The next morning, Eunhyuk awoke and stretched out in his bed. He thought about the night before as he got up and walked into the bathroom. Looking at the bathtub, he saw the merman still sleeping soundly. Smiling, he reached to touch the water before watching Donghae open his eyes, shoot up straight, and grab his wrist as he bared his teeth at him. “Whoa, whoa, calm down,” Eunhyuk said quietly as he held up his hands defensively.

          Donghae panted slowly. “Don’t touch me hurtfully,” he requested, releasing Eunhyuk’s wrist.

          “I won’t, I was just going to feel the water and see if you’d like me to refill the tub with some warmer water,” Eunhyuk replied as he ran a hand through the lukewarm liquid.

          “I’m comfortable,” Donghae muttered as his tail slowly moved around.

          “So what’s your name? I’m Eunhyuk,” the blonde wondered.

          “My name is Donghae,” the merman stated.

          “Donghae, that’s a nice name,” Eunhyuk replied.

          “Thank you,” Donghae murmured.

          “I like your tail, it’s very beautiful,” Eunhyuk said as he gazed at the sparkling sapphire scales on Donghae’s lower body.

          “Thanks, I love my tail, I’d be nothing without it,” the brunette responded as he touched his tail gently.

          “Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat if you’d like,” Eunhyuk offered as he stood up.

          “Fish, fish,” Donghae said as he bounced up and down.

          “Oh, I’m sorry; I don’t have any fish, what else do you like?” Eunhyuk questioned.

          “Just fish,” Donghae replied.

          “I can bring you up some things to try if you like,” Eunhyuk suggested.

          “Okay,” Donghae agreed.

          “Great, I’ll be right back,” Eunhyuk stated before heading into the kitchen to look inside his refrigerator and pantry. As he looked for food for his guest, Eunhyuk heard his cell phone ring. He answered “Hello?”

          “Hey baby,” his boyfriend Heechul greeted happily.

          “Hi Heechul,” Eunhyuk responded with a smile.

          “So how are you this morning?” Heechul wondered.

          “Pretty good, about to eat some breakfast,” Eunhyuk informed.

          “Cool, so how was the freak show last night; was it as awesome as the advertisements said it’d be?” Heechul inquired.

          “Yeah, it was great,” Eunhyuk agreed.

          “Hey, to make up for missing out last night, how about I come over tonight and we can do dinner?” Heechul offered.

          “Yeah, that’d be awesome; listen, could you do me a favor?” Eunhyuk requested.

          “Sure,” Heechul said.

          “Would you please bring some fish over?” Eunhyuk asked.

          “Okay, I’ll bring some over, anything specific?” Heechul wondered.

          “No surprise me,” Eunhyuk stated.

          “Alright, well I’ll be over after work tonight,” Heechul informed.

          “Okay, I’ll be waiting, bye Heechul,” Eunhyuk said before hanging up. The blonde turned back to the pantry and refrigerator and gathered a smorgasbord of food to let Donghae try. He didn’t know what a merman would like to eat besides fish, so he knew he had to do some experimenting. Eunhyuk carried some food down the hall to the bathroom and set it on the counter. “Okay now, let’s see what you can try first,” Eunhyuk said to himself aloud as he gazed at the food in front of him.

          He picked up a yoghurt cup and a spoon before sitting down next to the bathtub. “Here, try this,” Eunhyuk suggested as he scooped up a little of the dairy product onto the spoon.

          Donghae slowly opened his mouth and accepted the pink yoghurt in. As he tasted the squishy food, Donghae winced before spitting it out onto Eunhyuk’s face. The blonde reached for a towel and wiped the yoghurt off his face as Donghae shielded his body and whispered “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

          “Donghae calm down, I’m not angry at you,” Eunhyuk gently said. “I know you’re not used to eating stuff like this, but we’ll just keep trying new things until we find something you like.” Donghae hesitantly lowered his arms before Eunhyuk added “I will never hit you Donghae, that’s something you can trust.” He returned to the counter and picked up a bowl of cereal and milk. “Here, let’s try this.”

          Donghae struggled to hold the spoon properly; he’d never had to hold a utensil before, and this was something strange to him. “I can’t hold it,” he muttered.

          “Here, I’ll help you,” Eunhyuk offered as he took the spoon and fed the cereal to Donghae. The brunette chewed the cereal before his eyes widened and he looked at Eunhyuk. “Do you like it?” Eunhyuk asked with a smile.

          The merman nodded as he grabbed the bowl and tipped the cereal into his mouth, eating up the cereal and drinking the milk quickly. Donghae handed the bowl back to Eunhyuk and panted for breath. “More, please more,” Donghae begged.

          “Okay Donghae, you can have some more,” Eunhyuk agreed as he quietly laughed and walked into the kitchen to refill the bowl. He returned to the bathroom and handed the bowl back to the brunette. Donghae began to scarf down the food rapidly; this was the most food he’d gotten in a long time, and Donghae was going to take advantage of it while he could. “Slow down Donghae, you’re always gonna have enough food to eat here.”

          “Thank you,” Donghae muttered before handing the bowl to Eunhyuk. “That was good.”

          “My boyfriend is coming over later, he’s going to bring you some fish for dinner,” Eunhyuk informed. Donghae’s eyes lit up with happiness as he splashed around in the bathtub some more. “How does your wound feel?”

          “Better, thank you for taking care of me,” Donghae muttered.

          “You’re welcome,” Eunhyuk responded. “So tell me how you came to be part of the freak show.”

          “I’m not a freak,” Donghae spat as he turned to the blonde.

          “I know you’re not, but that’s what the show is called, isn’t it?” Eunhyuk reminded.

          “Yeah,” Donghae agreed as he lowered his head.

          “I’m sorry Donghae, I shouldn’t have suggested you were a freak, if anything I think you’re very unique,” Eunhyuk apologized. “Will you please tell me how you got into the show business?”

          “As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been Youngmin’s ocean jewel. He said he found me when I was a baby, washed up on the beach somewhere. When he discovered that I could change from merman to human, he decided to put me on display for people. If I ever talked back, or said anything out of line, it got me either a slap, or no food for the day. As I got older, Youngmin began to start to touch me,” Donghae explained.

          “What do you mean touch you?” Eunhyuk wondered.

          “Youngmin knew that I was vulnerable and weak if I was in human form because I never learned how to use my legs; so every time I misbehaved, he’d dumped me out of the bathtub and would touch me, you know, down there,” Donghae continued as he gently touched his tail.

          “Oh my God, that’s horrible,” Eunhyuk replied. “Is that why you freaked out when I came near you last night?”

          “Yes, I thought you were going to hurt me like Youngmin had done all those years,” the merman responded.

          “Donghae, I promise that while you’re here with me, I will not hurt you like that, okay?” the blonde promised quietly.

          “Alright, I believe you,” Donghae said.

          “If you can develop legs, then why don’t you stay on them full time?” Eunhyuk questioned.

          “I’m not fully a human, and the longer I’m out of water, the weaker I get until I eventually can’t move any of my body,” Donghae explained.

          “Wow,” Eunhyuk muttered. “Now I need to wash your wound so it won’t get infected, are you okay with that?”

          “Yes, just please be gentle,” Donghae requested.

          “I will be,” Eunhyuk promised. He began to drain the water and refill it with warmer water, so Donghae would be more comfortable. Eunhyuk took a washcloth and gently scrubbed Donghae’s chest, cleaning the wound carefully.

          After washing him, Eunhyuk heard a knock on the door. “That’s my boyfriend, now please stay quiet in here, and I’ll be back with your dinner later,” Eunhyuk requested before closing the shower curtain and exiting the room.

          Answering the door, Heechul smiled and hugged his boyfriend before stepping into the apartment. “How’s your day been?” he asked as Eunhyuk closed the door.

          “Great, thanks for bringing the fish,” Eunhyuk said as he took the fish from his boyfriend.

          “No problem,” Heechul responded. “So tell me about this freak show. What’d all did they have there?”

          “A lot of contortionists, a bearded girl, and get this, they even had a real life merman,” Eunhyuk informed.

          “Really, a merman; it’s real?” Heechul asked.

          “Yeah, he was pretty awesome,” Eunhyuk confirmed.

          “Man, think of the money we could make selling a merman,” Heechul said as he sat down on the living room couch.

          “Heechul, we can’t sell a person,” Eunhyuk reminded.

          “Honey, a merman isn’t a human, it’s a fish hybrid, and people would pay big money for one,” Heechul figured. Standing up, Heechul announced “Well, I’m gonna go use the restroom.”

          “No,” Eunhyuk stopped suddenly.

          “What, why not?” Heechul questioned.

          “The plumbing is messed up right now on this floor, so we have to use the lobby restrooms,” Eunhyuk quickly lied.

          “Damn, that ,” Heechul responded. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

          After his boyfriend headed downstairs, Eunhyuk rushed over to the fridge and took out two big pieces of fish before taking them into the bathroom. “Here, fresh fish,” Eunhyuk offered as he gave the dead creatures to the merman.

          Donghae his lips as he took the fish and began to devour them. “Thank you,” he muttered as he his fingers clean.

          “You’re welcome, I’ll be back in a couple of hours after Heechul leaves, I promise,” Eunhyuk said before he left the bathroom.

          He sat down on the couch and sighed. Eunhyuk had wanted to show Heechul Donghae, but after hearing his boyfriend say that he’d like to sell a merman made Eunhyuk rethink the decision. Heechul walked back in soon and began to cook dinner for himself and his boyfriend. “Hey since tomorrow’s Saturday, do you maybe wanna go catch a movie?” Heechul asked.

          “I can’t, I have plans tomorrow,” Eunhyuk quickly lied.

          “Oh, what are you doing?” Heechul wondered.

          “I’ve got to meet with my editor to talk about a new book idea,” Eunhyuk informed as he looked down at his food.

          “Oh good, I love it when you get new book ideas, you always turn them into bestsellers,” Heechul encouraged as he touched his boyfriend’s hand. “Will you give me a sneak peek at the idea?”

          “No just yet, it’s still just a thought, but if I get the green light from my editor, you’ll be the first to know,” Eunhyuk promised.

          After dinner, Heechul said goodbye to Eunhyuk and left the apartment. The blonde headed into the bathroom and found Donghae was still in the bathtub. “Did your friend leave?” the merman asked.

          “Yeah, he is. Hey listen, tomorrow, how about I help you learn how to use your legs a little bit better?” Eunhyuk offered.

          Donghae sat up straighter and widened his eyes. “Really?”

          “Sure, it’ll be good for you to learn how to walk,” Eunhyuk said. “What’s the longest time you can stay out of water and it not hurt you?”

          “The longest I’ve been out is about four hours, but by then I was almost unconscious,” Donghae explained.

          “Okay, well I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well Donghae,” Eunhyuk replied before heading out of the bathroom.

          “Sleep well Eunhyuk,” Donghae echoed as the blonde closed the door. The merman smiled as he closed his eyes and slipped underneath the water.

          When he’d changed into his sleep clothes, Eunhyuk lie down on his bed and breathed in and out deeply. “A merman who can be human for a brief period of time; wow, this is wild,” he muttered to himself. Grabbing his laptop, Eunhyuk wrote on his online blog some more, before he researched mermaids and mermen online, trying to figure out more about his house guest.