[#42] a song from the sea | (D.O./Kai)
Prompt Code: #42
Title: a song from the sea
Pairing: D.O./Kai
Rating: PG-13
Monsters: Merman
Word Count: 5.4 k
Summary: Kyungsoo’s pride is his voice. Sadly, Jongin can’t hear it.
A/N: First of all, a huge ‘thank you’ for the mods who were extremely patient with me and to A for her ideas. Dear prompter, I hope you find a smile on this fic even if it wasn’t what you thought of. I surely did even if it didn’t go as expected. Enjoy.
“They say there is a yacht near the blue house.”
Baekhyun holds a teasing smile showing off white teeth resembling pearls. He playfully takes the small shells Kyungsoo has been selecting since morning and inspects them with judging eyes. “Luhan says he sang to a man but he remained oblivious.”
Kyungsoo patiently waits for him to return his belongings, aware it won’t happen until he willingly accepts his implicit challenge. Therefore, he swims to the surface to spot a white yacht docked at his favorite coast, where the blue house can be found, surrounded by big rocks and sea stacks.
The blue house, as baptized by the sea creatures, is a small and antique house built with navy blue and burnished color bricks. Their origin, as well as its age, are unknown and contrived in tales. Nevertheless, the house itself possesses particular charm. From the stained glass decorating the sides of the roof, to the small, eroded fountain at the corner, which is connected to the sea.
Even if it’s beautifully decorated, it’s barely a sole room with enough facilities for one person, thus the sea creatures, and even humans, lose the interest on it after current visits.
Kyungsoo likes humans. To seduce them, use them for his entertainment and then make them forget about it can please anyone of his kind. He is particularly fond of playfully drowning them and taking their belongings for his collection using the alluring influence a merman is dotted with.
He may not be as beautiful and lovely as Luhan or as charming and witty as Baekhyun, but the simplest melody from him can lure any human. His voice is soft and tender, the most beautiful in all the sea. Baekhyun and Luhan may tell you otherwise but they are also liars.
At the coast, the said yacht is humble in size and barely catches anyone's attention, yet there's pure luxury behind its design.
Kyungsoo reaches for the smaller rocks in the coast, placing himself on top of one. His tail lays in the tepid water, playing with it, until he catches a glimpse of a man, in front of the blue house, wearing a blue shirt and white pants on; his back is facing the merman. He is tall and well-built with blonde hair and sunkissed skin.
He must be waiting for Chanyeol, the caretaker of the house who lives at the opposite coast of the island, where even more luxurious houses can be found.
The merman opts for singing before said human arrives. The notes of an old song about how love is colorful like a sunset begin to flow, slowly but accurate. Oddly, it doesn’t snares the man’s attention. Baffled by the lack of reaction, Kyungsoo tries with a different melody, one even more unique but even after he had picked small parts of five different songs, the man remains oblivious.
When hearing Chanyeol’s van, Kyungsoo huffs and gets back to water with his head peeking from behind the yacht. The caretaker reaches for the strange man and taps his shoulder, then begins to make signs using his hands and arms. The man laughs gripping a key from him and nods before bidding farewell with another sign.
The man must be, what humans call, deaf.
Without using his voice, there is nothing Kyungsoo can do to lure the man. What restrains him from leaving the coast is the mocking smile the others will hold when he returns unsuccessful. It had happened more than once, and their reaction hadn’t been, in any way, pleasant or encouraging.
Hesitation stays until the man takes a look at the sea, a candid smile on his face, before getting into the house. Kyungsoo swims towards the fountain and, with a hold of the rocks that form the fountain, peeks outside. The man is distracted, once again, looking at the ceiling in awe. Kyungsoo looks up too, at the small colorful crystals in the glass refracting the light. A cold color palette reflecting the small nuances of the house.
When he returns his gaze to the man, the latter is already looking at him, perplexity written in his eyes. Startled, Kyungsoo gets in the water and leaves, only to remember he could erase the memory from him halfway to the sea.
He decides to return, but this time, he doesn't find the man. He raises a questioning eyebrow to the nothing, wondering if said man ran away to divulge mermaid tales. He wouldn't be the first and definitely not the last.
“Boo!”
Kyungsoo turns in surprise, shoulders tense and eyes wide open, to face the man who is laughing at him. He even has the courage to lean on the fountain.
The merman frowns and takes a grip of the man’s wrist. The man remains completely still and quiet, in reverie by the merman’s eyes. For a moment, Kyungsoo contemplates the idea of smite him but it's not worthy. Before leaving, he takes a last look at the still entranced man. He is even taller and veritably attractive up close. Thin eyebrows for dark brown eyes. Curvy nose and slightly plump lips for a sharp jawline.
The man won’t remember the encounter but Kyungsoo can’t brush the thoughts on the matter nor find another way to seduce the man neither. Trying to be charismatic isn't going to work. And his looks? It’s pretty obvious the man found him more funny-looking rather than gorgeous. Gorgeous and dazzling represent the kind of reaction the others of his kind would always grant. But not him, not without his voice.
“He is deaf,” Kyungsoo says to a yearning Baekhyun when he returns.
“It's over then. Maybe if he saw you,” Baekhyun says to Luhan, who is picking starfishes. He returns just half of Kyungsoo’s shells, the smaller ones.
“Not interested, there is another one at the other side. Let him try.” Luhan smiles and points at Kyungsoo. Even when mocking, he is graceful.
Kyungsoo bites his tongue when Baekhyun giggles at the comment. Both shatter his face and presence with just a look, smug as if he wasn't good enough as them to even try.
Kyungsoo limits himself to observe the man at the mornings until forthright curiosity sprouts. He resolves to snoop once again and swims towards the house to find no one is there. Still, the room has small hints of the man’s presence already: a glass on the table, a messy bed and some books with other belongings at the corner.
The yacht is still on the shore, thus Kyungsoo assumes the man must be inside it or somewhere else in the island. Wandering by the shore before returning home, he picks up some scallops and snail shells. With a handful of them, he arrives at the big rocks and stacks near the house and meets the tanned man.
He is also holding seashells, smaller but more colorful ones. When he becomes aware of Kyungsoo’s presence, he solely looks muddled but realization dawns on him as soon as the merman raises his tail, dazing him to the point he drops some shells from his hands.
The latter feels proud at the reaction but he is soon enough baffled as the man starts walking towards him. He pretends the action means nothing to him and stays still trying to gather presence, confident no human has ever had the nerve to touch him.
The man gets close enough for the sea to touch his ankles, but not further. Kyungsoo smiles playfully before going back to the water and swim towards behind some stack debris. Through the water, he can see the man leaning in the rocks looking for him.
Derisive, Kyungsoo raises only the tip of his tail out of the water. He expects anything but the man jumping into the sea to follow him.
He keeps his clothes on, even the shoes and scrunches his nose in a comical way that makes the merman chuckle. He is also agile and fast to swim, even graceful. The merman almost regrets swimming quicker and deeper when the man returns to the sand, gasping. It takes some seconds for him to normally breathe again. He runs a hand through his wet hair and takes a look at his clothes before looking for Kyungsoo, who is peeking behind a rock watching him.
The man brings up his hands, laying his fingers on his chest to then drop his shoulders and arms at his sides. Kyungsoo doesn’t grasp on what the he is trying to sign, therefore he doesn’t react but raises his head to indicate he is paying attention.
The man raises a hand, followed by him hitting his index and middle fingers together before raising both hands with his palms facing up. Still unsure of what he is trying to express, Kyungsoo shakes his head slowly getting a nod as a response.
“I am tired.” The man says with a soft, deep and somehow slow voice, accompanied with signs like the ones he did before. “What is your name?”
Muddle piles up on Kyungsoo at the question; it is the first time a human asks for his name. Giving a name holds more intimacy than he is willing to accept with any human but perhaps that’s what is needed to fulfill his intention. He opts for remaining silent, unsure of how to respond since, after all, he doesn’t know any sign.
There is a long silence in which neither the man or the merman share a word. Kyungsoo decides to get closer leaning in a smaller rock and even considers of using the sand for a better communication.
“You don’t understand?” The man asks adding even more signs. The merman nods but that brings even a longer silence with the man remaining thoughtful, scratching his neck. Perhaps, he is wondering if sea creatures speak the same language as humans.
Kyungsoo is skilled in learning, getting knowledge through humans and books, even when he isn’t exactly fond of reading. Yet, he finds himself wondering how actual communication would be possible between them and, bemused, he starts to swim.
He peeks outside the water hoping for the man to follow him once again but he remains in the sand looking at him. Unsure of what to do for the man to get closer and let himself be lured, Kyungsoo huffs and crosses his arms, more exasperated at him than at the human. The latter notices the change in his mood and snorts.
The possibilities about every encounter ending with the man making fun of him make Kyungsoo uneasy.
The man raises a hand bringing it towards him and Kyungsoo finally comprehends a sign: he is asking for the merman to swim towards him. He squints wondering about the man intentions but resolves on reaching the closest rock to the shore.
The man then writes a name in the sand with his finger, an elegant handwriting.
“Jongin,” Kyungsoo reads earning a soft smile from the man. He ponders for some seconds and concludes the man understands him by the movement of his lips. “Jongin,” He repeats unsure of the pronunciation, realizing with it that he stills owes an answer. “Kyungsoo,” he finally says without thinking too deep about it.
He hears the man mispronounce it two times and finds himself repeating the name until he finally gets it, earning a small, unintentional, smile from the merman.
The man stands up and goes for his shells that lay on the sand and Kyungsoo had forgotten long ago. He turns instinctively at his sides to search for his own which must be deep in the sea once again, bringing him certain shame. The man picks one of the shells with a proud smile, placing it on the rock the merman is leaning on.
It’s a tiny blue snail shell, smaller than the ones Kyungsoo always picks. It isn’t anything special when it comes to shape or texture and it’s even broken at the end. Yet, he holds it carefully and runs his fingers around it with a gentle feeling between.
It’s odd, to being gifted by a human who hasn’t been lured. It’s odd, to receive something for someone else by their own. Kyungsoo realizes it’s the first honest present he has ever received.
Jongin nods with a smile at Kyungsoo’s confounded reaction and raises a hand as farewell before heading to the blue house.
With the snail on his hand, Kyungsoo follows him and swims towards the fountain inside the house. There, Jongin places the remaining shells on the table and tries to dry his hair with a shirt that laid on a chair.
At first, he looks surprised to see the merman inside, but as soon as his gaze lays on the snail resting in the fountain, he gets confidently closer. He doesn’t hesitate to take a look at Kyungsoo from head to tail with curiosity and a glint of wonder. Kyungsoo brings his arms to his stomach, trying to cover the slight fat, feeling remorse of the poor size of his tail and other small flaws. He refuses to be scrutinized by a human on his right mind and as soon as the man’s eyes return to his, the merman holds a heavy gaze seeking to lure him.
The man is slowly slumping his guard, Kyungsoo can tell from the way his shoulders and eyelids drop. A mixture of curiosity and slight gratitude surrounds the merman, who is unable of resolving what to do with the man. Drowning him or taking his belongings doesn’t sound so appealing as before. Peculiarly, he is more curious about Jongin than anything he could force him to do.
He drops his gaze to anywhere but him, breaking the allure. A bit muddled by the interaction, Jongin tries to lock eyes with the merman again without succeeding. Kyungsoo is sure no human can recall their reverie with a sea creature but, just in case, he points to the books on the corner to distract the man.
Jongin uses his index and middle finger to pass them above his left hand up and down. Kyungsoo doesn’t understand and Jongin sits in front of him slightly defeated.
“I can’t hear,” Jongin says accompanied with signs and Kyungsoo nods in acknowledgment. “But you can talk. I will understand.” He finishes his statement by pointing at Kyungsoo’s lips.
Jongin is vague and idle when answering questions. He picks easy but lazy answers that both irritate and intrigue Kyungsoo making him come back day after day. What is he? a human; where is he from? from far away; what is he doing there? living.
As if he hides the most of the secrets, Jongin stays hesitant in answering direct and real questions revolving his life outside the blue house. The only proper answer Kyungsoo gets is about how he found out about the house per se. Everything points towards Chanyeol, the caretaker, who happens to be Jongin’s lifelong friend and even told him mermaid tales he was reluctant to believe.
Kyungsoo decides to share some anecdotes from when younger Chanyeol used to spend his summers at the blue house. The merman loved to get advantage of his kind heart and easily scared personality. If there was a man scared of mermans, it was Chanyeol. Much to the others dismay who were fond of the man’s attention.
The merman brushes off the thought of the others instantly. They aren’t half of interesting nor striking as Jongin can be, even with his ambiguousness and misgiving answers.
“What happened?” Kyungsoo asks after some hesitance, still unsure if he is being clear. The question catches the man’s attention understanding the purpose of it right away.
“I wasn’t born deaf.”
That’s the only thing Jongin says, serious and a slightly resentful, making Kyungsoo feel guilty. He decides to not touch the topic again.
Meanwhile, Jongin solely asks for Kyungsoo to speak at normal pace: not too slow, not too fast and always facing him. He doesn’t make direct questions and limits himself to read the stories the merman brings to him.
Beyond any hesitance, shyness or unease, there is something in Jongin that makes Kyungsoo want to open up more. For him and only him.
Jongin learns that Kyungsoo lives just about two minutes swimming away from him, collects seashells in any appealing color and shape, along with human’s belongings, likes to lay next to the coral reef or really close to the shore in summer and absolutely loves the sun kissing his skin. Kyungsoo also enjoys to talk about the sea with the wonders deep down in it, which the man would love, and even mock Jongin for his low resistance when it comes to swimming.
Jongin confesses he is starting to like sea tales as Kyungsoo realizes he loves to hear the man’s occurrences he drops here and there, even the small foolish jokes.
Humans are never that interesting after the first weeks but, inexplicably, Jongin keeps drawing Kyungsoo to the blue house with small, inconsequential actions until the weeks become months.
“Teach me,” Kyungsoo says one day realizing he won’t find a better way to understand the man than with the signs. He has been paying special attention to Jongin’s hands and arms movements for the last weeks, confident about his learning skills. Jongin seems pleased, and even delighted by the idea causing instant glee in the merman.
“Thank you.” Jongin says as he puts his hand over his chin and brings his fingers forward. The merman doesn’t hesitate in imitate him.
He receives a bright smile he has never seen before and a sudden caress on his shoulder. Kyungsoo brushes off the fact that it’s the first time a human got to touch him but embraces the warm Jongin carries with his fingers compared to his usually cold, wet skin.
Jongin doesn’t say anything but he looks visibly relaxed the more Kyungsoo understands sign language. He also seems more comfortable around him, even if he thought ‘more’ was impossible. It encourages the merman to not refrain himself from using his body language or facial expressions as he would usually do around the others, too concerned about being mocked.
Jongin loves to act in the moment, answer fast and even be playful. Kyungsoo is amazed by how pleasantly that fits with him and his calm, more serious persona.
Suddenly, he finds something similar to nostalgia, something never felt before, in two places where it shouldn’t be: at home, when he returns to the sea and in Jongin’s eyes, every time he looks at his almost forgotten yacht.
Not everything is shinning gold around Jongin. His life outside the blue house hasn’t been nothing close to pleasant, he confesses a day when he tries to fix a small fissure on the fountain. Since the accident he wants to keep for himself, his family dynamic has changed for the worse, with no one else to blame but Jongin; even if Kyungsoo tries to convince him otherwise. Nothing lacked at home except for what Jongin wished the most, affection. With his sister, the one that slightly cared for him, gone from home, he had succumbed to the pressure and run away the farthest he could go. Chanyeol has been kind enough to let him live in the house without asking for payment.
It’s the first time Kyungsoo witness open vulnerability in someone else besides him. It makes his chest tighten as the knot in his throat grows. Desperation squeezes his heart when tears begin to run uncontrollably through Jongin’s cheeks.
Jongin calls himself a coward and even more horrible things, words Kyungsoo is familiar with. He brings out flaws and reveals scars the merman would love to patch and heal. With his hands shaking, unsure of what to do, he reaches for Jongin and embraces him. He caresses his face and shoulder blades and even kisses his forehead trying to wash away the pain.
Since then, Kyungsoo understands nostalgia and attachment come in different shapes. Jongin could be laughing, cursing or bemoaning about his home, but in each one he would still be missing it. Not the hurtful comments from his father, nor the ashamed gaze from his mother, but the family notion he used to adore before the accident. Jongin loved his now toxic and prejudicial family and nothing would change it.
But he could be healed, just as Kyungsoo.
Jongin loves to read by the fountain with Kyungsoo at his side, peeking from his shoulder, following the words he has learned so far and the ones he is still trying to get used to. When Kyungsoo stumbles upon words he doesn’t understand, Jongin explains them with signs and mimics the action. And when there are words neither of them understand, Jongin fabricates a meaning, playing with the context.
Therefore, ‘petrichor’ becomes a gesture where your hands move forwards and backwards, falling from above to replicate that pleasant smell of rain after a long period of warm, dry weather Kyungsoo isn’t familiar with at all; while ‘metanoia’, in Jongin’s mind, is his index and middle finger slightly bent in constant movement meaning just a journey.
Kyungsoo loses the number of the books they have read as he does with the time that had passed; Jongin assures him it’s already a year but he lets it go. Instead, he grasps to the number of smiles he receives or the times Jongin has caressed him in a day. His touch lingers more seconds each time as his gaze does too but Kyungsoo doesn’t feel apprehensive nor troubled anymore.
If he shows any sign of anxiety, Jongin takes a step back but never stops reaching. Between his foolish jokes and teasing, he pampers Kyungsoo with small compliments until the latter doesn’t feel uncomfortable anymore.
For the first time, Kyungsoo feels honest fondness, interest and appeal towards his own persona. Without a voice to be heard nor a character to be played. Almost as if Jongin could make him love those pieces of him he used to despise.
The merman also holds to the sight of a careless Jongin who just wanders at the shore without a troubled mind. Time heals and both are fond of helping.
The nights, away from the blue house and without Jongin, become boring and slightly tedious. The merman resolves to spend a night at the house although the fountain is anything but comfortable. The gritty bricks keep leaving Kyungsoo’s skin crepe pink and there is no convenient position for his tired neck.
He is fully woken up by Jongin chuckling in the dark. The man yawns before opening the door and going outside. Kyungsoo doesn’t need to be told for him to swim towards the sea.
They found each other by the shore where Jongin is sitting in the sand, hugging his knees. Kyungsoo makes the effort to sit the closest he is able to, where the cold water still can reach the joint of his tail. Jongin doesn’t hesitate on moving beside him, dipping half of his body in the sea.
Kyungsoo will reproach him about getting sick as soon as the sun is up but, for how, he will stay silent. He is grateful for the silver moonlight, bright enough to see themselves. Even if their silences are comfortable too, he wouldn’t want to miss any sign Jongin may do.
Also, it would be a shame to lose the sight of Jongin’s messy hair, sleepy eyes and pouting lips.
The refreshing breeze and the serene waves are soothing enough to make Kyungsoo regain the slumber. After all, he is part of the sea. There is nowhere else he could belong, apart from at the side of a fanciful tanned man with playful eyes, dazzling smile and beaming imagination.
Jongin plays with the reflection of the stars in the water before running a hand through his hair, another manner of him.
“Gorgeous,” Jongin says to draw Kyungsoo’s attention. The merman almost thinks is a sobriquet for him but the man’s eyes are focused on the sky. “I can’t see the stars from home,” he signs.
Kyungsoo almost forgot about Jongin’s house. He always feels as if the man had always been there, in the blue shore, in the shore, with him. There is a palpable feeling of hurt in Jongin’s voice when he talks about his family, a certain grief he tries to hide behind a careless smile.
The merman despises to be reminded about how the man’s past has hurt him. He softly touches Jongin’s hand lingering in the sand, wishing he could somehow mend it. When Jongin turns to him at the gentle touch, Kyungsoo doesn’t know what to say, so he licks his lips nervously and decides to sign rather than tell.
With his fists clenched, Kyungsoo crosses his arms on his chest. Affection.
Jongin’s smile, one that was laced with bitterness mere seconds ago, suddenly morphs into a genuine one, brighter than the stars and lighter than the sand.
Kyungsoo becomes aware he would love to sing for him, to take him into the sea, deep into the great unknown, and show him the sand gleaming in pearls and the coral reefs he knows the man would love. He dreams of showering Jongin in songs and gentle caresses, never letting him come back to the broken place he still calls home.
Before sunrise, Kyungsoo gathers enough courage to visit an undine that wanders at the cliff, waiting for the bravest humans’ presence. The nymph is welcoming to help, but at a prize not everyone is willing to accept.
She has kind brownish eyes and soft amber hair decorated with pearls. Her booming figure is covered in salt creating a ravishing, but intimidating for any other sea creature, sight. Still, Kyungsoo doesn’t hesitate in reaching for her and revealing his intentions.
She listens without saying a word and finally places a conch shell on Kyungsoo’s hands. It’s bigger than any other the merman had seen. It’s soft, even at its spouts, cream color with bluish degraded at the high spire and coral pigment at the canal. It also has white tiny particles adhered at the sides, too big to be salt, too small to be pearls.
“He will hear again,” the undine says with a tender voice that would have made anyone jealous. “Humans can hear the sea in a shell. If you sing for it, when he places it on his ear, he should be able to hear your voice. But two prices must be paid and a condition must be fulfilled. A voice will be lost and his human soul must transform, because the sea only helps one of its own.”
The nymph stays silent waiting for the merman to answer, but his thoughts are too scattered to mouth a word.
“He must want to be part of the sea, his heart must belong with us. The shell will shatter, once the wish is granted. Be careful, it’s quite delicate, even the slightest doubt can tear it and the end could be replaced by seaspray.”
As Kyungsoo swims back home his long forgotten uneasy returns. After all, his voice is still his most precious feature, even if Jongin had showed him more lovable traits in his persona.
The merman arrives home with the shell in shaking hands. He runs his trembling fingers around its smooth exterior as memories from Jongin invade his mind. Jongin wants him, with or without a voice, but he would require to leave his own world apart.
Affection requires sacrifice, he repeats to himself as he holds the shell close to his mouth, his lips brushing the cold surface. He picks the first song he used when trying to lure the man for the first time. His voice lower than usual and cracking at the final notes.
Eventually, he stops without ending the song, unable to go on.
Jongin has grown a liking to wander by the shore and attempt to swim. Kyungsoo tries to be encouraging and patient, even after the first two months with no apparent improvement. The man is graceful in the water, but besides what it seems a mermaid dance, there is no endurance, nor swiftness.
He also refuses to take his clothes off when swimming, except for the shoes, beyond any mocking from the merman.
Kyungsoo is delighted, not only by his foolish and entertaining failures but also for his persistence and lighthearted mood. He doesn’t hesitate to follow the merman the farthest he can from the coast, even when breathing becomes difficult. With the excitement and naivety of a child, he keeps swimming back and forth between the sea and the shore until his lungs need a huge puff of air.
He lies up in the sand with arms and legs stretched. His whole body is sunburned, his skin glowing with blush red, but he holds a bright smile on his face. He has sand in his hair, clothes and fingernails, yet he can’t stop laughing at the itch. He starts to complain about the sand sticking on his eyelids, however, he refuses to get inside the house.
Kyungsoo is mesmerized by the sight of euphoria in Jongin’s eyes as he walks towards him. The man sits in front of him and places a hand above Kyungsoo’s rock.
“Sometimes, I feel, somehow, I now belong to the sea, with you.”
Jongin signs poking his chest with his middle finger at the end. He has a lively glint on his eyes as he holds Kyungsoo’s nape bringing him closer. Kyungsoo loses himself in his deep, glossy eyes before the man chuckles. There is slight pink creeping in his cheeks and his eyes became crinkly before joining their lips. It feels like being kissed by the sun itself. It burns and washes any sadness or worry away.
Kyungsoo returns home to find the shell slightly broken at the tail. He desperately tries to fix it as he sings every song he memorized until his throat doesn’t emit any sound. Yet, the shell remains shattered at its end and Kyungsoo blames himself for not abiding the conditions.
He swims with the broken shell towards the blue house where he finds Jongin still cleaning the sand from his messy hair. The man receives him with another smile before realizing the merman’s anxious state.
Kyungsoo signs desperately all the details: from his intentions, to the nymph, to his poor attempts until he can’t rule his own movements. He tries to speak and mouths words but no sounds leaves his throat.
“Kyungsoo,” Jongin says holding his shoulders tightly longing to soothe him.
The merman doesn’t want to see the disappointment in the man eyes, so he closes his.
Kyungsoo wakes up with a pleasant sea smell. His neck hurts, his arm feels numb and his tail is uncomfortably lying above a picky rock. He opens his eyes to realize he fell asleep inside the fountain, head and neck over his arm and a white shirt.
The light comes from the stained glass and ricochets in the walls that glint as if they were made of salt. It must be morning.
He takes a sniff of the shirt. It’s Jongin’s scent, which always reminds him to water, sand and salt. He rubs his tired eyes and looks at his sides searching for the man, but there is no sight from him. Instead, he finds scattered pieces of a creme shell.
Fearful of Jongin, he swims towards the sea. Desperation grows when he doesn’t find him at the farthest point he could swim. Thoughtless about Jongin’s deafness and the lack of his own voice, he screams.
“Jongin!”
His voice paralyzes him in terror. If his voice flows, the shell didn’t granted the wish. If the shell is already shattered, the end should be seaspray.
His trail of thoughts is broken when someone embraces him from behind dragging him inside the water. He turns to face Jongin who is swimming and holds a shimmering smile. The merman almost swears he hears his name and a chuckle before Jongin swims to the surface with him trailing from behind.
Kyungsoo inspects Jongin from head to toe while the latter laughs at his ticklish joints. He finally finds grey reluctant skin that resembles scales in Jongin’s forearms. It’s selkie skin, a reminder Jongin’s heart would be divided between the sea and the sand.
The merman hears a ‘It has been growing’ at the back of his head.
“Suddenly I could swim better, I told you practice makes perfection.” Jongin signs making Kyungsoo burst in unbelieving laughter. “And Kyungsoo, your voice is gorgeous,” Jongin adds before going back into the sea, where their thoughts would be connected by the water.
Title: a song from the sea
Pairing: D.O./Kai
Rating: PG-13
Monsters: Merman
Word Count: 5.4 k
Summary: Kyungsoo’s pride is his voice. Sadly, Jongin can’t hear it.
A/N: First of all, a huge ‘thank you’ for the mods who were extremely patient with me and to A for her ideas. Dear prompter, I hope you find a smile on this fic even if it wasn’t what you thought of. I surely did even if it didn’t go as expected. Enjoy.
“They say there is a yacht near the blue house.”
Baekhyun holds a teasing smile showing off white teeth resembling pearls. He playfully takes the small shells Kyungsoo has been selecting since morning and inspects them with judging eyes. “Luhan says he sang to a man but he remained oblivious.”
Kyungsoo patiently waits for him to return his belongings, aware it won’t happen until he willingly accepts his implicit challenge. Therefore, he swims to the surface to spot a white yacht docked at his favorite coast, where the blue house can be found, surrounded by big rocks and sea stacks.
The blue house, as baptized by the sea creatures, is a small and antique house built with navy blue and burnished color bricks. Their origin, as well as its age, are unknown and contrived in tales. Nevertheless, the house itself possesses particular charm. From the stained glass decorating the sides of the roof, to the small, eroded fountain at the corner, which is connected to the sea.
Even if it’s beautifully decorated, it’s barely a sole room with enough facilities for one person, thus the sea creatures, and even humans, lose the interest on it after current visits.
Kyungsoo likes humans. To seduce them, use them for his entertainment and then make them forget about it can please anyone of his kind. He is particularly fond of playfully drowning them and taking their belongings for his collection using the alluring influence a merman is dotted with.
He may not be as beautiful and lovely as Luhan or as charming and witty as Baekhyun, but the simplest melody from him can lure any human. His voice is soft and tender, the most beautiful in all the sea. Baekhyun and Luhan may tell you otherwise but they are also liars.
At the coast, the said yacht is humble in size and barely catches anyone's attention, yet there's pure luxury behind its design.
Kyungsoo reaches for the smaller rocks in the coast, placing himself on top of one. His tail lays in the tepid water, playing with it, until he catches a glimpse of a man, in front of the blue house, wearing a blue shirt and white pants on; his back is facing the merman. He is tall and well-built with blonde hair and sunkissed skin.
He must be waiting for Chanyeol, the caretaker of the house who lives at the opposite coast of the island, where even more luxurious houses can be found.
The merman opts for singing before said human arrives. The notes of an old song about how love is colorful like a sunset begin to flow, slowly but accurate. Oddly, it doesn’t snares the man’s attention. Baffled by the lack of reaction, Kyungsoo tries with a different melody, one even more unique but even after he had picked small parts of five different songs, the man remains oblivious.
When hearing Chanyeol’s van, Kyungsoo huffs and gets back to water with his head peeking from behind the yacht. The caretaker reaches for the strange man and taps his shoulder, then begins to make signs using his hands and arms. The man laughs gripping a key from him and nods before bidding farewell with another sign.
The man must be, what humans call, deaf.
Without using his voice, there is nothing Kyungsoo can do to lure the man. What restrains him from leaving the coast is the mocking smile the others will hold when he returns unsuccessful. It had happened more than once, and their reaction hadn’t been, in any way, pleasant or encouraging.
Hesitation stays until the man takes a look at the sea, a candid smile on his face, before getting into the house. Kyungsoo swims towards the fountain and, with a hold of the rocks that form the fountain, peeks outside. The man is distracted, once again, looking at the ceiling in awe. Kyungsoo looks up too, at the small colorful crystals in the glass refracting the light. A cold color palette reflecting the small nuances of the house.
When he returns his gaze to the man, the latter is already looking at him, perplexity written in his eyes. Startled, Kyungsoo gets in the water and leaves, only to remember he could erase the memory from him halfway to the sea.
He decides to return, but this time, he doesn't find the man. He raises a questioning eyebrow to the nothing, wondering if said man ran away to divulge mermaid tales. He wouldn't be the first and definitely not the last.
“Boo!”
Kyungsoo turns in surprise, shoulders tense and eyes wide open, to face the man who is laughing at him. He even has the courage to lean on the fountain.
The merman frowns and takes a grip of the man’s wrist. The man remains completely still and quiet, in reverie by the merman’s eyes. For a moment, Kyungsoo contemplates the idea of smite him but it's not worthy. Before leaving, he takes a last look at the still entranced man. He is even taller and veritably attractive up close. Thin eyebrows for dark brown eyes. Curvy nose and slightly plump lips for a sharp jawline.
The man won’t remember the encounter but Kyungsoo can’t brush the thoughts on the matter nor find another way to seduce the man neither. Trying to be charismatic isn't going to work. And his looks? It’s pretty obvious the man found him more funny-looking rather than gorgeous. Gorgeous and dazzling represent the kind of reaction the others of his kind would always grant. But not him, not without his voice.
“He is deaf,” Kyungsoo says to a yearning Baekhyun when he returns.
“It's over then. Maybe if he saw you,” Baekhyun says to Luhan, who is picking starfishes. He returns just half of Kyungsoo’s shells, the smaller ones.
“Not interested, there is another one at the other side. Let him try.” Luhan smiles and points at Kyungsoo. Even when mocking, he is graceful.
Kyungsoo bites his tongue when Baekhyun giggles at the comment. Both shatter his face and presence with just a look, smug as if he wasn't good enough as them to even try.
Kyungsoo limits himself to observe the man at the mornings until forthright curiosity sprouts. He resolves to snoop once again and swims towards the house to find no one is there. Still, the room has small hints of the man’s presence already: a glass on the table, a messy bed and some books with other belongings at the corner.
The yacht is still on the shore, thus Kyungsoo assumes the man must be inside it or somewhere else in the island. Wandering by the shore before returning home, he picks up some scallops and snail shells. With a handful of them, he arrives at the big rocks and stacks near the house and meets the tanned man.
He is also holding seashells, smaller but more colorful ones. When he becomes aware of Kyungsoo’s presence, he solely looks muddled but realization dawns on him as soon as the merman raises his tail, dazing him to the point he drops some shells from his hands.
The latter feels proud at the reaction but he is soon enough baffled as the man starts walking towards him. He pretends the action means nothing to him and stays still trying to gather presence, confident no human has ever had the nerve to touch him.
The man gets close enough for the sea to touch his ankles, but not further. Kyungsoo smiles playfully before going back to the water and swim towards behind some stack debris. Through the water, he can see the man leaning in the rocks looking for him.
Derisive, Kyungsoo raises only the tip of his tail out of the water. He expects anything but the man jumping into the sea to follow him.
He keeps his clothes on, even the shoes and scrunches his nose in a comical way that makes the merman chuckle. He is also agile and fast to swim, even graceful. The merman almost regrets swimming quicker and deeper when the man returns to the sand, gasping. It takes some seconds for him to normally breathe again. He runs a hand through his wet hair and takes a look at his clothes before looking for Kyungsoo, who is peeking behind a rock watching him.
The man brings up his hands, laying his fingers on his chest to then drop his shoulders and arms at his sides. Kyungsoo doesn’t grasp on what the he is trying to sign, therefore he doesn’t react but raises his head to indicate he is paying attention.
The man raises a hand, followed by him hitting his index and middle fingers together before raising both hands with his palms facing up. Still unsure of what he is trying to express, Kyungsoo shakes his head slowly getting a nod as a response.
“I am tired.” The man says with a soft, deep and somehow slow voice, accompanied with signs like the ones he did before. “What is your name?”
Muddle piles up on Kyungsoo at the question; it is the first time a human asks for his name. Giving a name holds more intimacy than he is willing to accept with any human but perhaps that’s what is needed to fulfill his intention. He opts for remaining silent, unsure of how to respond since, after all, he doesn’t know any sign.
There is a long silence in which neither the man or the merman share a word. Kyungsoo decides to get closer leaning in a smaller rock and even considers of using the sand for a better communication.
“You don’t understand?” The man asks adding even more signs. The merman nods but that brings even a longer silence with the man remaining thoughtful, scratching his neck. Perhaps, he is wondering if sea creatures speak the same language as humans.
Kyungsoo is skilled in learning, getting knowledge through humans and books, even when he isn’t exactly fond of reading. Yet, he finds himself wondering how actual communication would be possible between them and, bemused, he starts to swim.
He peeks outside the water hoping for the man to follow him once again but he remains in the sand looking at him. Unsure of what to do for the man to get closer and let himself be lured, Kyungsoo huffs and crosses his arms, more exasperated at him than at the human. The latter notices the change in his mood and snorts.
The possibilities about every encounter ending with the man making fun of him make Kyungsoo uneasy.
The man raises a hand bringing it towards him and Kyungsoo finally comprehends a sign: he is asking for the merman to swim towards him. He squints wondering about the man intentions but resolves on reaching the closest rock to the shore.
The man then writes a name in the sand with his finger, an elegant handwriting.
“Jongin,” Kyungsoo reads earning a soft smile from the man. He ponders for some seconds and concludes the man understands him by the movement of his lips. “Jongin,” He repeats unsure of the pronunciation, realizing with it that he stills owes an answer. “Kyungsoo,” he finally says without thinking too deep about it.
He hears the man mispronounce it two times and finds himself repeating the name until he finally gets it, earning a small, unintentional, smile from the merman.
The man stands up and goes for his shells that lay on the sand and Kyungsoo had forgotten long ago. He turns instinctively at his sides to search for his own which must be deep in the sea once again, bringing him certain shame. The man picks one of the shells with a proud smile, placing it on the rock the merman is leaning on.
It’s a tiny blue snail shell, smaller than the ones Kyungsoo always picks. It isn’t anything special when it comes to shape or texture and it’s even broken at the end. Yet, he holds it carefully and runs his fingers around it with a gentle feeling between.
It’s odd, to being gifted by a human who hasn’t been lured. It’s odd, to receive something for someone else by their own. Kyungsoo realizes it’s the first honest present he has ever received.
Jongin nods with a smile at Kyungsoo’s confounded reaction and raises a hand as farewell before heading to the blue house.
With the snail on his hand, Kyungsoo follows him and swims towards the fountain inside the house. There, Jongin places the remaining shells on the table and tries to dry his hair with a shirt that laid on a chair.
At first, he looks surprised to see the merman inside, but as soon as his gaze lays on the snail resting in the fountain, he gets confidently closer. He doesn’t hesitate to take a look at Kyungsoo from head to tail with curiosity and a glint of wonder. Kyungsoo brings his arms to his stomach, trying to cover the slight fat, feeling remorse of the poor size of his tail and other small flaws. He refuses to be scrutinized by a human on his right mind and as soon as the man’s eyes return to his, the merman holds a heavy gaze seeking to lure him.
The man is slowly slumping his guard, Kyungsoo can tell from the way his shoulders and eyelids drop. A mixture of curiosity and slight gratitude surrounds the merman, who is unable of resolving what to do with the man. Drowning him or taking his belongings doesn’t sound so appealing as before. Peculiarly, he is more curious about Jongin than anything he could force him to do.
He drops his gaze to anywhere but him, breaking the allure. A bit muddled by the interaction, Jongin tries to lock eyes with the merman again without succeeding. Kyungsoo is sure no human can recall their reverie with a sea creature but, just in case, he points to the books on the corner to distract the man.
Jongin uses his index and middle finger to pass them above his left hand up and down. Kyungsoo doesn’t understand and Jongin sits in front of him slightly defeated.
“I can’t hear,” Jongin says accompanied with signs and Kyungsoo nods in acknowledgment. “But you can talk. I will understand.” He finishes his statement by pointing at Kyungsoo’s lips.
Jongin is vague and idle when answering questions. He picks easy but lazy answers that both irritate and intrigue Kyungsoo making him come back day after day. What is he? a human; where is he from? from far away; what is he doing there? living.
As if he hides the most of the secrets, Jongin stays hesitant in answering direct and real questions revolving his life outside the blue house. The only proper answer Kyungsoo gets is about how he found out about the house per se. Everything points towards Chanyeol, the caretaker, who happens to be Jongin’s lifelong friend and even told him mermaid tales he was reluctant to believe.
Kyungsoo decides to share some anecdotes from when younger Chanyeol used to spend his summers at the blue house. The merman loved to get advantage of his kind heart and easily scared personality. If there was a man scared of mermans, it was Chanyeol. Much to the others dismay who were fond of the man’s attention.
The merman brushes off the thought of the others instantly. They aren’t half of interesting nor striking as Jongin can be, even with his ambiguousness and misgiving answers.
“What happened?” Kyungsoo asks after some hesitance, still unsure if he is being clear. The question catches the man’s attention understanding the purpose of it right away.
“I wasn’t born deaf.”
That’s the only thing Jongin says, serious and a slightly resentful, making Kyungsoo feel guilty. He decides to not touch the topic again.
Meanwhile, Jongin solely asks for Kyungsoo to speak at normal pace: not too slow, not too fast and always facing him. He doesn’t make direct questions and limits himself to read the stories the merman brings to him.
Beyond any hesitance, shyness or unease, there is something in Jongin that makes Kyungsoo want to open up more. For him and only him.
Jongin learns that Kyungsoo lives just about two minutes swimming away from him, collects seashells in any appealing color and shape, along with human’s belongings, likes to lay next to the coral reef or really close to the shore in summer and absolutely loves the sun kissing his skin. Kyungsoo also enjoys to talk about the sea with the wonders deep down in it, which the man would love, and even mock Jongin for his low resistance when it comes to swimming.
Jongin confesses he is starting to like sea tales as Kyungsoo realizes he loves to hear the man’s occurrences he drops here and there, even the small foolish jokes.
Humans are never that interesting after the first weeks but, inexplicably, Jongin keeps drawing Kyungsoo to the blue house with small, inconsequential actions until the weeks become months.
“Teach me,” Kyungsoo says one day realizing he won’t find a better way to understand the man than with the signs. He has been paying special attention to Jongin’s hands and arms movements for the last weeks, confident about his learning skills. Jongin seems pleased, and even delighted by the idea causing instant glee in the merman.
“Thank you.” Jongin says as he puts his hand over his chin and brings his fingers forward. The merman doesn’t hesitate in imitate him.
He receives a bright smile he has never seen before and a sudden caress on his shoulder. Kyungsoo brushes off the fact that it’s the first time a human got to touch him but embraces the warm Jongin carries with his fingers compared to his usually cold, wet skin.
Jongin doesn’t say anything but he looks visibly relaxed the more Kyungsoo understands sign language. He also seems more comfortable around him, even if he thought ‘more’ was impossible. It encourages the merman to not refrain himself from using his body language or facial expressions as he would usually do around the others, too concerned about being mocked.
Jongin loves to act in the moment, answer fast and even be playful. Kyungsoo is amazed by how pleasantly that fits with him and his calm, more serious persona.
Suddenly, he finds something similar to nostalgia, something never felt before, in two places where it shouldn’t be: at home, when he returns to the sea and in Jongin’s eyes, every time he looks at his almost forgotten yacht.
Not everything is shinning gold around Jongin. His life outside the blue house hasn’t been nothing close to pleasant, he confesses a day when he tries to fix a small fissure on the fountain. Since the accident he wants to keep for himself, his family dynamic has changed for the worse, with no one else to blame but Jongin; even if Kyungsoo tries to convince him otherwise. Nothing lacked at home except for what Jongin wished the most, affection. With his sister, the one that slightly cared for him, gone from home, he had succumbed to the pressure and run away the farthest he could go. Chanyeol has been kind enough to let him live in the house without asking for payment.
It’s the first time Kyungsoo witness open vulnerability in someone else besides him. It makes his chest tighten as the knot in his throat grows. Desperation squeezes his heart when tears begin to run uncontrollably through Jongin’s cheeks.
Jongin calls himself a coward and even more horrible things, words Kyungsoo is familiar with. He brings out flaws and reveals scars the merman would love to patch and heal. With his hands shaking, unsure of what to do, he reaches for Jongin and embraces him. He caresses his face and shoulder blades and even kisses his forehead trying to wash away the pain.
Since then, Kyungsoo understands nostalgia and attachment come in different shapes. Jongin could be laughing, cursing or bemoaning about his home, but in each one he would still be missing it. Not the hurtful comments from his father, nor the ashamed gaze from his mother, but the family notion he used to adore before the accident. Jongin loved his now toxic and prejudicial family and nothing would change it.
But he could be healed, just as Kyungsoo.
Jongin loves to read by the fountain with Kyungsoo at his side, peeking from his shoulder, following the words he has learned so far and the ones he is still trying to get used to. When Kyungsoo stumbles upon words he doesn’t understand, Jongin explains them with signs and mimics the action. And when there are words neither of them understand, Jongin fabricates a meaning, playing with the context.
Therefore, ‘petrichor’ becomes a gesture where your hands move forwards and backwards, falling from above to replicate that pleasant smell of rain after a long period of warm, dry weather Kyungsoo isn’t familiar with at all; while ‘metanoia’, in Jongin’s mind, is his index and middle finger slightly bent in constant movement meaning just a journey.
Kyungsoo loses the number of the books they have read as he does with the time that had passed; Jongin assures him it’s already a year but he lets it go. Instead, he grasps to the number of smiles he receives or the times Jongin has caressed him in a day. His touch lingers more seconds each time as his gaze does too but Kyungsoo doesn’t feel apprehensive nor troubled anymore.
If he shows any sign of anxiety, Jongin takes a step back but never stops reaching. Between his foolish jokes and teasing, he pampers Kyungsoo with small compliments until the latter doesn’t feel uncomfortable anymore.
For the first time, Kyungsoo feels honest fondness, interest and appeal towards his own persona. Without a voice to be heard nor a character to be played. Almost as if Jongin could make him love those pieces of him he used to despise.
The merman also holds to the sight of a careless Jongin who just wanders at the shore without a troubled mind. Time heals and both are fond of helping.
The nights, away from the blue house and without Jongin, become boring and slightly tedious. The merman resolves to spend a night at the house although the fountain is anything but comfortable. The gritty bricks keep leaving Kyungsoo’s skin crepe pink and there is no convenient position for his tired neck.
He is fully woken up by Jongin chuckling in the dark. The man yawns before opening the door and going outside. Kyungsoo doesn’t need to be told for him to swim towards the sea.
They found each other by the shore where Jongin is sitting in the sand, hugging his knees. Kyungsoo makes the effort to sit the closest he is able to, where the cold water still can reach the joint of his tail. Jongin doesn’t hesitate on moving beside him, dipping half of his body in the sea.
Kyungsoo will reproach him about getting sick as soon as the sun is up but, for how, he will stay silent. He is grateful for the silver moonlight, bright enough to see themselves. Even if their silences are comfortable too, he wouldn’t want to miss any sign Jongin may do.
Also, it would be a shame to lose the sight of Jongin’s messy hair, sleepy eyes and pouting lips.
The refreshing breeze and the serene waves are soothing enough to make Kyungsoo regain the slumber. After all, he is part of the sea. There is nowhere else he could belong, apart from at the side of a fanciful tanned man with playful eyes, dazzling smile and beaming imagination.
Jongin plays with the reflection of the stars in the water before running a hand through his hair, another manner of him.
“Gorgeous,” Jongin says to draw Kyungsoo’s attention. The merman almost thinks is a sobriquet for him but the man’s eyes are focused on the sky. “I can’t see the stars from home,” he signs.
Kyungsoo almost forgot about Jongin’s house. He always feels as if the man had always been there, in the blue shore, in the shore, with him. There is a palpable feeling of hurt in Jongin’s voice when he talks about his family, a certain grief he tries to hide behind a careless smile.
The merman despises to be reminded about how the man’s past has hurt him. He softly touches Jongin’s hand lingering in the sand, wishing he could somehow mend it. When Jongin turns to him at the gentle touch, Kyungsoo doesn’t know what to say, so he licks his lips nervously and decides to sign rather than tell.
With his fists clenched, Kyungsoo crosses his arms on his chest. Affection.
Jongin’s smile, one that was laced with bitterness mere seconds ago, suddenly morphs into a genuine one, brighter than the stars and lighter than the sand.
Kyungsoo becomes aware he would love to sing for him, to take him into the sea, deep into the great unknown, and show him the sand gleaming in pearls and the coral reefs he knows the man would love. He dreams of showering Jongin in songs and gentle caresses, never letting him come back to the broken place he still calls home.
Before sunrise, Kyungsoo gathers enough courage to visit an undine that wanders at the cliff, waiting for the bravest humans’ presence. The nymph is welcoming to help, but at a prize not everyone is willing to accept.
She has kind brownish eyes and soft amber hair decorated with pearls. Her booming figure is covered in salt creating a ravishing, but intimidating for any other sea creature, sight. Still, Kyungsoo doesn’t hesitate in reaching for her and revealing his intentions.
She listens without saying a word and finally places a conch shell on Kyungsoo’s hands. It’s bigger than any other the merman had seen. It’s soft, even at its spouts, cream color with bluish degraded at the high spire and coral pigment at the canal. It also has white tiny particles adhered at the sides, too big to be salt, too small to be pearls.
“He will hear again,” the undine says with a tender voice that would have made anyone jealous. “Humans can hear the sea in a shell. If you sing for it, when he places it on his ear, he should be able to hear your voice. But two prices must be paid and a condition must be fulfilled. A voice will be lost and his human soul must transform, because the sea only helps one of its own.”
The nymph stays silent waiting for the merman to answer, but his thoughts are too scattered to mouth a word.
“He must want to be part of the sea, his heart must belong with us. The shell will shatter, once the wish is granted. Be careful, it’s quite delicate, even the slightest doubt can tear it and the end could be replaced by seaspray.”
As Kyungsoo swims back home his long forgotten uneasy returns. After all, his voice is still his most precious feature, even if Jongin had showed him more lovable traits in his persona.
The merman arrives home with the shell in shaking hands. He runs his trembling fingers around its smooth exterior as memories from Jongin invade his mind. Jongin wants him, with or without a voice, but he would require to leave his own world apart.
Affection requires sacrifice, he repeats to himself as he holds the shell close to his mouth, his lips brushing the cold surface. He picks the first song he used when trying to lure the man for the first time. His voice lower than usual and cracking at the final notes.
Eventually, he stops without ending the song, unable to go on.
Jongin has grown a liking to wander by the shore and attempt to swim. Kyungsoo tries to be encouraging and patient, even after the first two months with no apparent improvement. The man is graceful in the water, but besides what it seems a mermaid dance, there is no endurance, nor swiftness.
He also refuses to take his clothes off when swimming, except for the shoes, beyond any mocking from the merman.
Kyungsoo is delighted, not only by his foolish and entertaining failures but also for his persistence and lighthearted mood. He doesn’t hesitate to follow the merman the farthest he can from the coast, even when breathing becomes difficult. With the excitement and naivety of a child, he keeps swimming back and forth between the sea and the shore until his lungs need a huge puff of air.
He lies up in the sand with arms and legs stretched. His whole body is sunburned, his skin glowing with blush red, but he holds a bright smile on his face. He has sand in his hair, clothes and fingernails, yet he can’t stop laughing at the itch. He starts to complain about the sand sticking on his eyelids, however, he refuses to get inside the house.
Kyungsoo is mesmerized by the sight of euphoria in Jongin’s eyes as he walks towards him. The man sits in front of him and places a hand above Kyungsoo’s rock.
“Sometimes, I feel, somehow, I now belong to the sea, with you.”
Jongin signs poking his chest with his middle finger at the end. He has a lively glint on his eyes as he holds Kyungsoo’s nape bringing him closer. Kyungsoo loses himself in his deep, glossy eyes before the man chuckles. There is slight pink creeping in his cheeks and his eyes became crinkly before joining their lips. It feels like being kissed by the sun itself. It burns and washes any sadness or worry away.
Kyungsoo returns home to find the shell slightly broken at the tail. He desperately tries to fix it as he sings every song he memorized until his throat doesn’t emit any sound. Yet, the shell remains shattered at its end and Kyungsoo blames himself for not abiding the conditions.
He swims with the broken shell towards the blue house where he finds Jongin still cleaning the sand from his messy hair. The man receives him with another smile before realizing the merman’s anxious state.
Kyungsoo signs desperately all the details: from his intentions, to the nymph, to his poor attempts until he can’t rule his own movements. He tries to speak and mouths words but no sounds leaves his throat.
“Kyungsoo,” Jongin says holding his shoulders tightly longing to soothe him.
The merman doesn’t want to see the disappointment in the man eyes, so he closes his.
Kyungsoo wakes up with a pleasant sea smell. His neck hurts, his arm feels numb and his tail is uncomfortably lying above a picky rock. He opens his eyes to realize he fell asleep inside the fountain, head and neck over his arm and a white shirt.
The light comes from the stained glass and ricochets in the walls that glint as if they were made of salt. It must be morning.
He takes a sniff of the shirt. It’s Jongin’s scent, which always reminds him to water, sand and salt. He rubs his tired eyes and looks at his sides searching for the man, but there is no sight from him. Instead, he finds scattered pieces of a creme shell.
Fearful of Jongin, he swims towards the sea. Desperation grows when he doesn’t find him at the farthest point he could swim. Thoughtless about Jongin’s deafness and the lack of his own voice, he screams.
“Jongin!”
His voice paralyzes him in terror. If his voice flows, the shell didn’t granted the wish. If the shell is already shattered, the end should be seaspray.
His trail of thoughts is broken when someone embraces him from behind dragging him inside the water. He turns to face Jongin who is swimming and holds a shimmering smile. The merman almost swears he hears his name and a chuckle before Jongin swims to the surface with him trailing from behind.
Kyungsoo inspects Jongin from head to toe while the latter laughs at his ticklish joints. He finally finds grey reluctant skin that resembles scales in Jongin’s forearms. It’s selkie skin, a reminder Jongin’s heart would be divided between the sea and the sand.
The merman hears a ‘It has been growing’ at the back of his head.
“Suddenly I could swim better, I told you practice makes perfection.” Jongin signs making Kyungsoo burst in unbelieving laughter. “And Kyungsoo, your voice is gorgeous,” Jongin adds before going back into the sea, where their thoughts would be connected by the water.