The following day Wooyoung took his time leaving in the morning. He made sure to find both Mingi and Yunho and ask what they were doing for the day. Both said they would be busy monitoring the surrounding sharks, so Wooyoung used that as an excuse to say he would go and gather some herbs and monitor the far side.

At least it was some form of cover he could use that would seem reasonable.

His friends seemed hesitant, but they didn't argue with him knowing full well that it wouldn't matter.

Once he was dismissed, Wooyoung hurried to shore where he could change into human form and run to meet San.

He found the human waiting on the back porch looking up and down the beach with a worried expression, which quickly changed to relief once he saw Wooyoung.

Seeing San running toward him made Wooyoung pause and smile. It also filled him with a pleasant warmth that made him feel even better.

"I was starting to get worried you wouldn't come today." San admitted after pulling Wooyoung into a hug. "Especially after yesterday."

"I'm sorry, I just needed to do a couple of things this morning." Wooyoung giggled and pulled back from the hug. "What are we doing today?"

San reached up to caress his cheek right before kissing him. They both let out a small moan and pressed their bodies together, desiring the contact.

Wooyoung felt a longing filling his human body similar to yesterday and his kiss grew hungrier.

Needless to say, the couple didn't last long before they worked to find an excuse to be alone.

The next several days passed in very much the same way. Wooyoung was losing a fighting battle, he realized, but he just couldn't get enough of San.

If he wasn't with the human, or spending time with Mingi and Yunho like he was making sure he did, then he was in the library furiously trying to research something he could do to either help him chose or something that would make his decision easier.

He was slowly being torn in two...

Wooyoung didn't like the idea of leaving his home. Aquatis was magical and full of so much color and life. He loved everything about his home and the people living there. And in a way, he loved Mingi and Yunho too.

They had started dropping hints about wanting Wooyoung to join them again now that they were spending more time together, but he still didn't want to make that decision. Although the fact that his guilty conscious had him sleeping in their room and night now probably wasn't helping things.

Wooyoung also found himself looking for something that would make San stay here too...

But all he came across was legends of a sea witch rumored to be incredibly dangerous and twisted. He only found her mentioned in two scrolls and both expressed several warnings to never seek her out because she would always twist things around to benefit her.

Many merfolk had perished by her hand. It was written that she fed off the magic embedded within merfolk and used it to fuel her powers.

Things were looking hopeless...

As the weeks flew by, he noticed more and more that Yeosang and his friends were talking about the trip home and getting back to school.

San would always grow really quiet during these times and he looked visibly upset about something.

It made the merman hope it was the fact that San didn't want to leave, but there was something about the faraway look San would get whenever school was mentioned that told Wooyoung it was something else.

Time was running out and he was slowly starting to get desperate.

This was showing too in how much he and San were having sex, as he learned it was called. They did it whenever they had the house alone, and there was even one time when San pulled Wooyoung into the bathroom and kept a hand clamped over his mouth to keep the noise down.

It had become Wooyoung favorite feeling in the world and he savored every second of it.

But that euphoria was slowly coming to an end.

San started to grow quiet when they were together and he always looked like he was lost in thought. He would often reach for Wooyoung's hand and just hold it without saying anything.

The two of them spent long hours sitting on the beach together staring out at the ocean. It called to Wooyoung in ways that he wished he was able to share with San... He wanted to tell the human everything about him.

But there was always that small part of sense in him that knew it would be a bad idea.

The one silent agreement they seemed to have made was to never share personal information about themselves. Wooyoung had no idea what San's childhood was like, where he was from, what his parents were like... Nothing.

As he watched San's friends, he could tell they were anxious to get home. They were all inside packing their things and loading up what they called a car while he and San were sitting on the beach in what was now their spot.

The air was thick with unsaid words.

"Are... Are you all set to head home?" Wooyoung asked finally while looking at the sand. He felt his chest tightening at the words. He didn't want San to leave, there was still so much for them to do together...

"Yeah." San's voice was thick as he spoke. He turned to Wooyoung and closed his eyes. "Look, Wooyoung. I-"

"I have something for you." The merman said. He pulled a small bundle from the pocket in his shorts and handed it over to the human. A strange feeling came over him when it left his hands, almost like it was tied to his connection with San.

"What is this?" San asked. His hands shook, but he smiled down at the seaweed wrappings in his hand.

"Something for you to remember me by." Wooyoung added softly. "Because I'll never forget you or the time we spent together..."

San lowered the present and looked at Wooyoung with tear filled eyes. There was no doubting that the two of them had a connection.

Everything had felt so right when they walked along the beach holding hands in a content silence, or when laying together on the couch watching movies, or finding some new few for Wooyoung to try.

They had done so much together, and yet hardly anything, for the entire summer and it was perfect.

"Youngie, you didn't have to."

"Just open it." Wooyoung said, nudging San's shoulder.

He watched with anxious eyes as San pulled off layer after layer of seaweed to reveal the scale he had lost from the shark attack. The hole in his tail was filled now and good as new, but Wooyoung had held on to the scale to protect it.

San picked up the purple scale, which had been artfully wrapped in fine pieces of rope made from a stringy species of seaweed woven together so that he could wear it as a necklace or hang it up somewhere if wanted. The scale itself fit comfortable in the palm of his hand, so it wasn't too big and flashy. "It's beautiful. What is it?"

"Just a trinket I found in a small store. Supposedly it's a mermaid scale." Wooyoung fought a giggle at the skeptical look San gave him. "Around here, believers say that mermaid scales hold a special magic that will protect the owners and bring health and fortune."

"I haven't heard anyone say one thing about mermaids." San leaned back and started to laugh. "Don't tell me you are one of those superstitious people." He gave Wooyoung a wide, joyous smile that scrunched his eyes and showed off his dimples.

Wooyoung couldn't help but laugh along with him. They both fell onto their backs, laying so they were nuzzled together and looking up at the sky with San clutching the scale to his heart. With his other hand, he grabbed Wooyoung's and they watched the clouds pass by overhead.

"Do you really have to go?" Wooyoung finally asked. He turned to look at the human and let his eyes roam over San's face in an attempt to memorize every piece of it.

San turned to look at him too and he pressed his lips together. "I wish I didn't, but..."

"This isn't your home."

The human cringed and turned onto his side to face Wooyoung directly. "I don't really know what to say, Wooyoung. These past couple of months have been some of the happiest moments of my life. And while my life hasn't been ideal so far, I do have people I need to take care of, like Yeosang. We look out for each other."

Wooyoung turned onto his side as well and just nodded. "I understand. He's important to you too."

"It's not like that."

"I know."

San closed his eyes for a moment, then brought Wooyoung's hand up to hold it in front of his lips. "I know it would be unfair of me to ask your to wait for me, so I won't. But... If I were to find myself back in this area, could I see you again?"

Despite how crazy it sounded, and how much it hurt to think about, Wooyoung found himself nodding. "I'd like that."

"How will I get in contact with you?"

Wooyoung fidgeted for a moment. He had seen the devices San called a cellphone to contact Yeosang when they weren't together, but he didn't have anything like that. "Just come to the beach."

San's forehead creased with a silent question, but he just extended his neck to press their foreheads together. "I hate that it had to come to this, and I'm truly sorry. Part of me wishes we wouldn't have let it get as far as we did, bu-"

"I don't." Wooyoung kept his eyes closed even though he could feel San shifting next to him.

They stayed there a long time in silence before they started talking about the memories they had that would always stay with them.

For San, it was just walking around with Wooyoung and exploring the surrounding area. They had found a few hidden beaches, one of them being the beach Wooyoung transformed on every day. Several hours were spent there swimming in the ocean and sharing intimate kisses.

It was one of Wooyoung's favorite memories too. Being in the water with San made it feel like he had been sharing part of his world. The cool waves lapped against their skin, calling him home, but Wooyoung just let it sing to him like a comforting lullaby.

As the sun started to set, San propped himself up on one elbow. He slipped the scale around his neck and looked down at it for a moment before tucking it under his shirt and pressing his hand to it. "Woo, I-"

Wooyoung placed a hand on San's cheek. "Don't say it. Please. It'll hurt too much." He could feel his chest growing tight at the thought of having to say goodbye. Thinking it was one thing, but hearing San say it would be too much.

So instead, San tilted his head and crushed their lips together in a heated kiss. The two boys pressed their bodies together, closing any gap between them as they shared in the last few moments they would get together.

But as the seasons come and go, and he years comes to an end, eventually Wooyoung had to watch San walk away from him. His brought his fists up to his chest and stood there, watching the human who had changed his life get smaller and smaller.

He had asked San not to look back. And he meant it in more way than one. There was no point in San coming back here. All of Wooyoung's research had come up with nothing... They could never truly be together.

It was impossible.

Wooyoung was too different. He would never be accepted in this world.

The summer had been fun, exciting, and oh so educational.

And now it was time to leave it behind.

Wooyoung knew he would never forget about it, but he needed to do his best to set it aside.

His skin started to tingle right as San continued walked out of sight. He scratched at his arm and let his tears finally roll free form his eyes.

For a moment he had been able to dream of a different life.

"Alright Wooyoung." He whispered to himself while closing his eyes. "When you open your eyes, everything is going to go back to normal. This summer will only live on as a memory. It's time to get back to the your regular life."

The itching grew worse, letting Wooyoung know that he needed to change back soon.

"Goodbye San."

Wooyoung opened his eyes to an empty beach and the sound of the waves crashing in his ears, begging him to come home.

He turned around and walked back to his hidden area and changed back to his true for, pushing aside all regrets and remorse, so that he could swim home.

And he never looked back.