THREE DAYS LATER

More learning about his father and the amazing things he's done.

At this point, school feels more like propaganda. 'Be more like Park Jimin or else you'll end up a failure'. Namjoon gets it, he really does. Jimin saved the solar system. Obviously he deserves monuments and to be taught to children, but it's becoming a bit obnoxious. As a kid, Namjoon never learned about Jimin, but as he grew up, that's when the lessons started. He's not sure why they're saving all the Park Jimin textbooks for his later years in life. You'd think they'd want to teach good morals to kids, not near-adults.

Despite that, Namjoon isn't too worried about his grades. After all, he quite literally has the answers living right next door. Namjoon skims over the words of his homework assignment. The first question is a personal one. 'Why do you think learning about Commander Park is beneficial?'. That's a pretty easy one. Namjoon uses his pen, spewing ink out on the assignment.

'Learning about Commander Park gives us a better understanding of how the Earth Mars conflict was solved along with the recovery process in the outer rim that benefitted massively from Commander Park's involvement. Learning about him not only gives us inspiration (due to him having a classic underdog story), but it also better informs us on the state of the solar system and how it came to be the way it is now'.

He's sure that's a decent answer. It's Namjoon. The topic is his father. The teacher is giving him a 100 as long as his answer makes some sense.

He's quick to finish his assignment, answering a bunch of questions about the Earth Mars conflict. A conflict his father fought in. Then, his eyes wander to the last question. The name of Captain Park's famous ship. Namjoon softly smiles and he's not sure why, writing the answer down.

The Moonchild.

The Moonchild is the single most famous ship in the solar system, even over the Tokyo. The Moonchild crew are the most well-known people in the system, but that goes without saying. Namjoon fiddles with his fingers, bringing his left hand up to bite on his nails. He doesn't recall ever having that habit, but maybe he's picking it up due to the extended time he spends with Sehun.

When he finishes his assignment, he throws everything aside. Amazing how they're surrounded by all this tech, but they still do a lot of things by paper and pen. For example, Namjoon's textbook. Seeing as it includes Park Jimin, it was published recently. Maybe only a couple years ago. Namjoon shakes it off, hopping over to his kitchen with his hologlobe in-hand, his website open.

New orders pop up on the screen, Namjoon glancing at them while making himself kalguksu, one of his favorite foods. When he actually thinks he's making progress, there's a buzz originating from his hologlobe. He grunts, stirring the noodles before accepting the voice call. He doesn't need to check the contact. He knows who would be calling at a time like this.

"Hey bud, am I interrupting anything?" Jimin's perky voice says.

"Not really, just making food. I'll have to go in a few minutes."

Jimin nods on the screen, the walls of his room shining under the bright lighting. Upon a brief glance, Namjoon notices his mother in the background, playing with their youngest, Sirena. The youngest of six. On social media, there's a running joke that Namjoon's parents are responsible for single-handedly repopulating the solar system. Six kids are a lot, that's for sure. But his mom was in a big family too. The only problem is, they're all gone.

A twinge of sympathy spikes inside Namjoon. He can't imagine losing his siblings, especially Irene and Jungkook. Irene is his princess, and Jungkook is a lot of fun, just like the man he was named after. Ruby Executive Officer Jeon Jungkook. Namjoon spends a lot of time with him, often bonding over the dumbest things like their love for art. Jungkook loves Namjoon fiercely, like he's a son to him. Namjoon adores the older man, no matter how horny he may be (the sex jokes are nonstop).

"Your studies going well?" Jimin asks.

"If they weren't, I'd ask you. I quite literally have the cheat sheet right in front of me," Namjoon replies, motioning to Jimin's face on the screen.

Jimin chuckles, glancing back at his wife for a moment. She notices, shooting him a smile and wave. Jimin shyly returns it, Namjoon biting back an eye roll. Not one of annoyance, rather a grossed out one. Those two are obnoxiously in love.

"I'd hope you wouldn't need to cheat. Growing up, I told you all my fun stories. The whole Ganymede battle, Earth Mars, Commander Clementine, all that fun stuff-"

"But not the coma," Namjoon interrupts, not meaning to sound so harsh. Jimin goes stiff at that.

"They're uh, they're talking about that in school?"

"Jungkook told me when I asked about the Goliaths. He mentioned something about it changing you in more than one way. Is that true?"

Jimin hesitates, lowering his tone. Namjoon's not sure if he meant to or not. "This is a topic we should talk about in-person."

"Everything else is on screens, why does it matter now?"

His father's left eye twitches, but he doesn't comment any further. Instead, the connection drops. Namjoon sighs and finishes up the meal, pouring the contents of his noodle soup into a bowl and sitting at his kitchen table. The door is already unlocked. All that's left is waiting.

He slurps on his noodles as the seconds pass, keeping his eyes on the wood in front of him. The door opens not even a minute after Jimin dropped the connection, the door shutting as quickly as it opened. Another weight is added to the table, Namjoon glancing up in time to see the worried eyes of his father staring back.

From this angle, Jimin looks his age. Namjoon notices wrinkles forming on the edges of his cheeks, some near his eyes as well. His eye smile, that's what they're from. Thanks to aging technology, the average life span is well over a hundred years, so Jimin isn't even halfway through his life yet, but he'll be getting a lot of wrinkles soon. Namjoon will surely get wrinkles from his smile too. On the bright side, Jimin still has a full head of hair. A full head of black hair at that, not an ounce of white or grey showing. Namjoon hopes he has the same luck with his hair.

"What exactly did he tell you about my coma?" Jimin asks.

Namjoon isn't sure how to answer. Jungkook himself didn't seem to know the whole story, rather bits and pieces Jimin told him over the years. "He told me you seemed like a different person after your coma. Not in a personality way, he said it was like there was another layer added to you. He said you blossomed into a leader because of it. Not that you weren't before, but it changed you. What did it change, dad?"

He lowers his head. "Before I entered the coma, I saw something. Something that made it possible for me to get up and finish off a Goliath." Namjoon nods. "I um, I saw you." Namjoon raises both his brows. "Wait, I-I'm sorry, not you. Kim Namjoon, not Park Namjoon."

Joon glares at his dad. "Is that all I am to you? A fill-in for your lost father figure?"

Namjoon's not sure why he took it that way. It may be pent-up stress from not living a fulfilling life or the fear he'll never be seen as an individual. He'll forever be seen as one person. Park Jimin's son. No one more, no one less. Maybe he'll be regarded as great for that, but that's not what he wants. He wants a future where his name is Namjoon. Not Park Namjoon or Kim Namjoon. He wants to be Namjoon.

Jimin halts. To Namjoon's surprise, tears well up in his eyes. "Of course not. You're my son. You'll forever be my greatest achievement. The one that matters the most to me." Jimin places his hands on the table. Maybe it was a gesture, a hidden code. Only Namjoon didn't know what it meant.

"Namjoon is gone," Jimin continues, the words leaving his lips in a heavy breath. Namjoon's not sure if he should feel sympathy or more anger. "He's been gone for over twenty years. But that coma meant something to me. I saw him for the first time since he died. I never thought I'd see him again, then I did. I don't know what's more pathetic: the fact that I almost killed myself to go with him, or that I believed it was real."

"It wasn't?"

There's a sigh. "I don't know. He said it was. I know he was there for parts of my life, I mean I saw him after he died but... that coma. Before it, I mean. Looking back, it seems so surreal."

"You're the most optimistic guy in the solar system," Namjoon reminds him.

"Even an optimist loses their shine when enough bad shit happens to them." Namjoon's eyes widen when his brain processes the curse that spewed from his father's lips, but he doesn't move to call him on it. "I hugged him. It felt real enough to keep me going. I'm not sure if it was real or my mind giving me a reason to get up, but Jungkook's right. That changed me. Kim Namjoon was like a father to me, which may be confusing since he was only a year older, but he did more for me in the weeks we knew each other than my father has in twenty-five years. I loved him. Losing him was the second most important moment in my life... and the first was when I saw him again. Do you see me as an optimist?"

Namjoon hesitates. "I want to."

"That's the moment I became one. Because of Namjoon, I had hope for the future. Hope for myself and my friends."

He taps his fingers against the table, staring at his father. "My eighteenth birthday." Jimin goes still. "You told me I look just like him. You meant your Namjoon, didn't you?" The nod that follows makes his fingers tap harder. "You named my ship the Moonchild, didn't you?" The tears that well up in Jimin's eyes gives Namjoon his answer. They stay quiet for a few moments, Namjoon gathering his thoughts. "Dad, I love you so much, I truly do, but sometimes it feels like I'm just Kim Namjoon to you, not a son. Not my own person with my own choices and own name. I mean really, you even say I look like him. I've seen the pictures, you're right I do, but that only makes it more ironic, huh?"

"Joon, I know you're not Kim Namjoon. You're Park Namjoon. You always are, and you always have been."

Now comes the tough part. "What if that's not what I want anymore?" he whispers. Jimin's face falls more than before. "I'm not Namjoon. I'm a Park, and that's it. It's not your fault, I'm not blaming you, but I'm frustrated. My name doesn't mean anything. I don't either. I want to explore my own path and leave already, I don't even want to finish school."

"No child of mine is dropping out of school, especially not this close to the end. I understand why you'd be upset, but I think you're forgetting you're still young and haven't had the chance to make a name for yourself, but you will. You'll get that chance."

"Will you let me move out?" Namjoon asks.

"I would. I'm not your owner."

"Right after school's done?"

"Well, let's talk about that-"

"Bullshit, you say you'll let me move out, but not after school? How does that work? Dad, I need to go figure myself out. I need to. This universe is so massive, I want to find a home that isn't a spaceship. I'm sorry, but I'm not meant to be cooped up here my whole life. I can't stand it," Namjoon says.

"Don't curse," Jimin mumbles, gripping his hands into fists. "This is the safest place in the solar system. There's still danger out there, and we need to talk about that."

"I just want to start my life. Please let me."

"I lost my brother eighteen years ago to some unknown entity we haven't found. Forgive me if I'm a little nervous and want to help my son find a good place to settle down." Namjoon finds himself abruptly standing, grabbing his hologlobe and going over to the corner of his room. "What's this?"

"I don't want to do this right now. I'm so sick of feeling like I can't do what I need to for my life." Jimin stands with him, but Namjoon whips around and stops him in his tracks. "When you're ready to treat me like I'm my own person with my own choices, come talk to me. Until then, I want nothing to do with you."

Without another word, he storms away.

~~~

"I overdid it, but I couldn't help myself," Namjoon says, peering out the window. Sehun sits in the pilot's seat, tapping on the dashboard. "I left my noodles behind and everything."

"We have like a year's worth of food in the preservatives."

"We do?"

"Yeah, your dad went a bit crazy. Did you explore this ship at all?" Sehun asks. Namjoon shrugs. "There's a whole ass walk-in fridge with a shit ton of food and water inside. If you really wanted to isolate yourself, floating out in the middle of nowhere for a year would be the way to go."

Namjoon rests his feet on the dash, earning him a glare from Sehun, but he doesn't move. He stares at the stars, everything that's in his reach. They're near Neptune now, exploring the outer rim. They have a constant path. They go from the few space stations residing near Venus to the ends of the solar system where there are research teams near Pluto. There's a natural fear when it comes to Pluto, and even after years and years of research, there's still that said fear. Namjoon doesn't blame anyone for that. The aliens came from that direction.

"What if we flew away right now?" Namjoon asks. "Just theoretically. What if we detached and flew out and didn't come back for a while? Like you said, go float somewhere and be alone with our thoughts."

"I'd say you're batshit crazy, but I'd fly us wherever you wanted to go."

Namjoon turns his head to face Sehun, the man gazing back. There's a few beats of silence. Then, Namjoon softly smiles. "Pilot, this is your Captain speaking... please detach and fly toward Neptune." Sehun's face lights up with a childish excitement Namjoon has around art.

"Wait, you're serious?"

"As serious as I can be. Do I really seem like the type to joke around?"

"The day you joke is the day I learn to swim," Sehun says, nudging his shoulder.

"Oh please, you went to the pool before, didn't you?"

"You did, I went to stare at your abs," Sehun corrects. Namjoon goes still, Sehun realizing what he said and slapping a hand over his mouth. "That... was a joke. Strictly a joke."

"Oh my God, that's why you want to go to the gym with me-"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sehun interrupts, booting up the ship. Namjoon chuckles, a bittersweet panging hitting his heart. Sehun smiles, his eyes sparkling while he lights the entire racing ship up. "Your dad has a tracker on the ship. I can disable it, if you want." Namjoon nods, Sehun doing as he's told and shutting it off. He sends the clearance codes to hangar control, and they receive approval moments later. "We're cleared, just gotta follow instructions out of here."

Sehun does as he said, following the directions to the bay they need to depart from. And when they do, Namjoon's jaw drops to the floor. "Holy shit," he whispers, sitting up to stare at the stars now flooding his vision. Before it was merely a glance, now, it's all around him. "Oh my God, it's beautiful."

The Jeon boy agrees, guiding them outside the Tokyo. Namjoon doesn't so much as glance back at the cell that is the battleship they left. "Triton?" Sehun asks. Namjoon stares out at the space, his eyes expanding. "Uh oh, what's your idea this time, Joon?"

"Hundreds of years ago, NASA launched probes that would become the first to leave the solar system. Voyager 1 and 2. And since then, no one's gone outside the comfort of our home. They barely got to Pluto." Sehun turns to him, giving him a look Namjoon takes as curiosity. "Ever since, only a handful of people went outside the solar system and survived."

Sehun starts to catch on, leaning a bit closer. "The Moonchild crew..."

"They're the only humans who've ever been outside the solar system. What do you say we make a name for ourselves? Not as Park's, not as Jeon's, but as Namjoon and Sehun." Sehun keeps one hand on the yoke, the other falling to Namjoon's hand. Their fingers entwine, Namjoon smiling while color tints on the back of Sehun's neck.

"Let's do it."

~~~

ONE DAY LATER

Namjoon's hologlobe is blowing up with notifications from his father, most along the lines of 'where the fuck are you?'. Joon holds his globe in his hands, slightly floating since Sehun cut the artificial gravity. Mostly so he could divert that power to the engines, meaning they can fly faster. They're strapped in, his ass off the seat a bit since he didn't tighten his belts all the way. His mag boots are turned off as well, nothing constricting him to the ground anymore.

Part of him considers recording an apology. He's pretty dumb, but he's not stupid. He knows he was out of line to storm out on his father like that. Jimin's genuinely a good guy, maybe that's why Namjoon stormed out in the first place. He chooses not to think about, instead deciding to open the messages he's received.

Short Dad:

Short Dad: Where are you?

Short Dad: I know you're mad but come on please tell me

Short Dad: Namjoon?

Short Dad: You went out flying?

Short Dad: Enable the tracker right now

Short Dad: Namjoon answer my damn texts

Namjoon sighs, his finger hovering over the digital keyboard. Sehun walks in before he can press it, handing him a hot chocolate. "Fresh from the machine, I stole the stuff my dad uses. Tae, not Jungkook."

"Figured, I've never seen Tae without hot chocolate," Namjoon replies, setting his hologlobe aside and blowing on the warm liquid in his hands. Sehun sits down on the pilot's chair, his eyes asking the question his mouth doesn't. "He's blowing up my inbox. He'll probably see that I read the messages and freak out even more."

"Why don't you text him back?"

Good question. Namjoon isn't sure what's holding him back. "Do you think anyone will even notice we exited the solar system?"

Sehun shrugs. "Maybe. Maybe not. What matters is we know we did something for ourselves."

The pair share a look, their eyes locking as the stars shimmer around them. Nothing else matters except this moment. Namjoon leans a bit closer, their hands squeezing together. He places his mug in his holder, Sehun doing the same and closing the distance even more so. His free hand brushes across Sehun's cheek, their gazes never leaving one another's.

'Buzz'

It takes a few moments, but Namjoon and Sehun finally look away from each other, instead glancing down at the radar. "We're close to the edge," Sehun mumbles, backing away from Namjoon. Namjoon sighs, wishing for the closeness to come back. "We'll be there in less than a minute. Strap in tight."

Namjoon does as he's told, Sehun taking manual control of the ship. "My father told me what he named the ship."

"The Moonchild," Sehun replies.

"You knew?"

"I didn't want to tell you, didn't seem like good timing considering you were already upset." Namjoon agrees, sulking down into his seat more as Sehun approaches the end. Wow. The thought hadn't crossed Namjoon's mind until now: they're actually leaving the solar system. Departing it. The Milky Way, they're leaving temporarily. "Holy shit, this is happening," Sehun mumbles, voicing Namjoon's thoughts.

"Wait, do you see that?" Namjoon asks, pointing to the distortion not far away. Like a shell. The shell to their system. Sehun confirms he sees it, easing their speed.

"Still want to do this?" Sehun asks. Namjoon doesn't verbally answer, so Sehun takes the silence as a yes. That's what Namjoon wanted it to be, mostly since he's not sure if he has the strength to talk right now. They're about to leave their damn system. This is the most monumental moment in Namjoon's life so far.

Joon trembles. He's not sure if it's from fear or excitement. It's probably a mix of both. "Ten seconds," Sehun says. Namjoon grips the sides of his chair, eyes widening. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three..." The distortion comes closer, brushing past the nose of their ship. "Two..." Namjoon takes a deep breath, the distortion blocking his view. "One."

But what he wasn't expecting was for everything to go black.