Everything's Prettier Underwater

Chapter 4: Dangerous Encounters

The man at the front of the group, the one that had just talked, was very obviously the leader. He had an intimidating aura that wasn't helped by the smoldering look that he was sending everyone on the boat. He was very pale, and his curly hair was so light that it looked more white than blonde. The inky black tattoos swirling up his arms shoulders and pecs were a big contrast in color, making him look like a black and white drawing of some water prince. 

His tail kept the same pattern of black and white, since he was sporting an orca tail, muscled, slick and powerful. A plethora of scars – new and old – crossed his body, showing that he was a fighter. The size of his biceps, shoulders and abs also helped Seungmin make that assumption, as he couldn't help but admire the man. The last striking trait that completed the picture of this powerful creature was his eyes: he had a striking case of heterochromia, making his left eye a veiled light blue (almost white) color, while his right eye was so dark that it seemed black.

A very big weapon was hanging by his hip menacingly. It had the shape of a sword but was made out of what seemed to be tachylyte – underwater volcanic glass – instead of metal. The dark-blue glassy surface was wrapped in kelp at the base, to form a comfortable handle. The sides were sharp, the care put into the maintenance of the weapon being more than obvious.

The pink-haired biologist gulped, imagining just how easily that blade would pierce through his body. His earlier encounter with Jisung's knife played back in his mind, one hand going subconsciously to rub his neck.

To distract himself from the death glare that was currently pinning his body on the spot, he decided to observe the other two newcomers, wanting to evaluate just who exactly he was up against.

The boy on the right side of the leader was bulky. His scaly tail was a beautiful iridescent dark-purple color. It shined prettily in the sunlight and was just as muscular and impressive as his enormous biceps. To complete his look, he had intimidating half-lidded purple eyes, that never left the human.

The glare that he was sending from under his black fringe was downright terrifying, and Seungmin shivered, ill-at-ease. Another obvious sign that was screaming at any onlooker to not trifle with that man was the necklace resting on the merboy's well-defined chest, made up of a couple of shark teeth. The biologist had no question that those teeth served as trophies, showing off the boy's hunting abilities.

On the left side of the leader stood a slightly leaner boy, although he was just as fit as the others. His features were sharp, with a pointy nose and slender almond shaped brown eyes, hiding under half-pushed back auburn hair. If this boy was on land, he would've easily have been a model, with that slightly haughty look and those smirking pink lips. Except that, when you combined that look with the golden scaled tail that moved purposefully to keep him afloat, and especially with its blood red-tipped fins, the haughtiness quickly changed into something much more predatory. Even the haphazardly cut fishing net that was draped around his right hip completed the murderous aesthetic that the mer had going on.

With a gulp, Seungmin realized that if those new mers did not like him, there was nothing stopping them from turning him into crab food.

"Boys, I think you have some explaining to do" hissed the leader, eyes never leaving Seungmin.

"Why even bother explaining? This human saw us, we have to drown him now" the golden-tailed one said nonchalantly, his tongue darting over his pointy fangs in an unnerving way.

"No! There will be no drowning today Minho" Jeongin said firmly, one hand holding the biologist's leg possessively.

Through all of this terrifying encounter, the only thing that Seungmin's brain could register was the fact that the younger didn't use any honorifics when addressing his elders. It might have been because their hierarchical system didn't need them; and this very useless reflection from Seungmin's logic side might have existed because he needed a distraction from the fact that he had a very real chance of being eaten – or drowned –in the next few minutes.