May 20th 2014

“Wae ileon jangmyeon won-in-eul sarang haeyahabnikka?” Hanni rapped the last line of their chorus, the song lowering in volume while Acid Teochii ended their debut Music Core stage, walking to get into their final position as all 11 gently sang the last line of their song.

“Saranghaeyo.”

As the music stopped, the crowd burst into cheers, screaming, shouting, chanting the band’s name as they all but dropped from exhaustion. Months of planning hadn’t prepared them for the actual show, the feel of being on stage with millions of eyes around the world on them… it was exhilarating. Not once had any of them messed up. They had sung live, despite warnings from the company that they might not be ready for that, and although there had been a few breathless notes here and there, all the dance moves had gone perfectly.

Even Sherlock hadn’t made a single mistake with his positioning on stage.

The group made their way off the stage towards the MCs, ready to quickly introduce themselves to the world. Each member of the group bowed as they introduced themselves with their names, stage names and roles in the group to the camera.

They chatted a little with the MCs, trying to seem happy and upbeat despite their exhaustion. When they were finally away from the camera, the group made their way to the back room, collapsing onto the couches.

“Oh my gosh, that was insane.” Cho complained, fanning herself lightly with her hand. “Thank god the makeup-unnies used water proof products otherwise Ae-Cha and I would look a mess right now.”

“Speak for yourself,” Ae-Cha piped up, leaning over a mirror and scrubbing her face. “I’m getting this stuff off my face as soon as I can.”

“Come on now, Ae, embrace the beauty that products like this give you~” Yuuki sang from where he’d flopped beside Cho, grinning through the black lipstick he was wearing. Everyone in the group was wearing some sort of makeup, no matter how minimal…but the makeup artists had gone full blown with Yuuki’s image. Pale skin, thick, black eyeliner and black lipstick. Yuuki looked vaguely terrifying and he loved it.

“I prefer natural beauty, thank you very much.” She snapped back, turning to glare at Yuuki’s grinning form.

“Oh, well, that’s a shame.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ae-Cha had gone deathly sweet. The other members had stopped their complaining of exhaustion, stopped their individual conversations, just to turn and watch the two members.

“Oh, nothing, my dear. I’m simply saying that makeup is a huge help to you.”

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

“Now now, guys, break it up. I’ve gotta run but Manager-hyung should be here soon and he’ll let you know what to do, okay? Sorry, but I’ve really gotta run. Meet you back at the dorm! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do…!...that’s not good advice. Don’t do anything stupid is better!” Myung stepped between Yuuki and Ae-Cha, grinning at the two of them. He knew they were only playing after all, thankfully, there was no bad blood between any of the members so far…well, apart from Sherlock and Hyo who were both still very awkward with each other, but they were hopefully going to have made up before they made any TV show appearances.

Giving a small wave, Myung hurried out of the room, pulling out his phone and dialing a number as he did so.

Yuuki sighed dramatically, falling back on the couch. “Oh, the life of an idol is too much, I’m so tired.”

Namjoon laughed as he walked into the room. “Stop being such a drama queen, Yuuki. Let’s get you guys back to the dorm so you can relax. I’m so proud of all of you.”

Cho practically glowed at the compliment, while Marco rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m sorry that I messed that one line up though, Manager-hyung.”

Namjoon frowned. “You messed up a line? When?”

“I ran out of breath on my line, I didn’t prepare myself properly so when the line came up, I didn’t have enough air to sing it properly.”

“Marco, you did fine. Perfectly, even. It was your first performance here, only your second in total. Besides, you’re a dancer, not a singer, no-one expected you to be able to perform perfectly straight off the bat. Don’t worry about it, okay?” Namjoon smiled, punching Marco lightly in the shoulder.

“If you’re sure, Manager-hyung.”

“I’m sure. Now come on.”

------

Back at the dorm, the 10 remaining members were doing whatever they could to relax and rest after such a taxing day. They’d been at interviews in the morning, rehearsals in the afternoon and then their show in the evening…they weren’t used to being so hectic after all. In their trainee days, all they had to worry about was practice and school.

Cho and Ae-Cha were in the bathroom, talking about the show while helping each other remove their makeup and apply face masks. Although Cho loved prettying herself up with the products, she preferred having healthy skin, and she knew how much the thick BB cream the Makeup Unnies used dried out the skin and made it hard for it to breathe.

Ae-Cha didn’t really care about that sort of thing, but humoured Cho simply because they were two girls in a dorm full of testosterone and they needed to have girly nights together every once in a while. As long as Cho would agree to do some…less feminine things once in a while, they’d get on swimmingly.

Marco and Hyo sat cross legged on the floor, xbox controllers in their hands as they screamed at the television in angry Mandarin, pushing each other over to try and get the advantage. The two had grown close over the weeks due to their being less of a language barrier. Although Hyo knew Korean, he wasn’t the best in it, and since Marco spoke Mandarin too, it just made sense that the two had gotten close. It always made the other suspicious when they were talking though, who knew what they were gossiping about…

Apart from Jin, of course, the other Chinese member, who often eavesdropped on their conversations to make sure they weren’t being mean about anyone. So far, if they had, Jin hadn’t said anything. At this precise moment in time, Jin was lounging on the couch, his head lying on Hanni’s lap as he dozed, not quite awake, but not entirely asleep either. Hanni quietly watched the two Chinese members play their video games, a small smile on his face as he played with Jin’s silver hair.

Vann stood in the kitchen with Yuuki, helping the younger pull his hair up into a hair band before they began puttering about the kitchen, pulling out pots and pans to cook everyone a late night meal before they went to their respective bedrooms. Usually, Hanni was the one who’d cook for them, but with him currently preoccupied with Jin sleeping on him, he was unable to. Yuuki quickly rose to the challenge, and Vann joined him to make sure he didn’t burn the dorm down.

Hope sat in a big armchair with his back to the kitchen, curled up in a ball while holding a pink 3DS system in his hands, he was mostly silent, engrossed in his game of Pokemon Y, although every now and again a soft curse would be uttered from his lips and he’d tense up. One time, after a particularly painful battle it seemed, Hope’s voice even rose above a whisper.

Lastly, Sherlock sat on the floor by Hope’s feet, holding a book in his hands while he stared down at the pages, his fingers softly running against the indents that had been made on the pages, reading the Braille in front of him. Bonhwa had been sceptical when their manager had presented him with a book as a congratulations on debuting and doing so well, but his heart had soared when he opened the cover and found it was The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes written in Braille. He’d loved the Sherlock series as a child when his parents read it to him, and when he was given the name as a stage name he almost cried.

They told him it was because of his blindness, because he had to use his other senses to deduce what was around him, and he had to think more than other people just to survive, that he’d been given that stage name, but Sherlock had a suspicion that Myung had something to do with it. They had been close as trainees, and Myung had often read books out loud for him since he couldn’t read himself.

Sherlock wasn’t really reading the book though, he was scanning the words, yes, but the information he was reading wasn’t going in. He was lost in memories of the accident that had caused his blindness. He’d been walking home from school when he was 8 years old when a robbery took place in front of him at the shop he was walking passed. Being young, he hadn’t gotten involved and tried to leave, but as the criminal was leaving, Bonhwa had been hit with the getaway vehicle and had sustained major head injuries. His vision never returned.

He remembered the first few months home, being unable to read his favourite books, getting lost in his own house, being trained on how to walk with a cane. He’d asked for a guide dog, but his parents had told him they couldn’t afford it. The apartment they were living in didn’t allow animals for one thing, but even if they’d make an exception for a seeing eye dog, they didn’t have the funds to look after or feed one. Their money situation had always been tough, Bonhwa’s parents couldn’t afford to buy brand new books in Braille. His cane was expensive enough.

Sherlock ran his hand up and down his cane subconsciously, it was still the first one he’d gotten. They could never afford to replace it. The cane was old and battered, but it still worked. That was all that had mattered.

A small whine from the corridor snapped Sherlock out of his thoughts, his head turning slightly towards the noise.

“Did anyone else hear that?” He asked, frowning a little.

“Hear what, Bon?” Vann asked from the kitchen, but Sherlock just shook his head and stood up, making his way to the door. It had taken a while, but he’d learnt his way around the dorm without bumping into too much now. As long as people didn’t leave stuff lying in the middle of the floor(Yuuki) or moved furniture around(Also Yuuki) he was usually fine.

However, before he made it to the door, he heard the key turning in the lock and the door swung open.

Myung walked through the door, holding wiggling form to his chest. He was wearing his glasses again, a big grin on his face.

“Sherlock, go sit down. I brought a visitor.” He said, the smile never slipping from his face. Sherlock frowned but did as he was told, going back to where he was previously sat, his Sherlock Holmes book still lying open with a bookmark holding his place.

“A visitor?” He asked once he was sat. “But you’re the only one who came in, Myung.”

“Well, that’s not completely true. Arms out.”

“What?”

“Just do it, Bonhwa.”

He sighed and did as he was told, putting his arms out.

Yuuki audibly “aww”ed as a bundle of fluff was placed in Sherlock’s arms. Now, sat in the blind boy’s arms, was a Beagle/Chihuahua cross, tiny but strong, wearing a florescent yellow jacket.

“I know your cane is old and it’s been irritating you, besides, I could do with the company when ACE decides which of you are splitting off into Sub-units since I won’t be in one, so I may or may not have been arranging this for a while… Bonhwa, meet Watson. He’s your guide dog. You have to train with him for a little bit, then he’s all yours. Manager-hyung and the higher ups have already okayed it, your first training session is tomorrow.”

Sherlock just sat in stunned silence, his fingers slowly tangling in Watson’s fur.

“Are…are you sure, Myung?” He uttered after several long minutes.

“I’m sure, I’ve been arranging it for weeks now. He’s all trained up, now all you have to do is learn how to work with him while he learns how to work with you. You’ve earned him, Bonnie.”

“Don’t call me Bonnie. But…thank you, Myung. Really.” His voice cracked.

“Oh god, don’t you dare cry, Sherlock, because if you cry, I’ll cry, and I’ll never forgive you if my eyeliner runs.” Yuuki called from the kitchen over the sizzling of the frying pan.

Myung just smiled. “Don’t mention it, okay? Now, Yuuki, Vann, when’s food? I’m starving!”