It was only 8 pm when Hongbin left. He was sad to say good bye to Taekwoon but he didn't want him to wake up late the next day. But that wasn't the only reason. Taekwoon's smile, laughter, his soft whispers, and his gentle lullabies drove him crazy. His heart felt like it could jump out of his chest any minute. This was dangerous. Now, he just wanted to go back home and sleep. Maybe his heart will calm. Maybe his feelings for Taekwoon could suddenly disappear. Like it's that easy.

"Hongbin-ya!"

He turned to the call of his name. Won swam with panic towards him. "Geez, do you ever just come talk to me for a nice chat?"

"Hongbin, listen to me. The death queen. She's coming," He paused to catch his breath,"She's coming now."

"Wait. What are you talking about? What happened?" Why is my mom coming here?"

"She's a ball of fury right now. I'm sorry Hongbin, but she found out about you and that boy. And she's not happy."

Hongbin couldn't believe his ears. His mother had found out about this. How did this happen? What am I going to do? I'm going to be banished. I'm going to be disowned. I'll have to live on my own... catch my own food... sleep on the cold, rocky ocean floors...Even dying would be the better option. He took deep breaths to ease the jumbled thoughts that swarmed his head. Just breathe, Hongbin. Maybe it's not the end... not yet.

"Okay... Won, how did this happen?"

"Hongbin... I'm so sorry. I tried to protect you--"

"It's okay, just tell me."

Won grabbed Hongbin's hand and squeezed it tightly, and Hongbin waited patiently to what he was about to say, "Your mother was looking for you... I think she said she needed you to fetch some errands. She came to me and asked where you were. I stuck to my plan I've written down for you. I said you were out with some fish and you wouldn't be back until 10. I thought she would just return home and get whatever she needed by herself like she usually does when you're not around. But she kept asking me...She had a look of panic in her eyes. I don't know what happened. She looked like she needed help. It was the first time I've ever seen her like this and I got scared. I told her you were above surface. She went looking for you and then she... saw you two together. I'm sorry Hongbin, I really am."

He head started to hurt. More questions started to invade his brain. What happened to his mother? What was this errand? He rubbed his eyes hoping all of this was just a dream. But no matter how hard he tries, he couldn't escape this reality.

"We don't have time. She's might be here any second now. You'll have to run. I'll try my best to help... and please don't get caught. I don't want to lose my best friend."

"No..."

In the distance, they heard sounds. It seemed like thunder, a dark and fearsome rumble. But Hongbin knew it wasn't thunder. He was too late and soon, he was surrounded with the half fish bodied guards and the fishes whose attention was caught by the crowd. They incased Wonshik and Hongbin in a circled and closed any gaps.

"Lee Hongbin," A shaky and cold breath called out for him. "Why?"

He knew this voice. It was the voice of his mother. She came out from the circle of armed men. His eyes widened from the look of his mother. Her posture was slouched, pale face, dark circles under bloodshot eyes, tangled hair that was messily tied into a short ponytail, and scales that didn't glisten like they used to. He was used to only seeing her strict eyes that were ready to spot any who were causing trouble and the straightened back with vocal cords that were ready to be used to boss the people of the sea. Where did that all go?

"Mom..."

"This was forbidden and you knew it. Yet, you didn't listen. You weren't there when I needed you-- when the whole city of the sea needed you. Have I raised you wrong? Now, you spend your days happily with a human when the sea is mourning. Do you know what you have done?"

Hongbin felt his eyes feel wet and he looked away. He couldn't bear the look of his mother.

"Your father... he's dying. And now he's receiving news about you and this boy. He can't die peacefully now that you've disobeyed the laws that have been with us for years and endangered our whole species. I have no other choice... but for you're crime, you are to accept your punishment."

"Wait! Don't do this. He's your own son... You can't do this!" Wonshik pleaded.

It pained Hongbin. All that was happening now was because of a simple crush, "It's okay Wonshik... I can't run away from this. This is what I get for being stupid, right?"

Wonshik pulled Hongbin towards him and grasped his body, "Please... don't do this," He whispered," Promise me, just go,"

Hongbin felt the grasp of Wonshik's arms wrapped around him. He felt his plead. Hongbin shut his eyes and knew what to do. He had to go. This was what he had to do if he wanted to see Wonshik again. "I'll do it for you."

The men pulled Wonshik away and he started flailing his limbs, trying to buy Hongbin time to escape. "Go, Hongbin!"

He started to swim. He blocked the arms of the men trying to grab onto him. When he got through the crowd he started swimming away as fast as he can. Some of the men went after him, but citizens of the sea blocked them off. They were friends Hongbin and Wonshik knew. Then he looked away. He kept swimming. He didn't know where, but he just kept going and he fought the urge to look back.

--

The sea turned a deep blue and Hongbin started to feel tired. His muscles ached with every movement and his eyes grew heavier. The adrenaline drained away and all Hongbin wanted was a comfortable spot to rest. He scanned the sea floor for potential threats and caught something from the corner of his eye. He saw a large wooden ship laying on the pale sand, part of it sank into the sand, planks of wood scattered on the ground, algae consuming the ship, and the broken windows that casted nothing but eerie shadows. "I guess this is better than nothing."

Hongbin explored the abandoned ship wreck. He ran his hand along the railings only to find dust. "I wonder how Taekwoon would react if he had to clean this boat." The corner of his mouth slightly raised, but he could feel tears forming again. He wiped away the tears and continued to find somewhere he could sleep. He found decent looking rooms but the wooden floor was unstable and he didn't want to risk the chance of dying in his sleep. Feeling desperate for sleep, he finally found a room with stable floors and luckily, there was a small bed. But there was something strange about the room. It seemed untouched. There was a small book shelf with every book tucked away with the spine facing out. The small brown desk was clean with a teal colored box neatly filled with jewels that glittered and opened letters sat on top of its surface. The white bed had a pillow and a blanket that carefully covered the bed with not a single fold or wrinkle.

Hongbin ruined the neatly made bed and flopped his head on the pillow. The pillow was surprisingly warm despite being sunk in the cold waters. But Hongbin felt something hard beneath his pillow. He slipped his hand under his pillow and felt a rectangular object. He felt something that felt like leather and he felt the folds of paper. Hongbin pulled the object out to examine it. It was a book.

He ran his fingers across the words etched into the black leather cover. The words said To Those Who Feel Lost. Hongbin opened the book to find yellowed pages with blurry and scratched out words. A picture fell out of the book as he turned each page. The picture floated to the wooden floor and he picked it up. Hongbin saw a black and white image. It was smudged in places and the corners were worn out. But he was able to make out parts of it. It was a group of people lined up together. Hongbin counted about 8 people. The background was probably when this ship was still intact. He couldn't tell which were women and which were male. Each face was scratched out by ink except for one.

Hongbin squinted to get a better look at the face. It seemed so familiar to him but the picture was to blurry for him to recognized. He flipped the picture over. There was no date of when the picture was taken. There was only these few lines that were written, We felt lost. And we fixed that. To you, who feels lost, take the risk and feel found. There is only one page left. The last page is inside the box with the jewels. Once the book is finished, you'll be found. Take the book with you and keep it safe. -M

"What is this?" Hongbin turned the picture over once again and examined it. His eyes scanned the picture and then he tucked the picture back into the book. He continued to flip through the pages and once he reached the back of the book, he found a page that was torn out. "This must be the book this person was talking about..."

He went over to the box he had seen earlier with all the jewelry and dug through it until he felt a piece of paper with jagged ends. Hongbin carefully pulled it out.

To Those Who Are Lost:

We felt lost and decided to be found.

The tail is lost and legs are found. Rough scales are gone and pale flesh was found.

From water to land,

till death, your last breath,

she'll take your hand.

Finish the book and you'll be safe and sound.

The witch loves us, so

she'll let us go.

He scratched the back of his head,"Tail to legs? Witch? This couldn't be..."

He placed the page down of the desk and stepped back. He knew exactly what this was. It was the contract. Hongbin has heard rumors about this but he never thought it was true. He didn't want to stay in this room anymore despite his tiredness. The room suddenly felt cold and he thought he heard laughter. He felt sick to the stomach and his head throbbed in pain. He had to leave.

Hongbin left the room and emptied his stomach's contents. He sat along the railings. He wanted to go home. He wanted to at least say his goodbyes to his father before his passing, but it was too late. Hongbin knew that his mother wouldn't allow it. She would be afraid that letting him see his father would anger him and make his time shorter. She wanted to let his father live as long as he can and spend the rest of his time together. If Hongbin did return home, he'd be killed, but he'd made the promise with Wonshik. It was no use returning home.

What if... I just leave? My parents would feel better.

I'm a burden to them. I'll be safe.

Wonshik will no longer worry.

I'll sign the contract.

Hongbin headed back into the room. He picked up the page and the book. "This is the best option." He gripped the end of the page tightly with shaking hands. He turned the book to the ripped out page and he fitted the page inside. The tear gleamed and was sealed together. The page returned to its home and Hongbin waited for something to happen. The sea around him turned dark and everything faded to black.

"Goodnight, Hongbin."

----

I'M SO SORRY AGAIN. I'M TERRIBLE WITH UPDATING. I keep losing my motivation to write and I am busy with school... I can't promise anything but I'll try to update and be more active on here. Again, thank you for reading.