Return of the Moon Man

arrival

Seungyoun's stomach turned as he sat in the train, making his way back to Seoul. He had not been back since him and Seungwoo decided to leave many years ago and never thought he'd be heading home.

He arrived at the station grinning from ear to ear as he noticed Yohan leaning against a vending machine still dressed in his usual sweater vest and caprice pants.

"Damn Seungyoun you are getting old" Yohan teased earning a playful punch from Seungyoun as he helped him with his luggage.

"You saw me a year ago idiot" Seungyoun groaned, jumping into the passenger seat of Yohan's car.

Seungyoun noticed a small ID sized picture taped to Yohan's dashboard of a little girl. He couldn't believe Yohan was a dad already, it seemed like his years moved much slower than his friends.

"How is Yejinnie ?" Seungyoun asked as they made their way to their neighborhood in the heat of summer.

"She'll be two soon, but I swear she has the intelligence of a seven year old" Yohan boasted.

"All parents think their kids are geniuses"

"She really is!" Yohan insisted pulling into Seungyoun's parents driveway.

They jumped out of the car, each grabbing Seungyoun's luggage and made their way into his parents house. Seungyoun felt a sense of comfort once he saw that his house was more or less the same as well as his parents who he'd always find cooking and chatting away in the kitchen.

"My son!" Seungyoun's mother ran and pulled him into a tight embrace. She peeped over her son's shoulder and frowned when she saw just Yohan emerge from the foyer.

"Where's Seungwoo ? Is he working late ?" she asked.

"Seungwoo and I are done mom" Seungyoun murmured and set his bags down. "After he figured out Hangyul's location NASA offered him a permanent position in the States and he took it."

Everyone in the room went quiet, unsure of what to say. Yohan had a hunch this was coming especially if Hangyul was coming home. He just hoped Seungwoo handled it well.

"I was a jerk to him anyways he deserved better" Seungyoun muttered and ran his hand angrily through his hair.

"Everything happens for a reason sweetheart" Seungyoun's mom comforted him. He nodded in response, taking a seat at the counter where his parents had already prepared a small meal.

Seungyoun was thankful his parents nor Yohan brought up Seungwoo again. He had a hard time saying goodbye to him as they parted ways at the airport last night. He admired Seungwoo for always having a smile on his face despite all the problems he had put him through. He just wished it didn't have to end the way it did.

"Do you know if they've landed yet ?" Yohan asked as he flipped through the news channels.

"The space station said only once they've gone through a few medical tests and rehabilitation will they notify us about it" Seungyoun replied as he bit down into a dumpling

"The mission might cause a bit of a stir so it wont be aired on tv or introduced to the public since there might be....issues."

"Issues ? what kind of issues ?" Seungyoun's dad raised an eyebrow.

Seungyoun swallowed hard as he remembered the messages Hangyul had sent to him over the years.

"There could be physical changes since they were on a different planet with a different atmosphere. The possibilities could be weight, a new strain of sensitivity and aging. They could come back as completely different people" Seungyoun explained. His own words made him wonder if Hangyul would ever be the same.

Time flew by and all of them sat in the lounge in silence awaiting the call from the station. A news channel happened to catch an Identified object landing near Japan a few days ago and Seungyoun was almost certain it was the rescue craft.

Suddenly his phone lit up and Seungyoun froze as he saw Hangyul's dads name pop up on his screen. Yohan and Seungyoun's parents huddled around Seungyoun as he picked up the call.

"Yes..uh huh..yes Im here...okay..yes see you soon" Seungyoun answered and ended the call.

"Well ?" Yohan's eyebrows raised.

"He did land, he passed his medical we are able to meet him now" Seungyoun said as a wide smile spread on his face and the tears of absolute joy begun rushing down his face.

Seungyoun fell to his knees, his face buried in his mother's lap as his dad and Yohan wrapped their arms around him. A moment they thought would never come had finally become a reality.

"Should I change or" Seungyoun stood up and wiped his face knowing he probably looked like a mess.

"You look fine darling just wash your face" his mother chuckled helping him clean up his teary eyes.

Before he knew it Seungyoun was in the car with Hangyul's parents and the nostalgia hit him hard. It felt much like the day they drove Hangyul to the station to take part in this mission, almost eight years ago.

As they pulled up they noticed a stir of media representatives crowding the front of the building but luckily enough they were given special permission to enter around the back where it was more secluded. The news of the mission had probably leaked on social media and the station would have to face months of questioning from the public.

Seungyoun noticed the familiar faces of families who were always at the monthly meet ups. Most have aged tremendously especially one of the kids who was in kindergarten at the time looked as if he was a pre teen.

"Ladies and gentlemen friends and family" the captain greeted as he stood at his usual podium with a huge smile on his face, unlike the last time Seungyoun had seen him.

"I never thought Id be here in front of you all again, in the year of my retirement with good news. Thanks to scientists who had worked tirelessly over the years and a huge help from an extremely brilliant Korean scientist named Han Seungwoo, we were able to bring our team home."

The crowd erupted into loud cheers and upon hearing Seungwoo's name Seungyoun held onto the chain around his neck and pursed his lip trying to suppress his feelings.

"Everyone we do apologize for withholding the good news for the past couple of days but we needed to make sure the astronauts were in good condition as the environment they were in was quite intense. Now you may notice a slight difference but we assure you, they are all healthy and ready to be back on our time frame."

Everyone in the crowd mumbled their concerns to one another after hearing the captains words, and finally the team emerged from the tunnel, all dressed up in NASA jumpsuits their faces lighting up as they were greeted by the crowd.

Each and every single member who boarded the ship that day eight years ago, looked exactly the same. No trace of any aging nor growth could be seen on any of them, it was if they had never left.

Seungyoun's heart raced as he finally saw Hangyul walk towards them. He was still a young bright twenty-two year old who still carried that fresh out of university charm. It felt like a dream.

"My baby!" Hangyul's mother screamed as she jumped into Hangyul's arms and sobbed. Hangyul could not fight back his own tears and joined in as his father held onto both of them tightly. Hangyul felt guilty for leaving them. Especially not being around to see them get old. Not be there to help out once they retired, he felt like he missed out on a lifetime of memories.

Suddenly through all his sobs and apology's, Hangyul looked up and searched for the one person he hoped to be there.

And there he was.

Standing in the back as usual, hands in his pockets tears streaming down his face and that stupid smile spreading from ear to ear.

It was his Seungyoun. He never forgot him. He was still waiting for him to come home.