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Jimin sat on the dock basking in the late afternoon sun, his notebook in his lap and a pencil in his hand. He liked to come out here for inspiration, the salty ocean air and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach often helped him with his writing. He found it both refreshing and calming. It was a nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle of university life.
As he wrote, Jimin picked up the sound of splashing nearby. It didn't sound like the normal water hitting rock his ears had grow accustomed to over the past half an hour, but more like some kind of fish swimming close to the dock. Brow furrowed, Jimin looked up, eyes scanning the area. He didn't see anything, so he simply shrugged it off and went back to the paper he was writing.
It wasn't even two minutes later that he heard the sound again, and he let out a sigh, setting his pencil down. Jimin looked up again, this time staring at the water as he listened for it. He heard a small splash to his right, and he immediately looked over. His eyes widened when he was met with the sight of a black-haired boy looking straight back at him with big brown doe eyes, the water coming up to his nose as he watched the boy on the dock curiously.
"H-hi," Jimin said, surprised. He hadn't expected to find anyone swimming here, since it was early March and the waters were still rather cold. Besides, he hadn't seen the boy earlier. How could he have slipped past Jimin? The brown-haired college student leaned closer, which he immediately regretted, because the boy spooked and vanished beneath the surface of the water. Jimin saw a flick of a tail, golden yellow and turquiose blue scales glistening in the sunlight as the creature swam away.
Jimin sat in stunned silence as he tried to comprehend what he just saw. He stared at the ocean water, his notebook forgotten. Of course he'd heard of mermaids, but he knew they weren't real. They were mythical creatures, made-up fantasies used to entertain children. But if that thing wasn't a mermaid, Jimin had no clue what it was. That was the only explanation he could think of, unless it was some kid playing a prank on him.
There was movement in the water in front of him, and he tossed his notebook and pencil to the side in favor of crawling forward on the dock, peering over the edge into the water below. A head slowly emerged, the same eyes looking up at him tentatively. Jimin stared back at them as he racked his brain for answers, ones that were real and tangible and could explain what the hell was going on. He watched as the creature's tail whisked back and forth behind him in the water.
"H-hello," Jimin tried again after clearing his throat. This time he didn't dare move. He didn't want to scare this person away again. The boy slowly swam closer, half of his face still hidden beneath the water, until he was right up next to the dock. Jimin moved back a few inches to give him space as the creature reached his arms up to grab hold of the splintery wood of the dock, lifting himself up out of the water just enough for him to rest his arms on the dock and look at Jimin properly. His entire head was above the water now, as was the upper half of his torso. Jimin ogled the porcelain skin that was revealed, his eyes traveling the expanse of the creature's body, from his dark hair down to the tip of his golden tail.
The boy didn't say anything, he only stared at Jimin, now eye-level with him. Jimin took the boy's getting closer as a sign he was a bit more comfortable with his presence, so he reached forward slowly to touch the creature. The dark-haired boy flinched, pulling away slightly, letting out a wail as he caught his arm on a piece of wood sticking out on the dock, the splinter sticking in the otherwise unblemished, smooth skin of his forearm. Jimin reached out toward him again, this time to grab his arm in order to inspect it, but the creature moved away again, now very frightened.
"Please, don't be scared. You're hurt. I want to help," Jimin told him, nodding reassuringly as he held his hand out to him. There was a moment of silence as the boy looked at him skeptically, glancing at Jimin's hand before moving close enough for Jimin to wrap his fingers around his wrist and hold his arm up gently. He examined the splinter, looking at the pained expression on the boy's face.
"This is going to hurt just a little bit," he warned before taking the thin piece of wood between his thumb and forefinger and yanking it out quickly. The black-haired boy made a small sound, squeezing his eyes shut at the sudden, sharp pain. He slowly opened his eyes to look at his arm when it subsided. Jimin let go of his wrist and smiled.
"There you go." Jimin watched the boy as his fingers trailed over the area of flesh that was tinted red from the foreign object previously embedded in it. His perfect fingertips danced over pale, milky white skin and Jimin couldn't help but think how beautiful he was.
"Do you... speak Korean?" Jimin asked him curiously, eyes shifting all around the boy's face as he tried to take everything in. Every curve of bone and stretch of skin.
When the boy didn't respond, Jimin pouted and tried again. "But you can understand me, right? What's your name?"
They sat there in silence for a moment, looking at each other, before the boy's mouth opened slightly as if he were going to say something. "Jungkook..." he answered softly, his voice like melted chocolate being poured down Jimin's spine.
"Jungkook," Jimin repeated, smiling. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Jimin."
The dark-haired boy stared expectantly up at Jimin through his eyelashes, swaying gently in the water as the waves pushed him. Jimin met his gaze with one of confusion, his brow furrowed as he searched the boy's face. Jungkook looked at the dock for a moment before carefully settling his arms back where they previously were on the wood, making sure to avoid any pokey parts.
"So... what are you?" Jimin asked with a little laugh, shrugging his shoulders. He wanted to know if this kid was really some weird fish-person thing, or if he was just playing a trick on Jimin. Though, he seemed a bit too innocent and childlike for that. He was actually rather cute.
Jungkook's eyebrows curved up, a frown on his lips. He tilted his head at the question, moving away from the dock so that he only held on with his fingers. He glanced down at himself as he swished his tail back and forth underwater. Jimin leaned over the edge of the dock so that he could watch the movement as well, transfixed. Jungkook lifted his gaze to Jimin's face, watching him as the brunet watched his tail.
"Do you want to touch it?" The boy's quiet voice broke Jimin from his spell, eyes wide as he looked at the mermaid. He found himself nodding, his hand reaching out toward Jungkook. The creature lifted his tail until a good portion of it stuck out of the water, maneuvering closer to Jimin. The college student took a deep breath and lightly touched the shimmering scales, tracing the ovular shapes with a finger, the tip sneaking underneath one of the thin, fragile scales. Much to his amazement and dismay, it felt real. Jimin could not fathom anyone being able to create something like this- Jungkook was a mermaid. Merman?
At first he simply fingered the translucent lamellae, examining them with awe as the sunlight peeked through and caused the golden scales to glitter and gleam. But then Jimin grew bolder in his amazement, his hand stroking Jungkook's tail fondly, fingertips traveling further and further toward the base, where gold transitioned smoothly into a beautiful turquoise, the colors bouncing off the water and filling Jimin's vision. He only stopped when he heard a soft gasp, his head immediately snapping up to look at Jungkook.
There was a faint blush coloring the boy's cheeks as he avoided Jimin's gaze, instead watching the ripples in the water. Jimin narrowed his eyes as he searched Jungkook's face, slowly withdrawing his hand. Jungkook looked up at him when he felt him pull away, and damn if his face wasn't the most adorable and the most sinful thing he'd ever seen.
"I-I'm sorry..." Jungkook said lightly, looking like a small child about to be scolded. "It's sensitive."
A look of confusion passed over Jimin's face before his eyes widened in realization and he nodded his head in understanding. He sat back, not sure what to say. He shifted his attention to his notebook, which he picked up and played with the paper awkwardly, thumbing the corner of the page it was opened to.
"What is that?" The dark-haired boy asked, eyes trained on the notebook as he moved closer to the dock to peek at it.
"Oh, this? My literature notes, but I like to write my own stuff in it, too."
"Can I see?"
"Uh..." Jimin ran his hand over the page self-consciously, glancing down at the words with a crease in his brow. He gnawed on his bottom lip before letting out a sigh and looking up at the other boy. "I guess," he said.
Before he could even worry about how to present his work to the creature, how to keep the water from Jungkook's wet fingers from dripping onto the pages and ruining them, Jungkook was lifting himself up onto the dock. Jimin opened his mouth to tell him it was okay, that Jimin could hold the notebook for him and that he didn't need to put himself through that, but he was stopped before anything came out by the sight of Jungkook... standing.
What was once a long, gorgeous golden and greenish-blue tail was now a pair of long, gorgeous slender legs. Eyes trailed up the smooth, pale skin of Jungkook's hairless legs glistening with water droplets, until his gaze landed on the area just between his beautiful thighs. Jimin's face heated up until he thought he could see steam rising from his own cheeks. He took everything in as Jungkook just stood there, in all his naked glory.
He must've been staring (how could he not?), because he saw Jungkook squirm after awhile, shifting his legs as he tried to turn away from Jimin's gaze. The college student cleared his throat and turned his head, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and he looked over to see Jungkook making a move to sit beside him and he quickly held out his hands, palms toward the other boy and waving violently.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Jimin quickly said, causing Jungkook to look at him in surprise, stumbling a little as he instead stood upright with a confused look.
"H-here, um." The brunet shucked his denim jacket off, setting it down on the dock and smoothing it out. "There, now you can sit."
Jungkook looked down at the jacket, blinking once or twice as he considered it before plopping down beside Jimin with a grace Jimin didn't quite understand. Once he was comfortable, he reached for the notebook and Jimin winced when he grabbed it with dripping fingers, though he couldn't bring himself to scold the boy for it. He watched as Jungkook held the notebook gently, like he was afraid he would damage the object by being too rough. Jimin smiled appreciatively at the dark, wet mop of hair as Jungkook looked down at the paper, his hands holding the notebook in such a way that his fingertips didn't touch the page it was open to. There was a drop of water every so often from Jungkook's hair, but Jimin didn't say anything, instead gnawing at his bottom lip as he awaited the boy's reaction. He'd never shown anyone his work before, let alone a mysterious boy he found swimming in the ocean. Who had a tail, by the way.
They sat in silence for maybe a minute before Jungkook looked up at Jimin, with the most serious face he's ever seen, and said, "I can't read."
Jimin tried not to laugh. He really did. But it was in vain, because the next second, he was clutching his stomach and threatening to fall back on the deck, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. It didn't help when a pout formed on Jungkook's face, being just the cutest thing ever.
Once he calmed down, he offered Jungkook a smile and took the notebook from his hands, holding it in his lap. Taking a deep breath, he began to read his story to Jungkook, who listened to every word with his undivided attention. Jimin could feel the boy's eyes on the side of his face, but he didn't look up. His cheeks were a soft pink color, embarrassed to be sharing his fiction, even more so knowing he was being watched so intently.
When he was done, Jimin hesitantly shut his notebook and stole a glance at Jungkook, who had the most beautiful smile on his face. He didn't say anything- didn't need to- and they fell into a comfortable silence. Well, as comfortable as it can be when you have a breathtakingly stunning, naked boy sitting next to you.
It was only when Jimin was really starting to feel awkward next to the other boy that he looked up and realized that the sun was near setting.
"Oh, shit!" Jimin swore, quickly standing up. Jungkook looked up at the man, startled, as the brunet gathered his notebook and pencil.
"What's wrong?" Jungkook asked with a slight frown, standing as well. Jimin avoided looking at him for fear of being distracted by his body again as he leaned down to grab the jacket Jungkook had been sitting on. He folded it haphazardly and slung it over his forearm, clutching his notebook to his chest.
"I'm late for dinner. My mom is going to kill me. I'm sorry, Jungkook," Jimin said as he began walked toward the beach. He heard the sound of footsteps behind him and realized Jungkook was following him. Sighing, he stopped and turned to him. "Jungkook, I have t-"
"I want to come with."
Jimin blinked, looking at the determined face of Jungkook, and felt his own contort with confusion and surprise.
"I like you, Jimin. I want to come with," Jungkook repeated, taking a step closer.
"Shit, Jungkook, I-" but he stopped himself as he watched a pout form on the boy's lips and what looked like tears forming in his eyes. They very well could've been droplets of water from the ocean, since he never did properly dry off, but Jimin still found himself sighing and giving in to the kid. Which, he now realized as they stood face-to-face, was taller than him.
Jimin ducked his head, scratching the back of his neck. "Alright, fine." Truthfully, Jimin kinda liked Jungkook, too. He was beautiful and interesting and different, and someone Jimin wanted to get know a whole lot more.
"Take this," Jimin instructed, looking around as people walked along the street and praying they wouldn't look their way. He handed Jungkook the jacket, and when he saw the boy looking at it with complete uncertainty, he felt a smile tug at his lips as he set his notebook and pencil in between his legs to hold them while he put the jacket on Jungkook himself. It was a size or two too big for Jimin, which he had ordered on purpose for the sake of comfort, and he had to admit it fit Jungkook's frame rather well, and served to cover his naked body for the most part.
Jungkook took hold of the fabric, wrapping it tighter around himself and swaying gently, a look of pure happiness on his face. Jimin felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest at the sight.
"Come on," Jimin smiled, grabbing Jungkook's hand and slotting their fingers together. He led him back to his house, where he quickly brought him upstairs to grab him an actual outfit before entering the family room and introducing him to everyone.