Work Text:
Jiung had just gotten a summer job now that he chose to be a student full time. He needed the money for what his music scholarship didn't cover and honestly he wasn't doing much else. His friends all had travel plans or jobs of their own so hangouts went out the window. Recently he'd applied to the theme park that only opened summers and to his shock he was hired.
During orientation, Jiung had met Soul. The lead manager droned on at the group of high school and college students in the sweltering sun. Jiung typed out a message and pushed his phone to the guy next to him. A blonde young guy who didn't seem Korean? Soul was younger than him and an international student he came to find out. His dyed blonde hair and wide eyes really stood out to Jiung. Even more, Soul stood out because of his shyness. Since they would likely be working together, Jiung had initiated a conversation during their lunch. At first Jiung had assumed Soul was shy, then he assumed Soul wasn't as confident in his Korean as he was in his Japanese, but Jiung came to know the truth...
Soul was just shy at first.
Jiung was honestly very happy when Soul started talking more. Jiung would pester him with some random talk about what shows he'd been watching lately but Soul didn't engage much. He tried to encourage Soul to talk more but when he received Souls short replies and saw his texting style it threw Jiung off. Out of fear that he was talking too much, he had kept his distance a while. But when Soul quietly approached him one day and asked if he did something wrong, Jiung went back to assuming Soul was shy.
In fairness he was. Then weeks passed and Jiung came to find out Soul has a passion for dancing. He also had a passion for street food. He had a sister. And that he had some strange quirks. And that he had an extensive knowledge on aliens and urban legends. And he knew a recipe for carrot cake off the top of his head? And he knew a lot about cats? And so many other things. Jiung was happy hearing about Soul but Soul was strange. Sometimes he wouldn't text in words, just emojis. In person he would reply with sounds or just make sounds... which then made Jiung do the same. But Jiung enjoyed working with Soul regardless. If anything his strange actions made work pass by faster. Long past were the days of the shy Japanese boy.
Their job was quite boring. It was midway through the summer at this point. Jiung worked a concession stand most days and Soul worked just one stand over. Early in the day there wasn't much to do since parents brought their kids after they got off work. Jiung would hand out corn dogs, yap with Soul, eat, and then spend the rest of the time listening to music since he couldn't use his phone. There were days the heat was unbearable and sometimes there were unreasonable customers but what could they do? It was just about corndogs. However, the bright side of this job? Employees got discounted entry when they came to the theme park. Most people hate being at their job when they don't have to. But, Jiung and Soul would come on Saturdays at about midday and stay until the park closed. They'd gotten close to their manager, Theo, who also happened to run the Disco Pang Pang. Theo allowed them to use it alone at closing. And that happened to become their favorite pass time in the park. It had been hard at first, Jiung had gone in with blind confidence and stumbled around until he crashed into Soul leading them to topple over. Both of the boys fell into a fit of laughter as Soul helped him balance. Alas, Jiung was determined. Overtime they had gotten pretty good at balancing and then good at doing even more. Soul loved doing jumps and flips on the disked ride. Accented by his cool loose fashion, he looked like he was meant for the sky as he ran against the rotation and flipped, landing on his feet with grace. Jiung hasn't quite reached that level. He can do some jumps without falling onto people and his balance is pretty unmatched no matter the speed. He liked watching people's faces when he jumped from empty seat to empty seat. His short black hair like a halo as he seemingly froze in the air at times. What can he say, he liked the attention.
Since mastering his jumps, he and Soul had gotten into this routine. They would play pretend that they couldn't balance and then stand up and show off when the ride picked up in speed. It led to confusion and then amusement. Honestly, it was just a silly thing to keep themselves entertained. It also brought attention to the attraction in the theme park. A win win if you asked them.
The sun shone bright in the sky and onto Jiung's dark hair. With a soda cup in hand he browsed the faces of the park-goers. Then be spotted someone. Someone beautiful. He had full lips, sharp eyes, and deep cheekbones. His eyebrows and face seemingly sculpted to perfection. Ba-dump. The beautiful stranger was accompanied by an equally pretty face marked by round eyes, curled blonde hair, pouty lips, and a snaggletooth in his smile. It threw Jiung for a loop how much he almost looked like Soul at a first glance. Jiung glanced at them as he sat on a bench. Soon Soul joined him on the bench and caught on quickly at what Jiung was looking at.
"Is that your type?" Jiung sputtered on his drink as he slapped his hand over Soul's mouth.
"Don't say it so loud." If anything Jiung was attracting more attention than what Soul had said. "I just think he's pretty."
Soul tossed popcorn in his mouth. "He is pretty."
In their time as friends and coworkers, talk about types hasn't ever really crossed them. But this stranger was for sure Jiung's type. He was dressed in a loose black opened button-up with a clean white t-shirt under. His jeans, ripped, in a grey light-wash. Sunglasses on top of his neat dark brown hair.
He and Soul sat and watched as the two unassuming friends wandered together. Their eyes trained on them in a daze. Then they saw the pair get in line for the Disco Pang Pang. In a flash, Soul had gripped Jiung's wrist and dragged him into that same line. Right behind the pair.
Admittedly Jiung's skin shone with sweat. It was a warm day and he was also incredibly nervous. Overhearing, he learned the one with the sharper features was Keeho and his friend with the softer features was Jongseob. They were both in college and music majors. Souls laughter was not lost on him as be panicked over the close proximity. But this was his grounds. The place for him to show off. They made their way onto the ride with a knowing look from Theo. They sat and gripped the bars. Soul subtly pretending he was nervous and Jiung nervous for other reasons. It was just his luck that he sat right next to Keeho. Their hands briefly touching as he gripped the bars behind them. Ba-dump ba-dump.
"Hey, don't be nervous. It can't be that bad." Keeho's voice was so smooth and Jiung could listen to it all day. However it did nothing to soothe his nervousness.
"Ah, right? I'm sure it'll be fine." Jiung knew exactly how this would go. Keeho had the same blind confidence he'd experienced and the one he'd seen countless times. They gripped the bars as the ride started up. Theo went over usual safety announcements as the participants anticipated the pickup. It started up as usual. Spinning and then faster spinning. Keeho and Jongseob were filled with confidence as far as Jiung could tell. Then the bouncing started. Maybe it was the sweat but Jiung's hand managed to slip off the bar. And he jolted forward. A hand came to grip his waist, stabilizing him. His hand was big on Jiung's small waist and warm even through the t-shirt Jiung was wearing. Hurriedly Jiung gripped the bar once again.
"Thank you." Jiung met Keehos eyes and Keeho smiled at him. Then Jiung jolted again.
Theo had to be targeting Jiung and Soul because the ride tilted making Jongseob push against Keeho leading Keeho to push right into Jiung, who was holding on strong. On his other side he felt Soul stand up since he had been right on the edge of the seat. Theo shifted the platform again and Soul stumbled between Jongseob and Keeho. They must've done something to Theo recently.
The rocking motion made Keeho stumble forward, losing his grip on the hand that wasn't on Jiungs waist. In a hurry Jiung placed his leg over Keeho's trying to pull him back.
"Wah~ You two are so handsome, did you come together? You seem close." Theo's voice rang over the intercom. The rocking became more insistent. Soul was now facing Jongseob as he fell forward onto him, repeatedly. Jongseob laughed, arms coming around Soul's waist to hold him still.
"Help your friend there, blondie, he might fall if you're not careful. Wouldn't want your girlfriend to get jealous." Theo's voice rang out again.
As the disk tilted, it was up to Soul's arm strength to keep them on the seat. Jongseob's head against his stomach as Soul held onto the bars keeping them in place.
As for Keeho and Jiung, Keeho fell out of Jiung's leg grip stumbling forward and into the center. Jiung reached out his leg to let Keeho pull himself up but Keeho just tumbled further. His clean middle part swaying into a mess as he rolls around. Jiung couldn't help the comedic sight of visual perfection attempting to get up on the moving platform. He laughed as he stood to try and help Keeho. Then a sudden jolt sent him toppling onto Keeho, pinning him down. Ba-dump.
Jiung wasn't typically a fan of physical affection. He wasnt used to anything more than an arm around a shoulder. Somehow, here he was with a beautiful face under him. Ba-dump. He tried his best to keep his arms up so he didn't just let his weight sit on Keeho.
"I'm so sorry." Jiung had stopped laughing when he saw Keeho's shocked expression. Now Keeho laid laughing under him. This wasn't going according to the usual plan. He needed to redeem himself before the ride was over. Another jolt. Then Jiung fell face-first into Keehos chest. Jiung's life was a series of misfortune. As he fell, he couldnt help but notice how good Keeho smelled. He scrambled to get up and this whole incident only made Keeho laugh harder. A pair of hands hooked under Jiung's armpits and hoisted him up. He was met with Soul's giggles behind him. There was no way in hell he could look Keeho in the eyes. Doing his best, he offered Keeho a hand up and they managed to get back to their feet and to their original seat. Jiung sat first and Keeho fell into him. The rocking picked up and Keeho just about fell on top of him. Jiung was usually good at this, he would swear up and down, but here he was with a beautiful man basically laying on him. Keeho's body weight held up only by his bent leg to the side of Jiungs own. There was enough space for them to fall over on the seats seeing as Jongseob managed to fall into the center at some point. Soul right by Jongseob staying upright with ease. Jiung was pinned under muttered apologies through embarrassed laughter. Ba-dump.
Rocking was soon replaced by spinning. Keeho managed to sit up and pulled Jiung up with him. As the ride picked up speed, Keeho clung on tight to Jiung. Keeho's head dug into Jiung's neck and Jiung's whole focus was on the way be could feel Keeho's every breath. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Keeho was all but cuddling into Jiung's side; Leg tossed over Jiung's lap and arms hugging his torso. These two sat ignorant in their own embarrassment to Soul showing off his acrobatic skills.
As all things do, the ride came to an end. It came to a slow halt and the crowd was sufficiently amused by Soul's performance. He bowed in the center and one specific fair-goer sat on the floor watching him in awe.
As people stepped off the ride, Keeho remained on Jiung. His grip tight.
"The rides over. Trust me, you'll be fine to stand up." In this position, no would would know Keeho was bigger than Jiung. With much laughter, Soul approached them.
"Alright lovebirds, I need my ride home and Theo needs to allow the next group on." Quietly, Keeho got up. While avoiding eye contact, he walked over to Jongseob and took him by the arm and they got off. Soul gave Jiung a look.
"You should ask him for his number."
"I will," Jiung stood up so they could let it her people on, "what about you and the other blonde?"
Soul reacted shyer than Jiung had ever seen him, "I will, too."
Jiung spotted Keeho cleaning up his messed up hair. He mustered confidence and tapped him on the shoulder.
"I think you're really pretty, can I possibly get your number?" He spouted before he could talk himself out of it.
"Huh??" Keeho laughed into his hand. Oh god. Had Jiung overthought this? He had to have. Keeho was just trying not to fall over. His heart sank. Then he felt Keeho playfully punch him in the chest. "You think I'm pretty even after watching me fall over and cling to you like my life depended on it."
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Jiung nodded. Keeho laughed again.
"Here." While looking away, Keeho pushed his phone into Jiung's chest. Jiung punched his number in and called himself. His own ringer going off in his pocket. He handed the phone back as silence overtook them...
"Ah! I'm Jiung by the way. This is Soul." Looking not unlike a deer in headlights, Soul looks out from his place behind Jiung and made a noise of acknowledgement.
"I'm Keeho. And... Jongseob you can stop staring and ask him for his number." Jongseob had been staring at Soul. He had broken out of the trance at Keeho's words. A broken inquisitive sound burst out as he turned to Keeho with wide eyes. An exchanged glance between Soul and Jongseob lasted an eternity as words they weren't ready for hung in the air.
"Ah. I think you're cute," Jongseob started, "You were really cool on the Disco Pang Pang." Jongseob looked away with a nervous laugh. Soul pulled out his phone and handed it to Jongseob. A look to Soul. A look to the phone. And a look back to Soul. He put his phone number in.
A couple days later, Jiung laid splayed out on his bed. Freshly showered, he rubbed his head into his towel. The work week had been busy, and him being the nice person he was, he covered the closing shift for another staff member.
Ding.
Wet drops splattered as he shot up to see who was messaging him this late.
K: hii
K: it's Keeho from the theme park if you didn't save my number
K: sorry for not texting, I'm doing a summer thing and it's time consuming 🙃
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Jiungs fingers flew across the keys on his phone.
They mindlessly chatted the whole night, sharing their favorite shows and sharing in laughs. Maybe all the embarrassment was worth it. In his chest, Jiung's heart spun and rocked. Yeah, the embarrassment was worth it.