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fluffi · 3 years

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SARCOLINE SUNSET I: WELCOME HOME, OUTSIDER :: SOOBIN

pairing: soobin x gn!reader, platonic!ot5 x gn!reader genre: fluff, some subjective angst, bits of humor, enemies-to-lovers, childhood friends word count: 4002 event: #summerscape for @kpopscape credit: @enha-woodzies for making the gfx for this series! show her some love <3 author’s note: i accidentally deleted this post so here is a rushed reupload. it might not be as good as the original because it isnt proof read as well but i still hope the algorithm picks it up, maybe this’ll be good for the post. Also, the second part will be coming out in 15 days. warnings: people disappearing, mentions of burning and fire (further warnings will be released in the next parts as the story gets darker)

THIS STORY IS PURELY A WORK OF FICTION AND DOES NOT DICTATE JAY OR NI-KI’S PERSONAL LIVES AND/OR FAMILY.

part two ->

The blonde stared up at an intricately designed structure in awe, walking forward to touch the sides of it and running his calloused hands up and down its rusted carved wedges. It seemed oddly cliche and unrealistic, but he could feel its story. Every touch of the ceramic pillar provided him with emotion that he couldn’t bring himself to explain.

The sun hadn’t set yet, but he could make out the faint reflection of it settling in the background. The huge pine trees around him were making conversation with each other; their faint whispers and rustles providing peace to his veins.

So entranced in the scenery of such a mystical place, he forgot to watch out for his younger peer. Kicking back into his senses, he nervously called out, “Riki! You there?” His voice, usually strong and boisterous, laced fear today.

“Don’t worry about me Jay, I’m right behind you. Just climbing this fence..and..there!” Riki let out a grunt as he jumped onto the soft grass, looking at his older friend with an innocent grin.

At the sight of his buddy, Jay visibly loosened. It was clear that he didn’t feel safe in this environment, yet felt entranced to it in some way. Riki caught up to him in a quick jog before standing next to Jay, in awe at the magnificent view that they were spectating for the first and possibly last time.

“Is this…the place you were talking about?” Riki was out of breath from running after his peer. He pats the grassy patch below him before slumping onto it, crossing his legs afterward.

Jay took a seat next to him, setting his canvas satchel and leather jacket next to him. “According to the maps and books, this is the right spot. I just want to see if the myth is true.”

Riki clapped his hands in excitement and turned to face Jay. “We’re staying till the sun sets right? I want to see what the carousel looks like at night! This structure is so fascinating. It must be beautiful out here at night.”

“No, we’re walking back as soon as the sun goes down. I do not want to risk being out here at night. People have disappeared from staying too long and I wouldn’t want to worry your mother.”

Riki visibly slumped and turned back in time to see the last drop of orange dip. It was quiet for a while. The singing birds stopped humming their soulful tunes, yet the whispering trees grew louder, their inaudible gossip echoing in the ears of the two boys.

At nine at night, Riki’s mother would call Jay, heeding no response. She would do the same for his parents and his friends. The only piece of information they could provide was that Jay had brought Riki, in his words, to “a magical place”. With no other vital details they could draw from their son’s peers, Jay and Riki’s family agree to call the local police, reporting two missing people: two minors, one last seen in a brown leather jacket, and a taller one tailing alongside him. Both their hairs were dyed in a striking shade of blonde.

Summer’s heat-blasted onto your skin as soon as you stepped out of your sleek white Toyota. It was good to be back, you supposed. Although it was something that not many people would fawn over, you were ecstatic to be home in town.

Leaving at the mere age of sixteen wasn’t easy. After your parents decided that you were too good for a mediocre high school where people cared more about their body count than grade count, they immediately sent you off to a prestigious boarding school in the big city. You were given three days to pack and say goodbye to your friends, the rest of your family, your world. As excited as you were to study in the evolutionary epicenter of technology, you didn’t like how you had almost no say in this decision.

You didn’t return home from high school even after four years of studying at that mentally draining institution. It wasn’t like you didn’t want to come back, you were just so accustomed to life in the big city that it seemed pointless to return to square one. With the rest of the world finally in your grip (or so you thought), you enrolled in a highly expensive university and received a full-ride scholarship.

Perhaps that was your breaking point. Piles of work that could never be cleared must’ve got to your head. No one out there seemed to care about your mental health and well-being. The only reason you were allowed to take a break from the university and return was because of your constant breakdowns that your lecturers called “distracting” and “unethical”. You were hoping that this drop-by in town would give you a physical and mental cleanse.

There was no place as hot as home, from where you had been. The blazing sun scorched onto the road. Carrying baggage by itself was already hard enough, but this heat was immensely torturing. You struggled to carry your belongings while trying to close the car boot at the same time. Oh, a pity. You had just returned home and you were slowly turning into a bundle of disorganization, unlike your previous methodical attitude.

“Need a hand?” A familiar suede voice behind your shoulder sounded like music to your ears as you dropped all of your luggage and turned back to see…

“Taehyun!” Child best friend number one. You were looking at a once-innocent boy with doe eyes who had matured into a fine young man. His hair was dyed platinum blonde and, although younger than you, possessed a flair that was completely unlike his past self. His facial features were more prominent than ever and you wondered if all of your friends had developed as well as he had.

You locked your arms around his neck and embraced him as he took your baggage from you.

“You’re so tall now!” You gasped in awe and looked him up and down.

“Of course I am! A boy has to grow, doesn’t he?”

Speak of the devil(s), four people tagged behind Taehyun, waiting for you to notice their presence. All of them were just as tall (if not taller) than your blonde friend and stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn’t just the height, their hair was also in very...exciting colors.

“Can’t believe you forgot about us just for Taehyun.” Ah, that nasal voice was so recognizable. Choi Yeonjun, second-best friend. You cherished him like he was your secret weapon, a power waiting to be unleashed into your industrial world. Although older than Taehyun, they seemed to be the same height now. You couldn’t tell because his new neon pink hair was waxed slick and puffy which made him look a teensy bit taller than his younger friend. You had seen him around on social media and he was a hair-changing chameleon.

Alongside Yeonjun was Hueningkai, better known as Kai in the friend group. He was the youngest one, constantly babied and spoiled, you could say. He was probably influenced by the rest of his friends too, his hair now in a mossy shade of blonde.

Poor Yeonjun, you completely disregarded his existence and dashed over to Kai instead, eagerly standing next to him to compare heights. The kid had grown so much, you couldn’t tell if you were contented that he was now taller than you or dejected that you had missed so much when you weren’t around.

“Hey, wait up!” Someone from behind called. With Hueningkai and Yeonjun blocking your view you couldn’t see who that one person walking next to Choi Beomgyu was.

Beomgyu, the last friend who joined the friend group. He was always a comedian and never failed to make your day. Although, he didn’t seem so smiley anymore. You figured that it was school stress and adulting getting the best of him. We all had those days; you regrettably knew them like you knew the back of your hand . Unlike the rest of his friends, Beomgyu’s hair was kept in a natural shade of ivory brown. He had never been swayed by the rest of the crowd.

There were so many things to do, so many people to see. You had missed out on most of your growing: having fun with friends, staying up late at night just to watch the stars, dancing on your balcony. You had missed the people too. The town felt different from when you had left it.

“Soobin! Don’t just stand behind, meet our friend! They just returned from the city, right?” Beomgyu ran over to you before giving you a little squeeze.

Who’s Soobin?

“Hey, I’m Choi Soobin. Twenty-one this year. I moved here a few years ago. You must have left before I showed up.” A simple and concise introduction from the blue-haired man. Maybe he was the root of this hair-dyeing trend in town (pun very much intended), as well as the height trend since he was just as tall, if not taller than the rest of the boys.

You briefly introduced yourself but that was about it. You didn’t know how to create small talk, nonetheless with someone completely unfamiliar to you.

Later that day, you wondered if he had replaced you, become another guardian in the friend group. As one of the oldest, you and Yeonjun were always known as the parents of your three “kids”, but Soobin seemed to take care of them equally well. Throughout the day, you watched his every action, how he helped Beomgyu with homework, how he styled Kai’s hair, how he treated Taehyun to his favorite meal, exactly like what you did when you were still around. For once, you felt like the outsider.

Marshmallow Night had always been a tradition here. It was a five-of-you kind of thing, well, the six-of-you now. It had always been the go-to celebration whenever one of you hit a milestone, or was just held for fun. The days of joy where the only thing you had to worry about was whether your smores were burnt.

It had changed a lot over the years, you guys would add some new events to it and remove the ones you guys outgrew, like hopscotch.

You had missed most of its evolution.

Instead of being the main catalyst for today’s event, you resorted to sitting at the side as Soobin took the lead, carrying tables back and forth as well as setting up the fire in a method that the five of you had never used.

Oh, how much you loathed him. You hated his innocent-looking face that spurred out words of authority and boastfulness. You couldn’t stand how he looked so obnoxious with his bright blue hair, his dark brown eyes that held an impeccable gleam. He looked so cheeky, so mean, and worst of all, he had made all of your friends convert to mini spawns of him. Even Yeonjun, the oldest member, no longer felt like the Choi Yeonjun you once knew.

If you could, you would throw him out of your hometown, except that you seemed to be the outsider here. Anyone who walked past would see five people sitting on a huge log, helping each other light marshmallows and biscuits. They would barely notice the one person hunched over on the other side, sitting on the ground, eyes dazed and uninterested.

Occasionally one of the boys would call out to you, either hand you a s’more or ask if you were alright, to which you responded, “I’m alright! Don’t worry about me, I’m having fun.”

Anyone could also see that you weren’t in the zone, but you didn’t want to ruin the moment and be a party pooper. You ended up spending most of the time scrolling on your phone, checking school emails, and such. It didn’t feel like you were back home, it felt like you were on a vacation, on your own.

The commotion had died down, for the most part. Everyone else was either discussing school gossip in hushed voices or making the most of use of their electronic device. You were tempted to join the little heated conversation that Soobin and Beomgyu were having, but you didn’t know who this ‘Chaeyeon’ girl was and either way, you wouldn’t want to voluntarily speak to Choi Soobin.

It wasn’t long before both of them went to do something else, the only sound prevalent being the wood crackling from the bonfire and the occasional chirp of evening birds.

It was a loud, sucked-in breath that drew the attention of everyone, eyes pinned onto the instigator.

Choi Soobin, once again disrupting the peace of this curated environment. He ducked his head in apology and you were about to return to your world when Kai’s curiosity got the best of him.

“Why did you just do that?” His booming voice resounded over everyone else.

You weren’t going to lie, you were curious too. It wasn’t every day you heard a gasp like that.

Soobin looked back up, eyes wide and awake. He was excited about something but seemed to be masking it for the sake of..suspense?

“Okay. You guys know Yongsam Park right?” He put his phone down and tapped his hands on his thighs in a state of urgency.

Now that statement got everyone’s attention. “It’s the flower place outside our town, everyone passes it when they enter. Of course we would know where the place is. Why are you so adamant about it?” Taehyun inquired.

“Well, have any of you gone inside the park? Or near the landmark in general?”

“No. Why would we? There’s nothing to do there than to take pictures of boring flower statues.” You stated.

“See. You guys don’t know anything about the place.” He smirked tilting his head upwards and proudly crossing his arms.

“Could you cut to the chase and tell us what it is already?” Thank Yeonjun for his smart, impatient mouth.

Soobin didn’t answer and merely flipped his phone so you could see whatever was on it. The only words you could make out were “Yongsam...missing...carnival” and something related to the park before he turned it back, away from your view.

“You can’t just say that we don’t know anything about this place then proceed to give us nothing about it.” You rolled your eyes, disinterested in the conversation once again.

“Fine. I’ll send it to you.” Soobin rolled his eyes back as four of the other boys snickered. They loved seeing the two of you bicker.

In courtesy of Beomgyu who gave Soobin your number (without your consent), you received a news article and skimmed through it with eager eyes:

[WHAT’S THE HYBE?]

YONGSAM PARK CURRENTLY UNDER INVESTIGATION, AUTHORITIES SAY 3 days ago

What’s the deal with Yongsam Park? Insiders say that, although bland and boring, Yongsam Park is currently under high-level investigation for the disappearance of a few citizens. The flower-decorated park is the perfect place to take Instagram-worthy pictures and is quite harmless in itself, so visitors were shocked to arrive at the park only to find it surrounded by heaps of yellow tape.

Yongsam Park was developed by Kim Yongsam, director of My Flowers, a multi-million florist franchise that has now spread to Japan and Taiwan. In a 2015 Interview with the millionaire, he mentioned that he had created the park in the inspiration of the rising ootd picture trend, also known as the outfit-of-the-day trend, which he had initially discovered from his teen daughter.

“I wanted to create a welcoming park for people of all ages, but I couldn’t find a suitable place to do it without the budget being drastically high. In the end, my team and I found an abandoned site and decided to build a simple structure with lower costs up there. Props to my team for the discovery of this landmark. The scenery there, especially in the evening, is stunning .” He stated in the 2015 interview with Soup Magazine.

What’s the abandoned site? With the evidence that is still standing, Yongsam Park is rumored to have previously been a carnival. Said evidence is a worn-down carousel in the back of the park, along with piles of other burnt carnival decoration and equipment. With research, Yongsam Park’s site may have once been an abandoned carnival that perished from an unknown wildfire. This may have been the primary cause of the drought that ensued in the 80s, leaving only a carousel and ashes behind. When questioned, Mr. Kim said that he had decided to leave the carousel standing behind the park due because he felt ‘drawn by its alluring glow’, as quoted.

Investigators and the local police have only enclosed the flower section of Yongsam Park because that was where the victims were spotted. They believe that disappearances took place there and are currently trying to find evidence to back up their stance. Most of this new information is not known to the public, however, Kim and his team are trying to keep it that way. The current disappearance count is seven people, the most recent case being two high-schoolers.

The carousel is still open and does not require a visitor ticket, but visitors are advised to take precautions and leave before the sun sets.

TWO MORE BOYS HAVE DISAPPEARED AT THE NOW INFAMOUS YONGSAM PARK 5 days ago

FAMILY OF TOURISTS DISAPPEAR AT YONGSAM PARK, INSIDERS SAY THIS IS THE SECOND CASE OF DISAPPEARANCE HERE 2 weeks ago

JAPANESE COUPLE DISAPPEAR AT FLOWER PARK, NETIZENS CALL THE NEWS A POLITICAL DISTRACTION 3 weeks ago

“Are you seriously...telling us...that we should visit a place where people have been kidnapped?” Yeonjun gawked. “Dude, that’s so stupid. What if we die or something?”

“Don’t say that! I was just curious if you guys wanted to go since it’s so near and since your old friend is back home.”

“It’s a dumb move. I’m not risking my life just so I can celebrate the return of my friend. Not worth it.” Beomgyu huffed.

“Hey! You’re worth it, right?” Soobin glanced at you, waiting for a response.

He was...defending you? His ulterior motives were questionable and you weren’t sure if he was protecting you because he cared about you (cue the puking) or solely because he wanted to go to Yongsam Park that bad.

You didn’t reply and chose to drown out the wailing and chaos that ensued with your friends. You clicked on a related article below, curious to learn more about this lesser-known part of the park.

[WHAT’S THE HYBE?]

TWO MORE BOYS HAVE DISAPPEARED AT THE NOW INFAMOUS YONGSAM PARK 5 days ago

Park Jongseong (20) and Nishimura Riki (15) mentioned to their friends that they would be heading to ‘a magical place’, before disappearing for around a week. They were last spotted walking through Yongsam Park, according to anonymous witnesses. This is the third case of disappearances at the park and both teens are the sixth and seventh people to go missing.

Both families reported their children missing just two days after their disappearance. With this case being the last straw, local authorities forcibly shut down Yongsam Park despite protests from staff and management.

Parents of the two minors refused to respond when called for an interview and HYBE reporters resorted to interviewing the victims’ friends instead.

“Jay’s never been a bad kid. Yeah, he might be late here and there, but he wouldn’t skip class or fly across the country for vacation during school. I just don’t understand why he’s not here with us. He wouldn’t voluntarily disappear.” Park Sunghoon (19), a friend and classmate of Jongseong (who is better known as Jay among his friends) said.

“Although I’m not close with Jay, I know Riki personally and I know for a fact that both of them wouldn’t run away like that. Why, Riki was gearing up for a dance competition that he’s been excited about all year, and now he’s just gone? Like that? Riki has always been like my little brother, and he’ll always be. I just want him back at my side.” A teary-eyed Lee Heeseung (20) says.

Netizens have been complaining about the lack of coverage on this issue.

“Maybe Mr. Kim spent all his money on covering this story up from the mainstream public. That’s why he had to build the stupid park on an abandoned sketchy site.” An anonymous netizen commented.

Regardless, we’ll be keeping our prayers for Jongseong and Riki, as well as the five other victims, to return home soon.

“...you guys are such wimps.” That was the first thing you heard Soobin say when you tuned in to the conversation again.

How dare he say that? How dare he have the courage to call you, someone who moved out on your own at 16 to live in the big, scary world, a..wimp?

“Look, Choi Soobin. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a wimp. I didn’t say that I wasn’t interested on this trip.” You stand up and blurt out without thinking twice.

The rest of the boys are gawking at you, their mouths open wide in awe and shock. Yes, you weren’t a wimp, that was for sure, but they had known you all their life as someone who could not stand going out into the wilderness. Maybe the big city had really changed you.

“At least someone wants to go! Perfect. We can leave tomorrow at noon, bring your camping stuff!” Soobin grabbed his things and began walking away.

“Camping?” The five of you exclaimed in unison.

Taehyun, the rational member, gasped. “I, personally, wouldn’t mind going to the carousel thing..or whatever it is, but I am not staying the night. Dude, are you nuts?” The rest of you nodded your heads in agreement.

“It says in the article that we are advised to leave before the sun sets.” You point out, trying to keep your voice as steady as possible in fear of breaking this mask of false confidence, when in reality, you were terrified of this place.

Soobin turned back and eyed you down disinterestedly. “Conclusion is that we’ll bring a small backpack, or whatever you guys want to pack, and we’ll stay there until eight. Deal?”

“Seven.” Hueningkai timidly said.

“Whatever you guys want.”

You hadn’t been able to sleep last night. It wasn’t due to fear of the place you were going, rather, you weren’t too excited about having to spend half of your day around Soobin.

What were you going to say to him? You were definitely overthinking at this point.

You know, they always say that the person one hates the most is the one that they also love most. And when Soobin flipped his blue hair back or cheekily smiled, showing his endearing dimples, you couldn’t help but…

No! You loathe Choi Soobin. You couldn’t stand his smile, or his hair, or his height. That evil moonwitch.

“Hey, you ready to go?” Speak of the devil (or moonwitch), you spotted a fluff of blue hair in your peripheral vision.

You couldn’t even muster up the courage to look back at him, merely nodding your head while staring at the white wall.

“Why aren’t you looking at me? Are you...scared?” You could see him wiggle his eyebrows as he made that statement.

That was it. You turned back at him. “Yes I am. I’m absolute terrified. I can’t stand the fact that I have to forcibly spend my precious time around you. It’s like I’m about to voluntarily live a nightmare.”

Woah there, calm down. You had smoke spurting out of your ears at this point.

Soobin’s once excited face fell into one of disappointment. “Yeah, it’s a nightmare having to be around you too. Gosh, the immaturity.” He left the room in haste as your eyes shot lasers through his well-toned back.

Maybe you had gone too far with the insult. He hadn’t been mean to you at all, really.

Then again, he had been mean. He took your place when you weren’t around. Suddenly, you were determined to get it back.

“Hop on the magic school bus!”

“Shut up, Yeonjun.” You deadpanned before leaning your head on his shoulder. The two of you were finally falling back into routine and you couldn’t help but bask in this nostalgia.

You also couldn’t help but notice how Soobin kept on looking through the rearview mirror at the both of you, pupils darting away once you locked eyes with him.

Man, this was going to be a long ride.

2021 © fluffi

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fluffi · 3 years

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SARCOLINE SUNSET II: ALONE TOGETHER | SOOBIN

pairing: soobin x gn!reader genre: angst to fluff, enemies-to-lovers word count: 4932 event: #summerscape for @kpopscape gfx credits: @enha-woodzies author’s note: hello, hello! I have returned with part two. I hope it does justice for the plot build-up, but there's still more drama and angst coming after this, so brace yourselves </3 also, I'd strongly recommend reading part one before proceeding with the series :) warnings: people disappearing, carousels, mental breakdowns (impromptu) tag list: @hyuckworld (I saw your tags so I figured I'd tag you in this part :D) @spookybias

<- part one | finale ->

It had been easy to slip past authorities; they had barely glazed over you five and decided to let you pass after a very brief interview, which went something like this:

“You’re visiting the carousel?”

Nervous shuffling, five teenagers stare at each other before a tall blue-haired boy nods.

“Yes.”

“Alright, whatever. Be careful. Don’t stay out here too late.”

The teenagers scurry through the yellow tape. The detective sees one of them linking hands with the other, both of their knuckles white. He chuckles before returning to his work.

“Ah, children.”

“I still don’t sit right with all of this.”

“No one asked you to come, love.”

“Don’t call me that.”

You still couldn’t stand Soobin, and you couldn’t stand him even more now that he was using a variation of pet names on you. The trip here had been excruciating since that pest requested to be the driver. He looked hot when he was driving; constantly pushed back his windswept hair with his veiny hand, the other on the steering wheel. Yet, you could not bring yourself to talk to him for more than a minute.

If you told a friend of yours, preferably someone who was not in your friend group since you could not trust the four boys with your secrets, they would ask you to: “text him, get to know him. Gosh, do you not know what to do when you have a crush? Give me your phone, I’ll show you how…”

In conclusion, Choi Soobin was very attractive and you did not want anyone else to know about your...little crush on him, partly because you were embarrassed about how you were treating him, but mainly because you wanted him for yourself.

It didn’t mean that you were going to put up with his obnoxious antics.

Soobin plopped on the patchy grass next to you, tilting his head in mockery. “Aw, someone doesn’t want to feel...vulnerable? You’re so strong, ooh! Don’t call me pet names because I’ll melt if someone does it!”

“Choi Soobin, stop! Gargh, can’t stand you!” You complained and put your head in your arms.

Oh my, what a jittery mess you were in right now. He called you “love”. Love, like his love? Did he like you too? He was teasing you. You used to loathe it, but now you felt like a bundle of tender nerves every time he laughed at you, talked to you, even.

You really couldn’t stand this new boy., but maybe...not in a bad way anymore.

The sunset was brilliantly red and orange, one of the most amazing things you had ever seen in your life. Its ball of tangy globe retired beyond the horizon, as the sky faltered into a deep purplish shade. Blinding rays caressed your skin and warmth engulfed you, a feeling that you never experienced in the city. Soobin was right, this place was gorgeous. It was a shame that it was also the home of such traumatic events.

However, there wasn’t a trace of the ‘carousel’ that the news outlets had raved about so excitedly. You wanted to ask someone about its placement, but you deemed it unnecessary. The view here was already stunning, and the staff outside looked busy with their investigation. You wouldn’t want to bother them and ask if they knew about some idiotic child ride (although you recall the detective who let you in outside mentioning it).

The six of you had moved yesterday’s Marshmallow Party to this more eventful spot. Kai was busy being taught how to not burn himself while making smores (he’s a big baby, but you still love him), Taehyun and Yeonjun were chatting whilst seated on the grassy patch, and Beomgyu went to get more sticks to keep the fire up. You spotted Soobin sitting on one of the foldable chairs you had brought along, laid back, sipping hot chocolate, and staring at the mesmerizing view.

You didn’t want to sit next to him, but you had nothing better to do. Everyone else was too preoccupied with their fun and it wasn’t like you could find Beomgyu to trail after him.

(At least, that was what you told yourself. You could also sulk in your pool of emotions, but you took the better route this time. Go you!.)

Nonetheless, you carefully made your way till you were right behind Soobin, and sucked in a breath of nervousness.

He noticed your presence and tilted his head upwards to its maximum range.

“Whatcha doing?” You carefully asked, afraid of overstepping your boundaries. You hadn’t forgotten how mean you were to him when you first came, but you weren’t ready to bring that topic up.

He basked in your eyes, a smirk on his face as he looked back at the sunset. “Looking at the view.”

Well, a vague answer, but the conversation was off to a good start. With only your socks on (you had been forced to take them off just now while playing truth or dare with the rest of the group), you tip-toed across the damp grass to grab another foldable camping chair, before opening it next to him.

“It’s stunning, isn’t it?” You couldn’t lie, it was the most alluring thing you had ever seen in your life besides the man right next to you-

“Just like you.”

...What?

Soobin looked over to see you trying to hide your evident frenzy over those mere three words. He loved this. You were so fun to play with.

To put the cherry on top, he rested his head on your shoulder, although he was a beanstalk compared to your petite height. To anyone else it would look extremely awkward; a lanky boy curving his body in half to rest his head on someone who looked like they couldn’t care less, but it was all in good fun.

It was evident that you had developed feelings for him. You loathed him this morning; now he was flirting with you and developing the audacity to rest his head on your shoulder?!

Yet, you couldn’t tell if it was just a show to become closer as friends. Friends did that all the time - although you had never play flirted with any of the other boys. Maybe it could become a ‘you and Soobin’ thing.

He hadn’t done much for you to like him. Besides his godly visuals, he had flirted, joked, perhaps hurt you a little, but now you were here trying extremely hard to not fall for him. Why are emotions so hard?

“Hey, you two, want some smores?” Kai called out from the bonfire.

Taehyun slapped his arm. “Don’t disturb them! They’re busy developing crushes on each other.”

Everyone “ooh-ed” and giggled. The hot red on your cheeks only burned brighter, and you pushed Soobin’s head away in embarrassment. Unbeknownst to you, he laughed and gazed at you softly with his doe eyes, feeling something unexplainable bubbling inside him.

You whipped your head back and stared Taehyun down. It was obvious that you were upset with him.

You didn’t like your secrets, as obvious as they could be, to slide in front of so many people, regardless of whether they were your friends or enemies. You had been taught to be vague and as covert as an unbreakable cocoon. This trip was not doing your principles any justice.

For the sake of keeping it peaceful, you held in your bubbling urge to yell at your friend for nearly ruining a relationship. Maybe you were overthinking it.

Taehyun probably sensed your disparity, because he quickly added. “Also because we don’t have enough resources to keep this fire going, therefore, fewer smores. Where’s Beomgyu? He’s been gone for more than fifteen minutes and I want those sticks.”

Splitting up is never a good idea.

With Beomgyu being missing in action, it seemed obvious to go looking for him. After all, he was one of your closest friends - you wouldn’t want anything to happen to the people closest in your life. The forest next to the viewing area was vast too, so with a brief group discussion, you guys decided to split yourselves into groups of three and two.

Obviously, like any movie cliche, you were placed with handsome jock Choi Soobin.

Alone, with handsome jock Choi Soobin.

The both of you had been roaming deep into the forest, mindlessly calling out Beomgyu’s name, occasionally making jokes about his disappearance. If it weren’t for Soobin’s calm demeanor, you were sure you would be hysteric by now.

“Hey, we should call Beomgyu,” Soobin stated as the both of you stopped in your tracks. “With our phones.”

You wondered why that wasn’t one of the group’s first decisions, since it should have been an obvious one in this time and age. Hurriedly, you took out your phone kept hidden in your right pocket and dialed his contact number.

“No service. Please try again later.”

Both of your faces fell into disappointment. Right, the six of you had ventured deep into a forest. There was no way you would have Wi-Fi or a signal here.

You were starting to panic, your head lowering, and your muscles tense. Your hands started to tremble, twitch, and shake. Soobin noticed this and grabbed your right hand in his, carefully intertwining the fingers.

“Hey, look at me. We’ll be fine, love.” You didn’t bother correcting him on the pet name. “I’m sure Beomgyu is back at the camping spot. He’ll probably be upset if he sees all of us missing. Should we go back?”

You could barely manage a nod but Soobin saw your approval and led you back to the camping site. You trailed behind him with your head still down, hands intertwined.

Soobin should never consider being a fortune teller in the future, or his next life, or the one after that. Everything he had mentioned so far had been proven to be false.

You stood next to him, hands still intertwined, and shoulders parallel to each other. Unlike what he said, the camping site was empty.

Well, not empty. There was a huge carousel planted right smack in the middle of your barbeque equipment. While the six of you were gone, it must have settled itself...in the middle of grass without any help within an hour.

With deeper thought, you deducted that your statement about the carousel was quite unrealistic, but that was what had happened.

“Oh look, the sun has set.” Soobin looked out at the view again, now fading into a deep midnight blue. The orange orb was long gone, now replaced with an unsettling feeling at the pit of your stomach.

You hit his shoulder and stood in front of him to get him to focus on whatever had just happened. “Choi Soobin. There is a carousel. In the middle of this forest.”

“Yeah, wasn’t that what we were expecting when we first came?” You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. That suede look was still plastered onto his face.

In frustration, you buried your face in your hands on the verge of tears. “Stop joking around! This is terrifying. My friends have disappeared, and suddenly there is a carousel in the middle of nowhere. The only person I have as support doesn’t seem to care about the entire situation.”

Seeing your panicked state, Soobin stopped joking around and placed a hand on your back, rubbing comforting circles and patting it.

You started sobbing. An embarrassment, indeed. Who could blame you, though? The events today had flipped too quickly for you to process. One moment, you were making smores. The next moment, your s’more-making friends were gone, leaving you with an unbothered douche (that you were quickly catching feelings for).

Soobin sat you down on the grassy patch and pulled you into his arms, coaxing you with his gentle honey voice.

“It’ll be fine. They might come back with Beomgyu, I’m just saying.”

You really could not wait till the wee hours of the morning. You were no longer in Soobin’s arms, instead, pacing around the land site trying to figure out a practical solution that would no longer place the responsibility of this situation in your hands. Soobin seemed to care for once. He was looking around for hints, trails, anything. At one point he offered to venture into the forest, but you immediately ran over and pulled him back by the arm, stating that you were afraid that you were going to lose him too.

“We should just call the police. Report another missing case - four more people. This is becoming too much.” You uttered, already about to walk to the entrance.

Soobin wasn’t opposed to the idea. He watched you scurry out and once you were out of his sight, he returned to looking for stuff. So far, he had found a leaf, sticks, and a piece of tissue.

Well, nothing of great value, but at least he’s trying.

You returned just as fast as you had left. “I forgot to bring the- oomph!”

Written on Soobin’s face was one of worry and panic as he watched you trip over nothing, before bending over in laughter with his hands over his stomach once he realized you were alright.

You huffed, getting up and brushing dirt and leaves off your pants. “That wasn’t funny,” you whined, but you were trying not to laugh regardless.

However, when you started walking again, you hit a wall.

Except that there was no wall in sight, and you had just bumped into thin air?

Soobin doubled over in laughter again, but you were no longer smiling. You hit your hands against the area where you fell and your palms were met with extremely strong wind, or glass, or a mix of both. It was like there was suddenly a force field between the carousel section and the area outside.

“Pfft, I’ll try again. Don’t laugh.” Once again you made your way through the same spot only to bump into the same surface.

Soobin shuffled over and tried walking through your section. He couldn’t sift through it either.

No one was laughing now.

“Soobin, pinch me. I need to check whether this is a dream.”

“I can’t. There is an invisible wall that just spawned in the middle of the both of us.”

“I never thought anyone would have to use the word spawned for a wall.” You ran your hands through your hair in frustration. "Now I’m trapped outside, and you’re stuck on the inside.”

Soobin shrugged, clearly unfazed by the whole paranormal situation. “I guess, I am going to continue searching in my spot. Don’t leave, okay?” His face morphed into one of worry for a split second before he left to scout around the area.

When you went out earlier to look for authorities, you had found no one. Yongsam Park was still enclosed, but there was no one around. The detectives had left and probably assumed you guys had too. It was nine at night now, there was no one to save you.

Why weren’t you afraid?

“I found something! “ You looked up to see Soobin rushing over, his feet lightly pitter-pattering on the damp grass.

Slung over his shoulder was a brown leather satchel, looking quite rugged and disheveled, possibly from natural causes.

His hand brushed over thin air until it was met with that invisible wall. He pressed his back against it, sliding down till he was opposite your side of the wall on the ground.

Quickly, he pronged the satchel and its buttons open, and flipped the bag upside down, roughly shaking its contents out. You laughed at his antics, watching him hurriedly scan the items that had fallen out.

Your face quickly morphed into one of fear. “Soobin, move that huge book aside.”

“This one?” He pointed to an encyclopedia marked with pieces of sticky notes all over its sides.

“No, the one on the left. The exercise book.”

He quickly did as you said, pulling the exercise book aside to reveal a school tag.

“Park...Jong...Seong,” he read out, eyes squinted as he tried to recognize the small characters printed on the tag.

It took you a second to process where you had heard that name before.

“...Park Jongseong (20) and Nishimura Riki...disappearing for around a week...walking through Yongsam Park… the third case of disappearances at the park...sixth and seventh people to go missing…”

“Oh my gosh. It’s the missing kid. The one that showed up on the news.”

“I didn’t see anything?” Soobin inquired.

“It was the article below the one you sent us. He went missing here. I’m sure of it. They must’ve come to the carousel. This...is the spot where they went missing.”

Soobin looked through the contents of the satchel again. “There is a book about Seoul’s history here...he has a notebook filled with text about the carousel. He’s had an interest in this place for a while, I suppose.”

“Hand me the notebook.”

Soobin lifted it only for it to fall out of his hands when it met with the force field. The both of you groaned, forgetting that the useless invisible wall still existed.

“What is this wall even doing here? It doesn’t tie to any of this. My friends are missing, we don’t have a way out of here, and now I’m separated from the only person I’m stuck with.”

Silence filled the atmosphere for a brief moment before Soobin spoke, tense and nervous. “We’ll find a way out of here. Don’t worry and don’t cry. I hate seeing you upset.”

There it was again, that feeling, especially when he showed compassion for you. Since when did you fall in love so easily?

Your fear vanished as fast as it had settled. “Whatever, we’ll be fine. Read out the contents of the notebook.”

He dutifully obliged, flipping open the first page to reveal scrawny writing and messy diagrams. “Yongsam Carousel. Referenced from Seoul Geography Encyclopedia pages forty-eight to fifty.”

“Quick, open the encyclopedia.”

More page flipping. “In nineteen eighty-eight, a carousel showed up in the middle of nowhere. The stunning contraption was discovered by workers when building a park. Their boss, who chose to remain anonymous, ordered to remove the carousel but the workers stated that it was impossible because the landmark was drilled into the ground. Okay, hold up-”

“But- but it just showed up here! Are you sure we didn’t walk to a different section?”

“Look, our camping gear is still here. Hyuka’s stuff is still here. Taehyun’s phone...oh, he didn’t take his phone-”

“Stop talking about my friends! Please, I feel horrible every time I think about them. All of this could be avoided if I didn’t force everyone to go and just owned up to being a wimp!” You blurted, frustrated with yourself and your cocky mouth.

Soobin took your hand in his and rubbed it back and forth. “It’s my fault. If I didn’t suggest coming here, all of this could be avoided. I shouldn’t have prioritized my adventurous goals over the safety of my loved ones..”

The both of you were silent, staring into each other’s eyes. Before you realized…

“The wall is gone. Soobin, you’re holding my hand.”

“Sorry, I’ll remove it-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence because you launched yourself onto him with a giant teddy bear hug, engulfing the lanky boy and his lengthy limbs with the best of your abilities.

“I’m never going to leave you. I’m afraid. What if this wall spawns again? I don’t want to be separated from you.” You said into his shoulder, your hot breaths caressing the side of his neck.

You couldn’t see his face, but Soobin had turned into a tomato right there and then. It was likely that you didn’t mean whatever you had just blurted out since you had said it in the spur of the moment, but he couldn’t shake off the aphrodisiac feeling that he had just picked up.

“To summarize-”

“You’re treating this as an English thesis. We just need clues.”

“To summarize,” Soobin announced as he ignored you and your infuriating statements, “it’s a magic carousel. According to the kid’s research, it kidnaps any group of people that go within its proximity and leaves two people behind.”

“What do the two people do?”

Soobin looked through more books before sighing. “I don’t know. I’m sure the carousel specifically picks two people to leave behind. They have to do something to free everyone. There was a couple who was left behind in nineteen ninety. All of their peers were kidnapped. Everyone besides the couple was pronounced missing for four days before the couple came back, traumatized. They were seen roaming outside the carousel for days - sleeping and eating off rations there, and wouldn’t come out even when authorities spotted them.”

“Maybe it’s because they were trapped by the wall, like us.”

Soobin got up and tried to walk out of the area. He bumped into the wall. “It’s respawned again.”

“Does this mean that we’re trapped here forever?”

“Well, trapped here until we find a way to get everyone out.”

“But how...will we get everyone out?” Soobin could see your brain motors working as he stared at your face, scrunched up deep in thought.

“You know, I suspect Jay is blood-tied to this whole situation in some way. He has old journal excerpts from times way before we were even born. The encyclopedia isn’t official and most of the information I retrieved came from his footnotes and annotations.”

You stood up, pacing back and forth. “He has been acting weird. We don’t know him personally, but based on the evidence we’ve retrieved, he must have been trying to find a way to break the curse.”

“Yo, what if he’s part of a family line that has been tasked to fix the carousel?”

“Maybe.”

Silence dawned upon the both of you again. You yawned. It was eleven at night, which usually wouldn’t be considered late for your hectic schedule, but you were in the middle of the woods and had been using your brain like a mad man for the past few hours.

“We should go to bed.” It was like Soobin had read your mind. He stood up and scrummaged through his huge bag before pulling out a large sleeping bag.

Your mouth formed an ‘o’ shape as you walked over to see him unravel it on the hard ground. “You only have one?” You worriedly asked.

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to have to sleep over here tonight. We could just share.” Soobin casually suggested and continued setting up the ‘bed’.

Oh my gosh. You would have to share a sleeping bag that was made for one person with a boy you barely knew. You would be cocooned within his arms and share body heat...and cuddle. You couldn’t tell if you liked this or not. Even when you were younger, you rarely snuggled with the boys. At most, you guys had slept on the same bed, but they had never attempted to cuddle or hold you.

You nearly dry-heaved at the thought of being cuddled by Yeonjun or Taehyun, or anyone else. They were like your brothers, it was just weird.

‘What are you waiting for?” While you were contemplating your sleeping decisions, Soobin had already snugged himself into three-quarters of the one-person sleeping bag.

“Are- are you sure? You could sleep on the floor.”

“Me? Dang, if you didn’t want to sleep next to me, the least you could do is sacrifice yourself to the bugs and the dirt. It’s my sleeping bag.” He huffed.

Admitting defeat, you carefully kneeled and inserted yourself into the pocket of space between Soobin’s body and the attached blanket. On instinct, he wrapped his arms around your body and laced a leg over yours.

As the chilly breeze sent temperatures dipping, he hugged you even tighter, making sure you were all cozied and warm. You looked up at the night sky, a deep midnight blue that was peppered with greyish clouds, the faltering glow of the moon almost covered by the flitting fog. You didn’t fail to notice the way the breathtaking carousel glowed, a mysterious aura emitting from it.

Ah, you could deal with everything tomorrow. For now, you would just bask in Soobin’s arms and feel the night breeze tickle your skin.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” He whispered, his words glazing over your skin. You didn’t reply, you were far away from reality, already on your way to your utopian dreamland. You had never expected to fall asleep in a forest so quickly, nonetheless in someone’s arms.

You flitted open your eyes to be met with creamy white clouds waltzing across the sky, dappled rays of sun filtering through. The birds chirped and the whistling breeze formed a beautiful morning tune. Gone were the eerie crickets from last night. You stuffed your chilly hands into the sleeping bag, trying to get some warmth. From behind you, someone stirred in their sleep.

Ah, you forgot that you were in Soobin’s embrace. Curious to see what he’d look like in the morning, you courageously shifted to the other side so his face would be parallel to yours.

The sun had barely risen but it already looked like it was golden hour for Soobin. Rays bounced off his tofu skin and only accentuated his features as his eyes fluttered open, eyelashes curled and conditioned to a T.

“What are you looking at?” Soobin lazily groaned, already smirking even though he just woke up.

You flipped back facing outwards, afraid that Soobin would realize that your cheeks were burning. Who’s wouldn’t? Imagine being forced to cramp up next to a hot guy in a forest. That’s some wacky stuff.

“We just woke up, Choi Boy. Its too early in the morning for this.” You muttered.

“Oh yeah? Explain why you were sleep talking yesterday night?” He stated, calm and composed as always. He knew he had the upper hand in this conversation.

You were the epitome of a tomato right now as you listened to him expose you in front of..yourself. “S- s-sleep talk?”

“Mmhm. Yesterday night I woke up to you talking about how pretty I was. My hair, or something, I don’t recall.” He happily said.

He was lying about one thing. Soobin remembered everything you had said about him quite vividly. You must’ve been dreaming when you started slurring out descriptions of a boy, which woke Soobin up. He listened to you talk about his blue hair, his deep eyes that held so much meaning, his calloused hands and his smooth skin. He listened to how you drunkenly talked about his teasing, how much you loathed it because it made you flustered. He couldn’t sleep the entire night afterwards.

You remebered dreaming about Soobin last night (as you were lying in his arms). Although you didn’t recall much, you didn’t remember describing your dream out loud either.

With a sudden burst in confidence Soobin grabbed your shoulders and turned you around so your back was pressed flush against the sleeping bag. He placed both of his hands parallel to your shoulders and used them to support his body weight as he hovered over you, his face inches away from yours.

“Oh my gosh. Choi Soobin.” You could barely whisper out, still freshly in shock.

“Save it. We both like each other. I figured since we arrived here. Ah, you never give the right hints. One day you’re upset at me, the next day, you’re constantly blushing and fidgeting. Why don’t we just get this over with?” He inquired, bottom lip jutting out in the most endearing way possible as he confessed, body still hovering over yours.

You were at a loss for words. You had just woken up, dang it. You were sure your breath stank.

“O- okay. Yeah, we can get over it.”

He leaned even closer. “Can I kiss you?”

“Do I have morning breath?” You shyly ask.

“No, you smell like heaven.”

You barely managed a nod and he took it as a yes as he leaned in and lightly placed his mouth on yours. In that kiss was the sweetness of passion, a million loving thoughts condensed into a moment. His lips were soft, welcoming, chapped with the scent of heaven’s peaches. He deepened it and you took the chance to run your hands through his smooth hair, choosing to rest them on the nape of his neck.

You wanted to continue being like this, in this position, finally able to relish being in love with a man who loves you too, but you had to pull away as you saw the carousel starting to move.

He was out of breath, running his hands through your hair. He thought you were taking a break, and tried to cup your face with his large hands and peck you again but you pulled away in shock.

“Soobin, look behind you.”

The carousel was lit up. It was starting to move, and music was spurring out of it.

“Purchasing pleasures In selling hours of dross Here in the land of rebel powers Gloriously decorated An invitation calls to us From the carnival of the dazzling night So we beat on the door of this flipped world Brought here by fate Whether the harvest feast of light Or a festival of blood Time harmonizes laughs and screams Death once dead, there's no dying then So we gladly swallow time like it's our last breath”

2021 © fluffi

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