Work Text:
“Dae!! Have you received the news yet?” A flurry of activities; a whirlwind of red with specks of black sparkled under the sunlight that has managed to reach beneath the shallower, clear waters of the reef. Bubbles of air fills his vision.
He hears him before he sees him, the elegantly sophisticated colour combination of his best friend’s tail merely providing him with a further confirmation that Baekhyun is currently right in front of him.
Byun Baekhyun, 21 years old, has been Jongdae’s best friend ever since the two of them were still tiny little eggs (proclaimed by Baekhyun) laid side by side, all because their mothers had been best friends as well and gone into labour at the same time while they were having their daily gossip session at one of the underwater cafes. Having grown up together, the two of them are similar in many ways, such as their equally adorable and petite statures, beautiful features, melodic singing voices and the mischievous nature with a penchant for occasional pranks. The two of them do almost everything together except for a single major divergence in their lives.
And that is their profession. While Jongdae is a model, Baekhyun enjoys being a makeup artist. Actually, both of them had been scouted to be models under the largest and only modelling agency exclusively for merpeople. Jongdae had immediately jumped onto the bandwagon, eager to enter the dazzling world of beauty and fashion. Contrary to his expectations, Baekhyun declined, opting to focus on his passion for makeup.
“Oh, you mean the additional 100 copies L’océan decided to reprint after this month’s issue of myself on the cover page were sold out?” Jongdae is unable to hide the little swish his tail makes whenever he is feeling pleased. “Yeah, I’ve heard of course.”
It has been 3 years since he started modelling and even till today, he still experiences the feeling of amazement at the fact that his looks are greatly appreciated by majority of his merfolk population. Granted he had been well-loved by his fellow neighbours for his doll-like looks ever since he had been a toddler who had still been unable to swim properly, Jongdae likes to let his mind wander whenever he is alone and bored enough without anything to hold his attention. Negativity often finds him during those times; what if the public finds him to be too plain-looking and not fit to be amongst other glamourous-looking celebrities…what if they think he is a joke for deciding to be a model without any substantial looks to support his chosen career…
Violet grey eyes rolled at him. “That news was so last week.”
“Then what are you referring to? Because no, I don’t think I’ve heard about anything else yet other than that.” Jongdae is puzzled. What could have gotten his best friend to be this excited.
Annoyance mixed together with fond exasperation flashes across Baekhyun’s face - the former being directed Jongdae’s slightly forgetful manager while the latter is undoubtedly reserved for his adorable yet clueless friend.
“Wow I can’t believe this but at the same time I kind of saw it coming. As you can already tell by now, Junmyeon has once again forgotten to inform you about such an important matter.”
With an exaggerated flicker of his wrist, Baekhyun causes more bubbles to form around them.
“Come on, it’s better if I show it to you.”
Jongdae soon finds himself being dragged by Baekhyun towards the shore, where a coastal neighbourhood is located within walking distance from the beach.
This particular residential area belongs to the merpeople who originates from the same oceanic zone as Jongdae. Ever since the merfolk decided to open up to the human population and signed a friendly treaty with them, his kind had then establish living quarters on land should any of them wish to spend time just like the humans. Great perks comes along with such a situation - access to the internet and being able to wear trendy clothes. But how can they be blamed when they never saw the need to wear any clothes in their mer-form, which equated to the lack of opportunities to be decked in fashionable outfits.
Tails smoothly transitions into pairs of human feet the moment they reach the coastline. The two of them scamper further up the beach, where racks of towels have been prepared for the sake of helping the merpeople to cover their modesty while they make the short walk to their houses on land.
“You’ll definitely be amazed when you find out about it. I mean, who would have thought… our very own little Jongdae all grown up and progressed to this stage… I feel like a proud mother.” Baekhyun wipes a fake tear as he lovingly caresses Jongdae’s blonde locks.
Jongdae rolls his eyes at his best friend’s antics. “I mean, why can’t you just tell it to me right away instead of keeping me in suspense?” He may or may not have whined a little.
“It is truly better if you see it for yourself. I assure you that it will be a nicer surprise that way.”
Oh really? I doubt so but whatever floats on your tiny boat… Jongdae thinks to himself as he begrudgingly follows Baekhyun up to the stone path leading from the beach up to their neighbourhood.
They soon find themselves in front of a simple house with neither any sophisticated designs nor a fancy yard. In fact, if one looks carefully, one will realise that all the houses in the estate does not come with a garden. Given the fact that as merpeople, most of them do not spend majority of their time on land and thus, having to maintain a garden is thought to be unnecessary and practically a waste of their time.
Walking up to the front door, Jongdae waits as Baekhyun types in a string of digits into the electronic pad, the door unlocking immediately afterwards with a soft beep. The two of them then steps into the house, where Jongdae notes approvingly at the sight of a neat and dust-free living room. “Mum must have come in not long ago to check on the house and clean it at the same time.” Baekhyun comments.
“It’s been so long since I last saw auntie.” Jongdae purses his lips and his mouth curls into a tiny frown. “I miss her.”
“Oh come on… you just saw her a few days back when you came over to hand out a few extra copies of your magazine to my household.” Comes the retort from his best friend.
Jongdae huffs. “But your mum is so sweet and lovely, I love her as much as I love my own mum! Especially so when she makes those delicious seaweed pastries…” He starts to drool at the thought of Mrs Byun’s mouthwatering treats.
“Just admit you are in only for the food.” Baekhyun mutters.
“Actually, you should come over our house soon. I’ll get my mum to make all your favourites in celebration for… this!” Baekhyun continues, exclaiming with a flourish.
Jongdae finds himself being amazed as he realises he has not seen Baekhyun turning the computer on and getting into one of the famous entertainment news website. He really must have been daydreaming too much about the love of his life, desserts.
Padding closer to the screen, he startles. He admits that this is indeed big news. Why is he the last to find out about it though? Really, how could such an important information have slipped out of his manager’s mind. And were they really not going to ask for his opinion?
There in all its glory, under the eye-catching headline of ‘OH SEHUN TO COLLABORATE WITH MERMAN KIM JONGDAE FOR ERIVERSE. COULD THIS BE THE COLLABORATION OF THE CENTURY?’, is a picture of him from a shoot he once did with an underwater jewellery brand, decked in sparkling gold chains and looking all sultry, collated next to a stunning photograph of the most popular model, on land, Oh Sehun, also known as the face of Louis Vuitton.
Jongdae feels faint all of a sudden.
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The previous night had been a sleepless one for Jongdae, tossing and turning in his bed, being unable to fall asleep from the sheer anxiety of meeting with the entire photoshoot crew the next day as well as being fraught with fear at the thought of them not accepting him for being of a different ‘species’ from them.
The present him finds himself being scolded by Baekhyun on one side, and nagged by his manager on the other side since he is trapped (seated) between them with no means of escaping. A car had been sent to pick them up from their residential estate early this morning, and one glance at the car screams anything but inconspicuous. It is a freaking rolls royce; even Jongdae, who knows the bare minimum about cars can identify the brand almost immediately. Jongdae wonders for a moment as to which influential figure is behind his offer for a collaboration between merpeople and humans, as it is no doubt an extremely bold move to make as public opinions play an important role in the entertainment scene, as well as bringing such a lavish car to drive them to the location where the photoshoot will be held.
“Look at how huge your dark eye-bags are! It is going to take me extra time to cover them up later on …”
“Oh no, what happened Dae? Did you not sleep at all last night? Were you really nervous for the shoot today? You should have gotten at least a few hours of sleep so that you will have the energy to pass through this day smoothly… But don’t worry for Baekhyun and I will be there for you and we will make sure that everything goes well!” Junmyeon prattles on like a worried hen.
“Alright, alright, I have heard you guys clearly but can you both just calm down and stop making me even more nervous than I already am?” Jongdae whines as he bites his lower lip - one of his bad habits whenever he is feeling afraid.
As the merpeople lives in the Eastern region of the sea, it is relatively far from the city. Therefore, getting from the Eastern coastal area to the city by car takes approximately two hours. However, this supposedly long two hour drive feels like a ten minute one. Jongdae secretly wishes that the ride would last longer as he is definitely far from ready at this moment. He is so nervous that his hands have begun to tremble and he feels like vomiting out the non-existent breakfast he had this morning.
“We’re finally here! Let’s quickly meet the people you will be working with!” Junmyeon sings. Clearly, he and Jongdae are on a totally different end of the spectrum in terms of how they are feeling right now.
Sensing Jongdae’s fear, Baekhyun comfortingly places his hand over Jongdae’s and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry Dae, I’m here for you. And if anyone dares to bully you, I will definitely kick their asses.”
Jongdae can only manage to respond with a wobbly smile as he shakily steps out of the car and looks at the building in front of him. His fingers tightens around the sleeves of his oversized jacket as he processes the reality he is faced with. His workplace stands magnificently with its impressive height and the sunlight reflecting off the polished glass panels, which makes up the entire exterior of the building, causes the building to sparkle so brightly that Jongdae feels nearly blinded by the sheer grandeur of it. So this is Eriverse, the unrivalled magazine brand of the human population…
In less than a minute, a staff runs out to them and greets them politely, introducing himself as the one who has been assigned to bring them to the exact venue. Following quickly behind the staff, the three of them makes their way into the building, to their workplace for the next few days.
On their way to the filming site, Jongdae notes with awe at the classy, polished interior. Everything in the building portrays opulence in a tasteful manner. This is the first time Jongdae has ever stepped into such a wealthy-looking place he feels a greater sense of trepidation building inside of him. He prays that everything will go smoothly without any trouble. The last thing he needs is him delaying the entire crew due to a careless mistake and end up being despised by the humans.
After an elevator ride and a walk down a wide hallway, the staff brings them past an automated glass door, straight into the filming site. Jongdae gapes.
The filming site is way bigger than what he had been imagining. Looking to his left and to his right, he is unable to see the ends of the space. At the same time, people are bustling about, running from one end to another, handling one task and then another almost simultaneously. Despite the hecticness of it all, every one of them seemed to carry along with them an air of professionalism. So this is what it is like to be working for the prestigious magazine brand. Jongdae is in awe.
“Come, let me introduce you the main staff you will be working closely with.” The staff, who earlier introduces himself as Doyoung, guides Jongdae, Baekhyun and Junmyeon to the set that has been designed as a rocky seashore. The red-tinged rocks which resembled mini cliffs are set next to turquoise waters, glittering upon reflection of the bright lighting of the set. It is simply breathtaking. The several previously-busy staff have since looked up ever since Doyoung clapped his hands to get their attention.
“This is Jongdae, one of our stars for this photoshoot,” Doyoung pats Jongdae while Jongdae gives an awkward wave and a shaky smile as he attempts to make eye-contact with the humans in front of him, before he shyly averts his gaze. At least they do not look unfriendly. Doyoung then proceeds to introduce Baekhyun as “Jongdae’s personal makeup artist”, in which Baekhyun gives a bright and energetic wave, and Junmyeon as “Jongdae’s manager”: “Pleased to meet all of you. Hope to get along well with all of you and please take care of Jongdae, thank you.” Junmyeon gives a formal bow.
“On the other side is Yixing our producer, Minseok our photographer, Johnny our prop stylist and set designer, Seulgi our wardrobe stylist, Wendy our makeup artist and hair stylist, and finally Jaehyun as this production’s overall support.” As their respective names are mentioned, the individuals each give either a friendly smile or a wave.
“Nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you and do make yourself comfortable over here although I understand it might not be easy at the beginning. If you have any discomfort, let me know immediately instead of keeping it to yourself, alright? I hope that this photoshoot will be a success.” Yixing smiles warmly at Jongdae as he shakes his hands, before moving on to shake Junmyeon’s and Baekhyun’s. Jongdae feels slightly better after hearing the producer’s kind words. “Seulgi and Wendy will bring you to the dressing room to change into your outfit for the first shoot and do your hair and makeup. Of course, your makeup artist, Baekhyun, can assist Wendy in the whole process.”
“Of course, leave it to me!” Baekhyun grins proudly and gives a thumbs up, making the two girls giggle.
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In the dressing room, Jongdae is seated in front of a large dressing table and Wendy briefs Baekhyun regarding the concept for the first shoot. The concept of the first shoot is a simple one. Since Jongdae is a merman, the photoshoot will naturally include Jongdae in his merman form, which is the first set of pictures that will be taken. As Jongdae will be in his merman form, no outfit has been arranged for him for this shoot. Needless to say, the first theme draws inspiration from “The Little Mermaid”. Here, Jongdae will portray a merman who falls in love with a handsome human he happened to chance upon when he swam near the shores.
From what Jongdae hears, the human model is apparently one of the top supermodels in the human world, with a fanbase of at least 34 million. To say that Jongdae is freaked out is an understatement. His nervousness about being on a fully human set for the first time in his entire life has been amplified due to the popularity of the model he will be working with. If he makes a mistake and incur the wrath of the supermodel, he knows that he will undoubtedly incur the wrath of the supermodel’s fans as well, and be hated upon. Another possibility is that Jongdae will look overwhelmingly inferior as compared to his co-model and that may cause him and the fashion company (Eriverse) to receive a backlash from the public. From the fact that Jongdae already has such thoughts prior to meeting the model show that Jongdae has never been entirely confident of himself, despite encouragements from his friends and their persuasion that his popularity is way higher than what he thinks; everyone loves him.
While Jongdae is lost in his worries, Baekhyun, Seulgi and Wendy have finished discussing Jongdae’s makeup and hairstyle for the first shoot. Since Jongdae will be in the water for most of the shoot, the makeup will be a natural one, where they will be going for an out-of-water look. Thus, the makeup cannot be too heavy. At most, they will just apply a subtle shimmery gold eyeshadow with a hint of green close to his lash line to complement his blonde hair and erinite green eyes. This also means leaving the freckles, populating Jongdae’s upper cheeks and nose area, on his face as it is. To the merfolk, freckles are a common thing and everyone had them, just that the locations of the appearance of freckles might be different. Take Baekhyun for example, he has some light freckles on his shoulder blades while Junmyeon’s is at his chest. Although Jongdae’s freckles are thought to be one of his distinctive traits, aside from his high cheekbones and trademark lips that curl upwards at the corner, that make him look much more adorable and beautiful at the same time, Jongdae does not feel the same way. After all, he is an avid movie fanatic and every human cast he sees in the countless of movies he has watched all seem to have flawless skin without any blemishes or imperfections at all. Therefore, he feels insecure of himself at times due to the amount of freckles on his face.
As usual, that is only Jongdae’s personal feelings. Baekhyun strongly insists that he looks reallllyyyy precious and even Wendy and Seulgi both gave him warm smiles and slight nods, indicating their agreement with Baekhyun.
However, living in a culture where people’s view and assessment of others are derived from social media and many a times, are shaped by plain malice and senseless ignorance, there are bound to be such instances that seem to support the growth of Jongdae’s insecurity. Such is a case at present. The moment Jongdae steps out of the dressing room, clad only in a bathrobe (since he will be changing into his merman form when he enters the water for the first shoot), the whisperings start to manifest amongst some staff who did not see him when he arrived earlier.
“Is he the merman who is paired with Sehun for next month’s editorial?”
“Woah, ook at the amount of freckles on his face…”
“Yeah exactly, how did he even become a model in the first place?”
These are some of the words that Jongdae catches amidst the whisperings. Sensing his worry, Junmyeon whispers, “Don’t worry Dae, they are just jealous that you get to work with a model like Sehun even though you are considered a rookie in the human modelling industry. Trust me, you are more than deserving to be a model. You have the capabilities and looks for it, I assure you.” Hearing those words of encouragement, Jongdae nods although he can feel his heart clenching as he looks down to his feet, shuffling nervously towards the set-up.
“Jongdae! You look about ready. Sehun is running a little late so why don’t we start on your individual shoot first?” As this is the first ever photoshoot collaboration with a merfolk, Eriverse has placed great importance on this and at the same time, wants to take the opportunity to introduce to the general public, the merfolk model who will be working with them. Therefore, despite this being a collaborative shoot, Jongdae still has to take some individual shoots that will also be published together in the next issue of Eriverse.
Minseok then points out to Jongdae the exact location he is required to pose at.
Jongdae walks towards to specified area, before removing the bathrobe quickly and submerging himself in the water. In that instance, his feet are replaced by his tourmaline tail.
As the waters are clear, Jongdae’s tail can be slightly seen if one were to look down from where they are standing near the waters. Minseok walks over and quickly take a few shots from a tilted-down angle.
“Look over here…” “Tilt you head towards the left a little…” “Yes, yes that’s right exactly what I’m looking for!”
Since Jongdae has been modelling for quite a fair bit of his life, the moment the camera lens are focused on him, he immediately forgets his fears and every single pose for the camera comes out naturally, changing from one pose to another all in a matter of a short span of time. It is as if he has been transformed into a different person entirely. This allows the photographer to make rapid clicks on his camera, taking a large number of high-quality pictures without wasting any second. Such a model no doubt pleases the photographer as they know what they have to do without being guided step by step by the photographer, unlike quite a number of models. In fact, Minseok muses, Jongdae is almost as good as their top supermodels, including his co-model, Sehun.
Speaking of which, judging by the sudden commotion, it seems like Sehun has finally appeared at the set. The wave of excited murmurs vaguely catches Jongdae’s attention for a moment but he remains unperturbed and continues working in front of the camera seriously, until Minseok gives a sound of affirmation that he is satisfied with the pictures of Jongdae he has taken so far. Similar to the shout of a director’s “cut!”, Jongdae snaps out of the character he is portraying - an alluring merman - and immediately directs his gaze towards the newcomer.
As Jongdae has been either partially submerged in the water or lying by the shore, his field of vision is much lower compared to others, who are standing on their feet. Because of that, the moment he turns his head to greet his partner, the first thing he sees is legs. And not just that, instead of a pair of legs belonging to the supermodel he has been waiting for, he sees two. One pair wrapped by skinny jeans paired with a pair of luxury sneakers while the other is clad in fitting black slacks matched with a pair of black monk strap dress shoes. Jongdae notes a similarity between the two: both consist of perfect legs that seem to go on for miles. Moving his gaze upwards, Jongdae notes that denim jeans is paired with a grey pullover, and the ‘owner’ has cropped black hair and a stoic yet handsome face. On the other hand, the individual next to him is dressed in a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing lean yet muscular arms. Just like the way he is dressed, this person has a serious look on his gorgeous face which is framed by black hair where the fringe has been arranged in a comma style. Wow, this man is one of the most good-looking human Jongdae has ever seen. Although both men are of exceptional standard, Jongdae personally thinks the one dressed more formally seem to be more attractive than the casually-dressed one. Could he be Sehun? However, the words that come out of that man’s mouth the next moment tells Jongdae otherwise.
“Hey Minseok. Sorry for Sehun’s late arrival. We were discussing one of his future projects and got caught up we forgot the time. And since I have some spare time today, I decided to come over as well and take a look at the development of the shoot.” The man dressed in all black has such a deep and smooth baritone voice.
Oh. So that means the guy in the casual outfit is Sehun…
“Chanyeol! Don’t worry about it! In fact, it is a good thing that Sehun did not come on time then. Because of it, I was given sufficient time to take Jongdae’s personal shoots first instead of leaving it for later. A blessing in disguise, might I say.” Minseok jokes as he smiles at the man who spoke up.
“Wait, let me introduce all of you to one another since Jongdae here is new to this whole environment, am I right Jongdae?”
Jongdae gives a shy nod in response. God knows where Junmyeon and Baekhyun has run off to, leaving Jongdae all alone to deal with strangers by himself. He is so bad at this…
“This, over here, is Jongdae. The merman who will be working with us for the exclusive human-merfolk collaboration.” Minseok walks over to Jongdae and squats down in front of him, giving him a small pat on his shoulders.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Jongdae. Please take care of me.” Jongdae tries to speak up confidently but it does not end up like what he is expecting. He blushes.
“The one to your left is Oh Sehun, the model you will be working with, while the one to your right next to him is Park Chanyeol, the CEO of Eriverse. Chanyeol used to be a model as well but now that he has taken over his dad’s company, he has chosen to focus his energy on developing the company further.” Minseok introduces the two adonis to Jongdae.
Both of them give Jongdae a nod of acknowledgement, and no other words.
Not long after, Sehun quickly heads to the dressing room to get changed while a staff politely directs Chanyeol to sit on the nearby regista chair. Once seated, Chanyeol takes note of the beautiful merman who had caught his eye the moment Chanyeol laid his eyes on him. The merman has soft wavy blonde hair, erinite green eyes, lightly tanned skin with some freckles on his face and lastly, his tail is an impressive shade of blue-green tourmaline, shimmering under the lighting with every slight movement he makes. When he smiles at Minseok while chatting as they wait for Sehun to be ready, his eyes crinkle up and a distinctive curl can be seen at the corners of his lips. Chanyeol seem to give of an air of indifference as his eyes casually sweep across the set but only he himself knows how fast his heart is pounding at the sight on the most beautiful creature he has ever seen.
Soon, Sehun walks out barefooted, with his hair style back, dressed in a white dress shirt, black slacks and gold brocade jacket. He looks imposing and regal yet wild, looking like a runaway prince. Once he reaches Minseok, the photographer quickly briefs the supermodel on the concept for the first shoot and points out where he wants Sehun to pose - sitting on the edge of the artificial rock structure closest to the water. The overall vibes for this shoot, as Minseok explains, will be that of the prince stumbling upon a secluded beach and expressing astonishment at the sight of meeting a merman for the first time, whereas the merman is mesmerised by the handsome human.
After Sehun moves to his designated spot, rapid clicks can be heard from Minseok’s camera as both Jongdae and Sehun seem to have a mutual understanding almost instantaneously. From the various poses made by the two of them, it can be seen that they work very well with one another even though they have just met. When Sehun leans down every so slightly, Jongdae tilts his head up and makes an expression of awe on his face; when Jongdae lifts his right hand up, Sehun’s left hand immediately comes up to grasp his. Such a perfect cooperation should not exist between the two who have never worked with each other previously, but it does.
Chanyeol finds himself frowning as he looks on at the pair’s chemistry, a slight uncomfortable feeling arising within his heart.
A staff passing by happens to see his frown. “Is anything the matter sir?”
“Nothing. You may continue with your work.” Chanyeol dismisses his employee with a wave of his hand before turning his attention back to the two models at work.
Multiple poses later, because of the efficiency of the two, Minseok is satisfied with all the pictures he has taken and calls it the end of the shoot for the day. Jongdae is surprised when the shoot ends much earlier than what he has expected, but at the same time, he is secretly pleased. Due to the nature of the respective photoshoot themes, every set is meticulously created from scratch to meet the aesthetic requirements planned out by the creative team. Although it would be easier for the shoot to be done in actual locations, this collaboration is highly looked upon as it is the very first collaboration of its kind, involving even the merfolk. The company did not want the media to leak any related images to the public prior to the spread’s release the next month. Additionally, certain backgrounds are not naturally available due to a variety of reasons and characteristics, and have to be artificially created as a result. Thus, there is a gap period of three days between each shoot in order for the set to be arranged. This means that Jongdae has more free time to explore the city. Since he has never been to this city, he intends to make full use of the time during his stay here.
The company has generously arranged for Jongdae, Junmyeon and Baekhyun to stay in a five-star hotel throughout their entire stay of twelve days in the city as Jongdae has three separate shoots to be done for this collaboration. The driver who picked them up this morning had driven off to their hotel after sending them to the company in order to drop off their luggages they had brought with them. This makes it much more convenient for Jongdae and the rest to sightsee or familiarise themselves with the city once Jongdae is done for the day.
While Jongdae receives an affirmation that he is done for the day, Baekhyun comes over with a bathrobe for Jongdae to cover himself up with during the short distance to the dressing room. Meanwhile, Junmyeon is confirming Jongdae’s schedule with Yixing: they are to report at the same place fours days later, at ten in the morning. At the same time, Baekhyun starts talking excitedly about a current trendy food place not too far from this current building that they can try out, before heading back to their hotel and exploring the place around there. “Everyone has been raving about this place on instagram and the food looks really good so we definitely have to try out while we are here!” Baekhyun, the social media addict, has done his research on the popular locations to visit and the food places to try out in this city, and Jongdae is more than happy to follow him around.
However, during their walk to the dressing room, their conversation gets cut off with the sudden appearance of a person.
“Hi, Jongdae-ssi. I didn’t get the chance to personally introduce myself and talk to you earlier. If you don’t mind, I would like to invite you out for dinner and get to know you better.” The deep voice once again assaults Jongdae’s senses, leaving him a tingly mess. Can’t you have some self-control and not go all lovestruck at someone you have only seen for the first time despite of how good-looking and tall he is? Inner Jongdae scolded himself.
“Wait what? Hyung… didn’t you promise to bring me out to eat at Chef Takashi’s restaurant tonight? I have been craving for his food for a long time. How could you do this to me hyung.” Sehun just so happen to come up behind Jongdae, whining when he sees Chanyeol conveniently forgetting about his promise in front of the petite merman.
Chanyeol sees the little merman peeking up at him curiously and feels like strangling Sehun and his big mouth. “Oh..uh… did I say that? You must have heard wrongly. I did say that I will treat you to Chef Takashi’s but I didn’t say it is for today. You must have been too tired that you heard it wrongly… why don’t you go back home earlier to rest and we’ll go another day.” It is very rare to see Chanyeol being so flustered. Although there is no change of expression in Chanyeol’s face, Sehun has known him for a long time to know that this sort of long-winded speech is not one that Chanyeol uses unless he is feeling awkward. Sehun smirks as he makes eye-contact with Chanyeol, as if saying that he knows what Chanyeol is up to.
Chanyeol casually avoids his stare as he waits for a response from the little merman.
To say that Jongdae is surprised is an understatement; the thought of speaking to this handsome CEO, much less get to know him, has never crossed his mind. Due to the unexpected situation, Jongdae is stunned and is unable to fully process Chanyeol’s words, only gaping at him with his mouth slightly parted.
Luckily, Jongdae has a best friend like Baekhyun, who is good at reading the atmosphere, and quickly replies Chanyeol on behalf of his poor stunned friend. “Of course Jongdae will be more than happy to go with you. But do take good care of him since he rarely spends much time on land so he might not be very comfortable with crowded environments.” Jongdae’s eyes widens as he hears his best friend casually giving him away to an unfamiliar person.
Baek! What are you doing!
Can’t you see? The tall, rich and handsome human has an interest in you.
What? No, he doesn’t. Don’t be ridiculous! How could someone of his calibre be interested in me?
Please, I saw the way he looked at you just now while you were having your pictures taken. And his gaze is definitely one of fascination. This is a once in a lifetime chance so just go for it, dae! After all, he is just asking you out for dinner and nothing else…
The communication with Baekhyun using their eyes ends and Jongdae sighs internally. It is undeniable that he is also attracted to this charismatic man. There is just something about this human that makes Jongdae feel safe and secure. Alright, he decides to follow his instincts.
“Th-then let me get changed first, Chanyeol-ssi.” After uttering that single sentence, Jongdae scurries to the dressing room.
This little merman is really too adorable. Although Chanyeol has never fallen in love with anyone throughout his 25 years of his life, much less believe in love at first sight, it seems like there is a first time for everything.
As Jongdae has gone off to change back to his own clothes, Chanyeol is left standing with Baekhyun and Sehun, the latter still hanging around refusing to change out of his clothes anytime soon. Judging by the looks given to him, it is evident that both Jongdae’s best friend and his own best friend have some questions of there own to ask him.
“What do you really want from Jongdae?” / “What’s your deal with him?” Both questions are asked simultaneously from two different parties.
“What I said earlier was true. I really want to get to know him better since he is the first person ever to catch my interest.” Chanyeol has no intention of lying.
“But this is the first time you’ve ever seen him what more it has only been an hour and a half…” Sehun mutters to himself. After all, he has been friends with Chanyeol for 10 years and knows his personality very well, having met the other when both of them were models invited to walk down the runway for a famous fashion show and have become fast friends since then, having clicked off with one another extremely well despite both individuals having more reserved personalities that prevent them from becoming close friends with others easily.
Before his current occupation as the CEO of Eriverse, Chanyeol used to be a professional model as well, his fame comparable to Sehun’s current status. However, before passing away, his father and mentor, only had one request, which was for Chanyeol, to take over the company instead of letting it fall into the hands of outsiders. Chanyeol looks up to his father a lot and is resolute in honouring his wishes, bringing the company to even greater heights under his leadership. Although he may occasionally miss being a model, he is also happy to be able to make decisions and come up with new ideas for the modelling industry.
“Whatever it is, you better treat Jongdae well. If I find out that you are only playing with him, I will definitely come after you.” Baekhyun narrows his eyes, not afraid that the other person has a lofty status for having to manage such a reputable and well-known magazine company.
“Rest assured my intentions towards him are sincere.” Chanyeol replies firmly, meeting Baekhyun’s eyes as he promises Jongdae’s best friend. He receives a reluctant nod in response.
In a matter of minutes, Jongdae appears before them, having worn back his own clothes which is a simple combination of a plain white shirt, black sweater, jeans and white sneakers.
“I’m ready, Chanyeol-ssi…sorry to keep you waiting.” Jongdae’s voice comes out almost in a faint whisper and he shuffles on the spot nervously as he see the said addressee looking at him profoundly. In his rush to prevent the CEO from waiting for too long, he rejects the makeup artist’s offer to remove the eyeshadow applied earlier and so his eye makeup is still tastefully on, adding to the allure of the merman’s looks.
Chanyeol cannot stop staring. He realises just like how Jongdae is beautiful in his natural form, he looks equally stunning in his human appearance, even though all he is wearing is a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. In the background, Chanyeol can hear Sehun snickering to himself: has he never seen someone dressed in just a shirt and jeans? Great, he has already ruined his image as a cool person and is possibly on his way to embarrass himself. As much as he likes to portray himself as a cold and unapproachable person in front of the public, there are moments that cause him to slip up and accidentally reveal his true, awkward nature, just like moments like this.
Hearing Jongdae’s soft giggles, Chanyeol suddenly feels that he does not mind doing anything at the expense of his image as long as he can hear the other’s melodious laughter. But before that, he has to first clear the initial stage of having dinner with Jongdae, successfully.
“In that case, we will be making a move first.” Chanyeol informs the other two before turning to look at Jongdae with a smile and a gentlemanly utterance of “Shall we?”.
The walk from the studio to the elevator feels long and stressful in Jongdae’s opinion as many staff directs curious gazes at the unexpected pair. Jongdae thinks that they must be wondering who is this insignificant newcomer to be deserving of walking together with their employer. The scorching gazes make Jongdae feel intimidated and he unconsciously walks closer to Chanyeol, as if seeking protection from the other. This small action does not go unnoticed by Chanyeol and he inwardly grins.
Jongdae breathes a silent sigh of relief when they finally enter the elevator. The ride down the elevator is a therapeutic one for Jongdae given the fact that Chanyeol has chosen not to speak and that there is nobody else in the shared enclosed area except for them. The elevator comes to a stop at its target floor within a few seconds and Jongdae follows Chanyeol to his car, a matte black Aston Martin. Chanyeol then opens the door to the passenger seat for Jongdae with a simple “be careful of your head” before walking to the other side and sliding in to the driver’s seat.
“I’ve called to make reservations at one of my favourite restaurants not too far off from the company. Hope you are alright with fusion food.” Chanyeol says as he starts up the car.
“Oh that sounds interesting. To be honest, I have never tried fusion food before.” Jongdae admits.
Chanyeol turns his head away from the road for a brief second to face Jongdae and smiles. “I’m glad to have the honour of being able to witness your first fusion food experience. I’m sure you will enjoy it.”
“But speaking of food, I have something I’m curious about.” From his peripheral view, he sees Jongdae tilt his head questioningly at his declaration and so he continues. “What sort of food of you merfolk eat when you are all underwater? Do all of you survive only on seaweed?” Since the treaty between the merpeople and humans have not existed for a very long time, there is still many things unknown with regards to the former.
Jongdae laughs, his nervousness melting away with each passing second. This tall and handsome man is not as scary as he thought he would be. “Actually, we do eat normal food just like you humans, even underwater.” Jongdae then goes on to explain that there is some sort of technology developed underwater has allowed for food to retain its original texture and taste despite the presence of water, as long as all the food items and condiments go through a special type of processing before they are brought underwater.
And just like that, by the time Jongdae has finished explaining to Chanyeol the entire mechanism involved in consuming food underwater, just like how normal human beings do so on land, they finally arrive at the Korean-Italian fusion restaurant that Chanyeol is a frequent customer of. The moment they step in, Chanyeol is greeted with familiarity by a waiter and the immediate guidance to a private and secluded table at the air-conditioned terrace not only proves Chanyeol’s status but also his periodic patronage.
The enclosed balcony is decorated with thick, sprawling vines on the three sides of the wall while the fourth partition is a glass wall, allowing diners to enjoy a view of the garden outside the restaurant from the comforts of the indoor room. It is already dark when the two of them arrive for dinner and the entire garden has been lighted by the LED light-up flowers scattered amongst the plot of fresh flowers, creating an enchanting view against the backdrop of the night sky. In addition, since Chanyeol had already told the waiter to serve his usual order during his call to make the reservation, the dishes are placed on the table one by one within a matter of seconds after they are seated down.
The dinner goes pleasantly well. In fact, the term ‘amazingly well’ is not even enough to describe how much fun Jongdae has throughout the entire dinner. Both him and Chanyeol converse about their hobbies, their likes and dislikes, their modelling experiences: especially interesting ones that Chanyeol had when he was still a model, such as that one time when he nearly saved the model walking in front of him on the runway from tripping, without making it to obvious that he was providing help since all the cameras were focused on them. He finds it a pity that Chanyeol is no longer modelling but Chanyeol assures him that he is happy with what he is currently doing as well.
After the dinner, Chanyeol brings Jongdae back to the hotel as he is afraid Jongdae might be tired out from the long day of travelling to the city and his photoshoot. Before parting, phone numbers are exchanged and Jongdae receives a verbal promise from Chanyeol to bring Jongdae out to another favourite place of his that he thinks Jongdae will appreciate as well. Jongdae finds out that although he and Chanyeol may not share many things in common, he feels he is more than willing to try out whatever Chanyeol enjoys doing, just so that he can share the joy with the other person. And that is a scary thought for him, to know that his feelings are like an avalanche, tumbling down much faster than what he can control.
The moment Jongdae steps into his room, he finds Baekhyun and Junmyeon watching the television in the living room area of their suite. They clearly have been waiting for him to return before unleashing their bombardment of questions:
“Where did the two of you go for dinner?”
“How was the dinner?”
“What else did the both of you do?”
“What do you think about Chanyeol? Do you like him?”
Despite the overlapping questions from the visibly excited Baekhyun and the calm-on-the-outside-but-enthusiastic-on-the-inside Junmyeon, Jongdae has grown up with them so he is able to understand all of their questions. He gives them the brief but accurate recounts in response to their questions but when it comes to the last question, he hesitates for a brief moment but ends up telling them his honest feelings. After all, Baekhyun is his best friend since birth and Junmyeon is a really close friend of his after several years of interaction.
He likes Chanyeol.
Baekhyun and Junmyeon are naturally happy for their precious friend but cautions him to be careful as he has barely known Chanyeol for long. Furthermore, Chanyeol is almost worlds apart from Jongdae in many aspects. Jongdae too, understands where his friends are coming from but he decides to follow his heart, hoping that it will not let him down.
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Four days later finds Jongdae in the set of Eriverse for his second photoshoot. This time, the set has been decorated as a snowy landscape. Since Sehun is the representative model who will be posing alongside Jongdae for all three photoshoots, it is not surprising to see him over at the set. It seems like Sehun has reached earlier than him today.
Sehun is seated by the dressing table, his makeup almost done. Beside him stands a short and stern-looking man, who looks like he is informing Sehun of something, to which Sehun nods his head carelessly to. When Jongdae steps into the dressing room, Sehun notices him immediately and Sehun immediately gives a friendly smile in his direction.
“Jongdae, this is my manager Kyungsoo. Hyung, this is Jongdae, the merman I’m working with. Behind him is Junmyeon, his manager, and Baekhyun, his personal makeup artist slash best friend.” Sehun introduces, before looking at his reflection on the mirror and adjusting his hair slightly.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Do Kyungsoo. I had to settle some contracts regarding Sehun’s endorsements previously so I was unable to come down for the first shoot. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Sehun’s manager walks over and reaches his hand out, giving out firm handshakes to each of them. Jongdae notes that when Sehun’s smiles, his lips form into a heart shape, making him look much more approachable compared to his expressionless facade.
The moment Sehun and Jongdae are done with the makeup for the day’s concept, they get changed into their respective outfits before heading out to have their pictures taken.
Not long later, they are given a short break because of some minor adjustments to the props and Sehun takes the time to chat with (see: interrogate) Jongdae about what is the relationship between him and Chanyeol. Jongdae then finds out from the man himself that he tried to question Chanyeol personally but his best friend refused to entertain him and even asked him to stop disturbing if he had nothing to do with his life and leave his office. The audacity of him, he is a highly sought after supermodel and he is not as free as what Chanyeol thinks, alright?! Jongdae laughs at Sehun’s scandalised remark as he recalls the events that had happened the previous day.
“To summarise everything up for you, Chanyeol and I are in a relationship as of yesterday.”
Sehun makes a loud and gleeful exclamation which catches the attention of come staff nearby.
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Jongdae had gone out with Chanyeol again yesterday.
Much to his surprise, when Chanyeol told him that he was going to bring Jongdae to a favourite place of his, he was not expecting an aquarium. Furthermore, when they reached the indoor aquarium, there was no other souls in sight except for the two of them. Chanyeol then sheepishly explained that he had rented the entire place for the day just for the two of them.
“Do you have a timeframe of how long you can remain in human form before you have to transform back to your original form else there will be any side effects?” Chanyeol asks Jongdae curiously as they stroll along the while viewing the variety of sea creatures in the various built-in tanks along the walls of the place.
“Nope, although we may live in the sea for majority of our lives, we are still somewhat part-human so there are no consequences if we continue to exist in our human form. Furthermore, there have been some merpeople who have gotten married to humans and decide to live the remainder of their lives on land.” Jongdae sneaks a glance at Chanyeol before he looks down to the ground and smiles shyly to himself. “However although it is not necessary, one can also submerge in any container of water to transform for a short period of time, based on individual’s preferences.”
As they continue walking, they finally come to a stop in front of a floor-to-ceiling aquarium. Inside, there is an array of sea creatures, ranging from several schools of fishes, multiple stingrays and even two Begula whales. Jongdae stares in awe at the display in front of him, his eyes sparkling in delight but with a hint of longing. He suddenly misses his home in the sea.
Chanyeol glances at him before asking him, “Do you want to take a swim in there?”
Jongdae turns back to look at where Chanyeol is standing behind him, his eyes widening with disbelief. “Is that even allowed?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t it not be allowed? If the owner says it is allowed, then it is allowed. Just make sure not to tell anybody else.” Chanyeol leans closer to Jongdae and puts his right index finger up to his lips, wearing a slightly mischievous expression on his face, acting as if he is telling a huge secret.
“Wait, are you telling me that you own this entire aquarium?” Jongdae feels incredulous. Just how rich is Chanyeol exactly?
The response Jongdae gets is Chanyeol putting his hands on his shoulders and steering Jongdae towards the direction of the entrance exclusive only to authorised personnels.
“Go on, don’t stand on ceremony. I can tell that you would definitely have fun swimming in there. I’ll be waiting for you back at the same place we were at before, right in front of this aquarium.” With a light ruffle of Jongdae’s hair, Chanyeol exits the room.
Left alone, Jongdae thinks for less than a second before he shrugs out of his clothes. Since a chance has been presented to him, he would be a fool if he does not take advantage of it. After all, how many people can say that they have swam in an aquarium before. Walking to the edge of the water area, Jongdae takes a deep breath before jumping in.
A sea of clear water surrounds all of Jongdae’s senses and the coolness of the water envelopes Jongdae in a comfortable manner. A Mandarinfish and a stingray swims up to Jongdae and brush against him, as if to welcome him in. Jongdae smiles and extends his hand forward with his palm facing upwards, gently cupping the Mandarinfish in his palms before letting it swim away. With a flap of his tail, Jongdae surges forward and deeper into the waters. There, he sees the two Begula whales and he swims towards them excitedly to play with them. Once he is near enough, he smooths his palm against their huge bodies and in response, they start swimming around him playfully. Jongdae laughs, completely immersed in having his fun he initially fails to notice Chanyeol standing outside the aquarium and looking at him with a doting gaze. In Chanyeol’s eyes, Jongdae is the most beautiful creature, with his bright laughter, gorgeous blonde hair, lovely freckles and that dazzling shade of his tail.
As if he can feel an intent look coming from one direction, Jongdae turns his head to the left to see Chanyeol, in all his well-dressed glory and exuding a majestic aura, smiling at him with his arms crossed. Jongdae swims eagerly to the transparent barrier and places both of his palms on the glass wall. Every movement of Chanyeol is seen clearly by Jongdae: from the way he tugs at his adorable ears, to the adjustment of his coat, to the way he walks over confidently until his standing right in front of Jongdae. At that moment, as cliche as it may sound, Jongdae feels as if time has stopped and he is in a world where all he can see and think of is Chanyeol. Then, in a moment of bravery and recklessness, he parts his lips and mouths out five words to Chanyeol, before blushing bright red. He never expects that he himself will be so bold to do such a thing. Heart beating furiously, he steals a peek a Chanyeol only to see the other person giving him such a gentle look and throwing his sentence back to him: I think I like you too.
Everything passes by in a quick blur after that unbelievable moment and soon, Jongdae finds himself out of the water, drying himself with a towel placed on the bench before wearing back his clothes. He tries to take as much time as possible but he knows that he cannot delay any longer and so, taking light hesitant steps, he makes his way back to Chanyeol. His feelings for the moment is in a turmoil; he never really expects the perfect man to like him back. Furthermore, as what Baekhyun and Junmyeon had mentioned, he indeed has not known Chanyeol for long and because of that, he feels really confused about his feelings for Chanyeol and does not know how to face him even though Chanyeol had given him a positive reply in response to his abrupt confession. What exactly does this make them?
Contrary to his worries, Chanyeol takes Jongdae’s hand into his, interlocking their fingers together the moment Jongdae returns to Chanyeol’s side. “I guess we are now boyfriends then. I’ll be in your care from now on, boyfriend.” Chanyeol breaks into a goofy grin as he says this.
Jongdae’s hearts feels like it is about to burst at his words. Just two sentences from Chanyeol is sufficient to clear away all his doubts. His heart has never felt this full and warm. He grips the hand in his tightly and gives a firm nod, too emotional to give a proper response.
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As of now, Jongdae’s stay in the city is almost close to three months. After the completion of the final collaborative photoshoot with Sehun, Chanyeol had surprised him with a home-baked cake and a proposal to stay with him in his penthouse in the city. In addition, if Junmyeon and Baekhyun were willing, they could stay in a spare company apartment. Jongdae had pounced on him the moment he heard the news and peppered Chanyeol’s face with light kisses before Chanyeol took control and turned the tide around, kissing him deeply on his lips.
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After the release of issue 219 of Eriverse, Jongdae’s popularity among the general public has skyrocketed straight from the ground. The three different photoshoots have been extremely well-received by an overwhelming amount of people. The fantasy-themed of the first shoot, the magical atmosphere created by the snow-white landscape in the second shoot and the glamorous and royal vibes present in the third shoot, were all a sight for the hungry eyes to feast on. Initially, not many people knew about the merman prior to the publication of the magazine, but Jongdae’s adorable yet gorgeous looks attracted many afterwards and an official fanclub has even been created for him.
At present, Jongdae is sought-after by numerous brands with large markets. Although Jongdae has a packed schedule almost every day due to his thriving popularity and Chanyeol having even more responsibilities to tend to since the company has decided to branch out into an entertainment company, the two of them still manage to find time to spend with one another.
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In life, Jongdae realises, there are many things, such as work, which can be unpredictable and never remain a continuous pattern. Take his career for example: Back in the sea, although he was a model, he was never considered a celebrity because aside from having his pictures on the magazines, his close-knit community still treated him with no difference at all. Never did he imagine a day where he would be modelling on land and obtaining such an unexpected degree of fame within such a short period of time. The continuous chain of events called life may be unforeseen but Jongdae feels there is one thing that will definitely remain a constant for him - and that is Chanyeol.