rocketeer

Youngjae dreamt of reaching the clouds.

He wanted to escape this life of his and just take off to the skies, to fly and reach out for the clouds.

So he went for it.

A small workshop that was the neighbour’s store that they had abandoned a long time ago, he had cycled back excitedly everyday from school, hopped off his bike and ran into the shed to work on his invention.

And during class, he would bite his lower lip and sketch out the prototype of his new invention, a device that would take him to the fluffy clouds he loved so much. Pencil meeting paper as he drew out a rectangular shape for its base and scribble equations all over the place, rubbing the eraser furiously as he erased a few unsuccessful drafts.

Cycling all over the streets he picked up useless garage parts from the dumpster and the kind middle-aged man Yunho who wouldn’t hesitate but pass spare parts from his repair shop with a knowing smile as the boy rode off with enthusiasm and a cheery “thanks”. Picking out parts from the school’s IT department secretly, getting circuit boards as he spent days and nights programming them to work.

Youngjae thought he would fly there on his own, reach the clouds solo without anyone with him.

But one fateful day while he was quietly sketching his new design at the corner, black spectacles balancing precariously on the bridge of his nose, his brown sketchbook was snatched out of his small hands by Jay and Boa, snickering evilly as the boyfriend held the book higher and higher, taunting the poor shorter small boy from reaching for it. Boa had pushed him down and mocked his nerdy appearance, the couple ripping his sketch book maliciously as they laughed at the boy who was close to tears.

That was until he had stepped in, towering over Jay as he harshly pulled the book out of Jay’s hands and shoved him into the desks with a loud crash, bending down to collect the torn pieces of paper before glaring at Boa and spitting, “and you call yourself every man's dream?”

The school’s jock, Jung Daehyun, potential boxer and academically inclined had helped the school’s introverted geek.

Youngjae had thought he had seen wrongly with the tears welling up in his eyes, blurring his vision. He had ran out of the classroom with the popular kingka running after him hastily, leaving an ashamed couple in the classroom.

Youngjae had ran all the way to the school’s garden, his secret hiding place located at the back of the school. His tears were streaming down his cheeks as he wiped them furiously with his sleeves, placing his black spectacles on the grass.

He hadn’t noticed a figure overshadowing him before he heard a voice that made him raise his head slightly, only to meet Daehyun who held out his ripped sketchbook, smiling sympathetically.

Under the cherry blossom tree they had tried to piece back his draft with scotch tape, and the end result wasn’t too bad, Youngjae had figured as he smiled at his rather recognizable piece of work. What Youngjae didn’t understand was why Daehyun, an extremely popular student, would help someone like him.

Daehyun had been watching Youngjae for a long time ever since they had started school, and he had developed what could be called an attraction towards the geek whose eyes always sparkled whenever he was sketching in that tattered sketchbook of his. He was dying to know what was inside that sketchbook, gazing at the engrossed boy from a corner with his clique chatting away.

In his eyes, Youngjae was gorgeous, with or without those thick, black spectacles.

What had intrigued him even more was when he had found out what was inside the sketchbook, what looked like a mechanism that he saw in those sci-fi cartoons.

More awkward questions led Youngjae to smile up at him, eyes crinkling at the corner as the boxer blushed at the pretty boy, who took him by the hand with his spectacles in his pocket towards the bicycle lots.

And the two cycled towards Youngjae’s small house as he brought him into the shed, leading Daehyun to gaze in wonder as he looked around at the strange gizmos Youngjae kept in his tiny tool shed. It wasn’t a creepy place with robots or anything, but with sketches of his drawings all over the wall, and a particular one Daehyun smiled at. It was a crayon drawing of a boy stick figure with a jetpack, flying towards the clouds. On the tables were tools and spare parts and a small couch where Youngjae would fall asleep on if he was too tired, accompanying a tiny cushion and an old blanket.

They had spent the rest of the day looking for more spare parts Youngjae needed, Daehyun biting his lip with a blush painting his face whenever he saw the shorter boy gazing up at people in pure happiness, small hands holding parts as his sparkling eyes formed crescents.

And as Daehyun had watched Youngjae putting parts together with undivided attention, tongue stuck out to the side, he didn’t lie that he had wished he was those scrambled parts of junk, no matter how degrading it was.

When it was night and Daehyun had fallen asleep on the couch, snuggling up to breathe in Youngjae’s sweet scent in the pillow and wrapped around supposedly warmth with a tinge of Youngjae, the boy had finished the day’s work and had decided to turn in.

Looking at the taller boy sleeping on the couch, Youngjae had widened his eyes before chuckling quietly, deciding to take a spare mattress from his house and sleeping beside Daehyun instead of napping in the comforts of his bed.

Where we goin' we don't need roads, roads
And where we stop nobody knows, knows
To the stars if you really want it
Got, got a jetpack with your name on it
Above the clouds in the atmosphere, phere
Just say the words and we outta here, outta here
Hold my hand if you feeling scared, scared
We flying up, up outta here

Daehyun had woken up the next day to realize he had rolled off the couch (a habit he couldn’t get rid of), opening his eyes to meet an angel’s gorgeous face, laced with slightly chubby cheeks and plump lips. His breath had hitched as he lay staring at the smaller boy who was barely an inch away from him.

And he felt his heart completely stop when eyelids had fluttered, blinking gently as they gazed up at Daehyun, dazed accompanied with utter adorableness.

Daehyun had bolted upright, blush staining his cheeks as he ruffled his hair awkwardly, looking down at the boy who sat up slowly, blinking his half-lidded eyes as he rubbed them cutely.

The day saw them in the small garden of the neighbor, belonging to Choi Dongwook, a man who had gladly let Youngjae play in his yard since young, knowing of the boy’s family status. They were piecing more parts together on a huge mat before they pieced out half of it, going back to eat spaghetti Youngjae had quickly made.

A quick call to his mother who had let him stay and Daehyun found himself chasing Youngjae around the yard as a game of catching ensued, lunging at the smaller boy as they wrestled each other to the ground, Youngjae letting out shrieks of laughter as Daehyun tickled him.

They soon found themselves lying under the night sky with a new prototype, Youngjae gazing up at the stars with a spark of magic shimmering in his eyes.

“I dream of reaching the clouds one day…” Youngjae had let out a breath and cherry red lips quirking into a soft, gently smile which Daehyun couldn’t help but gaze at with adoration. “Touch those fluffy, soft cotton candy clouds!” He grinned and Daehyun laughed, nodding in encouragement. “You will, definitely.”

Right then Daehyun wished he could buy a plane ticket for Youngjae, but he wasn’t all too rich either and what Youngjae wanted wasn’t to sit in an airplane and look at the clouds, he wanted to fly through the clouds, even if he knew it wasn’t all too fluffy and was just a thicker fog.

Daehyun smiled. Youngjae made him want to touch the skies too, and as his hand boldly reached down to interlocked with smaller one, he gazed upwards and said, “You wouldn’t mind if I went with you too, would you?” He failed to notice the slight blush tinting Youngjae’s cheeks as he replied, “Are you sure? What if it goes all wrong?”

“As long as you’re here by my side, nothing will ever be wrong.”

The next few days saw them skating around the placing looking for more parts to build another one, and Yunho had grinned when he saw Youngjae had company.

“How’s the whole rocketeer project, my boy?” Yunho grinned, ruffling the boy’s hair who had smiled back with a beautiful eye smile. “It’s going great! I’ve almost finished one!”

“Who’s your friend there?” Yunho’s eyes roamed over and flashed a friendly smile at the awkward Daehyun, who bowed back politely.

“He’s my friend, Daehyun! He wants to go with me!”

“Is that so?” Yunho’s eyes crinkled at the sides as Daehyun fidgeted, nodding determinedly. “Why then, give me a list of the parts you need and I’ll see what I can do about it.”

“Thank you so much Uncle!” Youngjae flung his arms around Yunho, who made a soft “oof” sound before affectionately ruffling the boy’s hair, wishing he had a son like this.

“Boy, why don’t you go inside and take all the things you need? I just got a raise recently and a single man like me doesn’t need that much money.”

Youngjae’s eyes had lit up again and he squished his cheek against Yunho’s chest, before excitedly running into the store.

“You’re a great man; take care of Youngjae for me, will you? I’m leaving him in your hands; you guys have a rather good chemistry with each other.” Yunho winked, leaving Daehyun to blush and nod firmly, blushing harder when the older man had let out a friendly laugh and patted him on the back.

They had spent the next four days piecing the machines together and they tested it a few times, Youngjae smiling in glee when the nitrogen had came out smoothly.

The next three days they had skipped school to go around Gwangju, their small little hometown, going to arcades, carnivals, taking walks down the beach and building sandcastles. Daehyun realized Youngjae was easily amazed by simple things like the sea, he hadn’t gone around much Daehyun had deduced.

And it was the day where they decided to finally go for Youngjae’s dreams.

They stood on the top of the school building, eyes latched on the clouds as they prepared their new inventions. It looked like a mix between a smaller hand glider powered by ignition engines that were wired to steering handles at the cross bar. The cloth had been easily provided by Yunho, and it looked rather stable, stable enough to get them high enough to reach the clouds. The design was ingenious, where a person could balance vertically and accelerate into the clouds without having to rise with a gradient below infinity. Stable aluminium that hooked onto ejective straps so that if any of them ever let go of the cross bar it would still be attached to the parachute bag they were carrying. Special invisible floating laser shields that protected the pressure around them through levitation, Youngjae had invented them with the help of Yunho’s teachings.

Youngjae whispered out softly as he gazed at Daehyun, a boy he came to develop feelings for during their time together, “I’m scared we won’t make it…”

“It’s alright, Jae-ah. I’m here, we’ll touch the clouds, together.” Daehyun smiled encouragingly, and Youngjae nodded. Their hands naturally reached for each other and they started the soft ignition, programmed by Youngjae to make the least noise possible. Sparks flew from the gears and they felt themselves lift off gently from the ground, flying higher and higher.

Daehyun looked over to Youngjae, and seeing the look of pure happiness on the smaller boy’s face he himself could never be happier. Youngjae’s tears had welled up slightly as he blinked them away, looking towards Daehyun as they steered vertically towards the clouds, soaring gracefully through the sky.

Youngjae had never been happier in his life. He was grinning brightly, eyes glistening with immense joy as he reached out his arm to grab pieces of the clouds as he squealed with absolute wonder. It felt just like fog, a lot thicker fog.

And Youngjae had glided through the soft clouds, breathing in the fresher air as he reached out to feel more of the clouds.

Daehyun had watched with amusement as Youngjae fluttered around like a graceful, eager butterfly, and he himself got to feel the clouds he wanted to. Gliding swiftly through the white clouds that seemed so pure, he felt himself smile watching Youngjae dance around the clouds happily.

A sudden jerk in the ignition told Daehyun they had to leave soon, and Daehyun flew towards Youngjae, pointing at his watch on hand. A sad, dejected look crossed Youngjae’s face before Daehyun took his hands, interlocking them as they gently fell slowly through the air.

He leaned forward to close the gap between their two lips as they spiraled downwards like feathers waltzing across each other, sparks flying from their lips as if fireworks had exploded. Youngjae’s eyes had widened before they slowly closed, feeling the cool air sift through the side of their lips. Daehyun had never savored a taste sweeter than this, never felt lips softer than this, never felt more right in life.

And they landed gently on the ground, feet meeting the ground as their lips parted, Youngjae’s cheeks flushed with bright red and a smile gracing Daehyun’s lips. There could be absolutely nothing more magical than this, Daehyun thought, as he embraced Youngjae, the fallen wings already on the ground.

“I love you.” Daehyun had whispered softly into Youngjae’s ear, and the latter had whispered back as hands sneaked up to wrap around Daehyun’s neck, “I love you too.”

Daehyun leaned in once more to capture his lover’s soft, sweet, plump lips, certainly, Yoo Youngjae could make the impossible happen, Yoo Youngjae could make him touch the clouds, Yoo Youngjae could make him fall in love.

Because with you right here, I’m a rocketeer.