The Executioners set their sails and hoisted their anchor immediately after they had returned to the ship. The usual hectic frenzy overcame the crew. Their boots thumped against the wooden planks as they hastened to get the ship ready.

Hongjoong was with Jongho and Mingi, hauling their treasure into the upper storage area. They would dig through it and estimate the full worth once they were further from the shore. Once the last chest had found its place next to the others, Hongjoong resurfaced with sweaty hair. Impatient, he pushed the strands back. The weight of the pearls hardly held them in place, pulling and playing with the locks as they pleased.

In a dance so familiar to him he barely even had to think about it anymore, Hongjoong wove through his men. Busy sailors dangled from ropes, scaled the rigging, and yelled orders at each other. Like well-oiled clockwork, they all fit together.

Hongjoong jumped up the stairs towards the helm. Under Wooyoung's orders, San pulled the ship starboard towards the open ocean. Towards the ominous depths, the enemy resided in.

"Capt'n! We be sailin' northwest from 'ere under the stars o' Hydra," Wooyoung reminded him for his logs. Hongjoong saluted him. He was aware of both men's lingering gazes. Of the whole crew's lingering gazes. They waited like hawks for him to show a reaction to what he did. To crumble under their watchful eyes. His steely silence visibly befuddled them.

None of them had sustained too much contact with Cabezon themselves, but they recognised the developments in Hongjoong's relationship with him over the past weeks.

Once the door to his cabin closed behind him, Hongjoong allowed a low curse to drop from his lips. His fingers wrapped around his wrist again as he rid himself of his coat and hat. While he hadn't worn the moonstone bracelet for long, its sudden missing made his brain stutter to catch up. That, and the obvious lack of Cabezon in his quarters.

Despite the offers to be closer to the crew and away from the vicious captain who became the root of all troubles for him, the commander had always insisted to rather share Hongjoong's cabin than take his distance. The reasons were beyond Hongjoong's understanding. Now that the rigid man was nowhere in sight, Hongjoong didn't know what even to busy himself with.

What had he done before Seonghwa had been around? What had taken up all the long hours of the day? Time passed in a flash when he teased the stiff jack tar. Now, Hongjoong couldn't imagine not getting bored after a while.

"To the depths with him," Hongjoong growled under his breath. His verdict had been final. Cabezon would remember him and live with the regret of his crimes. His moral superiority was no more. And Hongjoong didn't have to deal with him out at the sea while he battled the enemy of the depths.

With heavy limbs, Hongjoong dropped into his chair. His feet hurt from the long hours of walking the irregular terrain of the island. Once he had toed his boots off, he leaned back to fill in his logs. The lack of a cushion behind his shoulders had him throw the chair a confused glance. Usually, it was softer.

When noticing the absence of the black fur coat on the backrest, the pirate grumbled to himself. Even if he never wore that jacket, he should have taken it from Seonghwa. It was a good pillow.

Hongjoong shifted once more, uncomfortable. The dull throb in his groin had yet to subside, and every jab that reminded him of Seonghwa was a major annoyance for the captain. Naturally, he drowned himself in his work to ignore the feeling.

His log got longer than usual. Hongjoong spent extra time writing down the things that were usually Wooyoung's job just to distract his busy mind. It screamed at him what he had done wrong, that he had been too cruel to leave Seonghwa like that. He shouldn't have got so close to the man if he planned to leave him behind was what it whispered deviously in his head.

A knock on the door startled Hongjoong out of the unnecessarily long description of the place they had found the treasure in. Nobody cared what colours the animals on that island had. But every word consumed time.

"Enter," Hongjoong called as he set the logbook down. Yeosang peeked his head in. The noise of cackling seagulls and boisterous pirate voices cloaked him until he shut the door behind him. Through the swaying room, he approached Hongjoong. He still needed time to adjust back to the up and down of the waves beneath the Grief.

"Did the town's quack nay tell ye to rest yer wound?" Hongjoong eyed the pristine bandage around Yeosang's arm warily. The reddish-yellow stains from before had disappeared, and the wound seemed to have stopped leaking.

"Crossin' the deck ain't strainin' it more than a trip up a volcano. I came to talk."

Hongjoong motioned him towards the bed. Without hesitation, Yeosang got comfortable on it. He propped his back against a few pillows on the headrest and stretched out his legs. No doubt, they ached just how Hongjoong's did.

The treasure was worth it. They would exchange their loot after they had beaten the kraken and use the money for their goals after that.

"Share yer worries with me," Hongjoong invited Yeosang generously. The distraction of the surgeon in his room came right on time.

When the captain tried to shift and put his legs up on the table, his hips protested. Huffing, he went back to sitting cross-legged. While he listened to Yeosang's deep and soothing voice rumble on, he massaged the soles of his feet.

"I did nay want to share me worries. I came to share yers."

Hongjoong froze. Playing dumb wasn't the best solution. Instead, he shifted his face into an expression of nonchalance.

"I ain't too worried about what I did. If 'e dies down there because 'e finds no way up, then we will nay 'ave to deal with 'im later on. It be fine."

Maybe Cabezon was resourceful enough to find a way out without a rope. Surviving up there in the crater was not impossible. Even if the nights might get cold enough to freeze him in the water.

Hongjoong shouldn't think about it too much. Feeling guilty about an established decision would not reverse matters.

"Ye knew that the caravans would come by. Ye just wanted to buy time, nay to execute 'im."

Inwardly, Hongjoong cursed Yeosang for reading him like an open book. His crew was too bright for his own good.

"It does nay matter. As long as we got rid o' 'im."

Quietly, Yeosang observed his captain. How he angrily slapped the logbook onto the pile it belonged. How he crossed his arms defensively.

"I feel as if ye wanted to protect 'im. More than ye wanted to punish 'im," Yeosang drawled. His guarded eyes didn't mind the glare Hongjoong threw him.

"So?"

"Ye ran a rig on 'im."

Hongjoong's eyes narrowed. The tight fingers that clutched at his side and upper arm dug into his skin. When he refused to respond, Yeosang continued.

"Ye said ye wanted to kill 'im when ye spy each other next time. So ye do 'ope to meet 'im again. An' return to the same rivalry ye two 'ad so far."

Trapped by the truth and his crew member and close friend who knew said truth, Hongjoong closed his eyes. The rushing of the ocean pacified him, filling his mind with tranquillity.

"If we spy each other, aye. Which I doubt. By the time we know whether we can defeat the Kraken or nay, an' 'e found 'is way out, I plan to be far enough that our courses never cross again." Stubborn, Hongjoong kept his head where it rested on the back of his chair.

"Captain, with all due respect. That fellow 'unts pirates, it be 'is whole career. Ye gave 'im a personal reason now an' reminded 'im that ye were part o' that old crew 'e never got. Maybe if ye 'ad let 'im go on neutral grounds, 'e would 'ave let ye off the 'ook. But nay like this."

Hongjoong didn't need to look at Yeosang to know that his frown pulled his scar taunt.

"An' I think ye used that as an excuse to 'ave 'im meet ye again. I ain't 'ere to berate ye. Ye chose well protectin' 'is life over throwin' it away," the surgeon said gentler.

When Hongjoong rose his head to look at him, a faint smile ghosted over the man's lips.

"I want to focus on the enemy."

With all the patience in the world, Yeosang nodded.

"An' ye may do that. As long as ye know what yer 'eart tells ye to do, we will follow."

Gracefully, Hongjoong dropped his feet on the ground. As he stood to come over to the bed, Yeosang scooted aside to make space for him. The captain's hand on his thigh didn't startle him. The surgeon merely leaned back against his pillows once more.

"'Ow be yer wound feelin'?"

Yeosang peeked at the bandage. Then he gave a lazy shrug.

"Comin' along. Shall I make sure that ye do nay get bothered with questions about Cabezon?" In perfect stillness, Yeosang accepted the captain laying his head into his lap. The fingers of Yeosang's good hand came up to play in the man's unruly hair.

"Aye. Tell 'em the same I told ye." Satisfied by the gentle pets, Hongjoong let his lashes flutter shut. Yeosang smelled of the sea and the warm sun that had settled in their limbs after their hike on the island. Hongjoong was still warmed pleasantly by its golden rays.

As he relaxed, Hongjoong pushed Seonghwa out of his mind. No need to think about him now. Hongjoong transfixed his spinning thoughts on gigantic tentacles that blocked the sun.

They had weapons; they had a location. Paired with determination, it was everything they needed. Soon, Hongjoong would cry out in triumph over the dwelling one, or he would join him at the bottom of the sea. He was ready for both.

Hongjoong nearly fell asleep in Yeosang's lap. The soothing fingertips that massaged his scalp pulled all tension right off him. Peaceful silence and the rushing of the ocean were the only things they heard.

When another knock rapped against the door, Hongjoong sleepily opened one eye. His grumble prompted Wooyoung to peek his head into the room. At first, he looked ready to yell. When his eyes found them curled up in the bed, however, he reconsidered it.

"Did ye already give 'im the talk?"

Yeosang chuckled. The sound rumbled in his chest.

"I did. An' 'e be well aware o' the consequences."

"I swear if Yunho gets shot again by Cabezon just because ye did nay 'ave the guts to kill 'im, Captain, I'll keelhaul ye. Clean up after yerself, will ye?"

Hongjoong scowled at him. No gun was near to point at the displeased navigator. Wooyoung knew he was right either way.

"Leave, ye scallywag. That decision been mine to make. I will face 'im if 'e e'er returns. If 'e be smart, 'e will nay. 'E will just regret an' never look at us again."

"'E might 'ave done that if ye did nay let 'im scuttle ye, Captain."

When Hongjoong reached for a pillow to throw it at him, the navigator giggled deviously. Then he sped off again.

Once more, Hongjoong got comfortable to abuse Yeosang's affection and relax. His heart weighed heavy in his chest.

"Do ye feel bad about leavin' 'im behind? Or goin' against yer word?"

Yeosang knew best that when Hongjoong made promises, he kept them. Leaving Seonghwa stranded and punishing despite their deal having been that he didn't sentence him accordingly had already been a devastating blow to the pirate's conscience.

But that wasn't the thought that clutched his heart in an icy fist. The muscle tightened the more Hongjoong thought about it, digging for an answer.

"Nay. I feel bad fer tellin' 'im what 'e did to me. I would 'ave left 'im with a clear mind, but... Do ye think 'e remembers? When 'e possibly been brainwashed by the church an' the navy?"

Humming, Yeosang traced the shell of Hongjoong's ear with a fingertip. The pirate shuddered.

"Maybe. Maybe not. 'Is brain might block out the dramatic experience altogether. The only thing 'e might remember be the misery they put on 'im to make 'im forget."

Upset, Hongjoong stared at his blanket.

He had played unfairly. He had abused the position of power he had on this ship. If Hongjoong detested one thing, then to respect a man and still play dirty.

Again, he pushed it out of his head.

It didn't matter. Seonghwa didn't matter. He would either die in that cave or run free. They possibly never saw each other again. That was everything Hongjoong needed to know.

Yeosang stayed with him as if he sensed the captain's loneliness in the air. And with his presence, it got a little more bearable.

To the depths with Commander Park.