A Mermaid's Teasing Kiss

The woman with cute pink hair from the sea smiled at me. "Wanna play together?" The mermaid tempted me with her beautiful voice. But since we were underwater, I couldn't answer… "Mmph!" The mermaid suddenly stole a kiss. I pulled back, covering my lips with both hands. 'W-what the…!' Seong-a's face turned bright red. Kissing the moment we met? What kind of ridiculous…!

"Pfft-hahaha! You're hilarious." "…?" The mermaid suddenly clutched her stomach and burst out laughing. Did she get caught up with the military police too? "I was just helping you breathe underwater, so don't misunderstand." "…!" It was true. Just like the mermaid said, I could breathe even underwater. Could it be… "…You're a returnee too?" "Oh, just like the team leader said, you really can figure everything out."

As expected. Of all places, I had to run into another returnee here…. "What did you do to Su-ha?" "Ah, don't worry. I just wanted to talk to you, so I asked the fish to…" "Hey, behind you…" "Huh?" At my pointing finger, the mermaid turned her head. A woman in a monokini was charging toward her at terrifying speed. 'Get away from my unni!' Su-ha clenched her fist and swung at the mermaid, but the mermaid easily dodged, and Su-ha's punch slammed into a reef instead. 'That must hurt like hell….' Crack! "……." For a moment, I lost my words. The one in pain wasn't Su-ha's fist—it was the cracked, solid reef. Su-ha turned her back to me, took a boxing stance, and signaled with her eyes. 'I'll definitely protect you!' "It's fine…" "Hraaaaaagh!!!" Before I could finish, Su-ha let out a battle cry and rushed the mermaid.

"What the hell! Why are you suddenly like this?!" 'Don't you get it? You tried to rape my unni!' Rona unleashed every martial art she knew—kickboxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, karate, jiu-jitsu—on the mermaid. Fortunately, the mermaid was faster underwater, but even a single hit from Rona looked like it could end things. The mermaid hid behind me and asked for permission. "She attacked first, so can I fight back?" "Probably not? She's a civilian." "What? That monster is a civilian?" The mermaid looked genuinely surprised that Su-ha was a normal human. Understandable—I reacted the same way at first. As expected, if a returnee or Awakener attacked a civilian, they'd face at least the death penalty or equivalent punishment.

I looked at Su-ha. 'Is she shamelessly taking a hostage…!' "……?" Su-ha's attitude was strange. From her expression, she seemed to think I had been taken hostage. A sigh escaped me. "Su-ha, calm down. You don't need to make such a fuss." "…?" When my voice reached her underwater, Su-ha looked confused, and the mermaid stuck out her tongue and made a face. With a sigh, I introduced the mermaid beside me. "Say hi. She's a returnee like me."

We surfaced and stepped onto the sandy beach. The mermaid's fins transformed into human legs the moment she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reached land. "So your name is Kwak Mi-ji, and you're the same age as me?" "Yeah! Wow, I didn't know there were other returnees besides me. This is amazing!" Mi-ji walked across the sand on her smooth bare legs, staring at me with curiosity, while Su-ha's expression grew even fiercer. "Can we really trust her? She tried to rape unni…!" "A kiss counts as rape? You're kinda cute." "W-what?" Mi-ji had completely dropped her earlier wariness and was now busy teasing Su-ha. Rona and Ha-im approached us, eating ice cream.

"Oh, found them!" "Where did you go, unni?" Rona and Ha-im ran over as soon as they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spotted us. But what was that in their hands? "What's that in your hands?" "Ah, this? Can't you tell? It's fish." "We found it while swimming and brought it along. It looked plump and tasty." How did they manage to find such a huge fish just by swimming? As I was doubting them, Mi-ji's eyes sparkled when she saw the fresh fish in Ha-im's hands. "Whoa! This is something you can only get in the tropical Pacific! How did you catch it?" The Pacific? I immediately frowned. "Don't tell me you guys swam all the way to the Pacific?" At my question, Ha-im just shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I wasn't exactly calculating while swimming." "Me neither, I just swam straight ahead." "……." They really were something else. How could they swim all the way to the tropical Pacific? "What are you planning to do with this tuna?" "Hmm, maybe take it to a nearby fish shop to get it cleaned…" "Tsk, what a waste of money. I'll do it myself." Everyone stared at me in shock. Why? "Wait, oppa, you can actually prepare fish?" "Why wouldn't I?" I shot Rona a look, asking for backup. If anyone knew my cooking skills, it was her. "Unni, are you sure? This one is still alive…" 'Oof, that hurts my pride a little…?' Even Rona, who knew my skills, was reacting like that. My pride took a hit. I snatched the tuna and ordered the four of them, "Go get a knife and a cutting board, quickly."

The four of them chatted at an outdoor table beside the restaurant while I prepared my tuna-dissecting show. "So you're a returnee too, unni?" "Yeah! Even if I don't look like it, I'm a mermaid returnee!" Before long, the four of them had become close enough to call each other unni and dongsaeng. "What kind of world did you live in, unni?" "It was a world where entire continents were submerged in the sea. And deep beneath the ocean was a massive mermaid kingdom." Mi-ji told them about the world she came from. Her hometown, 'Ocean City,' deep in the sea, was filled with all kinds of joyful memories. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠"Then you must have been a mermaid princess, right?" "Hey, have you been reading too many fairy tales? I wasn't a princess—I was a royal guard protecting the princess." "Oh!" At the words "royal guard," Ha-im and Su-ha's eyes sparkled even more. Learning about a world they knew nothing about was thrilling. Though part of it was because Seong-a had never explained her own otherworld at all.

While the three of them chatted about the otherworld, Rona quickly set up the camera. "Mi-ji unni, you don't mind appearing on stream, right?" "Nah, it's fine." "You're still streaming even here?" "She's a returnee. I can't miss this chance!" Originally, Seong-a was supposed to be Rona's first returnee guest, but unfortunately, Seong-a had no intention of revealing herself as one. Rona had been disappointed, but she never expected to meet a new returnee here. "You guys don't mind either, right?" "Is it okay to show up in swimsuits on our first meeting?" "It's fine. The viewers will love it." Rona pressed the broadcast button. Instantly, tens of thousands of viewers gathered in one place.

"Hello everyone. Can you hear my voice?"

"Gojadan, please wait a moment. Seong-a unni is cooking right now."

"I'll show you the main dish later. First, let me introduce my two acquaintances and the new returnee we met today."

Rona turned on the camera and showed Ha-im, Su-ha, and herself. The viewers' reactions were explosive.

From the viewers' perspective, today was paradise. Seeing four beautiful women in swimsuits in real time wasn't something that happened often. "Then let me introduce my two best friends first." Rona panned the camera over the three of them. "Hello, I'm Lee Ha-im, a college classmate and friend." "I'm Su-ha. Also a college classmate, for reference."

Rona moved the camera to Mi-ji. Now came the long-awaited main guest. "Hello, I'm Kwak Mi-ji, a returnee. Nice to meet you all."

Countless questions flooded the chat. Answering them all one by one would take forever. "Unni, can you show us your tail?" "Of course." Mi-ji immediately stepped into the sea and transformed her legs into a tail fin.

"Everyone, aren't your comments a bit too much?" I immediately told the managers to permanently ban any chat that crossed the line. "Everyone, let's eat first and stream later." While the four of them were chatting, Seong-a brought over various seafood dishes including tuna sashimi and spicy soup. Maybe this was the real highlight, more than the returnee. Rona spoke in a small voice. "Everyone, aren't you curious about Seong-a unni's swimsuit?"

"Don't worry! I'll definitely show you!" Of course, I only planned to show her body, not her face, but even so, I'd definitely get scolded. 'But I can't give up here…!' She was a professional streamer—she didn't want to miss this perfect broadcasting angle. 'Unni, I'm sorry!' Rona turned the camera and revealed Seong-a in her swimsuit at last. "……." "What?" Seong-a frowned at the camera. Instead of the swimsuit Rona had given her, she was wearing a white men's shirt that covered even her lower body.

"Uh, unni, where did you buy that?!" "I felt uneasy, so while you guys were talking, I quickly changed in the locker room." Good thing she brought it in case it got cold at night. "Unni, you're the worst!" "Think whatever you want." So what if she was the worst? It was better than revealing her swimsuit on a stream with tens of thousands of viewers. Soon after, Mi-ji did a backflip out of the sea and landed on the sand. 'Damn, I'm all wet… huh?' I looked down at my clothes. The water from Mi-ji's splash had soaked the shirt, making the curves of her body visible through the wet fabric. It was the very definition of "lewd." And the most important thing—the camera was pointed right at her. "Kyaaaaaaa!!!" Seong-a quickly turned around and let out a feminine scream, curling up her body.