Last Girl Alive | Bangtan

59: The Way Home

You've never seen one before yet you know exactly what it is.

It expands in front of you, growing large in sync with your eyes. It looks like a massive pigeon and if you didn't know what it was, you'd probably have thought it was a massive pigeon. It sat so elegantly, so strong and firm behind those huge glass screens. It's curves and powerful engines, its thick white and red paint...your eyes trace every inch of it. This is the first time you've ever seen one. It was like diving into a science fiction novel and living in it. Your eyes travel up it's long height, almost as if disappearing into a ceiling that did not exist. It towered above you, making your feel small and insignificant.

You hear a noise and turn to see Taehyung's body disappear through a screen. He seems to have found the door, because he's already making his way down towards the white tower. You follow hastily, rushing down the hall, watching through your peripheral vision as Jungkook skips down the steps.

Your eyes go wide as the rocket grows bigger in front of your eyes. It was like seeing a stadium or the Eiffel Tower for the first time, and in many cases this was Taehyung's biggest dream. His arm reaches out at once as he caresses the strong, sturdy metal sheath.

You search every bit of it as your mind tries to keep up with this new discovery and its montrosity. The crumbling bottom, the large empty holes under itching to push off, the pointed tip, the black pai-

wait what was that?

You gasp loudly as you meet your worst nightmare once again. The six letter sit in bold black across one side, separated by large stubborn full-stops as they gleam in the dim light laughing at your confusion and fear.

You let out an exasperated groan, fists clenching. Why? Why??

"Hyung..." Namjoon's voice is the first one to be heard, cutting through the astonishment. "Thi-This is...this..."

"It's a spacecraft," Taehyung finishes simply. "I'm pretty sure. I'm actually one hundred percent sure." He steps forward, pressings his hands and face against the glass screen separating him and lifelong treasure. "I've spent years as a kid drawing this in my school books, I've watched too many movies, too many books to not know...this...it looks..." His eyes widen as they sparkle in innocent young admiration. You can tell Taehyung, a sky watcher plucked from his whereabouts and placed here for some reason, was now facing wave after wave of nostalgia. "It's like the Saturn V." He turns excitedly to the rest of the group, almost on the edge of jumping up and down.

"The what?" Jungkook purses his lips.

"The Saturn V." Taehyung repeats, like it was obvious. When he's still met with confused expressions not only from Jungkook the rest he grows bewildered. " The Saturn V rockets? Like the heaviest, tallest...most powerful rockets ever built? That's what launched Apollo 11?"

Jin's eyes have almost disappeared under his eyelids as he squints trying to understand what Taehyung is even blabbering about. Your brain is a bunch of question marks.

"Apollo 11?" Taehyung says again, in disbelief. "Apollo 11! You guys don't know about the Apollo 11? The first rocket to ever land on the moon? Are you kidding me!?!" He grabs his hair in frustration, like a madman surrounded by a bunch of idiots. It was impossible for him to imagine someone didn't know this sort of basic knowledge. "Neil Armstrong?" he suggest in pressured hope.

"Ah!" Namjoon nods in sudden understanding. "I know that guy."

"Yeah, I've heard of him...I think," you wince trying to fish this name out of your memory. Your memory has been returning but not in a very helpful way. You still don't remember the names of your parents or your friends or even the way your room looked...how were you supposed to remember some..scientist? Astronomer? You weren't sure who this guy was but you'd supposed he didn't have anything to do with literature or linguistics otherwise you'd probably have sparked some memory as Namjoon had done.