"Where have you been?" Yunho snapped. His tail flicked back and forth in irritation, making him bob up and down in place.

Wooyoung paused and wished he could just disappear. It was near impossible to upset Yunho, he was a bundle of sunshine, even when he was supposed be serious while on guard duty.

But now... it was written all over his face. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed. "Well?"

"I was just out." Wooyoung said, scrambling for some kind of excuse that would make sense.

"All day? Mingi and I have been looking for you for hours! You went outside our borders, didn't you?" Yunho snapped.

"Why does it matter?" Wooyoung balled his hands into fists at his side. He was tired of feeling like he had to be watched all the time. He was very fond of both Yunho and Mingi, but this was getting ridiculous.

He watched the older merman open and close his mouth several times before he shook his head. "Woo... Please, I don't want to fight. You know we care for you and we just want to know that you're safe." Yunho's voice dropped as he spoke and he bowed his head. "Just..." He rubbed the back of his head.

Wooyoung nodded. Guilt started to bubble up in him when he thought about how many rules he had broken today. If something had happened to him... They would have no idea.

And yet he couldn't wait to go back and see San again.

He knew there wasn't anything he could do right now, so he swam forward and tried to go past his friend without saying anything, but Yunho grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

Wooyoung felt himself tense for just a second, then he relaxed and wrapped his arms around Yunho's waist. "I'm sorry for worrying you." He whispered, turning his head to lean it against Yunho's shoulder. Their tails moved in sink while the two of them just floated there.

"It's ok. Let's go see Mingi, he's worked himself up to the point where he's almost sent out a search party." Yunho chuckled and rotated so the two of them could swim inside the city walls.

It was late enough now that everything was quiet. The magic flame they used for light had been dimmed and changed to a soft purple so that it was easy on the eyes.

The palace was still lit up by some bright yellow lights though. Someone was always awake within the golden walls.

They swam right past the library. Wooyoung glanced at it and bit the inside of his lip to keep himself moving. A few turns and long hallways later and soon found himself dreading the open arch that stood in front of him.

Long strands of seaweed had been grown a certain way so that they covered the opening, acting like a barrier between rooms to offer a semblance of privacy. There were none of those strange things that humans called 'doors' here. Every house had some kind of plant barrier that was easy to swim through.

Yunho pulled some of the seaweed aside and motioned for Wooyoung to go through.

The younger sighed and did as requested, swimming into the room that Yunho and Mingi shared.

For being the crown prince, Mingi really was a simple merman. Neither he nor Yunho were crazy about a lot of color, so there were only a few decorations in their room, mostly consisting of shells or neat rocks. In the corner was a large rock that had been carved out and covered with layers of moss to provide a soft padding for the couple to sleep on. It took up about a third of the room, only because it was made big enough for three...

As soon as he saw movement, Mingi turned around from where he'd been staring out the window. The extra fins on his tail swirled around him at the sudden movement. He rushed forward and brought Wooyoung into his arms, holding him like he never intended on letting go again. "Thank Ata you're ok. Where have you been? No one has seen or heard from you all day! After our fight..."

"I just went for a swim, Mingi." Wooyoung said while trying to push his prince away. "I needed... I needed to think."

Mingi finally let go and looked down at him. "And?"

Wooyoung looked to the side stayed quiet. He knew what Mingi wanted to hear, and he also knew that his answer was going to be one that Mingi would never accept.

He didn't belong with them. No matter how much he tried to tell himself that he cared for the couple, he knew he'd never be happy if he stayed with them.

But why did he feel so bad for thinking that?

"I... I need time, Mingi. You can't force me to make a decision." Wooyoung turned his back to the couple.

"Ok, fine, I won't." Mingi's voice grew hard. His 'prince' side was coming out. "But you can't go disappearing like that without letting anyone know where you are."

"Why?" Wooyoung whirled around. "Do you keep tabs on anyone else who lives here? Do you know where every single one of your subjects are for every second of the day? No! You don't! And I know that because I'm around you enough to know how your life works! I'm not stupid, Mingi! And I don't like feeling like you have me on a leash!"

The older merman's face grew red with anger and his tail twitched back and forth. "Well maybe I need to put you on one so you don't keep wandering off. I don't keep track of everyone here because no one else has the habit of wandering past our borders like you do."

"No, you just do it because you are over protective and can't stand the thought of me finding someone else to mate with!"

"Guys..." Yunho tried to say, holding up his hands, but he was ignored.

"And is there something wrong with that?" Mingi asked, looking both furious and hurt.

"Yes, because what if I do?" Wooyoung's mind instantly went to San. He knew it was ridiculous, by he longed to go back to the surface and see more of the human. "What if I find someone who makes me happy?"

Silence fell over the room and all three mermen looked away from each other. Yunho was the first to speak, but his tone was hushed and reserved. "Do we not make you happy?"

"You know that's not what I meant." Wooyoung answered, pouting a little but still not looking away from the wall. "You are my closest friends, of course you make me happy. It's just..."

"Who else would you even be with? You know everyone in the pod. Has someone caught your interest or made a move?" Mingi crossed his arms again, as if he was trying to contain himself. Which he probably was. Mingi was known for being jealous.

"No. But I don't want to talk about this anymore! You can't force me into this Mingi." Wooyoung finally turned to look at his friend.

"Fine." Mingi snapped.

Wooyoung took that as a dismissal and swam from the room. Once he was a good distance away, he darted down the halls and into the library. He knew he should really go to his room and that Yunho would come check on him, but he was getting to the point he didn't care.

He needed to find out more.

In the far back corner was where they kept the scrolls on humans.

Squid ink combined with crushed scales from a merfolk's tail created a special ink that would always be permanent. And the scrolls were made of stretched and thinly sliced seal skin that was also rubbed with a paste made from various shells and scales.

Wooyoung started to sift through them, scanning the delicate script for anything he could use. There were a lot on the wars they used to have with the humans. Wooyoung felt his nerves rising a little when he saw illustrations of the weapons humans would use against his kind.

The worst one was the serrated nets they had created to keep them trapped and injured, weakening them the longer they stayed trapped.

It made Wooyoung shiver and he ran his hands over his scales, trying to reassure himself that it was still there and ok.

After a few minutes, he moved on to the documents about merfolk magic. He needed to have a better grasp over what he was doing if he was going to be successful in going back to see San.

Just thinking about the blonde haired human brought a smile to Wooyoung's face and he placed a hand over his heart.

It took a couple of tries, but he finally found one that spoke of transformation. Wooyoung dropped down onto the sandy floor and wiggled back and forth to make a little divot he could nestle into.

"Transformation... Transformation..." He muttered to himself. "Powerful source of magic, uses a lot of energy... Here!" Wooyoung leaned forward to read. "Transformation can only last so long. It slowly drains the magic, which is fueled by being in contact with water. The stronger the user's magic, the longer they can be away, but they must return to water before their magic runs out or the user will die."

Wooyoung hesitated and lowered the scroll a little.

That put a damper on things... Wooyoung didn't like the idea of his time on the surface being limited.

But then again, that could be a good thing. It would ensure that he would return home every day and that would kind of keep Mingi off his back.

There had to be some way to keep Mingi and Yunho from checking up on him every day. He knew they would grow suspicious... but maybe after tonight they would get off his case for a little bit. 

He was just about to turn in for the night when he came across another scroll that was tucked away in the corner.

Curiosity got the better of him and Wooyoung pulled out the scroll. A lot of it was in old mermish, which was a language no one studied anymore. They had simplified their language and adapted it over the years to make it easier to record things because making the ink and paper was a long process. Only the most important things were written down.

A few people must have left some side notes on what they were able to translate, but even those looked like they had faded with time.

The scroll must have been forgotten...

He could tell it talked about mating and some kind of tradition. From the illustrations, he thought it was talking about the gifts they would give each other, like the bracelets Mingi and Yunho had on their right wrists.

That had always been an old tradition so it would make sense.

One word stood out to him though, one single word that was scribbled quickly on the corner of the page.

Fated.

Wooyoung tilted his head to the side and quirked his lips to the left. "What does that mean?" He muttered to himself.

But that would be a problem for another day. Right now he was happy that he had found the information he had. Knowing he had a time limit on land was huge, and that would explain the crazy itching feeling he experienced earlier where it felt like he was going to claw his arms off. 

He would just have to learn the signs so that he could leave when he needed to without raising too much suspicion.

When Wooyoung returned to his room he settled into his moss covered bed and laced his fingers behind his head so he could stare up at his ceiling.

His heart started to race at the idea of seeing San again. There were so many things he wanted to ask the human. He was so curious about everything. Mostly, though, he just wanted to know that San was ok. He had used some healing magic on the human, but there was still always that chance it might not have worked.

The idea terrified Wooyoung, but he had faith in his abilities.

A small smile crossed his face and closed his eyes so he could work on falling asleep. "I'll see you soon."