VHope Fluffshots

Riptide

The photo is TaeKook, but it's reference for what Taehyung looks like, except with brown hair.

Jung Hoseok absolutely loved the sea. He loved the salty breeze, crashing waves and warm sand more than he loved himself. He lived in a nice house about a ten minute walk from the rocky shore, which was dangerous during high tides, but Hoseok loved the aggression of the tide on the rocks. He was just so fascinated with the underwater universe.

The usual routine was one Hoseok established when he first moved here. Early-morning walk on the beach, breakfast, then work at the sea turtle hospital. When he got off work, he ate dinner and changed, then spent some time on the beach before he showered and went to bed. There was something peaceful about the ocean in the evening; how unforgiving and unyielding it became while the humans settled down to rest. It intrigued him as much as terrified him.

Tonight, Hoseok sat on one of the tall rocks, knife in hand as he scraped off an oyster and opened it, revealing a perfect black pearl. He smiled fondly as he held the precious pearl in his hand; it was rather large and he immediately decided it was his favorite. Back at home, he had a small jar full of shark teeth and small white pearls and one large peach-ish one. This black pearl would complete his collection. Hoseok sheathed his knife and allowed the oyster to close and set it in a deep crevice on the side of the rock so the tide wouldn't pull it out to sea.

Every few minutes, a large wave would come up and crash harshly against the rocks, drenching Hoseok in seawater. His shorts stuck to his body and his yellow shirt acted like a second skin, red hair clinging to his forehead. He happily weathered it as he looked out among the open ocean, squinting in confusion when he saw a dark-peach-colored tail fain dip into the water. "What the...?" He stood up to catch a better look as the fin popped out of the water once again, dipping back down into the depths like it never existed in the first place.

A large, ten-foot wave crashed over the rocks, knocking Hoseok off his perch and into the water. The last thing he remembered was being slammed against something jagged before everything went black.

My head, Hoseok thought as he opened his eyes. A cave. He was in a cave. It was a vast open area with a natural skylight and a pool that tapered off into the open ocean through what seemed like an underwater tunnel. The pool was like the shore; it got deeper the farther out you went. At its deepest point, it was around thirty feet.

But he wasn't alone.

Next to him was a man who must have been about two years younger than him. No, he wasn't a man - not completely. Dark tanned skin like honey. Gills on either side of his neck. Dark-peach scales that condensed into a strong majestic tail, which flicked lazily in the shallow water. Torso covered by a long white short-sleeved shirt. Shaggy brown hair still a little wet. And such stunning brown eyes. This was a merman. They were real.

As soon as the merman noticed that Hoseok was awake, his eyes grew huge and he shot back into the pool, peeking his eyes out a considerate distance away. Hoseok tried to sit up on his elbows, but he yelled in agony as a searing-hot pain shot through his left shoulder. "Don't do that. Lie still," the merman said, eyes not leaving the hurting human. "You're real," Hoseok gasped out as he laid back on the sandy bank. "Of course I am. I'm just as real as you humans." The sharp tone took the human by surprise.

"What happened to me?" he asked instead, closing his eyes as the merman slowly approached the shore. "You fell and the waves threw you up against the rocks. I could have let you die, but I saved you instead." Bitter. Why was he so bitter? "Thank you for saving me. I would sound a lot more sincere but I'm in a considerate amount of pain at the moment," Hoseok gritted out and the merman's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah. I can fix that."