ATEEZ Imagines

Yunho ✦ Sea Puppy | Merman AU

The following day, you found yourself pacing nervously in your bedroom. You were going to meet seven other mermen and to say you were nervous was a major understatement.
Was it seven? He listed so many names you weren't sure. What would you wear? Did it even matter? You wanted to make a good first impression, especially assuming that mermen didn't interact with humans. You wanted Yunho's friends to like you and not see you as a threat.
In the end, and after much debating, you put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, which was your typical attire. Yunho's comment about jewelry came to mind so you grabbed a pair of simple earrings and a minimalistic necklace. You weren't sure why you bothered to wear jewelry, maybe a part of you wanted to impress him.
After checking the time, you slid on your flip flops and headed down to the beach, trying to ignore the way your heart was hammering anxiously in your chest, thumping faster as you neared the rocks. You climbed over to the exact same boulder you were on the previous day spotting Yunho sitting in the other side, his peachy colored tail shimmering in the sunlight.

"Yunho?" You called.
He turned around, his face instantly lighting up when he saw you climbing down onto the rock with him.
"You're here." He beamed, visibly happy to see you.
"Of course I'm here. I said I would meet you today." You said taking a seat beside him, eyes drawn to his magnificent tail. It was hard not to look, the shimmery pinkish orange scales were too pretty not to stare at.
He cleared his throat which made you tear your eyes away.
"I brought my friends with me. They're waiting to meet you. They wanted to wait until you got here before they showed themselves. Some of them are a little nervous."
"That's completely understandable." You nodded. "I look forward to meeting them."
"I'll go get them." He started sliding himself into the water, stopping for a moment. "Your jewelry is pretty by the way." He commented before disappearing into the ocean.
You covered your face, feeling warmth rush to your cheeks while mentally giving yourself a pat on the back for deciding to put the jewelry on.
Yunho's head popped up out of the water a few moments later followed by seven others. Your body stiffened as everyone's eyes landed on you, feeling both shy and anxious under their curious gazes.
Yunho lifted himself out of the water, returning to his seat beside you on the rock leaving a wet spot on the stone from where he splattered water.
You watched as his friends climbed up on the other rocks close by, some getting on the flat rock you and Yunho were on. You could hardly believe your eyes, unable to fully comprehend the fact that you were in the presence of actual mermen. Glancing around at the group, you saw an array of colorful tails glimmering under the brilliant sun just like Yunho's.

"Y/n, these are my friends." Yunho gestured to the group, allowing them to introduce themselves one by one. Some offering bright and confident smiles while others seemed a little nervous. Nevertheless, they all appeared to be happy to meet you.
"It's nice to meet you all. Like Yunho said, I'm Y/n. We just met yesterday."
"He told us all about it." The one named Jongho spoke up. "He literally wouldn't shut up about you."
"Alright, alright." Yunho piped up, cutting in before the youngest could continue embarrassing him. "I think that's enough."
"Can I touch your legs?" Wooyoung asked you forwardly, not paying attention to the prior conversation.
"Um."
You weren't sure how to answer, caught off guard by the extremely forward question.
"Wooyoung, you don't ask someone if you can touch their legs." Seonghwa scolded him.
"Sorry." He mumbled.
"Yunho, did you see her jewelry?" San, who was sitting near you, asked pointing to your earrings.
"I did." He smiled gently.
"After seeing all of Yunho's jewelry yesterday, I wanted to wear some and impress you guys." You admitted. "Though it's not as extravagant as what you're all wearing."
"Aw." Mingi and Yeosang gushed, finding it endearing that you wanted to make a good first impression.
"You should keep her." Jongho whispered to Yunho, earning a shush in response as his cheeks turned a deep shade of pink.
You watched the two bicker not-so-quietly, holding back an amused chuckle.
"Yunho really likes you." Hongjoong mentioned, making sure to keep his voice low so no one heard him.
"He does?"
"Yeah. He was really excited yesterday. He said he met a human while going to lounge on his rock and went on to tell us about how much fun he had and how nice you were. We can already tell he has a crush on you. He's so easy to read."
"Crush?" You parroted, trying to keep your voice down.
He nodded with a smile.
You were caught off guard hearing that, but at the same time you weren't upset to hear it. If anything, you were flattered—very flattered. Yunho was an absolute model. From his gentle round eyes, to the pretty bridge of his nose, to his naturally deep pink lips. He was tall too, that much you could tell, even with the tail. Not only was he tall, but he had broad shoulders that made you melt and knowing that someone like him was into you made your stomach do somersaults.
"Yeosang was a little nervous to meet you and I was a little wary, but I can see that you're a good person and it's obvious that you make our Yunho happy." Hongjoong mentioned, grabbing your attention again.
"You think so?"
"I know so. Like I said, Yunho is easy to read."

After getting acquainted and spending some time with the guys, you learned quickly that they were all extremely fun and had lots of energy, often getting so noisy you worried they might draw attention of people walking along the shoreline. Wooyoung found a lot of things funny and had the cutest laugh. It was very loud, but cute. Mingi and San liked to goof around playing games and flicking each other on the forehead. All of them liked to harass Seonghwa, which you learned was the oldest out of the friend group, thus why he was usually the one targeted.
At some point, Hongjoong mentioned that it was getting late and they all needed to head home so no one would suspect anything. Though you were saddened at their departure, they agreed to come back and hang out again which meant this wouldn't be the last time you'd see them.

You watched from your spot on the rock as the mermen dove into the water, colorful tails swishing as they swam deeper and deeper into the blue waters, leaving you and Yunho alone.
"Thank you for bringing your friends to meet me." You voiced your gratitude. "They're a lot of fun."
"Of course. They seem to really like you."
"That's good. I was a little nervous since I assume they're not used to humans."
"Most of them have seen humans from afar, but none have ever interacted with one. Wooyoung is very interested in humans which is why he asked to touch your legs earlier. Sorry about that, by the way."
"It's fine." You waved him off with an easygoing smile. "He's curious. I understand."
You yourself were curious about Yunho's tail and what it felt like, but pushed away the want to ask if you could feel it because you didn't want to seem impolite.
"There's never a dull moment with those guys." He chuckled softly.
"I can imagine."

The silence that settled between the both of you was filled with the sounds of gentle waves lapping against the clusters of rocks. You had only met twice, but you knew for certain you liked Yunho and wanted to meet with him as often as possible. You wanted to learn about him and his interests, what he liked and what he didn't, his favorite place to explore, and even things as simple as his favorite color.
If Hongjoong was right and Yunho had a crush on you, then there was no harm in telling him how you felt.
You took in a deep breath, opening your mouth to speak only for Yunho to say something.
"I like you, Y/n."
He was avoiding eye contact, nervously fiddling with one of the pearls on his many necklaces, his cheeks dusted pink.
You held back a smile as you responded. "I'll let you in on a little secret."
Yunho looked up at you with round, expectant eyes as he waited to hear this secret of yours.
"I like you too."
The look on his face was akin to that of an excited puppy. "You do? You're not weirded out that I'm a merman?"
"Not at all. I find that very interesting and unique actually."
He let out a small giggle that made your heart flutter with adoration.

Yunho was over the moon hearing your confession and had to fight the urge to ask if he could kiss you.
It's way too soon. He told himself.
His gaze moved to the horizon, noting how the sky was painted with pastel hues of pink and purple indicating the beginning of sunset.
"I'd love to stay and spend more time with you, but I should head home." He frowned softly.
"I understand." You nodded.
Yunho lowered himself into the water, resting his arms on the edge of the rock gazing up at you.
"Let's keep hanging out, okay?" You asked.
"Definitely." He nodded gleefully.
You decided to make a bold move, leaning down towards Yunho to place a quick peck on his cheek before standing up. He blushed furiously at your action, his soft-looking face sporting a deep pink hue.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" You inquired.
"Y-yeah. See you tomorrow." He nodded, lowering himself further into the water to cover his red cheeks.
You gave him a wave goodbye, which he returned albeit shyly, watching as you walked back home.

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