Like most idols, Cho Kyuhyun had a few scandals here and there.

Five to be exact.

None of them led to much more than speculation and a couple of cheap online articles. However, there was one scandal – the 5^th Scandal – that made headlines on both legitimate and trashy celebrity gossip sites. The circumstances surrounding it were...interesting, to say the least.

But this is jumping the gun. It’s important to start at the beginning.

A few months after debut, Kyuhyun experienced his very first scandal. It was with a trendy actress and they were caught chatting on the set of a variety show for quite a lengthy amount of time. Since Kyuhyun was still poorly known, the scandal revolved more around the actress and her apparent targeting of rookies. It became concern for her company, but nothing ever became severe enough to reach Kyuhyun’s people.

Either way, the misunderstanding was cleared up. The actress assured fans that she had been a little too excited to tell Kyuhyun that his debut album was great and perhaps they chatted for a longer time than she meant to.

The truth of the matter wasn’t far from that explanation.

The second scandal was only slightly more legitimate. Kyuhyun was invited to an after party for one of the year-end award shows. Things always got a little crazy around those gatherings and he wasn’t being vigilant enough. A photographer managed to capture him helping a female idol into a taxi but the framing and timing and lighting made everything seem much worse than it was. A few articles circulated through the tabloids claiming that they had gone home together.

Kyuhyun hardly gave them any attention. His fans were also plentiful enough that some had witnessed the exchange and clarified the incident for others online.

There was no need to be bothered by it.

The third scandal was Kyuhyun’s fault. He shouldn’t have done it. He knew that, in retrospect.

It wasn’t even romance related. Rather, it was his sharp tongue getting him into trouble. After that many years as an idol singer, he should’ve known not to tempt netizens with too many sarcastic or witty retorts on variety shows. A slur of negative feedback after a particularly strong segment on one of his shows resulted in his company issuing an apology on his behalf. It wasn’t so severe that Kyuhyun felt he needed to apologize to fans. After all, it wasn’t fans who were upset with him. Everyone knew that netizens made a living out of stalking stars just to insult them at each turn.

His fans didn’t need to get up in arms about such a normal part of idol life.

The fourth scandal was close to being a real scandal. It had been all luck that things only got as far as a photograph of him and a young woman walking down the street at night while holding hands. He didn’t expect to be recognized and he should’ve known that these people are literally paid to identify stars in disguise.

The picture had circulated, but it was grainy and both of their features were hard to distinguish behind face masks and hats. When no further sightings were reported, the buzz faded.

Kyuhyun knew better than to pursue that line of dating anymore. Besides, it had only been a single blind date. He wasn’t too torn up about letting the chance slip by.

In the end, it made way for a much more important meeting.

The fifth scandal. The most legitimate. The most painfully obvious. The one he didn’t want to deny, but had to deny because there wasn’t actually anything going on.

That was part of what he hated and loved about the fifth scandal.

It had been a year and a half since he and Ryeowook had started seeing each other (as client and stylist, as Ryeowook often liked to clarify to people). They were often photographed and filmed leaving places together due to their schedules and job assignments. In fact, many fans were highly intrigued by the close relationship, stating that Kyuhyun seemed more down to earth for becoming friends with a stylist.

For Ryeowook’s part, his cute appearance had made him an honorary idol among the fans. Online forums and fan sites had started calling him “The Little Prince”. It was obvious that Ryeowook didn’t mind, although Kyuhyun recalled him being embarrassed in the beginning.

But this was where it all started. The attention. The curiosity in their budding friendship turned bromance turned...romance?

At least, that’s how articles framed it after they were spotted going to Las Vegas together.

Several pictures were taken of them in Vegas and perhaps they looked a little too happy in some of those shots. And sure, Kyuhyun would even admit he had been touchier than normal because why not? They were abroad and Vegas wasn’t conservative. Plus, Ryeowook wasn’t pushing him away nearly as much as he would’ve if they were in Korea.

It was slightly mortifying though to return home and see trashy magazine and major media outlets were speculating on their trip, the photos, and the entire publicized history of their work and personal relationship to date. Kyuhyun had reluctantly made a post clarifying that nothing had happened in Vegas and nothing romantic was going on between him and Ryeowook.

After all, he couldn’t tell the truth.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.