The second San left the room, Wooyoung ran over to the wall to look at the strange thing there.

Someone had taken a piece of the ocean and frozen it. It was also protected by some kind of barrier because it was smooth when he reached out to touch it.

The even stranger thing was the fact that there were people frozen in a few other places in the house.

Wooyoung felt so lost and he knew he had more studying to do on human culture, but he was already worried that San was catching on. He needed to make sure he was careful from here on out.

But he wasn't sure he'd be able to with the way San made his heart thump. It was very distracting and made it hard for him to do anything else.

The sound of a door closing drew Wooyoung's attention and he hurried to stand in the middle of the room.

San came out with his hair still damp and Wooyoung felt his gut flip. Oh what he wouldn't give to see San in the ocean with him...

"So shall we go?" The human asked, offering a kind smile while motioning for the door.

"Yes please!" Wooyoung bounced forward and opened it so they could leave.

Even though he had just been outside not long ago, he felt so much better when the salty air started to fill his lungs. He ran forward and bit his lip when he felt the sand move between his toes. It was absolutely delightful.

San came to join him and looked down at Wooyoung's feet while arching an eyebrow. "Did you come over here without shoes?"

"Shoes?" Wooyoung asked, tilting his head. When he saw the questioning look on the human's face, he cleared his throat several times. "Oh, um, yes. I don't have any."

"You don't own shoes?"

"No?" Wooyoung could feel his eyes widening with his confusion. What were shoes? "Let's go!" He said quickly, and without thinking, he took San's hand and started pulling him down the stretch of sand toward the small town that had been built around the coast.

Instead of letting go like Wooyoung expected, San seemed to squeeze a little tighter and hurried to keep pace with him. "So before we do anything we need to look at getting you some shoes. Do you have any money?"

Once more Wooyoung had no idea what he was talking about, so he just shook his head no.

"It must be nice to not have to worry about these things." San said, shaking his head.

Wooyoung looked down at the ground and fell behind a little. He was trying so hard to not let his self doubt get he better of him, but it was hard not to hear the slight judging tone in San's voice. It made him want to tell San who he was, but there was no way he could. It was too dangerous...

"Come on, it looks like there's a thrift store over here. I suppose the least I can do is get you some shoes since you saved me." San looked over his shoulder and gave Wooyoung a kind smile.

For a moment Wooyoung wanted to ask him what he was talking about. He didn't need to do anything, anyone would have saved him... right?

But Wooyoung also had no idea what he was talking about and he didn't want to make a fool of himself by asking.

He studied the buildings in front of him and eye the people around him. It wasn't as loud as yesterday since there wasn't a large crowd, but Wooyoung still felt a little overwhelmed when he realized just how many people there were.

It made him move a little closer to San. He had no intention of getting separated.

And yet the second they stepped inside a building, Wooyoung couldn't help but let out a small gasp.

There was so much stuff!!

Wooyoung didn't even know where to start. His eyes were drawn to an area full of of something he did recognize.

San let out a small sound of surprise when he was suddenly yanked behind Wooyoung to a corner of the store. "So pretty!" Wooyoung practically shouted when he kneeled in front of shelves filled with jewelry. There was a barrier in front of them so he couldn't actually touch them, but he loved the unique designs.

"You like jewelry?" San leaned against the counter with an amused look on his face.

"Oh I do! It's how we— I... like to express myself sometimes." Wooyoung cringed but quilt tried to cover it up. "This one is pretty!" He pointed at a simple gold necklace that had a pendant consisting of pearls hanging at different lengths.

"Yeah, they're nice, but definitely expensive. It must be real." San muttered.

"Of course they are real. Why wouldn't they be?" Wooyoung looked up at him. "Are there fake pearls?"

San just snorted and shook his head. "Come on, the shoes are over here. Let's get you some before someone notices."

Wooyoung reluctantly followed San throughout the store. They had to make several stops when he came across something else that caught his attention. More than once San grabbed his wrist and kept pulling him along.

When they finally got to the shoes, Wooyoung grew even more excited when he realized it was something to put on his feet. At first he wanted to ask if his votes would be ok, but when he looked and saw everyone wearing shoes he knew better than to show his ignorance.

"Do you know what size you are?" San asked while studying the wall.

Instead of answering him, since Wooyoung had no idea what the human was talking about, Wooyoung just walked forward and picked a black pair of shoes off the rack that had a white section going down the middle of them.

He set them down and slipped his feet inside, causing the heels to fold over flat. They felt strange. Wooyoung wiggled his toes and puzzled over the constricted feeling.

"Do they feel weird?" San asked.

"No, I think they are ok." Wooyoung started walking around. He felt like he was walking funny now that he had the added weight on his feet, but at the same time, it was nice to have something protecting them.

Wooyoung watched with high interest as San gave the tag to another human behind some kind of machine and then gave her small pieces of paper.

Humans were strange creatures...

They ended up spending the next couple of hours just walking around and commenting on random things, which really consisted of Wooyoung getting overly excited about things and earning himself strange looks from San.

For not knowing each other well, Wooyoung couldn't help but feel relaxed around him. It was odd. He had only ever felt this around Yunho and Mingi. He didn't mind running ahead and bouncing in place while waiting for San to catch up.

There was one moment that had him freaking out a little. When they were walking down the street, Wooyoung had an awful feeling hit like he was going to burst. He must have made it look obvious, because San helped him locate what he called a bathroom.

His panic rose when San showed no sign of going in with him, so Wooyoung ducked inside and stared around for a long moment and all the objects on the wall. He saw another door he could go behind and stepped behind it, then called upon his magic for guidance.

A sense of calm filled him, even though he could also feel it draining his energy, as the magic searched for the answer.

Wooyoung's eyes flew open when he got it and he looked down between his legs. His mouth fell open a little and he had to take another moment to process.

Humans had... very strange bodies.

When he finished and was able to get ahold of his embarrassment, Wooyoung released his hold on the magic and swayed in place before going out to join San.

He also discovered this wonderful concoction San called ice cream. It had to be his favorite thing about the world above by far.

Besides San.

San was spectacular. Even though he gave strange looks, he never actually questioned Wooyoung's actions. It also helped that he was incredibly handsome. Wooyoung often found himself just watching the human and studying everything he did.

Although San did surprise him when they were sitting on the beach together watching people play in the water. "Where are you from?" He tilted his head to the side and a small twinkle entered his eyes. "What were you like as a kid?"

Wooyoung chuckled and stared back out at the water. Guilt filled him. He didn't like the idea of lying, but he knew it was necessary. "I guess you could say I haven't changed much. I was pretty adventurous and always getting in trouble as a kid."

"I bet your parents had fun with that." San chuckled and pulled one knee up to his chest.

The merman turned away and looked down at his own hands. "I wouldn't know." He whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"My parents died when I was very young. I don't even remember what they looked like. I was raised by my friend Mingi's family. So they would probably say I was a pain. But at least I had Mingi and Yunho."

"I'm sorry." San said gently. "I can't imagine what that must be like." He reached over and, after hesitating for a moment, took Wooyoung's hand. "Did Mingi's family take good care of you at least?"

Wooyoung glanced down at their joined hands and felt his cheeks heat up. "Yes, they took great care of me. I would be lost without them, and Yunho. He and Mingi took it upon themselves to raise me and protect me." He snorted and shook his head. "They became my damn guard dol— guards and now I have to sneak away if I want to get away."

"Are they somewhere around here?" San straightened up and looked around as if they would show up.

"No, there's no chance of them appearing. You're safe."

"Good, I don't need your guard dogs thinking I'm going to hurt you." A bright laugh left San as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The amazing sound had Wooyoung feeling brave and he leaned over so he was resting against San's side. He could feel the human tense for a moment, but then San slowly wrapped an arm around Wooyoung's shoulders. "Don't worry. The chances of you ever meeting them around incredibly small."

"Are they not here with you?"

"No, I came by myself. I needed to get away from... everything." Wooyoung felt his voice getting softer. "I was planning on just a quiet afternoon on my own. But I'm glad I met you."

"Met seems like an understatement, but... I'm glad too."

Wooyoung closed his eyes. Even though he knew this would never work, he was allowed to enjoy it, right? He could have his tiny moment to live in a fantasy.

"It's getting late." San whispered. "I'm sure Sangie is wondering where I am. I'm surprised he hasn't called me yet. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry." San moved to stand and held a hand out to help Wooyoung up.

The merman chewed on his lower lip and glanced out at the ocean. He knew he was pushing his luck if he stayed longer, but he really wasn't ready to leave yet.

"I would love to." He said, glancing back at San.

There was a strange, almost confused look that crossed San's face. Almost like he was questioning what was going on, but he didn't say anything about it so the two of them turned and started walking along the beach again. "I hope you're ready for chaos. Yeosang's friends seem like a crazy bunch. If it gets to be too much just let me know, ok?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I just want to stay with you for as long as I can." Wooyoung skipped ahead so he could stop San in his tracks. He clasped his hands behind his back and bent forward a little. "Is that ok with you?" Tilting his head to the side, Wooyoung giggled at the flustered look on San's face.

Then he turned and did something he hadn't done yet.

Wooyoung started to run down the beach.

The feeling of his legs moving like this and the sand squishing beneath this shoes, which flopped against his heels and started to fill with sand, was incredible.

He held his arms out wide and tossed his head back.

This is what he always wanted. This kind of freedom.

And Wooyoung was going to enjoy it for as long as he possibly could.