Woobin’s POV

I continued reading for a bit but then his hand dropped down on top of the blanket. I glanced over to him and saw that he was asleep. I just let out a smile. Partly because he looked cute and partly because he was just so innocent.

‘Never thought I would be reading this as a bedtime story’ I chuckled softly. I carefully unlinked his arm  off of me and moved his head on to the other pillow. He stirred in his sleep but he didn’t wake up.

“Sweet dreams… You’ve been through a lot” I said softly and patted his head. His hair was so soft that I kept on wanting to pet his head. After some time I realized that it was awkward and weird so I retreated my hand and sat up.

‘What should I do?’ I wondered.  I didn’t want to continue reading nor was I sleepy. I opened the draw and placed my book inside. I saw that my notepad was there and just pulled it out because I had something in mind.

‘Maybe I should record everything about him down.’ I thought about it as I glanced over to Ducky. He snuggled into the pillow below him quietly making me smile. I then nodded in agreeing with my idea. I flipped the notepad open to a blank page before taking out a pencil. I just thought that I should write whatever I could about him like my usual findings.

‘Species:’ I wrote down but then I felt a bit bad.

‘What am I doing? Treating him like this… like a strange finding…’ I said in my head. After siting there for a minute I just shook it off.

“I’m thinking too much. Even doctors do this to their patients.” I said to myself. I then continued writing.

‘Species: Merfolk -> Human’ I wrote down with a smile.

‘Name:’ I wrote down and thought about it.

‘He refuses to tell me… He said that he wanted a new name but so far I can’t think of anything.’ I said in my head disappointed.

‘TBD’ I wrote down

‘Nickname: Ducky

Gender: Male

Age: TBD (12 Merlives) -> lunar eclipse

Language spoken: Currently Korean

Hair color: Dark Brown

Eye color: Dark Brown

Height: TBD

Weight: TBD

Body Figure: Tall and slender

Favorite food: ... 

I thought about it.

“Almost everything” I said softly as I wrote it down. I giggled to myself before erasing it.

‘TBD’ I wrote down. Afterwards I sat there blankly.

‘What else is there to write down?’ I wondered. I heaved a sigh and turned o look at Ducky. Just looking at him sleep so peacefully made me a tired. I decided to just go to sleep so I placed the notebook and pencil away before turning the lamp off. I scooted down and laid down on my pillow awkwardly. Before I was comfortable with Ducky beside me but when I turned the lights off it started to get a bit awkward.

‘Why is my heart racing? Why am I so nervous?’ I wondered as I stared at the ceiling. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to calm myself down.

‘It’s because I just met him. A new friend…’ I reminded myself as I peeked over to him. I flashed a smile as I turned my body to watch him. I could see him since the moonlight was shining through the window.

‘A merman…. I really can’t believe it’ I said in my head. Unknowingly I scooted over closer to him. Just enough so that I can reach over to him.

‘If he really is a merman… It’s amazing.’ I touched his hand lightly.

‘And his legs and feet… All from magic?’ I still couldn’t believe it. I moved my feet over and touched his feet lightly.

‘This isn’t a dream right?’ I questioned myself but I knew that it wasn’t. After a while I just closed and tried to sleep. It felt like I fell asleep but I wasn’t in deep sleep. Maybe it was because the boat was rocking. Just when I was about to be knocked out I felt something heavy on me. I groaned before blinking my eyes open a few times.  I saw that Ducky was now over on my side and he slung his arm over my body. I didn’t bother in pushing him away since it wasn’t that bad. I went right back to sleep but this time I was in deep sleep.

Morning~

I was sleeping so peacefully until I turned around and was slapped in the face by the bright sunlight

“Mmhhm~” I groaned and stretched my limbs. I opened my eyes ad saw the bright sunlight shining through the perfectly clean window. I turned around and saw that Ducky was still sleeping peacefully while hugging onto me

“Tsk~ just when will you wake up?” I chuckled. I reached over and hugged him tiredly. I placed my hand on his side but it felt weird and so I rubbed it.

‘What… this is his skin.’ I realized that it was his bare skin. I reached upward to pull his shirt down but to my surprise I couldn’t find his shirt.

“Where is it?” I pulled the blanket up and looked underneath. It turns out the Ducky wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Yah” I jumped back a bit. I then saw that he wasn’t wearing any pants nor underwear. I quickly dropped the blanket and sat up.

‘Was he like that all night?...’ I was surprise. I saw that his clothes were on the blanket near my feet.

“Huhh~ seriously?” I looked down at him. I then just got up and went to the bathroom. It didn’t really bother me much since I knew he didn’t know better. He must have been uncomfortable sleeping with clothes on. The more I thought about it the more I laughed.

“At least his pureness cancels it out. “ I giggled. I went to brush my teeth and wash my face so that I could feel more awake. When I was done I came back out and he was still sleeping.

‘It’s already 10:00…’ I said staring at the clock. I then heard my stomach grumble.

“I didn’t ate much last night.” I said to myself softly. I wanted to go get some food but I was worried about Ducky. Was it alright to leave him alone for a bit?

‘He won’t freak out right?’ I asked myself. I then decided to slip out of the room for a minute or so. I opened the door slowly and as quietly as I could before going out and closed the door gently.

‘I can bet that Ducky would have a big appetite in the morning as well.’ I said in my head as I smiled widely. I walked into the kitchen and saw one of my workers.

“Good morning” I greeted him.

“Good morning sir”

“Didn’t I tell you to just call me by my name? You keep on calling me sir and young boss it’s uncomfortable.” I said back to him. He was definitely older than me so there’s no problem with just calling me by my name but he just refuses to.

“Umm.. Woobin-sshi. Would that be fine?” He asked me.

“Well that's one step towards being comfortable.” I smiled. He returned a small smile to me with his head slightly down. Most of our workers are like that because of my appa. For me I like being comfortable but for my appa there has to be a distinctive line between the workers and their boss.

“Would you like to have breakfast now?” He asked me

“Uh yeah, I’m kind of hungry right now.” I said as I looked around the small kitchen.

“Would an English breakfast be fine?” He asked me.

“Yeah, that would be great.” I smiled.

‘Should I get it for Ducky as well? but it’ll get cold if he doesn’t wake up anytime soon.’ I wondered.

‘Would it be weird if I asked for it twice?’ I wondered. I wasn’t sure what to do.

“I just want a small breakfast now. Later I would eat some more since I’m not in the mood to eat.

“Yes. I will make it right away.” He said to me before he went to the fridge.

‘I didn’t sound weird did I?’ I asked myself

‘Ducky, you should be happy. I’m going on a diet just for you to have food.’ I said in my head.

“When should we head back?” He asked making me freeze.

‘That’s right. Going back…’ I thought sadly.

“Umm… I’ll tell you when later.” I said since I wasn’t sure when we should leave.

“Yes, breakfast will be done in 10 minutes.” He said to me.

“Oh I’ll go wait out on the deck.” I said walking out. I wanted to breathe in the fresh air and to look across the ocean. The air was definitely different here than in the city. Also the view was just amazing and unbeatable.

“So this is Ducky’s home…” I said looking around.  I stared through the clear blue water and thought about it.

‘So there are merfolks down there. Whole different world where Ducky use to live.’ I smiled softly. I turned and looked over to the island.

‘And that’s where Ducky would have been living all by himself if I didn’t came. Yes, I’m saving him. He’ll be happy that helped him… Right?’ I asked myself. Taking him back with me seemed like the only reasonable option but why do I feel so uneasy. I just heaved a sigh before looking up into the sky. The sun was way up in the sky now.

‘I wonder if Ducky is awake yet.’ I said in my head. I decided to go check on him for now. I went back to the bedroom and opened the door slowly. I peeked in and saw there was a lump underneath the blanket so he still must be asleep. I quietly closed the door and went back into the kitchen.

“S- Woobin-sshi, your breakfast is ready.” He said to me.

“Thanks. What’s your name again?” I asked him

“My name is Lee Jaesuk”

“Oh! Jaesuk. Like Yoo Jaesuk the comedian?” I smiled.

“Yes.” He smiled.

“Would you want to eat here or in your room?” He asked me.

“I’ll just eat here.” I said to him. I wanted to eat in the room and be next to Ducky but I didn’t want to wake him up so eating here would be better. And so I sat down and engulfed the food trying not to waste my time. When I was done I was going to go back to my room when my other men came over to me.

“Sir, I would recommend leaving as soon as we can because the trip back is going to take a long time plus madam wants you return today.” He said to me.

“O-oh…” I bit down on my bottom lips nervously. I didn’t know what to say.

“We’ll leave a 12.” I came to the decision.

“Yes, sir.” He said and walked away. I moved my hand up and scratched my head in frustration.

“Ducky should be awake by then.” I said to myself as I walked into the room quietly. He was still asleep.

‘Besides I asked him already… He didn’t give me an answer yet.’ I just realized it.

‘What if he doesn’t want to leave with me?’ I was getting worried. I glanced over to the clock and saw that we only have just over a half an hour before we had to leave this place. I walked over to the bed and pulled the blanket down to see Ducky. His soft brown hair peeked out but his face was buried against his pillow.

‘He’s still asleep…’ I was getting anxious.

‘What if he doesn’t wake up? Can I just take him back without asking him again?’ I walked over to the chair and sat down thinking.

‘Isn’t that kidnapping then?’ I question myself.

‘Then…. I can just wake him up.’ I got up and walked over to bed. I reach over to wake him up but my arm froze in place. He just… He looks so relaxed that I didn’t have the heart to wake him up. His little snores weren’t helping either. I then moved my hand over my mouth.

“Oh my god~” I said softly into my hand as I walked away.

‘Why am I making it more complicated than it is?’ I shouted at myself