Chapter Text
Well, yeah, I guess going for a walk on my own down the rocks of the beach hadn’t been such a great idea in what safety is concerned, more so taking into account it’s me who we’re talking about. But then again, when do I have genuinely great ideas? I fell down once again and hurt my knee and sighed. I should have just walked by the sandy part of the beach, like normal people do, but instead I wanted to see the cave Jumin Han had told me was passing the rocks. Silly me.
I had met Jumin Han when I forgot the tickets I had bought to see a painting exhibition for class. He saw me there, begging the porter of the museum to let me in, repeating my name over and over again for him to look it down in the database I knew existed with the data of the people who buy the tickets, and he approached me, kindly offering me some help. Apparently, that man was the heir of a corporation I had never heard about because sometimes I seem to live in another universe, and the reluctant porter let me get inside the building. I thanked Jumin Han over and over again, and we ended up watching the paintings together. Surprised at my knowledge of art, which is not that great but I guess he thought that it was fortunate that an eighteen-year-old girl knew something about it, he introduced me to the painter and we ended up at the artist’s impressive house having some lunch and I befriended them. Jumin Han invited us to his house at the beach since the painter needed some inspiration and I needed to mess around in a different place. End of flashback.
The point is I was alone at the rocks and I finally arrived to that secluded cave near the shore that looked as taken from the H2O series, when I suddenly heard a beautiful voice singing.
“Wow. Rocks here sing,” I said, sarcastically and feeling sorry for the person who had dared to invade Jumin Han’s property so shamelessly.
I approached the cave and entered, because I’m not quite skilled at protecting myself from strangers, and saw the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen singing, half of his body in the water.
“Oh, my fucking God,” I cursed in front of the stranger.
He interrupted his song to look at my surprised self, arching an eyebrow sexily.
“Welcome, princess,” he winked. “What’s your name?”
“Yuuki,” I replied.
“Nice to meet you, Yuuki,” he smiled. “Was I delighting you with my song?”
“Yah, sort of. What are you doing in Jumin Han’s property?” I asked.
“My lady, we don’t understand of property,” he winked and got his tail out of the water.
Wait. Tail? I choked with my chocolate bar.
“You’re a mermaid what the fuck?!” I asked, cursing for the second time in front of a stranger as if my parents hadn’t taught me manners.
“Hey, it’s ‘merman’, actually. You know, like a male mermaid,” he replied, somehow offended.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I apologised.
“It’s okay, babe, it’s okay.”
I looked at him. He seemed to be one of those people that flirt with everybody. I didn’t know if that was a trait typical of mermen or if that was simply his personality.
“Well, I’m glad that’s the case, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
He smiled.
“Well, come here, human, and I’ll sing for you.”
I didn’t want to go closer to the merman because I’m not so thoughtless and I know some mythology. You know, those stories in which mermaids took sailors to the water and they drown and all that.
“I’d rather you sang from the distance. I shouldn’t trust strangers.”
“That’s having good judgement,” he winked. “What should I do, then, to stop being a stranger for you?”
I thought for a while.
“Maybe you could start by telling me your name,” I replied.
“My human fans call me by my artistic name, Zen,” he smirked.
“And your real name?” I insisted.
“I don’t have any other name,” he replied. “Maybe you could name me.”
I thought for a while, unsure and almost agobiated at the important task.
“Mmm... Hyun like my first dog and Ryu like my best friend in school.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said the thing about the dog out loud, but apparently mermen didn’t know what dogs were, so it didn’t matter, fortunately, and he only smirked.
“I’m glad you didn’t call me as your first boyfriend or something.”
“Like Freddie? No way, he was an asshole. And still is, probably.”
“What did he do to our little human?”
“Nothing, really, he was just one of those people who is obsessed with the looks of his girlfriend, and when he asked me to choose between chocolate and him, I chose chocolate,” he chuckled. “I mean it. I started to date him because he had a motorbike and I thought he was cool, so one day he came to my house and asked me if we hadn’t had sex yet because I was unsure about my body. I told him I was not and he replied I should, and asked me to quit chocolate. I grabbed the spoon and dug it in my chocolate ice cream, looking at him, and ate it. He left and I continued my life.”
“What a stupid man,” he said, apparently genuinely angry. “You are perfect, princess. Don’t listen to that kind of comments.”
“Well, thank you,” I replied, surprised at the sudden compliment and blushing lightly.
I sat on a rock and the merman swam closer to me.
“You’re a curious girl,” he said, looking at me with interest.
“You’re strange too. I mean, as a person, not because you’re a merman.”
“Is that supposed to make it better?” he frowned.
“I’m sorry!” I exclaimed, putting my hands on my mouth. “I meant it in a good way, I guess.”
“You guess?” he raised an eyebrow, amused.
“Gaaaaaaaah!” I exclaimed. “Don’t tease me, I’m quite clumsy at human interaction.”
He chuckled.
“Well, I’m not human, so you shouldn’t worry about that.”
“You behave as one,” I said, looking at him between my fingers.
“You’re too cute,” he smiled.
“Yah, sure. Oh, my God!” I exclaimed. “What time is it? I was supposed to go back in five minutes?”
Zen frowned.
“Why?”
“They’re waiting for me.”
“Who?”
“Jumin Han and that artist. I have to get ready for dinner. I thing Jumin Han wants me to wear something fancy.”
“Will you come back tomorrow?” he asked.
“Oh. Sure, why not?”
“It was nice to meet you, Yuuki.”
“It was nice to meet you too, Zen,” I smiled and he widened his eyes, blushing lightly.
“See you tomorrow. Don’t forget it.”
“I won’t... I think. See you.”
I left carelessly without knowing I had left the merman disappointed at my going and surprised at the fact that I didn’t yield to his beauty, voice and charms as the rest of the human women he had known had done. He smiled. He couldn’t wait to see me the next day.