bestie anniv 2020

jang seulchae ;; the sound of silence.

" sorry for making you wait. "

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[ insfired ✨ by seokmin bungee jumping.
and also that episode of wayv bungee jumping. ]

seokmin looked up at the fifty-metre-tall tower in front of him, extending way up into the sky, stretching outwards into the middle of a huge lake like the arm of a crane. there was a platform on the end of the tower, where a small crowd of people were gathered in front of an opening. a few seconds later, with an ear-piercing shriek, a young girl jumped off said platform, tethered to the tower by a mere rope, protected by only a helmet and a safety jacket.

he gulped, then turned to face chae.

are we really doing this ? he signed.

she nodded, an enthusiastic smile on her face. " y-yeah ! " she said, " it'll... it'll be fine ! fun ! uh— which one is it ? "

" both for you and neither for me. " he muttered under his breath and turned away again, not wanting to let her see his nervous expression.

there was a freakishly long line of people in front of him, but it still didn't stop him from feeling anxious. he knew that sooner or later, the queue would grow shorter and he'd get to the front and he'd have to go up to the top of that very tower and he'd have to jump and there was no way from stopping—

" a-are you okay ? " chae tapped his shoulder and asked softly, her hands moving swiftly as she signed the same thing while speaking, " you can... watch me do it if you don't.... if you don't wanna do it. "

he shook his head with determination. then he reached for her hands, holding them gently for a moment before letting go and signing back, i'm not gonna leave you up there alone, alright ? besides, i already paid for this !

she laughed, slapping him lightly on the back. the queue moved forward a little more, making him gasp a little. the loud cries of a man who just jumped made him gasp again. a whimpering, sobbing woman who got off the boat and back onto land made him gasp for a third time.

okay, maybe this was a bad idea.

but it was too late to chicken out now.

the next batch of people stepped into the elevator. the security guard close the door and pressed the button, sending him straight up to the top of the tower. then, he ushered the both of them in along with some of their other friends, and an instructor stepped out to help them with their harnesses.

throughout the entire harness-wearing tutorial, seokmin was silent. he put his harness on very seriously, without any joking, and even checked chae's for her. the rest of the gang were a little taken aback by his seriousness, but they relented nonetheless and continued on with their chatting.

" are you... seriously okay ? " chae asked softly, " you can still... back out.... if... if you want to. "

he smiled gently, his serious stature cracking a little. he gave her a gentle hug, holding her small hands and using them to sign out his reply.

i'll be fine. we're in this together, right ?

the elevator came, and so did the screams of the people who went up before him. he tensed up a little as the security guard ushered him inside.