To Jeongguk, it seems like a wonderful idea to get his mind off things, off whatever underlying stress he may be experiencing in his subconscious. Going to an amusement park...he hasn't been to one in a couple years, so now that Taehyung brought it up, Jeongguk can't deny he's super excited for it.

Not to mention the others agreed to tag along. Including Jimin.

That alone boosts Jeongguk's mood.

The amusement park is roughly an hour and a half away by car, and as the driver, it's Jeongguk's responsibility to pick everyone up from their houses on Saturday morning. Of course, they don't have to be at the park by a certain time, but to ensure they'll make the most out of their visit, they all agree that leaving early would be a wise decision.

Jeongguk stands in front of his bedroom mirror at roughly eight a.m., staring at and mentally reviewing his outfit: black, slightly ripped jeans, a short-sleeved, light-blue button-up, and his favorite pair of combat boots. The weather is supposed to be beautiful today, not too warm, not too cool, but right on the center line where it couldn't be more perfect if Jeongguk could control it himself.

His outfit is simple, as most of his wardrobe is, yet he finds himself staring at the mirror in contemplation for far longer than necessary.

...would Jimin like the black jeans better or blue? These ones look okay...but I want the ones that scream "check me out" the most.

Pursing his lips, Jeongguk whips out his phone.

-

me
blue or black

Jimin
in terms of...?

me
color

Jimin
idk black

me
ok cool

me
what're you planning to wear?

Jimin
the usual

me
lol cute

me
i'll be picking tae up first, then you, so do you think you'll be ready soon?

Jimin
yeah i'll be ready

me
okey dokey i'll see you soon

-

He smiles softly to himself before slipping his phone into the back pocket of his jeans.

And before long, he's out the door and climbing into his car behind the wheel, setting his course for Taehyung's house, followed by Jimin, and Yoongi, and finally Hoseok, who all are thankfully ready to head right out the door by the time the driver pulls up to their houses.

The hour and a half long drive is spent with a fluctuating noise volume that lowers and piques without warning thanks to both the music played in the car along with the boys' singing. Jimin doesn't sing along, but he's in the front seat, and by the looks of it he's not uncomfortable by the commotion, but rather amused.

They arrive at Everland by 11:20 a.m. The park opened a little over an hour ago, so there's a handful of visitors already here, but nothing compared to the crowd that'll accumulate by mid-afternoon. Jeongguk isn't bothered by it. He only hopes Jimin will be alright with the crowd.

"Alrighty, so since Guk drove us all the way here," Taehyung announces once the group successfully entered the park gates, "I think he should be the one to decide what we do first."

"Sounds fair," Hoseok says in agreement. Yoongi and Jimin also nod.

"Oh, it doesn't really matter to me." Jeongguk slides his hands into his front pockets. "Jimin?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, do you wanna pick something?"

"Uh, n-no, it's okay." He looks at the ground.

"If no one wants to pick anything then I will."

"Go ahead, Tae."

At Taehyung's request, the group end up getting in the small line in front of the large Viking ship that swings back and forth. The boys all stand and watch the ship become almost completely horizontal at its highest point, fall, and swing to the same concerning height on the other side.

"If we die-"

"Yoongi, this is probably one of the mildest rides here," Taehyung interrupts. "If you can't handle this, good luck on the T-Express."

"I can handle anything," Yoongi argues. "I was just being hypothetical."

"Mhm. Ooh! I think the ride's almost over."

Surely enough, the ship can be seen gradually slowing down until it eventually comes to a complete stop, and one by one all the people file out from the exit line adjacent to the entrance. The park worker makes sure all the riders are out, then opens the small white gate to let others on.

Yoongi, Taehyung, Hoseok, Jimin, and Jeongguk all sit on the same row towards the center of the ship, in that order - to Jeongguk's delight.

"Nervous?" He whispers to Jimin, who turns suddenly, as if caught off guard.

"Well, I don't know," he whispers back. "I've never really been to an amusement park."

"You haven't?"

"No, but this ride looks fun. I don't know about the roller coasters, though..."

"Oh, those are the best, you'll love them."

At this, Jimin's uncertain eyes flick towards his and seem to be just a bit reassured by the other's words. Jeongguk smiles widely at him.

Not long after this, the entrance gate is closed, and the park worker makes his usual safety announcement, then informs everyone the ride is about to start.

The second, the split second the ship does that small lurch before it begins to sway, Jimin's hand extends at the speed of light to grab Jeongguk's own and clutch it. He realizes it immediately, however, and yanks his hand away, already beet red in the face.

"Sorry, I...I forgot which side Hobi was on that quickly-"

"I don't mind."

Guilty as charged, this is exactly the type of thing Jeongguk was secretly hoping for - not that he wants Jimin to feel scared about the amusement park rides, but if holding his hand is the simple solution for that minor issue, Jeongguk can deal with that. He meets eyes with Jimin for a short period of time - long enough to convey that silent go ahead, if you feel you need to look.

Jeongguk is a little doubtful the boy will do it. But he does. With trembling hands Jimin brushes the other's fingers, tensing as Jeongguk interlocks their fingers without saying a word.

Soft, small hands.

He can't focus on the ride anymore. All Jeongguk can think about is their hands, and how he wants to rub his thumb against Jimin's little fingers, but he doesn't want to push his luck.

It's only when the rides comes to a complete stop again that Jeongguk feels Jimin shyly pull his hand back. The safety bar in front of them rises, and the five boys all stand up to make their way to the exit gate.

"Didn't die," Taehyung says obviously, nudging Yoongi. "Everyone okay? Anybody hurt?"

"That would be sweet if it wasn't coated in sarcasm," Hoseok chuckles. He glances towards his best friend for a moment. "Did you like it, Jiminie? I know you've never been to an amusement park."

Jimin nods gently, turning his face down after accidentally making eye contact with Jeongguk. "Yeah, it was fun..."

"I vote going to Thunder Falls next," Taehyung states in a loud, excited voice. "However, I am willing to accept input."

"My input is no."

"Your argument, Yoongi?"

"I want food."

"It's not lunchtime yet."

"Who decides that?"

"Me, obviously." He claps his hands several times to get everyone's attention. "Thunder Falls is this way, fellas, let's get a move on."

The four others follow Taehyung's confident lead, acting as though he already knows the layout of the entire park - which honestly wouldn't surprise Jeongguk, given how hyped his friend has been about this since he won the tickets.

Before long they all find themselves boarding the flume ride known as Thunder Falls, possibly one of the most well known attractions at the park. There aren't any major drops or loop-dee-loops, but Jimin's hesitance at how quickly and abruptly the flume zooms past the entrance gate is clear. At least to Jeongguk.

"I heard it's not too bad," he says, snatching Jimin's attention. "The main attraction about it is the water aspect, I'm sure. I mean, it's a flume ride. It'll be fun."

Once again, it seems to reassure him somewhat.

Yet, (thankfully, for Jeongguk) Jimin still grabs his hand and holds it the entire time.

After the ride they all decide to get lunch. Taehyung, Jeongguk, and Yoongi all get burgers and fries from one of the dining stands, while Jimin and Hoseok both get teriyaki noodles. They seek out an available table big enough for the five of them.

"I'm not getting on any roller coasters for a little bit," Yoongi states right before shoving his mouth full of fries. "It'll take at least half an hour for me to digest this kind of stuff."

"Sounds like an excuse to me," Taehyung scoffs. "I think you're just scared."

"Are you saying you'd be up for getting on a coaster right after eating?" Hoseok asks, smiling as Taehyung's cocky expression fades instantly.

"No, I'm not an idiot."

"Would you do it for five bucks?"

"I don't know, Guk, would you?"

"No, I'm not an idiot."

Taehyung rolls his eyes, then leans forward to look over at Jimin sitting on Hoseok's other side. "Would you do it for five bucks?"

"Huh?"

"A coaster. Right after eating."

The boy's face becomes noticeably pale for a moment. "No, thanks..."

"Understandable, have a nice day."

"Why does he get special treatment but I get bullied?"

"Yoongi, be quiet and eat your burger. I didn't have to invite you."

"Discrimination..."

It draws a quiet laugh from Jimin which goes unnoticed by everyone at the table but Jeongguk - of course, because how can he miss such a thing when he can't even look away from the boy?

We held hands...I held Jimin's hand...

His heart flutters.

"Jeez, Guk, is your burger that much better than mine?"

"What? No, it's the same exact thing as yours..."

"Could've fooled me. Your smile looks a little too happy."

"Oh, shut it, Tae..."

It's still early in the afternoon so none of them are really in a rush to finish eating. Besides, it's a given that they're going to need some time to let their lunch digest. Apparently not just their lunch, though.

"Who wants to buy me ice cream?" Hoseok asks aloud. The smile on his face suggests he's mostly joking, but Taehyung jumps at it anyway.

"I got it."

"Wait, seriously?" A genuine laugh spills out of Hoseok's mouth as he watches his friend spring to his feet and head towards the nearest ice cream stand. He's back in about five minutes with a vanilla ice cream cone. "Tae, I was kidding, but wow, thank you."

"All in a day's work."

Taehyung leans over to Jeongguk to whisper in his ear.

"Did you see that?"

"Yes, Tae." He rolls his eyes. "I saw it."

"We're practically dating."

"You said you're not gay??"

"I'm not, but that was super cute of me, we're couple goals."

"I don't even wanna talk to you."

He shoves his friend aside, which only makes Taehyung giggle, as if proud of himself. Jimin looks up from his empty cup of noodles with concern.

"Oh, did you just finish?" Jeongguk asks him.

"Mhm."

"Here, I can throw that out for you."

"No, it's okay, I can-"

"Pleeeease?"

Jimin makes a face at Jeongguk, who sticks out his bottom lip but fails in keeping it from cracking into a smile. He takes Jimin's empty disposable cup and stands up before the boy can argue anymore.

"I'll be right back."

There's a trash can not far from where they're seated, so he weaves in and out of the several tables that lie in the way till he reaches it. There's a sign hanging above the trash can, attached to a metal pole. It's the standard recycle what needs to be recycled type of sign, so at first Jeongguk doesn't pay much mind to it. But then he sees scribbled writing beneath it.

i̸͖̤̜̹͖̯̲͚͋̓́̂͑͊̅̃ͅț̷̢͇̠̫̥̌̓͂̑͆̽͐̎̚'̴̠̖̯͎̙͓̿̀̇͋͊̏͒͋̈́̓̚š̴̝̪̞̲͓̟͚͔͑̓̍̋͜ ̵̨̨̛̣͓̰̪͛͂̈́̍͑̈́͝n̸̜̖̈́̄̇͛̌͠o̸̻̣̪̬̓̂̋̄́t̵̫̠̹̭̯̜̼̫͖͙̊̓́̄̀̄͒ ̸̡̛̤͎͉̙̻̤̦͔̻͔̂͝f̴̯͔̥̼̝̦͔̜͉̓̏͋̊͝ṷ̷͈͖̹̠̝̹͗̍n̷͈̲̾̿̃́̀̌̐̓͐̚͝ṉ̶̭̥̬͎̯͉͒̎́͑̏̆͠y̷̨̖͔͉͚̟̝̤̬͒̈́̊͊͝ ̴̧̉̎̂̔̿a̶͇̿̍̿̈̓͗̓͆͠n̵͔̳͖̜͓͚̠̿ỷ̶̛̤͙͇̪͓͉̖̻̩̒͜m̵̨̳̙̯͕̫͔̹͠ő̶̭̖̺͍̭̑̋̄͘ŕ̶͓̾̎́̏́͐̌ȩ̵̛̤͇͚̺̗͝͝,̷͉̞͊͌̚ ̷̝̲̻͇͖̱͗͆̈̓̀̀̈̐̔̌̑j̸̡͉͎͙̹̺̬͒̓́̍͗̓̓̊͘ȇ̵̡̺̼̜̼̠͓̆͑́͒̊́̏̎͛͠ỏ̸̢̧̞̻͇̠̫͌͌̅̑̎̓̀̏̚ń̴͉̤̠̼̲̎́̀̀̒͂͆͘͠ͅg̸̟̲̗̫̘͔͔̽́͜͜͜ģ̵̠̙̈́̈́̍͊̏̀̓ų̷̗̟̠̦̲̰̤͇̖͋k̷̛̻̤͈̩̟̍̓́̌̀̽̈́̄̾̕

It's nausea from the start this time. All at once, and he nearly bends over to hurl in the trash can, but the feeling fades as quickly as it strikes him. He lifts his gaze in a panic towards the sign again.

The scribbled writing is gone.

Hallucinating. I really am hallucinating.

He feels lightheaded. In a hurry, Jeongguk makes his way back to their table just to sit down and rest his head on its surface.

"Whoa, Guk, you good?"

He feels Taehyung rest his hand on his back.

"Don't tell me the burger didn't agree with you...you looked so happy eating it."

Hallucinating. You're just hallucinating. Don't let it ruin everyone else's time.

"No, I'm good," Jeongguk says, but he keeps his head resting on the table a bit longer. "Just a little sleepy after eating, it happens."

"I have breath mints if you're feeling sick."

Jimin's soft voice urges him to raise his head.

"They...help me when I'm nauseous. If that's what's wrong..."

"I'm okay, Jimin."

The boy seems unconvinced, but still Jeongguk smiles to reassure him.

"Do you want ice cream, too, Jimin?"

—

for some reason wattpad wouldn't let me center the writing -_- smh