Chapter 4

Yongguk had never been one to express his feelings out loud to someone. The only time he was able to was when it came to music. He used his songs to express every feeling he had inside, not leaving anything out. His songs ranged from beautiful love songs to songs about the wrongs in the world to songs of hurt and pain; everything came from his heart. It was one of the reasons why he was signed to the label he was working with half way through his final year of the university. He was good with his words on paper but when it came to actually telling someone his feelings, he would turn into a mute; converting back into being the shy kid that didn't talk much. His music was the only way he could truly express himself.

Yongguk threw his head back on the couch and sighed, immediately wincing when he bothered the sunburn on his back. He had spent the entire night tossing and turning in bed, not being able to get comfortable because of the sunburn covering his entire back and chest. Whenever he did get comfortable enough to try and sleep, his mind kept going back to one thing and one thing only; one merman only, Himchan.

The guilt from scaring the merman away was weighing on Yongguk. He understood that the merman was scared. How couldn't he be scared? From what he could tell, Himchan hadn't had any human interaction. Yongguk was the first. So of course he would be scared, it's only natural. He should have been more careful around Himchan but to think that the merman would leave because of a touch confused Yongguk. Was Himchan really that frightened by him? That thought kept him awake that night that he finally decided to forgo sleep.

Now sitting on the couch in the living room with a cold beer in his hand, Yongguk kept replaying the frightened look on the merman's face in his mind. He really didn't want Himchan to be scared of him. He needed to find a way to let Himchan know that he wasn't someone he should be scared of; that he meant no harm to him. He needed to find a way to apologize.

But how?

It's not like he could send the merman a song so that he could play it. He could write the lyrics down on a piece of paper, put it in a bottle, chuck it into the sea in hopes that Himchan would find it. Did Himchan even know how to read? Yongguk didn't know, so writing the lyrics was out of the question.

Yongguk had thought about trying to drown again but there was no way he wanted to do that again. There could be a huge chance that Himchan had left the area completely because of him. And if that was the case, then Yongguk would drown for sure.

Yongguk took a swig of his cold beer before leaning forward to get the remote on the coffee table. Maybe some television would get his mind off of Himchan. He groaned when the first thing he saw on the television when it was the Little Mermaid. He was trying to get his mind off of the merman, this wasn't helping.

He was just about to change the channel when the thought of more mers in the sea other than Himchan crossed his mind. Just then, Yongguk understood why Himchan wouldn't want to see or get close to him again. He wouldn't want to risk a human finding a race of mers in the sea. Himchan had risked enough to save Yongguk, he wouldn't want to risk anymore.

Yongguk ran his free hand over his face. “What are you doing?” He asked himself.

He knew he shouldn't pursue Himchan any further but he wanted to. He wanted to apologize to Himchan. He needed to apologize to Himchan.

At least that's what he kept telling himself.

******

Himchan giggled as a school of fish danced around him. He had been swimming mindlessly not really paying attention until the school of fish started to circle around him. He was in awe of the beautiful colors of the fishes. The sea was filled with beautiful things in Himchan's opinion but there were also things that scared him. He didn't dare to venture too far down into the sea's depth. It was dark and unknown. He was also sure to drown if he tried to go that far down. There was sure to be nothing beautiful down there.

Himchan started to feel the depletion of air in his lungs. As much as he wanted to stay under and play with the school of fish, he needed to resurface for air. He swam back up to the surface, inhaling the fresh sea air when his head popped out of the water. He ran his hand through his hair, pulling it back from his face. He looked around at his surroundings and saw nothing but an open world of water. He was nowhere near the small island where that land creature stayed.

He didn't know why he had saved Yongguk both times. He had never done anything like that before. He had always made sure to stay far enough away from the land and it's creatures so that he won't be noticed and caught. But for whatever reason when he saw Yongguk getting pulled into the depths of the sea, he moved to rescue the land creature without a hesitation.

After he had dragged Yongguk back to the shore, he was finally able to take a good look at the land creature. He was mesmerized by the land creature's body. He had never been so close to one before. He had seen the land creatures from time to time and always wondered why they looked alike but different at the same time. Land creatures looked like him but Himchan wondered why they didn't have a tail and fins like him. Land creatures were fin and tail-less with two limbs where their tail should be. He also noticed that there were two different types of land creatures. One of the types looked like him with a flat chest and strong facial features; the other type had a curvier chest and soft facial features. Neither of them had any sign of tails and fins.

Himchan had taken that opportunity to touch Yongguk's limbs when the land creature was unconsciousness on the shore. He should have left when Yongguk started to cough up the sea water in his lung as he regained consciousness but Himchan couldn't bring himself to move.

It wasn't until Yongguk had noticed Himchan's tail that Himchan realized what a dangerous mistake it all was. He should have let the land creature drown; his life was in danger now. That's when Himchan left in a blink of an eye. He had sworn to himself to never do that again, that's why he cursed himself when he found himself swimming in the same area of the island the next day. He should have left to explore someplace new. Someplace where there were little to no land creatures to see him.

He wasn't planning on getting close to Yongguk again when he had seen the land creature swimming in the same area but he noticed the swarm of jellyfish that was floating towards the land creature. Again he cursed himself as he swam to the land creature. He knew very well how much of a pain jellyfishes were, being that he had been stung one too many times for his liking. So that might have been the reason why Himchan had taken Yongguk to a cave in the island that he had found. Maybe that was why Himchan helped treat Yongguk's stings. There was no other reason as to why Himchan would put his life in danger for the second time.

Himchan swore to himself when he left Yongguk in the cave, that he wouldn't risk getting close to another land creature for as long as he was alive. He was able to make it out alive both times but the third time could be his last one. Yongguk already knew that he existed. He could easily come back for Himchan and kill him just like he has seen other land creatures do to his sea friends.

He tried to shake the thoughts of Yongguk from his mind. He wanted to forget about the land creature but a part of him was curious to learn more about him. He tried to deny the fact that he was curious to learn more about Yongguk and his “people” as Yongguk called them. He swam out this far because of that turmoil within him. He knew it was dangerous but his curiosity was getting the better of him. There was something about Yongguk that made Himchan think that the land creature wasn't like the other ones that Himchan had seen.

He submerged himself back into the water and swam. He didn't know where he was going but he needed to feel free, without a care or thought. The only way he could truly feel free is by swimming the open ocean.

******

Yongguk knew that he shouldn't be out here again but he couldn't help himself, something was pulling him to the ocean. He was only able to get a little bit of sleep the night before; Himchan was plaguing his mind. He needed to see the merman again and apologize, so right at dawn he went out to one of the harbors on the island that housed the sports fishing boat that belonged to his father.

A sigh of relief escaped his mouth when the old boat started up. The boat had been in their family since Yongguk was five. Most of the people that lived on the island owned a fishing boat of sorts. Yongguk remembered spending days out at sea with his father and younger brother, learning how to drive the boat and fish. There were times when they would even take out the boat to water ski. As his father got older, the boat started to be used less and less. Yongguk was pretty sure that his father hadn't taken out the boat since Youngjae left for Busan. He was surprised to learn that the boat was still sitting in the harbor after all these years.

He couldn't be more grateful now than ever that his father hadn't sold the boat.

Yongguk had made sure to cover his sunburns up so he would not do any further damage to his skin and to slather a heavy amount of sunscreen on the areas of skin that he couldn't fully cover. Yongguk felt ridiculous being covered from head to toe and more than anything, he was dying from the heat. He had to make sure that he didn't overheat. He didn't want to pass out so he packed a few bottles of water for him to stay hydrated, along with enough food for the day.

He stopped the boat and anchored it around the same area Himchan had appeared the last two days. Yongguk got out from behind the driver's seat and pulled out an umbrella big enough to shade his entire body from the sun's rays. If he was going to be out here waiting for the merman, Yongguk was going to be fully prepared to do it. He had everything that he would need to stay out on the waters for the entire day. He would wait for as long as he needed. He knew how crazy it sounded; he was starting to question his sanity. Was he really doing all of this over a merman?

Despite questioning his sanity, Yongguk considered himself lucky. He was the only one to know of Himchan's existence. No one else knew about Himchan or mers. And no one ever will.

Yongguk was going to make sure to take this secret to the grave. He knew what would happen if the world knew that Himchan existed. The merman would be kept captive in an aquarium somewhere and studied for the rest of his life. There would also be the chance of Himchan or any other mer being hunted for their tail; just like elephants who are hunted for their tusks or rhinoceroses for their horn. Yongguk didn't want that. It could never happen – would never happen. Yongguk would make sure of it.

Minutes turned into hours and soon enough Yongguk was starting to nod off. He spent most of his morning on his phone researching more about mer-lore. He read whatever he could find about mers. He didn't know if what he had read was true or an elaborate fairy tail, but nevertheless he made sure to absorb the information. The lack of sleep had soon caught up to Yongguk; the gentle rocking of the boat also didn't help to keep him awake. He struggled to keep his eyes opened, not wanting to fall asleep for one second. He knew how dangerous it could be to fall asleep on a boat alone in open water. He needed to be awake and alert for whatever could happen.

Yongguk smacked his cheek and instantly regretted it. His cheek stung thanks to the sunburn. At least the pain would keep him awake.

Yongguk reached into the cooler and fished out an energy drink, drinking it in one gulp. “That probably wasn't the best idea.” He said to himself discarding to can into the trash bag he made in the corner of the boat. “Like being out here is.”

He grabbed the binoculars that hung around his neck and looked out to the sea, hoping to spot what he was looking for. He scanned the clear blue waters, knowing that even if Himchan was out here, he would be concealed from view thanks to the color of his tail and fins. It was a perfect defense mechanism from predators and humans.

Yongguk grabbed onto the side railing of the boat when something started to rock the boat. Yongguk cursed at his luck. He looked down at the water to see if there was something that was causing the boat to rock. His eyes widened when he saw a glint of what he thought was fair-porcelain like skin in the water.

“Himchan? Himchan, it's Yongguk. I'm sorry about yesterday. I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to.” Yongguk watched as the thing continued to circle around the boat. “I don't mean you any harm if that's what you're worried about. I would never hurt you. I promise.” He continued to scan the water in front of him for any sign of the merman.

“You're really stubborn, you know?” Yongguk whipped his head around to see Himchan with his arms resting over the other side of the boat, a scowl on his face. “You should have never came back to find me. You should have let me be.”

“I needed to see you again.” Yongguk said. He wanted to move closer to the merman but was afraid that Himchan would disappear if he did.

“Why?” Himchan asked after a moment of silence. “To s-sorry?”

“Yes.” Yongguk could see the look of confusion on Himchan's face. He held back the chuckle that wanted to escape him. “Do you even know what 'sorry' is?”

Himchan cast his eyes down and shook his head.

Yongguk couldn't hold back the chuckle anymore. Himchan was just too cute to hold it in. Yongguk sat down on his side of the boat, giving Himchan that space that he needed. “Alright. Where do I begin to explain?”

I hoped that you guys enjoyed this chapter.  Sorry for the long wait but stuff happens, ya know?  

I'm kind of hoping that someone gets the little, very subtle Easter egg I put in here, that does not have anything to do with The Little Mermaid.  Let me know if you got the Easter egg.

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Til next lovelies~