As his story progressed, I got more and more interested in the mermaid’s story. In the end, the mermaid princess gave up her voice and traded it for human legs to meet the prince. 

“That’s… so sad.”

“Well, the mermaid had to leave the sea…” 

“Exactly.” 

Woo-jin smiled mysteriously.

“People always have to pay a price for what they want.” 

A price. I fell silent for a moment. 

It’s true. Everything has a price. If you want something, you have to pay for it. Just like I had to give up my own education to send my brother to a prestigious university. 

Whether in the human or underwater world, this truth seems to apply everywhere. 

“So did the mermaid get the prince?” 

Woo-jin looked at me silently. 

“I’m not sure.” 

“What do you mean? Don’t you know how it ends?” 

“No, I do.” 

“Then what is it?”

“The mermaid princess never got the prince’s love in the end.” 

What kind of story is this? 

“Is it really a fairy tale? It doesn’t give children dreams or hope…” 

“Yes.” 

Woo-jin smiled slightly. 

“Whoever made up that story… it’s not good. What happened to the mermaid princess who didn’t win the prince’s love and lost her voice?” 

My question made Woo-jin hesitate for a moment. 

“Aren’t you going to answer?” 

“Well… she turns into foam.” 

“Huh?” 

“She turns into foam and floats away in the sea.” 

It was a really horrible story. 

I turned my head away, not wanting to hear the end of such a lonely story. In the night sea, bright lights shone from the octopus fishing boats. 

“I don’t want a love like the mermaid princess’.”

I said, somewhat emphatically, as I stared at the lights. 

“Really?” 

“Yes. What kind of stupid love is that? She couldn’t even get the man, lost her voice and couldn’t even go back to her family…” 

I shook my head, turning my face in disbelief, then leaned back and rested my arms on the veranda floor. 

“I’d tell the prince to come live in the sea.” 

“What?” 

Woo-jin burst out laughing at my words. 

“Why? The sea is wonderful. There’s plenty to eat. You’d understand if you tried diving. You’d be amazed at how rich the sea is with all the things it has in every season…” 

Even if you pick abalone, they just keep coming. 

The shells keep coming, too, and they are countless. Nature is rich and beautiful. I preferred diving to farming. Farming requires careful attention to the sky and careful tending of the crops, but with diving you just go into the sea. 

“If the prince knew the richness of the sea, he’d probably love it. Forget the palace, political marriages, all that. Imagine how free and happy he’d be living in the sea.”

Woo-jin laughed softly. 

“Why are you laughing? “Do you find my words funny?”

“No, it makes sense.” 

“Right?” 

I smiled brightly. 

Then the sound of fishermen singing came from the night sea. 

“Ah… that song.”

I stood up and listened. Between the sea and the sky, the fishermen, working through the night, sang their song. Their voices rose through the deep blue sky and filled the sea. It was a song the fishermen offered to the sea, praying for a bountiful catch. 

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

I asked, looking at Woo-jin. He was also looking at the sea with a dreamy expression on his face. 

“Yes, it’s beautiful.” 

“What’s your dream?”

“Dream?”

“Yes, your dream. What do you want to become…?” 

Woo-jin was silent and did not answer. 

His eyes just wandered over the dark sea. I suddenly had the feeling that he was drifting away to a place far beyond my reach – a world I couldn’t understand. 

Don’t go. 

Before I knew it, I had taken his arm. 

Like someone waking up from a dream, Woo-jin turned to look at me. The song was still floating between the sea and the sky. 

Was he coming closer to me? Or was it me who was getting closer? 

The night air around us seemed to grow sweeter. 

“Like the moon pulling the sea, my body moved naturally and instinctively towards him. Even though no one had taught me and I didn’t know he was inside me, it felt as if I’d always known.”

I wanted to kiss him.

Like a winter wren diving into the camellia blossoms in early winter. Just as nature had taught me. 

Woo-jin’s lips… they smelled like the scent of cedar. Warm, thick, soft and kind. 

Even though my lips were touching someone else’s, it didn’t feel strange or uncomfortable at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite… 

Suddenly the bedroom door creaked open. 

I was so startled that I almost screamed and pushed him away. 

Thud! 

Woo-jin, pushed back, banged his head against the porch post. 

“What are you two doing?” 

Grandma asked with a furrowed brow.

“Soon-young, aren’t you coming in? What are you two doing sitting out here so late?” 

Oh, Grandma, isn’t this a bit much? It was as if her sanity had just returned. 

I rushed into the bedroom and covered my face with both hands. My cheeks were so hot it felt like they were on fire. 

I was mad, completely mad. 

I tried to cool my burning cheeks, but it was no use. 

What am I going to do? Did I really just kiss Woo-jin? 

My heart was beating wildly, out of control. 

Pull yourself together, come on, calm down. 

No matter how deeply I breathed, my heart continued to race uncontrollably.

It was only a moment, but I could still feel the warmth of his lips on mine. Warm, like seawater, with the scent of a summer breeze.

I lifted my hand and touched my lips. My fingers didn’t give me the same feeling. 

I was afraid of losing the sensation his lips had given me. No, what scared me more was how I would look at his face in the morning. 

I couldn’t sleep that night. I really felt like I wasn’t in my right mind. My heart was beating wildly, the moon was too bright and Grandma was sleeping too soundly. 

I strained my ears to hear his breathing from the other room. Was Woo-jin asleep? Or was he tossing and turning like me, restless with excitement?

I wondered if the spot where our foreheads had met earlier was okay. How would I face him tomorrow? I’m crazy, crazy! 

That night I had a dream. In the dream I was a mermaid princess. I was swimming through the purple sea, approaching the prince. I kissed him gently as he lay unconscious, tossed about by the storm. His lips, too, carried the scent of cedar – an aroma from a faraway forest I’d never visited. 

The next day the sun rose in the east, indifferent to my feelings. I had to make breakfast, so I couldn’t stay in the bedroom. When I went outside, I saw Woo-jin sweeping the yard as usual. 

I cleared my throat and rushed into the kitchen. While I was washing the rice, Woo-jin was getting firewood as usual. But he didn’t seem to look at me. Or maybe I wasn’t looking at him. 

“Please give it to me.