Finding Home for everyone
Title: Finding Home
For: everyone
Pairing: gen, ot7
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 7.5k
Summary: How the seven members of the Nillili Mambo found home. [Firefly AU]
[one]
“She’s called the Nillili Mambo, isn’t she perfect?” Jiho grinned widely as Kyung blinked in shock, and not the good kind of shock either.
Woo Jiho was an artist, but sometimes Kyung didn’t understand what that artist mind entailed. What Jiho was calling perfect, an unstylish, outdated Firefly class ship, was in Kyung’s eyes a heap of trash. It would be worth more to get it scrapped. “Haha that’s the funniest thing you’ve said in a long time,” Kyung said.
Jiho scowled at him. “Just wait until you see inside.”
It seemed doubtful that the inside of the ship would change Kyung’s mind about it, but he shrugged. It was good to see Jiho fired up about something again. Ever since the Alliance had enforced its censor on freedom of expression, Jiho had been locked up in a metaphorical cell. Nothing could hold Jiho back for long, though, and soon he was back, leaving his mark and never looking back. “So what does the name mean?”
“Nillili Mambo?” Jiho skimmed his fingers along the inner corridor as they walked through it. “It’s an ancient phrase from Earth That Was. It was something to bring in energy and excitement.” He stopped and met Kyung’s eyes and there was the old Jiho, undefeated and unstoppable. “I told you, perfect, right?”
Kyung looked at the worn walls and scuffed metal grating floors of the vessel. It was far from the perfection Jiho saw, but Kyung found himself reluctantly admitting it felt right. Like he could call it home. “Whatever you say.”
Jiho slung his arm over Kyung’s shoulders as they walked towards the control room. “Hey, I’m your captain now.
“So you want me to call you captain or something?” Kyung snorted. He had known Jiho too long for Jiho to be pulling these kinds of stunts.
“Yup,” Jiho said. “Now do you know how to pilot a ship?”
“What?” Kyung shook his head. It was a good thing he was smart, unlike a certain captain. “How’d you even convince the guy to sell it to you?”
“He was more than happy to get this out of his hands,” Jiho said. No surprise there. He threw something at Kyung. “Catch.”
Kyung caught something jingly, an ignition key-those were vintage. He arched his eyebrows at Jiho. “You trust me with this?”
Jiho nodded, impatient. “Get this bird up in the air.”
Kyung found the place to put the key and turned it. The engine sputtered to life.
Jiho let out a whoop. “Let’s go!”
“Where to?”
“Anywhere,” Jiho said. Not helpful at all.
Energy and excitement, huh. Jiho was right. It was perfect.
[two]
Minhyuk prepared to land the delivery shuttle, holding back a yawn. It was his last run of the day and he could finally go home and sleep. It was hard work, but it paid the bills.
He was really looking forward to his bed after a long day, but at his doorstep he ran into the last people he expected in his modest Alliance town: Jiho and Kyung. He hadn’t seen either of them since they left the planet.
“What brings you here?” he asked warily.
“Jiho just bought a ship and can’t fly it,” Kyung said. That sounded exactly like something Jiho would do. “And I heard you fly ships now.”
“And you want me to fly your ship.” Minhyuk said.
“Do you have anything better to do?” Jiho asked. Jiho had a point. It wasn’t like Minhyuk had any family to keep him there.
“What’s your plan?”
Jiho shrugged. “Make some delivery runs, earn enough to get by, maybe help out some of the non-Alliance planets along the way.”
Minhyuk didn’t have much reason to leave when Jiho had first tried to convince him, but when he couldn’t afford to keep his mother in the hospital and the Alliance didn’t help, he realized that Jiho had been right about the system. He had more of a bone to pick with them. “Okay,” he said.
“Okay?” Jiho asked.
“Yeah, okay,” Minhyuk said, holding his hand out for keys.
Jiho placed them in his hands. He grinned in the way Minhyuk had come to associate with trouble. “Welcome to the Nillili Mambo.”
[three]
Yukwon was in a bad situation. He had been trying to steal a load of cargo from a ship when the ship just up and left. He was starting to get a bit nauseous in the dark space, and he couldn’t think of any good ways out.
Before Yukwon could weigh the pros and cons of revealing himself, the cargo hold opened and somebody walked in. As soon as the crew member met eyes with Yukwon, he let out a hilarious scream.
Well, it would have been hilarious if Yukwon weren’t being caught red-handed.
Yukwon sighed and pointed his gun at the person who found him.
“You don’t want to do that,” the guy said, holding up his hands.
Yukwon took that opportunity to knock the guy to the ground and incapacitate his hands, bringing the gun to the guy’s cucumber-shaped head. “Why not?”
“How much are they offering you?” his host asked. “A room? Food?”
Yukwon hesitated. “Nothing,” he said.
“What, room and board is minimum!” his captive said. “You’re pretty good with a gun, we could probably get you more.
Yukwon didn’t know much about how the mercenary business worked. He just did what kept his belly full. He wanted to listen to cucumber head but he didn’t think the guy was very trustworthy-looking. Cucumber head’s features were unnaturally big and open, which gave Yukwon the impression that he was being lured into a trap. He shrugged.
“How much do you get paid for cargo?”
“14 creds.”
“If you let us hire you we’ll give you room and board, food, and a cut of the cargo,” the guy said, “and by the way, you’re being ripped off.”
Yukwon frowned. He shouldn’t be listening to that guy, 14 creds was a lot. But his own room, and food whenever? “How do I join?”
“For starters, let me go and put that gun away.”
Yukwon hesitated. Well, it wasn’t like he wanted to shoot cucumber head anyway. He obeyed.
While the guy had been wilted a moment before, he jumped up energetically now. “I’m Park Kyung, by the way.
“Kim Yukwon.”
“Follow me, Yukwon,” Kyung said, and led him down the hallway. “Here’s an empty room, it’s yours if you say yes.”
Yukwon tried not to be too wide-eyed when he realized that the entire room could be his. And it could be all at a single word? “Yes.”
“Aight!” Kyung grinned. “Welcome to the Nillili Mambo.”
[four]
Jihoon knew what the others said about him. That he spent all his time screwing robots instead of girls. So what if that was true? He didn’t see anything admirable about putting screws in those nice noonas who always tried to tuck extra goodies in his bags when he went shopping.
So even though it hurt, he ignored the side-eyed glances and condescending whispers and continued doing what he did best, tinkering with any mechanic parts he could get his hands are. He would be darned if the screws that held his electronics together would serve better use in women.
He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t realize he was late, and he forgot to prepare himself for his arrival to work.
“Jihoon, you had an appointment half an hour ago and I had to cover it,” Minho, his boss and one of his few friends, said as soon as he walked into the door.
It took Jihoon a while to realize the situation since Muji, their dog, jumped on him. Muji had been born without front legs and Jihoon made him little prosthetic ones. Muji loved them, but metal was heavy and bruised Jihoon’s shins.
“Pyo Jihoon!”
“Ah, sorry,” he said, wincing. It was the third time he’d missed an appointment this month already and the month wasn’t even half over.
Minho sighed. “Well, you can just cover my shift now. Actually, you’d probably find it interesting,” he said, leading Jihoon towards the station where he would service. “Here we are.”
It was love at first sight. The ship was an old Firefly class model and although there were much newer, faster, sleeker, fancier ships, this one told a story.
“Minho!” A voice from the ship rang out.
“Jiho?” Minho’s reply was a little unsure.
“Minho, don’t be shy,” the guy who emerged from the ship said. He opened his arms to embrace Minho. “We’re brothers, aren’t we?”
Minho laughed and returned the embrace. “Of course.” When they separated, Minho turned towards Jihoon. “This is Jihoon, your ship will be in good hands.”
Jihoon bowed towards Jiho and smiled, pointing at Jiho’s ship. “She’s beautiful. What’s her name?”
As if they had reached some silent understanding, Jiho smiled back. “The Nillili Mambo. It means to bring excitement.”
What an apt name; Jihoon already felt the excitement bubble from his belly. It had been a while since he had gotten such an interesting job. Normally it was quick rail changes on shuttle cars or other boring things.
“We’re gonna go run a few errands,” Jiho said. “Park Kyung’s still inside.”
“She’ll be ready when you get back,” Jihoon assured him as his party left.
“They’re old friends of mine,” Minho said when they were gone. He smiled. “Jiho rebelled against the Alliance and I stayed. I’m glad to see he’s doing well.”
Jihoon nodded, not really knowing why. Somehow, just by the feeling the Nillili Mambo gave off, Jihoon could feel the warmth that filled the ship on a regular basis.
He couldn’t help feeling a little jealous as he brought his tool box into the ship’s engine room. Muji followed him good naturedly, and Jihoon resisted the urge to chase Muji down the halls. He was there to fix the ship and nothing else.
*
Jihoon was in the bay organizing his tools when the others came back. They seemed to be in a rush.
“We’ve gotta go,” Jiho said.
Jihoon moved a struggling Muji from his lap. “Can’t I stay here a bit longer?”
“Whatever floats your ship,” Jiho said. “We need somebody to take care of the Nillili Mambo anyway.”
“What?”
“Make your decision, we’re leaving,” Jiho said. “Minhyuk, fire it up,” he called down the hall.
Jihoon scrambled to the hatch and looked down at Minho like he was the holder of all answers.
“It’s fine,” Minho said.
“Take care of him,” Jihoon said, placing Muji in Minho’s arms.
“Take care of yourself,” Minho said, waving with his free hand.
As the ship left orbit, Jihoon didn’t even wonder once if he had been hasty.
[five]
Taeil grimaced as his makeshift leg caught on that stupid board again. He needed to either fix his leg or the floorboard but he didn’t have time for either. There were too many patients he needed to see, the infection was spreading too quickly. It had even taken out Doctor Ko.
If Taeil hadn’t lost his left leg and half his mobility in his hands to the same infection and gained immunity, he’d be in one of those beds and not running around playing doctor. He wasn’t confident about his work, either. He’d spent too long dreaming about getting away from Regina when Doctor Ko had come and taken all his business away.
Taeil wasn’t bitter. He couldn’t operate with his fingers sluggish like they were, and his leg got in the way more often than he would have liked. It wasn’t until the infection brought down the entire village that he had another patient.
He knew exactly what he needed, a delivery of prophycillin. Unfortunately, the Alliance overlooked little planets like Regina and all he could do was try to address his patients’ symptoms while praying for a miracle.
“Doc…” a cracking voice started and Taeil’s arm reached for the bucket at the same time his legs moved toward the source.
One of the small boys retched and Taeil sighed in relief as the bucket made it to its destination in time. Too many unfortunate misses had drilled the motion into his muscles. “It’ll feel better after,” Taeil said, rubbing the kid’s back.
The kid-Jimin, Taeil was pretty sure-nodded. He tried to say something but only half-digested gruel came out.
“It’s alright, kid,” Taeil said. Jimin nodded weakly and fell back against the sheets.
Taeil closed his eyes and took a deep breath before grabbing the bucket and shifting back into gear. No use in complaining.
*
BAM. BAM. BAM.
Taeil jolted awake to the sound of enthusiastic knocking at the door. He’d dozed off, since he’d been on duty for way too long.
He blinked until his mind cleared enough to function. He shuffled to the small hospital’s door and opened it. A young man promptly fell into him.
“Ah, my bad,” the guy’s companion said, shifting his friend’s weight closer and grabbing his waist to steady him. “I think this one ate something weird. He frowned, his intense eyebrows making his intimidating face even more intimidating. “Yukwon, don’t just fall on people you just met,” he said and on cue, the lump next to him grumbled in pain.
Regina was too small to get visitors on the regular, so of course when some finally showed up, it happened to be the most inconvenient time. There weren’t enough beds as it was. “I’ll see what I can do,” Taeil said anyway.
Taeil ushered the pair in and let Yukwon collapse on his own makeshift bed, but not before passing all the bedridden villagers.
“We’re kinda going through an epidemic right now,” Taeil said.
Eyebrows guy looked around. “I’ll say. I guess we should leave as soon as possible.”
Taeil shrugged. “It’s only infectious if you’ve lived on Regina for a while breathing the atmosphere."
The guy nodded, looking thoughtful. “I can’t pay you but I can lend some manpower. It looks like you need it.”
Taeil wasn’t sure if he should be feeling grateful or offended. Not that it mattered. “Extra hands would be more than welcome,” he said, showing the stranger how far he could flex his fingers. “Mine don’t really work.”
The guy’s tough face softened as his mouth rounded in surprise. “I’ll be right back with help, Doctor..?”
“Lee Taeil,” Taeil said, extending his hand. “No doctor. Maybe hyung to you.”
“No way,” the guy said, laughing. He took Taeil’s hand firmly but carefully. “I’m Jiho. I’ll leave Yukwon in your care then, Lee Taeil.”
And then he was gone. Taeil wondered if he was somehow still sleeping, but there was a random kid in his cot now that he had to take care of.
“Um,” the guy-Yukwon, Jiho had called him. “Do you have a bathroom?” he croaked weakly.
Taeil pointed to it and watched as Yukwon hobbled over, doubled over and clutching his stomach. He raised his eyes to the ceiling and blew out a puff of air he had trapped in his cheeks. It was going to be a long night.
*
Taeil gave Yukwon some tract cleansing pills, so Yukwon was dozing peacefully on Taeil’s cot by the time Jiho returned. There were two others in his tow.
“This is Minhyuk,” Jiho said, and the one with the serious face nodded. “And Jihoon.”
“Nice to meet you, doctor,” the kid called Jihoon said, setting down a huge case in order to bow a full 90 degrees and take a hold of Taeil’s right hand.
“Taeil,” Taeil said. “Not doctor. Hyung, maybe.” He shook Jihoon’s hand, but Jihoon didn’t let go.
“No way,” Jihoon said. He flipped Taeil’s hand over and traced his fingers over Taeil’s palm.
“Um,” Taeil said as Jihoon nodded, humming to himself under his breath. “My hand?”
“Oh.” Jihoon dropped his hand like it was a hot potato and he scratched his head as he smiled bashfully. His motions were spastic and charming in their own odd way. “I think I can wire those up to full functionality,” he said, looking at Taeil’s hands. He nodded. “And get you a mechanical prosthetic.”
“Told you it’d be fun,” Jiho said, clapping Jihoon’s shoulder as Taeil tried to process Jihoon’s words. “I’m gonna go run an errand now.”
Before Taeil could say anything, Jiho left.
“How can we help?” Minhyuk spoke up for the first time.
“Just show Minhyuk what to do and I’ll fix you up,” Jihoon said, smiling at Taeil.
It was weird, being told what to do in his own element. Taeil was pretty sure these were a bunch of mercenaries of the suspicious type he wasn’t supposed to get involved with. Yet he still found himself doing what they said. He showed Minhyuk attach IVs to the patients, when to move the bucket, and what to do when a patient’s temperature went into fever range. Jihoon had disappeared behind his giant case.
“Right now all we can do is relieve some of the symptoms and hope their bodies are strong enough,” Taeil explained to Minhyuk, who took everything in with the same quiet attention. “We asked the Alliance for prophycillin but they don’t have any reason to care about us.”
Minhyuk nodded, his face darkening the slightest, if Taeil wasn’t imagining things. Then it was gone. “I’ll take care of things here,” he said, a gentle smile breaking his serious demeanor for the first time. He looked behind Taeil, causing Taeil to turn around.
Jihoon stood behind him, some wires looped around one shoulder and some mechanical parts in his arms. “I bet you’re wanting for a new leg,” Jihoon said, grinning widely as he proffered the largest piece of the bunch.
Taeil didn’t know what to say. He shrugged. He did need one. “Do you know what you’re doing?” he said, eyeing the metal contraption suspiciously.
“These guys talk to me,” Jihoon said, patting the prosthetic and not raising Taeil’s confidence one bit. “Trust me.”
It wasn’t like Taeil was the type of guy to trust somebody just because they said to, but Jihoon just looked honest and he really did want the replacement for his peg. “Okay,” he said.
Taeil sat quietly as Jihoon hummed tuneless songs while he worked. He worked carefully, adjusting for height and girth. “I wish I could install some nerve connections,” he said thoughtfully. “But there’s not enough time for that.” He made some small adjustments that Taeil didn’t understand the need for. “There we go. Try it out.”
It was amazing. The soreness from his old leg was entirely gone, supported fully by the metal brace. He bounced up and down. Jihoon had done a beautiful job of fitting it. It almost felt like he was whole again, except he couldn’t wiggle his toes. “Are you a genius?”
Jihoon shook his head and laughed. “I told you they talk to me. Ready for your hands?” He pulled out a fibrous netted material.
Taeil nodded, even though he had no idea what that stuff was. But he was more inclined to trust Jihoon after the leg.
“This is going to be mostly reflexive,” Jihoon said, spreading the threadlike wire evenly over Taeil’s hands. “So if you move your finger it will help you continue the movement. Kinda like an amp.”
Taeil nodded, distracted by the pricks in his fingers. It felt like his sleeping nerves were waking up.
When Jihoon was finished with that, he had Taeil try it out again. “It’s not as good as directly wiring them up to your nerves but it should be better…”
Taeil made a fist. He had almost forgotten the feeling. It wasn’t perfect, but it was what he needed. “Thanks,” he said, smiling at Jihoon.
Jihoon paused. “Are you sure you’re my hyung?”
*
The night went by much faster after Taeil’s usage of his limbs was mostly returned. The fact that he had others helping him contributed as well.
Jiho returned at dawn to collect his subordinates. When Taeil went to greet them, Jiho handed over a crate.
Taeil looked inside. Inside were neat rows of tubes. It couldn’t be. He took one out. Prophycillin. “How’d you know?”
Minhyuk, who had appeared by his side, held up a slim rectangular contraption. “I know we were transporting a box and I sent Jiho a message. But maybe you’ve never seen a CC before.”
“A what?”
“A cell communicator,” Jihoon said, appearing at Taeil’s other side. “You know, technology’s gotten pretty advanced in the Alliance. Like what I did today.”
“Well, we’ll leave Yukwon with you and pick him up later,” Jiho said, and with a wave of his hand, he disappeared as quickly as he had done so before, this time taking the others with him.
Suddenly all alone, Taeil just stood there, holding the crate of prophycillin and trying to process everything.
After he distributed the antibiotic, maybe he’d finally get to sleep.
*
Taeil didn’t wake up until Jiho came back, this time with apparently his entire crew. Doctor Ko was already up, the antibiotic taking effect quickly, and dealing with the other patients. Taeil was glad he was back.
There was yet another crew member who Taeil had never seen, who was almost as short as Taeil was. He had a funny face.
“Taeil hyung!” Jihoon greeted, waving happily.
Taeil smiled, Jihoon’s enthusiasm infectious as the bacteria he’d been fighting. “By the way, thanks for the medical delivery. It was a lifesaver.” Literally.
“Wait, is that where the box of prophycillin went?” the short one with the funny face asked. “Jiho, you crazy bastard, that was worth a month of rations,”
Jiho shrugged. Even in that simple gesture it was full of such commanding presence it was obvious he made the decisions. “That couldn’t buy us a doctor.”
A doctor? Doctor Ko didn’t seem the type.
“We got a doctor?” Jihoon asked what Taeil wanted to ask. His face was shining with childish excitement.
“Yeah, him,” Jiho said, pointing in Taeil’s general direction.
Taeil turned to look behind, curious.
Nobody.
“Wait, me-?”
“Taeil hyung?” Jihoon said at the same time.
“When did I agree to this?” Taeil didn’t like this trend of decisions being made for him.
Jiho pointed at Taeil’s new robot leg. “That’s not gonna last long without Jihoon.” His gaze moved back to meet Taeil’s and he frowned slightly. “And this town doesn’t need two doctors, does it?”
Taeil looked at the ragtag group of bandits, and how at ease they were with themselves. He wiggled his electrically wired fingers in absent thought. Jiho was right about him needing Jihoon, and he’d always wanted to get off this planet. “I guess so.”
“Welcome to the crew,” Jiho said, grinning, and Taeil wondered if he wasn’t drawn to the charisma behind that smile.
Taeil took Jiho’s hand with his newly revived one. It wasn’t in the way he had imagined, but it was a first step towards his dreams. It was sure to be an adventure.
[six]
Jaehyo woke up in a haze, his head pounding. At least it was dark, no piercing rays of light to make the awful headache worse. No wait, no light was bad.
He tried evaluate the situation as calmly as he could. His breath was hot and moist against his own face so he must have been in some small enclosed space. His arms were numb from sleeping weirdly on them. He wiggled his fingers and realized his hands were bound together behind his back.
Great, he was being kidnapped. He furrowed his brows in attempt to clear his head. It kept pounding.
His client. Who was he supposed to meet again? Lady Ryu. A rich, older unmarried woman. Her calls were usually free of trouble, it would be just a bit annoying to lose her as a client over some trivial kidnappers. Although that wasn’t what he was supposed to be thinking about. What was he doing?
Waiting, it must have been waiting. He had been waiting at an nondescript bar for the Lady’s chauffeur to pick him up. Jaehyo’s job sometimes required him to put his life in danger so he had three different defensive martial arts mastered as well as an arsenal of pills and shots to neutralize any slipped drug in his drinks. He hadn’t been passed any drinks though.
Jaehyo remembered he had arrived early and she was a little late. And in that time he…
His transport made a sharp turn and his head bounced against the bottom of the enclosement, sending a fresh stab of pain radiate from the back of his head.
Gorram, that’s what the bandits did, they’d taken a club to his brainpan.
He rolled over on side to protect the back of his head from more jostling, lamenting the fact that he had taken so long to figure that out. And the fact that he’d fallen for such an unsophisticated trick. He pushed that thought out of his mind as he reached for the slim dagger he kept around his thigh.
The bandits that had taken him were crude but thorough. They had searched him already.
Jaehyo brooded in the darkness, rolling whichever muscles he could move in the cramped space. Whatever reason his kidnappers had, it must have been related to money. It wasn’t his money, since they kept him alive, so his guess was some sort of ransom. If it was just money, he could negotiate with them.
He kicked the side of his tiny prison. “Hello?”
There was a shuffling sound, then a brief silence. “You’re awake?” a deep voice rasped back at him. For how intimidating the voice could have been, there was a great deal of uncertainty in the tone. Jaehyo smiled, this might be easier than he expected.
“Could you open this thing so I can breathe? I don’t think your client wants me dead.” Jaehyo used his most polite yet commanding tone.
Another shift, and a noise of hesitation.
“I’m still tied up, you took all my weapons,” Jaehyo said, making his voice light and lilting despite wanting to do the opposite. “I just want to breathe, promise.”
Jaehyo waited and grinned when he heard the satisfying click of a lock. The light that flooded in blinded him and he squinted, his eyes adjusting.
It looked like he was in an engine room. He breathed in the not much cooler engine room air and sat up against the side of the crate the bandits put him in. He blinked a few times and took in the curious face staring back at him.
Bright eyes, clean round cheeks, brow crinkled slightly and mouth twisted in worry, it wasn’t the face of a kidnapper. More like a kid.
“Thanks.” Jaehyo smiled at the kid, whose response was to frown a little more deeply. “So who are you delivering me to?”
“Who said we’re delivering you?” the kid said in his deep, wavering voice.
Jaehyo just looked at him thoughtfully. The kid fidgeted.
“I’m not supposed to tell you,” he said, talking to escape the discomfort under Jaehyo’s gaze. “How did you know?”
“Why else would you abduct me and leave me alive?” Jaehyo said, and the innocent face fell. He felt a little bad. “But many people have tried to do that before,” he added as a consolation.
“Why?”
“I’m too beautiful for my own good,” Jaehyo said, sighing for effect.
His kidnapper looked shocked for a split second, and then he was clutching his stomach in barking laughter. “Really?”
“That wasn’t a joke,” Jaehyo said, sulky. “Hey, I answered your questions, how about fair’s fair and you answer mine?”
“Oh.” The kid, loosened up from the laugh, looked like he was considering. “We’re not really‐”
“Pyo Jihoon.”
Jaehyo looked up at the doorway the same time the kid-no, Jihoon-whipped around.
“Didn’t I say to report to me when our guest woke up?” the man at the door said, his voice quiet but dark, as if he was threatening something unspoken.
Jihoon looked like he wanted to melt and become one with the metal grating floor. “Sorry Jiho hyung, I just felt bad…”
“That’s why I was gonna deal with it,” Jiho said. He looked Jaehyo over with a sharp gaze. “Though I guess you weren’t going to be any trouble anyway,” he said, addressing Jaehyo directly.
Jaehyo felt like he should be insulted, but he remained polite. “No trouble at all.”
Jiho came closer. He was intimidating, with a hawk beak nose and slanted fox eyes that felt like they pierced through Jaehyo. “Woo Jiho, captain of the ship, Nillili Mambo.” He jerked his head towards Jihoon, who looked like a child sent to time out. “That’s Pyo Jihoon. He might look useless but he has a way with the ship that nobody understands.”
Jihoon grinned, overly happy, as if Jiho hadn’t also insulted him in the same sentence. He patted an engine part and the ship creaked in response. “She doesn’t speak to anyone but me.”
These were the most cordial kidnappers Jaehyo had ever been kidnapped by. He figured he should reciprocate. “I’m-”
“Ahn Jaehyo,” Jiho said for him. “24. Companion.” He shook his head. “Do you know how much money you’re going to make for us?”
Jaehyo shrugged. Probably a lot considering the stature of his clientele.
Not answering his own question, Jiho cut through the ropes binding Jaehyo’s wrists in one swift stroke, then handed a small sack to him. It contained Jaehyo’s medicine pouch, coin purse, and dagger. Everything they’d taken off him. “I’m trusting you so you trust me alright? Don’t say a single thing and go along with it.”
“With what?” Jaehyo asked.
Jiho wasn’t listening, already turned away. He pressed the intercom button by the door. “Prepare to be boarded,” Jiho said into the intercom before exiting, as abruptly as he came.
“What?” Jaehyo called after him.
“It’s okay,” Jihoon said, holding onto Jaehyo’s elbow and dragging him up. “Jiho hyung doesn’t lie. If he says to trust him, it’s okay to trust him.”
“If you say-” Jaehyo almost fell over as the ship jerked to a full stop, saved by Jihoon’s grip on his arm. What are you guys doing?”
“Being boarded,” Jihoon said with a wide grin. Being boarded wasn’t something to be happy about, Jaehyo was about to say, but Jihoon spoke first. “Just wait here, it won’t be long,” he said and he too was gone.
Jaehyo could make out some muffled yells and thumps.
It wasn’t long until Jihoon came back with a piece of rope in his hands. ”Sorry I gotta do this to you again.
“Remember what Jiho said,” Jihoon said before he dragged Jaehyo by the arm out of the engine room.
They went to the boarding dock, where the rest of the crew were standing, brandishing their weapons, surrounded by a group of uniformed men. The uniforms were the familiar ones of the security guards at Lady Ryu’s mansion. “Hand him over and nobody gets hurt,” the one at the front said.
Jihoon dragged him to the rest of the crew. Jiho looked over. “Do it, Yukwon.”
Crack.
Jaehyo fell to the floor, his head feeling like it split open from being hit in the same spot. But what had broken was the wooden stick that had hit him, and the two halves fell with him. He bit down his cries of pain.
“Take him,” Jaehyo heard Jiho say.
Jaehyo hung limp as he was grabbed underneath his armpits and draped over somebody’s back.
“Thanks,” he heard one of his rescuers say. The condescension and sneering in his voice made Jaehyo’s stomach turn sour. He heard the clinking of a coin purse thrown on the floor.
It was silent.
“Pick it up.” Jiho’s chilling voice sent goosebumps up Jaehyo’s neck. “Or did you forget that we’re the strong ones?”
Jaehyo missed the rest as he was taken into the uniformed mens’ ship. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the rest.
The guards hadn’t bothered checking his possessions and he was grateful Jiho had returned them. With his throbbing head reminding him to be more wary than ever for surprise attacks, Jaehyo didn’t sleep a wink.
*
Lady Ryu greeted the guards that brought Jaehyo back to her estate. She personally escorted them to one of the rooms and had them deposit Jaehyo on the bed.
“You’ll be okay,” she said, moving the hair from Jaehyo’s face and kissing his cheek before tucking him in under the covers.
Jaehyo kept his breathing even and feigned sleep, even though he wanted to throw up.
Jaehyo was thankful the Lady didn’t have patience with his unconsciousness so she left after leaving instructions to the guard outside the door to alert her if Jaehyo awoke.
When he was sure he was alone in the room he stretched out slowly. Everywhere was sore or stiff or bruised or numb or rope burned. He padded quietly out of the bed and found a plant under which he hid his personal effects.
The stimulants he had taken had worn off and made him twice as exhausted, and the physical damage he sustained from being dragged around like a sack of potatoes didn’t help. If he was to face the next day, he’d have to sleep.
As sleep quickly overcame him in the comfortable down bedding, his mind quickly wandered to Jiho and if this was his idea of saving Jaehyo.
*
It was the planet’s sun that woke Jaehyo up, the light bright and warm against his skin as the sheer curtains filtered the harshness of the sun’s rays. His body felt weightless, like he was swimming in the extravagant sheets. Even the pounding headache from the previous night felt like it was left over from a dream.
Someone had come in and left breakfast by his bed. It wasn’t hot anymore, but it still smelled delicious. Jaehyo took the tray and settled back against the soft pillows. He didn’t know why he didn’t just accept one of the young lords’ offers and live his life in easy luxury.
He bit into a biscuit and it melted in his mouth. It would be too easy to live like this.
It would be easy, so why hasn’t he? He spooned some lukewarm porridge into his mouth. Why couldn’t he let himself feel satisfied with this? Instead he was going around getting clobbered on the head and getting himself kidnapped.
Jaehyo sighed and looked out the window. There were little starlings flitting about, cute chubby little things. He took the dish with his biscuit crumbs and opened the window, setting it outside. He watched the starlings peck at the crumbs before flying away at the slightest startle.
Perhaps he was just like those birds. It would be too sad to see them caged up.
Jaehyo took the rest of his emptied dishes and stacked them back on the tray. He let himself take a scented bubble bath in near-scalding water before he had to face his real kidnapper.
*
It turned out Jaehyo didn’t have to go find Lady Ryu. She was waiting for him as he stepped out of the bathroom in the luxurious plush bathrobe.
“How are you doing?” she said, taking his hands and leading him to sit on the side of his bed. Her slender fingers fussed with Jaehyo’s dripping bangs, brushing them out of his eyes and tucking strands behind his ears.
“Better,” Jaehyo replied. “Do you know what happened to me?”
“Some gang kidnapped you.” The Lady cupped Jaehyo’s cheek in her palm. “Luckily my men saw as it happened and you know the rest.”
The edges of Jaehyo’s mouth lifted in a tight-lipped smile. “Luckily.” How could a person look so serene while telling such a blatant lie?
“Come stay with me,” Lady Ryu said, thumb tracing Jaehyo’s cheekbone. “I’ll make sure there’s protection set up for you from thugs like those guys.”
Jaehyo hummed. “Who’s going to protect me from you, my lady?” he asked innocuously.
“What do you mean?” Lady Ryu asked, hand pausing on Jaehyo’s cheek.
“I heard it was you who arranged my kidnapping, my lady,” Jaehyo said, smile dropping, his eyes frozen. He took her wrist in his hand and firmly moved it away from his face.
Lady Ryu laughed, any sense of discomfort hidden behind her light and playful demeanor. Jaehyo had to give her credit for her acting. “I see you’re well enough to make jokes.”
“My sources never lie.” Jaehyo controlled his breathing, trying not to his muscles that were ready to leap into action.
The kindness in the Lady’s gaze shifted to anger in a flash and her fingers went to a dial around her neck. “I was trying to do this the nice way.”
Jaehyo leapt towards the window at the same time guards burst through the doors. He jumped out and dropped gracefully onto the ground-
And straight into a net. Of course they had prepared.
Jaehyo pulled out his knife and started slicing through the thick rope when he was lifted into the air. He looked above at the shuttle. It was his own.
Jiho grinned at him, offering a hand. “Need a lift, princess?”
*
Back on the shuttle, Jiho dumped Jaehyo rather unceremoniously onto the ground. “You’re welcome.”
“I had it under control.” Jaehyo sniffed primly, adjusting the plush bathrobe with a quick snap of his wrist. “Thanks for bringing my ship back though.”
“A princess shouldn’t be traveling all alone,” Jiho said.
“I can take care of myself,” Jaehyo said, indignant. It’s not like he hadn’t been kidnapped before. He’d gotten away successfully plenty of times. “And just so you know, I’m not a princess.”
“Whatever you say, princess.” Jiho smirked, and Jaehyo would have tried punching it off of his face if it were any less charming. “Anyway, would you like to travel with us?”
“A Companion aboard would open many doors for you,” Jaehyo said.
Jiho nodded. “And in turn we can provide you protection and transportation.”
It wasn’t a bad arrangement, a win-win. “What about accommodations?”
“We have an empty shuttle dock that we can carry you in,” Jiho explained. “You can use your shuttle to take care of your clients when we land planetside.”
It would be unwise to turn down a mutually beneficial offer, but Jaehyo had it driven into him to err on the side of caution. “Contractual obligations?”
“You can leave at your will.”
“Can you afford that?” Jaehyo asked, an eyebrow raised.
Jiho laughed. “You’re not going to want to leave.”
Jaehyo thought for a second about Jiho’s magnetic charisma and shrugged. “But I can leave whenever.”
“Yep.”
“I don’t see why not,” Jaehyo said.
“Welcome aboard the Nillili Mambo,” Jiho said, offering a hand to shake.
“We’re still on my shuttle,” Jaehyo said, but he took Jiho’s hand anyway. His handshake was as firm as Jaehyo expected given his personality.
Jiho ignored him. “As long as you’re aboard my ship, I am your captain and you’re part of the crew.”
“Yes sir.”
“And as a part of the crew, you’ll get along with your crewmates,” Jiho said, gesturing for Jaehyo to follow him to the cockpit.
Jaehyo had forgotten that somebody had to be piloting his shuttle when the door opened and one of the Nillili Mambo crew turned around and greeted him. He had a tall nose and slight rugged look about him, and his mellow presence stood in sharp contrast with Jiho’s explosive one.
“This is Minhyuk,” Jiho said.
Minhyuk gave them a mini salute. “I’m the crew’s navigator,” he said.
Jaehyo waited for more but Jiho took over. “Let Minhyuk know if you have any places you want us to go and he’ll plan the most efficient path for us to get some jobs done.”
“Got it,” Jaehyo said. “How far are we from the ship?”
“In sight,” Minhyuk said.
“We parked the ship somewhere nearby but I had Minhyuk take a longer path just in case some of your guard friends gave chase,” Jiho explained.
“I see,” Jaehyo said. They stood in silence as Minhyuk locked onto the Nillili Mambo’s coordinates. “You don’t talk very much do you?” he said when the silence grew too heavy.
“I don’t like wasting words,” Minhyuk replied, so calmly Jaehyo wondered if that was even an insult.
“Oh.” Jaehyo spent the rest of the short trip in silence, watching as Minhyuk guided the shuttle smoothly into the Nillili Mambo’s empty shuttle dock.
“Welcome back,” Jihoon greeted them when the door opened. He was carrying a sizeable toolbox in one hand. He grinned widely upon seeing Jaehyo. “See, I told you Jiho hyung would save you.”
The kid looked so expectant Jaehyo had to smile back at him, but he wasn’t sure if being hit over the head twice was something to be grateful for. “Thanks.”
Jihoon didn’t seem to notice anything in the tone of Jaehyo’s spiritless gratitude. He patted the hull of Jaehyo’s shuttle. “I’ll take care of her, you go meet the others like Taeilie hyung.”
A tiny person Jaehyo hadn’t noticed before peeked out from behind Jihoon. Jaehyo nodded slightly towards him, confused. Had Jihoon just called him hyung?
“I’m Taeil,” the tiny person said. His voice was delicate and high; he even sounded tiny. “The ship’s doctor. How’s your head?”
Oh yeah, his head. Jaehyo had forgotten to be indignant about it. He felt it gingerly. “What do you think? It’s rutting great.”
“Princesses shouldn’t curse,” Jiho said, appearing at Jaehyo’s side.
“And I’m not a princess,” Jaehyo said. “Why’d you have to hit me twice?”
Jiho pursed his lips and shrugged. “That was Yukwon, take it up with him.”
“You seem fine so I’ll go now,” Taeil said curtly, ignoring Jiho and putting them back on track. “But I’m going to check you for any concussion so swing by the infirmary later.”
Jaehyo nodded, startled at how much force was in that tiny package. He watched as Taeil left, Minhyuk behind him, saying something about taking off.
“It’s fine, in reality he’s as cute as he looks,” Jihoon said, as if it were supposed to be reassuring.
“Taeilie hyung’s got some mechanical limbs and Jihoon maintains them, so Jihoon gets special rights to call him cute,” Jiho said. “Try not to bother him too much and especially not when he’s just gotten up.”
“Oh,” Jaehyo said, wary.
“Okay, let’s see where the others are.”
Jaehyo followed Jiho out of the bay and down through narrower hallways. Jiho pointed out all the sleeping quarters and the infirmary where he was to go later, explaining the way the airlock doors sealed in case of a Reaver attack.
“Here’s the mess hall,” Jiho said when they arrived to a room with a dining table and kitchen. “And there’s Yukwon.” He pointed to the fridge…
No, the person sitting inside the fridge.
The boy called Yukwon waved. “Hey cap’n,” he mumbled around the nutrient bar he was chewing.
“Get out of the fridge, it wastes power our ship can’t afford to waste,” Jiho said.
Yukwon stood up reluctantly and let the fridge door shut behind him. “But you should really try it sometime, it’s refreshing,” he said with a bright smile. It was hard to believe this was the guy that knocked Jaehyo out. “The name’s Yukwon,” he said, turning his attention to Jaehyo. “I’m a fighter.”
“Ah,” Jaehyo said, unconsciously letting his hand drift to the back of his head.
“Oh yeah, sorry we had to meet in those circumstances,” Yukwon said, flashing another bright smile. “Had to do what was necessary. Captain’s orders.”
Jaehyo turned sharply towards Jiho, who shrugged. “It was necessary.”
“You hungry?” Yukwon said, holding out his half eaten nutrient bar.
“I’m okay, thanks…” Jaehyo said. He might have felt bad but Yukwon happily stuffed the rest into his mouth as Jiho led Jaehyo on to the control room.
Minhyuk was at the controls, and sitting in the co-pilot’s chair was a scrawny guy hunched over a map.
The guy looked up when they entered and his face lit up as soon as he saw them. Every feature on his face, already large, seemed to double in size. “Jiho!” he shouted and he leapt up to give Jiho a tight hug, which Jiho expertly avoided.
“This is Kyung,” Jiho said, wrinkling his nose in distaste at Kyung’s attempts at affection.
“Park Kyung, first mate of the Nillili Mambo,” Kyung said, apparently forgetting he was trying to chase Jiho down.
“It’s best if you never listen to anything he says,” Jiho said.
“Don’t say hurtful things.” Kyung frowned and latched around Jiho’s shoulders. “I’m your truest and most loyal friend.”
Jiho made a gagging face and pushed Kyung away. “Go see if we have any more jobs.”
“Kyung is loyal, but only to Jiho,” Minhyuk told Jaehyo. “Watch out, or you’ll get swindled.
Jaehyo nodded, slow and skeptical. He had wondered if he made the wrong decision when he first shook Jiho’s hand, but now he was sure of it.
It was just in his blood, rejecting the safe choice and taking the reckless one. However, the discomfort bubbling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t fear, it was excitement.
He had a terrible feeling he’d be staying for a while.
Notes: So this summer has been crazy and moving and starting a job has been crazier and this fic didn’t turn out how I intended it to @_@ I hope you don’t mind I mashed a few of your prompts together~ Maybe one day I’ll write the fic I meant to write (a continuation of Jaehyo’s story!)
For: everyone
Pairing: gen, ot7
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 7.5k
Summary: How the seven members of the Nillili Mambo found home. [Firefly AU]
[one]
“She’s called the Nillili Mambo, isn’t she perfect?” Jiho grinned widely as Kyung blinked in shock, and not the good kind of shock either.
Woo Jiho was an artist, but sometimes Kyung didn’t understand what that artist mind entailed. What Jiho was calling perfect, an unstylish, outdated Firefly class ship, was in Kyung’s eyes a heap of trash. It would be worth more to get it scrapped. “Haha that’s the funniest thing you’ve said in a long time,” Kyung said.
Jiho scowled at him. “Just wait until you see inside.”
It seemed doubtful that the inside of the ship would change Kyung’s mind about it, but he shrugged. It was good to see Jiho fired up about something again. Ever since the Alliance had enforced its censor on freedom of expression, Jiho had been locked up in a metaphorical cell. Nothing could hold Jiho back for long, though, and soon he was back, leaving his mark and never looking back. “So what does the name mean?”
“Nillili Mambo?” Jiho skimmed his fingers along the inner corridor as they walked through it. “It’s an ancient phrase from Earth That Was. It was something to bring in energy and excitement.” He stopped and met Kyung’s eyes and there was the old Jiho, undefeated and unstoppable. “I told you, perfect, right?”
Kyung looked at the worn walls and scuffed metal grating floors of the vessel. It was far from the perfection Jiho saw, but Kyung found himself reluctantly admitting it felt right. Like he could call it home. “Whatever you say.”
Jiho slung his arm over Kyung’s shoulders as they walked towards the control room. “Hey, I’m your captain now.
“So you want me to call you captain or something?” Kyung snorted. He had known Jiho too long for Jiho to be pulling these kinds of stunts.
“Yup,” Jiho said. “Now do you know how to pilot a ship?”
“What?” Kyung shook his head. It was a good thing he was smart, unlike a certain captain. “How’d you even convince the guy to sell it to you?”
“He was more than happy to get this out of his hands,” Jiho said. No surprise there. He threw something at Kyung. “Catch.”
Kyung caught something jingly, an ignition key-those were vintage. He arched his eyebrows at Jiho. “You trust me with this?”
Jiho nodded, impatient. “Get this bird up in the air.”
Kyung found the place to put the key and turned it. The engine sputtered to life.
Jiho let out a whoop. “Let’s go!”
“Where to?”
“Anywhere,” Jiho said. Not helpful at all.
Energy and excitement, huh. Jiho was right. It was perfect.
[two]
Minhyuk prepared to land the delivery shuttle, holding back a yawn. It was his last run of the day and he could finally go home and sleep. It was hard work, but it paid the bills.
He was really looking forward to his bed after a long day, but at his doorstep he ran into the last people he expected in his modest Alliance town: Jiho and Kyung. He hadn’t seen either of them since they left the planet.
“What brings you here?” he asked warily.
“Jiho just bought a ship and can’t fly it,” Kyung said. That sounded exactly like something Jiho would do. “And I heard you fly ships now.”
“And you want me to fly your ship.” Minhyuk said.
“Do you have anything better to do?” Jiho asked. Jiho had a point. It wasn’t like Minhyuk had any family to keep him there.
“What’s your plan?”
Jiho shrugged. “Make some delivery runs, earn enough to get by, maybe help out some of the non-Alliance planets along the way.”
Minhyuk didn’t have much reason to leave when Jiho had first tried to convince him, but when he couldn’t afford to keep his mother in the hospital and the Alliance didn’t help, he realized that Jiho had been right about the system. He had more of a bone to pick with them. “Okay,” he said.
“Okay?” Jiho asked.
“Yeah, okay,” Minhyuk said, holding his hand out for keys.
Jiho placed them in his hands. He grinned in the way Minhyuk had come to associate with trouble. “Welcome to the Nillili Mambo.”
[three]
Yukwon was in a bad situation. He had been trying to steal a load of cargo from a ship when the ship just up and left. He was starting to get a bit nauseous in the dark space, and he couldn’t think of any good ways out.
Before Yukwon could weigh the pros and cons of revealing himself, the cargo hold opened and somebody walked in. As soon as the crew member met eyes with Yukwon, he let out a hilarious scream.
Well, it would have been hilarious if Yukwon weren’t being caught red-handed.
Yukwon sighed and pointed his gun at the person who found him.
“You don’t want to do that,” the guy said, holding up his hands.
Yukwon took that opportunity to knock the guy to the ground and incapacitate his hands, bringing the gun to the guy’s cucumber-shaped head. “Why not?”
“How much are they offering you?” his host asked. “A room? Food?”
Yukwon hesitated. “Nothing,” he said.
“What, room and board is minimum!” his captive said. “You’re pretty good with a gun, we could probably get you more.
Yukwon didn’t know much about how the mercenary business worked. He just did what kept his belly full. He wanted to listen to cucumber head but he didn’t think the guy was very trustworthy-looking. Cucumber head’s features were unnaturally big and open, which gave Yukwon the impression that he was being lured into a trap. He shrugged.
“How much do you get paid for cargo?”
“14 creds.”
“If you let us hire you we’ll give you room and board, food, and a cut of the cargo,” the guy said, “and by the way, you’re being ripped off.”
Yukwon frowned. He shouldn’t be listening to that guy, 14 creds was a lot. But his own room, and food whenever? “How do I join?”
“For starters, let me go and put that gun away.”
Yukwon hesitated. Well, it wasn’t like he wanted to shoot cucumber head anyway. He obeyed.
While the guy had been wilted a moment before, he jumped up energetically now. “I’m Park Kyung, by the way.
“Kim Yukwon.”
“Follow me, Yukwon,” Kyung said, and led him down the hallway. “Here’s an empty room, it’s yours if you say yes.”
Yukwon tried not to be too wide-eyed when he realized that the entire room could be his. And it could be all at a single word? “Yes.”
“Aight!” Kyung grinned. “Welcome to the Nillili Mambo.”
[four]
Jihoon knew what the others said about him. That he spent all his time screwing robots instead of girls. So what if that was true? He didn’t see anything admirable about putting screws in those nice noonas who always tried to tuck extra goodies in his bags when he went shopping.
So even though it hurt, he ignored the side-eyed glances and condescending whispers and continued doing what he did best, tinkering with any mechanic parts he could get his hands are. He would be darned if the screws that held his electronics together would serve better use in women.
He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t realize he was late, and he forgot to prepare himself for his arrival to work.
“Jihoon, you had an appointment half an hour ago and I had to cover it,” Minho, his boss and one of his few friends, said as soon as he walked into the door.
It took Jihoon a while to realize the situation since Muji, their dog, jumped on him. Muji had been born without front legs and Jihoon made him little prosthetic ones. Muji loved them, but metal was heavy and bruised Jihoon’s shins.
“Pyo Jihoon!”
“Ah, sorry,” he said, wincing. It was the third time he’d missed an appointment this month already and the month wasn’t even half over.
Minho sighed. “Well, you can just cover my shift now. Actually, you’d probably find it interesting,” he said, leading Jihoon towards the station where he would service. “Here we are.”
It was love at first sight. The ship was an old Firefly class model and although there were much newer, faster, sleeker, fancier ships, this one told a story.
“Minho!” A voice from the ship rang out.
“Jiho?” Minho’s reply was a little unsure.
“Minho, don’t be shy,” the guy who emerged from the ship said. He opened his arms to embrace Minho. “We’re brothers, aren’t we?”
Minho laughed and returned the embrace. “Of course.” When they separated, Minho turned towards Jihoon. “This is Jihoon, your ship will be in good hands.”
Jihoon bowed towards Jiho and smiled, pointing at Jiho’s ship. “She’s beautiful. What’s her name?”
As if they had reached some silent understanding, Jiho smiled back. “The Nillili Mambo. It means to bring excitement.”
What an apt name; Jihoon already felt the excitement bubble from his belly. It had been a while since he had gotten such an interesting job. Normally it was quick rail changes on shuttle cars or other boring things.
“We’re gonna go run a few errands,” Jiho said. “Park Kyung’s still inside.”
“She’ll be ready when you get back,” Jihoon assured him as his party left.
“They’re old friends of mine,” Minho said when they were gone. He smiled. “Jiho rebelled against the Alliance and I stayed. I’m glad to see he’s doing well.”
Jihoon nodded, not really knowing why. Somehow, just by the feeling the Nillili Mambo gave off, Jihoon could feel the warmth that filled the ship on a regular basis.
He couldn’t help feeling a little jealous as he brought his tool box into the ship’s engine room. Muji followed him good naturedly, and Jihoon resisted the urge to chase Muji down the halls. He was there to fix the ship and nothing else.
*
Jihoon was in the bay organizing his tools when the others came back. They seemed to be in a rush.
“We’ve gotta go,” Jiho said.
Jihoon moved a struggling Muji from his lap. “Can’t I stay here a bit longer?”
“Whatever floats your ship,” Jiho said. “We need somebody to take care of the Nillili Mambo anyway.”
“What?”
“Make your decision, we’re leaving,” Jiho said. “Minhyuk, fire it up,” he called down the hall.
Jihoon scrambled to the hatch and looked down at Minho like he was the holder of all answers.
“It’s fine,” Minho said.
“Take care of him,” Jihoon said, placing Muji in Minho’s arms.
“Take care of yourself,” Minho said, waving with his free hand.
As the ship left orbit, Jihoon didn’t even wonder once if he had been hasty.
[five]
Taeil grimaced as his makeshift leg caught on that stupid board again. He needed to either fix his leg or the floorboard but he didn’t have time for either. There were too many patients he needed to see, the infection was spreading too quickly. It had even taken out Doctor Ko.
If Taeil hadn’t lost his left leg and half his mobility in his hands to the same infection and gained immunity, he’d be in one of those beds and not running around playing doctor. He wasn’t confident about his work, either. He’d spent too long dreaming about getting away from Regina when Doctor Ko had come and taken all his business away.
Taeil wasn’t bitter. He couldn’t operate with his fingers sluggish like they were, and his leg got in the way more often than he would have liked. It wasn’t until the infection brought down the entire village that he had another patient.
He knew exactly what he needed, a delivery of prophycillin. Unfortunately, the Alliance overlooked little planets like Regina and all he could do was try to address his patients’ symptoms while praying for a miracle.
“Doc…” a cracking voice started and Taeil’s arm reached for the bucket at the same time his legs moved toward the source.
One of the small boys retched and Taeil sighed in relief as the bucket made it to its destination in time. Too many unfortunate misses had drilled the motion into his muscles. “It’ll feel better after,” Taeil said, rubbing the kid’s back.
The kid-Jimin, Taeil was pretty sure-nodded. He tried to say something but only half-digested gruel came out.
“It’s alright, kid,” Taeil said. Jimin nodded weakly and fell back against the sheets.
Taeil closed his eyes and took a deep breath before grabbing the bucket and shifting back into gear. No use in complaining.
*
BAM. BAM. BAM.
Taeil jolted awake to the sound of enthusiastic knocking at the door. He’d dozed off, since he’d been on duty for way too long.
He blinked until his mind cleared enough to function. He shuffled to the small hospital’s door and opened it. A young man promptly fell into him.
“Ah, my bad,” the guy’s companion said, shifting his friend’s weight closer and grabbing his waist to steady him. “I think this one ate something weird. He frowned, his intense eyebrows making his intimidating face even more intimidating. “Yukwon, don’t just fall on people you just met,” he said and on cue, the lump next to him grumbled in pain.
Regina was too small to get visitors on the regular, so of course when some finally showed up, it happened to be the most inconvenient time. There weren’t enough beds as it was. “I’ll see what I can do,” Taeil said anyway.
Taeil ushered the pair in and let Yukwon collapse on his own makeshift bed, but not before passing all the bedridden villagers.
“We’re kinda going through an epidemic right now,” Taeil said.
Eyebrows guy looked around. “I’ll say. I guess we should leave as soon as possible.”
Taeil shrugged. “It’s only infectious if you’ve lived on Regina for a while breathing the atmosphere."
The guy nodded, looking thoughtful. “I can’t pay you but I can lend some manpower. It looks like you need it.”
Taeil wasn’t sure if he should be feeling grateful or offended. Not that it mattered. “Extra hands would be more than welcome,” he said, showing the stranger how far he could flex his fingers. “Mine don’t really work.”
The guy’s tough face softened as his mouth rounded in surprise. “I’ll be right back with help, Doctor..?”
“Lee Taeil,” Taeil said, extending his hand. “No doctor. Maybe hyung to you.”
“No way,” the guy said, laughing. He took Taeil’s hand firmly but carefully. “I’m Jiho. I’ll leave Yukwon in your care then, Lee Taeil.”
And then he was gone. Taeil wondered if he was somehow still sleeping, but there was a random kid in his cot now that he had to take care of.
“Um,” the guy-Yukwon, Jiho had called him. “Do you have a bathroom?” he croaked weakly.
Taeil pointed to it and watched as Yukwon hobbled over, doubled over and clutching his stomach. He raised his eyes to the ceiling and blew out a puff of air he had trapped in his cheeks. It was going to be a long night.
*
Taeil gave Yukwon some tract cleansing pills, so Yukwon was dozing peacefully on Taeil’s cot by the time Jiho returned. There were two others in his tow.
“This is Minhyuk,” Jiho said, and the one with the serious face nodded. “And Jihoon.”
“Nice to meet you, doctor,” the kid called Jihoon said, setting down a huge case in order to bow a full 90 degrees and take a hold of Taeil’s right hand.
“Taeil,” Taeil said. “Not doctor. Hyung, maybe.” He shook Jihoon’s hand, but Jihoon didn’t let go.
“No way,” Jihoon said. He flipped Taeil’s hand over and traced his fingers over Taeil’s palm.
“Um,” Taeil said as Jihoon nodded, humming to himself under his breath. “My hand?”
“Oh.” Jihoon dropped his hand like it was a hot potato and he scratched his head as he smiled bashfully. His motions were spastic and charming in their own odd way. “I think I can wire those up to full functionality,” he said, looking at Taeil’s hands. He nodded. “And get you a mechanical prosthetic.”
“Told you it’d be fun,” Jiho said, clapping Jihoon’s shoulder as Taeil tried to process Jihoon’s words. “I’m gonna go run an errand now.”
Before Taeil could say anything, Jiho left.
“How can we help?” Minhyuk spoke up for the first time.
“Just show Minhyuk what to do and I’ll fix you up,” Jihoon said, smiling at Taeil.
It was weird, being told what to do in his own element. Taeil was pretty sure these were a bunch of mercenaries of the suspicious type he wasn’t supposed to get involved with. Yet he still found himself doing what they said. He showed Minhyuk attach IVs to the patients, when to move the bucket, and what to do when a patient’s temperature went into fever range. Jihoon had disappeared behind his giant case.
“Right now all we can do is relieve some of the symptoms and hope their bodies are strong enough,” Taeil explained to Minhyuk, who took everything in with the same quiet attention. “We asked the Alliance for prophycillin but they don’t have any reason to care about us.”
Minhyuk nodded, his face darkening the slightest, if Taeil wasn’t imagining things. Then it was gone. “I’ll take care of things here,” he said, a gentle smile breaking his serious demeanor for the first time. He looked behind Taeil, causing Taeil to turn around.
Jihoon stood behind him, some wires looped around one shoulder and some mechanical parts in his arms. “I bet you’re wanting for a new leg,” Jihoon said, grinning widely as he proffered the largest piece of the bunch.
Taeil didn’t know what to say. He shrugged. He did need one. “Do you know what you’re doing?” he said, eyeing the metal contraption suspiciously.
“These guys talk to me,” Jihoon said, patting the prosthetic and not raising Taeil’s confidence one bit. “Trust me.”
It wasn’t like Taeil was the type of guy to trust somebody just because they said to, but Jihoon just looked honest and he really did want the replacement for his peg. “Okay,” he said.
Taeil sat quietly as Jihoon hummed tuneless songs while he worked. He worked carefully, adjusting for height and girth. “I wish I could install some nerve connections,” he said thoughtfully. “But there’s not enough time for that.” He made some small adjustments that Taeil didn’t understand the need for. “There we go. Try it out.”
It was amazing. The soreness from his old leg was entirely gone, supported fully by the metal brace. He bounced up and down. Jihoon had done a beautiful job of fitting it. It almost felt like he was whole again, except he couldn’t wiggle his toes. “Are you a genius?”
Jihoon shook his head and laughed. “I told you they talk to me. Ready for your hands?” He pulled out a fibrous netted material.
Taeil nodded, even though he had no idea what that stuff was. But he was more inclined to trust Jihoon after the leg.
“This is going to be mostly reflexive,” Jihoon said, spreading the threadlike wire evenly over Taeil’s hands. “So if you move your finger it will help you continue the movement. Kinda like an amp.”
Taeil nodded, distracted by the pricks in his fingers. It felt like his sleeping nerves were waking up.
When Jihoon was finished with that, he had Taeil try it out again. “It’s not as good as directly wiring them up to your nerves but it should be better…”
Taeil made a fist. He had almost forgotten the feeling. It wasn’t perfect, but it was what he needed. “Thanks,” he said, smiling at Jihoon.
Jihoon paused. “Are you sure you’re my hyung?”
*
The night went by much faster after Taeil’s usage of his limbs was mostly returned. The fact that he had others helping him contributed as well.
Jiho returned at dawn to collect his subordinates. When Taeil went to greet them, Jiho handed over a crate.
Taeil looked inside. Inside were neat rows of tubes. It couldn’t be. He took one out. Prophycillin. “How’d you know?”
Minhyuk, who had appeared by his side, held up a slim rectangular contraption. “I know we were transporting a box and I sent Jiho a message. But maybe you’ve never seen a CC before.”
“A what?”
“A cell communicator,” Jihoon said, appearing at Taeil’s other side. “You know, technology’s gotten pretty advanced in the Alliance. Like what I did today.”
“Well, we’ll leave Yukwon with you and pick him up later,” Jiho said, and with a wave of his hand, he disappeared as quickly as he had done so before, this time taking the others with him.
Suddenly all alone, Taeil just stood there, holding the crate of prophycillin and trying to process everything.
After he distributed the antibiotic, maybe he’d finally get to sleep.
*
Taeil didn’t wake up until Jiho came back, this time with apparently his entire crew. Doctor Ko was already up, the antibiotic taking effect quickly, and dealing with the other patients. Taeil was glad he was back.
There was yet another crew member who Taeil had never seen, who was almost as short as Taeil was. He had a funny face.
“Taeil hyung!” Jihoon greeted, waving happily.
Taeil smiled, Jihoon’s enthusiasm infectious as the bacteria he’d been fighting. “By the way, thanks for the medical delivery. It was a lifesaver.” Literally.
“Wait, is that where the box of prophycillin went?” the short one with the funny face asked. “Jiho, you crazy bastard, that was worth a month of rations,”
Jiho shrugged. Even in that simple gesture it was full of such commanding presence it was obvious he made the decisions. “That couldn’t buy us a doctor.”
A doctor? Doctor Ko didn’t seem the type.
“We got a doctor?” Jihoon asked what Taeil wanted to ask. His face was shining with childish excitement.
“Yeah, him,” Jiho said, pointing in Taeil’s general direction.
Taeil turned to look behind, curious.
Nobody.
“Wait, me-?”
“Taeil hyung?” Jihoon said at the same time.
“When did I agree to this?” Taeil didn’t like this trend of decisions being made for him.
Jiho pointed at Taeil’s new robot leg. “That’s not gonna last long without Jihoon.” His gaze moved back to meet Taeil’s and he frowned slightly. “And this town doesn’t need two doctors, does it?”
Taeil looked at the ragtag group of bandits, and how at ease they were with themselves. He wiggled his electrically wired fingers in absent thought. Jiho was right about him needing Jihoon, and he’d always wanted to get off this planet. “I guess so.”
“Welcome to the crew,” Jiho said, grinning, and Taeil wondered if he wasn’t drawn to the charisma behind that smile.
Taeil took Jiho’s hand with his newly revived one. It wasn’t in the way he had imagined, but it was a first step towards his dreams. It was sure to be an adventure.
[six]
Jaehyo woke up in a haze, his head pounding. At least it was dark, no piercing rays of light to make the awful headache worse. No wait, no light was bad.
He tried evaluate the situation as calmly as he could. His breath was hot and moist against his own face so he must have been in some small enclosed space. His arms were numb from sleeping weirdly on them. He wiggled his fingers and realized his hands were bound together behind his back.
Great, he was being kidnapped. He furrowed his brows in attempt to clear his head. It kept pounding.
His client. Who was he supposed to meet again? Lady Ryu. A rich, older unmarried woman. Her calls were usually free of trouble, it would be just a bit annoying to lose her as a client over some trivial kidnappers. Although that wasn’t what he was supposed to be thinking about. What was he doing?
Waiting, it must have been waiting. He had been waiting at an nondescript bar for the Lady’s chauffeur to pick him up. Jaehyo’s job sometimes required him to put his life in danger so he had three different defensive martial arts mastered as well as an arsenal of pills and shots to neutralize any slipped drug in his drinks. He hadn’t been passed any drinks though.
Jaehyo remembered he had arrived early and she was a little late. And in that time he…
His transport made a sharp turn and his head bounced against the bottom of the enclosement, sending a fresh stab of pain radiate from the back of his head.
Gorram, that’s what the bandits did, they’d taken a club to his brainpan.
He rolled over on side to protect the back of his head from more jostling, lamenting the fact that he had taken so long to figure that out. And the fact that he’d fallen for such an unsophisticated trick. He pushed that thought out of his mind as he reached for the slim dagger he kept around his thigh.
The bandits that had taken him were crude but thorough. They had searched him already.
Jaehyo brooded in the darkness, rolling whichever muscles he could move in the cramped space. Whatever reason his kidnappers had, it must have been related to money. It wasn’t his money, since they kept him alive, so his guess was some sort of ransom. If it was just money, he could negotiate with them.
He kicked the side of his tiny prison. “Hello?”
There was a shuffling sound, then a brief silence. “You’re awake?” a deep voice rasped back at him. For how intimidating the voice could have been, there was a great deal of uncertainty in the tone. Jaehyo smiled, this might be easier than he expected.
“Could you open this thing so I can breathe? I don’t think your client wants me dead.” Jaehyo used his most polite yet commanding tone.
Another shift, and a noise of hesitation.
“I’m still tied up, you took all my weapons,” Jaehyo said, making his voice light and lilting despite wanting to do the opposite. “I just want to breathe, promise.”
Jaehyo waited and grinned when he heard the satisfying click of a lock. The light that flooded in blinded him and he squinted, his eyes adjusting.
It looked like he was in an engine room. He breathed in the not much cooler engine room air and sat up against the side of the crate the bandits put him in. He blinked a few times and took in the curious face staring back at him.
Bright eyes, clean round cheeks, brow crinkled slightly and mouth twisted in worry, it wasn’t the face of a kidnapper. More like a kid.
“Thanks.” Jaehyo smiled at the kid, whose response was to frown a little more deeply. “So who are you delivering me to?”
“Who said we’re delivering you?” the kid said in his deep, wavering voice.
Jaehyo just looked at him thoughtfully. The kid fidgeted.
“I’m not supposed to tell you,” he said, talking to escape the discomfort under Jaehyo’s gaze. “How did you know?”
“Why else would you abduct me and leave me alive?” Jaehyo said, and the innocent face fell. He felt a little bad. “But many people have tried to do that before,” he added as a consolation.
“Why?”
“I’m too beautiful for my own good,” Jaehyo said, sighing for effect.
His kidnapper looked shocked for a split second, and then he was clutching his stomach in barking laughter. “Really?”
“That wasn’t a joke,” Jaehyo said, sulky. “Hey, I answered your questions, how about fair’s fair and you answer mine?”
“Oh.” The kid, loosened up from the laugh, looked like he was considering. “We’re not really‐”
“Pyo Jihoon.”
Jaehyo looked up at the doorway the same time the kid-no, Jihoon-whipped around.
“Didn’t I say to report to me when our guest woke up?” the man at the door said, his voice quiet but dark, as if he was threatening something unspoken.
Jihoon looked like he wanted to melt and become one with the metal grating floor. “Sorry Jiho hyung, I just felt bad…”
“That’s why I was gonna deal with it,” Jiho said. He looked Jaehyo over with a sharp gaze. “Though I guess you weren’t going to be any trouble anyway,” he said, addressing Jaehyo directly.
Jaehyo felt like he should be insulted, but he remained polite. “No trouble at all.”
Jiho came closer. He was intimidating, with a hawk beak nose and slanted fox eyes that felt like they pierced through Jaehyo. “Woo Jiho, captain of the ship, Nillili Mambo.” He jerked his head towards Jihoon, who looked like a child sent to time out. “That’s Pyo Jihoon. He might look useless but he has a way with the ship that nobody understands.”
Jihoon grinned, overly happy, as if Jiho hadn’t also insulted him in the same sentence. He patted an engine part and the ship creaked in response. “She doesn’t speak to anyone but me.”
These were the most cordial kidnappers Jaehyo had ever been kidnapped by. He figured he should reciprocate. “I’m-”
“Ahn Jaehyo,” Jiho said for him. “24. Companion.” He shook his head. “Do you know how much money you’re going to make for us?”
Jaehyo shrugged. Probably a lot considering the stature of his clientele.
Not answering his own question, Jiho cut through the ropes binding Jaehyo’s wrists in one swift stroke, then handed a small sack to him. It contained Jaehyo’s medicine pouch, coin purse, and dagger. Everything they’d taken off him. “I’m trusting you so you trust me alright? Don’t say a single thing and go along with it.”
“With what?” Jaehyo asked.
Jiho wasn’t listening, already turned away. He pressed the intercom button by the door. “Prepare to be boarded,” Jiho said into the intercom before exiting, as abruptly as he came.
“What?” Jaehyo called after him.
“It’s okay,” Jihoon said, holding onto Jaehyo’s elbow and dragging him up. “Jiho hyung doesn’t lie. If he says to trust him, it’s okay to trust him.”
“If you say-” Jaehyo almost fell over as the ship jerked to a full stop, saved by Jihoon’s grip on his arm. What are you guys doing?”
“Being boarded,” Jihoon said with a wide grin. Being boarded wasn’t something to be happy about, Jaehyo was about to say, but Jihoon spoke first. “Just wait here, it won’t be long,” he said and he too was gone.
Jaehyo could make out some muffled yells and thumps.
It wasn’t long until Jihoon came back with a piece of rope in his hands. ”Sorry I gotta do this to you again.
“Remember what Jiho said,” Jihoon said before he dragged Jaehyo by the arm out of the engine room.
They went to the boarding dock, where the rest of the crew were standing, brandishing their weapons, surrounded by a group of uniformed men. The uniforms were the familiar ones of the security guards at Lady Ryu’s mansion. “Hand him over and nobody gets hurt,” the one at the front said.
Jihoon dragged him to the rest of the crew. Jiho looked over. “Do it, Yukwon.”
Crack.
Jaehyo fell to the floor, his head feeling like it split open from being hit in the same spot. But what had broken was the wooden stick that had hit him, and the two halves fell with him. He bit down his cries of pain.
“Take him,” Jaehyo heard Jiho say.
Jaehyo hung limp as he was grabbed underneath his armpits and draped over somebody’s back.
“Thanks,” he heard one of his rescuers say. The condescension and sneering in his voice made Jaehyo’s stomach turn sour. He heard the clinking of a coin purse thrown on the floor.
It was silent.
“Pick it up.” Jiho’s chilling voice sent goosebumps up Jaehyo’s neck. “Or did you forget that we’re the strong ones?”
Jaehyo missed the rest as he was taken into the uniformed mens’ ship. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the rest.
The guards hadn’t bothered checking his possessions and he was grateful Jiho had returned them. With his throbbing head reminding him to be more wary than ever for surprise attacks, Jaehyo didn’t sleep a wink.
*
Lady Ryu greeted the guards that brought Jaehyo back to her estate. She personally escorted them to one of the rooms and had them deposit Jaehyo on the bed.
“You’ll be okay,” she said, moving the hair from Jaehyo’s face and kissing his cheek before tucking him in under the covers.
Jaehyo kept his breathing even and feigned sleep, even though he wanted to throw up.
Jaehyo was thankful the Lady didn’t have patience with his unconsciousness so she left after leaving instructions to the guard outside the door to alert her if Jaehyo awoke.
When he was sure he was alone in the room he stretched out slowly. Everywhere was sore or stiff or bruised or numb or rope burned. He padded quietly out of the bed and found a plant under which he hid his personal effects.
The stimulants he had taken had worn off and made him twice as exhausted, and the physical damage he sustained from being dragged around like a sack of potatoes didn’t help. If he was to face the next day, he’d have to sleep.
As sleep quickly overcame him in the comfortable down bedding, his mind quickly wandered to Jiho and if this was his idea of saving Jaehyo.
*
It was the planet’s sun that woke Jaehyo up, the light bright and warm against his skin as the sheer curtains filtered the harshness of the sun’s rays. His body felt weightless, like he was swimming in the extravagant sheets. Even the pounding headache from the previous night felt like it was left over from a dream.
Someone had come in and left breakfast by his bed. It wasn’t hot anymore, but it still smelled delicious. Jaehyo took the tray and settled back against the soft pillows. He didn’t know why he didn’t just accept one of the young lords’ offers and live his life in easy luxury.
He bit into a biscuit and it melted in his mouth. It would be too easy to live like this.
It would be easy, so why hasn’t he? He spooned some lukewarm porridge into his mouth. Why couldn’t he let himself feel satisfied with this? Instead he was going around getting clobbered on the head and getting himself kidnapped.
Jaehyo sighed and looked out the window. There were little starlings flitting about, cute chubby little things. He took the dish with his biscuit crumbs and opened the window, setting it outside. He watched the starlings peck at the crumbs before flying away at the slightest startle.
Perhaps he was just like those birds. It would be too sad to see them caged up.
Jaehyo took the rest of his emptied dishes and stacked them back on the tray. He let himself take a scented bubble bath in near-scalding water before he had to face his real kidnapper.
*
It turned out Jaehyo didn’t have to go find Lady Ryu. She was waiting for him as he stepped out of the bathroom in the luxurious plush bathrobe.
“How are you doing?” she said, taking his hands and leading him to sit on the side of his bed. Her slender fingers fussed with Jaehyo’s dripping bangs, brushing them out of his eyes and tucking strands behind his ears.
“Better,” Jaehyo replied. “Do you know what happened to me?”
“Some gang kidnapped you.” The Lady cupped Jaehyo’s cheek in her palm. “Luckily my men saw as it happened and you know the rest.”
The edges of Jaehyo’s mouth lifted in a tight-lipped smile. “Luckily.” How could a person look so serene while telling such a blatant lie?
“Come stay with me,” Lady Ryu said, thumb tracing Jaehyo’s cheekbone. “I’ll make sure there’s protection set up for you from thugs like those guys.”
Jaehyo hummed. “Who’s going to protect me from you, my lady?” he asked innocuously.
“What do you mean?” Lady Ryu asked, hand pausing on Jaehyo’s cheek.
“I heard it was you who arranged my kidnapping, my lady,” Jaehyo said, smile dropping, his eyes frozen. He took her wrist in his hand and firmly moved it away from his face.
Lady Ryu laughed, any sense of discomfort hidden behind her light and playful demeanor. Jaehyo had to give her credit for her acting. “I see you’re well enough to make jokes.”
“My sources never lie.” Jaehyo controlled his breathing, trying not to his muscles that were ready to leap into action.
The kindness in the Lady’s gaze shifted to anger in a flash and her fingers went to a dial around her neck. “I was trying to do this the nice way.”
Jaehyo leapt towards the window at the same time guards burst through the doors. He jumped out and dropped gracefully onto the ground-
And straight into a net. Of course they had prepared.
Jaehyo pulled out his knife and started slicing through the thick rope when he was lifted into the air. He looked above at the shuttle. It was his own.
Jiho grinned at him, offering a hand. “Need a lift, princess?”
*
Back on the shuttle, Jiho dumped Jaehyo rather unceremoniously onto the ground. “You’re welcome.”
“I had it under control.” Jaehyo sniffed primly, adjusting the plush bathrobe with a quick snap of his wrist. “Thanks for bringing my ship back though.”
“A princess shouldn’t be traveling all alone,” Jiho said.
“I can take care of myself,” Jaehyo said, indignant. It’s not like he hadn’t been kidnapped before. He’d gotten away successfully plenty of times. “And just so you know, I’m not a princess.”
“Whatever you say, princess.” Jiho smirked, and Jaehyo would have tried punching it off of his face if it were any less charming. “Anyway, would you like to travel with us?”
“A Companion aboard would open many doors for you,” Jaehyo said.
Jiho nodded. “And in turn we can provide you protection and transportation.”
It wasn’t a bad arrangement, a win-win. “What about accommodations?”
“We have an empty shuttle dock that we can carry you in,” Jiho explained. “You can use your shuttle to take care of your clients when we land planetside.”
It would be unwise to turn down a mutually beneficial offer, but Jaehyo had it driven into him to err on the side of caution. “Contractual obligations?”
“You can leave at your will.”
“Can you afford that?” Jaehyo asked, an eyebrow raised.
Jiho laughed. “You’re not going to want to leave.”
Jaehyo thought for a second about Jiho’s magnetic charisma and shrugged. “But I can leave whenever.”
“Yep.”
“I don’t see why not,” Jaehyo said.
“Welcome aboard the Nillili Mambo,” Jiho said, offering a hand to shake.
“We’re still on my shuttle,” Jaehyo said, but he took Jiho’s hand anyway. His handshake was as firm as Jaehyo expected given his personality.
Jiho ignored him. “As long as you’re aboard my ship, I am your captain and you’re part of the crew.”
“Yes sir.”
“And as a part of the crew, you’ll get along with your crewmates,” Jiho said, gesturing for Jaehyo to follow him to the cockpit.
Jaehyo had forgotten that somebody had to be piloting his shuttle when the door opened and one of the Nillili Mambo crew turned around and greeted him. He had a tall nose and slight rugged look about him, and his mellow presence stood in sharp contrast with Jiho’s explosive one.
“This is Minhyuk,” Jiho said.
Minhyuk gave them a mini salute. “I’m the crew’s navigator,” he said.
Jaehyo waited for more but Jiho took over. “Let Minhyuk know if you have any places you want us to go and he’ll plan the most efficient path for us to get some jobs done.”
“Got it,” Jaehyo said. “How far are we from the ship?”
“In sight,” Minhyuk said.
“We parked the ship somewhere nearby but I had Minhyuk take a longer path just in case some of your guard friends gave chase,” Jiho explained.
“I see,” Jaehyo said. They stood in silence as Minhyuk locked onto the Nillili Mambo’s coordinates. “You don’t talk very much do you?” he said when the silence grew too heavy.
“I don’t like wasting words,” Minhyuk replied, so calmly Jaehyo wondered if that was even an insult.
“Oh.” Jaehyo spent the rest of the short trip in silence, watching as Minhyuk guided the shuttle smoothly into the Nillili Mambo’s empty shuttle dock.
“Welcome back,” Jihoon greeted them when the door opened. He was carrying a sizeable toolbox in one hand. He grinned widely upon seeing Jaehyo. “See, I told you Jiho hyung would save you.”
The kid looked so expectant Jaehyo had to smile back at him, but he wasn’t sure if being hit over the head twice was something to be grateful for. “Thanks.”
Jihoon didn’t seem to notice anything in the tone of Jaehyo’s spiritless gratitude. He patted the hull of Jaehyo’s shuttle. “I’ll take care of her, you go meet the others like Taeilie hyung.”
A tiny person Jaehyo hadn’t noticed before peeked out from behind Jihoon. Jaehyo nodded slightly towards him, confused. Had Jihoon just called him hyung?
“I’m Taeil,” the tiny person said. His voice was delicate and high; he even sounded tiny. “The ship’s doctor. How’s your head?”
Oh yeah, his head. Jaehyo had forgotten to be indignant about it. He felt it gingerly. “What do you think? It’s rutting great.”
“Princesses shouldn’t curse,” Jiho said, appearing at Jaehyo’s side.
“And I’m not a princess,” Jaehyo said. “Why’d you have to hit me twice?”
Jiho pursed his lips and shrugged. “That was Yukwon, take it up with him.”
“You seem fine so I’ll go now,” Taeil said curtly, ignoring Jiho and putting them back on track. “But I’m going to check you for any concussion so swing by the infirmary later.”
Jaehyo nodded, startled at how much force was in that tiny package. He watched as Taeil left, Minhyuk behind him, saying something about taking off.
“It’s fine, in reality he’s as cute as he looks,” Jihoon said, as if it were supposed to be reassuring.
“Taeilie hyung’s got some mechanical limbs and Jihoon maintains them, so Jihoon gets special rights to call him cute,” Jiho said. “Try not to bother him too much and especially not when he’s just gotten up.”
“Oh,” Jaehyo said, wary.
“Okay, let’s see where the others are.”
Jaehyo followed Jiho out of the bay and down through narrower hallways. Jiho pointed out all the sleeping quarters and the infirmary where he was to go later, explaining the way the airlock doors sealed in case of a Reaver attack.
“Here’s the mess hall,” Jiho said when they arrived to a room with a dining table and kitchen. “And there’s Yukwon.” He pointed to the fridge…
No, the person sitting inside the fridge.
The boy called Yukwon waved. “Hey cap’n,” he mumbled around the nutrient bar he was chewing.
“Get out of the fridge, it wastes power our ship can’t afford to waste,” Jiho said.
Yukwon stood up reluctantly and let the fridge door shut behind him. “But you should really try it sometime, it’s refreshing,” he said with a bright smile. It was hard to believe this was the guy that knocked Jaehyo out. “The name’s Yukwon,” he said, turning his attention to Jaehyo. “I’m a fighter.”
“Ah,” Jaehyo said, unconsciously letting his hand drift to the back of his head.
“Oh yeah, sorry we had to meet in those circumstances,” Yukwon said, flashing another bright smile. “Had to do what was necessary. Captain’s orders.”
Jaehyo turned sharply towards Jiho, who shrugged. “It was necessary.”
“You hungry?” Yukwon said, holding out his half eaten nutrient bar.
“I’m okay, thanks…” Jaehyo said. He might have felt bad but Yukwon happily stuffed the rest into his mouth as Jiho led Jaehyo on to the control room.
Minhyuk was at the controls, and sitting in the co-pilot’s chair was a scrawny guy hunched over a map.
The guy looked up when they entered and his face lit up as soon as he saw them. Every feature on his face, already large, seemed to double in size. “Jiho!” he shouted and he leapt up to give Jiho a tight hug, which Jiho expertly avoided.
“This is Kyung,” Jiho said, wrinkling his nose in distaste at Kyung’s attempts at affection.
“Park Kyung, first mate of the Nillili Mambo,” Kyung said, apparently forgetting he was trying to chase Jiho down.
“It’s best if you never listen to anything he says,” Jiho said.
“Don’t say hurtful things.” Kyung frowned and latched around Jiho’s shoulders. “I’m your truest and most loyal friend.”
Jiho made a gagging face and pushed Kyung away. “Go see if we have any more jobs.”
“Kyung is loyal, but only to Jiho,” Minhyuk told Jaehyo. “Watch out, or you’ll get swindled.
Jaehyo nodded, slow and skeptical. He had wondered if he made the wrong decision when he first shook Jiho’s hand, but now he was sure of it.
It was just in his blood, rejecting the safe choice and taking the reckless one. However, the discomfort bubbling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t fear, it was excitement.
He had a terrible feeling he’d be staying for a while.
Notes: So this summer has been crazy and moving and starting a job has been crazier and this fic didn’t turn out how I intended it to @_@ I hope you don’t mind I mashed a few of your prompts together~ Maybe one day I’ll write the fic I meant to write (a continuation of Jaehyo’s story!)