ateez seonghwa x yeosang 

captain shine star

when captain hong's ship gets invaded, it's up to the sailing master to drive off the threat

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

   Yeosang loved nothing more than the rhythm of the ocean; the churning of the waves kept him up at night, staring at the inky abyss that glittered with fallen stars; the sizzle and spittle of the sea foam that caressed his cheeks nearly sent him overboard, welcoming the biting chill of the sea and the monsters that lurk deep within its indigo waters; the salty air and spray graced his brow with diamonds and smoothened his frizzy hair, almost as if the ocean was his very own conditioner, and Yeosang was its personal navigator, the ocean's comb and cleanser, the sea's shampoo if you will.

   The man has adored the ocean from a very young age, having the privilege to live beside it his whole life - and he thanked his family daily for not moving into the city to work in a smoggy factory. Their seaside markets drove Yeosang to the cliffside every evening to gaze lovingly at the waters, how one moment they touched the beach with a hand so caring and light, like the fleeting kiss of a lover, and the next they devoured a fisherman's boat, leaving him to be spat up on the shore of a faraway place, placing his fate in the hands of the gods.

   How Yeosang ended up working for the notorious Captain Hong still puzzled him. One day he was strolling to his favorite cluster of shoreline rocks for a relaxing evening of saltwater breeze and fairytale stories, the next he was aboard the largest wooden ship he's ever seen, the fables of swashbuckling pirates and chests piled high with the brightest gems he's ever seen coming to life before his very eyes. It still felt like a dream to Yeosang, the fact that not only were his favorite characters real, but combining such with his passion for the ocean had the man living day after day pinching himself, attempting to break himself free from this dream, yet dreading the day he finally snapped back to reality.

   "Everything clear up there?" The gravelly voice of the quartermaster broke the spell of Yeosang's daydream.

   The sailing master briefly scanned the massive ship's surroundings and jut his chin out. "Water's blue."

   "Aye-aye."

   His response was clipped, blunt and stinging but Yeosang gave the man's broad back a sweet grin. Being the quartermaster wasn't the easiest, especially with a crew as rowdy Captain Hong's, but Song Mingi donned his title with pride, much like his golden revolver, and barked orders whenever his captain was tucked away searching for more treasure.

   "You boatswains have no clear thought in your heads, do you?" Mingi smacked the flayed hat of a young man to his left. "Have the deck cleared you filthy monkeys, and anything of importance, have it laid starboard."

   With a menacing click of his revolver - that Yeosang felt was too arrogant for the confrontation - the group of men scampered to complete their tasks.

   "Fucking animals I tell you," Mingi grumbled, stomping over and crashing down onto a wooden box of unopened fruits and running a calloused hand through his hair. "Yeosang, did you see the way they laughed when Jongho vomited his lunch onto the steps? Son of Poseidon, I could have strangled them."

   Yeosang was down from his post on the mast before Mingi had the chance to growl out of fury. "It's better than putting a bullet through one of their heads. Your lucky the ale from last night is still dulling your senses." The rope the man used to twirl down from his nest atop the grandest sail burned the skin of his palm, but he relished in the feeling, for it reminded him this was no fantasy.

   "I'm as sharp as a dagger right now, don't you try and taunt me." The quartermaster pointed a grimy finger at Yeosang, and the latter scoffed when it teetered. "All you do is sit up on the mast and look dreamily at the waters. If anything, you're the one constantly drunk."

   "You're not wrong there," Yeosang said. He retrieved the map he was previously looking at from his waistband and spread it before them both. "If Captain Hong wants us to the Emerald Isles, we should be arriving within the next few days, that is if we have no complications."

   It was as if the ocean took Yeosang's comment as a challenge, for the ship jerked to and fro, violently sending the crew into the right railing before dragging them left, then right again. Mingi cursed loudly when he toppled from his seated position onto the raised portion of the deck, just barely missing a knob of the steering wheel when the ship rocked him back.

   Yeosang rode the sways of the wooden beast and curled his wrist around the weathered rope he used minutes prior, using the momentum to his advantage and planting his heeled feet against the ship's mainmast.

   "Sirens below, what in the devil was that?" Mingi's temper was back to a raging boil, his flaming red hair only fueling his wrath. "Sang, I thought you said water's blue!"

   His thundering shout, along with the veering of his vessel, brought Captain Hong out from his office below the poop deck. His extravagant, wide-brimmed hat, fashionably adorned with vibrantly dyed feathers and the skull of a swordfish, swiveled atop his head as the pirate turned to glare at his quartermaster.

   "Song Mingi, I thought you had things under control!"

   "Aye-aye, I did, but you see -"

   "I bet my ruby ring you did! Did any of you scurvy-riddled heathens see the dinghy that just blasted our steering?"

   All eyes, once glued to their skipper, flew to the sailing master, who was already in position; his brick-red boots were angled apart, almost ready to pounce if not for the bronze telescope clutched in a viselike grip between his cracked palms. The bandana across his forehead began to anchor to his hairline, dribbles of sweat cascading down his bare arms as if they were trying to flee the upcoming battle.

   "We've got a large coming, Hong. Starboard; 4 o'clock." Yeosang's voice was but a hoarse whisper, the slightest rasp amongst the raging sea, but the deadly silence carried it across the crew, and within moments, the men burst from their stupor and hastily prepared the cannons, all the while Mingi and Captain Hong struggled to the mainmast, having to throw men to the side that hindered their pursuit.

   Yeosang took a quick survey of the ship: twiggy men careened around barrels of soot and pyramids of steel balls, a chorus of snarls erupting not a beat later. Burly men hauled the slack cannons into firing positions, large men splayed against the fuming metal as if to keep the weapon at bay, shielding the masses from a growling and vengeful beast, a dangerous and destruction-hungry machine.

   "Who's it, can you tell?" Captain Hong hollered, stripping himself of his gold-trimmed vest and unseating his curved sword. It gleamed menacingly in the sunlight, eager to claim the hearts of the threat.

   "Only a yellow star and some -"

   Yeosang was thrown into the low railing of his mast nest. His telescope flew from his fingers and into the insatiable waters below, the low rumble that murmured from their ship sending a blazing lash of fright through him. He staggered to his feet just as the roar of the opposing ship cracked the air in two, fissuring the crew in half: the bone-chilling shocked, and the ever-so-determined. Another fierce thrust of the ship swept Yeosang off his feet and over the edge, his bare shoulder connecting with the vast sail of the mainmast and skidding down until his head connected with splintered wood. The man lay in the cradle of the sail and moaned, the skin of his upper arm turning an angry red and welting within seconds.

   Stars swan before Yeosang, diving and swirling like spotted fish, teasing and playful. The sailing master went to cup his throbbing forehead but choked on a gasp, bile coming to coat the inside of his throat; his head was a painful drumbeat, mimicking the erratic rhythm of his heart. It pulsated bolts of pain throughout his body like strikes of lightning, his concussion becoming a raging thunderstorm.

   The wooden ship careened backward again, only this time it was accompanied by an ear-shattering bang, the air-altering rush of a cannonball and the satisfying crunch of enemy wood. However, no cheers were heard, no yelps of victory were celebrated, for when Yeosang finally had the strength to hoist himself onto the bar protruding from the mast and shred a thin ribbon of sail away with his bronze knife, his heart nearly stopped.

   The water was calm, so eerily calm that Poseidon must have sensed the encounter and hushed the sea into a deep, tranquil slumber, not quite matching the haunting silence of Captain Hong's ship, but giving its newest intruder the air to speak, the welcome to take and conquer.

   "I believe I've made a terribly impromptu entrance. Forgive me," The tall man gave a grand flourish of his hat, a sweeping gesture that skirted the wind blowing his direction. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. The name's -"

   "Captain Shine Star." The name was spat from Captain Hong's mouth like it tasted vile. The crew - who were spelled frozen from the former captain's daring attempt and success of breaching another ship - seemed to part for their captain, forming a semi-circle of terrified, awaiting faces.

   "Oh please, don't flatter me." The end of his comment sent a wave of ice across the crew. "My new recruits can call me Seonghwa."

   "Who said you'll be taking my crew?" Captain Hong stepped forward from the crowd and spun his sword on an idle finger, sending a lazy smirk across the members Seonghwa brought with him from the adjacent ship. Two muscled men and a heavier-set woman, not much of a threat to Hongjoong, Yeosang thought, but as the tip of the captain's sword struck the wooden deck, another woman appeared from behind the ammunition crates and had her rusted dagger at his throat. Barks tore from the gunners of Captain Hong's ship but were scared silent after the deafening ring of Seonghwa's gilded revolver. The golden and ruby-encrusted handgun gleamed with triumph.

   Yeosang cursed under his breath. Hongjoong's arrogance would be the death of him, the man thought as he eased himself down from the mast and angled the large knife in his hand, ready to pounce yet shrouding himself in the drapes of the sail. His captain could still make it out alive, he always did.

   Captain Hong writhed beneath the woman, and when a rivulet of blood trickled down his neck, he abandoned his attempts and spat at the rival captain's heeled boots.

   "Look at that," Seonghwa sneered happily like he savored the captain's last fighting breaths. "How easily you've been deceived. Oh, is there anyone that will help their captain? Their precious skipper, their wise leader. Will anyone be brave enough to save the reputation of their captain, his treasured respect?"

   No one moved; Captain Hong's crew stood like wooden figures, statues of lost hope and surrender. And that boiled the blood in Yeosang's veins. It's one thing to mock the leadership of his captain, but to challenge his due respect, his earned reverence had Yeosang striking the woman at Captain Hong's side with the blunt end of Mingi's pistol (which he deftly swiped), rendering her unconscious and limp.

   "So much bark and so little bite." Yeosang wiped the droplets of blood off his captain's neck and stepped before him; Hongjoong was now in Yeosang's shadow.

   "And you are?" Seonghwa sauntered to stand square in front of Yeosang; the captain cast his eyes down at the sailing master, a glint of something primal in his glare as it swept along the welted burn across his shoulder and danced across the leather belt around his hips.

   Yeosang knew better than to play into Captain Shine Star's games, one of which was his charm. The man towered over Yeosang, a full set of hands taller than him but that didn't deter the indignation in his blood. Dry strands of light blonde hair grazed his eyebrows, hidden beneath a curled hat considered cheap compared to Captain Hong's. Ebony black eyes, like orbs of death and everything wicked in the world, sparked an electric current of challenge, a heated wave of the most tantalizing dare Seonghwa had been dealt - and lucky for him, his hand was one of red boots, lean arms and round, passionate eyes.

   "Kang Yeosang. Captain Hong's sailing master, and most coveted across the seven seas." His title flooded him with confidence, emboldened him even as Seonghwa scoffed harshly.

   "Such a desirable man when I haven't heard of your talents."

   Yeosang grinned, despicable and teasing. "Allow me to demonstrate."

   In a flash of movement and Yeosang had one of the large muscled men overboard. He ducked when a machete flew just past his head and kicked in the next man's knee, the snap of bones eliciting a cheer from his crew. Captain Hong melted from his stupor and threw the heavy-set woman into a sword fight, the clangs and pangs of metal fueling the crowds burning fire for action, for retribution. Just as Yeosang had the man's head beneath his boot, just seconds away from crushing it with a cannonball, the welts on his arm were seized upon and driven into the deck, the splinters clawing them raw.

   Yeosang instinctively dropped the weapons in hand and cried out, feeling his body and world spin out of control, whirling about as feet thundered past him and voices yelled out commands, gunshots stinking the air with ash. Through Yeosang's daze, he caught a glimpse of Mingi tossing the body of the man he was previously battling into the ocean below, a gaping hole in his head drooling thick blood. The sight caused Yeosang to heave, nothing but bile rushing out; he watched through tears as Captain Hong sunk his sword into the woman's shoulder and into the ship.

   "Everyone into the cabins, NOW!"

   Yeosang fumbled to stand up; he knew he needed to find Captain Shine Star, to sheath his knife in the chest of that damned pirate, but found it odd that his feet weren't connected to the deck any longer, that he felt light like the clouds dotting the sky.

   "I'll admit it. Your show of power really had me impressed."

   Yeosang blinked and his mist vanished. The pain in his arm sizzled across his chest, brought on another powerful wave of nausea, but Yeosang caught himself as he took in his position: shirt curled in the fist of Captian Seonghwa, feet dangling inches off the ground, face not but a palm's width apart. If not for the revolver against his stomach, Yeosang would have admired the sheen across his brow, how it looked like pearls dotting his temples.

   "Can't say the same for yourself." A haggard breath. "Where are the rest of your men, hmm? Hiding, perhaps, because their captain was so easily defeated?" Yeosang giggled, and Captain Seonghwa swallowed hard. "I'd really consider giving up your position as captain seeing as your crew got thrown overboard in a matter of minutes."

   A low growl rumbled deep in the captain's chest, but a smile that dripped poison slithered onto his face. "You sure know how to rile people up." The revolver at Yeosang's abdomen clicked.

   From a distance, the sailing master heard a pleading shout, but it was drowned out by the lips pressed against his ear.

   "And I like that. Your display of command piqued my interest, so I'll let your crew go for now. Perform like that in front of me again, and I won't hold back."

   Seonghwa drew back and exhaled; his fruity breath fanned across Yeosang's nose and the hair on the back of his neck stood alert.

   "I might just have to take you for myself, see what tricks you can teach me and my crew." Panic seized Yeosang and his good arm flew to connect with Captain Seonghwa's head, his rough fist slamming into the latter's temple hard enough to have Yeosang dropped to the floor and the captain snarling.

   "You little bastard!" Seonghwa groaned and shot his fiery glare at the man; his eyes seemed to glow red with fury, and another emotion that sent Yeosang's feet skittering at the deck, scooting him only an inch before the captain was upon him.

   The gemmed handgun engraved a ring onto his forehead, and as the seething captain pressed it harder and harder into Yeosang's forehead, he saw the slight flash of pleasure, a golden tendril of sadistic glee circle his iris like an embellished snake.

   "You sick freak, you're enjoying this." Yeosang spat.

   A dark chuckle left Captain Seonghwa. "And you can't deny you are too." The revolver fled his forehead before Yeosang could breathe, and the sly curl of Seonghwa's lips was the last thing he saw of the captain, for when he blinked, the man leaped from Hongjoong's ship onto his own and barked an order at his own sailing master.

   And, in a flurry of white ruffles and obsidian-colored trousers, Captain Shine Star and his wooden vessel were off, sailing into the heart of the horizon when a twinkle caught Yeosang's eye just as he managed to steady himself on his feet.

   The captain had something in his hand, holding it up as if it was a trophy, a prize after his epic failure.

   Yeosang's heart plummeted as he ran to the edge of the ship, hopping onto the ledge and carding his fingers through a netting of rope.

   His telescope was clamped in the fist of Captain Seonghwa.

   "Put up a fight like you did and I'll consider giving it back. In the meantime," Seonghwa flipped the object in his hand and smirked devilishly. "Busy yourself with my little present. I'll return to see what you've learned."

   His taunting shouts were carried by a salty breeze into the distant future, a haunting reminder of the battle to come, and as the ship with a yellow-painted star floated deeper and deeper into the setting sun, Yeosang reached into this pocket and yanked free the cursed gold and ruby encrusted revolver.

   The sailing master wrapped a bloodied fist - only now noticing the dried river of crimson staining his arm - around the object and held it to his chest, listened to the thumping of his heart, matched it to the churning of the ocean, and blew out an exasperated breath as his chest blossomed with warmth.

   Despite the carnage Captain Shine Star dealt, the damage Captain Seonghwa reaped across both crews, Yeosang secretly, deep down inside him, hoped the day the captain swung back onto Hongjoong's ship would come faster.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

this short is actually the best thing ever like imagine this as a book series

seonghwa the sadistic captain and yeosang the bratty navigator

BITCH IM AN AUTHOR

i partied last night and my legs hurt saur fucking bad

till next time <33