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Jade had always loved to read.
The scent of paper and polished wood filled the quiet aisles as he wandered deeper into the bookstore, away from the main entrance and towards the quieter sections. The faint sound of pages turning and the low hum of the fan above created a quiet and rather comfortable atmosphere, it was almost like being underwater.
When he was just a little elver, whether it was a soggy flyer dropped in the ocean, a magazine fallen from a ship, or a pile of forgotten books left out overnight and stolen from a boat, he studied everything carefully in hopes of a better understanding of the human world above. Life on land had always been incomprehensible to him. The land-dwellers were constantly in motion, running around in strangely layered clothes – almost looking like clownfish – wearing oddly shaped shoes, and making the huge crowds look like a giant coral reef.
Humans liked to make a scene, and that was quite obvious. If not with eye-catching clothing, then with unpredictable public outbursts. Jade could have sworn they were always arguing when he saw them. Sometimes he could even witness them slapping each other standing on the piers for reasons so minor it made them look rather pathetic.
Even though he now walked among them – disguising himself as a human being – wearing stylish shoes and comfortable layered clothing of his own, he never truly felt like he fit into the crowd. As people passed him by, the overpowering scent of perfume filled his nose, while his own skin still carried the faint aroma of sea salt –reminding others, and himself of the ocean, where he truly belonged.
It was, Jade thought, an oddly comforting scent for that reason.
It had taken time to adjust to legs where fins once were, to the awkward clothing, and to the strange human customs – but some things hadn’t changed. The salty aroma of his body, the sharp and predatory gaze of his mismatched eyes, and his needle-like teeth were features which made him significantly different from others – but as strange as it sounded, these were hardly the reason why he felt like he was the odd one out.
Jade Leech still was clueless, when it came to understanding human emotions.
Land-dwellers were strange, inside and out. While merfolk were decisive and strong, humans seemed incredibly fragile. Their bodies bruised and bled so easily, and yet their hearts – strange, metaphorical things – could carry burdens even Jade found hard to understand. Some were stronger than others – there were even people who similarly to merfolk, treated life as a competition. Some fought for power, for pride, for security. Some hesitated. Some lied. Some pretended not to care even when they clearly did – or the exact opposite.
Their lives were filled with constant contradiction, yet Jade found it unspeakably fascinating. The surface world was nothing more than chaos – but that was what made it oddly beautiful. Every little decision seemed tangled in emotion.
And the one emotion that confused him the most... was love.
For merfolk, partnerships were practical, fierce, often fond, but never…messy. Love, as humans understood it, was something entirely different. It was unpredictable. It could be slow and gentle, or sudden and consuming, or even wistful and agonizing. It broke people apart as often as it brought them together. It made them act foolish, feel irrational fears, and take risks that defied logic.
To Jade, it was both frightening and irresistible. An emotion stronger than others, one that even refused to obey reason – he could study or read about it endlessly and would still never quite understand how it truly works.
But he needed to find out before the strange emotion would consume him entirely. He hated how after his transformation from merfolk to human, his body started to act strange – he felt trapped in a cage, forced to face emotions he shouldn’t even consider feeling. He felt weak.
Therefore recently, he’d developed a new habit: reading romance novels. Even if the stories weren’t real, they felt like the perfect way to explore how humans behaved, especially in emotionally charged situations. Books about uncertain rulers, breathtaking magic, chilling murders, and mysterious detective cases were nearly not as interesting as books about human relationships. He couldn’t help it. Other genres often had predictable endings – but romance novels? They were never the same. Human love was just that complicated.
After making sure no one he knew was nearby, Jade carefully left the location he was standing by and stepped towards the romance section of the bookstore. He took a heavy volume off the shelf – the same one that caught his eye during his last visit. He flipped it over and began to read the blurb on the back carefully, only to immediately put it back after. It sounded rather interesting he had to admit, but he didn’t like the idea of choosing something he planned to get earlier. He liked surprises after all.
He sighed and began scanning the shelves for something else – only to freeze as he saw a familiar figure approaching him from the corner of his eye.
“I didn’t know you were into romance novels,” said the upperclassman with a warm smile on his face and hands full of heavy looking books.
Even only seeing the spines made it obvious – they were all cookbooks.
“Trey-san, what a surprise,” Jade replied, forcing his lips to form a decent looking smile. It wasn’t that he disliked the senior – it hurt to admit, but it was quite the opposite – but this hardly felt like the best moment to run into anyone he knew. Especially Trey.
“Well,” he continued.” recently I’ve developed an interest in certain human emotions. I figured reading about them would be less alarming than, say, spying or interrogating people. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Trey let out a soft chuckle.
“You’re right. That’s why nobody really trusts Rook in the school,” he said, then his gaze shifted back at the shelves packed with books. “So, what kind of romance are you looking for today?”
He raised an eyebrow in a teasing manner, what strangely made Jade’s face flush. It was silly, but he had always found Trey’s eyebrows…captivating. It felt like a trademark of his, like a signature trait of some fictional character fans obsess over. Maybe Jade even found them attractive – or maybe it was just the romance novels messing with his head. He wasn’t a human. He had no need to feel these kinds of emotions.
Never.
“Oh, are you offering recommendations now, Trey-san?” Jade hoped to wipe Trey’s smug grin off his face, but his expression softened instead.
“Actually,” Trey began. “My little sister loves these kinds of stories. I might know something you’d like.”
Jade blinked in surprise as he saw the senior stepping closer to the shelves, searching for a specific title.
“That would be wonderful,” said Jade, but something deeply started to concern him. “What do you want in return for your help?”
Trey stopped to glance back at him with a strange expression.
“It’s just a little thing, Jade. I’m happy to help.”
“Nothing in this world comes for free, you know that well, Trey-san.”
“Well, that’s true – but remind you, your book won’t be free either. Bookstores don’t exactly hand out free copies, you know?”
Jade felt his cheeks warm up in response. Trey had no fear saying exactly what was on his mind. For someone who is feared by most students, it was quite…refreshing. Trey was undoubtedly one of the most interesting humans he’d ever met.
“I know, Trey-san,” he replied, flustered. “But I was referring to your help.”
“You won’t calm down until you can repay me, are you?” Trey asked, raising an eyebrow again.
Jade nodded.
“Typical Octavinelle,” Trey laughed, then plucked a thick book from the shelf and handed it to Jade. “In that case, I’d like to hear your opinion about this book once you finished reading it.”
The book felt surprisingly light in his grasp, despite its size. The cover was a shiny ocean-blue decorated with silver, curling lines swirls and pearl-like lettering that formed a title. White flowers and colourful corals patterned the corners, framing the image of a handsome young prince and a blonde-haired lady. Jade frowned when he noticed that the woman’s body instead of slender legs, ended in a tailfin.
“Trey-san,” he said. “I wanted to read about humans. Not…merfolk.”
Trey only shrugged in response, eyebrow raised again, and Jade felt his heart skip a beat.
That damned eyebrow. Those damned romance novels. This damned human body.
“Well, one of them is human,” Trey pointed out playfully. “Aren’t you bothered by the fact, that love stories involving mermaids almost always end in tragedy? Merfolk are such strong beings, yet they are the ones portrayed as fragile instead of the humans – endlessly longing for love and then turning into seafoam just because they were unable to face and understand their own feelings. I say, screw that.”
Trey’s voice was fond and passionate as he held Jade’s gaze, his fingers still brushing the cover of the thick book. Then he continued.
“This story is different. No big sacrifices. No suffering. Just…happily ever after.” he sounded so gentle, Jade swore he’d never heard the senior sound like this before. It felt weirdly pleasant to his ears. “I know, maybe it’s a little childish, but before you try to understand others, you should try to understand yourself – face your feelings and all.”
Jade found himself unable to argue. He spent a significant amount of time thinking about other merfolk, and about other people. Maybe it was time to be selfish – it was time to think about himself. There was no need to observe others to figure out his own internal conflicts – he needed to figure it out himself.
A story with no obstacles. No conflict, no tragedy – just happiness. It was clearly not what he was used to, but maybe, just this once, he would give it a try.
After all, it was Trey Clover who recommended it to him.
“You sound awfully passionate about this,” Jade teased, after all, he couldn’t let Trey see that he might have let his guard down for a moment. “Are you sure it’s your sister who read the book?”
Bright blush bloomed across Trey’s cheeks like red roses as he answered. “Well, I might have skimmed a few chapters.”
Jade acknowledged his reaction with a gentle smile.
“In that case, thank you for your help, Trey-san. I will make sure to share my thoughts on this story once I’m finished.”
With that, he turned around, facing the cash register, still clutching the book between his fingers. Just before leaving, he glanced over his shoulder with a sly grin, mismatched eyes meeting Trey’s.
“Human and merfolk…Who knows? Maybe this book will come in handy after all.”
Then he left Trey behind, who still just stood there red-faced, holding the pile of cookbooks in his hands. After a few steps ahead, Jade heard Trey’s footsteps coming closer.
He was hurrying after him, and Jade didn’t mind.
Not this time.
Maybe after this they’d go for a coffee, or tea somewhere. Maybe they’d talk.
After all, the best way to study humans is to spend time with them.
Maybe in the end, he wouldn’t even need the romance books after all.