Sea Legs || ChaeSom

f o u r

"What if she's dead?" Dahyun asked, after hearing Chaeyoung's concerns at lunchtime.

The mermaid has been unconscious for the past three days. Chaeyoung would approach the pool every couple of hours, only to see the body lazily floating in the water. She expected it the first day, was alarmed the second, and panicked the third day.

"She can't be," Tzuyu said. "Otherwise, she wouldn't have a pulse. Didn't you check her pulse, Chae?"

"She was breathing when I picked her up."

"I meant any of the other days. Like yesterday."

"...No."

Dahyun gave Tzuyu a knowing look. "See? She could've drowned or something—"

"Unnie, she's a mermaid."

"Maybe there's not enough salt in the water."

"I hardly think that's a plausible reason," Tzuyu scoffed, returning to her lunch.

The conversation wasn't helping at all. Chaeyoung was terrified that she accidentally murdered a mermaid. What would happen? Would the police arrest her? Would a gang of merpeople find her and beat her up? Would they drown her in the ocean? She was only trying to help!

She was unable to pay attention the rest of the day, racing home as soon as classes were over, leaving her friends in the dust. She didn't kill a mermaid, she didn't kill a mermaid, SHE DIDN'T KILL A MERMAID—

Chaeyoung skipped going through the house and ran to the back. She dropped her bag and hurried to the bushes, pulling them back and peering over the edge of the pool. She didn't kill a mermaid, she didn't kill a...mermaid?

The pool was completely empty.

Oh no...

"Hello?" Chaeyoung called, trying her best not to panic and failing miserably. There was a mermaid on the loose, probably flopping around like a giant fish and looking for water. Maybe the water was too salty.

"Wh-who's there?" Chaeyoung heard a voice ask not too far away.

The small girl shimmied through the bushes and round the pool to see the missing mermaid lying flat on her back, a pointy branch pointing towards her.

"Whoa! Please don't hurt me!" Chaeyoung raised her hands up.

"Who are you? Why am I here? What do you plan on doing to me?"

"I...you were unconscious, Miss Mermaid ma'am. So I just, kinda, brought you back to my place to heal?"

The mermaid didn't seem to believe her. Chaeyoung didn't blame her. Keeping a half-person hostage in a swimming pool while unconscious didn't look innocent.

"You have to believe me! I found you unconscious by the ocean, and I just couldn't leave you there—"

"Yes, you could have," the mermaid sharply said. "The ocean is my home."

Wow, okay then.

"Something could've hurt you again—"

"I highly doubt it. I can protect myself."

Clearly not. But Chaeyoung didn't say that, in fear of the mermaid actually chucking the large stick at her.

"But somebody else could've found you," Chaeyoung tried.

"And?"

"They could've actually hurt you. I don't want to hurt you, I'm trying to help you."

That seemed to be the right thing to say, as the mermaid lowered her stick slightly and looked around. Chaeyoung wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for.

"How do I know that? You're probably the one that knocked me out!"

Chaeyoung sighed in disbelief. "Do I really look like a person who could knock you out?"

The mermaid gave her a quick look-over. "True. You're tiny."

Chaeyoung would've normally been offended and would've whined to stop teasing about her height, but in that circumstance she was kind of glad. She looked less of a threat with her lack of height.

"I'm Chaeyoung!" She introduced herself, further trying to gain the mermaid's trust.

The half-human looked at the outstretched hand for a moment, as if trying to figure out if she should take it or not. Eventually, she gripped Chaeyoung's hand and pulled away rather quickly.

"I'm Somi."

"Where is she?"

Two males stood in front of the third, their heads bowed, not wanting to establish any contact. It only made the third angrier as he looked back and forth between his two workers. They had one job...

"You two imbeciles had only one job and you managed to screw it up!"

"We're sorry, boss," one of them said. "But when we came back with the rope, she was just...just gone!"

"If she was properly knocked out, she wouldn't have been able to get away!"

"But that's the thing!" The other guy spoke up. "She didn't get back in the ocean! Someone had to have taken her. There were footsteps in the sand."

"Then who took her?"

The two men shrugged. "We don't know, sir. But we'll find out!"

"You better!" Their boss growled. "Or you're both fired!"

"Yes sir," the two employees said simultaneously, bowing before leaving.

The boss sighed, running a hand over his face in frustration. He then checked his phone for any important messages before turning in his seat and facing the big glass wall that contained nice, clean water and four chained up mermaids. His eyes went to the last pair of chains on the floor, empty, in need of another prized possession.

He just needed one more. No, he needed her specifically...

Yeeyee, I finally updated, be proud of me☺️
I feel like this story has a point now, since I originally was just gonna have it be filled with soft moments of ChaeSom
Whoops🤠
Anyways, this is late, but congrats on Somi FINALLY debuting!!💖