#wooooooooo i'm so happy to have finally written a fic for jin :')

[geniuslab]

Carnival Rides (M)

→ Pairing: Seokjin x reader

→ Genre: Fluff, smut, summer carnival AU

→ Word Count: 11.4k

→ Summary: Working at your parents’ funnel cake stand during the summer sounds like a decent enough gig. But you didn’t quite plan for the exhausting heat or the cute gelato guy who would make it his mission to get you to like him. Warning: This ride will get you wet!

→ What to Expect: car sex, a little bit of public indecency (again), unprotected sex (wear condoms pls), and bad puns

→ A/N: Special thanks to @jinandtonics for the cringe car puns and @jooniper for providing me with unlimited carnival ride puns (including the title, get it?). I love you girls 💕

Also, this is a submission for @hobigolightly‘s summer fic contest, thank you so much for the opportunity!!

The batter sizzled as you poured it into the hot oil. You’d lost track of how many funnel cakes you’d made in the past few hours, so much so that it had become second nature to you. Your hair stuck to your forehead, the heat making you sweat. No matter how many fans you aimed toward you, they were no match for the hot, humid summer air.

Working for your parents’ funnel cake stand originally sounded like a good idea. You’d get to spend the summer outdoors, and you always loved being outside. You got free access to all of the fairs and carnivals you were set up at, and you could sneak as much food as you desired, so long as you served customers first. What you hadn’t considered, however, was that summer outdoors was incredibly hot, the fairs were really only fun for the first couple days, and you could only eat so much fried food before you got sick of it.

“If I have one more person pay me all in change, I’m going to scream,” Jungkook huffed after you handed your last customer their funnel cake. The line had thankfully ended, and the air was full of laughter and the shuffle of people leaving the fair.

“Think of it as summer school,” you replied, beginning to clean up your station. Jungkook groaned and opened the register to start taking out the money.

You were beyond grateful that the night was done, and you turned everything off with a sigh of relief. A slight summer breeze rustled your hair and you closed your eyes, exhaustion from the day making you want to lie down and take a nap.

“It’s only July, we have an entire month left of this,” Jungkook said while he was counting the money. You brushed powdered sugar off your shorts, effectively rubbing it into them. You’d have to wash them anyway; every day ended in a load of laundry and a cold shower.

“Don’t remind me, please.”

You constantly told yourself that the money you were making now would help fund your trip to Italy next summer. Plus, it kept you busy while you were on break from school.

“Next summer, I’m working inside the rec hall where the air conditioning is.”

“Who’s gonna give you a job?” you asked with a chuckle and started wiping things down. “You only got this one because you’re the little nephew who needed something to do all summer.”

“First, I’m only a couple years younger than you,” Jungkook started. “Second, I’m doing your parents a favor by working here.”

“Does complaining run in the family?” a familiar voice asked, and you smiled as you turned to see Namjoon leaning over the counter.

“We’re constantly fueled by our whining,” you replied with a shrug.

“Got any funnel cake left?” Namjoon eyed the inside of your stand and you shook your head.

“Nope, I am not starting everything up again just for you to have a funnel cake.”

Namjoon pouted but you ignored him. Instead, you grabbed a cup and filled it with some lemonade. His dimples came out as you handed it to him, and you filled one up for yourself as well. The refreshing liquid soothed your dry throat and cooled you down just a little.

“How did today go?” you asked and leaned against the counter.

“I was out in the sun all day long.”

You rolled your eyes. “I saw you going into the rec center for at least 10 bathroom breaks. Besides, hot oil beats sun any day. Try again.”

“I sweated through one shirt so bad that I had to get another one out of my car.”

“I have so much powdered sugar in my hair that I won’t be able to get it all out for weeks.”

Namjoon’s eyes twinkled and he leaned forward. “Some kid threw up all over the ride. Twice.”

“Ugh, you were saving that one for last!” You scowled and put your drink down. “You know I can’t beat that.”

“You guys realize that whoever wins this weird contest actually lost, right?” Jungkook chimed in, finally having counted up all the money and put it into a pouch.

“Were you or were you not just complaining when I walked up here?” Namjoon asked and took a sip of his lemonade.

“We’re all hypocrites here,” you conceded.

You heard loud laughter, and you narrowed your eyes as you looked across the fair. It had shut down for the night, only a few stragglers were left. Two men, one tall with broad shoulders, and another one who was smaller and skinnier, were walking out of the rec center. They seemed to be in the middle of a hilarious conversation, the taller one hunched over with his hand on the other’s shoulder as they both laughed.

“At least we have the right to complain,” Jungkook mumbled.

“What an easy job,” Namjoon agreed and looked at the men walking out. None of you knew their names, but you all knew they worked at the gelato stand inside the rec center.

“I’d love to stand in the air conditioning all day passing out gelato,” you said, bitterness woven into your voice.

You were practically shooting daggers at them, not like they noticed. You’d worked ‘with’ them for a month already, but they never came over to your stand or bothered to socialize with the rest of the employees here. They stayed in their cozy, cool corner of the fair and only came out to leave.

“I told you working inside is the best gig,” Jungkook said. “That’s where I’ll be next summer.”

“And I’ll hopefully be in Italy,” you retorted and took a sip of your lemonade as you watched the two men talk. Did they even have to clean up their stand?

“I bet their bosses wrap everything up for them, they just get to leave when they want,” Namjoon grumbled.

“You three are absolutely insufferable,” a new voice teasingly chimed in, and you all looked over to Ji Eun. Even though she’d been outside in the heat for hours, her hair was still flawlessly straight and untangled, and her clothing was immaculate. She worked at the information booth, and even though she had one of the easiest jobs, no one had it in them to complain about her. She might have had it easy in comparison to you three, but her voice was way too sweet and her smile way too blinding to ever get mad at.

Jungkook nearly tripped over himself to walk over to her and lean over the counter. You shot Namjoon a knowing look and he rolled his eyes. Pretty much everyone knew Jungkook had a massive crush on her, including Ji Eun herself. Despite that, she shot him a sweet smile and stopped in front of your stand.

“Come on, even you have to envy the gelato guys,” Namjoon said.

Ji Eun shrugged. “I guess it’s cooler inside, but we’re all working regardless. I don’t really understand the point of complaining.”

You finished your lemonade and threw it out, collecting the trash and tying up the bag as the others talked. Even though you adored her, you didn’t much feel like a pep talk tonight. All you wanted was to get back home and take a shower.

“They’re really nice! Seokjin is super funny, I think you’d like him!” you heard her telling them, and you looked behind you to see that Jungkook’s shoulders were slumped.

You busied yourself in the back, and by the time you were done Ji Eun and Namjoon had left.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but I hate them even more now,” Jungkook said under his breath and helped you finish and lock everything up. You laughed and patted him on the back as you two walked out.

“Now you have a name for one of them, go write about it in your diary.”

Jungkook picked up his pace to overtake you and shot you the finger, and your laughter rang out across the fair. Even the gelato guys looked back at you while they walked out, but you just let your hair loose and threw your hands up to weave their way through the wind as you walked toward your freedom.

“It’s supposed to be even hotter today,” Jungkook sighed the next day as you opened up shop. The fair would open its gates soon, and you sighed along with him as you tied your hair up in a bun.

“Is that even possible?”

Jungkook nodded, a grimace on his face.

“My mom said she’s having Taehyung and Jimin join us halfway through so that we can take off.”

“That’s the best thing you’ve ever said to me,” Jungkook replied. Taehyung and Jimin worked at your parent’s brick and mortar store, and they so rarely volunteered to work the funnel cake stand. Usually, if one of you had to take a break it meant the other would get slammed with both register and cooking. You weren’t the most popular funnel cake stand by any means, but you kept up a fairly steady stream of customers. After several hours, both of you were usually beat. Being able to leave early was a blessing, and you were already planning on getting into a nice bath as soon as you got home.

“Do you wanna start on register?” Jungkook asked with hopeful eyes, interrupting your daydream of bubble bath and candles.

“Too lazy for math?” you asked but walked up to the front. He kissed your cheek and practically skipped to the back so that he could prep the ingredients.

“You realize it gets hot next to that frier, right?”

“If it means I don’t have to associate with anyone or count one more coin, I will happily do it today.”

You rolled your eyes but broke open a coin wrapper and filled the register.

“What time do the others come in?” he asked a few minutes later as he waited for the oil to heat up.

“I think they’re coming in at around six. Why, are you hoping to meet up with your girlfriend after work?”

Jungkook scowled at you but the blush on his cheeks betrayed him. “I was thinking maybe I could bring her some funnel cake and hang out at the information booth for a little bit.”

“Young love,” you sighed wistfully, and then narrowly dodged the towel that he threw at you across the stand.

“I’m going to wait until you get a crush on someone here and then you’ll never hear the end of it.”

You shook your head and looked across the fair at people filing in. Despite it still being before noon, you knew people would be coming soon enough to get their share of fried dough.

“I don’t see that happening. Besides, I’m only here to make enough money so I don’t have to be here next summer. A summer fling is the last thing on my list.”

“Alright, we’ll see about that.”

A customer walked up before you could shoot back a retort, forcing you to put a big smile on your face and ignore the annoying relative behind you.

A few hours and several dozen customers later, things quieted down for a moment. There was a performance going on further down the way, and it seemed like most people had grabbed their food and headed there. You wiped the sweat off your forehead with the hem of your shirt, and when you dropped it back down you saw that someone was standing in front of you at the counter.

Not just someone, but the gelato guy with the broad shoulders. His hair was light blonde, and he stood with his hands behind his back and a big grin on his face.

“I came for some funnel cake but I wasn’t expecting a view,” he said, and you had to keep your jaw from dropping. You tugged on the hem of your shirt and he laughed.

“I didn’t actually see anything,” he assured you and leaned against the counter.

“Still not the best way to introduce yourself to someone,” you mumbled, not completely sure if you were referring to his joke or you nearly flashing him.

“What am I making?” Jungkook asked from the back, and you threw your pointer finger up to let him know that you were still taking the order.

“What do you want?” you asked, perhaps a little too abrasively.

“I actually came to drop something off,” he said, and when his arms came out from behind his back you saw he was holding onto two cups of gelato. You hated how your mouth started watering the second you saw it. Being surrounded by fried dough all day in the heat made creamy, cold gelato look like heaven in a cup.

“Really?” you asked.

He nodded and held them out to you, and when you grabbed yours your hand brushed against his. You shivered a little, but you figured it was because of the condensation dripping down your arm from the cup. You wiped it off and shot him a small smile.

“I wanted to come say hello…” He seemed to be waiting for something, and you realized he was waiting for you to introduce yourself.

“I’m Y/N, this is my cousin Jungkook.”

Jungkook came over to see what was up, and you saw his face shift from confusion over who you were talking to, to happiness because of free gelato, to disappointment when he saw who was handing it to him.

“Are you Seokjin?” he asked, remembering the name of the guy Ji Eun was saying was so nice yesterday.

“I am, how did you know?” Seokjin looked down at his shirt as if expecting a nametag to be there, and when he looked up Jungkook had already walked off without a thank you.

“He’s not very chatty, is he?” he asked. You shook your head and took a bite of the gelato, trying not to show your absolute bliss on your face as you ate it.

“So what finally brings you over here after a month of vending at the same fairs?” you asked when you were done with your spoonful.

“I could ask you why you never came to visit us this entire past month,” he quipped back.

You ran your tongue across your teeth and released with a pop, your eyes narrowed. “I’m not the one inside all day. When I get breaks, I don’t have much time to just walk around.”

You took another bite and he lifted his brow. “Enjoying that free gelato?”

“I’m surprised you came out of the safety of air conditioning to bring it to me.” You set it down, not wanting to give him any more satisfaction out of you enjoying it.

“How old are you?” he asked suddenly.

“I don’t have to tell you that.”

“I feel like you’re younger than me. Did no one ever tell you to respect your elders?”

You laughed at that and squinted your eyes at him, unable to keep an incredulous smile off your face. “I’m twenty one, and I can respect or not respect whoever I want.”

“I’m twenty four and I think you should respect anyone who gives you free food.”

“Is that why you brought this all the way out here in the heat, for respect?”

Seokjin’s jaw dropped and he let out a laugh. “You’re a handful.”

“I’m a girl who’s worked out in the heat for hours and has very little patience left.”

He threw his hands up as a peace offering. “How about this? Since you have to suffer outside all day long, whenever you come inside I’ll give you free gelato.”

You narrowed your eyes again. “Why would you give me free gelato when I just told you off?”

“Because I like you,” he said with a wink.

“This doesn’t mean you get free funnel cake any time you dare to walk outside.”

Seokjin’s smile fell. “Not even one for the road?”

You saw someone approaching him from behind and you shook your head. “No, and someone’s coming so you need to leave.”

He pouted but then backed up and blew you an exaggerated kiss. “One of these days I’ll get to taste your funnel cake.”

“Not for free!” you yelled at him as he walked away. You helped the customer and then sat down in your stool, finally finishing the gelato he’d brought you. Jungkook was sitting on the other stool looking down at his gelato as if it had assaulted him.

“It’s really good,” he said, frustration seeping into his voice.

You agreed, and both of you sat in silence eating the delicious gelato, cursing the person who brought it to you.

When your relief came, you practically bolted out of the funnel cake stand. You barely said hello to Taehyung and Jimin before you were gone, not wanting to spend another minute among the batter and powdered sugar. Namjoon was always either on the Ferris wheel or the pharaoh ride, so you wove your way through the crowd in search of him. You spotted him at the Ferris wheel, and he waved you over when his eyes met yours.

“Taking a break?” he asked as he took tickets from two people and let them onto the next car before moving it up for the next customers.

You came up to his side and did a little dance. “I’m off for the day!”

“And you’re still here?!” He looked you up and down as if you were crazy.

“I didn’t want to leave without seeing my favorite guy.”

“That’s cute, but you’re only saying that because I let you ride the Ferris wheel alone at night after we close.”

“And you only call me your favorite girl because I give you free lemonade and funnel cake, so I think we’re even.”

Namjoon smiled at you. “Perhaps,” he teased.

You stole his stool since he wasn’t sitting on it, and you let your hair down out of its bun with a relieved sigh.

“Did the gelato guy hit you up too yesterday?” you asked.

“No, he hit you up?” He turned to you with his eyebrows high, and the next person in line cleared their throat loudly to get his attention.

“Yeah, he came with some gelato.”

“Why?”

You shrugged even though Namjoon could only see you out of the corner of his eye. “He said he wanted to come say hello, I’m not sure why he waited a month to do it.”

“Maybe he found out you guys make the best funnel cake around.”

“It all tastes the same, Namjoon.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, then,” he said and stopped the next person in line. The ride was full, and he started it and leaned on the ride controls to look at you.

“Can’t believe he finally left the AC.”

“That’s what I said!”

Namjoon laughed and brushed his hair out of his face. “Did you give him hell?”

“I made it clear he couldn’t mooch funnel cake off of me, if that’s what he was after.”

“Good, only I get free funnel cake.”

You rolled your eyes and fanned yourself.

“Are you staying here tonight even though you’re off?” he asked you, eyeing you trying to cool off.

“No, you don’t have to give me any free rides tonight,” you responded. “I have a date with my bathtub.”

Namjoon sighed. “That sounds so nice.”

The ride ended and he started up taking tickets again once everyone was off, repeating the same cycle as always. When the next batch had all gotten on, a familiar face showed up in front of the line with a plate full of funnel cake in his hands.

You looked from the funnel cake, to his blonde hair, to his deep brown eyes.

“How many breaks do you get?” you asked Seokjin.

“Why do the workings of my job make you so angry?” he asked and pulled a piece of funnel cake off and popped it into his mouth.

“It’s how these things work,” Namjoon cut in. “We’re all a team, and anyone who has it easy is mutually hated.”

“Except for Ji Eun.”

“Except for Ji Eun,” Namjoon agreed.

Seokjin looked between you two, trying to figure out if you were serious.

“Are you getting on the ride?” Namjoon asked. He held his hand out for the tickets even though he’d just started the ride and it would be a few minutes before he’d have to collect Seokjin’s tickets anyway.

Seokjin just handed him the tickets and then turned his attention to you.

“You wonder why us people inside never come out. It’s hot out here and you guys are hostile.”

“We like to stew in our aggravation. Why are you coming out now, by the way?”

Seokjin shrugged. “I noticed there are interesting people out here.”

Your cheeks grew hot when you realized he was talking about you.

He popped another piece of funnel cake into his mouth and then gave you a wink.

“Did you get that at my stand?” you asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. You won’t give me free funnel cake and there are plenty of other ones around here.”

“Were you looking for my girl?” Namjoon asked and threw his arm around your shoulders. Seokjin looked at his arm and then between you two again.

“I can’t tell when you guys are being serious.”

You shrugged Namjoon’s arm off but smiled when you saw that Seokjin seemed slightly put off by the idea of you being with Namjoon. Is that why he had searched for your stand? Not to get free funnel cake, but to see you? Even if he liked you from afar, you had no idea how he even saw you considering you avoided him when you went inside for your breaks and he always left before you’d closed up for the night.

No, he was probably hoping you’d be there and would cave and give him free food.

“I heard you gave Y/N free gelato yesterday,” Namjoon said and slowed down the ride to start letting people off.

“Yeah, I can bring you some if that means you won’t hate me anymore.”

“Deal.”

Seokjin laughed and held his free hand out for Namjoon to shake. “It didn’t work with her, but I’m still working on it.”

“Why does it matter if I like you or not?” you asked.

“We’re not oblivious in there, you know,” he responded. “We see you all glaring at us, and I’m here to make peace.”

“I bet he’s making peace before we end up at a fair that doesn’t have any air conditioned buildings for them to set up shop in,” Namjoon said.

Your jaw dropped and you turned to Seokjin. “Is that true?”

He shrugged and took another bite. “Maybe.”

“If you think you’ll get a good lot at the next one because you’re getting people to like you with free gelato, you’re wrong!” You crossed your arms over your chest.

“You can take the lot next to all the cattle,” Namjoon said.

“So you’ll be at the next fair too?” Seokjin asked you, ignoring the last part of the conversation.

“Why wouldn’t I? We all just hop from one location to the next during festival season.”

“Good.” He winked again and then stepped out of line.

“You’re next up and you already gave me your tickets!” Namjoon yelled after him.

“I got what I wanted!” he said and waved before blending into the crowd.

“What was that about?!” you asked Namjoon, and when you looked up at him he was looking at you with a smirk.

“I think he’s taken a liking to you.”

“He doesn’t even know me,” you huffed and hopped off the stool. Namjoon took it instantly and sighed when he sat down, ready for another round of tickets.

“Maybe he wants to taste your funnel cake.”

You balled your fists up at his words which mimicked Seokjin’s yesterday, but you stormed off before you’d get tempted to push him off the stool and leave the Ferris wheel unattended.

You moved locations soon after, now vending at a carnival that was free to enter. You weren’t sure if that would mean people would be more or less willing to spend money on food, but the lines seemed to be about the same as always. Once again there was another air conditioned building, and Seokjin’s gelato stand was in there as per usual.

Namjoon was right: he did want to taste your funnel cake. Literally. Every single day, Seokjin swung around your stand to order a plate full of funnel cake. And every day, you refused to give it to him for free. This didn’t stop him from visiting though, and he always seemed to find a way to visit when it was least busy so that he could stand around and make conversation with you. Jungkook continued to ignore him, but even when you were in the back, Seokjin weaseled his way around the stand and found a way to talk to you.

Although you wouldn’t admit it, not even to yourself, his company wasn’t half bad. His bad jokes and infectious laughter brought a smile to your face every time, and you begrudgingly let it happen.

You sighed one day, resigned, when he came into your stand from the back and grabbed your stool. Jungkook had left on break, so you were jumping around from the register to the frier.

“If you’re going to invade my space, then you might as well be helpful.” You pointed to the front, where the register and a line of people waited.

“But this is my break!” Seokjin yelled.

“You have to pay for all the funnel cake somehow, right?”

Seokjin sighed and then moved the stool up to the front so he could start taking orders.

“Does this mean you’ll like me now?” he asked when the line finally died down and you grabbed a rag to wipe the sweat off your forehead.

“No.”

“What do I have to do to win you over?”

You rolled your eyes. “I still don’t understand why that’s so important to you.”

“Because everyone likes me. Even Namjoon gives me free rides now when I bring him gelato. But you don’t like me for some reason.”

You busied yourself with opening a new bag of powdered sugar, answering him over your shoulder, “Not everyone has to like you, you know.”

“True, but everyone does. Except for you.”

You ignored him, instead choosing to groan over how heavy the bag of powdered sugar was as you moved it from one side of the stand to the other.

“Why do you work this job if you hate it so much?”

You let out a loud breath as you set down the bag and looked up at him. “I don’t hate it that much. But I wanna make enough money to visit Italy next summer.”

Seokjin was silently staring at you, his eyes wide.

“What?” you asked and straightened up.

“You do realize what’s in Italy, right?”

You furrowed your brows, unsure of where he was going with this. “No, what?”

“Gelato!”

You groaned and threw your head back.

“Y/N, I sell gelato. I’m practically Italy itself.”

“Selling a product that’s common in Italy doesn’t mean anything.”

Seokjin just crossed his arms and looked you up and down. “Now I really don’t know why you don’t like me. You want to visit Italy, land of the gelato, but you won’t accept my free gelato.”

“Maybe I don’t want to taste your gelato,” you snapped at him.

His eyebrows shot up and the corner of his lips raised as well. “Touché.”

“What’s going on?” Jungkook asked, back from his break.

“I’ll get you to like me one way or another,” Seokjin said, ignoring Jungkook. He got off the stool and blew you an exaggerated kiss before disappearing out the back.

“What’s going on with you two?” Jungkook asked and took his place on the stool.

You sighed and got the batter ready as another customer got in line. “I have no idea.”

“Namjoon, over here!”

It was a week later, and you excitedly called over your friend, a plate of funnel cake already made for him.

“I don’t think you’ve ever been that excited to see me. What’s got you in such a good mood?” he asked when he came up to the counter. He already had his uniform off, the shirt slung over his shoulder as he sported the tank he always wore under it.

“Jimin missed a few hours at work this week so he’s filling in the last hours of my shift tonight. I’m a free woman in half an hour!”

Namjoon pulled off a piece of funnel cake and ate it before saying, “That’s something to celebrate.”

You hummed in agreement. “I might actually stay for a little while and go on some of the carnival rides. You heading home?”

“Yeah, but if you want on anything for free, just find Hoseok. I talk about you a lot, so he knows you.”

“You talk about me? Why, Namjoon are you smitten with me?” You put your hand on your chest and batted your eyelashes at him.

He just shook his head with a low chuckle. “No, but someone else might be.”

You followed his line of sight and saw Seokjin leaving the rec center, his hand combing through his hair as if he were filming a shampoo commercial. He was gorgeous and he knew it, which frustrated you to no end.

“He doesn’t like me like that,” you said. “He’s only trying because he knows I don’t like him and that aggravates him.”

“You sure about that?” Namjoon asked, his eyes now on you.

“Yeah, his intentions are pretty clear to me.”

“No, I mean are you sure you don’t like him?”

You cut your eyes back to him and dropped your jaw. “I thought it was very clear that I don’t like him. He’s chaotic and annoying.”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.” Namjoon said and backed away before you could reach over the counter and smack him.

“No more free funnel cake for you!” you shouted, but he only laughed and walked away.

Later that night, Jimin came to fill in and you finally left the stand and let your hair loose. The sun was going down, making the lights on all the rides look almost magical. Even though you spent every day here, you had to admit that the charm of a carnival was still not lost on you. There was something so inexplicably special about walking around in the summer heat, surrounded by laughter and excited screams and the smell of cotton candy and fried food. You felt like no matter how annoyed you got with working fairs, no matter how many days you stood out in the heat handing out food, you still would find something special in the air when you walked around it at night.

In a way, it made you feel like a kid again.

You stopped by a stand and got a slushie, reveling in the way that it cooled you down as you sipped. You wouldn’t stay for too long; you were still incredibly tired from a day’s work. But you wanted to at least go on the Ferris wheel and ride it while all the lights were still on, crowds of people below and the whole world stretched out in front of you.

The line wasn’t too long, so you got into it and waved at Namjoon’s coworker, Hoseok.

“Going for a ride?” a voice asked behind you, and you squeezed your eyes shut when you realized who it was.

“Why are you here?” you asked. “Do you take more breaks than you work?”

When you opened your eyes and looked behind you, Seokjin was standing there with a smile on his face.

“I’ve barely taken any breaks today, I’ll have you know.”

“And you just so happened decided to go on the Ferris wheel when I did?”

He shrugged but the smirk on his face suggested that he’d seen you walk past.

“I didn’t see you yesterday,” you said for some reason, not even sure why. But you had sort of gotten used to his frequent visits, and part of you missed him yesterday.

“You noticed I wasn’t here? That’s so sweet of you, maybe you are starting to like me after all.”

You rolled your eyes and turned to face the front of the line. There were only a few couples in front of you, each with their hands together. The sight made your heart pang for a quick second before you shook it off. The ride had ended, and Hoseok started letting the couples on. When it was your turn at the front, Hoseok smiled at you and let you on without a ticket.

You hopped into the car excitedly, but then Hoseok ushered Seokjin in with you and you started shaking your head.

“No, I wanna ride alone!”

“Can’t do that for you,” Hoseok said, although the smile on his face suggested that he was up to something. “Two people to a car, that’s how it always is.’

“That’s never how it is!” you objected. “Namjoon always lets me ride alone!”

Hoseok shrugged and Seokjin sat down next to you with a grin.

“Have fun, you two,” he winked and closed the door, and you dropped your jaw in horror as he sent your car up so he could fill the next one.

“Did you pay him to do that or something?” you asked Seokjin and crossed your arms over your chest.

“Surprisingly, no.” He looked delightedly surprised.

You huffed and sat back in your seat, vowing to ignore him the whole ride and just look at your surroundings instead.

“Do you really hate me that much?” he asked, his usual cocky tone gone. In fact, his voice was softer and quieter than usual, almost carrying a note of hurt in it. It was as if he was afraid of hearing your answer.

Your usual snarky response got caught up in your throat and you shook your head no.

“Why do you act like it so much?” he asked.

“I don’t like act it,” you said, although you knew that wasn’t true. Every time he showed up, you rolled your eyes in disdain. Why did you make such a fact of showing him how much you didn’t like him?

“Is this like how kids bully the other kids they have a crush on?” Seokjin asked, his tone back to normal.

“It is not!” you yelled, and you were grateful that the sun had gone down and the shadows hid the fact that you were blushing. You did not have a crush on him, that’s not why you so exaggeratedly acted like you didn’t like him. Then again, you didn’t really know why you didn’t like him. It just seemed like the right thing to do, him being in the elite few who got to work inside all day long at the fair.

As if he could read your thoughts, he sighed and asked, “It’s not really because I work inside, is it? What is with you people hating us so much?”

You shrugged and played with the hem of your shorts which were fraying.

“It’s not that, I just—”

“I work for free, just so you know,” Seokjin interrupted you. You looked up at him in surprise. “It’s my family’s business, and I help them run it in the summer.”

You felt a pit in your stomach, no longer having a valid excuse to not like him. All this time you gave him so much shit, and he wasn’t even getting paid to be here, unlike you. Not like that excuse was even valid in the first place, paid or not. Had your annoyance with him all been an act, even to yourself? He wanted you to like him, so you supposed you’d made it a point to not like him.

You bit your lip and looked at the ground, embarrassed by how childish you’d been.

“And I don’t come outside all that much, other than when I come to see you, because I take online courses and I spend any of my free time studying for them.”

“Oh…” you said, letting your lackluster response trail off into the air.

“You don’t have to like me, you know,” Seokjin said. “But I like you, and the least you could do is not hate me for false reasons.”

“I don’t hate you!” you said. “I like you, Seokjin.”

He laughed and bumped his shoulder into yours. “So this is like a playground crush, then?”

You blushed again and pushed him away from you. “No! I guess I just never wanted to give you the satisfaction; you annoyed me endlessly trying to get me to like you.”

“Does this mean I’ll get free funnel cake now?”

“No!”

Seokjin’s laughter was so loud that you were sure people below could hear it.

“I’m sorry I made you feel like I hated you,” you said seriously, scanning his face. “I got so caught up in proving you wrong that I didn’t even know why I didn’t like you.”

“Are you getting sappy on me now?” he asked. “Go back to yelling at me, I liked that better.”

“You want me to yell at you?” You furrowed your brows.

“Degradation, I’m into that,” he said with a wink and you groaned and turned away from him to look out into the night.

“Now that you don’t actually hate me, stop by and get some gelato some time. It’s not Italy, but it’s as close to it as you can get right now.”

You felt that something special again as you looked over the fair. Your car had reached its turn to pause at the top, and looking at all the glittering and flashing lights made it feel like magic was flowing through your veins. And finally getting along with Seokjin, both because you understood him better now and because you realized you never really disliked him at all, made you relax in your seat.

“I might.”

And, surprisingly, you did. The following week, you escaped the summer heat on your break and made your way into the rec center. You wove through different vendors’ stalls, lots of handmade jewelry and kitchenware, until you arrived in front of the gelato stand you were looking for.

“Can I help you?” someone asked, and you noticed it was the guy that Seokjin frequently walked out with. Yoongi, if you were remembering correctly from the numerous times Seokjin interrupted you at work and talked your ear off while you cooked.

“Is Seokjin here?” you asked, looking around.

“Yeah, he went on break a few minutes ago. He should be back soon though.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for him. Thanks.” You smiled shyly and looked at the different flavors of gelato they had to offer. Relieved that he didn’t have to help you, Yoongi sat down in his chair with a big sigh and closed his eyes.

You’d tried the vanilla when Seokjin had originally brought it to you, but you hadn’t known they offered so many flavors. You walked slowly down the counter, reading the names of the flavors through the glass and chewing on your lip as you decided which flavor to get.

“Do you want to test any of the flavors first?” you heard, and when you looked behind you Seokjin was walking up with a book tucked under his arm.

“There’s so many to choose from, so I think that would be helpful.”

He smiled at you and got behind the counter. As he put his gloves on, he kept sneaking glances at you when he thought you weren’t looking. You didn’t know why, but a blush started creeping up your neck and you concentrated on looking at the gelato and not him.

“Start with this one, it’s turtle cheesecake and absolutely divine. I made it myself.” He held out a small spoon of it.

“No way,” you said and took it from him.

“Yes way. Do I not look talented enough to stir ingredients together?”

You didn’t answer, just tried the gelato and had to stop yourself from moaning as caramel hit your tongue.

“You like that one, don’t you?” he asked with a huge grin on his face.

“It’s nice, I guess,” you admitted.

“It’s pretty cool, if I say so myself.”

“Did you just make a pun?” you asked and threw the spoon into the tiny trash can they had on top of the counter.

“Yeah, was it too cheesy?”

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help from smiling at his boisterous laughter that followed his joke. His smile mimicked yours when you told him you’d keep trying different flavors, and you spent the rest of your break testing out gelato and listening to the different kinds of jokes he could make as he handed them to you.

As summer rolled on, you started taking more breaks to visit Seokjin. You told yourself it was just to get free gelato, but the more you visited him, the less you wanted gelato and the more you just liked bantering with him back and forth.

It wasn’t something you could quite explain, but Seokjin gave you that same warm feeling that you had when you’d walk around the fair at night, that feeling like everything was where it should be but also that air of excitement that anything could happen.

“You’ve been eating a lot of gelato lately,” Namjoon said to you as you passed him on your way back to your stand one day.

“It’s summer, it’s hot, and this is cold and refreshing,” you quipped back.

“You’re sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the guy who gives it to you?” he asked teasingly, and you hurried off so you wouldn’t have to listen to his laughter.

Unfortunately, when you arrived back from break, Jungkook also looked at the cup of gelato in your hands and raised his eyebrows.

“Is that where you keep running off to?” he asked.

You sighed and finished your last scoop of gelato, throwing the cup in the bin and ignoring Jungkook’s comment. It wasn’t that you were annoyed by being teased, but every time someone teased you about liking Seokjin you felt a flutter in your stomach. You liked Seokjin, but you didn’t like Seokjin. Right?

Jungkook stayed quiet for a bit while you got a rush of customers, but as the night wound down and the customers started leaving, you two got a break to start cleaning up.

“I never thought you’d cozy up with the gelato boy,” he said and you sighed loudly.

“I’m just bringing peace between our two worlds, you know?”

“That is such a load of bullshit,” he laughed. “Oh my god, you actually like him!”

“Shut up, I do not!” you yelled. A couple people walking past your stand gave you a funny look and you turned your back to them.

“Oh this is so great, I finally get to tease you about having a crush on someone here. This is payback for Ji Eun.”

“It is not, because I do not like Seokjin!”

Jungkook laughed and you threw a rag at him.

“Just leave,” you said.

“Are you kicking me out because I’m teasing you?”

“No, you’re annoying me and we’re closing in twenty minutes anyway so get out of my hair!”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” he said and slipped out the back of the stand, coming around the front to look at you over the counter. “I’m only teasing, you know. But you getting so upset is a little suspicious.”

You shot him a dirty look and he bounced back from the counter. “I’m just saying! Anyway, have fun cleaning up!”

A scowl was on your face as he walked away, and you felt the weird flutter in your stomach again. The truth was, you really did enjoy spending time with Seokjin now. But you figured it was the same way you liked spending time with Namjoon or Ji Eun or any of the other people here. He made you blush, though, and his jokes were annoyingly endearing. And he made you feel a sort of excited calm, such a weird juxtaposition of feelings mixed into one that made being with him almost intoxicating.

You tried to shake your thoughts off by busying yourself with cleaning up. Almost no one was left, so you started wiping things down and turning everything off for the night. You were folding up a bag of powdered sugar when your hands slipped and it plumed out of the bag like smoke, surrounding you in sugar.

When the cloud of white died down, you saw that you were covered in sugar from the waist up. You tasted sugar on your lips, and you groaned at the thought of how sticky it would get in a matter of minutes. You tried using a damp cloth to get it off, but you soon gave up and made your way to the bathrooms in the rec center, needing a steady stream of water and a lot more towels to clean it off of you.

Seokjin was on his way out as you entered the building, and his eyes widened as he took in your sugar-covered appearance.

“Don’t ask,” you muttered and dipped into the bathroom, Seokjin’s laughter behind you.

Several minutes and a handful of wet towels later, you exited the bathroom relatively clean. At least, clean enough to get in your car and head home so you could take a shower. Seokjin was still standing outside of the bathroom when you got out, and you gave him a questioning look but left without speaking a word to him. He followed you out, his footsteps getting quicker so he could come up to your side and walk with you.

“Do you need any help?” he asked.

You ignored his question and asked your own. “Why are you still here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He was trying to keep the laughter out of his voice but was failing.

“I’m fine, it was just some powdered sugar.”

“You’re sweet enough without having to pour sugar all over yourself, you know,” he said, trying to get you to laugh. But you were not in the mood, and even though his jokes usually made you laugh, you ignored him when you got to your stand and started locking everything up so you could get out of there.

You saw Seokjin’s smile fall out of the corner of your eye, and he gently touched your elbow. “You’re genuinely upset, is something else wrong?”

“This entire day has been frustrating,” you snapped, and he flinched back at your harsh tone.

“You were fine just a little while ago when you came to see me.”

“That was my first mistake,” you sighed, and the instant it left your lips you regretted it. Seokjin’s face fell and he took a step back.

“I thought we were past this,” he said. “If you really don’t like me, you don’t have to talk to me anymore.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that.” You scrambled to lock everything up as he walked away. As soon as the bolt slid home, you ran after him and grabbed onto his shoulder to make him stop.

“It wasn’t frustrating because I came to see you, but the things that happened because of it are what frustrated me,” you explained.

Seokjin’s eyebrows knit in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

The fluttering in your stomach started again, reaching an all time high. “It was frustrating because everyone keeps teasing me about you.”

“Why are they teasing you?”

You bit your lip. “Because they think I like you. And I’m not up for petty teasing.”

“But do you?” he asked.

“Do I what?” Your head was swimming, a mix of the hot air and the increasing fluttering in your stomach making you a little dizzy.

“Do you like me?”

Your instant response was to brush it off and roll your eyes, but Seokjin grabbed your hand and the fluttering in your stomach practically lurched you toward him, as if you needed to be as close as possible. His eyes scanned your face as you battled the urge to tell him what you weren’t even telling yourself. Under his soft gaze, you crumbled.

“I might,” you finally answered.

His lips turned into a small smile, and you dropped your head out of embarrassment. Of course you had to go and make things awkward with a guy you had to see practically every single day this summer. At least there were only a few weeks left, surely you could avoid him until—

He lifted your chin and broke your line of thought. His smile was bigger than you’d ever seen it.

“Do you know why I brought you gelato when I did?” he asked.

You shook your head no, wondering what kind of rejection this was.

“Because the night before that, I saw you walking out of work with your hands in the air and your hair was free and you looked so happy and absolutely beautiful that I had to meet you and find out who you were.”

You stood there silently, not sure how to respond. Your head felt light and you swung a little, just enough for Seokjin to drop his hand to your waist to help steady you. His touch felt electric even through your shirt.

“And I kept coming back even after I met you because there’s something so amazing about you that draws me toward you,” he continued. “Every single day I like you more and more, I can’t believe that hasn’t been incredibly obvious.”

“What do you mean?” you asked, a bit breathless.

“Y/N, I’ve been falling in love with you this entire time.”

Frozen in shock, you let him lift your chin up a little higher and watched as his eyes dropped to your lips.

“I thought shit like this only happened in romance novels,” you mumbled, unable to think of anything else.

“Well, I do look like I could be on the cover of one,” he said and you finally relaxed, letting out a small giggle.

“Just kiss me already,” you said, and he pulled you closer and dipped his plush lips down to meet yours. If his touch was electric, his kiss was nearly indescribable. The second his lips touched yours it was like pouring oil on fire, heat licking up from your feet and wrapping around your bodies. You touched his lips with the tip of your tongue, and when he opened his mouth against yours you practically moaned.

He tugged you backwards a bit so that you’d be in between too stalls and not right out in the open. You didn’t stop kissing him the entire time you moved, so enraptured in him that you didn’t want to let go.

Once you were out of sight of others, you kissed him even harder, your hands tangled in his blonde hair and then running down his neck to his broad shoulders. He chuckled against your mouth and you finally broke away from him to see why he was laughing at you.

“What?” you asked between your ragged breaths.

“I’m just thinking about doing things with you up against this stand right here but a picture of a clown is staring right at us and he looks very disapproving.”

You looked behind you and saw what he was referring to, a giant painted clown on the side of one of the rides that did, in fact, look like it was not pleased with your antics. And then you realized that pressed against your stomach was Seokjin, and he was quite hard.

Looking between you two and then up at his face, you knew exactly what things he’d been thinking about. And though it had only been a few moments since you’d first kissed him, you needed him more than you could even put into words.

The dampness between your legs agreed, and you pulled him out into the open and tugged him toward the parking lot.

“Your place or mine?” he joked behind you, and you turned to walk backwards and pushed your body against his.

“Depends on whose is closer.”

His eyes widened at your words. “Are you serious?”

“Very.”

“Holy shit,” he muttered and walked a bit faster, practically pushing you so you could get out of the fairgrounds as fast as possible.

“I live half an hour away from here,” he said.

“Shit, I live even further.”

“That’s way too fucking long,” he groaned, and you agreed.

An idea popped into your head, one fueled by lust and maybe a little bit of stupidity. But you needed him so badly that you really didn’t care.

“My car has a fairly roomy backseat,” you said.

Seokjin’s eyes twinkled devilishly at your words. “But car sex is so exhausting.”

“Did you seriously just make a pun about car sex?” you asked, feeling for your keys in your back pocket.

“Yeah, don’t you want me to take you for a ride?”

You groaned out of annoyance and also sexual frustration, wanting to both fuck him and slap him. You grabbed your keys and unlocked your car which was now only a few feet away, deciding on wanting to fuck him far more than slap him, although if he kept making puns the entire time you might kick him out of the car and drive away.

“I’ve got my own gear shift,” he said, this time laughing at his own joke and you shut him up by kissing him. You ran your hand up his shirt and his laughter died in his throat as you gently trailed your nails along his skin.

“Enough with the jokes, just fuck me already,” you said and then got into the backseat of your car, inching backward and biting your lip as you looked at him. “You don’t even need a condom if you’re clean, I’m on the pill.”

He scrambled in after you, not wasting a second longer. When he shut the door you locked it, and the lights in the car went out so that you two were surrounded by darkness. The lot was almost completely empty, devoid of lights or any cars around you. Public sex wasn’t really your thing, but it was highly unlikely that someone would come across you two. And yet, the idea thrilled you in a twisted way.

You sat back across the seats and he situated himself between your legs, hovering over you to finally push his lips against yours again. You squeezed your thighs against him and pulled him as close as possible, grinding your core into his stomach.

“You’re really impatient, you know that?” he asked, but he sat up slightly to take his shirt off. He threw it somewhere up near the front and then turned his attention back to you. His fingers played along the hem of your shirt and you moved so he could take it off of you.

When you were finally freed of your shirt, you started working on the clasp of your bra. He licked his lips as he watched, and when you took it off he traced his eyes over your breasts before dipping his head low and capturing one of your nipples in his mouth.

You moaned and arched your back up into him, your fingers wrapping tightly into his hair. He flicked his tongue against your nipple and sucked, and when he was satisfied and your thighs were shaking, he moved over to give equal attention to the other.

“I’m so sensitive, oh my god,” you barely got out, so caught up in pleasure that it was hard to speak.

He let go of your nipple and looked up at you. “You taste like sugar.”

“Well, I did spill a bunch of sugar on myself just a little while ago, as you know.”

He shook his head and kissed your collarbone. “No, your skin is just so sweet.”

Your pussy throbbed at his words, and no amount of grinding up against him was going to satisfy you any longer.

“I really need you,” you groaned and tugged on his hair a little. He broke away to focus on taking off his pants. While he shimmied them off, you took yours off as well and let them fall off your legs into a ball on the floor. It was difficult navigating in such a confined space, but somehow the gentle bumps and the slight fumbling only made you needier, the constant touching just adding to your desire.

You took your underwear off too, and when you two finally looked at each other, eyes adjusted to the dark, the lust practically hung in the air between you two. Seokjin had his dick in his hands, and he pumped it a few times as he eyed you up and down.

“You’re even more gorgeous than I ever could’ve possibly imagined,” he murmured.

You flicked your eyes down to his dick, hard and red and standing at attention waiting to enter you. “And you’re really fucking hot,” you said, all eloquence going straight out the window.

“Can I uh...park in your spot?” he asked, and when you started pushing him off of you he started laughing. “Okay fine, no more jokes!”

“Please fuck me already before I kick you out,” you said, and he ran his hand up and down his dick a couple more times before he gently pushed you back down against the seats. You’d never had sex in a car before, and you had to admit that the angle of your neck against the door was a bit uncomfortable. Seokjin had one knee up on the seat, the other foot on the floor, and all concerns about comfort flew out of your mind when he rubbed his dick against your dripping pussy, collecting your juices and lubricating himself. He slid in with a hiss, far too slow for your liking.

“I can take a lot more than that,” you said. He pushed your knees up so that they were almost level with your face, and with one hand on the door behind you and the other gripping your side, he slid out and then thrust back in.

“I’m not sure how fast I can go in this small of a space,” he grunted out between thrusts, setting a slow but steady pace.

“You can go faster than that,” you goaded, and when you ran your fingers from his shoulders down his back he moaned and thrust in faster.

“I didn’t realize how demanding you were,” he said, sweat already on his brow and matting his shiny hair down.

“Fuck me harder, asshole,” you replied, and you felt him shudder against you.

“The degradation thing was a joke,” he said, but his pace had picked up even faster than before, and his hand was digging into your hip now so hard that he’d surely leave bruises.

“Whatever you say, baby,” you teased, and the pet name made him curse and grip you even harder.

“I can’t wait to find out all your kinks,” you said, and he moved his hand away from your hip to find your clit, his thumb pushing down on it and making you scream.

“You should be quiet unless you want someone to catch us. Unless that’s one of your kinks?” he teased back.

You clenched around him and both of you moaned together. Your hips started bucking up to meet his, skin slapping against skin. The noise was only amplified in the small space, and the windows were fogging up. You could feel your orgasm just on the horizon, a fuse quickly running out and ready to blow.

Lights passed the car and you both froze for a second, but they disappeared, most likely an employee on their way home. Your heart was racing, and your hips involuntarily moved against his.

“You really do have a thing for getting caught, don’t you?” he asked and you could see his grin.

You clenched around him again and thrusted upwards, too fucked out to deal with his teasing right now. You were so close, teetering on the edge.

“You feel so fucking good, please just let me cum,” you whined.

“Fuck, that’s hot,” he groaned and moved his hips. When he started thrusting into you again he set a blinding pace, and you moaned unabashedly.

You knew the car had to be shaking, and the thought that someone seeing it from afar and knowing exactly what was happening made your toes curl.

“I’m gonna cum,” you cried out, wanting to drag out the sensation but far too weak to resist it for much longer.

Seokjin increased his pace even more, and his cock filling you up paired with his finger on your clit tipped you over the edge. Despite his warning about getting caught, you screamed as you came, your hips shuddering against his.

He followed you right after, spilling into you and crashing his lips into yours as his hips slowed down. Your breath intermingled, and you pressed your forehead against his as you both came down from your highs. You spent several moments lying there together, the sound of your breathing filling up the car.

“I never even imagined sex in a car could feel that good,” he mumbled against your lips when he finally pulled out. The loss of him inside you made you whine.

“Got enough energy for round two at my place? Or maybe the driver’s seat?” you asked. When you pulled away, the grin on his face gave you your answer.

Even though you had the best night of sex that you’d ever experienced, work started up again the next day just like always. You dragged yourself in far more tired than usual, and Jungkook looked at the dark circles under your eyes and your very pleased smile on your face with confusion.

“Why do you look so miserable but so happy at the same time?” he asked as he opened the shutters for the day to start.

“I had a good but restless night,” you replied, and he must’ve sensed something in your voice which, coupled with your words, made him curl his lip up in disgust.

“Ew, I don’t need to hear about your wild nights.”

“Then don’t ask,” you said and threw an apron on.

He didn’t ask for any more information until around midday, when Seokjin swung by and a goofy little grin popped onto your face when you saw him walking up.

“I’ve never seen you that pleased to see your little boyfriend,” Jungkook joked. But then he saw the blush creeping onto your face, and when you gave Seokjin some funnel cake free of charge, he nearly fell off his stool.

“Wait, are you guys seriously a thing?” he asked, looking between you two.

“Mind your own business, kid,” Seokjin jokingly snapped back, but then he leaned over the counter and you did too, giving him a peck on the lips.

Jungkook’s strangled gasp made you both laugh and look at him.

“I was just teasing, I didn’t really think you two were a thing,” he said. But then his expression turned from horrified confusion to absolute excitement. “Wait, this means you’re not gonna date Ji Eun!”

“Was I ever going to date Ji Eun?” Seokjin asked.

“Bye, I’m going to go ask her out!” He practically stumbled out of the stand and left you alone with Seokjin. You poked your head around the counter and watched Jungkook running off to the information booth, an excited spring in his step.

“Who would’ve thought that you were his only competition,” you said, amused.

“Baby, it’s not even a competition. He’s lucky I liked you,” he replied and winked at you. You rolled your eyes, but you were smiling wide, and when you kissed him again you tasted sugar on his lips.

It was the final day of summer. Most vendors had cut their prices in half, eager to get rid of stock for the season. You were busy the entire day, making funnel cake after funnel cake and pouring countless cups of lemonade for customers who were taking advantage of the last breath of summer. You didn’t even notice it was closing time until you looked up and saw the lights flickering out on the rides, the fairgrounds relatively deserted.

“I’m definitely never working this again,” Jungkook said and sat down on the floor, equally exhausted. You sat down next to him and rested your head against the wall.

“At least you’re dating Ji Eun now, so you got something out of it.”

“Both of us got money and laid, but at what cost?”

“Ew, I don’t need to hear about that,” you said and pushed his shoulder so he’d fall over. He laughed and straightened up, and then you heard a knock on the wall. Seokjin peeked his head around and smiled when he saw you.

“Speaking of not wanting to hear things, I’m out of here,” Jungkook said, and even though it meant you would have to clean up alone, you let him leave. Despite his constant complaining, he wasn’t half bad as an employee, and he was partly how you had stayed sane all summer.

“I have a surprise for you,” Seokjin said when you two were alone, and he held his hand out for you to take it. You didn’t speak as he lead you through the fairgrounds, and you ended up at a destination that you knew well.

“Last night for free rides,” Namjoon said, and his classic dimples were visible as he looked between you two. He might have teased you when you were still questioning your feelings for Seokjin, but as soon as he found out you two were together he was nothing but supportive.

You got into the Ferris wheel car and Seokjin lagged behind.

“Aren’t you getting on?” you asked.

“Don’t you wanna ride alone?” he countered, mimicking your words from when you first got stuck riding the Ferris wheel with him.

“Please join me,” you said softly, and he followed you into the car and closed the door. When the wheel started moving, he took your hand into his and traced patterns into it.

“I’m going to miss seeing you every day,” he admitted.

“You can still see me every day,” you said and kissed him on the cheek. “Just because we’re not working together anymore doesn’t mean I won’t want to keep seeing you.”

Seokjin’s shoulders relaxed, and you hadn’t realized that had been worrying him.

“You’re not just some summer fling,” you told him, and you touched his face so he’d look you directly in the eye. “I was falling in love with you for as long as you were falling in love with me, I just didn’t know it yet.”

That feeling of calm and excitement, the one that made you feel like you were home but that you had the whole world stretched out in front of you, was always present when you were with Seokjin. He was your little piece of summer that you could keep with you always, no matter what the season or where you were.

He kissed you then, his lips soft against your own, and you didn’t even need to be on a Ferris wheel to feel like you were on top of the world.

“Now that we’re pros at fucking in confined spaces, do you think we could manage it up here?” he asked when he pulled away.

“Is that one of your kinks?” you giggled. “Do Ferris wheels get you going?”

“No, but you do.”

You laughed and shook your head. “I’m pretty sure that would be frowned upon, but I’ll make it up to you when we get home.”

“Sounds good,” he said and then you rested your head on his shoulder.

“I was going to have them shoot off fireworks, but then the guys told me that costs thousands and I nearly passed out.”

You giggled and curled up closer to him. “This is more than enough. You’re always more than enough.”

Lights twinkled below you, and sitting here with your hand in his, you felt like summer would never truly end.

(Masterlist)