Yixing was in the middle of fixing the sink when he heard someone pulling into his driveway and then skidding to a quick stop. Curious, he wiped his hands and went out to see what the commotion was about. When got outside, Victoria was jumping down from the drivers’ seat of her pick-up truck and rushing over to the back.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re home!” Victoria said.

“What happened?” Yixing asked, following Victoria to the back of the truck. The older girl lifted the tarp off the truck and revealed Jinyu, back in her mermaid form, lying on the blanket Victoria had laid out for her. Yixing and Jinyu both met each other with eyes wide with stunned surprise.

“How the heck did that happen?” Yixing asked. 

“We were on the boat,” Jinyu answered, pushing herself toward the edge of the truck with her arms. “And the yacht hit a reef and I fell in the water.”

“,” Yixing said. Victoria and Yixing reached out to help Jinyu off the truck, and they carried her inside the house, back to the lab where they had first put her all those months ago. 

“Did the other passengers see you?” Yixing asked breathlessly. Jinyu and Victoria traded looks with each other. Yixing furrowed his brows.

“Did the other passengers see you?” Yixing asked again, firmer this time. Jinyu looked at him and then turned her eyes away. Victoria swallowed.

“Luhan was there,” Victoria said slowly.

“Dammit,” Yixing whispered under his breath. Luhan was the whole reason this hunt for mermaids was going on in the first place. He looked at Jinyu and his mind raced, trying to think of a way to solve this problem. He had to think of a way to get her out of town, get her to some other coastal city. Perhaps on the Northern shores, some miles away. At least there, they’d be far enough from the commotion to properly hide her. 

But something tugged at his heart at the thought of Luhan. Something that sounded like what Jinyu had said to him some nights ago. You should have more faith in your friend, she had said. He admires you so much. Yixing bit the inside of his cheek. He supposed this had happened because he didn’t listen to Jinyu that time. But she was right. He should have more faith in Luhan. 

“Maybe he won’t say anything,” Yixing said quietly. Victoria turned to him.

“What?” she asked.

“Maybe he won’t say anything,” Yixing said. “I’ve known Luhan for years. I could just talk to him; ask him to keep it a secret. Wait a few days, maybe he won’t say anything.”

“Isn’t that too much of a risk?” Victoria asked. “I didn’t get to talk to him earlier. How do you know he hasn’t said anything already?”

Yixing shook his head. “No, he loves her too much,” he said and then met Jinyu’s gaze. “I don’t think he’d want to hurt her.”

Jinyu swallowed a lump in hearing those words coming from Yixing. She, too, wanted to speak up and tell Yixing that he was right about Luhan and his feelings. Jinyu kept remembering his face when she asked him straight-out if he loved her or not, and he couldn’t answer right away. Why the hesitation? Jinyu’s heart skipped a beat; even if she wasn’t sure what her feelings toward Luhan were, he had been her prince all this time. And just the notion of Luhan not reciprocating such feelings still hurt despite the lack of commitment. 

“So what should we do?” Jinyu asked. Victoria tilted her head.

“I guess we have to wait for it to dry out again before I can cut it down to your legs,” Victoria said. “Wait a few days, one or two. I’ll be back. And you should get a dry shirt.”

Jinyu looked down at her clothes. Victoria had loaned her a coral-colored dress to wear, but now it was soaked. She looked at the older girl and felt thankful for her help. Victoria nodded once before standing up and walking toward the door.

“I’m going to go scout the Institute officials, see if they’ve found out about her yet,” Victoria said to Yixing and Jinyu. “In the meantime, just stay here.”

“What do I do?” Yixing asked.

“Just keep doing what you’ve been doing,” Victoria said. Yixing panicked slightly. He wanted to latch himself onto Victoria’s arm like a little boy and beg her not to leave him alone with Jinyu. But Victoria gave him a stern look and he retreated a few steps backwards. Victoria left out the door. The sound of her truck engine starting signaled her departure. 

Yixing turned back to Jinyu, who once again sat in the tub in the lab, her gold tail leaning against the side and dripping salt water onto the tile. Yixing rubbed his face a little, staring at the golden scales. Jinyu stared back at him, though neither of them spoke. The silence between them was thick and awkward. There were countless words to be said, but neither of them had the courage to say anything first. 

“I almost forgot,” he said, gesturing to her mermaid tail. Jinyu looked at her tail as well, and strangely felt disgusted toward it, much the same way she’d been disgusted by her legs the first few days she spent on earth.

“This is some really strong déjà vu,” he said.  He let out a small laugh just for good measure, but Jinyu still wouldn’t respond. He wondered if she was still upset with him. In a way, he was upset with her, too, but not nearly as much as he was upset with himself. Mei wasn’t wrong when she said that he’d get over it soon; perhaps he did love her too much.

Yixing’s eyes caught the movement of as Jinyu gulped. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Yixing dropped his shoulders and Jinyu looked away as she frowned. Yixing pulled a low stool and walked over to sit next to her. Jinyu swallowed back lumps in as he got closer.

Yixing took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, too,” he said. “I… I wasn’t meant to be in the picture in the first place, so I’m sorry that I tried to intrude in something that didn’t involve me.”

“No,” Jinyu said softly. “That’s not it. You were right about Luhan.”

Yixing raised his brows. “Right about Luhan?” he said. “What do you mean?”

“I really don’t know him at all,” Jinyu said. “Not like you do. I should have listened to you.”

Yixing bit down on his bottom lip and hung his head for a bit. He wondered how things had gotten so bad so quickly. He suddenly felt Jinyu reaching out and lightly touching his hair. When he looked up at her, she was smiling but her eyes were watery. 

He was wondering what she was thinking when she looked at him like that. Her blue eyes seemed more brilliant in this room; it reminded him of the first time he saw them all those months ago. Now, they were filled with a similar sort of fear and uncertainty. Her hand came down and pressed against his cheek. 

“Yixing, you’ve been really good to me,” she said softly. “I never would have made it this far if it weren’t for you. And… I am so thankful. Really, I am. And I know what you want from me.”

Yixing reached up and held onto her wrist. Jinyu continued.

“But I can’t give it to you,” she said. “And this has nothing to do with you or Luhan or anything else; I just can’t. I’m sorry for hurting your feelings.”

She used her thumb to touch the skin across his cheekbone, and Yixing closed his eyes against the feel of her skin on his face. His heart was falling into a steady rhythm, and he didn’t feel angry at her anymore. Jinyu smiled sadly again.

“I have a feeling that all of this is going to be over soon, anyway,” she whispered. “I’m running out of time.”

It was three days later that the storm came. Victoria had just finished freeing Jinyu of her dried-out mermaid tail and Yixing was in the piano room tutoring Mei in math. Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were in the living room when the knock on the door came, and everyone froze. 

The man at the door wore a crisp suit. Perhaps six police officers stood on either side of him. He asked to be let inside, and Mr. Mrs. Zhang, unaware of the situation, opened the door and let him inside. The man in the suit presented them with a piece of paper.

“My name is Han Da Yoo, I’m a legal representative of the Institute of Science and the court law,” the man said. “I have a warrant for the confiscation of all research results and materials pertaining to the Sirenien Theories department in lieu of an anonymous informant’s testimony that you’ve been harboring a…”

The man rolled his eyes at the word he was about to use: “…a mermaid.”

Mr. Zhang almost burst out laughing. “You’re joking right?” he said. “You can’t seriously be buying into this mermaid nonsense.”

“I’m afraid that’s out of the question, sir,” the man said. “Now, please direct us to your research facility, and we’ll begin our collection.”

Mrs. Zhang stood up. “Our research?” she said. “We’ve had our study licenses for well over ten years, you can’t – ”

Without warning, the rest of the officers came into the home and went directly to the back courtyard to begin their confiscation. Mr. and Mrs. Zhang sprang up, yelling in protest and combatively defending their work. Mei and Yixing rushed out of the piano room in time to see the officers taking stacks and stacks of paperwork out to a van in the driveway.

Yixing’s parents continued to yell and argue.

“This is ridiculous!” Mr. Zhang yelled out. “We’re researchers! This is my life’s work! Don’t touch that!”

“I’m afraid that if you have qualms with the situation you’ll have to take it up with my superiors, I’m but a messenger,” the man said. “We are looking specifically for – ”

Yixing was about to run to the lab to warn Victoria when the girls emerged from the lab. Jinyu was on legs again. The officers in the room all stopped and stared and Yixing consciously moved so that he was standing in front of her. 

“What’s going on here?” Victoria asked. 

“A confiscation,” the man answered, walking toward them and eyeing Jinyu suspiciously. Yixing stared the man down until he stopped walking towards them. 

“My parents haven’t found anything,” Yixing said sternly. “They’re studying migration patterns of whales, and how they differ from dolphins.”

“That’s what they all say,” the man said. He looked at Jinyu again and continued to walk forward. “Pretty girlfriend you’ve got,” he commented. Yixing’s fist tightened and he turned to Jinyu.

“Jinyu, go to the piano room,” he whispered.

“Jinyu?” the man repeated, and they both turned back to the man with wide eyes. “Is your name Jinyu? Sounds a little familiar, an anonymous informant told me about a girl named Jinyu once. Interesting name. Means ‘goldfish’, doesn’t it? How appropriate.”

“Go to the piano room,” Yixing whispered to Jinyu once more. But before they could move, an officer had appeared on Jinyu’s side and was grabbing onto her forearm. Yixing reacted and pushed the officer away with one hand.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Yixing said sternly to the officer. “Get your hands off her.”

The man in the suit signaled the other officers, and they walked toward Yixing and Jinyu as well. More officers tried to grab onto her arms, and Yixing continued to try pushing them away. 

“Get your hands off her,” he barked, his voice getting lower. Jinyu’s breathing grew panicked as she tried to snatch away from the officers who were grabbing her. 

“Let me go!” she yelled, and one officer slapped his hand over . That was the end of it for Yixing; as soon as one more officer tried to grab her, he sprang up and shoved the man away, causing another officer to grab onto him and Jinyu screamed again. Yixing tried to wrestle out of the officer’s hold, and more came to grapple onto him. More officers restrained Victoria, who had tried to join in as well. Voices sprang up at once, yelling and screaming:

“Let her go!”

“Stay back!”

“You’re hurting me!”

“If you hurt my son, I’ll kick your !”

Furniture toppled over and glass broke as the officers, Yixing, and Jinyu tried to wrestle their way out. Jinyu’s heart went into a panicked beating once more. The officers had pulled her arms behind her back and used something to bind them. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she begged them to let her go. Then they lifted her up by her arms and began to drag her toward the door. 

Jinyu resisted them the entire way, yelling out for Yixing as they brought her closer and closer to the van. “Help me!” she cried out. “Yixing! Help!”

“This has gone too far!” Mr. Zhang tried to argue, following the man out the door. The officers were loading the last of the research materials into the vans. A few still restrained Yixing. With one last shove, Yixing finally freed himself from their grip. He bolted out toward the van, hyperventilating.

“Jinyu!” he yelled, running toward the van they were dragging her toward. He reached out a hand and tried to grab her, but another officer blocked his way. More came to pull him back and keep him away. He was fighting them without looking at them anymore. His eyes were searching out for Jinyu, and amidst the chaos and terror, he caught her gaze again.

Jinyu’s eyes conveyed all the terror she must have felt at that time. The moments slowed down and the speed at which all this discord took place seemed to suddenly stop. In the split-seconds that their eyes met, Yixing could see all the history and the emotions that hung between them. He heard her voice saying this will all be over soon.

But his blood was hot and his heartbeat was fast and he was unwilling to let this all go so fast. There was a fire that ignited in him in that moment, and he pushed against the officers one last time and yelled out to her.

“Jinyu!” he called out. “Don’t be scared! I’ll come for you, alright? I’ll get you back! I’ll come for you! I promise!” 

The van door slammed in his face as soon as the last syllable of his promise left his throat. The engines started, and Yixing banged his hands against the sides of the vehicle until they sped down the hill, taking his Jinyu away from him. There were angry tears in his eyes this time. He clenched his fists and stood his ground and brooded. 

“DAMN IT!” he yelled. His breaths came out like the heavy gasps of a tiger in a cage. His mind was reeling and his blood was boiling and he had no idea what to do. Victoria appeared by his side, equally close to tears. She put a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll get her back, Yixing,” she said. “Don’t try to go after them. We can go to the Institute or to the courts and dispute this.”

“Yes,” he breathed. He lifted a hand and placed it over his chest once more. He felt furious and devastated and enraged and heartbroken all at once. He could only imagine what Jinyu must be feeling now. His stomach turned at the thought of what they might have planned to do with her in their Institute. 

One way or another, he was going to get her back. But first there were some terms to be settled. 

“The man said an anonymous informant told them about Jinyu,” Victoria said. 

“Anonymous, my ,” Yixing cursed. “We know who the last person to see her was.”