among the stars / hyungwonho

03

Ever since Hyungwon's arrival, Hoseok spends more time in his workroom than normal. He's not a fan of Hyungwon in the slightest bit. It appeared that he and Kihyun have become somewhat friendly over the last two weeks. He glances at the clock and realizes it's late and Hyungwon, who seems to be part sloth, is probably asleep which is the perfect time for him to talk to leave his workroom and walk around.

When he opens the door to the hallway, he's greeted by Hyungwon with a devilish grin on his face.

"Hungry?" he asks while holding out a plate in his hands.

"No thanks."

That's as good as a dismissal but Hyungwon pouts and lingers around. He awkwardly follows Hoseok into his workroom and looks around before sitting in a chair near Hoseok. He moves closer trying to make it look casual, tries not to stare at Hoseok's hands or eyes or Hoseok's anything as he asks, "what're you working on?"

"Nothing really."

"Is that a music box?"

"Yes."

"You don't like me," Hyungwon says. It's not a question, it's a statement.

"Not really, no," Hoseok replies.

Hyungwon nods and gets up from the seat retiring to his bunk. Hoseok continues to work and Kihyun drops in a little later. He looks at the music box and arches a brow.

"I haven't seen one of these since I was a kid."

"I was bored. We've been drifting for a week now. When are those government goons gonna give us our money so we can offload Hyungwon?" Hoseok whined.

"They said when they get the funds to. Just be patient Hoseok, why don't you get to know him while he's here, it would make it a lot easier," Kihyun suggested.

"He's a criminal Kihyun. What's going to happen when we have to turn him over? It's gonna be weird. Imagine turning in your friend to be jailed or killed for your own benefit?" Hoseok retaliated.

"I've been thinking about that, to be honest. I'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Remember Kihyun, if we don't turn him in, we'll all be in trouble."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

***

Hoseok doesn't know what time it is when he leaves his workroom to stretch out his legs. He passes by Kihyun's room and sees him sleeping on the top bunk. He continues his walk and for some reason, he looks into the storage room that Hyungwon sleeps in but sees that Hyungwon isn't in there. He sighs and continues his walk into the cockpit. Maybe he'll make a log to clear his mind but sees that Hyungwon has already beat him to it.

[ LOG: 12 - Date: 25719.1 - DESTINATION: None set ]

"Ah, I don't know where we're going. I know Kihyun and Hoseok are waiting to turn me over to earth. Kihyun is pretty nice, I like him. Hoseok doesn't like me so," Hyungwon laughs with sound but without feeling and the space around him is empty not because no one else is there but because that's how he feels.

"I'm doing this because I can't sleep and I don't want to bother anyone but I have to put this somewhere," again the empty laugh. He wrings his hands. "Kihyun... you asked me if I wish I wasn't caught and I knew at the time that I wish I had put up a fight. I thought about it a lot and I won't change my answer, but I'm happy I was caught by you guys."

"I don't regret running away at all. In fact, I wish I didn't wait so long. Earth sucks. I wonder how my family is, I hope they're doing well. I wish they came with me but I guess they sent me for a reason. I hope the money I sent them gets them out of there. I know it's not enough though."

"What're you doing?"

"Oh, I didn't think anyone was awake. I hope I didn't wake you," Hyungwon mumbles.

"You didn't," Hoseok says and takes a seat. He watches Hyungwon out of the corner of his eye who's picking at his fingers. "You shouldn't do that, you could catch an infection," Hoseok suggests.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight Hoseok," Hyungwon says and gets up. He quietly walks away but is stopped by Hoseok's words.

"Did you mean what you just said?"

"Huh?"

"That you were caught by us?"

"Oh, yeah."

"You can't keep doing this, we can't keep doing this. It won't work out. It'll only hurt Kihyun when you leave and I'll have to pick up the pieces. Just don't get too comfortable," Hoseok warned.

"I-I know. Goodnight."

***

Between the three of them, it's Hoseok who plays his history closest to the vest -- Hoseok who, when called out on freezing up or misdirecting his anger, gets quiet and disappears, sometimes for days. The small shuttle they harbour allows him to do this in reach of another moon or planet, but Kihyun who has always let him get away with it reconsiders every time he sees the hurt look in Hyungwon's eyes, the way his frame sinks in on itself like a wounded animal.

After a heated argument between Hoseok and Hyungwon, Kihyun grabs Hoseok's arm as Hoseok tries to walk away and holds him there.

"I understand that you don't get along with Hyungwon, but he's still a human being. Start treating him like one," Kihyun yells.

"He's a thief, a murderer, a criminal. He's not human. He's less than that. Stop-"

"I said, stop treating Hyungwon like shit and that's an order," Kihyun demands.

***