I knock on the wooden door and wait for 3 seconds before opening it, because the occupant of this cabin never utters a word to the visitor.

Striding inside the dim room, I inwardly snicker at the difference between 2 sides of the room; the messy side still belongs to the flirty First mate and the tidy one belongs to the so-called scary combatant. Thus I turn to the tidy side to find the person I’m looking for.

Orange rays travel through a porthole casting a shadow on a man sitting on a small bed. The sound of metal sliding against each other ceases when he notices that I enter his room. He instantly puts down 2 daggers under his bed and faces me.

His mouth slightly ajar as if he doesn't expect me to visit him. A pair of dark eyes behind thick black and red streak fringe follow my figure until I sit next to him. That’s when I realize he’s shirtless. He seems to be bulkier than I remember. Not that I pay close attention to his body, but his muscles got so bigge-

Before I sound too creepy, I avert my attention away from his sculpted body to his bandaged hand.

“How’s your hand?” I jerk my chin toward his hand.

“Fine.” San answers in a typical short word and puts his hand down beside him like he doesn’t want me to see his injury.

I nod. Whether his hand is really fine or not, he never reveals his pain to anyone. This afternoon I stayed with San when Yeosang treated his deep gash. When the surgeon pulled a huge splinter that stuck inside his flesh out, San didn’t let out a single grunt. Knowing him, he doesn't take good care of his own body. Before I came into his cabin, he was still sharpening his daggers. Someone has to keep an eye on him to make sure that he won’t abuse his body.

And I guess that duty would be mine.

“Were you looking for me?” I ask him, curious as to why he is asking for me through Jack.

San tilts his head to the side. His long curtain hair that covers half of his head sways from his head movement. And his beard covers the lower half. I swear I can barely see his face clearly nowadays.

“Well, Jack told me that you were asking for me.” I repeat, sensing that the cabin boy somehow tricked me.

“Jack…” San’s mouth immediately forms into a chilled scowl. His raspy voice sounds like a whisper from the grim reaper.

I subconsciously gulp my saliva. A certain someone is about to get in deep trouble.

Jack, you will be missed.

I’m praying for the lad in my head. This time his soul will be for sure. Anyway, Jack deserves to get his whoop since he’s being too sassy lately.

“Erm…I see…” I murmur. Since San didn’t look for me, I wonder if I should leave and let him rest. He has been working nonstop today.

Yet my body refuses to move. I sit still, looking straight ahead like the view is the most interesting thing to see when in fact it’s just a pile of Wooyoung’s unwashed clothes scattered on his bed and the floor.

The room falls silent when no one utters a word. I feel San’s gaze glue on me. So I turn to look at him.

His messy hair and beard come into my view, which annoys me so much. I subconsciously reach out my hand to brush away his long fringe that covers his face, revealing his dark captivating eyes. The room is still bright enough for me to see red streak swirls in those orbs.

For some reason, nervousness grips on my stomach. The atmosphere between San and I feels strange today.

Could it be because it’s been a long time since we've been alone together? Or because he’s shirtless? After I came back to this world, I usually hung out with the others and San would stay further away like he doesn’t want to engage in our silly activities. But I know he is always looking at me.

Deep down, I know the reason I came to see him isn’t purely because of Jack.

I came here because of…what?

I ask myself the question that I’m still unsure of the answer.

My eyes travel from his face down to his left shoulder where a large scar is present on it. It’s the scar that he got from helping Wooyoung when he was attacked by sea monsters. The memory of the monster biting into his shoulder is still clear in my mind. My heart squeezes in pain from the thought of it.

My hand reaches to touch the angry brownish scar. I feel his skin jump when I trace my finger along the bumps on his uneven skin. He quickly grabs my hand away from his scar, slightly frowning.

“It’s ugly.” San mutters.

I shake my head. “That's not true. You saved your friend's life. There’s no ugliness in your scar.” I say and receive a heavier frown from him.

San peers at his scar and back to me. He suddenly gets up and heads toward a drawer, pulling out a black shirt.

“No, don’t wear your shirt!” I cry out as I don’t want him to hide his scar from me.

But I guess my sentence came out seriously wrong as San froze on the spot. He slowly crane his neck toward me with a blank face. If it was the other guys, they would tease me for saying shameless things. But this is San. He doesn’t know how to joke.

The atmosphere couldn’t get any awkward. Thunder suddenly roars in the moment of silence.

I bite my inner mouth and try to find a word to fix the situation. “The storm is coming, it’s getting cold, so yeah, you should wear your shirt. I don’t want you to get sick.”

After making a lame excuse, I inwardly approve of my smart brain. However, instead of wearing his shirt, San proceeds to rummage through his drawer and pulls out a black coat that I’ve never seen him wearing before. He returns to the bed and wraps the coat around my body.

“You’ll get sick.” San murmurs quietly while sitting back down.

My heart skips a beat. I peer at the coat that smells musty, and a grin breaks on my face. “Thanks. But aren’t you cold though?”

I ask him the question, knowing that this guy barely feels cold. I place my hand on his forearm and his skin is cool to the touch as I expect.

“Um.” San hums in his throat but doesn’t elaborate what he meant. So I guess he’s cold?

I scan his bed and spot a thin blanket at the end of the bed. I pick it up and shift closer to him, covering the blanket around his shoulder.

A tiny smile spreads on his lips. San wraps his arms around my waist out of the blue and rests his head on my shoulder.

“It’s warm.” He whispers, hugging my body closer to his.

And again, his gesture makes my heart pound against my chest.

My arms slowly embrace him back. My mind drifts to the rumor of San when I was away. His condition was worrisome. He had completely shut himself off from the outside world and his friends. He even named the previous ship ‘Losing Star’.

Although San began to open up once I came back, I still see that he barely interacts with the others.

“You should hang out with us more.” I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling comfortable in his embrace.

“No.” San answers right away.

I sigh. I swear this guy sometimes acts like a kid. If the crew see this side of him, they’ll regret ever being scared of him.

“With me then.” I suggest. Then I’ll lure him to participate in our silly group.

San doesn’t answer me back but he suddenly lies down, laying his head on my lap. He shuts his eyes as if to tell me that he’s sleeping so I should stop talking. I playfully scrunch my nose at him and take this opportunity to inspect his beauty closely.

“You should cut your hair and shave your beard, I can barely see your handsome face.” I complain while trying to brush his hair away from his face.

A corner of his mouth immediately lifts upward. He grabs my hand and presses it against his cheek.

“Star,” San opens his eyes.

I hum, staring at him.

“Can you stay with me tonight?”

For the nth time, he makes my heart beat like crazy. I blink rapidly upon hearing his request. Heat rushes to my cheeks but I know he doesn’t have an ulterior motive.

But when I notice a glimpse of loneliness hiding behind his smile, my heartbeat slows down.

An answer arises from my heart before my head is able to think.

“I-”

Before I answer him, the door suddenly bursts open. I startle by the sound while San gets up without letting go of my hand. A blanket that covers his body falls down to the floor. We turn to see the intruder at the doorway.

The first mate’s mouth twists in a strange smile, looking at us awkwardly. Someone shorter stands behind him.

“Err…m-mate,” Wooyoung stammers when his best mate gives him a cold stare. He is reluctant to speak until the person behind his back pinch his shoulder. He lets out a painful yelp and whip his head toward me.

“Hey, Little Star,” Wooyoung greets me.

I raise my eyebrow at him. He doesn’t finish the sentence as he keeps glancing at San. I hear a frustrated groan from behind him and a blonde haired woman peek from his back.

“Princess, Yeosang needs your help with the medicine.” Yeojin begs me with her fake cute voice.

“Oh.” I turn to look at San since he just asks me to spend a night with him. However, his expression remains stoic.

“C’mon, Starrr, Yeosang needs you.” Yeojin tries to push Wooyoung into the room, but that guy's feet remain glue to the ground of the doorway as he peers at his roommate unnervingly.

“Well.” I bite my lower lip, looking back to San again.

“You can go.” San says in an emotionless tone.

Yeojin lets out a victory noise then forms into a scowl. “Excuse me, why’re you shirtless?” She glances between San and me skeptically.

I see San’s mouth shape into a devilish smirk as his answers echo into every cell in my body.

“Star didn’t want me to wear a shirt.”

—

The signature smell of sickbay torture my nostrils. I wouldn’t step into this room if it’s not because of my Angel. As Yeosang will distribute the medicine to the villagers tomorrow, he needs labor. There are a lot of empty jars that wait to be filled with green terror. He’ll have to pull an all-nighter to finish all of these.

The ship sways from the storm that finally hit us. The air turns colder when it’s getting deeper into the night. I tighten the smelly black coat that San gave me earlier and diligently grind the herbs.

I sit between Yeojin and Wooyoung on a table full of herbs. They’re also given the arduous taks like me while Yeosang busily mixes the green terror at another table.

I roll my eyes when these two keep whispering something to each other that is loud enough for the whole room to hear.

‘Why did you bring him here?’ Yeojin subtly squints her eyes at the man who leans on the bed next to our table.

‘He wants to help too, you know.’ Wooyoung whispers back and shrugs.

‘Help?!’ Yeojin lifts her eyebrow. ‘You call that help?!’

We all peer at the combatant who peacefully closes his eyes on the bed. He might’ve already traveled to the dreamland. Apparently, San didn’t help us grinding the herbs since his hand is injured.

Yeojin exhales loudly, causing San to open his eyes and glance our way. Yeojin’s body jolts and she continues focusing on her work as if she didn't gossip about him a second ago. While Wooyoung shoots his mate a sweet smile which is being ignored.

When San’s gaze meets mine, I startle and abruptly whip my head back to the bowl of green liquid. After San exposed me of prohibiting him from wearing a shirt, I couldn't look at him without blushing madly. Fortunately, he already wears his shirt before coming here.

After an hour passes, I let out a big yawn as my bed is calling for me.

“Tried?” A low voice breaks the silence of the sickbay. I turn to see San sitting up straight.

“No, I’m fine, just the atmosphere is really luring me to sleep.” I explain and yawn again.

Yeosang puts down a jar and walks over to our table. “Starry, if you’re tired, you can leave first. We’ll finish the rest.”

His comment immediately earns a whine from his sister. “But I’m also tired. I want to rest too.” Yeojin pouts cutely but she receives a sharp gaze from her brother instead.

“Sannie, take Little Star to her cabin. We’ll be fine.” Wooyoung suggests and earns a glare from Yeojin.

San instantly gets up and walks toward me. I scan my friends’ faces since I don’t want to leave my duty mid way.

Wooyoung winks at San and me with a mischievous smirk. I bet this guy probably has some weird thoughts inside his mind that I don’t want to know. Yeojin huffs, crossing her arms. She obviously doesn’t want me to leave and ruin her plan. On the other hand, Yeosang has the most normal reaction. He gives me an understanding smile.

“Then I’ll go with you tomorrow.” I tell Yeosang. Since I can’t help him today, I’ll help him distribute the medicine tomorrow.

Yeosang nods and smiles wider.

I get up and turn to San. He picks up a lantern and opens the door for me. I follow him out of the room into an almost pitch black corridor.

San holds my wrist as I walk after him. His skin is cold as usual, but why does my skin where he touches me feel so warm?

Soon we reached my cabin. I enter the room and turn to face him. “Thanks, Sannie.”

San nods, he remains still as if to wait for me to shut the door but I hold the door open. Because I remember a request from him.

“Do you want to come inside? You can leave when Yeojin returns.” I believe it’ll take a while for Yeojin to come back. So in the meantime, I’ll spend quality time with him.

San doesn’t seem to be surprised by my invitation. He steps inside my room and shuts the door while I throw myself into my bed but make sure to leave enough room for San to sit.

When he settles down beside me, I rest my head on his shoulder and let out another yawn. San takes my hand into his as he whispers, “Goodnight.”

I turn to look at him and it’s a mistake as lightning flashes. The light allows me to see how close our faces are in that millisecond. I gulp nervously and quickly shut my eyes.

“G-goodnight.” I whisper back to him. Thunder roars outside so as my heart beats loudly in my ears.

Sleepiness soon takes over me. As I slip into dreamland, I feel a soft cold touch on my cheek. Somehow it makes my heart feel so warm.

—

Next day, before the sun rose, Yeojin woke me up by yanking me off my bed. Then she started dressing me up in a pink frill blouse and tight leather pants. She tied my hair up in a high ponytail and even applied make up and perfume oil on me.

I let her do whatever she wanted as she was upset that I left sickbay early and ruined her plan. She rambled on and on about how she was disappointed in me for locking the cabin’s door last night, which she ended up sleeping in sickbay.

I gave her a disdainful look since I didn’t lock the door. San was inside the room with me, he was supposed to hear her knocking…

Something clicked in my mind.

When Yeojin returned to our cabin at dawn, San was already gone. Thus, he was the one and only suspect who locked the door.

Unknowingly, a smile creeped up on my face and Yeojin mistakenly thought that I mocked her. It took half an hour to calm her down.

After having a quick breakfast, Yeosang and I are ready to leave for the island to distribute the medicine to the villagers. And Yeojin makes a scene once again as she prevents the crew from joining us.

My hands on my hips, someone better hold me as I’m about to fight this woman. When Yeosang sees my scornful expression, he immediately suggests the cabin boys to be helpers. Jack and Jim gleefully accept as they don’t want to spend a whole day on the ship.

While the lads are loading crates of jars into a rowboat, Yeojin drags Yeosang to another side of the deck and whispers something to him that made his cheeks go pink, similar to the color of my shirt today.

“Someone gotta stop her.” Someone says from beside me. I crane my neck to see a purple haired first mate faking a sigh. He turns to look at me with a smirk. “But don’t worry, Little Star, I’m on your side.”

I roll my eyes at him. Yesterday was a proof that he couldn’t go against Yeojin. This guy is hopeless. I ignore him and look around the deck.

Wooyoung puts his arm across my shoulder. “You don’t have to look for him. He isn’t here.” He chirps, earning a skeptical look from me. “Sannie just went to bed. I wonder why he didn’t get a wink of sleep last night.”

Erratic heartbeats thump in my chest. Does that mean San stayed in my cabin the whole night?

Wooyoung leans his face closer to me, his eyes gleaming mischievously. “Was he good?”

My brain processes his question and I feel my blood from my entire body rush to my face.

“YAHHH!!!” I scream into his face and accidentally bump our foreheads together. Wooyoung touches his forehead, letting out a yelp.

Red blind my vision, I grab his collar and shake him like a bottle of cola. “Youuu ertttttt!!!!”

Instead of pushing me away, Wooyoung laughs at the top of his lungs in his dolphin noise as if he is satisfied with my reaction.

Our commotion catches the attention of the crew. Yeosang and Yeojin race toward us and try to separate me from Wooyoung.

Sadly, Stargazer lost her first mate today as he didn’t survive the wrath of the most beautiful woman on the ship. The crew has to vote for a new first mate.

I brush my silly thoughts away as Wooyoung is perfectly fine and still giving me a wicked smirk.

Before I literally commit a crime, it’s time for Yeosang, the cabin boys and I to go to the island since it’s getting late. Yeosang sends me a worried glance from time to time, but I refused to tell him what Wooyoung and I were talking about.

When four of us give out the medicine half way, Yeosang notices that one of the crates is missing. He asks the cabin boys where it is and those two immediately argue with each other.

“Because you kept playing, you forgot the crate.” Jim scolds his little brother.

“Hey! Why did you blame me? Aren’t you supposed to check!?” Jack yells back.

“Alright, stop stop. I’ll go back to the ship myself.” Yeosang sighs tiredly, massaging his temples.

“No, I’ll go with them.” I volunteer and eye the kids who’re giving each other death glares. Yeosang reluctants for me to go, but I insist since his face looks ghostly pale. Yeosang nods and sits down on a bench to rest.

Then the J siblings and I travel back to Stargazer. I sit in the front while Jack and Jim are rowing the boat in the back.

“Just stop nagging me already!” Jack shouts in frustration when Jim continues nagging him.

“You’re always careless and never done a good job. Learn to grow up!” Jim raises his voice.

“It’s just a small mistake. Can you just shut up already!” Jack retorts.

“Small mistake?” Jim scoffs. “This is why you’re still a kid!”

I massage my temple, thinking that it’s a bad idea to bring them both with me. I turn around to shout at them to stop arguing when I see Jack get up from his seat and throw the oar into the water.

“I’m not a kid anymore!” Jack pushes Jim’s shoulder harshly. Then Jim instantly gets up, also throwing the oar in his hands away and shoving Jack in return.

I helplessly watch both oars floating away in the water. The kids shove each other back and forth. And the fight escalates quickly when Jim hits Jack in the head. The younger lad growls, jumping at his brother and biting into his arm. Jim tries to shake the small monkey off him. Their fight makes the boat rock violently.

“Cut it off you two! Stop fighting!” I shout at them panickingly, trying to balance myself. However, they’re too absorbed in their rage to notice that we’re about to capsize.

Since Jim is built larger than Jack, he is better at fighting. Finally, Jack falls onto his when receiving a punch into his eye.

“I hate you!” Jack cries out, he springs up and leaps toward Jim. At that moment, I see life flash in front of my eyes. When Jack collides into Jim, the boat turns over.

Three of us fall into the cold water. The last thing I hear is incoherent shouts from far away.

—

Emerging from the sea, I spit the salty water and rub my face. I scan around to see the lads are still at each other's throat.

“Stoppp!!! You guys will drown!!!” I shout on top of my lunge while trying to get closer to them but they keep going further.

“Oh gosh!!” I frustratedly groan. Anger starts to bubble in my stomach. I swear if they don’t stop now, I’m going to make them drink green terror for the rest of their lives.

At the corner of my eyes, I see a shadow swimming toward me at light speed. I scream, trying to back away from it. But too late, that thing lifts me up and hugs me tightly. My body froze, I shut my eyes tightly waiting for the pain to come.

However, all I feel is warmth.

I slowly open my eyes to spot a familiar red streak hair. My heart skips a beat when I realize who this is.

“San?” I call him, feeling his body tremble against me. He doesn't respond, but squeezes my body tighter.

“How did you come here?” Before I left the ship, Wooyoung told me that he was sleeping inside his cabin, which means he swam all the way from the ship to my location. I observe the distance and become awestruck. My heart turns soft at the thought that he cares for me so much.

“I’m okay. You can let me go. I can stand up just fine.” The water is at my chest level and the waves aren't so high. Plus, Mingi already teaches me how to swim. I’m confident that I won't drown easily.

It takes a moment for San to let me go. His eyes are bloodshot, his expression switches between relief and fear. I notice that his long curtain bangs became shorter, and his beard disappeared. His chest heaves up and down, breathing heavily.

“Never leave my sight again.” His voice comes out harsh while his hand grabs my upper arm tightly. “I can’t lose you anymore.” The last sentence comes out of his mouth almost inaudible, but I can hear it loud and clear.

Losing Star.

A pang hit my heart when his words and the old ship name all pointed in the direction that he was in so much pain because of me. His eyes are so red that I mistakenly think that he’s crying. San searches my face and pulls me into his embrace again. This time he holds me like a fragile glass.

Although he seems to calm down, his body is still trembling. A lump forms in my throat, tears gather in my eyes. I feel terrible for being the cause of his pain.

“I’m here. I'll never leave you again.” I pat his back gently.

“Promise me.” San says.

“I promise.” I assure him. I’m going nowhere. My life is committed to the Stargazer.

Upon hearing my answer, San loosen his embrace. He turns to face me with vivid expressions. His cold hand touches my cheek.

“Star, I…” A word slips out of his mouth. “I…” He repeats and stops as if he is afraid to say something. I wait for his sentence to finish. My heart begins to beat fast, anticipating his words.

“JACK!! JIM!!”

A thunderous roar comes from the Stargazer, stealing San and my attention.

I spot the captain who never stepped foot outside his quarter for a decade.

San averts his gaze to glare at the cabin boys who caused the disaster. Jack and Jim have already stopped fighting and fearfully glance between the enraged captain and the furious combatant. Then they look at me as if I’ll save their asses.

J brothers, you guys will be missed.

—

After all of us traveled back to the Stargazer, Yeojin took me to our cabin to change into dry clothes. She kept apologizing for letting me go alone, saying if she was there with me, she would teach those lads a lesson while cracking her knuckles.

I chuckle at her seriousness. I wasn’t angry with her to begin with since the incident was out of her control. Anyway I took this opportunity to prevent her from setting me up with Yeosang in the future. She reluctantly agreed with a pouty face.

Then we head to the main deck where the execution ground- *cough* I mean where the J brothers are restrained. When we arrive there, I almost mistaken that I stepped foot on the wrong ship.

The eerie silence conquers the entire area. The wind seems to stop blowing. Dark clouds loom above the sky that was spotless just a moment ago. Birds no longer sing and none of them fly above our ship as if something or someone scare them away.

The Stargazer crews gather in a circle, their dead glare bore at two shivering bodies sitting on their knees in the middle.

In front of them stands a person who used to be feared by the entire seven seas. As if the Pirate King returns to Hongjoong’s body, his hazel eyes burn with fire, his mouth forms into a scowl. The way he looks at the boys reminded me of when Mingi and San fought a long time ago. The time when I was scared less by his rage.

What's worse, standing next to the former Pirate King is the devil combatant. San’s deadly gaze pierces into the lads’ souls. He doesn’t utter a word but his presence alone can kill a person.

My other friends expressions are no different to Hongjoong and San. They either wear angry or disapproving looks.

Hongjoong says something to Jack and Jim in a low intimidating voice. Every word from his mouth is like a sharp dagger that cuts into those boys' hearts, making them cry even harder.

“You lot have been staying on my ship long enough to know that one thing I never tolerate is to see my crew fight against each other. You lot even harmed,” Hongjoong stops mid sentence and glances my way while I walk into the middle of the circle.

“You two harmed another crew member. Since you don't respect my rule, you’re free to leave.”

Jack and Jim look up with shock written all over their bruised faces. They forcefully shake their heads with bitter tears streamed down their swollen eyes. Even the crew are also flabbergasted by their captain’s words.

The boys’ wailing sound wakes up my empathy. I give Hongjoong a disapproving look for saying such harsh words to the boys.

His eyes turn slightly wide and he looks away. He bites his inner cheek as if he also regrets what he just said. The quartermaster steps forward, placing his hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder and turns to the pitiful cabin boys.

“Punishment for fighting among the crew is to be locked up in a brig for 3 days without food.” Seonghwa announces.

“Isn’t that too harsh?” A word slips from my mouth. I, regretfully, confront the grumpy quartermaster as he immediately narrows his eyes at me. I brace myself for his comeback, however, it doesn’t come.

“But since we’re not being uncivilized.” He emphasizes the word ‘uncivilized’ while side glancing at me and continues, “You two aren’t allowed to go ashore for the next 3 stops. Now go back to your cabin and reflect on yourself.”

Jack and Jim immediately nod their heads, relief wash over their faces. Some crew around them help them get up as their legs are shaking badly.

“Thank you, sir.” They bow toward Hongjoong and Seonghwa, and slowly walk toward the stairs.

I peer at Seonghwa in a new light. He dismissed the old way of punishment and saved the kids from the wrath of the Pirate King.

However, he couldn’t save them from another devil who’s still exuding a dark aura.

“Stop.” The combatant destroys the almost relieved atmosphere.

The cabin boys freeze in their tracks. They shakingly turn around with pale faces. Their legs almost give out while looking at San.

I grab San’s wrist as I’m scared that he’ll unleash his dagger and throw it at the kids. San peers at me and back to the boys.

“Apologize.” He emphasizes every syllable in a threatening voice.

Jack and Jim look at me with sullen expressions. “Miss Star, we’re so sorry.” They say in unison.

I nod, accepting their apology. I believe they’ve learned a harsh lesson today. But even after they apologize to me, San still wears a hard expression.

Hongjoong, who's willing to stay quiet for a short while, snaps. “That’s it? Is that all you have to say? Did I teach you to be disingenuous?”

The kids falter even more by Hongjoong’s remark.

“Jim, Jack, today’s incident could get worse. One of you could seriously get hurt.” Yeosang, who has been quiet, steps to the front. “Star was kind enough to go back with you two, but you ended up hurting her. Star accepted your half hearted apology, but it doesn’t mean that we’ll let this pass. So apologize to her again.”

I hold my breath, listening to Yeosang’s reprimand. Those boys committed a great sin for making my angel angry.

After being scolded by the kindest person on the ship, their mouths turn downward and more tears fall from their eyes.

“Miss Star, we’re so sorry for our terrible actions! We promise we’ll never cause harm to you or any of the crew!” Jim chokes on his words. He brushes his tears with the back of his hand.

“Right right, we won’t fight again!! A-and I’ll work harder. I won’t play anymore!!!” Jack cries.

I stride toward them, raising my hands. They flinch and squeeze their eyes shut. My hands place on top of their heads and I ruffle their hair. They open their eyes in sheer surprise.

“Alright. Apologies accepted. But don’t ever fight again. Or I’ll feed you to Kraken.” I fold my arms, trying to look intimidating.

The boys nod fervently. Small smiles appear on their lips.

Seeing their brighter expressions, I continue, “I understand that you two are in the hot blood teenager phase. You both are so close to each other so you always clash. But don’t do something that you’ll regret later. Once the bond is broken, it’s hard to mend it back.”

The boys nod their heads and glance at each other. Their eyes flash with guilt.

“I’m sorry.” Surprisingly, Jack is the first one who apologizes first. “I didn’t mean to say I hate you.”

“I know.” Jim says in a weak tone. “Sorry for hitting you. I’ll try to control my emotions more and I’ll try to not nagging at you.”

After Jim finishes his sentence, they fall into awkward silence. The crew shout at them to hug. Blush creeps on their faces and they refuse to move.

Suddenly, Jack steps closer to me and hugs my waist.

“Yahhhh!/Woah!/he’s asking for his own death/you’re supposed to hug your brother!” All kinds of reactions throw at him.

Jim snorts at his brother but he’s also glancing at me. I nod at him and he awkwardly joins the group hug.

After a short moment, they let go. “Thank you, Miss Star.” They say, giving me a toothy grin, however, their smiles quickly turn into terror when they look behind me. They excuse themselves and race toward the stairs, disappearing into the lower deck.

I turn around to see what scared them. I spot Yeosang who seems to have cooled down, but a hint of anger is still visibly showing. Hongjoong crosses his arm with a hardened expression, and San who’s playing with a dagger.

Ugh….I don’t think those lads are safe. Their lives are still on the line.

The crowd soon disperse, probably fearing the trio’s presence. Except my friends, they circle around me and ask about my condition.

“I should have gone with you instead. I’m sorry that happened to you.” Yeosang’s mouth tugs downward, looking at me apologetically.

I shake my head. “It was in the past already. Don’t worry about it. I’m stronger than you think.” I flex my non-exist arm muscles to Yeosang. He sighs and shakes his head. Seeing that he’s still upset, I need to pull an aegyo on him. “C’mon Yeosangie, please smile for me.”

His lips instantly curve upward. He pats my head with adoration in his eyes. I make a triumphant gesture when I get my kind angel back.

Yeojin giggles to herself while watching us interact. We give her a disdainful look to stop her from imagining stuff in her head. She doesn’t stop giggling right away, but when her eyes meet with two particular men, her giggle dies completely.

“I swear I wouldn’t mess with you. Your protectors are too scary.” Wooyoung says, eyeing the trio. And all of them return him with a cold glare.

I give Wooyoung a dry chuckle. I wouldn’t mess with them either.

Then I feel someone squeezing my shoulder. “That was a good speech.”

Jongho smiles at me but his eyes turn slightly gloomy. I understand right away why he wears that expression. It’s been a long time ago but he still feels bad about his dead brother, Jongbin.

I pat his shoulder. We look at each other and understand one another's feelings.

Yunho appears next to Jongho and ruins the mood. “I also shed tears.” He says with pouty lips.

“Why? My speech was that tear-jerking?” I turn to ask him.

“Nope, I was scared of your protectors too, especially Yeosang.” He jokingly says and receives a warning glance from Yeosang himself. We all laugh at Yunho as he tries to hide behind Jongho.

“I was about to jump off the ship to rescue you but that guy was too fast.” Mingi sulks. I peer at San. Thankfully, he already put his dagger away.

“You should’ve seen when my mate leapt into the sea like a dolphin and swam like a shark.” Wooyoung says proudly.

San stares back at me. He looks like he wants to talk to me. His sentence was cut off by Hongjoong when he was about to say something to me in the water. But he hasn't had a chance to say it until now.

Wooyoung leans closer to my ear and whispers. “Why’re you staring at my mate like that? Did something interesting happen back there?”

I elbow him in the stomach. He groans and earns snicker among our friends.

“Star.” I turn around when someone calls me. I didn’t expect to be Hongjoong because he has been hiding in his quarter for the past months. “Come see me after this.” He barely looks at me in the eyes and walks away.

Hongjoong has been looking for me since yesterday. He must have something important to talk to me about.

Before I follow him to his quarter, I look back to San whose eyes follow Hongjoong’s back. The blankness in his expression grips at my stomach. My feet step toward him but he turns on his heel and strides into the opposite direction of me.

—

Two figures press their ears against a wooden door of the quarter room. They’ve been standing there for half an hour, trying to eavesdrop on juicy information. Yet, they hear nothing at all.

“That’s it! I’m telling Yeosang that captain mullet makes my Lucky Star cry.” Yeojin huffs. Yunho nods his head, agreeing with her plan.

Yeojin whirls around and almost collides into a tall dark wall. She stops in her tracks, craning her neck upward and almost stops breathing. Although she has been living on the same ship with this guy for over a year, his presence still frightens her. As she freezes in the spot, the navigator is kind enough to pull her away from the combatant path.

San walks past both of them and barges inside the quarter room.

The Yeosang supporters can only exchange looks.

“Oh no, my plan is ruined.” Yeojing cries, tugging her hair.

—

Hongjoong shuts the door in my face at the same time someone enters the quarter room. I turn on my heel to see San striding toward me.

“What’s wrong with your captain?!” I chew my lower lip while glaring at the closed door. Hongjoong’s getting on my nerves. He has been hiding in his room and barely talks to me.

He invited me to his quarter to ask what was bothering me and when I answered that it was him, he got upset. And in return, I asked him why he acted strange around me, he refused to answer and escaped into his room.

San stares at me silently. Then he stomps toward Hongjoong’s cabin. As he places his hand on the doorknob, I dash toward him and hug his arm for my dear life.

‘What’re you doing!?’ I mouth at San in panic. Although San remains stoic, his fierce gaze tells me that he’s angry. If I didn’t intercept him in time, I was scared to imagine Angry San confronting Angry Hongjoong. Perhaps, they would end up fighting like Jack and Jim or worse.

“Let’s leave.” I pull his arm, trying to lead him outside the quarter’s room. San stands still like a heavy mountain and frowns at me.

“I’m really fine.” I lie and give him a fake cheerful smile.

The fiery in his gaze subtle down and San grabs my wrist. He pulls me outside the room. I spot Yunho and Yeojin making weird expressions on my way out.

We reach the main deck where San abruptly halts his steps and crouches down, facing his back toward me. I watch his back, confused by his action.

“Get on.” He says.

I’m not in a mood for a piggy ride. As I’m about to decline his request, San repeats his words with an authoritative voice that I never heard him using.

“Star, get on.”

I circle my arms around his neck and wrap my legs around his waist. San gets up and heads toward the shroud. He swiftly swings himself on it and climbs up. We reach the crow’s nest in a few seconds.

The sound of someone whistling an awful melody stops. That person lets out a surprise gasp before giving us a smug grin.

“Welcome, my dear mate.” The first mate pats a small space beside him that surely won’t fit San and I.

“Get lost.” San grumbles to his beloved mate.

Instead of being offended, Wooyoung grins wider. “Oh, I didn’t know you were raising an ugly monkey.” He looks at San’s back where I cling onto him.

I shoot Wooyoung a dagger. How dare he call me an ugly monkey. “Shut up, dolphin.” I taunt back and receive a frightened look from him.

“Good lord!!! You’re smiling.” Wooyoung shakily points at San. Surprised, I try to look at San’s face from behind but couldn't see anything.

“Ughh. Don’t smile at me. I rather prefer you giving me dead glare.” Wooyoung rises to his feet and climbs over to the shroud. “This place is all yours. I’m going to pretend that I didn’t see anything up here.”

San ignores his best friend and climbs into the crow’s nest. I get down from San’s back when Wooyoung climbs upward to mock us. “Hey, don’t kiss or do something weird, okay? This is my sacred space-” He immediately climbs down when San touches a dagger at his belt.

I snort, wondering how Wooyoung survived until this day with that blabbering mouth.

After the nerve wrecking firstmate left us alone, San and I sat down close to each other. I observe his side profile over a full minute, waiting for him to explain why he takes me up here but he seems to not intend to open his mouth.

Thus I turn to look at the beautiful scenery. Yesterday’s night, we were hit by a storm, but today's weather is so nice. I take a deep breath into my lungs and sigh. It’s been a loooong time since I was here after I wasn’t allowed on the crow’s nest when I fell down into the sea last time.

I feel a pair of eyes staring at me. I crane my neck to the man beside me. I blink when noticing how he looks at me with a surprisingly soft gaze.

San lifts his hand and brushes a strand of hair out of my face. “Captain fails to be your friend.”

“Apparently.” I scrunch my nose. My mood turns sour by remembering how we had an argument a moment ago. I’m not really angry with Hongjoong but upset that our relationship has turned bad.

“He couldn't let you go.” San’s mouth twists into a sarcastic smirk.

My mouth hangs open. I didn’t expect him to say it in my face. Jim also said the same thing. Deep down, I already know Hongjoong still has feelings for me, but I try to escape from the truth. Because after I returned to this realm, I wasn’t sure of my own feelings. I thought that being his friend would solve everything. However, I’m absolutely wrong.

“Did he tell you that?” I doubt Hongjoong revealed his thoughts to anyone. He has been closing himself off lately.

“No, but I know.” San answers. His smirk forms into a bitter smile. “Unlike him,” He pauses and looks at me. The way he stare at me reminds me of when he rescued me in the water today.

“I never tried to let you go. I can stay by your side even if you’ll never love me.”

My breath caught in my throat from his sudden confession. The thing that scared me the most has turned into reality.

San still has feelings for me. My heart squeezes with unexplainable feelings. Was this something that he wanted to tell me back then? I let out a shaky breath before answering him.

“San…I-” He put his finger on my lip to prevent me from speaking.

“I know what you’re going to say.” He cuts me off with a painful expression. The expression that I hate to see the most. “Star, I fail to be your friend.” He whispers and grabs my hand toward his lips where he softly kisses my palm.

—

San’s words haunt my mind for a whole day. I don’t know what I should do at this moment. Hongjoong and San still have feelings for me which I noticed from a long time ago but pretend to not see. I continued treating them as my friends, but they’re suffering silently because of me.

I remind myself of Wooyoung’s advice but it doesn’t help me much. I hate to see them hurt. I really have no idea how to solve this mess.

That evening I have dinner with my friends; Yeojin, Mingi, Yunho, and Jongho in the kitchen. I’m lost in my head, staring at my palm where San kissed me. One second I feel heat flare on my cheeks, another second my heart aches, and the next second I sigh in distress.

The guys send worried glances at me from time to time but no one braves enough to ask me.

“Captain Mullet is so mean! How could he do that to you!?” Yeojin finally breaks the silence, folding her arms. Irritation written across her face.

I look at her, deadpanned. I haven’t told her anything about the conversation between Hongjoong and I. She imagines stuff again.

“Let me give you some advice. You should look at people around you, particularly at a certain someone. That person always protects you, he never makes you cry, never makes you sad.” Yeojin starts preaching after promising me she won’t set me up with her brother.

Yunho nods his head along while Mingi and Jongho furrow their eyebrows at Yeojin's speech.

“Are you talking about me?” Mingi points at himself. Both Jongho and Yunho almost spit their food back into their plates.

Yeojin immediately scrunches her nose. “Ew, not you.”

Mingi sulks as he takes it personally. I pat his back to cheer him up. I mean he always takes good care of me, so he isn’t wrong.

Yeojin ignores him and continues. “That person only has his eyes on you. It’s true that he doesn’t want anything back from you. But from everything that he has done for you, does it not shake your heart at all?” Yeojin places her hand on my shoulder and stares deep into my eyes as if she’s trying to hypnotize me.

“Think about it Star, he might not be good at talking, maybe a little awkward. But he always shows his feelings through his actions. You might be in love with him, but you haven’t realized it!”

I let her words sink into my head. A person who cares for me and shows his love through his actions. Someone who has taken my heart without me knowing.

A person's face appears in my mind. I place my hand on top of my heart as my heartbeat instantly picks up its pace. Every action and every moment that I have with him floods into my mind's eyes.

He does shake my heart whenever I’m near him, but I’m too occupied with the thought of not wanting to hurt any of the guys to realize my own feelings. I don’t see him as a friend. He’s more than that to me. He’s my everything.

I sit up straight with an epiphany. Like a storm disappears and reveals a rainbow. I finally understand my own heart!

“Thank you, Yeojin!” I pull her into a quick hug and instantly get up from my seat. At the same time one of the gossip group members comes to our table to invite us for a horror story session tonight. Mingi and Yunho cheerfully agree to join, they turn to me with excited expressions.

However, I excuse myself.

“Shooting Star, where are you going? Aren’t you coming with us?” Mingi asks me with a sullen look.

“I will join you guys later. There’s something I need to fix first.” I say with determination, making my friends look even more curious.

“Fix what? Do you need my help?” Jongho asks me innocently. I smile at him and shake my head. Even if I need someone's help, Jongho has the least experience in this matter.

“I’m going to fix my relationship with your tiny Captain.” I say in a teasing tone, making my friends, especially Yeojin’s jaw hang open in disbelief. I chuckle at their reaction and whirl around. My smile immediately drops as soon as my gaze connects with San who just comes into the kitchen with Wooyoung.

San remains expressionless. But I know that expression underlies so many emotions.

—

After I left Hongjoong’s quarter, the gossip group already started their session in a storage room.

I open the door without knocking, making the crew turn to me with panicked expressions. They exhale in relief when they notice that it’s me and resume listening to the story.

I mumble an apology and sit down next to Mingi and he immediately hugs my arm while listening to a story about a ghost ship. I greet Yunho sitting next to him and scan around the room.

Several lamps scatter around the place, making the room brighter than usual. I notice the familiar faces of the gossipers. But Wooyoung and Yeojin aren’t here. Yeosang is probably resting in his cabin since he looks extra tired today. Jongho isn’t here either because he doesn’t like this kind of stuff. However, I didn’t expect a new member to join.

At the farthest corner of the room, the combatant leans against the wall, closing his eyes. He looks like he’s sleeping. I wonder why he decided to join us tonight. Did someone force him to come?

I turn to Mingi looking for an answer, but this guy is too immersed in the story. Then I feel someone crawl behind me and sit in a free space beside me. His blue hair gets into my view.

“What did you talk to Captain?” Yunho whispers, his eyes twinkle with curiosity.

“Why should I tell you?” I give him a skeptical look.

Yunho wrinkles his nose and shakes my arm. “C’mon tell me. I need to know if I’ll lose all of my money.”

I snort and ignore him, tuning into a ghost story that actually doesn’t hold my interest as I’m thinking of the person who’s sleeping soundly at the corner of the room.

“Did you invite San here?” I ask Yunho. As if San hears me, he opens his eyes, connecting his gaze with me.

I startle and break our eye contact.

“Why should I tell you?” Yunho repeats my response in a sassy tone. He pretends to ignore me and pays attention to the story.

I pay no heed to Yunho’s answer. I look back to San to see that he’s still staring at me. I quickly avert my gaze with my heart begins to thump.

I sit still for a while, trying to calm down. Once I’m ready, I steal a glance at San. And again, his gaze is gluing on me but this time I stare back at him. We hold each other's gaze for a long time. There’s something really important I need to tell him after I talk to Hongjoong.

“Dang, I’ll lose my money for sure.” I hear Yunho mutter under his breath. He glances between San and me before crawling back to sit on another side of Mingi.

The ghost ship story soon finishes and the group is looking for the last storyteller of the night.

“San, you’re a new member, you should tell us your best story.” Mingi smirks. He’s probably trying to find a predecessor for the worst ghost story teller position of Stargazer.

San looks at Mingi blankly. Then a chilled smile creeps on his face as a sign for accepting the challenge.

“Tonight…” San’s raspy voice echoes in the room like the cold air seeping into our bones. “When you return to your cabin, check under your bed.” His dark eyes bore into Mingi.

The room falls eerily silent. Mingi is taken aback for a second and suddenly yells in anger. “Yah!! Why do I have to check under my bed!?” He’s trying to lunge toward San. Yunho and I have to hold him down.

“Cause something might be hiding there.” Yunho adds and fakes shuddering. Mingi looks at his friend in disbelief and he turns to me. I nod my head, siding with Yunho. And San’s creepy smile grows wider.

Mingi gives us a betrayal look. “Jongho! Where’s Jongho!?” Once he can’t find supporters, he’s yelling for his roomate. When he realizes that his beloved mate isn’t here, he abruptly gets up and heads toward the door. He turns to me after opening the door. “I-I’m sleepy. Shooting Star, can you walk me back to my room?”

His request earns laughter from the gossip group. Mingi shoots them with nasty glare and turns to give me puppy eyes.

Yunho sighs and gets up. “How could you ask for a lady to walk you back?” He joins Mingi at the doorway and drapes his arm across Mingi’s shoulder.

“Starfish, I’ll send this guy off and help him check under his bed. San, you accompany Starfish back to her cabin. Also, make sure nothing is hiding under her bed.” Yunho gives me a playful wink before turning to the crew. “You lot better check under your beds too. Something might crawl out while you’re sleeping.” He drops the bomb before leaving with Mingi who looks even more frighten.

The crew turn pale. They hurriedly scatter out of the room until I left with San alone. I snort at how they used to be Pirate King’s crew but are scared of ghosts. I glance over to the best horror story teller of Stargazer. He rises to his feet and saunters toward me.

“That was the best horror story I ever heard.” I get up, brushing my pants and facing him.

San doesn’t take my compliment, he looks rather intense. “You and Captain…” He trails off with a clenched jaw. He doesn’t finish his sentence, but I understand what he’s trying to say.

“Hongjoong and I…” I answer, looking into his eyes. “We’re good now.”

☆*:.｡.o☆*:.｡.o☆*:.｡.o☆*:.｡.o☆*:.｡.o☆