A/N: Surprise! Well, no, not really. It was about time I updated. Won't say much here. See the end for more notes. Hope y'all enjoy!

Word count: 3,764 words

----------------------------

“Who here has an idea why rocket ships catch fire when they enter or leave the atmosphere?”

A tiny male middle schooler raises his hand apprehensively, throws a look to the group of female middle schoolers behind him. “Friction?”

“Good guess! But there’s more to it than friction.” Minkyung flashes a smile to the middle schooler who turns red. She walks close to him and hands him a small chocolate bar. “A prize for being brave.” She says with another smile.

She walks back behind the demo table and picks up a small rocket ship model and a tire pump.

“The answer also lies with the pressure.” She says. “The velocities of these objects are often very fast, try tens of kilometers per second. This speed causes the air in front of large objects to become pressurized, making it extremely hot.” She turns to a white board behind her, scribbles some formulas with a marker.

“If we remember our gas laws, we’d know that pressure is directly proportional to temperature. Meaning, as the pressure rises, temperature also rises.” She dusts off her hands and smiles at her audience.

“Okay! Now, I’m going to need a volunteer.” The same kid from before clumsily jumps to his feet but with a determined look on his face. Minkyung lets out a small smile. “Alright, come forward.”

She hands him the tire pump and a deflated beach ball.

“Now try to inflate the ball as fast as you can.”

The boy nods and does as he is told.                               

“Feel the end of the pump. It’s hot, isn’t it?” The boy nods at her. “Pass it around your friends and let them feel it.”

The boy walks back to his seat, all red in the face when he approaches the same group of girls from before.

“So, with that heat generated, along with the friction of the object against the flammable gases in the atmosphere, rocket ships or comets or other debris from space often catch fire when they enter the earth’s atmosphere.”

“Guess those movies aren’t all wrong, huh? Now let’s watch this animated video before we proceed with phase two of our summer space camp and that’s going to be with Jonghyun oppa over there.” Jonghyun gives a wave and a cheeky smile in their direction. “Alright, video cue!”

Minkyung gets off the mini stage and steps up to Nayoung’s side. She wiggles her eyebrows at Nayoung who pats her on the back.

“Good job, Minky. Not bad for your first session as phase one leader.”

“Ugh. Cut me some slack. You know I was stellar.” Minkyung says. Nayoung chuckles.

“Yeah, I guess. You’re still better with life sciences though.”

“You’re only saying that because you didn’t get to hear the start of my talk!” Minkyung complains.

“Well, what did you talk about?” Nayoung humors her.

“Introed on the solar system and how we go about studying it… then I went on with rocket ships. You know, , drag, lift!”

Nayoung chuckles again as Minkyung does some hand gestures. Minkyung smiles back at her. They both fall silent after, choosing to watch the video playing on the screen.

“Ah, yes. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. That’s a classic.” Minkyung exclaims as the presentation rolls on. “I’m sure you’d know about that. I mean, you were part of the AVP team. That and you’re a really big space geek.”

Nayoung chuckles.                     

“Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was a comet found to have been orbiting the planet Jupiter in March of 1993. Astronomers Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker and David Levy discovered the comet and attributed its fragmented form to the comet’s closer approach to the planet in July of 1992. In July 1994, parts of the comet’s fragments collided with the southern hemisphere of the planet at a speed of approximately 60 km/s. The collision left a visible scar, more visible than the Great Red Spot, on Jupiter that lasted several months.”

“I really like how you drew that. You did draw that, didn’t you?” Minkyung gestures to the animations on screen.

“Yeah. I did this part.” Nayoung replies quietly. Minkyung makes a sound of awe.

“You’re a woman of many talents, unnie. Jieqiong is so lucky to have you”

Nayoung sighs. “And here I was thinking I wouldn’t be hearing any teasing from you today. Your nerves must’ve finally wore off, huh?”

Minkyung gives her a playful smile.

“Ugh. Forget it. I’ll go look for my team members.” She hisses.

“Wait, unnie! Take me with you.” Minkyung calls after her as quietly as she can.

&&

The last week of July signals the start of the annual Junior Space Camp that the National Science Museum hosts. For one night and two days, kids and teens who signed up will get a brief experience of what it is like to be an astronaut through demos, games, workshops, and simulations. The camp is the biggest event the museum holds every year so much so preparations would start early Spring and the organizing team would be lucky if they finish everything before the start of summer. Evidently, for the last two years, they’ve been cutting it too close to the deadline. And that just covers the preparations. There’s still the actual event to worry about.  

That is why Nayoung (even though she doesn’t admit it) and Minkyung (that look on her face is a dead giveaway) finds lunch time coming to them today as both a retreat and a treat.

“Say ahhh!” Yebin holds out a forkful of salad in front of Minkyung who opens wide to receive the said food. The girl beams like the scorching sun over their heads, the harsh rays only slightly blocked by the outdoor umbrella of the restaurant they’re in. Yebin playfully bops Minkyung on the nose once, props her elbows up on the table top and rests her chin on her palm.

Nayoung frowns at the sight. She feels rather relieved that she and Jieqiong chose to get a separate table from the two, given how they’re are acting. Naturally, she turns to the younger girl with a curious look.

“I won’t feed you like that if that’s what you’re worried about.” Jieqiong says, doesn’t even look up from her plate as she twirls her fork over her pasta.

Nayoung bursts into a light laugh, ignores the curious look Minkyung throws their way. “No, that’s not it.”

Jieqiong raises her eyebrows at her question. She leans back on her chair, takes in the sight of the younger girl looking at her before she speaks again.

“I would, of course, appreciate if you don’t but I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“I really won’t.” Jieqiong says coolly. “What were you thinking about?”

“Just this.” She waves her hand around a little, gesturing to where they are, the outdoor seating of the restaurant across the street from the museum. “This isn’t exactly close to where you work and lunch break is just an hour but…” Nayoung trails off.

Jieqiong nods and picks it up from there.

“Yebin wanted to have lunch with Minkyung unnie since they won’t be seeing each other for the night as unnie’s sleeping over here along with your other workmates.” She pauses and shyly looks at her feet. “I knew you wouldn’t but I still wanted to see you even if we have to go back to work after an hour.”

“I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to see you too.” Nayoung says and she means it. She reaches across the table and takes Jieqiong’s hand.

Jieqiong smiles a little and chooses to just look at her for some time. Nayoung lets her because it’s as if she was reminiscing about something and she wants to give her the moment (or maybe because she’s having a moment of her own too).

She breaks out of her trance in a minute and is the first to speak. “What are you doing after this?”

“Me?” Nayoung pauses, thinks. “Well, phase three is gonna start as soon as we get back. We’ve got everything prepared for that already. I mostly just have to supervise Minkyung and the others.”

“Will that be difficult for you? I mean, I-I don’t want you to stress out too much.” Jieqiong’s forehead crease and her eyes start to search Nayoung’s.

Nayoung only smiles, tightens her hold on the younger’s hand. “I’ll be fine, Jieqiong. I’ve done this a couple more times than Minkyung ever did. I’ve gotten the hang of it already.” She waves off her worry.

“Oh, okay.” Jieqiong says, looking convinced.

“What about you? What are you doing when you get back?” It’s Nayoung’s turn to ask. She leans a little closer to Jieqiong who visibly perks up as if this was something she’s anticipated and prepared for.

“I have to sit through a meeting with my uncle and some producers. I don’t have to do much but just listen and watch.” Jieqiong starts.

Nayoung watches her carefully. “Do you like that?”

“I guess I do. It’s better than doing paperwork all the time. And I get to be with this people who make great music!” Jieqiong says.

Nayoung nods slowly, squeezes Jieqiong’s hand gently, her heart feeling at ease. “If you’re happy then that’s good.”

The smile the crosses Jieqiong’s lips is too big that Nayoung can’t help but to mirror it. It just is the automatic response.

“You know, this is great. We should do this more often.” Jieqiong says with a giggle.

Nayoung chuckles. “But not too often. We’ll still see each other when work ends. We have to miss each other, you know.” She points out.

But then Jieqiong suddenly looks regretful. “Err, right. I actually won’t be able to join you for dinner tonight.”

Nayoung raises an eyebrow at her. “You have plans?”

“Some of my friends from China are vacationing here and they want to meet up later.” Jieqiong starts to twiddle with her thumbs.

“Oh, that’s alright. I’ll be fine. Just lemme know what time you’ll be home.” Nayoung says.

Jieqiong bites her lips as if she’s biting back a smile. “Okay. But don’t get too lonely without me.”

Nayoung rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “As if.  Anyway, it’s about time I videocall Chungha again without you. I swear, you two are conspiring against me. What do you two always talk about that you have to shoo me out of the room?”

Jieqiong sticks her tongue out at her teasingly. “It’s a secret and I’m not telling you. I promised Chungha unnie I wouldn’t.”

“We’ve only been together for weeks but I can’t believe your keeping secrets from me now.” Nayoung mutters without even thinking about it. Regret, despair, and something else washes over her like someone had just poured a bucket of ice water over her head but Jieqiong doesn’t even notice a thing.

Her laugh is clear and innocent. It causes something to lodge in Nayoung’s throat but she flushes it down with yet another smile and Jieqiong takes it in just the same, smiles back at her and doesn’t even suspect that something’s hidden underneath the surface.

Jieqiong’s eyes twinkle and form crescents. Her nose does that scrunch as her cheeks go up while her lips stretch to a wide grin. Jieqiong really has no clue. And Nayoung really doesn’t know what she’s going to do but she knows she’s going to despise herself for what will happen to that smile.   

&&

Nayoung stares at her tired reflection on the bathroom mirror. It has been a long day. She got off work later than she usually does since she had to double check some equipment for the camp’s stargazing activity as well as details for sleeping arrangements. There was also a technical problem at the planetarium that she had to deal with. But that’s alright. The ache from work is all just physical.

Her hands grip the edges of the sink as her eyes train on the time on her wristwatch. A significant amount of time had passed since last one so she pulls open the medicine cabinet, reaches for the bottle. She pops the cap and shakes the bottle until a tablet falls on her open palm. She sighs and then swallows it without water. She rubs her eyes and massages her temples. Heaving a sigh, she picks up the bottle and makes to replace it in the medicine cabinet only to change her mind. She knows she’s going to need it again later so she might as well keep it on the nightstand.

Nayoung walks out of her bedroom and turns the lights on in the living room. As the light floods her apartment, she’s hit with how empty it looks. It feels strangely suffocating to not see Jieqiong there, sitting with her feet up on the couch, giving her a wide-eyed look that usually meant she wanted her to sit with her or to find her bustling around the kitchen, secretly waiting for her to stop her from making something inedible and burning the place down.

Come to think of it, Nayoung never even used to turn on the lights in the place (just one desk lamp sufficed). It was just something Jieqiong did that rubbed off on her. Evidently, a lot has changed since the younger girl came and Nayoung can’t help but wonder how things will be like when she goes. But it’s not something she has the strength to think about right now so she heads over to her desk to set up a videocall with Chungha like she had planned.

Chungha picks up not even three seconds after. It really has been some time since the two of them talked. Chungha’s grown fond of Jieqiong since she introduced them to each other. Her best friend seems really eager to get to know the younger girl so she let them talk without her for the past few times but tonight, she needs this time when it’s just the two of them.

“Oh, wow. You look… like you haven’t slept in days.” Chungha greets.

“Thanks, I guess? It’s the recent work load.” Nayoung deadpans.

A look of realization comes across Chungha’s face and she nods slowly. “Ah. I almost forgot it’s summer space camp time again.”

Nayoung nods back and then shrugs. “I’ve had a very long day.”

“Did anything special happen? I mean, other than running around after spoiled brats and teenagers still stuck in their childhood.”

Nayoung rolls her eyes at her but says the first thing that’s on her mind. “Jieqiong came by the museum during lunch time. We ate lunch together.”

“You did? How was it?” Chungha asks, looking genuinely curious.

“It was… good I liked it.” Nayoung admits, quietly tries to measure the look of satisfaction in her best friend’s face.

Chungha smiles widely, leans back on her chair. “Where is Kyulkyung now?”

“She has dinner plans with her friends.” And Nayoung copies her, sans the smile.

“Ah. That’s good. I really like where this is going for you two.” Chungha comments and Nayoung internally cringes. “I’m happy for you, Nayoungie.” She adds. Nayoung knows how much she means it that just makes things even harder.

She nods and lets the silence drags on while looks for the right words and the right timing to say what’s on her mind.

“I hope you let yourself be happy too.” Chungha says, that familiar look on her eyes.

Nayoung purses her lips together and decides now is the right time. “The thing is… I don’t really know what to do, Chungha.”

“What to do about what?” Chungha asks.

Nayoung takes a deep breath, collects some courage and her thoughts. “Jieqiong is beautiful and amazing and she makes me feel. Chungha, I want nothing more for her than to be happy… but she’s only going to be here for the summer. Those were the very terms that made me agree.” She mutters.

“So?”

So, the reality is Nayoung’s a comet orbiting Jieqiong who is a planet. The amount of time that they have been together feels so much like eternity but with each day that passed, the trajectory of her orbit just got smaller and smaller. Now, she’s sure she’s descending into Jieqiong’s atmosphere, crashing, burning, and disintegrating as she falls deeper and deeper into her. She knows the descent is inevitable. It’s too strong to fight it. It’s too late to stop it. But what she fears the most is not that it’s happening. Rather, she fears the aftermath of this fall - the damage, the scar that she will leave after.

Jieqiong deserves none of it. Nayoung still wishes with all her heart that Jieqiong would only be happy, not feel the hurt, and be loved. And while people around them say that she makes her happy now, the fact still remains that she will never, ever, deserve her.

“I’m thinking that I’m going to let myself be happy for as long as she’s here. Only until then.”

“Are you saying that you’re going to end it all with her when she leaves? Ghost her and never speak to her again?” Chungha’s voice shakes as she leans closer on the screen. “Well, what about her, huh? Does she know about this plan of yours? Did you even consider how she’s going to feel about this?”

Nayoung deflates in her chair but answers. “Chungha, did you really think it was ever going to work for us? She… she has family, friends, a whole life ahead of her to go back to in China. Meanwhile, I’ll still be here. Miserable, broken, and far beyond fixing, me. You know it just as much as I do. I’ll only end up hurting her. One way or another. And she doesn’t deserve that.”

“And do you really think breaking up with her like that after making her fall for you and reciprocating her feelings will not hurt her?”

“I didn’t make her fall for me on purpose! I just wanted her to not feel lonely and it just happened. And… and she’ll get hurt with me either way. It’s best to keep it short, you know?” Nayoung answers.

“You’re not that cruel.” Chungha says with a shake of her head as if she’s still denying what she’s hearing.

“Maybe I am.” Nayoung says, clenches her fists at her side. “Maybe you should stop trying to see the best in me because I am the worst.”

“Oh, I see what this is about.” Chungha laughs nervously before she snaps. “You’re still on about that? Jesus, Nayoung, it’s been years! Are you still punishing yourself for what happened then?”

Nayoung doesn’t reply and only looks away.

“Nayoung, if you’d just let them find you and reach out to you, you’ll know that-”

Nayoung sits up, interrupts her. “Chungha, I’m tired… can we just not talk about this right now?”

Chungha bites back a retort, takes a deep breath again and lets it out like it’s fire.

“She still calls me every now and then. She asks about you a lot. She keeps begging me to, at least, tell her your address so she can send you letters again. I never tell her anything because I believe that one day you’ll get over yourself and reach out to them on your own.”

“See? I’m the worst.”

Chungha bangs her fist on the desk. If they were face to face and not talking through a video call, Nayoung thinks she might have gotten a punch on the nose.

“Yeah, and maybe for once, I agree with you. You’re making me really mad tonight and I really don’t want to say anything that I will regret later so let me just say this before I hang up… You’re being a . Kyulkyung doesn’t deserve any of this. She’s a good kid. Leave her out of it.”

The screen turns black and silence spreads throughout the empty apartment. Nayoung’s left looking at her own guilty expression reflected through the computer screen.

&&

Nayoung’s doing the dishes when Jieqiong gets back. The younger girl announces her presence with her usual klutziness (she always struggles with taking her shoes off at the foyer). With her heavy footsteps getting nearer, Nayoung could already tell that she’s standing a few feet behind her but she still somewhat feels surprised at the arms wrapping around her waist and the chin tucking itself on her shoulder.

“Did you have fun?” She asks, hopes she doesn’t sound as guilty as she feels.

Jieqiong nods. “We drank a little.”

“You did?” Nayoung pulls away a little, enough to get a proper look at Jieqiong. “Why didn’t you ask me to come and pick you up?”

“They dropped me off here actually.” Jieqiong says, holds her tighter.

Nayoung counts the seconds in her head as she continues on with dishes.

“I might’ve told them about you and they actually wanted to meet you tonight but I fought against it.” Jieqiong confesses, pulling away like she’s embarrassed.

Nayoung quickly takes off the pink rubber gloves and rinses her hands. She turns to Jieqiong as she dries her hands with a towel.

“It turns out they’re not just here for vacay… Tingyan’s been here for a while now and has a Korean girlfriend. Xiening and Xiao Xiao too. And I do too… I guess.” Jieqiong trails off.

“And?” Nayoung asks, patient.

“They want to meet you likw go out on a group date together. Like we did with Yebin and the others.” She says, looks up at her from her lashes.

“Do you want to?” Nayoung carefully asks. Jieqiong slowly nods.

The hopeful look on Jieqiong’s face gets to her and she says “Will you let me think about it first before I give you an answer?”

“Of course.” Jieqiong says, smiles.

Nayoung pulls her in for a hug. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be. I know you’re not all that comfortable around other people so it’s okay. I understand.”

Maybe Nayoung should say that that’s not what she’s apologizing for but she doesn’t have the heart to tell her just yet.

“Should we get ready for bed now? You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow.” Jieqiong asks.

“Actually, can we stay like this a little longer?” She mumbles.

“You missed me that much, huh?” Jieqiong teases.

“Hmmm.” It really has been a long day and Nayoung doesn’t have the strength for any more of those subtle letdowns.

“You don’t have to say it for me to know it.”

“Shush.”

Jieqiong finally laughs and then says “I missed you a lot too.”

--------------------------

A/N: I'm gonna be honest and shameless: I got the comet bit from wikipedia. So, how was the update? I'm ready for your pitchforks and tear gas and flash grenades or whatever. I did warn y'all that I was dropping the angst. And much more than "Oh. no. Nayoung is such a meanie. She's gonna hurt Jieqiong. Why is Kimchi doing this?", I'd like to draw your thoughts on why you think she's acting that way. I dropped several hints here and will still drop more in the coming chapters. Anyway, I felt like I went crazy with this update. Word count would've reached 4K if I didn't stop myself. Is it too long for y'all? Would it be okay to go with lesser words? I mean, I try to keep the length of each chapter around 3K to 3.5K words (which is also why it takes me some time to get an update out). Please let me know.

On other news, Pristin V! Y'all! We're getting a unit promo! I wanted an OT10 comeback but it's better than nothing. So let's support the girls! Stream the mv, buy the album, and hype the comeback. With that, I will see you around, beautiful people!