The brown hair boy scurried down to the docks. Thick book tuck inbetween his inner elbow and wrist. The last few days were more eventful than ever his short 20 something years ever were. Almost unbelievable. Well. Actually completely unbelievable unless your some old huff listening to wives tales they were told as a youngster.

It was strange, their first meeting...

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He blinked. He blinked again. Did he just boop me ? The strange guy started to smile big at him as he pulled his head back up. 

"Did you just ing boop me?" sounding astonished. Because, what?? 

"Yes"

"Why??"

"To break the tension?" he said as if it was something obvious.

"To break tension??"

"Yeah, and to say hello. Your smiling now too so I think I did just that"

Hyosang hadn't noticed but he was smiling. Smiling wide. So wide his cheeks kinda hurt from the strain but he didn't notice. 

"What's your name? "

"Hyunho"

He sat all the way up realizing it. Perched in his knees just looking down. The other looking up. Smile still apparent. He was only lost for words for a few moments. He reached his hands out for the other to take. Which they did after blinking once. 

"On three I'll pull you up, ok?" he assured standing.

"Why?"

"Oh,  well...dont you want to get out?"

"No"

".....How long to you plan on being in there? "

"Uh.... A while."

Hyosang quirked his head in confusion. 

Hyunho raised his eyebrows. He said oh and began to smile. He leaned back in to the water floating on  his back. Moved to flip his tail up? 

His tail.... Hyosangs eyes flickered between the wide triangle connecting to his torso and his face with the ever growing smile on his face.

The tail lifts out the water and splashes water in his face. It's cold and salty.

This is real. 

That's a ing tail.

"Whoa! Whoa!!" A slosh of water was the last thing he herd.

-------

He passed out. Thinking back on it, it wasn't the coolest thing he ever did. But come on he met a ing mermaid. How does one react to that exactly? He gripped the book filled with all the old tales and whispers through out hundreds of years. This book his mom used to let him read story's out of. Even younger his grandmother used to read and tell stories.

He found out a lot about mystical things. Like how the moon is his grandparent. And names them. He found out the first night.....after the fainting. 

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He felt a bit of splashing on his face. He was half in a dream. 

"Kidoh, Kidoh, Kidoh! "

A bigger splash hit him. The shock jolted him awake with a gasp. 

"Kidoh? "

Half hanging off the the dock a little stunned. 

"Are you calling me? "

"Yeah Kidoh are you alright?? You did this falling thing like going to sleep."

Blinking at his figure bobbing in the water Hyosang was so confused. 

" But like without laying down properly. Kidoh?"

"......I'm Hyosang" 

"oh yeah,  I didn't know so I called you your moon name"

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Or Like how hyunho doesn't sing and trick fisherman out to sea. He doesn't steal souls. He wasn't made in a test tube. He doesn't eat people. Or how his kiss isn't poisonous, though his teeth are slightly. Somewhat a numbing effect. 

---------

Hyosang found that out the hard way. He was pushing hyunho's face into the water playfully. Whilst said face was split with a wide smile. One of his fingers nicked on the sharp ones. It only stung a little then a little more and then it was numb just a bit. But only right around the open skin. 

"I'm really sorry, does it hurt?" "No, though it's kinda stinging a bit" 

"Oh that's the poison-"

"What the - You said you weren't poisonous!!!"

"I said my KISS wasn't poisonous! Don't be rude. You WON'T DIE"

Turns out it's very mild and only to help with the wild shrimp and small fish he eats, does a lot more on them. 

Or how the moon is his grandparent. And names them. He found out the first night.....after the fainting. 

---------

....

"......I'm Hyosang" 

"oh yeah,  I didn't know so I called you your moon name"

He blinked hard. His head had a pounding headache. "A what? "

The sea kid looked like he had an answered to speak but he quickly bobbed back into the water. With a bubble disappearong into the deep blue. 

"Hyosang! Your ma is worried." His friend stumbled down the stairs leading to the dock. "And your dad is a ." he finished as he was nearing the end of the wooden planks. A fast one that boy is.

"Seriously my dad thinks we're practically married because your dad thinks we're always in each others and doesn't stop talking about it. "

Hyosang gets up rubbing his head. "Yeah, Sangwon, I know. I live with the er. "

He looked back down at the water. Two small bubbles. He turns his eyes back to his friend. Who's staring at him. 

"What? "

"Why you here, it's damn near one"

One? 

Whoa I must of been out longer than I thought

He can't stop blinking and staring where..... Hyunho disappear into. Mean while Sangwon can't stop staring at him. 

"......dude.....come to my place your out of it. Beside your dad is too cray now. "

Two more bubbles popped up from the spot where his eyes were glued. And he swore he herd 'bye Kidoh'. One more bubble and he herd Hyosang. He smiled to himself. 

"Yeah I'll come over" 

Kidoh huh? It's not bad. 

------

The brunette was sitting there with these thoughts of the past few days. Waiting to show why he thought such silly things. He could explain better with all the tales in front of him. Hence this fat book. 

They talked a lot. Like everyday. All day. He learned a lot. So much it be hard to explain to anyone else. About the sea, about the moon. About how humans are not nearly, nearly as smart as they think they are. 

If something seems to far out of reach than it must be fake. Science forgot to study many things. Not even. Science completely disregarded too many things. Because hyunho isn't the only one. Infact he said there's plenty more. So many different hybrid species. Would you call it hybrid if no mating was involved? Whatever, the point is. Science skipped a whole evolution. Or something. 

Thumbing through the pages of the book with his thoughts just going rampant. He was so in concentration to find the pages so he could be ready when Hyunho got there. 

That he didn't notice Hyunho got there. 

"Hey"

Hyosang jolted his head to him. Met with water to the eye. He's beautiful but he's gross. Spat water from his mouth into the brunette's eye. He's charming I swear.

"So what's up? Is that the thing you wanted to show me?"

It's funny how Hyosang just flows with Hyunho. 

"Oh yeah, look at this . " 

Turning through pages swiftly til finding the right one. "All these legends that make you guys sound horrible"

Hyunho study the text looking curious an confused. His eye brows straightening. Starting to arch one. 

"You.... Can read right? " he asked Hyunho hesitantly. Who just laugh loudly in response. Then flipping another page. 

"Yeah, sorta, if anything I'll ask. " ending with a small chuckle. After a few more pages and smirks and small laughs to himself later hyunho looks at him.  "It is..... Some weird things but other things weren't completely off I guess. "

"Really?? Some of this is true? " 

"About mermaids yeah, if you run into the wrong one. Those bad ones are mostly instinct "

"Bad ones? Instinct? I thought they're plenty?  Just like you"

"I'm not a mermaid. There's plenty of me though "

What?

Almost without thinking Hyosang reached in the water and pulled the long fin up. "What the Hell is this then!? " 

He really didn't mean it rude or sarcastic. Literally in the midst of confuzzlement. What could he possibly be with a half human body and half tail fin thing??  He was not received well he presumes as he was met with a salty slap across the face with said tail fin thing. 

"Mermaids are half scales, a fish pretty much. I'm a whale you jackass"

Hyosang stared. Eye brows furrowing. 

"A whale"

"Yes! Do you see scales? I'm whale dammit. "

The end of the blue haired tail lifted out if the water again. Hyosang just stared, more puzzled. 

Hyunho stared back. He splashed the water up at the others face when he decided they been staring to long. The brunette honestly doesn't know what else to call someone half tail half person. 

".....I'm sorry.... I didn't mean to be rude...do you eat people? "

Loud laughter came out the blue haired again. "No I told you I didn't.

"Hyosang, I was mostly alarmed. I know you don't mean it rude. There were bad mermaids and good mermaids. And there's other creatures and sometimes humans have a hard time telling us apart. And you guys make up alot things and really exaggerate."

Hyosang nodded in understanding. As well as agreement people exaggerate. A lot. Hyunho explained further how there were mermaids who would lure and kill Humans. How mermaids do sing. But not on the soul purpose to attract humans. If they did that they are a siren. And sirens are extremely rare. Especially now. The brown hair took it all in. 

"Your kind really is strange. It's written right here if you run into a violent sea creature that some sink with the touch of humans. Something about disrupting magic. IF it was a sea creature why would sinking be a problem?  We are sea creatures! " Hyunho continued into a ramble about how none of that makes sense.

It really doesn't but it's an old book full old wives tales. It's fake. Or half fake. 

"Who knows maybe I could sink you by disrupting your "magic", have you ever tried getting sunk by a human ?"

Apparently that must of came as a challenge. The next thing Hyosang knows he's in water. He felt his ankles being pulled but he had no time to react. When he bobs up and begins to float he pops. "WHAT THE HYUNHO-"

"Wanna try? Sink me."

He was pulled close in as the blue haired leaned back and started to straighten out pulling Hyosang with. Laying him over like a blanket. They floated right on top of the water. 

Being on top of Hyunho was resting on someone in a bed but so much more comfortable. Like a water bed. Since they're in water but no sinking. Just a calm sway of waves on skin. And slow pull in different directions. It's less work then trying to keep oneself a float on their own. 

They stayed like that for who knows how long. It was peaceful, a comfortable feeling.  Hyosang almost started to doze off as it laten. Still asking questions. 

"Do you have gills?"

"No"

"How do you breathe?"

"Lungs. Whales have lungs"

"what happens in winter? " 

"In the ocean underwater is still Unfrozen "

"So you don't leave... Leave and migrate or something like an annoying bird"

At some points Hyunho was tracing small things into Hyosangs back. Combine with calm waters. It was lulling him to sleep. Bad combination, falling asleep and water but with Hyunho he felt safe. It felt like it was ok.

"Some sea creatures migrate to warmer waters...not all"

"mmmm" and Hyosang was drifting with the ocean to sleep.