Frozen Sea

13. Another Truth

A shy knock sounded on Hongjoong's door. The man was already in bed and propped up on one elbow as he worked lazily on a tablet in front of him. He was busy studying the scans their androids had collected over time about all flora and fauna on this planet. He didn't feel the need for another unpleasant surprise as soon as he left his house.

So when the noise travelled to his ears, Hongjoong hummed without lifting his eyes yet. Loopfish, passive, low threat... He only looked up when the door slowly opened.

Seungyoun curiously stuck his head inside the room. He found Hongjong quickly given that he was the only person in the room. Seonghwa was still outside with Yunho and Mingi and planning their next dive down to the caves.

"Are you busy at the moment? I wanted to ask you something." With a dimpled smile, Seungyoun awkwardly waved around the tablet he was holding. The soft grey turtleneck he was wearing fit the warm twilight that Hongjoong's room was bathed in.

Hongjoong gave a nod before picking his heavy body up from the sheets. He still felt slightly sick, but it wasn't so bad that he would need strict rest. Seonghwa had advised to take it slow, and that was it.

While Hongjoong moved his old bones over, Seungyoun already placed the tablet down on the floor. A holograph of the Frozen Leviathan came up, with no ice and just the creature floating in the middle of the room. It was massive even in the smaller replica, and Hongjoong once again wondered how it would look actually walking the ice.

It was even longer than the Ice Worm, for sure.

"Here, I was wondering earlier. This leviathan has herbivore eyes. They are on both sides of the skull, rather than in front. That means this horror of a creature likely wasn't even a predator. However, I found the same signs on other leviathan class lifeforms that were clearly aggressive. What are your thoughts on this?"

Hongjoong hummed as he regarded the creature. Rather than the eyes, he would assume it only to hunt smaller prey given the size of its teeth. But Seungyoun was right. The Chelicerate was clearly a predator but had its eyes on the wrong part of its skull.

"Well, we are dealing with fishes here. Even on another planet, I wouldn't assume that evolution designed them much differently. Some predator fishes have a binocular view by having their eyes there, so they can lay low and watch their surroundings."

Hongjoong crossed his arms where he was standing next to Seungyoun, who nodded wisely. He soaked up any new information like a sponge.

"Many fishes also move their whole body while swimming. This specimen in particular already has those bone plates next to its skull. That means it will detect its prey quickly, anyway. I think the Chelicerate might also use it as a disguise."

With his thoughts bubbling like a fresh spring Hongjoong inclined his head to stare even harder at the hologram as if it held the secrets of the universe.

"Seonghwa also considered it to be a prey animal, rather than a predator. Its sheer size might have helped to fend off any possible enemies in its territory, but there sure were larger creatures around here a thousand years ago, too. Similar to our dinosaurs-"

Hongjoong interrupted himself when Seungyoun suddenly grasped his chin with careful fingers. As the taller man turned Hongjoong's head to face him, the man was ready to be asked another serious question. He wasn't ready for the feel of soft lips upon his.

For a second, the world seemed to slow down. Hongjoong's brain took far too long to catch up with the how and why to notice his heart screaming at him that this was wrong. In that time, Seungyoun had already moved in more, his free hand coming to settle on Hongjoong's shoulder, too. His actions were cautious but goal-oriented.