Chanyeol scratched at his cheek and rubbed his nose as he laid by Baekhyun’s side, closing his eyes shut for the nth time. It has been almost 8 hours, and Luhan’s pressed the button 16 times already. And every time he did, they still couldn’t get used to the violent jerk that comes with it. Chanyeol’s been trying to get some sleep since a while ago, but he just couldn’t find the right spot on his bed to get a proper shut eye. Finally, he decided to shift to Baekhyun’s bed, to which, surprisingly, the latter didn’t protest.

As his eyes fluttered shut, he heard Baekhyun release sigh after sigh. Eventually, Chanyeol grumbled and threw the pillow over his head in annoyance when all he could hear was the flipping of books and Baekhyun’s non-stop lamenting.

“Okay that’s it!”

Chanyeol sat up almost suddenly, annoying and shocking Baekhyun irksomely when he unintentionally hit his arm.

“Tsk, why can’t you sleep on your bed.” Baekhyun ed his chin towards the messy bed opposite of his. The man was silently seated, cross-legged on his bed with Kris’ journal on his lap, when Chanyeol made him tear another page off. “Look at what you’ve done!”

The accused simply tutted and rolled his eyes, not feeling a slight bit apologetic; which is a bit uncanny because Chanyeol always felt apologetic. Even for mistakes that weren’t his fault.

“Why don’t you just ask Kris to help out,” Chanyeol crossed both his legs and arms, his brows knitted. “Isn’t it his in the first place?”

Baekhyun took a deep breath, closing both the book and his eyes. He heaved out and instantly knocked his friend on the back of his head.

“Ow!” Chanyeol grunted in pain when the hard cover came in contact with his head. “What was that for, I suggested something!”

“Something I already tried!” Baekhyun bickered, glowering back into the book. “Besides, even if he reread it again and analysed things, there’s this tear that none of us can solve.”

Chanyeol made a sound again from his lips, causing Baekhyun to yell in irritation. None of them had enough rest from the whole altercation back on Zenn; and now only their emotions are speaking for themselves.

“Instead of complaining, maybe you can at least help me.” Baekhyun huffed, bouncing off his bed to open the curtains of the bedroom. He always seemed to look out windows whenever he feels frustrated, but the sight before him didn’t seem to calm his heart down either. “We’re nearing Earth and have accomplished nothing at all. This has been a waste of time and resources!”

He plopped down onto the armchair and buried his face into his palms. “I’m tired Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol bit on his bottom lip, understanding Baekhyun’s plight. Despite having found his mother, Baekhyun would still be seen as the son of the researcher who released the epidemic when he comes back without the antidote. It wasn’t his mission in the first place, but Baekhyun already made a silent promise to his unit when he told them to go back to Aleyious while he followed Kai.

“Hey, we’ll figure it out.”

“Even if we do, what if the last ingredient is back in Zenn?” Baekhyun sighed defeatedly, “What if they were wrong about the last ingredient being on Earth. What then.”

Chanyeol rested a palm on Baekhyun’s shoulder and squeezed it tight, “We’ll figure that out later. But right now, we just have to figure out the last component of the antidote.”

Baekhyun sniffed and wiped at his nose, raising his hung head. “We?”

Chanyeol gave him a convincing smile, “I’ll help you.”

The other returned his smile and gave a confident nod. He gave one more sigh before opening and flipping the pages of Kris’ book. They both scanned the ingredients once more before Chanyeol asked about Boa’s own journal.

“Well, I’ve checked. And they’re really the same thing over and over again.” Baekhyun told. Even the entries and records were of similar content. Well, they can’t be different. These journals were supposed to be the original accounts of the experiment if they were ever successful.

“Where is it?”

Baekhyun pursed his lips, but nonetheless dug out his mother’s journal from their study’s drawer. He opened to one page and even took out the torn pieces carefully, holding onto a few in his hands.

“I’ve taped some of those that had their pages, but the rest of the pieces don’t seem to fit in any other ripped pages.”

Chanyeol took the pieces of paper into his hands, examining the ends and writings on it. He looked to the writings on Boa’s journal and gave a confused frown as his bottom lip jutted out.

“This doesn’t look like…”

Baekhyun waited for him to continue, raising both his eyebrows in anticipation. But the former only cocked his head sideways. He his lips and flipped the pages of Kris’ journal instead, “Did Kris have any torn pieces in his journal?”

Baekhyun shook his head, still not understanding why Chanyeol was repeating almost everything he’s been informed of.

“But he has torn pages?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, resting a hand on his waist when the other repeated another inform