the kids aren't alright. / golden child

07 ✕ unforced smiles

it was probably the first time the boys hung out together under the scorching sun.

bomin couldn't be happier. he wanted them to enjoy that day, and that was exactly what was going to happen.

with shaky legs, he dragged them up the pirate ship ride, rollercoasters, even an abseiling-like ride that he held his breath riding. but it was all worth it; he had never seen them all smile any brighter.

all except for one — donghyun.

bomin felt some sort of connection to donghyun ever since he saw him. some strange feeling he thought they shared, because they were both so lost, so vulnerable.

"are you okay?"

he placed a hand on donghyun's shoulder, watching the boy's head turn slowly. he nodded once, "yeah."

his response made bomin frown. why wasn't he letting him in?

"you sure?"

donghyun stared at bomin for a long, painful moment, before turning away and nodding again. "yeah."

by the time he said that, the sun had started to set.

"we should go on that creepy ride," jaehyun pointed out, a sly grin on his face. "it's best riding that at night."

"isn't it broken?"

"it's supposed to look like it is," jaehyun replied with a shrug.

jibeom's eyebrows furrowed. "i'd rather not die."

jaehyun groaned. "it just looks like it is. i've tried it once or twice and, see, perfectly fine!"

"you sure you didn't hit your head going up there?" joochan joked, holding a hand up. "i'll pass."

"you guys are no fun." he turned to bomin, gave him a smile.

"i'm afraid of heights," bomin suddenly declared. he was met with raised eyebrows, looks of disbelief, because he had made them go on countless high rides the whole day.

"sure you are." jaehyun grabbed him by the arm, dragged him towards the queue and waved the others goodbye.

the others watched as the two disappeared into the empty waiting line, where only a few people were. they got on the ride immediately.

donghyun whipped out his phone, all ready to capture their faces on the rollercoaster, except they didn't make it to the point of being visible to the other boys before the ride screeched to a halt.

bright orange sparks lit up the tracks, then the whole train collapsed.