Chapter 48: Ferris Wheel

“Hey!

What did you write?

Let me see!”
“Piss off, asshole.

Why are you trying to look at someone else’s?”
“Ah, come on, just let me see!”

The kids, bunched up together, moved about noisily, mischievously snatching the questionnaires that had been handed out earlier.

They cackled and raised a racket as they read each other’s answers.

It was just before the final summer vacation of middle school.

Making such a huge fuss over nothing more than a single class anthology was utterly pathetic.

Was that really fun to them?

Eun-gyeol turned his head toward the window with an indifferent expression.

The curtains billowed and fell again and again as the breeze came in.

Though wind was blowing, the summer air only sapped one’s energy instead.

Feeling his body temperature rise, Eun-gyeol slowly frowned.

It should be about time.

What’s taking him so long?

Han-geon hardly ever left his side.

Whether it was PE, music class, or even going to the bathroom, he always moved together with Eun-gyeol.

Even when the kids teased them, asking if they were a couple, Eun-gyeol didn’t care in the slightest.

On hot days, Han-geon was visibly restless.

Ever since elementary school—since the day Eun-gyeol had collapsed on the playground in the heat—he had been like that.

So sometimes, during breaks, he would run off alone like this to buy drinks.

Every morning, he packed two bottles of ice-cold water and handed one to Eun-gyeol.

On days he couldn’t prepare them, like today, he would dash to the school store during break to buy ice cream or drinks instead.

Eun-gyeol had told him over and over that there was no need, but Han-geon stubbornly insisted that he did it because he wanted to.

“Hey, Cha Eun-gyeol, what about you?

What did you write?!”
“Yeah, yeah.

Show us!”

His impression—that he didn’t want to be friends with idiots who wandered around with nothing better to do—had been the same since he was young, and still was.

The only difference was that after meeting Han-geon, he tried to hide those thoughts at least a little.

Because that was what Han-geon wanted.

Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered at all if he didn’t belong to any group.

But Han-geon, who was always surrounded by other kids, would look worried every time Eun-gyeol bristled at them.

So Eun-gyeol mingled with them a few times, and Han-geon smiled brightly, pleased just by that.

From then on, Eun-gyeol usually went along with what Han-geon wanted in that regard.

He didn’t want to worry him unnecessarily or pick fights.

“Here.”

When he obediently handed over the paper, the kids snickered.

“Wow, Cha Eun-gyeol.

You look all prim and proper, but you’re pretty pervy!

Inside the house?

What’s with that?”
“What’s wrong with it?

Should I have written ‘in the middle of the street’ instead?”

When he asked flatly, the boys burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.

Eun-gyeol’s gaze slowly swept over them.

He casually took note of the few girls whose faces flushed red.

“So what did you guys write?”
“I just wrote ‘in front of my house.’ What about you—playground?”
“Oooh—pervert.”

Snickering, jeers.

The question on the questionnaire they’d been holding onto all this time was: ‘If you were to have your first kiss, where would you want it to be?’ Making such a stupid question and enjoying it—honestly.

He turned his head away to keep from clicking his tongue.

Even amid the chaos, his gaze kept drifting toward the classroom door.

Finally.

Eun-gyeol’s face brightened all at once.

His eyes met the face he’d been waiting for.

Han-geon held up a juice and beamed.

His bangs were clumped together with sweat, and his darkly tanned skin glistened, yet unlike the others, he didn’t look dirty at all.

“Oh, Choi Han-geon’s coming in!”
“Check what Choi Han-geon wrote!”
“What?

No!

Don’t you dare, you bastards!”

The kids’ attention shifted there in an instant.

Choi Han-geon, coming in with two juices and a flushed face, looked flustered.

He rushed over like the wind, set the juices down on Eun-gyeol’s desk first, then lunged toward his own desk.

There was a crash, followed by peals of laughter.

What an idiot.

The corners of Eun-gyeol’s mouth lifted on their own.

Despite all that effort, the paper was still fluttering around in someone else’s hands.

“Hey, why are you slacking off?

We’re all gonna see it once the class anthology comes out anyway.

Holy shit, look at what this Choi Han-geon guy wrote!”
“What is it?

Aagh!

The Ferris wheel?

Are you insane?”
“A once-in-a-century romantic, huh?

This is making me want to puke.”
“Give it back right now, you assholes!”

The boys teased Han-geon, passing the paper around like a relay.

With ears red as if they might burst, Han-geon shouted and finally snatched it back.

When he grabbed a few of the boys who were laughing the hardest and put them in headlocks, the jerks who’d been mocking him squealed like pigs.

The girls doubled over laughing at the sight.

A Ferris wheel.

So our Han-geon had a romantic side.

Eun-gyeol smiled as he watched him.

He slowly rubbed his finger over the juice pack, beads of condensation forming on it.

A large droplet slid down his finger.

The cool moisture on his hand, still hot from the heat, felt welcome.

The juice Han-geon had bought was cold, sweet, and incredibly good.

***

The class anthology incident resurfaced again a year later.

It was the summer vacation of his first year of high school.

Choi Han-geon said he’d start preparing seriously for entrance into a physical education program from his second year.

Eun-gyeol pestered him to go hang out in Seoul together before things got busier.

When Han-geon tried to drag along a bunch of clueless hangers-on again, Eun-gyeol chased them all off.

It had been a while since they’d gone to Seoul just to have fun.

They walked the streets together, went to restaurants they’d bookmarked online, and visited cafés.

Sitting across from each other eating pasta—after always having street food, home-cooked meals, or chicken—felt refreshingly new.

They took lots of photos at cafés, too.

A Seoul outing with just the two of them was thoroughly enjoyable.

Except for the occasional people who annoyingly stuck to them, offering entertainment company business cards.

Since Eun-gyeol had already decided on an agency he planned to join upon graduating college, he just accepted the cards politely.

It was honestly annoying, but each time, Han-geon looked at him with wide-eyed fascination, and that part alone made it worthwhile.

“You’re really amazing.”

Han-geon said it excitedly, eyes sparkling.

“Shouldn’t I get your autograph in advance?”
“An autograph, my ass.

We’re going to be seeing each other every day anyway.”
“Still.

I’d be the only one who got an autograph from high schooler Cha Eun-gyeol.”

Eun-gyeol smiled back at him as Han-geon casually held out his palm.

If anyone else said something like that, it’d sound pathetic—so why did everything this guy said sound so nice?

He took out a pen and jokingly scribbled his name.

Watching Han-geon laugh and curl his fingers, saying it tickled, made Eun-gyeol’s lips curve upward again.

“Shall we get going soon?”
“Yeah.

If we go now, it’ll be just in time for the afternoon pass.”

As Han-geon hurriedly turned around, his earlobes were flushed red—like perfectly ripe peaches or plums.

It really was hot.

Maybe because of the heat, the amusement park wasn’t very crowded.

They were able to ride everything—straight drops at high speed, spinning rides, fast-moving trains.

Neither Han-geon nor Eun-gyeol was bad with rides.

The best part of all was simply watching Han-geon laugh loudly, enjoying himself like a little kid.

“It’s hot….”
“I’ll get you a slush.

Sit here for a bit.”

Han-geon, who’d been worried about Eun-gyeol’s face being flushed red, dashed off the moment he heard him say it was hot.

Eun-gyeol ambled over, suggesting they stand in line together, but Han-geon just told him to sit in the shade.

When he returned, Han-geon was holding green grape ade in both hands.

“It looks good, right?

Do you like green grape flavor?

I didn’t want to ask again, so I just picked it myself.”

It looked sweet enough to make his tongue ache just from looking at it.

Still, Eun-gyeol grinned and took it.

“Yeah.

I like it.”
“Really?

Want me to make it for you at home next time?”
“You know how?”
“Uh… you just blend green grapes and mix them with soda or sparkling water, right?”

Han-geon scratched his head as he spoke, and Eun-gyeol nodded readily.

“Yeah.

Then make it for me next time.”
“Okay.

I will.”
“That’s a promise.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Han-geon said, as the pale green liquid was slurped down.

Come to think of it, when had Choi Han-geon’s Adam’s apple gotten so prominent?

And his neck, too—it’d gotten thicker.

Eun-gyeol idly stacked those thoughts in his mind.

The day slowly grew dark.

They rode rides, and when they got hungry, they bought whatever they felt like—churros, popcorn.

They’d walked, laughed, and talked all day, yet strangely, he wasn’t tired.

They rode everything worth riding.

The attractions that had gleamed hotly under the sun during the day were bathed in beautiful lights at night.

When Eun-gyeol said they should get going soon, Han-geon nodded obediently, though his eyes were full of regret.

They had to catch the bus before the last one.

But Eun-gyeol felt the same sense of reluctance.

Absentmindedly following Han-geon’s gaze, he spotted the giant Ferris wheel.

“Want to ride that?”

There was hardly any line.

If they rode it now and then headed for the bus, the timing would be perfect.

As he made that calculation, no answer came.

He turned to Han-geon with a questioning look, and Han-geon quickly shook his head.

“…I’m good.

If you want to ride it, go ahead.”
“Hey, what are you talking about?

Why would I ride that alone?”
“…..”
“Let’s ride it.

Come on.

We’re already here—it’d be a waste.

Let’s just ride it once and go.”

He’d refused at first, but there was no way Han-geon could keep refusing to the end.

If Eun-gyeol pushed just a little, Han-geon always gave in, pretending he couldn’t help it.

And Eun-gyeol liked that side of him.

The way he accepted anything Eun-gyeol said, like he was dealing with a child.

That soft disposition he showed only toward him.