HWAMB — Chapter 15
by BrieSeeing that, Hyun-woo first turned his head with a huff, making me promise I wouldn’t back out, and once I did, his lips curved into a satisfied little smile.
* * *
The next day, we set out as soon as the sun was up and arrived at the park.
Judging from the crowd, its popularity hadn’t faded a bit.
I cast a sidelong glance at Hyun-woo, who was staring intently at the park map beside me.
Denim jacket, jeans, plain white T-shirt. Put together, it made him look surprisingly fresh.
I was startled by how much effort he’d put into dressing up, but quickly forced myself back to my senses.
Normally they say clothes make the man…
With Hyun-woo, it was the opposite.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, his handsome face never paling no matter where he went.
We’d been approached with scouting offers before, just walking around together as kids. That said it all.
“Here.”
After we passed through the entrance, Hyun-woo held out his hand to me. I stared blankly at it amidst the bustling crowd.
He waited calmly.
“Don’t tell me… you want to hold hands now…?”
“You’re terrible with directions. You don’t actually want to get lost here, do you?”
“Lost, at this age? Please.”
I shook my head like it was nonsense, and Hyun-woo just shrugged with a casual “Yeah?” and withdrew his hand.
The bastard—turns out he wasn’t joking.
First thing we did was map out the most efficient route together.
One thing we both shared was that we were great with rides, and in a place like this, we couldn’t leave until we’d gotten our money’s worth.
So we worked our way through the rides one by one.
If you started with the scariest, you couldn’t enjoy the rest, so we warmed up with lighter ones first before gradually building up the intensity.
Since rides drained a lot of energy, we also made sure to keep fueled.
Hyun-woo usually took charge of that.
He always acted reluctant before going out, but once we were there, he was more excited than anyone. While I was busy eyeing the next ride, Hyun-woo was always putting something into my hands to eat.
Just now, it was churros.
Munching happily, I picked our next ride. Thanks to the reservation system, we could skip the longer lines.
“Want to ride Space Express next? Or Desert Fortress?”
“What do you want to ride first?”
“Either’s fine. Ah, looks like the line for Desert Fortress is shorter. Want to do that one first?”
“Sure.”
The churros made me thirsty. Noticing, Hyun-woo got up, saying he’d buy a cold slushie.
“Grape flavor for me. Oh, and I’m hungry, so let’s get a tornado potato too.”
“Alright, glutton. I’ll get everything. Just sit tight here and don’t wander off like an idiot and get lost.”
“Mm, okay.”
I shoved the last bite of churros into my mouth and nodded, but Hyun-woo still kept glancing back at me like he didn’t trust me.
Honestly, he was overly protective.
Maybe it was because I was an omega.
When it came to me, he fussed like crazy.
Like earlier, when he asked to hold my hand.
Sometimes I wondered if that meant he didn’t actually like me, but was just mistaking a protective instinct for something else.
He’d said it didn’t matter, that I could answer whenever, but of course that couldn’t be true.
It occurred to me that my silence must be frustrating for him.
I didn’t realize I was frowning in thought until something cold pressed against my cheek, making me yelp.
“Ah! Cold! You scared me!”
“What’s rattling around in that tiny head of yours? It’s about to explode.”
His lips curved in a mischievous grin, smug enough to make me want to smack him.
I would’ve loved to land a hundred flicks on his forehead, but knowing it was useless, I just glared and took the grape slushie he handed me.
Grumbling under my breath, I still drank without hesitation. Hyun-woo looked on with a pleased expression.
Again. There he goes again.
He always stared at me like that, making me feel pressured. I nibbled on the tornado potato dusted with cheese powder and asked,
“Do you really like my face that much?”
“You like my face too.”
“Well, that’s…”
I started to retort but gave up, muttering half-heartedly, “Yeah, yeah. I like your face.”
Otherwise we’d end up stuck in another endless loop about biases like yesterday.
Hyun-woo’s face.
I’d never really thought about it deeply.
Maybe because I saw him too often, too close. Sure, I always thought he was handsome, but my heart had never really raced because of it…
Or had it?
Suddenly, an image flashed in my mind—Hyun-woo during PE, scoring a goal and beaming like an eager puppy.
Those glossy, black eyes like polished stones. The faint heat in them when they turned toward me.
Just like then, my face burned hot. My chest pounded loud and heavy.
Again. It’s happening again.
To cool off, I gulped down the slushie in one shot. The sudden cold made my head throb.
Hyun-woo freaked out, saying, “Who the hell chugs a slushie all at once, idiot?”
…Could it be that I actually liked him more than I realized?
He was still nagging beside me, but it didn’t register in my ears.
I tossed the empty skewer into the trash and grabbed his arm.
“Uh…!”
“…?”
“Uh…”
Hyun-woo looked down at me, surprised, but I could only flap my lips like a goldfish, no words coming out.
For some reason, Hyun-woo looked brighter, more dazzling than before.
This couldn’t be happening. It had to be some trick of his.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but nothing had changed.
It was shocking.
Finally, after all that lip-flapping, words came out.
“I… I think I might actually like your face… more than I thought…”
“…? I know. You just said you did.”
“R-right.”
He asked curiously, like he couldn’t understand why I was repeating something I’d already said.
I laughed awkwardly and tugged at his arm, telling him we should go ride Desert Fortress.
He gave me a searching look, as if trying to read my expression, but soon let it go and followed along.
…I really do like Hyun-woo’s face.
I walked ahead, doing my best to hide my flushed cheeks.
It was a realization that struck me only now.
* * *
As night fell and the sky grew dark, dazzling fireworks burst above.
Brilliant colors spread across the sky like paint on a black canvas, and I stared in a daze. The parade was about to begin.
“Remember how you cried during the parade back then?”
“…That was ages ago…”
Hyun-woo muttered, grumbling with an expression that wasn’t exactly pleasant.
When we were about five years old, our parents had taken us to an amusement park, our hands clasped tightly together.
While the parade was in full swing, I, drawn to the dazzling spectacle, gazed with shining eyes. Hyun-woo, however, was different.
His eyes brimmed with tears, his body trembling, and each time the fireworks exploded, he slipped behind me to hide, pressing his face into my back and sniffling.
But fireworks weren’t the only problem.
When a performer in a huge mascot costume approached with a balloon, Hyun-woo, face still buried against my back, jumped in fright and burst into tears.
He cried so pitifully that the mascot, flustered, tried to soothe him, but the crying only grew louder.
As I, watching him wail, moved toward the mascot to show him there was nothing to fear, Hyun-woo grabbed my collar and held me back.
Like someone trying to stop a loved one from being dragged off to their death, Hyun-woo shook his head desperately, tears and snot running down his face.
In the end, the mascot retreated awkwardly, and I comforted him instead.
When I put a giant lollipop in his mouth and held his hand tightly, he finally stopped crying and trailed after me everywhere.
Both sets of our parents, saying it was unbearably cute, snapped photo after photo.
That photo still remained in Hyun-woo’s family album.
I didn’t remember it in detail, but I knew of it because his parents never failed to remind us from time to time.
“It’s beautiful…”
“….”
As I turned my eyes to follow the path of the fireworks, the sparks reflected faintly in his eyes like tiny photographs captured within them.
At my awed remark, Hyun-woo kept his gaze on me and replied.
“…Yeah, it is.”
After answering, he casually checked the time on his phone and asked me,
“Want to ride one last thing before we go?”
“Which one?”
“That.”
I followed the direction of his pointing finger.
The giant Ferris wheel.
Its massive circle moved slowly along its axis, blinking faint lights.
Though the cabin was small, half of it was glass, offering an open view that made it less frightening.
The night scenery from inside would be breathtaking.
Always having found night views romantic, I answered, entranced, “Yeah, let’s go,” and followed him onto the ride.
As our bodies rose slowly upward, it felt like we were flying. I pressed myself against the glass, staring in wonder at the outside.
People, buildings, rides—everything grew smaller and smaller.