Jongin never thought he'd be able to roam around Jupiter. He hadn't had the chance in Venus but in Jupiter, he couldn't believe he's walking and looking around cautiously with Leo lurking behind him like a predator. The city - Tryn, is a metropolitan city, with beautiful natural architectural design. Back on Earth during the fourth wave of civilization, cities are filled with towering buildings and vehicles but in Jupiter, it's nothing like that. They have buildings and vehicles, roads and highways, but everything is built in between the trees.

Jongin glances to look at Leo as the leopard stalks behind him. Leo should walk with its human companion, but it has been following Jongin ever since they stepped out of the jeep. Jongin stops walking. Leo stops too. Jongin tilts his head slightly and Leo mimics him. "Are you trying to be friendly, Leo?" Jongin takes a step forward bravely towards the leopard, only to jump two steps back when it snarls at him.

He glares at the leopard and jogs away from it to catch up with Chanyeol and Sehun, who are way ahead. He hears the leopard running after him and ungracefully, he screams, alerting the Captain.

"Leo!" Sehun warns the leopard and instantly the animal stops. "He's not hunting you," Sehun says, looking at Jongin awkwardly when he realizes he's been holding the other in his arms protectively.

"He was stalking me!" Jongin pants, moving away from Sehun. The leopard still keeps staring at him and so does Sehun.

"Maybe he likes you..." Chanyeol answers, taking a bite from his stuffed bread roll. It wags its tail slowly and walks forward to stand next to its companion. Jongin looks carefully between the companions, studying any reaction, but he finds none. The leopard could not possibly like him because if Leo likes him, his human companion has to have some kind of attraction towards Jongin too.

"That's not possible," Jongin chuckles nervously and steals the bread roll from Chanyeol. "How far is the shop?" Jongin asks the captain and shuts his mouth when he realises that they are standing directly in front of a glass door. He is making a fool of himself in front of Sehun at every chance and the embarrassment is becoming too much for him to handle. "Sorry," he then mumbles, avoiding the intense glare from Sehun and right before they step in, Jongin feels Leo's tail hitting his back.

He might overthink, but he definitely senses something going on between the leopard and him, and Sehun knows what's going on. Someone had never preyed on him but now experiencing it for the first time ignites the scariest imaginations in his head. Sehun orders them all a jug of beer and some spicy bites. He didn't expect the jug to be an actual sized jug and being a lightweight, Jongin is cautious of himself.

"I have something to ask," Jongin starts after taking a timid sip of the refreshing yellow-ish beer. Chanyeol has the same beer as him but Sehun has a stronger one; black beer. It's obvious; Sehun is a drinker. He can really drink, Jongin notes as he watches the beer level on the captain's jug. "How does time work here? Back in Venus, an hour is considered a day."

"A day in Jupiter is an hour on Earth," Sehun answers to his curiosity. "You don't have to worry about risking Earth's lives. Time is relatively different on each planet and compared to all the others, Jupiter's time is considered the longest for Earthians."

"You spend a day in Jupiter but in the reality of your own time, it's only an hour." Chanyeol interrupts.

"It doesn't feel like I am living for an hour. The day passes exactly like on Earth. I couldn't even feel the difference." Jongin tells them and honestly, the day feels less stressful. "It was hectic on Venus."

Chanyeol laughs, telling Sehun about the mishap of his spaceship SC-01. The captain looks smug, but the arrogance on his face collapses. "How did Earthians get so incompetent?" he questions aloud.

"What do you mean?" Jongin asks the captain, sensing something suspicious and doubtful from the Jupiterian.

"How did Earthian make such a bad spaceship when they were the ones who created the first to travel around the universe?" Sehun questions Jongin out loud, clearly remembering the Earthian's first spaceship; STS-1. It was the first human creation which was marked as the stepping stone to all space adventures.

"What?" Jongin gasped, "Earthians made the first spaceship?"

"Yes. STS-1. The first and best spaceship ever created and I don't understand how the hell Earthians dropped so low into creating something like SC-01?"

Jongin is lost. He chugs down the beer and wipes his mouth aggressively. "This is getting too much for my brain," he mutters, reaching out to chug more beer but Sehun grabs hold of his jug.

"What's wrong?" Sehun catches something fishy about the Earthian's reaction.

"They gave me the ship saying it's the best, Sehun. What if they never wanted me to get to the gem? What if they wanted me dead so they could say the mission failed?"

"The man who sent you the codes, who is he?" Sehun lowers his voice and leans closer. They're out in a public place and mission discussions shouldn't be done out loud.

"He's someone called Jang." Chanyeol fills in.

"And the suspect?"

"He's Lee..."

"But this guy, Jang..." Sehun snaps his fingers, "He has been filling you in and out about the mission?"

Jongin nods. Minister Jang gave him all the details and input about the mission. He was also the one who gave him the spaceship.

"Right now, he has lost all communications with Earth. SC-01 is stranded on Venus." Chanyeol tells Sehun and the captain, still dressed in his uniform, nods,

"Our best chance now is to reach Neptune by surprise. I'll have my team track down the location of the gem so we could decide to retrieve it back from Neptune or anywhere around it."

Jongin seals his mouth and stares blankly at the embroidered name tag on Sehun's uniform. The alcohol is kicking in. Jongin's head pounds with stress and constant backstabbing issues. "When will we leave, Captain?" Jongin questions the man, barely forcing his words out. He's tired. He can sense his body giving up with the stress.

"When you have had enough rest and are ready for the mission." Sehun answers, calling for the bill.

"I can't rest, captain." Jongin mumbles, almost whining as the alcohol makes him dizzy. Sehun is watching him and he likes it. He enjoys being watched by Sehun although he's scary, although his eyes are always intense and crazy, although Sehun always looks like he despises Jongin's existence.

"Why do you hate me, captain?" Jongin asks, slurring over his words. He has no conscience to his questions, and he does not realise Chanyeol is laughing his head off next to Sehun. "Hmm," Jongin prods Sehun to answer him. A beautiful server disrupts their moment and Sehun pulls him up from the chair, dragging him out of the restaurant. Jongin fights, but in his drunken state, he's no match for the captain.

"Let's get going. This idiot needs to rest." Sehun drags Jongin into the car and in his drowsy, drunken state, Jongin feels something wet all over his face. He moans and whimpers, pushing it away, unaware that it is Leo who is him. He dozes off all the way, but he knew someone hauled him up onto a bed.

--////--

Jongin knows he's somewhere unknown when he gets up with his head pounding terribly. He remembers chugging half jug of beer and the rest was history. He pushes himself off the huge, comfortable bed and heads for the door. The whole place is foreign, yet it looks like a typical Earthian apartment. Jongin walks around and observes the place, and spots someone standing shirtless on the balcony. He recognizes the figure immediately and within seconds; he sees a big cat's shadow.

"Do you need anything for the headache?" Sehun asks, without looking at him and Jongin stands next to Sehun, carefully avoiding the leopard.

"No thanks," he says because the headache is slowly being cured by the sight of Sehun's sturdy body. He keeps staring at Sehun – his pillowy chest, bun abs, slim waist and biteable arms. The discomfort in his head vanishes. Jongin has a body like that too but the reasoning of his own attraction puts Sehun's figure at the top of the list.

"It's a beautiful view," Jongin says, making casual conversations with the captain. Both Sehun and the town are beautiful. It is indeed a beautiful view. The town below is lit up, reflecting against the dark sky, but in the sky, Jupiter's many moons shine brightly, putting the electrified light into shame. Jongin is used to seeing one moon in the sky but having to witness four moons in the sky is mesmerising.

"The view or me? Because you were thirsting over me." Sehun notes smugly, and it takes Jongin less than a second to slap Sehun against his chest playfully. "Now you're taking advantage of me." Sehun quickly grabs hold of Jongin's hand. The Earthian struggles but Sehun pushes Jongin against the glass railing and secures his hand behind his back.

"Captain, you are..." Jongin breathes, fighting out of Sehun's hold and he stands right in front of Sehun to catch the luminous glow of his soul necklace. "You have a soulmate," Jongin whispers, more like reminding the captain.

He hears the crack in his own voice but refuses to believe it's because Sehun found his soulmate. He composes himself quickly and admires the soul necklace. He has never seen one before. "I am happy for you." He says in a small voice, acknowledging the weight in his chest. He liked Chanyeol before and the Venusian found his soulmate. He thought he could start over with Sehun, but it was never meant to happen from the beginning. "No wonder you were cold and unfriendly with me," Jongin chuckles wryly.

"This turned green only hours ago..." Sehun mutters unhappily, looking down to his own necklace. Jongin follows Sehun's train of sight, but the pillowy, comfortable chest mostly distracts his view.

"Oh." Jongin widens his eyes, "Ermm. Do you know who your soulmate is?"

"I know," Sehun answers, looking back at Jongin. He doesn't give off much thoughts from his expression and leaves Jongin wondering what Sehun is thinking.

"Did you meet him?" Jongin asks the captain.

"I saw him, that's all. Never had the chance to meet him."

"I'm so sorry for bringing this mission to you. You have just met your soulmate and then got bound to this mission with no guarantee of staying alive."

"There's no need to be sorry. I am not feeling sorry either. If we're meant to be together, I'll be alive." Sehun says and whistles for Leo to follow him in.

"Does Leo know about your soulmate?" Jongin follows Sehun in, into the kitchen.

The captain takes out a bottle of cold water and pours some for him in a glass. "Leo knows everything. He sometimes behaves the way I couldn't."

Jongin chuckles, "What do you mean?" he glances towards the lazing leopard and smiles lovingly. For once, the predator looks cute and cuddly. "He looks cute now," Jongin mumbles and gets back to Sehun for an explanation.

However, Sehun is staring intently towards him. "Leo knows everything." Sehun says, "He's meant to show his affections only towards me but since this necklace revealed my soulmate, this predator has become affectionate." Sehun glares at Leo.

"Is he affectionate towards the person or has he become affectionate?" Jongin laughs, looking at the big cat who's now lying on its back with its legs up in the air. The cat's behaving like a dog.

"Look at how shameless he is," Sehun mumbles, turning away to keep the bottle of water back.

"Can I pet him?" Jongin asks, hopefully. The cat is too adorable to ignore and the fear he has had for the big cat disappears after witnessing its cute nature.

"Go ahead," Sehun says and Jongin gets closer to the predator, kneeling in front of it. Leo stays on its back as if waiting for Jongin to caress its belly. "Rub his belly. He likes it." Sehun says from somewhere behind him and with a shaky hand, Jongin reaches out to softly, slowly rub Leo's tummy.

He giggles, turning to look at Sehun. "His fur is soft!" Jongin exclaims, petting more. Leo rolls over to the other side and demands more rubs. "He isn't as scary as he was when we first met!" Jongin giggles, moving closer to Leo, bravely leaning his head over the big cat's arms. "I thought he'd eat me at first!"

"He wouldn't now." Sehun says. "He likes you."

"I like him too!"

"And he'd lay down his life to protect you," Sehun says softly, so soft that Jongin didn't hear him.

--////--

"Where were you?" Jongin asks when he catches the Venusian sneaking into the house early in the morning. Chanyeol smiles sheepishly and calls Jongin forward. He reveals a handkerchief, slowly untying the knot to show what he brought. "Kyungsoo told me once," Chanyeol says with a wide smile on his face. Jongin looks at what's in the handkerchief. "There are these extremely sweet berries here in Jupiter. Sweeter than anywhere else in the universe."

Jongin stares at the small, dark red berries. "Kyungsoo gave me one when we first met here. He said it'll only taste sweet if you have someone significant."

Jongin rolls his eyes and walks away. He's offended. He turns back and sends Chanyeol a glare and continues walking back into his temporary room. Chanyeol follows him, laughing as he enters the room uninvited, "Hey... Jongin. Sorry." He laughs.

Jongin glares at the Venusian. He should get used to the fact that Chanyeol has a soulmate now but he couldn't just agree to it, especially the way Chanyeol would jump onto every moment to rub that fact on his face. "I don't have a soulmate or a boyfriend. Be sensitive, will you?" he tells the Venusian and Chanyeol smiles back at him, joining him on the bed.

"I still want you to try. If it's sweet, it's good. If it's not, keep hoping."

Jongin sighs and reaches out to take one berry. He stares at it, silently praying for himself. He doesn't want a heartbreak, and neither does he want to have his hopes raised. He's a romantic fool. He believes in love. He believes in partners and trying these berries would levitate him or bury him six feet underground.

"What's happening here? Leo sensed great anxiety." Sehun walks into the room and his eyes land on the berries in Chanyeol's hand. Leo follows close behind Sehun and hops onto the bed to stare at Jongin. The big cat studies him. "It's you." Sehun claims, referring to the emotion Leo sensed, "What's happening?"

"Nothing. I guess our drama king got too emotional over these berries." Chanyeol tells Sehun, and unhappily, Jongin sulks.

"Forget about these berries," Sehun says, taking one from Chanyeol. He bites the berry and squints his eyes. "We have mission planning to do."

Jongin gets curious with Sehun's reaction towards the berry and tries one. Chanyeol was talking to Sehun, so he didn't notice when Jongin pop one berry into his mouth. Leo keeps his gaze on him and the first bite surprises him. The berry is juicy compared to the size. He didn't expect his mouth to be filled with juice. As the juices hit his taste buds, Jongin feels the sweetness. It's sweet.

Jongin widens his eyes. He reconfirms the taste and kneels on the bed like an excited puppy, "It's sweet!" he tells the other two and Chanyeol is the first to reach out to him.

"It's sweet?" he questions.

Jongin nods and takes another berry. "Really sweet," he tells them. The second berry is sweeter than the first and he catches Sehun watching him with a subtle smile.

"So, are you confident now?" Chanyeol winks at him, indirectly hinting about the conversation they had earlier.

Jongin flushes red, and he nods, "But I want to know who he is." He mumbles,

"I bet he's someone great." Sehun says.

"You think so?" Jongin smiles at the captain, who's looking fresh and handsome in his tight white tank top and black jeans. Sehun is a feast to the eyes; from head to toe, he's delectable. "What would he think of me?" Jongin asks, moving out of bed to get dressed. He takes his jacket and puts it on. Chanyeol leaves the room for both of them to continue talking.

"Him? I think he'd think... you're an idiot."

"You're just... so mean, captain!" Jongin scolds, walking past the captain but jabs the other in his stomach. "That's what you get for teasing me and let me tell you something..." Jongin closes the gap between them, standing on his toes right in front of the captain's face. Sehun has a smirk on his face and it's yet to fall. Jongin is so sure.

"What?" Sehun whispers.

"I bet your soulmate thinks you're a snobbish, arrogant fool."

Sehun laughs, "No, he pretty much lusts over me all the ing time."

"I thought you said, you never met him?" Jongin is puzzled. He clearly remembers being told that the captain never met his soulmate, but the smirk on his face is questioning and confusing.

"Get ready, Earthian. We are heading towards the Space Centre for positioning." Sehun diverts the conversation and starts explaining about the centre.

The Space Centre is the core centre of all Jupiter's universe travels and expeditions. It's considered a research centre too where young, capable Jupiterian gather to create and search more prominent findings around the Universe. This is also the place where Chanyeol got his Universe Map, which he claimed, given by Sehun. The centre, which Jongin thought would also look like a simple building, is an actual huge, round shaped building. Upon closer look, Jongin recognises the architectural design; it's made in the shape of Jupiter itself.

"Are those working here really experts about the universe?" Jongin asks his question out loud and for an answer he gets a glare from Sehun. The captain never stopped with his glare – to a point, Jongin thinks, he's meant to only get glares from the other.

"Do idiots work in the science and space department on Earth?" Sehun snaps rudely, guiding them towards the research department.

"Of course not," Jongin answers.

"Then obviously, it's the same here."

"I'm asking because on Earth we don't have a Universe research centre. We have the Solar System department which is only limited to research in the system."

"Well then, yes. This centre focuses on broad research since our facilities and equipment are made for further and precise findings." Sehun points to the electronic data on the wall. The electronic display shows the current number of stars, exoplanets and black holes. Jongin watches the display in awe as the star number keeps increasing every minute.

"Are those counts real?" he asks Sehun but a staff member stops to answer.

"Yes. Those counts are real and we have a special star department which names each new star."

"This is such a wonderful place. I feel I have so much to learn." He looks around in awe. All the staff are wearing white clinical outfits and most of them have glasses on. Next to each of them is their animal companion. The staff who stopped to answer Jongin's curiosity has an owl on his shoulder.

"You're welcome to stay. We have a public space catering to the public's interest in the world beyond us."

"Great. Wonderful." Jongin claps and bows enthusiastically, but his excitement gets crushed down when Chanyeol drags him away from the staff. Jongin mumbles an apology before pushing himself off Chanyeol's grip. "He was inviting me to—"

"You've got a mission, remember?"

"Yes, but he..." Jongin turned around to look at the male staff, but he was nowhere to be seen. Saddened, Jongin pouts and meets a snarling Leo, ready to pounce on him any minute. "Why is he doing that?" Jongin stutters, glancing towards Sehun for some answers, but the captain looks upset too. "What did I do?"

"He didn't invite you for a private lesson, Agent Kim Jongin. Put your head back on the mission." Sehun says robotically as if suppressing his anger and disappointment. Jongin wants to explain his intentions. He isn't attracted to or interested in the staff. He is genuinely int