Baekhyun fidgeted, leaning his weight from one leg to another while his hands rested on the wheel. Earlier on, Suho had tasked him to steer the ship. He gladly cooperated, but after the last few hours of being stared at he wished he never agreed. It was easy sailing at first, but now that Minyeo was openly oogling him he felt uneasy. It doesn’t help that anyone he asked refused to stay with him. Even Sehun who would do anything for him, turned back as soon as he saw what was happening. He felt completely cornered.

He continued to try and ignore her presence for a little longer and finally got fed up. “Did you need something?” He directed the question to her but did not dare look her way. When she said nothing, he patiently waited a few moments for a reply but got none. “If you have nothing to say, will you leave? I can’t concentrate on steering the ship with your eyes constantly looking my way.”

“It did not used to be that way.”

Baekhyun sighed, now would be a good time to address their relationship. He’s been avoiding her and refused to let her sleep in his room. “Listen, I know you must feel betrayed—“

“Yes, I do. You are throwing away five years of our lives,” she interrupted him.

“So I’ve heard, but I have absolutely no recollection of you and those five years,” he told her bluntly. 

“That’s okay, I can wait for you to remember. Just stop pushing me away,” Minyeo pleaded with watery eyes. 

“I’m sorry, but I am loyal to another woman. She is the one I love. If five years have definitely passed, then I owe her an apology.”

“That woman, she is the one who did this to you. She is the one who made you forget. She is just trying to take you away from me!” Minyeo shouted.

“Jinju did nothing wrong,” Baekhyun raised his voice a little since the wind has gotten quite loud.

“Yes she did. It was after she healed you that you became this way!”

While she was screaming at him, Baekhyun noticed the wind blowing on the sails become turbulent. He looked up to see dark clouds looming overhead. His heart pumped faster with urgency. He turned back to Minyeo, having not heard anything she had just shouted. “Minyeo, let’s talk some other time. A storm is coming soon. You should go back inside. I have a feeling it will get very rough.”

“No, we will talk about this now. You are just trying to avoid me again. Maybe if I take away that crystal she’s given you, you’ll be back to normal,” she reached out for him but Baekhyun slapped her hand away.

“Are you trying to kill me now? I tolerated your attitude because I know I’ve hurt you. But you are never to touch me or this crystal. Now go back inside,” he firmly told her. 

She recoiled away from his reprimand. “I’m sorry Baekhyun, I did not mean to do that,” she apologized, her eyes filled with remorse.

“Just go,” he said with a voice devoid of emotion. 

Out of nowhere, a strong force hit the side of the ship causing Minyeo to fall to the ground before she could reach the door. Baekhyun was able to maintain his balance. Unfortunately, he did it with help from the wheel. Although this would have been alright on any other day, the high winds and rough seas caused the boat to lean on one side making Minyeo slide, the railings the only thing keeping her from plunging into the ocean. 

“Baekhyun!” She screamed out for him when the ship went over a huge wave.

“Just hold on tight!”

The door leading inside banged and Suho came out yelling, “What’s going on here? Did we hit something.”

“I don’t think so. We’re in the middle of the ocean, do you really think there’s anything out there that we would have hit?” As soon as Baekhyun said that, a force stronger than earlier hit the ship on the same side. This time Baekhyun wasn’t so lucky and he was thrown to the floor along with Suho. 

The wheel was spinning freely until someone appeared out of nowhere and took a hold of it. “Kai! Where are the others? The main sail needs to be lowered,” Suho asked.

“We’re here, we’re here,” Chanyeol burst out the door along with the others. 

“Take the helm and everyone else, lower the sails,” Suho commanded after standing successfully. 

“Where did this storm come from?” Chen yelled over the wind.

“Don’t know, it just came out of nowhere. The sky was clear for miles just a little while ago,” Baekhyun told him from behind as they pulled on the ropes to lower the sails.

As soon as they were done tying the sails up, Baekhyun leaned against the railing and looked down into the water. “What are you doing? That’s really dangerous,” Chen scolded him and pulled him up by the back of his shirt. “You could fall overboard.”

“Yah! Look there,” Baekhyun pointed in shock. Something in the distance was causing the water to part and it looked like it was quickly heading straight for them. 

“Chanyeol!” Chen yelled out. “Move the boat, quickly.”

 “I’m trying to, but the waves are not making it easy.”

“It’s coming, it’s coming,” Baekhyun said before moving to the other side of the boat, close to where Minyeo was clinging to the railings.

They all waited with bated breath for the collision, but nothing happened. They all looked to the ship’s left side and whatever it was that they had seen was no longer there. 

“BAEKHYUN!” Minyeo’s voice rang out. 

When everyone turned around, they caught a glimpse of a deformed mermaid pulling Baekhyun overboard.

~~~*~~~

When Jinju came into work on the tenth day, she felt like she should be going home instead. The past few days she hasn’t been feeling well. Agori told her to stay in bed, but she knew they needed the income. Agori was a fisherman. Some days he would get a big catch, but other times he’d come back with nothing. No matter how little money her dishwashing job got her, it made the difference of whether she would have anything to eat the next day. 

When they had very little, Agori would starve and let her eat. That was very caring of him, but Jinju didn’t want him to do it constantly so sometimes she would offer to share. In the end, he would just brush her off and say that his fishing partners shared their meal with him. Jinju doubted if that was true, but she left him alone knowing that he was happier that way. Jinju is very thankful to have met Agori. 

“Darlin’ you feelin’ alright?” The madam’s voice woke her from her daydream.

“Oh yes, I’m fine.”

“You sure, you been lookin’ pale dis past few days.”

“Yes I’m alright, thank you for asking.”

“Tell you what, da healer is comin’ by to check on my girls in three days.”

“Oh no, that’s alright. I don’t really have the funds.”

“No need darlin’, da healer is kind. Sure he’ll check on you. ‘Sides, you really need checkin’. You might be with child.”

“With child?”

“Yes, s’only expected with you livin’ with that boy.”

“Uh, no it’s—“

“No need to be blushin’ darlin’ s’all part of nature.”

Three days later, Jinju eagerly came in to work. After being accused of being with child, she’s been experiencing nausea and she even vomited this morning. As far as she knew, it’s impossible for her to be with child without doing the deed. But she remembered the morning after she had moved in with Agori that her neck was covered in bruises, something she saw on most of the madam’s girls. They both had been drinking that night, so she didn’t really remember what happened. 

“Oh darlin’, you here early,” the madam greeted her. 

“Yes, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. I’ll call da healer so you can get to workin’.”

“Thank you.”

“Yes, wait here,” the madam left her in the kitchen.

Jinju looked around to see all that needed to be washed. She figured she’d start early so if ever the healer took too long checking her, she wouldn’t be leaving work too late. She busied herself until she heard the thunderous footsteps of the madam’s. She wiped her hands dry with a rag and turned back to see the madam ushering in who she guessed was the healer.

“Darlin’ this here is the healer. Lay agreed to check you for free.”

“Oh thank you and it’s very nice to meet you sir.” Jinju smiled at him.