Jonghyun loved the ocean. Everyday he would hop on his bicycle and peddle down to the beach, breathing in the sea air and listening to the sound of waves crashing against water and rocks.

Part of the reason he loved the ocean so much was because his father owned a fish shop in town. He would help his father catch fish sometimes, but he only did it to ride on the boat and watch the blue water sparkle in the light from the sun. He's lived his whole life in the Kingdom of Shawol, and it is currently the only Kingdom surrounded by sea. His best friend, Minho, didn't understand his fascination with the ocean, but thankfully he still put up with it. Minho would normally accompany him on his bike rides by the sea, and he's glad his friend doesn't push too much about his obsession with the ocean.

One day, as the two rode on the hills by the sea, Jonghyun swore he saw a glimmer of something in the water. He stopped his bike, staring at the water below and looking for that shimmer of light that passed his eyes just moments before.

And just as quick as it was there - it was gone.

"Hurry up! I have to help my dad with the horses!" Minho groaned when his friend stopped.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Jonghyun snapped back at him, taking one last look at the perfect blue water before peddling up to his friend. He would come back another time and figure out what that light was.

Three weeks. It took Jonghyun three weeks before he discovered the source of the odd shimmer in the water that day.

He decided today he would walk on the beach instead of peddling on the hills where he saw the shimmer, grinning at the feeling of the white sand between his toes and the sound of the crashing waves. He kept his eyes peeled, staring at the moving water from behind the sunglasses he wore.

"There it is," He whispered to himself, seeing the brief shimmer of light just below the surface of the water, following the direction it went in.

He ran over to a group of rocks, his eyes widening at the creature that stared back at him.

It was beautiful, that was his first thought. The creature hid shyly behind the large rock, holding onto it with a white knuckles, its eyes wide and seemingly afraid.

It looked like it was about to swim away, but Jonghyun was quick, "Wait! I won't hurt you, I promise."

The creature took in a sharp gasp, and Jonghyun took in its very human appearance.

The pink, scaly tail that moved with the current, however, was far from human.

"Oh my God, you're a mermaid." Jonghyun took in a surprised breath.

The creature looked annoyed, "Merman,"

"What?" Jonghyun stared wide eyed at the creature.

"I'm a merman, not a mermaid. I'm a boy, not a girl." The boy snapped at him, and Jonghyun chuckled at it's cute, puffed out cheeks.

"You can speak to me," Jonghyun said, surprised.

"Of course I can, I'm not stupid." The boy snapped again.

"Are you real?" Jonghyun asked him.

"Yes, I'm real!" The boy yelled, and Jonghyun suddenly realized he didn't know the boy's name.

"My name is Jonghyun, what's yours?" He asked, wading into the water.

The boy moved back a little, "Kibum."

"Have you been here long? Are you the light I saw a few weeks ago?" Jonghyun asked Kibum.

"I," Kibum paused, "I have been here for a while."

Jonghyun noticed the sad look in his new friend's eyes, "Is something wrong?"

That was when Jonghyun noticed the gash near the boy's ribcage, "You're hurt."

"No, I'm just wading around in the shallows because I thought it'd be fun." Kibum told him sarcastically.

"It's preventing you from going home, isn't it?" Jonghyun asked him.

Kibum looked out at the ocean with a sad look on his face, "I can't dive into the deep waters like this. I have to wait for it to heal, but," He trailed off.

"What, did something happen to it?" Jonghyun asked him.

"A boat came by, thought I was a good catch," Kibum narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular, "I got caught in a net, and getting out of it aggravated the wound."

Jonghyun suddenly never wanted to go on his father's boat ever again, "Let me help you," He moved closer to the boy, who looked slightly fearful and moved back.

"Please, my mother is a nurse," Jonghyun said gently, "I have a bit of an idea on what to do."

He removed his shirt, and Kibum scoffed at him, "That's your great idea, take off your shirt?"

"Shut up," Jonghyun told him, slightly annoyed. He tore his shirt up a bit, his eyes asking Kibum to trust him when he moved forward. Thankfully, Kibum sighed and let him try. Jonghyun wrapped his shirt around Kibum's wound, tying it to try and stop the slight bleeding.

"I can bring some ointment for it tomorrow, if you want." Jonghyun told him.

"Would it help?" Kibum asked, not exactly sure what was in this ointment of Jonghyun's.

"It should. It has herbs and medicine that help heal wounds like that." Jonghyun said.

"Where would you get this?" Kibum asked him.

"I can nick some from my mom's stores, no big deal, she makes it all the time." Jonghyun smiled.

"Can you bring a few other things with you, if you're going to come back tomorrow?" Kibum asked him, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Yeah, what do you want? Oh God, you're probably starving, huh? I can bring you some food now, if you want!"

"Don't worry about that today," Kibum stopped him from going on a rant, "I had a few fish today, I'm good for now. But if you could bring something tomorrow, it would save a lot of energy for me."

"I can do that. Fish? My dad has a fish store, I'll bring you some." Jonghyun told him.

"Could you bring some of what you have on you?" Kibum asked, having noticed the humans he saw wearing these odd things on their bodies.

"You mean clothes?" Jonghyun asked him, looking down at his pants.

"Is that what you call this?" Kibum took a bit of the fabric of Jonghyun's pants between his fingers, "It feels funny. Why do you have it on you?"

"To, you know," Jonghyun blushed a little, "Cover up what's down there and stuff."

KIbum tilted his head to the side, "Down there?"

"You know," Jonghyun coughed slightly, "Your...baby maker."

"Oh, that." Kibum laughed, "Why do you cover it? Doesn't it just blend in?"

Jonghyun's eyes went wide, and he avoided looking at the other male's tail.

"Well, I would assume merpeople have a bit different uh, ia, and, so it's a little different on land, I suppose." Jonghyun stuttered out.

"If you say so, Jonghyun." Kibum smirked, "But bring what you would have, okay?"

"Can I ask why?" Jonghyun asked curiously.

"You'll see. Meet me here tomorrow, okay?" Kibum grinned.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Jonghyun smiled, awkwardly waving before treading back to the sand and back to his bike to ride home.

The next day, Jonghyun was surprised to find a very human looking Kibum lying in the sand, hidden where they met the day before.

"It looks different," Kibum mused, looking curiously at his new friend.

"Did you bring what I asked?" Kibum asked him.

"Yeah, yeah it's right here, here." Jonghyun handed him a pair of pants, looking away as the boy figured out how to put them on. He also smiled when he noticed his torn up t-shirt still tied around the merman's chest.

"Are you more comfortable, now?" Kibum asked when he finally figured out how to put the pants on.

"Yeah, sorry." Jonghyun smiled sheepishly.

"Here, let me put this on for you." Jonghyun took his t-shirt off of the boy's chest, taking the necessary supplies to clean the wound out before he put the ointment on.

"This may sting," Jonghyun said, "Actually, it will sting."

Kibum scrunched up his nose uncomfortably as the antibiotic cleaned out his wound, but sighed in relief when the ointment was spread across it. A sweet, cool sensation filled the pained area when the ointment was put on. Jonghyun smiled as he noticed his friend relax a bit, carefully wrapping the bandages he took from his mom's supplies around his friend's torso.

"There, that should be good for a while." Jonghyun grinned as it handiwork.

"It feels great!" Kibum grinned, "It's better already, I can feel it! How did you do that?"

"I don't really know, my mom makes the stuff, I just use it." Jonghyun rubbed the back of his neck.

"Here's a shirt, by the way." Jonghyun held out a green shirt to the male.

"By the way, how old are you?" Jonghyun asked.

"Physically? Eighteen." Kibum told him as he fiddled with the arm holes.

"What do you mean physically?" Jonghyun asked him.

"Well, from what I've been taught, merpeople age slower than humans. I think it's five times slower than humans, actually. I'm actually ninety years old, but I have the mentality of a human teenager, I think." Kibum explained, "I don't really know; you're the first human I've ever actually encountered. But my teachers and the elders have told us stories of the humans. You're a lot different than what I've been taught."

"How so?" Jonghyun asked curiously.

"Well for one you didn't kill me on the spot." Kibum looked grateful for this.

"Also, you don't carry around pitch forks and ride horses. At least, I don't think that thing you were riding was a horse, I've been told that a horse is a large land mammal that walks on four legs."

"No, that's my bike." Jonghyun pointed at the red bicycle, "It's a man-made invention. For transportation."

"Ahh, I see. It's been quite a while since our people have interacted with yours, though, so it's understandable if there are some changes." Kibum said, sighing.

"I've always wondered what it was like to walk on legs, but I'm a bit scared. That's why I waited for you." He smiled shyly at his new friend.

"How did you get legs?" Jonghyun inquired.

"I'm from a special line of merpeople that have the ability to walk on land," Kibum explained, "I have to dry off completely before they appear, though. I've never had the opportunity to try it out, since I'm normally with my parents or one of the elders who tell me it isn't safe."

"I'll keep you safe," Jonghyun promised his new friend.

"Did you want to go see the town?" Jonghyun asked.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that yet." Kibum stammered out, nervous enough as it is.

"Could you help me up?" Kibum asked.

"Here," Jonghyun stood, holding his hands out for Kibum to take.

"You can call me Key, by the way. All my friends do." Kibum, Key, smiled as he stood on shaky legs.

"Wow," He muttered, walking cautiously along the beach.

Jonghyun was glad he was the one that helped Kibum walk on two legs for the first time.

"Your wound seems to be healed now," Jonghyun smiled sadly, "I guess that means you have to go back, huh?"

Key looked at the water sadly, "The thing is, Jonghyun...I don't really wanna go back now....not without you."

"What do you mean?" Jonghyun looked at Key longingly.

"I mean, I think I've fallen in love with you." Key told him.

"Really?" Jonghyun grinned, "Because I think I've fallen in love with you, too."

The two grinned at each other, and Jonghyun held onto Key as they sat on the beach, watching the waves crash on the rocks.

He didn't regret when they had a very intimate moment together a few weeks later, and when he found out that Key's special land walking abilities also granted him the ability to bear children, he didn't even question it. They got married not long after their first romantic evening, Jonghyun's parents and friends excited that he found love in this new person that seemed to pop into their lives. They hadn't exactly told anyone of Key's fishy abilities just yet.

A few months later, their first little miracle came into the world, and Jonghyun couldn't deny that his little boy had one hell of a set of lungs on him. Their little baby, Jinki, only cried that hard when he was born. Aside from that night, Jinki seemed to be an easy baby, always happy and excited.

While he aged slowly, it wasn't as slow as Kibum. The little family lived a secluded life on an island off the shore of Shawol, so no one questioned why their son wasn't developing as quickly as most babies.

While Jinki didn't seem to develop as much in his human state, the second they took him into the water he zipped around, his green tail flapping around wildly as it tried to balance itself in the water. Jinki talked just as much as any other baby, but even more so in the water.

Jonghyun found out that Key came from a royal family, and this is why he could walk on land. These royal powers also gave him the chance to slow down the aging of his husband, and to allow him to become like Jinki - half merman.

So Jonghyun was there when he and his husband helped their little boy swim for the first time, his blue tail shimmering in the light of the water around them.

Jonghyun also found out that his husband could only go so long without checking into the royal family, and a few years later when their second miracle, a precious little boy they named Taemin, was starting to swim, the family had to travel deep into the waters to meet Key's family.

Jonghyun had Jinki swimming above his back with his son's arms around his neck, watching Key with Taemin in front of them in the same position, Taemin's yellow tail flapping eagerly in the water.

Well, they certainly are a colorful family, no one could deny that.

"Fast, umma, fast!" Taemin chirped out, Jonghyun never really understanding how he learned the different chirps and clicks of the merpeople language so fast.

"Not now, Taeminnie. Umma will go faster later, I promise." Key patted Taemin's hands lightly as they swam to the wall of the mer-kingdom.

"We're here, Jonghyun." Key said shakily.

"Everything will be fine, Key." Jonghyun swam up to his husband, seeing the frightened eyes of the teenager he saw the first day they met.

Jonghyun never admitted to Key that he was probably way more nervous than his husband was when he first met his in-laws.

"You married a human?" Jonghyun shielded his sons' ears from the shouts of his mother-in-law, whispering sweet nothings to them as he watched the scene fold out in front of him.

"I love him, mother. We have two beautiful sons, and I love him." Key told his mother with an air of confidence.

"They are half human!" She muttered disgusted, "Do you not worry what he might do to them?"

"Does it look like he would hurt them? How dare you even think that!" Key glared at his mother.

The current Queen looked over at her son-in-law, watching as her two grandsons swam around him playfully, Jonghyun trying to distract his sons from the fighting going on.

"Gotcha!" Jonghyun laughed when he held Taemin close to his chest, the toddler's giggles acting as music to his ears. Even under water Taemin had a musical laugh.

"Up! Up!" Taemin demanded, and Jonghyun chuckled at the fact that Taemin was definitely his mother's son. He told Taemin as gently as possible that they couldn't play the Up, Up game underwater, because when he tossed Taemin up, he wouldn't come back down.

"Up, Up when home?" The toddler asked, his lips forming a pout that no one could resist.

"Yes, we'll play Up, Up when we go home. Appa promises." Jonghyun smiled, kissing the top of his youngest son's head.

"Appa, appa!" And suddenly Jonghyun's attention was also on his oldest son, and he entertained them both as best he could while under the hard stare of his mother-in-law.

And that was how he won over the King and Queen of the merpeople. It was the most nerve wracking thing Jonghyun has ever done.

Sometimes, Jonghyun watches his sons play or swim, and he wonders what would have happened if he hadn't been so curious about that shimmer in the water when he was nineteen. Sometimes he wonders what would have happened to him if he hadn't met Key. Would he have married the girl from the town that everyone said had a crush on him? Would he have become a fisherman like his father, and unknowingly harm a mermaid or merman like someone did to Key all those years ago?

And then, he looks at his sons and at his husband, and he knows he if he could go back to that day he saw the shimmer in the water, he wouldn't change a thing.