Taekwoon knew he was different. He was a part of two different worlds, one in the water and one on land. The creatures who shared his powerful tail were the ones he’d spent his entire life with. As a result, he knew them quite well, well enough to know that they’d only ever liked to swim through the ocean currents, looking for food or hiding from predators. They would never spend time talking to him, and Taekwoon found them boring, to say the least. He found those who shared his top half far more interesting, but he’d only ever been able to get as close as their vessels happened to pass him. Still, Taekwoon had heard his share of their noises, enough at least to understand and speak their language.

A group of them sailed by just then. The small boat they were in passed within a few feet of Taekwoon. As it sailed farther along, he followed curiously with a few sharp flicks of his tail. It went a short distance more, then stopped and drifted. The wind and the waves rocked the boat gently from side to side.

Taekwoon stuck the top of his head out of the water, keeping his nose and mouth submerged although he could breathe perfectly fine in the air. He arranged his hair to shield his face and moved a bit closer until he could hear the conversation of the humans on board.

“Great day for fishing, isn’t it, Jaehwan?” one of them said.

“I suppose, hyung. I wouldn’t know,” the other, Jaehwan, replied.

“Clear skies, gentle breeze, and calm waters,” said the first one, the one Taekwoon supposed must be older. A fishing line was cast a long ways into the sea. “We’ll get a good catch today.”

“Yeah, hopefully it won’t be a huge waste of time like last time,” Jaehwan said.

“That was really unlucky,” protested his hyung. “The weather’s better today. Admit it, it’s been fun so far, hasn’t it?”

Jaehwan agreed a bit reluctantly. "It was fun sailing out here. But now that we've stopped, it's going to get a lot more boring, isn't it? We'll wait the entire day in this boat and not catch a single fish or even see a single splash of water."

"No, it won't be like that at all! We will be waiting, but there's plenty of other things to look at while we wait. The sky, the birds, the sea - do you see that?"

"See what?" Jaehwan asked.

"That silver shimmer over there, beneath the waves. At least six feet long. It must be a huge fish! Quick, get the nets!"

Too late, Taekwoon realized the humans in the boat were talking about him.

The two men grabbed the nets and tossed them over Taekwoon. The water churned and sea foam obscured him as Taekwoon thrashed around violently in the water. But he could find no escape through the finely woven nets. Still, he didn't stop fighting, and the two men nearly slipped their hold on the nets more than once as they dragged him aboard their small boat.

Even as Taekwoon's tail flipped back and forth and his fingers grasped the nets, searching for a way out, it only took a few seconds for them to see the magnificent silver tail that connected seamlessly to a lean human chest with two arms and a head full of dark hair.

"No way," Jaehwan breathed.

At that sound, Taekwoon froze, chest heaving and eyes wide with fear. He'd never been face to face with a human before. Come to think of it, he'd never been seen by one before. He didn't know what the humans would do, but he'd heard terrible tales of fish stolen from the ocean to become food or pets. Or fish taken to aquariums to be forever encased in small tanks of stale water, swimming around and around in the same circles, enduring flash after flash of photography without any sense of privacy whatsoever. He didn't want anything to do with that.

There was a long pause as the two men tried to take in the creature before them. Then the older one stepped forward and grinned.

"See, Jaehwan, I told you it wouldn't be boring." He knelt down beside Taekwoon and held out his hand. "Hello. I'm Hakyeon. And you are?"

Taekwoon looked up with confused brown eyes. He wasn't sure what the human would do, but he was sure it wouldn't be this - holding out his hand and introducing himself.

Hakyeon let out a quick breath when the creature looked at him. He had never seen anything so magnificent in his life. The creature, what must be a merman, pulsed with beauty. The tail that Hakyeon had mistaken for a fish shone silver in the sunlight, so bright it was hard to look at. The merman's torso was thin but muscular, and he had pale skin, along with full lips and a well-defined jawline. He wondered if the teeth behind those lips were human-like or more sharp and fish-like. Hakyeon shifted his stare to the merman's eyes, brown and wide orbs deep enough to lose himself in. He didn't realize how long he had been staring until Jaehwan elbowed him in the ribs.

"What are you doing?" Jaehwan whispered, keeping an eye on the merman.

"I don't know," Hakyeon replied in a low tone. "Do you think he understands us?"

Taekwoon opened his mouth to tell them that he could understand them perfectly, but then shut it. He had never talked to a human before, and he wasn't sure this was the best time to try.

Hakyeon gasped suddenly. "Do you think the net is hurting him?" he asked Jaehwan. "Maybe that's why he isn't moving..." He stepped forward to move the net.

Jaehwan stopped him with a hand on his wrist. "Wait, hyung. This is dangerous. He might bite."

Hakyeon stared at him blankly. "He might bite? Jaehwan, he's half human, isn't he? He's not going to bite."

Ignoring Jaehwan's tries to keep him back, Hakyeon approached the net. He lifted it up slightly, and then, seeing that Taekwoon didn't even move, pulled it off the merman. Hakyeon held out a hand towards him, trembling slightly. He had equal desires to shake the hand and touch the tail of the merman, but he wasn't sure if the merman would let him get that close. And even despite his outward confidence, Hakyeon felt unease if not fear in the presence of such a beautiful but surely dangerous creature.

He waited a bit, then, seeing no sense of violence, moved forward some more. "See Jaehwan? He's nice."

Jaehwan gave a skeptical raise of his eyebrows, although Hakyeon didn't see it.

"Hello," Hakyeon repeated, softly. "I'm Hakyeon."

Taekwoon nodded slowly. "T-Taekwoon," he stammered. It was his first time talking to a human, and he was more afraid than nervous.

Jaehwan's mouth gaped open. "He... can talk?"

Hakyeon's heart pounded. "He can!" Taekwoon flinched from the sudden exclaimation. Hakyeon noticed, and extended his hand some more. "Don't worry, Taekwoon, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

Taekwoon understood that, but he didn't completely trust Hakyeon. He slowly inched backward, avoiding Hakyeon's outstretched fingers, until his back touched the cold plastic of the boat. Hakyeon saw where he was going and repeated that he was safe and that he wouldn't be hurt. But Taekwoon saw Jaehwan's hand next to the net that had been thrown aside and made his decision. Bracing himself against the side of the boat, Taekwoon flung himself over the edge with one powerful push of his tail.

Hakyeon rushed to the edge immediately and saw the last glimpse of Taekwoon's silver tail as the merman swam from their boat, farther and deeper with every flick of his tail.

There was silence for a moment before Hakyeon said, "he left."

Jaehwan nodded. "Of course he did... He's half fish, and he'd just been caught by a net - he was probably scared to death. Plus you did basically let him go."

Hakyeon nodded, barely listening to his friend.

"But that was incredible!" Jaehwan continued. "I can't believe we actually saw a merman. Do you think we're the first people in the world to see one?"

Hakyeon nodded absently.

"Hakyeon? You there?"

"Taekwoon..." Hakyeon murmured.

"Taekwoon?"

"That was his name."

"Right." Jaehwan fell silent and went to sit down. The wind dropped, and the boat was quiet for a few minutes. The only sound was that of the waves crashing lightly against the side of the boat and Hakyeon's footsteps as he walked around the edge, peering into the ocean depths for a flash of silver.

There was none, and Hakyeon turned back to the forgotten fishing line he had thrown into the water a while ago. He checked the line and saw that the bait was gone and the fish that had taken it had escaped. He rebaited the hook and sat down next to Jaehwan to wait. They sat together, listening to the soft whistle of the wind until Hakyeon broke the silence with a sudden inquiry.

"Hey Jaehwan?"

"Yeah hyung?"

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Hakyeon asked.

"What?" Jaehwan started. "Wait... Don't tell me."

"Would you believe it if I did?"

Jaehwan thought for a while. "I wouldn't be completely against it... But hyung?" Hakyeon looked at him. "It wouldn't work, you know. He's half fish."

Hakyeon shook his head slightly and stared into the ocean. "I know, it's just... I had that feeling. Everything about him, I just fell in love."

"Hyung, he lives in the ocean," Jaehwan reminded him.

Hakyeon ran a hand through his hair. "I know, but did you see him?"

"I did, and he's way out of your league." Jaehwan put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't fall for someone you can't have."

Hakyeon sighed. "Too late for that."