[a new registered number is attempting to message you.
will you accept?]

jongin scrolls quickly, not bothering to read through the disclaimer before he presses 'accept'.

the information about the newly registered number appears on his screen a few seconds later.  he can recognize the three characters anywhere.  kim min seok.

relief washes over him as he reads minseok's messages.  the first message sounds panicked.  minseok explains the reason for a new number. 

"ha..."

jongin knew there had been some reason.  but his heart clenches with news of the accident.  though he's glad minseok is alright, there's a sharp pang in his heart.  i should have been there for minseok hyung.

briefly, jongin remembers his numerous messages, now lost to space and time.  but it doesn't matter.  what matters is that minseok is communicating with him again and it's only when his mind comes across that thought, that things seem to mellow down.  an antsy feeling that he hadn't realized was there, settles and jongin feels like the air seems more breathable.  

that night, his dreams are not so scary.

jongin's floating in space, it's deafening in the sense that there's no sound at all.  it's one of the scarier moments of being in this dark expanse, a time when it feels like the vastness of the universe will swallow you whole.  but it's also one of the parts about space exploration that jongin likes because it's a time where one can truely be alone with oneself.

it's when he's reveling in the peace that he sees it - a wormhole.  there's no real way of knowing it's an actual wormhole, at least not from his current position without his equipment.  but deep down on some primal level, jongin knows. 

the force of pull is strong and he can barely see the edges of the massive entity warping the seams of matter outside of it.  without a second thought, he cuts his cord and lets his body get into the blackness. 

when jongin goes inside the wormhole, he doesn't know what to expect and yet, he's expecting a whole lot.  so, when he's catapulted to the night they'd first kissed, he understands.

'ah, so this is the power of the wormhole', he thinks.

jongin's no longer in his space suit.  he's in his usual cotton tee shirt and jeans and sneakers with the heels folded down.  he's out in the park in front of minseok's apartment building, worrying that minseok will say something about wearing no socks at night again.  jongin still remembers; a thousand fireflies had taken flight that summer night.

"they look like stars" minseok had said. and when he looks to his side, there minseok is, just as he remembers.

jongin had been looking at minseok, but he gazes up watching the tiny insects float up into the sky. 

"yes, so beautiful."

"... beautiful" minseok repeats, but when jongin looks over, minseok's looking at him, blushing.

"me or the stars, hyung?" jongin says teasingly.  he may look nonchalant, but his heart is racing a mile a minute.

"...the fireflies?" minseok swips his head around, unable to hide the blush on the tips of his ears.

"are you sure?" jongin asks as he leans in.  he can hear the grin in his own voice.

a flushing tingling feeling over comes his whole body as he scoots closer to the older boy.  jongin noses minseok's neck, entwining their arms.

a sigh escapes minseok as he whispers, "it's always you.  you know it's always you."

it's a chaste thing, their kiss.  but the firm way minseok's lips had pressed against his own had jongin feeling like this was a bond that would never ever break.  and when jongin feels the edges of sleep slipping, he holds onto that dream like a rope.

he hasn't had this dream in a long time.  and when jongin wakes up, he does so with a smile.

"you look well rested" remarks captain do, nodding encouragingly at jongin.

they're at the canteen for breakfast and only the medic isn't there.  it's rare for all of them to be in the same space at once.

"what i wouldn't do for some warm home cooked food!" jongdae complains adding water to his freeze dried eggs, but he smiles when he reaches jongin's side.  "you look like a fresh spring flower, jongin-ah."

jongin smiles, exhaling through his nostrils.  he's pepped up after minseok's message and the crew members have noticed.

baekhyun looks happy as well, even letting jongdae have some of his coffee and bacon.

"what are you so smug about?" jongdae asks baekhyun, who stays quiet for a while, chewing his food in contemplation.

"our next planet" baekhyun finally says.  "it's coming up.  we should get there in about half a day."

they all look out the window.  the food, for a second, is forgotten as they imagine themselves just a little bit closer to home.

just as baekhyun had predicted, a few hours go by and captain do's voice comes through the overhead system.

"captain to crew.  captain to crew.  prepare for visualization of planet r516 dash 4."

a new planet meant new opportunities.  a new leg of the mission meant the possibility of going home.  

this time, instead of begrudgingly boarding the exploration pod, jongin volunteers.  there's a twinkle in his eye that he thought had died after the first few years of being in space.  there's a new mission in jongin's head now, though the original mission has never changed.  and all he can think of is going home as soon as possible and telling kim minseok those three words that he can't bring himself to type.

+++

the thought hits minseok one morning - life isn't so gray now.  and the thought doesn't make him uncontrollably happy, not the kind that makes minseok jump up and down like an overjoyed child, but instead, it makes him feel at peace.  and this, minseok thinks is the best kind of happiness for him right now. 

after the accident, dealing with chanyeol day in and day out had distracted minseok from most of the hurt and pain and disappointment that had been building up over the years.  but a part of his heart always feels hollow and in the first hours of the day, when chanyeol is snoring lightly beside him, minseok looks out the window to the early morning sky.  and though he knows it's not the light of a space ship, the little blips of light in the air still give minseok the flutters inside his chest.

they live in a little house now.  it's a sea foam green colored three story trimmed with egg shell white.  with a one vehicle car port on the bottom floor, it's smaller than it looks from the outside, but they have a yard where guruem*, their fluffy white dog, plays.

minseok's days are a little busier now.  two years ago, he had started studying for his barista license.  now, he was working at an artisan cafe, honing his skills.  even this morning, minseok gets up much earlier than chanyeol to open up shop and start selling coffee.  these days, minseok even has the luxury to dream about his future. 

his untold dream is to open his own cafe someday, but for now, they are saving up to buy a plot of land near the ocean.  there are multiple blueprints lying around, various versions of chanyeol's dream home for them.  minseok's eyes catch the blueprints scattered on the coffee table.  normally, he'd clear them up, rolling them neatly and storing them before he left for work.  but the thought of moving towards the sea makes minseok both giddy and nauseous this morning as he prepares to leave for his job.  they had already moved away from minseok's home town, a big step for minseok two years ago.  instead, he gathers them up and places them haphazardly on a higher table so guruem won't nibble at the edges.  

though hesitant at first, minseok had quickly warmed up to the puppy, who they had found at the local rescue group for abused animals. 

"this baby was abandoned by his family" the volunteer had told them.  "we found him starving and filthy waiting for his family that wouldn't return in front of an old apartment complex.  it took us a while to rescue him because he refused to budge from the spot."

minseok had felt some kind of connection to this sad little puppy, unable to forget his past.  minseok had hoped they would be the people who could love the puppy enough to make him forget his past pains.  thankfully, gurueum had taken to both chanyeol and minseok well and was a bright and smart pup.

pouring some coffee into a tumbler, minseok smiles at the white fluff ball following him closely at the heel.  opening the treat drawer he fishes out a bone shaped milk biscuit and gives it to gurrum.  after all the crumbs have been up, minseok kisses gureum on the forehead and briefly looks upstairs where the bedroom is.

"don't wake up daddy until the alarm goes off, ok?" he tells the puppy.

it's early evening when minseok gets home.  ever since he's been promoted to head barista, minseok's been working full time.  when he opens the door, he's greeted by chanyeol in a threadbare hoodie and pajama pants.  the hoodie has been washed so many times that it's more like cotton fluff now, but on chanyeol it's warm and big and makes minseok want to sink into his arms.  he does so and minseok fits into chanyeol's chest like a puzzle piece.

there's a gentle and familiar flow to their relationship now.  it's perfect and nice and chanyeol is more than kind.  but minseok feels the pace growing steadily and while minseok is stagnant, chanyeol is pushing gently back, as if saying let me in, let me in.

guruem too is at their feet, nosing minseok in the calves until minseok bends down, laughing, to say hello to the puppy as well.  minseok buries his face into the dog's soft fur, peeking his eyes out to look up at chanyeol.

"i made some noodles" chanyeol says with a grin.  "a new receipe."

minseok groans, but it's with a smile on his face because he knows chanyeol's getting into doing the cooking and house work when minseok's not home.  ever since chanyeol has started freelancing, he's been working at home and it suits him.  he's happy.  minseok's tired, but happy.  they're both happy.

chanyeol leads him by the hand into the kitchen.  later on, chanyeol leads him by the hand into the bedroom.

"come on, guruem" chanyeol tells the dog as he opens the bedroom door.

minseok gets a little shy as they shower together, but chanyeol is so gentle and sweet that minseok just closes his eyes and accepts the fact that he's happy now.  what's a surprise is that it suits minseok so well.  

minseok's up at five the next morning, causing chanyeol to groan and pull him by the waist back down into the bed.

"it's the weekend, hyung.  sleep some more."

"i'm not sleepy.  habit, i guess."

"ok then, don't sleep.  cuddle with me."

minseok stops resisting and stills as chanyeol tugs minseok back into positioin against his body.

"mmm" chanyeol makes a satisfied sound from the back of his throat.  

the sound is deep and reverberates against minseok's chest, making minseok shiver a little.  chanyeol's eyes are still closed, but he smiles like he's seen everything.  so before chanyeol can make some sort of smug remark, minseok kisses him.  minseok isn't one to like morning kisses.  even if they do share a kiss in the morning, it's usually just lips pressed against lips in greeting.  but today, minseok's the first one to slightly on chanyeol's bottom lip, moving his lips so that they moisten chanyeol's.  chanyeol leans into it, pushing minseok's head back into the pillow and finally opening his eyes as minseok pulls back.

"hyung..." chanyeol says, again in that low voice causing shivers to go up minseok's spine.

and minseok feels something moving ever so subtly against his inner thigh, when his cellphone rings, loud and tinny against the comfortable silence of their morning.

chanyeol groans, burying his head in the crook of minseok's neck.

"leave it, hyung" chanyeol pleads because he's already hard and pressing a knee between minseok's legs.

but minseok's body reacts before his mind.  because a call this early in the morning could only mean something important.  there's no hesitation as minseok leaves the warmth of the sheets and walks to the coffee table in the living room, where he'd left his phone last night.

"hello?" minseok says in a voice slightly out of breath.  "hello?  kim minseok speaking."

[minseok-ssi?]

"yes, speaking."

[ah, this is lee jooyoung.  junmyeon's...]

"ah, yes jooyoung-ssi.  how are you?"

minseok's muscles relax as he slumps against the couch.  chanyeol's up now, sheet wrapped around his body like a toga over his pajamas.  his eyebrow is raised in question, so minseok mouths 'jooyoung-ssi'.  chanyeol nods his head and changes direction to the bathroom as junmyeon's fiance continues.

[it's just that they let me know that junmyeon is coming back in two weeks.  i thought he'd like it if you were there at the landing.  chanyeol-ssi too of course.]

"yes!  of course, thank you for inviting us! we'll be there!"

when minseok hangs up the phone, he can hear the water running in the bathroom.  he sits still as guruem crawls into his lap on the sofa.  he's elated to hear about junmyeon of course.  junmyeon's mission had been delayed and he know how hard it was for the couple to be apart for so long.  but at the same time, minseok thinks of a different man in space - one that he'd promised his future to, one that he'd promised to always be there for.

gurum whines, at minseok's chin.

"hmm?  oh, yes, it's time for breakfast, isn't it?" minseok says absent-mindedly, petting the dog's head.

minseok takes a breath, trying to come back to the present, and looks into guruem's light brown eyes, pausing.

"you would have liked him" minseok says quietly.  and then, "he would have liked you too."

======

"guruem" means cloud in korean.