Chapter Text
Her legs felt heavy as she hauled herself up the stairs to her apartment, a sigh of relief escaping her as she reached the familiar painted door. It swung open before she even reached into her bag for her keys, and a grinning, bright-eyed Hyun Woo greeted her.
“Afternoon!”
“Hey.” She slipped under his arm, which was leaning against the doorframe, and looked around for the merman, who was sitting obediently on the sofa and shot her a delighted look as soon as he spotted her.
Hyun Woo closed the door and whirled around so that he stood in front of his sister, blocking her view. He was practically bouncing with excitement.
“I have something to show you.”
Hyuna raised an eyebrow, slinging her bag onto the floor near a chair and setting a hand on her hip. “What is it?”
It had been a long day, and her brother’s antics were a welcomed distraction from everything: the warm atmosphere of the apartment almost made her forget everything that had transpired.
Hyun Woo turned around to the mer, and made a beckoning motion with his hand. The blonde nodded, and gave Hyuna a shy smile before looking away from her, shifting his gaze instead towards the floor.
He pushed of the side of the sofa, using the arm to support himself as he stood. He wobbled slightly, but after taking a moment to find his balance he slowly started to turned around, one foot after the other in a careful motion.
Letting go of the sofa’s arm, he began to walk towards Hyuna. Really walk. He wasn’t fast, but he didn’t fall or stumble either.
Hyuna hadn’t noticed her mouth falling open in surprise, but Hyun Woo had, and he shook slightly with quiet laughter. Hyuna watched the merman unblinkingly, completely enraptured as if he was performing a miracle.
He was, in a way. To learn to walk that quickly, with seemingly no experience, was amazing. He was amazing. And he’d almost made it all the way over.
“He told me he wanted to walk so I- ” But he was quickly cut off. Hyuna, who decided she couldn’t wait any longer, had rushed past him towards the mer.
She knew it wasn’t strictly professional, but she had decided long ago that between her rescuing him and taking him home she had already broken any sort of rules she’d layed out for herself for dealing with specimens. But that was the thing - he wasn’t a specimen to her: he never had been and never would be. He was a person, and now her friend.
So she didn’t think twice before capturing him into a hug, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his pale shoulder. He smelled of the salty air around the beach, and of sunlight, if that was possible. She felt him tense for a moment, and was scared that she’d crossed a boundary, but he quickly relaxed. She felt him bring his arms up to reciprocate the hug, and hesitantly rest his chin on her. He squeezed her a little, which felt nice even with his lack of strength.
Behind them of course, Hyun Woo watched with the biggest smirk imaginable stretched over his face. Not dating, huh?
Luka’s face had turned as red as a lionfish’s stripes, and he felt a little lightheaded with Hyuna so close. She was so warm, and everywhere their skin met burned hot even when they weren’t touching anymore.
Hyuna suddenly regained consciousness, realising she’d been holding him for a little bit longer than what was usually deemed appropriate. She pulled away, clearing her throat and hoping the blush dusted on her cheeks wasn’t too obvious.
Then something occurred to her. “Wait, did you say he told you??”
Hyun Woo returned to his expression of idiotic giddiness and nodded quickly. “I think he’s picked up on stuff from the television. We were watching Finding Nemo and I saw he was trying to mouth some of the words so I thought I try and teach him some properly.” He shot a glance towards the man beside Hyuna, who looked a little like he’d seen a glimpse of heaven. “After that he started picking up on things REALLY quickly. You sure he’s not some kind of genius?”
Hyuna thought he probably was. She felt a swell of pride bubble up inside her, and she quickly turned back to the mer. She didn’t know what to say – there was so much, so much she’d been wishing they could talk about, so much she’d been wanting to tell him and so much she’d wanted to hear. Where could she even begin?
But it was him who spoke first.
“I…found your wallet.” His voice didn’t crackle anymore, and it sounded like waves washing over smooth rocks at dawn. Hyuna felt a flutter in her chest at his musical lilt. He swallowed, a little nervous as she stared at him. “You dropped it. I found it. Then they took me, and I lost it again. I’m sorry.”
‘They’ being the scientists, Hyuna assumed. The apologetic look in his eyes made her chest ache, because why on earth should he be sorry? He hadn’t done anything wrong.
She spoke to him softly. “Hey, don’t worry about that.”
That seemed to help. The corners of his mouth twitched, drawing her eyes momentarily. “I knew you. I’m glad…” but he didn’t finish, unable to find the right words.
Hyun Woo coughed loudly and deliberately, and attention flickered back to him.
“Uh, I’m gonna go now. Work and stuff. Have fun, you two!” He grabbed his things and was out of the door in moments, waving goodbye.
As soon as they heard the door click shut, the two turned towards one another once more.
Luka was looking a little pale, and despite the glazed, happy look on his face, he was swaying slightly, so Hyuna wrapped an arm around him and led him back to the sofa.
“Take it easy.” Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what she should say to him first, now that he could understand. She lowered him onto his seat and placed herself on the other end, facing him as she leaned on a cushion.
Oh!
“I realised I never got to know your name.”
“My…name?” He asked, confused.
“Yeah, your name. You know mine’s Hyuna. What’s yours?”
A look of recognition dawned on his face. “Ah. My name is Luka.”
Luka…
…
“Luka! Come on out soon, food’s ready.”
Hyuna stood in her kitchenette, serving food onto plates. It had been a few days since she learned Luka’s name, but it still made her smile every time she said it. She liked the way it sounded on her tongue.
Her and Luka (Luka!! Not some unnamed merman anymore!) had decided that it would be best for him to be in water as much as possible during his stay, so he stayed in the bath for most of the day while she was at work.
She grimaced whenever she thought of him having to squeeze in there: after a lot of coaxing Luka had eventually admitted that it was quite uncomfortable in the porcalein tub, which she’d expected of course, despite his previous insistence that it was ‘perfectly fine’.
She’d been trying her best to keep her biologist instincts at bay, but that was quite difficult when it was just so fascinating to see him switch between a tail and legs. It happened so quickly, as if the scales just appeared as soon as he got wet and retracted immediately after being dried.
She felt a chin on her shoulder, and glanced down at the mop of bright blonde hair resting on her, looking at what she was doing.
“Smells good.”
She’d discovered that Luka could eat human food, at least when he didn’t have his tail, and that he liked sweet things more than savoury. He also couldn’t handle spice, much to Hyuna’s disappointment – it meant she had to cook meals without any in. Not that she minded, if it was for his sake.
She picked up the plates, and Luka walked over to the table and sat down, playing with his fingers as she carried them over. She placed his in front of him.
He stared at it, squinting his eyes. “Hyuna, what is it?”
Hyuna talked through the food she’d already stuffed in her mouth: “Same as last night; it’s the leftovers.”
Luka nodded, and happily began eating.
A thought occurred to Hyuna. “Hey Luka, can you see alright?”
He looked up. “Hm?”
She leaned forward in her chair, resting her elbows on the table in a way her mother wouldn’t have allowed when she was younger. Waving her fork in the air as she spoke, she continued. “I mean, you bump into shit a lot, and you can’t see things right in front of your face.” She realised it had come out blunter than she’d expected, but Luka didn’t seem to mind.
He took another bite, and frowned a little as he thought. “I can’t see as well above water. It’s sort of…”
“Blurry?”
“Yeah.”
Hm.
They ate their food in silence for a moment, listening to the distant sound of cars from outside.
“I’m gonna take you to get glasses tomorrow, ok? They might help.”
“Glasses? The things some people wear on their faces?”
“Yeah, those. They help people see.”
Luka had, Hyuna had noticed, a very endearing habit. His face made these micro-expressions whenever he was thinking, or listening to something interesting. They were barely noticeable, but the slight twitches of his mouth or eyebrows told Hyuna what he was feeling at any given time. She found it adorable.
She watched him eat, his face bathed in the orangey lamplight of the room, hair falling over his eyes in places. His cheeks were fuller and more colourful than they had been, his hair was much less limp and was curling into more defined waves everyday, and there was a light in his golden eyes that hadn’t been there before.
His smile was the same as ever, if a little more genuine.
“Thank you.” He replied.