The days following every burial were always hardest for Seulgi as she’s once again forced to stomach the unknown. Until Seol safely returns home, Seulgi can’t fully rest. Each death made her anxious, and anxiety made her question the possibilities between a beautiful reunion and an unwanted parting. Seulgi hated that there was no in-between. Seulgi hated that Seol wasn’t with her. 

Albeit her depressed state, the festival that had begun since dawn brought happy shrieking children and pounding music to the whole city. Every resident in Rurakin was celebrating and making the most out of their afternoons while Seulgi sat, crouched over, on the toilet seat without a care in the world. 

In her hands were the blue and yellow flyers concerning the ongoing festival. She sighed and mumbled, “How can anyone celebrate at a time like this?” 

She cleaned up after a while then crumbled the flyer and tossed it into the toilet bowl. As she went to flush, she heard soft knockings on her bathroom door. Recalling that she lived alone, she paused to let the intruder introduce themselves first. 

“Captain Kang? Captain Kang, it’s me. Doyoung.” 

“Doyoung?” Seulgi whispered, surprised as he was the last of her teammates she’d expect to visit her.

When Seulgi finally came out to greet Doyoung, she saw that he was in a loose t-shirt and shorts. His entire attire wasn’t fitting for the festival and that further puzzled her. However, as Team Captain, she had to maintain a calm and collected facade. 

“Seeing that you’ve broken and entered, it must be urgent,” Seulgi said and shut the bathroom door behind her before Doyoung could pry. “Coffee?” She offered and was declined with hesitation. 

“Actually...I have a favor to ask of you...Captain.” 

Seulgi didn’t answer right away. Instead, she strolled into the kitchen, refilled the kettle with sink water then set it on the stove and turned it on. “A favor?” She asked as she turned to face him and lean against the counter.

“Ye-yes...I know today is our only day off but…” 

Seulgi traced Doyoung’s eyes to the floor then saw his hands laced and trembling from the corner of her eye. Granted she didn’t know Doyoung and his habits well, but she sensed his distress. However, she wasn’t in the mood to be patient with him. Especially not after he’d broken in and have yet to be reprimanded. “Ask or leave,” she commanded. 

“Sor-sorry…” Quickly, Doyoung’s eyes were red with tears. As Seulgi observed him wiping them away, it softened her mood. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Doyoung cleared his throat then answered, “Yo-you see Captain Kang...last night. My grandma..she...she didn’t make it. Sh-she’s been bedridden for four months now and last night she—” Doyoung dried his tears with his sleeve this time, “I don’t want to trouble the whole team...but I don’t have a license and has never driven an aircraft before...if I leave alone I may never make it back…” 

Before Doyoung could ramble on, Seulgi turned a new leaf and under a concerned whisper asked, “Where’s your grandmother? I’ll drive and make sure we return with our lives.” 

On the same grounds where Aera and Minyoung were buried, Seulgi quietly dug a hole near a large rock for Doyoung’s grandmother. While the lad clutched his grandmother’s cold hands tightly and mourned her death in the craft. 

Seulgi stuck the shovel into the ground then clapped her hands of dirt. When she saw that Doyoung hadn’t come out, she in her breath and prepared a stick and marker for him as he should be the one to inscribe a message and the departed’s name. 

After a few more minutes, she heard the door open. Doyoung had on his breathing mask but it didn’t hide his red eyes. 

“Sorry I kept you waiting, Captain Kang,” Doyoung said with a sniffle then added, “I’m ready now.” 

As Seulgi warmed up the spacecraft, she let Doyoung have another moment of silence to himself. After all, they weren’t in a rush. In fact, the land of graves that seemed to run on and on felt like the better place to be than an empty home accompanied by an unwanted festival. However, before she could sink into her chair and just relish the view and moment, she caught a glimpse of something unusual out of the corner of her eyes. 

Seconds later, she found herself standing up to get a better look at it. When she realized what it was, she wasted no time exiting the craft and walking to it. When Doyoung saw the distraction on her face, he couldn’t help but follow her. 

“Is something wrong, Captain Kang?”

Seulgi ignored him and cautiously circled one of the graves. To her surprise, a woman was curled up in a fetus position on the ground. She didn’t look dead but it’s hard to believe she’s alive as she had no gears on. Before Doyoung could get any closer, Seulgi dropped onto one knee and checked for a pulse. Strangely enough, the stranger was warm and...breathing. Instantly, Seulgi loosens her cape and cover the smaller woman with it.  

“Oh my—” out of shock, Doyoung nearly tripped on air when Seulgi easily lifted the woman off the ground and carried her princess style. 

Seulgi wasn’t surprised when Doyoung looked at the woman with wide eyes, but him freezing up instead of helping caused her to snap at him. “What are you waiting for! Prepare a mask and lay out a mat for her on the ship!” 

“Ye-yes Captain!” 

Slowly but quickly, Seulgi laid the woman down on the green blanket Doyoung had spread out on the floor. Then she helped Doyoung put the mask over the woman’s face only for it to be ripped off. 

“Sh-she’s conscious, Captain Kang,” Doyoung said, pointing out the obvious but nevertheless still a shocking point, “Should I bring her a new mask?” 

Seulgi observed the woman turning onto her side as she seemed to have no problem whatsoever breathing on her own. She’s also yet to open her eyes and engage with them. Before either one of them could make a sound, they were captivated by the nameless’s beauty. There were smudges of dirt here and there on her face but they couldn’t hide her delicate skin. And her flowy ink hair against her light skin made her even more ethereal. 

“She’s...beautiful.”

“She is,” Seulgi agreed without thinking, “she also doesn’t need a mask.” 

Doyoung blinked and broke out of his trance, “But that’s impossible. How is she alive?” 

Seulgi wished she had the answer but her mind wandered off to Seol instead. What if Seol had found a way to breathe too? Seulgi stopped herself from any more false hopes when she realized what this discovery could mean. 

“Watch over her and let me know if she wakes,” Seulgi said and got up to close the door, seal it, and maneuvered toward the driver’s seat. Doyoung hummed as he understood. 

Seulgi and Doyoung had their hands behind their backs and were standing beside the opened and parked spacecraft with their legs apart. Meanwhile, their chief and the president himself stole glances inside the ship. 

President Kang was a short but sturdy man in his late 50s who had lost a lot of weight after becoming President. The once blissfulness in his expression and attitude have dwindled as well. And rumors are floating about that he’s become a cold and distant leader acting more like a ruler each passing day. 

This was no rumor. Seulgi knew what he had become. She’d see it at the dinner table on special occasional nights. Her father’s changed. Not after Seol’s disappearance but after he gained power and that fact alone created a drift between Seulgi and the president. 

“You found her at the burial site, alive and without any equipment? And she refused the mask you provided?” President Kang asked in a low, grumbly voice. 

Seulgi hummed. “We couldn’t identify her at the site and she may not be from here.” 

The older man made a rough sound in his throat but said nothing. Instead, Seulgi’s boss, Chief Yeo approached them with new information, “The doctor said she’s dehydrated but otherwise healthy and is resting. To be frank, this has never happened before and I’m at a loss for words. Leaving the domes without proper equipment is fatal. The atmosphere out there causes damage to our internal organs and in a short amount of time, we’ll die of suffocation. There’s also no other way out of Rurakin except the underwater tunnels, however, we have no missing crafts in the last six years. This woman...she’s been exposed to the elements for quite some time. It’s strange, we’ve scoured the planet for as far as our spacecraft could take us and haven’t made any discoveries. Yet this woman slipped our radar? I thought the people of Rurakin are the only humans left, President?”

“We are, we were.” 

Seulgi wondered what he meant by that. 

For the longest time, the people of Rurakin have been told and raised to believe they were the first and only humans to ever exist on Planet Z. There were no survivors outside of Rurakin without the essential articles. The President’s words and the situation of the nameless woman made Seulgi question what’s been taught and ingrained into the people. 

“Are you saying some people can breathe on their own? Without the proper equipment?” Seulgi asked, quietly but hurriedly. Desperate to know what the President knew. 

The man sighed heavily, “No. The only people left are living here. What you found isn’t a person. To be sure of what it is, you’ll have to move it to the lab. Let the scientists look at it and see what they come up with.” 

The President and his men left without another word. Chief Yeo suggested that Seulgi and Doyoung do as the President said then add that they enjoy the rest of their day off. There was still time before the festival is over. 

The science lab was located on land and under a smaller dome away from the water domes. In case there was a breakout or virus, the disease won’t spread within the main city but trapped and contained in the separate dome. 

After Seulgi relieved Doyoung of his duties, she did what was asked of them and brought the woman to the lab. And as she waited outside a small, white room, a man and woman quietly came out to give her an update on their procedures. 

The woman spoke first, “Before we further run tests on her, we’re going to wait for her to regain consciousness and see if she’s able to verbalize. Right now, the room she’s laying in will stabilize and improve her conditions, in case there’s a delay and something does go wrong with her.”

“..what kind of tests will you be running?” Seulgi asked, helplessly. 

The scientist pocketed her hands and calmly answered, “Since she’s an outlander, there will be various tests to check her blood type and DNA. We’ll also conduct communication and physical procedures as well as—”

“So what you’re saying is,” Seulgi interrupted as she didn’t want the scientist to try and sugarcoat her explanation, “she’ll be a research subject. You’ll study her to understand how and why she’s different.” 

“As per the President’s orders,” the man chimed in, “but rest assured, she won’t be harmed in any shape or form.” 

Initially, it didn’t sit well with Seulgi to turn someone she had just rescued into a test subject, but if the scientists say they’ll make sure no harm comes to her and stumble on a possibility that missing people like Seol could be alive, then it wouldn’t make sense for Seulgi to be against it. 

“So Irene won’t experience any pain during all the tests?” Seulgi asked. 

“Irene?” the man and woman both, out of sync, asked.

“Her name,” Seulgi answered though she had just made it up on the spot. 

The man chuckled, slightly amused. He figured she had brought up the woman's name because they kept referring to her with pronouns, “I assure you Irene won’t be in any discomfort long as she’s here. Feel free to drop by and visit her at any time. We hardly get visitors here so you won’t be bothering anyone. Also, I’m sure she’ll like having someone here that won’t only see her as a test subject.”

Seulgi appreciated his honesty. "What was your name again?" 

"Oh, apologies, my lab partner is Lee Soonkyu but she goes by Sunny. I'm Seo Youngho but call me  Jonnhy, please," he said, revealing a handsome smile as he reached out a hand to her. 

"Johnny, I'm Seulgi." Seulgi replied then took his hand and shook it gently. 

Johnny widened his smile, "I know who you are, I remember you,"