Author's Note: I'm totally procrastinating but I have this story stuck in my head now. I have to get this chapter out before I forget. Tomorrow I may write one chapter then work on my blanket. This might change.
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Shin Woo stood at the door to his cousin's house and waited until someone opened it. He wasn't sure why she wanted all these mirrors, but he was feeling guilty since he had basically chewed her out a few days ago.
Normally he talked to her on a daily basis, but when she was mad, she didn't talk to him. It had always been the one thing she had done to tell him she was made even when they had been kids. She would get mad at him and would disappear into another room for hours on end. He would go in search for her and she would be dancing. It was her way of coping with her anger.
The door always swung open when he least expected it. He was nearly caught in the nose by the door opening. Instead of his cousin, he came face to face with Zelo. The younger man looked surprised then a slow smile spread across his face. He beckoned them in, standing back as Shin Woo led the four men with him inside.
It was mass chaos when he shucked his shoes. Music was playing loudly and he saw five men dancing in sync. Solbi sat in front of them with her camera, videoing their practice. Just one look at her and he knew she was worn out. The look in her eyes was so tired she was about to keel over.
The music stopped and the guys bent over gasping for breath. Solbi hit stop on her camera and set it on the table beside her before she stood. Cautiously she crossed the room.
"What happened to your new studio?" he asked.
"It was rented out by Lee Kwan Jun," she said.
Instantly he was angry. "Did he do anything to you? Last time he got handsy."
She shook her head and shrugged his arms off. "No, he didn't touch me, but I paid for the two days we used it. It took most of my paycheck for last month and half of this month's."
"Do you have enough money to eat on?"
"Yes, but I can't afford another practice studio. So I didn't the only thing I know how to do. I improvised. That's why I called you for the four big mirrors they took out of our studio. I'm converting my living room until the debut."
Shin Woo looked around the living room. They had already moved the couch into the hallway and the coffee tables were in the kitchen. Her bookshelf had been moved, probably into one of the bedrooms, and the throw rug was gone.
He instructed the men to align the mirrors along the walls. They made sure things were even before they respectfully left. Shin Woo looked at his cousin and wondered when she had suddenly began acting like a responsible adult.
"Do you have enough room for all of this?" he asked. She nodded but it wasn't her usual happy nod. He stepped forward to hug her and she stepped back. Nervous, he waved his hand in front of her face. She didn't react. "Solbi, when was the last time you went to the doctor?"
"A few weeks ago. Why?"
"Have you been using your tablet for extended periods of time recently?"
"She's been working on posters and the commercial for us," Daehyun said. His voice tapered off when he saw Shin Woo's face darkening.
"Solbi! You can't do that!" the oldest man scolded.
"Don't yell at me!" she yelled right back, shocking everyone. "I know the risks, and I don't need you to crawl up my ass every time I decide to do something! You're acting just like my dad and that really pisses me off!"
Her eyes turned red but she didn't cry. It was typical. No matter how angry or sad she got, she never cried. It was a condition that had accompanied her partial blindness. She had dry eye and that made it hard for her to produce tears. She took medicine for it.
Yong Guk stepped between the warring cousins and held his hand up to make sure they didn't gang up on him. He looked between the two of them a couple of times before he slid his hand down Solbi's arm and took her hand. She squeezed it in return.
"What are you talking about? What's going on that we don't know?" he asked.
"I have macular degeneration. My retina is slowly deteriorating. Using the computer makes it worse because of the bright light. At the moment I can see you, but you're blurry. It's one of the reasons I wear glasses when I'm on my tablet or computer. The lenses are polarized so I don't get the blaring light from the LCD screen," she said.
"What does that mean?"
"In short, I'm going completely blind." The silence that filled the house was palpable. "Normally this doesn't affect people my age. The usual ages are over fifty. But I was born with advanced genes. Everything that's happened to me typically happens to older adults. Well, except the Achilles and tendon damage. That's universal."
"How can you laugh about this?" Jongup asked.
Solbi looked at him and he was near tears. "My vision started to get splotchy when I was in college. I've known for years that this was going to happen. I take the medicines I'm supposed to take and I wear my glasses and sunglasses when I'm in extreme light."
"How much time do you have?" Daehyun asked.
She shrugged. "No one knows for sure. It could be years or months. I go in once a month to see if they can stop the progression. So far the medicine has for the time being, but it will stop working."
Zelo threw himself against her, grabbing her in his arms and holding her tightly against him. Youngjae and Himchan followed. They rocked her backwards that her hand fell away from Yong Guk's as she was enclosed by five men.
Yong Guk looked over at Shin Woo. Grief stricken, the man looked sick. It suddenly made sense why he had been so protective. If he had known she was legitimately going blind, he would have changed his thoughts towards her as well. He would have done something more.
They heard Solbi starting to soothe the others and looked back. She was slowly going through all of them. Himchan let go first and stepped back, followed by Youngjae and Daehyun. With the hyung line officially away from her, she was able to focus her attention on Zelo and Jongup.
Carefully she took the maknae's face in her hands and said something to him. Zelo was enraptured as she spoke to him. He nodded and his curls bounced. He hugged her once again then let go. She turned to Jongup and squeezed his cheeks. He laughed and the tears that had been sitting on his bottom eyelids spilled over. Like a mother would, she wiped them away as she spoke to him. He nodded then she ruffled his hair.
"Maybe she was meant to come to the six of you," Shin Woo said. Yong Guk looked at him. "Even when we lived at home, she would balk up at me if I said anything after her father made her mad. She never acted like this with me. I knew what she needed simply because I knew her, but she never told me anything."
"What do you want me to do?" Yong Guk asked.
"She won't let you do anything. You should learn to watch her and figure out what she needs based on her body language. It's not easy but you'll get really good at it after a while."
"You're saying that like you won't be here."
"We won't. A.N. Jell has to head to Japan tomorrow for two weeks so we won't be here for your debut. I need someone to watch her so she doesn't do something stupid."
"We'll watch her. Go on your trip."
Shin Woo nodded. He looked at his cousin once again. They had meandered into the kitchen where Daehyun was slicing apples. Somehow Solbi had pulled caramel dip out of the fridge. It was like a dog to a food bowl the way the others swarmed it.
"She's not the same person I knew even a week ago," he said. "What have you done to her?"
The leader shook his head. "I don't know."
"Just take care of her."
Yong Guk watched Shin Woo let himself out before he went to eat with his friends. Just as he found a spot around the island, Jongup smeared caramel all over Zelo's face. Indignant, the maknae tried to retaliate but it failed miserably. Caramel ended up all over the counter. Solbi stepped in between them and kept them from fighting over something stupid.
"Clean it up. Now," she ordered. The two sullenly wet paper towels and wiped up the mess. "What did Oppa want?" she asked as she monitored.
"He wants us to watch out for you while he's in Japan. He won't be here for our debut and he wants to make sure you don't overwork yourself," he answered. "Speaking of overwork, I'm confiscating your tablet and computer tonight. You can keep your phone but those devices are coming with me."
Solbi glared at him as he took a bite of apple. "Now you're starting to sound like Shin Woo."
"This has nothing to do with your condition. I want to make sure you rest. If we rest, so do you. We have to share the weight of this. We will work with you to get this out. You just have to trust us."
She stared at him for the longest. In that time, Zelo and Jongup finished cleaning and the others were doing dishes or getting ready for dinner. They were already working together to get things ready for them to work. They had just made themselves at home so they could do so.
"All right," she said. "Let's get to work after dinner."
A few hours later the entire house was cleaned. Leftovers were sitting in the fridge and six computers had taken over the dining room table. Four people were working while three people had passed out. Himchan, Daehyun and Yong Guk were working on the remaining posters as Solbi supervised. Zelo, Youngjae and Jongup had passed out about an hour ago and weren't showing any signs of getting up.
Solbi rubbed her eyes and tilted her head to pop her neck. She was exhausted. She had only gotten four hours of sleep before hell had broken loose. Now she was running a studio out of her house and finishing everything that should have been done two weeks ago. At that moment she wanted to strangle their former manager.
Yong Guk looked up and immediately saved his work then turned his computer off. He snapped at Himchan and Daehyun and they did the same. Without even asking, he walked to the hall closet and pulled out three mattresses and blankets and enough pillows to suit a small army. He set them up in the spare room. Apparently they were all staying the night without giving her any warning.
Himchan and Daehyun passed him with Zelo, Jongup and Youngjae on their way to the bedroom. Yong Guk returned to the living room to find Solbi taking her medication. She looked so small in the giant house. He walked over and took her glass from her and to the kitchen. He returned to her and held out his hand. She took it and he led her to her bedroom.
Solbi didn't care that he was in there. She started changing into her pajamas without preamble. When she turned around, he was a bright red. She laughed a little then went to get into bed. He was beside her instantly, helping to tuck her in even though she didn't need it.
"We should be able to finish the posters tomorrow. I should get the commercial rough cut tomorrow. We'll make notes and send it back for edits," she said as she bit back a yawn.
Yong Guk smiled as he ran his hand over her head. "Don't worry about that right now. You need to rest. Catch up on your sleep."
He started to pull away but she caught his hand. "Don't go."
Laughing, he nudged her over and climbed in the bed. Instead of having her head on his thigh, she rested it on his chest. He knew he wasn't going to be going anywhere, and in the morning he was going to get hell for it, but he really didn't care. As long as she slept, he was fine doing whatever she wanted.
