24 October 2041

Busan Station Hotel 26

To the rest of the world, Chwe Heejin looked like an average tween girl. She rushed with the parents to the quay, eager to get on the family yacht. But today wasn't an average day and she wasn't an average girl. The fishermen did a double-take when they realised that her parents were idols, retired from their groups and working solo so they could focus on the rough sea that was parenting.

As expected, there was speculation from the gossip rags known as Soompi and their brood of sea serpents as to whether the girl and her oppa would be a trainee for Pledis or Big Planet Made. The only thing that the girl really cared about, was her return to her childhood home. Mr and Mrs Chwe had raised their children in the Yellow Sea to protect them from untoward gazes.

Going to school had meant a move to the surface and by then, the maknae of the family was impervious to the criticisms thrown her way. Her older brother, Simon, was sleeping in after having spent the whole night playing the newest video game online. By the time they returned for breakfast, he would probably be awake.

Once they were in the middle of the ocean with nary a cruise boat in sight, the family dived in, the specially-designed swimwear opening panels to let their tails out. The girl's scales were pink with splotches of blue, her brother the reverse; both colours having been inherited from their parents. In sight was the sea temple of HRH Soyong, still going strong despite the rise in sea temperature.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite couple!" a sea mage, waiting by the pillars, greeted her parents.

"This is our daughter, Heejin, named after you," eomma hugged her before making introductions.

"WOW," the girl's mouth turned to an 'O', bubbles of surprise escaping to the surface. She then remembered her manners and she got to know her namesake better as the group made their way to the presentation ceremony. Appa had always told her tales of the sea mage's exploits, including the one he had witnessed with her mother.

As the girl admired the ring on her fingers, she also worried about serving the Grand Gem. Having watched videos of her parents training and performing, she had engrained in her relentless determination, to undo the damage that humans had inflicted on the oceans. Heejin dreamed of being a marine biologist, an intermediary between the worlds she loved. The girl vowed she would work to make her vision of a healthy Earth reality.