thick as thieves || bts x mamamoo

twenty;

"Can't sleep?"

Yongsun startles at the sudden voice from behind her, gripping at the ship's taffrail lightly as she turns around. "Oh, Yoongi-ssi. You scared me. I'm rather surprised to see you still up this late."

"I could say the same about you." Bangtan's captain isn't that much taller than Yongsun, yet his imposing stance and quiet confidence manages to make her feel small nonetheless. She's never had a conversation alone with the man, a bit too intimidated by his character and presence to approach him for conversation like she can with Namjoon or Seokjin. "It's my turn to take the night shift. I didn't take you to be one for stargazing."

"It's one of Byulyi's favorite hobbies, so it ended up growing on me quite a bit over the years." Yongsun confesses with a soft smile. "Don't tell her I said this, but I'm still not quite sure what she finds so captivating about them that she can stare for hours upon end."

Yoongi chuckles. "Your secret is safe with me. Why is she not out here with you if she's so fond of the stars?"

"She volunteered to help watch the helm for tonight and let Taehyung get some rest." Yongsun runs a hand through her windswept hair to push it out of her face. "I couldn't fall asleep and decided to come outside to get some fresh air."

"You have trouble sleeping without Byulyi by your side." Yoongi's observation isn't a question, it's a statement. Namjoon has told her before that Bangtan's captain is on par with Byulyi when it comes to having a keen eye and making connections, but to immediately be able to see through her excuses like that...

"Only sometimes!" Yongsun insists, looking around as though afraid someone would show up any moment to overhear their discussion. The last thing she needs is for someone else to be worried about her and decide that she should be protected. She has to learn to stand on her own and become strong enough to fight by her friend's side. "It's not that bad, I promise. I always go to bed eventually after looking up at the stars."

Yoongi raises an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"B-Because," the woman stutters, looking rather sheepish but reminiscent all the same. "Back when Byulyi first started stealing from pirate ships, I was extremely against the idea. Before she set off for her first ever heist, she told me that if I ever missed her, I should just look up at the stars, and know that she would be doing the same because we all live under the same sky. Looking up at the stars back then reminded me that she would always return to my side no matter how far she might be at the moment."

"She-" Yoongi blinks in surprise. "She was pulling off heists even before you all met Hyejin and Wheein?"

"Without my permission, nonetheless," Yongsun huffs angrily at just the memory. "I woke up one morning to an empty house and a note of apology. I didn't speak to her for an entire week after she returned."

Yoongi snorts in amusement. "I can imagine. Byulyi noona seems to be quite the independent and free spirit. A very different upbringing from you, I'm assuming."

Yongsun lets out a sigh. "I was sheltered and pampered for most of my life. It wasn't until I tried to sneak off and explore the town and ended up getting kidnapped that my parents realized that I needed to learn how to defend and learn about the outside world as well."

Yoongi almost does a double take. "You were kidnapped?!"

Yongsun laughs, a soft but high pitched squeak that reminds him a bit of Seokjin's laugh. "That was actually how Byulyi and I met when we were young. We were locked up in the same room by a group of child traffickers. If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would even be here to tell the tale. I remember crying so much after being locked up, scared out of my mind, and she just comes up to me and tells me to stop crying, because apparently 'crying won't solve anything.'"