A/N: this one is dedicated to sydney~ thanks for inspiring me to write again. i started writing this last december and i've been writing little by little since then. this is inspired and not-so-loosely based on a mobile game called "opus: rocket of whispers." while i was playing it last year, i kept imagining seulrene as the main characters and i felt like adding more details to the story... so i ended up writing this. hope you enjoy :) (note: mentions of members from fromis_9 bc i can kek)

Seulgi was going crazy. The voices around her were getting worse with each passing day. All she asks was for one night, just one night where the voices would leave her alone so she can sleep peacefully. But she knew that it wouldn't happen. She has been hoping for way too long. Long enough to wonder why she hasn't been a part of them yet. 

Like every night, Seulgi got up from her bed and sat in front of her heater with her favorite blanket wrapped around her. It was a wonder how there was still power present in their city, or the world, despite everything that had happened.

Even if she was the only person left in their city, she didn't feel alone. The voices kept on going back to her. She felt them. They seek peace like she does, but their peace depended on her. They knew that she can do it, but she couldn't. 

She wasn't enough. 

-

The snow crunching under her boots was a sound she found comfort and sadness in. Comfort because it meant she can still live even in this bizarre situation, and sadness because it has only been her footsteps she has heard walking on the snow. 

Human footsteps, that is. 

Her little husky partner, Spark, has kept her company for as long as she could remember. The dog never left her side, especially when she was out gathering some materials in the empty city. He was one of the things that kept her sane and she was thankful that he was always there to cheer her up whenever she felt down. 

While walking around the city, the ghosts would still talk to her. It was bothersome. She would always hear their voices clearly no matter how much she tried to block them off. They never get tired of asking when she was going to take them home, but there are times when they would actually help her out even though she never spoke about what she needed to them. 

"If you walk straight ahead, you'll see old man Jiho's shop. There should be some batteries there."

Seulgi walked up the snow covered path and saw what the ghost told her about. Like every other door in the city, it was left open. Possibly because everyone in the city ran out as fast as they could when the evacuation announcement was made from their city tower. 

As she rummaged through the different boxes, drawers and desks, she managed to find the batteries that she needed. She also found an old newspaper article and kept it inside her coat pocket. Spark also found a broken transistor radio at the corner of the shop. 

Everyday Seulgi found junk and she wondered how long can she live by depending on them. 

-

They were walking up a neighboring city to check what leftover resources they have. It was a risk. Seulgi wasn't sure what she was going to find, but she had nothing better to do back in her cabin. Empty untraveled roads also meant no voices and she desperately needed that. 

While they were walking, Spark stopped his tracks and looked straight ahead with his ears perked up. This was alarming for Seulgi. The last time she saw Spark like this was when she almost died. 

"Wolves," Seulgi whispered as she started to load the shotgun she was holding. 

It was a traumatizing memory. As soon as Seulgi recovered from the wounds she got from the wolf, she went to Officer Kyungho's station and got his trusty shotgun to save herself from any other possible danger. 

She held her ground as she waited for the wolf to come into her sight. She aimed at the direction where Spark was growling at while her finger was ready to pull the trigger. 

Spark started barking and ran to where he was looking at. Seulgi quickly followed him and when she saw Spark stop, she quickly held up her shotgun and aimed at... a cat?

Confused was an understatement. Seulgi has never seen another living creature other than herself, Spark and the few wolves that roamed around the forest. The dog still kept barking and growling at the cat and it was quite interesting how the feline seemed unbothered. 

Just then, Seulgi heard the sound of the snow crunching and she quickly held up her shotgun again. 

"Nimbus! You stupid cat, don't get yourself killed!"

"They're back," Seulgi groaned as she tried to shake off the voices inside her head. 

At the end of her sight, Seulgi finally saw something coming into her vision. It was covered in a dark coat and it was standing on two legs. 

"What the..."

"Wait! Don't shoot!"

Seulgi couldn't believe her eyes. Was she really seeing another human being before her or was she starting to have hallucinations? She still kept her aim at the girl as Spark continued barking at the cat. 

"Please don't shoot! I'm here to help!" The girl desperately shouted. "And Nimbus!! Can you stop annoying the dog? You're the only one I have left!"

After hearing those, Seulgi put down her shotgun and she could clearly hear the girl sigh in relief. She quickly ran to Nimbus and started petting it in her arms. Spark ran back to Seulgi but he kept his stance. 

"Who are you?" Seulgi cautiously asked as she watched the other girl talk to her cat. It was such an odd sight and she still wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real. 

The girl looked at her with a grin as she said, "I'm Irene, a witch of the forty third generation from the Galactic Order."

-

Seulgi couldn't believe it. She thought the plague took out everyone, even the witches from the Galactic Order. How can this one witch survive after everything that happened? But then again, she could ask herself the same thing too.

"From the look on your face, I can see that you have a lot of questions," Irene said after roaming around Seulgi's workshop. "And I have some questions too. When was the last time you made a rocket?"

"It's been a while," Seulgi sighed. "I didn't see the point in making one anymore since there was no witch to conduct the ceremony."

"I am here now!" Irene said with a big smile.

The smile quickly changed to a frown and Joohyun started walking closer to Seulgi. She eased out the crease in between Seulgi’s eyebrows and said, "You frown too much and you seem so restless."

Seulgi scoffed and removed Irene’s hands away from her face. "Can’t you hear them? The ghosts talk to me everyday. They won’t even let me sleep in peace."

"I’m sorry," Irene said with a sad look on her face. "I promise that I will help you. But right now, they need us more and I need your help..."

Sadness and hope. Those were the two things that Seulgi saw in the witch’s eyes. She stared at her long and hard before she finally had the courage to answer back. 

"Okay."

-

The whirring sound of Seulgi's electric hand saw could probably be heard all throughout the city. When the piece of the abandoned car door finally got detached, she carried it over to her sled where Spark was watching her curiously. She continued tearing the car apart for the spare metal parts Joohyun asked her.

It confused her at first, how the witch insisted that she would make the rocket while Seulgi would gather the things that she would need. Weren't witches only assigned to conduct the space burials? And rocket engineers were the ones who would build the rockets? But Seulgi didn't complain. She didn't want to work again in the workshop. It only made her feel worse.

After gathering all the scrap parts, Seulgi was rummaging around in Lady Yujin's drawer, she couldn't help but notice the fine jewelry the woman once owned and created. She had a drawer filled with copper wire rings designed with such meticulous technique. It was a shame how people left everything they had, and now it seemed like these things had no value at all. 

She grabbed a handful of the rings and headed back home with Spark and the sled at tow.

-

It was getting chillier and Seulgi noticed that Irene's clothes weren't enough to warm her up in this weather. The rocket engineer, or scrap collector, told the witch she would grab her some new clothes and she didn't expect the witch to enthustiastically join her.

"You could have just stayed back, you know?" Seulgi said as she walked along the path going to the Jung's tailor shop.

"I could, but I wanted to walk around and see what you have around here."

"What the city has around here," Seulgi corrected her.

The tailor shop was right up a mountain. There used to be a shorter path going there but the road has been blocked by fallen trees and stacks of snow. Seulgi wasn't sure if Irene could handle walking through this long and cold path.

As they passed through familiar paths that Seulgi once cherished, she was surprised when she felt Joohyun hold her wrist and pulled her to stop. 

"This place," Irene said in complete awe and Seulgi could see the gleam in her eyes. "This is where I did my first space burial."

Seulgi looked up at the monument where Irene was looking. A small smile formed at her lips as she remembered the excitement she had whenever the space burial ceremonies happened. The memories of seeing witches and rockets flying out to the stars brought her so much happiness as a child. It was such a wondrous thing to her back then and she swore she would do anything to become part of it. 

"I never thought I'd see this place again," Irene said softly before turning to Seulgi. "But I guess the universe knew that I needed this."

There was this look of newfound determination and hope in Irene's eyes. But for some reason, Seulgi felt her cheeks heating up as the witch continued to look at her. 

"Uhm," Seulgi coughed as she removed Irene's grip on her wrist. "Let's keep going before it gets dark."

-

The rocket was done. 

Seulgi helped Irene place the rocket in the launch pad and do a final check on everything. She tried her best to block off all the voices that were coming from the rocket. They were louder than normal - anticipation rising before they reach the stars.

"Rocket launch in three!" Irene shouted.

"Finally," Seulgi said under her breath.

"Two!"

Seulgi clasped her hands.

"One!"

The rocket launched and Seulgi let out the breath she was holding. She started to hear less of the voices and more of the measurements Irene was saying while looking at the rocket go to the sky. But her relief was quickly changed to worry when the rocket started falling. The voices were slowly coming back.

"Irene?" Seulgi worriedly looked at the witch. "Isn't it supposed to go the other way around?"

"I may have miscalculated..." Irene cautiously said as she watched the rocket crash at the forest next to where they were standing.

Seulgi was in disbelief. Irene looked at her with sorry eyes but she couldn't look back at her when she started to hear the voices clearly once again.

"Why are we back here?"

"Are we with the stars yet, mom?"

"How much longer will it take..."

-

Fifth rocket, fail.

Ninth rocket, fail.

Thirteenth rocket, fail.

"I thought you were a witch! This is our thirteenth rocket, but not a single successful launch." Seulgi shouted, anger and frustration clearly present. "Are you even really a witch? 

"We're almost there. I promise," Irene replies with sorry eyes.

"You always say that!" Seulgi angrily shouted and slammed the door as she went in her cabin.

-

On their 17th attempt, they ran out of fuel to use for the rocket. The old oil plant was too far for a day trip so Seulgi started packing a tent and a heater. She also started reviewing the map she found a few days ago. It has been a while since she went to the oil plant.

Irene came in knocking on her door and asked, "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

"Can I come with you?"

Seulgi quickly and turned to look at the witch. She couldn't be serious, right?

"I know you'll bring along Spark but..."

"It's better if you stay and work on the rocket. It's too dangerous, Irene. I don't want..." you to get hurt, Seulgi tried to say but it didn't come out of .

"You don't want me to come along," Irene continued with a disappointed sigh. She walked closer to Seulgi and held her hand. "But I want to go with you. I don't want you to travel alone. I don't think I can handle the thought of not knowing where you are or what happened to you if you don't come back."

Seulgi couldn't define what she was feeling. It had been so long since she felt... cared about? It was a feeling she longed for, but now that she was feeling it again, it felt foreign. There was a warm feeling brewing on her chest. She held Irene's hand tighter and said, "Okay."

-

Inside their tent, they both had their own heaters but for some reason, Irene would always snuggle close to Seulgi. The latter would always try to push Irene back to her side of the tent. Her attempts were fruitless because the witch would always find her way back beside her. At first, Seulgi thought Irene was doing it on purpose but the witch was fast asleep. Eventually, she gave up and let her be. At least one of them was sleeping peacefully.

When morning came, Irene was in a good mood. She was whistling a happy tune while helping Seulgi pack up the tent they used.

"Slept well?" Seulgi asked as she prepared the sled.

"Yeah and it was weird because it felt warmer than most nights," Irene replied with a smile.

Seulgi wanted to then, but decided not to. She didn't want to ruin Irene's good mood. Seeing Irene smile made her smile too.

-

The day has come.

Rocket number 17 was on the launch pad and Irene was doing last minute checks before take off. Seulgi covered her ears when Irene pressed the launch button but nothing happened. Confusion and worry were clearly seen on Irene's face as she checked everything once again. Seulgi ran up closer to the rocket and started to ask Irene what she could do to help out. Irene tried her best to put her thoughts together but the rocket suddenly had a loud whirring noise. When Irene realized what was happening, the rocket exploded.

"Seulgi!"

-

Seulgi wakes up with pain on her back and she finds Irene seated in an uncomfortable position beside her bed. She tried reaching out for her but she immediately felt pain all throughout her body. Her loud groans caused Irene to wake up.

"Hey, you're awake," Irene said as she brused some of Seulgi's stray hair on her forehead. "Finally. I don't know what to do if I lost you."

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost a week."

Irene started retelling Seulgi everything that happened after the rocket explosion. It was unfortunate that Seulgi was standing near where the rocket engine was. It overheated and it caused the rocket to malfunction and explode during the launch. Seulgi got a bad wound on her back which Irene has been taking care of for the past week. She also admitted that she tried working on the rocket but she couldn't. She couldn't concentrate on working when she knew Seulgi was lying unconscious in the cabin.

She also told her what she planned to do for the next rocket. She has been designing cooling coils that would be attached around the rocket's frame so it wouldn't overheat anymore.

Seulgi looked over at the floor and saw pieces of scrap paper with drawings and calculations of what Irene was explaining. She couldn't focus anymore on what Irene was telling her. She just stared at Irene with a familiar feeling growing in her chest.

With the little energy she had, she reached out to touch Irene's hand and this made the witch stop from her rambling.

"Thank you," Seulgi said softly. She wasn't sure if she saw it right, but a light blush colored Irene's cheeks as she gave her a warm smile.

-

Everyday Seulgi had this urge to help Irene make the rocket but whenever she remembered Irene telling her, "No, you rest and I work" with such an authorative tone, she sighs and goes back on working on the transistor radio she found. There has been some progress since she found it. It was starting to pick up some signals but mostly static could be heard.

She was getting bored and decided to go to Irene's cabin with a granola bar in hand. Irene didn't allow her to help her make the rocket but she didn't mention anything about visiting her.

When she knocked in the witch's cabin, she found Irene finalizing her blueprint with Nimbus lying down on a stack of papers on her desk. When Irene saw her, the witch perked up and said, "Seulgi! Good thing you're here. I think I have a problem."

Seulgi thought Irene was going to ask her something about her designs. Irene acknowledges that she's a rocket engineer but it was the first time the witch seemed like she needed some help with the design. Confidence grew in Seulgi as she walked closer to the messy desk. She handed over the granola bar to Irene, which the latter was thankful for. While Irene was busy opening the snack, Seulgi glanced over her work. It seems like Irene has it all done, though?

"I have the cooling coil design, but I don't have a refrigerant," Irene sighs as she took a bite of the snack.

Oh.

"There used to be this refrigerant manufacturing plant up in the mountain but I haven't tried going there yet," Seulgi unconsciously started speaking her thoughts out. "Going there might be risky. The wind is awfully strong up there and it might take around four days to travel back and forth by foot."

Seulgi fell silent as she started planning the trip to the plant inside her head. She knew it was going to be tough, so she needed to be extra prepared for it. Her injury may cause some problems but she didn’t want to bring Irene down. 

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard Irene say, “I’ll do it.”

"Are you crazy? It's too dangerous! You're not used to going around too. It's better if I do it." Seulgi said worriedly. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"No. I'll do it," Irene said again, but with the authorative tone Seulgi was all too familiar with.

She knew she wouldn't win this argument.

-

After double checking everything Irene has packed, Seulgi looked at her with worried eyes. "You know that you don’t have to travel alone, right? Like that time we went to the oil plant together..."

"But this time is different." Irene walked closer to the taller girl and touched the portion of her back where her wound was. At the contact, Seulgi felt a chill run through her spine. “You’re still injured and I don’t want you to get more hurt.”

"You care so much about me..." Seulgi said under her breath. She wasn’t sure if Irene heard it or not, but when the shorter girl went on her toes and gave her a kiss on her cheek, she knew that she heard it. 

"I really do," Irene said with so much care and love in her eyes. 

Love. 

Seulgi felt like her heart was going to fly out her chest. She didn’t think she would experience this after the tragedy. It felt so unreal to feel this way again, but she knew it was real when she felt Irene hugging her close. 

"Come back safely, okay?" Seulgi asked and Irene nodded. 

-

Worried? Yes. Anxious? Definitely. Scared? Undeniably so. 

It’s the fourth day since Irene left to get the refrigerant from the mountains but she hasn’t returned yet. When Seulgi woke up that morning, she was excited to finally see Irene coming back to their cabin. But as each hour passed by without Irene in sight, she felt like her world was crumbling down.

Without any second thoughts, she started packing her own things. She headed out to the mountains as soon as she was ready. 

-

The wind was getting rougher as Seulgi went up on the mountain. She knew it was going to be rough at the top of the mountain, but she didn’t anticipate it would be this rough while going up. When she was at the foot of the mountain, she thought it was going to be an easy hike since everything was peaceful down there. It turned out to be a total lie since she was experiencing a complete contrast of what she initially thought. A calm before the storm. 

It wasn't something she expected and her worries for Irene just doubled. She flashes back to the little argument they had while Irene was packing. She tried convincing Irene to wear more jackets, but the witch was stubborn. And she used her authoritive tone again. Her stupid authoritive tone. 

Seulgi spots something on the ground and recognizes it as one of the canned tunas Irene brought with her. It was open and empty. "Irene was here," Seulgi said as she picked the can up. 

The wind blew stronger from where she was standing, but her determination was stronger to find Irene. 

-

Her knees got weak when she saw Irene lying down lifelessly on the snow. 

"Irene!" Seulgi screamed and ran to her. She quickly checks if Irene's heart was still beating. When she heard and felt Irene's heart beating from her chest, a wave of relief washes over Seulgi. She removed her gloves and held Irene's face closely, hoping it would provide some extra warmth. But feeling the cold skin against her touch made her alarm bells go off. 

"Stay with me, Irene!" Seulgi shouted as she continued sharing her warmth. "Just hang in there, okay? I got you."

Seulgi looked around the area and saw the sled with all the refrigerant Irene needed. From what Seulgi can guess, Irene was on her way down but the weather was too cold for the witch to handle. Luckily, she packed an extra jacket for Irene (thanks to their argument) and wrapped it around the unconscious girl. She also took off her own scarf and put it on Irene, making sure her face was covered from the strong wind. 

In the sled, Seulgi placed her backpack along with the refrigerants as she carried Irene on her back, ignoring the pain she was feeling. She would definitely get scolded with her choices, but Irene was more important than her healing wound. 

-

Inside Irene’s cabin, Seulgi set up all the heaters around the witch's bed. Irene's body temperature was slowly going back up since they arrived. It has been a few hours since then, and the fatigue was slowly creeping up in Seulgi's system. She settled herself in her sleeping bag next to Irene's bed. 

Just when she was about to fall asleep, she immediately sat up at the sound of Irene groaning in pain. She quickly went to her side, held her hand and said, "Irene, I’m right here. It’s okay. You’re safe."

Irene looked at her with watery eyes. Seulgi could see how scared Irene was and felt her heart breaking at the sight. "I got you, Irene." At the softness of Seulgi's voice, Irene’s tears fell down to her cheeks and she pulled Seulgi into a hug. 

"I was so worried while waiting for you. I couldn’t stay still. I packed and left without any second thoughts." Seulgi wanted to say more, but she couldn’t. Not when she felt Irene’s lips against hers. 

"Wow." Surprised. Amazed. Confused. Seulgi felt all sorts of things and she felt her cheeks heating up. 

"I couldn’t resist," Irene smiled as she pulled Seulgi closer. The taller girl swore she felt her heart skip a beat. "I almost died, but you saved me. And you’re being adorable right now."

Seulgi felt like her heart was soaring. The eye contact they held conveyed so much feelings. She wanted to kiss Irene again and when she saw Irene looking at her lips, she knew she wanted it too. 

She can do this all night. 

-

The two of them cuddled on Irene’s bed. Sharing each other’s warmth they needed. In the short time they spent like this, Seulgi could conclude that Irene liked to cuddle and she liked stealing kisses. It was as if she can’t seem to have enough. 

"Can I ask you something?" Seulgi nervously played with Irene's fingers as she spoke. When she felt Irene nodding at the crook of her neck, she asked, "Why are you the only witch left?"

Irene pulled herself away from Seulgi's embrace and looked at her in the eyes. The taller girl thought she said something she shouldn't have, but Irene started retelling what happened to her a couple of decades ago. 

At that time, she was the youngest witch who was allowed to hold a space burial. The superior witch saw so much potential in her that Irene didn't see herself. She tried proving that she was better at something else, like becoming a rocket engineer that she wanted to be, but the superior witch didn't agree. She always told Irene about the vision she had and how the younger witch will help the world, leaving the cold truth behind the shadows. 

Irene trained for many years. When the superior witch saw that she was ready, she put Irene in a cryogenic sleep. The capsule she was sleeping in opened almost a year ago. Irene had been going around, looking for other survivors while trying to stay alive. 

"Were you scared?" Seulgi asked as she held Irene's hand for comfort. 

"I was," Irene squeezed Seulgi's hand. "I was the youngest witch yet they trusted me. The space burial is a tradition I was tasked to live on. It's a big responsibility, but I'm really trying my best. "

Seulgi softened at Irene's confession. She suddenly felt bad for getting angry at Irene in the past. She didn't know that the witch was going through. She was about to apologize, but Irene asked her, "Were you scared, Seul? When they all ran and left?"

"Yeah, but I was more scared of not seeing my parents again. They left a few days before the city evacuated and they promised they would come back..." Seulgi fell silent. The siren of the city tower and the loud screams of the townsmen started flashing inside her head. She suddenly remembered seeing the people stumble on each other as they ran through the city to save their lives. Her neighbors tried to bring her out of their house, but she cried and stayed still in her spot. She didn't want to leave yet, not until her parents came back. 

"I’m sorry," Irene said as she hugged Seulgi. 

The contact pulled back Seulgi back into reality. They silent as they remembered all the hardships they went through. For the both of them, it felt like the plague took everything that they loved. It left them scared, lost and alone, not until they found each other. 

"I'm so glad that I met you, even though our first encounter was you pointing your gun at me." Seulgi laughed at the comment. "At least we have each other now, right?"

-

The workshop was a mess, but the rocket was on its final stage of assembling. Seulgi started helping out with the rocket after reuniting with Irene, and the witch couldn't be happier. They were spending more time with each other. They shared stories with one another. They also learned a few things about rocket engineering from each other. Nimbus and Spark were getting along too. They had a little spot of their own at the corner of the room.

While Seulgi was in the middle of welding the frame, she noticed Irene writing something on her desk. She set down her gear and went near the witch.

"What are you writing?"

"Names of the witches from the Galactic Order," Irene said as she wrote beautifully on a paper scroll. "It's part of the tradition."

"The Galactic Order!"

"Are we finally going to the stars?"

"What is taking so long..."

The voices of the ghosts started to whisper loudly and Seulgi needed to sit down. There was a growing pain in her head. Irene immediately nursed her, but the rocket engineer ensured her that she was fine.

“This rocket will be your ticket back to the stars,” Irene said to the ghosts while looking at an empty space in the room, as if they were there. “I’ve calculated this thoroughly and after all the rocket failures in the past, this will surely work.”

Seulgi wanted to comment at how silly Irene looked right now. The witch was talking to the air, but the thought behind it made the taller girl smile. 

Her headache didn’t seem that bad anymore. 

-

Launch day. 

Rocket number 18. 

Irene placed in the scroll at a little compartment she added a the tip of the rocket. The ghosts were loud and excited. Seulgi tried her best to tolerate their loud whispers, knowing that this was a day they were all waiting for.

"I'm so excited, mama!"

"I can't wait to get reunited with my lovely wife. It has been so long..."

"Finally."

When the rocket was all set and ready to go, Seulgi stood beside Irene.

"Three!" Seulgi wished a silent goodbye to all the ghosts.

"Two!" Seulgi held Irene's hand.

"One!" The rocket lifted off.

The rocket launched smoothly to the sky. As it reached the stars, the rocket blew into a burst of colors. The bright colors meant that the ghosts were finally one with the stars. They finally reached the peace they longed for. 

Seulgi felt like she was a kid again. Seeing the sky filled with different colors was the reason why she loved space burials. She didn’t think she would feel this happy once again 

And when she felt Irene hugging her arm, she couldn’t be happier. 

-

A few weeks after the successful space burial, the two girls were making rough plans for the next one. But on most days, they were enjoying their time together. Inside Seulgi’s cabin, they were trying to solve some crossword puzzle from one of the old newspapers Seulgi had found. 

They were in a middle of an argument about which five letter word had a similar meaning to the word authorative.

"I think it's valid," Irene said as she tried verifying her guess with the existing answers they had on the puzzle.

"Maybe it's Irene?" Seulgi joked and it earned her a hard slap on her arm. 

To teach her a lesson, the witch started tickling the rocket engineer mercilessly. It was silly and childish, but seeing Seulgi squirm and laugh endlessly was one of Irene's favorite things to see. 

In the midst of it all, Seulgi's transistor radio started to pick up a signal. The static noise slowly turned into a clear signal and a voice came through. This caused the two girls to stop what they were doing. They looked at each other with surprised eyes and they immediately went closer to the radio.

"Hello! This is Captain Saerom. My troop and I saw a space burial not too far from our camp 25 days ago. We’ve been trying to trace where it came from, knowing that there are survivors in that area."

They couldn't believe what they were hearing. There were other survivors from the plague and they were looking for other people to help them out. They both waited for the captain to continue, but only muffled sounds could be heard. Irene giggled when she vaguely heard the captain said, "I forgot the next part!" to which another person replied, "You’ve been saying the same thing over the radio for 25 days and you still don’t remember it?"

"Shut up, Gyuri! I remember it!" The captain shouts and they could hear the Gyuri person laughing in the background. Seulgi and Irene couldn't help but laugh as well.

Shortly after that, the captain's voice was loud and clear again. She explained how they have been traveling and searching for other survivors since the plague. Her troop has gathered almost 200 people since they started. They have been helping each other a lot, hoping that it would help bring back life to earth. She also shared how they have been trying to find ways to do space burials and witnessing one 25 days ago gave her the answer she was looking for.

This sparked up Irene's interest. It felt like it was the next step for her mission as a witch from the Galactic Order. She looked at Seulgi with hopeful eyes, but to her surprise, the taller girl said, "We can't contact them just yet."

"Why not? It’s not like I’ll allow them to take me away from you. We’re together. A package deal."

"Together," Seulgi happily smiled, but it quickly turned into a shy one. "We can't contact them since we don’t have a mic."

"You're really cute," Irene cooed and gave Seulgi a kiss on the cheek. "We'll design one right now and make it first thing in the morning!"

Irene quickly took a piece of paper and started doing rough sketches. She also started rambling about the different parts they needed or the alternatives Seulgi could find when she gathers the materials. The rocket engineer tried her best to listen, but seeing the witch like this made her feel all sorts of things. 

"Irene?" Seulgi called which made Irene pause from her little ramble. "You know that I love you, right?"

Upon hearing those words, a blush painted Irene cheeks and she did a smile which never failed to make Seulgi's heart skip a beat. She felt a pull between them and gave Irene a kiss. She couldn't resist it. Irene looked so beautiful.

"And I love you too." Irene kissed her again. "Always."