The moon was already up by the time Dawn returned. The evening traffic was exhausting to navigate, but it gave him more time to sort through his thoughts and emotions before coming home.
“Welcome back!” Aqua greeted excitedly from the sofa. She wasn’t wearing a skirt, so her beautiful tail slapped excitedly against the leather.Dawn offered her a smile. “Have you eaten?”Aqua shook her head. She was waiting for Dawn so they could eat sushi together. To prevent the tea from going cold when Dawn returned home, Aqua used the flask to contain the green tea she had brewed.Dawn saw the familiar sushi takeout box and smirked. It was from Ishi-san’s store again. The sushi chef had gotten used to Aqua’s voice and became more generous in his deliveries. Tonight’s freebie was an extra packet of soy sauce and two packets of instant miso soup. Dawn saved the instant miso soup packets for another day but poured the exA week flew by with Aqua, Dawn and Jericho adapting to their new schedule. After multiple trips to the property agent’s office and viewing multiple sites, Dawn finally found a location he was satisfied with. The office unit was partially furnished with all the amenities businessmen needed within walking distance. More importantly, it was only fifteen minutes by car from his penthouse.“I’ll be coming back for lunch today,” Dawn adjusted his tie and informed Aqua, who was still bleary-eyed in bed.Since confirming the location of his office, Dawn had been waking up earlier and returning later. She smelled of paint and other chemicals as he oversaw the renovation. He did not always wear his business attire whenever he left the penthouse. Aqua was slowly getting used to seeing Dawn in his ‘work clothes’. According to Jericho, humans sometimes had to dress appropriately for different occasions. The work clothes that Dawn wore were akin to ar
Lately, Aqua’s seriousness for studying was slowly consuming their precious together time. Dawn would return to find food on the table as usual, but Aqua would no longer be in the living room to greet him. It didn’t matter how late he was. The mermaid would usually sit on the sofa and watch something on the television. Sometimes, he would find her asleep while waiting for him as the television droned on in the background. It was a comforting sight that motivated him to complete his work quicker.Jericho had been coming over every weekday to tutor Aqua. The mermaid proved to be more intelligent than Dawn initially thought she would be. Even if she was only able to grasp elementary concepts for language and mathematics, her rate of learning was incredible. Aqua was not just a pretty face. She defied all dumb blonde stereotypes, even if she had questionable quirks. Dawn simply accepted Aqua’s unusual taste in food with her mermaid identity.If there was one
It took forever before Dawn received a phone call from the person he was waiting for. The special order in Chinatown took a few weeks before it was ready. In the meanwhile, Dawn’s new office had finished renovating. Jericho pulled some strings to help Dawn with his first few customers.“Dawn Consultancy,” the businessman answered his phone.It was nearing lunch, and he was driving back. Aqua promised to make her first chicken noodle soup. The businessman was half annoyed that work was cutting into his private time, but he understood that beggars could not be choosers. He barely covered his initial expenses for the office renovation and business setup. Dawn needed more clients.“Hello, Dawn. I believe the fortune cookie’s prediction came true — apologies for taking this long to deliver your hangover soup. It was difficult to hunt for snakes in the jungle.”The thick Asian accent over the phone made Dawn pause. He sho
She Qian Mo was nothing like Dawn imagined. The man had long, silky black hair that flowed past his shoulders. He wore round Parry Hotter glasses and was lanky. If the former mafia boss didn’t know better, he would have thought he was dealing with a private investigator instead of an underworld informant.The man of a thousand ears sat comfortably in Dawn’s newly renovated office. The enclosed meeting room smelled of spicy shrimp pizza now. In his many years of life, Dawn never knew shrimp and pineapples went together. Qian Mo moaned as he ate, looking as if it was the most divine thing he’d eaten, and Dawn had his doubts. However, he wasn’t here to question Qian Mo’s preference.Cutting his steak, Dawn ate as he looked through the folder Qian Mo passed him as he entered the door. The man wasn’t interested in explaining or talking with food in front of him, something Dawn appreciated.Most of the contents only confirmed what Dawn in
When Dawn returned, Aqua immediately sensed something was wrong from just the sound of his footsteps. They were one decibel louder than usual to the mermaid’s sensitive ears.“What’s wrong?” she asked, propping herself on her elbows from the sofa.Dawn stared at the latest purchase sitting in his living room. Was that a baby pool? It was empty for now, but Aqua was holding a hand pump when he walked in.Do you need help inflating that?” Dawn offered, forgetting about the folder in his briefcase for a while.Unsure if she could ask for Dawn’s help when the man was looking troubled, Aqua hesitated. However, the businessman only set his briefcase on the floor, placed his shoes neatly aside and loosened his tie before reaching his hand out towards her. On autopilot, Aqua passed the pump to Dawn.In less than ten minutes, the baby pool was inflated fully, and the happy mermaid immediately climbed into it, checking the fit.
It wasn’t as fucked up as Dawn imagined it to be. He thought he would be dealing with some very bad case of family drama, like finding out he wasn’t his father’s real child or that Ricardo was his half-brother. Thankfully, nothing of that sort happened.Instead, the complicated history between Ricardo and his mother was explained better. Dawn now understood why he had black hair and grey eyes better. His father always claimed they were from his mother despite not having any photos to show him. His mother’s secrecy made more sense after reading Qian Mo’s report.Aqua was cuddled up, using Dawn’s lap as a pillow. He had one hand tangled in her hair while she pressed the ice pack to her bruised scales. It was difficult to understand why humans willingly made themselves feel more miserable with the cold when hurt. It didn’t feel better at all!The family tree was complicated. Although all mafia families were complicated, Dawn wasn
Waking up the next morning, Dawn had half a mind to cancel all his meetings and take time off work. However, it was a Thursday, and he couldn’t afford to do that. As a small business owner, he could not afford to rest.Dragging himself from bed, Dawn brushed his teeth with furrowed brows. Learning about his parents’ history with Ricardo was certainly interesting. However, it did not explain what Ricardo wanted. He did not care why Ricardo betrayed him and his father. If anything, Dawn felt that the traitor’s feelings towards his mother weren’t love. It was closer to obsession than love.The past was confusing, but if there was one thing he gained from Qian Mo’s report, it was that one precious picture of his mother carrying him on the hospital bed as an infant. For safekeeping purposes, Dawn made several digital copies and printed a few to be framed in the house and kept in his wallet at all times. He replaced his boring default lock screen, b
Over the next few weeks, Aqua learned new recipes that Dawn could pack to work. The businessman was busier than ever and started bringing work home just to eat meals with her. She felt bad for distracting him and begged Jericho to teach her simple and healthy recipes.While Dawn worked hard to accumulate his fund and pay off his debts for the legal and not-so-legal businesses, Aqua’s walking stabilised. She learned how to walk in low-heeled sandals with Jericho’s help and started building her stamina with a newly bought treadmill. Aqua liked to walk on the treadmill during the day while watching documentaries and received approval from Dawn to swim in the indoor pool with Jericho when she expressed her desire to have a more active lifestyle. Needless to say, both men were surprised by just how athletic Aqua was. She had so much energy that even Jericho found it hard to keep up with her when working out together. Aqua had to be faster than the Olympic swimmers. He&rs