Chapter Text
art by: creine (twitter)
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If Wonwoo could throw himself out of this ugly gray Toyota Corolla without dying, he would.
It would be like the opening scene of Lady Bird.
Except the reality was, the car was zooming 110 down the highway, so the chances of surviving: not great. And also unlike Lady Bird, he wasn’t arguing with his mother about anything.
There was no palpable emotion between them. No anger or frustration, no endless nagging and droning about how disappointed she was in him— the way regular mothers often did to their children in dreadful car rides.
All that sat between them was the driving stick, the dashboard with its various buttons and dials, a half empty Starbucks’ coffee cup, and a seemingly infinite trail of silence.
It was almost like they were strangers. Like Wonwoo was just a hitchhiker she’d picked up by the edge of the highway or something. Except even strangers would be talking about something. About what they do, who they are, where they’re going… but not them.
It had been three whole fucking hours like this.
At first the quiet hung over them like gray overcast. But by now Wonwoo was wondering how it could feel this suffocating to sit shotgun while your mother drove, despite nothing obstructing your airway.
Maybe he just wasn’t worth saying anything to?
He knew that he was already labelled as a hopeless case by his family. Tossing him away to his aunt’s house for the summer, was emergency mode kind of stuff. His parents had reached their ends, and thought this was the only way to “save him” from throwing his life away.
Except the thing was, this trip to spend his summer vacation with his aunt wouldn’t magically save him.
He was sure of that.
He wasn’t suddenly the main character in any coming of age movie. And they weren’t driving to any destination that would open him up to life changing experiences, where he would learn and grow and become someone worthwhile by the end, all neatly packed and digested in 120 minutes.
This was all so, useless.
“Here we are,” his mother said after she parked on the roadside. It was the first thing she’d said through the whole car ride.
Wonwoo blinked out his window, at the petite little beach house he’d be trapped in for the next three months. It looked too quaint and welcoming for him to hate, but he already did.
It had an indigo tiled roof, and the walls were painted a pale pastel yellow that reminded him of something like Easter eggs, or daisies, or mellow summer mornings. The front yard had no grass, just mulch and spots of bushes of brightly coloured tropical flowers. There were also palm trees and looming deciduous trees that created dappled sunlight all around the house.
“It looks nice,” his mother said quietly. Wonwoo didn’t respond to that and simply stepped out of the car.
The two of them hauled out his suitcases and headed up the white tiled driveway.
The moment he rang the doorbell, there was barking, and Wonwoo instantly froze. He cautiously shuffled back a step.
The main door swung open, and from behind the door screen that remained shut, he could see a Golden Retriever with shaggy fur and floppy ears jumping up and down excitedly.
“Calm down Sol,” a woman laughed, leaning down and ushering the dog away from the entrance. She opened the screen door and slipped outside to greet them on the porch.
“Well well, if it isn’t my lousy sister,” his aunt exclaimed with a grin.
Wonwoo tried to mask the surprise he felt scanning her over. The last time he met her was years ago, so his memory of her was a little fuzzy. But now that she was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, he was taken aback by her appearance.
She wore a black romper with a belt tied above her waist, and a locket that glinted in the sun around her neck. Her hair was dyed in streaks of dirty blond and they curled and blew in the breeze. Large sunglasses rested atop her head and her lips were painted with dark lipstick.
If Wonwoo didn’t know any better she looked more like a college student than his aunt. She had none of that washed out, tired old adult air that his mother carried.
But then again, he knew that she was only 28 years old. Far younger than his mother, so her appearance probably made sense.
“Hello Bora,” his mother curtly greeted her, and Wonwoo could immediately sense the strange tension that hung between them. The temperature was cool from the ocean breeze, but for some reason the air felt thick and somewhat heavy.
Wonwoo began wondering why he hadn’t seen his aunt in so many years until now. Growing up, there was no person that he looked up to more than her. So when they stopped seeing her, it felt like something important was being taken away from him. He asked his parents a few times about her, but they just dismissed his questions saying she was just busy, that’s all. Wonwoo eventually stopped asking why they couldn’t see her anymore.
His aunt turned to look at him now with a smile, seemingly trying to ignore the tension.
“And well if it isn’t Jeon Wonwoo! You’ve gotten way taller since I last saw you!” she exclaimed.
It was true, puberty hit him like a truck the last two years, and now Wonwoo was almost a head taller than both his mother and aunt. She reached up and roughly mussed up his hair. He grimaced on reflex, moving away from the touch. He never liked being touched. His aunt only snickered at that and looked to his mother again.
“So how long am I keeping this grumpy kid huh?” she asked.
“I’ll come pick him up on the first weekend of September if that works for you.”
“Oh wow,” his aunt murmured. “You really meant it when you said you wanted to drop him off for the summer huh.”
“Of course I meant it.”
“Okay then,” his aunt smiled, but there was a faint bitterness in the curve of her lips. “We’re even now after this, right sis?”
Wonwoo glanced between the two women, a bit confused as to what was going on.
His mother didn’t seem to respond to those words; instead she simply said, “I should get going now.”
“Not even coming inside for a bit?”
“I have work tomorrow, and it’s a long drive. I should get back before it’s dark.”
“Okay.” His aunt simply shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
For the first time in well… probably all of today, his mother turned to look at him in the eyes. She wore a neutral expression, but if Wonwoo looked hard enough, he could sense melancholy simmering beneath the dark hues of brown in her irises.
“Take care of yourself,” she said. “Take this summer to…” her voice trailed off. “You already know right?”
Wonwoo couldn’t even manage a nod.
Because the truth was, he didn’t know. He was lost, and confused and stumbling blindly. Not that she understood. But it wasn’t her problem to understand. This was his own problem, and he’d already fucked up enough. He needed to fix things, no matter what.
When Wonwoo didn’t respond she only sighed. She stepped closer to him as if she was going to give him a hug, but all he received were a few pats on his shoulder. Then she turned away.
Wonwoo looked down at his two bags of luggage, one of which his aunt took in her hands. She was saying something about unpacking, but her voice was faraway in his ears, distant and muffled, and he couldn’t register the words.
He looked up at his mother’s back. Her steps were slow, moving down the porch and the slope of the driveway, further and further away from him. Even from here, he could see her hunched over shoulders and the way her steps carried a tiredness.
It was Wonwoo’s fault that she was like that. It was all his fault.
His lower lips trembled. He was tempted to do something stupid right now— like cry.
And as Wonwoo watched her retreating back, he suddenly forgot that he would be a highschool senior in three months. He forgot how he was a near-adult that could already drive, and work, and dare he say: take care of himself.
Instead he was just a little kid that wanted to run after his mother. He wanted to run into her arms and have her hold him. He wanted to plead for her not to leave him behind because he was scared of this unfamiliar place, and he didn’t want to be more alone than he already was.
Wonwoo’s eyes stung pathetically.
He stood there for as long as it took for the ugly gray Toyota Corolla to disappear down the road.
After unpacking, Wonwoo laid in the bed that was meant for him, in one of the empty rooms in the house.
Nearly everything in the room was a barren white, and it felt so unlived in that it made a lonely feeling rock back and forth in his chest. He pulled himself back up, wanting to get out of here. He got up and splashed some cold water on his face before heading downstairs.
From the staircase, he turned 180 and began walking down a short corridor. Picture frames lined it, and he couldn’t help but look at each of them as he slowly made his way through the hallway.
The pictures were of his aunt. He could tell they were shot a few years ago because he could faintly recognize which Olympics and swimming competitions they were taken in.
There was a picture of her sitting by the edge of a pool, fixing her goggles. Then was her crouched down, readying herself to dive down from the ledge into her lane. The third picture lined against the wall was her standing on the podium, beaming with her fist held high up in triumph. A gold medal gleamed around her neck. He lingered at that photo a little longer.
These pictures were reminders of why Wonwoo looked up to her so much growing up. He still had memories of eagerly rushing to the television and turning it onto the sports channel to watch her in awe. He wanted to be just like her one day.
But looking at these photos now just made him sick to his stomach. In the background he could hear the faint rush of water, the ocean tides pulling in and out of the coast, and it made the nauseating feeling only climb higher.
He closed his eyes and tried to shake away the feeling before moving further down the corridor, until he stopped at the first photo that wasn’t of her swimming career.
Wonwoo stared at the framed photo of her, with an Asian woman he didn’t recognize. They were standing at the beach, beaming smiles on their faces, arms slung around each other’s shoulders and heads tilted together. For some reason the photo made him feel strange. He was curious. His aunt had no openly displayed photos of any other person in this house— no husband, no family, no children… except for this one.
“Whatcha looking at?”
Her voice made him jump.
“I was just um… looking at your photos,” Wonwoo said, his cheeks getting warm. He felt shy all of a sudden, like he was caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do.
“Mhmm,” she said with a knowing smile, like she could already read what was on his mind. “If you’re wondering who that is, that’s my close friend.”
“Oh…”
“You’ll probably see her around here. She comes by to visit often. In fact, the dog you saw earlier was hers. I was looking after him for a while”
“Oh I see…”
“Anyway, you want to eat something? There’s leftover pasta in the fridge.”
Wonwoo was about to refuse, but as if on cue his stomach grumbled. “Okay,” he sighed.
The hallway opened up to a small area with a round breakfast table where he settled down on one of the chairs. To his right was the kitchen where the microwave whirred in the background, and Wonwoo sat facing large glass doors.
The doors gave view to a wide patio— and past that, framed by palm trees, was the beach and ocean. Wonwoo stared down at his lap, avoiding looking at the scenery any longer.
To his terrible luck, his aunt walked over to him with their plates of food in hand and said, “Here come on, we can eat out on the patio. It’s nice outside.”
Wonwoo slowly got up, watching her slide open the glass doors and step outside. He could hear the rush of the ocean more clearly now, and he gulped.
He didn’t want to go out but what choice did he have? After all, how do you tell your aunt that simply hearing the rush and splash of water, made you feel sick to your stomach?
He reluctantly followed her.
They sat at a small table that was underneath an overhang of the house, which was reinforced by multiple rectangular pillars. Past the pillars, to the left end of the patio, Wonwoo could see a bright blue pool. And at the other end was a small square hot-tub that was a little over a meter tall and currently remained covered. Large trees grew on either side of the area, blocking the views of the neighbouring houses. There was also a few stairs at the corner of the patio that went down and disappeared from view. They probably led to the beach ahead of them.
“Well dig in,” his aunt said, sliding his plate of food over to him.
“Thank you um… do you want me to call you auntie?” Wonwoo hesitantly asked.
His aunt shot him a look and grimaced. “Gross no, that makes me feel like a hag. Just call me Bora.”
“Okay.”
Wonwoo tried to tune out the sound of the ocean as they ate in silence. When they were done, his aunt leaned back in her chair and pulled out a cigarette and lighter from her pocket.
He tried not to show the judgement on his face as she lit it up, but clearly he failed because she gave him a questioning raise of her brows, as if inviting him to challenge her.
“You’re a swimmer,” Wonwoo quietly said, “Shouldn’t you not be doing that?”
“What, this?”
She tapped her cigarette in indication, and Wonwoo watched the way the end burned red and crumbled down into ash.
“Yeah…”
“I was a swimmer. I’m retired now, got all the medals I could, and made my grand exit.”
“Still,” Wonwoo frowned.
Bora propped her elbow up on the table, cigarette resting between her forefinger and middle finger.
“Right right, forgot how repulsed you children are by these things,” she said breezily. “Anyway, it’s not as if I smoke often. Only when I’m stressed.”
“You’re stressed right now?” he asked.
“Yes. Because my sister suddenly dumped her kid at my house for 3 months.”
Wonwoo shrank in his seat. No matter where he went he really was a burden.
Maybe Bora noticed his discomfort, because her eyes and voice suddenly softened. “Well it’s not that big of a deal,” she shrugged. “It’ll just be different I guess. I’m not used to sharing my house with someone for 3 whole months like this.” Her voice was quiet, and a little lost in thought as she spoke. “Last time I had to do something similar to that was well… probably my ex-husband, years ago…”
“O-oh um, I see…”
“All I’m saying is, let’s not bug each other okay?” Bora turned to him brightly.
Wonwoo nodded rapidly. The last thing he wanted to do was get in anyone’s way.
They sat in silence for a while, and he mainly focused on the patterned glass that made up the patio table, while his aunt stared out at the ocean.
After a while she said, “There’ll be a storm tomorrow.”
“Will it be okay?”
“Yeah it should be,” Bora said. “Just warning you because tropical storms can be a bit of a bitch. There’s alarm systems they sound along the beach when a storm is approaching, because the sea rises. So don’t get startled by those.”
“O-okay…”
Wonwoo sighed. He already hated the water enough, and now he had to sit through a tropical storm? Great.
Like Bora had warned him, the next afternoon, he could hear the public sound system that ran along the beaches.
To his terrible luck, Bora was gone for some appointment she said she had. She explained to him that she couldn’t cancel this one, but it was before the storm was predicted to start so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Well boy was the forecast wrong or what?
The storm was said to start around evening, but it was only late afternoon when the rain started pelting down. Wonwoo was beginning to panic.
The panic subsided a little bit however after he got a phone call from his aunt, reassuring him. She said it was unsafe for her to drive back at this time, so he’d be alone for now, but he would be okay. She gave him specific instructions of what to do before the storm really hit.
It was only half and hour later as he was settling into the living room couch with a sigh when Wonwoo realized with a jolt, that dammit, he forgot to look if the tarps that covered Bora’s motorboat were tied down properly like she’d asked him to check.
Wonwoo got up and gingerly made his way towards the back door of the house.
He could just leave it be... he honestly really wanted to leave it be. But no. He’d only been here for like what, a day and a half? He didn’t want to mess things up already and get Bora angry. She said she didn’t want them to bother or make trouble for each other.
He gulped as he took the handle of the glass doors with shaky hands and very slowly slid it open.
All at once harsh slanted rain pelted against his skin and the howls of the winds amplified to maximum volume. Thunder rumbled angrily through the sky making every hair on his skin rise. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stepped out into the raging storm.
“Do it quickly, do it quickly,” he muttered to himself as he hurriedly made his way down to the beach from the patio steps. He lifted his arm to hood his eyes from the rain as he fought against the winds, moving closer towards the gray ocean that looked like it could swallow him whole. The crash of tides and colossal waves thrashed violently before him. He wanted to throw up at the mere sight of the ocean, and his chest squeezed impossibly tight. Wonwoo turned away, trying to avoid focusing on the water.
The tarps, as Bora suspected, were not tied down. They were flapping around, threatening to fly off. His heart pounded against his skull as he took some ropes from the nearby shed, and knelt down in front of the boat to tie down the tarps. His shirt billowed in the whirlwind as his fingers shakily worked to fix the knots.
He could hardly see straight anymore when he stood up again, his circular glasses were flecked entirely with water droplets. The rain fell even harder as if that was possible, and lightening now came and went with intensity.
He squeezed his eyes shut, frantically wiping at his glasses with the back of his wrists.
Slowly, he pried his eyes open, and all at once lightening flashed, illuminating the sand beneath his feet in harsh white light.
It was in that split second moment that he saw him.
Wonwoo’s heart threatened to jump out of his throat.
There, only a couple meters away from him, was a person. A boy that looked no older than himself. The tides clawed mercilessly at the boy’s feet as he lay lifeless and limp against the wet sand.
Wonwoo stood like a frozen statue for a few seconds before his brain went on autopilot and he started running towards the boy.
Yes sure, he could be running in the other direction— in fact that’s probably what he should do. He was in the middle of a raging storm after all. But what kind of a human would that make him for leaving a clearly unconscious person out on the beach in weather like this?
Wonwoo was now only a meter away from the boy when his steps came to an abrupt halt.
Wait.
What if the boy was... dead?
Approaching the scene more cautiously now, he gulped. The rain pelted his skin like icy seeds and thunder rumbled through the sky.
He felt almost like he was caught in a hazy dream as he crouched down in front of the body.
The boy had deep tan skin, and despite the fact that his face was lined with scratches and a few cuts, he was undeniably handsome. A sharp jawline lined with beads of water carved out his intense features, and his attractively sloped nose and full lips stood out the most. Wonwoo’s eyes trailed across the boy, noting that he was quite muscular— oh and he wasn’t wearing any pants either (or underwear for that matter).
And maybe Wonwoo would’ve been blushing, if it weren’t for the fact that the boy was bleeding.
The pounding against his skull amplified as the large gash on his arm bled a deep red, stark against the angry grey light of the raging storm and the boy’s deep tan skin. Wonwoo’s hands trembled and his mind ran a mile a minute as he tried to figure out what the fuck he should do.
What were you supposed to do when someone was unconscious and badly wounded?
Check his pulse you moron, the voice in his head hissed at him.
Wonwoo shook his head trying to clear his mind. He was panicking right now and it wasn’t doing any good— especially considering the fact that he’d completed first aid training and was kind of certified to handle situations like these.
Relieved to find that the boy was still breathing, Wonwoo sat upright and looked around for any sign of another person who could possibly get help. He even tried yelling out for someone.
Why the hell would anyone be out here in this kind of storm other than him (and this unconscious boy for whatever reason), who the fuck knew? But he still checked despite knowing there would be no one around. He really needed to call the ambulance since this cut looked pretty bad, and he needed to stop the bleeding fast.
Wonwoo quickly devised a plan in his head. The next stormy tide would probably rush in soon and it was dangerous to stay here. He had to move this boy, and get a phone to call for help— meaning they had to go inside. Although he wasn’t trained whatsoever for this, he could try to do any possible first aid treatment after that.
Being extra careful not to move around the injured area, he put his arms underneath the boy’s back and hoisted him up. Immediately he was overwhelmed by the boy’s weight and size. He was definitely heavier than Wonwoo.
Doing his best to ignore the fact that yes, this dude was not wearing any clothes and Wonwoo could feel the bare skin of his toned muscular back and arms against him, he squeezed his eyes shut and began dragging his feet across the sand, slowly and carefully making his way back up the house.
He imagined how he looked right now and shuddered. If anyone saw him in this moment, they’d probably think he was a psycho.
Bringing the injured guy up the steps leading up to the patio and past the pool and hot tub, had him panting heavily. Normally doing this wouldn’t be so hard, and it’s not as if he was out of shape or anything— in fact he had excellent upper body strength, far above average. But the wind was making it seriously hard to move. And with this weight on his back? It felt near impossible.
Wonwoo shoved the glass doors open with his shoulder, not bothering to close it behind him and stumbled inside the house. He quickly felt around for the light switch. It was only afternoon, but it was so dark and stormy right now, that he wouldn’t mind more light.
“Fuck.” Wonwoo exhaled heavily. The power was out.
He set down injured handsome boy on the living room sofa before running to the landline phone only to find it dead. It was probably because of the storm too. Only a couple seconds later he found that his cellphone had no battery either.
“Dammit.” He let out a frustrated noise. “Ok calm down Wonwoo, calm down,” he whispered to himself pacing back and forth.
He couldn’t just randomly leave the injured guy alone so he could go over to the next-door neighbour and ask to use their phone. That meant he could pretty much forget about calling for help for now. He just had to try and treat the wound himself as best as he could and then wait for the power to come back on to use his phone again.
He rushed to the kitchen and took out the first aid kit and any other medical supplies he might need.
He covered the boy with a towel and began disinfecting and cleaning the wound. Thankfully there was no debris, or anything stuck inside, and the gash oddly didn’t look as deep now as he’d thought it was initially. The bleeding seemed to be slowing down as well.
Every minute he’d keep checking to make sure the boy’s chest was rising and falling, as it should, which to his relief it was.
It was only after he’d finished bandaging the wound that the lights that he’d tried to turn on before, flickered on, and Wonwoo’s shoulder’s deflated with relief and exhaustion. He took one last look at the stranger on the couch before running to his room to grab his phone charger.
When he got back with his charger in hand however, he was frozen still in his steps.
The sofa where the injured bandaged boy had been laying only a minute ago, was completely unoccupied.
Cushions were propped against the armrest, which confirmed that someone had indeed been there, meaning Wonwoo wasn’t going absolutely crazy. The towel that he’d used to cover the stranger lay rumpled on the carpeted floor, and the first aid kit box was out and open on the coffee table.
It was as though a ghost had entered the room, used these things, and then simply vanished.
His hands trembled, the cog in the wheels of his brain spinning, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Wonwoo spun around the room trying to find the boy. He couldn’t have gotten far. He was here somewhere... right?
Splish. Splash.
Wonwoo whirled around to face the backdoor, ears perked up and eyes wide. Was that... splashing he was hearing?
It certainly didn’t sound like the ocean or rain.
He ran to the door, swinging it wide open. The sound of splashing rang clear and definite now, and it was coming straight from the hot tub— which made zero sense since the tub definitely had its cover on last time he checked. Did it get pulled off during the storm?
His heart palpitations only increased as he made his way towards the sound, both fear and curiosity spiking when he could see a glowing light coming from the opened… hot tub?
God, was he just imagining this? It didn’t help that he didn’t have his glasses on right now and was blind as a bat without them.
And then it happened.
A giant glowing tail of a fish rose up and came down with a crash, slapping against the water, all the while Wonwoo slapped his hands over his mouth to stop himself from screaming.
What the actual fuck?
In the tiniest baby steps, Wonwoo inched himself closer to the hot tub when all at once a person erupted up the water with a splash.
He froze in horror. It was injured-handsome boy.
The boy perched himself at the ledge of the tub, and Wonwoo’s eyes trailed down his body.
This time Wonwoo really did let out a scream, stumbling backwards from the tub.
There, where the boy’s legs should’ve been, was a giant shimmering tail. The scales seemed to be a pale translucent white, but as the tail swished from side to side in the water, it shimmered in flashes of colours of the rainbow. It was letting off a dim glow, setting the water alight and looking almost like the lights in the hot tub were turned on.
The sight was sort of mesmerizing— but kind of horrific too considering... well there was a tail attached to what looked like a human body.
“W-Wha... that thing, tha—” he pointed at the tail, eyes wide and heart threatening to burst out of his chest.
Maybe Wonwoo really was dreaming. Or maybe this was just a hallucination.
“What, never seen a fish tail?”
Wonwoo lifted his eyes to the guy’s face now, who wore an amused and smug grin. His lips curved up on one side, revealing a pointy canine tooth. The boy-fish-thing let out a low chuckle.
“I’m j-just having a really fucking crazy dream right now,” Wonwoo stammered out, his voice embarrassingly high pitched. “Or maybe it’s drugs. Not sure how my food got drugged but I’m just,” he pointed behind him, slowly walking backwards from the tub, “gonna go to bed and hope I wake up fine okay?”
With a swift swish of his tail the creature swooped across the hot tub towards the side Wonwoo was standing on, much closer in proximity now. He propped his elbows up against the ledge, resting his chin on his palm and grinned.
“You’re not dreaming. Or on drugs.”
“I think you’re mistaken,” Wonwoo said, voice wobbly. “Because currently I’m talking to a fish man.”
“Merman, but close enough,” the stranger snickered. “And you’re really not hallucinating I promise. The name’s Kim Mingyu.” And there it was again, the same lopsided smirk directed at him, and Wonwoo tried to ignore the fact that his heart just skipped a fucking beat.
Now is not the time to feel weird things toward flirty fish man Wonwoo, the voice in his head snapped at him.
“Ok well Kim Mingyu, get out of my hot tub and go back to the ocean w-where you came from ok?” Wonwoo inwardly cursed at himself for sounding so damn nervous. “And then I can take a nap and pretend this never happened.”
With that he spun on his heel to go inside, hoping and praying Mingyu would just disappear.
Wonwoo already had too many things to think about, too many issues he needed to try and solve… this summer vacation was going to be dreadful as it was— he didn’t need this kind of eccentricity added to the mess.
“Hey nooo, come back, you’re cute. What’s your name?” Mingyu whined as he began to walk away.
Wonwoo had only taken a couple steps when Mingyu said, “Stop.”
His voice was much deeper this time, and there was this hint of something in it— something commanding, and almost persuasive. It set his chest aflame and burned to the back of his neck. He could feel Mingyu’s eyes behind him. He immediately stopped.
“What’s your name?” Mingyu now asked.
Wonwoo didn’t understand his own reaction at these words, but if the goosebumps erupting on his arms said anything, it was that he wanted to answer. The same way he wanted to stop.
So he blurted out, “My name is Wonwoo, Jeon Wonwoo,”
“Wonwoo... that’s a nice name,” Mingyu said with a lilt in his voice, and it confused Wonwoo. It was honestly just a normal name. “Can you turn around?”
Wonwoo did exactly that.
“Are you really not gonna believe me that I’m real?” Mingyu asked now that they were facing one another. He had a pout as he rested his chin against his folded arms.
There was a short pause and the corners of Wonwoo’s lips twisted into a frown. “What was that thing you did?”
“Hmm?” Mingyu tilted his head, feigning innocence— but Wonwoo couldn’t miss the flash of a smile in his gaze. “Do what?”
He narrowed his eyes. No matter how attractive Mingyu may be, Wonwoo knew himself. And he knew he definitely wouldn’t have stopped or turned around— at least not with a measly command like that. He had no good reason to listen to Mingyu, so why did he...?
“That thing back there. When you told me to stop,” Wonwoo said.
“I’m not really following here,” Mingyu blinked, a coy smile playing across his lips.
“Don’t play around,” Wonwoo hissed, losing his patience. “You know what I’m talking about.”
Mingyu pouted, looking down now. “Sorry, I just didn’t want you to leave.”
“Ok fine. I won’t leave, happy?”
Mingyu cheered at that, and he kind of looked less like a handsome model, and more like a youthful kid now. It was kind of endearing actually.
Wonwoo rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Okay, now answer my question.”
“Oh that? It’s called a merperson's Siren. All of us can do it. It makes us sound really convincing when we want to,” Mingyu said with a shrug as if he were talking about something simple as what he ate for breakfast.
Wonwoo gawked. No seriously what the actual hell? Oh why couldn’t he just wake up from all this madness?
“And you used it on me?” he snapped accusingly.
Mingyu let out a low chuckle. “I take it you don’t like that?”
“What the hell do you think?!” Wonwoo shot a glare at him. “Don’t do it again.”
“Okay okay. It’s not as if it was for something big,” Mingyu laughed lightly. “You know you’re lucky you met a merman and not a mermaid.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Mermaids are... terrifying,” Mingyu shivered as though the mere thought of them sent chills down his spine. “Their Siren is far more powerful than a merman’s. Mine is especially weak,” he shrugged. “But a mermaid? Better run for your life.”
Wonwoo gulped. Mingyu was kind of scaring him. But still, he was rather curious and couldn’t help but nervously ask, “S-so those old legends and myths about mermaids luring sailors and killing them and stuff are true?”
“Yep.” Mingyu said, popping the p matter of factly. “I mean if you glared at me and I was a mermaid...” Mingyu chuckled rising out of the water now, tail coming out. “I probably would’ve bitten your head off.”
Wonwoo could hardly believe his eyes. The fish tail, as soon as it grazed the land, transformed. It was so fast you could easily miss it with the simple blink of an eye. Now, where Mingyu’s tail had been previously, was his feet again. He looked like a normal human.
Of course he was standing on the patio completely naked, which wasn’t too normal— but besides that. Good thing the healthy layer of greenery on either side of the house blocked any view neighbours might have.
“Don’t get too comfortable though,” Mingyu said, voice getting lower as he slowly walked up to him. When he was no more than a foot away, Wonwoo realized he had to tilt his head up slightly for their eyes to meet since Mingyu seemed a good three or four inches taller than him.
All at once, Mingyu leaned in until their faces were only a breath apart, and he couldn’t help but freeze at the proximity. Mingyu smelled of the ocean, like sea salt.... but there was something aromatic and sweet in his scent too that Wonwoo couldn’t identify— maybe a flower or fruit.
“If you anger mermen...” Mingyu continued saying, a dangerous glint taking shape in his eyes, “let’s just say your end won’t be quick like with the mermaids. They could capture you, enslave you, and then...” Mingyu brought his fingers to lightly hold Wonwoo’s chin and grinned, pointed canine teeth visible and all, “stab you straight through with their spears.”
Wonwoo was starkly aware by now that he was trembling. And the fear must’ve been evident in his eyes because Mingyu pressed his lips together and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Before Wonwoo could read the expression on his face, he released the hold on his chin and leaned back.
There was a tiny beat of silence between them, when all at once Mingyu erupted into laughter.
“I’m just playing,” he wheezed out between laughs, shaking his head with a toothy smile once again. “Oh jesus you looked terrified.”
Wonwoo’s heart pounded against his chest, fear transforming quickly into anger at this kid’s antics.
“No but really,” Mingyu’s voice snapped to a more serious tone. “There are some pretty unkind mermen you’d probably never want to come across. I’m not one of them though,” he said with a shrug.
“Yeah no. You’re worse,” Wonwoo muttered. “Go home.”
“I’m sorry,” Mingyu pouted apologetically. “Forgive me please? I won’t scare you like that again.”
Wonwoo shook his head with a huff, refusing to so easily accept the puppy dog eyes this guy was giving him.
He trailed his gaze down to Mingyu’s legs wondering if they were like normal human legs. Did they feel normal? Well ok, it’s not as if Wonwoo was going to go and suddenly touch Mingyu’s legs, because how awkward would that be? Still, the question lingered in his mind.
When he glanced back up, Mingyu was smirking at him.
“What’re you looking at?” he snickered.
Wonwoo’s eyes widened, his cheeks automatically growing hot. He hated why he knew the reason for Mingyu’s smirk, and felt anger, embarrassment, and an odd amount of shame rushing through him all at once. And then he realized wait: why was he so embarrassed anyway? He wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“I swear to god,” Wonwoo huffed with a glare. “I could smack that stupid little smile off your face right now, I—”
“You’re cute when you get angry,” Mingyu interrupted him and giggled.
“Don’t call me—”
At that moment, a woman’s voice from behind called out, “Wonwoo.”
He froze.
Oh god no.
Not now... not now.
He squeezed his eyes shut muttering silent prayers alongside curses, before slowly turning around to come face to face with his aunt. She stood at the entrance of the back doors, and was wearing an oddly neutral expression. Though for some reason the corners of her pursed lips twitched intensely.
“I drove back as soon as it seemed safe enough to,” she said dryly.
“Bora, I um… I can explain,” Wonwoo stuttered. “It’s... it’s not what it looks like I swear.”
What did this even look like? He had no clue.
He glanced back at Mingyu with a helpless look.
“T-this guy just,” he said, gesturing at Mingyu frantically, “out of nowhere! O-on, on the beach, and I—”
“Save your breath,” Bora laughed. “I’ve been standing here long enough.”
Wonwoo’s eyes widened in horror, “L-long enough to see...?”
Bora grinned even wider before tilting her head to the sky. “Looks like it’s going to rain harder again. You should come inside unless you want to catch a cold,” she sing-songed before turning on her heel and heading inside.
Wonwoo stood there dumbfounded, and only now realizing how the rain had thinned away and was just spitting currently.
“She seems nice,” Mingyu spoke up.
“Yeah, I mean… I guess…” Wonwoo murmured absentmindedly.
He was just so perplexed. Maybe he was misunderstanding what she saw. She couldn’t have seen Mingyu’s fish tail and everything… could she have? How could his aunt see that, and have no reaction to it? It made no sense.
“She left it open for you,” Mingyu pointed at the glass door that was open just a crack.
Wonwoo sighed and began heading back inside.
After moving a couple steps forward, he stopped, aware that Mingyu wasn’t following him. Wonwoo couldn’t help but let another sigh escape his lips. Waddling back around he frowned at Mingyu who returned the look with a gentle smile, and it caught him off guard to say the least. So far he’d only really received flirty or cocky sharp grins.
Wonwoo dropped his gaze to the white patio stones beneath his bare feet, trying to conceal whatever uncomfortable thing he felt when Mingyu smiled at him like that.
“You...” He cleared his throat. “You can come in too.”
He was only inviting Mingyu along, because this was his aunt’s house and she gave him permission to come inside. That was all. Nothing more.
Mingyu’s smile grew wider.
When they got inside, his aunt came around and dropped a fuzzy black bathrobe into Mingyu’s hand. “You can wear this, it’s been washed recently.”
“Thank you ma’am,” Mingyu bowed politely before throwing on the bathrobe and tying it.
Wonwoo really couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that this fish guy was so calm and comfortable, naked like that. And in front of his aunt too? What the hell.
She gestured for them to sit, and Mingyu plopped down on one end of the large couch in the living room, while he sat on the other end. Meanwhile Bora just stared at them from across the coffee table, relaxed in an armchair.
“So what was your name again?” she asked. “I didn’t quite catch it.”
“Uh, Kim Mingyu.”
“Oh Korean then,” she murmured. “Okay, so Mingyu tell me who are you exactly. Or what.”
Wonwoo’s eyes widened at the straightforwardness and bluntness of the statement. Bora didn’t come to play. Her eyes were fully serious now, and Wonwoo felt like he was witnessing a new side to her.
Mingyu chuckled nervously. All the confidence and bravado he had with Wonwoo seemed to have vanished.
The corners of Wonwoo’s lips kept twitching, threatening to break down the neutral expression he was schooling. Seeing Mingyu nervous like this was quite amusing after all.
“W-well, I’m what you probably call a merman. You know, half fish, half man.” Mingyu seemed to force his best shaky smile.
Wonwoo could imagine how nerve-wracking and intimidating this was getting for the guy— especially when Bora, who’d been previously all grins and smiles, suddenly seemed so serious.
“So to confirm… you’re not from here?”
“Like here, as in the land? Yeah n-no... I live in the sea.”
“Then what about right now?” Bora raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Why are you here now? Just adventuring? A little trip?”
Mingyu paused, as if he wasn’t sure how to respond. It was as though Wonwoo could see a debate playing out in his head for whatever unknown reason. This was the part Wonwoo was most curious about though. Why was Mingyu here, and why did he show up on shore injured like that?
“No. I...” Mingyu took a deep breath, “I ran away from home. And I was caught in the storm so I got injured and ended up on the beach behind your house. Wonwoo brought me inside and bandaged me,” he said, gesturing to the gauze on his arm.
Wonwoo peered closer and examined the bandage. It was damp from the water and the blood had soaked through the gauze so he wondered if he should replace it.
“You’re feeling better now though?”
“Yes,” Mingyu’s eyes grew slightly wider and he nodded his head. Maybe he was surprised by the fact that Bora asked that, instead of asking why he ran away from home. “I heal much faster than land people. Especially when I go in the water. In fact it’s probably fine to take this off now,” he said, pointing to the bandage.
“What?” Wonwoo blurted out for the first time in the conversation. He was alarmed after all— Mingyu definitely couldn’t take the bandage off. It had only been what... an hour?
“Trust me,” Mingyu nodded his head, unwrapping the gauze and Wonwoo stared in fascination. The wound had healed significantly, in a way that shouldn’t be possible at this rate.
“See? It’s fine.”
“Y-yeah...” Wonwoo’s voice trailed off in awe. So that’s why the bleeding must’ve been already slowing down when he started treating the wound. And it helped that Mingyu had gone in the hot tub for a while too.
At that moment, Mingyu’s stomach rumbled loudly and he glanced up like a deer caught in headlights, before sheepishly looking down at his lap.
He was much cuter like this, all embarrassed and shy, Wonwoo surmised. He was suddenly curious how old Mingyu was exactly.
Before he could ask however, Bora was back to smiles now. “You hungry?” she asked.
Mingyu glanced up and nodded his head rapidly.
“Wonwoo, I want to talk a little more with Mingyu about everything. So can you go get him… uh... what do you eat exactly Mingyu?”
“Mainly seafood I guess?” Mingyu shrugged. “Seaweed, clams, squid, fish... a lot of fish. They’re pretty yummy when they’re steamed on hydrothermal vents. Though I’m pretty sure I can eat anything you land people eat.”
Wonwoo simply stared in silence at the merman for a couple seconds before he spoke in a flat tone, “You’re telling me you eat your fish friends?”
“Well they’re not exactly like frien—”
“Ariel would never,” Wonwoo huffed.
Mingyu tilted his head questioningly. “Ariel?”
Despite the initial surprise that Mingyu had no clue what The Little Mermaid was, after some thought, it only made sense to him. Like fucking hell they had computers and TVs down in the sea.
Before Wonwoo could explain who Ariel was exactly, Bora cut him off. “There’s tuna in the fridge Wonwoo,” she said, which of course was cue for him to stand up. “Just get him that.”
“Cannibalism,” he muttered as he walked toward the kitchen with Mingyu calling out behind him, “Hey it’s not cannibalism!”
He could practically hear the scowl in Mingyu’s voice and a part of him couldn’t help but let out a snicker.
Wonwoo entered the kitchen and swung open the fridge door, searching for the tuna. It took him a while find, but he eventually located it as it was hidden away in the very back. With a huff, and an opened tuna can, he spun back out of the kitchen.
When Wonwoo returned to the living room however, Mingyu seemed to be pretty preoccupied with something. He was shaking a black satchel, and getting sand all over the coffee table.
“What’re you... doing?” Wonwoo squinted.
Mingyu glanced up at him and said, “Getting sand out of my bag.”
“That’s your bag?”
“Yeah, you left it out there during the storm when you brought me in.”
Wonwoo honestly had no recollection of there being a bag beside Mingyu when he went down to the beach. But then again he was kind of (very much so) panicking and losing his shit seeing a naked guy bleeding and unconscious in the middle of a raging storm, so he’d say his reaction was pretty justified.
“It got a little buried in the sand being left out there in the storm,” Mingyu continued as he kept shaking the sand onto the table. Wonwoo internally scowled knowing they’d have to vacuum later. Bora simply sat across Mingyu calmly, making no comments.
When Mingyu finally opened the bag, Wonwoo asked, “Is the stuff inside ruined?”
“Nope,” came the response. “The bag has a special seal on it. It won’t get the stuff inside wet unless it’s totally torn apart to shreds or something. I had to do that because this has important land people stuff in it.”
Wonwoo set down the tuna to sit down beside Mingyu and watch him pour out the contents and let’s just say Wonwoo nearly choked.
Inside there were stacks and stacks of bills in the thousands.
“M-Mingyu,” he stammered.
“It took me months to gather all this,” Mingyu sighed. “Do you know how fucking hard it is to find someone to transfer Oros to dollars? Thankfully the ID cards were easier to get.”
Wonwoo knew he was gaping but he couldn’t stop. This whole time he had thought Mingyu running away was just a farce— some silly little adventure he wanted to go on for some fun. But now he understood that this was a very deliberate and precedent decision of his, and he must be really serious about running away, for whatever reason.
“Are you sure you didn’t rob a bank for this?” Wonwoo asked in disbelief.
“What?! Of course not!” Mingyu frowned. “I worked really hard for all this money.”
When there was a pause between them, Mingyu added, “And it’s not my parents’ either.”
“Oh... ok then...” He was curious, but didn’t want to ask how Mingyu got all this. There was no reason to try and get to know this guy more than necessary. If anything, he was just waiting for Mingyu to be shown out.
Wonwoo turned to his aunt and with intense concentration, tried to telepathically send the message that it was time to say goodbye to Mingyu. When Bora met his eyes and simply blinked back, the message seemed to have been conveyed and Wonwoo deflated in relief.
It’s not that he hated Mingyu or anything— he barely knew him after all. But something about him just made Wonwoo intensely uncomfortable. Within only an hour of meeting the guy, whenever they so much as met eyes, his stomach would churn nervously. He really didn’t need that in his life and now that Mingyu was done his tuna, he couldn’t wait for the guy to leave.
Bora finally turned to face Mingyu and parted her lips to speak.
Adios Mingyu, Wonwoo thought triumphantly.
“Mingyu, would you like to stay here?”