⊰ T H R E E ⊱

THE SIREN'S NAME

After Yoongi left, I struggled to figure out what I should do. Jin, Namjoon, Taehyung, and Jungkook looked at me impatiently, awaiting my orders. However, I couldn't stop my gaze from traveling back to the siren. His breathing was shallow, his chest rising faintly with each inhale. Then I remembered he was shot and began searching for his wound.

"Where did you guys shoot him?" I asked, not seeing any blood.

Taehyung shrugged. "I think Hoseok is the one who hit him."

I nodded, part of me wishing we hadn't needed to hurt them. I knew it was necessary, but their ethereal beauty made it difficult to feel at peace about it.

"Alright, Jin and Namjoon, I want you two to go fill some buckets with seawater and bring them back here. Jungkook, go get some of the rum. Tae, bring me our medical supplies. I'm not sure how bad his wound might be." When I finished speaking, the boys nodded and muttered under their breath. They all began leaving the room and I nodded at Jin as he handed me a lantern on his way out.

Now that I was alone with the siren, I felt my curiosity take hold of me. I looked toward his unconscious figure once again and decided it wouldn't hurt if I tried to find the gunshot wound. The faster I could patch him up, the better. I was hoping I could get it done before he awoke. If he did happen to gain consciousness while I was in there, the trusty dagger inside of my boot was always within reach.

Looking around the room, my eyes landed on the keys that hung on a nail in the wall. I quickly grabbed the keys, wasting no time in unlocking the cell door. Carefully stepping over his large, glimmering black tail, I closed the door behind me. I made my way over to where he laid with his back against the wall.

Seeing him up close, I felt an odd wave of attraction come over me. It was like some invisible force urged me to reach out and touch him. I did my best to fight against it as I reminded myself that sirens use their alluring aura to catch their prey.

Kneeling down beside him, I carefully searched for any sign of blood. Not seeing anything, I hesitantly reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. I starting moving him forward to expose his back and my gaze landed on a dark, bloodied gash on his shoulder blade, finding that the bullet had only grazed him.

As I adjusted my grip to get a better look, my hand was snatched away, and I gasped at the sudden movement. My wrist was held tightly in his grip, both of our hands raised in the space between our chests. I looked up from our hands and met his brown, feline eyes.

He stared with intensity, and I swore I could see a hundred different thoughts swarm across his gaze, though I couldn't place them. It was impossible to tear my eyes from his, even as I felt him release my wrist. I stilled while he carefully leaned closer to me, tilting his head to the side in interest. His lips parted and I thought he was about to speak, but he quickly leaned back against the wall as footsteps sounded in the distance.

"I got the medicine— what the hell?" Tae raised his voice upon seeing me in the cell and dropped the bag he was carrying. I winced at the loud volume.

"Tae, just calm down—"

"Get out of there right now! How could you be so reckless?" he exclaimed as he rushed to the cell door. He started opening it, but I whisper-shouted at him.

"Stop! Just stay back and stop shouting! The calmer we are, the calmer he'll be." I looked back at the siren to see that he was still staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. I awkwardly cleared my throat, feeling my cheeks grow warm under his gaze.

"Hand me the supplies," I ordered quietly, reaching my hand through the bars.

Taehyung sighed and picked up the bag, then set it in my palm. Carefully bringing the bag into the cell, I looked through it until I found the thread and needle we used for stitches. After the countless times the crew had gotten themselves into some kind of trouble, I was skilled enough at patching someone up.

"Here's the rum, Kat," Jungkook spoke as he entered the room.

He stopped short upon seeing me in the cell, but he kept his mouth shut. I gestured for him to hand it to me and he did, then I popped the cap off the bottle and scooted closer to the blue-haired creature. I reached for his shoulder like before, but he leaned away from me.

"I'm trying to help you. Just let me take care of your wound, okay?" I muttered gently. I wasn't sure if he could understand me, but I decided to try talking to him anyway. His eyes met mine, searching, then he slowly nodded.

So he can understand me.

I proceeded to place my hand on his shoulder, bringing it forward to see the left side of his back.

"This is going to sting," I warned before taking the bottle of rum and pouring some of the liquid on his exposed flesh. I could feel him tense under my hand as it first made contact, but he made no sound. The alcohol ran down his torso and took the blood along with it.

Soon his wound was clean, so I grabbed the needle and thread and began stitching the gash up carefully. Luckily I finished before Namjoon and Jin showed up, breaking the silence with their heavy footsteps and loud voices.

"Hush!" I yelled quickly, noticing how tense and on edge the siren was getting. The two men immediately stopped talking as they took in what was happening. "Just put the buckets down on the floor there." They quickly followed my instructions. "Now I want all of you out. You decide which one of you stays outside the door in case I need help. The rest of you can go to bed."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Kat. We don't know what he's capable of," Jin protested.

"You're right, but what I do know is that he was way calmer before all of you showed up, so I think it's safer for me if you guys just leave for now. I promise I'll be careful." I could feel the siren's eyes still watching the side of my face as I spoke.

"Can you at least let us tie its hands up? I'd feel a little better if we did that," Jungkook said.

I nodded in agreement, then watched as Namjoon went over to a chest in the corner of the room, pulling out a short rope.

"Here Jungkook, you can tie it up," Namjoon said, handing him the rope. Jungkook gulped as he looked at the rope, then to the siren with wide eyes. He shook his head and handed it to Jin.

"You do it, Jin. You're the oldest."

Jin's eyes widened and his eyebrows furrowed. "No way am I stepping near that thing! It was your idea, you do it!" He tossed the rope back to Jungkook.

Tired of their shenanigans, I interrupted. "Dammit, just give me the blasted rope!"

Jungkook stuck his hand through the bars and gave me the rope. I turned to the siren and carefully grabbed his hands, avoiding his gaze while I tied them together. Once I was sure the knot was secure, I turned back to the pirates.

"All clear. You can go now."

"I'll wait by the door," Taehyung announced. I nodded and waited until they had all exited the room.

"Finally," I mumbled in relief as the room was quiet again.

I grabbed the medical bag and searched through it until I found the roll of gauze. Using my teeth to tear a bit of the material off, I wrapped a few layers over his shoulder until the wound was covered, then tied it in place.

"Done," I said quietly, letting him rest his back against the wall again.

Seeing that he was still staring intently at me, I stood up. I went over to one of the buckets in the corner of the room, lifting it by the handle and bringing it back into the cell with me.

"I wasn't sure if you would need seawater. I thought, you know, maybe you have to stay wet or else you'll be in pain? Or maybe you'll breathe better when you're wet? I don't really know how the whole siren thing works," I rambled, avoiding his eyes. I could feel my cheeks heat up as I realized how clueless I sounded.

Then he snickered, and my eyes snapped to his face, surprised that he'd finally made a sound. A smirk crossed his lips as he looked up at me. I waited for him to speak, but he didn't.

"Well, do you need the water or not?" I asked.

He continued smirking without a word.

"Can you even talk?" I was once again met with silence. I sighed, ready to give up. Then one last question came to mind, and I asked it.

"Do you have a name?" I said with little effort, expecting to receive no answer.

He watched me carefully, letting the quiet drag on until finally, a melodic voice spoke.

"I'm Jimin."

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