Myungsoo thought it was stupid, that the whole idea of buying an island was incredibly dumb because he and Sungyeol were both working at small jobs and could even barely afford the tiny apartment they rented in Seoul. However, Sungyeol insisted that if they were going to have a honeymoon (“We’re not even married, Yeol.”) then it should be done on the shores of their own private island, like in the books (or maybe just that one vampire book). Myungsoo knew immediately that it wouldn’t happen, he knew that they wouldn’t get anywhere close to getting some island, much less buying it. That didn’t stop Sungyeol from searching for five months though, Myungsoo had thought the older forgot until one day he emerged from his bedroom with a freshly printed sheet in his hand.

 

“Soo, I’ve found it! The perfect place!”

 

“Perfect place for what?” Myungsoo had been laying on his bed going over a few photos he had taken for a birthday party.

 

“Our island,” Sungyeol said, his voice b with joy.

 

“Island?” Myungsoo really had forgotten, it was five months ago that Sungyeol sprung the idea on him after all.

 

“Yes, the one we’ll buy and spend the rest of our golden days at.”

 

Myungsoo sighed and wondered why Sungyeol thought they were so old even though they were both only in their early twenties.

 

“Look, I put up an ad a while back and someone emailed me! They own this really nice place just off the coast and guess what the best part it,” Sungyeol smiled, waiting for Myungsoo to say ‘what’.

 

“What?”

 

“They’re only selling it for five dollars.”

 

“Sungyeol, it’s obviously a scam.”

 

“It isn’t! Tomorrow they want to meet at this pier in Busan to sign a few things and then the place will be ours, Myungsoo.”

 

“You have to be kidding, it can't be that easy, Yeol.”

 

“You’re right,” Sungyeol nodded his head, “You’ll have to give me $2.50 so it’ll be a fair purchase between us.”

 

“That’s not what I meant,” Myungsoo ran his hand down his face before closing his laptop and stepping over to Sungyeol, “Lemme see that paper.”

 

Sungyeol obliged easily enough and handed the paper he had printed, it contained the contact info of the seller.

 

Jang Dongwoo

Cell Number: XXX

Meet at 3:40PM tomorrow.

 

“Why did you waste an entire sheet of paper for this?” Myungsoo asked, flipping the paper over to see if there was more on the back. There wasn’t.

 

“Dunno,” Sungyeol shrugged then yoinked $2.50 from Myungsoo’s wallet which sat unattended to on his desk.

 

“Hey!” Myungsoo exclaimed, “Sungyeol, I’m not letting you go there by yourself tomorrow.”

 

“Well, I guess you’ll have to co-sign or whatever too, so okay!”

 

Myungsoo couldn’t help but smack his forehead because Sungyeol was so carefree that Myungsoo swore he was getting wrinkles from over worrying about his boyfriend.

 

---

 

It was real. A real transaction and real papers and a real person and a real purchase.

 

After signing and turning over the five dollars, Dongwoo had told them that they could catch a ride to their new island from one of the fishermen - Lee Howon. The fisherman was familiar with the course and sailed them there quick enough and he was also quick to leave them too, letting them know that he was busy and when they wanted to come back, they could call him and he’d come get them. It was a bit strange to Myungsoo, but Sungyeol had packed their bags for a week's stay and made sure to be excited enough for the both of them.

 

When they arrived to the island, Myungsoo couldn’t believe it, the island was real and it was beautiful. The climate was slightly tropical and the waters were completely clear, there was a thicket of jungle and nothing but white sand and green trees as far as the eye could see. It was small, but to Sungyeol and Myungsoo it seemed large, like they could travel for days and never reach one end without days passing by.

 

“Holy-” Myungsoo jaw dropped immediately as he scanned the view in front of him and noticed a small path which led into the greener parts of their island.

 

Their island.

 

They owned the place, it was theirs and no one else’s.

 

“Soo, let’s go look for the house Dongwoo told us about!” Sungyeol shouted a few ways up the path and Myungsoo stopped his gawking to follow.

 

It wasn’t a very long walk but they arrived at a small house which was recently built. It wasn’t anything fancy but contained a small living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. It was actually bigger than their apartment back in Seoul. Before Myungsoo could even start to unpack, Sungyeol was already dropping their bags and pulling at his arm.

 

“We have to go explore, we can unpack later. We’ve got all the time in the world after all, this place is ours!”

 

Myungsoo had to agree to that and he was finally smiling at the thought they actually had an island and it was theirs alone. He quickly grabbed the hand Sungyeol had extended for him and together they began to walk through the small jungle around their house. They had thought the island was bigger than they heard, but it wasn’t, soon enough they were already at the other end, white sand slipping into their sandals and the sound of calm waves rolling. Exploring the expanse of their island only took the remainder of the day, it really was small but neither could complain, everything about the island was simply beautiful in every way and Myungsoo was feeling grateful that Sungyeol had decided upon buying the place after all.

 

“It’s like some fairy tale…” Sungyeol hummed when they ended up on the beach again, watching as the sun set.

 

Myungsoo’s head laid on Sungyeol’s shoulder, “It’s so freaking pretty here, Yeol.”

 

“We should just live here forever,” Sungyeol said, a hand slipping into Myungsoo’s hair.

 

“Yeah, but what are we gonna live on? I don’t suspose you have some hidden fishing talent?”

 

Sungyeol laughed, “I could learn, I mean… There was that Hoya guy who brought us here. Maybe he’d teach me.”

 

“His name was Howon and I’d doubt that. He seemed like he didn’t want anything to do with us.”

 

“You think he’s a homophobe?”

 

Myungsoo chuckled, “Not with the way he was dressed.”

 

The both laughed before watching the rest of the sun set in silence and Myungsoo suggested they head back before it got too dark. Sungyeol had a flashlight with him just in case and led Myungsoo up the path while holding his hand, carefully making sure the younger wouldn’t get lost. As they returned home, Myungsoo couldn’t help but notice a soft glow from within the jungle, it was a blue luminescent glow that was barely noticeable unless you squinted your eyes and looked in the direction. Before he could even try to think of what it was, the light faded away and Sungyeol was asking how he felt about eating rice porridge for dinner.

 

---

 

The next three days were absolute bliss.

 

Sungyeol had gotten a tan and Myungsoo wound up with several bug bites (a few were actually love marks left by Sungyeol but who can tell the difference?) but the two didn’t mind as the last three days had been filled with swimming and exploring and lots of kissing. Sungyeol even found a lizard who he named Sunggyu and made a fashionable dress out of grass and tree leaves.

 

Throughout all the enjoyment though, Myungsoo couldn’t help but feel like they were being watched while they there, as if someone else was on their island. When he asked Sungyeol, the other simply shrugged the thought away by building a small raft and suggesting they test it out for fun. It sunk immediately.

 

Myungsoo’s worries didn't materialize until the night they’re walking around with Sungyeol’s flashlight leading the way and then he sees the faint glow again. This time even Sungyeol notices and decides they should check to see what it is. Myungsoo wants to object and just leave it be, but Sungyeol insists that they should and calls Myungsoo a wuss.

 

When they reach the location of the strange glow, they find a small circular pool of water. They hadn’t encountered this pond on all of their explorations. It’s the pond that’s emitting the light and Myungsoo tries to peer through, but suddenly the light of the pond vanishes and so Sungyeol points his flashlight at the water, trying to look into it too. It appears deep and dark, much deeper than the shores around their island and much darker than the night sky above their heads. Sungyeol scans the pond with his flashlight and wonders where the light even came from while Myungsoo squeezes his hand and gets a bad feeling in his gut.

 

He suddenly feels like there are eyes all over him and Sungyeol again.

 

“Let’s go, Yeol,” he says just below a whisper but he’s so close to Sungyeol that the other still hears.

 

“Okay-” Sungyeol says but stops and quickly flashes his light over a particular spot of the pond, “Did you see that?”

 

“Sungyeol, don’t play around, this is creepy…” Myungsoo whines and he’s trying hard not to abandon his mate and run off on his own.

 

“There it is again!” Sungyeol shouts and this time Myungsoo looks too.

 

There’s something moving in the water, it isn’t making noise and isn’t presenting itself visible above the surface, but Myungsoo can see clear movement and he grips Sungyeol’s hand even harder, “Can we go?”

 

“Myungsoo, there’s something in the water,” Sungyeol states the obvious and Myungsoo tries to pull him away.

 

“Sungyeol-”

 

Splash.

 

A tail.

 

A tail splashes against the water’s surface and Myungsoo’s eyes blow up in size.

 

“What the…” Sungyeol gapes and his eyes have also increased in size.

 

Myungsoo’s mind starts going crazy with what that tail could be in such a small yet deep pond. Some animal? A ghost? What if it’s a crazy monster that’s been watching them since they got here and has been waiting for them to be dumb enough to be lured in by it’s glow then attacks them?

 

Suddenly there’s an even louder splash and something hits Sungyeol so hard that he falls back onto the floor and drags Myungsoo down with him by his hand. His flashlight drops and points off towards a random direction and then Sungyeol immediately screams and Myungsoo screws his eyes shut in fear.

 

Whatever it is that Sungyeol’s seen, Myungsoo doesn’t want to see it either, he doesn’t want to know. Instead he pulls Sungyeol’s hand and tries to get the two back up when all of a sudden there’s a hand grabbing his leg and pulling him back down and he yells out Sungyeol’s name and is afraid of being pulled into that deep dark water that seems completely endless. Sungyeol tries with all his might to pull Myungsoo closer to him, but whatever’s on the other end is clearly too strong and Myungsoo’s biting his lower lip so hard that blood draws from it.

 

“Will you calm down?”

 

And both Myungsoo and Sungyeol stop what they're doing and Myungsoo knows that isn’t Sungyeol’s voice and so he looks up at Sungyeol who’s busy looking at whatever or whoever just spoke.

 

“That’s better,” the creature says and this time Myungsoo turns his head to see what it is that sounds like a human being talking.

 

And he sees a man. A man with soaked hair and dark eyes and a pointed nose and big lips and sharp cheekbones and Myungsoo thinks he’s kind of handsome (he reminds himself that Sungyeol is so much more handsome though) and then he sees that the man’s hand is still on his ankle so he screams again.

 

The man in the water sighs, “I said calm down! Or do you want me to drag you down and drown you?”

 

Myungsoo panics but Sungyeol scrambles to his side and assures him that it’ll be okay.

 

“Would you mind uhm, letting him go?” Sungyeol asks the man.

 

“If I let go, you promise me you two won't run off?” He raises an eyebrow and even Sungyeol thinks he’s kind of handsome.

 

“Well that depends,” Sungyeol starts, “If we run off will you be able to catch us?”

 

The man doesn’t like Sungyeol’s witty question and squeezes Myungsoo’s ankle until he whimpers and Sungyeol apologizes, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. We won’t run away, I swear on my life.”

 

“On your life? Really now?”

 

“Yes, I swear on my life we will not run away.”

 

Almost instantly Sungyeol regrets saying the words because the man smiles a little (it’s still handsome looking but something about it is almost bone chilling) and he releases Myungsoo who goes straight to Sungyeol’s arms and buries his face into Sungyeol’s neck, refusing to look at the wet man in the pond.

 

“What are you?” Sungyeol asks as he wraps his arms securely around Myungsoo.

 

“I’m Woohyun,” he replies as if it’s obvious that that’s who he is, except Sungyeol didn’t ask who he is was but what he was.

 

“No, I meant-”

 

“You know, it’s customary to give your name after being told someone else’s,” Woohyun says and almost instantly Sungyeol thinks he hates this guy.

 

“Er, right. I’m Sungyeol and this is Myungsoo, but-”

 

“Sungyeol and Myungsoo? Hey, is he alright?”

 

Woohyun’s looking over at Myungsoo who still refuses to so much as glance at him. Sungyeol sighs, “Well, what do you think? You nearly gave him a heart attack.”

 

“Oh,” Woohyun says, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Uh, it’s okay,” Sungyeol isn’t sure if it is or not so he asks, “Right Myungsoo?”

 

Myungsoo doesn’t want to look, is afraid that if he does then he’ll get pulled down again and something about Woohyun’s eyes just scared him even more, but Sungyeol pats his back and tells him it’ll be okay and so he glances at Woohyun before nodding.

 

“I didn’t mean it,” Woohyun speaks, “I just didn’t want you two to run off like everyone else did.”

 

“Run off?” Sungyeol asks.

 

“Yeah, the guy before you two left before I even had a chance to say hello.”

 

“You mean Dongwoo?”

 

“Was that his name? See, we didn’t even get to exchange names. Actually you two are the first people I’ve spoken to in years.”

 

“Are we? Well, we’re flattered, I guess.”

 

“I’ve been trapped here for over forty years now, so it shouldn’t really surprise me that I don’t often get visitors but still-”

 

“Forty years?” Sungyeol asks, not meaning to interrupt, “You don’t look much older than me.”

 

Woohyun smiles at that, “Thanks.”

 

Before Sungyeol can even smile back and tell him ‘you're welcome’, there’s another splash sound and he catches sight of the tail again and immediately his jaw drops.

 

“What’s wrong?” Woohyun asks.

 

“What is that?” Sungyeol says while looking right at the slimy tail moving gracefully over the water’s surface.

 

“That’s just my tail,” Woohyun answers, “I am a merman after all.”

“W-What?” Sungyeol asks while Myungsoo stirs in his arms and he realizes that they both must be sharing the same horrific dream by now.

 

---

 

errr. this was supposed to be a one shot but im sleepy and i'll finish writing tomorrow lol if i get to write because im pretty sure i'll be spending tomorrow playing video games but whatever. 

originally woohyun was supposed to be a ghost haunting the place and that's why people kept selling it but in the end i wanted him to be a magical mermaid and people just assumed he was some monster or something, but yeah mermaids are so much cooler anyways. i guess that answers why dongwoo sold the island for five bucks haha but the next chapter will be fluffy crack (i hope) and explain woohyun's unfortunate situation and myungyeol's soon to be unfortunate situation as well. it might be shorter than this chapter orz