pirate king (pirate!au) ➵ ateez ✔️

reflection

You haven't left the infirmary for a whole day.

"Ahhhh!" You shriek into your pillow for the fiftieth-something time that day, burying your face in the soft down, fingers winding into the sheets. "Ahhh!"

There's an amused chuckle from somewhere in the room, and soft footsteps draw closer. The mattress of your bed sinks lightly from the added weight before a hand comes to rest on your head, gentle and comforting.

"What's going on with you?" San's light voice is full of amusement, and you peek out from under the covers to see your master sitting cross legged on your bed, teasing smile on his face. "You've been holed up in here for a whole day now. Don't you think that you should go explore the town a bit before the Treasure leaves Tortuga? Did something go wrong when you tried to give Hongjoong the jacket?"

Instantly, your mouth twists into a pout and you bury your face into the pillow once more with a tiny, muffled scream. Your cheeks burn, and the image of Hongjoong looking at you with such tenderness in his eyes resurfaces at your master's mention only serves to addle your mind further.

"Please shut up for a second, master." You groan into the pillow, refusing to look up. San snickers, but then in the next second he gasps. "Wait, didn't you mean to give him that handmade jacket? Did he reject it? I'll beat up the ungrateful little bastard, why he-"

"No, no, master!" You catch his arm before he can march out of the infirmary. "He didn't reject it, I did give it to him and he accepted it. It's just that..." you hesitate for a moment, the words rolling about in your mouth. "It's just that, well, captain... he..."

San stares back at you, unblinking. "He...?"

You bury your face in your hands. For some reason, the tips of your ears feel like they're on fire. You try to speak, and the words come out a mangled mess - almost as bad as Mingi's attempts at cooking.

"Words." San encourages. "You know, with consonants and vowels. Using the mouth might be helpful."

You make an unintelligible noise and launch your pillow in his direction. There's a satisfying "oompf", but the downside is that you've lost your only shield between the two of you.

San grins. "So?"

"Well," you pause, trying to find words more eloquent within your choices and resulting with none. "He... confessed."

Good job, Chin Hae! Your inner self cheers, full of pride. That's was a full sentence!

Your master stills for a moment, pulling the pillow off his head. The previously amused expression he was wearing on his face morphs into one of concern as he looks at you. "Oh. Oh."

You're stunned for a moment, staring at your master. "I would have expected you to be a little more surprised. Do you mean you actually knew about this?"

​San's expression softens, eyes pained, before his fingers come up to poke you in the nose. "You'd be surprised how dense you can be sometimes, Chin Hae. That's not good for you, you know."

Your lips purse as you pick at the ends of the threads of your blanket. "What am I supposed to do, master? Wooyoung too, both of them... I rejected them both, but still... it hurts..."

There's a soft exhale that leaves your master, that lingers in the air, still in the silence before he speaks. "Only you can decide that for yourself, Chin Hae." When you look up at him, he puts his hand on your head with a painfully gentle smile. "I promised to do my best to help you find a cure, but I won't give either of us false hope - there is every possibility you might die. Since this concerns you and the two of them, you have to make the choice yourself."