The Seventh Voyage

Chapter 5 Gaze

It was cold.

Dark, heavy clouds continued to loom high and intimidating above the Lonely Whale deep into the obsidian night. The storm never did die until the early morning when the clouds grew lighter and the sun barely peeked through the horizons. Slowly, the clouds drifted apart one by one, having finished offloading their burdens on the Earth beneath them.

Yet, the rain persisted, reduced to a slight drizzle that wasn't enough to soak immediately but was cold all the same.

In the dry confines of the dungeon, Jeongjo gradually woke to the steady yet soft drum of the raindrops falling onto the deck of the ship. Gentle shivers coursed through Jeongjo's veins as he peeled his eyes open to observe his surroundings.

Everything was the same.

The only exceptions were the blanket tucked between his body and his arm, and the dying rain pooling in the corridor of the dungeon he was in.

Enthralled by the soft pitter-patter of the dazzling rain, Jeongjo found himself stumbling towards the bars of the dungeon, where a thin beam of orange light lit his path towards freedom.

Behind the bars, Jeongjo inhaled deeply, relishing in the freshness of the rain that breathed life into him.

He loves the rain.

He loves the coziness it brings to his suffering.

In some sense, rain represents warmth to Jeongjo, for there was something about the way that the skies cried with him that brought a sense of hope to his desolation.

It was also in moments like this, where all was silent except for the steady hum of the drizzles muted by the roaring waves, when one becomes lost in contemplation.

Amid this contemplation, a single thought stood out to Jeongjo.

He was alive.

Truly, every day that he survived was a miracle.

He had been sure, with the way he had been shivering from the storm and the building infection in his gut, that he shouldn't have survived the night.

But something changed last night.

He remembered feeling cold; almost frozen to the bones. And then...it was warm; so warm.

As he dug deeper into the fuzziness of his memories of the previous night, the pieces quickly fell together and he realised...

She was here.

Whether she was aware or not, she had saved him again with one careless toss of the blanket that sheltered him from the worst of his pains.

The first time could have been a fluke, but the second was genuine. Just like that, Jeongjo was indebted to her.

Lost in his thoughts, Jeongjo didn't notice he had company until a quiet, low soprano voice infiltrated his musings, and he turned his head to see Yeo Wol standing there with the same piercing stare that seemed to bore straight into his soul.

"There's a better view out here." Yeo Wol spoke quietly, puzzled by the man's blatant refusal to set foot out of the dungeon when the door was ajar next to him.

Jeongjo blinked.

She did too.

And then, ever so slowly, Jeongjo took a step out of the dungeon and into the light.

Suddenly, they were face to face, as the Captain of the Northern seas and the Captain of the Southern seas. Yet, neither was aware of what fate had chosen for them nor the path that they would have to take in what would be the greatest test of their lives.