s e o u l | k p o p - o s

188. BTOB Ilhoon - A Mascot Fate

Tumblr : killingbtob

Characters: Jung Ilhoon x Reader

Summary: Y/N met Ilhoon, as a mascot.

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"Y/N, Y/N, hurry!" I heard my sister's tiny voice whining.

"Char, slow down." I quickened my footsteps to catch up with her. She ran below the huge sign that wrote "Welcome to Disneyland!". Her smile on her face was fixed as she ran towards the entrance.

She always gets excited when we visit Disneyland. It really is the happiest place on Earth, seeing Charlotte smiling like a kid at Christmas. "Char, your ticket is with me so you gotta slow down." And with that, Charlotte stopped to wait for me. I bent down to hold the five-year-old's tiny hand and lead her towards the entrance.

After the bag check and everything, Charlotte picked up a map and started to study it. Her five-year-old understanding isn't enough to read it. I laughed and took it off her hands, which made her whine. "What do you want to play first?"

"Winnie the Pooh!" She said excitedly. I studied the map and brought her towards the ride. On the way there, she was distracted with the toys in the stores and I had to carry her away.

The ride was basically just storytelling, but it was fun and adorable for someone at five. I like visiting Disneyland with her, it reminds me about a heart of a kid. After exiting the ride, we heard a few kids squealing over something. Turning around, we saw a Tigger mascot walking towards us.

Charlotte hid behind my legs as she saw the mascot nearing us. Thing about Charlotte is she has a phobia towards such mascots. Not sure when did it start and how. I didn't want to embarrass the person in the mascot and I didn't know how to tell the person to stay away. As the mascot bent down to face Charlotte on eye-level, poor girl lost it and started crying. The person in it started to panic and took off the head piece.

A guy who seemingly to be a little older than me was in the costume. He tried to calm Charlotte down and she seemed to be taking it better. Pulling her to the front of me, I bent down as well. "Char, be nice. Say hi." With her puffy eyes, she leaned against me as she cutely waved to him. He grinned and waved back with the Tigger paw.

"I'm so sorry about it, she just has a phobia towards mascots." I explained, smiling apologetically.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry I should've know." He replied. "Is there anything I can make up to you?"

"No no," I shook my head, rejecting his suggestion. "It's fine, really."

"I insist. Let me treat you to something. Can you wait for me here? My shift is ending in a few, I just need to get myself out of this." And with that, he stood up and left. I blinked, not knowing what to do.

"Let's wait for him, shall we?" Charlotte nodded her head as she sniffed her nose. I let out a small laugh as I dug into my bag for some tissues. Before I realize that a few minutes had passed, he was back behind me, in his casual wear of a simple tee and a pair of black jeans.

"What can I get for you?" He asked.

"Your name." I jokingly replied.

"Right, I'm Ilhoon." He extended his hand and I shook it.

"Y/N." We both smiled as we exchanged our names and handshake.

"Ice-cream." I felt Charlotte tugged on my shorts as she pointed to a vendor nearby, selling drinks and ice-cream.

"Well, guess the queen picked what she wanted." I joked, and Ilhoon agreed to treat us to that.

"Say, thank you Ilhoon, Charlotte." I said as she took her first bite of her chocolate ice-cream.

"Thank you Ilhoon." She showed her toothy grin without her front tooth. He patted the top of her head as he smiled down at her. Seeing Charlotte making a mess just with an ice-cream, I dug out some wet tissues to clean her face.

"How old is she?" Ilhoon asked as I took a bite of my vanilla ice-cream.

"Five. She's adorable, isn't she?"

He nodded, "she really is. Charlotte, is it?"

"Y/N! I want to ride that!" I heard Charlotte requested, poking my hand. I turned to her direction and realized it was the Dumbo ride.

"I can lend you my staff pass to get the express queue." Ilhoon suggested. It really is tempting but I didn't want to bother him.

"I can accompany you till you leave." I opened my mouth to retort but was cut off by him. "Come, Charlotte. Let's get you up that thing." He brushed past me and held Charlotte in his hand.

The day went on with Ilhoon riding the rides with us. He really is gifted with kids, seeing how he dealt with Charlotte. And from the small conversations we had, I learned that he's a year older and is on his summer vacation job.

"It's nice to see kids being happy, like how we used to be happy at every simple things." He said. And I couldn't agree more.

The sun started to set and Ilhoon urged us to stay for the fireworks. Charlotte wanted to watch too so we gathered in front of the castle as the clock stroke eight. Instrumental versions of Disney songs were played through the speakers and the fireworks lightened up the evening sky. Charlotte got excited at the beautiful scene in front of us. Soon later, she was in my arms as she wanted a better look.

The whole fireworks show lasted for about ten minutes. People started to scatter around, some headed towards the exit while some resumed to the rides. Charlotte yawned as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I think we should start heading home." Ilhoon nodded and offered to walk us out. Something about his voice always make me feel like there will never be room for discussion.

"I can give you a ride home." He suggested as we reached the exit.

"Ilhoon, I really don't want to trouble you further. It has been a long day for you, you should rest."

"My car is this way." He pointed towards the car park and walked towards it. I sighed and shook my head with a smile before following closely behind him. With Charlotte still in my arms, I got into the passenger seat and he got into the driver's seat. I told him my address and his car roared to life. The ride back home was a quiet one as none of us wanted to wake Charlote up.

"Thank you so much, Ilhoon. I can't thank you enough." I said once more as I exited his car.

"It really is nothing. I felt bad for making her cry." He scratched the back of his head at that memory.

"She's fine, really. I should head up now." I took a step to my right, about to turn around before he called out for me again.

"I was wondering.." He trailed off, his eyes on the floor. "If we could, you know.. Be friends?"

"I don't see why not." I hugged Charlotte closer to me. He grinned at my reply and pulled out his phone. I recited my number and he gave me a missed call.

"Good night, Ilhoon."

"Good night, Y/N."