Chapter 55: Holding on
Ye-Jin stayed with her family that night.
She was confused by all the things that were taking place around her in the past days. She desperately needed to sort her thoughts out and draw immediate plans to strike quickly and finish off things cleanly.
After leaving the entertainment giant she sent a text to Ray and informed him about her change of plans, she thanked him for trying to cheer her up and that it had helped her a lot.
She didn't wait and directly switched her phone off after that.
She somewhat anticipated what was going to come their way in a few days and didn't want any disturbance during that time. But she was internally worried that Ray- who was very protective of her- would have a hard time holding on.
After reaching home she had a peaceful meal with her family and went to sleep, hoping for the storm to hit quickly.
And as she was expecting the person behind the scenes couldn't wait much longer and in a hurry already created a huge storm which hit the whole entertainment industry and caught the boy band which was high up in the sky, away from reach of others schemes unaware.
The news was leaked by one of the notorious paparazzi publications which usually received harsh criticism for its habit of poking its nose in other's business but at the same time was desired by the majority of people for some fresh and juicy gossip.
The news this time wasn't any special, scandals like that where celebrities cheated or were involved in relationships were extremely common but this time it was a hot potato. It involved one of the members of the world-class, internationally recognised boy band- 5 Emperors.
This band was called a pervert by all the internet warriors for their lack of scandals which usually never sparked any strong debate. There was only one scandal in the past where their leader was embroiled in the news of drug abuse but one would have never thought of what happened after the scandal broke out.
Kai hadn't wasted any time dilly-dallying, he simply took off to a police station and got tested for drugs. And like a slap for all the people who were tarnishing his reputation, he had come clean. Still, people hadn't given up holding onto this piece of news and trying to bring down this group who were enjoying rapid success. Then ultimately with good PR and a helping hand which was lent from shadows got them out of the mess.
But this time the news had a much wider impact than the first one. An extremely good-looking celebrity- who was second (and first for some) heartthrob for many- was involved in dating, cheating, seduction and homosexual relationship scandal.
This was like a monk who was stripped of his mask and the actual wolf beneath it had been exposed. (I don't know what I was even trying to say.)
The keyboard warriors were in full form, giving their all to add fuel to the fire.
'I recently started to listen to these guys, who wouldn't, they were receiving so much attention and thought them to be decent guys. But who would've known one of them lacked basic morality?'
'So, it was all fake from the start. This Ray, who knows where he came from. Till today he's assumed to be an orphan. What more can you expect from such people?'
'The person above, I agree with what you're saying. Without proper upbringing, he has to lack a moral character.'
And so on many were bashing Ray for his lack of moral conduct. There were some ambiguous shreds of evidence which showed that he actually had dated one of their dancers but later on had cheated on her.
One such evidence was the picture of him on a date with Aera and then a short clip of the fight between the girls which was obviously edited to look as if they were fighting over the man.
Thus, in the minds of common people, it was as if a heinous crime had been committed.
Along with these, a person came out claiming to be the employee of 'Wang Entertainment' testifying that he had witnessed the whole thing happen in front of his very own eyes.
But who was Ray? Was he just a weak street dog who could be bullied that easily? He hadn't reached to top overnight and thus wasn't new to these kinds of underhanded tricks and schemes of the industry. And with the ultimate support of his members and their company who was courageous enough to splash the dirty water on him?
He had a huge fan base who had absolute trust in him. It also wasn't the kind of blind idol worshipping. The guys had all earned it through their hard work and love for their fans over time.
Thus while the haters were busy bashing their idol shamelessly with their baseless claims the fans too didn't hold back in defending their idol. And if one might say they were quite vicious in their attacks too.
'The people commenting here are so cultured that they easily point their fingers at people but forget that the remaining four are pointing at their own self?'
'Who dares call my Ray an orphan? He's got a big family in us- his fans- and his group. Whoever the person is simply jealous of this simple fact. And for the question of his upbringing, it isn't in the hands of some uncultured brat to comment on the gentleman that Ray is.'
'Kudos to the person above. All these germs which were lying in the gutters waiting for an opportunity to spread their disease have come out and if not for this news we wouldn't have spotted them already infiltrating our fandom.'
'Hahahha, that was some burn. Do these people take us to be stupids or without any brains? After what they did with Kai's news, do they think that they can easily manipulate us into believing whatever shit they spout or publish? I bet y'all there is some serious crap going on behind the scenes.'
While some fans were harsh, some were calm and only stated their belief in their star and wait for his response.
The best thing about this fandom was that even if the fans had their favorite pick from the group but they always stood united in the face of a crisis.
Most of the times they received the titles of being conceited, blinded and fierce fandom in the world but they didn't give a damn about what haters thought. It wasn't their nor their idol's style.
Even after the thrashing by the fans the haters nor the unrelated people were keen on giving up. They only wanted to tear the group apart and keep the pieces to themselves. In the midst of all this chaos, one particular person turned the tides of the whole thing.
'I don't know why you're all bashing up Ray. If we think carefully it was that woman who was the third party in this relationship who created all this mess in the first place. Otherwise, why would Ray be stuck here in the first place?'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Sanchi94
Sanchi94 So people think Ray's an orphan cuz they have never heard of his family.
hm...
Interesting isn't it?
Chapter 56: Keep calm
When Ray got the news that something huge had happened he was at first surprised and when he actually went through the contents of the news his first reaction was not really anger but amusement.
He had never thought that someone actually had dared to spread such false claims without any strong evidence knowing full well what it was in store for them if they were caught. It really meant only two things:
one: either they were really smart and courageous or,
two: they were stupid and lacked an organ called brain in their skull.
The more he looked at the comments which had turned from bashing him for lack of his 'moral character' to 'the third woman', his amusement turned to rage. In his anger, he didn't think twice before throwing the device in his hands, heartlessly to the wall.
Vic, who was standing beside him yelped in surprise and silently lit a candle for whoever it was who was pulling the threads from the behind. Seeing Ray livid in a long time, Timo approached him cautiously.
Timo: Ray?
Ray: ...
Timo: cool down. It's all fabricated.
Ray could hear what his big bro was trying to say but he couldn't keep calm knowing very well that Ye-Jin was dragged in this baseless rumour and her name was being slandered alongside with that of Aera. He couldn't stay still knowing very well that both girls were completely innocent.
One was his closest friend who he had immensely grown to care for and the other was the one who had shown kindness to him when he was feeling lonely and despaired in the huge city on his first day. He couldn't watch either of them being harmed.
Kai knew exactly what was going on in Ray's mind. Instead of comforting him, he simply walked out of their shared living room and out to the balcony fiddling with his phone. He had plans of flying out before everyone else to Shanghai that night but now he couldn't.
If he ever found out who was behind this mess which lead to a delay in his plans then it was given that the person would wish for a quick death and that wouldn't be because of Ray.
He fiddled with his phone for a while thinking of the next step when Mui called him in to put some sense into Ray.
Kai: (sighing) I am coming.
When Kai came in he saw Ray sitting on the couch scowling at the broken pieces of the device he broke previously.
Kai: (holding in his rage) It's not the time to stew here. We know who's already behind this but we can't act rashly.
Mui: (thinking) the girls are pulled into this. I am worried how they're holding up.
Aera was about to sleep when her silent phone started to buzz with all the incoming notifications. She was awakened by the noise but was more shocked by what was circulating online. And it seemed to have escalated to an unimaginable level dragging both her and Ye-Jin into it.
She grew worried for her friend who didn't have any concrete experience in dealing with these kinds of things. In the blink of an eye, she forgot all the grievances and complaints she had. Without thinking a second time she tried to call Ye-Jin but all she got in reply was the same machine voice telling her that her phone was switched off.
She was frustrated and without any other way left she opened the messages Ye-Jin had sent her. She purposefully ignored them as her anger felt justified to her and she desperately wanted to pick a bone with her, whine, whimper and complaint to her and say all the mean things before making up with her. Then only was her anger going to be satisfied but now she couldn't hold on to that brilliant plan of hers as the situation was urgent.
There were some unread texts in her inbox sent from Ye-Jin. She hadn't read them but now she couldn't help but feel touched by them. She never knew that Ye-Jin cared deeply about their friendship. It wasn't her fault if the other girl wasn't expressive enough. After reading the texts, her anger was almost curbed.
She was surprised when she read the last and recent text left by Ye-Jin and boy it was long!
'Hey, I visited your company with Ray today. I know you'd be angry that I am selfish and I am only trying to rub it your face but it actually isn't that. I came to visit you and got my hands on some interesting news and changed my plans. There'll be some unpleasant incidents happening soon so stay low. I'll contact you soon and remember to keep calm.'
Soon after she finished reading through the whole thing she was a little confused but for now, she decided to follow her lead. If worse comes to worst then Ye-Jin wasn't only one with a powerful family.
It was clear as day that whoever spread this crap level news had, in reality, failed to do their homework and didn't know a grain about both girl's actual background.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Sanchi94
Sanchi94
Aera isn't a simple person too.
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