four months later

It was a March morning when Yixing woke up to two increasingly familiar sights: Jinyu sleeping on the couch, and Kyungsoo and Chanyeol raiding his refrigerator. He rolled his eyes at his friends eating all his food in the kitchen and made his way over to Jinyu, nudging her until she woke up.

“If you want to eat today, you have to wake up right now, before these two eat it all,” he said as her eyes opened slowly. Even though it had been just one month shy of a year since he’d seen Jinyu for the first time, her blue eyes still caught him off-guard sometimes, took his breath away. Yixing swallowed a lump in his throat while she stared up at him. Chanyeol’s intrusion ruined the small moment.

“Jinyu! You’re so quiet, I forgot you were there!” Chanyeol said. Jinyu smiled, rubbed at her eyes and then sat up.

“I was not aware you were here, either,” she said in reply.

“Yeah, what are you guys doing here?” Yixing asked, crossing his arms. Chanyeol scoffed and punched Yixing playfully.

“What are you so upset about?” Chanyeol said. “You should be used to us coming in out of the blue by now. Victoria told us to meet her here ‘cause she wanted to tell us something. And meanwhile, Kyungsoo has something to show you.”

Jinyu and Yixing both turned to Kyungsoo expectedly. The short boy finished a bowl of noodles and then wiped his face with a napkin, and when the napkin left his mouth, there was a knowing smirk in its place. Kyungsoo cleared his throat and walked over to them slowly, straightening out his clothes. Jinyu laughed at first, but when Kyungsoo was close enough to them, he stretched his hand out to them, and a ring of keys dangled from his fingers.

Yixing widened his eyes.

“You finally – ”

“Finally got a car! Damn straight, I did!” Kyungsoo snatched the keys back while a proud smile played with his lips. Chanyeol applauded, and Yixing eventually joined in.

“So, years of shoveling fish into dolphins’ mouths finally paid off, did it?” Yixing said.

“Certainly did, my good friend!” Kyungsoo said. “Just got her yesterday when I finally put in the down-payment, but my older brother said he’d help pay the interest on the first payment next month, but other than that, she’s all mine!”

“Well, what are we sitting around here for?” Yixing said, pushing himself off the couch. “Where is it? Show us!”

“Right outside!” Kyungsoo said. He ran over to the door as excited as a bride of her wedding day. The rest of the company followed closely behind. They all walked out the door and stood on the porch while Kyungsoo presented his car to them with a loud “ta-dah!”

Chanyeol and Yixing smiled wide at first, but their grins dwindled the more they looked at it. Kyungsoo gestured widely to a pale, rusty blue, 1991 Hyundai Sonata, and it was the ugliest thing either of the other two boys had ever seen. Kyungsoo walked over to his car and petted the hood affectionately, pure love in his eyes as he gazed down at the poor excuse for a vehicle.

Chanyeol laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. Yixing’s expression was worried. How were either of them to tell Kyungsoo what they really thought of his car.

“So, what do you think?” Kyungsoo leaned his elbow against the driver’s door and grinned at his friends. “Pretty impressive, right? I mean, she could use a little work and maybe a fresh paint job, but she runs like a dream. What do you think?”

“Kyungsoo,” Yixing said, starting out slow. He used his hand to gesture to the car. “This… this is what you bought with your money?” He scratched his head and tried to think of a softer way to tell him that the car was a disgrace.

“Yes?” Kyungsoo said, leaning forward expectantly.

“Well,” Yixing said. “Pssh, well this car! The appearance, it just has a certain.. um.. this quality about it that just… uh… well, how would you say it, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol widened his eyes at having been drawn into the conversation. “Uh, yeah,” Chanyeol said. “The quality… it just… Kyungsoo, don’t take this personally, but the car… it’s just… to be blunt it’s – ”

“It’s ugly,” Yixing said, and immediately gulped.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Chanyeol said. “It’s just ugly.”

“Hey,” Kyungsoo said, pointing his index finger at them and his smile turning into a scowl. “Appearance is a matter of aesthetic, and don’t go bashing on apples just ‘cause you prefer bananas.”

“What?” Chanyeol said, laughing. “Seriously, I think you must have gotten ripped off or something. I saw your savings; there’s no way you would have bought this on purpose, you could have bought a goddamn Audi with that money! Or at least a 2011 Sonata!”  

“Eh, Audis aren’t my type,” Kyungsoo said, waving off his suggestion. “What’s wrong with my car?”

“Aside from the duct type in the back window and the chipping and fading paint job?” Yixing asked. “Kyungsoo, your own mother drives a nicer car.”

“Yeah, well my mom’s got no taste!” Kyungsoo said, apologizing to his mother under his breath. He turned to the car and placed his hand lovingly on the windshield. Chanyeol approached the car and tried to get into the driver’s seat, hitting his head on the car door as he sat down.

“What’s this stain?” Chanyeol asked pointing to a stain on the seat, between where his knees were.

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo said.

“It’s very suspicious,” Chanyeol said. “Is that crack on the passenger seat?”

“That’s bread crumbs.”

Chanyeol laughed some more. “Ah, seriously,” he said, the steering wheel. “You’re a sad, strange little man.”

Jinyu, having finally put on a sweater, stepped out onto the porch beside Yixing. Her eyes beheld the blue of the car and her eyes widened. The blue was the shade of sea glass, sea foam, and underwater sunlight. Kyungsoo was in the middle of pulling Chanyeol out of the driver’s seat when she walked up to it and smiled. Kyungsoo, catching sight of her, smiled in her direction.

“Jinyu likes it, doesn’t she?” he said, and Jinyu turned to him.

“This color is beautiful,” she said, and Kyungsoo’s eyes lit up at the comment.

“Isn’t it?” he said. “I knew you’d like it. I mean, for a fading paint job, the color is really vibrant!”

“Don’t encourage him!” Chanyeol said, finally hopping out of the seat and making the car shake a bit.

“Hush, she’s allowed to like whatever she wants!” Kyungsoo said. “Unlike you, she’s got class!”

The banter was cut short by another car pulling up into the driveway in such a rush, that the front bumper was mere centimeters away from hitting Kyungsoo’s car, and the boy let out a panicked screech before running and throwing his hands over the hood.

“Are you crazy?!” he yelled at the driver of the car, but when the door opened, Victoria stepped out.

“Whose junk is that?” she said, eyeing the Sonata.

“It’s mine, and it’s not junk!” Kyungsoo said. “It’s an antique collector’s item!”

“If you keep saying it enough times, maybe it’ll come true,” Yixing commented. 

"Um, excuse you," Kyungsoo said, raising a hand to Yixing. "But people who drive jeeps full of buckets of anchovies and dead jellyfish aren't allowed to comment!"

The arguing was put to an end when Victoria ushered everyone back inside. Mei was awake by now, but everyone was too exhausted from arguing to explain what they were arguing about in the first place. Rolling her eyes, Mei took her usual place on the couch, hoping to catch reruns of her Saturday night TV shows. Yixing searched the fridge for any food that might be left after Chanyeol and Kyungsoo sacked it earlier that morning. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo sat at the table, conversing with Jinyu and explaining the concept of soccer to her over a cup of coffee. Yixing grabbed an apple off the counter. It'd have to do for now, but he smirked a little remembering Kyungsoo's apples-and-bananas anaolgy. He took his place across from Jinyu and tried not to be too obvious about trying to catch her gaze. 

"Victoria!" Chanyeol yelled. "What did you want to tell us that you wanted us to be here early?"

"Oh, right," Victoria said, walking to the table. She made a show of pulling her latex gloves on and then off. "But before I begin, these latex gloves are such a hassle to pull on and pull off. I wonder if—"

"Oh dear, just get on with it!" Kyungsoo complained.

"Did you really call a meeting to discuss latex gloves?"

Yixing suddenly caught sight of a tiny, tiny sparkle of light emanating from a single spot on Victoria's left hand, and he nearly choked on his apple.

"Victoria!" he said, interrupting her. "You—that's an engagement ring!"

"What?" Kyungsoo and Chanyeol said in unison, and they both examined her hand closer. And, sure enough, there was a small, diamond ring attached to her finger. Mei halted her TV watching to turn and look wide-eyed at the ring as well. Victoria smiled so wide, Jinyu thought her face may split. But her eyes were watery and happy at her own announcement and she nodded, unable to say anything.

"Nichkhun proposed!" she finally said. "Two days ago! We're planning a wedding for late July, before his mom's next chemo session."

"Victoria, congratulations!" Yixing said. He was the first to stand up and give her a hug and the other two followed his example if only to avoid looking like indifferent stiffs. Jinyu stared at the diamond from where she sat. It was the most beautiful little thing she'd seen in all her days on land. It reminded her of the sun, and for a small moment she wondered if Nichkhun's intent was to put a little bit of the sun into a small stone to present to Victoria as a token of his love, to symbolize that sunrise, his new hope, was now her. Jinyu smiled, and once the boys had taken their turns congratulating their pseudo-sister, Jinyu stood to embrace her as well. 

It just seemed so incredible, suddenly, that a boy could love a girl so much the way Nichkhun did Victoria. Jinyu looked at the diamond once more and imagined having one like that on her own finger. But who would put one on her finger, she wondered. Jinyu mentally slapped herself; the answer, obviously, should be Luhan, if he really was her true love. But she tilted her head at the thought; somehow, it didn't exactly fit. 

"Oh, but I have another announcement," Victoria said, turning to Jinyu and Yixing. "You've been staying at Yixing's place for a really long time, and I just realized that his parents might not be all okay about that."

"They haven't said anything yet," Yixing said, looking Jinyu. "As far as I know, they don't mind at all."

"All the same," Victoria said. "Nichkhun decided to go to North shore for a bit to visit his family and let them know about the engagement. So, if you ever want the couch back, I've got room for her at my apartment."

Yixing pursed his lips at the suggestion. As far as he was concerned, Jinyu was a part of the family now, and family was supposed to live at the house. He turned to her. "Jinyu?" he asked.

Jinyu looked from Yixing to Victoria and smiled gently. "I will be fine here," he said gently. Victoria smirked at first and then shrugged.

"Suit yourselves," she said. "I'll turn the extra room into a yoga room, then."

"Guys, have you seen this news?" Kyungsoo suddenly said, calling their attention to the story that Mei was watching. They all walked over to the couch, and Jinyu, who sat in the back, could only see a smal part of it from behind Chanyeol. But the anchor's voice was clear as Mei turned up the volume. 

"...and the National Navy has denied anything to do with the findgings. The new sonars responsible for the discovery, however, were reported to be innovations of the Institute of Science just off the coast. Sirenian Theories researcher, Lee Sung Hwan—"

"That's the guy from the beach!" Kyungsoo said, pointing at the scientist on the screen. Jinyu rose to her toes and looked at the screen.

"Can you confirm for us what it is you've found?" the anchorwoman asked the scientist. The man in the labcoat stood straight and a disturbing smile was pasted to his face. The screen changed to footage of boat with a crane reining in what appeared to be a very heavy catch of fish. But when the catch came into view, what hung there instead was a girl with long hair and webbed hands and a fish tail for a lower body: a mermaid.

Jinyu's eyes widened at the scene on the television, and she all but shoved Chanyeol out of her line of sight. A heavy darkness fell over her seeing the footage, and she let out a gasp seeing a man then use a wide club to hit the mermaid. The horror of it; Jinyu never thought she'd see something like this. She was terrified, but deep in her bones she was angry and horrified and furious. She clenched her fists together and stared at the man's face on the screen, Dr. Lee Sung Hwan. 

Victoria suddenly stepped forward and turned the TV off.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Mei said.

"Well, watch something else!" Victoria said. She sought out Jinyu's eyes and tried to apologize. But in the next split second, Jinyu had turned and fled out the back door.

"Jinyu, wait!" Victoria yelled. "Yixing, stop her!"

Without needing to be told, Yixing had already sprung up from where he sat and ran after Jinyu. The rest of the household followed behind.

Jinyu ran past the rehab courtyard and the pools, out the vicinity of the fence and past the back lab. Her eyes stung with tears she hadn't felt in a long time. Her heart beat fast. Her teeth grinded together. Her nails buried themselves in her palms as she clenched her fists. She stopped for a split second only when she got to the short fence that lined the edge of a cliff. Without even peering down at the water, she started to climb over the fence. But before she could put another arm or foot over the edge, someone had latched their arms around her from behind and pulled her back. 

"No!" Jinyu yelled in protest. She struggled against Yixing and fought to get back into the ocean.

"Don't do it!"

"Let me go!" she cried. Her sobs were coming on harder now as she fought against him. Yixing kept his grip firm around her torso and tried to pull her back and away from the edge of the cliffs. 

"This was a mistake!" Jinyu said through her angry tears. "This whole thing was a damned mistake! I should never have left them alone! I'm supposed to protect them! It's because of me that they found them!"

"You're not leaving!" Yixing yelled. "Stop fighting me!"

Jinyu pushed and railed against him some more as the rest of the company arrived. Mei was in hysterics and Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were relieved that Yixing hadn't been too late. 

"I never should have done this," Jinyu said over and over again, remembering her sister on the TV, how they beat her with the stick, how these men knew where her family was now. It was all entirely her fault. Their blood was on her hands. 

"If you jump off this cliff, it won't save them," Yixing said. "You'll hit the rocks and die."

At the word "die" Jinyu stopped struggling. 

"Jinyu, are you out of your mind!?" Kyungsoo yelled.

"You could have killed yourself!" Mei said through scared tears of her own. 

"I got her," Yixing said to them. He didn't let go of her in case she tried to jump again, but Jinyu eventually gave up her struggles and fell to her knees instead, bringing Yixing down with her. His tight grip which kept her still turned into a comforting embrace, and Jinyu leaned her head against his collar. She couldn't even breathe or cry properly because of how her heart ached for her home. It felt like trying to cry underwater; no tears could come, and these pent up feelings were what were destroying her. 

"I shouldn't be here," she continued to whisper, and Victoria walked forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sos orry you had to see that," Victoria said soothingly. "Jinyu, the Institute has offered a prize of a small fortune to anyone who can offer anymore evidence of mermaids."

Yixing looked up at Victoria with worry in his eyes. He turned to Mei and the boys, then. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol raised their ahnds in surrender.

"I wouldn't tell anyone," Chanyeol promised.

"I've already got a car," Kyungsoo said. "Turning in a friend isn't worth getting another one."

Victoria looked to Jinyu. "No one here is going to say anything about what we know," she said to Jinyu. "You're family now, Jinyu. Not even all the money in the world will make us give you up."

Jinyu looked between Victoria, Yixing, and the others and nodded slowly. Thoughts of her own family in the deep sea continued to plague her though. The image of a dead sister hanging by her tail, tortured by humans. The horror tales from her youth rushed back, and she remembered suddenly why mermaids were so forbidden to interract with humans. Yixing's tighter hug called her back to the present.

"Don't try to go back there anymore," he whispered. "Mistake or not, you're here for a reason. And if there is reason for you to be here, there might still be a way to protect them without giving up."

Jinyu swallowed a lump in . "Yixing," she said. Yixing nodded slowly an dlowered his eyes.

"There's still time," he said. "There's still time to break the curse, and none of us are going to let you go through it alone. I'm not going to let you do it alone. I told you, you'll never turn to sea foam. We can get through this together, but you have to promise not to give up. Alright?"

Jinyu looked at his face and then at the ocean. Was the sea witch laughing at her now? She narrowed her eyes and thought of her sisters, and about her new family here on land. No, she could not give up. Not for them, and not for herself. Whatever it took, she was going to end all of this opression. Jinyu turned back to Yixing and nodded slowly. Yixing let out a sigh, and he looked back into her eyes. She was scared, he could tell. More scared than she had been when she first came to land. He managed a smile, but in truth, even he didn't know if these promises could be kept.

"You're safe now."