“Are you sure, honey?” Your mother asks you worriedly as she watches you pack, slinging your heavy bag over your shoulder.

You flash her a wide smile, nodding. “Of course. It’s only like a three-day trip so I’ll be back soon.”

“But it’s going to storm.” Your mother continues, a slight tremor in her voice at the thought of anything happening to you. “The ship could sink! How about you delay the trip?”

You roll your eyes at her paranoid personality. “Don’t worry.” You insist. “It’ll be fine. The weather report says that the storm won’t happen during my trip.”

“But—” Your mother starts again, before pausing and letting out a defeated sigh. She knows you too well—your stubborn and strong personality is perfect for the sea. “Alright. Remember to call me when you arrive so I don’t worry.”

“Okay.” You quickly peck her on the cheek and wave goodbye. “Bye, mom!”

The air is chilling as you step out, closing the door shut behind you. You readjust your bag on your shoulder as you make your way out of town, to the docks nearby. You live in a small town next to the sea, so you’ve always been fascinated by the large mass of water.

As you grew up, you decided to pick a job that would allow you to cross the sea often. Your mother has always hoped you would find a steadier job in a big city, but you like your work right now just fine.

“Hello, Miss.” A crew member greets you with a small smile when you show him your ticket. “Go right ahead.”

The ship you’re riding is a more traditional ship, unlike cruise ships but rather more like a pirate ship. A shabby-looking pirate ship. You almost snort at the thought when you make your way onto the deck.

“It’s going to storm.” You overhear a few older men talk, their uniforms informing you that they are part of the crew. “Must be the mermaids.”

Your ears perk at that, your eyes gleaming with humor as you stare at their serious faces. “Mermaids?” You dare ask, your curious and adventurous nature getting the best of you.

The men turn to you with surprise, before their faces drop into a grim expression. “Aye. When mermaids are angry, they cause storms on the sea and drag ships underwater.” They shiver. “‘Tis a scary thing indeed. Perhaps we shouldn’t sail.”

“What?” You gasp, sudden panic filling you. “No, no, we have to sail. I have work to do!”

“But the storm—” The sailors start to argue before another man makes his way over, a frown on his face.

“The storm won’t be hitting us anytime soon. Mermaids don’t exist. Let’s sail as planned.” From his uniform you could tell he was the captain. The sailors immediately nod, rushing to their posts to sail on time. The captain turns to you with a more gentle smile. “We’ll be setting sail soon, please don’t stand too close to the rails.”

You nod as he leaves, watching as he yells out orders for the rest of the crew, other passengers whispering amongst themselves excitedly. You see a few older sailors continue to look out to the sea worriedly.

You turn to watch the waters as well, wild and untamed as they against the sides of the ship, rocking it in its cold embrace.

Mermaids don’t exist.

Halfway through the five hour ride and the storm hits.

Saline water finds its way up the ship and expands on the deck like a hungry beast, devouring everything in its path. Sailors yell as they try to keep the ship under control, to keep it from tipping over to everyone’s doom.

“Mermaids.” You hear a sailor curse next to you as he pulls on the ropes of the sail. “Blasted mermaids.”

“Everyone, please go inside to shield from the storm!” The captain yells loudly for everyone to hear. “We will keep the ship under control.”

The passengers don’t need to be told twice before they start piling into the cabins with shrill cries as they try to run from the plummeting rain.

You, however, find that you cannot move.

“Miss?” The captain shakes you, his cat-like eyes alert and narrowed. “Miss, please go to the cabins. It’s dangerous out here.”

“I-I can’t.” Your voice shakes as you grip the railings tightly, almost as if you were clinging onto your life. “I can’t move.”

The captain’s face turns steely, his body stiffening as the storm grows stronger, waves splashing wildly and drowning the deck. The water reaches half-way up your calf now, it’s iciness biting into your flesh.

“Mermaids.” He whispers, and your eyes widen as you stare at him, the word almost not registering. You thought he didn’t believe in mermaids, but his grim expression tells you otherwise. “They’re back.”

You don’t understand him, but you don’t have time to dwell on it as a particularly large wave crashes right into you, making you topple backwards from the force. The cold squeezes the air out of your lungs as you gasp for breath, only to take in a mouthful of salt water.

You kick and struggle but it makes everything worse as the water carries you, threatening to throw you overboard.

After forever it finally withdraws from your frail body, leaving you gasping and choking only centimeters away from the side of the ship.

“Kim Minseok.” A foreign voice booms and rocks the ship, making you whimper as you try to pull yourself up, wiping at your face in hopes to stop the salt from entering your eyes. “You have something of ours.” You watch in utter shock as someone emerges from the waves, the water carrying him onto the ship as he confronts the captain with a scowl. Water pools around his waist.

“I have nothing of yours.” The captain, referred to as Minseok, answers with a stern voice. “You have mistaken.”

This seems to make the man angrier, his eyes darkening until it turns navy blue and another round of waves crash onto the ship. You hear an awful cracking of wood from the impact. Cries and prayers are heard from the remaining crew who weren’t able to get away fast enough and are now attempting to run inside. It seems like that man isn’t stopping them.

“We never make mistakes.” The man roars. “You have taken something from us again, Kim Minseok. Seven years ago we found you with one of our treasures, yet we let you go because you were young and your soul showed true remorse.” Another awful wave hits, ripping a scream from you but is immediately muted by the wails of the wind. “And yet you betray our kindness.”

“I did not.” Minseok snarls, his face darkening as he desperately holds his ground. “I would never.”

For a terrible moment, the waves continue to bash mercilessly against the battered ship. Silence ensues as the sound of the storm takes over. Then the waters seem to retreat slightly, waves becoming smaller as the ship regains some control. The man finally says, “You are not lying.”

“I am not.” Minseok agrees, his shoulders slumping slightly in obvious relief.

You gulp as you take this chance to slowly make your way inside. You take once step only to make a large splashing sound, immediately catching the attention of the two men.

You curse when the stranger turns towards you, his navy blue eyes trained on your form. You shiver under his gaze, every fiber in your body frozen.

“It seems,” the man starts as he makes his way over to you, agonizingly slow as the water carries him. You’ve suspected, but you gasp now as you see his scaly tail clearly, buried within the clear liquid around him and shimmering under the light, “that you did not lie, and I have not mistaken.”

You are unable to move your body as you watch the man come closer, his face leaning towards you until you are merely centimeters apart. “Minseok, you do have something of ours.”

“This girl?” Minseok asks in surprise, glancing over at you. “She seems normal to me.”

The man’s lips curl up into a smile, his face now gentler than it was only seconds before. His eyes are no longer as dark, now becoming a lighter teal shade, and yet they do not leave your form. “Ah, but you cannot see like we do, human.”

Just then, cries and shouts erupt from the cabins, crew members pouring out with ropes and other weapons made from anything they could get their hands on. The crew must’ve realized that the storm has tamed considerably and is now safe to come back out.

“Begone, devil!” One man cries as he throws a rope tied to a deadly-looking hook. The others quickly follow and attacks the merman.

“Calm down!” Minseok cries over the commotion, hurrying over to try and stop any violence.

You hear the merman curse under his breath as he flicks his wrist, a wall of water rising to protect him from the sailors.

“We will meet again soon.” The merman tells you softly, his eyes now glowing aquamarine as he dives back into the water, the motion letting you see his tail clearer than ever. You note that it starts off light at his waist, an almost unnoticeable Alice blue before it blends into a brilliant shade of azure, turquoise, and cyan before fanning out into wisteria purple that darkens at the tip until it’s almost Byzantium.

Beautiful. You think as he disappears into the water, not a ripple left. The merman was beautiful, handsome, aesthetically pleasing in every way.

You can’t help but stare at the still waters for a moment longer before turning back to the hysterical crew who is still shouting incoherent but nasty curses at the merman.

“No one will harm a single mermaid on my ship!” Minseok roars and the crew finally quiets down. “Who dares disobey me can leave right now.”

The statement was obviously rhetorical as the ship was still in the middle of the sea. No one dares obey the captain, so the crew retreats with soft, defeated grumbles.

Minseok turns to you with a stony expression, his eyes unreadable. “You. Come with me.”

You shake as he helps you up, the cold water seeping through your clothes and sticking onto your skin. He leads you to the cabin, not to the passenger rooms but to the other side where the captain’s room is. He opens the door for you and allow you in first.

“Have a seat.” He glances at your shivering form and sighs slowly. “It won’t take long.”

You obediently sink into a nearby chair, the heating of the room warming you slightly. Minseok sits opposite to you, his keen eyes watching you.

“You.” He takes a deep breath. “Who are you?”

“I…” You blink, panic kicking in. “I-I’m just me. I’m from a small town by the seaside and I live with my mom—”

“No, no.” Minseok cuts you off with frustrated shakes of his head. “I mean…” He trails off, his eyes watching you for a moment longer before he gives up. “Never mind. I don’t think you know either.”

He stands up, motioning for you to follow. He offers you a small smile, a gesture of comfort. “Be careful, okay? Mermaids are loyal and gentle creatures, but they do not hesitate to be cruel either. They have their eyes on you…though I doubt they will hurt you.”

Minseok seems to know them well, so you nod and take his advice. You make your way back to your own room, quickly stripping from your clothes and digging through your suitcase for new clothes. It’s good that you decided to bring an extra pair of clothing.

Exhausted from everything that happened, you plop onto the small and slightly uncomfortable bed aligned against the wall. You fall asleep quickly, dreaming of fins and scales that dance under the water.

You breathe in the salty air as you disembark, walking down the harbor and trying to find your hotel with the notes you copied onto your phone.

You smile when you realize that the hotel is near the harbor, with a beautiful view of the sea. It’s already dark out, so you quickly check in and head to your room, eager for a shower and to warm your limbs.

The room is spacious, not enormous, but definitely more than enough for one person. You head towards the shower immediately, sighing when the hot water hits your cold skin. You scrub at yourself when you let your thoughts wander to the events that happened on the ship.

You saw a merman.

Mermaids don’t exist, Minseok’s words echo in your mind and you pause, wondering why he said that at all. He knows mermaids exist, as seen from his interaction with the merman. But why did he deny their existence? Is he trying to hide something? And the sailors seemed to really hate mermaids—though you assume it’s because of how mermaids can cause storms that might essentially sink ships.

You put on fresh clothes before making your way to the balcony, your hair still damp. You look out, the still waters reflecting the soft glow of the moon.

You smile, watching the lazy waves flowing along with the wind, the gentle crashing of water soothing your worries.

And then slowly, you hear someone sing.

You lean forward slightly, scanning the harbor for the source of the sound. The voice is definitely male, soft and soothing and beautiful. The notes are perfect, the melody calm and oddly longing.

You grab a jacket, stuffing your keycard in the pocket as you hurriedly head out. You make your way onto the harbor just below your hotel window, still searching for the voice. You follow the melody and find yourself at the end of the harbor, behind the hotel where rarely anyone goes to.

That’s when you finally see it, the silhouette of a man in the water leaning against the side of a rock as he sings.

You cautiously make your way over, your eyes narrowing on the form.

“You came.”

You jump back at the familiar voice, eyes widening when the man swims over to the side of the harbor, his fins splashing against the water, creating droplets that shine in the light before disappearing.

“Y-You…” You stumble and your legs finally give way, making you collapse on the hard concrete. “I—”

“You followed my voice.” The man says, his voice sounding pleased. “I knew you would.”

“What do you want with me?” You whisper, your body shaking with fear as you back away slowly, your eyes focusing on the merman’s tail that swishes elegantly in the water behind him.

“I want to show you something.” He motions for you to come closer to him. “I want to show you who you are.”

No, what you really want is to run and leave and never think about this again. It’s a dream, it has to be a dream. Mermaids don’t exist, mermaids don’t—

“The water calls for you.” The man closes his eyes, listening to the melodies of the crashing waves. You listen as well, listening for the song that the water sings for you. Your heart wrenches, your body fighting against itself as your mind yells for you to leave but your heart longs for the water.

You manage to shakily say, “I can’t breathe underwater.”

The man smiles, his eyes glowing again. “Don’t worry, if it’s you, it’ll be okay.”

He opens his hand for you, but you hesitate. You close your eyes, in a deep breath and decide to go for it, the longing in your body too strong to ignore. Why are you acting this way?

He pulls you into the water easily, ripping a yelp from you but is muffled by the water. You panic, opening your mouth to scream but only bubbles come out, suffocating you as water fills your lungs—

“Breathe.” He commands, his voice stern as he grips your arms to stop you from flailing. “Calm down and breathe. It’s okay.”

Impossible. How can I possibly breathe underwater? You think skeptically, but finally bring yourself to in a gulp full of…air.

Your eyes widen as you start to breathe easily, and yet you’re sure you’re underwater. You see the man smile, satisfied, before he holds out his hand for you again.

You take it, more confident this time. He nods at you before he turns, his tail a shimmer of ever changing colors as they weave through the water with powerful pumps.

The water is cool and refreshing against your skin, and it’s strange at the thought of being underwater yet being able to breathe. The merman pulls you through the currents, your eyes trying to take in everything; the beautiful multi-colored corals, the unique sea creatures that swim by you.

After a while, you start to see a warm glow ahead, a difference in temperature and you seem to be physically drawn to that place.

“We’re close.” The mer