Tide | Park Jisung

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"I don't know what's worse:
Drowning beneath waves
Or dying from thirst."
- o.m.
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AEMIN

"-and he had a pet turtle who was quite honestly the cutest thing in the world."

Haesu and Dalrae's eyes sparkle as I finish telling them everything about my meeting with Jisung. Although they were both kids that practically lived in a cave decked out in all the latest merfolk trends, they had never seen one before. But their belief in the creatures never waned, and hearing me talk about Jisung probably meant the world to them.

"What color were his eyes?" Dalrae asks, only slightly like a fangirl. "Sea foam green? Ocean wave blue? Deep sea indigo?"

"Dark brown," I correct, remembering how they had looked under water, with the water flowing in front of them.

"Boring," Dalrae pouts, sticking her tongue out.

"Says you," I retort, scowling.

"And what about it?"

We both glare at each other until Haesu starts laughing at us, when we both forget about each other and turn our attention to the boy.

"I thought that we would find a mermaid in this cave," he says, "but maybe we should have gone to the actual ocean instead. It really makes a lot more sense."

"This place does have all the right vibes, though," I say.

Haesu and Dalrae nod, justifying their decision that this was the certified merfolk cave. That's what they had named it, or at least that's what Dalrae said after I finished bandaging Haesu.

"The certified merfolk cave has now had stories told about a merman in it for the first time," Haesu says to Dalrae, "I think we've come a long way."

"Yes, we certainly have, Sir Haesu," Dalrae says, mock saluting.

Haesu snorts, covering his mouth as he laughs. I smile at seeing it, it's good to know that he still acts like a kid despite what he's been through, and despite how grown-up he seems.

"Anyway, Haesu," I say, tapping him on his shoulder. "What are those papers and stuff on that desk?"

"Oh," Haesu says, following my fingers that were pointing to the desk tucked against the cave wall.

He jumps out of his bed for the first time since I had arrived, me wincing slightly to myself when I see how skinny his legs are. I'd have to remember to bring some food for them next time I came.

"Well, about that," Haesu starts, walking over to the desk, "we think someone else was using the certified merfolk cave before we found it. This parchments, books, and scrolls were all here when we found it. And they're mostly about merfolk, which is another reason we named it the certified merfolk cave."

"Have you ever seen the other person?" I ask, going over to the desk as well.

"Nope," Dalrae replies, still leaning against Haesu's bed. "Maybe we scared them off."

"Probably not," Haesu admitted.

While the two kids continued bickering, I began flipping through the papers on the desk. They were all about merfolk, but other than that they lacked similarity. Some of the parchment were research diagrams on merfolk and some of the books described medical practices that were apparently derived from merfolk. Some of the scrolls were old legends about merfolk and more of the newer books were romance or adventure novels centering around them.

Whoever this person had been, they were less of a merfolk believer, and more of a fanatic.

"Well," I say, "Do you mind if I take a few of these. My merman friend might be interested."

"Go ahead," Haesu says, "We've already read through all of them."

I nod, grabbing a couple of the biological diagrams and old legends. I leave the romance books because it's not my intention to make Jisung cringe.

"Well," I say, picking up my shopping bag from the corner. "I'm going to have to get back to the palace now. I've been here far too long, and my captain is going to chew me out. Not to mention that Rinae's been without a guard for hours."

"Rinae?" Dalrae asks, with more stars in her eyes. "Do you mean the princess?"

"Yup, my cousin," I say, "Also my responsibility."

"Wait, I didn't know the top knight was related to the royal family," Dalrae says, shocked.

"Not many people do," I say, shrugging. "But you know, related is the wrong word, when I'm literally part of it."

I smirk at her, even if she's just a kid, it's still satisfying to see her shake from anger and frustration at my simple words.

"So what?" she jeers, "It would hurt your image to be ruthless to a bunch of innocent kids, wouldn't it?"

I swear she bats her eyelashes, but Haesu grabs my elbow and begins pulling me out before I can lose control of my temper.

"It would hurt your image," he says, "So let's just get you out of here."

We walk back through the narrow cave walls, Haesu's eyes also seeming to adjust the dark right away, and then the light again when we reach the end of the tunnel.

"Bye," he says, picking at the skin on his hands as I walk out of the cave.

"Do you have something to say?" I ask, smiling down at him.

"Uhm...would you...would you mind coming...again?" he asks, like he's scared of every word coming out of his mouth.

"Of course," I say, patting his head. "I might even come tomorrow."

His face lights up, and then he runs back into the cave, probably out of embarrassment or fear, I'm not sure which one.

I take my shoes off as I walk back to the palace by the coastline. The beach in front of the palace is clean and open, beautiful like a painting. But the ocean in front of the village is different. There are broken shells sprinkled through the sand, and the same jagged rocks sticking out of the sand that led to the certified merfolk cave.

As I walk along the coastline I can see that the certified merfolk cave is part of a cliff that eventually takes shape just before the castle. I walk down a pathway on that cliff everyday, never realizing the things below me.

I turn and walk closer to the ocean, the tide lapping over my feet peacefully. The foam sprays up into my hair, and the water stains the bottom of my pants, but it's okay. I'm at peace, right here, in this moment.

Standing next to the water and thinking of the world it could hold below it seems to wash away everything, even if the water is barely touching me. Just the sound of waves lapping over each other takes my mind, removing any memories I don't want, and keeping me from lingering on sad stories and childhoods.

Tomorrow morning, I think, I'll see him again.