Chapter Text
11:07
“Okay, kids, who wants to go down the water slide first?” A familiar voice asks. “Four of you can fit on one tube.”
Minho freezes in his place. He shouldn’t be surprised at this point - he hears this same question uttered by this same person at least five times a day. But he can’t help his reaction. Not when he knows what follows.
“I do!” A little girl raises her hand. “But can oppa go down the slide with me? It looks scary.”
Minho takes this as his cue to go prepare the tube and ensure the kids are not going to get hurt on their way down the water slide. He pretends to ignore the conversation in front of him, but he’s secretly eavesdropping. In his defence, his job gets boring sometimes.
“Uh,” the familiar voice trembles, “I would actually like to go last. You can join me if you don’t mind waiting a little?”
Minho steals a glance at the girl. She has crossed her arms in front of her chest. “But I still want to go first!”
Meanwhile, a boy on the other side of the group calls: “Then I want to go last with hyung!”
“Me too!” Another kid joins. Then another. And another.
“Hey, only three of us can go down the slide with him!” The first girl reminds everyone.
Minho has finished securing the tube, so he sits on the ground with crossed legs and looks at the group of kids expectantly. Many of them notice him and start throwing worried looks at the slide, as well as the queue forming behind them.
“Seori, I need to make sure that all of you have gotten down safely before having fun myself,” the oh-so-familiar voice says. Minho rolls his eyes in order to not audibly groan.
And then, just like it always happens, one of the children asks loudly, as if they’re intending for everyone to hear: “Why is Jisung-hyung gripping the railing so hard?”
The group is suddenly overtaken by whispers and Minho smirks to himself. The kids never fail to point it out.
“He is even shaking, look at his knees!” Someone shouts and the entire group, finally, erupts in laughter.
Minho glances at Jisung whose cheeks are so red with embarrassment that one could assume they’re actually sunburnt. The sight used to be endearing to him, but after seeing it tens, no, hundreds of times, he has gotten immune to it. He would even argue that Jisung wasn’t all that scared, to begin with.
Because with a reassurance (from Minho himself) that the safety of everyone on the water slide is the lifeguard’s responsibility, Jisung’s lies are busted and the kids convince him to go first. He caves in (just like he always does) with little to no resistance. He even cheers on his way down, his laughter mixing with the childrens’ screaming.
That’s a carefully thought-out entertainment strategy if Minho’s ever seen one. And he has worked in this waterpark ever since he got his lifeguard license, so he has witnessed the ways of a lot of animators. Jisung isn’t as quirky and different as he’d like to think he is.
Maybe his sense of humor and personality are well-liked among the kids. Even more so among the elderly, for some reason. Perhaps the games he prepares for the waterpark guests are so creative that everyone gathers around him to participate (even the people who are constantly in line for the water slide and keeping Minho busy). And Jisung’s vocals and guitar skills might be a little too good for the job he’s landed (Minho’s seen way too many people literally getting swept off their feet when Jisung has been singing. Trust him on that one - he has a good observing spot from the water slide platform).
But all of that does not change the fact that Jisung is, at the end of the day, annoying. And easy to see through. Or maybe not so easy, since Minho is probably the only person who knows of the act Jisung puts on. But Minho is content being the only beholder of this information.
Hesitating before taking a step towards the railing, Minho looks over the edge of the platform just as Jisung and the kids crash into the pool. Minho shivers as he realises just how far away from them he is - thirty whole metres, to be exact. He quickly averts his gaze and returns to help the rest of the kids (and the people behind them) on the slide.
Now is not the time to ponder why he supervises the highest water slide in the aquapark when he is, in fact, afraid of heights.
When people ask Minho why he works as a lifeguard during the summers, he usually comes up with some spiel about how much he enjoys swimming and helping others. The truth, however, is as far from that as it could get - he is a lifeguard now because he was a lovesick fool two summers ago.
Looking back, Minho thinks he was fairly stupid to sign up for lifeguard courses only because his flatmate also attended them. But Minho had a desperate crush, didn’t know how to display his feelings in an open way and figured spending more time with Chan would make him develop some feelings for Minho in return. That, of course, didn’t happen, but Minho still got out of the situation with a lifeguard license (even if he almost failed his exam).
So naturally, when he had to come up with a summer job to help him finance his studies, lifeguarding it was. And it had proven to be pretty lucrative, considering he spends most of his days barely doing anything.
Contrary to all expectations, the water slide he is assigned to is among the less busier ones. There is a rush of people only when the animators are on break… or when they include the aquapark facilities in their activities. But Minho can’t complain - his job is boring enough for him to doomscroll for half a day under his umbrella. Uneventful enough for him to have put his lifeguard skills to use only four times for two summers (and counting).
Its only disadvantage is the fact that he’d initially gotten assigned to the highest slide. And having been an unassertive person back then, he is still somehow tied to it now.
The saddest thing is that his fear of heights hadn’t subsided even the slightest bit throughout the years. He still grips the railings tightly when going up the stairs in the mornings. He even takes longer to get back to the ground for his lunch break, because then looking down is unavoidable. Minho continues to be very much afraid of heights - he has only gotten better at keeping himself busy enough not to think about it.
Thankfully, his colleagues are yet to find out. Which is not an achievement per se, considering that most of them work in the aquapark for one summer only. That, and Minho barely interacts with them.
The only coworker he has the (dis)pleasure to talk to on the daily is Jisung. And Minho was actually looking forward to chatting with Jisung when he first met him, but that was before he realised just how annoying Jisung could get. More importantly, before he had seen Jisung exploit his biggest fear for a couple of laughs.
So yes and no - Minho both likes and dislikes his job. But he is pretty sure that he can grow to rather dislike it, all thanks to Jisung.
11:42
Jisung loves his job.
He loves talking to kids (and surprisingly, to elderly people), he loves seeing a glimpse of other people’s worlds while keeping them entertained. He loves coming up with different activities that sometimes involve the water slides in the aquapark, and sometimes don’t (depending on his own mood for the day). He loves performing songs at the end of the workday - the applause always charges him, it’s as if the staff and visitors alike say a collective "good job!" after he’s been running around the pools for hours.
He also loves his job because of one super attractive colleague who guards the highest water slide in the aquapark and is definitely worth the climb in spite of Jisung’s fear of heights. Or at least that’s what Jisung’s trying to convince himself as he’s going up the countless stairs to Minho(’s platform) for the second time today.
And getting there is actually the easier part, because the kids block the view, so Jisung can’t really comprehend how high up he is. But once he stands on the platform, nothing can stop him from becoming pale with fear - not even the sight of Minho or the giggles coming from the children he’s entertaining.
“Jisung-oppa,” Seori, the attached-to-his-hip kid of the day, takes him out of his thoughts. “Thank you for agreeing to take us to the slide again. You looked really scared earlier.”
Jisung smiles warmly and pats Seori’s head. Her hair is completely soaked with water. “I am the oldest here, aren’t I? I need to be brave,” he responds.
Seori stretches out her tiny hand. “Here,” she invites Jisung to take it, “this way you won’t have to worry anymore. It will look like you’re helping me be brave.”
Jisung holds Seori’s hand, fighting the urge to coo (because seven-year-olds tend to not like being cooed at). He continues climbing the stairs and squeezing her hand, not entirely sure whether he’s doing it to bring her or himself comfort. His other arm never leaves the railing.
As soon as Jisung and all of the kids step onto the platform, his gaze lands directly onto Minho. This time around, Minho is sitting in the plastic chair under his umbrella and watching a video on his phone. His face looks white due to the excess sunscreen he’s applied, and his blond locks are ruffled from the strong wind at this height. All of that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still the most beautiful person Jisung has ever seen.
Too bad Minho probably already dislikes him.
They haven’t talked much, but from what Jisung has gathered after observing him for days, Minho is extremely irritable. Even if he hides it well by pretending to be patient, Jisung still notices his constant eyerolls, sighs and stifled laughs at Jisung’s interactions with the kids.
And here’s the other thing - Jisung hasn’t put in the slightest effort in appearing likeable in front of Minho. When he is with children, he becomes an even louder, even more unbearable version of himself. He is convinced that Minho isn’t and would never be keen on this Jisung.
“Jisung-hyung,” a boy on the other side of the platform calls. Jisung suddenly realises he’s been staring at Minho for way longer than intended and turns his head in the child’s direction. “Are we going down the slide in the same order as before? I want to be with you this time.”
Jisung opens his mouth to respond, but the words get stuck in his throat - he only now sees that an uncharacteristic silence has fallen over the kids. Minho also seems to have noticed it - he is looking around curiously until his eyes meet Jisung’s, mischief playing in them.
Jisung gulps, feeling his cheeks become red. (Great - now not only does Minho find him annoying, but he must also be aware of his stupid little crush).
“I think Jisung-oppa should not go down the slide anymore,” Seori loudly proclaims, catching everyone’s attention. “He was clearly scared last time, let’s not make him do it again”. Her tiny hand gives Jisung’s a reassuring squeeze.
Her suggestion is unexpected - no other kid has had a similar idea before, even after seeing Jisung tremble due to his fear of heights. They usually assumed he got over it as soon as he sat on the tube. Most even turned it into a joke every subsequent time they went onto the slide.
Today, however, all children nod at Seori’s request thoughtfully. Some even have their fingers on their chins, looking like little philosophers. Jisung can’t explain how far the endearment he has for Seori extends already, even if he only met her today.
“He seemed just fine last time,” Minho unexpectedly chimes in. Jisung feels the blood suddenly drain from his face.
It’s not like he’s never been acknowledged by Minho before - hell, Minho even told the kids earlier today that Jisung holds no responsibility for them while they’re on the water slide. But Minho has never commented on Jisung’s fear before, let alone expressed an opinion.
It makes Jisung wonder just how exactly Minho perceives him.
“He wasn’t,” Seori opposes, “I was in the tube with him, so trust me.”
Minho snorts as he gets up from his chair to prepare the tube. “Why should I, when I hear him laughing every time with my own two ears?”
Minho looks intimidating (and not only to Jisung) asking that, because Seori shrinks in herself and drops Jisung’s hand as if burned. Jisung glares at Minho, thinking about how he’ll need to have a word with him about him scaring the kids.
Surprisingly, Minho responds to the glare - he scrunches his nose and then smiles mockingly, his eyebrows raising challengingly. Jisung doesn’t have the time to get flustered again, though, because Minho almost immediately crouches and starts doing whatever his job entails. (Jisung still doesn’t know even after all of the times he’s seen Minho - he’s always been too busy staring at his muscular back and toned arms and-)
Speaking of staring, all of the kids are now facing Jisung, waiting for an explanation after Minho’s accusation. And as much as Jisung appreciates Seori and the rest of the children’s concerns for him, he doesn’t want to make a big deal out of the situation.
That, and he’s sure some parents will be giving him side eyes if he lets their kids use the slide, but he himself chooses to go down the stairs. He doesn’t want any confrontations - not with parents, not with his boss, and definitely not with Minho.
So he decides to play along.
“Ah, you see… Minho-hyung is right, it’s not that big of a deal”. Jisung steals a glance at Minho - he is smirking to himself, still shuffling with the inflatable tube. “I might be a little scared, but scary things sometimes turn out to be the most fun, right?”
This rhetorical question is directed at Seori specifically, the one who’s more or less responsible for the whole group being here for the second time today. When she realises everyone’s waiting for her to respond, she nods her little head enthusiastically, earning herself a couple of warm smiles from the older kids (and Jisung himself. He can’t help it.)
“Awww,” Minho joins in on the moment, having just risen up on his feet. His voice, however, is laced with sarcasm, and Jisung already doesn’t like where this is going. "Your bravery is admirable," Minho comments, turning to Jisung, the lopsided and slightly evil smile never leaving his face, “it’s only fair that we reward you for it.”
Jisung raises an eyebrow, having no clue what is about to follow. He can’t determine whether that’s because he somewhat knows Minho or because he doesn’t know him at all.
A tense silence follows. Jisung notices from the corner of his vision that a queue is starting to form behind him and the kids.
“I was wondering…” Minho trails off, and Jisung is this close to verbally urging him to hurry up. "Why don’t you take a trip down the slide by yourself?” Minho suddenly blurts out, his expression giving no part of his thought process away.
Jisung’s breath hitches, and then he laughs unbelievingly. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me right. Have you ever fully enjoyed your ride down, having to always worry about at least three kids in the back of your mind?”
Jisung is convinced that if the devil exists, he most definitely looks like Minho.
“See-” Jisung begins but doesn’t quite know how to express that he just… doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to be here in the first place, so it doesn’t matter to him whether he gets down with or without three kids. “I-” he stutters again, but then remembers the conversation that occurred earlier today - if he wouldn’t mind sliding alone, then Seori most definitely would.
As if having caught up on Jisung’s train of thought, Seori says reassuringly, “Don’t worry, oppa! I’m brave and can slide with the other kids this time!”
Jisung scowls. He doesn’t know what Minho’s goal with this is, nor does he know why he is so opposed to being alone on the tube in the first place. One last glance in the general direction of the staircase gets him moving - their group must be the reason why everyone suddenly wants to go on this slide and Jisung doesn’t want to be that annoying person who makes everyone wait.
With an exaggerated sigh, Jisung utters a “fine” and walks to the tube. Minho comes after him to assist him while he’s climbing onto it and mentally preparing for the following twenty seconds of horror and adrenaline combined.
“Ready?” Minho asks with this smirk that never seems to leave his mouth. His hands are still holding the floating tube in place.
Jisung laughs nervously. “Why do you sound like you’re sending me to my death?” Minho snorts from behind him. But before he has the chance to respond with something equally teasing, Jisung adds: “I’m ready. You can push me now, let’s get it over with.”
Minho complies and soon enough, Jisung begins to get surrounded by darkness and the sound of pouring water.
The last thing he hears before the buzz of voices gets silenced out is a faint (or rather loud, considering it had stood out this much) "Don’t play with that!" shouted by Minho. Jisung would have probably wondered which one of his kids had decided to claim Minho’s personal belongings, but the water flow abruptly slows down and his tube almost flips over, having come into contact with the water slide’s surface.
“Strange,” Jisung thinks as he regains his balance, his tube now teetering towards the edge before the first drop. Did Minho do this on purpose? Was that why he was so insistent on letting Jisung go inside alone - to mock him by making the trip down as long as possible? Are the lifeguards the ones controlling the water flow anyway? Jisung sits up and fixes his hair so that it doesn’t fall into his eyes - if it’s going to be a long ride, then he’ll at least look around the inside of the slide to spare himself the boredom. He hopes that will distract him while he’s waiting for the inevitable unpleasant feeling of weightlessness.
However, nothing can prepare him for the moment his tube actually tips over the edge and…
... flips over at a different angle than usual, because the water flow isn’t strong enough to carry it over the steep slope.
Moreover, Jisung is not properly seated on the tube, so it’s a miracle when after what feels like minutes of falling he lands directly onto it and not on the hard surface of the slide. What he doesn’t expect, though, is the subsequent bouncing off of the inflatable tube which sends him towards one of the walls.
Jisung has definitely hit his head, because he can feel it pounding in the back of his mind. However, he is so overwhelmed by how much has happened in the span of seconds that he barely feels any pain. For a moment, he wonders whether he should hop on the tube and just get to the end of the slide as if nothing happened, but the little water has somehow already carried it away. And Jisung is not that dumb to sit on his butt and get down on his own.
So basically, Jisung is stuck somewhere in the middle of the water slide.
The moment he realises it, he starts feeling the ache in his head much stronger than before. He barely manages to somewhat climb up the circular wall, so that he eliminates the risk of slipping on the wet horizontal surface (no matter how weak the water flow actually is). He knows he should be shouting for help, but his voice doesn’t follow his brain’s commands and everything that comes out is weak, not even audible to himself.
His eyes start filling up with tears, and even though there is no point in crying, he lets them all out, violently sobbing into the back of his hand. He can’t believe his luck, he can’t believe Minho, he curses out everything and everyone that could have possibly led to this moment.
Eventually, he runs out of energy to cry and feel sorry for himself. His eyelids start weighing down and he knows that’s the worst possible thing that could happen in this situation, but his head is pounding, and he’s starting to get cold and it’s been so long already, why is no one coming -
And just like that, Jisung passes out.