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A man stops in the middle of the road with his friend. “There’s a legend here in this sleepy town,” he said as he pointed at a lighthouse far from where they stood as his friend looked at it. “They say that the lighthouse keepers who work in that lighthouse encountered two mermaids who were watching them and saved them from danger. While being taken care of, the keepers and the mermaids fell in love and got married. However, in order to continue their love and maintain peace—since the merpeople and humans have been at war since the dawn of time—the other merpeople asked the lighthouse keepers to give them anyone who dares to enter the place where the lighthouse rests, so there won’t be any problems with their kind,” the man says, finishing the story.
He then looks at his friend, and a few seconds later, the two start laughing. “What a dumb legend,” he says after the laughter subsides. “The people in this town created the story to scare anyone who tries, because people have been trying to find buried gold treasure here,” he adds. “And Jungkook, you and I are here in this place to find it,” the man then tells his friends. “Tae, are you really sure you want to do this?” Jungkook asks him with worry. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it; we’ll just head in and out to find the treasure,” Taehyung reassures him as he pulls out a map. “Plus, the place is walkable, so we can easily explore. Let’s just try to be sneaky so the lighthouse keepers won’t spot us,” he adds as they start walking and go near a fenced area.
Before they went in, Taehyung spoke while looking around to see people. “Plus, as I said, the legend isn’t real. I heard that the two lighthouse keepers live there with their families, and they’ve seen their wives and kids, so it’s nothing to worry about,” he said before climbing up the fence with Jungkook and starting to walk far away from the lighthouse to avoid being seen by the keepers. They found themselves near a cliff by the sea. “And in that cave is where the supposed treasure is buried,” Taehyung said as he pointed it out to Jungkook, who nodded at what he said. “But first, let’s have a swim,” he then said as he took off his shirt and put down the stuff needed for gold hunting. Jungkook followed him, and they jumped into the water.
They swam for a bit, playing in the water, but Jungkook couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. He shrugged it off, and after that, they walked back to the cliff from where they jumped off. To their surprise, someone touched their bags. “Did they find us?” Jungkook asked Taehyung, who shook his head. “Nah, it’s probably some wild animals looking through them because they were curious,” he said, trying to reassure Jungkook, who believed his story. They started walking until Taehyung realized something. “The map is gone!” He shouted in a shocked tone, which made Jungkook worry, but Taehyung spoke again, “Don’t worry, dude; I remember the directions,” he said, trying to reassure him, but he was nervous as well and started walking down the path.
But while they walked and got lost along the way, they couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Jungkook wanted to go home, but Taehyung was insistent, as he believed they were near the site. Until they saw what looked like red eyes staring back at them—eyes that looked inhuman, seeing that freaked them out and ran when it chasing them. As they ran for their lives, they ended up getting separated. It took a long while before Taehyung realized what had happened, and he started calling out for Jungkook, only to find himself in a sandy area that met the sea in the restricted part of the land. He saw the lighthouse, and right when he turned around, he ended up meeting one of the lighthouse keepers, whom he recognized as Lisa Manoban. Before he could do anything, she knocked him out.
He woke up an hour later and saw that his hands and feet were tied up. Lisa was bringing him somewhere. “Hey, I’m sorry for trespassing, but can you please let me go and find my friend?” he pleaded, but Lisa wasn’t Lisa and continued dragging him. “Please, I can pay you any amount you want; just help me find my friend,” he continued pleading, but Lisa didn’t answer. Then he realized where she was taking him: the cave that he had planned to go to with Jungkook in search of treasure. It took a while, but Taehyung noted that they were in the middle of the cave and recognized the second lighthouse keeper, Park Chaeyoung. To his relief, Jungkook was also there, but he noticed that Jungkook was tied up as well.
Their reunion was short-lived when Taehyung stared at the two lighthouse keepers. “Why are you doing this? Just let us go,” was his question, but the two were eerily silent. Then, two people whom Taehyung recognized as the wives of the lighthouse keepers, accompanied by the children, arrived. “Well, that was quite an exercise,” Jisoo said, with Jennie agreeing. “Did we do good, Maé?” The oldest child asked Lisa, who smiled. “Yes, you did good, kids,” Lisa complimented, and Rosé did the same for her child with Jisoo. “Is this your twisted sense of punishment for sneaking in?” Taehyung then said. “Please let us go; we’re sorry,” Jungkook pleaded, but the lighthouse keepers ignored them. Then Lisa spoke again. “This was always the intention,” Lisa said, but before they could say anything, Rosé then spoke. “My friends, we have two gifts for you,” she said in a loud voice, which caused echoes in the cave.
Hearing that confused the two, as they didn’t know what was even going on until they started hearing noises on the other side of the cave. There, Taehyung and Jungkook saw that there was water at the end of the cave and noticed something coming out of the water. To their shock and horror, it was something inhuman that started walking towards them, and they saw gills on the sides. “Thank you for giving us two gifts, lighthouse keepers,” the creature told them. “The merpeople,” was the only thing Jungkook could say as they realized the legend was true and started panicking. “Please don’t do this; you can choose anyone else,” the two pleaded to Lisa and Rosé, who watched them get dragged away with a cold expression on their faces.
They tried to escape even while being tied up, but to no avail, as they started getting dragged by the merpeople. “We all apologize for what’s about to happen, but you were already a target when you trespassed in this place and swam in the water.” Jennie apologized, but her tone wasn’t apologetic as she and Jisoo started walking towards where their companions were going. “Don’t wait for us, guys; go home, and we’ll be back,” Jisoo told the others. However, Jennie stopped the children from joining them. “Sorry, kids, but you know the rules: only when you’re older can you join us,” she said, and the kids sadly nodded and joined Lisa and Rosé out of the cave, where they saw Lisa holding her phone. “What are you doing, Aunt Lisa?” Rosé and Jisoo’s children asked curiously. “Calling our superiors about what happened today so we can plan our next steps,” she said as Rosé stared at the cave. “The things we do for love,” she muttered, and Lisa agreed with her as they went back to their house.
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After what happened, the families of the two men reported them missing as they never went home, and after a few days of searching, they found their mauled bodies lying on the shore, far from where the lighthouse rests. They were spotted by the keepers, and their deaths were then blamed on the shark attacks that had been reported in the area. The bags were found near a cliff, and the authorities suggested that while they were swimming, the waves must have pulled them away from where they were, and they probably died before the shark attacked them. That was the end of the investigation.
During this time, as that was happening, the reporters spoke to the lighthouse keepers for a short interview. “Why do you think they trespassed?” This was the first question. “Probably for a swim and to search for gold that’s said to be hidden in that cave. Because of those rumors, we ended up getting lots of rookie treasure hunters trying to find it,” was Lisa’s reply. “And what do you say about those people?” Was the next question from the reporter. “They should not try to find it, because there are dangers in this place other than the water,” Lisa said. It was a warning, but it was more of an invitation to find it, knowing how people’s interest in gold will lead them to ignore the warnings for their own gain.