The launch committee approved the wind at 5:58.
At 5:59, every flag above the training house turned in the opposite direction.
Jihye photographed both.
"Which direction did they approve?" Cherry asked.
"West."
The flags pulled east.
"Then the wind has appealed the decision."
Ms. Nway stood beside the gate speaking into a radio. Static interrupted every third word.
Below us, the Mountain Valley exhibition field had begun filling with families, artisans, food vendors, and children carrying paper lanterns.
Five community balloons waited on padded stands.
One resembled a rabbit.
One resembled a fish.
One had been designed as a mountain bird but looked like a worried chicken from every direction.
Our balloon stood tallest near the center of the field.
The King and the King-Slayer curved around opposite sides. Between them, the silver star covered the repaired seam.
JP studied the sky.
"If the committee cancels, do our wishes receive refunds?"
"No," Ms. Nway said.
"Can we transfer them to next year?"
"The pocket is already sealed."
Everyone looked toward the balloon.
The wooden wish box had been emptied into the small paper compartment above its lower ring.
Eleven folded pieces of paper waited inside.
Mine was one of them.
I still remembered the sentence.
I still did not remember writing it.
We walked down to the field in two rows.
Mr. Kim counted at the gate.
TZ counted again at the bottom of the hill.
JP counted the food stalls.
"Twenty-seven," he announced.
"Students," TZ said.
"Eleven. Food remains the stronger population."
Portable generators powered strings of lights around the exhibition ground. A temporary stage stood near the northern edge. Musicians tested drums and microphones while volunteers placed sand buckets around the launch lanes.
There were no fireworks.
Bunny asked twice.
Both answers remained no.
Near the entrance, a vendor charged twice the normal price for bottled water.
NC read the sign.
"Festival pricing?"
The vendor shook his head.
"The purification trucks did not arrive. The shops received half their orders."
A portable radio behind him carried a news report from Yandong.
The announcer mentioned negotiations with purification workers, possible interruptions at municipal plants, and government assurances that shortages would remain temporary.
Then music replaced the report.
"Temporary is becoming a popular word," Anna said.
Jihye wrote the price in her notebook.
TZ noticed.
This time, he did not tell her it lacked context.
Grandmother had asked for a photograph with people.
Mr. Kim arranged us in front of the balloon before sunset.
"Closer," he said.
Nobody moved.
"You are a health cohort, not separate diplomatic missions. Closer."
JP stepped into the center and pulled TZ beside him.
Bunny brought Cherry forward. NC guided Anna and Jihye toward the dark-winged side. Kitty stood beside me.
Across the center, June stood beside NS with Bunny and Cherry behind them.
The arrangement had not changed.
Only the distance became small enough for a photograph to deny it.
Mr. Kim set a timer and joined us.
"Smile," he said.
Eleven students and one teacher obeyed.
The camera captured one second in which everyone appeared capable of remaining together.
I sent the photograph to Grandmother.
XH: PEOPLE INCLUDED. MEDICAL REQUIREMENT SATISFIED.
Her reply arrived several minutes later.
GRANDMOTHER: BETTER. YOU ALL LOOK TIRED.
A second message followed.
GRANDMOTHER: THE RED-HAIRED GIRL IS STANDING VERY CLOSE.
I locked my phone.
Kitty looked at me.
"What did she say?"
"She approved the geography."
"That is not what you sent."
"Her standards changed."
Kitty took my phone before I could stop her.
She read the message.
Her expression changed into something smaller than a smile and more dangerous than one.
"Your grandmother is observant."
"She has no hobbies."
Kitty returned the phone.
"Tell her she is right."
"About everyone looking tired?"
"You know which message."
NC called Kitty toward the paper-lantern stall before I had to answer.
Grandmother began typing again.
The indicator disappeared.
No third message arrived.
The first community balloon launched at 6:37.
It was the rabbit.
Six artisans held its lower frame while another controlled the flame beneath it. Hot air filled the paper body slowly. Its ears rose first, followed by its head, then the rest of an animal that seemed surprised to have become airborne.
Children ran beneath it until volunteers stopped them at the rope line.
Bunny placed one hand over her heart.
"My people are ascending."
Cherry watched the rabbit drift above the field.
"Your people are upside down."
"Growth is not always graceful."
The worried chicken launched next.
JP saluted it.
"A symbol for graduates everywhere."
Even June laughed.
I heard it from across the launch lane.
For one moment, I forgot I was no longer supposed to turn toward the sound.
Kitty saw me turn.
She did not say anything.
That was worse than if she had.
The eight-year-old inspector from the clinic found JP near the rope line.
She wore a yellow coat and carried a lantern shaped like a cat.
Her mother followed several steps behind her.
"King Clown," the girl called.
JP turned slowly.
"My titles have merged."
She held out a paper crown decorated with blue circles.
"You need this."
JP accepted it with both hands.
"The River Province recognizes my authority."
"It is from a food box."
"All crowns begin somewhere."
He placed it on his head.
The crown was too small.
Bunny adjusted it until it remained above one ear.
Cherry photographed him.
"Evidence for future employers."
"Future employers should respect elected leadership."
The girl pointed toward TZ.
"Is he your guard?"
TZ looked behind himself, hoping another person had become available.
JP considered the question.
"He is the minister of arriving on time."
"That sounds boring."
"It is the most powerful ministry."
TZ lowered his head to hide a smile.
The girl's mother thanked us for helping at the clinic. Anna asked whether the dizziness had improved. NC reminded her to follow the nurse's instructions before JP could prescribe constitutional reform.
Jihye noticed the bottle in the woman's bag.
It carried the same temporary tanker label she had copied that morning.
She did not ask about it at the festival.
She only wrote the time.
The local band began playing before the family moved away.
The rhythm crossed the field through drums and a stringed instrument amplified by a speaker that crackled whenever the lights dimmed.
Bunny pulled Cherry toward the open space beside the stage.
"We are dancing."
"We are observing culture."
"With movement."
Cherry resisted for four seconds.
Then she joined.
Anna followed because Bunny took her hand. NC went because Anna refused to release it. Jihye entered while continuing to record the weather with her free hand.
JP bowed toward TZ.
"Minister."
"No."
"The population expects visibility."
"The population called you a clown."
JP pulled him into the circle anyway.
Mr. Kim remained near the stage.
Bunny pointed at him.
"Teachers too."
"I am supervising."
"Supervise closer."
Even Ms. Nway laughed when Mr. Kim was forced into the outer circle.
For one song, the cohort moved without assigned sides.
Nobody danced well enough to become embarrassed alone.
Kitty remained beside me.
June remained beside NS.
When the circle turned, June and I passed close enough for our sleeves to touch.
Kitty's hand found mine immediately afterward.
NS placed one palm against June's back before the crowd could separate them.
JP stood in the center wearing the paper crown and shouting instructions nobody followed.
TZ laughed openly this time.
The song ended.
The circle broke.
Everyone returned to the people they had chosen.
But for three minutes and twenty-one seconds, Jihye's notebook recorded us as one group.
Our launch was scheduled last.
The artisans needed another hour to test the repaired star and attach the tether. Mr. Kim allowed us to walk within the marked festival area.
NC, Anna, and Jihye took Kitty toward a row of paper-lantern stalls.
Bunny and Cherry pulled NS toward the food vendors while June remained near the balloon.
TZ helped the launch crew inspect the ropes.
JP followed him without being asked.
For the first time that evening, June and I stood close enough to speak without arranging it.
She looked up at the silver star.
"The repair is visible from this side."
"Only if you know where it tore."
"We know."
The words carried more than paper.
I put my hands inside my jacket pockets.
"What did you wish for?"
"You are not supposed to ask."
"That is why I asked."
June watched the artisans adjust the lower ring.
"Something I should have decided without the sky."
"NS?"
"Not everything is about him."
"He would disagree."
"So would Kitty."
The answer found its target.
I looked toward the lantern stalls.
Kitty stood beneath a row of red lights. NC was saying something to her. Anna and Jihye pretended not to watch us.
June noticed.
"They know," she said.
"Who?"
"Kitty's room."
"How do you know?"
"Because Bunny and Cherry know about me."
The secret had become symmetrical.
"Congratulations," I said. "We formed governments."
"You joked about that yesterday."
"It was not funny yesterday either."
June looked down at the grass.
"Does she make you happy?"
I could have lied.
The festival contained enough light to expose it.
"Sometimes."
"That is cruel."
"It is true."
"Truth can still be cruel."
"Does he make you happy?"
June watched NS at the food stall. Bunny held two bowls while Cherry argued over change. NS looked back toward June before she called him.
"Sometimes," she said.
Neither of us felt better.
"What did you wish?" she asked.
The sentence in my handwriting returned.
"Something I should not need to ask for."
June looked at me.
"Then maybe the sky is the only place left to ask."
Kitty began walking toward us.
NS did the same from the opposite side.
June stepped away first.
"I hope you get it," she said.
"You don't know what it is."
"I know you."
She returned to NS.
Kitty reached me several seconds later.
"Balloon discussion?" she asked.
"Mostly."
"That word is becoming related to fine."
She handed me a small paper lantern shaped like a star.
"For your grandmother," she said.
"She asked for a photograph."
"Now she gets a souvenir."
"You bought her tea and a lantern."
"I am campaigning."
"For what?"
Kitty looked toward June.
"Daylight."
NS carried two bowls of noodles to the edge of the field.
June joined him beneath an unlit festival banner.
"What did he want?" NS asked.
"To know my wish."
"Did you tell him?"
"No."
"Did you ask his?"
"Yes."
NS handed her one bowl.
"And?"
"He avoided the question."
"Then nothing changed."
June looked at him.
"You say that often."
"Because everyone keeps treating movement as progress."
"Was that about him or us?"
NS took too long to answer.
June set the bowl on the bench beside her.
"My wish was not about choosing between you."
"I didn't ask."
"You were going to."
"Would the answer help?"
"Probably not."
NS looked across the field.
XH stood beneath the lanterns with Kitty. Her hand rested against his sleeve, hidden from everyone who was not already looking.
"I know part of you still belongs to what happened before me," NS said.
"That does not mean I am returning."
"I know."
"You sound like Kitty."
"That may be the worst thing you have said to me."
June laughed once.
The tension between them weakened.
NS touched the back of her hand beneath the festival banner.
"I did not ask the sky to make you stay," he said.
"Why not?"
"If you stay, I need it to be your decision."
June turned her palm beneath his.
For several seconds, their fingers remained joined.
Beyond the rope line, a man in a gray jacket lowered a camera.
NS saw him.
The man moved behind a family carrying lanterns and disappeared.
"What is it?" June asked.
"Someone taking photographs."
"It is a festival."
"Yes."
NS did not tell her that the camera had been pointed only at them.
At 7:46, Ms. Nway called us to the launch lane.
The wind had become completely still.
Not weaker.
Gone.
The festival flags hung without movement. Smoke from the food stalls rose straight upward. The rabbit balloon remained visible as a small light above the eastern ridge, unmoved by any current we could see.
Jihye held one hand above her head.
"It stopped in less than a minute."
"Good for launching," TZ said.
"Not normal for weather."
"Both can be true."
It was Anna's sentence from the coach.
This time, everyone heard it.
The artisans assigned our positions.
NC, Anna, and Jihye held the eastern ring.
Bunny and Cherry took the west.
Kitty stood beside me near the dark wing.
June stood beside NS beneath the crown.
JP and TZ controlled the tether under the launch captain's supervision.
Mr. Kim waited beyond the safety line with the attendance sheet folded inside his coat.
"Listen to the artisans," he called. "Not each other."
"That is generally good advice," JP replied.
The burner ignited.
Flame rose beneath the paper body.
The field disappeared.
I saw the sky through a broken windshield.
It was below me.
No.
Above me.
Red metal pressed against my shoulder. Glass covered the road like ice. Somewhere beyond the crushed frame, an ambulance light moved without coming closer.
A voice said, "Stay with me."
Another voice answered from inside my own head.
There isn't enough time.
"XH."
Kitty pulled my sleeve.
The festival returned.
The burner remained controlled beneath the balloon. The paper expanded above us. The King's crown rose into shape. The King-Slayer's dark wing opened across the opposite side.
"Lift on command," the artisan said.
Kitty looked at my face.
"Where did you go?"
"Nowhere."
"That was not nowhere."
"After the launch."
The balloon pulled upward.
There was no time for another question.
"Raise."
Eleven students lifted the ring.
Hot air filled the remaining folds.
The silver star brightened from within.
The paper pocket carrying our wishes rose above eye level.
JP and TZ released the first length of tether.
The balloon climbed two meters.
Then the wind returned.
It struck from the north.
The frame tilted toward Bunny and Cherry.
"Hold the ring!" the launch captain shouted.
Cherry lost her grip.
June reached across and caught the bamboo before it struck Bunny's shoulder.
The opposite side lifted sharply.
Kitty's feet left the ground for half a second.
I pulled her down with one arm while holding the ring with the other.
The tether snapped tight.
JP fell to one knee.
TZ wrapped his section around the ground post and reached for JP's line.
"Do not let go," TZ said.
"I had not planned to."
"Your hand is slipping."
"Then help instead of narrating."
TZ locked his hand over JP's.
Together, they stabilized the tether.
At the center, NS moved beneath the crown and took the weight from June.
The frame rotated toward me.
I caught the center support.
NS reached the same piece from the opposite side.
Our hands closed around the bamboo together.
"Lower three centimeters," he said.
"Your side first."
"Together."
It was the word I had used during the frame test.
We lowered it.
The balloon leveled.
The launch captain watched the paper body for another five seconds.
"Release on three."
Nobody spoke.
"One."
The balloon pulled against us.
"Two."
The King and the King-Slayer turned above the same flame.
"Three."
We let go.
The balloon rose.
JP and TZ released the final tether together.
The line slid free.
The crowd shouted as the paper body climbed beyond the stage lights.
For the first time, the two birds occupied the entire sky without fighting.
The crown turned toward the valley.
Then the dark wing.
Then the silver star between them.
Inside the sealed pocket, eleven wishes traveled upward.
NC had asked that everyone who left Campus 2 together would return together.
Anna had asked for kindness to remain useful in a world beginning to punish it.
Jihye had not written a wish at first. She had written a question.
Let the truth arrive before the damage does.
Cherry had destroyed her joke and replaced it with a request to recognize the moment laughter stopped helping.
Bunny had reduced two pages to one sentence.
Please let the people I love remain ridiculous and alive.
TZ had asked to stop arriving after the moment when honesty could still matter.
JP had asked for one more ordinary night before the group became something he could only finish inside his diary.
Kitty had written six words.
Let him choose me in daylight.
June had asked that the choice she made would become enough, even for the part of her that continued looking backward.
NS had crossed out his first sentence and written another beneath it.
Let me win without losing my brother.
And inside a fold bearing handwriting I could not remember forming, my own wish rose above the valley.
Give me a little more time to make things right again.
The balloon reached the lowest cloud.
Thunder moved behind it.
No lightning appeared.
A thin rain began falling across the exhibition field while the stars remained visible above us.
Nobody moved toward shelter.
The paper balloon entered the cloud.
For several seconds, its light turned the mist gold.
The King appeared against one side.
The King-Slayer appeared against the other.
Then both shadows disappeared.
A small piece of silver paper separated from the repaired star and began falling.
It drifted between June and Kitty before landing on the wet grass.
Neither reached for it.
NS stood across from me beneath the rain.
The flame above us had become too distant to warm anyone.
My phone vibrated.
Grandmother had replied to the group photograph.
GRANDMOTHER: KEEP THIS ONE. YOU WILL WANT TO REMEMBER WHO STOOD BESIDE YOU.
I read the message twice.
When I looked up again, the balloon was gone.
The wish had asked for more time.
The sky gave no answer.