By the time he had slowly completed some twenty laps in the pool, his thoughts had finally cleared, and his mood had settled into a comfortable calm.

He had melted away all the heavy, uncomfortable feelings that had pooled in his head and heart into the water, and as always, Yuri poked his head above the surface and swam leisurely.

His eyes met Ling Xinlu’s, who had been lazily leaning back on a pool bed watching him. Xinlu sat up and gave him a beaming smile.

“You look like you’re in a better mood.”

“Yes. Would you like to come in, Mr. Ling Xinlu?”

“No, I already swam a few laps earlier, and you know I don’t really like swimming that much. Besides, there’s no reason for me to get back in the pool today.”

“……”

Something about his words left Yuri with a faintly annoyed feeling……. Just as Yuri, who had started to feel somewhat uncomfortable swimming in this water, was about to turn sullen – at times like these, Xinlu always seemed to sense it like a ghost* – he leaned his body toward Yuri. Then, with the smile Yuri loved most, he coquettishly whispered to him.

(*귀신같다: Like a Ghost. Korean expression about incredibly accurate/eerily perceptive or sensitive)

“Won’t you come out now? I feel like kissing Mr. Gable.”

“…… Then why don’t you just come in, Mr. Xinlu?”

“If I come in, it won’t end with just a kiss, you know? Not that I’d mind, but would Mr. Gable be okay with that?”

It was a joke for now, but if Yuri held out just a few seconds longer, it would turn into a serious offer.

Yuri swam toward the ladder of the pool. Part of him genuinely believed Ling Xinlu might get back in, but he also felt he’d had enough swimming for the day. His relaxed body told him that any more would just lead to fatigue.

After climbing out of the pool and sitting on a vacant lounge chair, Xinlu wrapped him in a large towel and handed him a glass of water. Yuri took a sip and smiled; the water was slightly salted, with a briny taste that was just right—reminiscent of the sea.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Oh, nothing…….. It tastes like seawater. It’s good.”

Xinlu made a strange face ‘Seawater tastes good?’, as Yuri finished the rest of the carefully prepared lightly salted water. Then Yuri leaned in and gave him a light kiss before settling back into the chair. Xinlu pulled an empty chair over, sitting side-by-side with Yuri, both facing the same direction.

Above them, the full moon had risen high, casting a white glow over everything. The sky was black and starless, the late-night garden stirred by a soft breeze, and at its heart, the shimmering pool.

It was a perfect night for making love with a merman.

Still feeling the lingering moisture deep within his body, Gable let out a silent sigh.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” – Xinlu began abruptly.
“What if you’re actually a merman, Mr. Gable? You love the water, and they say mermen don’t age.”

His tone was oddly serious. Yuri shot him a look of disbelief.

“I’m not a merman.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“……., ……Yes, you have a point. I can’t be sure.”

Yuri had never once won an argument once Ling Xinlu started digging into this kind of sophistry. Quickly giving up, Yuri watched the leaves rustling coolly in the breeze, his own mood softening as he decided to play along.

“Alright then, what if I were a merman? Would you dislike that?”

“Me? Dislike you, Mr. Gable?”

Ling Xinlu let out a scoffing laugh. He just waved his hand dismissively, as if the question wasn’t even worth a response. But then, after falling into deep thought for a moment, he shook his head.

“No, that wouldn’t work. They say mermen live a long time—that would be troublesome.”

“So, Mr. Gable, you shouldn’t be a merman,” – Ling Xinlu concluded with utter seriousness, as if becoming one were simply a matter of choice. Yuri fell silent for a long moment, just staring at him.

“…….. I’m not allowed to live a long time?”

“Of course not. Not longer than me. What kind of fool would I be to let you stay alone in a world without me? I can’t allow that. Who knows who might set their sights on you then.”

“…….”

Yuri gave a sidelong glance at Ling Xinlu, who uttered those selfish words so confidently, as if they were the most natural thing in the world. It seemed he wasn’t even joking. Xinlu turned to look directly at Yuri, his expression completely serious.

“You’re not allowed to live longer than me. You’re not allowed to die before me, either. We’re going to die at the exact same time.”

“…….”

‘Is wanting to die at the same time and on the same day as another person a Chinese tradition?’ – Yuri wondered briefly, his mind drifting for a moment before he muttered in disbelief.

“By that time, we’ll both be old men. Who would possibly set their sights on an old man like that?”

But once again, the response was a derisive snort.

“Who says you’ll look like an old man by then? Mr. Gable looks like this even past forty—how can anyone know you won’t look the same at eighty or ninety? People are supposed to age appropriately, you know. Why do you have to stay so damn beautiful all the time? It’s unsettling.”

With a genuinely displeased expression, Xinlu added firmly: “I’m not joking. I really am going to die at the same time as you.” His tone was so resolute that anyone listening would have felt the weight of his sincerity.

Yuri stared at him in astonishment before letting out a dry laugh.

“It’s true that I might look a bit younger than my age……., but not to the extent you seem to think, Mr. Ling Xinlu. You’re seeing me through rose-tinted glasses. And besides, you’re still just as pretty yourself. Is it really fair to blame me when you’re the one who stays so beautiful too?”

Just as Yuri finished speaking calmly—

Xinlu froze.

He stopped moving entirely. His face, still as a statue, began to slowly flush a deep red, even though he hadn’t moved a muscle.

Yuri, who had spoken without much thought, was instead flustered by that reaction, blinking as he looked at him. In that time, Yuri’s own heart grew just as warm and flushed as the color on Xinlu’s face.

‘This is the man who remains unshaken no matter what he hears,’ – Yuri thought,

‘And yet, he gets this happy over something so small—over a few simple words—just because they came from me.’

Ling Xinlu muttered something through tightly pressed lips. It sounded like a curse, or perhaps a sigh. Before he even finished, he practically lunged forward, throwing himself over Yuri’s.

They slid across the grass but somehow didn’t topple the chair. Pressed against Yuri, Xinlu caught his head in his hands and kissed him—so fiercely, as though he meant to swallow down his very breath. Yuri struggled under the heat of it, then accepted the reality, wrapping his arms around Xinlu’s neck.

“……Want to get back in the water?”

Xinlu whispered between ragged breaths, his lips breaking away only for a moment. Yuri hesitated for a second, looking up at him, then let his shoulders drop.

“……. Let’s just do it here.”

As Yuri pressed his lips to Xinlu’s jaw, Xinlu laughed softly.

“It doesn’t matter to me where. No matter where we are, I’ll just be sinking into my water.”

Whispering this, Xinlu pulled Yuri into the most tender and gentle embrace he could manage.

The creature of the water had now become a creature of the night, silhouetted against the dazzling full moon. Though his face was hidden in the deep shadows of the night, Yuri could still make out the stunning beauty of those black and gleaming eyes.

Eyes that always looked only at Yuri, the same eyes Yuri had always seen.

Difficult to handle, unpredictable, sometimes absurdly stubborn—this fierce and beloved beast.

Yuri embraced that beast in return.

From somewhere, a rich scent of water wafted strongly.

He couldn’t tell whether it was coming from himself or from the other, but soon, it no longer mattered.

Either way, that scent of water enveloped them both completely.

[The End]