He could hear the waves crashing against the shore, but it sounded different. It sounded sharper, harsher, louder. He could feel the water against his feet, but it was cold and it stung. He was tired, pained, and confused. His eyes were closed, but he could see the sunlight through his eyelids. It was bright. Too bright.

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw sand beneath him. Dry sand. And sunlight. And the shore.

And he remembered. He remembered what he had done. What he now was.

Slowly, he moved his arms. He placed his hands in the sand and pushed himself up off his stomach. He admired the look his body now had. He admired the smooth skin, the unwebbed fingers.

It really happened. He really was a human.

He rolled over and looked at himself in his entirety, at the body that was now his. He stretched his legs and flexed his toes. It was so strange. He had never felt anything like it before. It was so weird moving both feet independently.

The water lapped against his body, and yes, it felt different. It felt nothing like the sea he had grown up in. Those waters had felt comforting to him, but now, against his dry human skin, they felt foreign. It was no longer his element; the open air was. The wind and sun were now his medium. And it felt so good to know that.

Cautiously, Taemin started to rise. He didn't quite know yet how to do it, but he managed to push himself up on all four limbs, then eventually, onto his feet. His knees were shaking as he rose to his full height, standing as a human for the first time. He smiled happily as he took his first step, relishing in the coarse sand that pressed into the bottom of his tender feet.

He was human. He was alive.

Taemin took his next step. And then another. He was walking, and a second later, he was running. It was effortless and invigorating. The next thing he knew, he was dancing. He was spinning and jumping, kicking up sand as he flailed about. It was the most wonderful feeling. He had never felt so ecstatic before.

He was different. He felt different and he looked different. His skin no longer shimmered and the hair that fell down his back was black instead of gold. But he didn't mind. None of that mattered. He had found his happiness. Finally, he could live the life he wanted, and be with the man he wanted. It felt like nothing stood in his way.

The once merman came to an abrupt halt when he discovered he wasn't alone there on the beach. He thought he was, as it was still fairly early, but no. There were two human men standing there, staring at him. The looks of puzzlement on their faces were unmistakable.

Taemin assumed he must look pretty ridiculous dancing around on the beach (since that was something humans never did), but he didn't care. He was too happy to be ashamed.

"Hello," one of the two men said awkwardly - the tall one with the big eyes.

Taemin opened his mouth to greet him, to speak those human words with his human lips. But nothing came out. He worked his muscles to speak, and yet there was silence.

His hands went to his mouth as the realization sank in. He could not speak! He could not get a sound past his lips. Magic had taken his voice from him. That was the price he had paid.

A dozen questions went through his mind at once. Why hadn't Yoori told him? Did Yoori even know? Why his voice? How could he communicate with Jonghyun? With humans at all? How could he explain to them who he was? How could he tell Jonghyun that he loved him?

"Um, are you alright?" the tall man asked again. He looked wary as he took a step closer.

Again, Taemin tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"Don't be scared," he continued, noticing his distress.

"What happened to you? Are you alright?" the other man with him asked, the shorter one. "Can you speak?"

Sorrowful, Taemin shook his head.

"Are you hurt?" the tall man asked, clearly concerned for him.

Taemin shook his head again.

"What happened to you? Where are you from?"

Weakly, Taemin gestured to the sea. It vaguely occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't have pointed, but he was so distraught he didn't know what to do. How could those two men even help him if he couldn't speak to them? How could he get them to tell him where he was? How could they take him to the prince?

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Don’t cry," the shorter man said, coming closer to him.

"He probably fell overboard," the taller man said to his friend, speaking softly.

"Do you think he was in the water long?"

"It's hard to know." The taller man paused and surveyed the beach, as if looking for something. Perhaps another person or a clue as to where he was from, "Get a blanket, will you?"

Immediately, the short man took off running. The taller man remained, trying to be encouraging with his soft smile. Taemin just continued to sob. Cautiously, he reached out, Taemin's head and his wet hair. Taemin didn't expect it to, but it actually made him feel a little better. Enough so that he wasn't sobbing quite so hard.

It wasn't very long before the other young man returned, holding a balled up blanket in his arms.

"Don't worry, we'll help you. You're not alone. Okay?" the tall man continued to comfort him, "My name is Minho. And this is Joonmyun. We'll take care of you. We'll make sure you get back home."

Joonmyun shook out the sand from his blanket, before draping it over Taemin's shoulders, covering him. Though he hadn't felt cold, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders was comforting. It helped stop the rest of his tears.

"See? Everything's fine," Minho said.

Everything wasn't fine, but the two of them made him feel a little better. They were there to help him. He wasn't alone. They might even be able to take him to the castle.

"You can't tell us your name, can you?" Joonmyun asked.

Taemin moved his lips to say his name, though the sound didn't come out. His two new friends drew a little closer to watch him mouth it.

"Something-Min," Joonmyun deduced.

"Min. Can we just call you 'Min'?" Minho asked.

Taemin nodded. He didn't really care at the moment.

So that was what human homes looked like. Taemin had heard the merfolk discuss the ways humans lived - the large structures made of wood and brick, with furniture for them to sink into, with ceilings to block out the wind and rain. That home was nothing like he expected though. It was huge, and full of people. Dozens of humans walked past him and his two friends, before he had even made it fully inside.

Minho and Joonmyun took him through a large open room, where a stage stood in the center and several people were gathered around, repairing it. He had no idea what the purpose of it was, or who all the people talking and yelling orders were. The amount of movement was overwhelming.

"Come this way," Minho said, keeping his arm around his shoulder, as if to keep him from wandering off. Taemin's curiosity might have let him. His two friends led him through the doors that were hidden behind the stage, and further inside the building, things weren't so busy. The rooms were quiet and smelled of flowers.

They came to one room in particular where another young man was speaking with a woman, talking to her bluntly. The woman was just as curt. They were having an argument, discussing terms and things Taemin understood but didn't grasp - the seating, the cost, the comfort of the audience, the suffering cast...

Upon noticing them there, the young man broke off his conversation suddenly and turned to them. "What?" he snapped. His sharp eyes went to Taemin, and he had the urge to hide himself behind his friends. But the opposite happened, Joonmyun ushered him forward.

"We found this kid on the shore," he explained, "He's lost and mute and...we didn't know what to do with him."

The sharp-eyed man continued to examine him. Taemin could only stare back. He assumed that this man was Kibum, the one they kept talking about on their journey there.

"I think he washed ashore," Minho explained, "He seems a little disoriented, like he...stayed in the water a little too long."

Oddly enough, Kibum's staring no longer mattered to him. The room they were in was suddenly more interesting, as Taemin noted the racks of clothing, the tables full of powders and fragrances, and the mirrors that lined the wall. For the first time, he caught sight of his human reflection.

The image staring back at him was so different. He didn't even recognize himself.

"Why didn't you take him to the police?" Kibum asked.

"The police?" Minho repeated, "Are you serious? What do you think they’d do for him? They'd probably just think he was an escaped felon and lock him in a cell!"

"Okay, okay," the man conceded, "Fine."

Taemin broke away from his friends, drawing closer to the mirror. He stared at his black hair, his brown eyes, the smooth skin. He felt along his neck where his gills used to be, then along his spine where the fin used to start.

"What do you want me to do with him though?"

"I don't know. We just thought maybe you'd find him a place to stay? You have a lot of influence. Maybe you could ask around, try and find if anyone knows anything about him."

"What's his name?"

"We couldn't make it out," Joonmyun answered, "We've been calling him ‘Min’."

"How about 'Water Boy'?" Kibum suggested.

Taemin pulled back the blanket from his body to get a better look at it. He heard Minho clear his throat awkwardly and the woman in the room giggle, and then he remembered humans had their shame when it came to . He covered himself up again, smiling bashfully when he turned back to his friends. Oddly enough, Kibum was smiling now too.

"How about you try finding Water Boy here some clothes, Hyerim?" Kibum suggested to the woman.

"Sure," she agreed. She stepped past them and left the room to go do as she was asked.

"Come on, Water Boy," Kibum said, rising from his chair and laying his hand on his shoulder, leading him from the mirror, "Let's go find you a room."

The clothes humans wore felt so scratchy. If Taemin was cold, they might have been more comforting. But he was hot, and the fabric against his skin only made him feel worse.

He had only been in the shirt and pants for a few hours; he couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life wearing them. He constantly shifted the fabric in an attempt to get it off his skin. He knew one thing: he was taking it off before he fell asleep. There was no way he would be able to rest in them.

Night had come. Taemin's first day on shore was coming to an end, and it was a much more disappointing day than he expected. He wasn't with Jonghyun. He hadn't even heard the man's name uttered once. He couldn't even utter it. He couldn't ask anyone how far he was from the castle, or how he could get there, or where he would find their prince.

He was helpless.

The hustle and bustle had settled down inside of Kibum's home called The Theatre. Many of the people and workers had left for the day, and the only ones who remained were apparently the ones who were housed there - which included Minho, Joonmyun, and now himself. He walked through the large open room and climbed onto the stage, carefully walking the expanse of it and feeling the polished wood beneath his feet.

"There you are," Minho said, pulling his attention away from the simple new experience. He turned as the young man climbed up on the stage with him. In his hand was a plate full of food. Taemin had been starving, but hadn't tried asking anyone for anything. The moment he saw the food though, it was clear to Minho that he was hungry. "I brought it for us to share," he said.

Minho went to the edge of the stage and sat with his legs dangling down. Taemin followed and mimicked his position, and took a look at all the food that was offered to him. He had never tried human cuisine before, but he was so hungry he didn't care what he would be putting in his mouth. He took a piece of bread first and scarfed it down, before sampling some of the vegetables.

Minho ate from the plate as well, albeit more slowly, and watched Taemin as he tasted and devoured everything. He felt a little bashful when he noticed Minho's staring, but his new friend only smiled, letting him know he was alright.

"I guess we should have fed you earlier."

Taemin tried to thank him, but of course, no sound came out of his mouth. Minho seemed to understand him nonetheless.

His friend didn't say much throughout the duration of the meal. He just watched him, then watched the large open room. An idea seemed to come to him suddenly. "Do you like dancing?" he asked.

Taemin shrugged, as he wasn't really sure. The dances the merfolk did were much different than humans’ dances. He wasn't sure how well he would be, but he did have the desire to try.

"You were dancing when we found you," Minho pointed out.

He supposed he was, though he hadn't really thought about it.

Minho set aside their empty plate and stood to his feet, offering his hand to help Taemin up after him. "Come here." He led him to the center of the stage, then stepped back so that he was standing opposite of him. "Try and follow what I do, okay?"

Taemin nodded.

Minho stepped back and started to move, dancing as humans danced, moving his feet and his arms. He was graceful and skilled, and Taemin had a feeling he performed on that stage many times. He seemed comfortable there, like he had been there entire life.

He nodded to Taemin, and he did as he asked. He moved to follow him, mimicking each of his steps and the movement of his arms. They went together, mirroring one another. The look of approval on Minho's face was gratifying.

"Don't worry," Minho said, "I think you've found a home. And I think Kibum just found his replacement."