Ocean of Tears [ON HIATUS]

Chapter 3

Jimin hides behind his mother as a group of children swims pass him. He had always been a shy boy and interacting with other children has been hard to approach. As his mother continued to chat with the other parents, Jimin wraps his short arms around her tail. He was only three years old and still liked to be babied.

When Jimin looked back to see what the other kids were doing, he see a boy staring at him. That boy was Hoseok.

Jimin envied him; he wished he could have lots of friends like him. Hoseok is older by one year, and he has tried to approach Jimin multiple times.

Like right now, Hoseok swims over to Jimin.

"Jimin, come play," he smiles and Jimin presses his face into his mother, already bashful.

"Hi, Hoseok," Jimin's mom greets the boy. She looks at her child and chuckles. "Oh, Jimin. Why don't you go play with Hoseok? It'll be fun."

Jimin shakes his head desperately but his mom gently pushes him towards the other boy.

Hoseok takes his hands and just like that, they're off. Jimin watched his mother wave at him as she gets farther and farther.

He thought that he was going to meet Hoseok's friends but is confused when they swam past them. They stared at Hoseok and Jimin, wondering where they were headed.

"I want it to be just you and me today," Hoseok said with his signature smile. Jimin looked away bashfully, his pink hair covering his eyes.

Even though his mother had always warned him to stay away from land, Jimin didn't protest when Hoseok takes him to a beach.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Hoseok holds a finger up to Jimin's lips. "I like the dry sand here more than the one in the ocean."

He shows Jimin the grainy sand, sometimes molding it into something with water. Jimin tried to do the same, but his hands couldn't mold as well as his friend's.

It was the first time Jimin had been out of the water. Since it was a memorable moment, Hoseok decided to do something before they left.

In the sand, Hoseok's finger prints something. Jimin looks over and sees the writing.

'Jimin+Hoseok'

~~

Since then, Jimin is accompanied by Hoseok for most of the days. He even met his friends as well, also making new ones.

One day, he befriends a strong, red tailed boy with hair that is a really dark shade of brown; he could passed for having black hair. His name is Taehyung, and he's always kind towards Jimin. They were also the same age, so that made it easier to converse with him. Hoseok was more than happy to become his friend too, his green and white ombré tail moving excitedly.

Jimin liked Taehyung, and they became best friends.

~~

Years passed, they are adolescents, and Jimin noticed how upset Hoseok had been. No, not upset, more like tired and sad.

When he approached him with the question, "Why are you sad?" Hoseok only shunned him. That only worried Jimin more; it was so out of Hoseok's character.

Jimin kept pushing it and Hoseok kept ignoring it until the two had had enough. They broke out into an argument, probably their first real one, excluding the childish ones they had as children.

"It's none of your business!" Hoseok exclaims, pushing Jimin away. That only flares the pink haired merman more.

"It is! I'm your friend! It's my business to care about you," he yells, panting afterwards. He grabs the latter's arm, only to be shaken off. Hoseok's back faced him, the quietness surrounding them.