#hot&cold

You didn’t even know how you got into this situation in the first place. Eight men and you were all shoved into a van and currently driving towards that inn, Wooyoung told you about. He initially planned to go with the guys and have a boys week but apparently his aunt wanted to have at least one female being with her. And that’s how Wooyoung came to the conclusion to drag you with him.

At first you didn’t mind it until he told you about the hot springs. You had immediately refused to come since you knew you would get in trouble near water and the boys. But Wooyoung insisted and only after he told you there were separate hot springs for men and women, you agreed to tag along.

It was a cosy small inn, you thought when Seonghwa parked the van in front of the entrance. A small porch surrounded seemingly the whole building, benches and chairs standing in each corner to offer a place to sit.

“Auntie!” Wooyoung screamed loudly as he stepped out of the car and walked a few steps up to the porch.

“You’re as loud as ever”, she chided as she opened the door and immediately pulled him into a hug. “It’s so good to see you again. Look how tall you got!” She pinched his cheek and mustered him from head to toe. “Should definitely come over more often!”

Wooyoung laughed and stepped aside, introducing everyone to his aunt, who greeted them the same way she greeted Wooyoung; with a big hug and some sweet words.

You could see how Yunho and San wrapped themselves happily around the smaller woman's body, loving hugs and cuddles more than anything else.

“How about you kids start to settle in while I make some tea for all of us? After that you can explore the inn and try everything before dinner. Does that sound good to you?” The woman said and smiled gently, showing teeth once the guys answered her enthusiastically.

The afternoon rolled around quickly with unpacking your luggage, the delicious tea and cookies from Wooyoung’s aunt as well as exploring the inn. As soon as you had found the ping pong table all of you had surrounded it and played against each other until dinner was ready.

You dreaded the moment one of them would bring up the hot spring, hoping they might be too tired to think about it. But luck wasn’t on your side.

“If you want you can go to the hot springs now”, the older woman said while cleaning the table, “it’s about to snow soon, which makes it almost magical.”

A pained smile appeared on your lips when she looked up at you. Yeah, magical, you thought. “I feel tired, so I think I’ll head to bed”, you mumbled and faked a yawn. “Have fun at the hot springs.”

“Forget that, this instant!”

“What?” You turned around with wide eyes at Wooyoung’s outburst. 

“You’re coming with us! The hot spring is exactly what we need after the long ride!” He grabbed your hand and dragged you once again along, the others following the both of you with silent snickers.

Wooyoung opened the door to the changing room for females and pushed you inside, leaning his head in and whispering “see you in a bit”, before he closed the door again.

You heard them get into the changing room for men right beside you, hearing their loud banters and excited laughs. 

“What do you mean with ‘in a bit’?” You worried, gnawing on your lower lip. Hopefully he meant seeing you after the dip into the hot springs. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ease your nerves. Still, you walked with tense shoulders outside, clutching the towel tightly around your body.

A tall wooden wall separated your side from the boys, making you calm down slightly. There was no way one of them could sneak a glance at you with that wall. 

You turned your gaze towards the hot spring itself. Large rocks were draped around the hot water and steam spiralled into the cold air. 

A smile graced your lips and you placed the towel near the spot where you walked into the water. You sunk down until only your head would have been seen. As soon as you settled down you felt the familiar tingle through your body, small bubbles rippling through the water from the change.

When you lifted your lower body slightly a fin and long tail appeared at the surface instead of your legs and feet.

As long as Wooyoung’s aunt wouldn’t join you, you thought you were safe to relax a little.

That was until you heard the harsh whispers from the other side of the wall. “Wooyoung!” “You can’t do that!” “Are you crazy?!” “What if your aunt finds out?”

“Oh, just be quiet and relax!” Wooyoung quipped, climbing up the wooden wall. He swung his leg over the top and breathed out in relief. For a moment he just sat on top of the wall, glancing down to both sides. 

While he saw his friends all standing in or out of the hot spring, staring up at him, he couldn’t see you anywhere. He frowned slightly since he was sure he heard you walk out. “Y/N?” He whispered loudly, trying to find you within the steam.

“What are you doing?” You whispered harshly back, staring in fear up at his form. You had pushed yourself into the furthest corner, hoping to stay completely hidden from his eyes.

“Joining you!”

“Are you crazy?”

“Don’t be a puss! I have my swimming shorts on and I don’t want you to be alone!” He told you, when a shiver ran over his body. The air was colder than he expected, so instead of waiting for your answer he climbed down on your side.

You panicked. “But I don’t have any clothes on!”

“Relax, I’ll stay at the other side of the hot spring! And there is enough steam so I won’t see anything.”

This didn’t calm you at all. After all, the hot spring wasn’t that large and you knew your tail took up a lot of space in it. “I swear to god, Wooyoung, please!”

It was too late. Wooyoung landed on your side and quickly rushed into the water, trying to warm his quivering body again. “See? It’s totally fine.” He still looked around, trying to find your form within all the steam.

“Please”, you begged on the verge of tears. He was too damn close and you didn’t want him to find out, too afraid you would lose your friendship with him and the others.

Hearing your distress, Wooyoung tensed. Something was wrong, he could tell, but he couldn’t fathom what exactly. He already saw you once nearly naked when you had forgotten to take new clothes with you into the bathroom at his place. This couldn’t be it.

He slowly walked over to where he mused you were hidden. “What’s wrong?” He whispered, this time silent enough so only you would be able to hear him.

“Please, don’t.”

“Y/N? What’s wrong?” 

That was the moment he collided with your tail and fell face first into the steaming hot water. Wooyoung pushed himself back up, gasping loudly for air. 

“Did something happen?” The concerned voice of Seonghwa shouted over to your side.

“I just slipped!” Wooyoung answered. “Everything is fine!”

But in reality nothing was fine. He had used your tail to push himself back up, his hands still resting on it. He slowly let his hands wander, amazed by the feeling it gave him. This wasn’t just a simple stone. Before Wooyoung was able to touch more it was forcefully pulled out of his hands. 

“Y/N?” 

“I’m sorry”, you whimpered quietly, trying to keep your tail as far away from him as possible.

Wooyoung quickly followed your whimpers until he found you pressed against the rocks with your back facing him.

The steam cleared slightly and he caught sight of the scales that were sparsely spread over your back and got more and more the lower his gaze wandered. Wooyoung gulped visibly when his eyes landed on your large tail, half hidden underneath the water.

“Woah”, he exclaimed loudly before he could think, alarming the others again.

You flinched visibly when they called again, asking what happened.

Wooyoung saw you trembling violently, hiding your face away from him in your hands. He quickly looked around, trying to find some sort of excuse why he sounded so stunned. In his search he looked up, seeing snowflakes falling to earth. They melted from the hot steam before they could reach the water surface.

“It’s snowing!” Wooyoung called, pointing into the air, even though his friends couldn’t see it. “Auntie was right about the snow! Just look! That’s amazing!”

As soon as he heard the stunned awes and uhs, he crouched down next to you in the water, letting himself sink into it until his whole body was covered up to his chin. “I’m sorry”, he whispered and watched your reaction carefully.

You tensed shortly and sank deeper into the water as well before you turned around and looked at Wooyoung with wide eyes.

“Is that the reason why you never joined any pool party or only went to the ocean swimming when everyone else was sleeping?” He asked and nodded towards your tail without breaking eye contact with you.

You nodded, still stunned to silence.

Wooyoung looked at you, sadness clouding his entire face. “You must have felt so lonely.”

Once again you hadn’t expected to hear him say something like that. You couldn’t help yourself but to nod again.

“You could have told me. Told all of us. You’re like family and we would have been with you!”

“I was afraid”, you whispered, blinking away some stray tears, “I still am.”

“There is no need to be afraid but I understand.” Wooyoung nodded and opened his arms, indicating you were safe with him. “We can keep it a secret for now. We should reveal it though, maybe during our next beach holiday.”

You chuckled lightly, making Wooyoung grin triumphantly. “Thank you”, you whispered and pushed yourself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

“No need to thank me for that. Let’s relax for now and enjoy the first snowfall.”

You nodded and turned just a little, leaning your head against his shoulder to look up into the sky. Slowly all your fear and nervousness dissipated, just like the snowflakes above you. Within Wooyoung’s arms you felt somewhat secure as if nothing could harm you. A small smile spread over your lips and you snuggled closer against Wooyoung.

“I will bombard you with questions later though.”

You snickered and nodded shortly. “That’s okay.” For now both of you just enjoyed the spectacle above your heads. It was truly magical, just like his aunt had said.