To say that Wooyoung was merely beautiful was an understatement as he sat on the rock and interacted with all the sea creatures in the tank. He was... stunning, enchanting, magnificent, ethereal... and San couldn't take his eyes off the merman.

He wasn't even upset when Wooyoung didn't see him standing there before curling up to go to sleep. San felt like it was a privilege for him to even just witness the sight before him.

But when all the fish dispersed or started to slowly circle around the merman, the spell was broken.

San was stuck.

He was no closer to freeing Wooyoung and the merman had been trapped there for a couple of weeks now. The new security system Mr. Choi had installed was so advanced, San hadn't been able to find any way through it. The thing logged each and every time a door opened, and in the computer, if he clicked on that time, a screen would be pulled up that showed every single camera angle in the aquarium and parking lot.

The locks also required several passcodes, finger prints, and a retinal scan.

There was also an internal system that logged when every employee and scientist was supposed to be on the premise, so if San were to show up in the middle of the day he would be flagged and have to file a report as to why he was there.

Jongho didn't have any ideas either. He was constantly running systems checks since he had been promoted to head of day security to see if he found anything different than from at night when San ran his checks.

The only place in the building that wasn't on camera was the bathrooms, so both of them would slip in there to send texts to each other with what little information they could find. Which wasn't much.

One day Jongho had found an encrypted file talking about an new source of income for the aquarium and that the research on the mermaid was their top priority.

That was where the trail ended. All data on Wooyoung must be stored elsewhere that only the scientists had access to.

San had made that his main goal. He needed to get in and see what their plans were. It killed him to see Wooyoung in pain, especially tonight. Whatever the scientists had done... it was so much worse tonight than any other night.

Tomorrow was his day off, so San was planning on coming back during the day as a visitor to see if he could pick up on anything different. Jongho had mentioned seeing the same man visiting almost every day during the week.

When his shift was over, San got into Yeosang's car and let out a long, pained sigh.

"Still nothing?" Yeosang asked, as he did every morning.

"No... but we need to hurry. They are taking some of his scales." San pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What?" Yeosang's eyes widened and he gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Those heartless assholes."

"Yeah. Sangie, what are we supposed to do? I... I don't even know if he can-" San started waving his hands back and forth over his legs while making disgruntled sounds at the back of his throat.

"Have legs again?"

"Yeah." The younger slouched down in his seat. "And I can't even really ask him about it... I get less and less time with him every night."

Yeosang pulled away from the aquarium and tapped the wheel in front of him. "You really love him, don't you?"

"Is that crazy?" San whispered. He stared out the window and let his vision go hazy.

"Love is always crazy. But I do think you need to consider the fact that-"

"This isn't his world? Trust me, I have... I don't know what to do."

Yeosang reached over and took San's hand. "That's something that only you and Wooyoung can decide. I think he was just as attached to you as you were to him. There's a chance he loves you too."

San felt his face flush and he quickly turned his head a little further so that Yeosang didn't see it. He would be so happy if Wooyoung loved him back, even if it was impractical.

The next day San made sure to wear a ball cap and an oversized hoodie so he could pull the hood up around his neck. The less people that recognized him, the better.

He let the crowd pull him through the main part of the aquarium while he pretended to look at each exhibit. But really his ears were tuned into all the conversations happening around him, listening for any hint of news.

When he finally got to the dome he cringed when he saw how many people were crammed together to get a look at the new attraction.

Chewing his lip nervously, San tried to wait patiently for the crowd to clear. Especially once he saw Jongho standing over by the opening to the side door directing traffic. He made his way through the crowd and stopped next to the guard.

"Hey." Jongho's eyes flicked back and forth as he watched the crowd.

San rubbed his tired eyes and tried to suppress a yawn. "Hey, how's it going today."

"You picked a good day to come. The scientists are on high alert. I think whatever they did last night has them excited."

"Great..." San glanced over at the tank and felt his heart skip a beat when Wooyoung swam up to the glass and gave a sad smile to some of the kids. Cheers erupted and the crowd shuffled to accommodate the kids trying to follow Wooyoung along the glass.

His tail gracefully moved behind him, catching some of the lights in the tank and flashing brilliant shades of purple and red. He curved his body to swim toward the surface, then twisted around so he could sink back down a little.

With one simple, minuscule turn of his head, Wooyoung found where San was standing with Jongho.

They all knew not to react to each other, but it was hard to ignore the longing in Wooyoung's eyes.

The merman's gaze drifted out over the crowd and it froze on one more person before he flicked his tail and swam quickly behind some rocks to hide in a flurry of bubbles.

San stood up straighter and looked for what could have startled the merman. There was one man dressed in black slacks and a loose, black dress shirt standing in the middle of the room. He had one arm wrapped around his stomach to support his other arm, which was pointed toward his face so that he could rub his chin and neck.

There was a shorter man standing next to him. His hands were clasped respectfully behind his back and he was rocking almost nervously on the balls of his feet.

The taller leaned over to him to whisper something and the shorter's shoulders sank a little. He nodded and lifted one hand to run it through his light brown hair.

"That's them." Jongho whispered. San felt himself bristle and he clenched his fists at his side. "He is here almost every day and he will stand here for hours. I've never seen the shorter one before, he usually has a body guard with him. I-" Jongho stopped and both he and San turned when the door behind them opened suddenly.

The head scientist walked out, followed by two others, holding his head high and was sporting a triumphant grin. He raised his hands and clapped them over his head to gain everyone's attention. "Excuse me ladies and gentlemen! I'm sorry but we need to shut down this exhibit for some unfortunate maintenance. Please exit in an orderly fashion and we will do our best to reopen it as quickly as possible."

Several people started talking over each other to try and protest but Jongho immediately stepped forward and started forcing people to go. They couldn't argue with the uniform.

San stayed off to the side and pulled out his badge, which he had brought just in case, so that he could come up with and excuse to stay.

Jongho returned to his side after locking the gate at the far end of the shark tunnel. By then the scientists were already standing in front of the stranger in black and the man next to him. They were the only ones who had been allowed to stay.

A sinking feeling started to fill San. Whatever this was... it wasn't going to be good. He could see Wooyoung peeking out from behind a rock in the background.

"Well?" The man in black asked. His voice man San shiver. It was so intimidating yet... smooth and velvety at the same time.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. We have a few tests running, but I think we may have discovered what you are looking for." He held up a clear bowl filled with a glowing, deep purple substance. "This is only one version. We have several combinations in the back that we are running experiments on to discover uses for them, but you were right. There is power here, and the possibility for- for- for cures and advancements in technology and- I can't even begin to get into it!"

The man smirked and took the bowl in his own hands. Then he dipped his first two fingers in it and spread the substance around with his thumb.

It was... glowing even brighter now. San was stunned, especially when it looked like it was almost swirling...

"What is it?" The man asked. He handed the bowl to the shorter man next to him, who started examining it in the same way.

"A mixture of It's scales and blood."

San's eyes widened and he nearly ran forward to pummel them all to a pulp right there, but Jongho held out an arm to stop him.

"You didn't harm It, did you?"

The scientist sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. "Not much, but you know there are things that need to happen if you want us to continue this research."

"And have you figured out what this will do?"

"In that form, we aren't sure yet. But we have discovered that if you add a little algae to it, it will heal small scraps and cuts when rubbed into the skin. If you add dried starfish it hardens into something not unlike pencil lead." The scientist pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and opened it to reveal writing in purple lettering.

"Fascinating." The man in black whispered. Then he stepped up to the glass and tilted his head back. Wooyoung watched him nervously from behind his rocks. The end of his tail could be seen floating in the water on the other side. He flicked it nervously and dug his fingers into the rock.

A few eels emerged from the tank and started to circle the base of the rock in an almost protective manner.

San knew exactly what was going on, but everyone else stared in wonder as the sea creatures fed off Wooyoung's distress.

One of the zebra sharks charged at the glass and turned just in time to slap it's tail against it. The dull thud felt like it echoed in the dome. A couple more did the same thing until the man backed away from the glass. After that they circled around Wooyoung.

"Incredible." The head scientist said. "I've never seen anything like this, it's like... they are protecting It."

"This is the first time this has happened?"

"Yes. Normally they've all kept to themselves. I wonder if they are just used to It being here now? Let's get some divers in there and see what happens."

The other scientists looked hesitant, but they hurried into the back room to follow orders.

"Are you pleased?"

The man in black stayed silent for a long moment while the shorter one fidgeted next to him.

"Yes. Keep up the good work. I expect more results soon." The three men turned and bowed to each other.

The scientist beamed and straightened his jacket before motioning to Jongho to go unlock the gate. While he did, he kept his eyes on his guest. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Park."