Chapter Seven: Avoidance

Seunghyun swore in that very moment, his entire world stopped turning on its axis. Eyes wide with amazement and wonder, he turned to face the mermaid whose hands reached out towards Seungri’s unconscious body lying on the ground.

He seized the opportunity to gaze at her, to properly look at the ethereal creature before him.

Her eyes were wide, shock and terror both battling for the most dominant expression on her beautiful face. She had swum closer to them, pressing her hands harshly against the glass as she leaned forward, her stance nervous and her tail flicking in anxiety.

Seunghyun swore there had never been anything as beautiful as she.

“What in the–” Teddy began, his jaw slack as he stared in awe at the mermaid, attracting her furious attention.

“Leave him be,” she said, her tone venomous and scathing, repulsion evident in her soulful eyes. “You have done enough damage to the poor boy. You wanted my name, and I gave it to you.”

Her voice, though cutting and extremely hostile, enticed Seunghyun all the more. He could feel his conscience hammering away at the back of his mind, complaining about the inappropriateness of his thoughts in such a pivotal moment.

“How is this even possible?” Seunghyun wondered aloud, no longer able to contain himself as he continued to stare at the mermaid.

She turned to him, and Seunghyun was delighted when her vicious glare softened. “Please help him.”

Seunghyun quickly brushed off the muscular arms that encased him, glaring sideways at the guards who remained astonished in their places. He hurried over to where Seungri was still lying motionless, and held him up in a sitting position.

“Get out,” he heard Teddy quietly order the guards. “Send a medic but get out of the room right this instance.”

“Oh, so now you see the light.” Youngbae enthused, scoffing at Teddy as he brushed himself off. He squatted beside Seunghyun to check over the maknae, reassuring his hyung that Seungri was fine and was passed out.

The medic arrived much later, to Seunghyun’s annoyance.

He felt guilty, knowing that some part of him wanted Seungri’s predicament to be resolved quickly so he could interact with the mermaid more. He refused to acknowledge the small part of him – though it grew increasingly louder with every passing second – who screamed that he was wasting what precious time he could have with her.

He was a selfish person.

But this revelation only brought Seunghyun’s greediness to a whole new level.

Once Seungri was loaded up on a stretcher and Youngbae had vowed to watch over the maknae, Seunghyun was left alone in the test room with Teddy and the mermaid.

Teddy hadn’t spoken much after what had enfolded, though his eyes remained disapproving and questioning. He stubbornly refused to meet Seunghyun’s strong gaze, accusing him of his wrongdoings.

“You don’t have to kill her,” Seunghyun finally announced, crossing his arms across his broad chest. “She can tell you anything you need; there’s no more need for tests or experiments to be done on her.”

Teddy pursed his lips, his expression thoughtful. “How do we know she isn’t lying?”

“I give you my word,” the mermaid interrupted then, her eyes darting between Seunghyun and Teddy. “I promise to tell you anything about myself.”

Seunghyun noticed that she spoke carefully, her words measured as if she took a long time considering them. He knew she was hiding something, and in due time, he’d make sure she would tell him.

For now, all Seunghyun wanted to do was to protect her.

“I won’t stand for it.” He spat, looking back at Teddy’s torn face. “I’m not going to stand aside and watch you kill her, or abuse her body for the sake of science. She’ll tell you anything she’s willing to provide about her being, and that should be more than enough. Call off all the guards, the government – tell them that the alternative solution you’ve been searching for has been finally found.”

Teddy crumpled then, watching as his friend and most trusted confidante said his peace. Seunghyun knew he had hooked him; all Teddy needed to do now was to bite.

“I always knew you were going to be a much better leader than I was,” Teddy chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’ll do what you say . . . if you take over my position.”

OoOoOo

Bom wasn’t exactly sure what had transpired over the next twenty-four hours.

She had watched the two men conspire with each other, listening to their debate over who should captain their team. She felt awful knowing that it was her fault that the poor boy from earlier had been knocked unconscious – had she spoken earlier, all the unnecessary drama that ensued could have been avoided.

She had promised them that she’d adhere to their onslaught of questions but anything that had to do with her people or her family, Bom ensured she would take that secret to her grave.

This was the very least that she could do to protect her kingdom.

She tried her best to pay attention but the stress of the day had taken its toll on her, and she found her lids closing in what she felt was a twisted sense of serenity.

Her dream this time was a flashback of her and her father, dancing about his throne room when she was still little. Go Eun had been singing in the background, off-key and nowhere near Bom’s talent.

Yet it was Bom’s favourite memory; one of the first memories she could ever recall.

When her eyes reopened, she found that her tank had grown infinitely larger. It was longer and wider, and Bom could feel a spring of hope planting itself in her chest, refusing to wither even when she forced it to.

She thought her senses were deceiving her when she felt the familiar glide of seawater on her skin, soothing the aches of the scales of her tail. She breathed in, and she could feel the salt deliciously entering her body, bringing her to a mind-numbing peace that she hadn’t felt in so long.  

Looking around and realizing that she was still alone, Bom swam up to the very top of the tank, reaching out to touch the metallic cover. Her previous tank had been much smaller, so much so that all she had to do was to reach a hand out and her fingertips could touch the ceiling.

It was marvellous, glorious even.

She giggled, optimized by the change in her surroundings.

It certainly did not guarantee her release but this was a beginning. The fact that she could swim somewhat freely in her new tank excited her more than anything, surpassing even the thought of the handsome man who had defended her and spoke to her oh so gently.

She shook her head then, disliking how thoughts of him always led to her heart racing.

He was a human and she was a mermaid; there was no possibility they could ever be together.

And she was hoping to keep it that way.

OoOoOoOo

After information about his team’s intended actions towards the mermaid was leaked to the media, a huge protest had been made by the public – as well as the rest of the world – for them to release her. It had almost resulted in a riot, one of which Seunghyun swore he would have joined if Teddy hadn’t dumped the leadership role on him.

Seunghyun liked to think of himself as a follower. He was never a leader, and when Teddy handed in his resignation, Seunghyun knew it was a matter of time before he himself had to face a whole congress of demanding politicians vying for the public’s support.

He straightened up his tie, smoothed his blonde up-do – Seungri’s idea, not his – and barged into the meeting room with his head held high.

“Greetings, Doctor Choi, it is a pleasure to have you here,” a governor of some unknown state welcomed him, his smile wide with teeth showing. Seunghyun briefly wondered how long it took for him to perfect such a plastic smile.

He could see his father, seated at the very head of the table, his eyes like razors cutting into Seunghyun’s.

He nodded once at him and cleared his throat. “Cut the bull, governor. I’m here for one thing, and one thing only.”

Seunghyun felt an unknown emotion rush through him as he thought of the mermaid, trapped in a tank Seunghyun had asked Seungri to refurbish. He thought of her beautiful, melancholic eyes in despair and hopelessness. He thought of the song she had sung, the haunting melody that fixated itself in his mind, refusing to budge against his attempts to drown it.

“The people have spoken, and this is what they want; for the mermaid to be set free.” Seunghyun sat back, intertwining his hands on top of the marbled table, meeting his father’s angered gaze steadily. “And it is to my understanding that you don’t wish to let her go, therefore I came up with a compromise.

“Two weeks, is all I ask for. Give me two weeks for me and my chosen team to discover all that is to be discovered about our real-life Ariel. I will not conduct experiments that might compromise her well-being, and final decisions regarding her will be made by me and my team with no interferences from you. After those two weeks, you will release her back into the ocean – no tracking device, no hunting after her.”

He smirked, tilting his head to the side. “Deal?”

OoOoOo

“I don’t know how you did it,” Seungri laughed, smacking Seunghyun hard on his back. “Only you could convince an entire congress to set that mermaid free.”

“I’m not god,” Seunghyun chuckled. “I told them that they either played by my rules, or they’d have to face the wrath of the world’s activists. And I cursed – a lot.”

“It’s still something, though.” Jiyong cackled, nudging a rather drunk Youngbae off his body.

“Yeah . . . you . . . are . . . the best–” Youngbae hiccupped, his hands swaying as he grabbed Seungri, twirling the maknae around as he giggled hysterically.

It had been two days since the new decree had been passed, and Jiyong had brought them all out for a drink. There wasn’t much that Seunghyun had accomplished since the congress had done so.

Sure, he did paperwork, a little test-tube cleaning and he fired all of his previous colleagues. He had to admit; the look of their stunned faces was as gratifying as walking out of that meeting room knowing he had successfully prevented the mermaid from being susceptible to further harm.

He did, however, manage to get Seungri back on board along with Chaerin. Youngbae officially served as their guard, a one-man army whom Seunghyun explicitly trusted to protect the mermaid from any and all harm. Jiyong became their faux cheerleader, which was fine by Seunghyun; the man was busy managing his artistes, ensuring that no lawsuits would be pitted against his empire.

They were all that he needed; this time, he would do things right.

He’d made a promise to her, to that mermaid Seunghyun now knew he had fallen for, and he was hell bent on keeping it.

OoOoOo

“Hi!” Seungri shouted, excitedly pressing himself against the glass of Bom’s new tank.

She grinned at the cheery boy, endlessly smiling and joking about – he reminded her so much of Seunghoon, the ultimate jokester of the royal guard.

Thoughts of him distressed her, and she fought back bile as she recalled their fallen bodies when they had tried to save her.

She shook her head, focusing on Seungri’s chattering. She eyed him speculatively when he sat down in front of her, playing with a device in his hands. He tapped away at it, frowning a little before breaking out into a gigantic grin and cackling away.

“There,” he enthused, “can you hear me better?”

“Yes,” Bom grinned. “Thank you.”

“Stop pestering her, maknae-ah,” the handsome man pushed Seungri away, his hand reaching out and ruffling the boy’s hair.

Korean was another thing that befuddled Bom completely.

In her kingdom, her people spoke in one tongue – there had been no other races of merpeople that she had heard of, and her father’s many ventures into the different oceans over the span of his life taught her that the only mermen living were the ones who coexisted in her kingdom.

It took a while for her to understand that the humans spoke in various languages, came in different skin tones, and had different cultures.

As much as Bom hated to admit it, the human world did fascinate her with all its complexity and exuberant nature.

Of course, she told this to no one.

“It’s called entertaining.” Seungri retorted, and mockingly glared at the man. “She’s probably bored from all your questions about her body, which, by the way, makes you totally sound like a .”

Bom giggled, unable to prevent the laughter which Seungri skilfully brought forward. She couldn’t really understand his lingo, choosing to laugh at his antics rather than the incomprehensible words he spoke.

He turned to her, his smile so wide it almost reached his ears.                                                                 

“Shut up, Seungri, or I’m kicking you out the room.”

And in spite of herself, Bom knew that somehow, in the capable hands of the handsome man and his subordinates . . . she would be fine, that she would be able to be free once again.

It was in that moment when Bom felt a tiny glimmer of hope flutter itself against her chest, one that she sincerely believed would true.

OoOoOo

“You know, hyung, you should ask her about more personal stuff.” Seungri nudged Seunghyun as he organised sheets upon sheets of data.

The two of them were the only ones left in the lab, just a room away from the mermaid. Chaerin had gone home by herself, rejecting Seungri’s offer to accompany her, leaving Seunghyun with a sulking big baby.

The older raised an eyebrow at the maknae’s suggestion, bewildered as to why he suddenly broached the topic. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t think I don’t see how you look at her, hyung.” Seungri shrugged. “Leave it to you to fall in love with a freaking mermaid.”

Seunghyun opened his mouth, about to protest. Then, he chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Do you want me to bring Jiyong-hyung into this?” Seungri challenged, immediately alarming him.

“No! God, no!” Seunghyun gasped. “Okay, fine, yes, I like her. But she’s my damn subject. It’s deranged to fall for one’s own test subject.”

“Is that what she is to you?” Seungri mocked. “A test subject?”

“Alright, fine, she’s more than that.” Seunghyun admitted, turning away from the maknae so he wouldn’t have to see that he had actually been blushing. He had a suave image to uphold, even in front of what he thought was a clueless dongsaeng.

He failed to see Seungri pumping his fist in the air in triumph. “See? Now go get her, hyung!”

OoOoOo

“Hi,” Seunghyun cleared his throat.

He honestly had no idea what he was doing here bright and early on a Sunday morning, which was supposed to be his designated off day. Normally, he would be hungover and still sleeping on his bed, an unidentified woman sleeping soundly by his side.

It had been so long since he last slept with someone, and Jiyong had on more than one occasion voiced out his concern over his best friend.

Instead, today, Seunghyun dragged his out of his comfortable bed and ignored the raging protest within him to grab a few more hours of sleep. He called Chaerin, forcing her to take the day off under the pretence that he had many tasks he had left to fulfil back in the lab.

“Hello,” the mermaid greeted him, eyes alight with interest. “Are you not on break today?”

“Well, uh, yes – I mean, no.” Seunghyun mentally rapped himself on the head. “I’m replacing Chaerin today.”

She nodded. “Oh, I see.”

They lapsed into a painfully awkward silence, one that would normally be filled up with Seunghyun’s questions. But he had come empty-handed today, and all he could think of right then was how pretty she looked staring expectedly at him.

Dammit, Choi, get your act together! It’s not the first time you’ve tried to make a move on a ing girl!

Seunghyun cleared his throat. “Why don’t we take it easy today? Let’s put the scientific questions on hold and get to know you better.”

The mermaid frowned, unsure of how to react to his suggestion. “Alright . . .?”

“Okay, well, first, my name is Seunghyun. I know you haven’t gotten around to knowing it yet.” He flashed a warm smile towards her, loving how colour flooded her cheeks as she looked away from his penetrating gaze.

“Se-seyung–” She tried, biting her lip when she couldn’t pronounce his name.

“It’s okay, you can call me ‘jagi-ya,’” Seunghyun grinned greasily, feeling his lost swagger kicking into acceleration knowing she wouldn’t have the faintest idea what that particular endearment meant.

“Isn’t that a word you use for someone who is your lover?” She questioned, eyes amused and waiting.

Seunghyun swore he felt his heart and stomach fall a thousand feet underground, and he felt shame dancing about his spine in glee. “How did you know that?”

“Seungri used the same word with Chaerin yesterday; she did not like it and slapped him. I thought Seungri would give up then but he grabbed her and told her that one day, she would like him back.” She leaned in secretively, humour flooding her tone. “But if you asked me, I believe she already does.”

Seunghyun had heard the story from Seungri – it was the first thing the maknae had ranted to him about over the phone.

“I’ll get her someday, mark my words, hyung.” The maknae declared. “She will be mine someday.”

“You already know my name,” the mermaid said, breaking into Seunghyun’s focus.

“Bom,” he chuckled. “You know, in Korean, it actually means ‘spring.’”

“Spring?”

“It is a part of our four seasons here in the human world – summer, fall, winter and spring. Things are new and fresh during spring, flowers blossom and everything grows extremely beautiful.” And that fittingly defines you. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Bom, what is it like underneath the sea?”

He ignored the way her name rolled off his tongue like it was always meant to, sending irrational goose-bumps to break out all over his arms.

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Bom cried, her eyes dancing with such vivacious energy that Seunghyun was completely enthralled by. Her face grew animated as she swam closer to him. “I could spend a million years swimming through the oceans, playing with the other sea creatures – you wouldn’t believe it until you have seen it for yourself! The world underneath your shores goes beyond anything your human history tells you about.”

“And is that what you miss the most? Swimming freely?”

The mermaid was quiet for a long time, her excited demeanour morphing into a depressed one as she hunched over herself. She played with her fingers resting on her gorgeous blue tail, and Seunghyun wanted so badly to touch her then.

“Yes.” It was so quiet that, had Seunghyun not been listening intently, he would’ve missed it.

He got up and pulled open a drawer, rummaging deep inside of it until his hand brought out the key Seungri had entrusted to him.

He could feel the mermaid’s eyes on him as he climbed on top of her tank, his hands busy with the lock.

Once the tank was open, Seunghyun reached into the water, his hand dipping into its cold temperatures.

“What are you doing?” Bom asked, baffled by the boldness of his sudden actions.

“I may not be able to give you your freedom just yet, but maybe I can gift you with a semblance of it.” 

A/N: I am so sorry for the late update - I've been busy with work, school (unviersity ) and BIGBANG's comeback. I hope you're all enjoying their comeback like I am! And I'm also hoping you're enjoying this update, too. :) Until next time!