Pushing the door of my cabin, I stride inside the room and sit on my bed. Heaviness leaves my chest after visiting 3 places.

I confessed to Hongjoong, Yeosang, and San of how the feelings were nagging me for the past months since I’d returned here. I told them my honest thoughts that I wasn't ready for a romantic relationship, that I wanted to continue being friends with them. I told them that I was sorry for breaking their hearts for nth times, but I had to let it out. And I asked them to vent out  on me in return.

Hongjoong was taken aback after listening to me. He fell into silence for a while, then he smiled. A smile so genuine that made my heart clench. He caressed my cheek softly, telling me that he was content to see me everyday so he didn’t have to gaze at the stars anymore. He wished nothing else but for me to be happy. In the end, he was sorry that his action made me uncomfortable.

San listened to me quietly with a blank expression the whole time. After my long speech, he embraced me and told me that no matter what kind of our relationship was, he’d still stay beside me and protect me. He learnt that love isn’t weakness and said that the fact that I was here gave him a reason to be stronger.

Lastly, I went to Yeosang. He listened to me attentively until I finished. He gave me a warm smile and patted my head, telling me that I didn’t need to worry about his feelings and didn’t have to be guilty for telling him my thoughts. He’d be the same Yeosang to me who takes care of his Starry.

All of them made me cry like a baby. Just like Wooyoung said, they were already happy to have me here. I’m so grateful to have them as my friends.

There might be a chance that in the future that I may fall in love with any of them or someone else, but right now I want to focus on the present.

After letting go of my concern, it’s time to take a nap. The sun is already setting, but there’s still soft orange light coming through the porthole. The dark clouds that look like storms magically disperse. I take off my shoe and climb on my bed at the same time someone knocks on the door.

“Come in.” I say, sitting on my bed since I'm too lazy to move my body.

The door opens and the person, who I never expected he’d approach me, enters.

He wears a black attire from head to toe, his hair sweeps backward. One thing that is different from the last time I saw him in the afternoon is his beard is gone.

The quartermaster stops next to my bed and passes me a paper in his hand.

I quickly roll off my bed and cautiously reach to snatch the paper out of his grasp. “What’s this?” I read the paper and found out that it’s a Stargazer crew contract.

“It’s the contract for every crew member. You haven’t signed it yet.” Seonghwa answers me with a stoic demeanor. The light from outside gradually dimmer, however, his deep black eyes are strangely gleaming.

“Is it necessary?” I have been staying here for a long time and why does he have to hand it to me now?

“Yes.” He answers curtly. His gaze travels all over my face.

I give him a weird look as he somewhat gives off a strange aura today.

“Where do I need to sign?” I follow his request anyway because I don’t want to start a fight with him in my own territory. I open my palm toward him, asking for an ink pen or something to write.

Seonghwa strides closer toward me while patting his pants pocket and blinking, he stays still for a moment before pulling out a small dagger. “Sign it with your blood.”

Blood drains from my face.

So this is why he looks at me weirdly!? He’s here to bully me!

“No ing way!!” I scream and throw the paper into his face before jumping three feet away from him.

Seonghwa’s face turns darker as he slowly strides toward me like a serial killer, the dagger in his hand flashes into my eyes.

A game of cat and mouse then begins.

Mr.Grumpy chases me in my small cabin. I cuss out all the bad words that I can think of while sprinting around the room. He looks even more irritated that I always slip out of his grasp. When I see that he halts, I climb on my bed, aiming to fly right to my door and flee.

Imagining myself as a cheetah, I leap from my bed toward the only exit. At that moment, Seonghwa swiftly grabs my waist and pulls me down. My body hits the bed and he tumbles over me.

Our lips smack into each other.

The sound of a dagger hitting the floor rings in my ears. My eyes pop out of their socket, so does the man above me. Both of us are too stunned to move our bodies until a door suddenly opens.

“Ahhhhhh!!!” Yeojin screams. “Oh my lord!!! What did I just see!?!?!” She rubs her eyes as if the scene sting them. But that is not the worst; she isn’t alone, Jack and Jim are also here. Their jaws drop onto the ground.

Seonghwa immediately gets up, his entire face and neck flush red. While I’m still lying on my bed, too shocked to move a single muscle.

In that moment of suffocating silence, someone squeals.

“Yes!! I won the bet!!” Jim jumps up in the air. “The quartermaster won Miss Star’s heart!”

We all turn to glare at him in disbelief. Jack especially gives him a betrayal look.

“Gambling is prohibited.” Seonghwa grumbles, frowning at Jim. “But I’ll let this one go. Now close the door.” He orders Jim.

“Aye, sir!”Jim bows to Seonghwa cheerfully and push the two shocking people away from the door frame before shutting the door.

Seonghwa peers down at me, his black irises glowing. I blankly stare at him as my soul has left my body. He raises an eyebrow at me. “Are you gonna lie here and wait for me to kiss you again?”

I in a deep breath and scamble to my feet. My hands guard in front of my mouth.

Seeing my reaction, Seonghwa smirks and lets out chuckles.

I shake my head in utter disbelief. This whole situation is seriously wrong. The real Seonghwa would run all the way back to his cabin after the incident to brush his teeth. And he wouldn’t chuckle after jokingly saying he’ll kiss me again.

Who the heck is this person!?!?

I place my hand above my chest when I realize something. “Y-you weren’t here for the contract, right?” My voice comes out shaky.

When he fell on top of me, our mouths must have broken from the impact. However, all I felt was the softness of his lips.

Seonghwa’s mouth gradually spreads into a devilish smirk.

His reaction is enough for me to connect the dot. I gasp, my head turns dizzy. My legs give way and my body plummets to the bed.

Seonghwa adjusts his black coat and invites himself to sit down at the end of my bed, casually crossing his legs. “I heard you talked to the others and you didn’t choose anyone. That means you’re now free.”

I scoot away from him and squeeze myself close to a wall, trying to be away from this dangerous man as much as possible.

“I’m free but what’s your reason for being here!?” I squeak.

Seonghwa runs his hand through his hair, looking slightly frustrated. “Are you stupid?”

I’m about to scoff at him, but stop myself because I know what he meant. Yet I refuse to believe it. He hated my gut from day 1 until recently. He was just chasing me with a dagger in his hand. He wouldn’t simply have a change of heart in a matter of seconds.

“Were you acting all along?” I force the word out of my throat. Seonghwa always looks irritated whenever he sees me and taunts me for every chance he gets. Goosebumps rise on my arms when I realize that he could be pretending.

Seonghwa doesn't say anything, he looks slightly fluttered by my question. And that’s enough for me to draw a conclusion.

“When? How? I don’t get it!!” I get up on my feet, hands tug at my hair. It feels like my entire life was a lie. “No way, this isn’t real. You just pulled a prank on me, weren't you?!” I gawk at him like a mad person.

I see him roll his eyes and mutter to himself. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He gets up and strides close to me, cornering me until my back hits a wall behind me.

“I’m a fool for liking you.” He sighs.

His confession makes my breath catch in my throat. My brain shut down itself. The information is overloaded in my head, I can’t think straight anymore.

“Give me a chance, please.” Seonghwa surprisingly looks like he’s begging me. His dark gaze studies my face. “I know I wasn’t nice like the others. But I can change, I can prove it to you.”

After finishing his sentence, he cranes his neck and slowly lessens our lips distance. A warm lips touch mine. He kisses me softly in contrast to his personality. I feel how he hesitates to deepen the kiss as his lips slightly quiver. His motion is awkward as if this is the first time he ever kissed someone.

I hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. I’m supposed to push him away, but I find my arms powerlessly hanging on my side.

Seonghwa gingerly pulls away. I spot a tint of pink blush on his cheeks.

“Mr.Grumpy and Miss Nuisance kinda fit together, don’t you think so.” He smiles, a genuine happy smile that I never witnessed before. And he kisses me again.

—

The news of Seonghwa kissing me traveled across the ship like a wildfire. The crew didn’t believe it since Jack was the one who spread it. However, when they witnessed how Seonghwa treated me differently, they were mind blown.

After Seonghwa confessed to me, he didn’t completely transform into a new person. He still wore a stoic expression around me, but he stopped giving me scornful looks and snarky comments, most importantly he smiled at me more often!

Sometimes he bought me local food and gifts that he found in the towns. He usually appeared at my cabin door in the morning just to say hi to me and see me off at night. When he was busy with work and couldn’t come see me, Jim would deliver a message from him.

The messages were simple like Good morning, have you eaten? Wear warm clothes, the weather is getting colder, and so on. But since these messages came from Seonghwa, it wasn’t simple!

There was also a time that he took me on a date around town because he tricked me that it was just work.

I swear I wasn’t familiar with this new version of him. I became awkward around him and couldn’t meet his eyes without thinking of the kiss. I thought he would stop pursuing me when I didn’t give him attention, however, he was being consistent.

The crews literally thought something possessed him. But after a while, they started to like this new Seonghwa. They said Seonghwa was less grumpy which was good for them.

However, my friends weren’t satisfied with this change, especially three certain people.

Hongjoong increased the quartermaster’s duties, stating that Seonghwa had too much free time and was being unproductive. Having millions of duties already, Seonghwa became extremely busy that he barely came out of his room, yet the messages always came to me via Jim.

And when Seonghwa left his cabin, something flew across his face, missing his nose by a centimeter. He turned to look at a silver dagger that plugged into his wooden door and turned to a figure standing in a corridor.

“Sorry, my hand slipped.” The combatant who lived across from him repeated this sentence for 8 days in a row.

Seonghwa peered at the holes on his door and became speechless.

And because of the work overload, Seonghwa’s eye bags were visibly darker. The surgeon was concerned about Seonghwa’s health so he specially made an energy drink, AKA green terror latest version.

As Seonghwa took a sip of the drink, his whole face instantly turned green. He looked like he wanted to spit it out but forced himself to swallow it down.

Yeosang suggested that Seonghwa must drink the energy drink 3 times a day for a better result. Seonghwa quietly stared at Yeosang who smiled sweetly at him and his heart felt chilled.

Seonghwa might have looked pitiful for being the target of the trio. However, this was the Grumpy quartermaster. He wouldn't stand still and let them attack him by one side.

On one fine day, Hongjoong almost flipped the ship over because Soenghwa forgot to order his favorite wine. And when they reached the nearest port, Seonghwa mistakenly ordered the wrong wine. So Hongjoong couldn’t drink his wine for a whole month.

When Seonghwa left his cabin, the dagger greeted him again. He just changed his door last week and it had 7 holes in them already. He turned to look at San calmly.

“I’m truly concerned about your competency as the combatant of Stargazer. So I’ll confiscate all of your weapons until you’re ready. From now on, practice with a kitchen knife.”

San’s smirk instantly fell. He helplessly watched Seonghwa order the crew to move all of his weapons into Seonghwa’s cabin.

Being forced to drink the Green terror energy drink every day, Seonghwa's taste bud might've been completely destroyed as he ordered Yeosang to make more of it. Yeosang happily agreed to it and lost his sleep for a whole week, making the drink which was enough to feed the entire ship.

The innocent Surgeon with panda eyes handed over 50 bottles of the drink to Seonghwa. However, the heartless quartermaster then commanded the crew to drink it 3 times a day to replenish their energy. The crew were forced to consume the green terror with teary faces. And Yeosang could only witness the crew berate his beloved energy drink with a broken heart.

Instead of making three enemies, Seonghwa made the enemy out of the whole ship. His tyrannical era was such a dark time. No one dared opposing him.

The gossip group turned into a Seonghwa anti-club, and they were planning to overthrow him. But all of them were afraid of the severe consequences because even the captain couldn’t fight against the quartermaster.

Therefore, they turned to me, the only person who could win against Seonghwa. They begged me everyday to negotiate with him.

However, I wasn’t one of the victims of the green terror. Why did I have to be associated with this mess? I didn’t want to face Mr.Grumpy anyway.

Here I am, standing in front of Seonghwa’s cabin. I rub my arms from the chilly night air. It has passed midnight since I left the gossip group.

Nervousness pools in the pit of my stomach. Lately, I barely saw Seonghwa in person because of his work. But even without his presence, the thought of him makes me feel strange.

I calm down my nerves. Gathering my courage, I knock on the door. I hear a tired voice behind the door saying to come in.

My hand grips the doorknob with an erratic heartbeat. It’s the first time that I ventured into Seonghwa’s cabin on Stargazer. I vaguely remembered that I once barged into his room on the Revenge to save Aurora. I admit that my old self was braver than my current self.

Entering the dimly lit room, I notice that the room is the same size as Yeojin and my cabin, but there's a queen size bed for two people at the end of the room. The bookshelf occupies one side of the wall. I spot a pile of San’s weapons, bottles of Hongjoong’s favorite wine, and Yeosang’s energy drink store in one corner of the room.

Poor them, they messed with the wrong person.

On another side, a figure sits at a work table with a single lamp on it. It’s already midnight but Seonghwa is still working. He lowers down an ink pen and cranes his neck toward me. Surprise flashes across his face, then his mouth slowly curls up into a smirk.

“So you really miss me.”

I wrinkle my nose at him. Jim delivered a note from him, saying that he was busy for the entire day and couldn’t come see me. So if I miss him, I can pay a visit to his cabin.

But that’s not the intention why I’m here today. Believe me!

“I’m here as a representative of the Stargazer crew. They want you to stop torturing them.” I get right to the point. Nervousness seems to rise higher when I’m alone with him, so I want to end the negotiation quickly.

Seonghwa snorts, crossing his arms. “It’s not my problem. They should tell Yeosang to make edible drink.”

I almost agree with him but quickly clear my throat. “I want you to promise that you won’t torture the crew anymore.”

Seonghwa looks at me with a stoic expression. The air feels cold against my skin, but his gaze is colder. The silence makes me uneasy shift between my legs. After a moment, he rises to his feet and saunters toward me, making me unconsciously step backward.

“You shouldn’t trust them. Why would they send you alone into my room at this hour?” His black irises are glowing.

I gulp hard. The crew begged me for over a week, but I came here by my own choice. Still, why did I choose to come to his cabin at this ungodly hour? I must be out of my mind. My eyes dart between the door and him, prepare to sprint away if he starts doing anything funny.

Seonghwa studies my expression and lets out a low chuckle. He runs his hand through his hair to make it messier.

“Do you hate me?”

His question catches me off guard. My mouth agape and I shake my head fervently. Although he was on my nerves, I never hated him.

Seonghwa smiles after seeing my reaction, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Then you must be so afraid of me.”

This time I shut my mouth tight. I used to be afraid of him when he was a heartless quartermaster of the Pirate King Revenge, that man was so hell bent to throw me overboard.

However, this man in front of me is different. I don’t know what I think of him after his personality changed.

“Star.” As if Seonghwa accepts my silence as my answer, he becomes stern. He calls my name in a low husky voice. The name he started calling 3 months ago sounds unfamiliar to my ears. My heart thumps in my chest as I meet his eyes.

“I’ll give you a choice.” He says.

A choice?

I tilt my head questioningly.

“If you don’t love me, push me away.”

My eyes turn wide, something inside me twists from the thought that he finally gives up on me.

Seonghwa shifts closer, seriousness reflecting on his expression.

“But if you love me, hold me closer to you.”

After finishing his sentence, he grips my chin, the heat from his fingertip spread to my face. He leans in until his soft lips press on mine.

I hold my breath. He’s still awkward as before, but this kiss feels different from 3 months ago.

I lift my hands up to grab his collar. His body turns rigid yet he doesn’t stop kissing me as if he’s scared that it’ll be the last time he’d be able to kiss me.

I grip his shirt tighter and pull him closer to me.

—

After that fateful night, one year has passed. Seonghwa and the crew had ended the war in peace. Our friends eventually accepted his new persona.

I stand at the quarterdeck, breathing in the sea breeze and watching the wisp of clouds floating on a light blue sky.

Although it has been one year, I still remember that night vividly. I chuckle at myself and look downward.

A baby boy sleeping soundly in my arms. He has jet black hair that he takes after his dad. But he has brown eyes and loves to sleep just like me.

When I was pregnant, I was so afraid that my son would be grumpy and frown all the time. Luckily, he turns out to be a happy kid who likes to smile and giggle when the crew play with him. My friends compete with each other to be his favorite uncle. They like to carry him when my husband isn't around.

However, my son always cries when certain people carry him. Hongjoong, San, and Yeosang were so helpless that I felt sorry toward them. I believe it has something to do with the deep grudge from my husband.

I jolt when someone hugs me from behind and kisses my cheek.

“How’s our Vesper doing?” He steps forward and pecks on our baby boy’s forehead in my embrace.

Since the father’s name means Mars and my name is Star, we named him Vesper which means Evening star.

Seonghwa told me that he didn’t stargaze all night like the other lovesick boys when I was away. He glimpsed at the evening star when he missed me and moved on with his life. Because he hated the fact that he missed me and could never see me again.

His reason was surprising to hear since I thought he didn’t look that happy to see me again. But he told me he was good at hiding emotion.

Well, of course.

Instead of answering Seonghwa, I observe his face. He returns to keep one side bangs because I accidentally told him he looked y with that look. He still loves to wear black attire, and being a strict quartermaster to the crew. But after becoming a father, he becomes less and less grumpy.

I look at Vesper, the 3-month-old baby sleeps peacefully in my arms. I take him out for fresh air as I don’t want to stay inside the cabin all day. If Yeosang saw me outside, he’d scold me until my ears bleed because I still need to recover. He said I should ask our friends to take care of Vesper. But my husband doesn’t approve of any babysitter on this ship because he’s afraid that they will be a bad influence to our child.

Seonghwa plants another kiss on our son’s chubby cheek before straightening up, raising an eyebrow at me.

“I was gone for half a day, don’t you miss me?”

Seonghwa went to check goods in our warehouse with several guys in town. Because he doesn’t grow his beard anymore, he always hides his face with a black bandana and a leather hat.

Although I’m scared that we would get caught, the rumor of the previous pirate king finally subsided and the Royal Navy stopped looking for us as they thought we were dead. So we're able to venture into a town in relief.

“Something on your mind?” Seonghwa asks me again when I don’t react to his question.

“Hmm…” I turn away, pretending to ignore him. Seonghwa shifts in front of me and cups my face, looking slightly worried.

“Star, what’s wrong?” He sounds genuinely concerned. Although he isn’t the type to say he loves me every day or a romantic guy, he proves it through his consistent actions that he truly loves me. But there’s one thing about him that nagged me until recently.

“You haven’t told me when you start having feelings for me.” Whenever I asked him this question, he brushed it off everytime, saying he was too embarrassed to tell me. That answer stimulated my curiosity even more.

“Give me a kiss first.” He beams me a mischievous grin. I shrug and tiptoe to peck on his lips.

He immediately scoffs. “Miss Nuisance, I believe you misunderstood the meaning of Kiss.”

I scrunch my nose at him and retort. “Well, Mr.Grumpy. Vesper is sleeping right here.”

His eyes become softened as he peers at our son. But as soon as his gaze connects with me, they are gleaming with mischievousness.

“He wouldn’t wake up no matter how loud we are- ouch!” He grunts when I stomp at his foot. His face turns slightly darkened. Before he turns into a grumpy mode, I tiptoe again and graze my lips against his earlobe.

“How about later, tonight.”

Seonghwa’s ears instantly turn red, and his lips curl into a satisfied smirk.

“Fine, you won, but promise me you won’t faint.” He sounds hesitant.

I firmly nod, my heart beat quickening up. I hug Vesper closer to my chest, making him stirs a little and opening his big doe eyes to stare at his parents. It seems like he’s also curious about how his dad fell in love with his mom.

Seonghwa takes a deep breath as if to prepare himself for the worst. Then he answers my question that blows my mind away.

“When you hid under my bed.”

〣( ºΔº )〣

The end…

Someone has to give Seonghwa the Oscar. 

I hope you guys find  the scene where our heartless quartermaster fell in love with Miss Nuisance...

Well, this is the last chapter of Star illusion. The realization hit me when I’m writing this very sentence. I guess it’s time to say goodbye…( ಥ ʖ̯ ಥ)