보고싶다

His legs soon took him to the beach. Was there anything quite blissful as an amble by the seashore? Walking through an airy womb between the cerulean-blue gown, that went by the name the sea, and the ground dipped in earth shine-gold, the beach.

The gentle pulsing heart of the sea caused a swell and the waves cascading onto shepherd's hook of gold that left its grains and mark against it. The rollers of gem-blue dashing the sand left a salty aroma that he grew addicted to.

His eyes cast into the thin line of nickel-silver, the identical, fresh air exiting his pale lips. The tips of his fingers played with themselves, buried in his pockets to gather heat. He silently admired the feng shui perfection of the beach that held its own magical touch. It was Poseidon's realm, he thought to himself, and I'm not supposed to be here.

Suddenly, he had a light bulb moment. The lanky guy was disappointed at first, but then he realized that his cyan-blue paradise hosted another guest, Wheein. He wasn't alone; he never was. As his nose was tantalized by the pouring fragrance from the sea's vial, Taehyung started walking towards the rock he met an alluring creation of the Gods.

"Ah, you actually came?" her galaxy filled eyes met his 'boring' ones. A small dent was engraved in her right cheek, as she tried holding back her hopeful smile. Her wet, black curls framed her face and rested on her chest. Her elbows were on the rock that separated the two and her chin rested between the vertex of her hands.

"What, you expected me not to?" Taehyung joked around, looking down at the petite girl.

"Actually... yes. It's not like you meet a mermaid everyday."

"Touché."

With the help of the brown-eyed boy, the duo were sitting on the shore. The obsidian-black beauty was resting against his side; it was hard behind on land when you have a tail. Speaking of tails, Wheein spoke up about it: "So, since you came back, I've been planning on telling you something ever since you said you will come back."

"M'kay," he hummed in response. "What is it?"

"So, you know how I told you that mermaids can have legs if they have the permission, right?" Wheein didn't wait for a confirmation from him and continued on with her talk. "That only happens when you're on an important task, and as you can tell, I'm on a huge task.

"The only reason I'm telling you this is because I need your help. I also have the permission on having a human companion to help me with this quest. However, you need to have an oath to the Gods that you swear on your life and soul that you won't share such sacred information to any other human being.

"The quest is to find Poseidon's Utopia. I think that name is pretty uncommon, and your people would often go by the name Atlantis—a lost city. I already have a couple of starters, and I need your help."

Wheein definitely didn't want to go deeper in case Taehyung doesn't accept her request. She was really hopeful that he would help her. She was more than sure that he would accept it and such thoughts made her sound a little too confident and egotistical. However, she was a mermaid. Mermaids were able to lure the darkest and most secretive people with a snap of fingers. Legends even claim that they wouldn't fail on seducing the Devil himself, as such creatures were meant to tempt men, mainly sailors, to death.

Taehyung, on the other hand, didn't seem that fazed by the enchantments she hung around the air. And that made her realize that he was the one who was supposed to help her with inexorable task. If anything, he was disconcerted by the fact that mermaids, sirens, and even incubuses existed.

"Out of everyone, why me? Wait- scratch that... most importantly, what would I benefit from helping you?" That was the first thing Taehyung said after about five seconds of silence passed by.

"Since you're helping me, a mythical creature, with a task from the Gods themselves, I'm pretty sure you'd be able to get whatever you have in mind. Whether it was happiness, money, fame, or anything. You can take it as a deal with Hades minus selling your soul and going to Tartarus." Wheein peeled her eyes off his and looked at the uncoiling waves that resembled an old, vellum parchment rolling in front of their eyes.

"Then, I'll help you."

← τ →

Her galaxy shined more than ever, and Taehyung felt himself get captivated all over again. He never saw such beautiful eyes in his entire life, especially since South Korea is filled with dark eyed people. Wheein's orbs were out of the world. They weren't just blue, but they had specs and dusts of light brown and yellow. Taehyung could've sworn that he could see an entire beach in her eyes. The palette of light brown illustrated grains of gold scattered that kept getting hit by blue gradient.

His eyes and thoughts were so deep into hers to the point he didn't notice Wheein's new form. Her petite arms were holding onto his, as pearl-white light came from her body—waist and down. Taehyung snapped out of his trance when the mythical creature closed her eyes shut from the light. The sight that unfolded in front of him felt so ethereal and just so splendorous. Taehyung's free hand instinctively covered his eyes partly, as he tried to grab a glimpse of the view. The light that was once on Wheein's lower body travelled up to her upper body, and Taehyung was uncertain whether he hand to remove his hands or not. He decided against it, as he didn't want her to fall and hurt herself in a way.

Diaphanous fabric covered Wheein's body. Her chest that used to be covered with shining pearls and fish-skin 'bra' was now replaced with a tight, white crop-top along with a salmon colored jacket that reached a bit below her hips. Her legs... Taehyung have seen hundreds of legs, but he was mesmerized once again. Perhaps the seductive aura Wheein had around her caused such conflicting feelings arise within Taehyung, but he was too 'whipped' to notice. Her short legs were covered with short, washed out jeans. Her feet, however, were bare. He never thought of feet that much, but he found Wheein's weirdly cute.

"Oh, my Zeus."

"Oh, my God."

The two blurted out in sync. Wheein hands unintentionally pushed Taehyung away from her body when she went to hold her legs. She never had legs in her life, and it was such a weird experience to her. They were extremely pale too, probably because they were never exposed to the sun.

The first thing Wheein did was hold her leg to examine it closely. Due to not being that flexible, she ended up falling backwards. A small giggle left her mouth, as she looked at her feet. Her black hair was covered in sand from her fall, but Wheein didn't seem to mind at all. She was fascinated by her own self that she felt her own self-confidence hit the roof.

"Feet are so weird," she breathed out and sat up. "Can I see yours again?"

Taehyung chuckled and took off his shoes and socks with no hesitance. Wheein shifted in her place and sat down in front of Taehyung, immediately comparing her feet with his. The difference between them was huge, and Wheein couldn't help but laugh at their difference. She probably looked so small and short next to him too. She wasn't that surprised either since she noticed how his hand would almost cover all of hers.

"You're so small," Taehyung teased her. His hands ruffled her black hair once he stood up, a small smile dancing on his face. "Let's go to my house first, okay? Wait— do you know how to walk?"

Taehyung rubbed his arms to warm himself down from the cold wind. His head was tilted down in order to look at the content girl. Her crinkled eyes and dimpled smile reminded him of his baby cousins that had that overjoyed look when they received a gift they always wanted. It was weird how he already was spellbound to her, and Wheein was starting to notice that from his longing stares. That was when she stopped her hypnotizing aura from affecting him even further.

"I don't know?" she replied in hesitance then stood up, her hand holding onto his.

Taehyung felt normal when their hands touched that time, and it freaked him a bit. The magic that was hung around the air between them was suddenly gone; it was weird. He was glad that it was over, as he felt himself go crazy from how he got lured by her. He never understood how mermaids would wrap their fingers around random men they find in the ocean until now.

His flushed cheeks didn't help cover Taehyung's flustered state. Wheein was holding onto him tightly as if her legs were about to give out and she would land face-first on the ground. The steps she took were short and slow-paced. It felt as if he really was teaching a kid on how to walk for the first time. Taehyung was a sucker for kids, so he wasn't that bothered. His boxed smile was visible the whole time while he counted her steps.

"Do you think you can walk by yourself now?" Taehyung asked her, starting to unwrap her hands from his.

Wheein bit down on her lower lip harshly. She didn't know how to answer him. A part of her was scared and hesitant, definitely. She wasn't sure that she would be able to walk already. Wheein needed his hands for support. Instead of answering him, she slowly let go of him and started to walk a bit. Just like she expected and predicted, she almost fell to her knees if Taehyung didn't hold her quickly. His reflexes were pretty quick. She had to admit that.

"I guess not? You're progressing really quickly, and that's good! Do you want to try again?" Taehyung slightly cheered her with light words of encouragement. A small, shaky breath left Wheein's lungs when she mentally fought with herself on whether trying again or not.

"So...?" he trailed off, not really sure on what to expect.

"Wait, I think I can." Wheein let go of his hand and tried walking again with hesitance lacing her steps. Soon, once she got used to the feeling, Wheein took off running, often between the sea's lips that softly kissed the sun-kissed sand. Salty water went in between her toes, and never in her hundred years of living she felt this way. She couldn't put her finger on what she was feeling, but she loved it.

It made her think on why Taehyung wanted to take his life when he had so much to explore with his feet? He had forests and countries to explore, palaces to visit, mountains to climb, and much more. Yes, Wheein didn't understand his reasoning at all; she was and always were a mermaid! There was nothing wrong with not knowing or empathizing with someone's hardships, of course. Matter of fact, Wheein would absolutely love it if Taehyung opened up more to her. The two were going to spend months and possibly years together. Might as well become best friends, right?

← λ →

His house wasn't much, but he liked it nonetheless. Living in Seoul was hard, so being able to get such house despite his financial problems was something Taehyung was always grateful though. Another thing he was grateful for was his health. Sure, he did try to kill himself a couple of days before and he regretted it. However, it was mind-awakening in a way. Him meeting Wheein helped him realize it too. Taehyung should've been grateful for being born in a whole piece with no deadly diseases or hard and life-threatening mental disorders. The thought of having to breathe for more was something he was even grateful for. Some people would be taking their last breath right at that second, and thinking about it like this made him content with the life he was living.

"Your house is very nice and cozy." Wheein commented while running her hand through her hair. Of course it was way different that her house in the middle of the sea. The sudden change in pressure, climate and just her surroundings made her feel slightly sick. She wasn't used to taking taking elevators to go to her house, nor she was used to taking the stairs. Her hair would never stay down and would tend to float around her. She felt homesick, and of course she missed her house. However, she had a mission that she had to complete in order to go back home.

"Ah, really? It's not that much, but make yourself at home. You can change into warmer clothes, too. Just take anything from my closet." Taehyung told her after he gave her a mini tour around his house.

It wasn't really much. Just a living room connected to a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. All were in the hues of white and shades of blue. He was glad that he chose blue since he could sense that the color helped his new friend relax even more. The colors of blue probably reminded her of her home and comforted her in a way.

"Okay... thank you so much, by the way." she gave him a shy smile, her hands fidgeting with each other absentmindedly.

"Ah, it's nothing. I'll be back after you change." Taehyung shrugged it off and went to the kitchen. Thankfully, he had some left-over food that his other friends got for him the other day. His friends were another thing he was grateful for too. They've been friends since high school, and they never separated each other after many years.

Taehyung took out some of the Korean food from his fridge and reheated it on the stove instead. He found that when food was reheated on the stove, it tastes better than microwaved food.

Taehyung prepared the small table that was in between the kitchen and the living room while the food was on the stove. They were going to eat on it, obviously. He let out a small sigh when he was done and went to check up on his food. Taehyung rolled up his sleeves and held his metal chopsticks, moving the food around to make sure that it was evenly heated. He took a bite from the spicy rice cake to make sure that it tasted good and warm enough to be served. A satisfied hum rang through the silent air in the kitchen, as Taehyung turned off the fire under the dish.

"Oh, what's this?" Taehyung almost dropped the food from his hands due to Wheein's sudden appearance. He didn't notice her until she spoke up. He placed the dish on the table, making sure that there was a heat-absorbing matt below it. "It smells really nice."

"You never tried this?" he asked after he made her sit down on one of the seats. He sat down in front of her and picked up his chopsticks. "Do you know how to use these or?" Taehyung tapped his chopsticks together when he asked her, leaning a bit forward in curiosity. He never met someone who was so clueless on how to live, especially when they look like they have an Asian ethnicity. The thought of mermaids actually existing didn't process through his mind yet.

"Nope, not yet." Wheein shook her head at both of his questions with a small frown on her face. It was probably embarrassing that she didn't know the simplest of stuff, but you couldn't blame her. She lived underwater for decades.

She picked up her chopsticks and tried to mimic the way Taehyung was holding his. Unfortunately, she failed on doing so. 'How can they even eat with these?' she thought to herself while trying over and over again.

"Do you want me to teach you? It's quite easy when you get a hang of it." he offered and held the pair of chopsticks together beside each other. "Just follow what I'm telling you, okay?"

Taehyung had to admit that Wheein was a quick learner. She already knows how to eat with chopsticks even though her skills were quite rusty at that. That made him silently take a note of mermaids being extremely quick learners. 'Oh! I should get a journal or something to take down notes...' he thought to himself and took another bite of his food.

"You're a fast learner, right?" he spoke up while pointing with his own chopsticks at her hand. Wheein nodded her head at him a bit enthusiastically and took another bite.

"Actually, each mermaid has a distinct talent or ability. Mine is being a quick learner and a good critical thinker. Also, this is so good! I never tried such food before in my life. We tend to eat a lot of seafood, and having to eat them for decades became really boring." she hummed in thought while stuffing her face with spicy rice cake. Her eating was messy; she had the sauce smudged on the corners of her lips.

"That makes sense..." Taehyung nodded and finished his cup of water. "It would taste even better if you had side dishes along with soju, but I... don't have that at the moment." Being financially unstable didn't allow him to eat a lot nor do a lot of things either. Living in a city with little to no money was hard, of course. His thin and fragile state was a result of not eating for days or eating one meal a day. He developed anaemia over time due to malnutrition.

"Ah, that's alright." Wheein reassured him then wiped her hands with a tissue. She raised a her index finger at him, indicating to give her a minute. Her hands were searching in the pockets of sweatpants, and that made Taehyung furrow his eyebrows—in confusion and curiosity.

What were in these pockets that related to the topic they were talking about?

"Give me your hand." Wheein ordered all of a sudden. She had her free hand extended to him while the other one was holding onto something tightly so he won't be able to see what she was hiding.

"Uh, okay?" Taehyung was a bit hesitant, of course.

He extended his clean hand to her and looked up at her through his lashes. Suddenly, her soft hand held his, and Taehyung lost all of his thoughts at that exact second. Wheein opened a window in his train of thoughts that caused all of his thoughts to fly out of it.

He then snapped back to reality when her closed hand was on his then placed something on his palm. Her velvet-like hands left his, showing light blue-green stones all over his hands. They weren't cut or shaped, but instead, they were as you would find them in rocks or oceans. Taehyung couldn't believe what he saw, really. The sizes and colors ranged from all colors, and that made him breathless. He wasn't sure why, though. Was it the fortune that they were going to give him? Or how deeply colored they were just like their home—the sea? Perhaps because they weren't too far off from Wheein's colored eyes.

"These are Aquamarines that I found in my way. Since you have troubles with your money stability, you can sell these as they cost a lot." Wheein explained, her hand rubbing her arm shyly. "Do you like them?"

When Taehyung met her gaze, he felt drawn into her eyes once again. The sky blueness generated a feeling like he was getting pulled to the ocean, as many believed that the ocean reflected the color of the sky. It was like all the various shades of blue swirled together to form a whirlpool of anticipation. Wheein's eyes were a bit red, and Taehyung never noticed that until now. He could tell that Wheein was expecting a great reaction from him, though.

"Of course! I-I mean, this is great! You really didn't have to." Taehyung stuttered and fumbled on his words at first, not knowing what to say. That was another thing he was most definitely grateful for.

"It's alright. We have a lot of these, anyways, so it's not a problem." she shrugged and drank her entire cup of water. "Do you want to sell them now?"

Taehyung's eyes lit up at the thought of that, and his once lonely and dull Christmas days lit up in bright colors.

← α →

He was on the seventh cloud by now. The amount of money they received was unimaginable, and Taehyung was seriously doubting that Wheein was a mermaid. She was more of an angel to him, instead. Things were moving and unfolding quicker than he thought they would to the point he didn't know what exactly he was feeling. Heck, he didn't even know what he felt towards Wheein. If it wasn't for her magic earlier, things would've been clearer. He seemed infatuated by her—they were probably side effects.

The two were a bit awkward with each other, mainly Taehyung. His confusion and constant hesitance spurred a lot of awkward silence between them that none of them knew how to get rid of it. They were 'friends' without knowing anything about each other, so perhaps that's why. Plus, Tae was still suffering from the side effects of her previous luring.

"Do you want to go buy clothes for you?" Taehyung first started when he snapped out of his thoughts and found himself staring at her clothes from the corner of his eyes. As adorable as Wheein looked in his oversized clothings, they weren't suitable to wear when you go outside.

Wheein nodded at him and added, "I was just thinking about that! Do you know any stores that sell nice clothes?" Taehyung gave her a small smile with a nod, thinking of a perfect place to shop.

Myeongdong was known to having a lot of nice clothes especially for girls. The place had all kinds of shops there and it would be the most crowded at night. Seoul was alive and filled the most during the night, as most students finish around ten and people would return from their work at that time too. Of course It would be expensive at times, but the two were basically rich at that point. They could even buy a new house if they sold more of the Aquamarines Wheein had.

And that was where they headed to. The smell of fish-cakes stuffed with red-bean paste filled their noses the second they reached there. It wasn't that crowded, so the duo were able to walk more freely. The space between them was small; their shoulders weren't touching. Wheein's shoulders didn't even reach his due to her small height, which was a bit amusing to him.

There were all kinds of colors and things. From music albums to shoes, the two knew that they would spend all of their money at that exact second if they didn't hold themselves. Taehyung was already craving the fishcake they smelled earlier. He could tell that Wheein was hungry from her longing stares on enormous amount of street food that was there. However, he knew that it was better if she bought new clothes first and changed into them.

It wasn't that hard picking an outfit, as Wheein noticed that Taehyung had a great sense of style. She wasn't picky either. Since it was Winter, Wheein bought the thickest clothes she could find. Once she changed into them in a bathroom nearby, she felt way warmer than before. It was comfortable too, except for the tight black jeans she was wearing. However, it made her feel a bit more confident as she looked like a complete hobo earlier.

"Is it nice?" Wheein asked Taehyung and did random poses to show her outfit properly. Taehyung's low chuckle made Wheein laugh for the first time, and oh God, he heard the Christmas bells ring for the first time in forever. It was so contagious and funny that it made him smile even wider.

"Yeah, it looks great on you." he gave her two thumbs up with a signature smile of his. His eyes crinkled, and Wheein thought that he looked just so cute when he smiled. It felt weird when she thought of him like that, as she felt as if she was a middle-schooler who liked someone. "C'mon. Let's go before it gets more crowded than before."

Wheein ran her fingers through her black hair and nodded, making sure to take all of her stuff before they started walking. The first thing the two did was buy a shit ton of food, literally. Wheein being bored and done with seafood, and Taehyung not eating for days led to them eating quite a lot. It was fun stuffing your mouth with all kinds of food that you never had in a long time.

Wheein was absolutely content with how different Taehyung seemed. He looked so dull and depressed before, and now, she couldn't help but notice how his eyes would slightly light up whenever they talked about something or when he tried new food. She never felt so satisfied and proud of a thing she have done until now. She was glad that she helped him in a way. Wheein didn't know she was going to return the favor of him helping her, so she thought that this was one of the many possible ways. Of course, she had bigger things in mind. After all, they were searching for a lost city.

Just the thought of being on a hunt to find something that was gone for centuries did make Wheein forget about everything and get worried. She already got a lead, but she didn't know how to continue it. Maybe Taehyung was smart enough to help; she could tell that he was extremely smart despite being way younger than him. Nonetheless, having Taehyung as a partner in such journey was a huge step for Wheein.

However, with the intelligence Taehyung possessed and the decades of experience and power Wheein had, there was a chance—hope—that they would find the city. And with so, Wheein wasn't as bothered as she used to be. Instead, she let go all of her worries and continued to sip from her warm, hot chocolate.

Taehyung was sitting in front of her, his free hand was petting and scratching a cat's ear. They ended up at a cat café after all of the shopping they've done. The soft humming and chatter from other people along with the aroma of coffee beans did help Wheein feel more cozy and comfortable in general. The cats meowing and rubbing against her legs made Wheein somewhat attached to the place. She was a foreigner to South Korea despite her Korean looks. She didn't speak the language properly and did a whole lot of mistakes while talking. That was something that Taehyung found abnormally cute.

It was weird how attached he grew to her, and he was glad that they started off on good terms. Otherwise, he wouldn't be smiling and talking with her. Wheein didn't seem like those mermaids he always heard about. If anyone saw the couple, they would've thought that the two perfectly normal people. Yet, little did they know how they were anything but normal.

Taehyung was a suicidal and financially unstable young adult. His thoughts always consisted of pessimism and constant battle with his inner self. The eye bags under his eyes and the lankiness of his body definitely cried out for immediate care and attention. How can a soul-dead person take care of himself when he lost all hope long ago?

Wheein was a mermaid, a woman of the sea. A mythical creature in other words. She had a whole myriad of blues in her eyes that definitely screamed out that she wasn't normal. Wheein could tell the lingering stares at her eyes and that definitely made her more nervous than ever. You never see a blue-eyed Asian. Even if they wore contacts it would be noticeable.