I'm really late on this topic, but it's honestly taken me this long to gather all my thoughts coherently and write them down in a post.

It's been over a year since it was announced Jessica was removed from SNSD. I still remember how shocked I was hearing that after the girls' 7th anniversary, it was confirmed that Jessica would no longer be part of the group and SNSD would continue as an 8 member group. In my mind, I couldn't fathom such a thing. SNSD as 8? No longer as 9? I knew someday there would no longer be Girls' Generation, but I expected them to part ways altogether, not like how it ended up. All my social media networks blew up with the news. All around the world fans were shocked and in distraught over the news, desperiately clinging to the hope it was just a baseless rumor. But because Jessica personally posted a message on her Weibo, reality soon crashed into the hearts of SONEs and cracked their hearts, including mine.

I was sad, upset, angry, confused... it was a whirpool of emotions in my heart. I got angry at Jessica for having a business. After all, realistically speaking, it'd be too difficult for her to manage her new business and studying fashion while trying to fit that into a hectic schedule like SNSD has, especially since they were about to go on a Japanese tour at the time. Then I got angry at the rest of SNSD for turning their back on Jessica when they supported her brand at first. I got mad at the rest of SNSD for not standing up for Jessica. What happened to the Soshi bond?  Eventually all my anger shifted to SM, because let's be real, who doesn't have a beef against SM for managing their idols? However, as weeks went by, the shock and the depression eventually faded from my mind, I began to think a lot more clearly about the situation.

We know Jessica's stance on the whole ordeal, as she was able to freely say what she wanted on Weibo and on the webage of her brand, Blanc & Eclaire. But what about SNSD? Or even SM? 

No matter what outsiders (outside the fandom), haters, Jessica-stans, or former SONEs say, I still believe in OT9. Forever 9.To some people, these pictures don't mean a thing, but to me and many other SONEs out there, they're proof of the bond all 9 girls had with each other. 9 became 1.

This isn't something you can fake. They wouldn't have lasted 7 years together if it was fake or simply fuiled by ambition, money, or attention. When they firsted debuted in August 5th of 2007, no one expected them to rise to fame like we know them today, not even they did. All they were probably thinking was they finally achieved their dream of debuting after all the hard work they put in while training. In 7 years they've had many hit songs, became trends with their catchy songs and choreography, dominated Japan, performed in the States, won countless awards (one of them being Video of the Year during the Youtube Awards), and became loved and became inspiration by many, not just in South Korea, but all over the world.

Why did I bring all this up? It's because I honestly can't imagine all the members turning their backs on Jessica. How could it be 8 vs 1? I would assume there would be at least one person to stand up and defend Jessica. What about Yuri, one of her closest friends? Tiffany, her fellow American? Hyoyeon or Sooyoung, the two members whom she trained with longest before debut? Why would all of them be against her all of a sudden when they initally supported her? The two possibilities that went through my mind were:

1. Jessica did or said something that made the rest of their members reconsider their support of Jessica launching her brand. Or--

2. This conflict was strictly between SM and Jessica, and the remaining 8 members had to choose sides. 

To me, the second possibility is more likely. The CEO of SM may be come off as a jerk, everyone blaming him for the downfall of the groups, but he wouldn't force Jessica out of the group without a valid reason. SNSD is one of the reasons the company makes so much money and I assume the thought came to mind that forcing her out would damage SNSD's reputation, resulting in hurting their sales. Not to mention Jessica is one of the main vocals and one of the more popular members in the group. Removing Jessica isn't a decision that is made on a whim. As for SNSD, they were probably in a difficult position themselves. They recently renewed their contracts at that time. While this is all my own thoughts and speculations on the possible outcomes, if members of the rest of SNSD chose Jessica over SM, the news we would have heard the day Jessica was forced out may have turned into "Girls' Generation disbanding!" or " Jessica and ____ will no longer be part of Girls' Generation". That would be more traumatizing for a SONE. Fans would be devastated.

AGAIN, these are possibilities that only I think happened or would have happened. Nothing here is confirmed, and frankly, we may never know the whole story about what really happened at SM. Perhaps many years later, when they feel like it's time to reopen the discussion, but as of now, all we have is what has been already given to us.

As of August this year, Jessica is no longer part of SM, but we should still support her in what she does. She's happy where she is and what she does, and we should be happy for her because it's a dream of hers. For Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon,Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun, they've been working hard for SONEs to come back even stronger than before, giving us three title songs, three concepts, and three music videos for us to enjoy.

As a SONE, should you still be staying the Soshi bond? OT9 Forever? Of course. Refusing not to do so would be saying that bond never existed, that there were never 9 girls who worked hard through blood, sweat, and tears to achieve their dreams and to deny Jessica was ever part of that bond. With that being said, we should continue to support SNSD as 8 because they need our love and support more than ever. They know how much the separation has hurt the fans, which is why their recent comebacks have been so memorable. We'll never forget Girls' Generation as 9, and we'll continue to supprt Girls' Generation in the future.

지금은 소녀시대!, 앞으로도 소녀시대!, 영원히 소녀시대!

(Right now it's SNSD!, From now on it's SNSD! Forever it's SNSD!)

-- Wooper