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OUTER SPACE, YEAR 2194
She's lost.
There's absolutely no way she is not lost.
She blames it on the lack of sleep and long journey. Traveling through space for months on end stretches her far and beyond. She's been staring at nothing but stars for countless days, sometimes counting them when times got extremely dull. There are no missions, no orders—there is no civilization left.
Her planet has been destroyed and she'd just barely made it out by the skin of her teeth. Seulgi feels no loss though, she had left nothing behind. Not a family or a prized possession.
She's always been a lone traveler. She feels as if the universe never meant for her to belong. To never fit quite right along anything. Often feeling the need to move around and never settle. The planet she left, she'd only been for a couple months before chaos ensued.
Leaving was never a problem. She was a loose anchor among a sea of ships. A sea of stars to be exact.
Seulgi loved traveling in space. Everything was so vast, so unbound and eternal. Nothing ever started or ended, it just was. She felt peaceful being surrounded by endlessness.
So imagine her surprise when her nap that turned into an eight hour slumber came to an abrupt end at the single tap of a window. Seulgi immediately jerks upright in her seat, slapping her forehead against one the control boards above. A pained groan slips from her lips as she tries to soothe the ache, but stops dead in the act when she sees a pair of light pink irises staring right back at her.
A few pairs actually.
She's scrambling back in her chair, hand searching for something, anything to protect herself. "Get back!" She kicks at the window hoping it'll startle the little creatures but they simply stare with an almost amused look in their eyes. She's never seen anything like them, doll-like porcelain skin, white hair pooling all around them. They looked unreal and that terrified Seulgi.
'What planet did I land on???'
Seulgi continues to panic, her heart hammering against her chest like it's about to jump out the window. She takes in her surroundings with heavy breaths. She's engulfed in tall grass, barely being able to see over it sitting in her ship. However, there's a lavender sky decorated with three moon in the horizon and the biggest tree she's ever seen in her entire existence.
She is only brought back to reality when the little doll-like creatures scurry away and somehow that makes her panic even more. She's quick to look around through her ship's windows only to be faced with nothing but green. How could they have gone that quickly? There seems to be nothing but land for miles around her and yet, she sees no movement, not even the whisper of the wind.
"I must be going crazy." She mumbles to no one else but herself. She's shoving the dagger she couldn't find earlier in the loop of her belt and kicking open the latch. Her boots hit the grass with a thud, green strands almost coming up to her ribs. She's sweeps the area again, straining her eyes to see the littlest of movement, but time is still. For minute it's just Seulgi and her breathing present and for a second she think she's dreaming. Everything is too idle, too quiet. There's absolutely nothing.
"Hello."
The speed at which Seulgi retrieves her dagger is like lightening. Despite the spike of her pulse she's on defense, feet spread apart, knees bent, and two seconds from charging at whoever just snuck up on her. "Who-"
Except when she turns she's too stunned to lunge and attack. Actually, the need to defend dissipates completely. The knife is still raised in front of her, but she's glued to her spot in the grass. Whatever spell sweeps over her has cemented her to the ground beneath her. Even her breath bates a little and time somehow moves even slower.
"Are you lost?"
The little creatures have returned, except Seulgi learns they are not much shorter than herself, just petite in stature. There are three of them, all white haired, pink eyed, and perfect.
They are not alone.
"C-can you understand me?" They've returned with a woman—Seulgi thinks that's what she is. She doesn't appear to be an alien of sorts, she seems just as human as herself. Except she's exceptionally beautiful. Almost otherworldly beautiful and Seulgi has to blink a few more times and squint to ensure that she is real. Unlike her counterparts, her hair is pitch black and long—really long, stopping just below her waist. She's dressed in all white, some sort of dress that trails far beyond her feet. There are pearls and crystals adorning her neck, sparkling in the material of her dress. Seulgi once heard that ancient civilization believed in an afterlife with something called 'angels' who donned white and exuded purity. She thinks this is what this women might resemble and for a second worries maybe she had died.
"Hello?" The women in white goes impatient for a second, waving her arms in front of Seulgi's face.
"Who are you?" Seulgi's tone spits out defensively for some reason and now she's too aware of the dagger still set in attack.
"Who are you?" The beauty retorts, dark eye brow raising in suspicion before cutting her eyes to the weapon in hand.
Seulgi immediately lowers it into her belt again—if they were going to attack they would have by now. She sighs before shoving her hands into her pockets.
"Seulgi. I'm a—"
"A traveler." The woman's deep eyes scan the entirety of her body, eyes resting behind her on what Seulgi assumes is her ship, before cutting back to her face. "We don't get travelers here." There's a tinge of confusion in her tone, as if she's asking a question to herself instead. The uncertainty spills into her facial expression and Seulgi begins to feel uneasy under her gaze.
"Where is here exactly?" This strips the women in white's attention from her thoughts and back to the traveler.
"Pax." She's curt in her response, thoughtful bewilderment still etched on her face before she shakes her head as if to will the thoughts away. "Sorry, where are my manners." She wipes her palms on her dress before extending a hand. Seulgi is a bit hesitant before taking her small hand is her own. It's quite strange when instead of shaking it, the woman gathers her other hand, taking Seulgi's between them and bows her head. "I am Joohyun, but you can call me Irene."
Irene's hands feel like cool silk against her palm. Seulgi shivers before the words before dawn on her.
"I can leave." She's backing away already, not quite sure of the atmosphere here anyway. "You mentioned not getting visitors, so I'll be on my way. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep and my ship auto-landed here somehow." She about to duck into the the latch of her craft when she's sees the dreadful blinking red light on her dashboard.
Things could not get any worse.
"There seems to be a problem with your ship." She didn't even hear Irene sneak up on her , but she can feel the tickle of her words against her neck. There must not be any boundaries on this planet because Seulgi all but jumps out of her skin, heat immediately rising to her neck and ears. She turns abruptly and the women's nose nearly bumps her own.
"Uh.." She sidesteps the proximity, hand rubbing at the back of her burning neck. "Yeah I just need a few tools and some fuel and I can fix it-" then it dawns on her. She left them back on her last planet. The one that had been destroyed. "Goddamnit!" She's sighing and kicking the side of her vehicle before she knows it. "Stupid, stupid, stu-"
"You could always stay here." Irene breaks her out of her self deprecation, watching with unphased eyes. "Well for the time being at least. They can fix your ship." She cast a glance over her shoulder to the smaller three standing curiously behind her. "They're quite nifty."
Seulgi wants to say no. In all honesty, she wants to tell them to go away so she can wallow in her plight and figure something out on her own. But suddenly there's a hand on her shoulder and her belly starts to feel strange, like she's going downhill fast.
"We have plenty of room. Plus, you probably need to rest after all that traveling." Her voice reminds her of the stars, light and twinkling with something beautiful. She wants to plug her ears, shut the noise out right away. It's pleasant and...familiar?
"O-okay." Seulgi thinks that Irene is not human. Because she says this without any fight, almost like a puppet. Her voice even sounds foreign to her ears. "I guess."
Irene takes the initiative, gripping Seulgi's hand into hers yet again. She's being pulled forward, almost stumbling over her own two feet like rag doll. Irene leads the way towards nothing. The nothing that Seulgi was greeted with before. She's sure they won't even make it to where they're going before nightfall. The sky is slowly fading from lavender to violet and there seems to be nothing for miles-
"What—" Irene's little friends are walking ahead, disappearing into thin air. Seulgi jumps backwards, startled by whatever she just saw. Her hand falls from the women's and she's scrambling backwards like she's been burned.
"Are you coming?" Irene deadpans, face a bit pinched. "It's this way."
"What? Where?" Seulgi's heart is about to fall out her chest.
"Are you always this scared? C'mon." Irene snatches her arm and pulls her forward.
One second she's staring at nothing but green fields darkened by the early night sky, and the next she's facing what looks like a fairy's haven.
"We keep everything cloaked here. For... safety measures." She can hear Irene speaking, but it's hard to focus on anything when she's standing in the middle of paradise.
She lives in a tree.
Well— Tree would be an understatement. The base of the trunk is enormous. A wooden staircase wraps around the wide base, leading to a small door that looks like maybe a child could fit through it.
"Uh.."
"Welcome to my humble abode." Irene casts a pleasant smile over her shoulder and Seulgi startles like a mouse. Only now, when Irene raises the hem of her dress to climb the stairs, does she realize the woman isn't wearing any shoes. Her bare feet move with agile haste, Seulgi too stuck in awe to catch up. Irene's little friends had climbed the stairs with even more speed, leaving the two behind, but leaving the door open in courtesy.
When they duck inside, it's as if the entire planet is one huge allusion. The inside appears bigger than the outside of the home. It has Seulgi blinking again, like she's dreaming or something. She feels a bit breathless from the quick trek upward, but Irene is completely collected, even rambling about the "mess".
"The girls and I love crafting things in here, it's a bit of a wreck. I apologize."
It looks fine.
"Let me show you to where you'll be staying. I can get you some new clothes? We can wash your old ones for the time being, it's no problem at all." Irene's voice is quite timid sounding. Seulgi notices she doesn't speak much over a whisper. There's something soothing about it that makes her heartbeat slow a bit, feeling a little more grounded than earlier.
All that goes out the window when Irene is grasping at her hand again, pulling her to wherever she's off to this time.
They appear in front of another wooden door, before standing before a beautiful room donned in intricate woodwork, plant life, and the comfiest looking bed Seulgi think she's seen in months.
This most definitely beats sleeping in her ship for the night.
"You can sleep in here. The bathroom is down the hall incase you'd like to wash up." Irene's looking at her as if that's not a suggestion and more of a demand, so Seulgi simply nods wordlessly, gulping down the knot in her throat. "I'll bring you a change of clothes for the time being." She turns abruptly on her heels, preparing to leave before can even sputter a word.
"W-wait! Um," Seulgi doesn't know why she can't seem to wrangle in her thoughts. Ever since she set foot on this planet her mind has been everything but right. Irene turns back around, onyx strands gleaming and moving to their own graceful choreography. Seulgi feels a bit jealous of her beauty all of the sudden. "Thank you." She finally spits out, feeling silly. "For letting me stay here, until, y'know, until my ship is fixed."
Irene is staring at her rather calculated. Her inquisitive dark eyes give way to the gears shifting in her head. Seulgi tilts her head, confused and bit self conscious, before the woman in white's expression completely shifts back to a bright pleasantry.
"It's no problem at all." And she's gone, leaving an aroma of florals and dirt.
The sigh of content that leaves Seulgi's mouth is involuntary.
The first few weeks on planet Pax are strange. For a long while, Seulgi is overly tempted to go out and fix the ship herself if that means conjuring up supplies through pure luck and magic, if only to avoid the awkward tension. She feels out of place here, which really, is nothing new, but it's intensified when someone like Irene exists in the same space as herself.
She is forced out of her boots by the third day.
"I know your traveler clothes are drying but could you lose the boots with the dress. It should be considered a crime.." Irene is sneering childishly at Seulgi's feet, so much so it almost makes her burst out in laughter. She has to stifle it behind a weak cough.
"You.. want me to walk around barefoot?" Seulgi almost whines as if it's the most ridiculous idea in the world.
"That's what I do." Irene says like it's the law of the land.
"I don't think-"
"Off." And the look of pure authority on Irene's face has Seulgi scurrying out of her favorite boots in seconds. She can feel the heat rising towards her cheeks and knows they're being dusted pink. That and she can see the smug look painted on Irene's face.
A few more instances like this occur. When Seulgi does finally attempt to help fix her ship, she's all but dragged away because, "You're my guest! No way you're doing the dirty work." Or when she tries to hide away in her room so that her time there went quickly and unbothered, only to be conned into spending time outside with Irene, picking peculiar looking fruits and catching butterflies.
She finds herself giggling along with an amused Irene over a beautiful blue one they've caught in a jar. It flits against the glass confines in a beautiful panic and somehow the pretty laughter beside her is contagious enough time make her join in. She's so lost in watching the trapped creature, she doesn't know Irene's completely stopped laughing. Looking at her like she's a puzzle again, confused and calculated.
Seulgi's face drops a bit. "Huh?"
Irene's brows are bunched together softly, her mouth a straight line, before speaking. "I don't know." She gets up without another word and let's the butterfly go. "Let's go inside now." The woman doesn't say much else for the rest of the day, but the frown stays.
They don't talk about it again.
Irene is a trick of all trades. Seulgi does a lot of observing in the days she spends on Pax. She sees the beautiful woman do an abundance of things. She can cook amazingly, it's almost unfair. They eat dinner together every single night and every night is something new and delicious. Seulgi can't remember the last time anyone has ever cooked for her.
Irene can sing as well. Seulgi finds this out on accident actually. She's exploring the land a bit when she comes across the woman sitting by the edge of the water. Her dress is lifted up to her thighs as her legs and feet are dipped into the blue pool. A quiet tune drifts from her lips. It's so lovely, Seulgi finds herself rooted in place, just listening. She comes to her senses before she's caught and further embarrassed for snooping. She doesn't even bring it up because she knows it's just an awkward conversation waiting to happen.
"Do you know how much longer until my ship is fixed?" Seulgi asks this question almost everyday and usually gets a random timeline of sorts, but for some reason she receives a sigh today. Irene's braiding her hair, something Seulgi again had no choice in. It went a little something like:
"Your hair is so beautiful, Seulgi." Irene runs her nimble fingers through the brown strands and Seulgi suddenly feels sensitive to the touch. "Could I braid it? Like mine?" Irene's most definitely a mythical creature. How could she possibly say no when she's standing there, looking at her through full lashes and long black hair braided down her back, decorated with the finest flowers on the planet.
Seulgi somehow ends up between Irene's legs, flowers also being braided into her hair.
Irene doesn't say anything for a long time after the sigh, so Seulgi assumes to just drop the subject but then, "Do you not like it here?" It softer than normal, actually a whisper rather than her normal quiet tone.
"What? No, that's not it!" Seulgi attempts to turn, but Irene's hands are still working. She can't possibly stay here. She doesn't even belong here. "I'm grateful that you let me stay. It's beautiful here and you've been nothing but a good host to me." Seulgi's rambling and thankful that Irene can only see the back of her head because her cheeks are tinged yet again. "It's just..." her and Irene move in sync, both ceasing all movement at once. "I don't really belong here. You said it yourself, you don't even get visitors here."
"Did I make you feel that way? Like you don't belong?" Irene sounds genuinely hurt. This time Seulgi does turn and the frown on Irene's face makes her want to erase everything she's said in the last few moments.
"Not at all, Irene. I've...I just don't really belong anywhere. I'm a traveler, remember. It's kind of my thing." She tries to soften things up, shoot a smile in Irene's direction, but it does nothing.
"Right." Irene's expression is blank. Void of any emotions really. Except her eyes, her eyes are all telling.
"Hey, did I say something wrong?" Irene doesn't look at her anymore. She just wipes her hands on her dress and stands, heading towards the front door.
"You wanna catch some butterflies, Seulgi? I think that'd be fun." Irene smiles but her eyes are swirling and blazing with something else. She doesn't know what to say so she just follows—like always.
"D-do I just step through?"
"Yes."
Turns out, Irene and her only had two more days together before her ship was fully prepared. Though, Irene didn't quite seem like herself in the past two days, she made every moment beautiful. They even swam in the lake together after catching butterflies.
Well, Seulgi slipped in somehow getting a little too overzealous trying to catch one of the fluttering creatures. One wrong step and she was sliding into the crystal waters. Irene spent all of five minutes folded in laughter, before actually trying to help the brunette out of the water.
By then, Seulgi was fed up, pulling the beauty right into the body of water alongside herself. This provoked even more laughter and bouts of kiddish splashing and shrieks. They stayed like that for awhile. Just swimming, giggling, floating. Seulgi felt as if she was back in space—weightless, engulfed in a pool of nothing. But on her back, body bobbing above the water, with Irene, who seemed a bit frightened when her body sank more than floated and held onto her arm for purchase, she felt grounded.
Strange.
"I'm hungry." This time it was her breaking the moment. Irene seemed to startle at the abruptness, falling underwater and grasping for Seulgi. That's how they ended up pressed together. Irene's breathless pants hitting Seulgi's lips. Her wide dark eyes staring into her own.
"Me too." Irene broke away, hoisting herself up the side of the bank.
The moment was gone just like that.
"Are you sure I can just walk right through?"
"Seulgi, I'm the one who created the barrier, yes!" Irene gives her a little push towards it, but for some reason her heart rattles and she plants her feet on the ground.
"Wait! Wait." She feels out of breath. It's time to go.
"What! Are you scared again? I promise it's completely painle—"
"Irene, thank you." For some reason her body moves on her own and both her hands are resting on the woman's shoulders.
"—painless, you'll be fine. Huh?" Irene's rambling come to a halt. She looks curiously at both the hands on her shoulders. "What, Seul?"
"Thank you." This feels strange, but Seulgi smiles anyway, it feels natural like this. "Thank you for taking care of me. For making everyday here amazing, and for fixing my ship. I'm grateful."
The lost look melts into something warm. A blinding smile spreads across Irene's face. "It was nothing. It gets lonely around here, the place needed some new energy." She tries to brush it off, but her eyes are spilling.
"So much for no visitors." Seulgi pokes. Irene snorts, unamused. "No seriously, thank you. I don't know how to repay you."
"Visit." Irene says without missing a beat or a shred of remorse. She's all in for once, not running from this one.
"Of course." Seulgi agrees, not feeling the need to come up with some excuse. It's possible. She might. She ignores the strange feeling bubbling in her gut as they just stare. There's not much else to say. Irene has never really been one for words and it's something Seulgi has become accustomed to. It's beautiful, she thinks, how Irene can convey so much in so little.
"You should start heading out. You have long travels ahead of you!" Seulgi doesn't miss the way Irene holds onto each hand for longer than normal before letting them drop to her sides.
"Yeah, I should, shouldn't I?" There's dry laughter bubbling in her throat and she doesn't like it. Just like she can't shake the uneasiness in her stomach.
"You should." Irene smiles, almost knowingly. It's her eyes, Seulgi finds herself stuck looking at them. Her eyes remind her of something familiar. She can't put her finger on it, but it bothers her like an itch she can't scratch. "Safe travels, Seulgi." She takes both the brunette's hands into hers, much like the day they met. This time Seulgi doesn't startle, she marvels in the touch.
"Thank you..." She leaves the statement open for some reason. Not wanting it to sound too final. It feels too wrong. Something about the steps backward, letting go of her hands, turning away from Irene, it all feels too wrong.
"Hey, Seulgi?"
She's eager to turn back, stall a little longer. Something feels off.
"I hope you find it—your place. The place you belong." This is how Irene sends her off, heart in her hands, longing for something more.
The walk back to her ship takes too long. Each step feels like a million more, she's dizzy, and lost in her thoughts. She feels naked walking across the green plains alone, in her traveler clothes and boots. It's been so long these things feel foreign to her, like they don't belong against her skin—on her feet.
She's not even half way to her ship when she kicks off the boots, carrying them in her hand as she stumbles forward.
"This is pathetic, Seul." She grits out, feeling all sorts of wrong. She can't shake the feeling. Like something is prying her heart open, wider, wider, wider. "Snap out of it." She slaps a palm against her temple but that only makes her more faint.
I hope you find it.
Seulgi doesn't even know what that's suppose to mean. It just made her head spin, like she was flying around airy and light.
The place you belong.
She doesn't belong anywhere. She simply overstayed her welcome here. It's time to move on. Onto open space and nothingness. Open. Open. Open.
When she unlatches the door to her ship, and unbearable pain rocks her stomach. It feels like she's starved. Throwing her shoes into the vehicle, she ignores it.
When she hits the first switch, the pain doubles, she gasps at the force, suddenly breathless and and in pain. She has to lay her forehead on the dashboard for far too long, eyes squeezed shut, and something aching blooming in her chest.
The place you belong.
There's heavy, warm teardrops falling onto the dash before she can stop them. She wants to stop them. Rubs furiously at her eyes, but they keep falling and falling, until her fist is completely wet.
The place you belong.
It hits her right in the gut. So hard she can't breathe and the tears just pour. There's a strangled gasp for air and a wail. When she shuts her eyes she sees a million memories flash by. One after one, it all drowns her out, suffocates her, and washes her away. She can't breathe in her tiny ship. She all but throw herself out into the grass, heaving, shaking, and sobbing into the dirt.
Belong.
The air feels even tighter out here. She's gasping for it under the weight of a million years of love.
Then she hears it.
"Seulgi!"
And like magic, the weight is lifted. Hoisted off her back and thrown into the abyss. She swears the sky opens and swallows her whole. She feels so light again. Like she's not even real.
"Irene.."
She gains some sense in her legs, staggering up all over again, bare feet pressed into the grass.
"Seulgi!" There it goes again. Like pure melodies to her ears. It feels so familiar, so pure, so much like home. She's heard that voice for an eternity, she's sure of it.
"Irene!" She shouts back weakly, finally pulling herself upright, seeing a white figure running in her directly. The sight incites something electric in her veins. Her stomach drops to the ground and she feels like she could burst into a million pieces. Every inch of her skin is ablaze with pure electricity. "Ire- Joohyun!"
She's sprinting to meet her. To hold her. To love her. It feels like it's been years.
"I found it! I found it, Joohyun! I found you."
The place you belong.
Seulgi does belong.
It was never a place. She looked within box after box, trying to fit, but it was never a place.
"Seulgi!" She's still running, wind whipping right passed her. They're so close now, she can feel it in the way the familiarity floods her insides—the way she's drowning in unfiltered love.
The moment their bodies collide, the universe lights up. One big spotlight of fate gleaming down on these two lovers, lost in time and space.
They embrace.
"I found you."