Chapter 332: Stay Strong (5)

Su-Hwan's policy was to never force Goh Yoo-Joon to write anything he didn’t want to. He hoped Goh Yoo-Joon would express his side of the story as much as he was comfortable.

But things rarely went as ideally planned. Even if we laid out all the facts and evidence to clarify the situation, there was only a slim chance of restoring his tarnished image. We all knew that.

Su-Hwan just didn’t want Goh Yoo-Joon to feel burdened by the situation, and neither did we, the members. His feelings were our top priority regardless of what others said.

However, those were just the inner thoughts of us Chronos members and Su-Hwan. The company was obviously looking toward a future with much at stake, and had a different view.

"Hmm..."

The company’s reaction to Goh Yoo-Joon’s statement was lukewarm at best. Having barely managed to release the statement, Goh Yoo-Joon grew even more dejected under the watchful eyes of everyone. A staff member noticed this too late and tried to ease the mood with cautious praise.

"Well, Yoo-Joon. You did write it diligently! But... umm..." It was a compliment that implied it was diligently written, but not particularly satisfying.

But that was inevitable. When we suggested he write a statement to refute the accusations as unjustly as they were made, Goh Yoo-Joon instead produced an extended apology for making everyone feel concerned.

"But Yoo-Joon, we didn’t ask you to write an apology," I said.

Frankly, I found the whole situation and Goh Yoo-Joon’s demeanor incredibly frustrating. I understood his actions because I knew the full context, but the world and the public would not wait for him to mentally prepare as his fellow members might.

At this very moment, the public opinion was turning him into a villain, a disgrace, a murderer, and they were having a field day mocking him. The longer this went on, the less likely it was that his image would recover even if he was cleared of the allegations.

"It’s a tough situation, Yoo-Joon. Even if we express the truth quite aggressively, it might not work," a staff member said with concern. "Why are you being so passive... Even the company’s hands are tied when it comes to helping you."

The reason he couldn’t harshly deny the allegations against his own father, who had triggered all this mess over some money, was simple. His father had "raised" him. It was frustrating to see how much he had internalized such a notion that had been hammered into his skull since he was a child.

Goh Yoo-Joon lowered his head again in front of everyone. "I’m sorry. I will try to fix this as quickly as I can."

Watching him like this was not pleasant, and everyone around just sighed heavily.

"Ah, Yoo-Joon..."

It seemed inevitable. I glanced at the staff members eyeing me as I stood up. I didn’t want to add to his burden right now, especially not during this critical time with a concert on the horizon. His mental state and Chronos’ future activities couldn’t afford for this situation to drag on.

"Goh Yoo-Joon, come with me for a moment. We need to talk privately for a bit," I said and excused us from the room with everyone's understanding. No one stopped or questioned us.

***

I never imagined that I’d find myself deep in conversation near YMM Entertainment's emergency exit, especially after my debut. I stood facing Goh Yoo-Joon, who looked like he was on the brink of tears.

"Hey, I know why you brought me out here, but listen—"

I shook my head gently and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Yoo-Joon, this isn’t the time to hesitate. You need to make a decision."

It pained me to see him struggle, but there was no room for sympathy now. If we just left him wallow in his feelings, his reputation could nosedive beyond repair.

"Snap out of it, man. Does this look like a trivial issue to you? You think an apology will just smooth things over?"

Ah, of course, he was well aware of how serious the situation was.

"You are being painted as a social pariah right now. Are you ready to carry around a murderer’s image for the rest of your career?" I shook his shoulder to drive home the urgency. His father had put him in this mess over trivial money issues. He completely disregarded the years Goh Yoo-Joon had spent building his career, not to mention the consequences of these actions.

If he didn’t see his son as just a cash machine, he wouldn’t have stooped so low. But we had a long road ahead, and I couldn’t just watch Goh Yoo-Joon collapse over something so petty.

"You want to keep singing, right? Isn’t that why you powered through those tough trainee days?"

"..." Goh Yoo-Joon bit his lip, unable to reply.

I finally let out what I had been holding back. "To be honest, our concert might even be canceled."

"...What?" Goh Yoo-Joon's head, which had been lowered for a while, suddenly snapped up. His eyes were shaking as if greatly startled.

"The public opinion is that bad. That's why I honestly want you to make a decision as soon as possible and get this resolved."

Ever since the controversy surrounding Goh Yoo-Joon began, there were talks on social media that we might not even be able to hold our concert if this continued. If the issue unnecessarily dragged on, this would indeed be inevitable. A concert couldn’t be held amidst unresolved controversies.

"I see..." Goh Yoo-Joon lowered his eyelids and pondered in that pose for a while before he bowed his head further and covered his face with his hands. "The concert being canceled is..."

He groaned. It wasn’t just out of guilt for being the cause, but he had dreamed of a concert like the other members. His dreams and efforts were crumbling in an instant. All for mere money...

"Hyun-Woo." Goh Yoo-Joon lifted his head. His desperate eyes looked at me sorrowfully. "It's too hard for me."

"I know."

"What should I do?"

As Goh Yoo-Joon gritted his teeth and held back his tears, I wondered what I could do for him. All I could do was embrace him with all my strength and comfort him as a colleague and as a friend.

***

"Fucking YMM!!! Aaargh!!!"

Kim Go-Ri angrily refreshed her phone and finally threw it away. Just when she thought YMM would respond faster than usual, they were still the same—slow as fuck.

All communities were turned upside down because of a post made by someone claiming to be Goh Yoo-Joon's father. The atmosphere had become severely heated, and before the agency and Goh Yoo-Joon could release a statement, he was already being vilified and having excessive insults hurled at him.

Two days had passed. Yesterday, the agency's statement was posted, and they said they would soon post Goh Yoo-Joon's statement. However, this hadn’t appeared yet.

Although the denials from the agency provided some relief to the Rings, the two days felt very long without anything being resolved. Even hashtags like #GohYooJoon_Statement_Release and #Concert_Delay were floating around, escalating the Rings' anxiety to extreme amounts.

- Ugh, it's infuriating. The statement isn't out yet, and nothing has been admitted. But why are other fans coming in and babbling, shut the fuck up.

- It has been only a day, and those idiots are acting like YMM has admitted Goh Yoo-Joon’s nonexistent wrongdoings. I wish they'd all be sued on that platform...

- Rings, let's just wait a bit longer. We know Yoo-Joon better than anyone... Let's not fight and just wait quietly

- This is ridiculous UGH Isn’t it too early to beat him up like this...? You could become a perpetrator by insulting Yoo-Joon and spreading rumors. Just shut up and wait

- Please don’t use provocative wording, or else what are you trying to do, really?

- I’m not defending an attempted murderer, but if the agency denied it, can't you just believe and wait? Why are you all so impatient....

"No matter what they say, ugh..."

The Rings only seemed like na?ive defenders filled with blind loyalty to others.

"So, hurry up and post something..."

Kim Go-Ri believed in Goh Yoo-Joon. The person who wrote the post seemed to be his biological father, but there had to be some circumstances in that family history. While the Rings didn’t know everything about Chronos, they knew Goh Yoo-Joon was not capable of such actions. He was a member who loved and cared for people more than anyone.

While Kim Go-Ri continually refreshed Chronos’ official

BlueBird

account and YMM Entertainment’s website, Goh Yoo-Joon’s statement was finally updated.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Ack!" Kim Go-Ri screamed and clicked on the statement.

Hello, this is Goh Yoo-Joon.

First things first, I would like to apologize for the concern caused by the events in my family. I would like to openly discuss the events between my father and me in the past and present my stance. The person who posted on the N community is indeed my father.

Goh Yoo-Joon’s statement was cautious yet specific. It was true that he did not have a good relationship with his family during his childhood, but that was due to his father’s gambling and alcoholism, but he had a very good relationship with his mother.

He could not stay at home, but that was only during his parents' disputes. Also, he never hung out with bad people because his friends were kind and took care of him when he had nowhere else to go.

Goh Yoo-Joon had never thought about rebelling against his parents because of his father's frequent physical abuse. His mother didn't leave because of Goh Yoo-Joon’s actions. She was driven away by his father’s violent behavior, chronic gambling, and scams that attracted a flood of complaints.

Goh Yoo-Joon clarified that it wasn’t him who stabbed his father with a kitchen knife. These had been self-inflicted wounds his father made to manipulate his mother into returning home. He methodically debunked each allegation posted online.

Goh Yoo-Joon also shared that he continues to receive money demands related to these online posts. He was thorough in his explanation, releasing the threatening messages from his father, records of money transfers on the days he received these threats, and medical records from his childhood showing treatments for injuries his father caused.

Ending his statement, he apologized for the delay in responding and explained how tough it was to cut ties with his father. He expressed regret for worrying his fans and acknowledged their concern. Although evidence seemed scarce, his statement represented a full personal rebuttal and marked the first time he had publicly stood up to his father.

The statement quickly hit the news. In response, the team led by Su-Hwan sprang into action. They utilized a media outlet, previously influenced by bribes from Supervisor Kim, to sway public opinion favorably and declared a resolute legal threat against Goh Yoo-Joon’s father with no plans to back down.

They also secured proof from the doctor who had treated Goh Yoo-Joon’s father, confirming that the injuries had been caused by self-harm. This evidence was promptly reported by the media.

As the truth about Goh Yoo-Joon’s father emerged, public sentiment shifted dramatically almost overnight.