Under the Sea | Minsung

ψTwenty-Nineψ

Jeongin cocked his head to the side as he glared down the disappointed Minho. Disappointed, at himself to be specific. He drooped against the couch, the general deflation and rounded shoulders he sported only echoing the strong notion of the overwhelming want to apologize to Jisung at every aching second and do anything, absolutely anything and everything spanning from the beginning of this universe until when time ceases to exist to make it all up to him. To scoop him up in his arms. To tell him that it would be alright. To take him back to his home, take him back to the ocean.

The younger scoffed as he folded his arms over his chest, offering no sense of comfort in his words and no hint of relief from Felix and Chan watching from their spots in the room. On the contrary, the latter seemed to actually be afraid of Jeongin as he glowered, "I feel no sympathy for you. This is something you brought on yourself after I continuously warned you not to."

"I want to help him," The older whispered under his breath. Those words sounded more as a trance, or a chant of an idea, rather than a coherent thought. But at that time, maybe that's all it was. A reminder that there was a small bit of time left, and he, more than anyone else, he needed to do something in that time. The exhibit wasn't going to be opening until the end of the month. They had until the end of the month. He tried to convince himself, I can help him in that time.

"You turned in the research. Minho, if you wanted to help him then this should have been ended weeks ago!"

"There's time. I can still do something."

Felix piped up from his spot at the chair he absconded from the table, directing his question to Chan resting against the wall, "How easy would it be to break him out of the aquarium?"

"Truthfully?" The manager thought for a few seconds, delving into his own mind and calculated probability on probability of which solution is easiest, what route is the best. He crossed his arms over his chest, finally concluding as he address the blonde, "Not that easy, but it can be done. I don't know if it's a good ide—"

Jeongin interjected with a snap, "You don't get a say in this, you're as bad as your boss."

"I would appreciate if you didn't cut me off," Chan told as he glared at the younger, a true annoyance being exchanged between the two of them, one that was strong enough to make even the tallest of mountains tremble in fear and the swiftest of rivers run away. That scowl they stared was a strong one, and it told the only thing those two had in common besides the situation was that they suddenly shared a mutual hatred for the other. That connection of irritation, albeit brief, spoke enough of coming destruction from ebbing tides. Chan remitted, "Before Edgy here cut me off, I was going to say I dont know if it's a good idea but we could try. I'm here to help."

"Then why did you let your boss keep him for as long as he did. All of this could have been avoided."

"I have no control over what our boss does. If we're going to blame people, then you can go as far back as the people who brought him to us."

"Everyone involved in this equation was rotten."

"And you being spiteful to the past is stopping us from talking about what actually matters. If you want to help, then help now."

Jeongin whipped around to Minho for assistance, the latter blatantly unaware of their bickering match as he gaped vacantly at his flexing hands pressed against his knees. He was off exploring his own world of possibilities of how to help Jisung, how to save him, how to get him home, to list a few of those finer things his mind drifted to while they were going back and forth. When Minho noticed that he was being stared at, the others expectant from an answer from him, he nodded and stood from the couch all the while pretending he was paying attention to their argument while he was secretly trying to ease his own guilty conscious, "We can still do something. I need to get him out of there."

"You do realize by doing this, you are actually committing a federal offense?" Felix's eyes narrowed as he scanned over the older, not eyes that formed into a deliberate and harsh scowl or growl, but simply eyes that observed and checked to ensure his concern was not for no reason whatsoever. Simply, Minho noted that he looked worried. His roommate conferred, "Your reputation as a scientist is at stake if anyone finds out."

"I have three options. I either let him be miserable in a cage his entire life and risk exposing the safety of an entire species, I find a way to get him out of the situation and lose my chances of being a scientist, or... Or I deem him unsafe to handle and they euthanize a beautiful person as quickly and as painlessly as possible," Minho fumed back at him, the ache in his chest that was present earlier beginning to pound again at his ribcage and wish to be released. His throat locked on his words, as I'd he was choking on the reality of those words, the reality of this situation, and whatever he would say simply would not be enough. It would never be enough. The others went quiet.

He felt a pressure build in his eyes, in his ears, his normally clear vision obscured by droplets of rain he dammed up and never let go of. Not now. Those tears, he breathed to calm his nerves and let them fall away, never to spill, as he finalized, "I don't know about you, but one of those options are a lot more desirable than the other two. There's still time."

And still, from it's previous tense atmosphere that silence let itself develop between them. It grew and grew, like veins spreading over their heads from the rooted Minho, those once unwavering and careless branches being drained of their purpose and replaced with a new ivy, a new thought. Jisung mattered. He mattered so much, and Minho had never chose to acknowledged just how damn important that "creature", was to him.

Jeongin's eyes widened, "You love him."

"Yeah," The older nodded, head dropping down to the carpeted floors as a soft smile enveloped his face, "I do."

"A wise man once said, 'Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind'," Felix sighed as he sat back in his seat, "And, well, I've seen people into weirder things on the internet."

"It's not like that," Minho immediately shut his friend down, the subtlest of a heat building on the tips of his ears. He tried to wipe it away, being as careful about the motion as he could with no avail, that heat was not one that could easily be wiped away and rid of. Somehow, it only reminded him of Jisung, it only brought the strongest of a pang to his chest. He had the smallest idea to not think of him so much, if he didn't want to be reminded of the heartbreak, but forced himself to live through it. Whatever the merman was experiencing right now, it had to be worse.

Chan pressed off the wall, "What do we need to do?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet," Minho barely acknowledged him as he thought, "But we have time. Let me come up with something to get him out of there."

"Let's get Seungmin in on this. He's been looking to rebel against our boss."

"I'm fine with having him help us," Jeongin nodded. As if the comment was pointed at a certain someone in the room, he shot a quick glance in their general direction. A glance that definitely did not go unnoticed, but wasn't commented further on or pursued with snarky comment in return to that glance.

Felix slightly raised his hand, "If we need transportation to be sneaky with, I can ask Changbin to drive us around. Just say the word."

"Thank you," Minho breathed the gentle comment. The tiniest hints of a smile pulled up at his lips.

Jisung, hang on a little bit longer.

∴∷∵