Taehyung's recovery soared from there.
It came across as a pleasant surprise for the crew, who had strained themself sparse for the antidote already. They had admittedly been afraid that this moment of good fortune would end soon, that Taehyung's illness wasn't all it seemed. But it seemed he decided to take it from there.
"What did we come here for?"
"To find the mystery of this illness,"
"And what was causing this illness all this time?"
"... Fishes."
"Fishes?"
"Sardine."
"What did we fight last?"
"The octopuses."
"Well, it was another batch of Aquas, but you already told me you didn't remember anything from when you became ill." Jeongguk sighed, leaning back on his chair.
"Another batch of Aquas?"
"I'll tell you about it later." He laughed softly.
Taehyung blinked slowly as he sat on the bed with his head against the wall, trying to recall whatever memories he had lost. It wasn't like he made out of the ordeal unscathed. Like how you lose layers of skin cells once infected, he lost the memories from when he had the illness. Jeongguk reassured himself that much like the skin, they'd just make more memories to replace it.
"I'm going to sleep later." Taehyung said, "So tell me now,"
"That fight does not make a good bedtime story," Jeongguk warned him.
"I don't care."
Jeongguk sunk his teeth into his lip, thinking. There was no way he could tell Taehyung about his little trip to the sea and island. He might just die of shock, and he couldn't afford that after they just got him back.
"Ha... there's not much to say. A couple of Aquas showed up, we beat up each other until the storm got worse and they escaped. One of them was greatly injured and we kept him here until he gave us some insight about this illness and let us treat him. We made the cure. The end."
Taehyung stared at him sardonically, "It can't have been that easy."
"Who says it was easy?" Jeongguk retorted, "It was the hardest thing I'd done in my whole life,"
Taehyung opened his mouth, but Jeongguk quickly intervened, "It does not matter that much, anyway. I still have questions to ask you!"
Taehyung groaned slightly, "If you plan on asking all of those fifty questions you wrote down, Jeongguk..."
"Hey, calm down. I'm not that heartless. I'm only going to ask you twenty more--"
"You fell, Jeongguk! You actually fell off this ship, into water! Don't even think you could skip that part." Taehyung hissed.
Fuck. Jeongguk snapped his eyes from the paper, "... who told you that?"
"It does not matter."
"... It was an accident. I am fine, as you can see."
"You are now! But earlier..." Taehyung swallowed, then asked in a quiet voice, "Did... I cause it?"
It seemed he was overthinking the entire thing since he heard of it. Jeongguk was as confused as he was worried.
"What? You? No, of course not! Why would you think that?"
"You wouldn't have tried to hide it otherwise."
Jeongguk could find no answer to that.
Taehyung continued, "I don't know. I can't remember what I did. But you fell-- I made you fall. It's just... you don't hide much from me,"
"Look." Jeongguk interrupted before he continued, "I did not say that to you because I felt you would... well, act like what you are right now. And you just woke up too, I'd have preferred to tell you later."
"You could have still told me."
"And what a conversation that would be." Jeongguk laughed slightly, "'Hello, hyung. Have I told you about how I nearly drowned and landed on an island recently?'"
"Island?" Taehyung asked, choosing to ignore the quip.
"Yes. We-- we as in Han Yumi and I-- ended up there using the life capsule she saved me with. We kipped there until the others found us. It had taken months, and I..." Jeongguk faltered, wondering if he should say the next part, "I was beginning to lose hope."
"... months," Taehyung repeated, looking pained.
"Yeah, well..." Jeongguk trailed off uncomfortably, "But it's all fine now, isn't it? You're here, you'll be fine in some days. And I've figured out a plan too, when we get back to shore."
Jeongguk paused, hoping Taehyung would ask what the plan was so they would have something else to talk about.
"... I'm sorry--"
"Oh, no you don't." Jeongguk snapped, "You have no idea just how many times I heard that phrase. It's weird. It's not your fault! Why are you sorry?"
"... I don't remember. But I..."
"Hyung, I'm really not mad for-- whatever you think. I'm just glad you're back. I heard frightening things from our other teammates,"
"Other teammates? The humans... right, you weren't here. They were the ones who...?"
A tick found itself on Jeongguk's jaw, "They didn't tell you that, but they told you about how I nearly drowned. Typical."
"They... they found it? The cure? Seriously?"
"Hmm. You're here because of them. So don't eat them,"
Taehyung went silent. A few minutes passed as Jeongguk waited patiently, before hearing snores. Taehyung did warn him that he'd fall asleep soon. Shoving the now useless piece of paper into his pocket, he stretched out from the chair. He supposed he'd have to continue his questioning tomorrow.
"Looks good." He tilted his head to the side at the voice. Han Yumi was watching his friend on the bed, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. She said, "I was going to tell you to stop torturing the guy and let him sleep, but I guess you beat me to it."
"Did you want me in the control?" Logically, he knew there wasn't possibly anything wrong or worth seeing in that cabin, but it might have just become their unofficial hang-out spot.
"Yes." She nodded.
"They've fixed up the stairs." He admired them as they walked together.
"You have been calculating." Yumi laid out her observation as she opened the door, "You have been poring over the map and the stars. Do you...?"
"Know the way back?" He grinned, "I might."
Her shoulders relaxed, "That's... That's good. That's great!"
She smiled at the sea, then turned to beam at him. He felt lighter than he felt in months.
"Please tell me you have a plan now." She said.
"Are you making fun of me?" Jeongguk asked, offended, "Of course I have a plan!"
"You gave me the impression that you are not one for plans."
"You still remember me only from my past."
"So, what is the plan?" She fervently changed the topic. They took a seat on the floor, next to the control they knew needed no immediate fixing.
"Hmph. We broadcast ourselves all over the news. That's the plan,"
Yumi blanched, and Jeongguk enjoyed her confused look before she opened her mouth, "Excuse me? What?"
"We broadcast ourselves." He repeated, "We reveal where we were, our mission, and the fact that humans created an antidote."
"... I have a bad feeling about this,"
"What's wrong with it?" Jeongguk chuckled, "With all the funeral marches taking place in the seashore, there's a whole station of broadcasting channels camped up there. With luck, we hit the shore in the evening and sneak into one of the camps, connect to the satellite, and have our speak,"
There was a deep, long silence between them that almost made him self-conscious about his plan. Then, in a quiet tone, Yumi spoke.
He saw anxiety in her eyes when he turned toward her, "After we hit the shore and give away the antidote... everything will be fine, right?"
She must've been really worried if she decided to use her voice like that. "Fine as in?" He asked back.
"Fine... as in, you know, carnivores won't pounce on us."
Jeongguk snorted, "Why would they pounce on you? They'll have to cook you first. They're half-humans, so they'd upset their stomachs if they tried to eat you raw..."
Yumi scowled up at him, "Thanks."
She looked a bit too much like a grumpy cat with that look on her face, which only made him crack up more. Once he regained his composure, he said, "They will think of a way to repay you. Just mention what you want at the right time then."
"Want to repay us, really?"
"Of course. I've been subjected to their presence quite a few times. It's a matter of their pride,"
"Dunno." She muttered, "Would they even believe us? We're kind of runaway criminals,"
"What choice do they have?" Jeongguk threw up his hands, "The government might try to suppress us, but the citizens would be growing agitated. If they hear even a word about a cure, they'd go crazy. That's why I'm broadcasting it before the higher-ups get a word about this,"
"Crazy... crazy enough to believe four people from another planet and a runaway who broke them out of a top security--"
"What top security? That stupid excuse of a Head left me alone there," Jeongguk rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Even if they don't, we still have proof with us. Taehyung is here. We will reach the shore probably in a couple of days. He'll still have traces of his illness in him, not even the doctors could deny us. They'd see he had the illness and still managed to live,"
"How do you know that?"
"You're not as smart as your friend."
"..."
"Oh, get that look off your face." Jeongguk said, "Besides if there was anyone who would figure out a way to grit through the shittiest conditions, it would be humans,"
"... I wouldn't be too sure about that,"
"Why?" He felt confused, "The storm, the attacks, the drowning and the island. The cure! Are you trying to play dumb on purpose?"
"Well, maybe." She shifted uncomfortably, "The things we did, I mean. Not the playing dumb part. But that was... we didn't have much clue on what to do either. We are not all-knowing, nor are we perfect,"
"... you are being so dramatic." Jeongguk drawled out.
He waited for a new customary scowl that seemed only reserved for him before continuing, "Do you not realise what you've done? The journey, the ship, the cure... you've all saved the leftover feline population, my friend..." He trailed off, already running out of words to say.
"And me, you saved me. I was sure I was done when I dunked into the sea. I like to think that my life counts for something!"
"That was... well... luck played a lot of role in that,"
"Luck?" It had been them doing this all along. Jeongguk felt sure if luck existed, it was extremely lazy to even bother with their situations.
"Well, yes. Luck. And a little bit of... well... you all too, I guess."
"Me?" Jeongguk gaped, but before he could protest, she continued.
"I am grateful." She refused to meet his eyes, gazing long and hard at the path woven by the sea, "For your help. For your plan, as bad as it was. I don't think I've thanked you properly before."
"..."
"We will remember you as our hero, you know?" She smiled slightly, "Even if everything goes wrong last minute and we are executed, we four will remember you as our hero. If everything actually goes well, then so will the rest of the human population." Her breath hitched slightly, "If they still remain, that is."
She must've put lots of thought into this, Jeongguk realised. He suddenly felt guilty for laughing before.
"... we humans don't deserve as much credit as you're giving us, you know? Especially me. This is repayment for the treatment your kind went through--"
"Oh, heck, no." He muttered, "So that was why you had that look on your face for the last couple of days."
She looked startled at the interruption, but he continued, "I... look, I don't blame you for what happened millennia ago. What we felt was prejudice, knowing what humans were like in those times. I'm to blame too, even I did not like you four very much. But now... I guess humans aren't as bad as we put it,"
"... you have cartoons with Earthians as villains. I heard it from the octopus hybrids,"
"That's how we knew humans to be, villains." Jeongguk admitted, "Who knows, maybe you'll have a cartoon based on this adventure as well. You'll be the hero there,"
"I'm not sure things could get that-- I don't know, easy? How can Plutoians accept us so easily--"
"We are adaptable creatures," Jeongguk said blithely.
"But they might not even know--"
"Know? Han Yumi, please. You're talking to the species that don't even know the person who created them." Jeongguk said wryly, "We searched, you know? Historians looked through the past, formulating all sorts of theories. But they could not reach any conclusion and hence abandoned the subject. We live off our life not knowing anything, and well, I know I never put in the effort to know the way you probably would have done."
"You are giving us more credit than due. We don't know everything. Heck, Earth is dead after having provided for us for hundreds of thousands of years, yet we haven't been revealed to all of its secrets."
Her gaze blurred as she dug deep into her mind, "When did time begin? Does time end somewhere? Is time travel possible? Does time exist or is it our mental construct? We talked about parallel universes too. Where does this universe begin and end? Is travelling universes even possible? Did people exist before the universe was created? How--"
"I'm going to throw you out of the window." Jeongguk muttered. "You are definitely doing this on purpose,"
"Doing what on purpose?"
"That!" Jeongguk said irritably, "Stop doing that! I don't need to hear you when you go all philosophical!"
"Those are not philosophical questions! They are questions we have been looking for an answer to for millennia!"
"Parallel universe? Focus on your universe first! When I said humans were good at forming answers, I didn't think how many questions you'd have instead--"
"We survived off of asking questions." She looked annoyed, "And we found answers for some too, mind you."
Jeongguk decided that he couldn't think of anything to say after that.
___________
When Yumi chose to squint into the vast distance of the sea, it was for any sign of land now that Jeongguk had given them the green light.
So, naturally, she almost had a heart attack when Taehyung showed up right next to her.
"I wish I could say I came here on a cruise vacation." He sighed.
Yumi blinked, then turned back to the sea, deciding that he was probably high on the medication they were feeding them.
"This view would have been nice if it wasn't constantly trying to kill us." He continued.
He was definitely high.
"I forgot how difficult it was to talk to the likes of you." He muttered, and Yumi thought that was a bit rich coming from him. He had done a perfect job of being the most unapproachable person she'd met.
"I'm talking to you, human."
"Ah. Me?" She asked dumbly. Guess she couldn't ignore his talks anymore.
"You. Who else is here, the wind?"
She nodded her head slightly before turning back to the sea. Awkward silence gathered around them and she decided to wait until he left. It would be too awkward if she left herself.
She counted a whole two minutes before there was a voice, "... maybe I should have written a script."
She glanced at him. He looked better than he did four days ago, colour had returned to his face, he looked healthier with the recent not poisonous foods they had been feeding him, and he could walk now, despite his balance still being wobbly. The end of the road was still far, but at least he steadily walked down to his recovery.
"Is there anything you need?" She asked finally, having had enough of his shuffling.
"... I am here to congratulate you, I guess," he said after a moment of silence.
"Congratulate me," Yumi repeated, lulling the thought over her head.
"And the rest of you." He refused to meet her eyes, "You managed to find a cure even our most specialised doctors couldn't find. It is not a small achievement,"
"I did not do anything." Yumi sighed, "It was all Hara, Namjoon and Jimin. Thank them,"
"I already congratulated them," he quickly hastened. "...It is not just that."
"What?"
"You saved Jeongguk."
At these words, Yumi whipped around head-on to face him. He was still staring at his feet, "I heard he fell off, and you stopped him from drowning,"
"It was nothing," Yumi said quickly.
"No, it was everything," Taehyung said solemnly.
"..."
"I don't remember anything, I don't even remember what happened when he fell like that. I came here to make sure nothing like that happened. And now there is a possibility that I was the one who caused it..."
"You didn't do anything!" Yumi breathed, waving her hands hastily. "I mean, you were sick. Not exactly fit to fight, so..." She remembered how she found those two that day, and how Jeongguk had saved her before sending her away to get Taehyung. Her mood soured just thinking about it.
She gazed at Taehyung, then decided that he looked as far away as possible from the crazy lunatic turned helpless idiot. She sighed.
"You didn't cause anything." She said firmly, "Nobody was at fault-- and it doesn't matter anyway. Jeongguk is here, he is fine."
Taehyung stared at her, then muttered, "You're as bad as him."
"Huh?" What now? What did she do now?
"Can't you see I'm trying to thank you?" He hissed.
"What?" Yumi's brain short-circuited.
"Congratulations." He said again, finally looking with a scowl, "Your plan worked. You've proved..." He coughed, but Yumi's brain was hardly working anymore.
Taehyung... thanking her for saving Jeongguk... She felt like the sky just turned purple.
"Thank us... you're thanking--" her brain struggled to form articulate thoughts. This guy, who'd first greeted her by nearly killing her... was now thanking her.
She hadn't believed Jeongguk until then, when he'd exclaimed about what a big impact they had made. Now, with Taehyung thanking her like this... her mission felt successful.
"... You don't really sound all that happy for us," she couldn't stop herself. She was grinning like a fool.
"Shut up." He turned away to stare at the sea, supporting himself with his elbows on the railing.
Yumi was still smiling. She hadn't realised how much she craved his approval, especially after she overheard him shooting out his previous beliefs. Now here he was, trying to thank her while still being bitter about it.
"You know, I heard tigers were incredibly nice to the humans who treated their bad teeth-- so I hope it won't be all that unusual for you--"
"If you think I will let you be my dentist, human..."
She held in her cackle of victory, deciding that weirding him out even more would not help in the slightest. There was a brief silence where Yumi pictured the looks of shock on her friends' faces when she told him of this moment before he broke it again.
"I guess that's another date to add in the history books." He said glumly, "'I-don't-know-what-date June, 2024: Aliens crash into our planet to put doctors to shame. End a worldwide pandemic and decide to bring in more of their annoying species. Write a brief note on it.'"
"What?!" Yumi's brain short-circuited yet again, "What date did you just say?!"
"You did show up in June." He said, rubbing his eyes, "I don't remember what date,"
"No, the year. Did you just say 2024?!"
"... Yeah? What about it?"
"It's..."
No, what was this? 2024? Wasn't this the year 5904?
Is it 5904?
She knew time in space went differently, so it definitely wasn't the same as when she left Earth...
Damn it. She had depended on Pluto's date to calculate what time it was on Earth. How did the date never pop up the entire stay here...? Of course, she had been too busy trying to stay alive most of the days, but still...
Still, 2024 was just...
"So... you guys started counting your years after shifting to Pluto, is that right?"
This was stupid, she was stupid. Why did she ever think they'd still follow Earthian time and date here in Pluto...
"... I suppose? We'd be somewhere in the ten-thousands if we counted the years before that..." He suddenly stretched his arms above his head, "Ah, I'm going back..."
"It would be the late 5000s, actually--" She began, but Taehyung did not seem to be listening.
Damn it! When did the Planetary Shift happen in Earthian years? Somewhere in the 3900s... and if she were to count the years it would have taken Plutoians to reach Pluto, to start a civilisation and then set up the date system...
And then the years she would have taken to reach Pluto herself, in Pluto's timeframe... damn it, how much time had gone by on Earth? She hadn't really been thinking about it for the last couple of days.
She needed to find the other teammates now, to break this revelation to them, when--
"Hey!" Fingers snapped in front of her eyes, "Are you listening to me at all?"
"... huh?"
"I was saying, think about the concept of time and space later." He said, looking annoyed that she was not listening, "Because we are almost there. I can see the seashore. Go call Jeongguk."
____________
A/N: That's right, ma dudes. Early update.