Silver
Paper StarsWarning: Mind games and manipulation.
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Silver
Jaebum believed in them, once. Back when he was a scrawny little kid growing up in Ilsan and his grandad used to sit at the edge of his bed and tuck the blankets around him at night. Jaebum would listen attentively, bright eyed and innocent, as his grandad told him about the seas and the forests and the mountains up high - as he recounted fables about the creatures that resided within them, among the drying autumn leaves and midnight tides. Jaebum would cling to every one of his words, beg him to repeat the same stories over and over again even though Jaebum already knew them by heart.
They'd show up in Jaebum's dreams from time to time even as he grew older, flittering into his subconscious like fragmented reminders of a childhood he had long left behind. He'd never paid them any heed, never hoped for anything even as he took a summer position as a research assistant for a marine biologist at his university. Jaebum was too old for fabricated tales. Too busy.
Such creatures didn't actually exist anyway.
And yet...
...and yet here is a one now, staring back at him with its black eyes under the canopy of the morning sky. It's here, just a few feet away from where Jaebum is sitting at the edge of the rocks in his wetsuit, frozen to the bone. He'd taken to heading out an hour early during his stay in Jeju, swimming to the off-shore cluster of rocks to enjoy the golden hues of the sunrise, basking in the calm and quiet as he waited for Yugyeom to arrive with their equipment.
He stares. Jaebum stares because it's the only thing he can do, too shell-shocked to breathe much less move. The creature glides closer. Skin like polished ivory and disheveled hair the color of the moon. It - no, he, it's definitely a he- is submerged to the shoulders, but the clarity of the ocean water around him hides little of what's below.
Jaebum can see it as he trails his eyes down, the long black tail where legs should be on the man's body, the fin at its end swaying back and forth in the water. It's trimmed with red, looks like liquid fire spreading beneath the surface of the sea. Something akin to fear trickles down his back, but when Jaebum meets his eyes, the creature tilts his head to the right and smiles almost innocently, white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.
"What's you name?" he asks, and something blooms in Jaebum's chest at the sound of his voice, a strange calm washing over him reminiscent of the translucent waves that sweep the shores at night, cleansing away the bumps on dry sand. It's not smooth and honeyed like the tales, but a deep resounding rumble. It reminds Jaebum of cool underwater tides.
"Jaebum," he manages to tell him through a whisper, his own name feeling foreign on his lips, so uncertain it almost gets lost between the sounds of the ocean and the after-dawn. But if the creature notices it he says nothing, merely moving closer to rest his arms by the granite at Jaebum's feet. Jaebum's head feels light as he looks down at him, takes in the gentle curve of his jaw and the bitten red of his plush lips - like they've been and kissed raw. Despite his pale paper-white skin, his cheeks are dusted a pastel coral pink.
He's the most beautiful thing Jaebum has ever seen.
And the creature stares back at Jaebum, too. A lazy tug apparent at the corner of his mouth as his bottomless eyes take in every little line on Jaebum's face from beneath long lashes, staying on his lips for a long tranquil moment before moving back to Jaebum's hazy eyes.
"Yien," he tells Jaebum, moving closer and gently taking Jaebum's hand from where it lays by his side. Serenity seeps into Jaebum's veins when he laces their fingers together. He says nothing else but Jaebum knows he is telling him his name.
"Yien," he whispers back and it feels familiar. Jaebum watches with languid half-lidded eyes as his smile widens and he brings their joined hands to his lips, kissing the inside of Jaebum's wrist.
"You have a beautiful voice."
Jaebum's mind is foggy and half-gone, but he vaguely remembers singing at dawn, humming along to a ballad as the sun broke on the horizon and made the ocean bleed. He blinks slowly, disoriented but at peace, letting out a long sigh as he feels the matted hair on his forehead being pushed back. There is a cold breath against his lips, away the warmth from within him.
"Tell me, Jaebum," Yien whispers between them, his hand cool against the heat of Jaebum's nape, beckoning him forward until Jaebum can no longer feel the rocks underneath him, until Jaebum can only stare dazedly into the coal black irises of his eyes. "Would you like to see the reefs?"
The last thing he remembers before he plunges forward is the taste of sea salt on the siren's lips.
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Notes: I can't even begin to describe how much I struggled with this drabble. I wrote and rewrote it so many times that I'm sure I went through at least five completely different tones. I'm still unsure about it, but I feel like it'd be a disservice to both myself and you guys if I don't at least share it. So I hope you like it^^.
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