Chanyeol plopped down on a sofa in the lobby of his office and stared at the ceiling. Before he had the chance to put his cap on, he was surrounded by paparazzi. Wanting answers. He quickly ambled his way out of the commotion and left the building. He held on to his cell phone tightly. Chanyeol was not sure on how to break the unfortunate scandal to Chaerin. He debated on the possibilities. Telling Chaerin seemed like he was blaming Chaerin for what happened.  "Sometimes silence is really golden." He thought to himself quietly and shoved his cell phone away into the back pocket of his jeans. As he was about to do so, his cell phone vibrated, indicating an incoming phone call. 

"Yoboseyo?" He quickly picked up the call without even bothering to check who was calling. 

"Hey jagi!" Chanyeol quickly recognized who it was and tried his hardest to sound more positive despite his state. 

"Guess what happened today?" Chaerin continued.

"Hmmm you bought a new shoes on a good bargain?" Chanyeol joked. 

"Good one but no! It's even better! I was signed under Kibum's management!" 

"That is great news!"

"Yeah! I can't believe it! I will start my trainee days soon. I don't know when I will debut but, wouldn't it be amazing if later we can stand on the same stage!" Chaerin kept on going. 

"Yes! That's great…" Chanyeol repeated what he said dryly. Chanyeol immediately stopped talking and realized a fatal flaw. He dragged Chaerin along with him in the scandal. With this, the chances of Chaerin debuting is thin, or she might never debut. The k-pop audience are quite unforgiving in Korea. Chanyeol kept silent as sweat started to form on the palm of his hands. He remembered promising himself to never let go of Chaerin. He wanted to hold on to that as tightly as he could. "Real man never breaks promises." he whispered to himself. 

"Hey Chanyeol, are you still there?" Chaerin's voice woken Chanyeol up from his internal ramble. 

"Yeah of course… Totally… cool." Chanyeol said nervously.

"I bet you weren't listening to anything I said…but thats fine, I love you anyways." Chaerin giggled.

Chanyeol unknowingly smiled to himself. 

"Oh! Class is starting soon! I got to go before that means professor drops me off the class! I'll talk to you soon jagi!" 

As Chanyeol was about to hang up, he finally gathered his courage and mustered, "Wait Chaerin!" 

"Yes?"

Before he said what he wanted to say, Chanyeol told himself for the last time that he is doing this for Chaerin's own goodness. He might be a bad guy in Chaerin's eyes, but it's all for her. 

"Let's stop contacting each other for now. I need time for myself." Chanyeol then slid his cell phone into his back pocket. He can still hear Chaerin screaming her lungs out calling out for him on the other end of the line but he ignored her. It pierced his heart to do so, but he always wanted the best for her. "It's all for her. It's all for her." Chanyeol religiously repeated those four words to himself. He walked through the park close to his dorm and stepped on the dry leaves, lying helplessly on the pathway. His footsteps felt heavy. Everything happened in a whirlwind that he just can not keep up with. His fame rose too quickly. His fall was abrupt. As he walked into his dormitory, making his way upstairs to his room, Baekhyun, who was home already, stopped him. 

"Chanyeol, it's really isn't your fault. We'll figure it out. I promise." He put his arm around Chanyeol's back and patted him lightly. 

"No, no. It really is my fault. I was selfish and stupid. I shouldn't have done it in the first place. I'm so sorry… so sorry." 

"Dude, it's completely fine. We all have your backs. Now all you need to do is just get enough rest and everything will be back to normal before you realize it."

"Thanks man." Chanyeol gave Baekhyun a sincere mini smile. Chanyeol liked how Baekhyun can always find the right words to soothe a troubled heart. No wonder they are best friends. 

"So first thing's first. I'll see you tomorrow morning in the studio is that cool?" 

"Totally." Their fists met and Chanyeol went into his room and slept all his worries away. 

The next day as the band was practicing their new single, the manager gestured Chanyeol to leave the other members and follow him to the CEO's office. Chanyeol knew it was bad news. The other members shot worried looks, but Chanyeol plastered a fake smile and just waved his hands to them. He does not want to worry more people. As the manager opened the big maple finished door to the CEO's lavish office, Chanyeol tripped on his shoelaces and stumbled a little. The manager looked at him with pity. He knew that the CEO's decision will be bad. 

"Welcome welcome." The CEO snickered as he put the rubik cube he was playing with down. "Let me see who I have here, oh its the troublesome Chanyeol." He emphasized on the word troublesome. Chanyeol gets that a lot from him. He wasn't his favorite, at all. 

"Good morning Mr. Kim. I haven't seen you in a while. How are you feeling? You must be feeling unwell cause that rubik cube seemed to have not move even an inch. Is it that hard? I can always ask Yixing to do it for you if you liked." Chanyeol asked him in a polite manner. He's good at  getting back at him without losing his temper.

"Gah! I don't like this guy! Why are you always causing problem! Okay, not setting all things aside, I'm pretty sure you know so very well why I have you come to my office."

Chanyeol could not say anything back at Mr. Kim as was fully aware that he made a mistake. Mr. Kim tends to blame Chanyeol for every bad thing that could ever possibly ever happen to the band, from the missing drum sticks, to the broken guitars and even their missing pet. Chanyeol usually just shrug off any accusations and gave some witty remarks but this time he could not. 

"Well, as you know, the Korean audience isn't very forgiving with scandals as severe as this. Rookies don't date in public. I hope you understand that. We even scripted talk shows and variety shows for you, labeling you single. Now, the public will think that our entertainment is a liar." Mr. Kim almost screamed at the word liar. Chanyeol just looked down. He could not even bear to see Mr. Kim's eyes. 

"So, I guess a press conference would not work for this matter, and so here in front of me I have this document for you to sign."

Chanyeol finally stared at Mr. Kim. He thought he would only need to make a public apology and everything would be back to normal. 

"What document is that?" Chanyeol said in a very soft almost inaudible voice. 

'It's the contract termination. We're terminating your contract and getting a new bassist for the band" Mr. Kim held the paper and shoved it to Chanyeol's face. He gestured the manager to quickly get a pen and give it to Chanyeol. As Chanyeol held the paper, tears rolled down his eyes. His career has officially crumbled down. He's back to ground zero again. 

"Quickly sign that papers! We don't have all the time in the world." Mr. Kim shouted. 

Chanyeol scribbled his signature on the textured paper. He was trembling that his signature could barely even be read.

"Okay, now you may leave. Finally I could get rid of such talentless loser like you." Mr. Kim took his rubik cube again and played around with it. He seemed satisfied. The manager held Chanyeol's back and comforted him. As they were about to close the door, Mr.Kim shouted from his desk, "Don't forget that we're releasing an official dismissal announcement tomorrow!" He laughed a very evil laugh as the door shut separating Chanyeol and the Manager from him. The walk back from the office to the studio was silent. None of the two men uttered a word. When Chanyeol finally reunited with his band members, he only muttered "I'm sorry" and started sobbing. The band didn't ask what happened but they knew completely well that Chanyeol must have been expelled from the band.