Ch.178Chapter 178. D+7

“The defendant cannot be charged under the National Security Act as it is difficult to establish intent to cause social disorder by aiding an alien parasite’s murder. Therefore, the jury sentences the defendant to a fine of $2,000 for simple dereliction of duty and trespassing.”

The handcuffs restraining my wrists were removed.

I shook the hand offered by my lawyer, and only then did it feel real.

I was free.

“Juliane.”

“……”

After receiving my belongings and leaving the courthouse, I found my mother waiting in her car.

Father must be busy attending hearings right now.

He’s suspected of knowing everything and hiding it.

In truth, Father didn’t know anything…

I bit my lip as I got into the car.

“Have you been eating properly?”

“Yes…”

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping at all…”

“I’m fine.”

The car headed deeper into the station.

What little sky I could see disappeared, replaced by a forest of buildings.

The suffocating and eerie sight suddenly made me short of breath and nauseous.

“Um, Mom. Let me out here.”

“Hmm? Here?”

“Quickly!”

With a screech, the car stopped.

I hurriedly got out, leaving my puzzled mother behind.

Even the outside air didn’t help.

It was still the same nauseating, stifling air of any station.

“Juliane!”

“I’ll walk. I’m carsick.”

“Make sure to answer my calls! Let me know when you get home! And I’ve made a counseling appointment for whenever you’re comfortable…”

“Okay. I understand…”

I just want to be alone right now.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and started walking by myself.

Psychiatric counseling?

I don’t need that.

I’m perfectly normal.

There’s nothing wrong with me.

“It’s cold…”

A week had passed since that day.

After being subdued at the launch pad, I was immediately detained and watched the situation in the sky through a live broadcast in court.

The Space Force was deployed, armed soldiers surrounded the spacecraft…

When the module was ejected, my heart sank.

But as soon as I saw the spacesuit burst out of the hatch, I felt relief.

I knew it was Jinsoo without even seeing inside.

Jinsoo shook off the Space Force’s pursuit, caught up with the module, and finally entered it—all captured perfectly on the live broadcast.

That was the last time I saw Jinsoo.

After that, the module just kept getting farther and farther away.

-Despite some disturbances, we report that the operation proceeded successfully. Jinsoo Kim, who boarded disguised as a crew member, is flying along the planned trajectory with the module. As the module has no means of propulsion, we believe there is no possibility of return to Earth.

And then the Aerospace Agency’s announcement hammered in the final nail.

I couldn’t deny it was real.

I couldn’t cry and scream and go crazy.

I could only accept everything with a clear mind.

“With food for 100 years… split between two people, that’s 50 years.”

Fifty years.

That was the time given to the two of them.

Drifting through the vast universe, just the two of them for 50 years.

In that tiny module.

“Haah…”

As I reached the outskirts of the station, I stepped on half-melted snow that made a crunching sound.

It must have snowed yesterday…

I had no idea.

My feet were freezing.

Was LA always this cold around this time?

I walked on and on, blowing on my hands to warm them.

At the end of my journey, I could finally see my beloved home in the distance.

The entrance had already been repaired.

“Hmm…”

The key was still under the flowerpot.

I retrieved it from beneath the already dead tomato plant and inserted it into the front door.

The handle turned, and with a creaking sound that sent chills down my spine, the door opened.

It was dark inside.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I discovered the living room in complete disarray.

The dining table was overturned, the lights were broken…

“Ah.”

My eyes fell on the unfinished wedding invitations scattered carelessly on the table.

Empty invitations with only the guests’ names printed, without wedding photos or anything else.

I took an envelope, crumpled up the invitations one by one, and put them inside.

I’d heard that starting with simple, minor cleaning tasks like this was good for escaping lethargy.

After tying up the envelope and tossing it in a corner of the living room, I wiped my forehead.

Not particularly satisfying.

I wondered if the FBI had also trashed my bedroom.

With concern, I peeked into the master bedroom.

Sure enough, my laptop was gone, and the drawers and closet were messily ransacked.

I sighed and walked back out.

Then, could Cuss’s room also be…

“Phew…”

Fortunately, Cuss’s room was relatively intact.

Perhaps because there was only the closet to search through.

It remained relatively whole, close to how it was before that day.

Suppressing something welling up inside me, I walked in, stepping on Cuss’s scattered clothes.

A shark plushie with most of its stuffing gone.

And the large penguin plushie I had bought her…

I lay face down on the bed and hugged them with both arms.

“Uhuhuhu… hic…”

I finally couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.

Tears flowed endlessly, soaking the plushies.

I had promised myself I wouldn’t cry anymore.

I had decided to overcome this, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

You said you’d come back.

You jerk. You promised you’d come back.

“Why just the two of you… why just the two of youuu…”

I wish I could have gone too.

Don’t go, just the two of you.

I wanted to go on that space journey too.

I wanted to be with Cuss until the moment I died.

I loved Cuss as much as Jinsoo did, and I loved Jinsoo as much as Cuss did.

Why did you leave me behind and just take off…

“Huuu…”

I must have fallen asleep crying.

When I opened my eyes, it was already getting dark outside.

I’m hungry.

Even in this situation, I still feel hungry, thirsty, and sleepy.

It makes me feel like an animal, and it’s so painful.

Ah. How did Jinsoo endure this?

How did he manage to live without dying?

Can I do it too?

Can I forget everything and live a new life?

“There’s no way…”

There’s no way I could meet someone new.

There’s no way I could be happy and smile again.

Cuss and Jinsoo are both gone.

I’m alone now.

“Urp?!”

Suddenly, I felt a surge of nausea.

“Urgh!”

Once more.

And again…

Sometimes crying can make you nauseous, but it had never been this severe before.

Why is this happening?

I haven’t eaten anything today, so it can’t be food poisoning.

“Huh?”

Then a thought crossed my mind.

I hurriedly searched through the bathroom cabinet.

In that mess, I found an unopened pregnancy test.

I closed the door, quickly unwrapped it, and used the test.

Then I waited for about three minutes…

“Ha…”

Two clear lines appeared on the device.

Seeing that, an inexplicable sigh escaped my lips.

I’m not alone after all.

***

“Manager.”

“……”

“Manager!”

“Oh, oh… What is it?”

The manager, who had been lost in thought, turned around startled at the voice calling him.

There stood not the engineer who always stayed by his side, but a new employee.

“Is it true that you participated in the Earth Exile Project? That legendary project where a rocket was assembled and launched in record time…!”

“Yes, that was me. But don’t think about asking questions. I didn’t do or see anything except checking the engine condition until I was sick and running calculation programs.”

“It’s still an honor! Could I get your autograph?”

The manager was dumbfounded.

A rocket enthusiast joining an engine company.

Exasperated, he scribbled a quick signature and dismissed the new employee.

“Hmm…”

Groaning from back pain, the manager sat down and turned on his desktop.

He immediately accessed the Aerospace Agency’s telescope.

Adjusting the direction and focus, he captured a small dot moving away in the center of the screen.

That tiny speck was Jinsoo and his daughter.

After staring at it for a long time, the manager turned off the screen.

‘Is this really what you wanted…’

Did Jinsoo know this would happen?

With his exceptional mind, he must have anticipated it.

He clearly chose to embark on a distant journey with his daughter rather than sending her away and remaining on Earth.

The manager closed his eyes tightly with guilt, his breath trembling.

Sending his subordinate and his daughter into space and getting promoted for it.

This bitter taste wouldn’t go away anytime soon.

Ding…

Just then, a notification sound came from the desktop.

The manager turned the screen back on and clicked on the messenger.

-36 days until Ares enters Earth’s atmosphere

Come to think of it, regardless of what happened on Earth, Ares was continuously approaching.

Who would lead the maintenance team if not Jinsoo?

Just thinking about it gave the manager a throbbing headache.

If only Jinsoo could magically return.

“Oh?”

“…?”

Suddenly remembering something, the manager jumped to his feet.

Ignoring the stares of his employees, he ran out of the research lab.

There was still one possibility left.