I Want to See the Sea
Prologue: The Mermaid Prince Story
유모
"Your Majesty, stop now. Stop!"
어린 인어 왕자
"Ugh... bang..."
What is this, Prince, living in an underwater palace? A kingdom with an uncountable history has been struck by a grave problem.
That meant the prince couldn't swim in the sea. The palace people would scold the prince every chance they got, and there were even nobles who wanted to strip him of his title.
No, it got to the point where all the nobles except the king stood up and proudly declared his abdication.
귀족
"A mermaid cannot swim under the sea, making her worse than a human. You should quickly strip him of his title and reclaim his royal power. Everyone agrees, Your Majesty."
When the nobles stood before the king and made their demands, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, perhaps feeling that it was too much to ask. Then he gave them a conclusion.
왕
“Ha... Exile the prince to the human world.”
The king, who had no choice but to cure the prince's illness, decided to take special care of him under the pretext of exiling him to the human world to avoid the eyes of the nobles.
But even the king's treatment of the prince was closer to 'neglect' than 'management'.
After studying more about the human language called "swimming," he left behind a royal order to return when the time came and began living in the human world with his nanny.
When he reached land, his tail split and he grew two legs. The prince, who was still young, had to walk awkwardly on his two legs without knowing what was going on.
Arriving home with the funds she had prepared, the scent of humanity permeated the air. The nanny looked at the prince and told him a few human rules.
유모
"Your Majesty, here you must act like a human and speak human language. That way you can live comfortably."
어린 인어 왕자
"Nanny... I want to go home... My tail hurts from standing there so long..."
유모
"Now this isn't a tail, it's a foot. The thing at the end of the foot is a toe."
The nanny who followed the prince to the mainland devoted herself to his education. Reciprocating her devotion, the prince learned well and began to adapt.
When he was eight years old in human years, his nanny, who had received an application to attend elementary school, called the prince.
어린 인어 왕자
“Nanny, why did you call?”
Instead of answering, the nanny gently hugged the prince. When the prince asked the nanny why, she said no and secretly wiped away her tears.
유모
“You should go to school now. I’m sure you’ll adapt well among human children.”
As the nanny's eyes wavered, the prince sobbed and wiped her tears away with his little fingers.
어린 인어 왕자
"Nanny, don't cry..."
유모
"I'm not crying. It's a happy day. Then, should I eat something delicious today?"
After entering school, the prince realized that human time passes faster than he thought.
And that I can be happy here too, and that it's easier for me to jump on my feet than on my fins.
The kingdom did not send him to the human world for this reason, but without knowing it, the prince gradually became friendly with humans.
Now, without any awkwardness, he runs around on his own and even encourages the children to play with him.
어린 인어 왕자
“Nanny, I’m back!”
The prince returns home after school, takes off his shoes, and runs into the house.
But since there is no one to welcome him, the boy feels different from usual and timidly calls out, “Nanny...?”
어린 인어 왕자
"That's strange... Where did you go for a moment?"
Contrary to expectations that she would only be gone for a short while, the nanny did not return even after some time had passed, and there was no way the nanny would not know when school ended.
Where on earth did he disappear to? The boy cried out for his nanny all night, and then fell asleep, exhausted.
Inside the house, the boy's sad voice rang out all night,
Still, the nanny did not return to the prince's side.
Min-gyu woke up in the room and muttered while wringing his hands.
김민규
"...pathetic."
After a quick shower in the bathroom, I headed to the kitchen. I took out an egg from the fridge, stirred it a few times, and had a simple breakfast of a well-cooked egg and a bowl of rice.
From that day on, every morning was the same. Min-gyu even complained like other housewives, saying that the price of eggs had gone up recently and that it was burdensome.
07:30 AM
It was 7:30 now. It was time to crawl to school without being late. Still, Min-gyu left early, saying he had nothing better to do.
이찬
“Min-gyu hyung came early today too.”
Chan, who had been coming from afar, ran up to Min-gyu and greeted him. Min-gyu scratched his head as if he didn't understand what Chan-yi had said, then answered.
김민규
"I... have nothing to do, so I go to bed early."
Chan's eyes widen and he turns to Min-gyu.
이찬
"And you're so good at swimming? That's a total rip-off. I'll go practice first."
"Yeah, goodbye." He said goodbye to Chan. After hearing his greeting, Chan ran towards the playground. Min-gyu looked in the direction where he had disappeared and muttered.
김민규
"Yeah... I wish that were the case."
Min-gyu pondered a small wish in his heart. He slung his bag over one shoulder and entered the school. The still-quiet building greeted him.
I entered the classroom early in the morning before the teachers even arrived and contacted Seokmin as I always did.
(ringtone) You have to be okay until I get there - find you now -
After a few rings, he picked up the phone. Min-gyu put the phone screen to his ear and spoke to Seok-min.
김민규
“Hey, you said you came first yesterday and were going to do some warm-up exercises.”
이석민
"I just got to school. I saw you coming in, didn't I? You were up in the tree."
Seok-min tells Min-gyu that he feels wronged. Min-gyu, for a moment, doubts his own ears and asks again.
김민규
"What? What are you going to do up in the tree?"
Mingyu, who was taken aback by Seokmin's behavior, brushed his hair back. However, Seokmin answered in a playful tone, as if the reaction was a source of energy.
이석민
“The operation name is Octopus Stew. I can’t reveal any more because it’s an organizational secret.”
Oh my, what kind of trouble is he causing so early in the morning? Min-gyu sighed at Seok-min's words that he couldn't even understand, and hung up the phone.