Ocean's Descent ||| Woosan (Ateez)

22

Wooyoung was removed from his tank every night after the aquarium closed to the public, giving him hardly any time with San when the human first came on to start his shift.

But he was always the first place San stopped on his rounds. One night San explained exactly what his job was by having everything written down on a piece of paper and holding it up to the glass for Wooyoung to read. He had also explained how he was planning on using this to get Wooyoung out.

That fueled the spark of hope in Wooyoung that he needed to comply with the scientists, as he learned they were called, and letting them run their tests.

It was hard for hm to communicate with San, though, since he was only able to write out a few things in the sand. Even if he were willing to talk, San wouldn't be able to hear him anyway.

San did his best to also ask just yes and no questions that Wooyoung could either understand by reading his lips or hand signals, or that he would type out on his phone or write down.

Things were far from perfect, but the best part of Wooyoung's day were the few minutes he'd get with San at the beginning and end of San's shift.

Jongho also came to visit him often during the day, but they couldn't interact as much since there were other humans all around them. It was still a comfort to see a familiar face though, and Wooyoung had to admit that he did enjoy the way the children's eyes would light up whenever he swam by the glass to show Jongho that he was still ok.

If there was anything that kept him going through the day, it was the kids.

They always got so excited to see him and would looked at him with big, round, mystified eyes.

On days where he was feeling up to it, he would swim just to entertain them. They didn't understand the concept that he was a prisoner, nor did they do anything wrong.

But there were times that, if the night before was hard on him, Wooyoung would spend more time on his rock either sitting or laying down.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't hide. There were always divers in the tank with him to make sure that he behaved properly. They were there to document things too, like when he would interact with the fish or eat. But more than anything they were a nuisance.

His worst days were when the man came back. He always came up to the glass and stared at him with predatory eyes that creeped him out. It took a few days, but Wooyoung was finally able to point him out to Jongho so he was aware of what was going on.

Unfortunately there wasn't a lot they could do about it, not right now at least.

It had all turned into a waiting game.

The worst night for Wooyoung came after he'd been there for a couple of weeks.

He had been nestled into the sand and leaning into the glass, waiting for San to come, when the claw plunged into the water.

The merman immediately pushed off the ground and swam for the rocks. Fish scattered around him, trying to get away from the strange object.

He dove for a natural opening beneath one of the boulders and squirmed his way inside. He hated the damn thing and his natural instinct was to run, even though deep down he knew there was no point.

The claw snaked back and forth in front of him, then dove into the sand to send it flying everywhere. It clouded Wooyoung's vision, making it so that he couldn't see the claw burrowing toward him until it was too late.

It grabbed him by his tail and dragged him from under the rock and toward the surface.

Right as San walked into the room.