Mi-young chewed on the end of her thumbnail nervously, glancing back and forth between Suho and Sehun. They were squished up against the door of the broom closet, with slight frowns on their faces and looks of utter confusion. Suho squirmed slightly, attempting to escape the weight of Mi-young’s tail, which was currently shoved up against the wall and leaning heavily against him.

“Uh, Mi-young, could you…?” he inquired with a nervous laugh as he pushed against the heavy scaled tail, and she gasped, nodding vigorously. Of course, it’s so heavy…

“Yes! I’m sorry!” she squeaked and grabbed onto the metal shelves beside her, using them to pull herself back against the other side of the closet. Her tail slid down, flopping against the concrete floor with a wet slap. Suho breathed a sigh of relief, stretching out his previously cramped arms, before prodding her finned body with a toe.

“Are we dreaming, Sehun?” he whispered to his friend.

“Can we be having the same dream?” his friend responded as he rubbed his chin with his hand, also staring down at the pretty mermaid’s tail. “That would be weird, but not impossible, I suppose…”

“You aren’t dreaming!” Mi-young exclaimed miserably. As the pair of boys glanced up at her, she hunched back against the wall in shame; she was disappointed that once again she had neglected to behave herself, and had shown her mermaid form to yet another of Baekhyun’s housemates- two of them, to make matters worse. “It’s true. I’m a mermaid,” she sighed heavily, peering up at them guiltily. She related everything that had happened thus far, Baekhyun’s discovery of her in the tide pools, the incidents with Chanyeol and Lay, and even a brief overview of the magic that had entrapped them in the spell, resulting in their current predicament. They both listened patiently, nodding along and occasionally murmuring words of understanding, until she finished.

“That explains a lot,” Sehun sighed as he plopped down cross-legged on the floor, hunching over slightly as he processed the insane story. “If I wasn’t looking right at you, I wouldn’t believe it.” He poked the tail cautiously, jumping as it twitched at the stimulation.

“It kind of hurts that Baekhyun wouldn’t trust us, though,” Suho admitted sadly as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “I mean, what does he think we would do? Blast you all over the Internet, sell you out to the highest bidder?” he huffed, and Mi-young could tell from his tone of voice that he was highly annoyed with her rescuer. It is true… Even if all of them found out, I don’t believe that any of them would act in such a way that I would be taken away, she thought. They want to protect me as much as Baekhyun does.

“I’m not sure why Baekhyun is so adamant that it remains a secret,” she answered honestly, “but I’m sure it has nothing to do with how much or little he trusts you all.” The two boys perked up slightly at her reassurance. “He only wants what’s best for me, I think, and that makes him a little overprotective,” she added with a laugh. Suho and Sehun glanced at one another, and then identical, strangely mischievous grins split their faces. Mi-young stared at both of them in confusion, quite unsure of what sudden hilarious realization they had just had.

“Oh, I get it,” Suho snickered.

“That’s definitely it,” Sehun agreed.

“What?” Mi-young demanded. It was maddening, watching them go on and on about theit joint discovery while she sat there in the dark. Sehun slid across the floor so that they were sitting side-by-side, and he threw his arm about her shoulders. The action just made her even more perplexed, but she did not pull away, as it did not feel as if the boy was attempting to make some sort of pass on her; rather, it felt more like he was parent attempting to explain something to a confused child. Mi-young certainly felt like a confused child. I grew up with five brothers, but why are boys’ behaviors so difficult to understand? Especially Baekhyun’s; she could never wrap her mind around what he was thinking, no matter how much time they spent together.

“Y’see, Mi-young,” Sehun started dramatically, “when a boy likes a girl…” He was interrupted by a rattling sound, and all three of them glanced with startled gasps at the entrance to the cramped broom closet. The brass doorknob was rattling furiously, and they could hear angry cursing from beyond the wood.

“! It’s the janitor!” Suho cursed quietly as he backed away from the door, pacing anxiously as the doorknob continued to shake violently. Mi-young almost squeaked as the door jerked angrily at the force of a kick, but thankfully Sehun’s hand slapped over in time to muffle her exclamation.

“What do we do?” he hissed to his companion.

“Uh, uh, uh,” Suho responded unintelligently as he glanced around frantically for something useful. The small closet was home to only various cleaning supplies, however, and Mi-young was not sure how the sticks with bristly and shaggy ends would be very helpful, nor the various colored bottles filled with bright solutions. They heard a jingling sound echoing from the hallway, and the doorknob began to rattle once more, accompanied by scraping sounds.

“Do something! He’s getting the keys!” Sehun snapped. Still mumbling, “uh, uh, uh,” his friend grabbed a bright yellow wet-floor sign and jammed it underneath the knob, then pressed his back against the door to force all his weight against the wood. The door began shaking violently, jerking Suho back and forth and rattling the floor sign dangerously. Sehun jumped up to assist his friend, throwing his shoulder into the door as it threatened to push open. The janitor was cursing loudly outside, and Mi-young felt slightly bad for the old man. If I hadn’t been such a klutz, I wouldn’t have ruined his day, she thought sadly, glancing down at her dripping-wet self. She wrung out her hair anxiously as the shaking and yelling abruptly ceased, and the three of them held their breath as soft footsteps retreated away from the door. After a long silence, they all breathed heavy sighs of relief. The two boys slid down to the floor, laughing nervously.

“Whoa, that was tense,” Suho snickered.

“It was kinda fun, though,” Sehun added with a slight grin. “I mean, it’s not everyday you get to protect a mermaid from a grumpy old man,” he mused with a wink at Mi-young. Blushing lightly in embarrassment and shame, she hung her head. “Hey, hey, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Sehun cried in alarm as she began to cry.

“Oh, , look what you did!” Suho gasped angrily, kicking his friend lightly.

“I didn’t mean it! What did I say?” Sehun snapped back, punching him in the shoulder.

“It’s not you,” she moped, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands. “It’s me. All I do is cause trouble for everyone. It would be better if I just go back to the ocean,” she sniffled miserably. Instantly, the two boys had shuffled to her side, one on either side of her. Sehun took one of her hands in his, patting it gently.

“That’s not true, Mi-young!” he objected.

“Yeah!” Suho agreed, lifting up her face to wipe her tears away with his sleeve. “We’d miss you so much if you left!” Mi-young was unconvinced, and she slumped miserably between the broad shoulders of the two idols. “I mean, think about it. If you weren’t here, who would work the stereo for us?” he offered with a small smile.

“Yeah! And who would we watch T.V. with?” Sehun added happily.

“Oh, and who would make us chocolate on Valentine’s Day?” Suho continued brightly. “And who would we go to the park with?”

“Who would we play football with?”

“Who would help us cook?”

“All of those things you could do without me,” she mumbled sadly. She gasped lightly as the pair of boys wrapped her in a hug and leaned their heads against hers, and she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling begin to rise inside of her. They really want me to stay, she thought as the corners of twitched into a smile.

“Maybe that’s true, but it’s definitely not as fun without you, Mi-young,” Sehun said softly.

“Exactly! Life isn’t fun if it goes perfectly,” Suho quipped as he nuzzled her hair slightly. “So what if you mess up sometimes? Everybody does- that’s what it means to be human. Or, mermaid, I guess, in your case,” he laughed awkwardly. Snuggled between her two cheerful friends, Mi-young felt the tears stop falling and happiness replaced the acute sadness she had been feeling. They’re right. They want me here even if I mess up sometimes… And that means Baekhyun does, too, she thought blissfully. Overjoyed, she raised her arms to put one of her hands on each of the boy’s cheeks, her tail flapping slightly as she felt the warmth run through her body.

“Thank you so much,” she beamed through the lingering tears.

“Of course,” Suho smiled.

“We don’t want our princess to be sad,” Sehun nodded in agreement. It was in that moment that her magnificent tail began to shine, as she had dried off enough for the magic to revert. Mi-young shielded her eyes as the small closet began overwhelmed with the white light, and when she opened her eyes once more, her tail had been replaced with her human legs. She wriggled her toes experimentally, finding that nothing was out of the ordinary, and promptly turned her head to kiss each of the boys on the cheek to express her gratitude. They gushed in embarrassment, giggling and mumbling nonsense, while she stood and attempted to open the door.

“Um… Guys?” she blinked, looking over her shoulder at them. They snapped out of their happy stupor and jumped to their feet as she jerked on the door, but it would not budge. “It’s stuck!” She had turned the lock into the correct position, but as she pushed with all her might on the door, it refused to move.

“Suho and I probably lodged it in place trying to keep the janitor out,” Sehun frowned over her shoulder, gently waving her aside to jerk violently on the door. A crack of light appeared, but still the door only groaned in protest.

“This is bad,” Suho frowned worriedly. He grabbed both sides of his head, descending into madness. “What if we’re stuck here forever? We’ll starve! Or one of us will go mad and try to kill the others for food! We’ll become mad cannibals!” he wailed, running around is a large as a circle he could in the cramped space.

“Suho! Shut up! We aren’t gonna be here forever,” Sehun sighed, rolling his eyes. He pressed his ear against the door, frowning as he heard some sort of commotion outside; then he grinned widely, giving a thumbs-up to Mi-young. “Lucky for us, your boyfriend is here to rescue us~”

“My boyfriend?” Mi-young spluttered incredulously.

“Baekhyun!” Suho cheered in delight, and the mermaid felt her entire face grow afire with blushing. He’s not my boyfriend, she protested silently as the two boys began beating on the door shouting his name.

“What the hell? Suho? Sehun? What are you doing in there? I’ve been looking for you for fifteen minutes!” came the grumpy reply from beyond the wood.

“It’s a long story,” Sehun laughed. “Basically, we picked a fight with a janitor, Mi-young turned into a mermaid, and we got ourselves stuck in here. The door is jammed. Could you help us out?” he called through the door, and Mi-young felt guilty as she heard the surprised gasp followed by a groan of irritation.

“Mi-young? Of course. I should have known,” she heard him sigh. Chewing on her bottom lip, she wrung her hands miserably as she pressed herself against the back of the closet, unsure whether she wanted to face him or not. He’ll be mad at me, just like the last time, a voice chimed in the back of her mind. No, he won’t, not like that. He promised, she answered back hotly.

Meanwhile, Suho and Sehun were working on the door again.

“Okay, push on three! One, two, three!” Sehun commanded, and he and his friend threw their weight against the door. It shuddered violently, and then suddenly sprung open. They cried out as they went stumbling forward out into the hall, bowling over a very surprised Baekhyun. As the three boys ended up in a crumpled heap on the tile floor, Mi-young cautiously slunk out of the closet, hovering a few feet away as she awaited Baekhyun’s reaction.

“Get off!” the dark-haired boy groaned as he squirmed underneath his housemates, shoving them off roughly and sitting up. He fixed his hair grumpily, looking around for the mermaid before finally laying eyes on her, standing nervously a few feet away. His expression was guarded as he slowly stood, pushing one hand deep into his pants pocket while the other pushed the closet door closed as he passed it, stepping slowly closer to her.

“Baekhyun,” she began to explain, but stopped mid-sentence as he poked her in the forehead with a smile on his lips.

“Jeez. I just can’t keep you out of trouble, can I?” he laughed softly. Mi-young felt all her worry wash away, and she laughed lightly under his warm gaze, shifting back and forth shyly.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so clumsy,” she apologized bashfully, and he just shrugged as he slipped an arm around her shoulders and began guiding her down the hall towards the dance room, stepping over Sehun and Suho, who were still on the ground trying to recover from their tumble.

“I was worried,” he told her quietly.

“I know,” she sighed as hung her head slightly. “I make you worry a lot… And those two know about me now, too.” Despite his calm demeanor, she could tell that underneath he was wrestling with his anger, as he exhaled sharply through his teeth as he ran a hand through his hair.

“It’s fine,” he told her, and when he glanced back at her the was genuine forgiveness in his eyes. “Just try to be more careful, okay? It’s all well in good if one of these guys see you, but one of these days it could be someone else…” he frowned deeply. The way he worried about her never ceased to make her heart sing, and she nodded vigorously, trying not to let her elation show.

“I will! I promise, Baekhyun,” she swore.

“And no more singing in front of those loons,” he added as an afterthought. “Beautiful as it may be, it’s too dangerous for anyone else to hear it,” he warned. Though it was probably just a casual statement, Mi-young felt her heart skip a beat. So… Do you want me only to sing to you…?

The rest of the practice went without incident, and late that evening the exhausted bunch of idols and the mermaid returned home and promptly climbed into their beds. The fumble was left unspoken, and the rest of the week went by in a blissful blur, as the mermaid learned more and more about the world above the waves. Soon, once again the day came when the boys came parading down the hall, on their way to another practice, and the mermaid happily ran to the front door to pull on shoes.

“Mi-young,” Baekhyun called suddenly, and she glanced up from sliding on one of her shoes to see him looking highly uncomfortable. “We’ve decided… It’s best if you stay here,” he told her quietly. She stared at him, shocked, and looked around the rest of the group to see them avoiding her gaze and looking very guilty. Mi-young was not sure what story Baekhyun had invented to cover her transformation, but somehow it was damning enough to convince those who thought her only human that she was too much of a liability to take to the studio. It’s only fair. I’m too much of a distraction to their work. They need to practice hard so they can be good for their show, and don’t need to spend time babysitting me, she told herself firmly, fighting off the disappointment.

“Okay!” she agreed without complaint, pulling off her shoes and flopping back down on the couch. “Have fun! I’ll be here when you get home,” she smiled brightly as she flipped on the television, and hoped they could not see her bottom lip quivering. Stop it. There’s no reason to be sad, she scolded herself as they marched out of the door in a chorus of farewells and apologies. Baekhyun paused behind her, and she stared hard at the flickering screen, afraid that if she looked at him her true emotions would flow.

“Mi-young?” he murmured. Don’t say my name like that, please, it makes me want to… She inhaled sharply as he leaned over the back of the couch, close to her. “Are you sure that you’re okay with this?” he asked her suspiciously.

“Of course. I mean, I made a mess of things last time. It’s only natural that you would want me here, where I’m safe,” she answered with false confidence. Remember what Suho and Sehun said, she reminded herself, shoving the fear to the back of her mind. Baekhyun doesn’t think me a bother. He just wants to protect me, that’s all. He just wants me to be safe.

“Okay,” Baekhyun frowned deeply, unconvinced by her response, Yet, he stood straight up and walked out of the house, and Mi-young heard the door lock behind him. It was then she released the heavy sigh she was holding in, and clicked the power button on the remote. As the screen turned black, she looked sadly at the door.

“Good-bye. I’ll be here… Waiting…” she whispered to the empty house.