I painted a picture for Shore! The picture is actually really clear, but Wattpad is making it blurry :( so I'll try to get a better picture of it!
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The next morning started with a literal bang. Taehyung was startled awake by the cabin door being slammed open, ricocheting off the wall behind it and slamming shut. Jungkook stomped in, pacing loudly as he muttered to himself. Taehyung - who was still in the aquarium that was too small - fidgeted. He was uncomfortable, stiff and hungry, but he wasn't going to verbally complain. Jungkook seemed unstable, like he could snap at any moment.
Said captain often paced around the ship, hitting anything he could get his hands on. He didn't have to see it happen to know, he could hear it. He could hear Jungkook's heavy footsteps, could hear the snapping of wood, could hear him cursing loudly. What he was so agitated about, Taehyung didn't know, but what he did know was that he wanted to stay off the list of things that contributed to it.
Currently, Taehyung and Jungkook were the only ones awake. Namjoon's snores echoed from his room. Taehyung couldn't help but wonder how Jimin was. He had seen him be ruthlessly shoved into the candle lantern and couldn't help but be envious of him. He'd much rather be in that than this tiny fish tank that could barely fit his torso.
Actually, Jimin was awake, too. He was still outside, though. They hadn't bothered to bring him inside. It was almost as if they had forgotten about him. Of course they had. Their eyes were set on Taehyung, the previously undiscovered sea creature that humans had only dreamed of. He sat there, curled into the corner of the lantern and thought. Did they know Taehyung was a prince?
Most likely not. They were probably hoping to pluck any mermaid that they could and it just so happened that the prince was there. Jimin shook his head, resting his chin on his knees. He kept blaming himself for their situation. If only he had woken up, Taehyung could have hid under the water and they would be safe and happy. But because of him, now they were vulnerable and their lives are in danger.
If only he had known that Taehyung didn't blame him. He considered it his fault. He shouldn't have swam out that far, should have stayed closer to the pier. He keeps thinking these what if's as if it would help their situation. It didn't - he knows that and still can't help but think about it.
Taehyung was dozing off again, squirming slightly to get even remotely comfortable. His stomach growled loudly, alerting Jungkook, who stopped pacing. The mermaids eyes shot open, staring at Jungkook as he quietly approached.
"Are you hungry, little mermaid?" he asked softly, tapping his finger on the glass. The noise made Taehyung uncomfortable. He nodded, trying his best to not have to talk to the pirate. Jungkook nodded back, thinking to himself. "I know exactly what to get you."
Jungkook stood up and walked away, not saying anything else. Taehyung couldn't help but be confused, but closed his eyes and went back to sleep. He could almost feel the bags under his eyes. They were heavy with exhaustion and he had no choice but to succumb to his body's choices.
By the time Jungkook returned, he had been so deep asleep that he didn't hear the door slam against the wall. Soon, there's not going to be a door with how rough they handle it. Jungkook tapped on the glass, trying to wake him up. He glared when he didn't, only shuffling around, leaning his chin further against his chest. The pirate snapped his fingers in front of his face and shook him, "Wake up! God," he grumbled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're dead."
"Wake up!" he said louder, smacking his face, hard enough to leave a small red mark that won't last long. Taehyung smacked his lips, eyes fluttering open, not only because the pirate hitting him, but because of the smell of food. His stomach growled, as it had been for the past 30 minutes while Jungkook was gone.
Then, he smelled the delicious scent of food. Jungkook noticed his expression change from tired to fully awake, eye practically begging for the food he had in his hand. "Well, good afternoon, little mermaid," he lifted the food up to where Taehyung could see it. "I got you some food, I hope you're not picky."
Taehyung shook his head, "N-no. I'll eat anything!" he stuttered, shuffling a bit to sit up more. He hissed in pain when he moved his tail.
Jungkook noticed his pain and put the food on the ground, standing up. Taehyung's eyes widened, shrinking into himself as much as possible, thinking he had done something wrong. "P-please don't hurt me!"
"I'm not going to hurt you," Jungkook said, picking him up from the tank. "I'm moving you out of the tank. It's obviously too small and Namjoon hasn't picked up a bigger one yet." he set him on the floor, not caring if there were little puddles left on the wood floor. The to-go box was pushed in front of Taehyung, who looked confused about what he was supposed to do with the styrofoam box.
The pirate rolled his eyes, laughing at his own mistake, "I forgot you don't know what this is. It's a to-go box. You can eat somewhere and take the left-overs with you." he explained, opening it, letting out a wave of steam and revealing the mouth watering food inside. Taehyung didn't know what it was, but it smelled delicious and he was so desperate for food that he didn't care what it was at the moment. "Go on. You can eat it."
"T-thank you!" he said, bowing slightly as he slouched to grab a piece of the food, making a mess. Quickly, he shoved it in his mouth, making pained noises as his tongue got burnt. Ignoring the pain, he bit into the meat and chewed it. At first it tasted good, but as he took another bite, he realized something was off.
Tears sprouted as he continued chewing the strange tasting food that made his stomach upset. Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows, leaning closer to observe his reaction better, "What's wrong?" he asked, his tone a little harsh. "Do you not like chicken?"
Taehyung shook his head, putting the chicken down and pushing the box away from him, whining as his hunger resurfaced. The pirates eyebrows furrowed deeper, anger washing over him, "I spent good money on this for you!" he yelled, shoving the box back towards the mermaid. "Money I don't have! Don't be an ungrateful little brat!"
"You're going to eat this," he started, grabbing a strip of the grilled chicken, making his way over to Taehyung as he backed away from him. "even if I have to force it down your throat."
The mermaid sniffled as he cried, accidentally backing himself into a corner. Jungkook took this as his chance to sit on him, shoving the strip into his mouth and making him chew it, then slamming his palm over his mouth to make him swallow it. "Is this how it's going to go?" he asked menacingly.
"N-no," Taehyung whined, wiping his tears. "I'll eat it."
Jungkook stood up and sat on his side, "See? That wasn't hard." he passed the to-go box back to Taehyung, who looked reluctant to continue eating the chicken. When he finished, Jungkook picked him up and set him back in the tank. The movement upset Taehyung's stomach more, making him hold himself in pain.
He was exhausted again, eyes drooping down quickly. Jungkook was sitting next to the tank, combing his hands through the mermaid's hair. As Taehyung's eyes closed one last time before sleep took over, he whispered, "It'll be alright."
----
When Taehyung woke up, he realized he wasn't as uncomfortable. His stomach was still in pain, but his body didn't feel as stiff. Looking around, he noticed he was in a different tank. This one was significantly larger than the previous one, which was across the room in a corner. He studied it and wondered how he even fit in it.
The purple haired man, Namjoon, was walking around the cabin, sweeping and dusting old trinkets. Taehyung sqiurmed. Even though the aquarium was bigger, it was being confined and forced to stay still that made it so uncomfortable. The movement caused water to splash onto the now clean and pristine floor.
Namjoon looked over at him, sighing and grumbling, "Are you kidding me? I just mopped the floor." he put the glass decoration down and walked over to a door, opening it, grabbing a mop and walking over to Taehyung.
"I'm s-sorry!" the mermaid stuttered, folding in on himself. "I didn't mean to! I'll stop moving!"
The pirate raised an eyebrow and eyed the mop in his hand, "I'm not going to hit you with this," he chuckled. "It's a mop. It spreads water around and cleans the floor." he paused, staring at the mop. "But does it really clean it? This thing is so old. It probably has an unknown disease in it."
Taehyung just stared at Namjoon as he rambled on about the mop. He had never seen one before. This man really liked to talk about weird things. He continued talking about his conspiracy theories about the mop.
Namjoon finished mopping around the tank and stared at Taehyung, apparently in deep thought. They stared at each other, except Taehyung was waiting for him to do something unexpected. "Can I touch your tail?"
"Um..I-I'd like it if you d-didn't-" Namjoon ignored his rejection, setting his large hand on the scaled tail, moving it up and down.
"I thought it'd feel like a snake, but it doesn't." he mumbled, then removed his hand and walked away.
----
Meanwhile, Yoongi was outside on the deck, cleaning. Jimin was looking around his lantern, looking for an escape now that he had calmed down. The pirates had pretty much ignored his existence, so he had a lot of time to find a way out. The bottom of the lantern was coated in blue fairy dust that hadn't evaporated. He ignored it though. That wasn't important at the moment.
The outside of the ship was decorated in blues and objects to represent the ocean. It was obvious they were going to show Taehyung off to the world. It made him sick, he was disgusted and his hate for humans increased tremendously.
He accidentally pushed on the little door to the lantern and was surprised when it opened just a little bit. Not a lot, just enough that Yoongi wouldn't notice it. He closed it, deciding he would escape later, when the coast is clear and his dust wouldn't be as much of a giveaway. Still, he was stunned. He didn't take the white haired man as someone to forget something so small, but so important.
Yoongi walked over to him just as he was sitting down, giving up on looking for an escape now that he'd found one. The man stared at him, staying silent for a second. "I almost forgot you were here. You're probably hungry."
Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, a bit offended that he was right, they had forgotten about him. Nonetheless, he nodded his head, clutching his stomach, hoping his begging would persuade the pirate into feeding him.
The human tilted his head a bit, squinting his eyes as he thought. Then, he looked at Jimin, "What do fairies even eat?" he asked. Jimin had to resist the urge to scoff. How can you hold a creature captive and not know what they eat if you're planning to keep them alive? Yoongi began thinking out loud, "You're too small to hunt for meat. So fruits?"
"And vegetables!" Jimin chimed, loud enough for Yoongi to - hopefully - hear him. "Preferably broccoli!"
"Cold broccoli?" Yoongi asked, making a face. "I thought fairies had good taste in food."
Jimin lifted an eyebrow, giving the human a strange look - not that he'd really be able to see it - and shook his head, "How would you know that if you don't know what we eat?"
Yoongi blinked rapidly, taken aback by the fairy's sass, "Woah, you got me there. I thought you would eat better tasting things, though."
"Broccoli is amazing!" Jimin scolded, folding his arms. "I'd rather eat broccoli for the rest of my life than anything else!"
"I'll remember that," Yoongi tapped his temple, winking at Jimin. "I've got to go."
The fairy finally scoffed as Yoongi walked away, "You won't have time to remember that."
----
About an hour and a half later, they finished decorating. It was fairly early in the afternoon, but bright blue lights were strung up, glowing in the daylight. It seemed like they were preparing to be open until dark.
Jungkook had dressed up, looking as fancy as his pirate wardrobe allowed him. He even had Namjoon and Yoongi get all dolled up. Yoongi kept grumbling, running his hands through his hair, uncomfortable with the strange feeling of hair spray. Taehyung's tank had been decorated, plastic corals surrounding him.
The captain poked his head out of the cabin, looking at the line of people waiting to see his prize. He smiled, happy to see such long lines. Of course everyone wanted to see a mermaid - even if they didn't, they just wanted to see how realistic a fake one would look.
He walked over to Taehyung, who was looking around anxiously, not understanding what was happening yet. He squatted next to the tank, moving a fake coral to the side, "Listen. Lots of people are going to be coming in - to see you. You better not embarrass me."
"N-no! I won't!" he assured best he could. He didn't know Jungkook's extent of what embarrassed him, but he would try his best not to. After the early lunch incident, he was afraid of what would happen.
The pirate softly patted his cheek before getting up, "Good boy."
Waves of people started piling into the cabin, circling Taehyung, murmuring loudly. Most of the comments were that he was very handsome for a sea creature, others being astonished that mermaids were real. Taehyung's eyes were wide in fright, darting from person to person.
Jungkook walked into the middle of the crowd, smiling widely, "You all should feel honored. You're the first people - other than myself and my crew - to see a mermaid!" he announced, feeling very smug. "I know, it's a miracle! Isn't he magnificent? Does anybody have question?"
It startled Taehyung more when everyone started yelling "Me!". He started hyperventilating and squirming in his tank - that nobody had commented on because they were all too focused on the fact mermaids were real.
"Can he talk?" a little girl asked, holding her mother's hand.
"Yes! He can," Jungkook glanced at Taehyung. "He's just a bit shy. Go on, tell them your name." he directed, nudging the tank.
"T-taehyung." he mumbled, fiddling with his fingers, causing the girl to smile and clap her small hands. His tail suddenly flicked, knocking over one of the plastic corals.
Everybody jumped back, startled by the noise. Taehyung's face turned red, shrinking into himself. He could see Jungkook's eye twitch, but still maintained a smile, continuing with the small show. Some more people asked questions, which Taehyung stayed mute for. He'd never felt so uncomfortable and vulnerable in his life.
Finally, the first show wrapped up, Jungkook showing them out politely. He walked over to Taehyung and whispered harshly, "What was that?"
Taehyung knew he was talking about him knocking over the coral, scaring the guests. He didn't mean to, his tail jerked voluntarily. He looked at the pirate with wide, glossy eyes, "M-my tail twitched."
Jungkook nodded his head, but not in understanding. He pat his tail before standing up, "I'm not going to tell you again. Don't embarrass me."
"I-i'm sorry. I won't." he stuttered, lowering his head.
Though, it was after several shows - that actually went a bit smoothly - that it went downhill. Taehyung tried his best to control his tail, despite how uncomfortable it was to not move around in the small tank. He wasn't as shy introducing himself to guests. He thought it was going well - though it shouldn't be happening in the first place.
The well dressed captain gathered Namjoon and Yoongi inside, announcing this next group would be the last before their first break. Everyone sighed, glad to have a break - Taehyung especially. He was exhausted, more than he had been recently.
Yoongi walked outside - near where Jimin was - and sighed, "Finally, a break." he cracked his fingers. "I could take a nice nap in that time."
Jimin perked up quickly, a smile making its way to his face. It was time. With Yoongi's back turned and Namjoon handling the crowd, the coast was clear. He pushed the lantern door open and flew out, into the cabin. He didn't stick in the doorway long, hiding behind a table leg behind Taehyung.
People started piling in, reacting the same as all of the other groups. Jungkook was answering the final question, when a yell broke out. Taehyung was sobbing, splashing water all over the shiny floor and flailing his tail wildly. A child had put their hand on his tail, frightening him more than he already was.
Jungkook quickly lead everyone out, thanking them for coming and hoping that they enjoyed the show - despite the disturbance. Jimin watched as Jungkook slowly made his way over to Taehyung, tsking at him.
The pirate grabbed a fistful of Taehyung's light brown hair, pulling his head back to make him look him in the eyes, "I told you not to embarrass me again."
Taehyung continued sobbing, sniffling, "The child touched me! I-I don't like being touched!"
He shook his arm, throwing Taehyung around like a doll, "I don't care what you like!" he yelled. "You're feelings don't matter! You're only here to make me money!"
Tears flew down Jimin's face as Jungkook pulled Taehyung out of the tank, holding him in the air by his throat. He watched as Taehyung clawed at his hands, begging for him to release him. His hand flew over his mouth, muffling his already quiet sobs.
"You can't even make it through a day!" the pirate continued yelling, violently shaking Taehyung, "You've given me so many problems since I found you!"
"I-I-I'm sor-ry!" Taehyung choked out, tears running down his neck and onto Jungkook's hand.
Jungkook threw the mermaid onto the ground. Taehyung coughed, falling onto his side, sputtering out small bits of blood onto the floor. He looked up, noticing the small figure hiding behind the table leg. He blinked slowly, "J-Jimin.."
Jimin could do nothing but watch as the pirate sat on his torso, grabbing his hair again and pulling him towards him, "Why can't you just follow my directions? It's not that hard!" he yelled, then scoffed. "First, it was the tank -"
"I n-never complained about the tank!" Taehyung rasped.
A fast blow was delivered to his face, shutting him up. "You didn't have to! All of your annoying fidgeting! Do you not know how to sit still?" he growled, holding tight onto his arms. "Then it was the chicken. Money doesn't grow on trees!"
"I-I know!" Taehyung cried. "It tasted funny!"
"Did I ask?" the pirate said harshly, hitting him again. "During the show, you scared the guests and finally, you threw a tantrum over a kid touching you!"
"I wasn't expecting it!" he whimpered, squirming under Jungkook's weight. "Please l-let me go!"
"I've had it with you." he scoffed, pulling out a gun. "I wish I found a different mermaid. One less problematic."
Both Taehyung and Jimin's eyes widened, eyeing the gun. Taehyung turned his head and looked at Jimin, then back at Jungkook, who pointed the gun at his forehead.
"I wish it didn't have to come to this," Jungkook said softly. "Goodbye, Taehyung." he whispered, pulling the trigger, feeling Taehyung's body slump with dead weight.
His eyes widened, dropping the gun and scrambling off the body, "Oh my God," he panted, not taking his eyes off the dead mermaid. "No, no, no!"
Jimin sank to the floor, not controlling his sobs anymore. He just watched his best friend get killed. Jungkook ran back over to Taehyung, cupping his cheeks, "No!" he cried, balling his hair in frustration.
Yoongi and Namjoon ran into the cabin, freezing in the doorway, seeing Jungkook hunched over Taehyung, crying, and a gun dropped beside the body. Namjoon's eyes grew wide, "Y-you killed him.."
"I killed him.." Jungkook repeated hysterically. "Oh my God, I killed him!"
Jimin couldn't bear to watch anymore, flying out the door. Yoongi noticed a pretty blue trail of dust dart out the door, "The fairy got away!"
"That's the least of our problems!" Namjoon said, still staring at his captain having a breakdown.
Jimin flew all the way to his meadow, ignoring the stares he got. Youngsoo was sitting in the living room, talking with Haneul. He stood up when he saw Jimin enter, "Hey! Where have you been?"
The youngest ignored him, running into his room and locking the door. He wailed loudly into his pillows, not caring if anybody could hear him. The scene kept repeating in his mind. He repeatedly saw Jungkook beating Taehyung, repeatedly saw his body slump to the ground, dead.
But the worst of it all was repeatedly watching the light die from his best friend's eyes.
~~
That's the end of Shore! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it - despite the sudden ending hehe there will be an epilogue! It might not be very long, but it's a bit needed after this sad ending :P
-I don't know if anybody got this, but the reason why Taehyung didn't like the chicken was because he had eaten fish all of his life, so he's sort of a pescatarian (someone who doesn't eat meat except for fish). I'm not one, but I've met people who are and they say after awhile, they can't eat meats like chicken or beef
Thank you again for reading!