CHINGUX 2014: no shame in my game (2/2) for markerlimes
← PART 1
Chanyeol corners him just as Kyungsoo is on his way back to the locker rooms. It's his lunch break and Kyungsoo is very hungry. Hungry enough to eat this teenager who is standing in his way. Instead, he gathers up the last shreds of his manners. "Park Chanyeol-ssi."
"Just Chanyeol is fine." He grins, big and dumb and ridiculous. It makes his eyes uneven and he looks slightly deranged, Kyungsoo observes.
Kyungsoo nods. "Alright then. Now if you'll excuse me, Chanyeol, I was on my way to the lockers for lunch break."
Shouldn't have said that, Kyungsoo curses in his head, as Chanyeol perks up like an excited puppy. He finally whips forward his hand, which had been hidden behind his back, to stick a large pink cloud of cotton candy in front of Kyungsoo's face. "I got this for you."
Frowning, Kyungsoo is about to wave it away. He doesn't like to eat sweet things much in general and the cotton candy doesn't look very attractive in the heat. Chanyeol must have searched a great deal for him, if the limp and wilting cloud is anything to go by. This, along with an image of kicked puppies and Chanyeol's crestfallen face, has Kyungsoo's conscience urging him to accept the spun mass of sugar politely. "Thank you."
Chanyeol looks overjoyed when Kyungsoo takes the cotton candy from him. Kyungsoo isn't sure how exactly to go about eating this... this large cloud of a candy, but Chanyeol keeps on staring at him expectantly. Finally, Kyungsoo gives up and takes a large bite.
Immediately, tendrils of cotton candy attach themselves to his cheeks and he can see the candy turning darker from his saliva. He smiles faintly at Chanyeol though, who looks incredibly satisfied. "Do you like it?" Chanyeol asks.
"Sure," Kyungsoo responds equivocally after swallowing. It's too sweet, the artificial sugar making him thirsty. His eyes dart around, looking for somewhere to lose Chanyeol and throw this sticky mess away. He rubs his cheeks, the candy attaching itself to his cuff to his dismay.
Chanyeol seems insistent on following him and he's impossible to shake, falling in step alongside Kyungsoo and humming a tune. Every so often, he looks over wistfully at Kyungsoo's cotton candy, until finally Kyungsoo hands it to him. When Chanyeol looks at him all confused, he mutters, "You keep on staring. If you wanted to eat it yourself, you shouldn't have given it to me."
"I gave it to you, though. You should eat it." Chanyeol tries to protest.
Kyungsoo shakes his head. "Just take it. Whatever, okay?"
They approach the locker rooms, Chanyeol still trailing behind Kyungsoo, happily eating the cotton candy. He's given up on trying to get rid of him by now.
Kyungsoo can hear Baekhyun and Jongdae's voices even from this distance. An idea suddenly occurs to him so he pauses mid step, turning to Chanyeol, who looks a little lost but pleased as to why Kyungsoo is starting a conversation with him.
"Alright, listen up. Baekhyun, who you've met already, and Jongdae, the other guy, like each other. But they're being dumb about it. I'm trying to do something to get them together, can you help?" Kyungsoo isn't exactly sure why he's asking Chanyeol of all people for assistance. Hopefully he won't regret this later.
Chanyeol practically bounces. "Oh, yeah. Anything."
"I'm just trying to get them together so they'll stop bothering me," Kyungsoo says, "You could help me further them along."
"That's really cool of you." Chanyeol beams and Kyungsoo looks away, fixing his eyes on a cloud and glaring. "What should I do?" he asks.
Kyungsoo has to tilt his head back to look him in the eye and it's rather degrading, how much taller this teenager is. "I'm still trying to figure that out. I just need them to confront each other about it and confess, then we'll be done."
"So like... shove them together?"
Enlisting Chanyeol for help feels more and more like a bad idea by the minute and Kyungsoo sighs. "Whatever, anything goes."
"Got it." Chanyeol's eyes are gleaming and he laughs to himself. "This’ll be fun."
Unlocking the door, Kyungsoo steps into the locker room and Chanyeol follows.
Jongdae is standing in front of his opened locker door, folding up his uniform. He looks over when they walk inside, the surprise on his face evident as he sees Chanyeol behind Kyungsoo. "Hey, Kyungsoo, and hey-Chanyeol, right?"
"Nice to meet you." Chanyeol sticks out his hand, which Jongdae takes, and proceeds to pump his arm up and down. He bows deeply and then stands up to scan the area, looking for Baekhyun. It's painfully obvious, the way he's doing it, and Kyungsoo resists putting him into a headlock. "Where's Baekhyun?"
"He's in the bathroom," Jongdae replies, side-eyeing Kyungsoo. "Did you need something?"
"Oh, no. I was just wondering." Chanyeol leans against a wall of lockers nonchalantly and almost slips as his elbow slides down. Kyungsoo holds back a snort, coughing into his hand. He's probably acquired the clumsiest teenaged stalker in the history of teenaged stalkers.
"Alright, well, I need to get changed." Kyungsoo steps between them to his locker, twirling the combination lock with two fingers. He tugs his shirt up and off after unbuttoning the collar, turning around to face away from them. Pulling his jeans on as fast as possible and throwing a denim jacket on over himself, Kyungsoo is done changing just as he hears Baekhyun come out of the bathroom
"It smells like shit in there-oh, hello, Chanyeol." Baekhyun looks like a kid on Christmas day, eyes flicking between Kyungsoo and Chanyeol with a smirk. "What brings you here?"
Chanyeol scratches his hair awkwardly and Kyungsoo saves him. "He was just following me and we ended up here," he explains.
Immediately, Baekhyun is by Chanyeol's side, hands fluttering over his neck. "Are you okay? Did Kyungsoo hurt you? Show me your bruises."
Laughing noisily, Chanyeol waves him away. "I'm okay, he didn't beat me up at all. Maybe my ego is a little bruised." Kyungsoo sits on the bench with a blank expression. This is, in fact, the worst idea he has ever had. How stupid is he to let Chanyeol fall into Baekhyun's clutches.
Chanyeol is talking to animatedly to Baekhyun, and Jongdae walks over to sit between them, whining for attention. Before long, Chanyeol sneezes fakely into his elbow and not-so-discreetly knocks Jongdae into Baekhyun. Jongdae falls into Baekhyun's lap with an undignified noise and Chanyeol apologizes profusely, "Shit, I'm so sorry." He runs a hand through his hair, lifting up his snapback and putting it back on, before looking over at Kyungsoo all self-satisfied and practically preening for approval.
He's entirely too obvious and Kyungsoo really shouldn't have counted on him for anything. Kyungsoo closes his eyes and curses mentally, but when he opens them, Jongdae and Baekhyun have sprung apart and are blushing profusely.
"It's cool, I should have been more careful," Jongdae says, while fiddling with the hem of his shirt.
Chanyeol looks slightly guilty and as he opens his mouth to take the blame, Kyungsoo speaks up. "It's Chanyeol's fault for being so clumsy, don't worry."
Baekhyun coughs, his cheeks flushed and his eyes looking everywhere but at Jongdae. "It's fine. Jongdae's super light, anyways."
"I eat a lot, though," Jongdae complains.
"You do," Kyungsoo acquiesces. Chanyeol looks like he's about to ask Kyungsoo if he did okay, if he's succeeded in their mission yet, so to deter him, Kyungsoo whips out his phone.
He sends off a text to Chanyeol, praying that Chanyeol has it on vibration-only. No such luck, and Chanyeol's phone emits a faint "ding" even as Kyungsoo slides his phone back into his pocket. Baekhyun looks even more suspicious, eyeing the two of them with interest.
Sent to: stalker teenager kid
dont be so obvious okay
Sent to: stalker teenager kid
good job though
When they finally leave the locker room, it's rather empty and quiet out and Jongdae glances at his wristwatch and swears. "It's past eleven, it's closed."
"Fuck, really?" Baekhyun tugs his hand through his hair. "Shit."
Chanyeol's eyes are as wide as saucers and he turns around to look at Kyungsoo. "Wait, what does that mean?"
This honestly can't be happening. Kyungsoo sucks in a breath. "It means the park is closed. And all of the gates are locked."
It's almost eerie, the way none of the gilded rides are moving, the way it's quiet enough in Disneyland that he can literally hear the wind whistling. They must have been in the locker rooms longer than they thought.
"We could try jumping the gates?" Baekhyun offers.
Kyungsoo scoffs. "They're obviously much too high. And you've never done anything remotely athletic in your entire life."
Nervous now, Jongdae pulls out his phone. "I can't believe it's already past closing. What are we going to do?"
"Maybe not every single one of the gates are shut yet, we could check?" Baekhyun offers.
"When was the last time they were ever lax enough to close the gates late? We're stuck," Kyungsoo says. They're usually pretty good about getting out on time, but today they'd all forgotten.
Chanyeol speaks up nervously. "I need to get back, my parents will be wondering where I am."
He's rubbing his hands together and Kyungsoo's reminded that he's just a kid. Someone in his teens who still needs to get back every night to his parents.
Baekhyun looks surprised too, and he asks, "Just how old are you?"
"I'm 18," Chanyeol says defensively. "I'm starting university at SNU in the fall."
"A fucking freshman," Baekhyun mutters under his breath. "Call your parents, I don't think we're getting out tonight."
"Mine just died," Chanyeol replies. Baekhyun huffs out a sigh and tosses his phone to Chanyeol, who fumbles and almost drops it.
Chanyeol dials, turning away from them when the call goes through. He's speaking softly, cupping his hand around the phone, and Jongdae looks away from him to sits down on the curb. His arms rest on his knees and he stares at his shoes. "What are we going to do? Just stay here? I can't believe I forgot the time"
"It wasn't your fault." Baekhyun rushes to reassure him. "We can coop up somewhere indoors, it's gets pretty chilly at night. Do you still have your keys?"
Jongdae shakes his head but Kyungsoo reaches into his pocket to grab his keyring and make sure that it's there. He's only got a couple keys for the Disneyland rides but luckily, to cut back on expenses, most of the locks open with the same key. "I've got them."
"That's good, it means we don't have to sleep outdoors." Crouching down casually beside Jongdae, Baekhyun bites his lip. "God, this place is creepy as fuck in the night."
"We should sleep in the Haunted Mansion," Jongdae suggests, grinning. Baekhyun shoves him and Kyungsoo is rolling his eyes at this kind of elementary flirting when Chanyeol walks back.
"I told them I was staying with a friend tonight," he says, handing to phone back to Baekhyun. "What now?"
Baekhyun breaks into a slow smile. He leans back, throwing his arms into the air. "We've got the park all to ourselves."
•
After much wheedling on Baekhyun’s part, Kyungsoo finds himself handing the keys over to him. He’s up to no good, but there’s only so much of his whining Kyungsoo can deal with. Baekhyun jingles the key ring. "Where are we gonna hit up first?"
"Frontierland," Jongdae says before anyone else can speak up. "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, for sure."
"Frontierland it is." It looks like Baekhyun is going to agree with anything Jongdae says.
"We'll need to get there through Liberty Square." Kyungsoo sticks his hands in his pockets. "We're right at the edge of Fantasyland right now."
Chanyeol looks at the three of them in awe. "Do you guys have the entire map memorized?"
"Pretty much," Jongdae sighs. "I could probably recite all the rides too. And give all the speeches. Welcome to the happiest place on Earth, etcetera."
They're walking through Liberty Square, the lake glittering in the moonlight behind the Liberty Square Riverboat ride. "This is kinda creepy at night," Chanyeol says.
"No kidding," Baekhyun agrees. The looming attractions are throwing long shadows everywhere and it's odd to see all the rides so still and empty. "These street lamps have the weirdest color."
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and walks faster. Striking up a conversation behind him with Chanyeol, Jongdae asks, "I was wondering, what brings you to Disneyland so often?"
"Oh, it's the summer after graduation, so my mother got me a season pass. Wanted me to have fun and cherish my childhood, or something."
Baekhyun makes a cooing sound. "That's so cute. Meanwhile, we're stuck here, trying to pay off our student loans and rent."
“How do you guys know each other? Did you meet on the job?” Chanyeol asks.
"We live together." Jongdae says, hooking his arm over Kyungsoo and ruffling his hair. "We go to Yonsei, across the river from SNU. Kyungsoo here loves us, even though he pretends to be grumpy all the time. We've been friends since high school."
"You live together? Wow. I'm going to be staying at the dorms once college starts."
"Dorm life is terrible, I barely made it through freshman year. Good luck, kid," Baekhyun interjects.
They pass the bridge and Kyungsoo can see the artificial mountain of the roller coaster hulking in the distance. "Are we really going to-"
"Yes, it's too late to back out," Baekhyun cuts him off. "We've got to make the most out of this opportunity."
"I'm pretty sure this is illegal and we're all going to get fired if anyone finds out. Isn't there CCTV?"
"It's too dark to see us," Baekhyun shrugs. "And we've got keys so technically we aren't breaking and entering. Live a little."
The gates of the ride are closed and padlocked shut, but Baekhyun pulls out the key ring and unlocks it. He whoops, turning around to high-five Jongdae. "We're in."
"Okay, but, how are we going to go about doing this?" Jongdae asks. The gate creaks open, incredibly loud in the silence around them, and they all jump.
"What do you mean? We're just gonna give it a spin," Baekhyun says as they climb the way up to the top. They're taking the guest line instead of the stairway for the crew and the faux cave decorations look almost ominous in the dark. At least all of the steam valves are powered off.
"Without anyone manning the booth? We need someone to operate the ride," Jongdae says. Kyungsoo wants to hug him; finally, someone level-headed.
"We could go in pairs, I guess," Chanyeol offers. His eyes light up. "I'm calling Kyungsoo."
Kyungsoo's about to speak up that no, he does not want to go on this roller coaster with Chanyeol, but then he realizes it means that Jongdae and Baekhyun will have to go together. "That's fine," he agrees.
Baekhyun and Jongdae look surprised that he's agreeing so easily. Before Baekhyun can tease him, Kyungsoo walks past him to the platform and flicks on the lights. It's blinding and he squints. "Let's do this."
The operator booth opens easily with their keys and so does the activation panel. There's a whirring noise as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad powers on and finally, at the flip of a lever, a line of train cars roll onto the tracks.
"We're going first." Jongdae drags Baekhyun to the car in front and settles down beside him. Pulling the safety bar down, Chanyeol turns around to wink at Kyungsoo. He probably thinks that it's awfully clever of him to have gotten the two of them on the ride together.
Inside the booth, Kyungsoo calls out, "Ready, guys?"
"Bring it," Jongdae yells, and finally Kyungsoo turns the keys to start. The roller coaster lurches and Kyungsoo can hear them whooping even as it goes out of sight.
Chanyeol leans on the booth, grinning at him. “I got them together.”
“Yes, you did,” Kyungsoo says. “Do you want a reward?”
Looking a little miffed at his sarcasm, Chanyeol turns around. “I think it would be brilliant if we stopped the ride or something. Trap them there together.”
“I get why you’ve become such fast friends with Baekhyun, now.”
The rumbling of the roller coaster is loud in the silence and they can make out Jongdae and Baekhyun screaming in the distance. A few minutes later, they pull into the platform. Baekhyun wobbles out, then gives Jongdae a hand. His hair is all ruffled and they’re grinning like a pair of idiots. “Fuck, that was amazing. Running around the park at nighttime is the best idea I’ve had in ages. Why didn’t we do this earlier?”
Kyungsoo yawns. “Because normally we would be sleeping. I want to sleep.”
“It’s your turn.” Jongdae ignores him and pushes Kyungsoo and Chanyeol over to the waiting car.
Getting in, Kyungsoo sighs as Chanyeol bounces in his seat like an excited kid. Chanyeol nudges him. “I feel so badass.”
Kyungsoo pulls down the safety bar without comment. They’re seated in place, right next to each other, and Chanyeol’s thigh is pressed to his. As he turns his head, he sees Jongdae flashing a thumbs-up in the booth and turning the key. The next minute, the ride is lurching to a start.
It’s pitch black and noisy, Chanyeol already beginning to curse beside him. He’s a very vocal passenger, it turns out. The ride has only just started and he’s whooping already. The water is on, splashing in a waterfall around them as they slowly start climbing. Kyungsoo refuses to emit a sound; it’s a matter of pride. They come up out of the tunnel, on top of the mountain, and he gulps when he sees the dark lake beneath them.
They haven’t gotten to the real drop yet but Chanyeol screams at every dip and turn. Kyungsoo thinks he will probably be deaf in right ear by the the time the ride is over. Pulling through a tunnel, they reach another ascent. The roller coaster car is tipped back and Chanyeol raises his arms. He’s chanting under his breath-”Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck.”-and Kyungsoo wants to laugh. From this vantage point, Kyungsoo can see all of Frontierland beneath him, spread out behind the artificial canyon.
“We aren’t even at the actual drop yet,” Kyungsoo yells out over the wind. “Calm down.”
Finally, they’re in the tunnel of the biggest drop. Chanyeol raises his hands above his head again and Kyungsoo humors him by raising his too. The clattering noise of the conveyor belt is deafening, especially in the enclosed space. It feels like they’re going up forever until they’re finally at the top-everything freezing for a split second-and dropping. He's being tugged out of his seat, inertia dropping low in his belly. Chanyeol whoops loudly and Kyungsoo does too, caught up in the moment. The plunge is exhilarating and Kyungsoo can hear himself screaming.
When they pull back into the platform, Chanyeol bounds out the moment they arrive. Kyungsoo can’t help but laugh along with him. “Hey, that was pretty fun.”
Jongdae places his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulders, ducking to look him in the eye. “Who are you and where is Kyungsoo?”
Kyungsoo shakes him off, still flying high from the adrenaline. It wasn't half bad, messing around with them in the empty park.
“That was amazing. Where are we going next?” Chanyeol is so excited even though it’s midnight.
“We should go on more rides. Rock N’ Roller Coaster?” Baekhyun suggests.
Chanyeol looks slightly queasy at the thought and Kyungsoo laughs. “I think Chanyeol is sick of that ride.”
“He did go on it, like, four times in a row.” Jongdae winks at Chanyeol. “That desperate to talk to Kyungsoo, huh?”
Kyungsoo decides to rescue Chanyeol, who is turning increasingly redder in the face, visible even in the dim light. “We can’t, anyways. It’s all the way in Hollywood Studios and we’re stuck here in Magic Kingdom.”
Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at his defense of Chanyeol. “Interesting.”
“We can do anything in Magic Kingdom, though. We have all of it to ourselves,” Kyungsoo says quickly.
“He’s got a point. Space Mountain then?” Jongdae suddenly looks mischievous. “Or how about the Ferris wheel.”
“That’s boring as fuck,” Baekhyun says, until Jongdae drags him away by the arm to whisper in his ear.
Kyungsoo would be suspicious, but then suddenly Chanyeol rests his chin on his shoulder. “They’re cute, are you sure they aren’t dating already? I mean, look at them.”
“Keep it down,” Kyungsoo hisses. Baekhyun and Jongdae come back, both with innocent expressions.
“Okay, Ferris wheel it is,” Baekhyun says nonchalantly.
“Weren’t you just disagreeing?” Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at him. “Did Jongdae convince you that easily?”
Baekhyun glares at him as Jongdae looks between them curiously. “Shut up, Kyungsoo.”
When they arrive, trekking through half the park, Chanyeol sighs. “My feet hurt so much. All this walking.”
“Weak.” Baekhyun sniffs.
“Give him a break, he was here the past three days.” Jongdae pats Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Blame Kyungsoo.”
“What? Why me?”
Jongdae explains, “See, if you weren’t here, Chanyeol wouldn’t have made good use of his season pass to come to Disneyland every single day. And he wouldn't have had to walk around looking for you.”
They cackle and Kyungsoo nudges Chanyeol out of pity. “They’re terrible, aren’t they? I don’t know why I’m friends with them either.
Chanyeol grins at him brightly and maybe he's a little sweet on him after all. Kyungsoo looks away, assuming his customary scowl.
Mickey’s Fun Wheel is located beside the river. It’s huge, looming almost 50 meters tall, and they all crane their heads up to look at the top when they arrive. The large Mickey Mouse cartoon is visible even in the darkness, even though all the lights are off.
“All right.” Baekhyun claps his hands, breaking the silence. “Chop chop.” He unlocks the operating booth and turns the attraction on in record time, the lights going on one by one.
Jongdae opens the booth swinging at the bottom and shoves Chanyeol and Kyungsoo in before they can protest. He taps the gondola. “See you in nine minutes. Have fun, guys.”
Except Kyungsoo has no clue what he’s going to do in nine minutes with Chanyeol. He sits down in the corner, facing him but as far away as possible. “So.”
They start rising, the booth swinging in lazy loops. Baekhyun and Jongdae are looking up at them but they’re quickly becoming smaller as they get higher. “So. Um, I’m having a lot of fun with you guys today, thanks?”
Kyungsoo dismisses his thanks with a shake of his head. “No problem. I’m glad I have someone else to talk to besides the two of them.”
“The view of the park is pretty nice, I’ve never been on this ride before.” Chanyeol presses his nose to the window, looking out and rocking the entire gondola, much to Kyungsoo’s dismay.
“This is my first time, too.” Kyungsoo doesn’t really know what to say to Chanyeol.
It continues, stilted conversation like that as they slowly approach the apex. Kyungsoo discreetly pulls out his phone to check the time, not wanting to hurt Chanyeol’s feelings.
When they finally arrive at the top, the Ferris wheel lurches to stop. “What was that?” Chanyeol asks.
“I have no clue.” Kyungsoo sends a prayer to the heavens that the ride didn't break down and pulls out his phone to text Baekhyun.
Sent to: byun baekhyun
what was that. why did it stop?
From: byun baekhyun
enjoy :-)
This can’t be happening. “I think they-I think they stopped it on purpose.”
Chanyeol gapes. “What? Why would they do that?”
“It’s Baekhyun and Jongdae, for God’s sake. Why do they do anything?” Kyungsoo texts Baekhyun back furiously as he speaks.
Sent to: byun baekhyun
you better start it again
From: byun baekhyun
sry kyungsoo :*
Kyungsoo glares at his screen. “Okay, forget him. I’ll text Jongdae.”
Sent to: kim jongdae
start the ferris wheel jongdae
Jongdae doesn’t text back immediately and Kyungsoo contemplates throwing his phone out the gondola. “Jesus Christ. I literally can’t believe them.”
“They seem like nice people, though, I don't know what they would do this,” Chanyeol defends.
He clearly has no idea who he’s talking about. Kyungsoo has an inkling of what they’re planning, but instead he closes his eyes and massages his temples until his phone buzzes.
From: kim jongdae
it was my idea tho
Betrayal at every corner. Kyungsoo leans against his seat in defeat. “We’re stuck, they’re not going to start it.”
All of a sudden, Kyungsoo’s phone rings and he picks up, talking into the receiver without preamble. “Start the ride or you’re going to regret this.”
“Hey, Kyungsoo.” Kyungsoo can hear Baekhyun smirk. “Sorry, but I’m calling to talk to Chanyeol.”
“I swear-”
“Do you want to get off or what?”
Kyungsoo is going to kill him the minutes he gets his hands on him. He tosses it to Chanyeol without a word, fuming in his seat. Baekhyun is talking quickly, muffled by Chanyeol’s hand, and Chanyeol flushes and hangs up after a quick “okay.”
“What did he say?”
“Uh. Um, nothing.” Chanyeol shoves the phone into his pocket.
“If it is key to our escape you better tell me. Give me my phone back.”
“It’s nothing.” Chanyeol shakes his head.
Kyungsoo stands up, rocking the gondola. He holds his hand out again, glaring as threatening as he can. “Give it back, or else I’m going to reach my hand into your pocket.”
Chanyeol turns away so Kyungsoo has to props his arm against the window and lean over. The gondola rocks even more as he struggles to reach his phone. “Chanyeol, what are you doing? Hand it over.”
“I can’t. Baekhyun said so.”
Kyungsoo gapes. “Why would he do that? And, since when did you start listening to him?”
The next rock of the gondola has Kyungsoo suddenly losing his balance and falling face first into Chanyeol’s shirt. He gets a whiff of deodorant and something inexplicably Chanyeol but he rights himself quickly. “Sorry. Will you give it back now?”
Chanyeol is even redder in the face, quickly straightening out his shirt. "No, sorry." He takes a deep breath and then looks Kyungsoo in the eye. "I have something to confess, actually."
"Go ahead." Kyungsoo thinks he knows what Chanyeol's going to say but he can't-he can't acknowledge it, which will make it all the more real. He's panicking now, not exactly knowing how he’s going to respond, but he doesn't want to think about it.
"I kind of like you?"
There's white noise in Kyungsoo's ears for a second and the compartment is suddenly feeling rather small and stuffy. Chanyeol's words are blunt and it’s refreshing Kyungsoo has no clue how to respond. He tries to laugh it off. "Thanks? I kind of knew, already."
"Did I make it really obvious?" Chanyeol's face couldn't possibly get any more redder.
Kyungsoo smiles for real this time. "You did. It's cool, though..." he trails off.
"This is the part where you either accept my confession or reject it," Chanyeol clarifies when Kyungsoo falls silent. It's cute how he's so forward about it, Kyungsoo thinks absentmindedly.
"I'm thinking, don't rush me." There are, in fact, a million thoughts running through Kyungsoo's mind right now, thoughts of Chanyeol and his dumb grin and how-perhaps-he could give him a chance. He’s rather conflicted about this whole thing; he enjoys being around Chanyeol, which is already a rare occurrence in itself, but he’s almost three years older. His clumsiness is kind of charming and the thought of his disappointed face does a lot to convince him. Kyungsoo finally speaks up, "Where are we going to take this, though?"
Chanyeol is immediately beaming. Kyungsoo wonders if his face ever hurts from smiling all the damn time. "Does this mean you accept my confession?"
"I'm asking a question," Kyungsoo refuses to acknowledge his words and all they imply. Maybe if he doesn't think about it, he won't have to deal with the aftermath.
"We could... date? Isn't that the logical next step?"
"Is it? You're a little young for me, I mean." Kyungsoo's just going to take the plunge now.
"The difference is less than three years," Chanyeol insists. He won’t stop beaming and it’s disarming for Kyungsoo. It seems like he smiles even more than Jongdae.
"Alright, I guess-" Kyungsoo's cut off as Chanyeol suddenly leans over him, pressing their lips together. It’s so-it’s so soft and maybe Kyungsoo kind of feels incredible right now. He's a little shocked but then he sighs and gives in to the feeling of his mouth. Chanyeol's lips are plush and Kyungsoo unconsciously tugs a hand through his hair.
They're both breathless as Chanyeol leans back, their lips part. "Wow, that was-"
Kyungsoo pinches his arm and wipes the back of his hand over his mouth. He suddenly feels a little dizzy. "I don't want to talk about it."
"That was amazing," Chanyeol continues. He grins shyly. "Thanks for taking a chance on me."
"Yeah," Kyungsoo says softly. Now his traitorous thoughts are brought to the forefront of his mind, the ones he was trying to suppress about Chanyeol. He's tall and plenty attractive, Kyungsoo allows himself to think begrudgingly, and not a bad kid. A little forward and awkward at different times, but Kyungsoo thinks he could get used to it.
Suddenly, Chanyeol pulls out the phone to dial. Baekhyun, he mouths at Kyungsoo meaningfully, before Baekhyun picks up. "Hey, um, I confessed." Glancing up at Kyungsoo nervously, he says, "I think it went well."
Kyungsoo can hear their loud cheering from the other end of the line. It explains a lot; of course Baekhyun and Jongdae were trying to set them up. "Can you start the ride, now?" he calls over.
The Ferris wheel rumbles to a start even as he says these words. Kyungsoo leans back. "Thank God."
Chanyeol won't stop looking at him every so often and grinning, and finally Kyungsoo's curiosity gets the better of him and he asks, "How did you suddenly decide I was to be the object of your affections? I mean, you just met me and all of a sudden..."
"Well, I was going on the Rock N' Roller Coaster, right? I saw you and I was being a hundred percent serious about your height"-Kyungsoo socks him in the shoulder to shut him up-"but when you turned around I was just like, oh."
Kyungsoo isn’t blushing right now. Kyungsoo doesn’t blush. "Well, was this worth going on that ride four times in a row?”
Chanyeol grimaces. "I didn't know what else to do to keep on talking to you."
When they finally get back to the bottom, Kyungsoo fists one hand on Baekhyun's shirt and another on Jongdae’s the moment he climbs out. "I'm killing both of you in your sleep, tonight."
Baekhyun looks unrepentant. He high-fives Jongdae and bumps Chanyeol’s hip with his own. "That was such a successful plan, though. We did it. We got them together."
They backtrack their way back to Liberty Square to take a ride on the Haunted Mansion, at Kyungsoo’s suggestion. It’s not particularly scary but Baekhyun has always been a little faint-hearted and Kyungsoo needs to get him back in revenge.
“Why are we going on this ride again? It’s so lame,” Baekhyun scoffs.
“I think it’d be fun. It’s not that scary.” Jongdae raises an eyebrow and Kyungsoo revels in the way Baekhyun is suddenly posturing and giving in to him so easily. He aspires never to be that whipped.
Kyungsoo smiles good-naturedly after they arrive. “After you.”
It’s creepier, the fact that the four of them are alone, as they make their way through the beginning stages of the ride to the platform. It’s even creepier with the line of empty Doom Buggies moving on the track after Kyungsoo turns it on.
“Jongdae, you don’t mind riding with Baekhyun, right? Hold him if he gets too scared.” It’s late and Kyungsoo is speaking more casually than he ever would have during the day. He shoves them in before they can protest, pushing them off the platform.
Kyungsoo sends them off with a pat on their Omnimover. Then he turns back around to Chanyeol. “If I remember correctly, we should stop the ride five minutes in. That’s when it’s at the top of the biggest cavern.”
Chanyeol gapes. “We’re actually stopping the ride with them in it?”
“Yeah. I’m a hundred percent serious about my promises and Baekhyun was honestly begging for it. We need to one up them.”
“It’s not that scary at all…” Chanyeol trails off.
“I know,” Kyungsoo agrees. “But Baekhyun is probably going to be terrified from his proximity to Jongdae. And he’ll also try to act all tough through it because Jongdae’s watching, I know him.” He looks at the line of black carriages. “You want to go on it, too? This ride is a loop so we won’t have a problem.”
Kyungsoo is going for a gruff tone but he can’t help smiling when Chanyeol hangs on to his arm. “It’s… dark. And late at night.”
Laughing, Kyungsoo shakes him off. “Weren’t you just saying how it’s not scary at all?”
Chanyeol stutters, “Well-I’ve ridden on it plenty of times. I’m just saying, no one else is here, what if the ride breaks down? Safety first. We should stay here.”
Before Kyungsoo can help himself, he’s reaching out and ruffling Chanyeol’s hair. He pulls away immediately and stares at his shoes, mumbling, “Sure, safety first. We can stay.”
Chanyeol is blushing when he looks back up but he’s glowing, all self-satisfied. After he lets out a visible sigh of relief, he suddenly stands up straight, wide-eyed. “I think it’s been five minutes, we should stop the ride now.”
Kyungsoo reaches over, turning the key to pause the ride. The line of black carriages slows to a stop and they grin at each other. He pulls out his phone, waving it in front of Chanyeol’s face and begins to count down. “Five, four, three, two-”
The screen lights up and Kyungsoo lets it ring a couple of times before picking up. “Hello,” he says cheerily.
“Fuck you. Fuck you, I knew it-I knew you were gonna do this. I knew the minute we got on this ride.” Baekhyun’s voice is crackly, the connection is shitty inside the attraction.
“I hope you’re having fun. Call me back when you’re done making out and I’ll start the ride.” Kyungsoo hangs up before Baekhyun can speak and Chanyeol laughs behind him.
From: byun baekhyun
start the ride
From: byun baekhyun
i did it okay
Sent to: byun baekhyun
proof?
From: byun baekhyun
[image attached]
Kyungsoo clicks on it before thinking it through. The picture is dark and blurry but Kyungsoo can clearly make out-“Shit, he actually did it. I did not need to see that. Oh, my God.”
“Can I see?” Chanyeol leans over his shoulder and Kyungsoo is torn between being disgruntled at the fact that Chanyeol is probably ten centimeters taller than him or inhaling the smell of his-shampoo? Deodorant?
Kyungsoo opens the picture while averting his eyes and hands the phone to him. “Here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“That’s cute,” Chanyeol grins at the screen. “Today’s such a nice day.”
He’s so lame, Kyungsoo needs to close his eyes for a moment. “You mean, night. It’s so late now. I guess I need to start the ride.”
The Doom Buggies start again and Kyungsoo sighs. “We were pretty successful, I think.”
When they step out on the platform, Jongdae’s shirt is rumpled and Baekhyun’s belt appears to be unbuckled. Kyungsoo reaches up to cover Chanyeol’s eyes. “Oh, God, guys. Don’t tell me you-”
“Shut up,” Baekhyun grits out. They’re both red in the face and not looking at each other. “Let’s go.”
“Are you dating, yet?” Chanyeol chimes in bluntly. Kyungsoo snickers as they stutter.
Kyungsoo taps Jongdae’s shoulder. “Remember what I said earlier. No fucking on my bed.”
Baekhyun gapes at the two of them as Jongdae groans. “You told him? He knew earlier?”
Shaking his head, Kyungsoo pats him too. “It turns out that Jongdae was awake that day on the bus. You actually confessed to him days earlier. You did it yourself.”
Baekhyun groans, shoving Kyungsoo since he obviously can’t shove Jongdae. “I hate you all.”
“No, you don’t.” Jongdae smiles at him cheekily and Chanyeol makes retching noises in the background.
When they're walking all the way back to Fantasyland after they ride Space Mountain (because Jongdae decided for all of them that they should sleep in the Cinderella castle), Kyungsoo whispers ominously in Baekhyun's ear. "No fucking in the castle either."
Baekhyun gulps. "God, I never should have helped you do anything."
The key opens the staff door at the castle and the four of them file in. The building is a lot thinner than one would think. There are incredibly pricey guest rooms inside for little girls who wish to have the full princess experience, but luckily no one is there tonight and Kyungsoo salvages all useful blankets.
"Let's sleep, I'm dead tired." Jongdae says, pulling Baekhyun into a room after it's unlocked. Baekhyun turns around to look at Kyungsoo all panicked, but Kyungsoo ignores him and takes the other one with Chanyeol.
Kyungsoo collapses on the fancily embroidered bed and just about passes out. It's been such a draining day, Chanyeol's confession and their newfound relationship cluttering his head whenever he tries to stop thinking about it. "Good night."
•
Kyungsoo’s working the line at Splash Mountain a week later, waving around his height stick as usual. A deep, now familiar voice speaks out when he’s facing away, “Are you even tall enough to go on this ride?”
He turns around, glaring with all the strength he can muster. “Please continue down the line, sir.”
Chanyeol laughs and almost makes a move to pat Kyungsoo’s hair, but thinks better of it. “See you later, Kyungsoo.”
Chanyeol corners him just as Kyungsoo is on his way back to the locker rooms. It's his lunch break and Kyungsoo is very hungry. Hungry enough to eat this teenager who is standing in his way. Instead, he gathers up the last shreds of his manners. "Park Chanyeol-ssi."
"Just Chanyeol is fine." He grins, big and dumb and ridiculous. It makes his eyes uneven and he looks slightly deranged, Kyungsoo observes.
Kyungsoo nods. "Alright then. Now if you'll excuse me, Chanyeol, I was on my way to the lockers for lunch break."
Shouldn't have said that, Kyungsoo curses in his head, as Chanyeol perks up like an excited puppy. He finally whips forward his hand, which had been hidden behind his back, to stick a large pink cloud of cotton candy in front of Kyungsoo's face. "I got this for you."
Frowning, Kyungsoo is about to wave it away. He doesn't like to eat sweet things much in general and the cotton candy doesn't look very attractive in the heat. Chanyeol must have searched a great deal for him, if the limp and wilting cloud is anything to go by. This, along with an image of kicked puppies and Chanyeol's crestfallen face, has Kyungsoo's conscience urging him to accept the spun mass of sugar politely. "Thank you."
Chanyeol looks overjoyed when Kyungsoo takes the cotton candy from him. Kyungsoo isn't sure how exactly to go about eating this... this large cloud of a candy, but Chanyeol keeps on staring at him expectantly. Finally, Kyungsoo gives up and takes a large bite.
Immediately, tendrils of cotton candy attach themselves to his cheeks and he can see the candy turning darker from his saliva. He smiles faintly at Chanyeol though, who looks incredibly satisfied. "Do you like it?" Chanyeol asks.
"Sure," Kyungsoo responds equivocally after swallowing. It's too sweet, the artificial sugar making him thirsty. His eyes dart around, looking for somewhere to lose Chanyeol and throw this sticky mess away. He rubs his cheeks, the candy attaching itself to his cuff to his dismay.
Chanyeol seems insistent on following him and he's impossible to shake, falling in step alongside Kyungsoo and humming a tune. Every so often, he looks over wistfully at Kyungsoo's cotton candy, until finally Kyungsoo hands it to him. When Chanyeol looks at him all confused, he mutters, "You keep on staring. If you wanted to eat it yourself, you shouldn't have given it to me."
"I gave it to you, though. You should eat it." Chanyeol tries to protest.
Kyungsoo shakes his head. "Just take it. Whatever, okay?"
They approach the locker rooms, Chanyeol still trailing behind Kyungsoo, happily eating the cotton candy. He's given up on trying to get rid of him by now.
Kyungsoo can hear Baekhyun and Jongdae's voices even from this distance. An idea suddenly occurs to him so he pauses mid step, turning to Chanyeol, who looks a little lost but pleased as to why Kyungsoo is starting a conversation with him.
"Alright, listen up. Baekhyun, who you've met already, and Jongdae, the other guy, like each other. But they're being dumb about it. I'm trying to do something to get them together, can you help?" Kyungsoo isn't exactly sure why he's asking Chanyeol of all people for assistance. Hopefully he won't regret this later.
Chanyeol practically bounces. "Oh, yeah. Anything."
"I'm just trying to get them together so they'll stop bothering me," Kyungsoo says, "You could help me further them along."
"That's really cool of you." Chanyeol beams and Kyungsoo looks away, fixing his eyes on a cloud and glaring. "What should I do?" he asks.
Kyungsoo has to tilt his head back to look him in the eye and it's rather degrading, how much taller this teenager is. "I'm still trying to figure that out. I just need them to confront each other about it and confess, then we'll be done."
"So like... shove them together?"
Enlisting Chanyeol for help feels more and more like a bad idea by the minute and Kyungsoo sighs. "Whatever, anything goes."
"Got it." Chanyeol's eyes are gleaming and he laughs to himself. "This’ll be fun."
Unlocking the door, Kyungsoo steps into the locker room and Chanyeol follows.
Jongdae is standing in front of his opened locker door, folding up his uniform. He looks over when they walk inside, the surprise on his face evident as he sees Chanyeol behind Kyungsoo. "Hey, Kyungsoo, and hey-Chanyeol, right?"
"Nice to meet you." Chanyeol sticks out his hand, which Jongdae takes, and proceeds to pump his arm up and down. He bows deeply and then stands up to scan the area, looking for Baekhyun. It's painfully obvious, the way he's doing it, and Kyungsoo resists putting him into a headlock. "Where's Baekhyun?"
"He's in the bathroom," Jongdae replies, side-eyeing Kyungsoo. "Did you need something?"
"Oh, no. I was just wondering." Chanyeol leans against a wall of lockers nonchalantly and almost slips as his elbow slides down. Kyungsoo holds back a snort, coughing into his hand. He's probably acquired the clumsiest teenaged stalker in the history of teenaged stalkers.
"Alright, well, I need to get changed." Kyungsoo steps between them to his locker, twirling the combination lock with two fingers. He tugs his shirt up and off after unbuttoning the collar, turning around to face away from them. Pulling his jeans on as fast as possible and throwing a denim jacket on over himself, Kyungsoo is done changing just as he hears Baekhyun come out of the bathroom
"It smells like shit in there-oh, hello, Chanyeol." Baekhyun looks like a kid on Christmas day, eyes flicking between Kyungsoo and Chanyeol with a smirk. "What brings you here?"
Chanyeol scratches his hair awkwardly and Kyungsoo saves him. "He was just following me and we ended up here," he explains.
Immediately, Baekhyun is by Chanyeol's side, hands fluttering over his neck. "Are you okay? Did Kyungsoo hurt you? Show me your bruises."
Laughing noisily, Chanyeol waves him away. "I'm okay, he didn't beat me up at all. Maybe my ego is a little bruised." Kyungsoo sits on the bench with a blank expression. This is, in fact, the worst idea he has ever had. How stupid is he to let Chanyeol fall into Baekhyun's clutches.
Chanyeol is talking to animatedly to Baekhyun, and Jongdae walks over to sit between them, whining for attention. Before long, Chanyeol sneezes fakely into his elbow and not-so-discreetly knocks Jongdae into Baekhyun. Jongdae falls into Baekhyun's lap with an undignified noise and Chanyeol apologizes profusely, "Shit, I'm so sorry." He runs a hand through his hair, lifting up his snapback and putting it back on, before looking over at Kyungsoo all self-satisfied and practically preening for approval.
He's entirely too obvious and Kyungsoo really shouldn't have counted on him for anything. Kyungsoo closes his eyes and curses mentally, but when he opens them, Jongdae and Baekhyun have sprung apart and are blushing profusely.
"It's cool, I should have been more careful," Jongdae says, while fiddling with the hem of his shirt.
Chanyeol looks slightly guilty and as he opens his mouth to take the blame, Kyungsoo speaks up. "It's Chanyeol's fault for being so clumsy, don't worry."
Baekhyun coughs, his cheeks flushed and his eyes looking everywhere but at Jongdae. "It's fine. Jongdae's super light, anyways."
"I eat a lot, though," Jongdae complains.
"You do," Kyungsoo acquiesces. Chanyeol looks like he's about to ask Kyungsoo if he did okay, if he's succeeded in their mission yet, so to deter him, Kyungsoo whips out his phone.
He sends off a text to Chanyeol, praying that Chanyeol has it on vibration-only. No such luck, and Chanyeol's phone emits a faint "ding" even as Kyungsoo slides his phone back into his pocket. Baekhyun looks even more suspicious, eyeing the two of them with interest.
Sent to: stalker teenager kid
dont be so obvious okay
Sent to: stalker teenager kid
good job though
When they finally leave the locker room, it's rather empty and quiet out and Jongdae glances at his wristwatch and swears. "It's past eleven, it's closed."
"Fuck, really?" Baekhyun tugs his hand through his hair. "Shit."
Chanyeol's eyes are as wide as saucers and he turns around to look at Kyungsoo. "Wait, what does that mean?"
This honestly can't be happening. Kyungsoo sucks in a breath. "It means the park is closed. And all of the gates are locked."
It's almost eerie, the way none of the gilded rides are moving, the way it's quiet enough in Disneyland that he can literally hear the wind whistling. They must have been in the locker rooms longer than they thought.
"We could try jumping the gates?" Baekhyun offers.
Kyungsoo scoffs. "They're obviously much too high. And you've never done anything remotely athletic in your entire life."
Nervous now, Jongdae pulls out his phone. "I can't believe it's already past closing. What are we going to do?"
"Maybe not every single one of the gates are shut yet, we could check?" Baekhyun offers.
"When was the last time they were ever lax enough to close the gates late? We're stuck," Kyungsoo says. They're usually pretty good about getting out on time, but today they'd all forgotten.
Chanyeol speaks up nervously. "I need to get back, my parents will be wondering where I am."
He's rubbing his hands together and Kyungsoo's reminded that he's just a kid. Someone in his teens who still needs to get back every night to his parents.
Baekhyun looks surprised too, and he asks, "Just how old are you?"
"I'm 18," Chanyeol says defensively. "I'm starting university at SNU in the fall."
"A fucking freshman," Baekhyun mutters under his breath. "Call your parents, I don't think we're getting out tonight."
"Mine just died," Chanyeol replies. Baekhyun huffs out a sigh and tosses his phone to Chanyeol, who fumbles and almost drops it.
Chanyeol dials, turning away from them when the call goes through. He's speaking softly, cupping his hand around the phone, and Jongdae looks away from him to sits down on the curb. His arms rest on his knees and he stares at his shoes. "What are we going to do? Just stay here? I can't believe I forgot the time"
"It wasn't your fault." Baekhyun rushes to reassure him. "We can coop up somewhere indoors, it's gets pretty chilly at night. Do you still have your keys?"
Jongdae shakes his head but Kyungsoo reaches into his pocket to grab his keyring and make sure that it's there. He's only got a couple keys for the Disneyland rides but luckily, to cut back on expenses, most of the locks open with the same key. "I've got them."
"That's good, it means we don't have to sleep outdoors." Crouching down casually beside Jongdae, Baekhyun bites his lip. "God, this place is creepy as fuck in the night."
"We should sleep in the Haunted Mansion," Jongdae suggests, grinning. Baekhyun shoves him and Kyungsoo is rolling his eyes at this kind of elementary flirting when Chanyeol walks back.
"I told them I was staying with a friend tonight," he says, handing to phone back to Baekhyun. "What now?"
Baekhyun breaks into a slow smile. He leans back, throwing his arms into the air. "We've got the park all to ourselves."
•
After much wheedling on Baekhyun’s part, Kyungsoo finds himself handing the keys over to him. He’s up to no good, but there’s only so much of his whining Kyungsoo can deal with. Baekhyun jingles the key ring. "Where are we gonna hit up first?"
"Frontierland," Jongdae says before anyone else can speak up. "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, for sure."
"Frontierland it is." It looks like Baekhyun is going to agree with anything Jongdae says.
"We'll need to get there through Liberty Square." Kyungsoo sticks his hands in his pockets. "We're right at the edge of Fantasyland right now."
Chanyeol looks at the three of them in awe. "Do you guys have the entire map memorized?"
"Pretty much," Jongdae sighs. "I could probably recite all the rides too. And give all the speeches. Welcome to the happiest place on Earth, etcetera."
They're walking through Liberty Square, the lake glittering in the moonlight behind the Liberty Square Riverboat ride. "This is kinda creepy at night," Chanyeol says.
"No kidding," Baekhyun agrees. The looming attractions are throwing long shadows everywhere and it's odd to see all the rides so still and empty. "These street lamps have the weirdest color."
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and walks faster. Striking up a conversation behind him with Chanyeol, Jongdae asks, "I was wondering, what brings you to Disneyland so often?"
"Oh, it's the summer after graduation, so my mother got me a season pass. Wanted me to have fun and cherish my childhood, or something."
Baekhyun makes a cooing sound. "That's so cute. Meanwhile, we're stuck here, trying to pay off our student loans and rent."
“How do you guys know each other? Did you meet on the job?” Chanyeol asks.
"We live together." Jongdae says, hooking his arm over Kyungsoo and ruffling his hair. "We go to Yonsei, across the river from SNU. Kyungsoo here loves us, even though he pretends to be grumpy all the time. We've been friends since high school."
"You live together? Wow. I'm going to be staying at the dorms once college starts."
"Dorm life is terrible, I barely made it through freshman year. Good luck, kid," Baekhyun interjects.
They pass the bridge and Kyungsoo can see the artificial mountain of the roller coaster hulking in the distance. "Are we really going to-"
"Yes, it's too late to back out," Baekhyun cuts him off. "We've got to make the most out of this opportunity."
"I'm pretty sure this is illegal and we're all going to get fired if anyone finds out. Isn't there CCTV?"
"It's too dark to see us," Baekhyun shrugs. "And we've got keys so technically we aren't breaking and entering. Live a little."
The gates of the ride are closed and padlocked shut, but Baekhyun pulls out the key ring and unlocks it. He whoops, turning around to high-five Jongdae. "We're in."
"Okay, but, how are we going to go about doing this?" Jongdae asks. The gate creaks open, incredibly loud in the silence around them, and they all jump.
"What do you mean? We're just gonna give it a spin," Baekhyun says as they climb the way up to the top. They're taking the guest line instead of the stairway for the crew and the faux cave decorations look almost ominous in the dark. At least all of the steam valves are powered off.
"Without anyone manning the booth? We need someone to operate the ride," Jongdae says. Kyungsoo wants to hug him; finally, someone level-headed.
"We could go in pairs, I guess," Chanyeol offers. His eyes light up. "I'm calling Kyungsoo."
Kyungsoo's about to speak up that no, he does not want to go on this roller coaster with Chanyeol, but then he realizes it means that Jongdae and Baekhyun will have to go together. "That's fine," he agrees.
Baekhyun and Jongdae look surprised that he's agreeing so easily. Before Baekhyun can tease him, Kyungsoo walks past him to the platform and flicks on the lights. It's blinding and he squints. "Let's do this."
The operator booth opens easily with their keys and so does the activation panel. There's a whirring noise as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad powers on and finally, at the flip of a lever, a line of train cars roll onto the tracks.
"We're going first." Jongdae drags Baekhyun to the car in front and settles down beside him. Pulling the safety bar down, Chanyeol turns around to wink at Kyungsoo. He probably thinks that it's awfully clever of him to have gotten the two of them on the ride together.
Inside the booth, Kyungsoo calls out, "Ready, guys?"
"Bring it," Jongdae yells, and finally Kyungsoo turns the keys to start. The roller coaster lurches and Kyungsoo can hear them whooping even as it goes out of sight.
Chanyeol leans on the booth, grinning at him. “I got them together.”
“Yes, you did,” Kyungsoo says. “Do you want a reward?”
Looking a little miffed at his sarcasm, Chanyeol turns around. “I think it would be brilliant if we stopped the ride or something. Trap them there together.”
“I get why you’ve become such fast friends with Baekhyun, now.”
The rumbling of the roller coaster is loud in the silence and they can make out Jongdae and Baekhyun screaming in the distance. A few minutes later, they pull into the platform. Baekhyun wobbles out, then gives Jongdae a hand. His hair is all ruffled and they’re grinning like a pair of idiots. “Fuck, that was amazing. Running around the park at nighttime is the best idea I’ve had in ages. Why didn’t we do this earlier?”
Kyungsoo yawns. “Because normally we would be sleeping. I want to sleep.”
“It’s your turn.” Jongdae ignores him and pushes Kyungsoo and Chanyeol over to the waiting car.
Getting in, Kyungsoo sighs as Chanyeol bounces in his seat like an excited kid. Chanyeol nudges him. “I feel so badass.”
Kyungsoo pulls down the safety bar without comment. They’re seated in place, right next to each other, and Chanyeol’s thigh is pressed to his. As he turns his head, he sees Jongdae flashing a thumbs-up in the booth and turning the key. The next minute, the ride is lurching to a start.
It’s pitch black and noisy, Chanyeol already beginning to curse beside him. He’s a very vocal passenger, it turns out. The ride has only just started and he’s whooping already. The water is on, splashing in a waterfall around them as they slowly start climbing. Kyungsoo refuses to emit a sound; it’s a matter of pride. They come up out of the tunnel, on top of the mountain, and he gulps when he sees the dark lake beneath them.
They haven’t gotten to the real drop yet but Chanyeol screams at every dip and turn. Kyungsoo thinks he will probably be deaf in right ear by the the time the ride is over. Pulling through a tunnel, they reach another ascent. The roller coaster car is tipped back and Chanyeol raises his arms. He’s chanting under his breath-”Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck.”-and Kyungsoo wants to laugh. From this vantage point, Kyungsoo can see all of Frontierland beneath him, spread out behind the artificial canyon.
“We aren’t even at the actual drop yet,” Kyungsoo yells out over the wind. “Calm down.”
Finally, they’re in the tunnel of the biggest drop. Chanyeol raises his hands above his head again and Kyungsoo humors him by raising his too. The clattering noise of the conveyor belt is deafening, especially in the enclosed space. It feels like they’re going up forever until they’re finally at the top-everything freezing for a split second-and dropping. He's being tugged out of his seat, inertia dropping low in his belly. Chanyeol whoops loudly and Kyungsoo does too, caught up in the moment. The plunge is exhilarating and Kyungsoo can hear himself screaming.
When they pull back into the platform, Chanyeol bounds out the moment they arrive. Kyungsoo can’t help but laugh along with him. “Hey, that was pretty fun.”
Jongdae places his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulders, ducking to look him in the eye. “Who are you and where is Kyungsoo?”
Kyungsoo shakes him off, still flying high from the adrenaline. It wasn't half bad, messing around with them in the empty park.
“That was amazing. Where are we going next?” Chanyeol is so excited even though it’s midnight.
“We should go on more rides. Rock N’ Roller Coaster?” Baekhyun suggests.
Chanyeol looks slightly queasy at the thought and Kyungsoo laughs. “I think Chanyeol is sick of that ride.”
“He did go on it, like, four times in a row.” Jongdae winks at Chanyeol. “That desperate to talk to Kyungsoo, huh?”
Kyungsoo decides to rescue Chanyeol, who is turning increasingly redder in the face, visible even in the dim light. “We can’t, anyways. It’s all the way in Hollywood Studios and we’re stuck here in Magic Kingdom.”
Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at his defense of Chanyeol. “Interesting.”
“We can do anything in Magic Kingdom, though. We have all of it to ourselves,” Kyungsoo says quickly.
“He’s got a point. Space Mountain then?” Jongdae suddenly looks mischievous. “Or how about the Ferris wheel.”
“That’s boring as fuck,” Baekhyun says, until Jongdae drags him away by the arm to whisper in his ear.
Kyungsoo would be suspicious, but then suddenly Chanyeol rests his chin on his shoulder. “They’re cute, are you sure they aren’t dating already? I mean, look at them.”
“Keep it down,” Kyungsoo hisses. Baekhyun and Jongdae come back, both with innocent expressions.
“Okay, Ferris wheel it is,” Baekhyun says nonchalantly.
“Weren’t you just disagreeing?” Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at him. “Did Jongdae convince you that easily?”
Baekhyun glares at him as Jongdae looks between them curiously. “Shut up, Kyungsoo.”
When they arrive, trekking through half the park, Chanyeol sighs. “My feet hurt so much. All this walking.”
“Weak.” Baekhyun sniffs.
“Give him a break, he was here the past three days.” Jongdae pats Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Blame Kyungsoo.”
“What? Why me?”
Jongdae explains, “See, if you weren’t here, Chanyeol wouldn’t have made good use of his season pass to come to Disneyland every single day. And he wouldn't have had to walk around looking for you.”
They cackle and Kyungsoo nudges Chanyeol out of pity. “They’re terrible, aren’t they? I don’t know why I’m friends with them either.
Chanyeol grins at him brightly and maybe he's a little sweet on him after all. Kyungsoo looks away, assuming his customary scowl.
Mickey’s Fun Wheel is located beside the river. It’s huge, looming almost 50 meters tall, and they all crane their heads up to look at the top when they arrive. The large Mickey Mouse cartoon is visible even in the darkness, even though all the lights are off.
“All right.” Baekhyun claps his hands, breaking the silence. “Chop chop.” He unlocks the operating booth and turns the attraction on in record time, the lights going on one by one.
Jongdae opens the booth swinging at the bottom and shoves Chanyeol and Kyungsoo in before they can protest. He taps the gondola. “See you in nine minutes. Have fun, guys.”
Except Kyungsoo has no clue what he’s going to do in nine minutes with Chanyeol. He sits down in the corner, facing him but as far away as possible. “So.”
They start rising, the booth swinging in lazy loops. Baekhyun and Jongdae are looking up at them but they’re quickly becoming smaller as they get higher. “So. Um, I’m having a lot of fun with you guys today, thanks?”
Kyungsoo dismisses his thanks with a shake of his head. “No problem. I’m glad I have someone else to talk to besides the two of them.”
“The view of the park is pretty nice, I’ve never been on this ride before.” Chanyeol presses his nose to the window, looking out and rocking the entire gondola, much to Kyungsoo’s dismay.
“This is my first time, too.” Kyungsoo doesn’t really know what to say to Chanyeol.
It continues, stilted conversation like that as they slowly approach the apex. Kyungsoo discreetly pulls out his phone to check the time, not wanting to hurt Chanyeol’s feelings.
When they finally arrive at the top, the Ferris wheel lurches to stop. “What was that?” Chanyeol asks.
“I have no clue.” Kyungsoo sends a prayer to the heavens that the ride didn't break down and pulls out his phone to text Baekhyun.
Sent to: byun baekhyun
what was that. why did it stop?
From: byun baekhyun
enjoy :-)
This can’t be happening. “I think they-I think they stopped it on purpose.”
Chanyeol gapes. “What? Why would they do that?”
“It’s Baekhyun and Jongdae, for God’s sake. Why do they do anything?” Kyungsoo texts Baekhyun back furiously as he speaks.
Sent to: byun baekhyun
you better start it again
From: byun baekhyun
sry kyungsoo :*
Kyungsoo glares at his screen. “Okay, forget him. I’ll text Jongdae.”
Sent to: kim jongdae
start the ferris wheel jongdae
Jongdae doesn’t text back immediately and Kyungsoo contemplates throwing his phone out the gondola. “Jesus Christ. I literally can’t believe them.”
“They seem like nice people, though, I don't know what they would do this,” Chanyeol defends.
He clearly has no idea who he’s talking about. Kyungsoo has an inkling of what they’re planning, but instead he closes his eyes and massages his temples until his phone buzzes.
From: kim jongdae
it was my idea tho
Betrayal at every corner. Kyungsoo leans against his seat in defeat. “We’re stuck, they’re not going to start it.”
All of a sudden, Kyungsoo’s phone rings and he picks up, talking into the receiver without preamble. “Start the ride or you’re going to regret this.”
“Hey, Kyungsoo.” Kyungsoo can hear Baekhyun smirk. “Sorry, but I’m calling to talk to Chanyeol.”
“I swear-”
“Do you want to get off or what?”
Kyungsoo is going to kill him the minutes he gets his hands on him. He tosses it to Chanyeol without a word, fuming in his seat. Baekhyun is talking quickly, muffled by Chanyeol’s hand, and Chanyeol flushes and hangs up after a quick “okay.”
“What did he say?”
“Uh. Um, nothing.” Chanyeol shoves the phone into his pocket.
“If it is key to our escape you better tell me. Give me my phone back.”
“It’s nothing.” Chanyeol shakes his head.
Kyungsoo stands up, rocking the gondola. He holds his hand out again, glaring as threatening as he can. “Give it back, or else I’m going to reach my hand into your pocket.”
Chanyeol turns away so Kyungsoo has to props his arm against the window and lean over. The gondola rocks even more as he struggles to reach his phone. “Chanyeol, what are you doing? Hand it over.”
“I can’t. Baekhyun said so.”
Kyungsoo gapes. “Why would he do that? And, since when did you start listening to him?”
The next rock of the gondola has Kyungsoo suddenly losing his balance and falling face first into Chanyeol’s shirt. He gets a whiff of deodorant and something inexplicably Chanyeol but he rights himself quickly. “Sorry. Will you give it back now?”
Chanyeol is even redder in the face, quickly straightening out his shirt. "No, sorry." He takes a deep breath and then looks Kyungsoo in the eye. "I have something to confess, actually."
"Go ahead." Kyungsoo thinks he knows what Chanyeol's going to say but he can't-he can't acknowledge it, which will make it all the more real. He's panicking now, not exactly knowing how he’s going to respond, but he doesn't want to think about it.
"I kind of like you?"
There's white noise in Kyungsoo's ears for a second and the compartment is suddenly feeling rather small and stuffy. Chanyeol's words are blunt and it’s refreshing Kyungsoo has no clue how to respond. He tries to laugh it off. "Thanks? I kind of knew, already."
"Did I make it really obvious?" Chanyeol's face couldn't possibly get any more redder.
Kyungsoo smiles for real this time. "You did. It's cool, though..." he trails off.
"This is the part where you either accept my confession or reject it," Chanyeol clarifies when Kyungsoo falls silent. It's cute how he's so forward about it, Kyungsoo thinks absentmindedly.
"I'm thinking, don't rush me." There are, in fact, a million thoughts running through Kyungsoo's mind right now, thoughts of Chanyeol and his dumb grin and how-perhaps-he could give him a chance. He’s rather conflicted about this whole thing; he enjoys being around Chanyeol, which is already a rare occurrence in itself, but he’s almost three years older. His clumsiness is kind of charming and the thought of his disappointed face does a lot to convince him. Kyungsoo finally speaks up, "Where are we going to take this, though?"
Chanyeol is immediately beaming. Kyungsoo wonders if his face ever hurts from smiling all the damn time. "Does this mean you accept my confession?"
"I'm asking a question," Kyungsoo refuses to acknowledge his words and all they imply. Maybe if he doesn't think about it, he won't have to deal with the aftermath.
"We could... date? Isn't that the logical next step?"
"Is it? You're a little young for me, I mean." Kyungsoo's just going to take the plunge now.
"The difference is less than three years," Chanyeol insists. He won’t stop beaming and it’s disarming for Kyungsoo. It seems like he smiles even more than Jongdae.
"Alright, I guess-" Kyungsoo's cut off as Chanyeol suddenly leans over him, pressing their lips together. It’s so-it’s so soft and maybe Kyungsoo kind of feels incredible right now. He's a little shocked but then he sighs and gives in to the feeling of his mouth. Chanyeol's lips are plush and Kyungsoo unconsciously tugs a hand through his hair.
They're both breathless as Chanyeol leans back, their lips part. "Wow, that was-"
Kyungsoo pinches his arm and wipes the back of his hand over his mouth. He suddenly feels a little dizzy. "I don't want to talk about it."
"That was amazing," Chanyeol continues. He grins shyly. "Thanks for taking a chance on me."
"Yeah," Kyungsoo says softly. Now his traitorous thoughts are brought to the forefront of his mind, the ones he was trying to suppress about Chanyeol. He's tall and plenty attractive, Kyungsoo allows himself to think begrudgingly, and not a bad kid. A little forward and awkward at different times, but Kyungsoo thinks he could get used to it.
Suddenly, Chanyeol pulls out the phone to dial. Baekhyun, he mouths at Kyungsoo meaningfully, before Baekhyun picks up. "Hey, um, I confessed." Glancing up at Kyungsoo nervously, he says, "I think it went well."
Kyungsoo can hear their loud cheering from the other end of the line. It explains a lot; of course Baekhyun and Jongdae were trying to set them up. "Can you start the ride, now?" he calls over.
The Ferris wheel rumbles to a start even as he says these words. Kyungsoo leans back. "Thank God."
Chanyeol won't stop looking at him every so often and grinning, and finally Kyungsoo's curiosity gets the better of him and he asks, "How did you suddenly decide I was to be the object of your affections? I mean, you just met me and all of a sudden..."
"Well, I was going on the Rock N' Roller Coaster, right? I saw you and I was being a hundred percent serious about your height"-Kyungsoo socks him in the shoulder to shut him up-"but when you turned around I was just like, oh."
Kyungsoo isn’t blushing right now. Kyungsoo doesn’t blush. "Well, was this worth going on that ride four times in a row?”
Chanyeol grimaces. "I didn't know what else to do to keep on talking to you."
When they finally get back to the bottom, Kyungsoo fists one hand on Baekhyun's shirt and another on Jongdae’s the moment he climbs out. "I'm killing both of you in your sleep, tonight."
Baekhyun looks unrepentant. He high-fives Jongdae and bumps Chanyeol’s hip with his own. "That was such a successful plan, though. We did it. We got them together."
They backtrack their way back to Liberty Square to take a ride on the Haunted Mansion, at Kyungsoo’s suggestion. It’s not particularly scary but Baekhyun has always been a little faint-hearted and Kyungsoo needs to get him back in revenge.
“Why are we going on this ride again? It’s so lame,” Baekhyun scoffs.
“I think it’d be fun. It’s not that scary.” Jongdae raises an eyebrow and Kyungsoo revels in the way Baekhyun is suddenly posturing and giving in to him so easily. He aspires never to be that whipped.
Kyungsoo smiles good-naturedly after they arrive. “After you.”
It’s creepier, the fact that the four of them are alone, as they make their way through the beginning stages of the ride to the platform. It’s even creepier with the line of empty Doom Buggies moving on the track after Kyungsoo turns it on.
“Jongdae, you don’t mind riding with Baekhyun, right? Hold him if he gets too scared.” It’s late and Kyungsoo is speaking more casually than he ever would have during the day. He shoves them in before they can protest, pushing them off the platform.
Kyungsoo sends them off with a pat on their Omnimover. Then he turns back around to Chanyeol. “If I remember correctly, we should stop the ride five minutes in. That’s when it’s at the top of the biggest cavern.”
Chanyeol gapes. “We’re actually stopping the ride with them in it?”
“Yeah. I’m a hundred percent serious about my promises and Baekhyun was honestly begging for it. We need to one up them.”
“It’s not that scary at all…” Chanyeol trails off.
“I know,” Kyungsoo agrees. “But Baekhyun is probably going to be terrified from his proximity to Jongdae. And he’ll also try to act all tough through it because Jongdae’s watching, I know him.” He looks at the line of black carriages. “You want to go on it, too? This ride is a loop so we won’t have a problem.”
Kyungsoo is going for a gruff tone but he can’t help smiling when Chanyeol hangs on to his arm. “It’s… dark. And late at night.”
Laughing, Kyungsoo shakes him off. “Weren’t you just saying how it’s not scary at all?”
Chanyeol stutters, “Well-I’ve ridden on it plenty of times. I’m just saying, no one else is here, what if the ride breaks down? Safety first. We should stay here.”
Before Kyungsoo can help himself, he’s reaching out and ruffling Chanyeol’s hair. He pulls away immediately and stares at his shoes, mumbling, “Sure, safety first. We can stay.”
Chanyeol is blushing when he looks back up but he’s glowing, all self-satisfied. After he lets out a visible sigh of relief, he suddenly stands up straight, wide-eyed. “I think it’s been five minutes, we should stop the ride now.”
Kyungsoo reaches over, turning the key to pause the ride. The line of black carriages slows to a stop and they grin at each other. He pulls out his phone, waving it in front of Chanyeol’s face and begins to count down. “Five, four, three, two-”
The screen lights up and Kyungsoo lets it ring a couple of times before picking up. “Hello,” he says cheerily.
“Fuck you. Fuck you, I knew it-I knew you were gonna do this. I knew the minute we got on this ride.” Baekhyun’s voice is crackly, the connection is shitty inside the attraction.
“I hope you’re having fun. Call me back when you’re done making out and I’ll start the ride.” Kyungsoo hangs up before Baekhyun can speak and Chanyeol laughs behind him.
From: byun baekhyun
start the ride
From: byun baekhyun
i did it okay
Sent to: byun baekhyun
proof?
From: byun baekhyun
[image attached]
Kyungsoo clicks on it before thinking it through. The picture is dark and blurry but Kyungsoo can clearly make out-“Shit, he actually did it. I did not need to see that. Oh, my God.”
“Can I see?” Chanyeol leans over his shoulder and Kyungsoo is torn between being disgruntled at the fact that Chanyeol is probably ten centimeters taller than him or inhaling the smell of his-shampoo? Deodorant?
Kyungsoo opens the picture while averting his eyes and hands the phone to him. “Here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“That’s cute,” Chanyeol grins at the screen. “Today’s such a nice day.”
He’s so lame, Kyungsoo needs to close his eyes for a moment. “You mean, night. It’s so late now. I guess I need to start the ride.”
The Doom Buggies start again and Kyungsoo sighs. “We were pretty successful, I think.”
When they step out on the platform, Jongdae’s shirt is rumpled and Baekhyun’s belt appears to be unbuckled. Kyungsoo reaches up to cover Chanyeol’s eyes. “Oh, God, guys. Don’t tell me you-”
“Shut up,” Baekhyun grits out. They’re both red in the face and not looking at each other. “Let’s go.”
“Are you dating, yet?” Chanyeol chimes in bluntly. Kyungsoo snickers as they stutter.
Kyungsoo taps Jongdae’s shoulder. “Remember what I said earlier. No fucking on my bed.”
Baekhyun gapes at the two of them as Jongdae groans. “You told him? He knew earlier?”
Shaking his head, Kyungsoo pats him too. “It turns out that Jongdae was awake that day on the bus. You actually confessed to him days earlier. You did it yourself.”
Baekhyun groans, shoving Kyungsoo since he obviously can’t shove Jongdae. “I hate you all.”
“No, you don’t.” Jongdae smiles at him cheekily and Chanyeol makes retching noises in the background.
When they're walking all the way back to Fantasyland after they ride Space Mountain (because Jongdae decided for all of them that they should sleep in the Cinderella castle), Kyungsoo whispers ominously in Baekhyun's ear. "No fucking in the castle either."
Baekhyun gulps. "God, I never should have helped you do anything."
The key opens the staff door at the castle and the four of them file in. The building is a lot thinner than one would think. There are incredibly pricey guest rooms inside for little girls who wish to have the full princess experience, but luckily no one is there tonight and Kyungsoo salvages all useful blankets.
"Let's sleep, I'm dead tired." Jongdae says, pulling Baekhyun into a room after it's unlocked. Baekhyun turns around to look at Kyungsoo all panicked, but Kyungsoo ignores him and takes the other one with Chanyeol.
Kyungsoo collapses on the fancily embroidered bed and just about passes out. It's been such a draining day, Chanyeol's confession and their newfound relationship cluttering his head whenever he tries to stop thinking about it. "Good night."
•
Kyungsoo’s working the line at Splash Mountain a week later, waving around his height stick as usual. A deep, now familiar voice speaks out when he’s facing away, “Are you even tall enough to go on this ride?”
He turns around, glaring with all the strength he can muster. “Please continue down the line, sir.”
Chanyeol laughs and almost makes a move to pat Kyungsoo’s hair, but thinks better of it. “See you later, Kyungsoo.”