drown for you | jjk

24

On Monday evening, D-1, it's time to say goodbye, your plane rising earlier than the sun the morning after. Sure, you'll only be gone for four days, but when you return, you'll only have a few days left before Jeongguk is released.

Saying goodbye to the others is easy, just a quick 'bye, see you in a few days' when they leave for the day and getting a 'bye, have a safe flight' in return. But parting from Jeongguk will be different, a practice run for when you have to do it for real.

You've spent almost the entire day with him, except for a short briefing with Namjoon in his office. He updated you on the status of Jeongguk's fin, and also revealed that some half-sketchy scientist reached out to him regarding 'his siren.'

The fact that rumors are evidently spreading—more and more people becoming aware that the lab houses a siren—worries all of you. This person has, according to himself, experience with sirens, and has done quite a bit of research on the subject. Great, you'd think, but he also mentioned that the last of his sirens passed away recently, and what is that if not a huge red flag?

Neither of you know much about this 'scientist' from his very short, straightforward email, but to say that you're extremely suspicious of him is an understatement. Jeongguk is only one siren, one individual, but you couldn't imagine that other sirens would allow themselves to be captured voluntarily either. Why would they want to live in tiny, restricting tanks, only to be used for experimental purposes?

They wouldn't. Jeongguk hadn't.

And why would he willingly share that his sirens had passed away? He didn't explicitly say why he contacted Namjoon, only that he'd appreciate some 'samples', but you're not exactly keen on sharing anything about Jeongguk with him. What if his sirens–if he did actually have any–died due to his experiments? Yeah, no thanks. Fortunately, Namjoon agreed that the best choice is to not engage with the man at all.

But even if you did choose to give the man the benefit of the doubt and consider that his only goal was to help the sirens–just like you're helping Jeongguk–you would never subject Jeongguk to any more unnecessary testing.

You just hope that Jeongguk will be safe at the lab until he's released. And after, of course, but that isn't as pressing of a matter. If he's only given the space and freedom to defend himself, you're absolutely convinced that he can.

So, in a way, you want the days to pass as quickly as possible, knowing that every day confined to the tank is a risk, your heart aches at the thought of not seeing him anymore.

If only there is some way for you to keep in touch with him? Maybe you could utilize the full moon to meet up at the nearest harbor or beach? You've become so used to seeing him so often that once a month, if that, feels unbearable. Still, it's better than losing him forever.

Not wanting to talk about all of the heavy stuff at the moment, you figure that you'll bring it up when you get back, because surely he'll want to keep in touch, as well? Reminded of his Snapchat adventures and how he wished for a phone himself, you find yourself cursing the gods for making it such an impossibility. Admittedly, you've already mentally explored the idea that maybe there exists a phone case that would allow him to bring a phone down with him into the water, but it eventually falls at the thought of chargers and battery life and all that. There are, of course, no electrical outlets in the ocean. If you're ever going to meet up outside of the lab, you've have to agree on something beforehand.

The horrifying mental picture of you, sitting on a wooden deck at midnight and waiting for someone who never comes sends chills down your spine. Just the thought that—even if you do agree on a reoccurring time and place—he won't show up, makes you nauseous. He could get injured, recaptured, or even killed, and you would never know what happened to him.