“Professor Kim! We got a catch!”

The top deck of the ship was complete and utter chaos; crew shouting and scrambling over each other to either get away or get to the figure tangled in amongst the net, scientists watching on in disbelief as the net was hauled on board with the catch.

The net was slowly set on the damp deck, the boisterous crew silencing as reality sank in. Like a scene out of a movie, dark clouds around the moon dissipated and the faint moonlight illuminated the squirming figure caught in the fishing net. The crowd’s gazes all fell onto the still struggling figure, now bathed in the soft moonlight, still reeling from the emotions crashing over them as they all came to the same conclusion-

“A mermaid.”

Without a doubt. The illuminated figure, had dark brown locks cascading down her body, stopping right at her s, protecting her from flashing her obvious state of . Droplets of water dripped from the damp hair, landing on the creature’s perfectly sculpted face. With piercing cat-like eyes, sharp jawline and small lips, it evoked unwarranted interest from some of the fishermen on board. If the star-struck and lustful sneers from them were not enough to give their less-than-pleasant thoughts away, the thickening of the scent of arousal in the air would. The creature who has an acute sense of smell, seemed to catch onto their impure thoughts and her beautiful face was contorted into a grimace and reflected pure disgust. Her body was nothing less of perfection, with a flat, toned stomach and a well developed chest. The bottom half of her body was conjoined into a tail-like structure with a fin at the end, covered with glittering scales throughout and ending just before her navel.

Professor Kim hurried down the steps from the captain's cabin to the deck, hoping to observe this out-of-the-world specimen at closer proximity. Stepping onto the wet deck from the previous rainstorm, he rubbed his hands together in glee and a glint appeared in his eyes as he took in the mermaid’s futile struggles.

He slowly stood up, turning back to the fishermen who were still staring at him and the mermaid with awe and wonder. Clearing his throat, Professor Kim declared in the night sky with a wide sweep of his hands.

“Gentlemen! Today, you have been witnesses to the most crucial event that has happened ever since the human evolution. We have found proof of the existence of humanoid creatures amongst us. All of you who are on the ship, you have been credited with discovering the very first mermaid!”

The ship erupted into choruses of cheers, with people hugging and cheering. With the ringing of his words still lingering in the air, Professor Kim gave a knowing look to the guards all over the ship. Cheers that once filled the air was replaced with loud bangs and screams, and then, silence. The decks of the boat was now covered with dark thick liquid, and the sea surrounding the boat slowly turned crimson red. The rising sun across the horizon seemed to be an accomplice of the terrible deed; it's golden rays hitting the sea and turning it shades of red and yellow, covering up the crimson red patch around the boat.

The witnesses to the existence of humanoid creatures other than humans, brought the secrets to their graves. The second round of shots began, and ended as soon as it started. The killers that killed the witnesses, was killed by Professor Kim, the only testament to this horrific act was the wide eyed mermaid, Professor Kim, the bloodied sea and the rising sun. Laughter permeated the salty silent atmosphere as Professor Kim took in the sight before him, unable to contain his glee.

Swirling his head to the creature tangled in the nets, Professor Kim's lips curled upwards in a twisted grin.

“Sacrifices are needed for greatness, you see. I can't risk others knowing of your existence, not yet. You understand, don't you?”

A second bout of laughter rang through the sea air.

___________________________________________________

“Jisoo! We got it!” Professor’s Kim voice echoed through the quiet halls of his house. It wasn't long before he could hear the excited patter of footsteps.

A girl, who looks to be about seventeen, came rushing to greet her father, whom she hasn't seen in three weeks. She has thick magenta locks, curled lightly and falling just below her shoulder. The look in her eyes would make bystanders doubt her actual age; it was filled with innocence and mischievousness that could be rivaled with that of a five year old. Her lips was the most unique feature on her face as it was in a shape of a heart. All in all, this girl seemed to be sculpted by the Greek gods themselves - everybody who spots her would be enamoured with her beauty.

“Daddy!” Jisoo beamed, jumping into her father's open arms, much to her father's amusement. Jisoo has always been quite clingy ever since the disappearance of her mother, not that he dislikes the way his daughter would throw herself at him after a long expedition.

Chuckling, Professor Kim gently set his daughter down back on the ground.

“Jisoo, I've got something to show you.”

Jisoo's eyes seemed to sparkle with delight as she eagerly nodded and ran out of the door in the direction of science laboratory.

“Not that way! The other lab, the marine lab!”

___________________________________________________

The heavy doors of the marine lab hissed open, allowing for the duo to cross over. Set in the middle of the large lab was a life-sized cylinder shaped glass tank, filled with water. Jisoo stepped forward in awe, as she took in the sight of what was inside the glass cylinder; a female, chestnut brown hair spread out and floating in different directions, and a shimmering tail in place of where her legs were supposed to be.

“We found a mermaid, Jisoo.”

Jisoo paid no attention to her father's words, eyes fixated on only one person. She slowly made her way down the steps to the mermaid, still in a trance. The mermaid seemed to be unaware of the female, eyes still boring into her captor, filled with hatred and promise of endless pain. It was only when Jisoo stopped directly before the cylinder tank did she catch the mermaid attention. Glancing down to meet Jisoo's eyes, the mermaid found herself captured by those soft, brown orbs. She has seen those eyes before. It stirred an aching feeling in the creature’s chest, and the need to get closer to the female. Images of two beasts prowling the Savannah flashed briefly before her eyes.

When Jisoo met the mermaid’s eyes, her breath got caught in . It was like she was entrapped by the strikingly purple cat-like eyes. It was unfamiliar, yet there was a sense of familiarity. The mermaid was undeniably beautiful, now that it was staring her as well, the mermaid's features softened and was etched with confusion. Jisoo had the sudden compulsion to reach out and touch the mermaid, her hands stretching out to press onto the glass.

“Jisoo!”

Her father's gruff voice broke Jisoo out of her reverie, halting her hand movements. “Don't get too close to this creature. We don't know the extent of her abilities yet.”

Tearing her eyes away from the mermaid's, Jisoo ran back to her father's side. “Dad, we should transfer her to the one where we used to keep the great whites.”

“Why?”

“This tank is too small. She could hurt herself moving in there. It would also be better if she was in a big space, it would reduce her stress levels.”

“That creature isn't a fish.”

“She,” Jisoo emphasised, angered at her father's use of addressing the female, “is an important specimen. If she felt trapped, there’s a possibility that she might terminate her life to prevent further suffering. We shouldn't take any risks. Please Dad,” she pleaded, taking her father's hand in her own.

Professor Kim thought over his daughter's words. It made sense, the creature could get frustrated in such a small space that reminds her of captivity and might find ways to escape, or even kill itself. After a second's consideration, Professor Kim begrudgingly nodded his head, much to his daughter's delight. Wrapping her arms around her father's neck, Jisoo murmured a ‘thanks dad’ in her father's ears. Professor Kim returned his daughter's hug and pulled away to look her in the eyes.

“But you'll have to take care of that thing. Including washing the tank.”

“Not that thing. Her.”

Professor Kim rolled his eyes at his daughter's insistence and grumbled, “Fine. But we have to name her soon. And I'm assuming specimen #1436 wouldn't sit well with you.”

“A name, dad.”

________________________________________________________________________

It wasn't long after Professor Kim managed to move the cylinder tank and dump out the contents into a larger, rectangular tank specially made for great whites.

Surprisingly, the creatu- her, did not oppose in any way. She was statuesque, and to the outside eye it would seem as though she was sleeping with her eyes open. But the fact is that the mermaid was deep in thoughts. As a mermaid, she had supernatural memory and she was replying the sight of the professor’s daughter's eyes.

Jisoo, was it?

It struck the mermaid as familiar, as though she has seen those eyes somewhere before. Yet she was positive this was her first time contacting any female human. Another lifetime, maybe? The mermaid internally scoffed at the ridiculousness of that idea.

Two beasts, prowling the Savannah.

The mermaid narrowed her eyes. Why is there such a scene? She has never met the beasts of the land, and yet-

Talking sticks.

A huge mountain wall.

Piercing pain.

Lifeless eyes.

Little one.

The mermaid's eyes widened. How could she forget those soft brown eyes of her little one? Snapping out of her thoughts, the mermaid discovered herself in a significantly larger tank. Jisoo. Those eyes, she would recognise them anywhere. The eyes that belonged to her little one. Realisation dawned on the mermaid as remembered what her mother in another life said-

Cats have nine lives.

It would seem that she was the reincarnation of her former self, as is Jisoo the reincarnation of her little one. Does she remember? The sound of footsteps drawing closer broke the mermaid out of her thoughts. Glancing upwards, the mermaid's line of sight connected with those familiar orbs. Jisoo. Without looking away, the mermaid sped to the surface of the tank, breaking the water surface and sending ripples across the large body of water.

Letting her eyes wonder up and down her little one, the mermaid found herself at a loss of words. Jisoo’s hair was messily arranged, probably from a nap. She had an oversized sweater on her, stretching a little below her thighs. The sight of Jisoo's legs made the mermaid gulp. Swiftly moving her line of sight elsewhere, the mermaid noticed that her little one was carrying a bucket. Her confusion and fear must have been etched across her face as Jisoo stopped by the edge of the tank and pointed to the bucket, before motioning to . A cute sight, really. She repeated that a few times, before the mermaid appeared to relax.

Jisoo, spotting that the mermaid seemed to be less tense, moved up to the platform she once used to feed the sharks. She sat down and left her legs dangling in the air as the mermaid drew closer to her. It must be food. The mermaid broke into a grin. She was hungry, after all. Swimming and positioning herself in front of her little one, the mermaid eagerly awaited her meal. Her little one seemed to be quite taken back, however, at the sight of her.

It's understandable, the mermaid was nothing less of aggressive towards her father and now is grinning at her. Her little one seemed to have other plans before food, as she pushed the bucket away and leaned forward, hands clasped together.

Pointing at herself, Jisoo said, “Jisoo,” before pointing back at the mermaid. The mermaid furrowed her eyebrows, cocking her head to the side. What's her little one doing? Seeming to understand the mermaid's obvious confusion, Jisoo repeated her previous actions, but more slowly. Jisoo placed a hand over her heart, and pointed to herself, “Jisoo,” before slowly pointing at the mermaid.

The mermaid's brain finally registered what her little one was trying to say and grinned widely. Mimicking Jisoo's actions, the mermaid pointed at herself and replied.

It would seem that Jisoo was too far from the mermaid to hear what she was saying, and Jisoo leaned forward to hear the mermaid's name. The mermaid repeated herself but it was too soft for Jisoo to catch. Grumbling in frustration, Jisoo leaned forward even further to catch the mermaid's name.

“Jennie.”

Allowing a grin to overtake her face, Jisoo tried to sit back up after finally discovering the mermaid's name, only to find herself leaning dangerously over platform, to the point of no return. Unable to stabilise herself, Jisoo watched with wide eyes as she slipped off the platform, falling forward towards the tank as the water rushed up to greet her with a splash before engulfing her whole.

(a/n): mermaid Jennie and her little one!! I'm still thinking whether this should be like all nine fluffy stories with no correlation or should I develop this into something bigger. Anyways, hoped yall liked this update and have a great day!! -Yerisblondehair

P.s. I'm sort of running out of ideas for the next 7 lives, so if you have ideas/requests as to what Jennie and Jisoo should reincarnate into, please let me know!!