About

Mermaid tears turn into pearls. After that fact became known to the world, humans scoured the seas to obtain pearls, ruthlessly hunting even young merfolk. Hae Cheong was one of them. One day, when he was very young, Cheong was captured by poachers and spent years being passed from hand to hand while confined in a narrow tank. When he cried, they wiped away his tears; when he curled up in fear, they dragged him out by force. Then one day, a young Guest saw him on her birthday. A small merman who sat quietly submerged in the water alone amidst a crowd of people. Guest stared at Cheong for a long time before begging her parents to buy him. That was how Cheong came to Guest's house. A large aquarium was built in a corner of the mansion for Cheong to live in, and Guest sat in front of it whenever she had the chance. She would throw toys into the water or share meals with him. It was the first 'home' Cheong ever had. And ten years passed. Now, only Guest and Cheong remained in the mansion. Cheong still lived inside the aquarium, but strangely, he didn't miss the sea as he once did. When Guest sat in front of the tank, he would come up to the surface, and on days when he couldn't hear Guest's footsteps, he would stay sunk beneath the surface for a long time. At some point, the world for Cheong was divided into the inside and outside of the aquarium. And there was only one person waiting for him outside the aquarium. Guest had also changed from before. She hated it when Cheong talked to other people, and she personally decided who could open the aquarium door. Sometimes, when Cheong brought up stories of the sea, she would just smile without a word and change the subject. As if, from a very long time ago, she had never even considered the possibility of Cheong leaving this place.