#63
“Yesterday, Imun said all the places we went to… were his first time visiting too.”
“Huh…? Weren’t they in downtown Seoul? Where did you go?”
“The VR game room, that sticker photo booth place called Life4Cuts, and N Tower! We went there.”
“Ah… I see. Hyung, you know that we… actively appear on variety shows and other broadcasts, right?”
“Huh? Yeah. Why?”
“Never mind…” Sura smiled awkwardly and sighed. “This, shameless…” While Sura continued muttering incomprehensible words, Hajun observed Imun again.
They were having such an intense discussion that Imun didn’t seem to be paying any attention to him. Although he already knew Imun couldn’t always take care of just him, he felt an unreasonable resentment.
‘Hyung, you don’t… know what you mean to me.’
But at least he likes me. The warm eyes overflowing with affection from last night still lingered in his mind. Remembering how Imun had openly shown jealousy just because he was drinking with the members, Hajun suppressed his impatience.
“A dog could be more important than family… In emergencies, a power bank is quite useful too…”
“What?” “There’s such a thing…” Vaguely trailing off to a puzzled Sura, Hajun stealthily walked behind Imun.
The sight of him sticking close to Rai as if no one could interfere with their relationship was extremely annoying. Half-jokingly, half-resentfully, he smacked Imun hard on the back, making him turn around with a start.
“What are you doing all this time?”
“Ah, sorry. Our conversation got long.”
“Looks fun. Let’s go quickly too!” Imun suddenly changed his attitude as if he didn’t care about Rai at all, grabbing Hajun’s hand and leading him forward. Once again, it felt like Imun had caught on to his true feelings. While awkwardly touching his face, Imun excitedly swung their clasped hands before suddenly stopping.
“What, did something get on my hand?”
“Ah, no.”
After staring at his hand seriously for a while, Imun tugged at his sleeve this time. “We don’t have time, let’s go quickly!” Following Imun, who was impatiently hurrying his steps, Hajun entered the amusement park.
*
They stood in line for Disco Pang-Pang, said to be one of the famous rides. The ride, spinning endlessly to the rhythm of lively music, boasted a formidable appearance even at first glance.
Every time one side of the ride snapped up like hitting a tambourine, people’s feet went up and down mercilessly. Seeing several people lose their grip on the ride, it didn’t seem like something to laugh off.
This seems too intense. Hajun swallowed dryly while watching the spectators gathered in front of the ride. Unlike him, who was worried, all the cast members had expressions full of anticipation.
The line gradually shortened, and finally, it was their turn. As if the production team had arranged it beforehand, only eight cast members boarded the ride.
After sitting at appropriate distances to avoid crowding each other, Hajun grabbed the handle positioned behind his shoulder. No matter what position he took, it just wasn’t comfortable.
Quite a crowd of spectators had gathered in front of the ride to watch the filming. If he were to lose his grip on the handle, people’s phone flashes would undoubtedly go off.
“Hyung, don’t worry. If you feel like you’re going to fall, I’ll catch you.”
“Ah, it’ll be fine.”
He responded calmly to Imun, who was showing a reassuring smile, while hiding his anxiety. Although he had never ridden such an amusement ride before, he didn’t think he would fall so easily.
He had no intention of leaving embarrassing footage in the broadcasting station’s archives, much less on people’s personal clouds. Just as he was taking a deep breath and preparing himself, deafening BGM with a fast rhythm poured out. Soon after, a loud voice boomed through the speakers.
[Today’s, guests, are, On, The, Sky, please, welcome, them, with, a, big, applause!]
The ride, which had been slowly turning for a lap or two as if warming up, suddenly accelerated as if everything until now had been a joke. The speed was completely different from what he had observed with his eyes.
“So… sorry!”
Due to centrifugal force, his body tilted endlessly toward Imun. Unintentionally, his back kept bumping into Imun, creating embarrassing situations where their bodies were practically rubbing together.
Despite trying to resist by using all his arm strength, it was difficult to control his body. His mind felt like it was spinning wildly along with the relentless, violent spins.
Was I always this physically weak?! There seemed to be no choice but to lean on Imun. Using his body as support, he tried to let time pass. After a while, the vigorously rotating ride suddenly slowed down.
It was the very pattern that made people flap like mere flags. The members screamed crude shrieks as they were bounced up uncontrollably. As they gradually approached the rebound section, the tension increased.
I’m dead now. Just as he tightly shut his eyes in terror, with a “THWACK!” sound in the air, his buttocks lifted and fell back down. Despite expecting a strong impact, he felt only a strangely comfortable landing. Confused, he hurriedly opened his eyes and came face to face with a completely surprised Imun.
He was sitting demurely on Imun’s thighs. While they stared at each other in shock, the ride bounced their bodies up and down.
“Whoa! Sorry, ah, aah, aaah!”
“Hyung, aah, ugh, ah!”
There was no time to adjust his posture properly. Using all his strength to avoid falling off the ride, he stamped his backside on Imun’s thighs several times before the round finally passed.
Once there was a slight break, embarrassment rapidly rushed in. When he stood up to return to his seat, Imun hurriedly grabbed him.
“Our turn is coming up again soon. Just stay like this.”
“No, still, h-how can I do that!”
“Quickly, it’s fine. We don’t have time.”
As Imun said, they would enter the rebound section again in a few seconds. Watching Saha, who was currently the target and bouncing vigorously, Hajun gulped.
Momentary embarrassment versus a lifetime of teasing! After making what he considered a rational decision, he put one arm around Imun’s neck and grabbed the ride with his remaining hand. Despite the superb stability, sitting like a princess on someone else’s thighs was incomparably shameful.
Desperately wishing for the ride to break down, he endured for several minutes. Eventually, the ride seemed to end its rebound phase, and its speed gradually decreased. While taking a relieved sigh and relaxing his tension, Imun bowed his head and cleared his throat.
“Hyung, now… um… if you could get off…”
“Ah, I was heavy, wasn’t I? Are, are you okay?”
What was I thinking? He returned to his original seat without looking back. Imun must have been quite embarrassed too, as his eyes were already bright red. While staying silent and avoiding Hajun’s gaze, Imun suddenly showed a worried expression.
“Now it’s going to spin the opposite way… Will you be okay?”
“Uh… right. I’ll, be fine!”
In truth, he wasn’t fine at all, but he couldn’t admit it outright. I’m really in trouble. Swallowing his tears internally, he desperately gripped the handle.
The music changed, and the ride increased its speed again. While before he at least had Imun, this time there was nothing to support his tilting body.
His complexion, which had been heated with embarrassment, instantly turned pale. Just when he thought he had almost reached his limit, making matters worse, the ride started to bounce.
Every time they reached the death pattern, his body was mercilessly shaken. There were precarious situations where he felt like he would lose the handle at any moment.
[Surprisingly, everyone, is, holding, up, well, hehe, the, more, you, do, the, more, excited, I, get!]
You psychopath! While questioning the DJ’s usual personality and screaming for dear life, someone embraced his waist.
“What, what is this!”
Imun held onto the ride with one hand and gave him a flower-like smile. Impossible! No matter how strong he might be, withstanding this rebound with one arm was absurd.
“What are you doing, Seo Imun!” While shouting at him, the dreaded section passed. Even as he hurriedly adjusted his posture, Imun still didn’t release his arm.
“N-now let go!”
“I’ll just, hold onto you.”
“Still, you-“
“Or would you rather climb on me like before?”
“Absolutely not!”
He gave a hollow laugh at the joke that knew no time or place, and was in the middle of a squabble with Imun when the DJ made an ominous comment in a refreshing voice.
[Oh, an, arm, around, the, waist, here? I, can’t, miss, this, bounce, bounce, until, someone, dies!]
The ride stopped rebounding and began to slow down stealthily. It was an unusual movement. Sure enough, the members whose turns should have been next were all skipped. Seeing the hellish pit suddenly approaching right before his eyes, cold sweat dripped down.
“Are, you, ready?” With the DJ’s teasing, the ride began to thrash violently. It was a relentless movement as if the sole purpose was to throw people off.
“Aaaaah! Stop! Please have mercy!”
Finally, he screamed in agony and lost his grip on the handle. Prepared for a terrifying fall, instead of impact, only the pressure around his waist increased.
[Imun, you, were, so, loyal! How, far, will, that, friendship, go? Life, is, betrayal, betrayal!]
Imun still didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go of his waist. It couldn’t be easy to support an adult’s weight with one arm. Every time he stretched his arm to reduce the burden even a little, the handle cruelly brushed past his fingertips.
Feeling that this couldn’t go on, he turned to look at Imun, who smiled faintly. The way Imun wrapped around him even more strongly seemed like he was signaling not to worry.
“Just, let go! I said let go!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
