Jihyun woke up to unfamiliar smells and sounds. The fishy smell of the pirate ship was gone, replaced by a musky forest scent. There were no shouts, chains, or crashes of the waves against the ship that rocked her. It was almost silent, except for the birds and critters waking up around her.

Her first thought was that she must’ve been kidnapped. Her second thought confirmed it. It was of Taemin. Jihyun shot up from where she had been sleeping and bumped her head on something hard.

“Oww,” she groaned, rubbing her forehead. He looked up. She had hit her head on a branch. Her memories quickly came back to her. She looked down. She was about twenty feet high, in a tree. She smiled, amazed.

“Noona, you’re awake?” a small voice asked.

Jihyun looked to see Luhan climbing up to where she sat. Boards had been nailed up here to construct a mini treehouse of some sort, which is where she had fallen asleep.

Jihyun nodded to Luhan. He grinned and came to sit next to her.

“Will you be staying here?” he asked.

Jihyun shrugged. She was surprised the kid was so comfortable with her.

“Are you okay?” she asked, touching a deep scratch on his forehead gingerly.

Luhan hissed in pain, automatically recoiling.

“I’m sorry,” Jihyun apologized. “Maybe I can find some herbs to apply on that and make it heal faster.”

Luhan just sighed. He suddenly stood up and faced her.

“By the way, my name is Luhan,” he said, reaching out a hand for her to shake.

Jihyun laughed in amusement, taking his hand.

“Jihyun.”

Luhan’s big eyes sparkled.

“That’s a beautiful name,” he smirked.

Jihyun grinned. The kid was so cute. He was speaking very formally, and it was so adorable, she wanted to squeeze him in a hug.

“Why are you being so friendly, Lu?”

They both looked down to see Taemin flying up toward them. He landed in between the two of them.

“You were so mean to the other girl,” Taemin said, eyeing Jihyun. Her long hair was tousled from a night on the hard surface of the treehouse, but her milky caramel eyes only showed happiness.

“Hyung.” Luhan motioned for Taemin to move closer. Taemin leaned down, and Luhan spoke into his ear, “she’s my style. Cute.”

Taemin burst out in laughter, pushing Luhan away.

“Go wake your brothers up,” he laughed. Luhan winked at them before turning away.

Jihyun watched Luhan leave then asked, “What? Why are you laughing?”

He was still grinning. She found it cute.

“Luhan said you’re cute.”

“And that’s funny, how?” Jihyun asked, slightly insulted.

Okay, very insulted. She knew she was beautiful, but it still hurt to have the guy she liked laugh at her like that. She regretted ever thinking he was cute.

Taemin was speechless. He hadn’t expected her to get mad.

“Don’t be… so serious,” he said, looking away.

Jihyun smiled at how flustered he looked. He actually looked apologetic. He turned back around, and their eyes suddenly locked. It was so intense, and Jihyun could feel her face heat up. Still, she didn’t look away. She wanted to cherish this moment. He was so handsome in her eyes. He had cute cheeks, especially noticeable when he smiled. His pretty eyes had a natural playful curve.

Taemin cleared his throat, and Jihyun broke eye contact, looking anywhere but at Taemin.

“Anyway… don’t go anywhere,” he said. “If you try to escape, you’ll regret it.”

Jihyun was sure she’d regret it too. She didn’t want to leave. She liked it here, but she would never admit that to Baekhyun.

Taemin started to leave, but Jihyun grabbed his elbow.

“Where are you going?” she asked, trying not to think about the fact that she was touching him. Taemin looked down, then up into the distance, thinking.

“I have work to do,” he answered. Without a further explanation, he leaped off and was gone.

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

Key wrote music. Minhee figured that out after looking through his music book. There were pages stuffed into there with music scales and notes scrawled onto them. She wondered what instrument he played. She planned to ask him later. After setting the book back where it belonged, she pulled out a random scroll.

It was a hand-drawn map of the sea with a lot of question marks and X’s. It wasn’t very detailed, but it had just the right amount of detail. Key drew it. After looking through his music, she could recognize his neat handwriting.

Minhee wondered what Baekhyun was after, where they were going. Bored, she left the small room and wandered onto the deck. Baekhyun must’ve said something to the crew because other than a few furtive glances, they didn’t even look at her.

She saw a familiar black coated man standing with his back to her at the bow of the ship. She walked to him.

“Captain,” she greeted. If he wasn’t planning on killing her, she’d decided it was safe to talk to him. He, at least, wasn’t like a lot of his crew mates.

Baekhyun ignored her and leaned onto the side rail, looking out to sea.

“Baekhyun-ssi, where are we going?” she asked, leaning beside him. She smiled, knowing he was putting effort into ignoring her.

When he didn’t even acknowledge her, she kept talking.

“You’re taking care of me,” she pointed out with a smile, “Thank you.”

“No I’m not,” he scoffed, walking to the other side rail.

Minhee grinned victoriously. She followed behind him like a shadow.

“You’re annoying,” Baekhyun sighed, “that must be why Taemin didn’t want you back.”

Ouch. Minhee dropped her strong front she had put up. She was tired. She just wanted to go home.

Key approached them.

“Captain!” he called. “We’re almost there. Our lookout man saw it.”

Baekhyun’s eyes flew to the direction to ship was going. He couldn’t see anything, but if his man had, he believed it.

He nodded at Key, dismissing him. Key didn’t leave. Instead, he stepped closer to Minhee.

“Minhee,” he smiled. “Did you sleep well?” Key tuck a stray lock behind her ear, his fingers grazing her cheek softly.

Baekhyun cleared his throat, irritated.

“Keybum, get back to work,” he ordered. “We can’t waste any time now.”

“Yes, sir!” Key saluted dramatically, causing Minhee to giggle. He tipped an invisible hat to Minhee and then walked away. He walked so gracefully, he practically glided along the floor.

“He’s a nut, that guy,” Baekhyun said quietly.

Minhee didn’t know if he was talking to her or to himself, but she liked the idea that he was talking to her. It was what she had decided to stick with.

“It’s a part of his charm,” Minhee replied. She smiled as she watched Key turned back once and wave. She waved back.

Baekhyun saw her but chose to ignore it.

“Crazy,” he muttered, walking off.

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

Night had fallen. Minhee had thought when Key said they were almost there, they had actually been almost there. As it turned out, they were due to arrive in a day or so. She was a bit disappointed. She had been looking forward to some action and treasure.

She was almost alone on the upper deck. Everyone else had retreated to bed or were busy working.

Baekhyun walked out of his room, wobbling on his feet a little. Minhee didn’t notice him until he walked closer. She could tell he had been drinking.

“You should stop drinking,” she said quietly. She had been thinking about home before he had arrived. Her mood was sullen.

“It’s the only way to keep my sanity,” Baekhyun laughed, raising a bottle he still held in one hand.

Minhee looked at him closely. He was smiling, but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked sad.

“Stay away from Keybum,” Baekhyun said suddenly. “He’s dangerous.”

The talkative Baekhyun needed some getting used to. Minhee could smell the alcohol off his breath.

“You’re dangerous too,” Minhee said.

Baekhyun nodded, “Good point. Stay away from me too.”

“I like you.” Minhee had said that before, but that time it meant something different. She liked him, not just as a crazy pirate captain.

Baekhyun laughed hollowly. “That’s why you’re dangerous too.”

There was a silence for a bit as each of them retreated into their thoughts.

“Baekhyun, where are we going?” Minhee finally asked. She watched him carefully. She figured if he was drunk, his guard was probably down. Still, she didn’t want to agitate him.

“To get my treasure,” Baekhyun answered seriously. He straightened his back, suddenly serious.

Minhee had started to regret asking the question. She already missed the laughing Baekhyun.

“I’ll find it…” he said, glaring into a place only he could see, “no matter what.”

Minhee didn’t know what to say. She wanted to change the subject. Before she could think of something to say, Baekhyun spoke. His glazed eyes had softened. They were almost watery as he gazed up at the stars.

“Why aren’t you in bed?” he asked.

Minhee was pretty sure he was speaking to her, but it was kind of hard to confirm it by the way he looked at the stars. He lifted the bottle to his lips and drank some more. She could hear him swallowing through the quiet night. The waves had calmed and the ship floated, anchored to the seabed.

“I can’t sleep,” Minhee answered. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

Baekhyun’s voice came out in a whisper, “I’m scared.”

Now Minhee was sure she wasn’t supposed to hear that. The words made her sad still. Baekhyun smiled his imperfect smile and laughed again.

“I’m kidding,” Baekhyun laughed too loudly, “I’m a big, bad pirate captain. I’m not afraid of anything, right?”

Minhee was speechless. The Baekhyun who stood then and there was so foreign to her. But before she could speak any more, Baekhyun walked away like a ghost. It was as if he had never stood there.

Minhee stared out at the dark sky, wondering how far home was from this lonely sea. Taemin probably knew. She needed to speak to him. It was great to be there, but she had so much stuff to do at home. She decided she would return home and work like she had planned, and then return one day. She needed to return one day.

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

Jihyun almost couldn’t keep up with him. If he wasn’t slowing down for the boys, she was sure she would’ve lost him by now. She wasn’t even sure why they were trampling through the jungle. All the boys would tell her was that there was something Taemin needed to catch. Not someone, something. 

She trampled through the jungle, over fallen tree trunks and stumbling through holes and thorns, following Taemin’s sparkling trail as he zipped ahead.

“Ahh!!” She screamed as she slid to a halt, nearly bumping into Taemin. Taemin spun his head around, holding a finger to his lips. The three boys followed his lead, motioning for Jihyun to be quiet.

“Be quiet,” Taemin hushed, peeping over a bush. Jihyun peeped over Taemin’s head.

“What are you guys—”

Her eyes widened as she saw it. It was a girl— No. A pixie. Jihyun had only heard of them. She was almost glowing with a soft gold light around her. She was small with long, flaming red hair that reflected in her eyes as she gazed into the river. She was giggling to herself as fireflies flew around her. Her voice was beautiful and sweet, like singing. Her small fingers combed through her curled hair as she reached for the little lightning bugs. Suddenly, she stiffened and looked in the direction they were hiding.

Suddenly, as if she realized they were there, she rushed into the tall grasses, out of sight.

‘Go!’ Taemin mouthed to Jihyun.

“What?” Jihyun said aloud. “I—”

Taemin covered , glancing over his shoulder. He looked back to Jihyun. He undid her ponytail, wiped something pink off of her cheek with his thumb and continued to look her over. After fixing her attire a bit, he pushed her into the open.

Jihyun stumbled to regain her balance. She was so flustered, having been suddenly cleaned up by the dirtiest guy she knew. She stood up and looked back at them. They were gone. She couldn’t even see the top of Taemin’s head anymore.

She could still feel a trace of Taemin’s touch on her cheek. She looked into the river to check her reflection. As she suspected, her face was all pink. She covered her face with her hands, embarrassed.

Her face was a bit dirty. Using some of the water from the river, she rinsed her face a bit. The fireflies around her made the air glow.

She heard a small whisper behind her and turned around to look. A flash of bright red disappeared into the grass.

“Hello?” Jihyun called quietly. She glanced at the bushes again. Luhan waved for her to continue.

She didn’t think the pixie would reappear, but she kneeled down close to the grass.

“Is someone there?” she tried again.

This time, a small head popped out and blinked at her. Jihyun was taken aback by her eyes. They were a bit sharp and colored with stunning blues and greens.

“It’s really a girl,” the pixie gasped, covering in surprise.

The pixie was beautiful. Her clothes looked like they were just randomly selected cut pieces of cloth or some kind of plant material and pieced together, but Jihyun could tell that she put a lot of effort to try and look good. She wore various bracelets (rings) and other gold jewelry to look nice.

“Hi,” Jihyun said, holding back the urge to call to Taemin.

The pixie lifted up off the ground quickly—but gracefully—and flew up near Jihyun’s ear. She flew a few circles around her head. Then she landed back down in front of her.

“Oh darling, you have some cleaning up to do,” the pixie cooed, picking up a part of Jihyun’s tattered skirt.

Jihyun blushed. She knew she needed some new clothes and to wash up well, but it was hard when you were constantly on a boat with stinky pirates. But it was mostly an excuse. The truth was, it was uncomfortable with a bunch of y pirates on board, just waiting for a moment of weakness from her.

The pixie giggled. For some reason, the sweet sound lifted Jihyun’s heart.

“Don’t be shy,” the pixie laughed. “I can get you some new ones.”

“Um… okay,” Jihyun smiled.

The pixie quickly whisked her hair into a bun and grabbed Jihyun’s hand, tugging on her to stand up. Then she circled her a few times, taking a mental measurement of the girl. The pixie smiled.

“I,” she stated, “have the perfect dre—”

A shadow suddenly flew by and snatched the pixie from the air.

“Gotcha!!” Taemin hollered in victory. “Finally!!”

The boys hooted and cheered from the bushes, except Leo. Leo’s eyes were on the pixie in Taemin’s hands.

The pixie fought against Taemin, trying her hardest to break out of Taemin’s grip, biting and scratching with all her might. Taemin gritted his teeth and shoved her in the bag that Luhan brought over.

“What? Why??” Jihyun blurted, delirious. It was so unexpected to her.

Taemin held up the glowing bag.

“We need her,” he whispered. He put his mouth by her ear so only she could hear the rest, “to find the dragon.”

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

A/N: I finished this awhile ago but AFF wasn't loading on me. That's why my update was faster... > < I'll work on the next one and hopefully get it out soon.