"Uh-oh, Hii-chan. That rollercoaster kinda looks scary. Will you be okay?" Nako says with a worried look pointing at the ride. 

"Hitoma," Chaewon taps Hitomi's shoulder. "are you scared of heights?"

Hitomi scratches her cheek and shoots Nako a glare for just a second before smiling at Chaewon. "Well..."

"Don't worry, I'm here. I'll be at your side," Chaewon grins. "You can hold my hand if you get scared."

"Uh...thanks, unnie."

Nako wiggles her eyebrows at Hitomi before turning to Yena, Minju and Yuri who are still arguing about which ride they should go to next. Hitomi would strangle her best friend right there and then. But her plan seems to be going well (even though Hitomi never explicitly agreed to going along with it). 

The thing is, Hitomi likes amusement park rides. The scarier, the more exciting it is for her. Nako's bright idea is to have her pretend to be scared of them to have an excuse to be close to Chaewon. Hitomi wasn't too fond of the idea and she still isn't.

But now that Nako has gotten the ball rolling, it would be more embarrassing to clear it up and explain. That and Nako's frustration kind of blew up the night before ("Goodness, I'm sick of both of you exchanging coy smiles and doing nothing more. Both of you are useless. At least take my help so you can have progress or whatever," she said). Hitomi couldn't disagree with that (and maybe a little part of her feels just as frustrated).

"C'mon, who wants to go on the rollercoaster?" Yena raises her hand like she's taking votes.

Minju and Nako raise their hands too. And Yuri follows, bumping Minju's arm while she's at it. 3...2...1...

"Jo Yuri, stop being annoying," Minju glares at Yuri. 

Yuri clicks her tongue. "Your arm was in the way. You think I like touching you?" She scoffs. "You wish."

Hitomi just looks on, like the rest, totally used to it. No day is complete without the two fighting.

"Don't you dare hold onto me when you freak out, okay?"

"And who said I'd be sitting next to you?"

Yena ignores them both and shouts, "Okay, it's decided then. Rollercoaster next." 

Chaewon nudges Hitomi's shoulder. "You okay with that? We can just go on another ride if you want."

"I'll be fine, unnie," Hitomi smiles, hopefully not too awkwardly. "Like you said, you'll be by my side."

Taking her hand, Chaewon gives her a reassuring smile. "Of course, unnie is here. No worries."

For some reason, it sounds more like Chaewon is saying it to herself.

Hitomi's suspicion grows stronger as they move forward in the line. When they reach the front, she sees discomfort in Chaewon's face. She thinks the older girl even flinches when the screams get louder as the rollercoaster goes through the loop.

"You okay, unnie?" 

"Yeah, totally." Chaewon nods and they join in their friends' conversation.

"Why do I have to sit next to Kim Minju?" Yuri complains.

"Because I won and I chose Yena-unnie," Nako says.

Minju laughs in disbelief. "You think I want to sit next to you?" 

"I'll sit next to Tomi then." Yuri rolls her eyes.

"Sorry but Hitomi is mine," Chaewon announces. And then her eyes widen a bit. "I-i mean my seatmate mine. That sort of mine. Not like mi--"

A small part of Hitomi wants to be swallowed by the ground. But then again, a bigger part of her wants to know what kind of mine Chaewon is actually talking about. Because her rosy cheeks are pretty confusing. Pretty and confusing. 

Ugh, what's wrong with me, she thought.

"Ok, Chaewon-ah. I think we get it," Yena interrupts. She her lips in, holding back her laughter. 

--
 

Chaewon's smile stiffens once they get safely buckled in their seats. "Don't be scared, Hitoma. It'll be fine," she mumbles.

Hitomi fights back a smile. Chaewon is always so dependable. That's why Hitomi likes her. She's sweet and caring. And now, she's trying to front a brave face even though her quickening pulse is betraying her. Hitomi also wants to be someone Chaewon can depend on. 

The ride starts and Chaewon audibly exhales.

"I'm here, unnie," Hitomi leans in and whispers. "I won't let go of your hand. Don't worry."

Chaewon nods. And the corner of her lips turn up. Hitomi's heartbeat goes faster. But not because the ride speeds up. 

The people behind them start to scream. Chaewon's smile fades and she lets out the cutest scream Hitomi has ever heard (ok, she might be a little biased). 

When the rollercoaster slows down as they reach the peak, Hitomi intertwines their fingers. Chaewon doesn't seem to dislike it and even holds on tighter. The rollercoaster speeds up again as it falls down and the deafening screaming starts again. But the only thing in Hitomi's mind is how soft Chaewon's palm is.

--
 

"Yuri, are you still breathing?" Minju asks, giggling, behind them.

Hitomi turns around and laughs at Yuri who still seems dazed, unable to make a comeback. Minju helps her up against her will. 

"Well that wasn't too bad, huh, Hitoma?" Chaewon asks, almost sounding relaxed. Except she's still squeezing Hitomi's hand.

Hitomi doesn't try to hide her laughter this time. 

"What?" Chaewon stands up but (this time) her legs betray her. 

Hitomi puts a hand to her waist to steady her. "It's okay, unnie. I'll keep your secret."

"I don't know what you mean?"

Hitomi just nods as Chaewon tries to convince her.

"Okay, drop tower next?" Yena asks.

Minju gets excited and yells, "I'm in."

"I'm not going if Minju is going." Yuri crosses her arms.

"Right. It's not because you're scared." Minju smirks.

"Guys, I think that's too scary for me," Hitomi interrupts before they start bickering.

Chaewon looks at her, quizzically. And then she smiles. "I think I should keep Hitomi company then."

"Don't worry, Chaewon-unnie. I can go with her if you wanna go with them," Yuri volunteers.

Nako pulls her back though, mischief evident in her eyes. "No, Yuri. You're coming with me. We have to go somewhere." She winks at Hitomi before they start parting ways.

--
 

"So you were lying about being scared?" Chaewon takes a scoop of her ice cream. They decided to take a break and eat snacks.

Hitomi smiles guiltily. "Well...a little? Ah, but you lied too, unnie."

Chaewon points at herself, as if offended. "I lied? About what?"

"You were acting like you weren't scared."

"But I wasn't?" 

"So that wasn't you being scared?" Hitomi chuckles.

"W-well..." Chaewon looks away. "I was just acting. I just needed an excuse to hold your hand," she tries to say confidently but the blush creeping up on her neck says otherwise.

"Unnie, you already had an excuse at that point. I was acting scared, remember? You didn't need to act scared too."

"Well, that's..." Chaewon sighs. She crosses her arms and pouts. "Fine, I won't make excuses next time. I'll just hold your hand then."

Hitomi clears and grabs her ice cream. "D-do whatever you want then," she says before eating a spoonful. 

She hopes it cools her slowly warming cheeks.