Mi-young tried to wait patiently on the couch like Baekhyun had instructed, she really did; however, with all the fascinating objects surrounding her, the temptation was simply too much. Within ten minutes of seeing the car retreat from the driveway and disappear down the street, Mi-young had jumped off of the couch and begun exploring the massive structure. She began in the living room, instantly drawn to the square contraption against the wall. Her fingers ran over the smooth circular buttons on its surface, and she began pressing them, curious as to what they did. None of them seemed to have a function, however, until she pressed one with a circular symbol, and suddenly the contraption burst into life. She fell backwards with a startled cry as the black square made of smooth glass became illuminated with a million different colors. Mi-young reached out to touch it, and her fingers tingled with static electricity. The human figures within the screen talked, but they didn’t seem to acknowledge Mi-young’s presence, as if they couldn’t see her. She pressed the button again and the screen died, and she decided that she would ask Baekhyun about the strange contraption later. She rose from the carpeted floor, rubbing her behind tenderly, before glancing around for another human creation to mess with.

He eyes fell on the kitchen, with its checkered tile floors and strange machines, and her curious feet carried her into the room. She found herself in front of the giant machine, much taller than her, with a pair of double doors with handles on them. She pulled the door on the right open and was instantly blasted by a barrage of cold air. Inside seemed to be a collection of food items, with interesting aromas that spilled into Mi-young’s nose. She reached into the cold machine, taking a bright red round article with shiny skin and small stem sticking out from the top. After analyzing the strange fruit for a moment, she clamped her teeth into it and broke away a piece of the succulent fruit, chewing it thoroughly as the juice seeped into her tongue. It was sweet, much sweeter than anything the mermaid have ever tasted, and she continued to nibble on it as she migrated through the house.

She wandered into a small room with a multitude of white contraptions in it. She turned the knob of one attached to the wall, a smooth white bowl with silver knobs and a tube, and water poured from the tube and splashed into the bowl. It disappeared in a small opening in the base, and Mi-young flipped the knob again and searched for something more interesting. She walked over to the other contraption, another structure with a bowl, and pushed down on the level; the water in the bowl suddenly swirled, disappearing down the exit with a load roaring. Captivated, she pushed the lever several times before it got old. She poked at the soft, plush material in a roll attached to the wall beside it, rolling out the sheets until the entire thing had been emptied, and she rubbed the substance against her cheek. She jumped as she heard the front door open, and she hurriedly took off running down the hallway. She dove onto the couch, situating herself as if she had never left.

“Baekhyun?” she asked expectantly, then frowned when she realized it was the tall boy from the beach who had discovered them when Baekhyun was attempting to return her to the sea. He jumped, startled by her sudden declaration, then smiled softly at her.

“Oh, hey!” he cried, walking over to her. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. Where did Baekhyun go?” he asked. Mi-young carefully reviewed the tediously rehearsed story the she had been instructed to give.

“Baekhyun went to get me some clothes. He took me to the hospital, and they discovered that I have amnesia. No one claimed me, so he took me back here in the meantime,” she explained slowly, making sure she got the details right before she repeated them.

“Oh, I see. I asked around the beach for you, but I couldn’t find anyone who knew you. Amnesia, huh? You must have hit your head really hard!” he frowned, taking a seat next to her on the couch. Mi-young pulled the towel closer around herself, suddenly self-conscious about the fact that her lower half was now totally exposed.

“Yes, that’s what happened,” Mi-young agreed uncertainly.

“So do you remember your name?” he inquired.

“Oh, yes! My name is Mi-young!” she cried. “Sorry, it was rude of me not to introduce myself,” she added in embarrassment. The boy laughed, waving a hand dismissively at her.

“No, don’t worry about it! I’m Chanyeol,” he responded. “So, you’re going to be staying here?”

“That’s what it seems like. Baekhyun was very nice to offer his home up to me,” she smiled. She narrowed her eyes in confusion as the boy suddenly exploded into laughter. He continued to giggle for a few minutes before he settled down, wiping tears away from his eyes. “What’s so funny, if you don’t mind me asking?” she inquired.

“Oh, it’s just that this is going to get really interesting in, oh, about thirty seconds,” he mused. Mi-young blinked in bewilderment, but he simply gestured to the front door. Mi-young peered over the top of the fabric structure as it suddenly burst open, and a crew of boys streamed in through the door, babbling incomprehensibly. They congregated in the hallway, continuing to chatter, until one of them spotted Mi-young and violently nudged the boy next to him in the ribs. He hissed and turned to begin giving the boy a piece of his mind until his eyes landed on the mermaid, and soon all ten of them were staring wide-eyed at the beautiful maiden perched on their couch.

“Hello,” she called shyly, and the boys suddenly covered their mouths in shock and starting whispering to each other, as if they were stunned that such a gorgeous girl would ever stoop so low as to speak to them.

“Guys, this is Mi-young. She’s Baekhyun’s lady friend,” he grinned stupidly. “Now, come over here and introduce yourselves!” he cried. The boys cried out in alarm, suddenly scrambling over each other to get to the beautiful girl first. One of them reached out, grabbing her hand and kissing it charmingly.

“Well, aren’t you beautiful?” he purred. “My name is Kai.” Before Mi-young could respond, another boy, with fair features and dark hair, shoved Kai aside and waved awkwardly.

“Hello! I’m Xiumin! Want to see a magic trick?” he beamed and suddenly pulled something from beneath his sleeve. A bouquet of strange anemones appeared in his hand, and with a delightful smile he held them out to her. Mi-young took them and sniffed them, delighted at the sweet aroma.

“Wow! They smell so good!” she beamed at Xiumin. He raised his eyebrows, chuckling awkwardly at the strange remark.

“Of course they do. They’re flowers!” he responded.

“Flowers…” Mi-young echoed, running her fingers over the fronds of the flowers. They didn’t sting like anemone tentacles did, but were delicate and soft, smooth to the touch. The boys were all gazing at her strangely now, their gazes shifting between each other as they attempted to discern what could possibly be wrong with the strange female.

“Mi-young has amnesia,” Chanyeol cut in to explain. “She can’t remember a lot of things. Luckily, she can remember her name, though.” Mi-young stirred, nodding eagerly at the proposed explanation. The boys all seemed to buy the excuse, and continued to introduce themselves. She met Suho and Sehun, who lived in the same room and were quite the pair of sweet boys; Chen, who was relatively quiet, and Lay, who barely said anything at all; D.O., who was Kai’s roommate and Tao, who enjoyed pranks; Kris, another tall boy who Mi-young thought seemed very prince-like; and Luhan, a shy boy who liked to play with strange things called “videogames.” It was quite a lot to take in, and Mi-young was quite overwhelmed by the time all of the introductions were finished with.

“It’s very nice to meet you all!” Mi-young smiled at the ten boys, who were still gathered around the couch and staring dreamily at her.

“So, are you going to be staying here or something?” Kai asked with a slight frown, cocking his head to the side. “I mean, you said that your family didn’t come to get you… I’m sure you have no place to go, right? Since you don’t remember?”

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “Baekhyun will decide what to do, I’m sure.” She suddenly became immensely sad. It was wonderful that she had the opportunity to explore the human world, with its strange contraptions and kind people, but her heart still longed to once again be swimming free beneath the ocean waves. She missed her family, and missed her home. A single tear slipped from her eye and rolled down her cheek, slowly and silently. The boys suddenly erupted into a cacophony, all of them shoving Kai and scolding him profusely.

“Dude! Not cool! You made her sad!” D.O. yelled.

“Apologize!” Tao demanded with his arms crossed. Under the onslaught of all his angry housemates, Kai managed to squeak, “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t worry!” Mi-young cried, hurriedly waving her arms to dispel the negative emotions. “I guess I was just missing my family…”

“I hope you find them soon,” Lay frowned quietly. “Although, it would be such a shame to see you go,” he added in a whisper. The other boys nodded in agreement, releasing a collective sigh as they once more marveled at the girl’s beauty. Mi-young blushed beneath all of the attention, shifting uncomfortably under their gaze. All of the boys suddenly jumped as the front door was thrown open and Baekhyun stormed in, panting with his face red as if he had been running. A paper bag was bundled in his arms, and he stared in mild shock at all of his housemates gathered around the mermaid like a pack of groupies.

“Um. So I see you’ve met Mi-young,” he swallowed, straightening himself up and attempting to look dignified. Mi-young instantly brightened when she saw the man standing in the doorway, and she hopped off of the couch to run over to him. The boys seemed very disappointed at the blatant display of affection, muttering to themselves and glaring jealously at Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun! You’re back!” she cried, then peered curiously into the bag. “Are these my clothes?” she asked, pulling at the fabric on top. She stretched it out, revealing a pair of lacy underwear. While she was pondering the function of such a small garment, Baekhyun snatched it out of her hand and hurriedly stuffed it back into the bag, his face once again returning to a bright shade of red.

“Ahem,” he coughed, shifting uncomfortably under the judgmental gazes of his housemates. “Yes, these are,” he answered. Suddenly Mi-young’s stomach growled hungrily, and she glanced down at it, pressing a hand against her belly.

“Oh,” she murmured in embarrassment, her cheeks turning pink. “I haven’t eaten in a while,” she added bluntly, looking up at Baekhyun. He couldn’t resist but laugh at the girl’s cuteness, and gestured for her to follow as he walked into the kitchen. He set the bag of clothes down on the counter, then began rummaging through the cabinets to find the mermaid something to eat. The pack of boys followed like wounded dogs, highly envious of all the attention Mi-young was giving Baekhyun. She was glued to his hip as he searched through the various articles of food trying to find her something.

“This ought to tide you over, at least until we can get you out of here,” he remarked, handing her a bag of potato chips. She stared down at the strange container, poking at it and feeling the air inside move around, before blushing when Baekhyun grabbed the edges and pulled to open the bag. She reached inside to pluck a thin, wafer-like piece of food from the bag, holding it up to admire its incredibly thin structure. She then popped into , recoiling from the unexpected saltiness.

“Wait, Mi-young is leaving?” Xiumin cried suddenly. He pouted alongside the rest of the boys as they stared sadly at Mi-young. “Already? She just got here…”

“Yes. We’re going to the police station to see if anyone has reported her missing. If so, then she will be going home,” Baekhyun explained matter-of-factly.

“What if no one has?” D.O. asked with his eyebrows raised.

“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out,” he responded, with his eyes narrowed as an indicator that the conversation was over. Mi-young continued to nibble on the chips throughout the entire exchange, popping the flaky food items in and continuing to be enthralled by the satisfying crunch they gave when she bit down on them. She decided to remain silent rather than questioning what a police station actually was, and smiled adorably when Baekhyun turned to look at her.

“These chips are really good,” she remarked as she popped another into . He glanced down into the bag, sighing heavily when he discovered that she had demolished nearly half of it.

“I think you’ve had enough. You’re not supposed to eat that much,” he chuckled before taking the bag and carefully folding the top over a few times to seal it. Mi-young watched sadly, wiping salt off of her lips as he stored the delicious chips back in the wooden cabinet. He turned back to her with a determined expression. “Alright, now to get you changed.” Mi-young glanced down at herself. She was still in the silky mermaid top with the towel wrapped loosely around her waist.

“I wouldn’t mind if she stayed in that towel a little longer,” Chanyeol mused, yelping when D.O.’s palm collided with the back of his head. He glared at the other boy, rubbing his head tenderly.

“Don’t be a ert, dude,” D.O. frowned with his arms crossed.

“Yeah, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun frowned deeply, snatching the paper bag off of the counter and walking past the crowd of boys down the hallway. Mi-young followed him curiously, giggling as the boys scrambled after her. “Stay in the kitchen!” Baekhyun yelled hotly at them, and with unhappy grumbles they all marched back to the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets and refrigerator for food while they waited for the beautiful girl to return.

Baekhyun glanced back at Mi-young as she followed behind him. She was a kind enough girl, but all the stress of dealing with the problems associated with secretly harboring a mermaid (who knew there were so many) were giving him quite the headache. He was quite eager to return her to the sea, and return once more to his peaceful life of studying tide pools.

Besides, he just didn't like the way all the other boys were staring at her.