"Help!" the fisherman cried out in panic. He screamed continuously but his cries became softer as the poor man started to drown in the sea.

"Father!" 

"My daughter!" The fisherman wailed, trying his best to get a grip of his daughter, but it was all in vain.

Hearing the word "daughter" snapped Taeyeon out of her anger and back into reality.  

She soon realised what she had done. She was a murderer.

Her mother had never taught Taeyeon such things.

-

"Mommy, will I be a great ruler in the future?" a young Taeyeon asked her mother, the Sea Queen, as the ruler gently closed the book in her lap. She had just finished reading a story to Taeyeon.

It was something that didn't always happen as the Taeyeon's mother was usually busy fulfilling her royal duties as the Sea Queen, but when it did happen, it made Taeyeon happy.

"Yes, you'll be one." The Queen responded  while smiling and gently patted Taeyeon's head.

"How do you know, Mommy?"

"Because our Taeyeon has a kind heart. Only kind creatures become great rulers."

"Really?" 

"Yes, Taeng as long your heart is kind." The Queen said and placed her hand on Taeyeon's heart.

"I promise I will." Taeyeon smiled happily.

-

Taeyeon jumped into the deep sea and managed to grab the fisherman's daughter and soon the father himself. She placed the two humans on the shore, far enough that the sea wouldn't drag them back into the water.

"Thank God." Taeyeon murmured after ensuring that both of them were alive. They were unconscious, but still alive nonetheless. She quickly made her back to the sea before those human beings woke up.

"I'm sorry." Taeyeon apologised in her heart.

-

Feeling guilty for making Jessica suffer and having a scar that would ruin her life forever, Tiffany decided to visit her other best friend for help.

Kim Taeyeon. The future sea crown.

It was to believed that only the Sea God possessed a garden of golden seaweed which could cure anything. If the story was true, it might be able to heal Jessica's scar. 

With hopes of helping Jessica in her heart, Tiffany swam her way towards Taeyeon's castle.

-

"Hi TaeTae." Tiffany greeted as she popped her head inside of Taeyeon's room. She saw that Taeyeon was lying on her stomach and reading a book. Taeyeon didn't look like the future sea crown at that moment. She looked like a normal girl, spending time indulging in one of her hobbies; not someone that was destined to rule over the sea once the King stepped down from the throne.

Tiffany was glad that they were friends. If only the other sea creatures knew how gentle and kind hearted Taeyeon really was instead of believing she was just like her father.

"Fany! What brings you here?" Taeyeon asked while smiling. She gestured her best friend to sit down beside her on the bed.

That smile with a cute dimple on the side cheek always made Tiffany blush. Taeyeon was such an adorable creature in her eyes.

Tiffany knew that asking the question on her mind might be a burden because it wad related to Taeyeon's family, but even so, she still felt like it was something that needed to be done. 

Jessica needed help and Taeyeon was the only one who could provide help.

"I'm...actually here to ask if you could get me some golden seaweed?"

"Are you sick?" Taeyeon asked with wide eyes and began to panic. She immediately started scanning Tiffany to see her best friend to check on her well being. Tiffany had never asked anything from Taeyeon and it seemed like this was a serious matter.

"No. I'm fine. It's actually for my best friend." Tiffany replied as she looked into Taeyeon's eyes with sincerity, hoping Taeyeon would see it.

"I thought I was your best friend?" Taeyeon teased which earned a light smack from Tiffany.

"You're my best friend too, TaeTae. But Jessi needs it."

"I'm sorry. You do know the garden is guarded by my brother right? Only he has access to it." Taeyeon apologised, feeling useless.

"It's alright. I understand, TaeTae. I'll go now." Tiffany said hugging Taeyeon for the last time, ensuring the shorter girl she wasn't mad as she swam out of the door.

Even though Tiffany reassured her, Taeyeon couldn't help but feel guilty.

-

Taeyeon decided to take a swim around the sea to clear her mind after not being helpful to Tiffany.

While Taeyeon was swimming, she didn't realise she arrived at the end of the sea: the cursed place. Wanting to swim back, Taeyeon heard a melodious voice singing nearby. Curious, she followed the voice and discovered a cave.

A smile formed on Taeyeon's face after realising who the voice belonged to: it was the same Goddess that she encountered a few days ago. The Goddess was sitting on a rock inside the cave, beading something in her hands which Taeyeon thought looked like a pearl necklace.

Taeyeon felt a strong urge to talk to the Goddess. She decided that she wasn't going to act like a coward and continued the next verse of the song which caused the Goddess to jolt in surprise. The pearls on the necklace came falling down as soon as the other girl swam away from Taeyeon.

"No, please don't leave." Taeyeon pleaded  as she swam forward and picked up the necklace.

"P-please don't come near me." The Goddess said shakily, voice cracking.

"Why?"

"Because I have a scar and that makes me ugly." 

Taeyeon shook her head. The Goddess wasn't ugly in her eyes. She never was.

"No you're  not." Taeyeon assured the Goddess.

"Really?"

"Yes and you have a beautiful voice too." Taeyeon continued while smiling, hoping to comfort the other girl. It worked because she seemed to feel a bit more relaxed by Taeyeon's comforting words. 

There was something about Taeyeon that made Jessica feel calm.

"Thank you." 

"There's no need to thank me. I was just telling the truth." Taeyeon replied with a laugh. "We didn't have a chance to introduce ourselves yet. My name is Taeyeon. What's yours?"

"It's Jessica."

"It's such a nice weather isn't it? Would you like to sit with me, Jessica?" Taeyeon asked while patting the space beside her. 

Jessica gladly obliged.

"The weather really is nice today. If only your Sea God wasn't so unstable." Jessica said, not knowing Taeyeon was actually the future Sea King.

"Ahahaha! I'm sure they have their reasons." Taeyeon replied. She was glad that she could actually talk normally to another sea creature. Usually they would feel intimidated by her since she was royalty and would be too terrified to speak. 

Thankfully Taeyeon decided earlier to leave her heavy crown and trident back in the castle so she would be able to swim freely. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to talk to Jessica casually like this.

"Whatever the reason is, they should had informed us sea creatures first. Even the blue guy in my place does it." Jessica complained while puffing out her cheeks in frustration.

Taeyeon chuckled slightly seeing Jessica's cute side.

"Blue guy?" 

Taeyeon was curious about who this "blue guy" person was. He must have been special that Jessica looked up to him. A little hint of envy build up in Taeyeon.

"Poseidon." Jessica answered and soon both of them were laughing together like they had been friends for ages.

"What are you making?" 

"A pearl necklace for Mrs.Hwang."

"Mrs. Hwang? The Mermaid Queen?" Now Taeyeon was sure that familiar pink tail she saw earlier was actually Tiffany and she smacked herself for not remembering that only Tiffany had a pink tail because she was a Princess. If Tiffany knew this, she would be so mad at Taeyeon for not remembering her unique features, especially after twenty years of friendship.

"Yes, you know her?" Jessica asked, curious. She was focusing on Taeyeon. Her beautiful brown eyes almost made the girl melt.

"Yes I do actually-"

"Oh you must be one of the servants then?" Jessica interrupted. 

Taeyeon nodded in agreement. She couldn't tell Jessica who she really was yet. It seemed that Jessica wasn't fond of the Sea King. 

Maybe Taeyeon should tell Jessica in the future if their friendship was to ever make progress.

"I'm sure Mrs.Hwang will love it." Taeyeon complimented while smiling at Jessica's amazing skill. 

"Yes. I hope so. I was lucky enough to find these pearls nearby and wanted to give her this as surprise a few days ago. but..." 

Taeyeon was confused. Why did Jessica suddenly stop talking?

"But...?" Taeyeon asked.

 Jessica sighed.

"I got hurt. Your God made the sea turn violent and caused a boat to crash. A wooden log landed on me while I was picking up some pearls." Jessica explained while showing Taeyeon her scar.

Taeyeon flinched. She felt bad earlier because she couldn't help Tiffany out, but felt even worse after realizing that she was the one responsible for hurting Jessica. If only Taeyeon was thinking clearly that day, she wouldn't have caused others to get hurt.

"I'm sorry." Taeyeon apologised. 

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. You didn't do anything. It's just that your Sea God is evil."

Evil?

Taeyeon had never felt this bad before in her life. Her family now had a new title attached to their name. 

Evil.

What could Taeyeon do to change Jessica's mind about her family?