A/N: Long ass chapter, so sit back and enjoy the mess I wrote :V
Also, there's gonna be a little bit of gore in the chapter, I will add a small warning but just BEWARE.
~~~~~~~
"And. . . That's how we met." Minho finished his storytelling while carefully sliding a piece of thin seaweed string through the tiny hole he had made on a small pearl. "I also gifted him a fish. . . He choked on the spines so I had to do a CPR on him."
Hyunjin snorted with laughter while San shook his head. "Typical of Jisung." His face then lit up and he nudged Hyunjin. "Hey, how about I tell you about the time that Wooyoung and I. . ."
San's voice suddenly faded away into the ocean's currents, carrying it away and letting it wander further and further from his frills as he bit his tongue and carefully added a few tiny clams, as well as those weird pointy things called augers and other types of seashells that Kai might like.
Would Kai really like it though?
I mean, he didn't know anything about romance or how the perfect gift might look, but he was being genuine and true to the feelings he felt for Kai. So. . . At least you should give him half a star for trying.
"Ooh, are you guys making promises?" A sudden voice cut through Soobin's thoughts and made everyone of the boys gasp with panic and huddled together as if the newcomer was some type of syren-eating shark sneaking up on them to eat their insides.
"Lia!" Minho, who was a natural flirt, was the first one to break the small silence that had engulfed them when the pretty syren came out of basically nowhere.
"Hey, girlie. Where have you been?" He put one arm around her petite shoulders. "Were you looking for. . . Moi?"
Lia looked at him weirdly and immediately swam away from him to take a place between Soobin and Hyunjin. "I was looking for all of you actually." She untied a small handmade bag and placed it on the rock where the four males had been working while the two oldest of the squad told corny stories about their above-water romances.
"I returned from Fire Tribe, you wanna see what they gave me?" After getting four enthusiastic nods from her friends, the siren buried her hands into the bag and pulled out a pretty necklace with an unusual pretty and shiny red gem.
"Woah," Hyunjin's eyes went wide while Soobin held out his palm so he could take a better a look at the pretty gem. "What is it?"
"It's a ruby," She moved her necklace away from the awing boys and put it around her neck. The red shine of the ruby contrasted beautifully against her purple scales and gave her a more glamorous look. "It was a gift actually," She smiled shyly and twirled her hair with her finger. "From. . . Well, you guys know who."
"Well, I didn't expect any less coming from her." San laughed before giving the younger a pout. "D-Did you see Wooyoung?" He pressed his index fingers together which made Lia gasp.
"Oh, yeah! He told me to give you this." She reached for her bag once more and pulled out a pretty bracelet which had also been made with rubies that surround a small zircone at the middle.
The 20-year old let out a tiny squeak filled with excitement. He took the necklace from Lia and covered it with his hands as if trying to protect it before anyone could steal it away from him.
"OOh! I can smell cooked up flesh!" Hyunjin exclaimed. He took Lia's bag and shoved his head inside it before taking out a huge leg that clearly belonged to some herbivore.
At the sight of Hyunjin sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of the land-creature, Minho's and San's pupils became big and their own teeth unsheathed with hunger at the blood that tickled at their noses, tempting them with its beautiful scent.
Hyunjin heard their hungry hisses and let out a squeak before darting away so he could enjoy the little snack that Lia had brought them all alone without having to share.
"Hey! Get back here-" Lia cut off and let out a frustrated groan when Minho and San swam after Hyunjin, the pretty pearl-jewelry they had made being forgotten and left alone for Lia and Soobin to watch over.
She pinched the bridge of her nose, she had told Yuna and Wooyong that Minho, San, and Hyunjin would fight over who got to eat the snack first, but did they listen to her?
But her grievances were forgotten when a hand traveled close to her chest and lifted the pretty Ruby on her necklace. She moved her hands away from her face and gazed fondly at the curious 19-year old who was still showing a massive interest in the pretty gemstone.
"Yes Soobin," She arched brow at him and shooed his hand away from her necklace. "Can I help you with anything?"
"Do you have any more?" Soobin asked shyly. He lifted his hands up and showed her the bracelet he had been making.
Lia widened her eyes with horror at the atrocious bracelet that Soobin had made.
If it had been another syren, she would've told them and scolded them for making such terrible gift for their 'significant other', but when she saw the poor 19-year old blinking hopefully at her while holding his badly-crafted promise, Lia couldn't help but to sigh and take the bracelet from him.
"I don't. . . But here," She swam to a nearby rock and grabbed a few petals from a marine flower that was commonly used for promises like this one. "Your promise looks pretty good, but. . . How about we uhm. . . Give it a few touch-ups?"
Soobin gazed at her curiously, but then smiled gratefully at her and nodded his head excitedly. He was more than delighted at the thought of someone finally helping him out in the midst of his confusion. . . And slight despair at making something beautiful and perfect for Kai.
~
"Ta-da~" Lia held out the newly improved bracelet in front of Soobin.
Soobin gasped and held out his hands for her to give the bracelet to him so he could examine it. The three thin strings of seaweed had been straightened and braided together between the pretty seashells. The rebellious pearl was perfectly placed in the middle of the bracelet to give it the attention it deserved after such chaotic harvesting. The petals and a few tiny yet beautiful stones where also decorating the pretty gift, giving it a sense of life and color.
In other words, Soobin preferred this bracelet more than the one he had made earlier, it looked so much neater and well, perfect.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it!" The joy he felt inside his chest was too much for Soobin to bear, so much that he let his arms spread open and wrap themselves around Lia who almost lost her balance at the strength of the hug. But she just let out a laugh and hugged him back with the same affection rising in her chest.
"Okay, okay. Get off me. Now."
Soobin immediately let her go. Even though she had just hissed at him, he couldn't help but to smile from frill to frill as he gazed at the gift she had helped him make. "I really don't know how to thank you." He put the bracelet around his wrist so he wouldn't lose it and held Lia's hands in his.
Lia quirked her brow. "Well. . . You don't have to. . . But if you insist, you could help me get a pearl for Yuna."
"A-A p-pearl. . ." Soobin's face went blank and his eyes widened at the the traumatic experiences with his own pearl. The oyster locking around his hand, the heart attack he almost had every time that cursed pearl escaped from him. . . Being catapulted above the water by that geyser.
Upon gazing at the sudden change of emotion in Soobin's face, Lia bit her nails and waved her violet hand in front of his face. "S-Soobin? Are. . . Are you okay?"
"THEY'LL EAT MY HAND AGAIN!" Soobin screeched with terror right before pushing himself away grom the rock were the crafting of the promise took place, and swam away like the panicked boy he was.
His strange reaction just left Lia scratching at her head with a bewildered look on her face. Sh3 was wondering what kind of drama Soobin had relived, but she just shrugged it off as a stupid man being stupid.
After all, what could go wrong with the boy's confession?
Well. . .
Let's find out about that one.
~°°••~°°••~°°••~°°••~°°••~°°••~°°••~°°••~
"Can you two just STOP?" Taehyun stopped digging his hole in the sand and glared at the couple that had been kissing for the past five minutes.
"Shut up, Taehyun," Beomgyu, who had willingly climbed onto Yeonjun's lap just a few minutes ago, broke away from the older and let out a hiss directed at the 17-year old. "It's been half a month, you don't get it!" He then turned to Yeonjun again and continued to kiss him.
Taehyun looked away from the two and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I would get it," He started before pointing at Kai who was flopped on the sand like a sad overcooked potato. "If nor Kai or I were here!"
This time, Yeonjun was the one to pull away, Beomgyu let out a small whine but soon closed his mouth when Yeonjun's thumbs pressed against his sides. "Talking about Kai, are you okay, bud? You're extremely quiet. Way more than usual."
Feeling the attention now being drawn towards him, Kai let out a sigh and rested his chin on his arms. "Yeah. . ." He mumbled miserably before letting his wings sprawl to the side so his bare back could receive the sun's rays. "Just let me toast in peace."
The three boys stared at their friend with big eyes glazed with concern.
Taehyun stopped digging his sandy beach-grave one last time and scooted closer to Yeonjun and Beomgyu which were already thinking about solutions to turn Kai's blue mood into a brighter one.
"I think it's about the. . . 'Shark situation.'" Taehyun murmured, making sure that poor heartbroken Kai wouldn't hear him.
"Soobin?" Yeonjun arched his brow with confusion. "I thought he was over Soobin already."
"Darling, of course he's not!" Beomgyu whispered, trying not to get carried away by talking too loudly. "It's only been three days since Soobin told Kai that he was interested in someone."
"Exactly." Taehyun nudged Yeonjun playfully. "Plus, Kai's liked Soobin since forever, you dingus."
"Okay, okay. Don't gang up on me, I haven't been updated about Soobin and Kai's status for a while." Yeonjun replied before pressing his palm on Taehyun's forehead to push him back.
Taehyun took that as a challenge and continued to nudge and grasp at Yeonjun while the older kept pressing his palm on his forehead to keep him away.
While the two messed around like two brothers just wanting to annoy one another, Beomgyu pressed his index finger to his chin. He turned to Kai's direction and saw how the 17-year old's arms went to his sides while his delicate face flopped on top of the soft, pale sand.
The sight made the older gulp and bite his nail."I don't get it though," He placed his head against Yeonjun's broad chest and let out a sigh. "I always had the impression that Soobin shared the same feelings as Kai."
"Well, in reality, Beomgyu. . . The chance of your crush liking you back is minimal." Taehyun then grabbed Yeonjun's arms and placed it around his shoulders. "Not gonna lie, you and Yeonjun are an extremely rare case though, congrats."
The last sentence that left Taehyun's mouth made the two lovers smile widely at each other before Yeonjun turned his attention to Taehyun once more. "I'd love to agree with you about Soobin only having platonic feelings for Kai, but Beomgyu does have a point here,"
"Ha! In your face Tae-" Beomgyu cut himself off midway his clowning of Taehyun to gace at his mate. "Wait, you think I'm right?" His eyes became big with awe. "Really?"
"Of course," Yeonjun chuckled at his mate's cuteness and kissed his cheek. "He's talked to me about Kai back to when we were at the facility." The older stopped brushing Taehyun's hair with his fingers as he began to list the series of evidence gathered up inside his brain.
Like that one time Kai had gotten a flu along with a heavy fever, which had led to Soobin ditching his sleeping schedule to comfort and take care of the younger for three whole nights. . .
Or that one time during an extremely peaceful afternoon when Soobin had found a small white flower and had decided to gift it to Kai without thinking twice. . .
And let's not talk about that special occasion when Soobin got rewarded with two small boxes filled with sashimi after and ended up giving Kai BOTH of the boxes just because he knew that it would make Kai's dark days a bit brighter if he did so.
And Soobin always talked about the younger as if he was the most prescious thing in the entire world. His eyes would always light up like a night sky being showered by the moon, and his smile had always been so fond and loving as he ranted for hours and hours about how his tiny baby needed his protection at all costs.
Yeonjun's gaze fixed itself over to where Kai was. The younger was pouting while drawing small hearts on the sand. . . Oh boy.
*A few flashbacks*
*
*
*
"I swear I'll kill everyone of the monsters in this facility if they dare leave even a tiny bruise on my baby's small hands." Soobin, who had been a small yet determined 8-year old declared with his finger raised high in the air. "I'll go chomp-chomp, if they go punch-punch!"
"Ooh! I wanna do it too! I can make them go kaboom!" Beomgyu, who was an extremely dangerous killing-machine at the early age of 7, decided to chime in before letting out a giggle. "They make funny faces when my fire hugs them."
6-year old Taehyun gasped and took his thumb out of his mouth. "I want a huggie too." The younger flinched when Beomgyu lit his body ablaze and opened his arms happily to receive him in an affectionate hug. "N-No fire though. . . It's too s-scary."
Beomgyu immediately shut his flames off and pulled tiny Taehyun onto his lap to hug him, snuggling his chubby face against his best friend's shoulder.
Soobin looked down at the still sniffling Kai and gently held his cheeks with his small and soft baby hands. Kai looked at the older and rubbed his eyes as his lip quivered helplessly.
Soobin frowned at that. He didn't like seeing his tiny best friend cry, so he wiped Kai's tears away and kissed both of his cheeks and nose before hugging him tightly.
Kai sniffled again, but he brought his thin arms up and wrapped them around Soobin's slim torso as the older comforted him. "From now on Kai, I'll protect you. . . They'll have to go through me first."
~
Warning: The upcoming paragraphs contain mentions of gore. If you are sensitive to this topic, please move on until you see the next "~" symbol.
Blood spilled all over the white walls and the dark flooring of the experimentation room. The scarlet liquid splashed against Soobin's body, covering his face and hands with the blood of the monsters that made his poor Kai cry out in pure agony.
The young 13-year old panted, he was horrified with the massacre he had just committed, but again. . . These people weren't human, they were monsters. They didn't deserve mercy from him or anyone after hurting his beloved friend.
Soobin shook his head and threw the dead monter's head to the side. After watching the the head roll away, Soobin stood up and tried wiping his face.
There was a huge scarlet pool just bellow his feet from the four men he had murdered, but he ignored that small detail and crawled towards Kai who was miserably lying on the ground half-conscious from the previous beating.
Mind you, those monsters had only beaten Kai because he didn't want to get his blood drawn after looking at the size of the needle they were gonna use on him.
"Ning Ning?" Soobin pouted, his now red-colored hand wrapped around Kai and gently nudged him to see if he was still alive or not. "Please. . . Please wake up, Ning Ning."
After a few more minutes of nudges and desperate whimpers from Soobin, Kai let out a painful groan and opened his eyes slightly to gaze at the familiar young boy.
Tears welled up in Kai's eyes, he brought his trembling hands to Soobin's face and tears began to fall down his cheeks.
Soobin let out a tiny gasp and wrapped his arms around Kai, completely forgetting that his hands and half of his face were still painted with scarlet blood. The only thing that Soobin could focus on was consoling the small sobbing 11-year old.
"Shhh, I'm right here Kai. I'll protect you." Soobin whispered and kissed Kai's nose which made the younger hide his face against the crevice of his neck.
"I. . . I know, H-Hyung. I kn-know. . . I can trust you."
~
The dorm room, which was usually filled with Yeonjun's snores and a slight mumbling coming from Taehyun and Beomgyu, was extremely silent. Not even the loud noises of equipment being moved around was able to disturb the quietness in the dorm.
Don't get fooled though, their dorm was far from being a dorm. This tiny room was more of a shelter, or how Beomgyu liked to call it; a cage to keep them away from the monsters that were just inches away from the door.
There were two bunk beds across from each other, usually Soobin preferred to give his matress to the younger ones and Yeonjun who was growing extremely sick by every day that passed.
Tonight was different though.
Mostly because Yeonjun and Beomgyu had gone off to the facility's rooftop once again and had left him in the dorm for 'babysitting duty.' He didn't mind though, he got to sleep well without being disturbed by Yeonjun's loud snoring.
But a not-so-unusual sound broke the silence.
Quiet yet consistent sniffles replaced the stillness and the tranquility of the night.
Soobin looked down at the bed bellow his and saw his friend curled up in a ball. Kai. . . his cheeks were wet with tears and his thin arms were wrapped around his stomach.
This worried Soobin, so he sat up and called out quietly. "Kai?"
Once again, silence.
Soobin frowned and climbed down the top bunk bed to the one where the sniffling 14-year old was crying at. The syren quietly reached the floor so he wouldn't disturb Taehyun who was already mumbling about Soobin being too noisy.
The 16-year old blushed slightly before turning to face his friend. "Are you okay?" Soobin reached out and softly pressed his hand against Kai's forehead before drawing it to his puffy red cheeks. "You're crying, what's wrong?"
Kai's lip quivered, he wrapped his small fingers around Soobin's hand and moved it away from his face so he could hold it instead. He rubbed one of his eyes and brought his legs to his chest when the scorching ache in his stomach increased.
"M-My. . . My t-tummy hurts. . ." His answer was merely a whisper that was then followed by a small painful whimper.
"Is it?" Soobin let out a frown. "Maybe you ate something bad. . ." Soobin suggested, remembering the slight odor that had oozed out of the canned-tunas that the facility had provided them for lunch.
But Kai shook his head. "No. . . I-It wasn't that," He then looked away and snuggled his face against the hard pillow that had been provided for him.
Soobin's eyes narrowed at the thought that passed through his head. He didn't know if his hypothesis could be somehow correct, but something within him clicked.
His pupils dilated and the hand that Kai wasn't holding moved to the younger's waist towards the hem of his shirt. He wanted to know what those pests had done to Kai, but he stopped himself from lifting the younger's shirt without getting permission first.
The younger's breath hitched slightly, but he moved his legs away from his chest and let Soobin examine the horrors that those monsters had caused him.
As soon as Soobin lifted Kai's shirt, he came across a blood-draining sight; Kai's abdomen was slightly swollen, his once pale skin had turned into a mixture of red and purple due to a huge bruise that had spread from his side to his stomach. The sight was horrifying, specially adding to the fact that Kai's ribs could be seen due to how skinny and delicate he had become
"They hurt you. . ." Soobin's lip curled, the rage within him heated his cold blood and made it boil. He wanted to make the perpetrators suffer the same pain that they had inflicted on his small Dongsaeng, he wanted to kill them.
Soobin locked eyes with Kai once more, his fury towards the monsters making his tone sharper and much angrier than usual. "Why didn't you tell me?"
The older's sharp tone made the small 14-year old tremble and lower his gaze. "I. . . I didn't want you to get punished again." He let out a small sniffle at the memory of Soobin coming back with a crooked tail and slashes that had been made across his chest and back.
Soobin let out a sad frown and moved closer to Kai so he could kiss his forehead. Kai rubbed his eyes and gently wrapped his arms around Soobin's torso when the older climbed onto the bed to console him.
After a few minutes of brushing Kai's hair, kissing his cheeks and nose, Soobin was able to make the younger stop his sniffling and his sobs. The younger's head was carefully snuggled against his chest, letting Kai's ears to be filled with the calm and slow beating of Soobin's heart.
The 14-year old was finally falling asleep, the despair he had felt had been forgotten and the pain and the swelling in his stomach had gone away after Soobin had started to rub circles on his tummy while giving it a few gentle kisses so his bruises wouldn't hurt anymore.
For the first time in a while, Kai let out a smile and sighed happily. He felt safe in Soobin's embrace, he really liked this, he liked it a lot.
Kai snuggled closer to Soobin, causing the older to hold him tightly as they both fell asleep together. As long as they had each other by their side, they knew that everything would be fine.
*
*
*
And with those small flashbacks after hearing his friend's conversations about him and Soobin, Kai let out a sad sigh and pressed his cheek against his slightly sunburned arm.
Soobin had really forgotten about him, hadn't he?
He knew that it would happen eventually since they weren't living together anymore, but his heart was desperately calling out Soobin's name so the older wouldn't abandon him and let him drown in the abysmal thought of being left to the side and being replaced by someone else.
Call him petty, or selfish, or whatever you wanted to classify him as, because even though he knew that Soobin would be happy, Kai didn't want to share him with anyone.
As if Soobin had answered his heart's desperate pleas for him to come back, the waters of the ocean parted to make way for the magnificent Syren to come through.
"S-Soobin?" Taehyun's mouth gaped open. "I-Is that your handsome self or are my eyes deceiving me?"
"Wow, Soobin. Turn your coloration down, you're gonna blind us!" Beomgyu chimed in at the new sight of Soobin's bright royal blue scales.
"Haha. . . your torso looks like bread buns put together." Yeonjun, who had the weirdest comment to say, made Soobin's blue scales turn red as he shyly covered himself with his arms.
"Well, he is what he eats, isn't he?"
Everyone turned their attention to the Air Tribe apprentice that was now standing with confidence over the sandy beach. It was as if he hadn't flopped himself onto the sand and gotten sunburned just for the sake of being petty.
Beomgyu, Yeonjun, and Taehyun seemed shaken and a bit surprised at Kai's tone. They knew that something would go down if they didn't interfere. . . But they wanted to see some good drama go down, so they backed away from Soobin and watched them at a safe distance.
"Kai!" Soobin exclaimed happily and trotted over to Kai. "I was about to look for you." He held Kai's hands and interlocked their fingers, noticing with fascination how they locked together perfectly. It was as if they had ways been made for for each other to hold.
Soobin's eyes were glowing and a small and shy smile spread across his face when he looked at Kai once more, too blinded by his excitement to notice that Kai's glare wasn't loving and bright. . . But rather dark and questioning.
"R-Remember that pearl that I showed you before?" Soobin asked shyly.
Kai stayed quiet for a while before furrowing his eyebrows. "What about it?" He shook Soobin's hands away and crossed his arms. "You lost it again?"
The scene didn't seem romantic. . . It wasn't romantic at all.
"He's gonna throw hands." Taehyun whispered in Yeonjun's ear.
Yeonjun let out a small snort of laughter and nudged Taehyun. "If his glare doesn't kill Soobin first."
"Can you two be quiet?!" Beomgyu hissed ferociously at them. "This is a serious situation!"
Feeling intimidated by the 18-year old's fiery glare, the two shut their mouths and looked down at the sand submissively. "Yes, sir!"
Soobin looked at Kai once more and held a small bracelet between his hands. "I. . . I used it to make something for you."
Kai's demeanour changed. His furrowed eyebrows rose with surprise and his arms uncurled as he stared at the bracelet with bewilderment.
The bracelet was beautiful; small seashells and petals had been braided together neatly and carefully. The small pearl that Kai had hoped Soobin would lose, was in the center of the bracelet to let its beauty shine against the sun's rays to show off that he was already taken. . . Not by a land-creature, but a syren.
That beautiful pearl wasn't just for anyone, it was for him. . . Soobin had harvested it just for him.
Tears welled up in Kai's eyes. He was supposed to feel joyful that Soobin was returning his feelings, but the guilt was too great and the new violent wave of emotions were enough to make Kai crack into pieces.
He didn't deserve Soobin. He didn't deserve him at all.
"Kai? Wh-why are you-" Soobin cut off when Kai entered a new panic attack, making him deny Soobin's touch as he suddenly let his wings fly open.
"I-I. . . I'm sorry." Kai ran a few feet away from Soobin and lifted him off the ground to flee the scene. He was even too stunned by his feelings to even think about where he was supposed to fly to.
That sudden act left everyone perplexed, but the truly heartbreaking sight here was Soobin standing on the sand with the promise bracelet still lying on his hands.
Soobin blinked twice, everything began to slow down all around him and what felt like a gray and shameful cloud settled over his head. Talons clawed at Soobin, making his heart start to shrivel up at the sudden ache of the slashes.
Soobin's confidence faded away, the colors around him were suddenly a wide spread of gray-colored shades as his happiness and excitement were drained out of his body.
Soobin's eyes became glossy, he had to blink twice so his storm wouldn't become loose. His back curved miserably and his shoulders dropped as the hand that held the bracelet began to become numb.
Now he was the one who looked miserable, in fact. . . He looked like a small puppy swallowing his own tears after being abandoned by his owner.
"Soobin, I know you're hurt but please. . ." Yeonjun stepped forward, his hand reachrd out for Soobin, but he immediately retrieved it when the 19-year old turned around to look at him.
Soobin's eyes were filled with pain and sorrow, his lip quivered and the only thing he wanted was to be hugged so he wouldn't give in to the huge need to spill his monsoons all over the shore.
"He. . . He abandoned me."
_____________________________________________
I keep forgetting to add the banner wtf TTTT
Ah, we're back with the relationship dramas and miscommunication between ships~
Idek how I'll get Soobin and Kai out of this mess anymore :V
Oh well, we'll see.
Btw do you guys like the cover? 👀
I think I made the cat's eyes a bit too big, but who cares? He looks like a creepy fly and I live for that. Yeonjun's looking pretty nice too, that evil vibe kinda fits him, don't ya think? ;>
Okay, ANYWAYS
If you want to support the story, please: Add the story to your library, vote, and comment :0
~Will you run away with me?