It's late noon, when everything gets sorted out and the two young pilots finally arrive back at the base. Neither had bothered running the planes back to the hangars, and parked them just outside and beside one of the runways, before stepping out and closing the cockpits after themselves; it's sunny, and Wooyoung still has an overseas patrol later that afternoon, it would be totally useless to run the aircraft into the hangar. It's warm, and they get sweaty quick underneath the scorching sun as they near the dining hall, the cool air hitting their red faces instantly upon stepping inside. Wooyoung then thinks how much he hates the beginning of summer, hates how overly warm he feels wearing his uniform, how he could imagine his family playing in the pool in their backyard with ice cream just waiting for them in the portable freezing pod and cocktails just ready to be drunk. He kind of misses it, but it's fine, because he knows they're fine.

Wooyoung knows he has a sister. It's a young girl, about nine years old of he recalls correctly, and his parents had adopted her from the orphanage. He recalls how happy he was hearing about it, back when his parents had sent him a letter, and recalls writing them back with nothing but pure excitement, happiness, because his parents had finally found happiness again, but there's also someone he could spoil and love, care for and play with when he comes home. It's a very nice core memory, when he first saw the picture of the three years old Eunhae clipped to one of the letters, and now he has a picture of his family sent every year from the Lunar New Year celebrations. He loves it, really, and can't stay put when he thinks about the possibility of leaving for a week at the beginning of the Summer festivals. He thinks that maybe, he'd be able to take Eunhae on a nice field trip, and thinks he would finally be able to make long lasting memories with her, would fulfill all the little wishes she has. It's exciting, and he smiles as he approaches the Generals to pass over the info of their little mission.

Now he stands there, waiting to be dismissed, and his smile falls when there's more duties put upon his shoulder by his crew leader. General Jung rambles and rambles and Wooyoung takes mental notes in his to-do list, wanting to remember everything there is that the General wants of him, but it's a gentle smile and a hand on the leader's shoulder that finally stops his head from wandering and the General from speaking any further. "No, Commander Jeong. I only ask of you to do the evening patrol today, and the overseas mission. Don't worry about the rest, you're dismissed now," and it's Taeyong, who nods his head in the direction of an impatiently waiting Mingi standing a few feet behind, gaze soft unlike Jaehyun's, whose gaze is stern but not too strict nevertheless. The retired General really did have an affect on his husband, and Wooyoung is so glad he was there to take his side, once again. And so he bows, salutes, and takes his leave from the secluded dining area, joining Mingi on his way and they grab their food then, finally taking their time to rest and fill up their stomachs.

It's not long before they're disturbed again, though, and this time it's OG Park, who stands there with a guilty smile. The two pilots don't even bother to stand up when he comes around, because Seonghwa actually hates formalities, and the tall man sits down on the bench with legs spread to each take one side of it. "Wooyoung-ssi, Colonel Choi had asked me if he could have someone to take him on a flight, and I figured you might be a good candidate, if it's not a bother," and Wooyoung hears Mingi choke on his food and snort, eyes wrinkling into tiny moons again and gives a toothy smile, innocent and bright, when Wooyoung glares. The Commander puts down his chopsticks and hums, nodding, before answering with a subtle "yes", to confirm. "If it's too much trouble for you, I'll ask someone else," Seonghwa attempts once more, clearly worried, because an overseas mission is a lot to deal with, and combined with a patrol, the wing leader is aware of the state Wooyoung would return.

"I'm good, hyung, I'll take him on the patrol with me," Seonghwa beams then, when Wooyoung answers, and thanks him with a bright smile, clearly satisfied with this answer. The older then makes his leave, but not for long, as he returns with an approval of flying the F-15E, their double seat aircraft not many were able to touch. It's General Lee's, and ever since he had retired, the plane had been maintained by General Jung and Wooyoung only, yet still only occasionally. It has him excited; it's one of the coolest planes in the base, and it's not often he's able to pilot it, but that doesn't mean he's inexperienced — General Lee wouldn't have let him fly it, if he weren't responsible enough. And so he eats quick to the point even Mingi has trouble catching up, and when he finishes, he just offers the leftover rice to his friend, before basically storming out of the dining hall. The redheaded giant isn't even mad and chuckles, when he sees the younger speed-walk outside, blonde hair turning a blinding white underneath the hot sun.

Wooyoung basically flies inside the hangar then, running across the runways like a child excited for candy, and he giggles when he stands in front of the plane with the retired General already tending to it, doing the check-up for him. It's precious, seeing the General just silently admiring the plane, and he would've compared the moment to an old horse jockey meeting their race horse for the first time in a while; it's honestly a little sad — Wooyoung feels a pang in his heart — but it's still precious nevertheless, and he feels awkward just standing there, watching. Taeyong looks up from where he stands — well technically looks down at Wooyoung, because he's standing up on the left wing of the plane — and grins again, greeting the young man with enthusiasm. "Seonghwa told me you're taking Colonel Choi on the patrol with you, so I figured you might need a bigger plane for that," the retired man offers, before Wooyoung is there to assist him when climbing down the hidden ladder on the side of the plane. He's there to catch the man if he were to slip but knowing the General, there is no way he actually would.

"Yeah. Does Colonel Choi know it's me, who's taking him out for a flight?" Wooyoung then asks, relaxed around his senior and Taeyong nods, assuring Wooyoung that the Colonel, in fact, chose the pilot to fly him out. It has the Captain shocked, but feeling like a teenage girl who's about to go out with her crush for the first time ever. He feels excited and pretty much grateful, because it's one of the few times their love-hate relationship feels more like a denying-my-love-for-you kind of a relationship. It feels better than thinking he wouldn't stand a chance with the man, and so he takes while he can, and scans around the plane with an expert eye, checking everything for any kind of damage before checking the fuel levels. Everything seems to be fine, and it's when Taeyong gives him a nod, he climbs in and closes the cockpit after himself to drive the plane out of the hangar.

He's surprised to see the majority of the base outside to watch, but not really when he realizes just how much of a big thing it is to have this plane flying out for an actual mission or patrol, not just a drill flight. He makes sure to park the aircraft just at the start of the runway and turns off the engine, so it's safe for him and the Colonel to climb in later, and he fishes an oxygen mask and a pair of headphones behind himself on the free seat before climbing out and meeting the brunette. San stands there, changed into a flight suit borrowed from a crew member, and Wooyoung would've left his eyes on him if it weren't for the crew watching. "Put this on first, it would be harder for me to help you adjust them when we're in,"Wooyoung asks with a soft voice, already too bashful to be teasing the other, and he hands over both the mask and the headphones before leading the man over to the aircraft. When San is settled and prepared for the flight, Wooyoung shows him how to climb in and assists him, before getting inside himself and closing the cockpit. "In front of you should be an opening just as wide as the tube of your oxygen mask. Screw it in as tight as you can," he says and San complies without a single word, working skillful fingers. Then, he feels fresh oxygen pour from the mask and it has him coughing a bit before he adjusts to it, taking a few deep breaths to relax his thumping heart from the shock. Wooyoung chuckles, and hands over a pair of sunglasses, because the sun is on the highest point now and it's merciless when up in the air.

"Please confirm you can hear me through the headphones," the Captain asks after pushing a button and it startles San once more, but he finds the speaker button on his heavy, airtight headphones and agrees, nodding to confirm more to himself than the pilot in front of him. "Good, I'll be starting the engine now. As of the flight, we will be heading off for a patrol to the east coast, while we're up, please do not touch any buttons other than the speaker if you want to talk. The engine is deafeningly loud, so I beg, don't take off your headphones, either. Are we all set?" Wooyoung then asks again and San replies with the same 'yes' he had before, and it's all Wooyoung needs to start the engine and lock the cockpit in place. It's sealed, airtight, and a control light pops up glowing green in front of him.

"Commander Jeong to Tower 1, General Jung; we are ready to take off," San hears the static through the earphones, although a little muffled by the loud engine that's not completely blocked out. It's strong and he feels it roaring behind him powerfully; it has him anxious but still pretty faithful in Wooyoung's piloting skills. He knows the younger wouldn't do anything to endanger them, even if they weren't on the best of terms yet. It's not only the pilot's life now; there's two of them aboard, and it would cost him his rank, and the base's reputation, too, and San knows he couldn't afford that.

"Tower 1 to Commander Jeong, R2 is clear, you may take off, over," and after that there is a confirmation from the General as well and Wooyoung nods, more likely to himself and fumbles in front of San, pushing buttons and pulling levers. It's when he feels the engine behind him roar and vibrate even more, when the plane starts speeding through the flat ground, and sooner than he'd like, they're off the ground, nose of the plane pointed almost vertically up and he feels his stomach churn. "You're not going to kill us, are you," San asks more to himself than to the Captain, but he hears him laugh nevertheless, and it's easy going, soft and all that he needs to know that he's in good hands. The plane goes horizontal as soon as it reaches the desired altitude and San hums in content, enjoying the calm before the storm while he's able to, because then he's head down above the base, drastically dropping , and he hears laughter from where Wooyoung sits. He knows they're just turning toward where the East coast lays, but he can't stop himself from shutting his eyes with all his might, gripping at the arm rests of his seat as if his life had depended on them.

"You good? Had to do a little turn," Wooyoung's tone is teasing, and there's another voice laughing, coming through the headphones and he recognizes Yunho, who's watching from the ground. It's comical, really, because this is just one of the few maneuvers Wooyoung would pull while they're out.

And San finds himself actually enjoying the little adventure.