Today, Taekwoon felt good. Somehow, he knew this day would go well. The weather was perfect today--not too cold, not too hot. He seemed to bounce with every step. He was on his way to work, as usual. But he felt at peace, and he didn't quite know why. He had his earphones plugged into his ears and hummed along to the song currently playing, "Error".

--

Once he reached the dock, he settled down and stood at the edge of the pier. He placed his hand on his hips, waiting.

"Hongbin-ya," he called out.

No response. Weird... He's usually he's here at this time. He called his name a few more times. Yet, there was still zero responses. Taekwoon didn't worry--or he tried not too. Maybe he'll arrive later.

--

It's already been an hour. He paused his work on stared at the surface of the water. He shook his head again and tried to regain his focus in completing his work. I can look for him once I finish. His worry grew. Silently, he prayed nothing had happen to him. Maybe he's still sleeping in. Maybe he's busy today. Maybe he's just not feeling well.

--

There was still no sign of Hongbin.

--

All he remembered was darkness. He felt something moist and soft clinging to his arms. He felt something cold surround his torso and then gently tugged him down. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the blue sky. He watched for a few seconds at the clouds that floated across the sky.

"H-Hongbin... Is this really you?"

The voice was soft...familiar. He turned his head and saw Taekwoon lying there, his eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it b--" He looked down, and his jaw hung open. There was legs--his legs. The cool water washed over them and back to expose them and every time it did, he couldn't believe his eyes. The water tugged at him, as if it wants him to return home. It rushed over his lower half and he expected his tail to return like a magician and his hat. His heels sank into the wet sand and scratched against his calves. Then he realized he was completely except for the short boxers that covered his crotch. He yelped and straightened his mind again. His face felt red and covered his chest.

Taekwoon took the jacket off that was wrapped around his waist and covered Hongbin. "You do realize that you're like half all the time? This doesn't faze me. But I think you have a lot of explaining to do."

"Y-yeah, thanks."

--

They walked to Taekwoon's house. Luckily, his parents weren't home at the time. He brought Hongbin into his room, gave him some clothes, and sat him down for some explaining. He wore Taekwoon's white sweatshirt that slightly hung off his figure with dark blue sweatpants that wrapped his bottom nicely. Taekwoon took a few seconds to admire him in his clothes but quickly turned away. "So, what the hell happened?"

Hongbin sat on Taekwoon's bed with the rumpled covers and his eyes explored his surroundings. He seemed amazed at everything he touched. Taekwoon thought this was cute.

"I don't really remember how I ended up there, but I kind of did this spell..."

"Spell?"

"Yeah." He stretched his legs and wriggled his toes, "I didn't expect it to work though."

"Why'd you do it?"

He tilted his head to the down. Taekwoon could tell he was trying to hide tears. He regretted saying anything. "I don't think I'm ready to say it."

"I'm sorry," Taekwoon passed him a few tissues and he dried his tears. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"I'll get something ready, okay? Oh, I almost forgot. That's your book, right? It was laying next to you when I found you," He pointed to the book resting on his desk.

Hongbin turned his head to the pointed direction. It was probably just his imagination but he saw a glimpse of sadness in his eyes, "Oh yeah, that's mine."

He managed a little smile before Taekwoon left the room.

Taekwoon reached for his fridge to check for ingredients. He saw leftovers from last night's dinner. He could use those to toss up something quick. As he took out plates and spoons, he thought about how he could explain all of this to his parents. Of course, he wouldn't be able to tell them the Hongbin-is-actually-a-mermaid secret. But he had to have some sort of background.

He switched the stove on. He threw in rice and leftover ingredients with a cracked egg inside a hot pan. Concentrated in perfecting Hongbin's meal, he gently tossed the ingredients together and formed the amazingly cooked fried rice. He slid the hot food onto two plates that sat on a tray. From the fridge, he grabbed two soda cans and walked into his room carrying the food. He walked in his room to find Hongbin sitting on the floor turning pages of an album listed "Taekwoon's Baby Years" with hearts surrounding the front.

Taekwoon could feel his face turn a little red. There were some embarrassing pictures of him in there. His parents had said they wanted to capture every moment. But he felt like they've shown a little too much. "Please don't look at that..."

Hongbin chuckled and closed the photo album, "You know what? I think I'm scarred for life."

"That's how I've felt," Taekwoon placed the steaming food on the floor and passed him his plate and drink.

Hongbin stared in amazement at the food and with a little fear as well. "I can eat this?" He scooped up some rice with his spoon and held it up too his mouth.

"Well, what else are you going to do with it?" he couldn't help but to laugh.

Hongbin put the spoonful into his mouth. He chewed for a while and his eyebrows furrowed as if he was trying to absorb the flavor of the new food then he blinked. "That was actually pretty good."

Taekwoon placed his head in his lap, hiding his laughing.

"What's so funny?"

He lifted his head to look at Hongbin, "N-nothing, it's just that you look so cute."

Hongbin's eyes widened at what he had just heard.

Taekwoon had realized what he had said and his face felt hot, "Uhh, I'm sorry. That kinda just slipped out..."

For the most of the meal, they both just ate in silence. He saw Hongbin fiddling with the soda can, trying to open it.

"Do you need help?"

Hongbin avoided his eye contact and passed him the can. He could tell that his face was red too. Taekwoon opened the can and handed it to him.

Hongbin stared at the contents inside, "What is this?"

"It's soda. Try it," He demonstrated drinking the soda with his own can.

Hongbin did the same and tilted the can to his lips. He took a sip and coughed, "This is definitely not water."

"Does it taste good?" He couldn't help but laugh again.

"I don't know how I feel about it. It just tastes like sugary bubbles."

--

Hongbin spent the next hour talking to Taekwoon. It wasn't really the usual nice chit-chat, but nothing depressing. They planned what they were going to say when his parents come back home.Taekwoon had asked him how long did he think he was going to say. He didn't think about this, but he had planned to stay for a long time, which probably isn't going to go very well. He mentioned that school was starting very soon and if maybe, he wanted to join. It was scary thought and he said he'd think about it.

He seemed excited, yet scared about these thoughts. His head started to hurt. It was funny how just yesterday, he was almost killed. Just yesterday, he was happy with Taekwoon. Yesterday, he was still a fish. He felt his eyes get wet and wiped them away before Taekwoon could notice anything.

"Can I wash up somewhere? I feel a little dry after being a fish my whole life."

"Yeah, of course. But are you going to turn into a fish again or something if you touch water? Like the movies?"

"We'll have to see about that."

Taekwoon showed him the bathroom and how it worked.There was a thing called the "tub" and the "shower" which was across from the porcelain "toilet" and "sink".  It was fascinating to Hongbin. Usually, he never had to do this stuff, yet this was the daily life of many humans.

--

Taekwoon left Hongbin to shower. He told Hongbin to yell for him if he needed any help. Taekwoon was alert for whenever there was trouble. He sat at his desk and stared at he book that was with Hongbin when he became human. He was afraid of touching it. The first time he made contact with it, it tingled and his fingers began to feel numb at the touch. And whenever he went near it, the air felt cold, but curiousity ate at him.

He felt urged to open the book and reveal its secrets. He took a small steps towards the book. Taekwoon could feel the temperature drop. But he had heard Hongbin scream from the bathroom and stopped Taekwoon from stepping any further. Worried, he rushed to the bathroom and swung open the door, which was luckily not locked.

But Taekwoon instantly shut his eyes tight from the appearance of Hongbin. He was completely --not the usual half body but the no-trousers-or-anything .

"My God, Hongbin," with his eyes still shut, he reached for one of the towels and tossed it at Hongbin, "What happened?"

"S-sorry, but I didn't expect--"

"Please cover that up," his face grew redder with every second.

Hongbin covered the spot up and Taekwoon decided it was safe to look.

"But what is that?" He pointed to his crotch.

"You mean... you don't know what it is?"

"I've never had one before...Do all you humans have this?"

"Just the males... I think."

"...Okay."

"Am I always going to have this? I mean, it's not very... attractive..."

"Just shower already."

--

After the embarrassing scene Taekwoon wasn't able to talk to Hongbin for awhile. Hongbin didn't really understand the situation but he kept his distance and avoided eye contact as he dried his hair with the towel.

--

A jingle of the door knob was heard from down the hall, "Taekwoon-ya!"

The two were sitting in Taekwoon's bedroom, the air still slightly awkward. "I think they're home."

Taekwoon stood up and Hongbin followed his heels. He slightly stumbled as he stood up.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah." Hongbin still wasn't used to his new legs. He tried his best to hide his stumbling and tripping. It felt weird. It wasn't his usual floating in the sea. Although he has gotten better with walking, he loses balance from time to time. His legs felt even more difficult to handle knowing the fact that he was going to meet Taekwoon's parents.

"Oh, who is this young gentleman?" Taekwoon's mother eyed Hongbin up and down.

"A friend. He recently moved here from outside of Seoul and he's planning to go to school here too... if all goes well."

"Really? I haven't seen any movers recently," the father spoke.

"...That's because he has nowhere to stay."

"That's a bit strange. And I suppose you want him to stay here?" she crossed her arms.

Am I supposed to say something?

"Y-yeah. Can he stay?"

"Wait a minute, Taekwoon. I want to hear from him first," his father turned towards Hongbin, "What's your name, boy?"

"It's H-Hongbin, sir."

"No need for sir. Just call me Mr. Jung."

"Yes... Mr. Jung."

He patted Hongbin on the back, slightly startling him, "Where are you from?"

"Uh..." He looked around in panic.

"I think he prefers not to talk about it. It's a bit of a bad memory for him..." Taekwoon quickly answered.

"Bad memory? You're not a part of a gang or something, right?" his mother chuckled.

Taekwoon nervously laughed along with his mother, "But is he allowed to stay?"

"No need to rush, Taekwoon. He can stay, of course. It would be the right thing to do. But this boy seems a bit suspicious. No offense, sweetie, but you can't be too careful. I trust my son, so you can stay as long as needed but you can't break anything. Okay?"

"O-Of course! Thank you!" Hongbin bowed.

"Are you sure about this?" Mr. Jung questioned.

"Absolutely. He's a friend of our dear Taekwoonie! As long as they don't cause too much trouble, we'll treat him like family."

"Thank you," he bowed again.

"You heard the lady. He can stay."

"Thanks mom and dad."

"Well, you two should get to bed. I suppose you're sleeping in Taekwoonie's room?" his mother rubbed Hongbin's back lovingly, like her own son.

"I guess so..."

"Don't worry, Hongbinnie. We don't bite. Oh, and feel free to call me mom!"

"Uh, I don't think he will..." Taekwoon interrupted.

"Eh, why not?"

"Thank you...mom!"

Taekwoon sighed.

"That has a nice ring to it. You two don't make too much noise at night. And use protection..." she chuckled and dragged the father away, leaving the two alone.

"Protection?" Hongbin blinked, not grasping what she meant.

"Oh my god."

---

Have you guys been waiting? It's finally out so please enjoy it. And forgive me for being so terrible at updating. Q^Q