~17:33~
Jimin devised a plan.
If he can't take Y/N to a planetarium or to Earth, why not bring both to her? He's an engineer, this is his field. While Namjoon and Seulgi are creating a plan, Jimin is modifying one of the extra scanners. Yeah - the same scanners used to save Y/N's life. The floating little orbs that scan things. He thinks he can modify it to display images rather than scan. In fact, he's already almost finished doing that. The real trick will be displaying a realistic projection of Earth. Of course, actually taking Y/N to Earth would be better, but it seems as though they're heading towards the Belt.
He uses his tools and works long into the night. No one bothers him, and he's grateful for it. He figures that before he makes any crazy moves on Y/N, he might as well get to know her better. Jimin doesn't know too much about her other than her family life and how many relationships she's been in. Well, that and she wants to see Earth's sky more than anything. He can use this as a chance to get to know her and her knowledge of other planets. She was probably forced to learn a lot due to her last name, but he knows he'll be able to tell when she actually likes some of the knowledge she learned. Like when she talks about ships and the sky, whether it be on Earth, Mars, or Ganymede. He wants to find out what makes her gears turn.
The Engineer works long and hard, and by the time he's finally finished, he checks the clock to see it's 1:03 of the next day. It took him almost eight full hours to perfect the new projection machine. He had to program it and everything. It's larger than it was before due to him having to add some parts to display the images correctly, but when he presses play, he's more than satisfied with the results. Every image looks realistic, and it's even better than he originally imagined. With his plan finally going smoothly, he lies on his bed and drifts off to sleep with a smile.
~The Next Day - 13:30~
It's safe to say you and Jimin haven't talked in a couple days. After what happened between you two, you've been a stuttering mess around him. You shouldn't have gotten so close. Now you regret it. Well, no, you really don't, but you regret feeling this awkwardness now. You were so close to kissing him that you literally felt his lips. But no, you had to wimp out at the last second. You feel like an idiot, seeing as your feelings have only grown since then. Your desire to talk to him has become unmanageable. So much so that you open your closet.
Obviously, you didn't pack for your trip. But Seulgi and you went rifling through everyone's closets yesterday to find clothes that may fit everyone. It's a new cruiser, so you found a bunch of standard-issue jumpsuits, sleepwear, and casual wear. Seulgi, however, decided to be clever. She used some of the colorful bedsheets from the extra rooms and took the fabric to sew designs into some of the shirts for you and her. Every cruiser has sewing kits, just in case. Kind of funny how many mandatory things are put on cruisers.
She's trying to make up to you, and you appreciate it, but you can't help but be in awe of her skills. She managed to make a plain white t-shirt look nice. It has cute, somewhat realistic flowers made out of red and green string sewn into it. You decide to throw it on along with the black pants, then you tie the shirt with a hair tie Seulgi gave you. You tried to convince her not to give it to you, but as it turns out, she always has at least five in her pocket - same with chapstick.
After a few minutes, you brush your hair and overall make yourself look nice. By the time you're ready, you stroll over to the door. When you open it, you're amazed to see Jimin standing there, just about to knock. He's wearing the same outfit except no flowers. Casual white t-shirt and black pants. Even in casual attire, you have to admit - he looks good.
"H-Hi," you say, forcing down your nerves.
He takes in your appearance for a moment before clearing his throat. "Are you busy right now?"
"Depends on what you're about to say."
Much to your surprise, he grins. "I want to show you something." You return his smile, then agree. Truth be told, you've been away from him for too long. Even if you're still awkward, you need to go with him.
"Lead the way." In an instant, he grabs your hand, pulling you out of your room. You make a 'woah' sound as he drags you off, your legs barely keeping up with him. He brings you into his quarters, closing the door behind him and going over to his bed. You sit down with him, and he takes both of your hands.
"Okay, so I wanted to show you something. I made it last night."
"Made it?"
He hums, almost like he's bragging. "I'm an engineer, it's kind of my job to fix and make things." You gaze at him in admiration, then notice he's trembling. "Alright, stay here," he says, hopping up. He grasps a tiny orb you recognize as a scanner, but it seems like he made modifications to it. It's much thicker than normal, and it looks like it has cameras everywhere. "I have to turn the lights off for this to work properly okay?"
Although concerned, you brush it off and dip your head. "This isn't the part where you murder me, is it?" He throws you a smirk and a wink. You curse under your breath because of his wink. Jimin doesn't notice. He trots over to the lights and turns them off.
Since there's no windows in the quarters, the room is pitch black. Your hands shudder from the sudden darkness.. You can't see a thing, not even your own body. However, Jimin activates the scanner, and it beams to life. It illuminates a soft navy glow before it soars out of his hand.
It glows brightly enough that the room is somewhat visible again. You observe the scanner, but also notice Jimin sit down next to you. Everything happens so fast. The navy switches to lime, then to carmine. It's like a little light show, and you're left in awe because of it. He really modified the scanner to do this?
You shift to peer at him and give him a bright smile along with a look of disbelief. "You made this? From a scanner?" He nods. Your smile only widens. "It's incredib-" Before you can finish your sentence, the scanner blasts out with sudden light.
With a gasp, you squeeze your eyes shut and jump. Oops, you accidentally landed on Jimin. He doesn't seem to mind though, seeing as he wraps his arms around you. "It's okay, that's supposed to happen," he whispers. Your shoulders relax at his words, but you don't open your eyes yet. Jimin chuckles, his breath tickling your ear. "Open your eyes." And at the tone of his voice, you do.
What was a color show turns into something so much more. It's so beautiful tears well up in your eyes. The ground looks like grass; the soft spikes peek up and almost touch your feet which are dangling off his bed. The scanner projects an open field, the entire floor a lawn-like shade. There's even tiny details placed into the grass such as bugs crawling on the leaves. You let out a short breath, then sit down on the floor. Even though you can't feel the grass, serenity still washes over you.
Jimin plops down next to you, and sure enough, you peek up. The walls and ceiling are completely blue. It's the Earth's sky. A tear rushes down your cheek. "Oh my God," you whisper, staring up at the clouds. There's so many covering what used to be the ceiling. It's like a sensory overload.
"What do you see?" Jimin asks.
You narrow your eyes, then snicker. "I see a bunny," you say, pointing up at the ones right above your heads.
Jimin guides you to lie down, and you do. The projection makes it appear as though you're lying in actual grass, with the spikes poking out above you. "I see it," he whispers. After a few moments, you look over at him, and you're surprised to see him looking back. You give him a small smile, slipping your hand into his.
"You made this for me?" you ask, not hiding the pure awe in your tone. He gives you a shy smile, then nods. Your irises light up brighter than the projection. There's a million words you want to scream. Although, you can tell by looking at him: your expression is saying it all. His eyes are screaming 'you're welcome'. Regardless, you open your mouth. "Thank you," you whisper, your voice nearly cracking as more tears come out. He knows how much this means to you, and he spent a lot of time to put this together. He genuinely cares about you. That only makes you admire him more.
"What do you think of the bugs?" he asks.
You laugh and turn your head to look at one of them. "Is this a stag beetle?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"When I was a kid, my father would plop a bunch of medical books on my desk, but I'd throw them on the ground and start reading about Earth instead. The environment was one of the most interesting topics for me, for probably obvious reasons." You pause, looking back up at the clouds. "Bugs were always weird, so they stuck out more."
"Sounds like we have a nerd in our crew."
You give him a playful nudge. "I'm not the one with the knowledge to do all this."
He goes to rebuttal, then drops his shoulders and snickers. "Okay fine, two nerds in the crew." You return his amusement, then focus your attention back on the clouds, studying them.
"Is that..." you say in a low tone, narrowing your eyes before brightening up. "A turtle." Jimin goes stiff. "I see a turtle."
He glances at you, then you point and he follows your finger. It really is a turtle-shaped cloud. You can see the four legs, the head, and the shell. He goes silent for a few moments before his eyes swell with tears. "We should name him," he murmurs, and you nod.
"How about Jihyun?"
Jimin gives your hand a squeeze. "Yeah, yeah I think that would fit."
For the next ten minutes, the two of you lie there, staring up at the clouds with no words exchanged. Suddenly, the projection shifts, and it goes from day to night. Your mouth falls open. The stars come out, and you grin.
"Is that Cassiopeia?" you ask.
"You know constellations?"
"Well, I did a lot of research on Earth. Constellations were a minor interest, nothing too serious."
"Wow," is all he says, his tone laced with amusement.
Your pupils are on the sky, although you're focusing more on his hand in yours. You didn't really think about it before since it felt so natural. His hand is smooth and comforting. With a sigh, you relish in the feeling, gently brushing your fingers against the back of his hand to admire the skin there. You sense him glance over at you, and you glance back. Oh no, it's happening again, isn't it? He stares right into your eyes, and you return it, not fearing your emotions anymore.
"I can't believe you made this all for me," you say.
"I can't take you to Earth yet, so I thought I'd bring Earth to you."
You go to speak, then groan as pain shoots through your chest, causing you to sit up. He follows, his hand still in yours while you use your free hand to grip your chest. "Sorry... still in pain," you say. Jimin doesn't answer. The Engineer scoots closer to you, his shoulder pressed up against yours. When the pain subsides, you find your words clawing against your throat.
There's a million things you want to say to thank him, but you know that actions speak louder than words. So, without questioning yourself, you lean up and give him a long kiss on the cheek. He goes still, and after a few seconds of your lips on his smooth skin, you pull back and look into his eyes. "Thank you," you say. The man fiddles with his fingers, his ears turning pink. Despite his flustered state, he brushes the good deed off as if it's no big deal. But it is. It is to you.
"You're welcome."
After that, you put your head on his shoulder. Although he seems astonished by your sudden closeness, he eventually relaxes and rests his head on top of yours. And for the rest of the day, the two of you watch the stars while you point out random constellations...