Chapter 132
“How can you be worse than a kid at this?”
As I lifted my face from where it had been buried, Angel handed me a drink.
“You’re usually so fearless.”
I weakly accepted the drink. I gulped down the cold beverage, and it helped calm my stomach that had been threatening to churn.
After finishing the drink, I slouched back on the bench, shaking my head in exhaustion.
My thoughts of riding the simpler rides first, like the carousel, shattered when I saw Ivy pointing toward a ride that spun 360 degrees.
I tried to reassure myself that it couldn’t be as bad as it seemed, but by the third rotation, the sky really did look yellow to me.
It didn’t get any better from there. It turned out Ivy was the type to enjoy thrills, and I was the only one struggling to adjust.
I began to wonder if it had all been a lie when they said it was their first time at an amusement park.
As I followed Ivy around, hours flew by.
The sky had already turned a deep blue, and it seemed like it was moments away from becoming a pitch-black night.
“But why does it feel like there’s hardly anyone here at the amusement park?”
Angel’s eyes flickered nervously when he heard me.
“It’s nice that we don’t have to wait much and can get on rides quickly.”
I looked around the park. There were definitely people here, but for a weekend evening, it felt unusually quiet.
Even the most popular rides didn’t have us waiting more than an hour.
“Sis, Oppa! Let’s ride that one next!”
At that moment, Ivy, having devoured her ice cream, jumped up. I couldn’t bring myself to look at where she was pointing.
“Sis, are you scared?”
Noticing I was avoiding her gaze, Ivy quickly ran over and asked.
I couldn’t lie in front of the perceptive Ivy, so I smiled weakly.
“Yeah… I’m not as brave as Ivy, so I’m a little scared.”
Ivy furrowed her brow as though trying to think of a solution.
She pursed her lips, and after a moment, her eyes widened, and she spoke brightly.
“Then Sis can hold Oppa’s hand and ride it!”
*Cough!* Angel’s cough sounded beside me.
“Angel’s hand…?”
Angel and I exchanged a brief glance, both wearing similar expressions, before we both quickly turned our heads away.
Ivy, with her wide, innocent eyes, looked back and forth between us.
Then she dashed over to Angel, stood on tiptoe, and grabbed both of Angel’s hands.
“No! Angel Oppa’s hand is mine, so you can’t have it.”
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Ivy, who was shaking her head firmly.
Looking into Ivy’s sparkling eyes, I began to worry about what might come next.
“Sis can just hold Oppa’s hand and ride it!”
‘Cough!’ Angel coughed again, this time drinking some water to calm down, but it seemed like he choked and couldn’t stop coughing for a while.
At that moment, Baek Hawon, who had left earlier to make a phone call, appeared from a distance.
His expression looked cold, as if something had upset him, even from far away.
Then our eyes met. In that instant, it felt like time itself had stopped, and everything around us fell silent.
The cold atmosphere surrounding him disappeared without a trace, and in its place, the colorful lights from the carousel filled the space.
Baek Hawon remained standing there, unmoving, staring at me.
His gaze seemed to be looking at something far away, as if I were unreachable. The soft music flowing from the carousel filled the space between us.
In that intense gaze directed at me, it almost felt as if there were only the two of us in the entire world.
It was I who turned my head away first. I had an uneasy feeling.
I awkwardly stood up from the bench, as though I had been caught off guard.
“Haha, Ivy. I’m not scared at all!”
I turned to Ivy, forcing a smile and raising my hands behind me.
“I’ll go first. Just follow me.”
—
‘…Please, don’t say anything stupid.’
I slammed my head against the wall next to the queue. As I fell from a dizzying height, the screams of the people around me fueled the fire in my trembling chest.
Why did I even get on this? This really feels like I’m going to die if I ride it.
I gazed longingly toward the exit, but the end of the line was nowhere in sight due to the crowd. It was too late to turn back.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Just looking at your face, I’d believe you were a ghost who died on this ride,” Angel whispered in my ear. I shot a sharp look at Angel, who was grinning widely.
But Ivy squeezed in between us, and I couldn’t help but flash a big smile right away.
“Sis, hold Oppa’s hand and get ready!”
Ivy grabbed Angel’s hand as she spoke cheerfully.
That bombshell of a statement froze both Angel and me stiffly. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Baek Hawon standing beside me.
“Sis is an adult, so she doesn’t need to hold Oppa’s hand.”
I forced a smile, trying to act like everything was fine. However, Ivy wasn’t buying it. She wasn’t looking at me like I was fine at all.
“But it seems like you’re more scared than me.”
“Ivy, you shouldn’t say things like that. Sis might get hurt. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear it, okay?”
“Okay! I’m good at pretending!”
As I silently listened to Ivy and Angel’s conversation, I placed my hand on my chest, which had become a crumpled mess.
The people in front of us all rushed out, and within the blink of an eye, I found myself at the front of the line, trembling. I snapped out of my daze.
“Angel.”
I quietly pulled on Angel’s sleeve.
Meanwhile, Ivy was staring at the ride that kept rising higher and higher, while Baek Hawon leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.
I realized this was the perfect opportunity. I led Angel toward the far end of the line and whispered quietly.
“I need to talk to you. After we ride this, let’s sneak away. I’ll say I’m going to the bathroom and wait by the swing over there.”
Since Angel hadn’t returned home the previous night, I never got the chance to tell him about Doshiyu, so I’d promised to bring it up as soon as we met at the amusement park.
But with Baek Hawon with us and the terrifying rides, I hadn’t been able to say a word until now, and night had already fallen.
“…You’re leaving Boss and Ivy alone?”
Angel’s voice held a tone of disbelief. I turned toward Ivy and Baek Hawon, realizing I hadn’t considered that aspect.
“I guess you can see it too, right? It doesn’t seem right. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Or, if it’s urgent, we can talk tonight.”
The relationship between them today was too complicated to label as simply good or bad. Baek Hawon showed no interest in Ivy, and Ivy didn’t seem to care about him much either.
The idea of Boss taking care of a child—impossible to picture in my mind.
I hesitated briefly, then shook my head.
“…No.”
“….”
“I’ll listen when you’re ready to tell me.”
But it felt like I really had to say it today.
I was a little worried about leaving Baek Hawon and Ivy alone, but if I had to be honest, I felt like they were people I could trust to leave in charge.
“Got it.”
Angel nodded seriously after seeing my expression.
I inhaled deeply, unsure whether it was relief or nervousness, and exhaled as I turned back to face Ivy and Baek Hawon.
Another challenge awaited me there.
“Oppa! Come quickly!”
The people who had ridden before us got off the ride, and the entrance that had been blocking my way opened up.
Ivy shot forward with Angel, but I hesitated and took a step back.
It was at that moment that the thought of just running away crossed my mind.
“…!”
A force grabbed my wrist and pulled me backward, causing my foot to slip out of the line.
My body, losing its balance, collided against a solid chest.
The warmth of the hand gripping my wrist was unmistakable.
“Are you sure you don’t want to hold my hand, even though you’re an adult?”
I twisted my head back to face Baek Hawon. Slowly, my eyelids lifted, revealing his dark eyes.
“Then let’s go over there.”
Baek Hawon nodded and pointed to the ride where Angel and Ivy were already seated, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
“It’d be a problem if you turned into a ghost from that thing.”
Had he been listening to our conversation earlier?
I realized he was giving me the chance to escape from that terrifying ride.
If I kept riding such rides until the park closed, I might eventually empty my stomach out, but I couldn’t turn away from Ivy’s sparkling eyes, who wanted to have fun together.
So, if I was going to break free from this thrilling trap, now was the moment. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave just yet.
“But if Boss isn’t here, what about Angel and Ivy…”
Baek Hawon laughed as if he’d heard an amusing story.
“It’s just me. If something were to happen by losing a few people hidden somewhere, I wouldn’t have brought you here in the first place.”
With those simple, straightforward words, it was almost as if all my worries disappeared, and my mind felt at ease.
His long fingers traveled down my wrist and intertwined with my fingers.
Baek Hawon, holding my hand without leaving any gaps, started walking confidently in the opposite direction of the ride.
His pace quickened, and it became hard for me to keep up.
We passed through the crowd, almost running, and my breath became labored and shallow.
“Boss! You’re going too fast…”
Just when I felt like I couldn’t keep up, Baek Hawon stopped and let go of my hand.
I lifted my gaze, gasping for air, and that’s when it happened.
Boom! Boom—!
Like black paint being splashed across the sky, colorful fireworks filled the dark night. I couldn’t take my eyes off the sky, mesmerized.
As the fireworks that signaled the start faded like a mirage, I finally began to see my surroundings clearly.
“You asked if I’d ever been to an amusement park.”
Baek Hawon extended his hand toward me.
“I have. Just once when I was a child.”
And the only ride still running while the rest of them had stopped was the Ferris wheel.
“I saw this there too.”
He looked fragile, as if he might shatter at any moment, so I had no choice but to take his hand.
I took Baek Hawon’s hand, and we boarded the Ferris wheel. Inside, it felt as if the thick walls kept the outside world at bay, and it was calm.
Baek Hawon sat across from me, and the Ferris wheel began to move slowly.
I gazed out the window, watching the sky draw nearer.
The fireworks burst again, lighting up the night sky. The vibrant colors of the lights filtered into the Ferris wheel cabin.
As the fireworks exploded one after another and the Ferris wheel reached its highest point, a soft voice echoed in my ear.
“Congratulations.”
I turned my gaze from the sky and met Baek Hawon’s eyes.
“This is the last time for something like this.”
As I saw the smile spreading on his lips, the sound of fireworks outside the Ferris wheel suddenly felt distant.
“…What do you mean?”
I asked, hearing the faint sound of fireworks mixing with the beat of my own heart.
Baek Hawon looked out the window for a moment before turning back to me.
The fireworks bloomed above his face, which was shrouded in darkness, then disappeared into the deeper shadows, only to bloom again.
“When the fireworks are over…”
Baek Hawon’s voice, slow and distant, flowed into my ear like it was submerged in the sea.
“You and Yugyeom will leave this place.”
In that moment, a firework shot up high into the sky and exploded with a loud bang.
For the brief moment when the Ferris wheel lit up, I saw a pale face emerge from the darkness, and I felt as if my heart had stopped.
“And never come back.”
