"Listen to me, your highness," the attendant was saying as he followed behind Jonghyun, as he walked hurriedly to keep up with his rushed pace. He had followed Jonghyun the entire walk back to the palace, pestering him and talking non-stop. Jonghyun had tried his best to ignore him, but that wasn't always possible. Jinki had a way of being heard, no matter what.

"You can't just go walking off on us!" he continued. "Us" being him and the circle of guards that were almost always on him, always following him, always enclosed around him. "Especially not after what happened last week."

"I thought the royal guard dealt with those traitors?" Jonghyun replied.

"Yes, the men who led the attack on the palace - and specifically the men who tried killing you - have all been eliminated, but that doesn't mean there isn't any danger. Jonghyun, you can't just go running off on your own all the time! Not at a time like this. Especially not at a time like this."

Upon reaching the doors to his royal chambers, Jonghyun stopped his walking. With a heavy sigh, he turned to Jinki. The attendant was flustered and upset, which seemed so strange for his charming features. The prince was used to seeing a smile on the loyal aid's face, but his smiles had grown less and less of late. Jonghyun knew the discord within their kingdom was the blame for that. The discord was to blame for almost everything going wrong in Jonghyun's life.

But who was to blame for the discord?

"Jinki, sometimes I just need to get away," he admitted honestly.

His tone seemed to calm Jinki a bit. The look in his eyes was sympathetic. "I understand that, your highness, but you can't keep taking such risks. You know how important you are to the kingdom, how much rests on your shoulders."

Yes, he knew that quite well.

"I know that is a heavy burden, but think about everyone else for a change. Think about your father. Think about what would happen to him if something happened to you. He nearly fell to pieces when he thought you had drowned in the attack."

The mention of his father softened Jonghyun's heart a little more, made him feel a small bit guilty about his escape.

"You're his only child, his only heir...what would happen to our kingdom if we lost you?"

He tried not to think about it. He tried not to think about so much resting on his shoulders. It was such things that drove him crazy. How could Jinki blame him for wanting a few hours of peace in his life?

"Please, Jonghyun. Promise me you won't run off like that again."

Jonghyun thought about what answer to give him, whether he should stand his ground, whether he should lie to him, or whether to just be honest with him. "I can't, Jinki," he told him plainly, "I'm sorry."

Like he had suggested he would, Jonghyun escaped his royal attendants the first moment he could.

It was a few days later, late in the afternoon, when he left the palace and snuck away to the rocky part on the shore. He immediately kicked off his shoes and removed his sword, before jumping in the water. He didn't wait around to see if he would spot his merfriend first. He just needed to be on that island, even if his friend never showed up.

But sure enough, Taemin did appear. Jonghyun had been sitting there for a few minutes, before he spotted him in the distance. He surfaced just long enough to get a peek at the island, before dunking back under and finishing his swim there. Jonghyun waited anxiously for him to reappear at the island's edge.

He didn't hesitate that time. He pulled himself right up beside him.

Jonghyun once again felt over-whelmed by him, so much that for a moment, he didn't say anything. He just stared at him. Taemin did the same, before eventually looking away awkwardly. If he was human, Jonghyun was sure he'd see him blush.

"It's good to see you again," Jonghyun said, breaking their awkward silence.

"I told you I'd come back," Taemin replied.

Yes, he had. Jonghyun wasn't sure he believed him until that moment. He wasn't even sure that he believed Taemin was real yet. Perhaps nearly drowning was messing with his mind. Maybe he had drowned. Maybe he was still caught on the brink of life and death, stuck in a wonderful dream.

"Well I'm glad you did," he said.

Again, the merman looked bashful.

"How was your day?" the prince asked, because he didn't know what else to say. That was the only casual way he knew how to start a conversation.

"It was good," the merman said, "How was yours?"

"Terrible," he said without pause, "but it's better now."

He seemed to understand what he meant. Another moment of silence followed, but neither of them seemed to mind. Jonghyun was just content with being distracted, by having his attention focused on something far more pleasant than his royal obligations. It was amazing how quickly everything seemed to slip from his mind.

"How was your day?" Jonghyun asked again.

Taemin was confused by his reiterated question.

"I mean, what is your day like? What does a mermaid - I mean merman - do all day?"

The beautiful creature shrugged, staring back at the waters and looking strangely discontented. "Nothing worth mentioning," he answered, "Life under the sea is...unchanging. It's monotonous."

"You want monotonous? Try living my life," he said with scoff.

Taemin stared at him again. "You're a prince, aren't you?"

Jonghyun was surprised. "Yes. How did you know?"

He shrugged again, turning back to the sea. "I am a prince as well."

"Really?" He was suddenly excited that they had something in common, "No wonder your life is monotonous."

"It's not anymore," Taemin said, and it was obvious what he meant.

The human prince reached out and ran his fingers gingerly over the spikes on his fin. He gauged the merman's reaction, trying to see if his touch bothered him. He seemed startled at first, but not in a bad way. In the end, he actually seemed to enjoy it, like before. Taemin's bashful smile took on a confident edge. Somehow, Jonghyun felt nourished by his simple gaze.

"Neither is mine," he concluded.

That had become the norm for Jonghyun. Every day, whenever he had the opportunity, he escaped the palace and returned to that island. That piece of land that had become his little sanctuary. All of the lectures and reprimands he had to deal with from Jinki were worth it, for the few hours of peace he discovered.

Somedays, Taemin never appeared, for whatever reason, but even still, Jonghyun enjoyed being out there alone. He enjoyed watching the ocean's waves and the sun setting in the distance.

That day, luckily, he didn't have to be alone. Taemin did come. His silhouette appeared against the sunset, before he swam closer, meeting his human friend. As always, he pulled himself up on the island to sit beside him.

"Good evening," Jonghyun told him, politely and charmingly. Taemin seemed to understand his tone, and smiled bashfully and awkwardly as he always did.

"Good evening," he replied. He turned to face the ocean, with his long shimmering tail resting leisurely in the water. Jonghyun took to staring at him, as he always did, and noticed that he wore a pair of necklaces around his neck that day.

"I missed you," he confessed.

Taemin turned back to him, surprised. "I'm sorry. I couldn't leave home. My sister...she kept her eye on me."

"You have a sister?" Jonghyun said, pleasantly surprised.

"I have two."

"Older or younger?"

"One older, one younger."

"That's nice," he concluded, "I wish I had a sister or two. Things might not have been so boring growing up."

Taemin didn't reply, but his bashful smile had dropped. He looked upset actually, before changing their topic of conversation. "Here," he said, pulling one of the necklaces from over his head and handing it to Jonghyun.

The prince looked it over. It was a simple seashell tied to a string, but he found the gift very endearing. More endearing than any of the elaborate gifts he had been given before by people of the court.

"I want you to have that," Taemin explained, "Whenever you're here on this island, whisper my name into the shell, and I'll hear you. I'll try to come."

"Really?" Jonghyun said, surprised. He looked the shell over more closely. "How does that work?"

"It's magic."

"Magic," he repeated. He couldn't believe it. They always said merfolk had magic, but he didn't think that part was true. Then again, why wouldn't it be? Merfolk were true after all. "That's amazing." He slipped the necklace over his head and it rested comfortably against his heart. "I'll have to bring you something next time we meet," he decided.

"I look forward to it."

"It won't be quite as magical though."

"To me, it will be," Taemin replied.

He didn't understand how someone could make him feel so happy, so at ease, so alive. He had never felt that way with anyone before, not his father, not his servants, not his aids, not even any of his childhood friends. There was just something about the merman that was different. Maybe it was because he was a merman.

Maybe he just craved someone that was more magical.