~*~

THE END OF AN ERA - SNSD'S DOOM

Critics and industry experts rate the impact of SNSD's current scandals.

Director K - 9.0

"Pregnant or not, bullied or not, the damage has been done. No amount of SM's media play can clean up the rumors surrounding SNSD."

Producer J - 8.8

"From suicide, to assault, to bullying, and worst, pregnancy, the glorious name has been tarnished, and the people just won't be able to view these nine ladies in the same light."

CEO L - 9.9

"It's the end. Their last three title songs were not digital hits. Their album sales and CFs have decreased since 2011. Mr. Mr. was an embarrassing failure."

~*~

If they had been talking in the last half hour, I couldn't remember. I surely did not catch anything they were saying, because my mind was adrift.

My thoughts were still outside, with my friends. My head was also here inside, with my mom and dad. The gazes of Jiyong's family, his mom, dad, and sister, didn't help comfort me. For every time they looked at me with such pitying eyes, as if I was sick, as if they were sorry, they created an even bigger pit in my stomach. And they were sat just across me too, so that avoiding their eyes took a lot of effort.

I was escorted back to reality when I felt someone tightly squeeze my hand from below the table. It was Jiyong. I also forgot he was just sitting beside me. After I looked at my hand, I looked up, and he met my eyes. He smiled, and just like his family, he looked at me with such a kind face. Was I that pathetic, weak and sickly for the entire Kwon family to pity me this way?

Then on my other side, I saw my parents. My two loving parents. Dad smiled at me, and I saw how he watched my hands being cupped by Jiyong's. I felt ashamed now that he knew I slept with a man I have never introduced, let alone mentioned, to our family. I saw my mother too, but unlike appa, she wasn't smiling. Instead, I noticed her eyes that were puffy, and I knew she cried the whole time before this meeting. I felt sorry, more ashamed, guilty, that my parents had to find out this way.

I didn't find even the littlest courage to pull my hands away from Jiyong's grip, even if my heart was swelling with anger for him. How could he talk to my parents without me? How could he talk to my lawyer without me? How could he just bring his boss, his family, and my family to this meeting? How could he just indirectly reveal to the world our indecent one-night stand two months ago? He didn't even ask me if I wanted to announce publicly that we had , that we were having a baby. On top of that, he called me honey? What the heck was that about Kwon Jiyong?

He made actions without my consent, and now I was left to deal with the consequences of the people I loved and cherished knowing that I was impregnated by G-dragon.

"The damage of mere speculations has been tremendous, and our company is losing money as we speak," Chairman Emeritus Lee Sooman spoke, and his commanding voice took my attention. Even with all the thoughts circling my head, I was now absorbing his every word. "Now that we have G-dragon involved in this messy picture, I'm sure YG is on the same page as we are."

"What page is that, CEO Lee?" Yang Hyunsuk asked in a poker face. He was seated just beside the head of the table, where SM's CEO Kim Youngmin was at. Across him was Lee Sooman, and on his right was Jiyong and me.

"Let's clean this together and start over. With SM and YG's combined power, we can battle this scandal, kill the story, sue the perpetrators of the rumors, and spare G-dragon while it's not too late," CEO Kim answered.

"And how do you propose doing those, exactly?" CEO Yang continued his inquiry, still very calm.

I saw how the CEOs, COOs, and VPs of SM looked at each other uncomfortably. Almost all of them looked away just as quickly, and no one answered YG's CEO.

"It seems no one here wants to say it out loud. Are you asking me to request Miss Kim Taeyeon to abort her pregnancy, just like you did?" Yang Hyunsuk asked, with a little smirk. With his words, I found myself shuddering, and I knew Jiyong felt me tense up.

"Hyung... wh-what are you saying?" Jiyong asked his boss, and then he looked at me. I couldn't hide the darkness on my face because of the sensitive subject of my abortion. I was reminded of that difficult day in my life when all my elders in SM asked me point-blank to kill my child.

"With all due respect Mr. Yang, but those are very grave accusations against SM Entertainment. My clients shall not honor that with a response, and we will not tolerate you making these indecent proposals," SM's Lawyer Song Kangho declared authoritatively.

But CEO Yang ignored SM's representative and said, "Cleaning up the mess and sparing G-dragon... that means getting rid of the source of the issue, which is the child in Miss Kim's stomach. Isn't it? Or what else did you mean?

"Taeyeon, is this true?" Jiyong asked me, and when he intertwined his fingers with mine, I broke down.

I couldn't answer, because the memories of that day just refreshed in my mind. How they wanted to sue me. How they voted on my abortion. Their voices ran in my head, and I cried harder. Even my parents didn't know this, and I heard my mom's sniffs that she tried hard to hide. Jiyong's family collectively gasped as well.

"Mr. Yang, you're in an awfully high horse today, aren't you? Trying to be the hero in this war," Lee Sooman said, his voice filled with sarcasm.

"I strongly advise you to remain quiet, Mr. Lee," Lawyer Song interrupted, but like YG's CEO, he ignored him.

"Might I remind you that in YG's 2013 financial report, revenue attached to G-dragon came to $100 million, which is 65% of YG's overall revenue? You're the one with the most to lose here."

"SM has six major groups, all of them not reliant on just one single member," CEO Kim also added, and I witnessed how Lawyer Song just sighed in his inability to control his clients. The CEOs of YG and SM were clearly battling, disregarding their legal representatives. CEO Kim continued, "When this pregnancy is confirmed, SM will stay afloat, while YG will sink. We're merely saving Taeyeon and SNSD, and YG along the process, from a war we can't win. SM can't protect her from the media circus that's going to take place, and we can't restore SNSD's glory. We're being practical here."

SM has indirectly self-incriminated themselves, and the angered executives just confirmed to my family, Jiyong's family, and YG, that they asked me to have an abortion. All the females in our families, Kim umma, Kwon umma, and Jiyong's sister, now cried silently at what they had just learned. Jiyong's face filled with anger, and he continually shook his head. Unconsciously, he held on my hand tighter too, almost hurting me.

"Do you want to sink, Yang Hyunsuk? If you do, I'm all for it. Let's confirm Taeyeon's situation now. I'd really like to watch you swim for your life," Lee Sooman continued his battle, challenging Mr. Yang.

"So to save my company, to save Big Bang and SNSD, I have to be practical too?" Yang Hyunsuk answered back, still smirking slyly. He then turned his head to Jiyong and me. "Jiyong, I'm sorry, but I'd like to save YG's $100 million. Let's go to a clinic now and get rid of the nine-week old life in Miss Kim's stomach."

"NO! I'M NOT GOING TO LET ANYONE HARM MY CHILD!" Jiyong shouted so loud, making everyone around the table jump, including me. It was clear as day that he'd been hiding and controlling his anger for a long while now. He also alarmed himself with his outbreak, and he attempted to calm down.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice on my elders. But this is inhumane," he continued more calmly, looking at the SM executives. "You can't ask us to do this. You can't ask her to do this. She won't do this!"

He turned around to face me once more, holding my hand with two hands. "You won't do it Taeyeon. I promise you don't have to do it."

His actions caused me to sob harder, and suddenly my anger for him slowly vanished. On my other side, I felt my dad surround me with his arm, and on his warm chest, I smelled and felt home. Dad kissed me on the top of my head, and there I just lost complete control of myself.

"Taeyeon will terminate her contract with SM, if that's what needs to happen. She already decided to leave SNSD. What is there left to talk about?" Jiyong angrily and bravely asked.

"Since when did you gain the right to speak for Kim Taeyeon?" CEO Kim Youngmin confronted Jiyong.

"He does not. I do. I am representing Kim Taeyeon, and Atty. Lee Dongwook is representing YG Entertainment," our family Lawyer Jang Donggun finally spoke again since I started paying attention. "I am asking Mr. Yang, Mr. Kwon, and the rest of the Kims and the Kwons to remain silent from here on. I have heard enough to win this case."

"I think I also have the right to speak for my fiancé," Jiyong answered right after, clearly ignoring our lawyer's plea.

"Excuse me?" Lee Sooman asked, shocked.

"Mr. Kwon, please stop talking," Lawyer Jang begged. But Jiyong was unstoppable.

"We're getting married," he declared, causing my tears to hold back. I got up from my father's body, and looked at him.

"What?" a collective question was raised around the table, in a variety of form.

"Jiyong, wh-what?" I also asked, my face wet with the initial tears I have already cried out.

Jiyong was addressing me, eye-to-eye, when he said, "Taeyeon and I will marry as soon as possible. Whatever you do to her, you do to me. And I will make sure that no one shall harm my family."

He never took his eyes off of me even after he declared the announcement that would spark the biggest and most important turning point in my life. Did you just indirectly propose to me, Kwon Jiyong? I was still staring at him in disbelief when I heard my father speak from behind me, making me look away from him.

"We've already given Jiyong and the Kwon family our blessing."

"Mom... Dad..."

"For the sake of our first grandchild, Jiyong and Taeyeon will get married," umma answered while she was wiping her tears. I looked at the Kwon family, and they too, seemed aware of this. Did everyone but me just plan my marriage?

"We'd like it to be clear across the board that should SM Entertainment harm Taeyeon's name in any way, or force her to commit abortion again, that we will file a case against you for Conspiracy to Commit Murder under the Unborn Victims Violence Act," Lawyer Jang declared, a move of his that was a surprise to me. But being that he was my uncle, the cousin of my father, I knew that he was also acting out of concern for me.

"As a settlement, we request Taeyeon's peaceful termination from her ten-year contract. We will pay any associated early termination fees."

"Her contract states $5 million," SM's Atty. Song answered, reading a document from his laptop. "And we'd like to counter that with the loss of our potential revenue as a result of her termination--"

"Gain your potential loss, or the entire world would definitely know you forced Miss Kim to abort her pregnancy," Uncle Jang replied diplomatically. "We can all attest here that you gave Miss Kim an unfair ultimatum to choose between her child or her career. We will come after you for $100 million, a value that is definitely an understatement of what could have been the tragic loss of Kwon Jiyong's and Kim Taeyeon's child."

"Things don't have to be that ugly," CEO Yang interrupted the legal discussion. "Big Bang is the heart of YG, and as I understand it, so is SNSD for SM. Instead of exerting our efforts in getting rid of the source of the scandal, we should all just partner up in dealing with the aftermath of admitting the truth to the public."

"What are you proposing to us, then?" Atty. Song answered for SM, because I saw how the executives haven't recovered yet from Uncle Jang's powerful attack.

"Let Miss Kim go peacefully without having to fight. You will just endear her to the public because she is the victim here," YG's lawyer Lee Dongwook now spoke. He handed thick stacks of envelope to all the SM board members and lawyers, as well as me, Jiyong, and our families. "We propose a partnership between YG and SM in cleaning the media off the malicious contents and putting an end to the rumors, speculations and crazy theories. At least, until the young couple weds and lives peacefully."

Everyone took a moment to scan through the documents, and I did too. My head was aching from the whirlwind of events that transpired in the last hour. I almost couldn't breathe, and my stomach growled painfully. Just as I read through the first page, my vision blurred. I suddenly felt nauseous, and realized I haven't eaten since I woke up. This wasn't good. My hunger, my morning sickness, and the intensity of these ongoing events pressured my mental and physical health. I fought the urge to vomit, or to lose consciousness. All I could absorb from the document was how Jiyong and I should attend the press conference as a couple, appeal to the public's sympathy as a young couple, give a one sit-down interview with nation's MC Yoo Jaesuk in his new talk show, keep our SNS accounts active and post apologies together, write an apology letter to our fans, record a video log for the fans, etcetera, etcetera. A lot needed to be done to control the media circus, and all of them involved us being a couple. But we're not a couple! Just as my mind was silently protesting against these plans, I felt the strongest sensation of my darkening vision. I eventually stopped reading and just closed my eyes.

"So you're asking us to free her of her contract, but manage the media contents about her?" Lee Sooman asked, still reading.

"Whether you like it or not, for as long as Kim Taeyeon is relevant to the public, she is SNSD, and SNSD is under SM's management. So yes," answered Uncle Jang.

"So I'd take it that the press conference tomorrow is now about the future of both SNSD and Big Bang," Kim Youngmin muttered, also still reading the documents.

"If you agree to. We'd like to forge a partnership for the media management from here on, until the day the issue dies down," Yang Hyunsuk replied to him. "This covers their wedding, the entire time of Miss Kim's pregnancy, the labor and delivery, and anything that comes after that."

"We'd like you to study our proposals very carefully. I'd like to hear back from your legal department tonight, ideally before the press conference tomorrow," Lawyer Lee told the SM party, who were all bowed and engrossed with the document. I noticed how our families didn't even touch the paper, and this told me they already read it through to heart on an earlier time.

"Do you want to come back to SNSD?" someone asked, and that's when I looked up to see Lee Sooman sajangnim addressing me.

"Wh-what?" I asked, my first word in a very long time. It was such a strange sound, and I felt as if I didn't even mutter it right.

"I'm asking if after you give birth, you would even consider going back to SNSD."

"Please don't ask her such a question, Lee Sooman sir," Jiyong begged of him, again tightening his grip on my hands. "We'll discuss that once she's given birth and has recovered from this mental and emotional trauma. For now, all I care about is her health, and the delivery of our child."

'Our child'. All you care about... Why does it seem you're driving everything, Jiyong? Where am I in this, when it is our child, and not just yours? I silently protested. It had been much too difficult to make sense of everything that has happened. It was as if I was just watching the movie as a spectator, even if I was truly the top-billing actress.

"We'll review this in detail and get back to you," Lawyer Song Kangho said, finally closing the folder of his own copy.

"I w-want to say something," a small voice said, enough for the silenced room to hear. I immediately recognized my mother's soft voice.

"Of course Aunt Kim," Lee Sooman answered with utter respect, something he always did with the parents of all his talents.

"In the event... that..." my mother struggled with her words, but she soon gained confidence.

"...if you decide to make my daughter's life a living hell, more than it already is or will be, I swear to the High Heavens that I will not sit quietly. I will spend my every dime and every ounce of breath in making sure the whole world would know what you did to Taeyeon. With or without any legal help."

I was shocked at my mother's audacity, and I felt my heart jump with so much love, respect, and sorry for her. I teared up once more, only to feel my headache strengthen.

"This is not a threat. We're just expressing our minds as the parents of the child you wanted to bleed dry," my father added, holding my mother's hand from beneath the table.

"Miss Taeyeon has been uncomfortable for a long while now. You have to excuse us so she can rest," Jiyong's mother told everyone. So she observed me all along. Jiyong looked at me just as I crooked my forehead from the rush of dizziness.

"Let's go," he muttered, moving his chair back to stand up. He lifted me up through my arms, saying, "You have to eat. You're looking really pale."

With that, everyone also got up and shook each other's hands out of courtesy. I made every effort to bow, but I just punished my head in doing so. Jiyong, however, effortlessly bowed 90-degrees to each and every elder in the room. He never let go of me during my entire walk towards the exit, even opening and holding the door for me.

"Taeyeon dear, we prepared a luncheon in my parents' house. Our families have to talk," I heard Jiyong's noona say.

"See you in your residence, Mr. and Mrs. Kwon," appa told Jiyong's parents.

"Okay, drive safely," Mr. Kwon answered. Then he looked at us and said, "You too, son. Take care of Miss Taeyeon."

But just as we all reached the outside of the third floor conference room, the next events would prove to be even more whirlwind and more intense than the meeting that just took place. The very next thing I know, I was suddenly pushed and knocked down to the ground, with a man'a voice shouting all over the place.

" YOU!"

"Don't do it Jungsu!" another man's voice shouted.

I couldn't think anymore, because when my body hit the ground, the blurry vision that threatened me earlier now came back with a vision, black and completely darkest this time.

"YOU ING SON OF A !" the angry man, who was the same one who shoved me out of Jiyong's care, continued shouting.

"Oh my Lord!" I heard Mrs. Kwon cried out.

"Taeyeon, come here," Jiyong's noona cried, and she was probably the same one who held my hand. But I couldn't get up from the ground. I was much too disoriented now.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY GIRLFRIEND?" I heard the sound of punches being thrown, of so many people gasping, screaming, shuffling, and finally I recognized that voice.

Jungsu oppa.

"Stop it son! Let go!" appa screamed. I tried to open my eyes, and though my vision was blurry, I was able to see. Leeteuk was throwing consecutive punches on Jiyong's face, who he had already pinned to the wall.

"What is this mess?!"

"Is that Park Jungsu?"

"YOU MOTHERING BASTARD!"

"Stop them, my god!"

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU KWON JIYONG, I SWEAR TO GOD!"

"For heaven's sake, take him away from my son!" Kwon umma cried out, and I saw how the men tried to pull them apart. I was still on the floor, with my mother and Jiyong's sister on my two sides. With effort from us, three, I was able to stand up again.

Uncle Jang said, "We'll file a restraining order against you, son. Send me your lawyer's contact, and we'll talk--"

"Taeyeon, are you alright?" someone asked, and then I looked up, I saw that the battered Jiyog came rushing to me. He was bleeding on his face, his once styled hair disheveled.

"This is the father, Taeyeon?" Leeteuk cried out breathlessly, Yunho oppa and Siwon oppa pinning him on both arms.

"Jungsu, I'm sorry," was all I could say, feeling Jiyong finally assist my back.

"He's the one you cheated with, while I grieved and suffered from my losses?"

I saw a clearer picture of the scene, and confirmed that my friends and everyone in the meeting were still there. Even the staff have now gathered from all the floors, watching this embarrassing confrontation.

"How can you do this to me, huh? After everything we've been through!" he exclaimed, tears forming in his eyes.

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