"I'm Tae Min, nice to meet you."

"T-tae Min? Like...the long lost-"

"Prince? Yup." He sighed and leaned his head back against the water. "Well, at least someone remembers me..."

"Er...sorry to be rude, uh, your highness, but why are you in the...lake...?"

"You should just call me Tae Min. There's no reason to be formal with me since I'm not really royalty anymore. And to answer your question, this is why."

He dove into the water and a large shimmering white tail appeared. After a moment, he came back up and swam closer to shore, resting his head on his arms while laying on his stomach, his tail only partly submerged.

"WHOA...mermaid...you...what?!" I inched closer, not realizing how close I had gotten to him.

"Technically, I'm a merman...but since I'm banished and cursed for being too pretty I might as well be..." He looked down, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. I couldn't argue that he was in fact really pretty, but he didn't really look like a girl...not exactly, at least.

"I'm sorry! I was just...shocked. I mean, I guess since you live in water, I should have figured that out at least...but...anyways...I don't think you look like a girl..." I smiled at him, hopefully cheering him up, but he just looked up at me, resting his cheek on a now propped up hand. 

"So why are you here? I thought this place was supposed to be unreachable or something so no one would ever find me..." I felt the sadness in his voice, and my smile faded away. 

"I don't know...I wandered here while running away." I was now crouching on my knees, my face only a foot away from his. 

We sat in silence, staring at each other while leaves rustled in the breeze. He was unexpectedly un-prince like, but it seemed to fit him, even though he definitely passed as a royal with his face alone. 

"Say, if no one can supposedly find this place, can I...stay here for a while?" He blinked in suprise and pushed himself higher off the ground, bringing his tail into what could be thought of as a sitting position. 

"You're not...afraid? I mean, of staying here? In the wild?"

"Why should I be? I've lived near the woods all my life. ...Were you scared? Since you came from the city and all?"

"N-not...really...I actually don't remember much of anything before being turned into a fish, now that I think about it."

"I wonder how long it's been...I remember hearing stories about your disappearance years ago..."

"Everyone probably thinks I'm dead."

"We're not really allowed to talk about you anymore, but it's a good thing you aren't!" He beamed; what did I say to make him so happy?

"Then, will you stay here? I've been alone for way too long, probably." 

His hair, which fell a little past his shoulders, had dried from him being on the surface for so long, and was now being blown softly in all directions by the breeze. I had only just realized he was , and turned away, feeling a blush creep across my face.

"...Does that mean no?" I slowly turned back to him, careful to only look at his face. 

"Huh? No...that means...you're...you're not wearing a shirt..." I turned away again, hugging my knees to my chest.

"Good!" He splashed back into the lake, reappearing a few minutes later. "Here, have a fish! You must be hungry..."

I faced him, eyeing the squirming creature in his hands. I reached my hand out to grab it, only to be pulled closer to Tae Min.

"Promise you won't leave me?" Shocked, I nodded, and he let go, leaving me with a dead fish, and he dove back into the water. 

After preparing a small fire and gutting the fish, I leaned against a large rock, finally giving into my tiredness and hunger. The sun was already setting and a cold wind blew through the trees. I shivered as the wind picked up speed, but soon felt something drape over my shoulders.

"It feels so nice to have a reason to get out of the water!" Tae Min sat next to me, dressed in a loosely fitted shirt and shorts, and...with legs.

"Wait a second...you were just...I..." I looked at my shoulders and saw that he had put a blanket of what seemed to be translucent fish scales on them. 

"The sun set! I have legs now~" He smiled and leaned against the rock behind us. "I just can't leave this stupid place, is all."

"T-thanks..." I didn't really know what to say; this whole day was just strange. I had somehow come to accept it all, but the reality of it all was just so...weird. 

"Hye Mi! You can sleep on my shoulder if you want. It gets really cold at night, and...I haven't been with another person in ages...so..." His face turned scarlet and he fidgeted closer to me. "I don't know what it feels like to be warm anymore..."

His head was turned towards mine, and his eyes were looking into mine as if he was reading into my soul. I brought my knees up to my chest, unsure of what to do. He was, after all, a man. 

"Do you mind if I, uh, hold your hand...?" He broke eye contact and stared at my arm. Slowly, I lifted it up and he intertwined his fingers with mine. "Wow, it feels a lot nicer than I thought it would..."

He started to mumble to himself as I ate my fish. All the things I took for granted back home seemed so amazing to him, yet there was a hint of pain in how he reminisced to himself. Eventually, he fell asleep, taking my shoulder instead of lending me his. Every once in a while, his hand would twitch and tighten its grip on mine, only to release it seconds later. For someone who stayed in the water for twelve hours straight, his hands were surprisingly soft and warm. I added another piece of wood to the fire, then became lulled into a deep sleep in what seemed only moments later.