4

Hannah was already a ticking time bomb when two tickets for Lotte World were shoved into her hand by the boys’ manager, whose name we later found out, was Mr. Choi. She finally exploded when the boys were escorted into the park, leaving the two of us standing in the plaza of the theme park.

“Punch me, Michelle," she whispered frantically, fingers forming claws and latching onto my shoulders. "Wait don't punch me, that'll ruin my makeup."

Hannah paced back and forth, rubbing her hands together as she muttered to herself. "Oh my god, I can't believe we're going to hang out with BTS! I can finally get Jimin to fall in love with me like in my dreams!" Hannah continued to rant.

I sighed and leaned against a pillar, waiting for her to finish.

"We both don't like rollercoasters so that's already one thing we have in common. We can go get cotton and candy and feed each other. And then, he'll take me to one of the game stalls and win a prize for me. Oh, I can just imagine it! At the end, he'll look in my eyes and say that he had a great time and ask if I want to meet him again and if I'll be his girlfriend!" she squealed, hiding her face in her hands.

I groaned again and grabbed her hand.

"Hannah, we got free tickets to the largest indoor amusement park in the world, and I am not going to waste this opportunity watching you fangirl," I said, opening the map that we received from the attendants. "Let's go on that rollercoaster then."

I dragged her away from the front entrance and into the line for the ride. Hannah was still too shocked to process what was going on around her so she didn't protest, when normally, she would have been already blubbering about how rollercoasters were too scary and that she might die if they didn't buckle her seat belt correctly.

"Look Hannah, will you just relax and have fun?" I said, snapping her out of her daze. "The boys said that they would hang out with you after filming is over so just wait a little bit. Then you can run off and elope with Jimin, I don't care."

Hannah immediately flushed a bright red and slapped her hands against her cheeks.

"I'm not going to go elope with him," she said sheepishly and I raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Fine, I'll stop but in return, you have to hang out with Jungkook," she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "I think he likes you."

"As if. He seems like the type to flirt with any girl that catches his eye," I scoffed, thinking about the way his features always seemed to morph into an easy grin and how he always finds an opportunity to turn something perfectly normal into something cheesy and romantic.

"Are you kidding me?" Hannah laughed. "That little fetus is practically allergic to girls. Whenever one walks even slightly close to him, he avoids all eye contact and hides his face in his hands!"

"He doesn't look like a fetus to me," I said. "He probably just acts like that because he's surrounded by cameras."

"Nope, I watched the fan cams at music awards and he can't even look at the girl groups sitting next to him!" she said. "Trust me, this noona knows."

I scoffed when she called herself a 'noona.'

"By the way, what are we in line for again?" Hannah asked, looking around for signs that explained the specifics about the ride.

"Just a rollercoaster," I said, already prepared for her outburst.

Hannah immediately turned around and began to walk towards the back of the line, but I grabbed her by the strap of her purse and dragged her back.

"Oh relax, it's just a rollercoaster. Nothing's going to happen," I laughed, while she whispered and frantically tried to escape. "Besides, we're next anyway."

Hannah was blubbering nonstop as several attendants tried to strap her in, while at the same time trying to avoid being hit by her flailing limbs.

"Miss, I can assure that that you are perfectly safe," one tried to explain, narrowly dodging Hannah's arm. "No malfunctions will happen during the duration of this ride."

Hannah ignored the helpless attendant and continued to struggle, her nails digging deeper and deeper into my upper arm.

That's it.

"Hannah, you better calm down right now, otherwise I'm going to spill all your dirty secrets to Jimin," I growled.

Hannah immediately shut and stopped moving.

I should use that one more often.

By the time I was satisfied with all the rides that I wanted to go on, Hannah was a mess, face pale, hair disheveled, and hands shaking.

"Was it that bad?" I laughed.

Hannah, unable to form a verbal reply, nodded frantically and began to comb her fingers through her tangled hair.

"Let's go get some ice cream then," I suggested and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank god," she gasped and almost ran to the nearest ice cream shop, dragging me behind her. As we got in line, she reached into her purse for her wallet.

"Order whatever you want. It's on me," she said.

"Are you sure?" I asked, feeling guilty about letting her pay, even if she did promise me ice cream when I went to the concert with her.

"Yeah, I owe you anyway," she said.

I nodded and turned to the cashier. "Can I get a waffle bowl with vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch ice cream with brownie bits, white chocolate chips, and mochi?" I asked, ticking off the items on my fingers and ignoring the look of disbelief that the cashier shot me.

"Will that be all miss?" she asked, typing in the numbers.

"What do you want?" I asked, turning back to Hannah.

"Wait, that wasn't for us to share?" Hannah asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Of course not," I smiled. "If we were sharing, I would've ordered more."

The cashier shot me another look of disbelief.

"I still can't believe you would order that much for yourself," Hannah said when we took a seat. "Don't you care about your figure?"

"Who cares," I said, shoving the brownie bits into my mouth. "You're going to miss all the joys life has to offer if you worry about trivial things like that."

Hannah had gotten a half-scoop of mint ice cream and she didn't even get a waffle cone. I watched as she took tiny little scoops that barely filled the edge of her spoon.

"I don't get you," she said as she ate her ice cream, if that's even called eating.

"I don't get you either," I said, dunking my spoon into the butterscotch ice cream and pushing the whole thing into my mouth.

While I was eating, I finally took the time to appreciate how beautiful the amusement park was. Small shops and rides circled around an ice rink at the center, where parents were playing with their children and couples were holding hands. Rollercoasters wound around the various buildings, filling the air with excited screams every time the carts passed by in a colorful blur. Music was constantly playing, silly little tunes going in through one ear and out the other. The aroma of popcorn, pretzels, and cotton candy wafted through the air.

Suddenly, Hannah's phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. She answered it with her spoon dangling from , but soon spit it out when she found out who was on the other end.

"Hey Hannah-sshi. It's Jimin."

"H-Hey Jimin-sshi. How'd you get my number?"

"Michelle-sshi gave it to manager-hyung earlier so I got it from him."

"Oh. Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Filming just ended so where are you girls?"

"We're at the ice cream shop right next to the skating rink."

"Really? We're not far from there so stay put and we'll come find you."

The first thing Hannah did when Jimin hung up the phone was save the number onto her contact list as 'ChimChim Baby.'

"You better not show him that," I said, peeking over her shoulder.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," she said, already memorizing the number.

"He's going to think you're creepy," I continued.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," she repeated. "By the way, when did you give Mr. Choi my number?"

"Oh, I picked up the phone while you were hurling earlier and gave him your number," I snickered, smiling at Hannah's dirty look. "Cheer up, your man Jimin is going to swoop in and save the day soon."

Hannah blushed again, looking down into her lap.

"You might want to rinse your mouth though," I teased. "Wouldn't want him to taste vomit when you two go and elope later in some hotel room."

Hannah slapped me roughly on the shoulder, face growing redder by the second, but I couldn't tell whether it was because she was embarrassed, or if she was mad at me.

Just when I put my last spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, I felt something tackle me violently, nearly slamming me onto the table, causing me to choke. Over the sound of my coughs, I faintly heard one of the boys saying, "Oh my god, Michelle-sshi, are you okay?" as he patted my back soothingly.

I nodded as I straightened up and gasped for breath, grimacing at the taste of chocolate and spit mingling at the back of my throat.

"I told you to be careful Taehyung," Namjoon scolded and the sound of a hand smacking a head reached my ears.

I looked up to find Jungkook staring at me, before looking away to glare at Taehyung.

"You okay?" Namjoon asked, gesturing for Taehyung to apologize.

"Sorry Michelle-sshi, I got a little excited," he said sheepishly, twiddling his thumbs.

"It's fine, I'm alright," I said waving him off. Taehyung grinned at me and continued to jump around, too hyper to stand still.

"So, what do you girls want to do?" Namjoon asked, staring at Hannah who was practically drooling while she stared blatantly at Jimin pushing his hair back with his hand. I followed her gaze and let out a soft whistle.

I'm starting to understand why she thinks he's so hot.

"I don't really know. Just not rollercoasters because I might throw up my ice cream and Hannah can't handle them," I answered Namjoon, since Hannah, who was still ogling Jimin, wasn't going to answer anytime soon.

"That's fine. Jimin and Hoseok can't handle them either," Namjoon grinned, ruffling Jimin's hair.

"Hyung," Jimin whined while Hoseok just paled and nodded frantically.

The others went back to talking among themselves, this time, including Hannah in the conversation. I was about to join them when I felt someone pull me from my seat and away from the group. I was about to yell for help when a hand came over my mouth. None of the others noticed because they all had their faces buried in a large map.

"It's me, Jungkook," he said, releasing me. "I don't think they would even hear you over all this noise if you yelled."

Jungkook grabbed my hand and began to lead me down the street.

"What'd you do that for?" I asked as we walked.

"I wanted to hang out with you without my hyungs constantly peeking over my shoulder and teasing me," he smiled, swinging our hands back and forth.

"You know, if you wanted to hang out, you could've just asked instead of kidnapping me," I scowled, wiggling my fingers to give him a clue to let go. He either didn't feel it, which I doubt, or he just chose to ignore it.

"Yeah, but it's more fun this way," he grinned, upper lip disappearing into his smile.

"So what do you want to do then?" I asked, matching the rhythm of his footsteps.

"I don't know. You said that you didn't want to go on rollercoasters and all the other rides are boring," he said.

An awkward moment of silence passed between us before Jungkook decided to speak again.

"Why don't we go ice skating then?" he smiled and began to pull me towards the skate rental without even waiting for my reply.

"What size are you?" he asked, pulling out his wallet.

"I'm a size seven," I said, also pulling out my wallet and taking out a few bills.

Right when I was about to hand the money to the cashier, Jungkook stopped my hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked, eyeing my money.

"I'm paying. What does it look like I'm doing?" I replied cocking my head.

"But the guy is supposed to pay on the first date," Jungkook said, guiding the bills back to my wallet.

"Are we on a date?" I retorted, slightly confused.

"Well no, but-" he began, but I cut him off.

"Then I'll pay for my own skates. If you really want to pay, then you can pay for yours," I said and handed the bills to the cashier. "You should be thankful that you're saving some money."

"Not if it's at the expense of my manliness," Jungkook huffed and paid for his skates.

"You never had any to start with so I think you should be fine," I deadpanned.

Jungkook pouted as we headed over to the benches to put them on.

"Just wait, I'll become so manly that you just can't help but fall in love with me," he pouted.

"With the way you're acting right now, you're more cute than manly," I said.

"So you admit that I'm cute?" he grinned, resting his chin on his hands as he looked at me.

This boy is good.

I refused to blush and looked away, unable to protect myself from his latest attack. I grew impatient watching Jungkook lace up his skates painfully slowly and immediately grabbed his hand when he finished, not thinking about the consequences of my actions.

Unfortunately, Jungkook wasn't one to pass up an opportunity like this.

"A little too eager aren't we?" Jungkook teased, getting almost uncomfortably close.

"Well, it's not my fault you were being such a cow," I scoffed.

"A cow?" he grinned. "I haven't heard that one before."

When we got on the ice, I immediately skated away from him, irritation rising another level, but it melted away as soon as I saw him fall. I laughed and skated back to him while he was sitting on the ice and rubbing his head.

"That's another minus point from your manliness scale," I snickered, helping him up.

"I'm still cute in your eyes so that counts as something," he laughed, dusting the ice off of his clothes.

I clenched my fist and forced down the blush that threatened to break out.

"After you m'lady," he said with a dramatic bow.

"Yes, bow down to me you lowly peasant," I said pompously, going along with his act. I mirrored his smile and we began to skate together, throwing ice chips at each other, racing, and narrowly avoiding crashing into couples and ruining their dates.

***

My feet were sore by the time Jungkook and I finally exited the rink and I was pretty sure Jungkook was feeling the same way, but for the sake of his ‘manliness’ he was holding in his pain.

"You know I can tell that you're feet are just as sore as mine, right?" I laughed when I saw him grimace with every step.

"Yeah, but if I complain, I won't look cool anymore," he said, taking off his skates and putting on his shoes with a wince.

"Whatever you say Jungkook," I said in a sing-song voice and ruffled his hair.

He shot me a mock glare, which I returned by making a face and sticking out my tongue. I was surprised that none of the other boys had called him yet, asking where he was. When filming was over, the sun was just about to set, and that was already a few hours ago.

"How come your hyungs aren't calling you?" I asked, taking the cup of hot cocoa he offered with a 'thanks.'

"They probably noticed that we were gone and decided to give us some alone time," he teased.

Laughing, I shoved him lightly, making him squawk in surprise when he almost spilled his drink. Jungkook's phone vibrated and he stood up when he read the text.

"Come on, the others are already waiting for us at the front entrance," he said and held out a hand.

I took it and let him pull me up, making my weight heavier on purpose. To my disappointment, he pulled me up just as easily.

I need to put on some weight before I try that again.

As we walked slowly against the stream of people back towards the main entrance, the chill air blowing from the rink made me shiver, my thin sweater doing nothing to keep out the cold.

"Hold this for a second," Jungkook said, handing me his cup of cocoa.

I took in in confusion and stared at him while he took off his jacket.

"Aren't you cold?" I said, staring enviously at how he seemed perfectly fine in his T-shirt.

"I'm good," he smiled. "Which is why I'm giving this to you."

Before I cold protest, he had already draped the jacket over my shoulders. Against my will, my body relaxed in the warmth of his lingering body heat.

"Well don't you move fast," I grinned and handed him back his drink. "You just gained a point back on your manliness scale."

"Seriously?" he said, face brightening up.

"Don't lose it," I teased and he laughed.

Finishing our drinks, we tossed the cups away and hurried to the meeting spot. The rest were already waiting there. I couldn't help but notice Jimin and Hannah standing abnormally close to each other and wiggled eyebrows suggestively at her. She blushed and refused to make eye contact with me.

"Have fun?" the members teased and slapped Jungkook on the back.

"Without you guys," Jungkook muttered, earning a few more slaps on the head.

"I've been shot!" Hoseok yelled dramatically, clutching his heart.

"Yah maknae, you stole Michelle-sshi away from me," Taehyung pouted, pulling Jungkook away from me and looping an arm around my neck.

"Hyung," Jungkook whined and pushed Taehyung.

"If it makes you more comfortable, you guys can just call Michelle without the formalities," I said, slipping my arms through the jacket so that it wouldn't fall off.

"Are you sure?" Namjoon asked.

"It's kind of awkward too because no one does that where I live," I shrugged.

"Where do you live?" Jimin asked, joining the conversation.

"America," I replied dismissively. Taehyung's arm was beginning to grow heavy I nudged him slightly and he let go with a sheepish smile.

"Really? That's pretty cool," Hoseok grinned, flashing me a thumbs up. "You can help Jungkook with his English then."

"Come on guys," Green said, finally saying something. "Manager-hyung is waiting for us."

They boys nodded and began to walk out towards the parking lot, laughing and joking around. Suddenly, I remembered that I was still wearing Jungkook's jacket.

"Wait, Jungkook!" I yelled running after him.

I saw him say something to his hyungs before turning back to me.

"Yeah?" he asked, cocking his head.

"Your jacket," I said and began to take it off.

"Keep it for now," he said without missing a beat.

"Why?" I asked, giving him a weird look.

"So I'll have an excuse to meet you again," he grinned before running off, leaving me there in a daze.

This boy.

~

Jungkook is starting to sound like Luhan. What have I done? Well anyways, I was so mad when I finished this chapter because I already wrote it once and while I was revising, the website froze and I had to start over. I was also watching Scarlet Heart: Ryeo so that made me pretty mad too. Well, here's the new chapter so enjoy.