-many years ago-

“Ki, don’t leave the cave right now. It’s late,” Minhyuk warned. “You know what happened when Hakyeon went out in the dark.”

The young merman huffed and sank back down against the rocky floor of their cave. “We never do anything fun anymore.” Arms crossed, he sent a quick glare the way of the red-haired boy. “It won’t be long. I have too much energy and I can’t sleep.”

Minhyuk rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Kihyun,” was all he said, voice stern and full of authority.

“Come on,” the younger whined. “Just for a little.”

The older merman sighed and caved. “Okay. Just don’t go out too far. Just where I can see you. Do a few laps and come right back. I’ll be watching. You know what to do if you encounter anything, right?”

Kihyun pursed his lips and nodded. “Uh-huh,” he grumbled, sick of hearing the same rundown over and over again. “You’d think I’d know by now. After the hundredth time hearing that.”

Minhyuk just looked at him, silently chastising him for his attitude. His warnings are well backed with good reason. Not too long ago, the red-head had watched his closest friend be overcome by evil. “Just swim fast,” was all he said before letting Kihyun exit their safe space.

The pink-haired boy gleefully zoomed out of the cave and out into the dark, open water. It was the darkest night he’d ever witness. The moon was hiding, and even the stars weren’t twinkling up above. The sky was blanketed with dark, scary dark. He could still see around him, his eyes accustomed to the ways of the ocean, but there was an eerie feeling surrounding him. Kihyun glanced around, making sure he was alone.

Even though he was aware of the dangers, he figured that if he practiced speed-swimming enough, he could get out of harm’s way if he ever needed to. So that’s what he did. Quick laps, over and over again, trying to boost his speed, increase his chances of survival.

At that point he could almost out-swim the pod of dolphins that usually passed through the area a couple of times a year. Still wasn’t fast enough to out-swim a shark, but he kept pushing himself. He liked the practice because he could feel himself improving and building endurance.

After many laps, he started to feel the sleepiness wash over him and realized he had swum a bit too close to shore, cave out of sight. Kihyun turned to retreat to his home when he noticed something strange in the distance.

Lots of bubbles.

He noticed a streak of white being pulled further and further into the depths of the dark, unsettling water. His eyes caught a glimpse of two tails, one blood red and the other, a shimmering emerald. They stopped momentarily, causing Kihyun’s breath to hitch.

The young merman slowly backed up in the direction of his cave while keeping his eyes locked on the scene before him. The white figure appeared to be a woman in a white dress, her long hair wildly flowing around her limp form.

Sirens. Kihyun calmed himself as he wished for the sirens to move on, hoping they didn’t stop because they saw him.

He realized one of them turned back in the direction they came from and waved its arm. Kihyun’s gaze shifted toward the shore, searching for something else. A third siren? With a deep purple tail, the third siren hesitated, looking back and forth between the shore and the depths. He was smaller than the rest, but that’s all Kihyun could determine from the distance.

After apparently making up his mind, the purple siren joined the others and they continued venturing deeper, dragging the woman down with them.

◇ \ ◇ \ ◇

“What if it was a siren?” Kihyun’s question burns in Chang