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Jongdae and Luhan’s story began with a silver-tailed merman child with the deep, dark moon by his side.

Jongdae had been but a few years old, curled up in a ball at the bottom of the cove as the other children threw sea anemones at him, and occasionally the unsuspecting starfish. In the myriad of colours in the sea, Jongdae’s pitch black tail had marked him as cursed, unfortunate, and his mother’s untimely death seemed to reinforce that superstition.

Then Luhan had descended from above with a warcry, his two sidekicks trailing behind him reluctantly (later, Jongdae would know them as Kyungsoo and Baekhyun) and scaring the other children away. Jongdae supposed that was when he fell in love with the cute boy, optimistic and beautiful, when he took Jongdae by the hand, uncaring of his tail.

For as long as he could remember, Jongdae knew he was in love with Luhan. Luhan was a supernova in the middle of the sea, gorgeous silver tail that glittered befitting his status as prince to the mermen, let alone his honey blonde hair that framed his cute, adorable face perfectly (even if Luhan always insisted that he was manly).

Luhan was perfect in every single way. True, he wasn’t the most mature of heirs, and his father let him get away with way too much. He had the habit of flirting with everything with the ability to talk, but was never serious to anyone. But he was also brave, and loyal, and all the things that sweet dreams are made of, especially his voice. All who frequented the merman’s court could tell you of their prince’s fondness for singing, his tunes curling across the coves for days, resonating throughout the seabed. His singing made even the most hard-hearted of sharks melt into a puddle of goo.

But Luhan was also so damn oblivious it hurt Jongdae’s head just to think about how to tell Luhan he loved him. He’d already told him, a million times, when Luhan had brought him to that place with the colony of glowing jellyfish, when Luhan had stood in front of the Mer-king to defend him from lying thieves. Every single time Luhan had laughed and patted him on the back while Kyungsoo and Baekhyun had looked on with first teasing, then sympathetic eyes as time went by and Luhan never got the hint. It was despairing to live with Luhan, but Jongdae couldn’t go a day without missing him, either.

But it’s fine. Jongdae isn’t the kid he was anymore, and the four of them had long grown much more distance as they became adults. They’re still close, but no longer each other’s oxygen and shadow. Luhan was still their ringleader, as things tend to go when you were the prince of all mermaids, but Kyungsoo and Baekhyun had moved on to train as royal guards, while Jongdae liked dabbling in the library as Luhan was involved in his regal affairs. As his coronation as Crown Prince had drawn even closer, Luhan was all the more busier.

And of course, the one day that Luhan can finally drag himself away from his coronation and meet up with the other three, there was a gigantic storm.

Storms are fun and all, but not so much when the shadow of a human ship falls upon you. Jongdae dragged Luhan backwards as metal smashed into the corals, startling a whole school of codfish as their refuge was obliterated into smithereens.

The stench of blood wafted over the currents, and Jongdae knew the sharks would soon fall upon the wreckage.

“There are humans on this thing!” Luhan gasped, knuckles turning white with the force he gripped onto Jongdae’s arm.

“So what?” Baekhyun asked, batting away an errant piece of driftwood, “Have you guys seen Kyungsoo?”

“Come on!” Luhan screamed, silver tail flicking quickly, “Those poor people are going to die!” Jongdae struggled to keep up, but he was swimming against the current, and Kyungsoo was nowhere to be seen.

“They’re just humans!” Baekhyun cried back, powerful strokes keeping up with Luhan, “They die in sea every single day!” But he dived for the closest human and hoisted him by the back of the neck, swimming towards the shore. Whimpering in worry, Jongdae followed suit, dragging a slender, lithe human by the arm. He was heavier than expected and Jongdae almost sunk, but at last he managed to throw the man onto the beach. The sun beat harshly on his fragile skin, and sand scraped his stomach painfully, but he just lay there, halfway submerged in water, halfway on land for a while, taking deep breaths. Baekhyun threw a second person on the shore. “That’s the last of them,” He said, “The rest belong to the fish.”

There were six humans lying on the shore, each of them in various states of undress after their tussle with the sea. Jongdae poked at their legs in fascination, examining their toes and feet. They were like hands with tiny fingers, but placed on weird angles and with thicker bones.

“Luhan? What are you doing?” Baekhyun asked sharply, floating in the water with only his head poking up, “We’re going to be seen!”

Luhan was half leaning over one of the humans, who looked significantly younger than the other. The fabric he wore also seemed to be significantly more value. “Han, let’s go back,” Jongdae pleaded, making to turn back into the sea. Luhan’s breathy reply made him stop in his tracks. “But he’s so handsome,” Luhan sighed prettily, trailing a finger down the human’s face, “There’s no one under the sea like him.”

The human had seemed positively tiny compared to the other humans lying around him, but in close view Jongdae realized that he was probably the same height as Jongdae, tailspan included. Sand and salt was tangled in the human’s black hair, framing a youthful, cute face. He looked like to be one of those shy, demure boys, polite and well-mannered. Everything Jongdae was not, basically. “Come on,” he said impatiently, tugging Luhan’s arm, “The humans can take care of their own.” Luhan flung his hand off, fixing him with an angry stare. “The hell is your problem?” Jongdae spluttered, “We’re merman. They’re humans. They’ll kill us when they have the chance.”

“He’s so kind and sweet,” Luhan gushed, honey blonde hair falling over his eyes as he leaned in to take a closer look at the human, “I think I’m in love, Dae.” Jongdae’s bottom lip wobbled and he bit it harshly. “You don’t even know this human,” He said in a small voice.

“Jongdae!” Baekhyun called, “Kyungsoo needs help!”

“Luhan, let’s go,” Jongdae pleaded again, “Our friend needs us.”

Luhan waved him away, eyes locked on the still unconscious human. “You go on,” He said absentmindedly, “I’ll be with you in a second.” Baekhyun called for Jongdae again, and he turned back into the sea reluctantly.

Kyungsoo’s tail had been trapped under some of the debris, and the poor merman was half in tears as Baekhyun and Jongdae lifted the broken wood from atop their friend. “Where’s Luhan?” He asked when he was finally free, running fingers down his red scales. Baekhyun opened his mouth, then closed it, sending a pointed look to Jongdae. “He said he was going to find us,” He mumbled defensively, but quickly hurtled to the direction of the shore.

Luhan was where Jongdae had left him, his body already beginning to redden from the bare contact to the sun, still leaned over the unconscious human. Dimly, Jongdae was aware that Luhan’s mouth was moving- Dammit, he was singing for this human. He already hated this human. Then the human’s fingers twitched against the hot sand, a minute movement that stopped Jongdae’s heart for a split second.

“Luhan, we have to go!” He begged, dragging Luhan backwards forcefully. Luhan’s singing voice cut off into an indignant squawk, but he was no match for Jongdae’s desperation as the human’s eyes started to flutter open. Jongdae pushed Luhan into the water brutally, and threw a scared glance back to see the human groaning aloud, eyes squinting against the blinding sun, before he plunged back into the safety of the volatile sea.

A few days had passed since that particular incident, and Luhan’s father had given all four of them a scolding for being so close to a human vessel, but privately patted them on the head and called them brave, brave children. Jongdae was taking a quiet little nap when the current around him shifted, scaring the little fish that had curled up around him.

“Dae, I have to show you something!” Luhan squealed excitedly, dragging Jongdae away from the seaweeds by the arm. Still groggy with sleep, Jongdae let the prince tow him across the ocean, Luhan’s hand tucked into his elbow comfortably.

He didn’t realize what was happening until sandy cliffs entered his view, and Luhan dragged his head above water. Jongdae almost screamed when brittle land wind slapped his face brutally, limbs flailing as he struggled to comprehend the fact that he was above water. “It’s him!” Luhan squeaked, seemingly unaware of Jongdae’s disoriented state, “It’s the human from yesterday!”

Shaking drying sea salt out of his lashes, Jongdae squinted in the direction of the beach. There were three dark blobs on land, the shortest one in front, followed by two other humans with clothes that glinted under the sun. “It’s him!” Luhan said, “I’m so glad he’s safe.”

“Yeah, can we go back down now?” Jongdae asked, his tail lashing out nervously. “We’re way too close to the humans.” Luhan hit him on the backside of the head. “Don’t be silly,” He rolled his eyes, “We’re safe from here. Let me watch him.”

The shorter blob crouched down, a hand reaching out to poke something in the sand. “Soo and Baekkie are waiting for us,” Jongdae pressed, uneasy goosebumps crawling up his limbs. “We gotta go!”
The look Luhan gave him chilled him to the bones. “God, Dae, I just want to spend time with you here! When did you become such a coward?” Luhan complained, turning his sight back on the shore. “Go, then. Leave me alone.”

Jongdae flinched, and he opened his mouth to apologize, for what he didn’t exactly know. All he knew was that Luhan didn’t want him here, so he submerged back into the water, Luhan’s silver tail disappearing from view the deeper he sank. He hit a cliff as he descended, his black scales screaming torture against the jarring landing. He had the feeling that he was being cheated out of something, being stolen by Luhan’s rejection. There he curled, near a school of curious clownfish, until Baekhyun found him. “You have to tell him,” Baekhyun said, emerald tail draping over Jongdae’s abdomen, “You can’t just keep it inside yourself.”

Jongdae buried his face in the coral, but he snuggled closer to Baekhyun’s warmth. “I don’t want him to hate me,” He said quietly. Baekhyun drew him even closer into his embrace, running his hands soothingly down Jongdae’s arms. “I went to find Luhan,” He said conversationally, “This obsession of his will come to past, and he’ll realize how great of a guy you are, okay?”

Jongdae nodded, thoroughly unconvinced. He knew Baekhyun meant well, but how would Luhan ever think of him in that way? Luhan was the prince of the merman, he liked games, and men who played games. He liked to take care of people, and be taken care of. He liked beautiful people and interesting people, regal people and well-mannered people. Jongdae was a social outcast, who lacked the poise to even attempt to court the merman prince. He was happy enough to be his best friend, and prayed everyday that Luhan wouldn’t become bored of him.

Kyungsoo found them in their comfortable silence, crimson tail barely making a ripple in the current. “You guys are so quiet it’s scaring me,” He said, “Jongdae, Luhan’s been looking for you.”

Jongdae uncoiled his tail immediately, and followed Soo back to Luhan, Baekhyun trailing behind sleepily. “Jongdae-yah!” Luhan whined, “You weren’t supposed to actually leave!”

Jongdae blinked uncertainly. “I’m sorry...?” He mumbled in response. “Whatever,” Luhan waved his hand dismissively, “You and I have somewhere to go. You’ll always stay with me, right?”

“Always,” Jongdae replied with as much reverence as he could muster, but Luhan never seemed to notice.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and made a snide remark about being no better than a dolphin, before dragging Baekhyun away.

“Where are we going?” Jongdae asked, struggling to keep up with Luhan’s graceful movements, “I haven’t eaten yet, you know.” Luhan looked back at him and laughed, a school of cod veering off to the left to avoid the merman. “It’ll be worth it, Dae,” Luhan said, eyes crinkling up with his smile, “I’m about to go on the adventure of my lifetime!”

Luhan led him through a hole in the seabed, and the wave of darkness that swarmed Jongdae’s view terrified him momentarily. He could barely see his own fingers, let alone Luhan. He called out for the younger merman, knowing exactly how scared of the dark he was, but his voice bounced off the walls of the alcove.

The water was stagnant, currentless. Plankton floated aimlessly, already lethargic and exhausted. The only source of light was the opening in which Jongdae and Luhan had entered, a clear, blue sea with fish darting in and out of the coral. A little shriek startled him and he rushed towards the source of the sound. “Luhan, is that you?” He asked, and immediately he found himself with an armful of shaking Luhan. “Something touched me,” Luhan moaned loudly. As if on cue, bright light suddenly flooded the space, taking the form of a gigantic plantation of seaweed. Bright, bulbous yellow seed clusters clung onto the vertical plants, the lights on it blinking in and out before shining brightly in the never ending darkness.

“Who’s there?” Someone snapped in the darkness. Luhan clung tighter to Jongdae, and the older merman hugged Luhan closer protectively. His eyes scanned the forest of seaweeds, and the leaves wafted in the water, calm visages waving at Jongdae.

“I want to go back to sleep,” Another voice said, “Just tell us who you are.”

“Cut the theatrics,” Jongdae snapped, but Luhan piped up with his face buried in Jongdae’s shoulder. “It’s Luhan and Jongdae,” He said, “We’re here to see Minseok.”

“Who’s Minseok?” Jongdae whispered, shivering slightly as a cold finger running down his spine. His head whipped around quickly and he caught a glimpse of a slender, sinuous tail. A glowfish sped past, and Luhan let out a frightened whimper. Two pairs of beady amber eyes stared at them. Short sharp fins ran down the length of the pair’s back, the texture of their scales slippery and fluid.

“Follow us,” The first voice hissed behind a row of sharp jagged teeth, and the two eels sped off. Tugging Luhan along, Jongdae followed them further into the darkness. As he swam, he could see the world waking up around him, glowing sea anemones and luminescent fish dodging between the cracks of the cliffs. Luhan had his head completely buried in Jongdae’s neck, tail flailing helplessly, the shiny silver quality of it jarring against the almost ethereal setting of the cave.

He liked it, Luhan being vulnerable, Luhan depending on him. It was impossibly terrifying, but also utterly captivating. He was so in love with this merman it physically hurt when Luhan had told him he didn’t want Jongdae around anymore, when Luhan ignored him in favour of Baekhyun, when Luhan plain forgot about him.

The water turned warmer as the eels descended further into the enclave, until warm blue light flooded Jongdae’s gaze. The eels had led the two mermen into a cave formed entirely out of sapphire, the gems encrusted into the stone by nature’s magic. Even the current was silent here, as if with every flick of his tail Jongdae was swimming through empty air.

There was a merman sitting regally at the middle of the cavern, the blue glow of the sapphire giving him an eerie, otherworldly haze. However, calling him a merman would not be entirely accurate, for his tail was grey and smooth to sight, unlike Luhan and Jongdae’s own scaly ones. The shade was like a dimmed version of Luhan’s tail, but it reminded him of all things repulsive and crude. There was a thin veneer on top of it that reminded Jongdae of sharks.

“Seok, two mermen here looking for you,” One of the eels proclaimed, and they both darted away from Jongdae and Luhan to circle the figure. “Let them in,” Minseok said, sharp eyes appraising, a jarring contrast to the smirk that played at the end of his lips. Luhan burrowed out of Jongdae’s hold and stared Minseok in the eye.

“I am Luhan, and this is Jongdae,” He said calmly, but Jongdae could hear the nerves in his voice, trembling slightly and way too rigid. “I’m here to request something from you.” Minseok leaned back on his makeshift throne, “You all do,” The strange merman said, “But I’m not just any old sea witch. My prices are exorbitant.”

“I can afford anything,” Luhan responded, tilting his chin upwards. Alarmed, Jongdae shifted closer to Luhan. Did Luhan even know what he was promising? Next to Minseok, one of the eels gave Jongdae a sly grin, as if he had read Jongdae’s mind.

“Very well,” The sea witch said, “For a human body, I ask from you your voice.”

Jongdae leapt on Luhan without a second thought, stuffing his hand over the merman’s mouth to stop him from agreeing. “That’s ridiculous,” He spluttered, “The human will never like you back! We’re leaving!”

Sharp pain shot through his hand as Luhan bit down hard, the silver-tailed merman pushing away from Jongdae with an annoyed expression. He had always worn his heart on his sleeve. “True love knows no boundaries,” He spat, “Besides, it’s my own decision. I thought you would support me, Dae.”

One of the eels swam between them, then, stopping Jongdae from lunging at Luhan again. “Minseok’s not finished,” The eel stage-whispered, “Minseok doesn’t like it when people don’t listen to him.”

“As Sehun said,” Minseok called, “That’s not all.” Reluctantly, Jongdae turned to face the witch, wringing his hands desperately. He couldn’t stop his tail from twitching either, in contrast to Luhan who looked like an eager pupil waiting to raise his hand.

“30 days later,” Minseok continued, his gaze lingering on Jongdae, “You, Luhan, must be in a loving relationship with a prince, or you will disappear into sea foam.”

Silence met Minseok’s proclaimment - even the eels looked between their master and the two mermen. For the first time uncertainty flashed through Luhan’s eyes, but he immediately dismissed the notion.

“It won’t come down to that,” Luhan said firmly, “We’re meant for each other. I’m more than sure of that.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Minseok positively purred. An unwelcome feeling made itself known in Jongdae’s stomach and he swam forward briefly to intervene, but Luhan was faster.

“I accept,” Luhan’s voice rang true and clear in the cavern, and Jongdae was convinced he had just signed his death warrant.

“Perfect!” Minseok clasped his hands, suddenly looking more like a gleeful child, “Give me your beautiful voice, and the curse will be yours.”

Everything happened in slow motion then. Jongdae watched on helplessly as the sea witch unfolded himself from the chair, and it seemed as if his tail had been coiled up like an eel, going on for miles and miles and way longer than the sea witch’s own body. In Minseok’s outstretched palm, a conch shell formed out of thin air, which Minseok touched to Luhan’s throat.

Luhan collapsed onto the ground like someone had cut his strings, but his eyes were awake and were blinking away tears. “Sehun, Kai, escort the other one out,” Minseok said without sparing Jongdae a glance. “We’ll be here for a while.”

“You can’t kick me out!” Jongdae spluttered, but two slimy tails twined around his forearms and he was dragged backwards, until the light of the cavern went out.

“Stop struggling,” Kai said, the two eels finally releasing Jongdae next to the glowing anemones, “You won’t be able to stand up to Minseok.”

“Luhan doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into,” Jongdae begged.

Besides, Jongdae had vowed to stay by Luhan forever, even if he wasn’t a prince, even if he wasn’t a merman. It was this conviction that had transformed into the infatuated devotion Jongdae has for the younger merman.

“Look,” Sehun sighed. If he had hands the eel would probably be scratching his head at this merman that dared to stare him down.

“We have some magic of our own,” Kai reminded, nudging his partner, “We can help the poor guy out.”

“But what use is that?” Sehun argued, “Our magic is shit Nini.”

Jongdae crumpled up in front of the eels. “Please don’t scrunch up your face,” Sehun sighed, “You look really ugly when you do that.”

“We’ll help you,” Kai said, “But you can’t tell anyone else about the curse directly, okay? I can’t tell you why, but you know, magic doesn’t really have any laws. Your prince will have to fulfill the curse on his own.”

“And you better get help,” Sehun added, “Minseok is almost done with your prince, and no one said anything about getting his pathetic human body up to the surface.”

Before Jongdae could protest, a faint light filled his vision, and in excruciating alarm he could feel his bones contorting, broke apart and then put back together again, but no matter how much he screamed he couldn’t make it stop.

Black ate up his vision and his nose clogged up, as he was caught in a vortex and went round and round and round and round.

“You look even uglier like that,” Sehun said smugly. “At least I have a butt,” Jongdae shot back. Everything felt there, but his body felt infinitely lighter, and he hadlegs. And pincers. He was a freaking lobster.

“Minseok’s done,” Kai interrupted, “You’re running out of time, buddy.”

Then the two eels shot away, leaving Jongdae to panick and how the fuck does a lobster swim?

“Jongdae?” A shaky voice asked in the darkness, “Is that you?”

Baekhyun swam up to Jongdae, his whole body trembling, biting on his bottom lip fiercely. “I heard- I know- Why did you let Luhan do it?”

For a moment they looked into each other’s eyes, then Baekhyun darted for the entrance of the cavern.

Jongdae struggled feebly against the current, and he screamed repeatedly for Baekhyun to come back, but the merman was already gone. A strong gust of water sent him head over heels, and Jongdae didn’t even want to think of what lay in wait for an innocent juicy lobster to walk by.

Emerald flashed in his pupils, and there Baekhyun was, towing an unconscious Luhan on his back. Legs, human legs flowed behind Luhan in place of the delicate silver.

Hands scooped up Jongdae and then Baekhyun was skidding through the water, cutting a path straight for the surface.

“How do you even plan on coming home?” Baekhyun spluttered indignantly, breaking through the waves. He hurled Luhan on the beach, but he still wasn’t breathing. The light of the moon cut shadows on Luhan’s pale face.

“What do I do?” Jongdae screamed in panic, scuttling awkwardly across the sand. “How do I know!” Baekhyun screamed back, “He’s a prince of this realm! Look at the mess you’ve gotten him into!”

“Why is it my fault?” Jongdae burst out, “I wasn’t the one who did the exchange?”

“What’s the difference?” Baekhyun barked back. Jongdae fell silent, quivering in embarrassed rage, until he felt slight tremors against the sand he was standing, and he quickly ushered Baekhyun back into the sea. As if on cue, Luhan’s new obsession rushed across the curve of the beach, the two iron-clad man close in his footsteps.

Helplessly, Jongdae watched as the man fell to his knees beside Luhan, sticking a finger under his nose. “He’s not breathing!” The man panicked, turning to his two followers. Wordlessly the broader of the two dropped down next to the man and placed his hands on Luhan’s chest.

Jongdae almost screamed in outrage, but after a few seconds Luhan jolted awake, limbs flailing, spraying water out of his mouth and nostrils. Luhan looked around wildly, his gaze landing on his boytoy.

Jongdae watched on as a violent blush invaded Luhan when the man smiled at him, revealing a dimple on his right cheek. “Are you alright?” The man asked. His voice was light and crisp, and Luhan was completely mesmerized.

“My prince, he seems to be in shock,” The broader iron-clad rumbled. Royalty... Of course. “I’m Yixing,” The man introduced, completely ignoring his servant, “May I know your name?”

Luhan opened his mouth, and the breathless whisper brought instant tears to Jongdae’s eyes. Luhan’s hand flew to his throat, but no sound came out no matter how hard he tried. “Do you not speak?” Yixing asked, voice rich with concern.

Jongdae figured out it was his cue to speak. “Yeah, about that... magic you know? We’re uh... we have to do... stuff.” Almost instantly a bright sword smashed down in front of him, throwing sand in his face. “Hey! Be careful!” Jongdae snapped, scuttling backwards as his heart thumped up and down.

Both Luhan and the human prince was staring at him like dumb fish, mouth opening and closing unattractively. “Your grace, please stand back while I take care of this abomination,” The lean, tan man who had swung the sword said through gritted teeth, “The man is not to be trusted either.”

This was going south so quickly that all Jongdae could do was to wave his hands- pincers?- around as the two iron-clads advanced menacingly, Luhan’s fingers fisted weakly on the sand.

“Wait!” Yixing cried, holding up a hand. He was kneeling on the beach, sand on his pale skin and tangled in his hair, robes bunched up, but the power in that one word was apparent, both of the iron-clad seizing up immediately. They were afraid, Jongdae realized. They were afraid of angering this man more than they feared the unknown.

“Magic, you said?” Yixing asked expressionlessly. Jongdae nodded before realizing he couldn’t really move his neck. “Yes, on me and Luhan,” he answered. Yixing’s gaze flicked to a hopeful Luhan.

“Luhan suits you,” the human said, and merman in question preened under the attention.

“My prince, there is no such thing as magic in the world,” the broader of the iron-clad said. His sword glinted under the sunlight. Yixing stood up and patted sand off his pants, holding a hand up towards Luhan. “Nonsense,” the human said, letting Luhan lean against him as the merman fought to understand the mechanics of his two new limbs, “What kind of a man would I be if I let two victims of the unknown suffer on the beach? Zitao, run ahead and prepare the rooms near the infirmary. Yifan, bring... The lobster.”

A large hand scooped Jongdae out of the sand before he could even squawk in indignation, and he watched helplessly as Luhan let Yixing pull him onto his feet, reverence and adoration clear in his eyes as the human smiled at him. Luhan’s hand fitted into Yixing’s perfectly, in contrast to Jongdae’s larger hands that always dwarfed Luhan’s petite digits. He had thought that to be perfect, the one thing he could protect Luhan in.

Yixing and Luhan walked ahead of the giant, and Jongdae looked up at the owner of the hand, squinting at his sharp angles and strong eyebrows. He peered, and peered, until the human started to squirm. “Stop looking at me.” A surprisingly youthful voice said. “How do you even know?” Jongdae wondered aloud, “I mean, my eyes are even smaller than sand, aren’t they?”

The human rolled his eyes and didn’t deign to respond.

Jongdae was carried over bumpy roads, barely seeing anything with his view obstructed by meaty fingers. He did notice, however, when open sky turned into stone, and he looked with unrepentant awe when they entered the human castle.

“This is the servants’ entrance,” Yixing explained conspiratorially, “No one will notice when you and I come and go.” Luhan giggled faintly, making Jongdae snort. The man holding him looked down briefly.

Tapestries hung on the walls, along with coloured windows and cool stones. Statues and armours littered the corridor, but everything was so... stale. The smell of the sea clung to the stones, but it was a tangent stench that was artificial and ancient.

Once they entered a room the guard put Jongdae down on the floor quickly as if he was burnt. “Come on,” Jongdae complained loudly, “Just get over the fact that I’m prettier than you. Can you not make me feel like you just want to step on me?”

The shadow of a boot fell across him.

“Yifan, don’t do that.” Yixing frowned. Yifan shrugged.

The entourage left Luhan and Jongdae in the room, Yixing promising to return tomorrow after they had settled in as Luhan sighed dreamily. The room itself was rather spacious, if a bit bland and colourless. A large double bed pushed against the wall, an empty wardrobe swinging on its hinges on the other side of the room. The stone floor was cold to touch. A simple table stood against one of the walls with a single chair, and a nice windowed view over the beach that Luhan and Yixing had first met, the start of their ill-fated relationship as the sun hung above them mockingly.

Luhan sighed happily again.

“Well, so what’s your plan to woo the human?” Jongdae asked, trying to keep his jealousy in check. Scuttling on hard surfaces was even more difficult than fighting against the current, but he managed to climb up onto the wooden table to be at eye level with Luhan.

Who are you? Luhan mouthed. At least, that was what Jongdae supposed he was asking. Did Luhan seriously- “It’s Jongdae you piece of shit!” He spluttered out, waving his pincers indignantly.

Luhan rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth, before both of them realized Luhan couldn’t talk anymore. Jongdae watched the light in Luhan’s eyes dim a bit, before he perked up and started to approach the table with both hands in front of him.

“Um, what are you doing?” Jongdae asked, backing up against the stone wall as close as he could.

Impatiently, Luhan began to tap on the table, before starting to trace shapes on it. Jongdae squinted at Luhan’s stupidly beautiful face before figuring out that Luhan was trying to write out words.

Why you here? Luhan traced out crudely.

Jongdae rolled his eyes before realizing belatedly that Luhan wouldn’t be able to see. “I promised that I’d stick by you and your sorry ass forever, didn’t I?”

Leave. Luhan mouthed out. “You need me,” Jongdae continued. Luhan pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, both of them knowing how true that statement was. Jongdae wished he didn’t. You better stay put before they decide to put you in a pot and cook you. Luhan stuck his tongue out immaturely, then slid under the covers and went to bed facing the wall.

Jongdae sighed. Curled up into a little ball with his shell plates clanking against each other, Jongdae sunk into a fitful sleep.

A servant woke both of them up with wide, wide eyes, bringing with him a change of clothes and after that, escorted Luhan to a fancy dining hall. Yixing and his two bodyguards were already there with a spread of simple dishes, while Jongdae was placed on the table with a bowl of fish. He tried not to laugh out loud at Luhan’s confusion at the brown clump in front of the man.

“How are you feeling today, Luhan?” Yixing chirped brightly. Luhan blinked sleepily at him and looked to Jongdae. “We slept okay,” The lobster muttered, “My name is Jongdae, by the way, thanks for asking.”

The rapid apologies that followed made Jongdae feel like he just killed a seal pup.

“Well, yesterday, you said something about... Magic?” Yixing asked as Luhan started experimenting with the weird cutlery in front of him. Yifan was standing behind him with an appalled look as Luhan attempted to stick a three pronged thing in his hair.

“A curse, to be exact,” Jongdae explained, “Luhan here has to do... Something in order to save himself.” Yifan had intervened now, grabbing the appendage away from a pouting Luhan and gesturing madly at the food with it. He seemed to have forgotten that while Luhan couldn’t speak, he was perfectly capable of hearing.

“I’d like to think I also had an encounter with magic,” Yixing said, eyes shining. “It was a few weeks ago, I was returning home by ship when we met the largest tornado in documented history. Many men perished, but somehow I was saved by something with a gorgeous black tail.”

Yifan and Zitao snorted unanimously, but Jongdae could feel Luhan’s gaze on him. If he had thought rejection to be unbearable, then Luhan’s anger made him want to die. Well, at least Luhan was now murdering the... clump of meat in front of him with the thing instead of Jongdae.

“It’s true!” Yixing scowled indignantly, oblivious to the silent exchange between Jongdae and Luhan, “And he had sang to me, too. He had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard.” The prince’s voice had turned wistful now to the eager Luhan, who gestured at himself wildly.

“You?” Yixing smiled brightly, “Well, Luhan, you’re easily the most beautiful person I’ve ever met!”

A violent blush streaked through Luhan’s face and he sat there, mouth agape and completely motionless. “You dispense praises too easily,” Jongdae muttered out, before Luhan very accidentally flicked him off the table and onto the floor.

“My father the king has come up with a brilliant idea to solve this conundrum,” Yixing continued, gesturing for Zitao to pick Jongdae up, “I want to thank this man, you see. My father has announced to the kingdom that whoever possesses the voice of the man who saved me will be courted by me.”

Luhan blinked once, but before he could glare at Jongdae again Yixing had changed the topic, fetching parchment for Luhan to write out his answers as the two talked. Jongdae dug in his fish quietly.

Luhan looked like the perfect picture of poise and grace, his pretty words curling around and holding attention, enticing out that dimpled smile every single time, but from his place Jongdae could see the trembles running along Luhan’s arms. Comparatively, Yixing was much more calm and composed, as if it was every other day that he picked up strangers and ate breakfast with them. There was something about his way with words, sometimes slightly too archaic and polite, and Jongdae marveled at the carefully constructed manner of speaking that seemed to come easily to him, compared to Luhan who had to cherry pick his words slowly and delicately.

Once they were back in the safety of their room, Luhan threw Jongdae against the bed and pummeled him with the pillow.

You better help me with this. Luhan wrote out. His words were shaky, quivering, terrified. Jongdae didn’t know how he was meant to make Zhang Yixing fall in love with Luhan, he hardly knew how to make Luhan fall in love with himself.

The worst thing was, Jongdae liked Yixing, more than he had intended to. It wasn’t hard to see why he was a well loved prince, always courteous and polite, who knew everyone in the estate by name, including what they liked to eat and even when they liked to sleep. He never forgot Jongdae like Zitao or Yifan were prone to, always addressing both Luhan and Jongdae even when Jongdae had burrowed into Luhan’s hair. By day Luhan trails after Yixing like a lost puppy as Yixing met all sorts of people, standing in the corner of the room helplessly. The servants side eyed the prince’s new, mute guest with the lobster on his shoulder, but they stayed silent.

Jongdae had tried a million ways to get the two together, asking Yixing for private meetings with Luhan, making sure Yifan and Zitao were appropriately occupied when Luhan bats his stupid eyelashes and make Yixing blush as he traces words on Yixing’s palm instead of scribbling on the parchment Yixing had given him. Any lesser man would have succumbed in minutes to Luhan’s charm, but it seemed as if not having a voice severely tampered Yixing’s interest.

Jongdae even befriended Yixing’s personal stablehand, Park Chanyeol, in making sure that Yixing and Luhan had to share a horse everytime Yixing brought the entourage out in waltzing over the country.

Jongdae suspected that Yifan and Zitao knew what he was up to, but neither guard said anything to Jongdae’s face. Yixing, on the other hand, never seemed to get the hint. Perhaps this was one thing he had in common with Luhan. He never protested to anything, to be fair, but he also never actually did anything actively. He frustrated Jongdae so much, but every time Yixing smiled at his citizens with that dimpled smile of his, Jongdae could only swallow his discomfort down. Jongdae was this close to having Luhan strip naked and wait in Yixing’s bed, but he was certain that Yixing would simply blush, stammer, and have Yifan give Luhan clothes and escort him back to his room, then act like nothing had happened the very next day.

But 30 days pass by quicker than most. Luhan had barely a week left when he arrived.

“There’s another man here, your Grace,” Yifan murmured, “He swears up and down he’s the one you’re looking for.” Yixing groaned and leaned back in his chair, covering his eyes with his hands. “This man isn’t worth the hassle,” The human grumbled, and Luhan shifted nervously in his seat. There were many men who came knocking after the king’s announcement, but Yixing had them rejected them all quickly, to Luhan and Jongdae’s relief.

A faint knock on the door announced Zitao’s arrival with the mysterious man. He was surprisingly shy, wringing his hands on his pants. He was pretty, too, enough for Yixing to perk up and not dismiss him immediately. He had the gentle look that Yixing had, and even Zitao wasn’t glaring daggers at his back. Jongdae glanced at Luhan, and saw how his fists were clenched. Jongdae trailed his pincers on Luhan’s hand lightly.

“Kim Junmyeon, here to see you, my prince.” Yifan announced. The man bowed elegantly, hair artfully swept to one side. He was gorgeous. “Well then, Junmyeon,” Yixing inclined his head in response, “You say you’re the man with the voice I seek?”

“Yes, your grace,” Junmyeon replied. Crisp, clear, everyone could hear it. But what made Jongdae see white as Luhan gasped out loudly, was not just the confident answer spilling from such an innocent, trustworthy face. It was the voice, the voice that sounded like a million wind chimes, yet at the same time to Jongdae it dripped with poison, this man was poison.

It was Luhan’s voice, coming out from this man’s mouth.

Yixing’s eyes were wide open, and Junmyeon gave him a weak smile.

“You do wear the voice I seek,” Yixing exclaimed, crossing the room in large strides to stand in front of Junmyeon.

“I certainly hope it is not the only thing you care for, your grace,” Kim Junmyeon laughed, his smile lighting up his whole face. It was very different from the shy, demure, reserved smiles Luhan gave Yixing in fear of accidentally laughing too hard and making his face twist in strange angles, but Jongdae saw how Yixing’s gaze was fixed on the corner of Junmyeon’s eyes, the laugh lines apparent and deep.

“Would you- would you like to accompany me?” Yixing swallowed heavily, “Just on a boat ride.”

Luhan sent Jongdae a desperate glance, and the lobster quickly scurried out.

He intercepted Chanyeol in the corridor, and the stablehand was more than happy to take Jongdae to Yixing’s boat.

It was a simple rowboat, docked to a large pond at the back of the castle. The water was clear and translucent, while lichen and moss decorating the stones surrounding it. There was a view of never ending green and pinks as trees surrounded the pond.

Jongdae scurried under one of the seats when he heard voices approaching, and he curled himself further in as Yixing’s fur boots entered his view.

“This place is beautiful,” Lu- Kim Junmyeon breathed out, “Thank you for bringing me here.”

Yixing made a quiet noise of a dying whale. Junmyeon- Luhan’s voice was beautiful.

The back of Yixing’s boots blocked Jongdae’s view as the boards creaked, and soon Jongdae was floating out onto the pond along with the boat.

Faint thuds against the wood coupled with the sloshing of water drowned out the sounds of the pair conversing. Jongdae was going to be sick. Before he even realized, the fish that Luhan had given him at lunch lay on the deck of the boat in a mushy pile. A single fish eye rolled across the wood and hit the back of Yixing’s boots.

“...I never thought that I would ever have the chance to even be here,” Junmyeon breathed out, “It’s actually a miraculous story, how I came to be here.”

“We have time,” Yixing burst out prematurely, desperately.

“So we do.” Luha- Junmyeon’s voice was teasing, low, seductive, yet genteel. The quality of it grated Jongdae’s ears.

“I have not went a day without hearing your voice in my dreams,” Yixing burst out, strangely poetic, “You are all I can think of.”

“I hope it’s not just my voice you like,” Junmyeon laughed, “What if I go mute some day?”

“I’m sure I will remember your beautiful face,” Yixing said quickly, “Say, would you like to-”

“My prince,” Junmyeon said gently in Luhan’s voice, “You wouldn’t have even looked at me if not for the voice I wear. I am but a lowly peasant that lives on the outskirts of your kingdom, blessed by the gods of the seas.”

“Status is not what this realm needs,” Yixing rebuked fervently, “I can only thank the gods, if they exist, for bringing you to me.” What he was asking for, Jongdae didn’t know.

“You hardly know me, Your Grace.”

“We have all day.”

“What if- what if I told you- this voice isn’t mine?”

Silence reigned and Jongdae held his breath, suddenly very interested in hearing what this thief had to say for himself.

“My little sister, she has a habit of collecting shells by the beach, you see. She makes things out of them, accessories, flutes, decorations - she came across this conch shell and threaded it up as a gift to me. And once I put it on, this voice just- my voice changed.”

It seemed as if Yixing was struggling for words, and Jongdae waited patiently for Yixing to push the other man into the water.

“Well- your real voice- that’s-”

“I can’t take it off,” Junmyeon continued earnestly, “The sea gods- they told me to come here, told me that you would grant me an audience- but they also told me if the shell was ever parted from me, I would die and inflict a curse on my family.”

Jongdae called bullshit internally.

“Oh well- I suppose that explains it!” Yixing exclaimed in a rush, as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, “Magic again, right?”

“Again?” Junmyeon asked worriedly. “Sorcery?”

“Ah... yes,” Yixing started to mumble, “A... friend of mine. Nothing you have to worry about.”

Junmyeon shifted on his seat. “It’s very beautiful, here. Very peaceful and quiet.” Junmyeon was clearly trying to conduct healthy small talk, but after all, he was just a peasant. Not like Luhan, who wouldn’t have run out of words, who wouldn’t have relegated himself to uttering simple adjectives and changing topics in such a hasty manner. This man had nothing on Luhan.

“This is where I go when I am in need of solace,” Yixing volunteered eagerly, “I am happy to share it with you.”

“Even if... this voice is not my own?” Junmyeon asked uncertainly. Jongdae could see Yixing’s boots shift from where he sat. “It is not the voice you wear,” Yixing replied kindly, “But the words you speak, and the honesty behind it. Say... would you like- would you allow me to court you?”

Jongdae didn’t hear Junmyeon’s reply, but the shifting of fabric and breathless noises was enough for him to figure out the other man’s reply.

He saw red.

Scuttling forward, he finally put his pincers to good use.

Junmyeon shrieked. “Did you just- did you just-”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-! Is your tongue-! There was something- I didn’t- please forgive me TAT”

Jongdae cheered internally.

“It’s okay, I guess. Your Grace- it’s completely fine.”

“Please, just call me Yixing, I’m so sorry for this.”

“Alright... Yixing.”

Yixing made another weird noise. “I hope that you can pass my mother’s tests,” He said, “I would be honoured to have you as my queen.”

Yixing only had eyes for Junmyeon as he escorted the other man of the boat, and Jongdae went unnoticed as he scuttled after them and diverged into Luhan’s room.

Luhan stood up from where he was slumped on the table as soon as Jongdae slid in, his eyes burning with fiery hatred. Only Jongdae read the fear hiding in his brown orbs. “They- they’re going to Yixing’s room,” Jongdae mumbled, “I tried. I’m sorry.”

Luhan’s bottom lip quivered violently and he burst into tears, throwing himself onto the bed, bunching up the nice silken sheets that Yixing had given him. Jongdae scuttled onto the table, looking down on Luhan’s curls, but he couldn’t do anything, just like Luhan.

Luhan was so upset, and he couldn’t even iterate it. Jongdae couldn’t even give him a hug, couldn’t show him he loved him. Instead Luhan curled into a ball in the center of the bed, slender frame racked with tears, all alone.

Traitorous thoughts unfolded as Jongdae realized that Yixing didn’t deserve any of the love Luhan had for him. He wasn’t there for Luhan when Luhan needed someone to hold, to lean on, he wasn’t there to discover his fears and worries, he hadn’t done anything for Luhan, why was Luhan so in love with him? Was all Jongdae did for moot? From that moment on, Jongdae began to hate Zhang Yixing.

“It’s going to be alright,” Jongdae soothed helplessly, but he knew his words were just going to fall on empty ears. Then he realized something from the short, heartbreaking conversation he had overheard, and from the depths of his mind trudged out a simple plan.

He finally managed to get Chanyeol alone a few days later, when Yixing and Kim Junmyeon were held up finalizing wedding arrangements in the throne room, while Luhan was holed up in his room as always, as if he had entirely given up on the idea of winning Yixing over. The taller boy had held a soft spot for Jongdae after he discovered the lobster hiding in the mane of Yixing’s horse (he wanted to experience horse-riding too okay) and Jongdae knew Chanyeol could be trusted.

“What do I have to do?” Chanyeol asked, looking like a kicked clown fish. “You have to take the conch shell from Kim Junmyeon’s neck,” Jongdae hissed, “And crush it.” Chanyeol scratched the back of his head. “But Junmyeon’s a nice person,” Chanyeol whimpered, “Why do we have to-?”

“I don’t care who he is!” Jongdae howled, “The vo- the conch shell, we have to destroy it, before they get married!”

Large hands come down on his shell, but Jongdae no longer had the capacity to feel his gentle caresses.

Pale, Chanyeol held Jongdae up as he makes for the throne room. Yifan nodded to them as they pass through the double doors, and Jongdae almost felt guilty. “Chanyeol and Jongdae!” Yixing’s smile was blinding, a smile of a man in love as he stood by the large window with Junmyeon by his side, “What are you doing here?”

“Seeing the best spots for watching the wedding,” Jongdae said quickly before Chanyeol felt the pressing need to stop lying, “And checking on Junmyeon, of course.”

Chanyeol took large, over-enthusiastic steps forward, taking Junmyeon by the shoulders. “How are you holding up?”

“Quite badly, I’m afraid,” Junmyeon muttered, almost as pale as Luhan, “Training to be a queen is very different from actually preparing to become one. Jongdae, how is Luhan?”

Buried guilt rose its ugly head again, and Jongdae shook his head glumly as Junmyeon patted him comfortingly while Yixing wandered off to talk with Yifan. “I’m sure whatever ails him will pass soon,” Junmyeon continued, “He seems like a good man.”

“He is,” Chanyeol shrugged, almost displacing Jongdae if not for Junmyeon grabbing hold of him. Junmyeon was the good man, and Jongdae once again regretted making Luhan hate Junmyeon.

With a heavy heart, he pinched Chanyeol on the shoulder lightly. Junmyeon’s eyes flickered to Jongdae briefly, but his smile didn’t falter at all. “Alright, alright,” Chanyeol mumbled under his breath.

In the awkward fashion that only Chanyeol can master, he said, “Hey Junmyeon, can I take a closer look at your necklace?” Before Junmyeon could react, the taller boy already had the shell in his hands, the string floating onto the ground in tatters.

Junmyeon’s shrill cry was echoed by Yixing’s as Chanyeol held the shell in his hands, trembling from head to toe. “Give that back, Chanyeol,” Yixing barked out, the anger in his voice making Jongdae jump. He wouldn’t have guessed Yixing had it in him.

“Destroy it,” Jongdae hissed, “Now!” Junmyeon had his hands pressed to his throat, fear pouring from his eyes as he looked to Yixing for assistance. The prince had his left hand out with fingers spread, but his right was reaching inside his robes. Yifan and Zitao were approaching with their hands on the hilt of their swords,

Junmyeon opened his mouth, and nothing came out. A twisted sense of vindication permeated Jongdae’s repeated command to destroy the shell.

“I don’t know what to do!” Chanyeol burst out, “Am I supposed to destroy this or not?”

“You’re going to kill Junmyeon! Give it back to me!” Yixing ordered, “Now, Chanyeol! I am your prince!” Yixing was getting closer and closer now, while Junmyeon had backed himself up against the wall, mouth opening and closing in a vain attempt to regain normality.

“I am your friend, Chanyeol,” Jongdae hissed, “Luhan is your friend. Trust me. Destroy the shell now.”

“Put it down, Park Chanyeol,” Yifan rumbled from behind, “You have your orders.” Chanyeol bit his lower lip uncertainly, and in a last desperate confirmation, looked to Jongdae. “Trust me,” Jongdae repeated fervently.

The shell cracked into two.

Many things happened at once. Jongdae was flung onto the ground as Zitao pounced on Chanyeol, disabling him against the floor and pulling his arms backwards, but the shell was already in pieces as it rolled out of Chanyeol’s hands. He bounced a few steps on the carpet - the fracture on his shell after being dropped on stone floors too many times complained loudly.

Junmyeon had collapsed entirely on the ground, limbs flailing as Yixing ran to his side frantically. In the midst of the commotion, the doors were flung wide open as Luhan dashed into the room, eyes bloodshot. “Dae, my voice is back!” He cried, and Jongdae fainted with relief.

When he came to a few moments later, the sky was completely dark.

“Jongdae, are you with me? Dae, Dae, I need you!” Luhan was running out of the castle, and Jongdae realized things were very, very wrong.

He could clearly see Minseok in the far distance in the sea, but gigantic and outraged, icy spikes sprouting from his enlarged body, racing straight for the shore.

“What happened?” Jongdae asked frantically, jumping onto the soft sand. “I have no idea,” Luhan replied shakily, “There was so much pain, and then- and then I got my voice back, then Minseok appeared. He’s angry, Dae. He’s angry you took my voice back. He wants- I think he wants to kill us.”

No. No, he can’t lose Luhan here, he can’t. Luhan’s going to be king and rule over the underwater empire, Luhan’s going to become someone great. Jongdae can’t let him die.

But he couldn’t do anything as black storms gathered above the kingdom, ice bursting along the sky like a macabre sculpture, Minseok looming over it.

“You weren’t supposed to do that!” Sehun screamed over the crashing waves, the eel struggling to stay afloat in the tumultuous seas, “You think your stupid way of taking your prince’s voice will change anything? He’s still going to die, and now you’ve just made it come quicker!”

“Help us,” Jongdae pleaded, “Please.”

“You’re a fucking lobster,” Kai snarled out, “There’s only so much we can do.”

“Well, Minseok has to have some kind of weakness,” Luhan reasoned. “He’s our master,” Sehun said, “Don’t ask us to betray the one who gave us life.”

“Leave it to us,” Zitao said suddenly, making Luhan jump, “Yixing has a plan already. He wants you to distract the witch, if possible.”

“That’s so risky,” Jongdae began to argue, but Luhan nodded his head. “Anything for him,” He said, and he ran towards a boat conveniently tethered a few feet away from their location. Jongdae struggled to catch up, but before he managed to leap onto the boat Luhan had already pushed it into the sea, leaving Jongdae on the shore as the current was too strong for him to try to swim there. The robes that Yixing had given him were already completely wet, but Luhan didn’t seem to mind as he began to row furiously towards the eye of the storm.

There were catapults mounted on the top of the castle walls, barrels and barrels placed upon them and flung towards Minseok’s enlarged self, who easily batted it away with his hands or his ice. When the barrels exploded, a black substance oozed out of it, clinging to Minseok’s digits or spilling into the sea like pellets.

“Look at me!” Luhan screamed up at Minseok. Large blue orbs casted an eerie light onto Luhan’s little boat, and Jongdae could only stare in despair as the boat became smaller and smaller, as if it was slowly being swallowed by the sea witch.

“Can you bring him back?” Jongdae turned to Zitao, who still had his arms crossed as he stared at the battle in the distance. His sword glinted with the reflections casted by the ice. “Those are not my orders,” Zitao said hesitantly, not looking down at Jongdae. “Well, then what are they?” Jongdae demanded impatiently.

Zitao sighed. “My orders are to keep an eye on you, lobster. Not Luhan. You’re lucky that Junmyeon didn’t die, or my orders would have been to slice you in two.”

The storm was still gathering in full force, and ice continued to dance along the ocean surface, a large portion of it tainted black with the substance in the barrels, but the catapults itself didn’t seem to bring any damage to Minseok at all.

Jongdae could see Minseok’s mouth moving tauntingly. He could only surmise that Luhan was there, distracting him, and could only pray for Luhan to not do anything stupid again and come back safely.

Something Luhan said must have aggravated Minseok, for the sea witch turned completely towards the small little dot in the distance, uncaring of the fact that the black liquid splashed against his back and stomach, getting onto his face and painting his neck pitch black. “We’re almost ready, lobster,” Zitao said, “I’ll go pick up Luhan afterwards.”

Jongdae clamped down the urge to whine and tried to squint in the distance, to see if Luhan was hurt, to see if he was safe. He couldn’t see anything.

A flicker of light in the cloud-covered night caught Jongdae’s attention, and he turned to see Yixing standing on the castle walls, an arrow doused with fire nocked on his bow. “What’s the stuff you keep throwing at Minseok?” Jongdae asked.

“Tar,” Zitao explained, perhaps a bit smug, “It burns rapidly, even explodes if we’re lucky enough.”

The smell of it hurt Jongdae’s head.

The arrow took flight.

Jongdae’s ears were still ringing as the sky lit up with an amber glow, fire licking through the ice and up to Minseok’s form, eating greedily into the tar and turning everything into ashes. Horrible screeching filled the air. A salmon flopped at the edge of the beach, its gills and scales sealed tight with tar. After a few moments it went up in flames.

Jongdae watched as the world he knew burnt.

//

When Zitao hauled Luhan into his room, his honey blonde hair was charred on the edges, while marks of frostbite decorated his throat and limbs. “The curse isn’t broken,” Luhan kept on repeating as he clung to Zitao’s arms, “The curse is still here.

He didn’t wake up until late afternoon the next day, but his eyes were unfocused as he greeted Jongdae.

“Do I need to call the doctor?” Jongdae asked, genuinely concerned with Luhan’s dazed state.

“I need to break the curse already,” Luhan said instead, “I’m running out of time.”

Jongdae made himself scarce as someone knocked on the door, but he didn’t miss the feathery sigh that escaped from Luhan’s lips as Yixing stepped in.

“How are you feeling?” Yixing asked, “Zitao mentioned something about a curse... are you alright?”

“Much better,” Luhan replied, “Thank you for saving me.”

“It is strange, hearing Junmyeon’s voice coming from you. But again, it wasn’t Junmyeon’s voice to begin with, was it?” Yixing shook his head good-naturedly.

“At first, you mentioned that whoever had the voice that saved you... would be courted by you, right?” Luhan asked, uncharacteristically shy.

Realization dawned on Yixing’s face, and Jongdae watched the myriad of emotions flicker in his eyes. “You want me to... court you?”

Luhan nodded eagerly.

“Don’t be silly,” Yixing frowned, “I still want to marry Junmyeon. I love him.”

Jongdae stared at him with a horror-stricken face. Luhan wasn’t faring any better, if indicated by the tremors under Jongdae’s feet. “But you said you’d marry the person who saved you!” Jongdae said desperately.

“That was before I met Junmyeon,” Yixing frowned, “Besides, that was simply a proposal, not an agreement.” Yixing’s face crumpled as realization sunk in, echoed by the tears trailing down Luhan’s face. Even now he looked so beautiful, so entirely forgivable that Jongdae hated him the more for it.

“I’m sorry,” Yixing said in a much softer tone, “I’ve always thought of you as a brother. I’m sorry, but I’ve never thought of you that way.”

“You said I was the most beautiful person you’ve ever met,” Luhan half-shouted, half-sobbed, “You said you were in love with my voice.”

Yixing held his hands up in front of him cautionarily, much like one would do in front of a frightened animal. “And I still am,” The human insisted, “The song you sang for me will garnish my dreams for the rest of my life. You saved me, and I will never cease to be thankful for it. And you are, very beautiful. But I’m not in love with you. I cannot fall in love with you simply because I find you or your voice attractive. Love doesn’t work that way. I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you, but I could never force myself to love you.”

“But that’s the curse,” Luhan cried out, “Why won’t you just try and love me?”

Yixing flinched violently. “The curse- the curse is for me to fall in love with you? Could you not ask for something that is impossible to do?”

“I’ve given up everything for you,” Luhan continued to cry, “You’ve taken everything from me.”

Yixing knelt in front of Luhan’s bed, apologetic, grieving. “I will give everything to save you,” Yixing murmured, “But my heart, my love - Junmyeon already holds it.”

There were only three days left.

“I want to go to the sea, Jongdae,” Luhan said quietly as soon as Yixing left, “Could you run ahead and fetch Baekhyun and Kyungsoo for me? I haven’t seen them- my father, would you be able to find him?”

Jongdae opened his mouth, and quickly closed it again. There was nothing else he could say. Obediently he scurried out from under the bed and moved towards the sea, but the tar-filled surface made him skid to a stop. Battle scars were littered everywhere, dead animals suffocated to death as the tar had spread overnight, burnt to death. Humans, trapped under the water. Debris flooded the ocean, washed up to the beach. Zitao had mentioned that the tar would sink eventually, as if that would cleanse the water.

Gritting his teeth, Jongdae ran along the shoreline until he found a clear spot to jump into. He didn’t dare look down to see if the anemones and coral were drowning under the pollution.

He found Baekhyun and Kyungsoo right outside the Mer-king’s cove.

“We can’t just leave our spots here, Jongdae,” Baekhyun shook his head adamantly as Kyungsoo continued to gape at the lobster, “The human’s fight with the sea witch - it destroyed half our homes. The marine life here is suffering, all because of Luhan.”

“Where is the King?” Jongdae asked desperately, “Luhan needs-”

“He’s sick,” Baekhyun sighed loudly, “Has been confined to bed after Luhan went up to the surface. He won’t see anyone right now.”

“But it’s Luhan,” Jongdae said helplessly.

“Forget it,” Baekhyun barked, “Half the population thinks Luhan is a traitor, and you his enabler. No one wants him back.”

A cold shiver ran down Jongdae’s back. “That was a bit too harsh, Baek,” Kyungsoo murmured, “Luhan’s our friend.”

“Is he?” Baekhyun demanded, turning to Kyungsoo, “What kind of friend just ups and leaves like this? What kind of friend brings destruction to his own family, his entire realm, his entire race, for another one?”

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae said, alarmed, “I don’t want to explain things on Luhan’s behalf, but don’t you think it’s a bit unfair that you pass judgments before even talking with him? He just wants his friends back. Is it that hard to ask for?”

Baekhyun bowed his head, and Kyungsoo patted him on the back comfortingly. “Let us go see our friend first, okay?” Kyungsoo asked, “Then we’ll talk.” Giving one last wide-eyed look of surprise to Jongdae, he coaxed Baekhyun up to the surface, Jongdae paddling behind them furiously.

Luhan was there on the beach, curled up into a ball as Kyungsoo’s red hair burst the waves. Jongdae knew exactly what they were seeing. Pale, haggard, as if all life and energy had been sucked out of him, leaving a mere shell of his former self. Surprisingly, Baekhyun was the first to swim forward, and Luhan unfolded himself to step into the water and hug Baekhyun tightly.

“Oh, Luhan,” Baekhyun said softly, “What have you done?”

“Come on,” Kyungsoo said invitingly, “Hop on my back. We’ll go swimming.” Kyungsoo cupped Jongdae in his hands as Baekhyun lifted Luhan onto his back, the merman grunting lightly. “You barely weigh anything,” Baekhyun whimpered, his eyes watering again. Luhan smiled at him weakly, burying his nose in Kyungsoo’s hair. Under the sunlight, his cheekbones were even more prominent, and being clad with merely swim trunks put his ribs on full display.

“It’s great to be back,” Luhan murmured, as Kyungsoo started to submerge himself in the water, making sure Luhan’s head was still above water. None of them brought up the fact that that was the deepest Luhan could ever go.

Baekhyun took Jongdae away into the corals. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, for ever thinking Luhan wasn’t our friend.” The merman apologized first. “Have you found a way yet?” He continued. “No.” Jongdae replied forlornly. Baekhyun cursed loudly, making a school of cod jump and swim in the other direction. “How the fuck did you even get yourself in this situation? No, don’t answer me. You’d do anything for Luhan, wouldn’t you?”

“So would you,” Jongdae argued, but both and he and Baekhyun knew it was two completely different things. Only Jongdae would allow Luhan to drag him around, allow Luhan to do whatever he wanted and just stand back. “You’re killing yourself, Jongdae,” Baekhyun rasped, “Not in the literal way, of course, but this- he doesn’t even know you love him. This is in no way healthy.”

Jongdae shook his head refutely. Jongdae trusted in himself, trusted in Luhan, trusted in their love. “I’ll never give up,” Jongdae vowed aloud, “Trust me.”

Baekhyun nodded, but Jongdae could see the morose apology in his eyes. He tore his eyes away and swam away rapidly towards the light.

“Don’t run away from me,” Baekhyun called, swimming after him, “We’re friends here!”

Yes, they were friends, but the abyss between them was also spreading wider and wider with each day Luhan spent on land.

As he broke the waves Kyungsoo was already gone, Luhan sitting on the beach like a bedraggled dog, water lapping at his ankles.

“Don’t go swimming on your own without telling me,” Yixing was saying as he kneeled in front of Luhan, “I worry.”

“Why do you care?” Luhan replied bitterly, “I wouldn’t dare disturb your date with your fiance.”

“Junmyeon cares about you, too,” Yixing argued, “He’s a good man.”

“Forget it, Yixing,” Luhan sighed, “You know there’s only one thing I need from you.”

Yixing raised both hands up defensively, as if he was dealing with a wounded animal, a lost beast. “Are we not even friends, Luhan?” Yixing asked, “It is selfish to ask this of you, but will you deny me our friendship?”

“Couldn’t you just love me?” Luhan pleaded. Yixing looked away with crippling pity in his eyes and walked away, leaving Zitao and Yifan to lift Luhan up in a macabre re-enaction of a procession.

The pure hatred in Baekhyun’s eyes made Jongdae shiver, and he swam back into the deep blue sea.

The witch was where Jongdae had first met him, a route that had burned a searing trail in Jongdae’s mind ever since that first cursed encounter.

There was no more fear, however, of the collapsed shadow on the icy blue throne, Sehun and Kai entwined on the armsrests. There was only desperation, an innate, pressing desire, as Jongdae cowered in front of the gaunt being.

“There’s nothing I can do,” Minseok snapped in ire, “I barely have enough magic to sustain this cave, let alone save your merman prince. It’s his fault that he can’t find a prince to be in love with.”

If lobsters could cry, Jongdae was certain that he could have tasted his own tears. Now there was merely a tickling sensation behind his eyes, a foreign, constant pressure that simmered, waiting to explode.

“Please,” he begged again, “Please.”

I can’t live without him.

Then Sehun and Kai were there, the two eels silent as they herded Jongdae’s tiny body out of the cave, where everything was sapphire, sapphire, sapphire.

He was still begging when Sehun took him between the teeth gently and deposited him on the beach, and the eel ducked away in guilt, instantly swallowed by the gentle currents of the sea.

He scuttled back into the castle with wounded pride, sticking to the shadows as the flurry of human activity drove right past him. No one noticed him.

“Think harder, Jongdae,” He mumbled to himself, “There has to be a way to break the curse.”

Something Minseok said flashed in his mind, and he almost stumbled straight into a statue. He could hear the roaring of the sea breeze from where he stood.

Jongdae found Chanyeol on his knees scrubbing the kitchen floor with rags. His knuckles and kneecaps were already bruised from the prolonged activity, and he flinched when Jongdae told him he needed to see Yixing.

“Find someone else,” Chanyeol whispered, trembling slightly as he curled further into himself, “I need this job.”

This was how Jongdae found himself by Yifan’s foot, completely engulfed by the tall guard’s shadow. “The Prince doesn’t particularly like you, you do realize that, right? If not for Luhan you would have been thrown into the kitchen, especially for leading Chanyeol astray.” He responded after listening to what Jongdae had had to say.

“That’s why I’m here,” Jongdae said, “I know you want to help Luhan too. I know you can help me gain an audience.”

Yifan sighed loudly, shuffling his feet. “Yixing will be furious.” But he crouched down and scooped up Jongdae, walking in the direction of Yixing’s bedroom. The plates of his armour clanked against one another.

Zitao was standing guard outside Yixing’s door, but the guard relented and knocked on the door for Yifan. He hadn’t noticed Jongdae yet.

“What is it?” Yixing’s voice was muffled, but it was the familiar gentle note that had made Luhan fall in love with this human.

When Yifan entered the room, Yixing was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, one hand loosely combing through Junmyeon’s hair as the other man slept with the blankets bunched up under his chin. “Fan, what is it?” Yixing asked again, his eyes still fixated on Junmyeon’s peaceful posture.

“It’s about Luhan,” Yifan said carefully despite Yixing’s casual tone, “We have an idea.”

Yixing’s gaze snapped to Jongdae in Yifan’s palm, and he slowly stood up from the bed. Junmyeon whined softly when Yixing’s long fingers ceased their movements, but his sleep was otherwise undisturbed. “Who’s we?” Yixing asked mockingly. His eyes were piercing and dark. “I can’t believe you, Yifan,” Yixing continued, the disgust apparent in his voice, “And you bring him here? To where Junmyeon is?”

“Hear him out, Xingie,” Yifan said in a quiet voice, “None of us here wants to see Luhan die.”

Yixing made a small noise of contempt, and he didn’t let Yifan sit down or put down Jongdae, but he listened. Jongdae tried not to falter even as Yifan shuffled his feet uncertainly, meeting Yixing's gaze head on as he asked Yixing for help.

Junmyeon was still fast asleep when Jongdae came to a stop. Silence reigned for a few minutes. Yifan sighed under his breath.

“I’m doing it just for Luhan,” Yixing hissed at last, walking towards the open windows, “Certainly not for you.” A seagull was perched on a pile of rocks.

“You would do the same, if it was Junmyeon,” Jongdae rebuked coldly, “You would kill Luhan if it meant Junmyeon would live. You and I, we’re the same kind of person.”

Yixing’s fist slammed against the windowsill, jaw set with anger. There was none of the lingering warmth the man usually held. “We are not the same,” He snarled, but before he could continue the bed creaked, and Junmyeon sat up with his hair tousled.

“Sorry, did we wake you?” Yixing immediately rushed to his side, his entire body oozing with tender care. Junmyeon shook his head and smiled back at Yixing. Yifan coughed.

“Oh!” Junmyeon clambered out of bed, “I didn’t notice you, Jongdae. How is Luhan?”

Junmyeon’s voice was very different from Luhan’s. It was even lighter than Luhan’s, more sharp and silk-like compared to Luhan’s deeper intonation. It was a very beautiful voice, and it suited Junmyeon well. Jongdae wondered if Junmyeon would ever turn around and observe the dark look on Yixing’s face.

He mumbled something that he could hardly recall later, but Junmyeon seemed to be satisfied with his answer. “Say, Jongdae, would he be mad if I wanted to visit him later on?” Junmyeon asked, “I haven’t really- his plight- it’s all my fault, isn’t it?”

Yixing put an arm around Junmyeon’s waist, drawing him back slightly. “It’s not your fault, Myeon, we’ve been over this, okay? Luhan would want to be around close friends now, wouldn’t he?”

Jongdae understood a dismissal when he saw one, but still he pressed on. “Will you do it, then?” He called, even as Yifan turned towards the door, “Will you?”

“Tomorrow,” Yixing sighed and pushed Yifan out of the door, “Stay put.” Before the door closed, Jongdae could hear Junmyeon’s questions of “What’s going on?” and Yixing’s murmured placations. Junmyeon was certainly a very good man, but Jongdae would still kill him if it meant Luhan could live, over and over again.

Yixing drew a small audience the next day, his parents, Junmyeon, Jongdae, and a pale, haggard Luhan.  Jongdae looked up at the wizened figure of the human King and Queen from Junmyeon’s shoulder, regal, but shriveled. Weak, but no less a monarch. Yixing, next to them, formed a picture of a perfect family.

Luhan’s blonde locks had lost much of its lustre, and his eyebags made Jongdae wince and look away as he listened to Yixing explain everything to his parents.

Finally Yixing took a step back to stand next to Luhan. Both pale, both slender, both tired. Junmyeon placed him on the high chair in front of the royal couple, and Jongdae cowed away from the King’s intense gaze.

“You speak, lobster?” The king boomed out. It seemed hardly necessary seeing as Jongdae was but a few feet away, but Jongdae affirmed him all the same.

“You ask much of us to make you a prince of this realm, lobster,” the king continued, but then the queen lay a veiny, brittle hand on her husband’s arm.

“It seems like the least we can do, seeing as this heirdom is only in name.”

Jongdae winced at the blatant calculation, but he understood much of it. He was Luhan’s best friend, after all. The human king nodded morosely. “Very well, then. Son, bring the lobster forward.”

Bowing stiffly, Yixing lifted Jongdae with a soft muted apology. The king’s eyes were much larger and much, much darker up close. “I name you the Lobster Prince of this realm, Duke over the sea. Is that enough?”

“The sea, father?” Yixing burst out, alarmed. “The sea is a useless place to us,” The king said dismissively, waving Jongdae away, “You need to get your priorities straight and stop indulging in your fancies of conquering the sea.”

Yixing simply bowed and handed Jongdae over to Junmyeon, but Jongdae could feel Yixing’s whole body going rigid, cold as steel. He remembered a broken ship, heavy metal crashing into the depths of the ocean, and briefly wondered what Yixing was like as a child.

“While you are still here, my boy, your mother would like to finalize the arrangements of the wedding. It is simply preposterous that you would push the date of such a grand spectacle back simply because of- because of guests.” The king called for his son, seemingly from a faraway distance.

“Leave,” Yixing mumbled lowly to Junmyeon and Jongdae, “Bring Luhan with you.” As if on cue Luhan lay a shaking hand on Yixing’s arm. “What’s going on? Yixing? Dae?” Luhan still couldn’t look at Junmyeon.

“We’ll talk in the corridor,” Junmyeon said gently, in that lyrical voice of his. Jongdae thought this voice went much better with Junmyeon’s face.

Junmyeon took leave that was callously granted, and the three of them left the throne room.

“Can someone please tell me what is going on?” Luhan asked impatiently, looking close to ripping his own hair out. Junmyeon lay Jongdae on the floor gently. “I’ll leave the two of you alone.” He said as he disappeared down the corridor.

“I figured out how to break the curse,” Jongdae explained hopefully, “The exact wording Minseok gave you was to be in love with ‘a prince’. He didn’t necessarily specify Yixing as the prince you had to be in love with.”

Luhan continued to stare at him.

“I’m a prince, now,” Jongdae continued calmly, ignoring the ticking inside his head, “And I love you with all my heart and soul. You’ve always had them.”

Luhan’s eyes brimmed with tears and Jongdae wanted to lean forward and kiss them away, then. Luhan covered his mouth with his hand, but his words were as clear as day. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” He murmured out as tears spilt over his bloodless cheeks, “Why tell me now?”

Would it have changed everything?

Luhan slid onto the floor in the oppressing silence, robes bunched up and pillowed on the smooth stoned floor. “Please answer me,” Jongdae breathed out, scurrying up onto one of Luhan’s brittle hands, laying his pincers on Luhan’s wrist in a show of goodwill, “We can go home together.”

“It’s not broken,” Luhan cried out, “I can feel it, it’s still there! Nothing has changed, nothing!”

Jongdae’s grip tightened involuntarily, and Luhan ripped his hand away. “I’ve been in love with you for so long,” Jongdae pleaded, “You can’t- You must have known, right, Luhan? We know each other better than we know ourselves, right? I’ve always been here, always stood behind you, I love you so much, Luhan, please, it’s that simple!”

Luhan continued to weep, face red and blotchy, but no less attractive to Jongdae. He loved him so much. “Today is the last day,” Jongdae begged weakly, “This is our chance.”

Suddenly Luhan’s eyes took on a frenzied tone, making Jongdae flinch. “This is all your fault!” He screamed, “Yixing- Yixing must’ve known- why are you in love with me? Yixing didn’t choose me because you were here! You ruined everything!”

Jongdae’s vision became hot and fuzzy, sweat that threatened to pour down his forehead unable to even form because of his biological state. “Luhan, you’re being illogical,” He stammered. Yixing didn’t fall in love with Luhan because of who Yixing was and who Luhan was, but Jongdae is different, right? They had known each other for so long, after all.

Luhan sweeped Jongdae off from the floor with cruel, cruel fingers. “Yixing would’ve loved me!” He shouted, “We would’ve looked perfect together! He was going to be my happy ending!” Then Luhan pulled back his hand in a swinging motion, as if he was going to throw Jongdae onto the stone wall.

Crippling fear seized Jongdae. For a second it was difficult to breath.

Then Luhan dropped him like a rock, letting him bounce off his shell as Luhan fled down the corridor, leaving Jongdae to stare at him as he lay upside down mercilessly.

They had less than 8 hours to go.

Chanyeol picked him up some hours or so later, but it could have been minutes, Jongdae wouldn’t know. The sky was already dark. “What time is it?” He asked blearily as he bobbed along to Chanyeol’s stride on his shoulder.

“Some time at night,” Chanyeol mumbled, eyes guilty and weary. He released Jongdae on a hard surface, and it took Jongdae a while to realize it was the table of their own room. “It’s near midnight, isn’t it?” Jongdae startled himself awake.

“It’s not!” Chanyeol said quickly, but Jongdae immediately made a mad dash for the side of the table, just to crash into Chanyeol’s arms.

“You’re not supposed to go out,” Chanyeol’s large face loomed into view, “I promised Luhan to keep you here.”

“Don’t try and stop me!” Jongdae screamed into his face, hysterical. They were running out of time. Before Chanyeol’s hand could come down, Jongdae had already launched himself out the open window, landing on soft, soft sand.

He could hear Chanyeol’s shouts from the inside of the castle. He was a good man. They all were. Light filtered out the window, but Jongdae couldn’t wait for Zitao or Yifan to rush out. The sand was cool to touch, too cold, even. There were three figures in the distance, two bobbing amicably in the current, one stepping into the warm embrace of the water.

“Luhan!” He shouted out, and the man in question paused and looked back. “Luhan, please, we still have time!” He continued as he stumbled over the stand, small limbs struggling to keep pace with the imminent need to stop Luhan, to save Luhan, to keep Luhan by his side under lock and key if that could keep him safe.

“Forget it, Jongdae,” Luhan replied as Jongdae approached, “This story is coming to an end. Our author’s tired. She didn’t want to give us a happy ending.”

“Why can’t you just love me?” Jongdae screamed frantically, “What does Yixing have that I do not? Why is it that even now, you’re still thinking about him? I’m the one who's always been by your side, I’m the one who’s always prioritized you before myself, why are you still in love with him?”

Luhan’s entire lower body was submerged now, and he turned to face away from Jongdae. Jongdae was but a small dot in the myriad of colours of the beach. “Forget it,” Luhan repeated, “I can’t just- fall in love with you with a snap of fingers, it doesn’t- it doesn’t work like that. In the same way, I was doomed from the very beginning. I would have never won Yixing’s heart.”

“You’re the one who always believed in fairytales, Luhan,” Jongdae continued to beg, “Please don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind.”

“And you were always the one to doubt them,” Luhan said, a ghost of a smile caressing his face, “At least now I know what’s important to me.

“Don’t think I don’t like you, Jongdae. You mean everything to me. You are my best friend, and you are the one that makes my soul complete. I’m sorry for everything I did to you, and I will never be able to undo what I have done to you.

“But I don’t regret all this. I don’t want to die, obviously, but there is no way I would be able to be the old Luhan you love, having experienced a passion of my own. This- you’ve given me so much, and all I can do is tell you that I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, because that would mean I get to see Yixing, to fall in love with the good that is in him. And, in a way, it’s made you speak up, right?

“It’s too late now, for you and for me. Neither of us stood any chance from the very beginning. It’s time to make our peace with that.”

Then Baekhyun swam closer and gave Jongdae one final, sorrowful look. Luhan leaned into the other merman, letting Baekhyun carry him in his arms with Luhan’s arms looped around his neck. His human legs were exposed into the night wind, the gentle caressing of a cat’s paw. Artificial, ethereal, delicate and dainty.

“I love you,” Jongdae said helplessly.

He would not lie and say that Luhan had never looked more beautiful. His prince was tired and weary, tormented, scars decorating his heart. But Jongdae had never loved him more.

“It’s- Thank you, Dae,” Luhan said, then closed his eyes and tucked his head into the crook of Baekhyun’s neck, softly murmuring to the emerald-tailed merman.

Then Jongdae was thrashing, black scales scraping painfully against the sand as his organs expanded brutally, pincers and legs making way for proper arms and a face, his entire frame stretched wider and wider and wider. He was screaming himself hoarse, unintelligible words that bounced against the waves as Baekhyun sank further into the sea, Luhan’s fingers and toes already starting to dissipate. For a split second, before Jongdae’s vision went black, he thought he saw Luhan’s silver tail, lively, vibrant, kissed by moonlight.

Jongdae closed his eyes and lost himself in the vortex of sounds and colours, the sea waves clashing against the cliffs and rocks, the sea breeze disturbing a nest of seagulls tucked in the cleft of a ridge, human voices wafting from the castle, the settlements, rapid pattering, a stone thrown into water.

“He’s gone,” Chanyeol was shouting, the tears streaming down his face mirrored on Jongdae’s own, “He’s gone.”

Chanyeol flinched as Jongdae screamed, clawing at Chanyeol’s arms, leaving bloody trails in his wake. Then Zitao and Yifan joined the fray, the three strong humans pinning Jongdae into the sand, until Jongdae stopped squirming and settled with crying into Chanyeol’s arm.

Jongdae fainted at some point, and when he woke up he was in a bathtub, salt water caressing his scales in a faint mimicry of the sea current. Yixing was sitting on a stool next to him, sleeves rolled up, fast asleep with his head against the stone walls. There were dried tear tracks on his face.

“We’ve organized transport to the sea,” Yifan said behind him, “We’ll move you when you’re ready.”

Jongdae nodded, the hollowness in his heart echoed in Yifan’s eyes. Jongdae closed his eyes again, letting the water slosh against his skin. Like the gentleness of a newborn fawn, yet at the same time, mercilessly mocking Jongdae.

They carried him out to the sea when the sun fell, cold night wind gathering in the air and scalding Jongdae’s flesh.

Yixing hugged him, leaving a trail of apologies as Zitao and Yifan carried Jongdae into the ocean. Perhaps this was the only thing the two of them could ever agree on.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were there to take an unmoving Jongdae from their arms. Baekhyun’s eyes were puffy and red, while Kyungsoo buried his face into Jongdae’s shoulder.

Jongdae’s tail wafted along the currents of the sea.

“If it gives you any peace,” Kyungsoo said quietly, “Luhan passed in his father’s arms.”

“I wasn’t there,” Jongdae replied calmly. Baekhyun burst into a fresh round of tears, and Kyungsoo threw an arm around the other merman’s neck to draw him close.

“That world,” Kyungsoo nodded his head towards the beach, where Yixing stood forlornly, Zitao and Yifan behind him silently, “That world isn’t ours. We should never have entered it.”

Jongdae cast one final look backwards. Many years later, he would recall this very moment in perfect clarity, but he would never be able to find the words to describe it. Like a shark prowling in a pond, thinking it was his whole wide world. Like two children weaving in and out of abandoned shipwrecks, marveling in the intricacy of it, but not knowing its meaning.

Even now Jongdae can feel the image burning into the back of his head, three men on the beach, one on his knees scrubbing the kitchen floor with tears splashing against the cold stone tiles, another looking out the window in a crumpled ivory tower. Three men submerged in water, observing a world they do not belong to. Jongdae looked down into the world below, and realized it held nothing for him either.

He held a sliver of moonlight in his hands, and it bathed his surroundings in silver, but it was no longer the shade that Jongdae was looking for.