Archive of Our Own

“Last number?” 

“Hmm, 2.” 

8-year-olds Jongin and Sehun giggled as the former pressed the last number on his communicator. Jongin pressed the option for the communicator to emit the voice from the speaker so that Sehun could hear as well. They tried to compose themselves as the communicator pulsed, indicating that it was trying to reach whoever they were trying to prank call. 

“Hello?” a small voice answered when the call was finally picked up. 

Jongin pinched his nose. “I am the commander of the intergalactic armada,” he said in a nasal voice. “Take me to your leader!” 

“...” 

“If you choose to refuse my order, you and your people will face harsh consequences! “ 

“...” 

Jongin put his hand over the communicator and turned to Sehun. “Why aren’t they answering? Do you think they hung up?” 

Sehun shrugged and was about to answer when he was interrupted, “Because you looked stupid pinching your nose like that.” 

The two kids whirled around when they found out that the voice wasn’t actually coming from the communicator, but from the huge screen behind them. Jongin must’ve accidentally pressed the button for face-communication instead of just a voice call. 

“I don’t think another kid could rule a whole fleet of space soldiers,” the boy on the screen said with his brows furrowed. 

“Hey, you don't know that! Our Jonginnie could be accomplished!” Sehun shot back indignantly at the screen. Jongin nodded in agreement and puffed out his chest haughtily. 

The boy squinted his eyes, as if judging Sehun for the ridiculous statement. “Maybe one day, but not right now. He can’t be the space army’s commander, they don’t have congested voices like that.” 

“Hey, how old are you?! Why are you arguing with us as if you’re looking down on us? You look at least six!” Sehun said, pointing an accusing finger at the screen.

“I’m nine,” the boy replied. “It’s even on my ID.” 

Sehun and Jongin were both taken aback; they completely forgot to take into consideration the age of the person they were pranking, because they just punched in a bunch of random numbers into the communicator. They both looked down at the keypad, the numbers 12930112 glaring back at them. Jongin recovered while saying, “Well, we’re ten!!” 

“No you’re not,” the boy countered again. “Your ID says that you’re eight.” 

“My I—” Jongin realized that he didn’t mask his ID when making the call either. The third and fourth numbers would indicate that he was a year younger than the boy. Sehun smacked his friend upside the back of his head for messing up the whole prank. 

“Ow!”

“I'm never doing another prank with you again!” Sehun raged. In his outburst, he exited the room, leaving Jongin alone to deal with the mess. After watching his best friend walk out, Jongin slowly turned back to the boy on the screen who was looking at him expectantly, probably waiting for an explanation. 

“Sorry for playing a prank on you, we were just bored,” Jongin shrugged, putting his communicator down on a nearby table. “It was all his idea.”

“I probably would have fallen for it if you guys did it better,” the boy admitted. “You should work on your commander voice!” 

“How?” Jongin asked, stumped. Being the son of a commander, he was a little discouraged to hear that he wasn’t so good at acting like one, even at his age.

“Hmm… You can practice with me right now!”

“O-okay…”

The boy looked on patiently as Jongin straightened his back and puffed out his chest.

“Commander Kim Jongin, reporting for duty! We have just successfully defeated the invaders who infiltrated EXO Planet #1221! Now for the report on our trainee soldiers, Lieutenant…” 

“Do Kyungsoo!” 

“Ah, right! Lieutenant Do Kyungsoo!”

“Lieutenant Do Kyungsoo from EXO Planet #2214, reporting for duty!” Kyungsoo said, saluting the younger boy. 

“Wait, wow! You’re from #2214?”

“Yup!” 

“That must mean you’re all the way across the galaxy!! ” Jongin exclaimed. 

“And you’re from #1221?” 

“Yeah!” Jongin answered ecstatically. The thought of communicating with someone all the way from the other side of Galaxy #FFF8E7 was such a cool concept to him. He's only ever called Sehun because his parents were really strict with who he could talk to and they couldn't not let him talk to his one and only best friend. Jongin made a small mental note to erase the call history on his communicator before his parents found out.

"Wow, that's so awesome!" Kyungsoo marveled. "I didn't know that my calls could reach that far. And the connection is good, too!"

Jongin agreed, and he was going to ask more about where Kyungsoo was from, but he heard portal doors opening nearby, which could only mean his parents were coming.

"Kyungsoo, it was nice meeting you, but my parents are back and if they catch me talking to you, I'll probably get in trouble. Maybe I'll call you again! It was fun talking to you!"

The boy on the screen smiled and nodded. "Okay, Jongin. It was nice to meet you, too! I hope you don't get in trouble!"

The sound of the portal doors opening was getting dangerously nearer, so Jongin panicked and shut off the call without saying a proper goodbye. He quickly grabbed a pen and jotted down Kyungsoo's ID number on his arm and pulled his sleeve back down to cover it. Just as he deleted the last call off the history log, the portal door opened and his father stepped in.

"Jongin, what are you doing in here? I saw Sehun going home," the commander said. "Why didn't you walk him to the front?"

The little boy shrugged. "He got mad at me." When his father raised his eyebrow at him, Jongin continued, "We'll make up! He doesn't stay mad at me forever."

The Commander sighed and shook his head, turning away to go and do what he came for. Jongin used the opportunity to escape. Once he was in the safety of his own room, he lifted up his sleeve to make sure the ID number was still there.

He smiled when he saw that it wasn't smeared or wiped off. He figured he’d call Kyungsoo later to apologize about having to hang up so quickly and started to look forward to later that night. He'd have to make sure his communicator wasn't connected to that large screen again and he'd have to continuously delete his call history.

He thought that if it was to see and talk to that cute and small boy with large, round eyes and a nice heart shaped smile, it would all be worth it.

— 15 years later —

"Look at my beautiful baby, just standing there," Sehun said proudly, as loudly as he could without actually shouting. Jongin was right beside him, trying to cover his face as if it would make him invisible and unassociated with his best friend. “VIVI 6000, isn’t he amazing?!” 

“You named it already?!” Jongin harshly whispered before covering his face again.

“ Him , not it ,” Sehun immediately corrected. “Why are you hiding your face? You should be anything but embarrassed to be standing in front of the newest version of the Novacraft.” 

“I’m not embarrassed to be standing in front of VIVI 6000 , but embarrassed to be standing next to you,” Jongin retorted, causing the younger to roll his eyes. “Speak any louder about your new ship, will you? I can almost hear it cooing right back at you.” 

“Is someone a little jealous that they didn’t get a new ship even after completing commander training?” Sehun asked playfully. 

“No,” Jongin answered, failing to hide his sulky tone. “I just still don’t have any way of getting around. Can I just have your space whale?”

Sehun snorted because as if he’d let anyone else other than him ride on it. “Just tell your dad to gift a ship to you; you just graduated! It’s what you deserve.”

“Father just felt like me completing my commander training was supposed to happen and was something that didn’t deserve a reward,” Jongin whined.

Sehun nodded with fake sympathy because he couldn’t relate. His own parents had gotten him this spaceship as a surprise out of nowhere. He also felt that thinking about where he should ride it first was more interesting than listening to Jongin’s sob fest. 

“Oh, hey,” Sehun started, “maybe I can take you for a spin in it! First ride together? You can see how it works for when you get one eventually!” 

Jongin raised his eyebrow at his best friend because he wasn’t likely to get one anytime soon.

“I said eventually , not within the next five years ,” Sehun said, defending himself. 

“No, it’s okay. I have to go home soon anyway,” the older explained. “I promised Kyungsoo that I’d call him later.” 

“Oh, Kyungsoo! How’s he doing?” Sehun asked, then shuffled closer and nudged him. “More importantly, how are you two doing?” 

“Nothing,” Jongin shrugged. “The same.”

Sehun’s face fell. “You mean he still doesn't know how you feel about him?” 

“I didn’t tell him… and I probably never will…” 

“Woah, woah, woah, what do you mean?!” Sehun squawked. “You said you were gonna tell him a month ago, but now you’re saying you’re never gonna let him know? Why would you do that?” He looked around at all the people who were passing by them, glaring at him for being so loud. “On second thought, let’s go in my spaceship. I’ll pilot and you can tell me what’s going on while we go around.” 

Jongin reluctantly agreed and he figured that he had over an hour before his call with Kyungsoo anyway. He could probably get home in time and he’d have less to worry about if he convinced Sehun to drop him off right in front of his house.

VIVI 6000 was a two-person craft, spacious and comfortable in the inside, but sleek and smooth on the outside. The seats in front of the control panel were a blue leather and there was space in the back for one person to sleep and make their meals. Jongin also remembers Sehun briefly mentioning the ship had a video call function. Despite being reluctant earlier, Jongin was a little excited to see the inside of the ship. 

Even though there was a keypad on the outside, where a number code could just be punched in, Sehun used his keys to unlock the craft and both of them hopped in. 

“So? Thoughts?” 

“It’s cool,” Jongin admitted, gaze wandering around the craft. 

“Here, check this out: Oh Sehun. 94. Vivi, input new voice command.”

“Inputting new voice command: Please speak.” 

Sehun gave Jongin a nudge, indicating that he should say something to the ship.

“Uhhh, hi Vivi? I’m Kim Jongin…”

“Say the first two numbers of your ID,” Sehun whispered.

“88,” Jongin immediately added. “Kim Jongin, 88.”

“New voice command: affirmed. Welcome on board, Jongin.”

The male voice was robotic and detached, but the nice welcome still sat well with Jongin.

“This is pretty awesome,” Jongin admitted again while the two of them sat down and strapped their seatbelts on. Sehun responded with a “Right?!” and a proud smile on his face, a hint of smugness showing that he knew he hadn’t been bragging about his new ship for nothing. Once he made sure people were out of the way, Sehun maneuvered the ship off the ground.

He piloted it above people’s heads and over buildings. Personal spaceships were pretty expensive, so not everyone was privileged enough to own one. There weren't many ships for Sehun to look out for, though he still tried his best to adhere to rules.

“So what's going on? What made you come to that decision?” Sehun asked, turning to his best friend. Jongin felt a slight discomfort prick him and immediately turned Sehun’s head back to face the front. 

“Keep your eyes on where you’re going!! How do you have your license?” 

“Don’t change the subject!! Why are you hiding something so important from Kyungsoo?!” 

“Alright, alright!” Jongin exclaimed, hands shooting up defensively. “I just… feel like it’s not worth it anymore.” 

Jongin let out a frightened yelp when the ship sharply swerved. Sehun couldn’t be trusted to drive when undergoing strong emotions. 

“Why not?!” Sehun yelled out, taking his eyes away from the front. 

“Sehun, look while piloting!!” 

The younger pouted while turning back to the front. He calmed himself down while waiting for his best friend to speak and explain himself. 

“I don’t know, I just feel like there’s no point. I started to doubt myself, you know? Maybe I don’t really have feelings for him…” 

Sehun scoffed. “ First of all, you’ve been in love with him for the past 15 years. That's a bunch of rocketshit.” 

And it was true  — after that prank call on Kyungsoo, which was mostly Sehun’s idea, Jongin kept talking to the older boy. Through late night video calls that stretched across the entire galaxy, they grew older together and went from little boys into young men. 

Kyungsoo knew everything about Jongin and Jongin knew everything about Kyungsoo. They were always excited to tell each other about their days, or weeks when they were really busy, and their calls were mostly what got Jongin through each day. Even during the commander-in-training days that were mentally draining and physically exhausting, Jongin always looked forward to talking to Kyungsoo. 

Jongin knew everything about Kyungsoo, but Kyungsoo didn't know that Jongin was in love with him. 

The truth was…

“Still, I just can't tell him,” Jongin said with finality. 

Sehun stayed silent for a while, looking forward and driving calmly. Jongin couldn't tell if that was the end of the conversation, because his best friend’s facial expression had turned so stoic. 

Jongin cried out again when Sehun suddenly made a sharp turn. 

“Is there another reason? I know you, and you wouldn't do something like this if there wasn't an extremely reasonable explanation.”

“... the Red Eclipse.”

“The what?”

“The Red Eclipse.”

Sehun’s eyes widened and he almost completely let go of the wheel. He had wanted to cover his mouth in shock but Jongin screamed out before he could forget that he was piloting. 

He had totally forgotten about the Red Eclipse.

“When is that?!” 

“Why are you surprised?!” Jongin asked in disbelief, ignoring the question that was asked first. “We were basically prepared for this during our whole lives!” 

Sehun frowned. “The last time I remembered being spoken to about it was when I was 14 and still believed in alietales. Lately, I've been busy with work and excited about the new spaceship and all…” 

Jongin shook his head. The Red Eclipse was occurring in a few days and everyone was buzzing about it, excited to find out who their soulmate is. This event only happens every two billion years where a red light from every system’s solar star being blocked causes an ID number to flare up on a person’s arm — that ID number would identify the person’s soulmate.

“You’ll probably be even more in love with VIVI 6000 than with your actual soulmate.”

“Touché,” Sehun responded, squinting his eyes at his best friend. “So what does the Red Eclipse have to do with you and Kyungsoo?” 

Jongin stared at Sehun incredulously for not connecting the dots together. “Red Eclipse and soulmates? Kyungsoo’s probably not my soulmate and he’ll have a soulmate of his own, what would be the point in telling him?” 

Sehun shrugged. “I don't know, it’s good to get it off your chest. It can be a sort of closure thingy for the past fifteen years, and once you tell him, you guys can be off to a new start. Maybe you’ll be laughing about it years later with your soulmates by your sides, who knows.” 

That idea didn’t sit too well with Jongin. He didn’t really want to be with someone other than Kyungsoo and he didn’t like Kyungsoo being with someone else either. For the past fifteen years, Kyungsoo has never told him about having a significant other, and whether it was because he really didn’t or he just didn’t think Jongin should know, he was glad it had been that way.

But underneath all that insensitivity, Sehun was right. He should at least let Kyungsoo know his feelings before it was too late. 

Jongin endured three more sharp turns and an almost-collision. He told Sehun to take him home before they could get pulled over by the authorities and he’d get involved in Sehun’s piloting mishaps. He’s really not so sure anymore if Sehun has his license and he doesn’t want to seem stupid when asked why he even got in the ship in the first place. 

“I’m never getting in this ship with you again,” Jongin declared to which Sehun snorted.

Soon enough, Sehun safely pulled over in front of Jongin’s quarters. He stuck out his tongue because Jongin had said that they probably wouldn’t make it back home alive, yet here they were. 

“Okay, but what would you do if I didn't get into the ship with you?” Jongin asked, shaking his head. “You’d have let go of the wheel entirely if I wasn’t there to keep you straight in the head.”  

“I’d probably just die,” Sehun replied nonchalantly, shrugging off his terrible piloting skills. His face then turned serious and he looked Jongin dead straight in the eye. “ Talk to him ,” he said sternly before the ship’s hood closed off and he rocketed away.

Jongin’s shoulders slumped at the thought of it. Stepping into his own quarters filled him with dread for the video call that awaited. 

For the first time ever, he wasn't looking forward to talking to Kyungsoo. 

“Hey, Jongin!” 

Kyungsoo’s bright smile stretched across the screen, causing Jongin’s heart to flutter and his stomach to lurch with nervousness. It was a given that he'd feel jumpy whenever seeing the older, but adding onto the pressure of telling him about his feelings, he felt like he was going to throw up.

"Hey, Kyungsoo, how have you been?" Jongin managed to reply.

"I've been great! Just busy as always with the mechanic shop, but nothing new! How about you, Mr. Commander?"

Jongin chuckled at the nickname. "Graduation was just a few days ago, so I should be a little bit more free until I get a position in the force."

"Congrats, Jongin, that's great!" Kyungsoo told him, genuine happiness displayed on his face. "I know how hard training was on you, but now it's truly over. I can't wait to hear stories about you being commander now. Maybe you can get your fleet to come on a mission on a nearby planet and pay me a visit?" he said with a teasing, but hopeful voice.

Jongin laughed. "I wish. But who knows? Maybe it'll happen one day."

A little silence befell them after that in which Jongin contemplated if it was the right time to tell Kyungsoo.

"Jongin—"

"Listen—"

—they spoke up at the same time. This conversation seemed different than usual, daresay even awkward. They were close friends for fifteen years; they were supposed to be comfortable with each other, but what was so hard with speaking this time around?

"You can go first," Jongin offered.

Kyungsoo nodded and cleared his throat, then fixed his position to sit up straighter on his seat. Jongin knew that he usually did that when he was going to talk about something he had practiced.

"Uhm, so, I know we don't usually talk about this," Kyungsoo started, "but in a few days, the Red Eclipse is happening."

Jongin's heart sank. He had no idea that Kyungsoo was going to talk about this and he honestly had no idea what the older's thoughts were on the subject — meaning he had absolutely no time to prepare for anything Kyungsoo could say.

"Yeah," Jongin mindlessly replied.

"I don't know, how do you feel about it?" Kyungsoo asked. "Is there anyone you were hoping would be your soulmate?"

Jongin shrugged. "All my life, my father busied me with training to be a commander, so I've never really thought about things like that," he lied. "Why? Is there someone on your mind?" he tried to ask stealthily, feeling grateful when his voice didn't break and betray him.

"There is..." Kyungsoo said cautiously. "But they don't have to know."

Jongin felt as if needles were pricking his chest and his mind spun for a hot second. He tried his best to hide the disappointment in his voice, choking back the sudden dryness in his throat. "Oh, is that so? Can I at least know who it is?"

Kyungsoo shook his head and smiled. "Nope. Maybe I'll tell you after the eclipse. But you might forget by then when you're too busy with your own soulmate. What will you do once you find out their ID number?"

If Jongin were to once again say that he hadn't thought about it, this time he'd be telling the truth. He was too busy filling his head with thoughts of Kyungsoo that he never thought about the possibility of his real soulmate. "Honestly, I have no idea. I guess the first thing I'd do is give them a call and introduce myself? Maybe make plans to meet them in person?"

"You sound so unsure," Kyungsoo laughed. "Do you not want to see your soulmate once you find out who they are?"

He didn't want to admit to it, but he really didn't. If he couldn't ever meet Kyungsoo in person during the past fifteen years, why would he go out of his way to meet some other person who he didn't know, just met, and who would eventually make him forget his feelings for Kyungsoo?

"I'm not really feeling it right now, but maybe when the numbers show up on my arm, I'll be more excited about it all..." Jongin replied, not really putting much thought into his answer. "I just haven't been with anyone my whole life, so now that the Red Eclipse is coming, it's going to change everything and I'm not so sure that I'm ready for that change," he admitted wholeheartedly.

Just how much was going to change? Would Kyungsoo be too occupied with his soulmate to talk to Jongin anymore? Would he never make time for him? Would he get bored with just talking to him when he could just see his soulmate and physically touch them instead?

His insecurities were answered when Kyungsoo smiled. "Well, I'll make sure nothing changes between us, if that makes you feel a little better," the older reassured him. "It's a two-sided street though, so you better not ignore me once you find out who your lucky person is."

Jongin shook his head. He could never. He's sure that he's not just saying this now because of a spur in the moment thing, he just knows that he could promise himself to love Kyungsoo and keep him as a cherished friend for the rest of his life.

"It does make me feel a little bit better," Jongin admitted. "Thanks, Soo."

"Of course, Jongin, anytime. Now your turn. You were going to say something, too, before this turned into a sap fest."

Jongin thought about what he had wanted to say. He had everything planned in his head, thinking it over from the time between Sehun dropped him off until the first ring of the video call. But all of that changed after everything Kyungsoo had just told him.

He couldn't do it.

He didn't have the guts to say anything. Kyungsoo had just promised that nothing would change between them and Jongin might ruin that by confessing his feelings. The older also said he already had someone in mind when thinking about who he'd want his soulmate to be. Coming full circle, right where he was before Sehun had pep-talked him, Jongin thought it would be completely pointless to tell Kyungsoo.

"It's nothing," Jongin said. "It's not important at all. At least, not as important as what you brought up."

Kyungsoo pouted, feeling as if Jongin was leaving him in the dark. "I can't tell if it really wasn't important or if you just don't want to tell me..."

"It's really nothing, Soo," Jongin laughed it off, hoping he looked and sounded convincing. It seemed so because Kyungsoo decided to drop it. 

They updated each other about their week, where Kyungsoo said he had finished the spaceship he and his father had been working on for a while now. He told Jongin that his father saw how hard he worked and poured all his energy into the craft, that he let him keep it. Jongin groaned because he really was the only one without a spaceship, then proceeded to tell Kyungsoo how terrible Sehun’s piloting skills were. 

“I seriously almost died,” Jongin said in disbelief as Kyungsoo continued to laugh. “I wouldn’t be here talking to you right now if he had maneuvered that ship any worse! What would you do if you suddenly didn’t hear from me anymore? Like, I just disappeared out of nowhere?”

Kyungsoo suddenly stopped laughing as he sized up the question seriously. “Well, I have a ship now… I can go to your planet and find out what happened.” 

“You’d travel all the way here for that?” 

“Yeah, of course!” Kyungsoo answered indignantly. “I’d want to make sure you’re okay!” 

Jongin frowned — Kyungsoo always said things that made him feel more important to the older than he knew he really was. He was extremely touched, but Kyungsoo shouldn’t do things for him like that. It gave him a false sense of hope. 

“Will you stay long enough to attend my funeral?” Jongin joked, trying to avert the serious undertones of the conversation.

“That's not funny,” Kyungsoo frowned. “I really will stay as long as possible. I would make sure the funeral goes well to send you off in peace and then introduce myself to Sehun and your family and be there for them.” 

Jongin was speechless; he didn't know what to make of that deep reply. “I can't believe they'll get to taste Do Kyungsoo’s famous food before I can ever,” Jongin muttered.

Kyungsoo laughed. “That's why, come visit me! Let me talk to your father, I'll convince him to buy you a ship.”

Jongin was about to protest and say that the Commander was a stubborn force that was not to be reckoned with, but he heard Kyungsoo’s own father calling him in the background. 

“I'll be there in a second!!” Kyungsoo called back, tilting his head towards the back before turning to face Jongin on the screen again. “He's probably calling me to cook dinner now,” he explained.

Jongin shook his head understandingly. “Of course, you should go.”

“But wait, before I hang up, I just want to let you know that I'm probably gonna be a bit busy for the next few days.”

Jongin didn't know what suddenly came over him, but he felt a sense of dread wash over him. 

“So then, next time we talk, we’re probably not gonna be soulmate-less anymore, right?” he asked in a small voice.

Kyungsoo nodded, a solemn expression on his face. “Things might seem different after the Red Eclipse, but our friendship won’t change, okay?” he said, trying to reassure the younger and himself. 

“Okay,” Jongin answered.

Kyungsoo smiled and waved at the camera before the screen went black.

Jongin had never felt this empty before.

It was a feeling he was not able to shake off. He tried working out and going to an obstacle training course to distract himself, but even when firing a laser at imitation aliens’ heads required his utmost attention, there's always something bothering him in the back of his mind.

In a few hours, Kyungsoo’s going to discover who he belongs with for the rest of his life. All that without ever knowing how Jongin feels for him.

Meanwhile, Jongin was sitting in a restaurant, across the table from his parents. The Commander and his wife had wanted to witness the moment the ID of Jongin's soulmate flared on his left forearm, so they invited him out to dinner in a nice restaurant that had a good view of the sun. They could see the dark mass approaching their solar star, soon to cover it up.

"Are you excited?" his mother asked him in an animated tone. She was probably more ecstatic and nervous than he was about his own soulmate, even though she had yet to find out her own, too.

Jongin shook his head in reply. He wanted more than anything for numbers not to show up on his arm. They would be an inconvenience, always serving as a reminder that Jongin was binded to someone who was not Kyungsoo.

"Why not?" Commander Kim's questioning voice almost boomed throughout the entire restaurant. "Everyone has been waiting their whole lives for this moment."

"But what about you guys?" Jongin asked, avoiding the question with one of his own. "You're married to each other and even had me as a kid, what will you guys do when you find out that you're not each other's soulmates?"

His parents looked at each other, then back at their son. They were a little taken aback by the abrupt question, but Jongin's father seemed prepared to answer.

"We won't regret anything," was the answer, as the man took his wife's hand and gently held it in his. "This eclipse might change everything, but we are glad to have loved each other for majority of our lives and to have a wonderful son like you.

"We're excited for you because we know that I've always pushed you to follow in my footsteps, so you never had time to really get to know other people and have relationships. The owner of the ID number that shows up on your arm will get to spend the rest of their lives with you, and we're happy for you, son."

"Yes, everything your father said was true," his mother chimed in. "And even if each other's IDs don't show up on your father's and my arms, we can let go of one another, fully knowing that we loved each other the best we could during our time together."

Almost immediately, Jongin was swallowed with regret. His parents were sitting in front of him, not knowing that they had just helped him make up his mind at the very last minute. If they could be satisfied with over 20 years together and having to part, why couldn't Jongin let go of his worries and let Kyungsoo know?

He abruptly stood up, the chair he was sitting in making a screeching sound as it slid on the metal floor. Without another word, he ran from the spot, eliciting heads turning to watch him escape and shocked and confused shouts from his parents as they yelled at him to come back.

Jongin ran through the crowds that were gathered underneath the sun, only thinking about how fast he could make it to his house before the Red Eclipse could officially begin. All he could think about was whether or not he was too late to tell Kyungsoo everything. 

When he reached his quarters, he barged in, going straight to his room. He frantically started up his computer system, immediately going to the communication application to pull up Kyungsoo’s ID. Through all the quickness and chaos, he managed to tap on it.

Beep… beep… beep… 

Kyungsoo usually picked up on the third ring. 

Beep… beep… beep… 

The Red Eclipse was going to occur any minute now. Jongin could see it from his window, right behind his computer system. 

Beep… beep… beep… 

Jongin had a sinking feeling that it was too late, maybe Kyungsoo didn’t have his communicator on him. Maybe, on his planet, there were people crowded underneath the sun too, and Kyungsoo was one of the people amongst them, buzzing with sheer excitement to see the numbers on his arm. 

Be—ep… ”Jongin?”

There on the wide screen was Kyungsoo with wide curious eyes; Jongin could tell he was a little shocked from the expression on his face. 

“You answered!” the younger breathed out in relief.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo replied as if it was the most obvious thing, “but why are you calling right now? The eclipse is about to start!” 

“You're right, I should've called you earlier, but this is a now or never situation,” Jongin explained quickly. 

“What?”

“That last call… that last call we had — there's no way you can deny there was something off about it,” Jongin said, his eyes earnestly looking at Kyungsoo’s through the screen before confessing. “I was holding back from telling you something; for the first time since I've met you, I consciously kept something hidden in my heart instead of revealing it to you like I always do.” 

“What are you talking about, Jongin? I'm getting really worried now,” Kyungsoo asked uneasily. Jongin could see his eyes dart to possibly a window, checking on the status of the eclipse.

“This might be a little too much to take in, especially since it’s just seconds from the eclipse, but I’m gonna start off my saying that I’m sorry,” Jongin apologized. “I’m sorry that we’ve known each other for 15 years but I’ve kept a huge secret from you this entire time, and I gave up the chance to tell you in that last call we had.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in fear, but Jongin couldn’t tell if it was from what he was about to say or from the red light that was starting to hover over one side of Kyungsoo’s room. The younger decided it’s now or never , it was time to take a deep breath and let everything out.

“Kyungsoo, I’m in love with you. I’ve always been in love with you and I’m scared that my feelings will change once those numbers appear on my arm. I don't ever want to forget what I have for you and I just wanted to let you know before it was too late.” 

The red light had overtaken Kyungsoo by now — Jongin as well, but he was too busy looking for the older’s reaction to notice. Kyungsoo didn’t know how to respond, because it was all too much to take in all at once. He looked down from the screen at something Jongin couldn’t see, but there was an unreadable expression on his face the next moment. 

“Kyungsoo? You don’t have to respond right now, but say something, please?” 

“Jongin…” Kyungsoo called out. “Do you remember you asked me who I wanted my soulmate to be? It turns out that I got exactly who I wanted.”

Jongin finally looked down at his forearm to where he felt that glowing warmth, seeing numbers that were all too familiar. He looked up at the screen with shocked eyes, into Kyungsoo’s which were now filled with happiness.

“It’s you.”

It’s been a few days since the Red Eclipse, but Jongin is still happier than ever. He was comforted with the fact that things might not have to change after all; all that happened was that he and Kyungsoo confirmed their feelings for each other.

"What do you mean nothing's changed?!" Sehun squawked after Jongin told him everything. They were sitting in their favorite booth in a cafe, where Sehun’s mood had went from extremely happy for his friend because his soulmate turned out to be the love of his life to 'what the heck are you saying right now?' "Jongin, everything has changed!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his brows furrowing. "Kyungsoo will still talk to me instead of some other person and my feelings for him won't ever go away; we're soulmates!"

Sehun squinted his eyes as if he couldn't believe what Jongin was saying right now. "So you’re saying that because you're soulmates, you expect to video call for the rest of your lives?”

Jongin's mind froze. Hearing those words coming from Sehun’s mouth — hearing them out loud — gave him a rude awakening. How did he not think of that? Has this thought ever crossed Kyungsoo's mind, too?

He suddenly remembered how Kyungsoo had asked him during that call, what he would do when he found out the ID of his soulmate. One of his answers were to go meet them, though he had been unsure because he hadn't really wanted to. But now that his soulmate was confirmed to be Kyungsoo, it was a whole different story.

Jongin wanted to see him.

"You're right," Jongin agreed. "We can't just keep doing that. I have to meet him in person."

"But you're going to meet him — all the way across the universe — and then what? Just come back? Wait, wait, wait, you don’t even have a spacecraft! How are you even going to get to him?" Sehun continued to interrogate him.

All those questions came onto him full force. Jongin suddenly realized the situation he was in. Not only did he not plan anything out, nor did he have any mode of self-transportation, but he had duties at home. He couldn't just up and leave his home planet; he had just finished his commander training, and in a few weeks, he was going to be stationed in the force, along with his father. His father was looking forward to this moment the most, being the one who pushed him the hardest.

But he also couldn't just leave Kyungsoo alone, or let him come all the way here by himself. He couldn't ask Kyungsoo to also just pick up everything and leave just for him.

"Uh oh, what do I do, man?" Jongin turned to Sehun for help.

"Why are you asking me?"

"You were asking all the questions! You seemed like you knew what you were talking about!"

Sehun snorted. "No, I was genuinely curious how you were going to handle this mess."

Jongin glared at his best friend. When it came to these situations, Sehun was never any help at all. Jongin watched as Sehun sipped his coffee before asking, "Hey, what about your soulmate? Do you even know who they are?"

Sehun raised his forearm to show the numbers that had shown up during the Red Eclipse. The ID was marked into his arm as if it were a tattoo, slightly glowing depending on how the light of the cafe hit it.

Jongin looked at the numbers to see if he could sense any familiarity, but to no avail. Poking at it, he asked, "You don't know who this is?"

"I know the same people you know," Sehun jabbed, pulling his arm back. "Probably even less."

“Did you bother calling the number?”

Sehun pulled his face back in a frown. “Where’s the fun in that? They didn’t call me either. I believe that if it’s truly fate, we’ll come across each other. I’m just curious what kind of person they’ll be.”

“Who knows,” Jongin shrugged. "Maybe they’ll be the one to whip you into shape."

As a result, Sehun almost pours sodium crystals into Jongin's drink.

Sehun probably wasn’t serious, but what he said plagued Jongin’s mind. It bothered him to the point that he immediately brought it up during his next call with Kyungsoo. 

“What do we do now?” 

“Hm?” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened with curiosity, not completely understanding what the younger was asking without any context.

Jongin cleared his throat nervously. “I mean, now that we know that we are each other’s soulmates,” he started, his heart tingling saying that out loud, “what’s the next step? Where do we go from here?” 

Kyungsoo’s eyes brightened at those words; clearly, he had been thinking about this for a while. “I’m glad you’re bringing this up… I wanted to talk about it, but I didn’t want to rush you into anything…” 

“What do you mean?” Jongin asked confused. With fifteen years worth of seemingly unrequited love, he thought he’d be the one who would be more excited about being together with Kyungsoo as soon as possible. 

Jongin could see the hesitation on Kyungsoo’s face even through the screen, but the older spoke up. “I just feel like a lot is going around you… you’ve just graduated and you’re going to become Commander of the intergalactic armada — something you’ve wanted since you were a kid…”

Jongin’s chest constricted at the thought of Kyungsoo holding back his thoughts and worries in order to put Jongin’s first. 

“Kyungsoo, if something’s bothering you, talk to me about it,” Jongin told him seriously. “We’re soulmates now, I should be shouldering half of your burdens. We could talk it through together instead of me being kept in the dark and you being left to deal with everything alone.”

Kyungsoo have a small smile and nodded shyly. “Ah, sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Jongin reassured him. “But from now on, okay?” he said in a playfully warning tone, pointing at the screen. “I know you’re worried about my commander position, but if you have to give up leaving behind your dad and your home planet, then I should sacrifice things for you, too.”

“What! No! You worked so hard all your life for this!” Kyungsoo protested. He knew better than anyone how hard the past year in particular was for him. “Besides, I already spoke to my dad and he’s completely fine with me going off on my own.”

“Are you saying you’re going to try and come all the way here on your own?” Jongin asked in disbelief. 

Kyungsoo nodded fervently. 

“If that’s what it takes to meet with you.” 

“Kyungsoo, I can’t make you do that. At least let me meet you halfway,” Jongin suggested. 

“Meet halfway, and then what?” Kyungsoo asked with his eyebrow raised. He had already set his mind on living on Jongin’s home planet and he was challenging Jongin to come up with a better solution. 

Jongin knew he was already whipped; he could feel himself crumble under Kyungsoo’s stare, but he just didn’t like the idea of Kyungsoo traveling all the way across the galaxy only to be lonely again. When he officially becomes commander, Kyungsoo would be just like a trophy lover, constantly awaiting their husband to return from war.

“When we meet halfway, we can just settle on the nearest planet and start a new life together there.”

Jongin could see the protest in Kyungsoo’s eyes. “But becoming comman—“

“While it’s true that I’ve wanted to become commander since I was a kid, that changed as I got older. It was more of my father’s dream than mine.”

“But you’ve worked towards it your whole life, becoming commander is basically what you’re destined to do! What else would you be able to do?” Kyungsoo asked, clearly worried for Jongin’s future.

“It’s not a big deal, I can probably be deployed as a local officer wherever we decide to stay; that way, I don’t have to be away from you all the time.”

“Oh, Jongin…”

“My father might murder me, but not before seeing you at least once,” Jongin said with resolve. 

There was hesitation on Kyungsoo’s face and he finally asked with an unsure tone, “How are you gonna get to the midpoint?”

Jongin smiled widely, glad to have been able to convince Kyungsoo.

“I’ll figure something out.”

Jongin cruised out of his planet’s atmosphere with no regrets, no looking back. He was sitting comfortably in the front seat, with all the things he managed to pack in the seat next to him. He had packed light because he remembered from the last time he was on the ship that there were a bunch of things already stored in the back, such as extra clothes, some food, and a spare spacesuit. 

It had been a few days since his call with Kyungsoo; he told his soulmate that it would take him a while to figure out a plan, when really, he needed a few days to wrestle with his conscience. 

Why?

He had just stolen his best friend’s ship. 

Jongin knew getting into Sehun’s house and hacking into his ship would be a piece of cake. Sehun and his parents trusted Jongin with their entire life, which was why he knew it would be completely messed up that he betrayed it so easily. In the dead of night, he had snuck into their house with the spare key Sehun had entrusted him with. While the whole family was sleeping, he was able to locate VIVI 6000 in the garage. He had hacked into the spaceship through the number keypad, knowing his best friend was simple minded enough to put “1111” as the code. 

The garage had opened silently and efficiently as Jongin activated the ship and blasted away without another thought; had he contemplated it further, his morals would have weighed him down heavily enough for him and the ship to reach the ground again and be returned back into Sehun’s garage. 

But he knew he had to do it for Kyungsoo. He wanted to see Kyungsoo; he couldn’t wait long enough until he got his own spaceship, because who knew when that would ever happen? 

“Kim Jongin. 88. Vivi, initiate video call with ID number 12930112.” 

“Initiating video call with ID number 12930112,” Vivi confirmed. Jongin could hear the beeping of the communicator throughout the ship as it tried to reach Kyungsoo. On the third ring, the beeping stopped.

A video panel appeared on the right side of the windscreen; large enough for Jongin to be impressed with the high definition but not enough for him to not be able to see where he was going. On the panel, the image of Kyungsoo appeared. 

He was sitting down, both hands holding onto a yoke. He had a large pair of goggles sitting on top of his hat, which bordered on top of eyes that were concentrating on what was in front of him rather than on the video call. It was obvious that he was manning his own ship, the one he had told Jongin that he had built all by himself.

“Hey, Lieutenant,” Jongin greeted with a warm smile on his face. “I made it,” he gestured proudly to the ship, arms spread out wide in victory. “I managed to get a ship.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes diverted for a second to look at Jongin and the background of the ship. “Wow, it looks so nice!” he complimented, eyes turning back to the front. “Where’d you get it from?”

Jongin laughed nervously, because he hadn’t told Kyungsoo that his “plans” were plans to steal his best friend’s ship. Kyungsoo also doesn’t know that he hadn’t told his parents that he was dropping everything and traveling across #FFF8E7. 

So he just left it off at a “You don't need to worry about that.”

Kyungsoo was too concentrated on what was in front of him to bother reading inbetween the lines of what Jongin had said. 

“How are you faring?” Jongin asked. 

“I don’t think I’ve made it too far yet. I only left a couple of hours ago.” 

Kyungsoo already looked tired — it worried Jongin a little. Through the screen, his soulmate looked tensed and on the edge, gripping the yoke tightly and constantly keeping his eyes forward, not sparing any looks at Jongin probably in fear that he might crash into something in a split second. “Remember to take breaks,” Jongin found himself saying. “We can leave the video call on continuously and take turns staying awake so we know if something happens.” 

A smile played on Kyungsoo’s lips at how Jongin’s care for him shined through and through. He nodded and held up one of his hands in an “okay” gesture. 

Just then he saw familiar, but dreaded numbers flashing next to the video call screen. Even if he had just said that he would leave the video call with Kyungsoo on, he was already contemplating on hanging up. 

Instead, he decided to decline the call. 

“Why aren’t you answering?” Kyungsoo asked, noticing that the beeping stopped. 

“It’s no one important,” Jongin lied. 

Jongin declined the call again just as fast as it had popped up. 

Again and again, the caller wouldn’t relent and he kept declining until Kyungsoo shot him a strange look. “Who is that? Just pick up and see what they want.” 

“Then can I hang up on you for a couple of minutes?”

“But you just said—“

“Okay, okay,” Jongin gave in. “Just, uh, don’t get mad at me, okay?” 

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrow in question as Jongin accepted the call. The younger already braced himself, ready for his eardrums to be shattered. Next to Kyungsoo’s video panel, another showed up, screen all black before a very angry face appeared. 

“KIM JONGIN, YOU BASTARD!!” 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened exponentially as he looked at his soulmate in shock, clearly not knowing what was going on. Jongin flinched even though he had expected this kind of greeting — it was what he deserved. The thing was, he’d never seen Sehun this angry and he didn’t know how to go about it. 

“Sehun, let me explain—” 

“THERE’S NOTHING TO EXPLAIN!! I KNOW EXACTLY WHY YOU’RE DOING THIS, YOU ROTTEN QUASARAT! YOU GOT YOUR DIRTY HANDS ON MY SHIP TO GO SEE YOUR SOULMATE, I KNOW IT ALL ALREADY!!” 

“You stole Sehun’s ship?!” Kyungsoo asked in an accusatory tone and Jongin knew he was fucked in all directions. “You told me you worked out a ‘ plan’ .”

“KYUNGSOO’S THERE?” Sehun asked, remembering his ship’s multiple video call function. “KYUNGSOO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? TURN YOUR SHIP AROUND AT THIS MOMENT!! YOU’RE SOULMATES WITH A FUCKING THIEF!! THE RED ECLIPSE PAIRED YOU WITH A NUTCASE!! UN-SOULMATE HIM WHILE YOU CAN!!!” 

“I don’t know man, love can make you do crazy things?” Jongin unhelpfully cut in, hoping that would be enough to justify his actions. 

“YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!” Sehun fumed. “YOU HAVE SOME NERVE TO DECLINE ALL MY CALLS. I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D STAB ME IN THE BACK LIKE THIS! AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF, MY PARENTS LOVE YOU SO MUCH THAT THEY EVEN FOUND A WAY TO PLACE THE BLAME ON ME EVEN IF ALL THE EVIDENCE POINTS TO YOU .” 

Hearing those last few lines of blasts, Jongin suddenly realized why Sehun was so angry. He wasn’t angry about his brand new spaceship being stolen or having the blame wrongfully placed on him by his parents. 

His best friend was angry because Jongin had betrayed his friendship and loyalty. 

“Sehun, I am so sorry,” Jongin apologized to him sincerely, looking him straight in the eye. Almost immediately, the enraged features on his best friend’s face softened; he could probably tell that Jongin knew exactly what he was apologizing for. “I’ll make it up to you even if it takes a whole lifetime or even if this debt bleeds into the afterlife, but this is just something I felt that I had to do.” 

Sehun broke eye contact and looked away from the video screen. “You’re still a piece of shit and it’ll take a while for me to completely forgive you. Mark my words, when I get my hands on you, I’ll wring your neck and feed you to the pulsar roaches. The biggest ones.” 

Kyungsoo had been listening the whole time, knowing that it would be out of turn to speak. He couldn’t see any of Sehun’s reactions, but he heard the beep when Sehun abruptly disconnected the call. 

It seemed that Sehun still had a soft spot for Jongin; just as he thought he had suffered through the worst of it and was off the hook, Kyungsoo cleared his throat. 

“Jongin…” 

A sudden panic rose within Jongin. The tone Kyungsoo was using didn’t sound so good and it scared him.

“Please don’t tell me we’re going to turn back,” the young commander pleaded. “I know what I did was wrong, but we’ve already made it this far and we still have quite some way to go.” 

Kyungsoo sighed. “While I do have half the mind to call this off and wait until you get your own ship, I won’t.”

Jongin breathed a sigh of relief.

“But what you did the Sehun is unfair and once we land, you’re going to make it up to him somehow.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Jongin answered confidently, putting a small smile on his soulmate’s face by saluting him. 

When you’re stuck in a spaceship on a space trip, there isn’t much you can do, especially when you’re the one piloting throughout the entire journey. Jongin thought about how he could have maybe avoided Sehun getting angry at him by asking his best friend to tag along — if he had done that, the trip probably would have been a little more bearable. 

The only thing making this trip worth it was finally meeting Kyungsoo and staying together for the rest of their lives. The thought of it was enough to re-energize Jongin when he asked himself why he was in his best friend’s stolen ship in the middle of nowhere. 

It was getting increasingly harder to stay awake; both Jongin and Kyungsoo have been piloting for what felt like was more than two days straight on their home planets, but they couldn’t accurately tell without a solar star to measure the time. When Jongin’s eyelids weren’t threatening to droop all the way down, he could see Kyungsoo drifting off through the video communicator.

“This won’t do,” Jongin suddenly said, startling Kyungsoo awake and alert. “Leave your ship on auto-pilot and I’ll stay up and watch if anything happens. I’ll scream bloody murder to wake you up if something goes wrong.” 

Kyungsoo chuckled tiredly then waved him off. “I’m fine, maybe you can go to sleep first. I’ll keep watch.” 

“We’re both gonna die if I go to sleep and you end up drifting off and we both crash into a meteor. We’re supposed to be red eclipse soulmates, not star-crossed lovers,” Jongin joked.

His soulmate pouted. “Okay, fine,” Kyungsoo gave in. “I’ll knock out for two sleep cycles and then it’s your turn.”

Jongin watched as Kyungsoo turned on auto-pilot and retreat to the back of his ship where his bunk was. Kyungsoo was so tired, he didn’t even bother changing and just slipped under the blankets with the uncomfortable clothes he already had on. Jongin smiled when he could hear his soulmate snoring a few minutes later. 

☆ ☆ ☆

“You told me you’d wake me up after two sleep cycles,” a well-rested, but slightly disoriented Kyungsoo confronted Jongin. He had just gotten up and realized he had slept for seven instead. 

“I never said that,” Jongin answered back innocently. “ You said that you’d knock out for two sleep cycles, but you never asked me to wake you up.” 

“It’s implied!” Kyungsoo told him exasperatedly. “You must be dying on that chair. It’s your turn now, you really need to sleep!!” 

Jongin wasn’t one to argue. It was already amazing that he managed to stay up the entire time while Kyungsoo was in stasis. Around Kyungsoo’s fourth sleep cycle, Jongin thought he saw dogs in spacesuits floating outside his window. 

“Okay, okay,” Jongin gave in. “Before I go, we should add you to Vivi’s command system. That way if anything happens while I’m asleep, you can tell the ship what to do.” 

“Oooh, that sounds cool.” 

“Okay, so after I activate him, just say your name and the first two numbers of your ID,” Jongin told his soulmate, who nodded. He then addressed the ship, “Kim Jongin. 88. Vivi, input new voice command.”

“Inputting new voice command: Please speak.” 

“Do Kyungsoo. 12.” 

“New voice command: affirmed. Welcome on board, Kyungsoo.” 

Jongin gave Kyungsoo a thumbs up and the latter smiled. They’ve managed to trick the AI; it was pretty cool how Kyungsoo could command a different ship while cruising in his own. Despite not really being on board, it was a nice welcome. 

“Alright, now go to sleep,” Kyungsoo shooed Jongin, who seemed to not want to get off of the pilot chair. “Don’t stay on the chair; your back will hurt.” 

Jongin managed to drag himself to the bunk at the back of the cockpit, also foregoing changing into sleeping clothes. Kyungsoo shook himself awake, preparing for another long round of piloting, but he continued to hear the rustling of Jongin tossing and turning from his bed. 

“Soo, I can’t sleep,” Jongin called out from his bed. 

“How is that possible?” Kyungsoo asked in disbelief. “You should’ve knocked out the moment your face hit the pillows.”

“I’m worried about you and the ship… what if something happens when I’m sleeping?” 

Kyungsoo sighed. “Nothing’s gonna happen.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

Silence ensued after that — Kyungsoo thought that maybe if he just didn’t encourage a conversation with the younger, he’ll eventually fall asleep. A few minutes later, it was still silent so he thought his plan had succeeded, but then Jongin spoke up again. 

“Can you sing for me?” 

Kyungsoo felt an upsurge of love swelling in his chest at the request. When they were younger and Jongin still had to sneak around with video calling Kyungsoo, they’d talk at night when the lights were out and the Commander thought his son was sleeping. Jongin would bring the communicator to bed and under his blankets, they’d talk all night long. Whether it was from the pain of pre-commander training or excitement from talking to Kyungsoo, Jongin wouldn’t be able to sleep and Kyungsoo’s singing voice was able to soothe him into slumber. 

Kyungsoo cleared his throat while thinking of something to sing. The perfect song came to mind and he hoped, just like old days, Jongin would be able to sleep peacefully after it. 

Close your eyes and listen carefully to my story

Before my story ends, you will dream

Little star, tonight

All night, I will watch over you

When I first met you, it was truly eye-blinding

When I first saw your smile, I felt like I had the whole world

Little star, tonight

All night, I will watch over you

When I see you fast asleep in my arms

I can’t take my eyes off you for a second

You’re so pretty – I feel like my breath will stop

How can I fall asleep?

My love, my everything, my angel from heaven

My two eyes, my world – you stole them all

Little star, tonight

All night, I will watch over you

My love, tonight

All night, I will watch over you

All night, I will watch over you

The song finished and Kyungsoo didn’t hear a response from his soulmate. He smiled as he realized Jongin had finally fallen asleep, getting the rest he deserved. 

“Warning: running low on fuel resources. Warning: running low on fuel resources.” 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened at the sound of Vivi alerting Jongin of the situation. He was surprised a new ship like the Novacraft managed to run out of gas before his own could. Jongin explained that Sehun probably used the ship before he took it, and he didn’t have time to refill the tank while blasting out of his home planet’s atmosphere.

“What are you going to do?” Kyungsoo asked worriedly. 

Jongin took the whole matter in stride. “Just going to land on the nearest planet and hope the natives there are kind enough to help me, it’s no big deal.” 

Kyungsoo’s expression turned serious. “Aren’t some of the planets that you’re nearing… some of the shady ones?” he asked in a low voice. 

“Yeah, but you can tell,” Jongin insisted. “I’ll just avoid the ones that look dangerous and land on a nice little planet. Plus, I’ll be off on my way as soon as the tank is filled, it’s not like I’m going to stay and vacation there for a week.” 

“Okay…” Kyungsoo answered unsurely. 

“It will literally only take a couple of minutes once I land and our video call will still be going on,” Jongin reassured him, trying his best not to make his soulmate anxious over something so trivial. “No need to worry!” 

“You packed a gun with you, right?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I’m not gonna take it and shoot people, Soo,” Jongin deadpanned. “It’s just a few minutes of refueling.” 

Kyungsoo pouted, but Jongin looked past the screen and through the windshield, already catching sight of a planet he could potentially target. “Oh, here’s one that looks nice enough. I’ll just go here.” 

“Let me see it.” 

Obeying, Jongin flipped the screen view so that Kyungsoo could see the yellow dwarf planet streaked with white up ahead. The color yellow was usually associated with happiness and bright things, so this couldn’t have been a shady place. There were no dark clouds that made the planet looks menacing, so Jongin didn’t feel any potential danger in landing.

“I’m going in,” Jongin announced, starting to change the course of his ship. Instead of heading straight past it, he geared it towards the planet, getting ready to breach it’s atmosphere and find a safe place to land. Once past the clouds, he could easily see the yellow ground of the dwarf planet. From what Jongin could see, there were not a lot of houses, but probably because it could be a small, unknown planet. 

“Hey, I think I see two people waving at my ship,” Jongin told Kyungsoo, which alarmed him. 

“Are they happy-waving or do they look angry?” 

“They’re happy-waving,” Jongin assured him, then added, “I think… I mean, they don’t look angry or anything.”

Frown lines marred Kyungsoo’s face as he became even more worried about Jongin landing in the first place. “Why did you have to steal Sehun’s ship?” Kyungsoo moaned. “Why couldn’t you just wait until you had your own ship like a normal person and leave with a full tank?” 

Jongin chose to ignore Kyungsoo this time because he was focusing on landing. Once he breached the atmosphere, he began his descent towards the ground, finding a safe spot to land. As he got nearer, he began to notice that the small planet didn’t seem to have high buildings and wired technology that made it harder to land. He found a strip of ground to land safely on, ignoring the little bump from roughly touching down.

Once the Novacraft was put to a stop, Jongin let out a huge breath that he had been holding the entire time. “I did it!” he exclaimed victoriously to Kyungsoo, who still had a sour expression on though Jongin could see some traces of relief. 

Jongin unbuckled his seatbelt straps and announced to his soulmate, “I’m gonna go out and see if anyone can help me refuel. I’ll be back soon, okay?” 

“Alright, alright,” Kyungsoo relinquished most of his worries, admitting to himself that nothing had gone wrong this entire time so maybe Jongin will be fine out there. The younger opened the portal door to the outside, he was surprised to see two people standing there expectantly, as if they were waiting for him. Jongin recognized them as the people who he saw waving earlier.

“Greetings! Welcome to #1510!” the shorter of the two exclaimed. “My name is Baekhyun, and this is Chanyeol,” he introduced, gesturing to the taller one next to him. “What is your name and what brings you to our humble little planet?” 

Jongin closed the portal door behind him and stepped down onto the yellow terrain. From where he was, he could see little houses spread out from each other, but other than that, there wasn’t much to this place. He hoped they had resources as simple as gas fuel. 

“I’m Jongin and my ship is running out of fuel — I was hoping to make a landing and refill my tank, and then I’ll be on my way again,” he explained, not wanting to seem like an inconvenience. “You do have fuel, right?” 

“Yes, of course!” Baekhyun answered happily. “But before we give it to you, we must throw you a welcoming party! You are a guest, and we don’t get visitors often on this planet!” 

Before Jongin could politely decline, the taller one, Chanyeol, turned around and yelled out, “Yixing!!!” 

From one of the small houses, a man came out and walked towards them, stopping behind Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Jongin could tell from the uniform-like clothes that the man, presumed to be Yixing, was wearing, he was a subordinate of the two. 

“Go fetch a sunflower for our guest here, and then we will start preparing a welcoming party for him,” Chanyeol ordered him, to which Yixing nodded and dashed off. 

“I can’t stay for long,” Jongin weakly said, not wanting to upset these hosts. “I’m going on an intergalactic travel and I need to get back on track after refueling…” 

“Nonsense! It would be rude to decline the hospitality of our people,” Baekhyun sing-songed while Chanyeol nodded. “We take these things very seriously around here.” 

“Then… can I just go back into my ship and let someone know that I might take a while?” Jongin asked. “I told him to expect me to be back in five minutes, but I guess a few hours won’t hurt…” 

He was about to turn around and head back inside VIVI 6000, when he felt his hand being grabbed. Baekhyun gripped onto him, preventing him from going back inside.

“Your friend can wait, right? Yixing will be back with the sunflower in a minute.” 

Jongin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion; he couldn’t quite place the chilling feeling he got from Baekhyun’s tone, but even with a sweet smile on his face, he sounded threatening. He found himself obeying, dropping the idea of letting Kyungsoo know about his situation. 

Yixing soon came back, holding a silver tray with both hands. On it, sat a stemless flower with vibrant petals. It weirded Jongin out that it looked somewhat appetizing because it wasn’t normally something he would eat. 

“Give it to him and we’ll be on our way. After he eats it, change him into new clothes and bring him to the ceremony,” Baekhyun commanded Yixing. As the two leaders turned around and started walking away, Yixing stepped forward with the platter in his hands. 

“Am I really supposed to eat this?” Jongin asked him and the man quickly shook his head. The commander was so confused as to what was going on, what kind of planet this was, and what he was supposed to do. He was about to ask why Yixing shook his head, but the man immediately put a finger to Jongin’s lips. 

“Pretend,” he whispered. 

Jongin nodded, though he was still desperate for answers. Maybe this planet wasn’t as nice as he initially thought. 

He took the flower into his hand and pretended to put it into his mouth. When pulling his hand away, the flower was still in it, but he was pretending as if he were chewing something in his mouth. Yixing nodded and then told him, “Follow me.” 

Jongin had no choice but to listen, so he walked behind the man as he was escorted to one of the small houses. Based on the outer appearance of the house, Jongin wasn’t surprised that it was only one room. It was stuffed with racks of clothes of the same color — yellow and white. Yixing closed the door behind them. 

“Can you explain to me what is going on?” Jongin asked before Yixing harshly shushed him. The man circled the room, closing all the small windows’ orange shutters, then snooped around as if searching for something. When he finished, he turned to Jongin with a serious expression on his face. 

“This planet is not safe,” he warned. “They are trying to trap you here.” 

“WHA—” Jongin started, but Yixing immediately shushed him. 

“I don't know if we’re being watched, but you have to be careful with what you say,” Yixing said in a low voice. “The purpose of the sunflower that you were supposed to eat was to brainwash you — once it enters your body, it would find a way to your brain and lodge its roots in it. Everyone who is not native to this planet is brainwashed so that they can stay here and be trapped as slaves.”

Jongin had so many questions. Who is watching them? How is he supposed to act now? Who is Yixing? Why is he helping him? How is he not brainwashed? How can he get out of here? 

“You’re probably lost and I don’t blame you, but I will do my best to help you if it means it’s a way for me to escape from here, too,” Yixing told Jongin. “For now, you’re gonna need to put the uniform over your clothes. Once we go back out there, you cannot speak unless spoken to.” 

Jongin nodded vigorously, showing that he was listening to everything Yixing was telling him. Yixing could be a wanted criminal for all he cared, but if Jongin wanted to get off this island as soon as possible and what Yixing was saying was true, he will have to blindly follow him. 

He took one of the yellow and white uniforms from the rack and put it on — it was identical to the one Yixing was wearing. Jongin figured that non-natives must wear it to distinguish themselves from the people who were from this planet, and it started making him sick to his stomach. 

“Now, Baekhyun and Chanyeol will want you to sit near them during the ceremony because you are new. Judging from your outer appearance, you seem fit and well-versed in fighting. I will fill your ship with fuel while everyone else is busy with the ceremony, and when I return, keep your eyes on me — when I give a signal, we have to run and fight our way to your ship. Do you understand?” 

Jongin nodded nervously. He thought that he should at least nod even though he probably didn’t get half of what Yixing was telling him. 

☆ ☆ ☆

Just as Yixing predicted, Jongin was seated between Chanyeol and Baekhyun at the ceremony. It was set up outdoors, with a long table seating about 100 people on each side. Since Jongin was seated near the highest ranked leaders of the small planet, he was at the end of the table that was near a huge cave. 

He was apparently supposed to be brainwashed, so he couldn’t display the fear that he felt on his face as he was ordered to sit near the dark opening. No one else seemed panicked, but he figured it was because the natives were probably in a cult worshipping whatever monster hid inside the cave — the rest were not capable of having their own emotions anymore. 

Jongin was trained and brought up to be level-headed and calm as a commander all these years, but he couldn’t help but feel panicked about this whole thing. This was his first time being away from his home planet and this planet was weird as fuck. And what if Yixing goes back on his word and takes Sehun’s ship, leaving him stuck here forever? 

Jongin internally shook himself to get rid of such negative thoughts. Afterall, he was the one who stopped him from eating the flower in the first place. Yixing seemed adamant on getting both of them out of there, so he will just have to trust in this stranger on this strange planet.

The ceremony seemed amiable enough. When Jongin got there, he was already staring at a table filled to the brim with food. While he and Yixing were plotting their getaway, the ceremony was probably being prepared. Now the natives were chatting amongst themselves, over their placid faced servants. 

“Welcome, everyone!” Baekhyun announced loudly after everyone was settled at the table. The leader was now standing, seemingly towering over Jongin and making him feel smaller than he really was. “We are ready to start the ceremony. We are celebrating the arrival of another supporter of Huangse Goemul !” 

All the natives erupted into cheers, and although Jongin didn’t dare to turn his head to look at the rest of the people down the whole table, he knew the applause ran all the way through to the end. None of the other servants were clapping, so Jongin stopped himself from doing so — along with the others, he had to act like a faceless robot, doing nothing until commanded to do so. 

“Bring forth the sacrificial offerings!!” 

About five natives stood up, who then commanded the servants next to them to get up. In the corner of his eye, Jongin watched as they all walked up to the cave together. Baekhyun turned away from the table and now faced the cave. He declared something in a language that Jongin couldn’t understand, but as soon as he was finished, Jongin felt as if the whole planet was shaking. He attributed the source to be from the cave, making him even more frightened of what was lying inside. 

Pointed yellow appendages suddenly appeared, curled around the cave’s opening. To Jongin’s horror, the thing that was summoned out of the cave was a spider-like creature and something that seemed to be five times bigger than he was. He’s never seen anything like it before, and he doesn’t know how he can escape something like that without knowing its speed or abilities. 

Sacrificial offerings? Were those servants that were lining up going to be eaten by that monster? Jongin suddenly felt like throwing up. By now, the Huangse Goemul was fully emerged from the cave, and Jongin was too terrified to have a good look at it, but eventually couldn’t help but take a sly glance at it. 

Once he saw it, he couldn’t take his eyes off; it was a hideous creature, sharp and yellow spine-like hairs sticking out of its brown legs. It had black beady eyes and a circular mouth, that had 4 rows of sharp teeth when opened. Jongin finally turned away when it claimed its first victim. 

He was met with hundreds of eyes, both natives and servants, that were on him — he had revealed himself failing to adhere to brainwashed conduct by turning his head to look at the monster, fear displayed in his eyes and expression. 

“Run!” a voice called out to him from afar. Jongin shook himself out of his frozen fear and shot up from his chair, running in whatever direction was towards the voice and away from the yellow monster. In the chaos of it all, he could see Yixing was the one who called for him, and the man was looking past him with a terrified look at his face. 

“Come on, run!!” Yixing urged more frantically, then turned to sprint off himself. Jongin tried his best to keep up, especially since the fear for his life and adrenaline was pulsing through his blood, making him run faster than in any commander training sessions he’s ever done. He didn’t want to look what was behind him, what made Yixing look so frightened. He tried not to focus on the animalistic screeches that shattered his eardrums and the petrifying stomps that shook the ground of the small planet. 

It happened too quickly for him to remember, but the two of them blasted through the opened entrance of Sehun’s Novacraft. Jongin immediately turned around to shut the portal door, but not before seeing Huangse Goemul charging full speed into the spaceship. Just milliseconds after the door closed, a huge crash resounded through the craft, sending Yixing and Jongin sprawled on the floor and almost tipping over VIVI6000. 

“Holy Mother of Mars!!” Jongin couldn’t help but cuss as he scrambled to his feet towards the cockpit. Since the video call with his soulmate was still ongoing, he was met with Kyungsoo’s irritated expression. 

""It will only take a few minutes once I land", my ass, Kim Jongin. That was the longest fuel up I've ever seen in my life— who is this?" Kyungsoo asked once Yixing came into view. Another crash resounded through the ship, and this time, Kyungsoo looked startled. “And what was that?!” 

"GO GO GO!!" Yixing frantically shouted at Jongin as the commander started the ship up, not meaning to ignore Kyungsoo's question in the chaos. 

He pressed as many controls as he could before shouting, “KIM JONGIN, 88! VIVI, GET US OUT OF HERE!!!” 

“Initializing speed launch off in 5, 4, 3, 2—” 

Jongin didn’t even get a chance to hear the last number because before he knew it, he thought he could feel the skin of the front of his face now facing the back of his skull. Had he not been sitting in the pilot chair, he would have been thrown into the back of the ship like Yixing. 

“Hang on to something!!” Jongin shouted out to the newcomer, who scathly replied, ‘A little too late for that, don't you think?’ 

In seconds, they were out of Planet #1510’s atmosphere. 

Jongin set the ship back on course, heading in the direction of Kyungsoo’s planet, and he finally remembered that his soulmate had been waiting the whole time. 

“What in star’s name happened back there?! What took you so long?” Kyungsoo burst out. “Who is he?!” he finished off, gesturing to Yixing, who was brushing himself and walking to the front of the cockpit. 

“His name is Yixing,” Jongin introduced. “He saved my life on that crazy planet. They were gonna mind control me and keep me there forever!!” 

Kyungsoo gaped as Yixing nodded his head sympathetically. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Yixing was on the planet since before, and when I got there, the leaders of the planet were trying to make me eat something that would’ve brainwashed me, but he stopped me before I ate it. He then made a plan to escape from there before this spider-monster-thingy that they worshipped could eat me,” Jongin explained, then turned to Yixing with a question that bothered him for a while. “How were you not a native and not brainwashed?” 

“Ah, I was doing an intergalactic travel as well before my ship severely malfunctioned. #1510 was the only planet nearby, and I was forced to crash land there. I didn’t trust the yellow color, because amongst my people, it is known as the warning color of poison, so I researched what kind of planet it was and the kind of people that were there,” Yixing said, bringing up his wrist to reveal a watch.

“What is that?” 

“It’s a gadget specific to my people from #1007. We can research anything; this watch will pull up any information I need. It holds the factual knowledge of the universe. Every person from my planet has one.” 

“Wow, that’s fascinating. So it told you about the sunflower and the ritual they do?” 

Yixing nodded.

Kyungsoo’s eyes were still shifty towards the newcomer, but he outright blurted out to Jongin, “I still don’t trust him. What if hurts you? He could bash your head in right now and take over your ship!” 

“He saved my life back there, Kyungsoo,” Jongin frowned. “He also risked his own life to refuel the ship while I was trapped in the ceremony.” 

“I’m grateful to Jongin, too,” Yixing spoke up. “Without him, I would have been stuck on that planet for who knows how much longer?” 

Kyungsoo reluctantly relaxed his tensed stance, but still kept an eye on the stranger. 

“Jongin, you must still be in shock from the whole thing, why don’t you rest?” Yixing offered. “I can watch the ship.” 

“Jongin…” Kyungsoo said in a warning tone. 

The commander ignored his soulmate. “Is there a way to prove that you won’t backstab me in my sleep?” Jongin asked tiredly. He was mostly doing this for Kyungsoo, but deep down, he felt like he needed to be reassured, too. 

Yixing brought up his wrist again and asked into his watch, “Inuwun, what are the people from #1007 like?” 

A triangular holographic display shot up from the watch, showing what #1007 looked like. ‘ The natives of #1007 are mostly known for their sharp perception and strong sense of loyalty. They are very clever, willing to use their wits in the face of danger, and willing to choose their sense of duty over their own well-being.’ 

Yixing looked expectantly at Jongin, then at Kyungsoo. Jongin was already more than convinced, and it seemed like Kyungsoo was slowly accepting it. 

“How do we know you’re actually from #1007?” the older asked. 

Without another word, Yixing asked into his watch, “Inuwun, give me the basic information of Zhang Yixing.” 

A hologram picture of his face popped up from his watch, identifying that the watch was actually researching the right person. 

‘Zhang Yixing, ID Number 10911007, was born on and resided in Planet #1007. He comes from a small family with no siblings. His occupation is a plant botanist and healer.’ 

The ID number struck a little familiarity with Jongin but he brushed it off. “Good enough for me,” Jongin said carelessly, way too tired to be cautious of Yixing any longer. Kyungsoo was going to splutter in protest, but the commander was already speaking over him “Kim Jongin. 88. Vivi, input new voice command.” 

“Inputting new voice command: Please speak.” 

He turned to Yixing, telling him to say his full name and first two numbers.

“Zhang Yixing. 10.”

“New voice command: affirmed. Welcome on board, Yixing.”

Kyungsoo wanted to give Jongin an earful for trusting Yixing with that way too early, but the younger was already taking off the uniform he had put over his clothes and making his way to the back of the ship. He threw himself on the bed and knocked out right away. 

“You haven’t stopped for fuel once.” 

Snort. “After what happened to you, do you think I want to?” 

Jongin frowned at that. “It looked friendly enough from afar,” he muttered about the yellow planet. “I didn’t know what was going to happen… I literally thought it would take less than five minutes to get fuel.” 

Kyungsoo stayed silent after that, looking ahead as he piloted. After a few moments, he broke the quiet while murmuring, “I’m just glad you’re okay.” 

“What?” 

“I’m not repeating it twice.” 

“No, I really didn’t hear you.” 

“...” 

“Kyungsooooo,” Jongin began to whine. 

“I SAID I’M JUST GLAD YOU’RE OKAY, YOU IDIOT!!” 

Jongin flinched because that was way too loud, and he slowly turned around towards the back bed to see if Yixing was awakened by Kyungsoo’s shouting. (He seemed unbothered, completely exhausted after keeping watch while Jongin rested for 6 sleep cycles). Once confirming that he wasn’t disturbed, he turned back to Kyungsoo with a sly smile. 

“You love me.” 

“Of course not, I’m making this intergalactic trek to the middle of nowhere just because I felt like it,” Kyungsoo answered sarcastically. 

Jongin giggled like a lovesick fool, while covering his face with both hands. Kyungsoo kept a straight face, looking out the windshield at deep space as Jongin cleared his throat and straightened himself out. 

“It’s okay if you don’t say it to me straight up right now,” Jongin admitted. “I think it’s better to say it in person anyway. It will be more special that way.” 

He swore he briefly saw a rosy blush adorning Kyungsoo’s cheeks before a panic-stricken look took its place in response to a crash coming from Kyungsoo’s video. 

“What was that?” 

“I—I don’t know,” Kyungsoo stuttered, looking at his control board. “Something’s wrong—” 

Another resounding bang shook the video call and Jongin felt panicked as he saw Kyungsoo lose control of his ship, to the point where it was plummeting downwards through space. 

“Kyungsoo!! Your ship—” 

The last thing Jongin heard was his soulmate’s scream before the video call cut to black. 

☆ ☆ ☆

“YIXING!!!! YIXING, GET UP!!!” Jongin shouted at the top of his lungs, shaking his new companion awake, who shot up in disorientation. 

“What’s happening?” 

“SOMETHING HAPPENED TO KYUNGSOO!! OUR VIDEO CALL GOT CUT OFF, BUT I THINK HIS SHIP WAS MALFUNCTIONING AND HE LOST CONTROL ALL OF A SUDDEN, AND I COULD SEE THAT HIS SHIP WAS STARTING TO FALL DOWNWARDS IN SPACE AND—” 

“Stop,” Yixing commanded him sternly. “Breathe. I can’t understand what you’re saying when you’re speaking at a million lightyears per second.”

Jongin felt like he couldn’t breathe properly; it was shallow and quick, he felt like he couldn’t get enough air and that he was hyperventilating, so Yixing guided him saying, “In… out… in…” When the commander finally calmed down, Yixing asked again. 

“Now, what were you saying about Kyungsoo?” he questioned, trying not to glance towards the front of the ship, now seemingly empty without the video call on the panel. 

“His ship… looked like it malfunctioned… drop… I called him multiple times and he’s not picking up… he hasn’t even called back yet…” 

“Do you recall either the name or number of his ship?”

When Jongin shook his head, Yixing got up from the bunk and made his way to the cockpit. He pulled up the timelog of the video call, checking approximately what time it was cut off.

“How many sleep cycles was I asleep for?” he asked.

“About 3…” Jongin answered.

Yixing stayed silent after that, calculating the time between how long he’d slept, how long it’s been since Kyungsoo’s video call was cut off, and the speed he knew Kyungsoo’s ship was capable of going. If Kyungsoo and Jongin wanted to meet as soon as possible, Kyungsoo was probably going at the highest possible speed his ship could take. 

Jongin couldn’t stand waiting for whatever Yixing was doing, so he rushed to where the control panel was, ignoring Yixing’s, “Hey, what are you doing?” 

“Kim Jongin. 88. Vivi, initiate video call with ID number 94940412.” 

He prayed that his best friend would pick up, no matter how mad he still was at him. It somewhat started to feel hopeless when there were one too many beeps, eventually there was a click that made Jongin’s heart soar. 

“Sehun!!” 

His best friend had an unamused expression on his face. “What do you want— wait, are you crying?” 

Worry and concerned replaced his bored face as he leaned in towards the screen to get a closer look at Jongin’s tear-streaked face. “Hey, what’s wrong? What happened?” 

“Something went wrong with Kyungsoo’s ship!!” Jongin wailed. “I don’t know what to do!! His video call got cut off and I heard him scream… I don’t know where he is or what happened to him!! I don’t know if he’s okay!!” 

“Okay Jongin, first, calm down,” Sehun said, trying to soothe him. “We can figure something out. When was the last time he ca—”

“His ship must’ve malfunctioned around Manet’s Boundary,” Yixing cut in, coming into the video’s camera view. His watch was on, showing a hologram of an area in space. 

“Wha— who are you?” Sehun asked, taken aback. “Jongin, who are you bringing onto my ship?” 

Jongin wiped his tears and sniffled. “I made a gas stop once and he saved my life from crazy sunflower eaters. His name is Zhang Yixing.” 

“Uhh, okay, that sounds like a story for another day. How far are you from Manet’s Boundary?” Sehun asked, brushing off the fact that there was a complete stranger on his ship. 

“Approximately 3,265,221,071,569,211,127,112,114,512 kilometers away…” Yixing affirmed. 

“We’ll never get to him in time!” Jongin sobbed. 

“Okay, okay, Jongin,” Sehun called out, trying once again to calm him down. “You probably don’t know this since Vivi is not your ship , but there’s a way to get to Kyungsoo fairly quickly.” 

“What? There is?”

“Yeah, Vivi has a hyperjump function,” Sehun explained.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHING EARLIER?!” Jongin roared, causing Sehun to flinch from the abrupt loudness in volume. 

“Well, maybe if you didn’t steal my ship—”

“Tell me how to work it, we don’t have much time,” Jongin insisted, already searching through the control panel for the button. Yixing slowly came up behind Jongin and peeked over his shoulder, immediately locating the lever. 

“I know how to work it…” he whispered. 

Jongin immediately stepped back and gestured that Yixing had full access to the panel. 

Sehun looked alarmed at how Jongin was so willing to let Yixing take over. “Hey, are you letting that stranger touch my baby—” 

“He says he’s got it figured out, gotta go Sehun, bye!” Jongin answered quickly before Sehun could protest. Jongin briefly wondered what would happen if he knew that he had given Yixing voice command control, too. 

“Alright, so if this is a standard hyperjump lever… and we’re now…” he glanced at his watch, “3,265,221,071,569,211,127,112,114,180 kilometers away from Manet’s Boundary…” he stopped to think again. “The lever needs to be pulled for 0.088 seconds.” 

“Oh stars, are you able to do that?” Jongin asked in amazement.

Yixing nodded. “Yeah, no problem.” 

He turned off his watch and placed his hand on the lever. Yixing closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened them, Jongin could see a trace of determination.

“Ready?” he asked.

Jongin nodded.

Experiencing a hyperjump was a whole new thing for Jongin. One moment, he’s standing comfortably in his own skin, the next, it felt like it’s being ripped from his own bones. He now understood why Yixing had asked if he was ready, because he had not expected to feel like his eyeballs were being violently compressed at the back of his skull. Even though the jump lasted for less than a whole second, he still felt the after effects for a few moments.

“What in constellation just happened?” Jongin asked, dazedly. “Was it successful?” 

Yixing seemed completely fine, opposite of what Jongin was feeling. He brought his wrist up, looking at his watch intently. 

“Yes, we’re approaching Manet’s Boundary in 3… 2…” 

Before Jongin could hear the final countdown, he lost consciousness after the feeling of falling.

When Jongin came to, the first thing he noticed was that his face was planted onto the side of the ship. The second thing he noticed was that the ship was not upright, hence why he was able to be lying on top of a portal door. He managed to sit up, but not without a sharp pain shooting up his left shoulder. It must’ve been what he landed on when their ship crashed. 

He noticed Yixing a few feet away, unconscious. As quickly as he could muster his strength and get his head together, he made his way over and checked for injuries. 

“Kim Jongin. 88. Vivi, conduct a body scan for internal injuries.”

“Scanning for internal injuries …” the A.I.’s came on a little crackled, but functioned enough for a green laser scanner to be emitted from the front of the ship. “Dislocated shoulder detected on 88940114. Minor concussion detected on 10911007. All vital signals are normal.” 

Jongin gently shook Yixing with his good arm, careful not to move his head too much in fear of somehow making it worse. “Yixing,” he called out. 

After a few minutes, the older opened his eyes and groaned, complaining about the headache. “What happened?” 

“I think our ship also malfunctioned when we entered Manet’s Boundary,” Jongin speculated. For the first time, he took a good look outside of the Novacraft’s windshield and the planet’s ground covered in neon blue and purple gridlines. From what Jongin could see, the sky was also a shade of blending purples and blues, and the terrain was littered with rocks and broken slabs of standing concrete. There weren’t any civilians in sight making the planet seem barren and desolate, but still lively.

“This should be where Kyungsoo landed, too,” Yixing stated, shaking himself off and getting himself to stand up in the overturned ship. “We should get out and assess the damage to the ship and see if Kyungsoo is around here. Wait, what’s wrong with your shoulder?” he asked when he saw Jongin’s face twisted in discomfort, his hand holding onto his own shoulder.

“I think it’s dislocated. Must’ve happened during the crash. You also have a minor concussion, so be careful.” 

Yixing nodded his head thoughtfully. “That explains the slight headache; but we should fix your shoulder. Remove your hand for a second.”

Jongin did as he was told and let Yixing place both of his hands on his arm and shoulder. Without warning, the commander yelled out in pain as he experienced a blinding sharp pain from his shoulder being popped back into place. 

Recovering, he mumbled begrudgingly, “Thanks, but you could’ve given a heads up, you know?”

Yixing shrugged, saying, “It doesn’t hurt anymore, right? Let’s go.”

Before Yixing could open the portal door to the outside, Jongin stopped him. “Don’t you think this planet is probably dangerous? What if something’s out there?” 

Yixing held a finger up and looked at his watch, expecting it to light up as usual, but it didn’t. He shook his wrist and tapped it a few times, but it wouldn’t work. 

“Inuwun...? Shit,” Yixing muttered, after getting over his disbelief. “Either the magnetic field of this place is interfering with my gadget or it broke during the crash. There’s only one way to find out if there’s something out there.” 

“Wait,” Jongin interrupted again just as Yixing was going to open the portal door for the second time. The commander rushed to the back of the ship, only to come back with weapons in his hands — two laser guns. “We’re probably gonna need these. Just a precaution.” 

Yixing nodded and opened the door, the two of them finally stepping foot onto the foreign planet. It was really quiet, so it really seemed as if no one was out there but the two of them. They circled VIVI 6000 and found out that the ship was more damaged than they had thought, with a broken-off wing and mangled turbine. The wingless side of the ship was scraped up and horribly dented towards the front. It was amazing that they both managed to survive the crash with minor injuries, but even if they all made it back to his home planet, Jongin would still be as dead as stardust.

Oh Sehun will never forgive him for what he’d done to his baby. 

But believe it or not, that was the least of his worries right now. While Yixing continued to examine the extent of the damages, Jongin’s eyes searched for any sign of Kyungsoo’s presence on the planet.

“It’s okay, you can go look for him,” Yixing said without turning his head away from the ship. “You must be really worried.”

Jongin nodded and ran off, away from Yixing and the ship in hopes of perhaps catching a glimpse of Kyungsoo’s ship, or better yet, Kyungsoo himself, unharmed and completely fine. So far, the planet seemed uninhabited, though the dancing colors of bright purples and blues made it seem less empty. 

Jongin thought he might have spoken too soon when he rounded around a slab of upstanding concrete, only to be met with a loud crash right where his head would have been if he hadn’t ducked. Sprawled on the ground, his instincts told him to roll back around the concrete and gather himself together before he can take a look at what had attacked him. 

What was that? 

He stood up and clutched his laser gun tightly as he tried to steal a peek around the corner of the concrete slab. He was not expecting to see a huge egg-like robot, with red panels moving in and out of its silver main body as legs and one long tentacle-like robotic claw arm. The robot seemed to have one eye, a brightly glowing red light that was able to see 180 degrees due to the main body being able to rotate its three compartments. 

Dread flooded Jongin as he thought about whether or not Kyungsoo had an encounter with this robot. His soulmate was only a spaceship mechanic — he had no idea how to defend himself or shoot a laser gun. 

Jongin had to think, and he had to think fast . It was possible that Kyungsoo was hiding somewhere on this planet; the fact that he probably had a crash landing and was lying somewhere, injured, did not sit well with the commander. 

He had to make a move and find his soulmate, and the only way he could think of doing that was sneaking around this robot. He got down on all fours and started crawling from slab to slab, making sure not to make any sudden movements or loud noises. 

His plan fell through when a red eye suddenly gleamed toward his way. 

Before he could react, the tentacle claw grabbed Jongin by the foot and flung him into the air. Jongin immediately tried to gain control of his limbs in the air and aimed his laser gun at the monster. He shot at it, but it didn’t seem to affect it at all. 

Jongin landed on the ground hands-first, tumbling so that he could regain stability on his feet. He had to think quickly and act fast. The gun didn’t seem to do anything, from what he could tell up in the air. Maybe there was a button that Jongin could push or some type of wiring that he could pull to stop this thing. He’d have to avoid the red eye and get up close.

But that thing spun 360 degrees, so no matter what direction Jongin charged at it, it could see him coming. 

As he was charging at it, a huge gust of wind blew from the outstretched claw, blasting him across the field. His back crashed into a slab of upstanding concrete, making him grunt out in pain before sliding down onto the ground. 

Jongin felt as if he blacked out for a moment. He was being constantly attacked by this thing, and there was no way he could get near it to find any weak points. He was trained his whole life to be a commander — what would it mean if he couldn’t defeat this thing? 

Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It looked like it was a boot, probably attached to someone who was hiding behind the slab that Jongin was just thrown against. The commander mustered up his energy to get up and look around. 

“Kyungsoo?!” 

Said person looked up, wide-eyed, clutching his own gun. Jongin checked for any serious injuries, any artificial scrapes. His soulmate had a huge blossoming bruise on the right side of his face, but other than that, he seemed fine. He even scrambled up to stand at lightning speed to see eye to eye with Jongin.

“You’re okay!! Thank Mother Mercury,” Jongin sighed in relief before enveloping Kyungsoo in the first hug they ever had.

“You came for me,” Kyungsoo said in disbelief. “I can’t believe you made it all the way here.”

Jongin separated from the hug to look Kyungsoo in the eyes. “I was so worried about you after your video got cut off… I’m so glad you’re alive and safe. Now we just need a way out of here. How is your ship?”

Kyungsoo scrunched his nose and shook his head. “Totaled. We won’t be able to leave on it.” 

The commander’s face fell. “That’s not good. And I don’t think we can effectively find another way off of this planet with that robot thing in the way.”

Just as he said that, the large cement slab that was hiding them was being ripped out of the ground. As it was lifted, it revealed the huge robot with its gleaming red eye staring right at them.

“Stay back, Kyungso,” Jongin warned, assuming a protective stance in front of his soulmate. ”There’s no way I’m gonna let you get hurt!”

Before he could say anything else, the robot used its claw arm to clamp onto his shoulder and lift him up into the air. The red eye was looking right at him, like a predator ready to devour its prey. 

Clang!

The red eye spun around to look at Kyungsoo, who was holding a rock in hand. Jongin internally started to panic because there was no way he could push Kyungsoo out of the way. 

“Kyungsoo, run!” 

But his soulmate’s two feet were planted on the ground, unable to move. Jongin acted fast and fumbled for his gun, shooting the back of the eye to grab its attention again. “Hey! Leave him alone!” 

When the robot turned its attention back to Jongin, Kyungsoo took the opportunity to find protection. 

Realizing it was distracted, the robot saw that its other target was now gone. In annoyance, a bout of water gushed out from its claw, blasting Jongin across the field once again. He was being tossed back and forth like a rag doll, completely exhausting him. 

“Jongin!!” Kyungsoo cried out, running out from his cover. He couldn’t carry the commander to safety on his own, so he helped him up to his feet. As Jongin got up and they made their way to find protection behind the countless stone slabs, a familiar voice erupted from above the atmosphere.

“HEY, STUPID ARMADA COMMANDO SCRUB! YOUR DADDY TOLD ME TO DRAG YOUR SORRY ASS BACK HOME!!” 

Jongin and Kyungsoo looked up to see a magnificent gray whale casting a shadow over them. Jumping down from the whale was their savior and Jongin’s best friend, Oh Sehun. 

As soon as Sehun’s feet touched the foreign planet’s ground, Jongin crushed him in a huge hug. He sobbed, “SEHUN, I’M SO SORRY I STOLE YOUR SHIP, I DON’T DESERVE YOU OR YOUR KINDNESS. I’LL REPAY YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE FOR ME AND FOR WRECKING VIVI—” 

“YOU WHAT?!” Sehun shouted out while pushing the commander off of him. “YOU KILLED MY BABY?!”

“Technically, it was Manet’s Boundary that did the damage, not me—” Jongin’s commander reflexes made him duck in time to avoid Sehun’s fist. He hid behind his soulmate’s shorter frame, knowing that Sehun wouldn’t hurt Kyungsoo on their first encounter. 

“Sehun, it’s so great to meet you,” Kyungsoo greeted with a warm smile, hand outstretched. 

“Likewise, I’ve heard so much about you!” Sehun joked, shaking his hand. “But Kyungsoo, sweetie, I’m so sorry you were paired with a lowlife like him!” 

Jongin pouted, knowing Sehun will probably never live down any of this. He’ll be stuck with a salty Sehun for the rest of his life. 

“Ah, Jongin, like I said before, your dad is pissed ,” Sehun placed emphasis on the last word. “Like, to infinity and beyond pissed. Like, you’ll probably never see another streak of light from any solar star ever again.” 

“Oh, that’s nice,” Jongin remarked. “But right now, we got OTHER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT—” 

Jongin threw himself on top of Kyungsoo to tackle him down onto the ground. Sehun seemed fine on his own, because when they all got up again, his head was still intact. The egg-robot’s claw arm had smashed into the slab that they were standing behind, taking off a huge chunk of the concrete and leaving them all exposed for its next attack.

“What in Tau Geminorum is THAT?!” Sehun shrieked. 

“No idea!” Jongin answered back, trying to read what it will do next. “But for now, let’s run!”

The claw arm was glowing red, and it looked ready to spew out fire. They didn’t have time to react when a bout of flames was belched out of its claw. 

Jongin thought Sehun’s, Kyungsoo’s, and his life were about to end as galactic barbecue when something jumped in front of them, blocking the heat from reaching them. 

“Yixing!” 

The man who came to their rescue had a huge piece of metal attached to his arm, serving as a shield from the fire. He was able to withstand the force of the inferno until the robot withdrew its arm. 

“VIVI LIVES ON!” Sehun cheered, recognizing the chunk as the door of his beloved spacecraft. 

Yixing turned around, sweating profusely from being so up close to the firestorm. “You’re the Novacraft’s owner?” 

“Unfortunately, I am,” Sehun answered, glaring at Jongin. 

“Sorry for your loss,” Yixing said his condolences as he tossed the chunk of metal off his arm. 

“Our lasers aren’t piercing its body and we don’t have any other weapons on us,” Jongin pronounced, ignoring his friend. “We need to find a way to destroy that thing or we’ll die on this planet!” 

“Oh, why didn’t you say something earlier?” Sehun asked. “I thought we were just playing tag with it or something.” 

Jongin was left extremely confused by Sehun’s way of thinking as his best friend put his fingers in his mouth and emitted a loud whistle. Almost immediately, his space whale came bounding back to where they were and Sehun gestured towards the egg-robot. They all watched as the whale understood his vague command and flew over the robot. 

When the back end was on top of the robot, it swished its tail down, completely smashing the robot in one blow. The egg-robot was defeated.

“That’s it?” Kyungsoo asked. 

“Yeah, I guess,” Yixing asked unsurely, half expecting the robot thing to get back up again. (Which it didn’t and wasn’t ever going to, for the record.)

“That’s all it took?” Jongin asked, exasperated.

“Pfft, you guys can’t do anything without me,” Sehun said with a smug grin, then grabbed Jongin’s ear. “Alright, time to bring you home before your dad has my head, too.”

“Ow! How?! The Novacraft and Kyungsoo’s ship are as dead as stardust,” Jongin gasped out in pain because Sehun was pulling way too hard. 

“On my whale, of course,” Sehun stated as if it were obvious. “Everyone, come on. Even you, stranger,” he gestured at Yixing. Sehun signalled at his whale to land on the ground, and as soon as it did, he threw Jongin onto its back before he could protest. 

Next, he helped Kyungsoo up and watched as Yixing went on without support from him. He was the last one to board. When he made sure everyone was as secure as one could get on a space whale, he commanded it to start flying back home. 

This was the first time Jongin ever rode a space whale and he was scared to death that Kyungsoo would fall off. But no matter how much movement the whale made and how fast it was going, everyone stayed put. It was a surprisingly smooth ride.

“We’re out of Manet’s Boundary,” Sehun announced after a few minutes.

Yixing was the first to react. “Inuwun,” he called out, raising his wrist towards his face. Relief flooded through him as his watch activated on command. “Thank Mercury.”

“Please input ID to verify the authorized owner.”

“10911007.”

Before the watch unlocked, Sehun suddenly widened his eyes as realization straightened him out. The numbers hit him as if lightning struck through his body. He double-checked his arm to make sure he wasn’t going crazy for no reason. 

“Ah shit,” he cursed out loud, turning towards Yixing. “You mean to say this entire time, you were my soulmate?”

Yixing stared at Sehun as if he were an alien. Wordlessly, he raised the watch near his face again and asked, “Inuwun, who is my Red Eclipse soulmate?”

“Your Red Eclipse soulmate is Oh Sehun, of Planet #1004, ID number 9492. Current location, less than a meter, perfect for initiating a kiss.”

At the last thing, both of them blushed heavily. Kyungsoo and Jongin congratulated them and laughed giddily, happy for the newfound couple.

“Well, at least there was one good thing that came out of you wrecking my ship,” Sehun said, pointing a finger at Jongin, “Thanks for leading me to my soulmate, I guess.”

“That means fate dictated that I needed to steal your spaceship, right?” Jongin asked, hopefully getting off the hook.

“No.”

“Okay, I’ll shut up now.”

“We’re almost there,” Sehun grunted out after a few hours. Yixing and Kyungsoo were fast asleep near the rear of the whale, while Sehun and Jongin were seated at the head. 

Jongin stared ahead longingly, not knowing what to do. While he did want to go home, he knew that his father would probably punish him for abandoning his commander duties and maybe he would even send Kyungsoo onto the next spaceship back to his home planet. Or even if his father ended up having mercy on the both of them and didn’t do that, Kyungsoo would just be stuck at home, while Jongin would be away from home all the time serving as commander.

He couldn’t picture a happy ending with Kyungsoo while fulfilling his father’s wishes. 

“Sehun…” Jongin started. “I don’t think I can do it.” 

His best friend didn’t answer, only sitting straight and continuing to stare ahead. He was pretending to keep his eyes on the road, but Jongin continued to press on.

“I know you grew up by my side and watched me as I trained to become commander. I thought it was my dream to lead the Intergalactic Armada someday. But along the way, I realized it wasn’t my dream, it was my dad’s…” 

Jongin stole a glance at Kyungsoo’s peacefully sleeping face and sighed before turning back to Sehun. “My dream is him now. Coming home to him every night and watching the same stars side by side instead of stars from opposite sides of the galaxy is what I want to do with him for as long as I live.”

It took a moment of silence but Sehun finally turned around to face his best friend. Jongin gave him a meaningful look, which his friend could only sigh back at.

“Mannnn, you’re really gonna make me do this, huh? Your dad is gonna kill me.” 

Hope filled Jongin and the stifling pressure in his chest finally felt lifted. “You’re letting me go?” 

“Yes,” Sehun groaned. “Your dad might even put me in jail for it, but you deserve to be happy with Kyungsoo.” 

Jongin let out a yell of happiness as he grabbed Sehun into a man-crushing hug. While Jongin whispered multiple expressions of gratitude, Sehun was harping at him to get off. Their clamour woke the two in the back, who decided to rejoin them at the whale’s head. 

“What’s going on?” Kyungsoo asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Jongin finally left Sehun alone so he could latch onto his soulmate’s arm instead. 

“I’m kicking Jongin’s ass off my whale soon, and you’re probably gonna want to jump off right after him, so I hope you have a parachute on you or something,” Sehun deadpanned, not too happy with the decision Jongin made him make.

Yixing looked at him in surprise, “They’re not coming back with us?” 

“No.” 

“Oh, if that’s the case, then I know just where you should drop them off,” Yixing offered.

Sehun didn’t drop kick them off of his whale like he said he would. When they landed, he tried to keep a strong face, but ended up wailing and clinging onto Jongin telling him not to leave. Since Jongin would be stuck on this planet without a spacecraft or a whale of his own, he told Sehun he could visit as much as he liked.

“Thank you for everything,” Jongin told Yixing as they fist bumped. “Kyungsoo and I wouldn’t have found each other without you.” 

“And I would’ve still been stuck on that godforsaken planet if it weren’t for you,” Yixing thanked him in return. “I’ve stayed here on this planet before and it’s Inuwun-verified as friendly, safe, and ideal to live in. I wish you guys the best of luck.” 

Jongin and Kyungsoo looked on and waved goodbye as Sehun and Yixing mounted the whale again. When their friends were out of sight, all that was left was the town ahead of them that held their hopes, fears, present, and future. 

Jongin gave Kyungsoo a small smile before outstretching his hand. Without hesitation, Kyungsoo took it in his.

Hand-in-hand, they walked into the foreign but peaceful town, ready to start their new life together.

Deleted Scene:

It was just a normal morning for Sehun. He woke up, already feeling in a great mood, sitting up and stretching his arms and legs to get rid of the tendrils of sleepiness still wrapping around his limbs. It was like a picture perfect moment in those movies, where the main character wakes up and smells the flowers or a waft of cooked breakfast floating into the room. 

Sehun was a happy-go-lucky person who seemed to take everything he had for granted. Nothing devastating had ever happened to him in his entire life; or more so, he didn’t let the bad things get to him like that. 

He was someone that Jongin always wanted to keep around; even with all the sass and cold appearance, Sehun was actually warm-hearted and overflowed with a sense of loyalty. He’s been Jongin’s best friend since they were in diapers and they probably would be until their remains are floating in the vacuum of space. 

And Sehun is proud to call Jongin his best friend. 

Jongin who was morally upright, yet still fun to be around. 

Eating the breakfast that his mom cooked up for him before she left for work, Sehun was suddenly struck with an idea. Jongin had been moping around because he lived so far from Kyungsoo and was probably never going to see him in this lifetime — there’s not really anything Sehun could do about that, but maybe his best friend needed a pick-me-up. After breakfast, he’s going to get his spaceship, hurtle over to Jongin’s place, drag him outta bed, and take him on a fun little ride. 

Sehun ate the last of his food and made himself presentable before fetching the keys for his ship. 

Jongin deserves a best friend like me , Sehun thought proudly as he made his way to his garage. I’m the perfect person to be friends with such an upstanding soon-to-be-commander, handsome and smart young man who… 

Sehun opened the portal door to the garage, not sensing anything was off in the dark. When he reached over and turned on the light, he could finally see that there was a huge empty space where VIVI 6000 was supposed to be parked. 

… who is a piece of shit and took my motherfucking new spaceship. KIM JONGIN, YOU’RE DEAD TO ME, WHAT THE FUUUCK?!