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Yoongi first notices him while doing repairs to his one-man gilnetter Holly, the first boat he ever owned. It’s far between every time he sees him; he’s never approached the docks, but he’s taken notice of him anyway.
Yoongi’s never cared much for extravagance or pretty things, most of his earnings going right back into his boat, but Jimin’s beauty is hard to miss. A serene laughter comes from the beach and he promptly forgets about his motor, a greasy hand shielding his eyes from the lingering sun. There are boys dancing on the beach, naked save for skins of some sort. They aren’t close, but the laughing boy still catches his full attention. His hair glittering beautifully in the last light.
His head snaps in the direction of some loud fishermen, celebrating their return to land with a good catch no doubt. He finally registers the feeling of grease on his forehead and grimaces. When he returns his gaze to the beach the boys are gone.
If not for the telltale footprints in the wet sand he might have thought it was his tiredness playing tricks on him. Naked boys dancing on the beach, really?
Though he never got a good look at his face, the beautiful man remains in his thoughts until next he sees him.
It’s not until years later that they actually interact. Yoongi’s been admiring him from a distance for the longest time, convinced he can’t be human looking the way he does. If he didn’t know any better he’d think him a siren, though he doesn’t look like he would harm a fly, much less lure fishermen to their deaths.
Yoongi’s the captain of his own trawler now and he’s got several men working under him. He tends to leave it to Namjoon though as he much prefers the intimacy of his little Holly.
One day Jimin stands at the docks, peeking into the production through the wide open door.
“Excuse me?” It’s a feeble voice, but still beautiful.
Yoongi looks up from where he’s gutting salmon in preparation for sales. He’s taken aback by the proximity of this man he’s admired from afar, so it takes him a moment to answer.
“Yes? What do you need?”
“Um, you sell fish here?” Yoongi chuckles and motions to the fish he’s gripping firmly with his oilskin glove. When he doesn’t say anything else, Yoongi’s smile falters and he let’s out a shy ‘yes’.
“Could I buy some off you? I don’t know how much I need,” A frown mars his beautiful face.
“Depends,” Yoongi replies. “What fish do you want and how do you want it?”
“Whole.”
“Whole?” Yoongi parrots with a tilt to his head.
“Whole.” He smiles, but it’s not as full as it was the times he’d danced on the beach.
“Alright...” Yoongi quirks an eyebrow at him. “What fish would you like?”
“Whatever is cheapest.” He says eagerly.
“Okay. Normally that would be saithe, but I have some rose fish or haddock if you’d like.”
“Rose fish? That’s the weird one with the eyes?” His face scrunches into the most adorable grimace and Yoongi wants to kick himself. He’s being way too distracted by him. “I don’t like that one. I’ll take the haddocks.”
“How many kilos?” He ushers Jimin towards the weight at the back of the open area and places a styrofoam box on it. One of the flight ones that has a ‘diaper’ and no holes.
“Five. No, ten!”
“I recommend you freeze the ones you won’t be using today.” Jimin nods eagerly, but then shakes his head.
“Oh no, they’ll all be eaten today.”
“Well, here you go,” Yoongi puts on his best smile as he hands him the box. “That’ll be 60 pounds.” The smile falls off of Jimin’s face immediately.
“Oh,” His shoulders slump down low and Yoongi wants to tell him to just take the box free of charge, but he doesn’t get the time to. “I just have 50. How much can I get with that?”
My heart, soul and very being.
“It’s fine,” Yoongi waves a hand dismissively. “Let’s call it first time discount.”
“Really?” He sounds positively overjoyed, but the smile is tentative, in case Yoongi doesn’t really mean it.
“Really.”
He sets the box down on the weight and Yoongi gasps once he’s pressed into Jimin’s neck; the boy all but strangling him in a hug. He hates himself for noticing how he smells like the sea on a perfect spring day.
“Thank you.” He hugs him tighter as he says it and Yoongi legitimately can’t breathe now.
“You’re welcome.” He must have noticed how strangled it sounded, for he jumps away instantly, face beet red.
“I’m sorry, I just- you’re being so nice to me, and,”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m Yoongi,” He offers his hand, after removing the glove, which seems kind of unnecessary after that hug.
“Jimin,” He smiles so wide his eyes close and Yoongi tries not to get lost in it. Even so, there’s something missing from the smile, from the boy, but he has no idea what.
Once Jimin starts coming every day, with more than enough cash after the first time, Yoongi’s rarely found anywhere near his trawler. He came in late one night, but even so Jimin stood there, waiting for him, when there was numerous other fishermen he could have gotten his fresh fish from.
He doesn’t know why, but he’s strangely drawn to him.
“Do you have any saithe today? I think it’s my favourite.” Jimin beams and Yoongi struggles not to do the same, especially since he’s got said fish, having noticed Jimin’s penchant for buying them.
Yoongi doesn’t notice that the beautiful man is crying at first. It looks like he’s just sitting on the beach, enjoying the soft breeze and waves of the ocean. He’s just about to look away and get on his way when Jimin’s head slumps and his shoulders start shaking. It makes him freeze in his steps, unsure of what to do. Should he leave him alone or try and comfort him or lighten the mood? Perhaps distract him from whatever has him down?
Yoongi sighs loudly to himself for not just walking away before stepping into the slightly damp sand by the road.
He can tell Jimin must have noticed someone walking towards him by the stiffening of his shoulders, but he doesn’t say anything or turn around. Yoongi bites his lip, wondering if this might have been a mistake, but he thinks better of it and just slumps down next to him. The wide eyes that meet his makes him grin slightly.
“Hey,” Yoongi says awkwardly before clearing his throat. In his head he’s chanting, telling himself not to let his eyes linger too long on the tears at the corner of Jimin’s eyes. “Beautiful weather.” He cringes - how could that possibly be the best he could come up with? Jimin’s head falls back in laughter though, so he supposes he could have done far worse.
“Yeah,” Jimin nods after composing himself, wiping a fluffy blue sleeve at the corner of his eye. “I like spring the best.” He shrugs and Yoongi just smiles. “I’m sorry for, well, this.” Jimin points to his red eyes and makes a face and Yoongi feels his own fall immediately. He gestures wildly with his hands while shaking his head. “Don’t be, I’m the idiot intruding,” He snorts at himself and continues. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay. You’re my best costumer after all.” Yoongi winks and Jimin smiles again, seemingly appeased.
“Should I be offended that’s all I am?”
“Let me know what’s troubling you.” Yoongi counters with a soft smile.
“I just,” Jimin turns his head back to the ocean, small droplets of salty water being thrown on them by the soft wind. “I miss it.” It’s fairly cryptic and Yoongi cocks his head, trying to decipher what he means, but doesn’t know if he’s supposed to. Perhaps it’s too personal.
“Can you get it back?” By the quiver of his lip, Yoongi guesses not and that it was the wrong thing to say.
“I don’t know.” The quivering voice is barely over a whisper. At a loss, not knowing how to comfort him, Yoongi does the only thing suitable; places a strong hand on Jimin’s shoulder and squeezes.
“Do—“ Yoongi cocks his head again at Jimin’s pursed lips and urges him to continue. “Do you know how to swim?” Jimin asks so fast, eyes still on the waves, that it takes him a second to register what he asked for.
“Um, yeah. Don’t everyone?”
“I wish I knew.” Jimin says and Yoongi struggles to understand how something so simple and easily fixed has the other so despondent. Maybe that’s why he ends up offering.
“I could teach you.” He says offhandedly and glances at Jimin who instantly perks up.
“Really? You’d do that?” Just for you.
“Sure, it’s no big deal. It’s easy enough and I’ve got a lot of free time lately.” It’s true, the guys are out on the trawler without him most of the time and he only really goes out to keep Jimin as a customer.
“Are you always this nice?”
“Only to the pretty ones.” Yoongi chokes on his words and opens it to backtrack, but he’s saved by Jimin’s snickering.
“Thank you, Yoongi.”
“Don’t mention it.”
For someone who doesn’t know how to swim, Jimin sure isn’t scared of the sea. The way he gracefully moves with the waves makes it look like he was born from it.
Yoongi’s hands are gentle, but firm underneath Jimin’s arms. It’s almost unnerving how trusting Jimin is being at his mercy. There’s no apprehension in his eyes or stiffness in his movements, just pure joy, harmony even.
“Moving your legs like I told you?” He says after noticing a lack of ripples in the water.
“Sorry, I was distracted.” Jimin grins sheepishly up at him.
“By what? I won’t drop you.”
“Oh, no, I’m just happy. I love being in the water so much.”
“I’m still curious how you haven’t learned earlier.”
“I knew, once.” The mood quickly drops and Yoongi’s mind is empty as to why this would be a sensitive subject.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m just happy to learn again.”
“I was away from the sea so long, my mother got a job in the city, and I didn’t see the ocean in years. It’s almost like riding a bike though. You’ll be swimming like a fish in no time.” He assures him.
“Like a fish? That doesn’t make any sense, Yoongs.” Jimin wrinkles his nose.
“You making fun of me? It’s just something you say, it’s not literal; I know you don’t have fins.”
“Did you check?”
“No,” Yoongi snorts.
“Then how would you know?”
“You’re ridiculous and I’m changing my mind about not dropping you.”
“Yoongi!” Jimin’s arms are around his neck in a second and his feet vine around his waist with crushing force.
“You’ll take both of us down if I can’t breathe, angel.” The endearment works and Jimin goes slack in his arms, sputtering with pink cheeks. Heat rushes in his stomach knowing he can make Jimin just as much of a mess as he makes of him. “Hop on my back and I’ll take us back to the shallows.”
“O-ok,” Jimin slips round easily while grabbing at his shoulders. They might be the same height, but Jimin doesn’t take up his whole back with his lithe frame. His lip twitches up at the feeling of Jimin’s face dropping to the crook of his neck.
“I’m...different.” Jimin says and Yoongi’s brows furrows while he squints.
“What do you mean?” Yoongi could probably write a book on how Jimin is different to all the rest, but he’s sure Jimin is thinking of something else.
“I’ve never told anyone, only one other person knows..”
“Jin?” He refrains asking how the older man knows since he didn’t tell him himself, he supposes it could be innocuous, but the man gives him the creeps.
“It’d be easier to show you, but I can’t,” Then Jimin laughs. “It might freak you out though, so perhaps there’s something good to this after all.
“Well you’ve certainly got me intrigued.”
“Catch me and I might tell you.” Before Yoongi can ask Jimin springs to his feet and runs down the beach, looking back to give Yoongi a mischievous smile. Yoongi says a curse while dusting himself off, then he runs after the blond with everything he’s got.
Yoongi laughs at Jimin’s yelps as he’s closing in on him. They’re halfway across the beach when he’s confident he’s got him and lunges onto him, chest landing on his perfectly plush ass, making him all kinds of flustered before he remembers his mission and spins Jimin around; pinning him down to the ground. Also bad brain, bad - that’s not an appropriate train of thought.
“Got you,” He says triumphantly, but it comes out a bit too breathless. They laugh and Yoongi leans his head down in exhaustion.
“So,” Yoongi lifts his head and stares into Jimin’s shiny brown eyes. “I believe I earned your secret.” Jimin licks his lips and Yoongi all but has a heart attack.
“You might not believe me,” Jimin pouts and looks away, tilting his head towards the sea. Yoongi resists telling him he’d believe Jimin even if he said the moon is made of cheese. “I’m not...” Jimin takes a languid breath and Yoongi holds his own, just looks at him intently. “Entirely human.” It’s a weird thing to hear, not to mention say, but Yoongi’s not surprised at all. There’s always been something about Jimin, and he’s itching to know what.
“Mermaid?” Yoongi shakes his head, that can't be. With the way the other always looks longingly at the sea, that couldn’t possibly be it. Unless maybe his tail was damaged somehow? He’s stirred from his reverie by an incredulous laugh.
“You’re not even gonna call me crazy, you just go straight to the guessing game?” His chest heaves heavily against Yoongi’s from laughing and probably because of his entire weight on him, so Yoongi leans on his forearms in the sand, alleviating some pressure.
“There’s just something about you,” Yoongi murmurs.
“Maybe you’re the crazy one, what if I’m just screwing around?”
“Then I’m crazy.” Yoongi shrugs, still staring into his pretty eyes and loving the way they shine and how he looks like he’s about to tell him to piss off.
“I’m what you call a selkie,” Jimin cringes his eyes shut before slowly opening one eye to look at him, probably not eager to gauge his reaction and Yoongi can’t really blame him.
“Selkie... that’s like a shitty mermaid, right?” Jimin gasps and hits at him while moaning words like ‘ass’, ‘unbelievable’ and ‘rude’. It’s adorable, really. “So I was kind of right; I’ll take it.”
“Wow, I can’t believe—“
“I was right?” He might deserve the following pinch, but it doesn’t stop him from tickling Jimin and earning a squeal.
“That you’re such an ass,”
“Have you met me?”
“Memo to self, never tell another human again.”
“Probably a good idea,” Yoongi nods while pursing his lips. “Can I see?” He refrains from telling him how he expects him to be adorably chubby. The seals around here are, anyway, and he expects whatever Jimin is to be of the same variety - it’d stand out to much otherwise.
“I.. can’t.” Yoongi nods in understanding. It must have taken a lot to share it with him. When Jimin’s eyes fall he feels bad and quickly wants to amend the situation.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to feel bad. I understand, Jiminie.” He cups his cheek and tries a careful smile, hoping to bring back Jimin’s.
“It’s not— I would, but I,” Yoongi’s never seen eyes well up with tears that quickly before and his mind is reeling.
“Hey, don’t cry,” He tries his best to sound comforting; lowering both his tone of voice and volume. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“He took it from me,” Jimin says into his hands and sniffles loudly. He? The only other person he’s seen him with is Seokjin— and it clicks. One other person knows, but he didn’t volunteer the information. So if Jin knows, it’s not because he’s a friend helping him, but something more sinister. He must have taken the one possession a selkie can’t bear to be without. Why else would Jimin look so longingly at the sea?
Intense disgust wells in his stomach. How could anyone be so cruel? Jin must know how much Jimin craves to return to the sea - anyone can see it and tell how Jimin doesn’t belong here - so how can he keep him stranded?
“I’ll kill him,” Yoongi snarls which startles Jimin from his cries.
“Please just... hold me,” While his small voice only fuels his anger towards Jin, it also shoves away every thought that’s not about comforting Jimin right here and now. Yoongi sighs and flops down on his side in the cold sand and reaches over to pull Jimin to his chest. He wonders if anyone knows, if Jimin has other’s like him waiting for him.
“Where is it?” Yoongi demands, pointing a finger at Jin’s chest. Jimin’s eyebrows are pinched together in fear and worry. He never meant for any of this to happen, never meant to get Yoongi involved, but Yoongi... Sweet, caring Yoongi.
“I burned it,” Jin spits and Jimin’s whole world crumbles. He suddenly feels like he’s watching a movie, but the sounds don’t come out right. All he hears is a dreadful beeping noise as he watches the initial surprise on Yoongi’s face melt into disgust and seething anger. He wants to scream at him to stop as Yoongi reaches for Jin’s collar and pulls his fist back to punch him.
His crying must be loud for Yoongi snaps out of it, like in a daze, and drops his hands. The hands reach out for him now and Jimin doesn’t know if he wants to melt into his touch or disappear from this world entirely. There’s nowhere for him to go now. He’s trapped here for ever. He’ll never swim across oceans with Taehyung or Jeongguk again. Will he ever even see the youngest again? Jeongguk has yet to wander the beach again out of fear and it’s been years.
It feels a lot like dying, knowing what happened to his precious skin, his true form, and he supposes he is. He’s been dead for years, he just didn’t know until now. Part of him wants to curse out Jin, but for some unfathomable reason part of him tries to understand and can’t think of him as that cruel. Jin can’t possibly know how much it means to one of his kind - no one could possibly be so cruel, right?
“Yoongi,” He sobs as he’s gripped tightly in the fisherman’s arms.
“I’m so sorry, Jiminie.” Yoongi whispers into his hair. The wails of the younger had been so painful and hopeless he couldn’t help weeping for him himself. “I wish there was something I could do.”
“Can I stay tonight? I have to go back, but I can’t—“
“You’re not going back to him.”
“I have nowhere else to go. I can’t return to the sea and it’s not like I have any papers, there’s nothing..”
“Stay with me, angel. Please. He’s hurt you so much I can’t stand the thought.” Jimin start’s shaking in his arms for the first time in an hour and Yoongi grits his teeth while he holds him through his tears.
“Thank you,” Jimin’s voice is so raw it makes his skin crawl. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, truly.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Just thinking Jimin might entertain the thought that he owes him makes him feel queasy. He’s just being a decent human being. “I’m sorry I don’t know what to say. What he did is.. beyond cruel.” Jimin just nods against him between choked sobs and ends up as close to Yoongi as he can possibly get. Thankfully it doesn’t take much longer for him to fall asleep.
Jimin is excited for Yoongi. He recently afforded his biggest and finest trawler yet and while Namjoon will be the captain of the vessel, Yoongi will be joining for the maiden voyage. He won’t be gone long, Jimin recognises this, but he’s still anxious to see him go.
In the past few years they’ve never really been apart; Yoongi was always there for the good and the bad. He’s eternally grateful, he never thought he could love another like he loved the sea. When he learned he’d never return to the sea, to Taehyung and Jeongguk, he thought he’d slowly, but surely wither and die. And he would have, had it not been for Yoongi.
His Yoongi.
The thought lights him up from the very core of his being.
“What are you doing?” Yoongi blinks up at him with sleep in his eyes, voice groggy with sleep.
“Taking a mental picture.” Jimin shrugs before leaning in for a kiss, cringing at his husband’s morning breath.
“I’ll only be a couple of weeks, sunshine,” Yoongi rolls his eyes at him, but the fond smile on his face nullifies the effect and then some. “You’ll be fine.” Jimin yelps when Yoongi throws himself over him and showers him in kisses.
“You smell awful, get off,” He whines, but doesn’t really mean it. How can someone give you butterflies after years of being together? He hopes it never stops, wanting butterflies even as they’re old and wrinkly.
“What’s that, more kisses?” Yoongi tilts his head at him and grins. “Your wish is my command, angel.”
“Yoongi— no, stop— ah!”
He’s running as quickly as his feet can take him. When he’s finally on the pier he’s out of breath, leaning over with his hands on his knees as he chokes on air. Namjoon and Hoseok are the first ones off and they look worse for wear. There’d been a terrible storm and Jimin hasn’t had a proper night’s rest since.
“Please tell me I’ve lost sleep over nothing,” Jimin smiles albeit very forced. The glance between the duo tells him everything he needs to know.
“Jimin,” Hoseok starts, wetting his lips and not meeting his eyes. When he scratches his neck and doesn’t continue Jimin turns to Namjoon.
“Joonie, where’s Yoongi?”
“Jimin—“
“Where’s my husband?” He’s close to shouting, fists shaking at his side while his vision blurs.
“I don’t know what to say, Jimin. Or how to say it,” Namjoon’s voice is shaking and that’s when the ground beneath his feet really starts crumbling. “I’m so sorry, if I’d been on deck it would have been me. It should have been me. Please forgive me,”
Jimin blinks profusively while shaking his head. It can’t be.
There’s no body at the funeral, it was lost at sea as is often the case with fishermen.
No one sees Jimin after the funeral, they give him space, figuring it’s what he needs after the loss of his husband. It’s around the same time that the singing from the beach starts, several voices in harmony. It’s a beautiful and undeniably forlorn sound. No one knows what it is or where the beautiful voices come from, but the phenomenon quickly makes the small fishing town a popular spot for tourists.
The selkies mourn their friend, and Jimin finally, after all these years, returned to the sea and to his love for ever.