To say Wooyoung wasn't excited about the trip was a complete understatement. It was hard for him to not ask Jongho about it every time they were together.

Thankfully he had a bit of a distraction while he thought about what he wanted to write to Mingi.

As much as he wanted to lie and hide what he had done, he knew Mingi deserved the truth, and Yunho too, just in case they never saw each other again.

Wooyoung waited until Jongho was at work before he started working on the letter. Grinding up his scales and mixing everything together was not something he wanted the human to witness.

And it wasn't that it was an unpleasant sight, but Wooyoung himself couldn't help but cry as he did it. All those thoughts of how ugly his tail was now came flooding back into his head. It just couldn't be helped...

When everything was ready, he pulled his tail up so that it was bent like humans bend their knees and opened his heart so the words he needed to say poured out of him.

My dearest Mingi and Yunho,

I'm sure by the time this reaches you, you will have realized that something happened. I wish I had better news for you, but I fear everyone chosen to go with me has perished.

We were ambushed at The Abyss by a giant contraption that allows humans to travel deep into he ocean. It has a similar shape to sperm whales and is the same size. Please be on the lookout for more.

The humans who came out of it could somehow breathe underwater and they had spears to attack us with. I believe they may have been trying to capture us, but a battle started, which drew in sharks. It turned into a bloodbath, damaging both sides.

In my panic, and by the urging of one of the guards, I swam away to try and come warn you.

I am so sorry that I never made it.

I was captured by a different set of humans who used a barbed net for fishing. They took me to a place called an aquarium and put me on display.

I have failed us all.

Humans in this area know of us now.

I want to assure you that I am safe. I have friends here who rescued me and are going to help me get back to the ocean. I know that reading this will upset you both, but I know I can trust them because I have been spending time with them since early summer.

Please forgive me. I know I broke so many rules and that you will be disappointed in me. I will understand if you never want to see me again, but please know that I am safe and I am trying to get home to you, where I want to be with you if you'll still have me.

Wooyoung felt tears pooling in his eyes as he finished his letter. He hadn't been expecting to write the last part but... the possibility of a future with San was uncertain.

If Mingi and Yunho were willing to see him again, there would be a lot to discuss.

He bit his lip once more before adding to the letter.

I know we will have a lot to talk about, but I hope you will give me a chance.

Until that moment comes, please take care of yourself.

Mingi, please tell your father that I'm sorry.

Wooyoung read through the letter once before rolling it up and tying it with a thin piece of rope.

He waited until the day they were leaving to send it. San was passed out on the bed next to him and Jongho was loading the car with camping material, so Yeosang was the one to come open the window.

"Do you really think this will work?" The human asked after stepping aside.

"I don't know." Wooyoung stared down at the letter. "But I hope it will."

"What will happen to you?"

Wooyoung knew the real meaning behind Yeosang's question and felt his shoulders fall. "I don't know." He said again, softer this time. "I promise I won't let them harm you." He looked up and was met with a mixture of sadness and relief.

"What about San?" Yeosang's voice was barely above a whisper.

Wooyoung slowly turned his head to look at the sleeping boy. His chest tightened as he studied the way San's cheeks puffed out while sleeping.

He adored his human so much and would do anything he could to protect him.

Yeosang nodded at his silence and watched as Wooyoung tried to call over the seagulls milling around outside.

The merman took a deep breath and drew upon the magic within himself. Then he held up a hand while focusing on one single bird.

She let off a string of high pitched cries while flapping her wings, then flew straight for the bedroom window.

Wooyoung was honestly surprised it worked. He had never communed with anything outside of the water before, so this was all new to him.

"Hey girl." He spoke softly so he didn't scare her.

The seagull cocked her head to the side, then jumped the short distance so she could sit on the side of the tub.

"I need you to do something for me..." He held up the letter and projected his thoughts so she would know what he wanted and where the letter needed to go.

She snapped her beak a couple of times before closing it around the letter and flying out in a flurry of rushed flaps.

"Wow." Yeosang's eyebrows shot up and his jaw dropped. "That has to be the coolest thing I've ever seen."

Wooyoung blushed and looked down. "Thanks. Honestly I could do so much more if I were at full strength."

"I bed you could." Yeosang flashed a crooked grin. His eyes were full of a child-like wonder that made Wooyoung miss the podlings back home. "I'm going to go check on Jongho."

"Where are we going?" Wooyoung asked, adopting big round eyes and a perfect pout in hopes of finally getting an answer.

"Yeosang pressed his lips together in an attempt to suppress a laugh. "Nice try. You'll see soon enough."

With a dramatic sigh, the merman fell back in his tub and flicked his tail in mock irritation.

Thankfully Yeosang spoke a partial truth. When he returned a short time later, he jumped onto the bed with San yelling, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

The younger cried out and flailed his limbs in an attempt to protect himself, but it was all in vain.

He whined when Yeosang slipped off the bed and quickly slapped his cheek several times in quick succession. "Whyyy do you doooo thiiiiis." He said, drawing out the vowels in a perfect whine.

"Because you make it easy." Yeosang winked at Wooyoung. "Now get your lazy ass out of bed, someone has been pestering me about where we are going."

San rolled over so his face was buried in it and started mumbling about how Yeosang didn't have to work last night.

Wooyoung giggled and turned on his side to use the wooden slab to push himself out of the water.

His human was so cute!

"Sannie! I want to know!" He squirmed in place so that the water sloshed around.

All he got was one of San's arms flopping in response.

Wooyoung didn't like that. He huffed and dragged himself up the slant, determined to get to San and get him out of bed.

When he got to the edge, Wooyoung pushed himself forward and landed on the floor with a loud thud and a squeak.

His tail slid after him and the end flew over his head and out the window.

The merman made quick work of pulling it back inside, flinching only a little when one of the holes caught a corner, before dragging himself around tub. Which wasn't easy.

"Sannie! Wake up!" Wooyoung reached up to grab his human's hand and started tugging it. "Sanniiiieeeeee!"

"Alright, alright, al- Woo!" San shot out of bed as soon as he saw Wooyoung on the floor and cupped his face. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Wooyoung pushed his hands away and scowled. "Yes of course I'm fine. But you need to wake up!" His the end of his tail flopped angrily.

To make matters worse, San immediately started laughing and pulled Wooyoung up and to his chest, wrapping his arms and legs to hold the merman in place. "Oh, Youngie, you're adorable!" His bright giggles instantly melted Wooyoung's heart, but he wouldn't give in that easily. That is, until San started peppering his cheeks with kisses.

Soon both of them were clinging to each other and exchanging soft kisses. Wooyoung couldn't believe how amazing it felt to be in contact with his human like this again. Oh how he had missed it.

They stayed like that until Yeosang and Jongho came back to inform them that the car was ready to go. San shifted out from under Wooyoung so he could run and get changed, then he and Jongho worked to carry Wooyoung to the car while Yeosang got all the doors and locked the apartment.

Wooyoung wasn't particularly fond of being in the car again. It was too cramped in this form since they had to bend his tail to hide it under blankets. But he did like that he was pretty much forced to sit in San's lap the entire time.

And the drive itself was amazing.

Once they left the city, Wooyoung couldn't believe how green everything was! San called them trees, flowers, and grass. All of it was beautiful.

"It's like you have your own coral reefs here, but... they don't need water?" Wooyoung looked between the three of them and saw the fond smiles they gave whenever he said something they found strange.

"No, they still need water. Think of them more like..." Yeosang hummed and tapped his chin. "Seaweed and you have sea grass, I know that. This is just a different type. They need water to live. Everything up here does."

"Wow." Wooyoung gasped and looked out the window again.

A chill ran down his spin when he felt San dabbing at his tail with a wet towel. He appreciated that they came prepared to help him. He loved feeling the cloth travel over his scales, guided by San's gentle hands.

He became even more fascinated by the mountains that shot out of the ground and towered over them as they drove by. How could anything possibly be this big? It made him wonder if this is what the ocean looked like from the bottom of The Abyss...

At one point, Yeosang turned off the road they had been on and down what they called a camping trail. The car started to jostle around and Wooyoung wrapped his arms around San's neck to try and keep himself steady.

Yeosang would mutter several apologies as they went, to which Jongho would always shake his head and tell him it was fine before looking out the back of the car again.

He had been playing lookout the entire drive to make sure they weren't being followed.

"Alright." Yeosang sighed. "I think this is a good spot."

San perked up and grabbed a long piece of cloth and quickly tied it around Wooyoung's eyes.

"Hey!" Wooyoung reached up to pull it away, but San took his hands to stop him.

"Trust me. I want this to be a surprise."

Wooyoung stuck his lower lip out in a pout but didn't fight it anymore. He spent the next several minutes putting his trust in both San and Jongho as they pulled him out of the car and carried him somewhere,

The air was brisk and cold. It was a strange feeling against his skin that he wasn't sure he liked. It made him nuzzle into San's neck and let out a soft sigh.

San chuckled and squeezed Wooyoung tighter. "Alright, are you ready?"

"Yes!" Wooyoung lifted his head back up and looked around even though he still couldn't see anything.

When the cloth was pulled from his eyes, Wooyoung had to close them quickly due to how bright the sun was. It took him a moment and several slow blinks to adjust.

Then he gasped.

Part of the ocean was sitting in front of him. It had to be! There was so much water!

"How?" He asked, lifting an arm to reach for it.

San and Jongho slowly walked forward. "It's called a lake. Up here we have large bodies of fresh water, so there's no salt in it, but we brought you some just in case." Jongho said.

"I thought maybe this would help you heal because you'd have room to swim around and you could immerse yourself completely." A slight blush came to San's cheeks as he spoke.

Wooyoung turned to him with tear-filled eyes. He couldn't believe San would do something like this for him...

"We need to be careful because other humans could come here, but this is a pretty secluded spot. Are you ready?"

The merman nodded several times and tried to stay still as the two humans carrying him waded out deeper into the water.

The end of his tail was already submerged and it felt glorious. The water itself was incredibly cold, but Wooyoung knew his body would adjust just fine. The ocean was cold too.

Once they were deep enough, San and Jongho bent over to place Wooyoung in the lake. He glanced up at San once, then with a single nod, he turned and dove beneath the surface.

Wooyoung instantly felt revived. The water hugged his skin and called him forward.

Several fish species he had never seen before watched as Wooyoung propelled himself forward with a few powerful thrusts of his tail.

It felt so good to flex it and stretch it out again. He had been in that tub way too long.

And to feel water going through the gills behind his ears was the most refreshing and soothing thing imaginable.

Wooyoung laughed with pure joy as he twisted, spun, and spiraled his way through the lake. It was fairly deep so he was able to really enjoy bending his body in every way he had once been able to.

Sunlight penetrated just deep enough that the water was never too dark, but he was foggy enough that he knew he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing him as long as he stayed away from the surface.

When he needed to stop and catch his breath, he let himself drift to the lake bed. It was soft, not unlike the fine sand from back home, and he wiggled a little to create a little cradle for himself.

Some of the fish swam over to check him out, curious about the new thing in their territory. Wooyoung held out a hand to him that a few came to touch with their mouths before they fled in a cloud of bubbles.

He smiled and let his arm fall to his side.

This gift from San had to be the best thing he had ever received. It made him long for home even more, but he would take this for now.

It was the happiest Wooyoung had been since this summer. He still couldn't believe that something like this existed and he was looking forward to exploring it a little more.

But for now, he was content with laying along the bottom and letting his body soak in the glorious water surrounding him.

He could already feel his strength returning, so maybe San was right.

Maybe this is what he needed to return to his old self. Wooyoung hoped it was. He longed to be in touch with the magic again.

He closed his eyes and hummed gently to himself.

What a beautiful place this was.

Wooyoung loved it so much.