Two hits: I hit you, you hit the ground

Chan’s never been in the back of an ambulance.

When Minho sliced his finger and needed stitches Chan was able to drive him to the hospital himself. When Jeongin fell and dislocated his shoulder Chan popped it back into place. While of course, Chan cries every time his mates get hurt. Still, the difference between all their bruises and sniffles and his first ambulance ride today is that he got to listen to his packmates groan about how much he’s smothering them, softly verbalize about how they are okay and he doesn’t need to worry. You’re silent. Even your scent has softened; he knows it’s a protective instinct, thanks to your omega, but god, does he hate it. Everything is too quiet.

It’s a stark contrast to the hospital. It’s all so loud. Too many questions for Chan’s liking.

“You’re her mate?” Is it not obvious? He’s inseparable from you, he’s bawling his eyes out, would a stranger act like this?

“Yes. Pack alpha. We have a pack bond, seven other mates.” He needs to call them.

“How far along is she?”

“Shouldn’t that be in her virtual chart?” Of course, he’s feeling agitated, but they just want to help. He knows he has to keep it together, these nurses are betas and omegas, they probably experience so many agitated alphas who scream and abuse them when they’re just trying to do their job, and he’s not like that. A deep sigh leaves his lips. “I’m sorry, she’s twenty-eight weeks.” The nurse nods respectfully, she understands, or at least Chan hopes she does.

“Don’t worry, we have her chart and we have someone in contact with Dr. Kim as well. Your omega is in good hands Mr. Bahng. Now, was it an omega or an alpha that attacked her?” The question causes the alpha to tense up, because he actually doesn’t know for sure. He has no idea who this person was who attacked you or why they did it.

“They smelled vaguely of omega, lavender scent but powerful. I’m sorry a lot of it’s blurry.” He frowns wishing once again he could be of more help.

“It’s okay, just want to make sure we have that information so we know what we can give her and how to proceed.” The nurse smiles softly before joining the other nurses working on your case at the moment sharing the details she now knows with them. Of course, as soon as Chan reaches for his phone a police officer enters your hospital room. Chan isn’t sure he’s ever stood up so fast in his life, words spilling out of his mouth faster than he can even think.

“Look, sir, I had no choice but to tackle that woman. She was going to kill my omega, I had to stop her! Please don’t take me away from her and my pup!” Fresh tears are streaming down his face and his hands begin to shake. He hadn’t even thought about the consequences but now he’s looking them right in the eye. The pack isn’t even here. He hasn’t called them. If they take him away, you’d have no one. He can’t leave you alone, you hate being alone. The officer reaches out to hold Chan’s shoulder but in his panicked state, the alpha assumes he’s about to be arrested so he flinches.

“Relax Mr. Bahng. Nobody is taking you away from anyone, I was going to ask if you wanted to talk in a private room but I assume you’d feel more comfortable here, yes?” Chan’s eyes widen as he nods vigorously.

“Alright, well we spoke with the staff and reviewed the security footage. Mrs. Park has been put under arrest following her discharge from the hospital. You’re not in any trouble, but we’d like you to give a statement.”

“Mrs. Park? Is that the woman who attacked Y/N? Who is that? Why would she hurt her?” A million thoughts run through his head.

“Sir, Mrs. Park is Y/N’s biological mother.” Suddenly, the hospital room feels so small, suffocated by the now-saltier ocean scent, like a beach on its stormiest day.

“I need to call my pack.” He blurts out, he can’t think right now, only pack.

“Alright, we can pick this up after you’ve settled.” The officer nods briefly before exiting the room. Chan knows his pack, they are understanding, they are kinder to him than he’ll ever think he deserves, but they love you. How could he as pack alpha tell his pack that you got hurt on his watch?

Just as Chan assumes, the pack is in shambles.

Hyunjin wasn’t even home when he felt a bone-shattering pain spread through his chest.

He’s at the dance studio helping Minho clean up after a class when his knees suddenly feel like jello. It takes him a moment to focus on the bond, his breath caught in his throat. The second he realizes it’s you his head spins as his knees give up on him. He falls to the floor with a groan of Minho’s name. The alpha comes running from the front office of the dance studio immediately pulling the beta into his arms.

“I know, I know. Come on get up, we gotta get back to the house!” If Hyunjin wasn’t so panicked he’d notice the tears welling up in the alpha’s eyes.

Minho is the king of safety in the pack, he mother hens like no other, so he hopes Hyunjin doesn’t remember how fast he’s driving today. Minho speeds down the streets towards their home as Hyunjin fumbles with his phone in the passenger seat.

“Neither of them is picking up! What happened? They went to the fucking mall what could have happened?”

“Jinnie please. Please just breathe.” The alpha pleads, seeing his mate so upset is only making it harder to focus.

“How can I breathe? What if Y/N-“ Minho cuts him off refusing to allow that thought to finish.

“Don’t. Don’t you dare say that. We can still feel both of them

in the bond, I’m sure all three of them are okay. Chan wouldn’t let anything happen to them.” Hyunjin slumps back into the passenger seat returning his attention to your contact in his phone.

The scene at the house is even more devastating. Hyunjin jumps out of the car as soon as Minho parks, rushing inside only to find both omegas sitting on the kitchen floor inconsolable no matter how hard Changbin had been trying. Hyunjin and Minho join them all on the floor, all of them now trying to get in contact with their mates.

Their heads snap towards the door in unison, the whole house suddenly smelling of mud fresh after a massive rainstorm. The way Jeongin slams the door behind him and Seungmin causes everyone to flinch, but he’s too lost in his emotions to notice. Without a word, the alpha reaches the pack in the kitchen scooping Felix up into his arms. Nobody protests, knowing this is the best reaction the youngest alpha could have right now, he’s self-soothing, using the omega’s pheromones as a sedative to take even a fraction of the edge off. The kitchen is a mix of sour scents and worried tapping on cellphones, but nobody says a word until Changbin finally peeks up from his phone.

“Their locations updated! But, they’re at the hospital?” The alpha’s words are phrased more like a question. A deep sense of dread covers the pack like a blanket. A million questions running through their heads. Yet none of them misses the way Jeongin’s eyes darken.

“Hospital? Let’s go then! What are we waiting for?” The younger alpha barks, as if it’s an order. But it’s not an order his pack is all that willing to follow at the moment. They need to keep a level head, they can’t just rush into a hospital with no information and cause a scene, they’d all get kicked out and then they’d really have to wait to see their mates. Trusting Chan has never failed them, so they are willing to wait.

“I think it’s best we wait for one of them to contact us first.” Seungmin always had to be the voice of reason, even in times like this. Jeongin looks around at his mates, his eyes begging and pleading for one of them to disagree, someone to be ready to run with him to that hospital and make sure their mates are okay but they all just look at him with this solemn look, which makes Jeongin sick. The alpha places Felix back in his original spot with Jisung before getting up to meet them all at eye level.

“Wait? You want to fucking wait around while our Pack Alpha and our Luna are clearly suffering? What kind of mate are you?” A loud growl rips from Jeongin’s chest as he gets closer to the beta now, his anger focusing itself on him for even suggesting such an idea. Two things are true, Seungmin has thick skin and he loves his mates more than anything on this planet. So for now he’ll ignore the fresh tears that run down his flushed cheeks, instead, he tries his best to push out his calming beta pheromones, desperate to calm the alpha. It always worked, even long before Jeongin had presented as an alpha. Seungmin's scent always soothed him. So why wasn’t it working now? The beta remembers him and Jeongin joining this pack, a stubborn beta and his unpresented pup. What happened to his pup?

“Yang Jeongin, you don’t speak to our mates like that!” Minho scowls. It’s always been an understanding that if for any reason Chan isn’t around Minho is in charge. Jeongin barely flinches at the older alpha’s words but flinches none the less, he’s yelling at his Minnie hyung, he’s scaring his pack. But this pain is unbearable, he can’t stand doing nothing about it. The younger alpha tries to find his voice but the sound of a phone ringing rattles in his brain.

“It’s Chan,” Jisung says, looking down at his cellphone as if it were a bomb. The bomb isn’t the phone though, the bomb manifests in the form of a twenty-five-year-old alpha still dealing with the inner turmoil of his late presentation.

“Jisung what are you doing answer the fucking phone!” Jeongin growls before he's swiftly pushed to the ground by the back of his neck by Minho. He loves Jeongin just as much as he loves all his mates, but he doesn’t care who you are, if you disrespect his omegas he’ll tear you apart with his own teeth. Luckily for Jeongin Minho does love him, so a rough scruffing will suffice.

“Don’t you dare speak to our omega like that,” Minho growls louder than the younger alpha making sure he and his wolf get the point before he lays Jeongin’s now more relaxed form onto the ground.

With that settled Jisung picks up the phone.

“Chan, please tell me you have answers.” Jisung’s voice trembles through the phone and Chan thinks he might just die right there.

“I’m so sorry I kept you all waiting and worried. Am I on speaker baby?” It’s a stupid question, of course, he is. His pack wouldn't be able to wait any longer even if just long enough for Jisung to retain and relay the information. They’ve waited long enough.

“Of course! What happened? Are they okay?” Chan takes a deep breath before he has to drop the ball on his pack.

“Y/N… she was attacked at the antique shop.” The alpha can hear a chorus of gasps over the phone, he wants nothing more than to be there to comfort his mates.

“What do you mean? By who? Is she okay?” He can feel the panic rising from Jisung’s side of the bond, it only makes him feel sicker.

“Breathe baby. Both Y/N and the pup are okay. Y/N hasn’t woken up yet but the doctors are still looking her over. As of right now they don’t think anything major was damaged and she’ll just need stitches.”

The sound of seven lungs deflating fills the room. The burden sitting over them was heavy but knowing you’re alive and possibly on the road to recovery, now it resembles more of a boulder than the entire earth’s weight.

“You said she hasn’t woken up, do they know when she will? Should we head over there?” It’s phrased as a question but it’s more of a warning, telling Chan they will come see their omega, they just need to know how soon.

“They won’t be able to say for sure without getting all the test results back but they think her body might just be in shock, she’ll wake up, she’s strong. If you guys are going to come, could you pack a bag for her? A change of clothes, some toiletries, a comfort item, nothing crazy. Just want to make sure she’s got everything for when she’s ready to go home or in the worst-case scenario she has to stay a bit after waking up.” Jisung can hear the solemn smile that rests on his pack alpha’s lips

“Yeah, of course! We’ll tell you when we’re on our way, just call if you need anything okay? I love you Channie Hyung.” Chan can feel the tears rising once again, but he pushes them

down. He has to be strong for his pack.

“I love you too Hannie.”

A deep silence falls over the kitchen only broken by the sound of the youngest alpha getting up, still a little groggy on his feet from the scruffing. He doesn’t say a word, simply makes his way upstairs. Minho opens his mouth to scold him, to tell him they aren’t done here but a tender hand rests on his chest stopping the words from spilling.

“Let him be for now. I’ll talk to him.” Hyunjin's voice is smooth, calming, everything a beta needs to be in a time like this. Nobody objects to the beta’s course of action, allowing him to follow their youngest alpha upstairs.

Your room usually smells so heavily, like a sweet cherry milk Hyunjin could drink forever. Right now your smell still lingers of course but the scent of a nasty rainstorm fills the space, it’s so strong that Hyunjin flinches once it hits his nose.

“Not now Hyung, I’ll apologize to Jisung and Seungmin later. I need to get a bag ready for Y/N, I just can’t find that shirt she likes.” Jeongin doesn’t look at Hyunjin when he talks, his words feel distant, cold, not his Jeongin.

“Innie, relax for a second.” The beta tries to break through to him but the alpha is far more focused on digging through the drawers of your dresser, determined to find that t-shirt you told him you love so much.

“I gotta find this shirt, she’ll want to be comfy when she’s able to go home. It’s her favorite shirt hyung, I got it for her! She told me the seams don’t irritate the skin on her stomach like other shirts do. I can’t find this shirt, I can’t fucking do anything can I? I couldn’t even keep her safe!”

Jeongin is kind. Jeongin is protective. Jeongin is the pack’s baby. Sometimes it feels like Jeongin has more love than he could ever fit in his body, he’s the perfect alpha made of smiles, muscles, and love. The entire pack has seen Jeongin cry over everything from spilling soju all over Chan’s favorite jacket to the night he broke down after you showed up. Hyunjin had seen him cry countless times, he’s a sensitive soul as much as he tries to hide behind his alpha. The way he crumbles in front of Hyunjin right now is different. It’s pitiful. It makes Hyunjin feel sick. The beta takes careful steps towards his younger mate who’s now almost hunched over on himself in agony, a devastating mess of tears and loud heavy sobs.

“Yeni… It’s okay. There’s nothing you could have done.”

“I should have been there! I could have stopped the attack! I could have saved her!” Jeongin’s voice shatters with every word, his full body trembles wrack his body. Hyunjin’s strides are careful before he pulls the broken alpha into his arms.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” The beta coos as he brings the two of them down to sit on the floor. He sways back and forth with the alpha in his arms, his precious baby.

“Hyung, I’m a horrible alpha, I hurt Seungmin and Jisung, I couldn’t save Y/N! What can I do?” Hyunjin’s eyes widened at his younger mate’s words.

“That’s not true Innie and you know it. Everyone adores you, yes you do need to apologize to everyone downstairs but they’re still our understanding mates, they know how strong your instincts are, they will forgive you”

“I didn’t want to yell at them, I just feel so much pain and anger and nothing is within my control! I feel like I’m going feral. I lost even more control and yelled at my mates, I made Seungmin cry, he probably hates me now. It’s not fair, Hyung. They didn’t deserve that, fuck she doesn’t deserve this! We promised her safety and we failed her!” The youngest alpha sobs and whimpers in Hyunjin’s arms. The older wolf isn’t sure what to say, and at this point, he isn’t sure if anything he could say would even help.

The two sit together on your bedroom floor for a while, the only sound moving through the tension-filled air is the sound of Jeongin’s whimpers and sniffles. Call him a hypocrite but Hyunjin wishes he could just fix everything. He hates seeing his mates like this. If anyone has failed the pack he’s sure it’s him.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Jeongin’s whimpers can barely be heard through the muffle of Hyunjin’s chest but he hears him loud and clear. He wishes he had the answer, the kind of optimism that glues everything back together again, but Hyunjin has never been one to lie to his mates especially not when it comes to serious situations like this.

“Our omega is a fighter. I can only hope she’d fight just as hard to stay with us.”

༄｡° Chapter One

Terror. That was the only thing you could feel. It was terror that was running through your veins, twisting in your stomach, and filling up your lungs. You didn’t know which way was up anymore, and the currents were pulling you in every direction. Your senses were completely disoriented. The more you panicked, the more oxygen slipped out through your lips, water taking its place.

From the shoreline, no one would suspect a thing. Drowning really is a silent way to go. No splashing, no screaming. The only indication you were struggling were the few bubbles that made it to the surface, and the abandoned beach towel back on the sand. But that didn’t mean you had gone completely unnoticed.

As you made one final attempt to push toward what appeared to be the surface, you felt your body weaken. Darkness clouded into your vision, and you sank back down. The fear that had been driving you to fight was pushed into the back of your mind. As your eyes closed, the only thing you could hear was a beautiful melody in the distance. Perhaps a tragic whale song, you thought. Perhaps...

You awake slowly to the slightly muffled sound of conversation. Most of the words are too faint to make out, but you catch a few: “...from the land...couldn’t breathe...human…” and suddenly, much louder, “They’re awake!” As you slowly sit yourself up, you are greeted by a beautiful face in front of you. He has slightly feminine features, with a stronger nose, and nearly white hair that stops just past his chin. As your eyes travel down, you find his slender fingers are gently brushing at your lower legs. Before you have the chance to kick him away, your vision locks onto something curious. Where his legs should be, sits a tail, much like a fish, or a dolphin. Its scales are a pearlescent mixture of pink, blue, and white, and they catch the soft light coming from… somewhere. Now that you think about it, where exactly are you? As you start coming to your senses, you realize not only are you in the ocean, breathing water, sitting in front of what appears to be a fish-person, but you are alive! Something you couldn't say was a possibility just moments before. Or was it hours ago? Days? How long have you been here at this point?

“Hello?” Your racing thoughts are interrupted by a soft voice. The word that came out of the beautiful creature’s mouth wasn’t actually hello, but whatever this strange language was, you were miraculously able to understand it.

“...what’s going on?” You ask, and your hands flew to your mouth, a small yelp escaping at the same time. You are speaking this new language too! How is this possible? You once again begin to spiral in your thoughts.

“Shh…” he hushed you, placing a hand on yours, and lightly tugging it away from your mouth. “There is a lot to explain, we know that, but for now, are you hurt?”

“We? Are there more of—”

“Please, questions later, are you hurt?” he insists. You decide it feels much easier to just slow down and respond to him for the moment.

“I… I’m not sure. My head feels like it’s splitting in half but I don't feel any wounds.”

From behind you, someone mutters, “Probably from the pressure. We’re much deeper than where the humans usually swim…”

You whip your head around in an attempt to find the owner of the new voice, but instead you are met with seven unfamiliar faces, each more ethereal than the last. One of the creatures swims out toward you, smiling as he nears. He is a bit shorter than the first one, with dark hair and a sharper face. His tail, you notice, is much different. Dark blues and teals streak down his scales, parts of it blending into the ocean around you.

“We understand this is frightening, but this is just as new to us as I’m sure it is to you, so please be patient…” he says as he begins doing a once-over on you, focus shifting from your face, to your arms, and— much like the previous check-up you’d endured— landing on your legs. A hint of fascination settles over his face, as if you are the strange one here. But as you look around a bit more, fully taking in the underwater setting you’ve found yourself in, you can only assume that you are the odd one out. In a sea of fish (and fish-people), the human would be the outlier.

“They seem to be okay,” the white-haired one says to the other. “Yes, I agree.” Still in some form of shock, you decide to let them continue their ministrations and conversation without intruding. That is, until the shorter creature’s face takes up more of your view.

“My name is Hongjoong. Our stand-in nurse here,” he nods his head to his left, “is Seonghwa. Do you have a name?” Hongjoong, Seonghwa… pretty names for pretty people— er, fish-people you think. He leans his head a bit closer, prying for an answer from you.

“Yes,” you snicker a little, finding it silly, the concept of these strange creatures asking you if you have a name. Nonetheless, you give it. Why hold back now? The situation is already unbelievable. If you want answers, this is the only option. Besides, they seem nice, and it doesn’t hurt that they’re all so gorgeous.

“Ah, what a lovely name…” the nurse-like one, Seonghwa, whispers. He mumbles it to himself a few times, as if turning it over in his head. They both smile at you, then Hongjoong shifts his attention over your shoulder,

“Well?” he asks, as if urging on a conversation.

“Ah Right! Our turn!” You hear, and turn your head to the others. There is some movement amongst the other creatures. Some pushing, some giggling. One of them is shoved forward but spins back around, grabbing the hand of another, before dragging himself, and his victim, over to you. The other four swim up behind them as well, waiting their turn to introduce themselves.

“I’m Wooyoung,” the rowdy one says with a playful smile, as he not-so-discreetly elbows the larger fish-man (perhaps merman is the correct term, you decide), cheshire grin never faltering.

“And I’m San!” Squeaks out the larger one, rubbing a hand over his rib cage that just took a hit. The two mermen float there for a moment, allowing you to take in their appearances. Wooyoung is smaller, similar in size to Hongjoong, but has a larger nose, and quite longer hair. It’s black, falling just above his shoulders, and it looks so smooth. He has a nearly solid black tail, some areas appearing a little more grey where it thins. On it, he wears many silver chains that cascade down the length. Glancing back up, you note the smirk on his face at your staring. Embarrassment takes over and you move on to San, but not before smiling at Wooyoung.

San, to put it gently, is big. He looks like he lifts weights in his spare time, or all the time. This begs the question— do they have weights down here? Maybe they use rocks? Hmm… a conversation for a later time, you think. In contrast to San’s body, however, his face is very kind. Soft even, with dimples that appear when he smiles. His hair is short and dark, barely covering his forehead. It suits him. His tail is white at the top, and as your eyes move down, it turns to a light lavender, and ends in a dark indigo.

“It’s nice to meet you,” you say softly, wincing a little at your own voice. With all these new faces, a wave of nerves have fallen over you.

As the two move to the side to allow someone else to come forward, you are suddenly met with a sharp pain in your skull. Even sitting down, you find yourself doubling over, holding your head in your hands.

“What happened? Are you okay (y/n)?” Seonghwa says, a little frantically, swimming closer to you. He leans his head down in front of you to try and catch your eyes. You are whimpering from the pain, and now the whole group has inched in a little tighter, worry etched into each of their faces. Hongjoong begins to reach a hand out, but stops short when you abruptly stand up, wobbly but upright, and stumble to an area that is cast in shade.

“I’m okay, sorry, I didn't mean to worry you…” You mumble out just loud enough for the boys to hear, “That headache just keeps coming back.” Now that you’ve gotten out of the bright light, it’s turned to a dull pounding.

Attention turns to Seonghwa, who swims over to you. He reaches into the small satchel that hangs loosely around his waist, pulling out a dainty silver circlet. It has dark blue crystals, and small pearls embedded in the metal. It’s very pretty, and appears to be handmade. As he comes closer and you get a better look at it, you notice a little charm hanging off the back, with the letter ‘H’ awkwardly carved in.

“Jongho, come here, I need your help with this.” Seonghwa says to one of the boys that has yet to introduce himself. He has been pretty quiet compared to the others, but when his gaze settles over you, you can’t help but feel safe in his presence. His chocolate eyes and round face offer a sense of comfort in the unfamiliar setting.

Wordlessly, Jongho sits down next to you, with Seonghwa on your left. Before you can ask any questions, or even protest, Seonghwa has placed the circlet on your head, and a beautiful tune sounds around you. There aren’t any words, but the boys’ harmony feels so familiar. In an instant, your headache has melted away, a warmth taking its place, as if you were enveloped in the sunshine.

When the song ends, so too does the warmth, but your headache doesn’t return. The circlet is removed, but Seonghwa holds onto it still.

“What was that?” you ask, almost incredulous, although grateful for the pain relief. There is still an air of distrust here, despite the hospitality the group has shown.

“The jewelry? Or the song?” Jongho asks, speaking voice softer than you expected.

“Both, but that song felt so familiar…”

“Well I made the circlet,” Hongjoong speaks up, swimming over to the three of you. “This is my initial. I make jewelry with things I find near the shore, and those crystals,” he points to the dark blue stones in the metal, “hold healing magic.” He explains, nodding at Seonghwa and Jongho.

“Our voices act as a strengthener, almost. The song you heard is a song of healing. It works with the magic in the crystals to heal ailments” Jongho finishes.

“Wait, sorry, magic? That's real?” You are very skeptical now. An incredulous laugh even slips out, but you quickly stop yourself upon seeing their faces. They aren’t kidding.

“Humans don’t have magic?” A new voice says, rather loudly in fact.

Your attention turns to the speaker, who is approaching rapidly, and you see the other two you have also yet to meet following closely behind.

“How do you do anything without magic?” He adds to his previous question, his face filled with genuine curiosity, and a bit of shock. Beyond the expression though, his appearance is stronger than the others. His eyes are narrow, and his lips are full. His hair falls in his face, despite its fairly short length. It’s also hard to ignore just how tall he is. Is everyone down here gorgeous, you wonder…

“Uh.. no, humans don’t have magic,” you giggle, a bit of disbelief lacing your words, “we didn’t even think it was real…” you trail off, catching the tall one’s eyes again. He’s listening so intently, every one of them is, and even though the idea of magic has never once occurred to you as a true possibility, suddenly you feel embarrassed for questioning the creatures with fish tails about the existence of magic.

“Hm… you’re flushed… did I say something wrong?” he says. Woah, his voice is deeper now. He moves down closer to you. You notice his eyes slightly flicker down and it finally occurs to you that you’re only wearing a bathing suit. You shift, a bit self-conscious, but try to shake that thought away.

“No! You didn't say anything wrong! I just… this is a lot to take in.” You let out a nervous laugh, noting the space— or a lack thereof— between yourself and the handsome merman called…

“Mingi, by the way. I hadn’t said so yet.” He smiles now, and whatever nerves that had come up wash away at the sight of such a friendly expression. The small trance you are held in is broken by a light flick to the side of Mingi’s head, followed by a:

“Stop flirting with our guest.”

“Owwww!!”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, I barely touched you,” says the perpetrator, waving a hand dismissively. He's chuckling as Mingi swims over to the boy who seems to be the eldest.

“Seonghwaaaaa,” Mingi whines out, “Use the circlet on me, Yunho broke my skull.”

Seonghwa looks at Mingi’s head, seeming to be closely inspecting, before giving it a small flick as well.

“Ow!”

“You’re perfectly fine,” He says playfully as Mingi rubs his head theatrically. You can’t help but laugh at their antics.

“Your laugh is beautiful,” the boy referred to as Yunho says politely. “I’m Yunho.” Turning your attention to him, you realize that just like Mingi, Yunho is also quite tall. Despite everyone being in the water, height is still evident. Yunho may be tall, but he is not at all intimidating. He radiates warmth just through his kind features. He has a soft jawline, and a natural blush that spreads from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

“Thank you, Yunho,” you say, the corners of your lips tugging up at the compliment.

“Oh now who’s flirting with the guest?” Mingi chimes in from a few feet away. At this, Yunho gives you a quick wink, before darting over to Mingi, fingers positioned to flick him again.

“AH!” Mingi yelps, dodging him just in time. A few of the other boys join in, chasing after each other and carrying on about, “seducing our guest.” I guess even fish-boys are still boys, you think.

“I’m Yeosang.” A deep voice cuts through your thoughts. Amidst the chaos you hadn't noticed the last of the mermen settling in front of you. With your attention shifted to him now, it’s hard to believe you didn’t notice him in the first place. He was stunning, to put it bluntly. His face angular, and arms buff, but somehow holding a femininity to him. His eyes sparkled, and his reddish-brown hair framed them beautifully. He looked like he’d stepped out of a painting.

“I’m (Y/n)! It’s nice to meet you,” you finally get out. Yeosang smiles, he seems endeared by your nervousness, eyes meeting a little longer before Hongjoong cuts in.

“Hey guys, it’s getting kind of late, and (y/n) needs the rest. All of us do actually, it’s been a long day. We need to get some sleep.” The others agree, with quiet ‘okay’s and nods. Yeosang helps you stand up, and San rushes over to aid as well.

“Oh no I can walk— or, swim... Thank you though!” You say, gently pulling out of the boys’ grasps.

“Yeah, I’m sure you can, but let us help anyway… just in case,” San says, giving a cheeky smile as he slides his hand back under your arm. Clearly very happy to assist, Yeosang does the same on your left side. Or you can help. Not complaining, you think. It’s hard to say no to them when they’re so eager.

The swim to the boys’ home was beautiful. With San and Yeosang practically doing all the work for you, you were able to sightsee on the journey. You passed small coral reefs that were littered with colorful fish, a dark trench that seemed bottomless, and finally ended up in a large cave, lit with bioluminescent algae that grew along the walls. The cave split off into multiple caverns, serving as rooms in this underwater shelter. The soft teal glow that blanketed each surface added a soothing ambience to the place.

“I’m not sure what your house is like on the land, but I hope this can be comfortable until you can get home,” Hongjoong says, gesturing around the cave.

“It’s beautiful. Nothing like I'd seen before…” Your voice slowly trailing off as you spin around to get a full view of the place. It was magical. That seemed to be a running theme down here.

Your exploration came to a halt when your eyes landed on Seonghwa, who was staring at you with an amused smile. Most of the boys had split off to their respective rooms, aside from Hongjoong and Seonghwa. The former was busying himself with gathering sheets to create a bed of sorts. The latter, however, seemed quite content observing your curiosity.

“Are you staring at me?” You ask, cheeks taking on a slight rosy hue.

“Perhaps a little. It’s cute, the excitement over something we see every day. I can't help but watch.” As he speaks, he’s slowly swimming closer.

“I couldn't imagine waking up to this every morning, it’s heavenly,” You practically sigh out, still shifting your focus back to the luminous algae. Seonghwa smiles again, then sends a quick glance to Hongjoong, who's just finished placing the blankets down.

“Looks comfortable, what do you think, (Y/n)?” He says, pointing at the collection of covers and pillows on the sandy floor. It really did look soft.

“Thank you so much, truly. You’re all so generous,” You say, your eyes flicking between the two of them.

“Of course, if there’s anything else you need, feel free to wake one of us and ask,” Hongjoong says, before swimming into his own quarters, leaving you with just Seonghwa.

“I’m sure this is strange for you. I hope we can at least provide some comfort,” He says, sitting down on the blankets, and patting the spot next to him. You sit, but keep a bit of distance. You’re still very aware of your lack of clothing.

“Yes, I have so many questions. I keep thinking this is a dream and I’ll wake up at any moment, but I’m still here. I appreciate how much kindness you’ve shown, I couldn’t ask for a better rescuer,” You meet his eyes and he looks nervous, but he's still smiling.

“We can go over all of your questions in the morning, I promise, but for now you need sleep. Like Hongjoong said, if you need anything, don’t hesitate, please. My room is just through there,” He points at the first opening on the left of the cave. It has a white curtain hung with rocks to weigh it down. Huh, a door. Who would’ve thought.

“I won’t, thank you again,” You say, turning back to him one last time. Before he stands, he takes your hand in his, and brings it to his lips, leaving a soft kiss on the back of it. And then he’s gone, swimming off to his room and closing the curtain.

You’re left sitting in your makeshift bed, dumbfounded and blushing. You can’t help but run your fingers over the place he kissed you as you lay back in the covers. Maybe it’s just how they show hospitality, you think.

As you get comfortable, you draw your attention to the fabric you’re laying in. It appears to be made out of some sort of plant. Long green strings of plant fiber woven together in tight patterns. You wrap them around yourself to keep them from floating away, and it doesn’t take long before you drift off to sleep. The exhaustion of the day taking hold of you.

You dream of your life outside of the water. Your family and friends, the wind, the sunshine, everything that made you human. There is a sense of loss within your dream, as if these things you've held so dear are slipping through your grasp. As if you are losing yourself. Losing your humanity. That feeling of dread doesn’t go away for the rest of the night, but at least you’re able to sleep.

You tugged at the soft restraints keeping your arms in place on the bed. Yuta was allowing you to keep your legs free this time, so he’d made sure your upper body was nice and secure. You tried to relax in spite of the anticipation.

Yuta was kneeling between your legs, already nude and caressing your thigh. “Ready for this, princess?”

You nodded in response. 

The corner of his mouth perked upward. “Words, princess. You know better.”

“Yes, I’m ready,” you responded obediently. 

Yuta leaned forward and crawled up your body, arms on either side of you. He pressed his open lips to yours and placed a hand on your throat. “Good. Don’t forget again.” He quickly tightened his grip before sitting back up. 

For a moment, Yuta just sat back and admired you. You tried to be patient, but you couldn’t help squirming under the intensity of his eyes. 

“Yuta, please…”

“Please what?” The smirk reappeared.

“Please touch me already,” you begged.

Yuta let out a soft chuckle. “Careful what you ask for, princess.” 

He took a short knife from the dresser. You could see the lamp light reflecting off of the blade, and after a moment you realized you had been holding your breath. 

Yuta knew you well enough to understand that your audible exhale was from excitement. He leaned up to give you another hungry kiss. As he did so, he drew the blunt side of the knife blade across your clavicle and shoulder.

You shivered at the touch of cold metal on your skin. Yuta licked across your bottom lip before he bit onto it, causing you to gasp into his mouth. 

He pulled his head back from yours. “Don’t get weak on me now, princess. I haven’t even gotten started on you.” 

Yuta sat back between your legs again, dragging the knife down your torso as he moved. It almost tickled, but you didn’t want to pull away from the sensation. He turned the knife so that the sharp side of the blade was now against your skin, then pulled it gently across your hip. 

You tried hard to keep your breaths even, but Yuta noticed your effort and laughed. “My pretty girl likes this, doesn’t she?”

You verbally agreed as he repeated his movements. On the third pass, he pressed the blade into you, drawing a few small pinpricks of blood as he did so.

This time it was Yuta who had to keep his breathing under control. He traced another small line beneath the first, a little more blood rising to the surface. 

You hadn’t felt much pain thanks to the knife’s sharpness, but as Yuta ran his fingers across the cuts, the slight irritation made you tremble under his touch. 

He held his hand up for you to see the blood across his fingertips. “Look how pretty you are on me.” He then traced his red fingertips across his lips, like the remnants of some kind of fucked-up lip gloss. You moaned at the sight. Holding the knife away from you, he kissed you right in the center of your belly, leaving a noticeable smudge.

Yuta continued to kiss all around your lower body, taking his time around the cuts he had made. The blood was already drying on the shallow wounds, but you still felt a jolt of pain as he added pressure to that sore area.

“Keep those legs open for me, princess. I need to taste more of you,” Yuta said, pushing your thighs apart. He spread your lips with one hand before slapping you directly on the clit. The new pain sent a shockwave of pleasure through you as you yelped. With another dark chuckle he began to aggressively lick at your clit.

Moans were spilling from your lips as Yuta kept his tongue firm against you. He dipped lower to taste the wetness that was dripping from your core, groaning at the sign of your arousal. You felt him press a finger into you, but before you could enjoy it properly you were empty again. 

“Yuta…” you began, your desperation evident in that single word.

“Aw, princess. Do you really need me in you that badly?”

“I really do.”

“I know.” He smacked your clit again, smiling at your resulting shout. 

You were ready to complain some more, but the pressure at your entrance told you he was going to give in and finally fuck you with his fingers.

But it wasn’t his fingers that entered you. You felt something rough, not nearly as responsive as his long fingers. As Yuta began to shallowly fuck you with the object, you realized it was the handle of the knife. 

You couldn’t help yourself - you clenched harder around the metal. You wished you could see Yuta’s face as you tried to ride the knife handle, but of course your restraints kept you from fully lifting your head up to see him. 

The experiment with the handle didn’t last long. Between the dried blood on your thighs and the knife working in and out of your soaked hole, Yuta realized he didn’t want to be patient. He gave himself a few slow strokes while putting the knife aside, then pushed into you with one quick thrust.

You couldn’t describe the sound you made at the feeling of finally being full of Yuta. He didn’t ease into the moment at all, just started fucking into you at a steady pace. You wrapped your legs around his torso, trying to pull him ever deeper.

After a few minutes of these frenetic movements, Yuta stopped, keeping himself buried in your pussy, and picked the knife up again. “Just a little more for me, princess.” He made some more cuts above your breasts, his cock twitching inside you as he saw the blood welling up. The sharp pain of the blade felt like a drug every time, making you constantly aware of Yuta’s presence inside and outside your body. 

Finally Yuta laid aside the knife again and held your jaw in his hand. “You’re mine, pretty girl. Everything you have is mine, do you know that?”

“Yes, Yuta,” you whispered, trying not to let your smile escape. “I’m all yours.” 

He groaned and kissed you. He was surprisingly gentle on your lips, but no less hungry than before. When he pulled back, he traced his fingers through the redness on your chest. This time there was enough to pool on his fingers, and he swiped his entire hand across the mess. With a sadistic grin, he pressed his palm to your throat, holding you still while he resumed moving inside you. 

You kept your eyes fixed on his while his hand dug into your neck. He turned it to press his thumb to your bottom lip, and you opened without even thinking. Yuta leaned over and spat directly into your mouth, then lightly smacked your face to tell you to swallow it. You obeyed while using your legs to pull him against you, chasing the fulfillment of this overwhelming arousal. The pain of the cuts and slaps, the bloodied hand on your throat, the spit, Yuta’s cock stretching you… it was becoming too much.

“Yuta, I’m close. Please…”

“I know, princess, I know. Let go when you’re ready. I’ve got you.” Yuta kept whispering encouragement as your orgasm swept over you, and he kissed you through the aftershocks.

He left more kisses on your newest cuts, then began to fuck you again. He lifted your legs to rest on his shoulders, opening you up for him to plunge deeper still. With a hand holding onto each of your thighs, Yuta relentlessly drove into you, his eyes fixed on yours.

You could hardly maintain eye contact at this point; you were overwhelmed and overstimulated. It was enough to let Yuta use you as he needed.

But your body began to betray you, your arousal not lessening at all while Yuta fucked into you. As he called your name at his peak and emptied himself deep inside you, you couldn’t help the small moans that escaped you. 

Yuta noticed your breath catching, and lowered your legs to put them around his waist. He didn’t pull out, but just kept fucking his cum into you like it would be a crime to waste any. “Give me one more, princess.”

You nearly cried, but at this point, your body was on autopilot. You would do anything Yuta wanted; if he wanted you to cum again, then you would. 

He leaned forward to kiss you, a small distraction so he could take hold of your neck again. Still thrusting into you, he pressed his palm to your throat. You could still breathe, but only just. 

“Come on, my pretty girl. Just one more time for me.” He let go of your throat to roughly stroke your clit, and that was enough. Your orgasm slammed into you as you tensed and gushed around Yuta’s cock. “That’s it, princess. So good…”