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Chapter Text

A pirate captain, that is what Hongjoong used to be, but what is a captain without his crew?

Hongjoong couldn’t stop repeating last night’s event in his head. Memories of horror were coming back to his mind every seconds, the cold bodies of his crew mates laying on the floor, covered in blood. Those he once had loved, not breathing anymore.

They were dead. All dead. And because of him.

The feeling of guilt made him sick. If only he hadn’t ordered them to steal their enemies’ s treasure. If only he had been strong enough to protect them, to protect the love of his life.

Suddenly, Seonghwa’s last words came back to him. ”Hongjoong, promise me that you will survive. Promise me that you will live for us. Please.” Were the last things he said before his heart stopped beating.

But how could he continue to live without his only reason to?

The Cromer.

He would use it to get is life back at any cost.

Chapter Text

Hongjoong woke up in a soft bed late in the morning. He recalled what happened last night. How he used the Cromer to turn back time. And it seemed like it did. He could hear Yunho and Wooyoung playing a game outside. More like Wooyoung screaming at Yunho, like he always does.

Hongjoong almost cried realizing everything was back to normal. Or so he thought.

When he stepped out of his quarters, he was immediately greeted by everyone.

“Look who’s awake!” Exclaimed Yeosang “We already ate breakfast, but you can eat what’s left.
I don’t think it’s still hot thought”

The captain couldn’t move. Those he thought he had lost were standing right before him, happy and alive. He couldn’t help but smile and tears of joy were falling on his cheeks.

The pirates were confused by the sudden crying. Their captain never cry, in fear of being called weak. As confused as they were, none of them pulled away when Hongjoong gave them a big hug.

“Are you ok, cap?” Mingi asked concerned. Why the hell would their captain give them a hug while crying for no reason ?

Hongjoong pulled away, getting himself together. “Don’t worry, Mingi. I’m just happy to see all seven of you happy together.”

They all looked at each other even more confused than before. “What do you mean, seven?
We’re only six, seven with you.” Jongho asked.

It was now Hongjoong’s turn to be confused. “No, we’re eight in the team. You, Wooyoung, Yunho, Mingi, San, Yeaosang and Hwa.”

“Who is Hwa?” San asked. Was their captain really losing his mind?

“Seonghwa!” The pirate exclaimed. “He’s right there-” While saying that he realized that Seonghwa wasn’t with them.

“there is no one called “Seonghwa” in on our ship, are you still sleeping?” Yunho said half-joking.

Hongjoong was in disbelief. How could they forget Seonghwa? After all he did for the crew…then, the obvious truth hit him hard: The reason why his Seonghwa isn’t there is because, in this reality, he isn’t a pirate. Who knows if he even exists? 

The pirate captain rushed back to his quarters, searching for the Cromer in order to get his reality back. He was only supposed to turn back time, not accidentally change the entire reality!

He looked everywhere. Under everything, inside the blankets, he even checked the ceiling just in case, but couldn’t find anything.

He turned around to see the others looking at him concerned. With panic in his voice, he asked them where was the Cromer.

 “Are you crazy? I thought we all agreed to never use it again after the incident…” Wooyoung told him in shock.

“No you guys don’t understand! I made a mistake.”

“Hongjoong, there is no mistakes that deserve to be fix with that. Tell us what it is and we will find a way to work it out together.” Yeosang said.

Another thought crossed Hongjoong’s mind: what if they hate him when he tells them the truth? What if they leave him by himself with no chances of everything going back to normal? He should keep his secret until he finds the Cromer.

The captain took a deep breath. “You’re right Yeosang. I can fix this by myself. No need to worry about it anymore!” He faked a smile and told his crew to go do their jobs.

“That’s not what I meant-” Hongjoong glared at him. “forget about that…” Yeosang laughed awkwardly. He values his life, after all.

Hongjoong closed the door when everyone exited. He sat with his back leaning on it, thinking about everything that just happened. Who knows if he would ever see Seonghwa again?

Just the thought made him desperate. He will have to find him. He could be anywhere. And, even he did actually find him, he had to make him fall in love with him all over again.

Hongjoong shook his head. He had no time to think about all of that. For now, he had his new crew mates to take care of. Even if they are not the same, they’re still his family and that won’t change no matter what.

The captain joined his crew on the deck. The boys weren’t so different after all. Wooyoung was annoying San, Yunho was dancing with Mingi instead of doing his chores, Jongho was singing while watching the sea and Yeosang was actually doing his job.

“Alright everyone. We got things to do today. Can someone tell me what’s our next destination?” Hongjoong shouted so San and Wooyoung could hear him clearly.

Jongho immediately answered as he was the one sail the boat. “We are going to Aurora, the royal city. It’s really crowded as the crown prince will soon become king. Perfect occasion to infiltrate it. If everything goes well we will be there in two days.”

A really crowded place. Hongjoong might have a chance to find his love in this Aurora city he never heard of.

“Thanks, Jongho. I suggest we go to the coronation, who knows what we will find? I’m sure plenty of rich people will attend it.”

The captain’s crew mates nodded.

“For now, all we can do is wait until we see the land. Does anybody have any suggestions?”

A collective “No!” was heard and just like that everyone went back on their usual routine.

Hongjoong had the feeling that those two days were going to be long.

Chapter Text

It’s with no surprise that the crew handled the travel with ease. In the meantime, Hongjoong began to accommodate to this new way of life. Even though he couldn’t pass a single minute without thinking about his missing lover.

The possibilities were endless. Seonghwa could either be a peasant or a king, and anything in between, really. Hongjoong didn’t mind any of them, as long as he was alive and well… that he’d hope for.

He just couldn’t grasp the fact that the aura of everyone was the same, yet so different.

His eyes sure opened wide when he saw the land! He let out a gasp at the sight of such a colourful landscape. There were flying creatures he couldn’t quite identify, and they were all guarding this beautiful palace.
The white and gold structure really stood out. He could see multiple side-towers, all connected to the central and biggest tower.

"I see land!" Mingi exclaimed, looking back at his companions. Screams of excitement and joy could be heard.

Hongjoong commanded everyone to prepare for boarding. Soon enough, their ship stopped and the 7 men stepped on the ground.

"There sure is a lot of people here!" San affirmed. While everyone just chatted about the new city, Yeosang was leading with Hongjoong. "You know, captain, we haven’t talked about that in the past two days… But I am kinda worried about you. It seems like there is something on your mind."

The blue haired man didn’t know how to react. He had two choices: he lied and said that everything is fine, or he hid the truth, but admitted to feeling uneasy.
He really did trust Yeosang, so he chose the second option.

"You’re right! There is something that’s been bothering me lately… I’ll have to find the right place and time to tell it to the crew. Thanks for caring"

Yeosang understood him. He had always been the rational and kind type. Hongjoong really valued him as a confident.

Time skip

After a few hours of wandering around and studying Aurora, the team was finally ready to attend the prestigious event that is the prince’s coronation.

Their plan was to get in, steal as much as they possibly could from the rich and run back to their ship right after. Yunho and Jongho had been working on the escape plan since they arrived. Every details were thought of, they were professionals after all!

With the captain in front and San at the back, they passed threw security effortlessly. The coronation would start in an hour. They separated in 3 groups to have a better chance of finding valuables.

Hongjoong stayed in the middle front of the audience with Yunho and Mingi. They had been quite unlucky so far, only being able to grab 3 small jewels and a small amount of money. The trio hoped for better luck once everyone was distracted by the prince of Aurora.

A stranger caught hongjoong’s attention "I heard that the Park son had a huge argument with the king and queen not so long ago"
The Park son? Park was a fairly popular name back in his old reality, but was it the same here?

Park Seonghwa…

Out of curiosity the captain asked the woman "May I ask, beautiful, what’s the Prince’s full name?". The lady replied, obviously seduced by him. "Oh! You must be from another country! His name is Park Seonghwa-"

PARK SEONGHWA

Hongjoong gasped audibly at the mention. His thoughts were proceeding faster than he could even comprehend.
He stood there completely frozen. The tall lady noticed her necklace hanging from his hand, "Thief!" She screamed.

Oh shit. Hongjoong had to think fast, otherwise he would ruin their mission.
Mingi and Yunho hurried to handle the situation.

"I am incredibly sorry for the inconvenience m’lady. You see, my brother has a tendency to take peoples jewels without asking. He’s just so fascinated about gold and diamonds!" The tallest reassured.

Yunho had an incredible way of talking through difficult situations. It always came in handy.

Hongjoong added to the lie "Oh yes. Really sorry! I am a jeweller and I couldn’t help but notice that splendid opal. I am curious, how much did that cost you?"

The lady was offended and walked away, snatching her necklace from the captain’s hand.

"That was a close call!" Exclaimed Mingi, "Thank goodness Yunho handled that perfectly" "Of course, friend." He replied. "But You-" he said while glaring at the blue head, "you have to be more careful! What’s wrong with you these days?!"

Hongjoong swallowed. He really had to tell them, he thought. For Seonghwa… If he had their help, he could for sure find a way to sneak up and get him back to where he really belongs.

With him.

He lowered his head and began to explain the whole story. The duo listened- Of course all that the captain was saying were bad jokes! There is no way in hell that THE Park Seonghwa could ever fit in their team.

"Are you even hearing what you’re saying?" "It’s impossible! Seonghwa is a royal, he’s the worst! Don’t you remember what his parents did to yours?" Yunho asked, concerned.

"No I don’t, because I don’t belong here!"
Hongjoong replied. "It pains me to tell you such things. All I’ve ever been was selfish…"

"But, admitting you aren’t playing, what happened to OUR Hongjoong?" Mingi questioned.

Oh. He never thought about that.

"I don’t know! I don’t know anything anymore! I’ve made a huge mistake, that’s for sure." He cried out.

The trio stood in a loud silence. The two tallest exchanged a look and nodded in agreement.

Yunho grinned slightly "Okay, captain form another dimension. You might just be sincere. Mingi and I will help you, but promise us to be honest with the others as well"

Hongjoong looked up at them with his puffy eyes. "Thank you." That’s all he managed to say.

Suddenly, everyone crowded around them. He heard voices saying that the coronation was delayed due to pirates roaming around in the crowd. An hour, they said.

"Have you heard of The Wonderland’s pirate crew?" Whispered a few strangers.