between the spolight - purinz ✧

last plan.

giselle's pov —

i knew the industry well enough to know that going public wasn't always rewarded with respect. their decision had already rubbed some executives the wrong way, so i decided to take that a step further. quietly, through mutual connections, i let certain "concerns" slip—suggestions that they were too focused on their personal lives to stay committed to their craft. i hinted that they were "distracted" or "unreliable." for a soloist, public image is everything, and i wanted to make sure they struggled to maintain theirs.

next, i reached out anonymously to a few influential fans and fan sites. i posted vague messages and left hints about how disappointing it was that yunjin and chaewon would "betray" their fans' trust by hiding something so important. "after all, don't they owe their success to their supporters?" i'd comment. it was subtle, but effective. soon, i could see a shift in tone as certain fans expressed frustration and betrayal, calling them out for putting their personal lives above their career.

if the backlash didn't grow fast enough, i had another trick up my sleeve: carefully edited screenshots, a few suggestive but misleading messages i'd saved from when yunjin and i were still close friends. with a little creativity, i could spin these into something damaging without needing to lie outright. i wanted something that would cast doubt on yunjin and chaewon's relationship, make fans question how "real" their story was. it didn't matter if the details were vague; all i needed was a single spark to ignite the doubt.

the industry was cutthroat, and success often depended on connections and reputation. using mutual friends, i hinted that it might be "too risky" to associate with yunjin or chaewon, especially given the "controversy" they'd stirred up. by positioning them as unpredictable or even unstable, i knew i could start to distance them from potential collaborators and keep doors quietly closing.

i also realized that, as long as they were together, they would stay strong. so i needed to work on breaking that bond. i crafted an anonymous post "from an insider," suggesting that their decision to go public was one-sided, that one of them had pressured the other into the announcement. the narrative was subtle, but damaging, sparking speculation about tensions or control issues between them. if i could make them second-guess each other, i could unravel their unity from within.

they thought they could hold their heads high and face the world together. but soon, as fans turned critical and industry allies hesitated, they'd start to feel the strain. every setback, every judgmental comment, every new piece of gossip would slowly chip away at the bond they thought was so unbreakable.

i'd make sure that every time they thought they were free from the rumors, another would surface, keeping them on edge, making them question themselves and each other. and when they finally began to realize how few allies they had left, maybe then they'd understand just how big of a mistake they'd made by going public—and by leaving me in the shadows.

they believed they'd taken control of the story. but in the end, they hadn't seen the last chapter yet. i'd make sure of that.

—

2k views!! tysm