Gwak Seon-woo kept the promise he had made. When the roller coaster arrived, he shoved both Seung-hyeon and Eun-jae into one seat, then climbed into the seat behind them all by himself. Eun-jae, looking somewhat disappointed, repeatedly turned his head to glance at Seon-woo. On the other hand, Seung-hyeon climbed onto the ride with an expression as if nothing had fazed him, and didn’t even bother to look back.
Was it his goal to sit with Eun-jae? For some reason, Seon-woo felt tricked, his brows furrowing in irritation. But soon, he regained his usual, expressionless Gwanggong demeanor. It seemed strange to say he wanted to sit together, especially considering the distance between Seung-hyeon and Eun-jae, which bothered him.
Both of them had pressed themselves into the farthest corners of their seats, intentionally creating as much space between them as possible. It didn’t look easy for them to show any discomfort.
After checking all the safety devices, the crew gave a thumbs-up.
“Space aircraft carrier traveling toward the universe! We’re departing now!”
The people sitting in the front row enthusiastically waved their hands. Eun-jae did the same, and Seon-woo saw the crew waving back at him. The person who had claimed they couldn’t ride alone because they were scared seemed nowhere to be seen now.
As if trying to live up to the name of the roller coaster, the ride began with a dark tunnel section. Seung-hyeon, sitting in the front row, started getting excited.
“Isn’t this atmosphere just amazing? It really feels like a real aircraft carrier. Look, there are even stars drawn on the side.”
“I’ve never seen an employee greet someone over middle school age before… Now that I see it, I get why they greeted Manager Seo,” Seung-hyeon commented with casual teasing.
Eun-jae seemed about to respond, but just then, the roller coaster exited the tunnel and began its steep ascent. Eun-jae let out a delighted scream, and Seung-hyeon, with an expression of disbelief, turned his head to the other side.
Gwak Seon-woo stared at the scene with a dry gaze, then turned his head to the other side. Thanks to the slow speed of the upward climb, the surrounding scenery became clear. That’s when he heard the system’s voice.
< Gwanggong doesn’t scream even when riding roller coasters. >
It wasn’t even at the top yet, but seeing such a notification made it seem like the system was desperately trying to prevent Seon-woo from screaming. First, it wouldn’t let him spin the rotating cups, and now it was trying to prevent him from screaming on the roller coaster. Was there even any point in riding a ride if he couldn’t scream? The dullness of Gwanggong’s life felt particularly irritating today.
Before long, the space aircraft carrier reached the top, and with a fierce momentum, it began to plummet. Amidst the deafening screams of the other riders, Eun-jae let out a noise that resembled a flying dinosaur’s roar. Seung-hyeon, unlike the others, didn’t scream “Aah!” Instead, he casually let out a relaxed “Wow~” as if the ride didn’t faze him at all.
Seon-woo kept his mouth tightly shut, struggling to maintain a calm expression. However, even without seeing his reflection, he could tell his face had drained of color.
The roller coaster, racing at breakneck speeds, finally arrived back at the station. In the meantime, he thought he saw the flash of a shutter. Fortunately, since Seon-woo had kept his expression neutral from start to finish, there was no need to worry about how the photo had turned out.
As soon as they got off the roller coaster, Eun-jae immediately stood close to Seon-woo’s side again. Seung-hyeon, standing a bit farther away, was roughly shaking his head to fix his hair. When his eyes met Seon-woo’s, he gave a calm smile.
Seon-woo instinctively scrunched his face and turned his head away. Wondering if he had made a mistake, he returned his gaze to check, but Seung-hyeon had already turned his face to look elsewhere, wearing an unaffected expression.
As they descended the stairs, they found that the photos taken earlier were being sold on the first floor. Eun-jae, faster than anyone else, rushed to the screen to check the pictures of the three of them. Seon-woo also casually walked over and took a look at the photos. In the photo, his own face remained cold and expressionless, but perhaps due to the lighting, his face appeared pale.
“Look at Director’s expression! It’s exactly the same as usual, like he’s some sort of practitioner,” Eun-jae said, chuckling.
Fortunately, it seemed that others couldn’t tell what kind of expression he was making. Eun-jae smiled happily and then turned his attention to his own photo.
In the picture, Eun-jae had his mouth wide open as if he were screaming, laughing with joy. Seung-hyeon, sitting next to him, had somehow managed to turn his face perfectly toward the camera and made a peace sign with his fingers. Though his hair was tousled by the wind, aside from that, he didn’t even look like he was on a roller coaster. Seon-woo, looking incredulously at him, turned his head, but Seung-hyeon stepped closer, leaned toward his ear, and whispered quietly.
“It seems like roller coasters scare you, Director.”
Seon-woo, flustered, frowned and tilted his head. Seung-hyeon, acting as if nothing had happened, quickly took a step back and turned his attention back to the screen. Meanwhile, Eun-jae was pointing at Seon-woo’s photo and speaking to the employee.
“Can I get one copy of this?”
Why, of all things, this? Seon-woo turned his head in disgust. He hadn’t expected Eun-jae to fall for such a commercial trick, especially not to print out the photo of himself with no expression at all. When the photo was finally printed, Eun-jae handed it to him, saying:
“Here, Director. I actually wanted to keep it, but I’m giving it to you as a keepsake.”
Hearing his hesitant voice and seeing his hand linger as if he truly didn’t want to give it, Seon-woo felt like he was watching a child offering their beloved candy as a gift. In the end, he figured it would be better to give the photo to someone who actually wanted it, especially since he himself had no use for it.
“…If you want it, you can take it.”
“Really?”
Eun-jae didn’t even refuse out of courtesy, immediately snatching the photo. Seung-hyeon, standing nearby, alternated his gaze between Seon-woo and Eun-jae, wearing his usual unreadable expression. Seon-woo, finding both of them uncomfortable to look at, turned his head away, pretending not to notice.
With the photo in hand, Eun-jae walked lightly toward the exit of the roller coaster. But even when the door opened, they weren’t outside yet. Just beside it was a souvenir shop. Faced once again with the typical amusement park commercial tactics, Seon-woo, drained of energy, quickened his pace to get out of the shop, but the other two didn’t cooperate.
Eun-jae stopped walking in front of a display with headbands and hats. Even Seung-hyeon, who appeared uninterested, glanced toward the counter and stopped walking. Eun-jae, after looking through numerous hats, focused on a cheese-shaped hat that covered the entire head. As he examined the opening where the head would go, he slyly slipped his head through it.
“You might as well go right into a mouse trap,” Seon-woo muttered under his breath.
A voice that seemed to openly mock them was heard. Seon-woo turned his eyes in that direction. The very person who made that remark, Gwak Seung-hyeon, was holding a crocodile-shaped headband in his hands.
Noticing Seon-woo’s gaze, Seung-hyeon grinned and put the headband on. Seon-woo hadn’t been staring at him to get him to wear it, but seeing Seung-hyeon being “eaten” by the crocodile’s open mouth made him want to laugh. However, he quickly controlled his expression, knowing full well that if he laughed now, he would hear another reprimand from the system. So, he turned his head to avoid showing any reaction. As if he knew exactly what Seon-woo was thinking, Seung-hyeon spoke up.
“If it’s funny, just laugh.”
“I didn’t say it was funny, I just couldn’t stand how ridiculous it was.”
But Seung-hyeon, undeterred by Seon-woo’s protest, grinned even more shamelessly. He removed the crocodile headband and held it out toward Seon-woo. Just as the crocodile’s open mouth was about to “bite” Seon-woo’s head, an alert appeared.
< Gwanggong does not wear headbands that are about to be eaten by crocodiles! Gwanggong’s score decreases by 5. >
It hadn’t even touched his head yet, but the system had already deducted points prematurely. Seon-woo, making a face far more disgusted than he felt inside, swatted Seung-hyeon’s hand away.
“Something like that, you can wear it yourself.”
At Seon-woo’s words, Eun-jae immediately chimed in.
“Yeah, much better than that ugly crocodile headband.”
Was he referring to the cheese one? When Seon-woo turned his head, Eun-jae quickly reached out and placed the hat he was holding onto Seon-woo’s head. Looking into the mirror, he saw a massive raccoon curled up on top of his head.
“What is this…?”
Seon-woo, speechless, looked at Eun-jae, who smiled and said it suited him. What was even more absurd was that this time, the system didn’t impose any restrictions.
Honestly, Seon-woo thought the crocodile headband that was about to be eaten was better than this oddly shaped raccoon. The fact that Seung-hyeon didn’t even end up wearing the crocodile made him feel even more unjust, but considering how biased the system was toward Eun-jae, this strange situation wasn’t that surprising. Seon-woo sighed and took off the raccoon hat.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Eun-jae immediately responded and started walking ahead. However, even after the two of them exited the souvenir shop, Gwak Seung-hyeon didn’t follow for a long time.
Could it be that he was hurt? Seon-woo wondered if perhaps Seung-hyeon felt upset. After all, he had rejected the crocodile headband with disgust, yet had accepted Eun-jae’s raccoon hat without complaint, so Seung-hyeon might have been feeling a bit offended. Seon-woo glanced back toward the exit, concerned. Through the large glass door with a character painted on it, he saw Seung-hyeon approaching. Finally, he opened the door and walked out.
Wearing the crocodile headband.
Seon-woo gaped in disbelief. Eun-jae, standing next to him, openly scoffed, saying, “Ugh.” Of course, Seung-hyeon didn’t seem to care at all about their reactions.
It was only natural that the head of such an obviously handsome man, being eaten by a crocodile plush, would attract attention. A few people glanced at Seung-hyeon as they passed by. Eun-jae, utterly speechless, pointed at him and asked.
“You bought that?”
“It’s cute.”
Honestly, it did suit him. Instead of responding to this, Seon-woo turned his head away as if to avoid looking at him. Seung-hyeon, undeterred by Eun-jae’s teasing, continued to argue his case.
“We came all the way to the amusement park, so I thought I should at least buy a headband.”
He certainly hadn’t been the one to suggest they go on a ride first, buy souvenirs, or grab some snacks, but he hadn’t refused when Eun-jae made the suggestions either. He cheerfully followed behind, blending in as if he were genuinely enjoying the amusement park to the fullest. Even though Seon-woo himself couldn’t really enjoy anything due to the system’s restrictions, seeing Eun-jae and Seung-hyeon look so happy made him feel like it wasn’t entirely pointless.
After continuously mocking Seung-hyeon for being embarrassed by his headband, Eun-jae finally stopped walking after a long while. What now? Feeling like an exhausted uncle playing with energetic kids, Seon-woo lifted his tired head.
The old, worn-out sign read “Haunted House.”
