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“–so basically we don't know yet whether eels lay eggs or give birth. It's a mystery.”
The hiker nodded and hummed around the bite inside his mouth. “Either way, they're delicious.”
“Yeah, but that's a problem in itself. If we don't know something as basic as the birth process about the eels' life cycle, we can't breed them in captivity, so we have to keep catching wild eels. And the demand only keeps growing, so every year there are less wild eels and their price in the market goes higher. People won't stop buying them though.”
“Oh, wow. I didn't think about that.” The hiker stopped chewing and frowned at his plate. “So that's the reason why you live here? To study the eels?”
Sehun smiled at him. “Eels are the reason why I came in the first place.” He pointed towards the sea, where a fisherman was tying the rope of his boat somewhere between the rocks. He stretched his back and swept his black hair off his forehead. His arms were strong, as expected from an experienced fisherman, but really pale, another mystery for these shores. He took a huge green net from his boat and skipped over the rocks towards the beach bar where the hiker and Sehun were seated.
“That is the reason why I stayed,” Sehun said, and slipped a second straw into his suspicious-looking blue drink.
The fisherman dropped the net at their feet with a loud thud that made the hiker flinch, and took the second straw between his lips without a word. Sehun smiled and followed suit.
“Boring tourists with your marine biology stories?” The fisherman placed a careful peck on Sehun's lips and turned to the hiker. “I'm Minseok, nice to meet you.”
“Baekhyun,” the hiker spluttered. He stood to shake the calloused hand Minseok was offering him. “He was telling me a very interesting story, actually.”
Minseok hummed. “Eels? That one's interesting. The first seven times you hear it, I mean.” He dodged Sehun's jab at his arm and laughed. “I hope you enjoy your stay. Some people like our village so much they end up living here.”
“It wasn't the village what made me move, though,” Sehun retorted, and stood to hug Minseok's back and bury his nose in the crook of his neck. “It was this disgusting fishy smell of yours.”