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Seonghwa loved the sea.
He's always loved everything related to water, especially if it was water from the ocean. Since he was a kid, he used to swim everywhere possible, even in his bathtub. When he was big enough to stand on a surfboard he did just that. He hasn't stopped ever since.
Now, as a 23-year-old, he lived in a house by the beach with his two best friends, had a part time job and was surfing basically every single day, he was happy.
"I'm leaving, guys" he told his friends as he grabbed his surfboard which was next to the door.
"Be careful, I've heard on the radio today that the waves are pretty wild" Yeosang warned him.
"He's a big boy, Yeosangie, let him be" Wooyoung said as he was entering the kitchen. It seemed as if they were going to start preparing lunch.
"Yeah, don't worry, catching wild waves is kind of the point anyway. I'll be back in an hour or so, save me some food" Seonghwa said as he waved them goodbye.
Then, he left for the beach. Seonghwa always practiced surfing there, basically every day. So today was no different.
Yeosang was right, though, the sea was really wild, he could see it even before being too close. He was really excited to try some new tricks into those huge waves.
Soon enough, he was in the sea, crashing on the waves and feeling at his best moment. He always felt a connection with the ocean, like he was meant to be there. And he always tried to strengthen this connection every time he could, that's why he was surfing right now and letting himself be connected to the water.
He didn't even see himself falling in a disastrous way after a particularly huge wave. Seonghwa only realized what was going on when he fell completely, drowning in the infinite blue. Air leaving his lungs, he tried desperately to fight and go back to the surface but it was useless. He was feeling his chest burn and his eyes close.
Seonghwa should have known he would die in the sea one day, his mother always told him his weird hobbies would be the death of him, seems like she was right after all.
His eyes were almost closing when he saw a shadow moving in front of him. He could also feel a strong movement around. Seonghwa tried to open his eyes a little bit more, just so he could see what was happening.
He was surprised to see another human in front of him, at least it looked like one. The first thing that caught his attention was blue hair, it was so bright that it was really visible even when everything around him was blue.
The guy, at least he thought it was a guy, had a really beautiful face as well, with delicate features that matched his hair perfectly. Seonghwa was happy to at least have a beautiful guy welcoming him to death. But anyway, he prayed to the sea goddess to not take his life so soon, he was so young and had so much to live still, he didn't want to just die like that.
Seonghwa wasn't sure if his prayers actually worked, but in less than a second, the guy was closer to him. He held his waist and pulled him to the surface again. Was he going to live? He wasn't sure, he blacked out before air could reach his lungs.
☼
He woke up startled as he breathed deeply, trying desperately to put some air in his lungs. Happily, it worked. He could almost breathe normally, besides many coughs and water getting out of his body.
Then, Seonghwa could finally understand what happened. He was drowning and a boy with blue hair saved him.
When he looked around, he saw he was in a cave connected to the sea. The place was calm and silent, he almost thought he was alone until he saw it again, bright blue strands of hair shining above the ocean. The boy was basically immersed, Seonghwa could only see his hair and his eyes that went wide when he realized they were looking at each other. The boy got up quickly and Seonghwa knew he was leaving.
"Wait! Don't go!" he almost screamed, trying to make him listen, but it was useless, he was underwater on his way out of Seonghwa's view.
But something caught his attention, something blue and shiny trailed after him, but it wasn't his hair this time, it was an enormous fish tail.
Seonghwa gasped, was he seeing things? Has the lack of air made him hallucinate? Because he was sure he just saw a mermaid, and said mermaid had just saved him from imminent death.
☼
Seonghwa went back home feeling distressed, he had almost died, but was saved by a mermaid, or merman? He wasn’t sure about it, but this was certainly making him lose his mind, a lot has happened today and he couldn’t even understand anything.
He arrived home and saw both Yeosang and Wooyoung looking at him weirdly. Was he looking that wrecked? The answer was probably yes.
“What happened to you? You looked horrible” Wooyoung said.
"Thanks, I also feel horrible" Seonghwa answered with a raspy voice, barely able to use his lungs.
"Did anything happen, hyung?" Yeosang seemed truly worried.
"I almost drowned" he answered simply and his two friends gasped loudly.
"I told you to be careful, oh my god" Seonghwa knew Yeosang would say that.
"I know, but I'm here now, so can I have lunch, please?" they nodded and showed him where the food was.
He ate in silence, thinking about the mermaid who saved him. He really wanted to see him again, not only to thank him but to see him properly this time. He seemed so beautiful even underwater and when Seonghwa could barely see anything in front of him. Seonghwa was sure he was gorgeous up close.
Suddenly, he was out of his own thoughts and felt eyes staring at him. Yeosang and Wooyoung were both looking worriedly at the surfer.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Wooyoung asked softly.
"I'm fine, don't worry" he finished eating and got up to the sink.
"You don't seem fine" Yeosang added.
He sighed, they weren't going to let this go, were they? Maybe he should just say what really happened so they would stop.
"Guys, would you promise not to call me crazy even if I tell you something really absurd?" Seonghwa approached them on the couch.
"Seems like we can't promise it when you start saying that" Yeosang said and Wooyoung nodded, agreeing with him.
"Well, I'll tell you anyway" he breathed heavily before starting "I was drowning hard, I was really sure I was going to die, but then a mermaid saved me"
A long silence was lasting in the room for really long minutes.
"Alright, this is when I call the hospital" Wooyoung broke the silence and got up.
"No, Wooyoung, wait, I'm serious" he tried to tell his friend.
"Hyung, you probably had a concussion or something" Yeosang said.
"Look, I didn't hit my head at all, I really saw a mermaid, listen to me first, ok?" they seemed to be convinced to listen to him now "I saw the mermaid, at least I think it was, it was a guy with blue hair and a blue tail"
"Well, it's a merman then" Yeosang pointed out.
"Since when do you know anything about mermaids?" Wooyoung asked, looking confused.
"Any person with basic culture knowledge knows this, Wooyoung"
"We're missing the point here, anyway, he saved me and I wanted to see him again, but I don't know how" Seonghwa sighed.
"Wanted to see him again, hm?" Wooyoung smirked "Was he hot?"
"Kinda? I guess?" Seonghwa was sure he was blushing hard right now. He realized he basically had a crush on a guy he barely saw for a few seconds, maybe he needed a life outside of work and surfing after all.
"God, you like a merman, I can't believe this"
"Don't tease him, Wooyoung"
"I don't like him, I'm not even sure he's real" he said honestly "I just wanted to see him again"
"Well, if he appeared when you were drowning, maybe to see him again you should…"
"Please, don't finish this sentence, I beg you" Yeosang interrupted him.
"...you should drown yourself again!" Wooyoung finished his sentence ignoring Yeosang's pleas.
"Don't listen to him, hyung, you know he only says nonsense" Seonghwa nodded, but the words were still on his mind.
Maybe Wooyoung's idea wasn't so bad after all. He decided we would do it on the next day and finally see his merman properly.
☼
Some could say he was being stupid, actually, everyone could say that. But Seonghwa was a man on a mission and he wanted to see the merman once again. That's why he was at the beach again the next afternoon, entering the huge blue sea only in the company of his white surfboard.
He wasn't exactly planning on falling on purpose, but he tried to do some of the most difficult tricks, he could barely stand in most of them. So he fell, inevitably, and soon he was in the arms of the blue-haired boy again.
This time, Seonghwa wasn't so out of it, so he could see and speak when he was finally on land, in the same place the boy had left him before.
When he opened his eyes, the boy was still close, he could see his face clearly. Besides the traits he had already noticed, like his blue hair and soft features, this close he could also see his round brown eyes and pouty lips. Seonghwa has never seen a more beautiful man before, he looked like a daydream.
The merman was staring at him with wide eyes, he looked scared and ready to leave. Before Seonghwa could even get up, he was already leaving.
"Wait, don't leave yet, please" Seonghwa said coughing and in a low voice, his lungs weren't functioning yet. Even if he thought he didn't sound convincing at all, his plea seemed to work, since the boy stopped and looked back at him "I don't want to hurt you, I just want to thank you for saving me"
"There's no need to thank me, I just did the right thing" he answered shyly. If Seonghwa had thought he couldn't be even more smitten for the boy, he was wrong. His voice was as pretty as his face.
"Of course there is, I would have died if it wasn't for you, so thank you"
"You're welcome" there was a small pause, Seonghwa didn't know what to say anymore "I should go now" he panicked when he heard that.
"No!" he exclaimed "Don't leave yet, what's your name? Mine is Seonghwa" he reached out with his hand, even if the boy wasn't within his touch.
"Seonghwa" he repeated slowly, as if he was trying to memorize "I am Hongjoong" the boy got closer only to grab Seonghwa's hand and give him a handshake.
Seonghwa never thought a handshake could make him blush, but here he was.
"Nice to meet you, Hongjoong" he smiled and Hongjoong smiled back at him. They let go of their hands, but the merman didn't move away, both were still kind of close to each other "Are you really a mermaid? Or merman? What should I call you?" Seonghwa was worried he could offend Hongjoong with his lack of knowledge about merpeople.
"You're cute" Hongjoong chuckled and Seonghwa felt his heart beating so fast he was scared it would jump out of his chest "I am a merman, yes, but I would appreciate if you didn't tell anyone about this"
"I would never! People could hurt you if they found out, right?" Hongjoong nodded "Then I won't say a word"
"Thank you, I'll trust you about this"
After that, they talked a lot, until the sun set. Their shared love for the sea was one of the main topics, Seonghwa was happy to finally have someone to share his biggest passion with and Hongjoong seemed to be happy to indulge him as well.
Days went by and they started meeting every single afternoon. Sometimes Seonghwa practiced while Hongjoong watched him, but most of the time, they would talk nonstop. Hongjoong was really curious about Earth as well, he asked Seonghwa about what it was like to live on land as a human. Also, Seonghwa asked back about the sea and about merpeople. They were eager to learn about each other's world.
Both of them also learned a lot about each other personally. Seonghwa told Hongjoong about his job, his life as a surfer and his best friends whom he lived with. Hongjoong told Seonghwa about his routine in the sea, about his family and his best friend who was like a brother to him.
It was nice, hanging out with Hongjoong, Seonghwa hadn't felt like this in a long time. He felt butterflies going wild on his stomach whenever they were together, his heart beat really loudly every single time he smiled at him and he shivered when they touched, they barely did so for Seonghwa's disappointment.
He knew he was in love, but what could he do about it? He couldn't just tell Hongjoong he was in love, it was obvious the merman would never like him back, so there was no point in trying. He settled for less and tried to be at least his friend.
"I brought you a gift" Hongjoong had said in one of their countless meetings.
"A gift? What is it?" Seonghwa asked and Hongjoong gave him a small package seemingly made of seaweed, it was wrapped really nicely. He opened the gift carefully and was really surprised when he saw earrings made of pearls inside the package. It was beautiful, with neat hooks hanging two white pearls each. Seonghwa was sure it was more beautiful than any other earring he had at home "Hongjoong, this is beautiful, I love it!"
"Do you really like it?" he asked shyly and Seonghwa nodded enthusiastically "I made it myself"
"For real? It's amazing, thank you so much" Seonghwa could barely believe Hongjoong had made an earring with his own hands especially for him.
"It's a tradition of the merfolk to give people gifts when we meet them, and I realized I haven't given you any" Hongjoong explained "Since I saw you using earrings before I thought you may like it. Also, I think it suits your long hair"
"I think this is the best gift I have ever gotten" Seonghwa smiled brightly at Hongjoong and he smiled back.
Seonghwa was really happy, he would definitely wear those earrings everywhere just so he can remember the beautiful merman who gave him the jewelry.
☼
You could say Seonghwa was surprised when one day Hongjoong asked him a particular question he didn't think he'd hear from him.
"If I were to come to land one day, would you help me?" was what Hongjoong had asked.
Seonghwa knew the merman was very curious about the surface, but he had no idea he would actually want to come to the place. Of course he would be happy to help, he often dreamed of the day Hongjoong would follow him into land.
"Of course I would, do you really want to come?" Hongjoong didn't answer, he seemed to be insecure about his decision "I'll keep you safe if you come, you said your tail turn into legs if you're dry, right?" he nodded "We only need to be careful while you are turning then, there won't be a problem after that"
"I'm actually scared, but I really want to see your world at least once" Hongjoong answered.
"That's normal, I guess, but I promise I'll help and protect you to the best of my abilities" Seonghwa could swear he saw Hongjoong blush at that.
"I trust you" he smiled, it seemed as if he had decided now. He would definitely come.
So they sorted out the details and would do it as soon as possible. The plan was simple: Seonghwa would bring some clothes to the shore, a faraway place they had looked into beforehand, and Hongjoong would get out of the sea and let himself dry. Both would stay on the beach for a while, since Seonghwa needed Hongjoong to get the grip of walking before actually going anywhere.
That’s what they did when they met on a sunny afternoon, Hongjoong seemed really excited about finally getting to know what was on the land. Seonghwa was just as excited to show him everything he could.
He picked up a t-shirt he had at home and also a skirt, since it was easier to put it on. Seonghwa waited on the stop they agreed on meeting until he finally saw blue hair emerging from the water.
"Hey, did you wait for a long time?" Hongjoong asked, already putting himself out of the water.
"Not at all" Seonghwa smiled while helping him. He was completely on the sand now.
"Just wait a minute more until I change, I've never done this before"
"Don't worry, I'll keep watching to see if anyone appears" Seonghwa actually didn't know what he would do in case the worst scenario happened.
Happily, no one appeared until the change was done. Seonghwa could see through the corner of his eyes that Hongjoong's tail was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't think it would be nice to stare at the boy while he was naked, so he was turned to the other side all the time. Hongjoong told him he would only change back to being a mermaid if he got wet somehow, so he needed to avoid that. They had already planned previously that he would wear Seonghwa's clothes as soon as he turned and that was what he did.
"You can look now" Hongjoong said and Seonghwa turned to face him. He looked beautiful, as always, but really different. His gills that adorned his neck were gone and his pretty tail was replaced by equally pretty legs, which were totally on show since he was wearing a skirt. Seonghwa was sure he was visibly blushing "Can you help me stand up?"
He was still sitting on the sand, Seonghwa realized, so he moved quickly to his side to help him. He grabbed the merman by his hand first and quickly supported him by his waist, since it was hard for him to be in this position yet.
"Are you ok? Do you think you can move holding me like this?" Hongjoong nodded, so Seonghwa tried to take one step forward.
Hongjoong was surprisingly small compared to Seonghwa in his human form, but that didn't make it any easier to carry him. He tried his best to hold him throughout walking while he still couldn't do it alone. It took them hours for Hongjoong to stand by himself, but he did it, even if it was for only a few steps. They tried going to Seonghwa's house then, the moon was already adorning the sky. It was still difficult, but they were arm in arm all the time, which may or may not have made Seonghwa blush deeply.
There was still something he needed to tell Hongjoong before they arrived though.
"Hongjoong, I need to tell you something" he said cautiously, the merman signaled him to go on "Before we officially met, I might have told my friends a blue-haired merman saved me"
"What? Why would you do that?" Hongjoong tried to let go of him, but he lost his balance and held his arm once again.
"I barely saw you that day, I thought I was going crazy so I needed to share, of course they didn't believe me and after we met and you asked me to keep a secret I haven't said a word" Hongjoong was still looking at him suspiciously "I'm not even sure if they even remember this, but I needed to let you know, I'm really sorry"
"It's ok, none of this is your fault" Hongjoong sighed "I know you wouldn't tell them anything after I asked you not to, let's hope they don't remember this conversation at all" Seonghwa offered him a small smile as they reached his house.
As soon as they entered, his friends started asking a lot of questions, to which they replied confidently, since they had planned the whole backstory beforehand. Seonghwa met Hongjoong at the beach while working as a lifeguard, he lived far from there so he couldn't stay for long. They became friends and Seonghwa offered his house for Hongjoong to stay for the weekend. They also said Hongjoong couldn't walk straight because he had hurt his feet on the way. The whole story was believable and his friends didn't seem suspicious.
What the duo didn't see was the way said friends left their side and started sharing whispers in the corner of the room.
"Yeosang, don't you think that guy is a mermaid?" Wooyoung said suddenly.
"I'm sorry, what?" Yeosang stared at him dumbfounded.
"Think about it, some time ago, Seonghwa hyung told us he met a pretty blue-haired mermaid who saved him, he also said he would look for him again" Wooyoung stated seriously "Now he appears with a friend we have never met, who has blue hair and can't walk well"
"What does the walking thing have to do with this story?" Yeosang asked.
"Because mermaids don't know how to walk, obviously, they don't have legs"
"You're being stupid, Wooyoung"
"There's only one way to find out" was the last thing he said before going to the kitchen in order to grab a glass full of water.
Yeosang wasn't sure what the hell Wooyoung was going to do, but he knew he couldn't stop him at this point, so he just watched the scene unfold in front of him.
Wooyoung walked to Seonghwa and Hongjoong and dropped all of the water on the latter. Of course they were shocked with the sudden action, but not more shocked than Yeosang and Wooyoung who saw Hongjoong's legs glowing and turning into a very big and blue tail.
"Why the hell did you do this??" Seonghwa almost shouted at them.
"Holy fuck, he really is a mermaid" Wooyoung said.
"Seonghwa, I'll need to erase your friend's memories now" Hongjoong stated as he moved his hands towards the boys.
"No, no, no, please don't do that" Seonghwa grabbed his hand.
"I just wanted to know if you were the mermaid Seonghwa told us about"
"Yes, it's me, and I'm a merman" Hongjoong told them in a monotone, he seemed really upset.
"I'm really sorry about that, Hongjoong, but they don't mean any harm" Seonghwa tried to sound calm "You won't tell a soul about this, will you?" he looked directly at his housemates now and they both nodded.
"You better not tell anyone or I will cut your heads off" Hongjoong sounded really serious, none of them knew if he was telling the truth and they didn't want to find out.
"Guys, just go to your room while Hongjoong dries himself" both wasted no time in doing as they were told.
Seonghwa and Hongjoong were silent on the couch until he had legs again. There was an awkward tension in the room until Hongjoong spoke.
"Sorry for threatening your friends, I wouldn't actually cut their heads off" Seonghwa chuckled.
"They were being too nosy anyway, I'm the one who has to apologize for that"
"I told you there's no need to" Hongjoong said softly, looking really different than minutes ago.
"We have a lot of things to see tomorrow, so let's go to bed" he nodded and they headed to the room so they could finally rest.
☼
The next day was really eventful, they went around the whole town together. Hongjoong had always wanted to know how humans ate their food, so the first place Seonghwa took him to was a nearby restaurant.
Hongjoong was really surprised to see that humans heated their food in many weird ways before eating. It was bizarre at first, but he got used to it pretty soon and ate his whole plate of food. Seonghwa found it endearing how excited he was about something that was so trivial to himself.
They also walked along the beach, being very careful to not get close to the water, none of them wanted incidents involving an exposed merman on a crowded beach. Also, they went to a park nearby, since Hongjoong really wanted to see the flowers and plants which grow on land, he was only used to the vegetation underwater.
But the thing that hyped him up the most was a small festival happening near the beach on that night. There was music playing and many stalls selling all kinds of things. Seonghwa couldn't help but notice Hongjoong staring at the jewels in one of the standees.
"Do you want to see it up close?" he asked and Hongjoong nodded enthusiastically.
They went through the beautiful pieces of jewelry the place was selling. There were many different ones.
"Are these white shells? I love white shells! This is so beautiful" Hongjoong said while holding the earrings.
"I can buy it for you" Seonghwa was already getting his wallet, but Hongjoong stopped him.
"You don't have to spend anything on my accord, Seonghwa, please" he said, but Seonghwa only smiled and went directly to the cashier anyway.
Hongjoong followed him, still carrying the earrings. He paid for the jewel and they kept on walking through the festival.
"I wanted you to have something to remember this day" Seonghwa said "Also, I haven’t given you a gift since we met, right? I’m being rude” he chuckled “Can I put them on you?" Hongjoong nodded.
"As if I would need anything to remember this" the merman said, almost whispering while Seonghwa was close to his ear, putting the earring on.
Seonghwa could feel his hand trembling as he touched Hongjoong's face to help him with his new acquisition, his heart was beating so fast and loud he was sure Hongjoong could hear it.
"There you are" Seonghwa said after finally putting the earrings on successfully.
"How do I look?" Hongjoong asked, clearly showing off his accessory.
"Beautiful as always" Seonghwa sighed in awe when he saw the merman looking so good right in front of him. It took him some seconds to realize he had actually said that aloud. He was about to apologize when he heard Hongjoong chuckling softly and then he started walking again. The boy was also sure he saw his cheeks turning pink, but he could barely see it now that the merman was walking ahead of him.
As nice as their day together had been, it needed to come to an end. Seonghwa accompanied Hongjoong to the part of the beach where he would transform and come back to his own home.
"Hope you liked the land enough to come back and spend some time with me" Seonghwa said and Hongjoong chuckled.
"I liked a lot, thank you, Seonghwa, I've always wanted to know the land and now I do" Hongjoong smiled at him "Come into the water too? Please?" he asked in a small tone that made it impossible for Seonghwa to deny him.
They entered the water together, but Seonghwa stayed close to the chore and Hongjoong dived deep until he couldn't be seen anymore. The land boy could only see a bright glow under the water where he knew Hongjoong was transforming.
It didn't take long for the merman to swim back and be right on Seonghwa's side. They smiled at each other but stayed silent, Seonghwa could see that Hongjoong was nervous and wanted to say something.
“There’s something I need to tell you” Hongjoong said nervously and Seonghwa waited for him to continue “Actually, before we met, I had been watching you surf and I was mesmerized by it, so I kept watching you almost every day. That’s why I was always close to where you kept drowning, it wasn’t pure coincidence” he chuckled lightly.
“For real?” he asked, surprised and Hongjoong nodded “Well, I have to tell you something as well” he sighed “Actually, that second time we met I pretended I was drowning just so I could see you, sorry” they both laughed now.
“We’re really stupid, aren’t we?”
They stopped laughing and didn’t say anything after that, both seemed to be in deep thought.
"Are you alright?" he asked and Hongjoong nodded.
"I'm fine, I was just thinking about how to repay you for this amazing trip"
"What? You don't need to repay anything, Hongjoong, you know that"
"I know that, but I want to anyway" he turned around and stopped in front of Seonghwa "Do you trust me?" the human nodded. He knew he probably shouldn't trust a merman he met a month ago, but he did anyway, it felt like he knew Hongjoong for ages since they met for the first time. So yes, he definitely trusted Hongjoong.
It came as a surprise for him when Hongjoong leaned in and kissed him right on the lips. He was shocked at first, but soon he reciprocated the kiss enthusiastically.
Of course he had thought about kissing Hongjoong before, he spent days and nights doing so, but reality was way better. The kiss deepened gradually as their tongues met each other, Hongjoong's mouth was just as Seonghwa imagined, soft and salty like the sea water.
The kiss ended too soon for Seonghwa's liking and they were soon looking into each other's eyes. Hongjoong was blushing deeply and Seonghwa was sure he himself was well, even if he couldn't see it.
"What was that for?" it was merely a whisper coming out of his mouth.
"Well, a merman's kiss allows you to breathe underwater, that way I could show you around as well" Hongjoong answered and Seonghwa stared at him dumbfounded.
He couldn't believe he was hearing that. He had dreamed all day and all night long of Hongjoong's kiss, and now that he finally has it, the reason was breathing underwater?
"Are you serious?" he couldn't help but say it. Hongjoong looked at him seemingly confused "You kiss me like that and tell me that was the reason?" Seonghwa chuckled "For a moment I thought you liked me for real"
"What? No, Seonghwa, that's not…" Hongjoong was interrupted mid sentence.
"I should just leave" Seonghwa then turned to get out of the water and go home. He didn't think he could hold his tears much longer.
He never thought Hongjoong would play him like that. Seonghwa could live with unrequited love, he's done it before, but receiving a kiss and giving a special side of himself like that just to be turned down was too much for him.
"Seonghwa, don't go please" he only stopped because he could hear it in Hongjoong's voice that he was on the verge of tears as well. he was still in the water, but farther from Hongjoong than he was before "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant, I…" Hongjoong seemed to not know how to phrase his words, so Seonghwa waited until he was ready "That was kind of a lame excuse to kiss you. It's not a lie, of course, a merman's kiss does let you breathe underwater, but that's not the reason I did it"
"Then why did you do it?" he asked, even if he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
Hongjoong took a deep breath before he started speaking "Because I like you a lot, Seonghwa, and I've been thinking about your lips for ages"
Seonghwa couldn't believe his ears, did Hongjoong really say that? His heart was beating fast and he felt suddenly euphoric.
"You're not joking, are you?" he asked, still feeling a little cautious.
"I would never joke about this, Seonghwa" the merman answered softly.
He moved closer to Hongjoong again and held his hands that were submerged "Will you be my boyfriend then?" Hongjoong gasped.
"Boyfriend?"
"You know what being a boyfriend entails, you told me so, don't tell me it's human culture so you don't understand now" Seonghwa said and Hongjoong chuckled, placing his head on the human's shoulder.
"I know what a boyfriend is, yes, I just never thought it would be us, even if I always hoped" he said fondly and Seonghwa couldn't help but smile.
"Let's not only hope anymore"
As soon as he said that, he leaned in and captured Hongjoong's lips, he reciprocated it eagerly and they kissed until they couldn't breathe anymore, even if Hongjoong claimed his kiss could make one breathe properly.
He has never thought the day he almost died would be the day he found his merman, his Hongjoong. At first, he cursed the sea for betraying him, but it was actually the opposite. Hongjoong came into his life to make it brighter and full of love.
Here, through the waves, he would always feel safe and loved.