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Ever since the day Jinki had met Minho, things had begun to change. At first, it had been a curse, the direct cause of his exile and the reason why he'd fallen into misery. He'd never been able to blame Minho, though; there was no reason to blame him, as his fall had also been Jinki's fault—that, and because Jinki was never one to blame others for the consequences he faced.
However, even though the mermaid found himself often thinking about Minho—who he only knew as the human he'd almost killed—he had never expected to meet him again. So, when Jonghyun told him that the kingdom's prince wished to see him, it was more than unexpected. He'd said no, unable to face the man he'd caused to jump off a cliff, and tried to stop thinking about him. But, to his dismay, Jonghyun grew more insistent every day until Jinki had been forced to agree.
Then, he'd been visited by a witch who claimed to be there in the name of the prince. He was interesting, to say the least. His confusing words were too ambiguous, which had left Jinki to wonder if prince Choi was as grateful as Jonghyun had tried to make him believe. Unsure of what to expect from the prince, he headed to the place chosen by Minho with something akin to uneasiness tight in his chest.
The meeting had gone better than expected, yet Jinki was still left with a weird sensation. The prince's casual mannerisms and attitude had taken him by surprise but also made the moments they spent together bearable and even comfortable. Minho's gratefulness had helped Jinki feel like less of a monster for the accident he'd caused, and though he'd denied any rewards for what the prince considered as a heroic act, the gift he'd received the night after their first meeting had given him a feeling of warmth.
Once again, Jinki had tried to stop thinking about the prince. The few moments they had spent together had meant nothing; it had just been a member of the royal family showing his gratitude and nothing more. Yet, to Jinki, there was still something that had made it feel different.
Jinki didn't know how different merpeople were from humans, but from what he'd seen, it seemed like the kingdom's people had the same respect for their prince as merpeople did. But Minho had chosen to meet Jinki in a very casual setting, and then gone as far as to visit the mermaid's house with no wish to be seen as a figure of authority or power. Jinki had decided to act as if he weren't a prince because Minho didn't seem to mind, but it still confused him. He wondered if Minho ever got tired of being treated as 'the prince' rather than a person just like Jonghyun did.
Naturally, when he was woken up by a knock on his door, he didn't expect it to be the prince himself.
He opened the door to find Minho in his typical black hanbok and cloak. His eyes reflected weariness and a certain level of anger, but his voice was still gentle as he greeted the mermaid and asked to come in. Jinki, just like the first time, didn't hesitate to let him in.
"Once again, I apologize for visiting at this hour," the prince said. Even his voice reflected the weariness. "It can't be that nice to have a guest show up at midnight."
"It is not," Jinki mumbled. "But to what do I owe the visit this time?"
Minho paused. Maybe he hadn't thought about the fact that he'd chosen to visit someone who he'd barely talked to at midnight. "I tend to take walks at night to clear my head. I thought I could pay you a visit while I was around."
While that response only caused more questions to form in Jinki's head, he decided to leave it at that. Instead, he asked, "Is everything alright? You seem quite exhausted."
The prince looked surprised at the question. "Things have been complicated, but I am alright."
It took Jinki some seconds to find something else to say. He didn't know how far was too far with someone like Minho—they'd only talked to each other twice, after all. But Minho's eagerness to see him gave him a sense of security. The prince seemed to want something more from him, and he'd try to provide it even if he didn't know what it was yet.
"Would you prefer to go outside then?" The mermaid offered.
Minho's expression showed surprise again. "What?"
"You said that you walk to clear your head. Wouldn't you like to go outside?"
The prince took a moment to contemplate Jinki's offer, but before the mermaid could take it back, worried that his words were the wrong thing to say, Minho spoke again. "I'd love to go outside, but given my situation, it's better if I stay hidden."
Jinki felt disappointed for a moment, but it wasn't long before an idea crossed his mind. "There's a place in the forest," he began. "It's not too far away, but it's well hidden and spacious."
Surprisingly, that was more than enough to convince Minho. Jinki worried that the prince could be too trusting, almost blindly so, but he hoped this was the first time he'd done such thing.
They walked to the forest in complete silence. The sky was clear, allowing the moon and the stars to illuminate the path that Jinki had memorized not long ago. He liked to leave the house every once in a while ever since Jonghyun had busied himself with whatever it was he had to do at the sea. The forest was beautiful and massive, and the way the moon felt closer and the air felt fresher when he was there made him want to stay there forever.
The spot he'd found after some wandering around the forest had become his favorite place. At first glance, it seemed like any other part of the forest; it was easy to dismiss the little details that made each spot special, but Jinki had always been observant, and he'd learnt to appreciate the differences that others ignored. This specific place in the forest had stood out to him due to the lack of trees that surrounded it and the small lake that was located in the middle. He could see the whole sky reflected in that small body of water, and, as if on purpose, the moonshine looked brighter there.
"It might not be the most ideal place to be at, but it feels better than four walls," Jinki said when they arrived. He found it complicated to begin a conversation with Minho, knowing who he was and the power he held, but silence didn't seem to suit them. He turned to see the prince, who stared at his surroundings in awe. His eyes looked even bigger when he was surprised, which Jinki found to be adorable.
"It's a good spot," Minho replied as they both found a place to sit. "I like the forest, but I must admit that I've grown to fear it."
Jinki tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"
"The people in the kingdom have many stories about it. Creatures of the night, black magic, and uncurable curses," he explained. "But those people made stories about your kind, too, so I don't believe much about them anymore."
"Did they?" This time, it was Jinki's turn to be surprised. "What did they say?"
"Many insist that mermaids kill humans for pure entertainment. They think you are heartless creatures," he said.
It was to be expected, yet it still left a sour taste in Jinki's mouth.
"These people are very strange," Minho added. "For years, they've sworn to accept magic and creatures as part of their lives, but though they want to believe they're alright with this, they're clearly still uncomfortable at the idea of something different living in the same space as them."
"I haven't seen much, but they seem to get along quite fine, don't they?" Jinki asked.
"Much better than before, definitely" was Minho's answer. "Though, it still needs some improvement."
The silence that followed was much more comfortable than the one that had surrounded them during their walk. Jinki still searched for words to say just in case the quiet became too unbearable. To his surprise, though, it never happened. The only words that were able to break the silence were their goodbyes after Minho stated he had to leave. It was then that Jinki understood what Minho had looked for that night: company. Still, the one thought that lingered in his mind as he laid down on his bed and tried to sleep was the question of why the prince had chosen him as company.
Two nights later, a knock on the door awoke Jinki again. Already expecting the prince's familiar face behind the door, he forced himself to get up and let him in. Minho had asked to go back to the forest, and Jinki, of course, couldn't say no to his request—not because he was the prince, but because he wanted to relive the moment they'd shared some nights before.
Jinki had thought silence would reign this time. It seemed more fitting for a night like this, though he wouldn't if Minho didn't think the same. During these few moments they'd spent together, he'd found the prince to be a nice companion, whether it was to speak or not. He was still confused at Minho's sudden approach, but he didn't have any desire to push him away, and even if he did, he wouldn't have the heart to reject him. The prince seemed too genuine and sweet for Jinki to push him away.
Eventually, Minho broke the silence by asking, "Have you tried other… human inventions?"
A beat of silence passed as Jinki stared at Minho in slight confusion. It wasn't that Jinki hadn't understood; he simply didn't know how to answer. Aside from the tea and those steamed buns that Jonghyun sometimes gave him, there was nothing else he'd tried, and he didn't hate himself enough to talk about how he'd eaten some of the jasmine flowers Minho had given him for tea because he thought it would taste as good as the beverage. Or maybe he could bring it up just to say something.
"I have not," he ended up replying. "The market doesn't seem like the right place for me. There are too many people." And I'm not too fond of them, he thought.
"It can be a bit much at times," Minho agreed. "Besides, being alone in the midst of a raging crowd can't be the best experience in the world."
"I'm just easily overwhelmed," Jinki admitted. He was still not sure of how much he was supposed to say with Minho, but it had felt like the right thing. "The sea is very different from the land, so it has been difficult for me to adapt."
"I think it would be good if you could try more food. It might be one of the most different factors" the prince said. "What do mermaids eat, anyway?"
"Nothing too special," he replied. "Unless you consider seaweed special, but I guess it differs from creature to human."
Minho smiled and snorted softly. "Seaweed doesn't sound too appetizing to me. Is human food even tempting to you?"
"I haven't seen much of it," the mermaid confessed. "Tea has been the only thing to fully catch my attention, but I tried a steamed bun because of a friend." He could still remember the bun's strange texture that had made him feel quite disgusted, but the taste wasn't all too bad. "I don't get hungry easily, but it might be due to my old habits."
"There has to be something you like other than tea," Minho mumbled, mostly to himself. The way he'd uttered the words had made it sound more like a challenge than anything else, and Jinki didn't know whether to be worried or amused. "Kimchi is a must. Cabbage could be similar to the seaweed you used to eat, so you might actually enjoy it."
And though Jinki was still confused in many ways, he couldn't deny that the prince's good intentions made him feel warm. That night, Minho hadn't looked for company; the prince had looked to know more about Jinki and mermaids. During the hour that followed, Minho asked multiple other questions about merpeople, and Jinki couldn't help but find something so endearing about the prince's genuine curiosity that ignited the beginnings of affection deep within him.
The night visits from the prince had become frequent. It was the same every night: Minho would knock on Jinki's door at midnight, then they'd walk to the forest and spend a few hours talking about diverse topics. Jinki had begun to get used to them, to the point where he wouldn't sleep until after their walk to the forest. Though the lack of sleep was draining and exhausting, Jinki found his time with Minho to be worthy of all the weariness he had to bear.
Maybe Jinki missed Jonghyun and the rest of the merpeople he used to talk to, or maybe Minho was just that good of a companion. Either way, his meetings with Minho had become something dear to him. The prince knew how to break Jinki out of his shell subtly, though Jinki was still unsure whether it was intentional or not. He never looked to dig into the topics that made Jinki uncomfortable; he knew when to stop or keep going, almost as if he could read Jinki's mind.
On the other side, Jinki found it hard to talk about himself. While Minho could ramble for long about childhood stories and whatnot, Jinki had rarely said anything about his life or interests. At first, he'd feared that Minho would mind that, but he'd turned out to be very patient about it, and he never tried to force Jinki into talking about himself. He was surprised at the impact the prince had on him, as if he'd been a force to be reckoned with that had appeared to change his life.
As he waited for Minho to show up at his doorstep, the fatigue from other days began to catch up to him. His eyes struggled to stay open, and he decided to stay away from his bed in fear that he'd fall asleep and wouldn't wake up by the time Minho knocked. He hoped their meeting wouldn't be too long.
When Minho arrived and they began to walk towards the forest, Jinki's mind could barely register the few words that the prince said. The world felt slow around him, but nothing would stop him from spending time with Minho. Besides, he'd been the one who decided to not sleep at all, so this was all his fault.
The gentle breeze that blew in the forest was calming and comforting, which didn't help at all to drift Jinki away from his sleepy state. Minho did most of the talking, as usual, and though Jinki's mind was foggy, he could still hear the prince's voice clearly.
"Had you ever seen flowers before?" The prince asked.
Jinki had lost the string of the conversation long ago—or had he? He couldn't remember when they'd arrived—but Minho's wording made it feel like the subject was of Minho's interest. His big eyes shined brighter than ever as he spoke, something that Jinki had learned to be excitement or love. He couldn't allow himself to shut Minho down when he was clearly so passionate about the conversation.
"Yes," Jinki replied. "My mother loved them very much, so my father would collect them for her whenever he could. I eventually began to love them too, but I was never allowed to come into the surface." He left a pause to linger, surprised at the lack of pain that usually appeared when he spoke about his parents. "I still longed to see them again, though."
"I have a friend who has a garden. If I ask him, he might let you see it."
Oh. That was unexpected. "There's no need to," he mumbled. Minho had probably not been able to hear it. "Do you like flowers?" He asked back.
"I'm not the most interested in them," he said. "Two of my closest friends do, which is why I know some things about them."
Oh. That was worse. Minho hadn't been interested in flowers; he'd been interested to know about what Jinki liked. He'd wanted to know what Jinki thought. It shouldn't surprise him anymore, but he was still shocked whenever Minho showed his interest for him in any way. He wasn't sure of how to react yet, unused to this kind of attention. He was never one to talk about himself, but if Minho was as interested as it seemed, then he'd be an idiot to ignore that.
However, the short period of clarity that Jinki had was taken away from him, and their conversation began to feel blurry once again. Jinki wasn't able to register the moment his eyelids slipped close as he gave in to fatigue and forgot about the prince's presence.
In the morning, when he awoke to find himself in his bed, he wondered if the night before had been a dream.
For days, Jinki didn't hear of the prince again. He began to worry that he'd said or done something wrong, something that he couldn't remember from the night he spent in a sleep-induced daze. He couldn't remember most of the things that had happened that night, and no matter how much he tried, no memories came back. With nothing to justify Minho's absence, all he could do was worry and blame himself.
But then, Kibum showed up. They'd only seen each other once, but Jinki understood that Kibum had become Minho's occasional messenger, so it hadn't been much of a surprise when he opened the door to reveal the witch. He held a flower and a piece of folded paper, both of which Jinki had just begun to analyze when Kibum greeted him with a simple, "Hello."
"Hello," Jinki echoed, though his tone sounded unsure.
"I guess you weren't expecting me," the witch added. "The prince sent me. He wanted me to deliver a message and—" he gave both the flower and the folded paper to Jinki "—this."
Jinki took the objects with hesitation, overwhelmed. "Oh. Please, thank him for me."
"I will," Kibum assured, bowing his head slightly. "He'll be delighted to hear from you."
Kibum's words and tone were enough to bring a faint blush to Jinki's cheeks. After the witch left, Jinki gathered enough courage to read the note that was tied to the white flower he'd received.
Jinki, I apologize for my absence, but it seems like I have been given too many things to take care of. Besides, I considered it best to let you rest for some days; you might need it after all those midnight meetings. However, though I know it's hard, I would like to keep in contact with you until I'm able to visit again. The royal family has kept me busy, but I will always try to find time for you. You are good company, and I would like to continue with our reunions despite how unconventional they can be. For now, here is a gift as an expression of gratitude towards your kindness. The flowers—camellias, in case you didn't know—shouldn't need anything special; they've been taken care of by Kibum and another friend of mine, and if you were to have any trouble while taking care of it, they'll both be able to help you.
Jinki's earlier blush deepened, deep red instead of faint pink. He felt something strange, maybe new, that took over him; affection, but deeper than that. He felt bewitched—maybe by Minho, maybe by this new emotion that grew in his heart—and confused, but he still yearned to understand the feeling.