Precious

02: Curious Merfolk

The water in the central pool of the cave splashed around relentlessly, sinking away only to crash up onto the rocky surface with great force. The surrounding walls were hardly illuminated by the bioluminescent plants, dimming away without a force to provoke them.

Intaking a sharp breath, Wooyoung awoke from his state of unconsciousness, wide eyes scanning around. Immediately, he was disappointed that his reality still remained the same, it hadn't been some sick and twisted dream he experienced while waiting out the storm back on the ship.

Then the disorientation hit him, looking around the cave lining to find that he wasn't in the same place as before. He was hopeful for a split second, but lifting his head to observe himself, he found that the kelp bindings were still cocooning his body.

Again the water pulled away, only to force itself forward at a rate that sent it splashing all over Wooyoung. He let out a pained cry, forcing himself to breathe properly as the salty water only seemed to hurt him.

He lifted his head once more, trying to figure out why water hurt him so badly, but he was clueless. It was as if there were small cuts on his body, reacting to the saltiness of the water.

Then something clicked in his mind.

Looking around frantically, Wooyoung found no sign of someone, or something, else inhabiting the small cave. It was just him, which both relieved and freaked him out. He called out just to make sure, but he only heard his own voice echo around him.

Taking the chance, Wooyoung tried struggling against these oddly efficient bindings. Water splashed up onto him again, causing him to turn his head to the side to spit out whatever got into his mouth. His eyes stung, trying to blink away the pain, since there was literally nothing else for him to do.

Pushing his heels into the solid rock, he tried leveraging himself in a way that would allow him to at least attempt to move away from the onslaught of water. Yet every time he thought he found a foothold, or something to use to his advantage, he'd end up slipping, or the waves would crash into him again.

Yelling out in frustration, Wooyoung stared up at the ceiling, chest heaving at the complete and utter uselessness of his actions. Never has he felt so hopeless.

If only he could move his hands out from behind his back, then he'd have more options on escape. But who was he kidding, he didn't know how deep the only entrance of water went, he didn't know how long he'd have to travel and hold his breath. He didn't know how easy it was to get to the surface, but what then? What could he do from that point? This cave must be near or a part of some island, but it could be completely abandoned, leaving Wooyoung as an easy target for literally anything. But it could also be near civilization, and if that was the case Wooyoung could attempt to flee there, and only hope for the best.

Snapping from his thoughts, Wooyoung lifted his head when he heard an odd sounding splash from the water pool. His heartbeat increased almost immediately, fear coursing through his veins.

The siren had returned, putting his arms up on the edge of the rocky surface, hoisting himself up out of the water with ease. His brown eyes laid on Wooyoung for only a moment, before his focus returned to himself.

Creating a loud splash of water, the siren pulled his long, beautiful tail up out of the water. His expression seemed pained for a moment, before returning to complete monotone.

Wooyoung though, was hypnotized. He couldn't take his gaze away, observing the fascinating beauty behind the dangerous creature. His tail seemed to be based in a muted blue, covered in many aquamarine scales that closely resembled the color of his siren eyes. His skin almost seemed blubbery where it wasn't covered in similar scales, only to start shifting right before Wooyoung's eyes as the water brushed off of him.