His baby cousin visited

The ocean’s depths surrounded them, vast and endless, illuminated only by the soft glow of bioluminescent creatures drifting around them.

Noah floated awkwardly, still adjusting to his new tail. The sensation of having scales instead of legs was strange—too smooth, too sensitive.

The merman hovered in front of him, watching with an unreadable expression.

Then, without warning, he reached out and brushed his fingers along a small slit near the base of Noah’s tail.

A sudden jolt shot through Noah’s body.

“H-Hey! What are you doing?!” he stammered, heat rushing to his face.

The merman's own cheeks darkened slightly, but he didn’t pull away.

“Nothing.” His voice was calm, but there was something… hesitant about it.

Noah narrowed his eyes. “It doesn’t feel like nothing.”

Before he could demand an explanation, the merman pressed two fingers inside the slit.

Noah’s entire body tensed.

A soft gasp escaped his lips.

“Ah—!”

A warm, unfamiliar tingling spread through him. His tail instinctively curled, as if trying to close around the merman’s hand.

The merman’s blush deepened, his gills flaring slightly.

After a few seconds, he finally withdrew his fingers.

Noah’s breathing was uneven, his heart pounding.

He looked down—and froze.

A thick, white substance coated the merman’s fingers.

Noah’s face burned as he stared at it, his mind racing.

“W-What is that?!” he demanded, his voice cracking.

The merman, flustered but composed, looked at his fingers, then back at Noah.

“Cum.”

Noah blinked.

Then, he frowned.

“…cum?”

The merman simply nodded, his expression completely serious.

Noah squinted at him, suspicious.

Something about this felt off.

But before he could question it further, the merman wiped his fingers clean on a nearby rock and turned away, acting as if nothing had happened.

Noah glared.

This fish man was definitely hiding something.

Noah burst through the ocean’s surface, gasping for air—even though he didn’t need to. The moment his head was above water, he felt normal again. The strange comfort of breathing underwater vanished, replaced by the familiar sting of salty sea breeze against his damp skin.

He swam toward the shore, his tail gliding smoothly through the water until his fingers grasped the sand. With quick, desperate movements, he yanked the necklace off.

The instant the chain left his skin, a sudden warmth spread through his lower half.

Before he even looked, he felt it.

His legs were back.

A relieved sigh escaped his lips as he collapsed onto the shore, his body still shivering from the strange experience. The whole thing had been too much—his tail, the underwater world, the mysterious slit situation.

He didn't even have time to process it before—

“Noah!”

A small voice rang out.

Noah blinked, startled, before looking up.

Running toward him was his baby cousin, Elias.

The little boy giggled as he ran across the sand, his tiny arms flailing excitedly.

Noah forced a smile, trying to push away the weirdness of the past hour. “Hey, buddy. What are you doing here?”

Elias beamed, his cheeks round and rosy. “Mommy said I can visit! I missed you!”

Noah’s chest warmed. He always adored his little cousin—innocent, sweet, and completely untouched by the chaos of the world.

He ruffled the boy’s soft curls. “I missed you too. I’ll take good care of you, okay?”

Just as he said those words, the air around them shifted.

A deep, cold presence settled behind Noah.

He stiffened.

The merman had arrived.

Noah turned his head slowly.

The merman stood at the water’s edge, his long, wet hair clinging to his pale skin, his striking blue eyes locked onto Elias. But this time, his gaze was different.

The usual playful smirk was gone.

His face twisted into something… ugly.

Disgust.

Pure, unfiltered revulsion.

Noah felt his stomach drop.

The merman’s gills flared slightly, his expression darkening further, as if just looking at Elias made his skin crawl.

Noah’s heart pounded.

Why was he looking at his cousin like that?

What the hell was going on?

To be continued

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