*credits to TeddyBearr!*

For Irene, Yeri, Seulgi, and Joy, it’s hard to be longtime friends when they have contrasting personalities, clashing viewpoints, and disagreeable attitudes, but they make it possible because they are more than friends.

They are family.

But their relationship comes to a breaking point when something they’ve joked about and vowed to never allow to tear their relationship apart shakes their world.

It tests their trust among each other.

It tests their love for one another.

It tests their truths to themselves.

But more so than anything, it tests the values of their friendship.

THE ALTERNATE, JAPANESE VERSION FEATURES TAISHI NAKAGAWA CAN BE FOUND HERE.

I am letting this “preview” go public to inform my typies that I do have a work in progress and haven’t disappeared. A while back, I had said that I will be publishing a new story around June-July, but life and creative setbacks (e.g. a change in plot) forced me to push this back, so I don’t have a date for when this will be published, but there are currently 28 chapters already written (and a few to go, like maybe 5 but no less than 10).

Unfortunately, I don’t know when I will publish the chapters (I know it’s not any time soon), and I apologize in advance.

Thank you for understanding,

Mstyper

P.S. Stay safe.

PLEASE READ:

On Thursday, October 22, 2020, I checked for articles and news content related to my K-pop community as usual and was baffled to see that Red Velvet’s beloved leader, Irene, had been caught in a controversy, which she had also “confirmed” to the allegations. As soon as I read up on what the accusations were and whatnot, I immediately thought of this story because she was my female lead, and I’ve already written 28 chapters with her.

I’m a bit older now, so my love for k-pop idols has somewhat become more “laxed” and distant because I’m more into dramas and writing, so my ultimate bias groups for female and male respectively are Girls’ Generation and EXO, which are somewhat the “oldies” (don’t get me wrong. I love other groups too, like GOT7, Black Pink, BTOB, and more, but as of 2018 or so, there has just been a huge surge of new groups, and I’ve tried to keep up with all the debuts and whatnot but couldn’t. T_T).

Anyway, my point is that now that I’m older and to keep up with the time, I’ve become more mindful of using k-idols in my stories. Prior to writing this story, I knew what kind of characteristics my female lead was going to have—kind, motherly, awkward(ish), boy-wary. So, during my research to find a female k-pop idol that would match my standards, I’ve been suggested videos of Irene, and the one video that hooked me was that viral video of her and Jackson as emcees and San E performing. I think you already know how that video had persuaded me to use Irene, lol, so I won’t go into details.

Yes, Taeyeon from my female bias group is motherly (she was known as an ajumma too), but I didn’t choose her because of a reason that’ll be explained once this story’s finished.

Although I like RV’s members and their songs, they’re not a group I really, really follow, so I wasn’t hurt that Irene had been involved in a controversy but was instead worried that I’ll have to make changes to reflect reality, if that makes any sense.

My first thought was to replace her with another member, presumably, Wendy. The reason being—and the only reason being—as to why I care so much about idols and their controversies is that if my works were to have a person involved in a controversy, I feel as if I am implying or supporting or condoning that person’s actions and/or beliefs. Yes, there are always two sides to everything. Yes, we will never know the entire truth. Yes, they are humans, make mistakes, and have flaws too.

But I decided not to replace Irene or Sehun (for his assumed involvement in the Chanyeol-Baekhyun “scandal” that happened a few days after Irene’s) for the reasons below:

1. I have hope and confidence that you as the reader can distinguish between reality and creativity and won’t let reality hinder your reading. (honestly speaking, this is also hard to do on an author’s level too…)
2. I believe you as the reader will understand that I am not condoning or encouraging her acts or similar acts, nor that I am belittling anyone who’s been in similar situations as the victims. I too have been a victim of bullying, and not once but twice.
3. This story’s characters, although based on Irene and Sehun, should be seen as based on Irene’s and Sehun’s marketed personas since we truly can never know a person’s personality. Yes, that sounds harsh, but the entertainment business isn’t all that pretty, unfortunately.

If you truly wish for the replacement of Irene and Sehun, please comment below—nicely and maturely—and feel free to input other idols (because I honestly don’t really know who else to pair up). I will take it into consideration if there are enough requests asking for the replacement. Your comfort when reading my creation is very important to me, and I want to respect that.

If I don’t get any comments asking for replacements by the time I plan to upload the first chapter, which hasn’t been decided when, Irene and Sehun will still be the main leads.