September 15th 2014

Hope had always been quiet. Even as a young boy before he started training, he was the kid that was sat in the corner alone, reading a large hardback book about the stars and constellations. He was the kid who everyone knew, but no-one knew his name. The kid who just faded into the background, getting through school without being noticed or causing trouble, which is why it shocked his parents so much when he decided to audition for ACE.

They’d been so against it. Their little, sensitive, quiet boy going into the idol industry? They’d tried to change his mind, tried to make it so he didn’t want that life. But more than anything, Hope just wanted to sing.

So he’d auditioned and got in. He’d begun training for years. Became friends with After School and NU’EST, watched NU’EST debut and make a huge success with their debut track, watched more members join the company and prepare for the Seventeen debut… but all the time, he stayed in the background. Hope kept himself to himself, and he was happy to keep it that way.

So when he was called in to meet the rest of the group, the day he met Myung and the others, he tried so hard to come out of his shell… it didn’t really work. He was still quiet, he still hung around in the background and kept to himself… but s understood that. They didn’t push him to open up, they didn’t push him to talk. They understood that that was just the way Hope was.

Even Hyo who was known for being pushy and aggressive was careful with Hope. Yuuki never cracked jokes about him… although he didn’t know them well, Hope felt as though the rest of his group cared about him.

But it was times like these that fading into the background just wasn’t enough. He had to be alone, fully alone. Which is why he was lying on the hard ground on the roof of the building their dorm was in, just staring at the sky above him. One arm supported his head against the concrete, while the other was raised ahead of him, tracing the various constellations in the sky. His fascination with space had never really faded… it had just taken a back seat in his life. His parents would have probably been happier if he’d followed the Astronomy way of life like he’d dreamed of as a child…but he didn’t regret auditioning for ACE.

His phone vibrated beside him, Hope shifting slightly to check the text he’d just received.

To: Kim Mal-Chin
From: Kang Min-Jun
Message: Don’t worry about it, I have to go now, but I’ll be in contact later. Stay safe, Mal-Chin.

Hope smiled slightly, typing a quick reply before putting his phone back down. Just seconds after he began to lose himself in the stars once more, his phone vibrated once again. Letting out a small but frustrated sigh, he turned to check what it was.

Incoming Call: Subin

He debated for a split second on just ignoring the call and letting it ring out, but the guilty side of him rejected that idea as he picked up the mobile, answering the call.

“Subin-ah,” He greeted quietly, unwilling to break the silence of his deserted rooftop.

“Oppa, how are you? Holding up alright?” Hope couldn’t help but give a grin at the ruckus he could hear in the background of Subin’s various members arguing and bickering. He was glad that there weren’t that many girls in their group, and the two they did have got on well.

“I’m alright, Subin-ah, no need to worry. How are you?”

“I’m fine, oppa. I just thought I’d check up on you, our schedule has just finished so we’re all about to go to bed. We have an early start in the morning so we need to get as much sleep as possible.”

“Ah, right. I believe SIGMA is debuting soon, are they not?” He questioned.

“Yeah, they are. What date is it now? The 15^th of September… they debut in exactly 3 weeks. I think they’re all quite excited now.”

“I bet, debuting is an exciting thing, especially as they’ve been waiting so long.”

“Hope-hyung!” Hope whispered a quick apology to Subin as he looked towards where he’d heard Myung’s voice. “Namjoon wants to see us all, you’re the only one not there. Sorry to disturb you, but I think it’s important…” Myung trailed off, leaning slightly on the wall with a bashful smile. It had been over a month since he’d been shot, but their leader was still shaky and weak at the best of times. He was back on his feet though, a fact in which they all were thankful for.

“Ah, okay, thank you Myung-ssi…”

Myung smiled. “Hope I’ve told you, no -ssi needed! Meet me downstairs?” Hope gave a small nod as Myung disappeared from view again.

“Sorry, Subin-ah, I’ve got to run. Manager-hyung wants to speak to us about something.”

“Okay, Hope-oppa. I’ll talk to you another time. Stay safe and keep your head up. Everything will be okay.”

“Thank you. Goodnight, sleep well.” He smiled as he hung up the phone. He enjoyed talking to POLARIS’ Subin, she was a nice change from the girls he was used to talking to in his own group. More…mature in a way. As much as he loved Cho, she was quite small and innocent, easily upset, while Ae-cha could be quite bratty and outspoken. Subin was just… a nice change of pace.

Slowly, Hope got to his feet, heading down into the dorm room where the others waited. Namjoon smiled at him as he entered and sat down, before turning to the group of 11 who had gathered, albeit cramped, in their living area.

“Right, now that you’re all here, I have some exciting news. It’s been decided that, despite it only being 4 months since you guys debuted, that you’re going to be split into two sub-units containing 5 members. We’re doing this to spread the word about you all as a whole, therefore, the two different sub units will be promoting in separate countries. Antidote Teochii will be promoting in China, while Viral Teochii will be promoting in Japan.”

“Now, the music styles are going to be different from what you’re used to. Antidote will be performing softer songs, like ballads, and feel good songs. Whereas Viral will be doing a heavier, harder techno-rock concept. The members of each group have already been decided, so that’s basically why we’re having this discussion, so I can let you know who is going to be in what sub unit. I’ve tried to make it so the Japanese members are in Viral and the Chinese are in Antidote to make things easier…” Namjoon sighed a little, looking around the group of confused but excited faces.

“First thing is first, as you may have picked up on, each group is only going to have 5 members… this is because we wanted the sub units to be even, and since Myung is recovering, he’s going to be in neither and primarily, at least for now, an Acid exclusive member. This gives him chance to rest from being a leader while the rest of you are out in other countries promoting. So… in Antidote Teochii, we have Cho, Hyo, Marco, Jin and Hanni. Hanni will be the leader of this sub unit. Congratulations, Hanyeul.” He smiled towards the stunned teen, who in turn just looked confused.

“Why…why have me as the leader?” He asked, looking up at Namjoon with wide, deer-like eyes.

“Because we all believed that you would be the best suited for the position, Hanni, don’t worry, you’re going to do great. Now, I guess the next subunit is obvious, but I’m going to read out the members anyway. In Viral Teochii, we have Ae-Cha, Hope, Vann, Yuuki and Sherlock. The leader for this sub unit is Hope.”

Hope flinched slightly at the sound of his name, looking up to meet Namjoon’s gaze.

“Are you okay with that, Mal-chin?” He asked, his voice gentle with worry at the startled look on Hope’s face. “I can talk to the higher ups if you’re not, but I think it will be good for you.”

“W-why not Vann?” Hope asked, looking towards their oldest member. “He’s the best choice for leader…”

“Vann told us from the start when we offered him the leader position of Acid Teochii that he didn’t want a role like that, therefore, we all agreed that you were best for the job. Think it over, okay? I know Hanyeul and yourself will be amazing leaders, you just have to put a little faith in yourself.”

Namjoon smiled again, before heading towards the door. “That’s it really. Photo shoots for the concept pictures and teaser pictures will be in about a week, they’ve already been added to your schedules. Expect them to take up the whole day, especially for you guys in Viral… it’ll be a long day. Haircuts and styles will also happen on that day, so be prepared for anything. Let me know if you have any concerns and I’ll see you all in the morning, bright and early. For now though, wish me luck, I have a pile of paperwork I have to get through…” The group waved a little to Namjoon as he left, before Myung came to sit beside Hope.

“Hyung, congratulations! I know you’ll do brilliantly in a leader role, you’re not pushy or overbearing, and because you’re so quiet, when you do talk, the others will listen to you.”

Hope looked up a little from behind his bangs, panic clear in his expression. “Are you sure? I don’t think I’d be that good at stuff like that…”

Myung grinned as he leant over, putting a hand on Hope’s shoulder. “Don’t argue with your leader silly! You’ll do great, I promise. Right guys?” The rest of the group replied with various forms of agreement.

“I’ll be happy for you to be our sub-unit’s leader, Hope. You’re going to do brilliantly.” Vann said as he gave the younger member a small smile before standing. “Hanni, you too will do brilliantly.”

“I’m so happy that we’re in the same sub-unit, Marco!” Hyo exclaimed before jumping up to perch himself on Marco’s lap, grinning wildly. “It’s going to be great! We get to go to China to promote there! I miss China a lot…” He mused to himself while Marco just smiled at his wild best friend. They hadn’t yet come out as a couple to the other members…although he’s 99% positive they’d all figured it out by this point.

“Yeah, I’m happy that you’re going to be leading us, Hanni, you’ll do great. You could do with the responsibility to help you get out of bed in the morning.”

“HEY! No food for you!”

“I kid, I kid!”

Hope smiled a little. “I’m going back up to the roof, okay? I’ll be back soon, don’t wait up for me though. I just have to think by myself for a little while..”

Vann frowned a little. “Sure thing… Hope, I know today is hard for you, if you need to talk, come to me okay? I know you don’t talk often, granted, but if you need someone…”

Hope turned to Vann, flattered at the older’s worry. “I’m fine, hyung, but thank you. I’ll see you later.” He waved before heading up to the top of the building once more, resuming his previous position staring up at the sky.

“You know… I don’t come up to talk to you often enough. So much has happened recently that sometimes I just like to lie here and imagine you lying next to me like you did when I was small…I know you’re up there, telling people off for being wrong about the way stars were aligned or the fact that Pluto is indeed a planet… I know you’re up there surrounded by the things you love. Stars, constellations, the moon… So much has happened. We debuted, and now I’m going to be leader of a sub-unit that’s promoting in Japan. I wonder what they’re going to do to my look, to my hair… I hope it’s not too wild, I wouldn’t be comfortable with that…” Hope let out a weak chuckle. “You know, Vann said I don’t talk very often, yet the first thing I do when I come back up is lie here and talk to myself… I miss you Mom, please give my group and I luck as we progress on our journey. I love you.” 

NOTE: Min-Jun belongs to Shynamite whereas Subin belongs to XenexianAG!