Can't Believe it's a Human

Surprise! (end)

Beds, Sunghoon concluded, were the best thing about being human. He never knew how good it was to wake up feeling warm and cosy until he was waking up just like that. Plus, this bed in particular smelt like Heeseung all over, which was a really nice bonus. Sunghoon had to give it to humans, beds were an otherworldly experience. He wondered if it’d be even better if Heeseung had been in bed as well when he woke up; that was also something humans did, according to Minjeong.

Sunghoon’s first day as human would have been a lot better if it weren’t for all the flooding memories and thoughts about the past two days. In particular, it would have been better not remembering his parents’ blatant dismissal of his feelings and entire existence. It hurt, his heart aching and his chest tightening, he wished things could be different. He felt his eyes pricking and wetness trickling down his cheeks. This was another new experience as a human. It wasn’t that he'd never cried as a merman, but underwater it felt different. He might have been crying during his transformation, but he couldn’t really feel much aside from excruciating pain. Honestly, it had been so painful, he was fully prepared to still be in pain once he woke up. So far, it was okay, though he hadn’t tried to move.

Inside Heeseung’s room, Sunghoon couldn’t tell what time it was or how long he’d been asleep. He felt well rested, which was unusual, but he was also confused and disoriented. Without the sun, he couldn’t tell the time, and he didn’t know how to get to look outside. He cleaned his face with the blanket, hoping Heeseung wouldn’t mind, and debated if he should attempt to get up or wait for Heeseung to return. 

The decision was made for him when he felt pressure in his lower belly. He seriously needed to piss and he doubted humans just released it wherever, it wouldn’t be practical while wearing clothes. Even if he didn’t know what to do or where to go, he had to get out of Heeseung’s bed. So, against his will, he threw the blankets off his body and stopped to stare at his newly formed legs for a second. They were covered by the pants Heeseung had put on him, but it was still weird to look down and not see his tail. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that those legs were his. Would he even be able to move them when they didn’t feel part of him yet? There was only one way to find out.

He focused on moving one at a time, slowly sliding them off the bed and to the side. Sitting up was a weird experience on its own, the bed was squishy and unstable, Sunghoon thought he’d fall before he even attempted to get up. He looked down as he sat at the edge of the bed, tentatively wiggling his toes. It all looked so weird. Even if he had seen Heeseung’s feet before, seeing them connected to his body was just so new and bizarre. So far, he wasn’t in pain, maybe there was a light soreness over his legs, but he couldn’t be sure that wasn’t just how legs normally felt. 

He prepared himself mentally, trying to remember how Heeseung usually stood, and then pushed himself off the bed. This, of course, landed him right on the floor. There was a brief second in which he thought he’d managed to stand up, but his legs gave out under him and he found himself lying on the floor. 

“Wait, was it all a farce?” Sunghoon whipped his head up towards the door as he heard Riki’s voice. He had not been expecting Riki to show up, and he didn’t quite understand what he was asking, so he was unable to answer. “Why are you on the floor?”

“I don’t know how to walk,” he answered. At least that one he knew how to.

“So it wasn’t a farce?” Riki tried to figure it out himself, but it wasn’t working.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Sunghoon had to say, maybe then Riki would give him context.

“The merman thing, you with a tail?” Riki offered and then dramatically gasped. “Did you turn yourself human for Heeseung? Honestly, what a stupid thing to do.” He sounded utterly disappointed.