Work Text:
The sun shone, sitting aside the clouds, blue painting the sky vividly like it had life.
"Here we are!"
Ivan stood in front of an arcade, humming a lullaby.
Meanwhile beside him stood Ilona, her heart rate pounding against her chest. Which only fueled the heat licking at her skin as she stared at her feet.
"I researched common recreational environments. I figured someone your age would enjoy it here." Ivan spoke, adjusting hin sunglasses.
"Was i right?"
He glanced to his side-
Ilona looked like she was on the verge of a heart attack. Her shoulders tense.
Ivan tilted his head, blinking.
"O-oh uhm-" Ilona stuttered. Looking up-
a random child screamed at the race game through the Windows. Neon decor surrounding the building.
"I mean- yeah! Yeah i guess i.. would enjoy it here??"
"Do you not like it? We can go to a restaurant instead if you'd like! I know one here by-"
"No- of course not! I love it!"
Ilona rushed inside the arcade. Shadow sheltering her from the scorching sun.
She forced a smile. "Let's just go inside. Kay?"
Though glanced to her side-
And jumped, startled.
A mascot staring right back at her.
Ivan stared, witnessing the scene.
Then just giggled.
"Well in that case..Here we go!"
How does he always keep a smile on his face?!
---
The air smelled of cheap popcorn and cotton candy.
Somehow comforting amidst the bright outright blinding neon lights.
A mix of pink, blue and purple shades lit the two's figures.
Ilona's eyes darted around the place. From the claw machines, to the race games..whatever.
Her heart rate only increased. She clutched at her chest. The sensation uncomfortable.
"..Interesting." Ivan commented, though his voice was drowned out by the loud music, the aggressive stomps of the children on the dancing machines or the laser shooting games.
"Huh?" Ilona looked up at Ivan.
He stared straight ahead. Before his eyes lit up.
"Oh, look Ilona!"
He pointed shamelessly at a kid tryharding tryharding the Dance Dance Revolution machine. Hitting perfect combos and sweating through his shirt.
"My! Look at him go! Kids these days are very energetic."
Ilona blinked, sweat beading at her forehead despite the AC cooling the air.
"Wanna try them?" He looked at her, his smile beamed.
Ilona did NOT dare to look back at him. Not even a glimpse. She'd rather explode.
Her hand clutched at her shirt. Her eye twitching, practically morse coding SOS.
"Sure.." She agreed anyway.
---
Ivan inserted the token in the coin slot.
Ilona's knees were already almost buckling.
"Oh, by the way I chose the maximum difficulty."
Ilona's heart dropped.
She looked at him, horrified. "YOU WHAT?!"
"I wanted to experience the thrill of these machines. So i thought it would be the solution." He smiled so innocently Ilona couldn't bring herself to be mad at him.
"Isn't that what you commoners do? My research told me you guys seek that."
Source: trust me bro.
But before she could process his question-
"STARTING...READY?"
Ilona stared at the screen, the countdown going down in flashy colours.
"GO!"
She instantly missed the first step.
"FAIL." the screen displayed, arrows appearing to the fast-paced music.
She tripped over her shoelaces
"FAIL." "FAIL." "FAIL."
Meanwhile nearby children watched.
"What a dishonour to Wonhee's name." one commented.
"I-I CAN'T KEEP UP!!" She squeaked, her voice cracking embarassingly.
Ivan on the other hand..
"GREAT." "PERFECT!" "COMBO 2x!"
He lightly stepped on the arrows, humming to the upbeat music. His hair flowing gracefully behind him. His sunglasses tucked in his shirt bouncing to each step.
A nearby kid watched. Blinking.
"Woah..that girl's Killing it."
One final step..
The song ended, a slight echo beforeit faded completely.
"FAIL." it displayed again on Ilona's screen.
STAGE CLEAR.
PLAYER 1 SCORE: 0.03% BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME..
PLAYER 2 SCORE: 97.9% HIGH SUPREME DIVA
"Wow! That was very intense, but enjoyable at best! I'm definetly coming here more often now."
Ivan smiled, glancing at Ilona.
Ilona laid flat on the floor, her soul three feet above the ceiling.
"N-never again.." She muttered, her voice hoarse like she hadn't drank water in years.
"Hey, you did amazing Ilona! You scored 0.3 instead of straight up zero." Ivan made an O shape with his hand. "One even praised your performance saying you killed it!"
Ilona lifted her head. "They were talking about you, Ivan.."
"Oh? Intriguing.. How people show their gender changes a lot in social places!"
He felt someone tugging at his sleeve.
"Hm?"
"Hi, can you teach me how to do the track 5 on the DDR?" A girl who looked no older than 12 asked with a shy smile on her face.
"Of course this is happening.." Ilona mumbled.
Ivan's smile beamed. "The ILLIT one? Of course! It's my pleasure! Lead the way!"
--- PLAYER 1: SCORE 90.0 AMAZING!
PLAYER 2: SCORE 78.6 GREAT JOB! (Ivan)
"T-thank you so much diva unnie!! You're the best!" The 12 year old kid squealed, eyes bright and smile wide.
"Don't mention it! And remember-" He raised his finger. "Always stay relaxed and follow the beat, that way, you'll ensure combos!"
The child nodded, before scurrying off to who knows where.
Ivan exhaled, "..My shoulders feel so heavy."
Ilona stood there, drinking the slushie in her hand he bought for her. "..Do you wanna head back now?"
"Hmmm.." He hummed, contemplating.
Please say yes before we get swarmed by those k-pop stans.
"Do you?" He returned the question, looking at her.
Oh no.
Ilona's eyes darted frantically around the arcade.
And quickly enough, she found the least stress inducing activity in this cabinet.
The claw machine.
Ivan looked at the direction she stared ahead.
"Ohhh, these!" Ivan exclaimed "What were they called again?"
"Claw machines." Ilona replied. "They're called claw machines, Ivan."
Ivan's eyes noticed a cyan hue.
"My, Ilona! Your tongue is so blue!" He bent down just a little to get a closer look.
Ilona blinked.Her breath hitching- causing her to almost choke on her drink. "Uhm..yeah- it's normal. Cause of food colouring."
"Food colouring?" He tilted his head.
"An artificial dye that.. makes your tongue blue."
"Huuhh..I see."
He straightened back up.
"Anyways, onwards!"
They both walked over to the gambling machine.
"..Just so you know this is a scam." Ilona commented. Her eyes still darting around in case any other child dare to come up to him.
Unless the kid chose to gatekeep. Which is good.
Ilona's shoulders slumped.
Ivan inserted a redeem card. He had one attempt. For now.
"How nice! The people's way of sharing things is interesting!" Ivan smiled, his hand on the remote. "Let's test how well the crane works."
"..Ivan it's rigged."
The crane dropped down, holding a huge ass plushie with a loose grip.
And just as it was inching to the chute-
It dropped back down into the pile with zero hesitation. Like it wanted to grow legs and run.
Ivan's brow twitched. Silence settled between them.
Save for the sounds of stomping and electronic music.
"Told you."
"..Interesting." His voice suddenly dropped low.
Ilona looked at his hair. Unable to see his face from her perspective.
Ivan cracked his knuckles.
Ilona's eyes widened.
"I'll just have to try harder in that case."
She blinked.
Well this was about to get serious..
Fail.
“Remarkable.”
Fail.
“Its grip strength is inconsistent.”
Fail.
“Fascinating.”
Fail.
"..."
Ivan's knuckles were white. His smile barely hanging on for dear life. His breathing uneven.
“...Again.”
Ivan inserted another coin.
"Wait-" Ilona interrupted. Putting her hand over his.
His head craned to the side, locking eyes with her.
His lazy eye twitched.
Ilona's mental sirens rang.
"Let me.. try." She smiled awkwardly, tight-lipped.
Someone nearby won the jackpot.
e smiled in return.
"Of course! Apologies." He stepped back. "Were you dying of boredom there?"
"..Just preventing you from descending into madness." She murmured, the loud music muffling her voice.
"Huh?"
"Nothing." She instantly dismissed.
Ilona stood in front of the machine. Her fingers loosely holding the remote.
The crane lifted, targetting a specific plushie.
Ilona's eyes followed the mechanical movement, the flashy colours lighting her face. Like she was completely absorbed. The background noise fading.
It dipped down, then two inches back up.
Ivan watched, his eyes averting between her profile and the claw.
The plushie almost slipped.
Ilona's breath hitched- her hand bracing the remote.
Thump.
It fell straight into the chute. The machine played a victory sound. Displaying "YOU WON!", flashing colours illuminating her.
Her body relaxed.
Ivan's eyes widened.
Ilona crouched, retrieving the plushie from the machine.
She turned to Ivan. The machine now displaying "PLEASE INSERT COIN."
"Next time, aim for the tag rather than the object itself." Ilona inspected the Penguin plushie she held. "It's not just about persistence."
It lowkey reminded her of herself.
Was that why he insisted on getting it..?
She looked up-
Ivan stared back like he witnessed Jesus Christ himself walk inside his house and perform a handstand.
"T-that was.." He stumbled over his words, his eyes shiny. "..An outstanding performance. Your telltale focus..your precise movements.."
He gasped.
"Oh my god Ilona! Have you been hiding your talents from everyone this entire time?"
Ilona's face went beet red. The plushie tilting from her grasp.
She blinked, eyes wide as dinner plates.
"I-..N-no!! Obviously not-" She denied desperately, before hiding her face in the plushie.
"..C-can we just go back?"
A beat.
Ivan chuckled. Smiling warmly.
"Of course." He replied, his voice devoid of his usual airy tone.
But soothing now.
"I had a lot of fun today. And learned a lot. We should hang out more often."
A beat.
A genuine smile tugged at Ilona's lips.
"Yeah.."
She walked along beside him. As they headed toward the exit.
"And this time, you'll get to choose the place." He gave Ilona her slushie back.
"Mhm.." Ilona hummed.
The cool breeze of the evening replaced the popcorn smell, neon lights fading in the distance, replaced by the soft amber glows of the sky.
"Preferably.. somewhere quiet."
"Noted!"
Ilona blinked, her eyebrows lifting in surprise.
"..Your tongue's blue too."
"Is it?" Ivan smiled, playfully sticking his tongue out.
"I- YOU DRANK FROM MY SLUSHIE?!"