YOONGI POV:

The sound of the car pulling up in the driveway has my head rising away from the recipe book I was pouring over, Jin hyung's body a slumped curve at the table as he chops vegetables for salad methodically; eyes void of the usual teasing sparkling warmth that makes his brown eyes shine.

And then the front door opens, the small sounds of clatter as Kookie moves around in the hallway, quietly shucking his shoes off. But it makes my body turn, Jin hyung's eyes rising from the table, half-rising as he sets the knife down, my hands reaching for the tray to set down in the dining table in the living room; feet hurrying forward, not wanting to make him feel cornered, as if I'd rushed to hurry to him, not wanting to make him retreat when he'd only left his room today to hurry out the house, face stricken and imploring.

But the sight makes my hands tremble, tray shaking in my hands, eyes drifting over the sight and taking in the image of (Y/N) standing at the door with Kookie, shoes still on and eyes widening with surprise, something easing away in the stiffness in her shoulders. Her name slips past my lips, a shaky exhale, relief seeping into every inch of my skin, thrumming through my veins as I look at her, eyes unwilling to tear away from her; fearing if I did, she'd vanish. My hands hurry to set the tray down, all ideas of pretence, of hiding my concern melting away as I move towards her. My arms wind around her, drawing her close, breaths shaky as I clutch her close, feel her body sink against mine, arms curling around me to hold me close. Her breath hitches as she burrows her head against my shoulder, a slight tremor to her body and the dampness of her drying hair pressing to my face.

"You're really here... you're actually here." I whisper, breath shaking as I lean away to peer at her, heart aching at the vulnerability that shines in her eyes, a tentative curl at her lips.

"She's finally here. It's hard work tracking her down." Kookie murmurs, a wide relieved smile tugging at his lips, looking more content and finally at peace and ease than he had since we'd seen (Y/N) break down, crumbling under the weight of her suffocating reality and past.

Finally he was content and relaxed. He was happy. His hair is similarly damp, curling at the tips as it dries, doe eyes shiny with a proud glossy sheen as he curls behind her, arms winding around her waist, knuckles pressing against my stomach from how closely the three of us press.

"I'm sorry." She mumbles against my shoulder.

My hands tighten, shaking my head as I uncurl an arm to tilt her face up, eyes searching her, making sure she wasn't hurt, she wasn't feeling uncomfortable or stifled to be here.

"You needed time, don't be sorry for needing a breather to process it all." I say quietly.

Her hands tighten for a fraction before they uncurl, eyes peering past me and expression turning pained and longing and when I turn Jin hyung's standing at the doorway, spots of colour high on his cheeks and eyes brimming with tears. His lips part in a breathless, soundless call, feet staggering forward a few steps before (Y/N)'s carefully nudging past me, ducking away and hurrying forward to him, to be encased in his arms that curl around her and shake as he folds her close, head dropping over hers as tears trickle down his cheeks silently.

Their bodies press together tightly, hands wound around each other with a feverish need to be close, her body curving smaller and tucked up against him. It strikes me as I watch him cradle her that Jin hyung represents comfort and safety for her; an easy, even ground where she doesn't stumble, where she feels inexplicably protected. His broader frame and tall embrace and the way he holds her reminds me of the way Habaek protectively holds her. As if he wants to hide her away from the world and shield her from every hurt. He holds her as if he physically wants to block every shred of suffering and pain that tries to reach her.

That and the natural ease and fluidity that the two tease and playfully jostle each other adds to it. He's safe and warm and welcoming in every aspect.

And when he tilts her chin up, it's to brush a searing, tender kiss to her lips; salty with tears and mouth coaxing and gentle, fingers curled around her face as his head tilts to hers, stained cheeks blotchy with their hurt as her hand clutches his wrist, a small, pained sound swallowed whole as his hand slides around her back, tugs and draws her closer as if hating the slightest of distances between them. His touch is unhurried and endlessly patient, coaxing her closer as tears spill down his cheeks, seeping out from eyes that flutter shut and yet it's also consumed with a hurried urgency, mouth bruising and a fierce brand that claims her. Tells her with his touch, tells her in loud volumes despite the silence that he's missed her, that these days without her have been an agony, that it's a distance he never wants to hear or experience again.

"My sweet little flower." He murmurs, voice cracking and agonised.

She murmurs something softly, fingers hesitant as they hover near his wet cheeks but the first touch of sorrow staining the pads of her fingers had that dissolving as she cups his cheeks and wipes the tears free. 

"Don't keep her standing hyung. And don't hog her." I say, voice wavering and betraying how much the relief slams into me when he nods and she turns, eyes brimming with emotion, with something tentatively new despite how familiar the sight of them are.

And his hands curl around her waist as she takes steps back towards us, something unspoken shared between her and Kookie when their eyes meet, his fingers easily lacing with hers as he takes her hand and leads her in.

It's empty.

Tae and Jiminie had gone out at some point and Joon was burying himself in his research, desperate to find a way to help her. Seeing it as it truly was now. Someone who was suffering from an ever-constant trauma, someone who wasn't trapped in a past she wasn't tied to but rather living with lifetimes and centuries on her back; boring down on her and threatening to make her shatter and fall apart.

And Hobi... Hobi's gone. Vanished to the studio as he had been doing for the past few days. Ever since he'd asked to see the playlist; eyes roving over the old, timeless pieces. Trying to see (Y/N)'s past in them. And every time... every time he returned it was with a body on the dangerous brink of burning out. Something he kept brushing off.

It was a dangerous habit he was threatening to acquaint himself with. It was something I knew he was doing to try and understand... to try and deal with the revelation and trying to process it. Trying to figure out how deep (Y/N)'s tie with music ran.

I watch her eyes rove over each corner, simulatenously relieved and disappointed, sinking down she. Jin tugs here towards him, body bracketing hers as he curls his arms tighter, breath shaky as he holds her on his lap. Kookie leans in, body tilting towards the affection for the first time in days, eyes flickering searchingly and silently in her direction. I find my own feet carrying me forward, body seeming to give as my legs fold and I curl close, head resting against Kookie's thigh and hand reaching over to give her a calf a soft squeeze.

"Where are the others?" she asks, voice a small whisper that seems to fill the space, a soft light sound that encompasses the room, fills it with her essence, makes a bit of the heavy atmosphere that had come to settle over the house to lessen slightly.

"Joon's upstairs. But the others are out. Do you want us to get him?" Jin asks quietly, falling silent at her small shake.

"He'll see me when he sees me. I just— I've been processing a lot for these past few days... and I know it's harder for you. You all must have so many questions." 

I shake my head.

"You've had to process more. This was a secret, a truth you've guarded for centuries. And it's now out. You must've been terrified." I say, eyes drawn to the nervous bob of her throat, watching as she stiffens almost imperceptibly.

"Do... do Habaek and Mi-sun resent us for it? Do you?" I press on.

She's silent. Silent long enough that it makes my heart thrum nervously, pulse accelerating and wishing I could take it back almost when she speaks.

"They were the ones who insisted on sharing they were sirens too. They could've taken it as a way to hide their reality but it was... my truth was out and they weren't going to let me be alone through it." She says, her voice softening and warm.

Every word holds love and affection and trust beyond life... and I realise that their bond never will be measurable, it'll never be accurately defined nor will there ever be words or emotions sufficient enough to capture exactly what it is they share.

This is the reason why there's always been this casual yet deeply intimate bond between the three of them, why they could pick up on each other's words and feelings... this is why her silence was never a silence to them. Why their connection was and will always be something incomparable.

"Why was it the three of you...that were turned together?" Kookie hedges carefully.

Her other hand trembles before it's caught by Jin and brought into his protective embrace, thumb rubbing a line across her knuckles.

"We were on the same ship that went down. And we were the ones who cried out to be saved... we were the ones the siren call didn't affect. We were the only ones whose desperation pierced through the fog... we were the only ones who met the criteria." She says, voice taking a bitter, pained tone.

I don't want to ask.

Don't feel like it's news that I can stomach, that we can beat to hear. But we endure together. We'll get through it together.

"Criteria?" a low, confused voice asks from the doorway.

Joon's curious, fearful eyes are hidden by thick rimmed glasses, looking soft and vulnerable and like a giant cuddly bear in the loose wide clothes he wears, sleeves of his cardigan hanging past his hands.

His steps are certain as he walks towards the small cluster we make, head dipping to press a lingering kiss to her temple before he curls beside me, head resting against the side of the couch as he looks at her.

His appearance seems to have slightly startled her but she pushes on.

"Unlike books... sirens aren't chosen or turned because of sin or cursed birth. We're chosen because our lives held less meaning and our want to survive was strong." 

A frown tugs at my lips, the protective hurt and anger flashing across their faces as her head falls forward slightly, seeming to ground herself by the sight of her hands protectively clutched by the two beside her and behind her.

"The Ocean doesn't take mothers or fathers. She doesn't take husbands or wives. She doesn't take the old and She doesn't take children. She takes the ones who'll be mourned less. She takes the ones who don't have a family waiting or relying on them. The ones who aren't yet important enough... whose body won't be searched for as much."

A ringing silence fills the room after her words.

It's sickening and disgusting to think of that whatever entity, whatever force drove this, made this happen... that the ocean that was meant to sustain took instead. That where every life was precious and coveted and a miracle in itself... here the sirens, the ones chosen to be damned to such a fate... that it was because their lives weren't deemed valuable enough.

"The ocean's a bitch."

TAE POV:

Jiminie doesn't say but it's in the heavy drag of his body, it's in the curve of his shoulders when after several rounds of the park don't bring the slightest glimpse of (Y/N). The side of his arm brushes mine, fingers lacing together in a silent chase of comfort for each other as Tannie bounds ahead, tail wagging as he trots.

"We can't rush time. We can't rush her, we'll see when she's ready Min-ah." I say quietly.

He gives a small shrug, the side of his face revealing the twist to his lips and the hard clench to his jaw.

"I know. But I hoped to see her. Just spend time with her." he admits.

My fingers squeeze his tightly.

"Baby steps. If that's what it takes Min-ah, then we take baby steps to get back to where we were." I say as we walk.

"You think we'll go back to what we were?" he asks, head turning to face me.

"Maybe not. We'll reach something better and stronger. We'll have something deeper." I say.

Ahead of us Tannie yips, body rushing back, butting and yapping as he grabs the leash between his teeth, tugging and growling. Trying to coax us forward from our standstill.

But I can't deny that my own heart sinks, that it plummets when hope had dwindled away and when long, unhurried round after round of the park hadn't brought a sight of the hurting siren.

And as we walk back, Tannie seems to sense the silent shift in atmosphere, a low whimper building in the back of his throat as he slows down, soft warm body settling in the space between our feet when we stop at traffic lights.

That sombreness recedes when we enter the house, my eyes flitting to the new addition of shoes next to the rack, ears catching onto the low hum of conversation from the living room, voices growing clearer as we walk in. Jiminie's fingers curl against mine, a tight squeeze as he stiffens beside me, a look of unbelievable wonder and gratitude that pools in his eyes, softens his posture as he hurriedly takes his shoes off.

(Y/N)'s voice seeps out past the open living room door, her words making anger pierce and stab at my skin, a thrum of rage seeping in my veins and making my body feel all at once suffocating and confined.

"The Ocean doesn't take mothers or fathers. She doesn't take husbands or wives. She doesn't take the old and She doesn't take children. She takes the ones who'll be mourned less. She takes the ones who don't have a family waiting or relying on them. The ones who aren't yet important enough... whose body won't be searched for as much." Words bitter and resentful. Accepting of the ocean's will and its decision to take whoever it wanted for the job.

It sounds vicious. A ruthless, cutthroat manipulation. A twisted, distorted attack that saved the three of them but also made them feel as if their lives were ones the world wouldn't mourn, wouldn't grieve for.

It's vile.

And it makes anger gnaw at me from inside, bubbling hot acid that inches up my throat and makes my eyes burn, seared with furious tears.

My body moves forward, hand still laced together with Jimin as I stand at the threshold, hearing the light scampering behind us as Tannie trots forward.

"The ocean's a bitch." I say, voice hard as I walk through, rage making it tremble slightly, eyes drifting over the sight of Jin hyung's broad frame wrapped around hers protectively, to Kookie leaning against his side; posture loosened and relaxed, doe eyes pooled with hurt for her. I watch the unconsciously guarding, protective huddle that Yoongi hyung and Joon hyung make, brown eyes flashing with anger for her.

Her eyes still on me, several expressions flitting across her face, several emotions glinting in her expressive eyes before a surprising tug at her lips makes a bit of that anger dissolve. A small quirk to her lips as her posture softens, easing the heavy atmosphere somehow by the mere sight of it. Hands taken and laced with long fingers.

A small shrug. Dismissively casual.

But I don't want her to dismiss it.

Not a single one of her hurts should be dismissed.

And yet unconsciously she shrugs them off, tries to dislodge them from herself before they settle.

I wonder how many decades its taken to have the look of slight indifference in her eyes, how many decades has it been and perhaps still she doesn't realise that the truth flickers in them anyways; an agony that can't be hidden away.

"Don't let Her hear you say that. She's mother of all and Earth's sustenance." She says but the words and titles drip from her lips with faux concern, tone clearly indicating she believes anything but.

"And what mother is wicked... tortures the very people she creates. What mother spends centuries with a hold on her creation?" Jimin asks, voice trembling.

Her expression turns sombre, pained and hurting.

"It's the price we pay for our greed to live. It's the price for being alive when my family died in the same waters that turned me." voice soft, words haunting.

Joon hyung's hand reaches out to rest on her knee, waiting until her head turns to him, to the touch.

"Living isn't selfish. Surviving isn't selfish. I'm sorry your family were taken from you... from all three of you. I'm not sorry that we know and you're here today." he says gently. Voice earnest and plaintive.

And as if hearing everything, understanding it all, which maybe he does, Tannie's paws nudge at the space between me and Jimin, slipping past and letting out a small boof as he rushes forward. His tail swishes quickly, pace hurrying when he spots (Y/N), paws slipping and sliding on the carpet in his haste before he raises himself back and scampers towards her. He paws at Yoongi hyung's leg, clambering on and yipping, front paws stretching upwards as he tries to climb across before he's scooped up by him with a fond smile and set onto her lap. His nose presses to her laced fingers at her stomach, tongue pressing small licks to her skin and her smile wobbles, fingers untangling to reach for him, rubbing her fingers through his tan and black fur. 

"Tannie..." she murmurs, fingers rubbing at his ears, head tilting forward as he draws her other hand away from Kookie to scoop him up, cradling him as she peppers a soft row of kisses to fur, a shaky muffled sound pressed against him as his paws scrabble for purchase, tail wagging quickly as he presses his nose to her jaw, small licks to skin.

"He's not the only one who's wandered all day trying to see you." I say, that fierce stinging to my eyes returning when her eyes drift to us, heart clenching fiercely when the small fluffy bundle gathered to her chest wriggles and she looks at the two of us.

"I wasn't expecting myself to be here either. But Kookie can be... persuasive." She hedges carefully, eyes fond when she glances at him.

"I'm glad." Jimin says, drawing me forward with him.

I hold my hand out for her, carefully drawing her up when her hand extends out, arms curling around her as my face burrows against her shoulder. I fight the sting of tears and the lump in my throat, focusing on the feel of her pressing close, of her hands curling around me and of her breaths soft and light as she holds me and is held. I focus on the feeling and realisation that she's finally here, no longer someone I search for in photographs, no longer someone who I've been trying to reach for from the other end of a camera lens. It's her.

In the flesh and blood. Warm and curving towards me, a small sniffle when my hands tighten imperceptibly, her body bracketed by another pair of arms holding her, my head rising to see trembling plump lips press to her nape and a head tilts to rest against hers.

"We don't care that you're a siren. We just care for (Y/N). And we care and love her despite everything." Jimin murmurs.

Her body caves forward, head ducking to press against my shoulder, her hand dropping from my shoulder to clutch at his intertwined fingers around her.

"I think... I think the only good thing about being a siren is that though it took centuries, I found seven people to live for."

My heart tears.

And I can't help but hear Habaek's voice ring in my head, mingling with Mi-sun's. I couldn't forget as I looked at her that she thought we were worth living for and she was willing to sacrifice her chance of freedom, right when she was at the end of it all, to save our lives.

I couldn't forget that she'd taken on a life sentence for us.

She'd given up the chance of getting to live normally for us.

She'd given up with the knowledge that it would've been avoidable once we aged and she didn't.

And still she'd done it.

She hadn't hesitated to make the decision.

"I think you've done plenty of good in these centuries and you've written history over and over and left endless marks of your beautiful touch behind." I murmur.

She leans back a bit. 

Eyes blinking in surprise.

"What do you mean?" voice sounding hesitant.

My lips curve up, eyes flitting past her to look at Kookie.

"Well it means my dear S~ that you ought to have thought of a name that wasn't a throwback to one of the legendary scorers of arcade games. You also should have performed with a ribbon other than lilac maybe." I whisper, voice hushed.

But my lips twitch when a scandalised 'hey' rings out and Kookie's face indignant and huffy appears in my line of sight. Her head turning to blink at him. 

"You're a pro gamer? Oh... it's so on now!" he says, brows furrowed as he tries to glare, frustration melting away at whatever he sees on her face, resigned as his shoulders slump.

"I will beat that score. Pro or not." He ends up saying.

It's a messy huddle of the three of us curled around her, shaky giggles merging with an overwhelming feeling of relief as I continue to hold her.

And after an eon, an infinity that stretched over days for us, it finally feels like a new normal.

Not unchanged or altered. But blooming stronger.

(Y/N) POV:

"I won't sell out tips Tae. I know you'll tell Kookie." I say with a wry smile, leaning against the wall as I wait for Kookie to emerge from his room, he'd gone in to get something.

Tae looks affronted, eyes wide as he stares at me.

"And you don't think I'd want them for personal gain? I visit arcades too!" he protests, the natural fluid honeyed warmth of his voice making my posture relax further, eyes drifting over him.

"Oh I don't doubt it. Just that you'll sell out for the right price." I retort, pushing myself away off the wall as I watch him advance, something in his eyes making my heart flutter, gait slow and unhurried, a lazy ambling that's in every way dangerous and thrilling.

"Oh but I'd also keep the secrets for the right price." He whispers, eyes dancing with mischief.

I shake my head, moving to get to the stairs, ears distantly catching the sound of the door opening.

It's one of the last sounds I manage to focus on, ears going numb even as Tae's lips continue to move, teasing gaze pinned on me as he walks forward towards me, hand reaching out for something to steady myself on when my body staggers backwards at the familiar agony splintering across my spine. I don't know if the cry tears out my throat but I feel my lips move, part, flames licking at my skin and bones crackling at the heat that sears them, head spinning with how my body is swamped with the anguish that tears through my body. My body sags, crumpling, foot slipping off the edge of the stairs as it careens backwards; alarm and shock flashing across Tae's face, blurry slightly from how my vision spins.

The call burns its mark across my body, nerve cells set alight with the blazing force of it all, heat seeming to seep off my skin in heavy waves, pain jabbing at every inch of skin, blades piercing through flesh and embedding themselves hilt-deep as the call begins to strengthen.

But my body doesn't fall, doesn't crumple backwards even as I feel myself losing connection with the railing I'd blindly thrown my hand out for, ground slipping away as my foot slips off the stairs. A hand steadies me, fingers splayed across the base of my back and the hard line of a body pressed and slotted up against mine from behind. My vision blurs in and out of focus, pain splintering through my body and lips parted in a silent cry that never reaches my ears, fingers trembling and body shaking from the agony.

I feel another pair of hands join, feel myself being steadied and force my eyes open to see Tae's face stricken and horrified, lips moving noiselessly as he holds me, body bracketed by another.

And my eyes fight to stay open, to focus past the blurriness that grows and the darkness that creeps into the corner of my vision. Feel my body arch as a pulse of pain, acid hot curls around my stomach, vision blacking as I feel my control over my body slip away.

And like the detonation of a ticking time bomb, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, a dull distant buzz that's the last sensation I register beyond the pain before my body gives up.

(THERE YOU GO!! SOMEHOW I WAS AFRAID OF INSPIRATION SLIPPING AWAY WHEN I OPENED UP THE DOCUMENT TO WRITE... BUT IT DIDN'T! AND WE HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER... ENDING ON THIS PAINFUL NOTE! I THINK THAT SEEING AND KNOWING THAT THIS IS HOW THE OCEAN'S CALL AFFECTS HER... THAT THIS IS HOW IT HURTS HER... IT'LL BE ANOTHER WAKEUP CALL AND ANOTHER REALISATION SINKING IN. WHAT I'VE GOT PLANNED NEXT IS SO ANGSTY IN AN EMOTIONAL WAY THAT I TEARED UP THINKING ABOUT IT... SO CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE THAT TOO! HOW WAS EVERYONE'S INTERACTION WITH HER?? AND TANNIE- LOVE OF HER LIFE! LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS... HOPE YOU ENJOYED, TAKE CARE AND STAY SAFE!)

QUESTION... pick a member who you think has had the MOST agony at being parted from baby siren and hurting the most? And why them? (Kinda not fair cos they've all hurt to such painful degrees and no one pain is more than the other but.... It'll influence a huge decision!)

Mine is... I don't want to influence anyone but personally... Kookie, Jin or Yoongi.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3