It was just another day of work for Melody Hwang. Another day of making sure no one drowned at the pool during public hours, and teaching those who didn’t know how to swim during the private sessions. Usually classes were full of younger children, but this time she received a request from her boss, one she couldn’t refuse. Someone was willing to pay extra to ensure they were taught on a one-to-one basis, someone who preferred to stay anonymous and whose identity must be protected. She’d assumed it was someone rich and shallow, trying to protect their pride, but took on the job nonetheless.

   Though Melody is a mermaid, she can control her transformations. Spilling water or jumping into the pool won’t cause her tail to sprout. Sea water is trickier though, so she doesn’t typically dare mess with it unless it’s for her solo underwater explorations with the fish. On the night of the full moon, mermaids, or sirens, flock to the seas, something about the tide makes it irresistible, and transformations unstable. Before she knew about the full moons, she’d accidentally transformed in her bathtub and remained stuck until dawn. It’s the one night she ensures to take off work.

   Leave it to fate to bring back the boy she dragged to shore as her “one-on-one”. This is it, he knows who I am and what I am, this is how I die isn’t it.. tell my mother I love her.. All sorts of crazy thoughts swam through Melody’s head simultaneously. But while she was worrying over her own safety, Hongbin was worried her blank stare and quiet demeanor meant she’d recognized him as an idol and would have to find another coach. That thought was dispersed once she instructed him to enter the shallow end, treating him like any other student. She’d decided either he was playing dumb or couldn’t remember, but she was going to take this chance and run with it.

   Hongbin had whined and tried to fight his way out of pesky swim lessons, right up until he’d gotten out of the car. But he’d realized hey, maybe this wasn’t so bad after all; it was for his own safety. Dusk was setting overhead as the sun set, and the colors landed on their faces just right, the beauty of nature on one another’s faces momentarily halting the lesson.. until she blew her whistle and yelled at him for not submerging himself and practicing holding his breath.

   As days went by, lessons were taken in stride. She was warned she had to take baby steps with this one, but was he really that scared of holding the small board and flailing his legs? Surely, there had to be a reason; but from a professional standpoint, she really had no right to ask. Slowly placing her arms over his, she guided him through basic motions, getting him to ease into flotation techniques.

   Once Hongbin had mastered flotation, she ensured keeping the practice of holding his breath when submerged. He had good stamina due to all his dance practice, but she had no clue about that. Melody had always preferred the sounds of the ocean and her mother’s lullabies over whatever was blasting on the radio nowadays, having grown up by the shore and initially dreamed to be a surfer. Funny how things panned out when she sprout her tail at 12 and her mother had to explain it ran in the family, all the females carried the Siren Gene.

   Slowly bringing her mind back to work, she’d focused on moving a step forward and attempting to teach him arm , as he held onto the board even while in the shallow three foot section. It tested her patience as well as her sanity, but she managed to get him to place a somewhat larger board under his chest, mimicking the motions with his arms. Progress came in slowly with him, but she didn’t seem to mind much anymore, rather looking forward to the challenge. She’d always wondered what to teach him next or how to go about his obvious fears.

   It was a day when his lesson for that afternoon was suddenly cancelled due to “his job” that she realized the emptiness in her chest. She’d become so used to the routine of seeing her special student on weekdays that she didn’t know what to do with the free time. Phoning up her best friend, Amethyst, they decided on a girls’ night out. Ame, for short, had splurged on tickets to some concert and Melody agreed to tag along. The two met back in college, long after Melody’s parents had divorced while she was in middle school and her mother moved back to South Korea with her. Amethyst was in a similar situation however, having moved from England to Korea with her father after her mom passed when she was in elementary school.

   The concert was rowdy, full of screaming fangirls as well as fanboys. Seemed this was a big event, and suddenly she felt under-dressed in her tee and jeans. Nearing the finale, after more fireworks were released, a group was introduced on stage that had a section of girls holding up dark blue towels and lightsticks going wild. “Everyone give it up for V V V I double X!” Ame seemed enthralled by the performance, unnoticing Melody’s eerie silence and her two eyes boring holes into one specific member on stage. No wonder Hongbin never spoke of work, they both had their own secrets, it seemed. Sure, he can dance in front of a million people, but splash some water at him and he’s running for the hills. Her own thought had her chuckle, feeling a soft spot for the muscly male pouring his heart out on stage.

Beware of the full moon, Mel.