five days had passed since yongsu came back.

five days during which donghyuck was stressing more and more.

why?

as much as donghyuck wanted to go back under the sea, he couldn't leave mark behind. he couldn't abandon him like that. he was too attached to the boy to leave.

going back to his world won't only hurt mark. it will hurt donghyuck as well. donghyuck loved mark. he was sure about it now.

renjun and him had exchanged flying fish during these days, and, as much as renjun hated the idea, he was conscious of the link that had been tied between his best friend and the human. he couldn't deny it. donghyuck had never been this happy, and judging by how he talked about mark, the boy was surely in love...

"donghyuck...?" mark's voice calmed donghyuck down immediately.

the merman hummed in response.

"are you okay? you look stressed."

donghyuck sighed. "mark, i need to find this trident at all costs. i can't leave before i have it!"

mark sat on the bed next to the boy. "i know donghyuck, but we don't have much time left. only four days."

donghyuck scratched his head in frustration. "i know, but i need it."

"do you have an idea of where it can be?" mark rubbed the younger's thigh.

donghyuck shook his head. "it can be anywhere around your world... we just know the trident is above the surface, but we have no clue whether it is here or there. people have been looking for it for centuries."

"BOYS! DINNER TIME!" yongsu's voice came from downstairs.

mark and donghyuck didn't wait a second before rising to their feet and rushing down the stairs to have dinner. both boys were starving.

"did you go out this afternoon?" mark asked his uncle as he was displaying the different side dish on the dinner table.

"no. i didn't." he answered.

mark raised a brow. "really? i looked for you in the house but you were nowhere to be found."

"you didn't search well, i guess. anyway, help yourself."

mark shrugged it off.

mark didn't really care about his uncle's whereabouts. before donghyuck arrived in his life, mark didn't believe in mermaids, and knowing his uncle was determined to find one of those imaginary creatures, mark didn't mind about his uncle.

however, now that donghyuck is living with them, mark has to be cautious that yongsu don't discover him. that's why mark spends a good part of his day looking for his uncle, in order to be sure he won't discover donghyuck.

and during the last five days, his uncle would magically disappear. mark could search everywhere in the house; he wasn't able to find him. and when mark was asking about yongsu's day, he would say that he stayed home, which mark couldn't believe.

not that he cared actually, but he found it strange...

anyway, he knew his uncle was a strange person himself, so mark stopped asking himself questions and ate his meal.

munching on his food, he looked towards donghyuck who was admiring himself in the back of his spoon, inspecting carefully his neck on which the hickeys mark had made days before were disappearing. this made mark smile unconsciously.

"mark?" donghyuck asked putting the spoon down.

mark hummed.

"can we... have sex again?" donghyuck said voice low, but loud enough for mark to widen his eyes and for yongsu to choke on his rice.

mark filled his uncle's glass with water, helping him regaining his composure.

"are you sure he isn't your boyfriend?" yongsu asked between coughs.

"it's not what you think yongsu." mark said quickly.

"well, he clearly talked about 'sex' here mark."

"yes, but it's a misunderstanding." mark groaned. "donghyuck that's not sex."

donghyuck raised a brow, confused. "really? chenle said it clearly last time."

"last time huh?" yongsu smirked, enjoying the situation.

"no, but... what we did is only giving hickeys. having sex is more... more intimate than giving hickeys." mark explained.

"oh..." donghyuck nodded. "are we going to try it then?"

yongsu burst out laughing as mark flushed beet red.

"i-i hum... i d-don't know...?" mark stammered, glaring at his uncle.

"your boyfriend is funny, mark." youngsu chuckled before going to the kitchen to fill in the water bottle.

"donghyuck are you crazy to say such things?" mark asked the mermaid.

"sorry." the boy lowered his head. "but i like having your marks on me. it makes me feel loved." donghyuck explained looking at mark with glossy eyes.

mark caressed the boy's cheek. "don't cry, don't cry. i'll do them again princess. i promise." mark kissed the boy's cheek.

yongsu came back with water and poured some in each boy's glass.

they continued their meal until the conversation drifted on a sensitive subject. well, at least, that's what mark thought.

"can i ask you a question donghyuck?" yongsu asked.

the merman nodded.

"do you think mermaids exist?"

mark widened his eyes. "yongsu! no!" he protested but was stopped by donghyuck putting a hand on his thigh.

"i-i don't really think they exist. i guess they are just myths." donhyuck lied.

"please yongsu. don't talk about that!" mark pleaded.

"mark. this is a subject i am a specialist in. i'm just asking donghyuck his thoughts about it. and if he doesn't want to talk about it, he just has to tell me, and i'll stop."

"you are a specialist?" donghyuck asked happily.

"yep. and, do you want to know things about them?"

donghyuck nodded energetically.

"well, people think that they are a myth, but actually... they do exist." he whispered.

"really?!" donghyuck asked. "how can you be so sure?"

yongsu bent over the table to approach his face from donghyuck. "i saw one. with my own eyes."

"that's so cool!" donghyuck happily beamed.

and that's how the dinner ended.

donghyuck and yongsu talking about mermaids, donghyuck looking surprised at every new information yongsu gave him.

mark was left aside. he didn't really care. he didn't want his uncle to talk about mermaids in front of donghyuck so that the boy doesn't bust his cover. but, actually, mark was rather surprised by donghyuck's acting skills. if he didn't know donghyuck was a mermaid, he would have fallen into his lies as well.

after an hour of conversation, the table was cleaned and yongsu ready to go to bed. mark was in his room, and donghyuck still with yongsu.

"i'll let you rest sir." donghyuck told. "what you told me today about mermaids is very interesting." donghyuck said before leaving to mark's room.

he opened the door and locked it behind his back, startling mark who was on his phone.

"oh, you're-"

"why didn't you tell me?" donghyuck asked, obviously angry.

"what?" mark raised a brow.

donghyuck stomped his feet, approaching the boy on the bed. "why didn't you tell me your uncle was a specialist? we've been trying to find this trident, and your uncle has been down there having answers! and you didn't tell me?!"

"he's not a specialist..." mark rolled his eyes.

"he isn't? of course he is! have you heard everything he said? he knows a lot about us! i don't know how, but he obviously is aware of our existence! and he may have answers about the trident!" donghyuck raised his voice. "so, why didn't you tell me?! is it because you want me to leave? you don't care about me? you're glad i'm leaving in four days. and you know that with the trident i'll be able to come back. but you don't want me back!" at this point, tears were threatening to fall from donghyuck's eyes.

mark sat on the bed approaching donghyuck.

"hey, donghyuck, don't cry."

"i thought you liked me!" donghyuck let a tear fall from his eye. "but you don't care about me! you don't even want to help me find the trident!"

the tear crashed on donghyuck's left bare feet, wetting it and causing the boy to transform in a nick of time.

mark was quick to catch the crying merman in his arms.

"donghyuck. i didn't want to tell you to protect you." mark explained.

the boy in his arms scoffed. "protect me? and from what?"

mark sighed. "yongsu isn't just interested in mermaids. he hates them. he wants to kill them. he is not the 'mermaid specialist' he pretends to be. he is a 'mermaid chaser'." mark explained.

"are you that heartless you create stupid stories to prevent me from finding the trident?" donghyuck asked between sobs.

"princess, stop crying." mark asked calmly, sitting on the bed with the boy in his arms.

"how can i when you keep lying to me."

"i'm not lying." mark was starting to get annoyed.

"oh, no? then why would he be after us! you shouldn't even know we exist! we did nothing to make you see we existed. you stupid humans only think about your specie and-"

"it's a mermaid who killed my aunt!" mark raised his voice, startling the younger. "she killed her, because my aunt was curious. she drowned her. under my uncle's eyes. your people took what was the most precious in my uncle's eyes! how can you expect him to like mermaids after that?!" mark finished the sentence yelling.

donghyuck stayed silent, body shaking and tears still going out of his eyes.

"how can i even like your people when you took my aunt away from me and transformed my uncle into a monster?" mark stopped to look at donghyuck in the eyes. "my uncle asked me if i wanted to take his business after. when he won't be able to travel around the world anymore. and, to be honest, knowing that this mermaid killed my aunt, i almost accepted. almost. but then, i remembered about you." mark's voice softened. he was no longer yelling. he was almost whispering, and tears were falling from his eyes as well. "i remembered you came into my life and realising how attached i am to you, i couldn't accept. okay your people killed my aunt. but the comportment of one mermaid doesn't reflect the whole people's comportment. and having you here with me..." mark caressed donghyuck's wet cheek. "...it made me realise things. i don't know how you did, but... you made me fall for you. you're just too perfect. i couldn't do anything about it. even if i knew you would leave and never come back... i fell in love with you. i tried to deny my feelings at first, in order not to be hurt in the end, but it was impossible. each time i tried to convince me i didn't like you, you did something that made me fall even deeper."

mark was in tears at that point, and donghyuck was sitting straight on his lap, looking at him.

"i'm sorry donghyuck, i know we will both end up hurt in the end, but i can't resist you."

and with these words, mark approached his face from donghyuck's and soon closed the gap between their lips, letting himself fall even deeper for the merman.

donghyuck soon laced his arms around mark's neck and responded to the kiss as mark caressed his waist.

the kiss was wet. not dirty, but just wet because both boys were crying.

they parted when they were out of breath, gluing their foreheads together.

"i love you mark." donghyuck whispered smiling.

"i love you too donghyuck."

donghyuck closed the gap this time, letting himself melt into mark's embrace.

they had only four days left together, but it didn't matter right now.

for the moment, they were just happy.