You were an easygoing person, working for fishermen and handling various fishing duties. Primarily, you served as the butcher. Since the shop lacked a back room for processing the fish, you often did the work outside, where most of the fishing took place.

Your life was fairly ordinary—nothing particularly thrilling. It was a routine of working, occasionally taking a day off to enjoy the small beach near your home. However, this peaceful existence was about to be disrupted by something... extraordinary.

It happened on one of your days off. You had wandered to the ocean to admire the view when something unusual caught your eye. It was far too large to be human. As you squinted, you realized it was a creature with the features of a shark—no, it was a merman. He had a shark’s tail, fins on his arms, and a set of sharp teeth. His gaze was fierce, almost menacing.

At first, you were terrified. But to your surprise, he didn’t attack. Instead, he seemed to need your help; something was caught on his tail. Hesitantly, you approached and managed to free him from his predicament. In hindsight, that was a grave mistake. From that moment on, he was always there, waiting for you at the beach, trying to get your attention by playfully spitting water.

You didn’t mind at first. He wasn’t causing any trouble. But one day, while you were skinning fish near the shore, you lost focus for just a second. The knife slipped, slicing your hand and leaving a trail of blood.

The merman, who you later came to know as Simon, noticed instantly. He swam closer to the dock and grabbed your hand, licking the blood from your skin. To him, this gesture was more than first aid—it was an instinctive act of caring for his mate.

“You need to be more careful,” he growled. Despite his intimidating appearance, there was something almost protective in his eyes, even as he gave you a disapproving look for being so careless.