Who was it that said the world would end in a whisper? Who was it that dared lie so blatantly, so carelessly?  Worlds didn’t fade, they didn’t cease to exist with the exhale of a final breath. Worlds crashed down, burned, turned, fought, and struggled. Forget the destruction of planets, those happened millions of light years away, in sci-fi books and Star Wars movies. The destruction and death of worlds happened weekly, daily, hourly, by the minute.

Individual worlds died all the time.

All it took was a single photograph, a thoughtlessly, thoroughly written article for an idol’s world to be in danger. Some scandals were like meteorites, crashing harshly into the surface of the idol’s life, leaving crater-like scars. Others were like natural disasters; temporary and with different degrees of damage. And the worst kind of scandal is the one that starts and begins a war; it is bloody and horrid.

That was the kind of scandal that DAEE and Ryouta faced when Dispatch released an article claiming they were dating.

And the worst part was that it wasn’t a lie.

CEO Choi Min Soo threw the tablet on the table. It clattered loudly before sliding off. Tae Jun and Eun Mi stood at the other side of his desk, hands clasped before them, heads bowed.

“What is this ? Huh?!”

The leader of PR stood off to the side. She cringed at the sound of his voice, her posture a mirror image of the leaders’.

“We’re sorry.” They both bowed.

“Sorry? Why are you apologizing? Do you think this will be solved with an apology? Just how have you been monitoring the members?”

Eun Mi gripped her hands, knuckles turning white. Tae Jun kept his head down. A knock on the door indicated the arrival of the managers and the members in question.

DAEE, having been discharged from the hospital only an hour earlier, still looked pale and ill. Ryouta supported most of her weight, concern and guilt plastered all over his face.

CEO Choi went off on them. He was so angry, he ended up stumbling over his words. He called them irresponsible, idiotic, fools for believing that they would wander around the city without any sort of disguise and think that no news outlet would be onto them. More than anything, he resented them for trying to hide it for so long when the company could have been better prepared to protect both their images.

“Call Dispatch,” Mr. Choi shouted. “We need to release a statement. I want this controlled.”

He whirled around; he stuck a finger near Eun Mi’s face. “Finish these promotions as quietly as you can. No more scandals, Song Eun Mi. Don’t make me regret taking you in.”

Eun Mi resisted the urge to bite his finger off.

“Yes. Sir.”

“Are you okay?”

Taewoon listened to Eun Mi’s frustrated sigh.

“I think so. Stressed, maybe?”

“Anxious?”

“No more than normal.”

Taewoon wished he could tell her not to worry about it too much, but seeing as it had been Dispatch that released the news, it would be hard to contradict them. He cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear, pulling up the real time web search rankings. The results made him frown.

“Did they ever get around to telling the CEO?”

“No. They kept it a secret until the end. And that’s what makes this much more difficult.”

“Tell me they didn’t send each other secret messages through social media.”

Eun Mi sighed again. “They say they never did, but I’m sure fans or anti-fans will ‘find’ something.”

Taewoon navigated the search engines, worried at how much attention the kids were getting. Fans were certainly not happy. He got the feeling the sense of betrayal ran high and wild, especially since more than a handful of them had quoted Su Jong and Ienna saying L6 and CELESTIAL were nothing more than friends, siblings even.

“Where are you now?”

“At CJ E&M Center. We’re waiting for rehearsal.”

“Ah, M!Countdown? This is your first goodbye stage, right?”

“Mm. Our last will be next Wednesday on Show Champion.”

He smiled slightly so that she may hear it in his voice. “Don’t worry too much about this. You guys have been nothing but honest and kind to each other’s fans. I’m sure it will blow over soon. Besides, if you think about it too much…”

Eun Mi didn’t have to guess what he meant. She exhaled, feeling worn and exhausted. “Yes. I know. I’ll take care of myself.”

“Things will be alright. You’ll see.”

“I have to go. They’re calling us to rehearsal.”

“Head up. Shoulders back. Make me proud.”

Eun Mi gave a tiny, breathy laugh. “I will. Talk to you later, Woon-ah.”

Taewoon set the phone down, returning to his work. Every ten minutes, he’d check the online rankings, keeping an eye on the situation.

There wasn’t much he could do, just as there was not much anyone could do. Once the fans became angry, they would not be easily soothed.

He sat back, exhaling as he ran his hands through is face and hair. He thought of all the crazy things Eun Mi had gone through this year: the whispers surrounding her and Zico, the attack at the airport in Hanoi, the attack at CELESTIAL’s dorm, Ryouta’s near kidnapping, and now this.

The girl was like a magnet for trouble. With CELESTIAL in their second year since debut, just now starting their third, he did not know how they would be able to continue under the pressure of so many scandals.

It had taken one shot to bring Co-Ed School down. How many more could CELESTIAL withstand? How many more until Eun Mi had enough?

“What are you doing not working?”

Taewoon’s new manager kicked his chair playfully as he walked by. He glanced at the screen on the computer, reading up on the news. He whistled.

“Fans are not going to be happy.”

Taewoon groaned, dropping his head on the desk. Would anyone ever tell him something he didn’t know?

Zico scrolled through the search results, reading article after article. His mouth hung open from the shock for so long that Kyung reached over and gave his chin a slap.

“You’re starting to drool.”

Zico hurriedly wiped at his mouth and chin, not even registering that Kyung had been lying. Pictures of DAEE following Ryouta and Ryouta following DAEE had him in shock. The comments had him reeling.

[+2010, -100]  Whoa…I always thought there might be a couple, but his is still a shock.

[+2223, -20] Let’s be real, the question we all want the answer to is…who seduced who?

[+4090, -178] After Aoi Ryouta acted all high and mighty on Twitter…heol… he should apologize to fans.

[+4050, -128] Liars…traitors…freaking idols….

“What are you so hooked on?” Kyung leaned over, peaking at the screen. “Whoa!”

He snatched it from Zico’s hands, rereading all the articles he’d just gone through. “Is this for real? Who released it?”

“Dispatch.”

“They’re ed.”

There really was no way around Dispatch. Once they released something, the public took it as the truth, mainly because it was.

The news gave anti-fans the fuel they needed to validate their dislike for the group or the members, while it harmed the bonds built between the idols and their fans. What was worse, L6 and CELESTIAL had built such a close bond with each other and their fandoms that it was impossible for them to escape this without repercussion.

The question here was: would the fans attack the group as a whole or just the individuals involved?

“Have you checked on Eun Mi yet?”

“What? Why would I do that?”

Kyung smiled. Zico shifted uncomfortably. He hated how smart the bastard could be.

“Stop that. There’s nothing between us. We’re just friends.”

“Since when are you friends? Last time I checked you two were mortal enemies.”

“Hey, we’ve never been mortal enemies.” Zico snatched his tablet back. He wiped the fingerprints from the screen, avoiding Kyung’s gaze. “It was just a misunderstanding.”

“You mean it was your misunderstanding, right?”

“Shut up.”

Kyung laughed. “So, did you check on her?”

“That’s not my job.”

“Don’t you want to rack up some I’m-not-really-an- points?”

Zico elbowed him, hard. Kyung doubled over, a painful grin on his face.

“She has a boyfriend.”

Kyung straightened up instantly, his eyes wide. “What? Who?”

“Hyung.”

Kyung’s eyebrows drew together. “Which one?”

“Mine.”

Seconds ticked by in silence as Kyung took longer than expected to process the information. When it finally clicked, he gasped loudly. “What?! Taewoon hyung?!”

Zico gave a curt nod. “This is bad. This is really bad.”

“It doesn’t really concern you, though.”

“What?”

Kyung leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “It is bad. It’s awful for them, especially since they’re under the same label. But this doesn’t affect anyone else.”

“That’s a really insensitive thing to say,” Zico frowned. “Have you forgotten what we went through?”

“I haven’t. Which is why I am telling you that this in no matter affects us. Our mistake affected no one but ourselves. We were lucky. We didn’t offend our fans as much as the general public that doesn’t give two s about idols. Our fans were there for us when we returned. These two,” he pointed at a picture of Ryouta smiling at DAEE, “they lied to their fans. They pretty much dug their own graves.”

Zico gawked at Kyung. “Who pissed in your drink today?”

He walked away from Kyung. Kyung watched him go, a knowing glint in his eyes.

“Hey! Don’t go getting into a scandal just to draw attention away from CELESTIAL! Mind your own business, Zico!”

“Buzz off.”

“I’m serious! Ma Ri is a great person, but she can handle her own battles! We’ve fought our own already!”

Zico stopped. He looked over his shoulder. “Ma Ri? Since when do you call her Ma Ri?”

Kyung shrugged. He stood, giving his shoulders a wiggle. “You jealous? You jealous?”

If he had been paying more attention, he would’ve seen the cushion Zico threw at his face. He took several steps back and had to rub his nose afterwards.

Zico was gone by the time his eyes refocused.

“,” Kyung sighed. “That’s rotten luck.”

The struggles faced by boy groups differed from those faced by girl groups.

Boy groups had the ever present conscription hanging over their heads. It was the inevitable; a forced hiatus from their music activities in order to serve their country. Every able bodied man in the Republic of Korea had to serve, whether they were a celebrity or not.

Along with that, they had to face the disinterest by the male population. They depended, almost solely, with the few exceptions, on the female population to grant them their success. They had to be y, edgy, bad boys more often than not. Sweet, boyfriend-type groups disappeared if they did not have a solid grasp on their concept with perfect execution.

Girl groups, on the other hand, faced harsher situations.

shaming. Body shaming. Constant incessant abuse and bullying targeting their appearance, talent, and personality. While they could appeal to a wide range of audiences, they were more susceptible to hatred.

Fans were quick to forgive the mistakes of their male favorites. They were understanding, sympathetic, even downright foolish sometimes. But when it came to girl groups, the members were at fault.

Because they were ugly. Because they were fakes. Because they wanted attention. Because they were s. Because others were jealous of their success, talent, and beauty.

Girl groups had to find a balance between being y and cute. Too much iness and they were s. Too much cuteness and they were fake or bland. There was no happy in between, no way for them to appease the public.

L6 had experienced difficulties, most certainly. They’d debuted with a modest budget, an okay music video. They’d gotten lucky, though. Girls liked them, liked their voices and their charms. They quickly climbed the ladder of the over-saturated industry.

Their success allowed them to have better dorms, better music videos, better sponsors. L6 paved the way for CELESTIAL. But that did not mean that CELESTIAL didn’t have their own struggles.

As their sister group, they had to build a relationship with AMORES as well as their own fans. They had to establish trust amongst their fandoms, amongst each member, as a whole group. They’d tried their absolute best to make it clear that L6 were label mates, friends, brothers, seniors.

And they had been, before all of this started.

A.Borealis were especially quiet as CELESTIAL took the stage. With the stage lights dimmed for rehearsal, the girls could see the cautious, almost pinched, expressions on their fans’ faces. There was an unusual hush in the room.

“Chae unnie, did you eat?” a fan suddenly called out.

“A-ah. Yes!” Chae fiddled with her mic, nervously pretending it needed adjustment. “Did you all eat?”

Scattered yeses and noes were heard through the auditorium, building the buzz that was common to the environment.

“ReNA! You’re beautiful!”

“Ienna! You’re y!”

The girls breathed a shaky sigh of relief. They exchanged nervous glances, hasty smiles. Eun Mi, who had been busy getting her mic and in-ear in place, hadn’t been on stage for the initial activity.

She hesitated for a moment, hiding in the shadows. Her heart hammered in her chest, her palms were sticky with sweat. She could feel her makeup coming undone, smearing from her perspiration. She took a big gulp of air before bouncing onto the stage.

A.Borealis cheered when she appeared.

Something felt strange, eerie and uncanny.

Eun Mi smiled, waving. She glanced around, checking on the girls without drawing much attention to herself. DAEE hovered close to her, attempting to hide her 5’8’’ frame behind Eun Mi’s 5’0’’.

“Unnie,” she whispered.

Eun Mi gave her a tiny smile, feeling the bile in her stomach attempt to push its way up . She swallowed hard, pushing it down to the soles of her feet, willing the anxiety to seep out of her and into the floor.

“Head up.”

Something was coming. Eun Mi could feel it as the PD asked them to get into position.

The music blasted all around them, hypnotic in its call. Eun Mi could hear her voice in her ears, could hear her members and see them as they moved across the stage. She could see A.Borealis with their light sticks, creating a Capri blue ocean.

And then she could not see them, couldn’t even hear them. Eun Mi wanted to believe that she had imagined it, that the MR had drowned out A.Borealis’ voices and that the choreography kept her eyes from it.

But it continued to happen. A.Borealis’ existence continued to flicker in and out of life.

Very much like Shawols, A.Borealis were recognized for the precision in their fan chants, thus it could not be denied: A.Borealis were boycotting DAEE.

The Capri lights would disappear, their voices would fade, and all only when DAEE took to the stage. They were isolating her, denying her the forgiveness and understanding that she sought and hoped for.

A.Borealis cheered.

Song Eun Mi! Lee Chae Young! Lee Re Na! No Han Eul! CE-LE-EST-I-AL!

They cut DAEE off. The precision in which they did it left the girls chilled. Even in the recordings for them to monitor, the silence was so absolute that they could hear the tremor in DAEE’s voice as she rapped.