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Actually, Yoongi hated working at the amusement park.
The pay was shit, the uniform was butt ugly (who the fuck thought about putting pink and orange together?) and his manager was sent from hell to torment him. Kim Heechul knew just how painfully shy Yoongi was around people, so obviously putting him in charge of one of the most popular rollercoasters in the park was the Appropriate Thing To Do. Not only did Yoongi have to constantly converse with people, keep a picture perfect smile on his face at all times and make sure kids below 140 centimeter didn't get on the ride, but he also had to sing this awful 'have a pleasant ride'-chant every time the rollercoaster set off.
("Keep your arms and legs inside,
get ready for a pleasant ride!")
While Yoongi hated that he was stuck here the whole summer, he also knew he needed the money, because student loans were no joke. While the pay was worse than he deserved it was better than working retail, which was why Yoongi gritted his teeth and came back every summer, making sure to appear as smiley and happy as possible to the public. The amusement park had an image to maintain, after all, and Yoongi could complain when he went to lunch with his fellow, suffering co-workers.
"Keep your arms and legs inside~," Yoongi heard his own voice sing over the speakers for the hundredth time that day. The train rolled off the platform and onto the rails to make room for another. "Get ready for a pleasant ride!"
Yoongi palmed his face in his hands as the new train rolled onto the platform, one group exiting to allow a new bunch of people to ride. A few of Yoongi’s younger co-workers stood by the gates to make sure no one below the 140 centimeter limit entered, and Yoongi supervised them with a watchful eye, because as a senior employee he was supposed to train these younglings. It was even more responsibility, but Heechul also promised him an extra handful of cash.
The new group of guests started claiming seats, and honestly Yoongi never took particular note of anyone riding, but it was pretty hard not to notice Park Jimin sitting down in the car closest to him. Maybe it was because Jimin had this presence that screamed ‘look at me!’ with his bright, charismatic smile and shocking red hair, or maybe it was because Yoongi had harbored an embarrassing crush on him for a year, ever since their common friend Hoseok introduced them to each other.
Well, he didn’t exactly introduce them per se. Yoongi had asked who “the cute redhead with the rocking abs” was after one of their dance performances and Hoseok said his name was Park Jimin. He then offered to introduce them to each other, but Yoongi vaguely remembered fleeing with the excuse of ‘having to go home to water the cat’.
Not Yoongi’s greatest moment, he would admit.
But now Park Jimin was here, sitting in the car of Yoongi’s rollercoaster, holding hands with a pretty girl. Yoongi would have been a little bummed out if he didn’t applaud Jimin for exquisite taste; she was gorgeous enough for Yoongi’s poor gay heart to approve. Like Jimin, her hair sported an obnoxious red hue, but it somehow suited her too, and they looked disgustingly cute as Jimin buried his face in the girl’s shoulder. They were a match made in RYB primary color heaven.
Jimin and his date put on their belts without fail, but Yoongi still had to walk past Jimin’s side and check if it was tight enough according to protocol. While doing this - because Yoongi was horrible at coordinating his limbs in front of cute boys, even cute boys on dates - he accidentally punched Jimin in the groin.
“Shit, sorry,” he muttered quickly, pulling at the safety belt as Jimin released a pained groan. Yoongi thought he heard his date snigger. “Very sorry about that, it’s been a long day.”
It’s not even twelve, Yoongi’s mind helpfully reminded him.
“D-don’t mention it,” Jimin wheezed anyway (what a saint), and Yoongi bowed his head politely before moving on to the car behind them as fast as he could.
Yoongi thought it was bad enough that Jimin met his eyes while the train departed and Yoongi did the embarrassing song, but when Jimin and his date exited the roller coaster he actually sent Yoongi a small, awkward smile. But wait - there is more! because Jimin and his date came back one more time before Yoongi went to lunch, and Jimin said a humorous “please don’t punch me this time,” when Yoongi came to check his safety belt.
Sending Jimin a very forced smile, Yoongi did another, less cheerful rendition of the ‘pleasant ride’-song and excused himself from the post before the train returned from the thrill ride.
He swore he could hear Hoseok laugh all the way from the haunted house.
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.
.
“I’m a fucking loser,” Yoongi announced as he entered the staff room for his lunch break.
“And I’m really hot,” Jeongguk said through a mouthful of chicken wrap. “Sorry, were we not stating awfully obvious things?”
Yoongi rolled his eyes all the way to the back of his head. “Scoot over, you overgrown fetus, I need to lie down.” He kicked at the younger employee where he was lying slouched across the sofa, carefully unwrapping the sandwich he had gotten for free from one of the food stands with a flash of his staff badge. Jeongguk huffed and made some space for Yoongi to sit.
“I’m probably going to regret saying this,” Jeongguk started, taking a deep, dramatic breath, “but tell me what happened.”
Yoongi side-eyed Jeongguk. “There was a really cute guy at the rollercoaster,” he started, immediately regretting it the moment the words left his mouth. Suddenly Jeongguk perked up, and out of fucking nowhere Jung Hoseok appeared, squeezing into the tight space between Yoongi and Jeongguk easily. Yoongi hadn't even seen him.
“A cute guy, you say?” Hoseok grinned, sneaking his arms around Yoongi to force him into a warm best-friend hug. Yoongi pretended like he didn’t, but he actually loved Hoseok’s hugs. No homo though, because Hoseok was straight as a ruler. “Tell me all about it.”
“Ugh,” Yoongi groaned, not questioning why Hoseok was even there or how he appeared without Yoongi noticing. Working at the haunted house for so long had made Hoseok extremely sneaky. Still, Hoseok did not need to know it was Park Jimin Yoongi might have a very unrequited crush on. And punched in the dick. “He was cute, he was on a date, and I accidentally punched him in the dick while checking his safety belt.”
Jeongguk choked on his wrap.
Hoseok blinked. “Repeat that last part for me?”
“You fucking heard me,” Yoongi grumbled, making himself as small as possible. Hoseok looked like he already had a hard time keeping it together, but Yoongi still repeated his words. “I punched him in the dick. On accident. But then he took the rollercoaster one more time and laughed and told me to please not punch him again. I’m pretty sure his girlfriend was having the trip of a lifetime.”
“Wow,” Jeongguk said, eyes widening as he choked back a guffaw, “you’ve outdone yourself this time, hyung.”
Hoseok wouldn’t stop laughing.
.
.
.
Yoongi was livid. He was so angry, because he honestly couldn’t believe he was even remotely attracted to an asshole like Park Jimin.
At first Yoongi thought he was seeing things. There was no way Jimin was back the next day, sliding into the exact same rollercoaster at the exact same time as the previous day, like bright red clockwork. Yoongi was too busy staring at Jimin fumbling with his belt to realize he was there with a different girl, one with long blonde hair and deep dimples. He took her hand as they had fastened their seatbelts, and Yoongi had to physically stop himself from actually punching Jimin on purpose this time.
(Instead he pulled a little too hard at the belt, and hoped Jimin would have a very uncomfortable ride.)
Once again, Jimin met his eyes as he exited the ride, tryingly lifting his hand to wave, and if Yoongi wasn’t really pissed at this cheating bastard he would have blushed.
(He blushed anyway, but that was not the point.)
So, Park Jimin had not only one, but two girlfriends. He wasn’t just extremely unavailable, he was an extremely unavailable asshole, and Yoongi hated himself for being attracted. In his defense Jimin looked like a sweetheart; one that would wake Yoongi up with giggling kisses and be really into slow morning sex.
(Not that Yoongi imagined it, or anything.)
Yoongi hated being wrong. He hated having horrible taste in men.
“I fucking hate boys,” Yoongi announced, dumping down next to Jeongguk on the two-seater in the staff room. “Boys are disgusting and vile and cheating bastards. I’m going to become a nun.”
“Don’t think that’s how it works, hyung,” Namjoon whispered, having lost his voice after three days on the Viking. Manager Kim Heechul insisted that the Viking needed to be fun, so staff assigned there had to keep the mood up by singing and cracking jokes at the guests. Namjoon was a horrible singer, and Yoongi had heard his passionate renditions of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ across the park.
Yoongi grabbed after Jeongguk’s lunch. “You know that cute boy I talked about yesterday?” he voiced when he had successfully stolen the younger’s packed lunch, “the one who came with his girlfriend?”
“The one you punched in the dick?” Jeongguk asked, as if it wasn’t obvious who Yoongi meant. “Yes, I remember.”
“He has another girlfriend.”
“Another?” Jeongguk whistled as Yoongi nodded in confirmation. “Wow. You mean to say he went on two dates in two days with two different women - but to the exact same place?”
“Yes,” Yoongi deadpanned. “He is a complete asshole. I can’t believe - why does my crushes always end up being both straight and assholes? Am I just meant to stay alone for the rest of my life?” He frowned as Jeongguk snatched his lunch back from Yoongi’s hands. “Even you have a boyfriend, kiddo. How the fuck did your uneducated ass get yourself a boyfriend when I’m still painfully single?”
Jeongguk looked confused. “I don’t have a boyfriend?”
“Aren’t you dating Taehyung? From the cotton candy stand?”
“No, no,” Jeongguk shook his head, “Taehyung sucked my dick in the ferris wheel, but we aren’t dating. That’s different.”
Yoongi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Romance is fucking dead.”
.
.
.
Yoongi watched, fuming, as Jimin helped a third girl with her belt, gave her a soft, kind smile and then grabbed her hand tight. While Yoongi was positively affronted someone could even think about playing three girls at the same time, he couldn’t help but be mildly impressed at Park Jimin’s game. This girl seemed older than the two other, judging by the way she carried herself and how Jimin affectionately called her noona when Yoongi passed to check Jimin’s seatbelt.
This time Yoongi did punch Jimin in the groin on purpose, and then he gave his cheating ass a tight-lipped smile. “Sorry. So not on purpose.”
Jimin looked like he was in severe pain as Yoongi made sure his belt was tight enough (safety first, petty revenge second), and moved on without taking a second glance behind him. A part of him wanted to tell the poor girl Jimin was here with she was being played, but it wasn’t really his place. He could tell Hoseok instead, and then Hoseok could kick Jimin’s ass.
Yeah, that sounded like a plan.
"Keep your arms and legs inside, get ready for a pleasant ride!” Yoongi sang, all while keeping a deadly glare on Jimin; Jimin was staring right back, eyes wide and scared-looking, but Yoongi didn’t buy it. No man with three girlfriends deserved sympathy.
Fucking asshole, Yoongi thought as Jimin dragged girlfriend number three out of the rollercoaster.
Jimin did not come back for another ride that day.
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.
.
“So,” Hoseok voiced on the bus back home, resting his head against the cool, foggy window; he raised one eyebrow in Yoongi’s direction. “My friend Park Jimin from the dance team was here today. Said some guy named Min Yoongi at the rollercoaster kept giving him really nasty looks.”
“He deserved it,” Yoongi muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He still felt like he should have said something to the poor girl from today, like, ‘do you know your boyfriend is dating two other girls?’ He felt bad for the girl, as much as he envied her for probably having made out with Jimin’s very, very nice mouth.
Hoseok shook his head. “Poor Jimin. What did he ever do to you, huh? Was he just too cute or something? I thought you really liked cute boys.”
“Cute?” Yoongi huffed. “The guy brought three different girls on dates to the amusement park over the span of three days, I’d hardly call that cute.”
“…are we talking about the same Jimin?” Hoseok asked, frowning deeply. “Because the Park Jimin I know is gay. Like, really gay. ‘Terrified-of-vaginas’-gay.”
“…What?”
“Min Yoongi,” Hoseok stressed, and Yoongi flinched in his seat, “you thought Park Jimin was straight? You thought he had three girlfriends?”
Yoongi, strategically, moved away from Hoseok and walked to the back of the bus to wallow in shame. Of course he thought Jimin had three girlfriends, he had held their hands and been really clingy with them. He had no knowledge of Jimin’s sexuality, it wasn’t like Yoongi could just assume Jimin was gay just because he had a crush the size of Jeongguk’s ego on him. It was much easier to just come to terms with the fact that his crush was probably straight, and/or a complete asshole.
Except apparently he wasn’t, and now Yoongi felt horrible.
.
.
.
Jimin showed up again the next day, but alone this time.
He stood in line, nervously shuffling his feet and looking very out of place. Park Jimin met Yoongi’s eyes as he climbed into the same seat he had sat in every day, giving a slight, nervous smile in his direction. Yoongi approached before Jimin could even start fumbling with his belt, helping him put it on properly despite Jimin probably being a pro at this point.
“You must really like rollercoasters,” Yoongi uttered dumbly as he clasped the two parts the belt together and tightened it. “Since you’re here so often.”
Jimin laughed, and he sounded nervous. “I fucking hate rollercoasters,” he admitted.
Yoongi raised his head to look at him, and their faces were pretty close as Jimin smiled nervously. “Oh. Me too.”
“Like, I really hate them,” Jimin continued, hands twirling in his lap, “but there was this really cute guy working here, so I thought I would come back and ask him out but I’m a wuss and chickened out, like, every time.”
“Oh.”
Yoongi wasn’t the most eloquent when flirted with.
Was Jimin flirting?
He was flirting, right?
“I also don’t have three girlfriends,” Jimin hastily added before Yoongi could come with a stunning reply, “I’m not dating any of those girls, I just dragged them along because I’m very scared of rollercoasters and couldn’t possibly handle going on them alone. They were being good friends and tried pushing me to talk to you, but - but I was scared, and you’re so intimidating but also so cute and -”
Yoongi pursed his lips to hide a smile and stared at the empty space next to Jimin. “You’re alone now, though,” he observed smartly.
No shit, Sherlock.
“Yeah,” Jimin squeaked, “I wouldn’t want you to think I had four girlfriends, or whatever, so I decided to come alone today. Bad idea, I think.”
At Jimin’s nervous laughter, Yoongi really couldn’t help but smile, and he leaned down to unclasp Jimin’s safety belt again. “I think you should sit this ride out, maybe?” he offered, because the train wasn’t leaving yet anyway. “No shame in being scared, I hate this thing, too.”
Jimin nodded furiously, taking Yoongi’s offered hand and pulling himself up and out of the car. His hand was warm and a little rough and a bit smaller than Yoongi’s, and Yoongi could feel Jimin squeeze his hand softly as thanks as he gently pulled him towards the exit.
“I have a break in an hour,” Yoongi found himself saying when Jimin let go of his hand. “We can - I get free ice cream?”
“That’d be nice,” Jimin smiled. “I like ice cream.”
“Sorry for punching you in the dick.” Yoongi paused. “Twice.”
Jimin laughed, and it sounded a lot less forced now that he was out of the rollercoaster. “It’s okay. I mean, I would say I don’t want you anywhere near my dick ever again but that’s a lie, so.” He smiled innocently, as if he hadn’t made a dick joke before their first date, and Yoongi choked back a surprised sound. “I’ll see you outside?”
“Uh… yeah?”
Jimin grinned, and then he lifted his hand and waved, exiting through the gates and out of the rollercoaster’s premises.
Yoongi couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe he had a date with a cute boy who was not straight and apparently not an asshole. One who Yoongi had punched in the dick but still wanted to have ice cream with him.
"Keep your arms and legs inside, get ready for a pleasant ride!” Yoongi chirped, extra pep in his voice and bright grin on his face as he waved the next train off the platform.
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“So - did you suck his dick in the ferris wheel or not?”
“Shut up, Jeongguk.”
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(He did.)
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the only reason jimin can come to the park so often is because his dear friend taehyung keeps giving him seasonal passes.
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