Chapter 14: Old Friends

It has been three months since Kiyeon left the ship and everything behind. All her weapons, extra clothes, and the necklace that Yeosang had given her. All are kept safe in a chest within Yeosang’s room.

Everyone's mood has been sour, especially Yeosang who is still confined to his cabin. Operations on the treasure have been running smoothly for the most part. Hyunjin has been working with his love as the two new navigators, while Jongho and Seungmin have also created a close bond, so much so that the other couples on the ship started to tease them.

About three weeks ago, the Treasure and her crew had arrived at the new lands. And it's bigger than they had ever dreamed. They have been cautious however to avoid the bandit crew that former StrayKids member Woojin has joined.

After a long week of exploring, the expedition team arrives back at the ship. The team consists of Hongjoong, Mingi, Wooyoung, Seonghwa, Changbin, Hyunjin, Minho and Jeongin. Chan, being a captain himself, has been entrusted by Hongjoong to watch the ship while they are away.

“Welcome back boys.” Chan greets as they board the ship.

“Good to be back Chan.” Hongjoong says wiping the sweat off his forehead. “The lands are beautiful and vast. But they appear uninhabited by other humans so far. Plenty of animals we have never seen though.” Hongjoong says with a smile.

“Go get some rest guys. I can keep charge until you’re ready.” Chan says placing a hand on the other's shoulder.

“Thanks Chan.” Hongjoong says with a smile as he and Seonghwa head to their room to rest.

The rest of the team also head to their rooms except for Changbin who goes straight to Chan. “I missed you. How’s Lix?” He asks with a weary smile.

“I missed you too. And he’s getting better.” Chan says.

Felix has been beating himself up over the fact that he’s one of the reasons Kiyeon had left. But little by little he’s slowly accepting that she won’t come back.

“Go on Changbin, go get some rest.” Chan says softly, the other nodding with a yawn before heading to their shared room.

“Wooyoung.” San says coming up from the kitchens looking around for his love.

Chan chuckles. “He already went back to your guys room.” He informs the cook who nods with a grin before running down to their cabin.

Chan looks out at the land in front of them thinking.

Back in the Northern Kingdoms Kiyeon had returned. Not become princess once more but to live in the town under a new name. People know her as Sooyeon and the royal family knows her as Kiyeon so shes taken on the name of Song Minyu. Not many people in the town have recognized her except for a certain few. Soobin, the kind boy who she had met when she first left the castle months ago, along with some of his friends. She stares at her rooms ceiling thinking about her new life, however her mind always drifts back to the Treasure.

“Hey Kiyeon, come on.” She hears a familiar voice say followed by a knock on her door. She groans as she sits up, running a hand through her now vibrant blue hair.

“Okay okay.. coming Jaemin.” She says laughing a bit. She had returned about two weeks after leaving the Treasure. Being a siren has its perks as she was able to swim faster then any ship could sail. After coming back she started working at one of the local farms with the animals.

She gets out of bed and puts on a simple outfit before heading downstairs. “Morning.” She says with a yawn.

“And good morning to you. Sleep well?” Jaemin asks looking over at her as he’s preparing a plate of food for her.

“I slept okay i guess.” She says shrugging as she sits down at the table. She has learned a lot from being at this farm and still loves to go exploring, especially on her horse. She started writing letters to Taehyun again and he has visited her in the town often.

“You have a visitor miss Minyu.” A woman’s voice says as she turns to look at the owner of the farm, Shika with prince Taehyun, who is in a casual garb.

“Please Shika, you can call me Kiyeon.” She says with a laugh. The owners know her story and what happened; they have promised to keep her identity a secret. She stands up and walks over to her brother.

She bows with a laugh before being lightly punched in the shoulder. “Kia.. you don’t need to bow.” Taehyun says rolling his eyes.

“I know. But it’s fun to tease you, future king.” She says straightening back up and hugging the taller boy. They have spent a lot of time together as the king just believes that Taehyun is going to visit a friend in the town, not his sister.

“Come on. Want to go riding?” Taehyun asks. He’s in a simple outfit as well, as not to draw attention to himself.

“Of course. Let’s go get Aspen.” Kiyeon says with a grin and the two head out.

They get the horses and race to their favorite place that is about half an hour away from the town. A beautiful clearing overlooking the ocean from a cliff. The tether the horses and walk to the edge before sitting down, looking out at the water.

“Do you miss them..?” Taehyun asks softly. The topic of Kiyeon's time on the treasure is not talked about very often, but he knows just by the way she looks at the water that she misses it and them.

“I do.. especially Yeosang..” the girl replies as she stares at the water. She hangs her legs over the edge as she watches the water down below.

“Do you ever think about going back?” He asks looking at her. This question causes the ex pirate to look at her younger brother.

“No. They don’t need me, Yeosang doesn’t want me, and besides. I have a new life here. One that makes me happy.” She says smiling a bit, her eyes giving away her lie. "Besides, if i was there, i wouldn't be with you." she adds with a shrug.

“But not as happy as you could be. I know you Kia, I know that look. You want to see him and the others.” He says and brushes some hair away from her face.

She chuckles lightly. “Yeah.. I could never hide anything from you Taehyun.” She says smiling a bit and leans against him.

“Oh by the way. I have something for you.” Taehyun says and reaches into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small box. “I accidentally let it spill to mother that you returned and she wanted you to have this.” He says sheepishly.

Kiyeon smiles and takes the box. She opens it revealing a beautiful ring with an opal gem. “She said that it belonged to your birth mom, and that your father wanted you to have it when you turned 21. Happy birthday.” Taehyun says with a smile. "There is also something for Yeosang hyung." He says taking another small but longer and thinner box out of his other pocket. "Its apparently a necklace that grandfather wanted him to have, something that's passed down to each firstborn in the family." He explains as he hands her the box.

She smiles and places it on her pointer finger and puts the necklace on to keep it safe, before she hugs him. “Thank you.” She says softly as she feels his arms wrap around her.

“Go find him. Go make amends. Be who you want to be.” He says softly.

She pulls away, tears forming in her eyes. “I don’t want to leave you again.” She says.

He smiles and wipes a stray tear from her face. “I’m not a little boy anymore sis. I know you are happy here, but not as happy as you sounded when talking about the Treasure. Go find them.” He says and kisses her forehead.

The two stand up and look out at the sea. “I love you Taehyun. And I promise I’ll come back, and I’ll bring Yeosang to say hello.” She says hugging him.

“I love you too.” He says hugging back. He had already told Shika and Jaemin that their girl was going to be leaving today. “Be safe” he whispers before she pulls away, quickly going to her horse and grabbing her special water proof bag. She hugs the horse gently before turning away and walks closer to the edge of the cliff. She looks back at Taehyun with a smile before she starts to sing a soft melody. She turns and leaps off the cliff as her body transforms.

Trading her legs for a tail, lungs for gills, and her eyes turn a vibrant blue to match her hair. She dives into the water and swims away. ‘Please don’t hate me Yeosang.’ She thinks as she swims westwards, knowing it will take a few weeks to find them, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead.

Aboard the treasure later that day, Hongjoong walks to Yeosangs room. He enters.

“Your punishment has been long enough. But you are still on thin ice Yeosang.” He says leaning against the door frame, his new red hair falling in front of his eyes a abit.

“Hyung I'm sorry.. I should have never said that I didn’t trust you guys.. I was just mad at her..” Yeosang says softly and looks over at his captain. “Please forgive me.. I feel awful.”

“Forgiveness will be given in time. For now you will be working under Hyunjin to regain your status as our navigator. And you won’t leave the ship without mine, Chan’s or Mingi’s permission. Understood?” The captain says locking eyes with the other.

“Yes sir.” He responds.

“We’ll come on then. You still have to apologize to the others. It’s dinner time.” Hongjoong says with a slight smile. “It’s good to have you back.” He says and starts to walk out before stopping. “By the way, happy birthday.” he says and heads out, the ex navigator following after him with a light smile.

Most everyone greets Yeosang with open arms and smiles, except for a few. Those few are Seonghwa, San, and Wooyoung. Wooyoung and San decide to leave dinner early to go relax in their cabin and Seonghwa stays quiet the whole time. He missed their navigator but is still mad at him for what he had said. Seonghwa is not one to trust others easily, it had broken his heart to know that yeosang didn't trust him back, even if Yeosang didn't mean it.

While Yeosang rejoins the crew, Kiyeon has reached the island and takes a rest near the back of the island where the town isn’t. She sits up on the shore and lays down in the sand, not bothering to change her form. She enjoys who she has become now, the freedom from being a siren is amazing.

“I hope you all don't hate me when i come home..” she says before sighing and getting back in the water.

She swims for days until she reaches the island she and Wooyoung had found the Straykids crew on. She smiles and goes onto the shore, changing back. She still doesn't understand the magic of being a siren where her clothes will just disappear and reappear. She shrugs and sits on the sand. “Now.. which way have they gone..?” she questions. She can only assume that they continued west towards the new land that Straykids had spoken about. She looks into her bag to make sure the few maps she has, didn't get wet.

“I will sleep here before heading back out.” she decides as it is around noon now, and she can navigate better at night. She stands up and heads towards the cave that they had been staying in while stranded. She reaches the cave and lays down on the sand before quickly falling asleep.

While Kiyeon has been making her way back to the treasure, the crew have been working hard to map the new lands. They are all aboard the ship, sailing north along the coastline trying to find where it ends.

“This land seems to go on forever. It seems larger than the southern and northern kingdoms combined.” Hyunjin says as he, Jeongin, and Yeosang are working hard to navigate and map.

“I know. It’s amazing hyung.” Jeongin says with a grin.

“It really is. But we have to be careful in case we see any ships. They may not be friendly.” Hongjoong says, walking up with Chan. Hongjoong takes the wheel as Mingi steps away from it so he can go rest.

“What’s our position?” Chan asks looking at the maps.

“We appear to be here so far.” Jeongin says pointing at the map with a smile. Hyunjin smiles fondly at his boyfriend as he's been getting better at cartography.

“Let's all take a day to rest up. We will continue exploring tomorrow.” Hongjoong says as he yawns a bit.

“Go get some sleep Joong, I'll watch over the ship.” Chan offers, placing a hand on the other's shoulder.

“It's fine Chan. I say we all have some fun tonight. Drink, play some games.” Hongjoong replies with a smile. He notices the surprised looks on the others faces. “I'm not strict all the time guys. We deserve some fun” he says rolling his eyes.

“Then want me to go tell San that he should get the liquor out?” Yeosang suggests a bit of nervousness in his voice.

He is answered with a nod from his captain and heads to the kitchen “San-ah?” He says entering and looking at the cook.

San is keeping busy with going over their food stocks. He turns and looks at the navigator. “What.” he says in an almost cold tone as he looks away.

“Well, Hongjoong hyung decided that tonight, since the crew and us officers haven't had a real time to celebrate that we can tonight. So hyung said it's time to bring out the liquor for a party.” Yeosang explains with a smile.

The cook nods. “Okay.” he says, not looking at the other in the room as the atmosphere becomes cold and awkward.

“Okay then.. i'll just be going then..” Yeosang says softly and turns to leave.

“Hyung.. I’m not mad at you. I’m just.. hurt.” He hears and turns his head to look at San.

“I’m sorry I said and did all of that stuff.. I really never meant it..” Yeosang replies and walks over to his friend.

“Are we still friends?” He asks softly.

The cook nods. “Of course we are hyung.” He says smiling and the two embrace in a hug. “However, out of all of us, Wooyoung is the most upset.” He says as they part.

“I know. I haven't really had a chance to talk to him yet though.” Yeosang says with a sigh as he looks away. He however looks back when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t think too much hyung. Wooyoung misses you. He misses you a lot actually. During your punishment he would talk about you a lot. You are his best friend on the ship,” San says with a gentle smile.

Yeosang nods. “Thanks San-ah.” He says with a smile back to the cook. “I’m gonna head back onto the deck. See you later.” He says waving and heading out.

He walks back onto deck and towards Hongjoong but stops when he sees Wooyoung there. ‘Guess It’s now or never to try talking to him’ he thinks and is about to take a step forward when Wooyoung turns his head to look at him. The two lock eyes and Wooyoung motions his head a bit to the navigator to follow him.

Yeosang watches him walk off towards the point of the ship and follows after an encouraging nod from Hongjoong.

He goes to the point of the ship to see the gunner leaning against the railing, staring out at the waves. Yeosang carefully walks up to stand next to him.

The air is tense.

Yeosang opens his mouth to speak but Wooyoung speaks first.

“I’ve been thinking a lot hyung.. about what has happened these past few months. I know the others are starting to trust you again… but I still trust you. And I don’t want to right now.” He says not looking at the man next to him. “You hurt us. Not the way Woojin hurt StrayKids.. not that bad. But you said you didn’t trust us when we all trust you with our lives. You have gotten us out of countless situations, and always been there for us. Remember how long it took me to trust you?” He asks now looking over at Yeosang.

“You stopped acting suspicious towards me after about a week.” Yeosang responds.

“It took a whole month for me to fully trust any of the other members. I trusted you within a week hyung.” Wooyoung says looking away again. “And I still trust you with my life.” He says, his voice getting softer.

“Woo.. I'm sorry. I should’ve never said any of those things. I do trust you all.. You made me feel at home when i joined the crew.” Yeosang says looking away from the gunner and out at the sea. “I just got scared. And really angry for what had happened. Felix and I have already talked and made amends.. but I hate that I can’t tell Kiyeon I’m sorry.” He says softly.

“It’s okay. I forgive you hyung. And one day you’ll see Kiyeon and you can tell her.” Wooyoung says and the two embrace in a hug. “I missed you..” he says softly.

“I missed you too” Yeosang says smiling a bit and the two part. They look out at the sea when something catches Wooyoung's eye.

“Is that a ship?” He says pointing in the distance. Yeosangs eyes follow where Wooyoung is pointing and nods. “Let’s go tell the captain.” He says, earning a nod from the other.