Chapter Text
“Saheon-ie! You better be listening to me. Don’t run off too far, okay? We need to get back by sundown, got it?”
“Yeah, yeah, I already know, Noona. I’ll make sure to be on time.”
Baek Saheon rolled his eyes as his sister continued to nag him all the way up the hillside. Lecturing him about the consequences of being late and getting left out in the wild if they’re late, and yada-yada, yada…
It was the same spiel she gave him long ago and it was the same spiel she was giving him now.
Don’t wander too far from the village without permission.
Be sure to return to the village before sundown.
No one is allowed inside the villager after dark out.
Including those who stayed out for too long.
Even if he covered his ears and closed his eyes, Baek Saheon could practically see the words sliding past his eyes and that same nagging playing on loop within his mind. He’s heard it so many times, he might as well get those rules etched onto his skin. Maybe on his back or chest? If he did, maybe everyone would stop repeating it to him like he was incompetent or slow.
Those sacred rules, the first thing he knew since being born and will probably be the final thing he hears before he dies.
The same for everyone else back at the village.
He was no exception.
Even so…
The village only had so many things a boy such as himself could do. Not many children within the premises that he could really interact with. With most being too young or too old for him to really relate to. The person who he spent the most time with was his sister who had her own tasks to do. The only thing he could do on his own was reading the many texts the teachers gave out or help out with preparations. Both of which were uneventful and surely land him a scolding for his inappropriate and impolite attitude as the adults like to put it.
Needless to say, Baek Saheon was bored out of his mind stuck in this village.
Whenever his sister goes out to collect herbs and other miscellaneous things for whatever reason, Baek Saheon would try to come along if for no real reason other than a change in scenery. Something new and colorful to spice up his memories filled with monochrome browns and greys. Even if he stuck close to her or just wandered the forest, it was more exciting than being forced to reread all of the sacred writings over and over again.
Despite living by the seaside and hearing stories about it, he was only ever able to catch a glimpse of a brilliant blue just beyond the foliage whenever he tagged along with his sister. Try as he might, his still growing limbs didn't allow for him to see much back then.
And another thing.
Beware of the water.
A simple phrase, but one that was never explained in any capacity. No one knew why it was considered dangerous to go near the rocky beach but all the elders have warned against it so vehemently that no one dared to question it, assuming that they were either referring to how people could get hurt on those jagged rocks or be swept away by the waves. The other rules were put in place because of various dangers within the forest they resided in, a way to ensure the safety of their home. While Baek Saheon himself doesn't quite understand what was outside the walls at night, the adults seemed to know what was going on and made sure all the younger kids listened or there would be severe consequences.
But when he asked about what that last rule meant, he was met with silence.
They couldn't explain it all, seemingly unsure as well.
Some of the nicer adults, the ones who didn't just tell him to keep quiet or to get back to studying, would say that there were probably monsters lurking in the depths, waiting to drag whoever was dumb enough to get close or into the water. That anyone who got too close, even during the day, would get dragged away without even being able to scream for help. If you asked Baek Saheon, it sounds like a bunch of nonsense the adults used to scare the babies back in the village. Sure there were weird noises outside of the village walls, but they lived in a forest next to the ocean! There were tons of animals and critters scurrying around. A bear passed by the village gate not too long ago, scaring all the crybabies in the village.
Personally, he thought it was cool.
But whatever. The adults scared it off and Baek Saheon never really saw a large animal like that bear ever again. Only smaller animals from time to time.
Now that he was out of the walls, perhaps he’ll see something much bigger than a squirrel or a rat. If it’s big enough, perhaps he could ask his sister to let him bring it back to have as a friend. It would certainly be a better companion than the other kids at least.
Wandering around, Baek Saheon didn’t realize how far he’d walked until the dirt beneath his feet transformed into the rocky sand of the beach.
The tiny pebbles all crunching and rolling under his footsteps.
A cool breeze kissed his cheeks as the sun shone high above the sky, beaming down on everything with its gentle gaze.
He remembered Noona saying something about how today was a particularly blessed day.
Well, it was kinda nice out today.
Looking up, his green eyes were greeted with the sight of the blue-green water lapping at the shore line, calm, peaceful and almost beckoning in its repeated motions. Like those beautiful waves were calling out to him to come play with them. It was hard to look away from it.
And Baek Saheon…
His legs were slowly moving much closer with each crash of water.
One step at a time.
Right foot, and then left foot.
Closer to that pretty voice.
The voice telling him to...
Crunch, crunch, crunch—
A faint sensation of cold registered in his mind. It was covering his feet and slowly rising the more he walked.
His head felt blank, like a fog had fallen into it. The only thing looping through his ears were those strangely wonderful sounds. Strong, yet so soothing that he wanted to…
And then, out of nowhere—
Splash!
“Uwah!”
Baek Saheon was pushed back by a smack to the chest by something heavy—falling backwards onto his butt and making a huge splash. The cold from the sea water enveloping all around him.
“Wha—who did that?!”
Wiping the salty water from his face, he angrily looked around for the perpetrator, ready to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.
But he couldn’t see anyone at all.
Just the vastness of the ocean in front of him.
That blue-green stretching for miles on end.
He was about to call out again to see if someone was pranking him when he caught something from the corner of his eyes. Hidden among the many boulders lining the beach.
A black spot, just beneath the water further out.
It looked like just another rock under the water but what caught his eye was how it seemed to wiggle, sending a small ripple that slowly blends in with the lapping of the sea. It was hard to see but he'd always been a stickler for detail, having been forced to pay attention to his surroundings all the time to avoid getting into trouble.
Whatever it was, it was big. Nearly twice the size of Baek Saheon, and just…
Floating there.
“…!”
‘Wha—what is that thing…?’
Baek Saheon cautiously started getting up to his feet, completely drenched and not once taking his eyes off of the dark blob as he carefully stepped backwards.
It was then that he noticed how the water was up to his thigh, indicating that he’d walked further in than he thought he did.
Almost walking into the open field of the ocean.
‘Shoot! This is what the elders were talking about…?!’
Those rules that were drilled into his mind since birth kept repeating in his head, over and over again like a mantra, a mockery. Looping repeatedly like the broken records one of the adults brought back from the city.
After about two steps back, the water rippled more intently, becoming more noticeable among the sea foam.
“…!!”
He was about to just turn tail and book it back to his sister, when the blob moved again.
Towards him.
Quickly.
“Shoot! Noon—!!”
The water weighed down his movements and the rocks made it difficult for him to steady himself enough to sprint out back to land. It wasn’t a surprise that whatever that thing was, managed to catch him, one hand grabbing the back of his shirt and the other hand coming up from behind his head.
It was too late.
‘I’m going to die…!’
“Mmph!”
Splash!
Once again, Baek Saheon fell into the water. This time, however, he was completely submerged by the salty seawater. Blue flooding every corner of his vision as that giant black hand that pulled him under moved to rest on his chest.
‘It’s so cold…! I can’t—breathe!’
He felt a jerk and then he was pulled backwards and upwards at the same time. Curly locks being pulled by the sudden current.
It felt like it was brief but also like it was eternity.
Being dragged in the waters until—
“Hieck—cough!”
Air flooded into his lungs and he could no longer feel the ocean floor beneath his feet. The only thing keeping him from floundering in the water were the arms looped around his waist and a heavy weight pressed up against his back.
“Ugh…!!!”
His mind which had once been blurred by the abrupt dive and resurfacing, cleared and the sudden awareness of something—something huge—holding onto him became all too apparent. Whatever grabbed him was pressed up just behind his back.
Jerking wildly, Baek Saheon struggled, thrashed, and fought back at the iron grip around his person.
“Let go! Agh—Noona!!”
Water was flying everywhere and his panic grew worse once he caught sight of how far from land he was.
The beach he was initially standing on was nothing more than a speck in the distance, barely able to make out the sharp rocks and rocky sand from where he was taken out to the open ocean.
No one would be able to hear him this far out, over the loud waves of the sea and there was also no way he could swim back to the shore on his own.
The only thing keeping him from drowning was the very thing that took him away.
“…stop.”
"...!!"
A soothing but surprisingly young voice resounded right next to his ear. It was slow, like it wasn't used to speaking and has an almost authoritative quality to it.
Flinching at the sudden sound, Baek Saheon turned his head the best that he could—trying to catch a glimpse of his kidnapper.
A monster is what he saw.
Pale skin—completely white like the paper used for his classes—with the largest eyes he’d ever seen on anything—entirely black from the upper to the lower lid. The thing’s mouth was closed but he could see how its lips were much wider than that of a regular human, similar to that of a snake. Its front neck was white but it had black shoulders.
And like he’d noticed before, it was huge.
And it was right up against him.
The urge to scream in terror was potent.
“…stop it.”
‘…what.’
“Stop…moving. Stop struggling... Stop it.”
"......"
‘This thing is gonna kill me…!’
The arms around his waist tightened their hold, strong but not enough so that it felt uncomfortable or hurt.
Yet.
Seeing how calm it was, something within him snapped.
“What is your problem?! Take me back!”
Baek Saheon didn’t know what his kidnapper was but he didn’t want to spend another second this far out in the water. The only one who could take him back was this fish monster.
Noona would be worried and might even get punished if he doesn’t get back! The sun looked as if it was already starting to set from where it was at the top of the sky.
Well, it was still pretty high above but his point still stood. He needed to get back and forget this even happened.
He wanted to cry.
It was so cold, unbearably so, and his clothes kept clinging uncomfortably to his skin while swirling along with the lapping of the waves. His eyes were still burning from being forced into sea water and the smell of briny ocean was making his head spin. He was far away from his sister, stuck with a monster that is probably gonna drown and eat him. Overall, this was the type of fun and exciting he wanted to experience at all.
This was worse than just being used as free labor for the upcoming festival.
He should’ve listened to his sister.
He should’ve listened to the elders.
He should’ve never left the village—
One of the hands holding his waist removed itself, lifting up and moving closer to his face. He instantly stiffened and stared fearfully at the black scaly hand.
Faintly, he noticed how it was webbed between each finger.
‘I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna—!’
The hand moved past his face and placed itself on his head, pressing down gently on his soaked curls.
“Calm.”
“……”
“Stop struggling.”
“……”
“Be good.”
“……”
‘What.’
‘Be good?’
‘Be good?!’
‘How do you stay calm and be good in this kind of situation?? You try getting kidnapped and see how you feel???’
“…stay calm. Not kidnap.”
He must be more worn out from the ordeal than he thought if he ended up saying all that out loud to his kidnapper. But Baek Saheon didn’t care, he wanted to go back to land.
“Kill…”
“Wha—?!”
‘It’s gonna kill me..!!’
“Water kill humans…Be careful.”
“……”
The monster then started patting his head like a dog.
‘……why you—!’
“Don’t pet me!”
“…!?”
Thrashing around, Baek Saheon, in a moment of blind rage and exhaustion, pushes at the creature’s arm and elbows the stomach behind his back, surprising the thing into letting him go.
His poor swimming skills became immediately apparent when he started sinking into the water. The water felt as if it was quite literally pulling him underneath.
The earlier cold grew worse—nearly icy in nature—and all the sounds of the beach became muffled as he tried to propel himself upwards back to the surface for air.
His head felt faraway after a moment of struggle. Slowly, everything seemed to fade away again the more he sank down, just as it did before he met whatever this creature was—like a daydream was consuming him.
It became simpler to just…stop fighting it.
Falling, sinking, down.
Down.
Down.
‘Ugh…Noona…s-save me…’
That same scary face from before suddenly filled his blurred vision. It grew bigger the closer it swam to him.
Its large, flowing fins fanning all around it as it came to a stop before his very eyes. The vague sight of it brought forth a memory. A memory of one of the paintings in the prayer hall, the one at the center of the main room covered in tapestries and candles. He remembered wondering what it was when he first saw it, remembered thinking it was dumb at first but the more he looked at it, the more he felt drawn in by it.
Like he was meant to look upon its beauty and be enraptured by it.
Just before he felt darkness taking over, the faintest of touches registered. A touch so firm and yet so soft on his lips.
‘What are you...doing…...’
And then he knew no more.
-///-
A sharp pain was coming from his cheek.
It was familiar in a way.
Reminding him of the grannies or aunties back at the village…
.
.
.
Wait!
“…! Hiuuuh!”
Bolting up as soon as he opened his eyes, Baek Saheon looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint whatever danger was around. But all that he could see was the black sand of the beach he’d first come to see. The sun was lower now but still burning bright enough that it seemed as if no time had gone by at all. Every looked the same as it did before he fell unconscious.
Except, this wasn’t the same beach he was initially at.
“Awake?”
“…!!”
Jerking to the side, the voice made him nearly scream.
Lying a bit away from him, in the gentle waves along the shore, was the same giant fish monster that seemed to have kidnapped him. He could see it more clearly now that it was more out of the water and he wasn’t trying to fight it off.
The thing looks less human than before now that he could clearly see its long fish tail and multiple fins attached to its body.
“Good. Stupid.”
“Wha..? I’m not stupid!”
The audacity of this overgrown fish.
“Hm. Stupid human.”
It spoke brokenly but somehow made Baek Saheon feel as though he was some insignificant ant under its visibly judging gaze. Those large webbed hands were folded politely on its lap while curiously watching the stupid village boy flounder to his feet with an indignant stomp.
“Hey you!”
“…?”
The fish thing just tilted its head. Like it wasn’t the cause of the problem in the first place.
“Why did you take me away?! Take me back now!”
Baek Saheon had no idea where he was. For all he knew, this was some remote island faraway from his village and he’s stuck here with a crazy giant sea monster!
He was going to get into so much trouble with the elders if he got back late, not to mention making his sister worry about him. Everything was becoming a bigger disaster than the last!
“……”
“Take me back! You kidnapped me out of nowhere and now you’re playing dumb!?”
It didn’t reply to his angry tone. Just continued staring at him as if he was the crazy one in this situation. Somehow, that felt worse than the fact that it literally took him away from his sister.
“Stop looking at me like that, you dumb fish!”
The thing’s black eyes widened, surprised before it narrowed with its lips forming a thin line.
“Not dumb.”
“Yes you are!”
“No.”
“Yes!”
“No.”
“Ugh! You’re so dumb!”
Maybe it was the heat from the blazing sun.
Maybe it was the sand and tiny rocks up in his hair.
Or maybe…
Maybe it was the crazy sea monster in front of him.
But Baek Saheon was feeling exceedingly frustrated with this whole mess. His emotions felt like they weren’t his own anymore and something was making them go haywire or something. The constant jumping from angry to sad to panic and back again made him feel like he was going crazy! His heart wouldn’t stop trying to explode right out of his chest and it was getting harder to breathe.
This wouldn’t have happened if he’d just stuck by his sister’s side like a good kid, if he’d stay behind in the village carrying out his duties like he was suppose to, if he’d listened to the many warnings of the other adults and elders like he should've.
Then he wouldn't—
“!! Woah!”
Something then grabbed one of his legs, yanking him forward, and a large heavy weight was then flopped onto him, knocking him back onto the ground.
A shadow fell above his face, shielding his eyes from the blazing sun.
“…!”
“Stop it.”
“Wha—!”
That giant fish was pinning him down like it was nothing. Its arms were holding down his arms and it was staring its empty bottomless eyes right into his very being.
“Stop it.”
“What—get off of me!”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?! You’re the one about to crush me, you stupid fish freak!”
“Not freak. Stop it.”
Over and over again, no matter how much Baek Saheon thrashed, screamed, or protested, the monster just laid on top of him and kept repeating the same phrase while sporting the blankest face he’d ever seen. It looked almost bored by Baek Saheon’s thrashing and somewhat annoyed when he tried to grab at its hair? Fins? It didn’t feel like hair but it certainly looked like it.
Regardless, it quickly overpowered him and he soon found himself too tired to keep struggling in vain. The sun had noticeably gone further down by the time he finished trying to push the thing off of his chest.
“Stop it.”
“……”
“Calm?”
“……yeah, whatever.”
It wasn’t like he could do much else. This thing essentially had him held hostage under its enormous body weight. it was like trying to move a house from on top of him.
They laid there in silence for a moment. With Baek Saheon trying to avoid further eye contact with this overgrown fish and the monster trying to scan his face as if he was the most fascinating little bug it’d ever come across. It even made a slight trilling noise as it tilted its head to look at his facial features.
“…! Hey!”
“…?”
At some point, those arms that were pinning his wrists let go and started picking and prodding at his face. Tugging at his cheeks, pulling on his eyes, and playing with his damp dirty hair. It was all surprisingly gentle but no less annoying when all he could do was grab on to those wandering hands before just deciding to settle them on the sand.
Lying mostly motionless.
He was too tired to complain too much anymore when those black scaly hands started pulling at his jaw and lips to look inside his mouth. Though h e might have grumbled just a bit during the abrupt examination but it acted like it didn’t hear him at all, choosing to keep up with its curious actions.
What a jerk of a fish.
“Haey.”
A questioning chirp came along with a tug at his bottom lip but no signs of stopping.
“Shtop ith.”
Another cooing sound.
The prodding continued, now moving back to his hair as it swept his bangs back to show off his forehead.
This thing seemed strangely…nice? Docile? It hasn’t attacked him again after that initial tackle back at the other beach.
Which, by the way…
“Why did you take me away, you asshole?”
He didn’t really mean to say it out loud but it was really what he was feeling. If any of the adults back at the village heard him swear like that, they wring his neck and force into the pray hall to reflect on his poor manners. But they weren't here and he was rightfully upset about this situation. It didn’t make sense why he got dragged to this random beach away from his sister but this monster didn’t even try to kill him. It just kept berating him like those same adults and elders back home.
He hated it.
“Stupid human.”
“I’m not stupid…”
“Very stupid.”
“You’re stupid!”
“Almost died twice. Stupid.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Stupid human walking into ocean but can’t even swim. Almost listened to darkness in ocean. Very stupid.”
“……”
‘What?’
What did that even mean? He almost died or something? He was just going to…
To…
……
Where was he going?
He remembered a voice calling to him, and it wanted him to come closer. To…
“……”
“…? Okay?”
“…I almost died.”
“Hm.”
“And you saved me…?”
“..….”
“…why?”
“Stupid human. Be careful near water.”
Beware of the water.
One of the rules the elders were always trying to hammer into his head. The thing they always repeated every time anyone left the village walls. Up til this point, it was nothing but nonsense that would slip in one ear and out the other. He thought it was rule since most of the kids and people back back home didn't really know how to swim. Of course people needed to beware of the water if they couldn't save themselves from drowning. Baek Saheon, himself, had had no plans of even getting into the water when he first parted way with his sister. Just to go see if it was beautiful as some of the nice adults said it was or if the few non sacred texts were right about it being as brilliantly bright as it said the ocean was. He knew he was a bad swimmer. Everyone was.
He never had any desire of going into the ocean in any way.
He did want to die after all.
And yet.
'Why did I do that...?'
If there was ever a time that Baek Saheon truly felt like the dumb kid the adults always said he was, it was now. Back against the prickly pebbles and black sand, pinned by a giant sea monster that inadvertently saved him from whatever was actually trying to kill him.
It was all very eye opening.
Maybe he was a stupid human after all.
His silence must have dragged on for a tad too long because a light coo was let out by the creature on him, drawing his attention away from his own downwards thoughts.
Seeing as this thing saved his life for whatever reason, its paper white face didn’t seem as scary as it did before. Those giant black orbs didn’t appear upset or angry with him despite his constant protests and struggling.
Still…
This thing is a monster. One he has no idea the intention of nor the reason of why it even bothered to save him.
“Hey.”
“…?”
“Why did you save me?”
The monster didn’t reply. It just kept playing with his hair and ears. Immersed in its prodding and completely captivated by the individual strands of brown hair on his head. It might as well have never seen a human before with how big its eyes were.
“Hey.”
A small tug at his right ear. A faint irritation was welling up.
“Would you cut that out?”
One of its fingers was twirling some hair like a hoop.
“Hey! I’m talking to you! Mmph—!”
“Noisy human.”
The audacity of this overgrown fish.
“Fah! Well if you answered me, I wouldn’t be such a noisy human!”
“Noisy.”
“You’re insufferable!”
“Small human. Be careful.”
‘What?’
‘Small’? As in it he was tiny so wanted to save him? Did it think he was a baby or something??
“What? I’m not a baby?!”
“…? Small human?”
“No! I’m 13! Not a baby!”
“…?!”
Despite its broken attempts at speaking human tongue, it seemed to understand numbers and was visibly surprised when he screamed out his age with such vehement.
“Not small, but…so small??”
He could practically see the question marks floating around its confused head.
“I’m not small. You’re just huge. How old are you anyway?!”
With how big it was, there’s no doubt it was ol—
It removed its hands from his hair and put up both its hands with fingers wide apart.
All of its fingers.
‘!? It’s—!’
“—10?! You’re younger than me?!”
It probably just became double digits in age and it’s this big already??? Were there others like it? How big were those monsters? Bigger than this?!
“So small…”
“! I already said I’m not small! You’re just too big!”
“Tiny.”
“Why you—!”
The rage was too much and despite the size difference between them, Baek Saheon reached up and started grabbing at the creature’s smaller fins at the sides of its head. The little ones that seemed like its ears.
“…!!?”
Those fin ear things must’ve been more sensitive than he thought because it jerked away from him and retaliated by grabbing onto the hair at the front of his head. Large cold and webbed fingers gentling holding onto the curls and pulling just enough to be uncomfortable.
“Ow—! Let go!”
“Stop it!”
“No! Not before you do!”
In its attempt to get away from him, it sat up, pulling along Baek Saheon who was still holding onto its fins. The two of them were now just sitting on the beach in front of each other, pulling at each other.
It was embarrassing looking to anyone who stumbled upon them.
Wanting this to be over, Baek Saheon tugged just a bit harder, curling his fingers in and—
“!! Hiss!”
“Woah—Oof!”
Suddenly, he was shoved away and a loud hissing sound echoed into the air.
“Hey what’s the big idea?! You—!?”
There.
Coating the tips of his fingers.
A dark yellow liquid that was dripping down from his nails.
It looked almost like…
“Hiss…!”
Looking back at the wincing monster, he could see it clutching at the right side of its head. A pained expression twisting its features. The wide lips were pulled back showing off its long sharp teeth as it hissed in pain and discomfort.
“You…”
“Stupid human…!”
“Huh?!”
“Why did that?”
It looked angry. Extremely angry.
“I—!”
“Stupid! Bad! Not thanking!”
It shouted out a few more childish insults before devolving into incoherent and incomprehensible noises that seemed like words but certainly weren’t any phrases Baek Saheon had ever heard. A mixture of trills and chirping that got more unintelligible the more it went on.
The reason for that?
Its angry face was shifting, features going from sharp and cutting to softer and more sad.
It looked like it was about to cry.
‘…what—what is happening?’
“Schupid…!”
He would’ve argued back at all the names he was no doubt being called but he was stopped in his tracks. By the craziest thing he’d ever seen.
Pearls.
Tons of them.
All of which are surrounding the miserable fish creature. Its tears were falling from its cheeks and chin, falling down and solidified into tiny little pearls that now dotted the black sand. They were so small that some of them were even swept away by the ocean and carried out to sea.
“Hey…”
“Schupid! Stupid human…!”
It was still crying. The continued sight of it was starting to get awkward and uncomfortable at this point.
This particular scene reminded him of whenever one of the crybabies back in the village tripped or something during a game which usually resulted in him getting scolded for playing too roughly with the younger children. He vaguely wondered if one of the adults was gonna come out of nowhere and pull on his ears for making someone cry again.
He didn’t even mean to this time. Not that he ever meant to before. Those other kids were well known for crying over the smallest and most useless things.
Who would’ve thought a giant sea monster was such a crybaby. Baek Saheon certainly didn’t expect that.
“…Hey.”
An angry chirp followed by more incomprehensible warbles.
“Hey.”
“Stupid…!”
Splash!
“Wha—?! Hey!”
That huge tail thumped on the shore and swung itself in his direction, making the cool water droplets fly everywhere.
His clothes that was starting to finish being sun-dried and was become so wrinkled that his sister would no doubt have his head later, were now once again clinging uncomfortably to his skin along with the locks of hair on his forehead drenched over his eyes.
“……”
Just when he was starting to dry up too.
This dumb crybaby fish…!
“Stop crying already! You’re the noisy one now!”
“No!”
“Yes you are!”
“No! Stupid!”
“Yes!”
“No…!”
A few more tears turned pearls slipped down those white cheeks onto the beach. The once pale skin around its eyes was puffy and swollen, pink, almost delicate looking. If it wasn’t so huge, it’d look rather pitiful. Baek Saheon would even feel bad for it if it wasn’t for the fact that it kidnapped him. And it wouldn’t even take him back to the original beach it snatched him from.
Hard to feel sympathetic towards his own captor.
“Why did you take me away anyway, huh? This is your fault, y'know."
It really was.
If it just saved him back then and returned him to that beach without dragging him into the water, none of this would be happening right now. He’d have run back to his sister and this thing wouldn’t be crying its eyes out, making a mess of everything.
“...danger in sea… Beach unsafe for small human.”
“Mm not small, and what do you mean? How is the beach anymore unsafe compared to the water?”
It looked like it didn’t want to answer him for a moment. Looking down at the sand and slowly gathering up the pearls like he wasn’t even here anymore.
“……hm.”
This fishy brat…!
“Hey, you little—!”
“Beach now infected. Need to wait to go again.”
“—huh? Like there’s something wrong with the whole beach now? How long do I have to wait?”
The beach was infected? By what? The thing that was trying to kill him? None of this was making any sense at all.
The monster paused in its gathering—a rather impressive pile was forming—and looked up at him with a blank expression.
Those black balls of darkness were boring holes into his very soul.
Piercing and seemingly endless in their depth.
It reminded him of when he was pulled under the water. Two bottomless pits with no walls, no ceiling, no floors to latch onto. Just void.
It was a stark reminder that despite how childish this creature may seem, it wasn’t human. It took him away and who knows if it’ll even let him leave. One couldn’t help but wonder if creatures like this fish monster was what the elders kept trying to warn everyone about. That people who didn’t listen had gone missing, never to be seen again.
The dread in his stomach deepened and he could feel his own heartbeat going even faster, the more it stared at him.
“……”
“……”
“…call of the sea.”
“…?”
“Don’t listen to it.”
“What does tha—?”
“Human not for sea. Human not for darkness. Don’t listen to it.”
There was a sense of finality in its words. Clumsily put together as they were, Baek Saheon felt as though he shouldn’t keep asking regardless of how confusing those warnings were.
It was strange.
He’d never felt this way when the adults or elders were drilling those rules into his head and yet…
“…okay, whatever.”
“Hm. Good.”
And then that dumb fish had the nerve to reach its hand to the crown of his head.
He didn’t know what it was doing until a brief pressure was felt and suddenly a soft trill was heard.
“…!!”
‘Did it just—!’
“Good small human.”
The nerve—!
“Don’t do that! You’re younger than me!”
“…?”
It did that weird gesture of tilting its head again as if it didn’t understand. Which it probably didn’t now Baek Saheon thought about it.
It’s a giant fish baby.
“You should treat me with more respect. It’s rude to pat someone older than you on the head.”
“…??”
Again with the confused warbles.
“Only I can do that to you. Like this.”
And then, in a moment of thoughtlessness, he reached his hand out towards the thing’s face again and settled it against the smooth strands on its head. The juvenile monster being confused at first before just accepting the pat like it was used to it, settling in and nudging itself closer to him to get him to press harder.
A faint rumbling soon filled the air around them.
Peaceful in all its tranquility.
It was nice…?
‘What am I doing? What is happening to me?’
Since coming to that damn beach, it felt like everything was going wrong. But for some reason, things didn’t feel as bad as they were. He didn’t want to scream or explode in frustration as he usually would. Since meeting this monster, he hasn’t been acting as himself.
For almighty’s sake, he was petting the monster that kidnapped him!
It may be younger than him but it could still very much kill him or worse. He couldn’t forget how it overpowered him with just its sheer body weight. That humongous tail it had is enough to just launch him unconscious or break all of his bones. Not to mention those razor sharp teeth that could and would absolutely tear him to pieces if it decided it was suddenly hungry for human flesh.
He should be running for the hills even if he had no idea where he was.
So it was really weird to realize he didn’t really feel that urge for some reason. Baek Saheon felt calm for the most part. Well, not calm, but he wasn't scared right now. The feeling wasn’t too dissimilar to when those soft blue-green waves were calling for him earlier.
Was that it?
Did he get himself enraptured by that same darkness this monster warned him about?
Was this thing a different kind of darkness? One with a more human-like shape that just grabbed whatever idiot that stupid enough to get close to the water. Has Baek Saheon doomed himself the moment he decided to get close to the sea? If so, he should run. Snap out of whatever spell this creature has him under and either try to get it to take him back or just run more in land to see if there was any other way to save himself. He shouldn’t be sitting here on the sand and petting it like some kind of animal that wandered into the village. He doesn’t even pet the animals that did come close to the village. So why is he doing this for this weird overgrown fish?
Crunch.
“…!!”
“Huh—?!”
For something so big, the fish monster bolted upright so quickly and so immediately as soon as it heard a sound of something moving. Its eyes which had been closed in contentment earlier now wide open to watch the woods behind him. Seeing it so alert, whatever calmness he'd felt a few seconds ago vanished into thin air. The fear of the unknown was setting into his veins like a hot fire spreading throughout his body.
‘Another monster? What if it tries to kill us? What if this punk uses me as a distraction and leaves me behind? Is this gonna—??’
“Saheon-ie?”
A soft voice spoke up from somewhere in the distance. A familiar one.
Noona.
A voice he’d long missed despite only being apart for a few hours at most. The one person he wanted to see the most.
“…Noona?”
His own voice was shaky, clear to most who didn’t know him but to someone like his sister, he might as well have been sobbing when he called out.
The crunching and cracks just became louder and more frequent as the one responsible started approaching them. Steady but no less determined in its intent to reach him.
“Noo—huh!?”
His hand was empty all of a sudden.
Splash!
“Saheon-ie?!”
It sounded like his sister was coming even faster now after hearing the abrupt splash.
But his attention wasn’t on Noona soon finding him.
No, it was on the vastness of the beach before him now. Not a single soul in sight.
‘Where did it—?’
“Saheon-ie! Where have you been?!”
“Noona…”
His sister burst through the bushes and trees with fury and frantically looked around before her eyes caught him. She rushed over—bags much more filled with herbs and even a few fruits—cupping his cheeks with her delicate hands to examine for any injuries.
“Are you okay? You’re all wet! Don’t you remember what the elders said? You’re not supposed to go near the water!”
She seemed so worried despite her angry tone. Looking as if she was on the verge of tears but trying to remain strong to ensure her baby brother was okay. She was always more on the emotional side between the two of them. It’s what made her a good sister.
He was so happy to see his sister.
His Noona.
“…?! Saheon-ie?”
“……”
He could feel his sister’s warm hands on his head and his head from where he buried his face into her stomach. Too overwhelmed with relief to properly respond to her questions about how he ended up on a beach opposite to the one he’d initially said he’d be at.
His Noona was here. That meant it was all going to be okay now. Because his sister made everything better.
“Saheon-ie?”
“…Noona.”
“What’s wrong? Does it hurt anywhere?”
“No…I’m okay. I’m happy you’re here.”
He really was.
“Okay? Do you want to head back now? I’m done with collecting ingredients.”
“Yeah…”
The excitement of the day coupled with confusion of it all finally seeped out of him leaving nothing but the desire to take a bath and go to sleep in his bed. He’d need some time before he could properly process everything that happened.
Standing up, Baek Saheon made to turn away from the ever moving blue-green waves of the ocean when something caught his eyes.
Something shiny.
“…!”
A pearl.
White and round. Innocent.
He picked it up…
And shoved it into his pocket before his sister could turn around, a concerned wrinkle between her brows.
“I’m fine, Noona. Let’s go.”
“Alright then. And you are in severe need of a bath. You smell worse than auntie’s fish soup.”
“Noona…”
As the sun set from behind them, Baek Saheon couldn’t help but think about that creature that saved and took him away. Wondering what it was, why it helped him, where it went, and—
‘When will I see you again…?’
What?
Why—why did he want to see that thing again? It…
“Saheon-ie, you better be listening to me. You shouldn’t have run off like that, y'know.”
Whatever. He had bigger problems to worry about than some overgrown fish punk that he’ll probably never see again.
Yeah, no. He’s never gonna see that thing again. Nope. Never in a million years.
Absolutely not!