Juncture (A HaruYoung & JeongKyu Fanfiction)

Chapter 20

Haruto stumbled, almost fell face down but he collected himself. He couldn't quite fathom what caused the tremendous pain in his body for a split second- he surely took a shower and was about to go to sleep but..

He stared ahead, mouth agape. He saw a lab, a very sophisticated one. Several devices he knew of, with many more he had no idea about.He even stood on a metallic surface of God knows what! However, none of them made him as surprised as the sight before him- an open mouthed adult who looked so much like his friend- Jeongwoo.

"H-Haruto?" He asked, he seemed scared. Haruto blinked twice, to understand what was happening.

"Yeah?" He asked back, perplexed by the turn of events in the span of some seconds.

"Oh my God! He made it!" Exclaimed the guy, looking back at a woman, who clapped and jumped in joy, probably in relief too. Haruto frowned. He didn't understand anything.

"Um...excuse me, what- what's going on?" Haruto asked, "Why am I....here?" He looked around, the whole space looked straight out of a sci-fi movie.

"Oh, hi." Said Jeongwoo's doppelganger, "I'm Jeongwoo."

"Eh?" Haruto asked. It was way too bizarre, that he was even named after Jeongwoo.

"You must be surprised..." Jeongwoo scratched his neck. With all the insane calculations about Haruto's landing to a universe behind their time, he totally forgot how to greet the one that would be replaced, the young, ignorant Haruto.

"Where were you before coming here?" The woman asked.

"I was going to sleep.. um.. I was on my bed, but how..."

"Thank God! So, people didn't see him!" She said with a hand on her chest, the Jeongwoo guy smiled as well.

"Umm... Hello?" Haruto asked again.

"Oh! Right." Jeongwoo said, "Come here, have a seat first."

Although Haruto doubted them, he slowly got down the metallic surface, and looked back. Damn the glorious machine!

"What is this?" He asked Jeongwoo.

"You can say it's a portal... For like, travelling across the multiverse."

"The multiverse??"

"Yeah." Jeongwoo said casually, "Don't you study quantum mechanics?"

"Not yet." Haruto said, "But I'm interested, and I did hear about this, but.. this ain't real, right?"

Jeongwoo nodded, "It is, Haruto." Then brushed his hair back, "Well, just to let you know, you travelled to the future."

Poor Haruto couldn't even speak..he was stunned, he opened and closed his mouth, trying to process what the man said. So the lab, the machines, the people... They were all true?

"I know it's hard to take but-"

"Why?" Haruto suddenly asked, cutting Jeongwoo off, "And you, are you Park Jeongwoo?"

"I am." Jeongwoo sighed, "I am you friend, from the future."

"What the- this is ridiculous! This can't be real, I- I must be dreaming!"

"Haruto, listen," Jeongwoo held him by the shoulder, to calm him down as he got more agitated by the second. "This is real. Okay? You have been replaced by the Haruto from here to-"

"Time traveling is a taboo. It's not possible to-"

"This is not time traveling, Haruto." Jeongwoo said, "You're in another universe, which- happens to be ahead of your time."