The day was Saturday, the day after Arian turned into a mermaid. Arian was enjoying her swim together with Pixie as the sun shone above the blue sky. Meanwhile, I was in the kitchen on the third floor.

“Prince, Arian said to hurry and bring the drinks,” Pixie informed me. She appeared behind me as I prepared for the drinks.

“That girl...” I whispered in an irritated face. “She’s acting like a guest... not that she isn’t.”

“Prince, can I ask you a question?”

“What is it?” I asked as I placed the ice cubes inside the glasses.

“What do you think of Arian?”

I looked at her and answered, “A violent and irritating woman.”

Because of my answer, Pixie got shocked.

“D-d-d-does that mean that you don’t like her?” she continued, somewhat on the verge of tears.

When I heard her question, my eyebrow twitched, and I looked away. Instead, I fixed my gaze to the finished three glasses of ‘four seasons’-flavored juice.

“I know that she’s a good person at heart. She’s also beautiful. The reason is... well... we can’t get along even as friends,” I replied in somberness and placed a straw on each drink.

Then, Pixie gave me a glad smile and followed, “Maybe you need more time together. With that said, I’ll explore your tiny castle for the meantime.”

“You dare call this house tiny?” I retorted, somewhat offended. “Well... it’s small compared to fairy tale castles though.”

“I’ll drink my share later,” Pixie added and flew down the stairs.

“Jeez,” I sighed and heard some vibration. I followed it and found Arian’s bag on top of the chair near the door. Inside was the source, her cellphone.

“Arian, someone is calling you!” I shouted, but she didn’t respond.

Didn’t she hear me?

I opened her bag and grabbed the phone. There, I saw 10 missed calls, all from ‘Mama’.

“Not that surprising considering she ran away from home.”

After that, I grabbed the two glasses and went towards Arian, who was at the swimming pool.

“Thanks,” Arian said with a smile after I gave her the drink. Then, she sipped on the straw and placed it on the floor beside the pool. “Where’s Pixie?”

“She’s exploring around the house,” I replied in a standing position. After that, I sipped some juice.

“Do you want to join me here?”

She’s in a good mood now. I guess I shouldn’t mess with her for today.

“Then...” I said and placed my glass on the nearby table. Then, I removed my shirt as I was already wearing trunks. But after I undressed, I noticed Arian’s stare. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

She immediately looked away and replied, “W-Why would I even do that?”

“You like to deny things, don’t you?” I whispered and placed the shirt at the chair next to the table. I then entered the pool and submerged my entire body. “This feels refreshing. Summer is right around the corner, all right.”

Arian looked at me with a smile and followed, “Yeah. Because of that, I didn’t feel the cold last night. Or maybe that’s because I’m now a mermaid.”

“So it was the right choice for you to stay here like Pixie suggested last night,” I said and averted my gaze away from her. Instead, I looked at the water before me.

“Anyway, I noticed that you’re not wearing your glasses today. Is that a prescription or a fake?” Arian asked curiously.

“It’s fake. My vision is 20/20. I don’t wear it at home, but I always wear it every time I go out.”

“Then, why do you bother to wear one? It suits you more when you’re not wearing glasses,” she followed in a slightly serious look.

“I don’t want to stand out, that’s all.”

“I think that’s the reason you stand out more,” Arian countered in a whisper.

With our conversation ended, we chilled inside the pool in silence. After some minutes, I asked her a question to break it.

“You ran away from home, right? Your phone is full of missed calls from your mother,” I said, not turned to her.

Then, Arian looked at me and made a sad face.

“Well... she said that I should stop doing taekwondo. And that I should focus more on my studies,” she muttered and looked at the pool water ahead of her.

When I heard that, I looked at her with a serious face.

“So she’s against your hobby.”

“Yeah. You see...” she said and looked up with a sudden smile. “I love taekwondo.”

“...”

“I love the competition. I also love the training to become stronger. I even love interacting with my fellow club members. I... love everything about it. And my late father was the one who introduced me to the martial sport, so I want to continue doing it.”

Because of that, I smiled, not conscious of what I did. She then looked at me and became surprised. After that, she looked away with somewhat red cheeks.

I looked at the blue sky and said, “Sometimes, it’s hard to communicate with our parents. Because there’s the generation gap and also their pride to consider. But despite that, as their son and daughter, all we need to do is to make them understand these three things. What we want, what we like, and what we live for. I’m sure that they will understand us soon after we told them about that. Why? Because a friend will desert us, but our blood-related parents won’t, at least in my case. It’s up to you to decide whether that’s also the case for you.”

But Arian only stared at me with her mouth open. When I felt her look, I stared back at her with squinted eyes and followed, “Hey, don’t mix your drool in my pool’s water.”

“Wha--’’ she reacted, dumbfounded after she heard my sudden follow-up. “Do you need to say that last part? And here I am already touched from your first speech.”

“Oh~ So you’re touched. I’m flattered to hear that, princess,” I replied with a smug face.

“Why you!” Arian said and splashed me with a wave of water.

Because of that, I got left with a soaked face and hair.

“Hahaha. To think you will look dumber with a wet hair,” she reacted in amusement.

This girl...

Without consideration, I took my revenge by doing the same to her, but with a much more forceful wave of water.

“What’s wrong, Seaweed Princess? Is that all you’ve got?” I asked with an arrogant smile.

“Don’t call my hair seaweed!” she retorted in fury and splashed back once again.

The continuous splash back and forth made us laugh. We continued our revenge at each other without a stop.

“How youthful,” Pixie commented with a smile as she watched us from the side of the pool. She then sipped on her glass of juice and couched thrice after. “This straw is so big for my mouth.”

“Prince,” Arian called with a smile after we stopped our splash.

“Hmm?”

“I still need time to talk to her,” she said after she looked down with a sad smile.

“I see...” I replied with a serious face and stared at the sky. “Okay.”

As I looked at the clouds, the scene I saw from midnight flashed before my eyes. When I checked Arian if she was sleeping soundly in the pool, I saw her crying. The ‘Arian’ who can beat five delinquents on her own was sobbing, trying her best to cry in silence. I was sure it was because of the sudden loss of her limbs. And that she also ran away from home. With those feelings bottled up, even her strong heart will find it difficult to suppress for long. So when she got left alone, her sadness and worries blew out. That was why all I could do there was to stand behind the door and feel the guilt of my action.

“I’ll return you back to normal, Arian,” I vowed to myself on that day.

──◈─▣─♕─▣─◈──

Later in the afternoon, I went out to take care of some business. I left Pixie with Arian so she won’t get bored alone. After I walked for some time, I arrived at my destination, the front of my school’s gate. I waited for a minute and the one I wanted to meet finally appeared.

“So you’re Prince,” a middle-aged woman said with a serious look after she stopped before me. She was wearing a plain white blouse tucked into her black straight skirt. She also resembled Arian. It was because the one before me was Arian’s mother, Mrs. Rhian.

“Good afternoon,” I greeted with a serious face.

I copied her number from Arian’s phone before I left the house. Without Arian’s permission, of course. Even Pixie doesn’t know about my plan to meet her.

“Good afternoon. So is it true that you know my daughter’s whereabouts?” Arian’s mother, Mrs. Rhian, asked me with a similar seriousness as me.

“Yeah,” I replied as I looked straight into her eyes.

“Then what do you want as a reward?”

She is an adult all right.

“I don’t need any. I’m only here as an informer.”

“I see...” she reacted without a change in expression. “Then, where is she?”

“Arian is at my house,” I immediately replied.

After she heard that, her eyebrow twitched.

“Do you know that I can accuse you of kidnapping?” she followed with furrowed eyebrows.

“You can’t,” I answered swiftly, still serious.

“Why?”

“Because Arian is my girlfriend,” I bluffed as I maintained my poker face.

This is the only way I can talk to her real self. Now, how will you react?

She became stupefied and replied, “Boyfriend, you say? Arian doesn’t have a boyfriend. And even if that’s the truth, I can still accuse you of that crime,” she followed as she got mad.

“Then, are you planning to deny her will once again?”

She got speechless because of that verbal counter.

“It’s Arian’s choice to stay at my place. No need to worry, I will take care of her until she goes back to your home.”

“I won’t allow that,” she rejected hardly. “Even if the two of you are dating, I can’t let you two sleep in the same roof.”

“Then, why are you so against Arian’s hobby? This whole incident won’t happen if you allowed her to do taekwondo while studying. It’s not even affecting her grades anyway because she’s still one of the top students in our class.”

“I want her to be successful in life. She said to me she wants to pursue a profession related to taekwondo... how simple-minded. Taekwondo is all about strength. If she wants to pursue that as her career, she should’ve been born as a man. No matter how strong she becomes, she can never reach the same strength as that of a man’s. That is why if you’re a woman, it’s better to have an office job instead. Because that’s where you’ll find stability,” she explained in arrogance.

“So that’s your reason,” I whispered and fixed my glasses. “You don’t understand Arian all right.”

“What—” she reacted, but immediately became bewildered soon after. It was because she almost shouted. So instead, she coughed and made a serious expression. “I understand what’s good for her. So as her boyfriend, you should not support her, but me, her mother.”

“That is wrong,” I responded and her eyebrow twitched again. “What I should do is to support what your daughter, Arian, wants to do.”

“Even if she will regret that decision later on?” she asked with a sharp look in her eyes.

“Yeah,” I answered to convey my seriousness through eye contact. “Because if you decided on something, you’ll never regret that no matter how hard it will be. After all, it’s your decision, not anyone else’s.”

“You’re soft,” she immediately said to me, still with her serious look.

Then, I smiled and replied, “I’m fine with being soft if that’s what it’ll take to achieve her dream.”

She became surprised again and got silent for quite some time.

“You remind me of my late husband...” she whispered inaudibly with a sudden slight smile.

“Did you say something?”

She made a serious expression and asked, “Then, let me ask you this. Are you prepared to marry my daughter?”

Because of that, my heartbeat spiked, not prepared for that kind of question.

“Or are you all talk?” she continued with a glare.

It looks like I won’t get away by lying on this one.

“I am,” I answered as looked straight into her eyes.

When she heard my response, she smiled and turned around. “Say to Arian that she can now go home.”

“Does that mean...” I whispered, stunned.

“I permit her to continue her club activities. But once her grades drop, I’ll make her stop her hobby... and dating you. Is that clear?”

“Okay. I understand,” I replied in a serious expression. After that, she walked away but stopped immediately.

“Arian...” Mrs. Rhian whispered.

“Pardon?”

“Is Arian... eating fine?” she asked, motionless.

I then smiled and answered, “Yeah.”

“I see,” she responded and continued her walk.

I guess a ‘parent’ will always be a parent.

♡ Arian’s Point-of-View ♡

After Prince left half an hour ago, I prepared myself and called my mother to apologize. As I listened to the ringtone, she answered her phone soon after.

“Uhmm... Mama,” I said in a hesitant tone.

“Arian... I talked with your boyfriend earlier,” Mama said in a serious tone.

“What?” I reacted, startled.

Boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend! Who is she talking about?

“I know you so I’m sure you don’t even know what he did. His name is Prince, right? Why did you choose an arrogant kid as your first boyfriend?” Mama followed as she complained.

“That’s...” I replied, confused about how to answer.

Wait. Did he leave to meet up with my mother?

“But... he reminds me of your father...” Mama continued with a gentle tone.

When I heard that, I became surprised but smiled after a second.

“I see...” I agreed as I reminisced some memories from the past.

“I think I’ve been too hard on you. That’s what I realized after talking to him. So you can continue attending your club. But once your grades drop, I’ll make you stop doing taekwondo... and dating that kid. Is that clear?”

“Mama...” I whispered, taken aback.

“...”

“Okay, I promise,” I responded after I made a serious expression.

“So when will you come back?”

“Uhmm... about that... I still got something important to do. Is it okay to stay here at Prince’s place until everything becomes okay?”

“...”

“I promise to return as soon as I fixed this problem... so… please?”

“Okay. But be sure to update me from time to time.”

“I understand. Thank you,” I said with a relieved smile.

“Take care,” Mama followed, and the call ended.

After that, Pixie appeared as she hugged a cheese cupcake her size and flew towards me.

“Did something good happen?” Pixie asked after she saw me with a smile.

I covered my mouth with the phone and replied, “Well, my Mom and I reconciled.”

“That’s wonderful news then,” Pixie responded gladly and took a bite on the cupcake. “Delicious~”

Soon after, Prince opened the door and went before us.

“Oh, Prince. Welcome home,” I greeted with a smile.

I guess it’s all thanks to him. He is a good guy deep inside after all.

“Where did you go?” I asked as I tried to act clueless.

“Well, I took care of something,” he replied with a serious look.

“I see,” I responded with a gentle smile.

“What’s wrong, Prince?” Pixie asked after she flew towards Prince.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he looked at me and asked, “Arian, will you marry me?”