Chapter Text
"Okay listen. Space ducks! They're like dragons, except they are actually space ducks! They feed on the space villains. I wanna be a space duck! Seungmin, are you even listening?"
Seungmin sighed. They had a day off and call him naive but he really hoped he could spend it reading his book in peace. Yeah, like that could ever happen.
It's been an hour and Jisung is yet to stop trying to have a conversation with him.
Seungmin sighed again before finally addressing Jisung.
"Why can't you go bother someone else? What happened to bothering Chan? I thought that was yours and Hyunjin's favourite activity on day off."
"The puppy is sleeping. How dare you think that I'm that heartless that I would not let him have his nap!" Jisung pouted, his lower lip slightly pushed forward.
"One never knows when it comes to this. Chan is so going to beat your ass tomorrow. Can't wait to see that."
"Minnie! As a fellow mermaid-"
"Merman!"
"-you're supposed to be on my side! What did i do to deserve this betrayal." Jisung, being the dramatic baby he is, threw himself across Seungmin's lap and made himself comfortable.
Seungmin just stared down at him, one eyebrow raised in amusement. "Is this supposed to be a payback of sorts?"
"Yes! Now play with my hair like I know you want to, to make up for being a meanie!"
It was obvious Jisung tried to stick to his plan to pretend to be annoyed with him, but Seungmin could read him like an open book and knew that he's about to start whining if Seungmin didn't comply. And really, who was Seungmin to deny Jisung when the simple action of mindlessly playing with Jisung's hair was just as mind soothing for him as it was for Jisung.
When Seungmin started gently moving his hand through Jisung's hair, he could feel Jisung relax almost immediately.
It was quiet for a while, Seungmin being able to concentrate on his book while playing with Jisung's hair. Jisung was relaxed and except for occasional hums, he was quiet and Seungmim started to wonder if he was even awake until Jisung suddenly spoke.
"I miss water."
Seungmin's hand in Jisung's hair paused for a few seconds before it started moving again. "When was the last time you showered?"
Jisung whined, opening his eyes to glare at Seungmin. "That's not what I meant and you know it!"
"It's not? Are you sure? I think I can smell something funky." He couldn't, but it was always fun riling Jisung up like this.
"I literally showered this morning! You meanie!" Jisung poked Seungmin's stomach before sitting up.
"I miss swimming. Our bathtub is great to let my tail out from time to time but it's nothing compared to swimming. Being able to just let go and be myself. Truly myself. Plus how am I supposed to find my mate if I never get to swim with others? For all I know you could be my soulmate all along but I wouldn't know because I never got to swim with you."
At some point, Jisung got up and started pacing around the room, throwing his hands around as he went on and on about swimming and soulmates. Seungmin found it amusing.
Him and Jisung soulmates? "Impossible."
That got Jisung to stop pacing. "What? What's impossible?"
"Us being mates. Or soulmates. Or whatever the heck the correct term is. Sure we get along but be honest, can you imagine us doing any sort of couple things at some point in the future?"
Seungmin could see Jisung trying to think of what to say before he eventually settled on "No, never". There was a slight red coloring Jisung's cheeks but that could as well be from his extensive pacing just a few minutes prior so Seungmin chose not to comment on it.
Later that night, when Jisung decided to finally go to cause some more trouble with Hyunjin, Seungmin couldn't help but think about soulmates.
There's many supernatural beings, their groups just consisting of the more common ones (except for Minho, Changbin and Jeongin, they are on the more rare side) but not all of them have soulmates. Sure, many find someone to mate for life but only few species have soulmates.
Soulmate, the one person that is meant for you. The one you are supposed to be more compatible with. The one that will stand next to you no matter what. The one that should love you no matter what.
Some love the concept of having soulmates but there are also few people that hate it. It's been proved that for the species with soulmates, it has become increasingly harder to find their other half. Sometimes, one of them dies before they can even meet.
Different species had different ways of identifying their soulmates. Some felt intense emotional connection, some were able to see the red string tied to their pinkies.
For mermaids, it was the tattoo on their hip just above where their tail starts. There was a catch though. The tattoo is only visible while they're in the water.
Seungmin doesn't hate the concept of soulmates, but he doesn't entirely love it either. To think that the moment he was born his partner for life was already decided for him is something that always frustrated him. Why can't he be like Hyunjin or Changbin and find someone he loves, build an emotional connection and only then decide to mate them for life?
He just hopes that his soulmate is someone he can love for who they are and not just because the universe decided they are his person.
Seungmin sighed. The more he thinks about soulmates and his tattoo, the more he's itching to go for a swim. Jisung was right, their bathtub doesn't really do much to get rid of the longing for swimming in the open sea.
~
~
The opportunity for them to swim in the sea came only a few weeks later.
The whole group had scheduled a photoshoot at the beach. The weather seemed to be on their side as well as it was a sunny day. Warm but not too hot
The photoshoot itself didn't require them to get in the water and they were instructed to try and not play around too much so their clothes don't get wet before they finish.
Seungmin was one of the first ones to finish his individual shoot so now he just had to wait for the group shot. He was sitting on one of the towels the staff put down for them to sit. There were also some chairs but why sit on the chair when he can just plop down on a towel.
When he looked around, he could see Chan and Hyunjin passionately discussing something. There was a lot of hand gestures coming from Hyunjin and it's only a miracle he didn't hit Chan yet. Minho was sitting on one of the chairs under an open umbrella, hiding from the sun. Changbin was laying on a beach towel only a few steps away from him, most likely asleep consi the fact that he didn't move at all while Felix was drawing smily faces on his legs with sunscreen.
Jeongin was nowhere to be found but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Knowing him, he's probably hiding in the car from not only the sun and the heat, but also from the other members.
Jisung was in the middle of his shoot but it was on the other side of the rocks so Seungmin couldn't see them very well.
Seungmin, even though he would deny it would anyone ask, was actually very excited for the whole thing to be over. They were told that once the shoot is over, they're going to have a few hours to just play around and let out their energy and just relax before their comeback.
The moment he found out, Jisung made him promise they will go swimming together as soon as the staff okays it. Seungmin didn't have a reason to say no to him, so he agreed.
This will be the first time in a very long time that he gets to swim with someone that is not part of his family. Last time that happened was when he was still just a child.
Yawning, Seungmin decides to take a nap, hoping he won't become the next victim of Felix and his smily sunscreen faces. He falls asleep while wondering what Jisung's tail will look like.
~
~
He and Jisung agreed that they will both enter the water at different places. Not too far away from each other but also not too close as to give each other some privacy since letting their tails out while still wearing shorts is not exactly an ideal thing to do.
Once he took off his clothes and put them in a bag, he slowly got in the water. It was strange to be completely naked outside but they were in a private area and the staff made sure there was no one but them.
Seungmin spent a few minutes just standing in the water. He could already feel the stress leaving his body and his tail wasn't even out yet.
But eventually, it was time for the real thing. He walked a little bit closer to the shore so he could comfortably sit and then concentrated.
It was always a little bit of a strange feeling. It didn't hurt or anything, it was more of a tingling sensation. Slowly, where his legs usually were, a tail appeared.
His tail was always his biggest pride but it was also a reason why he didn't have many mer friends when he was little.
Most mers have tails either in different shades of green or blue. Occasionally, there are some whose tails are more of deep blue or even black if they are deep ocean mers but they are not that common.
Seungmin's tail on the other hand was orange. It wasn't like neon orange, thank god otherwise he really would go insane. Neon colors are just not his thing. No, it was more of sparkly merigold that blended into honey and his fins were more of apricot color. He also has some hints of yellow closer to his waist, mostly around the area where his tattoo is.
His tattoo was unique in a way too. Most have something that is significant to them and their soulmate but Seungmin never cared much for space and universe and to this day he has no idea why his tattoo is space related.
Not wanting to waste any more time thinking about something he has no control over, he wiggled his way down until he was able to push himself away from the shore and swim into the open sea.
Whatever left over stress was in his system still, completely left his body. Swimming is therapeutic, sure, but swimming in his true form? Nothing can beat that.
After a while of aimlessly swimming around, he decided to swim to where the rest of the group is. He and Jisung agreed to meet there and while Seungmin was sure that Jisung was going to take his sweet time bothering any fishes he found, he didn't want to risk taking too long and making him wait for him.
When Seungmin arrived to where the rest was, he didn't see Jisung, but he saw what he assumed was Felix, or more like his legs. Feeling mischievous, he made sure he didn't disturb the water too much and crept over to Felix before grabbing his ankles and yanking him under water before letting him go.
He stayed under the surface for a few more seconds before emerging.
"Yah! Kim Seungmin! Do you want me to die?" Felix shouted at him while the rest of the boys were laughing behind him.
Seungmin smiled innocently, "I have no idea what you are talking about." before turning around and diving right back in, making sure his fin slapped against the water more than necessary to splash the water at Felix.
He could hear more laughter coming from above the water but he paid it no attention as he could see Jisung swimming over to him.
Compared to Seungmin, Jisung was a true ocean merman. His tail was the most beautiful shades of blue he has ever seen.
For the most part, Jisung's tail was the most vibrant color that reminded Seungmin of the clear blue sky on hot summer day but around his waist it seemed like the day was blending into night, creating a nice contrast between the two blues.
Jisung was still quite far but his tail was such a bright blue and with the sun shining down on the water, making it look like he was sparkling, it was hard to not notice him.
Seungmin always thought Jisung was good looking (not that he would admit it out loud to him) but in that moment, Seungmin realized he might be the most beautiful person he has ever seen.
As the realization settled in, he could feel his heart beat just a little bit faster and his cheeks heating up.
Thankfully, Jisung got distracted by a jellyfish, gently poking it with his fingers and patting it on its head almost as if to say "you're doing great buddy".
It was only then, when Jisung was just floating in one place, when Seungmin could really take him all in.
His tail was a little bit longer than his, his fins spread wider. It was when Seungmin was trying to figure out if his fins were naturally wavy or if it was just a trick his eyes were playing on him when he noticed Jisung's tattoo.
Jisung's tattoo was located closer to his find, on the backside of his tail. That in itself is nothing out of ordinary as the tattoo placement varies for everyone. No, it was the actual tattoo itself that made Seungmin feel like all the air was punched out of his lungs. He felt like he was drowning even though he can breathe under water just fine.
There, on the backside of Jisung's tail, so close to his fin that it was almost hard to see, was the exact same tattoo he himself has sitting on his hip.
"Well shit" he thought, "Jisung might have been joking then but we are actually soulmates."
What the fuck is he supposed to do now?