Femme Fatale

Chapter 2: Peculiar Parents

My parents believe that when they have partaken flesh of a merfolk, they attained miraculous longevity and lived for centuries. They were both obsessed about these mythological aquatic creatures ever since I was born. Our family crest is even a mermaid, all I thought it was because we’re into watercrafts business but it’s just a cover up.

My father’s a British-American and my mother’s Korean-American, both of them had seen mermaids when they were young both their memories about them weren’t that nice. My maternal grandfather went to aid a woman he thought was drowning in a lake near their house but then he got killed by a mermaid in the lake and my mother saw it, they said that mermaids are able to swim up rivers to freshwater lakes, so my parents always warn me  not to swim to those type of waters. My paternal grandfather he’s a nobleman but also part of the Blackbeard’s crew, when grandfather’s boat almost reached the land a mermaid suddenly soared high above the water and took him, father was only ten meters away so he saw it clearly. Both of my parents got terrifying experience from mermaids that’s why when they got married, they’re out for a hunt not wild animals but mermaids.

Monday, 15th of July 1968, Massachusetts, U.S.

I just got back from summer trip with my friends, the sun is shining bright outside our mansion but inside our house have been lighted up by artificial lights. All the curtains aren’t even parted to let the sun comes in like they usually are, all of them are closed as if we don’t want anything to come in.

“Why are we using electricity when we can use the natural source of light??” talking to my butler who’s walking beside me as I entered the mansion

“Madame Jinki was screaming in pain earlier, no one knows what exactly happen except for your parents, they didn’t let anyone in to the master’s bedroom, then Lord Davy, ordered everyone to close all the curtains this morning and never let the sunshine in forever.” Pectoralz speaking fast

“They finally lost it, should I call an ambulance now and take them to mental hospital??!” staring straight ahead “Where are they now?”

“They’re in the dining room having breakfast, young master Seaof.” Pectoralz said as he follows me towards the dining room

“Are you two vampires now?? are those blood in the wine glass?” sits at the end corner of the table across my father’s chair at the other end

“Blood, he says.” father chuckles as he turns to mother who’s sitting on his right side “The prey has been slayed son, your mother and I had a rare fish as supper last night, we brought it at home and put it back into pieces since we only ate a bit also to let you see but then it’s all gone.”

“We assumed that it was burn into ashes because there are burned marks at the table where we left it, we can’t find the traces of those ashes.” mother said as she drink the red liquid in her glass “But it doesn’t matter, your father and I already got what we want.” smiling victoriously

“So, your obsession with mermaids are over and now you’re into other mythological creature?” sniffing the red liquid in my glass “Oh, this is juice??”

“Raspberry juice.” mother said “We’re not blood suckers, Seaof, we’re still human who consumed a flesh that bestows amazing longevity.” chuckles

“Since your mother and I are the living proofs of the Japanese legend about the yaobikuni, you have to be one of us too.” father have a sinister smile

“I’ll pass, I’m good being a normal human being, you two do your own stuff and I study until I graduate from college.” eating my breakfast

“Sure, do what you want for now son, but when we caught one for you, you don’t have a choice but to do what we want you to do, unless you want everything you have be taken away from you.” father giving me a cold and sharp gaze

“I’m the only successor you have, you won’t disown me.” ignoring his threat

“We may not have someone next in line aside from you Seaof, but we don’t need someone to inherit everything that we worked for anymore.” mother said “We’re only giving you this opportunity because you’re our son, so if you disobey, you’re giving us no choice but to kick you out from the family.”

“Fine, let’s deal with it when the time comes, for now, can we eat breakfast then tell me what exactly happened to you two?!” sighs heavily

“We’ll show you later son, don’t you worry, we’re not crazy as you think, the world is crazy not us.” father said excitedly

After having breakfast with my strange parents, I went to my room first to take a bath and prepared myself for their fantasy story again. I’m just a high school kid and I can’t so anything by myself at my current state, so I have to listen to my parents who’s providing me everything I have in life.

“I’m here, shall we start the story telling now before we have lunch?” walking inside the study room where my parents waiting for me

“To see is to believe, right?” father locked the door “Just open it slightly alright, honey?” walked towards the window

“Are you ready, honey?” mother opened the curtain and let the sunlight hit father

“Arrggghhhh!” father screaming in pain as his skin being burn by the sunlight “That’s enough! Please close it again!! Aww!”

“Wh-what’s wrong with you?!” stuttering while looking at my father’s burned skin “Are you for real father?! The sunlight gets you burn??!”

“That’s the negative side effect, but here’s the positive, Seaof.” mother cut her palm with a cutter “It’s painful at first but look what happen next.” her wound disappearing slowly as if nothing happened “Your father and I are both immortals now!” smiling widely “Isn’t it amazing?!!”

“Your mother and I can live three to five centuries or even a thousand years if we’re that lucky since we had a golden tailed mermaid but we’re not sure yet, all we know is the shortest is three and five is common, though there’s already one who’s still alive after ten centuries and 58 years.” father said “He started ageing after a thousand years and now he’s a 98 years old man though he should only be bones these days.”

“With that old man you said, is he the old man I know?” looking at my parents “The old man living in our attic, Mr. Sparrow??!” shocked

“Yes, he is, he was immortal for a thousand years, stuck at the age of forty since then but now he’s just waiting for death to come, we’re the last family he has and fortunately he already shared all the knowledge he gathered from the very beginning.” mother said with a sweet smile on her face

“All I thought he was just an old man who knows everything but he’s too smart that he became irrational of what’s real and fantasy.” still in disbelief

“So, from now on, I’m 44 ½ years old and your mother just 44, and we’ll be looking like this for the next three hundred years minimum.” father said

“The reason we want you to be one of us too, Seaof.” mother walk towards me “You won’t be our son if you look older than us, our family should live for centuries, but of course you need to have a descendant first, once you became immortal you also lose the ability to reproduce.” pats my shoulder

“Well it’s not that easy to catch a mermaid, it took us over three decades to caught one, so you have to wait for your turn, but don’t worry your mother and I will do our best to get you one.” father smiling at me as if he’s promising me to get a rare toy

I may not see the mermaid with my own eyes but my parents became immortal after consuming its flesh. However, being immortal have many pros and cons, and I’m not sure myself if I want to be like them when the time comes, but one thing is for sure, I want to see a real mermaid. Whether the legends about them are true, that they are such beautiful creatures and have power and abilities, I want to confirm it myself.

Sunday morning, my parents found out that the mermaid they caught have a family on land, they ordered our people to search for the mermaid’s human husband and the half-breed daughter. They thought that its better to have a lead than begin again from scratch, since mermaids aren’t that easily to find. The children of interbreed unions will transform when they reach the age of 18, as what Mr. Sparrow have told me before when I was a kid.

Since the whole state of Massachusetts is in our control, affirming that the father and daughter we’re looking for was no longer in the state only took a week. At the end of July, the search for the two began after my parents planned it carefully, we’re openly hunting the whole country but we have to be discreet at all times since we’re seeking for an extraordinary family of two.

Saturday, 10th of April 1971, Busan, South Korea

After almost two years of probing all over America, we finally found out that the people we’re looking for moved in to Korea. Busan is well known for the mythical undersea kingdom of mermaids, so our family left everything behind in Massachusetts and start living a new life in a foreign country.

Mr. Sparrow died on the 1st day of April at the age of 100, so the maximum immortality last would be ten centuries and 60 year, my parents recorded it to their journal. So, there’s no one important we’re leaving behind, besides having a new life in an island would be the best option for my parents who stopped growing old. Everyone knows our family back there and its better for us leave before they found the truth.

Because its only two more months before I graduated in high school though I already selected which university in America I’m going to have the bachelor’s degree in marine engineering, I had to enrolled at the National Maritime College in Korea. I haven’t finished my senior year yet but then they admitted me as freshman student even if I’m too early and too late because the school year starts at the beginning of March, well its all because of my parents’ connections.

I had to absent that Friday from school just to take the admission exam on Saturday, however the college had to translate the test into English for me to understand since I don’t know Korean at all. Though my mother’s pure Korean who only have citizenship in America since her family resides in the country from the moment she was born, she never taught me the language. I may look Korean from the outside but I’m all American inside.

“You got me my own private plane?!!” exclaiming after father told me that the huge thing in front of me is mine

“The Nevaeh have their own plane when they turned 14, so I don’t see any problem if my 18-year-old son would get his too.” father said proudly

“This is because you have to go back and forth to Massachusetts in order to complete high school.” mother said as she clings on my left arm

“Wow!! Would this be my graduation gift too??!” keeping my eyes on the plane

“Well we spent millions to bought this for you so it’s definitely your graduation present, we’ll just have your car to be shipped here when you moved in.” father put his arm around my shoulder “You better leave now son, the time difference is 13 hours so you can also enjoy Sunday back there in America, remember that you have to leave every Thursday evening for you to arrive here for your weekends class.”

“You must be so happy being liberated from us for three months.” mother giving me a meaningful look “The mansion is all yours for the time being.”

“Don’t worry mother, I won’t burn the house while partying with my friends.” teasing my mother a bit

“Seaof Godeth!!” mother getting annoyed at me “You better not party every night, even if you’re a college freshman don’t forget that you’re the valedictorian of your school, you have to maintain your excellent grades until the end without slacking.” hits my shoulder slightly as she pulled away from clinging on me “We’ll see you on your graduation day, alright?” giving me a kiss on my cheek before I parted from them

“Have a safe trip son.” father embracing me after mother let me go “We might go there two days before your big day, I’m just notifying you in case you may have plans at the house during the last week of June.” whispered to my ears before he released me

“Hahaha, I’ll keep that in mind, father.” climbing up the stairs to get inside the plane “I’ll see you two at June!” waved goodbye to them before I get in “I could even live in this plane.” looking around the plane’s interior “This is much nicer than our family plane!”

We have our family use only plane; I didn’t expect that father would buy me my own private plane instead of just letting me use what we already had. Nonetheless, what he said is right, the Nevaeh who’s known in the aircrafts industry all over the world, everyone in that family have their own plane when they reached 14. The Godeth are known for watercrafts business but only in America, my parents might have thought to expand our business in other part of the world and not just where we originated. If the Nevaeh made it out from California and let their business grow into an empire around the world then the Godeth can do it too, we may not be above the clouds but we can conquer the seas.

Monday morning, I meet with my friends first before going to class like the usual, they have the same reaction as me. They’re happy that I got my own private plane and freedom for almost three months but they’re also sad that I won’t be in America anymore.

“Instead of California Maritime Academy you’re attending National Maritime College in Korea??!” girlfriend exclaimed “I thought we’ll be together in California?! Why do you have to moved in to another country with your parents when you can be on your own in college?!!”

“Well unlike you guys, I don’t have much choice but to follow them, I’m still dependent on my parents as long as I don’t earned money on my own that’s why I have to abide their rules, besides our family is going to challenge the Nevaeh, everyone knows that they started in California, right?” I said

“Yeah, specifically in Los Angeles, but now look how far the wealthiest family in L.A. become one of the wealthiest family in the world!” male friend A

“Except for Africa and Antarctica, they have branches of their company in the rest of the continents, I wonder what it feels like to be part of that family, aside from being extremely rich I heard that everyone with the Nevaeh blood are all good-looking.” male friend B

“The three daughters of the third son are said to be goddesses in the flesh, along with their cousin who’s the only child of the second son.” male friend C “The whole clan is currently in Korea, right Seaof?”

“I think they moved in ’63 and apparently they’re not just simply rich they also have royal lineage both, the oldest Nevaeh was an uncrowned emperor of China while his late wife was a grandchild of the king and queen of Korea.” I replied

“I don’t think you’ll be in Korea for your parents, you’re aiming for one of the four goddesses, are you Seaof?” male friend D teasing me

“Is that true, babe?!!” girlfriend glaring at me “Are you really going to Korea for the Nevaeh girls?!!”

“Of course not!” wooing her to calm down “Don’t listen to these rascals, they’re just messing up with us.” kissing her lips as I touch her legs while she’s sitting on my lap “Do you want to live with me in the mansion until graduation?”

“Really?!!” girlfriend getting excited “That’s more convenient for us, I like that, I’ll tell my parents when I get home later, thanks babe!!” kissed me

“I thought it’s just for us boys only?!!” male friend A chuckles “Then can we invite our girls too??”

“Sure, as long as you guys only have s*x inside your bedrooms, and your girls know how to respect the people serving us at home.” reminding them manners since we’re not the only people in the mansion

“Don’t worry our girls aren’t low class.” male friend B “They’re all well behaved when someone else around but they’re wild in bed.”

“Yes, he’s f**king the new teacher, when he found out that I’m dating the librarian.” male friend C revealed our friend’s secret

“I knew it! You two have the same preference as me, but still our school nurse is the best!” male friend D proud of his girl

“Yeah right, I’m the only one who’s dating the same age as me, though I’ve got the cheerleader you guys went overboard!” shaking my head in disbelief

And so, the last months of high school were such a blast for all of us, my friends and I lived in the mansion altogether until graduation. I’ve been departing from Massachusetts every Thursday evening and departing from Busan every Sunday evening, but now going back and forth is all over. I left America with my parents after having one last party for my graduation on the 1st day of July but we arrived Korea on the 2nd day because of the 14 hours’ time difference. I’m no longer in high school and I’m officially a freshman college at a foreign place, without having a break.

I only have three more weekends classes then next semester I’ll be a normal freshman student, but instead of having summer vacation like everyone else I have to attend the Korean language course for my Korean vocabulary and grammar, listening, speaking, reading, writing. My freshmen year wasn’t that great but my sophomore year, was way much better since I finally learned the language and made friends with my fellow engineering classmates.

Last year, I celebrated my 19th birthday with just my parents but now I’m turning 20, I invited everyone to my advanced birthday party at the Godeth mansion in Dongabaek Island of Busan. It was my first-time bringing outsiders at home and just like my first impression at the mansion’s architectural design, everyone was also astonished and couldn’t help themselves to ask if they’re still in Busan.

“We’re still in Dongabaek Island of Busan right? not in London, England??” female classmate A said as our car went through the gate to the mansion

“Is this for real, you live in a castle?!!” Korean girlfriend sitting on the passenger’s seat beside me “I know you’re rich but I didn’t know you’ll be this rich, are you perhaps have a royal blood in you too like the Nevaeh?”

“Nah, but my father has a nobleman’s blood from England, our servants in America addressed him as Lord.” I said humbly “My father’s manor in London looked like this before it was destructed by war so he rebuilt it here in Busan.”

“Ilya you better guard Seaof carefully or else some b*tch will snatch him away from you.” female classmate B who’s sitting at the back with the other girl “The Godeth might be second only to the Nevaeh but still look how wealthy they are.”

“Stop it, Hyobe!” Seaof might think that I’m a gold digger “I love this sexy man driving the car because he’s too hot, not because he’s rich!”

“Yeah right, Ilya likes Seaof for his visuals not because he buys everything what she wants.” Female classmate A who’s sitting behind me

“Hey, Jijang you really are my right-hand girl!” Ilya gave Jijang a high five

“I don’t care about the reason you’re dating me but as long as I’m dating the hottest female in the campus, that’s all matters to me.” glancing at Ilya

“Well I’m all yours baby!” Ilya emphasizing her breasts

“I prefer this than those.” touching her legs with my free hand as my other hand busy on driving the car

“Uhm, excuse me we’re still here at the back!” Hyobe exclaimed as she gets uncomfortable on what I’m doing to their friend

“Don’t worry miss conservative, Seaof only touch my legs in public he never does nasty things when we’re not alone.” Ilya defending me

“I like legs the most than any part of female body.” explaining myself

When we finally arrived at the front door, I let the two from the backseat get off first as I steal a kiss from Ilya and give her a squeeze. She may not be a gold digger and she only like me because of my visuals though I’m not that good-looking myself but I’m the best choice in the campus among other males. We’re not dating because we love each other I’m only dating her because it’s more convenient not to have strings attached.

My first love, Sophie, we lasted for almost three years, we broke up before summer vacation of our third year in high school because we both fell out of love. At the beginning of my senior year, I’ve dated Gwyneth, because I had to moved in to Korea we’ve got long distance relationship, but it didn’t last for long too, only for a year and four months. After broking up with Gwyneth, I started having relationship with Daryl on my sophomore year but because we clashed too much and we only fight each other, we broke up after eight months of dating.

“I thought you’re dating an American girl, were you only pertaining to her nationality and not her appearance?” mother came in to my bedroom as I changed my clothes for my party

“Daryl and I broke up a month ago, mother, she’s my new girl, Ilya Lee, she’s pure Korean and she never got out from the country since birth.” I said as I put my undershirt on “I think it’s time for me to date Korean girls instead of American girls, they only caused me heartbreak.”

“I see, how long have you been dating this Ilya Lee?” mother assisting me with my tie

“Today is our sixth day.” looking at mother as I stay still

“Done, I hope you have a successful relationship on your fourth, it’s a shame that I didn’t even met Daryl.” mother putting my suit on me

“We’re like cat and mouse, I only remembered us fighting each other, I don’t know how we lasted for eight months.” looking myself to the mirror

Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day, I’ve celebrated it all with Ilya and now we’re both on our junior year at college. Aside from the new four British professors who’ll handle my courses, a freshman that I least expected to see just enrolled to the same program as I am, Poseidon Nevaeh.

I became close with my British professors in just a month and I hang out with them often than my classmates. I’m spending time with them during lunch break at their faculty when Poseidon came in to returned the book, he borrowed from one of our professors.

“You’re done already?!!” Prof. Champion, whose specialty is offshore engineering

“Yes, professor I’ve been reading it since you let me borrowed.” Poseidon suddenly meet my eyes “Sunbae-nim.” bowed his head to me slightly

“Ah right, Seaof here is our friend, apparently he’s the only student here who wants to hang out with us.” Prof. Buckland, whose specialty is oceanographic engineering “He’s only helping us to adapt in our new environment, so please don’t misunderstand.”

“Don’t worry Professor, I don’t misunderstand anything that’s conspicuous.” Poseidon politely said “I think I’m disturbing your lunch; I better leave.”

“It’s fine Poseidon, you may stay if you want.” Prof. Berryman, whose specialty is mechanical engineering “Seaof here got an interesting story to tell.”

“Yeah, you should stay, it’s better to have another student here and not just me.” inviting him to sit beside me

“Is it really a good thing to share such story with someone younger?” Prof. Martin, whose specialty is naval architecture “He seems too innocent.”