Seungcheol: has the ability to make everyone he speaks to open up to him easily (in a way he sees their true colours)

Jihoon: is able to summon numerous amounts of weapons. Is technically very useful during large hordes (like a faceless alien army)

 

It was a bright Friday morning at Hong’s Florists. Seungcheol could actually hear birds chirping that morning after a hectic week. Things were great that morning. 

 

Until he heard police sirens and a car chase appeared in front of him.

 

Sighing, he brought the sign out from the store and made sure the there was no damage outside the house, just in case.

 

Going back into the store, his friend Jeonghan appears from the backroom. “Was whatever I heard serious or nah?” he asks.

 

“Nah” Seungcheol shakes his head “ Just the usual”

 

“Well, at least they don’t do any damage to the store. So, we’ll be fine” a soft voice responds from the back room. Joshua’s head pops up from the door. “Hey Cheol, I need some help with these new flowers. They’re kinda heavy”

 

“Sure thing” Seungcheol replies. Seungcheol is used to people asking him to move heavy stuff all the time. Coupled with his very big and muscular frame, it was easy for people to think that he had super strength. 

 

His real power couldn’t be further from the truth. His power was explainable but there isn’t a definite term for it. Seungcheol has the power to make people open up to him easily. It’s an unconscious power really. He didn’t realise it until he talked to the quietest, shiest person in the entire school. During that time, he brushed it off as being friendly.

 

It wasn’t until someone was going to use him and play a prank on him when he realised something was off. Because there was no way they consciously told him that they were going to use him and treat him like garbage right off the bat. He has watched them play with other people and the manipulation is pretty high.

 

It became more apparent when his ex-friend told him a secret and Seungcheol didn’t even know it was a secret and blurted it out when they were in public. Let’s just say he didn’t really want to be anyone’s friend for a while.

 

That a while turned to years until he entered college. He realised he could probably go into psychology with his ability. It would be helpful.

 

That’s where he met Joshua and Jeonghan. Joshua was doing plant biology while  Jeonghan changed his major so many times, Seungcheol isn’t quite sure what he graduated with. They met when someone was trying to fight Joshua and Jeonghan for just eating together. Seungcheol had just so happened to be there and the perpetrator took one look at Seungcheol and ran away.

 

Jeonghan laughed so much, he cried. Joshua thanked Seungcheol, even though he didn’t do anything, and offered him one of the kimbaps he made. After blurting out a secret, Jeonghan joked about how Seungcheol probably has some sort of power, to which the latter couldn’t deny.

 

Seungcheol became scared, he didn’t want a repeat of the previous time, but then a wave of calmness took over him as Jeonghan pat his shoulder. Joshua pulls out a lily seemingly out of nowhere and tucks it behind Seungcheol’s ear. Turns out Jeonghan is a half-angel while Joshua is a plant manipulator.

 

“Hey,” Jeonghan says softly “Everything’s gonna be okay, okay?” For the first time, Seungcheol sees kind, genuine eyes from people that aren’t his family. 

 

He starts crying. The two boys coo at him and bring him in for a hug. They’ve been best friends ever since.

 

Somewhere during college, Joshua and Jeonghan started dating, much to the disappointment of a lot of people. For years they have been flocked with admirers but since nobody really knows Seungcheol’s powers, it was easy for the group to see who genuinely wanted to date them. However, the relationships never lasted long and as a joke, they started dating each other. Bets were made on how long they would last.

 

It’s been years since they graduated and they’re still dating.  There were times where they felt Seungcheol should date someone so that he wouldn’t feel so left out whenever they went on dates but he was still scared. Just the thought of that time all those years ago has left him scared.

 

It doesn’t stop Joshua and Jeonghan for making him feel special. Be it valentine’s day or his birthday, they do little things to show him how much they appreciate him.

 

Hong’s Florists was actually a family business. It started from Joshua’s grandfather and it has been passed down to Joshua himself to run it. In fact, the trio worked there part-time during college but they liked it too much to leave. 

 

Plus, with Seungcheol and Jeonghan’s abilities, they made beautiful bouquets and the flowers they tend to seem brighter (It’s all Joshua’s doing, really). When they became permanent workers, Joshua moved upstairs of the shop while his parents remained at their house. Naturally, Jeonghan moved in with him.

They have brought up the question on whether to register as a hero but none of them are really interested. Joshua is a pacifist and so is Seungcheol while Jeonghan isn’t quite a pacifist but he doesn’t see any point registering as a hero. They’re pretty content with being supers that have normal lives.

 

In the present day, the flower shop operated as usual. People bought flowers for their loved ones, sometimes because they were visiting them in the hospital, sometimes they just wanted to buy flowers because they looked beautiful.

 

Although a customer came in today needing a bouquet of flowers and a congratulatory flower stand. It’s not unusual for customers to order but he was impatient and frankly quite rude. Usually, they put Jeonghan for orders as customers tend to be nicer to him but he just so happened to go to the bathroom, leaving Seungcheol to make the order.

 

As patient as he is, the customer not only implied he was stupid but also began comparing him to a homeless person. The last part confused Seungcheol but this customer was getting on his nerves.

 

He felt like he could finally breathe when Jeonghan finally appeared next to him and the customer’s demeanor changed. He was nicer and he started flirting with Jeonghan. Jeonghan took over and Seungcheol walked over to Joshua who was arranging a bouquet.

 

“Do you ever get jealous when customers do that to him?” Seungcheol asks. Joshua looks up to the counter where the customer is still flirting with his boyfriend.

 

“No, because I know he won’t date him” Joshua responds, bringing his attention back to the flowers. “Besides, the reason why we put him there was to deal with difficult customers anyway”

 

The day continued quite peacefully and they closed the shop in the evening. The couple bid Seungcheol good night and watched him walk away before retiring upstairs.

 

Seungcheol lives in an apartment a little closer to the city centre. Although Joshua offered his place, he’d rather not. Besides, his boyfriend works in the city centre anyway, so it’s easier for both of them.

 

Ah yes, his boyfriend. Lee Jihoon. His adorable, wonderful boyfriend. They met in college as well when Jihoon was in his second year of music production while Seungcheol was in his third year. Jihoon wanted some help on some psychological aspects to put into his song but really he wanted to make some guy in his class cry when he hears Jihoon’s songs.

 

Seungcheol wasn’t quite expecting it so he didn’t really focus on using his abilities. Every time Seungcheol thinks there’s an ulterior motive with Jihoon all he gets is “I just wanna know how this makes people feel” and “As attractive as you are hyung, I’m not quite interested in being in a relationship right now”

 

It was then when Seungcheol realised he could probably make a friendship with someone without being judged by his powers or his looks. He would ask Jihoon if he wanted to go out for coffee and to go out to eat. Jihoon accepts the offer as the times when Seungcheol asks him, his other friends have class. It would be nice to not eat alone.

 

Somewhere during the break after Seungcheol graduates, Jihoon asks him out on a date, which shocks everyone (but Jeonghan lost the bet to his boyfriend so not everyone).  Seungcheol memorises Jihoon’s class schedules to take him out for lunch and dinner.

 

Eventually, Seungcheol moves into an apartment and Jihoon moves in with him. Once Jihoon graduates, he managed to score a place at a studio in the city centre. It’s been a good two years since Jihoon moved in and Seungcheol was never happier. 

 

Jihoon’s schedule has never been fixed so Seungcheol already expects him to be late. Jihoon walks at around 10 pm, just as Seungcheol walks out of the kitchen with a bag of chips in his hands.

 

At the sight of Seungcheol, Jihoon just walks over and embraces him without a word. Seungcheol doesn’t question it. He loves it when Jihoon initiates the affection. He simply wraps his arms around him.

 

Hey babe,” Seungcheol mumbles in Jihoon’s hair “How was your day?” Jihoon groans. “Remember that one artist that was also a hero and is super pretentious?”

 

Ah yes. That one guy. Who is a hero as well as a recording artist. People can never forget him due to his dual life that he makes known to the public. Everyone knows his name.

 

Seungcheol forgot his name.

 

“Yeah” he lies, still holding Jihoon in his arms. “Is he still giving you problems?”

 

“Everything was perfect! The song was perfect! His vocals were perfect! Even the damn supporting voices! But he wanted to change just the entire key and it sounds like now!” Jihoon fumes. At times like this, Jihoon tends to wallow in his anger unless an external force steps in. Specifically, Choi Seungcheol.

 

Seungcheol starts with slightly swaying their bodies and then begins petting his boyfriend’s hair with his clean hand. Seungcheol watches his boyfriend slowly losing his anger and falling into rhythm until he rests his head on Seungcheol’s shoulder.

 

They sway in a comfortable silence as the movie plays in the background. The arms around Seungcheol gets tighter as Jihoon snuggles into him. “Feeling better?” Seungcheol asks, brushing the younger’s hair. Jihoon hums at the action, breathing deeply into Seungcheol’s neck.

 

“Yeah” Jihoon mumbles against the skin. “How was your day?” At that Seungcheol sighs. Although he hates the location, he absolutely loves retelling what happens to his boyfriend. 

 

“A car chase happened in front of the shop again. Don’t know what it’s about, don’t wanna know” he starts, still petting his boyfriend “Then I had to deal with a customer because Jeonghan went to toilet and he was so rude”

 

“Did Jeonghan come back?” Jihoon asks from his spot “Yeah, he came back and the customer immediately started flirting with him.” Seungcheol responds. He hears a snort. “Of course they do”

 

Jihoon detaches himself from his boyfriend “I’m gonna go wash up now. Cuddle me when I’m done” he says innocently. He’s got a slight blush in his cheeks and his eyes are downcast. The look of which Seungcheol will never, ever say no to.

 

“Of course, my love” Jihoon walks away as Seungcheol goes back into the kitchen to put back the bag of chips. He goes into their bedroom and waits for Jihoon on the bed. Jihoon comes out later, hair wet and eyes tired.

 

Seungcheol chuckles as Jihoon sits on the bed, wanting to lie down already. Seungcheol grabs Jihoon’s towel and towel dries his lover’s hair. He’s pretty sure when he’s done, Jihoon’s already asleep.

 

And he’s right, Jihoon fell asleep. Seungcheol puts away the towel and switches off the lights before cuddling his boyfriend. He thinks how his life is perfect at this moment. He’s got a good life, a good boyfriend and a pretty good job. Life’s good.

 

The next day came and for once it felt normal. The day didn’t start with police sirens or any kind of sirens for that matter. For once, it was quite peaceful.

 

Seungcheol could greet people with a smile, people walked in with happy intentions and smiling with a bouquet in their hands. Joshua and Jeonghan are happy too because they could rest a little bit and maybe, just maybe, they didn’t have to worry about replacing anything in the shop.

 

It was a little past lunch hour where things were still calm and serene. “Maybe I should take Ji out on a date today.” Seungcheol blurts out as he’s cutting the thorns out of a bunch of roses. Jeonghan looks up at him from the accounting book. “Because it’s so calm?”

 

“Well, yeah but” he turns from the roses “He has a pretty infuriating client and I wanted to cheer him up you know”

 

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you Cheol” Jeonghan coos. He turns to his boyfriend “Hey babe! Cheol is gonna take Jihoon on a date! Let’s go on one as well!”

 

Joshua chuckles from the other side of the store. “Sure, why not honey” Seungcheol goes out the water some of the flowers they put on display outside.

 

Suddenly, the sky cracked open. A sound so loud that is echoed into the distance. Seungcheol turned towards it. It was a portal. Not so peaceful after all. An army of aliens came flying down the portal. The good part about this attack is that it’s in the city centre, the shop is quite a distance from it.

 

The bad part is, by association, where the shop is, there’s still some damage. And another bad part is that Jihoon works in the city centre. Or not. He’ll probably like that there’s an invasion.

 

“Seungcheol!” Joshua yells “Get in already!” Seungcheol brings in the items from outside before locking the door of the shop. He walks up to the apartment while the TV plays the news. 

 

“Looks like all the heroes have been dispatched for this situation,” Jeonghan informs “All the lower class heroes are to protect civilians” Seungcheol walks into their kitchen to make himself a bowl of yogurt.

 

“Well, the higher ranking heroes need to diffuse the situation. It’s only fair.” Joshua adds. Seungcheol walks back to the living room and takes out his phone. He needs to make sure his boyfriend knows about this.

 

“Wait, doesn’t Jihoon work in the city centre?” Joshua questions. Jeonghan and Joshua turn to look at Seungcheol, who just received a text from his lover.

 

“Yeah, he’s really excited about it” Seungcheol nonchalantly says, putting his phone away.

 

“Why is he excited about it? Does he want to die?” Jeonghan presses. “No, he can release some steam” Seungcheol replies, eating a spoonful.

 

“Release some steam?” Jeonghan questions “Wait,”

 

“You never told us what Jihoon’s powers were”

 

Seungcheol looks up, eyes wide and innocent. “I didn’t?”

 

“You never told us. All we know is that you guys have powers and that you didn’t want to be heroes.”

 

“Oh,” Seungcheol sets down his bowl “Jihoon has the ability the summon weapons”

 

Meanwhile, in the city centre.

 

The aliens have caused havoc. Buildings are falling apart, cars flying around. The heroes desperately trying to keep the citizens safe while the higher ranks trying to defeat the aliens. 

 

Jihoon walks towards the chaos, where the aliens were at a high amount, his clothes changing into his armor. He used to have armor made of metal until his friend created a material he could use that was lighter and more flexible. He pulls his mask down his face, unlike the heroes of this world, he’d rather keep his identity a secret.

 

An alien goon notices him and lunges at him as he continues walking. Just as the goon was about the reach him, a sword pierces through the alien’s middle and lifts him up. Jihoon narrows his eyes at the alien.

 

“Get out of my planet” he seethes at the alien before throwing him against his comrades. With a wave of his arm, four more swords appear floating around him before brandishing two swords in each hand.

 

An explosion is heard in a far distance. Jihoon secretly hoped his client was the one that exploded. “What a way to start the party, huh,”

 

A group of aliens notice him and begin charging at him. Smirking, he assumes his combat position. “Let’s have some fun, shall we?”