Chapter Text
He hadn’t fed properly in a while. Maybe it was time to take a look outside, in case anyone had made the mistake of coming close to their home.
Yeosang slipped to the entrance. The mouth of the partially submerged cave was in a place that couldn’t really be spotted from the shore, as it was located below a cliff. A spot only someone too dumb to live would dare to approach. Usually by first jumping into the water off said cliff. Yeosang remembered that one time they had spotted someone doing that. The poor bastard had made the jump just fine. And then Jongho had opened his mouth and managed to lure them into the cave.
Yeosang would have felt bad for their dinner that evening, but if you were stupid enough to come that close to where sirens lived, you deserved what you got.
He squinted at the assault of sunlight. Their living space was so dark but they were used to it, so every time they got out for a while the brightness of the outside world was a lot to take in. He kept his head above water as he got closer to the shore, hugging the cliff wall.
The shore next to the cliff was barren and rocky, not exactly the prime spot for a day on the beach and thus often devoid of people. It was a blessing in the sense that it helped Yeosang and his friends keep themselves hidden from humans, but unfortunately it had the side effect of leaving them without their favorite snacks most of the time. Now, their diet didn’t consist of humans exclusively, that would have been inconvenient, to say the least. But if someone had asked Yeosang, he would have had to admit that humans were quite tasty. He was certain both San and Jongho would have agreed with him.
Perhaps it was the rarity that made it such a delicacy. After all, they really only fed on those dumb and unlucky enough to test their bravery right on their doorstep. Only on very rare occasions did the three sirens even swim to the shore in search of their prey.
It seemed like today was going to be his lucky day. Yeosang reached the tall rocks at the shore and leaned over them to take a peek as he noticed movement not too far away.
A single person walking on the shore, among the rocks, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Yeosang’s attention was quickly stolen by the man’s hair, colored a lovely soft pink. He remembered San explaining that humans had the means to color their hair with any shade in existence. Once or twice they had caught one with unusual hair, like bright green. Mermaids had bright hair colors too, Yeosang mused. There was a small pod living not far from them and he had met some of them a few times. The oldest of them had pink hair too, but the shade was a little different, Yeosang noted as he observed the human walking closer.
Close enough to hear him if he tried to lure him into the water. Yeosang rolled his shoulders a little as he straightened his posture. He had come to feed, and the opportunity was presenting itself.
Singing always put him in a strange headspace. It was like dreaming and focusing intensely on something at the same time. The familiar melody of his song was soothing even to himself, even if it didn’t cloud his thoughts and judgment like it did for any human who heard it. He didn’t really know what he was even singing about, the words came instinctively and he never paid attention. It was just some nonsense about whatever his target would happen to desire. One time San had informed him that he had lured in some poor unfortunate soul by singing about video games. Neither of them had been sure what those were.
The man stopped when he heard the song at first, but soon those legs got moving again, instinctively bringing him closer to the water. Yeosang could have sworn his steps got faster when he spotted the siren leaning on one of the larger rocks.
Never pausing his song, Yeosang took a good look at the man when he got close enough. He had soft, handsome features, highlighted by that lovely pink hair. He looked kind, Yeosang summarized, if a little annoyingly tall, he had to arch his neck backwards to be able to look at him properly. He wished the other would bend down a bit. It would make pulling him into the water easier too.
It was then as the man reached his rock and crouched down on it to look at him that Yeosang noticed that something was not like it should have been.
The humans he lured always had the same look in their eyes. Dreamy, not quite present, their thoughts clouded by the enchanting power of his song. However, this man’s eyes held an amused, slightly exasperated gaze. As Yeosang finished the song, he let out a small hum and clapped his hands.
”That’s a pretty voice you got there”, he stated, his lips curving upwards.
”A pretty voice for a pretty siren. What’s your name?”
Yeosang had already been about to answer when the continuation caught him off guard, his mouth left open in surprise and confusion. This had never happened before. Not a single human had ever realized what he was. Either they mistook him for a mermaid or didn’t mention it at all, too entranced by his song and face.
”Hm? Catfish got your tongue?” the man tilted his head, his handsome face breaking into a grin as he laughed at his own joke. Yeosang was quick to snap his mouth back shut before he embarrassed himself any further. Could you blame him? This never happened!
”... Yeosang”, he eventually answered, steeling himself.
”What’s yours?”
”I’m Yunho”, the man introduced himself and Yeosang quietly repeated the name, getting used to the feel of it on his tongue.
”Well, Yunho”, he leaned up a bit, out of the water and closer to Yunho, managing to pull an inviting smile on his face. He still had a chance and he would take it.
”Since you like my voice, perhaps you would like to hear my song again?”
Yunho’s shoulders shook as he laughed, shaking his head.
”I loved that song, but I got a feeling you have a devious little plan to pull me underwater when I’m distracted and eat me for breakfast, sweetheart”, he replied, smiling innocently at Yeosang’s visible shock.
”I know I’m delicious but I’m afraid I’m not that kind of a snack.”
Yeosang’s lips twisted into an unamused pout. He thought he would never meet someone who laughed at their own jokes as much as San did, but it seemed like he had found a strong competitor.
”Don’t pout at me, lovely”, Yunho’s voice was still gentle and amused, even if it held a little firmer edge. Yeosang responded with an even more pronounced pout.
”Just a little bite?” he tried, despite knowing his chance was lost. He had no idea what was going on. Not only had this human realized what he was right away, he had also resisted his song like it was nothing. Yeosang knew not all sirens’ songs were equal. He knew his wasn’t anywhere near as strong as someone like Jongho’s, but it had never failed him before. Until now. He had seen nothing that suggested Yunho had fallen into his enchantment for even a moment.
”Not a chance”, Yunho chuckled, sticking a hand in his pocket.
”I think I got a treat for you, though.”
Yeosang tilted his head, following with curiosity as Yunho dug through his pocket, pulling out something small and plastic-wrapped and offering it to him. He accepted it without much hesitation, carefully opening the transparent wrapper and plopping the red, round candy into his mouth. A sweet flavor spread on his tongue. He remembered how he and Jongho had once scavenged a whole unopened bag of candy from the beach, left there by someone who had probably been busy escaping a sudden change in the weather.
”Thank you, but you’re not exactly solving my breakfast problem”, he said as he placed the wrapper back on Yunho’s waiting palm. His hand was large and warm against Yeosang’s damp fingertips.
”Didn’t expect to run into a pretty man-eater on my morning walk, so I didn’t prepare any more snacks”, Yunho hummed, standing up.
”Another time, perhaps.”
”You want to risk running into a siren twice?” Yeosang raised a disbelieving brow as he sucked on the candy.
”Wouldn’t mind it, you’re cute and quite harmless”, Yunho shrugged with a small grin as he stuck the empty wrapper back to his pocket.
”Don’t get me wrong, darling, I think your song is lovely, but it will not have any effect on me.”
Yeosang frowned in confusion, barely returning Yunho’s cheerful goodbye as the human walked away. He may not have been that familiar with humans, but he knew when something was out of place.
Any hope he might have had of San and Jongho being helpful was quickly shattered when he told them about the encounter. Yeosang sulked as they giggled at how unbothered Yunho had acted, Jongho asking if he would like the human to adopt him as a pet since apparently he was getting soft.
”I’m telling you, I tried and my song had no effect!” Yeosang defended, crossing his arms.
”This has never happened!”
San seemed slightly more understanding, giving him a soft smile as he pet his hair comfortingly.
”Maybe he’s just unnaturally resilient”, he suggested.
”Like the kind that only Jongho could charm and us two have no hope of ever doing so.”
Yeosang shrugged, leaning on the other siren’s shoulder. Maybe it was so. Jongho could probably bend an elder god to his will with his song, no doubt could he also charm Yunho. He usually didn’t let it bother him too much, all three of them were well-mannered enough to share their meals, but there were times, moments of weakness where it was hard not to feel inferior.
He knew San understood that, struggling with similar thoughts at times. But together they had come to the conclusion that they had no reason to envy their friend and sibling like that, and while their own songs might not be as special, they were more than enough to get the job done.
Except now, apparently.
”You said he might come back, right?” Jongho asked.
”I could try luring him then.”
That would certainly answer the question, but for some reason, Yeosang found himself disliking the thought. So he ended up shaking his head.
”No. If someone lures him, it’s going to be me.”
”Ooh, possessive”, San cooed. Yeosang huffed quietly.
”And what about it? Get your own weird human”, he said as Jongho laughed.
”Wow, you could just say if the human is too cute to eat”, he quipped.
”If he brings more candy I’m not sharing with you”, Yeosang stated, burying his face on San’s shoulder that shook with quiet laughter.
Yunho hadn’t outright said he would come back, but it had been implied. And Yeosang found himself looking forward to it. Which led to him swimming to the shore every morning, in case Yunho would indeed come to see him again.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait for long. It only took a couple days for their paths to cross again. This time Yeosang didn’t even have to open his mouth, Yunho noticed him from afar and made his way to him without any attempts of luring.
”Well look who it is. Almost as if you were waiting for me”, the human teased with a good-natured grin. Yeosang pursed his lips.
”You said you might come back”, he pointed out.
”Thought you could have brought one of your enemies for me to eat.”
Yunho laughed, sitting down on one of the larger rocks as comfortably as one could.
”That would be a great idea, but unfortunately for you, I don’t usually make enemies, sweetheart”, he said, swinging his backpack to his lap and opening it.
”Could you perhaps settle for one half of an overpriced salmon sandwich and some charming company for breakfast?”
Yeosang peered into Yunho’s open bag as he pulled himself on top of the rock, out of the water.
”I’ll take the sandwich, thank you”, he said.
”But I don’t see the charming company, are we waiting for someone else to join us?”
Yunho clenched a dramatic fist over his heart with exaggerated groans of pain, whining about his supposedly injured pride, but he was smiling the whole time. Yeosang giggled back quietly.
”Looks like you have to settle for just me”, Yunho said after he was done being dramatic and focused on digging the sandwich out of his bag.
”Unless you have some other sirens from your flock joining us.”
”Goodness, no”, Yeosang was quick to shake his head.
”You can’t even really call us a flock since there’s only three of us, and trust me, you don’t want to get to know those two hellspawns.”
”Oh, are they that bad?” Yunho asked, amused, as he peeled the sandwich out of the wrapping and then tried his best to make two even halves without spilling out the contents.
”Imagine you had two kind of cute but really loud and really annoying brothers”, Yeosang explained fondly, the corners of his mouth curving upwards.
”One of whom can also sing the most beautiful song anyone has ever heard.”
”Oh?” Yunho tilted his head.
”I thought I already heard that one the last time we met.”
”Don’t make fun of me. I know my song is nothing special.”
”I’m not. I meant it when I said I liked your song”, Yunho hummed, handing Yeosang his sandwich half.
”Still”, Yeosang shrugged, though he was pleased by the compliment. He decided to not show it, choosing instead to stuff the bread into his mouth and relish in the delicious flavor of salmon.
”Be careful if you see or hear Jongho. I think he took it as a challenge when I told them you’re unaffected”, he continued, though most of what came out of his mouth was unintelligible.
”I have absolutely no idea what you just said since you spoke with your mouth full, sweetheart”, Yunho chuckled, making Yeosang flush in embarrassment as he realized his mistake.
”But I’m sure whatever it was, I can agree.”
After that little breakfast encounter, Yunho came back more often. And Yeosang didn’t complain. On the contrary, he looked forward to each meeting. And made a point to ignore San and Jongho’s knowing snickers each time. He was stuck looking at their faces all the time, of course he would cherish each opportunity to spend time with someone else!
”Yes, yes, of course”, San had nodded, struggling to hide his laughter when Yeosang had voiced this reasoning.
”Must have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that your weird human is very handsome and that he brings you gifts every time~”
Yeosang regretted that he had ever described Yunho’s looks to them, even if it was an objective truth that the man was, indeed, very handsome.
And prone to giving him gifts, as San had pointed out. Every time Yunho had something small to give him. Which, so far, had always been food (”so you don’t have to go and try to snack on someone’s toes”, Yunho had joked and dodged Yeosang’s attempt to splash water on him). Which suited Yeosang just fine, he would happily accept whatever snacks were given, and so far Yunho had managed to pick things that he liked.
Yeosang had to admit, despite his earlier playful jab, he did actually find Yunho’s company pretty charming. Even if the man still laughed obnoxiously at his own jokes, but to his credit, most of them got a laugh out of Yeosang as well, so it wasn’t too bad. Some of them went over his head completely, usually those referenced something specific to human culture that he wasn’t familiar with. For example, Yunho told him he worked at a university's marine biology unit. Yeosang wasn’t sure what that entailed, other than that it was apparently some kind of educational work and that it had something to do with the sea. However, Yunho was patient and explained everything he didn’t understand, and never made fun of him for not knowing something.
Sometimes Yeosang wished he had something interesting he could tell Yunho, but in all honesty, there wasn’t much besides some of the particularly funny nonsense he, San and Jongho - well, mostly San and Jongho - got up to. Such was the downside of living so isolated from other sirens. But Yunho didn’t seem to mind, and Yeosang certainly didn’t mind listening to his stories instead.
He hadn’t brought any of those potential enemies for Yeosang to eat so far - and Yeosang at this point did believe him when he said he didn’t really have any - even though they jokingly contemplated it at almost every meeting.
But eventually he did show up with someone else.
Yeosang noticed them from afar. Yunho’s bright hair was easy to recognize by now, and beside him walked another, shorter and more slender guy with similarly brightly colored hair, only his was blue instead of pink, and carrying a backpack just like Yunho but it looked much larger on his back. They seemed to be lost in conversation as they made their way to the rocks Yeosang waited on, not noticing him yet.
He observed them for a minute before giving in to his first impulse. While he was fairly sure Yunho had still not brought him one of his mortal enemies to eat, he could still have a little fun.
He started singing when they were within earshot, and the result was instantaneous, as their heads snapped towards his direction with a speed that must have made their necks hurt. Yeosang already knew he would have no effect on Yunho - he had already tried at least three times - but to his delight, the blue-haired man beside him sped up the moment he saw him.
When he got close, Yeosang could see the familiar clouded look in his eyes, rejoicing in his success as he looked back at the man with a smile. He had a pretty face and kind of reminded Yeosang of the mermaids living nearby with his bright hair. And he had a very lovely smile, he noted when the man reached his rock and knelt down to look closer. Yeosang had no trouble smiling back as he sang.
It was a bit of a shame that he didn’t get to finish his song, but honestly, he had kind of expected it, as Yunho sprinted after his friend with a shout, yanking him back by the shoulders.
”I swear to the Goddess, both of you...” he sighed.
”Yeosang, I thought we talked about this. No eating friends. And Hongjoong, I told you to watch it, because this might happen... and then you go and fall right into it when a pretty boy sings to you about pasta!”
Oh, that’s what his song had been about this time? Yeosang had not encountered pasta at any point in his life, but he was pretty sure it was some kind of food humans liked a lot. At least this human - Hongjoong, Yunho had called him - must love it, if that’s what Yeosang had sung about.
”I’m hungry...” Hongjoong muttered as a half-hearted protest. Yeosang could still see his eyes were clouded, under the enchantment. He smiled sweetly.
”Come here, I’ll feed you”, he suggested, not entirely serious as he knew Yunho would not like it. But he couldn’t help himself.
”Nope, not happening”, Yunho said firmly, grabbing Hongjoong by the back of his shirt in case the man would make a move to actually jump to the water. However, the look he sent Yeosang held fondness, no matter how exasperated he sounded.
”We both know you’re not hiding any pasta down there, babe.”
Yeosang pouted.
”I could be”, he tried.
”I mean the water already has salt...” Hongjoong said, earning another exasperated sigh from Yunho.
”Goodness, man, get it together. I swear, the siren enchantment lasts way too long...”
”It lasts just the right amount of time, actually”, Yeosang corrected.
”Just enough for our prey to not realize we’re eating them.”
He smiled innocently at Yunho’s pointed look.
Eventually, clarity returned to Hongjoong’s gaze and he shook his head like one usually would when waking up from a trance. He looked curiously at Yeosang, then Yunho, who rolled his eyes.
”Alright, now that we’ve gotten that uncharacteristic show of stupidity out of the way”, the latter said pointedly, but with a smile.
”Hongjoong, here’s Yeosang, he’s a siren. Yeosang, here’s Hongjoong, and he’s my friend, not your lunch.”
”Shame, he looks sweet”, Yeosang quipped, sticking his tongue out at Yunho, who made a face at him. Hongjoong, however, chuckled.
”Thank you, I guess. And it’s nice to meet you”, he said. Yeosang nodded back with a smile as Hongjoong knelt down once more, with a bit more care this time, but Yeosang didn’t mind. After all, he had enchanted him, even if he hadn’t actually planned to eat him.
”I almost didn’t believe Yunho at first when he said he would bring me to meet a real siren.”
”I only brought you, because you wouldn’t believe I met one”, Yunho pointed out.
”I believe things when I see them, you of all people should know that”, Hongjoong retorted with a huff before turning his attention back to Yeosang.
”Anyway, that was a beautiful song, your voice is amazing, even if it seems to be a bit dangerous for me to hear.”
Yeosang beamed as he was complimented.
”Thank you. I would love to sing some more to you, but I feel someone would not like that”, he replied, glancing at Yunho with a grin.
”Maybe we can get a recording one day”, Yunho shrugged as he grinned back and lowered himself next to Hongjoong.
”At least that shouldn’t make any poor unfortunate souls want to jump into the ocean and end up as a siren dinner.”
”You’re no fun”, Yeosang blew a raspberry at him.
”On the contrary, I think I’m hilarious and I know you think so too, sweetheart.”
Yeosang huffed with a small smile, glancing at Hongjoong, whose expression mirrored his.
”Yes, he is like that all the time”, the human stated, wry but with a fond look in his eye.
”He also told me to bring an obscene amount of snacks. Would you like some?”
Maybe it was a little embarrassing how ecstatic the prospect of getting snacks made him, but there was no way Yeosang would refuse. He pulled himself up on the rock as the two humans made space for him while unloading their bags.
It turned out that their plan had not only been to visit Yeosang, but to have something of a picnic with him as well. And he wasn’t about to complain. Hongjoong was quite talkative once you got him going, and after he got his questions about sirens (that Yeosang was happy to answer) and their origin story of how he had met Yunho at the university out of the way, Yeosang had a good time listening to his and Yunho’s good-natured bicker and their stories while he proceeded do destroy a bag of chips, a can of sweet fizzy drink and a couple large cookies. And he almost managed to hide his embarrassment when Yunho reached to wipe a small smear of chocolate from the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t a foreign action by any means. San did it to him quite often, actually, never failing to tease Yeosang for being such a messy eater. But the same action felt quite different when it was Yunho’s large hand doing it instead of San’s eternally damp fingers that were closer to the size of the baby carrots that Hongjoong had also laid out but still sat pathetic and uneaten in their container.
”You know, Yeosang”, Yunho started when Hongjoong got distracted trying to open his drink bottle.
”I’ve noticed something. You don’t really... decorate yourself, at all?”
Yeosang raised a brow.
”Yeah”, he nodded.
”We’re not like mermaids, we don’t really collect shiny things or anything like that...”
It had never become their habit, they didn’t really collect anything that didn’t have a purpose. But Yeosang knew that mermaids were different. They loved anything that shined or sparkled, or otherwise looked pretty, and sometimes spent hours scavenging those objects from the depths, or from the shores, if there were no people around.
”Mm. I have something a little sparkly for you though”, Yunho nodded, digging through his pockets.
”I thought it would look pretty on you.”
Yeosang watched Yunho pull his hand out of his pocket and present a small, sparkling object on his palm.
”A hair pin?” he asked. He remembered seeing some of the mermaids wear something similar. It was a very pretty object, decorated with many small red gems. Plastic ones, of course, Yeosang noticed immediately, but they were still very pretty.
”I found it a while ago”, Yunho explained.
”I think it would suit you. Can I put it on you?”
Yeosang, delighted at the idea, nodded and brought his head a little closer, allowing Yunho to play around with his hair as he sought a good spot to attach the hair pin. He glanced at Hongjoong, who was busy putting away their empty food containers and gathering all the trash they had produced. At least he didn’t have to tell them to not litter the shore.
”And... there!” Yunho stated victoriously, finally letting go of his hair. Yeosang lifted his head.
”Am I pretty now?” he asked.
”You’re always pretty”, Yunho replied without any hesitation.
”But it suits you well. Want to see it yourself?”
Yeosang barely had time to nod when Yunho had already dug out a small mirror out of Hongjoong’s bag and handed it to him.
They had a mirror in their cave that they had once scavenged, in one of those rare moments they decided that they should decorate their living space, but to be honest, it was a little useless, since there wasn’t that much light. And because it was broken, missing a couple large shards. So Yeosang didn’t really spend much time looking at his reflection on a regular basis.
He turned the mirror slightly to see the pin clipped on his hair. It looked nice indeed, even in his perpetually damp hair. Now that he looked at himself, Yeosang could see the appeal of accessories. Humans and mermaids wore those a lot, and their homes must have a lot of mirrors so they could look at themselves all day.
”Thank you”, he handed the mirror back to Yunho with a smile.
”I’ll wear it often.”
”It’s all I ask”, Yunho replied with a pleased, warm look that almost made Yeosang squirm in delight.
... oh dear, San and Jongho are never going to let him live this down.