It’s a warm Summer evening when Mingyu breaks up with his girlfriend.

 

Actually, let me rephrase that—it’s a warm Summer evening when his girlfriend decides to break up with him over the phone.

 

Two years and three months, but who’s counting? Surely not her.

 

He throws his phone somewhere in his bedroom and yeah, he’ll regret it but that’s for later. Right now, he just needs to clear his mind.

 

“I’m heading out,” Mingyu breathes out as he picks up the helmet from the sofa in the living room. He’s clearly frustrated and his grandmother raises an eyebrow at him.

 

“Where to?” she asks.

 

“No where in particular,” he answers. “I just need to... get some fresh air.”

 

Mingyu fidgets under her gaze. She seems to notice his distress so she smiles as an act of comfort—it’s okay. Talk to me later—and Mingyu is so, so grateful to her.

 

“Be careful.”

 

“I will.”

 

He can pour his heart out to her later. He can tell her how he cried while riding his motorbike with no destination in mind whatsoever. He can sob while telling her how his legs shook as he got up and leaned over a metal ledge by a cliff.

 

Mingyu screams into the night in frustration... And he cries. He cries because it hurts and he wants nothing more that to just stop the feelings and memories associated with her.

 

Then, he hears it.

 

The metal ledge bents under his body and it takes him a blink of an eye to realize he’s falling and falling and falling—

 

He blacks out after feeling the water slaps against his back.

 

*

 

Two eyes stare into his. It reminds him of thunderstorms above crashing waves of the ocean and that’s when he remembers.

 

The water was filling up his lungs, his vision turned so blurry and his ears rang. He knew he was drowning but he felt like he was on flames. And now—he feels cold compared to the burning sensation under his skin, and his vision and hearing are perfectly fine. He can see the young man—the one who possibly saved him—and he can hear the ocean waves.

 

Am I alive?

 

Mingyu hears a laugh and realizes he asked it out loud.

 

“Yes. You are very much alive.”

 

Mingyu doesn’t bother sitting up right. The stars looked beautiful and beautiful things should be admired. “What... happened?”

 

“You had a broken heart and thought giving up on everything was the best way to fix it.”

 

What a different way to interpret the situation. Mingyu sighs. “You got it all wrong. I didn’t want to kill myself.”

 

“You should not depend your life on someone. It’s not right.”

 

“I didn’t—” Mingyu rubs at his temples. “I didn’t... I am not depending my life on... her. The metal ledge snapped and I fell.”

 

The other pouts, thinking, before letting out a small oh and nods. “I’m sorry I misundertsood. A lot of people with broken hearts visit that ledge.”

 

“It’s fine,” Mingyu waves his hand as he sits up. “Thank you for saving me, uh...”

 

“Wonwoo!” he smiles and the moon shines down on him like he’s a saint. Mingyu blinks before realizing it’s probably best to tell his grandmother what had happened.

 

“I have to go home,” he says.

 

Wonwoo looks back at the sea. “I, as well.”

 

Mingyu stands up and moves his limbs to check if he’s hurt when Wonwoo chuckles.

 

“Oh, no, you didn’t fall to high up to be in crucial pain. The sea cushioned your fall. It was a good thing I’m a fast swimmer, too.”

 

Mingyu looks up because Wonwoo didn’t make any moves to stand when he sees it. A tail—tail. Wonwoo has a tail from his waist down to where his legs and feet should be.

 

Wonwoo is a merman.

 

Mingyu didn’t mean to stare but how could he not? “You’re a—”

 

“Yes,” Wonwoo laughs. Loud and joyous and Mingyu can hear the oceans blending with it. “Goodbye.”

 

Later, that same night, he’s a little less heartbroken and a lot more curious. He tells his grandmother everything but he leaves out the part where he meets Wonwoo.

 

*

Wonwoo realizes the boy he saved never told his name to him when Wonwoo told him his. That’s not fair. Oh, but he’s really cute. He guesses he can forgive him for that.

 

*

 

They’re not real, his mother says. Sharp and posh. No flaws even in the way she speaks.

 

But mother, they’re beautiful—and beautiful things must be real, Mingyu slumps at the dinner table.

 

Sit up straight, son. Where are your manners? His father says. You should be learning to improve your artwork. Not draw what has been drawn.

 

But father—

 

His mother glares at him. Do not raise your voice.

 

*

 

It’s been days and Mingyu still can’t stop thinking of him—Wonwoo.

 

He starts going out late at nights to visit the ocean, too. He’s sure that his grandmother is aware of the new habit but she doesn’t say anything. Yet.

 

Maybe it’s just the fact that he can’t fully believe he met with one of the many childhood dream creatures, or maybe it’s because he wants to learn more about Wonwoo.

 

Maybe both.

 

“Grandma, do you believe in... mermaids?” he asks during dinner one night and it feels nostalgic. This time, however, he’s careful. He doesn’t want sharp words poking at his skin until he’s unable to sleep.

 

To his suprise, she smiles. “Oh, yes. Mermaids are beautiful things—and all beautiful things are real. For how could anyone think of such?”

 

*

 

It’s around midnight of the first day of June when Mingyu decides to stroll around the town he calls home. Sure, home is back in the city, where the busy streets greet him and there’s no grass—just apartments and complex buildings and all.

 

It can never be as home as this one.

 

The town is small, giving him the chance when he was younger to explore the little places and colonize corners with his friends so they can visit the same old corners when they’re older because growing up comes with a lot of things—sadness, especially.

 

He never brought his ex-girlfriend here, he realizes and he takes a deep breath. He’s grateful. If he did brought her every time summer comes along, then every single thing he sees, smell or taste would remind him of her.

 

He takes another deep breath. Midnight strolls are good for him.

 

Why midnight, you ask?

 

There’s a convenience store just a few blocks away from the Sky Ledge (where the metal snapped and he fell off the cliff) and it sells great bread snacks.

 

But why midnight?

 

For the past few weeks, his name stays on Mingyu’s tongue like a bomb about to explode, like lies just begging to be spilled. He’s desperate to find him, he can’t deny that, but wouldn’t you be?

 

He glances over to the Sky Ledge and he shakes his head, chuckling bitterly to himself. If he couldn’t find him for days, then what makes him think that he would be there now?

 

(But it’s hope that convinces him.)

 

He stands up. A little peek over the cliff won’t hurt.

 

And when he reaches the Sky Ledge, still hesitating, he leans and he’s careful not to touch the ledge. He can hear the ocean waves meeting the sand, and it’s serene—almost dreamlike.

 

Then he sees it. The familiar tail shining due to the moonlight and Mingyu’s heart jumps to his throat. He smiles unconsiously before running down the pathway.

 

Wonwoo sees him, too and there’s a smile on his face as well but it’s more confused. Nonetheless, it’s still a sincere one.

 

“Hello,” the boy greets.

 

Wonwoo nods. “Oh, we meet again.”

 

“Where you expecting us not to?”

 

He doesn’t answer. “You do not seem heartbroken, anymore.”

 

The boy shrugs and Wonwoo remembers he doesn’t know his name. “My grandmother always tells me time heals. I guess I did.”

 

“Time... what a cruel creature he is.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

Wonwoo snorts. Silly human. “Time waits for no man. Have you heard? You humans are the ones that created that phrase and yet... you are right.”

 

“Yeah,” he nods. “My teacher tells me that all the time,” There’s a silence before he speaks again, “Do you think that’s true?”

 

Wonwoo nods sadly before smiling. Mingyu knows a heartbroken smile when he sees one. “What’s your name?”

 

*

 

Mingyu shakes his head. Sirens and mermaids are kind of different.

 

How? Seokmin asks.

 

Well, sirens are based on Greek Mythology. They lure sailors with their singing or beautiful lies and... well, eat them. Mermaids, in some tales, are the same but usually they’re just fantasy dreams.

 

Seokmin grunts. That doesn’t make sense.

 

Minghao laughs. So the difference is that one kind is a nightmare and the other is a dream?

 

Well, yes. Mingyu nods. If you put it that way.

 

Oh, Mingyu. You and your obsession with these things. I don’t know whether to admire or loath it.

 

*

 

“Have you ever tried going out of the waters?” Mingyu asks when they’re having a picnic. Wonwoo thought it was a bad idea but Mingyu told him no one ever comes to the beach, anyways. There’s a nicer one on the other side of town.

 

But looking at Wonwoo right now where his waist down is in the water and he looks absolutely golden under the Sun, Mingyu knows which beach is actually nicer.

 

“Yes, of course,” Wonwoo answers and motions to his figure.

 

Mingyu laughs. “No, I mean, like... entirely.”

 

“Oh,” the merman says. “No, it’s... dangerous.”

 

“Do you want to try, though?” Mingyu asks and Wonwoo furrows his eyebrows.

 

“I do... but...”

 

“It’s dangerous?” he imitates then chuckles before being punched in the arm.

 

“Don’t laugh! It is!”

 

Mingyu hands him a bread snack to which Wonwoo accepts with a pout. It’s cute. He’s cute. “How dangerous can it be? Look at me. I’m alive.”

 

“It’s not like that...” Wonwoo sighs. “Falling in love is dangerous. Living with a broken heart is even more dangerous.”

 

Mingyu is taken aback and he doesn’t even try to hide it. Wonwoo looks away and there’s tears b in his eyes.

 

There’s that silence again. It’s familiar, but unwelcome. The ocean seems like it’s sighing. The ocean is too terifying to sigh like that.

 

A few more minutes and Mingyu speaks up, “Hey, listen. Just because one gets heartbroken doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Sometimes, most of the times, it’s a second chance...”

 

Wonwoo glances at him in the corner of his eyes but Mingyu never looks away. With Wonwoo, he never really glances anywhere.

 

“...to fall in love.”

 

“And what if one cannot?”

 

Mingyu feels like he’s stepped into a foreign area.

 

“Cannot what?”

 

“Cannot fall. They’re hopelessly waiting for the previous one. What’s it like?”

 

“To hopeless wait for the previous one?”

 

Wonwoo shakes his head. “To fall for a second time.”

 

“Must be nice, I guess,” Mingyu answers so carelessly because he doesn’t really know how to answer that. “You’ll find out soon.”

 

(Mingyu finds out later, too.)

 

*

 

“So, when are you going to introduce me to your new friend?” Mingyu’s grandmother asks so abruptly during breakfast and if he wasn’t fully awake before, he is now.

 

“W-What?”

 

“Oh, don’t play dumb. Seokmin and Minghao are the only friends you have and they’re not here,” she casually says and Mingyu tries to not look offended, “Yet, you go out almost every night. I want to meet this friend of yours.”

 

“Uh, why, exactly?”

 

“To make sure they aren’t murderers, of course! What other good reason is there?” she jokes and Mingyu laughs. “Introduce me to them, alright? Bring them over for lunch today.”

 

His lungs clenches. “I can’t... do that. He, well, uh, can’t leave his home.”

 

She doesn’t give up easily, he remembers. Oh, God.

 

“Then, I’m bring lunch to him.”

 

“Grandma—”

 

“Where do you usually meet up?”

 

“The beach below the Sky Ledge, the metal one but grandma—”

 

“Great,” she beams. “I’m bringing out the big guns—my killer kimchi fried rice.”

 

Mingyu sighs, already giving up and continues to chow down on his breakfast.

 

(There’s a smile on his lips and his grandmother thinks it’s endearing.)

 

*

 

He takes a deep breath before dropping the bomb. “My grandmother wants to have lunch with you today.”

 

At first, Mingyu’s scared. He’ll reject it, he’ll stop meeting you here because humans and mermans can’t be friends, he’ll be scared of you—

 

“Really?” Wonwoo sounds excited and Mingyu wants to kiss the smile on his face. “What brought her to do that?”

 

“Well, my friends are not having their summer vacation here so she... she wanted to know who I’m meeting with for the past month.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Mingyu quirks his head. “Okay?”

 

“Okay, we’ll have lunch here. It’ll be great! The weather is not too shabby, as well.”

 

God, Mingyu really wants to kiss him.

 

*

 

His grandmother doesn’t even look surprised when she finally meets Wonwoo and it takes Mingyu a few minutes before realizing that his grandmother has been living in this town for so long—she might have met more mermans and mermaids in her life.

 

Mingyu can’t even feel left out because as he watches his grandmother and Wonwoo converse so cheerfully, he can’t help but feel fond.

 

“Mingyu, dear. His grandfather and I were childhood best friends,” she says and Mingyu nods before she turns to Wonwoo again, “How is he, by the way?”

 

“Oh, the usual,” he answers and there’s a little bit of food on the side of his mouth. Mingyu wipes it away with his thumb and Wonwoo turns red. “H-He’s always nagging my father to be a better king.”

 

She laughs. “Tell him to meet up with me, sometimes. It’s nice to just wind down and talk, you know?”

 

That night, Mingyu finds a note on the kitchen table.

 

Meeting up with an old friend! Will be back before 11 ♡

 

*

 

Time passes by so quickly and Mingyu finds himself having a staring contest with Wonwoo as he tries to persuade him.

 

“No,” he says.

 

“Please?” Wonwoo asks.

 

“No.”

 

“It won’t hurt you.”

 

“I can’t swim to save my life—and you want me to dive under water? Where it’s dark and deep and—” he shivers.

 

The merman laughs and it’s the kind of laugh that Mingyu would never get bored of listening to. “I’ll kiss you.”

 

“Is that another way to convince me beca—”

 

Wonwoo kisses him and when he pulls away, Mingyu is a little breathless. “There. Now, you can breathe under water, scaredy cat.”

 

Mingyu blinks. “How do you even know that phrase?”

 

“Your grandmother.”

 

Mingyu groans.

 

Wonwoo offers his hand and Mingyu takes it and together, they dive into the waters. The ocean is harsh against his skin but with Wonwoo, he remembers to breathe—it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.

 

Even with the indescribable (he would use the word beautiful but that could only cover a small portion of what he saw) things and creatures and views in Wonwoo’s terrain, he can still feel the ghost of Wonwoo’s lips against his and oh—he realizes he’s in love.

 

*

 

Why do people think mermaids are... not real?

 

Mingyu’s grandmother sighs before putting down the book she was reading. You see, darling, they have this mind set where... to them, beautiful things are fake. The beauty is just there to hide something.

 

Something?

 

Something, she concludes. But Wonwoo is very much real, eh?

 

Mingyu’s cheeks turn pink.

 

*

 

Mingyu convinces Wonwoo to get out of the waters because if Wonwoo showed him his home, then Mingyu would show his, too.

 

“It’s dangerous,” he would say.

 

“I won’t let anything hurt you,” would be Mingyu’s reply. With that, he grasps Mingyu’s hand and he stands up—his tail turning into a pair of shaky legs. Mingyu lends him his clothes before he shows him the crooks and cranny of the little town.

 

Mingyu pulls him to every convenience store and they get drunk on snacks and fizzy drinks. Wonwoo loves dogs and he really has bad eyesight on land.

 

When Mingyu brings him to the Sky Ledge at night where the stars are bright, he pulls him closer and they share a few stories here and there.

 

That’s when Wonwoo finally realizes what it feels like to fall in love for a second time.

 

*

 

They had their share of fun both in the waters (and no, this is not a reason for him to kiss Mingyu) and on land but soon, time catches up to them and Mingyu has to go back to the busy city.

 

Wonwoo went to accompany him to the bus station with his grandmother on the last day of Summer.

 

“I’m going to let you two say your goodbyes,” she says, walking away. “Love birds.”

 

“Do you really have to go home?” Wonwoo whines. Mingyu beams because with all the walking on land he did, he can finally stand up straight and even strut and run.

 

“Yes,” he breathes, “I’ll be here next Summer. Don’t worry.”

 

“Can Summer come faster?”

 

“Time waits for no man, darling.”

 

Wonwoo sighs. “Promise me you’ll wait, okay?”

 

“I promise.”

 

“By the Sky Ledge—”

 

“—on the first night of Summer. I know, darling, I know.”

 

“Good,” he says and Mingyu kisses him. “Thank you for an amazing Summer.”

 

Amazing—this word could never fully describe what he felt this whole three months with Wonwoo.

 

“Thank you, too,” Wonwoo kisses him on the cheek before he boards the bus.

 

*

 

When the temperature starts dropping to a low degree, Mingyu begins feeling feeble. He coughs violently more often and his hands are shaking too much.

 

“Dude, are you okay?” Minghao asks when he notices his friend’s skin paler than the snow.

 

“Yeah, just sick.”

 

*

 

 

Winter comes barreling—cold and harsh against Wonwoo’s fragile skin but war is colder and more harsh. Both inevitable and unforgiving.

 

He doesn’t remember how he got injured, he must have out and even though, he’s in his room, feeling the pain from the top of his head to the scales on his tail, he can hear the cries of innocent youths and the vibrations caused by the weaponries.

 

The ocean is dying.

 

(He is dying.)

 

*

 

Wonwoo’s heart beats slower and Mingyu feels worse as days go by but the thought of seeing each other again gives them hope.

 

(And hope—hope is a dangerous thing.)

 

*

 

Summer comes around once more and Mingyu is excited. He can’t wait to see Wonwoo and hug and kiss him all he wants—all day long.

 

When Mingyu runs towards the beach below the Sky Ledge on the first night of Summer, Wonwoo is no where to be found.

 

And it’s like that for the rest of the Summer nights.

 

*

 

It isn’t until the last night of Summer when all Mingyu wants to do is tear his hair in frustation at the same beach he finds Wonwoo standing and just staring at the ocean like they’re old friends who have just been united.

 

“You broke our promise,” he says—venomous.

 

Wonwoo glances at him like he really did expected him to be there and it makes him even more furious. “Mingyu—”

 

“You said you’d be here.”

 

“Min—”

 

“You lied,” and he wants to be angry at him but his voice betrays him and it cracks. He knows he’s crying.

 

“Listen to me!” Wonwoo shouts. “I don’t want to give any excuses right now. I... only asked for your forgiveness. My family... they’re waiting for me and I don’t want to leave with regrets.”

 

Mingyu’s breath hitches when he said leave. “Where... where are you going?”

 

And it’s then, Mingyu realizes how pale he looks and how much he’s shaking and if his eyes aren’t blurry from the tears, he would have seen the Angel of Death looming over him.

 

“No,” he whispers and Wonwoo sobs because it sounds heartbreaking. “Wonwoo, please— you— don’t tell me—”

 

“I’m... sorry.”

 

“You can’t do this to me.”

 

“It’s not my fault. It’s not yours, as well, so please do not blame yourself because I know you will.”

 

“What... what happened?” Mingyu doesn’t want to ask—doesn’t want to know but the damage has been done.

 

“You know what is one of the worst thing about wars? It’s the youth—the innocent saints who don’t deserve to be caught up in adults’ mess.”

 

“Wonwoo,” Mingyu can’t say anything else so he hugs him. He hugs him so tightly because he’s going to fade soon.

 

He can feel how weak Wonwoo is and he leans back to wipe the tears and kiss him gently.

 

(The ocean cries. The stars weep above them.)

 

“Hold my hand, darling,” Wonwoo’s voice is laced with Death, “I’m falling asleep.”

 

Mingyu does—until his eyes closes and he can no longer feel a heartbeat.

 

*

 

He goes home the next day feeling like a corpse, too.

 

Mingyu is less lively and it feels like he’s not living. He’s wandering and doesn’t know what he’s doing. He snaps back to reality sometimes but usually, he’s staring into nothing. Nothing stares back at him with sadness.

 

He’s a puppet on strings.

 

And when his mother brings him to the hospital, the doctor tells her that his heart is weakening due to an unknown illness.

 

But he knows better.

 

*

 

(Sometimes, people die when their dreams do.)

 

*

 

Mingyu doesn’t even put up a fight. There’s no use, anyways. So, he withers away.

 

In the hospital, he gets tied up to so many machines he can’t name. His friends visit him but it’s clear that they were crying before they head in—always.

 

His mother breaks down the facade. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he hears crying and hands are grasped over his.

 

“Mom, I forgive you,” he whispers into the night and the sobs get louder.

 

One day, when he breathes his last breath, he doesn’t feel Nirvana and he doesn’t see the light. Instead, he feels a familiar burning sensation under his skin and he can feel his lungs being filled with water.

 

*

 

Why do you keep coming back?

 

Mingyu snorts. Am I not your friend?

 

You are. Wonwoo thinks maybe even more. Thank you.

 

For what?

 

For being faithful as the sea—always coming back.

 

When Mingyu’s gaze meets his, they smile because they know they’re in love.

 

*

 

Mingyu opens his eyes and two familiar eyes are staring intently at him. He sits up, almost knocking their foreheads together as he tries to wrap what happened. One moment, he’s dying and the next, he’s here with him once more.

 

“Oh, God,” he whispers. “This is... is unreal.”

 

“That was quite a fall,” Wonwoo says it and Mingyu feels nostalgic.

 

“Do you believe in second chances?” he asks because wow, this is actually happening. The ocean smiles.

 

“What an odd question to ask after falling,” the other says. “But seeing that you’re not hurt, yes.”

 

And Mingyu laughs. He laughs, loud and obnoxious. The ocean seems to be laughing, too. He doesn’t know what the hell just happened but he knows one thing—a second chance was given to him.

 

(He laughs because he’s just happy to see him, again.)

 

“Thank you for saving me...” and he waits.

 

“Wonwoo,” he smiles. “My name is Wonwoo.”

 

“I’m Mingyu.”

 

He’ll be damned if he lets this dream die. Again.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

a/n: what is this????? idk

the ocean is just me ok i like symbols that doesn’t make sense