Why Are You Sleeping in My Bed?

A few days later, the day of our reserved pool villa finally arrived.

We got up early in the morning and started packing what we needed. First, we put clothes and swimsuits for the trip into our bags. Then I made sure not to forget the three potions I'd need to turn back into a human after practicing swimming as a mermaid, along with our toiletries.

With everything ready, Yoo Sungwoon and I left the house. It was quite a long distance, and taking public transport would have been exhausting, but thankfully the guy had a car. I loaded the luggage and climbed into the passenger seat, and Yoo Sungwoon set off right away.

About halfway to our destination, we stopped at a large supermarket to shop for groceries. Food for two nights and three days, snacks, alcohol, and even three light sundresses to slip into—by the time everything went into the cart, we'd racked up quite a haul.

"This should be enough, right?"

"If we run short, we can just buy more out there. Let's go."

We checked out quickly, loaded everything into the car, drove for another long stretch, and finally arrived at the pool villa we'd booked.

"Oh, it's nicer than I expected."

I got out of the car and looked up at the building in front of me. It had looked pretty good in the photos, but seeing it in person, the building was spacious and the surroundings were quiet. Best of all, we wouldn't have to worry about anyone else's eyes on us.

"Let's head in first."

"Yeah."

We went inside, carried in our luggage and groceries, and put the food in the fridge first. After unpacking roughly, we took our time looking around the pool villa, passing through the living room and kitchen, checking out the rooms we'd each be using, and then headed toward the indoor pool. Following the hallway toward the back, a large glass door leading to the pool came into view. When we opened it, a decently sized pool appeared before us.

"Oh, the facilities are pretty nice."

"Right? Bigger than I thought, too."

We went inside, made ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a lap around the pool, and I turned to Yoo Sungwoon.

"Sungwoon, should we change and get started right away?"

"Let's do it."

We each went back to our rooms and changed into our swimsuits, met up again in the living room, and headed to the pool together.

"We came here to practice, so let's do this properly."

"Right. By the end of today, you'll have swum at least once."

After answering, I slowly stepped into the water. I was still in human form, both legs perfectly intact. As I submerged my body and thought about becoming a mermaid, my legs gradually began to merge together. A moment later, scales covered my lower half and a long tail revealed itself.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm watching you transform in person. That's amazing."

"It still feels strange to me too. Anyway, stop gawking and get in."

"Okay, okay."

Yoo Sungwoon stepped into the water right after me. I tried moving forward by swishing my tail, but the moment I put force into it, my body tilted to one side.

"Wha—!"

I flailed my arms frantically to regain my balance, only for my body to spin sideways instead. That was when Yoo Sungwoon grabbed my arm.

"Hey, take it slow."

"I am taking it slow."

"Doesn't seem like it, coming from the guy who almost flipped over the second he started."

"Shut up."

I shook off his arm and reset my posture. This time, I tried moving my tail slowly, without putting too much force into it. My body seemed to inch forward for a moment, then veered off course and headed straight for the pool wall.

"No, why am I going this way?"

"Try moving your upper body too."

"Got it."

I answered and tried a few more times, but nothing changed much. Unable to just watch anymore, Yoo Sungwoon came around in front of me.

"I'll hold you for now, so try again."

"How?"

"Give me your arms."

When I held out both arms, Yoo Sungwoon took hold of my wrists.

"I'll pull you along slowly from the front, so move your tail."

"Uh, sure. I'll try."

I let him take my weight and moved my tail again. Unlike when I was on my own, my upper body stayed steady, which made it much easier. Yoo Sungwoon drifted backward slowly, and I followed in his direction.

"Oh, it's working!"

"That's because I'm pulling you."

"Still better than before, isn't it?"

We made it to the end of the pool, then headed back to the other side. At first, Yoo ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sungwoon held both of my hands, but after repeating it several times, we tried moving with him holding just one.

Of course, it didn't go smoothly right away. I lost my balance halfway and bumped into him, and I misjudged my direction and drifted off toward some random spot. After doing this over and over, I realized it was hard to move freely holding just one hand, so I spoke up.

"Hey, grab both hands and pull me. One hand is kind of tough."

"When are you planning to eat?"

"I'll eat later. Less talking, more helping, please?"

Yoo Sungwoon let out a snort and held out his hands again. I took them, and we repeated the same motion who knows how many times. Then at some point, I slowly started getting a feel for how much I needed to move my tail.

"This time, let go."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just stay right next to me."

When Yoo Sungwoon released his grip, my body wobbled for a moment. I resisted the urge to rush and swished my tail slowly instead. And then my body glided forward. My direction barely strayed at all.

"Oh!"

Flush with excitement, I put force into my tail—and my body tipped sideways again.

"Whoa—!"

Yoo Sungwoon immediately caught me by the waist and steadied me upright.

"Why would you suddenly put force into it when you were doing so well?"

"Ahem…."

"Tsk tsk. Still a long way to go."

"Hey, I'm way better than when I started, at least."

Even Yoo Sungwoon seemed to agree, because he nodded. We took a short break, then got back in the water and repeated the same practice. This time, I managed to move about half the length of the pool on my own, and after that, I made it all the way to the end. Sure, turning was still clumsy, but at least I wasn't spinning in place like a carousel anymore.

"Yes!"

I grabbed the bar at the edge of the pool and whooped, and Yoo Sungwoon, who'd followed me over, laughed.

"Getting this excited over one successful try."

"One try is something! Keep practicing like this and I'll be swimming like a real mermaid in no time."

"You are a mermaid."

"Oh. Right."

The two of us burst out laughing at the same time.

After practicing a while longer, my arms and waist were completely worn out.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted. Let's stop here for today."

"Sounds good. No need to push yourself too hard on day one."

"Sungwoon, grab one of the potions from my bag for me."

"On it."

Yoo Sungwoon toweled off, got out of the pool first, and headed to the living room. A little later, he came back with a bottle and handed it to me. I took it, twisted off the cap, and downed the potion right away. After a short wait, my long tail slowly began shifting back into two legs. Only once I was fully human again could I get out of the pool.

"You hungry?"

"Starving."

"Then go wash up first. I'll get everything ready."

"Okay."

I headed straight into the bathroom, filled the tub with warm water, and sank into it. As the water wrapped around my tired body, all the tension drained right out of me.

"Whew… so drowsy."

I'd burned so much energy at the pool that I felt like I could fall asleep right then and there. I soaked for a good long while before climbing out, rinsing off quickly, and grabbing a towel. As I was patting myself dry, it hit me—I'd forgotten to bring clothes in with me.

"Hey, Yoo Sungwoon."

At my call, his voice drifted in from outside.

"What?"

"Bring me some clothes."

"Seriously? You didn't even grab your clothes?"

"Less talking, more room service, please~"

"Unbelievable. Fine."

A little later, the door cracked open and Yoo Sungwoon passed my clothes through the gap. I took them, got dressed, and stepped out to the living room, where the food Yoo Sungwoon had prepared was already laid out on the table.

"Oh, you finished all of it already?"

"There's truly no one like you, Yoo Sungwoon."

"Yeah, yeah. Eat before it gets cold."

"Don't mind if I do."

I went straight to the table and sat down. All that swimming practice ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had left me far hungrier than I'd expected.

For a while, Yoo Sungwoon and I kept eating while chatting about this and that. Once we'd filled our stomachs and finished cleaning up, there wasn't really anything left to do.

"What now?"

"There are board games over there. Want to play one?"

"Sure. Go grab one."

A little later, we sat facing each other on the living room floor and broke out the board game. Early on, we played nicely while checking the rules, but it didn't take long before a battle of nerves broke out over who'd win. Then I caught Yoo Sungwoon breaking the rules to move his piece, and I pointed at him immediately.

"Hey, that's cheating."

"What cheating? I followed the rules."

"You just moved that piece right now."

"Got proof?"

"Wow, you are playing dirty."

"If you're suspicious, feel free to cheat too~"

The sheer audacity of it drew a scoffing laugh out of me. After bickering our way through the game for a good while, we migrated to the sofa. This time, we picked an action movie and put it on. With snacks set between us, we watched, throwing out brilliant commentary like who hits harder, that guy or me and yeah, that's totally unrealistic whenever an action scene came on.

Even after the movie ended, neither of us got up right away. Slumped on the sofa together, we kept chatting away, and before I knew it, it was pretty late.

"Should we turn in?"

"Yeah. We've got more practice tomorrow, so we should sleep early."

"Right. See you tomorrow."

"Yep. Good night."

I watched Yoo Sungwoon disappear into his room, then went into mine. When I lay down on the bed, my whole body felt heavy and lazy from all the moving in the pool. I surrendered myself to the cozy blanket and closed my eyes.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

How long had I been asleep? I woke up feeling strangely confined.

"Mmm…."

I tried to move, but oddly enough, my body wouldn't cooperate. Still half-asleep, I squirmed a few times before realizing something was wrapped around my waist.

What is this?

An odd feeling crept over me, and I opened my eyes and looked up. Yoo Sungwoon's face was right there, mere inches away. The moment I saw it, every trace of sleep evaporated.

Why is he here?!'

We had definitely gone to separate rooms before falling asleep. And yet, for some reason, the guy was lying there in my bed, sleeping with total ease. Holding me tight, no less.

I called his name to wake him.

"Hey, Yoo Sungwoon."

No answer.

"Sungwoon. Wake up."

I pressed against his chest to push him off, but he didn't budge an inch. Eventually, staring up at him in blank dismay, I tried again.

"Yoo Sungwoon. Get up."

This time I grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard. Still nothing.

Seriously, is this guy dead or what?

Exasperated, I finally shouted.

"HEY!"

"Mmm…."

Only then did Yoo Sungwoon furrow his brow and slowly open his eyes.

"What…."

Along with a sleep-slurred voice, he lifted his head slightly. The instant our eyes met, he froze solid. We were so close that the slightest movement would have us touching.