Chapter Text
Wooyoung liked a lot of things in life. He liked listening to BTS too loudly. He liked his family (especially his younger brother). He liked his friends and desserts and dancing. He even liked mint chocolate ice cream – a controversial topic amongst the members of his friend group.
Really, Wooyoung didn’t view himself as a picky person. He was pretty easy to please and very rarely had a problem going along with what anyone else wanted to do. His one condition for making plans was simply that he hated being woken up early on a weekend without warning.
So why was he currently shoved into the backseat of Seonghwa’s car, his body tightly squished between the door and Yeosang, at ass o-clock on a Saturday? He blamed Hongjoong.
“But hyuuuuung,” Wooyoung whined, his voice high-pitched and grating in a way that he hoped would send Hongjoong over the edge and get him kicked out of the car. “It’s going to be so hot today, and there are going to be kids everywhere, and if I have to watch Yeosang pause at every character meet and greet so he can take a picture with them I might vomit in my mouth.”
Hongjoong glanced at Wooyoung in the rearview mirror, quickly looking back down at the GPS on his phone so he could tell Seonghwa when to turn right. “First off, gross. Second, this is a Family Fun Day and if you would shut your mouth for longer than two minutes, you might actually enjoy yourself.”
Wooyoung heard Yeosang and Jongho snort loudly beside him, and he snapped his head in their direction to see his best friend raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at him.
Wooyoung groaned, dropping his head against the cool window and staring at the streets passing by them in a blur. “You’re not even my real dad.”
“Thank god,” Hongjoong replied, eliciting a laugh from the other three boys in the car – the ones who had willingly joined their little “Family Fun Day.”
Wooyoung wasn’t even a big fan of amusement parks. They were loud and overcrowded and always smelled like a mix of cotton candy and sweat, and he could think of a thousand and one things he’d rather do than stand for an hour at a time in a long line just to ride a rollercoaster that lasted thirty seconds. Not that he’d gotten a say in any of this – the foursome had shown up outside his dorm room at 8 a.m., banging on his door until he pulled himself and his sleep-matted hair out of bed to glare at them. Then, in a series of events Wooyoung had now deemed “The Kidnapping,” Jongho had manhandled him into his bathroom, where Hongjoong tossed him a pair of ripped jeans and a black hoodie and said, “Strip and brush your teeth, we’re leaving in 10.” When he’d stumbled out, minty-fresh and still confused, Seonghwa softly slipped a baseball cap on his head to cover his rat’s nest, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and led him away from the air-conditioned safety of his room.
It wasn’t until they were three miles down the road that Hongjoong had finally explained to Wooyoung that they were going to the amusement park, rolling his eyes at each of Wooyoung’s protests until the younger boy was pretty sure he’d turned into television static in the back seat. He felt a warm hand patting his shoulder, and he looked over to see Jongho reaching across the backseat, his arm slung around Yeosang as he looked at Wooyoung with pitying eyes.
“Give it up, hyung, you’re not going to win this one,” he said, shaking his head. Wooyoung opened his mouth again, ready to argue, but Jongho cut him off. “How about this – if you’ll stop complaining, we’ll let you pick the first ride and Hongjoong hyung will even buy you some ice cream later on. Deal?”
“Deal,” Wooyoung said, reaching over to shake Jongho’s hands as Hongjoong yelled, “HEY, I didn’t agree to that!”
“Nope, no, a deal has been struck – no takebacks,” Wooyoung said, a grin finally stretching across his lips as he met Hongjoong’s eyes in the rearview.
Hongjoong sighed, grumbling about ungrateful children as Seonghwa rubbed his arm comfortingly.
When they arrived at the park, it took about fifteen minutes to find a parking spot – a fact that did not give Wooyoung any peace of mind. He opened his mouth to complain again about how crowded it was going to be inside, but shut it quickly when Jongho leveled him with a “We had a deal” look. Yeosang smirked as Wooyoung clamped his mouth shut, the older boy turning to share a look with his boyfriend. Wooyoung sighed – he hadn’t even gotten to the “I’m the only single one in the group” part of his complaining.
When he stepped out of the car, the warm morning sun spilling across his skin, Wooyoung saw the bright lights and colorful signs of the amusement park smiling across the parking lot at him. He stretched his arms above his head, humming quietly to himself as he waited for his friends to climb out of their seats. A small – very small – feeling of excitement seeped into his skin along with the sunshine, and he relented in his fight. It was too late to turn back now – he may as well make the most of his day.
When Yeosang stepped out of the car, Wooyoung shot him a grin. “Race you to the front?”
Yeosang rolled his eyes. “No way, Woo, you’re way faster than me.”
Wooyoung pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “No fun – I’ll buy you some chicken if you win.”
Yeosang didn’t say anything, simply paused in his steps to look over Wooyoung, measuring the other boy’s seriousness without making a sound. Before Wooyoung could ask him again if he was interested, Yeosang was already sprinting towards the front entrance, weaving between couples and families like he was on an obstacle course.
“Damnit,” Hongjoong sighed as Wooyoung ran after him. The hot air striking his cheek and the way his lungs constricted as he ran had Wooyoung gasping for breath by the time he reached the front gate, barely skirting past Yeosang in the last few feet. He ignored the way strangers passing by glared at him, sweeping a hand across his forehead to brush his hair away from his face.
He walked over to Yeosang, who was gripping a bench with one hand and doubled over, breathing hard. “Nice effort, Sangie – you almost had it.” He laughed when Yeosang glanced up through his long blonde bangs to glare at him. “You know what, I’ll buy you some chicken on a stick just for trying.”
Yeosang stood up, his chest still heaving with each breath. “I will gladly take your pity participation prize,” he said, the corner of his lip quirking up into a small smile.
“If you wanted chicken, I could have just bought some for you,” Jongho said as the other three boys walked over to them, finally catching up. He brushed the bangs away from Yeosang’s face, his fingers lingering a little too long as he pushed them behind his ear. “You didn’t have to take down three kids and a grandma just for that.”
Yeosang and Wooyoung shared a look, shrugging in tandem. Hongjoong rolled his eyes at the pair – something he did a lot around Wooyoung – and tilted his head towards the front gate. The others followed behind, stopping only once they’d gotten past ticketing and bag check. While Seonghwa and Hongjoong went off to find a map of the park, the other three boys stopped to look inside one of the gift shops on the main street. Yeosang immediately gravitated towards the famous theme park headbands – the ones couples wore as they walked around the park on dates and kids begged their parents to buy (though they spent more time tearing them off their heads than actually wearing them). Wooyoung wandered off to look at the novelty magnets and shot glasses, toying with one decorated with a drawing of a shark and advertising one of the water rides. The shark was cartoonish and pink, and Wooyoung considered coming back for the shot glass before they left just to have something for his post-finals soju nights.
Yeosang came back to find Wooyoung – the older now sporting a headband with small, white puppy ears – and told him Hongjoong and Seonghwa were waiting for them outside the shop. Wooyoung set the glass back down and followed him back onto the street.
As they walked, Wooyoung glanced at the youngest member of their group and raised an eyebrow at the brown headband that matched Yeosang’s. “You look like a teddy bear,” he said, gesturing at Jongho.
Jongho shrugged, holding up the hand clasped in Yeosang’s in answer. Wooyoung scoffed and turned away. When they reached Seonghwa and Hongjoong, the two boys were looking over a virtual map pulled up on their phones. Wooyoung walked over to lean on Hongjoong’s shoulder, staring down at the screen. “Where did you find that?” he asked as he watched Hongjoong scroll around the different areas of the park.
Honjoong waved his hand absentmindedly. “There are QR codes posted around that bring up the site – it’s got a list of all the attractions and their wait times, too, which is pretty nice.” He looked up, glancing around at the other boys. “Is there anything you guys want to start with?”
Wooyoung pulled away from Hongjoong’s shoulder, pointing to himself. “Excuse me, I distinctly remember being promised the first ride.”
Hongjoong glanced back down at his phone, his eyebrows scrunched across his forehead in concentration. “While I don’t remember being a part of that agreement, I’ll accept it since it means I won’t have to listen to your whining all day.” He glanced back at Wooyoung with a raised eyebrow. “So, what do you want to do?”
Wooyoung thought for a moment, his mind drifting back to the shot glass from the gift shop. “Is there some kind of ride about sharks? I saw some stuff when we were looking around and it looked cute.”
He looked between the two boys with the maps, watching as they searched for the ride Wooyoung was talking about. Seonghwa hummed softly, nodding as he glanced at the younger. “It looks like there’s one nearby called ‘Shark Attack’ that opened up pretty recently,” he frowned as he read the description on his phone. “But it’s a water ride, so…”
“So? Let’s go,” Wooyoung said, moving away from the group and taking a step in what he assumed was the right direction.
“Woo, you don’t do water rides first,” Hongjoong said. “You’ll be walking around the park all day in wet clothes.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, hyung,” Wooyoung said, shaking his head. “You should always do a water ride first so your clothes have time to dry – otherwise you have to ride home in wet underwear.”
He turned to look at Yeosang and Jongho for support, the youngest nodding in agreement. “Wooyoung hyung is right on this one – I think Seonghwa hyung might have an aneurism if we get back into the car dripping stagnant roller coaster water all over the seats.”
Seonghwa paled at the idea, whipping his head around to look at Hongjoong with wide eyes filled with fear. Hongjoong sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He waved his hand halfheartedly in the direction opposite to where Wooyoung had begun to walk.
“Well, let’s go then.”
Wooyoung grinned, linking an arm through Yeosang’s and practically dragging the older along behind him as he skip-walk-hopped towards the water ride. Hongjoong directed them through the bustling crowd towards the area of the park where the ride was. Wooyoung had no real idea what “Shark Attack” would be like, but he couldn’t help but feel excited. Despite his dislike for amusement parks, he enjoyed rollercoasters and lived for the feeling of his stomach getting stuck between his lungs and ribs as he dangled on the precipice of a free fall.
When they finally reached the queue, a sign at the end of the roped-off line read “10 Minute Wait.” Wooyoung turned to his friends, double checking with his eyes that they didn’t mind, and began to weave his way through the roped off path when they gave him the go ahead. The waiting area was designed to look like a vintage boat house, decked out with wooden beams and pictures of old ships and lighthouses. Wooyoung liked the ride designer’s attention to detail, how each element of the ride – from the line to the ride itself – was meant to immerse you in some intricate story. Wooyoung wasn’t entirely sure what that story was supposed to be, but he was interested to find out.
When they got to the front of the ride, a smiling university-age girl directed them to file into two rows, with Yeosang, Jongho and Wooyoung in the front and Seonghwa and Hongjoong directly behind them. Wooyoung had watched the groups going before them and had come to realize that the “ride” was supposed to be reminiscent of an ocean cruise – all the riders would file into the small boat and listen as an actor at the helm led them along the coast of some fictional islands. Wooyoung wasn’t quite sure where the sharks came into play, but he liked the idea of an interactive boat adventure.
As their turn came around, Wooyoung took his seat at the end of the bench, Yeosang and Jongho filing in after him with their hands still intertwined. He turned in his seat to see Hongjoong and Seonghwa taking their place behind him.
“See, hyung, it’s not even really a water ride – I bet you won’t even get wet,” Wooyoung said, smirking at the older boy.
Hongjoong rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to reply when he was cut off by a voice at the front of the boat. “But where’s the fun in that? You should always get a little wet if you’re moving across the ocean.”
Wooyoung turned around in his seat, searching for the source of the comment. His gaze locked on a boy leaning against the steering wheel, smiling at him with crescent-shaped eyes and deep dimples. He looked to be about the same age as Wooyoung and his friends, and he was dressed similarly to the other actors Wooyoung had seen guiding the ride in a white sailor uniform and captain’s hat. Small tufts of bright pink hair peaked out from under his cap, and he tilted his head to the side as he waited for Wooyoung’s response, watching him with those dark, smiling eyes.
Wooyoung’s words caught in his throat, and before he could say anything the last person filed onto the ride and the worker at the dock waved them away, cueing the boy in front of Wooyoung to begin his part. He winked at Wooyoung, kicking off from his place against the wheel to grab the walkie-talkie-looking object sitting beside him.
“Hello, sailors! My name is San and I’ll be your first mate today – is everyone ready for the beautiful ocean cruise I have planned for you?” He asked loudly, his voice excited and full of energy.
The small group on the boat cheered, Yeosang clapping his free hand against the one clasped in Jongho’s, and Wooyoung watched on with his mouth still gaping open. He shut it firmly as he saw San turn towards the steering wheel, moving it as he spoke into the radio – was it a radio? Wooyoung didn’t really know what to call it.
To be honest, Wooyoung didn’t take in a lot of the ride’s initial story – he could tell that San was directing them to look at clusters of fake islands that were built into the edges of the ride, creating a path for their boat to take. However, he couldn’t pay attention to the logistics of the plotline – instead, he found himself focusing on the way San’s button-down pulled tight around his shoulders, the black belt cinching his pants at his waist and creating a perfect upside-down triangular shape to his body. Wooyoung noticed the soft, deep lull of San’s voice, the way it sounded so velvety smooth that he thought he could drown in it like it was the “ocean” spread before them. In fact, he was so distracted by San and the way the sunlight caught on his honeyed skin that he almost didn’t notice when the energy of the cruise changed – the moment the “sharks” took the stage.
“Alright, everyone stay calm, okay?” San said, his velveteen voice taking on a serious edge. Wooyoung watched the minute changes in his expressions – the way his eyebrows now furrowed in concentration and his smile felt forced as he turned from side to side, scanning the water around them. “Sometimes we do see a shark like the one that just passed by, but usually they’re docile creatures and there’s nothing to worry about.”
San turned to look at the other riders on his ship, scanning the crowd and their excited smiles until his eyes landed on Wooyoung. He winked again, turning back to the wheel as Wooyoung felt his heart leap into his throat like it was doing flips on a trampoline.
Suddenly, a large animatronic shark popped out of the water to their left, causing the riders to scream as it opened its wide mouth and showed off rows of sharp teeth. As it receded back into the water and San tried to calm the passengers, Wooyoung finally took notice of the way the music on the ride had changed, shifting from pleasant elevator sounds to a tense, horror-movie soundtrack. He glanced over at his friends sitting beside him – Yeosang had a small smile on his face as his eyes lit up, scanning the water for more jumpscares, and Jongho looked completely unphased, nodding as if he knew exactly what would happen next. He didn’t have to turn around to know Hongjoong and Seonghwa were just as invested in the adventure, probably squeezed close together on the bench with their hands clasped tightly.
As the ride continued, Wooyoung tried his best to understand the story. From San’s explanations and impressive acting, Wooyoung learned that there had been rumors of a shark becoming aggressive around this area of the islands and had begun to attack ships. San and his team had decided to continue with their scheduled cruises in order to preserve business, but now the shark was trying to capsize their boat. San quickly took action, grabbing a prop rifle from beside the helm and pointing it at the shark whenever it reared its head out of the water. Wooyoung was awestruck by his concentration and the way he never broke character – and by his strong biceps that flexed every time he pointed the gun – and watched as San did his best to take down the monster attacking them. Even though he knew there was no real danger, something pinged inside of him at the idea that this incredibly attractive boy was somehow saving him.
San shot at the shark, his bullets finally finding purchase in one of the fins of the animatronic creature, and the riders watched with glee as the shark swam away from them, leaving them alone to finish their cruise in peace.
San wiped away the sweat on his brow, putting his rifle back down and turning towards the riders with a beaming grin that only grew wider as they clapped loudly for him. Wooyoung felt like he was going overboard with the overly excited way he slapped his palms together, but the moment when he felt San’s gaze lingering on him just a second too long made the adrenaline only course through him faster.
“Whew, thank you guys so much for helping me chase away that shark – you were such amazing crewmates to have onboard,” he said, resting his hands on his hips. “Now, if you could do me a favor and keep this little experience between us, I’d appreciate it – can’t have this getting back to the captain.” He smiled sheepishly, and everyone on board nodded in response. Behind him, the dock came back into view, notifying them that the ride was now over.
Wooyoung felt his heart drop into his stomach.
When the boat was stopped and the riders began to climb back onto land, Wooyoung hesitated for a moment as he passed San. He glanced over at the actor’s face, blinking quickly when he saw that San was looking back at him. San smiled again, all dimples and crescent moon eyes, and said, “I hope you had fun – you should come back again.”
Wooyoung didn’t reply, simply swallowed and nodded, climbing out of the boat and following behind his friends as they made their way back up to the main street.
“You were wrong, Woo – I totally got wet,” Hongjoong complained, raising an arm to show the younger boy the water splatters along the sleeve of his sheer white over shirt.
Wooyoung frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. “Wait, when?”
Hongjoong tilted his head, his expression a mix of incredulous and confused. “When the shark jumped out of the water right beside us? Weren’t you paying any attention – I mean, you got wet, too?”
Hongjoong reached over and pulled on the sleeve of Wooyoung’s t-shirt. Wooyoung couldn’t see any water against the black design, but when he lifted his hand to rub the fabric, he could feel a slight dampness.
“Wet shirts aside, what do you want to do now? There’s a bunch of rides over here we can try if we want to just make our way around the park in a circle,” Seonghwa said, pulling his phone from his pocket to glance back down at the map.
Wooyong’s mouth was moving before he could stop himself. “I want to ride that one again.”
The four boys looked at him, each staring at him as if he’d just said he wanted to move to France and open a baguette bakery.
“You want to ride that again?” Jongho asked, an eyebrow raised. He glanced back towards the ride before frowning at Wooyoung. “I mean, it was interesting, but it wasn’t really a ‘ride-more-than-once’ kind of thing. Plus, the line’s gotten longer and –”
“Please?” Wooyoung asked, putting on his best puppy dog eyes and pouting lip. “If you go with me again, I won’t complain all day AND I’ll buy my own lunch.”
“I never actually agreed to buy your lunch, Woo,” Hongjoong said, his voice laced with exasperation. Wooyoung turned his pleading eyes and jutted lip towards the older, using the full force of his pouty expression to try and break Hongjoong’s resolve. After a moment of staring at each other, Wooyoung saw the cracks forming in the older’s face. “Fine, fine!” Hongjoong said, waving his hands in the air. He glared at Wooyoung and pointed a finger right between his eyes. It would have been more intimidating if the older wasn’t the same size as Wooyoung, but Wooyoung kept that sarcastic remark to himself. “But I don’t want to hear any complaints from you all day, you got that?”
Wooyoung nodded quickly, turning away from them without another word to lead the group back towards the queue. The sign now read “20-minute wait,” but despite the sighs he heard from behind him, he didn’t turn back to see if the rest of the group was okay with that.
When they finally settled into their place in line, Wooyoung’s eyes met Yeosang’s. The older was watching him, his gaze full of something Wooyoung couldn’t read but made him feel like a butterfly pinned to a corkboard.
“What?” He asked, unable to meet the older’s watchful eyes. His gaze settled on the birthmark beside his best friend’s eye.
Yeosang smirked and shook his head, turning away from Wooyoung with a, “Nothing.” Wooyoung didn’t understand what that meant, and he felt too afraid to ask. As they reached the front of the line again, Wooyoung realized an error in his thinking – there were multiple boats running the ride at one time, so there was no way to know for a fact that he’d get San’s. He chewed on his bottom lip, worrying the skin between his teeth as he prayed to anything that was listening that maybe he’d get lucky.
As the group before him piled into their ride, he caught a glimpse of the next boat idling behind, ready to dock as soon as the current one left. Wooyoung breathed out a deep sigh and let go of the bottom lip that he’d now bitten raw when he saw the bright pink hair glittering in the sunlight.
The girl at the front quirked her eyebrow curiously as she took in the five boys returning for another round on the exotic boat cruise, but if she thought anything of the couples’ disgruntled mumbling or Wooyoung vibrating with excitement, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she grinned her best customer service smile and motioned for them to take their positions on the dock. Wooyoung squeezed himself in front again, now with Hongjoong and Seonghwa taking up the rest of the bench. As they climbed onto the boat, he thought he caught San eyeing him, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips. When he finally took his seat and turned his gaze back on the “first mate,” the boy was already in character, welcoming the riders onboard his cruise.
Wooyoung paid about as much attention to the second round of “Shark Attack” and its storyline as he had the first time around, spending more time ogling San and his deep dimples than watching for the dangerous shark circling the “ocean” beneath them. When the creature burst onto the surface, spraying the unsuspecting people onboard with droplets of warm water, he blinked away the wetness clinging to his eyelashes and watched how the sunlight glittered off the thin layer of perspiration dripping down San’s forehead and neck.
The ride felt like it lasted half a second to Wooyoung, and soon San was thanking them for joining his cruise and waving them off the boat. As he climbed back onto the wooden dock, Wooyoung took one last moment to look back at San. The other boy stood leaning against the ship’s wheel, his sharp gaze trained on Wooyoung. San smirked, winking at the other boy, and Wooyoung’s legs felt like they were shaking even though he was now on solid ground. He managed a small, shy smile, pushing his long black bangs behind his ear as he turned to follow his friends away from the ride.
“Ooookay,” Hongjoong said once they were all back on the main path, standing in a clump off to the side. “Where to now? And don’t say the shark attack ride again.” His voice sounded threatening as he shot a pointed glare at Wooyoung.
Wooyoung sighed. “Fine, fine, I won’t ask for the ride again. Jeez, Dad.”
As the other boys discussed how they wanted to continue their journey around the park, Wooyoung couldn’t help but find his gaze wandering back towards the ride they had just left.
While he knew he couldn’t ask for the ride again without Hongjoong murdering him and burying his body in a dumpster somewhere, he was already trying to find a way to come back for the mysterious pink-haired boy with sharp eyes and a deep dimpled smile.