Timeless | Y.Jw

"We need to sail a bit more south. Last time we encountered Harpies up north," Jungwon reminded and Jake immediately nodded before rushing down along the ship to change their course to be more south than it already was.

"We're already miles south of the Harpy territory," Sunghoon pointed out calmly from Jungwon's side.

"I'm not taking any chances. I'm going home," Jungwon shrugged and leaned his arms on the railing in front of him. Just barely able to trace the silhouette of Andros' mountains on the horizon. 

"We all are," Sunghoon pointed out and Jungwon nodded quietly, "you know... you're not the only one with people waiting for you at home."

"Many men have children and wives," Jungwon nodded calmly.

"That's not what I mean," Sunghoon casually excused and Jungwon turned his head towards him, "Jake and I have someone waiting for us too... we hope."

"You never speak of-" Jungwon started.

"I know," Sunghoon hummed with a small knowing smirk on his face, "you're too caught up in your efforts to get back to the princess. We don't want to be... complaining too."

"I'm not complaining," Jungwon pointed out and Sunghoon only quirked a brow at his captain, "I'm not."

"You could be far worse," Sunghoon simply nodded.

"You have someone waiting for you?" Jungwon questioned and Sunghoon let out a small chuckle, glanced down and looked up to the horizon again before nodding, "Who? Tell me about her."

"Her name's Soomin," Sunghoon shrugged, "I went to the war late. We were eighteen when I left. I only fought in the war for one year... and yeah..."

"You were married," Jungwon realised.

"No, not at all," Sunghoon murmured before letting out a small laugh and brushing a bit of his hair away, "we wanted to. We've always been neighbours at the foot of the mountain. She started off by watching me herd my dad's sheep up the mountain every morning, and then, eventually, she started waiting for me in the evenings when I returned from the mountain. She'd have a bowl of apples for me ready. Then she started meeting me in the mornings, giving me a basket of apples with me up the mountain. I'd hand her back the basket in the evening and... the last two years before the war she began hiking up the mountain with me. Yeah..."

"Then why'd you go into the war?" Jungwon frowned.

"Why did you?" Sunghoon smirked and looked over at Jungwon.

"It was expected I suppose," Jungwon shrugged.

"I needed the money," Sunghoon excused, "we wanted to get married. Talked about it all the time up on the mountain. I needed the money to compete with other interested suitors. They were trying to buy their way with her father."

"Is she still waiting for you?"

"I don't know... I fear she's pregnant by the time I get back," Sunghoon chuckled sullenly to himself before slowly letting his smile falter, "I know nothing. In my head, she's still eighteen, but I know she'll be a proper woman when I return. It's weird, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," Jungwon hummed with a tired look on his face.

"Jake has someone waiting for him too," Sunghoon pointed out, "a weaver."

"I never knew," Jungwon muttered.

"You'd know if you ever slept beside him. Talks about her in his sleep," Sunghoon chuckled and shook his head in disbelief once he crossed his arms over his chest.

They stood in silence. Sunghoon with a permanent small smile on his face. Quietly reminiscing all those days on the mountain. Jungwon deep in thought, he never would've guessed that some of his men had people waiting impatiently for them as well. Quietly he wondered if all those women were in the same position Jiyeon sounded to be in by the messages he got from Hermes - and all the extra information he got because the god simply couldn't keep his mouth shut.

The waves started increasing in force against the side of the ship, but no one seemed to notice. Not even Jungwon, who was staring down at them while he found himself lost in his own head. It came to a point where the waves were carrying them up and down in an irregular and odd rhythm. Dark clouds neared on the horizon.

"It looks bad, doesn't it?" Jake eventually questioned and pulled Jungwon out of his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"The clouds. Look kinda bad, don't they? Just me?" Jake questioned and Jungwon looked up at them. If it hadn't been for the countless years on the sea trying to get back home, Jungwon would've been laughing his head off.

"You're kidding me..." Jungwon murmured as they neared the clouds that almost had turned a shade of black.

"Don't you sailors ever learn?" a hollow voice rung out over the waves and Jungwon immediately straightened up, "you want to be good so bad that you only become mediocre."

"Poseidon..."

"Poseidon?" Sunghoon questioned and snapped his head to look at his captain, who straightened up and scanned the waves in front of them.

"Mad at me," Jungwon murmured and frowned down at the waves, trying to see if he could catch sight of the god.

"Mad? I'm livid!" the voice boomed.

The men on board flinched and started looking around in confusion, searching for the source of the yell. Jungwon only closed his eyes and pursed his lips.

"We're gonna get delayed," Jake murmured in realisation.

"A year probably," Jungwon hummed.

"A year?" Sunghoon exclaimed.

"If you're so mad at me Poseidon, why are you hiding among the waves?" Jungwon yelled out with a tired look on his face, "How do I repay your anger?"

"You'll pay until the day you die."

"I'm sure I will..." Jungwon murmured and rubbed his forehead.

"You want to get home so bad... but no mortal can pass my storm," the booming voice continued.

"He sounds like some mad teenager, doesn't he?" Sunghoon whispered and Jungwon only nodded in return.

"WHAT?"

"Nothing! Just get it over with already," Jungwon complained, "I start to think you're too much of a coward to punish me already. It's Charybdis, isn't it?"

"Coward? You'll never get home if it's up to me!"

Abruptly a large wave had risen in the horizon, blocking Andros from their view. The clouds had tightened above and everything became like night.

"Grab onto the railing!" Jungwon had yelled out to his crew.

Impatiently they all waited for the wave to hit, and when it did it drenched every bit of the ship. Sending them off in such a distance and direction that it would make it difficult to get back on track towards Andros any time soon.

"I didn't know a god could be so... unscary!" Jake yelled over the loud splashing of the waves around them.

"It almost sounded like he was reading up from a script, didn't it?" Sunghoon agreed loudly.

The three immediately shared glances before letting out small laughs. Finding the awkward intimidation by the god hilarious to them. They weren't even bothered by where the waves were carrying them - perhaps it was because another hour would pass before the ship was roughly pushed up onto the sandy beach of an empty island. Here they'd discover about forty of the men in the crew had grabbed onto their oars instead of the railing and had been pulled away along with half a broken oar when the water had hit them.