─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

it had become a routine for jeongguk to go lay on this special rock every evening, picking up a colorful shell, and waiting to see two beautiful eyes look at him from afar.

it was his motivation at work, whenever he felt tired or when he just wanted to quit because of rude clients, he thought about that beautiful creature waiting for him every day in the cold water.

every time he came to that beach after work, he discovered a new color of shell, a new shape, a new size. it could seem boring, but to jeongguk those shells meant he had a link with the creature, a tiny one, barely here, but he knew it existed, and he couldn't be happier.

he ran from his home to the beach, he had a boring day so he really wanted to see that mermaid. they still hadn't talked, it didn't even get close enough for jeongguk to see the color of its eyes, but he was willing to wait.

he was a bit earlier than usual, when he stepped on the beach he looked near his rock to see the pink mermaid laying on the sand.

he could only see his torso and the beginning of its tail, it wasn't moving at all, so jeongguk started to panic.

he ran towards the creature and shouted 'h-hey!'. when he shouted, the mermaid turned its head to look at jeongguk running towards them.

the pink creature quickly disappeared into the sea, before jeongguk could come too close. the boy sighed and ran until he reached the edge of his rock and he waited for the mermaid to come out of its hideout.

"i'm sorry i scared you.. i just.. i thought something happened to you.." he explained quietly and saw the mermaid swim out of its hideout so look at jeongguk.

the boy smiled an apologetic smile and whispered 'i'm sorry', not breaking the eye contact.

after a small while, jeongguk looked down at the rock and he didn't see any shell laid on it. he pouted slightly and looked up to see confused eyes.

the mermaid's eyebrows shot up when it understood what jeongguk was waiting for. the boy saw the pink tail dive in the sea, he waited for a small bit before seeing the pink tuft just under his eyes, putting a purple shell on the rock.

after putting it in place on the rock, the creature backed away slightly, just enough to let jeongguk pick up his gift, not more, like it wasn't scared to be seen closely by the human.

jeongguk picked up the beautiful shell and put it aside, it was pretty, but the beauty looking at him was way more worthy.

he folded his hands and rested his chin on them to look at the mermaid.

it still had its face hidden by the sea, only his eyes were peeking out, and jeongguk finally saw. he saw its pink sparkling eyes, the beautiful pastel pink, with pink glitters and a darker tone at the edges of his irises.

"you're so pretty.." jeongguk blurted out before realizing what he said. the mermaid showed his eye smile and dived back in the sea to hide his blush.

jeongguk smiled and waited for it to come back to the surface. when it did, its whole face was showing, so jeongguk was able to see all of its perfect features.

his eyes travelled on its whole face, to its perfectly shaped lips, all pink and glossy, it had a beautiful nose, and what caught jeongguk attention were the pink freckles it had all over his cheeks and nose.

"so so pretty.." he repeated and he saw a boxy smile appear on the mermaid's face. jeongguk's eyes sparkled at the sight, he couldn't believe it was real.

"w-wait hey!" he remembered something when he saw it laying on the sand. the mermaid raised an eyebrow to indicate he could continue.

"y-you're a male right?" he asked shyly. he said the mermaid, well, merman, nod with a confused expression.

"but.. you're way to pretty to be a male.." he continued while watching all of his features again. the merman smiled and for the first time, he talked.

"and you're way too pretty to be a human."

jeongguk's eyes widened, he didn't expect this pink creature to have such a deep voice, but it sounded as perfect as his face was pretty.

the merman must've seen the surprise on jeongguk's face because he hid again under the water. jeongguk smiled in adoration and whispered 'hey, your voice sounds amazing.'

it made the merman blush a bit more, in a pretty pink that matched his tail's and hair's.

they stared into the other's eyes for a unknown amount of time, they both just felt at peace, free from all their problems.

"i'm glad you talked to me, and let me see you from closer." jeongguk spoke quietly.

it was silent for few seconds before the merman talked. "i realized i shouldn't be scared of you. it's been like, two months you've seen me, and you never tried to cross a line. i'm really thankful."

his voice really sounded even better than perfect, it could sooth jeongguk in any situation, he could listen to the creature all day long without getting bored.

"i'll never hurt you, i'll protect you if something ever happens to you. you're precious to me." he replied, barely above a whisper.

they smiled at each other before the merman snapped his head to the side, like he had heard a noise, but jeongguk didn't hear anything.

"i have to go back to.. where i live." he explained with a sad look.

"it's okey, i'll see you tomorrow?"

"of course, i'll always come here to see you." the merman replied and gave jeongguk one last smile before diving in the sea.

im going on a school trip tomorrow (my anxiety is so ready lol yay) so i have no idea if i'll be able to post :(