Yonghwa swam away from Yunho as he tried to get through the gates quickly, but there were too many people out and about at this time of day for him to just dart out of the gates easily.

“The other day, why were we talking about that nobody?” A man asked and Yonghwa stopped to listen in, he only knew one person that was a nobody and that was him.

“Who? The princess’ new pet?” His voice had a familiar accent and looked to him and realized that he was probably an elite, they all spoke a certain way. The other merman seemed to be an elite as well, but not as powerful as this one.

“Yeah, I thought you didn’t care about him, Kyuhyun. So why did you bring him up yourself? I thought he wasn’t even your pawn either, since you found out about him from your lovelorn sister.” The merman said. Yonghwa then put together that Seohyun was related to this man as well, he had only met one other girl except HyunAe. He stayed by to hover but not be suspicious.

“He’s not but the princess was eavesdropping and I wanted to create doubt in him. Besides, even if he has the King’s favor, do you really think she would risk her throne for him? Yunho couldn’t even do that for his love and he had balls.” Kyuhyun replied with a chuckle. The other merman laughed along with him and they moved away from Yonghwa.

His fists clenched as he just found out that Kyuhyun had been the man that caused HyunAe to doubt him. He would need to tell Yunho later about this dubious traitor, but he had to get HyunAe back first.

He swam on until he noticed the messenger that had called for him for Seohyun, “Kiseop-ssi, right?” He asked, stopping the other merman in his tracks.

Kiseop looked at Yonghwa and gave a small bow, “Yes, how may I help you today?” He replied with a smile.

“You know HyunAe really well right? Is there anything that you can tell me about what she’s doing?” Yonghwa asked him for details, he knew that the moral code of the messengers was to say anything but he needed any information he could get about HyunAe’s whereabouts the past several days.

Kiseop bit his lip hesitantly, “I can’t divulge much to you. It’s the rules.” He replied and Yonghwa let out a long sigh of exasperation, “But.” Kiseop started, “I can tell you that she’s been sneaking off for long periods of time and only coming back home to sleep. She thinks no  one is watching but the truth is, we see all.” He said.

“Leaving in the days, and coming back at night. That means she’s been going alone.” Yonghwa deduced.

“Yes, most of the guards figured she was with you. But seeing your distress like this shows me that’s not the case.” Kiseop said, “But I do not know where the princess has been going."

Yonghwa gave him a smile, “I have an idea, thank you Kiseop-ssi for telling me what you could, I will make sure to bring her back.” He said before swimming away towards the gates again.

He rushed past the palace gates but he saw Seohyun was there outside, waiting for him. He sighed inwardly, just how many people were going to stop him from getting to where he wanted to go. She had a sad smile on his face. He couldn’t blame her for Kyuhyun creating doubt in HyunAe but he didn’t have time to pity her, not when HyunAe was still missing.

“Are you going to her?” She asked him softly, distracting him from what he was setting out to do.

“Of course.” Yonghwa answered almost immediately, “It is what I must do.” He started to move away but she moved closer to him.

"You know she has never looked at you." Seohyun told him quietly, trying to convince him to stay longer. “She is too insecure about herself to look at you."

"She will." Yong Hwa said adamant, trying to move away from Seohyun. He knew that this girl was just jealous but she had every right to be. She was always going to be second place to the princess and Yonghwa couldn’t change that.

"What is so special about her anyway?" Seohyun remarked, "I've always been here too, you know.” She argued, her voice turning venomous as she was no longer that sweet girl trying to be nice.

Yong Hwa turned to her and gave her a small smile, "I know. I know you've always looked at me, Seohyun. You're her best friend, don't you know what's special about her?" He asked back.

Seohyun sighed at this, "Of course I know." She said softly.

"Then you understand what I have to do, I will go and see her." Yong Hwa said, swimming away with determination.

Seohyun turned, touched the pearls around her neck lightly, "Do you even know how I made this necklace?" She whispered.

— 

Yong Hwa arrived at the sea witch's cave, not many people spoke of her name. But he knew it, Yu Jin. He knew so much more about her now but that wasn’t the point.

She wasn't known to be kind, but she knew many things about the world. About everything, her magic allowed her to see all that happened around her, both on land and in the sea.

He moved forward to announce himself, "I knew you were coming, come in." She called out.

He shook off the surprise and swam in to find her, her tail was black after years of separation from the city and other mermaids. He had a feeling that her tail was black for another reason as well but he would not overstep his bounds and ask her that question disrespectfully.

He bowed to her when he saw her and she glared at him. She beckoned at him to move closer.

"What is it that you want for me to do for you exactly?" She asked him.

Yonghwa looked a bit sad but he shook it off, "I want to find Princess HyunAe." He said simply.

Yu Jin looked at him, "You don't know where she is? Or what she's doing?"

He shook his head, "I know she goes to the surface during the day and comes back at night, just to sleep. I also know she's seeing someone up there." He said.

Yu Jin swam over and started to spin around him, "So you know she is with another man. And that he treats her like a princess." She said.

Yonghwa stayed quiet.

"You also know she has never looked at you clearly." She said, "She may have questioned herself a few times but she never acted on it, out of fear to lose your friendship."

His jaw dropped at this, "You mean..?" Yu Jin held up her hand to him to stay quiet.

"Yes, I do mean she has questioned her feelings for you. However, this man she is seeing, if you let this go, will cause you to lose her indefinitely." Yu Jin warned him, swimming back to her table before gazing into her crystal ball.

He moved closer to see what she was seeing, she revealed HyunAe's face then the face of the man, "This is the man she is seeing up there. He tells her lies, he is not a prince like he says. He has seen her change into a mermaid and he has heard the stories, he wants to make cry and cry until he has all the pearls he can get." Yu Jin explained to him.

His fists clenched at the thought of someone messing with HyunAe's innocence. "No." He says firmly, "I want to help her and bring her back. I will tell her how I feel and say it's okay."

Yu Jin smiled, "There is a price to pay, for me to grant your wish of being able to walk on land without needing to change back. You have to pay me with something invaluable." She said.

"Anything." Yonghwa told her.

"Give me your voice. You will still be able to sing one song, your favorite song but other than that, you will not be able to communicate with her." Yu Jin said.

"Then how will I be able to tell her how I feel!" He raised his voice in desperation.

"That's for you to find out. Also, you will need to show her the true colors of this man. Or else she will never believe you. The spell on your voice will be broken once she tells you 'I love you'" Yu Jin said.

Yonghwa sighed and gave it a second's thought, he could do it. He would be able to show her the true story of this man and his feelings for her.

"All right. I will pay the price."

Author's Note;;
here's the update lol :3
I combined the two, I've had Yonghwa's deal with the sea witch written for a while now ;o
So now, the next chapter, he'll be on land :3
CN BLUE members will be making an appearance too~ ;o
Please enjoy :D