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Seungmin liked the dark.
He might not have been a deep water mer, but growing up in the caverns, he'd had his fair share of chilly, dark water with no light in sight.
The caverns woven through the ridges, at the intersection of many territories, were unique like that– one day he could be swimming through a bright crag, tail sparkling as it caught the light, and the next it was a shadowed and fuzzy maze, where Seungmin could scare off a reef mer with his lurking.
Not that he ever understood the fear. There was nothing terribly frightening between the cracks of the ridge.
It was still, comforting in an enveloping sort of way. Seungmin was never hurried by it, he could simply drift, and let himself be carried with an unbothered tail stroke every now and again. The course of the sun, or the moving of the tides, or truly anything more than his own drifting between the crevices in the rocks. That and the shared hunger between him and the curious little mollusc that he’d raised since hatchling, a little octopus he’d absently named Birdie, who he doted on as they both grew.
Ah, hey–! What? Seungmin chirped as Birdie slapped the clam shell from his hand, only to slip her own tentacles into it, pry the shells open, and enjoy it for herself.
Seungmin playfully scowled at her as she finished and threw the empty shells up with flair, pretending to swim away as she reached out to him. He made it only as far as the little cavern that was darker and led to the kelp forests, before she shot forward and angrily wrapped herself properly around his back, long arms and suckers holding on tight across his chest.
It was alone, in a sort of way that Seungmin had grown accustomed to, and couldn’t know any better than. Cavern mer were that way, and Seungmin had no reason to be anything but the way his people had always been.
Seungmin pulled at her arms lightly and felt them suck on tighter, in her usually sassy pettiness. It would leave little round marks all around, that Jeongin would poke at with his little grubby fingers to see how hard he’d have to push before it hurt, while Chan would hold him by the shoulders and give him a full head to toe on what-happened-are-you-hurt?
Birdie was probably aware of both facts, if the playful little nipping she had begun at the back of his neck was any indication.
Tsk, you troublesome cephalopod.
She flashed a confused color at Seungmin as he swam up from the seafloor, following the stone till it led to the edge of the drop, before spinning quickly up the sands to where the green of the kelp forest flashed brightly.
Cephalopod, Seungmin clicked, I don’t know either, Jisung taught me.
Jisung taught Seungmin a lot of things, although he’d never admit it. The mer was endlessly talking, always spewing something or another that he’d learned that Seungmin would take to Sungjin in short sentences of curiosity that Sungjin would answer in kind but even shorter sentences that would satisfy as an answer but leave Seungmin wondering why cavern mer couldn’t have pods like coral mer did. He would pass by Mina’s caves, and barely notice her dart further back into the shadows of her pearl-crafting, crafting for when Jihyo and all the rest of the coral mer came to pester her with gossip for pretty hair pieces and bracelets to show off.
Jihyo and her loud singing made Seungmin glad he was born a cavern mer, and forget ever wanting a pod or holding onto that silly wish that his parents didn’t leave him the moment he learned to crack open shells for himself.
Green light welcomed Seungmin to the beginning of the kelp forests, nestled before an islet and the large cove within where a pof of kelp mer made peace with some reef mer who mainly kept to themselves and lived quietly. He caught sight of a hesitant face darting in and out, on the lookout. It was normally a defense mechanism, a trademark of a kelp mer, but this was not a mer cautiously assessing the shark in the water, triple-checking the signs of danger before he moved. This was a mer in waiting, a mer biding his time to a rhythm of patience, looking for familiar dark scales tinged iridescent silver that glowed a thousand different colors in different lights.
Counting the time, flicking his tail, Seungmin tried to sneak up on the mer before it popped out again, darting right to the entrance of the kelp forest so that when the mer floated out again–
HNG!
The boy flinches back, before baring his teeth, flashing them like a threatened eel.
Hi, Jeonginnie.
…you’re so annoying. I hate you.
Birdie shot towards Jeongin to grab his fluke playfully, as though she knew he was not actually angry. This was how it went every time. Seungmin poked him where his scales meet his skin, and they swam into the kelp forest.
Their friendship was one of few words but many strong memories. Jeongin showed Seungmin the seahorses that he called “little dragons,” and showed him where to hide to see the great sunfish take their time swimming across the waters, or where to hide and watch the open ocean mer, on the very edge of the ridge, as they hunted and took down vicious sharks.
They would swim into the great cove in the middle of the islet, through a path of kelp between the rocks, and in the shallow reefs there, would float with their eyes to the surf, drifting till the sea became inky, and Seungmin would prefer sleeping in the embrace of his cavern than the ever shifting kelp shoots, where the kelp mer were able to wrap themselves within and around and fall asleep in the comfort of the leaves.
Seungmin would go crazy. Jeongin understood. They parted ways as wordlessly as they met, Birdie waving an arm sweetly as Seungmin followed the path of the rocks back to the territory of the caverns.
He took the long way around, dipping down to where the ocean ridge cracked deep and the darkness hummed a low and nearly unhearable song. Sometimes, Seungmin would see mer of all different pods swimming slowly, either down to grieve their loss, or up to continue their lives. Sometimes he saw Yeji and Hyunjin help them make the journey– they were special among deep water mer. Seungmin had only made the journey once, and whatever low view he’d had about the lack of familial structure among cavern mer was obliterated by the coldness of deep water mer.
Seungmin shook his head and swam along the cliff, remembering he was in no place to judge. Hyunjin was a stronger mer than him anyway– sometimes Seungmin could still hear him and his sister join in mourning songs, in an undercurrent of support that sometimes could lull Seungmin straight to sleep.
Birdie darted off his shoulder to snatch a crab, slowing Seungmin down for a moment as she tore open its shell and made delighted motions to tell Seungmin how delicious this particular crab was to her, before extending an arm and delivering a small piece for Seungmin to try.
It was, indeed, quite delicious. Birdie was an excellent judge of crab.
Seungminnie!
Seungmin jerked to a stop, fluke twisting to send sand up in front of him in defense, Birdie immediately wrapping around his shoulder. He relaxed a little as he felt her– if she had considered a threat, she would have inked and swam off with one arm wrapped around his wrist to pull him somewhere safe.
Scales like fire broke through the current of sand, a dark ember that rippled bright in flashes of light. Seungmin relaxed a little as two magma mer swam by slowly, with their large fanning flukes, and far too friendly faces. The younger girl shyly waved before disappearing passed the ridge of the cliff. The older mer who’d called out to him curiously swam a little closer, close enough for Seungmin to recognize him as a friend of that open ocean mer the reef pod had taken in, a mer named Chan who seemed friends with everyone.
It’s Changbin, don’t you remember? He laughed a deep and amused sound, You’re just as cute as before, still with that octopus wrapped around you. Hello there–
Birdie lifted an arm in polite greeting, before hiding in Seungmin’s nape, just under his hairline. Seungmin gave a curt smile, before trying to swim away. Seungmin wasn't Chan, he didn't know how to keep up conversations.
You’re quite shy, you cavern mer, Changbin spun around on his back, folding his arms over his chest, If Chaeryeong wasn’t so insistent on meeting Yeji tonight, I would pester you more for it.
Seungmin scrunched his nose, before realizing what he’d said and remembering his manners to stop and bow his head slightly, I’m sorry for your loss.
Taking it as an invitation to conversation, Changbin twirled to swim alongside him, powerful and skilled.
We aren’t mourning. Not this time, Chaeryeong just worries for her friends. She’s darling like that, she’s just like Chan. He pesters everyone now and again, have you noticed?
Seungmin nodded, trying to slowly drift away to leave the conversation. Chan was one of those mer Seungmin could never shake, who snuck up on him and dared to even try and embrace and be affectionate in ways Seungmin couldn’t really understand. But he had those damn dimples and a singing-sort of laugh that charmed everyone around him.
He was just too nice.
Well, sorry to bother– I recognized you and thought I’d say hello, Changbin laughed and dared to ruffle Seungmin hair before swimming off to catch up with the little magma mer with red hair whose eyes were staring at him and waiting by the drop-off, See you around, Seungminnie!
His fluke was strong, sending a strong current that pushed Seungmin away as he swam away. Changbin’s tail was broad and powerful, the sort Seungmin could imagine getting thrown over the head with if he wasn’t careful. All the same, it enamored him like all glittering things did– it seemed to almost be riven with gold.
Seungmin turned, watching them disappear through the translucent edges of his tail. He thought for a moment whether he should keep them company till they dove deep enough for Hyunjin and Yeji to realize they were there.
He thought about it for a moment, before swimming back to his caverns. Maybe when he became braver. Or kinder, like Chan. Or more talkative like Jisung– oh the things he would do if he could talk like Jisung.
The thought was funny enough that he shared it with Birdie, and they both shared a laugh over the idea.
A ridiculous idea, he laughed, Birdie’s color bright and amused as they settled into the closed space of the caverns.
Seungmin lived quietly. He knew how to live with himself, and take care of himself, because that was what a cavern mer did. The only odd thing about him was perhaps Birdie darting through crag and grabbing him moonstones and gems. Sometimes Seungmin would sneak them into Jeongin’s hands, or flash them between Jisung’s face before he could be bombarded with another string of facts he couldn’t keep in his head.
Sometimes, Seungmin would think about it. The bright colors of the reef, the unrestrained laughs, the inquiring songs of pods as they passed by. Mina and Sungjin were altogether not like him, he could admit that. They were scared of pods. Seungmin wasn't scared of anything.
Perhaps there was a bright and bursting something in his chest, that reached out to Jeongin, Jisung, Chan, and even Changbin.
Birdie tickled the inside of his ear with a tentacle, and he clicked at her, the two of them making far too much sound for the cavern as they chased and teased each other before settling in with the tide. Sungjin would throw a shell at the entrance of the cavern tomorrow morning, in teasing reprimand for the sound. For now, Seungmin wrapped Birdie in his fluke and they settled into a sleep.
It was very late one night, the silver light of the moon filtering through the waves, when Seungmin woke up and heard her voice. He didn’t need to look very far outside his cavern to see her, drifting outside and looking up at the filtered light of the moon shining down on her.
The first problem was that her tail was all wrong– too bright, shimmering and shining in crystal-white and ice-blue. She was clothed in a style altogether unknown to Seungmin, and Seungmin had known quite a lot of mer.
She was singing to herself, to the moon, to the current of the waves themselves.
Seungmin knew she was lost. He tugged Birdie’s arm and sent her off– Chan, go get Chan, he’ll know what to do.
He waited for several moments, simply watching her over the crest of the rock, while she drifted and spun, throwing up shells and playing with seaweed. She was very beautiful. Seungmin wanted to ask, to sing out and curiously inquire whether she had come from an arctic pod, and whether she was lost. Or maybe, if she was just looking for a quiet, dark place to hide from everything and just marvel at beautiful things.
But he just watched, all his words and curiosities stuck in his chest as Chan came, beckoned by Birdie wrapped around his wrist. Chan was much more open, much more friendly, and Seungmin caught his eye as he took the mer back to the reef. Chan gave him a smile and a nod, and that was all. Seungmin gathered Birdie back into the rocks, and they went back to sleep.
But Seungmin did inquire, just for his curiosities. He did not need to inquire much, as Jisung met him at the edge of the reef, and babbled all rumors–
She’s from the arctic pod, isn’t that neat? She gets a dreadful sort of hot and needs to hide away when the sun is the brightest, but that’s alright, Chan’s thinking of introducing her to Yeji and Hyunjin, since it’s so much colder down in the deep waters, although she can’t stand it so dark, she says it’s all sorts of bright where she’s from, Jisung twisted and spun around Seungmin like he couldn’t be still, and it made Seungmin dizzy trying to keep up, Her name’s Lia, or something of the sort, she speaks a little strange. She followed an orca pod– did I say? Just because she wanted to! Arctic pods don’t care to live in large groups, and she lost her brother to a Greenland Shark and lived with the orca pod until the turned her out– isn’t that odd? Orcas are quite strange, I have to say… have you ever met an orca? I want to meet one, I wonder if she’ll show me…
Seungmin listened till his curiosities were put to rest, and then he drifted back to his caverns. He only faltered when he realized Birdie had not followed, and turned to see her exchanging her own greetings with the new mer, this “Lia” hiding in the shadow of the ridge, marveling at all the little suckers on Birdie’s legs.
I’ve never met such a friend, she had a flowing sort of voice, the lull and pull of a sweet song, in a tone Seungmin hadn’t heard before.
She pointed down to the shining bright of his tail as she left, and then pointed to her own brilliant scales, as though to say they were the same, the crystalline glimmer. Seungmin wasn’t sure he understood, until she smiled in a sort of soft way before darting back into the shadows to get out of the warmth.
He could hear her laughing at a joke Jisung made about the schools of mantas as they ran their course across the reef, and wondered if it was truly that easy to fold into a pod you made your own.
It was on the tip of his tongue when the great humpback off-set the tides with her entrance into the reef.
Seungmin felt like he was the only one who felt it, as he darted out of the rocks and into more open waters to see the disturbance in all her journey.
She was quite pregnant, slow in her movements. But there was always something grand in a great whale’s return to the reef, something that usually beckoned the respect and command of all surrounding pods.
However, she did not approach the reef directly. She steered her course to the edge, to a far quieter end, where the waters shallowed before dipping deep into a course of knolls and reef colonies of fish in their breeding seasons.
It was curious, but far more curious, was how solitary a creature did not enter the reef alone.
Here-we-made-here-arrive-here-now-here?
Yes, Felix, we’re here. She’ll have her calf here, little one.
Although Seungmin hid behind the rocks, he felt the eyes of the larger open ocean mer, and knew his presence was felt when he tipped his head in greeting. The younger one spoke in a thousand different sounds and languages of the sea. He reminded Seungmin of Birdie, in a way he couldn’t explain. They followed the humpback slowly, and the older mer stopped a moment to incline his head to the side, as though inviting Seungmin to join.
Seungmin did what he always did, flicking Birdie off in the same route she was now accustomed to swimming– go fetch Chan, they deserve a proper greeting.
He had barely turned his head away, when suddenly the small mer was inches away from his face, spotted freckles and several teeth from an unrestrained smile making their greeting.
Silly-silly-hello!-silly-sweet-mer-friend?-hello!
Seungmin choked on bubbles as he startled backwards, feeling trapped for a horrible moment, before feeling immediately disarmed at the ringing of giggles and apologies that he could almost make out over the dolphin-like clicks calling for his companion.
Felix, you mustn’t startle like that, he scolded, tugging his ear playfully before respectfully regarding Seungmin, Apologies. Minho, and my Felix. We are accompanying our friend. We mean no disrespect.
A thousand correct things to say floated properly out of Seungmin’s mind. He wanted to welcome them, to ask where they had come from, and why they followed so solitary a creature, and what sort of magic they came from, and more importantly, whether he could share in it.
It seemed like the sort of change in tide that swept Seungmin’s way to his very wishes in his favor. To give him the chance to do the right thing, and maybe let himself be swept up in the consequences of it.
All he could manage, however, was:
…I’m sorry, I haven’t done this before.
He blushed an embarrassed shade as Minho smiled, terribly amused, and Felix let out a peal of ringing laughs as he spun off in his own little show of delightedness.
My friend is coming, Chan, he will welcome you better. But welcome, all the same. I think, he stammered, trying to hide in the rocks, If you expect to stay. And even if you do not… perhaps.
Thank you, Minho dared to swim closer, as though not put off by his awkwardness, I think I like you. And I don’t even know your name. That must mean something, hm?
Seungmin blinked twice.
Seungmin. And I don’t know. Does it?
Minho brushed back Seungmin’s bangs to his eyes properly, as though he could discern the answer properly that way, before nodding with certainty.
Yes. I believe it does, Seungminnie.
And Seungmin smiled.