When the Stars Gossip (별들에게 물어봐)

WHEN THE STARS GOSSIP

"We're here to honor the innocent souls."

"All lives, though different in nature, are equal."

"While your lives were precious, you faced noble deaths."

"Do not resent the heavens or humanity,

for your sacrifice aids mankind and protects your own kind."

"We pray for your gentle spirits and wish you peace,

hoping you'll find a brighter world and eternal life."

We mourn the invaluable sacrifice of animals in experiments…

MEMORIAL FOR LAB ANIMALS

…creatures who shared emotions and senses like our own.

We bow our heads in respect and pray for their eternal rest.

Why did the babies die all of a sudden?

They were probably unstable from the moment of conception.

They were barely hanging on.

It's all because of zero gravity?

If it's this hard for a mouse to be born in space,

is it even possible for a human to be born?

I'm so sorry.

Did the surgery go well?

- Yeah. - Good.

They have a strong maternal instinct. Will she be okay?

It wasn't your fault, okay?

Take tomorrow off. You look exhausted.

Get some rest, okay?

Come on, she's doing fine. Go home.

But…

Just go.

Come on.

Cheer up, okay?

You know I'm your secret admirer, right?

Well, you make me feel pretty lonely these days,

but I've always been on your side,

and I always will be, although it hurts my pride a little.

So keep your head up, okay?

What's wrong? Why do you look so tired?

Were you up all night?

No, that's not it.

Take a look at this.

The door is locked.

Hello?

You're still up?

I can't sleep.

It feels like the night before I went to space.

Doesn't it feel like just yesterday that we were getting ready?

To be honest, I was really nervous earlier.

The marriage registration form. I thought you might slap me again.

I'm just happy you didn't.

Oh, right. I have one more gift for you.

But then again, I'm not sure if you'll be happy or want to slap me.

I think you might be happy.

It's hard to tell.

What could it be?

Good night.

I'm leaving in three days.

I know.

Good night.

Good night.

MARRIAGE REGISTRATION FORM

IOU, everything is frozen solid.

It's a mess up here.

Make sure you search every corner of the ILS.

If you see anything out of the ordinary, bag it.

Copy that.

50, SEOUL 06:50

Chief, the IOU sent over the footage from the robot arm first.

Is the investigation over?

Yes, the team has left the station with what they collected.

They'll be arriving around 2 p.m., KST.

It looks like the crew

brought back all the experiment subjects,

but they left behind a lot of their stuff in the chaos.

We got the exterior footage

of the hole in the storage module and the areas that need repair.

Dong-a is set for a spacewalk. Should we show it to him?

Yeah, he'll be the one to repair them.

Should I call the commander too?

No, not Eve. Let her rest today.

By the way, look at that hole.

If it had been any bigger, the whole station would've blown up.

Yeah.

FLAVORS OF THE MOUNTAIN, SEA, AND SKY

Look at that. When did she bring her food?

She didn't even say she was going to see her.

And she gave her so much too. Why would she do that for her?

Geez.

You didn't have to come all the way here

just to return this lunch box. It's nothing special.

Thank you for the food.

I hope you liked it.

You really didn't have to bring this back.

I'd love to have your cooking again.

Again?

Yeah, again.

Why?

It was delicious.

I felt bad

after our conversation that day,

thinking I might've hit a nerve just to ease my own mind.

As for the food, I'd be happy to cook for you.

About that Christmas Eve,

you should just forget about it.

It's okay if you do.

Do you really think so?

Yeah.

I hope you stay healthy.

Take care then, Captain.

Will do.

- Oh, all right. - Bye.

Bye.

2024, SPRING

NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

It'll be hard since it's been so long,

but I'll try to find her.

Thanks, I'll wait.

This is your first time back in Korea in 37 years.

If I may ask,

why do you want to find your birth mother?

Well…

I just want to know why she abandoned me.

I wonder

if she's had a good life since then.

If she has,

I want to forgive her.

It's okay to look for her, right?

You and I were the same height and weight before the experiment.

But after living in space, you grew 5 cm taller.

Your crow's feet smoothed out,

and your telomeres,

which are associated with aging, grew longer in space.

That's why you looked so much younger than me.

But my muscle mass, body weight, and bone density have decreased a lot.

With no gravity, there's nothing to resist against.

I guess bones and muscles are the biggest concerns in space.

Space radiation has also increased your risk of cancer.

The increased blood flow to your eyes

has thickened the retinas, which could lead to vision impairment.

Your thickened carotid arteries raised the risk of heart disease and stroke.

During your time in space, 1,400 of your genes

showed completely different activity patterns,

but this requires further follow-up.

Your immune responses to DNA damage were different from mine.

This is just a year-long comparison with me.

There's no need to worry.

You won't be staying up there for years and years.

There are still no applicants?

No.

Are you going to continue the twin experiment?

For me, I'll just be doing my job in space as usual,

but it's got to be rough on you.

You can't eat what you want or drink alcohol.

Your life will be restricted like mine.

Yeah, exactly!

Look, down here on Earth, it's not easy living like you.

Don't you think I'm turning a little hysterical?

I used to be a sweet girl.

It's your call.

I'll follow your decision.

Hey, did you get

a boyfriend or something?

- Is that the issue? - No.

Dona, listen. Actually--

Hey.

You're not into dating,

and absolutely no guy is interested in you either.

But that's not the case with me.

When I go clubbing,

there's always a boatload of guys trying to hit on me.

You know how popular I am, right?

If it weren't for the promotion, I'd just…

See? If you guys hadn't let Dr. Kang take the lottery ticket,

I wouldn't be having this problem right now!

Lee Seung-jun, that damn idiot!

What happened to your sister? Where's she at?

Leave her out of this.

Hi.

Dr. Kang.

Oh, wait…

We're coming in!

Dr. Kang.

What are you trying to pull?

They tossed it in the storage room.

No one can wear it anyway.

Chief Kang is just trying to punish you.

For what it's worth,

we want you to know that

we really appreciate your effort and sacrifice,

your research, your generosity.

I mean, you even bought that robot arm

without any hesitation.

So, this is for you.

It's the least we can do.

You stole it?

Are you into stealing now?

We've already done it once, so what's one more time?

So what if we get caught?

Well, we probably will.

You caught us too.

Whatever.

Isn't this the least we can do for our teammate?