The first time he saw her, he was a young boy running along the beach playing in the water and sand and overall trying to cause mischief for his old man Mundok.

It was then that he decided he'd go hide behind some boulders in the cove so that he could jump out and scare gramps when he came looking for him, and so he raced across the sand before settling down to hide when he heard a sudden splash behind him and whipped his head around, only to see a flash of red before it was gone

Interest now piqued, he quietly edged over to the rock where he saw the slip of red disappear behind.

And so, with the determined curiosity only a child could hold, he slowly climbed the rock. He nearly fell off and into the water though when he saw a small girl, who couldn't have been more than a few years younger than him hunched down and peaking around her hiding spot, watching where he had just been.

Her face unsure –nervous even –but most of all curious.

What had nearly sent Hak toppling over into the water however was the fact that in the shallows of the cove he could see that her slender torso smoothly merged into a bright tail with scales a beautiful mix of crimson, scarlet and orange with flecks of gold all scattered in-between.

It was like looking at a living sunrise. Like dawn herself had been personified.

Unfortunately, even as he kept his balance he couldn't keep in the small gasp that escaped his lips causing the girl to look up suddenly as see him leering above her.

She yelped in shock, all curiosity now wiped clear from her features and replaced with fear as she darted to get away.

Not wanted her to leave, he yelped and called out to her to wait, that her wasn't going to hurt her and apologising for spying on her while still being his pedantic self and adding that technically she had been spying on him first.

That last bit seemed to reach her, and she hesitated at the edge of the cove, now a good 10 feet away. Far enough that if he were to try anything or if she decided he was a danger, she'd be long gone before he even had the chance to chase after her but close enough to hear him.

As he continued to apologise, holding his hands in the air in surrender to show her he meant no harm, she seemed to argue with herself for a moment before cautiously inching closer.

Relieved that it looked like she wasn't going to leave just yet, he sighed and went to lean forward on an arm to the side of the rock he was on, only to find that he was closer to its edge than he had first thought.

Missing completely, he fell into the water with a yelp and a splash much to his own disgruntlement, yet when he surfaced, he was greeted to the most musical sound he had ever heard.

The girl was laughing at him. He couldn't explain it. How a laugh could be so melodic, but hers was and it was entrancing, and it brought a boyish grin to his own face to see that his blunder had made her happy.

Once she finished her giggling, she smiled and swam over to him, fear now gone, as she went to see if he was ok.

At first things were tentative, as he wasn't sure if they spoke the same language or how well they could communicate, but soon those worries were gone as she started asking him all sorts of questions.

Why did he wear feathers on his head? Where was he from? How old was he? Did he know his eyes were the colour of an ocean storm?

Her rekindled curiosity warmed him, and he obliged all he questions, asking some of his own when he could get a word in. About where she came from and what her home was like. What did she do for fun and all sorts of things.

They talked for a while in the shallows together, Hak sitting on a smaller submerged rock, now resigned to being wet as he and the girl talked eye to eye.

Minutes however, quickly turned to hours and by the time it was sunset, Hak had to go, Gramps already calling for him. He didn't want anyone else to find his new friend for some reason, and neither did she seem keen to meet any other new people.

Something about her not supposed to have come here in the first place or something like that. So, reluctantly, they said their goodbyes.

Before she left however, he caught her hand and stopped her, realising he had never even gotten her name for all the questions they had asked each other.

Would he ever even get the chance to see her again?

She seemed surprised at first as she looked down at the hand now holding hers, as if it was something entirely strange to see, before calmly, she swam back over to him told him that her name was Yona and asked for his name in return.

When he gave her his name, she smiled brightly before saying goodbye again and disappearing beneath the waves, the colours of her tail practically glowing in the last few rays of sunlight.

As he watched her go, he noticed something reflecting warmly in the water and crouched down to investigate. Picking up the small object and bringing it up to the light, he marveled at his new-found treasure as a perfect crimson scale as red as dawn and smooth as pearl glinted back at him.

A gift to remember her by, he supposed.

Carefully, stashing his treasure away in his shirt pocket, he began to make his way back to the open beach where gramps was surely still waiting for him, his temper now run thin and eager to box his ears if he wasn't careful.

Oh well, he thought. Facing Mundok's wrath was worth it after the day he just had.

When he got back home, Hak wasted no time in darting upstairs to his room and closing the door before carefully grabbing a length of leather cord from his desk and securing it around the scale and tying it around his neck.

He made up his mind there and then as a young boy, that he would wear that scale and never take it off until he found that girl again and could return it to her. And until that day, he would wear this scale and remember the girl who shone like the dawn.

And so, days turned into weeks and weeks to months. Everyday Hak would go back down to that same cove and look for any signs of red hiding behind boulders, only to find nothing.

Eventually as the years rolled by, he was convinced that he had imagined the whole thing as a kid. That the scale was simply that of some fish he had found and the result of letting his childhood imagination run wild.

Still, made up memories or not, he never could bring himself to part with the trinket or take it off. So instead he simply resigned himself to wearing under his shirt.

{*****}

Some years later, now a young adult, Hak was helping Kija drag a drunk Jaeha back to their flat before the idiot decided it was a good idea to hitch hike in the middle of no where.

Once Jaeha decided he'd rather just take a nap in the middle of the street Hak was just about ready to dump his friend and let the idiot deal with the consequences. So, to prevent any death either at the hands of a car or at the hands of Hak, Kija simply told him he'd take care of it and that he could catch up with them later.

Hak only hesitated a moment before Jaeha started blabbering nonsense again and he simply pat the man on the back, wished him luck and headed off on his own leaving Kija to babysit his brother's drunk ass for the night.

He liked them both well enough but between those two and their two other brothers, never mind how different all their personalities were, they could be downright exhausting at times.

How they were all related, he'd never know.

Scratch that.

He knew they were all adoptive brothers so no real blood ties. The real question was how in the hell was Zeno the oldest? That was one mystery they'd never solve. The boy was a full-grown adult, yet he looked and sounded like a 17-year-old with the happy go lucky personality of a quarter of his age.

Either way it didn't really matter he guessed, and so he put thoughts of his flatmates behind him and simply headed down towards the beach.

It was a full moon out that night so Hak didn't need to turn on his phone's flashlight to see just fine as he took off his shoes and walked along the wet sand at the edge of where the low tide lapped at his feet.

He often came down to this part of the beach, down towards that little cove hidden around the corner of the cliff sides to sit and relax amongst the rockpools and the shallows.

Had done so since he was a kid.

As his thoughts drifted to past adventures there, he pulled out the pendant that he still wore under his shirt all those years later.

It had been a long time since he came to terms with the reality that that girl he remembered was just a childhood fantasy adventure. Still, mermaid scale or fish scale, he never could quite bring himself to part with it, its iridescent form still catching any form of light and seemingly igniting into a miniature flame. It was beautiful and for some reason gave him comfort in some unseen way, especially when resting close to his heart.

While lost in these thoughts he had made it all the way over to his favourite sitting rock, which at low tide, was now just far enough out of the water to dip his feet in without having to get too wet.

He sighed as he sat down and closed his eyes, letting the cool sea breeze hit his face and the sound of the ocean release the tension from his body.

Yes, there was something about here that really made him calm. That is, until he heard someone.

Someone struggling. . .

Someone in trouble.

Quickly he sat up again and listened carefully to try and figure out where the sound was coming from. He needn't have listened that hard however, as he could see them struggling with what looked to be a fishing net just off the edge of the docks just on the other side of the cove. So, without a second thought, he shucked off his shoes and jacket and jumped into the water, making his way over to the person.

He could have gone and ran up and around the cliff side, but it was steep and the path nonsensical in its curves, so it would have taken twice as long to get there than if he just swam across. Plus, he was a strong swimmer, so he wasn't concerned about getting stuck out in deep water.

As he got closer he could tell that the person struggling was a woman, her efforts now sounding exhausted and desperate as she continued to thrash around in the net.

Once he got close enough, he called out to her.

"Hey, don't worry, I have a pocket knife that can help us get you untangled, just hold on!"

Upon hearing him the woman, whipped her head around, looking more startled to see him than relieved which struck him as odd.

No matter, as he swam up beside her and fished the knife out of his pocket she only looked relieved as he began to cut her loose.

One cord, two cords, five and she was free, but she must've been there for hours based on how exhausted she looked. When he reached for her hand to offer to help her swim to shore though she hesitated.

"I can swim back just fine, don't worry about me. Thank you for helping me though. . ."

Cautious but not wanting to argue with someone who had just had a terrifying experience he nodded and began to head back to shore, motioning her to swim ahead of him so that he could be sure she was really alright and though she was slow, she managed to keep her head above water.

Eventually, they both made it back to shore, Hak now pretty tired himself after swimming for so long doing nothing but treading water and he collapsed sitting down in the shallows on the other side of the cove to where he had been.

Thankfully he could see that his jacket and shoes hadn't been blown away into the water yet. With that no longer a concern, he looked back to the girl who was now sat in the shallows herself.

She was panting hard and shaking which was concerning, but what caught his attention was the faint colour of red just beneath the surface of where she sat.

"You're hurt!" he exclaimed, quickly getting back up and making his way over to her.

"No! No! Don't worry about it, it's nothing!" she replied, looking stricken.

"Don't be ridiculous, I know some basic first aid. Let me see it and I can help," he pressed, reaching for her now.

"H-Hang on! Wait –" but before she could move out of reach he had reached down and grabbed what he assumed to be her leg, only to become confused.

He had expected to feel a foot, perhaps even some horrid gash, instead however he was met with the feeling of something smooth. . . smooth and cold as a pearl.

He looked down.

And began to register what is was that he was looking at. That the red he had thought to be blood in the water, was not blood at all but rather, crimson scales.

A tail. He was looking at and touching a tail.

And yet, as the woman began to panic, fearing what he might do or say knowing what she was, what came out of his mouth shocked them both.

"It's you." He said, looking into her eyes, recognising and remembering their violet hue for the first time in years. "You came back."

"W-What?" she sputtered, until he reached into his shirt and pulled out the leather cord holding It up for her to see. He hadn't been able to see the colour of her hair in the shadows of the docks, but now out in the open where the moonlight could reach, her hair was set alight the same colour of flame as the scale he now held up for her to see.

Her scale.

"You came back," He repeated, more sure of himself now in this impossible situation.

Slowly the fear melted from her face as she thought back to that long-ago day. Thought back and remembered a small boy sat on top of a stack of rock as they talked for hours in the shallows. And as he held up her scale between them and gazed at her with those eyes so blue it was like looking into the eye of an ocean storm, she felt such catharsis.

"You're the little boy with feathers in his hair. The boy with eyes the same colour as an ocean storm." She breathed, as she looked between him and the scale, before a heartachingly beautiful smile broke across her face. "Where are your feathers now, boy with a storm in his eyes?" she asked, and he laughed in response before lunging out and pulling her into a hug.

"I thought I had made you up as a child. That I had only imagined you and yet here you are, come back to me again!" he cried out, swinging her around in the water as one might do with a dance partner in a ball room.

She didn't protest however, only laughed along with him and wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on as he continued to toss her about.

"Your name!" she cried out suddenly, now releasing her grip and he obligingly put her back down into the water, "I cannot remember you're name from all those years ago, and I feel dreadful about it!"

"Well, I have to say I'm not that opposed to being called 'the boy with a storm in his eyes'. Sounds like a good enough name as any for me." He replied, all smirk and boyish features.

She huffed in response, though not in a foul mood by a long shot as her smile remained, "Well, I think its too long, so unless you remind me of your name I'll be forced to think of a new one for you."

"Oh? And what would you call me?" he asked, now more than a little curious on what she would name him if it were up to her.

"Well, your eyes are so blue, I remember that about you most, so it'd have to be something similar but shorter. . . though you certainly are much larger than you were last I saw you. You're practically the size of on ocean beast! . . ." she said, still contemplating what might suite the boy in front of her.

"That's it then!" she exclaimed her face lighting up once more "I would call you Thunder Beast, for the storm in your eyes and your stature." She finished looking proud of herself.

"Thunder Beast, eh? I rather like the sound of that. And what of you? Will you remind me of your own name or must I come up with one for you as well?"

"Well, I'd certainly like to hear what you might come up with." She replied giving him a shy smile now.

"Well, it might not be as creative as yours but the first thing that springs to mind would be to call you 'Princess'." He said casually.

"Princess?" she said looking surprised and a little taken aback. "Why would you call me that?"

"I don't know really, it just springs to mind, and besides. . . I think it suites you. You look how I'd always imagined a princess from an old fairy tale would look."

"Which is what?"

"Beautiful."

Even with only the light of the moon reflecting off the water and white sand he could see the blush that stained her cheeks.

"Here," he said suddenly, taking off his necklace and holding it out to her, breaking apart the growing silence that began to form between them "I always told myself that if I ever found you again I'd return it to you, and well . . . It does belong to you after all" he continued, now somewhat bashful.

She giggled softly in response, "Keep it. Keep it and continue to remember me by it. After all, its not like I can reattach it, and besides," she said, flicking water at him with her tail "I have plenty of others."

"I suppose that's true" he said, playfully tossing some water back at her.

"What about me though?"

"What do you mean?"

"What can I have to remember you by?" she asked shyly, get she couldn't quite hide the eager hopefulness to her voice.

Thinking on his feet, Hak patted down his pockets before reaching into one and pulling out one of the blue-green glass beads that used to hang from his headband just above the feathers that adorned it.

A trivial thing in his mind, he had found it lying on his bedroom floor that morning and had meant to go about restringing it at some point, But. . . right now, it might just serve a better purpose.

"Here, you might recognise this" he said, taking her outstretched hand and closing her fingers around the small trinket.

When she opened her hand to see what he had given her, her expression turned soft as she rolled the bead around her palm.

"I do, in fact. I vaguely remember these beads catching the light and reflecting their colour onto your hair. Like when the light filters down through the kelp. It's beautiful." She said, gazing down at what was her own little treasure now.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by the sound of shouting coming from further up the hill and Hak made no effort to supress his groan of annoyance.

It seemed that he and his flatmates hadn't been the only one who had gone out for drinks and currently, Tae-jun and a couple of his buddies seemed to be enjoying causing a racket as they made their way down to the beach where they were likely to cause some kind of trouble.

Especially if any of them noticed the two of them around the corner.

"I should go," she said solemnly, as she began to push herself back out into the deeper water.

"No, wait!" he cried as he caught her hand in his, just like he had all those years ago.

She chuckled at this, "It seems like some things never change, doesn't it?"

"Sorry, reflexive action. Before you go though, I don't think I could go another 7 years without seeing you, so please. . . come back here tomorrow just after sunset, once everyone seems to have gone home for the night. There's so much I don't know about you yet."

For a moment she looked hesitant, but to his relief she looked his in the eye and promised that she'd meet him there again tomorrow, just as he said.

"Oh, and before I forget," she added just before pushing herself up on her arms and kissing the side of his cheek.

"Thank you for helping me back there. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come, or worse, if anyone else had found me. . ."

He only managed a weak "no problem," as he held his hand up to where her lips had touched before she had turned around and was already disappearing beneath the murky waves.

With nothing else to do but head home before Tae-jun found him and decided to strike up a conversation he'd rather live without, he headed home, still barely processing what had just happened.

He'd just gotten a kiss from a mermaid.

Hell, the mermaid he'd met as a child was real, and he would see her again tomorrow.

Things just got a whole lot more interesting.

And with that, he jogged the rest of the way home, eager to turn in for the night so that tomorrow could come that much faster.

{*****}

Hey guys thanks for reading this far. I've been wanting to try and write some sort of mermaid AU but never really got around to it and I'm still not sure how I feel about how this one turned out :/

Reviews of any and all kinds are always welcome and I hope you guys are having a great week so far!