And so, Wooyoung leaves. After bidding his good-byes to his flight crew and naming Mingi the crew commander for the week in front of the rest of the squadron, he finally takes a seat inside the large SUV and buckles up. It's a Chevrolet Silverado, one of the many civil-use cars the base Wooyoung had seen parked in one of the large hangars just behind the dormitory hall. As he sits, he doesn't spare the soldiers a glance — he'd feel like it really is a goodbye, like he'd never come back again if he does look them in the eye, and so instead he just rolls up the tinted window and lets the driver pull away from the road and out of the base. It's a long process of checking out at the main gate, Wooyoung realizes when they ask him multiple questions about his departure, and he's given instructions for when he comes back, if he ever decides to change his appearance or bring something back. He understands, the military is strict, and they're prohibited many things; especially the pilots, and he agrees to anything and everything they tell him at the gates. He just wants to leave, he thinks, when the soldiers also check the driver and their ID's. It's annoying, but before Wooyoung could complain, they pull out and are on their merry way through the sunflower fields.

The drive is mainly silent; neither Wooyoung nor the soldier had any topics they could discuss, and the pilot thinks he prefers it that way, anyways. Their way starts as a mere stone path through fields upon fields of flowers and wheat, until they enter the mountainous area where the narrow path becomes asphalt and concrete, and it's all beautiful views and sunny weather and Wooyoung thinks just how different everything looks from the windows of this car compared to the bubble of his cockpit. The green smudges swishing past him on a daily basis are now tall trees, presumably oak when he focuses on them, and there's a train passing by them at one moment and he recalls just how tiny it looks from his aerial view. He thinks just how much he misses his regular life, how much he wants to live like a normal citizen of the kingdom, but then again, piloting is what makes him feel free and happy, and he fears that if he leaves his happiness behind, there'd be nothing else to fill the void. He's scared of change, he realizes, just as they pass yet another mountain village.

They're long three hours, before the car even as much as nears Icheon, and Wooyoung grows restless when they pass the Gyeonggi-do area borders; it's the hours upon hours of unspoken anticipation and running thoughts, and the pilot finds himself fidgeting in his seat and drinking in the familiarity of the place. It's his home he's looking at, and he presses himself impossibly close to the tinted window to stare out at the people passing by in the small city, watching his surroundings carefully because so much has changed in those seven years. It's almost unbelievable when he watches, and it has the soldier upfront chuckle at the pilot's behavior, yet he totally understands his amazement all together. It's not like Wooyoung was the first soldier he'd ever driven out that hadn't been in his hometown for so long. It's just that the Captain is the cutest so far. There are so many kids playing outside with their friends, families engaging in small talk where they meet and there are students swarming the street food stalls around, and it feels surreal to the pilot yet again, because he hadn't seen this in so long. He'd been isolated for way too long.

"Captain Jeong, you might want to straighten down your suit, we'll be over very shortly," the older man notifies and Wooyoung snaps his head around upon registering the words, nodding with excitement and he does as he's told, smoothing his fingers over the wrinkles on his dress shirt and tugging at the heavy coat draped over him. He's dressed in his ceremonial uniform because he believes his father would appreciate it, and he wears all his badges and insignia proudly, along with the patch of his aerial squadron on his left shoulder and the assigned aircraft badge just underneath it. Wooyoung makes sure his hair is neatly styled and his badges all sit tight on his coat, and before he has any time to process, they're already nearing his neighborhood at the very outskirts of the city. There stand a bunch of small family houses, all accompanied with large gardens and the pilot thinks just how much he misses skateboarding through these streets with his classmates; misses the times he'd sit in the middle of the road with Mingi and the two of them would draw little drawings with chalk or talk, would goof around like the kids they used to be, and it has him feeling emotional. He'd missed it dearly, and now he's back, to possibly relive those memories again, but this time with Eunhae, without Mingi by his side. It hurts, kind of, because the tall redhead is so far away now, but he knows Mingi will do well where he serves at the moment, and he believes he'll return to a perfectly coordinated squadron; the same squad he'd had Mingi control for now.

The car soon pulls up on a driveway of a house Wooyoung recognizes all too well and suddenly, he's glued to his seat. His shaky hands tremble in his lap and his eyes are wide in actual shock, narrowed down on his polished shoes — he doesn't want to believe he's actually there, but when the cool summer breeze nips at his cheeks, he finally snaps his head up and comes face to face with the driver opening the door for him. "Your luggage is already out here. Welcome home, Captain Jeong." the soldier offers as Wooyoung steps out, and the two bow to each other in a silent 'thank you'. It's seconds before a smaller body of a child comes crashing into the pilot's, and it catches Wooyoung so off guard that he stumbles backward a few steps, catching himself and the child on the already closed door of the large SUV.

"Wooyo!" the child exclaims and the man picks the girl up then, rests her on his hip and smiles, when she circles her arms around his neck. The shout apparently catches the attention of more people, and just as Wooyoung grabs the handle of his luggage, there is a woman strutting over, her face changing emotions like a bored man would change the channels of his TV. It's Wooyoung's mother, dressed up in a flowy summer dress similar to Eunhae, and she's quick to run over to hug her son with as much force as the young girl. She whimpers into the pilot's ear as she hugs him close, peppering kisses on his scarred cheeks in between her words and Wooyoung thinks just how lucky he is to have a family as loving as this one. He's missed this so, so bad.

"Mom... Mom I need you guys to- to stop hugging me so tight," he struggles in the hold and when the woman lets go of the pilot, she's quick to greet the other soldier and thank him profusely for 'bringing her son back home'. Wooyoung sets Eunhae down then, and turns back to the driver whose name is, apparently, Junkwan, and thanks him again with a deep bow and a salute — the insignia on the driver's shoulder pads tells him that he's higher ranked than the Captain himself, and it has the pilot feeling stupid for not noticing earlier. He must be looking like a fool. "Thank you, O-5 Kim. I will be heading off now," and then, he is dismissed by the older man with a smile and a nod, repeating the words and bowing slightly to the family, in an attempt to excuse himself.

And like that, Wooyoung stands there with his mother and sister, all tearing up from happiness.

Wooyoung is home.