Channel 3- Coming Out

"I see." Siwon nodded as the three of them lounged in the courtyard. "So that's how it is. Well, that's complicated!"

"Yeah, we figured we'd just be taken home after we completed our tasks, but instead we were just taken here!" said Kangin. "To…where is here?" He looked at Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun looked at Siwon.

"Ahh…well, if you guys were at Pirate Universe, I guess I'm in Knight Universe." Siwon said with a smile.

"That makes sense." Kyuhyun said, taking the remote control and wandering off, peering at it and pressing buttons.

"So, how has Knight Universe been going?" Kangin asked eagerly.

"It's interesting." Siwon shrugged. Then he paused, almost as if he had just remembered something that was definitely something he felt silly about forgetting until just then. "Why, just this morning, I was actually knighted."

"You were knighted?" Kangin gasped. "Wow! That's amazing!"

"Yeah!" said Siwon, looking excited. "Yesterday, when I first got here, I suddenly appeared on this horse here…I didn't even know I knew how to ride a horse! And then this man comes up to me and he tells me that I am to be knighted by the king tomorrow morning."

"By the king?" said Kangin, looking like he was going to swoon.

"Sure enough," Siwon went on. "I show up and there's the king and the queen and his daughter and…I'm knighted! Even though I'm not sure what I did, I feel very proud of myself."

"Well…" Kangin said. "Kyuhyun and I rowed really far."

Kangin kicked the ground, looking defeated.

"Who am I kidding?" he said. "Kyuhyun got to be the captain of the ship, and you get to be a knight. I ."

"Don't worry, Kangin." Said Siwon. "I'm sure it doesn't matter all that much."

"This is ridiculous." Said Kyuhyun as he walked over.

"What is?" Siwon and Kangin both asked.

"Remember how this remote told us exactly what we had to do to leave the Pirate Universe?" Kyuhyun said, and Kangin nodded. "Well, I am getting no response whatsoever on what our mission is to leave this Universe."

"Maybe if we give it time, it'll show up eventually." Siwon said optimistically.

"Hopefully." Kyuhyun said. "Though, our mission appeared immediately. I would hate to think there is nothing we can do to leave this Universe."

Kangin let out a loud yawn. "I am tired of worrying…" he said. "And I'm actually just tired. We stayed up all night last night and plus, we rowed all that way, even though I rowed the most."

"I bet I could get you guys rooms at the castle." Siwon said.

"In the castle?" Kangin gaped.

"Well, not in the actual castle." Siwon admitted. "But sort of this little place I stay at that's on the other side of the courtyard. I'm pretty sure it's my home, otherwise it would be pretty awkward if wasn't…"

Siwon looked awkward.

"So…you guys want to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm tired." Kangin said.

"There's nothing we can do until we find out what our mission is." Kyuhyun said. "So we might as well get some sleep."

"All right, I'll show you the way." Siwon said, standing up and grabbing the reins to his horse.

They stared walking and Kyuhyun continued to fiddle with his remote.

"So is anyone else here?" Kangin asked.

"Anyone else?" Siwon repeated quizzically.

"Yeah, I mean anyone else here that's not supposed to be." Kangin said.

"Oh." Said Siwon. "Well, no. Before you two showed up, it was just me."

"I hope that is accurate." Kyuhyun said.

"What do you mean?" Siwon questioned.

"Because if it turns out that someone else is here and we end up completing the task while he or she is not around then he or she might end up being stuck here forever." Kyuhyun replied.

"That could be a disaster." Siwon said.

"That's assuming that the three of us can even leave." Kangin pointed out. "Keep in mind that that thing of yours hasn't told us what we have to do to leave here in the first place."

"I'm sure something positive will turn up." Siwon said, STILL trying to look at the glass half full.

They finally reached a row of stone houses that all looked identical; almost like ultra mini castles all lined up next to each other. Siwon tied the horse to a pole that was set up outside and then led his two human companions inside.

However, whence they entered, they found that there was already someone inside.

"A message for the knight of this house—oh!"

Jaejoong, the lead vocalist and eye candy of TVXQ, gasped with delight when he saw Siwon, Kangin and Kyuhyun standing there.

"What a relief to see a familiar face!" he exclaimed, running over to them and forcing a big group hug on them.

"Jaejoong, you're here as well." Kyuhyun stated the obvious as he looked at his remote control as the number once again descended, except now it was a mere 22.

"Yeah!" said Jaejoong. "I've been here for a while, actually. Almost a whole day! And I'm so glad that it wasn't just a coincidence that the knight I got assigned to had the name Sir Siwon."

"Wait, the knight you got assigned to?" Siwon repeated.

"Oh yeah!" said Jaejoong. "Well, I'm a squire. YOUR squire, apparently. Hey, why are you two dressed as pirates?"

"Jaejoong, I don't think you've fully grasped the situation." Kyuhyun said. "Let me explain it to you."

"I was actually just about to ask you to do that for me!" Jaejoong said.

And so Kyuhyun explained what was going on to Jaejoong, and Jaejoong seemed to accept it pretty easily.

"So all we have to do is wait for that remote control to tell us what to do and then we do it and then we go home?" Jaejoong clarified.

"Well, we're not to sure about the going home part." Kangin said.

"So we do what the controller tells us to do and then we…uh… then something or other happens?" Jaejoong revised.

"Yes, that seems about right." Kyuhyun said.

"Wow…what a burden…" Jaejoong sighed. "And we haven't gotten the message yet…looks like all we can do is wait."

Then he hit his fist into his palm.

"I almost forgot the message I was supposed to deliver to you, Sir Siwon!" he said, reaching into his pocket.

"You don't have to call me Sir." Siwon assured him.

"Here you go!" Jaejoong handed him a scroll, but then he quickly swiped it back. "But maybe it's my job to read it to you! Let me do it!"

"You don't have to take it seriously, Jaejoong." Siwon said, looking embarrassed.

Jaejoong unrolled the scroll and assured Siwon that everything was A-OK. He read it to himself before he read it out loud, however. Then he gasped out loud. Then shook his head, then laughed, then looked super serious as he continued to read.

"Give me that!" said Kangin, snatching it from Jaejoong and then reading it over himself. "Siwon, what exactly did you do to make them love you so much?"

"What do you mean?" Siwon said.

"It says you're invited to the king's daughter's Coming Out." Kangin answered.

"Coming Out?" said Siwon. "She’s gay?"

There was a beat.

“No,” Kangin said flatly. “If she’s a girl and homoual, she would be a lesbian.”

“DUH,” said everyone else.

"Anyhow, this type of Coming Out is like a ball in which a young lady shows herself off and lets everyone know that she is of age to be married." Kyuhyun replied. "It is an old tradition that would take place in such a world as this."

"That was nice of the king to invite me." Said Siwon with a pleased nod.

"No, Siwon." Said Kangin. "You're invited… AS A SUITOR."

"As a…suitor?" Siwon said, looking like he was going to have a heart attack. "Oh no! I just won't go, that's all…"

"You can't not go!" said Jaejoong. "That would be an insult to the king! And I bet he would think that I just didn't deliver it! And besides, it says here that I'm invited too and I want to go…"

"But I don't want to be a suitor!" Siwon whined.

"Then just make yourself unappealing to the princess." Kyuhyun advised.

"When is this Coming Out?" Siwon fretted, grabbing the scroll and looking it over. "Tomorrow night! I can't do that! I don't know anything about this kind of stuff! I'd be miserable!"

"Which is perfect, because then you won't be chosen as a suitor." Said Kyuhyun. "But Jaejoong is right. If you do not attend then it would likely insult the king and his daughter, and there's no telling what he would do, but surely you would be punished severely."

"Besides, it's not like we have our mission yet so we can't leave." Kangin said with an exasperated sigh as he threw himself on the bed that was tucked in the corner.

"But I'll mess up." Said Siwon. "And then everyone will find out that we don't belong in this Universe."

"You'll be fine, Siwon!" said Jaejoong. "I'll make sure of it!"

"We can bide our time and find out what's the matter with this thing." Kyuhyun said, shaking the remote and listening to it as if that would solve anything, but at this point he was desperate.

"We should RSVP ASAP!" said Jaejoong, grabbing Siwon's arm and pulling him towards the door.

"But I don't want to RSVP!" Siwon griped as Jaejoong slammed the door behind them as they left.

"Come on, hop up!" Jaejoong said, putting his hands out while crouching beside Siwon's horse.

"Jaejoong, you don't have to do all this." Siwon said. "I'm perfectly capable of getting on the horse on my own."

"But I want to help!" said Jaejoong. "I'm your squire!"

Siwon didn't want to disappoint Jaejoong, so he stepped on his hand and swung his leg around the horse, now mounted. Jaejoong untied the horse from the pole and started pulling him along.

Siwon just sat there looking awkward and Jaejoong skipped in front of him, almost as if he did this sort of thing all the time.