Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Siren's Story
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“What? So you’re saying Seo I-ryeon is…”
Min Ha-na lowered her voice as she continued her question.
“A Siren?”
“That’s right. A mermaid. A singing mermaid.”
“They said her voice wasn’t human. So it was true.”
It felt like she had just learned one of the world’s greatest secrets.
“Then the person Seo I-ryeon publicly confessed her love for…”
“Right. That’s me.”
“Why did you turn her down? As a woman, she’s practically perfect. Is it because she’s not human?”
“No. Her race has nothing to do with it.”
“Then what is it?”
“She’s not my type.”
“What on earth *is* your type?”
“You don’t need to know. But I-ryeon does.”
Despite Min Ha-na’s agitated questions, Wang-sik didn’t answer.
Linia Arnesio.
That was Seo I-ryeon’s name when she lived in the eastern seas of the Azelan Continent.
The destiny of the princess of the Arnesio siren tribe was twisted in a single moment.
A tight net.
A prison of tough cords descended upon her in an instant.
Trapped inside, she thrashed, but every movement only tightened its grip.
Her bewilderment soon turned to terror.
Her body was crushed as the net was lifted into the air, making it hard to breathe.
The fish trapped with her foamed at the mouth and died, their fading life force palpable within the confines of the net.
But there were those who reveled in her terror.
The humans, with their greedy eyes and grotesque smiles.
Crushed in the net, she saw them clearly.
What hurt even more…
Her own kind, watching from a distance, doing nothing.
The net imprisoned her hope as well.
After a long ordeal, she was moved to a laboratory.
The journey there had been a series of torments, but it was nothing compared to life in the lab.
Was there no limit to human cruelty?
She came to despise the entire human race.
A tank so small she couldn't even fully stretch her body.
Being trapped in a tank decorated like a picture frame on the wall was despairing enough, but the human who had imprisoned her wasn't satisfied.
What he wanted wasn't a beautiful song.
The mage who would approach with a cold expression every time he looked at the tank.
The mage, his face covered in age spots, tormented her in horrific ways.
*Zzzzap!*
When he cast his lightning magic, Seo I-ryeon writhed and screamed instead of singing.
Only then would the mage smile.
As if he found it amusing.
The mage, smiling in satisfaction, would leave only after Seo I-ryeon lost consciousness and went completely limp.
It happened whenever he passed by and their eyes met.
Sometimes he would poison the water, or deliberately put in fish with sharp teeth to make them fight.
Just when she realized that living was more painful than dying, she saw a man.
The only human who pitied her.
The man who passed through the corridor with the tank every day would pause for a moment to look at Seo I-ryeon.
There was a strange power in his smile.
Why was that?
She soon found out why.
‘With a face like that…’
The man was a wreck.
His body was covered in wounds, and he could barely walk on his trembling legs.
It was doubtful if he could even see her with his unfocused eyes.
And yet, whenever he saw Seo I-ryeon, he would smile as if to encourage her.
At some point, Seo I-ryeon began to sing for him whenever she saw him.
She would sing quietly so only he could hear, and he would pause his steps for a moment.
The sole comfort in her despair.
That's what they were to each other.
That man was Wang-sik, and seeing him became the only thing she looked forward to.
But that didn’t mean the pain was gone.
Her life was still one of despair, and the mage’s madness only grew worse.
*‘I’m really going to die now.’*
The mage always wanted a stronger stimulus; he would surely want to see death next.
Just as she was drawing closer to death…
The laboratory grew chaotic.
She couldn’t tell exactly what was happening.
As she waited with a heart full of anxiety and worry, the commotion died down, and Wang-sik appeared.
He shattered the glass wall that symbolized her despair.
“There’s no time. You need to choose now.”
He gave her a choice.
“Will you come with me?”
There was no lengthy explanation. Even so, she answered without hesitation.
“Thank you.”
The place they arrived at was Korea.
The sandy shores of Giam Island, bathed in the evening glow.
After having dinner with his friends, Wang-sik sat down on the beach.
Just as the red sunset faded and dusk settled in…
Something rose from the sea.
It would have been a chilling sight for anyone else, but Wang-sik calmly waited for the being approaching him.
The darkness was no issue for him, thanks to a skill he possessed, so he could see his visitor clearly.
A beautiful, dripping wet woman clad only in her underwear.
It was Seo I-ryeon.
Unlike her innocent stage persona, the woman who emerged from the sea possessed a sensual charm that could ensnare any man's heart.
“You should wear some clothes. You’ll catch a cold.”
“I’m only wearing this much out of courtesy.”
“If you wanted to be courteous, you should’ve worn one more layer.”
“Didn’t you prefer the opposite?”
“Not with you.”
“Hmph.”
Used to this, Wang-sik handed her the towel he had draped over his shoulder.
He had been waiting for her from the start.
When he draped the towel over her, covering her from head to toe, she looked like a child wrapped in a blanket in the middle of winter.
“Hmm. Now you look pretty. How was the tour?”
“Yes. It was fun.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Singing always makes me happy.”
“Want to sit for a bit before you go?”
As Seo I-ryeon sat on the sand, Wang-sik handed her a can of coffee.
It was a sweet one, her favorite kind.
“I’ll forgive you for running away in secret with this.”
“I was kicked out. So it’s justified.”
“Who would dare kick you out, Wang-sik?”
“A monster called politics.”
Wang-sik explained the circumstances that led to him relocating the base.
“Those horrible men!”
Wang-sik couldn't help but laugh at Seo I-ryeon’s reaction.
It was characteristic of her to empathize and react as if it were her own story.
Despite not being human, she sometimes empathized with human stories even more deeply.
That power carried over into her songs, and her voice became a source of comfort for many.
“So? What happened next?”
“I couldn’t let the Bureau Director get into trouble because of me, so I left first. I had a feeling the president would keep using me as leverage to pressure him.”
“Ah, so you can’t go there anymore? We made so many memories there.”
“But in exchange, my friends got a place to live together.”
“Of course, there’s a room for me too, right?”
“I’ll even have it connected to the swimming pool. Just say the word.”
“Thank you. Of course I’m going to live here too.”
Seo I-ryeon showed no hesitation.
“But there are a lot of other friends here. Will you be okay with that?”
“All your friends are fine, Wang-sik. A few of them already know I’m a Siren, right? The fact that it hasn’t become a rumor tells me they’re trustworthy.”
“That’s right. My friends are pretty amazing. You are, too.”
“I’m not satisfied with just being a friend.”
“Give it up. My type is set in stone.”
“I’ll give up when a man more amazing than you comes along.”
“That’s not going to be easy, so you should lower your standards a bit.”
Having finished their long talk, Wang-sik stood up. The night had grown late while they were talking.
“You’re staying the night, right?”
“Yes. I should at least say hello since I’m here.”
“It’s late, so you can greet everyone tomorrow. Let’s go.”
Wang-sik led Seo I-ryeon to a guest room.
“See you tomorrow, then. I’ll come get you in the morning.”
After Wang-sik left, Seo I-ryeon lay down on the bed.
To be honest, sleeping in the sea was most comfortable, but she had adapted, and a bed now served as a fine place of rest.
—You’re not my type.
She had heard the same words again today.
Sitting up as if in defiance, Seo I-ryeon untied the ribbon holding her hair.
What had looked like a ribbon revealed its true form when she unfurled it.
A fishnet stocking.
It was also the title of one of her songs, and she’d become a hot topic for always tying her hair with a fishnet stocking.
“Hoo.”
A look of firm resolve appeared on Seo I-ryeon’s face as she gazed at the fishnet stocking, with its thin, precariously connected strands.
*Thump!*
Her heart pounded as she held up the stocking.
Suppressing her nerves, she began to pull the stocking on, starting from her ankle.
The moment the stocking touched her ankle…
An old memory struck her like lightning.
The tight net.
The hellish moments inside it flashed before her eyes.
“Aargh!”
Seo I-ryeon tore off the fishnet stocking as if having a seizure.
Her heart, racing from the intense trauma, wouldn't calm down.
It took a long while of steadying her breath.
Finally free from the agony, Seo I-ryeon lay back down on the bed. Then, she recalled what Wang-sik had said about his type.
—A woman who looks good in fishnet stockings.
His incredibly specific preference was a huge barrier for her.
Gong Yeong-ji hummed as she put on her school uniform.
She slept at the base on weekends, so she had to hurry a bit on Mondays.
It took time to get to her school through the gate in Seoul.
Still, she loved her private room at the base and enjoyed her time with Seon-yeong, so she was happy with her life here.
“Seon-yeong! Time for breakfast!”
Sa Seon-yeong, in the room right next door, suffered a rude awakening every Monday morning.
“What time is it?”
“Time to go to school.”
“Ugh.”
Sa Seon-yeong didn’t go to school, but she knew what that meant.
They had promised to eat breakfast together, so a dazed Sa Seon-yeong went with Gong Yeong-ji to the base’s communal dining hall.
“Good morning! I’ll have the sandwich!”
After ordering a sandwich from the simple set menu, Sa Seon-yeong poured a glass of warm milk and set it on the table.
“Seon-yeong, are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. Aside from not getting enough sleep…”
“Waking up early is good for you.”
“I know.”
As they were talking, they heard a familiar tune.
A song hummed without any instruments.
“Nothing like Seo I-ryeon in the morning.”
“Did you turn that on?”
“Huh?”
Only then did they realize something was off.
Music was playing, but no one had turned it on.
Belatedly realizing the communal dining hall didn’t have music, they turned their heads.
There stood a woman with damp hair hanging loose.
“Oh? Who are you?”
Gong Yeong-ji asked, seeing the unfamiliar face, and the person turned to look at her, still humming.
In that instant, Gong Yeong-ji’s and Sa Seon-yeong’s faces froze.
As they floundered in the gap between reality and imagination, Seo I-ryeon smiled.
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”
The humming stopped, and as the greeting flowed out, Gong Yeong-ji clapped a hand over her mouth in shock.
But her hand couldn’t muffle the scream that escaped.
“Aah! Ah, hello!”
“I’m a friend of Wang-sik’s. I came early because I was hungry. Was I interrupting?”
“Mister’s friend? He never said anything…”
“He probably kept it a secret because I’ve confessed to him so many times.”
“What? Then the person you said you liked is…”
“Yes. That’s our relationship. I’ll be living here from now on, so please take care of me.”
Gong Yeong-ji was so flustered she didn’t know what to say.
Just then, Wang-sik entered the dining hall.
“Looks like you’ve already met. I was going to introduce you all at once when the others gathered.”
“Mister! I didn’t know you were this amazing!”
“Didn’t you already know?”
“You’re even more amazing than I thought! I never imagined you’d be popular with women!”
“That’s because you’re still young. Just wait until you’re twenty. You’ll fall for me too. But I’ll tell you in advance—you’re not my type.”
Right now, Gong Yeong-ji was in no state to get angry at that comment.
“Since we’re all here, shall we eat together?”
“Yes!”
They gathered around the same table and began their meal.
“Um, could I take a picture?”
“Of course. We’re friends now.”
“Then, can I post it on my Faketalk…”
“Be my guest.”
Her reaction was certainly different from Wang-sik’s.
“Don’t you have to go to school?”
“Ah, I want to stay longer…”
Gong Yeong-ji left with a feeling of regret, and a little while later, several other friends came and exchanged similar greetings.
Even the friends who already knew her identity were just as surprised to meet her in person.
“You’re much prettier than you are on screen.”
“Right? Wang-sik is the only one who doesn’t see it.”
“I know she’s pretty. She’s just not my type. You can’t love someone just because they’re pretty.”
His friends glared daggers at him for that remark, but he shrugged it off with the mental fortitude of a tanker.
“Please take good care of me, everyone.”
The friends cheered in response to Seo I-ryeon’s greeting.
She, too, had a past not so different from his friends’.
Those who knew, knew. Those who didn’t, accepted her as a friend of a friend.
And so, Seo I-ryeon entered their circle of friends.
*‘This is the first time I’ve had friends.’*
It was a new experience for her as well.