It was a Wednesday when you received a text message from Shin Dong Gab informing you that he’ll be picking you up from work. Not that that was unusual, but he usually texted you when he’s unable to pick you up. This made you think that maybe he’s taking you out somewhere tonight or he has something up his sleeve.
His Bentley was already parked by your building’s entrance and you spotted it immediately as you exited the building. You entered the car and put your seat belt on and asked, “Where are you taking me?”
“W-what? Why are you making me sound like I’m abducting you?” he stuttered.
“I don’t think it counts as an abduction if I come with you willingly,” you argued before continuing, “Just weird that you texted me you’ll be picking me up. I mean, you do it most days anyway.”
“You’ll see.” The beginnings of a smile forming on his lips as he grabbed your hand and kissed the back of it.
Dong Gab drove on and he didn’t even use the GPS to guide him, leaving you all the more clueless as to where you were headed. It only dawned on you as to what your destination was when you kept on seeing signs that said Amusement Park X kms ahead.
“Are you taking me to an amusement park?” you asked, feeling yourself starting to get excited.
He just laughed at your question which wasn’t the answer you were looking for and you started to frown.
“You’ll see,” he assured you and gave your knee a squeeze.
You arrived at your destination and you slapped his arm, “We were going to the amusement park! Why did you have to be all mysterious about it?”
“Well... I was supposed to surprise you and I was banking on you falling asleep during the ride so you staying up obviously wasn’t part of the plan,” he said apologetically as he scratched the back of his head.
You got out of the car and Dong Gab grabbed your hand as he led the way to the park entrance. He already had tickets on his phone which he scanned on the turnstiles and you were both in.
There weren’t a lot of people and you wondered, “Hey you didn’t close this for us did you?”
“It’s a Wednesday, of course there wouldn’t be a lot of people. And even if I could, you’d get mad at me for doing that so I just chose to bring you here on a slow day.”
You stopped walking and hugged him, murmuring a thank you against his chest. Amusement parks weren’t his thing but he still brought you to one anyway. You continued walking with his arm around your shoulder and your arm around his waist, deciding which ride to go on first.
Dong Gab wasn’t an easy person to rile up so you chose the roller coaster first to see how he was going to react to it. It was also the perfect thing to ride first as you haven’t had dinner yet so there’s nothing to throw up after the ride.
There wasn’t a line and you were already up next when you got to the platform. You waited for the previous passengers to alight then the bars on your side lifted and you got on. The safety bars lowered and the crew checked one by one if all bars were locked in place. Dong Gab turned to look at you and asked, “Are you scared?”
You shook your head, “Nah, even kids can ride this.”
You looked ahead excitedly when you heard the break release and the coaster started moving forward. The coaster rose up slowly before coming to the drop. You heard Dong Gab let out a muffled scream at the same time you did and you wanted to look at him but you couldn’t turn your head as you were too busy screaming as well. Then came a few loops and you were back on the platform.
The safety bars lifted and you tried fixing your windswept hair. You looked at Dong Gab and saw that his glasses were slightly askew and you fixed it. "You okay?"
"Yup. I didn't expect that drop though. It didn't look so high from the outside."
You step out of the ride, Dong Gab in tow and he held on to your shoulder just a tad too tight and you looked at him quizzically.
"My knees are a little wobbly from the ride I think," he confessed.
You stifled your laughter and just held on to him, cherishing seeing a side of him he doesn't normally show to other people or when he's performing.
The exit of the roller coaster led into a gift shop and Dong Gab felt better by the time you got there. You started looking around and he followed you. You spotted some fluffy animal ears and decided to put it on him for fun.
Dong Gab checked himself in the mirror with the ears on. "They're actually not bad. I think I look cute in these!"
"Seriously?" you exclaimed, your mouth hung agape.
Then he grabbed an animal hat and put it on and when he squeezed the paws, the ears moved up and down. He was quite entertained by it and you took your phone out to take a video of him. He saw what you were doing and jokingly asked you to stop but you said the video was for your eyes only and he let you keep the video.
He removed the hat and commented that it was too hot and his head was getting sweaty. You reached for some pink bunny ears and placed it on his head. “I think these look best on you, Oppa,” you declared.
He looked at you questioningly.
“Totally screams Rap Daddy to me,” you chided.
Dong Gab chuckled, “If you say so.” Then he grabbed a headband of the same design and placed it on your head to match his.
You headed to the cash register to pay and you noticed a photo booth just across the gift shop. As soon as Dong Gab was done paying, you took his hand and pulled him towards the photo booth.
The photo booth was one of those old school ones that just took the photo in either colored or black and white, no effects or anything to make the photo look cute or filtered. The booth was small and had only one seat so you sat on Dong Gab’s lap. You inserted some change and pressed the start button and you heard the countdown start. You did some silly poses, and some cheesy ones, and then you transferred to the booth just beside it which produced colored photos and did the same.
“Are you hungry?” Dong Gab inquired.
“Let’s go on the bumper cars first then we can eat.”
The two of you headed to the bumper cars where Dong Gab chased you and you ended up bumping into another patron and Dong Gab narrowly missing bumping into your car so he could drive away from you and you had to chase him. The buzzer rang eventually which signaled that your time at the bumper cars was over.
You headed to the food stalls after to grab some dinner. While chomping down on your burger, Dong Gab dropped two photos in front of you, the ones taken during the roller coaster ride.
"Where did you get this? How am I mid-scream and you're smiling nicely at the camera?" you asked.
"There were signs that said 'Camera up ahead'. You would've seen it if you didn't shut your eyes the entire ride," he teased, raising an eyebrow at you and smirking.
"Whatever," you rolled your eyes, "I heard you scream anyway."
A shocked expression showed on his face which he quickly shifted to his usual cool demeanor. "You have no proof."
"I now have blackmail material against you, proof or no proof!" you teased back.
In the middle of bantering, the PA system announced that rides will shut down ten minutes before closing time.
Dong Gab checked his watch. "We have time for one more ride. Where do you wanna go?" he asked as he finished his food.
"The roller coaster. I'm gonna go get my proof."
He looked at you, aghast.
You cupped his face with one hand. "I'm kidding! We'll go on the merry go round." He sagged into your touch ever so slightly in relief.
You walked hand in hand towards the merry go round and you looked around choosing which horse or carriage to ride on. You settled on a horse and Dong Gab assisted you in getting up and buckled the belt around your waist before getting on the horse adjacent to yours.
You fooled around as soon as the ride started moving. You grabbed Dong Gab's hand and pretended to wave at your non-existent constituents. Then you dropped his hand and held on to the pole with one hand for support as you leaned back, your other hand outstretched to feel the wind as it whipped past your body and Dong Gab tried to copy you but he couldn't bend his back as much as you.
You sat properly as the ride slowed down. When it came to a full stop, Dong Gab told you to wait. He got off his horse then unbuckled your belt and helped you get off yours.
The amusement park's theme song started to play accompanied by a recorded message thanking you for giving them a visit. You exited the park along with the few other patrons who were also there that night.
You got in the car and while Dong Gab idled the car to warm the engine up, you reached up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks for bringing me here tonight."
He turned to you and cupped your face, placing a soft kiss on your lips. "Anytime, anywhere with you, love."
You beamed back at him and you settled back in your seat as he backed out of the parking, letting sleep claim you on your way home.
