"I know you like curry young man.." the cook said to Hongbin as she took his tray of food. "So, I'll give you a little extra" she winked and covered his rice with curry.

"Thanks, auntie" Hongbin winked back, making the cook blush.

"She just gives you things cause you're handsome.." Hyuk rolled his eyes as Hongbin sat down at the table with him. "You and I both know this is all yours Hyukkie" Hongbin joked, gesturing to himself, which made Hyuk blush

Hongbin took a moment to look around the cafeteria at the other students when he spotted N and Ravi sitting together, reading a book with their dinner sitting on the table, untouched.

It had been three days since the six boys' "test" and N and Ravi had to reconstruct their friendship little by little. Hongbin's curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to their table to say hi. 

"I don't see you guys hanging out much.. It's weird.." Hongbin said while he looked down at the two, their eyes glued to the book. "Ravi didn't wanna read alone.. So.." N looked up and shrugged

"What book is it?" Hongbin asked

"It's just more info on the construction of a space shuttle.." Ravi tried to read and speak at the same time, unable to tear his gaze away from the book. Hongbin seemed confused at Ravi's new behavior. N saw this and stood up, gestured Hongbin away from the table to talk to him in private. 

"Ravi is trying really hard to learn more so he can help us out with our tests. And he also said he's doing it for his folks" N explained. 

"Really? He's actually going to start trying?" Hongbin smiled and clasped his hands together. 

"Yeah.. It was rather shocking. First thing he wanted to do in the morning was go to the library with me and Leo. From then on, he's just been reading all day" N smiled and turned around to Ravi, who was still reading. "Well, as great as this sounds, he needs to eat. It looks like he hasn't touched his food" Hongbin looked towards the table and sighed. "You're right.. We should eat together.. Invite Hyuk over" N smiled and walked back to his table with Ravi.

----

"Noona.. When do we get to go to the shuttle across the river?" Leo asked RIdley as they walked towards the observatory. "In the next week, hopefully. I can't remember the exact date.. I'll have to check my schedule..." she answered

"Also, do you ever wanna go to space one day?" Leo asked

"Why? So for when you go, I can come with?"

"Sure.. I guess" Leo smiled shyly. Ridley blushed and looked down at the ground. "In truth, I'm qualified for space travel. I've sent my application into our space program many times.. Even to NASA" Ridley confessed

"Even NASA?!" Leo repeated her words, finding it hard to believe them. Ridley only nodded her head. "I've had the chance to go up so many times"

"What happened?" Leo asked

"They picked others that were better than me" she sighed.. Leo only shared in her disappointment. "I'm sorry, noona" Leo said. 

"It's not your fault, sweetheart" Ridley stopped and ran her fingers once through Leo's dark brown hair. "Maybe someday we can all go together.. You, me, N, Ravi, Ken, Hongbin, and even Hyuk"

"I would love nothing more than that" Leo walked ahead of Ridley and fantasized about going up into space..

Soon, the two made it to their destination and sat in their seats to watch the presentation in the round auditorium. Mock stars glistened, making the illusion of floating through space, making Leo smile. Nothing made him more happy than stars..

----

"How many miles per hour does a spacecraft have to accelerate to penetrate Earth's orbit?" Hyuk tested Ravi using flash cards..

"17,000 miles per hour" Ravi answered

"Why is it important for an astronaut to exercise while in orbit?" Ken asked the next question as he dangled from the top bunk. 

"....To minimize the loss of muscle mass" Ravi recalled his memory of the answers quickly and answered

"What system do spacewalkers use to return to their spacecraft in case they become disconnected?" Leo asked the next question on the flash card, also dangling from the top bunk with Ken

Ravi took in a moment of silence to remember the answer. 

"SAEAR" Ravi answered.. "Which stands for....?" Leo asked again

"Ummm... Simplified Aid for Extravehicular Activity Rescue" Ravi answered slowly, hoping he was correct..

"DING DING DING DING DING!!" Leo shouted, annoying his roommates. But he couldn't help it.. It made him happy that Ravi was finally ready to try hard.. Ravi smiled and jumped up in the air. "YEAH! HYUNG, I DID IT!" he yelled out and spun around. 

"YOU DID IT!" Leo smiled and hopped around with him.

"Your parents would be super proud of you" Ken smiled

"That reminds me, I have to call them" Ravi snapped his fingers and whipped out his cell phone. 

Everyone watched as Ravi made another attempt to call his parents, unable to wipe the smiles off of their faces

As he waited for his mother's or father's voice, Ravi felt a smidge of disappointment when the voicemail he heard so many times before played in his ear, but nothing could ruin his mood.

"Mom, dad! I hope you'll pick up soon..." Ravi beamed in the phone, letting everyone around him know that his parents still didn't pick up. "I've been studying and it's been great! I've been learning a lot! And we just did this test a couple days ago! Did you know a spacecraft has to accelerate to 17,000 miles per hour to penetrate Earth's orbit??" Ravi left his voicemail, still with the same goofy smile on his face. 

As nice as it was to see Ravi so happy, the mere fact that his parents neglected him was terrible to imagine. His friends watched in heartbreak as Ravi left his voicemail to his parents who may not even listen to it. 

"And we're going to the actual shuttle in a couple days! They're going to run an engine test to so it'll feel like the shuttle is actually taking off! I can't wait!" he continued on..

"Well, I gotta go! Call me back soon!" Ravi smiled and hung up the phone, officially sending the voicemail. 

"They didn't pick up again, huh?" Ken sighed

"No.. But it's okay. They will soon" Ravi shrugged, jumped off his bed and skipped away. "He's in denial" Hyuk frowned

"What do you mean, Hyukkie?" Ken asked. "He thinks his parents will call him back.. If they cared, they would've called back by now.." Hyuk explained

"Who would've called back by now?" N asked as he walked up to the conversation. 

"Ravi's parents.." Leo said. 

"Hyung, you share a bunk with him.. What is it like?" Ken asked. N sat down next to Hyuk on Ravi's bed. "Regarding his parents, it's pretty sad. He calls them every night before bed.." N explained. "And they've never picked up?" Leo asked, to which N shook his head. "Not yet at least.."

All four boys sighed and got lost in their own thoughts. 

----

Later that night, some boys in the living unit were asleep, some were awake. 

Hyuk read one of his favorite books when he heard a door open and wheels on the floor. "Rovix?" he asked quietly. "HHHH-yuk!" Rovix said as he rolled up to Hyuk. 

"Rovix! Where have you been?" he whispered, trying hard not to wake Ken up, who was sleeping soundly on the top bunk. "Hy-uk wiiiiiill goo to ssss-paaaace" Rovix said

"What?"

"Sooooo-oon"

"Rovix.. I'd love to go to space.. But I need years of practice.." Hyuk smiled and his robot.. "Y-ou wanttt to go to spaaa-ce?" Rovix asked. 

"Of course. I've told you this in the past" Hyuk giggled silently. 

"Yooou wiiiill"

"I'll try my hardest for you, Rovix. Thank you for supporting me" Hyuk smiled, got closer to Rovix, and gave him a hug.

----

"Ravi.. Can I speak to you for a short moment?" Leo asked Ravi as he sat by a fountain and played his PS Vita. "Sure, hyung" Ravi smiled and patted the spot next to him. Leo sat down and took a deep breath.. "We all know.. That you want to contact your parents.. And so far, you haven't had much luck.." Leo started

"That's just because they're busy. They'll answer eventually" Ravi smiled

"I can't express how happy I am that you're thinking so positively.. But I'm speaking for the rest of our team when I say.. I think you should stop trying to contact them.." Leo finally gave his harsh opinion.. At first, Ravi's smile dropped and he blinked. "W-What?" he asked again

"I think you should take a break from calling them.. N tells me that you try to call them every night before you go to bed.." Leo said

"They're my parents.. Of course I want to talk to them" Ravi started to raise his voice. "I know.. I enjoy talking to my mom and dad too" Leo started to back away

Ravi looked down and pouted. "At least your parents actually answer.."

"You know your parents love you, right?" Leo smiled, putting his hand on Ravi's shoulder

"I just.. want them to be proud of me" Ravi said, feeling a lump in his throat. "I know you do.. I know you do" Leo said rubbing circles in the younger one's back. "But if they are busy like you say they are, they're gunna need some space to continue on with their work, as will you" Leo continued.

"Thanks, hyung.. You're right. I'll stop for a few days" Ravi smiled and just as he felt tears brim his eyes.

----

The next day, Leo walked to his bunk after dinner to put his book bag down. "Hey, I haven't seen you all day" Hongbin greeted his bunk buddy. 

"I've been in the auditorium. I decided to take a break from exploration and move into astronomy for a few days" Leo explained. Hongbin made an 'o' shape with his mouth and nodded his head. "Have fun with that" he smiled and tucked himself in bed. Leo looked around the living unit and hatched a random thought when his eyes landed on N's and Ravi's bunk.. Leo sneaked over to Ravi's bed and spotted his cell phone on his night stand. Leo sneaked Ravi's phone into his pocket and walked out of the building with it

Leo looked around once and went into Ravi's contacts to find his house phone, the number he's been calling to reach his parents. When he found it, Leo dialed the number into his own phone and hit 'talk'

Not even after a few rings, they answered....

"Hello?" Leo heard a female voice. Leo couldn't believe it. Ravi's parents would answer his phone call, but not their own son's. 

"Is this the parent of Kim Wonshik?" Leo blurted out.. 

There was a short silence, then Ravi's mother spoke up

"Yes, this is. Who am I speaking to?" she asked. 

Leo removed the phone from his ear and let out a humorless chuckle, completely speechless. 

When he put the phone back up to his ear, there was a male voice. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Are you Wonshik's father?" Leo asked

"Yes. Who are you?"

"Woooooow!" Leo said out loud..

"Look, will you please tell us who you are? Or I'm hanging up"

"My name is Jung Taekwoon.. I'm a student who goes to the same institute as Wonshik. I'm also a roommate of his and his very good friend. I hope you're both listening.."

"What is this about, Taekwoon?" Ravi's mother asked. 

"You do realize that Wonshik has been trying to reach you, right? You do realize your son loves the both of you much more than he loves himself, right? He's been trying his hardest to contact you for weeks and has had no luck. But the first time I, your son's mere friend, calls you, you pick up? Have you been ignoring him? Or is he right and you're too busy to talk to him?" Leo ranted, red in the face

"Look, it's not--" Ravi's father tried to stop Leo. 

"It's not what? It's not what I think? Maybe it isn't.. But this is what I know. What I know is that Wonshik was sent here by you because, and I quote, "You want nothing to do with him". What the hell does that supposed to mean? I know that Wonshik loves you both so much and neither of you will dare give him the light of day. I know that he deserves so much more better. I've seen him break down in tears because of how you treat him. What did he do to make you be like this? I've personally watched him spend hours in our library reading and studying our criteria to please our instructor and his parents. He's left you voicemails of what he learned with a smile on his face. Just yesterday, Wonshik said to me that the only thing he wants right now was to make you proud. I know that Kim Wonshik is a very polite, smart, and talented young man and a good friend to me and so many other people.. He claims that you hate him, but he still wants and tries to talk to you regardless. I don't even know you and I've never met you, and I can already say that you've caused Ra-... Wonshik so much pain.. You both.. should be ashamed of yourselves.." Leo finally stopped rambling and hung up without a good bye.

Leo felt his heart race in anger and his breathing was irregular as he sat down, placing his and Ravi's phones on the ground next to each other. 

Just as Leo felt himself calm down, tears started to fall from his eyes. "How could they?" Leo thought as he cried for his friend, trying to imagine Ravi's thoughts as he heard his parents' voicemail, over and over again. 

After ten minutes of waiting for maybe another phone call, Leo walked back into his living quarters, set down Ravi's phone back on his night stand, crawled into bed, and cried himself to sleep.

Hey evurbawdy! So this chapter is about our amazing rapper, Raveehh! I made him his own chapter because I feel like I haven't been involving much and I wanted to add a little angst.. Isn't Leo a good friend?

Any way... I'm wondering what I should do next.. Cause I need a few more chapters to write until we get to the good stuff.. So stay tuned :D Ravi fighting! VIXX fighting! <3 

PS: Those facts were not made up, they are real. I like to be, how you say, 'poiliticly correct' xD