Even long after Mi-young had drifted off to sleep, Baekhyun remained painfully lucid. Like he had told the mermaid before, rest would not find him that night; his mind kept traversing the roads of recent memory, desperately seeking an absolution. Part of him still pitifully believed that it had been a matter of a choice wrongly made, that if he had not done so than the woman he loved so deeply would have been permitted to remain in the world. However, in his heart, he knew that not to be true. The truth of the matter was as it always had been- he was a human and she was not. Somewhere, somehow, this fact would have led to the same repercussions. Their star-crossed love was just that, a dream written in a constellation destined to disappear below the horizon. 

Mi-young murmuring something unintelligible pulled him from his melancholy introspection. As he looked down at the slumbering woman, he was, as he always was, struck by her unearthly beauty. The murky sky had cleared to allow the light of the moon and stars to reach her fair skin; it shone like the purest white silk. Baekhyun's fingertips tingled with the memory of it, gently caressing her trembling body and feeling the heat radiating from within. Her hair was spread across her like a blanket woven from ebony, threaded with strings of diamond as the thick strands caught the gleaming light. Her eyes were closed as she slept peacefully. Of all her divine features, Baekhyun loved her eyes the most, those deep pools of emotion that always swam with the love she felt for him. He reached up to gently sweep his hand across her soft cheek. The love she would feel forever but that he was forever barred from... 

Though he was loathe to part from it, he would treasure it while it was within his grasp. Just as she would do with his love.

Despite Baekhyun's desperate pleas for time to halt, it marched onward. It soon came upon the hour of Mi-young's departure. Beyond the locked bedroom door, he could hear his housemates stirring, their sleepy, shuffling footsteps and somber whispers driving away the quiet of the night. Baekhyun wrestled with himself for a moment, not wanting to awaken the contented girl but knowing that they were out of time. After settling his moral dilemma with the obvious conclusion, he grasped the mermaid's shoulder and shook her gently. 

"Mi-young." After a moment of firm shaking, her thick eyelashes fluttered open to reveal her oceanic eyes. For a moment, they were cloudy and still fogged with sleep, but gradually the dimness brightened into those clear, innocent eyes he adored. Her hand slid across his bare chest, settling over his heart. He took it in his hand, entwining their fingers togethed before bringing it to his lips to kiss her fingertips one by one. How he would miss those slender fingers that seemed to fit so perfectly between his own... He became so enthralled by them that he lost focus for a moment, and when he regained it he found that she was gazing up at him with a sad expression. 

"It's time, isn't it?" He nodded slowly, and with a soft sigh she sat up in the bed, holding the sheets to her chest while staring out the window. Baekhyun didn't have to venture a guess of what she was thinking about. After gazing outside for a minute or so, she silently slipped out of the bed to pull on her discarded clothes. Baekhyun did the same, and they both found with some level of mortification that their shirts and her bra were still lying in plain view on the living room floor. "Well, so much for some level of secrecy," the mermaid laughed with mildly pink cheeks. 

"Honestly, they would have asked me about it anyway," he chuckled back and retrieved replacements from the drawers of his dressers. Though the words were light-hearted, the tone was anything but. It was a struggle to avoid the elephant in the room. If it was mentioned, Baekhyun didn't know if either of them could bring themselves to do what needed to be done. 

The tension in the household was palpable. The normally rowdy bunch had been reduced to silent ghosts who flitted through the house, lost and soulless. Mute, they tied their shoes or just mulled about as Baekhyun and Mi-young entered the room. If they had taken notice of their shed articles of clothing, none of them mentioned it. They just watched the mermaid as she went about her business. None of them could find the words, not yet. 

The car ride to the beach was just as tortuous. Though it was a short drive, Baekhyun felt like it stretched on for an eternity. It was finally the endless time he had wished for, but he was not in the mood to enjoy it. The woman he held dear was rapidly being pulled away by the tide; he clung to her hand while she sat beside him, as if that would prevent her from being swept away from him. Her hand twitched as he rubbed rhythmic circles across her skin, and her fingers tightened around his own. Mi-young was just as hesitant to be carried off by the current as he was to allow her to be. 

Their feelings were irrelevant, though. Whether they wanted it to happen or not, Mi-young was going to leave. 

The beach was as empty as their hearts. A chill wind blew across it, depositing the fine sand particles into their clothes and hair. The only noise was the sound of the rolling waves crashing upon the shore; the despondent college students and the mermaid had not yet been able to find their words. They approached the surf, standing several feet back while Mi-young hovered just out of reach of the swirling waters. He could see her fighting, even now; every one of her muscles were tensed, and her fingers figdeted endlessly, tapping against her thighs or rubbing the fabric of her skirt. Her eyes were rigidly set on the horizon, or at least, what he thought was the horizon. It was difficult to distinguish, as the glittering night sky perfectly mirrored the moonlight playing across the beating waves. The wind swept across the beach again, ruffling her beautiful black hair. It was then that she turned to face them with a surprisingly warm smile. 

"Thank you for everything," she told them with a bow of her head. "I won't forget what all of you have done for me. It was short, but these last three months have been the best of my life. I won't forget them, or any of you," she promised, and when she raised her head, he could see the tears shining brightly on her cheeks. Though she was trying to be strong for their sakes, her body betrayed her. 

"Wah! Mi-young! Don't go!" Sehun howled and sprung forward to embrace her with a desperate hug. It prompted the rest of them to surge forward and wrap her in a massive group hug, and he could hear her gently crying between her joyful laughs. Baekhyun did not join in. He could not say his goodbyes, not yet... 

It took a few minutes for the young men to regain their composure, and, in various states of distress ranging from silently crying to miserably sobbing, they rejoined their friend in the sandy dunes. Baekhyun swallowed slightly as she looked at him expectantly. When she held out her hand, his body reacted automatically; his feet carried him to her, and his hand sought out that which was offered. Her other hand rose to his head to slip her fingers into his smooth locks of hair. All throughout the intimate moment, her eyes remained trained upon his own, sad yet resigned to their miserable fate. 

"None of this would have ever happened to me if I hadn't met you, Baekhyun." Her lips, those soft, kissable lips, were curled into a mournful smile. "I know I've caused you a lot of trouble-" 

"No," he interjected quickly, surprising her. "Despite everything, I'll never regret pulling you out of that tide pool, Mi-young." Even with all the chaos, all the close calls, there had been so much about this short time that had been worth it; he had gotten to see her learn about this world they took for granted, see her grow from a naïve, innocent girl to a wordly woman, and most importantly, fall in love with her. How could regret such an experience? Perhaps his only regret was that it had to come to an end. 

"And I'll never regret getting in that tide pool," she added with slight amusement. They remained there for a moment, merely gazing into each other's eyes. There was so much he wanted to say, words for an entire lifetime; yet, he could not bring them to his tongue. They were lodged in his throat, forming a thick, uncomfortable lump, along with the feelings that were bubbling up inside of him. With a swift jerk, he stumbled back from her and returned to stand with his friends. He bit down hard on his bottom lip to keep everything from spilling out, and kept telling himself that it was best that he not allow them to. It was better to leave things on a good note, that way he and Mi-young both could move on with their lives. It was less painful to believe it nothing more than a dream that they both needed to awake from, that it never would have worked out in the end and they weren't meant for each other at all... 

He kept telling himself that, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. 

A complicated look passed over Mi-young's face at his brusque refusal of her, but then her expression settled into one of painful acceptance. She dipped her head graciously to the twelve boys, most of who were still sniffling pathetically, and turned to once more face the ocean. Without caring to remove her clothes, she suddenly jumped forward to splash into the surf. With a blast of bright white light, her slender legs morphed into her glimmering, fan-finned tail, and after shielding his eyes from the intense light Baekhyun was able to catch a glimpse of her massive tail fin slapping the choppy water, sending droplets of sea foam and water skittering into the air. They were transformed into glittering diamonds as the moonlight hit their transluscent surfaces, sending rainbow light playing across the webbed membrane of her pale blue tail fin. It disappeared under the surface, and for a painful moment, he thought that was the last he would ever see of the beautiful girl. 

Then, about ten yards from the shore, her head broke the surface of the ocean. Her ebony hair caught the rays of the moonlight, causing it to shine silver; her white skin seem to absorb the light's glow, shining ephemerally, and her blue eyes shone like pure sapphires in the night. Bobbing in the water with her gaze firmly fixed on him, she wavered there, on the border of her world and his. She was hesitating. 

That hesitation broke the resolve that he had so firmly tried to cement. 

"Mi-young!" He shouted, and his friends all cried out in alarm and confusion when he ran forward to wade into the surf. He tilted his head back as the waves slapped at his chest, spraying his face with the cold, salty water, but he could care less. He could see her swimming toward him, those sapphire-like eyes a pair of beacons in the darkness of the night. 

Then suddenly it wasn't dark anymore. Baekhyun's hands flew to his eyes as light blasted across the horizon, settling in a pale white circle on the equally startled mermaid. In his alarm, he pressed his hands to his eyes, and the lingering salt water caused the sensitive flesh to burn terribly. In immense pain but desperate to see what was happening, he forced his eyes open and blinked repeatedly as he tried to make sense of his blurry vision. Over the crash of the waves, he could hear the roaring of a speedboat engine, and after a moment of struggling he could see it zooming across the water not far from where Mi-young was treading water, with a massive spotlight illuminating her fair form. The waves grew rougher from the boat's wake, and he coughed as the bitter water poured into his open mouth. "Mi-young! Run for it!" he screamed hoarsely at her. 

As the mermaid tried to dive under the surface, the boat shot right by her, and one of the men cast a massive net. He could hear Mi-young screaming as she became entangled within the thick woven ropes, and water flew in all directions as she thrashed angrily about. Blind though he was, Baekhyun gritted his teeth and swam frantically toward her, gasping for breath as he fought the relentless waves. Everything was a black-and-blue haze, but her screams for help were painfully clear. 

"Baekhyun! Baekyhun, help me!" His throat burned with the sting of coarse salt, and tears were pouring from his puffy red eyes, but he determinedly floundered forward. The foggy image of the boat was bebecoming more solid, and he could vaguely see several men hauling their prize into the boat. Just as her body hit the bottom of the boat with a heavy thump, his groping hands met the smooth side of the vessel. He latched onto the boat and attempted to pull himself up, groaning as his muscles strained to haul his drenched body into the boat. 

"Give her back! Give Mi-young back!" he snarled acidly. Fear had morphed into fury, and the adrenaline coursing through his veins gave him the strength to pull his torso over the side of the small speedboat. Mi-young was wrapped tightly in the weighted net, her massive tail flopping wetly against the boat's bottom. She was crying and pleading for him, and he reached over the edge of the boat to tug at the thick ropes. 

"What the hell are you doing? Get lost!" snapped one of the men, and Baekhyun's world rocked as he was punched savagely in the face. Thick blood began to pour from his nose, mingling with the streaming water, and he slipped down the side of the boat to splash roughly back into the water. His one hand remained firmly gripped on the boat's edge, while the rest of him lay suspended below the waves. His head broke the surface of the water for a moment before another wave crashed over him, making him cough and sputter violently. Weakened by the assault by both man and water, he nevertheless pulled himself back up again and grasped the net, desperately trying to rip it apart with his bare hands. "You-! I said get lost!" The man snapped, stomping over and snatching him up by the hair. He punched Baekhyun three times in the face, and between the crunching of his nose and the cracking of the man's knuckles, he heard Mi-young wailing in duress. This time, he lost all the strength in his body, and so when the man released him he reliquished his grip on the boat and fell back into the water. He didn't even have the strength to struggle back to the surface, and so just sank down into the darkness, eyes unfocused as they gazed at the surface. He watched as the water around the boat began to vibrate with energy, then turn into churning white foam as the boat sped off across the bay. 

I lost her. He had always claimed he would protect her, but when she had needed him most, he had failed her. The water was cold as it rushed around him, ruffling his clothes and hair like a gentle wind. He could see the dark red blood swirling in wispy strings in front of his face as it leaked from his busted nose. The light of the stars began to dwindled as he descended into the darkness. What did it matter now? She was gone, doomed to be the object of some aquarium exhibit and subject to tortuous scientific experiments, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. His eyes began to drift closed, unconsciousness sinking in as his lungs begged for oxygen. For a moment, her beautiful form materialized in front of him, that gorgeous black hair streaming around her like kelp waving in a water current, her soft skin made of moonlight itself, her blue eyes even bluer than the sea around him. In his delirium, he could feel her touch as she placed her hand on his cheek. "It's not over yet, Baekhyun."

No. No, it isn't. 

Bubbles exploded from his mouth and nose as he released the breath he had been holding, and streamed around his arms and legs as he whirled in the water. Though he was close to fainting, he forced his body to act, to propel him back to the surface. When his head was above the water, he in deep breaths, gulping down the air greedily for a minute before clenching his teeth and beginning the weary journey back to shore. He crawled on his hands and knees out of the surf, still coughing hoarsely as the waves crashes around him and the wet sand squelched between his fingers. Tears were still pouring from his eyes, but not from the salt anymore. He crawled a few more feet before his body finally gave out on him; he flopped into the powdery, dry sand, turning it dark as the liquid saturating his clothes puddled around him. Mi-young... 

"Baekhyun! Are you okay?" Chanyeol cried as he fell on his knees beside him and turned him over. The blood was hot on Baekhyun's cold and clammy face, and he felt like he had been crushed by a steamroller- but, he was alive, and so was she. 

"Mi-young," he croaked. He pushed a hand into the sand, attempted to push himself up, but only accomplished lifting himself a few centimeters before clumsily falling. His friends gathered around him, and with their help he managed to sit upright. He exploded into hacking coughs, and spent a minute expelling the salt water from his lungs before looking miserably at the shore. His eyesight was still blurred from the irritating salt water, but it was now like nothing had happened; the waves were beating calmly against the shoreline, with the light kaleidoscoping across the water. It was like the harrowing kidnapping had meant nothing to the sea. "Mi-young..." 

"We lost sight of them around the cliffs," Kai reported miserably. "They must've staked out the place and waited for us to try and turn her loose. Guess our damage control didn't do any good..."

"I wonder where they were from... An aquarium? A university or a lab? Even the government?" Lay fretted. 

"I don't care who they were," he muttered darkly. He dug his fingers into the sand as he narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. "They won't be able to keep their mouths shut for long. As soon as it all hits the news, it begins... We're taking Mi-young back!" 

It was his second chance- his second chance to say all the words unspoken, his second chance to make good on his promises, his second chance to make the mermaid his once and for all- and he wasn't going to waste. He didn't care anymore, if she wasn't human and he was. He didn't care if they had to hide from the world for the rest of their lives, if they were star-crossed or ill-fated or whatever. 

The universe had granted him this second chance, and maybe that counted for something. More than that, though, he loved her that ing much- to fight the world and everything in it. It wasn't a dream. They were meant to be. 

He didn't just believe it, he knew it. 

Wait for me, Mi-young. I'll save you, one last time.