As Mi-young sat on the couch in the living room with her eyes glued to the television screen, she slowly became aware of furious snickers and shuffling in the kitchen. Prying her gaze away from the cartoon playing on the electronic box, she turned to glance over the back of the couch into the adjoining room. She raised her eyebrows as she caught sight of the forms of Kris and Tao dashing back and forth across the tiled floor, snickering to themselves as they went about their suspicious business. Her curiosity piqued, Mi-young grabbed the remote to shut off the television and rose from the couch to walk into the kitchen to investigate what the pair of boys were up to. On the kitchen counter, she found a plastic tub filled to the brim with little colorful balls.

“What are these?" she asked the boys, who were at the sink sniggering uncontrollably. She reached into the tub to poke one of the colorful devices, gasping when it jiggled. Upon close inspection she determined that they were hollow and filled with water.

“Careful, Mi-young! Those are water balloons,” Tao chimed as he turned to face her. His arms were full of more of the colorful, water-filled rubber membranes. He grinned mischievously as he walked past her to dump the load into the plastic box. “If one of them pops on you, you'll go mermaid,” he laughed and glanced over at Kris, who was busy at the sink. Mi-young walked over to watch in admiration as the little balloon swelled as he filled it with water.

“What are you going to use these water balloons for?” she inquired, looking up at Tao with wide, curious blue eyes. At her question, he gave her the most devilish grin.

“Well, we're gonna play a little prank on Baekhyun,” he snickered and grabbed the plastic bucket after Kris loaded the last of the water balloons into it. “To get him back for being so cold to you.” At this brazen confession, Mi-young pursed her lips and looked between the two pranksters.

“That's not very nice, you guys. Baekhyun and I have made up already! There's no need to play a prank on him!” she scolded, shaking her finger at the like a young mother scolding her naughty sons. Indeed, ever since the incident in the alleyway, she and Baekhyun had been getting along swimmingly. It was unclear to her whether they were involved in more than a friendship, as they had not kissed and Baekhyun had made no inclination to romantic involvement, but she was glad, at least, that there was no longer a distance between them. Despite this, the boys were still snickering and seemingly intent on pulling their prank on the hapless boy.

“Come on, Mi-young, don't be such a stiff! You can join in! It'll be fun~!” Kris insisted and nudged her playfully in the ribs with his elbow. She stared doubtfully at the bucket of jiggling balloons, but she could not deny the tug of curiosity on her mind. It seemed like fun, and she was curious about what this prank entailed. After all, it was harmless fun, right? She chewed on her lip thoughtfully and glanced up to meet the pleading, cheerful eyes of the two boys before sighing deeply.

“Okay, okay,” she consented, and despite her reservations, she could not help but grin widely as the boys hooted with excitement and jumped up and down excitedly. Kris grabbed her by the hand and hurriedly led her down the hallway, while Tao plodded behind carrying the plastic tote of water balloons. They must have been heavy, as he was panting by the time he reached the back door. Kris threw open the back door and led her into the backyard, an open grassy area with a concrete patio complete with a set of outdoor lounge chairs for the entire household. Despite living there for so long, Mi-young had actually never ventured out into the area. She glanced around curiously, taking in the nice landscaping and appreciable amount of space, and when her eyes fell on a peculiar installment she gasped and pointed. “What is that?” she cried. It was essentially a large hole in the ground filled with crystal clear water, but the edge of the hole was lined with a bright blue substance.

“Oh! That's our swimming pool!” Tao exclaimed as he set down the plastic tote, straightening up to place his hands on his hips as he glanced over at the pool. “We don't use it much right now since we're practicing so much. You know, all of our neighbors have one-story houses, Mi-young, and can't see past the fence. If you ever want to stretch your legs- er, tail- you should go for a swim sometime!” he remarked with a bright smile. Though it was a far cry from the ocean, the mermaid still felt the call of the sizable waterhole. She imagined the cool water sliding over her skin and the free movement of her tailfin, and the desire grew stronger. However, her attention was soon captured by Kris clapping a hand on her shoulder.

“Now, Mi-young. We have a job for you,” he smiled at her. Mi-young beamed, happy to be useful. “We need you to convince Baekhyun to come out here,” he explained, and the smile dropped from her face.

“What? How am I supposed to do that?” she pouted doubtfully, and Tao snickered and threw his arm loosely around her shoulders.

“Use your womanly charms. You'll be able to convince him quite instantly,” he mused before gently pushing her forward towards the back door. She frowned deeply and looked back at the two in concern before sighing deeply and proceeding back into the house. I agreed to help, so I have to through with it now that I’m involved, she thought as she walked down the hallway toward Baekhyun's room. He had confiscated it from her for the day to barricade himself inside and busy himself with his large amount of schoolwork. Mi-young of course wanted him to succeed, so she did not mind; she spent most of her time out of the room anyway, watching the television or visiting with the boys or her comically wily next-door-neighbor.

“Baekhyun?” she called innocently as she knocked on the bedroom door, and when she received no answer, she raised and eyebrow and reached down to jiggle the doorknob. It was unlocked, and so she pushed the door open and peered inside. A soft smile appeared on her lips at what she found.

Baekhyun was fast asleep on his bed, one arm hanging off the side of the bed as he lay in deep slumber. He had a textbook held to his chest, and papers were spread across the other side of the bed, filled with his handwriting and sketches of sea life. Tip-toeing so as not to awaken the snoozing student, she crossed the room to pick up the papers, examining them with interest. She admired Baekhyun's workmanship; he was a brilliant artist, and as she gazed at the depictions of sea life it was like she was gazing at them in real life. The detail was superb, so much so that Mi-young ran a finger over the illustrations, expecting to feel the textures drawn on the paper. After a minute of poring over the drawings, she gathered them neatly into a pile and set them down on his desk so that they would not be damaged. She then climbed onto the bed and sat down cross-legged beside him, about to shake his shoulder, but when she looked down into his face she faltered, distracted.

Baekhyun looks so cute when he's sleeping, she thought with a small giggle. His mouth was hanging open, and his hair was all over the place, sticking up in odd places. Mi-young could not help but gaze, and as she watched him sleep, she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling rising inside of her. She had never been in love before, but as she reached out to gently brush a few strands of hair hanging into his eyes, she wondered if she could be with the young marine biologist who had rescued her in the ride pools all those months ago. She was not sure how to feel about it. Baekhyun's words weighed heavily on her mind.

“I belong on land, and you belong in the sea.” The words held truth. She was a mermaid, and he was human; a love between them in this day and age could never prevail. Still, the logic made it no less hurtful as she looked down at him with a mixture of longing and hurt. When he abruptly stirred, however, she quickly wiped the negative emotions from her face to greet the awakening boy with a smile.

“Mi-young? What are you doing in here?” he mumbled, his voice slurred with sleep as he rubbed his eyes and turned to look up at her tiredly. She tucked her legs underneath her neatly as he sat up, frowning as the book fell from his chest to flop into his lap. He sighed slightly before closing it and setting it on the bedside table. He yawned loudly and scratched his head while Mi-young smiled brightly at him.

“I came to get you!” she answered cheerfully while she desperately wracked her brain for an excuse to draw him to the backyard. Her mind flew to the newly discovered backyard, and as he glanced at her quizzically, she grabbed his arm. “Wanna go sit on the back porch with me?” she pleaded with sparkling eyes full of innocent intentions. He raised his eyebrows at her.

“Huh? The back porch?” he repeated with widened eyes, and nodded eagerly.

“Yes! It's such a nice day. Will you please come sit with me?” she asked him once more, and she tugged on his arm like a begging child. “You've worked so hard! You deserve to take a nice break," she insisted firmly. Baekhyun glanced at the textbook sitting on the nightstand, scowled in distaste, and then looked back at her. She grinned when he nodded in consent.

“All right. Sitting outside sounds nice,” he agreed and slipped off of the bed. He paused to run his fingers through his messy hair, and Mi-young hopped off the bed to follow him down the hallway towards the back. She suddenly felt a pang of guilt when she remembered she was leading Baekhyun right into a prank orchestrated by his housemates. It would have been nice to sit out with Baekhyun, she thought as she poured slightly. As Baekhyun opened the door and walked out, however, his startled cry brought her out of her moody thoughts. She peered out of the small gap in the door and Baekhyun's body.

“Get him!” Tao crowed, perched behind one of the lounge chairs with a pile of water balloons at his side, and he launched the projectile at the surprised boy. It exploded, spilling water all over Baekhyun's front, and the boy cried out and tried to back into the house. Mi-young screamed as he bumped into her and sent her sprawling on the floor, and all the breath was knocked out of her lungs when he landed roughly on top of her, having tripped over her legs.

“Agh! Mi-young! Are you okay?” he cried, but did not have time to help the mermaid to her feet before another one of the water balloons exploded, this time in his face. As water dripped down his face, he glared pointedly at the pair of assailants, who were cackling with laughter and high-fiving one another as the huddled behind the chairs.

“You jerks! What the hell is this about?” Baekhyun snapped as he unsteadily rose to his feet to stand in the threshold of the door.

“Payback for Mi-young!” Kris shouted to him and threw another one of the rubbery balloons at the irritated boy. His aim was slightly off, and it bounced harmlessly on the concrete before bursting and spilling water across the hard surface. “This is for making her sad!” Incredulous, Baekhyun glanced over his shoulder at the mermaid, who had clambered to her feet.

“You were in on this?” he gasped. Mi-young smiled sheepishly at him before giggling mischievously and pushing him forward, out of the door and onto the patio where he would be an easy target.

“I sure was!” she laughed, and now that he was out in the open, Kris and Tao sprang to their feet to barrage the helpless college student with balloons. Mi-young squealed with excitement and pranced away to keep from being caught in the crossfire. Baekhyun shielded his face as he was assaulted with the water balloons, and after a volley of them he was drenched head-to-toe.

“Satisfied?” he sniffed as he reached up to pull his wet hair out of his eyes. Tao and Kris were definitely satisfied, as they were rolling around on the patio holding their stomachs while they howled with laughter. Mi-young began to fear that Baekhyun was angry, but he suddenly grinned devilishly and dashed off for the side of the house. “I’m gonna get you guys now!” he cried as he snatched up the water hose and flipped on the water. The hose kicked to life as he turned the nozzle, and a jet stream of water burst from the end. Tao and Kris cried out in alarm and scrambled to get away as Baekhyun turned the jet of water on his attackers, but the Baekhyun was too quick; they yelped as they were instantly soaked. Laughing once he was pleased with the result, Baekhyun turned off the water and grinned at them. “How do you like that, losers?” he cackled.

“Man, why didn’t we think of the water hose?” Tao whined as he wrung the water out of his shirt with pursed lips, but he soon smiled.

“Yeah, I know. He got us back good,” Kris sighed and tilted his head to drain some water out of his ear with a smile equally as bright as his companions. Mi-young was giggling, glad that everyone was having fun, but she gasped as Baekhyun dropped the hose and whirled on her with a devilish grin.

“Now it's your turn, Mi-young,” he said as he advanced on her, and with an elated squeal she took off toward the house in an attempt to escape whatever plans he had for her. Baekhyun caught up to her as she was trying to scramble into the back door of the house. She cried out as he grabbed her around the middle and picked her up clear off the ground.

“Baekhyun!” she laughed as she kicked her feet and grabbed at his arms, wriggling in an attempt to escape. Her whipped her around to carry her across the patio towards the pool. Once she realized what he was planning, she cried out and struggled harder, giggling uncontrollably. “Baekhyun! No! Lemme go!” she howled, but he just smirked down at her, keeping his hold.

“Did you think you were going to just lure me out here and not get punishment for it?” he laughed as he carted her over to the pool. “Think again!” he laughed before tossing her into the pool. As she landed in the chlorinated water, her tail formed and she felt her gills appear on her neck. As bubbles churned around her, she rolled onto her belly and propelled herself to the surface, spitting locks of her black hair from as her head broke the top of the water. She glared up at the man who had thrown her into the water, but she was smiling playfully.

“Are you happy now?” she laughed, then raised her eyebrows when she realized that Tao and Kris were sneaking up behind him. Blissfully unaware, Baekhyun crossed his arms and smirked down at her triumphantly.

“Yeah, I’m pretty happy,” he laughed heartily, then cried out as Kris gave him a rough shove in the back. He whirled his arms as he attempted to regain his balance, but despite his effort he tipped forward and stumbled into the pool. Mi-young hastily dashed out of the way, her massive tail churning the water as she watched Baekhyun plummet into the pool water. He popped up a second later, spitting out water. “You guys! I had my cell phone in my pocket!” he whined as he quickly pulled out the electronic device and tossed it to safety onto the grass. Tao and Kris laughed mischievously before setting their phones down on one of the small tables.

“Cannonball!” Kris whooped before running at the pool and leaping into the air, tucking his legs to his chest as he leaped into the water. He landed with a tremendous splash, and water washed over Baekhyun and Mi-young in the wake of his dramatic entry. Tao dove in after him, and they appeared on the surface of the water howling with laughter and shoving each other.

“Man! This prank was a great idea!” Tao snickered as he rolled onto his back and began paddled across the water.

“Says you!” Baekhyun sniffed and splashed him in the face with a smirk. “You were the one pulling the prank! I can't believe you guys dragged Mi-young into it, too! Using my weakness against me like that.” It was a harmless comment, but Mi-young smiled shyly as he referred to her as his weakness. He thinks that way of me, she thought giddily. Before any of them could say any more, the back door burst open and the rest of the boys came charging out of the house in a chorus of elated cries.

“Gang way! We're coming in!” Chanyeol howled as he led the charge for the pool, and the four inhabitants made a mad dash for the opposite end as the gaggle of boys paraded across the yard to leap into the pool. The water rocked with the massive disturbance, and the laughter rang in the air as the thirteen young adults splashed around in the water giddily. None of them had bothered to change into bathing suits, but that seemed not to bother them as they wrestled around and splashed water at one another. As Mi-young shielded her face from one of the playful assaults, she found herself thinking of home.

This is what it was like playing with my brothers, she recalled nostalgically. Similarly to this situation, Mi-young was the only daughter of a brood of children, in addition to being the youngest. Somehow, though, those outings did not seem as fun as cramming into the swimming pool with the group of idols. Still, the memory served to remind her of the undeniable truth.

I belong in the sea, and they all belong on land. Eventually, I’ll have to return home, and all I will have of them are these memories.

She did not want to be the one to sour such a fun time, so she steeled herself. I can't feel sad about it. I have to make the best of my time here! Trying to remain positive, she fired back at the boys who were splashing at her, grinning widely.

I have to enjoy this, because I want to remember my time on the land forever and ever…

I want to remember Baekhyun forever.