"just because they are ahead doesn't mean that they are first, baby." - lee minho.
a collection of random stray kids one-shots by yours truly. dm me for requests!
a/n: hello, hello! how are you guys doing today? this story was inspired by an idea from @felixstanalex! (guys idk about you, but i am in LOVE with scientist han jisung, especially with his rockstar hair ahjiofredkcfmvnj)
before you begin, i'm gonna give you some backstory, because i think the story might be confusing otherwise.
skz are a group of scientists who have been working on a time machine since they were in university, and a few months ago, jisung (bora's husband) was working alone in a lab. the time machine (which is a wristwatch) was his biggest life goal, and he loved it as much as he loved bora and seulgi (their daughter). while he was working, someone else snuck into the lab, planning to steal the time machine for their personal use, but jisung protected it with his life (quite literally). he fought the person off and managed to alert the authorities, but by the time anyone could show up, the person wounded his head and he died of blood loss.
now, months later, the rest of skz have finally finished the time machine and they need someone to test it. bora, who wants to see jisung just one last time, volunteers immediately.
this story takes place on the day off, starting barely ten minutes before she leaves our world for the past.
dun dun DUNNNNNNN
trigger warning: mention of death
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"are you sure you want to do this?" minho asked quietly amid the bustling around them.
bora nodded, her face hard and determined. she glanced at her baby— seulgi— who had fallen asleep in jeongin's arms as he nervously paced around, double-checking the code in the system. "i have to," she told him.
he shook his head. "no, you don't," he insisted, taking a step closer. "you don't have to be the test subject. we can find someone—"
"i have to," she repeated, her voice louder. "i want to. jisung died protecting us from people who wanted this. i— i have to make it worth it. you have to make sure it works."
and i have to see him again. one last time.
minho sighed as if he knew what her answer would be from the start. "you know the risks," he told her, looking back to see the head of the operation, bang chan. as if on cue, the australian man appeared beside them, his hair messy, under eyes dark, and white coat wrinkled.
"you could get lost in time," he informed her as he did many times before, and bora grimaced but nodded nonetheless. "you might get stuck there."
"i— i know."
"he won't see you," chan said, his voice softer. "you'll be invisible to him."
she nodded, swallowing. do not cry, she ordered herself. you have to do this.
just like minho, he asked, "are you sure you want to do this?"
she nodded. "yes, i do," she told him. "jisung trusted you guys. i trust you, too."
