Work Text
Mizar & Alcor
Sehun is the town boy. He is in fact the town boy in a village where his grandparents live. He demanded to be transferred to the village after listening to his grandfather talk about a lesson they specially teach in the only school there. Space Lesson. Truth to be told, Sehun has always loved the dark skies and knowing that he could learn about it, he had told his parents his wish to continue his studies in the village. That is how Sehun got his name as The Town Boy from the villagers. It’s not that he minds with the name in fact he loves it. Sehun enjoys the calmness in the village. There are not much noise, not much dust and not many buildings. The village feels like a dream. Greenery everywhere and the air smell so fresh that lungs expand in contentment. The calmness in the air soothes the blood flows in the body and when it gets windy; that’s one of the times where Sehun can be seen lying on the grass, with a huge smile on his face. There’s more to the wind, it feels like a mysterious energy. The kind of energy that makes Sehun want to keep looking at those dark skies, those twinkling stars, those shapes they make and those hidden stories behind each star. --//-- “Hello, Good morning class.” Sehun mumbles a reply, when the professor walks in. She will be the one teaching him about space and Sehun has heard about her from his grandfather. She’s the best in the lesson and her family has been researching about space ever since. “Before we start on the lesson, can anyone tell me what do you feel when you look at the sky?” A girl at the very front raises her hand, “Mystery.” The professor nods, looking around for more answers. Another girl raises her hand, “Darkness.” More of his classmates start giving answers, “Moon” “Earth” “Planets” “Many unseen objects” But Sehun catches the professor looking at him, waiting for him to say something, “You, the boy at the back. I want to hear from you.” Sehun flusters when all eyes gets on him and he stands, awkwardly tapping his finger on the table. He gets self-conscious with the amount of eyes looking at him. “Space feels like home to me.” He mumbles, lifting his gaze to look at the professor, “Why so?” she asks and he is forced to talk more. “There’s a hidden mystery up there. Sometimes when I look at it, it feels like I am looking at nothing and then there’s a great relief when I stare at a couple of stars above my house.” Sehun explains and he catches her amused eyes and smile. Something about her smile tells him that she knows a reason to why he is infatuated with the skies. Sehun feels that she must be just like him for her to understand what he meant. “That’s a beautiful thought.” She smiles more and turns around to retrieve a notebook. Sehun takes the cue to sit back. She starts with herself and how she got attached to the idea of learning and loving the skies. “It is not about the space,” she states, “It’s more about the stars, yet it’s not about astronomy.” Sehun listens to her carefully, trying to grasp what she means. She tells about how she watches her father calculates and marks each star and their position. “He knows each one of them.” Sehun gets in awe, wanting to be like the said man. Everyone in the class seems to be attracted to her words. There’s spell in the way she talks and engage everyone in the mystery of the stars. “Like lovers on earth, there are lovers in the skies too.” She tells, smile casting her face as she looks outside the window to the bright sky. Sehun follows her gaze. He looks up to the clear blue sky and thinks of possible lovers out there. He hears murmurs and whispers and one of them asks her, “Like Romeo and Juliet?” she chuckles and gets her gaze back to the class. “Like Romeo and Juliet.” She agrees. Sehun wants to ask her about the lovers, how she knows about them but she start talking about the village’s famous constellation; Ursa Major. Sehun perks up enthusiastically since he knows that constellation. She then proceeds to ask them the other name of the constellation. Sehun timidly raises his hand after some time. “Yes…” the professor beams when she notices Sehun. “The Great Bear.” Sehun voices out and she proceeds to ask him another question. “Do you know the asterism of Ursa Major?” Sehun nods, looking around noticing his classmates’ eyes on him questioningly. “Big Dipper.” She beams happily asking Sehun to sit back. “The young man back there had said it right.” She walks to the middle of the class and stands there, “We are a blessed village as we get to see the great bear on our skies. Those days when we have a great view of Ursa Major, our skies will be so lighted up.” She brings her hands close, wishing dreamily for the days where everyone gets to see the great constellation. “The Big Dipper is a group of stars in Ursa Major. We get to see it every now and then.” Sehun jots down everything she says and he catches her smile on him again. He starts to get uncomfortable. “The handle of the Dipper is the Great Bear's tail.” She talks softly and everyone seems to grow silent. “And the lovers resides there.” She whispers, looking away. The murmurs return and Sehun wishes everyone to keep quiet for the professor to continue with her story. “I’ll see you again in the next class.” She says and everyone groans making the professor laugh. “You can browse through information about the constellation on the internet or in the library. We’ll talk about it the next time.” Sehun makes a mental note to research about it but before he starts with the research, he wishes to talk to his grandfather who shares the same passion. --//-- “How’s school today?” the elder man asks as he reads his evening newspaper. Sehun sits next to his grandfather, folding his legs up. “I had the Space class today.” He tells the older man and his grandfather keeps the paper aside to look at Sehun. “You love it?” Sehun nods, biting his lips. The question he wants to ask is at the tip of his tongue and the answer he would possibly hear excites him. “Grandpa… Do you know anything about the lovers in space?” “Who told you about that?” “The professor talked about it.” Sehun informs and the older furrows his brows, “What’s wrong?” Sehun asks when his grandfather seems to be lost in thought. “It is rare for her to speak up about the lovers.” “She didn’t say much. She just mentioned they reside on Ursa Major’s tail.” “Her father must have spoken to her about it.” The older mumbles and curiosity grow in Sehun’s chest. “Tell me about it…” Sehun whines, demanding the older to tell him about it. “Mizar and Alcor.” The older starts with names Sehun never heard off. “They are Mizar and Alcor, the dancing lovers in the sky.” Sehun smiles when his grandfather smiles. Sehun has a soft spot for romance. He indulge himself in literary romance and dwells his nights to their love stories. It comes to his realization that every being could have a love story. “Dancing Lovers?” Sehun asks, shifting to look at his grandfather properly. The older nods, “When I was smaller, we could see them dancing in the sky. One moves, the other moves. They were like twins.” “Were? What happened to them?” Sehun questions anxiously. His heart beats erratically at the possibilities. The heart break of one sided love and cries of the dead love from the literary works he read pricks his heart. His grandfather sighs sadly looking at Sehun, “One of the stars fell.” Sehun gasps, “What?” “One of them fell as a fallen star.” He hears the answer from his grandmother this time. The elder woman joins them and she caresses her husband’s arm lovingly with a soft knowing smile on her lips. “Was it Mizar or Alcor?” Sehun asks and both the elders shrugs, “Your professor must know, he father must have told her.” An unsettling feeling bubbles in Sehun’s heart. “How did it happen? What happened for one of them to fall?” “I have no idea. None of us does.” ~//~ Sehun stares at the night sky above him. There’s one particular twinkling star above him. Sehun keep looking at it and he feels the pulls towards it. Sehun could see it move and he smile. The moving star reminds him back to the Dancing Lovers. He stares back at the star and wonders how lonely would it be for the star to be left alone without its partner. Sehun takes a closer looks, squinting his eyes to have a better look at the twinkling star. He can see colours on it as if it’s happy to be noticed. “Mizar.” Sehun whispers, eyes fixed on the star. He flinches, not knowing why, he asks himself why he said Mizar and the answer is unheard within him. The urge to search some information on the stars bubbles in him. Sehun turns on the old computer in his room and waits for it to connect to internet. As he waits, his mind starts thinking of all the possibilities for the star to fall. He types Mizar and Alcor on the search bar and the result comes up with some information he already knew; the stars being a part of Ursa Major and Big Dipper being a part of it. Sehun searches for stories on the stars but there’s nothing about them being lovers. He clicks on a link, “Mizar and Alcor, the Binary Stars.” “Binary stars are a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common barycentre. Mizar and Alcor are the famous known Binary Stars which were used to be called the double stars in the beginning.” Sehun reads the information out loud to himself and nods when he grasps what is means. “Since they orbit around each other, they’re called the dancing stars.” Sehun smiles and closes the tab. A spark of idea passes through his head. The people in the village must know about the story of Mizar and Alcor. Sehun could make conversations with some of them to know more however, deep in his heart, Sehun wants to know more about the stars from his professor. He wishes she would talk more about it in the next classes. The urge to know about the stars excites Sehun. Sehun then remembers about one of them falling and again he searches about it. “No result found?” Sehun gapes at the screen. He goes back to the article he read about Mizar and Alcor and sees the date. “1954.” He searches for the most recent article and he finds only the retold versions of the old articles quoting the original articles in the 60s. The fall of the star must be a great mystery and Sehun wants to be a part of it. Sehun stands and heads to look at the star in the sky. The huge sparkling star is still there and it happens to shine brighter when Sehun looks at it. “What’s your mystery?” Sehun mumbles to the sky and he watches the slow blink. He sighs and walks to his bed. --//-- The professor returns to the class and Sehun’s heart is out on his fingertips. He is anxious for the information she would reveal today. She asks everyone about the task she gave and most of them talks about the great bear being a Greek myth and the positions of Big Dipper on their sky. Sehun waits if anyone would mention about the stars, “Sehun.” Sehun snaps out of his thoughts and finds the professor looking at him, “What have you found?” Sehun unfolds his paper and stands to tell everyone about it. “I didn’t search about the constellation since I knew about it. I looked up about the Dancing Lovers.” Sehun talks, voice getting lower when everyone shows interest in his findings. “I asked my grandfather about the stars… Mizar and Alcor. He said they were known as the Dancing Stars until one of them fell as a fallen star.” Sehun clears his throat and glances up from his paper. The professor, who seems to be in her mid-thirties, stares right into his eyes. “I then looked for information online. Mizar and Alcor are Binary stars and that’s the reason it looked like they are dancing to us. However, there are no recent articles about these stars; the last article about them was on…” Sehun looks down to his note to search for the year. “1954,” the professor finishes his sentence. Sehun nods, “Yeah, 1954.” “That was the year Alcor fell and Mizar was left alone.” Sehun gapes at her. He thought so it was Mizar, the lonely star in the sky. “Was Mizar the bright shining star yesterday?” he asks her, forgetting about the presence of his classmates. “Yes. How did you know?” she asks him, walking closer to his seat. Sehun shrugs, “As I was stargazing, it felt like Mizar is looking down at me.” Sehun hears snickers and chuckles from his classmates but the woman has her eyes serious on him. They share an unknown communication and she turns around, “The myth about Alcor says…” She starts, getting everyone’s focus back on her. “He shall be born as a man and seek for his half. That is when the other half would descend and reveal itself.” The professor finishes with her eyes on Sehun again. Sehun feels the chills through his spine as he stares at her back and everyone else in the class disappears in silence. --//-- “Madam….” Sehun rushes after his professor and she stops to look at him. “Was I… Did…” Sehun tries to make up a proper sentence to convey his thoughts but the nervousness in him isn’t allowing him to do so. “Come… We’ll talk in my office.” She invites and Sehun follows after her with his mind still heavy with a thought. He heard his classmates whisper and he is very sure she heard them too. He wants answer and she is the only one who can give him the answer. Her office shows how much she admires the skies. There’s a telescope in a corner and there’s a huge map of constellations. Sehun spots papers on her desk, there are numbers on it and Sehun identifies it as latitude and longitude. “Sehun, sit.” She tells, arranging the papers back and Sehun pulls the chair carefully. He sits when she sits. “You wanted to ask me if you were the only one who saw Mizar?” she asks, looking at Sehun. Sehun feels the shiver in his bones when she catches his thoughts. She smiles at him, a calm smile. Sehun nods. He rubs his palms together when they’re cold in nervousness. “Was I the only one?” Sehun finds his voice back to ask her. She smiles again, pulling her chair closer to her table. She leans forward to Sehun, “I saw it too, my dad too.” Her voice is soft and low. “But, we saw it with the telescope.” Sehun widens his eyes. “I didn’t,” he whispers. There’s a fear building in his chest and questions starts rising in his head. “Is this supposed to mean anything?” he asks her, voice wavering in fear. She remains silent, watching him and Sehun keeps the eye contact with her. “I am not sure, Sehun.” She answers him, eyes full of thoughts. Sehun chews his bottom lip nervously as the silence in the room starts getting heavy. “Tell me what you saw?” she takes a pen and gets ready to jot down things Sehun would say. Sehun looks away, getting his eyes on the constellation map. He finds Ursa Major and gets up to have a closer look at it. He finds the bear’s tail and he spots Mizar. “When I saw it, it was twinkling, sparkling so brightly. I could see its colours.” Sehun closes his eyes to remember the bright colours and the happy twinkle. “It looks happy. The longer I looked at it, the brighter it got and there’s a moment I felt like it was dancing.” Sehun turns around to face his professor. She looks in awe, a reaction he did not expect. “My father and I used to talk about Mizar and Alcor.” She starts, putting her pen down and she walks over to join Sehun near the map. “We would think of reasons why Alcor fell.” “Why?” Sehun asks, following her eyes to look at the constellation again. “He could be cursed by Callisto.” “Callisto?” Sehun recalls the Greek myth about her. She was seduced by Zeus, transformed into a bear. “Why would Callisto curse Alcor?” Sehun could not put the facts together. “Mizar and Alcor are lovers, Sehun.” She tells him yet Sehun could not think of why she would curse Alcor. “Jealousy.” She states, “But that is what we think and there’s no proof of it being the truth.” “I don’t think that’s the reason madam.” He tells her. His heart beats painfully for no reason. “Right now, you intrigue me Sehun.” She tells him with a hand on his shoulder. She is only half his height yet her presence make him feel small. “Your blond hair and eyes that resembles the space…,” she pauses and shakes her head. “Let it be the burden to my head for now.” Sehun feels like whining. He wants to hear everything she has to say to him. “Tell me madam; you’re leaving me hanging, giving me more suspense.” His crinkled eyebrows start to give him headache. She laughs and waves her hand, “Go now Sehun. Too much information would not be good for you.” Sehun leaves her room with more questions than he came in with. As he walks along the empty corridor to his class, he thinks to himself, “Could it be that…?” He turns around quickly and runs back to the professor’s office. He knocks on her door softly and opens it. He finds her sitting on her chair, reading some notes and she looks up to him questioningly. She tilts her head questioningly, adjusting her reading glasses. “Could it be that…” Sehun calms his nerves, “Am I Alcor?” She takes off her reading glasses and keeps it aside. Her eyes are cold this time. Sehun shivers as he waits for her to say something. “No Sehun.” She tells him seriously. She shakes her head and Sehun hears her soft chuckles to which he finds creepy. “You are just overthinking.” She assures him, twirling a pen in between her fingers. “But I do believe, you are a special one with the ability to see stars with naked eyes.” Sehun squints at her. His eyes looks up to the old clock and follows the counting, “A gift.” He mumbles to himself, feeling his heart calming down. He turns around to leave again, “I am sorry for the trouble madam.” he tells her and leaves without looking back at her. He knows it’s rude, but he believes there’s a lie in her words. There’s something more to just a gift. --//-- “Sehunnie… will you get some chicken broth from Mrs Liew?” His grandmother calls from the kitchen and Sehun answers by walking to her curiously. “What are you making?” he asks her, helping himself with a fried tofu. He opens the steamer and finds rice in it and some green leaves among it. At the side, the older woman is busy cutting some onions and ginger. “I am making steamed chicken rice. Your grandpa loves it.” Sehun smiles and finishes his tofu. “She lives at the end right?” he confirms Mrs Liew’s location and the older woman tells him exactly where he should go. “Don’t get lost, Sehunnie!” She follows him to the door. Sehun chuckles when he spots the knife in her hand and gestures to her, “Grandma! People would think you’re chasing me away with that!” he tells her and the woman cries, hiding the knife. Sehun waves at her and makes his way to get the chicken broth. Sehun reaches the house in exactly 10 minutes and the older woman welcomes him with open arms. Sehun listens to Mrs.Liew’s chicken broth recipe as she packs some for his grandmother. The woman also complains on how his grandmother fails to make it despite been thought personally how to make the best chicken broth. Sehun chuckles telling the older woman that some things are better original and the lady sends him a glare. “I thought her exactly the same. I wonder why it doesn’t taste the same.” Sehun smiles at her, “Because you didn’t make it.” Sehun laughs and the older woman smacks his head in return. “Take this to your grandmother and tell her to make her own in future.” Sehun says he thank you and makes his way home. By the time he walks back it’s already dark and being infatuated with the sky, Sehun looks up. He stops walking and takes a minute to admire the colours in the sky. He could see some stars and the thought of stars brings shiver to his body. He looks up for that one star. He can’t find it in the sky before him so he turns around to look at the sky behind him. “I don’t see it today.” Sehun mumbles sadly. His eyes looks everywhere for it but sadly, the star is not visible today. Remembering the hot pot of broth in his hand, Sehun walks back quickly. For no reason, Sehun feels the heaviness in his heart. He is feeling sad. He wants to see the star. The conversation he had with his professor, Mrs Park circles in his head and Sehun can’t help but wanting to prove her words wrong. He feels connected to the star, he feels the connection and he is not making it up. As Sehun eats his dinner, his mind keeps drifting to the star. His heart urges him to go look for it. The conversations the elderly is having about the meal and how Sehun’s grandmother makes the best steamed rice has Sehun distracted to the thought of the star. He wants to look for it. Sehun thank his elders for the meal and gets up from the table. He washes his own plate and quickly makes his way to his room. The veranda in his room gives him a new breather as he stands there and takes a good look at the sky. The wide open field adds to the greatness in his emotions. It must be a gift like what Mrs Park has said; Sehun can see the tiniest star in the sky which means the furthest. He could see its colour. The tiny star is red. Quite an old star and less hot compared to the other. Sehun looks around for the star he desires. “Where is it?” Sehun questions anxiously when he can’t seem to locate it. The pain in his heart, the banging gets worst and he gives up to the emotions. He is worried. “Mizar…” he whispers, eyes tightly shut and his heart makes a wish for the star to appear. All of a sudden, he feels the wind against his skin. He feels it touch his nape, linger there longer than usual. He feels the wind touch his cheeks and Sehun takes a deep breath. The air smells sweet and calm. The previous anxiousness and worry in his heart soothes with the wind. He opens his eyes slowly, everything is still blurry and when his vision clears, Sehun could see a light before him. Sehun focuses his eyes on the light. The light moves through the open field behind the old house and Sehun stares at it until it stops. Sehun recognises the light, the sparkle. “Mizar?” Sehun whispers and again it moves. The urge to go after it pushes Sehun to move his feet towards the small stairs at the side. He goes down the stairs hurriedly with his eyes on the light in the field. He jumps over the small stream which separates the field and the house and runs through the long grasses to reach to the light. Sehun stops when he reaches the light. He looks around for something or someone. There’s nothing his eyes could see in the darkness of the field. He hear the grasses swaying at the calmness of the wind and Sehun turns around when he feels a soft caress over his hand. “Who’s there?” Sehun whispers, looking around. “He shall be born as a man and seek for his half. That is when the other half would descend and reveal itself.” Sehun looks around for the voice, looking through the green leaves to see a figure who owns a soft, melodic voice. “Show yourself…” Sehun pleads. For a minute long, he stands to just let his eyes do the searching and, “I have lost count of the seconds I waited for this moment, I lost count of the days I spent waiting for you and now when you seek for me, turn around my love.” Sehun turns around so quickly and his eyes get blinded by beauty of the love he misses dearly, “Mizar.” --//-- Sehun inches closer to the figure; an unknown face blinded by the shine of Mizar. The pull says it all, the pull towards the person makes Sehun feel powerful. “Mizar…” Sehun whispers again as he stands breaths away from the person, “Show yourself,” Sehun brings his hands forward to touch the shine covering the person’s face. “Finally after centuries,” The shine dims and Sehun gets to see the eyes that sparkles like Mizar and the face he had seen births before. Unknowingly, tears rolls down Sehun’s cheeks as Mizar pulls him in for a hug, “My love, I’ve missed you.” “I wasn’t dreaming when I felt that I knew you, I know Mizar and…” Sehun rambles on his lover’s chest, hands tightening around the other’s torso. “You’re Alcor, my love.” “Mizar…” Sehun mumbles happily, leaning his ear on Mizar’s chest to hear the heartbeat. “I am not Mizar here, my love.” Sehun looks up to the man who is about his eyes and frowns, “Just like you, I have a name down here.” Sehun blinks as he listens, “What’s your name here?” “I am Kai.” Sehun smiles and he rests his hands over Kai’s hips. Their faces are inches away and they gaze at each other with a calm pace of love. Sehun maps his lover’s faces with his eyes, keeping Kai’s face in his mind and memory. “I missed you.” He whispers, remembering the years he lost by being away from Mizar. It is magical that he seems to remember his moments as Alcor and every bit he spent with Mizar. It is mystical that the moment he saw Mizar in the skies, he knew there’s something and now, standing in Mizar’s arms bring all sparks back. “I have to show you something.” Kai tells and moves away from Sehun to take Sehun’s hands in his. Sehun blinks, and lets Kai do whatever he pleases. Kai grips Sehun’s hand with a smile and Sehun gasps, getting some memories of Mizar through their connection. Kai brings his finger to touch on Sehun’s finger. The small action brings out sparkles of lights from the touching fingers and Sehun gapes at the fireworks forming in between their fingers, “What is happening?” he asks in awe, voice laced with excitement and happiness. “That’s how we looked in the sky,” Mizar explains, moving his fingers away and the firework disappears. Sehun quickly glances up to the sky and squints his eyes to spot a star, “You won’t see me up there for some time now.” Mizar explains and Sehun turns to look at him. Sehun reminds himself that this man before him is known as Kai not Mizar. “Why?” Sehun asks, feeling the breeze and he hears the grass swaying from left to right with the wind. “I found you here. So I shall be here with you.” Kai says, interlacing his fingers with Sehun’s and stares at Sehun with so much love that the human caves in, missing the times they spent up in the sky. “What about the stars? What about Mizar and Alcor?” Sehun questions thinking if there are possibilities he would transform or change into a star back. Kai pulls him, taking him through the grass and Sehun follows Kai’s lead without any question. They sit on a wooden bench with a peaceful silence and Sehun tries not to blush as Kai has his eyes on him ever since they sat. “There’s Mizar only if there’s Alcor and there’s Alcor only if there’s Mizar.” Kai says softly, caressing his thumb over the smooth skin of Sehun’s hand. Sehun tilts his head to look up to the sky, getting a hint of what Kai could mean. He can’t see Mizar at its usual spot and he looks away to see the other stars. He can still see them; from the smallest to the biggest, the oldest to the newest and also all those falling stars. He can see them all except for one who is now sitting next to him. “I am a human now,” Sehun speaks, looking at their interlaced fingers; even their fingers fits perfectly against one another. “I will age and one day perish,” He explains, noticing Kai nodding next to him. “What would happen then?” Sehun questions the other who is still a star, taking a human form. “You would be back next to me in the skies,” Kai answers without any hesitation and smiles. The thought of going back to the skies got Sehun’s nerves tingling and his blood rushing through his veins. He is excited, ready for his end but, “Now what?” Sehun questions Kai. Sehun has recognized Kai; the other showed himself and what is going to happen next leaves Sehun confused and empty. He can bring Kai back to his grandparents’ house but explaining to them that he’s Alcor and Kai’s Mizar won’t be easy. They might not even believe him. Sehun sighs and taps his legs anxiously, getting Kai’s attention. “Someone is waiting for you at home,” Kai says, gesturing towards the old house and Sehun looks through the grass to see the kitchen light still on. “Who?” Sehun asks, getting up to walk back but he stops to take Kai’s hand and bring him along. Whatever that will happen, Sehun hopes he will answer them all honestly and wishes nothing but Kai’s safety. --//-- “Sehun, where have you been?” He hears his grandmother’s worried voice and she opens the door for him to only gasp in shock. Sehun raises his eyebrows questioningly and everyone else in the hall happens to show the same reaction. His grandfather who is sitting in between Professor Park and her father shows the same reaction and he swallows wondering what got them so shocked, “Is something wrong?” Sehun asks stuttering a little and he looks around at everyone in the hall. “What happened to your hair?” Professor Park questions him and Sehun widens his eyes, touching his hair, “What’s with my hair?” He asks, looking at his palm after touching his hair but finds nothing unusual. Sehun glances to his grandmother and the elderly woman leans closer, “It’s glowing.” She says and Sehun glances over his shoulder to see Kai and makes a mental relation about his hair glowing and meeting Kai. “Is there someone out there?” Sehun’s grandfather questions, noticing that Sehun has been looking out for a few times now, “Were you with someone?” He asks again and Sehun nods, “I was out there with him.” Sehun says and moves aside for Kai to show himself. The others gasp again and this time the Professor and her father stand, shock evident on their faces as if they have seen something they shouldn’t. Sehun swallows nervously, not knowing how to react over their reaction but his grandmother, being the nice and sweet house owner welcomes Kai in, “Come in, and don’t stand out there.” She says and pulls Kai in to sit in front of Sehun’s grandfather. “What’s your name son?” the elderly man asks Kai, and the star turns to look at Sehun, “Kai,” he answers confidently, “Is that all?” Professor Park questions him that has Sehun detecting her doubts in her voice. Kai turns to face her, sending her a look. He shakes his head almost opening his mouth to answer but Sehun interrupts him by asking the professor of her visit. She still has her eyes on Kai but shifts her gaze to Sehun, “I told dad about you looking at the star without even using a telescope and he wanted to meet you,” She explains and Sehun directs his eyes to the other elderly man. He doesn’t look as old as his grandfather but he looks slightly older than his father. “You really did that?” He asks Sehun and Sehun nods, “Yes.” “How?” Sehun look at his grandfather and notices how his old man is getting very interested in where the discussion is heading. His grandmother walks out of the kitchen with a tray in her hand; water and biscuits for Kai and Sehun watches Kai take the glass and plate of biscuits politely, wondering if the star would eat them. To his surprise, Kai eats them normally and he directs his attention back to the question. “Because…” he starts, hesitating on how he should explain. “Because he can,” Kai answers; dusting his hands and keeps the plate on the table in the middle of the room. He gulps down the glass of water and keeps it back on the table and when he’s done clearing his mouth he shifts to face Sehun’s grandparents. “Because he’s a part of it and he belongs there.” Kai says, ignoring the silence and heaviness in the air. “What do you mean?” Sehun’s grandmother asks with lines between her eyes and she places her hand on her husband’s shoulder in worry. Kai stands up and makes his way towards Sehun who is standing near the stairs. Kai pulls Sehun to stand in between everyone and takes Sehun’s hand in his once again, “Watch this,” he whispers and everyone gathers close near them. Kai brings his finger close to Sehun’s forefinger and again, the fireworks appear. The fireworks, spark and connection between them causes the others to drop their jaw and stare in shock. “What he sees with his naked eyes is not just a gift, but his truth and origin.” Kai explains, turning his fingers around to form a mirror of the space. The professor and her father are speechless but the elderly couple in the room starts chanting the almighty’s name. Sehun stares at the starry clouds turning around between their connected fingers and Sehun points, using his other hand, “There’s the Ursa Major.” He says and Kai smiles, nodding and the view zooms in to the tail, “Here is where we reside.” Kai says, looking at the professor, her father and Sehun’s grandparents, “There aren’t any stars,” Professor Park notices and of course Kai would smile, looking at Sehun, “He shall be born as a man and seek for his half. That is when the other half would descend and reveal itself.” Kai whispers, hinting the absence of the stars. “You mean to say, Sehun is…” The man starts, hesitating on his words, “Sehun is Alcor and I’m Mizar.” --//-- “So we are back at the discussion of The Binary Stars named Mizar and Alcor.” The professor says, writing down the names in the middle of the board. Sehun watches her and tries to hide the smile on his face as she tries her level best to not look at him. “I mentioned a year, the year Alcor was last seen next to Mizar. Anyone remembers the year?” she asks and one of Sehun’s classmates raises her hand, “1954?” “Yes, 1954. There are a few stories or myths I would say about Alcor and the reason it disappeared from the skies. Anyone would like to guess?” She questions the class, throwing Sehun a glance. The girl in front of Sehun whispers that Sehun would know the reason and wait for his answer but unlucky for her, Prof Park calls her name, “Ermm,” she shutters at first, “He was a dying star?” she guesses and Sehun rolls her eyes, “No. Anyone else?” “He didn’t maybe disappear. He could have fallen.” A boy in the far corner speaks, gaining everyone’s attention and Prof Park nods, “Yes. Alcor was a fallen star. But how and why?” Everyone starts whispering and Professor Park stares at Sehun for ten long seconds before she looks away. Sehun stares outside the window, remembering the story Kai had told everyone that night. The story of how and why he fell and the curse Kai has to go through before he could meet Sehun as Alcor again. “I’ve met someone who spoke to me about this and I would like to share the information with you.” She starts and Sehun turns his attention back on her. At the same time, she warns them to believe in the story at their own risk since scientifically, nothing is proven yet about Alcor’s disappearance. “Like Sehun had said in the previous lesson,” she starts looking at Sehun, “Mizar and Alcor are known as the Lovers in sky, always dancing and twinkling together.” Sehun notices how everyone are now focused on the story and some of the girls have a smile on their faces, “They move together and shine together. It is impossible for one without another.” “Professor, then what happened?” A girl interrupts and she waves her hand, “Jealousy ruined the love and a curse separated them.” Everyone gasps and Sehun hears whispers once again. He stares into his notebook, silently grieving over his ill fate. Hera is the only reason to his years of loveless life. Being the wife of the big three, and the Queen of Greek Gods, she had the power to make decision. One day her ill eyes fell upon them, who were happy in their own world and her jealous and vengeful nature overpowers her thoughts. She ends Alcor’s life so he falls and curses Mizar for years of soulless life. “Will they ever meet again? Will they ever be together again? Will we see Mizar and Alcor again?” Questions and questions were thrown to the professor and the woman, despite knowing the answers shakes her head, “I am not sure,” she answers, looking at Sehun, “But maybe one day after years, we could see them dancing and being in love in the skies once again.” --//-- Sehun packs his bag silently, trying his level best to ignore his classmates sharing their two cents about Mizar and Alcor. “I thought Romeo and Juliet was a great romance tragedy but I change my mind. Mizar and Alcor is worse. I felt my heart breaking for them.” Sehun walks out the class, securing his bag over his shoulder and passes by a group of students. He walks over the stone path and waits by the gate. He looks up at the sky as a habit, spotting Venus and Mars nearby. His mind travels far into the space to where was once his home and sighs deeply. He misses being there with Mizar, dancing happily and shining brightly for the humans to see and admire. Sehun blinks his eyes, thinking about Kai and how his grandparents accepted the other so easily. For them, to have Sehun is a great blessing and now with Kai living with him makes his grandparents treat them so differently. Sehun has argued and begged his grandparents that he is still their Sehun, still the same grandchild who loves eating ice cream in a big bowl until it drips all over his shirt and he’s still that Sehun who will ask for a glass of milk before going to bed. Sehun then shifts his gaze to his side and smiles brightly, “Did you get lost this time?” Sehun teases, nudging the other’s arm with his. Kai has volunteered to company Sehun to school and fetch the other back every time although Sehun is very capable of doing it alone. Sehun fixes Kai’s messy silver hair and smiles as he stares into the other’s sparkling eyes. “Never. The other day I was distracted by a puppy.” Kai answers causing Sehun to giggle and roll his eyes. Kai knows the other doesn’t trust him but it doesn’t matter. He really did get distracted by a brown puppy although he can’t seem to find the puppy again to brag to Sehun. “Lies,” Sehun teases, “Years have passed and I still find you my love.” Kai says with a smile, interlacing their fingers together, “Years apart and I am still head over heels for you,” Sehun replies, placing a kiss on Kai’s hand and they continue walking back to Sehun’s grandparents’ home. Kai sends Sehun a doubtful look but the other giggles, resting his head over Kai’s shoulder. Sehun notices some students pointing at his direction and he circles his hand around Kai’s waist, “Are you okay?” Kai asks noticing Sehun’s attention on the group of boys and girls and places a kiss over Sehun’s blond locks and the other nods, “They…” Sehun stops and looks into Kai’s eyes. “I am afraid of the same thing happening to us,” he says, having doubts on people’s eyes on them and what they are thinking. He had experienced the outcome of jealousy once and, “I don’t think I can go through that again.” He says. “Nothing separated us, my Alcor.” Kai whispers, “Even after everything that happened, we are still together.” Kai continues and pulls Sehun in for a hug. --//-- 35 years later, News: Scientist expresses their shock over the return of Mizar’s companion in the sky.