Archive of Our Own ^beta

“How far are we?” Jinyoung asks, propping one leg up on the crate, hands on his hip.

“Young Majesty,” Sungwoon sighs. Heavily, Jinyoung might add. “That was your fifth question in the past hour.” Sungwoon is a great caretaker for the most part, but he’s lived 6 years longer and that makes him think it’s okay to chastise Jinyoung for his moderately bad decisions from time to time. Jinyoung doesn’t really mind—his Father does.  

“We’re talking about a magical sea witch’s home. Maybe time and space work differently around here.”

“That’s… not how oceanography works, Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung steps down from the bow of the ship, defeated. “I’ll be inside. Let me know when you want to switch.”  

Sungwoon scoffs. “Your Father would kill me.” Like Jinyoung said, he’s a great caretaker—doesn’t like it when other people offer to do his job, et cetera.

“I loved to play pirate when I was younger,” Jinyoung says, chuckling as he makes his way inside.

“Navigating the actual ocean isn’t the same as playing pirate when you were five, Sir!” Sungwoon shouts from the deck.

They’re on their way to meet the infamous sea witch. Based on the information Jinyoung had extorted from one of the palace guards, they live on a coastal body slightly outside of the kingdom’s territory. Admittedly, Jinyoung is breaking a rule (or five) by initiating this visit, but his Father has taught him to fight for what he wants, and right now, there’s nothing he wants more than to thank whoever rescued him from his sinking boat last week in person. He could’ve died.

“Oh god, I could’ve died.” Jinyoung sets his head on the pillow, closes his eyes and prays to the sky for his search to go well.

2 hours and a significant change in the sun’s position later, they find themselves crashing on barren land. Jinyoung nearly falls off his bed. Sungwoon has always been bad at docking.

“Sir, are you sure you had the right bearings?” asks Sungwoon. “Aren’t sea witches supposed to live, I don’t know, in the sea?”

Jinyoung jumps off the ship, landing perfectly on his two feet. Sungwoon rolls his eyes and pulls back the hanging ladder he has just rolled out. If the Prince doesn’t need it, forget about it. “I’m an heir to the throne, Sungwoon. Don’t you think my Father would have my head if I couldn’t read the map?”

“I guess so.”

They end up walking around the perimeter of the same piece of land four times before Jinyoung spots a tall man he automatically recognises as definitely-not-Sungwoon in his peripheral vision. “That’s him,” he yelps, picking up his pace. “Come on!”

The man stands tall, hands on his back. Jinyoung flashes him a grateful smile. He doesn’t smile back. “Ong’s the name,” the man says, narrowing his eyes. “What do you want?”

Sungwoon holds up a finger. “Does everyone have to run laps around your area before meeting you first? Is that a weird magical routine thing or did you just want to mess with—”

“Sorry,” Jinyoung interjects, “Sungwoon—my confidant—tends to be very critical.” He extends a hand in apology. “I’m Jinyoung, Prince of the Kingdom of Silla, and I need your help to turn me into a merman.”

“I’m a sea witch, I don’t do handshakes,” Ong says in response. “Also, what?”

“Merman, uh,” Jinyoung repeats, and while he didn’t exactly anticipate a warm welcome, he did wish for the witch to be a little more perceptive. “I want to be one, temporarily. For a few hours. Or a whole day, if possible, whatever option you have.” As Ong maintains an unamused expression, he continues, "An accident happened while I went boating last week. Some gigantic eels attacked my boat and I was thrown off of it. But you see, I can’t swim.” Jinyoung is pleading at this point. “I was drowning and I swear I stopped breathing for a few seconds before someone carried me back up to the shore. I don’t remember much else.”

“Oh, you useless humans,” the sea witch tsks, “I see where this is going.” Sungwoon’s eyes widen at the remark and Jinyoung places one hand on his caretaker's knee before he can throw hands. “I don’t do the switching,” he muses, making a gesture with his right hand. A cloud of sand pools at the tip of his fingers. “Switching can only be done on The Sunken Bay by a trusted friend of mine.” Out of nowhere, a rolled sheet of papyrus appears, floating in front of Jinyoung's face for him to grab. Sea witches are so cool. “Here, a map of the bay. It shouldn’t take a lot of sailing from here.”

Jinyoung feels like an idiot from how wide he’s grinning. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

“No worries,” Ong replies. “Sail safely.” And just like that, he disappears into thin air.

The thing about sea witches is, well, witches are sneered upon for a reason. Listening to them is generally unadvisable. Jinyoung is starting to think he’s a bit too trusting for his own good.

“Sungwoon, am I too trusting?”   

“Really, Jinyoung?” There’s a bite in Sungwoon’s voice, making Jinyoung wince. “Did you not consider, in the slightest , after, I don’t know, our seventh time circling this stupid bay—” It’s their tenth at the moment. “—that he might’ve lied to you?”

Jinyoung tries to revisit the thought. “No, I was sure I was being six times more thorough.”

Sungwoon drops his head on the steering wheel, groaning loudly. The boat makes a turn sharp. “Have you ever thought that, oh I don't know, maybe listening to a sea witch you encountered on land isn’t a very good idea?”

Stepping aside to take over the wheel, Jinyoung nudges at Sungwoon’s elbows. “I’m sorry. I’ll take us home.”

Jinyoung isn’t looking, but he can feel Sungwoon’s eyes soften. “You’ll find him eventually, don’t worry.” Sungwoon’s a great caretaker, so Jinyoung lets him sleep for the rest of the trip.

This is what Jinyoung remembers:

1. He was woken up by a blow to his head. He thinks it was maybe a rock—he wasn’t sure then and still isn’t sure now, except for the bruise it left on his temple.
2. The voice. Whoever it was, if they were to whisper in his ear right this second, he would recognise it in an instant.
3. Catching a glimpse of a tail before passing out again.
4. Hoping his hero was a pretty boy.
5. Drowning.

“I don’t think turning into a merman is worth it, Sir. Maybe we should try another method.” Sungwoon is on the deck being the better sailor out of the two that he is.

The sea breeze is lovely today, the sky a perfect shade of blue. “Which is why you’re drowning me.”

“WHAT?” Sungwoon yells in utter shock. "I WOULD NEVER DO THAT!”

“Sungwoon, you’d do anything to keep me happy, right?”

“THAT IS LITERALLY THE LAST AND LEAST IMPORTANT THING ON MY JOB DESCRIPTION.”

Jinyoung steps onto the ledge, pointedly ignoring Sungwoon’s frantic attempt to convince him to STAY WHERE YOU ARE, PLEASE, JINYOUNG, YOUR FATHER WOULD REALLY KILL ME THIS TIME. “Just tell him that this is what I want, he’ll understand.” Jinyoung isn’t scared because his Father has, too, done stupid things in his life for love. Like when he swam through swarms of jellyfish to reach the reef where he could obtain the diamond he would later plant into his wedding rings even though he’s severely allergic to jellyfish stings and sea anemones.

What can Jinyoung say, they’re a family of romantics.

“BUT YOU CAN'T SWIM.” Jinyoung realises the boat is on autopilot because Sungwoon is screaming in his ears.

“JESUS… THAT'S KIND OF THE WHOLE POINT, SUNGWOON,” Jinyoung shouts back.

Said caretaker stomps around in intense confusion and mild anger, his boots clacking against the wood. “Oh god... oh god oh god—”

“If I had to pick the one person I trust the most in this world it would be you, Sungwoon. Now push me. Please?” Sungwoon stops in his track and hangs his head down.

“You’re stupid, you know that?” he jabs, but as sharp-tongued as he is, Sungwoon can’t keep the worry out of his voice. “I’ll see you alive on the shore, Young Majesty.”

And then it’s pitch black.

This is what Jinyoung doesn’t remember:

1. There’s a reason why humans and mermaids don’t interact.

The first thing he notices is that he’s floating—or more like tied to the bottom of the ocean and is being swayed by the strong current, he assumes, judging by the seaweed that is hugging his entire body. Which must mean he’s dreaming because first, he doesn't swim, and second, there’s no way for humans to breathe so easily underwater. He blinks a couple of times, to check, and panics as he realizes that he’s 100% underwater.

“They’re protective bubbles,” a voice surprises him from behind. Jinyoung snaps his head so fast he almost gets whiplash because he recognises that voice. And when he registers the other's face as his vision comes to a focus, his breath hitches in his throat. “Explains the breathing and floating. I figured you can’t swim.” This boy’s scarily beautiful and he knows that much about Jinyoung already? Jinyoung’s brain is short-circuiting. “Why risk your life if you can’t swim?”

“Uh,” Jinyoung hesitates. “You.”

The boy—merman, now that Jinyoung has confirmed the tail—folds his arms, frowning. “Huh?”

Jinyoung tries again, “I did it for you. I wanted to see you.”

Beautiful Heroic Merman opens his mouth, but holds back. After a few seconds of thoughtful lip-biting, he asks, “Do you want to go home?”

Jinyoung nods fervently. “Only if you come with me?” he offers with a small smile. By now, Jinyoung's certain his ears are playing tricks on him because he swears he heard Beautiful Heroic Merman chuckle.

“The name’s Jihoon,” Beautiful Heroic Merman says. Jinyoung would wonder if that's how all sea creatures introduce themselves but he's too busy swooning. “And you’re not supposed to be here, you know? The mermaid population isn’t exactly the biggest fans of you… humans,” he explains, sounding apologetic. “If they found you first, I don’t think you’d even be alive right now.”

“Hmm, and why are you keeping me all to yourself?”

“Because,” Jihoon starts, swimming closer, “I’ve rescued you once, so might as well.” His face is only inches away, if not for the bubble. “Also, you look good on land.” And before Jinyoung could say anything, he adds, “I’ll have to knock you out again, for safety measures. Gotta convince the people you’re dead and useless.”

“—I trust you,” Jinyoung blurts, not enjoying the way his heartbeat is quickening as Jihoon untangles the seaweed around his legs. “And by the way, I’m Jinyoung.”

“Oh,” Jihoon pauses, “I know.”

The next time he stirs awake, Jinyoung can feel sand between his toes and in his throat. He’s drenched all over and there’s a hand on his forehead. Wanting to let the touch linger, he keeps his eyes shut. He’s surprisingly really good at this—his eyelids aren't shaking at all. He makes a mental note to tell Sungwoon all about it later.

Suddenly, there’s a loud blow to his head. “Ouch!”

When he opens one eye, Jihoon is glaring down at him. He quickly realises that his head is on Jihoon's lap. “I knew you were pretending to be unconscious!” Jihoon exclaims. Bump. “This one’s for lying to me and polluting our ecosystem with your human clothes and human boat engines.” Smack. “And that one’s for all the trouble you’ve put me through just to get you back on land.” Jihoon huffs, his cheeks puffed out. The sight is so cute it makes Jinyoung’s head spin. “Do you know how hard it is to swim while carrying a whole other person?”

“Am I not super light underwater?” Jinyoung slurs, still feeling doozy. “Upward thrust… or something.”

“Your bubbles, they made you a lot heavier,” Jihoon says as he removes seaweed bits from Jinyoung’s eyebrows. “Don’t put yourself in danger like that ever again.” He looks funny from where Jinyoung is looking up at him, like he’s having a hard time breathing. He must have noticed Jinyoung staring, because he says, “Sorry, the gills always take a while to warm up on land.”

When Jinyoung laughs in relief, the mischief in him starts creeping back out. “I’m starting to think you like seeing me in danger.”

“What?” Jihoon snaps.

“You only ever come around when I’m falling off a boat, or drowning. In that particular order.”

“That’s not true,” Jihoon mumbles, voice quiet. His right hand is stroking Jinyoung’s wet hair, and it feels oddly familiar. “I watch you from afar. From my rocks.”

Jinyoung only stares deeper into the merman’s eyes, surprised at the confession. He wants to say something about things being unfair, like how Jihoon could watch him all this time while he wasn’t even allowed to be underwater, but decides against it when Jihoon doesn’t break the eye contact. His gaze is piercing, makes Jinyoung trust him even more. “I’m flattered,” he finally says, “But I do have a lot of ques—”

“Can I at least bend down and kiss you first?”

“Oh.” Jihoon: 1, Jinyoung: 0. “I meant to ask you to do just that.”