Chapter Text
Everything was set in place. The ship was no longer restricted and Hyojin’s tower was being left behind. Usually, taking off filled Seungjun with excitement from head to toe. But right now, it was taking too long for any adrenaline to spark. The few small holes in this dome barely allowed for enough wind to push the ship forward, so they were making more use of the natural stream of the ocean than the meagre gust.
At least it gave time to think. Playing with the slide whistle, Seungjun still couldn’t figure out how to restore it to its former glory. And he felt like he should decide on some course for when they got out of this dome.
Distractions weren’t what he needed right now, but Hyojin suddenly stood in front of Seungjun, fiddling with the short cape hanging around his shoulders.
“I think I forgot something,” he mumbled.
Seungjun looked up. “What?”
“I…don’t know. I just feel like I did.”
With a smile, Seungjun played along with the clear lie. “If you need something, you can just ask one of your birds to retrieve it, no?”
Hyojin’s eyes went to the tower. “I can. But, what if I need it very quickly?”
He wasn’t going to admit the real reason why he tried to get the ship to stop, so Seungjun gave a smile and spoke softly. “You wanted to leave, right?”
“I…” Hyojin muttered and sighed. A sudden groan followed, and both his hands covered his eyes. “You’re right, you’re right. I want to leave.”
“It’s fine to be stressed,” Seungjun said. “You’ll get used to the world again.”
“I know. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologise.”
“No, do,” Minkyun prompted out of nowhere. With naturally quiet steps he had gotten close and was standing right next to Hyojin, his arms crossed. “You have to apologise, to me.”
“To you?” Hyojin scoffed, his attitude doing a full turn around. “You’re a thief.”
“But you’re no law. You had no right putting me in parrot-jail.”
In a cocky manner, Hyojin raised his brows. “Technically, I am part of the navy, so I very much have that right.”
Minkyun’s frustration quickly rose. “But you put me in jail for years?!”
“Was it really years?”
“Yes!” Minkyun said loudly. “Because you didn’t actually know how to undo this curse and gave me useless instructions.”
“I was trying to look for a way to fix it,” Hyojin said, gritting his teeth. “But you were far too annoying to have around any longer.”
While he knew better, Seungjun had hoped that this fight would have waited another day or two, but he had to settle this so he began to moderate. “Hyojin, why were you using a curse you didn’t know how to fix?”
There was simply a shrug. “I thought I knew.”
Minkyun raked a hand through his hair and gestured to Hyojin. “How dumb are you?!”
“I was still new to curses, alright!”
With a huff, Minkyun tried to calm himself a little. “Can you at least now fully undo my curse?”
“Excuse me?” Hyojin asked and looked Minkyun up and down. “What is still there?”
The inspection was given another second, but no desirable conclusion was gained, so Minkyun pointed to the roots of his hair. “That was never green until your curse.”
“Oh, really? Interesting.”
Minkyun rolled his eyes. “Your response should be: “I’m sorry for that, of course I will restore your hair to its former glory.”
There was an ashamed cough coming from Hyojin before he pressed his lips together. “...I don’t think I can.”
“You—”
“Stop.” Seungjun let out a sigh as he knew this back and forth would go nowhere. Done with the shouting at this point, he simply asked Hyojin something random. “Why did you curse him, even?”
“I used to have a few carrier pigeons, but their packages kept being stolen,” Hyojin explained. “So, one day, I enchanted all the little satchels I give to my birds. Now, whenever someone tries to steal from one, they temporarily get turned into a bird themselves.”
Minkyun snorted. “Temporarily, he says.”
“It’s temporary now,” Hyojin snarled back.
“So Minkyun,” Seungjun switched the topic with again. “You really tried to steal from a bird?”
Minkyun’s tone lowered. “And?”
“Don’t steal necessary supplies. What if it was medication?”
“I wasn’t after the contents!” Minkyun jumped on the defence. “I even knew it was a tonic, and I don’t steal from people that need it.”
Hyojin scoffed. “You shouldn’t steal at all. You got what was coming for you.”
“Some people could do with learning to share their stuff.” Minkyun crossed his arms. “And I had a right to survive too. I just wanted the gem you used on the seal so I could sell it,” he said. Seungjun got a little curious about what Minkyun’s life had been like. Having learned about Jaeyoung’s past made him realise that he knew very little about most of the crewmembers.
But before he could ask, Minkyun continued, “We’re getting off topic here.”
“And that being?” Seungjun wondered.
“My hair.”
“Right,” Seungjun let out a laugh. “But I kinda like your style like this,” he said and expected a huff or protest.
But Minkyun stayed quiet and simply smiled. “Really?” he asked and it grasped the air around them.
It took Seungjun a second to figure out why. But then it hit him. That was what he was forgetting earlier. Minkyun had feelings for him. The tension turned awkward and Seungjun felt a heat flush over his face. “Y-Yeah. It looks…fun.” This was embarrassing. It was just a simple compliment and Seungjun hoped it wasn’t picked up as flirting.
What made this even worse was Hyojin’s gaze, trying to bore through Seungjun. Nothing was allowed to be questioned right now; Seungjun knew he needed more time to figure everything out. Wishing to bury his head in his hands and reset his nerves made him remember something else: the whistle he was holding. It was the perfect segue.
“Minkyun,” Seungjun said and cleared his dry throat. “You mentioned a gem before, right? Do you know a lot about them?”
Boastfully, Minkyun puffed his chest. “I absolutely do.”
“Then, can you help me with this whistle?” Seungjun opened his palm to show the empty shape. “There used to be gems on this.”
“And you want them back on, I’m guessing?”
“Yeah… I don’t know where to find the stones, though.” Seungjun handed over the whistle for a quick look-over.
Minkyun softly scratched his nail over a part of the light-coloured wood and brought it closer to his face, narrowing his eyes. “Well, we can tell where most of the gems were sitting. But do you know what they were?”
“Maybe,” Seungjun answered, a bit dejected.
Back when he first got the whistle, his grandfather had given him a little note with the names of the gems, saying how integral to the flute they were. While studying was never his strong suit, Seungjun had made sure to learn all of the stones’ names by heart. But that was years ago. Some floated around in his head still, but two had a more difficult name that he wasn’t all too confident in.
“There was amethyst,” he started with. “I think there was aventurine and jade too. Below the big one that is supposed to be on top of the whistle, there was a hawk's eye, but I can’t remember that big one anymore…” Seungjun put a hand on his forehead as a prayer for a better memory. “I do know there was quartz on both the left and right side of that. And gold, or something?”
“Gold?!” Minkyun repeated, the dread of its price stark on his face.
“It wasn't the expensive kind. Something with a P…”
A relieved sigh left Minkyun. “Pyrite. Okay, none of these are that difficult to get, I think. Most of them are sold at pretty reasonable prices. And if we’re lucky, some can be found in rivers or on beaches nearby.”
Getting that conclusion was relieving. “So we need to find a market of some kind?”
“That should do as a start. Maybe Changyun knows a place.”
“Probably,” Seungjun agreed but first turned to Hyojin. “Do you know any too?”
“Uhm, not really,” Hyojin admitted. “The navy doesn't really stop at random spots, and I never knew where my birds went. They just found their way back home.”
The logistics of Hyojin’s business kept making less sense the more Seungjun learnt. “How did anyone even know you were to send birds?”
There was a proud grin on Hyojin’s face. “A bit of marketing doesn’t hurt. I simply tied flyers to random carrier birds that rested at my tower and hoped for the best. Word spread pretty quick.”
With a laugh, Seungjun shook his head and got off the railing, getting ready to find the ship’s chef. Jogging his mind, Seungjun managed to recall that Changyun had gone back to his kitchen after noticing that the ship was moving again. The potatoes had been peeled by then and he was getting busy with a couple of frogs that had been drying outside on a string next to the window. But that string had left too, so Seungjun made his way into the cabin, followed by the tense duo that hadn’t entirely come to a conclusion about the troubles between them.
Hearing the group of three enter his domain, Changyun looked up and threw a short greeting.
“Changyun,” Minkyun started with a very purposeful tone, suddenly taking the reins on getting them on the right path. “Any idea where there could be a gemmologist around here?”
“Gemmologist?” Changyun furrowed his brows and his eyes went to the ceiling as he dug through his mind. “There might be one on Donars Pracht.”
Seungjun tilted his head. “And that’s where?”
“In the Bergbau Bündel,” Changyun explained and hung his elbows on the kitchen island. “The harbour we escaped to after the storm is part of that archipelago. The island south east there has a pretty big marketplace.”
“And there’s a gemmologist there?”
“When I was working in the area, I think it had one. But then again, that was years ago.”
It was their best bet. Even if it wasn’t anything fruitful, getting to a more habited island would at least give them more people to ask where to find these particular gems. After explaining everything to Jaeyoung, their course was set. Alongside that, the strange spyglass was handed back to the one manning the helm too, so he could find a proper way out and not risk running into the barrier.
The time it’d take to get there was still long, so Seungjun went back to his spot on the railing. Hyojin had said that he was going to sort out his luggage a little, but he seemed too tired to even do that and Seungjun wondered if maybe the amount of social interaction was getting to him. It had been a while since he met anyone, after all, and it hadn’t exactly been an uneventful few hours.
Minkyun had followed Seungjun to the railing, sitting right beside him, clearly bored. Nothing was said, however. But there had already been a lot of talking and shouting, so Seungjun welcomed the quiet. He closed his eyes and recited the stones on the whistle again, making sure to keep the ones he still knew in his mind properly while trying to find the names of the last few. Hopefully, visiting a gemmologist would spark his memory again.
The sway of the ship was minimal, but just enough for it to feel like a rocking chair. Maybe he should take a nap after all. His neighbour seemed to think the same.
With a heavy sigh, Minkyun dropped his head on Seungjun’s shoulder. “Sometimes I really miss being able to sit on you.”
A laugh burst out of Seungjun with how surprisingly ridiculous that sentence sounded.
“What?” Minkyun chuckled. “It was warm and I was carried everywhere while half asleep. Ideal life, if you ask me.”
Seungjun grinned. “I’m sure you can ask Hyojin to turn you back.”
“Absolutely not.” Stretching his arms to the sky, Minkyun sat up again. “How did it go, by the way? Your talk with Hyojin in the tower, I mean.”
“Oh, fine,” Seungjun answered and gave a short summary on the miscommunication, leaving out some of the more embarrassing details.
“It’s good that he wanted to join us. I’m sure you’re glad to hang out with him again.” Minkyun almost sounded natural saying that. Something just felt a little off.
“Of course,” Seungjun said nonetheless, not having enough evidence to call him out on anything. “I hope he will be alright, though. We’re instantly going to such a busy place.”
“He can just stay on the ship,” Minkyun suggested. “We don’t need to stock up yet anyway, so I’m sure Jaeyoung and Yuto will stay here too.”
“That might be a good idea. As long as you come with me to check if the stones are real, it’ll be fine.”
“Of course I will,” Minkyun grinned. “You can’t get rid of me quite yet.”
Seungjun looked to his right, having heard Minkyun make a similar joke before and wondering about that pattern. “We’re not trying to get rid of you.”
“I know,” Minkyun said with an airy laugh.
“But that does make me curious. Why do you keep sailing with us?” Seungjun asked and hoped his voice was light enough for such a loaded question. “You’re no longer a bird on a mission, so why stay here?”
“Because it’s fun,” Minkyun answered simply, his tone not telling anything more. “I get to explore the world and eat pretty decent meals. And besides, if I leave, there’s a low chance of ever running into this ship again.” He leaned closer with a wide grin, eyes fixated on Seungjun. “And I’m kind of in love with one of the crewmembers, so, you know.”
Seungjun felt stumped. Staring Minkyun dead in the eyes and hearing that made any answer disappear. He still had no idea what to make of the confession, and the embarrassment the silence brought made that same heat flush over his face again. It was a little frustrating but Seungjun had no idea how to fight it.
Letting out a laugh, Minkyun said: “It’s kind of fun to see you get shy about that,” and hopped off the railing. “Anyway, I’ve got to check something with Jaeyoung about that place we’re heading to,” he said before quickly making his way to the quarter deck.
Seungjun was ready to chase and shake him for that comment, but had nothing to say to it. He didn’t feel shy, but the nervousness made it hard to defend himself. More time—that’s what he needed. More time to think about everything and figure out what he wanted to answer. Not today, however. He needed to sleep before they’d arrive at the next island again.
Below deck, with his lantern turned down to the lowest setting, Yuto was pushing a tiny knife through the stem of a purple-capped mushroom. He shushed for silence before Seungjun could ask why he was using so little light, and proceeded to point to the hammock next to him. In the top one, Hyojin was sleeping soundly. So, Seungjun swallowed the greeting he wanted to give Yuto and went to bed.
— — — —
A gust of wind sang through the small porthole next to Seungjun’s hammock. The chilly breeze had him pull his blanket further up and cocoon the hammock around his body, trapping any warmth inside the cloth. Then he realised what the draft meant; they were outside the tower’s barrier. It was obvious that they would make it out before he woke up, but it was still pleasant to be met with the familiarity of nature again. And he wanted to see how far they had travelled.
Not willing to brave the cold entirely, Seungjun grabbed the blanket as soon as he jumped out of the hammock. With the cover around his shoulders, he looked through the space but Yuto had gone elsewhere—his dissected project neatly organised on his desk. The only one that was still here was Hyojin, who was lying in his hammock, reading a book from Yuto’s collection.
“Good morning,” Seungjun hummed and went to one of the water vats in the back. A cleansing tablet was still dissolving in the bottom, but it was mostly gone so Seungjun quickly washed his face. The water combined with the low temperatures had him awake in an instant, and he realised he hadn’t gotten an answer back yet. Raising his voice, he tried another greeting and it caused Hyojin to jolt and drop the book on his face.
“Sorry,” Seungjun laughed.
Having lost his page now, Hyojin closed the book and propped himself up on an elbow. “It’s strange to see you again.”
“Is it still hard to believe this is real?” Seungjun guessed. “You’re not going to call me a reaper again, are you?”
“Shut up.” With a bit of trouble, Hyojin made his way out of his hammock too and went to one of the supporting beams. A nail from—presumably—an old decoration had made for the perfect hanger and Hyojin plucked his cape off it. It made Seungjun remember the nice brown coat he had lost the night before meeting Yuto back on Peatu. That day felt like so long ago…
Seungjun shook his head to get it out of the clouds. “Are you going upstairs?” he asked Hyojin, who was staring at the wooden steps.
“I…” He looked up to the closed hatch. But then his face tensed and he turned again. “I think I’ll read for a little longer.”
“Then why did you put your coat on?”
It wasn’t a question Seungjun needed an answer to. Once again, he figured out why Hyojin hesitated. And just like last time, Hyojin knew he wasn’t good at pretending.
He filled his lungs as if he was going to say something upbeat. But in the end, they just deflated into a breathy voice. “We’re outside the barrier, aren’t we?”
Seungjun nodded. “Can’t you hear the wind?”
“Right,” Hyojin said quietly. “That’s what that is.”
“You will have to go outside eventually.”
“I know.”
“Better do it now,” Seungjun ushered, knowing fear petrified quickly. “You’ll get used to it in no time, I’m sure.”
But he was met with silence.
“I’ll go first,” he offered instead and didn’t wait for an answer. Slipping past Hyojin, Seungjun made his way up and pushed the hatch open. The cold was even worse up here and Seungjun pulled his blanket tighter. The world had a grey haze and rain would come soon. It wasn’t an amazingly pretty day, certainly not one he’d hoped Hyojin would see first after his many years in solitude. But there was no changing it, so Seungjun turned around.
He hadn’t been followed yet, and Hyojin just kind of sheepishly stared at the bit of sky he could see from below deck. It took a full three seconds before Hyojin actually took hold of both sides of the staircase and set his feet on the first few steps, looking like a new-born fawn. He had walked too many ships for this to be truly believable, but Seungjun understood that fear wasn’t good on one's knees.
But then he stopped and his eyes fixated on the wooden grain of the second to last step.
“Come on,” Seungjun encouraged and knelt down. He grabbed Hyojin’s wrist and pulled the tight grip off the staircase. “Get up.” It was a careful pull, but Hyojin followed it as if it had yanked him out of place. He stumbled up the steps and tripped onto the main deck.
Seungjun expected a gasp, but Hyojin stayed entirely silent, his eyes screwed shut.
“Is it the wind?”
Hyojin nodded and tilted his head down with an uncomfortable expression. Right then, the kitchen door clicked open. Seungjun looked to his right and instantly took his hand off Hyojin’s wrist. He hadn’t even been aware that he was holding it, but suddenly felt like he had to let go.
Minkyun grinned widely as he walked closer. “Good morning!”
“Good morning,” Seungjun tried to answer but had to clear his throat from the weird tone.
“And you brought the shit wizard with you, how nice.” Minkyun walked up to them and gave one of the apples he was holding to Seungjun.
Maybe it was the fact that Hyojin got used to it, or it was because there was a distraction that made his mind hyper focus less, but his shoulders relaxed slightly and his nose faced the wind once again. Seungjun held his breath, too curious to miss the reaction that would follow.
Prying his eyelids open one at a time, Hyojin finally dared to take in the world around him. He blinked and his eyes darted around. Every cloud, every ship, every distant island and nearby fish—it was all scanned in a sporadic pattern. Without a word, he walked off to the boat’s railing, as if the few steps closer would make him understand what he was seeing.
Seungjun felt amused watching him and followed suit while biting down on his apple. But Hyojin didn’t want to talk. Too amazed by all the movement around him, he barely dared to breathe. His hands found stability on the thick wood and he hung towards the ocean.
Just to be sure, Seungjun quietly asked: “Are you alright?”
And got merely a nod in return.
Seungjun wanted to stay right here too, stare at nature and be just as bewildered by its beauty. But something gnawed at this tranquillity. It wasn’t just the freezing cold Seungjun tried to counter by huddling into the blanket around his shoulder.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Seungjun said and quickly finished his piece of fruit, throwing the core into the ocean. “Take your time getting used to everything.”
After giving his friend a pat on the shoulder, Seungjun turned around. It had been faintly distinguishable over the sound of the wind, but the kitchen door had opened and closed, which somehow wasn’t surprising. So, that’s where he headed first.
“Hey, Changyun,” Seungjun greeted lightly as he entered. A warm shiver instantly ran over his spine. Cooking was heating up this cabin quite pleasantly, and the scent of a vegetable soup calmed the frost further. He quickly scanned the small space but it was empty of any other guests. “Where’s Minkyun?”
Setting aside a recently washed chopping board and draining the sink, Changyun turned around and narrowed his eyes. “He was here for a bit, but I think he went down.”
“Right, I knew I saw him go back here.”
“He did.”
“Okay…” Seungjun tilted his head at Changyun's tone. It wasn't exactly like usual. Changyun didn't often sound frustrated, but Seungjun could hear a tiny hint of it. “Is everything good?”
Changyun nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Alright,” Seungjun answered but wasn’t convinced. “I'll go below deck now, then.” There was enough to deal with for one day.
Right as he turned around, a heavy sigh sounded. Changyun picked up the chopping board to dry it and said in a clear voice: “Do think of what you're doing, will you?”
He was. Seungjun wasn't born yesterday; he already expected Minkyun to be hiding and knew the particular reason for it. A rush to make up for it got Seungjun’s feet to hurry to the staircase. Teeth began to gnaw on his ribs and it made his chest ache. How was he meant to balance everything? The confession had been dropped into his lap while he was still recovering from his leg-injury, the mystery of the tower followed right after and then there was Hyojin, and now the broken slide whistle. One thing after another something had come up that demanded Seungjun’s full attention, making him unable to answer Minkyun properly.
Seungjun still wasn’t sure what he thought of it all, but he at least wanted to avoid any misunderstanding.
Below deck, Seungjun finally found who he was looking for. With Yuto chatting to Jaeyoung next to the helm, it was empty down here, safe for Minkyun, who was sitting on the small crate Yuto occasionally used as a desk stool. A small knife was being dragged across the whittling project Minkyun had had for a while now. It was taking a proper shape, but with Minkyun’s hand covering most of it in a tight grip, it still wasn’t clear what it was.
“Hey,” Seungjun hummed, suddenly feeling awkward. There wasn’t exactly a plan. He just knew he needed to talk to Minkyun. But about what, he had no idea.
“Good morning,” Minkyun greeted again. “Escaping the cold?”
“A little, yeah.” All portholes had been closed now, but Seungjun kept the blanket around his shoulders. “I also just wanted to talk to you.”
Minkyun seemed pleasantly surprised by that and looked up. “Oh? About what?”
That was a good question, one Seungjun had hoped to find the answer for halfway through his last statement. But that wasn’t the case, so now he was without a follow-up.
“Go on,” Minkyun ushered, stopping his knife and sitting back.
“The…” Seungjun felt stupid bringing it up, but needed to. “The thing with Hyojin.”
“What thing?”
Had Minkyun not seen it? Was it then needed to bring it up? It was hard to read how genuine Minkyun was right now. Seungjun would’ve believed him any other day, but he was slowly learning Minkyun was a little too good at hiding his true thoughts and feelings. From never giving a single hint of his romantic interest, to escaping any conversation surrounding it. The jokes about being needed on the ship but never elaborating on where they came from. The more Seungjun tried to pay attention to Minkyun, the more he realised he didn’t know. But he also didn’t know where to start.
Minkyun tilted his head. “Are you going to say anything?”
And then there was this issue, whatever it was. Seungjun let out a breath. “I wasn’t…holding Hyojin’s hand.”
A loud, and way too amused snort left Minkyun. “You came to report that?”
“I just— It might have seemed that way.”
“And?”
Seungjun swallowed; every word bundled nerves into his throat. “I don’t want you to misunderstand.”
“Why not?” Minkyun's eyes shifted. That vacant neutrality left for just a second as he anticipated something.
Unfortunately, that question got no response. This day had been either too loud or too quiet.
A creak sounded on the staircase suddenly and Seungjun whipped his head around. Yuto was standing atop the steps, one foot higher than the other. He bent down to look at the duo. “Jaeyoung requests you two to lower the sails, we’re close to our destination.”
“Ah, right.” Seungjun threw a look over his shoulder
Minkyun got off the crate and played with the knife in his hand, eventually holding the blade and extending the handle to Seungjun. “Here.”
“When… Never mind.” Seungjun shook his head as he took the knife, quickly finding out that it was his possession all along. With a wide and proud grin, Minkyun went above deck.
Another thing came up; a new island. Time wasn’t fleeting, nor was there a deadline to this answer. But Seungjun knew he had to come up with something, for both his own and Minkyun’s sake.