Chapter Text
In hindsight, Bambam knew he would regret stealing the ship, except...
He thought that regret would come only after being caught by either Jabeum or Amber (he wasn't sure who was the worse option).
But no.
Much to his dismay, just 48 hours after making their getaway, Yugyeom steered them into a storm, and they were lost.
In the middle of the fucking sea.
"You are seriously the worst captain ever," Yugyeom muttered, "no wonder Jackson made Jinyoung his first mate instead of you."
They were laying spread-eagled on the main deck, stretched in opposite directions, with their heads next to each other, staring up at the cloudless sky.
There was nothing else to do — their main mast was damaged in the storm, so they were sitting ducks. Floating adrift until they either died of starvation or were picked up by another ship. Or hit land. Which Bambam hadn't seen since they left port.
"At least I know not to steer a ship into a typhoon," he retorted.
Bambam calculated that they had about a week to live on the supplies they had. After that...well, neither of them knew how to fish, so their only chance was for someone to find them — even if it was Amber or Jaebum (though the probability of survival dropped significantly).
Nora prowled around them, as if determining who she would eat first should one of them perish. Because there was no way she was going be the first to go.
Bambam watched as she passed, then went back to staring at the sky.
Stealing the ship really hadn't been his most brilliant idea. He blamed Yugyeom. And soju.
Definitely soju.
And maybe he shouldn't have been bragging about the time he and Jackson stole Jaebum's ship.
"You totally couldn't pull it off again," Yugyeom had challenged, "especially without Jackson."
Well, he thought weakly, at least they managed to steal the ship. While drunk. That was an accomplishment.
He hadn't really planned what they were going to do after.
The sun was warm on his face, and the light sea breeze brought in a smell that only sailors knew — one of salt, water, and peace. He started to drift off, oddly content, simply laying there with no other sounds than the creaking of the ship and the waves crashing against its side.
"How did you and Jackson meet, anyway?" Yugyeom asked suddenly, breaking the silence.
Eyes still closed, Bambam mumbled, "hm?"
"You and Jackson..."
He thought back to the time he met Jackson — he was 14, and had been in Korea for only a year...
— Four Years Ago —
"Stop! Thief!"
Bambam sprinted through the crowded market as fast as he could, knocking into men, women, and even barreling into a cart full of foul smelling rotted fruit.
"SORRY!" he shouted over his shoulder as apples, pears, persimmons, and other spoiled produce scattered across the street.
Sweat trickled down his forehead and his long hair clung to the back of his neck. Clutched in his hand was a black leather eyepatch he had been admiring for weeks, but had no money to purchase. He waited for the seller to turn away, then snatched it.
Bambam was used to this — stealing and being chased. He'd only ever been caught once. It was how he ended up with a blind left eye. But how else was he supposed to survive in Korea? Even as a servant, his pay was barely enough to afford the jipsin on his feet.
He skidded around the corner, down another narrow street, and collided into a young man, who shouted in surprise. They fell and Bambam landed on top of him.
"S-sorry!" he scrambled up again and tried to run, but in front of him were three patrolmen blocking his path.
He backed up to retreat the other way, but the owner blocked the other side, with another patrolman standing next to him.
"There—" he gasped, hunched over and clutching a stitch in his side, "—that's the thief!"
Bambam backed up and bumped into the man he knocked down, the eyepatch still clutched tightly in his hand.
"Is there something wrong?" the man asked.
The owner pointed his finger at Bambam. "That Thai brat stole from me!"
The man looked down at him as the patrolmen closed in. He was clad in all black from his boots to his jacket all the way to the black feather in his tricorn hat. He raised an eyebrow, and Bambam shrunk back.
"This?" he asked, taking the eyepatch from Bambam's hand and looking at the owner. "How much?"
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled a leather pouch from inside his jacket and took out several coins. "This should be enough, yeah?" he said, forcing the coins into the merchant's hands.
Bambam watched, awestruck, as the man and the patrolmen threw him one last dirty look and disappeared back into the crowd. He turned and bowed deeply to the mysterious man.
"T-thank you," he mumbled.
The man placed his hands on his shoulders and forced him to straighten. With a kind smile, he handed back the eyepatch and ruffled his hair.
"It's no big deal...just don't get caught next time," he winked, and then strode off without offering his name.
— Present Day —
"You're saying Jackson bought you an eyepatch so you decided to sneak onto his ship?" Yugeyom asked, sounding skeptical.
Bambam shrugged. "It was pretty obvious he was a pirate. No one else in the markets dress like that...all I had to do was follow him back to his ship and wait until it was clear so I could sneak on."
"And he just let you."
"Well..." he frowned thoughtfully at the sky, "not really...I hid behind a rum barrel until we were far enough out to sea...then when he found me, he tried to throw me overboard a few times...the one time he actually did, he rescued me."
Yugyeom snorted and shook his head. "Mental."
Bambam propped himself on his elbow and twisted around to look at Yugyeom. "How did you end up with the Tuans anyway?"
Yugyeom grinned.
"They bought me..." he paused, "well...Mark did."