“Where the hell is Chae?” Jungkook groans in annoyance, the sun beating down on them already starting to give him a headache and increase his impatience. He and Jimin arrived at the amusement park ten minutes ago, retrieved their tickets, and are now standing in the middle of the park, inhaling the aromatic smells of funnel cakes, cotton candy, and everything sweet rather than savoury because after all, it is primarily a kid's attraction. The place is hot, and crowded with people - mostly hyper kids bouncing from station to station with their concerned, dehydrated parents in tow. 

“She just texted me, she says she's coming in two minutes. She had to quickly go shopping for dog food,” Jimin says, looking down at his phone.

Jungkook is annoyed, but he isn't that mad. The thought of Snickles always makes him smile. He remembers a time when he tried to train him to be a guard dog so he could chase away the kids that would bully him at school. Unfortunately, Snickles, just like his sickly sweet name, is a very civil pet. He somehow associated the words 'attack' and 'bite' with ' me, me, me' and 'stare blankly at Jungkook pretending to be a burglar'. Of course, his training wasn't a complete failure - Snickles ended up peeing on this one kid, which was satisfactory enough.

“I'm here! Sorry I'm late,” Chaeyoung pants, a little sweaty from the run there. 

Jungkook an eyebrow at her, “did you not check the weather today?” He emphasizes his point by gesturing to her outfit - skinny jeans that go down to her ankles, a floppy hat that almost covers her eyes, and a thin jacket. 

“Yeah, it's sunny. That's the point. I'm not about to sacrifice my complexion.” Chaeyoung's porcelain skin is one of the many things she takes pride in. She got tanned on one of her trips back to Australia and spent the rest of that summer locked in her room with various moisturizers. 

“Don't listen to him, I think you look great,” Jimin reassures.

“Coming from the guy dressed like a tourist,” Jungkook scoffs.

And indeed, Jimin's choice of clothes did somewhat resemble one, with his sunglasses perched atop his head, a camera wrapped around his neck, a white buttonup shirt and beige shorts that were sort of cargo but not quite. In his defense, it's hot outside and it doesn't take much effort to make him sweat. “Is that why we never go to the gym together?”

“No, Jungkook, we never go to the gym together because the last time we did, I asked you to spot me and you dropped the barbell on my face. If it had been just a few pounds heavier, I would have died.”

Chaeyoung tries to suppress a giggle as Jungkook lets out a soft “oh yeah” at the memory.

The trio decide to visit the activity stations first - balloon darts, cup tosses, water guns, shooting hoops. Chaeyoung exempts herself from them, noting the way Jungkook gets too competitive and riled up about winning prizes and it annoys her when he gloats. So she stands back and watches the two boys go at it.

Jungkook wins many of the big prizes, while Jimin purposely aims for the smaller ones for convenience. 

“For you,” he flashes her a smile, handing her a small stuffed shark and panda. She gladly accepts that with a small squeal, squeezing them in her hands because they're so tiny and adorable - sort of like Jimin.

When he turns back to Jungkook, the younger boy simply scoffs and shakes his head. “Lame,” he mutters, and Jimin playfully kicks him in the shin as they move to the next station.

Chaeyoung sees it at the same time Jungkook does - she isn't sure why, but she guesses it's because she's been with him on one too many gaming sessions - a package hanging above the dart board with the words: LIMITED EDITION! On Death's Edge: The Awakening. There's a glimmer of excitement in Jungkook's eyes as he stares, mouth slightly ajar at the sight of the glorious prize, and Chaeyoung can only sigh, taking a seat on a bench because boy, they're going to be here a while. 

He needs to hit the very center of the furthest board there, which they had intentionally made the smallest one. Even from where Chaeyoung is sitting she can tell that there's no way Jungkook would have the patience to aim properly, and she's right. Eighteen darts and three tickets later, including Jimin's, Jungkook is groaning out in frustration when his last dart hits the board just a mere centimeter away from the middle. 

“Son of a bi-”

“Shh! There's children here!” Jimin exclaims, nervously covering up his mouth before the end of his sentence could spill out.

Chaeyoung sees the way Jungkook turns to look longingly at the game hovering above their heads. He feels as if they purposely hung it that way to mock him. On the one hand, she thinks it might be a good thing that he didn't win the game as it'll keep him out of her house (for a while). On the other, she hates that she can practically feel the sadness and desperation radiating off of him as he pouts at Jimin who's struggling to refuse him more tickets because they wouldn't be able to get on the rides if he spends them all on the darts. She takes a look at the board, and the prize hanging above it, then at Jungkook, still grief stricken over his defeat. With an exasperated sigh, she pushes herself off the bench, and walks over to the two still bickering over the ticket situation.

Jimin looks at her questioningly but doesn't make a move against her, not that he could, when she places the stuffed animals into both of his hands and stuffs her hand into his pocket to yank out a ticket. He shudders at the ticklish feeling of her hand wiggling through the mess of keychains and bus transfers to finally retrieve one before walking to the station manager and handing it to him in exchange for six darts. Jungkook and Jimin simply eye her, both intrigued as they watch her get into position and close one eye. She looks so focused, as if she's done this many times before.

Bang. Her first dart misses but not too far from the middle. It took Jungkook three tries to get one of the inner circles, if she can remember correctly. Then, with her second dart, she barely has time to register what happens when the loud clanking of the bell goes off when the dart hits. 

“Bullseye!” the station manager shouts, clapping. Some other bystanders clap as well, while others looked on with slight envy. 

As the manager steps onto his ladder to retrieve her prize, she feels a pair of arms wrap around her waist tightly and warm breath fan out across her neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Jungkook exclaims like an excited child, bouncing up and down.

“Ew, get off of me, you're sweaty,” she shrinks back from him, laughing and hitting him across the arm but he could care less because he's beaming with joy, and she can't help but be happy too. For a moment, she thinks back to that rifle he tried so hard to get on ODE that she got in under five minutes. She almost brings it up, but she doesn't, not when he's grinning like the sun is shining out of his . 

When the manager comes back to the front of the booth, he hands her the game and winks before saying, “congratulations, beautiful,” and Jungkook's smile nearly dissipates as he shoots the guy a weird look. “It was almost painful watching your boyfriend over there fail at it so many times, and you got it with two shots,” he laughs, and she feels herself burning up. 

“Wha- no- you see, he's, he's not my-”

“Oh, I'm sorry. Is it the orange haired guy over there?” he points to Jimin, who instantly turns away to hide the fact that he's blushing furiously. 

“No no, they're both friends!” she explains, smiling awkwardly as she accepts the box with a nod, hands it to Jungkook and takes her stuffed animals back from Jimin. “C'mon, let's go on the roller coaster or something.” She rushes off ahead of the two, afraid they would see that she's embarrassed as hell despite totally crushing it just now. 

The rides are over a lot quicker than the lines they had to wait in to get on them, but the thrill of falling and twirling off and around hoops always seemed to be worth it, especially when you're young. The trio make it through every thrill seeking ride available, from water slides to giant swings, they scream like little kids having the time of their life. Really, at this age, rides aren't ever as fun as they used to be, but the feeling of being reunited again somehow adds to the excitement. 

“What now? We still have a few tickets left,” Jimin says as they walk out of the chair swings ride, still swaying slightly from the dizziness of being tossed around for several cycles. 

As they pass by another food truck, Chaeyoung notices the 'kiddie' section - a place of childhood memories. She sighs, internally reminiscing about the days when they were small enough to fit into the little flying cars and merry-go-rounds. To this day, she still brings up the time Jungkook stuffed his face full of funnel cake before getting into a bumper car with her, soon puking all over her skirt. As the memory crosses her mind, she sees Jungkook cringe as a little boy walks by with a plate of funnel cake from the food truck, and nearly chokes on a laugh.

“If you want,” she begins, looking over at the kid's section, “I think we could all fit into one of those spinning tea cups.”

Jimin follows her gaze to the tea cup ride, where he can see small children with their parents, with their tiny fingers gripping and turning the steering wheel to move themselves faster and giggling exictedly when it does. He looks at Jungkook and shrugs, “you wanna?” 

Jungkook has no complaints either, so they go for it, and soon they're getting hyped on every kiddie ride in the section - their screams outdoing the children's. Something about being on tiny rides is so much more exhilirating than the regular sized ones. Perhaps it's the knowledge that parents are probably looking on and thinking what the hell is wrong with them? as they move their kids to other rides, away from the strange teens. Or perhaps it's the nostalgia of getting to be young again, uncaring and easily excited. 

When they're done with the rides, they decide to settle down and eat. Jimin and Chaeyoung decide to split a large tteokbokki, while Jungkook stands behind them, eyeing the menu a little longer. Just as he's about to order, the smell of funnel cake frying in the back of the cart invades his senses, making him gag. 

Chaeyoung doesn't think she's ever laughed this hard in her life. 

The crowded park soon begins to empty out as the sun sets, turning the sunny sky into a dark blue with a bright orange off in the distance. “Hyung, it looks like your hair!”

“Shut up,” Jimin laughs, lightly pinching his arm.

“Should we go home, then?” Jungkook turns to look at the two, but Chaeyoung seems reluctant. 

“It's so pretty right now. I want photos,” she stares at the sunset in awe, then, her eyes widen as an idea sinks in. “We still have two tickets left right?”

Jimin puts his hand in his pocket, coming up with exactly that. “Yup. But what ride are you thinking of?”

“The ferris wheel. We can get really good shots from up there.”

“Ahhh,” Jimin nods, a smile gracing his lips. “That's a good idea. But there's only two left. Which two of us will go?”

They all look at each other, blinking from one face to the other. Jimin's eyes meet Jungkook's, and somehow he knows they're both probably thinking the same thing. It's that kind of situation again. There's a pause, and Jimin mentally plans to give the tickets to the other two to avoid any kind of awkwardness, when suddenly Chaeyoung pipes up with, “well this was my idea and it's Jimin's camera. Shouldn't the two of us go? Kookie looks really tired anyway.”

Jimin swallows hard, looking to Jungkook for a response, which he luckily gets. “Yeah, she's right. You two should go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why wouldn't I be?” he shrugs casually, “I'll wait for you guys on that bench over there.”

And then he's gone before Jimin can protest. Then Chaeyoung is hauling him off, a giddy smile on her face that washes away his doubts. It's a breathtaking sight - the ferris wheel lighting up with bright, warm colours as they cycle around in a huge loop. They choose the cart with the orange light, take seats across from each other, and prepare their cameras for shots of the gorgeous scenery. 

It's a slow, but beautiful journey to the top - the wind fanning lightly over their faces and the colours of the sunset coming into view little by little until they're both looking at it in awe. Chaeyoung wishes photographs could better capture the gorgeous blend of colours the way they look through her own eyes. Jimin nods in silent agreement, snapping a few photos with his camera from different angles. As their cart descends down, he shifts his camera over, about to check the photos, when he sees Chaeyoung appear in the frame. He freezes for a moment, looking at her face through the lens - she looks so entranced. He wants to take a picture, feeling his index finger blindly feel for the shutter on the camera. 

“Are you taking a picture of me?” her voice snaps him out of his daze.

He feels heat rise to his face - caught, is how he feels. He stutters for a moment, trying to figure out some sort of justification, “I- um- I wasn't- I was trying to, um-”

“I don't mind,” she giggles at his flustered reaction, “I was going to ask you for one anyway.”

He quietly sighs in relief, his smile returning. If she had told him that earlier, he would have gotten the perfect candid shot, he thinks. Then again, any shot of Chaeyoung looks good, really. He realizes this when she poses - one leg crossed over the other, her cheek resting in the palm of her hand and a small smile on her lips as the orange-pink colours of the sunset against the dark evening sky and the flourescent lights from the ferris wheel carts creates the perfect atmosphere. He's almost too awestruck to take the photo, but doesn't miss the opportunity. 

The photo comes out better than he could have imagined, and Chaeyoung agrees with a wide grin on her face when she sees it herself. “You're really good at photography, Jimin.” He smiles at her praise, but thinks her statement is only half-true.

“You're prettier than the sunset...” he says in almost a whisper, but she hears it.

There's a brief moment of silence, enough time for it to finally sink into his mind what he's just said, and he can't stop the blush that's spreading to his cheeks again. When he looks up again, he sees that she's not even looking at him, just staring out the window. She's not looking towards the sunset anymore, just away so he wouldn't see that she's reddening like crazy. 

“, I'm sorry, Chae. That was weird, wasn't it? I didn't mean it like that. I mean, I did, but- gosh. This is really awkward. The ride's almost over, we should probably get ready to-”

“Jimin.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

She's smiling, he can see it from her reflection in the window. He feels his heart start to race and palms go sweaty. He guesses nothing has changed after all. 

When Jimin arrives at the bench, Jungkook is slumped against the seat next to a little toddler tugging at the strands of his hair. He looks absolutely exhausted next to the hyper little girl who's made a playground out of him while her mother has gone to buy some slushies. 

“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Jimin smiles, eyeing the little girl now stepping on his thighs.

“Her name's Hyemi. Her mom told me to watch her. Weird, right? You'd think parents know better than to leave their children with strange men.”

“Strange men, huh? You kind of look like a kid yourself.”

“Look who's talking, shorty.”

Jimin would have kneed him in the crotch if it weren't for the child already doing the job for him, making him wince and lift her off of him, setting her on the bench. She crawls back into his lap anyway, like an overly attached cat.

“Where's Chae?” he questions, looking around for a moment.

“In the restroom.” Jimin takes a seat next to him, sighing into the warm evening sky.

Jungkook nods, then asks, “get any good shots?”

Jimin feels his face burn up again. Jungkook gives him a weird look when he doesn't respond immediately, cocking an eyebrow at him questioning. He knows something is up, but he wants Jimin to be the one to mention it, so he stays silent until he responds, “yeah, they were good.”

“You don't sound sure,” Jungkook chuckles.

“I...” He knows he has to say something. Jungkook has been his best friend for years, no matter how much he knows it'll make things awkward, or how much he insists that he'd be fine with him doing whatever. “Jungkook, I think I still have feelings for Chae.”

His scoff is followed by a laugh as he gently pets the girl's head. “Is that it? I thought you two nearly died or something. Ask her out then, dude.”

Jimin shoots him a skeptical look. “And you'd be totally fine with that?”

“I don't care what happens between you two, hyung. You're both my friends. I mean, thirdwheeling would but it's... it's whatever.” He shrugs.

There's a pause, then Jimin asks, “do you like her?”

Jungkook doesn't reply, just chuckles to himself like it's the most ridiculous question he's ever heard, but even the smirk on his face isn't enough to convince Jimin that this isn't a total facade he's putting up. He's known him too long to fall for it. But part of him wants so bad to look past that and just go for it. He sighs, ruffling his own hair and contemplating his options. By then, the girl's mother returns and thanks Jungkook, even offering him a slushie, which he accepts with a grin as he waves goodbye to his short-term friend.

Chaeyoung comes back shortly after, adjusting her belt. Jimin is visibly blushing again, and Jungkook notices. Neither say a word about it - it's already awkward as it is, though she doesn't notice a thing when she looks up at them. 

“We all set?” she asks, and they both nod as they get off the bench and follow her to the gates.

Chaeyoung's mother welcomes her home with a pot of kimchi stew, which normally she would have accepted gratefully, but she's far too full on carnival street food, so she decides to go to bed. Just as she finishes washing up, she hears a knock on the door. “I'll get it,” she offers, half sprinting to it. Her eyebrows furrow when she swings open the door, revealing a face she didn't expect to see - not until tomorrow morning. 

“Sup,” Jungkook casually greets, about to walk through the door when she stops him with a hand on his chest.

“The hell are you doing here? It's late. Go home.”

He reaches into his pocket, pulling out the ODE disc that she had won for him earlier that day, still encased in bubblewrap, and looks at her with a pout. “Please, just one game.”

“You always say that but you're going to be here for hours.”

“Who cares? It's not a school night,” he says, as if he would've given a single care if it was a school night. 

Right when she's about to shove him back through the door and tell him to leave, her mom pipes up from the kitchen. “Chae-ah! Who is it?”

“It's Jungkook!” she shouts back.

“Ah, Kookie? What is he doing here so late?”

“That's what I'm asking!”

“Is he hungry? Ask him if he wants to come in for kimchi stew!”

“No, mo-”

“Actually, kimchi stew sounds great,” he interrupts with a grin, and hops through the door before she can stop him.

“Oh my god,” she groans, slamming the door behind her.

Jungkook stays over for dinner, and Chaeyoung knows he'll be there for the rest of the weekend to play the new ODE. She almost regrets winning it for him, but the dorky smile that appears on his face when the screen lights up nearly makes her forget. He's far too excited to remember how tired he was when he left the amusement park, but Chaeyoung isn't feeling it nearly as much as he is. She stretches her arms out and lets out an exhausted yawn. 

“Don't be too loud, I'm going to bed,” she says, about to get up when Jungkook suddenly shifts out of his beanbag chair and flops his head onto her lap. “Jungkook, what are you-”

“Shhh, busy,” he replies just as he throws another grenade, blowing up a building in the game. 

“Jungkook, I'm sleepy.”

“Then sleep.”

“In my bed.”

“But you're so comfy,” he whines, not looking away from the screen, “just stay here for a little bit.”

She doesn't try to protest any further, knowing it would be a futile attempt anyway. So she sits there, watching him immerse himself in the world of the undead and the immoral. There's a grin on his face as he plays for a while, but it slowly starts to fade into occasional yawns and stretches as drowsiness starts to overcome him. She smiles at the way his eyes start to become hooded, and it reminds her of the way he used to make her sing for him when they were little because he couldn't sleep, and she would watch the way his eyes grew heavy with each passing second until he was snoring on her lap. She misses this, just a little. 

“Chae,” he speaks after about an hour has gone by. She can hear the slight dip in his tone because of how sleepy he is.

“Yes?”

“Hypothetically,” he begins, shooting another enemy at the same time, “if Jimin were to ask you out. Would you say yes?”

“What?” The question catches her completely off guard, and she thinks back to that brief moment on the ferris wheel. She's flustered all over again. “W-why are you asking me this?”

“It's just a question, Chae. Would you?”

“I... I don't know.”

He pauses the game, looking up at her face that's beginning to redden again. “C'mon, Chae, you do know. Yes? No?”

“Maybe.” She feels like her face is going to melt with the way Jungkook is staring at her, unblinking. She thinks about it for a moment - what it would be iike if she dated Jimin. Did she like him? He's cute, that's undeniable. But she's thought that for four years now and that hasn't pushed her to do anything about it. There's a familiarity she feels towards him, almost the same one she feels towards Jungkook but not quite - she can't quite place her finger on it. “Maybe not,” she wonders out loud, biting her lip. 

Without another word, he turns back to unpause the game, an immediate explosion going off, startling her a bit. He smiles at the way her thighs shake a little at the sound. Half an hour later, he's knocked himself out - both in the game and in reality. He's breathing shallow breaths in his sleep, the controller falling out of his hands. Chaeyoung sighs, thinking about what to do now. She wants to move to her bedroom, but she doesn't want to wake him by getting up, so she gently tries to tuck her hand under his head so she could replace her thighs with the beanbag chair under her. But even that slight movement rouses him, and his hand is around her wrist before she can move it.

He mumbles something she can't hear at first, and exhales deeply before saying it again - a little more effort to make it clear. “Don't leave,” she hears him say, then his hand falls limp at her side. 

She exhales a defeated sigh, then moves the other beanbag under her head and lies down. She eventually falls asleep, to the hushed sounds of Jungkook's breathing and the feeling of his hair tickling her thighs with every movement of his head. And in her dreams, they're both eight again, in the exact same position in their school's daycare. Jungkook, with his chubby cheeks resting against her thighs, and Chaeyoung, with her enchanting voice soothing him into a peaceful sleep.