“WHY!” Baekhyun threw off all the items from his desk. They shattered, cracked and dented from the sudden action. Baekhyun kicked the stool near his desk and stomped on it repetitively, vexed by the fact that their raid was of no use. “I’ll get her; I know they’re hiding her somewhere!” He continued his horrific rage.

The king of the sirens watched Baekhyun soundlessly. Sehun just remained standing in the corner of the room, also watching how Baekhyun shred sheets of paper.

“So the mission was a fail.” It was more of a statement than a question. Luhan sighed, obviously disappointed in his men, “I thought you two had it under control?”

Baekhyun dropped the vase he was about to pelt against the wall and faced Luhan, sorrowful. “Yeah, we did until we realised they put her into hiding.”

“Hmmm, that is a problem.” Luhan thought to himself but he just shrugged a while after as a big smile stretching over his lips. “Let’s play Monopoly!” He proposed gleefully, clapping with a beam.

Baekhyun gaped at the king, bemused to the limit. “Y-you want to play Monopoly now?”

“Sure, why not.” Luhan left his throne briefly and returned with a slim box, labelled with bold letters ‘MONOPOLY’. He plopped onto the floor, unpacking the game set and adjusting his silk robe before he smiled up at Sehun. “Wanna play?”

“Ahhhh, no thank you.” He rejected.

“Are you sure?” Luhan’s voice reached a pitch higher while he batted his lashes.

“Yes your highness.” Sehun replied promptly.

“Baekhyun?” The young king circled his head at his direction, “Play with me.” He dead-panned.

Sehun snickered and Baekhyun had no other choice but to join the royal.

Despite the innocent-looking and young appearance of the king, he was deadly. He took his harmless look as an advantage. His eyes were a glazed red and on his cheek was a black, metallic tattoo that was similar to a brief outline of a dragon.

“HEY! You’re on my property, pay up!” Luhan extended his palm.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, grumpily slapping a 50 dollar bill into Luhan’s hand. Luhan snatched the note, kissing it and placing it into his money pile. “Go Baekkie~” He cooed.

Sehun didn’t bother to stifle his laughter anymore, just watching them was hilarious.

“Shut up!” Baekhyun roared.

--

In the middle of the night, Hanbyul tip-toed over the other slaves and headed outside. The cold breeze greeted her and she outstretched her arms, feeling the air sift between her fingers. The wind whispered a soft melody into her ears and she smiled. The difference of being on land was that she felt more free on the surface. She didn’t suffocate from the heavy pressure of being under water.

She couldn’t see Lay since the slaves were separated by their genders and slept in different huts. It was annoying since she wanted to be in Lay’s presence and watch over him, especially since he was the prince of the mermen.

“What are you doing here?” A very familiar voice snapped her from her thoughts. Hanbyul cursed inwardly and titled her head to the side to see a dark silhouette against the grass. The figure stepped into the light and something in Hanbyul cracked.

“Slaves shouldn’t be out at this hour.” He spoke seriously.

Hanbyul dumbly nodded and swivelled the other direction. She couldn’t face him properly without being reminded of a certain someone.

Kai raised a brow at her. Judging from her tense posture, he knew that she was uncomfortable being around but Kai was used to the treatment; many people were in his presence. He scanned her waves of silver hair down towards her bare feet. She didn’t shiver in the wind, which was quite absurd since it was freezing outside.

“You have strange hair colour.” He said out innocently, not meaning to be offending. He was genuinely curious.

Hanbyul nodded again, without a word escaping her lips.

“Y