Wave (Sanhwa)

Chapter 7

The years passed by and another summer rolled around. Seonghwa was now sixteen and San was fifteen but that would change soon, the mermaid's birthday a few weeks away. Currently the boys were in the usual spot on the shore, resting after spending half their day swimming with sea turtles and stingrays. Seonghwa had been wanting to take pictures of the sea creatures up close, and San also wanted to play with the sea turtles. They were even lucky enough to come across a few dolphins who were very playful, Seonghwa even got to ride on one which. Seonghwa was looking out at the waters watching how the sunlight reflected off it before he turned his attention to San. the mermaid was in between Seonghwa's legs, his back against the teens chest while his tail remained in the water, the mermaid's attention on peeling an orange. The two teens seemed to find themselves sitting like this more recently, but neither of them minded. San could feel Seonghwa's eyes on him, the mermaid turning around to look at his friend, their eyes locking causing Seonghwa's heart to stutter a bit. "Why are you staring at me?" San asked, tilting his head to the side a bit. Seonghwa took his eyes away from San's grabbing an orange and peeling it for himself, "I was just watching you peel the orange" he muttered, a small blush forming on his cheeks from being caught. San hummed before turning his attention back to his orange, a small smile on his face due to Seonghwa's reaction.

He couldn't really pinpoint when things that San did went from not bothering him to making his heart stutter and his stomach feel funny, but it was happening more often these days. Like now when San would stare directly into his eyes, or San's giggle, or when San woud pout Seonghwa having the urge to cup the mermaids cheeks when he did. Seonghwa also found himself staring at San's in general. Seonghwa had always found San pretty even when he was a kid, but these days San has become prettier and it gets hard for Seonghwa to not admire the mermaid's beauty. Both boys have changed over the years as they grew older. San's tail had grown a bit longer and stronger helping the male swim through the water faster. The scales on his tail have darkened from a light pink to a dark pink, the gold accents also darkening, shimmering in the sunlight making his tail look even prettier. Even though San has always had a distinct face shape, the remaining baby fat on his face has gone away, his face becoming more defined. His eyes had also changed a bit, the pink specks in his eyes darkening a bit against his gold irises, his eyes sparkling when the sun would catch them. The upper half of his body had also toned out, the mermaid much more agile and graceful now.

Seonghwa had also changed, his growth spurt finally hitting causing him to grow taller. Seonghwa had also slimmed down, his body becoming more toned due to how much he swims with San. The baby fat on his face had also disappeared, his jaw becoming more prominent although his cheeks were still a bit chubby. Seonghwa's voice was also changing since he was going through puberty his voice was starting to deepen, but he was in that awkward stage where his voice would crack every now and then. Seonghwa hated it, finding it embarrassing whenever his voice would crack, but San found it amusing. It wasn't like San hadn't noticed how he was looking at Seonghwa a bit differently. The mermaid wasn't sure at what point he started getting flustered or shy by certain things his friend did, but it seemed like each day that passed his reactions have gotten worse. San seemed to be most affected by Seonghwa's laugh, the sound having deepend from when they were kids, and Seonghwa's smile also seemed to make the mermaid's heart stutter. Whenever the human would smile at him San found himself becoming flustered, his cheeks turning pink from blushing.

"Are you excited to be turning sixteen in a few weeks?" Seonghwa asked, breaking the silence. San nodded as he swallowed the orange he stuffed in his mouth once he finished peeling it. "I am excited to eat your moms cake again," San admitted. Ever since San started staying with Seonghwa's family his parents made it their mission to make San feel like he was apart of their home. Mrs. Park even started baking cakes for Sans birthdays as well after her son told her about how much the mermaid liked her cakes. Seonghwa chuckled as San's answer, the teen still didn't know what he wanted to get San as a gift. It was the first time he was coming up blank with ideas, Seonghwa wanted this particular gift to be special, his eyes going down to his and San's wrist, their friendship bracelets still on them. Seonghwa turned his attention back to the water, resting his chin on top of San's head, the smell of salt water filling his nose. "If you were a human for a day, what is one thing that you would want to do?" Seonghwa asked out of the blue.

San hummed to himself as he thought his fingers playing with his friendship bracelet, "I would want to dance" San spoke softly. Seonghwa titled his head to the side, his eyes meeting San's when the mermaid turned to look at him. "Dance? Really? Why?" He asked not expecting that answer at all. San turned back to look at the ocean resting his back against Seonghwa's chest, moving his tail softly watching as ripples spread around it. "I remember how you told me about school dances, and they seemed fun" he admitted. "But mermaids have dances too" Seonghwa countered. San nodded, "yeah but they're boring, and we only dance for rituals and stuff" he reminded his friend. "So just dance, that's it?" Seonghwa asked again. San turned around to look at Seonghwa again, the mermaid was thinking about something but he was a bit embarrassed to say it outloud, but Seonghwa could tell. "Say what you are thinking" Seonghwa told San. "Can two guys dance together?" the mermaid asked softly, his ears turning red from embarrassment. Seonghwa found it cute how shy San was being a small smile forming on his lips. "Of course, my mom always says dancing is about having fun and letting loose, doesn't matter the gender you're dancing with" he answered San's question.

San blushed a bit more, "then...I would want to dance with you..." he wasn't even looking at Seonghwa when he said those words too embarrassed to look the human in the eyes. Seonghwa was a bit shocked by San's confession, his ears turning red as well, "With me?" he asked to clarify. San nodded his pink locks bouncing softly, "You could teach me how to dance like a human...and I feel like dancing with you would be fun" the mermaid admitted. Seonghwa chuckled, "cute" he muttered his eyes widening at what he said. San just blushed before turning his attention back to Seonghwa, "what about you? If you were a mermaid for a day what would you want to do?" he asked, curious about the human's answer. Seonghwa thought for a moment biting his bottom lip as he thought, a playful smirk forming on his face, "I would race you" he answered. San scoffed, "Oh please! I could give you a minute head start and still beat your slow ass" he smugly responded. Seonghwa chuckled, "we'll see about that" he teased. For the rest of the evening the boys teased each other and talked about various competitions they would do as mermaids and humans, and who would win each one. Once the moon was finally high in the sky, Seonghwa and San went to their respective homes, Seonghwa getting an idea for San's birthday gift.

For the next few weeks leading up to San's birthday, Seonghwa would stay up late everyday to work on his gift. When the night before San's birthday came Seonghwa had put the final touches on the mermaid's gift, wrapping it in the morning after it dried. He was a little nervous about San's reaction to his gift but his mom reassured him that San would love anything Seonghwa gave him, which helped the teen relax a bit. Currently San was inside his cave munching on some crab that he had caught earlier in the morning the mermaid happy with his catch, the crab his special birthday breakfast. Once he finished he made his way to Seonghwa's place, the swim pretty short. When he surfaced shaking his hair off a bit, he smiled when he saw Seonghwa walking out of his house, a gift in one hand and a cake in the other. Seonghwa sat down on the shore placing the cake down before handing the gift to San. San carefully took the gift making sure to hold it above the water not wanting it to get too wet.

"Happy birthday Sannie!" Seonghwa shouted a big smile on his face as he watched San unwrap the gift, putting the wrapper on the shore. Seonghwa nervously chewed on his bottom lip as San finished unwrapping his gift. San's eyes widened at what he was holding. In his hand were two wooden figures on a wooden platform. San noticed how the figures seemed to be in a position that mirrored dancing. The figure with the black hair holding the figure with pink hair close, their hands intertwined while the pink haired figure seemed to be stepping back a bit. San looked at the details closer gasping as he looked at Seonghwa, "are these figures us?" he asked softly, his cheeks turning a soft pink at the thought. Seonghwa rubbed the back of his neck, blushing from embarrassment as he nodded. "It's supposed to be us dancing" Seonghwa admitted the blush on his cheeks deepening. San gently set the figure down on the sand before pulling himself further onto the shore hugging Seonghwa, "thank you! I love it really!" he exclaimed. Seonghwa smiled hugging San back tightly, "it's also waterproof so you can keep it in your cave" the human added. San pulled away from Seonghwa, the smile still on his face as he shifted into his usual position in between the teens legs, picking up the figurine again staring at it, his fingers carefully going over the San figures legs. Seonghwa smiled softly as he watched San, the teen happy that the mermaid liked his gift, Seonghwa hesitantly wrapped his arms around San's waist as his chin rested on the mermaid's head, the smile on neither of their faces leaving.