Chapter 89: Goodbyes
After cleaning themselves up, Ray and Ye-Jin settled in front of the TV intending to watch some good old romantic movie. Ye-Jin was not a fan of Romantic genre but since Ray was accompanying her she didn't mind letting herself bask in the warmth of his arms. She readily agreed to his suggestion and made herself comfortable on the couch.
Ray had other plans in his mind. He partly wished to have a good night with her and partly wanted to continue where they had left earlier. It was best to assume that he was a little conflicted. Thus, he was stiff the whole time the movie was playing not daring to move an inch.
He stiffened more when Ye-Jin leaned on his shoulder. It took him more than half an hour to avert his from the TV to look down at her. His nerves were tensed to the point of snapping. Ye-Jin wasn't helping his situation wither. She was rubbing her face like a cat on his shoulder and his arm. He was suffering badly.
After a long internal struggle, he finally gave up and bent down to properly kiss her only to feel disappointed. She was sound asleep. He could do nothing but sigh and help her sleep more comfortably. He knew she was exhausted of all the incidents and stress she went through the whole day.
***
Following morning Ye-Jin left directly to her company first. She didn't allow Ray to drop her off instead she encouraged him to take care of his affairs.
Ye-Jin: you have to tell the guys, Ray.
Ray: (solemn) I know. It'll be hard.
Ye-Jin: (chuckling) and it's upon you to convince them. You can't let everything for Kai to handle right?
Ray: I know. But do I have to? I mean I'll join them for the new year ends concert. Should we make this complicated?
Ye-Jin: (nodding) absolutely! After all, you'll announce your break from the circle today. They'll be confused and feel hurt.
Ray didn't like to hear it but she was telling the truth. He had to take responsibility for his actions. He couldn't let the other guys worry for him and be distracted from their job.
Ye-Jin: (snaking her arms around his neck) I know you'll do the right thing.
She tried to coax and encourage him but didn't know that she was playing with fire. Ray's eyes darkened and his mouth went dry. he didn't let go of this chance and immediately bent down to capture her lips in his own.
As soon as heir lips met Ray let out a soft sigh. He gently sucked on both of her lips- alternating between the top and bottom lips. Ye-Jin turned stiff before relaxing and slightly opening her lips to give him better access. This went on for sometime before Ray abruptly pulled back. He didn't trust his self-control enough yet.
Ye-Jin was flushed red and breathing hard. Ray kissed her forehead before embracing her tight. Some minutes passed and Ye-Jin pulled away.
Ye-Jin: Let's meet for lunch later?
Ray: Sure, I'll pick you up.
And Ye-Jin left her boyfriend feeling giddy and grinning goofily. She was now definite that they were capable of handling the long-distance relationship for a few months.
***
Ray opened the door only to find the depressing air in Kai's studio. After waving goodbye to Ye-Jin he had come to find his friend and devise a plan on handling the troublesome trio but now it looked as if it was useless.
Ray: (weakly) h-hi guys...
His greeting was met with absolute silence. Timo, Mui and Vic were glaring daggers at Kai ignoring Ray who was awkwardly standing near the door.
Kai was trying to smile but failing to do so.
Kai: b-big b-bro w-why don't y-you ask Ray? H-He's standing behind y-you.
Kai tried to conceal the stutter in his voice but failed to do so. Although Timo usually was a pretty easy-going guy, one would never dare to mess with him when he was angry. That would mean a death sentence.
Timo didn't show any sign that he had heard Kai. Seeing his pitiful state, Ray decided to man-up and intervene in to save Kai.
Ray: big bro, I have something to tell you guys.
Mui: now he comes to us-
Vic: (sneering) what's the use of it now?
Mui: (annoyed) he's leaving us soon anyway, big bro let's leave them. We're like outsiders here either way.
The younger guys stood up not giving any heed to panic flashing across Ray and Kai's faces. They had never imagined that the trio would let this matter affect them to this extent.
Ray: no no, you guys stay. I want to speak with all of you.
Timo: (taking a deep breath) Mui, Vic, sit down. (Turning to Ray) Speak and make it quick.
Ray: How much have you guys heard?
Mui: That you're leaving and announcing your retirement.
Ray: (nodding) My real name is Liu Wei Xin. The eldest son of Liu family from Shanghai.
Vic: (shocked) it can't be! You're Liu Wei Xin!
Mui: (frowning) what's so great about that?
Vic didn't bother to explain. Instead, he looked up Wei Xin on web and handed it to the oblivious guys. They quickly went through it and were stunned to stupidity. It took them some time to digest Ray's identity.
Timo: (recovering quickly) And?!
Ray: there are some issues with my family and I have to go help them.
Vic: Then why announce your retirement? And how did president agree to it?
Ray: (shrugging) I intend to go on a break. It'll be easier that way to conceal the things I would do from the third parties. Also, our president is no match for my father's coercion.
Mui: (nodding) how long will you be gone for?
Ray: I hope to be back for our year-end concert.
Timo: are you sure it'll only be four months?
Ray: According to what I found out yesterday it won't take more time. Also, I have a girlfriend to take care of. I can't let anyone take her away from me.
Timo: (waving him off) You don't have to wave your new relationship status in our faces, Ray. You don't have to remind us that we are single dogs.
Kai couldn't control and chuckled. It didn't help the mood of the trio. He was glared at until he shrunk back in his chair and almost turned invisible. Ray sighed internally finding ways to try and pacify the angry birds sitting in front of him.
Ray: (surrendering) Alright, I am sorry. I'll be back in four months.
Vic: The fans won't take in well and the antis will try to spin some interesting stories about your departure.
Mui: I can almost imagine it- It's going to be terrible.
Timo: how did Ye-Jin take it?
Ray: (smiling) she took it pretty well and is very supportive of me.
Mui: Vic, let's get out from here. He's behaving like Kai and it's nauseating!
Vic: (nodding) ok-
Ray: wait! Be back in an hour. I'd like to post a video message to our fans with all of you. Just so that people won't dig up that old rumour of '5 Emperors are faking their bond!'
Mui: Don't remind me! It was a real headache back then.
Timo: yeah! we were criticised a lot.
Mui and Vic shrugged and decided against leaving. They sat down reminiscing their old times like a family they were.
Chapter 90: Conflict
In the evening at six, the '5 Emperor's' official website uploaded a video. This was an unexpected occurring. The website was mainly used for promoting their activities and not to communicate with fans. They had personal social media accounts for doing that.
The fans who usually lurked in the website quickly clicked on the video and were shocked silly.
The video was about twenty minutes long. It opened showing faces of all the members. Their faces didn't betray their emotions. Ray was sitting in the middle with Kai and Mui on his left and Timo and Vic on his right.
The members greeted their fans smiling and Kai- being the leader- made the introductory remarks.
Kai: (hesitating) Today... it's not about us as a group but this video is for our fans... a message from our brother Ray. He has something important to tell you all-
Kai smoothly threw the ball in Ray's court. The members all sat quietly letting Ray speak.
Ray: (waving) hello everyone, as our leader Kai said I have an important piece of news to share with all of you. I have some important personal business to attend to... s-so-
He had a hard time continuing. He finally understood how difficult it was to say goodbyes to the loved ones. The fans were an integral part of his life and it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to say the words which were stuck in his throat.
Ray: (swallowing hard) So I'll have to leave for a while. (Nodding solemnly) I am going to take a break from music. I hope you all will continue to support these guys in my absence and not forget me.
Timo: (swatting Ray's head) why do you make it sound like you aren't coming back! You'll leave them all heartbroken like this.
Ray: (chuckling) ok big bro. Everyone I will try to be back as soon as possible.
But he too didn't know if he would be able to keep up with that promise.
The rest of the video after that was the other members wishing good luck to Ray. And hoping he would return soon. It ended on a slightly teary note leaving everyone- who watched it- with a numbness they couldn't comprehend.
Soon after the video came out, Wang entertainment released the official press statement about the same information. They gave a short description of Ray taking a break from the entertainment industry and some vague information about the future of the group.
The unexpected incident exploded into a conflict of views between the fans and the anti-fans. The video was shared multiple times and many expressed their concerns over the sudden change.
'What is happening? Why is Ray leaving? Is he alright? I just woke up to this and feel like I've missed many things. Somebody fill me in.'
'The person above, calm down. They are not disbanding. Ray has some personal matters to attend to so he's taking a break, that's all.'
'I hope what you are saying is right. Something is definitely fishy. If he was only taking a break then there was no need to say it personally. There's something wrong with this whole scenario.'
'I agree with what you're saying. But looking back at all the unnecessary shit the group went through it seems logical. It's a good thing that they care enough about us to leave a message. If not, the antis would have turned it into some kind of unholy scandal.'
'Why is he taking a break? They never did this sort of thing. Even when one of them was busy promoting their solo act the others still were working. They usually went on break together.'
'He is taking a break because he has some personal business. Honestly, do y'all just drool over their faces and forget to listen to what they're saying!! How annoying!'
'Wow! How rude! I was only curious about 'personal reason'. You didn't have to make it sound like that.'
'Personal is personal. We as fans should know our boundaries and respect our idols. If they don't want to say something then we should respect that rather than acting on our impulses like animals. We don't own them!'
'Both commentors above, it's not the time for us fans to fight amongst ourselves. The media and the antis have already started their work. We need to support our boys.'
'What are those antis up to this time? Let me get my old set of shoes to throw at their stupid faces.'
'They're busy spreading some rumours on Ray's social media account.'
Thus, many fans rushed from the group's official website to Ray's social media page. They were both stunned and amused by the show the haters were all putting.
'Hahaha! Ray quit! This is a piece of great news indeed.'
'Ray hasn't quit! He's just taking a break! Get your facts straight before spouting some random nonsense!'
'What do you puny fan know? I have insider information that Ray quit and he's busy gathering the contract termination fee.'
'Why would he quit if he was going to suffer any kind of loss? Do you think our Ray is an idiot like you?'
'Get your facts straight and don't spread baseless rumours, you piece of spineless shit!'
'I have proof that Ray quit and he's running off to whichever drainage he came from!'
'Why is everyone not reporting this account already? This person is only a piece of garbage and nothing more!'
Thus, the hater was shut up by multiple reports against it and the system blocked him. But it wasn't the end. The newer ones emerged.
'I heard that Ray is getting married during this break.'
'*Gasp* No!'
'He is going to marry that newbie model Hana. They're going to elope. There are photos which show them secretly meeting each other.'
The fans felt like applauding their- haters- imagination powers. Some fans were already defending Ray but it still wasn't enough to put the haters in their places.
To control the situation, the president of Wang entertainment released a statement shunning all the rumours and asked all the fans to quit worrying and consider this 'break' to be a vacation of sorts that Ray was taking.
He also clarified the video stating: "The members were all worried about their fans. Ray didn't want to leave them with a bland press release and instead wanted to personally tell all the people- who cared for them- about his vacation. The people who're trying to spin this into some baseless rumours are shameless to the boot and we're going to sue them for malicious intent and slandering."
That did the job and most of the fans sighed in relief. The president himself had spoken up and that meant they had nothing to worry about.
***
Ye-Jin sat in her office occasionally chuckling looking through the comments and the conflict on Ray's account.
Matt was concerned about her mental health. She had been acting out of character from the past three days and it was scaring him to no end. But he had no way to confront her and wait for this phase to pass.
Matt: Boss, you have an appointment-
Ye-Jin looked up at her secretary and realised something important. She had been slacking off at work and it wasn't good for any of them. She sighed before closing her laptop lid.
Ye-Jin: Matt, push back everything on my schedule for two days.
Matt: (stunned) b-boss-
Ye-Jin: that's all, right?
Matt: (gathering his thoughts) there are some which we can't push back boss like the discussions regarding the merger and-
Ye-Jin: It's elementary Matt. Send them some gifts as a form of apology and tell them that I am a little busy with some personal matters. Do you really need me to teach you all of this?
Matt hung his head down. His real concern wasn't the schedule but it was Senior Park. The old man was still very attached to this company and grilled him every night on phone regarding important matters. He was scared of him.
Ye-Jin: what is the problem? You seem to be stressed about something.
Matt: It's Senior Park-
He mumbled it under his breath but she caught his words. She rubbed her temples. She knew that her dad was still not used to being retired but she didn't know that he was threatening her secretary.
Ye-Jin: I'll try to get him off your back Matt. If he asks you something again then refuse him saying I forbade you to. Just do as I say now.
Matt thanked her happily and ran off to make the changes she had asked for. Her words meant that his days of terror were coming to an end.
Ye-Jin would give her father a chance and if he still continued to act stubborn then there was no other way than getting her mother involved in it. Smiling to herself she decided to call it a day.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Sanchi94
Sanchi94
Initially, the plan was to send Ray away for a very long time but then I changed my mind.
It's really quite unnerving how irrational we- as fans- behave sometimes. We tend to forget that we liked them for their talent and beauty and forget our boundaries.
Also, the haters just because of envy they tend to be vicious and put innocent lives in peril.
It is hard to please everyone but I applaud those celebrities who have a strong mentality to overcome all the negativity and manage to shine.
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