Everything's Prettier Underwater

Chapter 7: A Siren's Song

Seungmin was lazily dipping his feet in the water, watching birds fly in the early morning sky. It was at those moments, when most people were still waking up, that nature was at its prettiest. No sounds could be heard, except the soft lapping of the waves against the hull of his boat and the calls of the seagulls, hunting for their breakfast. The wind swept his pink locks out of his eyes as the sky gradually lost its yellowish tint, becoming bluer by the minute.

This bubble of peace that formed and wrapped itself around Seungmin made him feel as if he was floating, out of space and time, in a place just for him. Subconsciously, a small hum left his lips. Upon realizing how good it felt to exteriorize his inner happiness, he let the sounds tumble out of his lips, louder this time, words forming at the tip of his tongue.

He ended up singing an old song that his mom used to listen to a lot when he was little. She would take him to the beach and lay down on the sand, her little radio standing next to her with that song on repeat. It was some kind of old folk song, remixed with a few synths and bass to make it trendier. However, Seungmin had always preferred the simpler version, the one with the trot feel. His voice jumped from a high pitch to a low register, trembling with vibratos and extending the syllables. Everyone had always told him that he was a naturally talented singer, and that if he had wanted to, he could've become an idol. However, Seungmin had always scoffed at those comments and devoted himself further to his studies, knowing exactly what he wanted to do later on.

Still, his love of science never stopped him from singing from time to time, mostly to himself in his kitchen at night, or during a long drive down the coast. It was never something planned, like a karaoke or anything like that. Singing always came subconsciously to him, whenever he felt that the moment and atmosphere were right. Today, the perfect conditions were reunited and so, his voice echoed, clear and light over the waves, the wind stealing the notes and making them drift over the ocean as the currents rocked his ship slowly.

Closing his eyes to appreciate this little "me time" better, the dandy-boy let his muscles relax under the sea breeze, his yellow bandana and the collar of his white polo flapping around his throat. The pant legs of his black trousers were bunched up around his knees, since he hadn't taken the time to change himself into his swimming suit just yet. Afterall, he had a little surprise for the merboys and that required for them to hang around the boat for a bit.

The melody kept flowing from his lips while his mind drifted to memories of yesterday, when he had gotten to visit the pod's nesting place. Once the boys had finished their game of "catch the crab shell", they'd given Seungmin a tour of the reef around their nest. There had been a bushy kelp forest, where Jeongin had shown him the herds of seahorses that inhabited it. Seeing the younger be almost submerged by the small animals, trying to attach themselves to his fingers and hair, had forced Seungmin to hold in all sorts of cooing and other soft noises. He had just melted at the sweet picture.

Right after, Hyunjin had taken him by the hand and had dragged him to a rockier spot behind the algae bed, where Felix and Changbin had been laying on the sand, talking to a colony of colorful starfishes. Seeing the human arrive, Felix had waved him over enthusiastically and very seriously started presenting the different starfishes to Seungmin, with their names and some commentaries on their personalities and different diets. The scientist had been fascinated seeing how the echinoderms responded to the freckled mer's touch, lifting their arms and crawling ever so slowly towards him. A few of them had even started climbing over Felix's arms, which he had helped them do faster with a small push and a giggle.

A very attentive Seungmin had noticed how Changbin looked at Felix in that moment, like a boy desperately in love, and had started questioning what types of relations existed in the pod. However, before he'd been able to truly ponder on the question, Chan had sneaked up behind him, prodding his leg with his giant black tail, making Seungmin jump up and screech quite unflatteringly. Receiving a few laughs from the others and an apology from the leader, Chan had then told him that it was time for him to go since they didn't know how much longer he would be able to breath underwater. Checking his air tank level, Seungmin had had to agree to put an end to the dive if he wanted to have enough oxygen to make it back to his boat.