The woman plunged underwater before the tides forced her down themselves, searching for her friend. Her heart banged against her chest, fear running a chill down her spine that the water could never accomplish, and the roaring caused by the thunder was distant when she found her. Her friend struggled inside the netting, attempting to move while pulling at the fabric with no sign of success. She was trapped.

With adrenaline and desperation coursing through her veins, the woman swam to her friend. She held onto her friend’s hand, giving it a hard squeeze, trying to reassure her that she wasn't about to abandon her. They pulled on the rope together and the woman did her best to hide her anxiety when they found that the net was too sturdy. She was at a loss on how to move forward from here.

She knew that a sharp object would free her friend, but she couldn’t risk leaving her. The woman couldn’t take her eyes off her friend for a second knowing that the boat still intended on taking her away, knowing that it would drive away if she left and she wouldn’t be able to catch up, knowing that her friend would be lost forever and the woman would be left with nothing but guilt.

Their actions were cut short when a harpoon was shot down between them and the woman recoiled back. The weapon missed her by an inch and she snatched the spear before it was pulled above shore. She sliced at the lattice, the tiny holes of the twine swiftly merging into one. Her friend wrestled free, her arms flailing against the water. The woman took the other’s wrist and they arose, heaving with their hair plastered on their faces.

“Byulyi!” the woman cried. The skies were black and she was only able to spot her friend’s distressed expression when a ripple of light struck the water in a distant place. “We need to go now!”

Byulyi nodded and raced the opposite direction of the boat, almost gliding, and the woman followed suit. A light appeared and followed their every movement and the woman turned around. She couldn’t make out the assailant, their silhouette dark against the ship’s beacon. “Damn it!” An idea popped in her head and it gave her mixed feelings of hope and dread. “We need to split up!”

“What?” Byulyi’s voice raised in worry, the approaching ship’s motor almost making her statement muffled. “We can’t! What if—”

“What if they get us both?” the woman blurted out. “We need to confuse them and hide.”

Byulyi’s head moved to gawk at her, obviously not liking the plan. The woman noticed that Byulyi’s face was paler than usual. She couldn’t tell if it was simply because of the beam or because she was scared.

They were both aware that the boat was gaining on them. “We’ll find each other if anything happens,” she reassured her. “Just trust me.”

Biting her lip, Byulyi nodded. “Fine,” she said.

“On the count of three, I go to the left and you go to the right.” She paused when another crack of lightning resounded, blocking out even the boat’s engine.

One. The attacker readied their harpoon, securing their stance. Two. They squinted, focusing on the two women that continued to flee. Three. The spear soared, the air whooshing past the seafarer’s ears as it slipped past their fingertips.

“Now!” The duo scattered and went their separate ways as fast as their bodies could take them.

The assailant faltered when the spire made contact with water rather than anything solid. They reeled their weapon back and promptly pressed the brakes, causing the sea to skid in waves in front of the vehicle. For the first time, they gasped for air as if they were the one that was drowning. They had no time to think, the answer would be gone by then.

Rays aimed their attention on the woman, making her realize that the sailor aimed for her now. She didn’t feel like herself. She was so tired, so unfocused. Exhaustion botched her perception as if she was watching the scene play out from a haven she wasn’t aware existed.

Her senses heightened all at once, her eyes shot open, when the spear pierced her skin. She screamed.

“No!” Byulyi cried. She called out the woman’s name, but it came out as white noise for the latter. She only felt pain, pain, pain, pain— The metal was yanked and a shrill the woman didn’t know she could muster formed in the back of . It lurched her back for a moment, but then slipped out of her and she felt blood rushing out of her body.

She shut her eyes and dove, swimming as fast as she could even if it seemed pointless. What else could she have done? The wound kept her going, reminding her that she was still being hunted, reminding her that she couldn’t die yet. She advanced aimlessly. All she knew was that she had to escape the light.

The woman kept paddling, crossing the waters. She was afraid to open her eyes at the risk of knowing that the ship was on her tail this entire time and she clung onto hope for nothing. Her head spun and begged her to stop, but she didn’t listen.

Her body crashed into stone and the wound— the world was forgotten momentarily, instead fixating on the ache pulsing in her head and her arms and her torso.

When she emerged from the water and grasped the rock, the woman dared to peel open her eyes. She was alone with the currents and the darkness. There was no sailor to chase her. There was no Byulyi to comfort her.

The storm was able to compose itself, offering a simple drizzle rather than the roars of thunder and wind. Her heart remained beating rapidly in her chest as she wheezed. She closed her eyes and didn’t want to open them again. Her grip on the ragged stone loosened, her consciousness drifting away.

______________________________________________________________________________

Defeated, Wheein allowed a sigh to slip out of her lips. The dreadful weather took a toll on her roof, scattering holes in its wake. The storms in the past had been merciful to her home and she made a mistake in believing that would be the case everytime. The extra funds that Wheein was excited to earn vanished along with bits of her ceiling when she made a stop to the hardware store.

However, she wasn’t disheartened by this. If anything, she grew determined. The storm made her goal farther away, but nothing was able to stop her from fulfilling it.

Besides, Wheein could make up the losses from her jar by working in Janghyun’s general store like she always did.  

The bell chimed as the door was pulled open and Wheein yawned as she stepped inside. She saw that there was no customers as she rolled her joints.

“I’ll be right with you!” a voice exclaimed. The owner sounded friendly and seemed like a morning person unlike Wheein.

She walked to the counter and picked up a souvenir with no intention of buying it. The globe was a miniature version of the island, full of bridges and boats. She didn’t picture anyone buying it anytime soon. The townspeople knew the island as if it was printed on the back of their hands.

Wheein placed the momento back in its display case and peered at the wall in front of her. Pictures of Yongsun hung on the wall, some of her simply posing in front of the city lights and others of her embracing strangers. They looked important. Yongsun looked important, but she was in the island with everyone else. Wheein didn’t understand.

“Oh, Wheein!” Yongsun stepped out of the break room, her smile as bright as her blonde hair. “I see that you got a haircut.”

“Ah, yeah—” Wheein stammered, brushing her bangs subconsciously. “I wanted a change.”

Yongsun hummed, putting a hand on her hip. “It looks nice on you.”

Wheein scratched her cheek, embarrassed.

Besides the traders that came from the sea and the fishermen that searched for food, islanders only hitched a boat ride to leave and never come back. Even then, that situation rarely occurred. Nobody set foot on this island and intended on staying. Unless you were Yongsun.

Yongsun’s arrival was sudden and quiet. In fact, the civilians were unaware of her presence until she entered Janghyun’s shop and asked if he was hiring. Because he was too kind and stressed about what would happen to her, he accepted her without any hesitation.

People flocked to the shop and asked her questions when they took their wares to the counter. Yongsun would always smile and she answered the same thing everytime: she was a singer and didn’t plan on returning to the city. Everyone soon realized that she didn’t want to talk about her past so they settled for asking general questions of what the city was like, which Yongsun gladly responded.

Wheein couldn’t fathom why Yongsun refused to reveal her past until the day she was almost taken away. It was the main topic of gossip for about a month. A woman that wore attire Wheein had only seen in old magazines barged into Janghyun’s store and snatched Yongsun by the wrist, demanding that she come back to Seoul. She complained that the news wouldn’t stop talking about her sudden retirement, that the fans wouldn’t stop mourning, that the company wouldn’t stop panicking because they lost their biggest star. She dragged Yongsun into the harbor and insisted that they leave as soon possible.

Wheein remembered how Yongsun offered a soft smile though the way she took back her hand from the woman was rough. She looked at the woman calmly and paid no mind to the onlookers, hissing, “I’m staying here and nothing will change my mind.”

It didn’t make sense, no matter how many times Wheein replayed the scene in her head. Why did she prefer the island to the city? Who would want to stay in this island?

“So what do you want to buy?” Yongsun asked, bringing Wheein back into attention.

“I was actually wondering if I could work here today,” Wheein said. “If you needed help, that is.”

Yongsun raised her eyebrows. “Wow, again? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take a break, Wheein.”

She stuffed her hands in her pockets and shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a workaholic.”

Shaking her head, Yongsun gave a small smile. “Now that you mention it,” she said. “Janghyun was brooding over how some of the rental canoes disappeared after the storm. Most likely, the rope snapped off and they floated away.”

“I can go look for them,” Wheein suggested. “Some are bound to have washed up at the beach, right?”

Yongsun nodded. “Sounds like a plan,” she said, watching Wheein grin and walk towards the entrance. “Hold on a moment.”

Wheein blinked, her hand holding the door handle, and turned to Yongsun. “What’s up?”

“When you’re done, do me a favor and stop by the restaurant tonight.” Yongsun tilted her head as she crossed her arms. “Relax for once, hear me sing.”

“I don’t know.” Wheein rubbed the back of her neck. “I have to watch Ggomo and what if—”

“The food will be on me,” Yongsun deadpanned.

“I’ll be there,” Wheein replied. The swiftness of her answer caught Yongsun off guard, her eyes crinkling as she laughed.

Wheein skipped along the shoreline, thinking that the storm last night did a number on the beach. Broken planks scattered on the sand, drenched. Broken bottles were buried and filled to the brim. It wouldn’t be long before new boards were nailed onto the harbor. It would have caused a bigger commotion if storms like this weren’t so common here. It was the same as any other routine that happened in the island.

Her eyes picked up the sight of a stray canoe ahead of her and Wheein grinned. That didn’t take long at all. Wet sand picked up as she ran down the beach, trying to reach the small boat. She froze when she spotted red in the corner of her eye. Her heels buried into the sand and created hills as she skidded to a stop. “What?” she asked herself.

Ambling closer, Wheein went on her knees to inspect the unusual terrain. The sand was discolored, stained in a heavy, dark red. It reminded Wheein of blood. She was about to brush it off, tell herself that a drunkard probably hurt themselves with a bottle, but then saw another speck of red. And then she saw another. And another. There was a trail of red, gradually becoming larger until it stopped behind a large stone. It was next to the canoe.

Wheein gulped, standing up slowly. It was nothing, she told herself. She edged towards the canoe, her feet dragging and leaving two dark lines. It must have been a paint can that someone lost. It must have been the result of a seagull flying away with its fresh catch. It couldn’t have been a dead—

She yelled, falling back and crashing into the soft ground. She lifted her head, scrambling away as she took in the sight. Red— god, there was so much red— coated the side of the canoe and the woman that laid beside it. Wheein’s eyes trailed down to see where all the blood came from and that’s when she saw the flicker of gold, her gaze trailing down to the pierced tail attached to the woman’s abdomen. This was unlike anything Wheein had ever witnessed in the island.

Wheein didn’t know whether the nausea in her stomach was plain fear, a sign that she was going to hurl, or if she was going to faint. Was she drunk? Did she ended up going to the pub with Chandong and Hyunkyu after all?

She heard ragged breathing coming from the woman. Wheein glanced up to find her face contorted in pain, clumps of dark blue hair clinging to her forehead.

Wheein realized that she had to help this woman— mermaid, or whatever the injured person was. She looked between the canoe and the unconscious woman before making a decision that would change her life.
_________
[Author's Note:] The main characters' appearences are based on the Decalcomanie era.