Fog hovered above the rippling ocean, reflecting dim greyness back upwards toward the clouds that darkened the sky. The air hung heavy and still, too still. Anyone setting sail in conditions such as these would feel the unnatural aura at once. At least, almost anyone.

A single ship cut through the fog, its sleek design and crisp colours marking it as belonging to His Majesty’s Navy. At the bow of the ship stood a young boy about ten years of age, his eyes dancing about as though trying to spot something before anyone else could. The boy’s name was Mingi, and as he stood there he quietly sang a rather peculiar song.

“We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me hearties yo ho! We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot. Drink up me hearties yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me. We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack. Drink up-”

A hand came down on Mingi’s shoulder, and he jumped, startled. He looked up into the face of Seonghwa, the ship’s first mate and a rather superstitious twenty-year-old. 

“Quiet laddie!” Seonghwa hissed, his accent thicker than usual as he tried to keep his voice down. “Cursed pirates sail these waters. You don’t want to bring them down on us, now, do ya?”

“Mr. Park, that will do!” a stern voice interjected as Lieutenant Wooyoung Jung approached the two. 

Seonghwa straightened and tried to defend himself to the officer. “He was singing about pirates, sir. Bad luck to be singing about pirates with us mired in this unnatural fog, mark my words.”,

The lieutenant, also in his early twenties, scoffed. “Consider them marked. On your way.” 

“Aye, Lieutenant.” Seonghwa sighed as he began to move away. “Bad luck to have a child on board too.” He muttered under his breath. 

“I think it’d be rather exciting to meet a pirate.” Mingi remarked once Seonghwa had left. 

Wooyoung scoffed and gazed down at Mingi pointedly. “Think again, young Master Song. Vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them. I intend to see to it that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves: a short drop and a sudden stop.” 

Mingi was confused by the phrase Wooyoung had used, and looked around to see if anyone could elaborate. His eyes landed on Seonghwa, who pretended to hang himself with an invisible rope. Surprised, Mingi’s eyes widened and he let out an involuntary little gasp.

“Lieutenant Jung, I appreciate your fervor, but I’m, uh, I’m concerned about the effect this subject will have upon my son.” Mingi’s father spoke as he came up behind them. 

Wooyoung turned smoothly, saluting the older man as he did so. “My apologies Governor Song.” 

Governor Jinyu Song was a very important man, and thus he cared more about how Mingi’s actions would affect his reputation as Governor instead of how those things affected Mingi himself. The results of this put quite a strain on his relationship with his son, a strain Jinyu tried to fix by showering the boy with lavish gifts.

“Actually,” Mingi piped