This time, Eunhyuk not only splashed him with water, but he also knocked Donghae overboard with his playfulness. When he got his bearings, Eunhyuk was beside him. The sea creature blinks at him patiently, admiring his tanned skin. He reaches over to touch his rough hands, tracing its calluses and the bulging veins. He’s never seen quite anyone like him before.

This time, Eunhyuk lets Donghae swim by his side, instead of just dragging him around without warning.

He takes him to the colorful corrals of red and orange, where hundreds of fishes swam about with ease. Several times Eunhyuk had rushed Donghae to the surface so he can get some air, but the human proved that he can last more than a minute underwater.

Eunhyuk gifts Donghae a bunch of fatter fishes again, and he parts from him, knowing that he will see him again.

~

This time, while waiting for the nets to fill, Donghae dives into the sea. He finds Eunhyuk waiting there already, and they swim around together, racing from one point and back to the boat, trying to best each other. Eunhyuk spins him stories of the underwater world, and Donghae tells him of his life on land.

Donghae talks about his pretty brother who can pack a punch, Sungmin, and his hardworking father, Leeteuk. He talks about brawny Kangin and the village’s strongest, Shindong. He talks of his younger friends who might have been sirens in their past lives because of their beautiful voices.

Eunhyuk talks about fishes, and describes his world in colors, in gold and in silver. He mentions the other people in his world but he does not disclose any name, fearing that it might be too much for Donghae to hear.

Donghae, after climbing overboard and exhausted from swimming, traces Eunhyuk’s sharp face with his fingers in wonder, asking all the other gods that his world came up with where in the world this man had been hiding.

“Hi, Eunhyuk,” Donghae murmurs. “Why can’t I know your name?”

Eunhyuk smiles, and he catches Donghae’s hand and holds it. “I’m from the sea, Donghae. We don’t talk like how you talk in land.”

Donghae further leans over the ledge of the boat and uses his free hand to touch the mole under Eunhyuk’s eye. “Have been to the land at all? Can you become human?”

Eunhyuk shakes his head, and pouts those full, pink lips. “Will you take me anyway?”

Donghae grins, a plan forming in his head. “Of course. Meet me again later, by those rocks on the shore.”

~

After leaving Sungmin with his catch, he rushes to the house to take their small wooden tub, and steals the neighbor’s cart to place the tub on it. He pulls the cart down the shore, noticing the sun starting to set on the horizon. He hears the water lapping, and spots Eunhyuk’s silver tail approaching their meeting spot.

“Hold on,” Donghae tells Eunhyuk once he’s close enough to hear. He takes the tub, and dunks it into the sea to put water in it.

He grunts as he lifts it up, and places it on the cart.

Eunhyuk stares at him imploringly, propping his chin on his palm. His silver tail waves behind him, swinging, waiting. Donghae wades over, he bends down and takes Eunhyuk into his arms. His slimy, lithe body makes Donghae grasp him harder, but it was over before he can salvage the feeling of his body against his. He places Eunhyuk on the tub comfortably, and smiles at him.

“Where to?” Donghae offers.

Eunhyuk smiles because the world has gotten bigger. “Anywhere, Donghae. Take me anywhere.”

Donghae lugs the cart by the shore, the wheels and his footsteps imprinting on the unsuspecting sand. He hears Eunhyuk gasp and giggle in wonder, and even if he heard the best travelling musicians, no sound can compare to Eunhyuk’s voice.

“When I was a kid, my mother died,” Donghae starts. He senses Eunhyuk relaxing to listen to him. “She was a strong woman, Eunhyuk. But she is so kind. She loves the sea, and my father, the fisherman, was just the guy for her. Well, he was a scrawny boy, but he didn’t mind following my mother.”

Eunhyuk rests a pale arm on the tub and eyes the sea calmly. “How did your mother die?”

Donghae’s shoulders seem to droop as the growing shadows of twilight grows. “She got sick. Storms are common here. My father couldn’t get the medicine on time because we were trapped here.”

Eunhyuk closes his eyes just as the sun dips to kiss the horizon. Suddenly, he veers towards a rowdy group of voices.

Donghae stops the cart, his posture becoming rigid.

“Donghae, what’s going on?” Eunhyuk asks slowly. He ducks low on the tub so that his forehead only shows.

A group of men passes by, cheering and holding up huge tails like trophies to behold.

“Donghae,” Eunhyuk whines. Tears pool in his eyes, and they drop from his face, turning into solid white pearls.

“Keep low,” Donghae murmurs, and he hurries to pull the cart along after the men had passed.

He keeps to the night, his breaths becoming heavier.

“Donghae,” Eunhyuk says in a low voice, his voice trembling. “Donghae!”

Donghae stops and he drops the handle. He faces Eunhyuk, then walks over to his side. “Raise your arms.”

Eunhyuk obediently raises his pale arms, and hooks them around Donghae’s broad shoulders. He buries his face into the crook of his neck, smelling the scent of sea breeze on him. Donghae wades into the shore, until the sea had come up to his waist, then he sets Eunhyuk down.

“Thank you,” Eunhyuk whispers. “East sea.”

Eunhyuk caresses Donghae’s cheek softly, then he swims away, his body curling as the ocean envelops him like an embrace.

A/N: I was going to wait until tomorrow, but this chapter is very important and I'm already working ahead to get the other chapters down. Enjoy ^^