Sehun inhaled a breathful of the clear water, and broke the surface, blinking wildly at the sudden burst of light that shrunk his pupils and made him scrunch up his face, squinting at his surroundings. It was odd, breathing air instead of water. He sunk a little lower so that the water would still flow into his slightly parted lips but not enough that he couldn’t still see ahead of him as he continued to swim forward. The sun was unforgiving, as it stood high in the sky, it was another sunny day and Sehun decided to get the best out of it. Flailing his tail a few times, the merman lifted his body, bracing his hands on the rocks before he pulled himself up on it, he struggled to get his tail out of the water, and finally he flopped successfully down on the sun warmed flat surface of the rock, leaving a little part of his tail in the water. Sehun expelled a content sigh, eyes coming close, soaking in the sun against his pale skin, the breeze ruffling his hair. He had picked somewhere shielded; somewhere ground-walkers wouldn't be able to come easily. They’d have to swim or use a boat to get out to the outcrop of rocks and few ground-walkers were curious enough to try.The rocks weren’t of any great geological or environmental interest... it's just a meaningless islets. They were just one of those strange quirks of nature, jutting out of the sea in a semi-circle. There were a few things Sehun came to understand about ground-walkers and how they think they know the ocean.  But of course they only knew a little because the ocean it was so incredibly deep and vast that a majority of it remained unexplored by ground-walkers . No matter how curious they might be, there were just some things that would come in the way of their exploration. They were so weak, after all. He also knew that they walked around rather than swimming. He knew they couldn’t last more than a few seconds under the water before they had to crash back above the surface to gasp for air.  And of course the majority of the ocean that humanity hadn’t touched, there were creatures that had been either written off as being fantasy or simply unheard of entirely by ground-walkers. Creatures that, for the most part were very aware of ground-walkers existence. Aware, and curious. Sehun knew he wasn't supposed to sit out in the open air, but he enjoyed it. If he lay in the sun long enough, until he dried out, then he would have legs instead of his tail. He had never tried it though, but he knew it would feel good to walk on the surface, to have legs that could carry him around just like a ground-walker. He really wanted to try it someday and maybe today might be a good idea. But he also knew If his Dad caught him sunning himself, Sehun would be in real trouble. It wasn't as if anyone was likely to find him out here on the rocks. The only one who knew he came here was Jimin and he would never tell on him. Jimin swum close to the shore; he had even swum beside sailor’s boats, toying with them, darting away before anyone could get a good look at him. To Jimin, Sehun's desire to lie privately in the sun was a childish form of rebellion, one he’d long since outgrown. Sehun was still worried about the idea of being interrupted, of having his safe haven discovered. He needed to think out on the rocks, with the seagulls calling to each other above and the gentle noise of the sea's ebb and flow below, it was the only place he really felt peaceful enough to do it. Anywhere else, and he was likely to be interrupted. He didn’t want to discuss his thoughts with anyone else. He didn’t think anyone, not even Jimin would understand. There was only one person Sehun wanted and he was so far out of reach, it was ludicrous to even dream about him. The man was a ground-walker, with no idea that Sehun even existed. Still, it had been love at first sight for Sehun. He remembered the first day he saw him, it was 6 years ago, when Sehun was just 16, his Dad had sent him to a different place(an island in Hawaii) for a mission. As a prince of the seven seas, Sehun was sent along with Jimin and a few merfolk to handle a situation that arose between the inhabitant of the island.(which happened to be a vacation destination for the ground-walkers.) Jimin had taken him swimming up by the bay, far closer than Sehun had ever dared to go since they arrived at the island. It had been night time and the likelihood of anyone being on the outside had been low, but that night there’d been a group of teenagers there. Sehun had wanted to swim back out, but Jimin hadn’t let him. They’d stayed in the deep water, watching them as they interact amongst themselves, There were about 8 ground-walkers, some of them holding bottles, others holding glasses. They all had dark hair and dark eyes, making Sehun touch his own deep silvery blue hair in wonder. Everyone he knew had hair the color of bright coral reefs or colorful sea rocks: Jimin had a vibrant golden brown, which the ground-walkers refer to as blond, Kris' a messy orange, Luhan's pinkish golden (blond). Ground-walkers were so dull in comparison. But the boy with a sun kissed skin had captured Sehun heart from that moment.  He seemed to be at the center of attention, with hair so black and beautiful. His eyes were turning to crescents as he laughed, and his white shirt was clinging to his broad shoulders and built torso. Sehun didn’t know a lot about ground-walkers standards of beauty, but he figured that this person must be the epitome of it. The boy looked so carefree, despite his short lifespan and fragility of his species. He saw the boy again a few days later in a place he didn't know the ground-walkers could reach, it was an isolated area far away from the resort and Sehun had finished swimming deep into the ocean and was just enjoying the  warmer environment(compared to his home) as he leaned on a rock and watched the sunset, humming a song his mother thought him, when he saw the ground-walker approaching him and raising some kind of an object Sehun didn't recognize, he got scared and instantly dived and swam away.  But from that moment he decided that everything he thought about his own rationality had been false. Because those brown orbs and black hair were haunting his mind, and he found that he couldn’t think of much else. Sehun knew it was ridiculous to be daydreaming so much about this ground-walker who had seen him for a fleeting moment , but there was just something about him that Sehun couldn’t stop thinking about. Then, 6 years later, Sehun saw him again, by the beach in front of a house, It was Jimin again that had dragged him out that night. it was cold and just like a déjà vu, the same group of boys– now men were setting up a bonfire, the two mermen just watched as the men built the bonfire in the middle of the beach. And that was when Sehun believed it was fate that brought the man to his life again. He couldn't believe his eyes at first, thinking maybe they were playing tricks on him, but with a closer look, Sehun was certain it was him, how could he ever forget that face, even though it now appeared to be more define and handsomely manly. The man was striking in a purely masculine way, virility and masculinity painting his tall form and muscular body, yet hints of boyish handsomeness traced his facial features with dark, eyes, a cute nose and a smile that was more youthful than manly. The man looked gorgeous in the moon’s light. Sehun almost couldn’t believe he belonged to the earth. No… he must have been born in a place of Gods. The man had been the one building the fire, dragging drift-wood from down the beach while the others messed around. He looked strong. Sehun's had felt his heartbeat quickened watching him, there were two people a few feet away doing something Sehun didn't recognize at first.   Sehun picked up on a lot of things. He observed them up-close without being seen, and it didn’t take him long to pick up on that those ground-walkers were lovers. Nothing too different from the merfolk, really. He found himself wishing he could someday experience such things with the ground-walker he fell for. The couple talked in whispers but Sehun heard them, heard words like I need you, I want to kiss you so bad in their ground-walkers language. Being born from the sea meant Sehun's hearing was far more sensitive above water, where the atmosphere was thinner, creating sounds sharper in volume. Sehun often got tingles from the tiny, subtle instances of emotion he detected. Which only resulted to fuel his love for the ground-walker. He'd seen the man again after the second time, many more times, walking on the beach or driving his car along the cliff paths that towered high above the sea and he had came to learn that the handsome man had a house close to the beach, Sehun's not sure if that's where the man lived but he had seen him several times in front of the building. Sehun was always careful to stay hidden. He didn’t think the man had ever glimpsed him, not even for a moment by mistake. It had to be that way, Sehun knew. Ground-walkers didn’t believe in mermaids. They thought they were the stuff of myth. If Sehun revealed himself, he could be experimented on or paraded around like some kind of monster for people to gawk and gape at. It was safer for him to stay in the water, watching from a distance. It would be safer all together if he gave up completely on his desire for the man and find someone of his own kind instead or mate with the person his parents chose for him. That would be for the best but Sehun couldn’t make his heart stop craving the man no matter how hard he tried. He had the sea; the entirety of the sea that he was sure covered the majority of this planet, but the sea didn’t have the man he loved. The grounded earth got to claim him as its own, and Sehun was eternally jealous. He wanted to fall asleep against him, lose himself in his arms. It was the only thing he wanted, forever, every bit of day and night. He closed his fingers round the string of pearls; creamy white in color with a silverish overtone, smooth against his fingertips, tied together between cooled rope and shimmering pieces of sea glass around his waist. He tugged at it with his intruding hand. It was an Emblem of the royalty, a gift from his father on his 17th birthday and wished with all his might that something would happen, that fate would smile on them and bring them together somehow. Sehun didn’t believe that he could love, and love as strongly as he felt, if he was doomed to never speak to the man he loved, to never lay in his arms. Whatever chance fate presented him with, Sehun would take it. "There you are" he blinked rapidly when he heard his best friend's voice interrupting his thoughts. Jimin was swimming towards him and only stopped in front of the rock Sehun's laying on, he lifted his head and peek a glance at the younger. "How did you find me?" Jimin only smirked before pulling himself out of the water and laid beside his best friend. "No matter where you go, I will always find you Hunnie!"
******

 

Kai slammed the door shut after shoving the ring in his pocket as he walked out of his parents' mansion. He was so pissed, mad, angry and whatever word one could call it, how could his Dad just arranged a marriage without his consent and he just informed him over a cup of tea like it wasn't a big deal, like his life hadn't just been dictated and he didn't give him a chance to say no. To add to his misery, his dad even dared to get a ring and demanded Kai to propose to her in just two days time . And asked him to go meet her today. He hated everything and everyone at the moment, he wished his sister were here, maybe she would have talked some senses into his Dad, maybe she would have stood with him. He wished his mom wasn't laying in comatose state, he was certain she would side with him and talk some senses into his Dad. God he missed his mom, the woman was diagnosed with brain cancer two years ago and she'd been in coma for almost a year now. They've tried all the best chemo