Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jisung is finally free for the rest of the week, after so long.

Waking up next to his boyfriend when it’s almost noon is the most joyful thing for him.

But also organizing something to do. It’s been a while, Jisung must admit he’s been working non-stop, but finally he can spend more time with the love of his life.

Seungmin’s not the type to sleep in – this time is Jisung’s fault he’s exhausted, but he just couldn’t help, for once sweet and soft love making wasn’t enough – so seeing his face relaxed when Jisung opens his eyes plays with his heartstrings.

Jisung is the happiest to be awake for once and he doesn’t want to trade the emotions he feels in his chest with nothing else.

Today they can actually have brunch in peace, take their time and Seungmin wants to go on a date, a thing Jisung can’t and won’t deny him ever. Sharing a shower, sharing food, sharing space and love. These are Jisung’s favorite things in the world.

Seungmin prepared a plan for today and they will end up doing the usual things they used to long ago: matching outfits, picking flowers, picnic on the beach. Jisung’s favorite part is going to a plan nursery or a flower shop and look for plants and he’s glad to know there is a place where they can pick lavender on the way to the sea.

Plants are a thing Jisung adores – and whales or animals in general, he’s kind of obsessed with fauna and documentaries – and Seungmin still gives him flowers once or twice a month. Bouquets keep him company when Seungmin’s not with him, and usually he selects some leaves to press in Seungmin’s books he takes with when he has long train travels. They always loved to feel each other close, and those tiny gestures are like saying ‘I love you’ in small occasions when they aren’t together.

Jisung selects for them some long sleeved shirts, flowy to the edges and for Seungmin a cropped sweater, super fluffy like his hair in the morning. Of course, Seungmin chooses berets and for once, Jisung complies.

After dressing and taking the picnic basket, they are good to go.

Jisung’s the one driving because he always likes to give Seungmin time to look around the road from the window, somehow it makes him the happiest.

Lavender fields smell refreshing in a hot day of end May and Seungmin looks pretty excited to take some plants home and collect lavender for cute sachets he usually makes for their closet. Everything in their life is at least a little lavender scented.

Jisung’s so happy to be there. He can only stop and look at Seungmin running through the fields and collect flowers, losing sight of him when he crooks down to pluck as many as he can and place them in the basket.

They are not alone, and definitely lavender isn’t the only flower that grows there. Jisung can recognize some daisies – his favorites – and roses, as well as poppies.

It gives the whole place a magical aura Jisung feels satisfied with it.

Jisung knows Seungmin wants for him to make flower crowns with those and place them on their walls and he can’t wait for Seungmin to sing to him while he does so. Their house is full of plants, sometimes Jisung feels overwhelmed in always making sure they are taking care of them – but the haworthia seems to survive after all and the succulents on the balcony are so strong not even the 2 centimeters of snow in February killed them.

He can already feel the soft breeze of salty water on his skin and he looks forward to their picnic later.

They will probably end up talking on each other’s lips and listen to the crushing waves and read books out loud like the first times they were dating. It’s been five years since that, and Jisung won’t change a thing.

The beach seems pretty crowded when they arrive, but they move their blanket near the rocks to stay away from people and children playing everywhere.

Seungmin took some books with them, all poetry probably knowing him. Jisung can sit down and enjoy the sun through the clouds and his boyfriend’s soft voice sweettalking him and reading to him.

It’s like an old ritual, it brings him back to when he was a student, when they were just dating, trying to know each other and falling quickly.

But right when he’s about to take another book and read something as well, Seungmin cuts him short and they both hear something.

At first, it’s like a soft humming, although it rings in their ears at the same time and it’s almost dizzying. It seems to come from the rocks on the left and the water there gives the impression of boiling.

“There is something there that’s moving.”

Seungmin drags Jisung with him to look closer behind the rock and Jisung can totally see it now too. A long fish tail of rich pigments he’s never seen a fish have and a soft song that is almost calling for him.

Seungmin approaches it, slowly stepping on the rock next to the big one and before he can tilt his head to see better, something similar to a hand places on his and he jumps backwards, falling right on Jisung behind him.

Jisung curses, the strange limb retreating quickly and the tail breaking the superficial tension of the water to splash the liquid on them violently.

Seungmin’s eyes widen in horror as the tail disappears under the water only for the scaled hand to appear again on the rock and then another one as well.

The two can’t take their eyes off it, curiosity winning over the initial shock – that’s still very present and running through their veins.

A head appears next and the eyes the creature has are deep obsidian like the deepest of oceans Jisung has only seen in documentaries. They carry such raw and mysterious energy, both men feel attracted by it. It looks so similar to a human head, but Jisung wouldn’t call that hair, and definitely the color of the skin glows in some way humans don’t.

“Why can you see me?” the creature speaks and the voice has an unfamiliar tone, like it cannot belong to human vocal cords.

Jisung’s lost, completely lost as his boyfriend, who is now gaping to find something to say, or just to produce a sound.

“I can’t believe humans found me.” The creature sighs, a deep guttural and long sound that echoes in their brains.

Humans.

That creature is not remotely human.

“Oh please, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he shifts somehow, looking at their horror-struck bodies like he’s analyzing them, “well, maybe a little bit, but I didn’t expect someone to see me.” He makes a move to get out of the water, but only his torso is visible, the rest seems to stay behind the rock.

“Wait,” his face frowns, leaning in to look at them closer and they both don’t flinch – more like they cannot even if they’d want to – and squeezing his eyes till they are only tiny fissures, “I didn’t poison you, right?” the tail keeps splashing water, making it look like waves and seafoam dash on the rocks.

Seungmin shakes his head slowly, and Jisung’s grip on his hand tightens.

“Don’t ever touch a creature without first knowing what it is, I thought humans were clever!”

Seungmin nods shakenly, Jisung copies him.

“Well then, what are two humans doing here?” the creature leans his head on the arms placed on the rock, tilting it to the side and his eyes are full black gems that shine of their own light. Jisung is tempted to compare them to cats’ eyes.

Seungmin tries to move a little from Jisung’s grip and scoot aside, clearing his voice with a cough before trying to speak.

“We’re… having a picnic.”

“Uhm,” the creature – Jisung’s pretty sure he can say it’s a siren, or something similar to those mythical creatures – frowns again, looking up in an innocent way, “what is that?”

Why does Jisung find it kind of cute?

“Eating outside…” Jisung says, crawling closer and Seungmin follows him, sliding next to him and crossing his legs not too distant from the sea creature.

“I was having a picnic too, then.”

Jisung bites back a laugh, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Ah!”

The creature points at him suddenly, his teeth showing through his lips.

Jisung falls back, balancing on his hands before hitting the sand.

“Mine are different, I want them like yours.” He shows his hand enthusiastically, tiny scales like glittery dust on each finger and long, sharp purple nails.

Jisung stares at them and then at his black polish on his short ones, smiling a little despite the entire situation seeming a little scary.

“These aren’t my natural nails.”

“But you can do that yourself, right?”

Jisung nods.

“I want that, but they never change, I look like a giant old fish.”

“You’re beautiful.” Seungmin bugs in without thinking and the creature’s irises focus on him.

“And you are too,” the softness of those eyes takes Jisung aback, “both of you.”

The men can’t help but be blush a little.

This is such a weird situation.

“Do you have names?”

“Do you?” Jisung barks back, feeling a little brave.

The siren doesn’t seem hostile, for sure he doesn’t want to hurt them.

“I asked first.”

“Seungmin,” the brunette says then pulls Jisung by the shoulders in front of him, “and he’s Jisung.”

“Minho.”

A pretty normal name, Jisung doesn’t expect it.

“Mortal humans can’t usually see me, probably you have different souls.” Minho mumbles to himself scratching his chin, but Jisung hears him clearly.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You won’t know till you die.” Minho winks and it’s so strange to see his eyelids move that way, so unknown to human kind.

That’s scary to know, but Jisung’s desire is now that. He’s also pretty drawn to Minho, he wonders if it’s his power or something.

“What are you?” Seungmin dares to ask.

Minho sits back in the previous position, this time his chin in his palms and an odd smile on his lips.

At least his mouth is back closed, Jisung’s pretty sure he saw too many teeth there.

“What would you call me?”

“Siren.” Jisung replies, his eyes still on the tail moving in the water.

“Mermaid.” Seungmin adds.

“Then I’m one or the other.”

Jisung tries to pinch his cheek but no, he isn’t dreaming. He’s also glad he decided to stay only in their long chemises, because water in those sweaters would ruin the material. He’s hopeful it will take less for the water to evaporate, because he feels his shirt stick to his chest in an uncomfortable way already.

Speaking of skin, Jisung is getting curious about the skin of the siren, that looks peppered with scales and in those places they don’t seem to grow, the skin is luscious, he wonders if it’s sticky or slippery at touch.

Minho sits there, long eyelashes sprinkling water drops in the air every time he blinks – which doesn’t happen with the same frequency as humans – and a content smile on those wet lips.

“Your scales are so pretty.” Seungmin says, coming closer and pointing at his body.

“You can see better,” Minho stretches from his position, a finger crooking to gesture them to approach the water, although the two look at each other a little dubious, “don’t be scared, if I was about to kill you, I would have done it already, and humans are interesting alive.”

“Then the poison?” Jisung asks, as he only now remembers the siren saying something about it.

“It’s in my nails and it gets out only when I’m very frightened or upset.” Minho wiggles his fingers, then, with his hands used for balance, he gets up a little more from the water and the rest of the body is in display, except for the edge of the fin.

Jisung looks at it, searching for gills on his neck as he’s seen in movies, or maybe they are on his chest or where there should be collarbones, but nothing similar to that organ is evident on Minho’s body.

Minho shows his arms, fully glittering in the rays of lights, blue and deep purple colored scales. Only now Jisung notices how his hair looks pretty slimy and a pastel lilac kind of color, similar to the lavender abandoned on their blanket.

Minho rotates his arms, the sun reflecting on the scales and casting iridescent lights on the water and rocks.

“You can touch, it won’t hurt.” Minho spurs them to get closer and the two glance to each other one last time before reaching to pass their fingers on those arms.

“I’m what you call an adult, I think I pretty much lived as much as you on this earth,” he explains while Jisung’s fingers presses a little on the scales, “the more you grow, the more scales get out of your skin, they get pretty pointy like these ones,” he then flexes his muscles and some of the scales on the arms get out of his skin, pointing up, “but that’s mostly for defense.”

“That’s so cool.” Seungmin beams and Jisung looks at him being so excited over this and can’t help but chuckle.

“Humans find everything they don’t understand cool, it seems,” Minho laughs, showing his palms now, “these are softer to touch and don’t grow scales on them, they are pretty sensitive.”

Jisung wants to ask why this creature does this, showing himself to them, letting himself being touched, but he won’t question it much because he’s too curious.

They compare their hands together, Minho’s palms being the same size as theirs and the fingers very similar in length, but Minho has more and different skin between each finger, and it seems to tickle him if touched. They can’t intertwine their fingers together though.

His laugh is cute, it has such a happy sound.

It’s so odd to play like this, Jisung feels like a kid all over again.

Minho reaches for Jisung’s nails, asking a multitude of questions about them, his fingers, the tiny hairs growing on each one and Seungmin’s smile grows only bigger when the siren lets him touch his face.

“When we grow older, we can grow some sort of whiskers, and of course more scales.”

Jisung’s pretty sure that’s a term used for cats, but somehow Minho’s eyes are a mixture of cat and shark ones.

“I won’t show you my mouth though, you seem to be easily frightened.” Minho keeps laughing at everything he says, like they are some amusing creatures to explore.

“A lot of teeth…” Jisung murmurs.

“Sort of, I have them on the edges on my tongue, but they aren’t that sharp.” Minho sticks his tongue out a little bit.

Jisung eyes the muscle impressed but Minho sucks it back in his mouth a moment later.

“They’re soft and wet, your cheeks.” Seungmin presses a little on his cheek, curious on what on his skin makes it glow so much.

Minho leans into the touch, he seems to appreciate it.

“But they are not elastic like yours.” Minho reaches for Seungmin’s face and the man lets him touch, the pads of his fingers leaving wet traces of glittery water all over his cheeks.

Jisung scoots closer and touches Seungmin’s other cheek, “if you pinch it a little, it becomes red.” This said he does and Minho’s eyes widen at that.

“I thought only emotions can do that to your skin.” The siren gasps.

“It’s actually caused more by the stress the skin is put through, or the sun burning it.”

Minho nods in understanding, his pointer going to trace Jisung’s cheek as well, then up to his temple and back down to his nose, making his face all slippery but Jisung doesn’t mind.

“I shouldn’t leave traces on you, it would make it harder to make you forget.” Minho says softly, some sort of sadness in his voice that tightens their gut.

Ah.

Jisung imagined it would be like that – he’s seen too many movies as well to not be prepared for that.

“You really have to?” Seungmin asks, his fingers delicately moving to his hair and leaving a surprised ‘oh’ in finding out it’s softer than he imagined.

“Kind of, yes,” Minho lets out, hands falling long his body, “but it won’t hurt I promise.”

“How many humans did you meet before?” Jisung asks, getting more comfortably on his knees and Seungmin stopping his exploration as well.

“Not many, you basically cannot see us.” Minho slowly slips back into the water, completely disappearing for a good couple seconds before resurfacing, water drops sliding over his skin.

He then sits comfortably on a submerged rock and urges them to approach.

“Sorry, the sun is dehydrating my body too quickly.”

The two sit better on the rock, Jisung crouching down next to Minho, kicking his shoes off. Seungmin sits behind a little, taking his shoes off too to not soak them off.

His skin is glowing even more now and Jisung is so tempted to touch.

Minho seems to see through him and guides Jisung’s hand to his lower body now, moving it down and then on the thicker part that’s supposed to be his thigh if Minho were a human.

Jisung wonders how would it be if Minho wasn’t a siren. What would he look like, his hobbies and if they could be friends.

“This is pretty sensitive,” Minho laughs softly, taking Seungmin’s hand and guiding it as well on him, “and up here even more.” He then points at the part when the crotch usually is in humans and both grow impossibly red.

“I know you have that too, it gives pleasure to touch, am I right?”

“Y-you seem to know a lot about us.” Jisung retracts his hands, embarrassment washing over him more than the water Minho’s tail splashed on him earlier.

The mermaid laughs, leaving Seungmin’s hand as well.

“I get this is a topic you don’t discuss often.”

Jisung is a flustered mess now, face in his hands and whining.

Is he… is he asking if he’s having sex?

Jisung is sure he’s reading it completely wrong so he shuts up, his ears and cheeks growing aflame.

“It’s more intimate, I guess.” Seungmin says, the hand only now moving from Minho’s scaly body.

“You two make love, right?”

The question is so unprompted, Jisung wants for the sea to swallow him, he feels like the shy boy he first was in first grade all over again.

“What do you want to know?” Seungmin asks instead, a sweet and unusual smile on his lips, even if he looks flushed too.

“Not much, only if you love each other.” Minho shrugs, getting comfortable in the water again and moving his hands to his face, pressing on the eyelids.

“Yes, we do, and we do all the stuff lovers do.”

“I know what lovers do, I see them on the beach all the time,” Minho says tilting his head up, the water around him shining, “we do that too, only in different ways.”

“You know an awful lot.” Jisung repeats, peeking from his hands.

“Sure I do, you humans speak to yourselves all the time,” Minho sits up a little, his torso out of the water, “but I’m curious about a lot of stuff I don’t know.”

“Like?” Seungmin prompts.

“Those,” Minho points at the trees in the further part of the beach, “and what you brought with you.”

Seungmin stands up and walks past Jisung to their blanket, taking the basket and the book.

Jisung looks at him with a smile, he can’t believe he feels in love again over this, but somehow his heart starts beating faster.

Seungmin sits down again, the goods in his lap and paying attention to not wet them. Apparently, Minho understands it and his tail stops agitating in the water.

“I love you.” Jisung says, pecking his cheek quickly.

“For what?” Seungmin cocks an eyebrow, his hands gripping the book but not moving it out of the basket.

“I don’t know, I just feel like telling you now.”

“I love you too.” Seungmin dives in to kiss his lips once, twice and smiling on his lips after.

“Lovers…” Minho murmurs and Jisung turns to him suddenly, looking at the strange face Minho is making now.

He may be wrong, but those look similar to tears; it’s not water since it has a slight different color, like a glittery white liquid. Jisung’s mind tells him that is like cosmic latte, his favorite color and it’s so pretty to look at.

“That’s very sweet.” Minho smiles, the liquid streaming down from the corner of his eyes and it looks like it’s slightly hydrophobic, because it rolls on his face in the water like tiny pearls.

Jisung reaches for his face, fingers trying to touch the tears and wipe them away from his eyes and Minho lets him.

“You like love, Minho?” Seungmin leans inwards, placing the basket aside and his hand touching the strange strands in his face.

The creature hums, letting the two pet his hair and face in a tender way.

Jisung’s heart aches, he doesn’t even know why.

Minho recomposes quickly, hands scooping the water and passing it on his face.

“What do you have there?” He asks then, sitting up more.

Seungmin smiles and takes out the book sitting there.

“A book we’ve been reading together, I have others there.”

Minho looks at the book and Jisung has the impression he knows what it is, for he doesn’t reach to touch it.

“What story is in there?”

“Those are mostly poems, Sappho’s.”

Minho’s hands are at their feet, leaning on them again and looking up with those obsidian eyes again. Jisung’s pretty sure he could find the whole universe in those eyes.

“Read it to me, please.”

Seungmin eyes him, he doesn’t expect it, nor that the siren could know books can be read, but he takes the page he was reading with Jisung before hearing him and starts reading with some intonation, a way Jisung likes to hear from him a lot.

Jisung hugs his knees to his chest, listening and mouthing some words he remembers.

“What does it mean?” Minho speaks again after Seungmin stops, his voice drawl out.

“As simple as it may be, longing for something is always wanting it to be with you.”

“I see,” Minho sighs, closing his eyes slowly, “do you have other books here?”

“Yes,” Jisung replies, “we brought Hesse, it’s a tiny story about always moving around and not finding a home, then I think there is a poetry book of Eliot and one of Ferlinghetti, I didn’t start that one yet.”

“There is a poem I like there about accepting the world as it is, hell or heaven.” Seungmin comments and closes the tiny book.

“What are those?”

“Concepts on religion, culture, believes.” Jisung answers again, his hand playing with Seungmin’s now free fingers.

“Do you believe?”

Both men shake their heads and Minho looks up again, his hair falling on his forehead, but it doesn’t look that damp anymore.

“Books are full of stories, I wish I could read.”

“A little difficult to read underwater.” Seungmin chuckles, placing the book back in the basket.

“Yea, they get ruined with water, I only find rests on sunk ships.”

“How do you tell each other’s stories?” it’s Jisung’s turn to ask.

“Singing.”

“You have a pretty voice.” Seungmin comments.

“Wanna hear it again?” Minho sits up a little, his tail shaking again and moving the water around.

They both nod in agreement.

Minho sings them a slow song, starting softly and little by little growing into a falsetto sort of song. Seungmin starts humming to it, Minho repeating the same notes till Seungmin picks them and they start harmonizing together. Jisung feels his heart is about to burst from love.

He takes the basket and slowly picks some lavender branches, linking them together following a pattern and putting a couple daisies every five or six lavender flowers.

The water around kind of vibrates and everything is shaking, like being attracted to Minho’s aura.

Minho looks at him, the song slowly fading away as he follows Jisung’s fingers handling with the plants.

“What is that?” He stops in wander, the water falling down in its place all around him.

“It’s called lavender.”

Minho leans in to smell it, but hisses a little, the smells seems to be too strong for him and Jisung giggles at that. Seungmin as well, as he places his head on Jisung’s shoulder.

Minho’s scrunched face is so adorable.

“It smells so whua.”

Jisung laughs at Minho’s gestures.

“It’s a little strong, try this.” Seungmin takes a daisy from the basket, placing it under Minho’s nose and this time he nuzzles in it with his lips, smiling brightly on the tiny white petals.

“I like it, how do you call it?”

Seungmin puts it in his hair and Minho touches it, looking up with big eyes, taking it and rolling it on his fingers.

“Daisy, it’s Jisung’s favorite.”

“Daisy…” Minho repeats as he focuses on the flower.

“And this,” Seungmin takes another one to show him, “it’s a rose.”

“I know these!” Minho beams, taking the yellow bud in his hand.

“There are a lot more flowers, my favorites are called anemones.”

Minho looks at him, eyebrows kneaded in confusion and places the flowers in Seungmin’s lap before he rapidly sinks in the water.

Seungmin glances at Jisung but before he can say anything, Minho is back the second after, with a thing in hand to show them.

“Isn’t this an anemone?”

Jisung laughs so hard he’s about to trip over the rock and Seungmin grips him, taking the basket to drop the other flowers in and placing it away.

“I’m right, I know I am.” Minho pouts and Seungmin looks at the anemone in his hand twitching.

“You are right, they have the same name, but the flower is different.”

Minho lets the anemone back in the water and the animal slowly wiggles its way back to where it belongs.

“I see.”

“Sorry, it was too fun.” Jisung snorts and Seungmin elbows him to behave.

“You humans should find different names for it.” He lets out a frustrated puff of air and Jisung coos at him, hand reaching to his face.

“You make a good point, but their scientific words are different at least.”

Minho hums, placing his palm over Jisung’s hand.

“Many of these plants can be used to make beverages, or can be eaten.” Seungmin takes a branch of lavender from the basket, passing some more to Jisung for his flower crown.

Minho’s attentive irises dilate at Jisung’s crafting, getting a little closer and up to look at it closer.

“What are you doing?”

“A flower crown, it’s to put on your head.”

“Humans do love decorations a lot.”

“You don’t, huh?” Jisung scoffs.

“No, because we mostly don’t need it and in the water, the metals die.”

It makes sense and Minho looks adorned with jewels due to his glittery skin, which again, Jisung doesn’t know what is it, but it looks like some sort of sweat his body secretes.

Jisung completes his flower crown after Seungmin and Minho exchange some information about what’s down in the most remote parts of the seas – at which he answers he doesn’t know exactly, because some creatures like him only go there when they are sure their bioluminescence is enough to guide them in the pit dark.

He then places the crown delicately on Minho’s head. He’s tempted to take his phone and take a picture, but he doesn’t move, he’s also not sure how Minho would react to that.

“Do I look pretty?”

“Breathtaking.” Seungmin beams.

Jisung agrees.

“Jisung, come here.” Minho sprints from the water to push himself up on the rock with the rest of his body.

The man crouches down a little till Minho places the crown in his hair.

“I’m only afraid it will get ruined,” Minho says mortified, “flowers are so ephemeral.”

Jisung knows, oh he does too well.

“Plants in general, I guess.” Jisung’s voice is breathy, his mind being invaded by the thought of death of all those flowers he couldn’t preserve.

“Even those?” Minho points at the trees again.

He’s so curious, they both find him so adorable.

“Trees.” The younger of the two replies, “no, they can live longer if they don’t get infestations or get sick.”

“There are so many things to know, I wish I could walk on the ground and see for myself.”

Minho’s pout is so cute, dammit he looked a little scary at first but the beauty took sublime’s place now.

“I so wanted to live more but the time on this earth is so short for us.” His body sinks back in the water, only his head out now and blowing bubbles with his mouth.

Adorable.

“I thought you like, lived for longer.” Jisung takes the crown from his hair to place it on Seungmin’s.

“Not possible, we have the same lifespan, other creatures need to feed on something.”

“Terrifying.” Jisung gets goosebumps at the thought of something feeding off his body.

“The circle of life?” Minho laughs, “I agree, but we are part of it.”

Suddenly, Minho turns around to look at the sun.

They’ve been at the beach for so long, they didn’t even realize it’s probably past 7pm.

The sun is preparing to set.

“It looks I don’t have much time anymore.” Minho clenches his fists in the water, his long nails retracting somehow and Jisung finds it fascinating, but the time to explore it’s over it seems.

Jisung grits his teeth, not really disappointed but somehow nervous at Minho’s odd frustration over the sun.

“You have to go now?” Seungmin questions more his strange narrowed eyes.

“This is actually my last day here.” Minho faces them and his tone is so different, like all the sadness in the world could drip from it.

“I see.”

“I’ve been here for some years, but we cannot usually stay longer in the same place, I also refused to feed with the others and if I don’t move before the sun sets completely, they won’t wait for me, and I will die alone.”

Jisung’s throat goes dry, this makes him feel devastated for some reason.

“It works this way,” Minho begins, “we feed one last time all together and then play with humans and prank them before going, but I wanted to eat in peace and I hate playing with humans, they always overreact and we can’t even speak to them I hate it,” Minho’s hands relax, as if he’s suddenly too tired, “then you found me and I don’t know, my powers aren’t enough to lure you in, I don’t know why you found me immediately, it never happened, I like you both a lot…”

Jisung feels his sadness in his bones, Seungmin’s hand in his shake as well so he’s probably as affected as him.

“I don’t want to go.” Minho whispers but he looks like he’s given up already.

Jisung squeezes Seungmin’s hand and reaches for Minho’s chin to tilt it up and make their eyes meet.

“How are you supposed to delete our memory?” He feels horrible for asking it, but Minho doesn’t want to be alone, if he cannot stay, it’s better he goes with the others.

He didn’t lure them in then, what Jisung feels in his chest is authentic, he likes Minho, and Seungmin probably does as well.

“Well…” Minho scratches his head, looking to the side, “for starters, I cannot make everything disappear, you will remember feelings, maybe even more since we touched.”

Touched.

It clicks in Jisung’s head the next second. Minho is touch starved, like any other creature suffering of loneliness, being lovesick.

Fuck.

He’s alone, he wanted company, he wanted to keep staying with them, but he cannot stay there anymore and now he’s sad.

Shit, Jisung doesn’t want to forget him, being forgotten hurts like a bitch.

No–

“I just need to like touch your head in a way to like… take my name back.”

“Minho,” Jisung says his name with the strained voice he usually gets when he’s about to cry, “you don’t want to, right?” he leaves Minho go from his hold, although he doesn’t want to. At all.

Minho shakes his head, those tiny pearls from earlier pooling at his eyes again, threatening to roll long his cheeks any moment now.

“But I have to, else it’s gonna be worse.”

Jisung leans to Seungmin’s ear to whisper something Minho can’t hear, never letting go of his hand.

Seungmin nods, his ears reddening even so slightly.

Minho turns to look at the sun, half down already. He bites his bottom lip hard.

“Minho.”

They both call his name and Minho snaps his neck to face them again.

“If this is our goodbye, do you want a kiss?” Jisung proposes and Minho’s eyes go wide, white tears streaming down his face as he nods softly.

Jisung wonders if the way his ears seem to be even more glittering it’s a way to express the shyness.

“Do you want to kiss us, Minho?” Seungmin asks this time, leaning forwards just enough to be an inch distant from Minho and Minho nods again, hands holding Seungmin’s face carefully and closing the distance between them.

Jisung looks at them mesmerized, it’s been some time since he saw Seungmin kiss someone else – well, except for their friends, especially the ones they are closer to and they share platonic kisses with – and he’s never been the type to be jealous ever, he finds all that even more cute than he should. Minho is a friend now, even if in Jisung’s head he has a different shape.

They separate pretty quickly, Seungmin touching his lips timidly.

Jisung looks at him and pets his head, the flower crown makes him look so ethereal. And Jisung is so in love.

It’s Jisung’s turn to go down now and he feels a little nervous, but looking at Minho calms his heart a little bit, he wants to kiss him so bad.

“Have you ever kissed someone else?” Jisung says before kissing him and Minho grins a little at that.

“You’d be surprised at what I’ve been doing all this time.”

Jisung wants to tell him he’s sad he can’t find out, but he instead brushes his lips against Minho’s and the other presses his mouth completely on his.

It tastes salty – of course it does! – with a hint of sweet he can’t really wrap his head around, and it’s addicting.

“Love each other for how long as you can, for me.” Minho says on his lips before detaching completely.

It breaks Jisung to pieces, that request and the way Minho’s tears only encourage his to fall.

“I hope you can find love too, Minho.” Jisung sniffles.

“I already did, thank you.”

That bittersweet smile… Jisung’s glad he won’t remember it, because it breaks his heart a million times.

“Before I go,” Minho sinks a little down in the water, his head scattering in the water like he’s looking for something. He resurfaces, holding in his palms two reddish shells at them, “this is for you.”

They both take the piece and Jisung’s tears silently fall from his eyes.

“It’s a promise, right now we say goodbye, but it’s not over like this.”

“So when–”

“You aren’t meant to know,” Minho cuts Jisung off, “but I will tell you this,” Minho gestures them to move closer and they do – Jisung’s very tempted to steal a kiss again, “I will see you again, I promise, in this or another life.”

Minho’s long pointers nails touch their forehead and all of a sudden, Jisung’s head feels heavy and his eyes unfocused, Minho’s tears the last image he sees before everything fading to black.

𓏧 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏧 

Jisung opens his eyes to Seungmin looking at him and the light around them almost gone.

“I think we fell asleep.” Seungmin says and Jisung hums softly, a little dizzy.

He had such a weird dream.

“Jisung, they’re so pretty!” Seungmin points at the shells near the basket and Jisung smiles, although his heart aches for some reason.

“You’re pretty, darling.” Jisung kisses him, caressing his cheek and noticing how his lips look glittery.

They start gathering their things and lacing their shoes – when did they even took them off? – and Seungmin touches the flower crown Jisung made for him, but he doesn’t remember doing so.

Taking the flower crown from his hair, something from it, pretty shiny and tiny, falls down on the white blanket.

“Jisung,” Seungmin calls him, “what is this?” he takes the strange object to show his lover.

Jisung takes it in his fingers, looking at it and the strange color it has, a strange sensation creeping down his spine.

“It’s a scale, I think, but it’s so weird.”

“It’s so beautiful.”

“As you.” Jisung gives it to him and Seungmin plants a kiss on his temple, holding him close and inhaling sharply.

“It’s getting late, we should go.”

Yes, they should go.

It’s time to go.

Jisung cannot wash this feeling off, it’s like he’s forgetting something, he’s not sure what.

Or who.

They get to the car and before Jisung can start the engine, Seungmin calls his name in an unfamiliar way that makes him shiver.

“Yea?”

“Do we feel something for him?”

Jisung stops, hands gripping the wheel hard, eyes almost watering.

Him.

He didn’t after all…

“I pretty much think so, yea.”

“I will miss him.” Seungmin looks at the sea in distance, a sob escaping his lips.

Jisung will too.

As he wipes his boyfriends tears away, Jisung thinks he’ll miss Minho too.