{ chapter three

Jongin arrives at the beach first thing in the morning, and sits on his usual rocky platform, waiting patiently. He chews slowly on a peach, appetite dry and mind running wild. Last night’s sleep was restless and unrelenting, filled with unanswered questions as Jongin tried to wrap his mind around the idea of mermaids – well, Mer people – truly existing. It took him a while to come to his senses and convince himself it wasn’t all a dream when morning dawned.

Taemin comes what seems like an eternity later, and pulls himself up onto the rocks after taking a few strangled breaths for air. Jongin slips down to his level and hands him another peach he’s brought along with him, and Taemin runs his fingers over the soft fuzz, enchanted.

“It’s a fruit,” Jongin explains. “It grows on our trees. It’s sweet.”

Jongin has figured out that Taemin won’t eat fish because they are, evidently, regarded as something more than just animals, which is why he’d send Jongin dirty looks every time he consumed tuna or salmon. He knows Taemin has probably never tasted food from the Surface before, so he decided to bring him one of his favourite fruits, in the hopes that Taemin would return the gesture by exposing him to more Mer culture.

Taemin gingerly takes a bite, and a delighted smile lights up his face.

“Wow. I’ve never tasted anything like it. It’s…not salty. At all.”

Jongin smiles, “I thought you’d like it. Don’t eat the pit in the centre.”

He waits patiently for Taemin to indulge in the peach, which he can only half-finish because of the sweetness overwhelming his senses, before interrogating him about the suspicious remark yesterday.

“What did you mean by ‘bring me under’ yesterday?”

Taemin places the peach down gently, and puts his hands down beside him, meeting Jongin’s intense gaze with utter seriousness.

“The reason I’ve revealed myself and my people to you, Jongin, is because I can tell that there is Sea in you. I know that you have it in your blood. And just like Mer can breathe on the Surface because of the Surface in their blood, humans can breathe in the Sea because of presence of Sea in theirs.”

Jongin drinks in Taemin’s words, and his heart begins to hammer, realisation sinking in.

“You mean…?”

Taemin nods, and Jongin exhales heavily.

“I won’t lie to you. It’s much harder for humans to enter the Sea than it is for Mer to come to the Surface. But I trust you, Jongin, and I consider you my friend now. I’m willing to help you connect to the Sea in your blood and breathe underwater, just how I can breathe in the air.”

“Really?” Jongin whispers, hands trembling in excitement. “You’re serious?”

Taemin smiles cheekily, “aw, come on, what kind of terrible person do you think I am to lie to you about this?”

“I’m not a confident swimmer, though,” Jongin says anxiously, as Taemin motions for him to move closer to the edge of the water. “I don’t know if I can.”

“You’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

Jongin surveys Taemin fearfully, unknowing of whether or not he should trust him. After all, they did only meet mere weeks ago, and the concept of Taemin not being human is too absurd to seem safe. But Taemin’s words are somehow comforting to him, spun with sincerity and care, so Jongin goes ahead and moves closer.

“It’s too rocky here for you to safely dive, so I’ll need you to be deep into the water. The further from the Surface you are, the easier it is to connect to the Sea.”

Jongin nibbles on his lip, nodding in understanding.

“There’s a drop off further out of you’re willing to swim that far with me. I can take you down deeper that way.”

“You’re not going to try and kill me?”

Taemin sends him an are-you-kidding-you-can’t-seriously-be-asking-me-that eye-roll, and Jongin chuckles sheepishly. Taemin is just like any other guy his age – how could he not trust him?

“Come on. Get in.”

Taemin pushes himself into the water with a splash, and Jongin smiles, exhilaration pumping through him at the thought of joining Taemin’s world. He pulls off his shirt and jumps into the refreshing water, throwing his head back and tossing his now wet hair from his face. Taemin laughs and grabs his hand, before plunging under the water, pulling Jongin down with him.

Jongin forces his eyes open as the water rushes past him to look behind him at Taemin’s beautiful tail, powerful and strong as it propels them both forward. They stay under the water for a few moments before Taemin brings them back up to the air, allowing Jongin to gasp for breath again.

“All good?”

Jongin nods, coughing up water that managed to stream into his nose and mouth, before allowing Taemin to take him back under.

Taemin does this a few more times until they reach the drop-off, where the sand disappears and is replaced by the murky dark waters that never seem to end. Jongin has absolute faith in Taemin to keep him safe, but he can’t help feeling the slightest edge of regret once he realises how far out they really are.

Taemin swims in front of Jongin and holds him from under his shoulders to help him stay afloat, not wanting him to tire himself out. He can see the fear in Jongin’s eyes, and makes sure his reassuring smile never leaves his face.

“It’s okay. I’m right here.”

“Are you sure this is safe?

“I’ll keep you safe, I promise. If you can’t breathe, I’ll bring you right back to the surface of the water.”

“Promise?”

Taemin laughs, “I promise. Just do what I say and you’ll be fine.”

Jongin wraps his arms around Taemin’s shoulders, the sheer expanse of the ocean surrounding them beginning to stress him out.

“The reason I’ve taken you out so far is so we can go deeper and you’re as far away from the Surface as possible. The only way for you to connect with your Sea blood is if you let go of the Surface, and you won’t be able to do it if you’re stressed out.”

Jongin tries to breathe deeply and relax his racing heart, and Taemin squeezes him reassuringly.

“It’s alright, Jongin, I’m here. What you have to do once you’re underneath is try and reach out to the Sea. Feel the water around you, listen to the sounds, try and lose yourself in the water. You have to let go of any thoughts that relate to the Surface, or any anxiety and doubts you have, because that’s only going to hold you back.”

“What—what if I can’t?” Jongin chokes, picturing himself flailing deep in the water, unable to breathe, with nobody to save him.

“I told you, I’ll bring you straight back up if you can’t do it. But I know you can, Jongin. You just need to relax. Calm down.”

Jongin tells himself that Taemin will be right beside him and that he’s in no danger, if Taemin can come to the Surface then he can enter the Sea, and it does little to put him at peace – but it does something, at least.

“When you’re ready I’ll take you down.”

He takes a moment to breathe, trying to enjoy the water circulating around him, before nodding in confirmation.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

Taemin waits for Jongin to inhale deeply, tightening his grip on the terrified human, before he plummets into the depths of the drop-off, pulling Jongin down with him.

The pressure of the water overwhelms Jongin as they swim deeper and deeper, his ears flushing with water and his eyes burning from the speed. He tries to tell himself not to panic, but he can’t help but begin to struggle when Taemin swims him down so low.

As soon as Taemin feels Jongin resisting, he stops swimming and turns around, grabbing onto Jongin’s hands and meeting his panicked gaze.

“Relax,” Jongin hears Taemin say, but the water muffles his words and everything sounds as blurred as his head feels. “I’m right here, Jongin. Embrace the water. Feel it around you.”

Jongin’s lungs are burning and he puffs his cheeks out, unable to breathe, but still tries his hardest to let himself relax into the water. He shuts his eyes and feels the pulsing pressure, the slight movements of the ocean against him, the loud rushing sounds in his ears and how bitter and cold his skin feels—

“Jongin,” Taemin repeats, “the Sea is welcoming you. Embrace it. You’re not on the Surface anymore.”

I’m not on the Surface anymore.

The pain in his chest from lack of oxygen begins to subside as he becomes aware of the comfort of being so deep in the water. For a moment, Jongin thinks he’s dying, until he realises just how alive he feels. The water is light and he feels weightless, warm, safe in the arms of the Sea.

“Take a breath, Jongin.”

Jongin instinctively inhales, and the water slides through his lungs easily. He feels revitalised and fresh when he exhales all the Surface air left in his lungs, and takes a few moments to indulge in the cooling feeling of breathing in the Sea.

“Open your eyes. It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Jongin opens his eyes obediently, but the salt doesn’t sting them anymore. The ocean suddenly isn’t so dark and dire, and he can see through the crystal water with ease.

“I knew you could do it,” Taemin whispers, and only then Jongin realises the clarity of his friend’s voice. The water doesn’t crowd his ears – instead, a comfortable silence envelopes them, and Jongin can hear every breath Taemin makes.

The Sea has welcomed him.

* * *

“Wow,” Jongin breathes, and Taemin laughs, releasing his tight grip on Jongin’s hands. Jongin moves his arms and finds the water feels like silk on his skin, and his state of relaxation makes it a lot easier to move.

Taemin’s smile is infectious, and Jongin finds himself laughing out of pure incredulity at the bizarre situation.

“I’m dreaming,” Jongin concludes, rotating his arms and making slow somersaults through the water. Taemin circles him in admiration, a spark of fulfilment warming him as he realises what he’s done. Not only has he befriended a human that’s never been exposed to Mer life before, but he’s helped him enter the Sea and breathe underwater – on his first try. He can’t help thinking about how his friends would react if he had the guts to tell them.

Unfortunately, under their kingdom’s current ruling, bringing humans into the Sea is taboo, and the King is known to despise anything relating to the Surface – claiming humans are unclean and polluting, and that Mer should have nothing to do with them. Most Mer are fascinated by humans, the same way humans would be fascinated by Mer if they were aware of their existence, but it’s incredibly rare to see humans in the Sea due to the tension created between them. So far, Taemin has quashed the urge to tell his friends about Jongin, but now that Jongin is in the Sea, he wants to introduce the two parties more than anything.

“Come on, stop messing around. Let’s go for a swim.”

“Can we go see the city? I mean, wherever you live?”

Taemin bites his lip, hesitant.

“I mean—I wish I could, Jongin, but this is your first time…”

“So?”

Taemin frowns. “There’s a reason humans haven’t discovered our residential areas – your technology doesn’t have the capacity to explore waters so deep. It’s dangerous. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Jongin nods, a little disheartened, but Taemin grabs his arm and tugs him along, propelling him forward with an easy flick of his tail. “Don’t worry. The more you enter the Sea, the easier it’ll be to go into the deeper waters. I’ll get you used to it.”

* * *

“…and he told me it’d hurt coming back up to the Surface, which it did, he had to swim me back to the beach and I coughed up water for ages and breathing air felt like fire, you have no idea how smooth the water feels to breathe—”

“Hey, can I have one of your fries?”

Jongin purses his lips and obediently s the container towards his friend. “Are you listening to me?”

Sehun glances away from his phone and looks at Jongin wearily. “Of course I’m listening, Jongin, I just don’t care about your fantasy friends.”

“Sehun, it’s not a fantasy!” Jongin cries, pulling his food away from Sehun’s grasp. His cheeks burn with humiliation, and Sehun sighs deeply, clearly exasperated and utterly disbelieving of Jongin’s story.

“Okay, whatever.”

“Sehun—”

Sehun glares, and Jongin falls silent, furious. He turns away once Sehun returns to his texting, and instead relays the surreal events from a few days ago in his mind. He hasn’t seen Taemin since they entered the Sea together for the first time – he’s been visiting the beach every day and spending hours at the rock shelves waiting, but Taemin just hasn’t appeared. Since Taemin hasn’t been around, Jongin has been craving to talk to someone about his adventures, but the fact that Sehun is simply dismissing him is enraging.

“Dude, are you going to eat that?”

“Yes,” Jongin snaps, still refusing to meet Sehun’s eyes. He stands up and leaves his food on the bed, walking over to his wardrobe to sift through the clothes just so his hands have something to do.

“Aw, come on, don’t be like that.”

He hears Sehun stand up and walk over from behind him, and tenses up once he feels his friend’s hands land on his shoulders.

“Stop it, Sehun.”

“You can’t seriously expect me to believe that you not only befriended a mermaid, but went underwater and swam with him, while breathing underwater.”

“Actually, I do expect you to believe me,” Jongin fires back, whirling around to face his startled friend. “I told you about this because I thought, of all of my friends, you would be the one to be excited for me, but clearly not. You’re treating me like a child!”

“You’re acting like a child,” Sehun retaliates. “Only children believe in mermaids.”

“Taemin isn’t just a fantasy!” Jongin yells.

Sehun finally steps back, watching Jongin carefully, appalled at his unusual fiery behaviour. It’s so unlike Jongin to get genuinely angry, let alone for him to be untruthful. After a moment of agitated silence, Sehun reaches out and places his palm on Jongin’s forehead.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jongin’s lip trembles, tears building up in his eyes, and he looks away.

“Jongin, seriously. I think you might be hallucinating. This isn’t like you.”

“It was real,” Jongin says weakly, “I swear, it was real.”

Sehun wraps an arm around Jongin’s shoulders and leads him back to the bed, helping him sit down. Jongin looks up at him, puzzled, and tries to protest, but Sehun waves his hand to hush him and instructs him to lie down.

“I’m going to get your mom, okay? I think you have a fever.”

“I’m not sick!”

“I’ll come back tomorrow. Text me if anything happens.”

Jongin stares, baffled, as Sehun picks up his belongings and leaves the room. He wants to get up and follow him out, but a wave of doubt overcomes him – what if Taemin really was a result of his imagination? What if he was ill and imagined the whole thing?

His mother rushes in, distraught, but Jongin barely hears her voice as she checks his temperature and asks him if he feels dizzy or weak. He’s sure Taemin is real, he has to be real.

“You’ll have to stay home until you feel better, okay?” he hears his mother say. “It’s not safe for you to be at the beach when you’re hallucinating.”

Jongin shuts his eyes and lets his mother cluck over him, defeated.

Maybe Sehun was right after all.

✏ [ a/n ] the only reason i have these a/ns is because they're cute and not having one would ruin how lovely and neat the chapter is!!! it has nothing to do with the fact that i have literally nothing to say omg. thanks for reading and stuff!! you cuties leaving comments make me so happy so please do feel free to leave me feedback and stuff ilyyy xx

word count: 2683