"THEYRE HOLDING HANDS I KNEW THE-" yeonjun was shut up with a harsh hand slapped to his lips. "SHHHH THEYRE COMING."Beomgyu said as Hueningkai and Soobin walked in the back door. Taehyun was sitting on the couch while yeonjun and Beomgyu were hiding in the storage closet. The plan was for Taehyun to straight up ask who confessed.
     Soobin found it strange how calm everything was when they can inside. "Wheres the others?" Soobin asked Taehyun, a bit suspiscious. "They went to the bathroom." Taehyun improvised. "Both of them? Isn't that dangerous considering yeonjuns kissing soul thing last time?" Soobin said. "Forget that, they went in the bathroom? Together?~~" Hueningkai was more interested in this part.
      Yeonjun had shut the closet door so beomgyu couldn't hear that last part. "What the- yeonjun what the hell was that for?!" Beomgyu very quietly whisper shouted to him in the now closed storage closet. "My hand slipped." Yeonjun lied. He really just didn't want beomgyu to know about the soul stealing thing, he didn't want beomgyu to be afraid of him. "Yeonjun...".       "Hm?".     "This door doesn't open from the inside does it?"

"So, who confessed first?" Taehyun said, going along with the plan of flat out asking. Soobin looked shocked he knew but decided it was kind of obvious. "Well....technically both of us?" Soobin looked at Hueningkai, who was twiddling his fingers. Hueningkai was shy now? Was it because of the hand holding? Soobin asked himself. Taehyun was bummed, if both confessed together then that means no one got to be king....Taehyun sulked and flopped back on the couch. "Yah, then order pizza for dinner." Taehyun said. "I'm tired of pizza, could we go pick up some real food from the store?" Soobin asked, obviously getting sick of pizza. "Alright let's go." Hueningkai looked excited. "But what about beomgyu and yeo-" soobin was stopped by Taehyun. "THEYRE STILL IN THE BATHROOM THEY HAVE NO IDEA YOU GUYS ARE A THING AND WE CAN SURPRISE THEM WITH FOOD WHEN WE GET BACK." Taehyun rushed the two out the door along with himself. Didn't want them to know that they had waged bets on who would confess first....and the king of the day thing.

     "for the last time...it's locked...trying every minute won't change it." Beomgyu said to yeonjun, who was trying to open the door again. "I can't believe you locked us in here." Beomgyu facepalmed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had to be the only boy on Earth who could get locked in a storage closet with the dumbest merman ever. "TAEHYUUUUUNNNN ....SOOOOOBIIINNN HUENNNNNIIIIINNNGGGGG KAAII MR KANG ANYONE??!!" Yeonjun screamed. "YAH! you're going to make me go deaf!!" Beomgyu slapped yeonjun's arm and rubbed his ears. Yeonjun apologized. "so what do you want to do for the next oh I don't know, eternity were locked in here?" Yeonjun slumped against the closet door. "Stop being a drama queen they'll be back soon just wait it out." Beomgyu crossed his arms and sat against a surfboard that was in the closet.
    ".....can't believe Hueningkai and Soobin are dating ......."
                           "I know...it's weird."
        Beomgyu laid down, getting comfortable for the wait to freedom. "Want my jacket?" Yeonjun asked. "You mean Taehyuns jacket?" Beomgyu corrected. Right. They still haven't got their own clothes, they should shop tommorow. "No, im good." Beomgyu closed his eyes to just sleep it out instead.
       Yeonjun only saw beomgyus face lit up by the light coming from under the door. Yeonjun felt uneasy, right now he knew he was sleeping, but it was dark so he couldn't see the rise and fall of beomgyus chest. He looked a little dead, and it scared yeonjun a bit.
     Yeonjun's mind wandered back to what he had done to beomgyu with the predator kiss he wanted to give him a normal kiss-. He didn't want to sleep yet, they  hadn't even had dinner yet. It was just beomgyu and him, alone, in a closet.
     "Yeonjun." Beomgyu suddenly broke the silence. "Yeah?" Yeonjun was relieved hearing his voice. "Are you going to keep staring?" Beomgyus question caught him off guard. "You can tell????" Yeonjun was surprised, it was pretty dark in the closet. "Your eyes glow blueish in the dark." Beomgyu said. He thought yeonjun knew. The nights he had spent with yeonjun and Hueningkai were always illuminated by the blue and gold glow of their eyes, he guessed it was designed to see in the dark sea.
     Now yeonjun suddenly covering his eyes, did shock beomgyu, yeonjun was never embarrassed. Beomgyu grabbed his hand. "Don't, they're pretty, not scary." Beomgyu knew that whenever yeonjun was quiet he was thinking, he had noticed his little habits over the time they've known each other.
    "You think?" Yeonjun asked, uncovering his eyes, showing the illustrious blue glow."mhm." Beomgyu geniunely did find them gorgeous, even he admitted. Yeonjun grew confidence from this.
There was a minute of silence between the two before yeonjun heard shuffling noises. "I can't sleep might as well do something." Beomgyu now sat up in front of yeonjun, staring st his eyes.  "Can you change your eye color on command?" Yeonjun shook his head no. "Can you show me your teeth?" Yeonjun opened his mouth, showing his predatory fangs. He was a bit worried beomgyu would cower away like soobin did but instead, beomgyu reached his finger out to feel the fangs. "Can you kiss me without stealing my soul?" Beomgyu said, dropping the mood. Yeonjun froze, beomgyu knew? How long had he known? Was he scared? He didn't seem scared. Why didn't he ask right away?
     Beomgyu found this a good time, yeonjun couldn't run and he could get his answers. Beomgyus face turned a bit sad. "Yes. I remember now, if that's what you're thinking........" Beomgyu pulled his hand back. "Why did you want to kill me?..." Beomgyu looked a bit hurt as he said this. Yeonjun now knew why beomgyu seemed distant from him a bit lately. Has beomgyu been thinking he ment to kill him??! "no!!I would never want to kill you!!" Yeonjun held beomgyus shoulders tightly. "Never! It was an accident!! My predator! I swear!" Beomgyu relaxed, it was as he thought, he didn't want to kill him. Good. He didn't think he did.
    "I believe you don't panic, it was just a question." Beomgyu smiled, wiping away the worry glazing yeonjun's eyes. "so, does that mean that you can't kiss anyone?" Beomgyu looked him dead in the eyes. Beomgyu was inching closer to yeonjun's face. He could feel his warm breath tickling his lips. Yeonjun wanted to, but some part of remembering beomgyus state from when he had-...when he had accidentally taken his soul was still feeding yeonjun's fear of becoming a monster. He pushed beomgyu away. Beomgyu was shocked, but before he could say anything heuningkai opened the closet door and yeonjun rushed out. "There you guys were what on Earth were you doing in here??" Hueningkai asked Beomgyu. "Just ....we were gonna scare you.." beomgyu improvised and got out. Hueningkai took this as a perfect time to tell beomgyu. He held up the doughnuts they had gotten to him. "Have a Sookai doughnut!!" Hueningkai hoped he was smooth.
  "A what now?..."
                            "A soo- Kai -doh-nut" Hueningkai said slowly.
Beomgyu couldn't believe it, they really were dating who won the bet? He looked to Taehyun, who was doing the cut neck motion. He took that as a 'no one won't and sulked. Great, rejected by yeonjun, and no king this was a great night. He refused a doughnut and walked to the guest room where he slept last time.
    "Is he alright?" Hueningkai asked. "He rejected my doughnut ..." He looked at the strawberry iced doughnut he picked for beomgyu and pouted. Soobin swooped in and stole a bite of it. "Mmm don't worry hes crazy the doughnut is good!" Soobin smiled. Hueningkai gave the doughnut to soobin, feeling a bit better.
    Taehyun sat back on the loveseat with about 5 doughnuts of his own, and a hot chocolate. He hadn't noticed before but....was he stuck as a fifth wheel? Ah jeez ...was he the only one who wasn't attracted to mermen?he begrudgingly took the rest of the doughnuts and went to his room to avoid all the lovebirds in the house. All he needed was him and his doughnuts right now. Yeonjun sat and ate his doughnut that soobin had given him when Mr Kang came up looking worried. "Sir? You alright?"yeonjun looked up at him. "Everyone I told is now aware that we aren't to harm the mermen or take them hostage but one guy...I'm a bit concerned I haven't been able to reach him so I'm afraid he's still...hunting the boys...one night he was with Thomas and they beat beomgyu...." Mr Kang looked like he wasn't necessarily fond of this thug. Yeonjun remembered seeing two thugs and Micheal when beomgyu was attacked on the street that night, it must be him. "Taehyun and I want to take you guys clothes shopping tommorow and then head to the beach to test a temporary cure we've found, but I feel uneasy leaving the house thinking he's still out there " Mr Kang looked nervous. Yeonjun perked up at the news of a temporary cure other than soul stealing. He wasn't worried about the thug, Hueningkai would have soobin sticking to him like glue and he could handle himself. That covers both mermen. "It's alright, let's do it." Yeonjun assured mr Kang. "You sure?" Mr Kang looked for any signs of doubt in yeonjuns face, but yeonjun gave a confident nod. "Alright then, its settled that means I want all of you boys asleep, now. We need energy." Mr Kang smiled and looked at the three boys still in the living room. They nodded, and went to their rooms.
      Soobin and Hueningkai looked happy walking towards the room they had felt awkward to sleep in together before. Yeonjun swore if he heard any giggles he would kill them for grossing everyone out. Yeonjun walked into the room beomgyu and him shared while they were at Taehyuns. He felt bad for pushing beomgyu away earlier. He saw beomgyus tear stained pillow and he felt like a real monster then. I should have just done it... He thought to himself. I'm such a coward....yeonjun laid on his side of the bed.
   
   "Yeonjun." Beomgyus voice was suddenly behind yeonjun's ear. "You kissed me before right? What are you scared of now?" Beomgyu said in a quiet, just woke up, voice. Yeonjun swallowed hard. He was scared of killing beomgyu, of beomgyu hating him, of- of becoming a monster...
    Beomgyu took yeonjun's silence as hatred. Beomgyu was a bit upset, had he got the wrong idea from yeonjun? He took his distance on the bed. They both fell asleep with the heavy air weighing down both of them.

-

     "WAAHHHH THAT ONE THAT ONE!!!" Hueningkai was dragging poor already tired, but smiling soobin into a clothing shop. Mr Kang had gotten a call early in the morning and couldn't attend the boys on their shopping trip, but left them with money to do so. Taehyun was walking with yeonjun on one side of the store Hueningkai dragged them into. Yeonjun was trying on almost everything and asking Taehyuns advice. "There's literally no difference." Taehyun looked unimpressed at the almost identical pairs of sunglasses yeonjun held up. "Yes there is you just don't have enough taste." Yeonjun tssked. "Ask beomgyu then." Taehyun pointed to beomgyu, who was sitting down outside waiting for them. Yeonjun put the shades down. "I don't like either, never mind. " He said, walking to check out.

    "I'm literally going to pretend I don't know you if you guys don't take those off." Taehyun was embarrassed by the couple shirts soobin and Hueningkai were now wearing. "what nooo don't listen soobinie it's adorable!" Hueningkai smiled at him. "Kai.....they literally say 'were married' with a picture of- what even is that a corndog sleeping with earmuffs?" Taehyun looked disgusted at the shirts. "ITS OBVIOUSLY CUTE PUPPIES TOGETHWR TAEHYUN YOURE SO MEAN!" Hueningkai glared at him. Soobin looked at the bunnies on his version of the shirt, and quietly laughed. He was very embarrassed, but happy to have matching shirts this goofy with Hueningkai.
     "Do you guys still want to go to the beach tonight? My dad wont be there but we can still try the cure." Taehyun asked. "yeah let's do it!!" Yeonjun was eager to try the cure. "Wahhh wait, can I please use the bathroom before we go?" Soobin said. He had learned that there was no fast way to run from the beach at Taehyuns house, to Taehyuns bathroom in time. "Yeah, no problem we can wait." Hueningkai said and sat outside the store with the others as soobin walked inside to use the bathroom.
     A couple moments of silence passed. "So, what's going on with you two? You've been tense all day." Taehyun decided to try to make small talk while they were waiting. Beomgyu looked up at the question. "Nothing, nothing has happened." He said, sounding a bit depressed over it. "Oh c'mon something had to have happened." Hueningkai added in. "He's just being all mopey because he wanted to shop alone probably." Yeonjun tried to lift the mood. "Or maybe I wanted something else..." Beomgyu said, barely above a whisper. Yeonjun hated that he was making him feel bad. "You know you're being a real mood killer right now sunshine." Yeonjun wanted beomgyu to just drop the kiss thing and forget their fight. "How am I being a mood killer I'm not doing anything?" Beomgyu scoffed. "You wanted me to do something you know is dangerous!and now youre sulking." Yeonjun got a bit mad how beomgyu wouldn't drop the subject. "Well why cant you do it hm?! Whats so bad about it??!" Beomgyu stood in his face. Taehyun and Hueningkai both looked at eachother. They didn't know small talk could escalate so damn fast. Neither of them really wanted to stop them, afraid it'd be like poking a bear. " WHY WOUKD YOU EVEN WANT THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE YOURE THE ONE WHO KEPT THE FACT YOU KNEW A SECRET AND THEN SELFISHLY ASKED ME TO DO IT AGAIN!!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD MAKE ME???!" Yeonjun was now in a full fledged fight with beomgyu. "Hey guys stop, you're scaring Kai." Taehyun interjected right before it got physical.
"Forget it, I forgot something at my house I'll see you guys at the beach tonight." Beomgyu gave a look and left. "What the hell just happened???" Hueningkai looked very confused. "I don't want to talk about it." Yeonjun said, seeing soobin come out. "Sorry it took so long there was a line I the mens bathroom." Soobin smiled and noticed the dark mood over them. "Are we going to the beach? Wheres beomgyu?" He asked. "Yeah, we are he said he forgot something let's go and meet him there." Taehyun started walking and the others followed towards the beach, dropping the heavy subject, but keeping the heavy shopping bags.