Strictly No Dating

Chapter 26

There’s nothing worse than the feeling of uncertainty.

There is nothing for certain, for now, they said. Just stay inside the dorm and avoid the public, they said. But it was easier said than done. Their life used to be so hectic, with schedule since morning till late at night, practice, shooting and more practice. It was tiring but no one complain anything. They were happy. They know that their time is limited.

They were the most sought after girl group, getting multiple offers to appear on shows at the same time that they have to reject most of it. Some of them even landed fixed cast on the shows. They were praised and loved by the public.

But suddenly, everything changed in a blink of an eye.

Their appearances were cancelled, the recorded episodes were edited, they were cut out of the screen as if they didn’t exist. Yujin even lost her spot on a popular TV show. Suddenly everyone wants nothing to do with them, they were excluded in every year end music shows and awards, even mention ing their name seems like a sin.

And it just got worse every day.

There were countless of articles online, with malicious clickbait headlines, followed with even worse comments. The girls did as they were told, stay indoors and do nothing. But there’s only so much one can take. Especially for a group of girls who are mostly underage.

As the leader, Eunbi know she has to be strong. They need her. She’s all that they have.

**

Eunbi was lying down on her bed that afternoon, reading a book that she’s been meaning to read in a long time. It was a Japanese novel that Sakura had recommended, but it has been translated into Korean. All her other roommates are outside, watching TV. She texted Sakura earlier, but the younger girl hasn’t replied her yet. She figured she’s probably busy playing games again.

The leader put her phone aside, annoyed.

She tosses and turn in her bed, truth is she can’t really concentrate on her book.

She can’t concentrate on anything. It’s hard to do anything right when she has to watch over the younger members all the time. She strictly told the members not to check the comments, even scolded them if they do. She always makes them occupied with other things, like doing exercise, cleaning up the dorm or watching dramas together. She even helped Minju with her homework and tutors the now home-schooled Yujin. And when they’re out of things to do, she leads them with dance and vocal practice. She keeps telling them to prepare when they’ll resume activities.

Though she’s not sure when.

She checked the comments, she can’t help it. She read all the curses, the name calling and the call for disbandment, and she remembered it all.

It hurts. It hurts so much.

But she can’t let the members read those. They are her babies. It’ll break them apart.

Suddenly her phone chimed, and she quickly picked it up.

It was from Sakura.

‘unnie, what’s up?’

‘i was playing games just now, what are u doing?’

Eunbi stared at her screen. She sent a message to Sakura 2 hours ago, and she only get a reply now. She left her on read and put her phone aside.

“I’m not gonna reply you,” she muttered to herself.

She knows it’s childish, but she can’t help it. She felt irritated by the littlest things now.

Her phone chimed again.

Sakura’s text was shown at the top.

‘are you okay?’

Eunbi bit her lip.

Sakura continued.

‘want to talk about it?’

‘do you want me to come over?’

While she was contemplating whether to reply her girlfriend’s texts, the door was suddenly pushed open. Yujin walked inside, seemed panicked.

“What is it Yujin-ah?” asked Eunbi.

Yujin grabbed Eunbi’s hand, “Eunbi unnie come help us! Kwangbae is crying!”

**

Hyewon was crying on the sofa in the living room. It was a rare sight, since she’s not the one who likes to show her emotions to others. But there she was, pressing the pillow to her face, crying. The rest of the residence of Dorm 2 were also there, waiting for Eunbi to come. Yena was patting Hyewon’s shoulder on one side, with teary eyes. Minju was on the other side, her hand was holding a phone, reading something.

“W-What happened??” asked Eunbi, shocked.

Yena glanced at the phone, “She checked the internet and-

Eunbi scoffed, “I’ve told you guys not to read those things!”

Hyewon put down the pillow and looked at Eunbi while tears were still running down her face.

“How can I not? My name is on the number one search rank right now…”

“N-Number one search rank?? Why??”

Eunbi wasted no time and took the phone from Minju’s hand. Her eyes widen as she was looking at the trending topic. ‘Kang Hyewon’ was indeed at the top search ranking. Along with Starship Entertainment and also Woollim Entertainment in the top 10.

“What on earth is going on?” Eunbi muttered. She didn’t realize it but her hand that was holding the phone was shaking.

Yujin was trembling as she replies, “T-They’re saying that trainees from Starship, Woollim and 8D are the ones… who were manipulated as the final winners.”

“W-What??”

“But since Hyewon unnie is the only one from 8D Creative and people are… judging,” Minju said.

Suddenly Eunbi’s phone rang. She picked it up without looking at the caller.

“Eunbi unnie!” called the voice from the other side.

Chaewon’s voice sounded urgent, “Unnie please come over, Wonyoung is crying and we don’t know what to do. Have you checked the latest article? They’re naming companies, and that involves us! M-My name is mentioned too, unnie what should we do??”

She pulled the phone away for a few seconds and took a deep breath. She presses the phone back to her ear.

“I’ll come over. No, we will all come over there. Don’t worry, okay?” Eunbi replied, calm.

**

Wonyoung was huddling close in Eunbi’s embrace. They were lying on Yuri’s bed, and Eunbi was trying her best to calm the maknae. Wonyoung eventually stopped crying and fell asleep in her arms. She slowly gets off the bed when she was