Frozen Sea

3. Tales of the Seas

It was freezing cold outside the next time Hongjoong left the base. He was wearing a temperature-regulating suit and a thick coat over it, but the cold still bit at his skin as if it wanted to eat him alive. He walked pressed tightly against Seonghwa's side to use the man as a windshield as they approached the nearby shore. San was leading them, his arm linked with Wooyoung's, who took peculiar care not so slip on the icy surfaces.

"Entering Sparse Arctic. Risk of drowning heightened due to little access to the surface."

Hongjoong hummed at Seonghwa's comment, his keen eyes fixing on the ice they were walking on. He suspected it to be rather thin here and hiding away the water and whatever horrors it hoarded underneath.

"It's dark down there. Not too deep, but the ice barely lets any sunlight through. Yunho and Mingi love it." Wooyoung called over his shoulder to speak with them through the constant fall of snow down on them. The storm had moved on during the night and was wreaking havoc somewhere else while only regular snowfall remained here. Hongjoong was glad, even if he had noticed the sudden presence of multiple snow sculptures in their yard. In the morning, it had seemed as if Seonghwa and San had spent the night doing important tasks.

The abundance of white made Hongjoong miss colour in his life, but at least there were some stubborn plants that clung onto the cliffs while blooming. He saw orange ferns and something that looked like big furry mushrooms. They put at least a bit excitement to the barren lands.

Soon, they approached a hole in the thick layer of ice that looked just about big enough to allow a person to pass through it. It looked eerily difficult to find, even from above, and made Hongjoong shudder at the imagination of trying to search for it from underneath. San waved the two of them over regardless, and Seonghwa measured every step with great care so they wouldn't break through the ice.

Just as Hongjoong was taking the last few steps over the blueish translucent surface that was void of much fresh snow around the hole, a sudden shadow passing underneath his feet startled him. It's flashing appearance was abrupt enough to make his heart skip a beat, and his fingers tighten around Seonghwa's arm. The android stared down at their feet intently, holding Hongjoong close.

Then, all of a sudden, a dull thud from underneath the ice made Hongjoong jump. A yell tore out of his throat when two hands and a face suddenly pressed against the ice from underneath, staring up at him out of inhumanely glowing eyes. Hongjoong scrambled backwards in the attempt to escape, only to slip and cling to a resilient Seonghwa again. The android showed no signs of moving, just holding onto Hongjoong's hands carefully.

Wooyoung's high-pitched giggle released Hongjoong from the panic seizing him.

As he hurriedly looked around to see what had the man so amused, he found him and San crouching next to the hole, where by now, a familiar man had appeared. It was Yunho, who had put his arms on the layer of ice and was looking at Hongjoong with a big smile on his lips that bordered mischievousness.

Hongjoong glared. As he straightened from his hunched position, Mingi let go of the ice underneath and swam away, his tails swishing.

"Rude," Hongjoong commented dryly as he approached the grinning group of troublemakers. Seonghwa quietly commented on his heartrate stabilising.

"He planned it for months. Those two were in on it." Yunho sounded cheerful as he lifted a webbed hand in front of his lips to giggle into it. Hongjoong continued to stare at their chaos duo witheringly.

"Come on, it was funny! Were we supposed to scream like girls, too?" San grinned cheekily, looking angelic with his dimples.

"Bet you would if he did the same to you. I'll get my revenge." It was a promise.