Archive of Our Own

Wooyoung reclines in the soft green grass of the forest clearing, tilting his head back to let the sun bathe his features, and letting his eyes drift shut as he listens to the nearby waves washing gently against the shore. Waiting.

The heavy, clumsy footfalls are getting closer.

Chancing a brief look at the path, Wooyoung catches a glimpse of his approaching quarry. Tall and hulking, straggling black beard, dressed in dark greens and browns to better blend into the trees. Laden with a crossbow, a thick-bladed knife, and the clanking of metal from other contraptions attached to his belt – animal traps.

Wooyoung feels his hatred grow at the sight. How dare he?

Letting out a quiet hiss of breath to stay outwardly calm, Wooyoung closes his eyes again and relaxes into the grass. Any moment now…

Sure enough, he hears the change in the hunter’s footsteps as he moves from leaf litter and the cover of the trees to the soft grass of the clearing. Hears him stumble to a halt and the sharp intake of breath, and knows the hunter has spotted him reclining in the grass.

Wooyoung knows he’s attractive – lilac hair and golden skin, dark eyes and bright smile – and he looks quite a sight now, pretending to sleep in the sun. He lets the hunter gaze at him for another few moments, then pretends to wake, stretching deliberately and slowly opening his eyes. He looks around the clearing before finally ‘noticing’ the man, then sits upright with a gasp.

“Are you a hunter?” he asks fearfully, pulling his knees up to his chest and curling in on himself. “You shouldn’t be here!”

The man freezes, staring at Wooyoung uncertainly, unsure of what to do. Wooyoung takes the opportunity to pretend to look the man up and down, raising a hand daintily to his mouth.

“Oh,” he whispers, “But you’re so handsome.”

It’s pathetic, the way the empty words make the hunter pause and puff up like a rooster.

“Oh, haha, thank you.”

Still uncertain but with more confidence now, the hunter blunders forward.

“You’re gorgeous,” he says softly, still staring at Wooyoung. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

Wooyoung keeps his grimace internal, and looks up at the man in awe. As the hunter reaches Wooyoung and crouches beside him, Wooyoung stamps down the urge to gag at the smell of the man and reaches out to touch his face. The hunter closes his eyes briefly and catches his breath at Wooyoung’s touch, leaning in for more, hoping for a kiss, but Wooyoung withdraws just as quickly.

“Oh, but… I – I shouldn’t…” he murmurs, as though conflicted.

“I won’t tell anyone, little fairy,” says the hunter huskily, still trying to lean in.

I’m an elf you ignorant moron, do you see any wings?!

But Wooyoung just looks up at him with wide eyes, and chews at his thumb nervously.

“Oh, are you sure?” he says. “Well… if you promise not to tell…”

The hunter nods at once, and Wooyoung knows he’s got him.

“Come with me,” he whispers, eyes alight with mischief.

He leads the hunter down to the shore, along the beach to the rocky outcrop at the end of the bay. The big man barely seems to notice where they’re going, too busy staring at Wooyoung and trying to touch him. Wooyoung evades his clumsy, grasping hands teasingly, drawing him closer and closer to the cave entrance hiding among the rocks at the base of the cliff.

“Quickly, quickly! Down here!” he beckons.

The cave is half-submerged, and is dark and quiet inside. The only thing they can see from the entrance is the sparkle of water a little way away, and the only thing they can hear is the gentle lapping of the tide. The hunter hesitates.

“What is this place?” he asks.

“Have a look!” Wooyoung invites him, stepping back and gesturing the hunter forward.

As the man sticks his head and shoulders inside the cave, Wooyoung’s smile turns cold.

“That’s it, in you go.”

“Wha–? Hey!”

Wooyoung shoves the hunter squarely in the back, sending him stumbling off-balance into the dark cave. Before he can so much as turn around, any hope of escape is already blocked by the boulder which rolls smoothly down its usual path to seal the entrance, with just a quick push from Wooyoung.

Wooyoung dusts off his hands and nods in satisfaction. One less hunter in his forest.

He sits with his back to the boulder and examines his nails while the man shouts and beats against it with his fists. Then, the screaming starts.

Wooyoung isn’t entirely sure what type of monster has taken up residence in the partially-underwater cave. Probably a sea-serpent, or maybe a young kraken. He doesn’t really care. What matters is that it gets the job done, cleanly disposing of anyone Wooyoung shuts in there with it. Well, probably not cleanly, if the ongoing shrieks of terror and agony are any indication, but at least Wooyoung doesn’t have to see it.

He first discovered the cave and its resident monster a few months ago, when a particularly nasty hunter had somehow managed to take him by surprise and almost put an arrow through him. Wooyoung had fled, panicking, into the little cave and hidden himself behind a rock. The hunter had followed, but hadn’t made it to Wooyoung’s hiding place before something had lunged from the water and latched onto the hunter, dragging him screaming into the depths with an almighty splash. Trembling in his hiding place, Wooyoung had covered his ears against the screaming, and when things finally went quiet again, had peered over the rocks and seen only a spreading patch of blood in the dark water.

“Th-thank you!” he’d stuttered out, before fleeing, not sure if he’d survived because the creature had spared him, or if it simply hadn’t noticed he was there.

Since then, he’s never ventured back into the cave himself, but he’s sent plenty of others to their doom.

Once he’s satisfied that today’s hunter has also been devoured, Wooyoung gets to his feet and brushes the sand off his tunic and leggings. Glancing up at the sun, he estimates that there’s still a good few hours of sunlight left in the day, and he wants to check in on the blackcurrants to see if they’re fruiting yet.

When he looks back down to the beach, however, he pauses.

There’s someone out on the cluster of rocks that stretches out into the sea from the base of the cliff. A human? A fellow wood elf? Wooyoung squints, shading his eyes against the sun to see better, then gasps.

From the waist down, the figure has a fish’s tail. It’s a merman.

Wooyoung has never met a merman, but he’s heard plenty of stories. His friend Hongjoong, a summer fairy from the other side of the bay, even has a merman as his lover. Never shuts up about him, in fact, always regaling Wooyoung with stories about how lovely and sweet and beautiful his Seonghwa is.

This creature is certainly beautiful, even from a distance.

Wooyoung waves at him enthusiastically.

“Hello!” he calls. “Hi! Can I come over?”

Without waiting for a reply, he rolls up his leggings and begins clambering over the rocks towards the merman. He figures that the merman is free to swim away if he doesn’t want to engage with Wooyoung, but he isn’t showing any signs of moving yet, and Wooyoung hopes it stays that way, at least long enough for him to reach the merman and have a chance to talk to him.

After all, Wooyoung’s never yet met a creature he can’t befriend.

“Hi!” he says again, when he finally draws level with the rock the merman is sitting on. “Gosh, this is exciting! I’m Wooyoung, nice to meet you!”

The merman doesn’t reply. Holding unblinking eye contact with Wooyoung, he lowers himself calmly into the water and drifts a little way from the rocks, putting some careful distance between them. He looks alert, but not frightened.

The reaction reminds Wooyoung of coming across a deer in the woods so, unperturbed, he does what he’d usually do in that situation and stays quiet for a few moments, allowing the merman time to adjust to his presence.

In the meantime, he studies the merman with interest, now he can see him up close. He has dark hair, long enough to frame his face, and a dark green tail that almost blends into the ocean. By contrast, his skin is so pale it’s almost translucent, as are his ice-blue irises. The effect is unnatural, but undeniably striking.

Wooyoung thinks he could stare at him forever.

“Wow, you’re really beautiful,” he says.

The merman doesn’t react. He continues to stare back at Wooyoung with a strange intensity, like he’s trying to read his thoughts.

“Mind if I sit down?” asks Wooyoung, gesturing to the rocks at the water’s edge. “It’s been a busy day.”

The merman still doesn’t react, which isn’t a yes per se, but isn’t a no either, so Wooyoung goes ahead and takes a seat on the flattest of the nearby rocks.

“Another hunter got into my forest today,” he says. “But that’s taken care of now. I shut him into the cave, like I do with all the others. He won’t be bothering me anymore.”

The merman keeps staring at Wooyoung as he chatters about his day. It’s a little awkward, but Wooyoung forges on anyway. It wouldn’t be the first time he makes a friend by filling in the silence himself until the other person feels comfortable piping up. Granted, it’s not usually quite this unbalanced, but that’s fine, Wooyoung can still work with this. At least the merman certainly seems interested in Wooyoung, even if he’s not saying anything in reply.

Then, eventually, the merman turns and dips below the water, swimming away from the rocks.

“It was nice to meet you!” Wooyoung calls after him, waving.

There’s a spring in his step as he heads back up the beach, still smiling at the lucky encounter. Merfolk are elusive creatures, and getting to meet one has made Wooyoung’s day. He’ll have to tell Hongjoong all about it the next time they catch up. Maybe this merman and Hongjoong’s Seonghwa even know each other.

Most of all, Wooyoung hopes that he’ll get to see the merman again.

The next day, Wooyoung finds himself wandering back down to the bay, craning his neck eagerly and crossing his fingers. He knows it’s unlikely that the merman will be there again – after all, in all the years he’s lived here, he’s only seen the merman once – but that doesn’t keep him from hoping. Maybe he’ll be lucky.

And, miraculously, he is.

He’s only been walking along the beach for ten minutes or so when he catches movement in the corner of his eye, and turns to see the merman has surfaced a little way away, just his head above the water, staring silently.

Wooyoung beckons him over excitedly, and the merman obliges, drifting closer and coming to a rest with his arms folded on the rock next to Wooyoung’s. His arms and shoulders are muscular, Wooyoung can’t help but notice with a little thrill of excitement, and those pale, unblinking eyes watch him closely.

Once again, he says nothing in response to anything Wooyoung says to him – nice to see you again, how have you been, I’m off to dig up some ginger roots after this, isn’t it such a nice day? – but he stays for a good five minutes before swimming off again, which Wooyoung counts as a win.

Even better, when Wooyoung comes past the next day, the merman is there again.

They fall into a routine, of sorts. Wooyoung heads down to the beach in the late afternoon, and the merman almost always arrives shortly after. By coincidence, he’s often nearby when Wooyoung has just finished disposing of another unfortunate hunter.

Wooyoung tells the merman about his day, about the various comings and goings of the forest. He leaves openings for the merman to interject if he wants, but he seems content to listen. He clearly isn’t bored, at least, or he wouldn’t keep coming back to sit with Wooyoung on the rocks.

“Do you have a name?” Wooyoung asks after a few days, trailing his feet through the water aimlessly. “I feel strange just calling you ‘you’ all the time. It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me, of course, but…”

“Yeosang.”

Wooyoung nearly falls off his rock in surprise, then whips around to stare at the merman, who is gazing at him impassively as always.

“Yeosang,” he repeats breathlessly. “Your name is Yeosang?”

The merman nods, as though the interaction is nothing out of the ordinary, but Wooyoung is reeling. The merman is named Yeosang, and he talks. He has a voice, and that voice is soft and deep and lovely, and Wooyoung wants to hear more of it at once.

He doesn’t get his wish, of course. Saying his name aloud doesn’t open the floodgates for the merman to suddenly start talking as much as Wooyoung. But he does offer ‘no’s and ‘yes’s now in response to direct questions, and that’s a start.

“I’m glad you talk,” Wooyoung tells him after a couple of days of this. “Before you told me your name, I was getting a little worried you didn’t understand anything I was saying to you.”

Yeosang tilts his head thoughtfully, tail swishing behind him in the water.

“Talking is…” he says slowly, then wrinkles his nose, “Bothersome. Easier to just act.” He lays his head on his folded arms. “But I talk when I need to. When things are… complicated.”

It’s the most Wooyoung has ever hear the merman say at once, and he’s practically vibrating with excitement.

“That’s fine,” he says cheerfully. “Talk as much or as little as you want. You have a really nice voice though.”

Yeosang just nods, as though this is expected, which makes Wooyoung giggle.

“Do you get that a lot?” he asks. “Does everyone tell you your voice is nice?”

Yeosang seems to consider the question, then nods again.

“Yes.”

Wooyoung chuckles at his honesty.

“Fair enough,” he says. “It’s true, after all.”

They sit in silence for a few moments, listening to the waves lap against the rocks.

After a little while, Wooyoung reaches out to Yeosang. He’s found that, although the merman won’t initiate anything, he doesn’t seem to mind being touched. He gently pushes back some of the damp hair which has flopped into Yeosang’s face, and the merman closes his eyes briefly at the contact, as if in content. It’s cute, but it doesn’t last long before his eyes flick open again, boring into Wooyoung’s as usual.

“Your eyes are so pretty, too,” Wooyoung says conversationally.

It’s true – they’re a really nice shape, and his lashes are dark. The paleness of the irises is a little unnerving, but unique.

Yeosang blinks, seemingly surprised by this, and then tilts his head and looks Wooyoung up and down consideringly. Wooyoung has to stamp down a delighted smile when he realises the merman is formulating a compliment of his own with endearing seriousness.

He wonders what Yeosang will come up with. Do merfolk even find the same qualities attractive that land dwellers generally do?

“Your… skin looks warm,” Yeosang says finally.

Wooyoung chokes on a laugh. Evidently not.

“My what?!” he says incredulously.

Yeosang makes a clicking sound in his throat.

“Your skin,” he says again.

He holds out one of his own milk-white arms, still glistening with water droplets.

“My skin is cold,” he says. “Your skin looks warm.”

Wooyoung is both weirded out and oddly endeared.

As he walks back up the beach that evening, Wooyoung thinks about the merman, his pretty eyes and his pretty voice and his… everything.

Wooyoung really likes him, and not just because of the novelty of knowing a merman anymore. He likes the elegant way he moves, likes his unblinking interest in Wooyoung. He likes sitting peacefully with Yeosang, likes his quiet, thoughtful presence and his strange quirks.

He doesn’t just want the merman as a friend anymore, he realises with a little jolt. He wants to hold and kiss him.

He wants Yeosang, and he wants Yeosang to want him too.

But just what to do about these feelings, he isn’t yet sure.

Wooyoung reaches their spot first the next day, and when Yeosang appears, he seems to be swimming more laboriously than usual. As he comes closer, it becomes evident that he’s carrying something, something which he hefts out of the water when he reaches Wooyoung. It slaps down on the rocks by Wooyoung’s feet, and the elf recoils.

A whole dead eel. Wooyoung didn’t even know eels could grow to such a size. The thing is massive. And dead. And slimy.

Wooyoung looks at Yeosang. The merman is staring at him intently, unblinking. He makes a motion with his hands, like he’s bringing something towards his mouth.

Wooyoung gulps, confused.

“Um…” he says. “An eel?”

Yeosang nods, and leans forward just a little, expectant. Expecting what, though? What is Wooyoung supposed to do? He looks back down at the eel, then quickly back up at Yeosang.

Yeosang makes a little noise of agitation, tail flicking from side to side. He makes the motion with his hands again.

“Eat,” he says.

Wooyoung’s jaw drops, the pieces suddenly falling into place. So that’s what this is all about! Yeosang has tried to bring him food.

“Oh, Yeosang, I’m sorry,” he says. “That’s so, um, nice of you, really. I just… I can’t eat this. I don’t eat meat.”

Yeosang stares at him, brow furrowed in apparent confusion.

“Don’t eat meat?” he repeats, and his frown deepens when Wooyoung nods. “What, then?”

“Stuff from plants,” Wooyoung explains. “You know, roots, berries, some types of leaves and bark. I’m a guardian of the forest animals, so I can’t prey on them. All elves are herbivores.”

“…Plants,” Yeosang repeats slowly, still looking a little sceptical.

Wooyoung laughs.

“It’s ok,” he says, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not really hungry anyway!”

Yeosang just frowns, making that strange clicking noise in his throat that Wooyoung is starting to learn means he’s frustrated or unhappy.

He doesn’t stay long that afternoon.

The next time they meet, there’s a massive pile of stinking kelp sitting on their rock. Yeosang is bobbing in the water beside it, face expressionless, eyes laser-focused on Wooyoung.

“Eat,” he says.

Wooyoung has to turn around and cover his mouth to contain the laughter.

“Thank you,” he says as genuinely as he can. “It’s, um… not quite the right sort of plant, but I appreciate the effort, Yeosang, really.”

The merman seems deflated all the same.

“Not right,” he mutters, almost to himself, before diving back into the water without another word.

The saga continues over the next few days. Wooyoung tries to assure the merman that he doesn’t need to bring him any snacks, but the merman is determined for some reason, and won’t rest until he’s found something Wooyoung can eat.

Eventually, after many more misses, Yeosang brings sea lettuce and a few strings of reddish, pearl-like seaweed that tastes similar to berries, albeit a little salty. Wooyoung gives both his approval, relieved as Yeosang that they’ve finally found something edible so the merman can stop searching.

After that, nearly every time Yeosang comes to see him, it’s with sea lettuce and sea berries. He seems to enjoy watching Wooyoung eat, always staring intently until the elf has finished everything the merman brings him, then radiating satisfaction afterwards. It’s a little intense, but sweet, really. Wooyoung wishes he could bring some of his own food to share with Yeosang in return, but the merman only seems to eat fish and other sea animals, and Wooyoung can’t offer any meat from the land without harming any of the creatures in his forest.

Still, he likes that they have their cute little routine now. It makes their meetings feel more deliberate and meaningful, knowing that Yeosang has taken the time to prepare and find food to bring, rather than just chancing by. It warms Wooyoung’s heart to know that the merman is putting effort into spending more time together.

Now, Wooyoung just needs to find a way to step things up to the next level.

“Hyung, can you tell me how merfolk court?”

Hongjoong looks up from the berry bush he’s hovering over and squints at Wooyoung in suspicion.

“The last time I tried to tell you about Seonghwa and I, you wouldn’t stop making gagging noises and begging me to shut up,” he says.

Wooyoung has the decency to look chastised at the reminder.  

“Um, yeah,” he says. “Sorry about that. It’s just, well… I’ve met someone.”

Hongjoong’s eyes widen, and he flutters down at once.

“You’ve met someone?” he repeats. “As in, a mer? And you want to court them?”

Wooyoung nods, and Hongjoong’s face splits into an incredulous grin.

“I can’t believe it!” he cries, slapping Wooyoung’s arm. “Tell me everything.”

“His name is Yeosang,” says Wooyoung, feeling his cheeks warm. “I met him down on the beach, at the south end of the cove. We’ve been meeting up for a few weeks now.” He smiles just at the thought. “He’s gorgeous. I understand what you mean now, when you talk about Seonghwa. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so captivating.”

Hongjoong’s smile widens.

“Good for you, you imp!” he says. “So, you need courting tips from your hyung, eh?”

Wooyoung can feel himself blushing darker.

“Don’t be so smug,” he grumbles. “Just – you’re partnered with a merman. You’ll know more than I do about their customs and stuff.”

Hongjoong doesn’t stop looking smug, but thankfully, he also steps back, tilting his head and pushing a hand through his bright blue hair as he considers.

“Well, merfolk love pretty things,” he begins slowly. “Stones, shells, anything shiny. They like looking at them, and they like decorating themselves with them too. Jewellery is a strong tradition for the merfolk. So typically, if you’re wanting to court one, giving them a necklace or bracelet is a very good bet.”

“Ah,” says Wooyoung, nodding. “So they give jewellery to show interest?”

“That’s right,” Hongjoong agrees. “If they accept your gift and wear it, that means they’re interested. If not, they’ll reject the gift. Having a nice, pretty gift will help, but no mer will accept a courting gift from someone they have no intention of mating with, no matter the quality.”

“Ok,” mutters Wooyoung, thoughts already racing. “Ok, I can try that then. What did you give to Seonghwa?"

“I brought him wildflowers at first,” says Hongjoong, “And he liked those, but he couldn’t take them back underwater with him, which made him a little sad. Once I wanted to make it official, though, I made him a matching necklace and bracelet from polished quartz and pink shells.”

“Necklace and bracelet,” Wooyoung notes, “Quartz and shells, ok, ok, I can do that.”

“I’m working on trapping some wildflowers in tree resin, so they’ll be waterproof and last a long time underwater,” Hongjoong adds. “It’s a bit tricky, but I’m getting the hang of it. I’ll have one nice enough to give to him soon.”

“But you two are already a pair, right?” Wooyoung checks. “Do you need to keep giving gifts even after you’re together?”

“Well, no,” says Hongjoong. “I mean, mer customs don’t demand it. But you should see the way his eyes light up when I give him pretty things, Wooyoung, and the way he smiles.” Hongjoong sighs happily, eyes distant. “He’s like a shining star.”

“More like a magpie, by the sound of it,” says Wooyoung.

Hongjoong gives him a sharp look.

“Your Yeosang will be the same,” he says. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t love jewellery as much as Seonghwa does. It’s in their nature.”

Wooyoung imagines delighting Yeosang with a gift, of the merman smiling in joy, and feels his heart clench at the mental image.

“I hope you’re right,” he says wistfully.

Wooyoung spends the next few days working hard. He collects loose pieces of quartz from the embankment near the cave, and under Hongjoong’s guidance, polishes them down until they shine. Drilling the holes is difficult, but soon he has five glittering stones ready to thread onto a cord.

Hongjoong offers him some coloured clay beads to use as spacers too, claiming it will make the necklace look more complete. He’s probably right – it does look more organised when the quartz isn’t pushed together in one cluster.  

“What colour is his tail?” asks Hongjoong, going through the array of different colours he has in his stock. “It would be nice if the necklace matched his scales, or complimented it, at least. They appreciate little touches like that.”

Wooyoung frowns slightly. He didn’t realise tail colour would vary much, given how Yeosang’s colouring seems to be functional, more for camouflage in the water than anything else.

“Uh… sea coloured,” he says, then, at Hongjoong’s quizzical look, elaborates, “You know, dark green. Kind of silvery on the front. To blend in better, I guess.”

Hongjoong raises his eyebrows in apparent surprise.

“Really?” he says. “That’s… unusual.”

“What? What colour is Seonghwa’s tail then?” demands Wooyoung.

“Pink,” answers Hongjoong promptly. “Like cherry blossoms.”

“Pink?”

Wooyoung tries to picture Yeosang with a pink tail, and can’t. It’s like trying to imagine a pink shark.

In the end, they decide on black beads to go in between the white quartz. Wooyoung thinks it will go nicely with Yeosang’s skin and hair, and the end product looks striking and elegant, just like Yeosang.

Hongjoong is surprised when Wooyoung mentions this too, though.

“White skin?” he repeats. “What, does he spend all his time in a cave or something?”

“He lives underwater, hyung,” tuts Wooyoung. “Of course he’s pale. Isn’t Seonghwa?”

Hongjoong shakes his head.

“No paler than you or I. Certainly nothing like this,” he taps his finger against the bright quartz. “Are you sure you’re not exaggerating?”

“I am not,” says Wooyoung stubbornly.

Hongjoong still looks a little suspicious, but he sighs and shakes his head, evidently not wanting trouble.

“Alright,” he says. “Well, to tie off the ends, make a knot like this…”

That night, Wooyoung heads back to his sleeping hollow, a complete necklace cradled carefully in his hands. And the next morning, when he goes to greet Yeosang, it’s with renewed purpose.

It doesn’t take long for the merman to show, surfacing smoothly from the water and twisting gracefully to pull himself up onto the rock beside where Wooyoung stands. Yeosang pushes the wet hair back from his eyes, and stretches his arms above his head, causing his muscles to flex. Wooyoung’s mouth goes dry at the sight, then he abruptly shakes himself out of it as the merman turns to look at him.

“Yeosang! Hi!” he says, bouncing on his heels. “I… I have something for you! If – if you want it, that is.”

Yeosang tilts his head curiously, waiting for Wooyoung to elaborate.

“Um… here.”

Before he can lose his nerve, Wooyoung holds out the necklace. Yeosang stares at it. Wooyoung holds his breath.

Then, slowly, Yeosang reaches out a hand. Wooyoung’s heart leaps, and he leans forward to place the necklace in Yeosang’s damp palm, coiling it carefully so it doesn’t slip off. Then he backs off a step and waits tentatively for Yeosang’s verdict.

The merman studies the necklace, holding up each of the quartz stones and the little clay beads and examining them closely. Then, seemingly nonplussed, he looks back at Wooyoung as if for an explanation.

“It’s a necklace,” Wooyoung prompts. “For you.”

Yeosang blinks at him, then tilts his head.

“Um… can I…?” Wooyoung licks his lips and steels himself. “Can I put it on you?” he asks.

“Put it on me?” Yeosang repeats.

“Around your neck.” Wooyoung gestures vaguely on himself. This isn’t going quite how he planned. “You know. A necklace.”

Something finally seems to click in Yeosang’s mind, and he nods quickly, turning and offering his neck to Wooyoung. Relieved, Wooyoung hurries forward to comply.

He fastens the necklace gently around Yeosang’s neck, tying the knot carefully, then steps back again.

“Do… do you like it?” he asks tentatively.

Yeosang blinks slowly at Wooyoung, looking a little perplexed, as though he was expecting something different. He runs his fingers over the stones, almost hesitantly. Then, slowly, he slides back in the water, and swims away.

It’s abrupt, and not exactly what Wooyoung was hoping for, but that’s ok. The main thing is that Yeosang has accepted the necklace, which Hongjoong said would only happen if he accepted Wooyoung’s offer of courting.

Yeosang isn’t rejecting him. Wooyoung is in with a chance.

Over the next couple of weeks, however, it becomes apparent that although Yeosang has accepted the necklace, he certainly isn’t treasuring it.

Hongjoong told Wooyoung that merfolk show their appreciation of courting gifts not just by wearing them, but by keeping them immaculate and sparkling at all times, but Yeosang doesn’t seem to be doing anything of the sort. The necklace has grown undeniably dirty since Wooyoung first tied it around Yeosang’s neck, the cord discoloured, the clay beads chipped, and the stones glazed over with a layer of sea salt.

Yeosang also seems a little perturbed by having something around his neck, keeps turning his head restlessly and plucking uncertainly at the cord when he’s above water with Wooyoung.

Wooyoung isn’t quite sure what he did wrong, but it’s clear that Yeosang doesn’t understand what the necklace is supposed to be for.

“This is just a bother to you, isn’t it?” Wooyoung asks dully, as they sit together on the rocky outcrop one evening, reaching over to prod at a piece of algae which has gotten itself wrapped around one of the gemstones.

Yeosang watches silently as Wooyoung fusses with the necklace, trying fruitlessly to clean away some of the grime and sand which has accumulated, before sighing in defeat.

“Would you like me to take this off?”

Yeosang nods at once and turns around so Wooyoung can reach the knot at the back, and Wooyoung tries not to feel hurt at his eagerness. He struggles to unpick the knot, which clearly hasn’t been touched since Wooyoung first tied it on, and has become matted and clumped together with salt and seawater.

“You could’ve at least put a bit of effort into keeping it clean,” he grumbles, as he finally manages to pry the knot apart and remove the necklace. “I worked hard to make this.”

He looks down at Yeosang’s milk-white shoulders and throat and, just because he can, leans forward to give him a quick, admonishing bite where his neck meets his shoulder, wrinkling his nose a little afterwards at the layer of salt clinging to Yeosang’s cold, damp skin.

Wooyoung bites his friends often – something Hongjoong will attest to with many long-suffering complaints – so he’s used to the usual reactions; shouts of protest and disgust, being pushed or slapped away or laughingly yelled at, and he’s not expecting this time to be any different.

Yeosang, however, tenses up in shock, then whips around to face Wooyoung, eyes shining and face split into an incredulous smile. He gives a delighted trilling noise from somewhere in his throat, and suddenly he’s lunging at Wooyoung.

Before Wooyoung has time to react, he’s being pushed roughly down against the rock they’re sitting on, and the merman is on top of him, sinking his own teeth into Wooyoung’s shoulder. Wooyoung cries out in shock and pain – Yeosang bites him much harder than he bit Yeosang, almost hard enough to break skin, before releasing Wooyoung and pulling away again.

Panting and wide-eyed, Wooyoung gapes up at Yeosang, who is beaming down at him and practically wriggling in delight. He repeats his happy chirrup and leans down, causing Wooyoung to flinch away in fear of being bitten again, but this time Yeosang just nuzzles his face enthusiastically against Wooyoung’s cheeks and neck.

The surprisingly cute gesture is over again in a flash before Wooyoung has time to process what’s happening, and Yeosang is pulling away again just as quickly. He gives Wooyoung one last dazzling smile over his shoulder, then dives into the water. He’s vanished beneath the waves in seconds, leaving Wooyoung, open-mouthed and reeling, still sprawled back across the rocks.

He stares at the sea in utter bewilderment, chest heaving as he tries to regain his breath and shoulder throbbing painfully.

What the fuck just happened?

The incident haunts Wooyoung over the next week, eating away at him. He’s never seen the merman so joyful before.

Was he that relieved to be rid of the necklace Wooyoung had burdened him with? Was that what the bite was for too? But no, that doesn’t seem right. Yeosang hadn’t seemed angry at all, it didn’t feel like he was trying to retaliate. Instead, he’d seemed downright affectionate, if only for a brief moment.

But the bite had hurt, a lot.

What does it all mean?

It’s already dark when they next meet at their rocks, as the days grow shorter for the colder months. Luckily, it’s a full moon, so Wooyoung can still see clearly.

He sees Yeosang approach, picking him out of the dark water by his glowing eyes. He’d been a little startled the first time he saw Yeosang at night and realised his eyes were luminous, but now he thinks it’s cool. He has a hunch Yeosang’s dark vision is much better than his own, which is only marginally enhanced compared to humans.

“Evening,” he calls in greeting as Yeosang surfaces beside him, leaning on the rocks.

He goes to tuck some of Yeosang’s dark hair behind his ear, as has become his habit – the merman often surfaces with his hair in disarray, and he seems to like the attention when Wooyoung fixes it for him. This time, however, Yeosang snaps at Wooyoung’s fingers, catching his thumb painfully between his teeth.

Wooyoung shrieks, snatching back his hand and cradling it protectively against his chest. There are already little beads of blood welling around the base of his thumb where Yeosang’s sharp teeth punctured his skin.

“You bit me again!” he cries, looking back at the merman reproachfully, “Fuck, Yeosang, that hurt!”

Yeosang trills, and dives back under the water, resurfacing quickly a couple of feet away. He looks excited, keyed up, almost like he’s expecting Wooyoung to give chase. When Wooyoung just keeps staring in confused apprehension, however, Yeosang’s posture slowly relaxes, as though let down, and he drifts closer again.

“You can bite me too,” he prompts, looking up at Wooyoung expectantly.

Wooyoung blinks.

“You… you want me to?”

Yeosang nods eagerly, eyes shining. Wooyoung just keeps staring uncomprehendingly, and the merman slowly deflates, curling into himself a little and swishing his tail back and forth slowly.

“…Please?”

Yeosang says the word awkwardly, like it’s unfamiliar in his mouth, but the way he’s staring up with such hopeful eyes makes Wooyoung agree automatically, however strange the request.

“Um… alright,” he says hesitantly. “Do you… wanna come up here, then?”   

Yeosang complies at once, planting his hands on the rock and hoisting himself lithely out of the water, twisting to sit beside him.

Wooyoung fidgets a little, still a bit weirded out by the request, but, well, if Yeosang genuinely wants it, what’s the harm?

His pale skin almost glows under the moonlight, glistening where beads of water still cling, and Wooyoung won’t lie and say that getting his mouth on Yeosang’s neck isn’t appealing right now.

Unable to help himself, Wooyoung leans forward and mouths lightly at him first, leaving a couple of open-mouthed kisses, then nips him firmly.

Yeosang trills in delight, the noise making Wooyoung’s heart leap. He made Yeosang happy!

But then Yeosang’s hand goes to feel the place Wooyoung bit, and the merman frowns.

“No blood,” he says, sounding a little disappointed. “Try again?”

“No blood?” Wooyoung repeats incredulously. “What – why do you – I can’t – Yeosang, I can’t bite you hard enough to draw blood!”

Yeosang stares at him, head on one side. Silence stretches as he blinks once, twice, then the merman’s eyes flick down and focus on Wooyoung’s mouth.

Wooyoung’s breath catches in his throat, his lips parting involuntarily. They’re so close right now, close than they’ve ever been, and Yeosang is staring at his lips. Wooyoung’s heart is beating so fast it feels like there’s a small bird trying to escape his chest.

Is this finally it? Are they going to kiss?

Yeosang leans in. Wooyoung’s eyes flutter shut.

Then, abruptly, Yeosang’s fingers are pushing their way into Wooyoung’s mouth.

“Uhn?!”

Wooyoung’s eyes snap open and he lets out a muffled noise of surprise and confusion. He tries to pull away, but Yeosang’s grip is surprisingly strong as he forces Wooyoung to open his jaw wider. He stares intently at the inside of Wooyoung’s mouth, then makes a little noise of realisation.

“Your teeth are not sharp,” he says decisively, almost like a doctor delivering a verdict. “I see. This is why you eat plants.”

He releases Wooyoung, who sits back hurriedly, cheeks burning and head spinning. He gapes at Yeosang, who is sitting calmly as though this is nothing out of the ordinary.

“I think if you really tried, you could still draw blood.”

He sounds… encouraging? Hopeful?

Wooyoung laughs, because he doesn’t know how else to respond, other than what the fuck?

Thankfully, the merman doesn’t push any further after that, seemingly content just to sit together. He waves Yeosang goodbye not long after, and watches the merman swim away, head swirling with thoughts.

The incident has left Wooyoung’s head buzzing with questions. When he sees Hongjoong next, a week or so later, he seizes his chance.

The teasing, “So, how are things going with Yeosang?” has barely left Hongjoong’s mouth before Wooyoung is talking over him.

“I don’t know, hyung. Everything is weird and confusing and I don’t know what to do.”

He relays the story of the necklace, how Yeosang seemed to accept it more out of curiosity than anything, but didn’t particularly like it.

“Also, he bit me,” he adds. “Multiple times.”

Hongjoong snorts at that.

“Oh, so you’ve finally found your match, huh?” he says. “Consequences for your own actions? I’m assuming you bit him first?”

“Well, yes, but…”

Hongjoong laughs, and Wooyoung huffs irritably.

He feels like Hongjoong isn’t quite understanding the weight of the situation. But surely he’d know what mer teeth are like, the threat they pose? In fact, that’s another thing that’s been bothering him…

“Do you ever have trouble kissing Seonghwa?” he asks. “What with all the, you know,” he gestures to his own mouth vaguely, “the fangs.”

Hongjoong squints.

“The fangs?” he repeats. “Seonghwa doesn’t have fangs!”

“Sharper than average teeth then, whatever you want to call it,” says Wooyoung, waving a hand. “Just, don’t they get in the way? I’m a bit worried I’m going to end up cutting myself, if Yeosang and I kiss.”

He holds out his hand, where the scabbing left from Yeosang biting this thumb is still clearly visible.

“I mean, look at what he did the other day!”

That makes Hongjoong quiet. He stares at the scratches left on Wooyoung’s hand, then up at him incredulously.

“What – is Yeosang some sort of…?” he trails off, and shakes his head. “Impossible,” he mutters to himself. “You’d have been eaten weeks ago. So he must be a merman, but…”

He sighs, and drags a hand over his eyes.

“Wooyoung,” he says eventually, “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but things don’t seem quite… normal between you and Yeosang.”

“We’re an elf and a merman trying to court, of course it’s not normal,” Wooyoung points out at once, but Hongjoong shakes his head.

“Even for that,” he says. “Things aren’t quite adding up.”

Then, before Wooyoung can take further offence, he turns and fixes the elf with a stare.

“I was thinking,” he says, “Maybe you’d like to meet Seonghwa? It might be good for the two of you to have a talk.”

Relief floods Wooyoung. Yes, this is what he needs, advice direct from another merman. Hongjoong is doing his best to relay information, but clearly there are some key details getting lost in translation.

“That would be fantastic!” he exclaims. “How soon can we meet? Tomorrow? Today?”

Hongjoong blinks, surprised, as though he was expecting Wooyoung to resist the idea at first.

“I’m going out in my rowboat to meet him this afternoon,” he says. “I asked him if I could bring you along sometime and he was happy to meet you, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind now.”

Wooyoung beams.

“Perfect.”

And so, that afternoon, they do just that.

“Do you go out often?” Wooyoung asks curiously, as they push the little rowboat out into the sea, wading out after until it’s deep enough to hop in.

“Oh, every few days,” says Hongjoong with a shrug. “It’s nice to swim together, but I can’t do that every day, obviously. The boat means I have other options.”

Wooyoung nods thoughtfully. As a fairy, Hongjoong won’t be able to fly for several hours after swimming, until his wings have had time to dry out, so it makes sense that he’d want the boat as well.

It’s a good idea. Wooyoung himself isn’t the world’s best swimmer. Maybe he should think about building a boat for himself if he wants to keep spending time with Yeosang. It would be nice to spend time together away from the same row of rocks.

As they settle into the boat, Hongjoong takes the oars and begins rowing with practiced strokes, propelling them further out into the bay. It’s a nice, sunny day and the water is relatively calm, making the going easy. Wooyoung tilts his head back and lets his eyes slip shut, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight, until Hongjoong makes a little noise.

“Ah! There he is!”

Wooyoung’s eyes crack open again, and he sees Hongjoong smiling at something over his shoulder.

“Hello, my pearl,” says a soft voice from behind him. “How lovely to see you. And this must be Wooyoung?”

Wooyoung turns. And then he stares.

Seonghwa is… gorgeous, objectively, but the sight of him is shocking. Not because of how scary he looks, but because of how… normal he is.

Well, normal is perhaps the wrong word, given that he’s stunning even by fae standards, but the fact remains that Seonghwa, from the waist up, doesn’t look fundamentally different from an elf or fairy.

Round eyes, dark and shiny and warm, with no hint of eerie reflection. Sunkissed skin much like Wooyoung’s own, just as Hongjoong had said. Perfect, rounded teeth on display when he smiles readily.

He’s layered in jewellery, strings of pearls and shells and the quartz necklace that must have been Hongjoong’s courting gift, all of it immaculate and sparkling in the sunlight.

And his tail. Just like Hongjoong had said, it’s a soft, pretty shade of pink, scales shining iridescent with hints of green and lilac where they catch the light, framed with billowing, gossamer fins like a tropical fish. Even his hair is soft pink, matching his tail almost exactly.

Seonghwa tilts his head curiously, and Wooyoung realises he’s still staring.

“Ah, sorry,” he mutters. “I just – um – you look –”

“He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?” says Hongjoong without an ounce of shame.

Wooyoung nods weakly, taking the easy out provided, and Seonghwa laughs lightly.

“Oh, stop it,” he scolds Hongjoong without any heat, before looking between the pair with a smile.

“Come in!” he says. “The water’s lovely today.”

The two fae oblige quickly. They’re already barefoot and only wear light tunics and leggings which are quick to dry, so they don’t bother shedding any clothes, just slip over the side and into the water.

Seonghwa is right – it’s lovely. Cool but not cold, enough to be refreshing but not shocking. Wooyoung holds the side of the boat first while he familiarises himself with the water again, then holds his breath and ducks under the surface.

The three of them muck around in the water for a time, playing and laughing as they splash each other, before settling down and treading water together.

“I’m really happy I’m finally meeting you, Wooyoung,” Seonghwa says with a soft smile. “Hongjoong’s told me a lot about you of course.”

“I’m sure he has,” says Wooyoung, casting a fake-accusing look at Hongjoong, who sticks his tongue out at him.

Seonghwa laughs at their antics.

“Hongjoong also mentioned you’ve been courting one of the other mermen in the bay, but he hasn’t told me which one,” he continues, still smiling. “Is it Soobin? Minho? Keonhee, perhaps?”

Wooyoung shakes his head at the unfamiliar names.

“His name is Yeosang,” he says. “He has a dark green tail, and black hair. Do you know him?”

He really hopes he does, that this is one of Yeosang’s friends or at least acquaintances, so he has a better chance of getting some helpful advice, but now it’s Seonghwa’s turn to shake his head.

“Yeosang?” he repeats. “No, I don’t know that name. And he has a dark green tail? That’s unusual. More like siren colouring than typical mer.”

“Siren?” Wooyoung echoes with interest. “Like, the sea monsters who hypnotise people? You’ve seen one before?”

“Of course,” says Seonghwa blankly, “I live in the sea.”

“Yeah, but they’re only, like, out in the deep ocean, right?” presses Wooyoung.

Seonghwa shakes his head at that.

“They can live anywhere their prey does.”

Wooyoung’s eyes widen.

“Really?” he says. “And what counts as prey for them?”

“Anything susceptible to their music,” says Seonghwa with a shrug. “Anything with ears.”

“Wow.” Wooyoung blows out a huff of air. “I really thought they didn’t occur near the coast. I would’ve been a lot more cautious about approaching Yeosang at first if I’d known there were sirens around here too!”

“Yeosang can’t be a siren though,” says Hongjoong. “You’ve been meeting up with him for at least a couple of months now.”

“Of course not,” Seonghwa agrees at once. “Sirens are fearsome predators. If you’d truly encountered one, you would be hypnotised and devoured in minutes.”

Wooyoung shudders at the thought. Still, no point dwelling on it, if it’s not relevant to the case at hand.

“So, do merfolk usually vary a lot in appearance?” he asks. “Because, to be honest, you and Yeosang don’t look anything alike. You act very differently too.”

Seonghwa’s brow furrows at that.

“What do you mean?”

So, still treading water together, Wooyoung launches into a description of Yeosang and his interactions. Seonghwa listens intently, only chiming in to ask for clarification occasionally as Wooyoung tells him how they met and got to know each other.

“Tell him about the necklace,” Hongjoong urges him, so Wooyoung does.

He recounts his misadventure in courting to the merman, and watches Seonghwa’s face become more and more bewildered.

“He accepted your gift, but he didn’t seem to like it?” he repeats slowly. “That sounds very strange indeed. What did he say when you presented it to him? Did you discuss it?”

“Uh…” Wooyoung grimaces. “Not really. He’s not very talkative, you know?”

From the twin surprised faces Hongjoong and Seonghwa pull, Wooyoung suspects this trait might not be typical of merfolk either.

“Has his behaviour changed since you declared your intentions?” asks Seonghwa. “Is he more affectionate? Does he call you pet names? Has he given you any gifts in return?”

The idea of Yeosang calling him a pet name is so foreign that Wooyoung almost laughs.

“No, no pet names,” he says. “And he brings me snacks sometimes, but no jewellery. He…” he hesitates, “I guess you could say he’s been more affectionate recently? At least, since I took the necklace off again. He sits closer to me these days, and he hangs around longer.”

Which sounds pretty pathetic, now Wooyoung says it out loud. Not much to show for all the effort Wooyoung’s been putting into making their relationship official. He sighs.

“Also, he keeps biting me,” he adds as an afterthought. “I’m not sure why. That’s been pretty weird, to be honest. Is that a mer thing?”

He looks back at Seonghwa.

“His teeth are much pointier than yours, see,” he continues. “So it’s been a bit of a problem. He’s got a mean bite.”

Seonghwa stares at Wooyoung, mouth ajar, showing off those perfectly normal teeth of his.

“Wooyoung,” he says slowly, “Are you… are you sure that…”

But at that moment, something catches Wooyoung’s attention, and he cuts Seonghwa off.

“Oh, look!” Wooyoung breaks off suddenly, pointing, “There he is!”

And indeed, Yeosang has surfaced a short distance away. It’s only his eyes above water, and those eyes are narrowed, staring unblinkingly at the group.

“What?” exclaims Hongjoong. “He here? Oh –!” he breaks off when he sees the other merman.

When Yeosang sees that Wooyoung and the others have spotted him, he rises a little further, up to the tops of his shoulders. Water trickles down his features, and although there isn’t much expression on his face, as usual, he seems somehow displeased.

“Oh goddess,” whispers Seonghwa. “Hongjoong, Wooyoung, get back to the boat. Now.”

Before the others can react, the merman is turning to grab Hongjoong and shepherd him back to the rowboat. Wooyoung, bewildered by the overreaction, watches dumbly as Seonghwa boosts Hongjoong back over the side of the boat and hurries back to him.

Yeosang continues to glare.

“What’s wrong?” asks Wooyoung as Seonghwa reaches him and beckons frantically. “Why are we running away? Don’t you want to meet him?”

“Wooyoung, that isn’t a merman,” says Seonghwa tightly. “That’s a siren.”

“W-what?” says Wooyoung, “No, no that’s – that’s Yeosang. That’s just Yeosang, he’s not…”

“Wooyoung!” Seonghwa cuts him off, holding out his hand impatiently, “Back to the boat! We have to get out of here! Quickly!”

When Wooyoung still hesitates, the merman reaches forward and catches Wooyoung’s arm, tugging him back.

The moment Seonghwa makes contact, Yeosang bares his fangs and gives a guttural snarl. Wooyoung has never heard him make such a noise before – he sounds vicious, feral. Wooyoung’s blood goes cold.

“Oh, gods,” he chokes, “Ok, yep, alright. I’m coming.”

He turns to follow Seonghwa, and Yeosang’s eyes widen. The next moment, he’s diving back below the surface of the water, and powering towards them, churning up the sea in his wake. Seonghwa curses and pulls Wooyoung faster, and Wooyoung kicks his feet frantically, trying to help propel them back, but he realises in terror that Yeosang is much faster than they are.

They’re not going to make it to the boat in time.

In moments, the siren is on them. He rears up in the water, fangs bared. Wooyoung shrieks and Seonghwa grabs him by the shoulders, spinning them around in the water to valiantly put himself between Wooyoung and the siren. Yeosang, however, is too quick for them. He twists agilely around the merman and seizes Wooyoung around the middle, jerking him away.

“No-ooughgh-!” Wooyoung’s shout gets cut off in a gurgle as his head is dunked under the waves and his mouth fills with seawater.

He manages not to inhale it, and spits it out as soon as he surfaces again, disoriented and blinded by the water running down his face and the long hair plastered down over eyes. He clings desperately to the strong arms anchored around his waist, then panics all over again when he realises it’s still the siren holding on to him. He thrashes, trying to escape, but the grip Yeosang has on him feels like iron bands.

Finally managing to swipe his hair out of his eyes, he sees Hongjoong frantically rowing the boat closer, strokes choppy and uneven in his panic.

“Wooyoung!” he calls, wide-eyed.

Seonghwa lunges forward, somehow managing to catch one of Wooyoung’s flailing arms and grabbing it with both of him own.

“Let him go!” he shouts.

Yeosang snaps his teeth in warning.

“Mine!”

Wooyoung sobs in terror, feeling almost hysterical in his panic. Gods and goddesses, he’s about to be eaten, and it’s all his own stupid fault.

Seonghwa looks petrified, but he bravely holds his ground, refusing to let go.

“No!” he cries. “You can’t have him!”

Yeosang snarls.

“He’s mine,” he repeats. “He’s courting me. Find your own mate.”

Abruptly, everyone goes silent.

Seonghwa freezes, hands still wrapped around Wooyoung’s arm. In the boat, Hongjoong gapes at Yeosang. Wooyoung goes still, hardly daring to breathe.

“Mate?” Seonghwa asks eventually, “You… you want Wooyoung as your mate?”

“He’s been courting me for months,” says Yeosang crossly. “He’s mine.”

He tugs Wooyoung closer to illustrate his point, and Wooyoung squeaks in surprise, both at the action and the siren’s words.

“For months?” Hongjoong repeats cautiously, looking between Wooyoung and Yeosang.

“Yes,” says Yeosang, and Wooyoung thinks there’s pride in his voice. “He initiated it. He brings me prey.”

“He brings you prey?” Again, Hongjoong stares at Wooyoung for an explanation.

Wooyoung shrugs helplessly. He has no idea what the siren is talking about. Wooyoung’s never brought him anything, apart from the necklace.

“Yes,” says Yeosang, nodding. “He lures humans to my cave. From there they are easy pickings.”

Oh. Oh gods.

Yeosang is a siren. A siren is a sea monster who eats people. Wooyoung has been trapping all his hunters in a cave to be eaten by a sea monster.

The sea monster in the cave is Yeosang.

“I’ve hardly had to hunt properly in months,” Yeosang continues, as though he hasn’t just upended Wooyoung’s world. “He is a worthy mate. He provides well.”

Wooyoung feels like he might faint. This whole situation feels like a ridiculous fever dream he can’t escape from.

“He even bit me first,” Yeosang adds, and there’s a finality about the way he says it, like that should settle the matter.

The siren stares at Seonghwa, as though he’s expecting him to give up and let go of Wooyoung’s arm in the wake of that revelation. Instead, Seonghwa only tightens his grip.

“Um… look,” he says shakily, “I’m terribly sorry, but I think there’s been a misunderstanding here. Why don’t you just let go of Wooyoung for now, so we can talk about this properly, hm?”

But Yeosang is having none of it.

“You let go,” he hisses, pulling Wooyoung even closer.

Wooyoung gulps, looking between them, then pipes up.

“Um, how about you both let go?” he suggests. “At the same time, yeah? Then we can figure this out.”

He can tell at once that neither of them like the suggestion, but since it’s the only way out of this stalemate, both begrudgingly nod. Yeosang’s arms loosen around his waist, allowing Wooyoung to slip free, and Seonghwa relinquishes his death-grip on Wooyoung’s arm.

Wooyoung rights himself in the water unevenly, trying to regather his wits.

“Ok,” he says, letting out a shaky breath. “Now –”

The word has barely left his mouth before Yeosang is surging forward. Wooyoung only has a split-second to curse himself for being stupid enough to think this might work and letting his guard down, before the siren’s arms are locking around his waist again and he’s dragged under.

He hears someone – Hongjoong or Seonghwa, he’s not sure – scream out Wooyoung! and then the rest of the world is drowned out, replaced by water on all sides.

Yeosang swims fast. Wooyoung’s never moved this quickly though water in his life, and it’s disorienting in the extreme. It’s all he can do to hold on and do his best to keep his mouth shut and not breathe. Then, just as his lungs are starting to burn, they break the surface one more.

Wooyoung heaves in air, trying desperately to refill his lungs as he looks around wildly. They’re back on the edge of the bay, not far from the rocks they usually meet at, but too far away to reach them. Where is Yeosang taking him?

Before he has time to formulate his racing thoughts into a question, the siren is readjusting his grip, about to move again.

“Hold your breath,” he says shortly.

Wooyoung barely has time to obey before he’s being dragged under once more.

The next time they surface, the world has gone dark. It takes Wooyoung a second to realise they’re in a partially submerged cave. As his eyes adjust, he can make out that there is just a couple of metres of air space between the surface and the roof.

Yeosang doesn’t hesitate for long though, just keeps towing Wooyoung along through a hole in the cave wall and into another cave, then another, and another, until finally the water begins to grow shallower and Wooyoung feels sand under his feet.

The siren releases him, and Wooyoung kicks out on his own, desperate to be on land again. He feels around half-blind until he finds where a rocky shelf heaped with sand rises from the water, and heaves himself up onto it.

He looks around himself, shivering as his wet tunic clings to his skin. It’s a little less dark than the other caves, light filtering in weakly from a few little openings in the rock above their heads. The cave is about two-thirds water and one-third narrow sandbar, with big rocks scattered throughout.

The more Wooyoung looks around, the more he has the nagging suspicion that this place is familiar.

Then he looks down, and his breathing stops.

A skull. There’s a human skull by his side, half-buried in the sand. Wooyoung jerks away, slapping a hand over his mouth to smother the scream building in his throat. However, even as he’s moving away, scrambling back towards the water’s edge, he realises it’s not the only one.

Now he’s noticed, it’s obvious – the gleam of white bones scattered haphazardly throughout the little cave. And over in the far corner, a heap of jagged, rusted metal in a shape Wooyoung would know anywhere – a hunter’s trap.

This isn’t just any cave – this is the cave. The cave he hasn’t set foot in since he hid here from the hunter all those months ago. The cave where he sent all those hunters to die – to be devoured by Yeosang.

And now the siren has brought Wooyoung here.

“Yeosang?” he croaks, voice cracking in fear. “Wh-what’s going on?”

The water parts with a quiet ripple as the siren glides over, Wooyoung frozen in fear but not wanting to back away in case that aggravates him.

In the dimness, his glowing eyes stand out, and Wooyoung wonders why the fuck he never thought that was strange, why he never questioned the glowing eyes, or the fangs, or any other traits that clearly show Yeosang is a predator.

The siren reaches Wooyoung, and stares at him closely.

“You are unhappy,” he notes, frowning slightly. “Did you want me to fight the merman? We can go back. I am stronger than him, I can defeat him. I will kill him if you want.”

“No!” cries Wooyoung at once. “Gods, no! Why would I want that?”

“Because we are courting,” says Yeosang, as though that explains anything.

“Are we?” asks Wooyoung helplessly.

He’s confused, gods, he’s so confused and overwhelmed. Nothing makes sense right now.

“Of course we are,” says Yeosang, a little impatiently. “Why do you ask this now? You bit me.”

He gestures to his neck, and Wooyoung frowns. There it is again – Yeosang talking about biting as though it’s something good. Something meaningful. 

“Yeosang,” he says, mouth dry, “Yeosang, how do sirens court?”

“Why are you asking me this now?” asks Yeosang again, frowning. “We are already courting. You know.”

“Humour me,” says Wooyoung. “I think there’s, uh… still some things I don’t know about.”

Yeosang throat-clicks and swishes his tail from side to side uncertainly, but then he relents.

“A siren who wants to court will bring food,” he says slowly. “To show they are a good hunter, and they can provide. If the other siren is interested, they will start sharing their food too.”

Wooyoung nods slowly as he takes this in. It makes sense, in hindsight.

This must be Yeosang had first brought him that eel, why he was so insistent about finding something Wooyoung would eat. He was showing Wooyoung that he shared his interest, and trying to prove that he could hunt and provide for Wooyoung in return.

“Some sirens also test their potential mates by fighting them,” Yeosang continues. "Or having them fight others who want to court them, to see who is stronger.”

“And that’s what you thought I was doing with Seonghwa,” breathes Wooyoung.

Yeosang nods.

“I was wrong?” he asks. “Is the merman your friend?”

“Yeah,” says Wooyoung, and Yeosang nods again.

“Ok,” he says. “Then I will not kill him.”

Before Wooyoung has time to begin formulating a reply, Yeosang is already moving on.

“If feeding and fighting goes well, sirens show they are interested in mating by starting to bite each other,” he says. “And when they are ready to mate properly, they bite each other’s necks to leave the mating scar.”

“Mating scar?!” squawks Wooyoung. “You mate by injuring each other?”

“If there is no neck scar, how will others know you have a mate?” demands Yeosang.

Wooyoung gapes at him, unable to come up with a reply.

At a loss for words, he looks away, and finds himself staring at the entrance of the cave, still blocked by the boulder he rolled over it just the other day, to trap the most recent unfortunate hunter.

And now, indirectly, to trap himself.

“Yeosang,” he says, “I – I can’t stay here. I need to go back.”

Yeosang nods.

“Once we’re mated,” he says simply.

Wooyoung double-takes.

“Once we’re – you want to mate right now?” he asks, incredulous.

Yeosang nods seriously.

“It’s been long enough,” he says. “You came to me with your offer, and I accept. I am ready to mate.”

Oh shit.

The siren moves forward, pulling himself up onto the nearest boulder, and Wooyoung scoots back just as quickly, panic flaring.

“That’s – I’m – I’m not ready, though!” he stutters. “Not yet!”

Yeosang looks a little surprised by this, but is quick to adjust.

“Oh,” he says. “That’s ok. I can wait.”

He turns himself around so he’s sitting on the rock beside Wooyoung, tail still trailing in the water, and falls still. The cave is suddenly silent, apart from the sound of lapping water.

Wooyoung hesitates. Was it really that easy? What happens now?

Yeosang fidgets a little, then turns to look at Wooyoung.

“How long?” he asks, smiling hopefully. “Now?”

It’s so oddly cute than Wooyoung just about gets whiplash. Yeosang thinks Wooyoung meant he’d be ready in a matter of minutes, he realises, and he’s waiting with ill-disguised impatience like a puppy who’s been promised a treat.

Except the treat is getting to sink his fangs into Wooyoung’s neck, he reminds himself firmly, stamping down the urge to coo.  

This isn’t going to work. He needs to try something else.

“No, look, I can’t – I can’t stay here,” he says again, looking around for inspiration. “I need – I need to eat.”

Yeosang perks up at that.

“You’re hungry?” he asks.

“Yes!” Wooyoung seizes on the excuse. “Yes, I’m starving. Can we go back outside so I can find something to eat?”

But Yeosang just smiles again.

“No need! I’ll bring you food,” he chirps.

Wooyoung’s heart sinks, but before he can protest, Yeosang is already diving back into the water. He bobs to the surface again briefly and fixes Wooyoung with a sharp stare.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he says seriously. “The water is not safe for you.”

Then he dips below the water once more, and Wooyoung is alone.

His plan foiled, Wooyoung huddles on the cold, wet rocks and stares at the lapping water in the semi-dark. Thinks through everything he knows now, and re-examines his interactions with Yeosang through this new lens.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong were right – it’s astounding that Wooyoung had been able to freely approach a siren and not been hypnotised and eaten – but it wasn’t because of luck after all. It was because by the time they met face to face, Wooyoung had been sending hunters to die in the cave – to be eaten by Yeosang – for close to three months. Yeosang had let Wooyoung live because Wooyoung had, in the siren’s eyes, already established himself as an impressive potential mate.

He thinks of how excited Yeosang was when Wooyoung bit his shoulder playfully after taking off the necklace, because from Yeosang’s perspective, Wooyoung had been signalling to Yeosang that he was interested in mating. He remembers how happy the siren looked, practically wriggling with glee, and how he’d beamed at Wooyoung after sinking his teeth into his shoulder. After telling Wooyoung that he wanted to mate too.

How excited he’d been just moments ago, at the prospect of finally mating with Wooyoung.

Weirdly, his heart flutters.

“Stop it, what is wrong with you?” he whispers to himself sharply.

This is a killer he’s thinking about. If he’d come face to face with Yeosang under different circumstances, he’d probably have been eaten without a second thought. Hell, Yeosang may have eaten other elves before. Probably has.

But up until less than an hour ago, Wooyoung’s biggest problem had been how to find out if Yeosang returned his feelings or not. Now, he knows irrefutably that Yeosang does return his feelings, and this may just spell disaster.

Wooyoung pulls his knees up to his chest and shivers again, looking around the cave miserably.

The irony certainly isn’t lost on him, that after luring so many hunters to their deaths here, he’s fallen for the monster he used to do his dirty work, and let himself be lured to his own possible demise in the very same place.

Is this some sort of divine punishment for the drastic measures he’s gone to guard his forest?

Or, a darker part of him whispers, is it a reward?

After all, Yeosang hasn’t actually eaten him yet, nor even shown any signs of wanting to. In fact, it’s the opposite – he wants to be together. To be mates.

He’s been affectionate to Wooyoung, in his own strange way, and was even ready to fight to keep him. And Wooyoung had really wanted Yeosang to be his lover before, not for the fact that he was (supposedly) a merman, but because he liked being around him.

Does Yeosang being a siren really change that much, if Wooyoung won’t be directly in danger from him?

Wooyoung shakes his head abruptly. He can’t think things through properly right now, not under these conditions. He needs to get out, needs some time to breathe and consider everything.

Turning away from the sealed beach entrance, Wooyoung looks back the way they came.

Yeosang may not have taken him back outside like he’d hoped he would, but he has left, and that means Wooyoung has a chance to try and make it out on his own.

So, steeling himself, Wooyoung gets back to his feet on shaky legs, and slips back into the water.

It’s slow going, even now that Wooyoung’s eyes have adjusted better to the darkness. The cave floor has long since disappeared beneath Wooyoung’s feet, leaving him with no clue how deep the water is, and he’s too nervous to put his head under and risk losing his sense of direction, even briefly, meaning he has to stick with doggy-paddling his way through the network of caves and tunnels.

There seems to be only one main way out, at least, so he’s probably headed the right way. Probably. Gods, he hopes he hasn’t missed an exit somewhere.

He ducks through another opening in the rock and paddles his way down a narrow stretch that feels almost like a passageway, then finds himself in the biggest open space yet. The ceiling is high, and the water somehow feels deeper, too, although he can’t see well enough to be sure.

The scale of the place unnerves him, and Wooyoung hasn’t gotten far across before he finds himself hesitating.

Maybe he should turn back. Who knows what else might lurk in a space this cavernous?

But then again, this seems to be the only way out. He can’t shift the boulder blocking the cave entrance from the inside, and no one else will move it for him while Yeosang is the only one who knows he’s down here. If Wooyoung wants to get out, he’s going to have to keep on through the tunnels.

And that means crossing this cave.

As Wooyoung treads water nervously, weighing his options, he suddenly feels a shift in the water below him.

His blood runs cold. Something is down there.

Wooyoung kicks out with his feet in a panic, propelling himself frantically to the cave wall, but the dark rock is too steep and slippery to climb. Realising that he’s trapped in the water, Wooyoung chokes back a sob of terror and forces himself to stay still, to avoid churning up the water even more and drawing more attention to himself.

He’s staring down desperately, wishing his dark vision was better, when he finally sees it rising from the depths.

A humanoid figure. A fish’s tail. Glowing eyes.

Another siren.

This one is unfamiliar, but is unmistakeably the same species as Yeosang. As he surfaces a short distance away, Wooyoung can see he has the same bloodless skin, dark hair falling loosely around his face. His build is even stronger, broad and solid, and his face is round and youthful.

For a moment they’re both silent, sizing each other up. Wooyoung wonders if he should try speaking, if he should ask for help, or say he knows Yeosang, or if that would only make things worse. He can feel his heart pounding in his own ears, feels himself trembling.

The siren’s pale eyes stare at Wooyoung intently. Then, he opens his mouth, and out pours the most beautiful song Wooyoung has ever heard.

His voice is like honey, sweet and soft and strong all at once. There are no words, but the meaning is clear.

Everything will be ok. Come to me. Forget everything else. You want to be with me.

Wooyoung is under his spell in an instant. His head is foggy, vision blurring at the edges. All he can see is the lovely siren, beckoning him forward. Obediently, Wooyoung pushes away from the cave wall and starts paddling out towards the siren. He wants to see him up close so badly, needs to be near him.

Everything will be fine. Come to me.

Wooyoung is nearly within touching distance of the siren now, can see his beautiful face much more clearly, can hear that beautiful voice so much better, he’s nearly there, nearly there…

Then a feral hiss cuts through the air, and the song falters.

Wooyoung blinks, abruptly coming back to himself, then gasps and jerks backwards when he realises how close he’s gotten to the siren. The siren’s head snaps around to the source of the noise, and Wooyoung turns more slowly, movements still dulled and groggy.

Yeosang has surfaced behind him, teeth bared in a snarl. He hisses again, and the other siren hisses back, eyes flashing.

Wooyoung holds himself as still as possible without letting himself sink, hardly daring to breathe as the two face off. Then, Yeosang is barrelling forward, and the other siren is leaving Wooyoung’s side just as quickly to meet him.

The two clash in a mess of fangs and snarls, and Wooyoung can’t keep himself from crying out when he sees Yeosang sink his teeth into the other siren’s shoulder. The other siren snaps at Yeosang’s arm and Yeosang howls in rage and pain as he’s dragged under the surface.

Jerking himself out of his trance, Wooyoung thrashes his way back to the passageway and clings to a rock jutting from the wall, turning to watching in terror as the two sirens continue to brawl. The water churns like it’s boiling, and their snarls echo and bounce off the walls of the cave, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

There seems to be a spreading patch of dark in the water, and Wooyoung hopes desperately that it’s only his eyes playing tricks on him, and not blood.

Should he try and do something to help? No, he dismisses the idea as soon as he has it. He’s not equipped in the slightest to try and intervene without simply getting himself seriously injured or killed.

He can only watch, tense and fearful, as the fight continues.

Then, as abruptly as they began, the pair separate, and Yeosang is surfacing in front of Wooyoung.

There’s blood around his mouth, and his eyes are wide and wild. Wooyoung sobs in terror at the sight, but Yeosang just grabs his arm.

“Come away.”

It doesn’t even occur to Wooyoung to put up a fight as Yeosang drags him back through the passageway, all the way back to the main cave.

He hauls himself back onto the rocks as soon as they reach them, and Yeosang does the same, still breathing heavily from the exertion.

“I told you to stay here,” he grumbles.

“Was… was that an enemy of yours?” Wooyoung manages once he has his breath back.

Yeosang looks up from where he’s prodding at the cut in his own side and tilts his head.

“Enemy?” he repeats, puzzled. “No, Jongho is my friend.”

Wooyoung stares at him, the words not processing for a moment.

“Friend?” he repeats incredulously. “Friend?! You nearly tore each other to shreds back there!”

He gestures to the still-bleeding scratches on Yeosang’s forearms, the cut over his ribs.

“Well, he wanted to eat you,” Yeosang says simply, as though that explains it. “I had to tell him you were mine. He didn’t know.”

Wooyoung’s mouth moves silently for a few moments, at a loss for words.

He looks more closely at the rest of Yeosang’s body, and realises there are more scars than he realised, scattered over his skin, mostly small and faded now. Is this just how sirens interact with each other? Is this normal for him?

He certainly doesn’t seem too bothered by the pain, and the smaller cuts are already closing over. Perhaps even the result of enhanced healing, or maybe Wooyoung’s panic just made the injuries seem more serious than they really were.

“This is why you need a mating bite,” Yeosang adds, a little mulishly. “This would not have happened if you let me bite you.”

Wooyoung goes quiet again.

He thinks about letting Yeosang sink his teeth into his shoulder, scarring him so prominently that it never fades. Thinks about wearing a mark that would warn others away from attacking him, the mark of a siren’s love.

The thought is… strangely appealing.

He shakes his head to clear his thoughts. Don’t get ahead of yourself, he scolds.

And to be honest, even love is probably putting it too strongly. He still isn’t sure how Yeosang really sees him.

“You really want me to be your mate?” asks Wooyoung quietly, turning back to the siren. “I mean… why would you want me? I’m an elf, for one thing.”

“You are a perfect mate,” says Yeosang, as though it’s obvious. “You defeat your enemies who trespass on your territory and send them to me to feast on.”

Wooyoung grimaces. That’s not really what he meant. It certainly doesn’t allay his concerns.

“Is that all?” he presses. “It’s just… well, for elves, we like to have a connection, you know? We like there to be affection, not just, well, logic. Do you…” he feels so stupid asking this, but he needs to know. “Do you actually like me? Or just the fact that I bring you food?”

Yeosang puts his head on one side, considering the question seriously.

“You… talk a lot,” he says after a moment. “About interesting things. And you smile a lot. It’s nice. I’m happy when I’m near you.”

Relief washes over Wooyoung.

“Ok,” he says, smiling, “Ok, great. Good.”

Yeosang puts his head on one side.

“That made you happy,” he observes. “Is this how elves court? With words?”

“I… suppose it is,” says Wooyoung. “Don’t sirens compliment each other?”

Yeosang tilts his head thoughtfully.

“Not really,” he says. “Is this why you tell me I look nice?”

Wooyoung shrugs.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” he says. “I mean, liking someone’s appearance is part of choosing a partner, so we let them know if we do.”

Yeosang nods.

“That makes sense,” he says. “I think you are also nice to look at. When I look at you, I want to mate with you.”

Wooyoung feels himself flush, and looks away, suddenly uncertain again. Then another thought occurs to him.

“I… I can’t give you children, you know,” he says. “What do sirens do, lay eggs?” Yeosang nods, and Wooyoung takes a shaky breath, “I can’t do that. Does that change things?”

Yeosang blinks, unperturbed.

“That’s fine,” he says. “Elves can fertilise siren eggs.”

“Oh,” says Wooyoung. “Oh. Ok then.”

Yeosang leans a little closer, and there’s a hungry glint in his eyes now. It’s awakening something in Wooyoung, little flames licking at his insides.

“How…” Wooyoung clears his throat awkwardly, tries again, “How would we mate?” He’s never noticed any obvious genitalia on the siren, he’s suddenly realising. “Are we, um, compatible?”

“All sirens can give or receive seed,” says Yeosang, his gaze trailing down Wooyoung’s body. “That won’t be an issue.”

Wooyoung swallows. It’s not something he’s particularly thought about before, and the way Yeosang phrases it is almost clinical, but the fire in Wooyoung’s chest burns hotter at the suggestion, and he suddenly wants nothing more than to be inside Yeosang, filling him.

“Good,” he manages, “That’s… that’s good.”

“Does this mean you’re ready?”

Yeosang looks up, and once again there’s that hopeful look in his eyes. It makes him look innocent, despite everything to the contrary, and the fact that he’s still checking in like this despite his obvious desire and being far stronger makes Wooyoung’s heart flutter.

In answer, Wooyoung surges forward and kisses him.

The siren responds at once, pushing himself closer until he’s almost on top of Wooyoung, lips moving enthusiastically. After all this time spend dreaming about kissing Yeosang, finally experiencing it is heavenly.

“Gods, I want to fuck you,” Wooyoung mumbles as they pull apart. “Want to breed you.”

“There won’t be young outside of breeding season,” Yeosang warns, frowning slightly.

“That’s fine,” Wooyoung hurries to reassure him with a giggle. “I don’t mind. That’s fine.”

He kisses him again, greedy now that he’s gotten a taste. He slips his tongue into Yeosang’s mouth and explores, testing the points of his fangs carefully and feeling oddly thrilled that even that almost results in a cut.

They continue making out, while Yeosang helps divest Wooyoung of his clothes, and their hands roam each other’s bodies. Yeosang pulls Wooyoung back into the shallow water so he can move more easily, and they entwine together.

Wooyoung doesn’t know the first thing about mer anatomy, but he’s raring to find out.

It turns out there’s a sort of slit a little way down Yeosang’s tail, roughly where his legs would divide, if he had any. He guides Wooyoung’s hand to it, inviting him to explore, and when he pushes in gingerly, the first thing he finds is what he realises must be a penis, kept sheathed when it’s not in use. He notes that for next time – assuming perhaps optimistically that there will be a next time – and ventures further. It’s warm and slick – self-lubricating, Wooyoung realises with another rush of arousal. Heart in his mouth, Wooyoung twists his fingers experimentally, and Yeosang makes a soft little noise in response. At once, all sense of self-preservation is thrown out the window, as Wooyoung’s only priority becomes coaxing that noise from Yeosang again.

Wooyoung wants to spend more time using his fingers, but the siren is impatient, and before Wooyoung knows it, Yeosang is grasping him by the hips and lining them up. Wooyoung groans as his cock slides in, and is immensely gratified to see Yeosang obviously affected as well, gasping at the intrusion and pulling Wooyoung closer.

“Wooyoung,” he breathes.

Wooyoung shivers at hearing his name on the siren’s lips, and leans in to kiss him again.

He lets Yeosang manoeuvre them at first, cradling Wooyoung against him with his strong arms and rocking them together as they kiss. The siren pants and moans against his mouth, and Wooyoung is content to let himself be manhandled, whimpering with every thrust.

After a little while, though, lust clouds his thoughts and makes him bold. It’s not enough to let himself be used – he wants to be the one pulling those reactions from Yeosang of his own volition.

With great effort, he manages to turn them around, pushes forward until he has Yeosang lying back against the damp sand of the bank, as Wooyoung settles himself on top and begins to thrust into him in earnest.

His senses are filled with Yeosang, Yeosang, Yeosang. Too good, too perfect to be real, a vision underneath him, fangs and all. His dark hair fans out over the ground, his mouth hangs open, sweet little sounds spilling from him in time with Wooyoung’s thrusts, eyes rolling in bliss. He smells fresh, like the wind off the sea, and although he’s initially cold to the touch, warmth starts to seep through where their skin is pressed together. Everything about him is enchanting.

Wooyoung feels deranged, obsessed.

He lets out a ragged breath and drops his head, wrapping his arms around Yeosang to pull him closer.

“Wooyoung,” groans Yeosang against his neck. “Wooyoung.”

“Yeosang,” he replies at once. “So good, feel so good, fuck.”

“Wooyoung,” groans Yeosang again, and Wooyoung feels teeth graze against his throat.

And, in a moment of pure madness, he fists a hand in the siren’s damp hair and holds him there, pressing those fangs further against his neck.

“Do it,” he pants. “Bite me. Mate me.”

He hears a sharp intake of breath, and then Yeosang’s arms are locking around him. With seemingly no effort, the siren flips them over, pinning Wooyoung to the ground beneath him. The combination of the sudden manhandling and the way it drives Wooyoung’s cock all the way to the hilt inside of Yeosang is enough to send Wooyoung over the edge.

Wooyoung’s orgasm crashes over him like a wave, and he moans, long and loud and broken as he twitches and jerks in Yeosang’s arms.

Then the siren’s fangs sink into his neck.

Sharp, blinding pain mixes abruptly with the pleasure. Wooyoung screams and thrashes, clawing desperately at Yeosang’s back, his animal instructs shrieking at him to get away, to run, but Yeosang is holding him too tightly. He’s aware of warmth seeping over his skin – his own blood dripping down his shoulder, he realises – and of Yeosang’s walls clenching around him as the siren presumably reaches his peak as well.

The pleasure and the pain and the terror and the overstimulation bombard him from every side, overwhelming him to the point where he can barely think, barely remember to keep gasping for breath.

Then, everything whites out.

Wooyoung staggers out of the water and up the sandy beach, exhausted and giddy. His neck smarts painfully with every movement, and he feels lightheaded, like when he’s had too much of the berry wine Hongjoong and the other fairies brew for summer solstice.

With great effort, he raises his head, and grins when he spots Hongjoong not far away, pacing anxiously up and down the sand, the moonlight reflecting in his still-drying wings.

“Heyyy,” he calls, waving. “Hongjoong-hyung! Hello!”

Hongjoong spins around at once.

“Wooyoung!” he shouts, rushing forward. “Oh, thank mother earth, I thought… I thought…”

There’s a flash of pink in the water behind Wooyoung, and he turns, stumbling a little, to see Seonghwa emerge from the waves a short distance away.

“Is that him?” he calls to Hongjoong. “Wooyoung? Are you ok?”

He reaches the beach, using his arms to pull himself up through the shallows.

“It’s him, he’s alive!” Hongjoong calls back as he reaches Wooyoung.

Then, seeing the elf clearly up close, his eyes widen in horror.

“Gods and goddesses, Wooyoung, your neck! You look like you’ve been mauled!”

Wooyoung grins wildly, bearing blunt teeth covered in blood so dark it’s almost black, then spits a mouthful into the sand.

“You should see the other guy,” he quips, then breaks into a fit of manic giggling.

Hongjoong yelps at the sight.

“Your mouth!” he cries, “You’re bleeding, what have you – have you lost a tooth?!”

“No, no,” says Wooyoung, shaking his head. “Nothing like that.”

He waits for the penny to drop as Hongjoong stares, thoughts visibly churning.

“Wait, is this your blood?”

Wooyoung shakes his head again, still grinning, and watches Hongjoong’s face morph into something even more incredulous.

“You bit the siren too?!”

“He insisted,” says Wooyoung. “It was kinda cute.”

“You bit each other’s necks?” repeats Seonghwa, eyes round as saucers. “But Wooyoung, don’t you know what that means for sirens?”

“Yup,” says Wooyoung jauntily. “We’re mated. Tied the knot. Put a ring on it.” He breaks off into another round of hysterical laughter. “I mated with Yeosang. I have a siren for a husband.”

Hongjoong looks like he’s been slapped.

“Are you – did you hit your head?!” he demands. “You willingly mated with a siren?! This is – Wooyoung, I can’t even begin to fathom how stupid this is, even for you.”

“Oh, incredibly stupid,” agrees Wooyoung. “I’m in way over my head. I have no idea how I survived that, to be honest. But you know what?” He grins. “It was fun.”

“You’re mated to a siren,” says Hongjoong again.

“And I don’t regret it,” says Wooyoung.

The couple stare disbelievingly at him, and Wooyoung laughs again.

“Look, call me crazy, but I’ve got a good feeling about this,” he says.

He turns to stare back out at the dark sea lapping at the beach behind them, and smiles, knowing that somewhere out there, Yeosang is waiting for him to return tomorrow.

“Don’t ask me how, but I think it’s going to work out.”

***

It’s spring once more, and the grassy clearing is scattered with cherry and apple blossom. Wooyoung hears the hunter approaching, and sits up to give him his most winning smile.

“Hello, handsome,” he says sweetly. “Would you like to see something special?”

He leads the shambling man down the water’s edge, shows him how the boulder rolls away from the cliff face to reveal a hidden cave.

The hunter peers uncertainly into the darkness.

“Um… are you sure?”

“Of course!” Wooyoung assures him with a charming smile. “Nothing to be afraid of, and no one will disturb us here. Come on, I’ll show you.”

Taking the hunter’s hand firmly in his, he leads him through the entrance and into the cave, down to the water’s edge.

Far enough that the man won’t make it back to the entrance in time.

“Sweetheart! I’m back!” he calls, and watches with satisfaction as the dark water begins to ripple, as something shifts in the depths.

“Dinnertime!”