Chapter 8

“This, Himchan, is going to change your life.” Daehyun said as he sat down next to the kiddie pool. He grabbed the remote control and pointed it to the television, flicking it on. “Being that you're going to be here for a bit, I'm going to teach you about one of the best inventions ever.”

Himchan eye's widened as he gasped. Right before his very eyes, there were tiny land creatures in a box sitting on something that Himchan had never seen before. It was like the camera thingy that Yongguk had taught him about, but these humans were moving and talking.

Himchan turned to Daehyun and asked, “Are those humans trapped in there?”

Daehyun couldn't help but laugh at the shocked and concerned look that the merman was giving him. It was certainly one of the cutest looks he had seen on someone's face (but he wouldn't tell Youngjae that).

“No, they're not trapped in there. This is called a television...”

Youngjae smiled at Himchan's interaction with Daehyun before slipping out of the house onto the front porch not bothering to fully close the door. Yongguk stood on the porch, smoking his cigarette as he looked out onto the sea. Youngjae scrunched up his nose from the smell of the cigarette smoke. For the life of him, Youngjae didn't know why Yongguk had picked up the habit in the first place. He knew Yongguk had quit smoking last year but after Yongguk's burnout, he wasn't surprised that his hyung had started smoking again. He would normally nag his hyung about it, but now wasn't the right time for it. There were other things they needed to take care of.

“So, what's exactly your plan, hyung? You can't keep Himchan here forever. Plus you still have your life in Seoul.” Youngjae asked Yongguk as he leaned back against the house.

Yongguk took another long drag of his cigarette. That was exactly what he was asking himself as he stared out at the sea. With everything that had happened today with finding Himchan injured, bringing the merman to his house, Youngjae and Daehyun showing up out of the blue, he hadn't had a chance to stop and think. He had been running on instinct all day, not caring about the logic about it all. The only thing that he wants to think about is Himchan's safety. That's all that matters to him; everything else he can deal with it when the time comes.

“I don't know.” Yongguk said after a while, his eyes still glued to the sea. “I didn't have a chance to think it through. All I know is the moment I saw Himchan wounded, I knew that I had to help him and that's what I plan on doing.”

“Yeah, I get it but now that he's here in our living room, what are you going to do?” Youngjae asked.

“Help him heal from his injuries.” Yongguk said before taking a drag from his cigarette.

“And how long will that be? It's already been a week since you arrived. What about your job, your career?” Youngjae knew that his older brother would help the merman heal for as long as it took but they had no idea just how long it would take for Himchan to heal. He knew that Yongguk's job wouldn't wait forever for him.

Yongguk exhaled the smoke through his nose as he dropped the of the cigarette to the ground. “I'm on sabbatical, Youngjae.” He started as he pressed his heel against the , grinding it into the wooden porch. “I don't have to go back for months, a year if it takes that long for me to recover.”

“Recover? Recover from what? I thought you just needed a break from work because you were burnt out and couldn't write anything new.”

Yongguk finally looked at his younger brother. “That's what I wanted you think. Jae...I didn't burnout, I had a mental breakdown. One that required me to get admitted for a couple of days, which allowed me to get properly diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. The company agreed to put me on this sabbatical so that I can take care of myself, both physically and mentally.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” Youngjae said softly as his brain tried to process what he had just heard.

“Because I didn't want you to worry and by the look on your face, that's exactly what you're doing.” Yongguk said.

“How can you think keeping something like this from me is okay?” Of course Youngjae was going to worry. He would constantly worry about his older brother but Yongguk keeping something like this to himself was selfish and it made the younger of the two brothers angry. “Hyung, you need to tell me things like this! You can't keep something like this to yourself! I need to know when something's wrong with you so I can be there for you! You're all I have left!”

“Yeah...I know.” Yongguk looked back out to the calming water. Youngjae had every right to be angry with him. He would be just as furious with Youngjae if he did the same thing. “I knew I should have told you sooner but I didn't want you to see me weak. I'm your older brother, I should be the one taking care of you now that aboji is gone. I knew that you would have dropped everything with school to come and help me and I couldn't let that happen. So I dealt with it myself.”

Silence fell between the brothers. After awhile Youngjae sighed. “God you're stubborn.”

Yongguk snorted. “You're one to talk.”

“Okay, we're both stubborn but if this ever happens again, tell me. It's just you and me left. We need to be here for one another.”

Yongguk turned back to his younger brother and nodded. “I promise I will. No more secrets.”

“Good. Now what about Himchan?” Youngjae asked.

“What about him?”

A mischievous smirk appeared on Youngjae's face. “Is there something going on between the two of you?”

Yongguk could feel the flush rise to his face at the insinuation of there being something between him and Himchan. “Um, no. Of course there isn't.”

Yongguk avoided his younger brother's teasing gaze as he walked past him and back into the house. He wanted to avoid getting bombarded with these kind of questions. His heart fluttered when he was welcomed by Himchan's laughter. If he had a working phone, he would have taken a video of the merman experiencing television for the first time.

“Yongguk!” Himchan called out to him when the merman spotted him. “Look! Daehyun is teaching me about this thing. Tel...” Himchan furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember what the word was. “Tel...television!”

“That's it!” Daehyun smiled and raised his hand up to Himchan. The merman tilted his head at the hand in his face, confused as to why it was there. “Hi-five.”

“Hi-five?” Himchan asked.

“You don't know what a hi-five is?” Daehyun asked, frowning when the merman shook his head. “Hi-five is when a person holds their hand out like this and someone else slaps their hand against it. Like this.”

Daehyun raised his hand up to Youngjae who was now in the house with the rest of them and instantly Youngjae slaps his hand against Daehyun's. “See? Now you try.”

Himchan tentatively held his hand up to Yongguk who softly slapped his hand against Himchan's webbed ones. Yongguk then held his hand to Himchan causing the merman to smile when he slapped his hand against Yongguk's.

Yongguk almost forgot how to breath when Himchan looked up at him, his face overcome with joy. The more Yongguk looked at the merman, the more beautiful Himchan got. There was no denying his beauty. Yongguk however, was starting to deny the feeling in his heart that was telling him that he was falling. It was a slow fall but he knew it was happening and now that they were under the same roof, there was no escaping it.

******

“What are those two humans doing?” Himchan asked.

They had spent the evening watching television. For the most part Himchan just watched in silence as he studied the land creatures that were in the box. Daehyun had explained to him how a television worked and that no one was actually trapped in there which amazed the merman. There were a few times where Himchan was truly confused at what was happening and like a curious toddler, he asked questions and the answers he got would fascinate him even more.

“They're kissing.” Daehyun answered from his seat on the couch next to Youngjae, his head resting on Youngjae's lap.

“Kissing?” Himchan tilted his head as he stared at the television. “It seems like both of the humans are eating other.”

This caused everyone but Himchan to laugh making the merman even more confused.

“Well, in a way they kind of are.” Daehyun said through his chuckles.

“They're not eating each other. They're showing how much they like one another.” Yongguk said, a faint blush tinting his cheeks.

“Like one another?” Himchan looked over to Yongguk.

“It's when...when...um,” Yongguk struggled to find the right words to explain, either because of the embarrassing flush that had crept up on his face or the denial of whatever feelings that had started to develop in his heart or because he was just having a hard to time explaining a feeling.

“It's kind of hard to explain, Himchan.” Youngjae said, helping his struggling brother. “Liking someone is more of a feeling. You know what being happy is right?”

Himchan nodded.

“Well it's like that. When you're happy to see that person, when you become happy whenever you think about that person. If that person makes you feel happy, then that means you like that person.” Youngjae explained.

“Ooh...” Himchan blinked a couple of times as he processed what he had just heard. The light bulb flicked on in his head when he came to the realization. “Then that means I like Yongguk.” He turned his head back towards Yongguk. “Yongguk, I like you. You make me happy, so that means I like you.”

Yongguk felt his face heat up as both Daehyun and Youngjae looked at him with a hint of gleam in their eyes. He didn't have to know what they both were thinking, their expression said it all. The only thing that he could do was act as if those words from the merman didn't affect him and that his face wasn't the shade of a tomato.

“I like you too, Himchan.” He said in his best I'm-totally-cool-about-you-liking-me-cause-chyeah-I-like-you-too-but-I'm-trying-not-to-be-so-obvious-cause-I'm-totally-cool-yo voice which he was pretty sure it didn't sound like at all.

Himchan turned towards Daehyun and Youngjae, “I like Youngjae too and I especially like Daehyun.”

“Oh no hyung, you have competition.” Daehyun laughed. “And thank you Himchan, I like you too. But not as much as I like you.” He looked up at Youngjae as he poked his cheek.

“So does this mean we can kiss now?” Himchan innocently asked.

Daehyun's eyes widened like saucers when he realized that the question was directed towards him. He sat up and laughed nervously knowing that Youngjae was giving him a look. “I'm sorry Himchan, but kissing is something you only do when you really really really reeeeally like someone. And I mean, really.”

“So does that mean, you and Youngjae kiss? You two seem to really like each other.” Himchan said, not noticed how red Youngjae's face was turning.

Daehyun leaned in and placed the back of his hand next to his mouth as if he were telling the merman a secret. “All the time.” Daehyun winked at the merman before wincing in pain when Youngjae's elbow met his side.

“I think it's time for me to go to bed. I'm exhausted from all the fun we had today.” Youngjae announced as he got up on his feet, the flush on his face had spread to both his neck and ears. “Goodnight.”

“I'm going too.” Daehyun got up and bid his goodnight to both Yongguk and Himchan before following his boyfriend into his childhood bedroom.

Himchan turned back to the television to continue watching the drama and studying the people on the screen. He didn't notice that Yongguk had left the room until there was another question he needed to ask. A mild panic took over him when he looked around for any sign of Yongguk only to find himself all alone. He was used to being alone in the sea but he wasn't in the sea; on land was a different thing. There was no way he could protect himself on land.

“Yongguk?” He called out.

“Sorry,” Yongguk said as he walked back into the living room with a bag in his hands. “I went to get the medical supplies for your wounds.”

Yongguk sat down next to the pool to examine the wounds. It was visible that Himchan had started to panic only to relax the moment Yongguk had walked back into the room. He was happy to see that there was no signs of blood or infection coming from the wounds. “Do you sleep?” He asked the merman as he put a bit more of the healing ointment on.

“Sleep?”

“You know when you close your eyes and drift into dreamland?” Yongguk tried to think about what a merman would dream about or if they actually dreamt.

“Oh is that what it's called? Yes but I normally sleep with others.” Himchan said.

Yongguk looked up at Himchan, surprised at what the merman said. “Others?”

Himchan nodded. “A lot of the times it's around dolphins but some times, I sleep around the whales. Not all the time though because some whales are just mean.”

“You sleep around them?” Yongguk sighed when he realized that Himchan wasn't talking about what he was thinking about.

“Yes. That way I have some kind of protection when I sleep. And if I'm close the land, I just find a cave to sleep in.” Himchan said. He watched his hands as he lightly swayed them under the water, not paying attention to Yongguk's touch. “But I don't like sleeping caves all the time.”

“How come?” Yongguk asked. “You don't have to worry about predators when you sleep in a cave. You're by yourself.”

“It's scary sometimes.” Himchan wrapped his arms around himself. “It can get really really dark in there.”

Himchan's mind wondered off to dark part of the ocean. The part that he never dared to go near for fear that he would never come back out. The part where the pressure was so strong that it would make it hard for him to swim. The part that was so deep below sea level that Himchan was sure he couldn't hold his breath long enough and drown in. The part that was unknown and was filled with tales of creatures more frightening than Himchan had ever encountered. The darkness scared him more than he would have liked so he avoided it as much as he could.

“I don't like it.” The merman pouted.

Yongguk hummed as he put away the medical supplies. “Well you don't have to worry about predators attacking you here, Himchan. You're safe here. No one's going to harm you.”

Yongguk was about to get on his feet when a wet, webbed hand wrapped around his forearm, nails lightly digging into his skin. He turned around to see Himchan staring back at him, scared and vulnerable. It hurt Yongguk to see Himchan like that. It kind of reminded him of himself when he had his breakdown and how vulnerable and helpless he had become. It was something that he never wanted to see on Himchan's face ever again. Nor on his own.

“Himchan?”

“Will you sleep here? With me?” Himchan asked, a faint blush painting his cheeks.

Yongguk smiled at the merman. “Of course I will, Himchan. You don't have to worry about being alone. Just keep watching the television while I go get my stuff.”

The merman murmured an 'okay' before letting go of Yongguk's arm. He watched as Yongguk disappeared down the hall and into a room. Himchan let out a shaky breath as he turned back to the television. He knew what Yongguk had said about him being safe in this place was true but Yongguk's home was still unfamiliar to him. He didn't want to sleep alone in the darkness of the land, surrounded by things he didn't know. He would feel more safe with Yongguk sleeping next to him. Yongguk would be his dolphin.

“Alright Himchan,” Yongguk said as he walked back into the living room with his pillows and a blanket. He had changed into shorts and a wife beater, showing off his tattoos. He set up the couch with his pillow and blanket before he turned off the light, the television being the only thing to illuminate the room.

Yongguk laid down on the couch and faced the merman. Himchan moved closer to the couch as much as the kiddie pool would allow him to. The merman gasped when Yongguk turned off the television, leaving the room dark with only the moonlight peering through the windows as the only source of light.

“Don't worry, Himchan.” Yongguk said as he extended his arm out to the merman. “I'll be right here with you all night.”

Himchan reached up and linked his webbed hand with Yongguk's hand. He exhaled slowly as he closed his eyes. He let his nerves calm down as he listened to Yongguk's steady breathing. He smiled to himself when he felt Yongguk's hand lightly squeeze his. For the first time in days, Himchan was able to peacefully fall asleep.

(´▽`ʃƪ)♡  My babies have gotten a little closer.  Oh my gosh, aren't they the cutest?

I hope that you guys liked this chapter (and felt this was worth the wait).  And that you also enjoyed the hi-five and kissing lesson lol.  Let's hope that Yongguk, Daehyun and Youngjae did a good job explaining that to Himchan and that he fully understands.  Or lets hope that he doesn't fully understand and needs 1 on 1 lessons with Yongguk. /wink/ /wink/  

(Yongguk's Himchan's dolphin!)

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Til next time lovelies~