Archive of Our Own

Changbin remembers the day his mother died. He watched it happen. 

It was during a race, of all things. Of course it was. His mother was a selkie, but also a jockey for the annual kelpie races that the country held. 

She didn’t want to be a jockey. She didn’t even want to be on land. But some human had stolen her coat and refused to give it back unless she raced and won for them. 

She did win. She always won. Human jockeys couldn’t compete with a selkie jockey. Selkies and kelpies understood each other, so they were a dream team that was difficult to come by. Changbin’s mother was a champion. 

But even so, the owners of the kelpies refused to give her her coat back. She was world-renowned and yet that still didn’t buy back her freedom. 

She had been stuck on land for thirty years. Ten of it she had spent with Changbin, a child she never wanted to have. She didn’t see any other way out. 

It was the third and final race. She had won the past two in a landslide. She would have won the third, as well, had she not fallen. 

Changbin watched from the stands as she twisted slightly to look over her shoulder at the kelpies racing behind her, struggling to keep up. He watched as she turned back around and whispered something in her kelpie’s ear. 

Then he watched as she pretended to lose control over the final bend. He watched as she slipped off the back of her kelpie and hit the ground. 

He watched as she disappeared under what seemed like hundreds of kelpie hooves. Some kelpies tried to swerve to avoid her, but they were going too fast. 

All that was left by the end was a broken form and streaks of dark red across the racetrack. 

Changbin remembers that they had to hold him back from running onto the track. Kelpies are carnivores—no one wants to be around them when they catch the faintest whiff of blood. 

It was havoc that day. Kelpies going haywire. Fans in the stands screaming and running. Jockeys struggling to reign in their monstrous steeds and to avoid razor sharp teeth. One or two weren’t so lucky in dodging those teeth. Several kelpies were shot and killed, deemed too much of a threat in that moment. By the end, the racetrack looked like a battlefield.  

Changbin remembers some of it. But he was too focused at the time on the bloody smudge in the dirt that used to be his mother. 

He remembers running to that smudge despite everyone trying to hold him back. He remembers screaming and crying. And he remembers tripping and falling to his knees, and then a shadow falling over him. He looked up to find his mother’s kelpie standing over him, baring its crimson-stained teeth, a wild, bloodthirsty look in its eye. He remembers thinking that that was the end.

He jumped when a shot rang out. The kelpie fell over, a hole burned through its skull. 

Hands grabbed at him then, pulling him away from the bodies. Changbin tried to fight, but he knew it was no use. 

His life after that day would never be the same. 

~

Nine years later, Changbin finds himself in the same kelpie races. He’s a jockey, now, just like his mother. But he’s found a much better owner to ride for, as well as a second family in the rest of the team. He’s going to win the Triple Crown. 

And yet, even though he gives it his all, and his kelpie is one of the finest ever caught, he comes in second by a hairsbreadth. He loses to a kelpie named Tempest, with a jockey he has never heard of before—Hyunjin Hwang. 

Something about Hyunjin Hwang seems familiar to Changbin. Or maybe something is just off about him. Maybe it’s because of how tall Hyunjin is for a jockey. Or how when he rides it looks as though he becomes one with the kelpie. Or maybe it’s the dead, soulless look in his eye that Changbin just catches a glimpse of. 

Changbin has seen some of this before. He knows immediately what Hyunjin is, and that’s before he finds out who the owner of the kelpie is. 

Hyunjin is a selkie. And he’s working for none only than Jinyoung Park—or Ol’ JYP as most people call him—the same owner whom Changbin’s mother was forced to work for. 

That discovery alone makes Changbin sick to his stomach with rage. 

~

Hyunjin wins the Triple Crown that year. Changbin comes in second in all three races. 

Hyunjin doesn’t smile in any of the photographs with the rest of his team and the trophy. He doesn’t even smile when Changbin congratulates him for his win. He just stares blankly. 

He’s so much farther gone than Changbin’s mother was. 

~

In the following year, as they prepare for the next set of Triple Crown races, Changbin learns Hyunjin’s story. Or, he learns the widely accepted version of it. He doubts it’s the full truth. 

No one knows where Hyunjin came from. The general consensus is that JYP found him in some shithole—probably at an underground kelpie race track—recognized his potential, and took him under his wing. If it weren’t for him, Hyunjin would never be the world-class jockey he is. And without him (and his Triple-Crown winner kelpies), Hyunjin’s name would crumble away into nothing. 

Changbin hates that version of the story. 

He hears the truth the night before the Derby, from Hyunjin himself. 

It just so happens that Hyunjin’s team and Changbin’s team are staying in the same hotel. Changbin can never sleep the night before a race, so he gets up and wanders around the hotel a bit. He ends up on the ground floor, by the outdoor pool. He only stops because he sees a figure sitting on the edge of the pool, the door leading outside wide open, even though the pool is clearly closed. 

Curiosity gets the best of him, and he wanders out to find Hyunjin with his feet in the water and a faraway look in his eye. 

“Can’t sleep?” Changbin asks, startling him. Hyunjin looks up at him, almost warily, so Changbin gives him a friendly smile. “Me either. Care for some company?”

Hyunjin just shrugs, and Changbin sits next to him. He takes off his shoes and socks, rolls up his pants, and sticks his feet in the water next to Hyunjin. 

They’re silent for what feels like forever. Changbin is good at small talk and befriending anyone, but he doesn’t invest in useless small talk here, because he knows it won’t help either of them. 

So instead, he goes right for the so-called “big talk.”

“Did you know Miyoung Seo?”

Hyunjin looks up, recognition flashing in his eyes. “Not personally,” he says. “But I knew of her.”

“One of your predecessors,” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin looks away. 

“I’m her son,” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin looks back at him, finally showing some expression. He looks shocked. “That would make you half-selkie,” he says. 

“It would.” Changbin smiles at him. “I grew up with her, did you know that? Up until her death. Which I saw in person.”

Hyunjin looks sick now, and sympathetic. “I’m so sorry.”

“My point is, I know what you’re going through. You’re selkie too, aren’t you?”

Hyunjin looks away again. “You’re the first one to figure it out.”

“Takes one to know one,” Changbin says. “Though I wouldn’t say I’m really selkie. I take more after the human side.”

Hyunjin hums at that. 

“You remind me of her,” Changbin says. “The day before she died. She threw herself off her kelpie, you know. Didn’t see another way out.”

“She missed the sea,” Hyunjin says softly. 

“And so do you.” Changbin then gathers up enough courage to ask, “How did you get here?”

“If you know your mother’s story, then you already know mine,” Hyunjin says. “Our stories are not so different.”

“Someone stole your coat? Forced you to race and win for them, but never told you how many races?”

Hyunjin nods. “Ten years, now. Ten years I’ve been away from the sea. From my home.” He hesitates for a few moments before adding, “From my family.”

“I bet you miss them a lot,” Changbin says. “I’m sorry.” 

Hyunjin finally drags his eyes up from the glowing pool to meet Changbin’s gaze. He studies Changbin for a few moments, as if judging how much to tell him. How much to trust him. 

“I’ve been through two owners,” Hyunjin says after a few moments. “The first was given my coat by mistake. Someone had stolen it from me and gave it to him as a gift. He didn’t know what it was until I came for it. Then he used it against me. Used it to make me race. But when I started winning on supposedly second-rate kelpies, JYP figured it out.”

Changbin stays silent, his eyes glued to Hyunjin. Hyunjin is beautiful, especially in the turquoise glow from the pool. But it’s the sadness in his eyes that is truly captivating. Changbin wants to know him and his story. 

Hyunjin continues, “He threatened to reveal to everyone what I was, making my wins invalid. My first owner didn’t want that, so he offered a trade. He gave me up to JYP. And I’ve been stuck with him ever since.”

“He’ll never give you your coat back,” Changbin murmurs. “Not when you’re raking in the cash and the fame.”

“I know.” Hyunjin’s voice is barely above a whisper. “I know.”

Even though they don’t really speak the rest of that night, they still part ways as friends. However, the following day, the world depicts them as bitter rivals. 

“Mr. Seo, how do you feel about this race? Do you think you’ll finally be able to beat Hyunjin Hwang on Tempest?”

“Mr. Seo, how does it feel to always be second to Hyunjin Hwang?”

“Mr. Seo, do you have anything to say to Hyunjin Hwang and Tempest?”

“I wish him all the luck,” Changbin says with a genuine smile into the camera. “I know it’ll be a fair race. He’s a great jockey, and a great friend.” 

Of course that throws all of the reporters for a loop, but Changbin is already walking away to get saddled up on his kelpie, Scene Stealer. 

When they line up for the race, all the kelpies pulsing with dangerous, raw energy, pawing at the ground, tossing their heads, and chomping at the bit, Changbin looks to his left, where Hyunjin is. 

“Good luck today, Hyunjin,” he says.

Hyunjin turns his head to look at him. They gaze at each other for what feels like forever, but neither says anything. Eventually they both turn their attention forward, their hearts pounding, waiting for the gunshot to go off…

…

Hyunjin wins again, and Changbin comes in second. But Changbin puts on a smile, knowing that it’s nothing personal. 

~

Changbin doesn’t expect to see Hyunjin for another year. They go back to their respective stables, where both will start training for the next year. Even though Changbin works as a jockey, he has a second job to help pay the bills, and just as something to pass the time. He still spends most of his time at the stables, training new and old kelpies.

Anyone in their right mind would be afraid of kelpies, but Changbin supposes he’s not in the right mind. He sees kelpies as frightening at points, yes, but he’s not afraid of them. He likes spending time around them, razor sharp teeth and all. 

He’s come close to having a finger or whole hand being bitten off, though, even by so-called old and “tame” kelpies. Kelpies are born from violent storms—they’ll never be completely tame. But Changbin doesn’t want them to be. If they were, they would lose their nature. Like Hyunjin. 

Of course Changbin thinks about Hyunjin even when it’s the off-season, even when he won’t see him for another year. In his opinion, it’s the best time to think about him without shame, since he’ll never risk running into him. Might as well let his mind run wild with possibilities. 

Or, that’s what he thinks, when Hyunjin shows up at the stables. 

Changbin is in by the stalls, talking to his favorite kelpie, one named Scene Stealer. Changbin just likes to call him Stealer, since he’s caught the kelpie stealing any small creature that wanders too close to the pastures, like birds, rabbits, gophers, squirrels, snakes, and even a poor stray cat once. Stealer has also tried to steal Changbin’s fingers a few times, but Changbin has always had fast reflexes. 

Stealer is in one of his calmer, less bloodthirsty moods that morning, which Changbin takes advantage of. He’s leaning against the stall door, stroking Stealer’s nose and talking about nothing in particular, when he hears someone clear their throat. 

Changbin looks down the hall at the doorway, thinking it’s one of the handlers or something, only to go rigid when he recognizes the tall, lithe figure. 

“Hyunjin,” he says, stepping away from the stall door. Stealer makes a noise of protest and shoves his head at Changbin, asking for more attention, and Changbin pats the kelpie’s nose absent-mindedly. 

“Hello,” Hyunjin says, his entire body stiff. He looks like he’s going to bolt at any moment.

“What are you doing here?” Changbin asks. “Not that I’m complaining. I just thought you’d be at JYP’s.”

“I asked for two weeks off,” Hyunjin says. “In exchange for working overtime to prepare for next season.”

“Gotcha.” Changbin nods slowly, taking the time to admire Hyunjin’s features. He smiles. “And you decided to come visit me, huh?”

“I, uh.” Hyunjin glances down at the floor. “I’m sorry if I’m overstepping, I just…You told the reporters we were friends. I thought it would be nice to be…friends.”

Changbin’s smile widens. “You’re always welcome here,” he says, giving Stealer one last rub on the nose before stepping away. Of course then Stealer snaps at him, and he nimbly jumps out of the way before pointing a stern finger at the kelpie. “Hey. No biting. I just gave you like an hour’s worth of attention.”

Stealer bares his teeth at him, and Changbin just shrugs before walking away. He turns his attention to Hyunjin and smiles again. 

“How about something to eat?” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin gives a small, shy smile at that. 

They drive into town in Changbin’s single-cab, old Ford pickup truck, where they stop at the string of businesses on a boardwalk along the beach. Changbin takes him to his favorite restaurant, where they order dinner and drinks and sit out on the patio.

Afterwards, Changbin asks Hyunjin if he’d feel comfortable walking down to the beach, and Hyunjin accepts. 

“Is it hard?” Changbin asks as they walk.

“Is what hard?”

“Seeing the ocean.”

Hyunjin falls silent for a few moments, gazing out at sunset over the glittering water. “Yes,” he says. “It’s very hard.”

“We can go back to the stables, if you want,” Changbin says. “I didn’t mean to make you sad or anything.”

Hyunjin shakes his head and flashes him that sad smile again. “No, that’s alright. I still like seeing it, even if it’s painful. Sometimes it helps me push forward. Gives me hope. One day…I’ll make it back. In one way or another.”

Changbin nods, and they fall silent again. 

When they do head back to the stables, it’s dark. Part of Changbin’s contract includes housing, which is a tiny apartment over the stables themselves. It has a view of the ocean as well as a little balcony. He likes it.

They never spoke about it, but Changbin assumes that Hyunjin will be staying here, considering Hyunjin never told him otherwise when they were driving back. 

“You can take the bed,” Changbin says. “I’ll take the couch.”

Hyunjin frowns. “But your bed is big enough for both of us.”

“It is, but I figured you would want your own bed.”

Hyunjin shrugs. “Usually I sleep in the bathtub filled to the brim.”

Changbin arches an eyebrow at that, and Hyunjin blushes. 

“It…reminds me of home,” he says in a small voice, looking away. 

Changbin smiles and steps forward to put a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder, making Hyunjin look at him. “You can sleep in my bathtub if you want. If that’ll make you feel more comfortable.”

“It’s not very comfortable,” Hyunjin says quietly. “Not really.”

“Then you’ll sleep in my bed. And I’ll take the couch. Really, it’s the least I can do.”

Hyunjin sighs but doesn’t argue. 

Even though the couch isn’t that uncomfortable, Changbin doesn’t fall asleep for hours. He’s too busy thinking about what it would be like to sleep next to Hyunjin, to hold him, and to wake up next to him.

Then he wonders if Hyunjin has ever experienced any of that while on land, and it hurts his heart.

~

Hyunjin stays with Changbin for two weeks, then leaves to go back to JYP’s. Changbin finds himself missing him immediately after he leaves. Nothing major happened between them in those two weeks, but Changbin would be lying to himself if he said that everything stayed exactly the same. He could feel something happening between the two of them with every lingering gaze and seemingly meaningless brush of the shoulders or hands. 

But now he has to wait. And he has to get his priorities back in order. He needs to train. This year, he’s going to win the Triple Crown. He’s sure of it. 

And so he pushes Hyunjin out of his mind and focuses on training only. 

~

The year passes. Changbin is back at the race track, preparing for the Derby the next day. And yet, he can’t focus on the race. 

All he can focus on is finding the tall, blond jockey through the throngs of people at the stables. 

There are too many people here this early. Changbin expected the stables to be somewhat empty, considering the race isn’t even today, but of course everyone is too excited for that. 

He brushes off reporters and others granting him good luck on the race by telling them that they shouldn’t cluster around the kelpies like this, since it will agitate them. No one wants to be around an agitated kelpie. Especially not Scene Stealer, who has been stealing more things lately, like the hat of a reporter and the fingers of a handler. 

At one point, he catches a glimpse of blond hair and sad eyes, but when he does a double-take, Hyunjin is already gone. Changbin shakes his head and forces himself to focus on getting Stealer settled in. 

He goes out for dinner with the owner of Scene Stealer and the rest of their team, then heads back to the stables that night to check on the kelpie once more. He notices immediately that Stealer has a smudge of blood on his lips, and Changbin gives him a look. 

“What did you eat now?” Changbin asks, rubbing Stealer’s nose. “Please tell me it was a mouse or something small. Not a cat. I hate it when you eat cats or dogs. It’s so sad.”

Stealer just flares his nostrils, a wild look in his eye. Changbin takes a step back before he starts to look too tasty to the kelpie. 

He walks down the rest of the stalls, nodding at some of the handlers who are still around. He pauses by Tempest’s stall. Tempest just looks at him, looking much calmer than the other kelpies. Changbin doesn’t like that look. It’s just to get people to trust her. He knows the moment someone tries to pet her, she’ll lunge at them. 

As he studies Tempest, though, he realizes that someone other than the kelpie is studying him. 

He turns to see Hyunjin leaning in the doorway of the hall, his arms crossed, watching him. 

Changbin can’t help the surge of emotion he feels in his chest when he looks at Hyunjin. He can’t stop the smile from appearing on his face. 

Those emotions only intensify when Hyunjin smiles back. 

“Your kelpie’s trying to manipulate me into petting her,” Changbin says. “I think she secretly wants to bite my head off.”

“Oh, don’t let her fool you.” Hyunjin straightens up and walks up to Tempest. He hugs her head. “She’s a sweetie.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Hyunjin smiles again and steps back so he can stroke Tempest’s nose instead. “Out of all the kelpies he’s made me ride, she’s my favorite.”

“She’s beautiful,” Changbin says. “She looks just like a storm. Runs like one, too.”

“She’s a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.” Hyunjin plants a kiss on Tempest’s nose—something even Changbin has never dared to do—and turns to Changbin. 

“Ready for the race?” Changbin asks.

“I’m always ready,” Hyunjin says, but his shoulders slump. 

Changbin waits for him to elaborate, but when he doesn’t, he says instead, “Want to go for a walk?”

Hyunjin smiles. “I’d love to.”

They end up walking around the track, which is dark and empty this late at night. Changbin likes it. It’s like they have the place all to themselves. It’s just them, together. 

He glances at Hyunjin’s hand but doesn’t take it.

“Do you ever—” Hyunjin begins, then stops. Changbin looks at him. Hyunjin’s brow is furrowed as he struggles to think of the right words. “Do the reporters ever get to you? Like…what they say about you…does it ever get to you?”

“I have a pretty thick skin,” Changbin says with a smile. 

“I just…they’re so mean to you,” Hyunjin says, his eyes sad. “And it hurts because I know that they would worship the ground you walked on if I wasn’t around. Because you and Scene Stealer would have won everything. But instead they treat you like a punching bag because you come in second every time.”

“I was never really in it for the fame and praise,” Changbin says. “I was more in it because I love it. I love racing. And even though they’re bloodthirsty monsters, I love the kelpies, too. I guess it’s because I grew up around it all. This is my home, what I was meant to do.”

“I wish I could think about it the same way.” Hyunjin sighs. 

“Have you ever…thought about losing?”

When Hyunjin looks at him, Changbin quickly elaborates. 

“I mean, you’ve won the highest honor any jockey or kelpie could achieve,” Changbin says. “You’ve not only won the Triple Crown—but you’ve done it three years in a row. That’s practically unthinkable. So what would happen if you…lost?”

“He’d kill me,” Hyunjin says.

“What?”

“He shoots every single kelpie that disappoints him once,” Hyunjin says. “Even if they’re worth millions. He’s more of a monster than they are.”

Changbin slows to a stop, and Hyunjin leans against the rail that separates them from the track. 

“I’m guessing by your silence that you didn’t know that when your mother was riding for him,” Hyunjin says. 

“My mother told me that he sold them,” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin shakes his head. “He doesn’t risk them falling into someone else’s hands. He calls it ‘protecting his investments.’” He rolls his eyes. 

“You’ve gotta get out of there,” Changbin whispers. 

“Can’t. He has my coat. I don’t know where he keeps it. Besides…” Hyunjin wraps his arms around himself. “I don’t want to leave Tempest. He’ll shoot her next if I do something to piss him off. She’s been stuck on land longer than I have."

“I wish I could help you.”

Hyunjin looks at him. “You already have.”

“More than that,” Changbin says. “I wish I could do more.”

Hyunjin is studying him now. “No…I wish I could do more for you. You deserve the world.”

“I’d give you the world if I could,” Changbin says. “I’d give you everything without hesitation.”

Hyunjin glances down, at Changbin’s lips, and Changbin realizes how close he’s stepped to Hyunjin. Their arms are already touching, and there’s only a few inches between their faces. 

Just as Changbin starts to lean closer, though, Hyunjin whispers, “Selkies don’t form lasting bonds with humans.”

Changbin pauses, then sighs. “I know.” He takes a step back, running a hand through his hair before turning away. 

There’s a long, heavy silence, during which Changbin can feel Hyunjin’s eyes on him, yet he can’t meet Hyunjin’s gaze. 

Eventually, he says, “Big day tomorrow. Better go rest up.”

He walks away before Hyunjin can say anything. 

~

The next day, a few hours before the race, Hyunjin somehow manages to wrench Changbin off to the side, away from the prying eyes of the reporters, where they can talk. 

“You’re still my friend, right?” Hyunjin blurts, his eyes wide with worry. His face is flushed. He looks more alive than Changbin has ever seen him. 

Changbin takes one look at him and smiles. “You bet.”

Hyunjin sighs in relief, though his eyes are now more pained than anything. “I’m sorry about last night,” he says. 

“Don’t worry about it.”

“No, I…” Hyunjin bites his lip, then says, “You’re the nicest human I’ve ever met.”

“Half-human,” Changbin says. “Half-selkie.”

Hyunjin looks like he wants to say something, but he can’t find the words. 

At that moment, a reporter finds them and snaps a picture of both of them, making Hyunjin jump. Changbin looks at the reporter and says, “Do you mind?”

“What are two rivals saying to each other before such a big race?” the reporter asks, pulling out his notepad.

Hyunjin turns and walks away without another word. He doesn’t so much as look over his shoulder. 

Soon everyone is saddled up and at the gate, their kelpies shifting underneath them. Changbin doesn’t look at Hyunjin. He just stares straight ahead, focusing on the race.

He wasn’t completely honest with Hyunjin last night. He’s always wanted to win a race. He’s won a few, back in the smaller races. But he’s never won a Triple Crown race, and that’s purely because of Hyunjin. 

Changbin tightens his grip in Stealer’s mane. 

Today, he’s determined to win. 

The gunshot goes off, and the gates fly open. All of the kelpies surge forward. Hyunjin and Tempest go right to the front. Changbin urges Stealer to go right after them. Hyunjin’s strategy is to go to the front and stay there, setting the pace for all the other kelpies before pulling ahead even further. Usually by then, the other kelpies are so exhausted that they aren’t able to close the distance. Changbin used to be one of them. 

He knows Hyunjin’s strategy. He’s going to use it against him. 

He knows Stealer can keep up. Stealer just needs the incentive. It might result in an angry kelpie later on, but Changbin can handle it. 

Changbin goes right up next to Hyunjin and Tempest, keeping pace with them. Hyunjin glances at him, surprised, but Changbin doesn’t look at him. He focuses only on the track ahead.

He can do this. He can win. 

But even as they round the final corner, he sees Hyunjin inch ahead, and Stealer starts fighting him, annoyed at having to run so fast for so long, despite training for this for years.

Changbin can’t win.

Hyunjin crosses the finish line a few seconds before him. Changbin starts to wonder why he even bothers doing this anymore. 

~

Changbin avoids Hyunjin for the rest of the day. He has other things to worry about. Like the fact that Stealer puts up a fight right after the race, trying to snatch up a handler or two and nearly throwing Changbin off of him. Changbin barely gets away, and it takes five of them to dodge Stealer’s sharp teeth and to wrangle him into a stall. 

Afterwards, when Changbin’s pulled off his helmet and goggles, the reporters descend upon him like a flock of vultures, shoving microphones in his face and snapping his picture and demanding answers. 

Changbin manages to deal with them without snapping at them, but by the time he finally gets away from all the uproar, he’s hanging by a thread. He quickly finishes up his last few duties and books it back to the hotel. He orders room service, cracks open a bottle of whiskey, and doesn’t come out for the rest of the night.

~

Changbin doesn’t see Hyunjin for another month, until right before the Preakness. They’re in Baltimore, and after eating dinner and checking on Stealer at the track, Changbin decides to go to the beach. 

It’s dark and somewhat chilly, but he takes off his shoes and walks in the surf anyways. As he does so, he gets the feeling that he isn’t alone anymore. 

He looks up and finds Hyunjin standing on the beach, watching him. At least Hyunjin has the mind to look slightly embarrassed about being caught.

“I followed you here,” he admits. “I saw you at the track.”

“Just checking in on Stealer,” Changbin says. 

“I was checking in on Tempest,” Hyunjin says. “And…watching for you.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

Hyunjin looks the slightest bit hurt. “I have to have a reason to talk to you now?”

“I just think we should keep things more professional between us,” Changbin says.

Hyunjin blinks. “Professional.”

“Yeah. Professional. Only talk about…racing. And the kelpies. And we only meet on the race track. No after hours like this.”

“But…but why?” Hyunjin’s eyes are wide with shock, pain, and confusion.

“We need to focus on more important things.”

“What if I said that you’re important to me?”

Changbin doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he just stays silent and looks away.

Hyunjin waits for him to speak, then shakes his head. He wraps his arms around his stomach tightly. “You’re just like the rest of them.”

“I’m just here to race, Hyunjin,” Changbin murmurs.

“So am I. But I didn’t know that that meant we couldn’t do anything else. Couldn’t be anything else.”

Changbin runs a hand through his hair before spreading his arms. “What do you want from me?”

“I just…” Hyunjin swallows thickly. “I just don’t want to be alone anymore. Is that so terrible?”

Changbin sighs, now rubbing at his eyes. “No,” he says quietly. “No, that’s not. I’m sorry.”

Hyunjin just looks at him, his eyes full of such a deep sadness that it tugs at Changbin’s heart. 

“I’m sorry,” Changbin says again. 

“I forgive you,” Hyunjin says softly. 

They end up staying on the beach for another half an hour or so, just walking in silence. Changbin glances at Hyunjin every so often, and he can feel it when Hyunjin is staring at him when he’s not looking.

At one point, the backs of their hands brush, and Changbin thinks he could have taken Hyunjin’s hand in his. But he doesn’t, and they never cross that boundary in between them. 

The Preakness comes and goes. Changbin zones out through the whole thing. Hyunjin wins, anyways.

Hyunjin always wins. 

~

Another month passes, and Changbin is in his room the night before the Belmont when he hears a frantic knock at his door. Frowning, he opens it to find Hyunjin there, face flushed, eyes red, a newspaper clutched in his hand. There are tears pouring down his cheeks.

“They figured it out,” Hyunjin says, shoving the newspaper at Changbin. “I’m done. I’m done for. Either they’re going to disqualify me and JYP’s gonna kill me, or JYP’s gonna pull me first and kill me after. Either way, I’m dead. I’m dead.”

Changbin takes the newspaper and looks down at the headline, where it says something about Hyunjin being a selkie, and therefore a cheater. 

“But how did they figure it out?” Changbin asks, looking up. 

“I don’t know,” Hyunjin whispers, shaking his head. “I don’t know.”

Changbin quickly ushers him inside at that point, and the moment he shuts the door behind them, Hyunjin breaks down completely. Changbin tosses the newspaper away and pulls Hyunjin into his arms. Even though Hyunjin is much taller than him, he feels smaller, especially as he tucks his head into the crook of Changbin’s neck and cries. 

Changbin doesn’t know what to say. He can’t say that things will be okay, because he doesn’t know that for sure. So he just holds Hyunjin tightly, wondering if this might be the first and last time he’ll ever get to do so. 

“I’m never going to see my family again,” Hyunjin whimpers. “I’m going to die on land of all places and—”

“Shh, shh, you’re not going to die,” Changbin says. 

“You don’t know that!”

“He can’t kill you before a race.” Changbin gently lifts Hyunjin’s face and cups both cheeks so Hyunjin has to look him in the eye. “If they don’t disqualify you, there’s a chance you can still win, and he’ll take that chance. He won’t pass up an opportunity to win the Triple Crown by killing his best jockey.”

“He will,” Hyunjin whispers. “I’m replaceable. Expendable. He’ll just find another jockey to take my place.”

“Another jockey who’s not a selkie and knows how to handle a kelpie like Tempest? I doubt it.”

“Don’t underestimate him.”

Changbin shakes his head and presses his forehead against Hyunjin’s. He doesn’t know what to say or do. 

After a moment, Hyunjin whispers, “Do you think this is what your mother felt like? Before she fell?”

Changbin squeezes his eyes shut.

“I’m starting to think she had the right idea.”

Changbin’s eyes fly open as he jerks backwards, but he doesn’t release Hyunjin’s face. “Don’t you dare,” he snarls. “Don’t you dare think that’s a good idea, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin has gone stiff, his eyes flashing with terror at the sudden change in demeanor.

Changbin sighs, relaxing. “I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “I just…I don’t want to lose you like that. Promise me you won’t do that, Hyunjin. Promise.”

“I can’t promise."

“Why not?” Changbin desperately searches his face. “There has to be another way. You can steal back your coat. Run away. He can’t possibly catch up with you. You just have to run.”

Hyunjin shakes his head. “It won’t work.”

Changbin clenches his jaw, but Hyunjin reaches up to place a hand over Changbin’s. 

“I don’t want to think about it,” Hyunjin whispers. “I don’t want to think at all. So can you…can you help me stop thinking?”

“How?”

Hyunjin hesitates for a few moments before his eyes go to Changbin’s lips. 

Changbin swallows, remembering the last time they almost kissed. He still feels the sting of that rejection. 

“Just tonight,” Changbin says. 

“Tonight is enough,” Hyunjin says. Then he takes a deep breath, leans forward, and kisses him. 

It’s a brief kiss, barely more than a peck, and yet Changbin knows he’s already addicted. He wants more of Hyunjin’s plush mouth, so when Hyunjin pulls away, he pulls him back in. 

One kiss leads to more, and more, and then Changbin is licking into Hyunjin’s mouth and Hyunjin is sighing and melting into him. Somehow they collapse onto the bed, and Hyunjin is under him, and they’re already moving together and against each other, and Changbin knows he still wants more. 

As he pulls away from Hyunjin to breathe, though, Hyunjin whispers, “I want you.”

“Just for tonight, though,” Changbin says before he can stop himself. 

Hyunjin swallows but nods. “Just for tonight.”

They gaze at each other for a few moments more, as if giving each other one last chance to back out. But when neither of them take it, Changbin leans in and captures Hyunjin’s lips with his own again.

After that, they focus only on exploring each other and enjoying each other. Nothing else—just them, for once.

~

Hyunjin lets him hold him, afterwards. With his fingertips, he lightly traces the tattoo on Changbin’s upper arm, an armband with a wave design. Changbin watches him the whole time, trying to commit every moment of this to his memory. He knows it’s all he’ll ever get, and he wants to treasure it. 

Eventually, he gathers enough courage to murmur, “You’ll stay the night?”

“Yes,” Hyunjin says. 

“Good.” Changbin smiles, and Hyunjin smiles back. 

Hyunjin lets him plant a soft kiss on his forehead before drifting off, and when Changbin wakes in the morning, Hyunjin is already gone. 

~

The Belmont is the hardest race, being longer than the others. It takes stamina as well as speed to win, a combination most kelpies lack. 

But Tempest doesn’t lack it. And Changbin knows Stealer doesn’t, either. He might be able to win this, for once. 

It’s chaos at the race track when Hyunjin arrives. Changbin is already there, and he sees the way the crowd swarms Hyunjin and the rest of his team as they head towards the stables. At least JYP is smart enough to have assigned a bodyguard, who clears a path, otherwise Changbin knows Hyunjin would have been physically attacked. 

But the bodyguard doesn’t protect against verbal attacks. Reporters and onlookers alike yell insults and slurs at him, telling him to quit, telling him to go back to the ocean, telling him that his trophies mean nothing. Changbin sees Hyunjin flinch. He almost looks like he’s on the verge of tears, but Changbin can’t tell for sure. He does know that Hyunjin is highly sensitive to words, though. 

He still can’t believe that they’re letting him race. Changbin wonders if they’ll turn around at the end and call Hyunjin’s victory void and hand it to the next person in line. He wonders if it’ll be him. 

Before Changbin knows it, they’re saddled up, and they’re at the gate. They’re waiting for the gunshot. Changbin looks to his left, where Hyunjin is. Hyunjin looks back at him. For the first time before a race, Hyunjin looks scared. Changbin can see it even through Hyunjin’s goggles. 

The longer he stares, the more he realizes that Hyunjin doesn’t just look scared—he looks apologetic, too. 

And that’s before he mouths to Changbin, I’m sorry.

Changbin stares back at him, a nauseous feeling settling into his gut. 

He barely has time to process, though, because then the gunshot is going off, and the gates are flying open, and Stealer is surging forward with the rest of the kelpies. Changbin’s almost caught off-guard, and he nearly falls off the kelpie. Stealer tosses his head, feeling Changbin’s lack of control, and Changbin struggles to gain it back. Once he does, he spurs Stealer to go faster, having lost crucial time, putting him in the back of the group. 

Hyunjin is already at the front of the group, setting a brutal pace, and Changbin fights to catch up with him. It’s harder this time for some reason, and by the time he falls in beside Hyunjin, the race is half over. Stealer is already tiring. Maybe he doesn’t have the stamina Changbin thought he did. 

“Hyunjin!” Changbin yells. 

Hyunjin glances at him but doesn’t respond. 

“Don’t do what I think you’re going to do,” Changbin says. “Don’t. Please, don’t.”

Hyunjin again doesn’t respond. Instead, he looks over his shoulder, as if gauging how many kelpies are behind him. Like he needs to look. He already knows, just like Changbin’s mother did. 

Tears blur Changbin’s vision. He can’t watch this again. 

“You can get through this,” he says. “You can. I’ll help you. There’s another way out, I swear. We’ll find it together.”

Hyunjin glances at him again, his eyes wide. 

Changbin knows he won’t hold his attention, though. So he blurts the one thing he know will get to Hyunjin, the one thing he wishes he had told his mother before that race all those years ago, something he wishes he had told her more often.

He doesn’t say it often, that’s the problem, and he’s afraid he’ll never get the chance again with Hyunjin. He can’t risk it. 

So he says with his whole heart, “I love you.”

Hyunjin blinks at him, lips parting in shock. 

“Please, don’t do it,” Changbin says. “There’s another way. There has to be.”

Hyunjin stares at him for a few moments more, then looks at how much track they have left. Then he glances at the stands, at the glass boxes where JYP is probably watching. 

Finally, he looks back at Changbin. Their eyes meet for one last moment before Hyunjin suddenly pulls on the reins. 

Changbin lets out a cry as Hyunjin falls back behind him, the other kelpies screaming and swerving to avoid him. But Changbin can’t slow down and go back for him. He has to keep going. He’s in first place, now. 

He does look over his shoulder when he comes around the final bend. He sees Hyunjin still on the back of Tempest, who is unmoving. He’s looking at the stands again, at the glass boxes. 

Changbin crosses the finish line first, and the stadium erupts with noise. 

He doesn’t remember much after that. He remembers people congratulating him, reporters shoving microphones in his face. He remembers the flashes of cameras. He remembers sitting on top of Stealer while his team gathers around him and accepts the flowers and the trophy. A blanket of woven flowers is draped over Stealer’s neck, who immediately tries to eat them, only to find out that they’re not meat. He remembers posing for pictures that he knows will go in the newspapers and possibly even the history books. 

The rest of it goes hazy, as it is mostly celebration and too many faces, but he does remember one last thing:

He doesn’t see Hyunjin at all throughout all of those celebrations.

~

The celebrations and flashing cameras end, though, and Changbin finds himself back in his hotel room late that night. He has a headache that isn’t due to the amount of alcohol consumed, but even though he’s exhausted, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to sleep. And he knows why. 

It’s because he hasn’t seen Hyunjin since the race, and he doesn’t know if Hyunjin is okay or not. He doesn’t know if Hyunjin is alive or not. 

It makes him sick to his stomach with worry, and he ends up pacing the room, running his hands through his hair, trying not to think of the worst. 

Eventually he forces himself to sit down on the bed, and he drops his head in his hands. His exhaustion isn’t helping his emotions. He’s struggling to hold back the tears and to not overthink. 

He must doze off, because suddenly there’s a frantic knock at his door, and he jumps awake. He rubs at his eyes and scrambles to the door, hoping, praying—

It’s Hyunjin. But he’s not okay. 

He’s in tears again, and he’s also hugging something to his chest. When he sees Changbin, he lets out a pitiful, broken cry and stumbles forward, only for something to drift from whatever he’s clutching to his chest. It flutters to the floor, like a ribbon. It looks like a scrap of fabric of some sort. 

Changbin quickly picks it up, surprised when he feels that the fabric is leathery, almost. 

That’s when it clicks.

Hyunjin’s trying to speak now, but it’s almost indecipherable through his tears. “He destroyed it,” he chokes out. “He destroyed it, Changbin, right in front of me—”

Changbin gently pulls him inside, the blood roaring in his head as he stares at what’s in Hyunjin’s arms, something Hyunjin is trying desperately to hold onto, only for pieces to slip from his fingers and fall to the floor. 

“I couldn’t—I couldn’t do anything,” Hyunjin sobs. “I couldn’t stop them—and now—”

He tries to show Changbin at that point, but there are too many slippery pieces, and they all fall out of his hands. 

It’s all scraps of fabric, all thin ribbons that twirl to the floor. They land in a large pile, and Hyunjin drops to his knees as he tries to scoop it all up, to keep it all together like it once was. 

“He shredded your coat?” Changbin whispers, his voice hoarse. 

“It’s gone,” Hyunjin whimpers. “It’s gone, it’s all gone—”

He sobs harder at that point, and Changbin kneels down next to him to wrap his arms around him again, but careful not to touch any of the ribbons. 

“It’s not all gone, it’s right here,” Changbin says, though his throat is tightening. He swallows before saying weakly, “We can fix it, it’ll all be okay. We can sew it back together again. It’ll be as good as new.”

Hyunjin shakes his head and sags against him, his entire body shaking with each violent sob. 

Changbin hugs him as tightly as he dares, squeezing his eyes shut as Hyunjin cries into his chest. 

“We’ll fix it,” Changbin says again, his voice breaking. “We’ll fix it, I promise, it’ll be okay—”

His voice cuts off at that point, and he can’t hold back the tears anymore. 

He sits on the hotel floor with Hyunjin, his arms wrapped around him, as they both cry until they can’t anymore. 

~

Hyunjin’s hands are shaking so much that he can’t thread the needle. He tries and tries, but when he can’t steady his hands, Changbin finally reaches out and gently takes the thread and needle from him. 

It took them an hour just to lay out the pieces of Hyunjin’s coat and fit them together, then another half hour for Changbin to go to the stables and retrieve some needle and thread from Stealer’s tack bags. He always takes it with him whenever they travel for races, since they never know if Stealer will rip his blanket or other tack. 

When he gets back, he settles down at the table where they have arranged Hyunjin’s coat. They have to be careful about breathing too heavily or shifting too much, out of risk of causing a slight draft that will scatter the pieces. 

At first, Changbin hands the needle and thread to Hyunjin, knowing that it’s better if selkies handle their own coat, but when Hyunjin is still shaking too much that he nearly stabs himself with the needle, Changbin decides to take over. 

“Go sleep,” Changbin tells Hyunjin as he starts stitching the pieces together. 

Hyunjin shakes his head, his eyes still red, his face still puffy. He looks exhausted. That sadness that was ever-present in his eye has now taken over his entire physique, and every inch of him radiates grief. It breaks Changbin’s heart just looking at him. 

“I can’t sleep,” Hyunjin says, his voice hoarse. His eyes are glued to Changbin’s hands as he sews. 

“Can you tell me what happened, then?” 

Hyunjin swallows, his lower lip now trembling. Changbin opens his mouth to tell him that he doesn’t need to retell it if he doesn’t want to, but then Hyunjin speaks. 

“He was furious after the race,” Hyunjin says softly. “He barely let me dismount before the bodyguards grabbed me and dragged me into the car. Then we drove back to his hotel room and he made me wait for hours before he came in. He started talking about what he wanted to do to me and he had some of his men hit me.”

Changbin stiffens. “Where?”

“Stomach.”

“Did he break anything?” Changbin sets down the needle and coat. He reaches out and gently slips his hand under Hyunjin’s shirt, where he feels for any broken ribs. Hyunjin winces but lets him, though the way his eyes bore into Changbin makes Changbin’s cheeks burn. 

“I don’t think so,” Hyunjin says. He takes Changbin’s wrist lightly as a signal to stop before he pulls up his shirt. Bile rises in the back of Changbin’s throat at the sight of the bruises already forming on Hyunjin’s toned stomach. “It just hurts.”

Changbin traces his fingertips lightly over the bruises, and Hyunjin shivers. 

“You could have internal bleeding, though,” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin shakes his head. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“It looks bad.”

“It’s fine.”

Changbin gives him a skeptical look but says, “Alright.” Then he withdraws and turns back to sewing. “Then what?

“He wanted to break my arm,” Hyunjin says, pulling his shirt back down and fidgeting with the hem. “Or my legs. He was really set on my legs. He had his men hold me down and was about to break them before he thought of another idea. That’s when he went and got my coat.”

He sighs, blinking back tears. “Apparently…he brought it with him everywhere he went, in a special safe. And I had no idea.”

Changbin pauses to reach out and use his thumb to wipe away a single tear that slips down Hyunjin’s cheek. 

Hyunjin gives him a grateful smile before his lower lip trembles again, and the smile disappears. “Then he made me watch as he used a knife to shred it into a million pieces.”

“Did you feel any physical pain when he did that? Like, are you attached to your coat in that way?”

Hyunjin shakes his head. “No. If I was, I would be dead by now.”

Changbin doesn’t like that thought at all. 

“I kept screaming at him to stop but he wouldn’t,” Hyunjin continues, his voice barely above a whisper. “They only left me when it was completely shredded, and he told me that I was done for. After that I grabbed it all and came here. I didn’t know where else to go.” He closes his eyes tightly. 

“I’m glad you did,” Changbin says. “You know I’ll drop everything to help you.”

“I know.” Hyunjin takes a deep, shaky breath before adding, “But I don’t know what he did to Tempest. I’m not allowed to even set foot on the track anymore. I don’t know if he’s killed her or not…I promised her I’d get her out of there.”

“I’ll go first thing in the morning and look for her,” Changbin says. “I promise.”

“Hopefully they won’t be gone by then.” Hyunjin’s shoulders slump. 

Changbin sets down the stitching again. He gently takes Hyunjin’s face in his hands. Hyunjin’s eyes lift to his, and for a moment, they just gaze at each other.

Then Changbin murmurs, “Go get some sleep.”

“But—”

“No buts. You’re exhausted, Hyunjin. Your body needs rest. I’ll finish this for you. Tomorrow, we’ll go look for Tempest. And then after that…you’ll take your coat and go back to the sea.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widen. “You think I can go back?”

“He gave you back your coat,” Changbin says. “He let you out of your contract. You have nothing holding you here anymore. You can go home.”

“I can go home,” Hyunjin whispers, a distant look in his eye. 

Changbin nods and smiles.

Hyunjin blinks a few times, like he can’t believe it, and Changbin takes the opportunity to press a soft kiss to his forehead. 

“Get some rest,” he murmurs. 

“Alright,” Hyunjin says. He lets Changbin lead him to the bed, where Changbin helps him out of his shoes before tucking him in. He even lets Changbin smooth his hair back from his face and give him another kiss on the cheek.

Before Changbin withdraws, though, Hyunjin whispers, “Thank you.”

“Anything for you,” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin falls asleep, and Changbin sits back down at the table, where he picks up the stitching. He works on sewing the coat for the rest of the night. 

~

The early morning sunlight spills through the hotel room, and Changbin blinks several times to clear his vision. When he looks down, the spool of thread is gone, and there’s a rugged and patchy coat lying on the table in front of him. 

He sets down the needle and rubs at his eyes, already dry and scratchy after such a long night. But the coat is finished. That’s all that matters. 

He briefly considers lying down in the bed next to Hyunjin and sleeping for a few hours, but at that moment, Hyunjin stirs. Changbin looks over at him as he reaches up and rubs his eyes, yawning. 

“What time is it?” Hyunjin asks, blinking. 

“Don’t know,” Changbin says. “But I have a surprise for you.”

Hyunjin is up almost instantly. He scrambles out of the bed so quickly that he gets his foot tangled in the sheets, and he has to jump and twist it to get it unraveled. When he’s free, he runs up to Changbin, who smiles before looking down at the table. 

Hyunjin gasps when he sees it, tears already forming in his eyes. 

“You fixed it,” he whispers, gingerly picking up his coat and running his fingers over the stitches. “You really fixed it.”

Changbin just smiles, his heart lifting at how happy Hyunjin looks. 

It catches him off-guard, though, when Hyunjin suddenly sets his coat down and throws his arms around Changbin instead. Changbin stumbles, surprised, and almost doesn’t know what to do, despite the fact that he knows their relationship has progressed enough to allow this. 

“Thank you,” Hyunjin whispers. 

Changbin blinks and slowly lifts his arms, before deciding, fuck it, and hugging back Hyunjin as tightly as Hyunjin will allow. 

He realizes, as he holds Hyunjin like he’s the only thing in the world that matters, that after today, he’ll never see him again. 

So he holds him for a few minutes longer than he should, and Hyunjin doesn’t make a move to let go at all, probably realizing the same thing. 

~

About an hour later, they’re standing on an obscure part of the beach, the waves calm and the ocean peaceful. The sky is clear. It’s a beautiful day. A perfect day, almost. 

Changbin looks at Hyunjin, who’s hugging his newly patched coat to his chest and staring at the sea with wide eyes. He looks so soft, Changbin thinks, with his eyes that big and his lips parted. Changbin wants to keep this image in his mind forever. 

Without really thinking, he reaches out and takes Hyunjin’s hand. Hyunjin looks at him then but doesn’t resist. Changbin looks down at their hands as he laces their fingers together. 

They don’t speak for several moments. Changbin swallows, knowing he should say something, but he can’t think of the words. He just stares down at their hands, where he rubs his thumb over Hyunjin’s knuckles. 

“I’m scared,” Hyunjin whispers. 

“Why?”

“I’ve been gone for so long…what if my family doesn’t react well? What if they don’t remember me?”

“How could they possibly forget you?”

“I don’t know…” Hyunjin looks down at his coat, his face troubled. “And then there’s my coat…”

“What’s wrong with it?”

Hyunjin bites his lip. “I’ll be scarred,” he says. “I won’t be…I won’t be beautiful anymore. Will they be horrified of me when they see me?”

“No,” Changbin says without hesitation. “If anything, they’ll love you even more. They’ll understand what you had to do and what you suffered through to get back to them. And you’ll still be beautiful, Hyunjin. You’ve always been beautiful, through and through.”

Hyunjin looks up and smiles at him, though there’s a bit of sadness to it. “I’m indebted to you,” he says. “I don’t know how I’ll ever pay you back.”

“No, you don’t need to pay me back.” Changbin smiles. “I would do this all over again if I had to. Without a doubt.”

“You’re a good man, Changbin,” Hyunjin says softly. Then he leans forward and presses a soft kiss to Changbin’s lips. Changbin closes his eyes, trying to savor it. 

It ends too quickly, and then Hyunjin is pulling his hand out of his. He slips on his coat, which fits him like a second skin. Even with the stitches crisscrossing it, he still looks lovely. 

As he walks into the water, though, he pauses and turns to look back at Changbin. 

“I hate to ask this, but…could you do me one more thing?”

“Anything,” Changbin says immediately.

“Can you find Tempest for me?” Hyunjin asks. “Can you help her like you helped me?”

“Of course,” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin smiles again. “Thank you, Changbin.”

Then he turns and disappears into the water. 

Changbin stares at the waves long after Hyunjin has gone, as if he’ll suddenly reappear. But he never does, and soon the sun is high in the sky, warming the beach where Changbin stands. Eventually he has to leave. 

But before he does, he lets a single tear fall as he whispers, “Goodbye, Hyunjin. I’ll never forget you.”

With a heavy heart, he shoves his hands in his pockets and walks away. 

~

A year passes. 

Changbin has finally come to the end of a long and painful deal. It cost him dearly, but he managed it. It’s worth it, he thinks. 

Just six months earlier, he took Scene Stealer to the beach. Stealer knew where they were going immediately, and he became more and more excited as they grew nearer to the water. At one point, he was so difficult to manage that Changbin stopped, patted his flank, and slipped the bridle off. He watched as Stealer took off at a full gallop towards the turquoise sea. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. 

Changbin wonders if he was sad to see him go, and he knows he was. But mostly, he was happy. Stealer was back where he belonged. 

Now, six months later, he leads Tempest towards the sea. She’s much calmer than Stealer, though her ears swivel forward. Her nostrils flare as she breathes in the salty air. Changbin smiles.

When they reach the beach, he slips off her bridle and pats her flank like he did with Stealer. 

“Go home,” he says. 

But Tempest just stands there, staring at the sea that matches her grey coat. Then she turns to look at Changbin.

Changbin tenses, knowing that kelpies are much more dangerous near water. Yet Tempest doesn’t have a bloodthirsty look in her eye. If anything, she just looks like an ordinary horse. 

Then she brings her head close to Changbin, and Changbin jumps. He’s completely rigid as she nuzzles the side of his head before turning and walking towards the water. When she gets closer, she picks up the pace until she’s trotting happily into the waves. 

The moment she’s gone, Changbin can’t hold it in anymore. He breaks down, the emotions kept suppressed for so long finally gushing out all at once. He crouches down on the sand, his head lowered so he can hide his face from view. 

He’s alone now. Everyone he’s ever cared about is gone, lost to the sea, the one place he can’t go. 

He doesn’t know what to do. 

He supposes he’ll do what he’s always done, though his heart sinks with dread at the thought. How can he possibly continue racing after all it’s taken from him?

As he lifts a hand to wipe at his eyes, he feels a soft hand on his head. 

He looks up and finds himself staring into a pair of eyes he never thought he’d see again. These eyes are sparkling in a way that’s completely new, and they immediately fill him with warmth. 

“Hyunjin?” he whispers, his voice still choked with tears. 

“Hi, Changbin,” Hyunjin says, smiling so widely that his sparkling eyes turn into crescents. 

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Changbin says. He’s unable to stop himself from reaching out and cupping Hyunjin’s face, just to see if he’s real. Even though he’s still wet with saltwater, he’s warm and full of life.

Changbin can’t help it. More tears pour down his face as he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

“Did you know,” Hyunjin says, reaching up to put a hand over Changbin’s, “that crying seven tears into the ocean will summon a selkie?”

“I think I’ve cried way more than seven,” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin laughs at that, and Changbin wonders if he’s ever heard the sound. It fills his heart with such intense warmth that he swears it will burst. 

“I’ve missed you,” Hyunjin whispers. 

“I’ve missed you more,” Changbin says. 

Hyunjin smiles, then stands up and tugs at Changbin’s arm. “Come on,” he says. “It’s time to go home.”

Changbin blinks, confused. “Home?” 

“Yes,” Hyunjin says, tugging at Changbin’s arm again until Changbin stands. “Home. You’re half-selkie, after all.”

Changbin just blinks at him. He never even thought that was an option, but he trusts Hyunjin whole-heartedly. 

Hyunjin’s smile widens as he turns and leads Changbin deeper into the waves. Changbin supposes he should be afraid, but he’s not. He’s braver than he ever thought possible when he’s with Hyunjin. 

So he holds on tight to Hyunjin’s hand, and together, they walk into the sea. 

Fin.