Italian | adjective

♦ breathtaking, majestic; that which arouses amazement and admiration; that which startles violently

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" yes! I win!"

Taehyung groans and turns around. As long as he can't see the sun through his window it's definitely too early to get up.

He's just about to fall back asleep in his new home - yesterday was exhausting, okay, especially once he got to the point of arranging his books in the little bookshelf, which he had to start over thrice because he changed his mind over the system - when Jimin nullifies all of his plans. The door to Taehyung's room opens with a loud creak. Moments later, Jimin's voice filters in.

"Good morning, Hyyunjin-ssi!"

Taehyung slinks even deeper into the cushion.

Jimin just laughs, plops down next to him and starts pulling away the blanket.

"Time to wake up if you don't want to oversleep the whole day, let's go, let's go~"

Taehyung grunts and rips the blanket out of Jimin's hands, cursing under his breath. These were supposed to be long vacations. Not... this. Stress in the morning. Without the option of sleeping in.

But Jimin is having none of it. "If I come back and you are still in bed, I'll tell Yoongs to get you. And he's gonna throw a wet old cloth at you."

Wait, what?!

Nowhere in their contract did it say that the dude can be such a little pest! Taehyung feels played.

"Ugh, fine, fine. 'M coming."

 

Once he sits on the breakfast table, Yoongi is nowhere to be seen. Is he allowed to sleep in but Taehyung isn't? Unfair. As he says so, Jimin snickers.

"My man is already diligently working, duh. You are the latest one to get up."

That manages to catch Taehyung's interest. "Work? What's he working as?"

"Hm?" Jimin looks up from where he is mixing something. Is that... is that supposed to be porridge? Taehyung hopes it tastes better than it looks. "Oh, Yoongs is rocking the grocery store down at the docks."

He puts down a big bowl right in front of Taehyung, together with a glass of juice. 

"Dig in," he grins.

Taehyung does. And is relieved that the greyish slime does indeed taste not that bad. He could get used to it.

"What about you, then?"

Jimin makes big eyes above his smoothie. "What about me?"

"Don't you have to work, too?"

He laughs. "Aw, worried about me? It's all good. The trawler I work at needs some repair today. Also, told my uncle I have a guest and want to show you around today. So it's fine."

Taehyung is a little touched, no kidding. The other barely knows him yet goes at such great lengths already. Chivalry is not dead!

That thought is what makes him wolf down the breakfast and then promise he'll only take a few minutes to get ready. Jimin signals him okay, hands already full with dirty dishes. Taehyung makes a mental note to offer washing the dishes from now on. That's the least he can do.

Five minutes later, he's done with the minimum of morning wash and got his notebook and camera packed. Jimin is already waiting for him, bouncing on his heels. Taehyung smiles.

"Any particular reason you are in such a good mood?"

Jimin's answering grin is broad and gleeful. Maybe even a little savage.

"Why shouldn't I be in a good mood? Today is a very good day."

Taehyung arches an eyebrow, face one big question mark as he follows Jimin down the hill. As if he'd buy that explanation.

"And?"

"And," Jimin hums, "this morning's measurements say that I have, in fact, grown 0.4 centimetre taller. Now I have breached Yoongi-bear's height!" He fist-pumps the air, does a little jump. Then he turns around to Taehyung and points at him, laughing. "Just you be ready, Hyunjin-ssi. I'm coming for you next."

Taehyung snorts. Can't help but smile fondly even as he rolls his eyes. "Sure, just you try."

"Yah!"

They make their way through Nakseongdae slowly, Jimin pointing out different stores, a few good places to eat or drink, and rattling down family names whenever they pass a hanok. Like that, it takes almost an hour for them to reach the harbour. The heart of the town.

Before Jimin can start to go off with his explanations for real, Taehyung remembers to ask about the town name.

Jimin shrugs. "There used to be a legend about it once, I think. But it was a pretty boring one. So nowadays nobody bothers remembering. Except..." He purses his lips. "You could try asking the elders. But you gotta bring lots of time and nerves if you want a specific information from them."

"You have elders here? For real?"

The young fisherman (apparently? That's what you are when you work on a trawler, right?) gives him a weird look.

"Uhm, yes? Like every town and village?"

"Oh."

Taehyung turns away sheepishly. Way to make himself a fool. Tis I, a dumb city boy.

"Alright, back to the more interesting stuff." Jimin waves him to an old building close to the-

"Harbour?" Taehyung points to the basin with colourful wooden boats.

Jimin shakes his head. "Wet dock," he declares, then points back to the building. Or to the markings climbing up the facade, to be more precise.

"What's that?"

"This," Jimin announces with much bravado, "is the adventurous part of living here. October 1634," he points at one of the markings well above their heads, " a terrible storm tide reached up til there."

Taehyung's eyes widen.

Jimin points at the next marker. "February 1825, we got hit by a typhoon."

The idol begins to fear he didn't think through his little vacation. Typhoons? What the ?

Jimin is not done with him, yet. "That one up there is from 1961. Tsunami erased the whole town except for this one building and- oh. You okay?"

"Peachy," Taehyung grits out. "Just... let me sit down for a second."

Jimin cackles but lets him be. "Yeah, living here means you don't just look at the sea when it's pretty. You have to fight it, too. Or sometimes your only option is to run. What I'm trying to get across right now is, be careful, Hyunjin-ssi. You are new to the coast and could easily underestimate the sea. It's a fickle thing. All glittering little waves one second, and a ruthless beast the next."

He dusts off his trousers, then gets up from where he crouched down next to Taehyung. Ready to show him the next... whatever is on his agenda.

"Oh, and no swimming in the sea," Jimin calls over his shoulder.

Taehyung furrows his brows. For real? No swimming? Yeah, no, as if. He did not move his to the east coast with amazing view on the sea to then not go swimming here. But one thing he knows. Strong currents are a thing. So... he'll have to be subtle. See where the locals go swimming and stuff. 

Yeah, Park Jimin what? This man here is going to taste the ocean.

"Hey, newbie! You coming?"

Taehyung hurries after Jimin, wondering how he can be so much faster despite clearly having the shorter legs out of the two.

The lad continues showing him around, introducing him to some folks, giving more recommendations about what to do where. They take a little tour around the wet dock, then up and down the jetties, where Jimin tells him all about his dad's fishing trawler, the 'Bangtan Boat'. 

"...And I still have loads of work to do, obviously, but one day I'll have it repaired. And then I can take the old lady out onto the open sea. Hey!" He twirls around way too close to the jetties' edge, then stretches out his arms. "When I'm done getting her in good shape, I can take you out. Plan?"

Taehyung nods. "Sure. Now get down here, Captain. Before you fall."

 It's enough to get the guy hopping down from one of the breakwater boulder thingies. Jimin even casts a vary glance over the shoulder.  

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that."

Taehyung chuckles. "What's with you, seriously? This is such a weird concept. Who would've thought a fisherman can be that afraid of water?"

"October 1634-"

"Yeah, okay, okay! The ocean is your enemy, whatever."

Jimin screeches and swats his chest. "I'm not joking, you punk!"

 

From the next day onwards, Taehyung is on his own. Jimin makes it part of his routine to prepare breakfast for Taehyung before he has to leave somewhen in the early hours of dawn. Yoongi follows a few hours later, still before Taehyung is up. Which makes breakfast a pretty... lonely business. But it's okay, for now. He's a grown lad, he can eat on his own.

Once he's got something in his stomach and the dishes are cleaned, the main point on Taehyung's agenda is finding a good place to write. And, what comes even before that, some inspiration. Which is easier said than done, with how his mind seems to be wiped off all lyrics, all ideas. That creative part of him is dried out like a drained bog. 

First, he tries going to the wet docks and watching the boats leave or return. It's exciting for the first few days, but after half a week not so much anymore. 

So Taehyung turns to the forest surrounding Nakseongdae. The Taebaek mountains almost reach the coast here. Or at least he believes the rugged formations are still part of those mountains. He could be wrong. Either way, the path to the top of the cliffs is steep, just as the coast itself. It's a long way down from the top of these weathered granite walls, the sea crashing against unyielding greyish-brown stone far below. The sight, however, is totally worth it.

Taehyung barely registers sweat drenching his shirt while he breaks through the trees, only a few feet of rampant grass left before the ground disappears and gives view on endlessly stretching sea. It doesn't fail to take his breath away. He must be at least fifty metres up where he stands, the whitecaps raging against the cliff barely more than white dotted lines. The cliffs at the other side of Nakseongdae's basin look even taller.

That's where he starts to spend most of the day. Wandering the cliffs, occasionally straying off into the forest before coming back for another stunning view at the endless blue. A pity there is nowhere a beach to be seen. Only cliffs everywhere, with some rocks sprinkled into the water. Like this, taking a swim will be a challenge indeed.

And he still hasn't seen anyone go into the water. But maybe it's just too cold. They've got spring, maybe he needs to wait a few more weeks? Hopefully not months.

The only thing Taehyung has seen so far is a big shadow in the water. Like a shark or something. It's swift though, and disappearing as fast as it came. So he is not sure. Doesn't tell Jimin or Yoongi about it. Maybe it was just a figment of his imagination.

Maybe it was no big deal.

 

The first week Taehyung doesn't think much about it when not a single boat sails on Friday. The second week, he gets confused. At the third week, it's gotten all too odd to keep quiet.

"Jimin-ah, why are there no boats leaving on Friday?"

They are past the initial honorifics ever since all three of them played five rounds of Monopoly and Taehyung and Jimin had to pack-bond against one ruthless Yoongi. Not that it helped one bit. The older still wiped the floor with them. But it certainly was a great ice-breaker to curse at the nonplussed shop worker like there was no tomorrow. Now Jimin is something like Taehyung's new best friend.

Jimin takes his sweet time chewing and swallowing around his dinner before giving a reply.

"Because," he says slowly as if teaching a child, "it's Friday. Nothing and nobody sails on Fridays. It's bad luck."

Taehyung blinks. Stares at his plate of grilled mackerel as if it holds more answers than what Jimin just said. (Yoongi was on grilling duty once Jimin found out how much Taehyung actually loves grilled mackerel. And it tastes absolutely delicious. Taehyung could kiss both of his gay landlords for that alone.)

"Huh. Never would've thought you are such a superstitious bunch."

Jimin gives him a flat stare that could rival Yoongi's default pissed-off expression.

"Dude. You really are not from here. You're such a freshwater fish, I swear."

Taehyung pouts. Excuse him for not being endemic.

It's Yoongi, surprisingly (sometimes Taehyung forgets altogether he's still there with how rarely he speaks), who explains it to him.

"Hyunjin-ah. Seamen are the most superstitious folks you'll ever find."

Jimin huffs at that but doesn't deny it. The older continues.

"Never heard about how people living at and on the sea do nothing but yarn all day? There are so many rites and weird habits ingrained in our daily life we barely notice at this point. But for you, an outsider, it surely must look strange as ." He shrugs. "Better get used to it."

"O...kay...?"

Taehyung tries to recall if he saw anything else that's weird so far. Was there something? Did he miss loads of local customs already? Uhhhm...

"I can hear you thinking, kid." Yoongi shoves some of Taehyung's spicy kimchi into his mouth and sloshes it down with what Taehyung is pretty sure is not water. "Don't sweat it. Most things are probably real subtle or happen only to certain occasions. You'll get your fill of weird , eventually."

Taehyung nods. And subtly pushes his kimchi closer to the older, grateful that he noticed him not eating any of it. He told Jimin about his aversion of spicy food. But sometimes the dude forgets about it, as it seems. Which is fine as long as he notices on time, really. No biggie.

"Okay, cool."

 

It keeps happening. 

Not the- well, okay, yes, the thing with the boats on Friday keeps happening too. But that's not the point. The point is, Taehyung keeps seeing that massive fish shadow from his spot on the cliffs. He actually contemplates to see if he can find some binoculars in town, however feels dumb about it. He's a young healthy man in his twenties and needs no help, thanks. 

The fish never comes close to the shore or even in the direction of the town. So things should be fine. Right?

Maybe he'll ask Jimin about local big fish tonight. During dinner. Which has become the unofficial time of togetherness anyway, the one meal where they all sit at the table at the same time.

On his way back, Taehyung sings some of his favourite songs. He's not worried about anyone hearing him, being the only one out in the woods. But in town he has to be careful. Lest someone actually has heard of Kim Taehyung before. That'd be a mess.

 

Spoiler alert: asking Jimin about the big fish during dinner is a fail.

But can you really hold it against him when the conversation is that ridiculous?

And with 'that ridiculous' he means, going from "Oh Jimin, I tried to make mug cake as dessert but it nuked itself out of the mug and now there is cake everywhere in the microwave except in the mug, are we sure I am a legit adult?" to "Min Yoongi, if Vikings could get newlywed brides a kitty then so can you!". Taehyung's mind is reeling, man.

He is still stuck at the part where Jimin conceded that yes, they are adults but more like adults cats. What does that mean? That they can sort of make it on their own if they try but it would be better if someone took care of them? Is that what Jimin meant? But, like, who would take care of the two unadulty adults that they are, Yoongi or what?! God help them all. That sounds like a horrible idea. The older looks like the personification of a cat himself.

...Or did Jimin mean something else entirely?

Taehyung is so, so lost.

Simultaneously, the couple is in their own world. 

Yoongi tries very hard to be adamant about how they are in no way close to being related to Vikings at all, even throwing numbers around that sound like they could make sense. Taehyung gets the distinct feeling the older is full of bull trivia - which is strangely comforting. 

Jimin, on the other hand, is having none of it, keeps yelling for "Fluffy kitties! Each household needs one!"

"No, listen," Yoongi groans and rubs his face. There is no way this conversation is happening for the first time today when he looks like that. "The whole kitty thing was only custom because their Goddess was said to drive a chariot pulled by cats. Do we have a Goddess who drives a chariot pulled by cats? No, no we don't. Do you see the point I'm trying to make?"

"All I see is that you got a stick up your , Yoongs."

Yoongi splutters.

"This is not what I- also, we are not newlyweds!"

 So yeah. They don't come even close to talking about big fish.

Taehyung tries again later, when he knows Jimin is still up and chilling on the couch. He slinks out of his room and towards the living room. 

"Uhm, Jimin-ah?"

Jimin doesn't react, too busy snickering at something. 

"Do not burn onions," an angry female voice comes out of his smartphone.

Taehyung halts. What?

Jimin cackles.

Intrigued at last, Taehyung closes the gap between them and peers over the fisherman's shoulder.

"Whatcha watching?"

"Oh, hey Hyunjinnie. A video about climate change."

Excuse him. Climate change and... burnt onions? Taehyung has so many questions.

"...What?"

Jimin grins and pats the cushion next to him. "Come, look. Ever heard of the twisted translations channel on youtube?"

So they watch the video that got Google translator-failed one too many times about the climate change. And then one about assembling IKEA furniture. And making breakfast. And airplane safety instructions. And weather reports. It's a whole new kind of messy and it's awesome!

"Tomorrow I'll show you the 'I like shapes' video," Jimin promises mid-yawn. Then he's off. "Night, bro..."

 

And this is how Taehyung failed to ask about the big fish.

 

It takes him two more weeks to find a really cool spot for writing - and pondering in general - that's not fifty metres above sea level. And in town.

First he overlooked the little stilt houses at the far end of Nakseongdae's shore completely. They are no more than old fishing lodges, probably. Or are they? Damn, what did Jimin say again, did he say anything at all? Was it something about a failed attempt to attract tourism?

Anyway. They might've looked cute and inviting once, perched on the stilts almost as far out in the water as the jetty, pressed together like one long building and with a pier running all around it. But now they just look shabby and are obviously not used or maintained by anyone. 

Taehyung carefully walks down the long pier until he reaches the houses and rounds them. That's where he finds it: a secret little nook. The two huts at the ends reach further into the water than the ones in the middle, forming a U-shape. And if Taehyung sits down onto the pier there, he's got a free view onto the open sea with nobody seeing him.

It takes him less than five minutes to decide this is going to become his little spot. Already he settles down and whips out his notebook. Just in case inspiration hits him. Because here it feels like it could. It feels very possible here. Which in itself is a wonderful and liberating thing.

The water gurgles where it splashes against the stilts. Above him, a seagull cries out before it flies away.

Yes, Taehyung thinks. This is it.

 

The day passes without him noticing. Taehyung is too busy watching boats drive by in the distance, listening to the water right beneath him and penning down random words and phrases. It's not much, and not very good either but it's all the time better than nothing at all. Than staring at a blank page. Maybe this pier can become his sanctuary.

And then the sun is already setting and he has to hurry to get back before dinner.

 

Something, he doesn't know what, keeps him from telling Jimin about his new discovery. But one thing is for sure: tomorrow he'll pack his breakfast and bring it to the pier. And then he'll stay there all day long. Yeah.

 

Said as done.

On today's menu is egg toast sandwich, which is conveniently easy to pack up for later. Taehyung is up and off in record time. Can't wait to get back to his spot.

The weather is amazing too, giving his steps a slight bounce as he makes his way down the hill, past the wet docks and then some further down the road.

Trusting the old wooden planks much more than yesterday he jogs down the pier, rounds the huts and flops down. The sun is already high up in the spotless blue spring sky, waves twinkling like myriads of gemstones. Taehyung sighs. So pretty.

He slips out of his jacket to put it on the floor like a makeshift pillow, then gets out his breakfast. Big ships pass by in the far distance, just shy off the horizon. Mighty container ships, and what looks like one of those giant cruise liners the size of a small city. And, a lot closer, the town's fish trawlers. On one of them must be Jimin now. But they are too far away for Taehyung to make out any details let alone crew members.

A cheeky seagull tries and fails to steal his breakfast. 

"Too slow," he mocks the bird, takes another bite, then another and the sandwich is gone.

The seagull gives him a judging stare. With a loud shriek, it heads off. And it's then that Taehyung hears some lighter much more subdued chirping. He cranes his neck, searching the underside of the huts' roofs until he finds it: there, not too far away from him he can make out the vague shape of what must be a swallow's nest. Cute. Swallows are lovely.

The day keeps getting better and better.

Taehyung gets out one of the apples and crunches away on it while warm sunlight falls onto his face. Hah, nice. Now he just has to put all these soft and fuzzy feelings inside him into words. Hm.

He leans down, has to flop onto his stomach to reach the water and wash the juice off his hands. It's... warm? Maybe not 'I'm gonna jump in right now and never come out'-warm but definitely a lot less bitingly cold than he assumed. Given that nobody is ever taking a dip anywhere, and all that. He chews on his lip while his hands slowly dry. No, the water temperature can't be the reason for that weird swimming ban. 

How very strange.

He shrugs.

Whatever.

And then, because the shimmering green little waves look just way too enticing, Taehyung gets out of his shoes and socks. And, one at a time, carefully dangles his feet into the clear water.

He smiles, eyes slipping shut on their own accord as he turns his face back into the sun. Tiny waves playfully lap around his ankles. Finally, for the first time ever since he moved here, he's gotten into the sea. Well, part of him that is.

Bless.

The seagull from earlier returns with a piercing shriek that has the idol cracking open an eye. At least he thinks it could be the same one. A little fat, with that menacing glare as if he personally offended it. The seagull puts on a show for him, with loud shrieks and fast plunges into the water. At the third try it even catches a big fish. A too big fish, apparently, as the bird struggles to lift the whole thing out of the water. With an obnoxious splash, the fish falls back down, the seagull shrieking outraged before flying off, clearly pissed as hell.

Taehyung can't help but laugh at the scene. Not just a simple chuckle, a full belly-laugh from deep within. That stupid bird, honestly. Oh, he's going to have so much fun here. Toes wiggling happily in the water, he whips out his notebook and favourite ballpoint pen.

It's time for some productivity.

 

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Far away, in a cave nobody else knows, Jeongguk startles awake. 

There is a foot in the water.

When was the last time a human put a foot in his waters? Must've been decades ago by now, if not more.

He uncurls his tail and stretches, tips of his fins quivering.

Oh, how peculiar. A human in the water, even partly, is such a rarity. For the people living at the coast know of the dangers lying beneath the enticing blue surface. Know of the strong tides, sharp rocks, occasional sharks. Of his kind. And tourists, they usually listen to the signs no doubt lining the shores and forbidding them to go into the water.

But this human  there, he must've either missed them or didn't care. Jeongguk can still feel the toes wiggling miles away. Not an accident, then.

And he knows, technically that it's a stupid idea. Seokjin would hit him on the back of his head for such a dumb idea. Humans are dangerous. Spiteful, and greedy, and so many other bad things.

Yet Jeongguk can't help but wonder about that human who is playing in the water without a worry. It's been so long since he's last seen one up close. And living on his own he can only do so much to kill time. 

Taking a quick glance wouldn't hurt anyone. Right?

He's a fast swimmer. If there is anything suspicious going on, he'll be out of the bay in no time. But that location... Jeongguk's senses branch out again. It's so remote. Far away from the boats, from the vibrations of other humans walking around. As if that one wants to be alone. One lone human is not a risk, unless it's a trap.

Intrigued, Jeongguk makes his way over to Nakseongdae. It's bittersweet just thinking of that name.

He cuts through the familiar waters with ease, strong tail beating and propelling him forward faster than whales and dolphins, much faster than a human could ever hope. All the time he senses those feet splashing in the water. Jeongguk hurries even more, doesn't want to miss the chance now that he made up his mind.

The feet are still there when he reaches Nakseongdae, his stomach almost touching the rocky ground with how low he keeps himself, slinking from shadow to shadow. Out of sight from prying eyes of the locals.

He stares in something not unlike wonder as he finally spots the limbs that woke him up earlier. Strong, golden brown legs, big feet with toes curling around water. A young man, probably.

Most likely, as a warm hearty laugh sounds from above, loud enough to hear even beneath the surface. Unmistakeably male. 

Something pierces the water and Jeongguk flinches, turns around to see a seagull diving down. They make brief eye contact before the bird is already gone, fleeing. Just like most of the smaller fish that scuttled away upon Jeongguk's arrival. Away from the apex predator of the sea.

Only the feet didn't retreat yet. 

How strange, Jeongguk muses. With how close he is being to the human, even with the pier's shadow covering him there is no way he is not clearly visible from above. As something unnaturally big lurking under the surface. The toes are still wiggling and so he watches, entranced. He so seldom gets the chance to watch up close, especially humans that aren't stricken with fear.

It's refreshing. Nice, almost.

Maybe that human is blind? Maybe that's why he hasn't reacted yet - and walked past any warning signs.

Jeongguk waits until the feet go still and then, with a big stretch, comes up to experimentally nip at one of the big toes.

 

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Taehyung shrieks.

Something just touched his foot. And it was not a stray algae.

, , -

There is... oh, ohohoho, that's one massive thing in the water. Like, huge!

He starts kicking aimlessly, yelping as he hits something sturdy that's most definitely alive, holy , and it didn't feel like fish scales-

He's not ready to die yet. With a loud splash, Taehyung gets his feet out of the water and onto the dry wooden planks next to him. His heart is galloping so hard he can feel it in his whole body.

What the was that?

Okay, deep breaths.

Whatever is down there can not possibly get up here.

...Right?

Whatever is down there...

Against better knowledge, Taehyung tries to get a better look at that big something. It doesn't move like a fish, not entirely. Almost looks like... are those, human arms?

No. No way. That'd be ridiculous. But then what...?

The waves make it difficult to see anything else than a whole lot of a distorted whatever. All Taehyung can tell is that it doesn't have a shark fin peaking out of the water. And that's good. No shark is. Great.

With that possibility ruled out, how dangerous can it be, really?

Hoseok would probably have his head if he were here. But he's not, and that means there is no one stopping Taehyung from laying on his stomach, knuckles white where he grips the wooden edge, and taking a deep, deep breath.

Oh.

He should've probably seen it coming but it still hits him full force how disorienting it is to dunk your head into the sea. So it takes him a moment to figure out what he sees.

Or better, who.

Because he certainly wasn't prepared to come face-to-face with such a stunning young man. He is, for a lack of better words, ethereal. Taehyung doesn't even know how to compute what he sees, where to look first. At the big dark eyes lined with little specks, the strong eyebrows, the long hair floating around the face, or the-

Holy . Are those... gills?

Taehyung gasps, remembering too late where he is. The sea water doesn't need a second invitation and already rushes into his mouth and down his throat.

.

He pulls back up, vision blurring as he keeps choking and spitting out salty water. It takes him a hot minute to recover from the shock. Choking in the sea is no fun, man. But eventually, his breath evens out and his chest stops heaving violently.

And Taehyung is giddy. Before he can think better of it, he inhales deeply and dives back down.

The beautiful stranger is still there, staring up to him as if he waited for Taehyung to get back. This time, Taehyung notices the huge fish tail behind him. And what a sight it is.

Curious, he loosens his hold onto the pier and stretches out a tentative hand. Wants to see whether or not he's dreaming. Part of him argues that no, he could not make this up if he tried. But the other part is sceptical and still reeling in disbelief. 

Until his fingertips brush against cool yet nonetheless real skin.

That's when he starts to believe his eyes. 

Taehyung smiles.

 

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Jeongguk is frozen on the spot. 

In bafflement he watches a brilliant smile stretching over the human's face. He doesn't dare breathing as the hand caresses his cheek, touch so tender it has Jeongguk's eyes stinging.

They stare at each other for a little eternity, until the human has to get back up for air. As soon as he's gone, Jeongguk already misses him.

But there, a hand in the water. Pointing to a spot amidst the stilts that seems to be the centre of the whole formation. An even more secluded area, protected from prying eyes with stilts on three sides and the open sea in Jeongguk's back.

Still shaken by the complete lack of fear on the human's face, Jeongguk watches him getting out of the water completely. And next thing he knows, there are unmistakable vibrations of the man walking over the planks, stilts shaking from his energetic jog. Then the water shifts once more, two now familiar legs making a reappearance at the spot where the human pointed to.

Jeongguk hesitates.

How are the odds this is a trap? 

Silly, he scolds himself. One human is no match for you. 

But one can never be too careful. So after waiting a little while, he slowly follows the human - fingertips tingling with the ocean's power at the ready, should he need it.

Minutes pass where he hovers in front of the legs, not sure what to expect. As the man doesn't dunk his head back into the water again, Jeongguk has to make a decision. It goes against everything he's taught as his tail shifts and pushes him up, up, up, until his head breaches the water surface. He blinks against the brightness above sea level, gills twitching in dry air while he adjusts himself. Ugh. That's why he never dives up.

The human, with the warmest voice and most captivating smile then greets him.

"Hello there," he says.

Jeongguk can only stare.

The smile widens. "My name is Taehyung. And I promise I won't bite. How about you?"

"...Jeongguk."

Taehyung perches the chin on his hands and tries out the taste of the name.

"Jeongguk."

The way he says it sounds so much sweeter than he ever heard it before. A shy smile tugs at Jeongguk's mouth.

At that, the human's expression turns almost dreamy.

"You are the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen."