Minho stared at the text of apology on his phone and sighed for the twelfth time. Yes, twelve. Jinki’s been keeping count.

“It’s not the end of the world, you know?” Jinki said, perched on the backrest of the bench Minho was seated on. From his position, Jinki would be able to read the text on Minho’s phone but he wasn’t reading it. He read it already half an hour ago. He got sick of reading it twenty-five minutes ago and now, he was preoccupied with the screaming coming from the roller coaster ride.

Minho looked up at the fascinated expression on his angel’s face and he wondered how this creature could get so excited over things like this.

“Excuse me. Aren’t you supposed to be comforting me or something? I mean, I just received a text saying that my friend wouldn’t be able to make it after all and you, of all people, would know how excited I was about this and now, how disappointed I am…” Minho mused out loud.

Jinki turned to look at him, still distracted by his surroundings.

“I just did,” he said blankly.

“How helpful,” Minho replied sarcastically. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and stared ahead at the kids lining up for cotton candy.

“I think he told them that I was coming and that’s why they all backed out like this. Even Gwiboon…” Minho thought out loud somberly. Now, he had Jinki’s full attention. The angel jumped onto the ground and took his seat properly beside Minho on the bench.

“Probably. You can’t blame them for it, though,” Jinki said, smiling at him innocently despite his biting words.

“Jinki…” Minho began, tired.

“But at least you tried. That is what matters in the end. That you keep trying hard to fix your mistakes. Everyone knows that making mistakes is easy, fixing it is the hard part. It is the reason many continue on their destructive path. But you, Minho, you are brave enough to want to change which is not something everyone can say…”

Minho found himself smiling again. That is right! He is brave! Jinki said it himself. Minho wouldn’t let this small setback break him. When was the last time he came to an amusement park anyway? Minho should probably just enjoy himself while he was here.

In a rush of self-motivated happiness, Minho does something very stupid.

“Come on. I’ll sh- OUCH MOTHERFU-“ Minho clutched his left hand to his chest as he rolled onto the ground in pain, his tongue curling up in his mouth uncomfortably.

Jinki laughed, his teeth bright against the darkening sky and acting as stars before the actual ones came out.

“How can you laugh at someone in pain?!” Minho bellowed once he had control over his tongue. He had stupidly reached for Jinki’s hand earlier to pull him off the bench and bring him around the park. This had obviously ended up with him getting burned and curled up on the ground like a lunatic.

“Sorry…” Jinki said, totally unapologetic as he stood up and closed the distance between him and Minho. Minho stood up carefully, shaking his left hand to feel the nerves there again. A fat little boy who was busy his lollipop stared openly at Minho like he was a madman. Minho glared back at him, making him hide behind his mother.

“Whatever, man. Let’s just go!” Minho said, starting towards the exit. He glanced once over his shoulder and caught Jinki staring at the cotton candy machine in amazement, before he started following Minho as well. Minho halted, sighing.

“I thought we were leaving. Where are you going?” Jinki questioned, hands clasped at his back as he walked after Minho who was now heading in the opposite direction to the exit. Minho went straight to one of the snack stalls and ordered a cotton candy, taking his time to pay for it so that Jinki would have time to look at how the man spun the candy onto the stick.

There was something in his expression that made Minho want to give everything to Jinki. Like how a child with puppy-like eyes can implore you into doing anything for them. He smiled when he saw Jinki smiling excitedly.

“Don’t tell me that you’ve never seen a cotton candy before?” Minho snooped around, curious of what Jinki was thinking.

“I’ve seen it thousands of times, Minho. I know everything about making one as well. That’s what you learn from getting an assignment with the son of a cotton candy manufacturer. It’s just that, like I’ve told you many times, I’m-“

“Curious…” Minho interrupted the angel, knowing what he was going to say. Jinki nodded, still watching the man working.

“It’s like clouds in your mouth,” Minho started, remembering how he had once refused to explain how his cereals had tasted like to Jinki and how dejected the angel had looked then. Time to make up for it now.

Jinki turned to him questioningly.

“It’s light, barely there on your tongue until it touches the moisture. Then, it turns rock solid and get stuck in between your teeth. Now that I think about it, it’s just like you,” Minho said, realizing how true his own words were as he said it.

Jinki smiled at him before turning to walk away. Minho followed him.

“You mean, in the way I do not exist until the moment I make myself visible and then become a constant presence in your life, whether you like it or not?” Jinki recited somewhat gloomily. Minho was taken aback by the sad tone in that cheerful voice.

“I guess, you could put it that way…” Minho said, feeling awkward. He took a bite on his cotton candy just to have something to do. Jinki seemed to snap himself out of his thoughts then and he turned to ask how popcorns tasted like.

And Minho explained, although he knew that Jinki would never understand all of this since he couldn’t relate to Minho’s descriptions of the senses. He explained how the air smelled like butter near the popcorn machine but more like smoke near the rides. He explained how it felt winning toys through the fair games and how it felt when you lose.

“For most, it feels like your heart is playing drums against the ribcage. But there are some who can stand there like they’re made out of steel and just enter with straight faces,” Minho explained about how it felt before entering a haunted house.

“Why do you humans subject yourselves to fear like this if it terrifies you so much?” Jinki asked, once again distracted by the roller coaster went it came onto the track closest to them.

“Simple. For the adrenaline rush of it all,” Minho explained briefly. When Jinki still blinked confusedly, Minho decided to show him. He almost went for Jinki’s hand again to pull him towards the roller coaster but he caught himself when he recalled what happened just earlier. Instead, he gestured for Jinki to come with him.

They waited in line only for a while before their turn came. Minho went straight to the first seat and seated himself. He buckled himself and gestured for Jinki to sit beside him. He then did the buckles for the angel as well, being careful not to touch him. When he let go of the clasped buckle, it fell right through his body and rested on the seat again. What else was Minho expecting?

Jinki smirked at him, mischievously.

“You buckle yourself in because this is dangerous. You check to see if the buckles are really tight because you don’t want to end up flying off the ride halfway through. You tell yourself to stay calm and keep the excited jitters-“ Minho was interrupted by a kid coming to his side and asking to make way for him so that he could take the seat beside him.

“This seat is taken, boy. Go see at the back,” Minho commented. The boy walked away grumpily.

Minho opened his mouth to continue again, only to be interrupted by the ride operator.

“Excuse me. Please make way for this boy so that he can take his place,” the man said. Minho was irritated.

“The seat’s taken,” Minho said through gritted teeth. The man glanced at the seat and then back at him. He gave him an incredulous look.

“Sir, please cooperate with us if you do not wan