When the sun finally rose, the sky exploded with colors. Haebin was surprised, who knew sunrises were so pretty? “Whoa…”

“Whoa?”

She pointed at the sun. “I’ve never seen the sky like that before, it’s pretty. Look…the gold and the blue are mixing together.”

Sehun smiled. “When I was little, I’d swim to the surface every morning to see it.”

“Did you stop?”

He nodded. “I stopped when I was around 17. I heard stories from other mermen and mermaids. They were about the few of us who went on land; many of them came back for good though. They told us about humans and how romantic it was to watch the sun rise or the sun set with someone you loved. I didn’t have anyone.” The merman sulked. “After hearing that, it felt a little silly to watch the sunrise by myself every morning.”

“You can watch it with me.” Haebin stood up. “You don’t need a lover to watch the sun. You don’t need a lover to be happy. You can be happy by yourself or even with friends and family.”

“Family?”

“That’s like…where you come from. You know how fish lay eggs and they have little fish babies- you were a baby once, no?”

“Ah…” He understood the concept. “My parents are in the sea somewhere. We’re pretty much on our own after we’re born.” Sehun hugged his knees. “The ocean is vast; a lot of us don’t stay close together. We’re a kingdom of mermen and mermaids in the sea but at the end of the day, we’re only knit tightly if we choose to be. You have to make friends by yourself and if not, you spend your entire life exploring.”

“Is that why you came up here?”

Sehun looked at her. “Yea,” He thought about Cheong. “Cheong was from my part of the ocean. She came back down one day and announced that it would be the last swim of her life. She took one of the scales off her tail and broke it in half…”

“What does that mean?”

“She broke it in half and then it just disintegrated. The broken scale symbolizes her will to live as a mermaid, Cheong basically gave up her tail. She wished to be on land forever because she enjoyed it that much. She had a man who she loved and the man loved her back. She had friends. She was much happier out of the water.”

“Does that mean you can do it too?” Haebin sat up straight. “I-I’m not saying you should give up your merman status but one day, if you wanted to, would you?”

“I would.” Sehun waved his hands. “But not now! Everything is uncertain and I don’t know if I’m going to be living with you forever. One day you’re going to start a family, right? You’re going to be on your own and you won’t need a merman in your house anymore.”

Haebin shrugged. “Well, you never know. I’m pretty young, ya know? I don’t think I’m going to start a family anytime soon so you can stay for as long as you’d like.”

He threw his arms around her and playfully nuzzled her shoulder with his fluffy hair. “Thank you!!!” Sehun grinned cheekily. “That means my last swim won’t happen for a long time.”

“Last swim?”

“That’s what Cheong did. That’s how a mermaid gives up her tail- although I’m sure she’s a phenomenal swimmer even without it. I was there when it happened; she gathered as many of us as she could so we could break the news to the others. Things circulate quickly in the ocean. She took a scale off her tail, broke it and let it disintegrate. Cheong said her goodbyes and she swam around her favorite places one last time; the scales on her tail came off and trailed behind her. It was beautiful but it was also very sad.”

“It’s a bittersweet moment.”

“It is.” Sehun sighed. “Then her tail was bare, it no longer sparkled, it was plain. Cheong said that she would swim to her destination and once she got out of the water, her legs would be there for good. She said she would be going to Seoul so I followed her.”

“And that’s how you got here!”

“Right.”

On the way back, Sehun asked Haebin a question. “How come we can’t play with Chanyeol and Baekhyun?”

“H-Huh?” Haebin wrinkled her nose and brushed them off. “They’re just a bunch to deal with.”

“Is it because I’m a merman and they don’t know?” He asked. “Are you protecting me?”

She froze. What the does being a merman give him 6^th sense or something?! Haebin looked at him. “Um,”

“You can be honest with me,” Sehun said. “I know it’s probably true anyway.”

“It’s…”

“Can we tell them about me?”

He probably wants more company… He left the ocean to escape the loneliness anyway. “Are you sure?”

***

“Oh my God stop.”

What now, Baekhyun?

“Chanbutt! This isn’t right! Is he coming out already? We’re only in episode 14!”

There he goes again…talking to himself.

“Add my narrations! They don’t know who’s talking!”

Baekhyun flipped through the book of scripts and gasped. “OH, MY GOD. THIS CHAPTER IS CALLED MERMAIDING OUT. SEHUN IS GONNA TELL US? IS HE COMING OUT? IS HE COMING CLEANNN? AFTER 14 CHAPTERS OF SHOVING US ASIDE? CAN WE FINALLY HANGOUT WITH THEM AS A GROUP OF 4?”

“He’s gay? I feel so bad for Haebin! She totally likes him!”

He smacked the towering idiot upside the head. “HE’S TELLING US HE’S A MERMAN. HE’S COMING OUT THE MERMAN CLOSET.”

“Isn’t it more of a shell? A merman shell?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. “Act like you don’t know okay?”

“You think I’m stupid or something?!”

“Well-“

“Don’t answer that.” Chanyeol flipped his hair out of his eyes. “Aw gotta bring out my Oscar Award winning acting to pull this off.”

“Should we be extra? Or should we be serious like- Oh it’s not a big deal Sehun, you are a good person and-“

“No.” Chanyeol pointed to the poster in the foreword. “You’re trying to include a serious and down to heart moment in a story with a poster like this? This is the perfect moment to pull off comedy gold!”

***

The four of them sat at Haebin’s table with a juice box in front of them- it was all she had to offer.

I cannot take this seriously right now. Haebin tried her best not to laugh. Why are we drinking Pororo juice boxes? This is such an important moment! “Guys, Sehun has something to tell you.”

Mmm, yeah, we know you’re a merman. It literally says so in the description! And we all have a copy of the story- Chanyeol nodded. “Yes?”

“Ah, yes? Please tell us something we don’t know.”

Sehun glanced at Haebin before facing the boys. “Guys…actually… I’m a merman. I’m not human. I’m from Jeju Island and I swam to Seoul for a new life.”

3…2..1…Go! Chanyeol stood up out of his seat and flung his head back. “OH MY GOD… I HAD NO ING IDEA-“

Baekhyun grabbed his shoulders. “Tone it down jackass.” He smiled widely and spoke between his teeth.

Sehun gasped at the giant’s reaction.

Baekhyun waved his hands in the air. “We…We know! You told us when we first met!”

Did he? Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun with confusion before acting out again. He gasped for air and clutched his heart. “I-I can’t handle such news!” He took a swing at the juice box.

“Y-Yeah you totally said you were Sehun and that you were a merman from Jeju!”

Chanyeol leaned over. “Didn’t he say that to Haebin?”

“Shut up!”

“Oh, yeah chapter one!”

Haebin scratched her head. What are they whispering about? She turned to Sehun. “U-Um maybe they’re not in their right mind?”

Baekhyun slammed his arm onto the table. “NO. YES, WE ARE. WE ARE TOTALLY OKAY.”

Sehun looked at the boys. “I’m a merman. I hope you accept me and hang out with me…”

Chanyeol nodded furiously. “MY MAN, OF COURSE! I ING LOVE FISH.”

Haebin face palmed.

“Oh my God!” Baekhyun dragged the taller towards the door by his ears. “WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.”

[a/n]: sorry for any mistakes

comments are much appreciated!!!