The evening had already settled by the time the car stopped outside the villa.
The sky was deep blue now, the last traces of sunlight fading behind distant hills, leaving the garden wrapped in soft shadows and dim golden lights that lined the pathway. The air felt still, almost expectant, as if the night itself had paused for something to unfold. Xu Chen stepped out, closing the door behind him, his gaze lifting instinctively toward the entrance.
The door opened before he could reach it.
Aum stood there.
"You're back."
The words were simple, spoken without urgency, but there was something in the way he said them—steady, quiet—that made Xu Chen pause for just a fraction of a second. It didn't feel like a greeting. It felt like something closer to acknowledgment… or perhaps something he couldn't quite name yet.
"…Yeah," Xu Chen replied, softer than he intended.
He stepped inside.
The first thing he noticed wasn't the lights.
It wasn't the silence.
It was the warmth.
The faint aroma of food lingered in the air, subtle but layered, carrying hints of ginger, soy, and something slow-cooked. The dining table was set—not casually, not hastily—but with intention. Dishes arranged neatly, bowls placed with care, everything balanced in a way that felt deliberate.
Xu Chen stopped.
"…You did all this?"
Aum nodded.
"It seemed appropriate."
Xu Chen let out a quiet breath, something between disbelief and a faint, unguarded smile.
"For me?"
Aum didn't answer immediately.
But his silence, said enough.
"Give me five minutes," Xu Chen said, already loosening his watch. "Don't start without me."
"I won't."
The bathroom filled with the soft sound of water.
Xu Chen stood under the stream, eyes closed for a moment longer than necessary, letting the day rinse away—but his thoughts didn't follow as easily. They lingered, circling back to the image of Aum standing at the door, to the table waiting, to the quiet certainty in his voice.
Home.
The word returned again.
And this time.....
it settled deeper.
Xu Chen exhaled slowly, pushing the thought aside, but not entirely successfully. There was something about tonight that felt different. Not heavier. Not tense. But… intentional.
As if something had already been decided.
When he stepped out, the villa felt warmer.
Aum was already seated, waiting—not impatiently, not distracted—just present. The light above the table cast a soft glow, catching against the dishes, making the colors stand out vividly. Steam still rose gently, carrying the scent of freshly cooked food that filled the space with quiet comfort.
Xu Chen took his seat.
For a moment, he just looked.
A whole fish lay at the center, delicately steamed, garnished with thin slices of ginger and fresh scallions, the surface glistening lightly with oil. Beside it, lotus root stir-fry added contrast—pale, crisp slices touched with hints of red and green, simple yet precise. A bowl of egg drop soup rested near the edge, golden strands floating softly in a clear broth.
"…This looks better than anything we've had outside," Xu Chen said honestly.
Aum watched him.
"I followed instructions," he replied.
Xu Chen glanced at him, amused.
"From where?"
"The device you gave me," Aum said. "It contains… many demonstrations."
Xu Chen let out a quiet laugh.
"You learned fast."
Aum tilted his head slightly.
"It was not difficult."
Xu Chen picked up his chopsticks.
Took a bite.
Paused.
"…Okay," he said after a moment, looking up. "This is actually good."
Aum didn't smile.
But something in his expression softened.
They ate.
The conversation remained light—simple exchanges about the day, small remarks about the site, the usual rhythm they had built over time. Xu Chen spoke about the irregular readings again, about how the layers still didn't align, while Aum listened, occasionally asking something brief, something precise.
For a while, it felt normal.
Comfortable.
Almost as if nothing had changed.
But beneath that ease, something waited.
The plates were cleared slowly.
Not rushed.
Not delayed.
Aum's movements were steady, controlled, but not mechanical. Xu Chen leaned back slightly in his chair, watching him for a moment longer than necessary, a faint sense of calm settling in—a kind he hadn't realized he had been missing.
"Aum," Xu Chen said casually, "if you keep this up, I might just stop going out to eat."
Aum paused briefly.
"That would be inefficient," he replied.
Xu Chen smirked.
"Didn't seem like that today."
Aum didn't respond.
Instead, he turned.
And faced him fully.
"Xu Chen… I need to tell you something."
The shift was subtle.
But immediate.
Xu Chen straightened slightly, the ease in his posture giving way to quiet attention.
"…Okay," he said.
Aum held his gaze.
For a moment, he didn't speak.
Then....
"I am not from here."
Xu Chen blinked once.
"…You mean… not from this city?"
Aum shook his head.
"Not from this country."
A brief pause.
"Not from this planet."
Silence.
It settled heavily, stretching between them, absorbing the space, reshaping it entirely.
Xu Chen stared at him.
Waiting.
For a correction.
A shift in tone.
A sign that this was something else.
None came.
"…You're serious," Xu Chen said slowly.
"Yes."
Xu Chen let out a quiet breath, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back, his mind moving rapidly through possibilities, rejecting them, returning again.
"That's…" he began, then stopped.
Impossible.
But the word didn't fully fit.
"…Explain," he said instead.
Aum nodded once.
"My world is called Brihyansh," he began, his voice steady, calm in a way that contrasted sharply with the weight of what he was saying. "It exists… parallel to this one. Similar in structure. Environment. Life. But governed differently. Systems, decisions, progression—all more… controlled."
Xu Chen listened.
Didn't interrupt.
"I am part of its research division," Aum continued. "Exploration beyond our own boundaries is limited, but not forbidden. I was assigned to a mission. Something went wrong."
His gaze lowered briefly.
"I arrived here."
Another silence.
Xu Chen leaned forward slightly now, his elbows resting on the table, his eyes fixed on Aum as if trying to anchor what he was hearing to something tangible.
"…You're saying you're… what? An astronaut?"
"And a scientist," Aum replied.
Xu Chen let out a short, disbelieving breath.
"…And you expect me to just—what? Accept that?"
Aum didn't react to the tone.
"I expect you to decide what to do with it," he said calmly.
Xu Chen looked away.
Because for the first time he didn't have an immediate answer.
This should have been dismissed.
Rejected.
Questioned until it broke.
But it didn't.
Because something about Aum.....
something in the way he spoke, the way he existed, the way nothing about him had ever quite aligned.....
made it… possible.
"…Why tell me now?" Xu Chen asked quietly.
Aum met his gaze.
"Because you deserved to know."
The words landed softly.
But they carried weight.
Xu Chen stilled.
Something in his chest tightened slightly, not from the revelation itself, but from what it implied.
Trust!
Complete.
Unquestioned.
And then...
"I will try to return."
The sentence came without hesitation.
Clear.
Final.
"To my world."
The air shifted again.
Xu Chen didn't respond immediately.
Because something in that moment, something quiet and unspoken, sank deeper than anything else that had been said.
Return.
Leave.
Gone.
He leaned back slowly, his gaze drifting for a moment before returning to Aum.
"…Right," he said, though the word felt insufficient.
Logical.
Expected.
And yet.....
unsettling!
Aum exhaled quietly.
For the first time since he had begun speaking—
his shoulders relaxed slightly.
The truth was out.
Nothing hidden.
Nothing held back.
The space between them - clear.
And yet....
something else had taken its place.
Not distance.
But the awareness of it.
Xu Chen looked at him again.
Really looked. As if trying to understand not just what Aum had said, but what it meant for everything that had existed between them until now.
"…You've been here this whole time," he said slowly. "And you never....."
"I needed to be certain," Aum replied.
Xu Chen nodded faintly.
"…And now you are."
"Yes."
Another silence followed.
Quieter.
Heavier.
Outside, the night deepened.
Inside, the light remained steady.
But the space between them had changed.
Aum felt it.
But there was also something else now.
Relief.
A quiet release from something he had carried alone for too long.
He had said it.
All of it.
And whatever came next, would not be built on uncertainty.
Xu Chen, however, remained still.
Not rejecting.
Not accepting.
Just…
thinking.
Because for the first time, he wasn't just questioning Aum.
He was questioning everything that came with him.
And perhaps.....
something within himself.
The night stretched on.
Neither of them moved immediately.
Because both of them knew, this was not an end.
It was the beginning.....
of something far more complicated.