san chuckled, watching before he lost sight of the two boys as they disappeared into the forest.

---

smeengi was exhausted.

for some strange reason, instead of telling his captain what his amazing plan was, smeengi decided to just surprise him and capture the pink-haired pest's precious friend, then bring him back and present it to his captain.

besides, captain hookjoong would probably be much more ready to forgive him if he brought what he wanted the most straight to his doorstep.

so that's how he found himself awake earlier than the sun, hiding near the lost boy's hideout, waiting for an opportunity to capture the bait.

long, wearisome hours passed as he watched the boys inside mess around like meager fools before they actually surprisingly exited their pathetic hideout and made their way to the sea. the boys all stupidly stayed together in a group, unfortunately giving smeengi no clear opportunity to carry out his task.

but then a miracle happened.

the pink-haired pest's friend and one of the lost boys began to make their way back on the path they had just gone.

it would have been way more preferable if he was solo, but this was the first and seemingly best opportunity so far, and there was no way he was going to skip out on it.

besides, two is better than one. 

smeengi, sighing as he begrudgingly picked up the heavy nets that he brought along once again, sneaked off into the direction of the two boys, the intent of capture being the only thing on his mind.

---

"have you ever gone fishing before, wooyoung?"

wooyoung, who was currently walking alongside a very hyperactive jongho, shook his head, his dark hair getting into his eyes. "uh... actually, i don't think so."

jongho grinned. "it's so fun! and rewarding too... it takes a lot of practice, especially when you don't know what you're doing. i love fishing! it's great archery practice."

the dark-haired boy gaped. "you shoot the fish with your bow? how is that even possible?"

jongho shrugged. "it's not very different from shooting a person. it's just less mass to hit... and," he wriggled his fingers in front of his face, "they're very wriggly."

"oh."

"but we usually also use nets. it can capture more fish and is easier if you're bad at using weapons. it's efficient, or should i say," jongho let out a cackle, "e-fish-ent. haha, get it?"

wooyoung crinkled his nose from jongho's actually horrible pun. "that was actually so bad please never say that again."

"it was great, i... ooh!" jongho crouched down to stare at the dirt, "look at the pretty bugs."

wooyoung blinked, about to respond when suddenly he felt something get thrown over him.

it was a net.

frozen from shock, the dark-haired boy's voice came out just above a whisper. "jongho?"

completely unbothered and solely focused on the bugs in the dirt, the mentioned boy let out a small responding "hm?"

wooyoung could only let out a single word, his body frigid and unbudging. "...n-net."

jongho, still looking at the ground, was still unaware of what was happening. "yes, wooyoung, we'll be going to get the nets soon, but just look at the bugs! so cute!"

wooyoung was finally able to shake himself out of the ice, his hands desperately trying to claw out of the rope. "no, no, jongho, you don't understand-"

"what?"

jongho slowly looked up, his eyes widening as his brain slowly calculated the situation.

"oh shit."

suddenly, as if this situation couldn't get any worse, he saw a figure appear out of the corner of his eye, a blunt force hitting his head so hard that it caused his vision to swirl into a realm of inky darkness.

---

"yes, if you could just swab the deck again, that would be great."

"but c-captain, we already did that t-twice already, why do-"

captain hookjoong narrowed his eyes as he stared at the shorter crew member in front of him, his voice coming out booming and venomously. "just do it, or else i will fucking throw you off of my goddamn ship right now!"

before the crew member could even respond, the captain slammed the door to his quarters shut, blocking himself in from the rest of the ship.

captain hookjoong knew full well that the ship was cleaner than a bar of soap doused in bleach and that it really didn't need any more work before they could start sailing again, but in reality, he was just stalling for time.

why?

well, his first mate, smeengi, was missing.

the captain knew that the last time he saw smeengi, he yelled his face off so smeengi might have not been in the best mood lately, but when he realized that his beloved first mate was missing, he began to feel a bit worried.

captain hookjoong may have a hard, rough, strict, and contemptible exterior, but on the inside... he may or may not have a bit of a soft spot for his first mate. he knows smeengi does so much for him, and cares for him so much. he does so much for him, and the captain feels like he must show some appreciation to him somehow, but these positive feelings are so foreign to him that he does not know how to express them at all.

there's a reason why smeengi always comes first for him.

captain hookjoong has mulled over this before and it makes his heart feel heavy. he never knows what he could do for him, and he doesn't want smeengi to feel like he was an unappreciated glorified slave for the rest of his life. he meant so much more to him.

the captain paced through his quarters, the worry evident in his large strides. if smeengi ran off from his yelling, then he could never tell him how much he cared for once. his pirate instincts screamed at him that he had to have no mercy, no love, no attachment, no goodness, no nothing living in the positive realm... yet something seeped through the cracks telling him that maybe it was all wrong.

it was frustrating.

suddenly, the captain's pacing strides got interrupted by three sharp knocks on his wooden door. angrily, he clenched his teeth as he marched towards the door, throwing it open with vexation. "what do y-"

once he saw who it was, his anger dissipated immediately. "...smeengi?"

the mentioned first mate stared at his captain shyly, seemingly out of breath as the sounds of his breathing filled the air. "u-um, hi sir. i, uh, wanted to apologize for w-what i did yesterday, that wasn't... right of me."

the captain blinked. "oh. i-"

the first mate continued, rubbing some dirt off of his cheek. "but, i brought you something you might like."

eyebrows furrowed, the captain now just realized that smeengi was holding a giant net over his shoulder, watching as he walked into the room and set the net down onto the wooden planks. "what is this, smeengi?"

smeengi let out a nervous laugh. "um. i may or may not have been able to kidnap two of peter san's friends. we can use them as bait to lure him-"

eyes wide, the captain roared as he stared at the contents of the net. "you did what?"

"i k-kidnapped some of peter san's friends."

after a few seconds of tense silence, a grin broke out on the captain's face. "oh, smeengi, you're absolutely incredible. now, i can finally get revenge on that little pest."

now focused on the captives, captain hookjoong barely missed the rose color that now dusted the cheeks of his first mate.

---

"jongho and your friend have been gone for quite a while. do you think they're okay?"

san looked up to yunho, who was currently looking at him with a look of concern. the pink-haired boy looked over towards the forest, drumming his fingers against his thigh in anxiousness. "um, i don't know. maybe we should have gone with them. though, jongho does have his bow. if they encounter something, they'll be fine."

though his own words were reassuring, san felt the complete opposite. it shouldn't take this long to retrieve the nets.

shiber, who was previously floating over the calm seas, flew circles around san before letting out a nervous bark, mirroring the worry of his best friend. san gave him a tight-lipped smile. "i know, shibs, i know..."

yunho sighed, dropping his hands defeatedly. "we should go loo-"

"hey, isn't that captain hookjoong's ship?"

the pink-haired boy turned his attention to yeosang, who has been sitting in the sand while playing with a couple of pretty shells he found.  "what?"

yeosang pointed a ways off the shore with a finger. "there. captain hookjoong's ship. it's coming closer."

san felt his body tense up as he watched the ship sail, chills running through his body as time began to pass. yeosang was completely right. the ship was indeed coming closer.

the chilly wind enveloped the boys in a tense silence as they watched. the pirates on board seemed to be rushing about, their movements full of intent.

but there was something else.

some of the pirates seemed to curiously huddle around the masts, crowding around as if there was some sort of main attraction in their places. san's interest peaked as he took a step forward, his eyes squinted as he tried to make out what the pirates were doing.

but then all of the pirates moved, giving him a clear view of something that sent yet another chill down his spine.

san gulped.

two familiar figures, the two boys that he was just worried about, were tied to the masts, their bodies limp, giving san the painful illusion of death.

a/n this book is actually on the shorter side and will be ending in a few chapters :( what do you guys think is going to happen?

unedited