Chanyeol woke up to his alarm at around six a.m. He always went to the gym the first thing in the morning, no matter how unmotivated he was. He was a man of habit, and at least this habit was reaping good benefits.

On his way to the gym, he thought of calling Wendy. He was worried for her. He knew how her mind worked: she always looked down on herself, thinking that she isn’t good enough. She rarely goes out, so she spends a lot of her time reading harsh comments from netizens—which crushes her self-esteem even further. Sunggyu leaving her for another woman makes it a whole lot worse.

He spoke to Wendy on the phone briefly, and she hung up on him. At least she sounded a bit better compared to yesterday.

Just as he was about to enter the gym, someone shouted from across the hallway.

“Chanyeol!”

It was EXO’s manager.

“What’s up?” Chanyeol asked.

“We have to go to SM. There’s an emergency meeting,” his manager explained.

To say that he was worried was an understatement. The last time the SM higher-ups called an emergency meeting was when Tao left, and that was years ago.

“What’s it about?” Chanyeol stammered.

“I haven’t seen them yet, but apparently, Dispatch has some dirt on you,” his manager responded, sounding disappointed with Chanyeol. “I told you to stay careful whenever you went to those clubs.”

Over the past two to three years, rumors have circulated online about his playboy-ing ways, always a blind item here or there about his hookups.

And they were true, to some extent. He did go through that period, and he only stopped around half a year ago. Sasaengs constantly harassed him, even at their supposedly private home. He was feeling sick of being an idol, feeling suffocated by fans who are dictating what he could and couldn’t do with his life. Yes, he played with the girls, and they often resulted with heartbreaks. He couldn’t care less about their feelings. He was selfish, and he knew it. It was his rebellion.

Wendy was upset when she discovered his doings. “You’ve been changing a lot, Chanyeol, and I don’t like it. You’re treating girls like . You aren’t like this. You’re not selfish. My best friend isn’t supposed to be like this.”

He had to admit that he felt extreme guilt whenever he talked to Wendy. He finally reached the decision to stop when his mother finally found out about it.

Wendy had been dropping hints to his sister, saying that she was worried with how Chanyeol was doing, and that he’d been partying every night like there’s no tomorrow. At first, his sister thought that it was just Wendy being her over-worrying self, but the blind items finally reached her. His sister figured them out and knew they were talking about Chanyeol, and she spilled the beans to their mother.

His mother invited him for dinner that week. He was expecting a grand sermon, but his mother just looked at him with disappointment. “This is not how I raised you,” she said. “I’ve always told you that you could do whatever you want, you could be an idol – even if your father was against it. Just don’t be a bad person.”

The last thing he wanted to see is his mother heartbroken, his sister frustrated, and his best friend extremely disappointed all because of him. And he never wanted to see those expressions again. He promised them that he would change his ways.

He was nervous that a girl he hooked up with took pictures of him asleep. At the same time, he thought that maybe he deserved it. He slept with them then left them the day after. Some of them would call him, thinking that he was in it for some relationship, but they were mistaken. Those girls didn’t deserve to be heartbroken and treated like , he thought. He was at fault, and maybe this was the world trying to serve some karma he deserved.

He rode in their van with his manager, making their way to the SM building. They immediately went up to the meeting room, nervous. He still had no idea what this meeting was about.

The SM Marketing head and the director for Public Relations arrived inside the room at the same time. He and his manager immediately stood up and bowed in respect to two of their bosses in the company.

“Sit down,” the PR director said. “Let’s just wait.”

Chanyeol was at the edge of his seat. His mind was a mess. Just when he was trying to be a better person, hits the fan. Great.

He was surprised when he saw Red Velvet’s manager enter the room, followed by Wendy, whose eyes were downcast. What the hell is she doing here?

“Please sit,” the SM marketing director interrupted Chanyeol’s thoughts.

He looked at Wendy, trying to get her attention. When she looked up, he mouthed “What are you doing here?”

Wendy ignored him, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He thought that she was already feeling better this morning; she sounded more chipper on the phone. But then he remembered that it was Wendy. She never wanted others to worry about her; she always tried to show a smile on her face.

He was startled when the SM marketing director suddenly flashed some pictures on the screen: photos of him and Wendy embracing and