fast with nervousness. This very moment is like a fever dream. I have to pinch myself to test that I’m not dreaming.

Bright Light envelops the pirates' bodies. It’s so bright that I need to close my eyes. The light stays for a minute and disappears. When I reopen my eyes, the view in front of me almost makes me choke in tears.

All of them have returned to their human forms!

Loud cheer booming stirring with cries of happiness. The crew hug one another, celebrating after getting their bodies back.

“Ahhh!! I miss my arm.” Mingi kisses his arm multiple times, and brushes his tears away.

Yunho touches his and lets out a sigh of relief. Even without a tail, he still looks like a puppy with a bright smile on his face.

Jongho uses his tongue to check that his teeth have returned to their normal state. His brother next to him frowns and scans around the area.

“What’s wrong?” Jongho asks.

“I wished for my crew to come back alive and return home safely, with no memories of what that treacherous commander did to them.” Jongbin can’t help but glare at Chris lying on the floor.

Jongho grabs his chin, “They might appear in their homes then. You have to come back to confirm.”

Jongbin’s mouth curves upward. “I hope so.”

Then the siblings quiet down in realization. It’s been a long time since they had a nice conversation without taunting each other. The awkward feelings fall upon both of them, then Jongho proceeds to talk to the other crews to escape the uncomfortable situation.

Yeosang touches his nose and neck, and turns to smile at Yeojin and me. His sister boops his nose and hugs him tightly. She cries so loud that I also shed tears.

Wooyoung jumps up and down as he has his human legs back, laughing satisfiedly in a dolphin squeak. Then he checks the wound on his shoulder, his eyes become round when he notices that his wound has healed. He then embraces both Yeojin and Yeosang in a group hug.

Seonghwa touches his ears and grins to himself. When his eyes connect with me, his lips turn into a smirk and show his ears in my way as if to tell me that I can no longer make fun of the black fins. I stick out my tongue at him and look away.

Next to me, San observes his arm and uses the other hand to pinch his arm so hard that I think it’ll leave a bruise. As I can’t tolerate the cruelty of his action, I grab his hand to stop him.

San crane his neck to look at me blankly.

“It’s your arm.” I pat the red spot where he pinched himself.

A corner of his lips tug upward. He places his hand above mine. “Thank you for stopping me at that time.”

A memory when he almost cut off his arm resurfaced. I was so terrified at that moment. Luckily, I was able to calm him down, then I upsetted him because I couldn’t reciprocate his feelings. I didn’t have a chance to tell him that I appreciate him as I promised Wooyoung. I guess this is my chance.

However, he looks like he wants to speak more. “And…” San furrows his brows, pressing his lips together. It’s the first time I've seen him struggle with words. “I shouldn’t force you to love me. I’m sorry.” His words made me speechless. This man finally learns to apologize.

I smile widely and am about to accept his apology if he doesn’t speak the next sentence.

“But I never regret kissing you.” He says, a devilish smirk appears on his lips. My face flares and I hit his chest. Then I remember about his fatal wound on his chest.

I help him unwrap the clothes. Dried blood sticks on his upper body but the gashes completely disappear. Moreover, his skin becomes smooth, no traces of old scars at all. I reach my hand to touch his back because there’s a long nasty scar on the middle of his back, and I feel nothing against my fingers.

“Woah!! This is cool! Your skin is so smooth like a baby. I want to make a wish too!” I giggle, keep patting his back.

San smiles, flashing his cute dimples right in front of my eyes, leaning his face closer to me. Then I realize that I’m dangerously close to him and my action is too vulgar so I pull away with flushing cheeks. San doesn’t say anything and stares at me intently. I have to look away from mortification.

“Well…” I clear my throat. “I also need to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. You should know that I always appreciate you. But please promise me that you won’t put yourself in danger again. I hate to see you get hurt.”

“Um, I won’t make you cry again.” He says, but doesn’t sound like he’s promising me. Anyway, I don’t want to scold him further and enjoy the moment.

The cave is filled with contentment of the pirates. Everyone is in happy mode, except for one man.

Hongjoong’s eyes remain at Seakeeper, waiting for her explanation. However, remains shut. The quartermaster notices how somber his captain looks and shouts for everyone to quiet down.

Seakeeper nods at Seonghwa as a gratitude for calming the excited men. But instead of explaining Hongjoong’s childhood, she turns to look at me.

My whole body jerks when I realize that it’s my time to go home. The happiness vanishes from the air. My friends instantly lose their smiles on their faces. Although they’re silent, their stares are piercing me.

As I prepare to get up, San grabs my wrist. His face has turned darkened. He doesn’t say anything, but his eyes speak a thousand words. I look at his blurry figure because tears already gather in my eyes.

“Yah! Don’t do this, she wants to leave so let her!” Mingi angrily shouts at San. He jerks San’s hand away, but the latter guy doesn’t let go easily. They glare at each other, their rage burning in their orbs. The situation escalates so fast, the other members have to break in between both of them.

“Stop it, both of you. Star is leaving, she doesn't want to see her friends fight.” Jongho intervenes them, holding Mingi back. “She has done a lot of things for us. So it’s time for her to go home to her family and friends.”

“Right, it’s not like we’ll stop being friends even if we’re apart.” Yunho adds, smiling gloomily at me.

I hardly gulp my saliva and stare at San. His hand remains around my wrist, making the members become more upset.

Yeosang speaks up with a trembling voice. “I understand how you feel. All of us don’t want to lose her either. But she suffers too much here. Don’t you want her to be happy?” After he finished his speech, he turned his face away from me, but I already spot tears rolling down his cheeks. Yeojin hugs him tightly and pats his back, she doesn’t look at me at all. But I can see how her body is shaking as she sobs into Yeosang’s shoulder.

“I know how much you love her, but you have to let her go for her happiness.” Wooyoung says when the situation seems to get worse, “But Little Star, you can still change your mind though.”

The others look at the first mate with a betrayal look.

“She doesn’t belong here.” Seonghwa joins in and earns glares from his mates. He simply ignores them with a stern appearance. “You all have to consider how she’ll continue living in this world. We’re pirates with a high bounty. The Royal Navy and our enemies will keep hunting us down. She isn’t safe with us.”

Seonghwa sounds so considerate of me that I’m awestrucked. Glancing at him, I’m stunned by how sincere he looks. I nod at him and he nods back to me.

I turn to the person standing in front of the Seakeeper. Hongjoong stares at me quietly. He’s no longer wearing a mischievous facade. Pain and sorrow overtake his whole being. My heart isn’t strong enough to witness him being heartbroken. I have to look down before my tears fall out of my eyes.

The others continue to bombard San with judgemental comments. I stay quiet all the time because once I open my mouth, I’ll let out an ugly sob.

“Star, do whatever you feel like. I believe no one will judge your decision.” Aurora says. I feel her hand patting my back.

I take a deep breath, using another hand to wipe my tears before looking up. My friends are also staring at me with tearful faces.

“I made you cry again.” The man next to me says with clenched jaws. His hand on my wrist trembles slightly.

I shake my head. “No, I cry because I’m thankful that all of you are so nice to me. I’ve never received so much love in my life compared to these 2 months.” I pause as a wave of emotions hit me. My speech causes them to cast me worried glances.

“I found a group of people who I belong to. You guys accept me no matter how eccentric I am. So thanks for opening up to me, a stranger from another world. I’ll keep all of the memories in my heart. And it’d be nice if you’ll remember all the good things about me too.”

I spot Jim and Jack hugging each other while crying silently among the crew. They all look at me grimly. I feel bad for ripping off their wonderful time. Thus I conjure a wide smile to lighten up the mood. “Well, not gonna lie, I had a difficult time at first. You guys were threatening me to throw me off the ship, and even locked me in the brig.”

Seonghwa snickers as if he knows that he was the main villain of my misery. Some of the guys  chuckle along with the memories.

“A new life is awaiting for you guys. I hope you’ll live a happy and moral life from now on. Don’t get cursed again because I won’t be here to help next time.”

My heart feels lighter once I speak my mind although the pain of departure still remains there. I want to spend more good time with my friends, but my story with them has come to an end. They will have to start a new chapter without me.

Scanning my friends’ faces one by one, I try to remember this moment and engrave it to my heart.

Jongho, who hates to show his emotions, clenches his jaw so hard but still can’t stop his tears from flowing down. Jongbin looks so shocked to see his strong younger brother cry. He peers at the others and me with a perplexed expression. Because he doesn’t know that I’m not the real Alice. Luckily, Chris passed out and hasn’t woken up until now.

Aurora gives me an encouraging smile, and thanks me for successfully bringing Ateez to Wonderland. I thank her back. Because of her wish, I’m able to meet my friends here.

Yeojin hugs Yeosang’s waist, both of them smile at me through their tears. Yunho’s mouth curves upward, however, his eyes loop downward. He makes a small wave motion for me. Mingi has deep creases between his eyebrows, giving me a forced smile. Wooyoung turns away to wipe his tears and turns back to face me, he nods at me gloomily. And surprisingly Seonghwa mouths at me ‘good luck.’

I turn to San, his hand still wrap around my wrist. I don’t dare to look into his eyes as I’m afraid I might break down again.

“Can you me to Seakeeper?” I ask him, although I’m scared that he won’t listen to my request.

This time he doesn't protest and carries me up in a bridal style. He places me next to Hongjoong who stares at me with wavering red eyes.

“Star.” He whispers quietly. “You’re always my miracle.”

Breath hitches in my throat. My eyes burn more than it already should. “I want you to promise me another thing.”

He nods, a spark of hope blooms in his eyes, but vanishes when he hears what I say next.

“Don’t burden yourself alone. You have wonderful friends who support you.”

Hongjoong peers at his crew, smiling weakly. His mates smile back at him. “I know.” He turns back to me. “Goodbye, my little treasure.”

“Goodbye, my captain.” Even though I want to give him the most beautiful smile, I no longer have energy to fake it.

I then turn to San. “Thank you and goodbye, my life savior.” San reaches out to grab my hand. “Let me hold you until you leave.”

I nod at him, and face the others. “Thank you all. If you miss me, you can look at the stars. And when I miss you guys, I’ll do the same. Thank you again for being my friend. I’m truly happy.”

I turn around to Seakeeper, she gives me a motherly smile. “Wonderland chose the right person. We owe you so much this time. Farewell, my dear.”

I nod at her and close my eyes. Many thoughts flying in my head, making it hard to focus on my wish. I feel San squeezes my hand tightly, and he rests his forehead on my shoulder, his arm circle behind my waist, my mind even scatter further. After a minute, I open my eyes in dejection.

“Argh! I can’t focus. What if I suddenly wish for something ridiculous?” I glare at San. His lips lifts up as if he’s pleased to distract me.

Because of my rant, my friends are sighing at me.

“Seems like you don’t want to leave.” Wooyoung states the matter of fact.

“Right right, no one forces you to leave really!” Yeojin chimes in.

I whirl around to look at them and pout when I see that their expression becomes brighter. Yeosang walks up to me, placing his hand on my tense shoulder. “Breath after me, and clear your mind.”

“Thanks, Yeosang. I almost forgot to tell you that you’re my angel.”

Yeosang smiles sadly. “Without his favorite star, the angel doesn’t want to fly again.”

His comment makes me sulk. He chuckles and squeezes my shoulder. “But his star is always inside his heart so he promises he’ll live happily from now on.”

I nod, feeling my tears well up in my eyes for a second time. I look at my friends for one last time. Then I try again, shutting my eyes and breathing slowly following Yeosang’s rhythm.

Suddenly, a question pops into my head.

“How are my friends going to leave the island when the witch is still out there?” I open my eyes and ask Seakeeper, then the pirates also realize by the fact.

“There’s always a way.” She answers me calmly.

“So one of us has to make a second wish to leave the island?” Hongjoong asks her.

That’s what I thought too. However, it isn’t enough since Sea witch can still attack Seakeeper and overtake Wonderland. Ateez might need to wish for a superpower to beat the witch. So Wonderland and Seakeeper will be safe.

“Wonderland only grants one wish.”

Her response strikes all of us in the head. There’s a moment of silence before all hell breaks loose. “What!?!” We freak out and shout in unison.

“What do you mean we can only make one wish?” Hongjoong knits his brows, starting to sound scary.

“How greedy humans can be if they can make limitless wishes.” Seakeeper answers.

She’s absolutely right, but this wish is for this world's sake, not for our own greed. I inwardly cry in full panic mode.

“Then how? I need to know before I leave.” I won’t go anywhere until my friends are all safe.

“Can’t we have an exception? There’s no way we can go through those monsters. And our ship is already wrecked.” Seonghwa says and the crew nod fervently in agreement.

Seakeeper peers at us calmly and glances at the moon. “I guess we still have time.”

I blink, not sure what she means. Time for what? For me to go back to my world, or time until the Sea witch and her sea monsters gang to barge in here.

“There were people who made a second wish and they had to sacrifice something in return.” Seakeeper smiles sadly to herself.

“Sacrifice what?” Seonghwa asks, sounding impatient but doesn’t receive a response from her.

Aurora walks up to her with a pale complexion. “My parents are captured by,” She pauses as she can’t say the word Sea witch, “By that woman. So I couldn't wish for them to return by my side?”

Seakeeper looks at her with saddening eyes. “I’m sorry, child. You’ve made a wish already.”

The poor Aurora’s legs give way. Hongjoong, who is the closest to her, quickly catches her before she hits the ground.

My heart beats in pain for her. She was recently talking about a happy reunion with her parents and now her hope is crushed.

“You said there’s always a way, why don’t you tell us?” Hongjoong passes Aurora to Yunho as he escorts her to sit on the rock.

Seakeeper peers at me. I immediately know what she means. I subconsciously touch San dagger at my belt. Is she telling me that another way is to kill the witch before going home?

However, she doesn't say out loud about my duty. “Before you make a decision, why don’t you listen to the story of people who made a second wish. And then you can decide.”

We look at one another and nod to confirm her since we have no better choice.

Sekeeper then begins her story. “A long time ago, there was a couple who traveled by sea to seek fortune. Unfortunately, their ship was hit by a storm. Some survivors washed upon a deserted island.”

Although I’m not smart, I think that island was Wonderland.

“They found a cave and rested there for many days. They were on a brick of death since the island had no edibles. A famished man was hopelessly wishing to have food. When we went outside the cave, the trees magically grew various kinds of fruits. They immediately knew there was something special with the cave. So the survivors made wishes and they all came true; a sunken ship appeared, dead loved ones returned. However, some greedy people started to make more wishes, they either did not come true, lost something precious to them, or canceled out the first wish. After witnessing the others' success and failure, it was the couple's turn. The husband wished for wealth, and that they would never be poor again. While the wife wished to be able to come back to the island again. A map and a dagger appeared in front of her eyes.”

The map and dagger in her story could be Wonderland map and crescent dagger. So this is the story of the first group of people who discovered Wonderland.

Most importantly, the worst thing that will happen for making the second wish was that it could make the first wish disappear or they have to sacrfice something dear to them. So if the pirates make another wish, they might return to being a monster. The guys exchange glances with thoughtful looks and continue listening to the older woman’s story.

“When the couple landed in a new city, they opened a small store where their business flourished in less than a month. They became the richest couple in town. They were able to buy a house, carriages, food, all of things you could imagine. Their wealth reached the ear of the other survivors and they remembered that the wife possessed the map of the magic island.”

Seakeeper’s sparkly blue eyes turn dull at this point.

“Those people stole it and the couple was devastated. They pour their money to hire men to steal the items back. Afraid that someone might steal them again, they attributed fake maps to the markets. And they decided to go back to the island as they wanted to keep the island to themselves since news of the magical island traveled far across continents. Once arrived on the island, the wife’s second wish was to be the owner of the island. And the island granted her wish…”

She stops speaking for a moment and shuts her eyes. Her body wavers as if she’ll reform back into liquid.

“It was the first time that she heard the island talking to her. She understood right away that she made a grave mistake. She was bound by the island for eternity. Even after she died, her soul was attached to this place. The couple were distressed since the wife was pregnant. Thus the husband made another wish for his wife to leave the island. It was no use. After the wife delivered her child, three of them continued living on the island until their son grew up. They both knew that they couldn’t raise a young boy in this environment. The husband and the son had to leave. Afraid that she wouldn't meet them again she cried until her tears became a pendant for her loved ones to find her. The pendant would glow whenever it pointed toward the island.” Crystal clear tears roll down from her face and fall onto the cave floor. 

We’re all rendered speechless by Seakeeper’s tragic past. It must be lonely and frightening to be alone on the island. She doesn’t tell us what happened next, but we sense that it was not a happy one.

Aurora touches her tear-shaped pendant. “This is yours?”

Seakeeper smiles sadly at her. “Yes, dear. The necklace runs down in our family from generation to generation. It's been a couple decades since my kins visited me.”

We gasp. Turns out, Aurora is the real relative of Seakeeper. We’re at a loss of words, glancing between Seakeeper and the pendant. Aurora places her hand over her chest, she peers at Hongjoong worriedly.

Hongjoong stands still, staring at his feet. The mullet covers the side of his face so I can’t see his expression. “Then why did I remember that you were my grandma?” he asks her in a hoarse voice. The truth definitely hit him pretty hard.

“You were luckily washed upon the island. Your parents were merchants, unfortunately they lost their lives in a storm. It was the first time that Wonderland showed me your future so I raised you and you always called me grandma on your own.”

Hongjoong’s face hardened like he has a hard time processing the info.

“Don’t be sad, stupid child. I love you like my own flesh and blood. But I don’t look old enough to be called grandma, don’t you think so?” She smiles gently.

Even though she looks to be in her late 30s, her age could be ancient since nobody knows how long she has been living. So calling her a grandma isn’t completely wrong.

“Then why did you abandon me?” He asks, looking like he doesn't believe her words.

“That day, the sea witch attacked Wonderland, I had to hide you from her so I sent you back to the humans and removed your memories. But I guessed I couldn’t change your fate. Stupid child, you walked on the wrong path.”

Hongjoong’s body turns rigid. He pinches his nose bridge and turns away from Seakeeper. An air of regret hangs upon him. Seonghwa places his hand on his captain's shoulders to comfort him.

“But he has changed, couldn’t you forgive him?” Seonghwa knows how his friend missed his grandma, but because of his resentment and greediness, he screwed up. As a friend who was with Hongjoong from the start, he regretted not being able to stop themselves from walking the wicked path.

“Right, he actually became captain of the Revenge to find you but things happened and it didn’t go as planned.” Mingi speaks up for Hongjoong. They were innocent boys on a slave ship. The cruelty ruined their minds and created them to be another monster.

“I never condemned him.” Seakeeper says, causing Hongjoong to stare at her wide eyes. “But as his grandma, I’m disappointed.”

Hongjoong pressed his lips together, slouching down once again.

“Still, we humans make mistakes all the time, including me. And I’ve learned a great lesson. So I’m glad that you have changed. Since you received another chance, live wisely.” She smiles warmly.

“Grandma, I won’t disappoint you again.” Hongjoong is eventually able to smile from his heart.

The heartwarming scene warms my heart. I’m glad to see Hongjoong finally reunited with his grandma and unlock a knot in his heart. Then he glances at me. “Thanks to her, I changed into a better person.”

Seakeeper looks at me. “She was sent here to love you.” The way she spilled tea made me blush madly. She peers at Yeosang and San, and smiles wider. “And perhaps to love the others as well.” I almost choke on my saliva when she winks at me.

My friends behind my back suddenly clears their throats while the three men stare at me intently. I want to whine at Seakeeper for exposing me. She chuckles heartily when noticing my complaining glance.

“How did the witch come into the picture? She could take over Wonderland when you weren’t a guardian.” I ask her, trying to change the topic.

Seakeeper heaves a long sigh before explaining to us. “The sea witch was once a human who was hurt by man's cruelty. She washed upon the island in her last breath. And she wished to become a monster in order to take her revenge. She gained the power to control humans and animals once she devoured their blood. After she took revenge on those people, she lost in her resentment and new power so she wanted the power of Wonderland for herself.”

Her response shocked us speechless. Sea witch was a human. What kind of tragic past she faced that she wished for herself to become a monster.

“The witch knew Wonderland’s location then why did she need the map?” Wooyoung asks. We look at him for asking a smart question, causing him to fluster by our stares.

“Because she attacked Wonderland many times, so I used my power to change the island location and created permanent versatile weather that you call the devil’s triangle.”

We let the information sink in. Unfortunately, the Sea witch found the Wonderland location again. And Seakeeper won’t have the power to change the location for the third time.

Seakeeper looks at me worriedly. “Child, it’s time for you to go to your world. You’ve done enough and I don’t want you to sacrifice for us anymore. Remember, your soul might be stuck in between 2 realms and if that happens, I won’t be able to rescue you. As for your friends, I’ll use my last power to send them to a safe place and fight the last battle with the witch.”

“What do you mean her soul will be stuck?” Yeosang raises his voice, switching between Seakeeper and me. The others frown at me for keeping the secret from them.

The older woman doesn’t look like she’ll answer him, so I respond to Yeosang in a quiet tone. “If I die in Alice’s body, my soul will be stuck between your world and my world forever.”

My friends breathe in sharply. San tenses up, tightening his grasp around my hand. Yeosang’s face lost color. “How could you not tell us?”

“That’s even worse than death.” Mingi sighs, ruffles his hair in distress. The way my friends are upset makes me feel bad for hiding the truth from them. But if they know first, they would force me to go home.

“You should leave now.” Hongjoong demands, using his authoritative voice. Just as I thought, they want me to leave quickly.

I know I should leave but seeing Seakeeper’s wavering body. I don’t have confidence in her power. If she sends Ateez back to a safe place, she’ll even lose more of her power. How is she going to defeat the witch in this state?

“Trust me, child. I’m bound to Wonderland for eternity, I won’t die easily.” She assures me. My friends also insist that I must leave now.

I let a sigh and nod. “Be safe, everyone.” I say. The sad part is that I’ll never know what will happen to them. Well, I hope that I can still read it from the fiction.

Then I reluctantly close my eyes and calm my mind.

I wish to return to my worl-

BOOM!!!!!

My skin jumps from the loud explosion. Opening my eyes, I see the pond behind Seakeeper blows up high in the air. Since I haven’t finished my sentence, I’m still in the cave

A chilly laughters echo from behind the mist wall.

Coldness seeps into my heart and body. My friends around me are also frozen in place as if time has stopped.

As the mist evaporates, the familiar silhouette becomes obvious. Green glowing eyes glare into our souls, a long black tongue darts out her lip that twists in a devious grin. Around her, sea monsters emerge from the water. They growl at us in low timbre, the sound shaking us to the core.

“Sea witch!!” A crew screams, alerting the others to get into their senses. The pirates immediately pull their weapons, pointing at the witch.

The combatant guards in front of me while Yeosang pushes me back behind him. My other friends shift closer around me.

Seakeeper whirls around in compose to face her long time nemesis.

“What a happy reunion.” The sea witch laughs satisfiedly to see the humans cowering in fear. “After a long time, you still didn’t get my intention, old hag. I didn’t want the power for myself. I want to clean this world. I’ll wipe out all nasty humans by turning them into my children.” She peers at her army of monsters proudly. “So they couldn’t hurt the others and no one would be in pain anymore.”

Listening to her villain logic made my head hurt. It was horrible that she was hurt by someone, but to take it out on innocent people isn’t the solution to her pain. I bet those people who hurted her had long been dead.

Seakeeper stood tall and straight. “After a long time, you still didn’t know how detrimental your actions were. Taking the power for your never-ending vengeance, will that truly end your suffering? You know the answer.”

Being lectured by Seakeeper, the witch’s face twitches in rage. “Shut up!!! You know nothing about my pain! Those humans deserve to die! All of them!!!”

As she gets riles up, the sea monsters around her growl louder, trying to attack us. But it seems like they can’t get out of the pool. I peer at Seakeeper’s back. It must be her doing.

“You can’t protect them forever, old hag. This barrier is as weak as you.” Sea witch claws at an invisible barrier.

“Grandma, what should we do next?” Hongjoong whispers at his long lost grandma.

She doesn’t answer him but she looks even more transparent than before. We look between her and the sea witch anxiously.

‘Child, I can’t hold her any longer. You must make a wish now.’ I hear Seakeeper’s voice in my head.

Panicking, I ask her with a shaky voice. “What about you and my friends?”

“Star, you have to leave now.” Yeosang says, his expression begging me to leave. The others also shout for me to go.

“I can’t leave you. Wonderland chose me so I’ll stay and defeat that witch!” I yell.

“Stupid wench, you think you can defeat me?” Sea witch ridicules me upon hearing my words.

I raise San dagger up fearlessly. “I stabbed you once, I'll stab you twice!”

“YOU!” She seethes then she turns to Aurora. “This is your last chance. Destroy that dagger or you’ll never see your parents again!!”

“I won’t be fooled by you again! I won’t allow you to use my parents to kill others. They didn’t teach me to be selfish!” Aurora shouts. She sounds so strong that I’m proud of her.

The witch let out a high pitched scream to vent out her anger. We have to cover our ears to prevent damage to our eardrums.

“All of you will regret turning against me! My monsters will chew you to the bones, you’ll die painfully. I’ll take revenge on this world for abandoning me. They have to pay for what they did to me!!!”

The monsters pound on the barrier harder. We unconsciously step backward, afraid that they will break out soon.

Seakeeper raises her voice. “You’re blinded by your own hatred. Stop now, you still have a second chance.”

“NO!! I’ll destroy everything! I abhor this world!” She screams, thrashing at the barrier. She has lost her mind completely.

“Sea witch, I was once hurt by other humans. I was also blinded by my own resentment. I made many mistakes and disgusting things. But I changed, I regret what I did and accept whatever consequence of my actions. You don’t need permission from anyone to start over. You can start anew!” Hongjoong yells at her.

“How could you dare teach me, filthy human!! People like you will never change. You’re the worst type of them all, even your own kind want you dead!” She screams again, green glowing eyes glaring at Hongjoong. Instead of being angry at her reproach, Hongjoong looks at her with a slight pity.

Seakeeper turns around, looking at us with sorrow. Her body is frighteningly clearer. We immediately know that the fight will break out soon.

‘Child, this is my limit. Our world is in your hands. Stay safe.’ She turns to me. Then her body vanishes into thin air. I feel a rush of energy into my body like I’ve slept for 12 hrs and eaten 10 plates of food.

The invisible barrier that Seakeeper creates disappears with her. The monsters immediately lunge at us. Bullets shoot out hitting the targets. The first wave of monsters die on the floor. But it doesn't stop the second wave from coming in, they step on their friends' corpses to continue attacking us.

“Protect Star!!” Hongjoong shouts for his crew, and they immediately form a circle around me.

Yeojin and Aurora are pushed to stand in the middle of the circle with me, including Jack and Jim who’re trembling holding their small knives. Yeosang and Yunho guard us while the other members are fighting at the front line.

Seonghwa and Mingi are shooting at the monster that tries to get into the inner circle. Hongjoong stands at the very front, fearlessly fighting alongside San and Wooyoung. Jongho and his brother fight back to back. Chris is still unconscious even in the chaos, but the monsters don’t bother him and attack the moving men.

The situation is worse than at any time. Our circle is getting smaller as our unfortunate crews have fallen. Some of the victims are pulled into monsters’ den. The monster devours them viciously. The screams made me sick to the stomach.

A razor-sharpened fang monster lunges at Jongho aiming to bite his head off, however, Jongbin pushes his brother away. The monster ends up biting into his neck. He falls backward into the ground while trying to push the monster away from him. Jongho stabs the monster many times until it dies.

“Are you stupid? Why did you do that?” Jongho panics as blood gushes out of Jongbin's neck like a fountain. He tries to press over the wound with his bare hands.

“I j-just had to do it…” Jongbin manages to speak while spurting out blood. “My b-brother, I-I’m s-o sorry for e-everything.…” After finishing his sentence, Jongbin's eyes shut down and never open again.

“! Wake up! Mom and dad couldn’t lose their perfect son!” Jongho shakes his brother’s still body.

While Jongho is crying to his brother's corpse, Mingi forcefully heaves him up from the ground as monsters are coming in their way.

“Focus!! I can’t lose you either!!!” Mingi shouts, then curses when his pistol runs out of bullets. While he reaches out for another one, a monster creeps behind his back and about to slash into his back.

Bang!

Seonghwa shot at it in the head. “You both better focus!” He yells at Mingi and Jongho. Then three of them then engage in another wave of attack.

There’re several monsters that able to sneak into the inner circle. Jack screams when it tries to bite into his leg. I immediately stab my San dagger into its slimy body. It shrieks and dies right away.

Aurora screams when monsters try to grab her while Yeojin is doing her best to protect the girl. Yunho and Yeosang busily defend five of us, but monsters keep coming endlessly. All I can do is waving San dagger around. Monsters are scared by it but they still try to sneak attack us.

Suddenly, a familiar dolphin scream can be heard. My eyes snap at the front line. Yeojin cries in horror as Wooyoung’s body is lifted into the air by the Sea witch’s tentacle. She throws his body away like a doll. He hit the ground in a loud thud. Unable to get up, a group of monsters head toward him. San darts to help his close mate, he sends one of them away with his powerful kick. But he gets bitten on his shoulder. He uses a dagger in another hand to slash at its body. Although it lets him go, more than 10 monsters are charging at the duo. Luckily, the crews around them come to save them in time.

The witch’s tentacles then toss anyone away from her path. She slithers toward Hongjoong's direction. He stands in front of her fearlessly. His bullets do no damage to her scaly skin. Then her tentacle coils around Hongjoong’s neck and lifts him up. He struggles to breathe, he shoots at her tentacle. The witch lets go of him for a second, but continues to bully her prey. She grasps onto his hand that holds the pistol and twists his wrist. He grunts in pain, causing her to display a sadistic smirk.

Feeling my blood boil, my legs sprint into the front line at my will to save Hongjoong.

“Star!!!” My friends behind me cry out loud to stop me.

Seeing me approach her, she flings Hongjoong to the side. His body rolls a few feet away.

“I’ll kill you!!!” I scream at her while pointing the dagger at her face. The witch laughs in a maniac tone even though her expression shows that she fears my San dagger. She slowly backs away and allows her monsters to become her fence. I halt in my tracks as those monsters are coming at me.

Shoot! I curse at myself for being reckless. But it’s too late to turn back now. I swing San dagger in front of me, making the monsters hesitate to attack me.

“You coward, kill her!!” The witch snarls at her monsters. They instantly alter to a suicide mode as all of them charge at me at the same time.

In a second, everything happens so fast. I hear bullets shoot out multiple times and a silver blade glints into my sight. Those monsters drop dead on the ground.

The combatant leaps in front of me with daggers in his both hands, at the same time as Seonghwa and Mingi reach between my sides. They are all covered in monster blood from head to toe.

“Leave this place!!!” Seonghwa glowers at me, incessantly shooting at the monsters. Mingi peers at me from a corner of his eyes, looking dead serious. “We might not hold them any longer.”

Then I notice that all of my friends have reached beside me, forming in a small circle. They all look battered with the ongoing fight. Hongjoong pulls out a dagger from his belt after losing his pistol, his twisted arm hanging beside his body. Wooyoung staggers into the group with the help of Jongho, his leg seems to be broken. Yeojin quickly runs up to him to carry him herself. San was bitten into his shoulder, but he still fights like he doesn’t care how much he loses his blood. Yunho defends us from behind the group with the help of Jim and Jack.

Yeosang rushes toward me. “Please Star. We might not survive this time, but at least one of us should be safe.”

“Yeosang is right. I’m sorry for dragging you here. But you need to go now.” Aurora cries, including the others shouting at me to leave.

“Guys…” I look at them hopelessly, my chest burning with anxiety. I don’t see how we could win against the horde of monsters that keep coming out of the pool unless we can break through the monsters’ fence and kill the witch with San dagger.

“No, we’ll kill the witch together and save the world!” I shout out cliche words with determination. Seakeeper already entrusted the responsibility to me and she even increased my strength. I’ll fulfill my last duty and go home like a heroine.

The others look at Hongjoong for his decision. He peers at me with a frown, then his mouth twitches into a sly grin.

“We have no chance but to fight. Let’s save this world!”

Although his friends want to protest him, after seeing his and my will power, they conform without choice. Our group advances toward the sea witch with a steady pace. The other crew members also join us. Noticing that we reform our formation, the witch growls with exasperation. She commands the monsters to separate us.

Because of their higher numbers, they flock one human with several of them, and try to lure my friends further away from me. Without realizing, monsters successfully come closer to me. The others are too busy defending their lives, they can’t spare their hands to help me. All I can do is to wave my dagger around. Although the monsters are wary of the dagger, they don’t completely back away, because they’re waiting for a gap in my defense to attack me.

Then something knocks me from behind, I fall flat on my face and the dagger is thrown away from my grasp. I quickly scramble to my feet but too late, the witch already gets me, her tentacles wrap around my neck and body, dragging me across the cave floor toward her.

Rock cut into my arms and legs. But the pain is nothing since death is right in front of me. My friends scream my name, but none of them are able to rescue me.

The sea witch carries me up to her eye level, smirking triumphantly.

“You’re so annoying like an insect that never dies.” She raises her long claws up as if she’ll stab me to death with it. “Die, you foolish wench!!”

I squeeze my eyes tightly, trying to make a wish in the last second of my life. Then I feel someone hug me from upfront.

The person jerks violently. I open my eyes to see a man's face. Blood seeps out of his chest.

The young commander chokes out a mouthful of blood, yet his eyes stare at me warmly. I didn’t realize when Chris had regained consciousness or when he ran to defend me. His body slowly slides down to the ground. He keeps mumbling Alice's name.

The witch is slightly stunned by Chris's sacrifice. She loosens the grip around me but not enough for me to break free.

“Star!!!” Someone yells my name from behind. I twist my body to see that Aurora has thrown the San dagger toward me. I extend my arm to catch it. When it almost touches my finger, a tentacle swats it away. The dagger flies a few meters away and drops to the ground. The witch screams in pain from the contact with the witch bane dagger.

I use the chance to break away from her and run toward the dagger. I hear people scream in terror for me to watch out. Then I feel sharp searing pain in my abdomen. Looking down, I see a sharp claw poking out of my stomach. My body uncontrollably plummets down to the ground, I use my hands to press the wound, but hot liquid flows out of it non stop.

In the background, people holler indistinctly. The witch then lifts me up to her again. From the corner of my eyes I see that my friends are having a hard time trying to break away from the monsters.

I am face to face with the witch once again. She laughs evilly, smirking at me like she was the winner. “Goodbye, dear.” She says sacarstically.

However, before she stabs me the second time, I also smirk back at her and whisper through my gritted teeth.

“I wish you never existed.”

The witch's eyes go wide. She lets me go and I crash onto the ground. The witch screeches when her body starts to melt into murky green liquid. “NO!! This can’t be happening!! I almost reached my goal!! I want to make a wish, I wish for-”

Before she’s able to finish her sentence, her whole body dissolves into liquid pouring down on the floor. As her body disappears, the sea monsters return to their original forms of sea creatures.

Chris who lies down not far away from me, reaching out his hand toward me. “I wish to see Alice again.” Suddenly, white light appears next to him. The light shapes as the owner of my current body, Alice. She places her hand on Chris’s cheek. He smiles at her brightly, looking like the happiest man on earth. Then the light starts to fade as well as Chris's life also fades away.

“Star!!!” My friends reach my side, surrounding my body. Panic and fear written across their faces.

Yeosang tries to stop my bleeding by using his own shirt. I hear him curse furiously when my blood won’t stop. Aurora hugs Jim and Jack as they’re wailing heavily. I spot the other crews present around me as well.

“You made a wish for us.” Hongjoong holds my hand, tears flowing down from his hazel eyes. “It was my fault, I couldn't protect you.”

I shake my head weakly as strength leaves my body. And I feel so sleepy and tired. I try my best to stay awake, but my eyelids are so heavy.

“I’ll make a second wish for her.” Yeosang says when he notices that Star starts to get paler and her eyes no longer focus.

“No, I will.” San murmurs, he leans his face into my other hand. His cheek is burning against my skin.

“No, I’ll do it. I’ll accept whatever consequence it is.” Hongjoong declares, clenching my hand tightly. However, the other two won’t let him make a second wish.

‘Stop’ I choke out when they start to head toward an argument.

My heart is beating painfully against my chest. I’m thankful for how much they love me and are willing to sacrifice for me. When I go back to my world will I meet a person who will truly love me to this extent?

Hongjoong was the first person who revealed his feelings toward me. Although he made me confused with his dual personalities, he finally confessed to me and showed me the real him. I ended up falling in love with him, but our love had no future. Thus I tried to push him away and remained as a friend. Because he knew that I wasn’t able to get over him, he tried to push me away for my sake, but he, too, eventually failed miserably.

Then San, the man whose actions speak louder than words. It was shocking how he went from wanting to kill me to love me. He didn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself to protect me countless times. He learnt what love is and finally learnt to let me go. I know it’s hard for him since he never opened his heart and showed his vulnarity to anyone.

And Yeosang who took care of me since I stepped foot onto the ship. He is always by my side, taking care of me. He didn’t get into a war of love triangles because he didn’t want to burden me. He loves me so much that he was willing to look at me from the side. But at this very moment, he argues with the other two to save me.

Unexpectedly, the other Ateez members join into the argument as Mingi, Yunho, Jongho, Wooyoung and even Seonghwa willing to make a second wish for me too.

“Shut up!!!!” Yeojin screams. “Do you lot forget that I still haven’t made a wish!” All of them quiet down instantly.

“I beg you, please save her.” Hongjoong begs Yeojin, making her shift uncomfortably.

“Of course, she’s my friend. I’ll save her.” She says grimly and turns to me. “Do you want to return back to your world?”

I nod, giving her a grateful smile. 

Yeojin sniffs her red nose before starting to speak, “I wish…” Her voice comes out shakily while patting my head gently. I feel warmth all over my body as my friends are beside me. It’s quite tragic that I have to leave them in this unsightly condition, on the other hand, I’m happy that they’re safe and here for my last moment.

I don’t hear what Yeojin says next because I hear Seakeeper’s voice instead.

‘Thank you child. Until next time, I’ll repay your sacrifice.’

After Yeojin finished her sentence, tears slid down from the pair of beautiful aquamarine orbs. Her chest gradually stops moving. Her eyelids flutter shut. With a faint smile painted on her lips, Star has left them. 

✧˖°✧˖°✧˖°✧˖°✧˖°✧˖°✧˖°✧

Ohhhnooooo, it was the nastiest cliffhanger (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞  I know how you feel. The ending is coming. Prepare your heart, I guess...