TIME ─ JAEYONG

019⸰

with taeil still fast asleep in the passenger seat the three spoke in hushed tones, not wanting to wake him up until they arrived at their destination. "so has anyone heard back from yuta?" jaehyun leaned forward, resting his chin on the shoulder part of taeil's chair.

"jaehyun, you out of all of us should know yuta is not awake, and if he is he's probably face timing his secret lover." heh, sicheng wasn't so secret to jaehyun anymore. "but we can swing around his house and see if he's willing to come. he can continue sleeping on the way like our precious angel here."

while the light was red johnny reached over, slapping taeil on the cheek just for the hell of it. in his sleep, he grumbled and turned to cuddle himself next to the window. taeyong bit back his laugh, finding the action cute.

with the radio lightly playing in the background taeyong rested his head against the window, watching the scenery whip past him in a blur. jaehyun phoned yuta to ask if he was willing and turns out he had already planned to visit the amusement park accompanied with sicheng.

"what? do we get to meet his secret lover? this day is really going to be interesting now." jaehyun wondered how yuta was possibly going to manage bringing sicheng into the rich area without being caught or having his cover blown for sicheng didn't know yuta was swimming in riches.

sicheng had to be really dense to not figure it out. for the rest of the ride, it remained quiet up until taeyong caught sight of the amusement park. he had only seen such places on magazines. there was an abundance of different rides, some small while others seemed to disappear in the clouds.

the most fascinating one was the classic ferris wheel, it was always his dream to sit up at the very top, watching the city bustle around him. he always wanted his first ride to be with ten, to where they could share sweet kisses with the wind blowing through their hair.

"earth to our new lightweight." johnny waved his hand in front of taeyong's face. he stopped gaping to face him and the now awoken taeil, whose eyes still seemed droopy. "have you never been to one of these?"

"um, no. first timer for basically everything you plan to be honest." taeyong shyly shrugged. johnny shook his head in disappointment.

"oh lightweight, you have so much to learn." after they got out the car and locked the doors they walked in pairs, taeil sleepily trudging along with taeyong while jaehyun and johnny took the lead. "so, you know the buddy system right?"

johnny looked over his shoulder to find taeyong happily snapping pictures on his phone. when he seemed content with what he captured he looked at johnny through squinted eyes. it seemed like the sun was ready to play as well. "the thing girls use when going to the bathroom?"

"yeah, you can think of it like that. since we're an equal amount of people you pick a buddy to ride the rollercoasters with. of course you can change it but we usually never do. so who do you want to ride with?"

although jaehyun didn't speak he hoped his facial expression spoke loud enough for taeyong to hear. he prayed he would be chosen as his partner. just imaging hiding his face into taeyong's shoulder on a ride sent his stomach erupting with butterflies.

"hmm..." the anticipation ate away at jaehyun while taeyong glanced between taeil and johnny. he didn't even try to spare a glance towards jaehyun's direction which hurt not only his pride but heart as well. "jaehyun!"

"me?" he pointed at himself in disbelief. taeyong nodded, a half smile forming. the heavens have answered his prayers. "cool." he played it off coolly but inside he was screaming.

"cool." taeyong repeated, stuffing his hands into his shorts pockets. since that was now settled they trekked on, meeting up with yuta and sicheng at the entrance. sicheng happily waved to jaehyun all the while giving taeyong a confused look.

"taeyong, what are you doing here? you look so diff–" yuta laughed loudly, taking the attention away from taeyong who looked unsettled.

"we better get into the park and get on those rides before more people come, right?" yuta forced a smile. "we can all get acquainted inside since i know johnny is dying to meet you, okay sicheng?"

while the others walked up to the ticket booth taeyong stayed behind with jaehyun. "does johnny and taeil know, about me? like my story?" jaehyun shook his head.

"i only told them your fake backstory. if they find out i doubt they'll tell on you. they aren't like that." half of that was true. taeil could care less, he'd be more upset and disappointed in jaehyun.

the most johnny would do is slap him on the back and congratulate him for being a rebel but the thing about johnny is he has a big mouth. secrets weren't something you should exactly tell him, for they would just slip out his mouth without him even being aware.

"if sicheng says something–"

"he won't. it's not like he's exactly one of us either." taeyong scoffed. "i'm just saying taeyong, your secret won't get leaked okay?"

"what secret?" a voice spoke out from behind them. taeyong felt his stomach drop whereas jaehyun froze, his body rigid.