"What?" The King shouted as soon as he heard the news.

The servant bowed down and said, "Yes, sire, three humans were found dead early in the morning. When our men look at their bodies, a mermaid indeed did those to them." The King sighed, and Soojung looked at his father with worry.

"I thought they stopped, abeoji." She said her voice sounded afraid. She recalled how these mermaids killed humans and how the humans shouted and begged them to stop. But she couldn't tell her father about it or she'd be dead meat.

"I thought so too. After I talked with Ji-Hyun and promised to banish her into the depths of the ocean, I thought she'd stop, but she's back again." His father sighed.

"I can't understand. Why are they doing this? I know she hates us because the kingdom was not given to her, but killing humans is a different thing. If she hates us, then she should deal with us, not the humans. That's why humans might think all mermaids are evil." Soojung frustratingly said

"I'll deal with this, Soojung, but you should promise me to stay away from this. I don't want you to be in danger again." His father pleaded with her, and she nodded like an obedient child. Soojung went out of the palace and went to the shore to collect seashells. She knew that the human killings were still fresh, but this was her way to release her stress.

"You know being onshore is dangerous, right?" Especially now." Someone whispered in her ear, and when she looked at the person, she saw Amber.

"And you know following me wouldn't give you any benefit, right?" She faked a smile and continued swimming.

"I'm not. I just happened to pass by this place and saw you." She reasoned, and Soojung just stuck her tongue out.

"You shouldn't go there, Soojung." He warned her, but being the stubborn princess she is, she just continued swimming. Amber groaned in frustration. Soojung has always been stubborn and has done things she enjoys since they were children. No one can top her if she's determined to do so. So Amber had no choice but to follow her. The safety of the King and the Princess is her duty, even if it means harming herself. But before they could reach the shore, Sooojung stopped in her tracks and saw people on the shoreline with nets, torches, and sparrows on their hands.

"What are they doing?" She whispered when she felt Amber beside her. She shook her head and dragged her away from the place. When they were far away, Amber explained to her what they had just seen.

"I think they're going to kill any mermaids they see." That's why they have those." Soojung was shocked.

"But not all mermaids are evil; you know that, Amber." Her tears were visible as she reasoned.

"I know, but do they know that too? They're humans, Soojung, and we're different from them. Yes, there are wicked mermaids and genuine mermaids, but do they know about our division? No, so even if they're going to see our people, they're still going to kill them." She explained

"We need to tell my father." They swam as fast as they could to warn them, since they did not want any mermaids killed. When they reached the throne, Amber and Soojung bowed down, and they explained what they saw.

"Guards, tell the people not to go out of the palace. Let them stay in our zone." He commanded them, and they obeyed him. When the guards were out, the king eyed them suspiciously.

"How did you get your information?" He asked the two. Amber and Soojung were caught off guard by the king. Amber mentally facepalmed her head.

"Because a-abeoji, I-I s-saw an old lady and told me." Soojung lied. She was never a good liar. When she lies, she stutters, sweats a lot, and can't look you in the eye, which his father mastered.

"I know you, Soojung; you can deceive them but never me." He said so and faced Amber. Amber gave him a wide smile but later dismissed it after seeing the king's wicked glare.

"It was not Princess Soojung's fault, your highness." As soon as Amber uttered those words, Soojung looked at him, eyes wide open, and cursed in her head for spilling.

"How many times do I have to tell you and remind you to stay out of that zone?" That is dangerous, do you know that? Especially now that people are blaming us for their fellow humans' deaths."The king shouted, and anger was obvious in his tone.

"It was not Amber's fault, Abeoji. It was mine." Soojung said, while the King just shook his head.

"Even if it's not his or your fault, I expect the best from the two of you since you were still kids, you knew the rules and what not to do, and the two of you were under the supervision of the councils and palace."

"I hope this will be the last time I hear from you going to the shore again." The king reminded them and dismissed Amber. Amber muttered her forgiveness and bowed to the king.

"Abeoji, I'm sorry." Soojung looked down and fidgeted with her fingers.

"It's time, Soojung, for you to know what happened to your mother." Soojung creased her forehead. "Wh-what do you mean?" She's perplexed and... terrified. Amber, as well, does not know the real reason why the queen died. Soojung and Amber looked at each other with confused eyes.

"Years ago, Ji-Hyun tried everything to get the kingdom from me. She would do everything and anything, even if it meant killing. She intended to kill humans rather than mermaids because it would be easier for her if humans despised us. One night, the kingdom was celebrating, and we were on the shoreline watching the fireworks in the sky. It was a happy night for all of us. A night filled with laughter and merriment, a night when nothing could have been predicted—that same night, I can clearly remember how your mother plans to dye her pink. She had the most beautiful red hair but decided to dye it pink because she thought it was cool." The King chuckled, remembering the beauty Yu-mi possessed. "I even because it will look awful on her, but trust me, whatever her hair color is, she's beautiful as ever." "The most beautiful mermaid I have ever seen." Her father has a painful smile on his face. "It was a beautiful night, but little did we know Ji-Hyun and his servants had an evil plan. They began attacking us as well as the boats and humans on the shore. We didn't know that they'd attack; everyone was frightened, and it was so chaotic, so I asked one of the guards to you and Amber and the other little and old mermaids. When I looked back, everyone was already fighting against each other. Mermaids dying. I also noticed that your mother was gone. I tried searching for her, and the last thing I saw was that they caught your mother. Ji-Hyun and your mother were already near the shore. I knew Ji-Hyun did it on purpose so that humans could see them. She was inside a big fishing net, and people began surrounding her. They abused her; they kicked her and punched her. I wanted to go there and stop them from doing what they were doing, but I can't because I'd get caught too, along with the other mermaids. I also can't stand or walk. Then I saw a guy with a knife, and he stabbed your mother endlessly, but before she died, I saw her smile at me. She was smiling and whispering, "I love you and Soojung," and then passed away. " Soojung saw her father cry, remembering her mother. Hearing the story and seeing his father cry broke her heart. She knows that her father misses her mother even when he doesn't say anything. Growing up was hard for her as well, without a mother. She always longs for a mother's love and care. She envies those mermaids who have a mother. A mother who'll cook for her, braid her hair, do cute things together, and do other things she can only imagine. "I saw Ji-Hyun's group laughing and went away. I couldn't believe that Ji-Hyun would do that for the sake of power." He looked Soojung in the eyes and continued. "There were many lives lost, not only your mother's but Ji-Hyun's and ours too. That is why I strictly reminded you to never get too close to the shore since I do not want anything like that to happen again." He explained, and Soojung could see a single tear fall from his father's eye. She hugged him, and they stayed like that for a couple of minutes. For nineteen years, all that Soojung wanted was to know the real reason why her mother died, and now that she knew it, she felt anger. She can sense her mother pleading for mercy as humans grow tired of killing her. She can just imagine the pain her mother felt. Her body was cold. She remembered what she saw the other day. "Did my mom scream that way when she was killed?" "Did she cry and plead for help, but no one was there to help her?" She felt angry towards Ji-Hyun for being so hungry for power that she had caused hundreds of deaths. She's angry at humans for killing her mother. How can they be so cruel? How can they kill someone even if she's not like them? Because of those people, she was deprived of having a mother, and her father had to raise her alone. Her father had to sacrifice a lot of things. 

"Up until now, we haven't caught any fish." A man in his early twenties yawned.

"Hyung," A boy with dark hair, a lean