6 Years Later

We’d been at TS Academy for six years. SIX YEARS. Over the past six years Jongup, Daehyun, Youngjae, Junhong, Yongguk, and I had become really close. I still didn’t like Harry though, he was an idiot. Jongup and Junhong had gone through puberty here. Those were the worst years. Especially the underwear incident. I’d rather not talk about it.

The day started like any other, only during class Yongguk and I were called to the principal’s office. Usually it was just Yongguk, so I was curious as to why I had to go too. Neither of us knew what was going on, but we did as we were told. I knocked on the door, and we went in. Principal Taesong was sitting at his desk, his arms folded. I gulped. He gestured for us to sit down in front of him. Yongguk and I sat down, and someone locked the door behind us. I was on high alert, in case anyone tried to attack us. Instead, Taesong and the other men in the room started clapping. “Congratulations!” Taesong said, and shook both our hands. “You have been chosen as the commanders for Project B.A.P! After observing you over the past six years we’ve decided that you two are best suited for the job.” I let out a sigh of relief. We weren’t in trouble. Yongguk didn’t look pleased though. I knew he was angry, but I couldn't tell why.

We spent the next few hours discussing plans for our first mission. We were going to be sent to a planet called Earth, to see if it was suitable for Matonians to live on. “Who will be coming with us?” Yongguk asked. “We’ve made a list of possible choices, and we’d like you to choose four.” Taesong handed us a large file, and left us to make our decision. The file contained information about people who were part of the project. It had their original aptitude test scores, family background, and other personal information. “I think we should take Jongup,” I said. Not only were Jongup and I really good friends, he was also a really great fighter, with the highest hand to hand combat score out of all of us. He had good aim too. Yongguk nodded in agreement. He chose Junhong, which was no surprise. He seriously babied his younger brother. He always insisted on feeding him, and helping him get dressed and brush his teeth. He’s sixteen for god’s sake, not six. I didn’t disagree though. “I think we’ll need Youngjae too.” Youngjae was a genius, and we’d need someone who could take in lots of new information about Earth.

“Who else?” Yongguk asked, flipping through the file. “Well, Youngjae won’t want to go without Daehyun.” Yongguk thought for a minute. “Yeah okay. Done. So we’re taking Jongup, Junhong, Youngjae, and Daehyun.” We high fived and left our list on Taesong’s desk.

After dinner Yongguk and I gathered the guys and told them about the mission. All of them seemed really excited. Youngjae’s eyes lit up as I handed him a laptop with information about Earth on it, and told him to memorise as much as he could. “When are we going?” Jongup asked. “We’ll be leaving in two weeks’ time,” Yongguk replied.

The next morning we started planning the trip. “I’ve done some research, and I think we should go here.” Youngjae said, rubbing his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, he’d been up all night. “It’s called Korea. Their customs and way of life seem quite similar to ours, so it should be easy to adjust.” We all agreed. Youngjae spent the next few hours talking about Korea. I saw Jongup was falling asleep, and had to keep tapping him on the shoulder to keep him awake.

We called it a day, and while the rest of them went to the canteen for dinner I decided to go for a walk to clear my head. I walked around the building a few times, and then bumped into Harry. “Oh sorry,” he said. I grunted in response. He started walking beside me. I rolled my eyes. “So, I heard you’re going to be a commander on this Earth mission?” I stopped. “Look, if you’re asking if I’ll take you, I can’t. It’s already been decided who’s going and people haven’t stopped asking me to take them all morning, so go away.” I increased my pace, but he was still following me. “But you’re just bringing those guys because they’re your friends!” he protested. I was seriously beginning to lose my temper. “No, I’m bringing those guys because they all have something to contribute to this mission. If I need a giant pain in the , I’ll take you.” He gave me an angry look, his heel, and walked away. Thank god. I went back to the dorm, and tried to go to sleep. My mind was filled with horrible thoughts about what could happen on Earth. What if they shot our spaceship with a giant weapon? What if they found out we weren’t Earthians, and put us in a zoo? I tried to push these thoughts out of mind, and after a while I managed to drift into a deep sleep.

We spent the next two weeks preparing for our mission. We had to learn how to behave, what to wear, how to talk. It was a lot of information to take in. We watched a lot of Earth movies though, which was fun. We didn’t have many movies on our planet, and most of them were educational documentaries and were only shown in schools. Earth had movies about romance, sharks that could fly in tornados, and lots about a place that seemed to be the center of the universe: the USA.

 Before we knew it, it was the night before the big day. Everything was packed, the spaceship was ready, and we knew all about Earth, but nothing could have prepared us for what was going to happen.

(Yongguk's POV)

We all got up early that morning. I literally had to drag both Jongup and Himchan out of bed. Himchan threatened to cancel the whole mission just because he was having a bad hair day and, “couldn’t disappoint the earthians”. We got our bags, and departed for the launch station, which was a few kilometres from the Academy. We saw our spaceship for the first time. It was made out of grey metal, and looked like the flying saucers we’d seen in Earth movies. I suddenly felt really nervous. What if something went wrong? It could blow up with us in it. I looked over to Junhong and saw that he looked a little nervous too, and reassured him that everything would be okay. He smiled back gratefully. We got on board, and prepared for lift off.

“We’ll launch, and then when we get into space parts of the ship will break off,” Youngjae was trying to explain. None of us were paying too much attention. We were told to strap ourselves in, and wait for launch. After a few minutes the ground started to vibrate, and we started moving. I checked on Junhong to see if he was okay. He looked a little green but seemed to be alright. The last thing my mum said to me before we left home was, “Make sure Junhong’s okay, don’t let him get hurt.” I always kept that in the back of my mind. I’d done my best to protect him all these years, but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to when we reached Earth. I was brought back to reality when I heard a loud scream behind me. Someone was holding onto my chair for dear life. It was Harry.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!??”Himchan screamed. We were in space by now, and it was safe to take off our safety belts. Himchan got up and grabbed Harry by the collar. “What the FRACK ARE YOU DOING HERE??!! ANSWER ME.” I’d never seen Himchan this mad. He punched Harry in the jaw, and he fell to the ground. Jongup rushed over to see if he was okay. Himchan looked as if he was about to rip his own hair out. I could see why. Not only was Harry a pain in the , we only had enough provisions for six people. This was supposed to be a three month trip, we wouldn’t have enough if we had to feed another person. “I just wanted to go to Earth,” Harry huffed.

“There’s an escape pod, which will either take him back to Mato, or launch him into space forever, I’m still not sure which,” Youngjae suggested. Himchan clapped his hands together. “Excellent.” Harry looked alarmed, and I felt kind of sorry for him. “But, I could die in space…” Harry muttered. “SHUT UP HARRY,” we all said out of instinct. All of us except Youngjae, who was piloting at the time, escorted Harry to the escape pod. He tried to get away, but Himchan was too strong. “Right, take off in thirty seconds,” Daehyun said as he programmed the escape pod. Then something none of us could have expected happened. Harry slipped past us, and pushed Junhong out of the way. Junhong fell backwards, into the escape pod. The door to the pod closed, and Junhong was still inside. JUNHONG WAS INSIDE. My brain stopped working. All I could think about was getting him out. Jongup and Himchan had run off to get Harry, and Daehyun was desperately trying to reprogramme the pod. Junhong looked at me through the small window. He looked so scared. I grabbed a fire extinguisher hanging nearby, and tried to break open the door. It was no use. “I love you Yongguk.” He put his hand on the window, and I did the same. “I love you too Junhong.” He gave me a weak smile, and then he was gone.

I collapsed. My brother, gone, possibly forever. Jongup and Himchan came back with Harry, who looked really guilty. “I never meant for that to happen, it’s his own fault for getting in the way.” Then I punched him. I’d never done that to anyone before, but I didn’t stop. I kicked him, punched him, did anything I could to hurt him. Jongup pulled me away from him. Then the tears came. Himchan and Daehyun guided me back upstairs. They told Youngjae what had happened, and got me a glass of water. I was shaking, and hyperventilating slightly. All of them cried, even Harry, but none of them as much as me. I told them I needed a minute, and went to find my room. It had two beds, one for me, one for Junhong. Junhong’s bed had all the stuffed animals he loved so much, and his pyjamas were laid out neatly on his pillow. I sat on the bed, hugging the stuffed animals. I took all is belongings out of his bag and looked at them, remembering all the times we’d spent together. The football I’d bought for his birthday when he was ten, the shoes dad bought him before he died, a sweater our mum knitted for him. I’d always been there to protect him, and look out for him, except for the moment it mattered most. I lay down in his bed, surrounded by his belongings, and cried myself to sleep.