TITLE: A Promise

AUTHOR: 29548E

PAIRING: Jindy (mainly), cameo role of other Shinhwa members

GENRE: Angst, Romance, Merman, Mortal

DISCLAIMERS: A/N : An inspiration from my favourite fairytale – The Little Mermaid

SUMMARY: A love story between a Merman and a Mortal

 

 

 

“Is he a Mortal child?”

“Yes, he is very young.”

“He is so chubby and soft.”

“Hmm.”

“Will he have tail when he grows older?”

“I do not think so.”

“His skin is so smooth and he smells nice. I feel that I am hugging a ball of fluffy cotton wool.”

“You seen cotton wool?”

“No,  grandpa. I heard the Elders mentioned about this object which can be found on the Land. The Mortal used it to make clothing… His wound is starting to heal, he will not die right?”

“Yes, my child. We should go off now. The other Mortal will be coming and we can’t let them discover us.”

“Can I hug him again? Just for a while more. Look, he does not have hard scales and so soft, just like the beautiful starfish…”

“My child, you can’t underestimate the Mortal. Their eyes are sharp and they are easily frightened.”

“Will I see him again?”

“Maybe. Maybe when he grows up….”

                *******************************************************************

Between awake and slumber, these familiar yet strange voices lingered in my head, just like a dream that I had, a long time ago. I knew that I had the dream again.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and sat up and I vividly recalled that I had this dream numerous times. There was a period that I believed that these 2 male voices were real : One sounded old but wise while the other was younger and attractive.

The blazing sun crept underneath the big umbrella and appeared as a faint ball of orange in the skies. There was light mist enveloping the sea surface and painted the sea water and skies in a light shade of greyish blue. The endless body of water was calm in the afternoon and only little waves hit the shoreline feebly.

This was a seaside and it had just been developed into a resort place not long ago. The resort was just about an hour’s ride away from the nearest town. My parents bought a villa at this place and every summer holidays, we would come here for a short stay. Well, this vacation would only be me and my hyung, plus his boyfriend.

I reached out for the can of cola underneath my sundeck chair and it had been heated up by the sun. After gulping down a mouth of the cola that I realized that there was someone standing not far from me. The sun was blinding me and from the gaps of my fingers, I saw a strange figure. He was a tall man, cladded in a light coloured T-shirt and track pants and he was standing bare footed on the sands.

“Pardon me for my sudden interruption.” The young man came close to me, “ I think.. I think I was attracted by your necklace.” His vision swept swiftly from my face to my chest. “It’s pretty. Is it a Moonstone?”

His voice was familiar which I had heard somewhere. I touched the warm gem. If it was not for his longing gaze on the gem, I would take it that he was hitting on me with a low class cheesy pick up line.

“Yes, it is a Moonstone.” I replied.

Probably, he felt awkward from staring down at me and he knelt beside me and met my eyes, “Can I take a closer look at it?”

I saw that the young man had a pair of very beautiful eyes. His iris was crystal clear blue as like the seawater or the mid Autumn skies, intriguing and full of expression. There was sharpness and focus in that pair of eyes.

“Okay.” I averted my gaze from him and took down my necklace. It was a leather skin sort of chain and it threaded through a white gemstone. There was a faint bluish ray on the surface of the white gemstone. The gemstone seemed like a fish except that it was elongated into a circle.

He caressed my necklace with great care and started to hold it in his clenched palm. When I saw this movement, I felt that something in my left chest was into a large hand. While he clenched the necklace, I felt faint aching.

“Thank you.” The young man returned the necklace to me, “It is very beautiful.”

I wondered if I had seen wrongly but he seemed to be very attracted to the necklace that he was returning to me reluctantly. However, this was not an expensive piece of accessory and his actions seemed weird to me.

“Let get acquainted?” He shifted his gaze to my face, “My name is Junjin.” He stretched his hand to me and introduced himself.

“I am Andy.” I shook his hand. His fingers were long and slender and his handshake was strong. I also felt that his palm was cold and it felt comfortable to me in this scorching weather. “Are you on vacation with your family?”

“No, I am here with my colleague for work but my colleague would be here tonight. We are sort of doing research on the coral reef and marine life here.”

“Oh.” I nodded. I found that Junjin’s voice was strangely familiar but I could not recall when and where that I had heard it. Suddenly, I was hoping that our conversation would not end soon.

“You stay here? Came here often?”

I nodded. “Since I was 7 or 8 years old. My parents would bring me here for summer vacation and stayed in our villa.” I pointed in a direction. “Back then, this place was a small fishing village without so much tourist or facilities….” I detected a weird expression in Junjin’s eyes. “What is wrong?”

Junjin narrowed his eyes, “You knew how to swim since young?”

“Yes but not very well. I recalled once that I swam too far out and my leg cramped. I almost drowned and thereafter, I dared not swim to deep waters.” I looked into the sea, trying to recall the spot that I had the accident but due to the rapid development and change to the coastal line, I guessed it should be not far from here.

“Drowned?” Junjin muttered. “You must be very young then?”

Junjin’s words rekindled my memories, the part which I almost forgotten. I went into the scene of my dream which had been bothering me for years. It was not a fond memory and thereafter, I had been having nightmares.

“Sorry.” Probably seeing my expression and Junjin apologized, “I should not have asked.”

“Its okay.” I took a deep breathe, “It happened a long time ago. I could not remember everything about it because it was scary. I was very young then and I could only remember my great fear and I just could not remember what happened then. In my young mind, I was scared of dying.

“We are neighbours as I am staying at that house around your villa.” Junjin changed the topic. He looked out to the sea and I discovered that Junjin’s features were sharp and cold when he was not smiling. He had a handsome face but somehow I felt that he had been through a lot.

“How old are you?” I broke his gaze.

Junjin was startled and he smiled, “Sorry, I was thinking about something.” His smile changed his cold appearance and he seemed gentle, approachable. I guessed that he did not catch my question and I felt embarrassed to ask about his age. “Can I ask where did you get your necklace?”

I was on alert mode because he seemed concerned about it. I got to admit that his frankness could easily break down any uneasiness but I barely knew him for more than 30 minutes. “Er….” I was unable to lie to him, especially with his pair of eyes, “I am sorry.”

“Oh, you are uncomfortable to talk about it. I understand. Sorry for disturbing you. Goodbye and see you around. “ Junjin waved his hand and he jogged off.

 I saw the disappointment in his eyes. Seeing his disappearing figure, I felt guilty for my actions. In actual fact, I had the necklace since young and I could not recall how I had it. Though I did not do anything wrong, I still felt guilty.

In the evening, a black land rover appeared in front of another house which was a short distance away from my villa. I managed to see the people who alighted from the land rover and they were my hyung, Minwoo, and his boyfriend, Dongwan.

Dongwan saw me first and waved, “Andyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!”

“Wannie hyung.” I ran over to him,” Why are you guys stopping here? Our villa is there.”

Dongwan hyung smiled,” Your hyung and I hitched a ride from Mr Mun and his husband. It was such a coincident that they stayed next to us. Else, we have to walk here through the night because your stupid hyung forgotten to reserve a transport.”

I saw 2 persons alighting from the vehicle. One of them seemed to be in his 40s while the other was in his late 20s, around my hyung’s age.

“Let me introduce. This is Mr Mun and that is his husband.”  My hyung smiled.

“Call me Eric and he is Hyesung.”

I nodded and my first impression that Eric was cold while Hyesung was smiley. Both of them were handsome and tall. Eric was dark but he walked with a limp while Hyesung was fair, slightly shorter than Eric. Hyesung had a pair of blue eyes which reminded me of Junjin. Were they Junjin’s colleagues?  Hyesung invited us over to their place for dinner the following day.

I was lying on my bed but I just could not fall asleep. I tossed and turned till I fell asleep which was probably around midnight. I had a dream again and Junjin was in my dream this time.

Junjin bared his upper body and he was perching on a piece of rock while his lower body was submerged in the sea. Water droplets were falling from his hair and his fringe was pasting on his forehead. I saw that even his eyes were soaked because they were so clear and almost transparent like blue sapphire. I looked at him and my feet seemed to have awareness on its own as they brought me closer to Junjin without me knowing……….

Our surrounding was dark and a very dim light emitted around Junjin. The current image of Junjin looked like a sea creature, emerging from the waters; y and dangerous. Junjin was resting his chin on his hand and his thick eye lashes covered a portion of his eyes.  I turned my gaze from his face as I did not want to appear rude to keep on staring at him. My gaze accidentally landed on his arms. The dim lights that bounced off from Junjin was the reflection of the water droplets on his arms. Guided by the lights, I realized that a layer of scales covered Junjin’s body. I drew a deep breath and wanted to rub my eyes to check if I had seen clearly what I assumed that I saw. Junjin raised his head and looked at me with a pained expression.

“Andy, I need your help.” Junjin hoisted himself up on the rock and he was about to say something but fear flashed across his eyes, as if he heard something. “Andy, meet me at the place when you first met me. Hurry, I will be waiting for you.”

                                                              ************************

A loud banging sound was heard and someone was knocking on my bedroom door furiously. “Andy, it is 10 o’clock! Wake up!” I groaned at the shouting of my hyung.

It was a bright sunny day and I was out of my villa within 10 minutes. Images and voices sounded in my head and I started to take my little pouch, walking over to Junjin’s house. It was also Eric and Hyesung’s house.

The windows of the house were shut which suggested that no one was in. I spied a slightly opened window at the second storey and I presumed it to be the bathroom of the master bedroom. Below it should be the common bathroom at first storey. Lines of pipes ran outside the windows and there was metal railing between the pipes and the wall which I am able to step on it. I climbed the pipes and in a blink of an eye, I was inside the bathroom. I walked into the master bedroom and saw some stuffs on the table and a luggage near the bed.

The adjacent room was locked but from the small viewing panel, I saw that it looked like a mini laboratory. There was some equipment placed on the large table in the middle of the room. A large shelf was against the wall and several jars were placed on the shelf. There were labels on each jars but I was unable to see the wordings but the content looked like some seaweed.

I went down and came to the kitchen which looked almost similar to mine, except for a door. I pulled at the handle and saw that it was a storage space for food. I saw a sack of rice, some canned food and probably a half empty sack of soya bean. It looked ordinary but my instinct told me that something was amiss. I peeped into the sack which truly contained soya bean but it would become mouldy especially near seaside. I tugged at the sack and saw that a corner was stuck at a crack. I stood down and heard some knocking sound. I was sure that I did not mishear the knocking sound. I pulled away the sack and my hand touched on a button.

A floor tile slided away and the smell of sea infiltrated. In front of me was an opening which allowed only 1 person to go through. My heart was pounding hard and I turned stiffly to look into the opening which I saw steps. I curled myself and walked down the steps. The steps were concrete but the walls were rocks. It was damp and cold and it seemed to lead me to another underground space. I got accustomed to the darkness and after a turn, I saw lights. I assumed that I was not underneath the house but was at another end of the sea.

I saw a few rocks in the water and some white sands. I had seen this in my dream. My legs went weak and I tumbled down on my bums. I was here watching and listening to Junjin. I remembered in my dream that he was soaked and his wet hair plastered to his face. I could never forget his eyes and the layer of scales covering him.

My fear and shock was disturbed by a loud thud and followed by splash of water. Someone fell onto the sands and the water that splashed up was red. I clasped my hand on my mouth , not knowing to suppress my fear or shock. I was trembling because I could see the deep wounds on his back and blood was oozing out. He was injured and he remained motionless there. He remained half on the sand and half in the water.

After a few minutes, I crept towards him slowly and looked at his face. I pushed away the hair and saw that he was Junjin. Thank god that he was Junjin. Several questions went through my mind but the urgent task was to get him out of the water and to treat his wounds.

I slipped my arms under his armpits and lugged him out of the water. I realized that beside the few deep wounds on his back, there were some scratches too. Junjin felt extremely cold which I presumed that he was lying in the water for too long and he started to moan. Junjin was heavy and I was struggling to pull his whole body out of the water.

When Junjin’s lower body was out of the water, I was thinking that he was wearing a diver sort of swim wear. It was strange as I had never seen such a swim wear which covered his lower body tightly and it was reflecting lights. Huh? Which guy would wear such a swim wear unless he was going to play the role of a mermaid???

Instantly, I felt my throat went dry and my heart stopped. Beside feeling weird, I felt an uneasy feeling. Junjin’s legs were wrapped in the swim wear and I could not see them. My fear intensified when I realised that the place that was supposed to be legs, was a tail! The said tail flipped open like a fan.

A snapping sound was heard in my ear and my mind went blank; I believed that I stopped breathing. My sight was on the tail and while I was still looking at it, the tail moved. It wagged against the sands just like a fish tail! I could not help but scream.

Did I just see a silvery blue tail?

Was that tail on Junjin’s body?

Am I hallucinating?

And was that Junjin?

I was too scared and I was biting my fingernails. If I was not hallucinating, was he really Junjin? And why did Junjin have a tail? My head was telling me he was a fish, no a merman. An injured Merman…. My vision went black.

When I opened my eyes due to some rustling noise, I saw some wavering images. I blinked my eyes and oh my god, Junjin was wearing his pants. His back was facing me when he was wearing his pants and I saw that his wounds were all gone. I could not believe my eyes that Junjin had healing ability. When I was still in shock, Junjin’s gaze met mine.

“No, no. I did not see anything at all.” I blurted out. I could not comprehend the expression on his face. “I am telling the truth! When I opened my eyes, you had your pants on!” I yelled.

Junjin turned his head away and I saw that his ears went red. It was extremely awkward here. I was so embarrassed that I buried my face in my palms.

“Andy. Are you okay?”

“Junjin. What is going on? Your injuries?”

“Oh its nothing.”

“What really happen?”

“Did you really want to know?” Junjin sighed.

I nodded.

“I have been searching for you all this years. It had been 2 years since we last met, Andy.”

“……. Your legs…..”

Junjin side glanced at me and something glistered in his eyes,” Are you sure that you want to know? You won’t be frightened?” He paused to read my reaction, “ It is as what you see, Andy. I am a merman. I saved you 20 years ago when you were drowning. I met you again 2 years ago and I fell in love with you. We became lovers then. I am back for you as promised.”

“How are you sure that I am the boy that you save 20 years ago and what do you mean by we met 2 years ago and we fell in love?” I asked.

“ 20 years ago,  I found you in the water and you were dying. I made you drink my blood to sustain your life. I gave you my necklace, hoping that I will be able to find you some day.  2 years ago, I found you and something happened to us. Your memories were erased and….”

Suddenly, Junjin grabbed my wrist and slashed it with his long sharp finger nail. He did the same on himself and pressed our wounded wrist together. I screamed out in pain and while screaming, I saw flash lights of events. I remembered everything, what took place 2 years ago.

------- Flash back  (2 years ago)---------------

“Hyesung, something must have happened to Junjin. He did not contact me for so long.”

“Andy, calm down. How did you know that Junjin is in trouble?”

I stared straight into Hyesung’s blue eyes and he averted his gaze from me. “Hyesung, tell me. Junjin is really in trouble? Please tell me. I begged you.”

“Hyesung ah, just tell him.” Eric popped into the living room and he was carrying a tray of tea set. Eric’s view did not leave Hyesung at all and there was pain in his eyes as if he was forcing Hyesung to make a decision which was causing him great pain. Eric limped over and held onto Hyesung’s shoulders.

“Andy, you know that there isn’t many of our kind left beside Junjin and me. Another merman tribe across the Atlantic Ocean intended to merge with our tribe. This is essential for merman to increase our numbers for survival against man kind and the natural disasters?” Hyesung was holding onto Eric’s hands tightly. “ What is beneficial for both would be merger by marriage. An union based on that, it would ensure harmony between the 2 tribes. Junjin is the new leader of my tribe after his grandpa passed away some months ago. Junjin had to take up that responsibility for our tribe. It is his destiny.”

“Is this the reason that Junjin left me and stopped any means of communications?”

“Yes, I suspected so.”

“Will there be any ritual for the unison? Like a wedding in human world?”

“Yes, something similar. There will be no wedding gown or suit as we are not mortal. However, in the ritual; it is not the exchange of rings or vows but blood!”

I was taken aback and tears flowed down my cheeks.

“Andy, the exchange of blood enables the strongest union in merman race. They would be able to sense and read each other’s mind.” Eric continued and he looked at Hyesung,” Despite so, it is also rare that after blood unison that the couple can read each other’s mind.”

“But it will be like a wedding… They will attend it and vowed to be together for the rest of their lives….” My voice cracked and Hyesung buried his face on Eric’s shoulders.

“Hyesung, can I attend the ritual?”

“Andy…”

“Please, I beg you. I will not cause any trouble at the ritual. I will be at the corner, seeing everything. Let me see Junjin for the last time… please.”

“Andy…”

“Please.” I turned to Eric, “Eric hyung, help me, please?”

Eric was silent for a while, “Not exceeding 24 hours.”

“What?”

Eric rubbed his face with his palm,” I am saying… the chemical can only last for not more than 24 hours.

“What chemical?”

“Eric, stop! You can’t do this to Andy!” Hyesung’s face turned pale.

Eric held Hyesung’s face, “Hyesung ah, I do not think that Andy’s request is too much. He merely wanted an end to their love, their relationship. Without it, how will Andy be able to start afresh with his life? Just let him see Junjin for the last time?”

Hyesung was looking at Eric, in shock. “That is my tribe.”

“I know.” Eric patted Hyesung’s back,” You can be with Andy and watch over him. Andy has no idea about your kind and he will not have the means to cause any trouble.”

Hyesung looked at me and held my hands,” Andy ah, are you sure about this?”

“Yes, just for the last time.” I whispered and Hyesung pulled me into a hug.

“But do you know the price that you may have to pay for this?” Hyesung asked me. “You might end up like Eric, losing a leg.”

I looked at Eric,” Eric hyung, do you regret?”

Eric shook his head. I smiled and shook my head as well.

I was led into Eric’s laboratory in their house and he showed me a chemical named HS6. “What is this?”

“It is my invention when Hyesung was imprisoned by his kind a long time ago. But before I can use it, Hyesung was released because Junjin’s grandpa passed away. The restraint curse on Hyesung was broken and Hyesung returned after 20 years of being imprisoned.”

“Why was Hyesung being imprisoned for so long?”

“It was because Hyesung fell in love with me, a Mortal.” Eric smiled and interlaced his fingers with Hyesung’s.

“Merman are forbidden to fall in love with any other species and I breached the rule.” Hyesung explained.

“But Eric hyung, if you did not get to use HS6, what is the side effect?”

“I tried HS2 which was a total failure while I improved on HS3. The side effect was that your leg structure would be affected and the damage is permanent.” Eric tapped on his left leg with a bitter smile.

I felt something churning in my stomach and I leaned onto the table for support. I never knew that Eric’s leg was caused by himself. “So Eric hyung, you have not explain to me how the chemical HS6 is able to help me? Let me be able to breathe under water? Or turn me into a fish…..?”

                                                    **************************

The following day, the 3 of us were on Eric’s yacht and we were sailing out to the ocean. I was sitting alone on the deck, gazing at the skies. The evening sun was changing the skies into a bright orange tone. I did not feel any emotion within me, no fear, no hope and not even any pain. It felt so unreal.

Hyesung came to me with 2 glasses and a bottle of liquor. He sat next to me and passed me a glass.

“What?”

“Andy, drink this. You will feel better.”

“It’s too strong.”

“I was hoping that you will get tipsy and forget about everything.”

I shook my head. If I were drunk, how would I get to see Junjin. Hyesung merely chuckled and gulped down his glass in one shot.

“Hyesung ah. Andy.” Eric’s voice sounded.

Hyesung took my hand and pulled me up,” Andy ah, you still can back out from this. No one knows the side effect of HS6 and the ocean is lurking with dangers, and…..”

“Hyesung, I really want to see Junjin. For the last time.” I whispered,” I promised that I will not do anything to interrupt the ritual.”

“Let’s go.” Hyesung walked off.

“Are you ready, Andy?” Eric asked me before pouring the chemical into a syringe, to be injected in me.

“I can really breathe under the water?”

“Yes. This I am able to guarantee because this was my aim when I started creating HS1 and HS6 is the improvised, latest version.”

I nodded, with a bit of hesitation.

The needle pierced into my skin and it felt like ant’s bite. I was relieved because I was not fond of injection. Before I could relax, I felt scorching hotness from the injection, flowing into my blood vessels.

“Don’t move!” Eric hissed.

Before the syringe was taken out from me, I am perspiring profusely. It was not due to the pain. I felt very weird which I could not describe. I felt my body was on fire and I could not feel my body anymore. Eric pulled out the syringe and dabbed a cotton on the area.

“Andy ah. You okay?” Hyesung my forehead gently.

I could only nod as I was unable to respond. I started screaming and I saw Hyesung was startled by my screams. I was in terrible pain and my vision was getting blurry. I was calling out for Junjin in my hoarse voice, and I was calling out for Minwoo hyung. I felt groggy and my senses was numb.

When I was regaining my senses, I was surrounded in dark blue mass of water. My vision was obstructed by long hair and I brushed them away. It was then I realized that it was my hair and it had turned into a nice shade of dark purple. My view landed on my hands which were covered with a layer of white scales. Towards my waist, the colour turned into ivory white and I had a flapping tail.

I felt a tap on my shoulders and I saw Hyesung. His brown dark was blond now and he was covered with a golden scales, making him look like a prince in fairytale.

“Oh my, Andy. You look ravishing.” Hyesung did not open his mouth but I could hear his words in my head. Was this the mode of communication among the merman? “Let’s hurry. We do not have much time.”

“What will happen after 24 hours?”

“You will turn back into a human and you might drown here.” Hyesung’s worried voice echoed in my head.

I held onto Hyesung’s hand we swam deeper and deeper into the water. My vision was getting worse as I could not see anything but my sense became sharp. Along our way, some unknown species of fish with lights lit the way. Hyesung kept asking me if I am alright. I assured him that I was alright. I did not know how deep and how long had we swam till we reached a valley. The first thought that came into my mind was, a sunken city in the ocean. I also saw several merman and mermaid swimming about and they were in mostly in shade of blue, green and red. All of them did not have any expressions on their faces despite being handsome or beautiful.

I saw all swam toward the empty space in somewhat a town square. Hyesung squeezed my hand and tilted his head. I looked in his direction and I saw Junjin. He was floating on an elevated platform and he lowered his head. He had sapphire blue hair and was covered in sky blue scales. He still looked like what I had remembered him. I realized that I was so familiar with Junjin that with just a look, I remembered every details about him. The smoothness when my finger tips touched him, his sweetness when we kissed…. Everything interaction that we had in the past came to me….

It was painful to see Junjin again but I was willing to endure the heartache. I stared intensively at Junjin, trying to memorize his features in my brain so that I could remember him in my mind. I saw a red mermaid next to Junjin and an elderly looking merman in front of them. I realized that my heart was so small that it could only contain Junjin. The elderly merman pulled their hands together and I felt my heart shattered into pieces. I was wishing that time would freeze and the ritual would not take place.

The elderly merman smiled and he slashed on the mermaid’s wrist and he also slashed Junjin’s wrist. Next, he was pulling their wrist together. Hyesung had mentioned that once their blood mixed, they would be bonded for eternity…

I could not witness the ritual anymore and warmness oozed out from my eyes…..

When we surfaced again, it was sunrise. Hyesung and Eric assisted me up to the yacht. I closed my eyes and I felt Hyesung patting my head. “Thank you Andy and rest well.”

I shook my head. Was Hyesung thanking me for letting him know the effect of Eric’s HS6? Or thanking me for not interrupting the ritual? I was too exhausted and drained to think of anything and I wanted to sleep. Never to wake up again, never to feel the pain and torment…..

------ End of flash back -------

I recalled everything. The side effect of HS6 was my memories loss.

“Andy…. Hush. Don’t cry anymore. I am here for you.” Junjin brought me into embrace. “I am back and I will never leave you again.”

I held onto Junjin’s waist tightly,” You are really….. back? Don’t leave me again.”

“Will you be willing to be with me forever, just like Hyesung and Eric?”

I wailed into Junjin’s chest. I have waited for so long, probably till I lost hope (if I did not lost my memories)… why wouldn’t I agree to be with Junjin.

“Don’t cry Andy. I am here. Don’t cry…” Junjin was a block as he only repeated that 2 words to console me.

I believed that I had cried all the tears for the past 2 years till my eyes were puffy. “Junjin, what happen to your bride?”

“No bride.” Junjin touched my cheeks,” The moment I saw you at the ritual… I did not continue with the ritual.”

“You saw me?”

“Andy, you remembered that my blood was in your body and I could sense you at anywhere. I cut all communication with you in hope that I could forget you but I was wrong. It was the last straw when I saw you crying while leaving…. I chased after you but they stopped and locked me up…”

“How did you escape then, Junjin?”

“Well, I put up a fight and survived with some injuries.” Junjin brushed the hair away from the back of his neck. I saw a tattoo on his neck and it was familiar. It was the same design as my Moonstone. “What is it?” I touched the tattoo.

“A sign…..” Junjin continued,” A sign that I am banished from the tribe for eternity.”

“They are too much!”

“Andy ah, I had committed a grave sin. 3 sins – turning against the tribe, disclosing my identity to you and lastly, my insistent of being with a mortal.”

“Do you regret it?” I bit my lips and asked with caution. It must be a terrible blow for Junjin to be banished from his tribe.

“No, I can’t live without you and I promise you that we will be together forever.”

I spread my arms and clasped them behind Junjin’s back. We engaged in a passionate kiss. My Junjin and he was here with me. Our skin touched each other, our heart beat sync in rhythm . Whether it was my tears or Junjin’s tears, I could not differentiate. We united as one, me and him together……………………

 

 

THE END

 

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