#hongbi

[soulist-aurora]

New Edition 09 015B, 홍비(Hongbi) - 과거의 오늘(#tb) Release Date: 2019. 3. 12

Album Cover Credits Photograph by Yeonjoong Kim (김연중) @yeonjoong_kim Artwork & Design by Hajin Bae(배하진)@hajinbae

[k-reativefantasies]

VIXX Adventures: Hongbin (Part 3)

Summary: In the midst of a pirate battle you start to wonder if Captain Hongbin is the pirate you really should be following as things start to get messy.

Word count: 2248

Note: Please Read Previous parts and Intro to VIXX Adventures first!

Intro// Part 1// Part 2

I gulped staring at the men now surrounding us. Somehow they looked more intimidating than Captain Hongbin’s men. We were definitely out numbered. There were more men on Captain Hongbin’s ship, but we had no way of actually communicating with them to get help. I looked to Captain Hongbin, hoping he knew what to do. I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance against anyone here.

“Captain Ailee,” Captain Hongbin said, his voice completely calm. I had no idea how he wasn’t panicking right now.

“Hongbin.” Captain Ailee nodded her head in acknowledgment. “It would appear that I have bested you once again.”

“That’s Captain Hongbin to you,” He corrected. Then he smirked. “And you haven’t won yet.”

Captain Ailee raised an eyebrow. “Oh, but I have you out numbered and surrounded. I highly doubt you’ll be able to get out of this one.” She gave him a wink.

I looked at Captain Ailee in awe. She had just as much confident as Captain Hongbin. She would need that sense of assurance as a female captain of a pirate ship. I wondered exactly how she got into that position. She must have proved herself somehow.

Captain Ailee caught my gaze as I was staring her. Her expression suddenly changed, as if she just saw something surprising. “Now who are you, lovely?” She gave me a warming smile, making me wish she was the captain who was assigned as my guide.

I started stepping forward and said, “I’m-”

“She’s of no importance,” Captain Hongbin quickly cut off while pushing me backwards.  

Captain Ailee ticked her tongue. “Now that’s no way to treat a woman. Come here, darling. Let me have a better look at you. I’m awfully curious as to why Hongbin has a woman with him.”

Captain Hongbin drew his sword and pointed it at Ailee’s throat. “Leave her out of this. It’s the treasure you want, right? Well, you can have it.”

In response to Captain Hongbin, all of Ailee’s men turned their attention to him.

“New objective: escape with the treasure.” My eyes widened with panic. I tried covering the watching, but it barely did anything to quiet the noise.”

Hongbin shot me a glare in response.  

Captain Ailee’s eyes fixated on my watch. Something seemed to spark within her. “Interesting.” Her lips curled into a devious smile. “I have my eyes on a new treasure.”  

My stomach churned with an uneasy feeling. While Captain Ailee seemed nice enough, the way she stared at me made me feel uncomfortable. It was almost as if she had seen a prize and was willing to do anything for it.

“I think it’s time we leave,” Captain Hongbin suggested. “Now men!”

Two of Captain Hongbin’s men grabbed the chest and shoved it towards Captain Ailee. Instead of attacking Captain Hongbin’s men, Captain Ailee’s men fled to her side in a protective manner. In the slight moment of chaos, Captain Hongbin grabbed my wrist and started pulling me away. The clinking of metal filled my ears as pirates started attacking pirates, and I wasn’t sure who was on what side anymore.

“What about the treasure?” I asked as Captain Hongbin pulled me away.

“Forget the treasure!” Captain Hongbin shouted. “That’s not important!”

“But I need to achieve my goal!” I didn’t know what would happen if I failed to achieve a mission. Maybe I would lose points and lower my rank. I didn’t want that to happen, because if I ended up with the lowest amount of points out of all of my friends, they would never let me down.

Captain Hongbin quickly pulled me off to the side. “Will you quit it with this stupid game already?”

“That’s the whole reason I’m here, and you can’t make me quit it.” I did my best to catch my breath between words. “I can’t believe they gave me such a horrible guide!”

Captain Hongbin’s face reddened in response to this. “That’s not what I meant. How can you be so ignorant? This isn’t a game.”

I was about to respond, but then Captain Hongbin pressed his hand over my mouth and pulled me behind a tree. I tried to wiggle free, tired of being around this captain, but he held his grip tight, not letting me budge.  

“Hold still,” Hongbin whispered in my ear. “I don’t want Captain Ailee’s men to find us.”

Footsteps plopped by us, making my heart race. I wasn’t sure who was supposed to be the bad guys in this case, but I’m sure Captain Ailee wasn’t happy with everything that just went down. Plus it was obvious that she and Captain Hongbin were some kind of enemies, and since I was associated with the latter, I’m sure that didn’t bode well for me.

When the footsteps fade, Hongbin asked in a hushed voice, “If I release you, will you shut up for just a minute while we get to safety?”

I nodded, ready to be out of the captain’s tight grip. He released me, and my first instinct was to yell at Captain Hongbin for holding me too tightly, but I quickly shut my mouth. Now was not the time to be sassy. Satisfied with my lack of words, the captain nodded. He reached gold into his boot and pulled out a gold sheathed dagger. He pressed it into my hands. “Keep this with you at all times. It might save your life.”

I looked down at the weapon and gulped. I had never stabbed anyone before, and I didn’t like the idea of needing to do it now, but this was a game after all. I had killed many of bad guys in videos games before and never felt a thing. This should be the same, except for the fact that this game felt just like everyday life. I really hoped I wouldn’t have to stab anyone—or worse kill them—but it was better to be safe. I tucked the blade into my boot and nodded a thanks.

“Now can you shut that thing up?” He glanced at my watch.

“I’ll try,” I whispered, feeling uneasy. I wish I had had more of a tutorial with the device before entering the game. Then I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed and ruined so many things. I poke at the screen, swiping it until I found a little gear symbol. I clicked on it and luckily there was a volume option. I lowered the volume to a vibrate option. I still wanted some sort of way to know when I got a new notification. “Happy?”

“That’s better at least. We should get going.” Captain Hongbin gestured for me to follow him. Unlike the hurry we were in before, we stepped carefully through the foliage, making as little noise as possible. The captain moved with grace, blending right in. I, on the other hand, kept accidentally stepping on fallen branches and bumping into things. This received me multiple dirty looks from the captain, which I tried to ignore. I was doing my best.  

Somehow we managed to make it to the tree line by the beach. We paused to make sure the coast was clear. I felt relieved seeing the boats, but then I got worried, wondering if we were going to just leave the others behind. “Are we going to wait for the others?”

Captain Hongbin didn’t take his eyes off the boats. “We can’t afford to. They are on their own now.”

I wanted to argue, but I knew it wasn’t my place. I didn’t like that the captain was so willing to leave his men behind, but surely he had good reasoning behind it. Logically I knew it wouldn’t be smart to wait for the others, especially since Captain Ailee out numbered us, but I still didn’t like it.  

My watch buzzed, bringing it to my attention. This was definitely much better. I glanced down at my new objective: Make it to safety.

Captain Hongbin motioned for us to move forward. He moved quickly and quietly. It was the last little stretch to safety and we had to get there before-

A hand pressed against my mouth as a beefy arm wrapped around my waist. I tried to call to Captain Hongbin for help, but I couldn’t make enough noise with my mouth covered. I just watched as he continued on without me, and I new I was screwed. I was pulled back into the trees, and I just hoped Captain Hongbin would notice my disappearance before it was too late. Then again, would he even care? He didn’t care if his own men didn’t make it to safety, so why would he care about me? I was the annoying chick that had been following him around all day, screwing things up every step I went.

I continued struggling against my captor, but it was useless. I was weak and pathetic, especially in comparison to these pirates. How was I supposed to do well in this game when I had no skills and no strength. I slowly stopped trying to escape, knowing it was futile anyway. I might as well save my energy for a possible escape later. Instead I tried paying attention to where I was being taken, but that was also difficult with all of the plants and trees looking the same. There were very few indicators that actually looked unique to me. The only thing that stood out was a rock that looked like a grumpy old man.

We went deeper and deeper into the forest until we reached a tall fence of some sort. The man rapped on the wood in a specific pattern. After a moment, a door that I hadn’t even seen opened. My watch buzzed again: Mission Failed. I was dragged into this camp and brought to what seemed like the center of it. The pirate holding me threw me to the ground, and I fell to my knees.

When I looked up, Captain Ailee was sitting in a large gold covered chair with her legs draped over the arm of the chair. Jewels accented the chair, and it looked more magnificent than any royal chair I have ever imagined before. Captain Ailee definitely lived in luxury.

Captain Ailee turned her head and gave me a heartwarming smile. “Welcome to my humble abode.” She swung her legs in front of her and stood up. “I apologize for the rough nature you were brought here, but I wasn’t sure if you would come willingly with that heathen, Hongbin, influencing you.”

I stood up and brushed myself off. Without thinking, I said, “Captain Hongbin.”

Captain Ailee’s eye twitched in response, but she quickly brushed it off. “Yes, yes. Look, I know you don’t know me and don’t have a reason to trust me, but I promise I don’t plan on hurting you.”

“Then why did you being me here?” It was hard to keep the rudeness out of my voice.

Captain Ailee was very tolerating of my attitude. “I know you must be feeling out of place here. You’re in a world of pirates, a world of men, and you probably feel like you have no power.” She paused, watching my expression.

It was almost scary how on point she was. Maybe I did judge Captain Ailee too quickly. She was a woman in this crazy world. Of course she would have to be fierce to survive. “But how…” My voice trailed off. I didn’t even know what to ask.

“I was just like you. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be the helpless one, so I changed that. And I can teach you how to have a power of your own. Please, call me Ailee.” She moved closer to me and smiled again. Seeing Ailee in this way completely changed my view of her. She seemed a lot more understanding and kind than I realized. It made me wonder why she and Captain Hongbin hated each other so much. Was I on the wrong side of things, or was there something Ailee was hiding from me?

“My name is Karina.” I smiled, but my smile quickly faded. “So you want to teach me to become more powerful?”

“I want to help you reach your full potential and thrive in the world of pirates, instead of drowning.” Ailee moved a little closer to me and smirked.  

“What’s the catch?” It couldn’t be as easy as this, could it?

Ailee tilted her head. “What makes you think there’s a catch?”

“There’s always a catch. Most people don’t just help others without getting something in return.”

Ailee chucked. “You’re a smart girl. There is something I want in return.” Her eyes lowered to my watch, and something in her gaze turned sinister. “I need your help with a little task.”

My watch vibrated again. It read: Stop Captain Ailee from finding the real treasure.

“So what do you say? Partners?” Ailee asked.

I hesitated. I felt like my mission was so vague. What was this “real” treasure was, and why was it a bad thing for Ailee to find it. Would Ailee really help me, or would she betray me? Was there a plot line to this game? Because if there was, I still had no idea what it was. There was only one way to find out all of this information though. “Partners,” I agreed with a smile, hoping this wouldn’t bite me in the butt later.

-Admin Eri XD

[for-lr]

@_AndVIXX

[neo90liners]

Cr. hyuk_kumachan                

[leo-nardo-di-taekwoon]

God i miss hyukbin so much it's not even funny anymore

[for-lr]

[neo90liners]

Cr. MY SOUL TO TAEK

[dworkinette]

love love love her voice