English | noun

♦making unexpected discoveries by luck; good fortune; finding something good without looking for it

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Jimin, unsurprisingly, is rather furious about Taehyung missing dinner. And a furious Jimin is a terrifying Jimin. Taehyung has gleaned as much a few times before. It feeds into Hoseok's theory that smaller people are prone to develop anger issues, and into his own theory that sunshine personality people are scariest when angered.

Still, Taehyung doesn't have it in him to be afraid of Jimin. He is immune to all negativity right now, still riding the high of that kiss. Jimin can berate him half an hour more, he doesn't care. Jeongguk kissed him! Well. He kissed Jeongguk. But those are semantics. They kissed! This is literally all that matters to him right now.

He doesn't even mind when Jimin starts to throw bits of carrot at him and a few pieces make a home in his hair - he is still so gone.

With not much of a choice left, the landlord finally gives up and begrudgingly lets Taehyung have his incredibly late dinner. Even stays behind so he doesn't have to eat alone and tells Taehyung about their catch of the day.

Yoongi on the other hand has long since left, together with cat Yoongi whom he'd picked up and wrapped around his neck like a tiny stole. Has taken one look at Taehyung's besotted expression, rolled his eyes and trotted upstairs.

Taehyung can't even tell what he's currently having for dinner. Everything not Jeongguk, Jeongguk, Jeongguk fails to register in his head. He just has the vague sense that he is eating and that eventually his plate must be empty for the space in front of him is now bare and Jimin is suddenly standing at the sink, scrubbing something. Huh. He smacks his lips together and belatedly comes to the realisation that yes, this tastes like fish. Probably. Figures, they are in a fishermen's village.

Long after dinner Taehyung still can't find it in himself to calm down. Jeongguk is taking up every crevice of his mind, heart and soul. His sweet lips, sturdy chest, gentle hands and greedy tongue. His everything. The way they have been so perfect together on the beach.

The pictures, the shadows of those intense sensations keep Taehyung awake and his skin tingling at the mere thought of Jeongguk fitting their lips together, into his mouth. At the memory of a slightly panting Jeongguk underneath him, illuminated by nothing but their camp fire.

Taehyung resists. Takes his twitching hand away from his lap and stays put, ignoring the raging pressing against its confines. It would be wrong. As if he'd betray Jeongguk when he'd get off to the mere thought of him, without the real Jeongguk there to share the moment. No. No will do. Taehyung will wait and practice himself in abstinence. It should be easy - in theory. He's been doing good for such a long time now. Has barely slept around, can probably count the times he revelled in his own touch in the past three years on one hand. Yeah, this should be easy.

If only it weren't for Jeongguk.

Taehyung already regrets his choice. Alas, he is stubborn. As soon as he notices his self-restraint fading, his primitive monkey brain or whatever switches into competitive mode. He can do this. He will prove to himself that he can. 

With a grunt and his brows furrowed so harshly it hurts, he crawls under the blanket.

"I'm going to sleep now," he mutters into the late night. "I will sleep. Yes, I'm sleeping now! Sleeping. Uhum."

 

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At the same time, hidden away in his cave, Jeongguk ponders the sea - as he does so often. Like any mer ought to. The sea is a ferocious, lovely thing. Like a cat, as far as he understands these creatures from what Taehyung has told him. And from that one encounter he had.

Wild and unpredictable, with its own mind, yet enrapturing with its beauty in a way that makes it impossible to stay mad at it for long.
He's had a good laugh back when the storm had come for Nakseongdae and Taehyung had told him about how the fishermen he's staying with said they knew what to expect from the sea with a mere look in the sky.

Had laughed, because it simply was one of humanity's greatest faults, as he learnt over the decades - the arrogant assumption that they know so much and have everything figured out. A sailor can spend his entire life at sea and claim to know it all, yet still be thrown by its antics.

As if something as ancient and boundless as the sea would ever become predictable. What a silly idea. Typical human.

He turns around in the sand until he has shifted onto his side and can see what his fingers are doing. Can follow his own movements as the sharp nails draw swirls and spirals in the sand. Wave patterns of all kind that, for once, don't remind him of the sea. But of Taehyung's damp hair on the beach a few hours ago.

His musing about the sea comes to an abrupt halt like that. Until now he's done quite a remarkable job not thinking of this evening, not sure what to do with himself and that warmth flooding his body. But this, a few mindless lines in the sand, is all it takes for his mind to stray off-course.

"Taehyung," he murmurs in tandem with the gurgling waves. Tastes his favourite name a few more times, his far-away siblings being the only witnesses to it as they peek through the hole in the cave's ceiling, myriads of twinkling dots. "My pretty, pretty Taehyung."

 

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"Hi!"

Taehyung is breathless before he even reaches the mer, cheeks hurting from the broad smile he dons. He is giddy. Has been skipping on his whole way from the house down to the pier. He doesn't think twice about gripping the railing and swinging around, trusting that Jeongguk will catch him one way or another.

The mer does. A bout of water cushions his fall and in the next moment, Taehyung finds himself in the secure arms he's come to adore so much.

"Good morning, Taehyung."

Jeongguk brushes his forehead with his lips and lingers long enough for Taehyung to feel the warm smile on his skin. "What are we doing today?"

It's a simple question yet Taehyung finds himself marvelling at it. At the way Jeongguk puts so much trust in him and lets him decide how they - not him, but they, the both of them - will spend the day. There is not an ounce of doubt or hesitation in his voice, as if it doesn't matter what Taehyung declares, he'll readily agree to anything. It's such a far cry from the early stage of their acquaintance back when the mer refused to get within ten metres close to him and kept eyeing him as if expecting Taehyung to spring a trap at him any second. And now here they are. They've come a long way since then.

Taehyung chides himself for the stupid tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and throws his arms around the mer to press impossibly closer and playfully nip at the other's lip. He grins.

"Surprise me."

The smile he gets in return, coupled with a claw sneaking under his shirt and ghosting up his side is nothing short of wicked.

He soon gets to know why.

 

Turns out, kissing Jeongguk at the beach is great - but kissing him underwater is even better! As long as Taehyung's lips don't leave Jeongguk's, they can stay underwater for several minutes, the mer breathing through his gills for the both of them and pushing the air right back into Taehyung's hungry mouth until it fills his lungs and allows him to stay submerged just that much longer.

It's not ideal.

Usually, as far as Taehyung is concerned at least, kissing means that you pull away every now and then, and if it's just to change the angle or switch up the pace. Keeping a constant connection to Jeongguk without any water coming in between and flooding his wind pipes requires more concentration and restraint than he thought. And even with their clever thinking it's not a stunt they can do for too long because Jeongguk's gills simply are not meant to supply two fully grown men with oxygen at the same time.

However. That doesn't take away from how very ing epic the experience is!

Jeongguk brought him somewhere different today. Taehyung has not the slightest clue where they are but that colourful coral reef he's gently pressed against surely doesn't look like the bay of Nakseongdae anymore. They are somewhere out in the open sea he thinks, for every time they have to get up and catch some actual breath, he only sees the shadows of some island or coastline at the horizon in one direction and in the other nothing but endless blue.

"Are you okay?" The mer has one of Taehyung's cheeks cradled in his hand, gaze imploring as he studies Taehyung's face for any sign of discomfort, both of their chests heaving.

His eyes are dark pools of ink today again. Taehyung glances to the side and notices how little spots of white and gold glitter on the tranquil water surface. He shifts, turns his body away so Jeongguk has no choice but to follow along if he wants to keep the eye contact. It doesn't even take two seconds for him to do so. Taehyung smiles and shifts a bit more, the mer moving with him  until he's got him in the spot he wants, sunlight catching in Jeongguk's eyes and turning them the most vibrant deep blue.

Pretty, pretty, pretty.

Though Jeongguk's eyes always are stunning to look at. Whether they are of their usual unnatural blackness, or shining bright blue in the sunlight, or glittering with the silver of molten stars at night. His favourite eyes in the world. (And he's come across quite some beautiful eyes in the idol industry. Yet none of them are a match to Jeongguk. None.)

Taehyung stares until Jeongguk furrows his eyebrows and nudges his calf with his tail. 

"Taehyung?"

He blinks. "Huh? I mean, uh, yeah."

Jeongguk flicks his forehead and pouts. "Don't ignore me when I'm asking you about your wellbeing, pearl. I get worried about you quickly."

"Sorry," Taehyung says around a soft laugh and tugs the mer's hand back to his cheek, only to turn his face and plant a kiss square onto Jeongguk's palm. "I'm fine, promise. Just got a little-" he interrupts himself to thumb along the tiny stars under Jeongguk's left eye- "distracted."

The mer flutters his eyes closed so his wet lashes brush against Taehyung's thumb.

"Distracted by me?"

Taehyung hums, watches how those most magnificent eyes blink open again and turn from black to blue within a breath as soon as the sunlight hits them right. Forever enraptured.

The corners of Jeongguk's mouth tug up into a satisfied little smile. "Good."

Taehyung chuckles. Pinches the tip of Jeonguk's nose. "Someone is full of himself."

"Nah." The mer playfully snaps with his teeth after Taehyung's hand. "Just full of you."

Taehyung groans, body shaking as his head drops onto the mer's shoulder. "Please don't say it like that."

"Why not?" Jeongguk turns his head until his nose nudges behind Taehyung's ear. Then Taehyung feels something wet against his neck, the sensation lasting too long to be not purposeful. Oh god. His grip around Jeongguk's waist tightens.

"Because I easily get bad ideas," he admits. "Especially when you do things like this."

Jeongguk nips at the spot where his tongue has been before in a way that promises to leave a bruise. "Like what?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"Hmmm." 

The vibration tickles on Taehyung's skin. It has him torn between giggling and heaving out a shuddering breath.

"What kind of bad?"

His hands slip down from the mer's waist until they rest on a firm covered in blue and green scales, fingers splaying out. "The naughty kind," he admits, voice dropping lower on its own accord.

"Oh?"

"Mhm."

"Well." Jeongguk presses back into Taehyung's hold, gets one hand into Taehyung's hair and gently tugs him out of the crook of his neck just far enough to brush their noses together. He places a peck on Taehyung's upper lip, then the corner of his mouth, his chin, his cupid's bow, the other corner. "I mean. "Sounds... interesting?"

Taehyung almost chokes.

But Jeongguk already continues. "As long as it's with you, I'm ready to try out a lot of things. There is still so much I don't know."

Taehyung squeezes his eyes shut and bites down on his lip, hard. Tries to fight down the flood of pictures his mind conjures of a panting, Jeongguk under him, over him, everywhere. He's shivering everywhere and it has nothing to do with the autumn wind. Overkill.

"Jeonggukkie," he presses out through gritted teeth. His eyebrows are furrowed so much it hurts. "You really shouldn't say things like that without a proper warning. It's not good for my heart."

He shouldn't have said it like that.

Immediately, the mer pulls away and then leans down to press an ear against Taehyung's chest.

"It sounds okay to me, though. Maybe a little fast," he diagnoses.

Taehyung shakes his head, runs a hand through his hair and laughs. "No, baby. That's not what I meant."

Jeongguk blinks up at him, then his lips. He tilts his head. "Baby?"

Taehyung explodes. "I, no, I meant, well..."

"Is that what you want to call me?"

"Uh, well..."

A slow smile spreads on Jeongguk's face that grows by the second until it's that splendid, radiant thing.

And. There is only so much a man can take.

Taehyung takes one look at the precious smile and caves like the hopeless loser he is when it comes to Jeongguk.

"...Yeah, maybe," he mutters into the charged space between them.

Jeongguk hums and pulls Taehyung back against him until they are once more chest to chest. He twirls a strand of Taehyung's hair around his finger and watches it slip off, then tucks it behind the shell of his ear, nails slightly scratching there in a soothing motion. 

"I like it. You're my treasure and I'm your baby."

A strangled noise claws its way up Taehyung's throat. He is so going to die. Jeongguk is going to kill him without even knowing. He'll just drop dead due to heart failure someday soon and it's going to be all Jeongguk's fault.

But Jeongguk merely gives him one of those warm smiles that stands in such a stark contrast to the raging heat filling out Taehyung's veins. It has him melting in a completely different way. The mer bumps their noses together again, then peppers Taehyung's face with kisses before coming back to his mouth and back in with a boldness Taehyung wouldn't have expected of him two days ago.

Although... maybe Jeongguk has always been on the bold side. Considering how everybody believes merpeople are a myth, getting close to humans must be a rare and extremely risky thing for them. So maybe the way Jeongguk now swallows every sound Taehyung makes shouldn't come as a surprise at all, he thinks. 

Before the mer pulls them back underwater and towards that lively coral reef bursting with colour, streams of tiny bubbles blubbering out of his gills already as their mouths stay locked, needy for more.

 

"So..." They are back in their secret bay, Taehyung perched on one of the stone ledges and Jeongguk hovering between his spread legs. His hands running up and down Taehyung's clothed legs nonstop, head tilting up every few minutes to demand more kisses. Taehyung sighs into the mer's mouth - then pulls back and sighs again, heavier this time, shoulders slumping. He shivers when the autumn wind sneaks under his shirt, the sensation there much less welcome than the delicate touch of Jeongguk's hands. "I don't know how to tell you this, really."

That single sentence is enough for the mer to grip at the rock hard enough for his nails to make a scratching noise as they dig into the surface, arms tensing, body lifting out of the water, entire streams running down his skin and splashing on Taehyung where Jeongguk is all in his face now. He's pressing closer still, arms caging Taehyung on both sides in the most protective way he's ever felt. Taehyung can feel the words on his face when the mer speaks, that's how close they are. The sea water seeps into Taehyung's trousers where a powerful tail is now forcing them apart.

"What's wrong."

It's in the way Jeongguk doesn't say it as a question but rather demands the answer with no space for arguments. As if anything that could cause Taehyung whatever kind of discomfort is completely out of option and to be taken care off immediately. They say it's not what you say but how you say it. And man, Taehyung couldn't agree more. Has rarely ever witnessed such a prime example.

Alas, he should probably pacify his- are they boyfriends? Is that the term to use now? His Jeongguk. He already has a look of grim determination on his face that promises violence if need be.

"No, no, nothing is wrong," Taehyung vows. Raises a hand to Jeongguk's head and starts rubbing calming circles into his scalp. The mer relaxes, if only by a fraction, his gaze still wary. Taehyung smiles. "It's just. I have to go for a few days. And I really don't want to." He pouts.

"Why?"

The word comes out as a whine, such a stark contrast to the wild expression from before it takes Taehyung a moment to register the change. To understand the question.

"Oh. Hm, well, you see, it's my mother's birthday. And as I'm off schedule right now, it's my first chance in years to go visit her on that day. Do you know what a birthday is, Gguk?"

The mer frowns. Pulls one hand out of the stone that's counting ten new holes the width of a finger each and pokes Taehyung's chest. "Why are you calling me that?"

Uhm. Taehyung tries to distract from his instantly burning face with a not really annoyed sigh but he has a feeling he's failing spectacularly.

"Do you know what a birthday is... baby?"

Jeongguk hums. "Better."

Taehyung shakes his head. He'd like to reinforce his words from earlier about how Jeongguk is going to be the death of him, please. How is he supposed to survive when he's not allowed to call the mer anything else but his apparently new favourite pet name?

And Jeongguk must understand Taehyung's internal struggle at least to some degree, because his smile is a little too knowing for Taehyung's liking.

"But yeah, I know about birthdays. It means staying up the entire night and trying to remember what once has been while looking at the stars. And if you can't see them, you have to go someplace where you can. And every decade you meet up with your family and they tell you about all the great things you've done in those past ten years."

He's nodding along to his explanation like some wise professor who is confirming fundamental knowledge.

Taehyung huffs in amusement. "Yeah, that sounds interesting too."

Jeongguk tilts his head. "Wait. So you don't watch the stars all night on your birthday?"

"Uhh, no."

"Why not?"

Taehyung purses his lips. That's... a good question, actually. Why don't they watch the stars at every given chance? All the little Jeongguks up there?

"I don't know. I have no excuse, really," he admits.

"Maybe you humans should step up your birthday game."

"Hmm. Maybe we should."

Jeongguk's hands are back on his thighs, slowly kneading them, and, bless. How is Taehyung supposed to leave like this?

"How long will you be gone?"

He shrugs, pouts again. "Two days? Three? I don't know if mum has planned anything special. Or rather if dad succeeded putting one of his strange ideas into motion for once."

"Will you be close to the sea?"

Taehyung shakes his head and mutters an excuse. "No. 'm afraid not."

They don't need to elaborate further on it. It's crystal-clear what's left unsaid here: that Taehyung doesn't want to miss Jeongguk's company and that Jeongguk hates being out of touch with him.

"When are you going?"

"Uhh..." Taehyung gnaws at his lip. "Well, tomorrow?" 

"TOM-"

Jeongguk splutters. His hands are trembling. "Tomorrow?!," he whisper-yells. "And you are telling me only now?"

"I was distracted, in case you weren't aware," Taehyung hisses back. Indeed he was. It's so, so easy to get distracted and forget an entire world exists when he's - gosh - when he's kissing Jeongguk.

"But still!"

They keep bickering about it for a while longer before they realise that to be a poor way to spend their suddenly limited time together. But when Jeongguk makes to drag Taehyung back in the water, he declines with a foot pushing the mer away.

"No, no more water for me. My toes have already turned into sponges, see?" he whines, wiggling his puffy, wrinkled toes in Jeongguk's face.

Jeongguk just laughs, pulls him off the rock anyway and then, mouth once again locked with Taehyung's, underwater. He leads them closer to the cliffs until there comes an opening in view and they are diving into a mothering cave, are you ing-

"What the ," Taehyung blurts, inhales a mouthful of water and immediately gets a severe case of The Choking of Death.

Jeongguk swiftly pushes them through the entrance and up, bedding Taehyung on something soft and then flicks his wrist or something - it's not like Taehyung can pay close attention as he is too busy choking on seawater and hyperventilating because they are in a ing cave and this cave absolutely wasn't here before, he's sure he would have noticed it at some point and what's even-

Whatever Jeongguk did, the water is pulling itself out of Taehyung's airways, pushing against the back of his teeth until he opens his mouth wide and it slips out in a big bubble before splashing back into the sea.

Wow. That felt weird.

There is so much weirdness about this whole situation Taehyung doesn't even know where to start.

"What, when, I mean how, I mean, also thank you I guess, but I told you no, also what the , where does this even, I mean did you- I mean didn't we- and, like, what-"

"So, I was a bit bored last night," the mer mumbles, fidgeting.

Taehyung takes the time to look around properly at last. The cave itself is not all that big, maybe about the size of Jimin's and Yoongi's house. Which isn't tiny. But for cave standards, he supposes, it's rather small. The back part is also shrouded in darkness, like the front might be as well if it weren't for a few holes high up in the stone that are too regular to be natural. They also all have about the same size. Just like-

He eyes the holes, looks down at Jeongguk's hands, looks back at the holes. 

"Did you really-" He doesn't finish the question, the mer's entire face and chest already flushing bright red.

"I, well, maybe?"

Taehyung tries to picture Jeongguk riding on a wave and punching hole after hole in the wall. He snickers. What the hell. This shouldn't be as funny as it is. The stone is like, how thick? And just with bare hands... He shakes his head. Insane is what it is.

Most of the cave's ground is also covered in a generous layer of sand and, in some calculated spots, seaweed or something similar which he doubts has been originally here. The stone itself that the cave is made of is a rough, jagged kind of thing. But, and this is by far the most endearing part of it, every sharp peak is covered with a mussel, moss or coral. They come in all shapes and colours, some patches of moss even bioluminescent. If he squints a bit, it looks like a kid has gone bonkers and thrown confetti everywhere. Cute. As. .

Taehyung coos.

"Last night?," he confirms. Jeongguk nods meekly. Taehyung hums. This is what the mer can do in one single night. Just, wow. He turned a dark rat hole into something that's almost... cosy. In a naive way. There is light, the sand beneath him is soft, he's holding a huge pink sea shell in his hand, and the water of the small pond could rival a hot bath in a tub, the unnatural heat radiating from the water and warming the usually dark, wet, cold stone walls.

"Isn't such a strong temperature play bad for the ecosystem here though," he can't help but say out loud.

Jeongguk his head. "I am the ecosystem."

Taehyung purses his lips and nods. That's some level of self-esteem he wants. Then he breaks out into a wide grin. "It's really pretty, Gguk. I mean baby," he hastily adds, together with a chuckle.

"...You think so?"

"Yeah. Although, why did you bring me here?"

Jeongguk thumbs alongside the back of his left knee and Taehyung almost kicks him in the face out of reflex.

"Because you were cold."

"Huh." He was. Did he shiver? He probably did. "But I've been cold before, sometimes. Only a little bit, not much, I promise," he says at the alarmed expression on the mer's face. "So, yeah. Why?"

Jeongguk mutters his answer so faintly his gills are moving more than his mouth. Which in itself adds a whole new level of absurdity to all of this.

"Hm, what?"

"I said we weren't that, uh, familiar back then."

Taehyung doesn't even attempt to stop the laugh bursting out of him. "Fa-familiar?! Really, Gguk? It's called kissing. Kissing!"

Jeongguk, bless him, whines some more. "I know what it's called, I've read stuff about it with you, okay?! I just didn't want to, like, say it so bluntly."

"Oh gosh." Taehyung is still snickering. "Come here. You are too cute for your own good." He makes grabby hands at Jeongguk until the mer shifts onto his side and then proceeds to roll out of the water and into the nook filled with sand, like a barrel of ale. By the time he reaches a howling Taehyung, he is covered with wet sand from head to fin and looks very much like a breaded fish. Taehyung brushes the crust off his face as good as he can but the kiss they share next still ends up being a bit beachy.

"You are such a ," he chuckles, slaps Jeongguk's sand-caked chest and kisses him some more.

"Always glad to be at your service," the mer quips and nips one of Taehyung's earlobes.

"Idiot."

 

 

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Talking bad things into seemingly good things is an art form Jeongguk didn't master yet.

His parents though are grandmasters in that matter as he learnt early-on, although in very different ways - Namjoon always getting philosophical until he has dissected the originally Bad Thing's purpose on a molecular level whereas Seokjin always, always finds away to make things about himself. But Jeongguk? He's not that good at it. If some major problem occurs then he continues seeing it as such and sulks and throws a tantrum until it's gone.

Except this time. This time, he sees the Yin in the Yang... or was it the other way around?

Anyway! After some deep thinking, he comes to the conclusion there is exactly one upturn to Taehyung leaving. And that is, that it gives Jeongguk the time to make a visit. If he there is no way to keep a watchful eye on his pearl with how far off the coast he'll be, then Jeongguk better spends the time doing something useful. Like, asking his parents for some more advice on this and that - on anything Taehyung-related, really.

So after a very, very reluctant parting on both ends, and after making Taehyung promise to come to the sea as soon as he is back in Nakseongdae, Jeongguk sets off. For a moment he considers asking the sea to watch the village for him while he is gone, then he remembers that oh, right, Taehyung is not there, and abandons the idea. The foul-hearted villagers can rot at the bottom of the mariana trench for all he cares.

His trip to the archipelago doesn't seem to take forever this time. Maybe it's because he knows he doesn't have to be back by dawn, knows that he isn't in a rush. Huh. Both time and speed are really just an illusion.

That's how it feels like he has been on his way for half an hour maximum once a familiar huge coral reef in hues of pink, orange and red comes into view when actually he's been swimming for the better part of the night.

He doesn't even make it through the first set of underwater stone arches before a familiar figure barrels into him. Just like Seokjin has sensed him miles ago, he'd known of the older's presence all too well too. But Jeongguk stays put, feigns a surprised shout and lets the other have his moment. Further ahead, past a few more stone arches that litter the seabed like an irregular colonnade, Namjoon watches the both of them with crossed arms and shakes his head, smiling fondly.

"Look who is here, Joonie! Our little stray came to pay a visit so soon again, we raised him well," the mer shouts and wipes a fake tear away, pink tail already wrapping around Jeongguk's and pulling him along.

Namjoon only sighs and gives an apologetic pat to his shoulder when they pass by, Seokjin chatting animatedly while they make their way into the grotto.

"You redecorated," is the first thing Jeongguk says once they have passed the long tunnel.

They did. Last time he's been here, he swears there have been more smoothed rocks peeking out of the water, the perfect size to lounge on. Now they are gone and the grotto looks much spacier. Also there is a new little waterfall across from the other.

"Yah!" Seokjin swats his chest. "That's the first thing you say? No 'hello dad how are you' or anything? The nerves of those youngsters nowadays..."

"Well, if you'd given me the chance to say anything in between your essay on the archipelago's stubbornness to accept your imported hot pink corals then maybe I would have."

"The audacity!"

They keep bickering back and forth for quite a while before the topic inevitably shifts to merfolk gossip (the one topic Seokjin likes to talk about aside from everything concerning himself or his mate's clumsiness). And so there comes a point when they are chilling behind the new waterfall - "if we have them, we gotta utilise them" - and have to shout against the noise, when Namjoon asks Jeongguk about the shifting, Seokjin eagerly leaning forward to not miss Jeongguk's answer.

It takes the younger a solid minute to work out how they know. To remember that 'the talk of the sea' is to be taken literally, as that strange mermaid confirmed to him weeks ago. The sea, it seems, is quite a talker these days.

"Busybody," he mutters. And he could've sworn the water itself chuckled around him.

Before he can get into any kind of explanation, however, Seokjin - who was the one insisting on going to the waterfall in the first place - announces that they better go somewhere less noisy. So they do.

"Alright, Jeonggukie, tell me," the mer urges once they got settled in a web of corals. "How does it work? Does it hurt, the shifting?"

Jeongguk shrugs, then nods. Why should he lie?

"Yes."

"How so?"

"Feels like a wicked blade is cutting me in half from the fins upwards." He halts, frowns, thinks about how to best describe it. "Not one of those flimsy things we sometimes find nowadays, but a real weapon made to kill and dismember. An old one. Like the one you showed me, like, eleven decades ago. And then my scales are pushing through skin, and back, as if slitting me open in a hundred different places at once. Except there is no blood coming out. That's what makes it so weird. There is no physical indication of the pain I am in, or the breaking of my body. It just happens, without any kind of disturbing visual evidence that would be expected. No blood, no bones jutting out somewhere, no open flesh."

Next to him, both his parents look rather pale at the mention of blood and bones. Jeongguk gives a quick apology yet doesn't fail to add that they asked about it.

"Yeah," Namjoon sighs, "I suppose we did. Please, go on."

"Right. So. If you think about that strange lack of, uh, ugly things to come along with the shift, it's almost a clean process. Except for the pain, of course."

Seokjin swallows. His pink tail twitches, bulky scars catching Jeongguk's attention for a moment. "Pain?"

"Ah, yeah. The first time I shifted I thought I was going insane from it. Felt like forever before it was finally over."

It's Namjoon who reacts this time, one arm stretched around Jeongguk to soothingly run up and down Seokjin's side. "Does it ever get better?"

A shake of his head is Jeongguk's answer. "No. I just get better at ignoring it. Train myself to grow accustomed to the feeling, you know?"

"I hate this. I hate him," Seokjin seethes, hands balled to fists. "That human. I hate him for what you have to endure because of him."

Jeongguk sighs. He called it. Of course Seokjin isn't very fond of Taehyung. With him being human and all. It's to be expected. He glances at some of the crueller scars running down the pink and blue tail, then scowls.

"You have no ground to hate my love, hyung. I chose this. He never asked me for it. I made my choice and went to the heart of the sea. She too warned me there would be a cost for such silly wishes yet I insisted. Do not hold something against him that he never dared to ask for."

Seokjin huffs and turns away, arms crossed.

On his other side, Namjoon gives him a warm smile. "He really means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

Well. That's an easy yes.

"Of course! I don't make bargains with the sea for just anybody. My Taehyung is special."

Namjoon hums and squeezes his shoulder.

"You really shouldn't encourage him," Seokjin hisses but his mate shushes him with a flick of his large, burning orange fin.

"Oh, hush, don't you see that our boy is deeply in love?"

Maybe Jeongguk's cheeks burn a bit at that.

 

They go on a swim together and forget about the matter for a while. Until Jeongguk slinks up to Namjoon in hopes that Seokjin for once won't overhear them.

"So, uh," he starts, looking anywhere but his dad's face, "about humans. I mean, Taehyung. I mean, humans in general, obviously."

Somewhere behind them, Seokjin snorts. "Humans in general, my ."

Jeonguk rolls his eyes. Of course he heard.

In the meanwhile, Namjoon is waiting patiently for him to make his point. So he does.

"Humans like pretty things, right?"

The other hums. Tilts his head from side to side. "Generally, yes. But some prefer practical things. At least that's what I heard."

"Practical?"

"Mhm. Something useful for them."

Jeongguk mulls it over. Thinks about all the little treasures he has in his cave and wonders if there is something amongst them that could be useful for Taehyung.

...Maybe there is. Maybe he's got an idea.

"So, like, something to keep him safe?" he checks, just to be sure.

"No!" Seokjin snaps and crosses the space between them. A razor-sharp claw pokes against Jeongguk's chest. "No. Humans are not for safe-keeping."

Namjoon pushes between them. "Babe-"

Seokjin harrumphs, then lifts his fin - the one littered with scars so brutal they never  fully healed, with chunks of the tissue missing at the edges where it didn't grow back - right in Namjoon's face.

The other runs loving fingers over the damaged tissue. "I know, love. But not all humans are like that."

"You can't know that. They cast you out too, or did you already forget? And you!" He swivels around to Jeongguk. "Stay away from humans, Jeonggukie. They are no good. Don't get familiar and repeat my mistakes, you hear me?"

Jeongguk doesn't really have much of a choice but to nod.

 

They get back to lighter topics then, and Seokjin talks Jeongguk into racing him thrice, his joyous laughter ringing through the ocean as he wins twice in a row. (Jeongguk lets him win. He knows all too well how sulky his dad gets when he loses a race. That's why Namjoon wisely doesn't participate in the first place - he'd beat them all by several tail lengths.)

 

Jeongguk also stays the night, tightly squeezed between the two mers like back when he was still a kid. Namjoon loudly snores into his ear, which is a welcomed distraction from his pondering on how to get Seokjin to be more tolerant towards humans - or at least one specific human.

At some point the snoring stops shortly and Namjoon mumbles, "You can't force things like that, Jeongguk-ah" before going back to sleep. 

Which convinces Jeongguk once more that his dad must at least be a part-time mind-reader. He always knows things.

It's creepy.

(It's also kind of cool.)

 

They are awoken by a wad of moss falling on Seokjin's face and the mer promptly shooting a large water dose towards the ceiling, ultimately loosening more moss until it rains down on all three of them, the mers spluttering and scurrying away.

It's enough to have them part ways on good terms instead of the tenseness from last night.

"I wish you all the best luck," Namjoon says while hugging Jeongguk tightly, Seokjin next to him sniffing about their kid leaving too soon.

Jeongguk smiles and hugs him right back. "Thank you."

Then he is off, to go and look for his latest acquaintance.

 

"You're in luck, child," is how Asterin greets him in the centre of nothing less but an entire underwater ice palace. "I just came back from my garden."

Jeongguk blinks. "Oh. Am I interrupting? Should I come back later?"

The grey hair floating around her shifts like a dust cloud as she shakes her head slowly. 

"No, it's alright. I had a feeling you'd come visit me soon."

Jeonguk frowns. Why is it that everyone always knows what's going on in his head these days? "You knew?"

The mermaid laughs, then motions him to follow her while swimming off into a tunnel with high ceiling, the frozen walls facetted and breaking the light in several places.

"No, I didn't know per say. But I don't find it surprising that you came to look for me with more questions about your human. Because that's why you're here, isn't it?"

Huh. Maybe not another mind-reader, then. Maybe he's just transparent as .

"Yeah." Jeongguk nods. "I was wondering if, you see, I don't really know much about, uh, I wanted to ask-"

"If you can lend a book?"

"I mean I'm not even sure if you are the right person to ask but-" Jeongguk halts. "What?!"

"I hear you read a lot these days," Asterin supplies with a kind smile and reaches into one of the many holes in the crystal walls to indeed pull out a well-worn book. "Here. I think that's exactly what you wanted to know." She places the ice-sealed book into Jeongguk's palms, the younger gaping. "A while ago I met with an old friend and asked her if she still has this book and would be alright parting from it and she agreed. So I took it back here, for safekeeping until whenever you'd show up."

"I, thank you," Jeongguk stammers, not sure what it even is exactly that he is holding in his hands. He turns the book around to read what's written on the back and-

Oh.

That's.

"How did you know?"

Again, Asterin laughs. "If you are as old as me, little one, you get a feeling for the flow of things. And after a certain point, things just become predictable. But now go. Haven't you been away from your human way too long already?"

She all but shoos him out of her palace. And like that, their second meeting ends just as swiftly as the first. Jeongguk thanks her three more times before making his way back to Nakseongdae, the cold book pressed to his chest.

He can't wait to see Taehyung again.

And to try out all the things he might learn from Asterin's gift.