The crew crowded around the viewing window.

            “There she is,” Youngjae whispered softly, his heart ached strangely. “Earth.”

"Home sweet home."

• • •

            They hurried, and the kids stood watching them, silent and unmoving.

            “Hey!” Daehyun shouted, “We are back!”

            “What town is this?” Youngjae asked.

            As they stepped closer Himchan could see that the kids were pale and staring, eyes wide.

            “What’s wrong?” Jongup murmured.

            “It’s probably how beat up we look,” Yongguk said uneasily, looking at their torn clothing and scratched skin. Daehyun was bleeding from a forehead wound and Zelo was limping.

            “Don’t be scared,” Zelo said, holding his hands out in a sign of peace, “We are back from Mars. The rocket launch last year, that’s us. Remember?”

            The kids stared, ashen, suddenly they turned and fled. The boy abandoned his bike, which fell to the ground with a clatter. They dashed frantically towards town.

            The crew watched them go with bewilderment.

            “What the hell,” Daehyun whispered, “What’s wrong with us? What’s going on?”

            “It’s our wounds,” Yongguk repeated, uneasy.

            “Something’s wrong.” Youngjae said, shakily. The engineer began to tremble. “There is something terribly wrong.”

• • •

AN: It's a story I wrote based on a PKD short story by the same title (I love that guy, his books were the best). It is most likely going to be a oneshot unless people absolutely hate the ending. This story features a brief and rather sad cameo from some of the secret girls. No romance this time, although there are hints of OT6 sprinkled all over (banghim, daejae, jonglo). Please leave a comment if you really want to make my day. ILU guys. ♥

I only write scifi, so this story seems to take place in a similar world to The Shoulders of Orion. Actually, this is not a dystopian universe. It's just normal Earth, except twenty years in the future when astronauts are capable of travelling to Mars.