Chapter 15 - The first scandal
Day 6 after debut.
The morning sun had barely begun to rise when the stillness of the day was shattered by the buzzing of phones. Chaewon, the leader of Le Sserafim, was the first to receive the alarming call.
“Good morning,” Chaewon answered the call from their manager.
“Chaewon, have you seen the news?” his voice was strained, carrying a hint of urgency.
“No, what's going on?” Chaewon replied, her voice shaking.
“There's a rumor circulating about Y/N. An alleged former classmate has accused her of bullying during high school,” the manager explained, his tone grave.
“Are you serious?!” Chaewon exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. She quickly typed Y/N’s name into the search bar. The headline from a notorious gossip tabloid flashed ominously on her screen: "Former Classmate Accuses Le Sserafim's Y/N of High School Bullying." Oh, no.
"Yes, and I need you to gather the members immediately. We cannot let this escalate any further. And remember, under no circumstances should anyone from the group speak out. No social media, no interviews, nothing. We need to handle this internally first," the manager instructed firmly.
"Oh," Chaewon gasped, her eyes widening in shock. “Alright, understood.” A moment of silence passed.
“Chaewon… You need to keep your head up right now. You’re their leader.”
“Yes, sir,” Chaewon spoke quietly. Then the call ended. This wasn’t good.
“Girls?” Chaewon opened her bedroom door, "Girls, we have a situation!" her hands trembling.
As soon as the headline was released, the news spread like wildfire. Various news outlets quickly picked up the story, and social media was abuzz with discussions and speculations about Y/N's alleged past actions.
Less than a week after her charismatic appearance on the variety show, the public sentiment towards Y/N had dramatically shifted. Where once she was praised for her realness and humor, she was now the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism.
As Chaewon relayed the disturbing news, the atmosphere in the room grew tense. The girls exchanged worried glances, disbelief etched on their faces.
Y/N sat in the living room of their dorm with her fellow members, her hands shaking with anxiety. She could see the worry and confusion etched on their faces as they listened to her explain the accusations made against her.
“I swear to you all, I never did any of that! I would never bully anyone. Those accusations are lies,” Y/N said, her voice barely above a whisper. The tension in the room was unbearable.
Sakura was the first to speak up, her expression full of concern. “Look, this is bad. But I believe you, Y/N. You've never shown any behavior like that before. This has to be a mean joke.”
Chaewon nodded in agreement. “I agree. No way this is true. I know you wouldn’t do something like that.” Y/N inhaled audibly, her gaze landing on Yunjin sitting next to her on the couch.
“Hey,” Yunjin scooted over and placed a comforting hand on Y/N's shoulder, “We're here for you, no matter what. Just tell us what we can do to help.” Y/N was incredibly grateful to have them by her side. After a moment Yunjin then stood up angrily, “I’m SO mad we don’t get to comment on this!” Yunjin was ready to throw hands. “What does Hybe wanna do anyway? Have us watch the tabloids rip her apart? I’m so sick of this radio-silence protocol,” she exclaimed shrugging angrily.
Eunchae, the youngest member, spoke up, her voice shaking slightly after looking at a teary Y/N, “Y/N unnie, I don't know what's going on, but please don't worry too much. We know you're a good person.”
Kazuha, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke up. “I trust you, unnie. You've never given me any reason to doubt you.” This instantly caused a smile from Y/N, the first since the articles dropped a few hours ago. “Thank you, Kaza." SHe quickly continued, "Uhm- and all of you, thank you for believing in me." Y/N now had tears streaming down her face.
Y/N felt a surge of gratitude towards her members, knowing that they had her back no matter what. Despite the accusations against her, she felt better, knowing that she had the support of her amazing group of friends. But this wasn’t her biggest concern anyway. What if they actually kicked her out?
“I'm so lucky to have all of you,” Y/N said, tears burning into her skin. “But, I don’t know what the company is gonna do,” Y/N suddenly felt more tears in her eyes. “I hope this won’t hurt any of you.”
“Let’s wait for news,” the leader spoke softly and reached for Y/N’s hand.
The days passed, and Le Sserafim stopped all activities, waiting for news.
Y/N sat in her room, staring blankly at her dark phone screen. The words “temporary hiatus” from the company meeting an hour ago still echoed in her mind, and she couldn't believe this mess. How could this be happening to her just as their group was starting to gain momentum? It wasn’t even two weeks after their debut.
In the living room, the other members sat in silence, all looking at each other with disbelief etched on their faces. Chaewon, their leader, was the first to break the silence. “Girls, I- I don’t know what to say. This is unacceptable. Y/N didn't do anything wrong, and we need to fight this.”
Yunjin nodded in agreement. “We can't just sit here and let them do this to Y/N. NOW we HAVE to speak out and defend her.”
Kazuha spoke up softly, “But what can we do? We don't want to make things worse by speaking out without a plan … or permission.” Her voice suddenly became forceful, “What if they kick her out because of us?”
Eunchae looked around the room, her eyes full of worry. “Guys, I don't want Y/N unnie to feel alone. We have to be there for her. How about we ask her opinion?”
“Yeah…” Sakura sighed. “But, I also think we shouldn’t do anything. At this rate, who knows what the company is planning. If me make too much noise right now, they might hit the brakes. We can’t risk that,” Sakura said thoughtfully. She hated what she said, but knew it was the right decision. One thing she learned in her long career, producers can be ruthless, no matter the situation.
“F*ck these liars!” Yunjin cursed earning a disapproving look from Sakura. Yunjin immediately apologized to Eunchae for using that language, making their maknae laugh.
After hearing Yunjin's loud swearing, Y/N strolled out of her room, tears already threatening to spill over. “Guys, I appreciate your support, but I don't want you to get involved. It's my issue to deal with, and I'll clear my name. But for now-”
“No. Don’t even-,” Yunjin interrupted her, only to be interrupted herself.
“Please,” Y/N put her hands together in front of her chest. “I thought about it, and it’s been less than two weeks. It’s early enough to erase my existence in this group. If they wanted to kick me out, they could,” she looked at the members and exhaled slowly. “I say we stop any resistance and hope I get to clear my name soon,” she said, staring at the floor. Yunjin wanted to object, but she didn’t, knowing Y/N’s vote was final.
“You know, you’d be a great leader for when I’m out,” Chaewon said with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. Y/N was grateful because she actually chuckled at this.
“You guys just try to make the most of our first promotion. We’ll wait and see what happens next,” she tried to smile. “Okay?”
Small ‘Okay’s echoed through the room.