In the end, the emergency response meeting concluded without much fuss, with even the PR and Marketing team agreeing that Hajin should personally address the issue.
Everyone was convinced by Hajin’s argument that as long as he made it clear in advance that he couldn’t drink alcohol, he wouldn’t be caught up in similar rumors in the future.
– “The key thing is… to make this seem like just a ‘minor incident.’ It’s important to dismiss the absurd rumors rather than giving the impression that Hajin reacted because he had something to hide. Keep it as light and humorous as possible.”
– “It’s all about image in this industry anyway. Even if something similar happens in the future, it’s better to frame it as ‘attention-seeking trolls being jealous’ rather than Hajin having any issues.”
True to her introduction during the interview as a seasoned K-pop veteran, the PR and Marketing team member suggested a pretty solid approach. Hajin nodded, indicating he’d consider her advice as he devised his plan.
Additionally, Miro’s side decided to announce the second round of lawsuits based on the evidence they had gathered so far, and they would also make the current lawsuit progress public. After all, sometimes a single lawsuit is more frightening than a hundred words.
As expected from a company that had been dealing with all sorts of controversies and rumors since the Utopia days, their handling of the situation was swift and efficient, which was comforting.
“So, what’s your plan?”
Suho asked Hajin as they exited the conference room.
“Usually, rumors get attention, but explanations don’t. Going live just to talk about this might come off as if I’m overly sensitive to the rumors, which I don’t like.”
Hajin nodded in agreement at Suho’s realistic concerns.
“Yeah, so I’m planning to make the main content something else.”
Hajin then pulled out a receipt from the table earlier and handed it to Suho.
“What’s this…?”
Suho’s expression subtly changed as he looked at the receipt, which was filled with identical items.
“…It’s your album, isn’t it?”
Hajin nodded lightly and unwrapped a mini chocolate from his pocket, popping it into his mouth. When Hajin was about to leave the dorm earlier, Taehyun, seeing him half out of it, had insisted he take it to help keep his wits about him.
Today, Hajin chewed and swallowed the chocolate, which melted quickly in the unusually hot temperature inside his mouth. Then, he explained his plan to Suho with a calm voice.
“I’m going to do some album unboxing on my live stream.”
“…I must have heard wrong, right?”
“No, you heard perfectly fine. They seem really curious about what I was up to that day, so I should let them know.”
Album unboxing.
This was the reason Hajin had gone to Hongdae with Suho’s card on his day off and was yet another alibi to prove his innocence.
* * *
A few days later.
Destis received a notification for a live broadcast on their phones.
<[STILOG] I’m Opening Albums Until I Get a Jung Siwoo Photocard │ Album Unboxing · Spending My Manager’s Money · Idol · Hongdae · Miro · Chatting · Health Checkup · Photocard Hunting>
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Fantasy**Story not mine** Title: Grab the regressor by the collar and debut! When he first regressed, Kang Ha-Jin thought he finally had a chance to change his life. "What brat just regressed right now?!" That is, until he's forced to regress four times! [...
