When Seokjin woke up, he felt like he was back in his cabin in the Little Admiral. His bed was comfortable and the boat rocked slightly, as if it were sailing on a calm sea. He was covered with a quilt and the soft light of dawn caressed his eyelids. 

But something was wrong. He was lying on his stomach and yet his back hurt terribly. Besides, his stomach was also painful, as if he had been hit. He suddenly remembered that he had been roughly whipped the day before and he opened his eyes suddenly. 

He was indeed lying on a comfortable bed in a boat cabin but it was obviously not his. He didn't remember going in there, or falling asleep there. Getting up on his knees, Seokjin had two surprises which he expressed in a muffled exclamation.

The first was that he was still shirtless and his wounds had been treated and bandaged. This meant that the pain was much less intense than it might have been if he had simply been thrown into his cell after being whipped.

The second was that hir iron bracelets had been removed and someone had treated and bandaged his wrists, bruised by too much friction of the iron against his skin. He was now completely free and noticed the cabin door: was it open? Was it guarded outside by pirates?

Surveying the room, Seokjin noticed with disappointment that Taehyung was present, albeit soundly asleep in a chair, his upper body resting on the massive wooden table in front of him. It was a round table on which was a huge map of the Eastern Seas and the coasts surrounding them, and around which were six identical chairs. It looked like a space dedicated to discussions between...

Between the captain and his closest men, Seokjin understood, who had already noticed that Wakaï had closer relationships with Taehyung, Yoongi, Namjoon, Hoseok and Jimin than with the rest of the men on the crew. This meant that they used to meet there to discuss their plans of attack and that Wakaï  did not rule like a despot on his ship as he had first believed.

But if this was the captain's cabin, where was Wakaï and what was Seokjin doing here? He frowned. Determined to take advantage of this semblance of freedom, he decided to get up but while his feet expected to meet the hard floor of the boat, they sank into the soft flesh of a man who was sleeping on the ground.

A loud snore erupted from him and Seokjin nearly had a heart attack. He immediately brought his legs back onto the bed, one hand placed over his heart.

"What the hell?" he whispered to himself.

A few seconds later, leaning above the floor and facing a sleeping face half covered with a red blindfold, he recognized the man sleeping on the ground: it was Wakaï himself. He was sound asleep and occasionally let out a loud snore. If Seokjin's feet hadn't woken him up, he was either really tired or a very heavy sleeper. Maybe both.

Seokjin tried to remember the events of the day before after being whipped by dozens of eager pirates who were probably ready to watch him be killed. Then, a terrible storm had come and... He glared at Taehyung, remembering that he had knocked him out. He was sure he had a huge bruise under his bandage. But even more than Taehyung, it was Wakaï he was angry with. He had offered to take the helm to save them all and in response, the captain had ordered his samurai to knock him out of the game.

He briefly wondered if he should take revenge while they were both fast asleep after what must have been a very long night for them, but he finally changed his mind. After all, the storm had passed and if they were still alive, it was because they had done everything they could to do so. In addition, Wakaï had made the decision to treat him and free him from his chains. 

Yet, Seokjin couldn't seem to be grateful to him. After all, he was the one who told his men to whip him, and he certainly wasn't going to say thank you.

Amidst all these amazing discoveries, what perplexed Seokjin was seeing the pirate on the ground. Why had he given up his bed for him and found himself sleeping on the floor instead of the other way around? He could also have woken him up abruptly and asked Taehyung to take him back to his cell. But he hadn't done any of that. By then he was sleeping like a baby, not the least bit bothered by the discomfort of the floor, as if a bed was just a comfort he could live without.

After having observed him for a long time, Seokjin put his head in his hands as he thought about the conversation he had with Wakaï. The latter had been so insistent and he himself was so upset that he had spoken to him about Jungkook and his remorse. He regretted it so much! He wanted to go back and say nothing. Especially if it was to receive pity from the pirate in return. Because that was probably what had pushed the pirate to treat him with such consideration while he was his prisoner, he understood.

Annoyed, Seokjin stood up and deliberately crushed the wako captain, who didn't flinch. Outraged, Seokjin, who wanted to acidly claim that he hadn't done it on purpose, let out a disgruntled snort and nimbly left the cabin and closed the door behind him.

He immediately realized that the storm of the previous night had not left the ship intact. Loose ropes hung here and there while barrels that the pirates had not had time to tie had rolled chaotically all over the deck and probably into the hold. One of the booms was broken and lying on the deck, the floor of which had cracked. Seokjin wondered if he had crushed a pirate when it fell. Fortunately, the sails had been retracted in time and now redeployed, they showed no tearing.

He walked to the rail next to Wakaï's cabin and admired the indigo colors of the sky at this early hour. Clouds remained but the storm had indeed passed. And Wakaï was able to save his crew without his help. Seokjin blushed with shame when he thought that he had believed and told Wakaï that he was the only one capable of saving them from the waterspout that was falling on them. Again, he put his head in his hands and groaned with regret.

To calm himself and think of something else, he admired the calm sea and the rustling of the water. For a moment he enjoyed the solitude and this semblance of newfound freedom, as well as the cool morning wind which caressed his skin, but quickly he felt chills and regretted not wearing a shirt. 

At the other end of the boat, on the rear upper deck, he noticed Namjoon who was holding the helm. With Wakaï fast asleep, Seokjin understood that this was his chance and he hurried to join Namjoon. Walking without his irons did him a lot of good. He felt lighter, less constrained in his actions.

Namjoon gave him a frank smile when he saw him walking towards him.

"How are you?" he asked solicitously.

"Better. Thanks," Seokjin said distractedly, busy thinking of a way to get the rudder back from Namjoon.

"The captain took off your irons," the pirate remarked.

He seemed happy for him and Seokjin was annoyed. He was a pirate, why did he pretend that the violence his enemy had suffered pained him and that he was happy to see their prisoner freed?

"Yes, and he also apparently healed me," he finally grumbled, showing the bandages that covered his torso.

"He must like you more than he'll ever admit," Namjoon said thoughtfully. 

"Is that why he had me whipped by his entire crew? Because he likes me? Don't talk nonsense," Seokjin replied bitterly.

"I'm sorry he did this to you," Namjoon said, genuinely uncomfortable, "but I think in his own way, he really tried to stop the crew from killing you. And they had every reason to do it, you know? Also, try to look at the situation differently: Wakaï didn't whip you. On the other hand, he saved you from drowning."

"Why are you defending Wakaï like that? To give you a clear conscience?" Seokjin said with an aggression he couldn't restrain. "To convince you that even if you follow him in his barbarian odyssey, you are still a good person?"

"I understand your anger, you only see us as pirates, barbarians as you say, so it's normal."

"But I do think there's still some good left in you," Seokjin contradicted him, in a desperate attempt. "If you let me take command of the ship, I will take us to a military port in Joseon and there, I will not hand you over to the army. You will be spared, I promise you. Joseon is your home, it will just be a matter of going home for you. I will also be able to offer immunity to Hoseok and I will offer you both a top position in whatever field you want. What do you think?"

"Nice try but no," Namjoon laughed, "I won't betray Wakaï. And neither does Hoseok, believe me."

"But if I offer you-"

"No, let me explain something to you, little admiral," Namjoon cut him off, suddenly more serious. "I, and even more than me, Hoseok and the others, chose to follow Wakaï. When I was a peddler, I only had loyalty to money and that is what Wakaï offered me but through contact with him, I discovered more and I live a life that satisfies me today. I will not betray him."

"A life that makes you sleep at night without gnawing yourself with regrets?"

"Quite."

Seokjin cursed.

"I was wrong about you."

"Maybe not as much as you think," Namjoon said gently. 

"Let me take the helm," Seokjin ordered.

Namjoon chuckled.

"No, you no longer have charge of the rudder, I'll take care of that."

"But you don't know where to go and you're going to make us sail indefinitely on the sea! Besides, you must be tired after tonight!"

"No, don't worry, the captain let me sleep all night to give me the helm this morning and he explained to me that I only had one thing to do."

Seokjin frowned.

"Which?"

"Follow the coast and never take your eyes off it."

Seokjin turned abruptly to each side of the ship and to the port side, he seemed to see something in the distance, in a patch of mist that he had not seen.

"We have passed the island of Kyushu for a while and the coast we are currently going up is that of Honshu."

"No..." Seokjin whispered, dismayed.

He had not been able to escape to Joseon, Japan was facing him.

"I'm afraid yes, little admiral. You are about to set foot on samurai territory."