drown for you | jjk

05

You nod eagerly, sitting down on the other side of his desk, on the extra chair, and leaning forward by instinct. Hoseok doesn't ask how you came to know of the siren's existence, so you assume that Namjoon's already revealed that he caught the two of you talking that night. Or rather, you talking. The siren was only listening.

"Okay, you know he's a... siren? ...I can't tell you much about how he got here, but he came into our possession injured," you ignore the way it disturbs you, hearing Hoseok basically refer to the siren as an object. Something to possess. And what does he mean he's injured? "And we've been trying to heal him to eventually send him back to the sea, but it's turned out to be an extremely complicated process."

A deep sigh leaves him, and you know you've never seen him so down. It's a relief to hear that the siren isn't some sort of guinea pig to them, at least. You were right to think that they only ever wanted to help.

Suddenly, a memory resurfaces, causing your cheeks to heat up. It's the memory of you accusing Taehyung of experimenting on the siren. What you wanted then, more than anything, was a reaction, to rile him up so that he'd let something slip. It didn't go entirely according to plan, but he did confirm your suspicions that there was indeed something kept in the tank.

"Not unlike many other animals, he doesn't seem to realize that what we're doing is for his own good. He killed people at the last place that had him, and, unfortunately, he hasn't been much friendlier to us."

You gulp. Killed?

An image starts to fill your mind, causing goosebumps to appear on your skin. You're back inside the room and standing on the platform underneath the moonlight. You can't move, feet frozen in place as a pair of blank, black eyes watch you silently from the ominous water. It's not pieces of fruit that bob around him this time; it's human body parts. An arm, a hand... a head.

"By coincidence, we discovered that he's way calmer in water so murky that we can't see him," Hoseok continues, and you try to blink the image away. The siren's never done anything to make you believe he'd want to hurt you. If that was his goal, then he would've tried already. Right?

"But it's very difficult to monitor his healing process that way. He seemed to warm up a little to me before—Namjoon and I are the only ones who have actually seen him, but it hasn't been often, just enough glimpses to conclude that he's not getting any worse. Tae and Jimin have been leaving food for him, but he's never shown himself to them, just ate when they left."

You nod for him to continue, wanting so desperately to know what's wrong.

"But now, he hasn't shown himself to anyone in more than a week. He isn't eating anything anymore, and we don't know what to do."

Your heart sinks within your chest. How do they know he isn't already.... dead? If you were the one in charge, then that would've been your first thought. It pains you to think of him like that: lifeless at the bottom of the tank.

"Maybe h—he's not alive anymore? Maybe something happened to him?" You question with a slight tremble to your voice. Hoseok looks at your distraught face and sighs again. It's one of those days, one that requires a lot of sighs. Sad sighs.

"No, he is. After he found you exploring the place, Namjoon had cameras and microphones set up. We can see him... surfacing at night, sometimes he strands himself on the platform until he can't breathe anymore..."

Many marine animals, like whales, have been observed stranding themselves; you're well aware of that. You also know that it's unknown what exactly causes the phenomenon although several explanations have been proposed by researchers over the years, like changes to the water temperature or geomagnetic disturbances. It doesn't necessarily mean that the animals are suicidal; it doesn't mean that he's suicidal. You hope it's 'only' a result of stress, but it still hurts all the same.

"But most of the nights, he sings."

"What?"

"Yeah, you know the legends? Sirens sing to attract humans to prey upon, to lure them to their deaths and all that?"

You nod slowly, unsure as to what Hoseok's getting at. Is he insinuating that the siren's gotten tired of the fish he's being fed? He wants to eat people now? The image of him surrounded by body parts returns to your retinas, but now, he's ripping flesh from a pale, severed arm with his teeth, eyes still boring into yours.

You're not going to claim that it doesn't scare you. Don't the legends say that a siren's song is irresistible? A couple of months ago, you would've scoffed at the idea, but now you don't disregard it entirely. A couple of months ago, you hadn't met a fucking siren in the first place.

"Well, it seems to be true that they like to sing, but he only sings at night, and it's not nearly what I expected it to sound like, you know? Judging by the stories, I thought it would be... seductive, in a way, I guess."

"But it's not?" you ask, urging Hoseok to continue. He gazes down at his clasped hands on the desk, his right thumb tapping gloomily against his other hand.

"No, it's sad. Whenever Namjoon asks me to watch the tapes, I have to turn the volume down or even mute it. It's heartbreaking."

You don't know what to say. From what you've learned today, the siren's change in behavior began right after Namjoon revoked your access to the room.

"Can I see them? The tapes?" You have to ask; you just have to. You've never heard his voice, but you're sure it would speak to you.

"No, I don't have unrestricted access to them, and besides, Namjoon would kill me if he found out, both that we're talking about this but also that I showed him to you. Doesn't matter if it's only on a screen."

Huh? They don't know that you've already seen him? Did Namjoon not tell the others that? Or did he, himself, not see the siren's head that night that he caught you? The siren must've submerged himself before Namjoon could spot him, you realize.

"I've seen him already, though?"

Hoseok whips his head up to stare at you wide-eyed. "You've seen him?"

"Yeah, many times. I sneaked in there after everyone had left for weeks. I used to feed him fruit and talk to him," you say, even you surprised at how casual you sound. It feels nice to get it off your chest.

Giving Hoseok no time to properly process your words, you decide to ask him something. "Hoseok, he's... smart. We know that. And just like us and other species like whales, elephants... don't you think he might be... lonely?"

"Shit," he exclaims.

You could ask him why none of them thought of that, but then again, they hadn't known that you'd been such a big part of his day-to-day life. Or is that just you being arrogant? Tooting your own horn? You don't want to assume that the siren felt so lonely solely because you stopped seeing him. All you did was chew his ears off and toss him sloppily cut fruit, after all.

"What is it?" you query worriedly.

"Uh, let's just say that you might be... right. The siren's life hasn't exactly been, uh, easy, and if finding a friend in you was the only remotely good thing about this place, then losing that... might have been the last straw."

He rises abruptly from his seat, not caring that a few papers fly from his desk in the process.

"I need to speak to Namjoon!"