#junhee romance

Sirens were cursed creatures; luring men each and every night to sip the soul out of them, then waking up each morning not knowing what had happened the night before. They were unconscious when they killed, but they needed to kill to stay alive. To stay as young and beautiful as they had been when they had died. That was the price they paid for killing innocent souls in their previous lives. Now they were forced to kill while being in a daze, and if they didn’t feed themselves on human souls, they would eventually die.

Sori was no exception, and if fate could have been even more cruel to her, she had been cursed to love a man whom she might kill before he would be able to love her, and by loving her, he would be able to free her from her curse, sealed by the true love’s kiss.

Prince Junhee was cursed to love a woman who could cause his downfall and bring destruction to the whole kingdom, and if she didn’t love him back wholeheartedly, her kiss would be fatal.

If both of them were sincerely, genuinely in love, they would be able to lift each other’s curse. If they met at the wrong time, or let their rampant feelings take hold of them when the other wasn’t yet reciprocating their feelings, then one of them would die.

Or worse: both of them.

Sori didn’t think that she deserved to live, but facing death was something that even a creature like her dreaded. She had tried going days without feeding on men’s souls, but the weaker she had gotten, the more desperate she had become for wanting to live, and she had eventually given up going against her fate. Even though she didn’t remember what she had done in her previous life, she accepted that she must suffer through her present life by killing people at night while being unconscious and losing track of time during the days, sleeping and swimming in the ocean. The worst was that she couldn’t die any other way apart from not feeding on souls; if she got hurt in any way, she could heal herself and her body would return back to normal in a matter of time. She was ethereal as long as she lived off of others’ souls, or as long as she didn’t meet her gruesome fate in a man who shouldn’t love her until she loved him back.

She really didn’t think that she deserved to live, but some men were stupid, and even when she tried to tell those pirates that she wasn’t a mermaid but a siren, they didn’t believe her.

“A siren? Pff. Sirens are ugly creatures, that’s why no one trades with them. Yet, mermaids…” One of the bulked up pirates said, one of his front teeth missing while his lips were raised into a sinister smile. “They are so beautiful that anyone would pay a hefty price to get their hands on a mermaid,” he added as he reached for one of her moonlight-grey locks, twirling it around before yanking his hand away when she spat at him.

Even though her legs and arms were tied and she was kept in a cage, her mouth wasn’t covered, so having no fear and nothing to lose, she spat at the man, but it only riled him up even more. The laughter of his that followed truly proved her that he was after nothing but money; if he hadn’t been so blinded by his hunger for wealth, maybe he would have actually considered her words instead of believing those centuries-old tales about sirens being ugly, and he could have let her go back into the sea when she had tried to talk him out of keeping her on his ship. It hadn’t been the first time she had gotten caught by obnoxious pirates, but she had managed to escape a few times, and if not… When night time had come, those men had tasted their own medicine as they had fallen to their death, Sori sucking the soul out of their bodies. Usually, she was satisfied just by feeding on one soul, but when she was kept in a cage like this that didn’t contain water, she became weak, and her taking on her human form and off-water appearance also took a lot of energy out of her.

So she merely watched the man walk away, whistling under his breath, thinking to himself just how big of a price he could get for her body when in fact, he wouldn’t even see the next sunrise. If her senses were correct - though when she wasn’t in water, they were number than usual -, they were quite far from any port, and the nearest kingdom could be reached only a day later, so she only needed to put up with those disgusting men’s stares at her naked human body until sunset (truly the disgrace of her siren form was the fact that she didn’t have anything with which she could cover up her body when she turned into her human form once out of water because that wasn’t her natural form).

Consequently, she tried to sleep a bit to save up her energy, yet after around an hour of dozing off, she woke up to sounds of physical fight and unfamiliar voices filling up the ship. Out of all her senses, her hearing was the best, so she could differentiate humans’ voices quite well, and was surprised to find out that there were around 4-6 new, seemingly less profane voices present. Since she was in the basement, she could hear footsteps above herself, yet not knowing if the new men were here for the pirates themselves or everything valuable in the ship, she didn’t even try to scream for help.

However, when the door flung open, and an unfamiliar young man walked into the room, she couldn’t help but search for his gaze until his almost-shaped eyes settled on hers. He was tall and lanky, his expensive-looking coat framing his broad shoulders perfectly (it was probably tailor-made for him), dress pants tucked into his black boots as if he had been some kind of royalty: always dressed up neat and immaculate. He had jaw-length locks of the warmest of browns, his orbs resembling the sun rising on the horizon.

Needless to say, his eyes widened immediately upon seeing her naked body, and since she could have been easily held hostage or a slave, she wasn’t surprised that he was so horrified by the sight.

“Oh dear…” He mumbled, his lips parted. “Do not worry, my lady. I will get you out of there,” he promised, determined, and Sori tried to tell him that it wasn’t what he might have thought, but it had been some time since she had been in water, and she felt dizzy and lightheaded, thus even speaking up seemed exhausting.

The stranger cracked the lock of the cage open with an axe that he found nearby, and loosened the ropes on her arms and legs while his eyes were still on hers, so that he wouldn’t look disrespectfully at any part of her body. Even though she had been accustomed to men’s stares on her, and she didn’t shy away from their glances, she felt oddly touched by the man’s genuine care and discretion. He even pushed his coat off his shoulders, covering her body with the thick material, his hands hovering protectively over it.

“I…” Sori tried to speak up, but instead, she started coughing, her throat feeling dry. Her footing was uncertain for she had been locked up in that cage for a few hours now, and the young man immediately got a hold on her, holding her by the waist and letting her lean onto his body for support. His touch was firm yet gentle, providing enough certainty for her to hold onto while she was trying to gather her energy to walk in a straight line.

She hated it; feeling so weak without the water around her, but she had gotten so used to it; her life full of sorrow and pain, something she deemed she deserved after what she had done in her previous life even if she didn’t know exactly what she had done. It was almost cruelly laughable; the way she could heal herself when she got hurt, but when it was about her being in her human form, she could barely walk when she wasn’t in water anymore. Yet, the more she suffered, the more she assumed that she deserved it. It was almost like walking through fire that she had caused herself.

So she put up with it, pressing her lips into a thin line as she was walking assisted by the young man. She could barely register what was going on around her: all the noises and smells and curses that grew stronger as they were closer to the main deck made her feel lightheaded and her low energy didn't help her concentration either. What she could understand though was that the pirates were seemingly ambushed, captured by the group of men whose leader seemed to be the young man by her side, and they also wore royalty clothes made of fine materials, so Sori assumed that they were some sort of guards or soldiers. The pirates might have crossed territory without permission, or they might have been wanted criminals in the first place, so maybe they had been captured for more than one reason.

“Hey! You even wanna bring that mermaid with you? She’s crazy, I’m telling you! She even said that she’s a siren,” the pirate with the missing tooth blabbered, but Sori couldn’t see how the man beside her reacted because her vision got blurry, and she felt a more and more urgent need to jump into the water and recharge because she was getting more and more sick, and her longing for the ocean was stronger than ever.

“Stay here! I’ll get back to you,” the young man remarked kindly, and the moment his firm hold faded into nothingness as he walked away from her, she realised that she didn’t want to hurt him, so the sooner she could get away from all these men, the higher the chances that she could save him - the one with the sunrise in his eyes. She didn’t want to suck the soul out of him despite her not knowing him well enough. Even if she couldn’t do anything about killing men, she could try to get away from those who had tried to help her - which hadn’t happened a lot of times before.

So she sucked in a deep breath, her numb body moving on its own.

“Ya, she’s getting away!” Someone hollered before she flung herself off the ship with the last bits of her energy, leaving nothing but the young man’s warm coat and the memory of her curious gaze behind.

Sori spent most of her time swimming during the day. Time flew by differently for her during daytime and nighttime because she was unconscious from the moment day turned into night until the sun rose on the horizon, so nights for her went by in a blink of an eye. Daytime, on the other hand, seemed like a slow, peaceful haze that she could bathe in, and she enjoyed each and every moment thoroughly - feeling strong and invincible under the water, joyfully talking with friendly sea creatures and being mesmerized by her favourite cliffs and shores in different kingdoms. The thing is: she could swim faster than humans, so visiting multiple kingdoms in under one day was nothing impossible for her, and she made good use of that.

Usually, she didn’t really come in contact with humans, but when she heard a cry from a nearby lagoon, she swam to the source of the sound, surprised to find a literal child trying to come up for air while pedalling with her legs underwater. The waves that hit the shore and the high rocks that surrounded the steep water were strong, and it didn’t seem like the child had learned how to swim properly, only her survival instincts kicked in.

Sori didn’t hesitate to grab onto the child, gently shushing her while holding her up, so her head could be out of the water while she directed both of them towards the edge of the rocky part. There, she could put the child onto the ground, so that Sori could still be underwater while the child could be safe from danger.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” she asked gently while wagging her tail underwater, so that she could still keep herself up.

The little girl coughed a few times, drenched hair sticking to her forehead, and Sori really wished she could do anything more for her, but she didn’t want to scare a child with her naked human form, so it was best if she stayed in the water. The child was thankful though, directing a weak yet precious smile at her as she said:

“Thank you for saving me!” She spoke up feebly, coughing up a bit more water after she had done so. Sori mirrored her smile, grateful that she was better now, only a bit scared. “Are you a mermaid?”

The child asked with her childlike innocence, and Sori wished she could have said yes to reassure her. She hated this question, so it would be rather bittersweet for her to break it down to her that no, she wasn’t a mermaid but a siren who sucked the soul out of men, so that she could survive. That’s why she refrained herself from lying, instead, she was about to ask how the little girl had ended up in the water, but then, she heard quick footsteps nearing on the two of them, hence she was ready to go.

“No, don’t leave! Let me thank you properly!” The child insisted in her almost hurt high-pitched voice, and Sori’s heart churned at the sound of it and at her pleading face with those star-like eyes. If she hadn’t been born as someone who had to kill to survive, maybe she didn’t fear humans’ reaction to her real self.

“I can’t stay. Others might…”

“Byeol-ah!” A voice called closeby, and Sori’s eyes widened because she recognised this voice; her hearing was the most immaculate out of all her senses, so she could have remembered this voice even if she hadn’t heard it a lot of times.

“Uncle Junhee!” The child called, bolting up from her previous crouching pose, running into the young man’s protective arms while his eyes were on Sori’s. As they locked gazes, she could see the realisation hitting him, and she didn’t know what to do about it. She was neutral towards men since they were so disgusting to her a lot of times, but she didn’t have the right to judge them since she killed them to survive. However, she didn’t delude herself into thinking that they could feel anything more than physical affection (or should she say lust?) towards her because a creature like her had been crafted to be beautiful, so seeing gratefulness and relief in his warm eyes because of her action was new. Unfamiliar. Painfully beautiful. She didn’t deserve such a look.

“This mermaid saved me, uncle Junhee!” Byeol turned back to point her fingers at Sori who was about to disagree since it would be the second time the man would think that she might be a mermaid, and she would feel guilty if he kept thinking that she was. However, he was quick to cut her off.

“No matter who you are, thank you.” The so-called Junhee said almost desperately, eyes shining with a bit of guilt yet a ton of reassurance. Sori felt a knot in her throat grow bigger and bigger as he continued on talking to her. “How can I repay you for finding my niece?”

Sori didn’t save the little girl for any kind of payment. Truth to be told, she didn’t even know what a wish could be that someone could fulfill for her. Was she worthy of anyone’s consideration and gratefulness when she killed others to live? She didn’t think that it was in any way fair, so she merely shook her head.

“There’s no need to repay me.”

“I insist, Miss,” Junhee stated further, and he looked at her so caringly, so thankfully as if she had traded her freedom for his that she didn’t have the heart to say no. On the other hand, she didn’t even know what someone like him could possibly do for her when it was even embarrassing for humans to see her in her human form, but he had seen that already.

Nevertheless, she gave a brief nod of her head, signalling that she didn’t protest, but she didn’t even know what he could have in mind. It seemed that he didn’t either as they kept gazing at each other without a word until he suggested:

“Please, think about what you wish for! We can meet here again tomorrow at around... sunrise?” He raised an eyebrow in question, but there was a hopeful glint in his eyes. The way he worded himself and hesitated before the last word indicated for her that he knew what she was. He knew that she was’'t herself from sunset to sunrise, and that’s why he chose such a time. Still, the way he kept looking at her despite knowing that she was a siren amazed her... How? And why? She didn’t deserve it.

“Alright. Tomorrow at sunrise then,” she gave in tentatively, earning a relieved smile from the young man and a wide one from the little girl.

“Take care until then!” Byeol wished as she waved at her, and Sori couldn’t help but smile. Such a pure, innocent child, not knowing anything about the cruelty of the world and the creatures that lived in it.

“You too,” she found herself saying as she turned around, ready to swim further from the lagoon. However, when she looked back at the passing duo, Junhee also looked back, and meeting his eyes, something in her felt bitter. It tasted too much like destiny, too much like a tragedy, but her heart didn’t want to listen, didn’t want to admit.

From sunset to sunrise was the period Sori wasn’t herself. She didn’t feed on men during the whole period, but it was the time she was unconscious, hence it was the time she could get herself a prey, and feed on his soul. That’s why she despised this time, and that’s why she was relieved whenever sunrise came, and she could go back to her real self. If one was to ask her to describe how it felt to come back to her own self, she would say that it was much like waking up from a nightmare that scratches your skin, that makes you toss and turn, that makes you shiver and feverish. Then, coming back to reality feels like salvation; pure, clean and comforting.

That day, comfort came in another form. In those eyes that resembled the hope and joy of a new day with sunrise coming, the fine line between dark and light, the gentleness of a touch and the care of a beating human heart. He came. Just as he had asked her to do so. He waited for her at the same place, standing there patiently as the first rays of the sun were painting ruby, lilac and tangerine lines onto his skin, adding more colours to that beautifully crafted art piece that he already was.

His delicate lips curled into a relieved smile when he caught sight of her as she was swimming closer to the edge. This part of the lagoon was almost like a little pond crawling into the rocks and the cliff, meaning that she could stay in the water because it was deep enough, yet they could stay away from any curious glances around because the rocks around them formed many fascinating creations, covering them from above. It seemed like a secret getaway place for those who enjoyed the sight of the sea, but didn’t want to be seen. Perfect for the two of them.

“May I get to know your name?” The young man asked first things first as he crouched down to be more at an eye-level with her. She nodded, her heart taking a turn. People weren’t usually interested in her name: as soon as they saw her and thought that she was a mermaid, or as soon as they got to know that she was actually a siren, nothing else mattered. What mattered was what she was, not who she was.

“I’m Sori,” she replied with a tiny smile, something that was akin to a piece of hope coming from her.

“Sori…” He let the word roll off his tongue gently, caringly, effortlessly before he introduced himself as Junhee. He must have thought that her name - meaning ‘voice’ in Korean - was very fitting for her. She thought the same, although she despised the sound of it. Just another reminder of what she did when she killed men: using her voice to lure them in. “Thank you for saving my niece once again, Sori!”

The way he said it made it seem like she had done something grande when she had just done what her heart had told her to do. Anyone in their right mind would have wanted to save a drowning child.

“I let her get away from me because she wanted to play hide and seek, yet she slipped and fell into the sea, and it carried her away. I’ve really thought that I had lost her,” he recalled bitterly, his Adam’s apple moving fervently. He was tormented by the idea of losing his precious niece, and the sight of it squeezed Sori’s heart.

“But you didn’t lose her. Maybe that’s how the universe wanted to repay you for helping me,” she pointed out gently, hoping that Junhee’s heart would be mollified by her words. They did seem to reassure him, but they also piqued his curiosity because he raised an eyebrow, curious.

“Do you believe in fate?”

It wasn’t something that Sori had talked about before, but usually, her interactions with humans were rather short-lived and limited, and a lot of times, she ended up in wrong situations just like the time they had first met with the delicate young man. Discussing with someone what she thought of fate was unfamiliar, but she didn’t see the reason in lying to him.

“I do.” She nodded, pondering how she could put her thoughts into coherent sentences. “I’ve ended up this way because I’m being punished for something I did in my past life. Fate, destiny, gods, the universe… no matter what you call it, there’s always some kind of an unknown power that keeps the balance in this world. At least, I believe in it,” she explained to him, her words flowing in tranquility like the water around her.

Junhee’s lips wavered a bit, empathy filling up his almond-shaped eyes. It could be seen that he was hesitating whether or not to add something to her words, and she could understand that. She had just confirmed that she was a siren even though she had a feeling that he had already thought so. The way he had suggested seeing each other at sunrise couldn’t have been a coincidence, nor the way he had been quick to cut her off when she had been about to correct Byeol after the little girl had claimed that she was a mermaid. He was, once and for all, someone who could have easily fallen prey to her if the timing hadn’t been right, yet he didn’t seem intimidated or disgusted. Instead, he was almost bitter about her fate.

“Do you assume that you won’t be cursed for the rest of your life? Can you unbreak it somehow?” he inquired quietly, almost hopefully as if he would want to break the curse if he could. Sori had no idea why he felt so much empathy for her already, but she nodded nevertheless.

“In a way, I can if the time comes, but it’s because I’m cursed in a different way. Yet, it’s also too dangerous. I wouldn’t risk someone else’s life for my freedom,” she elaborated, not going into too much detail about how she had been cursed to love a man whom she could easily kill before he would love her back. It had been so long since she had been carrying the weight of this curse on her shoulders, and even though she wanted to believe that the time might come when she could fall in love, she was also terrified. Whether or not a curse can be broken depended on a lot of factors, and some were, unfortunately, out of her control.

Junhee looked away for a moment, staring at the horizon where the sun was rising rapidly, and everyone in the kingdom would welcome a new day with new hopes and opportunities. Despite being a human being himself, he looked ethereal; as if his skin was made of porcelain, and his eyes were jewels. He looked elegant, delicate and a bit fragile, but there was determination and fire in his eyes. He would probably not break that easily despite how otherworldly he seemed.

“And what if that someone wants to risk their life for you?” He raised an eyebrow challengingly, and for the first time since the beginning of their conversation, she was totally speechless. Unlike last time when she had been craving water and her throat had been on fire, now she was out of words because of what he had asked. This was something she had never dared to think about.

“Let’s not talk about that…” Sori mumbled quietly, tearing her gaze off from his face. Talking about her own twisted destiny wasn’t something that she enjoyed doing no matter how kind-hearted this young man seemed. “Tell me about yourself instead,” she suggested tentatively, averting her eyes back to him to look for any kind of disapproval in his eyes, but none came.

Instead, he told her about himself: about his life and his family, about what kind of flowers he loved the most, about how he preferred warmer seasons more than colder ones, about what poems were his favourites, about how he enjoyed looking at the sea because the sight of the calm waves reassured him that life would go on no matter what happens, and about how he had collected seashells when he had been younger because he had been convinced that they would come alive if he had enough of them.

Sori listened to him attentively, curiously, and the more he talked, the brighter the atmosphere seemed. Somehow, with his soothing voice and gentle gazes, he was able to dissolve that darkness that had fallen upon her heart as they had been previously talking about her cruel destiny. She didn’t even mind that he was a prince - first-born son to the king of the kingdom -, that he was too good to be true, that he had too pure of a heart, that she shouldn’t even have been talking to him because it was just so wrong… She just listened to him, and made herself believe that for this one day, she could forget all about who she was - what she was -, and she must have been out of her mind, but when he suggested meeting again the next day at sunrise, she found herself saying yes.

For someone who lived with guilt and self-hatred as long as she could remember, accepting someone’s consideration (even just their general interest) was difficult. Sori had been used to people cursing her, degrading her, humiliating her, and she had been used to being captured and assaulted. She knew she deserved it, she must have deserved it for she had been cursed, and her feelings had been carefully harboured to cater for all that had happened to her. She had never once questioned others’ behaviour, not until she had met prince Junhee.

Him who was just the definition of finesse. Him whose smile was similar to that last glint of hope with which she held onto the possibility that her curse might be broken; it was comforting, warming and so very charming. His words were well-spoken, sometimes even daring, but always polite, always considerate. Him whose actions were never demanding, never humiliating or disgustful. If she had ever thought of someone who might be the human embodiment of the sea, it would have been him for all the serenity he had in him, the waves gently reaching the shore periodically, and the way the sunshine shone onto the surface, ever so warm and ever so beautiful, and of course the way he was so comforting, feeling a bit like finding solace, feeling a bit like the home she had never had.

On the other hand, something so ethereal could be equally dangerous, and something pure and innocent - the dare to feel hope and being cared for - could turn fatal the moment she might make a mistake. Hence, no matter how difficult it was for her to keep her distance from him because she was drawn to him (oh, how much she was!), she tried, she really tried her best to stay underwater, to leave way before sunset or to not let him know about her feelings all that much because she was afraid that she might cause his downfall.

The more they met, the more she realised that he might be the one mentioned in her curse, and just as much as it should have been comforting, Sori was terrified. How could she know when he would start loving her with all his heart? When would she know the same? For someone like her, loving someone and being loved were foreign, unknown. She might have heard tales of how humans fell in love, but how could she know that it was the same with them? After all, humans craved physical closeness in order to feel emotionally close, and they had barely had any of that. Only fleeting touches when she came close to the edge of the rock where he was sitting, or when he decided to swim with her, and she let him stay close to her.

It was just like that this time as well; they were circling around each other in the water while talking, and Sori’s lips curled upwards as the waterdrops sat idly on the young man’s mahogany locks like little pearls in a jewelry box. Even when she looked down to avoid meeting his curious gaze, the surface of the water reflected the warmth in his orbs and the care in his features, and she found herself falling even more. She saw him everywhere anyway, she looked for him everywhere. It wasn’t right… it really wasn’t, but it felt so good being so wrong.

“Why are you avoiding looking at me?” Prince Junhee inquired after a minute of silence, and an aghast sight escaped Sori’s lips.

“I was just spacing out,” she lied, putting on a fake smile as easily as if she had been doing so her entire life. While it hurt to keep her distance from him, she had to.

“I’m afraid I can’t take that as an answer. You know, I’ve been taught how to read others’ facial expressions,” he remarked with a lighter edge to his words, but she could feel the clear indication in his voice: I know you’re lying. Of course, he knew. She had a feeling that he had always known.

More silence. More patience from him. He was still there, looking at her as calmly (yet worried) as before, and the water around him formed circles as he was trying to keep himself up in the water with his arms. Even though she always pitied humans because they had to use their arms and legs so much to be able to swim and keep themselves floating, now she found this action of his heartwarming; how he tried to stay close to her each and every second.

“I’m just…” Sori hesitated, the words forming unnaturally on her lips. “I’m not sure I can make you happy. I might even hurt you,” she admitted between ragged breaths, and even despite being in water that made her strong, she felt weak and vulnerable. More vulnerable than when she had been put in that cage on the pirate ship, and he had found her naked in such a dazed state.

The prince’s lips trembled a bit, but his eyes were full of determination and unwavering affection. He was like those waves that washed away the last remains of a storm; pacifying the streams and currents, setting a new, calmer pace while letting the first rays of sunshine break through the surface, painting new colours onto its palette.

“Why would you think so?” Junhee asked quietly, confusion flashing across his midnight sky-like orbs. He swam a bit closer to her as he was waiting for her to answer. As if that would have made anything easier! Having him so close made everything more difficult because her rampant feelings were bursting out of her, and she had to force herself to contain them. She wanted to have him close, to graze her hands along his skin, to feel his hot breath on her cold body, to listen to his heartbeat like a lullaby at night… But she couldn’t, she shouldn’t…

Sori closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to set her thoughts straight.

“I’m cursed beyond being a siren, and I think you might be the one in it,” she confessed in one-go, opening her eyes as she got to the end of her sentence. It was easier telling him with her eyes closed, but if anything, his expression just made her want to take back everything. He was determined, almost hopeful.

“Is this what you’ve told me once? Someone risking their life for you?”

She pressed her lips into a thin line at his choice of words. She knew well that she had mentioned her curse in this way, but now that she was trying to tell him the truth, it was difficult to not feel even more scared hearing the word ‘risk’. No, she would never want him to risk his life for her. He was a prince for God’s sake! The rightful heir to the throne on top of that!

On the other hand, if she was going to keep her distance from him, and she wouldn’t want to hurt him while doing so, she might as well tell him about her curse in detail, so he would know why she was so reluctant to let him in when she wanted nothing more than to do just that.

“I’ve been cursed to love a man whom I might kill before he would be able to love me. By loving me, he would be able to free me from my curse, sealed by the true love’s kiss, but if he doesn’t love me or I don’t love him wholeheartedly when we kiss for the first time, then…”

“Both of us die,” the prince cut her off, his eyes boring into hers. She was truly perplexed, her lips parting at the way he used ‘us’ already as if he had also suspected that they were trapped in a tragedy. That their love story wasn’t the fairytale-like one. That there was more at stake than just their desire. “I understand it now. I might be the one in your curse, and you might be the one in mine: the woman who could cause my downfall and bring destruction to the whole kingdom if she didn’t love me with her whole heart when we kissed,” he confessed straight away without even looking away, but Sori’s heart missed a beat.

So he had been cursed. He had been aware of the fact that she might be the one in his curse just as she had been suspecting the same, yet he had kept coming back day after day to see her after sunrise, and he had kept telling her stories about his childhood days and soldier friends and trips around other kingdoms, and he had kept smiling at her as if he would have been able to free all the stars from the sky for her, and he had taken care of her and her heart as if he had been protecting a priceless treasure.

“But why?” Sori croaked out, her throat suddenly dry. “Why aren’t you scared then? Of me? Of us?” she added, blinking at the young man, her heart tormented. She felt like her body was on fire, and she was burning with all those complex feelings taking hold of her, burning because of the longing, the fear, the hopeless hopes and the dark brightness. Burning because of him, him, him.

Junhee didn’t answer, instead, he swam closer to her, so close that when he reached his hand out, he could perfectly cup her cheeks with his hands, gently resting them on her skin. His touch was soft, protective and affectionate, but she still felt like being tortured.

“Because I do love you, and I know when the time comes, you’ll be able to love me wholeheartedly,” he confessed sincerely, and she wouldn’t have questioned his honesty because his eyes told tales instead of him anyways.

Love. What a beautiful word. What a complex phenomena. He had just said it out loud so easily while she had no idea what love was. Could she tell love and desire apart? Could a siren actually fall in love with a man only by talking and spending time by the lagoon? Could she ever truly love someone while she despised herself so much? She had no idea. To her, love was like hope; the more she tried to reach for it, the further it seemed to get.

“I-I…” She stumbled upon the consonants, not being able to get the right words out, but they weren’t needed anyways because the moment Junhee closed her in his embrace, nothing else mattered, only him.

And so he waited. Through sunset following sunrise, through the moon replacing the sun, through one season embracing the other.

Sori let herself believe that this could work between the two of them - that they could work -, and he made it so easy to believe because he was as patient as ever. Even though his hands were sometimes holding onto hers tighter, even though his lips were sometimes testing the waters in the crook of her neck and her cheeks, and even though his gazes weren’t always so subtle, he didn’t rush her. He waited for her just as patiently as he did so by waiting for her at the lagoon at sunrise.

That’s why Sori purposefully tried to close the distance between the two of them by daring to spend some time out of the water. Prince Junhee was always quick to lend her one of his coats or clothes, and after a while, he even got her some feminine gowns and dresses. Not like they needed to be afraid that anyone would find them since according to the prince, this part of the shore was mainly visited by the royal family, and out of them, Junhee was the one who was fond of the water the most. Hence, they didn’t need to worry that anyone would be horrified at the sight of a naked woman, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

While it was odd for her to walk sometimes because of how foreign her human body seemed, the prince always let her hold onto him for support, and after some time, she held onto him because she craved his touch, not because she needed it. She loved looking at him while the sun was shining brightly above them, making him glow in gold and making him seem so dreamy, it was a sight so picturesque and dear to her heart. It made her feel a bit more at ease, especially after nights of being unconscious. He made her feel so safe and secured, something she had never thought that she would feel.

It was the same at such a time when she nearly tripped over a small rock, but prince Junhee reached for her in time, grabbing her arm and steadying her by his side.

“Are you okay?” he inquired, worried. His eyelashes painted little lines on his parchment paper-like skin, and his orbs resembled tiny little jewels. She was sucked into those galaxies, those what ifs and that undeniable care and affection, so much that she barely registered what he had said.

“I am,” she reassured him with a tiny smile, but his grip was still tight on her as if he was afraid that if he let go, she would break. As she was looking into his eyes, she could see just how much he wanted her to be all his, and she wanted the same so, so bad, there was no use denying, no use resisting. That pull was stronger than ever, sucking her in more and more and more, and she couldn’t keep herself back, she started leaning towards him. As she got closer and closer to him, her body felt more and more electrified, and when her lips were so close that they were barely hovering over his mellow ones, it felt like being set on fire.

“I love you,” she breathed out, helpless and foolish, ready to sink deeper and deeper with him even if it meant that there was no end in sight.

As if he had been waiting for this moment to give him the sign, Junhee closed the distance between the two of them, and kissed her with all the desire, all the longing and yearning and all the waiting behind his back, desperately and impatiently, yet oh so lovingly. His hands were holding her steady, his heart was beating alongside hers, and his lips were cherishing hers, and it felt so good, so good, so good…

So good that when it ended, there was no more fear in her heart - because she knew that they both loved each other wholeheartedly, and that they would never be able to hurt each other after what they had been through.