July 2018 — THE BEACH

"Oh, that makes so much sense!" Heeseung scoffed sarcastically. "What, so you're saying we're soulmates? I'm soulmates with a mermaid? I must really be losing it."

"No, you're not," she said, her tone becoming firmer. "This is reality, and you'll have to accept it, as jarring as it seems."

"Why are you holding my arm so tightly?" Sunghoon whined, coming awake and shaking off Heeseung's hand. "Am I that difficult to..."

He stopped, drawing in a sharp breath when he saw the girl. "Oh, my god," he whispered. "You...you're...you really are..."

"I'm a mermaid," she offered, "if that's what you mean."

"That's not really...I mean, sure. I can see that. I'm crazy."

"Trust me, when I first turned into one, I was sure I had gone certifiably insane, too. But, you know, you need to adjust."

"Turned into one?" Heeseung echoed, eyes wider than before. "You mean, you used to be human? Like, an actual human like us?"

"Around the days of the Joseon dynasty or so, yeah," she shrugged. "Or was it later than that? It's hard to keep track. The world goes on and on, and I'm just here, being me. In the middle of the ocean with a fish tail. The only things that ever change is the pollution and discovering new species."

"Joseon dynasty," Sunghoon said faintly, pale. "Right. So this isn't some kind of joke."

"Of course not," she looked offended. "Why would it be? And let me ask you: where do you think I could have come from? Your friend here was awake the whole time, watching for me. There isn't any way I could have come here on any sides except the ocean without alerting him."

"I see your point," he admitted, though that still didn't stop him from staring at her like she was a ghost. Which, Heeseung supposed, she was, in a way. "You say you're from the days of the Joseon era or so, but you don't really talk like you are."

"That's because as the eras change, I learn about them, and I do meet other people, too," she said. "As you would know, Park Sunghoon."

Sunghoon stiffened, looking away with a red tint on his cheeks. "Well, sue me for asking questions," he mumbled. "You don't seriously expect me to take everything as it comes..."

Heeseung narrowed his eyes. "Hold on, how does she know you?" he demanded. "You were just pretending to not believe me?"

"No, no!" Sunghoon protested. "I swear I didn't think she...well, that she came to you. I thought she might exist, but truthfully, I thought I was going insane, too, so you can't really blame me."

"I need a full explanation to make sense of that."

"I'll explain later," Sunghoon said firmly. "Just...let's work this out? The mermaid?"

"You can't stay here much longer," the girl turned for a second towards the horizon, squinting at the sun that was climbing higher and higher still. "People will start arriving in a while."

Although Heeseung had been wishing he could safely back just a few minutes ago, now he found that he desperately wanted to stay there and keep talking to this girl. He wanted to stay and listen to her talk, but her firm expression conveyed the message he knew she would start saying soon: just go before someone asks why you two are just sitting here. Go and come back other time.

"Good-bye," she turned towards the waves, dipping down below the waves, but resurfaced again. "I don't know your name yet."

Some part of him felt hurt that she knew Sunghoon's name, but didn't know his. Nevertheless, he didn't stop the stupid grin spreading across his face. "Lee Heeseung," he said, feeling acutely aware that he looked extremely dumb. "What about you?"

"Lee Heeseung," she said, as if trying out the name. "I don't have one anymore. How about you give me one?"

Heeseung blinked. She smiled, as if she expected it. "Until we meet again, Heeseung."

He was startled into laughing at the nickname he got too often. "You too, Ocean Girl."

✧✧✧

WORD COUNT: 681

A/N: this book does in fact hint at the other two books pretty obviously so :)