The storm passes just as Lu Han promises, with a lot of rain and wind, but nothing much else. Baekhyun sits in the mess hall with half his colleagues playing board games and eating, since there's nothing they can do outside, and all the shutters are boarded up.

Soojung joins them last, having come in off the boat finally completely soaked in rain water and salt spray. Somehow it didn't affect Tao's good looks. Only Soojung and Baekhyun got the award for looking like drowned rats, and they hadn't had time to talk about it outside.

She sits beside him now, her knee touching his on the bench stool, freshly washed hair hanging down her back, still partially tied up in a towel.

"Baekhyun," she whispers. "Was that... did I see..."

"A mermaid?" Baekhyun whispers back. He quickly looks around the room to see if anyone is paying them attention.

Joonmyun had floated out to sea long enough to watch the boat safely dock, and Tao hadn't noticed him at all. But Baekhyun glimpsed her one last time, and so apparently did Soojung. The sparkling white tail submerging with a crash between the waves before the mermaid and Joonmyun both disappeared.

He nods, still wondering if he's supposed to be talking about this aloud. Soojung's whole purpose on the island is to coax the mermaids into talking with humans. If Baekhyun had been successful where Soojung had not... he hopes she won't resent him for it.

Silently, she coaxes him from the table and out of the room. Tao raises his eyebrows at the two but then sits down in their empty spot, Amber declares there's no better fun to be had anywhere else than here. Jackson smacks his . Baekhyun yelps, but already Soojung is leading him from the room. Someone catcalls, and Baekhyun can think of no appropriate gesture to return.

"Come on. Tell me everything," says Soojung. She unlocks an office door Baekhyun's never been into before, pops the light switch and ushers him inside.

It's not as cluttered as Chanyeol's office, not as busy as Jongdae's, not as practical as the two big labs downstairs. Soojung sits down in an office chair and traces her fingers along a bookshelf with dozens of binders. She stops at one and pulls it deftly into her lap. Meanwhile, Baekhyun tells her what happened.

She only looks up when he says the mermaid's name.

"Taeyeon?" Eyes pop open wide. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. That's what Joonmyun said."

"Well for one, I can't believe he told you. But it makes sense now if that was her. Taeyeon hasn't been seen by a single human ever, not since she was born."

"Born? So you know she exists?"

Baekhyun leans forward and rests his forearms on the edge of her desk. He's still so tired from the ordeal, and his head registers some residual pain. He could probably go to sleep for a thousand years and still remember the sound of Taeyeon's hums branded deep within his mind.

"She has an interesting lineage, let's just say. And yes, we know an awful lot about the mermaids, actually. It's just that so few of them choose to reveal themselves. Since this operation began officially in the 70s, over thirty or so mermen have swum through the portal grate. And not a single mermaid. They're only see in the wild, if you can catch them. I used to believe it was a gender thing among their society. Super protective of the female , etc. However the ones I have seen-"

"Wait, you have seen some then?" Baekhyun interrupts.

"Well yes, a few. But I'm sorry to say I haven't had the greatest success building up anything stronger than a mild, long-distance acquaintanceship."

Her face falls for a moment, hair slipping out of the towel which she whips off and throws over another chair. Then she remembers the binder in her lap. Squinting her eyes, she runs her finger over the page, then another, then another.

"Taeyeon... here she is. Twenty years old, youngest daughter of Yuri and... a direct descendent of Heechul's line. It's as I thought. The girl's practically royalty down there. And of course she doesn’t speak a word of Korean. Although by what you say, I’m going to assume she can understand some of that. I should… write that down."

"Who is Heechul?"

It takes her a moment to respond, the scribbling of her pencil in the margins besides Taeyeon’s name taking up her immediate thoughts.

"Heechul? The first ever merman to make contact with the humans. He was their leader, when the first human ship landed here 70 years ago, before the corporation even. A vital contact. Of course he's long gone, but it’s his sons and grandsons who rule the tribe now. Yixing is the youngest male out of that line now."

Baekhyun gapes. "Yixing and Taeyeon are... related?"

"In a fashion. There are multiple lines. I would call them cousins probably. Mer family lineage is respected more along the vertical lines, less about who's your sister or brother or cousin. It's all about who your father is, who your mother is. They're all probably related, somehow, honestly."

Again, Soojung turns a page in her notebook and begins to scribble more. Baekhyun waits for her to get done, but he can't help feel impatient. For what, he doesn't know. For the storm to be over, for him to get out of this box of a building. For Sehun to come back so he can ask him questions in turn. He misses him, terribly. Baekhyun realizes that now. In the meantime, he waits for Soojung to finish documenting his story, ask a few more questions about Taeyeon's appearance and mannerisms. When Baekhyun mentions again that his head still hurts, she frowns.

"Go see Yifan. Tell him what happened and how it felt. He should be able to help you."

"Have you... ever experienced this?" Baekhyun asks upon standing up.

She frowns, but then slowly nods. "A few times. I had Yifan up my dosage in case it ever happens again. The mermaids'... stunning techniques are so very much more refined than the males. Deadly probably, if they wanted it to be."

"How many have you met?" Baekhyun dares to ask.

Again, she has to think about it. "Three? Sometimes, when they come to the surface, near the reefs, they'll let me approach from a distance. Never the ones that speak Korean. I've heard there's only one who does, and only Jongdae has seen her. Liyin. If you ever meet one who can actually talk to you... that'll be her. As for the others well... I only know their names because of Yixing. But there's Sunyoung, and Yoona, although I haven't seen her for a while because I think she had a baby. And one more, Sulli. But again, I haven't seen her in a very long time."

Baekhyun leaves her to her thoughts, silently closes the door behind her, and goes down to find Yifan. His head is pounding and the rain is pounding. The wind rattles against the shutters and the doors and he desperately wants everything to just stop. Maybe after he gets a treatment, he can find his bed and sleep away the rest of the storm.

Several days pass by, the storm clouds are gone, the sea is calm and the sky nearly all blue. And still Baekhyun spends hours each day sitting around the docks, occasionally honing his boating skills, or swimming, waiting for Sehun to come back.

"Maybe he decided he didn't like me after all," Baekhyun admits to Jongin one day.

The only good thing about Sehun being gone is that Baekhyun has been forced to play nice with everyone else, which means, acquaintances. Which means friends. The combination of Sehun and Jongdae’s words really hit him deep, urging him to be more forthcoming with the rest of his co-workers. Which means he even got Yifan to smile once yesterday after one particularly lame joke. Or perhaps it was a grimace. Either way, any reaction is better than none.

He and Jongin has been growing closer too. Until yesterday, Yixing was gone as well, and the two of them spent a good chunk of each day in each other's company.

"I think you're overthinking things. In fact, I'm positive you are. Yixing says Sehun has nothing but good things to say about you. Well, at least he did after he got over the whole 'mermaid' incident."

Baekhyun sighs. "Maybe the grudge is still there. Maybe he's just pretending he likes me-"

"You're the one who's spent hours with him. You really think he doesn't like you? I told you, he and the other merman do occasionally disappear for a little while. I don't know what they do exactly, but it's not like their entire lives revolve around us."

"But, our whole lives revolve around them," Baekhyun deflects.  "Oh wait, that's kind of depressing actually."

Jongin just chuckles. "Get your things, we're going out today."

Out, it turns out, means a routine swimming expedition with a larger group of scuba divers than Baekhyun's ever gone with. He lines up an hour later beside Jongin on the dock, who's standing next to Jackson, Tao, and Soojung. Yixing is already in the water, and Baekhyun wishes he would come out so he can ask about Sehun. However, the older merman remains where he is, treading water in the deeper spots while he waits for them to set off.

"What's the occasion?" Baekhyun whispers to Soojung.

Her expression is cloudy, jaw firm and shoulders rigid, even as Tao takes them through the atoll and out towards the east.

"Jongin didn't tell you? It's an ambassadorial visit. Every few months one of the mermen, usually Yixing, takes us to see the representative of another tribe of merman. Think of it as a friendly meet-and-greet. Or at least, we like to pretend that's so."

"Are, the other mermen not so friendly?"

"None are as friendly as Yixing's clan, but they're tolerant, and we like to try."

They must know where they're going, or else Yixing is leading the way, which makes far more sense, since he's their go-between. Baekhyun checks his watch. Honestly, he's surprised it still works after all the times he's forgotten to take it off before an impromptu swim. He does this now though, after checking that they've been sailing almost an hour.

All the world is blue again. Sky and sea, and yet none of it is as glorious as the shades of Sehun's body, his scales, fins, and hair. Baekhyun finds himself missing him more and more. Yixing is nice, but he's not the same, and if they're to meet other mermen, Baekhyun kind of wishes Sehun were here beside him.

Finally, the boat slows to a crawl and Soojung gives the nod of approval. Baekhyun, Jongin and Jackson begin donning their gear while Yixing waits in the water. Soojung and Tao will stay with the boat.

There is absolutely nothing in the water beneath them. Baekhyun peers through his mask, nothing but open water as far down as the eye can see before the eye can see no more.

"Where are we going?" he asks

Jackson shakes his head. "No idea. We stay with Yixing until we meet the other mermen. Only he can really navigate the rendezvous point."

Time's up, however, for talk. The three of them sink slowly into the ocean under the shadow of the boat. From there, they wait. And wait. Baekhyun checks his time gauges, and though it feels like forever, it hasn’t been that long. Yixing sends out a long high-pitched hum periodically, until their guests arrive. Or maybe it’s them that are the guests. Supposedly, this is neutral territory but the gathering, once they’re all assembled, feels worse than neutral.

The lead merman of the other clan resembles all the mermen Baekhyun has ever seen. But he and the two swimming behind him are just a little bit different. The shape of their faces, more narrow, the color of their scales, darker and less colorful all around. And their expressions, less friendly.

As Baekhyun watches Yixing begin the negotiations, one thing is clear: the conversation is not going well. While Yixing continues to 'speak' to him, Zhou Mi's responses grow continually more irritable. The looks he throws the humans' way are increasingly angry; hostile, Baekhyun almost dares to say.

He looks hesitantly upwards, towards the dot that marks the hull of their boat, so safe up above the surface of the ocean, where down here he had this feeling that really, they might ought to be moving away from this particular group of mermen.

Jongin gives Baekhyun a cool, measuring glance. Then he turns to Yixing and begins signing to the merman. Baekhyun knows only enough to follow the bare essentials of their dialogue. Why is he unhappy. What's wrong. Should we leave.

Yixing barely returns the gestures. The hums and clicks of his tongue speaking their alien underwater language grow louder and more angered. Zhou Mi's language ups in relation to Yixing's, until the two are circling each other rather closely in the water. Both entourages draw closer to the fray. The mermen who came with Zhou Mi narrow their gazes and stare one by one at the humans in the water. Baekhyun has a distinct feeling of being rather unmatched.

Behind his back, Jackson reaches for a pouch beside the air cylinder for the hilt of a sharp underwater utility knife. It should be used in case of emergencies, if they were to get caught on something in the water. Seaweed, or the jaws of a shark, or something. Baekhyun doesn't know. What he does realize is that it bodes extremely bad.

Eighteen meters. He's already calculating how long it would take them to make a controlled emergency ascent to the surface. At this depth, extremely unwise. Possibly deadly. All the humans have realized this, and Yixing probably as well. As one, at a pace almost minuscule, they rise in the water. It's slight enough to be go unnoticed by Zhou Mi, who by now is so engaged in argument with Yixing that he doesn't realize he has to swim upwards to keep pace with the other mermen.

Jackson touches Baekhyun on the shoulder as they ascend, each with one eye towards the surface, another to the depth calculator on their wrists. Fifteen meters. A few more, and they can safely head for the surface as fast as their feet can kick. If they get that far.

The rest of the mermen, however, must realize their approach.

One sends a warning cry. Zhou Mi stops mid thought, pauses, and shoots an evil glare at the humans rising around him. All at once, his expression changes. He hisses and makes a swipe at Yixing. The merman dodges, but shrieks in return. Jongin is the next closest victim, and Zhou Mi all but lunges towards him in the water.

It grows out of control after that. Baekhyun and Jackson are the farthest back, but could they out-swim a merman? Unlikely. And Yixing knows this. He crashes his body towards the attacking ambassador and lets out a terrible howl, the sound so high-pitched, Baekhyun feels it reverberating between his teeth.

Twelve meters. He didn't realize they'd be coming out into danger. He had no idea this could even happen. But now the two other mermen behind Zhou Mi's back open their mouths and let out similar shrieks, the twin banners of war echoing their leader.

And still it's not safe to ascend any faster. Jackson's knife is between his fingers. Baekhyun's hand is too numb to go for his, although he fumbles for his knife anyways. He's too stunned to get it out, too frightened by the sudden shift in the mermen, all of whom are now looking murderous, particularly towards Yixing. Their only ally flips erratically in the water, angered bubbles leaving his lips, like a panicked dog whose only task is to protect those it’s sworn to love. He swims with his arms outstretched, hands curled like talons, Jongin behind his back.

There's a hesitancy to attack in the others. It's possibly the only thing that saves them: whether or not Zhou Mi's tribe want a war on their hands.

Eleven meters. Baekhyun stares at them, between them and Yixing, and if he wasn't desperately trying to maintain his breathing rate, he might have gasped and dropped the regulator from his mouth. Yixing's scales, every last one of them from the curve of his hips down to the very lowest fin, flew outwards at a menacingly sharp angle. Like a cat with a puffed up tail, or perhaps more to the point, like a porcupine ready to attack. Yixing underwater, with his body arched cruelly and his scales all at arms, reminds Baekhyun of a scorpion just waiting to be messed.

He's prepared to do battle, and his body is the weapon.

The other three mermen bristle, and Baekhyun sees their scales flex, but remain largely at rest. They back away, scowls on their faces, teeth sharper than any of the ones Baekhyun has seen from Yixing's particular clan.

Ten meters. How could he have thought them beautiful. Only minutes ago he was amazed, impressed by their longer bodies, the glistening layers of their tails and fins. So beautiful in the water, so mesmerizing. But now, they look just hideous.

Jackson taps Baekhyun's shoulder again and nods. Baekhyun looks to the surface, imagining the boat is much closer than it is.

Nine meters. Time to go.

Jackson nods, and Baekhyun nods, but Jongin isn't looking at them. Baekhyun leans forward to touch his shoulder.

It was evidently the wrong thing to do.

The mermen, taking his movement, any movement, as an act of aggression, immediately bristle in the water and lean towards them. Baekhyun panics. He shoves Jongin in the back, Jackson immediately inhales, preparing for that one long exhale that will last until his head breaches the surface.

But they still may not have time for that.

Zhou Mi shrieks, and the others echo him. He slams straight into Yixing's body, who lashes out. He shoves Zhou Mi in the chest even as his tail fin clips a second mermen in the chest. Dark, congealed blood oozes from the wounds like a honeycomb, and the merman howls in pain. There isn't time to wait. Baekhyun and Jongin begin swimming like their life depends on it, and it does. With only Yixing between them as their champion, the odds are slim.

Baekhyun looks upward as he kicks, exhaling vocally and it might even be a scream. He sees the shadow of a merman approaching, prepares to be attacked, prepared even for the same kinds of wounds he saw Yixing inflicting.

However, another body ripples from behind him, soaring through troubled waters with a high-pitched warning. A streak of blue and powerful muscles, that's all Baekhyun sees. His legs are aching, thighs warming from the unintended exercise, but he shoots towards the open water happier in the knowledge that now it's not just Yixing.

Sehun has come.

Baekhyun hardly remembers everything after that. Somehow he and Jongin and Jackson all made it to the surface, signaled the awaiting boat a sign of distress and were picked up immediately thereafter. The whole time he expected to be attacked, to have his feet perhaps pulled and be drug down into the depths.

But none came fortunately.

"What the hell was that!" Jackson immediately proclaimed boatside. Jongin was still sputtering, leaning over the side of the boat as if he could see beneath the waves.

"Jongin? What was that? What happened?"

Tao helps Jack to remove his gear. Soojung helps Baekhyun. The air cylinder lands in a thunk on the deck, Baekhyun is shivering from head to toe. Soojung hands him a blanket which he throws over his shoulders, both a shield from the sun and his own nerves, his fears of what may yet be happening below.

"Those mermen," Jongin coughs, "they think... they think we have something to do with the missing mermaids..." One look at his torso reveals half a dozen small scale wounds. Soojung is torn between getting him aid and wondering what on earth that means.

"Missing mermaids? What?" Jackson exclaims. Soojung and Tao look just as stunned.

"Should we get out of here?" Tao asks, one hand already back on the wheel.

"No!" Jongin cries out. "Yixing, and Sehun are still down there."

"Sehun is back? When did he get here?"

"What actually happened?" Soojung interjects.

Baekhyun lets Jongin do the talking. Now he too just wants nothing else but to stare over the boat and hope the best of what's going on below. Sehun came back. Sehun is here. And he came at just the right time to save them.

He chokes and leans so far outside the boat Jackson has to pull him around his middle to make him sit down.

"I don't know what they're talking about exactly," says Jongin. "Just that Yixing was in part denying something, and they didn't like his answer."

"I really don't want to wait out in the open," Tao interjects, impatiently nervous.

"I know you don't but if... they're able to come to us, I'd rather wait."

"It's not Yixing or Sehun I'm worried about being able to get to us," Tao mumbles.

Now that part of the danger is passed, Baekhyun sits down and shuts his eyes. His heart's still pounding, every nerve in his body tingles. He choked on a few good gulps of saltwater trying to get out of the water, and Sehun is... Sehun is...

"Hey, buddy, you alright?" Jackson sits down beside him.

Baekhyun nods, but his head bobbles uncontrollably and he wishes they were already on land. Soojung is cleaning up Jongin's wounds, an accidental collision with Yixing's body, he claims, and not because one of the other mermen got near him. It stings apparently from the saltwater, but the cuts aren't deep. Jongin toughs it out better probably than Baekhyun ever would. Especially right now.

The boat rocks to one side and Tao nearly swallows his tongue screaming.

"Nobody panic," comes a gurgling voice. "It's just me."

Yixing.

Baekhyun immediately leans over the side to see if he's alone. Sehun greets him cheekily from the water's edge and in any other situation, Baekhyun might smack him for giving him a scare.

"Hey."

He slumps back down on the bench seat, sighing expressively. Through half clenched eyes and the towel still over his head, he peeks to see if Yixing and Sehun are alright. Aside from Yixing being totally again, and not a tiny bit ashamed, they appear alright. A few nicks and cuts, but nothing serious. With a little help from the guys Sehun slithers over the edge in mermen form and slinks against the deck like a dying fish. He's breathing heavily but he looks relieved, almost pleased. His skin is glistening, tail scales almost back to their normal, sleek position.

He catches Baekhyun's eye and winks, smiling. Baekhyun looks away but he can't help the sigh of relief when Tao finally gets the boat turned around and moving.

Soojung hovers with one hand on Tao's shoulder as the boat picks up speed, a stern look on her face. "Someone get Yixing some shorts please, and then someone, anyone, tell me exactly what happened down there."

The rest of their conversation happens in Jongdae's office, with certain details that neither of the mermen were able to properly tell finally coming out into the open.

"We have a situation," Jongdae addresses the room quietly. It's almost unusual for him. He sits on his desk, back to the window with a somber expression. Yixing, now dressed, stands beside Jongin with his arm's crosses. Jackson, Tao and Soojung share a few chairs. Baekhyun leans against the wall with Sehun warming his side.

"A month ago, one of the mermaids of this clan, Sulli, disappeared. Most of you will understand how extremely unusual this kind of this is. Mermaids, almost never leave the nuclear part of a mer clan's territory, and certainly they don't leave the fold entirely. For a while, it was suspected she may have died accidentally. However, a second mermaid finally came forward with the barest hints of her supposed whereabouts, and a few of the mermen then put two and two together." Jongdae pauses for dramatic effect before continuing. "It's now thought that Sulli has taken off, on her own, for the mainland."

Only the faces of Yixing and Sehun betray no surprise. The rest, Soojung's in particular, turn scandalous in their intensity.

"That's impossible!"

"She would never-"

"Why would she do that?"

"For what reason?!"

"She'll be caught undoubtedly!"

Jongdae holds up his hands in a manner to calm them. "I know.. I know what everyone must be thinking."

"You mean that not only is her life in danger, but the secrecy of our work here is possibly jeopardized, and all the mermen as well?" Soojung's words direct all of their thoughts to the bigger, looming issue.

Jongdae frowns, but even he must admit, "Y-yes..."

Again, the room erupts into chaos. Voices fighting against other voices with every threatening possibility, and Baekhyun can no longer deal with it. He snaps his eyes closed, and sinks down a few inches on the wall.

Sehun is there to catch him. "Here, let me help you to your room..."

They let them go without issue. Baekhyun's whole body aches. He's tired, worried, relieved that Sehun is back, but without outlet to tell him that, and with everything else they've learned today, he hasn't been able to dwell on it properly. Now, with Sehun walking steadier than Baekhyun down the hall, up one flight of stairs and to his room... Baekhyun relishes in the silence.

Sehun puts him down on his bed. With one long exhale, Baekhyun sinks onto the squeaky mattress and accidentally-purposefully-pulls the merman down with him.

All quiet. Mercifully quiet, and peaceful. Sehun doesn't resist, but goes down like a lump next to Baekhyun's side, head barely hitting the pillow, but it's close enough. Baekhyun exhales slowly, smiling into the blanket. One hand is clasped around Sehun's as they face each other on the bed. The other he balls into a fist and taps against the merman's unclothed chest.

Baekhyun closes his eyes.

And sometime soon, he falls asleep. And dreams.

Of bright scales, and the color of the ocean, everywhere and all around. He dreams of Yixing, and in his mind the merman isn't the happy, friendly person he knows, but a deadly and dangerous beast. Razor sharp teeth and scales, with the power to kill. And so is Sehun. But when Baekhyun cries out in his sleep, he finds not the monster, but the man.

And when his eyelids flutter open, it's the man who lays before him, snoozing lightly. Not entirely awake, not completely asleep.

"Sehun," he whispers.

No answer.

"Sehun... Sehun, wake up?"

It can't be much later than when they lay down. The early evening rays still stream through the window, less stronger than they were  before, less glaring. Sehun's lashes twitch, and his eyelids peel away from his eyes.

"I see now why you prefer things like soft beds and mattresses," says Sehun under his breath. His lips roll into a lazy smile, and Baekhyun titters in response. One of the merman's arms is wrapped around his hips — how, when, did that even happen? He doesn't move away though. He's cozy enough right where he is.

"It's nice huh?"

"Yes. So are you."

Baekhyun blushes. There's really no other reaction he could give.

"Long day?" Sehun spares him having to speak about it. "I thought I wasn't going to reach you in time."

"At the rendezvous?" Baekhyun asks. "How... how did you know we'd be there? Where've you been this whole time? When did you — "

Sehun removes the arm from his hip and hopes a single finger before Baekhyun's lips. Laughing, he says, "One question at a time now, okay?" Then he softens, and smiles once more, a little brighter this time.

"When did you get back?" is the only question Baekhyun wants to know. And, "I missed you."

Sehun opens his mouth to answer. Instead, he's caught by Baekhyun's confession. His lips falter, smile drops. A mesmerizing look overtakes his expression.

"And here I thought you'd enjoy having all this time to yourself."

"I didn't. It was boring... I was worried because you were gone so long. I thought maybe you wouldn't come back."

"I went to find out about the mermaids," says Sehun.

"Mermaids? Plural?"  Baekhyun remembers only Jongin saying something about it on the boat, more than one missing mermaid that was the reason Zhou Mi was so upset.

"That's what I went to find out. Sulli, who's part of my family has been missing for a long time. But then we heard one of Zhou Mi's clan was gone as well. They thought the two events were linked. Turns out, they were not...."

"Then Zhou Mi's mermaid?"

"On an unrelated little adventure, hiding no doubt for fun. She's definitely been seen in the area, but it's not like Sulli. Sulli is... truly gone to the mainland."

A far-off look clouds his eyes.

"How... is that even possible?"

Sehun sighs and looks back at Baekhyun. "You realize, she won't be the first one to do that. To take off into your grand dry world, to pass for a human and live the life of a stranger."

Baekhyun hasn't actually.

"The difference is, she's the only female to try that. The rest have all been like me... or Yixing. Or... well, but generations have done that, and the only ones that achieve it well are the ones who gain the support from... people like you. That's partly what you're here for, did no one tell you? You and Jongin. If... Yixing or I ever want to go there... that's part of the Exchange."

Baekhyun gulps. "What?"

"And you were probably wondering when you'd ever get to go home..." Sehun teases him, the smile back in place, practically a smirk.

"Y-you mean. I'm, I'm your ticket to the human world if you wanted to go?"

"Yes," says Sehun succinctly. "You could do it right? Be my guide, my aide, my eyes and my legs, keep me from tripping up and committing some grave faux pas, right?"

Baekhyun sits up. "Hang on hang on hang on... You... you want to go? Actually go there?"

But Sehun frowns. "Maybe. I don't know yet. It's just an option."

"How many mermen from this island have gone to the human world?" Baekhyun presses.

Sehun leans back and starts to think. "Dozens probably? Not every mermen wants to. In fact, most don't. But a few occasionally do. I haven't given it a lot of thought. Apparently, Sulli gave it even more thought, but she's unprepared for it. She can barely... Actually I don't even know if she can transform at will. I know she was practicing it, but I thought it was a whim. We all did. We didn't take her seriously and now... now she's in danger." Sehun groans and runs his hand messily through his  bangs in utter frustration.

"Oh." Right. That takes Baekhyun back to the situation at hand. Sulli. "Did you... did you know her well?"

"Of course." Sehun frowns like Baekhyun just asked something stupid, which he probably did.

"Did you like her?"

Once again, the mermen's eyes narrow for a moment as they take in Baekhyun's wavering gaze.

"You mean, did I like her... like that ?"

Hesitantly, Baekhyun nods.

Sehun snorts, but then he turns serious. "No. I didn't. But she is still my family, like everyone in the clan is my family. We have to find her..."

A gentle knock on the door takes their attention elsewhere.

"Yes?" says Baekhyun, sitting up and immediately extricating himself from the tangle of sheets and Sehun's stray limbs.

Jackson opens the door, and if he's surprised to find Baekhyun and the merman sitting up together on the bed, he doesn't show it.

"Sorry to disturb you, but we need everyone downstairs. There's a merman in the pool. I think it's Kyungsoo, and he's acting pretty livid right now..."

"I told you! I told you this would happen, and you didn't take my warning seriously! I told everyone!"

By the time Baekhyun and Sehun race down to the pool, it's to find a swirling chaotic mess of splashing water, and one extremely angry merman. Yixing is kneeling on the ledge trying to avoid being hit by Kyungsoo's flailing arms.

"Kyungsoo... Kyungsoo, wait! Calm down! Please!"

"I won't! I warned you!"

"Kyungsoo, I know... we looked. We've all looked. We tried."

"Well you didn't try enough."

Baekhyun glances around the room. Every employee on the island is currently gathered around the pool, some huddled together, some standing like they don't know what to do. Most of them, Baekhyun gather, have never seen Kyungsoo before. And who knows how long he's been there causing a scene and shouting words of hate. The only strange thing Baekhyun notices is that out of all of them, neither Minseok nor Lu Han look surprised by this news. Jongdae stands apart with his back resting on the doorway of Yifan's clinic, one hand cradling his elbow, knuckles of his other hand in his mouth, contemplating something silently.

Yixing manages to cage Kyungsoo's wrists. Baekhyun has never seen someone so distraught.

"Who was Sulli to him?" he quietly asks Sehun. The merman observes the scene with a pallid expression, jaw hanging slightly in second-hand distress.

"A longtime unrequited love?" Sehun suggests. He hangs his head, and then walks forward as well.

"I told you... I told you," Kyungsoo continues to cry, now held entirely in Yixing's embrace. Over his shoulder, he stares daggers at Jongdae like somehow this is all his fault. "I saw her with him... I overheard them..."

"With Jongdae?" Even Sehun looks aghast.

"No." Kyungsoo's glare turns into a sneer. "With the other one. Choi. Jae. Ho."

Several more gasps little the room, and Baekhyun has no idea who Kyungsoo is is talking about.

"He promised her so many things, told her she could come and live with him whenever he wanted, but I heard him when no one else was around, and all he did was laugh and call her names. He doesn't even care about her, but nobody listened, and now she's gone to follow him!"

Baekhyun walks over to Chanyeol, the closest friendly person and nudges his arm. Chanyeol's eyes are twice their normal size, and he looks fairly stunned.

It takes a little coaxing, but he finally gets the man to respond, and when he does, it's only say, "The boss..."

The following few hours are absolute chaos. Jongdae shuts himself in his office with Amber and Soojung. And surprisingly, with Minseok and Lu Han. Everyone else paces around aimlessly, all normal duties hindered by this strange turn of events. And truly, Baekhyun doesn't understand just what is the problem.

The boss, the head of their operations here whom Baekhyun has never met... would never do something to jeopardize their mission, right? The one who travels between the three CJJ home bases overseeing the continuing secrecy of operations... Even if a mermaid grew so infatuated with him that she followed him home, he would still keep it a secret, right?

"I don't know," says Chanyeol when Baekhyun manages to track him down again. "Jongdae, man... I don't know what he knows, but I swear he's been preoccupied with something lately that has to do with upper management, and now this... I'm not sure it's good. Prepare for the worst, honestly. I am."

The worst. "What's the worst?" Baekhyun refuses to panic, but everything Chanyeol's saying has his heart rate pacing a million beats a second.

"Emergency shutdown. Burial of our work. Evacuation."

Sehun barely stayed long enough to touch Baekhyun reassuringly on the shoulder. "I need to see my clan. I haven't even gone home yet today." But when Baekhyun stutters a goodbye, Sehun turns back to him one last time and... hugs him.

Before dawn the next morning, there's a plan set in place. Soojung's bags are packed, and Tao has the boat, both ready to intercept Minho's incoming supply yacht due around noon. Jongdae disappears sometime before that, leaving Amber in charge and the voice of action.

"Is anyone else leaving?" Wendy asks in concern.

"Not yet, no. Soojung is going after the boss to find out what she can. It may take a little while, but she promises to get a message to us by midweek. Something, anything. In any case, it'll be at least a full week before we can know anything."

Two days on the yacht, plus flying and island-hopping. Baekhyun well remembers the length of time it takes for someone to get back to the mainland. In this case, Hong Kong, where Choi Jae Ho was last planning to be. And even if Soojung can learn something immediately and wire a message back to the nearest service, it's two days until Minho can return with the message.

So much rides on this island remaining isolated and shut off from any possible hacking devices, yet at a time like this, they're far too remote to feel completely secure.

Baekhyun shuffles behind Jongin and leans on his side. Soojung's ponytail flips in the wind, and Baekhyun swears the air feels like another storm. Most of the employees have come out to see her go.

"Where's Yixing?" he asks Jongin.

"I saw him this morning. He was taking a message to the clan elders about what we intend to do."

"And Sehun?"

Jongin shrugs. "I saw him hug you, and then he was gone."

Baekhyun shivers, trying in vain to distance himself from that one, all too brief memory last night.

"He'll be back," says Jongin reassuringly, hint of a smile. "Seems he likes you after all. What were you so worried about?"

Unfortunately, they had much to be worried about. Soojung’s message comes right on time with the arrival of Minho’s boat.

Code Blue , it reads.

Code Blue.

“That means,” says Jongdae with trembling hands and voice, “that means there’s been a  breach of information, specifics unknown.”

And practically, it means dropping everything they’re doing to take immediate action. Everything, must vanish.

“Company’s coming.”