Archive of Our Own

“Right when we started to have frequent clashes, you had already turned your back on me.
So before this asteroid hits the earth in about a day,
Let me tell you my last words.”

Pain.

That was the first sensation Jongwoon felt as he came to, dull at first but it quickly grew into a throbbing ache from his head to his toes. Next was taste followed quickly by smell, the familiar scent of stale air and ozone mingling together with the metallic taste of copper that caused his pulse to race in fear.
Sound was the last to come, muffled at first and fuzzy, almost as if it were far away. It reminded him of what things sounded like when underwater or like being in a dream, but it too grew louder, persistent and annoying, like an alarm clock one couldn’t shut off.

An alarm!?

Dark eyes shot open and he was instantly struck by the nauseating feeling of vertigo. He felt his blood run cold in his veins and a sinking feeling fill his stomach; he would have puked if he had the luxury to do so, but to throw up in one’s helmet was less than ideal.
Amid the inky blackness of space, shreds of metal, chunks of plastic, shards of glass and the wrecked hull of the ship, sprawled out before him. His breaths picked up, loud within his helmet, as panic set in. He was drifting in space, he didn’t know what happened, but he was now drifting freely amid debris that could kill him in any number of ways.

He was fucked.

It was safe to say, something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.
A failed seal, ruptured fuel line, meteorites, space junk… the possibilities of such a catastrophic failure were endless at this point and not worth dwelling on as it wouldn’t change the fact that he was fifty seven million miles from earth and fucked.

Closing his eyes, the astrophysicist attempted to slow his panicked breathing and heart rate with a few deep breaths that he held and then let them out slowly; the last thing he wanted was to asphyxiate and die in the cold vacuum of space. Behind his eyelids, a memory of cherry blossoms upon a warm spring breeze surfaced; accompanied by the smiling youthful face of the lover he left behind. It was then that Jongwoon felt the fire of determination spread through him, that was right, he had made a promise and space be dammed if was he going to let break that promise. He was the main character of this story and he was going to get through this or die trying!

He opened his eyes, calmed, and no longer on the verge of a panic attack, he quickly began to check both himself and the suit as best he could. It was a miracle or simply luck that he had come out of such a disaster unscathed, but the pain he felt was still there, localized to the general torso area, but it was manageable for now, until he was able to get back to the, hopefully, still functioning parts of the ship. The systems of his suit were shot, his temperature was falling and his CO2 levels were steadily rising as the oxygen levels decreased.

“Fuck.” He uttered as he tapped on the display to try and get it work but to no avail. The scientist looked up at the debris field and narrowed his eyes as he plotted out a course back to the ship, he would have to eyeball it and pray he got the angle and velocity right, otherwise, that would be all she wrote for him.
He coughed and a small red pearl passed before Jongwoon’s eyes, and drew his attention and felt panic bloom in his mind like embers in a tinder box.

“Calm down Jongwoon, don’t think about it, you need to get back to the ship.” He muttered to himself, the panic subsiding as he took a deep breath and winced with a cry as agonizing pain shot through him like lightning. “God damnit...” he ground out before freeing himself from the rubble he had been cornered in and grabbed the back of the chair then gently pushed off and towards the first point on his journey back to the ship.

Lady luck had merciful and the damage was isolated to only a small portion of the ship near the cockpit, the rest of the ship seemed to be intact and unscathed. Thus when Jongwoon had reached the outer hatch he found that the emergency protocols had been tripped into action, sealing off the rest of the ship to prevent further damage. This is good for when there are people on the ship, but not so much when those people had been jettisoned into the great beyond and probably ceased to be. He snapped his tether onto one of the couplings on the side of the ship intended for maintenance and quickly punched in the override code then braced for any outwards burst of air when the doors opened, there was none which was a good sign that the pressure seals were working. Uncoupling himself, he carefully pulled himself into the airlock and punched the button to close the doors.

Barely a moment after the seal cleared and the room re-pressurized, the Korean scientist tore his helmet off and took a deep, painful breath of the burnt scent of ozone tinged air and let it out in a series of blood tinged coughs.

“Fuck.” He uttered breathlessly as he closed his eyes and sat slumped on the floor, short black hair matted to his sweat soaked hair, taking in deep, labored, and painful breaths. He needed to get up and keep moving to assess the damage of the ship, if any of his crewmates had survived as well or if there was even a remote chance that he could make it back to earth in one piece.
But for now he rested, he was safe for the time being and once the survival instinct in his mind subsided the memories began to filter in. The mission he and his crewmates had been tasked with, to attempt to shift asteroid HRAI-12200506’s course just enough for it to safely pass by Earth, stuff of science fiction and movies Jongwoon had thought when he first heard the briefing, but it was the only option they had in the time frame they had been given, other than a superhero miraculously showing up to save the day.
The crew had been on arrival to the asteroid, the final stretch of their 2 year journey; they had been going through their routine checklists for the final approach when it happened, a sudden shake accompanied by a loud sound like a weather balloon being popped but with a metallic edge to it, a brief flash, the shouts of his crewmates and then blackness and silence.
Ryeowook’s face swam into his memories, his smile bright and warming like a sun beam, and boisterous laughter echoing in his mind as the younger skipped ahead of him on the sun-lit path along the Seoul River. A content sigh left the older, as he watched the younger move, wishing he could capture this moment forever. The memory shattered as pain reared its ugly head, jolting him awake.
“Get up Jongwoon, get up! You can’t sleep just yet!” he growled to himself as he began to strip himself of his space suit.

A ruptured disk in his neck, a few cracked ribs, minor lacerations to the torso, arms, legs and face, internal hemorrhaging, and a slight concussion he was in rough shape but it could be worse he thought and leaned his head back against the cabinets, he could feel the adrenaline wearing off and the emotions that had been pushed to the back of his mind surge forward like a tidal wave.
His was alone, fifty seven million miles from home, and by the time he got back to the Earth, if he were even able to get back, it would be too late and everyone and everything he knew and loved would be destroyed.
A sob caught in his throat and turned into a wail as tears cascaded down his cheeks as he let the sorrow, fear and guilt wash over him hitting the lowest point of the human soul overwhelmed by grief.

Three days had passed since the incident. The five recovered bodies of his crewmates: Captain Jung Yunho, Lieutenant Jung Byunghee, Han Geng, Yang Seungho and Kim Junsu, lay in body bags on the floor of the medical ward, and after assessing the damage done to the ship and scouting for anything salvageable; Jongwoon had a plan. It wasn’t a good plan, and crazy at best, but it was a plan.
After doing the necessary calculations and running them through the ship’s backup super computer he had nicknamed HAL 9000, the success rate of his plan had a 75% chance of success which was the best he could get given the situation.

Thus he got to work.
He found the rover they would have used for the descent to the asteroid, relieved that it was operational and unscathed.
He then rigged up two extra boosters from the wreckage and extra fuel tanks for him to make it at least to earth orbit. Re-entry he would handle when he got there, if he got there, if there was even a “there” to come back to. Jongwoon shook his head and pushed the negative thoughts to the back of his mind, there would be a there to come back to, at least for a little bit.
Soon he had his ramshackle ship loaded with the bodies of his crewmates and as much extra provisions, oxygen and water that he could possibly fit.

With that he input the coordinates into the smaller ship’s computer, charted the shortest route and began his journey home.

5 years until impact.

Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory
Daejeon, South Korea
1 year until impact.

It felt real

The way the warm spring breeze brushed against Ryeowook’s flushed cheeks, the way the cherry blossom petals fell around them like a pink snowstorm. How Jongwoon stood before him, tall and imposing, alluring and dangerous, sunglasses perched precariously upon the end of his nose as if they would slide off at any moment.

“So, that’s it?” Ryeowook accused as he caught his breath, having run from their shared apartment to the bus stop where Jongwoon was about to board a shuttle to the airport. “You’re just going to turn your back on me?!”
The older’s surprised expression slowly morphed into annoyance as he motioned to the driver to give him five minutes, and roughly grabbed Ryeowook by the arm to lead him to where they could talk more privately.
“Ryeowook,” He started firmly, then closed his eyes and collected himself to calm his bubbling temper. “Wook, we’ve gone over this…”
“No. We have argued about this.” The younger quipped with a pout as he pulled his arm free from the other’s grip, earning a sigh from the older man.
“Wook, I’m not going to argue with you about this, I’m…” Jongwoon started but was cut off again.
“You’re abandoning me! You’re abandoning your parents, your brother, your friends. Have you even considered the burden placed upon us by this decision?” Ryeowook accused, his voice growing louder the more he spoke as tears gathered in his eyes. “Have you considered the consequences of what would happen if you weren’t…” the younger paused as his words caught in his throat. “If you didn’t come back?”
Jongwoon was quiet for a moment before he leaned down to be eye level with Ryeowook.
“I have considered it Wook, you don’t think I haven’t thought and agonized over this? Lost sleep for days on end because of it?” He said, his frustration bubbling over slightly as he clapped the younger on the shoulders. “It’s because of you, my family, my friends, everyone I love and hold dear that I have to go and at least try, you know that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, knowing that I had the opportunity to do something to protect those who I whole most precious and didn’t take it.”

The shuttle driver honked the horn, interrupting Jongwoon’s heated explanation and caused the older man to sigh as he straightened up and glare daggers in the direction of the driver. “Impatient bastard, that was only three minutes.” He muttered before continuing.

“Anyway, if going into space to blow up some stupid rock means you all stay safe, then you bet your ass that that’s the lengths I’ll go to make it a reality.” He finished, grabbed his bag and turned to head back towards the doors of the bus.
Ryeowook grabbed the hem of Jongwoon’s jacket, holding it firmly, forbidding him to leave like a selfish child.
“Hyung… please.” He begged as hot tears welled in his eyes and cascaded down his cheeks. “Please don’t leave!”
This earned him a soft chuckle, something Ryeowook hadn’t heard in weeks, maybe months.
“You really are a persistent bastard.” Jongwoon sighed as he turned around to face the younger and leaned in until Ryeowook could feel the man’s breath upon his face, that signature dark impish smile playing on his lips before he grasped the younger’s hand and hooked their pinkies and pressed their thumbs together.

“One day, before an asteroid hits the Earth, I’ll tell you the words I have yet to say.” He mused softly then reached up to cup the younger’s face in his hands and leaned in to press and gentle kiss to his lips, sealing the words as a promise.

Ryeowook woke with a start, the humid summer night air caressing his skin as the white noise-like static from the skewed headphones he wore played in his ears. Sitting up, he pushed the bulky headphones back and yawned.

“Welcome back to the land of the living.” A warm familiar voice mused softly from beside him.

Ryeowook jumped and turned turned, blinking blearily at the unexpected voice that had startled him, his close friend and colleague, Zhou Mi, a Chinese scientist pursuing a doctorate in astrophysics, a book in his lap and long legs stretched kicked up on the table top.

“I must have fallen asleep.” Ryeowook stated as he reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes and was about to check the time when the light charcoal grey jacket draped over his shoulders slid down to pool around his waist, it was Zhou Mi’s. The younger looked up at the man who nonchalantly turned a page in his book and felt a light blush creep into his cheeks. “Thank you.” he said quietly.

A warm smile crept over Zhou Mi’s handsome face as he turned another page in his book.
“You’re welcome,” he said softly as he placed the braided cord marker in his book and slowly closed it. “It may be summer but you’re still able to catch a cold by sleeping outside.” He stated gently, sounding like a well-meaning mother despite being a year older than the sleepy postgraduate student. “Would you like some coffee?” the lanky scientist offered as he retracted his long legs and pushed himself up out of his chair.

“Please.” Ryeowook breathed as he moved to take off the jacket and return it to it’s owner who stopped him with a gentle hand.

“Keep it, it’s chilly tonight.” Zhou Mi smiled and moved owards the doors leading into the observatory.
Ryeowook blushed a shade darker and would have protested but instead, he smiled as he watched the older as he disappeared inside, his thoughts trailing behind him before he shook his head and checked the time to distract himself. It was a little after four in the morning, which meant he hadn’t been asleep for very long.

He sighed and placed the heels of his palms on the wooden table top before him and used it to stretch his back and shoulders, then raised his arms over his head to stretch his back, hearing a few satisfying pops as he did so. He rolled his shoulders a little, earning a few more pops before he leaned back in his chair to look up at the clear night sky. An inky indigo canvas, studded with thousands of sparkling diamonds stretched out as far as the eye could see. But the plethora of pulsars, quasars and other noble gasses were not the objects that he sought; far above him, bright in the southern sky, hung the rusty colored Mars. And somewhere out there, beyond the red planet was Jongwoon.
A heavy sigh left Ryeowook at the thought of the older man and of the dream that still clung to his consciousness like a tattered veil.

It was a memory more than a dream.

That April afternoon, seven years prior and three years after the discovery of HRAI-12200506 an asteroid that through simulations had been determined to have an orbit that would lead to a collision with the Earth.
He had been a graduate student at the time, working on his degree in astrophysics with his focus being in radio astronomy and Jongwoon was his boyfriend, a post graduate working on his doctorate in physics and engineering. They had been interning at the Korean Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network Observatory in Seoul when the news of the asteroid’s status update broke.
There had been rumors circulating around the observatory of the possibility of an impact, but they were never taken as fact, but now with the hard data in place, things were buzzing with both worry, dread and in some cases excitement, though those were few and far between.
Thus when Jongwoon received a notice that he had been selected and pre-approved for a program whose purpose was to nudge the asteroid out of the way, he jumped at it.
Ryeowook on the other hand, had doubts that it would work and thus protested. It was too dangerous with way too many unknowns and too many variables of things that could go wrong.

“It’s a suicide mission!” Ryeowook argued for what seemed like the hundredth time that month, the half empty wine bottle not helping matters. “You have no idea what is out there! At least be sensible and send some probes or whatever to survey the thing before sending actual people out there!”

“Then so be it!” Jongwoon shot back as he threw a rolled up pair of socks into his bag, his volatile temper already at it’s limit as he grabbed his bag to move away from the younger. He was tired of this same argument over and over again, of how it was selfish of him and. “If it means I die to save the world then it’s worth it! One life or five lives for billions is more than a fair price to pay!”
Ryeowook let out a mirthless laugh.

“Typical!” he spat, “Going off to play the hero like in one of your action films. That savior complex of yours is really starting to kick in now, isn’t it.” His words dripped with acid as he lifted his glass of wine to his lips. He jumped, nearly dropping his glass as Jongwoon slammed down his bag.
That had been the last straw to break the proverbial back of the camel holding his temper in check as Jongwoon whirled around and advanced upon the younger, who retreated until his back was against the wall, fists slammed against the mauve surface on either side of the younger’s head hard enough to rattle the photos hanging on the walls as he leaned in close enough to smell the fruity scent of wine upon his lover’s breath.

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” He growled low through clenched teeth, barely containing his anger and the younger shrunk where he stood, sobering up as the very distinct feeling of fear seeped into the pit of his stomach. He knew of Jongwoon’s volatile temper and had witnessed his wrath only a handful of times, but this was the first time it had been directed towards him; and if he had to choose a word to describe his lover in this moment, he would have chosen murderous.

“You think that’s what this is about? That all I want is the bragging rights and hero status? Huh? Is it?!” The older accused his voice straining with the anger as it broke on the last question. “Of all people, of all the people I know on this fucking planet, I thought that you, yes YOU Kim Ryeowook! Would be the one to understand why I was doing this! Why I would risk everything, and I mean everything on such a gamble!” Tears began to cascade down the scientist’s cheeks, his emotions overwhelming him as the accumulated stress and anger gave way, leaving the man feeling weak and vulnerable as he lowered his fists and wrapped his arms around his lover and tilted forward to press his face against the younger’s shoulder.

“I guess I was wrong.” he finished quietly and gently squeezed him, seeking comfort in the one person he loved the most in the world.
Ryeowook was quiet for a moment, torn between wanting to escape from the man’s grasp and to wrap his arms around him and tell him it was okay. Slowly he set the wineglass he held down on the dresser beside him then reached up to gently wrap his arms around the older’s trembling frame and gently stroked his short black hair.

“I’m sorry Jongwoon… I’m so so sorry.” He whispered.

Bright sun and a flutter of pink cherry blossom petals filled his vision.

Spring, and with it was the memory of him, the young man with eyes full of tears, his lips spelling out a word that he couldn’t hear.
Jongwoon woke with a gasp, tears floating like crystal pearls in his helmet, a monotonous beeping in his ears as a small icon flashed in his heads up display. Panic filled him for a moment as he shook his head to read the display then let out a relieved sigh as he pressed the button to silence the alert; he had arrived at his destination, Earth, just as he had left it those 7 years ago. Another alert sounded and he glanced down at it and instantly felt the blood in his veins turn to ice. Quickly he unbuckled himself from his chair and floated as quickly as he could to look out the port side windows, it felt as if his insides had been hollowed out, leaving him cold and empty. Beyond the barrier of metal and Plexiglas, just beyond the curvature of the Earth, HRAI-12200506, its long tail spread out behind it like the wispy tendrils of a man-o-war jelly fish.
Had he miscalculated, had something gone wrong? The asteroid shouldn’t be here yet, it was too early! Jongwoon felt the cold sweat drip down his back as he quickly grabbed for the radio and took a deep breath. He prayed to god that this worked and that he was still listening.

“CQ, CQ. This is HL1JWN, Do you read? Come back.”

Ryeowook was pulled from his thoughts when a mug was placed in front of him by Zhou Mi.

“Thinking of Jongwoon again?” The taller inquired as he settled back into his chair and propped his feet up on the table once again.
“Is it that obvious?” Ryeowook replied sheepishly as he grasped the warm mug between both hands and gently blew upon the hot liquid before taking a sip, humming softly in content.
A sympathetic expression crossed Zhou Mi’s face from over his own mug as he watched the contented expression as the warm drink soothed the younger man whom he had fallen in love with. They had been dating for a little over two years now, first as friends with benefits after a drunken New Year’s tryst, then slowly allowed it to grow into something more. But dating Ryeowook felt more like he was dating two people, as Jongwoon was like a poltergeist who haunted their relationship, never seen but was always there.
Zhou Mi had known the physicist prior to his departure to the stars and although they had not been close, if things had been different, he believed that they could have been. Regardless, it pained him to see the dedication Ryeowook had to someone who may well be long gone from the world of the living go unrewarded.
When news of the mission and it’s subsequent failure was made public, it nearly broke the young scientist. That was three years ago and the fact that the younger still searched for Jongwoon as diligently as he did, well it was either denial or a testament to his stubbornness and how much faith he had in his former lover.

“Earth to Zhou Mi~ Hello~ anyone home?” Ryeowook’s voice cut through the older’s thoughts, bringing him back to the present. The younger stood next to him, his hand out as though he had been waving it in front of his face.
“Sorry, I must have become lost in thought.” Zhou Mi chuckled softly as he set his coffee down and reached out to pull Ryeowook onto his lap.

“Well don’t become too lost, I don’t need to have two boyfriends lost in space.” The younger joked as he settled back into the older’s lap and snuggled up against his chest. They were quiet for several minutes, watching the stars as they traveled across the sky before Ryeowook let out a deep sigh.

“You must think I’m crazy, to keep up the search and hope for this long.”

“Quite the contrary.” Zhoumi hummed as he reached up to run his fingers through his lover’s short auburn dyed hair, something he and found soothed the younger when he was troubled. “I support your efforts to the fullest amount. It’s like…” he paused to think of the right words. “It’s like a harbor master keeping a light on for the ships in the fog, telling them that this is the way home. Some may think it’s a waste of time and energy, but when those ships return the effort was well worth it.” he smiled as he reached over to lightly take the younger’s hand and twined their fingers together. “But there is a tiny part of me that does think it’s a little crazy if I were to be completely honest, but it’s a very small part.” He chuckled.

Ryeowook smiled at the man’s words then laughed. “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that last part, but thank you for your honestly and support, I really appreciate it Mimi, thank you for sticking with me for all of these years.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Zhou Mi murmured as he smiled leaning in to capture the younger’s lips for a loving kiss.

Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
Daejeon, South Korea

Heechul hummed as he strolled through the empty halls of the Mission Control building of the South Korean Space agency. This was the norm for the nightshift, even before the impending end of the world via asteroid, which didn’t bother the communications director; in fact he quite enjoyed the quiet and vacantness of the building, it made him feel slightly rebellious in a strange way. He balanced the steaming hot bowl of instant ramen and tub of microwaveable tteokbokki in one hand as he swiped the badge that hung around his neck then entered the empty control room.
But someone had to keep the boat running, even up until the end of the world, and given that he didn’t have much in terms of close friends and family, he took the bid to ride out the end of the world shit storm alone. Setting down his meal, and plopping down in the chair, the man tapped the space bar to wake up the computer before him and the paused game that filled most of the screen.

“Dude, I thought you were bringing enough for everyone.” A gruff sounding man complained from where he sat a couple rows left, behind Heechul, his gangster-like face illuminated by a computer screen.

“Pfft, as if, ya dumb Ox.” Heechul rolled his eyes as he pulled his headset over his ears then kicked back in the chair to eat his meal. “You have two legs Kangin and I know that you know where the kitchen is.”
Kangin frowned at the older’s reply and indignantly stood as if he were going to march over to where the red headed communications director sat.

“Yo, I know it’s the end of the world, and you’re two lonely old men, but if you’re are going to flirt, do it somewhere away from the rest of us.” A younger man, Kyuhyun, snarked and reached over to high five a thinner young man, Changmin, next to him.

To that Heechul choked on his noodles and Kangin flushed before sputtering. “You two imps are so dead!”

“Kyuhyun! I swear to god I will steal your laptop and burn it!” Heechul shouted as soon as he was able to.

“Ooooo~ I’m so scared Heenim!” Kyuhyun simply laughed.

“Come on you guys,” A heavier set man said from where he sat on the far right of the hall, face illuminated by a schematic of some thing or another. “If you’re going to insist on wanting to kill each other, I vote for use of knives on the roof.”

“Pfft a knife fight? What time period are you living in Shindong?” Lee Joon retorted jokingly. “Kyu wouldn’t stand a chance; Kangin would totally demolish him in three moves.”

As the others joked and teased, Kangin sat down, muttering something about him not being lonely or old and noticed that one of the icons on the start bar was flashing with a notification.

“Uh, Heechul?” He said with uncertainty and looked up to see the older redhead holding Kyuhyun in a headlock, demanding he apologize while the younger cried uncle. “Heechul!”

“What?! Can’t you see that I’m busy?!” Heechul grunted, “Take back what you said you snarkly little shit.”

“There’s a thing blinking on my screen, it says there is an incoming signal.” Kangin read aloud. Heechul rolled his eyes and reluctantly dropped Kyuhyun who rubbed his neck and cussed out the older as he walked up to where Kangin sat, and leaned over him.

“Move over ya big lug, you’re cramping my style.” He muttered as the younger man moved over and watched as Heechul moved the mouse around the screen and tapped on the blinking window.

“Hello, this is Space Command Mission Control out of Daejeon, South Korea. This is a restricted channel; please verify your credentials and broadcasting location, over.” He said quickly, his usually sultry tone turning professional and to the point.

“Mission Control?” A familiar voice came through and caused Heechul’s entire body to freeze, there was no way he was still alive. “This is communications officer Kim Jongwoon, call sign Hotel Lima one Juliet Whiskey November with the Bulgae team; do you read? Over.”

“I don’t fucking believe it…” Kangin said in shocked disbelief, “There’s no way that’s him…. it’s impossible for him to…. OW!” the man cried out as Heechul reached out to pinch him hard on the arm. “The hell was that for hyung?” he pouted and rubbed the pinched spot.

“I had to makes sure I wasn’t dreaming.” Heechul explained simply as he licked his lips and replied. “Hotel Lima one Juliet whiskey November… oh fuck it, Jongwoon, we read you five by five on our end, what’s your status over?” he said giving up the formality.

“Heechul is that you?” Jongwoon’s voice came through with a relieved laugh. “Who let you man a radio?”

“The same people who sent you, someone with a fear of heights, into space.” Heechul smirked before getting back to business. “Now, I repeat, what’s your status? How many are with you? Over.” He said and held his breath as he waited for Jongwoon’s answer, hoping that it wasn’t what had haunted him since news of the failure was made public.

A few minutes of silence passed and Heechul’s fingers tapped impatiently on the desktop before the radio crackled to life again.
“Status is … not good, to be honest.” Jongwoon said, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Han’s dead Heenin, the rest of the crew as well; something… something happened with the ship before we were able to approach the asteroid and no one made it… I-I’m so sorry. Over.” He finished solemly.
Heechul was very quiet for a long while.

“Hyung? Is everything okay?” Kangin asked as he looked up at the communication’s director.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” The redhead said with a sniffle as he quickly wiped at his eyes. “I just got some dust or an eyelash in my eye, that’s all.” He lied, which he knew Kangin knew, which is why he didn’t fight back as the bear of a man quickly reached over to grasp his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, by this point the others in the room had gathered around.

“Kangin, stay on the line with Jongwoon, I’m sure he’ll love to hear your stupid voice after so long. I… I need to get some air.” Heechul stated as he slipped off the headset and handed it to the younger man. “break those and you’re dead.” He added and turned to leave before turning back. “Get back to work all of you! We have an astronaut up there that we have to bring down without frying. Figure out the details of everything, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
The group dispersed quickly to their desks and began to get to work as Heechul walked out the door, down the hall and up to the roof, he needed some air and also to make a phone call that he really didn’t want to make, but would for Jongwoon who was like a brother to him.

Ryeowook was sound asleep, his rosy cheeks warm against Zhou Mi’s bare chest as he gently stroked his fingers through his lover’s mussed hair, a blanket wrapped around their nude forms and protecting against the chill of the night air.
A light buzzing alerted him to his phone that lit up on the table and he slowly moved, careful to not disturb his lover’s slumber, as he reached for the small device, read the caller ID and swiped his thumb over the screen.

“Hello Heechul, it’s not like you to call so late, is everything alright?” He answered quietly as he sat back, covering himself up again.

“No, everything is not fucking alright Zhou Mi.” Heechul said bluntly then took a deep breath and sighed deeply. “I’m sorry, there’s been a development, is Ryeowook there?” Zhou Mi let the initial rude reply pass as his brow furrowed a bit.

“Yeah, he’s sleeping though.” He said, but could feel the younger stir to consciousness. “hold on.”

“Who’re y’talking to?” Ryeowook mumbled and rubbed at sleep filled eyes cutely.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” the older asked and received a sleepy ‘no’ in response. “Heechul called, he wants to talk to you.”
The younger’s brow furrowed in confusion as he processed that information, what would heechul want to talk with him at this hour?

“I’ll talk to him.” he said and shifted to hold his hand up out of the blanket to accept the phone.

“Alright,” he said to wook then uncovered the receiver. “Heechul, here’s Wook.” He said and handed the phone to the younger.

“Do you know what time it is?” Ryeowook asked, feeling a little cranky now that he was awake.

“Jongwoon is alive.”
As soon as those three words registered in Ryeowook’s mind he sat up quickly, nearly falling off the chair as he did so, all tiredness erased from his small form.
“HE’S WHAT?!”
Heechul held the phone away from his ear with a wince as the younger cussed him out over the phone. “Wook, WOOK! Calm down, okay. We just found out ourselves an hour ago, but I suggest you get your ass over here asap.”
Ryeowook took a breath and nodded. “Yeah…. Yeah you’re right…. I’ll… I’ll be right over, and Heechul… thanks.” He finished then hung up, his whole being feeling both euphoric and numb at the same time as he handed the phone back to Zhou Mi who tilted his head slightly in question.
“Ryeowook? Everything okay?”
“Heechul said that Jongwoon is alive… That he’s talking to them right now over at KARI.” The younger said, his voice distant as everything processed, still unable to accept that what he heard was true. “He said to come over…. Should we?”
“Oh, baby.” Zhoumi cooed as he wrapped his arms around the younger and held him tightly, he could feel the smaller body trembling in his hold, at a complete loss for words, what do you say to someone whose boyfriend before you comes back from the dead? Thus after a few minutes he gently grasped Ryeowook’s biceps and looked the younger in the eye. “You better believe we’re going down there, you’ve spent every night since I first knew you searching for him, so I will drag you there if I have to.”
Hearing that, ryeowook’s face crumbled as tears erupted from his eyes accompanied by hiccupping sobs. Zhoumi sighed slightly as he gently pulled his lover to his chest and rocked him as he stroked his hair. “It’ll be okay, sweetheart. It’ll be okay, I promise.” He murmured soothingly and began to stroke Ryeowook’s hair.

After a few minutes Ryeowook had calmed down, he still sniffled and had hiccups but they quickly got dressed and climbed into the car and drove over to the space agency, Heechul let them in and escorted them to the command center, filling the two in on what they had learned and how Jongwoon was the only survivor, that a rescue mission was too risky or simply impossible to do. Once they reached the main command center Heechul lead them over to where Kangin sat chatting and jotting down notes as he talked then turned and gave the others a small wave and told Jongwoon to hold on a moment.
“Good job Kangin, I’ll take over.” Heechul said as the burly man took off the headphones and handed them to the redhead.

“Ryeowook? Oh my god is that you?!” The older said as he spotted the younger behind heechul and rolled the chair over to catch the younger in a warm hug. “It’s been ages man! What have you been doing? I’ve missed you!!” he exclaimed then noticed Zhou Mi and lowered his voice. “Who’s this guy?”
“Youngwoon?! I thought you had been deployed, what are you doing here???” Ryeowook replied with his own question before blushing and holding a laugh in. “Youngwoon, this is Zhou Mi; Zhou Mi This is Youngwoon, better known as Kangin.” He introduced the two. “Zhou Mi is my…. Well he’s my boyfriend.”
The two greeted each other with a firm handshake and a nod. “You’d better be taking good care of him, I practically raised this kid.”
“Oh my god! You did not!” Ryeowook rolled his eyes and gave Kangin a punch to the arm. “You’re such an exaggerator.”
“Ow~! That was uncalled for.” Kangin pouted as he rubbed his arm then grabbed the younger in a weak headlock and ruffled his hair affectionately, earning several loud complaints from his victim.
Zhou Mi watched the interaction and couldn’t help but laugh, the sound musical as he covered his mouth politely. “I’m glad to see that Ryeowook as such good friends, It’s a pleasure to meet you Kangin, I have been doing my best to take care of him.”
“Ryeowook,” Heechul called and couldn’t help but shake his head at the other two. “Kangin let him go, Jongwoon is ready for him.” he said and held up the headset.

With a small laugh Kangin let the younger go and gave him a light push towards Heechul, who wordlessly handed Ryeowook the headset and placed a light hand on his shoulder then moved to give him some privacy.

“Alright everyone, pack it up, we’re heading up to the roof! We’re going to have a send-off in fucking style!” He yelled as he grabbed kangin by the back of the shirt collar and looped an arm with Zhou Mi’s. “Ryeowook, come join us when you’re done in here, we’ve said everything we wanted to say to him. As for you lover boy, spill all of the details of you two that I’ve missed out on since our last conversation.” He grinned at Zhou Mi as he lead the two out of the room, leaving the younger all alone.
Ryeowook nodded then looked down at the headset for a long minute then heard the small muted sound of a voice in it and jumped slightly and pulled the headset on.

“J-Jongwoon?”

“Wookie?”

Tears welled up in Ryeowook’s eyes as he heard his long lost lover’s voice and let out a shaky breath. “Where have you been? I thought you were… we all thought you had…” he couldn’t bring himself to say it, almost as if it were a jynx.
“I’m so sorry Wookie, I’m so, so, so sorry sweetheart.” Jongwoon smiled as tears ran down his cheeks, just hearing the younger’s voice was enough for him. “You were right, I should have never gone on this mission, it was a huge mistake.” He said and could hear Ryeowook’s laugher and truly could die at peace now.

“See, this is why you should listen to me more often.” Ryeowook teased as he wiped tears from his eyes. “I kept looking for you, even after they said there were no survivors, I continued to search for you, hoping for even the slimmest chance that you had survived and here you are now, lucky huh?”

“Yeah, it’s really lucky.” Jongwoon said and paused for a moment. “How are my parents and my brother? Are they?”

“They… they’re at peace now.” Ryeowook hesitated, “There was a nice service for you and they moved on, but it wasn’t the same… and once it was said that the world was going to end, they opted to go on their terms, a lot of people chose to do that, my own parents did as well.” He paused, his chest aching at the memory and the brief service that was held for them. “Their service was nice, brief, and they loved you very much, your parents wanted you to know that.”
Jongwoon was quiet for a few moments as the information sunk in that he was essentially an orphan and felt a new surge of grief wash over him like a tidal wave, but his attention was drawn by a flashing light on the instrument panel and he cursed.

“Ryeowook, Thank you…. Honestly, thank you for everything you’ve done for me in my life, and for taking care of my family. I don’t deserve you, you’ve always been too good for me.”

“Don’t say that Jongwoon, you’re one of the best things that has ever happened to me, I couldn’t ask for anyone better.” He said and licked his lips. “I love you Jongwoon, I always have, and I always will, in this life and into the next... you had better find me again!”

Jongwoon laughed,
“I will Wookie, I’ll be waiting for you. And… Ryeowook, because I haven’t said it… I love y…” the line went dead as a thunderous boom sounded and shook the building.

“I know, I’ve always known. See you soon Jongwoon.” Ryeowook said quietly as he took off the headset and set it upon the table, then reached up to wipe his eyes with his hands, Jongwoon was gone, for real this time. It hurt but he was relieved.

Thus the younger stood and walked out of the control room and joined the others who were on the roof, bottles of soju filled a cooler that he assumed heechul had either hoarded or raided from the local convenience store and walked over to Zhou Mi and sat quietly next to him, watching the small debris that fell from the sky and the fiery ball that hurdled towards them.
Zhoumi looked over as Ryeowook sat down and scooted over to wrap his arm around the younger and pull him close, rubbing his shoulder gently as his lover leaned into his embrace and let out a deep sigh.

“It’s over, for real this time.” The older didn’t say anything and just squeezed the younger and pressed a kiss to his auburn hair and for Ryeowook; that was enough.

“Ahem! Everyone! I would like to propose a toast!” Heechul announced as he held up a bottle of soju before him, the green bottle glowing in the light of the rising sun, everyone else lifted their bottles high, as well and looked to the redhead and what he was going to say.
“To those we’ve lost! To the brave bastards who went to space: Jung Yunho, Jung Byungee, Han Geng, Yang Seungho, Kim Junsu, Kim Jongwoon!” He said and took a drink, the others following suit. “To the friends, families and loved ones we lost in the last few years!” he drank again, again the other’s following suit. “To this god damn bastard hell rock! Go to hell you shit head!” he cursed and chugged half the bottle before Kangin reached up to gently pull the older down and held onto him as he sobbed openly, too drunk to care about what anyone thought about him at this point.
And thus the impromptu party continued; good company and good cheer all around as the world came to an end.

“If a small asteroid back in time encounters you again under this parting, on that day, today, and the day after as well – I will sincerely tell you how I feel without a single lie.”