It was probably the Reconnaissance Unit that had come with Sun Woosung.
Grrrr… Kirr!
Everyone fell silent, seemingly aware of the approaching fighter jets.
I gently pulled Min Yugeon’s hand away. Sensing the resolve in my demeanor, he finally let me go, his grip loosening helplessly.
I stepped past him as his uneasy eyes followed me.
“Lee Shin.”
I stopped in front of him.
Lee Shin immediately met my gaze. I spoke slowly, clearly enough for everyone—those watching us, and even Rai and Cat—to understand.
“I’m going back.”
“…Back?”
“Yeah. The ship is still my home. For now.”
At my answer, Lee Shin’s shoulders slumped. He must have already guessed what I was going to say.
“Suho… if you go back, will you be happy?”
He asked the question quietly, finally breaking his silence.
Happy.
It wasn’t a word I’d ever said out loud often. And yet, Lee Shin had a way of constantly pushing me to take the idea of happiness seriously.
I turned my head slowly and looked at Min Yugeon.
His fists were clenched, body rigid with tension, but his eyes still sought mine—trembling slightly.
That gaze. That unwavering look directed only at me—it had been with me for so long it had become a part of my world.
Hello.
Maybe it had started from the very beginning. From the day we first met, when he’d shyly blushed and greeted me with a face still round from baby fat—Min Yugeon had always been looking at me.
And I, too…
Maybe from the very beginning…
“……”
I raised a hand and gently touched my tear-streaked face. Min Yugeon had wiped the tears away, but the dampness still clung to my skin, refusing to fade all at once.
I didn’t know what expression I wore when I looked at him.
But one thing was certain—Min Yugeon was the only person who could draw such raw emotion from me.
The only one who could make me cry like I’d lost my mind, or laugh without reason. The only one who made me feel so deeply, so vividly.
He had always been a constant presence in every chapter of my life.
So if I had to live the rest of my life without him by my side…
If those familiar eyes disappeared—if that gentle hand that wiped my tears was no longer there…
I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep going as if nothing had happened.
Because I already knew just how hollow life became without him. I’d felt it before.
It was a pain not unlike losing a part of myself.
As I recalled that pain, my chest ached so sharply I bit my lip.
……
Nothing had changed since that moment I’d looked down at Min Yugeon lying in a hospital bed.
Just as he needed me, I also needed him—desperately. I didn’t want to lose what mattered most just because I was preoccupied with thoughts of Min Sanghan.
I still loved Min Yugeon.
“Yeah.”
I turned away from Min Yugeon and looked back at Lee Shin.
“I will be.”
Because the condition for my happiness… is Min Yugeon.
“Then…”
Lee Shin gave a small nod after hearing my answer.
“Then I will too.”
“What?”
“I’m going with you. To the ship.”
The unexpected words left me stunned. My mouth fell open.
But Lee Shin’s gaze remained steady. There was no hesitation or inner conflict in his expression.
“But… you said you wanted to come back to the surface.”
I knew how suffocating life on the ship had felt for him.
And yet he was choosing to follow me?
“Yeah. I’ll stay by your side.”
He spoke clearly, locking eyes with me.
In that moment—
Grrrrrng.
Rai released his paw from Cat’s head and suddenly came over to me.
His towering shadow loomed over me. He stared down at me for a beat before nuzzling his thick mane against my entire body.
He was trying to be gentle, but I still had to steady myself to avoid being knocked over.
I looked down at the tail wrapping itself softly around me.
No way…
“You want to come too?”
Grkk.
Rai met my eyes with a deadpan expression, as if to ask what the problem was.
I was stunned by the unexpected turn.
Of course, I hadn’t intended to leave them behind. But for them to take the initiative to come with me—that, I hadn’t expected.
I’d thought Rai and Lee Shin both wanted the freedom of life on the surface.
I silently looked at Sun Woosung.
“……”
He gave me a silent nod.
It meant I could take Lee Shin and Rai back with me.
Letting out a long breath, I threw my arms around Rai, burying myself in his thick mane.
It was time to go back.
***
The return was smooth.
I boarded the transport headed for the ship, with both Cat and Rai in tow, etching the scenery of the surface clearly into my memory. I’d thought that if I weren’t there, the two of them might tear each other apart.
But in the end, I was wrong.
Perhaps because he’d lost the initial battle for dominance, Cat kept shooting wary glances at Rai and clung close to me throughout the flight. As I stroked Cat’s sleek black fur, Rai sat beside us, watching the interaction with a clear expression of displeasure the entire time.
Once we arrived at the flight deck of the ship, the two beasts were sent off to the research facility, and I walked with Min Yugeon and Lee Shin, following behind Sun Woosung.
“Colonel. Shouldn’t we restrain them or something?”
A nearby Reconnaissance Unit soldier gestured toward Lee Shin as he asked Sun Woosung.
“This one too.”
The remark, aimed at Min Yugeon, made my fingertips twitch involuntarily.
For some reason, despite reports framing me as having been abducted by Lee Shin and unintentionally taken off the ship, Min Yugeon had been branded a criminal for hijacking a fighter jet. Which meant that right now, both Min Yugeon and Lee Shin were considered full-fledged criminals.
Grrrrrr…
Sensing danger, Lee Shin let out a low growl and grabbed my arm, glaring at the soldier. I gently patted his hand, then looked over at Min Yugeon, heart pounding with unease.
Min Yugeon walked close to my side, entirely unbothered by the possibility of being taken in or what might happen to him—his eyes were fixed only on me.
Sun Woosung quietly watched us, his gaze subtle but unwavering. When I turned to look back at him, his normally impassive expression bore a faint, almost imperceptible crack.
He answered the Reconnaissance Unit soldier with a curt reply.
“They’re coming as they are.”
“…Yes, sir.”
The soldier looked a bit puzzled but accepted the order without objection. It was clear how strictly the chain of command operated within the unit.
We walked for a long while before stopping in front of a familiar building. It was the same place I’d visited once before—where the upper ranks of the ship lived and worked. A memory briefly flashed through my mind: dining here at Yeo Wonjin’s invitation.
We passed through the corridor and entered the reception room I’d already been in once.
Following Sun Woosung’s orders, the other Reconnaissance Unit members left to return to base, leaving only me, Sun Woosung, Min Yugeon, and Lee Shin in the quiet room.
No one sat down. No one spoke first.
“Captain! Wai—!”
The silence broke with a clamor from outside.
Footsteps pounded in rapidly, mixed with the flustered voice of someone trying to stop them—then suddenly cut off.
I turned toward the doorway, puzzled—
“……!”
The reception room doors flew open.
Yeo Wonjin stood there, breathless.
His brown hair was disheveled, his clothes wrinkled—he looked completely unlike his usual composed self, which only underscored how urgently he must’ve come.
“…Researcher.”
His eyes scanned the room and landed on me in an instant. His gaze didn’t waver once. I dipped my head slightly in greeting.
“Captain.”
“……”
He stood there in stunned silence, staring at me with a face twisted by emotion before slowly approaching.
Once he was right in front of me, he raised his hands. As if he wanted to cradle my face, his hands hovered near my cheeks—but stopped just short, suspended in the air.
“Ah…”
A small breath escaped him, like he hadn’t meant to act on instinct.
“Are you hurt anywhere…?”
His hands fell as he asked, his voice thick with emotion he was trying hard to suppress.
I hesitated, then gave a small nod.
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
“You must’ve been terrified.”
He spoke gently, but his gaze cut coldly toward Lee Shin standing by my side.
“I’m fine. And…”
I opened my mouth again after a brief pause.
“I’m sorry, Captain.”
I glanced once at Lee Shin, who was watching Yeo Wonjin warily, his brow furrowed.
“I acted on my own to help a sentient being escape confinement—because I believed keeping him locked up was morally wrong.”
Yeo Wonjin had surely already learned the truth. He must’ve known that I had intentionally helped Lee Shin leave the ship. So he could’ve chosen to criticize me, to detain me right then and there—and I wouldn’t have had a single word of defense.
I was about to apologize again when Yeo Wonjin shook his head.
“No.”
He shook his head again.
“You returned safely. That’s all that matters to me.”
“…!”
His words—so genuine they couldn’t be concealed—left me speechless.
I had always thought of Yeo Wonjin as composed, rational, someone who maintained a calm, even-tempered air. I never imagined he’d respond like this.
“More importantly, there’s somewhere you need to go.”
He looked at me like he expected me to already understand—like I should know that now wasn’t the time to argue over right and wrong.
Then, without another word, his eyes drifted to Min Yugeon.
“……”
“……”
The mood instantly froze over. Min Yugeon seemed to understand exactly why Yeo Wonjin was looking at him.
The color drained from his face.
“Suho.”
He gently took my hand.
“Min Sanghan… he’s never going to ask for your forgiveness.”
I lowered my gaze.
His hand, always warm, was icy cold from tension.
“Even if he does, it’ll be a lie—just another way to try and save himself. He’s the kind of man who always thinks he’s right.”
“…Yeah.”
I softly closed my hand around Min Yugeon’s, which was colder than my own.
“I know.”
But I still had to face him.
If I didn’t confront Min Sanghan and bring closure to that part of my life, I’d never be able to be with Min Yugeon fully and freely.
