Vol 5 Ch 8

“Hmm.”

Lee Wooyeon looked up at the dark, unlit ride with a displeased expression.

“…It’s closed.”

Inseop, standing next to him, muttered in a small voice. It was close to midnight. Even on a Friday, it was more than enough time for it to be closed.

“It’s alright.”

Inseop tugged at Lee Wooyeon’s sleeve and added, “We can come back next time.”

“Wait in the car for a moment.”

Lee Wooyeon put Inseop back in the passenger seat and closed the door for him.

“Lock the door.”

Inseop quickly locked the door as Lee Wooyeon instructed. Lee Wooyeon added, “Don’t open it for anyone, no matter who asks.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Inseop nodded. Lee Wooyeon walked away with long strides and disappeared. Inseop leaned back in the passenger seat. He had said they could come back next time, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t looking forward to it. No, he was very much looking forward to it. They had never had the chance to go to an amusement park together in Korea.

No matter how much he wore a hat and mask, people recognized Lee Wooyeon like a ghost. The words always started with, “Excuse me, aren’t you Lee Wooyeon?” and ended with a crowd surrounding them.

…Of course.

That face wasn’t something that could be hidden. Even sitting at the back of a church in a black suit, people couldn’t help but glance at Lee Wooyeon. At the gathering after the funeral, three of his cousin’s sisters asked about the identity of “that unbelievably handsome hot guy.”

“I passed by here often during football practice. It was a good practice for catching balls.”

…You passed by several times.

Inseop sighed, mumbling words he couldn’t say out loud. He remembered watching Lee Wooyeon passing by through the window. He couldn’t speak to him, couldn’t make eye contact, thinking they could never be involved….

“Inseop.”

Inseop gasped when his name was suddenly called. Lee Wooyeon tapped the car window with the back of his hand, gesturing for him to come out. Inseop quickly opened the car door and got out.

“Shall we go?”

“Where to?”

“To ride that.”

When Lee Wooyeon gestured with his chin, the lights on the previously dark Ferris wheel lit up like magic, and the merry-go-round started to turn. Inseop’s eyes widened with surprise.

“How did you….”

“We don’t have time. They said they’ll keep it open for only thirty minutes.”

Lee Wooyeon grabbed Inseop’s wrist. The two of them went back into the amusement park, which had come alive again.

“…Why are you doing this?”

Inseop cautiously asked when he saw Lee Wooyeon sitting across from him, looking at him with a dissatisfied expression.

“I was thinking.”

“About what?”

“Why, out of all the things, did we choose to ride this?”

“If you want to ride something else, we can ask them to let us off….”

Lee Wooyeon quickly sat Inseop back down when he tried to stand up.

“Do you think I want to ride something else?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Amusement parks and Lee Wooyeon were not a fitting combination from the start. Lee Wooyeon, understanding the meaning behind the apology, lightly laughed.

“Do you like it?”

Playing in an empty amusement park. It was like a scene from a movie that everyone dreamed of at least once as a child. In front of the lit-up and moving rides, Lee Wooyeon had told him to choose what he wanted. After a brief hesitation, Inseop chose the slowly turning Ferris wheel.

“Yes. I like it.”

Inseop nodded honestly.

Good. This is a very expensive Ferris wheel, after all.

Lee Wooyeon looked down at his exposed wrist. He had asked the custodian, who was emptying the trash, if he could reopen the facility, making it clear that he was willing to pay handsomely. The tired-looking custodian scrutinized him from head to toe and demanded cash. Having only brought his car key and a single card when leaving the hotel, Lee Wooyeon asked for a bank account number instead. The custodian stubbornly shook his head, insisting on cash only. It seemed he didn’t want to leave any evidence of a potentially problematic transaction.

“Damn, how annoying.”

As Lee Wooyeon ran his hand through his hair in frustration, the custodian’s eyes gleamed. Realizing what had caught the custodian’s eye, Lee Wooyeon unhesitatingly took off his wristwatch and handed it over. The custodian, who had accepted a watch worth nearly the price of a luxury car, agreed to turn on the lights for 30 minutes under the guise of facility maintenance.

“What’s so good about it?”

Lee Wooyeon asked, watching his partner’s eyes sparkle as he looked out at the Ferris wheel.

“It’s just… When I think of festivals, this is the first thing that comes to mind. You can see everything from up high, it’s not scary, and….”

“And what else?”

Would he add another trivial reason? Lee Wooyeon smiled broadly, prompting Inseop to continue.

“It reminds me of the old days.”

“Wow, that’s harsh.”

Lee Wooyeon smiled as he playfully reproached Inseop.

“Talking about other women in front of your boyfriend is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“I’m not talking about Jenny. I’m talking about you, Lee Wooyeon.”

Inseop replied, his eyes wide with sincerity.

Damn, should I just f**k him right here?

Lee Wooyeon tapped the floor of the Ferris wheel, wondering how much weight it could support.

Me? What about me?”

“That time… the lucky stone.”

Lee Wooyeon squinted and nodded as he remembered the incident from a few years ago.

“That was almost a disaster. I nearly lost my precious lucky stone.”

He lied brazenly, without a hint of hesitation.

“I know you did it on purpose.”

“Did what on purpose?”

“I heard you do that when you want to fire a manager you don’t like.”

“You think I didn’t like you? That’s nonsense.”

Feigning innocence, Lee Wooyeon rested his chin on his hand and asked.

“But at that time, you really….”

Inseop began to protest cautiously. Lee Wooyeon laughed, stretching out his arms and leaning back in the Ferris wheel. Since he had indeed treated Inseop like crap in the past, he didn’t bother to deny it.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask ten things.”

Lee Wooyeon replied playfully.

“…Why did you help me back then?”

Inseop’s large eyes looked at him. They were beautiful, kind eyes. The smile faded from Lee Wooyeon’s face.

“You hid it on purpose, so why did you help me?”

“Right, why did I do that?”

Lee Wooyeon muttered to himself. That cold winter day, seeing the idiot manager, pale and trembling, searching for a non-existent stone in the dirty water, he had instinctively waded in.

He stared at Inseop, who was waiting for an answer. The colorful lights of the Ferris wheel reflected on Inseop’s cheeks.

“…Because you’re pretty.”

“What?”

“Because you’re pretty. That’s why I helped you.”

Inseop’s round cheeks flushed red.

“…Don’t tease me.”

Inseop mumbled stiffly, lowering his eyes.

“I’m not teasing. It’s the truth. I told you before, you were annoying, but I couldn’t just get rid of you like I used to.”

Even if he were asked now, he couldn’t give a clear answer to when and why his feelings had changed. Choi Inseop annoyed him, and his incomprehensible actions intrigued him. Acting unlike himself, he eventually got ensnared, his life bound to this beautiful fool.

Of all people to get caught by, damn. It’s maddening.

“I’m very bad at relationships.”

Lee Wooyeon said softly, with a hint of a smile.

“What? What are you….”

Inseop stammered, unable to adapt to Lee Wooyeon’s abrupt shifts in conversation. Often, he couldn’t understand what Lee Wooyeon meant. Given past experiences where misunderstanding his words led to trouble, Inseop asked again for clarification.

“It’s my first time in a relationship.”

“…….”

Inseop doubted his ears for a moment. He could count more than ten articles about “actor Lee Wooyeon’s” relationships, and there had been several women beside him in the short time they were in America. Yet, he claimed it was his first relationship.

“Since it’s my first time, I don’t know what to do, and my personality is shitty, so I’ll probably make a lot of mistakes and hurt your feelings.”

Inseop blinked, finally recalling that he had said something similar to Lee Wooyeon before.

When Lee Wooyeon leaned forward, the Ferris wheel creaked. Inseop silently looked up at the man filling his vision.

“So….”

Lee Wooyeon’s lips were right in front of him. His heart pounded. The sparkling lights reflected in Lee Wooyeon’s dark eyes. Inseop clutched the edge of the jacket Lee Wooyeon had given him and bowed his head.

“…Don’t hate me too much.”

“Why would I….”

Inseop raised his head and noticed Lee Wooyeon’s disheveled hair. Realizing that Lee Wooyeon’s excuse about passing by was a lie, a rush of indescribable emotion surged up his throat.

Inseop loved Lee Wooyeon. Despite knowing he wasn’t a good person, his heart often ached at the small, ordinary kindnesses Lee Wooyeon showed him.

Lee Wooyeon was looking at him, waiting for a response, with the eyes of a clumsy boy experiencing his first love.

He was lovable. The fact that he had postponed all his schedules to follow him to the U.S., had noticed the unspoken words meant for his grandmother hidden in his pocket, and had driven to see him late at night without even grooming his hair—everything about him was deeply lovable and touching.

“I can never hate you,” Inseop said, giving Lee Wooyeon a soft kiss on his lower lip.

“You know that, right?” he whispered as their lips parted gently.

No matter how much he tried to resist, the moment always came when his heart tilted in Lee Wooyeon’s direction. Like when he realized he couldn’t hate this man inside the Ferris wheel, soaked through and spinning round and round.

Lee Wooyeon’s large hands cupped Inseop’s cheeks. With a sigh, he parted his lips and deeply kissed Inseop. As Lee Wooyeon placed a knee on Inseop’s seat and leaned in, the Ferris wheel creaked.

At that moment, brilliant fireworks lit up the sky. Startled, Inseop’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Guess he looked up the watch’s price,” Lee Wooyeon muttered.

“What?”

“Let’s just kiss. We don’t have much time.”

Lee Wooyeon closed his eyes and kissed deeply again. Inseop wrapped his arms around Lee Wooyeon’s neck.