Never Again - The Story Of GIDLE

6

The doors to CUBE entertainment's main building opened as Soyeon and Soojin stepped inside. As soon as they entered the elevator, murmurs could be heard.... Of course, nobody dared to badmouth or gossip about the "(G)I-DLE" in front of them, only behind their backs....
As the doors of the lift closed Soojin left a loud sigh...  all of this was taking a toll on her, but she pretended it didn't. At least in front of others ... Soyeon held her hands and looked at her eyes,

" Hey, I am here.... We got this ... "

Soojin couldn't say anything in return but she was grateful for having her best friend with her...
It was Mr.Jung, their CEO's personal assistant, that called her before. The CEO wanted an urgent meeting with Soojin to discuss the bullying allegations. Mr.Hong, their CEO was known to be a hot temper. Soojin never met with the CEO alone except for one time during her training days. It was safe to say she was nervous, maybe scared, to face him alone again in the current situation....So, having Soyeon by her side was comforting at the very least...

Soyeon was always the one who stood eye to eye with him. As their leader, she always stayed strong for the group. No matter what obstacles they had to face, she was always there, as their voice...as their backbone.... This time wasn't any different....

They soon got off the elevator and walked towards the CEOs office. Mr.Jung was already in front of it waiting for them. He gave Soojin a disappointing look. Soojin tightened her hold on Soyeon's arms. They briefly glanced at each other and took a deep breath before entering the office.

" Good Morning Mr.Hong"

Soyeon and Soojin bowed, greeting him. He had a poker face. No one could read what he was thinking. No wonder why everyone was so intimidated by him.

" It's not so good, is it Miss Soojin? "

His eyes stared directly into Soojin's. She felt like a sword passing through her. She gulped hard as she tried to mutter a response.

" Mr.Hong, I didn't do it. I may have done some questionable things as a teenager. But I never bullied anyone in my life. These accusations are wrong"

- She stated as strong as she could. Her tone felt very genuine yet she couldn't completely hide nervousness. Couldn't blame her considering the situation.

The CEO didn't say anything for the next few minutes. He just kept tapping on his desk, rocking back n forth in his chair, as if he was thinking hard to come up with a solution.

" Soyeon, what were you thinking ? You are supposed to be the leader of this group. You are responsible for each of your members. Mr.Jung here told me, these accusations started a week ago. Yet you were the one who decided to keep quiet. Look where it has gotten us !! "

This was news to Soojin. It's been days since the accusations against her started ??!! Soyeon knew about it?! Is that why she told Soojin that she failed her??!! She didn't know what to think or say.... But she knew one thing, she trusted Soyeon... Their leader would not do anything without a reason. Right?

Soyeon kept her head lower. Her face was emotionless. Just like their CEO, she knew not to give away her thoughts to others. Soyeon's fingers held Soojin's arm under the desk. The older one looked at the younger one, that little touch conveyed everything she needed to know. Soyeon was blaming herself for this, but she had good reasons to do what she did. Soyeon faced the CEO, without a bit of fear or nervousness in her voice, she said,

" Sir, the accusations have been going around idols for almost a month now. The first one about Soojin came out 8 days ago. As we studied the situation further, the best choice was to stay silent and ignore them. Many have been under fire  for such accusations, they all took the same step and got away with it. But this, all these articles being published one after another within the last 12 hours, this is more than just some accusations. I am sure I don't have to explain how this industry works. "