The third night of Sehun's uncle's wake was the 5th week of silence from his radio. Sehun sat, legs folded in under him, black tie cuffing his neck too tightly, as his mother cried audibly beside him. Guests came and went and Sehun did his duty, pointing them to the refreshments or helping some of the older relatives near the shrine. He never cried.

"Sehun-ah," Sehun's father whispered, bending backwards to call to him behind Sehun's mother. Sehun bowed in reply. "You go back home tonight. Tomorrow, bring the clothes we've prepared for the funeral."

"You should take a rest too, Father."

"It's okay. We can rest after tomorrow."

The house was silent and dark, both unfamiliar and comforting to Sehun as he locked the front door behind him. He entered his room, the LED lights of his alarm clock catching his attention. It was 9:35PM. He moved slowly towards his desk, hands gliding over the yellow radio, turning it on expertly even without looking. Static.

Where are you...

Sehun sat on his bed with a sigh, the fatigue of the family's wake catching up to him. That, and the waiting.

I won't give up, Luhan. I'll be here patiently waiting. Because you said so. Because you told me to wait.

Sehun leaned back onto the bed. He loosened the tie on his neck and breathed long and deep. As he ed his shirt, Sehun found himself clutching at the cloth against his chest. Suddenly he felt warm tears trickling down his temples. He didn't even notice that he started crying.

//

"Shuttle Chronos can you confirm?"

Luhan slowly opened his eyes, which had been tightly shut during the rocket launch. A monitor blinked in front of him with numbers accelerating, depicting the number of miles traveled, as well as the stage of travel he was in. It was almost about time to enter a pre-calculated orbit. He had just crossed the Kármán line.

"Confirming launch success," Luhan sputtered into his mouth piece. He didn't realize how dry his mouth was. In his ear he heard cheers and applause from the base. He allowed himself a smile at least.

"We are going to turn on the camera. You can unbuckle your seatbelt now. You must be thirsty."

It was Dr. Feng's voice. Luhan felt like he could cry. His hands were trembling as he released himself from the cockpit seat. "Woah," he suddenly cried out, the lack of gravity surprising him. He heard Dr. Feng chuckle.

"You're in space, boy. In real outer space."

Luhan balanced himself carefully, maneuvering towards the window above the flight deck. He'd practiced for zero gravity before so this was only slightly disorienting for him. As he held onto one of the handrails, the black expanse of space came into his view. It took his breath away.

As far as he could see from the window, it was a sea of black, vast and unmoving, not a single speck or star save for the bright white and blue Earth that loomed close to the shuttle. It was so big and looked just like the images Luhan had scene of it taken from outer space, taken from the vantage point he had right now, except more enchanting. Luhan reached out and touched the glass. He wanted to touch the Earth's surface just like this.

"Dr. Feng," Luhan called.

"Yes."

"How long before I reach the Tachyon point?"

"In six hours ETA. You may eat now before we begin preparations for Spacetime."

Luhan kept his eyes on Earth, nodding slowly to Dr. Feng's directions. 6 more hours.

Then, him.

The Flight Director issued commands via transmission even though Luhan knew the procedures inside out. Despite the ship being programmed all the way until re-entry, there needed to be manual operations of the controller for the parking orbit lock and first launch escape system settings. The main spacecraft Shuttle Chronos was going to be on auto flight control with Luhan gone. He moved to the first launch escape pod, a smaller craft with its own cockpit, but no seats. 

"I am clear," Luhan pronounced it just as they practiced repeatedly. He was strapped standing onto an oxygen tank locked from the ship's ceiling side. He could still reach the deck; It was a small pod.

"We have 45 minutes."

From where Luhan was positioned, he could look out from the solar panels built to protect the pod from radiation. The pod wasn't facing the sun now though, and Luhan couldn't help but gasp when the Moon filled the panel's view.

"Almost there, Luhan," came Dr. Feng's voice. Then, "Luhan, you'll do well."

Luhan felt his eyes burn. "Mom."

"Luhan, son, I'm proud of you."

It was all he could do not to back out. Tears fell freely on his face. "Dad. Mom."

"We love you. We'll be here when you come back."

"I-- I love you too."

The countdown began again. Luhan could hear Ground Control's regulations in the background. Apparently, his parents were allowed to talk to him until time zero. They called out words of assurance, telling Luhan it was okay. It was going to be a succes. They were proud of him. They love him. Over and over. Luhan clenched his his left hand into a fist, his right hand ready on the control deck, to press the red eject button when it was time. Luhan tried to remember everything he was taught about what was going to happen next. He tried to play the sequence in his head as clearly as he could.

No mistakes. I can't make a mistake.

As the countdown reached the last few seconds, Luhan's heart began to beat wildly, nerves and panic invading him. He could hear Dr. Feng's voice strong in his ear. 5, 4, 3... Luhan. Now.

The pod gave a wild raucous jerk. Luhan closed his eyes shut again but it made him feel the pod's movements more sensitively. He felt the clear loss of mass as the spacecraft detached from the Shuttle, the disorienting tumbling from the out into space. He was no longer in the controlled, stable parking orbit. His thoughts were racing as Luhan struggled to remember the next step. The Tachyon point, he had to be at that point in this velocity. He had to expel propellant at the right moment. He can't fail. If he does, he'll be stuck here, floating when the propellant runs out. And what if it runs out before he can reach the main shuttle, or if it goes too far in it's orbit for Luhan to reach it and go back. He'll be stuck here.

He'll be stuck, alone.

Luhan felt sweat mix with his tears, the fear in him rising to an almost suffocating level. Once detached from the main shuttle, the pod no longer had access to transmissions from the Ground Control. But then he knew, though, that this ship had mirrored parts of his old radio. The ship was designed to send the same transmissions at 104 MHz, the frequency he knew too well. This gave him courage and slowly, determinedly, Luhan began to commandeer the controls according to his training. His last few simulations on Earth were successful. He didn't make a single error then. He was not going to make a mistake this time now.

The speakers began to sound off directions in an automated female voice. Luhan almost forgot that they'd programmed directions for him just in case. His breathing became steadier now as he ticked off the steps in the sequence one by one. Finally, the transmit button. Just like his radio. He pressed it and waited for changes on the monitor sensors.

Once you see a spike in the graph, you must expel the propellant right away. Do not second-guess. Do not hesitate. It may not occur again.

Dr. Feng was firm, and Luhan remembered asking what if it was a fluke. Dr. Feng answered with, we can only hope it is not.

Luhan stared, waiting, as his thoughts began to wander. He shook his head, trying to remain focused. In his mind he saw his favorite memories, the faces of friends and parents, his room, his radio. He fought back tears, thinking about the regret threatening to overcome him. Then he saw it. The spike in the graph.

Luhan's hand moved automatically, pressing the expel button, even though his mind was still in shock. There was another violent jerk. The automated female voice asked him if he was ready. What? Luhan answered yes, his eyes involuntarily closing at the suddenly blinding light filling his pod. The static from the speakers became louder and louder now. The female voice was still talking, it seemed, with more instructions but it was drowned in the static that filled his ears completely.

Then silence. Deafening silence. Luhan wanted to open his eyes but he found that he couldn't. He felt himself lurch forward, felt his suit turn lighter, like it was disappearing from him. It felt like his body stopped following his directions. He was losing control of himself. What is this?!? There was panic in his thoughts somewhere but like everything else, it felt like loosening string. Luhan couldn't keep a single thought together. He couldn't force himself to remember any of the instructions he was taught about spacetime or the Tachyon jump. The Tachyon-- Luhan was losing it. He tried to focus on anything, anything at all.

The face from his dreams. That's right. It was easy. Somehow, this was the strongest memory he had. The boy's face like a blurry apparition. He saw it mouth his name, calling him. Luhan concentrated. He felt himself gather. But just as he felt as though he could think properly again, a wave of overhwhelming nausea washed over him and he out completely.

//...