Seulgi pulled the black mask over her face and winced slightly as it constricted around her jaw before exhaling and sauntering out into the middle of the cavern to greet her visitor. He was small, his frame ever so slight, and the fact that he was curling into himself as he stood before her in the dim light of the pearl lamps didn’t do his minimal physique much justice. Beneath the mask, Seulgi resisted a sigh. The scared ones could be fun sometimes, but they always made such a fuss.

“Greetings, young gentleman,” she purred, grandeur and all the worst intentions lacing her silky voice. “What brings you to my den?”

In the corner, hidden away behind the seaweed, Seulgi heard Yeri scoff. Of course she was laughing. When was she not? But Seulgi retained her composure, instead choosing to extend an arm out into an inky black tentacle and tilt the man’s chin upwards.

His gaze met hers, and suddenly, he was transfixed - or, perhaps, petrified. “Oh, g-great Sea Witch… I come with a-a request. Please accept my humble offering.”

The merman dropped his head immediately, holding out two hands to reveal a pearl necklace; it was shoddy and done with poor craftsmanship, but Seulgi could see that his efforts in tribute to her were somewhat sincere. It’s not like she cared, though. The mask she wore was the mask of elegant cruelty, and all demons in Hell forbid compassion stop her from having a little bit of fun.

Gingerly lifting the necklace from his hands, Seulgi pretended to admire it for a second. Really, though, she’s just watching the hopeful expression on his face - and she laughed as it distorted into utter panic when she throws the gift into the pitch black abyss behind her.

“Love,” she said, enunciating her words slowly, “that’s not how we play the game down here.”

The poor, tiny, insignificant man in front of her was quivering in fear now, his once shimmering tail growing dull and twitching slightly on the floor. His eyes were fixed so intensely on the floor that Seulgi almost wanted to joke that he’d burn a hole in it, but the man spoke, and she held her tongue.

“Then… h-how…? What must I do…?”

Seulgi snorted. “Boy, have you never read the tales of my exploits? Has your grandmother never told you horror stories in the middle of the night about me? Do you really, truly not know how my dealing works? Because I can assure you, young sir, that I’ve been around long enough to have some kind of knowledge of me passed around.” She tapped him on the shoulder with her arm-turned-tentacle, relishing in his obvious fright.

“No, forgive me, please, esteemed Sea Witch. Have mercy; I am ignorant.”

Rolling her eyes, the witch faked a gag at his words. Merpeople and their flattery - no, any people and their flattery – were  truly detestable, in her less-than-humble opinion. She feigned pleasantry, though, if only for the sake of giving him false hope.

“Why, I’m flattered by your titles, so I suppose I’ll spare you just this once.” Seulgi’s voice dripped with sarcasm, but the merman seemed not to notice or care as he lifted his head up from the ground, face utterly washed over in relief.

“I thank you, oh great -”

“Save your words.” She snapped at him vehemently, and the man returned his gaze to the ground. Seulgi sighed before explaining.

“Listen, boy. Listen carefully, for I’ll explain this once, and whatever choice you make shall be your last. Any wish you’ve ever had - be it wealth, love, power - I have the capabilities to grant.”

Spreading her tentacles out for emphasis, Seulgi concentrated, letting billowing shapes of ink - a crown, a bag of gold, two lovers in a coral reef - fill the cavern and float about the man’s head. He stared about in wonder as she spoke again.

“Every fantasy you’ve ever imagined, no matter how wild and outlandish, I can make come true. But nothing comes for free. Everything has a price, big or small.”

The ink shapes changed form; this time, a dead body, a finger, and a few sinister runes danced through the water.

“It’s up to you to take the risk. Whatever choice you make, I assure you, is completely your own. Everything is done with your consent.” Seulgi gazed at him in curiosity. “Tell me then, what do you desire?”

Kneeling down, the sea witch brought herself face to face with the merman. She grabbed hold of his jaw and leered at him, letting the smile she knew so many people despised take over her expression. Gently, with the utmost respect and a touch of fear, he tugged her hand away from his face. Seulgi chuckled to herself.

So this one does have some courage, after all.

“Sea Witch… I merely wish for recognition. I am a nobody, where I come from, and I want to be known… I just want my name to be out there, to be uttered by those who know of me, but whom I know not.”

How bland. And here Seulgi was hoping that he’d actually be different, that he might present a request that was worth her time and intellect. Self-control, she reminded herself. Oh, how hard it was to manage restraint when she could literally put an end to it all in a second.

“Fame, the golden trophy of an ignoramus.” The witch’s voice echoed dryly around her cavern walls. “I suppose I can do with that. Are you willing to pay the price, be what it may?”

The merman nodded fervently, utterly set on becoming a “big figure.” Seulgi smiled thinly at him while she racked her brain for a good price. A curse would be too easy… simple misfortune too, well, simple. What was the answer?

What was the best way to ruin this man’s life?

Seulgi’s smile turned sickeningly sweet as an idea finally rang in her head.

“My good sir, be prepared to be known by the whole world.”

Clueless, the merman mirrored her smile, the shine beginning to come back to his lackluster tail. He bowed his head in respect.

“Thank you, oh esteemed Sea Witch.”

With his face turned down, he missed the faint sparkle of pure malevolence in Seulgi’s eyes as she flicked a tentacle toward him, touching his forehead and sentencing him to a life of fame - and shame, and notoriety, and persecution, and ultimately, death. As he looked back up, the sea witch’s mask gleamed red, and she smiled at him once more - but somehow, it flashed a moment of tired, resigned, and regretful - before he disappeared from her cavern entirely.

“Granted.”

If Joohyun had legs, she’d have been running like all Seven Hells had been let loose behind her. But for the lack of the gangly appendages, she simply flicked her tail furiously, desperate to evade the angry shouts of her father.

“Joohyun! Bae Joohyun, I swear, if you don’t get back he - “

At the end of the corridor, Joohyun could see the entrance to the palace vaults. Behind her, the sounds of her father’s swishing tail got louder as he started to catch up, so in a final burst of exertion, she darted to the grand double doors, swiftly letting herself in and locking them.

Shouts and bangs of indignant protest were muffled against the thick iron, but the deadbolt fell into place with a reassuring thump, and Joohyun sighed in relief.

Finally. Her daily excursions to the vaults were getting progressively harder to accomplish, and her research was hindered every second she had to sneak about the palace grounds in fear o