Like a group of well-educated children, Hongjoong's crew sat around the dining table. They had shoved their hands under their legs and their face were blank in careful neutralness. Whenever one of them couldn't withstand the need to break out in giggles, they rolled their lips into their mouths to keep them sealed.
Hongjoong sighed. He had crossed his arms and purposefully leaned away from Seonghwa, who sat in the chair by his side with his back straight and his legs crossed. He throned at the head of the table, domineering it with his snobbish arrogance.
"So... Cabezon found 'is way aft 'ere," Wooyoung opened. His grin was the most mischievous one and Hongjoong knew this would follow him to the grave.
The captain rolled his neck, pretending for nonchalance.
"Aye, through blackmail most vicious. I will give the responsible mates a few moments to confess their guilt. Do nay think ye can 'ide."
Yeosang chuckled incredulously.
"Captain, why would ye accuse us o' workin' with the jack tar? That be a cruel rig."
The withering glare Hongjoong gave him had Yeosang's grin twitch through his face. When the captain replied, his voice was sweeter than sugar and stickier than tree sap.
"Ye would think so, nay? That me own mates would never try to 'ornswoggle me? I once thought so, too." He batted his lashes at Yeosang. A moment later, his face fell, and he leaned forward to put his elbow on the desk. His hair tumbled into his forehead when he levered his piercing gaze at San and Yeosang, who sat side by side with each other. The knife he had been playing with rested in his hand under his chin.
Two angelic smiles beamed back at him.
"They weren't the ones who decided I would be here. They merely extended an invitation. I came here on my own terms," Seonghwa piped up. Hongjoong rolled his eyes before he looked at the man. His regal air of superiority made Wooyoung's new manners pale. While Mingi clearly disliked having Cabezon back on board as much as Hongjoong did, he didn't bother complaining. The captain's word was law.
"That does nay excuse their betrayal. Without yer involvement, we would nay 'ave a watch mutt on our backs, ye bilge rats," Hongjoong growled at his crew. This time, Seonghwa kept his mouth sealed, though his eyes weren't nearly as vindictive on the two troublemakers as Hongjoong's were.
San had the grace to duck his head with a wince, but Yeosang proudly stared at the captain. Not an ounce of regret crossed his features.
"Sometimes ye just need an excuse an' that be fine, captain. Blame it on me an' 'ave fun with Cabezon," he said with a winning smile. He stood from the table before Hongjoong could throw his knife at him. The unfortunate 'land ahoy' from upstairs offered a valid reason to escape the captain's wrath.
As the surgeon rushed out of the door with a devious giggle, Hongjoong roared after him.
"Ye ain't off the 'ook, mutinous son o' a wench!" He called, but only laughter answered him. One by one, the crew filtered out of the room to ready for anchoring. Hongjoong slipped into his coat with a grumble and put his hat on so his imposing presence was complete before they left. Not that they expected anything apart from a sunken ship, some monkeys and the occasional bird on this lonesome island.
Hongjoong turned on his heel to storm out of the door, but Cabezon's arm caught his waist before he could leave. With a rough yank, the commodore jerked Hongjoong closer. Hongjoong's warning growl got ignored as the seated man tilted his head to stare up at the pirate coolly. Fiery ire got doused in ice.
"Fault your crew all you want, but you knew I had my eyes on you. I would have hunted you down even if your crew hadn't reached out and I might have been less kind then."
Hongjoong barked out a laugh.
"E'en less kind than ye already been? Consider me intrigued." With that, he shoved Seonghwa off to march for the door. The commodore followed him, a soothing presence in Hongjoong's back.
The two stepped out onto the helm together and took position left and right of San at the wheel. Seonghwa crossed his hands behind his back, overlooking the ship. Hongjoong barked orders at the bustling crew.
After approaching the location of the Dungeness from the south for two days, they had finally made it to the tropical island marked on their maps. Birds in all colours of the rainbow greeted them on lush palm trees full of ripe coconuts. The beach was almost white in the blinding sun, and only sea shells marred it from the placid waves. It was a spot so irrelevant and untouched on the map that it was the perfect place for a lost ship to never get found.
The sun bore down on the sweaty, tanned bodies of the pirates as Jongho threw out their anchor and chained the Grief to the shallow waters. The captain was the first to leave the helm when the rowboats got readied. Seonghwa was by his side as if his corseted beige uniform had any place there. While Jongho rowed them to the shore, Wooyoung scanned the beach with a spyglass.
"No signs o' an ambush, Captain. It seems our jack tar matey proved to be loyal." Wooyoung handed the utensil over so Hongjoong could check for himself. Excited satisfaction spread in his chest. Soon, the Dungeness would be his.
"Loyalty ain't a word in 'is diary," Hongjoong muttered as he gave the spyglass back to the navigator. Then he blinked through the sun at Seonghwa. "Though I must admit I expected ye to station a man o' war 'ere an' scuttle us upon arrival. I be surprised ye did nay. Did ye forget considerin' it?"
Seonghwa bared his teeth at Hongjoong. Sweat pearled on his brow, but he stubbornly refused to loosen even the first two buttons of his uniform. Not as if Hongjoong didn't know what the tanned neck underneath looked like.
"Perhaps I should have. Seeing you in chains on your way to the noose would have cleared my stained record after allowing this."
Hongjoong grinned like a fox.
"All on yer account, Cabezon."
The scrape of the boat's keel upon sand alerted them of their arrival. Hongjoong jumped out into the water with a splash and waded up the last few steps to dry sand. With his hands on his hips, he looked around while the second boat with the rest of his mates arrived. As usual, the crew for hire stayed behind to watch the Grief until further commando.
"We'll split up," Hongjoong announced when the spread of the forest didn't offer a hint of where to search the Dungeness.
"It should take us around two 'ours to walk 'alf the isle," Wooyoung supplied. Complied with that information, Hongjoong nodded.
"I will lead a couple o' mates east. Cabezon, ye stay where I can spy ye. The rest o' ye scallywags follow Mingi."
Yunho hopped around on Mingi's shoulder, just as thrilled for the treasure hunt. The man with the blindfold nodded gravely.
"Then I shall lead the way fer our less oriented buckos," Wooyoung cheered as he sprung to Mingi's side. He received a jab at the insult and wordlessly nodded his chin at Hongjoong and Seonghwa with gleaming eyes. Hongjoong sent him a deadly glare.
"Keepin watch that ye two do nay rip each other apart," Yeosang supplied as he joined the captain's side. Impatient with their individual arrangements, Seonghwa waited a few steps ahead.
Jongho threw a glance at San, who stood lost between the two parties. His captain and his partner in crime stood to his left, but to his right was someone so much more captivating.
When Jongho wordlessly stepped up to the captain, the decision was taken from San. He trudged over to Mingi's side with insecure eyes. Wooyoung hesitated only for a moment before he jumped into the dark and took San's hand. The initial surprise of the helmsman ebbed away to a fond smile.
All too pleased with their harmony, Hongjoong gave the signal to depart. His heavy boots brought him east along with his trio of people, while the others rounded the beach from the west. The Dungeness couldn't possibly have landed in the centre of the island, so it was to no interest for them. The crew could salvage the forest for rations once they assessed the damage on the abandoned ship and figured out how long they would be stuck here. For safety, it might be worth setting up camp near the new vessel to ward off any of the bloodthirsty jack tar Seonghwa had mentioned.
On cue, Hongjoong peered over at their guard dog. Seonghwa's claim to be watching them for suspicious activity concerning the navy ship was as needless of a bluff as anything else the man said all day long. Hongjoong would have sneered at him if he didn't get so much satisfaction from teasing Seonghwa.
The man looked good. The past two years had done well to his features, and he had matured. Perhaps he would soon become the mighty commander with a lot of respect in the navy that he endeavoured to be. Countless women would implore to join his side and bear strong children that grew up under an influential father.
As usual, he and Hongjoong were like night and day. The grimy, dirty pirate captain with no more but a ship and a dream to his name wasn't what people admired.
Yet, Seonghwa was here. Not with some woman.
Seonghwa picked up on Hongjoong's stare and whipped his head around. The captain scowled at him, bothered by the attention.
"What, longcoat? Do ye 'ave somethin' to say?"
"I can hear you plotting from five feet away. What is it you plan to do, Hell-born Captain? Is this journey an elaborate trap to get my attention so you could capture and torture me again?"
Hongjoong's feet sunk into the sand as they walked along the peaceful shore. Yeosang and Jongho trudged behind them with their lips sealed tight. Neither had any reason to spread diplomacy between the squabbling captains. They waited for them to escalate as if it was a theatre play to watch for enjoyment.
"If I wanted to kidnap ye, I would scuttle yer ship an' drag ye to me cabin as I did last time. I do nay need to bother with traps like those." The sunlight suited Seonghwa's skin. Hongjoong caught him tugging on his collar to allow the slightest breath of air into the stiff uniform. Hongjoong's half-open shirt fluttered in the breeze, and he caught Seonghwa's jealous glimpses more than once.
Seashells and driftwood crunched under their feet. From the nearby forest, the funny-looking birds made noises that were just as ridiculous.
"Your victory last time was part of a lucky coincidence. We were already worn from battle and you brutally slaughtered men who hungered for days as they looked forward to seeing their families again," Seonghwa corrected him. Hongjoong rolled his eyes.
"Aye, same as ye do all day long. Enough babblin' about souls belongin' to Davy Jones. Ye got captured, crew or nay. I doubt ye be in the place to be spittin' curses at me."
When Seonghwa glared down at him, those intense eyes under his dark brows sent shivers through Hongjoong's spine. His body ached in response, yearning to be closer to Seonghwa. Whenever they fought, the most pleasurable nights came out of it.
"Oh, what an honourable deed you did. Captured a lonesome man with the help of an entire crew. Tortured him into submission. Yet here I am. Are you so accomplished, Captain? You couldn't kill the one man you had a million chances to slaughter."
Hongjoong smirked at him. The wind unravelled his ponytail and sent brown curls to tickle around his features. The twitch of Seonghwa's hand to tuck them back behind Hongjoong's ear got battled violently.
"Perhaps this be the ploy ye sniffed out. Ye 'urt best after a jolly betrayal."
They were even. There was no need to threaten each other's lives anymore since they had way more fun alive and kicking at each other.
Seonghwa scowled at the smug pirate. When his head snapped to look at the front again and find the ship first so he could quickly hide it from the pirates, Hongjoong chuckled. His fingers freed the bottle of rum from his belt and uncorked it.
When he lifted the bottle, its shape obscured the sun for a moment.
"To ye, Cabezon. Ye made the mistake o' comin' 'ere. Since ye ain't our prisoner, 'ow far will this go? Ye 'ave no excuse this time."
Hongjoong drank to Seonghwa's steely silence.