The 100 Year Letter Exchange - Featuring: The Space Lion 

Ch.3

By: Kwuintessence and Eiryia

Seungyoon roused before his alarm and sat up slowly, looking around the placid dark room, his mind still clouded with sleep. It was quite early in the morning with dawn having not quite broken yet. He was certain that he could sleep for another half hour but decided against it, knowing very well that it would only make it much harder for him to get up then.
Jinwoo was sleeping soundlessly beside him, curled up in a ball, looking too cute for his own good. Seungyoon relented to his urges and ran his fingers through the slumbering nobleman's hair, the back of his hand lightly grazing his smooth cheek. He couldn't help but smile at the slight crinkling Jinwoo's pretty nose had made at the contact. He leaned down after a while and placed a small chaste kiss on the corner of Jinwoo’s lips before getting up from the bed. Just a little something to get him through the day.
As he pulled on his pants which he had conveniently left on the floor the night before, he noticed Seunghoon practically glued on Jinwoo's back, his arm tightly wrapped around Jinwoo's waist.

Seungyoon considered himself quite a generous person but there are some things he didn’t like sharing and one of them was definitely his Jinwoo. Grumbling to himself once more about how they really needed to get another bed, Seungyoon went over to Seunghoon’s side. Once there he tugged a few times on Seunghoon’s arm, enough for the spaceman to lose his grip on his Jinwoo and move a few inches away.
Seungyoon had to admit that he was jealous. Seunghoon got to spend so much time alone with Jinwoo while he was away at work. He had wanted to suggest for them to get jobs for a while now, but his worry for Jinwoo had held him back. Maybe now was a good time?
Pouring himself some cereal, he pondered some more about what kind of jobs he could possibly suggest for the two. He wasn’t particularly worried about Seunghoon, the spaceman was outgoing and crafty and he already knew this world well from all his travels. Jinwoo, on the other hand…
It's not that Seungyoon doubted the beautiful nobleman’s ability to do work; but compared to Seunghoon, there was a lot of things he didn’t know yet about this world. And unfortunately, not all of them were good.

Thinking about how Jinwoo still called the refrigerator a ‘winter box’, he smiled to himself. It was such a precious feat, how the nobleman defined things based on his era of origin. Out in the real world at this particular time, Seungyoon knew that there was the possibility of Jinwoo getting found out. Nevertheless, he found him to be clever at times and knew somewhat that he could definitely hide most of this well if he tried. Seungyoon had an inkling feeling that the fair nobleman wasn’t trying at all around them anyway.
Hurrying to work he managed to get there just before it started pouring. Rain usually meant less customers and so he was grateful for it as it would give him a slow start to the day, which he felt he really could need right now. He had begun reorganizing the vinyl records yesterday and so far all he had managed to do was make a mess out of it.

He had always been passionate about music and so working in the music shop was the perfect place for him. He could play not only the the guitar, but also the drums and the piano. The shop owner, a benign old man, kindly allowed him to use the loft upstairs to teach kids to play instruments so that he could earn some extra money. With the addition of two more people in his life, he was very much pleased and extremely grateful for it - going as far as accepting every opportunity that came his way lately.
Taking a quick glance at his watch, Seungyoon sighed. His two housemates are most likely up by now. He wondered about just what they were up to. Maybe Seunghoon was down in the warehouse tinkering with his spaceship again? Jinwoo... He smiled just at the thought of him.
Jinwoo had been reading his way through Seungyoon’s book collection over the last few weeks, sitting under one of his blankets with that grumpy cat of his on his lap.
Seungyoon went on with his workday continuing to wonder about the pair he left at home. If only he had known.

It had started when Jinwoo had innocently decided to deal with the annoying and unsightly amount of cat fur that was gathering in every corner of the home they shared. He had observed Seungyoon use this machine that things into a clear bin before and had decided to give it a go, confident that he’d be able to use it with no trouble whatsoever.
For a while, it had gone well - that is until the machine had accidentally up one of the small metallic parts of the holographic TV that Seunghoon was tinkering with on the living room floor. Seunghoon being the clever dude that he is, had come to learn that most machinery and appliances in this time could be easily fixed with a few simple thumps, and so - he did just that.

After hitting the machine a few times, it started to work again...but not for long because seconds later it had imploded with an ominous crack, looking like it had attempted to up itself. Jinwoo had this distressed look on his face that had Seunghoon doubling over as he laughed. Wanting to ease the nobleman’s anxiety, he gave the machine a final hard thump hoping that it will somewhat some air in and reshape itself.
There was a nice light whoosh and it seemed to have worked as the machine buzzed to life, it was then followed by another crack - a loud popping one. Jinwoo and Seunghoon found themselves covered with the very fur that Jinwoo wanted to get rid off, that amongst other things. The clear bin for dust collection had burst. Too shocked to move, Jinwoo looked like one of those Grecian statues he had seen on a documentary he watched a few nights ago on TV. Seunghoon gingerly dusted the unmoving nobleman off, smiling at him sheepishly the whole time.

“Wanna take a bath together?”

He offered. Seunghoon knew that wasn’t going to fly, still he saw no harm in trying. Jinwoo had bolted before he could even grab his arm, running to the bathroom in record speed and slamming the door and locking it before he can reach him. Seunghoon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Well, there’s always next time.
Kim Jinwoo, I’ll get my hands on you one of these days!

After Jinwoo, Seunghoon followed. About 10 minutes later, fresh out of the shower, Seunghoon walked towards Jinwoo who seemed to be fixing the ‘dust er’, but by the look of things - he was failing at it miserably. Just now, the nobleman had managed to detach the upright handle, making the whole thing collapse flat on the floor. Seunghoon laughed a little before patting Jinwoo on the back and saying he could try to fix it. The nobleman then stared up at him with a lovely smile on his lips, looking hopeful and very enticing. Someone help him, Jinwoo was once again becoming too lovely in his eyes.

About 10 minutes into it, Seunghoon realized that he absolutely had no idea how to fix it. Jinwoo was sitting right beside him the whole time and each time their eyes met, he saw himself reflected on those sparkling orbs as Jinwoo smiled. There was no way that he could tell him. So, he went on tinkering with it for quite a bit more hoping that he’ll find a solution for it in the process.
Later on, he had the idea of using the other appliances in the house to fix it. He proceeded to disassemble Seungyoon’s bread roaster telling a bewildered Jinwoo that he could use parts of it to repair the dust er. The end result was that neither worked again and at the end of it they both sat there with two broken things.
Seunghoon had only shrugged then and went back to working on his holographic TV. The only upside was that he was able to use a few parts from the broken things (the dust er and the bread roaster) for his holographic TV. Seunghoon started humming, feeling optimistic about his progress. However, it too died on him after a while. By then he felt that there wasn't much he could do at that point. Time for a break, he decided and so he had begun making their lunch.

That was when everything had gone dark and something had begun smelling terribly burned.
Jinwoo raced into the living room only to find Seunghoon sitting on the floor sporting a huge almost feral grin. The holographic TV was not just lighting up like it had been before, it was showing moving pictures. For Jinwoo, it was a different sort of fascinating from Seungyoon’s TV wherein people were moving inside a black frame. Jinwoo walked closer to it, inspecting what he assumed (from Seungyoon’s teaching) was some kind of weather forecast. A woman was pointing at a map with three suns on it along with rainclouds colored in green and purple. It looked as if she was hovering right off the floor like some errant ghost, except she looked very lively and solid.

"Ah, looks like they are getting acid rain again. I hope they fixed the barrier."

Seunghoon nonchalantly said. Jinwoo felt a slight pull on his arm moments later; the spaceman had taken a seat in the couch behind him and was trying to get him to move out of the way.

"Let me show you something neat!"

Seunghoon told him while he tugged at his shirt this time. He let himself get pulled down on the couch, his curious eyes never leaving Seunghoon as the spaceman fiddled with a black cube that was emitting blue light from its center. The cube controlled the holographic TV like magic and Seunghoon used his hand to move things around so that they could see the broadcast from different angles and speeds.
After that, Seunghoon took out a tiny orb from his pocket, placing it into a small slot in the controller cube. Grinning at Jinwoo, he leaned back on his seat and put his hand behind him, resting it on the back of the couch. The image of the woman from earlier was now showing what appeared to be some kind of tidal wave; she disappeared in front of them and was replaced with a rotating sphere colored in vibrant blue and green.

"It’s a map."

Seunghoon told him while pointing at the blue and green orb that was hovering above them under the ceiling. With a flick of his wrist they began moving away from the sphere, several other spheres came into view as well. It kept moving outwards until the sun was a tiny dot among many.

"This is our galaxy."

He pointed towards another shining star and they began moving towards it.

"This is where I used to live, where we visited the other day."

They kept on moving around the immense map for what Jinwoo assumed must have been hours, he concluded because they only paused when Seungyoon returned home and with a lot of noise at that.
The musician had been yelling from the hallway the moment he stepped in through the front door, something about blowing fuses. They knew he had then gone out again because they heard the door slam behind him.
A few minutes later, the lights suddenly came on. Transfixed with the now working holographic TV, the pair had stayed in the dark for hours. They could hear Seungyoon come stomping into the hallway still grumbling. Jinwoo watched him as he passed the corner into the living room halting his pace as he took in the view of his magically lit up living space.  

"Turn off the lights will you?"

Seunghoon asked after giving Seungyoon a moment to process what he was seeing. The musician took two steps back and turned off the lights before settling beside Seunghoon on the couch.

"We have arrived at the last place I want to show you!"

They were moving closer and closer towards one star while Seunghoon said it, giving Jinwoo’s shoulder a squeeze. Stopping at a sphere that Jinwoo noticed looked a lot like where they had started, Seunghoon explained,

"This is my home planet and the place where I lived until I was seventeen."

Jinwoo nodded, taking in the sight before him while Seungyoon reached out a hand towards the levitating sphere.

"It looks like earth, but those lights? Are they auroras?"

Seungyoon pointed at the many bands moving around it, changing colors every other second.

"It’s the impact of particles hitting the atmosphere, yes. Our sun is a lot more unstable as it is getting closer to the end of its lifespan. All the solar winds are throwing particles at our planet."

Seunghoon expounded. The trio watched the sphere continuously getting bombarded by solar winds, lighting up into an amazing color display each time. Jinwoo took a peek at Seunghoon who appeared to be studying his planet carefully now. The spaceman looked a little melancholic he noticed, so different from his usual cheeky self. Wanting to be of some sort of comfort to him, Jinwoo reached out a hand towards him - only to be interrupted by Seungyoon.

"It’s so far away. Sorry for asking, but are you even human?"

Jinwoo sighed, now was not the time to ask such a thing, he wanted to tell Seungyoon. Seunghoon seemed homesick and a bit downcast although he tried hard not to show it. In the end, he took hold of Seunghoon’s hand and gave Seungyoon a deterrent gaze. Seungyoon pouted a bit before shrugging, his gaze shifting to Seunghoon’s face (who was seated between them) as he waited for an answer.

"Yes, I’m human. I’m from the future, remember? Humans continued to destroy this planet and in the end they had no other choice but to look for others places to live. They searched for planets in various solar systems that are as similar to earth as possible and one of those was my home planet."

They watched the spinning sphere in silence after that. It was a tiny planet among monsters in its solar system and Jinwoo had no trouble imagining it being swallowed by the huge sun which seemed to be pulsing aggressively even on this ‘map’, as Seunghoon called it.

"Your planet though, is it still there?"

Jinwoo asked not being able to hold back his curiosity. He felt Seunghoon’s hand move a little in his before squeezing his tightly.

"In this time that we are in now, my home planet is already in existence but is yet to be discovered. In my time, it's a ticking time bomb. It still exists but it’s practically devoid of human life, except for a very stubborn few who decided to stay behind. No one knows exactly when it’s going to blow, but yeah...it’s soon. My lifetime for sure."

Jinwoo nodded, the thought of having your home where you grew up in being blasted to little pieces was a difficult thought to process on its own - the entire solar system though. Maybe Seunghoon chose to stay here on earth because it was similar to his home? Jinwoo thought.

"Are there any pictures? From your planet?"

Unsure if this was something that he could ask, Jinwoo leaned towards Seunghoon and nuzzled him a bit, wanting to imply that he didn’t need to reply if he didn’t want to. Seunghoon smiled at him however, and pulled out another small orb from his pocket. The floating spheres disappeared and moments later a simple hard-covered book hovered in front of them.

"I only saved a few, us three should go there someday. It would be neat!"

Seunghoon told them as he flipped through the book by moving his hand around, only stopping when he landed on a page with the picture of a floating island on it. Peeking over at Seungyoon he saw him lightly shake his head. The thought of visiting a planet about to be swallowed up by its sun probably didn’t sound too appealing to his sensible mind. Jinwoo on the other hand had to admit that it sounded enticing. As long as he was with his two new companions, Jinwoo didn’t feel like he had anything to lose or fear, and so, he looked forward to going on another adventure with them someday.
 

Four images floated in front of them and Seunghoon zoomed in on each one. The images weren’t stationary like Jinwoo had originally thought, it was of various moving captures that lasted a few seconds. The first was of the most wondrous night sky that Jinwoo had ever seen. The vast darkness peppered with stars had numerous rainbow colored lights that moved like waves across it, leaving multicolored trails that faded away in seconds.

(p.cr x & x)

The second was of a vast green landscape (that to Jinwoo’s amazement) had tiny floating islands far up in the sky. The third was of a blue landscape wherein celestial bodies, planets, were clearly visible in the sky and the fourth and final image was of a cityscape. It looked somewhat similar to the city where they were living in now, but it was more green and organic seeming. In-between sleek modish structures, some of them almost touching the sky, was lush vegetation. There were bright neon signs and lots of tiny spaceships of different shapes, sizes, and colors.

 (p.cr:x)

"It looks strangely welcoming and warm, nothing like where we went with you the other day."

Seungyoon noted. The musician had gotten to his feet and was inspecting it from a different angle now. Reaching out a hand into the holograph, it distorted the picture and Seungyoon pulled back.

"It’s from my home city. I took those pictures a few months before leaving for my new...well, now old job."

They watched the cityscape for a little while longer before Seungyoon spoke again.

"I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving. Should we make dinner?"

He then went over and the light while Seunghoon turned off the holographic tv returning it to a faintly glowing orb on the living room floor.
Jinwoo got up from his seat and followed Seungyoon into the kitchen. The things that Seunghoon and he had brought out to make lunch with were still on the counter. Putting those away he watched Seungyoon as he began preparing their meal.

"I’m sorry for breaking your dust er and for not stopping Seunghoon when he disassembled your bread roaster."

Seungyoon turned around towards him and he was smiling. He had such a warm smile that Jinwoo felt his chest get a little lighter just by looking at him. He smiled back, but he still felt guilty about the mess they had made earlier in the day.

"It’s okay. Accidents happen. Besides, I’m sure you only wanted to help, right?"

Jinwoo bit his lip and nodded in agreement.

“I’m just glad that our home is still standing...and you’re alright. Seunghoon too.”

After having said that, Seungyoon turned back to continue what he was doing. Jinwoo slowly approached him from behind; he hesitated a bit before pressing himself against Seungyoon’s back and resting his chin gingerly on Seungyoon’s shoulder. Grasping Seungyoon’s shirt, he whispered in his ear

“Seungyoonie, I’m very lucky that you’re the one one who got my letter. You don’t know just how happy I am that I can be here with you and Seunghoon now.”

At the end of his words, Seungyoon turned around to face him. Jinwoo was startled as they were very close, he took a step back but Seungyoon grabbed his arm, pulling him back. Jinwoo’s heart started to race, his face suddenly feeling hot and he’s not really sure why. Seungyoon then wrapped his other arm around his waist and pulled him even closer while his other arm rested around his shoulder, their bodies seamlessly fitting together.

“This is called a hug. You’ve seen it on tv, right?”

Jinwoo nodded, not quite sure about what he should do with his hands. He had seen people in this time do it but it was something that was thought to be preposterous and at certain circumstances was considered taboo during his time. Still, this was Seungyoon, not just anyone else - he’d make an exception. Also, Seungyoon had already done this to him once before - the day they finally saw each other face to face. Eventually, he timidly wrapped his arms around Seungyoon like he had seen others do.

“It’s nice, isn’t it? Can you stay with me like this for a while?”

Reveling in Seungyoon’s pleasant warmth, Jinwoo relaxed and responded simply by nuzzling against him.
 

They were in the middle of eating dinner when Seunghoon suddenly stopped and exclaimed,

"I’ve decided to get a job! I’m not sure what kind of job yet but I’d like to help out with the finances. I’m sure it’s tough on you with us two being here. Moreover, I would like to buy myself some clothes of my own. You’re a really nice guy Seungyoon-ah but your clothes..."

Despite his fashion choices being belittled, Seungyoon had a look of relief on his face as Seunghoon said this. Jinwoo, on the other hand, couldn’t help but smile and admire Seunghoon’s decisiveness. Truth be told, he wanted to work too but he was unsure of what kind of job he could do well in this time. Seunghoon then went on for a while about what kind of job he would like to try. Everything from modeling to cooking was on his list, but the spaceman had decided to ask at a nearby convenience store for now as they were searching for people.

"I want to help."

Jinwoo told them after Seunghoon had gone back to eating. The two of them looked up at him at the same time before exchanging glances. Were they worried for him? Or was it only his imagination? Jinwoo wasn’t sure but the last thing he wanted was to be a burden on both of them.

"I’m not sure about what kind of job I would be able to do well, but I want to do my part."

Seungyoon smiled at him after some time while Seunghoon volunteered to look for jobs for both of them. Jinwoo stared at his food wondering what he would be good at. Working at the convenience store probably wouldn’t be too hard but he didn’t know the name of most of the things they sold or what they even are. If a customer asked, he would be in trouble.

When they finished eating they decided to go out to enjoy the warm summer weather before it got dark, as both he and Seunghoon had spent all of their day inside. Seungyoon was an avid fan of skateboards and Seunghoon was quickly learning. He didn’t have that much interest in it himself, but Seungyoon had an old scooter in his apartment which he borrowed to keep up with them and it was a lot of fun.

The last few times they had gone out to skateboard along the river, Seungyoon and Seunghoon had this race between them. This time Seunghoon decided to give it a little extra in an attempt to finally beat Seungyoon who had won all the previous times. He had gone ahead and attached tiny rockets under his board that was spouting tiny blue flames. It made a funny swooshing sound as he went.
He had expected Seungyoon to get angry at Seunghoon for cheating, but he had only laughed heartily and asked if they were competing for a prize this time. Seunghoon having full confidence had agreed, but neither had any idea what the prize could be.
After talking between themselves, the pair finally agreed on a prize of some sort without letting him know whatever it was that they had agreed on. They only told Jinwoo to move on ahead of them and be the judge. The goal this time was by the entrance to the park and it was far down the road so he went on alone on his scooter.

Having a clear view of the entire route, Jinwoo enthusiastically cheered for them as they went. Seunghoon’s rockets worked like magic as he instantly got in the lead, but Seungyoon wasn’t that far behind. Anyhow, the difference between the two was evident. Seungyoon was in total control of his board while Seunghoon was waving around trying to desperately keep his balance on his.
Even so, Seunghoon managed to keep the lead. They had one last turn left and Jinwoo was certain that Seunghoon would finally emerge victorious this time but to his astonishment, Seungyoon was the only one emerging from behind the bushes.

Jinwoo watched in awe as Seungyoon crossed the finish line but before he can even congratulate him, the musician promptly hurried back up and disappeared behind the bushes. He emerged seconds later holding his board in one hand and Seunghoon’s wrist in the other. Jinwoo ran towards the pair.
The spaceman looked to be fine as he was brushing off a few leaves from his shirt. He then inspected his steaming board and gave a loud sigh.

"One of the rockets gave out. It created an imbalance and threw me into that lovely bush."

Seunghoon pointed dramatically at said bush and they all laughed. Jinwoo picked a leaf out of Seunghoon’s hair and Seungyoon asked if Seunghoon was okay before straightening up a little looking all smug.

"I guess it’s time for MY prize!"

Seunghoon’s expression changed drastically, now looking very crestfallen. Jinwoo who was still clueless turned towards Seungyoon to ask,

"What prize did you two decide on exactly?"

Seungyoon only smiled. He then took a step towards him and said,

"Close your eyes and I’ll show you."

Jinwoo didn’t understand what he meant by that. How could Seungyoon show him anything when he had his eyes closed? In any case, he did as Seungyoon had asked. He could hear Seunghoon grumbling a short distance away saying a few different things that clearly revealed his displeasure.

"I’m not going to watch this!"

“I will definitely win next time!”

“I was so close!”

He could still hear Seunghoon grumbling away when he felt a hand grab his, he recognized Seungyoon’s warm gentle touch and slim fingers right away. Then he felt this warmth hit his cheek which he soon realized was Seungyoon’s breath. Just why is Seungyoon coming closer? Jinwoo wondered. Are we hugging again? Jinwoo wasn’t sure but he knew that he didn’t need to close his eyes for that.

“Seungyoonie, what’s going on?”

Jinwoo eventually asked and when Seungyoon answered, he could feel his every word against his lips.

“Do you trust me?”

Jinwoo swallowed, his heart suddenly doing a mad sort of dance in his ribcage again after realizing just how very close the two of them are.

“Do you?”

Seungyoon pressed, his voice low as he intertwined their fingers together. Jinwoo could feel the warmth radiating from his body which he could sense was just inches away. Biting his lip, Jinwoo nodded despite the wild thudding in his chest.
Seconds later, Jinwoo held his breath as Seungyoon’s other hand crept up his arm and rested on his shoulder, his fingers drawing a few lazy circles that left a tingling trail on his skin. That hand rose higher until it reached his chin, pausing to only lightly tilt his head ever so slowly.
Something warm pressed against his lips. It was soft and firm with gentle pressure. Seungyoon’s fingers slid into his hair on the base of his neck, eventually pulling him close until their bodies were flush against each other, their breath mingling. Jinwoo felt his stomach clench and after letting out a low gasp, he felt Seungyoon’s lips move much bolder against his.

Jinwoo couldn’t quite comprehend whatever it was that was going on. All he knew was that Seungyoon was doing something to him that was making him feel all sorts of strange. Whatever it was, he didn’t want it to stop.
His hands somehow ended up on the planes of Seungyoon’s shoulders, he leaned forward, mimicking the way Seungyoon’s lips had repeatedly brushed against his, and immensely liking the low sound he got out of Seungyoon just now. Wrapping his arms around his neck, Jinwoo allowed himself to feel Seungyoon’s hard body pressed against his, his long fingers digging into his skin.
Seungyoon on his bottom lip harder and a swipe of his tongue turned into something deeper. Jinwoo’s head spun as burgeoning heat crept up on him as Seungyoon’s tongue found its way between his lips. It felt so good - it was odd and different, yet warm and safe. Jinwoo thinks he could get addicted to whatever this is.

“Hey. Hey!”

Jinwoo’s eyes shot open, Seunghoon was right behind Seungyoon - in front of his face, startling him.

“Seungyoon-ah...” 

Seunghoon growled, placing his hand not so gently on Seungyoon’s other shoulder. 

“...we agreed on a kiss, NOT KISSES - and definitely ‘no ravishing’ OUR Jinwoo.”

“Seunghoon-ah, what did you just say? That just now...what did you just call it?”

“It’s called a KISS. Two people pressing their mouth, their lips together, Like this...”

Seunghoon nonchalantly explained, moving his fingers around and bringing them together as an example.

“That was a KISS...”

Jinwoo looked down but Seunghoon was able to catch his expression and it was a confused blend of terror and maybe mortification.

“Jinwoo, are you alright?” 

Seungyoon asked, pulling away a bit and looking at his face.

“This has never happened to me before.” the nobleman whispered, “What have I done?”

His destiny was sealed forever. By a kiss! From a man! Jinwoo couldn’t believe it. Looking at Seungyoon’s face now, gave him a tingly feeling far into his soul. Still, he couldn’t help but panic. A kiss, in his own time was taboo. All he knew was that it was something that was only exchanged between married couples to consummate their bond and to procreate. Men weren’t allowed to see much of a woman’s skin and had such an unfortunate thing occurred, like an accidental glance at an upright woman’s unclothed leg - they would be wed to save the woman and her family from falling into disgrace. Jinwoo shuddered, having lived as a nobleman, he had always strived to be virtuous and uphold his family’s honor and yet just now...all that has gone to naught.
Now, there’s only one thing that could be done to save themselves from the disgrace that was sure to follow...they would have to get married. And to think that one of his reasons for coming with Seunghoon to this time was avoiding his own engagement. He couldn’t get married to a man now, or could he? Jinwoo wasn’t sure. This was a bit too much to process; he had been worrying about getting a job only moments ago!

His mind was racing and worries were piling up, what did all this mean? Did it mean that they would have to do everything that married couples did as well?
The thought of that tipped the scale and he responded without thinking, by running away. He still had his scooter in his hand and so he hopped on and scooted away from the two.
He went on until he found a quiet bench by the riverbank. There he sat down and tried to clear his mind. It didn’t take long however for the other two to catch up with him. Seungyoon first as Seunghoon had to manage without his fancy rockets.

"I’m sorry, I had no idea you would react like this! Can you forgive me?"

Looking up at Seungyoon’s apologetic face he felt the questions well up in his mind and so he asked,

"What does this mean? What happens to us now?"

Seungyoon sat down beside him as Seunghoon finally caught up with them.

"What are you talking about?"

Seunghoon was huffing to catch his breath looking down at the two of them. Jinwoo decided that he had to say it, he had to ask. What would Seungyoon say? Could he live like this?

"That 'kiss' just now...are you going to take responsibility and marry me?"

According to tradition that was how it was, right? Seungyoon blinked back at him a few times, his now sanguinary lips curving into a strange smile before directing his gaze to the ground and laughing a little. Seunghoon was turning red; it looked like he was holding back - from laughing as well, that is. Judging by both Seungyoon and Seunghoon’s expressions, he could tell that traditions and values must have changed by now. The other two eventually quieted down and several moments of tense silence passed. Seunghoon decided to end it by plopping down beside him as well and giving him a serious look.

"I forgot. A kiss is still taboo in your time. If I remember correctly, even less bodily contact could get you married off. Men, however, did not get married to other men in your time now, did they? So, don’t worry!"

It was true; men didn’t get married to other men. Still, wasn’t that how things were? Whatever happened to purity and saving one’s self for marriage? He looked at Seungyoon and then back at Seunghoon. He was still very worried. Just how could that be? That was when Seunghoon said,

"I know how to fix this."

Seunghoon then proceeded to move so fast he could barely register what was happening. There was only one thing he was sure of - he was being kissed again! By a man! And a different one!
Seunghoon’s lips smothered his at first, his tongue grazing over his lips and parting them forcibly. Jinwoo tried to pull away but Seunghoon was much stronger than he thought. He could feel Seunghoon’s fingers as they crawled up the back of his neck and tangled itself in his hair; his kiss increasing in pressure and Jinwoo couldn’t help but feel exhilarated. His body shivered against him as their lips moved, tongues darting to taste each other.
Seunghoon eventually broke the kiss, leaving Jinwoo dazed - their lips still touching.

"Now you have to marry us both."

Seunghoon chuckled softly, pulling away from him with a playful handsome boyish grin.

“Cheater. That was uncalled for.”

Seungyoon growled possessively at the spaceman. His voice and intense stare made Jinwoo blush brighter. He didn’t know what to do next but Seungyoon seemed to read the situation and pulled on his arm a little.

“Let’s go back. Doesn’t that tv show you enjoy come on soon? Seunghoon can’t win anymore anyway after his rockets broke down on him. Cheater!”

Seunghoon’s expression changed as Seungyoon said the last part, giving the other a too smug grin. Jinwoo found himself smiling at that. It was about time they head home.

They made their way back slowly, mainly because the way back was uphill, and also because they were enjoying the warm summer evening.
When they finally returned, Jinwoo realized that his cat was still outside and so he had told the other two to head up without him. It usually hid in the back alley outside, between the high fences and the solid concrete walls of the warehouse. The weeds grew tall there and there were lots of places to hide in the hunt for birds, bugs and mice.
 

Jinwoo went and checked all the usual spots first, with no luck. He then decided to check the back of the building, that’s when he heard an unfamiliar sounding low rumbling. Jinwoo stopped to look over his shoulder. He couldn’t see anything that might make such a noise but he was certain that he saw someone walk past the alley. Turning back he went to peek around the corner, hoping to catch a glance at whoever it was that was walking quite close to their abode at this time.
He saw a strange looking guy wearing a long jacket similar to the ones Seunghoon had lent him and Seungyoon when they visited his home not too long ago. The man was fair and tall, probably taller than himself. His hair was parted right down the middle and he had funny looking eyebrows that drooped so low over his eyes. He appeared to be looking around for something and Jinwoo was about to ask if he could offer him his assistance when he heard a familiar sound in the alley behind him.
 

Turning around, Jinwoo saw a black tail disappear between some long weeds not far from where he stood. Forgetting his curiosity concerning the stranger, he hurried along the alley to catch his cat instead.
After an intense ten minutes of chasing, Jinwoo finally managed to grab hold of his cat who had managed to squeeze through a gap in a fence to keep itself out of his reach. He had outsmarted it, nonetheless, and was now heading towards the back door of the warehouse.
His heart almost dropped down to his stomach and he made a tiny jump when he came face to face with someone standing right behind the door on the other side. It was Seungyoon and he looked worried.

“I heard screeching car tires and you were gone for a while. Are you okay?”

Jinwoo nodded and smiled. He was okay; Seungyoon had no reason to worry. He could handle himself, but he didn’t tell him that. Instead, he thanked him for coming to look for him before asking if they should head upstairs before his cat tried to run for it again. Seungyoon had agreed and waited for him to start walking up the stairs first.

“You know about earlier, I’m really sorry. I could see on your expression that it was a shock for you even if it was just a silly joke for us. I should have known, but I didn’t think that far.”      

He the step he had stopped on and looked at Seungyoon. It had been a shock, but he was fine now, really. The way he kept worrying for him and apologizing was so sweet.

“Don’t worry about it, we will figure it out.”

He replied with a small smile. He didn’t quite understand why Seungyoon had looked even more confused now than before his answer.
They climbed up the stairs in a steady pace and the cat had protested vigorously halfway there that he had lost his grip on it and it leapt out of his arms and ran away. It seemed that the feline wasn’t ready to call it a night, yet. Jinwoo sighed; he really wanted to run his hands through its fur while watching TV before bed.
They stopped for a moment in front of the door to the apartment exchanging glances. There was something he had wanted to say when they got there, but the struggle with his cat had made him forget. Seungyoon smiled questioningly at him and he gave him a nod as to say all was well before opening the door for them.
Inside, Seunghoon was not in front of his holographic like they had expected. Instead, the spaceman was lying face down on the bed, fast asleep even though it isn’t that late yet.

“What wore him out?”

Seungyoon wondered before heading towards the kitchen. Having tea had become a habit of theirs even if the weather was really warm. Jinwoo headed over to the huge couch and slumped down on it. He had quickly been able to figure out this whole remote control thing for Seungyoon’s TV, but neither of them had been able to figure out the one for Seunghoon’s.
One of the tiny orbs for it was lying on the coffee table and he picked it up to look at it for a moment. It emitted a weak light on its own and it made the palm of his hand shine weakly of pink and purple as well. He wondered what this orb was for. The ones Seunghoon had shown them before had been green and blue. Could they be color coded for content? Or was it coincidence? He turned around to throw a glance over at Seunghoon over at the bed. Was he okay? He made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Seungyoon then joined him and they were just in time for the show he enjoyed watching. It was a double episode and it was really exciting, to him at least. About half way into the first one, Seungyoon had begun nodding off. Jinwoo saw him peek over at the bedroom but seemed to reject the idea of lying down there after seeing Seunghoon all curled up.
They sat in silence for a while and Jinwoo noticed how Seungyoon was really making an effort to watch the rest of the show with him even though he seemed very weary. Something about that made Jinwoo a little happy, not only that, a strangely pleasant ruckus has started in his stomach. He ended up glancing at Seungyoon more times than he could count. When the first episode finished, Seungyoon got to his feet. His fingers lightly brushed Jinwoo’s hair before walking past him to the bedroom. He had climbed into bed before the commercials was over.

Jinwoo remained in the living room; he wanted to finish the next episode before heading to bed. He stopped by the front door to check if the cat came back, but it was nowhere to be seen. When he returned from the bathroom and into the bedroom, he found Seungyoon and Seunghoon fast asleep on each side of the bed, leaving a wide space between them. Jinwoo smiled, his friends looked so peaceful and endearing while sleeping like this. He pulled on the blanket at the end of the bed and crawled up to the center.
A sudden wave of cheekiness hit him as he sat there between the sleeping duo. Smiling to himself, he giggled a little before whispering,

“Good night, husbands.”

He then placed a kiss on their cheeks before pulling his blanket over his head and doing a few little rolls in bed out of giddiness.

Authors note: Here it is! Ch.3! Husbands xD oh my, it's not easy getting accustomed to another time now is it? Jinwoo is so precious. Did you spot the new Winner member lurking in the shadows? With a pair of really characteristic eyebrows. Thanks a lot for reading, did you enjoy it? We also want to thank everyone who subscribed and voted up our story *u* I go running to my precious co-author each time telling her about it xD It makes us really happy so thank you!