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10 years ago
He was a normal seven-year-old boy and as a seven-year-old, all life was nothing but toy cars and building blocks. Okay, and maybe the ice cream truck that would pass by his house every day at exactly 2:30 in the afternoon too, but that's all about it.
Hyunjin was like any other seven-year-old boys, he was content with his towering collection of hot wheels cars and nerf guns ― he shouldn't even be allowed of having one in that age but his puppy-dog-eyes superpower had never been defeated before.
Because his brother has gone to a boarding school for his middle school years, the boy was spoiled to death. He was an angel to everyone he has met, he was well behaved and extremely good looking. To sum it up, everybody loved the kid.
And Hyunjin loved the sea as much as everyone loved him, maybe more. The sea was beautiful to him, it had always been that way ever since he visited his first beach back when he was four.
He loved how the soft turquoise colour of the water glimmered under the sunlight, like a wide blanket covering the sea life underneath it. He loved how smooth the sand felt under his feet when he would curl his toes and run along it. He loved the how the warm yellow colour of the sand contrasts with the cooler, more bright hue of the sea, creating an amazing balance between the warm and the cool that made it seem... calming.
Hyunjin had begged his parents to move into a house by the sea. A house where he could wake up to the sounds of the crashing waves every morning and the seagulls flying by his window every now and then.
During this point of time in his life, Hyunjin had learned to love beautiful things.
Every evening, just before the sun sets, the seven-year-old would waddle across the street to where the beach was and watched the source of light on earth slowly dip under the horizon with admiration in his eyes. Sometimes, he would bring his toys with him and watch the sunset together on the sand.
On his way back home, he would pick up small seashells and he would always pocket them, wishing on each and every one of the shells. He placed them on top of his desk and would look at them one by one before he went to sleep.
The sea was where he swam for the first time. Hyunjin loved the feeling of when the water moved along his body, its cool temperature seeping through his skin and he loved how he could feel as if he was flying.
Swimming was beautiful to him.
But being seven also meant the first year of his school life.
His shirt was a little too big for him, so were his pants, and shoes, but his mum said that he was growing up quickly so he'd soon get out of those very soon.
Every morning, he walked along the seashore and breathed in the fresh sea air. There wasn't a day where he wasn't happy. In school, he had learned about the ABC's, 123s, and the colours of the rainbow. He liked the colour blue most ― the colour of the water spread in front of his house.
6 years ago
Time passed and the young Hyunjin grew. He was now 11 and was still enjoying school life to the fullest. He had great friends and even though they don't share the amount of love he has for the ocean, they still had the best primary school years.
During primary school, he had discovered Disney.
Oh and what a wonderful world Disney was.
He first watched a Disney back in his second year, it was titled 'Toy Story' and it was like love at first sight. From then on, slowly, he began to watch every single Disney movie he could find.
Eventually, he discovered the Little Mermaid.
Jung Jaerin was the girl who introduced him to it. She noticed his love for the ocean when nobody else did and so, she had the thought that maybe introducing him to her favourite movie would be a good move.
And Hyunjin fell in love.
Hyunjin had learned to love beautiful things, and to him, the Little Mermaid was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. The way the vibrant colours of the animations seemed to make the film come alive, the singing, the amount of emotion the movie puts through ― Hyunjin just loved it.
As an eleven-year-old, he shouldn't even be thinking much about first loves and relationships but he couldn't help it.
He wanted someone like Ariel. Someone who would give up something so so precious just to be with him. Someone who cares a lot about him, who would be there by his side through thick and thin. Someone who is ambitious, someone who had very big dreams to chase.
Ariel didn't know Eric was a prince and Hyunjin didn't want someone who viewed him for only what he could be seen as.
And that he silently wished for his first kiss to be on a rowboat, down a calm river, under the moonlight.
All those fitted Jung Jaerin.
Hyunjin felt his heart blossoming every time Jung Jaerin smiled his way. She was a bright and cheerful girl, she dreamt of being a scientist and she was confident.
Most importantly, she shared his love for oceans.
Hyunjin would invite her to the beach across his house nearly every evening, and nearly every evening, she would come along with him.
Day by day, Hyunjin felt his feelings grow for Jung Jaerin. Day by day, Jung Jaerin looked more and more beautiful to him.
It wasn't love, Hyunjin was still too young to feel what love was like, but the same tugging feeling he had felt in his heart whenever he saw Jung Jaerin kept on coming back to him and it slowly hit him―he had his first crush.
But, it was called a crush for a reason.
It wasn't love, that's why it's called a crush. It's called a crush because of how it felt, like somewhere inside of you, you felt yourself being scrunched into a ball, your hopes breaking away. Crushed.
And that's what Jung Jaerin had done to Hyunjin.
False hope? Maybe? That's what Hyunjin thought she did. She led him on, made it seem that perhaps she felt the same way as the boy.
But of course, she liked his step-brother―Minhyunbe―tter.
The Hwangs were both extremely handsome and good looking, but hearing that Jung Jaerin only got close to him to know more about Minhyun.
He was shaken, broken and crushed to pieces.
He felt used.
He felt like, his Ariel had swam away from him.
That she had gone back under the sea, out to the unknown.
Despite all the heartbreak he had to go through at eleven, he still had hope that someday, his Ariel will come back to him.
Maybe, his Ariel was a different person.
Maybe his Ariel wasn't Jung Jaerin anymore.
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