Chapter 2

Mingyu woke up, feeling as if he slept for years. He slowly rose and the fishes sleeping with him got startled and woke up too. Groaning, he observed his surroundings. The cave was still as pretty as always, shells still the same, the crystals still shining. He sighed dreamily, still in denial of the fact that he discovered this place.

In the corner of his eye, he saw something move. He blinked once, twice. ‘hm..i swear I saw something. But then again, I just woke up.’

He shook the thoughts away and smiled down the fishes, who smiled back and snuggled up to him. The prince giggled and some of them softly, chasing them where his arms could only ever reach. His smile disappeared, a look of horror plastered on his face.

“What.. time is it?” He asked some of his friends, they didn’t seem to answer back.

“I said, What time is it?” His voice was menacing, canines showing, the fishes gave their full attention to him. They nudged their head upwards, pointing towards the shore to where the sun shone past the water. 5:30pm

‘. I’m dead. Father’s going to have my tail cut off the moment I get there.’

He rapidly swam, then looked back at the fishes whom he just met, 
“I-I have to go, fast. You can come with me if you want, but only if you can keep up.” He winked.

He continued swimming, then stumbled towards the thick patches of seaweed. Sighing, he looked up. An idea sparked up his mind. 
He’ll swim above the patches of seaweed, as dangerous as it sounds — considering he’s really visible to humans on top of the water. He had to do it. 
Gathering all his strength (and his courage) he swam upwards, not caring if he creates a strong current behind him. No one was anywhere near here anyway.

He made a sharp turn, and now he was swimming above the seaweed patch, his tail sometimes flicking outside the water. , he’s seriously going to get noticed by the humans. He had to swim faster, he wasn’t considered as a top three fastest swimmer in the 7 Seas for nothing.

And so he did, not even minding the large waves being produced on the surface of the water. He had to go faster, or risk his life. Funny, angering his father caused him to panic It makes Mingyu wonder how scary and powerful his father is. He wanted to be like him one day — minus not being able to go outside the castle. The merman shook his head, he shouldn’t think of that right now. His father is about to kill him and he’s admiring him? Ironic.

He could see the outlines and shadows of his huge kingdom. He was close.

The Knights and Guards immediately retreated once they saw their Prince rushing to swim as fast as he can and they opened the huge gates before Mingyu could even order them. He gave them a smirk and a salute as he swam past them.

“Prince Mingyu’s here!”

“Look at how he swims, ugh , the perfect posture of a perfect prince.”

“He’s so handsome! Wonder why he’s in a rush. I would’ve talked to him if he weren’t.”

Mingyu just kept going. He had no time for flirting nor talking to anyone at the moment. He entered the huge doors that serve as the entrance to the Palace Grounds and the guards on their post their knew what to do. Once they spotted him in a rush, they immediately chuckled at him and handed him his crown once he passed. He gave a quick thank you under his breath.

“Good luck, Prince Kim! Our Majesty’s been looking for you everywhere!” They added, not making the situation any better.

“Gee, Thanks for the thoughtful greeting! I’ll still be killed anyways!” He shouted back, causing them to laugh harder.

Mingyu started to slow down and catch his breath once he was already in front of the throne room in which his father was inside of. He took in a deep breath and ‘confidently’ walked towards his father, who was obviously impatient and mad at his son. Mingyu bowed and gave a small, sheepish, toothy, smile.

“Good afternoon, Father.”

“Kim Mingyu.”

“Yes, father?” Mingyu replied, face still feigning innocence.

“Where have you been?” His father’s voice, as calm as the waved they are now, scared the Prince. He knew his father had an evil plan laid out for him.

“Uh.. o-out?” He managed to stutter out. The sheepish smile turned into a nervous one.

“Out? Specific, please. You know your Father never liked being unsure. Now Prince Kim Mingyu, tell me whe-“ His father got cut off when an extremely fast creature zoomed past the gap between them both, causing their hair to fly everywhere and bubbles to pop in their faces.

“Father! Good afternoon!” Prince Jeonghan greeted, an mischievous look on his face.

“Jeo-Jeonghan, what are you doing up at this hour? I know your afternoon naps are important for you.” The King said

“And my brother is much more important than naps. He’ll get killed by you, i know it.” A giggle ended Jeonghan’s sentence.

“And he would’t get killed by you?” Retorted the King, which made Mingyu stifle a laugh and Jeonghan glared at him from the side.

“Oh do shush,” Jeonghan rolled his eyes, “Anyway father, I’ll teach Mingyu a lesson. I promise! Let me have him” He pursued,

“Fine, Jeonghan. Take the boy and reme-“ The eldest cut his father off again, “Yes Father, remember to be careful.”

The two siblings swam ahead, going further inside the Palace grounds. “See you later, Father! Love you!” Both screamed as they swam — more like Mingyu being dragged away by his brother but they swam nonetheless. Swimming past empty halls, they both giggled away like little girls because of being able to escape their father. Reaching Jeonghan’s room, the giggles vanished and looks of worry replaced them. They were anxious, the reason only they are the ones allowed to know of.

“Mingyu.. what time is it?” Jeonghan asked, biting his lips.

“About… 8:56 in the evening hyung. Wow, time goes so fast when you’re out in the ocean exploring!” Mingyu said, eyes shining in wonder.

“Gyu! Focus! Do you even know what today is?” His older brother snapped at him, his light blue and gold tail flicking back and forth in annoyance, blonde hair looking incredibly soft in the water.

“It’s.. a Saturday.” Mingyu dumbly answered, then slowly went into realization. “Oh my blue, it’s Saturday today and it’s 8:58pm! Hyung, has father already closed all the doors and gates?” The Prince asked nervously. They had two minutes left. 

“Yes! Why did father give you to me so easily! Are you bei- AH!” Jeonghan hissed, clutching his head. The pain surging through his body. It was worse for Mingyu’s older brother, due to circumstances. Not even a second later, Jeonghan fell, unconscious.

“Hyung! Ugh, not again. No, URGH!” Mingyu screamed, trying to fight the feeling inside him but everyone knows it’s no use. It’ll only get worse.

Soon, Mingyu’s eyesight started to blur and the pain he felt became unbearable, his vision started fading into black.