Wooyoung tucked himself to bed, frustrated after yet another day San spent keeping his manners. Though his virtue made Wooyoung fall more and more in love with him, the depraved human in him wanted nothing more than to be pressed down by that fine specimen of a man. As far as anthropology went, yes, people usually sensed a desire for each other and coupled up to deepen their relationship. Apparently, San was half moray or something to be so aware yet resist so much.

After a while of pouting to himself because he knew San did this for him and Wooyoung adored him for it, Wooyoung found his rest. He left all his devious planning for the morning when he had more brain cells to think about how he could make it any more obvious that he wanted San to fuck him dumb. It had been a while since he was last with Seungyoun, and he was too prideful to demand the aid of his hand when San was right there.

Grumbling, Wooyoung fell asleep. His desperation followed him into his dreams, where he ran after San's retreating back. Before Wooyoung ever got to thank him or express his feelings, the man disappeared into a distance Wooyoung couldn't reach. He got swallowed by the ocean and never looked back.

Wooyoung slept restlessly, as if his gut knew something wasn't right. He tossed and turned, plagued by nightmares and because the lights seemed too bright for him all of a sudden. When he startled awake in between, Yeosang and Yongguk snoozed peacefully.

With wide-open eyes, Wooyoung lay in bed for a while before exhaustion pulled him back under. He dozed, neither awake nor asleep.

When the alarm sirens started blaring, he flinched from not too deep of a slumber.

Though he had never heard them before, the blaring sound bore into his skull, jerking every peace away from him and filling him with a sense of pressure. Within a second, Wooyoung sat in his bed straight as a stick and exchanged panicked glances with his equally confused roommates.

It took only a second of pressing their hands to their ears before Jongho came storming in, not minding their privacy as he yanked the curtain parting their sleeping areas aside. Fatigue clung to his swollen face, but his eyes were wide with alertness.

"Come! Come!" He beckoned them to follow, and they scrambled from their beds in the pyjamas they had taken from the surface. Wooyoung adored the worn fabric of his orange shorts and the black shirt that had witnessed multiple bleaching rounds and thus almost matched the pants with its cool pattern. As they padded down the stairs behind Jongho, they picked up on the noise outside.

Quieter than the blaring of the sirens but no less urgent, people rustled about outside. They yelled over each other and furniture was shoved around in their buildings as they hurried out onto the street.

When the scientists stumbled outside behind Jongho, their host tilted his head to look at the sky. Immediately, Wooyoung did the same while Yeosang fumbled with his glasses.

Something was wrong with the shell. Its blue light flickered and glitched, as if parts of the net weren't supplied with electricity any longer. Following the sparking trails, Wooyoung soon spotted the source of unrest.

A hole was ripped into the metal net. Like askew teeth, the surrounding wires were grotesquely tilted, reaching into the water as if something had taken a chomp from them. Water gushed inside in what would have been a spectacular waterfall if it didn't fill the dome and everything it contained.

For now, the hole was small, but Wooyoung didn't know if the masses of water pressing on it would engorge it or how long it would take to repair.

"Oh God," Yeosang muttered by his side. He was pale as a sheet, terrified by the idea of drowning to death while trapped in here.

Next to them, Jongho's sister emerged with the two girls. The three held each other's hands, but their scared features lifted in relief when they spotted the group of men.

Like rapid fire, Jongho and his sister discussed their next step. Wooyoung took Yeosang's hand to soothe both of them. This had happened before, Seonghwa said so. They would be fine so long as the shell got fixed. At this rate, it would take days to fill.

Yeosang didn't seem convinced. He squeezed back only hesitantly, but hurried right along when Jongho beckoned them to follow. Together, the joined group fell into a jog to accompany the fleeing people of Atlantis while the sirens blared overhead.

In the rush of faces, Wooyoung couldn't tell how assured the citizens were. Not all of them were in a rush, but they streamed towards the palace in the general agreement to gather up near safety. Some of them looked most used to this, others were in a bright panic. Their collective spirit brought them towards the open gate of the palace, where warriors had assembled to make sure everyone made it inside without pushing or shoving.

Those in the tending sector with Seonghwa searched the houses and made sure no one got left behind. They ran into their resident caretaker as the crowd slowed to narrow into a line to enter the gates. Seonghwa hurried around like a headless chicken, but when he spotted them, he managed a smile.

"There you are! I was worried about you! Did Jongho bring you here?"

"What's going on?" Wooyoung asked since Yeosang clung to his hand like a scared child. His frightened eyes clung to Mingi and Yunho, who made their way through the people behind Seonghwa. They looked relieved to see the scientists and assumed their protective position behind them.

"A shark attack. One of them ripped a hole in the shell, but our technicians are already on their way to patch it up. For safety, we bring our people inside the royal bunker. It will prevail even if the city gets flooded. Though it fits everyone, there is still a lot of time. A hole this small won't impede us. If you are scared, I can bring you straight inside."

Wooyoung glanced at his friends. Yeosang stood petrified and would best be put safely under the earth, but Yongguk shook his head.

"If it isn't that urgent, I would rather stay outside. The claustrophobia would do more damage."

Petra agreed.

"Let the Atlanteans in first. We will join when it gets dangerous."

Wooyoung nudged Yeosang with a careful elbow, afraid he might topple over if he was too rough.

"Is that fine with you?"

Yeosang's nod was stiff as wood, not convincing anyone.

A hand on Wooyoung's shoulder had him turn his head. Mingi stood behind him, and his eyes conveyed a silent question. When Wooyoung gave in and stepped aside, Yeosang leaned into Mingi's flank, recharging his courage under the tall man's wing.

"Is there anything we can help you with?" Kiko asked Seonghwa when he accepted their decision. He glanced at the hole with a hum.

"You are welcome to document this for your studies. Otherwise, you can secure any equipment you might not wish to be flooded. As a security measure."

When they nodded and took off with the addition of their two guards, Seonghwa returned to his business of sending people into the palace safely. Even in an emergency, he remained calm and assured people with his untouched beauty that there was no need to fret.

The group was on the way back to the house to retrieve their electronics when someone dashed from a side alley and almost ran them over. Wooyoung dodged to let their hurried feet through as the owner had a crucial goal, but a hand seized his wrist a moment later. His momentum threw him around and he bumped into a male chest, but the strong arm coming to catch him was most familiar.

A second later, San's urgent eyes and voice hit him.

"Why are you here?"

"Ah, we're getting our things. Seonghwa said it isn't that dangerous." Though the alarms made their ears ring and Wooyoung thought he might go deaf. The booming bell had to hang in the topmost tower of the castle and echoed throughout the entire shell.

San looked displeased. The entire group had come to a standstill as his firm hands held Wooyoung in place.

When he glanced at the sky, the others did the same.

One hole had become three holes. All were relatively small, but too many at once that they weren't still under attack. The sharks were displeased, and they would do more damage. For now, all water flowed to fill up the shoreline, but soon, it would cover the ground.

"Hurry. Get to safety as soon as possible," San growled when he accepted their point. He was about to turn around, but now Wooyoung seized him. His frantic hands fisted in San's white shirt.

"Where are you going?"

"To the moray."

A chill washed over Wooyoung and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Right, defending was San's job. He and the moray guarded this island.

Sickening and uncomfortable, a coil twisted in Wooyoung's belly. He had no place to beg San to stay. This was his duty. The one thing more important than anything else.

"Be careful," he whispered, fingers loosening. San caught his hand and squeezed it gently. His fleeting smile assured Wooyoung that he knew what he was doing.

San ran off and Wooyoung returned to his group. They moved faster now, spurred by the insecurity of their situation. From time to time, Wooyoung glanced at the shell to make sure it hadn't created more rips. Technicians in their white suits climbed along the net now, pulling themselves to the holes to patch them up so the electricity would uphold the energy field once more. Like ants, they felt their way across the shell that had never seemed so feeble between them and tons of water.

"No time to get your hair done, guys. See you out here in a minute," Kiko called once they arrived at their houses. After everyone left in a rush, the white town felt ghostly. Everything in Wooyoung screamed they shouldn't be here, that the Atlanteans had been smart to hole up straight away.

Nonetheless, he followed the two others inside. Splish Splash floated about, unbothered by the incoming water, but Wooyoung short-handedly packed her into a bag. If she got mushed to death, Jongho would be sad, and the animal didn't seem to have much of a survival instinct.

Yeosang and Yongguk bustled upstairs. They would be foolish to take everything, but they retrieved the bags with their devices and the notebooks with relevant data for their work.

The boys took a bit more than a minute, and when they stepped outside, water splashed under their feet. Kiko had Jongho's sister's green jellyfish under her arm and cradled her bag with another. Her hair unravelled in the humid air, but she pulled it up in a careless bun.

By her side, Petra shivered until Yongguk joined her in silence.

"Got everything?" Wooyoung checked as he glanced between them. Their nods were anything but sure, but it was the best they could do.

Wooyoung glanced at Yeosang, who hung on Yunho's hand, but he was still up and kicking. They hurried to make their way back, glad the palace couldn't be missed no matter where they were.

Was San at the hatch? Or out there, among the aggressive sharks?

Sick with worry, Wooyoung ran through the water splashing up his legs. Perhaps he would wait outside after they got back. San had to return once he was done, and Wooyoung wanted to know him safe.

They were halfway down the main road when an ominous crackling gave the barest warning. A moment later, they were plunged into pitch blackness.

Breathless, they halted their step. The alarm bells faded out, insecure about what was happening. They still breathed, and the net was largely intact.

Now that they had no light inside, Wooyoung could see the pale bodies of the sharks as they rounded the shell, seeking a way inside to ravage the prey it shielded.

The deafening crash of water splashing down behind them had them flinching the same moment the light kicked back on.

There was no time to see the new hole, or how large it was. An enormous wave of water doused the city, and the scientists broke out in a run before its initial force would reach them and break every bone in their bodies.