11 January 2017

Seoul

Putting a cap on was enough to disguise my appearance as I walked into the busy café. Hansol and Heejin were already there, having ordered a coffee for me.

"You must have been so worried," the sea mage hugged me first while my boyfriend tried not to pout- and failed spectacularly. I curled my arm about his waist and he smiled.

"Totally," I nodded.

"HRH Soyong read the seamail and has arranged an audience with Woo-sa for you," the rapper squeezed my hand reassuringly.

It was a good thing that I hadn't even looked at the cappuccino yet because I would have sputtered it out like a failing engine.

"The God of the Sea?" I blinked rapidly, hoping to escape the daydream.

"We obviously can't go out to sea on your next day off but this is rather urgent so next week, the night before your day off, He will visit you in a dream," the mermaid announced. We then started talking about my next comeback, FINGERTIP, and I got to hear about her first experience on South Korean land. Heejin's insights were remarkable and I was sad when she left to conduct other business.

Whenever you dread something, time has a funny way of moving faster so you are barely prepared for the event. Having showered and eaten, I was ready to dream about anything other than stuffed animals, flashy lights and outer space. Instead, Woo-sa had other plans for me.

Plunged into an ocean but remarkably dry, I stood before a door, light escaping from the unhinged frame. I walked through and stood before a turtle that was 30 times my size. Sure, I was already the shortest member in GFriend but I now positively looked like a raisin before the deity. I sank to my knees and bowed on the soft white sand.

"Ms Jung Eunbi, arise," the voice was commanding, despite having been here since the seas first crashed on stratified rock. I obeyed and dared to peek at his black eyes. "There is the one law of nature that cannot be ignored, even though your case was justified: the law of give and take. A leviathan, who served the waves by hunting down avaricious sailors, was killed. You are to replace him by becoming a mermaid."

"May I ask for a delay?" my voice was tiny in the cavernous, blue room.

"Yes, human life has become much more complicated so you can't simply disappear," the boom in his voice had receded to one of whispered reflection.

"I am a singer but I will become a siren once my group disbands," I knew I'd have to take up the mantle of the deceased denizen of the deep, luring in those who pillaged the seas of the fish or spilled oil into the salty waters. There was talk of fracking the sea floor and I opposed that.

"Smart indeed," the deity nodded slowly, the creases in his neck made the more evident. "You have accepted your fate more willingly than the bloodthirsty pirates who tried to negotiate with me by promising treasures."

"What happened to them?" I needed to who exactly I was dealing with.

"I had them beat up regularly to produce pearls," Woo-sa had a vicious gleam in his eye. "The problem with humanity has always been the assumption that possessing money means no punishment. I have read your thoughts, as all merfolk are able to do, and I know that you have a day off soon so I won't trouble you any longer. Have a good evening, shim jiggae."

I floated all the way up to my bed, noticing the time on my clock- 00:15. The needles aggressively turned back to the time I had met the god of the sea. I had no idea that he held this kind of power but I was relieved that he gave me back my time. A few days from now, I would hopefully no longer be petrified at the realisation of his power.