treasure || bang chan

part 14

The crowd screamed and scattered as Fei shot arrow after arrow into the square, picking off sailors like fish in a barrel. I pried my hands apart, yanked off my hood and loosened the noose around my neck.

Iseul and Shao were running, still bound and hooded, through the frantic crowd. Some sailors were climbing the rampart, others kneeling on the ground, their guns following Fei as she ran along the parapet. They all fired at once.

I ran and caught Haseong before he fell to the ground. His arms locked around my neck, his panicked breath in my ear.

"Just a little longer," I said. "We'll be out soon, okay?"

I was trying to move him but he wouldn't let me. "Wait wait, n-no, Chan—"

"Haseong, we have to go while we can—"

He pulled out of my arms, jumped off the platform and ran back into the crowd. Iseul and Shao were at the far corner of the square, back to back trying to untie each other. Neither of them saw the naval men rushing them from all sides.

Haseong reached them just seconds before the men did. He punched one in the face, threw him into another and knocked them both to the ground.

He was trying to save them. I rushed to help; Iseul and Shao were still bound and Haseong couldn't take more than two humans at a time.

I yanked the hood off Shao's head, tore his bonds loose, then moved on to Iseul. She took the rope, pushed past me and slung it around a sailor's neck, kneeing him in the crotch. I ran to Haseong, grabbed one of his opponents from behind and shoved him down. Haseong dodged a blow but didn't see a second man come up from behind.

An arrow pierced the man's skull — he collapsed to the ground. Haseong and I spun around, looking for Fei. All I saw was the flick of a leather coat disappearing over the parapet.

We'd taken care of the first round, but another dozen were charging toward us. Shao called from an aperture in the rampart wall — the three of us ran to meet him. We ducked into the passage, leapt up the stone steps three at a time and came out on top. The walkway was the only barrier between the chaotic town square and a 100 foot drop into the ocean below.

"Freeze!"

Sailors were filing up the stairs, closing in from both directions, and others were loading their guns on the ground. We were trapped.

We looked over the side of the wall, down at the shimmering black water, and then at each other.

Iseul sighed and shrugged her jacket off. "Alright then. That's our cue."

The four of us stepped onto the parapet and jumped off the cliff.

For five thrilling seconds, I was airborne. My body hit the water, the current spun me topsy-turvy. The four of us swam away from the cliff. I could still hear voices from the square high above, see lanterns glow against the night sky.

The curve of the bay came to meet us; we pulled our sopping selves ashore and all but collapsed on the sand. I took off my shoes and poured the water out.

Shao crawled toward Iseul. "Are you okay?"

She was shivering, hugging her arms around herself. "If my ribs were broken before, now they must be dust."

"C'mon, get up. There should be a hospital somewhere around here, we can find some morphine."

He helped her to her feet, about to lead her away, but she stopped him.

"You," she said to Haseong. "You saved us. Why?"

"Must I have a reason?"

"Bak, we tried to murder you, but you... saved us. That's not like you."

He shrugged. "I wasn't a good partner. I mean, you two weren't a walk in the park either, but... I'm sorry. I hope you know I don't regret our company. It was... invaluable to me."

Finally, injured and exhausted and drenched from head to toe, I saw a flicker of affection in Iseul's eyes.

"Goodbye, Haseong."

He looked up at her, smiled. "Iseul. I hope we never see each other again."

"As do I."

The pair bid me farewell, then hobbled into the forest behind us. Haseong was still smiling. We listened to their footsteps fade until the night was noiseless, just murmuring water and fluttering leaves.

"So," he said. "How did you know Fei would swoop in to rescue us?"

"She left me a sign. I'm sorry I didn't clue you in. I had the feeling you wouldn't play along if you knew she was involved."

"You were probably right." He shook his head. "I was so ready to leave her for dead. I suppose she's lurking right now, huh?"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

We went silent. I wanted to talk about us — us — but I didn't know how to ignite the conversation. My emotions were jumbled in my head. The only certainty I could grasp was how striking he looked in the moonlight, chestnut-coloured hair falling loosely around his face.

"This is how I imagine you," he murmured. "Peaceful, alone, on a beautiful night. Your natural habitat. I must have been a hurricane when we first met."

"You were... something."

"I'm sorry I swept you up in this."

"I'm not."

He was looking down, toying with a piece of seaweed between his fingers. "Chan, you don't have to pretend this whole quest catastrophe has been anything but a waste of your time. I let it get out of hand. I wanted to... I should have..."

"Should have what?"

"I should have taken better care of you. When you care about a person, you protect them, you do what's best for them, right?" He laughed ruefully. "I'm out of my depth. I don't know if I've ever cared about someone the way I care for you. Not in the same way, at least."

I shifted toward him but he didn't meet my eyes. "You haven't 'wasted my time.' The pirate stuff, the questing, it's exciting, invigorating. I'm my own person — I came with you because I wanted to."

"I led you on, I manipulated you." He hung his head. "God, how could I be so callous? How could I break your trust?"

"Yes... that." I sighed. "Look, I was in the wrong as well. I was being selfish, trying to protect myself. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. I just... I was afraid that you were too good to be true."

He looked up at me attentively. "Me?"

"You have a good heart, Haseong. I don't want to lose you."

"Could you... could you really forgive me? For everything?"

"As long as you can forgive me. I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I'm sorry I... didn't get the treasure for you. I so wanted to make you happy but I... failed."

"No no no, you didn't fail. I don't need wealth, I never needed it — I need you." His eyes were gentle and genuine. "All the treasure in the world..."

I leaned in to kiss him, cupping his face in my hands. Our eyes fell closed and the night fell away. He couldn't stop his smile from breaking the kiss; we sat with our foreheads pressed together, hands interlaced between us.

"What say you, Captain Bang?" he murmured then. "A little villainy as a nightcap?"

"What do you have in mind?"