Eight makes one crew

Bar fight 2

Hongjoong was very noticeably not happy as he dropped the security guard he had just knocked out. His boots made a loud noise as he walked over to where Wooyoung and San were. One of which was covered in someone else's blood and the other was looking rather sick but trying to hide it while wiping at the little bit of blood that splattered on his face and trying to clean up his friend at the same time.

"What did I tell you two before you left?!" Hongjoong demanded to know, pulling Wooyoung out by the front of his shirt.

"You told us a lot of things" Wooyoung pointed out. Hongjoong glared at him and dragged Wooyoung back to the ship, making sure that San had stayed behind them.

"Go to your quarters and get cleaned up! I don't want to see either of you for the next two days!" Hongjoong decided, letting go of Wooyoung as he pushed the two boys towards the stairs leading below deck. As soon as they were both out of sight, Hongjoong grabbed his pistol and his sword and stepped off the ship.

"What are you going to do?" Seongwha chased after him, a little nervous about what the Captain was planning.

"I'm going to find out what kind of people are allowed to roam freely in this town. Don't follow me or do. I can promise you won't like what you see" Hongjoong didn't once look back. Seongwha thought about it and then scribbled a quick note in case they didn't make it back in three days and ran after Hongjoong, if only to stop a murder from taking place. Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

_______________________________
Seongwha's mouth would've fallen open if he were not afraid of getting blood in his mouth. Hongjoong was not cruel but he was definitely ruthless. In less than ten seconds, he had the entire bar cleared and was interrogating the bartender. When the man refused to answer Hongjoong's questions, well, he paid for it. Seongwha stood back and watched, trying to seem intimidating. He was actually doing a good job despite being scared shitless on the inside. Somehow, he had managed to become a crew member and first mate to one of the most powerful and ruthless pirate captains there was. 

"Let's go" Hongjoong finally dropped the poor man, stepping over his limp body and leaving the bar. Seongwha looked around the place one more time, checking to make sure the bartender was still breathing before resting a hand on the hilt of his sword and following his captain outside again.

"Where are we going?" Seongwha questioned, still keeping up with Hongjoong.

"Back to the ship. It's time to leave" Hongjoong decided. He was cutting the trip short but thanks to San and Wooyoung and the recent turn of events, there was no way that the Ateez crew could stay a minute longer.

"How are you going to find the others?" Seongwha worried. They weren't going to leave Jongho, Yunho, Mingi and Yeosang behind were they?

"They'll find us" Hongjoong was confident in that. He knew the town was pretty small, and he had put a limit on how far the younger pirates could go, so they would hear him from anywhere in the small village. He whistled out a long, soft tune that sounded a lot like a bird's call. Seongwa didn't see how that was going to help but, when they got to the Ateez, all the boys were there and Hongjoong began barking out orders for the anchor to be lifted, sails to be raised and they were sailing off, leaving the wretched island behind. 

"So, what happened?" Yeosang questioned. It had been three hours since they set sail and the whole crew was just sitting on the deck, going at a slow pace. No one was really sailing, just let the ship go where the water took them.

"San killed a man. His first kill" Wooyoung said, almost proudly.

"It's nothing to be proud of, but he did the right thing defending you" Hongjoong scolded, then agreed with Wooyoung. Yunho took a small sip of his drink.

"Okay but that's not exactly enough for us to suddenly leave. If that was all, you would've just restricted them to the ship until we left" Jongho pointed out. Hongjoong blushed and hid his face. It occurred to Seongwha then that the old crew members didn't know what Hongjoong was capable of.

"There was a small run in with the bartender. He mentioned something about two pirates causing a ruckus and it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was talking about you two. It's taken care of though so none of you should worry" Seongwha cut in, saving Hongjoong from having to explain that he had almost killed the bartender. 

"Bartender? There was no bartender when we walked in or when we were dragged out" Wooyoung looked at Hongjoong and Seongwha, confused. The two oldest looked at each other. If they had gotten the wrong bar, then who were the two pirates that the bartender was talking about?

"Damnit!" Hongjoong stood up all of a sudden, going to the wheel and turning it to the far left.

"What is it?" Wooyoung perked up from his spot in San's lap, worried now.

"Pirates" Hongjoong spat out. Seongwha found the statement slightly redundant considering they were pirates but he didn't point this out. Obviously, whatever pirates that Hongjoong had suddenly thought about had him worked up enough to try and retreat. Seongwha didn't want to meet these new pirates if that was the case, especially considering the new side to Hongjoong he had just witnessed. 

"Which ones?" Jongho stood up, still holding tightly to Yeosang's hand. Seongwha noticed that his cousin looked slightly scared and he rushed over to Yeosang, taking his free hand. Jongho glared at him but Seongwha ignored it. Jongho may be possessive but Seongwha was extremely protective of his brother and cousins. 

"I'm not sure and I don't care. Let's just say that we are about the only peaceful pirates in the North Sea. We have morals that no one else possesses. If you four ever come across another pirate, turn and run and if you can't, you need to learn our danger sign" Hongjoong warned.

"Yes captain" Seongwha nodded. It was only the second time that he had called Hongjoong that, outside of teasing, and he meant it. This was not the time for jokes or teasing. They were quite possibly in danger. Seongwha had not seen Hongjoong this scared since meeting the charming little captain. Even Yunho, Wooyoung and Jongho, who were normally laid back, were tense and rigid in their seats, scanning the open water for any sign of another ship but there was nothing and around an hour later, Hongjoong and his crew relaxed. Later that night, Seongwha cornered Hongjoong in their room. 

"What was that about? Do they not know that you can...kill someone?" Seongwha dropped his voice to a whisper.

"Of course they know, they've seen me do it before. It's just...well, there's a reason that Yunho, Jongho and Wooyoung are part of my crew. I didn't choose them randomly and they didn't have much of a choice but to join me, if they wanted to live. If they knew what I was like when my crew is disrespected, it would remind them too much of their past" Hongjoong explained. Seongwha stood there, dumbfounded. He had no idea what Hongjoong was talking about and he was slightly scared. 

Just what kind of crew had he become part of?

______________________________
Any ideas on what Hongjoong is talking about? You guys might be giving a bit more of a backstory on him, Yunho, Jongho and Wooyoung in the next chapter