Chapter 48

“I keep getting dragged around, I don’t know I don’t know; I don’t know why I’m doing this – Out of My Mind”

Due to the latest turn of events, the troupe had to abandon their plans to stop by the Kang’s residence on their way to the airport. Instead, they went all the way across town to Terry’s apartment.

As soon as Terry opened the door, Young K went flying into the apartment and knocked Don senseless.

The Day6 boys followed him in, but stopped short at the edge of the living room, away from where Don was earlier sleeping.

“Did you do it? Was it you? Behind all this.”

“What are you talking about man?” Don asked groggily.

His massive hangover did not ease the matter either.

Young K threw his phone at Don to show the Korean online tabloid article.

The Despatch headline screamed “Secretly dating! Bassist of up and coming band caught sleeping with lover!”

And the picture of him and Momo on their living room floor that Dowoon once thought was cute, was given a sordid image in an instant. The article included the pictures of their mask-on incident at the Coex Mall busking event.

But what was even alarming was that the article included pictures of Young K and Momo in Hakuba. The ones he received through the email a long time ago.

“Are you him?” Young K grabbed Don’s shirt. “Are you the Love Motel guy?”

“No, man, I’m not,” the latter cried, his earlier anger towards Young K have died with Terry’s confession last night.

“Don’t lie to me, man!”

“I’m not,” Don pleaded. “I was too busy getting drunk and feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t take those pictures.”

Young K stared at Don for the longest time, finally accepting his old friend was telling the truth. If Don was behind this scoop, he would have known that the picture of him and Momo sleeping were taken by Dowoon, and not the perpetrator himself.

But still feeling angry, he simply shoved Don aside and stormed out the door just as fast as he came in, prompting the others to follow suit… leaving a stunned dishevelled Terry wondering what just happened.

***

They were summoned back to JYP’s office immediately upon arrival in Seoul.

The Despatch release was done purposely to coincide with their trip home.

As expected, the crowd that waited for them at the airports was huge.

Both fans and media alike.

But JYPE sent their bouncers and airport security to control the crowd, and the troupe made it safely back to the office.

However, the livid CEO who waited for them there, made them wish they had perished at the airport instead.

And unlike the last time when only Young K and Manager Choi were called to the office, this time, all of them, including Momo herself, stood bowed in front of the ballistic JYP.

“You’re seriously trying to kill me, Younghyun!”

“It was my fault, sir,” Dowoon admitted to the boss quickly.

Since taking the picture of Young K and Momo sleeping, Dowoon actually forgot about it and did not show it to any of the boys. So, he was as surprised as everyone else on how the photo got leaked.

“You too, of course!” JYP bellowed. “Whatever possessed you to take the picture?”

“Hyung and Mo-chan looked so cute together,” Dowoon mumbled, trying to justify his actions.

JYP could not deny that.

If it was a drama, he would not hesitate to cast the two as leads. But they are not in drama land. They were in the k-pop land, and that resulted in a totally different outcome.

“Then again, if you were more careful, there would be no such photos!” JYP admonished Young K. “The question now is, if the picture was taken at the dorm and Dowoon hasn’t even shown it to any of you, who leaked it out? And what about those pictures in Japan?”

They looked at each other in turns.

Is the culprit one of us? Each one of them thought.

Choi-hyung and Cordi-Kim included?

But none of them were in Japan at the time.

Except maybe… Momo.

“Until we get to the bottom of this, I want the girl out of the dorm!”

The boys snapped out of their trance at JYP’s roar.

“No..!”

And JYP was surprised that the protest did not come from Young K alone, but from all the Day6 boys.

“Mwo..? Did you just say ‘no’ to me? The girl has brought the band more harm than good. First with that masking incident, now this. Not to mention that lovey dovey shots in Japan,” JYP asked, glaring at them one by one. “For all we know, she’s behind the Tokyo incident too.”

“No, PD-nim,” Young K cried. “She’s definitely not.”

JYP glared at Young K.

“You..! You even dared to defend her still,” JYP roared, before softly warned. “You’re not irreplaceacle Younghyun. I will not jeapordise the band, and the company on any whims. Including yours.”

The utterance was so soft, it was deadly. It was uncalled for statement, but JYP has to exert his authority in a way.

“Uhmm… PD-nim,” Cordi Kim quickly spoke up, wanting to diffuse the matter quickly. “Momo-chan will stay with us. We need her as the final concert is drawing near. We only have 3 weeks to go, and we're really short handed.”

After a long palpitated while later.

“We will see this final concert through,” the moghul laid down his final sentence. “But after that, we will make arrangements for the girl to leave the company for good.”

***

“Hyung, let us have some alone time with Momo, neh?” Sungjin said to Manager Choi. “We’ll send her to your car once we finished packing.”

And it was a subdued group that accompanied Momo as she packed her meager belongings.

“Momo-chan, leave some clothes behind, in case you have to sleep here during emergencies,” Wonpil suggested.

Wonpil was such a sweetheart, so Momo felt obliged to comply.

“Just a pair, ok, Piri-kun? I don’t have much to begin with.”

Her statement made Young K feel like a prick all over again.

She has been with them for a year plus, and yet all her stuff could fit in just a little suitcase and a backpack.

I have to get her some good clothes later, he made a mental note.

“Momo-chan, just to be straight up, we don’t suspect anyone of us here, and that includes you. Arasso?” Sungjin told her. “So, we’ll get to the bottom of this and you can come back to us soon, ok?”

The leader spoke with such kindness, Momo wanted to cry.

“Yes, Sungjin-oppa.”

“Yes, I’m so sorry I took the picture,” Dowoon muttered looking down to the floor. “But like I said, you both looked so cute, I couldn’t resist.”

“Arasso, kwenchana,” Momo placated the drummer.

“Now the question is, who has access to your phone to get hold of it,” Jae said to Dowoon.

“Well, that’s easier said than done, cos whenever we are together and at the studio even, we tend to borrow each others’ phone a lot,” Sungjin said.

“Yes, and Dowoonie's phone is as public as it can get,” Wonpil added, knowing the phone has numerous games and apps that others like to use.

“We’ll make a list of possible suspects later,” Sungjin nodded. “Now, let’s get Momo’s things downstairs, while Kang Bra says his good byes.”

After the boys left, Young K simply took Momo in his arms, again having nothing better to say.

And as usual it was Momo who rubbed his back soothingly.

“Everything will be ok. I’ll see you at the studio tomorrow, neh?”

He still just hung on tight. Everything seemed to be happening all at once and his head was just spinning with worry.

“You just concentrate on the upcoming concert,” Momo consoled him. “Then we can sort things out after that.”

“I’m sorry,” he muffled in her hair.

“Don’t say that. It’s not your fault. Besides, this could be a trial for us.”

“Trial?”

“Of living separately.”