drown for you | jjk

20

He falters in his movements when a few centimeters of the very edge of a dark fin slowly and gracefully slices through the surface. It's still dark in the room, but you all saw it. The tension in the room intensifies in a heartbeat, and you nearly stop breathing.

"What do I do?" the man asks cautiously, his eyes still coldly focused on you. He keeps as still as possible, and you can't blame him. Honestly, you're already surprised and even a bit impressed at his courage. Or maybe it's just pure stupidity.

"Keep going, but move slowly. You don't wanna engage its hunter's instincts. Like cats, you know? You don't wanna appear to be a mouse."

"Alright," he confirms, clearly nervous but trusting the other's advice.

"It won't help, you should leave," you suddenly hear your own voice warn, quiet and strained from fear and exhaustion. You see the 'leader' eye you suspiciously from the platform.

"You knew it was here. Were you hoping we'd be too afraid to follow you? That it would save you?" he chuckles smugly. "Stupid girl."

The blonde guy laughs along with him, and the man halfway toward you prepares to start swimming again when suddenly, he's pulled under.

"What the fuck?!" the blonde man yells from the safety of the platform, his feet taking him just a few steps closer to the edge.

You keep your wide eyes on the small waves that the harsh movement left behind. The way he was pulled under reminds you of the first fish you threw to Jeongguk and how it had vanished in the exact same way. Extremely quickly and leaving no trace of what took it. The man hadn't even gotten a chance to scream.

After the commotion, silence spreads through the room. You all wait anxiously, wondering what's currently going on beneath the stilling surface. Is the man already dead? Has Jeongguk killed him?

A second later, your thoughts are interrupted by the man resurfacing in a panicked state, gasping for air and swimming as fast as he can back to the platform. To your surprise, he manages to get all the way back there, wheezing his lungs out. You'd almost expected him to be dragged down again.

The other two are quick to help him up, and from what you're able to tell, the man is unhurt. He stands up on shaky legs, water dripping everywhere, and turns around just in time to watch Jeongguk appear.

He's in front of you, only the back of his head and the tops of his shoulders visible to you, but you can tell he's angry. It's like you can feel it radiate from him.

"Leave," he growls. As if he's noticed you growing all the more tired behind him, he moves backward, allowing you to climb onto his back. To say that you're grateful and relieved is an understatement.

You let your entire body except for your arms relax, spent and slumped against him. If he'd needed to breathe air, you're positive you would've choked him with how hard your arms cling to his neck. But he doesn't seem to mind.

"What the fuck, he can talk?! And I thought you said it was a small female?" One of the men questions. With your head facing sideways as you lean onto Jeongguk, you don't know which one.

"It doesn't matter, he's too strong, and I'm not going back in the water, that's for sure."

"I will kill you and then eat you," Jeongguk growls again. "Or maybe I'll eat you alive."

"Oh?" the leader voices, sounding all too unaffected. "Maybe she isn't so stupid after all. Looks like it's actually protecting her!"

They start talking to each other, exchanging ideas in hushed mumbles that are too quiet for you to discern.