The next morning, Eunhyuk headed into the bathroom and noticed that even though Donghae was still in the bathtub, his tail was gone, and his two legs had replaced it. “Donghae,” Eunhyuk said as he shook the brunette awake. The merman turned and faced the blonde. “What happened to your tail? You’re in water but it’s gone.”

          “Oh no, it must be another full moon,” Donghae muttered.

          “What are you talking about?” Eunhyuk asked.

          “When the moon is full, I have legs for twenty four hours regardless of if I’m in water or not. When the twenty four hours is up, I have to be back in water,” Donghae explained.

          “How long have you been able to do this?” Eunhyuk wondered.

          “For as long as I can remember, my owner would always keep he locked in his room for that twenty four hours, which I don’t know why since I can barely use these things,” Donghae added as he touched his legs.

          “C’mon, we can work on your walking a little more,” Eunhyuk offered as he helped Donghae stand up.

          “Okay,” Donghae agreed as he stumbled out of the bathtub.     Eunhyuk handed Donghae some clothes and helped him slide on some boxers and a t-shirt. He placed Donghae’s feet atop his again and helped him walk into the kitchen slowly. “You’re getting a lot better at moving your legs,” Eunhyuk complimented as Donghae sat down.

          “Thank you, they do feel like they’re getting a little stronger,” Donghae replied.

          As Donghae and Eunhyuk ate breakfast, Eunhyuk heard his phone ring. “Hello?” he asked.

          “Eunhyuk, it’s Siwon,” his editor responded.

          “Oh hey, what’s up?” Eunhyuk asked.

          “Listen, I thought today you could come in so we could talk about your latest book sales, and discuss the possibility of a new book idea,” Siwon suggested.

          “Yeah, okay that sounds good,” Eunhyuk agreed.

          “Great, I’ll see you in two hours,” Siwon stated before hanging up.

          As Eunhyuk hung up, Donghae asked “Who was that?”

          “My editor, he wants me to come to his office in a couple of hours and discuss some business with him,” Eunhyuk informed.

          “Oh okay,” Donghae replied as he continued to eat.

          “Hey, do you wanna come with me?” Eunhyuk offered as he looked at Donghae.

          The merman looked back at his friend. “Really, you want me to go out with you, in public?” Donghae wondered.

          “Yeah, it’ll be good practice for you, but we need to make sure you wear warm clothes, it’s gonna be really cold today,” Eunhyuk responded.

          “What if I fall in front of everyone? You know I can’t walk by myself yet,” Donghae reminded.

          “Don’t worry, everything will be okay, I’ll help you,” Eunhyuk promised. Donghae smiled at him as they continued to eat. After breakfast, Eunhyuk helped Donghae walk over to the couch before heading to his bedroom. “I’ve got something new I want you to try today.” The blonde pulled out a pair of black shoes and showed them to Donghae. “Do you know what these are called?”

          “Ooh, yeah I’ve seen people where them; they’re called shoes, right?” Donghae inquired.

          “Right very good; you have to wear these when we’re out in public,” Eunhyuk stated as he assisted Donghae with putting them on.

          “I don’t like these, take them off,” Donghae demanded as he felt the restraints on his feet. “I wasn’t born to wear these people things.”

          “Donghae, Donghae,” Eunhyuk muttered as he calmed down the hysterical merman. “Calm down and just give them a try.” He helped Donghae stand up and attempt to walk in the shoes.

          “This feels so weird,” Donghae said as he slapped his feet against the floor, stumbling as he walked.

          “I know, it’ll take some time to get used to the feeling, but on full moon days you can learn to walk better, and build up more strength,” Eunhyuk explained.

          As he slowly let go with Donghae and stood on the opposite end of the room. “Whoa, where are you going? Eunhyuk, don’t leave me,” Donghae gasped as he struggled to stand alone.

          “It’s okay, just try to walk over to me,” Eunhyuk said.

          “By myself; what if I fall?” Donghae wondered.

          “Don’t worry, just trust that you’ll make it over to me,” Eunhyuk encouraged.

          Donghae took a deep breath and slowly bent his legs before wobbling over to Eunhyuk. “Oh my god, I’m doing it,” Donghae replied with a big smile before his knees buckled up and he fell forward into Eunhyuk’s arms. “Sorry.”

          “It’s okay, that was incredible Donghae, you’re really learning fast. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to do it by yourself full time,” Eunhyuk responded.

          The two headed over to the office where Eunhyuk was supposed to meet with Siwon. They headed in the front of the building and Eunhyuk helped Donghae walk over to the elevator. “What is this?” Donghae asked.

          “An elevator, this will take us upstairs faster,” Eunhyuk informed. The door opened and the two walked inside.

          “What are these buttons for?” Donghae inquired as he looked at the many round buttons on the elevator wall.

          “Push this one and watch,” Eunhyuk suggested as he pointed to the top one. Donghae pushed the button, and watched it light up. He jumped and gripped Eunhyuk’s shirt as the elevator began to move up. “What’d you jump for?” Eunhyuk laughed.

          “The room is moving, rooms aren’t supposed to move,” Donghae muttered.

          “Donghae don’t worry, it’s not going to hurt us,” Eunhyuk said calmly. When the elevator opened up again, Donghae and Eunhyuk stepped out and walked over to the front desk in the upstairs lobby. “Hey Ryeowook,” Eunhyuk greeted.

          The receptionist looked up and smiled. “Hi Eunhyuk, are you here to see Siwon?” Ryeowook asked.

          “Yes,” Eunhyuk confirmed.

          “Alright I’ll let him know you’re here. Who’s this?” Ryeowook wondered as he looked at Donghae.

          “I’m Donghae,” the brunette replied.

          “Oh hello, Eunhyuk did you break up with Heechul or something?” Ryeowook whispered.

          “No, no I didn’t Donghae is a just a friend who’s crashing at my house for a little while,” Eunhyuk responded.

          “Oh okay, well Siwon will meet with you shortly,” Ryeowook informed before Donghae and Eunhyuk walked over to sit down on one of the couches.

          “What does that mean, ‘crashing at your house’?” Donghae whispered.

          “It means you’re staying with me for a little while,” Eunhyuk clarified. Donghae nodded before turning to look at the small aquarium that sat next to them. The merman gasped and hit Eunhyuk’s arm repeatedly. “What, what?” Eunhyuk asked.

          “Look,” Donghae said as he pointed to the fish tank.

          “Yes Donghae, I see the fish,” Eunhyuk replied before Siwon walked out.

          “Eunhyuk,” he greeted with a smile as the blonde stood up and hugged his editor.

          “Hey man, how you been?” Eunhyuk casually asked.

          “Pretty good, got some great sales numbers to show you. Um, who’s that?” Siwon asked as he looked at Donghae, who was currently gazing at the fish tank, imitating their facial expressions.

          “That’s Donghae, he’s sleeping at my house for a bit,” Eunhyuk repeated.

          “Oh, when did you and Heechul break up?” Siwon wondered.

          “No, no Heechul and I are still together, Donghae’s just a friend,” Eunhyuk explained.

          “Oh okay, shall we then?” Siwon offered as he gestured towards his office.

          “Sure hold on,” Eunhyuk requested before he approached Donghae. “Hey, I’ve gotta go in here for a few minutes, so just sit out here and look at the fish, okay?” Donghae nodded before the blonde followed Siwon into his office.

          “Well like I said, people love the last book you wrote, your sales are through the roof on this thing. We’re estimating a profit of over two million dollars just this quarter alone,” Siwon informed.

          “Wow, that’s awesome,” Eunhyuk agreed.

          “Yes, now I also called you here to ask about your next book idea, do you have anything? Have you put anything in your online blog about creating a new story sometime soon?” Siwon inquired.

          “Funny you should mention that because I do have a new idea that came to me the other night after I visited a freak show,” Eunhyuk said.

          “Hmm, interesting,” Siwon replied as he leaned back in his chair. “Can you elaborate on it some?”

          “I was thinking of writing a story about a merman,” Eunhyuk explained.

          “A merman?” Siwon questioned.

          “Yeah, what do you think?” Eunhyuk asked.

          “I’m intrigued, not a lot of people write about mermen, so this will be interesting to see. Do you have any idea where you wanna go with the idea?” Siwon wondered.

          “Yeah, I’ve got some ideas about –” before Eunhyuk could continue, he and Siwon heard Ryeowook shriek from outside in the lobby.

          The two men stood up and rushed outside to find Ryeowook holding a cup under Donghae’s mouth and yelling “Spit it out! Spit it out now!”

          Eunhyuk hurried up to Donghae and quietly said “Donghae spit out whatever is in your mouth."

          Donghae slowly opened his mouth and spit out a goldfish into the cup of water Ryeowook was holding, watching it swim around before Ryeowook placed it back in the fish tank. “Sorry,” Donghae muttered.

          “What is wrong with you?” Ryeowook asked as he backed away from Donghae.

          “What happened?” Siwon demanded, placing his hands on his hips.

          “This guy reached into the fish tank, pulled out the biggest one in there, and put it in his mouth,” Ryeowook explained.

          “I was hungry and wanted a snack,” Donghae said quietly.

          “It’s okay Donghae, you didn’t know,” Eunhyuk gently replied as he placed a hand gently on the brunette’s hair.

          “Didn’t know? Eunhyuk it’s common sense not to eat a goldfish alive and raw,” Siwon reminded. “God, is he stupid?”

          “Don’t call him stupid,” Eunhyuk snapped as he looked up at Siwon while Donghae lowered his head. “He’s just not used to being around people. C’mon Donghae, let’s go.”

          Eunhyuk stood up, pulled Donghae to his feet, and helped him over to the elevator. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you,” Donghae muttered.

          After smiling for a few seconds, Eunhyuk responded “C’mon, I’ll take you to get something to eat.”

          Donghae sat down at a small table inside a coffee house and watched Eunhyuk push a small cup of coffee and a pastry in front of him before sitting down across from him. “What’s this?” Donghae inquired as he looked at the cup.

          “It’s coffee and a cinnamon roll. Try it,” Eunhyuk offered as he took a sip of his own drink. “It’s really good for the soul on a cold day like today.”

          Donghae smelled the coffee before taking a small drink before coughing it out. “It’s really bitter,” he said, wiping the taste off his tongue.

          “Here, try some sugar and cream in it, it’ll make it sweeter,” Eunhyuk remarked as he added some sweeteners to the coffee before stirring it for Donghae. “Try it again.”

          Donghae hesitantly took another sip. “Much better,” Donghae agreed as he drank some more down before taking a small nibble of the cinnamon roll. “I’m really liking this human food, there’s a lot of variety.”

          “Good, glad you like it, I’ll make sure and buy some when I go to the store next week,” Eunhyuk said before taking another sip of his hot coffee.

          As they sat there drinking and talking, Heechul’s friend Henry saw the two of them together. “What the hell?” he asked himself quietly, looking at Donghae and Eunhyuk laughing together. “Don’t tell me Heechul and Eunhyuk broke up.” Henry pulled out his phone and texted Heechul, hoping to get to the bottom of things.

          Later that evening, Eunhyuk and Donghae were watching TV on the couch before Eunhyuk turned to Donghae. “Well how did you like spending the whole day out of water?”

          “It was interesting, but I’m glad that tomorrow I’ll get to be back in water and have a tail again,” Donghae replied. “Thank you for taking me out today, it was a nice experience.”

          “You’re welcome, do you wanna head to bed, it’s getting late?” Eunhyuk wondered.

          “Sure, where can I sleep?” Donghae asked.

          “Well I only have one bedroom, so you can bunk with me tonight if you want,” Eunhyuk offered.

          “Bunk with you?” Donghae confusedly repeated.

          “Yeah, you can sleep in bed next to me if you want,” Eunhyuk clarified.

          “Oh, okay then,” Donghae agreed before the blonde helped him stand up and stumble into his bedroom. Eunhyuk picked up Donghae and lay him down on his bed in the fetal position like the brunette requested and covered him up. “Your bed is very soft.”

          “Thanks, hope you’re comfortable,” Eunhyuk responded as he climbed in on the other side. “So listen, were you singing last night? I thought I heard singing coming from the bathroom.”

          “Yeah, I was singing,” Donghae confirmed. “Did it bother you?”

          “No, no not at all, it was very beautiful in fact,” Eunhyuk complimented.

          “Thank you,” Donghae responded as he looked at Eunhyuk with a smile. As Eunhyuk slept that night, Donghae lie awake and looked at the shirtless blonde lying next to him. Gently, Donghae reached a hand over and slowly began to touch and Eunhyuk’s chest. “You are a very special human Eunhyuk, very, very special,” he whispered to the human.

          The merman threw his legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood up. He wobbled to the door and opened it, but fell forward onto the hallway floor. Donghae groaned, but didn’t want Eunhyuk to wake up and see him, so he crawled to the bathroom and heaved himself into the bathtub before taking off his clothes, and filling up the tub with warm water as the twenty four hour mark approached. Smiling, Donghae watched his sapphire blue tail begin to reappear as he splashed around in the warm water. “Ah, now this feels much better,” he whispered to himself as he fully submerged his body underwater.