The Merman's Lament - IvanTill

~02~

One day, Hyuna and Hyunwoo, just like any other day, told Ivan to follow them to yet another shipwreck. Ivan made sure his father was not around and fled, meeting with the twins at their secret hideout. Together, they swam to the border of the underwater kingdom, almost reaching the sea wizard's territory.

Even if they were told time and time again to never get so close to his territory since he was considered the worst creature to ever exist, their thirst for treasure hunting was bigger than anything else.

Still, to say they were scared was an understatement, at least for Hyunwoo, who was a scaredy cat. Ivan and Hyuna, however, were not scared at all.

"Hey, let's hurry up," said Hyunwoo with a face paler than a sheet of paper. "The sea wizard might kill us if he catches us being so close to his lair!"

"Hyunwoo, he won't kill us. I have been to this area many times before, and he doesn't mind it as long as you don't fully get into his territory without having the intent to make a deal with him."

Still, Hyunwoo trembled as if a cold wind was hitting him. It was hard to believe otherwise when he had heard nothing but horror stories about Luka, as it was rumored that his name was.

It was said that he would kill whoever approached his lair and then use their remains to create spells or just keep them as trophies hanging on the walls. As for those who made a deal with him, it was rumored that he had manipulated them into making those deals in all possible ways and brought them to the brink of despair so they would have no other choice but to come to him. It was no wonder that anyone would be scared after hearing any of it.

The shipwreck was bigger than many others they had found. The wood was of greater quality compared to others, but since there were many storms in the area, it had still managed to sink. Taking a better look at it, they saw that it had a green flag with an edelweiss flower on it and several other emblems around its entire structure. Ivan didn't think twice before getting inside and starting to search. He tried to find something that wasn't already in his collection, and that's when he was met with the sight of a statue that had miraculously not broken.

It represented a young man, probably of his same age. His hair was short, his bangs almost covering his eyes. He was dressed in elegant and fancy-looking clothes, which gave the image of someone who was either a prince or a noble.

Ivan, as if hypnotized, couldn't stop looking at that face, which was perfectly sculpted. Those piercing, fierce eyes that seemed to hold so much passion in them were what made him so drawn to it the most. Something about them made his heart skip more than one beat.

He was probably the most handsome being he had ever seen. No merfolk was that beautiful in all seven seas, and none of them could even awaken his interest like this unknown human could.

Hyuna and Hyunwoo watched as Ivan gazed at the statue before him, as if hypnotized, and gently reached to caress the cheek of the statue.

"Ivan...?" asked Hyuna, who was flabbergasted seeing her friend acting that way. "Ivan, stop staring at that statue and let's leave!" whined Hyunwoo. "I don't want to be used for spells or be anybody's trophy!"

Ivan didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay there and keep staring at that statue, at that beautiful man.

"Can you both help me? I want to take it with me and place it in my garden, with the rest of my collection."

"HUH?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" yelled Hyunwoo, clearly against the idea. "IT'S TOO HEAVY! WHAT IF LUKA FINDS OUT WE ARE CLOSE TO HIS TERRITORY?!"

Hyuna, however, gestured for her twin brother to calm down and then turned to Ivan, keeping her cool at all times like she always would.

"Sure. I will help you out. It indeed is a crazy idea, but I'll help you out."

Ivan smiled, showing off his snaggletooth, and the two of them grabbed the statue while Hyunwoo led the way out of the shipwreck. It was indeed heavy, even for the two of them, but they managed to carry it out and leave the area safely.

They swam back to their hideout, wanting to rest a little bit before the twins helped Ivan take the statue to his garden.

"You both are crazy!" exclaimed Hyunwoo while they were catching their breaths. "You are both lucky Luka didn't sense our presence this time! We wouldn't have had a chance of making it out alive while carrying that thing with us!"

"Oh, come on! You are acting as if we had set foot in his territory when we were still in the kingdom's territory! He can't do anything even if it's on the border of his too!" said Hyuna, trying to get her brother to calm down.

"And you, Ivan! You were scaring me with the way you were looking at that statue! It was as if you were hypnotized by it!"

Ivan turned to him with a confused expression, only to then turn to the statue again and look at the face of that young man that had captivated him.

The more he looked at it, the more he felt this weird tingling sensation in his stomach he had never felt before, and his heart beat faster. He couldn't tell why exactly that representation of that stranger was making him feel like that, but he also knew that it felt good and it was somehow addictive.

He wanted to look at it more and more to feel that, and most of all, he wanted to know if that young man was even real and, in case he was, if he was alive.