Tails and Toes • Jikook Mermaid AU

Chapter One

The boy with the black hair licked his lips and then he smiled. Jungkook always had some time left everyday to swim. He didn't know what it was, but he was always in a good mood when he was at the beach. He loved swimming since he was a little kid. He felt free and careless while swimming, he didn't had to think for it. Jungkook invited his best friend Taehyung for a swim too, but Taehyung didn't love to swim as much as Jungkook did. Probably because he couldn't swim.

Jungkook was only dressed in a pair of swimming shorts, he left the rest of his clothes at his appartment. He had a pool in his backyard, but it wasn't anything like the sea and Jungkook always prefered the ocean over the pool. Jungkook walked on the brown sand with a smile on his face. With excitement, he stood still with his feet in the water and he laughed when tiny waves splashed his ankles. It felt like the sea was greeting him and it felt like that every day he came here.

It was summer time, but even though it was hot enough, there weren't that many people at the beach. No one was swimming and Jungkook didn't understand, because the weather was amazing and the water felt fantastic. Jungkook didn't hesitate when he walked into the sea. He started running and when it was deep enough, he dove into the ocean. Because Jungkook swam every day, he was very healthy and he could also hold his breath longer than most people expected.

Jungkook swam and swam further into the sea. Swimming around, he felt weightless and carefree. He had nothing to worry about, he was at peace. When Jungkook swam to the surface and popped his head out of the water, he realised that he was further away from the shore than he thought. This never happened before and Jungkook swam every day, so it was really uncommon. Jungkook wanted to take a deep breath, so that he could dive back to the shore, but a big wave suddenly came and crashed into him.

Jungkook's head was slammed into the water and he started coughing when he was up again. He swallowed a lot of seawater and that was disgustingly salty. Jungkook took a deep breath and dove into the water again. He needed to get back to the shore now, because it was dangerous to be this far into the sea. Jungkook never thought about it, but he could drown. He got scared when he thought about dying and he opened his mouth to scream, but he was underwater, so he immediatly lost all the air he had left.

Jungkook wanted to go to the surface again, but the salty water irritated his eyes and he was too deep. No, Jungkook thought. This couldn't be happening. The boy got a really painful headache, because he didn't had air. And his brain needed air to function. Black spots were forming in Jungkook's eyesight and he tried to move his arms and legs to swim to the surface, but it was too late. He was drowning. Every drop of seawater in his lungs and throat felt like lava and were burning in his body. Jungkook didn't struggle anymore and a few bubbles escaped from his mouth. Jungkook accepted the fact that he was going to die, he couldn't do anything about it anymore. He closed his eyes and waited. He waited for death.

Suddenly, Jungkook felt two hands grabbing him by his waist and lifting him up to the surface. Jungkook got scared and opened his eyes to see what it was. He didn't see much, because of the black spots in his eyesight. But he could see two brown eyes. They looked right into his and when Jungkook squinted his eyes, he also saw something what gave him chills. A big blue tail with a blue fin. Jungkook wanted to scream again, because he was frightened. But the darkness that was his eyesight now, consumed him, he passed out in the process.

...

Jungkook moaned softly and he opened his eyes. He thought he was laying in his bed, and that it was just a nightmare. But he was laying on the brown sand of the beach, his feet were in the water. "What the hell?" Jungkook mumbled to himself and he lifted himself up with his elbows. He was in a part of the beach he had never been before. It was hidden with large rocks from the shore, but it was the most beautiful spot of the whole beach. The sunrays were shining on the sand which made it all shiny and the shells on this part of the beach were all different sizes and colours.

But Jungkook was confused and he didn't focuse on the beauty of this part of the beach while thinking. He was alive, he didn't drown. How? He remembered the hands on his waist and the dark brown eyes. That wasn't possible. But still, did that someone save Jungkook from drowning? How in the world was that possible? Jungkook stood up and scratched the back of his head, while he still looked confused. He stared into the ocean and he never felt more confused. His lungs and throat were still burning from the salty water he swallowed earlier and he needed to drink something cold.

Jungkook couldn't forget the dark brown eyes he saw when he almost drowned. Maybe it was an hallucination. After all, his brain didn't get much air and maybe it started to form hallucinations. That was probably what it was, Jungkook thought. It's such a simple explanation. Yeah, Jungkook didn't had much air and his brain didn't get as much air as it needed normally. So that is also why Jungkook started to see black spots, his eyesight was giving up on him, just like his brain. Those haunting brown eyes, they were just an hallucination. And so was the blue tail that Jungkook also saw in the water before he passed out.

Jungkook turned his head away from the water and he walked away from the beautiful spot and also the spot were he woke up after passing out. Jungkook walked over the brown sand with light steps and he looked for the last time at the sea before he would go home. What Jungkook didn't knew, was that something was watching him. Something in the sea.