“That’s him, right over there.”  Jackson had one hand on Youngjae’s shoulder and the other pointed to a man standing right inside the amusement park entrance.

“Him?”  He wasn’t bad looking, rather attractive actually.  “That tall guy?”

“That’s him, I’m certain he’s perfect for you!” 

Youngjae had his doubts, he almost didn’t even bother coming, but he managed to get out of bed on the off chance that maybe there was more to this deal that met the eye.  Sure enough, when he showed up to the amusement park Jackson was there waiting for him, ready to shove him headfirst into the dating pool. “You hardly know anything about me.” 

“True, but know this guy and he’s really innocent and pure, he reminded me of you.  I’m sure you’ll hit it off!  Plus, you know what they say about tall guys, right?”

“What do they say about tall guys?”

“They’re great at getting things off the top shelf!”  Jackson spun Youngjae around and pushed him in the direction of the entrance.  “Now go introduce yourself!”

Youngjae took a deep breath and walked himself towards the entrance, only to notice Jackson following behind him.  “Are you… coming with me?”  Surely he wasn’t planning on going on a date with them.

“No!  Well, not technically, I’ll be around but I won’t be interfering with your date.”

“So, you’re going to be spying on me?”  Youngjae was suddenly worried about this guy’s intentions again.

“It’s nothing weird, I swear!” Jackson spoke confidently but Youngjae thought it was ridiculous and kind of creepy.  “Don’t look at me like that; it’s going to be fine!” 

 “I don’t know about this…”

“Just pretend you didn’t even hear that!  You’re going on a date, act natural, be confident, and pretend I’m not there.”  Jackson pulled him in for a hug and Youngjae was flustered by the sudden close-contact.  This guy wasn’t shy about physical contact despite only knowing Youngjae for one day.  “Go out there and make me proud!”

Jackson launched Youngjae off again and this time Youngjae was determined to make this guy his, strutting towards him overflowing with confidence, just like Jackson told him to do.

The closer he got the more real the situation got, and as soon as Youngjae was standing next to him he looked up and felt all his confidence fade away.  He wanted to leave but when he turned back he saw Jackson half hiding behind a pillar waving his hand rapidly telling him to move forward.

Youngjae took a deep breath before tapping the guy on the shoulder, getting his attention.  The man instantly turned around and smiled when he saw him.  “Hey!  You’re Choi Youngjae, right?  My date?”

Seems like Jackson had briefed the other about him, he wished Jackson had told him something as well.  “Yes, that’s me.”

“Nice to meet you!  I’m Kim Yugyeom.”  Yugyeom held out his hand and Youngjae accepted the firm handshake.  “I’m really excited; I haven’t been to Everland in ages.”

Overall he looked like he was more enthusiastic about being at an amusement park rather than going on a date with him but Youngjae didn’t mind, he thought it was rather cute.

Yugyeom pulled him around looking at attraction after attraction.  They were both excited by the same things, enjoying animal displays, arcade games, even attractions like bumper cars and boat rides.  They were both having such a great time, until Yugyeom pointed up into the sky and said, “We should go on that!”

The thing he was pointing at, a huge roller coaster located in the middle of the park.  “The r-roller coaster?”

“Of course!  You can’t come here without riding the T-express, right?”  Yugyeom was excitedly bouncing up and down.

Youngjae stared up at the rickety wooden coaster in front of him and gulped.  He did not ride roller coasters, not even small ones.  This was possibly the largest roller coaster he had ever seen.  He wanted to say no, but Yugyeom looked so excited and he didn’t want to ruin the date, it was going so well.

“Ah, but the lineup is so long!  We need to get in line if we even want to ride it today!”  Yugyeom tugged his arm and Youngjae gave in, getting in line and trying to ignore the feeling of his stomach dropping.

Every minute that went by Youngjae considered just escaping while he still could.  Yugyeom looked so excited, he knew it would be awful just to abandon him and let him go alone after he was so excited, but there was really no way he could do this. 

No.

He had to do it. 

He felt his phone buzz, the screen lit up with a text message.

Jackson:  You look like you’re going to be sick, is something wrong?  You were having fun this whole time.

Youngjae titled his screen away from Yugyeom before he replied.

Youngjae:  I’m not a fan of roller coasters, but it would be bad if I say no, right?

Jackson:  Oh, yeah, that would be awful!

That’s not what Youngjae wanted to hear.

Jackson: It’ll be over in no time!  Just don’t ruin the date, I promise you’ll be fine.

Youngjae didn’t even bother replying.  He had no reason to think Jackson would sympathize with him, but he was still disappointed by his disinterest. 

Now that Youngjae thought about it, Jackson seemed like he was more interested in a successful date than actually helping him out.  Strange.

Ten minutes had gone by the crowd of people was so thick there was no turning back.  He was really going to do this. 

Would Yugyeom dump him after?  He was probably either going to pass out or vomit all over him.

Twenty minutes later, it started raining and Youngjae was in full panic mode.  Not only would he have to ride a roller coaster, he would have to ride it in the rain.  The tracks were going to be slick, would the brakes even work?  Was the wood going to rot and break?  All the worst-case scenarios were running through his mind and they stepped closer and closer to the front of the line.

“Wow, rain!  Now the roller coaster is going to be almost like a water slide!  Fun!”  Yugyeom said and he pumped his arms in the air excitedly.

Youngjae looked up at him and smiled nervously, trying to hide the fact that he wanted to evaporate.

Thirty minutes later they were finally almost at the front, they would be put on during the next passenger changeover and Yugyeom was trying to hype him up.

The rain was falling even harder, the rain drops pelting the shelter they were standing under making loud noises.  This was crazy, insane.  There was no way he could go through with this. 

Just went he was literally about to make a run for it, the ride operator got a call and turned to the crowd to make an announcement.

“It seems as though the rain is too heavy and we will have to stop operations until it clears up for your safety.  We apologize for any inconvenience!”  The crowd echoes with “aw’s” and “boos” but Youngjae had to stop himself letting his relief be too obvious.  Yugyeom was distraught next to him.

“No way!  I can’t believe we waited so long and they closed the ride!  The day is ruined!”  Yugyeom pouted as they walked out from the ride.  Yugyeom pulled out an umbrella from his bag, thankfully, and covered them.  

“Don’t worry,” Youngjae smiled up at him and patted him on the shoulder. Yugyeom was looking around suspiciously.  “It’s raining but I’m sure we can still have fun, they have indoor attractions and-“ 

“Actually, I need to go,” Yugyeom suddenly said.  “Now.” 

Youngjae was still smiling; pretty sure he had just misheard him.  “Go? What do you mean, we-“

“Bye!”  With that, Yugyeom literally ran off, leaving Youngjae alone in the downpour.

Youngjae stood there getting soaked by the rain for a moment, completely dumbfounded by what had just happened.

Then he audibly, alone, in the rain yelled. “WHAT?”

Common sense finally kicked in and he looked for cover, running underneath some sort of tree structure, pressed up against other people who were avoiding the rain.  He was still in shock, trying to figure out what just happened.

He was so sure they were having a good time.  It was okay if he wanted to leave but so suddenly?  They hadn’t even exchanged numbers or anything! 

Jackson: Where are you?!  I went to the washroom for one second and I come out and suddenly it’s pouring rain and you guys are gone?!

Youngjae stared down at his phone.  He had almost forgotten Jackson was supposed to be watching out for him.

Youngjae:  I’m under the tree thing, Yugyeom left.

Jackson: WHAT?

It didn’t take long for Jackson the burst onto the scene, soaking wet and squishing himself against Youngjae’s side so he wasn’t getting soaked.  “Yugyeom left, to go where?  Please don’t tell me he went home.”

Youngjae sighed, feeling dejected.  “I’m pretty sure he left for good.  It was so sudden too, no explanation, he just-“

“That BRAT!”  Jackson yelled so loudly everyone hiding from the rain turned and looked at him.  “I knew he couldn’t be trusted, those innocent eyes were a lie!”

Youngjae tried to speak but Jackson kept muttering angrily.

“I leave for one moment and he just runs!  I even paid for his entrance fee!  I doubt he’s going to pick up my calls.  He promised he would pay me back for that and my services…”

“Pay you for your what?” Youngjae asked and Jackson realized he had said something he shouldn’t, if not obvious by the way he covered his mouth with his hands.

“What?  Nothing.”  Jackson lied.

Youngjae wasn’t going to let it slide that easily.  “I’m not stupid; you can tell me the truth.”  He knew this whole thing was too good to be true.

“You won’t get upset?”  Jackson looked like he was genuinely sorry and it made Youngjae feel bad for talking to rudely to him.  It wasn’t like him at all.

“It’s fine, I didn’t think much of this whole situation anyways.”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.  Basically, I get people to pay me to set them up, but I really just use dating sites to try and match people.  I’m no matchmaker, people seem to trust me more than a website, that how I can get people to buy into it.”

“That’s… creative, to say the least.  You didn’t ask me for money, though?”

“I felt kind of sorry for your situation and you looked desperate so I decided to help you for free out of the kindness of my heart, honestly.”  Jackson stared at him apologetically.  “It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this, but I swear that kid played me!  He made sure I wasn’t around and he bolted!  I was scammed!” 

“I really thought we had a fun time, it isn’t your fault,” Youngjae admitted.  “It must be me.”

“Don’t say that!  That kid just wanted a free pass into the amusement park!  This has nothing to do with you!” Jackson tried to convince Youngjae.

“Maybe he could tell I really didn’t want to ride the T-express and he decided I wasn’t his type?”  Youngjae pondered aloud but Jackson was just smiling at him.  “What’s so funny?”

“What was the roller coaster again?”

“Huh?  The T-express?”

This time Jackson couldn’t stop the giggles.  “I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure it’s the T-express, not the T-espresso.”

It took a moment for Youngjae to realize what Jackson was getting at, then retaliating by whacking him hard across the arm.

“Ow!  Did you just hit me?!  Do you usually hit people you’ve only known for less than a day!?”

“Not usually, but I guess you’re a special case.”  Youngjae couldn’t help but grin after at Jackson looking so shocked; his expression so drawn out it was comical.

“Whatever, at least you’re feeling better.  I’m not about being responsible for ruining dates.”  Jackson pulled out his phone and looked at the time.  “Is it going to stop raining anytime soon?  I know this is supposed to be a fun place but I can’t stay here forever.”

Youngjae pulled out his phone and was greeted by a ‘severe thunderstorm warning’ alert.  That was never a good sign.  “I think you should just go through the heavy rain before the thunder and lightning starts.  It’s not going to clear up until tonight.”

“No way!  I’m going to be soaked, and I don’t even live nearby.  I have to wait it out.”  Jackson huffed and Youngjae decided he was feeling generous.

“I don’t live that far away, I think it’s best if I just run home and brave the water for some minutes.  I mean if you want, you can wait there for the thunderstorm to pass.” 

“Now I’m wondering why you’re being so nice.”

As soon as Jackson walked in he was drawn to the pile of fluff lounging around the living room.  “Is that your dog?”

“Yeah, that Coco- hey wait!”  Jackson was approaching her but Youngjae yelled at him.  “Stop!  You’re not allowed to pet her until you’re dry.”

Jackson pouted a bit but he understood.  “Do you have a shower?”

“Last door down the hall.”

“Yes, warm water I’m coming!”  Jackson didn’t wait for Youngjae to say anything else before he was sprinting down the hall in search of an end to this chilly hell.

Youngjae wasn’t bothered by it.  He towel dried himself and shrugged on a dry set of clothes, deciding and he was fine for now and would shower properly later.

“Coco, you don’t think Jackson is dangerous, right?”  Youngjae asked his dog like he usually did when nobody was around. 

Coco just stared at him.

“You’re right; I don’t think he’s a bad guy either.  Huh, why are you barking?”  Coco suddenly tried to alert her owner something was amiss but it was just a second too late.

“Hey,” Jackson had his hands on his shoulders and pushed him into the sofa as he climbed partially on top of him.  “I just used a towel that was in the bathroom, hope that’s okay.”  Jackson was smirking and Youngjae was wondering what exactly was going on until he noticed Jackson’s state of undress.

The only thing he was wearing was a towel that hung low on his hips, exposing the v-line of his hips freely.  Youngjae’s eyes wandered, up taking in the abs and biceps of his upper half, still droplets of water running down his body.  That’s when Youngjae turned completely red, realizing exactly what Jackson was doing.  “Get off me!  I’ll get you clothes!”

“Hmm, I’ve never seen someone in such a hurry to get me dressed.”  Jackson leaned his body down lower onto Youngjae and giggled at how flushed Youngjae was getting.  “You’re too cute, sorry.  I couldn’t help but tease you.”

Youngjae’s heart was beating through his chest.  If Jackson didn’t get off him he was seriously worried that-

“I’m home!  Youngjae, are you back already? “ Jinyoung stopped as soon as he saw the scene in front of him, barely managing to keep a steady hold on the bag of groceries he was carrying.

Youngjae could only imagine what the scene looked like, and he was mortified.  “Wait!  This isn’t what it looks like!  I just-“

“Wow!  Okay!”  Jinyoung set the groceries down on the counter quickly.  “Can I get you anything?  Some snacks?  A ?  Let me know!”  Jinyoung sent him a wink and fled to a different room.

Youngjae was now positive that bringing Jackson there was the worst decision he had ever made.