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The sea was calm and reflected the starry skies above. It was a beautiful night, and all was well on the ship. And ten-year-old Ailee was startled awake by a noise coming from above. She rubbed her weary eyes and silently made her way up the stairs as to not wake the pirates, who still slumbered in their living quarters.
The ship was still and as she reached the top deck, all was silent. Strange - she had heard a sound just now. In fact, it amazed her that it had woken nobody else.
Yawning, she turned and went to descend the stairs back to her bed. But before she could place her foot on the first step, the noise came again and louder this time. It was muffled like whatever was making the noise was inside something.
She followed the noise and came to a stop before some barrels, which were all piled up and some had come loose, as though something had knocked them over.
She soon found out that this something was really a someone.A boy to be exact.
With dishevelled green hair that came to just below his shoulders. Violet eyes that looked up at her with fear lingering behind them, and skin that was bruised and smeared with filth.
She almost recoiled from the smell, but being the polite and kind girl she was, she refrained from doing so.
Ailee smiled kindly down at the boy who seemed older than her by a few years and held out her hand in an attempt to help him stand. But this just caused him to flinch and cover his face with his arms.
Did he think she would hit him? Poor boy, she would never do such a thing. Conclusions began to form in her mind why he would act in such a way.
"Don't worry I won't hurt you, can you stand? I'm Ailee, why are you on my grandmother's ship?" Her soft voice seemed to ease his worries a bit, and he nodded slightly.
He clasped her still outstretched hand and shakily stood up.
Ailee barraged him with questions, and the boy just became more and more flustered. "Ah, don't worry about all that for now." She beamed at him and took his hand once again and pulled him towards the stairs. "For now you can sleep in my cabin, you must be tired right? I'll talk to grandmother in the morning. Don't worry, she may seem strict at first but she's actually genuinely nice."
She continued to drag the boy towards her cabin and the boy's lips pulled up at the corners in a small smile.
This was the first act of kindness that he would remember for a lifetime. And the girl who had pulled him out from the darkness.
☽
The door to the room that Yona and Yoon had previously exited still stood open, and Jae-Ha sighed in relief when he reached the room. As he entered, that relief turned to dread as he saw the battered and bruised girl who still sat slumped against the wall.
Ignoring the other girls' shocked expressions and murmurs he ran to (y/n), calling her name repeatedly and each time he would fail to receive a response. He gently pulled her close and arranged the jacket he had taken off just before, around her. He then clutched her to his chest as he moved out of the room.
This time it was his turn to save her; the girl who had saved him all those years ago.
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