*Credits for photo.

Hey guise. I know that this is dedicated to rants but I would still like to bring your attention to the current issue at hand. If you guise not already know, the case with Kris has blown out of proportion and SM has taken some drastic measures (though not in a very nice way) to settle the problem. It’s a little late but better late than never right?

Personally, I haven't been very fond of SM since years ago, and when I heard about them taking over Woollim, I just had this gut feeling that something bad is going to happen. I shall not elaborate on that today, but rather I'll focus on the current matter. Now, although this may not concern some of you guise, I'm still going to share some of my thoughts about what happened.

I've been a fan of Exo since a while ago, and this is evident in my blog as about half of the posts are of Exo. Looking at them now shatters my heart into a million pieces and I'm just hurt by how SM claims to be resolving the issue, but is in fact making matters worse. And SM seemed to treat us Exostans like five-year-old kids who cannot figure out when they forced the other Exo members to unfollow Kris on Instagram and uploaded false information using their names. Now I'm not saying that these actions are a hundred percent true, so we should not allow our speculations blind our judgements. (Although according to recent photos of their manager confiscating their phones, it's most probably true.)

What I’ve read from sources is summarised here (Most of this is unconfirmed):
1) Kris filed a lawsuit to reconfirm the terms on his contract.
2) He rejected the flights back to Korea.
3) The Exo members got their phones confiscated.
4) After the confiscation, the members were no longer following Kris in Instagram, which lead fans to think that it was SM’s command to do so.
5) Tao posted some comments (saying that Kris is a betrayer and stuff) about the incident on Weibo, and when the fans found out that it was not him who posted them, they were all removed.
6) The same comments were compiled and posted on Tao’s Instagram instead.
7) At that moment, Baekhyun was the only one left following Kris because he lied to the staff about leaving his phone back at the dorm, when he was actually hiding it in his pocket.
8) When the staff found out, they slapped Baekhyun, and D.O who stepped in to interfere also got the same treatment. Suho got kicked for some unknown reason and Luhan got slapped in the arm repeatedly because the staff wanted the password to his laptop.
9) Luhan posted something that mentioned that the company seized all their phones, which proves that Tao’s posts were not actually from him.
10) Because of this (my speculation), I’m led to believe that SM forced Tao to post a selfie of himself on Instagram before seizing the phone back again, just to prove the so-called reliability of his posts after knowing about Luhan’s post.
11) It was revealed that SM rejected Kris’ opportunities to expanding his career by refusing drama role offers.
12) I don't know when this happened but I’m still adding this in. Kris was forced to kneel and apologise.

From reading all these, I feel that this is getting ridiculous because SM is violating basic human rights by doing all of the above. I do not deny that the first thing I did was to rant on my twitter about how SM and how they can go screw themselves (I do not regret it), and I admit to jumping to conclusions and making wild guesses because hey, we were all flustered at that point of time (I still do not regret it). I know that the idols are under SM, but don't they get privacy as to who they contact or who they follow on Instagram? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not angry because Kris was unfollowed, I’m angry at the fact that the Exo members were stripped of their rights to their phone and privacy. What are they? Slaves? Money-makers? Why must SM spend money on unnecessary lawsuits instead of paying their idols well?

SM wants to sue those who falsely accuse them of things they claimed they never did, but the statements from the Exo members are enough to actually put the staff and CEO behind bars because first, taking someone else’s property without permission is stealing and stealing is a crime. Second, accessing someone else’s account without permission is considered hacking and posting something without the owner’s knowledge is also hacking. Third, if the slapping was real, they could be charged with assault. Are these not considered crimes? Why isn’t anybody noticing it and using these facts to bring SM to justice? Is there not enough proof?

You know what I think? I think contracts should have the condition, “Regular checks may be conducted on your phone, but never will it be confiscated.” Regular checks are definitely necessary to ensure that idols don't go out of the line, but confiscating their phones are just too much.

Freedom. Something everyone desires. Of course when one is signed to a certain company, some of that freedom is taken away, but apparently SM is taking away most of their freedom. If SM was at least paying them enough, I wouldn't say anything. But the problem now is that SM is underpaying them, and taking away their freedom at the same time. SM really doesn't know what treasure they have until they lose their idols one by one. I’m sure that SM treats their idols all the same –like - only that Kris is brave enough to stand up to SM.

If you didn't realise, SM was the one who blew everything out of proportion. Kris could’ve been just reconfirming his contract and giving SM time to reflect on their actions when he rejected the flights back, and what did SM do? Hell no, they didn't reflect! Instead, they forced the Exo members to sever all connection with Kris and call him a betrayer. Well who’s really betraying who? SM is betraying their own conscience by mistreating their idols and they dare talk about betrayal? That’s a joke. A disturbing one.

I know this is not the first group SM ‘attacked’, there were others before Exo. That’s why they’re siding with Exo now, because they’ve been through pain and hurt caused by SM and they don't want history to repeat itself. Stooping so low just makes me sick in the stomach.

Oh no, this is turning into a post that is fully against SM, I should stop before it’s too late (and before they sue me because ‘I’m falsely accusing them’). But before that, let me tell them something in Chinese.

你们那么喜欢用华语来沟通，我们就用华语沟通。这样伤害他们对你来说还不够吗？你非要搞得整组解散了你才高兴吗？我们都知道微博不是子韬发出去的，你还想骗谁？你不需要再掩饰了，我们早就已经看穿你和你的诡计了。掩饰是另一个谎言的开始，你越掩饰就会露出更多马脚，最后将会被剥得的，要躲也不能躲。你不是在子韬的微博上说：“纸是包不住火”，我完全同意，总有一天会真相大白的。我正在等那一天的到来，让所有人看到你的真面目。鹿晗已经说你把他们的手机夺走了，你们到现在还要隐瞒吗？要你好好地对待他们，会死吗？会吗？我们又不是要你把公司送走，我们只是要求你给他们多点儿自由和人权，还有最基本的尊重。这段话反正你也不会读，为你这种人写那么多也是浪费我的时间和力气而已。要告就告吧，我问心无愧。反而是你要好好检讨，这么做是早晚会得到报应的！

Translation: Since you like to communicate in Chinese so much, then let’s use Chinese. Is hurting them not enough? Are you only going to be satisfied when the group disbands? We know that the Weibos were not sent by Tao, so who are you trying to fool? You don't have to cover up, we already saw through you and your little plans. Covering up is just the start of another lie, the more you try to conceal the more slip-ups you’re going to make, until you’re stripped bare, with nowhere to hide. Like what you said in Tao’s Weibo, “You can’t hide the truth forever”, I agree with you completely, the truth will be out someday. I’m waiting for the arrival of that particular day, so everyone can see your true side. Luhan already admitted to you confiscating their phones by force, do you still have anything to say for yourself? Will it kill you to treat the idols a little better? Will it? It’s not like we’re asking you to give them the whole company, we’re just asking you to give them more freedom and rights and most importantly, more basic respect. You’re not going to read this anyway, writing this for a person like you is a complete waste of my time and energy. If you want to sue me then go ahead, I have a clear conscience. Instead, you are the one who’s supposed to reflect, what you’re doing will get you retribution sooner or later!

And one last thing, they mess with a K-pop group, they mess with everyone.

If you’re an Exostan, you would probably have watched Exo Showtime. In episode 11, the members are required to give a telepathic answer in order to leave the place. Do you guise remember when Luhan needed the toilet? Sure, it was funny when he tried sending some telepathic message to the members that he needed the washroom badly, but if you think about it closely, why couldn't they let him relieve himself before getting on with the next mission? The terms of the game was to answer one question telepathically, and the only rule was just not to communicate with each other, not disallow them to use the toilet until they can get a correct answer!

Also, I just read about Kris’ health status, and it shocked me to a great extent. I never knew about his health condition, and I’m sure this had only come to light sometime between yesterday and today. Another thing I’m sure of, is that SM only knew about it recently. What is the management of a company good for if they don’t even look after their own idols? And what good is it for if they have no idea what their idols are going through? Although I’m not a medical student, and I have no medical background whatsoever, what condition Kris has appeared to be very serious, and some posts have even mentioned that he might collapse and die at any moment. But does SM care? Of course not! When did they ever anyway? SM’s too caught up with protecting their company name perhaps. Just saying though.

Like one of the posts I saw online:

This does not only concern Exo or SM anymore, this concerns the whole K-pop industry. Through this incident, it just proves that the entertainment an idol group is in can make or break the group. Just imagine if the SM idol groups were in some other entertainment (I shall not name them although I’m very tempted to), would they have the same problem reoccurring? This incident brought the many fandoms together, and SM will feel the full force of supporters of idol groups from all around the world. We will show them how strong we really are, and hopefully get some benefits and a better life for the idols already signed to SM.

They are human beings with feelings too, like every one of us. Restricting them from all those stated in the picture is just wrong on so many levels. They are neither slaves nor prisoners, so why is it considered a right thing to do?

Regardless of which fandom you guise are in, I hope that you all will give support to Kris because now, it doesn’t only concern him anymore, it concerns everybody. If he is successful, there might be a slight possibility that the SM idols will be treated a little better than the ty treatment they receive right now. Kris is not being selfish, he is doing this for the good of the current and future SM idols and if possible, all the other idols as well. (At least that’s my opinion of it.)

Just a side note, I’ve been crying since the day this happened but it’s not because there is a possibility of Kris leaving Exo, but because of the treatment of the other Exo members by SM. It must be hard for all of them now, and all we can do is give them our fullest support and let them know that we will always be there no matter what. My respect for Suho went up a notch when I saw him singing and dancing alone after receiving that award, holding back tears while the other members were crying backstage. It was extremely emotional for everyone I suppose, not only for me.

Let’s not allow SM to wreck another group yeah?

EXO We Are One!

-immainspiritvip (immajokervip) 17.05.2014