In other words, hold my hand

As Inho sat on the left car, he instinctively glanced to the person beside him. It was a guy, with a very nice side profile. He looked to be about the same age as the older Hwang, although his bright red hair made him look a bit younger.

Bright red was the nicest way Inho could describe the shade, because if he'll be honest, he would have called it 'eye-sore red'. But strangely enough... it complimented the man's features and complexion very well.

Woah...Was he really complimenting a complete stranger in his mind just now?

Sure, it wouldn't hurt to think kindly of other people regardless if you know them or not.
But so soon? To someone he just looked at?

Now Inho just feels like he's checking the guy out... to which he is... respectfully. But at the same time, his eyes shamefully lingers a little longer than it should.

The entranced man tried to play it off as subtle glances, he really did, but the side profile of the stranger was really mesmerizing. He couldn't look away.

Feeling the dark haired man's eyes on him, the red headed stranger turns to Inho.

When their eyes meet, Inhos heart skips a beat. One of the more obvious reasons was that he got caught for staring, and the other was that the latter's eyes were...

Captivating.

The pair of eyes staring back at him were brown. Nothing special, yes, but the slight sunlight emanating from the outside of the ride reflected on to the man's face. Not only giving him this soft ethereal glow, but it made his eyes shine as well.

Inho was enamored, the hue of the man's irises reminded him of hot chocolate. And this knowledge is only known by Junho, but Inho loves hot chocolate.

He never thought about how it would feel to drown in a pool of it. Although, looking into the other's eyes, it somehow made him know how it felt.

Their staring contest was cut short when the red head blinked. This made Inho realize that he was staring hard, and it embarrassed him to say the least. He didn't even get the chance to act nonchalant about it either.

But thanks to him staring, he hadn't miss the way those same brown eyes that hypnotized him are now trailing his whole face. Eyes darting to every part of Inho's features, as if examining him.

Now, Inho is well aware that he's conventionally good-looking, he won't act humble about that. It was one of the things about himself that he uses to his advantage when needed. But this stranger examining his face made him feel somewhat insecure.

'Do I have something on my face?'
'Do I have unwiped eye crusts?'
'Is my hair still okay?'
'Do I look crazy to him?'
'Holy shit! I hope I'm not making a fool out of myself...'

Inho panicked for a bit. He will never rest well if he ever embarrassed himself in front of the most gorgeous man he has seen.

Woah...

Slow down there, Hwang Inho...slow down.

The pair of eyes landed on Inho's lips for a split second, then back to his eyes. The insecurity within Inho soon vanished in an instant, and was now replaced with amusement.

'Looks like I wasn't the only one checking someone out today.'

The raven head fought back a smile, not wanting to embarrass the other man. But his efforts was still in vein since the latter realized where his eyes had wandered.

A color of the same shade as his hair bloomed on his face. Inho relished the sight of how cute the other man was when embarrassed. And as if to play it off, the other gave Inho a shy yet polite smile.

And oh—

That smile made him feel warm, like the first sip of hot chocolate.

It was weird for Inho. The weather was already warm, since summer was approaching, but for some reason — his smile felt better than the sun.

It felt nice yet odd at the same time, Inho could not pin-point why the man's smile made him feel that way. He always got polite smiles like that whenever he helped or assisted others with what they need. And yes, they felt nice, but it was never like this.

This was the first time he longed for someone to keep smiling at him.

Another disruption to the calm moment came when the bright-eyed man glanced at the cars behind them, seemingly glaring at some people before turning his attention back in front.

Inho immediately assumed that the man had also gotten a dare, if not then he should have looked excited sitting here in the first place?

The ride wasn't starting yet, the ride operators needed to make sure the ride was still in good condition after the last batch.

This gave Inho the chance to finally talk to the pretty man, noticing how the red head's knuckles were turning white with how hard he was gripping the vest harness.

"Hey" Inho called out softly, being careful to not startle the man. But to no avail, the other's shoulders still flinched.

"Oh- I apologize" Inho offered him a polite smile, "I know this is very random, but..." He trailed off, glancing at the man's almost-white knuckles.

"I think your knuckles need blood circulation at some point, they're starting to look like paper". Inho jokingly pointed out, making the latter look down at his own knuckles. He instinctively loosened his grip on the vest harness when he saw how white his knuckles were getting.

"Oh, thank you for telling me! I just get really nervous riding these types of rollercoasters. Pathetic, I know" The man gave the raven head another smile, followed by a soft laugh.

Inho would have told the man that being afraid of certain types of rollercoasters was not pathetic at all, if it wasn't for that stupid laugh.

Oh boy was he smitten with a simple sound of amusement. The laugh sounded like music to Inho's ears, he wanted to record it and play it on repeat.

Inho slightly wondered if the laugh had some sort of magic to it since it calmed his nerves in an instant. The irritation he had towards his friends a while ago suddenly vanished, now replaced with fond feelings for a man he saw, let alone introduced himself to.

This clicked heavy on Inho. He's yearning for a man he doesn't even know the name of. Seeing that the ride operators were still doing some necessary routine check for safety measures, Inho took the opportunity to finally learn the beautiful man's name.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Inho, by the way. Hwang Inho" He held out his hand for the man to shake, and the other quickly wiped his hands on his pants before accepting.

"Sorry, my hands get clammy sometimes". The other laughed awkwardly.

"That's fine, I don't mind" And Inho really did not mind at all. "Your name?" He asked the latter, though he got an answer completely different from what he was expecting.

"Yours" The red head replied, seemingly in a trance.

This caught the raven head off guard.

'Yours? Well, that was smooth'

"I'm sorry?" Inho laughed in both amusement and flattery. The other man's eyes went wide in realization, his face turned to a shade akin to his hair. He stumbled on his words as he tried to explain.

"U-Uhm... I mean- Gihun... Seong Gihun- ugh, GOD!" He groans and hides his face in his hands.

Inho found this very endearing. How can a man be this cute when embarrassed, really?

"Seong Gihun, huh?" He wanted to hear how it rolled off his own tongue, "That's a cool name". And Inho meant what he said, how the name sounded and it's meaning. Although it was his first time meeting someone with a surname like Seong, he knew the surname was uncommon.

"Not as cool as yours" the man — Gihun — mumbled while lifting his head off his hands, "it fits... how you look".

This left Inho speechless. Again.

'The beautiful man I've been eyeing thinks I look cool? Okay, this day isn't so bad after all'

Inho blushed, he really didn't expect someone to compliment him on a roller coaster of all places, let alone that someone being the prettiest person he'd seen in his life. It was boosting his ego, and so he needed to be humbled, by himself.

"Thank you, but this isn't even my coolest outfit".

Gihun raised a brow at him, "Doesn't matter, you looked like an action star when I first saw you. Very handsome".

.... Oh?

Inho is starting to wonder if Gihun does not overthink before speaking.

The raven head had his fair share of compliments for the other man, but he wouldn't out right say them unless he has established a close enough relationship with Gihun. Who knows, the red head might could be uncomfortable with a random person complimenting him out of nowhere.

Don't get him wrong, Inho loves the compliments. But my god do they make Inho feel like a loser, a fool. As much as he loves the positive adjectives, Gihun should save them for later...

For the future.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone! We had to check a few things before starting the ride for your safety. We hope you all understand. But please, don't worry! The ride is going to start in a few seconds!" The ride operator announced, worry and joy evident in her voice.

A selfish part of Inho wished for the security checking to take a little longer.

There were passengers who told the operator that it was okay. A few giggling, excited for the ride to start. And a few clapping with loud cheering, everyone completely in high spirits.

Gihun rubs his temples, visibly embarrassed when he heard the cheers.

"What's wrong?" Inho asked in slight worry, but it was also an excuse to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, Uhm- those were my friends, the group cheering..." He glanced back for a few seconds then he brought his attention back to Inho, "My god, I never realized how embarrassing we could be when out in public".

Despite being embarrassed, Gihun still huffed a small laugh. Clearly fond of his friends.

The laugh reminded Inho that he needed to take another chance for this moment to last longer, so uses every ounce of confidence he has in his body to hold his right hand out to Gihun, offering it as something for the red head to hold on to during the ride.

Gihun looked at the hand, then at the owner. A cute confused look plastered on his face.

Inho just tilts his head towards his hand, and adjusts it as if beckoning Gihun to take it.

"You can hold my hand during the ride. I think it's better than death gripping that vest harness" Inho explained, pointing out how Gihun went back to gripping the vest harness with the same hard grip as before.

Gihun hesitated for a bit, glancing at his own hand and back at Inho's, "A-Are you sure? My hands are very sweaty..." he scratched his cheek, embarrassed.

Inho gives the red head a reassuring smile, "I don't mind. Come on, the ride is about to start".

Gihun stares at Inho one last time before wiping his left hand on his right long sleeve and finally held the raven head's hand.

The touch was electrifying — for the both of them. It almost made Gihun let go, but Inho — feeling bold — readjusts their hands so that the hold was more comfortable and secure.

Inho could already see the size difference. Gihun's hand wasn't small, but it was slim, contrary to Inho's that was wider. And for the older Hwang, Seong's hands were the perfect combination of graceful yet manly.

Gihun wasn't lying when he said he had sweaty hands, but as Inho said, he didn't mind. He was given the opportunity to hold the hand of the prettiest man alive, and he wasn't letting this moment go to waste.

"If I start crushing your hand, don't blame me" Gihun warned while playfully glaring at Inho, earning a light chuckle from thr latter.

"Crush my bones if you want, as long as you feel secured for the whole ride". Inho reassured.

The raven head felt great. Their conversation was going smoothly, as if they've known each other for months. And Inho was slightly suprised of himself, considering he was an introvert.

Gihun mused, "How can you be so calm about thi-"

"Greetings, everyone! The ride is about to start, so we hope you still have your vest harnesses on. Please hold on tight! " Gihun was interrupted by the happy voice of the ride operator, announcing that the ride was about to start.

And hold on tight did Gihun did. Inho felt Gihun hold his hand tighter, either out of instinct or pure oblivion. But whichever it was, Inho wouldn't dare let go.