katsuk𝓲 Bakugo

Mermaids did not exist.

That's what everyone kept repeating.

Until I found one.

Not in the ocean.

But locked underground.

I had been following the trail of a merchant famous for selling impossible relics. I thought he was hiding some treasure.

I didn't expect to open that enormous steel door.

The sound of water filled the room.

In the center was a gigantic glass tank.

And inside…

She.

Its long blue tail wagged slowly when it heard the door open.

He raised his head.

Our eyes met.

She didn't seem furious.

She looked… tired.

I approached the glass.

There were chains around its tail.

Marks on their wrists.

Then I saw the small pearls scattered on a nearby table.

Too many.

I frowned.

—“…What the hell are you doing here?”

She looked away.

He did not respond.

Only then did I hear footsteps behind me.

—“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

The man smiled proudly.

As if he were talking about a painting.

—“She cries pearls.”

He took one between his fingers.

It shone even in the dim light.

—“Each one is worth a fortune.”

I felt a knot in my stomach.

I looked at her again.

His eyes were red.

I didn't need to ask where those pearls had come from.

The river man.

—“It’s not easy to make a mermaid cry.”

I clenched my fists.

He kept talking.

Explaining how much money he had earned.

How many nobles were waiting for the next collection.

I wasn't listening to him anymore.

I could only see the mermaid.

Still.

In silence.

As if I had forgotten that the sea existed.

At that moment he looked at me again.

For a moment I thought he was going to beg me for help.

He didn't.

He simply shook his head very slowly.

As if he wanted to tell me…

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

What bad luck.

Because I was never good at obeying.