It wasn’t new for her. Being up all night, it is. At first, she never had trouble sleeping.
You see, sleeping on the Sea is just like you think. You just sleep; there isn’t much to think over it. Her first sleepless night only happened when she first met her Prince - and she couldn’t sleep, eat, and swim around, sing or anything else she was used to do. Many happened after that first time - and this one night, the night she was no longer the Little Mermaid, and instead she was Soojung, was just like the first one.
It seemed someone just pressed the repeat and made her suffer for the night. Gladly, though, he wasn’t related to her thoughts - for a change - and she didn’t think like a mermaid in love with a human at all. What was bothering her was something else, something so common a Fable shouldn’t be worried about, but she was about to rip off all of her precious hair.
What time was it? She couldn’t know since she had been walking around Fabletown for a while. She had really lost the time notion since the reason that kept her up made her throw the sheets, night-light, notebooks and all the homework away, and finally get up from the bed, giving up from that thing that was almost giving her a headache (And she still didn’t know how to take care of headaches, so they were a no-no.)
The red-haired woman sighed, slipping her hands inside her coat. Nothing seemed to take out of her head she wasn’t able to finish a simple homework about interpretation of some stupid human war - and worse, all she had done on the class was embarrass herself and all because of that stupid loud and walking piece of metal. Had she been that stupid? It wasn’t like it was her fault she didn’t know what a Battle Tank was, but no one knew that, of course.
She was already getting close to have no place to wander around when she reached an old-like store. Was vintage the new world to describe it? Soojung didn’t remember. And it didn’t mind when she read the place’s name, narrowing her eyes a little at the writing. “West of the Moon…Oh. His bookstore.” She recalled, furrowing her eyebrows a little at the vague memory of the shop’s owner. However, before she could think on anything else, her eyes started to burn and she blinked, turning her head to the direction of a familiar smell.
The smoke was closer than she thought and she met the right person she was thinking about, the man who owned the store. What was his name? Woobin? She didn’t remember. And how could she, if he stared at her with that intensity only male humans could produce. Soojung’s cheeks tinted with a red less intense than her hair, one that didn’t fit her at all, as she pursed her lips and curled her fingers inside her pockets. “E-excuse me.” C’mon, you can do better than this, her mind pleaded, and the mermaid wetted her dry lips before lifting a hand to slightly point at the door he was leaning on. "Is it…open yet?"
He watched as she finally fell out of her thoughts, realizing his presence besides her. Turning slightly away from her, he blew out the grey smoke between his lips and out into the air. Mixing with the air he placed the white stick between his lips once again and breathed in a drag.
“E-excuse me.”
He turned his head towards her at her call. He watched her hand lift to point at the ‘closed’ sign hanging on the inside of his shop. Returning his gaze back to hers he motioned towards his cigarette. “After this.” he replied and dangled it between two fingers, flicking off some ash from the tip of it. He couldn’t help but glance at the female once again. Scarlett red hair, now a face almost matching her hair, young and fable. 'But which fable?’, frankly he had no idea. He was never the one who recognized fables by face only. Not anymore.
Taking a last drag of the cigarette he flicked it into the snow, stepping on it once. Blowing out the final smoke he brushed passed the red haired, fishing out his keys. With a click, he pushed the door open, flipping the closed sign to 'open’. Coffee in hand, he let out a yawn and walking up to the counter. He set down the coffee, not uttering a word the whole while. Won Bin shrugged off his jacket, tossing it over his chair.
Won Bin wasn’t a man for many words, something that the other fable probably could feel by now. Stepping away from his counter he walked past her again and towards the door. Opening it slightly, he stuck out a hand into the cold air and taking a hold of the newspaper on the side of the door.
Turning back he flicked off the snow that had managed to get on the print, scanning the headline. The bell sounded as the door closed behind him, yet so accustomed to the sound he paid it no mind. Looking up from the paper he noticed the red haired looking around, appearing lost to the book store’s owner.
He paused, looking at her before speaking up. “I’m sure you didn’t only come here for the books.” he folded his arms across his chest, waiting for her to speak up. Fables usually sought out his store while seeking his advice on Mundane issues. He was slowly getting used to it, or so he supposed, though the truth was different. The exiled king was not good with other fables in the slightest.