After San managed to calm himself down, he was able to wait long enough for the unicorn to rest its horn on Yeosang's shoulder to communicate with him.

There must have been a lot to be said, because it went on for several long minutes.

So San took to pacing. Endlessly.

He needed to do something to get his nervous energy out.

At one point he pulled out the scale he still wore around his neck.

If anything, it had to provide the most comfort. He still had a piece of Wooyoung with him. And it was something he needed more than anything...

San wasn't sure if he was going to scream at him or hug him the next time he saw the merman. Maybe both.

Either way, San ached.

The gentle brush of a hoof against dirt drew his attention and San looked to see the unicorn turning its attention to Jongho.

With wide, round eyes, the younger watched as the long horn in front of him began to glow and move to where he was cradling his injured hand. A brilliant flash of white light illuminated the area, forcing all three humans to quickly close their eyes.

A gasp came a few seconds later.

Jongho lifted his hand and clenched it a few times. "Thank you." He whispered, glancing at the unicorn as it bowed its head.

"She said it would be her final gift to us." Yeosang said gently, stepping forward to stand next to San. "Along with a piece of knowledge she was able to foresee."

"What is it?" San's hand moved, as if on its own, to grab his best friend's, seeking the comfort he needed right now. Just that touch, the feeling of their trembling fingers interlacing, was enough to ground him.

"We need to return to the location Wooyoung sent the letter from."

Jongho opened his mouth and closed it twice before speaking. "My apartment? Why?"

"Because help is coming, and that's where they will go." Yeosang sounded just as confused as he did hopeful.

The unicorn started to nod her head, confirming his words. Then the fairies joined in, chittering and giggling and giving little shrieks.

San felt the hair on his arms stand on end. A low hum filled the air, causing it to sway back and forth. It rustled the grass, the leaves, and even their clothes.

Magic.

Magic was saturating everything around them. It almost felt like some kind of electric pulse. That was the best was San could think to describe what was happening, even though he knew that was no where near close to the proper wording.

If he didn't believe what the unicorn had told Yeosang before, he did now. Somehow he knew this was the magic's way of telling him to trust what they had been told.

Without another second of hesitation, he bowed low to the unicorn and said, "Thank you," before tugging on Yeosang's hand to pull him back to the car.

Neither Yeosang or Jongho argued or tried to stop him.

When the oldest of their trio was behind the steering wheel, he turned on the car and pressed down hard on the gas pedal.

"Ok, it's late enough at night, we should be able to make good time." Yeosang's jaw was set in a look of deep concentration as he took the winding path back to the main road.

"I agree, get on the highway as soon as you can." Jongho said from the passenger seat. He had his phone out and was waiting to snag a signal so he could pull up a map. "There's no point in being cautious now, although I worry about my apartment being watched."

"I doubt they will still be there." San leaned through the center, forgoing his seatbelt and earning a glare from Yeosang, which he chose to ignore. "If the men tonight are the ones that were from the aquarium, there's no point in them following us anymore."

Yeosang sucked in a hissing breath through his teeth. "I wouldn't be so sure. They know now that we took him and I'm sure they will want to prevent that from happening again."

San's heart jolted. He hadn't even thought of that...

"I think we need to still be as careful as we can." Yeosang continued. "Odds are, they could still try to arrest us as a way to keep us from looking for him."

If that was true, then an ambush could be waiting for them around any turn. San hated this gigantic cloud of 'unknown' that was hanging over their heads.

Even so, part of him wanted to laugh. They were right to worry about him looking for Wooyoung. He would stop at nothing until he found the merman.

When they reached the highway, Yeosang forced the car to go faster, blatantly ignoring the speed limit and weaving in and out of the handful of cars dotting the open road.

They all knew the risk they were taking, but chances were that if they were pulled over, they would be arrested on the spot. So why not try to get to their destination faster?

He didn't even wait for Yeosang to cut the engine before opening the door once they reached Jongho's building, and he was happy to see that Jongho had done the same.

"Just go!" Yeosang shouted from the car.

Neither boy hesitated to run forward.

Jongho already had his keys clutched tightly in his hand, ready to let them in. The less time they could spend outside, the better.

By the time he opened the door, Yeosang had caught up to him and the three of them pushed their way inside.

None of them even bothered to take of their shoes until the door was closed and locked behind them and all the curtains were closed.

All that could be heard was three, labored breaths filled with the stress they were all under.

It didn't feel right to talk right now. Not when they were on edge and waiting for someone to jump out and grab them.

"I think..." San started to say, placing a hand over his heart, and the scale, while his shoulder heaved, "I think we are in the clear." Despite his words, he could only bring himself to whisper.

"Let's keep the lights off for now." Jongho whispered back. "Just use your phone. Hopefully, if they really have been watching this place, they will continue to think we aren't home."

"Agreed." San and Yeosang breathed at the same time.

Several minutes passed before any of them moved, the first one being Jongho. He stepped up to the window beside the front door and peeked through the blinds. Then he sighed deeply, his shoulders relaxing a little, before turning to nod at the other two.

Unfortunately now they didn't know what to do...

The unicorn had never given them any indication as to exactly when the help would be arriving.

Which caused San to quickly become irritated. He took to pacing around Jongho's living room, listening to the local news with low volume and a sheet over the screen so the glow didn't give them away, while muttering to himself constantly.

The second day after arriving home, Yeosang had noticed a couple of black cars circling the complex when he took his turn to go and get them groceries.

He ended up having to ditch his car in a nearby neighborhood and haul everything over once they had left.

That pissed San off even more. The bastards were still looking for them, even going as far as giving reports to the local news stations.

They had been labeled as dangerous fugitives and if anyone knew anything they should call law enforcement immediately. There was even a reward being offered, although the amount was never disclosed. Which meant it had to be pretty high. 

Their voluntary house arrest was affecting Yeosang the most. He had called in absent to his job both days and it sounded like he was going to be fired if it happened for much longer.

He said it didn't matter, not with everything going on, but San could see the stress he was under.

That evening, after Jongho had turned in for the night so he could get up early to keep watch, San moved to sit next to Yeosang on the couch.

The older immediately opened his arms and pulled San into his chest.

Guilt welled inside San's chest, making it ache horribly. "I'm sorry."

"For?" Yeosang hummed.

"Everything. You were happy before all this. Now look at the mess we are in..."

"But you weren't." Yeosang tightened his grip on San. "I'd go through all this again, as long as it meant I would get to see the smile that crosses your face every time you look at Youngie. You deserve happiness too, Sannie, even if you don't think you do."

San bit his lip and tried to fight the small whimper that threatened to escape his throat. "Thank you for always being by my side."

He could feel Yeosang's lips curl into a smile against the top of his head. "I wouldn't have it any other way. We will get through this. Somehow."

The unspoken worries floated around above their heads. San pressed his cheek to Yeosang's chest, willing them to go away.

He didn't want to think about what could be happening to Wooyoung at this very moment.

He didn't want to think about how awful his life would be without Wooyoung in it.

He didn't want to think about what would happen when he returned Wooyoung to the ocean...

Sure, he could live on the beach and see Wooyoung every day, but would they really be happy like that? Would Wooyoung?

He was a merman! A creature meant to be free and swim all day long. Why would he sacrifice himself to stay with a pathetic human?

"Sannie?" Yeosang tilted his head after a few tears started to soak his shirt.

The younger didn't answer. He just shook his head a little, signaling that he didn't want to talk.

He tried to focus on the soft voices coming from the tv. After a commercial about juice, the news came back on with urgent reports of an accident on the highway. Several eye witnesses reported two homeless men darting around in traffic, but now they were no where to be seen, but they were last spotted heading west.

After that, a woman started talking about the weather. They were in for a long, hot week with very little cloud cover.

San felt himself starting to drift off when the local updates started. A popular small business had just shut down. A new grocery store had opened up. Several schools had come together for a large sporting event. Most of it was useless information that San couldn't bring himself to even pretend to care about.

He had almost fallen asleep, when he was jolted away by a round of sudden and violent pounding on the front door.

Both he and Yeosang sat up and looked at each other with wide eyes.

Was it the police? The scientists? The man who had taken Wooyoung?

Had they been discovered?

Jongho came running out seconds later with a baseball bat in one hand and his phone in the other. He used the light on it to illuminate the room just enough to make eye contact with Yeosang.

The pounding started up again, even louder and longer this time.

If this kept up, the neighbors would start poking around.

Jongho started to tiptoe forward, bat held high over his head.

"No!" Yeosang hissed, reaching for him, but Jongho just swatted his hand away.

That's when they heard several clicks and cracks, as if someone was forcing the lock open.

"Hide!" Jongho sprang back and somehow managed to grab both Yeosang's and San's hand in his own, then pulled them to his bedroom.

The front door opened seconds later.

"I don't think anyone is here." A deep voice said.

"Well how can they be with that thing keeping them out?" Another male said, obviously confused by something.

There was a low sigh, followed by one of the lights flickering on in the living room. "Someone has to have been here."

"What is this thing?" There was silence for a second, "Look! They are trapped inside! We have to get them out!"

San's mouth opened in shock at that statement.

"Shush!" The deep voice said again. "Don't touch anything!"

"But we need to help th-"

He knew it was a foolish, idiotic thing to do, but San stepped away from the others to go into the living room.

"San!" Yeosang hissed behind him.

But it fell on deaf hears.

San peered around to corner and saw two tall men unlike anyone he had seen before. Except for one...

He didn't even get a chance to take them in before one, with bright red hair, spun around and locked onto him immediately.

A stream of water flew in San's direction. He just barely ducked under it with a yelp before hiding behind the wall. "Wait!"

"Don't test me!" The deep voice roared. "Show your self!"

"I'm a friend!" San pressed himself against the wall, hoping they would believe him.

"No one is my friend. Show yourself, I will not ask you again."

"Please, let me ask you one thing." San bit his lip and waited for a response. When he got none, he took a deep breath. "Are you looking for Wooyoung?"

More silence followed, then footsteps pounded against the floor and the red head appeared in front of him with inhuman speed. His hands twisted into San's shirt to lift him off the floor and slam him into the wall.

"What in Ata's name did you do with him?!"