#255: Dark Waters - Part One: Tranquility
Prompt: #255
Title: Dark Waters - Part One: Tranquility
Pairing: Chen/Chanyeol
Rating: PG-13 (Will ultimately be NC-17 in later parts)
Word count: 5370
Summary: As a child, Park Chanyeol was too afraid to learn how to swim. Shy. Uncomfortable. But perhaps he’s actually a fish out of water? Or becomes one, when he meets one - literally. Kim Jongdae is a merman (or is he a siren?), and their meeting sets the tides in motion, dragging Chanyeol under the surface, body and soul.
The sea has no morals. There is no right or wrong whispered on the stillest of ripples, let alone on the tremors of waves dragging everything in their paths into the depths. In the over pressured darkness of a sea trench you’re already long gone. The silence is all consuming. The sea’s power is far too strong.
But the sea, though powerful, hosts an inexplicable passion - both in its own volatility and in its grasp on the hearts of sailors bred on the salty air, of lovers of plunder and exploration, of revolutionaries… of the innocent.
The sea is alive - and that is terrifying. Terrifying, yet people keep going back. Returning to the coasts, strolling along the shore hand in hand like the waterlogged air they breathe holds the keys of happiness. They settle down in houses on stilts in the sand and cool nights are spent on huddled for warmth upon jumbled piles of rocks around fragile fires. They climb into vessels built to float - and the sea isn’t always forgiving for those who desire to slip across its surface. It’s eternally protesting those who defy it. Fight the wind and the currents or grow personally acquainted with the depths.
Grow connected to the sea, and any moment apart feels wrong. The water draws its lovers back in at a pace so unique, unpredictable in more ways than there are stars reflected and shuddering in its superficial film on the clearest of nights.
The sea is alive, and so is the deep. Long have there been tales of its dangers. The Kraken. The Leviathan. The Behemoth. The Siren… The Mermaid. Oh?
Of course they aren’t real.
But what if they are?
And what if you belong with them?
---
Sand sprays up in his eyes - his expression wrinkling in protest. The glasses precariously resting on his nose aren’t large enough to act as a shield, which is surprising since they’re huge. Bug eyed on the beach, what little of Chanyeol’s skin is left exposed is caked with sunscreen. This consists of his forearms (with an extra layer applied around his sleeves’ edges just in case - he’s not going through the horrors of being picked on for a farmer’s tan ever again), his legs from the knee down (now covered in an additional layer of sand thanks to just sitting still), his face and neck, and most prominently his ears, so covered they’re pure white and near reflective. The other kids called him an alien with antennae when the group raced towards the seaside an hour earlier. He’s lucky he hit his first growth spurt already, able to proudly tower over his fellow twelve year olds on their middle school field trip, if nothing else.
His father’s words rang in his ears - ”Don’t forget your sunscreen. UV lights will hurt you, and I don’t want my son burning. If the other kids say anything, just remember they’ll probably get skin cancer when they’re teenagers and you’ll get all their girlfriends with your handsome skin.” His father had laughed after this, but Chanyeol felt like he missed the joke. Honestly, he felt more like the joke amongst his peers’ ridiculing laughter.
At least they promised he’d get to join their game.
He sat in front of a volleyball court marked crudely in the sand, while what was probably more than the standard number of volleyball players per team bounced about trying to hit the ball and avoid slipping on the ground. It had rained the night before, so the beach was littered with seaweed, oversized clumps of muddy sand and shell fragments. One student had ventured too near to the water and suffered a shock when a dying jellyfish got one final sting focused on their bare foot. After that, the group’s supervisors insisted everyone stay further inland until the beach was cleaned.
Not that Chanyeol minded whatsoever. He had never learned how to swim, and wasn’t about to let the others know. His parents told him time and time again to ignore the teasing, but it wasn’t that easy.
He was too tall. He was too pudgy (extra huggable, as his mother liked to say with an encouraging smile). His ears stuck out too far. His glasses were too big, too round, too thick. The others wouldn’t even listen to him when he insisted the smell on his hands some mornings was because of his pet ferret and not because of… anything else they accused him of doing.
For now, he’d stick to not swimming. And hey, he’d get to play volleyba-
Oh.
There went the ball…
Everyone froze in place as a particularly well angled bump sent the ball soaring well over the net, past the other team, and towards a rocky bank further down the shore.
“I’ll get it!” One kid called out.
“No!” Shouted another, mischievous glint in his eyes as he turned towards Chanyeol. “Go get it for us.” He was at least a foot shorter than Chanyeol,, and his Napoleon complex was ever so vivid, pride written over every inch of his weaselly face.
The others started to catch on. “Yes, Chanpanzee! Go get it!” Chanpanzee. That was their teasing name for him and his ears. He winced instinctively when it chorused from at least eight mouths at once. It was painful in a way only the disharmony of eight boys in the middle of puberty could master, but nevertheless he stood up, trying to shake the sand off of his clothes.
“Do I get to play then?” He asked, his own voice a soft lilt, trying to keep it even. Recently it had started dipping even lower than his father’s at the most sporadic of syllables and he didn’t want his classmates hearing that, or even worse when it turned on itself and suddenly the deeper was the norm interrupted by squeaks. (Too deep a voice…yet another thing to add to his repertoire of how well he didn’t fit in.)
Looks were exchanged between the unofficial leaders of the boys on the court and soon he was nodded to. “Yeah, yeah. Next game!”
“But bring us the ball first!”
“Next game, we promise~ Chanpanzee~”
Chanyeol raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You’ve been playing this one for an hour almost… It’s been ages.”
“Yeah! It’s almost over! Definitely!” One insisted and others were quick to join in, sending Chanyeol off on his ball hunt then laughing amongst themselves.
(”Kids can be so cruel.” His mother had told his father once in the kitchen, when Chanyeol snuck downstairs for some water one night the other week. ”Do you think he’ll be alright?”
”It’ll build character.” Was all his father added over his newspaper.)
Chanyeol had a feeling now was one of those cruel times, but he didn’t see a way out of it. Get the ball and keep hoping. He just wanted to have fun too. They had to realize that at some point, right?
Probably not… but he liked to keep positive.
The rocks grew closer and larger with every step. Chanyeol shook a bit of seaweed off of his shoe and kept walking, while behind him some teacher started to shout at him to come back. The other guys were quick to defend him for once - they did want their ball back after all. Right in front of him was a short cliff and he couldn’t see the volleyball anywhere, resting his hands on the first stone to pull himself up. It was rough and smooth all at once, like it had been filled with bubbles once upon a time, and luckily didn’t scrape into his skin. His fingers curl onto that rock and he starts effectively crawling his way through the craggy patch, keeping his eyes peeled for the ball.
Instead he spots something red.
A flash of red that’s in and out of his vision with a splash and he stiffens. He’s hugging the nearest rock that is practically a cliffside.
There’s a pool about a meter away, the surface interrupted by ripples spreading across it. Something’s writhing below the surface… upset? Was it there because of the storm? A big fish? Did it get washed up here?
Chanyeol hugged tighter at the rock while inching towards the pool. It looked pretty deep…
Wait! The ball… In a hurry he scanned the area. It was on the side of the pool he was, but further out, nearer to the sea. As much as that made him cringe, going near the open water, he had to get it over with. Then he could inspect the trapped fish. He walked with hands outstretched towards the ball, nearly slipping twice. Once he had the ball in his hands he made his way to the edge of the rocks again, and kicked it with all of his might towards the sand court. It didn’t get very far, but he did his part and this was a little more interesting. This was science?
As scary as the sea was, a little pool of water was like a bathtub, right? It wasn’t dangerous if he didn’t get in it. He could handle it. He kept telling himself things like that as he inched across the slippery ground back to his hug rock and peeked into the water. The water peeked back at him, then blew a stream right in his face.
His hands flew to his face as his body slipped and fell, utterly startled. Did that fish… Did that fish just attack him!? His butt hurt, landing on the rocks. His face was wet. His hair too. That all didn’t really matter too much. But his arms kept trembling as he wiped water off of his face and he peeked through his fingers, barely able to squeak out a scream.
There was a boy there, naked... kind of? Chanyeol pulled his glasses off to clean them on his shirt while the strange boy quietly stared at him, half submerged in the pool. When the world wasn’t blurry again all he could do was back up a few feet, back against the former hug rock while they stared at each other.
This wasn’t an ordinary boy.
His nails were long and pointed at the ends, more like claws than the neatly trimmed (and slightly nibbled on) nails on his own fingers. His eyes were dark red, almost brown, but the sun on them made them red and Chanyeol’s shoulders stiffened in fear. He couldn’t have been more than Chanyeol’s age, though his features were already quite defined. Strong cheekbones and piercing square jaw… He looked almost unreal. Like something out of an art museum’s sculpture hall - like he had been chiseled into this position from the rocks instead of very alive in front of him. There weren’t any clothes on his torso and from what Chanyeol had glimpsed before, there wasn’t a need for any on the rest of him. It wasn’t like pants would fit very well on a tail.
Chanyeol wasn’t sure when exactly he stopped breathing, but he began again and the figure before him seemed to relax at that too, eyes trailing over Chanyeol’s features in much the same way.
“…Hello?”
His eyes widened at that, and Chanyeol would’ve backed up except he couldn’t. He hit his head on the rock behind him and winced in pain.
The tailed boy in the water looked thoughtful after the initially surprised expression, and within a few seconds his lips were pursed, tongue licking over them to keep them moist. “Hello… are you a… legs? Land…dweller?”
Chanyeol’s hands covered his lips as he nodded in response. It knew Korean… or he… had figured out Korean? He looked Korean… Either way, a question had been asked. He had better answer it.
“Umm, human. I’m a human. I have legs.” He shifted his position to stretch his legs out in front of him so the other boy could see, but almost immediately recoiled, pulling them back and tucking his knees under his chin as the other reached for one of his ankles. “Don’t touch! …Please.”
He looked offended, sliding further down into the water once more until it covered past his nose. His gaze made Chanyeol feel incredibly shy, and as though he really had done something wrong just now. “I’m sorry…” He apologized on instinct. The other blew some bubbles in the water, giving Chanyeol a look he at least hoped meant he was forgiven.
“What is your name?” The stranger asked him, though Chanyeol wasn’t quite sure how. His mouth was still below the surface.
“Park Chanyeol. What’s yours?”
He cocked his head to the side, looking towards the sun so his pupils shrank and slowly he lifted himself up again, until he was seated on the side of the pool, tail swaying in the water. “I am Jongdae. It is nice to meet you, Park Chanyeol… you are my first land… human.”
His first?
“You’re not going to eat me, are you?” The thoughts slipped from Chanyeol’s lips before he could contain them, and he hugged his knees tight. Across from him, Jongdae shook his head, a musical laugh lilting into the air.
“I eat fish!” His lips curled back, revealing his teeth, a brilliant smile that made Chanyeol eager to trust him. “Not land humans.”
Once again they stared silently at each other, studying each other’s appearances. Slowly, Chanyeol stretched his legs out and allowed Jongdae to reach across the pool. His wet fingers very slowly poked at his toes and Chanyeol curled them, causing Jongdae’s eyes to widen in surprise. They repeat this a few times, Chanyeol’s confidence growing until Jongdae’s finger slides along his foot and he bursts into startled laughter. He’s ticklish, flailing, and he falls to the side curling up again to hug himself. “You never saw legs before? Really?”
“From a distance,” Jongdae admitted, “but never up close. They’re funny.”
Both of them grinned, and Jongdae cast another glance towards the sun before slipping back into the water. He bobbed up and down, treading it easily, then leaned against the side near Chanyeol. That’s when he realized something, and brows furrowing in concern, he looked towards the ocean then to Jongdae and back a few times.
Something was clearly wrong here.
“ Umm, are you…stuck?”
They blinked at each other.
“Isn’t your family over there?” Chanyeol shyly pointed towards the ocean and Jongdae gave him a nod.
“It stormed last night. The tide left me here.” He let his cheeks puff out and then sighed. “They’ll come back in and I’ll get out eventually. If the sun doesn’t take my pool away.” Jongdae’s tail splashed behind him idly.
“What happens? If it does?” Somehow it feels like a taboo question the moment the words leave him and he gets the answer from Jongdae’s serious gaze alone, as he sank further below the surface once more. “Oh.”
He’d die.
Did Jongdae keep going underwater to make sure he stayed wet enough? It made sense…he was a merperson. All Chanyeol knew about merpeople came from that Disney movie with the octopus lady, and he had a distinct feeling that wasn’t very realistic anyway.
“I could help you?” he asked softly. Chanyeol wasn’t entirely sure what compelled him to want to help Jongdae. He was a stranger. A strange boy with a tail in the water. Chanyeol didn’t even want to go near the water let alone deal with something from it.
Jongdae seemed to note this hesitance with a frown. “You’re afraid.”
Chanyeol could only nod, ashamed.
“If you help me…I’ll help you too. That is… life is fair?” Jongdae clicked his tongue, head tilted again like he was ignoring how he’d gotten the phrase wrong. Chanyeol nodded again. That was fair. Life wasn’t but that suggestion was.
He sat up and crossed his legs, looking seriously at Jongdae, a small amount of determination welling up in him. “What do I have to do?”
They discussed the plan, meaning Jongdae told Chanyeol what would happen and patted his knee reassuringly whenever Chanyeol looked fearfully towards the ocean. He was supposed to help Jongdae onto his back, and then run over the rocks as fast as he could to get the merboy into the ocean. It seemed simple enough, really. “I’ll protect you in the water.” Jongdae insisted. “It’s like magic. I can grant you a wish, if you help me. It’s…a thing.”
What a thorough explanation - not that that mattered much to Chanyeol at the time.
“A thing. Okay…when do we go?” He imagined it was like a bandaid. If you ripped it off fast then the experience would hurt a lot less.
Silently, Jongdae pointed towards a lone cloud above them, just wisps of white against the cerulean sky. Both of them watched and waited. The cloud was blown nearer and nearer to the sun, until at last a shadow was cast over the beach.
Chanyeol’s dark, glasses covered eyes, met Jongdae’s soft brown ones. The merboy nodded.
“Now.”
Chanyeol scrambled nearer to the pool’s edge, holding onto the rocks while Jongdae reached up, sliding his arms around Chanyeol’s shoulders. He steadied himself before pushing up to standing. The weight of Jongdae’s body against his back is something that takes getting used to, but there isn’t even time for that. He has to start moving, leaning forward enough for momentum, but not too far, else he’d crash against the rocks. Chanyeol wasn’t strong enough for this, muscles aching from the first two steps.
Behind him, Jongdae clung tight, burying his face against his neck, breathing in the heavy scent of sunscreen. His tail at first dragged on the ground, until Chanyeol stood tall enough for him to dangle there precariously. Chanyeol stumbled forward, slipping on the rocks nearer to the sea, as waves splashed up in greeting. “So close…keep going.” Jongdae murmured, and Chanyeol could picture him, eyes shut tight and firm jaw clenched behind him.
His feet were wet, and then his ankles. The sea spray washed over his skin and Chanyeol’s heartbeat pounded in his ears. He tripped, collapsing face first into the sea and the Jongdae broke free in the shallow water, tugging Chanyeol deeper with him, his head just barely held above the surface.
“Not deep. It is not deep! Stand up. Use you have feet, Park Chanyeol!” Jongdae’s voice was anxious as he held the human boy up in the water. His hands came up to rest on Chanyeol’s shoulders, stilling his arms in the boy’s utter panic in the there waist deep water.
Chanyeol couldn’t think straight, the simple words making no sense when he was surrounded - oppressed by the sea.
He’d gone from feeling like the hero to an utter coward too fast to recognize the feeling.
“I’ve got you. Park Chanyeol… Thank you.”
He woke up with a cough, waterlogged lungs desperate for air while his teachers and a lifeguard looked down on him with bated breath. He was lying on a flat rock, not too far from a small pool of water. His head ached and he caught sight of a few students nearby snickering and chattering amongst themselves. One of his teachers barked at them to go back to the main beach and they scattered. Chanyeol tried to sit up, but was pushed back down - told to rest while the lifeguard carried him back. His teachers were so worried about him, and how that sudden monster wave had nearly swallowed him up. That was their explanation, while Chanyeol peeked towards the waves for a hint of red. There was nothing but still waters, quiet waves splashing against the rocks.
“You hit your head, too…it’ll be okay, we’ve got you.” The lifeguard reassured him and Chanyeol resigned to close his eyes. That must’ve been it.
He went out on the rocks, got the ball, then fell, and got saved from drowning. His shoulders stung where rocks had scraped his skin like nails, and his head ached. He was lucky to be alive. He didn’t even have his glasses anymore, lost in the sea, and his eyes felt tired without them.
In the distance, well out of visual range, something red splashed through the sea, diving into the depths.
---
It’s like The Little Mermaid in real life as Chanyeol’s head pops up from the water after a dive, the remnant ripples of his minimal splash disturbed by his large physique now, as he treads water and drifts towards the pool’s edge.
It’s the city championship swim meet at his university, where he’s focused far more on swimming than on his coursework. He’s there on a scholarship he has to maintain after all. He has to earn it back every time his body slips into the water. Above and all around him there are scattered cheers, applause and oh’s and ah’s that fizzle into nothing. The rippled water’s surface turns still as he climbs out. His hands hold tight to the metal ladder until his feet are firm on the ground and a towel is lobbed at his face.
“Tch.” He chuckles softly, taking the towel to dry his face before looking towards the judges’ table. His results are announced over the loudspeakers, and the rush of the moment subsides. He always gets a rush on the platform. There’s something about being up so high and approaching the pool - about falling intentionally - is diver’s high a thing?
“Good job!” A hand claps against his shoulder, and he turns to see Junmyeon looking up at him proudly. He’s captain of their diving team, more because of his responsibility than his overwhelming skill, but he is consistent and solid with his points. No one ever has anything to complain about Junmyeon.
They huddle at the pool’s edge, watching Kyungsoo climb the ladder, while Zitao bounces on the balls of his feet eagerly. He’d already done his dive. Kyungsoo was last. But Zitao likely wished he was doing it again - Chanyeol swore sometimes that Zitao was actually raised by fish back home in China. A flashy and colorful one at that, always pulling off stunts in the air.
Chanyeol takes the moment to slip his cap off from his head, shaking his hair out. They could expect solid results from Kyungsoo every time too. His dives are technical - incredibly calculated - and he’ll lose out on some artistic points but makes up for it in pure precision. A simple dive with a single solid twist, coming into the water at the exact angle necessary for the surface to barely even acknowledge his body pushing through… it‘s remarkable.
The last moments for their team are over in a flash. Kyungsoo climbs up onto the poolside with them looking relatively bored. “Was that enough? We made it to finals, yeah?” He questions without bothering to check his scores. It’s all inconsequential to him, whilst they always make Chanyeol’s nerves twitch, stomach threatening to drop under the pressure.
“We passed!” Junmyeon’s shout trails over to them and Chanyeol worries about their leader sometimes. The older male latches onto Zitao and their coach, dragging them along with him to scoop up Chanyeol and Kyungsoo as well in the group hug.
“Finals! The finals!” Zitao’s grinning too, while mostly focused on tugging at their coach’s arm. “We have time to eat, right? I’m hungry.”
Of course he is.
The coach consults his schedule, and they indeed do have time for a quick dinner. The final round isn’t until late that night, somewhere past ten and who knows when their turn would come up? The roster wasn’t decided yet. Chanyeol falls into step with his teammates, slipping his feet into sandals and strolling with them to the lockers to be rid of their dive suits.
When they return they take up their usual positions on the pool’s edge. Chanyeol holds Zitao’s feet down while he does sit ups, then helps him pedal through bicycle crunches. Kyungsoo helps Junmyeon too, and both pairs switch. All around them other pairs of divers are doing much the same. A few go to the hot tub to keep their muscles warm. He used to prefer that, but Junmyeon insists that them helping each other stretch was enough warming up for them to be successful, that it was better for team morale or something - and he hasn’t been wrong thus far.
Three other teams dive before theirs is called. Even though their leader repeats his little encouraging mantras, Chanyeol can feel the pit of his stomach start to give out. He reaches across his chest to pick idly at the scar on his shoulders. It consists of deep, thin, parallel scrapes from his childhood, when he’d once been swept into the sea. He was determined to fight the ocean back ever since. To be so strong the current can’t take him down. Maybe he’s a bit too inspired by the likes of Harry Potter - that his scar and that small life threatening event could somehow direct his destiny, but hey, he can swim now. Well too!
He shoulders this progress while looking towards the ladder. Junmyeon ascends it steadily and dives when his time comes. Another strong turnout… Zitao too, after him, produces a combination that drives cheers from the crowds around them.
“Your turn!” Zitao calls out brightly, his smile toothy and teasing towards Chanyeol. They’re similar in size and form, which has made them natural rivals in this sport. The younger boy was annoying enough that if they weren't on the same team, Chanyeol has a distinct feeling they actually wouldn’t get along well.
Behind him Kyungsoo claps him on the back, snapping him into focus, and Chanyeol makes his way to the ladder. He rests a hand on the poles on either side and starts his climb. Ten steps. Twenty. He’s halfway there and he feels like his stomach is still on the ground next to Kyungsoo. It’s not so much that he’s nervous, but there are other people counting on him to do well. Junmyeon’s helping Zitao get the towel adjusted over his shoulders, and the next team’s still stretching off to the side. A few people are looking up at him - make that a lot of people. Was the audience always so full?
He tightens his grip on the ladder and keeps rising, until his feet are firmly planted at the base of the diving board. Chanyeol closes his eyes, breathing in deeply as he awaits the signal. It whistles softly down below him but up top feels like a foghorn’s bellow. One foot after another, he bounds along the diving board, springing off from it and manipulating his body mid air.
Swimming through the air.
In an act of defiance he opens his eyes, gazing at the water below like he intends to command it, to mock it for trying to claim him. Falling. Soaring. Swimming - all three at once. He pulls his arms against his chest and spins, tucking his legs in as well to perform the tumble and twist to get him the most performance points as possible. If he can just manage the technical - if he can just…
There’s a splash. A splash and a flash of red in his vision, which he can only assume is purely sourced to his own anger. He comes up from the depths to scattered applause and a replay screen recounting the water bubbling up after him, at least two feet above the surface. It isn’t the most horrendous dive in the world, but it’s a technical fumble too big to ignore and his head is bowed when he climbs out of the pool, not bothering to catch sight of his scores or his coach’s face right now. Zitao nudges his side encouragingly, though Chanyeol can feel the anxiousness in his swayed step. Everything rests on Kyungsoo, who is dead concentrated with every step up the ladder.
Kyungsoo’s technical miracle saves the day, landing them a solid third place score which none of the teams after them can reclaim, but Kyungsoo had to add a twist to his dive that was a big risk for him - Chanyeol will owe him big time for it later.
At that point everything around him tapers out.
White noise.
Like the ocean sounds on his alarm clock that played while his brain fell asleep and his body went through the motions.
The team piles into the locker room where Junmyeon rattles off an encouraging speech leaves only Zitao mystified. Kyungsoo sits beside Chanyeol on a bench looking frustrated until Zitao asks him out for drinks. They go off together leaving Chanyeol with his hands folded on his lap, towel around his waist in lieu of clothes.
“Hey.”
“Hmm?” He looks up towards Junmyeon - who never felt particularly formidable except for moments like these, when Chanyeol has something to be ashamed about.
“We still made it. We’re not eliminated yet. You can redeem yourself in two weeks… I can’t have you breaking down now, Chan.” Chanyeol nods slowly, taking a deep breath, while Junmyeon awkwardly pats his head. “We all get nervous. It’s okay. You know Kyungsoo isn’t even really mad at you.”
Chanyeol shrugs, and Junmyeon steps away from him with a sigh.
“Be safe heading home. See you at the pool again tomorrow afternoon.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
The older leaves, and Chanyeol brushes his fingers through his hair, debating whether to shower here or back at his apartment. He lives about half a mile from his university, in a complex near the seashore, but he’s half an hour away from home by train right now and if he doesn’t catch a taxi soon he won’t make it to the station in time - then he’ll have to taxi the whole way home. Ugh. Just thinking about how that’ll cut into his food money for the month is enough to get him moving.
Eventually he’s dressed in an overly long tank top with some random English on it in bright red block letters and dark shorts. His athletics bag dangles from his shoulder. He still has a few minutes before his taxi should arrive since he called up the service company. In the lobby he paces in front of the display cases, reading inscriptions on trophies from ten and twenty years before.
“Excuse me?”
He looks to his right, where someone stands a few feet away. This stranger has some odd twitches in his stance, swaying from side to side like a child though his face is anything but. There’s a curious smile on his lips, eyes bright and a soft brown that leaves Chanyeol blinking at him uncertainly. “Hello?”
“You were in the finals, right? The fourth team?”
He nods.
“Third place?”
He nods again.
“You did well!”
Chanyeol makes a face at him, scoffing under his breath. “I splashed. You can’t do that, You get points off…it’s not ‘well’.”
“That’s because you flicked your feet back. It’s not a big deal.”
Now Chanyeol really thinks this guy was absurd, and he takes to edging towards the doors, ready to leave. “Uh… thanks, then.”
There’s an unnerving confidence in the stranger’s gaze, how he looks right at Chanyeol like he’s seeing something incredibly interesting. Chanyeol feels like an exhibit in the zoo. Other people are in the lobby too, but none of them seem to notice. They’re busy milling about and chatting amongst themselves.
The stranger cocks his head to the side, hands in the pockets of his jeans and he continues his odd sidesteps like he doesn’t have the willpower to bother standing still. Chanyeol catches a hint of sheepishness in his grin. “Two weeks, right? The next meet?”
Chanyeol nods. He feels a bit like a bobble-head.
Across from him the swaying guy purses his lips and he turns to walk outside, looking nothing more like he was out for a casual stroll. A few blinks later and Chanyeol snaps out of that odd blip in his day. The car slides up, lights bright on the driveway and he hurries outside to meet the driver and his yellow taxi cab, climbing in and heading home. He’s just about had it with today anyway.
Author's note: Part 1 of a 3 part series. My absolute sincerest thanks to the Chenpionships mods for allowing me to produce it in this manner because real life got in the way of me completing it all in one go within the deadline time. Further parts will be up as soon as I can get them done (I just started graduate school and just moved and in the slew of it all I apologize if I have let the prompter down. I am in love with this prompt though. I hope I can make mermaid Jongdae everything you wanted.)
Title: Dark Waters - Part One: Tranquility
Pairing: Chen/Chanyeol
Rating: PG-13 (Will ultimately be NC-17 in later parts)
Word count: 5370
Summary: As a child, Park Chanyeol was too afraid to learn how to swim. Shy. Uncomfortable. But perhaps he’s actually a fish out of water? Or becomes one, when he meets one - literally. Kim Jongdae is a merman (or is he a siren?), and their meeting sets the tides in motion, dragging Chanyeol under the surface, body and soul.
The sea has no morals. There is no right or wrong whispered on the stillest of ripples, let alone on the tremors of waves dragging everything in their paths into the depths. In the over pressured darkness of a sea trench you’re already long gone. The silence is all consuming. The sea’s power is far too strong.
But the sea, though powerful, hosts an inexplicable passion - both in its own volatility and in its grasp on the hearts of sailors bred on the salty air, of lovers of plunder and exploration, of revolutionaries… of the innocent.
The sea is alive - and that is terrifying. Terrifying, yet people keep going back. Returning to the coasts, strolling along the shore hand in hand like the waterlogged air they breathe holds the keys of happiness. They settle down in houses on stilts in the sand and cool nights are spent on huddled for warmth upon jumbled piles of rocks around fragile fires. They climb into vessels built to float - and the sea isn’t always forgiving for those who desire to slip across its surface. It’s eternally protesting those who defy it. Fight the wind and the currents or grow personally acquainted with the depths.
Grow connected to the sea, and any moment apart feels wrong. The water draws its lovers back in at a pace so unique, unpredictable in more ways than there are stars reflected and shuddering in its superficial film on the clearest of nights.
The sea is alive, and so is the deep. Long have there been tales of its dangers. The Kraken. The Leviathan. The Behemoth. The Siren… The Mermaid. Oh?
Of course they aren’t real.
But what if they are?
And what if you belong with them?
---
Sand sprays up in his eyes - his expression wrinkling in protest. The glasses precariously resting on his nose aren’t large enough to act as a shield, which is surprising since they’re huge. Bug eyed on the beach, what little of Chanyeol’s skin is left exposed is caked with sunscreen. This consists of his forearms (with an extra layer applied around his sleeves’ edges just in case - he’s not going through the horrors of being picked on for a farmer’s tan ever again), his legs from the knee down (now covered in an additional layer of sand thanks to just sitting still), his face and neck, and most prominently his ears, so covered they’re pure white and near reflective. The other kids called him an alien with antennae when the group raced towards the seaside an hour earlier. He’s lucky he hit his first growth spurt already, able to proudly tower over his fellow twelve year olds on their middle school field trip, if nothing else.
His father’s words rang in his ears - ”Don’t forget your sunscreen. UV lights will hurt you, and I don’t want my son burning. If the other kids say anything, just remember they’ll probably get skin cancer when they’re teenagers and you’ll get all their girlfriends with your handsome skin.” His father had laughed after this, but Chanyeol felt like he missed the joke. Honestly, he felt more like the joke amongst his peers’ ridiculing laughter.
At least they promised he’d get to join their game.
He sat in front of a volleyball court marked crudely in the sand, while what was probably more than the standard number of volleyball players per team bounced about trying to hit the ball and avoid slipping on the ground. It had rained the night before, so the beach was littered with seaweed, oversized clumps of muddy sand and shell fragments. One student had ventured too near to the water and suffered a shock when a dying jellyfish got one final sting focused on their bare foot. After that, the group’s supervisors insisted everyone stay further inland until the beach was cleaned.
Not that Chanyeol minded whatsoever. He had never learned how to swim, and wasn’t about to let the others know. His parents told him time and time again to ignore the teasing, but it wasn’t that easy.
He was too tall. He was too pudgy (extra huggable, as his mother liked to say with an encouraging smile). His ears stuck out too far. His glasses were too big, too round, too thick. The others wouldn’t even listen to him when he insisted the smell on his hands some mornings was because of his pet ferret and not because of… anything else they accused him of doing.
For now, he’d stick to not swimming. And hey, he’d get to play volleyba-
Oh.
There went the ball…
Everyone froze in place as a particularly well angled bump sent the ball soaring well over the net, past the other team, and towards a rocky bank further down the shore.
“I’ll get it!” One kid called out.
“No!” Shouted another, mischievous glint in his eyes as he turned towards Chanyeol. “Go get it for us.” He was at least a foot shorter than Chanyeol,, and his Napoleon complex was ever so vivid, pride written over every inch of his weaselly face.
The others started to catch on. “Yes, Chanpanzee! Go get it!” Chanpanzee. That was their teasing name for him and his ears. He winced instinctively when it chorused from at least eight mouths at once. It was painful in a way only the disharmony of eight boys in the middle of puberty could master, but nevertheless he stood up, trying to shake the sand off of his clothes.
“Do I get to play then?” He asked, his own voice a soft lilt, trying to keep it even. Recently it had started dipping even lower than his father’s at the most sporadic of syllables and he didn’t want his classmates hearing that, or even worse when it turned on itself and suddenly the deeper was the norm interrupted by squeaks. (Too deep a voice…yet another thing to add to his repertoire of how well he didn’t fit in.)
Looks were exchanged between the unofficial leaders of the boys on the court and soon he was nodded to. “Yeah, yeah. Next game!”
“But bring us the ball first!”
“Next game, we promise~ Chanpanzee~”
Chanyeol raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You’ve been playing this one for an hour almost… It’s been ages.”
“Yeah! It’s almost over! Definitely!” One insisted and others were quick to join in, sending Chanyeol off on his ball hunt then laughing amongst themselves.
(”Kids can be so cruel.” His mother had told his father once in the kitchen, when Chanyeol snuck downstairs for some water one night the other week. ”Do you think he’ll be alright?”
”It’ll build character.” Was all his father added over his newspaper.)
Chanyeol had a feeling now was one of those cruel times, but he didn’t see a way out of it. Get the ball and keep hoping. He just wanted to have fun too. They had to realize that at some point, right?
Probably not… but he liked to keep positive.
The rocks grew closer and larger with every step. Chanyeol shook a bit of seaweed off of his shoe and kept walking, while behind him some teacher started to shout at him to come back. The other guys were quick to defend him for once - they did want their ball back after all. Right in front of him was a short cliff and he couldn’t see the volleyball anywhere, resting his hands on the first stone to pull himself up. It was rough and smooth all at once, like it had been filled with bubbles once upon a time, and luckily didn’t scrape into his skin. His fingers curl onto that rock and he starts effectively crawling his way through the craggy patch, keeping his eyes peeled for the ball.
Instead he spots something red.
A flash of red that’s in and out of his vision with a splash and he stiffens. He’s hugging the nearest rock that is practically a cliffside.
There’s a pool about a meter away, the surface interrupted by ripples spreading across it. Something’s writhing below the surface… upset? Was it there because of the storm? A big fish? Did it get washed up here?
Chanyeol hugged tighter at the rock while inching towards the pool. It looked pretty deep…
Wait! The ball… In a hurry he scanned the area. It was on the side of the pool he was, but further out, nearer to the sea. As much as that made him cringe, going near the open water, he had to get it over with. Then he could inspect the trapped fish. He walked with hands outstretched towards the ball, nearly slipping twice. Once he had the ball in his hands he made his way to the edge of the rocks again, and kicked it with all of his might towards the sand court. It didn’t get very far, but he did his part and this was a little more interesting. This was science?
As scary as the sea was, a little pool of water was like a bathtub, right? It wasn’t dangerous if he didn’t get in it. He could handle it. He kept telling himself things like that as he inched across the slippery ground back to his hug rock and peeked into the water. The water peeked back at him, then blew a stream right in his face.
His hands flew to his face as his body slipped and fell, utterly startled. Did that fish… Did that fish just attack him!? His butt hurt, landing on the rocks. His face was wet. His hair too. That all didn’t really matter too much. But his arms kept trembling as he wiped water off of his face and he peeked through his fingers, barely able to squeak out a scream.
There was a boy there, naked... kind of? Chanyeol pulled his glasses off to clean them on his shirt while the strange boy quietly stared at him, half submerged in the pool. When the world wasn’t blurry again all he could do was back up a few feet, back against the former hug rock while they stared at each other.
This wasn’t an ordinary boy.
His nails were long and pointed at the ends, more like claws than the neatly trimmed (and slightly nibbled on) nails on his own fingers. His eyes were dark red, almost brown, but the sun on them made them red and Chanyeol’s shoulders stiffened in fear. He couldn’t have been more than Chanyeol’s age, though his features were already quite defined. Strong cheekbones and piercing square jaw… He looked almost unreal. Like something out of an art museum’s sculpture hall - like he had been chiseled into this position from the rocks instead of very alive in front of him. There weren’t any clothes on his torso and from what Chanyeol had glimpsed before, there wasn’t a need for any on the rest of him. It wasn’t like pants would fit very well on a tail.
Chanyeol wasn’t sure when exactly he stopped breathing, but he began again and the figure before him seemed to relax at that too, eyes trailing over Chanyeol’s features in much the same way.
“…Hello?”
His eyes widened at that, and Chanyeol would’ve backed up except he couldn’t. He hit his head on the rock behind him and winced in pain.
The tailed boy in the water looked thoughtful after the initially surprised expression, and within a few seconds his lips were pursed, tongue licking over them to keep them moist. “Hello… are you a… legs? Land…dweller?”
Chanyeol’s hands covered his lips as he nodded in response. It knew Korean… or he… had figured out Korean? He looked Korean… Either way, a question had been asked. He had better answer it.
“Umm, human. I’m a human. I have legs.” He shifted his position to stretch his legs out in front of him so the other boy could see, but almost immediately recoiled, pulling them back and tucking his knees under his chin as the other reached for one of his ankles. “Don’t touch! …Please.”
He looked offended, sliding further down into the water once more until it covered past his nose. His gaze made Chanyeol feel incredibly shy, and as though he really had done something wrong just now. “I’m sorry…” He apologized on instinct. The other blew some bubbles in the water, giving Chanyeol a look he at least hoped meant he was forgiven.
“What is your name?” The stranger asked him, though Chanyeol wasn’t quite sure how. His mouth was still below the surface.
“Park Chanyeol. What’s yours?”
He cocked his head to the side, looking towards the sun so his pupils shrank and slowly he lifted himself up again, until he was seated on the side of the pool, tail swaying in the water. “I am Jongdae. It is nice to meet you, Park Chanyeol… you are my first land… human.”
His first?
“You’re not going to eat me, are you?” The thoughts slipped from Chanyeol’s lips before he could contain them, and he hugged his knees tight. Across from him, Jongdae shook his head, a musical laugh lilting into the air.
“I eat fish!” His lips curled back, revealing his teeth, a brilliant smile that made Chanyeol eager to trust him. “Not land humans.”
Once again they stared silently at each other, studying each other’s appearances. Slowly, Chanyeol stretched his legs out and allowed Jongdae to reach across the pool. His wet fingers very slowly poked at his toes and Chanyeol curled them, causing Jongdae’s eyes to widen in surprise. They repeat this a few times, Chanyeol’s confidence growing until Jongdae’s finger slides along his foot and he bursts into startled laughter. He’s ticklish, flailing, and he falls to the side curling up again to hug himself. “You never saw legs before? Really?”
“From a distance,” Jongdae admitted, “but never up close. They’re funny.”
Both of them grinned, and Jongdae cast another glance towards the sun before slipping back into the water. He bobbed up and down, treading it easily, then leaned against the side near Chanyeol. That’s when he realized something, and brows furrowing in concern, he looked towards the ocean then to Jongdae and back a few times.
Something was clearly wrong here.
“ Umm, are you…stuck?”
They blinked at each other.
“Isn’t your family over there?” Chanyeol shyly pointed towards the ocean and Jongdae gave him a nod.
“It stormed last night. The tide left me here.” He let his cheeks puff out and then sighed. “They’ll come back in and I’ll get out eventually. If the sun doesn’t take my pool away.” Jongdae’s tail splashed behind him idly.
“What happens? If it does?” Somehow it feels like a taboo question the moment the words leave him and he gets the answer from Jongdae’s serious gaze alone, as he sank further below the surface once more. “Oh.”
He’d die.
Did Jongdae keep going underwater to make sure he stayed wet enough? It made sense…he was a merperson. All Chanyeol knew about merpeople came from that Disney movie with the octopus lady, and he had a distinct feeling that wasn’t very realistic anyway.
“I could help you?” he asked softly. Chanyeol wasn’t entirely sure what compelled him to want to help Jongdae. He was a stranger. A strange boy with a tail in the water. Chanyeol didn’t even want to go near the water let alone deal with something from it.
Jongdae seemed to note this hesitance with a frown. “You’re afraid.”
Chanyeol could only nod, ashamed.
“If you help me…I’ll help you too. That is… life is fair?” Jongdae clicked his tongue, head tilted again like he was ignoring how he’d gotten the phrase wrong. Chanyeol nodded again. That was fair. Life wasn’t but that suggestion was.
He sat up and crossed his legs, looking seriously at Jongdae, a small amount of determination welling up in him. “What do I have to do?”
They discussed the plan, meaning Jongdae told Chanyeol what would happen and patted his knee reassuringly whenever Chanyeol looked fearfully towards the ocean. He was supposed to help Jongdae onto his back, and then run over the rocks as fast as he could to get the merboy into the ocean. It seemed simple enough, really. “I’ll protect you in the water.” Jongdae insisted. “It’s like magic. I can grant you a wish, if you help me. It’s…a thing.”
What a thorough explanation - not that that mattered much to Chanyeol at the time.
“A thing. Okay…when do we go?” He imagined it was like a bandaid. If you ripped it off fast then the experience would hurt a lot less.
Silently, Jongdae pointed towards a lone cloud above them, just wisps of white against the cerulean sky. Both of them watched and waited. The cloud was blown nearer and nearer to the sun, until at last a shadow was cast over the beach.
Chanyeol’s dark, glasses covered eyes, met Jongdae’s soft brown ones. The merboy nodded.
“Now.”
Chanyeol scrambled nearer to the pool’s edge, holding onto the rocks while Jongdae reached up, sliding his arms around Chanyeol’s shoulders. He steadied himself before pushing up to standing. The weight of Jongdae’s body against his back is something that takes getting used to, but there isn’t even time for that. He has to start moving, leaning forward enough for momentum, but not too far, else he’d crash against the rocks. Chanyeol wasn’t strong enough for this, muscles aching from the first two steps.
Behind him, Jongdae clung tight, burying his face against his neck, breathing in the heavy scent of sunscreen. His tail at first dragged on the ground, until Chanyeol stood tall enough for him to dangle there precariously. Chanyeol stumbled forward, slipping on the rocks nearer to the sea, as waves splashed up in greeting. “So close…keep going.” Jongdae murmured, and Chanyeol could picture him, eyes shut tight and firm jaw clenched behind him.
His feet were wet, and then his ankles. The sea spray washed over his skin and Chanyeol’s heartbeat pounded in his ears. He tripped, collapsing face first into the sea and the Jongdae broke free in the shallow water, tugging Chanyeol deeper with him, his head just barely held above the surface.
“Not deep. It is not deep! Stand up. Use you have feet, Park Chanyeol!” Jongdae’s voice was anxious as he held the human boy up in the water. His hands came up to rest on Chanyeol’s shoulders, stilling his arms in the boy’s utter panic in the there waist deep water.
Chanyeol couldn’t think straight, the simple words making no sense when he was surrounded - oppressed by the sea.
He’d gone from feeling like the hero to an utter coward too fast to recognize the feeling.
“I’ve got you. Park Chanyeol… Thank you.”
He woke up with a cough, waterlogged lungs desperate for air while his teachers and a lifeguard looked down on him with bated breath. He was lying on a flat rock, not too far from a small pool of water. His head ached and he caught sight of a few students nearby snickering and chattering amongst themselves. One of his teachers barked at them to go back to the main beach and they scattered. Chanyeol tried to sit up, but was pushed back down - told to rest while the lifeguard carried him back. His teachers were so worried about him, and how that sudden monster wave had nearly swallowed him up. That was their explanation, while Chanyeol peeked towards the waves for a hint of red. There was nothing but still waters, quiet waves splashing against the rocks.
“You hit your head, too…it’ll be okay, we’ve got you.” The lifeguard reassured him and Chanyeol resigned to close his eyes. That must’ve been it.
He went out on the rocks, got the ball, then fell, and got saved from drowning. His shoulders stung where rocks had scraped his skin like nails, and his head ached. He was lucky to be alive. He didn’t even have his glasses anymore, lost in the sea, and his eyes felt tired without them.
In the distance, well out of visual range, something red splashed through the sea, diving into the depths.
---
It’s like The Little Mermaid in real life as Chanyeol’s head pops up from the water after a dive, the remnant ripples of his minimal splash disturbed by his large physique now, as he treads water and drifts towards the pool’s edge.
It’s the city championship swim meet at his university, where he’s focused far more on swimming than on his coursework. He’s there on a scholarship he has to maintain after all. He has to earn it back every time his body slips into the water. Above and all around him there are scattered cheers, applause and oh’s and ah’s that fizzle into nothing. The rippled water’s surface turns still as he climbs out. His hands hold tight to the metal ladder until his feet are firm on the ground and a towel is lobbed at his face.
“Tch.” He chuckles softly, taking the towel to dry his face before looking towards the judges’ table. His results are announced over the loudspeakers, and the rush of the moment subsides. He always gets a rush on the platform. There’s something about being up so high and approaching the pool - about falling intentionally - is diver’s high a thing?
“Good job!” A hand claps against his shoulder, and he turns to see Junmyeon looking up at him proudly. He’s captain of their diving team, more because of his responsibility than his overwhelming skill, but he is consistent and solid with his points. No one ever has anything to complain about Junmyeon.
They huddle at the pool’s edge, watching Kyungsoo climb the ladder, while Zitao bounces on the balls of his feet eagerly. He’d already done his dive. Kyungsoo was last. But Zitao likely wished he was doing it again - Chanyeol swore sometimes that Zitao was actually raised by fish back home in China. A flashy and colorful one at that, always pulling off stunts in the air.
Chanyeol takes the moment to slip his cap off from his head, shaking his hair out. They could expect solid results from Kyungsoo every time too. His dives are technical - incredibly calculated - and he’ll lose out on some artistic points but makes up for it in pure precision. A simple dive with a single solid twist, coming into the water at the exact angle necessary for the surface to barely even acknowledge his body pushing through… it‘s remarkable.
The last moments for their team are over in a flash. Kyungsoo climbs up onto the poolside with them looking relatively bored. “Was that enough? We made it to finals, yeah?” He questions without bothering to check his scores. It’s all inconsequential to him, whilst they always make Chanyeol’s nerves twitch, stomach threatening to drop under the pressure.
“We passed!” Junmyeon’s shout trails over to them and Chanyeol worries about their leader sometimes. The older male latches onto Zitao and their coach, dragging them along with him to scoop up Chanyeol and Kyungsoo as well in the group hug.
“Finals! The finals!” Zitao’s grinning too, while mostly focused on tugging at their coach’s arm. “We have time to eat, right? I’m hungry.”
Of course he is.
The coach consults his schedule, and they indeed do have time for a quick dinner. The final round isn’t until late that night, somewhere past ten and who knows when their turn would come up? The roster wasn’t decided yet. Chanyeol falls into step with his teammates, slipping his feet into sandals and strolling with them to the lockers to be rid of their dive suits.
When they return they take up their usual positions on the pool’s edge. Chanyeol holds Zitao’s feet down while he does sit ups, then helps him pedal through bicycle crunches. Kyungsoo helps Junmyeon too, and both pairs switch. All around them other pairs of divers are doing much the same. A few go to the hot tub to keep their muscles warm. He used to prefer that, but Junmyeon insists that them helping each other stretch was enough warming up for them to be successful, that it was better for team morale or something - and he hasn’t been wrong thus far.
Three other teams dive before theirs is called. Even though their leader repeats his little encouraging mantras, Chanyeol can feel the pit of his stomach start to give out. He reaches across his chest to pick idly at the scar on his shoulders. It consists of deep, thin, parallel scrapes from his childhood, when he’d once been swept into the sea. He was determined to fight the ocean back ever since. To be so strong the current can’t take him down. Maybe he’s a bit too inspired by the likes of Harry Potter - that his scar and that small life threatening event could somehow direct his destiny, but hey, he can swim now. Well too!
He shoulders this progress while looking towards the ladder. Junmyeon ascends it steadily and dives when his time comes. Another strong turnout… Zitao too, after him, produces a combination that drives cheers from the crowds around them.
“Your turn!” Zitao calls out brightly, his smile toothy and teasing towards Chanyeol. They’re similar in size and form, which has made them natural rivals in this sport. The younger boy was annoying enough that if they weren't on the same team, Chanyeol has a distinct feeling they actually wouldn’t get along well.
Behind him Kyungsoo claps him on the back, snapping him into focus, and Chanyeol makes his way to the ladder. He rests a hand on the poles on either side and starts his climb. Ten steps. Twenty. He’s halfway there and he feels like his stomach is still on the ground next to Kyungsoo. It’s not so much that he’s nervous, but there are other people counting on him to do well. Junmyeon’s helping Zitao get the towel adjusted over his shoulders, and the next team’s still stretching off to the side. A few people are looking up at him - make that a lot of people. Was the audience always so full?
He tightens his grip on the ladder and keeps rising, until his feet are firmly planted at the base of the diving board. Chanyeol closes his eyes, breathing in deeply as he awaits the signal. It whistles softly down below him but up top feels like a foghorn’s bellow. One foot after another, he bounds along the diving board, springing off from it and manipulating his body mid air.
Swimming through the air.
In an act of defiance he opens his eyes, gazing at the water below like he intends to command it, to mock it for trying to claim him. Falling. Soaring. Swimming - all three at once. He pulls his arms against his chest and spins, tucking his legs in as well to perform the tumble and twist to get him the most performance points as possible. If he can just manage the technical - if he can just…
There’s a splash. A splash and a flash of red in his vision, which he can only assume is purely sourced to his own anger. He comes up from the depths to scattered applause and a replay screen recounting the water bubbling up after him, at least two feet above the surface. It isn’t the most horrendous dive in the world, but it’s a technical fumble too big to ignore and his head is bowed when he climbs out of the pool, not bothering to catch sight of his scores or his coach’s face right now. Zitao nudges his side encouragingly, though Chanyeol can feel the anxiousness in his swayed step. Everything rests on Kyungsoo, who is dead concentrated with every step up the ladder.
Kyungsoo’s technical miracle saves the day, landing them a solid third place score which none of the teams after them can reclaim, but Kyungsoo had to add a twist to his dive that was a big risk for him - Chanyeol will owe him big time for it later.
At that point everything around him tapers out.
White noise.
Like the ocean sounds on his alarm clock that played while his brain fell asleep and his body went through the motions.
The team piles into the locker room where Junmyeon rattles off an encouraging speech leaves only Zitao mystified. Kyungsoo sits beside Chanyeol on a bench looking frustrated until Zitao asks him out for drinks. They go off together leaving Chanyeol with his hands folded on his lap, towel around his waist in lieu of clothes.
“Hey.”
“Hmm?” He looks up towards Junmyeon - who never felt particularly formidable except for moments like these, when Chanyeol has something to be ashamed about.
“We still made it. We’re not eliminated yet. You can redeem yourself in two weeks… I can’t have you breaking down now, Chan.” Chanyeol nods slowly, taking a deep breath, while Junmyeon awkwardly pats his head. “We all get nervous. It’s okay. You know Kyungsoo isn’t even really mad at you.”
Chanyeol shrugs, and Junmyeon steps away from him with a sigh.
“Be safe heading home. See you at the pool again tomorrow afternoon.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
The older leaves, and Chanyeol brushes his fingers through his hair, debating whether to shower here or back at his apartment. He lives about half a mile from his university, in a complex near the seashore, but he’s half an hour away from home by train right now and if he doesn’t catch a taxi soon he won’t make it to the station in time - then he’ll have to taxi the whole way home. Ugh. Just thinking about how that’ll cut into his food money for the month is enough to get him moving.
Eventually he’s dressed in an overly long tank top with some random English on it in bright red block letters and dark shorts. His athletics bag dangles from his shoulder. He still has a few minutes before his taxi should arrive since he called up the service company. In the lobby he paces in front of the display cases, reading inscriptions on trophies from ten and twenty years before.
“Excuse me?”
He looks to his right, where someone stands a few feet away. This stranger has some odd twitches in his stance, swaying from side to side like a child though his face is anything but. There’s a curious smile on his lips, eyes bright and a soft brown that leaves Chanyeol blinking at him uncertainly. “Hello?”
“You were in the finals, right? The fourth team?”
He nods.
“Third place?”
He nods again.
“You did well!”
Chanyeol makes a face at him, scoffing under his breath. “I splashed. You can’t do that, You get points off…it’s not ‘well’.”
“That’s because you flicked your feet back. It’s not a big deal.”
Now Chanyeol really thinks this guy was absurd, and he takes to edging towards the doors, ready to leave. “Uh… thanks, then.”
There’s an unnerving confidence in the stranger’s gaze, how he looks right at Chanyeol like he’s seeing something incredibly interesting. Chanyeol feels like an exhibit in the zoo. Other people are in the lobby too, but none of them seem to notice. They’re busy milling about and chatting amongst themselves.
The stranger cocks his head to the side, hands in the pockets of his jeans and he continues his odd sidesteps like he doesn’t have the willpower to bother standing still. Chanyeol catches a hint of sheepishness in his grin. “Two weeks, right? The next meet?”
Chanyeol nods. He feels a bit like a bobble-head.
Across from him the swaying guy purses his lips and he turns to walk outside, looking nothing more like he was out for a casual stroll. A few blinks later and Chanyeol snaps out of that odd blip in his day. The car slides up, lights bright on the driveway and he hurries outside to meet the driver and his yellow taxi cab, climbing in and heading home. He’s just about had it with today anyway.
Author's note: Part 1 of a 3 part series. My absolute sincerest thanks to the Chenpionships mods for allowing me to produce it in this manner because real life got in the way of me completing it all in one go within the deadline time. Further parts will be up as soon as I can get them done (I just started graduate school and just moved and in the slew of it all I apologize if I have let the prompter down. I am in love with this prompt though. I hope I can make mermaid Jongdae everything you wanted.)