July 2018 — THE BEACH

"Where were you?" was the first question Ocean Girl asked when she surfaced on Thursday morning and found Heeseung sitting on the sand, right in the waves, slowly drawing patterns on it with his left hand. They faded away within seconds, the waves rushing up to wash it away.

"I was busy," was his too-quiet reply. "School and training."

"What kind of training?" she asked.

"Idol training."

"Oh, so you want to be an idol?" she smiled. Heeseung's spirits lifted when he saw that smile, but still, he felt so tired and worn out that he couldn't bring himself to smile. "Aren't you busy today too? It is a Thursday."

"I am, but I'm skipping school," he said. "Later today I have the monthly evaluation and I guess I needed a distraction."

"Are you nervous?" she inquired.

"No," he shook his head, "I've done it too many times to be nervous. I'm just worried on whether I can pull off this rigorous choreography, sing, and rap without my body giving out. Truth is, I've been overworking myself a lot. Pushing myself beyond my limits. Training overnight isn't bad but the fact that I don't sleep enough is the problem. I'm surprised my vocal cords aren't damaged yet."

"Why?!" she cried, her expression similar to that of his mother when she was upset with him. "Why would you do that to yourself?!"

He shrugged. "It's a distraction of sorts."

"A distraction from what?" she crossed her arms. "Please do tell. I'd love to hear the reason you're torturing yourself like this. No wonder you look constantly exhausted, you idiotic boy."

"Maybe I'll tell you one day," Heeseung said. "I have something I want to know. Sunghoon mentioned meeting your sister in his dreams, or something like that? Something about a curse?"

"So he told the truth, I see," she sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you. Centuries ago, my sisters and I helped with an assassination plot of the king."

Heeseung's eyes widened. "You what?"

"We thought he was an evil king," she said defensively. "He was killing off the people with his tyrannous rule...or so we thought. By the time we'd figured it out, it was too late. My sisters and I were the three of the most trusted servants, so it wasn't too difficult to sneak into his chambers at night and stab him in the heart with a poisoned dagger."

"God," Heeseung was horrified, but remained still, listening to her story. "That's horrible."

"Like I said, we didn't realize it until later," her voice trembled slightly but she held her chin high, eyes meeting Heeseung's defiantly. "When we did, it was because one the palace nobles laughed at us for killing the king when he had no real fault. He'd been manipulating the king, who was powerless in every way to stop him. So we were guilty of murder."

"So how did you end up like this?" Heeseung gestured to her tail.

"That's the biggest mystery," she admitted. "We were thrown in jail, obviously, but when we woke up on the first morning, we were each in different places. My sisters and I were separated by whatever powerful being decided to punish us with a fish tail and confinement. For all I know it was a grim reaper or something."

"I don't think grim reapers work that way."

"Well, I don't know!" she spread her hands on the water's surface helplessly. "Whatever it was, this happened."

"That honestly sounds like something out of Aladdin."

"I'm aware," she grumbled. "Too many people have drawn that conclusion. About the curse, well...that took us a century or two to figure out. See, we stabbed the king in the heart, right? So, because for some reason, we weren't killed, we get our hearts broken over and over by someone. It could be anyone who falls in love with us—then they go. Leave, because in the end, something else is always more important than trying to find a way to stay together, much less keep in contact."

"You said I'm your..."

"Soulmate? Yes, that's right," she said. "Soulmates are a once-in-a-lifetime thing. As many times as we'll fall in love, our true loves will always be our soulmates."

Heeseung flushed red despite himself. She laughed and continued, "provided that we learn to love them, and they love us. Otherwise that's the soulmate bond gone, never to come back, just like that. A long time ago, I met another mermaid, the victim of a curse like ours. She told me how I would know if I had a soulmate, and that hers had eventually left her, because they didn't want to love a mermaid."

"How...how do you know we're soulmates?"

"Haven't you always felt a pull towards the ocean?" she had a knowing smile on her face. He nodded. "That would be a pull towards me. Since about seventeen years ago, I've felt a pull towards the land and often swam near the shore. It wasn't until maybe two years ago that it narrowed down into a—a tether, of sorts, and although I couldn't reach across the tether, I knew it led to my soulmate."

"That sounds so..."

"Ridiculous?" she asked. "Any more ridiculous than a mermaid being real?"

"I guess not," he brushed the sand off his hands. "Suppose we do fall in love, or however you phrase it?"

"I don't know," she said. "I guess we're both happy, then."

"Would it be crazy to say I think I kind of like you already?" a grin tugged at his lips. He felt lighter than he had in a while. "Because I do."

"No, not at all," she returned his awkward grin. "Because I kind of like you, too. Let's see where this leads us, yeah?"

She reached out a hand towards him, swimming forward. Heeseung leaned forward as well, grasping it. He couldn't stop the shiver of surprise at the feel of it. Cold and smooth, like the water, but also like the hand of a regular girl. Most of all, he was surprised at the surge of relaxation and happiness he felt at this first contact.

She wasn't just a distraction. She was a reason to not drown in the despair he felt daily.

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WORD COUNT: 1042

A/N: okay but like i love these two sm already omg

i took too long to finish 11 chapters like procrastination needs to chill