Work Text:
“Sirens are sea dwellers, living in caves drowned in the deep sea and hiding between pieces of kelp,” Jun-ho reads out loud from the book. “Although playing a major role in the underwater food chain, sirens are deadly, known to lure wandering fishermen with their singing voices before killing them with no mercy.”
Jun-ho lowers his book, peering over to watch Ki-yong devour a pile of fish not so gracefully.
“So why didn’t you?”
Ki-yong looks up from his meal, tilting his head to side (like a cute puppy, Jun-ho thinks. Wait. No. Not cute. Definitely not.). He puts on a dramatic thinking expression, dragging out the seconds as long as he can as he purses his lips. “Well, if I’m not being too rude, you don’t look quite tasty.” The siren’s eyes him up and down almost mockingly, making Jun-ho bristle defensively. “And I’ve already had filled up before then, so it’s not like I had the appetite anyways.”
Jun-ho still remembers the terror and fear that took hold of him when he fell out of his fishing boat and into the roaring deeps of the ocean. The way the salty sea water filled his lungs, pushing Jun-ho deeper into the depths, drowning him. That is, until he was suddenly pulled upwards by an unknown force, breaking the surface and into the fresh air.
A fisherman saved by a siren. How unheard of.
The two have developed an awkward friendship, albeit begrudgingly. Jun-ho would say it’s more like being business partners, but Ki-yong insists otherwise. As long as Jun-ho keeps bringing food to Ki-yong and Ki-yong doesn’t… well… as long as Jun-ho doesn’t become the food, then they’re good. Humans, Jun-ho remembers Ki-yong’s complaining, always polluting up the ocean, making the fish unhealthy. And you don’t want me to be hungry, do you, fisherman?
Now, in the present, Ki-yong continues, “Of course, unless, you’re interested in that? I’m not opposed to be eating you some other way—”
“That’s enough!” Jun-ho interrupts, slamming the book down on the beach sand, deliberately ignoring the way his face heats up. “You are so, so strange—”
“But you like it,” Ki-yong inserts, lips curling into a grin, revealing sharp and pointy teeth. “That’s why you’re still here, isn’t it? Pardon me, fisherman, but I don’t remember any part of our deal stating that you have to stay with me while I eat.”
A string of broken nonsense stutters out of Jun-ho’s mouth while Ki-yong's grin widens, quickly digging back into this meal. Jun-ho clears his throat, averting his eyes away from the strange siren and sinks his finger into the sand, drawing random patterns. Although Jun-ho would never admit it out loud, part of him is endeared by Ki-yong. It’s probably just the lack of attention that I’ve been receiving, Jun-ho tries to justify in his head. Some company is better than none at all, right?
Jun-ho looks up again, watching the siren. The moonlight strikes Ki-yong just right, his slicked back hair practically glowing from the lighting. Ki-yong’s eyes are dark and and sparkly, mirroring the starry night sky almost perfectly. Although his webbed fingers may seem scary to others, Jun-ho always finds it interesting and unique, not to mention the scaly tail.
“You look pretty,” Jun-ho blurts out.
A flash of genuine surprise strikes through Ki-yong’s face as he drops the fish on it’s way to his mouth. “What did you just say?”
What did he just say?
Jun-ho flushes, staring at an utterly fascinating grain of sand on the ground. “I— forget it.”
Ki-yong’s face grows mischievous, a devious grin slicing through his lips as he processes what Jun-ho said. “Say it again.”
“No.”
“C’mon,” Ki-yong whines as he draws out the vowel, pouting.
Jun-ho grits his teeth, wishing that the nearby tide would just sweep him away — and not have a good looking siren save him this time. “You look pretty,” Jun-ho mutters again, slouching.
“I didn’t quite hear you~” Ki-yong singongs, that fuckass smile on his face again.
Jun-ho groans, pushing himself up and dusting the excess sand off of his body. “You are so insufferable,” he hisses out through grit teeth.
Ki-yong pouts again, staring at him with a look. “Aw, come on, and here I thought you were getting nicer with that compliment from before. What was it again? Something about my good looks?”
Jun-ho scoffs, face heating up as he turns his heel, starting to make his way back. “Goodbye, fisherman!” the siren calls out from the shore. “And if it means anything, you don’t look too bad yourself!”
Jun-ho ignores the way his edges of his lips slightly quirk up at that.