Chapter Text
Jeongin stepped onto the docks with his heart feeling lighter than it had in a long time. Smiling brightly, he looked around at all of the other boats and bustling folks dropping anchor or pushing off. At his side, Minho was already on his knees, forehead pressed against the damp wood as he muttered thanks to every god he could think of. It spoke to how rough the past few days had been that Jeongin didn’t even feel the need to tease him for it.
After Felix’s… stunt, Minho really hadn’t been the same. No matter how tough his brother was, Jeongin figured that bearing witness to a young man supposedly killing himself in the very waters that you held a phobia for was bound to have an effect on him. His brother tried to put on a brave face, but Jeongin saw the way his face remained pale and his gaze distant.
They’d spent a good while out on the sea at that point. It probably would do them some good return to land either way, at least in order to refuel and restock their supplies. He’d told his brother as much and then lost a full night of sleep after overhearing his relieved half-sobs through the bathroom door.
Maybe… maybe he could convince Minho to stay home? Jeongin, of course, wanted nothing more than to go back out onto the ocean blue. It called to him, almost. He loved home, he really did, but it just didn’t provide that sense of tranquility and weightlessness that the sea did, that he desperately needed. After restocking supplies, he might try to talk Minho into just… not coming back aboard. For his own sake, of course.
Tough chance, he thought to himself. His brother was stubborn through and through. No matter how personally upsetting being on the boat was, he knew Minho would never let him past the dock without his own personal supervision. It was deeply touching in a way that Jeongin really didn’t want to look at closely while in public lest he cry, but at the same time, was so incredibly frustrating.
Eventually, Minho picked himself off the ground and they began to make their way off the docks. Jeongin wore a baseball cap and a mask and kept his head down with Minho’s arm slung over his shoulders. He wasn’t particularly worried about being recognized as an idol, all things considered, but it was a habit at this point. He figured it was good form to keep up his disguise anyway, especially when walking around with his brother. He knew Minho hated the idea of getting too much attention.
The familiar streets of their hometown came into view as they walked away from the shore. The sudden increase in people after so many months with only his brother as company sent a sharp spike of anxiety thrumming through his chest. Subconsciously, he stepped closer to Minho. In turn, Minho held him tighter. Despite the nerves, it was nice to be home. Really.
Their parents’ house wasn’t very far from the shore, all things considered. All it took was a single bus stop to reach their street. It was an old building, lying squat and detached from the other, more modern buildings that had slowly begun to pop up in the neighborhood. It was decorated with nautical décor like something out of a cartoon – fake buoys and anchors on the porch, sea shells and colorful rocks spewn across the yard. The welcome mat had a faded out picture of Nemo with the words ‘Fish are friends, not food’ just barely legible anymore. Beside the door was a windchime in the shape of a mermaid. Jeongin stared at it a bit too long before knocking on the door.
“Ah! Boys! I didn’t know you were coming ashore today!” greeted Minho’s mother and Jeongin’s step-mom after opening the door. She immediately pulled them into a hug one after another, swaying them just a bit as she got her fill. “Oh, you should’ve given some sort of warning, the house is a mess! Honestly…”
Baek Mi-Ok was a stout woman with strong, broad shoulders that reflected her many decades spent swimming and boating as a wildlife marine biologist. Her greying hair was kept in a tight, choppy braid that reached just below her shoulders. Her skin was tan and heavily wrinkled after a lifetime spent laughing out in the sun. She and Minho had the exact same eyes and smirk, which was one of the only ways to tell they were related – Minho took after his biological father, unfortunately. Mi-Ok was just a bit shorter than average, but it was easy to forget simply due to the amount of presence she had in a room. Retired though she might have been, she was capable of running any and all groups of people like she was their research lead and ship captain. It was rather ironic, in a sad way, that her eldest son and only blood child was so deeply terrified by the waters she dedicated her whole life to.
“Sorry, mom. We’ll call next time,” Minho assuaged easily. He squeezed her shoulder and leaned down to nuzzle the top of her head. She huffed, hiding her satisfaction.
“Tch, you say that every time… Well, what are you two doing just standing out here for? Come in, come in!” Their mom began to tug them into the doorway, fussing at their clothes and hair and everything. She pinched at Jeongin’s cheek and muttered about him needing more meat on his bones before all-but shoving a pair of house slippers at him. She called back over her shoulder, “Jihoon! The boys are home!”
The house was blessedly cooler than the outdoors thanks to their father’s love of air conditioning. The smell of artificial caramel from various candles mixed nicely with the naturally salty air from outside. The interior decorations were very similar to the yard decorations in that it was all ocean-themed. Locally-sourced paintings of the beach and various sea creatures covered the walls. The shelves were lined with thicks, well-loved books and dustless knick-knacks. Like Mi-Ok had said, the house was a bit of a mess, but it was one Jeongin was intimately familiar with. Their father operated under an organized chaos style of living where everything was scattered everywhere, and yet he still knew where everything was. It drove their mother crazy to no end, but Jeongin felt that she enjoyed the (truly countless) opportunities to tidy up.
They were pushed to take seats in the living room while their mother fixed tea and snacks. Their father took that moment to emerge from his study and see his returned children for himself.
“Ahh, Mi-Ok’s eyes don’t deceive her I see. My boys!” Yang Jihoon greeted happily. Unlike Minho, Jeongin more greatly resembled his biological mother, though he and his father both shared the same clumsiness and nervous tics. And, of course, a love of the ocean.
Yang Jihoon, similarly to Baek Mi-Ok, was just a little shorter than average, enough so that Jeongin had to look down to meet his eyes. He wore thick, round-rimmed glasses that were askew on his face. His hair was thin and combed out of his eyes, the exact same hairstyle he’s worn for as long as Jeongin could remember. His otherwise scholarly appearance was all but ruined by the brightly patterned hawaiin shirt that he sported. Unlike Mi-Ok, he wasn’t quite done with academia yet, though Jeongin knew that his classes were becoming fewer and more far between as the years passed. It was only a matter of time before the folklorist left the university for good. Even then, Jeongin figured his dad would probably keep himself occupied writing books and whatnot. That man was never very far from a pen and paper.
Jihoon welcomes the two with warm hugs and pats on the back, laughing all the while. It always warmed his heart so much to hear his father’s voice. Jeongin just couldn’t stop smiling, and it didn’t go unnoticed.
“Aigoo, Jeongin-ah, just look at you! You’re practically glowing!” Jihoon exclaimed happily. “Ahh, the ocean air is really doing you some good, hm? Good, good, that’s good. Mi-ok and I have been worrying ourselves sick over you, you know.”
Jeongin chuckled bashfully and tugged at his ear. “Ah, sorry Dad… I’ve been doing a lot better, though. Hyung’s been taking care of me.”
“He’d better!” Mi-ok said sharply as she returned to the living room carrying a tray of tea. She fussed and handed out each cup before rounding the coffee table to take a seat next to her husband. “After all these years of trying to drag my boy out onto the waters with me, and he winds up on your ship instead. Hmph!”
Minho’s ears went red as he grimaced. “Mom…” Mi-ok tsked at him and gestured for him to drink his tea, which he did obediently.
“You boys had better tell us all about these past months. Don’t leave anything out,” Mi-ok demanded.
So, Jeongin talked on and on about their travels. There wasn’t much of note, all things considered. It wasn’t like they had actively been sailing anywhere interesting. Most of their time had been spent anchored in one spot for a few days at a time, never going too far from the coast. There were a few funny stories – when the splash from a cresting dolphin soaked Minho head to toe, when the radio shorted and Minho made Jeongin perform silly kids’ songs for him, things like that. There was the case of the… merpeople, but Jeongin didn’t mention that, of course. Not yet.
Jeongin tried to bring up Minho’s growing tendency to sleep half the day away, but was stopped by Minho subtly stepping on his foot. A tiny shake of the head from the corner of his eye was all that was needed for Jeongin to change courses, but the next topic wasn’t much better.
“There was… a guy that we met. A, uh, cave diver from a tour group, or something. Felix,” Jeongin said carefully.
Minho’s face fell and become shuttered, staring down into his tea cup. Their parents caught on instantly. “What happened?” Jihoon asked.
Jeongin debated with himself on how, exactly, to phrase it, but then Minho beat him to the punch in his typical blunt style. “He killed himself.”
Their parents went pale. Jeongin scrambled to explain. “He -! He’d gotten lost from his tour group and ended up at our boat, and then we gave him some food, and he – he just jumped back off afterward. To, uh, retrace his steps after regaining his energy. He could very well be alive and drinking mimosas right now! Haha!”
He saw Minho’s hand clench tightly around his teacup, clearly as unconvinced now as he had been back then. Their parents shared a glance, a silent conversation passing between their eyes that Jeongin had no hope of being privy to. After a moment, Mi-ok shifted forward and reached out to place a hand on Minho’s knee, giving it a comforting squeeze.
“I’m sure that must’ve been a fright, aegi. I’m sorry you two saw that,” she said softly. “Your brother is probably right, though. We haven’t heard any news here on land about any young men getting lost cave-diving, and you know how much the stations love to yak about stupid tourists. I’m sure this Felix fellow is doing just fine.”
Minho pursed his lips and said nothing. That was to be expected, though. Maybe someone else would’ve been assuaged by the words – but with a phobia as serious as Minho’s, there was little to be done but to wait for time to wash the memory away. Once more, that stinging guilt attacked Jeongin’s chest.
He cleared his throat quietly. “That’s… actually partially why we docked so soon. Seeing that was… stressful. We needed a break.” Meaning: Minho needed a break.
Thankfully, the family as a whole was well adjusted to Minho’s fear, and no one mentioned it. Jihoon hummed in understanding. “A break from the vacation, eh?” There was a slightly teasing undertone to his voice. “Well, if it means I get to spend more time with my children, you won’t find me complaining one bit.”
Afterwards, their father took to the kitchen to make dinner, rambling all the while about the goings-on of his latest class. Jeongin listened intently, enraptured as always by his father’s work as a folklorist. Meanwhile, their mother tidied up the house, mainly focusing on airing out their bedroom and replacing the bedding with fresh sheets. Eventually, she was replaced by Minho, who firmly sat her down with a scowl equal to her own. Jeongin believed that the only reason she acquiesced was because they all knew cleaning helped him calm down.
Dinner was, thankfully, not seafood. Jeongin loved seafood, of course! But after so long on the ocean… he was more than a little glad to see beef and vegetables on his plate. He and Minho ate voraciously, earning hearty laughter from their parents. Minho preened a little, always having been proud to be a good eater, but it made Jeongin hunch in on himself a little. He definitely ate more just then than he probably has in the past three days, even despite Minho’s best efforts… Was it too much?
Before he could get too lost in his worries, Minho flicked him on the forehead. His brother was giving him a steely glare when he looked over at him. Abashed, Jeongin continued eating until his plate was empty, though he made a mental note to avoid looking at the mirror when he got ready for bed that night.
Jeongin stayed back in the kitchen with their mother after everyone finished eating, the two of them tackling the dishes while the other two hung out in the living room to discuss Minho’s job as a children’s dance instructor. Mi-ok washed while Jeongin dried, and they worked side-by-side in comfortable quiet.
When Jeongin first met his would-be step mother, he’d been unnerved by her quieter nature. Jihoon was always rambling on and on about his research, and Jeongin’s birth mother had been just as eager to tell stories and jokes before she fell ill. It was from her that Jeongin got his love of music and performance – she’d always, always had the radio on, and his fondest memories of her had been dancing and singing in the living room while her husband watched and clapped.
His therapist suggested that he might’ve learned to associate silence with the illness that took her life, and that that may be related to his workaholic tendencies as an adult. He hated how much it made sense.
At any rate, over time, Jeongin had learned to be less intimidated by Mi-ok’s (and Minho’s!) quiet. It had turned into something peaceful rather than stifling, a serene reprieve much like the ocean itself.
Jeongin waited until he heard the sound of his father’s office door closing shut, doubtlessly the man having dragged Minho inside to compare lesson plans and talk shit about students (or, in Minho’s case, students’ parents.) Then, he straightened his back and cleared his throat to get Mi-ok’s attention.
“Hey…mom?” He began with a faux casualty. “You spent… a lot of time sailing, right? Have you ever seen something in the water that you just… couldn’t explain?”
Mi-ok quirked a brow and huffed, but a smile pulled at her lips. “Oh, all the time, dear. Countless data readings and phenomena we couldn’t make heads or tails of. Why, there was this one algae bloom back in ’89 that we sailed through…”
He coughed and shook his head a bit. “No, no, I mean – uh…” He tapped his foot as he tried to find a way to word it that avoided making him sound crazy. “Like… people, I guess?”
“People?” Jeongin nodded. Mi-ok’s hand with the sponge slowed its scrubbing of a pan until it stopped entirely. She blinked slowly at the soapy water in the sink, the smile falling from her face. “Jeongin-ah. What is it that you’re trying to ask me?”
Jeongin swallowed. Should he just outright ask her if she’s ever seen a mermaid? Maybe his dad would’ve been a better choice. What would she say if he told her that a non-zero amount of mer people have been following him around? She was by far more pragmatic than his father. Maybe she would make him stay on land.
He shuddered. As scared the mer situation made him, he could not stay on land. Not right now.
“Just, like, uh… You know that guy we were talking about earlier? Felix?” Jeongin pulled out quickly. “Have you ever been in a situation like that before? It was so… bizarre.”
Mi-ok was quiet for a moment longer before her shoulders – which Jeongin hadn’t even realized had risen – slumped down. She chuckled. “You know, I can’t say that I have. Back in my day, cave-diving was a hobby reserved for the rich and stupid. Though, maybe that part hasn’t changed, exactly.”
“Mom. Let’s be real, here. If you could’ve gone cave-diving in your twenties, you would’ve.”
“Damn right I would’ve! Underwater caves have so many interesting creatures! Say, did you know –“
Bullet dodged.
Jeongin and Minho shared the same bedroom, and always had ever since Minho and his mother moved in. The room was neatly divided in half, both of their beds having been lofted high to fit desks underneath. Admittedly, the room wasn’t… quite big enough for the two of them, especially in their adult ages. When they were kids and newly brothers, it had caused no small amount of arguments between them. Jeongin remembered several occasions where he, frustrated, had dragged a pillow and blanket into his father’s office to sleep there just for a bit of privacy, only to wake up and find that Minho had done the exact same thing with the living room couch. As they got older, things got much easier, of course, but the room was still small.
Jeongin’s side of the room was much like the rest of the house. It had shelves of decorative sea shells that he’d picked himself from the beach, a few dusty fishing rods standing in a corner, and even the lamp on his desk was shaped like Flounder from The Little Mermaid. His side also had a few idol posters that were torn at the edges and an old guitar that’s had a broken string for the past four years. An old, faded fox plushie handsewn by his biological mother sat snuggly between his pillow and the wall.
Minho’s side of the room was completely picked clean of any and all things related to the ocean. His walls were mostly bare, with only a single poster of a motivational cat that he swore up and down was up there completely unironically. Most of his actual belongings were stored away in his apartment after he moved out, eager to get away from the water. Even then, Jeongin remembered his brother not really being attached to material goods the way Jeongin had been. It had been yet another point of contention between them when they’d initially met.
The glow stars on the ceiling had long ago lost their shine, but Jeongin could still point out each one with pinpoint accuracy in the dark. He stared up at them, unable to sleep as his mind raced with thoughts and images. Images of fins, mostly, though the occasional snatch of plump lips and shiny eyes made their way through. He tried not to focus on that.
Minho snored quietly across the room. Unlike Jeongin, he’d passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow. It was unsurprising, considering his behavior as of late. Though, that was yet another thing plaguing Jeongin’s mind. Was his brother… okay? Or was it just the stress of being out on the sea that made him sleep so much?
He sighed heavily and shut his eyes. He… he was definitely going to return to the boat, that was for certain. He would try to talk Minho into staying home, but he doubted he’d have much luck. Was he hoping to see Hyunjin or another merperson again out on the waters? The thought scared him, but… there was also a small thrill. He’d grown up on his father’s stories of water folk, after all.
What if…
What if Hyunjin really was telling the truth? And Felix, too? What if they really were trying to help him? He still had no clue what, exactly, they were wanting to help him with, but… he was curious. Was that curiousity stronger than his common sense, though? Was he willing to take that risk?
It was either take the risk of seeing them again, or staying on land. What was more unbearable?
…
Well, that one was a no-brainer.