ocean boy and land man

eight

the ocean was incredibly breathtaking.
and listening to this man speak left jungkook breathless.
he had been through so much, and while jungkook knew this man didn't want to be pitied, he couldn't imagine that kind of life.
"well, my name is kim seokjin and as you will see later, i am a merman."
"but i thought mermaids no longer existed?," inquired a confused yoongi, the question making jin look down sadly.
"the last remaining mermaid clan was almost completely wiped out 15 years ago, so the tales you've been told aren't exactly incorrect."
"what do you mean, almost wiped out?", questioned namjoon.
seokjin had a slight pain in his heart in remembrance of his family but proceeded on,"i am the only survivor of the attack on my clan."
this information illicited an uproar of gasps and from his side, jin could feel jungkook grasp his shoulder even tighter, pulling him near his chest.
jin could not see jungkooks face, and it was good that he couldn't because it was filled with murderous intent and rage.
jin could see the other boys though, and they had mixed expressions of both shock and pity, something jin really didn't want.
"i'm telling this to you because you asked, not because i want to. please do not pity me, and if you desire i will stop because i wouldn't want to hear it either.
but if you so desperately wish to hear such an ill fated tragedy then please, no more interupptions."
"please tell us, we want to understand.
but only if you feel comfortable," assured hoseok, his heart shaped smile filling seokjin with comfort.
"well i was born about fifty miles from this island with two lovely parents about 19 years ago.
my clan spent the days laughing and living, enjoying the beautiful water and the adventures of life.
then when i had just turned 5, on my birthday i had requested that we visit the island because on your tenth birthday a mermaid gains legs in the period of sunset to sunrise, so i wanted to see what it was like.
my father, the king, carried me up to the island on his legs and then it happened.
7 or 8 men who had been searching for the obsidian stone had seen my clan swimming around in the ocean and hid on the land. when night approached as my father walked me up to the island, he was shot through the heart with a bullet."
jin was doing his best to hold back his tears at this point, and when he took a breath to calm himself, he notcied three other men trying to do the same.
jin looked back at jungkook, whose knuckles were white from gripping the merman so tight, and placed his hand on top of the others to let him know that it was ok.
"the bullet was so ear piercing it led other mermaids to see the commotion and when one of the hunters grabbed me from my fathers dead grip, they knew that as the kings son they had to protect me and they died bravely trying.
my clan was small and without their leader, had been easily defeated by these hunters.
they took everything of use after looking at me and throwing me aside, sneering in my face about how worthless i had become and how i would die upon land with my tail and the leftover bits from the bodies of my family.
i cried for days upon end, didn't eat, never slept, just watched the hunters sail away with everything i had but not what they came for.
then once i decided the smell of rot was enough i crawled back to the ocean and swam and swam away until i reached our underwater palace.
i stayed there until i reached the age of ten, the ocean animals keeping me company day after day until i had grown old enough to gain my legs.
when i had i set off to the old island to bury the remains of my family, the ocean having washed the majority away and sand covered nearly half but i set out to give them a proper burial anyways.
and ever since then i have lived upon this island during the night and in this general area during the day."
at this point seokjin was full on sobbing, the memories he tried to bury pouring out to the ears of the listeners but he had to finish.
he had no one to tell and now that he had he couldn't hold back.
jungkook was absolutely enraged, how could anyone possibly do this to a child?
and for what?
just a bit of money?
it was disgusting and now the men understood why the merman had run away from them.
hearing him talk, they could tell how genuinely hurt he was, and wanted to do anything they could to make up for the 14 years jin had spent alone.
"why haven't you just left?"
asked yoongi, deeply curious as to why the male would stay at the place filled with mountains of pain for the majority of his life.
"i can't bring myself to leave.
this is my family, my home.
i just can't!"
seokjin sobbed into jungkooks chest, who was surprised by the skinship but held jin tightly against him.
"shh babe, its alright.
i promise we will do anything we can to make it be alright."

this is like longer then all my chapters combined but i am pretty happy with it! please tell me if something doesn't make sense and i hope all of you have a good weekend and will await hearing the lovely treasure hunters background while i stall and think of where im going with this. love you guys<3