By the time Taemin had woken up the next day, Jonghyun was already gone, probably visiting the humans again, but Taemin couldn’t be sure. Loneliness crept up on him as the urge to call out to Minho arose, but he knew better than to bother the merman so soon after their last visit; soon to Minho. Taemin would gladly see him every second if he could.

Instead he chose to go to his brother, who would no doubt be happy to see him visit. It had been a while since he had last seen him, and the younger was no doubt restless at this point. He wasted no time in flying over with that very thought in mind, hoping that his little brother wouldn’t be moody at the fact that he hadn’t visited in a while. A bit of guilt welled in him at the thought of merely using his brother as a distraction from his other problems, but he reminded himself that he truly did miss his little brother, though admittedly to an uncontrollably lesser extent.

He could no longer call the place home, but simply calling it his “parents’ house” seemed unfitting and unfamiliar to him. The walk was short, though nerve-wracking just imagining what he would even say. Even so, he knocked, albeit shakily, and waited for someone to open it. When it was his little brother at the door, Taemin couldn’t stop the smile from taking over and scooping the younger siren into his arms, letting his mind be filled with the boy’s joyous laughter at their reunion.

“It’s only been a few days. Have you really missed me so much?” he asked. The little boy clung to him with his arms around his neck and nodded. Taemin only squeezed him a bit tighter in his arms as walked into his house, greeting his mother quietly and bowing slightly to his father.

“It’s only been a week or so since you left, hasn’t it? I figured you’d wait at least a month or two before coming back here,” his father teased. Taemin chuckled a bit, sitting down in front of him with his younger brother on his lap. “Jongin’s been going crazy. Try not to take so long in coming back next time.”

“I’ll try not to,” Taemin replied, tickling his little brother’s sides.

“Hyung! Come on, I got some new toys I want to show you!” Taemin let himself be pulled away into another room, letting his brother’s more active mind take control. “Did your wings get bigger?” Jongin asked, running a hand over the feathers once they had stopped in his room. Taemin shrugged, sitting down on the floor next to the toys and motioning for his four-year-old brother to do the same.

“I don’t think so, but it’s very much possible,” Taemin replied. He spread out his brother’s smaller wings and smiled down at him. “Who knows? Maybe one day, yours will be bigger than my own.”

“But hyung’s are so big! They’re almost as big as Appa’s!”

“Trust me Jongin, at the rate you’re growing, you’ll have wings even bigger than Appa’s. So big they’ll have to make an even bigger house for you to fit them in.” Jongin seemed so much brighter after that, and Taemin smiled down at him as he continued playing around his room, pushing him to join in. Taemin wasn’t the most willing to join, unsure of how to now that he was much older, so much farther away from those innocent times, but he did the best he could. Jongin didn’t seem to mind or notice his hesitance, and that was most important.

Taemin wondered how Jongin would fair later on when he had to call to his mate. He hoped that Jongin wouldn’t have to suffer the same fate as him, may his God forbid such a thing from ever happening to his little brother. Taemin wasn’t sure if he’d be able to be there for his brother, and he didn’t know anyone else who would be. Taemin wasn’t even sure if he’d be here tomorrow. Everyday was just another agonizing day as he woke up in bed alone without his mate to accompany him. Every minute, a part of him considered ending the agony so that he wouldn’t have to wake up every morning knowing he had been forever cursed with solitude. He couldn’t allow that suffering to happen to his little Jongin.

But every second, another part reminded him that Jonghyun had dealt with for far longer. Jonghyun had been managing all on his own one way or another, something Taemin found completely unfathomable. Taemin wept at night not only for himself, but also for his friend’s misery.

And then there was Minho. Minho was indifferent. Whether Taemin died or not would not affect Minho in the slightest, but Taemin was weak. Every move closer that Minho made sent his heart racing, and every move away that Minho made pulled Taemin towards the ocean with him. He was all too willing to give himself up for someone who would feel nothing more than a slight pinch at his death. Minho would be over it in less than a day’s time.

Perhaps that was what sickened Taemin the most. He was hopelessly in love, unwillingly, with someone who would sooner swim the length of the Earth’s surface with no rest than be romantically involved with him the way Taemin wanted. He had set himself up for misery when he had chosen not to plunge himself when he had the chance. There are times when he wished Minho hadn’t revealed himself. There are times when he resents Jonghyun for waking him up when he knew he would never be able to truly be with his mate.

Still, he held onto the small thread of hope that things would change. He listened on and on to Jonghyun’s optimistic words just waiting for them to come true like little fairytale happy endings. He wanted so much to believe in anything that would help him, despite knowing in the back of his mind that no shooting star would save him from this hell.

Taemin smiled sadly at the possible future that awaited his little brother, unknown to the innocent youth. He’d prefer if Jongin didn’t even learn of the curse itself. He wished Jongin never used the Siren’s Call and chose to find himself an open-minded human who would accept him as he was. He patted his brother’s head, to which Jongin gave him a curious look, but Taemin only smiled and shook his head. Jongin shrugged and went back to his toys, unaware of the fears that plucked at his feathers one by one.

“I have to go now,” Taemin said softly to his little brother, who whined at him hours into their time together. “I’ll come back another day, I promise. I won’t leave you alone for too long again.”

“Good,” Jongin replied. The boy gathered up his toys and put them away, placing them in their place carefully before turning back to him. “When will I be able to meet your mate hyung?”

Taemin sighed and shook his head, moving towards the door with Jongin trailing behind him. “I’m afraid that won’t ever happen Jongin. Hyung doesn’t have a mate.”

“But I thought everyone has a mate?” Jongin asked. Taemin stopped and squatted down to his brother’s level, holding his shoulders gently to make sure his brother paid attention.

“Not everyone Jongin. Some people are just too unlucky, and their mate is someone who doesn’t feel the same way. But I’m sure you’ll find your mate when the time comes Jongin. I’ll make sure that you do,” Taemin said. He was lying, he knew. There was no possible way for him to ever find Jongin’s mate, but he wasn’t going to tell Jongin that. He wasn’t going to let his brother know the horrors that really awaited him.

“Your mate is stupid because hyung is great,” Jongin replied. Taemin smiled at him. He’d like to think the same way, but truthfully he felt incapable of thinking badly of Minho in any way.  It wasn’t the merman’s fault that he was this way. “I’ll miss you hyung.”

“I’ll miss you too Jongin.” Taemin hugged his brother, saying a quick goodbye to his parents as well before leaving the house and walking towards his new home. He stopped by the beach first, his meeting place with Minho, hoping to find him there, but no surprise that Minho was no where to be found. Taemin wasn’t all too sure when he even tried.

Kibum swam low against the ocean floor, picking at the seaweed that looked nice enough to snack on. He had need lonely, hoping he could’ve come with his friend, but he reminded himself that he was mad at Minho. Minho had gone off to sea that siren without telling him, after he had explicitly told him not to interact with them. Minho knew how dangerous they were, he had been warned countless times, and still Minho went there and ignored everything he had said.

It had been so much easier when Minho hadn’t known. Every day he cursed the siren that had to call for the younger; he cursed Jonghyun for having them meet as well. It would have been better had they stayed away from each other; it would’ve saved so much heartbreak on the stupid siren’s part too. As much as Kibum hated them, he would’ve preferred that they just ended themselves, to rid them of the world, than just have it laying around in useless depression.

And he cursed himself for never failing to answer Jonghyun’s call. The damn siren was risky. He always used his call, knowing that if Kibum didn’t answer that he’d die. He didn’t hesitate to put his own life at risk. He could’ve offed the damned creature so many times, but every time he had the chance, he failed to do it. He hated this weakness.

He wasn’t any better than Minho, but at least he had never tried to socialize with them. He hadn’t tried to talk to Jonghyun. At most he only sat there and let the other talk, but most of the time he only let the siren see him for a moment before swimming off again, back home. Jonghyun never said anything about it the next time he called, always looking hopefully at him that he’d stay, and sometimes Kibum gave him that satisfaction, if only for a few minutes; Nothing more than that.

Minho was waiting for him by his house when he returned, lying quietly on the ocean floor. Kibum scoffed; ready to swim right over him when Minho grabbed the end of his tail fin to hold him down. He glared back down at the younger, showing his clear displeasure, but Minho only smiled sheepishly at him.

“Are you really going to just ignore me?” Minho asked. Kibum stayed quiet, only staring pointedly at him, and Minho sighed. “You can’t blame me, can you? He’s teaching me how to walk.”

“Yeah, probably to lore you further onto their island and have you killed,” Kibum replied hotly. “He’s a siren Minho. They are up to no good and nothing good will come from hanging around them.”

“Not them,” Minho said, “Only one. And he’s nice, and way too shy to actually do anything to me.”

“Shy? How do you know that’s not just a front he’s putting up to get you to trust him? Sirens are evil.”

“Evil why? Because the first one didn’t return our God’s feelings? So if you told me you loved me right now and I rejected you, I’d become evil?” Minho asked.

“That’s just a theory and you no it Minho, a theory that the God of the Sea has forbid us from spreading. He isn’t so petty as to do something like that for no reason. That siren tried to kill one of our one, so he cursed them all. I think that’s fitting enough of a punishment,” Kibum said back. Minho swam up to his level, a scowl clear from his expression as he let go of his tail.

“From a history he wrote all on his own,” Minho retorted.

“You sound like you’re conspiring against our God. You could be punished for treason.”

“I’m not conspiring anything, only saying the truth and you know it. Don’t argue with me Kibum.”

Kibum sighed, knowing that Minho was right, at least to some extent. “Come with me to see him next time. Don’t you want to learn how to walk? I’m sure Taemin could show you,” Minho tried to offer. Kibum scoffed at him and shook his head, moving away. “Please? I’m sure you’ll see that he’s harmless if you just come with me.”

“He isn’t harmless Minho. He’s a fish’s natural killer, and last I checked, we were both part fish.”

“We’re also part human, just like him,” Minho tried. He smiled slightly, nudging Kibum’s sides a little to try and get him to agree. Kibum shrugged him off, but he didn’t say no, and Minho smiled at him, promising that they’d go tomorrow to see him. Kibum smiled, hesitantly albeit, but he gave Minho a soft smile to let him know that he at least was willing to try.

He already knew he wasn’t going to be putting in much effort. This was only to get Minho off his case momentarily. This wasn’t permanent.

“So tomorrow?”

“Yes, we’re going tomorrow,” Minho replied.

“How early?”

“As soon as I finish my breakfast, because you wake up and eat earlier than I do.”

Kibum shook his head at Minho’s laziness but said nothing more as he made his way towards his house. He wasn’t looking forward to the next day, not in the least, and he would be sure to let the little siren know, but right now all he wanted was to finish his seaweed in peace without any other interruptions or distractions. He was too tired to deal with anything else, much less a siren’s problem. 

Short chapter. I apologize for not being able to update sooner, and with a longer chapter. But I'm trying to update 3 more stories tonight so bare with me. They won't be the longest chapters, but it'll be something, you know?

Either way, there's not much development on Taemin's side of the story, but we get to see more about Kibum here. He's really thick headed about these things, but that's why we have Minho. Also, you know more about his and Jonghyun's situation now. 

Anyway, I'm almost falling asleep but I'm determinded to update so I'm ending this message here. 

Please comment and let me know what you think! 

Bye bye!