#mermaid!yukhei

[nam-nam-joon]

along the shore

Pairing: yukhei x reader

Genre: meet-cute, summer friendship

Wordcount: 10.3k

Warnings: proceed with caution if large bodies of water/rescue breathing makes you uncomfortable

Summary: the vacation you’ve been waiting for so long is finally here, but the sleepy town by the ocean is holding more secrets than you think

this was written for @kacchand​ ~! i’ve been thinking of dedicating a few fics to the people whose content i’ve been enjoying on here immensely, and you’re first! here is your well-deserved vacation. i hope you like it :)

It was so early that fog still obscured the tips of the cedars lining the shore.

Well, early was relative - 8 am would be late had it been any other day you’d have to get up and prepare for work. But here and now, on vacation, it was fairly early, especially considering you had, naturally, planned to sleep in every other morning. Theoretically at least.

And yet here you were, comfortably toasty in soft, fluffy clothes, stuffed into a big red wetsuit, head topped with a thick beanie and with excitement in your heart.

The little boat, driven by one of the guides knowing the area like their pocket, didn’t look too reassuring; it dipped and swayed in the little waves that licked at the pontons, shortly below the main tourhouse up half a flight of sun-bleached wooden steps.

Half a dozen other people milled around the waiting area as well, all without exception holding cameras.

You felt around one of the outer, non-waterproof pockets of the thick suit - yep, your phone was still there.

Not to think what would happen if you’d take the expensive digital camera out on a boat ride like this, only to have an unexpected little wave knock it out of your hands and plunge it into the bottomless depth…

Your phone was an acceptable substitute, especially considering how you hadn’t come here to take pictures, but to make memories.

“All aboard!” Came the hoarse cry from the driver. Anticipation washed over the group.

You would really do it. All these months of work and saving everything you could, for this vacation, for this boat ride - to drive out to the open ocean, to see wales.

The excitement made your hands quiver.

On your way out of the safe haven, a sound nestled into the embrace of the coast, you caught he guide throw a few questioning glances at the sky.

They only paused minimally in their telling about bald eagles sitting in the trees and how everyone was on watch-duty to spot them.

The fog stayed behind with the trees as soon as the driver turned towards the open ocean, past a formation of rocks that were covered in seals.

One of them lazily lifted one of its flippers and waved.

“Alright folks, so we might have to cut this tour short today - we’ve been getting reports there’s some heavy rain coming in, and we don’t wanna get hit with that on the open waters. But so far it’s looking good, so, eh, we’ll see.”

Someone asked about experiencing a storm in this boat, and the guide gave them a lopsided grin.

“In this old thing? You’d be lucky if you came out alive. Nah, you best sit out a storm safe on the shore. Better, in a warm cabin with someone to keep you company and a good drink in your hand!”

Cheers and laughter.

A little way further out the driver slowed the boat so everyone could take a good look at a sea otter that was just floating between the waves, disappearing now and then before coming back up and cleaning its little head. Not long after that, the walkie-talkie crackled and an almost not-understandable voice spoke something.

“Folks! We just got news of a whale sighting not too far from here. Hang in tight, we might end up seeing some today after all!”

The murmurs and approving words didn’t last too long, after the clouds started to look a little darker grey, hanging a little low. But then another tour-boat came into sight, and you caught a glance of a rounded back with a minimal fin and every doubt you’d had about anything else was swept away.

The salty breeze blew into your face, left a hint of the ocean on your lips as you followed the others and stood from the bench in the middle of the boat.

Two whales were gathering food, the driver narrated, explaining there wouldn’t be sights of a tail fin until one or both decided to dive deep.

For a while everyone took pictures and admired the parts they could catch of the large animals mostly hidden below water.

Then the other boat started to move, the crackling of an incoming message disrupting the otherwise very peaceful mood. Something like the sound of something big rushing over the water, still far away, reached your ears. Confused by its origin you turned in your seat.

In moments the wind picked up. The breeze from before, salty, suddenly smelled like rain, whipped the long hair of a fellow passenger next to you around and had the boat gently swaying from side to side.

“Everybody sit down and hold on to the boat, the rain might have come earlier than expected - if everybody holds on, we should get-”

You momentarily stopped listening as a boy, surely younger and nonetheless taller than you, rudely shoved his elbow into your back.

“Hey, watch it.” You grumbled, annoyed at how disinterested the other was concerning his surroundings. Another shove that brought you to the edge of your seat, literally, and you turned around, ready to raise your voice when a small wave hit the side of the boat, the top of it spraying water on the passengers. Some of it got into your eyes and you blinked at the sudden sting.

Raindrops began to fall, the water like a wall pushing itself over the ocean.

Mind focused on the primary problem at hand - not being able to see without mild irritation in your eyes - you didn’t see the second wave coming, larger and wilder than the first.

It hit, unexpected, and your butt slipped off the seat completely, forcing you to stand to hop back up. In the short moment in which you still tried to find your balance in the swaying, now moving, boat, a third wave collided with the vehicle.

The edge of the boat had seemed quite high.

And then suddenly it wasn’t, and you couldn’t muster as much as a noise of surprise before the sky and the ocean switched places and you plunged into the water.

Everything got very quiet suddenly.

And cold.

It was cold, so, so cold, and you dimly remembered the safety instruction, some hour ago, and how the person had mentioned that the suit would automatically fill with water. What had been the next step in securing your survival in the water…?

You opened your eyes.

The pain was all but forgotten as you looked out through the surprisingly clear water, saw the whales - three, not two - move under the surface.

They turned and twisted, and their songs reached your ears through the water.

Peaceful.

Something glinting on one of their flippers caught your attention. Narrowing your eyes at it, they almost immediately widened again at the sight.

Someone was swimming around the gigantic animal, their hands rubbing over its skin. A silver grey tail shimmering behind them.

The salt began to burn in your nose.

Nothing changed, and yet the person - was it a person? Were you seeing things? - let go of the whale and paused.

Your thoughts started to grow sluggish in the treacherous cold of the sea.

The person was incredibly fast in swimming around its larger friends. Within seconds large hands reached for you and intelligent, dark eyes, found yours.

“Humans…” Mused a voice, so clear in your ears as if they were speaking above water. “You always forget the most important parts when falling into the ocean.”

A broad smile brightened the boy’s - or was he a young man already?- brightened the face in front of you as quick, nimble fingers worked to tighten the loops around your arms and legs that would halt the flow of water into the suit.

You could do nothing but stare.

Short, dull brown hair flowed with every movement; pearls and other small stuff delicately woven into it, shimmering and glinting now and then.

You tried to speak but the boy was quick to press the pad of his finger to your lips.

“Hush, human. Your voices were made for the air, not the water. Save your breath.”

Breathing.

Only then did you realize your chest hurt.

“Hmm? Human, what’s the m-” His wide eyes travelled up to your own gaze after lingering on your lips, where his finger was still mushed against. Then he noticed your hand, weakly clutching at your chest.

“Oh. I see.”

His eyes seemed to search for something above before reconnecting with yours, and for the first time you thought to see something like mild worry in them.

The bewilderment reached through the haze that settled over your oxygen deprived brain as the boy moved forward, one of his hands on your jaw, the other holding you close, and then pressed his own lips to yours.

There was no leverage to hold on to, or to push away the stranger, and your fists weakly connected with his chest.

His hands only held you tighter, your heart beating faster in a rising panic.

With the shock it was easy for him to tilt his head and open both of your mouths together in what turned out to not be a kiss. Instead, he gave you air, and even though your head still swam, the pressure on your temples lessened.

“Let’s get you back up, you don’t belong here.” Were the last words you could hear before you felt the water pulling at you as the boy swam forward.

Shortly before you could break the surface you went limp in his hands.

You came to as the boat docked below the tourhouse, wet to the bones and shivering.

It took three mugs of steaming tea, an abundance of warm blankets and a donated hoodie and pants you were ushered into in favour of your soaked clothes, until you were somewhat clear in the head again and your hands weren’t shaking anymore.

After the head of tours had apologized, along with the rude boy from before that had definitely been a big part of the reason why you’d fallen, you sat on a bench above a heater, overlooking the haven and following the raindrops that raced down the glass.

Outside the storm was fully raging, and the opening through which the boats entered and left the haven was hidden in the rain.

The young man with the fishtail wouldn’t leave your mind.

Had you hallucinated him? The combination of the shock from the cold water, the salt, the lack of air…?

You had almost asked about it, after the guide had helped you ashore, the small team from the tourhouse already waiting to get you inside to dry and get warm as soon as possible.

There had been something like a silent exchange of words between the staff, at least it had seemed so. Or maybe the guide had just quietly accepted their fate of being beheaded later.

“How are you feeling, dear?”

As if sensing your thoughts were circling back to one topic and one topic only, the friendly woman from behind the counter slipped around it and towards you, hand already extended towards your mug in a questioning manner.

You nodded and smiled, politely declining the offer to get another refill.

“Better.” You sighed, then. “Can feel all my toes and fingers again.”

The woman pursed her lips but refrained from apologizing once more.

“You had the unfortunate luck to be our one-in-a-hundred case… Good thing you remembered the safety procedure.” She lifted an eyebrow, and you dipped your nose back into your mug to humm in agreement.

Except you hadn’t, hadn’t remembered, had been frozen in fear and if it hadn’t been for-

“Well, I guess, the kayaking tour this evening will have to be postponed to tomorrow… doesn’t look like the rain will stop anytime soon.”

As if on cue, thunder clapped in the distance. The woman frowned.

“Yikes. Stay as long as you’d like, okay? I threw your clothes into the wash, they should be good in an hour or so.”

You set the mug down on the windowsill quite suddenly as a thought fell into your head.

“The wetsuit… did you find a phone in it? I remember putting it in one of the outer pockets…”

The apologetic look on the woman’s face was saying it all.

“So sorry. There wasn’t anything in your suit after we helped you out of it. It must have slipped out when you fell.”

“Damn.” Your eyes fled outside the window, and resignation tugged at your heart. 

This long awaited trip had, within only its first two days, gone from the dream of your dreams to a very unfortunate collection of mishaps.

“But there’s good news too; The weather’s supposed to get a lot better in the next days. It’s not much, I know, but it’s something, hm?”

After your clothes had come out of the drier, as fluffy and warm as they had been before, the friendly woman from the counter lend you a sturdy, bright yellow wax coat to keep you dry on your way to the hostel, and you took your leave.

On the way there you stopped by one of the many cozy, tiny restaurants.

The salmon soup and the freshly baked bread that came with it somewhat soothed the loss that your missing phone had left in you midst; replaced with food it was bearable for now.

It still sucked, but that was out of question.

The afternoon was spend in the common room of the hostel, overlooking part of the harbour and the sound.

There was a guitar sitting in a corner, and someone picked it up and began plucking calm tunes that mixed with the chatter of the two handful of people milling in the beautiful glass house addition to the main hostel.

Wrapped in a blanket with your book the time passed easily enough. The rain was still pouring and you decided against going out for dinner. Instead you raided the ‘up for grabs’ section of the hostel kitchen, and later slept in with a belly full of noodles and sauce you had cooked up from the bounty of the free shelve.

The next day dawned bright and early, warmer than the ones before and without a single cloud in the sky.

The sunscreen you had packed suddenly didn’t look as obsolete anymore, and you generously applied it before leaving the hostel to finally explore the small town.

It was already past noon when you stumbled through a patch of forest, the trees unkept and the barely there path overgrown. The tote over your shoulder held a sandwich of a respectable size and two cans of lemonade, and your belly had been loudly requesting them for a while.

You had been looking for a good place to sit down and rest for about the same time. As the trees thinned out and gave the view free on an old walkway that reached into the water, you felt relief washing over you.

The place for lunch had been found.

It felt awfully touristy but along with your food you had bought a simple straw hat. Sitting here on the edge of the walkway now, it made the burn of he sun bearable.

Your toes barely touched the water below as you dangled your legs over the edge, leaned back on your hands and just resting after wolving down the sandwich.

The sun was glistening on the surface of the waves. A few seagulls passed by overhead.

It was very quiet here, the trees in your back doing a great job at filtering the noise from the street beyond them and shielding the seclusive lagoon from prying eyes.

Sat here the awful events from yesterday were almost forgotten.

Almost.

Until…

“Hi.”

The voice startled you. There was noone on the wooden planks behind you, noone on the shore; it took your searching eyes a moment to move to the water.

“I’m- I’m down here.”

There was humour swinging in the words but you inched forward on your hastily pulled back legs, wary. You spied over the edge and sighed.

A head was bobbing shortly above the waves; the same wide, brown eyes staring up at you now that had so curiously taken in your face yesterday.

Here, in the sunlight, his skin had nothing of its ghostly paleness from below water anymore. Indeed he was quite tan, although his hair was still much darker. The pearls in it blinked.

“Hi?” You answered, not entirely sure if you had fallen asleep in the sun and were experiencing a very realistic dream.

“Hey. You’re the one from the tour yesterday, aren’t you? I found this after I brought you to the surface, it was just sort of… drifting. This morning it wouldn’t stop making noise, Yuta said it was probably yours?”

His words didn’t make much sense before he lifted a hand out of the water, droplets of the liquid running over the skin that blended into scales on one side of the appendix. Clutched in his fingers, looking almost entirely human, was your phone.

“My phone!” You repeated, hastily taking it from the boy and drying it with your shirt. The screen lit up after you pressed a button, and even though one edge of the display was of a slightly distorted colour, otherwise it seemed to be fine. You looked back at the boy, still floating in the same spot.

“Thank you so much!” You blinked, and lowered the device until it rested on your thigh. “Thank you. Not only for my phone but...you know. Saving my life.”

The previously rather passive expression on the merman’s morphed into a big grin. One hand ran through the wet locks, messed them up a bit. Already they were drying under the sunlight.

“You’re welcome. Taeil was worried when they saw you fall.”

“Taeil…?”

“My friend! One of the whales you saw yesterday.”

“Right.” You furrowed your eyebrows. “I-”

“Sorry,” He interrupted you, and you fell silent immediately. “Would you mind if I came up and sit with you? It gets super exhausting to keep talking up to you like that.”

“Um, sure.” You shuffled over to the left until there was more than enough room for one more to sit. After hastily stuffing the sandwich wrapper into your bag, you gave a thumbs-up to the guy below.

In the next breath he was already pulling himself up, arms flexing and tail splashing a fine mist of water over you before he settled down next to you.

You ran both your hands over your face and lifted your hat to brush back a few strands of hair. When you opened your eyes again you suddenly had to look up.

The guy was taller than you while sitting, his friendly face smiling down on you.

It was a fleeting thought in your head before your eyes travelled down and latched onto the same, glimmering, grey tail that had caught your attention yesterday already.

Up this close it was incredibly beautiful.

The scales overlapped, creating a shimmering slick surface that was able to follow every move the strong muscles did below.

It narrowed where it vanished in the water, the end concealed in the depths. The occasional single scale was brighter that the others wich, under a closer look, ranged from dark grey, almost charcoal, to a silverish concrete grey. The ones around the boy’s hips were overall lighter than the ones closer to the water, but the brighter scales dotting the whole tail were more noticeable there.

You realized you were staring and turned your head in the other direction, feeling a heat that had nothing to do with the clear sky entering your cheeks.

“First time seeing a mermaid, huh? I get it, we can be quite breathtaking.”

“Oh jesus christ.” You let out, glaring at the smug grin on the boy’s face. “At least introduce yourself before subjecting me to such horrible… horrible puns.”

The laughter, waiting to boil over beneath the cold surface, finally broke free after looking at the other’s face a little longer.

“You really think it was terrible, hmm?” He grinned, hands folded in his lap. “I’m Yukhei. What’s your name?”

“_______. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh please, the pleasure is all mine.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and you laughed again.

“Do you do that often?” You asked, after taking a sip from your drink.

Yukhei made a small noise of question and turned his head. Your eyes were trained on the horizon melting into the ocean in the heat.

“Save people who fall overboard.”

“Oh.” He huffed, following your gaze. “No, not usually. I mean, usually, people don’t fall in, and usually, on the rare occasion they do, they’re busy helping themselves.” He shrugged.

“Guess I owe you big time, then.” Your eyes dropped to where your legs dangled next to Yukhei’s tail.

The other watched you for a moment.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. Many people forget everything as soon as they join us in the water. It’s not your fault.”

Your eyes briefly met with his and got stuck on the empathy in them. 

The fingers in your lap, circled around your phone, tightened.

“Still. If there’s something I could do for you - it’d make me feel better.”

Without asking, Yukhei’s hand stole behind you and grabbed the unopened can of lemonade.

“Well, if you put it like that…” He took a sip of the drink, paused, and looked at the label. “Ah, this one’s good. Um. Yeah, if you really want to, I’d love to get some licorice. The good, german one. Think you can get me a pack of those?”

He lifted his eyebrows over his drink, hopeful smile half hidden behind the metal.

“Sure.” You laughed, incredulous at his odd request. “I think I can manage that.”

Yukhei’s smile was a radiant as the sun above. “Great! Thanks.”

A moment of silence in which you both sipped your lemonades in silence. Then he spoke up again.

“So did you get a good photo of my friends? That’s why you were there, right? To take photos of the whales?”

You shook your head, eyes leaving the deep blue of the ocean for the brown of Yukhei’s gaze. “No. I have a good camera but I didn’t take it out to the tour - looking back it proved to be a really good decision because I was- Well I wasn’t anticipating taking a dive but the possibility was there. You know? I mostly went to see whales and make memories.”

“Huh.” The mermaid sipped his drink, lazily swishing his tail through the water below. “That doesn’t happen too often. Mostly it’s just ‘Oh I gotta take a picture of this! Oh I gotta take a picture of that!’.”

“Tell me about it…” You sighed into your can, eyes squinting at the glistening water once more. “This is a super beautiful tiny town, I’m just glad not more people are as crazed to ban everything they get in front of their lense on photos. It’s the worst when they stop in the middle of the walkway and if you don’t pay attention you just smack right into them!”

Exasperated you dropped the hand that had gesticulated wildly back on your leg. Yukhei watched you with interest, taking in every word.

“So you’re not a tourist-tourist?” He asked, tip of his finger running over the top of the can in his hand.

You shook your head.

“I mean, I do take pictures as well, but at least I try to… Not inconvenience anyone else while doing it. I wanna have keepsakes that I won’t just throw away after they gather dust on some shelve.”

“That’s a good approach.”

The time seemed to fly by the longer you sat on the walkway with Yukhei, even after you had both finished your drink. He was a great listener and soaked up everything you told him about the town you usually lived and worked in, about the town just behind the line of trees that the merman had obviously never seen.

Before long you glanced at your watch and had to hurry to excuse yourself because the kayaking tour you’d signed up for would depart soon.

“Kayaking?” Yukhei’s eyes glinted. “Maybe I’ll come.” His smile was mischievous, and you worried your eyebrows.

“But- That means people would see you.”

“You saw me just now?”

“Yeah but-”

“Relax, I won’t swim next to your boat or something.” He grinned, entertained by your exasperation at the prospect of having a mermaid trailing your boat. “But maybe you’ll catch glances of me in the distance - keep an eye out on the horizon, baby.”

He winked, with both eyes, and clicked his tongue suggestively. It had you breaking into a laugh before you shoved him back into the water. He went in with a great splash, hovering in one spot and beaming up at you.

“Meet you back here at sundown? With my licorice?” His eyebrows curved on his forehead in an adorable way, and you weren’t entirely immune to those round, hopeful eyes he gave you.

“Sure.” You laughed again, hoisting the tote higher up your shoulder. “Yeah, I’ll be here.”

You waved with the hand still holding your phone, and then had to run to still make the kayaking trip.

In the evening you went into one of the shops and eventually had to ask one of the clerks there if they had what the mermaid had asked for.

With a small package of ‘Haribo Rotella’ in your sunburned hands you returned to the thick patch of forest you’d been wondering by noon. The store had had a select few packages of other Haribo sweets as well, smurves and something colourful, too, but you’d stuck with the ‘Rotella’ stuff since it was purely licorice.

Another two cans of the lemonade you’d bought before were in your bag now, and as you made your way down the hill to the walkway you could see something bobbing in the water next to it.

Yukhei was waiting already when your feet touched the wood on the construction, hair dripping water on his shoulders and droplets glistening all over him.

He waved enthusiastically as you approached, hopping in place and reminding you very much of an excited puppy.

“Did you get it?” He almost shouted, and wordless you held out the sweets. “Omg yass!”

He tore into the package and fished a coil of the black stuff out, munching on it excitedly.

“Did you just say ‘omg’?” You remarked with a smile as you smoothed down the fluttery fabric of your summer clothes to sit next to the merman. He grinned at you.

“So what if I did?”

“I didn’t know that was something merfolk - do you call it that?” Yukhei nodded patiently. “Didn’t know merfolk used such words.”

He shrugged. “You pick up a lot, you know? I mean, I do speak your language as well, so.”

“Oh yeah you’re right.” You looked at him with new interest. “Where did you learn it? Do merfolk have school as well?”

He was on his third of fourth coil now and not showing any signs of stopping.

“Your parents teach you, mostly. And the human children coming to the sea sometimes.”

At your astonishment he chuckled, plopping another piece into his mouth. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Mermaid’s a fairy tale right? Except for the natives living by the coast. They know they’re not. But you can’t really trust anyone else.”

Uncomfortably touched you looked away. The sky was a dusty orange dulling into greyish blue the lower the sun, just out of sight already, sunk. The breeze was still warm, but the freshness of summer nights began to circle on the area.

“But… That means… You trust me not to tell anyone I saw a mermaid.”

You looked back at Yukhei who, after more than half the pack, had seemed to finally slow down. The sweets were momentarily placed aside as he leaned forward, his elbows on his tail and holding your gaze with an unfamiliar intensity you hadn’t seen before.

“It’s less trusting and more desperately hoping. Of course, nobody would really believe you if you told them you’d seen someone like me… The locals who know will say you got a bad sunstroke and the glittering on the light on the water fooled your eyes. Nobody will carry word outside this town except you, maybe, but we hope you don’t. That wouldn’t be very nice. Not only because I saved your life.”

Stunned by the calm sincerity in his voice you just sat next to him for a moment. The bubbly, loud demeanor from before was entirely gone and there was something intense in his eyes the longer you looked into them.

“I won’t say anything. I promise.”

“Good.” He leaned back, smiled, and the tension dissipated.

His broad shoulders relaxed and he sporadically took out another piece of licorice, going back to the somewhat mindless chatter he’d filled your conversation before.

It felt a bit strange, to have the bubbly, open, happy version of himself back so suddenly, and it made you think twice when regarding him.

His looks were easygoing and borderline cheeky again, but now you could see something simmering beneath it.

When you had parted ways that evening, the night sky dotted with stars already, and finally lay in bed, your thoughts wouldn’t let go on how much he had risked in the gamble of not only saving you but also returning your phone.

It was currently charging at the port inside one of the small lockers that had come with the room. The discoloured corner would probably remain, but after a few hours stuck in rice you were positive the rest would work just fine.

Before you knew it, the first week of your vacation ended already.

Almost daily were the visits to the ocean, to the little, hidden walkway. More often than not you could see Yukhei already waiting, swimming between the wooden pollers keeping the walkway up, weaving in and out of them. After a few days he was laying with his arms and upper torso on the wood, baking in the sunlight.

As you approached your meeting space today you found him laying completely out of the water, with only his fluke hanging over the edge.

To see his tail in all its glory  brushed all conscious thoughts from your head.

The boy seemed to sleep, his eyes closed and face relaxed as you crouched next to where his ankles would have been.

The glint of his scales was inviting you to reach out with a hand, to touch it, but you refrained and stuck to only watching how it slowly moved from side to side.

A sheen of moisture sparkled in the sunlight.

When a cloud pushed itself in front of the radiant orb in the sky the temperature went from scalding to bearable, waking Yukhei.

He scooted forward until he was on one height with you, at the edge of the walkway, yawning and pouting a bit.

“Why the long face?” You playfully jabbed an elbow into his side.

“You should have woken me up when you arrived! I don’t want to waste time I could spend in your company.”

It was difficult to suppress the fond smile spreading on your face.

“You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb you. Sorry.”

He shook his head and placed it on your shoulder.

“You were looking at my tail again, weren’t you?”

Now it was your turn to pull a pout. “Don’t call me out like that. Yes I was. It’s a very pretty tail.”

“You can touch it if you want, you know?”

You lifted your head and turned it to look at him. “You sure?”

He hummed affirmatively, lashes fanning over his cheeks as he watched where his appendix sloshed in the water below.

Hesitation made your hands heavy. But curiosity won.

With a single finger you poked the skin, on the height of where his knee would have been.

He giggled at the way you leaned down to inspect it better. The scales where smooth and covered in a thin film of slick, and it was almost like petting koi. His smile was still wide and the twinkle in his eyes still glinting when you leaned back after your thorough inspection.

The slick rubbed off and stuck to the palm you had hesitantly stroked Yukhei’s tail with and you were a bit grossed out at how it coated your skin.

The water wasn’t too far down and so you switched your legs hanging over the edge for your torso, reaching down to wave your hand around the water, hoping the sheen would dissipate. It didn’t, at first, and you went on to rub the fingers of the hand against each other before outright wiping the palm on the wood of a pillar. Still hanging with around half your body over the edge you collected your strength to pull yourself back up, before-

“Watch out!” Yukhei suddenly called, his hands jerking to your sides as you startled at his voice.

“Wh-!”

The blue came a lot closer and the next moment you were sputtering and coughing, treading water to hold yourself up while attempting to blink the salt out of your eyes.

“Yukhei!”

The merman was cupping the lower half of his face in his palm, trying and obviously failing to hide his laughter.

“You idiot!”

He cackled at that, head tipped back and with an arm wrapped around his middle to hold himself together while you glowered at him from the wetness.

Grumbling you went to the rusted steps of an ancient ladder mounted to the wood meant for this exact occasion.

The water clung to your clothes, dragged you back, and you needed to strain your arms to heave yourself up - were almost out of the water when two strong hands clamped over your hips and pulled you back in.

His name got half swallowed by a mouth full of saltwater and again you were coughing and glaring at the face of one all too happy merman.

He was effortlessly floating by your side, staying out of reach of your moving legs.

“Hm?”

He was giving you the doe eyes again, the fake-i-am-so-sorry-pls-don’t-hurt?-ones, and you shoved water at him. It didn’t yield much result as all it accomplished was soaking his hair, but the smile on his lips widened a little.

“Aww come on!” He circled you once, coming closer and tugging you towards him afterwards. With his arms around your middle it was easier to stay up, and the immediate fear of being pulled underwater by something vanished.

“We always sit on that dumb pier and talk, how about we play a bit now? In the water? Pretty please?”

All by themselves did your arms come to rest on top of his shoulders, after wiping the strands of hair from your face.

“You could’ve just asked instead of shoving me in!”

He was pouting now.

“You were slipping in already! I meant to save you!”

“The hell you were… you’re a really fishy person, you know that?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you.”

He released you as you made attempts to get to the ladder, his expression now a little dulled at you continued lack of excitement.

“Don’t pull a face, Mr. Fish, I’ll come back in, I just need to take off my shoes first.”

He was beaming up at you again as you came back from stowing away the shoes, bag and other valuables you’d brought in a shaded spot under a tree, where it was unlikely to be spotted or taken. This place was pretty reclusive as it was already, but better safe than sorry. You’d already lost your phone on this trip once, you weren’t keen on that or worse happening again.

That evening you slept in early, tired as can be.

It had been fun, playing with Yukhei where he was most at home. The shallow water in the hidden lagoon had been a lot warmer than that out on sea, but even with the hot temperatures that had settled in after the first days it was still taxing on your body. Not to mention the exhaustion the physical exercise brought.

The next evening you brought your polaroid camera down to the hidden beach.

Yukhei in the light of the dying sun was something you didn’t want to forget.

It lit up his skin in touches of caramell and gold, caught in the pearls and glittering stones woven into his hair and the droplets of water on his skin.

You made sure not to aim at anything of his lower body, so to anyone who didn’t know, he just looked like a boy fresh from the surf, shirtless and with salt-swept hair.

There were soft scales running along parts of his upper body too, but to anyone who didn’t know what they were, they would just look like a funny reflection.

Yukhei hovered over your shoulder, asking to see the selfies you’d taken on your phone, gasped in amazement as you handed him the polaroid one and told him he’d have to wait until the image showed.

You laughed a little at how he spend the next few minutes sitting hunched forward, the small picture cradled in his palms, eyes fixed on the developing image.

“Look! Look, it showed up! It’s us!”

“I know.” You smiled at him and stabilized the shaking piece of paper and plastic he held out to you. His fingers didn’t let go and together you watched on as the final details showed up.

“You look happy.” You commented, peeling your eyes away from the keepsake and looking up at the merman.

“You too.” He mirrored you, squinting against the last rays of sunlight falling from around your back into his eyes. The smile seemed glued to his face the past days.

“Can I keep one as well?” His voice was a bit smaller than usual, his hands gripping the other in his lap.

“Mhm- Yeah, I think I could print one of the selfies and laminate it, so the water wouldn’t soak it. I’ll see what I can do tomorrow, okay?”

Satisfied, he nodded, slinging an arm around your side and tugging you into a hug.

“Thank you. I’m so glad I pulled you from the water. You’re a great human.”

You smiled and leaned your cheek against his shoulder and hugged him back, but when the sun had vanished completely and the darkness pulled over the sky on your way back to the hostel you were reminded how your vacation would end soon.

It was still several days, and yet…

The end drew closer with each sunkissed day you spend in this sleepy town, with Yukhei by your side.

He picked up on the somewhat gloomy mood you’d fallen into, asked what was wrong with a concerned expression and his head ducking down to meet your line of sight.

You told him, throwing tiny pebbles you’d picked up by the waterline back into the small waves lapping at the wooden structure.

He grew silent after that, and it seemed you weren’t the only one who had temporarily forgotten there was a clock ticking down.

You hadn’t explored nearly as much of the town and the surrounding area as you’d originally planned, and that was okay because there was Yukhei, but part of you knew the people who knew about your trip would nag you endlessly if you came back and told them you’d only seen a fraction of the scenic area.

For a while both of you stewed in silence.

Eventually your thoughts cleared a little again and you were able to focus on nicer things, but when you turned to Yukhei and wanted to ask him something he was already squinting his eyes into the distance, hand shielding his face. Shortly afterwards he turned and met your eyes, an apologetic look on his face.

“-Sorry, whatever you wanted to say, do you think you can keep it ‘till tomorrow? I think I have to go back, I’ve kind of been neglecting my duties these past days to come hang out with you and I think they caught on to me.”

You nodded in understanding.

“Will you be here tomorrow?”

He shrugged, already slipping into the water.

“Don’t know.”

And without saying more, he was gone.

You came back the next day, finally with the laminated selfie he’d asked about. You’d taped off the edges to make it even less likely for water to  get to the image safe between the sheets of plastic, had put it into an envelope, even.

But Yukhei wasn’t there.

You waited, more than an hour. The waves and the gulls overhead were the only things keeping you company.

Back up on the hill you looked down one more time; at the spot on the walkway you knew was the envelope with a stone on top so the wind wouldn’t blow it away. You hoped Yukhei would find it, if he came by later.

The rest of the day was spend walking the town and finally crossing some things off your checklist.

It was nice, to see so many other people, to hear different voices and laughs and bathe in the general, light-hearted mood, but the disappearance of Yukhei yesterday nagged at the back of your head and wouldn’t go away completely.

As the sun lowered and you came by the path through the small forest, familiar for your eyes already, there was a moment in which you hesitated. Should you go look, see if Yukhei had found the photo? -But he hadn’t been there in the morning, he’d said people had caught him slacking off, maybe he would be banished to work extra now.

Your feet hurt and your shoulders too; Forgoing to put on sunscreen just because you wore a light button down with short sleeves over a tank top. But the day had been warmer than expected and so you’d taken the shirt off eventually, forgetting about your unprotected shoulders.

A cool shower and a snack and then bed would be nice.

A bird flew past you, keckering and complaining in the still evening air, and brought you back from your thoughts. No. It’d be best to just head back for now. Tomorrow you could come by again. And the day after, and then another day, and the day after that… Maybe you could say goodbye before catching the bus back. Maybe. Hopefully.

The moon hung over the ocean, big and bright, casting silver light on your path and dipping everything in mystic touches.

There were light clouds coming in from the sea over the following morning. By noon they had thickened, rain beginning to fall.

The earth smelled rich, the scent of the water on hot stones surrounding you.

The hostel had provided an umbrella as you’d mentioned you had forgotten to bring your own, and now you were huddled below it, barefoot and in shorts to get as little of your clothes wet as possible.

The path down the hill was slippery and you had to focus on every step in order to not take a tumble over the rocky patches of grass.

Mud squelched between your toes as you stepped onto the sand finally. The pier was deserted.

Still you walked the length of it, the raindrops washing your feet clean while you moved.

There was the stone you had left behind.

A sigh escaped you as you crouched down, gently lifting the weight. The envelope had turned to off-white mush, the last, dry spot it had had under the cover of the stone quickly soaking.

Among the dissolving paper was the selfie.

“Well, at least I know it’s waterproof now.” You put the stone back, deciding against taking it with you. Maybe if Yukhei would come by, maybe he would find it. There was a lot of maybe and you weren’t ready to accept he might have just left like that.

The inside of the restaurant was warm and dry and nobody gave you dirty looks for coming in like you had.

The sky was still covered in clouds when you went to bed, afternoon spent exploring the local museum and art gallery, but the rain was that of a summer day, not pelting down too harshly.

It trickled down the window in the dorm room and whenever the wind came in just right you could hear the waves crashing in the distance.

It was still dark when you sat up.

Hands reached for the water bottle by themselves until your thirst was quenched and still you didn’t feel like lying back down.

Moonlight shone through the window and painted rectangles on the floor, patterned by the half-drawn blinds.

No sound came through the cracked window, and none came from the people sharing the room with you, either.

For a moment you froze in your place, not daring to breathe.

It was like the world was holding its breath alongside you, was waiting for something. Anything.

The breeze came back, gently carding through the long grass below the window.

Someone turned on their other side in their bed, the wood creaking.

You relaxed, shoulders dropping. Whatever it had been seemed to have passed.

The pillow settled around your face as you lay down, drawing the blanket up higher as a shiver in the still air crept down your back.

Even with eyes closed your ears remained wide open, sensitive to any sound.

Sleep began to reach out its hands towards you once more, until-

The world spun a bit, so fast had you sat up.

There it was again.

Whatever had woken you before, there it was again, and it was… Music?

A song?

On quiet feet you stole towards the window, opening it a little wider.

The wind turned and the singing voice couldn’t be heard anymore.

Your phone proclaimed the time to be one am as you plucked it from its charging place, shrugged into a cardigan and slipped into a pair of shoes.

All the clouds had left the sky and it stretched endless into every direction, littered with stars.

There were so many more than you were used to, empty spaces filled in by more glowing dots than you could count, and every time you had to pause, wait for the wind to carry the song to your ears again, you stared up at the dome with wide eyes and wonder.

The patch of trees came into view and your steps sped up.

You really hoped this wouldn’t turn out to be a dream as you pushed through the bushes, eager to get to the other side, stumbling once and only barely regaining your footing as the slope began to dip further.

Next to the walkway floated Yukhei.

With steps as quiet as you could muster you inched over the wood, towards the mermaid drifting close by the edge. A small rectangle on his chest was a ghostly white and you didn’t know what it was until you stood next to him, saw the tape around the edges.

But by then his singing had picked up a note, had won in intensity.

He didn’t need instruments to accompany his voice. It was so rich, so deep and yet so melodious that anything else would have only interferred with the story he wove with the words that you couldn’t understand.

There was an ache in your chest growing as Yukhei’s song went on, his notes becoming more desperate until there were tears in your eyes because you knew Yukhei was calling for something, something out of his reach, but you didn’t know what and it brought pain into your heart.

His voice grew hoarse on the next verse and he broke off, closing his lips and swallowing once.

The silence filled the air around you, made the cool summer night heavy. Breathing was difficult and you hoped, longed Yukhei would continue.

But his eyebrows furrowed, creasing the skin between them, and he stayed silent under the stars, only drawing a slow breath every once in a while.

“What were you singing about, Yukhei?” You asked, crouching on the wood, cardigan wrapped around your legs.

The merman startled so badly he caused a small wave that swept over him, got into the wrong pipe and made him cough.

Bobbing upright in the water his wide eyes stared up at you, as if you were the mythical creature bathed in the light of a million stars and not him.

As if the moonlight didn’t put silver between his strands, place a silver glow over his shoulders.

“You’re here.”

You nodded, still looking down on him in the water.

“You- You came.”

Again you moved your head.

Yukhei seemed at a loss for words.

“You weren’t here yesterday.” You picked at a loose thread on your knitwear, averting your eyes. “I see you found the photo.”

He stilled in fiddling with the rectangle, flattening it to his chest instead.

He remained silent.

It must have been the longest time you hadn’t heard any sound coming from him before he gently laid the photo on the wood and pulled himself up to sit beside you.

His tail was so close to your leg you could feel the coolness that clung to his scales so fresh out of the water.

“Your song,” You continued, as it seemed unlikely he would raise his voice sometime soon. “It was so… full of emotion. What were you singing about?”

His gaze, erratic, fled your face and focused on the water rippling around his tail.

“I lost a friend.” He answered eventually, and although he didn’t whisper, it almost felt like he had. “I was trying to call them, pleading for them to come back to me.”

“I’m sorry.” You held your gaze trained on him until the brown, in the moonlight grey, eyes met yours again. Under your attention he stilled. “You must have liked them a lot if you were this desperate to have them with you again.”

He nodded, not losing the contact. His tongue flicked over his lips and the crease between his eyebrows returned before he spoke again, slowly, like he was picking his words with great care.

“They’re in a place I can’t reach. We don’t sing often. Your kind have made tales and warning stories of those you call Sirens, who lure sea-faring folk to their death by bewitching them. But it’s not like that. We protect what is most dear to us with the only thing more powerful than any weapon your kind could craft. We sing. But we don’t sing for destruction. We sing to make peace, to calm waves and to save those too weak to defend themselves.” He paused, the interruption minimally. “We sing for our loved ones, to heal and to lighten the mood and when they leave for their safe return.”

His face was uncharacteristically somber as he spoke, and you listened intently.

“Your friend,” You looked out over the ocean, thinking about how incredibly it had looked to see him swimming with the whales. “I hope they’ll come back to you soon. Even though that song was so beautiful, if it speaks of loneliness and the wish to see them again, I hope you won’t have to sing it too many times.”

Yukhei had taken the hand that had been lying on the wood between your bodies away, holding it by its wrist with the fingers of the other hand.

His expression was unreadable as you looked up into it, tried to see anything.

“Where is your friend? How far have they gone?”

The tips of his fingers were dry but still cold to the touch when they met with the skin of your own hand. You felt them when he moved his hand up your arm, to your shoulder and then across your back.

Tears collected on the waterline of his eyes as he turned to fully face you, looking down and taking in every detail of your face.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, and you didn’t know what for exactly.

He closed his eyes before  leaning forward, his chin on your shoulder and his arms holding your tightly.

With the weight of his arms over yours it wasn’t easy but you did your best to hug him back, waiting if he would explain.

His voice was husky when he drew a shaking breath through the hot liquid running over his cheeks and collecting in your cardigan.

“I don’t know where my friend went, but it was because I left them first, but they’ve come back now and I’m so happy but I’m so sorry.”

He tightened his hug and in the breathless moment in which he squeezed you as close as he could you realized he’d meant you.

He’d been singing about you.

With your hands cupping over his shoulders you pushed him back a little to be able to see his face properly.

He squinted his eyes at you through sniffling a little.

“You were singing for me? To come back to you?” He nodded, biting on his lower lip and covering the hand you’d put on his cheek to wipe away his tears. “You wanted me to come back? But- You were the one who didn’t show up. Who left without saying anything.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he knew exactly what you were saying was true.

“I know. It was rude of me and I hate myself for doing it and- That’s not true, I was there when you put the photo on the pier, but I didn’t show myself which makes it even worse and I’m so sorry but when you said you were going to leave soon I just- I didn’t know what to do. Of course I knew you’d be gone sooner or later, of course I knew it shouldn’t mean anything to save you from drowning, but I still hoped… We would have more time.”

The corners of his mouth drooped down alongside his shoulders.

“In a way, I- I didn’t want the time I could spend with you to end yet, and that’s why I didn’t show- And also you said you wanted to see lots of the village, and I thought I kept you long enough but-”

You sighed deeply. “I understand.”

He closed his mouth and looked up to you ruefully.

“I’m sorry too. For not telling you earlier.”

This time it was him sighing, taking your hand from his cheek to his lap and curling both his palms around yours.

“Can we watch the stars together tonight?” He asked after a bit of silence in which he’d tapped on your skin in what you were pretty sure was morse code for something but you didn’t know morse and so didn’t know what he was saying.

“Yeah.”

Lying side by side, with your pinkies linked, Yukhei pointed at brighter spots overhead with his free hand, telling you about formations and tales he’d been told as a child about those who swam among the stars.

He described a gigantic whale, swimming through the sky, and you told him how humans had been to the moon and how there was no air in space and eternal cold that would freeze anyone who didn’t wear a suit.

“I don’t believe that.” Yukhei said after a moment of consideration. “Your stories are a lot less fun than mine.”

You turned your head to look at him, watch him looking into the endless dark, and laughed at his defiant comment.

There was no point in disagreeing with him or trying to prove what you had said was right and the space-whale he was sung to about wasn’t.

There were many things he wouldn’t believe if you would have told him, but you figured the concept of space was one of the most harmless he could choose to disbelief.

In the grew hours of dawn the day of your departure you sat in front of Yukhei on the walkway again, legs crossed and hands folded.

He had dipped down into the water for a moment before setting himself next to you again, and now your eyes switched between his hands, which he held cupped close, and his face; holding barely contained excitement.

“Okay, close your eyes and open your hands.”

“If this is a fish you caught for me, I told you, I can’t eat raw-”

He rolled his eyes but failed to bite back his grin.

“I promise, it’s not. Not this time.”

Mouth falling open you stared at him. “Wh- Not this time? When did you plan to give me a live fish?!”

“Can you please close your eyes now I want to give you your present.” He pouted, and finally you complied. Closing your eyes against the pastel colours of the coming sunrise in the sky, holding open your hands.

Something was placed into them; thin, with a small roundness to it at one point.

The wetness of Yukhei’s fingers brushed the side of your palms as he retracted his hands and then made a small sound, signalling it was okay for you to look.

Blinking down on your hands you took in what he’d put there.

It was dark with water but it looked like yarn or some other string, twisted and knotted and braided into something that was barely large enough to be a necklace.

Three small pearls were woven into it, a bigger one the size of your pinky finger’s nail flanked by two smaller ones.

You looked up into Yukhei’s nervous face.

“We give pearls or other pretty things as gifts, but my kind doesn’t wear bracelets or anything like that because it can get caught on sharp edges and strangle us; We put everything we get gifted into our hair, because it’ll hold on to it for us, but for you I had to improvise because your hair is dead and won’t be able to hold them.”

Your fingers curled around the gift protectively, but faced with this new information you couldn’t help but wonder.

“Your hair is alive?”

The merman nodded, hands clasped in front of him. “Touch it! You’ll see what I mean.”

Even more careful than when you had first stroked over his tail you now reached out with a hand, two fingertips brushing the darkened strands.

To your bewilderment and elation the hairs pulled away from the skull and wrapped around your fingers for a moment.

Spurred on by the soft giggle of Yukhei and the positive first contact you extended the rest of your hand and ran it over the side of Yukhei’s head.

The strands parted easily for you, reached up and placed themselves around your hand, slipped into the creases on your palm and held you in place for a moment before giving you free again.

“That’s amazing!”

Yukhei’s grin was big and contagious as you gave him his space again.

“Pretty cool right?”

“Yeah!” You sat in front of him for a moment longer, marvelling at him, all of him.

“You want me to help you put the necklace on?” He offered, but you insisted on trying it on your own first before having to relent to his help after not being able to fit the small wooden pearl through the designated clasp.

The necklace sat against your throat like a choker, and even though Yukhei expressed worry at how tight it was you waved it off and told him it was fine.

“Thank you so much.” You held out your hand, waiting for him to put his own into yours.

He did, thumb rubbing over the skin around your wrist.

“Thank you.” He echoed, smile wide and warm. It simmered down a little the longer you held eye-contact, until he looked away and cleared his throat.

“You’ll come back soon, right? I want to introduce you to everyone.”

“I have free time during winter again, but maybe I’ll be able to come by for Autumn break.” Yukhei groaned a the prospect of having to wait that long, pouted at you shamelessly.

“That face won’t get me back to you faster, I still have to earn the money it’ll cost me to come and stay here, you pebble.”

The playful expression replaced the half-hearted sulking, and he nudged your knee.

“Don’t you have a bus to catch?”

You checked the time.

“I think I have enough time for one last hug.”

And even though the saltwater still covered him head to fin, you held on to the other until the sun had almost fully risen above the horizon. Unwilling to let go just yet.

Months later you sat on the bus, face so close to the window the glass fogged over. There was a lot less green outside, and the thick clouds didn’t let through much daylight, but you could make out the rocks in the distance, the roofs of the houses.

In your luggage, safely stored underneath your seat, were gifts for a certain someone, alongside a neoprene suit and diving goggles.

Soon you would check into the hostel, to get rid of the bag. But after that there’d be nothing holding you back from venturing through the path of trees, down the slope of the hill and onto the wooden planks above the water - you’d see how many stones Yukhei had been able to gather and put there, one for each day he’d waited for you. And then you’d put them all into a single heap, a pyramid maybe, and wait.

You had a feeling it wouldn’t be too long before the familiar blinking of the pearls and glittery things in his hair would break through the surface, and you smiled to yourself, looking forward to being able to hug him again.

Soon.

You settled back into your seat and watched the world outside, watched the town by the ocean grow closer every moment.

i hope you liked it! ♥

[weishenbwi]

wayv said forget gender norms.  😤

[ohhmydyosfics]

(Luren) Swim To Me

It's not that Xuxi is a skeptic and finds it hard to believe in the supernatural, it's just that never in his life had he encountered something that made him stop and think 'huh, maybe we're not as alone as we thought we were'. He heard a handful of stories from Dejun, about how he nearly stepped in a fairy ring when he went to visit his grandmother a few towns over, or about the holes in his aunt's backyard that were too round and perfect for them to be dug up by an animal,- but he never thought he would get to experience the supernatural himself, especially not like this.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31856233

[elysiansite]

((𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐝'𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥))

♡ʾʾ lucas moodboard!!

[femaleboysblog]

I think I'm falling for yukhei... *stares at camera* ..oh no..

[sichengmark]

so what if for nct yearbook #3 they put the guys in pairs that we rarely see n shoot them w another beautiful amazing innovative concept

[pesiko]

LUCAS BULLETPOINT RECS

Badboy!Lucas

Badboy!Yukhei

Baths w Yukhei

Being Taeyong’s Sister and Dating Lucas

Bestfriend Yukhei

Bodyguard!Yukhei

Boyfriend!Lucas - bangchan-sonyeondan

Boyfriend!Lucas - cheoliday

Boyfriend!Lucas - minhyung127

Cheerleader!Yukhei

College AU!Yukhei

Cuddles w Lucas

Cuddling w Lucas

Cupid!Yukhei

Dating Lucas

Dating Lucas would Include

Dating Wayv: Lucas

Enemies to Lovers

Getting Caught!

Ice Skating!Lucas

Kisses w Lucas

Kissing Yukhei

Lazy Day w Lucas

Lovestruck!Yukhei

Lucas as a Boyfriend

Lucas as a College Student

Lucas as Your Boyfriend - some M

Making Out - suggestive

Making Out w Lucas

Mermaid AU Yukhei

Missing Home

Mornings w Lucas

Napping w Yukhei

Nct Boyfriend Series: Lucas

Nostalgic Summer Romance AU Yukhei

Puppy Love!Lucas

Summer Romance AU: Yukhei

Superhero!Yukhei

The Art of Falling in Love in a Day

Vampire!Lucas

Wayv Bf Series: Huang Xuxi

❥ LUCAS NAVI

[main masterlist] [nct masterlist] updated 6-29-21

[baekhyunbitz]

Preference Tag

Thank you @dirty-nctizens-7 and @byunmblebee for the tag!💖

coffee or tea | early bird or night owl | chocolate or vanilla | spring or fall | silver or gold | pop or alternative | freckles or dimples | snakes or sharks | mountains or fields | thunder or lightning | Egyptian mythology or Greek mythology | ivory or scarlet | flute or lyre | opal or diamond | butterflies or honeybees | macaroons or eclairs | typewritten or handwritten | secret garden or secret library | rooftop or balcony | spicy or mild | opera or ballet | London or Paris | Vincent van Gogh or Claude Monet | denim or leather | potions or spells | ocean or desert | mermaids or sirens | masquerade party or cocktail party

I'm tagging @cosmichoneyedblossoms @yukhei-xx444 @amylovessvt @bubble-taeeee @my-kpop-madness @woozis-room @kafkascupcake @xiuminscheeks @byuns-coco @baek-byunies @xiaojuxiyou @isearchedtheyooniverse @dashingwishes and anyone else wanting to give this tag a try!

[wongyukheis]

how much do yall wanna bet yukhei is the one turning into a mermaid in the mv hes the one obsessed w swimming AND hes an aqua

[meangirls2004]

nct as ways they would die in the sims

ten: would be chilling at a nightclub and suddenly get striked by a meteor

taeil: would let someone do that magic trick where ur stuck in a box full of water and it would fail and he would drown

jisung: he’d try to repair something and get electrocuted bc he doesn’t have a high enough handiness skill

jaemin: heat exhaustion bc he likes heat way too much

doyoung: would die from getting too angry

kun: would die from being too embarrassed

jaehyun: would get rabid rodent fever from touching the hamsters

johnny: would get struck by lightning

taeyong: would somehow get trapped in a pool and starve

chenle: would die from being too playful :(

hyuck: fire

jungwoo: would live a quiet and peaceful life of tending to his bees and horses and would die of old age

mark: would laugh himself to death

yukhei: would go to take the cake from a cow plant and get eaten

sicheng: would eat the pufferfish nigiri bc he didn’t kno that it kills u

jeno: would eat the fatal jelly bean

yuta: hypothermia bc he never wears sleeves

renjun: would be a mermaid and forget to go in the water and would dehydrate

[jaeminlore]

NCT Masterlist

☼ = author’s favorites ♚ = adventure universe  ☘  = seasons universe       

❂ = ribbon universe  ☤ = heartbeat universe  ✣ = freedom universe

⚛ = sounds of the summer universe   ⚜ = nothing happens universe

UNIVERSE TIMELINES

MOON TAEIL

Chrysanthemums (fluff, royalty au) ☼

Glad I Could Help (fluff, blurb) ☼

All of Me (fluff, soulmate au)

Strings of Fate (fluff, soulmate au) ☼

Natural Disaster (angst, florist au)

Natural Disaster Part Two (fluff, florist au)

JOHNNY SEO

Not a Fan (fluff, not au)

Now a Fan (fluff, not au)

It’s a Date (fluff, TA au)

Ideal Type (blurb, not au)

Dreams of You (fluff, soulmate au)

Piplup Pride (fluff, pokémon au)

Friends to Lovers (bulleted au)

Prince Charming (fluff, royalty au) ☼

Pages of Life (fluff)

Happy Birthday (blurb, fluff)

LEE TAEYONG

How Would You Feel (song fic, angst, fluff) ☼

Queen of Disaster (song fic, biker au)

Sunshine (song fic, fluff)

Unfold (fluff, blurb)

I Just Wanna (song fic, fluff) ☼

Summer Days (fluff)

Anniversary (fluff)

Moon River (song fic, fluff) ☼

Immortal (angst, lotr elf au) ☼

Hope (angst, fluff, pirate au) ❂

His Thoughts at Midnight (angst)

NAKAMOTO YUTA

Nothing to Prove (fluff)

Kissing Buddies (fluff)

Cat Boy (fluff, comedy, witch au)

Cat Boy Part Two (fluff, comedy, witch au)

Middle of The Night (song fic, angst)

In Short, I Like You (fluff, chubby!reader) 

Floor (bulleted scenario)

Kissing Yuta (bulleted au)

QIAN KUN

Finding Gilbert (fluff, soulmate au) ☼

Finding Gilbert Part Two (fluff, soulmate au)

Kun as Your Boyfriend (bulleted au)

Kissing Kun (bulleted au)

Till The End of Time (fluff, prince!kun)  ☼ ☘

KIM DOYOUNG

Protect You (fluff, royalty au) ☼

Golden Snitch (fluff, hogwarts au) ☼

Girlfriend (GS pt 2, fluff)

Dance With Me (blurb, fluff)

LOL (fluff)

Snow Queen (fluff)

Kissing Doyoung (bulleted au)

Cheap Thrills (fluff, rebel!doyoung)

TEN CHITTAPHON

Illustrated Haiku (fluff, soulmate au) ☼

One Day (fluff) ☼

Stay With Me (fluff, angst, prince!au)

Secret Love Song (fluff, angst, not au)

Seven Minutes in Heaven (fluff, best friends au)

Rest (blurb, fluff)

Viridity (blurb, fluff) ☼

Friends to Lovers (bulleted au)

Break Down the Wall (royalty au) ☼

BDTW related drabbles: One

Two Houses (slice of life, fluff)

Universe (blurb, fluff) ☼

Grow (fluff)

Arsenal (superhero au)

Atlantis (fluff, mermaid au) ☼

Life’s Preperations (fluff, single dad!ten) ☼

Worlds Apart (angst, twd au) ⚜

JUNG JAEHYUN

Vice Versa (fluff)

Delusional (angst, slice of life) 

I’ll Be Waiting (fluff, neighbor au)

Nervous (fluff, angst, not au)

Goodbye Summer (angst, song fic)

Always (angst, song fic) ☤

Close to You (fluff, song fic, dad!jaehyun) ☼

Like a Princess (fluff, angst, chubby!reader) ☼

Relax (blurb, fluff)

DONG SICHENG

Heartbeat (fluff, hospital au) ☼ ☤

Remember the Saints (fluff, racecar driver au)

Spontaneity (fluff) 

Win (single dad au, fluff)

KIM JUNGWOO

Kissing Jungwoo (bulleted au)

WONG YUKHEI

Kissing Yukhei (bulleted scenario)

Come What May (fluff, prince!yukhei) ☼ ☘

Darlin’ (fluff, biker!yukhei) ☼ ⚛

MARK LEE

Promise (fluff, royalty au)

Notice You (blurb, fluff)

Without a Car (fluff, socialite(?) au) ☼

Not Yet (fluff, aged up au) ☼

Turtles and Teasing (fluff)

Falling Apart (slice of life)

That’s My Girl (fluff, angst, insecure!reader)

Sleeping Beauty (fluff, sleepwalker au) ☼

Fight For You (fluff, knight au) ☼ ♚

Uniform (fluff, policeman au)

Kissing Mark (bulleted scenario) ☼

Seasons (fluff, prince!mark) ☼ ☘

Prom w Mark (bulleted au)

Little Surfer Girl (fluff, skater!mark) ⚛

Amor Libertatis (fisherman!mark, fluff) ☼☼ ✣

The World is Ending and I’m With You (isaewy!spinoff, soulmate!au) ☼

HUANG RENJUN

Deer in The Headlights (fluff, song fic)

An Artists’ Soulmate (fluff, soulmate au)

Kissing Renjun (bulleted scenario) ☼

La La Love (blurb, song fic)

Don’t Worry, Baby (angst, sand artist!renjun) ⚛

You and Me (fluff, angst)

LEE JENO

Tonight (fluff, blurb)

Healing (fluff, healer!jeno) ♚

Knight in Distress (fluff, knight!jeno) 

Courage (KID part two, fluff, knight!jeno) ☼

It Starts and Ends With You (soulmate au, angst) ☼

Kissing Jeno (bulleted scenario)

High Hopes (fluff, baseball player!jeno) ☼

Prom w Jeno (bulleted au)

Vulcan and Venus (fluff, glassblower!jeno, fantasy au)

Catch a Wave (fluff, surfer!jeno) ⚛

Always Return (fluff, angst, pirate!au)  ☼☼ ☘

LEE DONGHYUCK

First Love (fluff, highschool au)

Thank You (blurb, fluff)

Impulse (blurb, fluff)

Maybe (blurb, fluff)

Friends to Lovers (bulleted au)

Funny (fluff)

Clingy Haechan (bulleted scenario)

Walk You Home (blurb, song fic)

All The Stars (blurb, fluff)

I Love You (blurb, fluff)

Kissing Haechan (bulleted scenario)

Fun, Fun, Fun (fluff, swimmer!hyuck) ⚛

I Will Be There (fluff, angst, prince!hyuck) ☼ ☘

NA JAEMIN

Adventure (fluff, angst, royalty au) ☼ ♚

The Adventure Continues (ADV part two, royalty au) ☼ ♚

Better Than Medicine (fluff, friend au)

BTM Part Two

BTM Part Three

Vampire!Jaemin (bulleted au)

Kissing Jaemin (bulleted scenario) ☼

Do You Wanna Dance? (fluff, angst, lifeguard!jaemin) ⚛

Gardenias (fluff, angst, nurse!jaemin) ☼

Of Candy Coated Charges (fluff, avonlea!au, 1890s!jaemin)  ☼

Redamancy (blurb, fluff)

Sweet Surrender (fluff, angst, blurb)

Mine (blurb, fluff)

Tattooist!Jaemin (bulleted au) ☼

Leap of Faith (fluff, spider-man!jaemin)

ZHONG CHENLE

Kissing Chenle (bulleted scenario)

Wouldn’t It Be Nice (fluff, snowcone vendor!chenle) ⚛

PARK JISUNG

Kissing Jisung (bulleted scenario)

Wild Honey (fluff, biker!jisung) ⚛

AUS

How NCT Would Kiss You ☼

Jumanji Edit With Foreign Swaggers

NCT as Street Fighter Winning Quotes

NCT’s Favorite Type of Kisses ☼

FORMER MEMBER: JI HANSOL

Wrong Move (angst, fantasy au) ☼

Diagnosis (fluff, hospital au) ☼ ☤

Ribbons (fluff, angst, pirate au) ☼ ❂

Rêves (fluff, janitor au) 

[vicecityhq-archive]

* indicates an extended reserve

reserved until 02.21 at 11:59PM CST

jung chaeyeon (dia) - g.h.o.s.t. book keeper, succubi

park jimin - night bloods book keeper, soul eater

reserved until 02.22 at 11:59PM CST

*chae hyung-won - ivory lotus drug manufacturer, faerie

*xu minghao - g.h.o.s.t. weapons tech and hacker, djinn (mixed breed)

lee jooheon - howler’s weapon tech, undecided

kim myungsoo (L) - ivory lotus assassin, fallen angel

kim youngkyun - night bloods medic, vampire

jung jaewon - howlers dealer, werewolf

reserved until 02.23 at 11:59PM CST

chittaphon leechaiyapornkul  - ivory lotus prostitute, undecided

jung wooyoung - night bloods drug manufacturer/specialist, vampire

submitted apps

kim taehyung as alexander ‘jeon minho’ malkov - second in command/assassin of the nightbloods, vampire (pureblood)

min yoongi as sebastian ‘ace’ natoli - leader, of the howlers, mixed blood

kim kibum as jeon ‘key’ minki - leader of the night bloods, vampire (turnblood)

yoon jeonghan as park ‘honey’ jaehyun - second in command of the howlers, mixed blood

wong yukhei as zhao ‘atlas’ fang - leader of g.h.o.s.t., demon

bang yongguk as victor rhee - howlers’ medic, witch

byun baekhyun as yi minsik - ivory lotus medic and drug manufacturer, witch

hirai momo as izumi ‘mirage’ hisoka - the howler’s assassin and prostitute, mixed blood

park sooyoung as yi minji - ivory lotus leader, witch

lalisa monabon as camilla du eriksen - ivory lotus csc and sector leader, mermaid

lee taeyong as byun ‘olethros’ wonjae - g.h.o.s.t second in command, vampire

park seonghwa as jeon ‘pollux’ hye - night bloods assassin, hellhound

choi san as kang ‘silver’ taewoo - assassin of g.h.o.s.t., mixed blood

kim min-kyung as moon ‘ivy’ yunhee - second in command of the ivory lotus, witch

cai xukun  as liu ‘sy’ syaoran - ivory lotus prostitute/section leader, fallen angel

song yuqi as wu ‘cypress’ feihung - night bloods assassin, succubus

lee yoobin as ahn ‘hush’ daebin - the howlers weapon tech

jung hoseok as kim ‘soo’ jungsoo -  the night bloods, prostitute

woo jiho as baek ‘asmodeus’ yejun - night bloods assassin, demon

kim youngkyun as william caleb jung - night bloods medic, vampire (turn blood)

[istgimamess]

•he was everything you weren’t, everything you were taught to hate: cocky, overconfident, raw, werewolf •while your coven taught you to suppress what made you so different •his pack did the opposite •you officially met in “orientation” •your coven held counsel twice a year, every year, for incoming supes •it wasn’t something you looked forward to •just a bunch of supernaturals, both old and new to the area, sitting around playing nice •it was obvious they all hated eachother •'It is wise to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Y/N’ as your coven would say •fairy mingling with mage •mermaid rubbing shoulder with incubus •for vampires, your coven specifically, it was the werewolves •your kind had been at war with lycanthrope for centuries upon centuries •you usually keep to yourself, not being the type to fake any interaction •so when you end up cornered in your own home, you’re confused •flustered •he tells you his name is yukhei and he smiles a little to big •but you see something dark behind his eyes, a promise •those very eyes that have been glued to you all night •intense •focused •he comes a little to close •and stares just a little to long •his voice, deep •his words, suffocating •knocking the breath out of you •determined •dominant •dangerous •'What’s your name?’ •'Why would I tell you that?’ •'Come on, Y/N. Play along.’ •he smirks •he’s cocky. •you hate it

•that night was just the beginning •those suffocating words quickly turn into suffocating actions •hands on hips •lips on neck •just pecks, nothing heavy •in the library of the school •in the grocery down the street •never when you were expecting it •'Why do you keep doing this?’ •you’re angry and frustrated •'Just leave me alone, mutt!’ •'I don’t think I will, bloodsucker. ’ •he’s in your space •'Why!?’ •he doesn’t answer with words •hands on wrists •arms pinned to walls, hips pinned to hips •eyes luminescent •nails in thighs •lips and teeth holding you hostage •he eats you inside out, and you let him •bruised and bloody •he’s rough •you hate it

•he has his sweet moments too •when he approaches you with no ill intentions •drags his finger over your hip, makes his presence known in a crowded room •craddles your head •kisses your fingers •eyes caress your entire being •but he’s also mean, protective •possessive in a way you’ve never known •guttural growels and death glares when others get to close •he doesn’t hide who he is or how he feels •like you do •he forces his way into your life •into your heart •and it becomes a thing •something you can’t define •meeting in private •dark halls and abandoned warehouses •if your coven found out, you both would be skinned alive •but he refuses to stop seeking you out •imprinting himself into you ever night •feral and wild •'We shouldn’t.’ •'We already have.’ •he holds your wrist lightly •'You should stop.’ •'I won’t.’ •his grip tightens •'Tell me what you’re feeling.’ •'Why would I tell you that?’ •'Come on, Y/N. Play along.’ •he smirks •he’s difficult •you hate it, you hate it so much •but you could never hate him

@ “redhot anon” hiyaaa~ haha thanks so much for the request! Hope you like your moodboard/image ship! My first ever imagine…ever! 😅

In NCT I ship you with… Yukhei!

[taeilm]

potc!au | nct

drink up, me ‘earties (never shall we die)

3 ships, 3 crews, 18 boys sailing the vast atlantic

warning lowkey dark bc potc

TAEYONG: Captain of La Vipère

loves the sea more than anything

has probably sailed more waters than any other pirate (he does own the fastest ship out there)

fears neither death nor life

but has a gentle heart so therefore...too many weaknesses

cares about his crew a lot, especially jaehyun

brilliant swordsman; one of world’s best

it’s mesmerizing to watch him amidst battle bc he fights like he’s dancing

confident & courageous & will face anything head-on

charismatic; ppl are naturally drawn to him

ten’s nemesis; their vendetta against each other is never-ending (though neither is sure how it started)

romantically unavailable bc he’ll only ever be in love with that distant horizon and boundless sea

SICHENG: Quartermaster of La Vipère

taeyong’s most trusted right-hand man

aloof, mysterious; no one rly knows why he’s here or what he wants

ex-british royal navy commander but he left all that behind for the uncharted sea, bc taeyong somehow convinced him

pretty boy

his beauty is literally deadly bc ppl let their guard down around him then lose their lives for it

terrific fighter

doesn’t talk much

can be very cruel if needed (to enemies & crew alike)

extremely disciplined but slowly trying to unravel the navy orderliness that has defined most of his life

TAEIL: Boatswain of La Vipère

loves the ship more than his crew

carefully maintains her so she’s always running at 100%

will probably go down with the ship if she ever sinks

looks harmless but is actually p good with a sword

doesn’t like fighting though

taeyong consults him a lot

experienced & versatile bc he’s worked on many pirate ships before

but for some reason everyone trusts his loyalty to la vipère

has a lot of good stories to tell

loves singing haunting tunes about dying sailors; it sets the crew on edge but his voice is too beautiful to make stop

JAEHYUN: Sailing Master of La Vipère

inexplicably attuned to taeyong’s feelings and desires

prob bc they’ve known e/o since they were little pirate boys

shares his captain’s love for the sea

taeyong trusts him with his life

doesn’t like making empty promises

soft-spoken & gentle

has the face of a heartthrob but doesn’t use it to his advantage

very precise with navigations

seems to always know where taeyong wants to sail before he even tells him

JOHNNY: Master Gunner of La Vipère

chill and laidback; nothing ever fazes him

joined the crew bc he was bored & wasting his life away on land

master gunner for no reason other than that he gets a sick thrill out of bombing other ships to oblivion

he only feels alive during battles; the more chaotic the better

so unsympathetic that ppl think he’s missing a nerve but rly, he’s just perpetually disinterested in everything

can be very charming from time to time depending on his mood

loves thunderstorms & hurricanes

JAEMIN: Surgeon of La Vipère

childhood friends with jeno; they were both orphans living off of scraps in paris

doesn’t talk about it bc they’re kinda enemies now but he worries over him a lot (taeyong knows this but can’t do much about it)

initially joined la vipère to find jeno

adapted well to life as a pirate; anything is better than the starving hell he grew up in

a surprisingly capable doctor even though the only experience he’s had was from treating his and jeno’s cuts & bruises from larceny punishments

very stealthy & nimble

good at stealing

loves his crew members

+++

+++

TEN: Captain of The Black Pearl

taeyong’s nemesis; would kill him but would highkey also fuck him (their relationship is rly twisted & intense idk)

a playful trickster

nothing but snide remarks tucked under his tongue

devil-may-care attitude; little thoughts given for the future

so unbelievably selfish and narcissistic it’s amazing he has a crew at all

but he’s fun!! and clever and charming as hell

can wiggle his way out of any trouble

very good at lying & acting

speaks a lot of languages

legendary swordsman; on par with taeyong

only shows genuine affection when talking about the black pearl

sleeps with countless ppl every time they dock at a port

DOYOUNG: Quartermaster of The Black Pearl

basically in command of the ship bc ten rarely does anything for the crew

smart, organized, well-rounded

revered and somewhat feared by the crew

hides his emotions v well

ppl think he’s heartless but tbh he’s not rly; he’s just good at separating task from feeling

has a soft spot for jeno; thinks the boy is wholly unsuited for this barbaric life

doesn’t seem very invested in piracy (he wants something more but he’s not sure what)

loves the sea at night when everything is calm & quiet

prefers peaceful sailing to battle frenzy but that doesn’t mean he can’t fight well (he’s actually the second-best swordsman onboard after ten)

KUN: Boatswain of The Black Pearl

similar to taeil, the ship is his pride & joy

does a good job overseeing everything on a daily basis

greedy; loves gold more than anything

always the first to locate the treasure hoard on a conquered ship

dreams of being the wealthiest man in the world and thinks piracy is the quickest way to achieving that

everything he does is for his own gain; the crew to him is just another means of aiding him in the bigger scheme

takes care of yukhei the most bc he thinks that kid is their best asset in battles; ppl mistake it for affection but kun would drop him in a heartbeat for even the tiniest materialistic gain

loves rum

JENO: Sailing Master of The Black Pearl

the kindest & most thoughtful boy

very good-looking (his beauty is famous across all the seas; even mermaids fall for his allure)

childhood friends with jaemin; misses him but doesn’t dare to say anything bc if ten ever finds out, jaemin will likely die just so ten can see jeno’s reaction for his own entertainment

not very fond of his captain

only joined the crew bc ten saved him years ago from nearly getting his hand chopped off for stealing (“now, boy, i need me a crew, so what do you say? join me and i’ll consider your debts paid”)

separated from jaemin due to that but fate has her own way and now they’re enemies on sea (he’s not sure if he’s thankful or angry)

has a natural affinity for directions at sea despite having been a parisian street rat his whole life

YUKHEI: Master Gunner of The Black Pearl

epitome of the ruggedly handsome pirate™

crazy fucking bastard

doesn’t know what holding back means

blasts cannons like there’s no tomorrow every time the black pearl engages in battle

loves joking around with the crew

says he adores & would die for everyone but no one knows if he rly ever means it

so reckless w everything he does that it’s a feat he’s still alive

drinks a lot but rarely gets drunk

honestly just wants to live life to the fullest

that’s why he loves being a pirate!! nothing else can give him the same dizzying rush of being alive, knowing he’s always on the verge of death

huge womanizer... always gone the moment they dock, just like ten

JUNGWOO: Surgeon of The Black Pearl

shy & quiet & seemingly innocent

but no one knows of all the shit he’s done in secret to get to where he is today

obviously he’s darker than he comes off as if he’s survived for this long on the sea

ppl always want to protect him and he goes along with it bc false impression is his favorite weapon

so tbh he’s as good of a liar as ten is

pretends to act like an airhead but is acutely perceptive to everyone and everything around him at all times

a highly skilled surgeon; was trained as a pirate doctor’s apprentice since v young

+++

+++

MARK: Captain of The Flying Dutchman

cut his own heart out and locked it away; no one knows where it is or dare to ask

cursed with the ship; can never make port and is doomed to sail the seas for eternity

acts cruel and merciless but is deep down very sensitive

ppl say no one knows love like he has known love

self-destructive, moody

lone wolf; pushes everyone away but somehow his crew is unshakably devoted to him

superior swordsman; second only to ten and taeyong

controls the kraken; the entire sea is envious of him for that

RENJUN: Quartermaster of The Flying Dutchman

ex-british commodore

was so so devoted to great britain like literally exemplar pawn of the empire; would’ve died for his queen with zero hesitation

drawn to ppl who are better than him

which is why he was enthralled by mark during one great battle bt the british navy & the flying dutchman 

and then promptly abandoned everything he ever stood for just to follow this boy

has a pride complex where he simultaneously pines after & wants to kill those who’ve bested him

very good with guns & pistols

YUTA: Boatswain of The Flying Dutchman

loves being a ghost-pirate; he was made for the undead life

had an intense affair with sicheng from years ago but was betrayed and nearly hanged for piracy 

so now he’s bent on revenge (but some fucked-up part of him is still in love with sicheng) (he’ll never admit it though)

tongue sharper than ten’s bc he always speaks with the intention to hurt

very manipulative

holds grudges

joined the flying dutchman bc it’s the most feared ship on the seven seas & he thinks it’s his best chance at finding & killing those he’s been wronged by (rn primarily sicheng)

despite everything he’s p loyal to mark bc there’s something about cutting one’s own heart out that intrigues him to no end

CHENLE: Sailing Master of The Flying Dutchman

navigates the ship to various locations to collect sailors who died at sea & ferry their souls to the next world

good judgements when it comes to sailing

often climbs onto the crow’s nest to stargaze or watching the rising sun bc they’re the only things that calm him

absolutely devoted to mark bc mark plucked him out of an abusive shanghai orphanage & basically saved his life

has a dark side but is generally a sweet boy

confides in renjun a lot bc he trusts him the most

DONGHYUCK: Master Gunner of The Flying Dutchman

would die for mark in a heartbeat

he’s in love with his captain? maybe?

rude/sarcastic little shit

jack of all trades; very smart but puts 20% effort into everything

disobedient as fuck bc he wants to get a rise out of mark but has never succeeded

sunshine boy on the surface but won’t bat an eyelash when spilling blood

gets a sadistic kick out of firing cannons and pistols

likes playing games with their captives/hostages

good at telling jokes & stories but everyone finds him annoying

JISUNG: Powder Monkey of The Flying Dutchman

suspicious of everything & doesn’t trust anyone

bad at managing emotions & relationships (his captain can relate)

a quick learner; can honestly take over any position on the ship if he wants to

gets along well with chenle but isn’t super close w anyone

his mother tossed him overboard at birth w the intention to drown him but mark saved him by chance

yuta jokes that mark only picked him out of the water bc he didn’t want to ferry another dead soul

he considers his life to be mark’s; 100% at his captain’s disposal

excellent fighter despite being so young

[kreacts]

NCT U Reaction to finding out you’re a mermaid.

I know there is a bunch of requests waiting, and I’m sorry I haven’t been doing them, but I’ve been struggling to find inspiration with writing recently, so have an NCT U reaction! It’s based on me finishing Mako Mermaids... yes... I watched all 4 seasons and cried at the end :’) btw some of these gifs have nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to use some recent ones :’)

Taeyong

Taeyong would be really upset in that period before you told him. To him, your relationship was built on trust and the ability to share things, anything, with each other. He certainly shared all his secrets with you and trusted in you completely, so you blatantly keeping a huge secret was really painful to him. Early into your relationship he would accept your excuses, hoping they didn’t mean anything serious, but each time you lied to him about why you couldn’t meet him (you had obligations with your pod) or every time you ran away from him, he would feel less and less like you relationship was working.

Eventually he’d ask you to meet him, not telling you what he wanted to discuss, and when you arrived he would sit you down and tell you that the relationship just wasn’t working for him, and he’d give you a choice. You could either trust in him and reveal your secret, or you wouldn’t be together. He needed your relationship to be equal, and that just wasn’t the feeling he was getting from you at that time.

He would tell you to take three days to figure out what you’re going to do, and then let him know. The whole time he was waiting he would feel so sad. You had been hiding things from him for so long, what would change it now? But, of course, it was Taeyong. The risk of telling him was overshadowed by the fear of losing him. You would go around to his place and confess your secret. You were a mermaid. He would be quiet for a short time, staring at the ground, but when he looked up at you he would have a shining smile on his face. 

“Do you have a tail? Can I see it? Do you have magic?”

Doyoung

Doyoung is pretty quick-witted so he would figure things out pretty fast. Nothing specific, of course, no one would guess you’re a mermaid, but he would know something really unusual was happening with you. It wouldn’t put him off because of how close you were, so he figured you were just unsure if you could trust him. He knew you couldn’t force someone to trust you, so he just kept quiet whenever you ran off and hoped one day he could prove himself to you.

You were at a party when some juice got spilled down your clothes and you had to hurry off before you transformed. Doyoung would look around and see all the people, potential witnesses for whatever you were hiding, and your sheer desperation to get away. He would chase after you without a second thought, willing to protect you and help you out.

You would duck into a bathroom in the house just as you transformed, and Doyoung would find you on the floor with your hair wet and your tail glistening. Doyoung would pause, shocked, for only a second before telling you to change back quickly before someone sees. He would stand outside the door and direct anyone who tried to enter away.

You would dry yourself off and walk out quietly, and Doyoung would pull you into an empty bedroom to have a chat. He would listen quietly to your explanation of your life, nodding sometimes because now your weird behaviour was all starting to make sense. Eventually he would just smile and hug you.

“I always knew you were special.”

Jaehyun

Initially, all your running off and weird behavior would go right over Jaehyun’s head. He would probably make jokes about it, even if it worried him, because he wouldn’t want to seem too serious or panicking about your behaviour. If you ran away suddenly he would just say “I fluster her too much, she needed some air” and laugh quietly.

But the more you ran off on him, the more you cancelled dates last minutes or changed your plans, the more you avoided his questions and kept giving him lame excuses for all you of your weird actions, the more annoyed he would get. It would start playing on his insecurities a lot. He would jokingly ask you if you had another partner you were running off to be with. Of course you would deny it, but he would have planted that seed of thought in his own mind.

From then on, every time you acted weird, his mind would go back to the same place. He couldn’t help it, his jealousy would appear. He didn’t want to be that way, he wished he could just be chill, but he really loved you and he felt like he was missing some huge detail about your life.

I think one day, when he was really down about it, he would call of your relationship to tell you to go and be with who you really love. It wouldn’t even take a day for you to decide to tell him the truth. You would call him down to the beach, and when he arrived you would already be transformed. You were ready for your two lives to come together.  He would sigh in relief when he saw you and grin.

“So, that’s why you like seafood so much?”

Winwin

Winwin would probably figure it out, or at least he would get pretty darn close because he is generally quiet and observational. He would notice how you avoided water at all costs, and if any touched you you would suddenly run away and disappear for a while. He didn’t want to say anything because he felt a little crazy just thinking you were some magical creature effected by water, but the evidence was there before you.

Every time you acted weird around others Winwin would cover for you, saying you had been feeling ill and suddenly needed the bathroom, or you’d probably forgotten a meeting you had or something. He would have your back without you ever admitting your secret to him.

One of the days when you were hanging out in your room he would try to ask you about it, but he was suddenly nervous about what you would say and he would get tongue tied. He would yell “I know what you are!” and in panic he would just throw a glass of water on you. He would keep you from leaving the room with a long string of “It’s ok, I love you, please trust me” and after you transformed he would apologise profusely.

“I’m sorry I panicked, but you don’t have to hide from me anymore.”

Jungwoo

Jungwoo would know that something was up with you straight away but he would never comment on it, afraid that it might upset you, and he fully believed you would share your secret with him whenever you felt you trusted him enough.

But as more time went on with you stubbornly keeping this secret, and all the weird behaviours you were exhibiting and all the lies and excuses you were feeding him, he would become more insecure. Wasn’t your relationship strong enough to handle a secret, any secret? Had he not made you feel loved and supported enough so that you felt you could actually trust him? All these doubts would run through his mind.

He would wait until the next small event, maybe you jumping when a glass was knocked over on a table to avoid the water spill, and he would quietly ask what you were doing. When you seemed confused and asked what he was on about, he would confess everything in a sudden word vomit- all the weird things he remembered you doing or saying, that he had been paying attention to all of them.

“You know you can trust me, right? With anything?”

Despite his sincerity it would leave you feeling upset since it was kind of like he had been spying on you, and you would run away to get a bit of space. He would find you in your safe space and talk to you, and eventually his genuine affection for you would confess you to admit that you were a mermaid. He would accept it right away, without you showing him any proof, and kiss your cheek softly.

Yukhei

It would take Yukhei a while to notice how evasive and weird you were being since he always had a lot of energy and was easily distracted. He might bring up your behaviour as a joke one day and it would lead to an argument since you felt you had to suddenly be defensive against him. What had been a joke would lead to Yukhei getting angry quiet fast and saying some childish things about you not loving him enough, which he knew wasn’t true.

After that, Yukhei would be far too nervous to approach you. He knew he had crossed so many lines and gone about asking his questions in the complete wrong way, and he didn’t blame you from wanting some space from him, so he would decide to just wait for you to make a move.

In the end, you would miss your best friend far too to much to not tell him. He was goofy, and weird, and flirty, but he made you feel so loved and safe whenever you were with him. You would take him to the beach so he could first see you in your natural habitat, and you would walk straight into the water without saying anything.

He would watch you transform with wide eyes and would just stand there for a while, dumbstruck. Only when you called his name would he snap out of his daze, and he would wade into the water neck deep, fully clothed, to kiss you.

“You can always trust me. I love fish!”

Mark

There is no question, Mark would persistently trust you. No matter what excuse you threw at him, and even if he saw through them, he would just accept that you were doing what was right for you and what made you feel comfortable, he would not take it personally.

His only concern was your safety since he couldn’t be sure what you were wrapped up in. The more he thought about it, the more he though you might be in trouble with someone. All Mark wanted was your safety and happiness, and he was genuinely concerned for you.

One day when you were out together, he would just ask you what was going on. He would have been ok if you chose not to answer, but you would get upset about the sudden confrontation of your odd behaviour. Your reaction would convince him that you were in a bad situation and he would become resolved to help you out of it.

One day when you ran off suddenly he would follow you, determined to figure out what was going on and how he could fix it, and he would glimpse your tail and you tried to hide. He would confess that same day, not wanting to keep it a secret even though he was in a state of shock. This did not change who you were to him.

“Can I be in your world now?”

Iris

[aphrodites]

If your mutuals were the members of nct, which members would they be? Send this to the last 5 people in your activity ✨

ahhhh okay okay

taeil: @doyoung i see taeil and mera are very mythical beings, like taeil is a fairy and mera is a mermaid, but they have an aura that gives a good sense of wanderlust and sweet type of love with some goofiness too

johnny: @performanceunit/ @jaehyunz erin is very talented and overall very warm hearted and well rounded, she and johnny are both very easy to talk to and are very kind :’(( 

taeyong: @neogf khushi is like lowkey kinky i dk man,,, but u know how taeyong is, but especially with her dark aes it rlly reminds me of ty and she’s also very like patient in the shadows kinda person that rlly shines nd a hard worker 

yuta: @pcyist no fucking filter sjjsssj tara gives me the same sexual vibe has, IDk IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THEYRE SIMILAR even though their charts are competely different;;; djdjdj

kun: @01florist asma i feel is very underappreciated but like deserves the whole world like kun, also can be very patient with others and just and overall sweetheart who deserves love 

doyoung: @selukai i trust chelsea and doyoung with my life, they’re both very smart, but they both do some very questionable things that make u question if they r rlly as smart as u first thought they first seemed

ten: @luvjaemin djdjddjdjdd sumaya reminds me of ten because moments she can be soft and kind and just sO LOVABLE but then according 2 asma she can be pretty damn dirty ddjdjd

jaehyun: @0mile sha reminds of jaehyun for some reason, but like;;; i love sha more than i love jaehyun IDK i dont even love jaehyun that much :’( sorry sha

sicheng: @kunqians zenith also is sicheng because like renjun sicheng can be silent but DEADLY like u dont wanna get on the wrong side of renjun sicheng or zen :’)) 

jungwoo: @01girls I LOVE MY BEST FRIEND A LOT, im very very very very fond of jungwoo and they’re both very soft and sweet. but can be caught doing very questionable things on their own;;; like they are both easily lost in their heads and can be quiet weird 

yukhei: @felixloveclub FUCKIN ANNOYING THE SHIT OUT OF NME 1000% OF THE TIME but is still very loveable and would die for both of them in a heartbeat :’( 

mark: @sungkyungkims please follow my sheep, she’s just as oblivious as mark and they’re both very slow,,, but still SO CUTE like u cant help but fawn over them 

renjun: @kunqians hu hu hu iz and i said this but zenith is renjun the two of them can be soft and sweet but also very savage and cutthroat :’( but u love them anyways

jeno: @deathpocalipse djddjjd my kideu is very patient and kind, also super encouraging but she tells jokes that r lame 2 most ppl but is very funny 2 me but im lame so djdjd

donghyuck: @felixloveclub izzzziee is my lovely hyuckie, they both are the true embodiment of the sun, whenever i think about them they’re both the sun you know  especially in the future i’m gonna have two suns :’(( 

jaemin: @jenosbby BRUNA REMINDS ME OF JAEMIN TBH i feel the two of them have very similar vibes, can be very playful and well-rounded like a jack of all trades and can also make anyone melt

chenle: @renjuwu i think ven and lele ar both very vibrant characters and can be very attention drawing like there is something about the two ofthem that draws attention towards them :’( 

jisung: @kahaengchu both jisung and tracey are wild cards lololol, like u never know what 2 expect from them one day theyre quiet the next theyre wholesome fools :’))