Landing

Siren Song

Jongin spent the next few days feeling confused.

He didn’t know why he was on the ship with these pirates, he didn’t know why the captain had spared his life, he didn’t know why his original crew had thought so little of him as to offer him up to the pirates in the first place, he didn’t know why the pirates were here or what they wanted with him or why the captain was kissing him (though it had only been very quick, light pecks since The Incident just a couple of days prior, which Jongin chalked down to the captain’s concern for the injured Chanyeol clouding his judgement.)

He didn’t know when he had somehow started to feel comfortable in all of this.

He had started to feel comfortable with these pirates, he felt comfortable on this ship in the middle of the ocean, he felt safe when surrounded by the crew. He even rather liked it when Captain Kyungsoo kissed him, despite having no idea why he was actually doing it. It was all just…good. Baffling but good, all of it.

Jongin wondered why he didn’t seem to know what he wanted.

Jongin wondered if the captain knew what he wanted.

He was wondering all of this while cleaning the hold with Luhan and Jongdae in preparation for reaching the Opal Coast, moving all their trinkets and treasures into barrels and crates for easy transportation.

“Where are we transporting them to?” He had asked, but the other two just smiled at him and said he would see soon. It was infuriating at times, how nobody ever seemed to tell him anything, but it was nice to at least have someone to talk to while the captain was ignoring him. Nobody had seen much of Kyungsoo or Baekhyun for the past few days, though Minseok had been around. The others spent every waking moment with Chanyeol, who Jongin had only seen once since he’d been brought back with one leg; the pain still lingered, but less intensely now, apparently, and his prior howls of pain were replaced with quieter, mournful whimpers now and then.

Jongin had only seen him once, when they got rid of the lost leg over the side of the ship. Chanyeol had been shaking when the splash of his former limb being lost to the waves could be heard, but Baekhyun was there trying his best to reassure him. It wasn’t possible to reattach the leg anyway, Yixing on shore would take care of him, everything was going to be fine. Though Baekhyun didn’t look so sure himself, he continued dutifully caring for Chanyeol by himself to allow Jongdae to assist with preparations to hit land.

“You finished in here?” Sehun appeared in the doorway of the hold, leaning against the wooden frame and surveying the room. “You guys better not have hidden anything of mine.”

Jongdae took a seat on one of the crates, patting the side with a grin. “All safe. Ready for you to pass on to some lucky gentleman or lady.”

“No thanks to you! Where have you been?” Luhan dropped a barrel with a grumble. Sehun only shrugged.

“Changing the sails with Minseok. It’s a difficult job without Chanyeol to help…” The hold fell silent momentarily. “I’m actually here as a messenger boy –Captain wants Jongin in his quarters.”

“The captain?” Jongin’s heart skipped a beat. Save for their awkward nightly kisses, the captain had been ignoring him entirely for days. What could the captain possibly want with him now? Waving to the others, he walked (though perhaps it was closer to a run) to the captain’s quarters, anxiousness bubbling up inside him with every step. He couldn’t imagine that the captain wanted to talk about the incident, but honestly couldn’t think of a single other thing that the older man would want to speak with him about.

He knocked once, twice on the wooden door of the captain’s quarters before letting himself inside.

Kyungsoo’s quarters were almost no different to usual, save for a very obviously missing presence from the wall above the desk. The portrait of Kyungsoo’s mother was gone, instead laid flat on the desk as the captain himself appeared to be wrapping it in a sheet.

“Ah, captain.”

Kyungsoo looked up, nodding in acknowledgement of Jongin’s presence. He wasn’t sure where he should go – keep standing in the doorway? Sit down somewhere? Jongin wondered when his relationship with the other man had become so complicated that he needed some kind of rulebook just for standing (or sitting?) in the same room as him. Perhaps Kyungsoo had always been this complicated.

“Jongin, we’re leaving our treasures on shore. I wondered if you shouldn’t leave your necklace there as well.” He didn’t make any gesture to it, but Jongin’s hands moved to his necklace immediately. Leave it behind? He took a lot of comfort in his necklace, the first spoil he had technically earned. “I know you’re attached to it, but on this ship it runs the risk of being stolen. We can keep it safe by hiding it on land until we can return to it.”

Kyungsoo opened the wooden box that he kept on his desk, the one that originally held the necklace, and gestured vaguely to the inside of it. All it held at present was the small length of wire that Jongin had used to open the box in the first place.

With even less resistance than he anticipated, Jongin found himself obediently putting the necklace into the box, running his fingers slowly over every gem and every loop as a silent form of farewell. “Where are we leaving them, captain?”

“Joonmyun’s house.” Apparently satisfied with the amount of sheet wrapped around the painting, Kyungsoo set it back down on the desk. When Jongin gave him no response beyond a confused look, the corner of his lips quirked up slightly. It was a strange sight for Jongin to see, actually. “The safest place in the world. I owe Joonmyun my life.”

It was silent then, in the captain’s quarters. This was the longest conversation the two men had had in a long time, especially since they had exchanged fewer words in the past days than could be counted on one hand. The discomfort in the atmosphere was practically visible to the eye, floating around their heads like so many tiny dust particles.

Kyungsoo broke the silence, pulling back a little of the sheet around his mother’s portrait and sighing.

“The Siren was named after her, you know.” As usual, Jongin didn’t know, but he moved a little closer to look at the painting with his captain. “She was famous for her good looks, renowned across the ocean, beauty matched only by her voice. They called her Siren.”

Jongin only nodded in understanding, smiling gently. “So you named your ship after her…?”

“Mm.” The silence returned, a little more comfortable than before but not quite. Kyungsoo’s mother’s eyes watched them both from the painted world in which she now spent her days. It was strange, Jongin thought, to see two identical pairs of eyes staring into each other like he was seeing right now.

He coughed awkwardly. “You look like her.” He hoped his intention was understood, though Kyungsoo made no move to confirm whether or not it was. That tiny small tugged on the corner of the captain’s lips again, however.

“It’s been said I sing like her, too.”

-

The Siren landed in the Opal Coast just as the sun was setting, Jongin having watched them approaching from the lookout along with Luhan. It had been a breathtaking sight, the first few lamps of the night flickering in the distance as the warm orange sunset glimmered on the darkening waves. Jongin could see golden sand and green, leafy trees, a stark contrast to the muggy industrial port town he had left behind in Sapphire Country.

Kyungsoo had called everyone on deck, save Chanyeol, just as they landed.

The arrangement was for Jongin, Kyungsoo and Sehun to take the first few barrels and crates from the hold to Joonmyun’s home, while Jongdae would join them only until they reached the surgery where Yixing worked. Jongdae was to bring Yixing back to the Siren to see to Chanyeol, and everyone else would be tasked with guarding the galley, the hold and Chanyeol from any opportunistic thieves until the ship had been emptied of valuables.

Kyungsoo carried very little; just the wooden box containing Jongin’s necklace, a few of the feathered daggers from his desk and a couple of other valuables (the tiny wire had since been removed, now tied in a small knot around Jongin’s little finger) and the portrait of his mother under one arm. Jongin took a large barrel while Sehun, somehow, hauled a stack of two crates in his arms. Jongdae walked alongside them as they made their way down the cobbled street past the harbour. It appeared to be the main street, passing several taverns and shops. When a small white building that looked almost like a little cottage came into view, Jongdae broke into a run, almost leaping up the front steps and knocking on the door.

Jongin admired the little building from the bottom of the steps, while they waited for the door to open. It was a sweet looking place, with shining white walls and a thatched roof. Considering most other buildings in the area appeared to have tiled roofs, it made the building look very sweet and comfortable in comparison. Small pots of flowers sat by the steps in calming blue shades, appearing almost black in the orange light of the sunset. The building itself currently glowed orange, but Jongin knew it was definitely a lovely sight to see in daylight.

The door opened, and between incoherent gasps and chatter Jongdae was brought into the arms of someone in the doorway, holding him tightly.

“I missed you.” Jongdae said to the stranger, and Jongin noticed captain Kyungsoo notably averting his gaze.

“I missed you too…” The stranger and Jongdae pulled apart, revealing the person to be a sleepy looking man in a long coat, buttoned all the way up to the neck. He still held on to Jongdae’s wrists as he smiled gently down to the others at the bottom of the steps. “Hello. It’s good to see you on land again so soon.”

“We’re not here for good reasons, Yixing.” Jongdae’s expression turned grave, and he tugged on the man’s coat insistently. So this was the doctor, Yixing. Something in the doctor’s eyes changed at that and they widened, immediately scanning over the group outside his door to see who was present and well (Jongin didn’t miss the confusion on Yixing’s face when their eyes met, a clear look of zero recognition.) He worried his bottom lip. “It’s Chanyeol. He’s in a lot of trouble.”

“He’s on the Siren. Jongdae, take Yixing there.” Both men at the top of the steps nodded, Yixing rushing inside to collect a curious looking handled box before they fled the scene as quickly as their legs could carry them. Kyungsoo shook his head. “Come on now, Joonmyun lives a fair way down this street, at the very end. It will take a while for us to transport everything.”

Kyungsoo meant it when he said it was a fair way, with Jongin’s arms feeling weak as they finally, finally approached the end of the road and the sky was beginning to darken. To the right, facing out over the ocean, was quite possibly the largest house Jongin had ever seen, with a long front path and high fences all the way around. It was bigger than the orphanage in which he had spent the latter half of his childhood, but in much better shape with elaborate brickwork, shining windows and all manner of plants and flowers lining the front pathway.

“My god…this is Joonmyun’s house?” Jongin breathed out faintly, quite unable to believe his eyes. Sehun chuckled.

“Yep. Lives here all by himself, too. Nowhere safer to hide your treasure than a rich person’s house where it’ll blend right in, right?” Sehun set down his crates and approached the ornately carved front door, but instead of knocking on it instead rang a small bell that sat beside the door. He bounced a little on his heels in anticipation of the door opening.

It did soon enough, and Sehun leapt into the arms of the man who opened the door. “Joonmyun!”

“Ah, it’s good to see you!” The man ruffled Sehun’s hair and smiled over his shoulder at Jongin and Kyungsoo, paying little mind to the teenager currently nuzzling into his neck. This had to be Joonmyun himself. “Kyungsoo, it’s been a long time. I’m glad to see you back on land alive and well. You know how I worry about you all whenever you leave. Come on.”

Taking Sehun with him, Joonmyun led the pirates into the house, Jongin almost dropping his barrel at the sight of the entrance hall alone. It was gorgeous, with a large staircase and beautiful decorative railings that wouldn’t look out of place in a royal banquet hall or ballroom. Artworks and tapestries hung from the walls, rugs covered the intricate tiling on the floor, and the whole room just screamed ‘expensive’ as Kyungsoo’s boots clicked across the tiles. Jongin wondered if he was even allowed to breathe.

They ended up in a large room which, although beautifully decorated with bookshelves, a desk and several luxurious looking chairs, still had plenty of available floorspace. “Leave your treasures in here for now, so we can organise them another time. I’m sure you’ve got a lot to bring back.” Jongin nodded, then flushed as Joonmyun was most likely talking to Kyungsoo and not him. However, the man’s eyes were in fact firmly trained on him. “And who might this be?”

“This is Jongin.” Kyungsoo cut in before Jongin could speak. “A new addition to the ship.”

“I can see that. Where did you get him?”

“A Sapphire ship. They didn’t deserve him.”

“I see.” Joonmyun extended a hand to Jongin, and Jongin noted that the older man appeared every bit the wealthy gentleman, with his smart suit and cravat and even white gloves. He felt a lot like grubby street orphan Jongin again, next to a man like him, and hesitantly shook his hand. “Welcome to my home. Your captain and I go back a long way.”

As Jongin’s chest thudded from Kyungsoo being called his captain, Sehun butted in between them. “Joonmyun, don’t talk about the captain, talk about me. It’s been so long.”

Joonmyun smiled and drew the younger boy closer to kiss him on the lips. Jongin found himself joining his captain in pointedly covering his eyes. It was so…uncomfortable. Joonmyun didn’t seem to think anything of it, though, and turned to Kyungsoo again as though he had simply asked Sehun about the weather. “I see you’ve got the painting there. Shall I put it in its usual safe place?”

“Please. And this, too.” Kyungsoo handed Joonmyun both the painting and the small wooden box containing Jongin’s necklace. “Highly valuable. It needs to be kept as safe as it possibly can be.”

“Understood. I’ll put this away, while you head back to the Siren.” And Joonmyun disappeared with the items, Sehun heading out towards the front door to go get more things from the ship. Before they headed out after him, Jongin lightly tapped the captain’s arm.

“Um, are those two…?”

“What? No.” Kyungsoo shook his head as they walked. “Sehun may have…paramours in most every port we’ve landed in, but Joonmyun is not one of them, despite Sehun’s best efforts. He just humours the boy too much.”

Jongin didn’t really get it, but chose not to question it as he obediently followed his captain back out of the grand house and up the street, towards where the ship was waiting for them. Sehun seemed to have made quite a distance with those long legs of his and was already nowhere in sight, leaving the two to walk together alone. It was dark now, with streetlamps and the warm glow of light from inside buildings lighting their way back to the Siren. The waves lapped gently against the side of the harbour.

“Is it really safe in Joonmyun’s house?” Jongin asked aloud, a little worried for his necklace already. Of course it had to be safe or Kyungsoo wouldn’t trust to leave their things there, but still… “I mean, he’s so obviously rich. What about thieves?”

Kyungsoo only laughed. “Nobody tries to steal from Joonmyun’s home, not anymore. The one time anyone tried, Joonmyun made short work of them and not a soul has attempted to break in there since. He has a reputation.”

A reputation? He seemed like a perfectly peaceful gentleman from what Jongin had seen. But then again, nobody he met was quite what they seemed. When had the people he knew started having such hidden depths? “What did he do to them? Did he…” Jongin couldn’t quite get the words out, unable to imagine Joonmyun killing a man for invading his home, blood on those crisp white gloves.

“Oh no, not kill them. Not when he could make living examples out of them. He did what he had to do and sent them back into town as a warning to anyone who dared try to steal from him. Do you think he keeps a sword mounted in every room just because he thinks they’re pretty?”

Jongin swallowed hard and followed Kyungsoo back to the ship in silence, making a mental note to be on his best behaviour around Joonmyun.

-

Once all of the treasures had been emptied out of the Calling Siren, Baekhyun, Jongdae and Yixing took Chanyeol back to Yixing’s little surgery to be properly cared for. Yixing had been talking to himself from the moment he set foot on board the ship, apparently, about how lucky Chanyeol had been to be cared for by well-trained medics who had a good supply of medicines (stolen from Amethyst ships, to Luhan’s strange pride) and that it could have been so much worse if his leg had gotten infected.

“He’ll be easier to look after on land, with a much more reliable supply of nutrition and better hygiene.” Yixing had said. “You’ve done well.”

It did little to comfort Baekhyun, who had been white as a sheet for days now, but some of the tension around the crew was lifted as the four of them vanished into the tiny cottage-surgery. Chanyeol was no longer in any immediate danger, and the remaining pirates returned to Joonmyun’s home where, to Jongin’s surprise, everyone else seemed very much at home. They easily milled around the enormous mansion as if they knew their way around, not shy about going into rooms or touching things or leaning against the walls. Jongin could only stand in the middle of rooms, twiddling his thumbs nervously and trying not to come into contact with anything that might cost more than five times what his own life was worth.

Minseok had taken over the kitchen, keen to create a masterpiece with Joonmyun’s well-stocked food supplies, while the master of the house made idle chitchat with the pirates, as if they were perfectly average neighbours dropping by the mansion for dinner. It was all rather surreal to Jongin, particularly as his own life had been spent with little to nothing. Luhan in particular fitted right in, chatting with Joonmyun about the paintings on the walls, about the artists themselves, about the far away regions the rugs on the floor apparently came from. Jongin went to hide in the gleaming kitchen and help Minseok chop vegetables.

Dinner was, for a group of pirates who had been on diminishing food supplies, glorious. Meat that wasn’t highly salted and vegetables that were fresh, as well as several portions of fruit afterwards which elicited a low chuckle from all but Joonmyun, who just wouldn’t understand the joke behind the copious amounts of apples being rolled around the table. There had been fish freshly caught on the coast that day, as well. Jongin had never eaten so well in his life. It was a good thing that he had been distracted by his meal, too, as conversations went on around him. It seemed that captain Kyungsoo had told Joonmyun everything that had happened while dinner was being prepared, explaining the absence of half the crew and Jongin’s sudden appearance. He nodded in silent understanding as he chewed his food, watching Jongin closely and the boy suddenly felt incredibly scrutinised. Perhaps it was best for him to just eat quietly and not look at Joonmyun funny. After all, if he and the captain went back a long way…he didn’t want to take a chance.

“You should clean up.” Joonmyun told the group once dinner had been cleaned up (by Sehun, strangely enough. He appeared to be trying to get into Joonmyun’s good books much to the visible discomfort of the entire crew.) “Months at sea doesn’t put a man at his best, after all.”

There was a chorus of agreement, and the pirates dispersed, heading up countless flights of stairs and winding through hallways in search of bedrooms, closets, sets of clothes that seemed to have been stored at Joonmyun’s specifically, before vanishing into bathrooms scattered around the ridiculously huge house. Jongin stood by the bottom of the stairs, rather lost.

A clicking sound across the tiles.

“You don’t have any other clothes, do you?” Captain Kyungsoo’s question was simple and plain, but Jongin still felt a little embarrassed to have to answer in the negative. “Take some of Sehun’s, then. They should fit you. Come.” And as always, Jongin obediently went, following Kyungsoo up the red-carpeted staircase and down a long, spotless hallway. Portraits of beautiful men and women lined the walls, but none as beautiful as Kyungsoo’s mother had been. Kyungsoo disappeared inside a room, emerging with some bundles of cloth in his arms. He pushed the armfuls of cloth into Jongin’s hands. “There’s a bathroom there. Bathroom doors are usually marked by silver handles instead of gold ones.” Jongin wondered if they were actual silver and gold, but from what he had seen so far, he was rather inclined to believe so. “You…have a good bath.”

And then the captain was gone, leaving Jongin to stand dumbly outside the bathroom door for several minutes before realising he had yet to actually go inside.

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LalaLuhanne
Chapter 22 and Epilogue UP!! SS is COMPLETE

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lilthsua #1
Chapter 23: Hello can I translate it?
lilthsua #2
Chapter 23: Hello can I translate it?
ryujinsnose #3
Chapter 11: insane
ryujinsnose #4
Chapter 2: AAAAAAAAAA
givemebiscuits #5
Chapter 23: Re-reading this masterpiece in this trying times 🍪❤
shonwanigop
#6
💙
INFTJazm
#7
Chapter 23: WAAAAAAAHHHHHH
INFTJazm
#8
who was the red haired boy is it taemin :((((
INFTJazm
#9
Chapter 16: damn for a moment i forgot this might actually be a romantic story HAHAHAHAHA GOOD PLOT I SWEAR
ByunDal #10
Chapter 23: I hope to see more of your writing