It's a bit of a "punch-to-the-face" emotional chapter... Update: I had to change some lines around to work with the story for the next chapters.  Please read this updated one, thank you!

A wide, metallic plank shoots out from the side of Angel, and it grips onto Lucifer’s wooden side railing. Onew takes the lead with Jonghyun to cross the bridge, followed by the trio of Key, Minho and Taemin.

Suho, Kris, Xiumin, and Luhan are standing on the other side of the bridge, awaiting the Lucifer crew to board onto their ship. They had known Onew much longer than the rest of Angel’s crew, given that the captain of Lucifer had visited their port a few times before the Great Divide, before Suho had founded the Angel crew. They had met Minho later on, after the Great Divide, when the New World was in its early age. As for Key, Taemin, and Jonghyun, the four Angel crewmembers have only heard about them in the letters that both captains had exchanged from time to time. And so the four men greet the Lucifer crew with warm smiles.

“Ahh, Joonmyeon! It’s been a while…” Onew hails warmly as he makes his way towards the younger captains. “You too, Kris!” They shake hands before Suho find himself in the elder captain’s hug. When they pull away, the captain of Lucifer then greets Xiumin and Luhan in the same warm manner before he takes a look around Angel.

“Wow, would you look at her… How long has it been since I last saw the four of you? Seems like ages ago,” Onew shoots a playful wink and smile to the men. Suho chuckles at the choice of words.

“Too long.”

Suho shoots an amused look at his mates because they all had replied simultaneously before looking back at the older captain.

“How have you been, Jinki? And what brings you here?”

“Hold on, not answering you yet,” Onew lightheartedly replies back as he holds up an index finger, stepping back to allow his crew to greet the four men of Angel.

“Minho!” Luhan exclaims happily.  “It’s been a while!”

Chuckling, Minho nods and shakes hands with him, before doing the same to the other three. They then take turns welcoming the other four members of the Lucifer.

“And you must be Taemin! I’ve heard so much about you in the letters…” Suho says warmly.

Taemin nods, smiling, as he stows the monocle in the pocket of his vest. “Indeed, it is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Suho. I’ve heard a lot about you from Jin-…” The words come to a halt as there is an indescribable look painted on his face.

Some of the members share looks of confusion before they follow Taemin’s line of sight, turning around to see what made the young man stop.

“Hello, Jongin…” Taemin’s voice cannot hide the sadness.

Suho, Luhan, Xiumin and Kris cannot hide their astonishment at the situation, as to how Taemin knew their shipwright, because they have no recollection of their shipmate mentioning Taemin at all.  It is the crew of Angel’s first meeting with people other than Jinki and Minho as well.

The said male, having emerged from below deck, stops on the very last step of the staircase, with another young man trailing behind him, hand in hand. He is dressed with a green hooded cape (his hood down), a grey sleeveless shirt that depicts a skull with crossbones, and black jeans with a pouch dangling from his side.

Kai, or rather Jongin by personal name, is glaring heatedly at Taemin, the look of anger etched heavily on his face.

“Jongin??” Suho asks indignantly, thrown off guard by the name. “H…What is this, how do you two know each other? Wait, did you know about this, Jinki?” He sees that the whole crew of Lucifer is not surprised as the Angel’s four members are.

“I did, the whole crew did. It’s part of the reason why we are here.  A few years ago, Taemin happened to come across one of our old letters in my cabin, and it was then he caught his friend’s name and alias.  He reacted strongly to that, that we all wanted to know why. He…had explained to us his history with Kai, or Jongin for that matter. We’re sorry to have kept this from you guys.” Onew scratches his nose, looking guilty.

“Yeah, Jongin and I…go way back. I made Jinki not to tell you, as it is personal to me,” Taemin says sadly as he watches Kai. “He and I used to be close friends for three years…until I joined the Lucifer. He still looks the same, and I’m not that surprised. I know I haven’t looked any different… And I doubt he’s going to forgive me anytime soon after what happened that day…”

“What do you mean?” Suho asks.

“Well, I didn’t tell him that I was going to join the Lucifer.  We had a fight that day; it was almost six months after my parents died.  He wanted me to move on, but I refused and sought for ways to bring my parents back.  I sought for information and knowledge, such as to bring my parents back or identify what the disease was that ravaged them to their deaths.  That night after our fight, Fate approached me as she had done five times for the previous five months, and made me an offer for my soul.  That night, I accepted it, and next thing I knew, I was aboard Lucifer.  I didn’t have any time to say goodbye to Jongin, and sometimes I regret that.”

Suho hums in acknowledgment.  He steals a glance to Angel’s shipwright.

Behind Kai, the other man is wearing a sky blue, long-sleeved shirt with beige pants, and a red bandanna tied around his head. D.O notices the tension and how almost everyone on board is watching the scene ever so attentively.  

“J-Jongin… come on, let it go…” D.O soothes the man as he squeezes Kai’s hand gently, his thumb rubbing reassuringly across the back of Kai’s hand. “It’s in the pa-”

“I don’t care,” Kai hisses softly as he turns his head slightly to D.O’s direction, his eyes never leaving Taemin. “Thinking he can just come here out of the blue and make everything alright, especially with that absurd magic book of his. I waited for him, and he never showed…” He scoffs. “Some friend he is…”

Suho notices how dark the shipwright’s scowl is, and he wonders why. He is unable to catch what Kai was muttering to D.O; neither do Kris, Luhan and Xiumin. He notes D.O attempting to soothe Kai, his wide eyes glancing around nervously.

“Jongin…” Taemin says softly as he starts to walk toward Kai. “I’m rea-“

“Shut it,” Kai growls vehemently, causing Taemin to freeze in his tracks. “Save your apologies, Taemin. We were done. I was done with you a long time ago. A long time ago, you got that?”

“I didn’t mea-“

“What? You didn’t mean to what?” Kai bursts out angrily, startling D.O to the point where the older man takes a step away while still holding hands with him. “You didn’t mean to yell at me back then, for trying to help you and being there for you? Back when you lost your parents? You didn’t mean to just disappear and not leave a note saying you had joined the Lucifer, the pitiful crew of wandering, doomed souls?”

There are little noises of gasps, as some look a little scandalized at Kai’s choice of words. D.O’s eyes widen and he whispers harshly, “Jongin! What’s wrong with you?”

Kai pays no heed to his companion, still glaring at Taemin, who looks speechless and guilty.

“I had felt so sorry for you, because you had lost your parents and you were so miserable. You were so obsessive on finding ways to save your parents when there was nothing that could be done.  I had grieved with you and checked on you to make sure you were still with us.  And you know what you did? You lashed out at me! Me, Taemin, me who was only trying to help! And you yelled at me for failing you? As your best friend back then, what had I failed to do?

“I felt so sorry for us when we had that argument, I really did… I came back the next day to our place, hoping I’d see you there and we could forgive each other. And you know what happened? I… I w-waited…” His voice starts to quiver with emotion, before Kai takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before he opens them.  “I waited almost the whole day before I went to your house.  And when I got to your house, no one was there.  Not a single soul.”

“You don’t understand…how I felt that day when you disappeared, without a trace, without a note, without anything. I waited for days, no more like months, Taemin,” Kai growls. “Once or twice, I thought you had committed suicide.  I thought you had died and you couldn’t take it a