Minho fiddled with the handle of the car door. His eyes casted over the soaked streets as they zoomed past, forehead gently bumping against the rain covered window with every rock of the car. He watched the people scooting by under umbrellas, couples holding hands, playful kids splashing ahead of their parents, one or two down cast and standing out in the showers.
On one instance when the car stopped at a red light, Minho got the pleasure of witnessing one of these drenched people standing alone be joined by someone with a clear umbrella with rubber ducks on it. He swore they looked familiar but seeing as how he couldn't see their faces he gave up.
"What do you think?" Hyunjin asked in a hum.
The older glanced over, noticing how he looked sort of shy and was switching where he was staring every second. Minho gulped, "Uh, sure. That sounds great."
"Seriously?"
"Totally."
"I'll propose to Seungmin this evening then."
Minho choked. He shot forward from his seat, nearly screaming as he tried to regain his breath, "What?!"
"Relax, I'm joking," The younger snorted as he broke into a fit of laughter. He enjoyed teasing Minho, in fact, both of them loved that pass time way too much to the point it might have bordered unnatural. Once Hyunjin calmed down his laughing to nothing but a small smile, he said, "I asked if you'd be okay going to the movies with us after we pick Seungmin up?"
"You said we were going back to apartment. Then you and him were going on a date after you dropped me off?"
"We didn't account for the rain this morning. The weather forecast said it would be sunny when we made plans so we thought you could walk home after lectures ended."
"Pull over, I can walk."
"Wait a minute, I'm not letting you walk that far in the rain."
"Then what movie are we watching?"
"How do feel about aliens?"
Minho didn't respond to his question as he rolled his eyes. Actually, he didn't mind sci-fi movies, he simply didn't want to answer. Instead he rested his forehead against the window again, feeling the chill seep into his skin. He watched the different cars roll by as they got closer and closer to their destination. Some stayed by their side, some fell behind, a lot of times the cars took another path and drifted away to little dots against the tall buildings.
The car pulled into the lot, parking in a space close to the entrance of the familiar building. There didn't seem to be many cars around and even less people were entering or leaving. Those who did wore a uniform of blue shirts and white pants. When Minho and Hyunjin arrived at the glass doors they got the answer as to the absence of people. A large sign was posted, saying it was closed to the public. It was shouting at them to stay out and away from the aquarium. That seemed to be ignored, as the younger opened the door and walked right in. All Minho could do was follow after.
"Excuse us, we're clos- Oh, Hyunjin, hey!"
They looked over to see a man around their age frantically waving them over, wide smile gracing his features. He was located behind a receptionist desk-like contraption, it being a fishtank where salt water fish of all kinds swam freely in the bright coral and anemone set up for them. A dolphin statue that had the large lettering of 'Customer Service' plastered to the side dangled dangerously over above his head.
Wait. Minho furrowed his eyebrows, Haven't I met him before?
"Chan! I didn't know you had a shift today," Hyunjin called back to the man. He jogged over to the desk and leaned his weight against it, trying to peek at the computer screens turned away from him.
"I didn't know you had a shift either," Chan chuckled in response to this, eyes glued to the screen. The younger dipped his head down to see it better only to eclipse the monitor entirely. This sent Chan to lean back in his chair, letting Hyunjin see it, "Unless of course you're here for Seungmin."
"The second option," Hyunjin scanned the screen. His head shot up to look at the receptionist in shock, "He's with Jisung?"
At the mention of the creature, Minho perked up from the spot he was left in. Slowly, he scooted closer to the two so he could hear the conversation better.
Chan nodded with a sigh, "No one wanted to so they drew lots and Seungmin pulled the shift."
"That's a shame," The younger leaned away from the desk, propping his back against the surface. He gestured to the one standing there somewhat awkwardly, "The kid seems nice. We're lucky Minho volunteered to work with him."
Chan heavily stood from his seat, the rolling chair knocking on the back of his knees to slide away from him as a look of confusion graced his features. He furrowed his eyebrows, "Who's Minho?"
"I forget you two never formally met," Hyunjin humed in awe, "Minho meet Chan, Chan meet Minho. He's the manager of this place when boss isn't around. Minho's the one who's been observing the merman for us."
"Oh, I've seen him around then," The manager bowed his head slightly, scanning over the other. Minho diverted his gaze away and shifted on the balls of his feet to distract himself. He felt the eyes digging holes into him as they raked up and down his form. It went on, as if he was trying to remember a detail. The smaller got a glint in his eyes like he had recognized the other's face from the past, "It's nice to finally know your name."
"Likewise," Minho smiled.
Chan cleared his throat and tore his focus from Minho, switching it to the desk as he fiddled with some papers. He threw them to the side to reveal a set of keys hidding beneath. Without much thought he handed them to Hyunjin, motioning to the doors, "Go find your man. He should be done by now."
"Thanks," He smiled and bounced away from the desk, motioning for Minho to follow him. They shuffled over to the dark corridor leading into the aquarium and pushed past the hanging sheets.
Hyunjin took his time leading Minho through the aquarium. Occasionally he'd unlock a door or two not opened to the public as a shortcut past an exhibit. Behind the doors were long, chilly, cement corridors, which were a system of tunnels that lead to every corner of the aquarium. They reflected the main building with unneeded complexity. From inside, the tanks could be seen through the thick glass panels scattered around. Faculty members shuffled by, heading to wherever their job called for them. One or two would be jogging by with equipment in hand or buckets of what Minho hoped was animal food.
At some point the younger turned into a smaller corridor that branched off. He used the keys Chan gave him and opened a wide metal door at the end, motioning to follow after him. They emerged in a room Minho had gotten well acquainted with the last few hundred times he stepped foot into it; an opened room with two ramps that wrapped around another room that seemed to extend throughout the building. There were many paths that existed, one that had guided them there and a few that would have not been any help to him. He found that fact out later. It was the room Felix, Changbin, and him had gotten stuck in.
Remembering the layout, Minho glanced to the double iron door. He halted in place, glaring at the strong blue light spilling from the cracks below the entrance. His current roommate was leading him through the aquarium to find Seungmin, but then again, it would be fun to see the merman again. That was his purpose for coming here again, after all.
He turned around to ask Hyunjin if he could split off for a bit, only to find his guide was gone. It was like he had vanished into thin air. Minho didn't even hear him leave the room, no footsteps or doors closing. But this meant his decision was made for him. Gingerly, he bounced forward and shoved the door open.
It was the same darkness; the tunnel blocking his view and funnelling the light through it. He walked forward carefully to not run into the walls or any staff that might be in there. It seemed to be empty again. That was confirmed when he reached the other side, the grand image of the enormous tank presented before him. Again, there didn't seem to be much in it, the schools of fish flying by every few minutes and other small activity happening around. The coral drifting gently in the current made him think Jisung was behind them, but was disappointed when it turned out to be a blue tang. The merman was no where to be seen.
Minho sighed. A slight frown tugged on his lips as he searched for the other, hoping he'd make an appearance soon. He began walking around the tank to get another angle, watching for any movement that could hint at where the creature was. No luck. The college student mumbled to himself, "Where are you?"
The kelp rustled. Once looking closer, a deep shade of scarlet was buried in the dense forest around the back edges of the exhibit. Next to the red, smooth skin snaked around the kelp bed. Brown eyes peered through wavy black hair at him from the hiding spot and wouldn't leave his figure. No matter which way he moved, the eyes followed. Jisung popped his head out from the vegetation, mouthing something to Minho before returning to the cover.
Unfortunately for the college student, he couldn't read lips from this distance. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and stepped closer to the tough layer of glass, "I don't know what you said."
Jisung repeated his motion, adding more movement to get his message across.
"What?" It didn't work. Minho admitted, "I can't read your lips from this far. I'm alone. If you want to talk to me, I want to talk to you."
The merman raised an eyebrow and looked around the area. He mouthed, "Are you here to write things down again?"
"No. Just want to talk."
The merman gained a sheepish grin on his face, nudging past and untangling his fins from the kelp. It took a while but once he was free, he zoomed to where Minho had been standing, "About what?"
Minho shrugged.
"Shrugging. Very scientific."
"Whatever."
∴∷∵