Chapter Text
The sky is still a brilliant cerulean blue as Taehyung walks out of the Department of Oceanic studies. He has been trying to meet the lead researcher but all of his attempts have been fruitless. The professors refuse to entertain him the moment he mentions the thing he wants to discuss. Or rather the species he is curious to know more about.
Mermaids .
He understands that for people who have studied the oceanic animals only through scientific methods of observation and evidence, would find it hard to give Taehyung’s mere notions and theories more than an exasperated sigh or annoyed eye-roll.
But he keeps at it.
All of his freetime, Taehyung has spent studying about oceanic mammals since he believes that if mermaids do exist, they would be most similar to these animals. Though he doesn’t have a scientific reason to back his theory he just feels that this would make more sense.
If mermaids are humanoid then why would they not be mammals?
That is a line of thought Taehyung has maintained and it’s the basis of everything he has come up with when it comes to this mythical species.
He walks out of the campus area, the national university in Jeju becoming familiar to him after his many visits. Even though it takes him hours to travel back to his accommodation he still makes this trip twice or even thrice a week. He chooses the days where he has a manageable workload. Working remotely means he can be flexible and still earn enough to afford to live in this scenic island province.
Taehyung walks towards where he has parked his scooter. Looking at the storm clouds rolling in from the east he wonders if he should have brought his car instead.
Whatever. If he hurries, maybe he will miss the downpour. As it is, he is headed in the opposite direction, towards the western part of the island. So maybe he can outpace the clouds. Feeling quite optimistic that he can do that despite the fact that he is on an electric scooter and not a motorbike, Taehyung starts on his way home.
A month has passed since he uprooted his life in the busy, frenetic city of Seoul and made the move to Jeju. The change of scenery and vastly different soundscape of this idyllic province were unnerving for the first few days since it took Taehyung some time to make his body realize he was not on an extended vacation.
He lived in a quiet neighbourhood, renting a standalone house in the town of Hallim. With a bedroom, spacious bathroom to even fit a tub, kitchen and living room and a porch which wrapped around the house Taehyung couldn't have asked for anything more.
When he had started from the university it had been half past four. As he saw the Sun slowly dip below the rolling hills, the pinkish tint of the sky getting marred by the grey rain bearing clouds, he still had some way to go. Maybe an hour or so.
The roads are empty like they usually are. Even if it is June and the peak summer season has started, there are rarely tourists who travel right through the middle of the island. They prefer the scenic roads which embrace the coastline, each second looking out the window you see the dark blue waters.
Taehyung also likes them. He enjoys them even more when he is on his scooter, the cool sea breeze ruffling his hair and his eyes crinkled with sheer joy at witnessing such beauty. But practicality demands that he takes the shortest route back. And even if it’s devoid of the captivating sea view, Taehyung still enjoys the lush greenery on either side of the concrete road with volcanic rock interspersed, the black of it providing a stunning contrast against the vibrant foliage.
As his mind wanders, the straight empty roads letting him have a comfortable ride, he thinks on what to do tomorrow. It is the weekend and he has no pending work tasks which demand his attention. He is free and whenever Taehyung has a sliver of free time, he prefers to spend it on the many sandy beaches which grace Jeju’s coastline.
This was one of the main reasons he decided to live in this town. There are a couple of beaches closeby. And Taehyung has spent enough time on all of them so now he knows all the secret nooks and corners where no one ever goes. He is sure of this since he had once left behind his expensive film camera in a small cave he had found next to a tiny lagoon. But when he came back, it was right where he had forgotten it, with no scratches or damage.
So he has become more lax, leaving behind some of his clothes and a couple of towels so that he can use them if he ever decides to go for an impromptu bath in the sea. Sometimes he forgets a book and comes back the next week to finish it, straight after a refreshing swim in the chilly waters.
For tomorrow Taehyung decides to bring along his notebook where he has been gathering all of the research he has done on mermaids. Since there isn’t much information about them, he has managed to fill only half of that book even though he has been at this for years now. Maybe even decades.
Ever since that eventful visit to his grandfather’s home in Jeju when he was a young boy of all but ten years. That house and all of the memories attached with it are long gone. It was inherited by Taehyung’s uncle who chose to bulldoze it and build a resort in its place.
The only memento which Taehyung now possesses lies against his neck, threaded through with a fine, silken thread. The pearl feels cold against Taehyung’s tan skin. It is a perfect sphere and in a rare violet hue. Most people, when they look at this pearl, assume it must be an artificial one, considering its rich lustre and unique colour.
But only if one were to look closely, they would see the way the pearl gets illuminated when light hits it, unlike any human made look-alike. The thick nacre layers give it a luster that no machine made pearl or farm grown pearl can have. And the violet hue, it is very uncommon for natural pearls to have such a colour.
He knows this pearl might be worth a few hundred dollars but he has never had the urge to sell it. This was given to him by his grandfather. And along with this shining pearl, his harabeoji also told him of these fantastical beings. Those who lived underwater, in the vast ocean. They looked like humans, but for the tail which replaced a pair of legs. He was told of the legends, stories of the many encounters the residents of Jeju had with these beings.
Taehyung’s favourite though was the one featuring his own grandfather. Being a fisherman, his harabeoji was at sea for long periods of time. And it was during one such fishing excursion that he had that life altering experience. When he was hauling in the catch for the day, he had wondered why the net was heavier than usual. He soon found out, as amongst the dozen or so fish he had caught, there was a small child. At least that is how his harabeoji described it.
When he looked closer he realized something strange. The child had a fishtail. But what spurred him into motion was not this surreal encounter with a merchild but the fact that the young one was not moving. He frantically removed the net, untangling the small figure from it, uncaring of his catch. He gently lifted the child, a boy if he were to go by the short hair on his head, and placed him in the tub of cool water he had prepared for the fish.
Once the merchild was put into water he slowly regained his consciousness and the middle aged fisherman was relieved. He looked up when he heard splashing and as he looked over the side, he saw a couple of merfolk. They looked angry but also anxious. It didn't take long for Taehyung’s grandfather to understand who they were and why they approached his boat. He once again, gently scoops the child up in his arms and goes to the part of the boat which was lower and it would be easier to hand the child over. The merfolk, the child’s parents follow him and slowly he places the young one into the arms of his mother.
The fury has left those ethereal eyes and the mermaid bows to the fisherman, grateful for the safe return of her child. The merman holds out his hand towards Taehyung’s grandfather. There is the pearl that now adorns Taehyung’s neck, given to his harabeoji by a merman as a token of his gratitude.
As a young boy Taehyung had lapped up this story with wide eyes and an innocent curiosity. The fact that even after two decades he still believes his grandfather instead of dismissing it as one of the tall tales fishermen make to entertain themselves goes to show that either he is naive or just plain stupid.
No matter what anyone says, there’s just something, this feeling or instinct or whatever which stops him from dismissing any of this as mere folk lore.
Before the sunsets fully, Taehyung arrives at his place and gets inside in a hurry. It was the smart thing to do because as soon as he closed the door, the downpour started. He sighs in relief, having successfully avoided the rain. He only hopes that tomorrow, the weather will clear out a bit because he had already made up his mind on going to the beach.
🌊
The next day, he wakes up to clear skies and a chill in the air. Last night it rained heavily but today not a single cloud was in sight. The lovely weather just boosted Taehyung’s mood and he started his day with a smile, looking forward to the afternoon when he will head out to the Geunmeung beach.
Just on a whim, he decides to bring his car. It is an SUV, with a big enough boot space that he was able to move most of the furniture on his own when he had rented out this place. Though today it lays empty since Taehyung isn’t taking a lot of things, just a few extra towels, water, snacks and sunscreen.
He meets some of the haenyeo who are on their way to the sea. Taehyung decides to hang back and see them dive. After that he heads towards the cafes which are near the beach. He has a slow lunch, enjoying the cool sea breeze as he flips through this novel his friend had recommended.
After he is done with his food, Taehyung heads to the beach and prepares his spot. Once comfortable on the soft white sand he brings out his sketchbook and spends some time drawing. The wind slowly picks up speed so he decides to head to his secret spot, there he would not have to worry about his pages flapping about wildly.
He was so engrossed in placing down the stuff he was carrying that he didn’t notice something that was amiss. He was used to being the only person in this small secluded pool that when a low whimper reaches him he goes still. His heart beats like crazy, trying to decipher if he really did hear that voice or was he just imagining it.
But soon he heard it again, this time it was more desperate as if the person was in pain. Taehyung whips around and there in one corner of the lagoon which gets connected to the sea during high tide, he sees the being. Even after reading and theorizing about them for so long, he was still rendered speechless when he came across an actual mermaid.
His mind goes blank when a pair of round, beautiful almond eyes meet his own and in them he sees a silent plea. To help him.
He moves on his own, approaching the being who tries to move away, scared of him. But there’s something wrong with the mermaid and he seems to be hurt, considering his movements are sloppy and uncoordinated. Taehyung doesn’t try to think of a reason or theorize just then. He has to try to help. When he crouches down and extends a hand out the mermaid is hesitant initially, but soon he leans in. And Taehyung feels the smooth skin of his cheek, but he feels very warm, worryingly so. Even after being in the cold lagoon, the mermaid’s burning up.
Without thinking this through, Taehyung grabs a huge towel from his stack and dunks it in the water before lifting the mermaid into his arms. Using one edge, he covers the luminescent tail and body of the mermaid, holding the being close and slowly walks back to where he has parked his car. He places the whimpering mermaid in the backseat, while he jogs to the nearest store to get a huge pack of ice and chilled water. He places them next to the mermaid and turns up the aircon in the car and starts on his way home.
Of all the things Taehyung was expecting to do on a Saturday night, bringing home a mermaid was definitely not one of them.