The sea pushed the small 30 meter yacht with sails back and forth as Jin looked out forlornly at the horizon. He woke up early enough to watch the sun rise but he didn’t feel like he could enjoy it. The loneliness was refreshing but he still felt a dull ache in his chest at the thought of his life back on land. How could Jin enjoy something so pretty if his own life was so bleak. No girlfriend (she cheated on him all throughout the relationship). No friends (those he used to call his friends only used him for money). No job (Jin never counted the fact that he was to become the CEO of his dad’s company as a real job). He had nothing but his new yacht and a month’s supply of food to rely on (of course he also had money). Just thinking about his life back home made his heart throb even more. He had cried himself to sleep last night and didn’t need more of that right now. He was trying to forget about his life.

Jin needed to hit the reset button and that was why he decided to buy a yacht and sail into the sea. No one could ask him for anything now. No one could even talk to him now. Jin was truly alone for the first time in his whole life and it was refreshing despite the dull ache he was feeling. At some point during the day, Jin found himself nursing a bottle of champagne while reading on the patio. The light buzz of the champagne made his heartache feel more manageable and the book took his mind off of almost everything. Of course, it didn’t always help but he was quick to take another swig of the champagne and keep reading when his mind strayed too much. Every three or so minutes he would stop and look out at the endless ocean around him. Deep down he knew that in theory he should be en route to Japan but he found the constant view of deep blue water both disorienting and beautiful. The empty water around him was also unnerving at times as he couldn’t see the end of it and it sometimes felt like it would never end. He preferred the feeling of being stuck at sea forever to seeing sailors glare at him or try to talk to him. At one point, he stopped reading to watch as a pod of dolphins hunted for fish. They squealed and swam around swarms of fish, all while jumping in and out of the water. He walked towards the back of his yacht where he could easily access the water and dipped his legs in, imagining that he was in fact swimming with the dolphins. He couldn’t do that though. He needed to stay on board to man the ship. Plus, who knew what else was in the ocean. Jin didn’t want to have to brave them.

A small laugh left Jin’s lips. He was finally able to do exactly what he wanted and here he was, worried about some dumb unknown. Jin laughed louder and harder than he had in a long time while watching the dolphins, he felt a new sense of freedom that he has never felt before. Even with all the pain he was still working through, he somehow found something he could laugh over and it was something as dumb as a small fear. He laughed harder, tears now leaking from his eyes. The emptiness of the world around him seemed to consume his laugh and Jin kept supplying it until his voice grew raw from all the laughing. A slow moving piece of driftwood made him stop in his tracks. Maybe it was the two bottles of champagne he had or maybe it was the hysteria he was clearly experiencing but Jin thought he saw a person laying on the driftwood. They were draped over the driftwood, their clothes barely hanging onto them. He could have sworn he even saw some bit of movement as well.

There was no way that someone could be adrift so far from land though, right? Of course not. It has to just be some fabric or something that just so happened to look humanoid because of the angle he was sitting at and the amount of champagne he has drunk. 

But Jin wasn’t hallucinating. 

When Jin stood up, he could clearly see a frail looking woman lying on the driftwood, her spine looking painfully poignant from what Jin could see. Her hair looked matted and her clothes were horribly torn up. Jin wouldn’t be surprised if they were only on her now because of dried salt water. How could she have possibly gotten this far from land? Was there some sort of ship wreck that happened that Jin didn't know about? If there was, why hadn’t he heard it on his radio?

"Ya! Do you need help?" Jin yelled out but the woman barely stirred. 

Jin sighed. Of course she didn’t stir. Why would she? She was obviously not moving. What was Jin supposed to do now? 

He looked around in hopes of something being able to help him but couldn't find anything. Not even the bouy that he knew was somewhere on his yacht. He didn’t even know how she would use the buoy since she was unconscious. There was nothing that he could see that could really help him get her closer, and the water was still so neither one of them would be moving anytime soon. 

Jin sighed again and took off his shirt, but he stalled before actually jumping in. What if there was a shark in the water that was waiting for him to get in? What if there was a large man eating squid? He shook his head. If other animals were okay living in the water, he could bare it for however long it would take to get the woman onto his yacht. She could die out there and Jin didn’t think anyone deserved to die alone. With a sharp breath in, Jin dove into the water, his body immediately seizing in shock of the cold. He took a second to try and adjust to the cold that nipped at him. It felt nice when he dipped his feet in earlier but just under the surface it was ice cold and felt as if it was getting colder by the second.

Despite the cold, Jin surged forward, quickly swimming the seven meters to the woman and grabbing onto the driftwood she was laying on. The wood dug into his hands uncomfortably but Jin didn’t let go, wanting to work as fast as possible to get this woman onto his yacht. It took Jin almost five minutes to get back to the yacht and another five to somehow get the woman onto the yacht and in a warm spot (which so happened to be his seat on the upper level). He ran off after that, gathering blankets, spare clothes, water, and food before making his way back to the woman. By this time, Jin had sobered up severely, no longer stumbling while trying to get the needed supplies and mind more focused on helping the woman. While Jin carefully wrapped some of his blankets around her, she started to stir. Momentarily, Jin panicked. How was he supposed to talk to her once she woke up? Would she scream and be scared for her life being around a man? Would she even know who she was? Before he could panic for long, her eyes were opening and Jin was quick to offer her some warm water.

“We are probably two or three days away from Japan’s coast. I can drop you off there if you want.” Jin started slowly, over enunciating every word as he spoke, “My name is Kim Seokjin. I found you in the water. I rescued you. I will take care of you until we get to the coast of Japan.” 

Jin felt proud of being able to say everything he needed to so well with her only for it to be shattered when she opened and all that came out was a shrill shriek, her brows furrowed in confusion and head tilted ever so slightly. He was shocked by her actions. He suspected that she would do something like that but he didn’t actually think she would. Let alone one so high pitched and painful to listen to.

The next thing that he realized was that she didn’t know Korean.

Jin tried speaking in his limited Japanese.

That didn’t work either. She simply furrowed her brows and tilted her head to one side.

Jin tried five other asian languages he could access on his phone through some random translating app. 

Those didn’t work. The woman simply tilted her head to one side and furrowed her brows at Jin in a questioning manner. 

In the end, it became dark and cold as a storm started brewing and Jin ushered her inside the yacht before calling it a night himself. Jin was exhausted. He originally wanted to sip his champagne and read his book but today was so much more. As soon as he fell onto his bed, he fell asleep… only to be awakened part way through the night by the boat violently rocking to and fro. The storm was getting worse and worse by the minute and Jin needed to make sure that everything was okay.

With a large yawn, Jin got up, deciding to check on the woman first. Only, she was not inside her room. After cautiously running through the whole of the yacht, Jin realized that she wasn’t even inside the yacht . Jin’s heart started to speed up, he only met her recently but he knew that he didn’t want her to get hurt. He hated the idea of anyone getting hurt.

A gasp left him when he looked out the window and saw her leaning against a railing, her arms wide as if to embrace something as water sprayed her and the deck. Jin ran out as quickly as he possibly could, becoming soaked almost as soon as he stepped out. The yacht rocking back and forth dangerously and Jin felt fear rush through his veins at the possibility of the woman or him getting hurt. His heart beat faster the closer and closer he got to the woman and consequently the closer he got to the edge of the yacht. This was very dangerous but he wouldn’t back down. The two needed to get to safety ASAP.

"You need to come back inside! It is dangerous in the storm!" Jin tried to yell over the storm, grabbing one of her arms to try to pull her back inside, his heart skipping a beat as the waves shook the yacht more.

She didn't move. 

Jin tried to pick her up but she simply gripped the rails tighter and screamed into the wind, her whole body shaking as she screamed. It shocked Jin so much that he put her down with a huff, looking around to see if there was anything that could help get her back inside. 

It was then that Jin saw a large wave grow in front of his yacht. He felt his heart stop beating at that moment. The wave kept growing and growing, teetering on crashing over both the woman and Jin. Jin hoped that the wave would break after the yacht passed, but deep down he knew that this was the end for him.

Jin wasn't making it out of this situation. 

The wave grew and grew before crashing over the yacht. Jin felt the water push all the air from his lungs as the yacht fell below him. His whole world was tilting and all that filled his ears was the sound of the woman cheering. Soon enough the yacht completely capsized and Jin felt water being forced into his lungs. The world grew silent as Jin's ears rang and his eyes stung. One moment a dull ache was growing in his chest as Jin struggled to get above water and the next he was being pulled deeper and deeper underwater, his lungs searing and ears throbbing the deeper they got. His neck started burning as his lungs felt closer and closer to bursting. Struggling for consciousness, he tried to keep swimming against whatever was dragging him down to get to the air. As the ringing in Jin's ears quieted he faintly heard a soft and soothing song and briefly looked down to see the woman he was helping pulling him deeper, jagged teeth perched in her gums as she smiled, a sickly green tail almost taunting Jin in his last moments alive. 

As Jin felt himself fade more and more into the darkness of unconsciousness, he felt comforted by the woman singing. His more lucid brain scared at this comfort.. 

Slowly though, Jin began to find consciousness again, leaning more and more into the light of life before he started to feel his back laying on some cold thing. A soft hand lightly brushed hair out of his face, the gentle sound of humming greeting his ears. Soon enough he realized that he was in fact floating, his back hitting the cold surface every once in a while. Jin felt ten times lighter and it was one of the most relaxing feelings Jin had felt up until that moment. The weightless sensation soothed him instantly and soon enough the noise of someone full on singing started to fill his ears once again. This time the voice seemed much kinder and calmer and Jin felt himself drift in and out of sleep. The world around him was warm and whoever was caring for him was being so gentle. Every touch felt feather light, almost as if there was no one touching him at all. A sigh escaped his lips when he felt a soft and soothing feeling rushed around his body from his neck. 

The next moment, a light giggle graced his ears, "Good morning, little human." 

"Well, he's not really a human now is he, Y/n?" A male voice said and at that Jin opened his eyes. What did this man mean that he wasn't human? 

When he opened his eyes, he immediately saw some humanoid creature with pearl white eyes and hair. The hair seemed to float lazily in the water all around her, but what caught his attention most of all were the dark navy feather like limbs that seemed to surround her like a dress, the feathers rising up and gently flowing down as if to keep her where she is. The feathers seem to simultaneously absorb light and reflect light as it shimmered with each small movement she made and from the lack of limbs below her waist. Before Jin could even think of the idea is absurd, the idea of those feathers being her legs crossed his mind.

The next thing that he noticed was the porous brown rock that seemed to make up the walls, a fine dusting of sand covering it all. One whole side of the room seemed to be filled with thin, flat rocks that jutted out, small containers of who-knows-what resting on them. Algae tinted the floors a deep green and Jin had no doubt that if he walked on them it would feel like slimy moss. When Jin looked down he saw that he was in fact laying on some light grey stone slab. Although … he felt more shock when he saw a tail covering him from the waist down. It was an iridescent silver and seemed to wind up part of his belly too.

How did he have no legs?

At that, he let out a loud scream which scared him even more as water started to flow into his mouth and nose. Only the water didn't hurt and he barely noticed any sort of pain around it too. 

The woman shushed him, her hand gently rubbing up and down Jin's back, "You're ok. You're a siren now. The curse of the siren happens to all who interact with a siren for too long. I imagine this is hard to understand but we are here to help you through the adjustment. My name is Y/n, I am a sea witch, and this is Namjoon, a siren." 

Namjoon looked more like what Jin imagined a siren would look like. A deep, royal purple tail with two matching fins rising from the tail. His skin was a caramel tan, his short hair gently swaying with the water, and an awkward smile greeting Jin when he looked over.

"What is your name? I highly doubt that you would like to be called human." Y/n smiled gently at Jin, and he looked over at her, feeling somewhat intimidated by her as her pearl white eyes disappeared due to her smile. 

"K-K-Kim Seokjin... but I go by Jin." He managed to stutter out, quickly looking around the room to see what else there is to it all.

"Well Jin..." Namjoon cleared his throat and moved closer to Jin, "Let me show you how to swim, that way you don't need one of us to help you around all the time. You'll be staying with us until you are properly able to live on your own. We also want to apologize for the criminal who you tried to save trying to kill you."

"C-Criminal?" Jin asked, eyes wide. When did he meet a criminal?

"The siren you brought onto your floating device. She killed a human and a siren. She was banished from the siren realm and yet when she cursed you, she seemed to be able to become a siren herself again.

"We are sorry about the criminal again. If we saw your floating device earlier we would have released her in another area." Y/n spoke again, this time helping Jin up, "Now Namjoon is going to teach you the basics of movement."