Star Illusion | ATEEZ Pirate AU

Chapter 70 - Pirate king's journey

"Wake up!!"

Sharp searing pain shot through the side of his body. It was so painful that the clouds fogging his mind scattered. He opened his eyes and met with a dim ceiling. Confused by the unfamiliar place, he motionlessly lay there until a rough looking man with tangled beard and hair came into his line of sight.

"Get up ye fool!" The man swore and stomped on his stomach.

Soft cry escaped his mouth, the blow almost sent him unconscious. Tears swelled up in his eyes as pain spread inside his stomach. Panic and anger pulsed throughout his weak body. He glared at the man who had just kicked him twice. Yet, he was unable to recall who this man was. His mind was too fuzzy to think straight. The last thing he remembered was...

Grandma!

The thought instantly poured fear and sorrow into his chest although he couldn't recall all of his memory. It was a blurry image. Dark grey sky above the frenzy sea. He stood on a beach watching gigantic waves swallow a woman. His mind automatically knew that the woman was his grandma. Then he saw himself going after her into the sea and then he woke up here. Other than that, he couldn't remember anything else.

"I said get up!!!" The raging shout woke him from the trance. Before the rough man kicked him again, he slowly got up while clutching his throbbing stomach.

Scanning around the strange place, he saw many children around his age huddled together in a corner of the small dim room. They were thin, hollow eyes and cheeks, clad in ragged dirty clothes

There was another man unlocking the chain from these children's wrists and turned to him. Then he realized he was also chained up like those children.

"Time to work!" The man who kicked him shouted. They pushed the children outside the room into a dim passageway. He could feel a small rocking motion from under his feet. It made him feel queasy when added with a foul smell in the air. They walked in a line and joined with several adults who were also in poor condition.

He wanted to ask someone what was going on, but all of them looked like a walking corpse.

Then he felt someone nudge on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a kid with bright red hair flashed him a toothy grin.

"Hey newcomer, wanna be friends?" The boy asked.

He could only blink his eyes at a strange boy's eccentric question.

"Shut up Mingi, no one is seeking friends here." Another boy said from behind them and gave the Mingi boy a nasty glare.

Mingi pouted, yet he turned to give him a big grin. "So what's your answer?"

"What's this place?" Instead of giving an answer, he asked the question that lingered in his mind. His voice sounded small and weak.

"The place where you wish you were dead." Mingi immediately turned solemn and his mouth twisted bitterly, "A pirate ship."

The answer made him frown. A pirate ship?

His mind didn't ring a bell at all. He had absolutely no idea how the pirates captured him.

"Wow, you were the first one that didn't cry after knowing you're enslaved by pirates. That's impressive. I was crying so hard when I was kidnapped by bad men from the street." Mingi pouted again. He had to say that Mingi's expression didn't suit his intimidating look and height. That lad was almost as tall as the adults.

"How did I end up here?" He continued asking.

"The first mate found you drowning so he took you in because they were short of laborers. So unlucky, now you will be bound by them forever."