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Chapter Text

Seongmin will never forget the screams until the day he dies.

It was a normal day like any other until the harpoons came from the surface. Sharpened to wicked points and edged with razor-sharp barbs, the tirade of them seemed to be never-ending as they came down. One right after the other, they stained the water red with blood.

As he clutches the youngling to his chest, the merman desperately stretches his other hand out to his parents, their final screams of pain echoing through his head as something drags them towards the surface by the rope attached to the harpoon that has speared them together. On his shoulder, the youngling begins to cry, pressing himself as close to Seongmin’s body as he can, his tiny bronze tail curled against his stomach. He squeezes Seongmin’s shoulders with his little hands, and Seongmin puts his hand on the youngling’s head, tucking his face against Seongmin’s neck so he can’t see anything as everyone they have ever known is killed right before them.

Seongmin watches the youngling’s parents die. He watches his own parents die. He watches the current carry the blood deeper into the ocean until all he can see is red.

Seongmin too turns his head away from the gruesome scene above them, eyes darting around frantically for a way to escape where he has wedged himself between some rocks at the edge of the village, kelp fronds wafting overhead. Spots of colour glint in the red clouds of blood, heading away from the village, and Seongmin makes a mad dash through the water after them, fleeing the danger still lurking on the surface, the youngling clutched tightly in his arms. Around them, others are screaming in pain, swimming in loops from their injuries, but Seongmin does his best to ignore everything happening around him, even as something sharp pierces his flesh.

Holding the youngling tightly with one arm, he whispers, “Don’t worry, aegi… I will always protect you,” as rips the harpoon tip that has been driven into his hip. “Just hold on… hold on-”

“…min… Hey, Seongmin… Seongmin!” With a small jolt, Seongmin’s eyes shoot open to see the face of the youngling from his dream hovering above him. However, now he is much more mature and has grown significantly bigger in the last decade. And he is lying directly across Seongmin’s stomach, crushing him into the sponges underneath him. With a groan, Seongmin lets himself sink deeper into his sponge bed and flings an arm over his eyes.

“Yedam, I told you that I didn’t need to be woken up this morning,” he complains, peeking out from under his arm to see the young merman pouting at him indignantly.

Yedam wiggles like an eel, settling down on top of Seongmin even more, digging his chin into Seongmin’s chest as he continues to pout up at him, round eyes wide and shiny. “You woke me up first!” he huffs, his caudal fin flicking against the sandy floor of his room. His pout changes, worry creeping into his expression. “It sounded like you were having another nightmare. I couldn’t fall asleep again, so I came to check on you.” He huffs again, bubbles drifting out of his mouth.

Left groggy by the cobwebs of his nightmare that is still lingering in his mind, Seongmin makes an effort to sit up, grunting as he dislodges Yedam from his person. His golden tail shimmers in the early morning sunlight that is filtering into their cave through the skylights overhead, flashes of iridescent pink and orang lighting on the edges of his scales to match the sky above the water. He groans again – it’s about time for his to get up anyway, but he doesn’t want to give Yedam the satisfaction as he flops gracelessly on the sand, giggling and stirring up bubbles as he does.

Seongmin runs his fingers through his dark hair and pushes off the sponges, swimming over Yedam and heading for their stockroom further down the cave system from their sleeping quarters. He can feel Yedam following after him, always eager for breakfast, the lazy currents in the cave shifting around them.

The cave system they share isn’t much, one of the smallest in the area, one of the furthest away from the central system where the royal family lives. It has four small chambers branching off the main cave which serve as their bedrooms, their food stockroom, and a storeroom for their minimal personal belongings. All that said, nothing in their part of the city has much to boast about; there’s nothing worth looking at until you reach the middle rings, where the castle cave system is. Seongmin is just grateful that they had been given a home at all, considering he and Yedam are not natives to this territory.

After the raid on their own village near the shallows, nearly ten years ago now, Seongmin fled with Yedam to the capital territory to seek shelter, where the king of the merfolk had granted them permission to live along the outskirts with the handful of other survivors from similar attacks. The inner rings of the city were already full to bursting with the territory natives, so Seongmin considers himself – and Yedam by extension – lucky that they had been given a home of their own and that they hadn’t been separated.

Even if he does want to kill Yedam sometimes for being the most annoying little brother that Seongmin could have ever asked for, at the end of the day, Seongmin is the most grateful for Yedam’s presence in his life.

Seongmin picks up a few small fish from the barrel and hands them to Yedam before herding him out into the main chamber to eat. Then, he drifts into the corner that serves as their vanity to start prepping himself for the day. Yedam frowns after him, a fish halfway to his mouth. “Min, are you on a diet?” he asks, not missing that Seongmin didn’t grab any fish for himself.

With an annoyed flick of his tail, Seongmin squints at himself in the large shard of mirror propped up against the cave wall, starting to do his hair. “Yeah, what about it?” he grunts, combing his hair and diligently threading pearls and sea glass into the strands to keep it off his face during the day. “I’ve still got a lot of winter weight to lose before all the festivities for the Spring Equinox start.” He smiles over his shoulder. “I’ll have something later, after practice. I promise.”

Yedam has to bite his tongue to stop himself from arguing with Seongmin, usually content to let the detrimentally people-pleasing merman do as he pleases, but his worry persists. Seongmin takes care of everyone around him – everyone except himself. Instead of pressing him, Yedam changes the subject. “Speaking of the celebrations, how’s your planning for your performance with Prince Hao going? Does the king still think that he’s courting you?”

The annoyed sound Seongmin lets out makes Yedam grin. “I swear the king is blind!” he exclaims, roughly arranging his various pieces of jewellery. “He really does think that me and Hao are going to end up mated – even though all Hao does when we’re together is talk about his bodyguard! I’m surprised he hasn’t just ordered Hanbin to just date him already. Next time he drags him to The Grotto, I swear I’ll force him to confess. I’m sick of his lovesick mooning!” Yedam laughs as Seongmin complains about his friends, glad to see that he has shaken himself out of whatever funk he was in earlier. “Besides,” he continues, “at least Hao has someone to love – even if Hanbin is a blockhead who can’t even tell when someone is flirting with him. It’s not fair!”

“You have me!” Yedam quips, perking up. He wags his eyebrows at him when Seongmin glances at him in the mirror.

“Yeah, that’s my problem,” he immediately replies, completely deadpan as he rolls his eyes before smirking playfully. Yedam lets out an indignant squawk as if he is deeply offended by his words, but a grin graces his face seconds later. Both of them laugh quietly as Seongmin finishes his morning routine and Yedam takes over at the vanity, taming his own wild brown mane with spiral shells and bone combs. As he is doing battle with his necklace collection, Seongmin says, “I’m going outside the city limits today, so make sure you stay in the caves, okay, Yedammie? You can practice at The Grotto with Quanrui and Junghyun for the next show.” He picks up his bag from the shelf carved into the rock wall and slings it over his shoulder. “I’ll be back before sundown.”

Yedam tilts his head, sliding a few bangles onto his wrists as he watches Seongmin pack his things. His bronze tail and fins flash as he turns to face Seongmin properly. “Outside the city limits?” he asks. “How come?” He knows that Seongmin takes the occasional day off to be by himself, especially when he gets stressed about big performances for the court, but this day seems out of the ordinary.

“Just make sure you stay in the inner ring,” Seongmin says instead of answering, swimming past Yedam towards the grass curtain that covers the entrance to their cave. He pauses long enough to drop a kiss on Yedam’s forehead. “Be safe, okay?” he says, and Yedam repeats the sentiment to Seongmin as he heads outside, the grass swirling in the water behind his golden tailfin.

In the early morning light, Seongmin swims through the familiar paths of the outer rings of the city, politely nodding to familiar faces he passes and exchanging pleasant small talk with those who stop him to praise his latest dance show. He enjoys his work as a royal entertainer – Seongmin and Yedam had both been hired into a small company of performers who put on public shows once a month at the behest of the king and perform in the castle caves on special occasions. The company of The Grotto is how they met most of their close friends, including Prince Hao himself, as the heir to the throne participates in the occasional show from time to time.

But even with how much he loves his friends, Seongmin has always felt a distance between himself and the rest of the people in the city.

The merfolk of the royal territory are… different. They haven’t seen the tragedies that have befallen many of the villages in the shallow waters. The royal territory is deep down in the ocean, in a place where the weapons of the humans cannot reach them, while the villages of the outer territories are placed in rings around it, moving further and further out towards the shorelines. Seongmin’s home village had been one of the most far-flung, and it was a miracle that the humans hadn’t found it earlier. Although there are other survivors in the outer rings of the royal city, none of them venture into the inner rings very often, leaving Seongmin and Yedam the odd ones out within the inner walls. Their friends never seemed to mind the fact that they were technically ‘outsiders’, but neither Seongmin nor Yedam could ever truly escape from the whispers of the public, the denizens of the inner rings often criticising them purely for their lowly heritage.

Since the attack on his home village, several others had fallen to the same fate, with the survivors either moving into the royal city or heading even further into the depths of the oceans where the super secure dwellings are located in the Deep Sea. Seongmin personally has no idea why the humans have been hunting them down, but he knows deep down that his hatred for them can never be quelled. Not after what he saw, what they did. But to the rest of the merfolk, the attacks just worsened their dislike for outsiders. Instead of welcoming traumatised outsiders with open arms, with every village that got attacked, they closed ranks and grew colder.

Lost in thought, Seongmin arrives at the city limit gates sooner than he was expecting. There is a large wall built along the edge of the city’s uppermost outer ring, and though one could just swim over the top of it, the sheer size of it is enough to keep most trespassers out. Swimming up to the gate, he catches sight of the guard on duty and lets out a small sigh of relief.

“Gyuvin,” Seongmin calls out softly, bowing his head slightly to the gate guard. The sharp-featured guard is close – very close – with one of the other dancers at The Grotto, Quanrui, and Seongmin is familiar and fairly friendly with Gyuvin because of it. He often comes across Gyuvin as the guard waits for Quanrui to finish his practice for the day, a habit that Seongmin has always found quite endearing. “Gyuvin, I’m heading out today. I’m going to visit my parents.”

Gyuvin’s piercing grey eyes stare Seongmin down for a moment, his silver tail swishing lightly, and then he nods, opening the gate for him. Before Seongmin can pass in front of him, Gyuvin says, “Be careful out there today, Seongmin,” in a wary tone of voice. “We’ve been getting more and more reports of humans near the shoreline lately. I know your old village is out that way.”

A shiver rolls through Seongmin’s body at the mention of humans, his golden fins flickering in agitation, but he puts on a brave face, doesn’t want Gyuvin to know he is afraid. “I’ll keep watch for them, don’t worry,” he promises with a sunshine grin. “I’ll let you know when I get back if I see anything.” With that said, he swims by Gyuvin and through the gate, into the open ocean.

There is something about swimming in the open ocean that Seongmin finds so incredibly freeing; as if he can breathe easier in the wide, open space. He had grown up in the shallows of the ocean, after all. Out here, he can do whatever he wants – twirl in the currents, swim as fast as his tail can propel his, play in the unsuspecting schools of fish he comes across, nothing and no one holding him back. With one last glance over his shoulder to make sure Gyuvin has closed the gate again, Seongmin swiftly takes off through the water, laughter bubbling out of his mouth as he makes his way towards a familiar place.

He passes through the closest outer villages, life beginning to stir as the sun rises higher in the sky, golden beams lancing through the water, which feels pleasantly warm as it cascades over his skin and scales. The light up here is far brighter and more intense than the light that filters feebly down into the city, but Seongmin doesn’t mind the gloom much anymore. With their cave being in the outer ring, he’s closer to the sun anyway.

Swimming closer to the seafloor as he approaches his destination, Seongmin runs his fingers through the sand, feeling the shells and rocks and pieces of coral below him as the waters get shallower. Seongmin unfurls all his fins, letting them flare and billow like sunrise silk in the water, feeling like going all out for this excursion. He even takes a flying leap out of the water when he has built up enough momentum to breach the surface with great speed, twisting through the air and taking in the sight of the world above the surf.

The sky is an amazing shade of light blue, streaked with fluffy white clouds, the sun glinting on the water his scales shed, brilliant rainbows lancing through the air. Below him, the ocean glistens and rolls, a deep blueish green that undulates and swirls, rippling with small waves that catch the sunlight. In the distance, Seongmin can see the muted browns and greens of the surface lands, but he pays it no mind. He is close enough to home that he feels comfortable in his abilities to outswim any humans he might come across.

At the end of his graceful arc, Seongmin re-enters the water without fanfare, and he slows his pace as he nears the area that can often be found swarming with humans. Revealing himself will bring unwanted attention and trouble. As much as the gold-tailed merman wants to hurt the humans, wants to get his revenge for what they did to him – for what they took from him – Seongmin knows that going out on his own would be a suicide mission. With that in mind, he swims low in the water, keeping close to the sand, and soon enough, he begins to see exactly what he’s looking for up ahead.

A ring of stones surrounds the entire empty village, each one marking the grave of someone lost in the attack a decade ago. As Seongmin gets closer, the fine words engraved on the stones become clearer and clearer, and he can’t help but let out a small sob at each and every name that he recognises; someone who he knew, who he grew up with. Maybe it was the nightmare he had that morning or perhaps just being near his childhood home, but Seongmin finds himself overwhelmed by sadness as he drifts over the ring of stones, his hands slipping over them as he moves deeper into the village. Though he has visited this place various times throughout his life since he first fled the area, Seongmin will never get over the emotions that well up inside him.

Seongmin twists through the familiar pathways he always takes on his visits, and he makes his way through the abandoned and broken-down village. The home caves are beginning to show the effects of time, starting to crumble without constant upkeep as they are overrun with seaweed and coral beds. Schools of fish swim in and out through the doors and windows, clearly making their homes in the abandoned caves. Seongmin comes to a halt in front of one of the caves and cannot hold back the small sob that passes his lip.

“Mama, papa… I’m home,” he whispers, pushing the rotting grass curtain aside and swimming into the crumbling cave that he had once called home. Shelves line the walls, filled with pictures drawn on kelp of a younger, happier Seongmin and his parents. Some are from when he was hardly longer than his father’s forearm, others from his dancing displays in the village festivals, and even more are of him holding a newly born Yedam in his arms, as their parents were lifelong friends who were more than happy to essentially raise their children together like siblings. Seongmin carefully picks one up to examine it, his heart aching as a few more spots of paint flake off the fragile kelp when he moves it.

Then, he hears a noise coming from outside the cave.

Alarmed, because he didn’t see anyone or anything on his way in, the merman swiftly darts to the wall by the entrance, plastering himself against the rock and peering out through the rotting grass curtains. Seongmin can hear water splashing harshly, and he glances up towards the surface, where he can just make out a dark shape flailing in the water, uncoordinated and getting closer to the village the longer he looks. The sun is so bright overhead where it is shining down through the waves that he can’t tell what it is, but it’s big, and he ducks out of sight, praying that he goes unnoticed by whatever the thing is as it passes by.

With the sound of his heartbeat pounding rapidly in his ears, Seongmin dares a glance out of the cave again when several tense minutes have passed. He is sure the threatening thing has gone as the splashing sounds have stopped, but he is still wary in case it comes back. Even more minutes pass before he feels confident enough to leave the cave, and when he does, Seongmin heads straight back the way he came without looking back. He does nothing fancy and takes none of the detours like he usually would, making his way straight back home.

Cutting his visit short hurts, but he has a promise to keep.

By the time he reaches the city limits again, the great wall looming before him, Seongmin is exhausted and ready to curl up on his sponges for a long sleep. The sun is in the process of setting, the waters beginning to darken without the light source shining overhead. As he approaches the gate, he notes that a different guard is now on duty, and he winces. Gyuvin would let him back in without any hassle, but this is a guard who he doesn’t recognise, and he worries about having to explain where he has been and what he was doing. However, other than giving Seongmin a quick once-over to make sure he isn’t bringing anything dangerous into the city, the guard lets him in without question.

Seongmin frowns as he swims back through the gate – he is aware that he’s a well-known figure in the community, but he didn’t think he is well-known enough to pass through city limits without having to answer a few questions first.

Shaking his head, Seongmin makes his way down into the city. It quickly becomes apparent that there is some sort of commotion going on, because everyone seems to turn in his direction as he swims by them, their murmurs and whispers growing louder as the merman nears the centre rings of the city. Light stones are strewn around the streets, already glowing as the sun sets, the last beams of daylight vanishing from the waters, and he picks up his speed, heading straight for The Grotto with a harsh, squeezing feeling in his chest.

Just as he reaches the cave system that The Grotto dancers operate out of, a ball of ruby red scales barrels into Seongmin’s side. “Seongmin!” the ball of red exclaims, looking up at Seongmin with wide eyes. “You’re finally back!”

Dazed from the sudden collision, it takes a moment for Seongmin to respond, squinting down at the merman clinging to his with arms wound around his waist. “Quanrui? What’s going on?” he asks the younger merman, who looks visibly distressed. Immediately, Seongmin looks around for Yedam, as he usually gets escorted home by Quanrui and Gyuvin on the nights when Seongmin is busy somewhere other than The Grotto.

“It’s Yedam!” Quanrui wails, tears in his eyes. “They took him!”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ∘ ༄ ∘ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Everything seems to move in slow motion after Quanrui drops that bombshell on Seongmin. Not even shouts of his name can get past the dense fog of fear that clouds his head, voices reaching him thick and distant. Seongmin distantly realises that more merfolk are starting to crowd around him, mostly other dancers from The Grotto, but none of it really registers to him.

Yedam. Gone.

Taken.

The words bounce around in Seongmin’s head like horrible stones until he feels firm hands gripping his shoulders, gently shaking the merman out of his stupor. “Get a grip, Seongmin! We’ll get Yedam back, but you can’t disappear inside your own head, or we’ll never get anything done!” Prince Hao’s voice crashes through Seongmin’s raging thoughts, finally bringing him back to the present.

“They took Yedam…” Seongmin rasps. “Humans have taken Yedam. Why? How? How could they have taken him?” He shakes his head. “I told him to stay in The Grotto, the humans can’t come down this far! What happened?” Seongmin yanks himself away from Hao, casting an accusatory glance around at the merfolk surrounding him. While most of his friends are wearing their own deeply concerned expressions, Seongmin’s eyes immediately snap to a guilty face in the crowd.

Junghyun shrinks away from Seongmin’s suddenly furious face, but before the gold-tailed merman can say anything else, Hao takes him by the hand and practically drags him inside The Grotto. “We need to talk this out without you making a scene,” Hao says, voice harsh but not mean. “Come inside, Min, you’ll get your answers.”

Reluctantly, Seongmin allows Hao to pull him out of the crowd, tearing his gaze away from Jeonghyeon to keep his eyes focused on the brilliant peach and pearl of Hao’s scales, his mind going through every horrible possibility of what could be happening to Yedam at the hands of the humans who have him. The crowd disperses as quickly as it formed once the relevant parties are out of sight, but Seongmin can still hear them whispering as the rest of his friends file into The Grotto before the stone door finally shuts, cutting off the noise.

“He was from one of the outer villages, right? It was only a matter of time before something happened!”

“Too curious for his own good, that one. If you ask me, he got what was coming to him.”

“A good lesson to those who think going beyond the city limits is a good idea!”

Seongmin fumes silently at their words as he swims alongside Hao, heading into the back caves where they won’t be overheard, and he tries his best not to snap and go back outside to yell at the whisperers. They’re all wrong, all of them! Condemning Yedam to his fate just because of his outer ring heritage! Right as he is about to turn tail, another hand grabs his shoulder, steering him forwards and keeping him bracketed beside Hao. The large size and the flash of emerald green scales tell him that Jeonghyeon has swum up from the rear of the group, offering his silent support to Seongmin, who lets out a frustrated sigh at effectively being frogmarched to their destination.

Once they’re all assembled in the back cave that they use for practising their dance routines, they all take a seat on the various rocks and sponges spread around the outskirts. Light stones cast a blueish-white glow over the group, almost bringing their moods down even more with the sombre atmosphere. Seongmin refuses to sit, staying upright in the water as he paces in slow loops around the centre of the cave, raking his eyes over all his friends who are present.

“So, what happened?” he asks coldly, golden fins bristling as his tail lashes, waiting for a response from any of the others. He can see Hao tensing from the directness of his question, but Seongmin doesn’t see the point in mincing his words or beating around the kelp bed when Yedam could be in real, serious danger right now.

Quanrui is the first to speak, trying to placate Seongmin’s anger. “Seongmin, before we start, I think you need to promise not to murder anyone,” he says from where he is safely ensconced against Gyuvin’s side, his ruby tail curled over Gyuvin’s silver one. “I’m surprised you haven’t tried yet,” he mutters, and Gyuvin carefully puts a hand over his mouth before he says anything else, staring silently at Seongmin with the same neutral expression he always wears when he’s on the job.

“Depending on how this goes, I can’t make any promises,” Seongmin grits out, and he can almost feel Gyuvin and Hanbin shifting into guard mode on the current. Hanbin even makes to pull Hao behind him, but the prince pushes his bodyguard away with a pointed raise of his eyebrow. Seongmin waves a dismissive hand and stops his pacing. “Fine, fine, I won’t kill anyone. Now will someone please explain to me what the hell happened to Yedam?!”

There is a tense moment of silence before Junghyun finally finds his voice, his bright purple tail squirming nervously as he speaks. “I was with him when it happened,” he admits quietly, not daring to look Seongmin in the eye.

Seongmin whips his head around to face Junghyun, the guilt from earlier still clouding the purple-tailed merman’s expression as Seongmin swims over to him. Hao stops Seongmin with a hand on his elbow again, the prince shooting Seongmin an unreadable look. “Hear him out, Seongmin,” he says pointedly. “Please.”

Once Junghyun is sure that Seongmin isn’t going to jump him, he nervously explains what happened. “When Yedam got here this morning, he said you were going out past the city limits and that he was worried about you. He told us that you haven’t been eating much lately and he was afraid you might collapse if you went out too far. I told Yedam that following you was a bad idea, but he wouldn’t listen, and I didn’t want him to go out on his own. But he wasn’t really sure where you were going, so we got kind of lost, and we couldn’t find you.” He swallows thickly, twisting his fingers in the long strands of his dark, wavy hair, held off his face with a strand of braided kelp. “And then there was a ship over us, and a net, and…” Jeonghyeon trails off, biting his lip, his gaze fixed on his own tailfin. “I tried to help Yedam, I really did! But he wouldn’t let me, and he told me to go back! I didn’t want to leave him, but then humans came down into the water and he told me to get away before they took me too.” Junghyun starts to cry, and that momentarily abates Seongmin’s anger. Junghyun crying is a heartbreaking sight. Finally, he looks up, looks into Seongmin’s eyes. “He said that he knew you’d find a way to save him, Seongmin. I tried to help him, I swear…”

Once Junghyun finishes explaining what happened, everyone turns their eyes towards Seongmin, who visibly deflates in front of them, no longer angry after seeing the young merman’s tears.

This is all my fault, Seongmin thinks, putting his face in his hands. Yedam’s worry for Seongmin had caused him to venture out into waters he hasn’t been in since he was a tiny younglin. He doesn’t remember the same things that Seongmin does from the attack on their village, what the humans did to their parents and friends, and Seongmin has never told him in any great detail, desperately wanting to spare him from the pain that Seongmin himself carries around in his heart every minute of every day. But, maybe, if he had been more open, had shared a little bit of their history, then Yedam would have been more cautious. Maybe he wouldn’t have followed Seongmin outside the city limits. Maybe-

“Seongmin, hey. Listen to me, this is not your fault.” Again, Hao’s firm and confident voice pulls Seongmin out of his spiralling thoughts. Seongmin blinks a few times in confusion at the prince’s comments and Hao cracks a small smile. “You were talking out loud, baobei,” he murmurs gently.

“Oh…” Seongmin feels heat rising in his cheeks, the fine light spots on his cheeks and nose glowing in an embarrassed blush, and he turns his head away from Hao, hiding in his hair. Somehow, the prince is always the one who is able to distract Seongmin from his racing thoughts. Maybe that’s why they’re such good friends. “I just… I just thought that, maybe if he knew more about what happened to us, he’d know the dangers of getting too close to the shore. I should have been a better brother to him.”

Hao shakes his head, the pearls and golden shells threaded in his hair shimmering in the blue lights, and he grabs Seongmin’s hand comfortingly. “Seongmin,” he says, serious, “we all know that’s not true. You have done the best with Yedam that you could, given the circumstances.” The corner of his lips twitch up ever so slightly. “Yedam is very strong in his beliefs; you taught him that. To him, your well-being comes before any of the dangers that could be beyond the city limits.”

The others all murmur in agreement. “Once Yedam has his mind set on something, no one can stop him,” Junghyun adds from across the cave. “Like how he refuses to call Yunseo by his actual name and keeps using that stupid nickname Jeonghyeon came up with no matter how many times Yunseo threatens to put a spell on him for it. What was it again?”

“Yearnso,” Jeonghyeon helpfully supplies, always gleeful to be the cause of his shy, secluded friend’s embarrassment. “His name is Yearnso. Yedam heard me call him that once and hasn’t let him live it down since.”

Quanrui nods enthusiastically. “What about that time he went on stage even after hurting his caudal fin?” he adds, peeking out from under Gyuvin’s arm. “Remember, Seongmin? That was with you and some of the others. You were so mad at him afterwards!” Seongmin does crack a small smile at the memory, appreciative of his friends’ efforts to cheer his up.

“Even the captain of the guard is fond of Yedam,” Hanbin says, speaking up for the first time since they entered The Grotto, usually preferring to exist as a silent and protective presence by Hao’s side rather than joining in menial conversations. Gyuvin nods in agreement with what Hanbin said, and Hanbin continues, “He said that if Yedam wasn’t so set on being a performer, he’d make a great soldier. He spars with the new recruits sometimes and has shown real promise with a spear.”

As Seongmin’s mood picks up slightly, the others begin to share stories of Yedam and his many mischievous acts, his displays of real talent, their fondest memories of him. Seongmin stays silent, listening to them, but his heart warms at his friends’ fond words for the bronze-tailed merman. In the end, he can’t help but smile around at his friends, encouraged by their words. It comforts him to know that they all care about Yedam as much as Seongmin does; that they miss him as much as Seongmin does.

“Thanks, guys,” he murmurs. “I needed that.” Seongmin stretches his arms over his head and admits defeat for the night. “It’s too late to do anything now, isn’t it?” he asks the room at large, not actually expecting an answer. “The humans won’t be out, it’s after sundown. We can regroup tomorrow and work out a plan or something.” Seongmin turns to Quanrui and bows his head slightly. “I’m not going to be able to stay in this month’s show, Quanrui. I don’t think I’ll be able to put on a performance while Yedam is missing. Sorry…” Quanrui is waving his off with an assurance that it’s more than all right before he’s finished speaking.

After exchanging brief goodbyes with all his friends, Seongmin leaves The Grotto, still trying to process everything that happened that day. He can feel their worried eyes watching him as he swims away.

Once he is outside, Seongmin feels like screaming. Yedam had only been concerned for his well-being and now it’s all Seongmin’s fault that he’s been captured by those horrible humans who are doing who knows what to him. Yedam is one of the only things in Seongmin’s life that has ever been stable. His little brother, seven years younger than him, the only person who has kept Seongmin grounded even in his darkest hours.

Someone who he refuses to think of as being gone.

In the back of his mind, a memory from earlier in the day makes itself known. In his home village, the large, clumsy figures he had hidden from inside his old cave. That must have been the humans from the same ship that captured Yedam, which means they are most likely from a nearby area. There’s a large human settlement right on the shoreline.

Seongmin pauses his swimming as an idea floats through his thoughts. No one is allowed past city limits after sundown, but maybe if he swims fast enough in the morning, he will be able to find the humans who have taken Yedam and get him back from them. How he’s going to do that, Seongmin hasn’t quite figured out yet, but half a plan is better than no plan.

“Seongmin! Slow down!” Quanrui’s shout catches Seongmin’s attention, his golden fins flaring out as he stops completely, turning to look over his shoulder. Quanrui is swimming up behind him with Gyuvin in tow, the blue light stones along the road lighting up their concerned expressions, but Seongmin is too excited about his plan to pay them any heed. The moment Quanrui gets within touching distance of Seongmin, he latches onto the older merman and pouts at him. “You really should keep those of us with slimmer tails in mind when you swim off!” he complains, swinging Seongmin’s arm around.

Gyuvin calmly swims up beside Quanrui, giving Seongmin a once over just like he had done at the city limits gate earlier that day. “Yedam told us that you haven’t been eating much lately,” he says carefully, silver scales flashing blue in the dim night waters. He crosses his arms across his tanned chest and eyes Seongmin critically. “You don’t look well, Seongmin, never mind well enough to rescue Yedam any time soon. You need to eat.”

Retort ready on the tip of his tongue, Seongmin opens his mouth, but Gyuvin’s glare cowers him into submission and he closes it immediately. The silver-tailed guard is one of the few close friends that Seongmin has made outside of the dancers at The Grotto, mostly due to his relationship with Quanrui, and Seongmin usually respects what Gyuvin has to say despite him being a few years younger. So, instead of arguing with him, he lets out a small huff and crosses his arms. “I’ve been doing fine! I was on my way to eat right now...”

At the mention of food, Quanrui’s eyes seem to light up. “Were you going out somewhere?” he asks excitedly, ruby fins rippling in the water. “Can we come with you? There are still a few good restaurants open at this time. I haven’t had restaurant food in ages!” He looks between the two other mermen with pleading eyes, a bright smile gracing his features. Gyuvin’s expression softens immediately as he looks at Quanrui before he looks to Seongmin with an eyebrow quirked.

Seongmin, who was actually planning on going straight back to his cave and plotting out the finer details of his plan to rescue Yedam, winces as the couple looks at his hopefully. Resigned to his fate, he slumps forwards in Quanrui’s grip and sighs. “Fine, I guess you can come.”

Quanrui immediately releases Seongmin from his clutches so he can clap his hands together with joy, already swimming down the nearly empty street, heading further into the city. As the others catch up to him, Quanrui starts to talk rapidly about what kind of food he wants to try while Gyuvin and Seongmin drift along behind him, listening to him speak with fond looks on their faces.

“You’re going out first thing in the morning, aren’t you?” Gyuvin suddenly asks, catching Seongmin off guard. He speaks quietly so as not to disrupt Quanrui’s current rant about some restaurant nearby that got his order wrong once and now, he refuses to go back.

“No!” Seongmin protests automatically, not daring to look at Gyuvin because he can read their expressions like an open book. “We all promised to think of a plan together.” It sounds weak even to his own ears. When he chances a glance at Gyuvin, he has levelled Seongmin with a hard, scrutinising glare that makes Seongmin drop the act instantly, caught. Seongmin deflates. “Yes. I want to rescue him as soon as possible. I can’t stand the thought of what might be happening to him.” His voice is flat, his hands fidgeting at his sides. “I can’t stand the thought of him being alone, or afraid. Not when I can do something about it.”

Gyuvin nods once, turning understanding eyes back to Quanrui. The ruby-tailed merman is still lost in his own thoughts about food, trying to choose where they should go for a late-night dinner. “I understand that,” Gyuvin says. “If I ever lost him...” A dark look crosses the guard’s face before smoothing out into his usual neutral expression. “In the morning, go straight to the west gate. I’ll let you through, no questions asked. Prince Hao might not be too happy about it, but I know he’s just as concerned about Yedam’s safety as you are. Him, and everyone else.”

Seongmin pauses for a moment, processing this information, and then he launches forward in the water and hugs Gyuvin tightly, arms around his strong waist. “Thank you,” he whispers, voice choked with emotion. “Thank you, Gyuvin.”

At that moment, Quanrui turns around to see the pair hugging tightly, and shock fills his expression. “What happened?” he whines, swimming over to them. “What did I miss?” He pouts, tugging on Seongmin’s arm lightly. “I know you’re emotional, but he’s not for rent right now!” That makes Seongmin laugh and Gyuvin carefully extracts himself from his embrace, winding his own arms around Quanrui’s shoulder’s until he grins up at him, the three of them finally approaching Quanrui’s restaurant of choice, moods lifted somewhat.

By the time Seongmin actually makes it home, escorted to the front of his cave by a tired Gyuvin who has a very drunk Quanrui draped over his back (“No, I swear! I can hold my drink, you guys just never let me!” had been his pitiful protest,) he is fuller than he’s been in ages, which he isn’t particularly thrilled about. There is something about the fullness of his stomach that makes him feel guilty. The empty sponge bed in the second room perpetuates the feeling, a pang in Seongmin’s chest making him hover in the entrance to Yedam’s room.

Yedam didn’t get to have any of the delicious food he just gorged himself on. Has Yedam even eaten tonight? Is he injured? The more Seongmin thinks about Yedam, the worse he feels, his chest aching and his stomach rolling. The young merman’s existence makes up most of Seongmin’s world, considering he has raised Yedam as his little brother for the last ten years. The pain migrates through his body, his heart thudding sluggishly and his stomach souring.

With a sudden lurch, Seongmin’s stomach curls, acidic, and he swims as fast as he can to the very back of the cave where the seabed vents carry away waste and excrement. There, he heaves, and the vent carries away everything he had eaten with Gyuvin and Quanrui earlier, followed by the bile he spits out as he slumps against the craggy rimstone with a sore throat and an aching stomach. Seongmin sniffles a few times, his eyes watering, and then he hauls himself up and makes his way to his room, curling up on his sponge bed with his arms wrapped around his waist.

Seongmin attempts to rest as he lays there, silently convincing himself that he needs the energy to rescue Yedam in the morning, but his overactive mind seems to have other plans. By the time he does actually fall asleep, it’s painful, his body simply giving in to slumber to put him out of his misery. Memories from the past creep up on him relentlessly, replaying in his head over and over. It’s the same nightmare he always has – but, this time, the scenes are different.

The same screams fill his head, his parents, his friends, but this time, his arms are empty. There is no youngling clutched in Seongmin’s arms. The harpoons from the surface have created a blanket of bubbles around him, making it hard to see anything clearly as above him, Seongmin’s parents fall limp, and their eyes go dull. At his side, someone is attempting to pull Seongmin away, but he refuses to move.

“No!” he screams into the bloody water as merfolk disappear around him. “Where’s Yedam?! Yedam! Where are you? I’m not leaving him behind!”

Eventually, the tugging at his arm stops and the bodies around him vanish. The bubbles start to clear, leaving only streaks of red in the murky water, and that is when Seongmin finally spots familiar bronze scales glinting in the distance.

“Yedam!” He starts to swim towards the young merman, dodging the occasional harpoon that is still being fired from the surface, but no matter how fast he swims, Yedam just seems to get further and further away from him. Seongmin flinches as he feels a harpoon pierce his hip, but he pays it no heed, ripping it out and continuing his fight to get to Yedam as fresh blood blossoms in the water around him. “Yedam, I’m coming for you!”

After what feels like an eternity of swimming, his chest heaving and his tail cramping, Seongmin is within touching distance of Yedam. But he stops cold when he finally lays eye on him. Bronze eyes that usually sparkle with mischief are dull and white, lacking any shine or life as they stare at his blankly through the water. A net is wrapped around his terribly still body as two dark and shadowy figures pull Yedam towards them.

The only features of them that Seongmin can make out in the gloom are their hideous, sharklike smiles, too white and full of sharp teeth.

Seongmin can’t move, another net springing from the surface and wrapping around his tail, keeping him away from Yedam.

“No! NO! Yedam! Please!” he screams, voice hoarse, his hands desperately reaching for Yedam’s lifeless body before his vision goes black.

Waking with a start, Seongmin lurches upright in his bed, heart beating so wildly in his chest it is threatening to crack a rib or two. The cave chamber is as dark and empty as when he had fallen asleep. The only noise he can hear is the faraway sounds of the city centre bustling with its nightlife, muffled and soft in the outer rings. Running a hand through his hair, still full of his decorations from the day before, Seongmin lets out a long, belly-deep sigh, hiccoughing slightly as tears gloss his eyes.

“Aegi, I just wanted to be by your side and keep you safe,” he says aloud. “How could I have failed you so badly?”

Chapter Text

Seongmin lies awake on his sponges for what feels like hours, feeling weak and ill. Any time that he closes his eyes in the hopes of catching a scrap of sleep, he is plagued by images of Yedam being taken away and killed by the humans in a variety of horrifying ways. Every bone in his body is yelling at him to go out and save Yedam right that very second, but he knows that it’s impossible. Yedam will have to wait at least a little longer, but Seongmin silently vows that he will make sure his wait is as short as possible.

Though the night seems to go on forever, the sunlight eventually breaks through the misty darkness of the night and begins to wash the city in pale yellow and gold. With the dawn’s soft light filtering through the skylights, Seongmin rolls off his sponges and aimlessly drifts through the empty cave system.

“Oh, hyung, you’re awake! I thought I was going to have to drag you out of bed again!” Yedam’s familiar voice rings in Seongmin’s ears and his eyes conjure up a flash of bronze scales as he slowly makes his way to the food store. Once in the small room though, he finds it as empty as it was the night before, completely void of Yedam’s bubbly presence. Usually, Yedam wakes up first and has put himself in charge of making sure Seongmin gets out of bed in a timely fashion because of it, but now there is no one to do that. No one to wake him up, no one to nag him about eating, no one to keep him company when the nightmares come for him.

Attempting to shake off the fatigue that seems to weigh down his every move, Seongmin paws through their various stores of food, trying to find something he holds even a shred of desire to eat, but nothing jumps out at him. He hears a low growl from his stomach followed by a dull pang, and he remembers the night before, how he had vomited up all the food he ate then. With mild reluctance, he picks up a small fish and stuffs it into his bag as a snack for later before going about his morning routine, hoping to keep his mind off what is to come during the day.

He does everything almost mindlessly, not thinking at all as he plucks the pearls from his hair, combs his knotted tresses, and ties it up off his face with a simple bone pin, stark white in the dark red of his hair. The aching loneliness and silence seem so present and so loud that, as soon as he has finished getting ready for the day, Seongmin practically flees the cave and strikes out for the west gate to meet with Gyuvin, who should already be at his post.

As Seongmin approaches the gate, however, he sees not just the familiar silver sparkle of Gyuvin’s tail, but the bright peach and pearl of Hao’s and the deep black of Hanbin’s beside him, which makes Seongmin hesitate getting closer. The three are talking too quietly for Seongmin to make out what they are saying, but one doesn’t need to be a genius to work out that they are probably talking about him. With a reluctant sigh, the gold-tailed merman swims over to the other three.

“I see you’ve assembled the Greek muses to judge me,” Seongmin drawls when he gets near enough to be heard, and he doesn’t miss the look of surprise on Hao’s face at his words. Seongmin meant it as a joke, but the cold and rough quality of his voice took even Seongmin himself by surprise. “Wow, sorry. I had, uh, a bit of a rough night as you can probably imagine.”

Hao moves closer to Seongmin and cups his face in one hand. “You look terrible, baobei,” he murmurs, concern lacing his voice and his brows furrowing. Seongmin can feel Hao’s eyes examining every inch of his face very carefully, and cannot help the heat that rises in his cheeks under such intense scrutiny from the beautiful prince.

“Gee, you really know how to make a girl feel special,” Seongmin stammers out, playfully batting Hao’s hands away. “I know I look like shit, sue me.”

Gyuvin lets out an amused snort behind them and then makes his way over to the gate. “Sorry, Seongmin, but I knew that you were going to be rash and head out with no actual plan, so I let Prince Hao know. I thought maybe he could talk some sense into you.”

Shaking his head, Hao runs a frustrated hand through the strands of his bangs that have escaped his pin. “See, the problem is that once Seongmin has his mind set on something, he’s not going to stop until he sees it through, so I don’t know what you think I can do about it, Gyuvin,” he sighs. “Sometimes I really do hate that about you, baobei,” he directs at Seongmin, who laughs quietly and pulls Hao into a hug.

“Aw, you understand me so well, Hao! I’m so glad I have an understanding friend like you,” he drawls, ruffling Hao’s hair much to his horror. “And yes, you’re right. I have set my mind, and I’m going to get him back. One way or another, I’m going to get Yedam back.”

Hao puts his hands up. “I know, I know. But… it doesn’t have to be today, Seongmin. I’m sure that, wherever Yedam is, he will be all right for a little while. He’s crafty and resourceful, you know that. You don’t want to go and get yourself captured too because you rushed in without a plan, okay? Just to be safe, and for my peace of mind, please make sure you get back to the gate before sundown. Gyuvin will be waiting for you.” He narrows his eyes threateningly. “Promise?”

“I promise,” Seongmin immediately replies, patting his chest firmly with his palm to show he means it. He gives Hao another quick squeeze. “And I know that if I come back even a minute later, you’ll send half the royal guard out after me,” he teases, and Hao shoots him a look that says ‘don’t tempt me, you little shit’. Behind the prince, Hanbin nods emphatically, his eyes glittering with amusement. “I need to go now,” Seongmin tells Hao, who hugs him one last time. “I’ll be safe.”

The gate rattles as Gyuvin holds the lever down to open it, and he gestures Seongmin through. The west gate is significantly smaller than the other gates in the wall, and well off the beaten path – no one is going to see Seongmin sneaking out, or the prince waiting there to see him off. With a final nod of farewell to his friends, Seongmin sets out beyond the city limits, a single goal in mind.

However, the moment the gate rattles shut behind him, something deep inside Seongmin immediately feels wrong. He isn’t quite sure what causes the feeling, as he has left the city numerous times before, but it’s still unpleasant and unnerving. Trying to swallow it down, he takes the familiar route back to his home village.

Unlike yesterday, when the waters had been sun-dappled and warm, today the light is muted, and the currents are cold. Above his head and through the waves, Seongmin can see grey clouds filling the sky, the promise of rain pouring down soon. With a sigh, he heads for the surface and pops his head out, sucking in a deep lungful of frigid air as he looks around at his surroundings, trying to get his bearings. In the distance, there are the muted colours of the landmass that borders this part of the ocean. Seongmin can’t see anything to indicate anyone has been here other than the typical ocean dwellers. He can’t help but dash his hands against the water in frustration after seeing no sign of the humans who had to have been there yesterday.

Diving back beneath the waves, the gold-tailed merman can feel the wind tugging at the surface of the water, pulling the waves higher and higher before driving them towards the beach. The idea of a storm passing overhead fills his mind, but the fear is fleeting. Storm or not, he is determined to get started on his search and rescue.

As he nears the village, the water seems to get noisier. Rain slaps down on the surface of the ocean, which has become rough and violent, white foam blocking out what little light there was. Though hesitant, Seongmin breaches the surface once more, now that he is closer to the surf. Like before, all he can see is the empty landmass and its ugly greens and browns, uninviting and frightening. He’s much closer to it now, getting pushed closer by the storm currents, and he can make out buildings on the crest of a hill.

Before he can survey anything else, a wave slams down on top of him, pushing Seongmin back underwater.

“This isn’t working,” he growls, fighting against the current to no avail. He claws his way back to the surface only for another giant wave to crash down on his head, forcing him under again and rolling his body around in its tumultuous depths. Seongmin lets out a surprised shout as he is dragged along by the wave. Despite his best efforts, he is too weak to fight against the storm current, be it the fatigue from the night before, the energy he spent swimming back to the village today, or the lack of food. Seongmin knows that he is in no shape to fight against the wave. Instead, he has no choice but to tumble along with it, getting swept ever closer to the shoreline.

The village is far behind Seongmin now, the crashing waves tumbling him along until he can feel sand scraping up his tail, and a large rock poking up out of the seafloor suddenly stops his uncontrollable journey. Seongmin is mercilessly slammed against the rock, his head cracking into the side of it so hard he blacks out, sore muscles spasming in the frothy water. It doesn’t last long though, consciousness coming back for him with a vengeance, his head pounding and his body aching. Seongmin struggles to open his eyes, scrabbling for purchase on the rock until he can claw his way up the slippery side of it so he can perch above the rolling surface of the water and get his bearings again.

Around him, the sea is wild. The dark water churns itself into white foam as waves crash into one another violently. Rain pelts down from the sky, seeming to enrage the ocean even more as blistering wind whips the waves into a frenzy from every angle. An all-out war between the elements is unfolding before him in the storm, each one battling to calm the rage of the sea.

It isn’t long before another huge wave rears up from the depths and crashes down onto the rock, sending Seongmin flying off it. He lets out a strangled shout before splashing back into the water, landing harshly on the sandy bottom. Stones and shells cut into his arms and chest as he is rolled along, the sharp pieces of them dragging along his skin and tail. Giving an almighty push with his hands, Seongmin attempts to find himself a route out of the harsh surf and back into the deeper waters, but the ocean seems to have other plans.

With another powerful current, the merman is flung around, head over tail, being bowled closer and closer to the shore. The pounding in his head and stinging on his arms is more prevalent now as the salt in the water irritates his cuts and slaps against his face. He finds himself with no energy left to fight the waves, and Seongmin lets his body go limp as the currents fling him to-and-fro.

His mind spins, his vision blurring, and Seongmin’s eyes slowly slip shut.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ∘ ༄ ∘ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“…Hey! Hey! Are you okay?”

Seongmin winces at the sound of the unknown voice grating against his ears as he wakes up from whatever state of unconsciousness he had been trapped in. His body hurts all over, feeling too heavy to move from where he is stretched out on what feels like sand. Instead of responding to the voice, Seongmin lets out a small whine, refusing to move a limb or open his eyes.

The sound of sand crunching underfoot approaches him, getting closer and closer, and Seongmin’s eyes snap open involuntarily, wary of who or what is now crouching over him.

In front of him is a human man, who seems impossibly tall from where Seongmin is lying on the sand. Windswept black hair, bright eyes, a slight curl at the corner of his lips, the man’s handsome face is distorted with concern as he kneels down beside Seongmin, reaching out a hand to brush some of Seongmin’s salt-crusted hair off his face. “That doesn’t look good…” the man murmurs to himself, his eyes flicking from Seongmin’s face to his neck and chest and then back again.

With a hiss of pain, Seongmin musters up the energy to lift his arm and smack the concerned hand away, his head pounding and his body screaming in protest at the movement. “Stay away from me,” he wheezes, his arm dropping back onto the sand with a wet slap. “It doesn’t concern you.” His voice is dry and scratchy, almost pickled, and he runs his raspy tongue over his lips. Glancing around frantically, the merman notices that he had washed up in what appears to be a small cove off to the side of the beach.

And the tide is going out, the waterline receding away from his.

“Shit.”

Using whatever reserves of energy that he has buried deep inside, Seongmin attempts to heave himself up onto his arms, planning on dragging himself back to the water. He quickly realises that this is an impossible task until the tide comes back in on its own, as he is too far up the beach to make it on his own after such an intense beating from the storm. Feeling dried out and uncomfortable, Seongmin has no idea how long he has actually been beached. Beside him, the man hasn’t moved aside from retracting his hand when he was pushed away, watching Seongmin with curious eyes.

“Do you need some help?” he quietly offers after a few moments of watching Seongmin struggle to push his torso up off the sand. His eyes linger on the multitude of red welts and cuts littering Seongmin’s skin and scales, some already scabbed over and others still sluggishly leaking blood.

Seongmin looks up at the man sharply, valiantly ignoring the pain in his neck and shoulders. “Not from you!” he growls, eyes narrowing. “Leave me alone!”

The human frowns, a sad expression that Seongmin doesn’t think suits his handsome facial features. Feeling only the smallest twinge of guilt in his stomach, he looks away from the human, focusing on the sand in front of him. The human shuffles around in the sand and then stands up. Seongmin lets out a tiny sigh of relief that the human is leaving, and then he freezes. What if the human is going to get others? Then how will Seongmin save Yedam? Quickly, Seongmin turns his head back towards the human, opening his mouth to call him back, and then he suddenly feels weightless.

With what seems to be minimal effort, the human lifts Seongmin out of the dry sand with an arm steady around the small of his back and the underside of his tail, Seongmin’s slim side resting against the man’s chest as he brings their faces close together. The merman’s eyes go wide as it clicks in his mind what just happened, and he immediately begins to squirm as the man starts to walk, attempting to wiggle out of the strong grip.

“Put me down! Let me go! Stop this!” Seongmin yowls, trying to push himself out of the grasp of the human, unashamed by the faint hint of frantic begging in his voice.

The human persists, however, a faint smile pulling the corners of his lips up even more, and eventually, he gently sets Seongmin down again, the very edge of the tide lapping at his dried-out tailfin. “I’m sorry, you just looked like you really needed help,” the man says, crouching down on his knees again and awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. He looks around the small cove, biting his lip. “I won’t tell anyone that I saw you here, I promise,” he tells Seongmin, unfairly earnest with his shiny eyes and gentle smile. “Lately, my father has been obsessed with collecting anything beautiful that he finds, so it would be best if you left this area for now.”

Seongmin blinks, trying to understand what the human is doing, what his motives are. He is… being helped? The man rocks on his knees for a moment, as if deliberating what to say next, only to be distracted by a noise in the distance. Quickly, he gets to his feet and starts to walk away from the shoreline, quickly whispering urgently over his shoulder, “Hey, you have to get out of here! Someone is coming!” And then, he is gone, leaving Seongmin alone in the cove.

After several hair-raising heartbeats, Seongmin’s mind finally catches up with the situation, slowly realising that he needs to get back in the water. It takes an exorbitant amount of time with his sore body and sluggish limbs as he shuffles across the wet sand, wincing as it catches in his scales, but he eventually makes it far enough that the water takes his weight and he can start to swim. The storm has subsided, the current still and forgiving as Seongmin slowly swims towards the underwater entrance of the cove. He lingers near the opening, submerged to his ears and feeling the water revitalise his scales and fins, warily glancing at the open beach where the human’s footprints trail up the sand.

Two other humans have approached him, their voices carrying over the quiet hush of the calmed waves.

“There you are, Jongwoo!” the first human speaks. He is the shortest of the three, a round pair of silver glasses perched on the end of his nose, thick lenses flashing in the sun. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere – the king is having a fit over you leaving your piano lessons early again!”

The second newcomer says, “Yeah, we were waiting for you afterwards!” as he pouts, his arms crossed. He has wild hair threaded with feathers and flowers; quite a distinctive look. “I can’t believe you ditched us like that.”

Jongwoo, which Seongmin assumes is the name of the human who helped him, just shrugs his broad shoulders. “I thought my lesson had been cancelled because Tag has been spending all his time with the thing my father had the fishermen bring in a few days ago.”

The other two share an uneasy look with each other. “You mean the merman he found?” the one with the feathers asks, shuddering dramatically. “I don’t know how Tag does it. Have you heard about what those things do?” He shakes his head. “I think they should just throw it back in the ocean – it doesn’t belong in a tank.”

As their conversation continues, the three humans begin walking up the beach, clearly heading back towards the town on the hill. Seongmin watches them leave, and because he watches them leave, he catches Jongwoo casting one last glance at his over his shoulder, eyes scanning the ocean until they meet Seongmin’s. For a fleeting moment, they hold eye contact, and then Seongmin feels a blush creeping over his face, his lightspots flaring, and he quickly ducks completely under the water, his heart thudding in his chest.

“You’re just falling into dreamland,” Seongmin tells himself sternly, trying to stop the rapid beating of his heart. “Break through the surface and you’ll be fine.” Slowly, he finally exits the cave, heading away from the shore, trying his best to find the general direction of his former village after the storm had tossed him around. He feels too tired and broken to properly process anything that just happened to his, the dull pounding in his head and stinging on his skin coming back with a vengeance.

He doesn’t even know how long he’s been gone.

After what feels like much too long swimming around aimlessly, Seongmin notices what seems to be a large commotion in the distance. It’s his old village, bustling with life once more, the colourful tails of merfolk sparkling in the dimming light. Seongmin dreamily draws near it, exhaustion finally taking over. At one point, he thinks he hears his name being called out, his vision blurring as colours streak towards his.

Seongmin gives in to the pain, drifting to a standstill and slowly sinking towards the bottom of the ocean, feeling arms wrapping around him as he does. As he slowly loses consciousness, Seongmin truly does think he has fallen into dreamland.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ∘ ༄ ∘ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“You know, he’s really not as scary as you think he is. He’s just like us... but with a fish tail instead of legs.”

Jongwoo stares absently at the plate in front of him while his friends chatter away, their words fading away in favour of the gentle sound of the sea wafting in through the open window in the sitting room. Scattered around Jongwoo’s private sitting room, Jay, Jihoo, Taerae, and Tag are grazing their way through the plates of food that had been brought up for Jongwoo’s lunch. Ever since Tag came back from meeting with the mysterious mermaid – or merman as Tag had discovered – who was being put on display in the throne room, Tag hasn’t stopped talking about him.

“Tag, don’t you know anything? Do they not have mythic bestiaries in the Southlands?” Jay groans, waving his sandwich around to emphasise his point. “You have to know what people say about the fish folk.” When Tag shakes his head, Jay points his sandwich at the younger boy. “They lure you in with their good looks and then eat you alive!” He takes a large bite out of his sandwich to illustrate his words, and then holds up the remaining portion. “This will be you if you’re not careful!”

Pouting, Tag kicks his feet petulantly. “You just haven’t talked to Yedam yet! I bet those bestiaries are full of shit, and haven’t been updated for centuries,” he defends the merman, looking visibly more annoyed with every passing second as he brushes his fingers through his windswept hair, dark eyes flashing.

“Is it even worth you spending time getting to know it?” Jihoo asks from where he’s sitting on Jongwoo’s other side, looking at the ambassador’s son with a raised brow. One of his feathers hangs over it rakishly. “Tag, once the king loses interest in it, he’s just going to sell it or something. It won’t be here for long.” He shrugs at Tag, absently blowing the feather off his face. “I doubt your parents would be interested in buying it.”

Tag starts to bicker back and forth with the other boys, the argument rocketing between them while Jongwoo gets lost inside his own head. He had been as shocked as everyone else when his father came back from one of his day cruises with fishermen dragging a merman along behind them. The merfolk hadn’t been seen above the water in nigh a decade, and the king, a man who fancies unique and beautiful artefacts from which he gleans inspiration for his art and music, had been immediately smitten with his newest catch. A new tank had been erected before the day’s end; the bronze-tailed merman immediately put on display in the throne room.

The merman, Jongwoo can admit, is quite beautiful to look at. But even those bronze scales and honey-coloured hair paled in comparison to the merman Jongwoo found in the grotto yesterday. Slowly flexing his hands against his thighs, he remembers how the injured merman had felt in his arms, the surprising firmness of strong muscles under his lithe frame, the faint warmth radiating under his sea-chilled skin. His tail was the most beautiful shade of true gold Jongwoo had ever seen, reminding him of the delicate filigree that decorates the ornate screens in his bed chamber and glitter in the morning light like drops of fallen sunlight, and the merman’s face could only be described as angelic, even screwed up with anger as he had been.

Eventually, Jongwoo is pulled out of his thoughts when he feels four pairs of eyes levelled at him, the expectant gazes of his friends boring into his face. He blinks a few times, glancing between the others with wide eyes. “...Did I miss something?” he asks after a beat.

Taerae clicks his tongue, slinging an arm over Jongwoo’s shoulders. “You know, your majesty, you really need to fix this habit of spacing out while people are talking to you. You’re going to miss something important one day.”

“Yes, mother,” Jongwoo says with a sheepish smile and a shrug of his shoulder, dislodging Taerae lightly. “It does help when I have to sit in meeting for hours at a time, though,” he adds, laughing brightly and directly contrasting the exasperated sigh that leaves Jay’s lips.

“That’s because you aren’t the one who has to take notes on everything!” Jay scolds him. “Apologies, Your Royal Tallness, but some of us actually do have to listen to every word those stinky old men say!” His head makes a small noise as he knocks it against the plush arm of the couch, his subsequent groan muffled by the fabric. Taerae attempts to hold back laughter at their friend’s pitiful state and fails spectacularly, covering his mouth with his sleeve even as a few light chuckles escape, his eyes crinkling and cheeks dimpling.

“Speaking of stinky old men in meetings,” Jihoo says, looking over at the ornate clock cabinet in the corner of the room, “don’t you two have to be at one soon?” The clock’s golden hands are both getting closer to twelve and one respectively as the seconds tick by. “You said that you only had an hour for lunch today, Jongwoo.”

Jongwoo pauses and then nods his head, thanking Jihoo for the reminder. “We should get going, Jay,” he says, getting to his feet and brushing his pants off. “I’ll see you all later, help yourselves to the rest of the food,” he tells his friends as he gestures to all the plates before them. With that, he waves his hand and heads out of his rooms, Jay dragging his feet behind him as the aide follows after the prince.

Casting a longing look back over his shoulder at the plate of sandwiches that Tag is happily tucking into, Jay mutters, “Why do we even have to go to all of these meetings? We don’t even officially run anything yet…” He sighs theatrically. “Sometimes, I really do hate my family.”

Jongwoo opens his mouth – he’s not sure if he’s going to comfort Jay or poke fun at him for his melodramatics – but whatever he was going to say is cut off as a large crashing sound echoes through the castle. The two men look at each other with wide eyes for a beat and then break into a sprint, heading towards the noise. Quickly, their thundering footsteps turn into loud splashes as they run straight into a pool of water that is streaming out of the throne room, and they round the corner to see the mess in the middle of the tiled floor.

On the flood is the bronze-tailed merman, terrified and bloody, and standing over him is a bedraggled man holding a large, sharp shard of glass from the tank in his hands. Without second thought, Jongwoo rushes forward and grabs the man from behind, hauling him away from the frightened merman. He flexes the man’s arms outwards until he is forced to drop the glass, and the man screeches, “Let me go! Let me kill the damned thing!” He writhes in Jongwoo’s grip, trying his best to escape, but Jongwoo holds firm, grunting with the effort. “It’s a monster, you hear me! It’s going to kill us all if we don’t kill it first!”

“Jay! Go and get someone!” Jongwoo yells, and Jay startles from where he had stopped short in shock, nodding as he rushes away, calling for the guards.

“Mark my words, Your Highness!” the deranged man shouts, straining against Jongwoo’s arms. “One day you’ll wake up to find the whole castle dead! I bet it’s already had a bite out of a few tasty maids. Just let me kill it. Let me kill it so we can all be safe!” He continues to struggle, trying to free himself, shouting louder and louder with every word.

Much to Jongwoo’s relief, Jay returns to the throne room moments later with one of the royal guards following close behind. Kamden is one of the tallest guards in the castle, unafraid to throw his height around, and makes for quite the intimidating presence despite his generally sweet disposition. He quickly assesses the situation and swoops in on the still-screaming man, shutting him up with a short, sharp slap across the face, leaving the man gaping at him in shocked silence. The other guards filter into the room, each of them with various looks of hesitance as they glance at the merman still on the floor. Kamden extracts the man from Jongwoo’s hands and passes him off to a pair of guards who escort him out, where he starts to shout again until he is dragged out of earshot.

“I apologise that we weren’t here earlier, Your Highness,” Kamden murmurs from where he is standing at Jongwoo’s side. “The king had ordered us all out of the throne room this morning and we were wary of defying a direct order.”

Not surprised, Jongwoo nods with a tight smile on his face. “It’s all right, Kamden,” he assures the guard. “I didn’t get hurt, but…” Jongwoo’s eyes slide over the merman who is lying floor, helpless and exposed and surrounded by broken glass. His brilliant bronze tail shimmers in the sunlight streaming in from the overhead windows, but the sun is also glittering on the red blood oozing from the bare skin of his arms and torso. “I think he needs help.”

At his comment, Kamden visibly tenses. “I’ve already sent someone to fetch Tagyeom, Your Highness,” he says. “As the young lord seems to be close with the creature. I hope this is acceptable; no one else will go near it.” Kamden also turns his eyes on the merman, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, wary and ready.

Sighing, Jongwoo nods his head absently and then walks towards the merman, slow and steady. He hears Jay shout something behind him, but chooses to ignore his aide. The prince carefully picks his way through the shards of broken glass until he can crouch down at the merman’s side, and as he looks over the bloody wounds, the image of the beautiful golden merman comes to mind. Jongwoo forces the memory of his way, and the nagging feeling in his chest that accompanies his.

“Are you all right?” he asks softly. “Are you hurt?”

All he gets in response is a pair of large, glossy eyes staring up at him from under the wet hair plastered to the merman’s face like strands of brown ribbons. The merman blinks owlishly and then slowly points a shaking finger to his chest. “Are you talking to me?” he whispers, looking shocked. When Jongwoo nods, a look of panic briefly flashes across the young merman’s face, and then he scrambles to reply. “Yes! I mean, yes, I’m all right! I’m fine.” He tilts his head like a confused puppy, glancing at the cuts littering his body. “I think?”

“We should probably move you off the floor,” Jongwoo says to him, looking around the room for something they might be able to use just in time to see Tag barging in with another guard on his heels.

The moment he lays eye on the merman, he sprints over, face aghast. “Holy shit, Yedam!” Tag exclaims, and Jongwoo quickly moves out of the way as Tag darts between the pieces of broken glass to drop down beside the merman, swearing under his breath as he catalogues all the cuts and bruises. “Jongwoo, what the hell happened to him?”

“I’m sure he’d love to tell you, but we’re late enough as it is,” Jay interrupts, edging closer to the little knot of people on the floor, his face contorted in a mix of worry and frustration. “The meeting started twenty minutes ago and they’re not going to care what kept us if they’re waiting for us.” He nudges Jongwoo’s shoulder to get the prince up onto his feet.

Jongwoo huffs, irritated, and looks down at Tag. “You can move him into the bath in my room; have some maids help you fill it with seawater. He can stay there, where he’ll be safe, until my father has something else built for him.”

Once Tag has agreed to look after the merman, Jongwoo finally walks over to where Jay is waiting for him. “Are you crazy?!” Jay hisses as they leave the throne room, barely waiting to be out of earshot. “What if that thing kills you in your sleep?! Jongwoo!” He picks up the pace to keep up with Jongwoo’s longer strides, the taller man just shaking his head and opening the double doors that lead to the meeting chamber. “Jongwoo!”

“Jay, you saw him on the floor. Once he’s out of the water, he can’t even move,” Jongwoo tells him dryly, ending the conversation as he enters the meeting room.

Pausing for a moment to mime tearing his hair out and then to adjust his heavy glasses, Jay follows a few paces behind him, head bowed in respect for the assembled lords and royal advisers inside. He and Jongwoo wait off to the side of the large meeting table until the room quietens, the stern gazes of the gathered advisors and the king landing on the two. “Jongwoo,” King Junwon looks between his son and the prince’s aide, gaze weary. “I assume you and Jay have an excuse for being late?” Jongwoo winces at his father’s tone, and the king gazes at him cooly.

King Junwon had adopted Jongwoo after his mother, who had been the head maid within the castle, was murdered while defending Junwon and his late queen while the queen was ill and bedridden. No one knew who Jongwoo’s father was, so the king had taken matters into his own hand when the queen sadly passed away, deciding to take Jongwoo as his heir, as he and his wife had never managed to successfully conceive a child. He felt a kinship with the orphaned boy; they were both suffering from losing the closest person to them, and quickly developed a strong bond in their sorrow. Now, Jongwoo feels shame burning hot inside him whenever Junwon is disappointed in or angry with him.

Bowing deep with his arms held stiffly at his side, Jongwoo says, “My deepest apologies, father. There was a rogue in the castle who attempted to take the life of the merman you acquired the other day. He broke the glass of the tank, but the guards were able to stop him before he did any serious damage to the creature. Kamden has taken the man to the dungeons, and Tag has taken the merman to be put in a bath of seawater until a new tank can be made.”

Junwon sits back in his seat, cool eyes flicking from Jongwoo to Jay. “Is this the truth?” he asks the nervous aide.

From beside Jongwoo, Jay keeps his head bowed when he answers. “If I may speak, Your Majesty, I can confirm this. On our way to the meeting, we heard a crashing sound and ran to investigate. Prince Jongwoo intercepted the intruder before any harm could befall the merman. I assure you that this is the truth.”

The king sits in silence for several long minutes before he finally nods his head, accepting their story as he motions to the open chair at the table. “I see. We’ll discuss this more later. For now, join the meeting and we will continue where we left off.”

Giving each other relieved glances, Jongwoo and Jay move to their respective positions around the table, with Jongwoo sitting beside his father at the head and Jay standing close behind him at a small lectern to take notes. The meeting picked up again, continuing as normal, but Jongwoo could not stay focused, no matter how many times he pinched himself under the table. His mind kept drifting back to bloodstained scales and frightened eyes – but not those of the merman in the throne room. Instead, his thoughts once again stray to the merman in the cove, who had been the most dazzling thing Jongwoo ever laid eyes on, even while injured and disoriented. His gorgeous golden tail had glittered in the hazy morning light, and his pale skin practically glowed, making his seem ethereal and otherworldly. Tiny details of that meeting play over in Jongwoo’s head as he tries to at least appear engaged in the meeting at hand, but behind his eyes, all he can think about is him.

Once the meeting crawls to an end, nothing that was discussed retained in Jongwoo’s mind, the prince excuses himself with a promise to speak to his father before he retires for the night. Without a thought to Jay, leaving him shocked at Jongwoo’s sudden and immediate departure from the room, Jongwoo moves through the castle with long and deliberate strides until he reaches his own quarters, where he finds the bathroom door closed. As he nears it, Jongwoo hears voices and quiet laughter echoing in the small room, and he knocks softly on the door before going inside.

“Oh, Jongwoo, you’re back already?” Tag asks brightly when he sees Jongwoo. The young lord is sitting on a small stool by the edge of Jongwoo’s large bathtub, his elbows hooked over it, arms trailing lazily in the water. There is a collection of buckets scattered around Tag’s feet that he must have used to walk seawater up to the bathroom by hand.

Inside the bathtub, the merman is taking up most of the available space, the end of his bronze tail flopped over the edge, his translucent fins trailing on the tiled floor. The merman himself looks relatively okay, although his dark eyes are troubled. A large cut in the palm of his hand is sluggishly oozing blood, but the fine cuts on his arms and torso already seem to have closed over, and it appears that nothing else had seriously injured him.

Jongwoo approaches the pair curiously, nodding his head politely to the merman. “Are you doing better now?” he asks softly, a gentle smile gracing his features, the warmest sunlight seeming to fill the room as he does.

Shyly, the merman nods, and then he looks to Tag as if asking him to confirm this.

“He’s fine, Jongwoo,” the young lord says obediently, shooting a fond grin at the merman. It dims for a moment, and he turns his eyes to Jongwoo. “Although, if you and Jay hadn’t arrived when you did, he might not have been…” He shakes his head. “I don’t even want to think about what that horrible man was going to do before you stopped him.” Tag’s mouth settles into a tight line, which is a foreign expression to Jongwoo, who has only ever seen Tag in jovial spirits since he came to the castle.

Nodding to acknowledge Tag’s words, Jongwoo turns his attention back to the merman. “We don’t need to talk about that anymore today. Your name is Yedam, isn’t it?” he asks, and the merman’s lips quirk up in a small but bright smile. “I have a very important question for you.” Jongwoo gets a little closer and sinks down on his knees beside the bathtub. “Do you know of any of your kind who have a golden tail?”

Chapter Text

Seongmin wakes disoriented, ears assaulted by the sounds of people milling around him. Although the sounds are muted and dull, they seem to carry a certain loudness that makes his head pound with pain. He lets out a low groan and attempts to open his eyes, grinding his teeth together at the harsh, gritty feeling of his eyelids dragging over his eyeballs. Overhead, the soft blue light of the stones set in the wall cast a glow over his surroundings, and Seongmin flinches away from the light, his eyes overexposed and sensitive.

Someone must have seen or heard him stir, because the voices fall silent. “Is he awake?” someone tentatively asks, and when Seongmin groans again, louder, their tone escalates. “He’s awake! Someone get Seowon!”

“Where’s Hao?” another voice asks. “He should know too.”

Seongmin tries to turn his head away from the voices as the currents grow thick with the bodies gathering around him. He closes his eyes, making a small noise of protest. “H-heehhh…?” His voice is hoarse and scratchy with disuse when he tries to speak, only the whisper of a syllable escaping his cracked lips.

“All right, that’s it. Everyone back up. You can talk to him later.”

Even through the dull haze in his head, Seongmin can make out the voice of the inner ring’s main doctor, Seowon. It has a soft and relaxing quality to it that puts Seongmin at east, but also carries enough authority to get the gathered spectators to do as he says without arguing. Seongmin tries to sit up, but a soft hand on his shoulder keeps his down. “Don’t ruin all of Seowon’s hard work by moving too much,” a much more chipper voice speaks from above his, the hand staying put until he stops trying to move. Seongmin blinks slowly, realising that Seowon’s partner, Jiwoong, has come too; he feels the sponges shift as Jiwoong checks him over.

“Jiwoong? Seowon?” he croaks out, a weak cough following as his voice protests being used. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the medical ward of the castle,” Jiwoong explains to him cheerfully, and Seongmin finally gets his eyelids to stay open long enough to take in his surroundings. The first thing he focuses on is the shining sapphire blue scales of Jiwoong’s tail where he is sitting next to Seongmin on the sponge bed. “When you didn’t come back after a whole day, Prince Hao and some of the guards went out looking for you. They found you right before you collapsed outside your old village three days later, and they brought you back. Everyone was so worried about you.”

Away from where Seongmin has been put up, he can see Seowon working on something at his desk, his pearlescent rainbow tail swishing back and forth in the water with mild annoyance. “Malnourishment, head trauma, possible concussion, sprained wrist, cracked ribs, lacerations on every patch of skin, signs of scale desiccation…” Seowon grits his teeth. “Seongmin, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to get yourself killed! I ought to lock you up in a bubble! You’ve got some terribly serious injuries to worry about.”

Seongmin shrinks back against the sponges with every new ailment that Seowon lists, wrapping his arms around his seaweed-bandaged chest in shame. Beside him, Jiwoong looks on in worry, a frown evident on his normally cheery face. Unable to mee the eye of either older merman, Seongmin focuses his gaze on a particular cut on his waist, right above where his scales sprout. This one has long since healed over, the jagged wound the only evidence of the harpoon that had struck him all those years ago.

“I’m sorry,” he squeaks out.

Shaking his head, Seowon swims over, bringing a small plate of food that he places next to Seongmin. “It’s not me you need to apologise to, it’s all of them.” He points towards the door of the infirmary, where Seongmin thinks almost the entire dance troupe from The Grotto is gathered, each of them trying to get a look in on him, waiting restlessly to be allowed back in. Seongmin stares at the door for a moment, aghast, and then looks down at the food Seowon has brought his. He lets out a tiny noise and picks up one of the smallest pieces of fish on the plate. Seowon clicks his tongue at Seongmin. “I’m confining you to bed rest for the next few days,” he says, fixing Seongmin with a stern glare, expecting immediate rebuttal from him. “And that is to be with no complaining from you. You are not to leave this room until your ribs have healed at the very least, and you’ve put a satisfactory amount of food away.”

Jiwoong straightens up slightly beside Seongmin and he tugs on Seowon’s hand. “Oh, come on, darling. He’s had such a hard time already, don’t be so mean to him.”

He doesn’t even flinch when Seowon turns his hard glare on him, but the look doesn’t last long. “Mean or not, it’s for his own good,” Seowon says after a beat. “If he can’t take care of himself, he’ll have to be monitored.” His face breaks into a gentle, dimpled smile, and he gives Seongmin a careful pat on the top of his head. “We’re all here for you, Seongmin. You don’t have to get through this all by yourself.”

Seongmin leans into his touch for a moment, nodding, his eyes still fixed on the scar on his waist. Seowon and Jiwoong linger for a while until he’s eaten half the plate, and then the pair drifts out of the room, talking in low voices about the best way to look after Seongmin until his wounds heal. Once he is alone, Seongmin lets out a small whine, his breathing becoming erratic. Every word Seowon said to him cut deeper than the last, deeper than anything from the surface ever could. He feels like his heart is beating out of his chest, pounding so fast he’s amazed it doesn’t crack his ribs even further, and his head hurts too much to try and piece anything together.

What happened to him?

All Seongmin can remember is heading out to search for Yedam, and the storm coming down on top of him. Everything after that is a blur. Had he found anything of use? Any clue that might lead him to his brother? Is there something important that he is forgetting? Why has everyone taken time out of their schedules to look for him and then look after him? Why is he such a nuisance and burden on them?

He lets out a strangled sound as everything hurts too much all over, and his vision tunnels. Seongmin’s head is no better than a murky cave that he can sift nothing of importance out of. In the distance, he is dimly aware of voices calling out to him, but they may as well be a million miles away as he cradles his pounding head in his hands. Something touches his arm, too hot against his chilled skin, and he flinches away from it, eyes rolling and darting as he tries to figure out what is touching him.

It takes great effort, but eventually, Seongmin makes out the shape of a blurry face. That too-hot touch moves to his hands, pulling them away from his face and towards the blurry one before him, making his shaky fingers trace the distinct features of it. Nose, eyes, chin, mouth… It is Hao.

The prince’s mouth begins to move, but Seongmin still can’t hear the words over the rushing of his own blood in his ears, and he tries to say something, to tell Hao this, but his voice catches in his throat as if it is too afraid to leave.

Then, through all the fog, Seongmin feels the phantom touch of an embrace. It is warm and comforting in his head, and something finally sparks in his memory. Rocks, waves, and a dry, sandy floor. The sound of waves crashing against the shore and the radiating warmth of a sunshine smile. Large arms around him, effortlessly picking him up to move him back to the water. Jongwoo. The name floats to the forefront of his mind, and it stings in his head more than any part of him that is bruised and battered.

“What?” Finally, he gets a word out, focusing back on what is happening around him, and Seongmin finds that his chest feels lighter somehow, his breaths coming easier as he leans into Hao’s side, his best friend wrapping him up in his arms. Everything still seems utterly overwhelming, but now Seongmin knows that he isn’t alone. Hao’s presence beside and around him is comforting, and he quickly becomes aware of the rest of his friends gathered around, offering their own support, trying to help him.

After focusing on nothing but steadying his breathing for a few minutes, Seongmin can focus on Hao properly where the prince is sitting on the sponge bed beside him with Hanbin close behind him, as always. Seongmin clings to Hao with shaking hands, searching for something to ground his racing heart and mind. Strong arms embrace him from behind, Junghyun’s heavy body settling against him, and Quanrui wiggles in the gap, covering him from the side, humming quietly. Seongmin attempts to breathe with his friends, focusing on trying to make out more distinct features on Hao’s face, and slowly, he feels his heartbeat become less erratic, his breathing evening out with his friends’ help. Soon, he hears Seowon and Jiwoong coming back into the room with Jeonghyeon and Gyuvin following behind them.

“He had a panic attack, Seowon,” Hao quickly informs the doctor. “We heard it outside while we were waiting to come in and see him.” He brushes his thumb tenderly across Seongmin’s cheek. “They were pretty frequent when we were younger, but he hasn’t had one in a while.” As Hao gives Seowon all the information he can, Seongmin slumps into Junghyun behind him, closing his eyes as the purple-tailed merman runs a hand through his hair.

Seowon runs his eyes over Seongmin’s deflated form. “He needs nutrients and rest. If you can get him to do that as soon as possible, it will be best for hi. He’s been through a lot, and until his mind heals itself, that’s all we can do for his. Most of the physical wounds will heal quickly once the medication kicks in.” His voice is soft and quiet, wary of disturbing Seongmin from his moment of peace.

“We should all sleepover with him tonight!” Junghyun whispers excitedly over Seongmin’s head, his signature smile blossoming over his face. “That way, we can all be there if anything happens to him.” Everyone looks at him in silence, sharing confused expressions amongst themselves until Junghyun speaks again. “We’ve definitely got some spare sponges in The Grotto that we could use! It will be like a big family gathering, and we can watch over Seongmin so he doesn’t exert himself.”

The others talk in soft voices to one another, adding to Junghyun’s plan, and Seongmin bites his lip to keep himself from stopping them out of guilt that they’re going through all this trouble for him. It makes his stomach roll at the thought that he is wasting all their time off, making them help him with his own problems. He knows that he’ll be fine eventually, everything will heal up on its own.

Seongmin always fine in the end.

“All of you…” Seongmin finally gets his voice to work, opening his eyes and coughing lightly, the room falling silent as he speaks. “I’ll be fine, really. There’s no need to worry, I can handle this. You don’t need to put yourselves out for me.”

Across the room, Gyuvin has the audacity to snort at him. “Sure, Min. If you call what happened earlier ‘handling this’, then I think Junghyun’s suggestion is pretty reasonable.” He crosses his arms over his broad chest, as if daring Seongmin to argue with him.

“But… getting everyone at The Grotto involved is just too much,” Seongmin pouts. He can’t cross his own arms in return because his arms are occupied with Hao and Quanrui, but he hopes Gyuvin knows he’s doing it in spirit. “I’ll be fine in a few days – I can manage until then,” he insists, sounding weak even to his own ears. He can tell none of the others believe him in the slightest.

“Fine then, we can have it here in the palace,” Hao says firmly. “We have plenty of extra sponges in multiple large caves, I’m sure we’ll find one that isn’t already being used.” He reaches over Seongmin’s shoulder to ruffle Junghyun’s short hair affectionately. “There’s no reason why we can’t just have a fun night to ourselves. Papa won’t even mind, especially when we tell him it’s to cheer up Seongmin.”

Seowon clears his throat. “But not too much fun, Your Highness,” he reminds Hao. “Seongmin is still recovering from fairly severe injuries, so I hope you can make sure he takes it easy.” He leans against the nearby wall giving them all a pointed stare. “I don’t want to see anything opening back up tomorrow,” he warns them.

As his friends resume planning, Seongmin’s pout intensifies as his comment is ignored. He struggles to sit up, gently dislodging Junghyun and Quanrui as he does. “Hey! Stop it! I can take care of myself, really. You don’t need to waste your time on me, I can just stay here in the infirmary. I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.” His facial expression dares anyone to argue with him, but his eyes break the hearts of each one of his friends. Seongmin is clinging to the last remaining shreds of his pride as if his friends are going to rip them from his hands at any given moment.

“Seongmin, the moment Seowon left the room, you had a panic attack. You haven’t had one that bad in years. Losing Yedam is taking a toll on you, mentally and emotionally, but you just can’t do anything about it in the shape you’re in right now. You need to rest so that you’re strong enough to go looking for him again. You’re always helping others; just let us help you for once.” Hanbin, who is usually so quiet and contemplative from his position behind Hao, speaks with firm words as he eyes down the gold-tailed merman.

Around the sponge bed, the others nod in agreement with him. “Min, you really push yourself too much sometimes,” Jeonghyeon pipes up, his jaw set determinedly. He wants to make up for his failure to protect Yedam. “Let us help you get better so that we can all fight back at full strength to get Yedam back!” He grins brightly, pumping his fist. “Just you wait! Next time, not even a storm will be able to stop us.”

“Individually, we’re all strong when we fight for someone we love, but we’re even stronger when we’re together,” Junghyun says as he pulls Seongmin back into his arms, hooking his chin over his friend’s shoulder. “Yedam is family to us, Seongmin, and so are you. We’ll fight for you both, and not even you can stop us.”

Seongmin pauses for a moment, glancing around at each of his friends’ determined faces in astonishment until his lightspots flare brightly in an intense blush. He quickly tries to hide it behind his hands, which doesn’t work as the pulsing light continues to sweep down his body, all the way to the tip of his tail. His friends all break into peals of laughter at his embarrassment, and he finally relents to them. “Fine, fine! Have your damned sleepover,” he whines, peeking out through his fingers, a smile on his face. “I guess I’ll go!”

“Success!” Quanrui cheers, looking extremely pleased with this outcome. “Let’s go and get everything ready!”

It doesn’t take Seowon long to get sick of everyone crowding his workspace, and he quickly shoos The Grotto troupe out of the infirmary once the conversation has largely turned to planning their sleepover. He casts a smile at the remaining merman on the sponge bed, instructing Seongmin to get as much rest as possible until his mischievous friends have finished whatever setting up they need. Outside, Hao stations one of the guards to watch over the door, who promises to inform the doctor if there are any problems with Seongmin. Satisfied, Seowon gives Seongmin a final wave and closes the door behind himself as he leaves to have dinner with Jiwoong.

Once he is alone again, Seongmin turns over onto his side, wincing as the sponges cradle his aches and pains. His head is still pounding, more noticeable now that he has been left in silence, but he tries to push through the pain to sift through his hole-filled memory for anything that might be useful.

Jongwoo.

The name comes back to his in a flash. Who on earth is he? Someone important, that much Seongmin knows.

He tries to think about what happened after the storm hit him. In vague, hazy flashes, he manages to recall the feeling of his body hitting sharp rocks as the rough waters tossed him around, smacking him against the seafloor hard enough that he blacked out. After that, there is nothing. The gold-tailed merman sighs in frustration, upset that he can’t remember anything of importance from his failed mission but a single name that means nothing to him in the grand scheme of things.

“Jongwoo…” he mutters to himself, eyes fixed on his tailfins as they flop over the side of the sponges to trail on the sandy floor. “Jongwoo… Who the hell is Jongwoo?” Over and over again, Seongmin tries to pull something, anything, up from the depths of his mind, but nothing comes forth. Eventually, his overworked mind fades out of consciousness, leading Seongmin into an empty, dreamless sleep.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ∘ ༄ ∘ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“His name is Seongmin?” Jongwoo asks, wide-eyed. He shifts on his knees beside the bathtub, resting his elbows on the edge of it with a serious expression on his face.

The merman inside the tub looks mildly uncomfortable to be under Jongwoo’s intense gaze, but there’s a spark of hope in his eyes at the thought that someone is actually looking for him. Tag listens to the pair talk in thoughtful silence, idly playing with Yedam’s hair as it dries in the open air, the dark brown strands turning to a burnt honey in his fingers.

“Yes. He’s taken care of me for as long as I can remember, he’s basically my brother,” Yedam explains. “When I was little, he told me that our parents had been friends, but they were all killed when I was a baby.” His voice fades suddenly and Yedam refuses to meet the eye of either human in the room. “It was humans. They came to our village with boats and harpoons and killed almost everyone. Only a few of us managed to escape. I don’t remember any of it, but Seongmin does. He carried me out in his arms even when he got hit by a harpoon too. Sometimes, he wakes up with nightmares and it’s really frightening…”

Jongwoo’s face is uncharacteristically serious when he says, “Don’t worry, Yedam. I can assure you that no one in this castle is part of the murderers that attacked your village. From what you say, it sounds like they were pirates looking to profit from the spoils. But regardless, that explains why he seemed so guarded when I met him…”

Shocked, Yedam shoots up from where he had been leaning against the back wall of the tub, his eyes flaring wide. Tag is startled by his sudden movement, falling backwards off his stool, and Yedam barely spares him a glance. “You met Seongmin?!” he exclaims. “He was here?”

“Not exactly,” Jongwoo quickly says, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “There was a massive storm a few days ago. I found him washed up in the cove at the edge of the beach the next morning when I was out for a walk. He wasn’t in very good shape, but he wouldn’t let me help him beyond getting him back into the water.”

Yedam deflates immediately, sinking against the side of the tub with his arms folded on the edge, his chin propped up on them sadly. “Oh,” he murmurs, dejected. “I see. So he doesn’t know I’m here. He didn’t come looking for me…”

Getting up off the floor, Tag rubs at his back to dispel the aches from falling over and then gently pats the top of Yedam’s head comfortingly. “Even if he did know that you were here, what could he have done about it? Swim into the harbour and demand you back?” He shakes his head. “That wouldn’t have ended well for either of you.” He looks between Yedam’s pout and Jongwoo’s stern expression. “What? I’m just saying. I don’t think the king would just let Yedam go that easily. And, assuming the merfolk are in hiding, wouldn’t his asking directly like that just lead to them potentially being found?” He shakes his head again, as if despairing at the prince and the merman for not thinking this through. “Honestly, I think the best thing to do is wait it out until the king finds something new to be his inspiration and then smuggle Yedam out from under his nose when he’s less likely to notice.”

This just deflates Yedam even more and he sinks deeper into the tub, the water lapping at his chin as he does. “Poor Seongmin,” he whines. “He’s probably going crazy over this. He always made sure that I was safe, and that nothing ever happened to me. I hope he’s not blaming himself.” He sighs, his breath creating ripples over the water. “One time, when we’d first moved to the royal city, some kid from the inner ring started bullying me and the second Seongmin found out about it, he went up to the kid and his mother in the marketplace and tore them both a new one. That kid never came near me again!” Yedam sighs then, shifting slightly, his bronze scales casting glittering pink and gold flares around the bathroom. He stares distantly at the wall, playing memories of his brother over in his head.

After a while, he says, “I just hope he’s all right,” and when Jongwoo makes a concerned, questioning sound, he elaborates, “Seongmin is really good at looking after others, but not himself. He always tries to hide all his problems away without telling anyone and tries to deal with them all on his own, because he hates feeling like a burden or worrying people. He doesn’t understand that doing that just makes everyone worry about him even more!” Yedam cuts his rant off with a squeak when he notices that both humans are staring at him with wide eyes. “Sorry,” he whispers, feeling awkward as he looks down at his hands. “I’m just worried about him.”

With a warm smile, Jongwoo puts a careful hand on the part of Yedam’s tail that is folded over the edge of the bath, his heart jolting at the feeling of semi-warm scales under his skin. “It’s normal to be worried about our family,” he says. “We’ll work this out in the end, Yedam. I’ll make sure no one tries to hurt you again, and Tag and I will put our heads together with the rest of our friends to figure out how to get you home to your brotheragain. I promise.”

Tag, a little jealous over the bright-eyed smile that Yedam gives Jongwoo, slides his arms around the merman’s shoulders and narrows his eyes. “Jongwoo, don’t you have princely things to do right now? Weren’t you late for a meeting earlier?”

Grinning at the younger boy’s obvious display of jealousy, Jongwoo can’t help but chuckle at Tag good-naturedly. “Yes, I suppose I do,” he sighs, overly dramatic. “I’ll be going now. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to tell Tag, Yedam. He can be your personal servant from now until whenever your new tank is built.” He winks at Tag as Tag gapes at him, and then waves at the pair before leaving the room.

As he steps out into the hallway, he almost immediately runs into Gunwook, one of the castle’s lower guards. He is also one of Jongwoo’s close friends, and is particularly close to Taerae – close enough that their other friends have a silent wager going on over when they will finally seal the deal and start courting properly. In fact, Jongwoo finds it odd that he hasn’t seen either of them with each other all day.

“Prince Jongwoo!” Gunwook breathes out, sounding relieved as he comes to a standstill. “There you are! The king was looking for you earlier, but no one could find you. If you have a few moments to spare, he’s in the throne room.” Gunwook smiles warily. “Jay said that you were probably with the mermaid, but no one else was brave enough to go anywhere near it, so the task fell to me to find you.”

“Merman,” Jongwoo corrects him softly. “Yedam is male. He’s a merman.”

Gunwook blinks slowly, and then nods. “Merman. Got it.”

Returning his nod, Jongwoo bids Gunwook farewell and then makes his way to the throne room, mindlessly waving to anyone who he passes by, mentally trying to prepare himself for the scolding he will no doubt be receiving. With a deep sigh, he stops outside the doors of the throne room, his heart pounding nervously in his chest. Jongwoo groans quietly and scrubs his hands over his face before reaching for the door handles, schooling his features into a calm mask.

He opens the doors and steps back inside the grandest room of the castle. It is a large hall full of decorative marble pillars and intricate plaster eaves, the ceiling adorned with a beautiful mural of the night sky, and now there is a large glass tank along the sidewall that has a huge hole cracked in the side of it. At least someone has cleaned the glass and water off the floor. Jongwoo walks past the tank, heading for the throne in all its blue velvet and guilt-trimmed glory where the most intricate piece in the entire hall sits. His father; Park Junwon. The king.

Junwon is deep in conversation with Jay, who appears to be particularly nervous as he talks with the king, although that is only visible to Jongwoo’s well-trained eye as Jay adjusts his glasses every few words. Opening the door makes Jongwoo’s presence known, and Jay relaxes the second he notices the prince walking towards the throne, his eyes following Jongwoo keenly. Junwon pauses mid-conversation to look at Jongwoo as he approaches, and he motions for his son to come closer, which Jongwoo slowly does.

“Jongwoo,” the king says, “I was told that you were checking on my merman. How is he doing?” He leans back in his throne, crossing his arms loosely over his chest as he watches Jongwoo bow respectfully before answering.

“For the most part, he is unharmed, father. He has a few superficial injuries from the broken glass that we are taking care of, but other than that, he appears to be in good health. At the moment, he is resting in a saltwater bath in my chambers, and Tag is watching over him.” Jongwoo waits for Junwon to nod, accepting this information, and then he rocks forward on the balls of his feet. “Father, I would like to apologise for my tardiness earlier. Even though my attendance at the meeting was important, I felt that the well-being of the merman wasn’t something to be ignored.”

Junwon waves Jongwoo’s apology off with his hand, much to Jongwoo’s shock. “You don’t need to apologise for that, son. That’s not at all what I called you in here for.” The king gives Jongwoo a moment to collect himself again before continuing. “Jongwoo, I want to know if you have thought about looking for a fiancé yet.”

Every thought flying around Jongwoo’s head stops short as he stares at his father like a fish out of water, his mouth gaping open and his eyes bulging out in shock.

The expression is comical enough to drag a small chuckle out of the king, who leans an elbow on the arm of the throne to regard his son with cool eyes. “I’m getting older, Jongwoo,” he says after a beat when he realises that Jongwoo isn’t going to say anything anytime soon. “I have already been involving you in the politics of the kingdom in an official way, training you for taking over as king one day. But one of the things that you need to rule successfully is a partner to share your life with. Finding someone at your age will allow you to build a deep connection with them before you are coronated. I want that for you, my son, the balance of love and life.” He inclines his head towards Jay for a moment. “I have been talking with Jay about this, and we have started putting together a list of possible candidates for you to consider. I plan to hold a ball to give you a chance to mingle with people your age in a social setting so you can begin your search.”

Jongwoo continues to start incredulously at his father, barely blinking as he tries to process this bombshell. At some point, his jaw snaps shut, and he finally shakes himself out of his stupor, running a hand through his hair. “Finding a partner?” he asks, sounding somewhat winded. “No offence, father, but right now, that is the last thing-”

Holding up a hand, Junwon stops the prince before he can work himself up properly. “I’m not asking you to get married tomorrow, Jongwoo. You don’t have to find someone right this very moment. I just want you to have the chance to get acquainted with your possible future matches.” The king nods decisively. “We will hold the ball in a week’s time. Please make sure you brush up on your etiquette so that you can behave properly when the guests arrive. For now, that is all.” Junwon smiles at his son, distant but still warm. “You’re both dismissed, Jongwoo, Jay. Go back about your day.”

Jay startles at being addressed again and then bows to the king, quickly darting down the dais stairs to where Jongwoo is standing. He walks right up to the prince, who seems to still be registering this new turn of events, and he shakes Jongwoo’s arm to get him moving. “Let’s go to the sitting room and we can talk about it,” he suggests in a quiet whisper, urging Jongwoo to turn around.

Blindly, Jongwoo follows as Jay leads him out of the throne room, not a word spoken between them until they reach said sitting room. Jongwoo plops heavily onto one of the many plush seats situated around the small table in the middle of the room, and Jay takes the one across from him with significantly more grace. As Jongwoo watches him, Jay places a small scroll on the table, wary that Jongwoo’s shock is still fresh. He pauses before unrolling it, wondering if Jongwoo is going to say something first.

Unfortunately, Jongwoo’s head is full of thoughts and worries whirring past at a million miles an hour. It feels like he was just in the castle gardens with Taerae and Jihoo, throwing wads of mud at each other in the rain while shirking their duties, and now Jongwoo is being asked to find a fiancé. Asked to find someone to rule the kingdom with for the rest of his life. Jongwoo isn’t ready for that yet!

“Jay, I can’t do this,” he gasps, the first words to leave his mouth since his father shocked him into silence. “Not now, no way. I’m not made for…” he flaps his hands around as he tries to find the right words, “…courting someone! I barely have my own shit together; I can’t be responsible for finding someone to be with forever.”

“That’s what you’ve got me for, dipshit,” Jay retorts immediately, puffing his chest out and slapping a hand to it. “I’ll be your wingman, so you don’t screw it up. Don’t worry, Jongwoo, I’ll help you find someone that takes your fancy.”

Jongwoo stares blankly at Jay for a moment, and then he lets out a frustrated groan as he runs his hands through his hair again. The black strands are a bird's nest at this point, flyaway and wild as he abruptly gets to his feet. “I can’t do this right now,” he grumbles, glaring at the scroll on the table. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be down at the beach.” With that said, he walks swiftly from the room, ignoring Jay as the aide calls after him in exasperation.

One thing that Jongwoo has always been able to rely on is the beach.

The stretch of white sand and pristine waters are his own oasis, his safe place, too small for the people of the village to visit regularly, and no use to the fishermen when the harbour is a stone’s throw away on the other side of the bay. The waves never rise too high and the small cove that runs along the edge of the shoreline where it meets the hill the castle is built on, is always dazzling with its wet stones and the rhythmic sound of the waves. It is somewhere that Jongwoo knows he can escape whenever he needs a moment to himself. His friends visit on occasion, but it is rare to see them venture this far down from the castle.

Walking down to the sandy shore, he is suddenly reminded of the beautiful merman he found here just a few days ago, helping him from the cove to the water once more. Seongmin, he remembers the name Yedam gave him. He was possibly the most gorgeous creature that Jongwoo has ever seen, even as injured as he was. Jongwoo flexes his arms slightly, remembering the warm weight of him cradled to his chest as he carried the merman back to the water. He recalls the look he gave him before disappearing under the waves one last time.

The prince continues down until the water is lapping against his bare toes, his shoes long forgotten back on the path to the beach. Rolling up the hems of his pantlegs, Jongwoo settles in the sand with his feet in the shallows and leans back on his hands to watch as the sun starts its slow descent behind the horizon. Before him, the water slowly burns gold as the last rays of daylight brush its surface.

Somewhere out there, under the rolling currents, is Yedam’s home, and in Yedam’s home, is Seongmin. Assuming that he made it back there safely, which Jongwoo hopes he did. He hopes that he managed to help the beautiful merman, even just a little. Sighing deeply, he tilts his head back and stares at the dimming twilight sky, the air around him still carrying the sun’s warmth before the night chill comes trickling in. The sound of the waves surrounds him, and his eyes slip shut, mind finally falling blessedly silent for a few precious moments.

The sound of feet crunching in the sand alerts him to someone else’s presence sometime later, but Jongwoo feels far too relaxed to bother looking around to find out who it is. Soon enough, they sit down beside him, a familiar presence carrying the earthly smell of fresh grass and lotus flowers.

Jihoo is silent for a while, settling against Jongwoo’s side to leech the prince’s body heat, but eventually he casts his eyes over Jongwoo’s side profile. “So, you finally found out about Plan Get Jongwoo Hitched, huh?” is what he chooses to say.

Eyes snapping open, Jongwoo side-eyes the boy next to him, glowering slightly. “You knew?”

The gardener shrugs. “We all did, to be honest. Jay has Seunghun, Taerae will eventually have Gunwook, Tag is… well, Tag. He seems to have ditched the nightlife for the merman, though. I suppose the king thought it was time to expose you more to the world of love, seeing as most of the people around you have someone already.”

Jongwoo groans, turning his eyes back to the setting sun. “I don’t want to be exposed to that world, though,” he complains. “This whole ball thing is going to be a disaster and I’m not looking forward to it. At all.”

“You just need to humour the king,” Jihoo says cheerfully, patting Jongwoo on the back comfortingly as he smiles at the prince. “It’s not like you actually have to get down on one knee and propose to someone at the ball. It’ll be beneficial in the long run to make some connections, you know.”

“For a gardener, you know an awful lot about this stuff,” Jongwoo grumbles, and then he sighs again, belly deep and somewhat resigned. Jongwoo knows that Jihoo is right, he’s just reluctant to admit it. He knows that he’s getting older, that most men in the village are at least betrothed by the age of twenty-two, and Jongwoo is walking the line of twenty-five already. It really is time that he starts learning about the kingdom and making his own connections with the people, connections that are not tied to his father. The responsibility of his future position weighs heavily on his shoulders, and reminders, like today, of the burden he will one day bear are like a slap to the face of the carefree prince. “But I guess you’re right,” he concedes.

“I know,” Jihoo says with a broad grin, his eyes crinkling cutely. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I’m the youngest of the group!”

Jongwoo rolls his eyes with sickening fondness and pushes Jihoo’s head away with one hand. “Yeah, yeah, and one day you’ll be just as old as the rest of us.”

The two sit in the gentle tide and laugh before slipping into easy conversation about much more mundane topics, briefing each other on castle gossip from the week. By the time they have finished hashing out the latest drama amongst the kitchen staff, the sun has set fully behind the horizon, sprinkling the stars across the sky in its wake. Eventually, they lapse into silence, only the sound of the waves lapping against the sand between them.

It's Jihoo who breaks the silence, never one to sit with his mouth shut for too long. “Have you ever wanted to just… go into the sky, hyung?” he asks absently, as if trying not to break the tranquil atmosphere surrounding them. “Like, just escape from everything and disappear?” He holds one hand up, squinting one eye shut as he pretends to pinch the moon between his fingers where it hangs low in the sky.

“All the time,” Jongwoo responds without thinking. He sits for a moment in contemplation and then continues, “Sometimes, I’m so grateful to have you all as my friends, and I’m thankful for the fact that we can hang out whenever we want. But some other times… I don’t know how to explain it. It all feels too real, as if there’s just too much going on around me and I just can’t grasp any of it at all.”

Jihoo nods sagely. “I think I understand that,” he says. “I mean, I’m no prince, but sometimes I remember that the world is bigger than just our castle, and it frightens me. There are millions of people out there, and who knows how many of them are suffering? We sit in there, acting like everything is a paradise outside the castle walls, but I know that the outside world isn’t anything like that. But thinking about it just becomes overwhelming after a while.” He finally drops his hand back into his lap, and he looks down at it with sad eyes.

The water has crept further up the shore as the moon rises, soaking into their trousers where it washes up to their knees, but the pair continues to sit comfortably in the sand as they contemplate what they had both just said.

“Yeah, that’s why you should leave the thinking to Jay and focus on the garden,” a third voice suddenly says, boisterous but not disruptive as it startles Jongwoo and Jihoo. Tag appears on Jihoo’s other side as he ruffles the boy’s hair, dislodging some of his feathers and making him whine and complain about it. Jongwoo chuckles at the antics of the younger boys, watching as they dive into a play fight that sends them both rolling into the shallows, shrieking at the cold of the water. Tag emerges victorious, no bigger or stronger than Jihoo, but with the element of surprise on his side, and he pins the gardener down underneath him, Jihoo’s hands and feet flapping in the water. Turning his head towards Jongwoo, Tag says, “It’s time for dinner and Jay sent me out to fetch you both. I wanna eat, so let’s go back now.”

Tag moves to stand up, and he is not expecting Jihoo to retaliate now that there is food on the line, but Jihoo does, bursting up from his position below. The action makes Tag yelp in surprise and fall back into the water, splashing Jongwoo liberally as Jihoo howls with laugher. Jongwoo joins in laughing too, swiping his wet hair out of his eyes, and Tag sits bolt upright to point at Jihoo, water dripping off his finger. “Watch yourself, dirt boy! Sleep with one eye open tonight, because I’ll get you back for that!” he vows, as if he didn’t start their little wrestling match. Then, he bursts into a peal of bright giggles.

Once their laughter has died down to more manageable level, all three of them stand up and brush as much sand off their pants and legs as they can before they head back to the path leading up to the castle, large grins on all their faces.

“One day, we’ll all just fly to the moon!” Jihoo says, throwing his hands up to the sky once more. “No more troubles then.”

Beside him, Tag snorts and loops his arm over Jihoo’s shoulders, dragging him into a one-armed hug as they walk. “In your dreams, dirt boy,” he says, affection dripping off every word. “In your dreams.”

Jongwoo casts his own eyes up to the sky, the twinkling stars reminding him of those spots of light that dotted Seongmin’s body. “Dreams aren’t so bad,” he says softly, almost to himself. The thought of the merman brings a small smile to his lips.

Dreams aren’t so bad at all.

Chapter Text

Seongmin twitches in his sleep as a soft sound disturbs him. The infirmary door opens and closes again, and it is the sound of it closing that finally rouses him, his eyes flicking open. He doesn’t hear any voices but assumes that one of his friends has come to retrieve him for the slumber party and is trying not to wake him suddenly. The current shifts as his visitor gets closer to the sponge bed, and Seongmin picks his head up to look properly, eyes widening when an unexpected sight greets him. Instead of seeing any of the familiar colours of his friends’ tails, Seongmin is met with glittering sky blue scales that almost seem to glow in the dark and a slim face bearing a sly grin under a wild mane of sandy hair.

“Oh no, Hanbin,” the injured merman groans out, settling back on his sponges and covering his eyes with his forearm. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

Hanbin, the other Hanbin, the Hanbin who is not the personal body guard to the crowned prince, lets out a playful chuckle and makes himself comfortable on the edge of Seongmin’s bed, wiggling his tail on the sponges. He rests an elbow next to Seongmin’s head, propping his chin up with one hand as he grins down at Seongmin with all his teeth on display. “Oh, Minnie, don’t be like that!” he giggles. “I’m here to help you! I heard your precious Yedam went mission, so I’ve done my part to help the search.” Hanbin brings his other hand into view, a small vial clutched delicately between two of his claw-like nails. “I made this just for you!”

Squinting at the vial with a small groan, Seongmin pushes himself up onto his elbows to get a better look at it. There is a strange liquid swirling inside the little glass vial, changing colour every time it shifts direction, deep blue and rich purple and burning red, each of the colours twisting around each other in an intricate dance. He groans again, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “What the hell is that?” he asks. Hanbin is well known for dabbling in the magical arts that have long since been lost to the common merfolk, and also for being a nosy little shit who enjoys meddling in other’s personal affairs. Seongmin makes an educated guess that the vial in Hanbin’s hand is related to both of those things. “Hanbin, I really don’t need-” he starts, but Hanbin cuts him off, pressing the cork of the vial to his lips.

“But don’t you want to know who Jongwoo is?” Hanbin asks, eyeing Seongmin knowingly.

Seongmin freeze, his eyes widening as he stares at Hanbin. “How do you know that name?” he whispers harshly, golden fins slapping weakly against the floor as his expression sharpens into a glare.

Throwing his hands up in the water, Hanbin’s grin widens. “With a scary expression like that, I’m not going to tell you anything, you know,” he teases, which just makes Seongmin glare harder. “Oh, fine, spoil sport. I have some… connections who might know who this Jongwoo person is. They also might know where you can find your beloved brother.” With a dramatic flourish that stirs up a cloud of bubbles from the sponges, Hanbin turns away from Seongmin, holding the glass vial close to his chest. “But, alas, if you don’t want my help, then I guess I’ll be leaving. Poor Yedam will be stranded forever above the surface, lost to whatever is beyond the sea…”

Seongmin lurches forward, trying to grab at Hanbin before he floats out of reach, but he is stopped dead with another pained groan as his head throbs and his wounds ache. He has to hold himself up on shaking arms, breathing deeply for several seconds until the pain passes, and then he reaches out a weak hand to grab at Hanbin’s tail. “Please, Hanbin,” he wheezes out, “I’ll… I’ll take it. I don’t care what you want in return. I’ll pay any price to bring Yedam home again.” The effects of the medicine Seowon gave him are starting to wear off, the pain of his injuries returning full force. “Hanbin, please.”

With a narrow smile, Hanbin dangles the vial in front of Seongmin’s nose. “Oh no, Minnie, dearest. One friend to another, I’m not asking for any payment,” he says, swinging the little vial and watching as Seongmin’s eyes follow it closely. “Consider it a mutually beneficial arrangement. I need someone to test out the effects of this potion, and you need to get to the surface to find Yedam.” He closes his fingers around the vial, snatching it away to make sure he has Seongmin’s full attention. “I found the recipe for this in one of the oldest scrolls in the library cavern. If I’ve brewed it correctly, it supposedly has the power to transform a merperson into a human for as long as they wish, but it can only be used once – and you’ll turn back into a merman if you are touched by the waters of your birthplace.” He slides his tail out of Seongmin’s grip and takes the gold-tailed merman’s hand in his own, placing the vial in his palm. “Oh, and one other thing. If you lie to anyone while in human form, you’ll turn into seafoam and die when the sun sets that day. So… be careful!”

Seongmin sits, still and pensive, for several minutes, staring at the vial in his hand, the swirling colours inside the glass seeming to call out to him, urging him to drink it right then and there. He curls his fingers around it, shutting the potion out of sight, and the urge disappears. He thinks about it some more and then looks back up at Hanbin. “I’ll take it. I can do this. I’ll do anything to rescue Yedam and bring him home safely.”

“Oh, good!” Hanbin says happily, clapping his hands together, his rings claws and many rings clinking together. His teeth flash, silver plated, and he twirls once in the water, blue scales flashing in the blue light. “I’m so glad you’re on board! I have some friends on land who are willing to help you and look after you for the time that you’re on land.”

“Friends?!” Seongmin hisses, a disgusted look plastered to his features. “How do you have human friends? Why do you have-”

“Because not all merfolk have the same hatred for humans that you do!” Hanbin snaps, cutting him off. His grin drops, suddenly serious. “My friends helped me when I was a youngling, and now they’re going to help you, so you’d better get over yourself enough to tolerate being around them. Don’t paint an entire species with the same tar brush, Seongmin.”

Seongmin’s lip curls up in a snarl. “The humans have no problem doing the same to us,” he says, petulantly.

Moving faster than Seongmin could ever hope to keep up with in his condition, Hanbin smacks the back of his hand, hard, forcing him to release the vial of potion. Hanbin snatches the vial from the water and whisks it out of sight. “If I can’t trust you to treat my friends kindly, I’m taking this back,” he says with an arched brow. “What’s it going to be, Seongmin? I thought you said you’d do anything and pay any price to bring Yedam home again?”

Seongmin hesitates, biting his lip. Realisation hits him in a moment of clarity. Clicking his tongue at his own behaviour, he murmurs an apology to Hanbin, nodding his head resolutely. “I will put my own personal feelings about humans aside for Yedam’s sake, and treat your friends civilly.” Deep down, Seongmin knows that it’s not possible for every single human to be a horrible, bloodthirsty monster; he just happens to have had the bad luck of something terrible happening every time he runs into one, and over time, a natural animosity towards them has built up. Now, he’s going to have to swallow his pride and allow himself to be helped by humans if he wants to find Yedam. As horrible as it seems, Hanbin is right. Seongmin is going to need help above the waves, and humans who are friendly with merfolk are going to be his best shot at survival.

Watching the contemplations play out across Seongmin’s face, Hanbin swims back towards him. “All right, you can have the potion. I’ll come back tomorrow and get you so we can head to shore. I messed around with some of the ingredients, so it’s probably going to help heal your injuries too.” The vial is dropped into Seongmin’s hand again with a very stern warning not to drink it while underwater, and then Hanbin salutes the gold-tailed merman. “See you in the morning, Seongmin!” he chirps, and swims for the door. He nods to Yujin as he passes, the young guard watching him pass by with a small frown between his brows.

Looking down at the vial in his hand, Seongmin watches the colours shift with a tiny flower of hope starting to bloom in his chest. With Hanbin’s help, he is suddenly one step closer to bringing Yedam home. Seongmin simply refuses to believe that anything bad is happening to Yedam, wherever he is, or he will go completely insane, so all he can do is keep telling himself that he will find Yedam eventually. Somehow, be it instinct or fate or something, he just knows that Yedam is close by on land, just within in reach. Seongmin just has to make the first step to reach out and grab him.

Time seems to pass slowly as he stares at the potion, and Seongmin is jolted back to the present by another knock at the door. He blinks, wondering who has come to visit him now, but before he can call out to ask, the door opens to admit Seowon and Hao, the pair swimming in and looking surprised to see Seongmin awake. With a little squeak, Seongmin stuffs the vial between some of the sponges under him and gives them a small wave with his free hand.

“Hey, you’re awake again! That’s good,” Seowon says happily, swimming up to Seongmin’s side to check over his injuries once more. He talks idly as he does, or so it seems. “Yujin said that other Hanbin came in to see you earlier, so I thought you’d be asleep after having to deal with him.” He blathers on for a few minutes before his eyes suddenly get sharp. “Hanbin didn’t try to give you anything, did he? Jiwoong’s been keeping an eye on him, and he spends far too much time in the library caves with those old magic books. I can’t imagine he’s up to any good.” He huffs, and floats over to his work station to start mixing up some more medicine for Seongmin.

Hao takes his place next to Seongmin, eyeing his friend carefully as Seongmin debates his answer. “Seongmin?” he urges after a moment, placing a gentle hand on Seongmin’s arm.

“No, he just came to check on me,” Seongmin says eventually. He has to pick his words carefully, because he’s never been very good at lying. Especially to Hao. “He offered to make me something for my nightmares, but I declined. I don’t trust much of what he has to offer.” Seongmin wrinkles his nose in faux-disgust in an attempt to appear sincere and valiantly tries to keep his eyes from straying to the sponges where the potion from Hanbin is stashed.

Across the room, Seowon nods in agreement, but Hao is clearly not swayed, and he scrutinises Seongmin with narrowed eyes, trying to find any cracks in Seongmin’s hastily applied façade. “As you should!” Seowon says, his teal fins swishing across the floor in agitation. “Now, I believe your sleep over is all set up, Hao?” he asks the prince, who nods. Seowon looks up at Seongmin, pointing at him with the spoon he had been stirring the medicine with. “You. I know they’re doing this to help you feel better, but please take it easy tonight. I’ve made some salve for you to put on your cuts and scrapes, and you’ll need to apply it every few hours. Don’t do anything too energetic and, for the love of Triton, eat something healthy and substantial. Having an empty stomach will only make healing take more energy.” Seowon completes his lecture by passing the pot of salve to Hao. “Please help Seongmin with this. Moving around too much is going to cause the larger wounds to split open. And I want him back here tomorrow morning so I can check his progress.”

“You know, you’re invited to this sleep over too,” Hao tells Seowon, who scoffs and mutters something about spending the night with Jiwoong instead. Hao smiles and nods again, accepting that response. “All right. We’ll be back in the morning, then. Thank you for all your help, Seowon,” he says earnestly, and turns to Seongmin, immediately starting to apply the salve to some of the bigger scrapes along Seongmin’s golden tail.

Seongmin squeaks at the cold sensation but turns a dazzling smile Seowon’s way as the older merman clears his station and starts to leave. “Yes, thank you, Seowon! I’m feeling better already! You should reward yourself for working so hard,” he adds as Seowon reaches the door, collecting Yujin on his way to take the young guard back to the barracks. “I’m sure Jiwoong will be so excited to have you to himself all night!”

Yujin’s cackling laughter and Seowon’s indignant spluttering can be heard even when the pair are out of sight down the corridor, which is exactly the reaction Seongmin was hoping for. He can hear Yujin teasing Seowon as they leave, and he smiles. Even Hao chuckles at Seowon’s reaction, shaking his head fondly. “Considering he and Jiwoong have been courting for years at this point, it always amuses me how embarrassed Seowon gets whenever someone brings it up,” the prince says with a satisfied flick of his tail, peach scales glittering. His dainty fingers glide over the last of Seongmin’s scrapes that he can reach on his tail and he hands the salve to Seongmin to apply on his chest and sides. Hao watches him for a few moments before cocking his head. “So, would you mind telling me what little Hanbin gave you?”

Seongmin chokes and accidentally digs his fingers so deep into the pot of salve that it erupts over the edges of the jar. “What? I already said that he didn’t give me anything…”

“I know you’re lying, Seongmin, you’re really not very good at it,” Hao sighs, rolling his eyes. “Also, there’s no way that little Hanbin would come by just to ‘visit’ without trying to push one of his potions onto someone, and I know that you’re desperate right now.” He fixes Seongmin with a hard stare even as Seongmin does his best to avoid the prince’s gaze. “Do I have to give you a royal command to tell me the truth?”

Seongmin snorts despite the seriousness of the situation. “We both know that never works on me,” he mutters, and Hao purses his lips, unimpressed. “And… He really did just want to help me. Please don’t worry about it.”

Hao rises sharply, twisting in the water until he’s hovering over Seongmin, his hands on either side of his friends’ face. He stares directly at the golden-tailed merman, forcing Seongmin to maintain eye contact with him. “Seongmin. You were missing for three days before anyone found you, and when we did find you, you were literally on death’s door! So, forgive me for being concerned. I know that Yedam is important to you and that getting him back is your top priority. I also know that getting him back is your only priority and that you don’t care about what happens to you during that process.” He gives Seongmin a little shake on the sponges. “Well, I care about you! We all do! Yedam is important to you, and you’re important to us. So if you’re going to hare off on some hairbrained scheme, you’d better let me know right now before I throw you in the dungeon caves to make sure you don’t leave the castle system until you’re healthy again!”

Seongmin shrinks down into the sponges as Hao’s voice slowly escalates in volume, the dull throb of his headache returning. He glances away, lips pouting and eyes watering slightly as Hao finishes, thoroughly chastised and somewhat touched at the same time. Slowly, Seongmin slips his hands between the sponges and retrieves the vial, clutching it tightly to make sure Hao doesn’t snatch it out of his grasp. “He… he said that he knows some humans who can help me look for Yedam,” he explains quietly. “Hanbin gave me this so that I can turn into a human temporarily and go on land to look myself-”

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, Seongmin, can you even hear yourself right now? Turning into a human? Getting help from humans?! Trusting that one of little Hanbin’s potions will work without killing you? It all sounds like a big ploy to use your grief and turn you into a test subject.” Hao holds up an imperious hand. “Hand it over,” he commands. “Now.”

Seongmin slithers out from under Hao and off the bed, curling up defensively on the floor with the vial held close to his chest. He doesn’t hiss or bare his teeth, but he’s close to doing so. “I don’t care! I don’t care if he is using me! If this potion works, even for just a day, I could get one step closer to finding out where Yedam is! He was taken by humans, so he must be on land somewhere! This is the best chance I have.”

“And what if he’s dead?” Hao demands, his hands on his hips. “What then? And what if you die on your little venture up to the top? No one will know and you’ll both just be gone. I know, I know all you want is to bring Yedam home, but don’t you think this is just a step too far? I’m sure if we all put our heads together, we could come up with hundreds of plans that don’t include relying on a sketchy seawitch wannabe and his sketchier potions. Now, hand it over! That’s going straight to the court physician to be analysed and destroyed.” Hao drifts over, his hand held out again.

As his shadow crosses over Seongmin’s curled form, the cowering merman starts to hyperventilate, golden tail shaking, the deeper meaning of what Hao is saying completely lost on him. “You don’t know anything!” Seongmin wails. “You were born in the lap of luxury, the only son of the king of the sea! You didn’t grow up in a poor village in the outer rings where we had to fight the sharks for food! You didn’t watch your friends and family get killed around you! You didn’t have to raise someone else’s child as your own when you were just a child, and you didn’t have to deal with the looks and the whispers and the judgement because of where we came from! You don’t know what I went through, what Yedam and I went through! I promised his parents, I promised them that I would take care of him. Fuck, Hao. I’ve failed them so badly, that maybe I do deserve to die up on land. Maybe it’s the least I can do!” Seongmin looks up at the prince, his expression completely warped with pain and sadness, his heartbreak palpable on the current. His entire body is quivering, golden fins vibrating, yet Seongmin still keeps a firm hold on the vial. “I have to do this. You don’t understand. You could never understand.”

Hao backs away from Seongmin, turning his back on him with an exasperated huff as he runs his hands through his russet hair. His peach tail lashes back and forth in irritation and fear at Seongmin’s absolute lack of care for himself in all of this. “Tell the others to have the sleep over without me,” he says after a beat, not looking back at Seongmin. “I have other matters to attend to.” Hao’s voice is cold, and he leaves the room before Seongmin can say anything else to him.

Seongmin stays scrunched on the floor, holding his tail close to his chest with his tailfin draped over his head and shoulders as he shakes, overwhelmed and upset. He has never seen Hao so mad before. Hao was one of the very first people that Seongmin met when he arrived in the city – they were close in age and had complimentary personalities, so it was only natural for them to become fast friends. They fought, sure, what friends didn’t? But this is a side of the prince that Seongmin never wants to experience again.

After a while, Seongmin hears the door open again. “Hello? Haohao, is he…” the voice trails off and Seongmin peeks through his fins to see Junghyun in the doorway, looking confused. The purple-tailed merman stares at Seongmin where he is curled on the floor with wide eyes. “What happened?” he gasps. “Where’s Hao?”

“He left,” Seongmin whispers, voice hollow. “We fought and now he’s mad at me. He said to have the sleep over without him.”

Worried, Junghyun swims over to Seongmin and sweeps the older merman up in a hug, folding his thin frame up in sturdy arms. “But you guys are such close friends,” he whines, pouting. “Fighting isn’t good. You’re going to make up, right?”

Seongmin hugs him back with one arm, still keeping the vial held tight to his chest, irrationally afraid that Hao is going to reappear and take it off him. “He’s just… It’s my fault, really. He’s concerned  about me. But I’m not a child, I can fend for myself and make my own decisions without him holding my hand and micromanaging everything. He just doesn’t get it.”

Junghyun nods sadly, holding Seongmin even tighter. “Maybe you can tell the others about it and we can find a solution?” he offers hesitantly, digging his chin into Seongmin’s arm and staring up at him with his big, round eyes. “Hyung, you and Hao can’t stay mad at each other for very long. I’m sure one of you will have caved an apologised before the sun comes up.” He smiles again, warm and gummy, his eyes crinkling sweetly, and takes Seongmin’s hand, starting to pull him up off the floor. “Come on, let’s go. Everyone is waiting for you,” Junghyun says gently.

Seongmin doesn’t resits, lets Junghyun lift him up and lead him out of the medical wing, grateful that Junghyun is so careful of his injuries as he half drags Seongmin through the castle caves to the chambers usually reserved for royal guests from other cities. Junghyun pulls him into a decently sized cave that is crowded with Seongmin’s friends. The large, main sponge bed has been surrounded by multiple smaller sponges dragged in from other caves – even some that Seongmin recognises from The Grotto’s back rooms – and an entire mountain of pillows and kelp blankets have been heaped on top of them. On the floor, covered soft white sand brought in from distant shores, Jeonghyeon is attempting to build a blanket fort under supervision from Hanbin, the guard’s black tail sweeping through the sand and knocking it down playfully whenever Jeonghyeon turns his head, and a few feet away, Gyuvin and Quanrui are flirting playfully as they make sure there are enough pillows for everyone. Junghyun immediately barrels into the pile of pillows and rolls around in them, laughing as he does, leaving Seongmin hovering in the mouth of the cave.

“Seongmin, you’re here!” Quanrui says, swimming over to give Seongmin a careful hug with Gyuvin following behind at a slower pace, a warm smile on his face.

Jeonghyeon and Hanbin swim to his side too, Jeonghyeon joining the hug and Hanbin looking around behind Seongmin with a frown on his face, immediately picking up on Hao’s absence. “Where’s the prince?” he asks, looking to Seongmin as if Seongmin is going to produce Hao from within his fins.

“Probably in his room, sulking,” Junghyun calls helpfully from where he is still bundled up with the pillows. “He and Seongmin had a fight so he stormed off.”

Hanbin nods with a sympathetic wince, and he puts a warm hand on Seongmin’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. “I hope you can forgive him, Seongmin. I’m sure he didn’t make it very easy on you. He’s very protective of you, you know. His emotions are running very high right now.” Hanbin explains it all softly with a pensive look on his face. “When we finally found you, he didn’t think you were going to survive the journey back to the city.”

That makes Seongmin’s guilt even worse, bubbling low in his gut. “I know,” he whispers, nodding his head and tucking his hair behind his ear nervously. “But it’s not his job to worry about me. I’m an adult, and I’ve been through more horrors in my life than Hao could imagine in his worst nightmares. I can take care of myself.”

“Can you?” Hanbin asks, raising an eyebrow and cowing Seongmin into silence.

“Oh, lighten up,” Quanrui complains, not unkindly, giving Seongmin a small shake where he has his arms looped around the gold-tailed merman’s slim waist. “Both of you. Hao gets into these moods all the time and you can’t do anything about it until he’s decided to come out of it on his own.” He cuddles Seongmin comfortingly. “I’m sure he’ll come around soon, though. He can never stay mad at you.”

Seongmin winces, not too sure about that in this instance, but he lets himself be pulled into the cave by Quanrui and Jeonghyeon, Hanbin following along with a small smile on his face as Jeonghyeon grabs a pillow and starts to pile them on top of Junghyun, grinning. “For now, he can just miss out on all the fun we’re going to have,” he says, covering Junghyun’s giggling face with another pillow. “Let’s start with food!”

What follows is an admittedly rather pleasant evening that does, indeed, boost Seongmin’s spirits. He gets ushered onto the large sponge bed by his friends and they all crowd around him, playing games that don’t require much movement so that Seongmin isn’t at risk of damaging any of his injuries. They talk and they eat, being generally noisy and obnoxious, and Seongmin hasn’t felt so at ease and at home in days. Even before Yedam was taken, he’d been feeling nervous, out of sorts within his own body, the stress of their upcoming showcases weighing on him on top of dealing with the ongoing social issues he was facing. Seongmin is long overdue for a break, and with his friends’ help, Seongmin can finally take a moment to breathe, even if it is only for tonight.

He can’t join in on the spontaneous pillow fight that starts up between Gyuvin, Hanbin, and Junghyun, but he enjoys watching it, hiding behind Quanrui while Jeonghyeon valiantly tries to break them up and gets dragged into the fray for his efforts. He eats every piece of food put into his hands without realising it, feeling the love and care from every one of his friends around him. It’s a warm, welcome feeling that settles deep in his heart and spreads throughout his entire body, continuing to grow as the night does, his friends so generous with their love without a second thought. The cave is private, keeping them well away from anything or anyone outside that could harm them, and the comfortable sponges and bedding offer endless comfort as their voices bounce through the water, energetic and happy, lighting the room up just as effectively as the light stones embedded in the rocky walls.

But it still isn’t enough to completely distract Seongmin from his thoughts of what tomorrow morning will bring, nor does it make him completely forget the guilt that is gnawing away at him. Seongmin is going to leave all of his wonderful friends with very little warning, without knowing if he will ever see them again. They’re his closest friends and Seongmin is about to hand them a lifetime of worry without even telling them.

Maybe he should tell them.

He silently debates it as he eats the next piece of food stuffed in his mouth courtesy of Hanbin, and it doesn’t take much for him to make up his mind. Seongmin sits back and watches as the other play with each other, occasionally adding his own teasing comment to the banter, until the shimmer of the light stones begins to dim as the night gets late.

Soon after, Quanrui and Junghyun slump against each other, fast asleep with Jeonghyeon not too far away from them, thee three younger mermen all sharing a pile of sponges and pillows that is doing its level best to swallow them whole. In the middle of the big sponge bed, Seongmin is half curled up with Hanbin and Gyuvin, golden fins flicking nervously as he thumbs the little glass vial, pulling it out from where he had been safely storing it under his waist fins.

Gyuvin notices his anxious fidgeting almost immediately and he glances at Seongmin, raising a brow. “Is there something you want to say, hyung?” he muses, honest with his tiredness.

“You look like you’ve been waiting to say something all night,” Hanbin adds, rolling over so he’s facing Seongmin and Gyuvin.

Seongmin hesitates, the vial feeling so incredibly heavy in his hand. He stares at their three tails, partially intertwined in a twist of gold, black, and silver, scales glittering in the low lights. Fiddling with the vial, he lifts his eyes, looking at each of the royal guards in turn. With a resigned sigh, he lifts his hand and uncurls his fingers. “Yes,” he murmurs. “It’s about this.”

Curiously, Gyuvin picks up the vial and inspects the potion inside it, his expression never once changing as he passes it to Hanbin, who looks slightly more concerned. “What… what is it?” Hanbin asks, transfixed by the shifting colours inside the tiny glass bottle.

“It’s a potion. Hanbin gave it to me.” Seongmin pauses, biting his lip. “Other Hanbin,” he clarifies. “He said that it can, well… he said that it can change a merman into a human.” His voice gets quieter with every word as the two guards stare at him intensely. “And I’ve decided to take it. If it brings me even one step closer to Yedam, I’m willing to risk it.” He can see Hanbin and Gyuvin both open their mouths to start arguing with him, and the golden-tailed merman rushes through his next point to stop them from interrupting him. “Please, let me finish. Not knowing what happened to him, not knowing what is currently happening to him, is more painful for me than anything I’ve ever been through. Even if the potion only works for an hour, that’s an hour that I can spend on land trying to find Yedam, and that makes it worth a try for me. Please, you have to understand.” And he looks pleadingly between his friends, hoping, praying, that they can understand his plight.

After several long, long minutes of silent deliberation, Hanbin sighs and hands the vial back to Seongmin. “I think you know already, Seongmin, that neither of us think it’s a good idea for you to go through with this.” Immediately, Seongmin begins to protest, but Hanbin silences him with a single look. “But we all know how strong your relationship with Yedam is. No matter how many times we tell you ‘no’, or try to dissuade you, we know that you’re just going to go and do it anyway, aren’t you?” He shakes his head with a rueful smile. “We know you, Seongmin. You do that all the time.”

“Seriously, hyung, you’re a dumbass sometimes, but this takes the cake for dumbassery,” Gyuvin says, blunt and honesty. “I would say that I can’t believe you’d even consider this, but then, I guess I can understand having that sort of connection with someone.” And his gaze strays over to Quanrui, expression softening as he watches his sleeping mate. “I understand the desperation to do whatever it takes to keep your loved ones safe. I would fight back too…” Gyuvin tears his eyes back to Seongmin. “So, even thought I don’t agree with it, I’m not going to stop you from doing this. This is your decision, and I know that you’ll be able to deal with the consequences. But I am going to propose a plan to you.”

Seongmin lights up at Gyuvin’s words, practically tackling the younger merman with a hug before. “A plan? What sort of plan?”

“Well, assuming the potion actually works, it’s not just going to be a one-day sort of deal, is it?” Gyuvin theorises, and Seongmin shakes his head. “Didn’t think so. So, here’s my idea: to help all of us, we’ll meet up with you at the surface every three days. If you miss two meetings in a row, we’ll figure something out to get you back. But that way, we can stay sane knowing that you’re still alive, and you can search for Yedam without being guilty over leaving us behind. Does that work?”

Hanbin is nodding before Gyuvin has even finished talking, crossing his arms over his chest thoughtfully. “I think we could make something like that work. Perhaps we could take turns going to the surface; that would be safer for us, instead of the entire group going at once.”

Staring between the two with his eyes wide, Seongmin almost starts to cry. Here he was, practically planning how he was going to sneak past them and leave them all behind, and then they come out in (not quite) full support! They’re even willing to help him to the best of their abilities. Seongmin, overcome with emotion, pulls the two guards into his sides for a hug. “I’ll do it! I swear I won’t make you guys worry at all! I’ll make every meeting and keep you updated on everything! Oh my goodness, thank you!”

“I still don’t like it.”

Seongmin’s head shoots up at the familiar voice, releasing Gyuvin and Hanbin from his embrace so he can look at the mouth of the cave. Hao is leaning against the rock with his hands behind his back, and although there is still a trace of anger in his expression, his eyes are resolute.

“I still don’t like it,” he repeats, “but I guess if we have some way to check in on you, I can accept it.”

Hanbin chuckles, pushing off the bed and swimming over to the prince, taking his hand gently and dropping a fleeing kiss to his temple. “You’ve been hiding here for a while, haven’t you?” he teases the prince, who blushes and looks away with a sweet pout.

“I just heard the last part,” Hao says petulantly, and although he crosses his arms, he still leans into Hanbin’s side. “Adding some sense to Seongmin’s insane scheme has made me more comfortable with it. I’m not saying I like it, or even that I approve, but it’s a far cry better than what he was planning before!”

Seongmin smiles, slow and sweet at the prince’s bashfulness. He swims over and wedges himself against Hao’s Hanbin-free side, hugging him too, holding him close. “Thanks for forgiving me,” he whispers, bumping his forehead against Hao’s temple.

Hao snorts, wrapping his arm around Seongmin’s waist. “Only if you forgive me too,” he says. “Only if you forgive me too.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ∘ ༄ ∘ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

For the first time in days, Seongmin wakes up peacefully. He is still in the large sponge bed, surrounded now by Jeonghyeon and Junghyun after their sleeping arrangements had been disturbed by Hao’s arrival, as Hanbin had abandoned Seongmin to sleep next to the prince. Gyuvin had attempted to move Quanrui and accidentally woke up the little red-tailed merman, who had demanded Gyuvin sleep with him instead. This caused Jeonghyeon and Junghyun to wake up, and they’d gladly taken the new free real-estate on either side of Seongmin. The entire group had talked for a while after that until the light stones faded to black completely, and then had fallen asleep one by one.

In the morning, Hanbin and Gyuvin have disappeared, but their respective others are still wrapped up in the kelp blankets, rolled closer to the rest of the group for warmth and comfort. Seongmin watches the rest of his friends slowly stir, casting a lazy smile over Junghyun as the younger merman stretches and yawns, his long purple tail hanging over the edge of the sponges.

“Morning, hyung!” Junghyun says brightly when he spots Seongmin looking at him, and he waves cutely.

Seongmin waves back with a smile and looks over to his other side, where Jeonghyeon is still asleep, curled up with his arms wrapped around his green tail comfortably. As he is contemplating waking him up, Seongmin’s attention is drawn to a shifting current at the mouth of the cave as Hanbin, dressed in his armour, re-enters with Seowon following behind him, unwillingly awake early and forced to work. Seongmin can barely stifle his laughter when he spots the bright and obvious love bites decorating Seowon’s neck and chest.

“Looks like Jiwoong had fun last night!” Seongmin immediately starts to tease as Seowon swims closer to him, making a show of wiggling his dark eyebrows at the healer.

Seowon merely rolls his eyes at the lewd comments, crossing his arms over his chest briefly and ignoring the rest of the boys. “Come to the edge of the bed so I can look you over, you menace,” Seowon grumbles, motioning for Seowon to slip out from between his cuddling limpets. Obliging, Seongmin dislodges Junghyun and moves to the edge of the sponges where Seowon examines him from head to tail, paying careful attention to the large gash on Seongmin’s forehead and the scrapes along his ribs, muttering a few comments to himself about their progress, but he doesn’t take any notes. “How’s your wrist?” he asks.

Shrugging, Seongmin says, “It hasn’t bothered me all night. I can move it just fine.” To demonstrate, he rolls his wrist in a circle, but is flinching in pain before he can even finish a single rotation.

This earns him a narrowed-eye glare from Seowon, who pinches the bridge of his nose. “Out of all the prince’s friends, you’re always the one who tries to hide your pain. Don’t think I can’t see it, Seongmin,” he warns, taking Seongmin’s wrist in his tender hands to examine the bruised and swollen flesh. The golden-tailed merman looks away, trying to hide his pained expression and refusing to meet Seowon’s knowing gaze. “How are you feeling, other than the physical pain? Did anything happen overnight that I need to know about?”

Junghyun wriggles closer over the sponges, watching Seowon work with his bright eyes. “Nothing happened last night!” he reports diligently. “We all slept for a long time, and Seongmin didn’t even wake up once. We even got him to eat dinner!” The youngest merman looks proud of himself, grinning happily. “I made sure he ate just as much as the rest of us, too.”

“Good, that’s good, thank you, Junghyun,” Seowon coos, reaching out his free hand to pinch the purple-tailed merman’s round cheek. “Seongmin, anything else to tell me?”

“I’m fine, really,” Seongmin groans, trying to look and sound as sincere as possible. He smiles around at his friends. “They always know how to cheer me up.”

Quanrui coos happily and shoots through the water to wrap himself around Seongmin in a tight hug, and Seongmin laughs as the rest of his friends pile onto the sponges, getting an arm around him where they can, cheeks and fins rubbing against him. “Haohao, you join too!” Quanrui demands when he sees Hao lurking awkwardly nearby, a hesitant expression on his face. “You too, Hanbin. This is a group hug!”

That’s all the encouragement the pair need, toppling on top of Seongmin too, wary of aggravating any of his wounds as they hug him too, forcing Seowon to back up slightly so they don’t slap him with their tails. “With the way you’re all acting, it’s like you think you’re never going to see him again,” the healer comments with a snort, crossing his arms over his chest. “Despite his wrist still being tender, he is doing better than yesterday,” he informs the room at large. “His lacerations have healed enough that I no longer deem them at threat of reopening.” Seongmin’s hopeful face pops out from the colourful mass of his friends and Seowon nods begrudgingly. “Yes, you’re doing better but you aren’t completely healed, so don’t go overworking yourself immediately. Stay here in bed for the rest of the day, and maybe even tomorrow. Get some good rest, Seongmin. You really need it.”

Seongmin blinks a few times as he processes this. “Okay,” he says quietly, and he watches as Seowon swims off again, muttering to himself about something as he heads for his and Jiwoong’s chambers again. He waits for a full minute before murmuring, “You guys are going to have to keep him calm after today.”

The hug pile breaks up slowly as everyone sits up. “Are you really going to go through with this?” Hao asks, his gaze intense, and the others voice their own concerns. Quanrui, Jeonghyeon, and Junghyun had been informed of Seongmin’s plan by Gyuvin, and although they all seemed to be fairly supportive of him – especially with the amendments from Hanbin and Gyuvin – but there is a question hanging in the air that no one wants to ask aloud.

Will it even work?

Seongmin stares back at them all, fully aware of what is going unsaid, his eyes steady and determined. “I am going to go through with it. I’m going to find Yedam, no matter what.”

“Oh, good, you’ve got a whole entourage of support!” a chipper voice sounds from the mouth of the cave, and all heads turn to see Hanbin – other Hanbin – wafting half upside-down in the water there with a smile on his face, sky blue fins billowing like silk to keep him balanced so strangely. He crooks his fingers at Seongmin, claws shining. “Come on now, if we’re going to make it to the shore in time, we’d best be leaving soon. Don’t want to miss our timing and ruin the whole thing before you have a chance to look around.”

Seongmin nods quickly and extracts himself from amongst his friends, leaving them behind as he swims towards other Hanbin. “All of you stay here for now,” he says. “It’ll be too noticeable if we all leave at once. I promise to be safe on my way up to the surface, so don’t worry too much.” He smiles at them, as wide and reassuring as he can. “Gyuvin will report back with where the meeting spot will be.”

Before any of them can protest or try to follow, Seongmin swims for Hanbin and lets him lead the way out of the palace caves. He can hear his friends calling out their farewells and well wishes, all of their voices laced with concern as Seongmin’s golden tail disappears from sight. Gyuvin meets them at the back exit of the cave system, buried deep behind the library caves. He has his trident on hand and his full armour, as per Hao’s suggestion. They’re less likely to be stopped and questioned if they look like they’re on official business with a royal guard. Gyuvin watches Hanbin and Seongmin approach him with the typical, cold expression one would expect from a guard, very different from Gyuvin’s usual bright smile.

“Good morning, I shall be your escort for the day,” he says, somewhat louder than necessary for the benefit of anyone who might be lurking around and overhear them. His words are clipped, almost clinical, and Seongmin has to slap a hand over his mouth to stifle a giggle, not wanting to throw Gyuvin off when he’s trying so hard to play his part well.

Hanbin has no such qualms, running a finger under Gyuvin’s chin with a claw as he swims past. “Thank you so much, Mr Scary Solider,” he coos, snickering to himself as he flicks Gyuvin’s cheek playfully with a pale blue fin for good measure.

Used to that and worse in public from Quanrui, Gyuvin doesn’t even flinch as Hanbin touches him, keeping his face totally expressionless. He turns on the current and heads towards the West Gate in the faint beams of early morning light that are filtering down through the waters. As they journey, Seongmin watches the city start to come to life, merfolk waking and greeting one another as they go about their morning routines, a whole slice of life in the inner rings that Seongmin and Yedam are still cut off from.

Their journey to the gate is uneventful, and Gyuvin converses easily with the guard on duty, sending her on her way with bow of her head after a single drop of Prince Hao’s name. Seongmin wraps his arms around his waist as he waits for Gyuvin to deal with the gate and anyone lingering around the area, his eyes fixed on the sand and coral below his tail. He’s still in pain, no matter what he said to Seowon, and part of him is yelling at him to go back to those comfortable sponge beds and rest until he is actually completely healed, but he chases those thoughts away. Yedam could be in far more pain that Seongmin is, and just that thought alone is enough to keep him moving forward with his plan.

“You still have it, yes?” Hanbin asks as he swims up beside Seongmin, waving his hand in front of Seongmin’s face to get his attention.

Seongmin, lost in his own thoughts, jolts and flicks his tail, sending him backwards a few feet even as he nods his head. “Yes, it’s here,” he replies, fishing the vial out from under his pelvic fin where he had stashed it safely during the night, not fully trusting one of his friends to not take it while he was asleep.

The potion within looks awfully like blood in the morning light.

Nodding his head, Hanbin heads for the gate after Gyuvin, and once they’re all through and the gate is shut once more, Hanbin leads the way towards the shore. He and Gyuvin have to keep their pace slow so that Seongmin can keep up with them, lagging behind them due to his pain and injuries, the gold-tailed merman truly starting to feel the extent of them with the effort of yet another long swim towards the shallows.

After some time, the inner rings long behind them and the waters starting to lighten as they get closer to the surface, Gyuvin glances back at Seongmin with a crease between his brows. He’d made solemn promises to both Hao and Quanrui to look after Seongmin while he was still in the water. “I believe it’s time we take a short break,” he says, and looks pointedly at Seongmin again when Hanbin protests. With a quick look up at the sky, he adds, “We’re making better time than I expected, I think we can afford a few minutes.”

“…You’re right,” Hanbin agrees in resignation after a moment. Concern colours his features for a moment as he watches the heavy way Seongmin is breathing, his gills flaring rapidly. “Matthew and Keita will be at the cove until noon, I’m sure we can take a short break and not risk missing them.” With that, Hanbin allows himself to drift towards the sand, settling with his hands behind his head and his pale fins swishing lazily around him.

“Is that your human… friends?” Seongmin asks curiously as he follows Hanbin down to the sand, visibly relaxing as he stretches his aching body and long tail out on the soft surface.

Hanbin nods with a small smile. “Yes. They run a small eatery called ‘Miso and Maple’ near the beach, and they live right near the shore.” Hanbin closes his eyes in thought for a moment. “When I was younger, I was looking for some rare potion ingredients a bit too close to the harbour, and I got trapped in some fishing nets. I couldn’t get out and had dropped my knife. Honestly, I thought that was going to be it, I thought I was going to get hauled to shore and killed. But then Matthew and Keita showed up, helped me out of the net, patched me up, and let me go. I decided to stay for a while and talk to them – humans! Who didn’t want to hurt me! And we became friends over a few days.” He smiles fondly. “They offered to help me get potion ingredients that just don’t grow in the sea.

“Honestly, the whole thing makes me think that humans and merfolk didn’t always have the terrible relationship that we do now. In the library, there are a lot of scrolls for spells and potions that require ingredients that I have only ever been able to find on land, with their help. So, there must have been trade between our species at some point.” Hanbin sighs, restless and uneasy, and he opens his eyes, as crystal blue as his scales and the sky overhead. “Something must have happened to cause the rift, the animosity, but I haven’t been able to find out what.”

Seongmin stares at him in shock. “What if there isn’t a reason?” he whispers. “What if they just hate us? Why else would they kill whole villages? Why else would they attack us and abduct us?” Hanbin’s words had clearly affected him, leaving him confused and slightly defensive. From what Hanbin said, these two humans who helped him were kind and decent, but the harpoons and blood and trauma from his past are burned into his memory.

Shrugging one slim shoulder, Hanbin sits up, gazing off towards the shore. “I highly doubt that every human on land wants to do those things,” he says softly. “The ones who attacked your village were bad, and they did terrible things, but not every human is like that, Seongmin. I can promise you that. I wouldn’t even consider offering this to you if I thought they were all awful. I wouldn’t put you in that position.” He shakes his head. The silver rings and fine crystals threaded through his long hair clink faintly with the action. “Anyway, we should get going. The sun is getting higher. We’ve rested for long enough.”

Conversation swiftly ended, Hanbin pushes off the seafloor and heads for the surface, showering Seongmin and Gyuvin, who had been silent during the entire exchange, with sand as he does. Gyuvin puts a large hand on Seongmin’s arm and squeezes gently. “He doesn’t have the answers you’re looking for, Seongmin,” he says gravely. “He can only tell you what he knows, just like you can only tell him what you know. Hanbin knows that those two humans he is friends with aren’t like the humans who attacked your village. Try to remember that much, at least.”

Seongmin sits still for a few more heartbeats before following Gyuvin and Hanbin. He knows, deep down, that not every human on land is one of the humans who attacked his village, but that doesn’t mean he won’t meet someone up there who was. The possibilities of what he might do if he ever finds someone who was part of that attack flash through his mind, but before he can think too deeply about them, Gyuvin calls for him, he and Hanbin already a good distance away, waving for the gold-tailed merman to hurry up.

Slowly, Seongmin pushes up and away, all the aches coming back full force once he does, and he makes his way over to his companions, trying to act as normally as possible as he does.

By the time the trio makes it to shore, the sun is at its highest peak in the sky and Seongmin can feel its warmth in the water around them as they struggle through the ever-shallower water. The warmth is surprisingly pleasant on his aches and pains, soothing them much more efficiently than the chills of the deep sea. Travelling also gets easier as they push onward, the tides starting to push them to shore until the three mermen are surfacing in a secluded and out of sight cove. On the sand, there are two figures waiting for them, deep in conversation with one another. Seongmin and Gyuvin hang back in the water as Hanbin pulls himself up onto a rock sticking out from the sand.

“Matthew! Keita!” he calls out, a hand cupped around his mouth. “We’re here!” He waves to the two humans, who turn to him at the shout of their names.

“Ah, Hanbin!” the slightly taller of the two men replies, rubbing his hands together with a grin on his face. “You brought the new bait we asked for!”

Immediately, the other man punches him in the arm. “Matthew,” he scolds, although he’s chuckling when he does. “Now is not the time for jokes like that.”

Matthew flaps his hand apologetically. “Sorry, sorry,” he says, smiling brightly as he turns to Hanbin again. “Is he here?”

Seongmin, who is hiding behind Gyuvin, timidly pokes his head out from behind the guard and approaches the rock where Hanbin is perched at the blue-tailed merman’s gentle encouragement. He waves at the men on the beach with a tiny movement of his hand, trying to stay hidden under the water as much as possible. “Hello…” he murmurs.

With a gentle smile, clearly able to tell just how anxious is, Keita partially wades into the water and sits down a few feet in front of Seongmin, not caring at all that his jeans are getting completely saturated. “Hi there,” he says warmly, his entire face seeming to smile. “You’re the kid who’s going to be staying with us?”

Immediately, Seongmin starts to pout, glaring at the human as he pushes himself out of the water slightly, his whole body almost twice as long as Keita is tall. “I’m not a kid!” he whines. “I’m a fully-grown adult, if you must know!”

The two humans share a silent look at Seongmin’s outburst as Matthew wades into the shallows to stand next to Keita. Seongmin, incensed, swims out from the shadow of the rock and ignores the humans as he pulls himself fully onto shore. He flinches as the water rapidly starts to disappear and he can feel the familiar grating of sand on his scales. Matthew, who doesn’t seem to mind Seongmin’s hostility, easily lifts the merman over his broad shoulder and carefully pulls him further up the shore, smiling cheekily as Seongmin lets out a squeak of shock and indignance, squirming in Matthew’s hold with his tailfin dragging along the sand.

“You had to end up here sooner or later,” Matthew grunts as he sets Seongmin down on dry, powdery sand and then dusts his hands off. “Just thought I’d save you the scrapes from pulling yourself up here.”

Seongmin just pouts up at him, unable to think of a decent response, because Matthew is right. His pout deepens when he catches Gyuvin and Hanbin laughing at him from the water before Hanbin engages the two humans in conversation and everyone briefly turns their attention away from Seongmin. Left to his own devices, Seongmin looks around the cove with wide eyes.

The longer he sits on the sandy beach, the more familiar it starts to feel. Although his injuries have been plaguing him throughout the entire swim to the surface, the pounding in his head that had dulled since last night comes back with a vengeance. His ears ring and Seongmin has a fain recollection of a soft, concerned voice and warm arms lifting him with much more grace and dignity than Matthew spared him. The name Jongwoo floats to the forefront of his mind, but he still can’t remember who that is clearly.

It takes him several moments to notice Keita’s face in front of him, looking worried. Seongmin jolts back from him as much as he can on the dry sand, his eyes wide. “Are you all right?” Keita asks, not at all phased by Seongmin’s reaction. “Hanbin’s been calling for you for a while…” He sounds genuinely concerned, which is something that Seongmin still can’t fathom.

“Finally, he’s back with us!” Hanbin crows once he realises that Seongmin has zoned back in to what’s going on. “It’s potion time, Minnie! You have to take it all at once. The scrolls weren’t very detailed about what’s going to happen, but I’m going to assume it won’t be fun. For you.” From his rock, Hanbin reels off the instructions with ease, his sky blue tail swirling lazily in the water below him. “Gyuvin and I have to head back now, but Matthew and Keita will look after you.”

Gyuvin speaks up then. “One of us will be back here in three days, Seongmin. Remember, if you miss more than two meetings without notice, someone will come up after you.” He puts his hand on his chest. “Please stay safe.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Hanbin clicks his fingers. “Don’t forget, Seongmin, you can’t go anywhere near the waters of your birthplace, and you cannot lie outright! Bending the truth is one thing, but you cannot lie.” He shrugs, seemingly unconcerned with the consequences of breaking these rules.

Seongmin nods firmly and then retrieves the vial from under his pelvic fin, staring at its shimmering content warily. With one last glance towards his friends in the water, Seongmin swallows his fear and yanks the cork out. He gives the potion a single curious sniff, scrunching his nose at the sickeningly sweet scent as he moves the vial away from his nose. “Hanbin, this smells awful,” he complains, eyeing it warily, and all Hanbin does is grin at him. Seongmin huffs out a sigh. “I’m doing this for Yedam,” he mutters and brings the vial to his lips. “It’s now or never.” And he tips it all into his mouth and swallows quickly to avoid the flavour.

The only thing Seongmin remembers afterwards is the searing, burning pain that rips through his entire body, his screams of agony echoing around the cove.