Wooyoung couldn't stop smiling as he twirled in circles through the dark blue water. He couldn't get his tail to stop, so he let it control his body and found himself dancing and swaying with whatever tide he was caught in.

Never before had he felt this way.

His heart felt like it was going to pop with how hard it was still pounding.

Whatever it was that he had shared with San, he absolutely loved every second of it, even if it was a foreign feeling.

He always made sure to keep going in the direction of home, but he also indulged himself by stopping by some coral beds and watching the fish swim lazily in circles.

The little seahorses he had rescued earlier flitted over to him and nuzzled against his hand when he held it out, making the merman giggle. "It's good to see you too! Are you guys staying out of trouble?" They blew a small stream of bubbles at him before swimming down to wrap their tails around a cluster of coral.

Wooyoung wiggled his fingers in farewell before swimming the rest of the way home. A couple of manta rays came to joint him and he reached down to touch their smooth skin, then watched as they majestically turned to glide away.

Even at night the ocean was truly beautiful, and right now everything seemed to have that extra shine to it.

As he swam down the main paths of his home, a few of his fellow merfolk gave him inquiring looks. It wasn't unusual to see Wooyoung swimming among them, but seeing him this happy this late at night was a first.

A few of the children who were old enough to still be awake started to follow after him, giggling and calling out for him to slow down.

Wooyoung spun around so he was swimming with his back to the seafloor and flicked his tail in just the right was to cause a cloud of bubbles. "Sorry kids! I've got to go!"

He watched them all bob in place with sad looks, but they gave in swam back to their parents. Wooyoung would make it up to them later by sneaking them sweets from the castle. He enjoyed spending time with the kids, so he did feel bad about not being able to play.

The first place he went was his room. He wanted some time to think and process everything that had happened. Humans were so different from merfolk, and he had read that they expressed their feelings in different ways, but he had no idea it would feel so good.

It was like the high he had experienced was still there.

Then an idea came to him.

Wooyoung wanted to do something really special for San, something that was a merfolk tradition. But he had to be careful not to do anything that would give his secret away. Not yet, at least. Maybe he would tell San eventually, but that was something he tried not to think about right now.

He had no idea how San would react to learning that Wooyoung was a creature that humans considered to be a myth. From what other merfolk had said in the past, usually it wasn't pretty. The humans turned either violent and called them monsters, or would lure them in and sell them at a high price.

Either route usually resulted in death or serious injuries.

That was part of the reason why Mingi was so protective of Wooyoung, and he knew that. The idea of anyone being lost or hurt when he was next in line to be kind was not something the Prince wanted.

At the thought of his friend, Wooyoung suddenly remembered the shark attack.

Even though Mingi wasn't speaking to him right now, he needed to know about this, so Wooyoung hurried from his room and started searching the palace for his prince.

A silver tailed mermaid noticed him looking in the dining has and gave him a wide smile. "His Highness is in the armory going over inventory."

"Thanks." Wooyoung nodded and spun around to head in that direction.

The armory was off the main throne room where it could be easily accessed by the guards. The servants that maintained and polished the equipment were all hovering outside the room and talking amongst themselves. They bowed their head out of respect when the saw Wooyoung and he waved his hand in response.

Part of him hated that they did that, but because it was so well known that Mingi and Yunho wanted to be with him, his status among the pod was higher than most.

Which also allowed him to swim straight into the armory without being stopped.

Mingi was examining the tridents on the far wall. His long tailed swished casually below him, making all the extra fins on it swirl around it in a way that really was stunning.

Next to him, with his arms clasped behind his back, was Yunho. He was watching with a proud look in his eye, so that told Wooyoung that the inspection must be going well.

They both noticed him immediately and all emotion was immediately wiped from their face.

Wooyoung hesitated and almost turned around and left, but he didn't. He didn't want to be afraid to be around his friends.

"Hello, Wooyoung." Mingi said. His voice was deep and formal, indicating he was still very upset.

The younger merman looked at the seafloor and sank down a little so that he was barley hovering above it. "H-Hey... Um, I have something that I wanted to report."

"What's wrong?" Yunho asked. Now some of the concern was coming back to his tone and he swam forward a little.

"Now before you freak out, I promise I'm fine." Wooyoung peeked up at them. He knew he was easy to read and they could tell something had happened, so there was no delicate way to say this. "But, I was attacked by a female tiger shark today."

All of the anger was suddenly forgotten as both males hurried forward and started examining Wooyoung instantly. Mingi grabbed his wrist and dragged him from the armory, then forced him to sit on his throne so he and Yunho could examine his tail.

Wooyoung felt his cheeks flushed when he noticed the servants shocked looks he received. "Guys, I promise I'm ok."

"No you're not!" Yunho gasped and pulled on his tail, causing him to slide down in the throne.

A sharp jolt of pain shot through him and Wooyoung slapped a hand to his mouth to cover his cry. Then he glanced down and noticed Yunho wiggling a few of his scales back and forth. One was visibly looser than the others.

"When did this happen?" Mingi reached forward to cup the side of Wooyoung's face.

"Earlier today. I had to lay low and heal myself so I found a small cave to stay in that she couldn't reach me at." Wooyoung said, thinking quickly.

"You must be exhausted." Mingi let his thumb drift back and forth on Wooyoung's cheek gently. "Let's get that scale removed and we can look for any others, then you should get some rest." His voice was calm and concerned now. Wooyoung could hear the regret in it too and knew exactly what Mingi was thinking.

The shark could have killed him today and Mingi would have never forgiven himself for being mad at Wooyoung and not speaking with him before it happened.

"Mingi, it's ok." Wooyoung looked down and pulled his tail from Yunho's grasp. "You don-"

"Come on, Woo, let me finish." Yunho reached for his tail again and used his long fingers to wrap around the lose scale. When Wooyoung didn't put up a fight, he pulled back with one quick, hard motion.

Wooyoung yelped and bit the back of his hand.

It was never a pleasant experience to loose a scale. Every part of a merman or mermaid's body is overflowing with magic, including every single scale. To lose one caused a lot of pain. But at the same time, it was natural. Things could get lodged in between them and cause them to come lose naturally.

It was believed that part of the reason it was so painful was so goth at they could feel when one was lost and they could make sure to collect it. Even apart from their body they still held a high quantity of magic. That, coupled with their bright colors which make them unlike anything else in the ocean, it make them extremely valuable.

Yunho examined the small gap in Wooyoung's tail and nodded in satisfaction before handing Wooyoung his scale. "Just keep an eye on it and another one should grow back in a couple of days."

"Thanks guys." Wooyoung pushed himself out of the throne and moved away from it a little. He could feel the hole in his tail like it was still an open wound. It had been awhile since he lost one.

After one final glance, Mingi turned to Yunho and moved closer to him. "Yun, I want you to set up a patrol. If there is an aggressive female tiger around there may be others. We need to see what caused this and prevent it if we can."

Yunho nodded and lifted his hand up to cup the back of Mingi's head and brought their foreheads together before he twirled around and swam to the main guard's room.

"Come on, I'll go with you to your room." Mingi moved aside to allow Wooyoung to go first.

The younger knew not to argue with him, especially after the scene they had just caused in from of the servants who had all mysteriously vanished.

And yet they seemed to know exactly what was needed, because there was one waiting outside his room with a bowl of starfish ready to clean his tail and make sure everything else was ok.

Mingi dismissed them with a quiet thank you and took the bowl before following Wooyoung into his room.

The younger merman stretched out on his moss covered bed and watched as Mingi started to carefully place the starfish on his tail. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, thanks Mingi." Wooyoung couldn't bring himself to look his friend in the eye. The guilt of lying to him about being on the surface was getting harder and harder for the younger merman, and adding the shark attack to it didn't help either. Especially with the kindness and understanding Mingi was showing him now.

The Prince set the bowl down and gave Wooyoung a soft smile. He leaned forward to press his forehead to Wooyoung's and closed his eyes.

Out of instinct, Wooyoung closed his too and shared in the connection with his friend, even if it meant something different to each of them.

He peeked through his eyelashes after a moment and when he noticed how close their lips were. His mind instantly flashed to kissing San and Wooyoung pulled his head away.

Hurt flashed across Mingi's eyes and he let his hands fall to his side. "Get some rest. You've had a trying day."

The red-tailed merman turned to leave and was almost through the arch when Wooyoung pushed himself up on his elbows and called, "Mingi?"

The older turned around with a worried look. "Yeah, Woo?"

"I'm sorry I worried you."

The Prince hurried back over in a flurry of bubbles and nudged Wooyoung over on the bed and did something that someone of his position really shouldn't do. He laid down next to Wooyoung and brought him into his arms. "It's ok. I'm sorry for getting so upset with you. You're... You're allowed to have your own life." Mingi let his fingers twist through Wooyoung's purple hair and gently teased it. "I just want you to share it with me, and so does Yunho."

Guilt built up even more in Wooyoung, so he tried to hide it by turning and pressing his face into Mingi's chest. At least that would hide his trembling lower lip.

It had been a long time since he laid like this with either of his friends and Wooyoung realized he had missed it. They used to do this all the time growing up, at least until Mingi started taking on more responsibility and he and Yunho took each other as partners. Since then, they both started pushing Wooyoung so much that he had started drifting away. All three of them were to blame, but Wooyoung missed them.

So much.

Neither of them spoke further, which allowed Wooyoung's mind to churn with confusion. He felt his loyalties being split in two, which in turn was tearing him apart.

He needed to figure out what he wanted to do. One path was clear. If he picked Mingi and Yunho, he would be safe and protected at home and would grow old helping make sure his pod was healthy and thriving.

But... the other path held mystery and adventure. Being with San and Yeosang was dangerous but thrilling. But was it realistic?

Wooyoung didn't know, but he needed to figure it out soon.

The comfort of being next to one of his closest friends helped Wooyoung drift off to sleep, and at one point, he felt another body squeeze in behind him.

Both Yunho and Mingi surrounded him with their bodies and twisted their tails together to help keep them balanced on Wooyoung's narrow bed.

This is what he could be a part of every single night.

And Wooyoung would be lying if he said he didn't like it, but would it truly make him happy?

Or would the gorgeous human sleeping on the service manage to steal him away from everything he cherished so deeply?