Your older brother Johnny tosses you a pile of rope, the smell of fish still rank on the twine. You winced away at the smell, tossing it to the dock.
“Come on (y/n), put some effort at least.” He groans from above you on his boat, a thin sheen of sweat covering his forehead and dripping down his bare chest. You roll your eyes at him, but pick up the pace. You and your brother ran your late father’s fishing company while your mother and your little brother ran a shop in town. You were one of the few women out at sea doing jobs that normally a man would do so you received sideways glances as you helped unload the rest of the equipment.
“Tie down the anchor (y/n)!” You hear Johnny direct you from inside the small fishing boat.
“Alright!” You answered, bending down to grab the rope. As your gaze fell to the ground, a red flash reflected into your eyes through the gaps of the deck. You rubbed your eyes, squinting through the holes again only to be met with the familiar clear waves of the ocean.
That was weird. I could’ve sworn I saw something.
“Did you tie her down?” Johnny calls you again, capturing your attention back on the task at hand.
You huffed, tying down the last rope and tugging it to confirm that the knot wouldn’t budge.
Johnny jumps down from the ship's deck, clapping your shoulder, “Good work today sis. Let’s get home before Mark burns down the house trying to help mom with dinner.”
“Oh god, let’s. We’ve already had to put out 2 fires in the kitchen this week.” You laughed with him as he reminisced about your little brother’s clumsy kitchen antics.
The sun had dipped below the horizon by the time you and Johnny reached your small cottage at the top of the hill and to both of your relief, the house was still in tact. Mark was sitting out on the porch, whittling away at a small piece of driftwood. When he heard you and Johnny’s banter, he looked up, smiling and welcoming you back.
“Took you guys long enough! Come on! Dinner’s gonna get cold.” Mark walks inside, informing your mother about your return.
You closed the door behind you as Johnny made a huge show about how delicious the food looked. It was clam chowder night, one of your mom’s specialties.
“Sit down, sit down kids. Let’s eat.” Your mom smacks Johnny’s arm, sitting down while rubbing the back of Mark’s head. She sends you a mirthful smile before pouring out bowls for everyone. The boys were quick to eat, as they always were.
“Oh, Johnny, (y/n)!” Mark looks up from his food with wide eyes, “You won’t believe what mom and I heard at the marketplace today!”
“Oh Mark, those rumors aren’t real. Just silly fisherman’s tales.” You mom chastised, already knowing what he was going to say.
“Well, (y/n) and I are fishermen so spill.” Johnny encouraged Mark to tell, to which your mom sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.
“There has been talk about the whereabouts of the missing people.” Mark said lowly, his eyes shining with excitement, “They say they were all led to the waters by something...or rather..someone.” His eyebrows wriggled mischievously.
“Someone?” You pondered out loud, “I thought they had just gotten lost at sea.” You weren’t too convinced about his theory. There weren’t even pirates in these areas to be able to kidnap people.
“But Old Man Harvey said he saw him!” Mark exclaimed, pointing at the door, “It was a mermaid!”
You burst out laughing, almost choking on your soup, “You must be joking HAHA!” You chuckle, the rest of your family following suit.
“I’m not sis!” Mark whined, “Come on, even if it wasn’t real, don’t you think that’s an interesting theory?”
“My son, your theories hold no bounds in imagination.” Your mother smiled at him, before glancing at you and then your neck, “(y/n), where’s your pendant? Did you not wear it today.”
Your face morphs in confusion as your fingers reach up to touch your empty collarbone.
The pendant in question was the one your father had gifted you after one of his trips across the sea. It was one of your last gifts from him before he died and you wore it everywhere. A panic starts to set in your expression, but you don’t let it take over.
“I must’ve left it on the boat.” You stand from your seat, the chair scraping against the wood floor loudly, “I need to find it.”
“Wait (y/n), why don’t you wait til the morning?” Johnny offers, not exactly comfortable with you to go out by yourself.
“If it fell into the ocean, I have to find it before the waves carry it too far away.” You were settled on going, grabbing your cloak to protect you against the chilly ocean breeze, “Besides, I’ve been down to the docks at this time before. I’ll be back in 10 minutes!”
Your mother tsks and waves you away, “Back in ten minutes young lady. Don’t loiter.”
“Yes mother!” You jog out the door and down to the docks.
The breeze carried your locks and your hood was blown off as you walked across the wooden docks. You walked off the boat, not finding it anywhere inside. You walked to the edge of the planks and gazed down into the clear water only to see the murky bottom, but no sign of your green pendant.
“No..I can’t possibly have lost it.” Your eyes became misty as you gave up your search for the night, turning away.
A shuffle came from behind you and a playful voice called to you, “Lost something?”
You whip your head around, startled by the deep voice. There was no one out this late, but there sat leaning on the docks was a red haired boy. His head leaned against his crossed arms, a smirk playing on his lips, as if he already knew your answer to the question.
“I was looking for my father’s pendant, but I think it’s lost forever to the sea.” You answered solemnly, walking over to him curiously.
“Little guppy, you shouldn’t be so quick to assume..” He chuckles lowly, lifting one of his arms to reveal the green pendant tangled in his fingers.
Your eyes lit up as you kneeled down next to him with relief, “that’s my father’s pendant! How did you find it?”
“It dropped into the water and I happened to be there at the right time to catch it I suppose.” He twirled the gem in his fingers.
As you watched him you began to see his features more clearly. Striking red eyes to match his red hair that dripped sea water. His top was missing which finally seemed to dawn on you as your eyes travelled below the dock. Your eyes must be deceiving you as you see his human flesh transition into a red an black tail. Each scale glittered like rubies and obsidian under the pale moonlight.
“You like what you see, little guppy?” He quirks his eyebrow up at you, amused at your silent awe.
“I apologize..” You immediately stop staring, “I’ve never met a merman before.”
“It’s alright, most humans haven’t” He chuckles, gazing at the necklace, “This is a pretty stone you have here. Where did you get it?”
“My father gave it to me.” You answered, wondering why he hadn’t given it back to you yet, “It’s very precious to me so I’m grateful that you found it and are returning it to me.”
“Ah ah-” He grins, “I never said I was going to give it back to you.”
You stand up from your crouched form, your eyebrows knit in a mixture of confusion and annoyance, “and why not?”
“I don’t feel like it.” He swishes his tail, gently stirring the water below him, “But if you accompany me, perhaps you’ll be able to change my mind.”
“My mother expects me to be home soon.” You protest.
“Then I guess you’re not seeing this pendant anytime soon, little guppy.” He moves to swim away, but you grab his forearm and pull him back.
“Wait!” Your thoughts stop at how close your face was to him when you pulled him back.
“Yes little guppy?” He raises his eyebrow, waiting for your answer.
“Where are we going?” You inquire. Hopefully, the faster you get this over with, the faster you can get back home.
Now it was his turn to pull at you, tugging your wrist under the cool waters, “Follow me and you will see.” He smiles up at you, his shark-like teeth poking from his lips.
⚠️ tw: tragic backstories and crippling angst lol, mentions of deceased parents, drowning mentions, implied suic*de, grief, renjun's cute english (all mistakes in his dialogue are intentional. enjoy)
i had no idea this would get such enthusiastic reactions. thank you everyone who requested a continuation, hope this makes you feel something and answers some questions ♡
this is part three of merman!renjun, find parts one and two here :))
1:44pm: "did it hurt?"
merman!renjun glanced up at runaway prince!jeno's prompt, who stared expectantly at him through the bars of his cell.
"what?"
the prince gestured at renjun's legs and spoke matter-of-factly. "your tail. it's gone. did it hurt?"
"oh... yes." he wiggled his toes. "it hurt."
"a lot?"
renjun paused and hugged his knees a little closer into his chest. "yes."
"and you... can't transform back." pirate!you lifted your chin to make eye contact with renjun, who pursed his lips and nodded in response.
"magic is no-come-back," he said with a shrug.
"irreversible," the prince offered.
"irressimble. no merperson ever come back from land."
your heart and eyes sank to your lap. "right."
poor haechan.
you found yourself getting to your feet. "i... i'm gonna leave you two to catch up." dusting off your palms on your hips, you cleared your throat. "let me know if you, uh, need anything, alright?"
renjun nodded.
"right. um... your highness." you offered a quick curtsey towards jeno, who scoffed lightly at the difference between your usual domineering behaviour and your attempt at character continuity.
as you made your way up the stairs, you remembered the time pirate!haechan had first opened up to you about his past. you had both been younger, yet already best of friends.
"cap'n the only family you got?" he tossed a grape into his mouth.
"we have an older sister. on land, though. runs an orphanage."
he made a noise of interest. "parents?"
you shook your head as you reached for another grape. "shipwreck, funnily enough. you?"
"three siblings. all younger than me."
you chortled at the thought. "you? the eldest?"
"i'm more responsible than you give me credit for," he retorted, a dramatic hand placed on his chest in mock offence.
"yeah, right. i'll give you credit when you don't slack off."
he laughed, and the two of you sat in silence for a moment.
you reached the top of the stairs, and took a moment to let yourself adjust to the sunlight. scanning the deck through squinted eyes, you spotted haechan at the bow of the ship, his back turned to you as he stared out at the ocean.
"your parents still around?" you had asked.
his brow had furrowed at the stars above and his chewing grew hesitant. you had started to apologise, realising you'd struck a nerve, but he shook his head and reassured you it wasn't your fault.
"dad's there, yeah. mum's, uh... mum was a mermaid."
a sound of surprise escaped your lips.
"—or so my father told us. she came to shore, grew legs and lived as a human. had my siblings and i... and loved my father. loved us."
you chose to listen in silence and watch as he focused on peeling the skin off the grape he held in his hands.
"we were at the beach one day. i guess she missed her home, 'cause she barely said anything and just stared out to sea." he took a slow, shallow breath. "i asked her to come and... and play with us. and she... took my hands, told me she loved me... let me go, and—and just walked straight in. right through the waves. didn't stop. never saw her again."
you didn't know what to say, so you went with the safe option. "i'm so sorry."
"nah," he said, trying to disguise his sniffling with a deep inhale, "all in the past. i used to be mad about it, but i'm over that now. she's probably happier."
you sighed at the sight of him. he was barely moving, but his loose shirt and hair whipped around in the wind. no, you aren't.
leaning your elbows on the taffrail next to him, you watched the hull of the ship split the ocean surface, leaving waves in her wake and advancing still.
you weren't taken aback when you turned towards haechan and was met with tears streaming steadily down his cheeks, their trail from his grief-stricken eyes shining in the sun.
he could barely maintain eye contact with you, his gaze drawn to the horizon again. a wet exhale left his lips before he pursed them tighter and gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white.
"the merman's telling the truth, then?" he managed, his tone laced with anger. "you can't transform back once you grow legs?"
"haechan, i—"
"you can't transform back, then what happened to my mum, huh?" he demanded, perhaps towards you, perhaps not. "you're telling me she walked in to die? to drown in her own home?"
"haechan."
"you mean i let her go for what? for nothing?"
"hey—"
he sniffed and shook his head, "no. no, it can't be true. maybe he just doesn't know her. my house is on the other end of the earth, he probably never even heard of someone returning because he's never met—"
"haechan." you caught his shoulder and he gripped your hand, to throw it off or for support, you couldn't tell—until his breath was sucked out of his lungs, his head hung and he gave in to the sobs that racked his body. his weight fell forward as his knees buckled, and you caught him with practised foresight.
the two of you sank to your knees, his face buried in your shoulder and balled fists clutching the fabric of your shirt. murmuring your words of comfort and drawing circles on his back, you let him grieve his mother a second and final time.
when he finally exhausted himself and you stopped having to remove your hand from his head to wave away anyone who approached you, renjun climbed onto the deck in search of you. he frowned in confusion when he recognised haechan and stayed wary as he drew nearer.
haechan noticed his presence and pulled himself out of your arms and onto his feet. clearing his throat, he raised his eyes to the merman's.
"i shouldn't have touched you," he began awkwardly, "i was... stupid, and... it almost cost you your life. i'm sorry."
renjun looked like he didn't know what to respond with. "you are welcome," he replied hesitantly.
taken aback at the unexpected answer, haechan cleared his throat again and walked past the boy.
renjun turned back towards you, tilting his head in puzzlement. "why is he sad?"
you sighed deeply before standing up too. "haechan's mother was a mermaid."
renjun's lips parted in shock.
"she had legs, too, and lived on land. but she missed the sea, so she said goodbye and went back." you gestured over his shoulder at haechan's disappearing figure down the stairs, his gaze following your hand. "he never knew merpeople couldn't transform back, so he thought she was still alive."
the boy didn't meet your eyes when he turned back around. a moment of silence smothered any further words you might have said.
"and he tried help me and push me back in water."
"... yes. he thought... you would be happier in the water."
another beat.
"he is not happy."
"no, he isn't."
you paused to let him contemplate.
"but. she was happy."
"hmm?"
"his mother. she was happy."
then it was your turn to tilt your head to the side.
"mermaids choose legs," he explained, "his mother choose land."
"merpeople choose to transform permanently?"
he nodded eagerly, "choose to t...ransform pernamamently. i choose because you protect."
"because i protected you?"
"yes. i am in danger and you protec-ted me. i choose tarnsform tail to legs."
you mulled over this consideration. "i... i'll let him know. thank you, renjun."
"you are welcome," he responded with certainty, offering you his first smile, albeit small.
you managed to smile back. "alright," you declared, "how about some lunch? you hungry?"
i reckon there's room for part four.. hm hm thoughts thoughts
it was not the silky smooth skin (scales?), nor the somewhat fascinating slits for gills flaring in the creature’s shock that first caught your attention. not even the wriggling tail, shimmering golds and greens and blues even in minimal sunlight with every movement.
it was the eyes. the wild young eyes that defied the status of prey and established itself as a living being, not just a body of meat and bones. there was a soul there, so hungry and alive, barely containing the storm behind them.
it was startling how such fire could come from a child of the sea.
thetis had blessed you today with your first close-up look at a real merman, suspended above you in a fishing net. still hissing and thrashing, it bared its teeth at you and the crew, fighting for freedom, but only managing to tangle itself further in the process.
"lucky catch?" first mate!johnny mused, shrugging his shoulder.
"didn't think we'd see merpeople in these waters," quartermaster!jaehyun muttered.
cook!chenle was shaking his head. "we can't eat that," he said, arms crossed over his chest.
"no shit," pirate!haechan replied, "we've all heard the stories — men's blood freezing up in their veins." he shuddered. "don't know about y'all, but i'm not about to have my blood turned into slush."
your crewmates' words hung about you like the low-hanging clouds on a still day, and yet you couldn't take your eyes off the creature, so very clearly out of its element.
to see such a beautiful, fatal beast struggling in such a way under your hand, exposed and vulnerable — so wonderfully voyeuristic and intimate, you couldn't help but become intrigued by it. him.
his eyes had turned from furious to panicked as the net was lowered down onto the deck, grabbing at the ropes and swiping desperately as if his claws could cut through in such a time.
you still had yet to say a word, still stunned with awe as he spilled out onto the wooden deck along with the rest of the catch — but found yourself lunging forward as you saw your crew stepping forward to handle him however they planned.
hand at your sheathed cutlass, you stepped in front of the merman, turning to face your crew with a daring glare.
"you won't touch him," you warned, raising your chin to challenge anyone to question your authority.
jaehyun let out a sigh and motioned for the others to step back. they begrudgingly obeyed, just as the captain's quarters opened and captain!taeyong, your brother, stepped out on deck.
"what's going on there?"
"merman, sir," cabin boy!jisung piped up, "pulled up the fishing net and there he was, sir."
"merman, you say?" taeyong repeated, taking his time down the stairs. "you mean that boy?"
looking back at him, your jaw dropped as the boy's tail seemed to melt away, fins into flesh and bending into knees — real knees, ankles and feet and all — right before your very eyes.
the boy's face was twisted with nausea and pain, and you realised he must have been enduring the sensations of new limbs being created in real time, bones fusing and scales sinking into skin, then splitting into two separate legs. you winced as he visibly fought back a strained groan of agony.
you took a second to process the transformation before you as the crowd parted for your captain like the splitting sea as he approached. you clenched your jaw when he signalled you to step aside, but you did so cautiously nevertheless.
crouching in front of the naked half-boy, taeyong ignored his (weaker) warning hiss and held a short blade under his chin, tilting it upwards so as to get a better look at his gills as they vanished, fusing back into the skin of his neck. he took a long gasp of air, strained with the position he was held in.
"now, what's a pretty thing like you doing in our fishing net?"
instead of replying, he snapped at his hand, jaws opening to reveal a normal, human set of teeth. instead of flinching, however, like most of the crew, your brother gave him a warning of his own, stabbing downwards at the half-boy's no-longer-webbed hands. the blade caught the gap between his thumb and finger, which would have pinned him to the deck had he still been in his merman form.
your grip tightened on your cutlass' handle as the creature yelped in shock. "taeyong, enough!" nudging him hard out of your way, you reach down and pull the knife out, throwing it aside. you turn on your brother, recovering from his fall. "get away from him," you snapped, only to be met with laughter.
"what's it to you, whether it dies or not?"
"you'll leave him alone, and that's that." you tried to put as much finality as you could into your voice, half-worried it wouldn't be enough — but to your surprise, taeyong snorted and gave you a nod.
"suit yourself," he placed his hands on his hips, "what would you have us do with it, then? leave it in the sun to dry?"
the merman let out a low growl at that suggestion, but you ignored it.
"we let him go."
pirate!jaemin threw off his shirt to drape over the shivering boy as he was hauled up onto shaky new feet, legs buckling and knees giving in with the first few steps he took.
as soon as he could take certain steps, taeyong ordered for the plank to be taken out, and they were quick to usher him onto it to drop back into the sea. he hadn’t helped at all, squirming profusely in protest all throughout.
the boy's previous feral ferocity had long since gone, and his eyes now screamed of a strange panic and fear. glancing from the horizon to his feet and the waters below and back, he seemed to be hesitating. wasn't the ocean his home?
you didn't dare move a muscle in anticipation until he looked desperately over his shoulder, staring straight at you — begging for mercy from the only person who had granted it to him.
pure instinct launched you forward, stepping onto the plank and tiptoeing over to him, ignoring your crew's exclamations behind you.
"it's okay," you called out, "you can come back."
the boy clutched at the shirt, wrapping it tighter around himself as he trembled in cold, beautiful face twisted in anguish.
"come back with me," you beckoned, reaching your open hand out. "i can protect you."
you realised you didn't even know for certain that he knew what you were saying, but your eyes seemed to say enough for him. he managed a shaky step towards you, then another, and another, until he was within reach for him to take your hand (albeit tentatively).
the plank was nowhere near wide enough for you to support him side by side, so you offered your arm and shoulder for him to grab onto and lean on as you led him back onto the ship. the crew allowed enough space for him to collapse to his knees almost as soon as he climbed back on deck, and you ordered for jisung to bring him a new outfit.
soon, the crowd dispersed, returning to their duties — you looked up from helping him put on a clean shirt to taeyong, grinning down at you.
"you'll be responsible for it from now on," he said.
"i know."
"good," he nodded slowly, seeming to be proud of himself.
you fastened the last button for him and examined his face as he stared down into his lap.
"do you have a name?"
the boy's pale lips twitched, like he was trying to form words as you had done.
you repeated your question, softer and slower.
you didn't know what voice you were expecting from him, but it was more melodic and fragile than you could have ever imagined.
