When Mr. and Mrs. Zhang returned to the scene, it was no surprise that they were absolutely livid, and that their own children, Yixing and Mei, received the harshest treatment. The police officer explained the kids’ trespasses: the exploitation of marine animals for profit without consent of the Business Bureau, the 401 visitors which exceed maximum capacity by well over a hundred persons, and the panic caused by Chanyeol’s reckless announcement of fire, as well as the potential fatal results.

“Well, thank God no one was hurt,” Chanyeol said with an anxious grin, which only gained his glares from his friends who begged him to just stop talking.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were both red-faced and winded by the time they were finished yelling at the young employees. Mei was near tears, and Jinyu was just stunned that some compassionate people could be vehicles of such rage, as well. Yixing was sure that his friends would be fired, but his parents made no mention of such a thing. Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Victoria dismissed themselves with 90-degree bows and the sincerest apologies they’d ever dealt in their lives. Yixing and Mei, however, were pulled into the house by their parents for their own private lectures and specialized punishments.

Mei was grounded and her phone taken away, which was enough to get the fourteen-year-old complaining in devastation. Yixing was trickier however. At twenty years-old, he was much too old for conventional forms of punishment like grounding or spanking. In his opinion, however, the treatment he received was worse.

The cold way his parents regarded him after the event was enough to drive him crazy. His punishment was a form of silent treatment; when they walked by him, their hard stares of anger and blank disappointment made his heart sink and throb with shame. Their silence was deafening; it was enough to drive him to despondency.

Jinyu, for the next week, watched Yixing move around his own home as though he were an unwelcome stranger or a stray dog. His steps held even more caution whenever his parents were around; she could feel the tension between them. It was thick and palpable, the way she could feel the deflections in temperature in the ocean water when she swam from place to place. Before the Sea World incident, he spent most of his times doing chores while singing, helping his parents, running errands, or playing at the piano.

But since getting into trouble, he seemed busier and quieter, like he was using his silence and diligence to atone for his mistakes and get back into his parents’ good graces. It was a night like that when Jinyu sat alone at his piano, wishing that Chanyeol or Kyungsoo would come by with more crazy antics to entertain her with. She even wished that Victoria might come back even if all she ever did was poke and prod her skins with needles and syringes. She was terribly bored and being in the house while the parents and children were feuding made her feel like an intruder.

Even Mei seemed more irritable lately, keeping to her room and only coming out to eat or relieve herself in the bathroom. Jinyu looked out the window and saw the sky turning dim. Yixing still hadn’t come to the piano, something that he did once a day, every day, without fail. Jinyu sighed; he must still be in his room, she thought. And he probably was not coming to the piano that day.

Jinyu’s thoughts drifted back to Luhan. She remembered the way her heart swelled laying her eyes on him again at the dolphin pool. Finally, after so long, she had finally met him again, and how magical the moment seemed despite its silence and simplicity. He’d been so sweet to her. Jinyu smiled at the memory of his voice and their conversation. And yet at the same time, sitting alone at the piano, she couldn’t bring herself to feel completely happy… for whatever reason.

Her fingers found their place on the keyboard and she began to gently play the only song she knew, the one Yixing taught her after she saved Mei from a falling beam. The black device lay still on the music rack and she looked up at it. The numbers 2-9-9 flashed back at her.

It was getting dark. The parents were working in their lab; Mei was in her room, as was Yixing. Jinyu wanted to ask him about Luhan again, but seeing as he might still be in a foul mood, she decided against it. There was a knock at the window, and she stopped playing a moment and froze. The knock came again, along with a voice; Chanyeol’s voice.

“Yixing!” he said, caught between whispering and yelling. “I know you’re in there! Come on! It’s me!”

Jinyu rushed to the window and found Chanyeol there, dressed in a red and grey hooded sweatshirt, smiling as per usual.

“Jinyu!” he said, and Jinyu waved in reply. “Go to Yixing’s room! Tell him to open the window! I’ll be there, okay? Go!”

Confused, Jinyu backed away from the window as Chanyeol run around the house. Following his instructions, she went out the hall and made her way to the door of Yixing’s room. She pushed against it first but realized that it wouldn’t move. Before she could even try the door knob, it twisted, opened, and Jinyu gave a small yelp as she stumbled into the room at Yixing’s feet.

“What are you doing?” he asked as she pushed herself up. Jinyu walked over to his window instead and saw Chanyeol already patiently waiting below it. Yixing walked over to her side and was surprised to see Chanyeol as well. He slid the glass open.

“Chanyeol, what are you doing?” Yixing asked, and then smirked. “You can’t stand under my window; the neighbors will start talking!”

Chanyeol snickered. “Movie night at the Cove, remember?” he said, and Yixing snapped his fingers, remembering.

“Was that tonight?” Yixing asked, and then craned his neck to make sure his door was closed. “You know they’re not going to let me out, right?”

Chanyeol shrugged. “Why do you think I’m at the window as opposed to the front door?” Chanyeol asked. “Come on. Kyungsoo parked about a block away so they wouldn’t hear the car. You coming?”

Yixing bit on his bottom lip, having a mental crisis before screwing everything and deciding to go. He turned and asked Jinyu to step out of the room while he changed into something warmer. He walked to the window, climbed over his desk, and stepped on the sill. He bent down, getting ready to jump the ten feet to the ground. But he suddenly stopped and looked over at Chanyeol.

“What?” Chanyeol asked, ad Yixing jumped back into his room.

“I’m gonna ask Jinyu if she wants to come with us,” he said back to Chanyeol before turning toward his bedroom door. When he opened it, Jinyu and Mei stumbled into his room.

“Mei!” he said. “Shh! What are you doing? Go back to your room!”

“You’re sneaking out, aren’t you?” Mei asked, standing up along with Jinyu. Yixing shut his door and stared down at his younger sister. Jinyu looked between the siblings and noticed that Yixing was wearing clothes other than his home set. She wasn’t sure what “movie night” meant, but the idea of it suddenly sounded very appealing to her.

“Where are you going?” Mei asked. “Movie night at the Cove? that Mom and Dad probably won’t let you go, huh? Especially not since the Sea World incident.”

Yixing bit the inside of his cheek. “I’ve been going to these events since I was your age,” he said. “I’m not missing it on Mom or Dad’s account. Stay here; it’ll be too obvious if we both go! Jinyu, want to come with us?”

“Where are you going?” Jinyu said, slightly breathless. After a week of being all but ignored by him, Jinyu was rather excited that he would ask her to accompany him somewhere. She’d never actually been away from the Zhangs’ house except to visit Victoria. The thought of leaving to go somewhere else, and in secret, seemed like an adventure.

“We’re going to meet some friends of ours at this house by the beach,” he explained, getting one of his sweaters from the closet and handing it to her. Mei, seeing them getting ready to go out, fled out the door. Yixing thought he may have hurt her feeling somehow, but he shrugged it off and tried to show Jinyu how the zipper worked.

“Why are you doing this in secret?” Jinyu asked, pulling her hair out from under the sweater.

Yixing put a finger to his lips. “Because I’m in enough trouble as it is,” he answered. “But don’t worry; movie nights are fun. And Luhan might be there, too. You’ll get to see him again.”

At the mention of Luhan, Jinyu’s cheeks flushed a bit. As soon as Yixing declared her ready, they both walked over to the window where Chanyeol still waited. Yixing jumped down first, hitting the ground with a thump. Then he turned back and they both instructed Jinyu on the proper way to jump out of the window to avoid injury.

Before Jinyu could get to the window, however, Mei suddenly appeared in front of her, fully dressed and about to jump out the window.

“Mei!” Yixing scolded, but before he could say anything else, the girl had already jumped out the window. Yixing and Chanyeol scrambled to catch her, and she only ended up crushing them to the ground.

“Shh!” Chanyeol said, and everyone froze. Jinyu turned back to the door and heard footsteps passing by. Thinking quickly, Yixing asked Chanyeol for a lift back to the window, just in time before his mother knocked on his door.

“Yixing!” she called from the other side of the door. “What are you doing in there? I heard a sound.” The knob began to turn, and Yixing, with only his upper body in the room, called out.

“No, don’t come in!” he yelled and the knob-turning stopped. “I’m… writing a song! It’s just part of the writing process! Carry on!”

Yixing froze, as did Jinyu. But when there was no reply from the other side of the door, they let their breaths loose and decided that she must have moved on. Yixing pushed himself out of the window, landing haphazardly on Chanyeol in the process. Jinyu climbed onto the sill and prepared herself to jump.

It was a long way down from what she could see; she wondered if her human legs would be up to the challenge. Down below, Yixing argued gently with his sister, but seeing Jinyu preparing to jump, he pushed the issue back and focused on what was in front of him.

“Just, kind of,” he said. “Lower yourself down slowly. If you fall, that’s okay. Me and Chanyeol can catch you. But be careful.”

Jinyu held onto the sides of the window as she lowered her body down bit by bit. When she was finally low enough, she let go of the window and jumped down, landing solidly on the floor in front of the boys. Satisfied, Chanyeol helped her stand up, and the four of them went their way to meet Kyungsoo at the end of the driveway.

-

The thought going through Jinyu’s mind as the boys drove her to their destination was that humans must have similar ceremonies as mermaids; she stared out the open top of the car and couldn’t help but notice that it was a new moon night. New moon nights, for mermaids, usually meant a gathering of some sort, similar to the Full Moon ceremony. Maybe this “movie night” was the humans’ version of a New Moon ceremony.

Why is Mei with us?” Kyungsoo asked, and the little girl scowled at him.

“She invited herself,” Yixing said.

“But what if they play some R-rated, movie that she won’t be allowed to watch?”

“I already watch them, Kyungsoo,” Mei said, attitude lacing her voice. Jinyu pulled on the sleeves of the sweater Yixing loaned her, hoping to snuggle further into it in an attempt to get warm. Two months out of the sea and she was becoming less and less receptive to the cold despite previously being able to brave the near-freezing waters of the ocean. The journey did not take long, perhaps five or ten minutes. They didn’t even use the main roads.

The white jeep glided onto the sandy beach with ease and continued until they reached a rocky cove. Above it was a lit, open-air house, a popular meeting place for the local kids, which usually only consisted of about ten or so people. Still, a small intimate group was preferred. Events held here were usually doings of the city’s recreational service; movie nights were the most popular events.

Chanyeol parked the car near the building and everyone hopped off. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol took off toward the entrance while Yixing stayed behind to help Mei and Jinyu out of the car.

“What is this place?” Jinyu asked as soon as she was standing on her own.

“We just call it the Cove,” Mei answered. “You know, ‘cause it’s right above Ear Cove. Built in 1998. People used to use it as a retreat house and stuff, but later, the Recreation committee decided to renovate it and turn it into a multi-purpose house. But it’s got a really huge wall on one side that’s just painted white, so it makes a good movie theater!”

Mei began to follow her brother into the open-air house. It reminded Jinyu of a ship that was passing over her part of the ocean once: big and all lit up as though for a celebration. Through the windows, she could see that it was already a-buzz with people, and for a moment Jinyu wasn’t sure whether she wanted to go inside of not.

“Jinyu!” Mei called out, and the mermaid looked over at the doorway, where Yixing and his sister had paused to wait for her. Jinyu took a deep breath and followed them as well. The inside was dim, except for a small rectangular box, from which a big white beam of light shot out at the white-painted wall Mei had spoke of earlier. It looked like a variation of the picture-box that sat in front of the couch at Yixing’s house, Jinyu noticed.

Chanyeol, spotting Jinyu, walked over to her with a wide smile of his face as usual.

“Hey!” he said, giving Jinyu’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t feel nervous because you don’t know anyone. We can fix that later. If you’re hungry, there’s food in the kitchen area!”

After assuring him that she wasn’t hungry, Chanyeol suddenly took her arm and raised her hand high up in the air, making her turn to the crowd of people. “Everyone!” he yelled, commanding their attention. They all turned around and looked right at her.

“This is our friend, Jinyu!” Chanyeol said, and everyone burst out into a welcoming cheer of some sort. A few tried to introduce themselves; Jinyu could only make out a handful of names: Kris, Sehun, Tao among them. Yixing laughed a little, seeing the warm welcome she was getting. He hadn’t thought much about introducing Jinyu to anyone else in his circle of friends; he didn’t even expect that she’d be around this long. But he supposed that it would be a good idea to set the record straight for people, especially if she planned on staying any longer. He saw Victoria suddenly stand up and walk toward them.

“Uh, everyone,” Victoria said. “Jinyu is my cousin! And she’s staying at Yixing’s parents’ house for the time being. Just a quick announcement to let you all know.”

Jinyu shyly waved back to everyone before turning to Yixing, as though awaiting orders. Catching her eye, Yixing just shrugged and smiled.

“What?” he asked, and Jinyu just looked back over the group of people. “Nervous? It’s fine. They’re our friends, and they’ll be your friends, too. They’ll like you, trust me.”

Jinyu felt her anxiety subsiding bit by bit. Friendship was no alien concept to her; it was an important part of society under the sea as well. Her sisters had been her friends, her loyal companions, her playmates from her childhood. Looking across the room, the same sentiments were present in the eyes of the occupants. They talked freely with each other and laughed merrily; it was a comforting view for Jinyu. She so craved friendship and a bit of closeness with others.

“Jinyu!” Victoria suddenly said, touching her arm. Jinyu faced the older girl and saw a taller boy standing behind her. Victoria smiled and asked the boy to step forward.

“I was wondering when she was planning to introduce me to you,” the boy said. Jinyu blushed a little; the boy on Victoria’s arm was decently handsome and had big, inviting eyes and a warm smile. Victoria playfully hit his shoulder.

“This is Nickhun,” Victoria said. “Nickhun, meet my cousin, Jinyu.”

Yixing furrowed a brow, not sure what to make of the slightly sarcastic tone Victoria took when she said the word “cousin”. Yixing stepped forward, giving Victoria a suspicious look. Catching on, Victoria caught Yixing’s gaze and laughed.

“Don’t worry, Yixing,” Victoria said. “He knows about Jinyu already.”

Yixing widened his eyes and looked between Jinyu and Nickhun. “You told him?”

Victoria narrowed her eyes. “Of course, I did,” she answered. “There’ll be no secrets between me and my boyfriend!” Yixing pursed his lips, not knowing what to do. Jinyu, sensing his discomfort, frowned a bit as well. Nickhun threw his hands up in surrender.

“Don’t worry about me,” he assured them. “I understand what you guys are trying to do. And I won’t be saying anything to anyone. I want to help you guys protect her, too.”

Yixing widened his eyes. “You do?” he said, and Nickhun smiled.

“I promise,” he replied, shifting his trustworthy smile over to Jinyu, who returned the gesture. Victoria reached down and took his hand, feeling proud.

“Oh,” Yixing said, scratching his head. “Well… then, thanks. For your cooperation, I mean.”

“Of course,” the older boy answered. He turned to Jinyu again. “That’s an interesting eye color you’ve got,” he said to her. Jinyu blushed again, not able to help doing so in the presence of such a human.

“Everyone in my family has this color,” she answered.

“Must be a good-looking family, then,” Nickhun answered, and Victoria playfully slapped his shoulder again.

“Hey, you,” she said. “No flirting with my cousin. But anyway, now that introductions are over, Jinyu have you eaten already?”

Jinyu shook her head. “Yixing has been too sad to make food lately.”

Yixing widened his eyes at her. He didn’t think she’d been paying much attention to his mood or habits lately, but apparently she had. Victoria narrowed her eyes at Yixing. Victoria instructed Jinyu to go on and find a seat to get ready for the movie marathon while she and Nickhun went into the kitchen to get food. Yixing excused himself to the restroom.

There were a number of empty seats among the group of people, but Jinyu couldn’t decide where to seat herself. She finally decided on a small blue couch, big enough for herself and one other person. She thought perhaps Yixing might need a place to sit, too, and left the space open for him. The boys, Kris and Tao, who sat on the floor in front of her, tried to strike up a friendly conversation, asking her about how she was liking the town so far. The conversation turned a little awkward on Jinyu’s end when the questions began to concern Yixing.

“Trying to make her feel uncomfortable already?” asked a familiar voice, and its owner plopped down on the couch beside Jinyu. Her eyes lit up seeing Luhan.

“Luhan,” she said, slightly breathless, and he turned to her with a charming smile and a glint in his eye.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Luhan said. “I heard about what happened with the Sea World thing. Did you get fired?”

Jinyu remembered Chanyeol saying something about a fire, but since there wasn’t a real fire, she shook her head. “There was no fire at all, actually,” she answered. Luhan raised his brows at first, but he found her answer amusing and just laughed good-naturedly.

“Alright,” he said. “You must be a pretty good employee if Yixing’s parents would keep you despite that fiasco. How’ve you been?”

“I have been well,” Jinyu answered, wishing that she had more to say. “They have been taking good care of me.”

“Who has?” Luhan asked. “Ah, that’s right. You’re Victoria’s cousin and you’re staying with the Zhangs until you find your own place. The real estate market isn’t looking so good, huh?”

Jinyu had no idea what “real estate” was, but she nodded her head in reply, and Luhan understood.

“The Zhangs are good people, though,” he said. “I’m sure something will pop up in town that’s around your budget. Where did you say you were from again?”

Jinyu opened , but before her true origins could spill out of , she bit her tongue, remembering the restraints of her spell. She couldn’t tell him, or it would be ruined. So she racked her brain for another answer. She remembered Victoria talking about charitable projects in other places once. Jinyu tried to remember one of them.

“Africa,” she announced with an oblivious smile, feeling proud of herself for remembering such a complicated word. Luhan just looked blankly at her for a while, not sure if she was joking or being serious. Seeing as she didn’t seem to react any other way, he shrugged and just accepted the answer.

“Wow,” he said. “What… what were you doing in Africa?”

Jinyu racked her brain again. What did Victoria say there was to do in Africa?

“I was,” she began to say. “Feeding… the children.”

Luhan smiled wide. “So, you’re great with dolphins and marine animals, the Zhangs love you and your work ethic, and you’re a missionary from Africa?”

Jinyu shrugged. “Yes?” she answered.

Luhan stared at her for a long time, and Jinyu became nervous that he was judging or something. Luhan nodded slowly, keeping the serious expression on his face. “You’re incredible,” he said, and Jinyu’s smile disappeared.

“You… do not believe me?” she asked, and Luhan widened his eyes, raising a hand in surrender.

“I didn’t say that!” he said, laughing. “I meant… you’re incredible like, wow, you’re – ” he paused a moment and tried to think of the best way to describe her. But when no words came to mind, he laughed at his own incompetence. “You’re something else,” he said, laughing. Jinyu couldn’t help but giggle along. She felt that it was her turn to say something now.

“Where are you from?” she asked, repeating his question. Luhan leaned back in the chair.

“I was born in the capital and moved out here when I was 12,” he said. “My dad – ” he paused, wondering whether or not to bring up his father or his wealth. The topic usually garnered one of two reactions: complete and utter awe, or some other, repellant kind of reaction. He looked at Jinyu and tried to decide which reaction she would have. But her face was blank, her blue eyes nothing but expectant and so he took a deep breath.

“My dad is the owner of the Lu Oil Empire,” he confessed. “I live in the big mansion by the sea, and the two oil platforms over the ocean belong to us. We moved out here to better manage them.”

He waited to see if she would judge his wealth or suddenly turn into another patronizing Margarita girl. But Jinyu only nodded, turning the information in her head and accepting it. It was different, he noted. Talking to her seemed like a brand new communicative experience. Luhan smiled.

“Hey, do you – ?” he began to ask, but before either of them knew it, the lights dimmed further and the white screen suddenly lit up with noise and color. Luhan smirked and then turned to her.

“Movie’s starting,” he said. “We can talk later. Do you watch a lot of movies?”

Jinyu nodded. Mei was the one in the family who watched TV the most. Since Jinyu spent much time with Mei, she too often sat at the couch and watched the passing images on the glass screen of the images-box. She’d been fascinated by the stories told on the screen: sometimes they were news coverage or sometimes cartoons. She was eager to see what sort of movie would play tonight, feeling sure that it would be another light film, like the kinds Mei often watched.

She was wrong; the movie was terrifying. If she’d been able to read the title, “Night of the Living Dead”, then perhaps she would have been able to anticipate the kinds of horrors she was in for. But the film caught her completely off-guard.

The movie depicted humans; and yet they weren’t human at all. They were ghoulish, evil creatures that prowled like two-legged sharks and devoured other humans. A little girl crouched beside her parents, blood covering her face and blank eyes, as she slowly ate their flesh.

There was nothing for Jinyu to do but hug herself on the couch, her blue eyes unblinking as she watched, shocked, petrified, and completely traumatized by the dramatization. The other viewers commented on the scenes, calling out its fakeness or commenting on the cultural impact of the film.

But Jinyu stayed still. Her heartbeat was louder than any of their comments. She couldn’t even pay any attention to Luhan. She felt that she had made a very bad mistake by coming tonight.