Silence hung in the air as Lucas opened his mouth, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. The revelation was just too unbelievable, even for him.
Rex, with his cheeks flushed red that reached his ears, took peeks at him while looking down at his feet, avoiding Lucas's gaze.
Lucas took a deep breath, his eyes wandered around the whole park, unable to meet Rex's embarrassed face.
"Oh, I-I never knew. Uhm…" Lucas's voice trailed away.
He felt as if the world around them was moving at a fast pace and both of them were stuck in the middle, unable to move.
Rex took a deep breath, his gaze finally meeting Lucas's.
"Sorry, Lucas. I should've told you. But you were so excited when you proposed the idea. Even now when I ask you to choose which rides we should get into, your face lights up. I..."
Lucas nodded in understanding. "I know, Rex. But at least, you should've given me a heads-up. I will adjust for you."
Rex chuckled, his nervousness slowly slipping away. "Won't that be too unfair? I literally forced you onto the bike despite your fear. Hiding away my fear of heights is the least I can do."
Lucas shook his head.
"No, Rex. My fear of riding bigger bikes than a scooter wasn't as deep as yours. Your fear is a whole different matter." His voice softened and was laced with concern.
"Plus, we can still do other things at the park other than riding extreme rides."
Rex smiled at the young man, while Lucas grinned back. "Thank you."
"You're welcome! Let's check out other attractions?"
Rex nodded, lacing his fingers on Lucas's as they headed to the entrance of the spaceship-themed building.
Lucas wowed at the sight of the curved glass that surrounded the whole structure.
The ceiling shimmered with lights in shades of reddish-orange, yellow and white, imitating the colors of the sunset on a beach.
"Rex, let's take a picture here!"
Rex smiled and nodded before slowly grabbing the phone from Lucas's hand and looping his arm around the latter's back.
He positioned his arm upward, making sure that both of them would fit in the frame.
They then went further inside the rocket and went straight to the observation deck, where they could see the whole city below glittered with bright lights, making them feel as if they were truly on a spaceship.
Lucas didn't waste more time exploring the deck and turned to the orca tank, where different sizes of orca swam around in packs.
He pulled his phone out and was about to take a picture of the tank when Rex stepped into the frame, blocking the camera's view.
"Hey, move your hand away. I'm trying to take a picture of the orcas." Rex chuckled as he continued blocking Lucas's view, making the latter glare at him.
"What?" Instead of responding, Rex pointed to the corner of the tank. Lucas followed his gaze, but what he saw made him gasp.
A tail, long and sleek, extended from a human torso—an actual mermaid's tail!
Lucas rushed in the direction of the mermaid actor and marveled at how gracefully he moved around the tank alongside the orcas.
"Rex, look! It's a merman!"
Like an excited child, Lucas squealed in glee.
He had always wanted to see these kinds of shows when he was very young, but his parents had always thought that it was unnecessary, even for a young boy.
"Yeah, awesome right? He is the only merman in the sea of mermaids."
"Wow, that looks so amazing!"
They watched the mermaid show until the end but soon, hunger crept in, and Lucas's stomach grumbled loudly enough for Rex to hear.
"Looks like someone is hungry."
Lucas rolled his eyes as he looked away from Rex and roamed his eyes around the floor, trying to ignore his teasing smile.
"I don't think this is where they keep all of the food stalls," Rex mused, looking at the small pamphlet that he had picked up at the entrance while waiting for Lucas to finish taking pictures of every angle of the rocket.
He scanned through the paper and noticed that some stalls were listed on the upper deck of the ship. He tapped Lucas's shoulder, drawing the young man's attention to the pamphlet.
"Wait, where did you get this?"
Rex sheepishly looked at him, scratching the back of his neck. "At the entrance, before we come in. Look, they have some stalls on the upper deck. Shall we check it out?"
Lucas eyed him suspiciously, a silent intense stare-down played out as the sea of people swirled around them.
Moments later Lucas sighed, admitting his defeat before nodding towards Rex.
Rex chuckled, tugging the latter by the hand and leading him toward the escalator that went to the upper deck.
When they reached the upper deck, they were greeted by a cacophony of bustling voices inviting people in and the rich aroma of different flavors mixing through the air.
Lucas's eyes were drawn to the bright yellow sign advertising a corn stand.
It was selling all sorts of corn-based food: corn dogs, buttered and grilled corn-on-the-cob topped with mayo and cheese powder, popcorn with flavors that represented the world, and even corn-flavored fries and chips.
"Hey there, folks. What would you like?" asked a man, probably in his late fifties as he welcomed them to his stall, showing a friendly and welcoming smile from behind the stall.
Lucas stared at the variety of mouthwatering food, making Rex snicker a soft laugh from his side.
"Two corn dogs and one corn-on-the-cob, please," Rex ordered. The vendor nodded and began to prepare the orders.
"Should I look around to find drinks?" Lucas looked at Rex, his eyes hopeful as he nodded enthusiastically while still standing in line and patiently waiting for the food to be cooked.
Euphoria filled his mind upon seeing Lucas enjoy every bit of their "date". He grabbed his wallet, pulled out a thousand yuan and handed it to the fellow.
"Wait here, okay?"
Lucas nodded, looked back at the sizzling corn dogs, and then smiled at the old man behind the counter.
"You and your boyfriend look cute together. He takes good care of you," the vendor smiled.
Lucas's eyes widened at what the man said, his cheeks flushing as his mind struggled to form any words to respond.
"Love the house, also the crow. I hope your love blooms like the first flower of spring," the man added with a kind smile.
Lucas smiled and bowed slightly at the man as he glanced in the direction where Rex had headed off to buy drinks.
"Thank you."