[A34] MY LOVE FROM THE SEA
Prompt Code: A34
Title: My Love From The Sea
Rating: G
Side pairings (if any): TaeEun
Word Count: 3,100
Summary: Jongin had an unexplainable interest in the sea. Naeun had a seashell necklace she always wore.
Warnings: None
AN: To the recipient, when I saw your prompt I just really wanted to write it! The picture attached to the prompt was soooo adorable! I hope that you like this fic- I tried my best! I’m sorry because I think I veered away from the plot that you wanted :( But it still has prince Jong and mer Soo, so I hope this isn’t too bad -_- Sorry! I hope that it lives up to your expectations-just don’t expect too much hehehe~ I ain’t no gifted writer, so ya’ll better keep your expectations low like limbo~ *Also, there are some very minuscule Little Mermaid references!
“Jongin hyung, the ball went over there!”
“Okay, I’ll get it!”
“Don’t stray too far, your highness!”
That was the first moment.
They were playing beach volleyball at the kingdom’s shoreline.
Prince Sehun, six years old, threw the ball out of range and into the sea on purpose.
His older brother Prince Jongin, seven years old, went to retrieve the ball while their caretaker Junmyeon stayed with Sehun to avoid the little rascal from causing any more trouble (because he will. Seriously).
When Jongin went to fetch their volleyball, somehow he felt that it was lying too close to the shore. He was pretty sure it was supposed to be farther than this-that he would have to swim to get it.
In the end, the prince shrugged and dismissed his thoughts. Perhaps the waves brought it closer to shore? Though the sea was particularly calm today.
As the young prince retrieved the ball and walked back, he failed to see a tuft of black hair and wide eyes peering at him from behind a large boulder.
---
The Kingdom of El Dorado was a small humble kingdom. King Taemin ruled it with much wisdom, guided by his wife Queen Naeun. They had two children, namely Jongin and Sehun. While Sehun was a trouble making little fellow, breaking vases around the palace and refusing to take baths, causing caretaker Junmyeon migraines, Jongin was a much calmer kid. He took to reading and silences full of reflection. Most of all, he had an unexplainable interest in the sea.
The kingdom of El Dorado was in a small island, and so it was surrounded by the sea.
Prince Jongin liked walking by the shore, sun-bathing and swimming.
Sometimes he just sat on the warm white sand, looking out into the horizon, and just breathing.
It relaxed him and comforted him.
He couldn’t understand what drew him in, but he’s always felt an attraction to the sea.
Every time he would tell his parents this, they would chuckle and steal glances at each other.
Jongin never knew why.
Sehun would usually not care, because he was looking for the next expensive thing to tip over.
---
“You know Naeun, when are we going to tell the kids?” Taemin asked as he laid down with his wife on their bed.
“They’re still young; they’ve not even reached puberty yet. I don’t think they would understand even if we told them now. Perhaps when Jongin is around fourteen, he shall be the first to know?” Naeun replied, with her head resting on Taemin’s chest.
“Hmm... I suppose that makes sense. But Jongin is getting more and more curious each day, have you noticed? And he visits the sea so often...” Taemin sighed. “He was born with skin of golden brown as well. Just like your dad’s. Do you think he can wait until he’s fourteen?”
Naeun kissed Taemin’s cheek. “There’s no rush, dear. Time will come soon enough. Now rest. You have enough things to worry about with a kingdom in your hands. Let Jongin continue as he is, and we’ll tell him when he is of age, okay?”
The royal couple slept soundly.
On Naeun’s neck is a sea shell necklace she has always worn.
---
The second moment soon happened.
Jongin was collecting sea shells, which was one of his hobbies. He had quite the assortment actually. Queen Naeun had a shelf built in his bedroom just for his growing seashell collection.
Prince Jongin asked for Junmyeon’s help, and the caretaker gladly obliged.
Sehun was taking a nap back at the palace, and Junmyeon was more than grateful to hang out with the peaceful prince and not the diabolic one. He swore that prince Sehun was adopted. He just could not fathom how such a little spawn of evil was ever born into the royal bloodline. Sadly, Sehun is 100% a pure-bred royal and Junmyeon knew it.
Jongin instructed Junmyeon to get whatever sea shell he could find, while Jongin would search only for the most unique ones. The bucket was placed near the shore for easy access.
Hours go by, and it seemed there weren’t any new sea shells around. However, Jongin did not give up. He should find at least one unique sea shell today. Junmyeon himself had fallen asleep a little while ago, on the mat under the beach umbrella they set up. And even though Junmyeon was supposed to collect as many sea shells as he could, the bucket was only half full. Jongin realized that not many people have the sea-shell-collecting skill.
As Jongin searched and searched, finally he found a wonderfully beautiful sea shell shaped like a heart. It was the first time he’d ever seen one, and it was so pretty. Delighted by his discovery, he rushed back towards his bucket by the shore.
What he saw utterly shocked him.
He was quite sure the bucket was only half full.
However, now it was over-flowing with sea shells.
Not only that, but there were a handful of beautiful rare ones: shiny, different in color, and smooth to the touch.
Jongin’s brows furrowed. How did this happen? Caretaker Junmyeon didn’t wake up to collect more, right?
Actually now that Jongin noticed it, he didn’t remember placing his bucket near this large boulder. What was it doing there?
“Prince Jongin?”
Oh. It would seem Junmyeon has woken up.
The caretaker approached Jongin.
“Come now. It’s time for supper and the Queen had requested your favorite: fried chicken and sea weed soup! We mustn’t keep good food waiting!”
At this, Jongin was blinded by his love for food, so he placed his heart sea shell in the bucket and hurriedly headed home.
However that night, he remembered the strange event from this afternoon.
Could it be... that someone else had put all those sea shells in his bucket?
---
The third moment happened when Jongin least expected it to.
It was a nice sunny day out, and the young prince finished all his classes for the day. So he decided to take a nap by the shore.
Jongin brought his favorite folding chair, as well as his music box.
While Junmyeon assisted Sehun who was playing in the water, Jongin set up his chair next to a boulder where he could place his music box and the plate of biscuits Junmyeon brought.
He got seated, shifting a bit until he was comfortable. After which he took a biscuit and munched on it, while opening his small music box.
As it opened, a small ballerina figurine rose from within and began to spin as a melodious tune played.
Queen Naeun sang this song to Jongin all the time when he couldn’t sleep at night. It was titled “Part of Your World.” It told the story of the Little Mermaid, one of Jongin’s favorite bedtime stories.
Being someone who loved the sea so much, sometimes he wished he could be a merman. He even dreamt of this on certain days, and he would wake up some nights feeling a little incomplete.
He would go to his mother and she would hold him close.
And it would feel like all the comfort in the world was found in his mother’s arms.
Jongin’s eyes slowly started to close as he entered into dreamland.
Finally his lids shut, and his consciousness gradually faded.
However, just when he’s about to slumber, he started hearing munching noises.
Annoyed by the disturbance, he opened his eyes to glare at the perpetrator. It was probably Sehun eating five cookies at once again.
However, Jongin’s eyes widened because it was not his little brother, as he initially expected.
He saw the plate of biscuits being held by a small boy he didn’t know.
The boy must have realized he was being watched, so he turned his head to face Jongin.
The prince immediately closed his eyes, pretending to sleep to avoid getting caught.
The stranger boy stared at Jongin for a while before believing the prince to be asleep, resuming eating the biscuits.
Jongin slowly opened one eye and observed this stranger.
His skin was pale and it glistened under the sun.
His bowl cut hair made him cute, along with his chubby cheeks.
And his eyes. His eyes were so beautiful. They were big and sparkly, a light hazel color.
Jongin couldn’t help but open both of his eyes to ogle at this pretty boy.
When the stranger boy finished all the biscuits, he moved to return the plate on top of the boulder.
As he did so, he finally noticed Jongin staring at him.
At this, he gave a squeak and immediately dived into the water.
When he dived, Jongin’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.
Jongin saw a freaking fish tail connected to the stranger boy’s body, instead of legs!
What...
What in the world were in those biscuits??? He must be imagining things.
“Wait... Don’t go...” Jongin whispered to himself, now slouching on his seat and pouting.
Whether he was hallucinating about the fish tail or not, stranger boy was certainly real.
Certainly and beautifully real.
He knew for sure because after pinching himself, the plate of biscuits remained empty.
Yep. This wasn’t a dream.
---
“Omma, are mermaids real?” Jongin asked that night.
Naeun had tucked him in and kissed his head.
“And why does my sweet prince ask such a question?” She smiled at him adoringly.
“Be-because... I think I saw one today! But the mermaid wasn’t a girl. It was a boy! Like me! He’s a mer-boy!” Jongin explained, gesturing in the air wildly with his hands. “I think he was real... if I’m wrong... then- then Junmyeon hyung’s biscuits are poisonous!”
Naeun laughed at this and pitied the caretaker.
“Oh darling, I highly doubt that caretaker Junmyeon’s biscuits are poisonous,” She assured as she combed Jongin’s hair with her fingers.
Jongin’s eyes widened at this.
“Does... does that mean mermaids really exist!?” He exclaimed.
“Hmm...” Naeun tapped at her chin playfully.
“Why don’t you try to see for yourself?” She challenged with a knowing smile.
---
The fourth moment was completely planned.
The following day, Jongin brought a plate of biscuits yet again.
He placed his chair next to the large boulder where he was yesterday, set up the music box and placed the plate atop the boulder. Then he pretended to sleep as he waited.
Not too long, a familiar sound of munching filled his ears.
At this, he immediately sat up and opened his eyes.
It was the same boy from yesterday, caught mid-bite on a biscuit.
Realizing he had been caught, stranger boy instantly shoved as many biscuits as he could into his mouth, and made to dive back into the water.
“Halt! Stop, I say! I’m a prince so you better listen to me!” Jongin said quickly, standing from his seat and slowly approaching stranger boy.
After hearing that Jongin was a prince, the boy seemed to rethink about diving into the water. He had to respect royalty, after all. So instead, he settled for hiding behind the large boulder, as he munched on the biscuits deposited in his cheeks.
Jongin soon reached this mysterious boy, and he knelt down to be at eye level with him who was submerged in water.
“H-hi! I-I’m Prince Jongin of El Dorado!” Jongin greeted with a flush on his cheeks. “Y-y-you can have all my biscuits! I don’t mind really, so you don’t have to run away.”
Stranger boy stared at the prince for a short while, thinking the offer over.
Jongin was so tense, he thought he was close to peeing himself. He really wanted this boy to like him. Also he had pretty eyes, it’s hard not to be blinded by the beauty.
Finally, the stranger boy swallowed all the biscuits in his mouth and spoke to Jongin for the first time.
“R-really?” The boy asked, with a blush mirroring that of Jongin’s.
“Yeah! Here, here, take more!” Jongin immediately grabbed the plate of biscuits and shoved it towards the boy.
The stranger boy shyly took the plate and began eating again. “T-thank you, Prince.”
Jongin smiled at this and sat down on the warm sand. He placed his chin on his palms as he stared dreamily at stranger boy.
“Y-you can just call me Jongin, if you want.”
“Umm... okay.”
“So uh... what’s your name?”
“Oh... my name is Kyungsoo.”
“Kyungsoo...” Jongin tested it out on his lips. He liked it a lot.
“That’s a pretty name, Kyungsoo. You- you’re pretty too! Your name fits you.”
Kyungsoo blushed a bright red, and Jongin just wanted to squish him. “I-I’m not pretty! I’m a merboy! I’m-I’m handsome!”
Jongin’s jaw dropped at the mention of “merboy.”
He suddenly remembered what he really came here for.
“Y-you’re really a merboy!? Like, you don’t have legs and you have a fish tail!?”
“Yeah, see for yourself.”
Kyungsoo lifted up his lower body, and lo and behold: it was a magnificent green fish tail, with lustrous scales.
“Wow! Can I touch it?”
“Umm... that’s weird, but okay.”
Jongin carefully felt the fish tail in his small palms and he couldn’t believe it. He seriously could not believe that the little mermaid wasn’t just a bedtime story. Mermaids were real and apparently, so were pretty merboys with wide eyes and chubby cheeks.
“Omygosh... it’s my first time seeing a merboy, this is so amazing! You are amazing Kyungsoo!” Jongin shouted in joy.
Kyungsoo smiled at this and giggled. “Of course you wouldn’t see mer people often. We live under water, silly. We hardly ever come out to the surface.”
“Oh... then how come you’re up here?” Jongin questioned with a tilt of his head.
Now finished with the plate of biscuits, Kyungsoo placed it back on top of the large boulder.
“I don’t know... I’m just more curious than most of the people back home. Stories say that humans aren’t very nice, but I think your kind is really fascinating.” Kyungsoo said this with a smile.
“Five years ago, one of the princesses left our kingdom under the sea. The King had six daughters: there was Eunji, Namjoo, Cheorong, Bomi, and Hayoung. I don’t know the name of the sixth princess, but she was the one who left. The King said that she fell in love with a human here on the surface, and that they got married. Many believed this, however even more doubted it and said that the princess got killed by humans. So yeah, mer people don’t come up here much because they don’t know what to believe. But I believe the King, and I’m also friends with the princesses so I have no problem coming up here. I usually just swim around until I find something interesting. Here on your shore, there are lots of cool stuff! Like that ball you were playing with a week ago! Or the seashells you were collecting, but I bet I have way more than you do. And your delicious biscuits! There’s also this whatcha-ma-call-it.”
Kyungsoo pointed at the music box.
“It’s so nice! How does it play a song like that?”
“I don’t really know either. It’s called a music box, and my omma gave it to me. She always sings this when I can’t sleep at night.”
Just then, Jongin had a brilliant idea.
“Hey, if you want, I could give this to you.”
Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped, because no way! That’d be so super cool. He could definitely show it off to his seagull friend, who had collected many human inventions.
“R-really!? You’re giving me my own music box?” Kyungsoo clapped in excitement.
“Yeah, I can always buy myself another one, so you can keep this one. But on one condition.” Jongin replied, lifting up a finger to emphasize his point.
“What is it?” Kyungsoo asked eagerly.
Jongin flushed slightly at what he’s about to say. But he guessed it’s now or never. “You have to keep coming back here every day so we can play. Just the two of us.”
Kyungsoo smiled because that music box is his. “Okay! That’s easy, sure!”
Jongin decided to push his luck and throw in the real punch line.
“And... and you have to marry me when we get old!”
For the second time, Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped. It hit the bottom of the sea.
“Are you crazy!? I’m a merboy! I can’t marry you!”
“Well, if a princess did it 5 years ago, th-then you can do it too! O-or maybe I’ll try to become a merboy like you.” Jongin reasoned. He didn’t know how he’d do it, but he knew he wanted to keep seeing Kyungsoo day in and day out.
Kyungsoo flushed red. He really wanted that music box. And well, Jongin’s not bad looking; Kyungsoo could dare say he’s handsome.
B-but wow, marriage!? That’s a pretty big wager for a music box.
“I don’t know... I don’t know if I want to marry you, cuz like, I’m only eight years old...” Kyungsoo said as he twiddles his thumbs.
“It’s okay! We can start out as boyfriends! I mean, I’m just seven so I may be a bit younger, but I really think you’re pretty-I mean handsome, and like, I think I already like you even more since you’re a merboy-so uh, we can take it slow?” Jongin tried. He needed Kyungsoo to say yes.
“How about, aside from the music box, I’ll bring you biscuits every day?”
“Hmmm...”
“...I-I’ll, give you flowers?”
“Hmmm...”
“...I’ll... sing to you lots?”
“HMMM...”
This kid drove a hard bargain, Jongin thought. He was running out of gift ideas.
But then he snapped his fingers because he’s sure Kyungsoo can’t refuse his next offer.
“I’ll give you my first kiss. Right now. And if you don’t like it, then you don’t have to marry me. But if you feel your heart beat fast and you like it, then you have to promise that we’ll get married someday. Deal?”
Kyungsoo thought about it. Would he lose in this? He would also be giving away his own first kiss, and well, this could either be a good memory or a bad one depending on what it will feel like.
But the music box. The music box. The music box.
In the end, Kyungsoo nodded bravely for the sake of his beloved whatcha-ma-call-it.
Both boys inched closer to each other, slowly turning red every time they got nearer.
When their faces were just inches apart, both of them closed their eyes.
Jongin leaned in.
Fireworks exploded.
-END-
