SEUNGMIN HAD never wanted to punch someone in the face so badly.

it started when he and hyunjin were standing in line for a ride called the "flying teacups". seungmin had caught a glimpse of people inside of giant floating cups that bounced in the wind and was so enchanted that he immediately rushed over to the ever-growing line. he had almost forgotten about the wizard next to him until a large woman barged past him, her hoop skirt shoving him to the side violently. "well, aren't you a tall glass of water," she giggled, and it took seungmin a moment to realize she was talking to hyunjin.

the wizard chuckled. "so i've been told."

the two of them flirted back and forth until they had made it to the beginning of the line. however, rather than boarding the ride with seungmin, hyunjin got on with the woman, leaving seungmin without a partner. so, he awkwardly boarded alone and spent the rest of the ride quietly watching the world spin beneath him. fun times.

after they both exited their teacups (seungmin noticed that the woman was nowhere to be seen), seungmin spotted an attraction called the "death drop". groups would sit in a circular contraption (that was obviously controlled by magic, as seungmin couldn't see any "ride", so to speak) and slowly rise until they couldn't be seen anymore. then, they were plunged through the clouds, dropping at an insanely staggering speed, before they were abruptly stopped right before they could hit the ground. it was the kind of ride that would give height-hating minho a heart attack. it was also the kind of ride that would give height-loving seungmin the time of his life.

hyunjin (who was still very dizzy from their previous ride) nodded when seungmin told him of his desire to go on the death drop, and tottered behind him as they went to stand in line. but as soon as they did, another woman squeezed herself in between the two of them, ogling over hyunjin.

oh no, seungmin thought, i'm not letting this happen again! "excuse me, you're separating me from my...friend," he said through gritted teeth. "please be considerate and take a step back."

instead of politely adhering to his words, the woman shot him a glare that was just as deadly as the death drop. "who do you think you are, filthy rat?" she spat, looking him up and down and she did so.

seungmin's eyebrows shot up. sure, maybe his outfit was a little plain in comparison to everyone else's. sure, maybe his face wasn't as attractive as hyunjin's. and sure, maybe he looked a bit untidy— he had just come off of a ride, after all. but he wouldn't go as far as to say that he was a filthy rat. that was just uncalled for, especially when he was trying to be polite. he shot hyunjin an incredulous look that said, are you really going to just let her say that? in response, the wizard merely shrugged, which in turn infuriated seungmin greatly.

calm down, seungmin, he thought to himself whilst taking a deep breath. it's best to not cause a scene. soon you'll be having the time of your life on a fun ride and you can forget all about this woman's existence.

but when they got to the front of the line, it was almost like déjà vu. hyunjin slid his arm around the woman's waist and pulled her through the entrance, leaving the tailor behind. when he attempted to follow them, the proctor of the ride blocked his way. "sorry, sir, but the ride is all filled. you'll have to wait until this group is done before you can get on."

seungmin's eyebrow twitched. you've got to be kidding me.

the trend continued on and on. hyunjin and seungmin would go to an attraction; hyunjin would find a woman and get on the ride with her, leaving seungmin behind; the two of them would reconvene afterward, hyunjin acting as if nothing had happened. as time passed, seungmin grew more and more irritated, although he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. hyunjin's love life didn't interest him in the slightest, so why was he getting upset?

well, who would want to be ditched by their friend? seungmin thought but immediately scratched it out. he and hyunjin were not friends— more like strangers forced together through unfavorable conditions. acquaintances. that's a better word.

by the time hyunjin had moved on to girl number nine, seungmin was fed up. so, when the wizard took the girl by the hand and boarded the ride they were in line for, seungmin decided that enough was enough and got out of line, weaving in between men in bulky overcoats and women with pearls the size of his palm. when he finally escaped the crowd, he breathed a sigh of relief. large groups were never really his thing.

seungmin wandered around the fair, occasionally stopping to marvel at the intricate outfits of some passerby or stare wistfully at the numerous food stands. the only money he had was in his room back in the castle, and even then it wasn't any more than one or two pennies. he was positively famished, and the smell of fried meat and sweet cakes didn't help one bit.

he was about to begin begging for spare change when someone behind him said, "excuse me, would you like some food?"

seungmin turned to find a male smiling at him kindly, a skewered sausage in hand. he had high cheekbones and smooth, sand-coloured hair that seungmin felt suited his lightly tanned skin nicely. overall, he was very attractive, though seungmin paid more attention to the flowy silver button-up he was wearing rather than his face. is that made of silk or a cheaper substitute? are the black roses that dot it stitched or printed onto it? i need to find out the answers to these questions! but first...

seungmin swallowed, meeting the other boy's dark brown eyes. "oh, no," he said, trying his hardest to not let his gaze drift to the food item in his hand. "i'm fine. thank you, though."

the blonde man raised an eyebrow. "are you sure? because you've been staring at that sausage stand for the past ten minutes looking like you're about to start begging people for money."

damn, am i that obvious? red began to envelop seungmin's ears as he came to the realization that he was caught. "i... i can't. it would be incredibly rude of me, and—"

"just take it," the male grinned and shoved the sausage into a blubbering seungmin's hands. "it would be incredibly rude of me to deny someone who is obviously starving. eat up and thank me later."

the tailor glanced down at the food in his hands and back up at the boy. "thank you so much," he said, smiling softly. "can i get your name?"

"daehwi," the blonde said. "and how about you?"

"seungmin."

daehwi's grin grew bigger if that was even possible. "seungmin, huh? a cute name for an even cuter guy." seungmin's eyes widened as daehwi took a step forward. hold on... is he flirting with me? "i watched you for a while. you're here alone, aren't you?"

no, seungmin was about to say, but daehwi continued. "someone as pretty as you shouldn't be alone in a place like this. how about we walk around for a bit and then go back to my place? i can assure you that it will be much more entertaining than the fair."

seungmin's hunger was long forgotten. instead, a feeling of unease opened up in the pit of his stomach. daehwi's words were making him extremely uncomfortable, and he wanted nothing more than to bolt. nothing like this had ever happened to him before, and every voice in his head was screaming at him to decline daehwi's offer and get the hell out of there.

however, a familiar voice beat him to it. "i'm sorry, but he will be going nowhere with you."