"this is a very bad idea," jinsol exclaimed shakily from the top of the roller coaster. her fingers dug so hard into the padded railing that they ached, but she was too afraid to move.

while they were chatting, jinsol mentioned that she'd never been on a roller coaster before. haechan had merely nodded and talked about something else, so she'd assumed that he didn't care. now, they were stuck at the top of the tallest coaster in their town, and jinsol couldn't catch her breath.

"you're scared to approach jisung, right?" haechan asked beside her, and jinsol nodded, unable to turn her head to look at him. "pretend this is that. jisung is at the bottom of this ride, and this is just the walk there. once you get past this, you'll be so relieved to finally reach him, won't you."

jinsol opened her mouth to answer, but a scream tore through as the ride jolted forward, dropping her and everyone else straight down the tracks. her stomach plummeted to her feet as they twisted and turned, shooting up then down, but she forced herself to imagine jisung at the end. this was just the walk to him, as haechan said, and once she came to a stop, she'd be able to speak confidently.

turns out, it was a lot harder to imagine anything but falling to the death on a roller coaster, and jinsol could not stop screaming. she could hear haechan cackling beside her and managed to tear one hand from the railing long enough to smack him repeatedly before quickly returning her grip.

her eyes were shut for the rest of the ride, and she was suddenly very grateful for the feeling of steady, solid ground beneath her feet. haechan offered her a hand to pull her out of the cart and kept his hold until she stopped swaying.

"you good?" he asked with a little chuckle, and jinsol nodded. her face split into a giant grin, surprising the boy beside her as she exclaimed, "that was exhilarating! terrifying, but exhilarating!"

haechan smiled. "so? was jisung waiting for you at the bottom?"

she returned the look with a nod. "yes. i don't know why that helped, but the thought of approaching him doesn't make me want to throw up anymore."

that seemed to satisfy haechan, and jinsol hadn't realized he was still holding her arm until the breeze hit her after he let go. she pushed down the thought of how warm his touch was and instead offered him a smile. "where to next?"

"i may have a few ideas."

sunhi:
WHYYYY ARE YOU AT AN
AMUSEMENT PARK

sunhi:
YOU HATE RIDES

hawon:
let her be she's probably still with date guy

sunhi:
JINSOL ARE YOU ALIVE

jinsol:
i am alive!

sunhi:
hawon that didn't sound like her

sunhi:
IM CALLING THE POLICE

jinsol:
DONT CALL THE POLICE
ITS ME 😭😭😭

sunhi:
WHY ARE YOU AT AN
AMUSEMENT PARK

jinsol:
HAECHAN THINKS IT WILL
HELP ME GET OVER MY FEAR OF
PROPERLY TALKING TO JISUNG

hawon:
but you already talked to jisung??

jinsol:
and look how that turned out 😔

jinsol:
OKAY I HAVE TO GO BYEEE

sunhi:
TEXT US WHEN YOURE HOME

hawon:
be safe jinnieee 🤍🤍

looking up, jinsol was surprised to see how late it was. it was still afternoon, the sun relatively high in the sky, but they'd left for breakfast early in the morning. she hadn't expected to spend most of the day out, especially not with a boy she just met.

they'd gone on multiple rides, some scarier than others, but all gave jinsol an adrenaline high. for their last ride, haechan talked the girl into going on the swings.

she'd been a bit hesitate as the seats didn't look the most secure, and she was afraid of dropping one of the plushies haechan reluctantly won her. once he offered to hold some of the prizes, promising not to drop them or let her slip out of her seat, jinsol agreed to join him.

they buckled in, and she was immediately nervous once again. the only thing preventing her from falling was a thin, loose metal rope strung across her hips.

haechan must have seen the look on her face, because he leaned forward to catch her eye and held it. "you'll be fine. if you think you're slipping, just grab my arm, okay?"

jinsol nodded, but didn't say anything back.

after a few seconds, she felt her feet lift off the ground and tightened her grip around her neon purple giraffe plushie.

the seats were low and heavy so that people would dip back into them, but that didn't do much to assure jinsol she wouldn't die. on the other rides, she was either securely strapped in, or pressed against haechan and able to grip the loose fabric of his sleeve or pant leg if she ever felt unsafe. however, there was now a large void of air between them, and jinsol couldn't stop herself from imagining the worst.

"hey," haechan shouted as they continued to ascend. jinsol shot her gaze to the right, where haechan was holding a hand out for her to take. he lifted his other hand to show that he was still holding the big-eyed fish plushie, and jinsol released her grip on the side of the chair long enough to reach out and grip his outstretched hand.

jinsol wanted to close her eyes when they started to spin, but she couldn't. all the breath left her lungs as she looked around the amusement park from this height, the wind surprisingly gentle on her face and through her hair.

she looked around, spotting the city in the distance, and laughed. her legs swung beneath her, and while her body still tingled from the fear of falling, haechan's steady hand in hers was a reminder that she was safe.

jinsol couldn't help but feel a little sad when her feet finally touched solid ground, and the warmth of haechan's hand disappeared with the rest of him.

•
idk but sunhi, hawon, and jinsol remind me so much of hyeseon, huiseon, and sua for some reason iykyk :')