"I can't wait to get home." Yeosang said with a sigh while resting his head against the back of his seat. He let his hands drop to the bottom of the steering wheel and focused on following the car in front of them.

The group of friends made a little 'car train' so they could stick together and at this point in time Youngjo was in front of them leading the way.

San hummed and turned to look out his window. Part of him was ready to be home too. But a bigger part felt like he had left the best thing that had ever happened to him behind... And it was just getting further and further away.

His heart was heavy in his chest, something he had never experienced before, and all he could think about was the bright smile and contagious laugh that haunted him.

"Are you going to be ok?" Yeosang asked, glancing over in San's direction. When he didn't get an answer, he let out a more frustrated sigh and continued, "This is why I told you not to get attached."

San pursed his lips and balled one of his hands into a fist, but held back every angry statement and he wanted to start spewing.

"But... I can see why you did. Wooyoung is definitely a very unique person. I'm... I'm sorry we had to leave. Did you get his number so you can stay in touch?"

"No." San closed his eyes and was only mildly surprised when he felt a tear roll down his cheek. He made a quick movement to wipe it away and hoped Yeosang didn't see it. "We both kind of agreed that it wouldn't work."

"Well, then maybe it wasn't meant to be."

San found himself nodding along with his friend's words. But there was something about the statement that didn't sit right with him. 'Meant to be'...

"Oh, Jongho talked to you about a job, right?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to do it?"

"I'll apply." San commented. He could feel Yeosang's disapproval at the short response, but thankfully he didn't say anything else.

He had spoken the truth, though. A couple of weeks ago Jongho had overheard Yeosang and San talking about what he was going to do for a job when they got home and had told San about an opening at his work that he could apply for and he would make sure his resume got to the top of the list.

It would be a unique opportunity for him. It was a night time security guard that they would provide the training for. And really, Jongho made it sound like the most he would need to do is just make the rounds and watch the cameras.

San figured it would be good for him to have a job like that. He could be by himself and it would still force him to be active. And, as guilty as it made him feel, he was kind of looking forward to being on an opposite schedule from Yeosang too. He knew the older would become obsessive over his mood and would start constantly checking in to make sure he was ok.

And knowing Yeosang, he would probably try to start setting San up again too. A few of San's past relationships or flings had been started because of blind dates initiated by Yeosang, so San couldn't deny that his friend had good taste and knew him well. But... he had never felt like he was in the position to be able to have a healthy relationship.

Right now the last thing San wanted was to be forced into blind dates. No one had hit him as hard as Wooyoung did...

He hand drifted up to his chest and he gripped the mermaid scale he had hidden beneath it. The motion was something he had been doing ever since he put it on. For some reason, touching the scale brought a certain level of comfort to him.

To him, it was like Wooyoung had given a small piece of himself to San to hold onto forever. The summer had changed them both in many ways.

The rest of the drive home was uneventful and everyone broke off when they reached their turn to go home. They had all agreed on the overwhelming need to sleep in their own beds and Yeosang would see everyone when classes started again.

It took a couple of days for San to recover. Both he and Yeosang had slept for almost two days straight, only getting up to go to the bathroom or get food or water, otherwise they stayed to their respective rooms.

And just as excepted, Yeosang started trying to mother him as soon as they were both up and about. San put up with it to the best of his ability, but he wanted nothing more than to numb the ache that never seemed to leave his chest.

Jongho ended up securing him the job, although it sounded like there weren't a lot of applicants since it was an overnight job. It gave San a small feeling of accomplishment knowing that he had secured another job and he was going to be able to help with rent again.

He hoped it would provide a good distraction for him too...

But he knew it would take time.

Time for him to accept that...

He had left his heart on the beach that day with the man who had stolen it.

.

.

.

.

Several weeks after San left, Wooyoung found himself staring toward the surface every chance he got. He missed going up there and getting to experience the mysterious world.

Now that he didn't have an excuse to go up there, he found he had a lot of time on his hands that he didn't know what to do with.

Mingi and Yunho had noticed it too and questioned him often about why he was around more. It was hard to come up with a believable excuse, so Wooyoung just stuck with how much he had been missing them.

When he heard that, Yunho had sped forward to grab Wooyoung and flicked his tail hard enough to spin them in his circles.

And Mingi had just given him a look of hope and happiness.

Wooyoung wasn't exactly lying when he said it. He did miss his friends, but there was now an emptiness in him that they just couldn't seem to fill.

While they were fulfilling their duties as Prince and head of the royal guard, Wooyoung spent time with his old teacher learning other medicinal remedies and spells. He had always been interested in it and had spend quite a bit of time with the old merman before meeting San.

If he was going to do anything with his future, Wooyoung figured this would be a good way to fill his time. Maybe one day he would take over as the pod healer too.

He was tempted to go by the library and continue doing what research he could on humans, but whenever he got close, he remembered that there really wasn't a reason to learn everything anymore...

That thought just sent him on a downward spiral.

It was during one such time that Wooyoung swam to the outskirts of the city to hide in the coral gardens. Some of the fish came over to check on him and would touch their mouths to his skin in an almost kissing motion.

The merman couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as he settled into the sand and let his tail fall gracefully to the sea floor. A small cloud of sand floated up around him and he watched in almost a daze as it fell slowly back into place.

The silence was peaceful, in a way, but Wooyoung also found himself missing the noise and chaos, even the music that ruled the world above.

And it made him question everything...

Surprisingly, though, he wasn't alone for long.

The fish around him scurried away when a shadow passed overhead, followed closely by a second on.

Mingi dropped down next to Wooyoung and turned into his side so he was supporting himself on one arm. "I knew we'd find you here."

The younger smiled and bent his tail up to wrap his arms around it, but like when he would do the same thing with his knees as a human. "What's up?" He asked.

"Nice try." Yunho sat on his other side and ran his long fingers through Wooyoung's light purple hair. "What's wrong, Woo? And don't say nothing."

"You're growing distant again. Are you unhappy helping Mer Kim out?" Mingi's forehead creased in concern.

"No! No, Mer Kim is great. I love working with him." Wooyoung waved his hands back and forth quickly, causing a flurry of bubbles to appear and drift toward the surface. "He and Mera Kim are lovely. She keeps trying to get me to try her new receipts, which we all know isn't a good idea."

Yunho covered his mouth with his hand as he started to laugh. The Kims were a sweet, older couple that the entire pod adored, but Mera Kim had... questionable tastes in food. According to her, though, most of them were traditional dishes from when she was growing up. The Kims were from a pod from a different part of the world that had been discovered and hunted down by humans. Neither would disclose how old they really were, but the way they spoke and the knowledge they had, Wooyoung had always guessed they had to be several hundred years old.

They had only joined the pod when Mingi's grandfather was on the throne. Since then, the death toll from disease had decreased drastically, so this was the first time the pod had members living the longer life spans that had been gifted to their race.

"Well I'm glad to hear that." Mingi smiled when he glanced at Yunho. "But, you seem... unhappy. Again."

"Min, I-"

"So I came up with an idea." Mingi held up a hand to cut Wooyoung off and his face changed to a devastated frown. "You have a restless spirit, and... as much as I want to... I don't think it can be tamed."

Yunho placed a hand on Wooyoung's shoulder and nodded along with what Mingi was saying. The motion had Wooyoung looking back and forth between both his friends. He felt himself starting to worry about what was going to come, but he knew he needed to let Mingi speak at his own pace.

"So... I was wondering if you wanted to be a part of a summons that Father is sending out to other pods." Mingi's eyes flicked up. There was resignation in them, and the hint of regret, but he didn't say anything more as he waited for Wooyoung to respond.

"Summons? For what?"

"My coronation."

Wooyoung sat up a little straighter and gasped. "Mingi! That's amazing! Your father is ready to step aside?"

The Prince nodded. "You know he's not going to get better. The sickness is something that Mer Kim can only delay. So, he wants to see me crowned before he passes on."

At those words, Wooyoung scooted himself over to wrap his arms around Mingi's chest and pressed his head to Mingi's shoulder. Mingi instantly hugged him back with the arm that wasn't propping him off the sea floor. "I'm sorry..."

"Thank you." Mingi's voice was barely above a whisper. He pressed his lips and nose to the top of Wooyoung's head and held him tighter.

The King had been sick for a long time, even long before Mingi was born. It was an old disease that ate away at a merfolk's body from the inside, with the side effect of rotting off their scales. The closer the merperson was to death, the less scales they had on their tale.

Even Mer Kim didn't know how to treat it. The disease was incredibly rare, with the King's case being the first one in this pod's history. Mer Kim had only ever seen two other cases.

The entire pod knew the time was coming, but that didn't stop them from showering the King and Mingi with all their love and respect.

"The King wishes it to be a grand celebration." Yunho moved closer as well and reached over Wooyoung to place a comforting hand on Mingi's shoulder. "He said he wants nothing more than to see Mingi ascend to take the thrown before he dies. I think he's ready, but he's using the last of his strength to hold on a little while longer. That being the case, it's customary to invite representatives from other pods to attend the coronation."

Wooyoung lifted his head when he realized what his friends were getting at. "And... you want me to deliver that message?" He looked up at Mingi and was greeted with a sad, but adoring look.

"I would trust no one else. As much as I will miss you, maybe it would be good for you to get out and see other parts of the ocean."

So many thoughts flew through Wooyoung's head, he didn't even know how to respond. This could be a wonderful distraction for him, and he was curious by nature. But, he would miss Mingi and Yunho terribly... Not to mention he knew how dangerous this could be.

"Are you sure?" Wooyoung started to pull away, but Mingi shifted so he was sitting up and could wrap both arms around him.

"No. But I don't know what else to do... Just promise me you'll come back to us safe and sound."

"Please." Yunho added before hugging Wooyoung from behind.

The young merman felt his heart flutter at the action and he smiled while pressing his nose to Mingi's neck. "I will. I promise, I'll come back as fast as I can."