Nolite Flere

The Legend of the Mermaid

There is a legend of a mermaid who turned into sea foam.

And like all the other children, Sungjae has the story committed to memory.

It goes like this: once upon a time, there lived a beautiful mermaid who fell in love with a human she rescued from a ship wreckage. She had given him everything.

She cried tears for him that turned into pearls. She even cut her arms so he could have her golden blood. And when he told her he couldn't be with her because of her tail, she traveled all the way to the cove of the sea witch and sacrificed her blonde flowy hair in exchange for a set of legs.

Soon after, her and that man got married; however, they didn't live happily ever after.

Rather day after day, she still cried tears of pearls and handed him her golden blood until it made her so weak and frail that she could no longer go on. When she couldn't provide him with any more luxuries, he tossed her away and she cried endlessly on the beach with the waves lapping at her fingers.

Her father had always been opposed of the relationship since the very beginning. Though, he couldn't bear to see his daughter in so much pain thus he brought her back to the ocean but the thing was ... she couldn't breathe and he couldn't undo the witch's spell.

He had no other choice than to turn her into sea foam.

The legend goes that her father unleashes his resentment on the humans that hurt his daughter, damning them with storms that cannot be won over. But she laps soundlessly at the bottom of ships still to this day, ever so gently and guiding ships to safety. The narrative among pirates and sailors alike is that on a clear night, just after the last rays of sun disappears under the horizon, you can hear her lovely singing.

And hence, like every kid, Sungjae had silently stood by the sea and awaited to hear her voice.

Unfortunately, he has never heard it and basically forgot about the legend. It wasn't until he grew up and joined a trading ship that he was then reminded again. The sailing crew will occasionally sprout random nonsense like 'the king's angry' during a bad storm and some mornings, the captain likes to joke about how he prays the sea foam mermaid will be kind to them today. But that's about as far as it goes. No one over the age of 10 believes in mermaids. It's child's play.

So, knowing that about Sungjae, he doesn't know exactly how to react when he comes across on a warm beach, eyes as deep as the depths of the sea blinking back at him.

"Holy—" Sungjae blurts out. Meanwhile, the girl flinches backward, drawing closer to the ocean.

He's positive he isn't imagining things. He caught a glimpse of her turquoise tail and shimmery blue fin. Sungjae runs to her, and watches as she attempts to hide behind a boulder.

"Hey..." Sungjae's voice starts to shake as he approaches her, "I'm not going to hurt you..."

The mermaid looks at him with the same inquisitiveness reflected on her eyes. She's as curious about him as Sungjae is of her. Since she hasn't fled yet, Sungjae decides to peek behind the large rock that's standing in behind them. Her gaze drops to the sword and gun Sungjae has belted to his side.

Sungjae notices and unclips both from his strap – tossing them aside. The mermaid hesitates then disappears under water for a moment before appearing near the weapons. She picks them up with her long fingers before shuddering and dropping both.

She swims over back to Sungjae's side, her eyes glancing up and down Sungjae before reaching over and lifting his sleeve. Sungjae's arm is bleeding, but it's only a minor cut that barely stings.

Seeing the concern on her face, he says, "Oh. It's okay, it doesn't hurt."

"Are you sure?"

Sungjae is floored. The mermaid has a pretty voice. It was smooth like honey. But that's not the point here. They can understand each other!!!! He realizes his jaw is hanging wide open and snaps it shut with an audible click of his teeth. The mermaid giggles and releases her hold on his sleeve.

He takes the opportunity to fully check her out. She's undoubtedly the most beautiful woman Sungjae has ever laid eyes on in his entire life. She's pale and her skin glimmers with seawater. Her body is slim but also thick and curvy. Her red hair - long and lavish. And her lips were full and...

"You're not so bad yourself."

Sungjae stops as he realizes the mermaid was probably examining him the same way he was doing to her. "Uh so...what's your name?" Sungjae asks to clear the awkwardness. He has a bunch of other questions, too, like 'Do you cry pearls?' and 'Do you bleed gold?' However, they don't really seem so polite. And might give off the wrong impression, especially since he's not interested in making her cry and bleed for him.

"Sooyoung. Yours?"

"Sungjae. Yook Sungjae."

Sooyoung tests the name, and Sungjae fights to not let his jaw unhinge again at the way she wraps her tongue around his vowels and consonants. "That's a nice name." She laughs again, and Sungjae thinks maybe merpeople are just really generous with laughing. She laughs with her entire face, her eyes crinkling into half-moons and smiling in a way that makes her gums show.

It's kind of really attractive.

"Are all the merpeople like you?" He asks her. Sooyoung tilts her head not understanding him fully. He then clarifies, "Attractive, I mean."

That makes Sooyoung blush as she scoffs, "Of course not. I'm just very pretty."

It would be Sungjae's luck that he had ended up rescued by an incredibly beautiful mermaid. When he gets back to his ship- He freezes. His ship! "Oh, my god," Sungjae panicked, jolting up. The sudden movement made Sooyoung flinch. "I have to get back onto my ship!"

Sooyoung hums lightly, nodding. She jumps into the water again, the movement somehow graceful, and she shuts her eyes, her head bowed a little. Sungjae has no idea what she's doing, but he feels like he shouldn't bother her. After a moment, Sooyoung looks up, beaming. "They're anchored not too far away from here. I think they're looking for you."

Sungjae blinks twice, "You can tell???"

Sooyoung frowns. "Not me. The lady can tell. I'll ask her to bring your friends here."

"The – the lady? You mean from the legend? The mermaid who fell in love with the human?" Sungjae's jaw drops again.

"Yes, her." Sooyoung shot him a glare. "Now shut up. The lady can't hear me if you're being too noisy." She waited impatiently.

Sungjae flails his arms, "Wait, wait. What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, are you – am I going to see you again? Will you stick around?"

The mermaid snickers. "You want to see me again?" Sungjae nodded in reply while the other's eyes crinkle into half-moons. "Why? Is it because you want to sell my blood, too?"

Sungjae winces, "I wouldn't – I wouldn't do that." His voice went quiet, "I was just wondering..."

Sooyoung must have been able to tell from his apparent change of tone that he's sincere, because she's back on the sand. Her fingers touch Sungjae's, causing him to glance up. "I know," she says calmly, "I rescued you because the lady asked me to. She wouldn't have, if you were a bad person." She then proceeds to pluck a scale from her tail. It's translucent, shining all colors of the rainbow when Sungjae turns it over in his hand. "It's clean. Put it between your lips and blow. Try it now." Sungjae does as said. The sound is a clear whistle that blows through the wind. She tells him, "I'll come, when you ask. But not when the others are around, okay?"

"Okay." Sungjae nods as he slides the whistle-like scale into his pocket. "I'm never going to lose it."

The mermaid laughs, "Well, good. Now shush. So, I can get your friends to you."