Seokjin followed Taehyung and Wakaï to an area of ​​the estate dedicated to archery.

While Taehyung went to get the bows and arrows, Seokjin was left alone with Wakaï. He was convinced that the silence would last until the return of Taehyung who himself was not talkative apart from the bushido lessons he gave him, but he was surprised to see Wakaï with his mouth open, as if he was trying to say something but he didn't know how to converse.

Finally, the captain said:

"Japanese warrior arts seem to interest you."

"I'm learning other ways to kill pirates," Seokjin replied sharply.

"Is that really the only thing that interests you?" Wakaï asked. Seokjin felt like he was disappointed. Was he?

"Did you really think I was starting to like your country? You can still dream, it won't happen," he said as nastily as possible. He couldn't help it, this man irritated him in every way.

"If you put aside your hatred, perhaps you will discover beautiful things in this country."

"What the hell does it matter to you that I like your country?! It may well be a country of a few honorable samurai, but it is nonetheless a country of pirates who believe themselves to be the masters of life in the countries on the other side of the East Sea. Besides, I don't plan on staying here forever, contrary to what you seem to think."

Seokjin thought he had finally silenced Wakaï or pushed him to make him pay for his attitude but to his great surprise, the pirate objected:

"You're my guest it's normal for me to ask you what you think, right?" Wakaï asked with a formidable sincerity which seemed like naivety to Seokjin's eyes and that made him wince. This man was really missing the point.

"Your guest?! How drunk on sake have you become to dare say that to my face?!"

"I didn't drink," Wakaï replied toSeokjin who had never seen him drink, unlike his men who got drunk more than necessary, with rum at sea and sake on land.

"I know that very well, I was just giving you a way out to prevent you from making me even more angry!" Seokjin shouted.

Instead of getting angry with him Wakaï just stared at him. His behavior, calm and plainly controlled, reminded him a lot of Taehyung, but he wasn't sure who had influenced the other.

"What?" Seokjin asked aggressively, while the other still did not look away.

"I understood that you hated wakos but why are you always angry?"

"It's you who angers me, isn't that obvious?!" Seokjin lost his temper.

"Well, as we are speaking, it's undoubtedly me who's making you angry. Tell me, what have I done apart from politely telling you that you might like Japan?"

"Besides pretending that I'm your guest, you now describe yourself as polite?!" Seokjin protested.

Wakaï sighed, seeing that he was even angrier than before.

"I see. Each of my words addressed to you is therefore a triggering of your anger. Did I piss you off because I called you my guest? Or maybe what annoys you the most is that I don't treat you like a prisoner?"

Thunderstruck to be read like this by the other, Seokjin hastened to deny.

"It annoys me that you pretend to be a good person," he growled, remembering in spite of himself the way the fishermen and peasants had welcomed Wakaï five days ago, this young pirate lord who watched over them. "If no one has dared to tell you, know that you are not!"

"I never pretended I was."

"No, but you implied it when you said that I couldn't judge the right and wrong that you did without being in your place."

"That's not what I meant" Wakaï replied.

"Then what do you meant?" Seokjin asked, curious in spite of himself.

"Just that I do my best for the people who matter to me, even if you will only ever see the evil that is in me, and there is a lot of it, I admit."

Seokjin found him impudent. As if anyone could forget his barbaric acts just because he was busy feeding his people?

"You've become very talkative," he suddenly noticed, "whereas before, you were completely stuck and you had to tear every word out of your mouth. It's almost like you're finally... I don't know, relaxing?"

He was going to say after days but he had the impression that he should have said years ago as Wakaï's face seemed frozen in natural impassivity. And then, his men seemed to see him laugh for the first time that day.

"I'm at home, don't I have the right?" Wakaï asked.

"That's not what I mean," Seokjin said.

He frowned, thinking. He felt not only an inner peace coming from the wako captain but also a form of happiness that he probably had difficult to repress, as if he was overflowing for a reason that only the pirate knew. It was strange.

"Then what do mean?" Wakaï asked. "Do you think it's you who makes me so talkative and comfortable?"

Seokjin turned red and exclaimed:

"Of course not!"

Wakaï smirked and seeing that, still red with shame, Seokjin decided that after all he didn't care about this man's emotions.

"Anyway, I came here to train with Taehyung, not to talk with you. You just intruded on our training session. We don't need to make conversation," he concluded, having planned to stay silent until Taehyung returned who he regretted not going to help.

"You seem to like Taehyung," Wakaï nevertheless continued, and Seokjin felt his gaze piercing him

"Not particularly," Seokjin shrugged. "He's teaching me things that will probably come in handy when I run away from here."

Wakaï's face seemed to tense and his apparent calm disappeared.

"That's not going to happen."

"I thought I was your guest?" Seokjin quipped.

"I thought you didn't believe me?"

"Do you even know what a guest is if you are still convinced that I am one but you forbid me from going out?! Anyway, as long as you let me move freely, you give me a chance to escape," he added with a smirk.

"Are you asking me to lock you up like an animal again?"

Seokjin glared at him.

"I'm just warning you that you shouldn't be surprised if I disappear one day, that's all. But I'm curious why are you keeping me here?"

"For some reason."

"Which?" Seokjin asked, his patience running out.

The wako gave him a mocking look who told him that he wouldn't tell him that and that he could get as angry as he wanted. Which Seokjin did, letting out a cry of frustration.

"You want to leave so bad it feels like I'm torturing you here," Wakaï pointed out. "It hurts me, I thought I welcomed you rather well into my home."

Seokjin was sure he was making fun of him but he couldn't help but reply:

"I never asked to be invited in the first place, nor did I ask to be kidnapped, so stop talking nonsense. Just talking to you is torture," the admiral grumbled.

"And yet you don't stop. I find you very comfortable with me for someone I'm supposed to be torturing," Wakaï leaned towards him to the point that Seokjin could feel the warm breath of his breath tickling his skin. "Maybe in the end, it's not you who puts me at ease but rather the opposite?"

Troubled, Seokjin wondered for a moment if he hadn't been gambling with his life by speaking with such little consideration to the pirate from the start. However, he did not feel the murderous aura that accompanied Wakaï's displeasure. Recovering his senses, he immediately pushed him away but the other grabbed his arm, preventing him from going backwards.

"Get away from me, you just ate raw fish and your breath bothers me," Seokjin said, grimacing as if bothered by a terrible odor.

"How reckless you are," Wakaï asked without letting go. "I could kill you right now."

"But you won't, otherwise it would already be done," Seokjin replied defiantly remaining ready, however, for a fierce fight if the other decided to attack him.

Wakaï felt him stiffen and the two stared at each other for a moment, Seokjin refusing to look down. Wakaï suddenly snorted and finally released him, his gaze no longer directed at his but at his nose.

"You have snot running down."

Horrified, Seokjin quickly turned away from his enemy to wipe himself off, as if preserving his appearance was more important.

"You are truly a phenomenon, admiral," he said with another snort.

"Are you laughing or did I manage to pass my cold on to you? Why are you sniffing?" Seokjin asked with a frown, not knowing how to interpret the nose noise that the other had made but which, in another human, could have meant that he was holding back laughter.

"I am. You're making me laugh. It's been a long time since I laughed and somehow, it feels good."

"You laughed earlier during the meal," Seokjin reminded him annoyedly.

"Yes, because of you. You're the one who makes me laugh."

"Well you, you only annoy me." Seokjin was ingnant.

The other gave him a grin.

"Uh, so that's the only thing I'm giving you? How unappreciative you are, admiral. You are indeed a capricious rich person, like Jimin said. Should I take away the food, the clothes, thefuton, the onsen, the garden, your time with Taehyung, and my protection from the hatred of the rest of my crew? Maybe you'll see that's not the only thing I'm giving you."

"I won't thank you if that's what you expect," Seokjin warned, having no intention of being grateful.

"I know, I'm getting to know you. Is there anything you'd be grateful for?"

He seemed to have no illusions about Seokjin's response and Seokjin wondered if he was willing to do him a favor just to see him give up his pride. So he took a chance:

"Yeah, there is something. Next time you go out to visit your land, I want to come."

The pirate's face suddenly closed and the feeling of familiarity that had existed between them disappeared just as suddenly.

"No, you can't," he replied in a sharp and impacious tone.

He no longer gave the impression of wanting to discuss, as if Seokjin had crossed an invisible line that he had drawn.

"I will not escape, I promise," He insisted.

"I imagine you want to go scouting the terrain to find the best escape route and come back alone?"

Seokjin blushed from getting caught so easily.

"But that's not the problem," Wakaï continued. "None of my Joseon or Ming men can leave this abode while we are ashore, it's a ban that I placed on them and that everyone must respect. And you can't do it any more than they can."

Stunned, Seokjin realized that indeed, he wasn't the only one who had never left the property in five days. He had only seen Japanese men accompanying Wakaï when he went out on horseback to tour his stronghold, but neither Hoseok, nor Jimin, nor Namjoon, nor Yoongi, nor any other Ming or Joseon had come out. It was therefore not a ban that was exclusive to him. Did that mean it wasn't to stop him from escaping?

"Why?" Seokjin asked with a frown.

"This land is hostile to outsiders and many ronins hunt them, as if this could restore their honor," Wakaï explained.

"The ronins?"

"They are samurai without a master."

"Like Taehyung?" Seokjin asked, remembering what Yoongi had said. "Well, before you become his master."

"No, not like Taehyung. Taehyung wasn't chased away for his mistakes unlike those wandering samurais. His previous lord died, that's all."

Seokjin wondered why Yoongi kept trying to humiliate Taehyung through this if he hadn't done anything wrong other than losing your master. But remembering the bushido rules that Taehyung filled his mind with day and night, he also remembered that Taehyung never stopped emphasizing the importance of the relationship between a samurai and his daimyo, in the same way that between a deshi and his sensei. It was a matter of honor, and samurai died for honor. Yet, Taehyung was still alive. 

That intrigued him but for the moment, he was more curious about something else.

"Why are you not hostile to foreigners yourself if all the people on this land are?" he asked.

Wakaï looked into his eyes and looked at him without saying a word, as if the answer was written on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do I still have snot flowing?" Seokjin replied, rubbing his nose reflexively.

Against all expectations, Wakaï cracked a smile and, looking over Seokjin's shoulder, he declared:

"Look, Taehyung is back."