Splash of Love | j.hs au

Chapter 14

You concealed the clothes right behind the rocks of where you originally came upon shore.. Looking around, you didn't see anyone near the area so you took your chance. Diving into the water, your legs transformed into a tail and you sighed. It's been a while since you've been in the ocean and the last time, your senses were a bit muddled. You stayed there for a moment, adjusting your eyes to the even darker ocean and the faint sounds of sea creatures roaming around.

Oh, you forgot.

You have echolocation. Duh. Still, your eyes were a bit better than a human's. Swimming along, you sort of stumbled - wait, maybe flopped a bit? Ugh, you need to get used to your tail to swim. Relaxing the huge tail, you slowly moved it up and down until it didn't hurt that much. Slowly, you began moving and started your way to Hae's cave. You ventured more into the cave, going along the way that you went when you first came here. Then you arrived at the heart of the cave.

Hae looked up in surprise as she saw you. "I thought you liked the land?" Now her pet fish had started swimming around.

"I do, don't get me wrong." You swam closer to the rock that was cauldron-like.

"Not too close!" She held up her hand. "This potion is dangerous."

You looked at the pretty color of red bubbling in the rock. "What are you making?" You asked, wondering why she would tell you to stay away.

"It's just something that you shouldn't be next to." Hae replied then looked at you. "So, can I ask why you're here down in the ocean? Did the guy say he didn't like you back or something?" She began to grab some coral pieces and laid them down next to a flat rock.

"No, that's not why I'm here." You said, watching her. "You're the only one I know who can make potions and things, did you give my sister a pair of legs?"

"Your sister?" Hae questioned and laid the rock she was now holding down. "Is her name Jihyo?" You nodded, waiting for her response but you kind of figured it out already. "Yes I did. She came here three days ago asking for a pair of legs. I'm not even sure how she found me."

You frowned a bit. "Then what did she give you...?"

She held up a finger and brought it up to her lips. "Now that's a secret. Though it reminds me, you only have a few months until you change back permanently."

Your eyes widened a bit. "What do you mean?"

Hae sighed. "Apparently a few days after you left, I was going through the recipe again and there was a warning after the spell. You only have six months on land with the pair of legs. Sorry, it was my first time doing the spell and I didn't read until the end."

"S-Six months?!" You gasped, trying to figure out how many days it has been. "B-But..."

Hae nodded. "It's been a few weeks, hasn't it?"

You wanted to let out a scream. "Then what am I supposed to do?! Can I come back and get the potion again?!" You swam a bit closer to her, freaking out a bit.

Hae leaned back a bit. "What did I just say? Stay away from this potion." You went backwards a bit, awaiting her answer. She sighed. "Well, I guess so but you would have to get me an ingredient from the abyss."

Your heart dropped a little. "T-The abyss?"

"Yes. There's a rare type of coral that only grows in the darkness. I'll need some in the future so once your time is up on land, then you can come back and get it. Is it a deal?"

"You don't want another ingredient? Another bracelet I need to steal or anything?" You asked once more because you think you cannot handle the abyss.

Hae gave you a look. "For the price of this potion, I think it's a good trade. I only have limited ingredients for the leg potion. Is it still a deal or not?"

You bit your lip. The abyss was a bit terrifying... but what if you can't get Hoseok to fall in love with you? If Hoseok doesn't like you by six months... you'll return to the ocean. "Okay, only if the guy I like falls in love with me by then. Is that okay?"

"Whatever you want." Hae shrugged. "Are you sure he's going to? Have you even made any progress with him?"

"Not really but Jihyo ruined it earlier! It was my first step to progress!" You cried out.

Hae sighed. "Well good luck, I guess. Just be careful if you get you get heartbroken and get humiliated in front of everyone."

You stayed silent for a bit. "Huh?"

Hae waved you off. "Nothing. Don't you have someone to fall in love with?"

"That's right!" You nodded and Hae could see the determination in your eyes. "I'll come back again then!" Then you swam off as fast as you could back to land. This time, you're going to make Hoseok fall in love with you!

Hae watched you go without saying another word. The fish that keeps her company emerged from the deeper inside the cave and swam around her slowly in circles. She sighed. "Hopefully Y/N won't experience the pain I felt..." She looked towards the fish whose scales shone slightly despite the dark cave. "...right?" The silent atmosphere of the cave answered her with nothing.

Heaving yourself up on the rocks, you let out a huff. Next time, you're working on the upper body. Why was your tail so heavy? Your tail began to transform and it left you back with your legs. Quickly, you put back on the clothes and was thankful that there wasn't anybody around. Oh wait. Now a couple came around the corner walking their... dog. The dog started to bark at you and you froze up. Instincts were telling you to jump back in the ocean but thankfully the logical part of your brain made you still.

"Sorry!" The couple apologized. "Hope you had a good swim out there." You smiled, thanking them and carefully went back to the beach. Yep, animals still know you're something not human. You continued along and walked back to your apartment. On the way there, you got caught at a crosswalk so you stood there waiting for it to be clear. Your thoughts were a muddled mess so you didn't really hear anything until you did when his voice was right next to your ear.

"Were you swimming in the ocean?" Jimin's voice asked.

Startled, you jumped and accidentally knocked into someone besides you. "I'm sorry!" You apologized to them who moved a bit away from you. You turned to see Jimin laughing. "I said not to scare me!"

He could only shrug. "Yeah but I made myself known or at least tried to. You wouldn't answer me."

"Did you?" You blinked. "S-Sorry I was thinking about something."

Jimin nodded. "No worries. Is it anything you want to talk about? I'm here to listen."

How easy it would be to tell him everything but you can't. No. "It's nothing. Just something I'm going through." Before Jimin could say anything else, the crosswalk guardian allowed people to cross. "I gotta go but I'll see you!" You smiled, hoped it wasn't off and rushed home. At least you could finally rest after what happened today.