The corridor ahead stretched longer than it should have. The flickering torches dimmed behind them, until only the distant creak of the door and their own soft breathing filled the void. Shin's boots echoed on the old wooden floor as he carried Yuki deeper, his steps steady.
Yuki hadn't said anything for a while.
His arms were looped around Shin's neck, head resting against Shin's shoulder. His breath brushed against Shin's skin, shallow and nervous, but his grip never loosened.
Every time something shifted in the dark—be it a whisper of fabric, a gust of cold wind, or an eerie rattle—Yuki's fingers would tighten just a little more. His chest pressed against Shin's back, heartbeat thumping fast. But Shin didn't tease him this time. Not here.
This part of the haunted house was deathly quiet. Too quiet.
And then the sound began.
Click.
Click.
Click-click-click.
Footsteps, except they weren't steady—they skittered. Crawled. From somewhere above.
Yuki made a strangled sound and buried his face deeper into the curve of Shin's neck.
"I hate this. I hate this."
Shin held him tighter, arms locking just under Yuki's thighs as he walked calmly forward.
"You're doing fine."
"I'm not! I'm clinging to you like a koala! This is not fine!"
"You're adorable," Shin said with a grin, though his tone was softer than usual—just enough to make Yuki shut up for a second.
The ceiling above creaked.
Then—drop.
Something landed behind them.
Yuki froze.
Shin didn't stop walking.
But slowly, he turned his head—and what he saw was enough to make even his breath hitch.
A crawling figure, pale and contorted, scrambled on all fours. Its arms were jointed the wrong way, head tilted upside-down, and its mouth gaped in an inhuman smile. Long strands of dark hair dragged along the floor like seaweed.
Yuki peeked over his shoulder.
And instantly shrieked.
"NOPE—NOPE—NOPE—!!! SHIN RUN!!!"
Shin didn't argue.
He ran.
Down the corridor, straight through a curtain of bones that rattled and clacked like wind chimes from hell. Yuki was shaking, arms gripping so tightly that Shin could barely breathe, but he didn't complain—not once.
They burst into the final chamber.
A massive room, filled with mirrors.
Distorted ones.
Every angle warped—tall, short, wide, broken. Reflections multiplied and bent in eerie silence.
They stood in the center—just them.
The mirrors twisted their images. One showed Yuki clinging like a terrified princess. Another showed Shin as a knight, smiling faintly. Another… showed them holding hands, bathed in white light.
The exit was up ahead.
But they didn't move.
Not right away.
Yuki's voice broke the silence. Small. Wobbly.
"…I was really scared."
"I know."
"…But you carried me the whole time."
"You didn't let go."
A pause.
"…We're not even dating, you know…"
"Mm."
"…Then why does it feel like this?"
Shin didn't answer.
He just held Yuki tighter, arms curling protectively around him in a hug that didn't feel like a joke anymore. Yuki squeezed back just as fiercely.
They stayed like that.
Two boys, in a mirrored room of horrors, reflecting something soft—something uncertain—but real.
Then the door creaked open.
Light spilled in.
Shin took the first step forward, carrying Yuki out of the darkness.
And the haunted house behind them shut like a secret never spoken.
---
And that's when they passed the tent.
A faded, mysterious booth tucked between two stalls. A large sign with gold-painted swirls read:
Madam Loveleaf's Mystic Prophecies – Know Thy Future.
"Wanna get our fortune told?" Shin asked.
Yuki raised a brow. "You believe in that stuff?"
Shin shrugged. "I believe in amusement."
"You just want to see me freak out."
"Maybe."
They stepped inside.
It was dim, lit by flickering candles and filled with the heavy scent of incense. A crystal ball sat at the center of the table, and behind it, a woman draped in dark velvet robes and a shimmering veil sat with hands poised dramatically.
"Welcome…" the fortune teller whispered, her voice husky and mysterious. "I have awaited you two."
Yuki blinked. "Uhhh... okay?"
Shin leaned forward, intrigued.
The woman waved her hands over the crystal ball with flair. "Ah, yes. The air is heavy with fate. I see… threads of crimson. Hearts entangled."
Under the veil, Aiko barely kept her giggles in check. She sat in disguise, feeding lines through a hidden earpiece as Ai stood outside the tent like a secret agent.
"You two… You are not just friends," the fortune teller murmured.
Shin smiled. "Oh? Go on."
"You are soul-bound," she continued. "There is tension now, yes. Flustered hearts. Unspoken feelings. But destiny… destiny will not be denied."
Yuki looked like a tomato. "T-That doesn't mean anything! That's so vague!"
But the woman held up a hand. "Silence. Even now, the spirits are whispering. You will face hardships. Jealousy. Flames of passion. A trial of distance, then a reunion under stars. And in the end… you will be together. Always."
Yuki couldn't meet Shin's eyes.
Shin was quiet for once.
Aiko, still in character, added softly, "One of you will confess… not with words, but with actions. With protection. With patience. With unconditional love."
Yuki's fingers trembled in his lap.
Shin noticed.
"…That's enough," Shin said suddenly, standing and offering his hand to Yuki.
Yuki blinked, then grabbed it. They left the tent without looking back.
Behind the veil, Aiko grinned. "Operation Fated Lovers is a go."
---
Outside the tent, the sky had darkened into a deep violet. Lanterns now shimmered all around the plaza, casting golden halos over couples and families wandering between food stalls and game booths. The air smelled of grilled squid, sweet crepes, and warm night.
Shin and Yuki walked in silence at first.
Not an awkward silence. Just... full.
Yuki kept his hands in his hoodie pocket, his gaze drifting down to the cobbled path beneath their feet. Shin walked beside him with his hands casually behind his head, eyes flicking now and then toward Yuki with a quiet smile tugging at his lips.
"You were really quiet in there," Yuki finally said, still not looking at him.
"So were you," Shin replied.
"She was a scam, you know. That lady."
"Obviously," Shin chuckled. "Pretty sure she was wearing sparkly nail polish."
Yuki side-eyed him. "Don't act like you weren't eating it up."
"I was entertained."
"Because she said we were soul-bound?"
"Because she said you'd confess through actions." He leaned down just enough to whisper it near Yuki's ear. "I'm watching for that."
Yuki flinched. "D-Don't make it weird!"
Shin laughed, bright and easy, and looked up toward the glowing lanterns. "Hey."
"Huh?"
"Where's the plushie I won you?"
Yuki blinked, startled by the sudden change in tone. "Oh… uh…" He scratched his cheek. "They're holding onto it for me. At the game stall."
Shin raised a brow. "You just left it behind?"
"I didn't want to carry it around all day. It's huge! You picked the biggest one on purpose!"
Shin grinned. "Obviously. If I'm going to win you something, it's going to be obnoxiously fluffy and hard to ignore."
Yuki looked away, flustered again. "It's not like I asked for it…"
"You didn't have to," Shin said, softer now. "I just wanted you to have something to hug when I'm not there."
Yuki stopped walking.
Shin paused too, glancing back at him.
"…That's weird," Yuki mumbled, though his fingers were clenched tightly in his sleeves.
Shin's smile widened, but he didn't push further. "Come on. Let's go pick it up before they close."
They turned around and headed back toward the game stalls. The plushie—a ridiculously big teddy bear—was waiting patiently behind the counter, wearing a paper tag that said: Reserved for Yuki.
The stall owner handed it over with a wink. "Your boyfriend's got good aim."
"He's not my—!"
Shin laughed and gently pushed the duck into Yuki's arms, cutting off his protest.
"There," he said. "Now your night's perfect."
Yuki stared at the alpaca. "It's so stupid-looking…"
"But you're smiling."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"…Shut up."
Shin didn't reply this time. He just kept walking beside him as the lanterns swayed overhead and the night buzzed with fading warmth.
And behind them, Madam Loveleaf's tent glowed quietly—empty now, but echoing with prophecies that still lingered in the air.
---
The sky above was velvet now, pierced by starlight. The festival had dimmed into a quieter glow, laughter drifting like fireflies between food stalls and fading music. The park's Ferris wheel stood tall in the distance, its lights pulsing softly in rotating rhythm, like a beating heart in the night.
"Final ride of the night!" the attendant called. "Last two cars!"
Ai and Aiko exchanged a mischievous look—and before Shin or Yuki could blink, the two had already scampered ahead and hopped into a cabin together.
"They planned that," Shin muttered.
"W-What? Why are they here?" Yuki aksed, looking baffled.
"You didn't know. They were stalking us the entire day." Shin replied with a smirk.
Before Yuki could say anything, the attendant gestured toward the next car. "You two?"
Yuki hesitated a moment. Shin looked down at him with that usual grin—not teasing this time, just... waiting. Patient. Warm.
"…Yeah," Yuki murmured, hugging the alpaca plush close. "Let's go."
The cabin doors shut behind them with a soft click, and the world fell quiet as they rose, the ground slipping away inch by inch. The lights of the fair below turned into a glittering carpet, like someone had spilled stars across the earth.
They didn't speak at first.
Yuki sat close to the window, watching the world shrink beneath them, his fingers clutched tightly into the soft white fur of the teddy bear. Shin sat on the opposite bench, leaning his head back against the glass, eyes half-closed.
The silence between them wasn't awkward.
It was full of something tender.
Something unsaid.
As they reached the top, the cabin gently swayed. The view outside stretched forever—city lights blinking in the distance, wind rustling faintly, stars watching from above.
And then… Yuki shifted.
He didn't say anything as he moved closer, hesitantly sliding over to Shin's bench and sitting beside him. Not looking at him. Just… letting the warmth between them be real.
Shin didn't speak either.
Instead, he let his hand rest behind Yuki on the bench—close, not touching. But then… after a moment, Yuki leaned slightly. Just enough that his shoulder brushed Shin's.
Soft.
Deliberate.
Shin's fingers curled.
Still not speaking, he let his hand gently graze down until it landed lightly on Yuki's lower back.
Yuki flinched just a bit, then settled.
Like it was okay.
Like it was wanted.
His voice was quiet when he finally spoke. "Do you remember when we met?"
Shin smiled. "In the rain."
"You had bad timing."
"You were glaring at me like a wet kitten."
Yuki huffed a breath. "You sat next to me at school next, in the cafeteria. You didn't even ask."
Shin gave a small nod. "You looked lonely."
"…I was."
The air shifted. Yuki's voice dropped lower, fingers tightening around the plush again.
"I didn't really want to stand out in high school," he said. "After what happened in junior high, I just wanted… a quiet life. No attention. No drama. No people."
Shin looked sideways at him, his hand still on Yuki's back.
"I was bullied," Yuki continued, softer now. "For how I looked. For being too quiet. Too different. I used to eat lunch in storage rooms just to be alone. Safer that way."
Shin's expression changed—gentle, but unreadable.
"And then… you showed up," Yuki said. "Loud. Reckless. Stupidly confident."
"Hey—"
"You destroyed my peace."
A pause.
Then Yuki smiled—small, but real.
"…But in a good way."
Shin said nothing.
Yuki kept going, voice growing steadier. "Because of you, I made friends. I laughed again. I started to feel things I thought I forgot how to feel. You were the first person who… made me feel alive again. Not invisible. Not 'too much' or 'too weird.' Just me."
Shin was still quiet. His hand on Yuki's back slid a little, resting lightly at the small of his back now, thumb tracing circles slowly.
"I feel safe with you," Yuki said. "Even when you tease me. Even when I say I hate it… I don't. I never did."
Their legs touched now.
Yuki leaned a little more.
The cabin rocked slightly, and the soft music from the fair faded into the distance as the world fell away.
"…Thank you," Yuki whispered.
"For what?"
"For not looking away. Even when I tried to push you."
Shin exhaled, his voice soft. "I never planned to look away."
They sat there, high above the world, nothing but stars and quiet between them. No confessions. No declarations.
Just closeness.
And understanding.
When the ride finally descended and the world returned, they didn't move apart.
Not until the doors opened.
Not until Ai's voice called teasingly from below: "Did you two kiss up there?"
Yuki nearly fell over. "W-We didn't!"
Shin just laughed, standing up and casually helping Yuki down, hand grazing his waist again.
"I wouldn't waste a first kiss on a ride," Shin whispered with a wink.
Yuki shoved him.
But didn't let go of his hand.
And as they walked through the soft golden haze of the closing festival, Yuki looked down at their joined hands, a blush painting his cheeks.
He wasn't ready to say the words.
But maybe… someday.
---
END OF CHAPTER : 42 : EMOTIONS!
---