Yoon Jeonghan tossed the flight documents onto the desk as Mingyu absentmindedly stirred his coffee. "Seriously, can you two tone down the cheesiness? A little pre-flight sentimentality is fine, but the project manager is standing right there, and you two are making out like nobody's watching! Kids these days are wild!"

Focusing on the newly received files, he nonchalantly replied, "The project manager is Choi Seungcheol, who else? Don't be so judgemental. I know for a fact that back when he was still flying, you two would always go into the office and... Ow! Get your hands off me!!!"

Jeonghan quickly covered the younger man's mouth before he could spill their illustrious history. "Okay, okay, I apologize. You two embracing passionately at the spacecraft entrance was the cutest, most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Please continue this display of affection so the whole country can witness your fairytale romance."

Throwing a withering glare at Jeonghan, Mingyu returned to the flight data. Wonwoo's ship had just escaped the atmosphere, and he didn't want any problems arising at this stage. Wonwoo had suggested changing the flight director many times, but Mingyu had refused. Compared to being completely clueless and unaware of his little cat's whereabouts, the heart-stopping feeling every time he saw the spacecraft launch was somehow more bearable. "How could you be so calm back then? Every time Nunu flew, I couldn't stay calm. You never know when the danger level will spike," he muttered. His little cat was in space, so Mingyu couldn't bear to add any more pressure. In this case, there was no better hotline than Yoon Jeonghan – who had watched his husband fly countless missions until Seungcheol retired two years ago.

"Calm? You could talk to him directly and know the flight's status. Back then, I only knew my husband was safe by looking at his heart rate monitor," Jeonghan snatched Mingyu's coffee and drained it. "We almost broke up several times because of this. The medical team only communicates directly in case of health emergencies. So I both wanted and didn't want to talk to my old man. No news is good news. I looked at his medical reports so much that I felt like our hearts beat as one."

Mingyu suddenly clenched his fist, feeling no different from Jeonghan. All that assured him of Wonwoo's safety were fragmented pieces of information. The radio waves were still working, connecting the control center and the spacecraft, but if something went wrong, Mingyu could only rely on them to solve the problem. Understanding his feelings, Jeonghan patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. "Wonwoo's a walking lucky charm, don't worry so much. You're the flight director; losing your composure means you won't be able to assess the situation clearly. The safety of that silly cat depends on you. Choi Seungcheol flew for over a decade and always landed safely."

"Probably aliens are afraid of him charging up there and shaving their heads if anything goes wrong, so they don't dare touch him," Mingyu felt much relieved. At least he could still call directly to get the flight status. A whole week of only seeing heart rate data was terrifying. Jeonghan laughed and ruffled his hair. "If something happened to that cat, you'd probably jump to the moon solo, what are you complaining about?"

Mingyu was about to retort when Wonwoo's ship contacted them again: "Min, we're in orbit! This zero-gravity environment is amazing!" His little cat's voice was always an effective calming agent for Kim Mingyu. He immediately shooed Jeonghan away from his desk and returned to the data. "Pledis 17, this is CARAT. The preliminary orbit looks stable down here. What's it like seeing Earth from up there?"

Wonwoo's laughter immediately came through the headset. "Loud and clear, CARAT. I always feel amazed when I see Earth from above. It's amazing to be up here again." Mingyu could instantly imagine his boyfriend facing the control panel, his little nose scrunching up happily as he answered. Suddenly he missed his boyfriend, even though they had just passionately kissed at the airlock two hours ago (in front of Choi Seungcheol, of course. He deserved to endure this for choosing Wonwoo for the project). "I'm glad everything's okay. Can you confirm the ship's status?" Mingyu softly asked. He needed to complete the inspection procedures as soon as the ship entered orbit.

"Confirmed. All life support systems are functioning well. Temperature and pressure are within safe limits. I've also checked the communication equipment; everything is working perfectly. Do you need me to report anything else?" Wonwoo replied while checking the parameters and status of the equipment. Mingyu couldn't ask for anything more than for the flight to continue in this normal and stable state. "No need, just keep in touch regularly. Don't forget I'm always here to support you. Let me know of any changes. I love you."

He heard his little cat burst into laughter on the other end of the line. "Seokmin and Soonyoung are making disgusted faces. Looks like they won't be eating dinner tonight, that's too much for them."

"You can eat their share too. Yesterday, Lee Seokmin pigged out Joshua's bakery, and Lee Jihoon is complaining that Soonyoung is getting heavier and more troublesome," Mingyu smirked. Immediately, he heard the two young men yelling through the radio waves. That's right, now the whole Control Room would know about the crew – a beautiful black kitty (of Mingyu), a hopeless romantic, and a troublesome hamster. Mingyu was about to make a few more sarcastic remarks when he heard his boyfriend whisper, "And by the way, I love you too. See you later."

Great, now the whole Control Room would also know about the space agency's cat-dog couple flirting over the dedicated radio waves.

Mingyu felt incredibly satisfied.

~~~

After system checks, the measurement team, with support from CARAT Center computers, commanded the spacecraft's third stage to launch the Pledis 17 booster towards the Moon. Mingyu knew every part and function of the spacecraft by heart. The crew's living and working area was the command module – the only part returning to Earth from the Moon. Connected to the command module was the service module, housing oxygen tanks, electronic equipment, power supplies, and drinking water. Finally, there was the descent stage, enabling the spacecraft to land on the Moon. After the spacecraft separated from the third stage, rotated 180 degrees, and docked at the moon docking bay, Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief and picked up his now-cold coffee to drink. If all went well, the spacecraft would reach its destination tomorrow. The crew would have a day to conduct research on the Moon before returning to Earth. Only three and a half days left, and Wonwoo would be back in his arms, and Mingyu could propose with the ring he'd secretly prepared.

"Soonyoung's playing his favorite game. I can't understand how he managed to get a hammock up here; it's quite difficult to set one up in this environment. Now they're arguing about whether Soonyoung is drifting away from the hammock or the hammock is drifting away from him," Wonwoo's voice crackled with amusement from the other end. Waiting for the spacecraft to reach the Moon was quite boring. Mingyu chuckled, suddenly feeling that those two youngsters were probably chosen for the project to amuse his little cat.

The readings were stable enough, so they both turned on the video to see each other more clearly. Seungcheol was quite lenient about using the dedicated radio waves; everyone in the Control Center pretended to be deaf when they occasionally heard their flirty banter. After all, his boyfriend was in space, and Seokmin and Soonyoung were close to Mingyu, so being able to connect privately would help both Mingyu and the crew relax.

Before handing over his shift and going home, Mingyu and Wonwoo reviewed the procedures: "Guys, check the C-4 thruster." Wonwoo's voice remained calm: "Okay, Min. Battery B has finished charging..." It was a peaceful evening. The spacecraft had traveled three-quarters of the distance, so Mingyu would go home to rest and directly supervise the landing process tomorrow. They only had a few final items before finishing the review: "Pledis 17, engage the coolant tank."

BOOM!!!!

Suddenly, a loud explosion came from the other end. Immediately, the main alarm sounded: "CARAT, we have an incident." Mingyu felt his heart clench as he heard Wonwoo report: "CARAT here, repeat."

"Low voltage on the main power bus," his voice was close yet distant. Mingyu glanced at Seungcheol's slight shake of his head, trying to keep his voice calm: "I've received the report. Pledis 17, await instructions from Mission Control."

Instantly, the relaxed atmosphere vanished. Mingyu turned to Seungcheol: "The crew reports low voltage on the main power bus." Jeonghan looked up from his screen: "One crew member's heart rate is 189. They were startled by the incident."

He felt his hands go cold. This seemed to be an unexpected incident that even the crew couldn't observe the cause of. Wonwoo abruptly requested a connection: "We heard a loud bang, triggering a Caution and Warning alert. Regarding oxygen, Tank 2 is reading zero."

This data was illogical. Beside Mingyu, the spacecraft Systems Engineering team was discussing how to guide the spacecraft in this incomprehensible situation. At that moment, Wonwoo provided more information: "CARAT, I'm looking out the hatch; it seems the spacecraft is venting something into space, looks like gas."

Amidst the surrounding commotion, Mingyu felt his vision blur. All he could perceive was Wonwoo's voice. But like everyone else, he couldn't give his boyfriend any instructions.

And fear arrived.