Chapter Text
Jungkook is a fan of amusement parks. He likes the atmosphere of excitement and unbridled fun, loves every thrill ride he has ever been on, and adores roller coasters. These are the reasons why he says yes when Jin asks him to come to Summerland with him and Namjoon, despite knowing that it will inevitably turn into him third-wheeling them once Jin mans up and tells Namjoon he likes him.
His hyung has been hopelessly in love all spring and if it will help him finally confess, Jungkook will gladly act as the wingman and diffuse any tension while the two get their act together. It has been kind of painful to watch them because Namjoon obviously reciprocates all of the romantic feelings Jin could possibly have, and yet, both act as if unaware of the other’s feelings.
Plus, Jin said he would pay for Jungkook’s ticket.
So the next Sunday around noon they head for Summerland, the local theme park. It’s a medium-sized park, known best for its location on the cape with nice lakeside views, and for their penchant for curiously named rides. The weather is overcast and it has rained for a few days, but Jungkook takes that as a win because it means the park won’t be too crowded. He is hopping from foot to foot and grinning when he stretches out his wrist for the ticket booth worker to put the bracelet around. Jin shakes his head.
“I feel like I’m taking my kid to the park for the first time.”
Jungkook shoves him a little, but then takes his hand and drags him and Namjoon towards Ugh! , the Viking Ship. He doesn’t really get queasy but still, better do that on an empty stomach.
*
Four hours later, Jungkook consents to taking an actual break although he demands they first do the log flume Logz With Fun as the sun has come out. They make the queue just before there is a big rush, because everyone seems to have thought of the same thing. Jungkook boasts about his superior decision-making skills just so Jin can make fun of him. He has noticed how their inconsequential bickering makes Namjoon smile fondly.
Jungkook’s has a simple rule: on rides that circle a course of any kind, it’s best to be seated in the very front, unless the ride involves a long train like roller coasters usually do, in which case it is probably even better sitting in the very last seats because those achieve the best speeds. The debate of which is better in any particular case has to be resolved by testing in practice, of course. For this once though, Jungkook insists that Jin sits in the front before Namjoon, and that he goes behind Namjoon. Being the big scaredy-cat he is, Jin is initially very much against the idea. But Jungkook stresses that he wants to be last, claiming that the very first people never get splashed so badly because the log comes down so hard and quick that they kind of bypass the splash before the water is even hitting their log. Jungkook is lying, but he does it for a good cause so he doesn’t feel bad about it. He is hoping Jin’s wimpy tendencies will make him forget about any awkwardness and just hold on to Namjoon, because the final descent is, after all, really big.
His plan is wildly successful. Jin clings to Namjoon’s arms, which have been around him since the top of the big descent, for dear life all the way until they exit the log and recover their things. Jungkook rather smugly notes that they are still holding hands when they pause to look at the photos, taken at the start of that final plunge. Jungkook grins at the way Jin’s eyes are shut in absolute terror, but behind him, Namjoon is captured mid-shout with a smile on his lips. He is looking at the back of Jin’s head rather then at the fall ahead of them. Jungkook himself has twisted around Namjoon to give a victory sign at the camera. Namjoon buys the photo while Jin grumbles that it is way too expensive, but he is smiling the whole time so he is not fooling anybody.
They are relatively dry by the time they get to the barbecue restaurant. Jungkook tries to be as invisible as possible in his corner seat and pay attention to nothing but his phone so his hyungs can talk, but they both keep drawing him into the conversation so he is forced to rethink his strategy while they dig in. He can’t just say he will go off on his own to go through the biggest rides on his own, because his hyungs would just protest and stick with him, as if he is too young to go about the park on his own. Jin doesn’t even want to go on the biggest rides but so far, Namjoon has been going on them with Jungkook while Jin tries to snap photos of them on the ride and waits for them at the exit.
Once they are done eating they rest their feet for a little bit longer. Looking over the park map with Namjoon, Jungkook sees something that gives him the idea for the next step of his plan.
He drags them out and towards an area they haven’t been to yet.
“Slow down, you monster,” Jin groans behind him. “I’m too full to be power walking right now. And there’s no way I’m doing any spinny rides any time soon.”
“I don’t think I’m up for much excitement yet, either,” Namjoon says apologetically, lagging behind with Jin.
Jungkook looks around until he spots what he is looking for. It is like a mini forest has been dumped in the middle of the park, dark green, dense foliage not showing much of what lies on the other side of the trees, although Jungkook can catch an occasional glimpse of flowing water and hear a gentle rippling sound backed by very faint classical music. It’s perfect.
Ahead, he spots the ride entrance and points at it, turning to his companions. “How about that?”
They look at the sign that says Serendipity . Namjoon sweeps his eyes across the trees and smiles instantly, while Jin looks dubiously at the queue of four people and the small boats that slowly drift into the stream every now and then.
“You sure you want to go on that?”
Jungkook tries his best to rein in the grin that threatens to burst out and shakes his head.
“No, I mean how about you guys go on that, have some time to digest the food, and I’ll just,” Jungkook looks around and settles his eyes on the sign that says ‘Games’, “I’ll just be over there! I mean yeah, maybe this one’s a little slow for me, but I’ve been dying to try the, uh, the whack-a-mole!”
Jungkook frowns at his own words. The whack-a-mole? Jin snorts but glances at Namjoon eagerly eyeing the boat ride.
“Right, well,” Jin takes Namjoon’s arm and steers him towards the ride queue, tossing Jungkook a wink over his shoulder while mouthing ‘thank you’. “We’ll find you around the games then!”
Jungkook heads to the Games area whistling, hands in his pockets. Soon, he enters a colorful square. One side is full of food and beverage booths, the other houses an arcade that is followed by all sorts of carnival games. He eyes the mini rifle game for a bit but continues past it. He didn’t take a lot of money with him since Jin promised to pay, so he wants to make sure he plays the best games with the best prizes. Most of the prizes are stuffed animals ranging from small to huge. There is some colourful junk that is more interesting to younger kids, but the Wheel of Fortune has a whole lot of candy prizes, too. Jungkook is interested in the candy but he instinctively objects to the idea that the outcome of the game is based on chance alone, so he passes the game for now.
Jungkook finds the whack-a-mole at the end of the row, and he is about to go play that when he glances around the corner and pauses. He had thought it was just a little recreational area with benches about, but there is actually a big entrance at the short end of the building. It is painted to look like a seaside view, decorated with big seashells and shiny pearls, a few stylized graffiti spelling ‘Splash!’ around the wall. Four mermaids are depicted lounging on a cluster of rocks, waving at the viewer. There is laughter coming from somewhere inside. Above the entrance is a sign that says ‘Mermaid Bay’.
Jungkook walks in and first notices a water gun game close to the entrance. A group of kids are spraying the targets, making neon coloured lights blink and things move when they hit them. One of the kids is using his hand to splash some of the water from his gun towards his friends. Jungkook ducks and walks close to the opposing wall, which holds a huge embedded aquarium with many colourful fish swimming around. Ahead, a crowd is gathered in front of some kind of pool. The illuminated water looks beautiful in the otherwise shadowy room, and the light is further reflected by the shiny metal and mirrored pieces on the ceiling and the walls. Jungkook blames his fascination with the play of light on water for not having noticed sooner what the actual attraction is.
A small cry makes him jerk his eyes up just as there is a big splash in the pool. There is laughter from the crowd and Jungkook looks at the blurry figure in the water in confusion, then looks up.
And his breath is stolen right out of his lungs, because he meets a pair of eyes that make something in his chest area jolt. It is impossible not to pay attention to the eye colour because it is the clearest light blue Jungkook has ever seen.The eyes are part of a face that is unimaginably flawless, framed on the temples and cheeks by blue scales that seem to have been painted on the skin. Falling across the forehead is blond hair that looks slightly damp, but dry enough to have started fluffing out. And the mouth, god. It’s pink, and glossy, and just a little bit pushed out in a pout. Jungkook’s ears are filled with a muffled ringing, and he is aware that something is moving in the pool, that there are people talking next to him, but all he can look at is that face. His fingers itch for his camera. Then, there comes a tiny quirk to the lips, and the head tilts, pale golden waves falling just a bit over the blue eyes. Jungkook looks into them, twinkling with what seems suspiciously like mischief, and the guy winks .
He jumps. He actually jumps, and the only reason he doesn’t yelp is because he bites his tongue. Because a guy winked at him. Blinking and shaking his head, Jungkook exhales and tries to make sense of the sounds rushing into his ears like someone removed plugs from his ears. Slowly, he looks back up but doesn’t dare look the man in the eye. And then he gasps again, because what. The. Hell.
His mind is quickly coming back online, and taking stock of the following things: the blue-eyed vision is lounging on some kind of a platform high on a wall across the pool. His eyes are probably not what most people would find the most interesting thing about him. No, that would be his tail. A mermaid tail. A mer man tail? It’s turquoise, and big and shiny, so Jungkook is astounded that he did not notice it at first. It isn’t a cheap tail: it looks pretty believable, not too plasticky, nor too big or too small.
Besides the tail, the guy is only wearing a loose, pearly white tank top. His skin is a honeyed tone of tan and Jungkook can’t stop looking at how it looks contrasted with the white of the top and the turquoise of the tail. There is suddenly a lot of saliva in his mouth and he needs to swallow a few times. His ears and cheeks feel warm. Jungkook is painfully aware that he has been staring for way too long, and there is no way he is meeting those eyes right now, so he takes a few steps back and lets another person in front of him, focusing his gaze on the pool instead.
There is another merperson in there. She has long, dark hair that flows and swirls prettily in the water. Her tail is dark red and she is wearing a small red top that has white pearls on it. She swims around a little, coming close in the pool to smile and wave at the people gathered before her. Then she dives towards the back of the pool, her tail splashing once at the crowd on her way. Jungkook notices that the half of the wall that Blue Eyes isn’t occupying has a platform on it too, but it’s hanging down from hinges. And that is when Jungkook notes the targets jutting out of the pool and the plastic balls in baskets on the table that is set in front of the pool and cutting the crowd from getting closer, and realizes what the game is.
Underwater, the girl dives through a big hole in the wall and disappears from sight. A slim man in staff clothing walks up, pressing a button on the side of the pool and a short curtain descends from the ceiling over the empty section of wall, leaving just the male mer- the merman- in sight. Jungkook carefully glances from the corner of his eye and sees that the guy is now looking at someone else, lips curving up.
“Hello there.” His voice is deeper than Jungkook expects, and it causes little shivers to run up and down the back of his neck. “You going to help me get back to water?”
The two young women at the table giggle and pass some coins to the staff, who hands them a basket full of balls. “We’ll try,” one of them says. She convenes with her friend and then they divide the balls, each taking five. Just as one of them throws the first one, the staff looks up towards the platform. Jungkook follows his eyes and sees a small hand waving thumbs up from behind the curtain. The staff pushes another button and on the other side of the pool, three targets rise from the water and the curtain draws back up to reveal the mermaid from earlier perching on the other platform. Unlike the man, who is lounging on his side, she is laying on her front and pushing herself up on her elbows. Her dark, wet hair flows artfully over her shoulder. She says something to Blue Eyes, who smiles briefly and then focuses on the crowd.
The first girl throws three of her balls before she hits a target with the fourth. She and her friend whoop loudly and the merman claps his hands. When the fifth ball just misses the second target, he pouts.
“Do you want to be dropped?” the girl who just used up her balls asks as she steps aside and lets her friend take over.
The merman runs a hand through his hair and sighs rather dramatically. “The water’s nice and cool. It gets a little hot up here.”
“I bet it does,” the girl waggles her eyebrows at him but when her friend looks at her she immediately dissolves into giggles. The merman just smiles indulgently. The second girl hits a target on her third try and the fourth one is very close, too.
“You can do it!” The merman cheers her before the last throw and the girl seems all fired up by his and her friend’s encouragement, but that may be to her detriment as the last ball flies with power right over the last target. The girls look dejected but the man smiles at them, this time wider, crinkling his eyes cutely. “I’m sure you can do it on the second try!”
The girls turn to debate each other but then someone calls a name from the entrance and they look up. Two boys, looking at the merman with disinterested expressions, gesture for the girls to go. They turn to wave at the merman who keeps smiling and calls, “Have a fintastic day!” The girls exit behind the boys, giggling again. Jungkook snorts. Jin would have liked that line.
There are a couple people queueing before the mermaid. A few people try their luck on the man’s side, too, but none so far have been successful. The girl is very popular, though she doesn’t speak much to the audience. She does keep whispering with the guy, who has now also shifted onto his front. They laugh together and wave their tails in the air. Jungkook wishes again that he took his camera with him. When a customer gets two targets down on the girl’s side, she sits up on the platform and looks straight at the audience. The last target goes down and the platform drops, she falls, this time with more of a giggle than a squeal. She swims to the near edge of the pool and holds herself up against it, batting her lashes at the man who dropped her. Then she giggles again and twists back into the water, splashing the nearest people. After that, there is a bit of a lull in customers. Another group of kids is playing the water gun game, but Jungkook is suddenly the only one close to the pool. He may have lost his sense of time watching the game. How long has he been here already?
Before he can fish out his phone and check the time, his thoughts are interrupted by the velvety voice of the merman.
“Do you want to play, honey?”
Jungkook’s heart is beating a mile a minute, but that’s okay, nobody else needs to know that. He just needs to play it cool.
“What’s the prize, exactly?” he asks before he can stop himself. The merman reacts with a laugh, sitting up.
“It’s the splash, of course! Plus you get to see us in our natural habitat for a bit. We really are good swimmers, you should see me in the water,” the guy says and smiles lopsidedly. Then he taps his chin thoughtfully. “Unless of course you’re worried you’ll be embarrassed by your throwing skills.”
Jungkook snorts. “Me?” He tries to put into that one word how utterly ridiculous it is to insinuate that he would be bad at throwing balls . The merman laughs delightedly.
“You’re awfully sure of yourself when you haven’t even tried it.” The merman looks to the side, where the staff has just pressed the button to reveal the mermaid next to him, yet again posing on the platform. She is looking at Jungkook with interest now, too. “Yoongi, how long has it been since someone dropped me?”
The staff glances at his watch. “Bit over an hour.”
The merman smirks at Jungkook and gestures towards the mermaid. “They say that this side is harder than that one. Maybe if you do work up the nerve to play, you should try on that side.”
That does it. Jungkook purses his lips and lifts his chin, marching up to the table in front of the merman. The mermaid covers her smile with her hand, but Jungkook is mainly looking at the man, whose blue eyes sparkle in the lights reflecting from the pool.
He gives the staff his last bill and doesn’t even look at the coins he gets back. He examines the targets and tries to judge how sturdy they are. They seemed to go down from a pretty feeble hit when he was watching the girls throw earlier. Next, he takes the basket offered by the staff and takes out one ball, weighing it from one hand to the other. It is surprisingly light, and that is probably the one thing that makes the game at least a little hard, Jungkook muses.
“Come on, hotshot, let’s see what you’ve got,” the merman calls. He is now sitting bracing his hands on the edge of his platform, leaning forward and swinging his tail back and forth below him.
Jungkook takes a stance, pulls his arm back, judges the distance, and throws. It’s a little short.
“That was close,” the merman says, somewhat neutrally, but when Jungkook looks up at him he grins, “I’m sure you can hit at least one.”
That smile is a problem, because it makes Jungkook both hot and cold at the same time, and he really wants to wipe it off of the guy for a while. He takes the second ball and bounces it from hand to hand for a bit. When he thinks he has the feel for it, he just launches immediately and hits a target to the side. It slams down into the water.
“Ooh! He has some spunk after all!”
Jungkook tries very hard to ignore the merman’s commentary when he takes the third ball and moves to the second target. He misses, but he is very close again. He adjusts his angle a little bit, and hits the target on his fourth try. He glances at the merman, who cocks his head and smiles expectantly.
“Don’t slow down now, honey.”
Jungkook shivers at the way the man calls him honey, and absolutely blames his next miss on that. He tries to not give the man time to talk before his next throw so he just takes the next ball, exhales and let’s fly. Straight into the middle of the last target.
The platform drops and the man’s laugh cuts off right before he hits the water. Jungkook crouches to see into the pool better. The man somersaults in the water and then comes up, grinning. “Well done!” He fishes a couple of the balls from the water and hands them over to the staff, then turns to Jungkook. “I knew you could do it, you were just so shy I had to tease you a little.”
The merman is so close now, carding back his wet hair and revealing a truly devastating set of dark eyebrows and a smooth forehead. He hasn’t even stopped smiling, and he is acting as if Jungkook’s victory was expected. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“Are you getting back up?” Jungkook interrupts, because he feels an inexplicable need to show off, now.
“Huh? Sure…” The man follows Jungkook’s gaze to his basket, which still holds four balls. “Only one splash per round, though.”
Jungkook looks up, his eyes widening. “Really? But I paid for the ten balls and I still have four left.”
“Those are the rules,” the merman says before turning and submerging himself, heading towards the back of the pool. Jungkook frowns at his basket as the staff closes the curtains over the dropped platform.
“You know,” the shorter man mutters, shooting him a sly look. “Seeing as there aren’t many customers currently, I could make an exception for you this time. Just to see if you can do it, of course. Practically for science.”
Jungkook looks at the man, startled. The silver nametag on the front of his oversized staff shirt says ‘Yoongi’.
“You sure?”
Yoongi nods and leans forward, narrowing his eyes. “Just don’t tell anybody.”
Jungkook nods eagerly and pulls the basket with his remaining four balls close. It isn’t likely that he can drop the guy a second time, because his hit rate so far is fifty percent and it needs to go up to seventy-five. But then again, the more he throws, the better he will get. He takes up one of the balls, throwing it up and catching it while he waits for Yoongi to open the curtains. The girl up on the other platform is looking at him, leaning her chin on her hand. When their eyes meet, she gives him a thumbs up and then looks behind the curtain next to her, bursting out in laughter and shaking her head. A hand shoots out from behind the curtain to swat at her shoulder before showing the thumbs up sign, and Yoongi raises the curtain.
He is now leaning back on his forearms, hair drawn back from the forehead. He is holding his head back at an angle, mouth slightly parted, levelling Jungkook with his eyes. There is something almost condescending in his expression, but Jungkook can only stare back dumbly because all he can think of is hot, hot, hot . The wet tank top is somewhat see-through and droplets glisten on the tan skin in a way that dries Jungkook’s throat.
“You’re going to catch flies,” Yoongi says somewhere to his left, and Jungkook snaps his mouth shut. The merman’s face changes in a second, the cool, calculated look dissolving into scrunched up eyes and and open mouth as he throws his head back and laughs. It’s a deep, throaty kind of laugh, and it doesn’t last long enough.
“Paid for another round?” He tilts his head forward and damp hair falls across his forehead. “You must really like seeing me get wet.”
Jungkook clears his throat. “I’m just finishing my round,” he says, takes aim, and downs a target. He bites his lip in an effort not to smile and tries to look nonchalant instead.
The merman frowns and looks at the staff. “Yoongi!” He says and there is a whine to his voice that goes with the pout he is now aiming at the short man, who looks back and shrugs, the corner of his mouth quirking the tiniest bit.
“It’s just one kid, V. Besides, are you saying you think he can drop you a second time?”
The merman drops his eyes to Jungkook’s basket, looking between his three balls and the two targets that are still up, biting his lip. Then he settles down to lie on his back, stretching his arms over his head and closing his eyes. “Nah, I’m not worried.”
Both the mermaid and the staff called Yoongi are looking expectantly at him, so Jungkook looks away from the distractingly sensual sight of the merman stretched out on his platform and takes up another ball. He spends a moment to weigh it and take aim. His next throw hits the target, too. Jungkook looks up at the merman.
His eyes have opened to slits and he is looking at the targets from the corner of his eye. Then he closes them back up again, stretches with a little groan and then starts softly singing just as Jungkook is about to take aim with his second to last ball.
His deep voice has a little thrum and a tremble to it. Either he is not singing anything intelligible, or Jungkook can’t make it out, but it doesn’t matter. The room gives the singing a strange echo. The melody is haunting and Jungkook kind of loses his mind because he throws the ball he is holding without even properly looking at the target. It’s wide off the mark.
Yoongi leans against the side of the pool and shakes his head. “He doesn’t play fair.”
Up on the platform, the merman smirks and turns his head to look at Jungkook through half-lidded eyes. It’s a challenge, and Jungkook doesn’t back down from a challenge.
He takes the last ball and gazes back at the merman. Their eyes meet and for awhile they just regard each other, no changes in expression. Then Jungkook looks at the target and goes through the throwing motion twice before he takes a deep breath and holds the air in, throwing the ball.
It’s not a bullseye, but it’s a clear hit. The merman’s eyes widen when the platform drops beneath him, and he lets out a cute little shout when his back hits the water. The splash is quite a lot bigger than the previous ones, as the whole length of him meets the water at once, and Jungkook realizes why the girl was quick to sit up earlier when it seemed the customer was going to hit the third target. Even though the drop isn’t very high, a belly flop would probably be unpleasant. The mermaid is laughing and clapping, congratulating Jungkook.
The merman comes up on the surface and coughs, pushing his hair back and glaring at Jungkook, but there’s no heat behind it.
“Congrats, I guess.” He swims to the edge of the pool, flicking water at Yoongi who is smirking on the side, and smiles at Jungkook. “Two splashes for the price of one. That’s your prize, just for today.”
Jungkook can’t think of a single thing to say as the man lifts himself half up from the pool and looks at him inquisitively. His top has fallen off his right shoulder and it’s going to drive Jungkook insane.
“So. Tall, dark, and shy.” Is this flirting? Is the man flirting? “What’s your name?”
“What’s yours?” Jungkook breathes back. It’s quiet, but the man hears him and thinks a second, then leans forward his lips curving at the corners.
“I’m V.”
Jungkook furrows his brows. “Is that your real name?”
The man grins. “That’s my mermaid name, of course.”
Jungkook sighs. “Of course,” he repeats. Watching the man’s face from up close is the real prize, he thinks distractedly. Gathering his nerve, he opens his mouth to tell him his name, and maybe ask for his real one in return.
“Jungkook! There you are!”
Jungkook jolts and turns towards the entrance at Jin’s voice, and does a double-take. There is a small crowd of onlookers gathered behind him, watching him and the merman with rapt attention. Behind them, Jin is approaching waving his hand. His other hand is firmly holding Namjoon’s, who follows Jin with a peaceful expression.
They come to a stop before him, taking in the pool.
“Figures you’d find a throwing game somewhere,” Jin shakes his head and looks curiously at Jungkook, then behind him at the merman. “Did you win?”
For some inexplicable reason, Jungkook’s whole face heats up as he glances between the merman, V, and his hyungs. Jin’s expression is inquisitive and V’s is delighted. There are altogether too many people closeby, seeing him make a complete fool out of himself. Jungkook scratches the back of his head.
“Yes, hyung, I did. I- I was just done.” Jungkook glances back, and sees V pout.
“No second round?” Jungkook’s face must be the colour of a fire truck, and he quickly shakes his head.
“There are other people in line.”
V glances at the people gathered around, then back at Jungkook. “And you’re shy.” He smiles suddenly and pushes himself back into the pool. “That’s alright. You can come find me again in Mermaid Bay, Jungkook.” He winks and dives back into the water, circling the front of the pool and waving at the audience before swimming to the back. Jungkook tries to look at something other than the man’s backside going up and down with the dolphin kick motion, but finds his eyes unwilling to budge.
When V is out of sight, Jungkook takes a few steps back and releases a deep breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Then he shakes his head, trying to get his thoughts back onto the day-at-an-amusement-park track, leading his hyungs out of the building. Jin keeps giving him looks that tell him he will absolutely be wheedled about it if given the chance, so he takes the initiative.
“So! How was your boat ride?”
Namjoon blushes, and when Jin looks at him both of their faces get a little dopey. Jungkook frowns because it doesn’t make him want to gag - well, it does, but only a little. Mostly, it brings his mind back to blue, mischievous eyes, and a deep voice.