"You bastard!!" Luhan stumbled to his feet,  his vision a blur through the tears in his eyes. He ran forward blindly and was met by Baekhyun's elbow crashing down on the back of his head. A flash of light crossed his vision, and he fell to the floor again in a puddle of salt water and beer. With all his might, Luhan wriggled forward and clamped his teeth down on Baekhyun's leg.

Baekhyun yelped in pain and kicked Luhan hard in the gut, making the younger one groan in pain. But still, Luhan locked his jaw tight and wouldn't let go, even when he tasted blood.

Baekhyun kicked him again and yanked his leg away, screaming.

Minhee screamed at Baekhyun to stop. She tried to make her way over to where Luhan laid frozen in pain, but she was forced back, her legs chained to the mast by expressionless crew members.

"Do something!!" She yelled at the people around them. "He just killed him!!!" Minhee's tears streamed down her face. She was dirty and must've looked like a mess, but she didn't care.

"Somebody help him!!" She screamed, trying uselessly to reach Luhan.

"Shut up!!" Baekhyun shouted. A strained silence spread across the deck. Everyone expected something to break. The ship felt like it could explode.

All eyes were on the captain. Baekhyun stepped away from the edge, walking around Luhan and taking a few steps toward Minhee.

"Back to work," He ordered. "And lock the boy back into the room. Don't feed him."

They immediately obeyed. The burly man walked to Baekhyun.

"And the girl?" he asked. He was a whole head taller than Baekhyun and double his body size, but he worshipped this captain.

Baekhyun walked off.

"She stays."

~~~~~(^-^)~~~~~

It was late when Minhee woke up. Her neck ached as she looked up at the sky. It was dark now and the sparkling stars decorated the night sky. She looked around; she had fallen asleep on the deck, still tied to the mast. She groaned. Her wrists hurt, and her body ached.

The deck was empty except for a couple of pirates on watch on the other side of the ship.

She stared out at the spot Leo had jumped off longingly. She still couldn't accept that he was gone. Tears brimmed her eyes and blinded her. The ropes he had managed to get off were laying next to her. She wanted to die. She should've protected Leo and maybe none of this would've happened.

Footsteps approached from behind her, but she didn't even bother to look. If someone wanted to come kill her, now was the time. She had no fighting spirit left.

Leo was gone.

"Hey," a voice said lazily. She ignored it. It was probably a crew member.

"Ya, I'm talking to you, girl," a foot nudged her lower back.

She turned to him. Baekhyun looked down at her. His eyes were filled with pity.

"Go away," she said, turning her head away.

"Your hands must hurt." He said, glancing quickly at her bound hands then looking away. He looked out at the ocean, fidgeting where he stood.

"If I complain, are you going to kill me too?"

The words stung Baekhyun. He swallowed then made a split-second decision. He leaned down and cut through her ropes.

Minhee sighed at the sudden release of the pressure on her wrists. She rubbed her wrists, wincing. Then he undid the chains at her feet. She resisted the urge to kick him in the head.

When Baekhyun was done, he stood. Then she glowered at him She opened to speak.

"Shut up and come here first," Baekhyun interrupted. He walked to where he had been standing when he shot Leo.

Minhee's heart ached at the thought of Leo. But she followed Baekhyun to the edge. She half expected to see Leo's body floating among the waves, but it was hard to make out anything. The moon shone brightly on the sea, its reflection rippling with the water.

Baekhyun pointed out at a black thing on the water. "There."

The block spot bobbed with the waves.

Minhee gasped and choked back tears. The she turned to Baekhyun, prepared to hit him, kick him, anything. But Baekhyun grabbed her raised arm.

"They're crocodiles," He explained. "If I hadn't shot them, the kid would've been eaten by them. Is that what you want?"

Minhee shook her head, about to cry again.

"Is that true?" She looked out at the water; there were a few more floating things. They were too massive and long to be Leo. She wanted to cry in relief.

Baekhyun look away to the water. "Hey," said, nudging her with his hand, "Stop crying already."

This words are what made the tears spill over her cheeks, and his eyes are what made her believe his words. They were wide and honest. Even if he was lying, she wanted so bad to believe him. So she did.

And she sobbed. It was embarrassing, but everything she had been stressing over and bottling up now poured out with her warm tears.

She didn't even know where she was. She didn't know how she would explain her absence to her boss or landlady. She didn't know who these people were or how people could fly. She needed to go home. The dream world was so crazy. And the poor boys were dirty. The entrance exams were approaching, and she needed to focus now more than ever. Everything made her want to cry. Even not understanding how crocodiles could have been living in a salt water sea made her want to cry.

Baekhyun shifted awkwardly as he watched her cry out of the corner of his eyes. He gave her his handkerchief and stared out to see as she tried to clean herself up. His kindness only made her cry more.

"What am I doing here?" she finally said, wiping at her face with her hands.

Baekhyun cleared his throat and looked at her carefully. He knew he was kind of the reason she was there on the ship.

He cleared his throat a few more times, looking everywhere but at her.

"I'm sorry," he said, taking a swig from the bottle of alcohol that he had left there earlier. "I had to."

Minhee laughed shakily. It sounded so fragile, like some of the crystals Baekhyun kept stored safely in his room wrapped in blankets and cloth.

"I'm not talking about that," she forced a smile. "I mean here. In this world. I..." Minhee shook her head. "I don't belong here."

Baekhyun didn't say anything. He had never met someone like her before. She seemed free even though she was his prisoner, and even though he was sure she hated him, she spoke so easily to him. He watched as she blew loose strands of hair away from her face and looked up to the sky.

She sighed, "This feels like a dream." Minhee propped her elbows onto the ship's railing and rested her chin on her hands, still keeping her eyes on the stars.

Baekhyun never replied, so she kept blabbering.

"We don't see the stars in Seoul. It's too bright. But here, there are so many," she said. Her voice was distant as if she were talking to someone other than him.

"But you know what the funniest thing is?"

Baekhyun didn't say anything, but she told him what the funniest thing was anyway.

Minhee smiled, sad and small. "I don't hate him for bringing me here."

She bit her lip, thinking of Taemin and all the things she had suffered through since she arrived.

"It's dirty," she started. The rest came out in a rush. "And I've been attacked by bugs and locked in a cage, tied, chained, and taken prisoner aboard a pirate ship with a jerk captain who is didn't shoot Leo or maybe he did..." she took a breath, "But...."

Minhee thought of the home she had thought she missed: daily reminders about how late her bills were, her boss yelling at her all the time, working until she couldn't walk, studying in her free time for the college entrance exam she would probably fail, going to bed hungry most nights, fighting off thugs and drunk erts in the middle of the night and hoping to make it to bed safe.

The list went on and on, and her mind rambled on an on until she came upon a fact.

"I don't hate it here," she finally said. She smiled at Baekhyun, startling him. "Even if this is a dream and I have to wake up one day, I like it here."

Baekhyun took a tentative step back. She was acting weird.

"Even you," she said, turning with a smirk. "I like you." Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, but they were smiling at him with so much sincerity, it made him nervous.

He took another swig, swallowed, and laughed at himself. He was a fool to believe her. She was trying to gain his trust. She was on Lee Taemin's side after all.

"You're lying," he said flatly. "You should probably sleep."

He left, and Minhee was left alone in the dark again. She wondered about Luhan. He was probably scared alone in the room. But she knew if she were to ask, he would deny it.

She was free now, but she had no idea how to get to the room Luhan was locked in. Still, she had to try.

Minhee snuck around, using techniques she had learned while sneaking around in her old foster homes to aid her in slipping past the pirates.

At last, after a long search, she found it, unguarded. It was locked from the outside, so she had no trouble getting in. The only source of light was from the lantern in the hall, so she left the door open. Luhan appeared as a lump on the floor.

"Luhan," she whispered. "It's me."

He groaned quietly and twisted his body to peek out at her, and he squinting at the sudden light. He was still tied up. Minhee could imagine how much his wrists must have been hurting as she rubbed her own.

"Noona?" Luhan's voice was a cracked whisper.

The empty tray beside him told Minhee that, like her, he had been feed a little.

She walked to him, "I'm here."

~~~~~(^-^)~~~~~

Taemin pushed the small canoe through the water as fast as he could fly. It was heavy, but he could just barely manage a good speed. He could hear the shouts and running footsteps getting closer behind him. They would be on his tail soon with their weapons and guard dogs.

While he hurried, he heard a shouting sound in the distance and the footsteps slowly died away. They must have turned a different direction. Taemin looked back behind them, seeing a flare go off in the distance, lighting the sky red.

He smirked and turned back to the river proudly, focusing on the task at hand.

"Thank you, Leo."

~~~~~(^-^)~~~~~

A/N: woot!! done! its still kind of long, not too long. And also, this update was fast, but NO promises about how fast my updates will be okay? I literally spent every break I had yesterday writing. That doesn't usually happen. I just felt inspired yesterday.

hmm, I wonder what Taemin's up to, don't you?? ^^