---

It's always been Jongin's dream to make it to the Real Star-making factory. To work amongst the legends as they craft those dazzling, twinkling stars that light up the sky every moon-cycle.

With his standard gloves on, and a curl of his wrists, he too can now help create these beautiful burning gases and finally feel like he's a part of something. Though of course, it took numerous tries to really get it right, and a few years to actually make his first honest-to-brightness star outline. (With his name etched at the bottom and everything!)

But, after working a full millennium and aging to twenty-two thousand years old here at the factory...he's started to notice some things.

Like how his boss Mr. Baekhyun always calls one of his co-workers Yixing (a humanoid half-dryad like Jongin) to his office for 'one-on-one meetings'. And how every single time without fail, Yixing walks out after some time with stardust scattered across his cheeks and light dancing in his eyes.

And when you've worked a millennium at the same job (or over twenty millennia like some of his heroes), you become used to work gossip. But, instead of the usual talk of Yixing getting unfair praise and jealous jabs over not being chosen as employee of the decade--one of the line-workers from the line in front of them brings up something incredibly new to him one sun-cycle.

Specifically, about how their boss Mr. Baekhyun not only makes stars, but that he was also born as a star. Jongin can't help but laugh at the outlandishness of that statement, but then ends up gawking after seeing the serious expressions on his fellow line-mates' faces.

"He's--w-what?!" he exclaims.

Everything stills in the factory at his outburst, and Jongin quickly brings his hand to cover his mouth in embarrassment before fading and blending into his surroundings. His line-mate at the left naturally finds his shoulder before he can run off though, and Jongin's body slowly regains visibility as their boss pokes his head out of his so-dubbed 'happy space' to ask what happened.

All eyes inevitably turn to Jongin at that and he gulps, locking eyes with Mr. Baekhyun and physically forcing himself to stay visible as he's asked to step into his sanctuary for a moment.

"Well?" Mr. Baekhyun asks, once he's inside with him. A heating pad rests behind his back as he hovers over his seat like usual while Jongin's legs bounce up and down with nervous energy as he tries to think of a white lie to tell him. "And please don't lie to me, kid. I can tell you were just about to."

Jongin's eyes widen for a moment and he gulps before mumbling, "Is...and I-I don't mean to pry a-and it's none of my business, sir, but is-is it true?"

"Is what true?" Mr. Baekhyun asks, his golden-white eyebrows furrowed.

"That y-you..."

"Mhm?"

"That you were born a star?" Jongin squeaks out.

Mr. Baekhyun's whole demeanor instantly relaxes at that. "Oh that?" He blows air through his lips. "Galaxies, you scared me for a second there, kid."

He then chuckles as Jongin shoots up from his seat with a gaping mouth.

Light instantly starts twinkling in Jongin's eyes as he excitedly starts to ask him more questions such as, how did he get to their planet? Who made him, or did he make himself? Is that even possible?

Mr. Baekhyun laughs and answers each question calmly, seeming to find enjoyment at his curiosity. But after asking a few more questions, and then hearing a knock on the door from a 'just curious' Yixing, Jongin leaves them to whatever it is they'll be doing as he goes back to his line.

It's more difficult to focus on outlining though when he feels like he just read a thousand passages at once.

---

The next time he comes into work, he stumbles across a note laying on his work-space and blinks with wider eyes. Then, as his fingers tentatively dance over the encrypted flowing message, its contents soon become decipherable as it translates itself for him.

Wanna switch lines for a sun-cycle, kid?

---

With his feet tapping against the floor, and his lips pouting as he hums a random tune, Jongin waits outside of his boss's sanctuary early the next sun-cycle to confirm the message. (Galaxies only know of how many pranks he's gotten when he first started out here.)

After knocking again (and hearing some slight shuffling from inside), Mr. Baekhyun finally pops his head out--his golden-white hair askew with tiny flower petals caught in the strands and a slightly dazed look to his eyes as he smiles at him. A clearing of a throat behind him then lets Jongin know what must've been going down inside.

"You're here for the line-switch, right?" Yixing asks, coming up to stand next to his floating lover.

Jongin simply nods.

"Okay, you know where the cannon-line is, right?" Jongin nods again. "Alright, when you get there--go to 88-B for your shift, rig the star, suit up, blast into quadrant 10012, and secure the net at exactly 28 07 34.6 by -26 09 89.3--got it?"

Mr. Baekhyun then laughs at Jongin's overwhelmed expression and says, "Don't worry, kid." His eyes crinkle as Yixing slowly closes the door. "All of the details will be relayed in the cannon. Good luck haha~"

Then the door closes with a clink and Jongin just stands there in shock.

---

Even after awkwardly greeting the cannon line-workers and going to his temporarily assigned cannon, he just stares as one after another, the others jump into their cannons and shoot out into space. Or well, their assigned space-quadrants for this shift.

Safe to say, his deeply-tan hands jitter and flit about anxiously as he fully suits himself up and climbs into his borrowed cannon.

If it was any other sun-cycle, he'd be back with the designing line--creating the shapes for each star so that the line in front could actualize their drawings into reality and then bring the stars to the stabilizers who then bring the stars to the cannon-line.

So until now, he's never actually got to feel a star in his hands, much less, see the inside of a legitimate star-cannon. And though he's heard stories of some newly-born stars being extremely whiny and such, actually holding one and listening as it twinkle-cries about finding its place in the world--it's just all too surreal for him.

Thankfully, the coordinates for his assignment do seem to have been pre-entered, so he only has to tap his hand against the launch button before he's wailing into his helmet as he feels himself get launched out at warp-speed. Then just like that, he finds himself cradling his star and floating about in the quietness of his space quadrant.

His breathing's rapid as he finally opens his eyes and a bit of calm soon washes over him as he spots his fellow co-workers in their own quadrants--greeting and placing the new baby stars in their spaces.

Suddenly, he feels a rapidly burning heat in his suit's gloves and yelps as the extremely hot and bright star he's holding onto lets out an exhilarated noise.

"Hoo-hoo! Well, I guess this is it, Mister! Thank you for finding me my home!" the star says, and Jongin just stares at it as it literally jumps out of his palms to rest at a spot near some much older stars.

A few greet the newest addition with a Welcome and Jongin just watches with awe before he sees the light on his suit's wrist-screen light up with a Capturing message. So with puffed up cheeks, he mentally prepares himself for the feeling of his body turning back into light particles to return back to the factory.

And unbeknownst to him, as he closes his eyes and starts getting back into his cannon, a teeny-tiny star latches onto his suit and gets in with him.

---

A few cycles later, a newcomer arrives to the factory. A humanoid of some kind, to be exact.

When Mr. Baekhyun introduces him to the rest of them, Jongin feels his heart start to beat faster when the newcomer's gaze sweeps across his co-workers and then suddenly locks eyes with him. Because it's like nothing else exists during this little moment...until Mr. Baekhyun says something else and captures the other's attention.

Later on, this newcomer, Kyungsoo, gets assigned and trained a little to work with the actualizers. And to Jongin's (pleasant) surprise, he's going to be working at the station directly in front of his.

The others next to Kyungsoo excitedly greet him as he sits down, and Jongin's stomach flip-flops around in a new way when he sees Kyungsoo's dazzling smile for the first time.

---

After a couple sun-cycles of glancing at Kyungsoo's back and blushing--Jongin finally works up the nerve to say hi to him.

The moon is