Chapter Text
There is something about the nightly air that causes his skin to tickle as the little hairs on his arms rise with the cold sensation. He takes a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh air from the sea and lets the wind ruffle through his hair. He needs those moments by himself. Moments where he can pick up all the lost thoughts he has to push aside during his busy days. There is still his cabin, the widest, greatest and most golden cabin on the whole ship. But it is also the most isolated. It is lonely. Out on the deck, he never feels suffocated or alone. He always has the sea with him, his companion for life.
“Captain.”
He doesn’t turn around, already knowing who the voice belongs to and why they came. He exhales slowly, straightening his back.
“Prepare for attack. Make sure to get as much gold as possible.”
*
“You do realise Chaeyoung will rip your throat out when she finds out you took her earrings again?”, Jimin asks his best friend with a raised brow. They are already late for the party and Jimin is getting tired as he lies on a rock, waiting for a certain someone to finish getting ready.
“What else are twin sisters for, if not for the free jewellery?”, Taehyung retorts with a shrug, putting on another pearl necklace. Jimin frowns as he eyes the necklace and sits up.
“Don’t you think you’re giving him false hope when you wear his gift?” Jimin knows it was never Taehyung’s intention to give the mermaid that nurses elderly mermaids alongside him false hope but this has been the second gift Taehyung received and it is time to take some action. “Please tell him you’re not interested tonight. You two still have to work together, you don’t want to make things worse.”
Taehyung heaves a long sigh before removing the necklace from his skin, replacing it with a choker out of aquamarine gemstones, suiting his blue hair.
“You’re right. I didn’t mean to drag this out for so long, I just…”
“Hate confrontation?”, Jimin finishes his sentence, swimming towards his best friend. “Sometimes we have to confront a situation in order to move on from an issue.”
“You’re too logical for your own good sometimes, Chim”, Taehyung rolls his eyes with a faint smile. “It’s not easy for everyone to just do things because they are the right thing to do.” He takes Jimin’s hand and pulls him off the rock they were both sitting on, swimming into the direction where the party is while Jimin still gapes at him.
“Was that criticism or a neutral statement? Because I heard some judgement somewhere in there, Kim Taehyung!”, Jimin calls accusingly as the two swim hand in hand. Taehyung turns his head and winks, a wide, blinding smile on his lips. Jimin decides to get his revenge by pushing him to the side and swimming past him, their race swimming an old tradition now.
“That’s cheating!”, he hears Taehyung yell from behind him but only swims faster in response, his laugh echoing through the waves.
Jimin may be logical but he does know how to have fun.
The place is already filled with mermaids, all kinds of jewellery twinkling in the moonlight and colourful tails being entangled with each other. It is a get together for all mermaids in the area, a chance to socialise with the ones that usually swim alone through more isolated seas. Jimin always manages to capture a lot of the others’ attention when he arrives since his glittery tail is pretty rare. It is the reason he decided to only wear a clear quartz necklace around his waist, knowing that the natural glitter particles on his orange-pinkish scales are twinkling enough on their own.
“You got really fast”, Taehyung pants from behind him as he catches up with Jimin, dark blue eyes squinting at him.
“I work as a teacher, Tae. If you’re around mermies all day, you have to be fast to catch up with them.”
Their conversation is interrupted by Taehyung’s twin sister swimming over to them, her long, light blue hair moving smoothly with the waves. Jimin notices how she wears one of Taehyung’s necklaces and chuckles at how similar the twins sometimes are.
“I think I recognise that neck-”, Taehyung starts but both his and Jimin’s smiles fall from their lips when they notice Chaeyoung’s distraught expression. “What happened?”
“This weirdo that works with you keeps following me around. He kept asking where you were and that it is time for you two to take the next step and so on”, she shudders and quickly glances behind her, “He kept trying to touch my scales, I think he’s obsessed with blue scales or something. He’s creepy.”
Both Jimin and Taehyung straighten their backs at her words, already looking through the crowd for Taehyung’s colleague. All three of them were incredibly protective over one another, the twin siblings having a very close bond and a close friendship to Jimin.
“I’m telling him to back off. He better keeps his hands off of you from now on”, Taehyung murmurs as his eyes roam the area. Taehyung is the sweetest and bubbliest person Jimin knows but he gets scary once someone hurts the people close to him.
“Don’t say anything stupid, I don’t know how he will react. Just… reject him”, Chaeyoung warns, not letting Taehyung pass until he nods in agreement. She gives Jimin a look as well as he follows behind Taehyung, not going with him but staying close just in case.
The talk doesn’t seem to go well, judging from the way Taehyung’s neutral expression morphed into one of anger. Jimin feels himself tensing as he hides behind a rock, wishing he could hear what they are saying. From one second to the other everything changes as Taehyung gets slapped across his cheek, his whole body jerking to the side with the impact. Everyone is silent. All eyes are drawn to the scene. Jimin feels his body move on it’s own, immediately racing towards his best friend when suddenly a crowd of people comes between them, stopping the mermaid as he tries to get closer to Taehyung again. Jimin is glad the others are stepping in but he is desperately trying to find Taehyung, knowing his best friend would need him now. He sees Chaeyoung in the chaos, her eyes wide and raging.
“Go and find Tae, I’ll handle the situation”, she tells him, fire behind her eyes.
“Are you sure-”, Jimin starts but she interrupts him quickly.
“Jimin, you know I can control my gift. Please, just make sure Tae gets away from here.” With a deep sigh, Jimin nods and looks after her as she swims away. He trusts her to know her power well but this is what Jimin teaches. His profession is showing mermaids to control their gifts, so it’s natural that he worries.
Chaeyoung and Taehyung have both powerful gifts. Taehyung can control the wind around them and Chaeyoung the water. In a way, their gifts work very similar, they both can move objects and cause waves. When they use more of their strength though, things get dangerous really quickly. They can push mermaids away or let whole rocks fall. Jimin has seen both happen before, always followed by scolding from their mother. He knows they worked hard on their control but a part of him is always concerned.
Jimin decides to trust Chaeyoung to handle this situation and instead focuses on finding Taehyung again. He glides past chattering mermaids, ignores whatever happens around him. He thinks he sees something blue sparkle further in the dark, behind a huge rock, and cautiously swims towards it.
“Tae?”
His best friend peaks hesitantly from behind the rock, his eyes red and glistening with tears. Jimin immediately closes the distance and embraces him, holding him tightly.
“What a jerk”, he mutters, smelling Taehyung’s icy fresh scent.
“I feel so… weak. I just ran away.”
Jimin’s heart breaks at the whispered words and he pulls back to look at his closest friend. Taehyung used to have those thoughts a lot when they were younger, feeling as if he failed his sister and mother because he was more sensitive and fearful than the other mermaids he knew.
“Tae, he shocked and hurt you. It’s okay to run away sometimes. It doesn’t mean you’re a coward. You even went there and rejected him, that was really brave of you. He is the idiot, don’t blame yourself now.”
“I had tears in my eyes as soon as I started to get angry. How can people fight without crying? I can’t even control my emotions-”
“And you don’t need to. You are compassionate, sensible and open with your emotionality. I admire this about you. Just because others don’t cry in public, doesn’t mean they don’t cry as soon as they are alone. Everyone has this vulnerable side.” Taehyung looks at Jimin for a moment before he nods and ducks his head.
“Can we get away from here?”
“Of course”, Jimin easily agrees and swims away, seeing Taehyung follow him slowly. He gives Taehyung a bit of space, knowing his friend needs to think his words over now before he can move on from it.
They swim far away from the other mermaids, upwards towards the surface. Most mermaids stay far away from it, not wanting any kind of contact or sightings from humans. Humans could be cruel and even though it’s against their law to hurt mermaids, a lot of them would try to catch mermaids anyway. It is ridiculous to Jimin, since mermaids are so much stronger and have their gifts to defend themselves but humans have tried it often enough for mermaids to avoid the surface of the ocean.
Jimin takes a deep breath once his head is out of the water and lets the wind ruffle through his damp hair. The sky is tinted dark blue, with a few stars lighting it up, reminding Jimin of the sparkling jewellery he saw on the other mermaids today. Taehyung comes up only a moment later and brushes his long blue hair out of his face.
“Your hair is almost down to your chin at the front, should I find a sharp shell and cut your hair again?”, Jimin asks lightly, hoping to distract Taehyung.
“I like the length it has right n-”
They both startle when shouts and screams interrupt them. Turning around, Jimin sees two huge ships next to each other a little further away. People from one ship are jumping to the other and fight with swords and fists.
“Pirates? Again?”, Jimin hears Taehyung say and makes a questioning sound at that. The last time he saw pirates has been a few years back, since they tend to avoid the areas where there is nothing but ocean.
“Yeah, I’ve seen the ship on the right recently as well”, Taehyung continues and nods towards the smaller of the two ships, “They seem to attack every ship they cross and probably steal their gold. It’s a cruel world pirates live in.” Jimin hums in agreement, watching the pirates fight while agonising screams fill the air.
Jimin doesn’t know what causes him to move but before he thinks it through, he swims towards the ships. He hears Taehyung call him back but just motions for him to follow. Jimin’s gut is never wrong and right now it’s telling him to take a closer look.
“Regular humans are one thing but getting close to pirates is definitely a death wish”, Taehyung mutters as they hide close to the main deck of the ship that the pirates were fighting on.
“Not if we don’t get caught”, Jimin counters, eyes on the pirates. He is smart, he will always find a way to keep him and Taehyung safe.
“Aren’t you usually the rational one of us, Chim?”
“And aren’t you usually the one to bring us into stupid situations?” Taehyung cannot argue against that and let’s it go, dipping more into the water to hide.
“Ay’, who do we have here? Are fetuses like you even allowed on deck? Aren’t ya scared without your mommy?”
Three rough looking pirates cornering a younger man catch Jimin’s attention. The boy that is standing alone looks slender, his hands clutching a sword in front of him as the pirates step closer. If he took a step back, he would fall over the edge which the boy seems to realise as he glances behind him, round eyes widening. Jimin feels worry rise in his chest. The boy looks as if he’s still a teenager. He brushes a few hairs behind his ear that have fallen out of his long, braided plait, and Jimin can see his hand trembling in fear.
“Leave me alone!”, the boy shouts but the pirates around him merely laugh. The boy huffs in frustration and anger, the motion reminding Jimin of his five younger siblings whenever they are angry at him. Jimin suddenly realises that the boy must be around the age of his brother Jihyun and feels something in his gut change. He needs to help this boy. If this was his brother, he would have murdered anyone just standing by and not even trying to help.
“Tae, we need to help him”, Jimin tells Taehyung, already trying to think of a plan. Luckily, Taehyung seems to have the same train of thought as he instantly nods, asking Jimin what he should do.
“I’ll push some water up with my tail but you need to help me splash it on the guys to distract them. It needs to be a whole spout hitting them, not just a few sprinkles.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”, Taehyung hisses as Jimin shifts so that his back faces the ship. “Chaeyoung can move water like that, I don’t know how to do that!”
“We just need a strong wind breeze to life the water up! You can do it, Tae, please , we don’t have much time!”, Jimin urges and is relieved when Taehyung closes his eyes, gathering his energy. He uses all the strength he has and whips his tail upwards, causing a big wave to appear. Taehyung moves his arms towards the ship, his eyes wide and focused but it only hits the decks. Jimin hears the pirates torment the boy above them, still making fun of him. He grits his teeth.
“Again. Focus, Tae, you can do this.”
Taehyung seems frustrated with himself but presses his lips together as he prepares himself again. Jimin uses even more strength this time, the muscles behind his stomach and tail aching as he pushes the water over the surface again. Taehyung groans as he forces a gusting wind to carry the wave towards the ship. Jimin hears surprised sounds and sees a few pirates falling. He gives Taehyung a thumbs up. None of them expected the boy to suddenly slip and fall over the edge of the ship. With curses falling from their lips, both Taehyung and Jimin swim towards him as his back hits the surface of the ocean. They catch his body before it falls even deeper, both of them holding onto his arms as they carry him upwards.
As soon as his head is not under water anymore, the boy inhales deeply, looking panicked. He jerks out of their hold as he registers their presence, gaping at Jimin and Taehyung for a few seconds before he swallows thickly.
“You… you are mermaids”, he states, eyes wide. Jimin nods gently, holding onto his torso when a wave hits them from the side. He cannot help but to feel protective over the young human, seeing the similarities between him and his brother even more now.
“I’ve never seen any- I mean, I have heard of you guys! But I have never seen a mermaid before”, the boy admits, looking at their hair with an awed expression.
“Oh, he’s so cute, Chimmy, can we keep him?”
“ Tae! ”, Jimin scolds and hits him with his tail. “We need to take him back to his ship before someone sees us.”
“Why are you helping me?” The boy frowns, gaze flickering from Jimin to Tae. He seems to shrink into himself, shivering in the cold water. Jimin wants to ask why on earth they wouldn’t help him but he reckons there are more important manners to discuss now.
“You’re freezing, we need to bring you inside. Which one is your ship?” The boy points to the ship on the right and Jimin tries to find a way to bring him inside safely. Most pirates are still fighting on the other ship which is an advantage for them.
“I can try to climb onto the gangplank”, the shivering boy suggests as he motions towards the ramp connecting the ships.
“Sounds good but we need to be swift”, Taehyung sighs, squinting up to the plank. “We can’t let any other pirates see us.”
The three of them swim closer to the other ship so that the boy could climb up it’s exterior. It’s slippery but Taehyung and Jimin are strong. They push his body up and try to hold him as he carefully climbs up. Jimin can still hear the screams of agony, the clinking of swords and the crashing of waves behind him as his heart hammers loudly in his chest. He needs the boy to be safe, he and Taehyung wouldn’t be able to forgive themselves if they didn't try everything they could to make sure of that.
“Be careful”, Taehyung hisses as the boy’s shoe slips. He whimpers in response, his heavy breathing loud in Jimin’s ears.
“What the fuck is happening here?”
Jimin feels as if his heart stops beating. His head whips up to see a tall, slender man in a black coat staring down at them, short blonde hair falling into his face. Jimin hands tighten on the boy’s torso where he is holding him as he looks towards Taehyung who has the same terrified expression on his face. Jimin swallows thickly. They got caught.
*
Namjoon cannot help but to feel useless as he looks at the other ship and sees his crew fighting. He wants to fight beside them, wants to make sure nobody gets harmed. His crew is extremely skilled, each one of the pirates thoroughly trained, but it doesn’t ease down his worry. Namjoon fidgets. He knows why he has to stay behind, knows that someone needs to keep an eye on things and lead the crew in case something happens. In case the captain isn’t able to do it anymore.
Namjoon shakes his head, getting rid of those thoughts. They’ve done those attacks plenty of times and nothing drastic has ever happened. No one would get harmed.
Namjoon has been so lost in thought that he didn’t hear the unfamiliar voices at first. They were dull against the loud crashing of the waves and the cries on the other ship but Namjoon could catch them more clearly now. He tries to follow the sound, body tense at the immediate threat too close for comfort. A whimper that sounds like Jungkook causes Namjoon’s chest to tighten, he knows the youngest crew member isn’t as skilled in fighting as the others were. He frantically looks for Jungkook before he stumbles upon a sight he hasn’t expected.
“What the fuck is happening?”, Namjoon calls as he sees Jungkook climbing up the deck with two others pushing him upwards. It only takes a second before Namjoon connects the dots between the flashing hair-colours, the sparkling jewellery and the lack of clothes. He sucks in a breath as the two mermaids stare back at him, stunned upon getting caught.
As soon as Namjoon realises they are trying to help Jungkook and don’t pose a threat, he sighs in relief and crouches down to help Jungkook. He freezes when an arrow lands right next to Jungkook’s head, only barely missing it’s target. It causes Jungkook to lose his balance and fall back towards the water but the mermaids catch him in time. Namjoon scans the other ship before his eyes land on the culprit, seeing the pirate draw another bow. But suddenly, the pirate’s eyes seem to fall on the mermaids, his expression shifting as he starts to draw his crew members’ attention.
“Oi! They have mermaids! Mermaids!!”
Namjoon is very aware of the cruel mermaid trade between pirates. Pirates are known not to obey the law which forbids harming the sea creatures, they catch, sell and use mermaids like toys. Some pirates even use the mermaids they hold captured to help them catch more and the ways to do so were brutal, to say the least. Namjoon’s heart catches in his throat and he needs to think of something fast .
“Swim to the other side of the ship, we’ll help you!” Namjoon shouts over the other noises, hoping they believed him. The other crew was known for their goods and trades, he wouldn’t be surprised if they were involved in the mermaid traffic.
“Tae, we need to head back right now”, the pink haired mermaid hisses, ignoring Namjoon’s offer. The other mermaid however, keeps his eyes on Namjoon, as if trying to find something that gives away his lie. Namjoon doesn’t blame him but he knows the chances for the two managing to escape the pirates are low and he needs to help them, especially after they have risked their lives for Jungkook.
“We don’t have much time, please! I give you my word!” Namjoon pleads. His gaze is desperate as it locks with the dark blue ones of the mermaid and he faintly notices how his stomach swirls. “I promise.”
“We’re swimming to the other side of the ship”, the blue haired mermaid decides and grabs Jungkook as he swims away. The other mermaid sputters but follows him quickly.
Namjoon doesn’t have time to be relieved. He gave the two his word and he will do anything to keep the mermaids safe now. He finds the pirate that saw them earlier running towards their captain, probably to tell her about the mermaids. They are lucky his shouts about mermaids being close haven’t been heard or taken seriously, as it gives them a little head-start. Namjoon puts two of his fingers beneath his tongue and whistles three times, indicating a retreat. They never retreat unless it is an emergency so Namjoon hopes his crew members will understand his reasoning for using the signal.
The first one to run back is Hoseok, the fastest and most skilled fighter of their crew. He pulls half of his shoulder-long hair into a tight bun, seemingly prepared to face their next threat. Namjoon immediately walks over to him, eyes on the other crew members behind him that hurry back to their ship.
“Grab Seokjin and Rajah and go towards the other side of the ship. Help Jungkook up first and make sure he rests. Then, help the two others and keep them safe. Treat them carefully, okay?”
“Two others? Who?”, Hoseok questions but Namjoon just shakes his head and sends him off, knowing it’s faster if Hoseok sees them with his own eyes.
Namjoon watches the whole crew come back on board and gives instructions to prepare to sail away. He knows the other crew is set on finding the mermaids now, which is the reason they let his crew leave so easily. Namjoon knows who the last one to arrive is, can see his tensed arms under the black shirt, covered in bruises from the fights. He takes a deep breath as he prepares himself to explain the situation. Judging from the furious scowl directed at him, Namjoon doesn’t expect this to be easy but he reminds himself of his promise towards the mermaids. He takes a step forward, meeting the ranging captain half way.
“Yoongi, I can explain.”
*
Taehyung knows his mother and sister will kill him for trusting a pirate but he has never been known for making good choices. He doesn’t even understand why he agreed, if it was the shivering boy that needed immediate help or the intense, pleading gaze of the blonde pirate. Taehyung knows he trusts too fast and deeply, knows how often he got hurt because of it. But this time, it truly felt like the right thing to do.
“Care to explain why you’re trying to get us killed?”, Jimin grits through his teeth as they reached the other side of the ship.
“The two of us swimming away would be even more dangerous”, Taehyung explains, gaze on the ship, hoping for the help to come now, “Not only for us but for him here as well.”
The boy in his hold looks up as he notices they are speaking up about him and Taehyung feels concerned about how pale he looks, his chapped lips taking on a blue colour. Taehyung doesn’t have anything on him that could warm him up or dry his skin so they can only wait.
“I’m Jungkook”, the boy introduces himself shyly, his brown eyes round as he looks at them. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Kookie!”
They all look up to see three people crouching at the edge of the ship. The man that called seems stunned to see mermaids but he collects himself very quickly before giving the two pirates behind him instructions. One of them was another man, taller and broader than the first one, with thick, black hair that reached down to his chin. After the two men talked, the taller man nods and runs off, causing Taehyung to wonder what their plan is. He just hopes those pirates here want to help them as well. He looks at the third pirate with them, a woman with dark skin and eyes that pierce through them. Her red hair is in thick braids that slightly move with the strong wind gusts. Taehyung feels his hands itch to draw her as she stands straight on the edge of the ship, always wanting to capture breathtaking views.
“Hey, I’m Hoseok. I want to help you so please listen carefully to what I say”, one of the pirates says and Taehyung nods frantically, “We’re going to let down a ladder. Jungkook, you climb up first. It won’t be easy for the other two but you have to use the strength of your arms to get up here. Try to be as fast as you can, okay?”
“Thank you for your help”, Jimin answers loudly and they all watch as a wooden ladder is let down onto the side of the ship. It doesn’t look very safe to Taehyung but he knows this is their only option now.
As Jungkook climbs up, the other pirate that has left before comes back with a thick blanket in his hands and a few other pirates following him. Some of them gawk at Taehyung and Jimin, others simply glance at them, probably having seen mermaids before.
“They pushed two mermaids they hold captured into the ocean to catch these two here, we need to hurry”, the pirate urges. Taehyung feels his stomach tighten with knots and anxiety, feels heat rush through his body. Jimin’s hand finds his and squeezes tightly, the only form of comfort Jimin can give him now.
“Go first, you’re faster”, Taehyung whispers and pushes Jimin to go up the ladder. They don’t have time to discuss much so Jimin easily complies and heaves himself up the lowest stave. Taehyung can see Jimin’s muscles tense with every move and notices his own chest tightening with every passing second. Jungkook is already on the ship and got wrapped into the blanket. As he gets led away, he looks at Taehyung and Jimin one more time, his gaze worried. Taehyung wishes he could tell the boy that they would be alright but right now, he isn’t so sure himself.
Their tails are heavy and long and Taehyung can see Jimin struggle with it. His best friend hurries but there is only so much that even he can do. As soon as Jimin is halfway up, Taehyung works himself up the ladder. His muscles ache and his tail feels as if it's filled with rocks but he tries to focus on reaching the top. He watches as Jimin gets pulled up by the pirates above him and two pirates move to carry him.
And then Taehyung feels it. The hand grasping his tail and pulling it. Taehyung looks down to see a mermaid holding onto him, a boy with white hair and dead eyes.
“Let go!”, Taehyung yells at him, moving his tail to get the boy off of him but the boy holds onto his tail as if his life depended on it.
“ Please! ”, Taehyung begs and something in the mermaid’s grey eyes changes. His hand slips away from his tail and for a second, Taehyung simply stares at him.
“Be save. Not everyone will let you go”, the boy murmurs, moving to dip back into the water but Taehyung calls out for him again.
“Wait! Come with us”, Taehyung offers, looking up to the ship where everyone is waiting for him, their eyes wide and concerned. “You can run from those pirates.”
“I have nothing to go back to”, the boy laughs bitterly, swimming backwards, away from Taehyung, “This is my life now. I accepted it. Good luck.”
“ No! Wait!” , Taehyung cries out, his knuckles aching as they hold onto the wooden staves. “ Don’t give up! We can help you! Please, come back!” He keeps on screaming as the boy disappears into the water, leaving no trace of his appearance behind.
“Taehyung! He’s gone! We need to hurry, please come up!” Jimin’s voice breaks Taehyung out of his stupor. His throat feels dry as he nods and he takes a deep breath before continuing to climb up.
Taehyung feels like crying. This morning, he was excited for the party, joked around with Jimin and hummed melodies under his breath. He wants to go back. He wants to see his mother and sister, wants Jimin to be safe and never think about this day again.
Once he was high enough, the pirates pulled him up and just like with Jimin, they carried him at his arms and tail.
“Where are you bringing us?”, Jimin demands to know, looking up to the pirates carrying him.
“To the washing rooms. You need to be in contact with water, right?”, the pirate answers and Taehyung's mind comes to a halt, unsure about the answer himself. He has always been under water, the furthest he went out of it was up to his waist. His tail has just naturally been under water at all times and Taehyung isn’t sure what would happen if it dried.
“I… am not sure”, Taehyung hears Jimin admit, “We’re out of water now and we’re fine. But we’re also still wet...”
“It’s better to be safe than sorry, so we’re bringing you to the washing rooms”, the pirate – Hoseok, Taehyung remembers, pipes in, walking beside them. “You will also have to meet our captain. Don’t be too scared, he’s not as cruel as people expect pirate captains to be.”
“What does he want from us?”, Jimin asks, his voice sounding both defensive and scared. Hoseok gives him and Taehyung a reassuring smile.
“He just needs to know if you’re a threat or not and how we will continue. Please be as honest as possible, if he finds out you have been lying, things could get complicated.”
“Why? How would we impose a threat?”, Taehyung wonders, unable to think of any reason why they would harm pirates.
“Other pirate crews could have sent you. We have many enemies across the seas and it wouldn’t be the first time someone sent spies to our ship.”
They walk in silence after that, letting Hoseok’s words sink in. Taehyung feels simply exhausted as they reach the washing room. It was a small space with white tiles and rusty shower heads on the wall, making Taehyung shudder as they let him and Jimin down onto the ground. He has heard about human washing rooms, has seen some of these shower heads before because a lot of humans’ stuff ends up in the ocean but it still feels odd to actually be here, to smell the stuffy scent and feel the cold tiles beneath his tail.
“The water is a little cold, sorry”, Hoseok warns before he pulls down a small, metal item. Suddenly, a water fountain appears out of the shower heads, covering Jimin and Taehyung with ice cold water drops. Taehyung shouts in surprise, hating the cold sensation on his skin. Jimin hugs himself, ducking away from the water.
“This is horrible! Why is your water so harsh?”, Jimin hisses as he completely moves away from the water, leaving only his tail under the shower. Taehyung quickly copies him, knowing their tails are less sensitive than their upper body.
“Sorry”, Hoseok sighs, scratching his head with a frown on his face, “Once the floor is wet, we can turn it off again for some time, okay?”
Before they could say any more, the door is swung open. Taehyung flinches and watches with a hammering heart as a man in a black shirt enters the room, no doubt the captain of the ship. There was just a power and dominance surrounding him, his posture straight and tensed. Taehyung forces himself to take a deep breath and looks at Jimin whose eyes didn’t leave the captain as he grabs a stool and sits down in front of the two mermaids.
“I’m Min Yoongi, the captain of this crew. I have a few questions for you.”