"So you got the job?!"

"Mhmh!" Jeongguk nodded, taking another sip of his smoothie. Seokjin let out a dry chuckle, staring at the younger in disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me. You've been there once, and now you suddenly have a job?" The younger grinned proudly, sinking back in his chair.

"Trust me, I can't believe it either. After I sent them that email, I got a call from the CEO of the company, two days later. One thing led to another and I got requested to visit them for a small interview, which I happily had gone to. And now I have a job!"

Seokjin listened quietly as he explained, but something just didn't feel right. It all had gone way too quickly. If it really was as professional as it all claimed to be, wouldn't there be more difficulty? And who gives a person a job after one small interview? Sure, Jeongguk's online grades are phenomenal, but still.

"I'm really happy for you, Gguk. But keep in mind that it's just a little strange how─"

"─Yeah, yeah, I know.." He bit his lip, his smile faltering. The elder sighed, not liking how he ruined his happy moment.

The waitress came and picked up everything from the table. Seokjin thanked her while Jeongguk stared outside.

He knew something just wasn't right. His gut feeling told him exactly so. But for now, he decided to ignore that feeling and focus on the fact he actually has a job he dreamed of having. A job that means he won't have to struggle every single month.

He wasn't dumb. That unsettling feeling in his gut told him that it was odd how everything went, but he just couldn't help it. Perhaps money started blinding him a little.

He didn't expect to get feedback so quickly at all. He wouldn't even have been surprised if they had ignored his email. But when the company responded to it, saying that they'd love to contact him and set up a meeting, he just couldn't help but to jump around from happiness.  

Tapping his fingers on the table, he peered back at his hyung. "I'll be cautious, I promise. Time will tell."

Seokjin stood up, ruffling the younger's hair. "I'll be late for my appointment if I don't leave now. It was nice to see you again, Jeonggukkie. Take care, alright? Call me if anything happens."

The younger smiled,
"Will do. Take care, hyung."

Jeongguk laughed silently, waving as the elder left the cafe.

────🐚────

"Well, won't you look at that. It's the ever so famous Taehyung."

The mentioned rolled his eyes at Jimin's bitter words, genuinely not having any energy for that guy left.

"C'mon Tae, let's just go. We don't have time for people like him." Taehyung let himself get dragged away by Hoseok, ignoring his enemy to the fullest.

That, the male didn't like.

"Did I say you could leave? I wasn't
done with you yet." The silver haired merman suddenly dived forward to grab Taehyung's side fin, causing him to shriek in panic.

"Let go of me!" Taehyung tried weakly. He never really dared to go against the elder, but he really did want the grip on his precious fin to loosen.

"What if I don't want to?" Jimin smirked, tightening his grip making Taehyung hiss in pain. He felt his sharp fingernails digging into his soft skin.

In his head, he prayed like a mantra that the other wouldn't tear his precious fin off.

Taehyung was freaking out on the inside, trying his utter best to keep a straight face. Keyword; tried.

"Ah, are you scared?" Jimin now purposely dug one of his nails deeper into Taehyung's fin, causing a slight tear and some red dots of blood to mix with the water, floating upwards.

As a last resort to save himself from his panicked and hurt state, Taehyung spread his side fins widely to show off intimidating, the define spines within his fin pierced through his enemy's skin.

"You fucker! You'll pay for this!" The silver haired shouted out in pain, letting go immediately. He glared at the backs of both Taehyung and Hoseok. They swam off quickly, leaving a trail of bubbles behind.

"Dang, that was so cool! Good job dude!" Hoseok patted Taehyung's shoulder. He couldn't be more proud of his best friend who stood up for himself.

"No, it wasn't. I'm doomed, Hobi. I'm done for! He'll─He'll absolutely destroy me!" The blue tailed panicked, gripping onto his floaty locks.

Jimin and Taehyung have been enemies ever since they first laid eyes upon each other. That definitely wasn't Taehyung's idea, but he figured there was no hope for a blooming friendship between them ever since their first encounter. He realised quickly enough that Jimin wanted his competition completely wiped out of the picture, since they are both two of the most popular mermen.

The silver tailed's fins aren't anywhere near small. It wouldn't even surprise Taehyung if they were an inch longer than his own. He'd rather not think about that, but it made him wonder why Jimin was trying to hard to make his life a living hell in the first place.

The male always finds a way to bully him. His message was loud and clear. He wanted to be the only one mermaids drooled over. 

Hoseok sighed, "I'm still proud of you. I could never. I don't dare to speak up to him, so I think that what you just did was really brave." 

Taehyung just shook his head, lost in thought.

"Hobi.. I need some time alone. I'll see you later." His friend nodded, understanding. "Alright, be careful."

With that, Taehyung took off.
Secretly exiting their world, he swam closer to that of the humans.

After a little while, he hid behind a rock. In the back of his mind, he was aware that he shouldn't be this close.
Hell, he was even crossing his own limits at this point.

But his raging thoughts and still slightly stinging fin from Jimin's earlier doings blinded him. His emotions got the best of him, taking over instead.

That was when he noticed a small, white note drifting in front of him.

An instant smile creeped up his face, his curiosity taking over his sadness quickly.

He swam towards it, fingers reaching out to grab it. His eyes fell onto the scribbled down letters.

'My dream came true today. I'm starting my new job soon! To whoever out there who reads this, I wish you'll be able to accomplish your dreams too.'

Taehyung smiled brightly. Somehow, this note gave him a little bit of hope.
It made him feel warm inside, like he wasn't alone. As if there is truly someone out there who understands him.

He held the cherished message tightly in his palm, wanting to make his way back to Hoseok. He was probably waiting for him.

He peeked over the rock to make sure no one was there, before he pushed himself back into the deeper waters.

Not even getting two metres further, he suddenly squeaked out in pain.

Looking back, he saw that his bottom fin got tangled up in something big. Eyes widening in horror, he began trashing around. He doesn't know the name of the thing he got stuck into, but he does know that all kinds of fish get trapped in these things. He has seen it happen before.

The more he trashed around in a futile attempt to get himself free, the more it tightened around his tail, scraping harshly against his beautiful scales and getting stuck in between them.

The thing soon began wrapping around his waist, refraining him from moving any further. It hurt more than anything he ever felt before. The more he struggled to get free, the more it worked against him. Some scales bended backwards as the lines got stuck between them, creating  a pain so bad he stopped moving entirely.

Due to all of his struggling, he failed to notice how he slowly got himself in the shallow waters. Humans could easily spot him now. If it wasn't for him, the wave of crimson that washed upwards was an attention-catcher on its own.

Taehyung had no clue what do do. He was mortified. As the dreaded minutes passed by, he began giving up. The pain consumed him, causing him to lose his fight.

He was sure that was it. He would get caught, betraying all of the other merfolk in the process.

His eyelids fluttered shut as the pain hit him again, taking over his thoughts. He felt his heart hammering in his chest. The feeling of scales ripping off will forever be imprinted on his memory.

About to feel his very last bits of hope sink to the bottom of the ocean, his eyes opened in shock once he heard something dive in the water near him.

This was it.
He was doomed.