Yeosang had the audacity to come home three hours after Wooyoung, even though the latter had so much to talk about. With Yongguk and the two girls in tow, he entered the house to find Wooyoung at the table, playing with Splish Splash while Jongho prepared their meal. The air between them was awkward, but not uncomfortable. Today, Wooyoung needed someone else to talk to.

Groaning as if he had been the one to dive out into the ocean, Yeosang dropped onto the bench. He grinned at Wooyoung's fuming grimace while the girls greeted Jongho.

"There you are, buttercup. You look as if you had a great time today."

"How dare you leave me with him?! Where were you?? Sucking Seonghwa's cock in the library's alcove? All day???"

Yeosang rubbed his forehead, but he indulged Wooyoung and folded his hands under his chin.

"By the choice of your words, I can guess you need to suck a cock. Should I call San, or would you rather communicate like an intelligent member of society?"

Baring his teeth at his know-it-all of a friend, Wooyoung sat back with a huff. Petty arms crossed in front of his chest.

"It was horrible," he declared. Yeosang cradled his chin in his hand, intrigued like a mother listening to her child talk about learning colours.

"Why, my day was delightful. Seonghwa showed us the rooftop and the astronomy tower, I got to see Yunho and Mingi sparring, I ate some pastries..."

"San took me out into the fucking ocean," Wooyoung spat.

The horror that flashed over Yeosang's face was worth the dreadful experience. Compared to him, Yeosang might have passed out doing that.

"He did? What was it like? Their sacred place? How could you go there?"

Wooyoung described everything to the best of his ability. He skipped any parts that might allude to what he and San had been doing, how they got to know each other. Only their scientific research counted, after all.

"There was nothing to measure and no data to collect. For a sacred site, it looked super scary," Wooyoung ended. He shook one of Splish Splash's harmless tentacles that curled outside from the rest. Intrigued, the odd jellyfish leaned closer to wrap around his fingers.

Yeosang rubbed his chin.

"No, what you are describing sounds gorgeous. We need to ask Seonghwa for details to understand, but imagine how they found this! Imagine sending someone out there to see such a wonderful place and being so awed to worship it."

"He took me to a massive, dimensional hole in the ground. I thought I'd get sacrificed!"

Yeosang waved it off.

"You didn't die, no harm in it. They aren't that barbaric, or else they wouldn't try to befriend us."

"At the bottom of the ocean, Yeosang! I almost died!"

Yeosang's chilling ignorance insulted Wooyoung. Couldn't he at least pretend to be a good friend who was concerned about Wooyoung's wellbeing?

And no, Wooyoung wasn't being dramatic.

He did almost die. But because of San, not because of the hole in the ocean.

Now that his complaints were over, the others joined in for dinner. They all had listened to his tale, and Yeosang explained to Jongho that Wooyoung was so agitated because of where he went. Their host smiled an understanding gummy smile at that, agreeing it could be scary, though magnificent.

Wooyoung's mind still hung on San and how courageous he was to go out there. He had felt the appeal before, but now he admired San's charm even more.

Yeosang briefed them on the recent developments with Seonghwa while they ate.

"The Atlanteans are preparing a festival so not only the royal family, but the whole city gets to greet us. It won't be too focused on us, but people would like to celebrate their contact with the surface and we are invited so they get to know us. It will be in two days. Until then, the city will be busy preparing," Yeosang announced.

Petra clapped her hands, delighted at that news. Though shy, she liked music and people, especially in such shining surroundings as Atlantis.

Kiko's arm rested over the back of Wooyoung's chair. She considered with a hum, already thinking of all the girls she might pick up.

"We are free to explore until then. Seonghwa will come by in the morning with more suggestions and bring Yunho and Mingi for our protection. Afterwards, we could visit the beaches or the town to try some local food. They have a museum, as well."

All of that was very interesting and especially the city would be attractive to Wooyoung's studies, but his head was elsewhere.

"Did he mention what San does when he isn't swimming out there to look at holes? Where is he all day?" He asked with utter nonchalance, but Kiko snickered as she played with a strand of Wooyoung's hair.

Stubbornly, he pretended there was nothing about it.

Yeosang shrugged.

"Not really. We can ask him tomorrow when he explains about their sacred ground. Though I doubt we will see much of him until he shows the oracle to us."

Maybe Wooyoung deflated just a bit.

"The museum sounds good, and we could find out more about their roots. The festival will teach us a lot about their mannerisms and social culture," Yongguk suggested. Splish Splash sat on his head while he speared his food, making him more adorable than the gloomy man would ever allow himself.

"In that case, let's sleep early and prepare for another long day. Wooyoung, good luck not dreaming of holes." Yeosang pushed back his finished plate before he got up to wash it himself. Helpless, Jongho had to accept because Yeosang refused to let him shoulder all the work.

"Oh, he wants to dream about those," Kiko chuckled. Wooyoung elbowed her ribs. She poked a finger into his side.

They went to sleep early after doing their dishes. Wooyoung tossed and turned for a while, plagued by the lingering darkness of the ocean and the fire of San's touch that resided in his veins.

He fell asleep after a few hours, proud of himself for his self-control, though he hoped to dream of San and more adventure with him.

-

Perky as ever, even in the early morning while the scientists slumped in pitiful heaps around the table and mourned the loss of coffee, Seonghwa came bounding to their door.

"Good morning, everyone! That's what surfacers say, yes?" With sparkling eyes and a bounce in his step, he joined them inside. Jongho greeted him, elated to have someone to talk to.

Wooyoung was charmed by the enthusiasm, though his current type was elsewhere.

"We do. What do Atlanteans say?" He asked with a yawn as he straightened in his chair.

"We say something like 'use your time.' It alludes to the constant decline of man and of making the most out of every hour. In content, of course." He nodded when he dropped on the chair Wooyoung pulled out by his side. Yunho and Mingi leaned against the kitchen counter, conversing with Jongho in their low and scary voices. Since the two girls were still missing, Yeosang had huddled outside to fetch them.

"Your society evolves around everyone doing their job, doesn't it? Like a clockwork?"

Seonghwa considered it before he nodded.

"Down here, it's difficult to maintain our lifestyle if we slack off. There aren't many places to go, so we cultivate our limited space to keep us busy. We are used to isolation, but if many of us became bored, the city would crumble. We live prosperously and share everything, so there is little suffering. It's not difficult to maintain if everyone does their part."

Wooyoung made a mental reminder. Their jobs, or rather their roles assigned by the oracle, were the entire identity of these people. As being a medium and swimming around scary places was San's identity. He couldn't just refuse that task, for there was no other to do it and though it seemed unnecessary to Wooyoung, it provided for their faith.

Since his mind wandered there, Wooyoung seized the moment to ask. Behind Seonghwa, the others filed inside and assembled around the table to have breakfast with Seonghwa.

"The trip I went on yesterday was a success. San showed me your sacred place."

Seonghwa perked up, white veils fluttering over his arms that neatly tucked on his chair. Doe eyes sparkled with intrigue.

"What did you think of it? It's magnificent, isn't it?"

"Scary, for sure," Wooyoung confessed. San wasn't here to make it a challenge. "Though I couldn't tell what I was looking at. We saw the hole, and he threw the weed balls inside, but I couldn't tell the purpose. By the way, impressive job with the suits. I didn't think it would be possible to dive out there."

"The suits are made from the same net material as the shell! It served us well. Whenever there is a need to leave this place to fix something or retrieve resources from outside, our trusty suits come into play. As for the hole, well, the secret was hidden inside. She must be shy since you are a stranger. As I said before, San is the only one to communicate with her."

Wooyoung blinked at him, unsure where the female pronoun came from. On the other side of the table, Yeosang leaned closer in fascination.

"It's the moray goddess, isn't it? She hides away there?"

Before Wooyoung could brush off the rather dreadful joke, Seonghwa nodded.

"Yes. I mentioned before how she guards us. The hole you saw is her hideout, where she lingers in rest. Sometimes, she circles the shell to look out for dangers. San tends to her. As she has been feeling unwell these days, we created medicine."

With owlish eyes, Wooyoung blinked at him. Not that this revelation was too outlandish, but he had been sure their religion was as abstract as the surface ones.

"She is, uh, she is alone down there? That's a lot of space from how Wooyoung sounds. Doesn't it make morays feel threatened?" Kiko threw in, as fascinated with the tale of communicating with deep-sea creatures as the rest.

A secretive smile played around Seonghwa's lips.

"She is unique, as San is unique. Any regular moray wouldn't make a suitable guardian." He nodded to himself, satisfied with his cryptic answer. When his eyes found Wooyoung again, he was as puzzled as ever.

"What about San? I was afraid you would misunderstand his intentions since you don't speak each other's language. Can I rest assured he was at the best of his behaviour?"

Wooyoung's ears flared with heat when he remembered San pressed against him.

"Oh yeah," he squeaked, a tad too fast. "A gentleman. When I was apprehensive, he explained in his way."

"I'm glad to hear that," Seonghwa beamed. "Now, as for the purpose of my visit. Did Yeosang brief you on the upcoming festivities?"

Well-mannered, the entire group nodded along. Splish Splash floated behind Jongho as he bustled around the house.

"I arranged with the townspeople to have a celebration of food and song so you get to know our culture and people. Everyone will be invited and I would like to guide you to the steps there."

Wooyoung perked up.

"I'm always in for food," Kiko purred, making Petra shy with her bold and open position that dwarfed the other girl.

Seonghwa laughed with them, like a star in the night.

"Then shall I help you choose local fashion today? Our people will be delighted if you blend in."

Easy on their agreement, they got ready and Seonghwa waited with the tall guards. When they said goodbye to Jongho and left the house, the two naturally flanked Yeosang, regarding him as their most important force as the leader.

Wooyoung felt Yeosang bumbled around more than usual, or his glasses slipping got worse. Mingi's hand hovered behind his back twice, huge on his waist, as he made sure Yeosang didn't taste a mouthful of Atlantis dirt.

As before, they delved into the mesmerising city, following behind the flutter of Seonghwa's veils and the pearl of his hair.

Would Wooyoung find San during the festivities? Would he appreciate seeing the scientist in their clothes?

One thing was for sure.

Wooyoung had to pick the sluttiest and most inviting outfit of all. Because he found someone much better than Seungyoun and his eyes were dead set on him.