Where the sea sleeps [HoonHao] ✔

13

When Vernon headed back to the inn, Dino stopped Woozi before he could follow suit, asking him politely if they could go for a walk around the town and maybe take a look at the markets. If he's being honest, all he wanted to do was go to his room and lay down, even if sleep didn't meet him halfway. Of course that thought completely shattered when he locked eyes with Dino and, well, he just couldn't say no.

Which is what brought them to where they were now. The town was big enough to lose your way every once in a while, but small enough that everyone knew everyone. The houses were packed tightly together, kids playing out on the pathings despite the hustle and bustle of people passing by.

"It is quite interesting," Woozi murmurs to himself. He doesn't expect to be heard, but Dino turns around, eyebrows lifting.

"What is?" he asks, when Woozi doesn't respond to his unspoken question. In his defense, he hadn't realized it was a question until it was put into words. Which annoyed himself more than anything else.

"Just the way the town appears to be," he responds softly, eyes flickering over to a pair of kids walking with an adult. "The town has a home feel to it and despite it being so late into the afternoon, everyone remains outside. The children sit in the way, but nobody yells at them. All of the friendly faces and their kind exchanges to one another is remarkably interesting."

The corners of Dino's lips hint at a smile. He turns his head and hums —something Woozi thinks is a form of agreement. "It's how a lot of the towns around here are. Of course their lives aren't perfect and somewhere around here, there are people who still cause havoc, but the town itself is warm and it makes you wish you were part of one. Doesn't it?" His voice softens, a hint of nostalgia echoing in his voice.

"Did you grow up in a town similar to this?"

His question makes Dino stop for a moment. Unintentionally, he may have just crossed a line and the urge to rewind time and take his question back grows as the silence on Dino's part continues. When someone almost bumps into them, Dino starts walking again, but the question is ignored; it's as if it's been left in the back and they were walking away from it.

"Look at this," Dino comments, walking up to a stall where a woman stands, a bright smile shining across her face. Different forms of pottery form a semicircle around the stall while the actual tables of the stall consist of different chains and necklaces. There's one in particular that Dino has pointed out. It's got a black sort of chain and in the middle, a pendant in the form of a seashell; it's a beautiful dusty white, two bright sea blue beads on either side of it. Woozi can't help but admit that it really is mesmerizing.

"Do you like it?" Woozi asks when Dino starts looking at the others.

"It seems that you do, boy," the woman comments, a husky tone to her voice. "I can offer you a wonderful deal for this item," she offers, eyes smiling.

"Oh, no, I do not think I could—"

"How much?"

"How much can you offer?"

"No," Woozi says again. "No, it is quite alright. Thank you, but we will be on our way." Without looking back, he starts walking on ahead, venturing to another stall nearby.

"Hello, Sir," the boy behind the stall greets politely. "Would you care to see what we sell?" He's got this half-asian look to him, and through his accent and his pronunciation of the words, it's clear Korean isn't his first language. Although the way he speaks is appealing to him. Woozi likes the way the words curl off his tongue in such an elegant way that, if he met him under any other circumstance, he would have assumed he were of a higher class and he's definitely pretty. His slightly tanned skin is decorated with dark marks that lead him to believe he gives a hand in all the heavy work. His smiling eyes glisten when Woozi speaks.