The Tail Of Taekook

5 - A Slight Mishap

Taehyung hasn't even finished looking round my room when my mother calls us into the kitchen, which serves as our entrance hall as well. It's like a narrow corridor, essentially.

"Boys, someone's here to see you," she calls out, and we share a confused glance before we make our way towards her, curious expressions in our faces. Our bafflement only increases when we're faced with two strangers. I have nothing against them, at all, but I just have no idea who they are.

It's a pair of mermen, one with a dark red tail, and the other with a sort of light pink tail. On seeing us, the latter smiles warmly, and the former offers a hand for us to shake. We ignore it, as we've never seen a custom like it before, and he sighs, a disappointed expression crossing over his face like a shadow, placing it awkwardly by his side.

"Hi, I bet this is quite confusing, but we've been asked to keep an eye on the two of you," Mr Pink Tail says calmly. "The authorities are, of course, concerned that the new member of our society, a Kim Taehyung, which I assume is you," he adds politely, gesturing towards Tae, who nods awkwardly, "won't be properly introduced to our social structure and rules by his mate."

Handshake Dude nods, a slightly grave look passing over his features. "Don't take this as a personal insult," he puts in, "but we had no power over this decision, and we don't really get why they're so fussed about something like this. I'm sure you're great people, it just doesn't make sense. We're to accompany you to the surface on siren duty, which puts us in a team of six all together. We were a team of four before."

I nod in understanding. "What are your names?" I ask curiously, and Pink Tail beams again.
"I'm Kim Seokjin, and this is my mate, Kim Namjoon," he replies cheerfully, gesturing towards the guy next to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"I'm Jeon Jungkook, and you already know Taehyung's name," I say, completing a formality that's existed since humans started to actually develop languages, thousands of years ago. The two of them smile at us.

"You'll be working with another pair, called Min Yoongi and Jung H-"
"We've met them," Taehyung interrupts suddenly, his eyes going purple with excitement, and I take his hand, squeezing it once to tell him to calm down a little. "Sorry," he adds, deflating slightly, and they laugh a little, not in a cruel way however. As if they've seen that sort of behaviour before and have got used to it.

"It's alright, we've got a friend who's the same. He'll be so disappointed that he can't come with us, as he's not got a mate yet. They haven't appeared yet. His tail is a sort of sandy colour, if that makes sense," Jin explains, "his name is Park Jimin. He'd want to meet you, I would think. He's about your age, Taehyung, maybe a few months older."

Tae nods in understanding, a sympathetic expression appearing on his face. "Kookie had to wait ten years for me, and his tail was grey until today, so tell Jimin that his patience will work out in the end. I'm sure he'll end up with someone that'll make him happy, and he can join our group then."

Namjoon grins, for the first time, nodding, and I notice that he has dimples. Something random but good to know, I guess. "We'll visit in two days and we'll show you how it all works," he tells us, his tone sort of professional, his posture correct and mature. He then slumps back to his normal posture and flashes a normal smile at us. "I'll bring the others tomorrow, after we get off of post duty," he adds on, "Jimin included. I think he'll be happy to hang out with someone new."

"We'll be happy to see you," I reply for Tae and I, and the couple beam one more time before allowing themselves to be seen out of the seaweed door by my mother, who looks faintly lost but doesn't seem to mind overmuch.

Dinner is interesting, as we often eat things like small shellfish and sea cucumbers, as well as some species of seaweed, and Taehyung's not used to eating these sorts of things. Occasionally, my mother will mix things together to create the closest thing to a bread mix possible underwater, though that's not often used.