Breakfast with Sana was a comfortable and interesting thing.

 It seemed like the mermaid could make even the smallest, most normal thing quite extraordinary. With a mermaid in the house, even breakfast could become an adventure. Dahyun wasn't convinced that it was a good thing, but breakfast definitely had potential to become a wild adventure around a mermaid. Most things Sana did amused Chaeyoung, but Chaeyoung was amused only because she wasn't the one who got all of the mermaid's attention.

 Dahyun had been trying to prepare fried fish for Sana – Chaeyoung was taking care of the rice this morning – when she felt a heavy chin rest on her shoulder. Surprised by the sudden proximity and weight, she had almost lost her balance. Her head had bumped into Sana's, and she felt like she had gotten a concussion. Mermaid bone density was no joke; Sana really was like a wall even if she looked like a soft and fragile little flower. Being so close to Sana was nice, at least; she was warm and Dahyun liked the presence. Even though it felt almost too domestic.

 Sana was not her girlfriend.

 Maybe Dahyun wouldn't have minded all that much if Sana was her girlfriend. It wasn't the right time to think about that, though. Dahyun took a deep breath and focused on the fish frying in the pan in front of her.

 "You two really make a cute couple."

 Dahyun blinked, blinded by the flash of Chaeyoung's phone. Great. Another picture that would be sent to their group chat. That would be more humiliation for her soon; there was no doubt Nayeon and Jeongyeon would be teasing her forever and the party over the weekend would be a complete disaster with too many innuendos and bad jokes. Chaeyoung really was an evil little tiger cub.

 Sana snuck an arm under Dahyun's, trying to reach for the fish in the pan. Dahyun let go of the fork she had been holding to grab Sana's wrist – she knew that she didn't have the strength to stop Sana, but Dahyun didn't need to force, as Sana froze the moment she touched her.

 "You'll get hurt if you touch it now."

 Chaeyoung translated for her. Sana let out a little whine; still, she retracted her hand. If Sana had just put her back by her side, everything would have been fine. But it was now resting on Dahyun's hip, like it had always belonged right there. Dahyun could feel Sana's strong grip on her hip. It wasn't too much. It wasn't painful. It was just there. Dahyun gulped and turned her face away from Sana's head still peacefully resting on her shoulder. She was certain that her whole face was turning a bright shade of red.

 The flash of Chaeyoung's phone appeared again.

 Dammit. Jihyo unnie would kill her for getting so close to someone she had met two days ago. And Jeongyeon would probably help her. Dahyun might have been digging her own grave, but Chaeyoung was helping her dig it deeper, or maybe she was hitting her on the top of her head with the shovel; it was really hard to tell at that point. More than anything, Dahyun hoped that Chaeyoung would understand her suffering.

 "Fish. Please."

 Without waiting for a response, Sana used her other hand to try and reach for the pan. Dahyun picked up her fork and hit Sana's hand with its back. Sana paused, as if to think about what to do next. She reached for the pan again. Dahyun hit her again. Sana whined loudly, but it didn't deter her, and she tried to grab some of the fish once more. Dahyun grabbed her hand.

 "Sana. No. No touching," Dahyun said, trying her best to sound stern.

 "Dubu..."

 Why did Sana have to start calling her Dubu?

 "No touching," she insisted.

 Sana let out a sigh and gave up. At least Dahyun hoped that Sana was done trying to grab the fish. She was not in the mood to discover how mermaids reacted to burns. They really would need to set up some rules to make sure that Sana didn't get in too much trouble – or only trouble that wouldn't lead her to the hospital because her situation was beyond illegal immigrant and Dahyun had no idea what would happen if Sana were to need a doctor.

 "Sana. You will get your fish. Just be patient, please."

 With another little whine, the mermaid rubbed her cheek against Dahyun's. God protect her from that temptress of the sea. It was nice that Sana seemed to trust and appreciate her, but the physical proximity was a lot to deal with. Dahyun had never minded skinship, she was always happy when her friends hugged her and held her hand; Chaeyoung and her often cuddled in bed together and it was a perfectly normal thing.

 Being around girls had always been a very normal thing. No physical attraction of any sort. Except for that new girl when she was in high school. And her piano teacher. And a few other girls, probably. Sana was a whole other story, though. Dahyun couldn't pretend it was childhood innocence, or jealousy, or wanting to be more like her. Sana made her blush. Sana made her heart beat too fast. Sana made her want more.

 It was curiosity and attraction. Dahyun knew that.

 "Unnie, you should turn off the burner before you ruin the fish."

 "Oh sh–" Dahyun stopped herself from swearing and turned off the stove burner in a hurry. The fried fish would be a little bit crispier than usual, but Dahyun doubted it would stop Sana. 

 Lucky for everyone in the house, Chaeyoung was there to keep an eye on things when Dahyun got distracted by her identity crisis. Note to self: do not question your uality while you are cooking. Maybe Dahyun just shouldn't question her uality. What good would it bring her anyway?

 "Sana, I'm going to need you to let me go so I get everything on the table." Dahyun gave a little pat to Sana's hand, still resting on her hip, as she spoke.

 Sana seemed to understand what Dahyun wanted, and she let go, even taking a step back away from Dahyun to leave her enough room to move. Still, the mermaid followed all of Dahyun's movements as she went to get bowls and plates of rice and side dishes ready for breakfast. Dahyun handed her two of the now full rice bowls and indicated the table. Sana went there, set down the two bowls, and sat on the chair she had claimed as hers.

 Most of their meal was spent laughing. Sana had been stubborn about wanting to use chopsticks, but no matter how receptive and enthusiastic she was, her fingers had clearly never been trained to hold any cutlery. Sana looked adorable as she struggled to keep the chopsticks between her fingers. What Dahyun liked the most was that Sana looked up at her to make sure that she was doing everything properly, or to ask for help.

 Sana shouldn't have been allowed to be that precious.

 Or maybe Dahyun shouldn't have been allowed to be swayed by Sana's charms so easily.

 Sea puppy: 2. Heterouality: -20.

 "Chaeyoung, don't leave me alone with the mermaid."

 Dahyun's tone was pleading, but her best friend remained unimpressed. Chaeyoung already had her shoes on, and Dahyun had feeling she had lost the fight before it even started.

 "You handled the mermaid on your own just fine when you found her, didn't you?" Chaeyoung arched an eyebrow at Dahyun, who merely crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "I'll just be gone for two hours. I need to go to art class."

 Dahyun was well aware that Chaeyoung had to go – her aunt was paying for the art class, and she knew that Chaeyoung would feel too guilty if she were to skip it for any other reason than "almost dying". Dahyun also knew that Chaeyoung loved drawing and painting too much not to go. She didn't want to get in the way and stop Chaeyoung from doing what she wanted, but Dahyun was terrified of being left alone with Sana. It was stupid. She knew it was stupid.

 She wasn't scared of Sana. She was scared of herself.

 "I can't speak Japanese?" 

 "It'll be fine. Just watch a movie, or something, with her. Sana likes the TV." Before Dahyun could protest, Chaeyoung gave her a quick hug and grabbed her bag, throwing it over her shoulder. "I have my phone in case anything happens, okay?"

 And just like that, Chaeyoung was gone, leaving Dahyun alone to face Sana and some of her greatest fears.

 Dahyun took a deep breath. She needed to keep her cool and remain calm or else being alone with Sana really would kill her. And not with kindness.

 A hand rested on her shoulder.

 Dahyun jumped at the touch, startled.

 She turned around and found Sana smiling brightly at her. Sana was stunning. Dahyun was letting that mermaid get to her head without having to try. She had settled comfortably into her mind and didn't seem to want to leave – Sana would most likely make Dahyun's heart her home. It was hard to know if it would be a bad thing to have Sana just settle down in her life without asking permission. But Dahyun knew that watching Sana leave now would hurt her.

 "Come on, let's go watch a movie."

 Chaeyoung would undoubtedly be disappointed to know that Dahyun was introducing Sana to The Little Mermaid without her. 

 Dahyun wanted to be able to start a conversation on what mermaids were actually like. Sure, Chaeyoung was the one who spoke Japanse, but Dahyun had a feeling that Sana might open up more easily with only just one human around. Her not-so trusty translation app would be more than enough for them to understand each other. Bringing up humans' views on mermaids might not be the smartest of ideas, as it could turn out to be offensive for Sana, but Dahyun wasn't sure how else she could talk to Sana about it.

 Dahyun wanted to know that her nightmares did not paint the reality of mermaids. She neede