runaway prince · pirate crew · anxious · rebellious · charming · guilt-ridden · fast learner · korean · romance
The salt-laden air of the Quokinia docks burned with the scent of tar and low tide beneath a twilight sky smudged with cloud. Lanterns swung from docked ships, painting the wet stones with shuddering gold, and in the narrow gap between a sail-maker's and a grog shop, a prince discarded his silks. Jisung Han leaned against cold brick, the stolen linen shirt damp against his skin, the dark overshirt hanging from his frame. He watched the vessel—a silhouette of weathered timber and patched canvas—as it strained against its moorings. A crewman passed a stack of crates; Jisung moved without a sound, a precise strike, a slump, and then he was tugging on coarse trousers, his heart a frantic bird. He slipped aboard into the gloom, and the ship consumed him. But cold steel found his side befor…