Dreaming A Dream | An ONF Fanfiction

Chapter 8

As we entered the amusement park grounds, thousands of things started averting my attention. Children running and yelling, people screaming on the high speed rides because of the adrenaline flowing through their veins, loud music playing from big speakers near every booth and ride. Scents of dozens of different sugary treats were entering my nose, almost making me nauseous because of the extreme sweetness. I'm used to large crowds of people... when they're all in front of me. Actually being in the crowd is a completely different experience.

I think I was experiencing a bit of a sensory overload. It had been a while since I went to a place as busy as that. I tried not to pay attention to all the things happening around me. The chattering of people, the booming music, the flashing lights, the slightly stomach-turning odors. To suppress them, I have to try focusing on one thing, I thought.
I looked straight ahead. I focused on the back of a head with black and partially red hair. The hair was bouncing up and down with him, as he happily skipped forward, excited to try all the rides in the park. He stopped and turned around to look at me, the widest smile showing on his face. His eyes formed two perfect semicircles, his cheeks became even rounder than usual and his white teeth shined as if they just got polished. I forgot about everything that was happening around me. The noise got quieter, almost as if muffled, the lights shooting from every direction dimmed, the overly saccharine aroma died down as I imagined the fresh scent that covers his hair after he washes it. I love burying my face in his clean hair, passing my hands through it and breathing in the refreshing pine scent of the shampoo he uses. He often tries to stop me from doing it since it 'ruins his perfectly styled and clean hair' but deep down, I know he loves it. I'm always happy on the days he washes his hair, waiting for the moment he comes out of the bathroom and sits down on the couch as I approach him from behind, ready to attack...

With that smile that erases all my worries, he extended his arm towards me, his hand open, ready to squeeze mine with those delicate fingers with noticeably round joints. I slowly raised my arm and put my hand in his. He gently closed his fingers while caressing the back of my hand with his thumb. We stayed frozen for a second, as we both lost ourselves in each other's eyes. Everyone in the crowd was probably avoiding bumping into us, annoyed that we didn't move and only blocked the traffic. I say probably because I had no idea what was happening around me. All I could see were Seungjun's black eyes, all I could feel was the grip of his fingers around mine, and all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat.
Suddenly, Seungjun started moving forward, dragging me along with him. I almost lost my balance but I stayed on my feet. He started exponentially accelerating, to the point where we both started running. The crowd was huge, but still scattered enough so that we could run in a straight line without bumping into anyone. My feet felt so light, I felt like floating. My heartbeat was fast but controlled. Part of Seungjun's vitality passed on to me through our intertwined hands. A wave of energy was passing through my whole body as we ran hand in hand. Seungjun was keeping an eye ahead of him, while occasionally taking a quick glance back at me.

He suddenly stopped running, but I noticed that just a few milliseconds too late and wasn't able to brake before crashing into him. As if he had predicted it, he tightly grabbed my arms and stopped me, preventing us both from losing our balance and falling face first onto the cement pavement. He briefly looked at me, as if checking if I was doing fine, before turning his head to his left. A big ride in the shape of a boat was swinging side to side, reaching angles of almost 90 degrees. Just looking at it gave me goosebumps.

"Huh... Goosebumps would be a pretty cool title for a song..."

I accidentally said out loud.

"What did you say Hyojin? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

After realizing I unintentionally voiced my random thought, I started scratching the back of my head in embarrassment.

"No, nothing, forget it... Anyways, there is NO WAY I'm going on that ride. Absolutely not."