"Be a Tortuga, take your time, but beat the quickest."

                                                    -Utkarsh Srivastarva

Your eyes were soft and full of curiosity as you stared at the familiar head of dirty blond hair, watching as the man who hated you communicated with the men around him using his hands, saying something about fixing the mast before another storm could come their way.

You sighed heavily, leaning back as your mind raced with numerous questions.

Why did he have such a problem with you?

You could only assume that ti wasn't you he had the problem with, but rather, what he believed you were....a siren.

The hatred he felt towards the race probably came from some kind of backstory that he was no keen on sharing...You wouldn't pry into his life as it wasn't your place...but you couldn't help but feel a bit angry that he would take out his frustration towards you....

Although, you did understand where he was coming from.

You sighed heavily, turning your gaze back out to the blue sea that surrounded you.

Jungkook had bothered you the entire night last night, constantly whispering at you from the mirror across the room. You finally had to cover up any reflective surface you could find..as that's what he seemed to be appearing in....reflections.

You were quite curious about the song that was tattooed on his body...but you had a theory about why it was there...

"Are you going to sit up there all day?"

Your eyes snapped downward at the familiar voice that filled your ears, head tilting to the side slightly as Namjoon smiled back up at you from the bottom of the mast, his hand waving at you.

"I was just keeping a look out."

The black-haired man grabbed the rope ladder, his body beginning the climb up swiftly.

"Then allow me to join you."

You remained silent, not wishing to voice your disliking of that particular idea just yet.

Once Namjoon had made it all the way up, he plopped down beside of you, head leaning back against the wood of the crows nest, his brown eyes studying the vast expanse of ocean around him.

"You seemed to be deep in thought about something, siren." He hummed playfully, turning to face you.

You nodded slowly, a sigh escaping your lips.

"I suppose you could say that."

Namjoon let out a hum, his eyes moving to rest on the form of the dirty blond man that stood on the deck below the two of you.

"He doesn't hate you, you know..." He stated.

Your head snapped to the side.

Did this dude just read your mind?

Namjoon chuckled at your gobsmacked expression.

"It wasn't that hard to tell what you were thinking about, especially when you were staring at him the whole time you were up here."

Your shoulders slumped slightly, hands resting on your knees as you hugged them closer to you.

"He definitely seems to hate me." You sighed. "He certainly acts like he does."

Namjoon shrugged his shoulders.

"He has a bad history with sirens.." He explained. "So, when Jimin suddenly brought one onto the ship...It made him feel insignificant...like his past and opinions didn't matter to the captain.."

You shook your head slightly.

"That's ridiculous.." You stated. "Jimin obviously cares about him..He cares about all of you. That much is painfully obvious."

Namjoon shook his head slightly.

"I know he cares.." He started, "We've always been just like family...Which is probably why it hurt Hoseok so much to see Jimin trust you so easily."

You frowned, running a hand through your hair.

"Jimin doesn't trust me." You deadpanned. "He only wants me to think he does...He probably thinks I'm more likely to tell him about the sirens if I trust him....But, I've already told you all that I don't know anything...I'd actually say that I'm here for Hoseok's sake...I'm pretty sure that Jimin's goal is to find ways to kill sirens...He wants to know their weaknesses so that Hoseok can avenge whatever has happened to him in the past."

Namjoon tilted his head to the side, eyes full of curiosity as he stared at you.

"I can't believe you figured out the Captain's plan so quickly..." He said. "You truly are quite clever, aren't you?"

You shook your head.

"It wasn't hard." You stated. "A blind man could see how much he cares about his crew."

"Still," He mused softly. "I did expect you to take a bit longer about figuring it out."

You let out a soft laugh.

"Sorry to disappoint."

He shook his head, a smile pulling on his features.

"On the contrary, I believe you are far more entertaining than you were before. Anyone who can see past the Captain's flawless acting is more than interesting enough to capture my attention."

You smiled at his words, allowing the smell of salt to invade your senses.

"I have to admit," You said softly. "It was never my intention to capture any kind of attention from anyone...Attention can be a bad thing too."

The raven haired man seemed to ponder your words for a few moments, a small smile pulling on his features.

"That makes sense." He paused. "Especially when one considers the fact that you are in the presence of pirates."

You chuckled at that, shaking your head slightly.

"Pirate or not. It doesn't particularly matter." You stated. "Liars take on many forms, after all."

Namjoon tilted his head slightly, eyes scanning over your features for a few brief moments.

"If I didn't know any better," He breathed. I'd say that was the most human thing I've ever heard...How odd that it came from the mouth of a siren."

"The truth is the truth..." You stated. "I don't think it necessarily matters who or what is telling it."

He frowned slightly.

"You have such profound wisdom for such a young age."

You let out a quiet laugh.

"I don't think it's necessarily wisdom." You hummed. "I only say what I think...The way I see it; Human lives are short, so if you wish to tell them something, you need to tell them, or you'll wind up loosing the chance to do it forever."

You were only met with silence as the black-haired man fully took in your words, the warm sun kissing his face lightly as he turned to look back at the ocean he so desperately loved.

"You speak as if you have no regrets about your life, siren."

"That's not true." You countered. "I speak as though I have learned from my regrets...When you're human....making mistakes is simply natural, but learning from them...that's the tricky part."

He nodded in agreement.

"And what if a human continued through life with no regret?" He asked with a smile. "What if someone lived their lives without ever regretting their decisions?"

You shrugged slightly, a bit confused by his question.

"I don't think that person would be truly human." You pondered aloud, tapping your chin. "You cannot better yourself without making a few mistakes long the way....and if a human's goal is not to better themselves...then what's the point? Sure, some people lose their motivation...some get stuck in a seemingly never-ending loop of despair...but no one wants to be like that...people want to get better...they want to move forward and make themselves stronger...to meet someone who has never once felt a single doubt? I think that would be impossible."

"For someone who isn't human," He laughed. "You sure do know quite a bit about human nature."

You chuckled.

"It's pretty easy to predict."

Namjoon took a breath, allowing his eyes to flutter shut lightly.

"Hoseok's family was murdered by sirens."

Your eyes instantly got wide at his sudden confession, head snapping over in the black-hared man's direction.

"Hoseok was a sickly child." Namjoon continued. "His family had to leave him behind when they went to pick up a special medicine for him...Their ship was attacked...and their bodies were eaten...the only piece of his family he had was the corpse of his younger brother that washed up on the beach....his legs were gone...both eaten by the monstrous sirens...That's why he hates them so much..."

You nodded in understanding.

If it had been you, you'd probably feel the exact same way.

"How did he meet Jimin?" You asked.

Namjoon sighed.

"After his family was killed, Hoseok began his mission to kill every siren he could.." He explained. "He met Jimin on a small island to the East...Jimin had just started his crew and accepted Hoseok as his first mate..."

"And when did you meet him?"

Namjoon smiled, tucking his arms beneath his head.

"That's a story for another time..." He stated. "For now, you should focus on surviving the night."

You cocked a brow in curiosity, eyes following his curiously.

Your heart dropped in your chest as you noticed the large mass of land you were slowly approaching.

"Well, siren...

Welcome to Tortuga."

A/N,

I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG!!!!!

I truly missed writing it!!

I love you all so much! Thank you for your patience.

I know this chapter isn't good, but it is something and we got a little backstory. Also, this chapter is heavily unedited so please forgive any typos.

I love you!

I adore you!

I purple you!

I'm out!!

-Max