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"Three, two, one... Start!"A man's tired face appears in the frame of a small, almost antediluvian camera. He smiles helplessly, slightly rolling his eyes, and wrinkles his nose funnily. It's so dissonant with the gray hair making its way at his temples that the operator cannot stop himself: he snorts loudly but coughs seriously right away."Now, introduce yourself, please.""Oh my god, Donghyuck," the man rolls his eyes fully now but continues smiling softly. "Are you serious?""I've never been more serious, come on."The man in the frame wrinkles his nose again, his palm awkwardly brushing the hair from his forehead, yet he takes his emotions under control, looking at the camera earnestly."Mark Lee, forty-three years old," there's a deep sigh and a little frown. "Highest rank pilot of the United Space Program of the Earth, Captain of the ship NEO-CT0127.” *** In the training building, everything is on fire since the very morning: today, groups are being formed for the final stage of preparation, and each will be assigned a future captain. Donghyuck is as excited as humanly possible: he wasn't able to fall asleep at night, and now he is shaking a little with nervousness and simple fatigue. He looks at the skinny, dark-haired boy with sharp cheekbones and pale, bitten lips, who's carefully listening to the instructions from the first lieutenant of the third training corps, Lee Taeyong, and decides beforehand that it will be difficult with him. Therefore, when their future captain approaches their group, Donghyuck also bites his lower lip so as not to say anything inappropriate."Mark Lee, seventeen years old, cadet of the Military Space Academy of Canada. I hope we'll get along."For example, no, most likely Donghyuck won't get along with him specifically.Perhaps his teenage maximalism gets over him after all. Donghyuck isn't sure; he just looks attentively at the other boy's tense face while others take turns in introducing themselves, and barely holds himself from making a frustrated grimace. Because yes, no one promised him an entertaining space trip, but under the leadership of this, and that's for sure, absurdly dutiful, stubborn boy, everything will turn into an irrevocable nightmare. So, when the turn comes to Donghyuck, he takes a step forward and says monotonously, "Lee Donghyuck, sixteen years old, responsible for scientific activities and technical equipment."And retreats back.Actually, he's not just responsible. He is, for the record, a genius here, – and this is not some nice exaggeration, it's just a fact. Not the most outstanding though, because geniuses here are gathered one for each of the future groups, but still.He searches for the slightest manifestations of mimicry or intonation of voice in this Mark Lee and finally notices how the young captain swallows nervously after Donghyuck introduced himself: his sharp adam's apple makes a desperate move over the tightly tied navy blue tie. Donghyuck tells himself that it might be a reaction to any of the irritants (there are many of them for the skinny boy after all) but still allows himself to assume that Mark Lee has not dealt with geniuses before and is afraid to start.Donghyuck can't hold back a fleeting smirk. *** "So, Captain, let's avoid frequently asked questions," the man in the frame grins. "Tell us, was it hard to join the program? Didn't you want to leave at some point?" *** Mark is eighteen, very young by any standard, but he tries his best because his father counts on him. He has been trying since he was a child, studying, training, and not giving himself any indulgence to get into the humanity rescue program. It sounds too pompous, but the biggest irony is that all this bombast is justified. People have no chance of a mistake now.Mark doesn't either.But Lee Donghyuck has been under his leadership for a year now, and apart from a mistake, he simply cannot call him any other word.Because Lee Donghyuck is a system failure, a catastrophe. A naughty little boy, whom nature, for some reason, endowed with too high intelligence. He doesn't care about rules and the gravity of the situation, and sometimes Mark doesn't understand at all how he even had been accepted into such an important mission.He does not understand until one of the training days the whole crew is failing terribly, and Donghyuck pulls their presumptive ship out of the inevitable crash.Mark has to admit it, Donghyuck is useful.Although his entire utility is broken by a simple phenomenal reluctance to obey direct orders. Mark says, "Donghyuck, you are in charge of the life support stabilization." And the other only grins wryly in response and dives into the route navigation and development. And so over and over again.The fact that Mark snaps at some point doesn't surprise anyone: he grabs the arrogant boy by his forearm right in the middle of their exercise and almost forcefully leads him out of the training pavilion. It does not surprise even Donghyuck himself, who's pacing – frighteningly obediently – after the clearly livid captain and doesn't say a word against it. Mark stops at the dead-end of one of the many halls, and looks viciously from under his frowning eyebrows, "Are you fucking with me?"Donghyuck is looking too, pointedly around. He does not put his hands across his chest in a protective gesture on purpose, choosing instead to beat off a calm rhythm with the fingers of his right hand over his hip, and smiles a little. Smugly."Is something wrong, cap?"Mark wants to howl. Quite literally howl out loud, because he feels absolute helplessness in front of Donghyuck."Do you understand that you must obey my orders, otherwise we'll fail our entire mission?"Donghyuck finally looks up, straight into Mark's eyes."I understand," he says softly, with sobriety. "I understand to a T, but it's not my fault that too often your orders do not meet the maximum productivity demand."There are dark circles under his eyes – the work of the constant lack of sleep, split ends on dyed disheveled bangs and, it seems, an abyss instead of pupils. And, looking into them, Mark thinks for the first time that even his most desperate efforts may not be enough.He wearily combs his hair back and looks at him with a dull, calm face."You can tell me about it before doing something, you know?"Mark doesn't expect Donghyuck to be completely taken aback by his question, immediately becoming almost two times smaller in size – it feels like it, really – and breathe out a curt and tired, "And what then, you will listen?"That's why he exhales noisily and wrinkles his nose as usual: his eyes tingle treacherously at the accumulated tension. Donghyuck, a genius or whatever, stands in front of him with tense and heavy shoulders, breathing exhaustedly. He's a child, just like Mark."To you, I will," Mark says, and only after a second does he fully realize how serious he is. "We're in one team, you remember, Donghyuck?” *** "No, never in my life have I ever wanted anything to be different," the man smiles, charming, and the camera is twitching, losing its focus out of the operator's negligence."Okay, let's assume so," the interviewer's voice is shaking a little. "Then tell us, Captain, your happiest memory from the Earth." *** Fall is sunny this year. It's beautiful with all its shades of gold and red. Once again in the last two weeks, Mark escapes from the complex's territory right before dawn and goes all the way to the lake, which is a twenty-minute walk from their camp; fallen leaves rustle under his feet. The fog falls on the ground like a soft veil, and Mark is not sure, but it seems like exactly this fall exactly at this hour is one of the most majestic and beautiful things he has ever seen in his life.He comes to the very edge of the water's surface and inhales the raw air with a full chest, squeezing his eyes shut.Mark is afraid of even imagining that in less than a year they will leave this planet and never see it again. He's so infinitely in love with the Earth.But for the first time in all his unauthorized strolls, he hears branches crunch nearby.Mark has to crawl through the thick bush to see Donghyuck sitting right on the ground, looking at the smooth surface of the lake; gray sweatpants and the same t-shirt as his, knees defenselessly drawn up to his chest.He almost feels guilty for interrupting the other's solitude, but still exhales a soft, "Donghyuck?"And receives a scared look right back, "Cap?"Mark moves his shoulder awkwardly and casts a curious glance as if asking to sit next to him. The ground is already completely cold and the chilly goosebumps on Donghyuck's forearms are obvious. They bother Mark, so he doesn't think too much before taking off his sweatshirt. Puts it simply on the other boy's skinny shoulders and only after that does the realization of what he just did hit him.But Donghyuck seems to pay it no mind. His arms push into the sleeves, and he stands still for a couple of seconds as he buries his nose into the collar, and then there's a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips."It isn't productive again, Cap," he huffs with his usual mocking, "now you're gonna get cold."Mark is in a plain black sleeveless shirt. But there are years of military training under his belt that let him brush off the other's worries."I won't get cold."He says it with confidence, but Donghyuck tilts his head to the left as he always does when he's interested in something and looks intently. So intently that Mark practically feels his ears burning."I really won't get cold, Donghyuck."The boy snorts, amused. Smiles as if the Mark in front of him is a silly kid who can't understand yet another basic thing.Perhaps it's true.Because Mark actually can't understand why Donghyuck stands up with a theatrical sigh and stares down just like he does when he calculates probabilities in the middle of an exercise at the polygon. This look gives Mark goosebumps running down his spine.He unconsciously tries to shake them off; moves his bare shoulders, and only after that he notices that now Donghyuck is smiling eagerly.He's made up his mind, Mark knows that look.What he doesn't know is why Donghyuck's decision turned out to be Donghyuck sitting behind his back, legs spread on either side. He pulls Mark over as he tugs the sides of his sweatshirt onto the other boy's shoulders, and nuzzles the back of his neck with his cold snuffling nose."And this is productive," he murmurs, barely audible, pressing his lips to Mark's skin.Donghyuck hugs his captain, clasping his hands on Mark's stomach, practically trapping him in: seated like this, Mark can't turn without breaking his embrace. But Mark doesn't want to break it at all.So he relaxes patiently, leans back a little, and closes his eyes.On the other side of the shore, a huge flock of birds fusses around, preparing to fly somewhere to the south, and Mark counts down seconds by Donghyuck's hot breaths, who still hasn't looked up.He's still a failure and a catastrophe, but now only in Mark Lee's personal system."I have no idea what happens in a genius' head and how," Mark says, eyes closed, "so just tell me what it all means. Plain and simple.""What is it, Captain admits his defeat?" Donghyuck snorts again but hugs Mark more tightly as if he's afraid Mark will pull away."It's a total defeat if it's you."But Mark won't. He gently shifts so that he could lower Donghyuck's palms and cover them with his own, and throws his head back on his shoulder. Donghyuck says nothing. He breathes heavily and often, and then his lips, consciously, touch Mark's neck, his sharp jawline, his cheek. Mark turns his head, and they land on his lips.A flock of birds soars with screams into the sky, and when it quiets down, Mark finally opens his eyes to see the usual mischievous yet so helplessly tender look on Donghyuck's face."Do I still have to tell you what happens in my head and how?” *** The operator coughs a few times. The man's smile in the frame is calm, and he doesn't say anything, only looks somewhere over the lens."Captain, look in the camera!" the operator exclaims dramatically but turns serious again. "What was most difficult for you when you were leaving the Earth?" *** After a goodbye weekend with his family, twenty-year-old captain Mark Lee returns to the complex frankly tear-streaked, but no one even dares to blame him. Therefore no words were said about his appearance right until Mark walked into his and Donghyuck's room."Cap, had you been crying for two days straight?"Donghyuck is sitting on his roommate's desktop half-naked, swinging his legs absentmindedly. His dyed hair is a natural dark, and there's love today for tomorrow we die written in cursive on his acute collarbone and, honestly, it looks so good Mark's breath catches in his throat. Donghyuck notices that; he smiles slyly and jumps off the desk, stretching slowly."Not all the time though," Mark answers after a short pause. "You got yourself a tattoo."He turns to place his backpack on the bed; it's huge and heavy because Mark took all the memorable things from his home this time."You're amazingly observant," Donghyuck exhales on the back of Mark's neck, coming closer from behind almost silently. "I thought I wouldn't have another chance to do it. Do you like it?"Mark oh so likes it. He spins around, placing his hands on Donghyuck's hips. Looks closely, – there's a noticeable redness around the letters – and thinks whether Donghyuck should leave the tattoo open so soon."You wanted to brag so badly you took the bandage off– or what's supposed to be there?""Is it all that you care about?" Donghyuck frowns adorably, showing the highest level of offense, and pouts. Mark kisses the pout away, catching his lower lip and biting it lightly. "I care about you," he fondly rubs his nose with Donghyuck's, "and once it's fully healed I'm gonna kiss each letter.""It will be later, on the ship," Donghyuck mumbles quietly and pulls away a little to look into Mark's eyes. His fingertips trace over his swollen reddened eyelids, and he smiles cautiously, "turns out my captain is a crybaby."He says it like a question, and Mark's studied Donghyuck well enough to know the real meaning behind his constant mocking. That's why he melts under the touch, and pushes his head further into Donghyuck's hand like a cat, closing his eyes tiredly."It's just, I realized that I won't see any of them ever again. How are you dealing with it?" Mark doesn't add so easily, but it's hanging in the air, heavy.Donghyuck only snorts and purses his lips painfully. The wings of his nose quiver, and his breath is so visibly unstable that Mark embraces him tighter, burrowing the fingers of his right hand into the dark, slightly curly hair."Got it," he murmurs. "You're not dealing with it, I got it."Donghyuck softly hums."When we come out of the cyber sleep for the first time, our parents will already grow old; for the second one, none of those who we know will be left alive on Earth. And, if the calculations are correct, by the time of our third awakening, the Earth as the planet that we know will no longer be such," he mutters it all monotonously like a memorized paragraph, but clings closer and tugs at the hem of Mark's shirt. "So yes, I'm not dealing with it. I don't think that anyone here is dealing with it either.” *** "Wait, Donghyuck," the man rubs the bridge of his nose with the pads of his thumb and forefinger and looks over the camera lens again. "Can you at least tell me what it is all for?"The image goes blurry, the camera remains lying on the table, shooting as another man approaches the man sitting on the bed. He grins, cunning, and briefly kisses the captain on the tip of his nose."There's a probability, my dear cap, that we are the last representatives of humanity," the man fixes the other's hair, taking a meticulous look at him and seeming to be satisfied with the result. "I think we have to stand out somehow."He says it with a smile, but at the last sentence, his voice trembles a little anyway. *** When Donghyuck wakes up for the second time, he senses that something's wrong right away. Firstly, the instruments show that the awakening has happened before the due course. Secondly, Mark is sitting next to his capsule, his eyes red and puffy.Donghyuck can't choose at least one really plausible reason of a set of possible and most probable reasons, so all he does is raise a heavy hand to touch Mark. After the awakening, even such a simple move is difficult, but it is enough to catch the other's attention."Donghyuck?" Mark promptly jumps to his feet, starting to fuss around. "How are you, okay?"From the very beginning, the ship’s security system was programmed to automatically start the awakening process of the Captain's capsule in case of any possible threats or unforeseen situations. And it explains why Mark woke Donghyuck up but doesn't explain his odd concern at all."Am I not supposed to be?" Donghyuck asks cautiously anyway, and with this question, something cold and nasty grows in his chest and he assumes that he won't like the answer at all.Because Mark sits back down in an instant as if all the strength suddenly left him, and hides his fingers in his messy hair."Mark?"Donghyuck is getting scared for real now. He tries to stand up, a little bit at least, but Mark looks up, loosely shaking his head, – there's no need to."I-I don't k-know how it was possible to miscount," he starts haltingly. "But it seems like we got into some kind of strong magnetic field because all the systems shut down at once. You can probably fix it, but–"Captain pauses again, dropping his head and blankly staring at the floor."But other capsules," the first salty drop falls down at the tip of his nose. "Everyone is dead, Donghyuck. We're the only ones left."Yes, Donghyuck's managed to figure out an option like this for these few minutes too, but, for some reason, he wasn't prepared at all. He raises his hand again, catching Mark's attention, and says weakly, "Get me out of here."Because waiting for his organism to stabilize, and seeing a completely broken Captain in front of him at the same time, is too much for Donghyuck. It's too much for Mark too though: he quickly stands up, carefully picking Donghyuck up in his arms, and presses to himself as he advises him to close his eyes.And however much natural stubbornness there is in Donghyuck, he obeys Mark this time with no questions, although he still has the time to see other capsules before hiding his nose in the base of Mark's neck. "They woke up and suffocated in there," he says just so it would be said out loud. So he could hear it like it's coming from someone else's mouth.Mark only pulls him closer and quickly walks to the exit. He doesn't say anything, but Donghyuck guesses that right now Captain blames himself not only for what happened but also for what if."If you died too, I'd..." there are fingers pressed to his lips that don't let him finish. Donghyuck shakes his head, and mouths listlessly, "Shut up, okay?"Mark obediently keeps silent, kissing Donghyuck's fingers. *** "Okay, let's assume so," the man smirks, but relaxes nevertheless, leaning back against the wall. "But why am I the only one answering the questions then?""Oh, honey, it's very simple," the operator snorts behind the frame. "Because you're the Captain." *** "You know, the fact that you're the captain doesn't mean you have to do everything on your own," Donghyuck goes quiet for a moment as he looks into Mark's darkened eyes. "Okay, maybe before it did mean. But not now.""I don't do everything on my own, Donghyuck, I just do what we're here for.""Even if it doesn't make any sense anymore?"Mark flinches from his prepared phrase, and takes two deep breaths before clarifying calmly, "And what makes, huh?"It's Donghyuck who flinches this time.The message about the Earth's death was received two years ago. Earlier, Donghyuck managed to catch the crash signals from several other NEO-CT ships, and two months ago he caught a strange signal from Renjun's ship, after which it was no longer possible to restore any connection with him.So, in fact, they are the only ones left, perhaps the last two people in the entire universe.For the last three years, Donghyuck has been trying to confirm the route to the planet to which his and Mark's ship was sent, and after several checks, he has found out that there's a still young black hole right on their way, which couldn't be identified from the Earth and, naturally, didn't take its part in any calculations. Their ship simply won't have enough energy resources to pass it without getting in the gravitational field and at the same time saving the original route.Therefore, Donghyuck doesn't know the answer to Mark's question and he certainly doesn't know what exactly can be the right decision. It isn't written in the books, you know.But he looks at the helplessly slouched captain, his captain, and thinks that, perhaps, the usual human assertions have long been depreciated for two of them."There's a sense in you," he says, coming closer and grabbing the other's hand. "In me.""In us?" Mark sighs heavily. "Don't you think it's a bit– only a little bit– selfish?"He frowns angrily, as if he's all eighty and not twenty-seven, but doesn't pull his hand back. So Donghyuck gets braver and presses their bodies together, sighing right into Mark's lips, "Tell me, who's gonna judge us?"Mark still can't believe that the whole of humanity trusted Donghyuck, and he so simply offers to drop it all but, actually, he doesn't even feel a tad bit guilty when he's slipping his palms in the back pockets of Donghyuck's uniform pants and kisses back."So you suggest we leave our ship," he lists when there's no air left in his lungs and he has to pull back, "and jump in the black hole?""You, of course, horribly messed everything up, but yes, I suggest we do," Donghyuck gives Mark a crooked smile and walks back to take the tablet with calculations from the table. Mark honestly has no idea what that would change if he doesn't understand anything of it but complies to listen to Donghyuck's explaining anyway."See, in sixteen years, we will have come to a point of no return, after which there will be no chance of escape anymore. We don't have enough energy to pass this hole, so all that we have to do is change the route and get stuck somewhere in another universe with the largest piece of genetic garbage that humanity has managed to throw super far even after death. It's not productive, get it?"He deftly switches the parameters, drawing another graphic in."Now look here. There's a large gas planet right in front of the point of no return, and behind it, a wormhole, I think. I've calculated a lot of shit, Mark, and seriously, if it's not it, then I don't even know what to think anymore."There's a dangerous glint in Donghyuck's eyes, so Mark decides not to say anything, just touches gently the other's palm that holds the tablet, and quietly nods."We can overclock our ship in the orbit of this planet to scan enough speed and jump into the wormhole.""Wait, Donghyuck," Captain frowns, confused. "How does it increase the chances of our mission's success?""Hardly does," Donghyuck immediately turns droopy, scratching his nose wistfully. "Too many unknowns even for me, but with the information that I received from Jaemin four years ago, I can assume that this wormhole will get us right to them. Parameters and radiation are identical. I don't know, the probability is about seventeen percent.""We don't know if they're still alive.""Well, we know nothing at this point, don't we?" Donghyuck turns off the tablet, placing it back on the table, and gives him a fatigued smile. "But Renjun is one kind of a capable piece of shit, and Jaemin beat me off in equations a few times. Besides, there was a whole group alive, including biochemist Jeno and genetic specialist Joohyun. They simply have more chances than we do. But yes, I admit that it will be the stupidest venture in human history."Mark grins too. "But you don't want to see if it pays off.""Absolutely not," Donghyuck wrinkles his nose, a little ridiculous, clearly picking up this habit from Mark, and adds, "there's a black hole before us, Mark. Nobody has found out what's there – we just cannot help but try.""We might need to be here, on the ship.""And might die with it, because during the passage into the wormhole, the chances of it are more than the chances of success.""We just throw it in there and fly straight into the gravitational doom?""Yes, we'll do it," Donghyuck proudly nods, and looks too uncertainly into Mark's eyes. "I will do it. What you'll do, you decide for yourself.""Nonsense. We're in one team, you remember?” *** "So, tell us, Captain, about your happiest day on the ship.""Every day with you, Donghyuck," the man grins."No, Captain, be more serious," there's a smile in the operator's voice too. "Choose one, the most favorite one."The camera zooms in, stopping on frowning eyebrows, moving to his lips, losing focus for a moment."Is there a possibility that Renjun will see this?""Yeah, and all the descendants of humanity, if so happens.""Then I have a day like this. The most favorite one." *** Protective shutters have been open for the second day in a row as the ship passes near a huge cosmic nebula, – and this is probably the most beautiful thing Mark has seen during their whole journey.So he brought blankets and pillows from bedrooms to get settled right in front of the viewing panoramic portholes and made Donghyuck stop all of his endless calculations. Not that he was resisting at least a little actually.Donghyuck is pretty. He's lying on the floor, covered in kisses and, frankly speaking, full of love, – exactly how he's always supposed to be, in Mark's opinion. There are colorful hickeys scattered mindlessly on his tanned skin like watercolor flowers, and that could be called art."You're staring, it's just awful," Donghyuck stops pretending that he's fascinated by the nebula and flops down on his back, looking into the captain's eyes who's lying nearby."You like it," Mark doesn't even question it. He realizes that his gaze drops to Donghyuck's lips again, but doesn't even try to do something about it."That's you, of course, guessed right."Donghyuck is the first to lean in: he licks briefly into Mark's mouth, slipping his tongue inside, immediately setting the pace of the kiss. Uneven and messy.Mark doesn't mind; he lets him lead, only pulls down persistently, forcing Donghyuck to practically lay on top of him."You're beautiful," he says between the kisses. "So beautiful, I don't know how I could be so lucky.""Statistically," Donghyuck starts with fake sobriety, but Mark promptly silences him with another kiss, and that makes them both giggle. "Okay, you're lucky."Mark nods, satisfied, as he licks his lips craftily and bites the tattooed collarbone tangibly. He soothes the redness quickly, leaving some sloppy spots for tomorrow. "I'd change live to love.""Is there a difference?" Donghyuck smirks too before leaning forward and leaving another huge hickey on Mark's neck, balancing the score."With you, no," Mark obediently titles his head back, eyelids heavy. "No difference."There are no less bright stars under his lashes, they seem to explode one by one, and it's amazing, – after so many years he still feels Donghyuck like that."What's more beautiful, me or that nebula?" the younger whispers right into Mark's ear, launching another string of goosebumps on his skin, gently catching his earlobe between his teeth, waiting for the answer."You," Captain gives up without any resistance because he really thinks so. But Donghyuck triumphantly beams at him, poking Mark with his nose and a self-assured, "Not true."He rests his palms on either side of Mark and lifts himself up, looking at him up and down, and that's exactly, truly awful."What, you admit your defeat before the nebula?" Captain says it huskily because, to be honest, his voice isn't obeying him right now."No. Because the most beautiful thing here is," Donghyuck frowns a little, biting his lower lip for a second, just like he does when he's about to say something very serious, "you."And usually, Mark would laugh at a statement like this, but now he only lifts his head for a kiss again, because his love for Donghyuck, – there's lots of it. It's felt physically, like a huge balloon under his ribs, like several overloads in a row, after which Mark can't breathe evenly. It feels stronger than all the fears that Mark has experienced in his life, and there were just infinitely many of them. Love for Donghyuck, it seems, is the only constant in Mark's life, and this constant justifies the existence of all variables.Donghyuck stares at him with a giddy wild look. His pupils, when he looks at the captain at moments like this, are almost in all iris, two black holes, and Mark mulls over how to tell him that once again, in this abyss, he sees his own reflection.And he isn't scared.He flips them over as he sits down on Donghyuck's thighs, and watches. Just watches, forgetting about the existence of time because he's allowed to. And because Donghyuck looks at him in the same way."You know, I was thinking," he finally says, deciding that there hardly could be a better moment."You were thinking," Donghyuck snorts rather weakly because he's impatiently fidgetting under Mark and mindlessly licking his lips now and then."Yes, I was thinking, and as the Captain, I have the right to betrothal us." Donghyuck blinks, puzzled, calming down right away. He looks with a question, and opens and closes his mouth a couple of times before saying, "You do understand this is absurd.""Yes, it's absurd," Mark surely understands everything, especially that marriage is a senseless convention now, created by a race that no longer exists. But. "Do you not want to?"Donghyuck slowly blinks one more time, shifts, and sits up so that Mark happens to be on his lap. He moves his palms over the other's chest, stopping both above his heart, and looks back, wholly open."I want to," he nods thrice as if confirming his own words. "I'd love to." *** "Shame on you, Captain, the kids could hear us," the operator laughs merrily and lowers the camera to his hand, where a string of metal circles his ring finger. "I don't think you should know what we made them of, but yes, we made them."Suddenly, there's a piercing sound on the ship, and the man jumps off the bed abruptly."Call it a day, Donghyuck, in a couple of hours we will reach the needed speed to send the ship into the wormhole."Captain leaves the room, and Donghyuck sets the camera on a tripod and sits across it, a calm smile on his face."I don't know," he coughs. "I don't know what's the point of this video if we're being completely honest. I know, it seems, practically nothing at all. From the very beginning to the end this idea was absurd. The last raw attempt of humanity to save themselves from the grave, which they'd dug themselves. But I don't feel any responsibility for it."The man sighs, tired, leaning back against the wall as he fixes his eyes somewhere over the lens."Although, of course, I'm flattered that I'm here filming the most meaningful film strip in the history of humanity," his lips spread in a cheeky smile; he straightens up, fixing the camera with a serious look. "If the ship actually survives, I encoded everything so that first of all you'll see exactly this video. Because of all these years that I have spent with Mark and the thought that we're possibly the last two people in all the universes at once, I've truly figured out only one thing: everything that people had from the very start and kept till the very end– is love. So the first thing you should know about humanity is,despite all the horror that we have done, to the very end welovedmore often, stronger and more importantly than anything else." *** "Donghyuck, did you really draw a dick on the captain's bridge wall with a permanent marker and write, hold on," Mark squints in shock while Donghyuck pulls on his protective suit for outdoor flights. "Suck it, Jaemin, I got into the black hole?""It's post-irony, Cap, you understood nothing after all."