Chapter Text
The following morning, the four of them shuffled into work one by one, immediately being directed into a meeting room. Feeling like they’ve been apart for years, chaos suddenly erupted and they all practically tackled each other with hugs. After their shouts and laughter subsided, they began to discuss the day.
“I know it’s been a while, but I didn’t imagine that we’d be back here so soon,” Junghwan commented, trying to sound optimistic. While the others tried to reciprocate the same energy, there was still an empty feeling in the room.
“Hopefully Dongwoo can come back soon,” Chansik gave a small smile. “It’ll be even better when we’re all here again.” He received nods from everyone and a few agreeing hums following them.
“Speaking of that, I just want to reiterate that things may not go our way today, but we have to fight for him,” Jinyoung pushed, trying to set this strategy in place. “I just hope that they don’t try and surprise us with anything we aren’t prepared for,” he muttered.
“I think we can all agree that this industry kinda sucks, but we fortunately work under a company that actually cares for its artists. Of course, it’s not perfect, but our needs are going to come before anyone else’s,” Sunwoo stated bluntly, attempting to reassure the others. “Besides, we’re the foundation of this company. We built it from the ground up and I don’t think that they’re going to want to mess with that.”
While what Sunwoo was saying was true, they were a bit hesitant to feel confident in his words. It was almost like he was going to jinx it by saying what they were all thinking aloud, but they were still holding onto that small tinge of hope. That still didn’t disregard the fact that the result of this meeting was ultimately not their decision, as they didn’t have much control to begin with. They just hoped that they didn’t put too much trust into the wrong hands.
Once they calmed down a bit, they took their seats at a table in the middle of the room. Currently being the only ones in there, they tried to quickly prepare themselves for what was about to happen, going over any notes that they brought with them to compare.
Although they knew the meeting was going to cause them to be alert, they weren’t expecting to feel as intimidated as they currently did. The CEO was the first to walk in, followed by a lot more people than they had anticipated. Their manager, several other managers ranging from specializations in operations to social media, directors, producers, and even a music attorney walked into the room. How there was even room for everyone, they wouldn’t know, but they all managed to comfortably fit around the table.
They had all been warmly greeted as everyone took their seats. It wasn’t long before the CEO started the meeting, welcoming them back and expressing his sympathy towards them. He then continued, restating that they weren’t allowed to discuss any of this with Dongwoo yet, as they were still uncertain of their approach.
“We would like to keep you all informed, but as safe as possible. I’m sure that you are aware that there have been…” He hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words. “Some issues with the media, but this problem is getting a bit out of hand.”
They knew that there were rumors being spread like wildfire, but they honestly haven’t been on social media or watched the news very much since they were still in the hospital. Admittedly, they had muted notifications and avoided any tags relating to them on various platforms, so they wouldn’t know if something had really gotten out of control.
“That being said, we would like to discuss a few things with you all,” the CEO continued. “Obviously, there won’t be any promotions or any other activities for the time being. We’d like you all to heal first and continue at a later date.”
They felt their hearts racing, anxiously preparing to hear bad news. They had an idea of what people could be saying, especially since their manager had given them a brief summary a few weeks ago. If the media had jumped to any extreme conclusions from fans’ speculations and others’ rumors, (which they most likely did) who knew what else could have been out there by now.
“Since you won’t have anything on your schedules right now, we’d like to ask you to not actively post or reply to comments online. Many rumors have started just from the photos that have been posted on the official Instagram and Twitter accounts, so we don’t want to feed in to that,” the social media manager jumped in, voice stern as she was already implementing rules.
“You’ve done a good job for the past month, so keep it up,” she added, giving a small smile. “However, this adjustment will not quickly fix the main issue at hand.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” Sunwoo asked, already pressing for answers.
The manager eyed him before sighing, “I can only imagine that you’d expect theories ranging from how the accident happened, who caused it, what happened to you guys, etc., that are overclouding the truth.” Everyone stared at her as she spoke, since she appeared to be hesitating.
“Of course, none of these posts come from a credible source, so thankfully, there are many people who refuse to believe them. However, the negative posts are the most popular, representing B1A4 in a hateful way,” the CEO continued, saving the social media manager from having to explain further. His voice suddenly turned cold, as if he was trying to stifle his anger, “They mainly place the blame on you.”
The room was dead silent before Jinyoung barked, “What blame? Are people saying that this was intentional?” His eyes widened and he immediately grew tense. Sunwoo grabbed his arm in an attempt to calm him and keep him down in fear that he’d let his anger get the best of him.
It made sense. There was a death involved and of course, the news had already spilled out the fact that Dongwoo had been the one driving. That’s why he wasn’t allowed to be here. Jinyoung couldn’t even fathom how anybody could think he did something like this deliberately. His blood boiled at the thought of the countless lies that people have been spitting out for the past month, with nobody addressing any of them.
“Why hasn’t anything been done about this?” He scowled, demanding for an answer.
“With so much involved legally, there isn’t much that can be done right now. However, as an agency, we are still obligated to protect our artists and take action against these rumors,” their CEO said solemnly. “But we’re worried that this could put B1A4 in jeopardy.”
His words felt like a punch, although they had a strong feeling that getting them all back together again was going to be difficult, they didn’t expect disbandment to be the first thing to be brought up.
“Disbandment is your solution?” Sunwoo asked incredulously, not able to believe the staff’s decisions.
“For now, we’re letting you continue to work,” the CEO said, frowning at Sunwoo’s assumption. “We don’t want to get to that point, so we have to find a way to prevent it.”
“Well, what are we going to do?” Sunwoo said, much softer, trying to contain his agitation.
“Today we will send out a statement addressing the issue with the threat of pressing charges for the spread of false information. Until all the legal aspects of everything have been wrapped up, you should try your hardest from grouping together in public. It’s not fair for us to stop you, but you should just be conscientious of where you go and act as normal as possible,” the CEO responded more calmly this time.
“What about Dongwoo?” Jinyoung spoke up after a moment. “Other than addressing the rumors, what are you planning on doing about him?”
“That will have to be decided once he recovers,” their manager responded, speaking up for the first time during the meeting. “Of course, we’d hope that he would be able to continue promoting with B1A4, but things aren’t certain. There’s also the question of what all the problems that have come along with this accident will have done to your reputation when that time comes.”
“Have you thought that he might be able to help revive the group’s reputation if it were to be destroyed?” Jinyoung interrogated, quickly shooting his question back at them. He could see the team’s expressions turn to those of confusion, not understanding where he was coming from.
“In general, the industry tries to keep a specific image for their artists. They’re put on a pedestal and aren’t allowed to be touched. Why is it when something unfortunate happens to an idol, it ruins their whole career? One incident can forever become tied to their name,” He continued, unsure of where this newfound confidence has come from. “Idols are humans, too. They’re much more relatable than people tend to think.”
“So, you’re suggesting to promote these…differences,” their manager said hesitantly, trying to find the right words. He eyed the CEO, who looked surprised, but was listening intently.
“Not just a disability, but perseverance. Think about what qualities can be admirable outside of appearance,” Jinyoung said blatantly, not bothering to sugarcoat his words.
The room grew silent. The staff just stared at him, mostly surprised that he would say something like that. Being an idol, especially one who is more well-known for his appearance, it was shocking for them that he would say that it wasn’t very important.
“If our fans love us, then they will support the group no matter what we look like. We’re still B1A4,” Channie spoke up, his voice soft but strong.
“The ones who care are the ones out there denying rumors and other theories. They care about who we are as people and they want to hear us all sing together again,” Junghwan said following Chansik, supporting him with his much louder voice.
“We’ve worn suits with our own faces on them,” Jinyoung deadpanned. “I don’t think our fans care what we look like.”
The CEO then let out a laugh at Jinyoung’s comment, which directed everyone’s attention over to him. He smiled, looking at Jinyoung, “You definitely bring up an interesting point.” He let out a few more chuckles before addressing the rest of the members, “You are all very persuasive. I do like your ideas and I support them, but it would still have to be discussed at a later date. Not only does it need company approval, but Dongwoo would have to be here to accept this plan, as well. We should wait until he is ready to come back to work before we make any final decisions.”
He gave them all a big smile before continuing, “I think we covered everything that we needed to today. We will send out a statement shortly and hopefully things will work out smoothly.” He stood up from his seat, which initiated the rest of the staff to start cleaning up and follow suit. “This concludes this meeting. Thank you for your time.”
After all the staff had left the meeting room, the four of them quickly rushed up to their studio. They felt a rush of energy as they entered their floor, feeling like they were being welcomed back home. Being away for over a month made them long to be back in their workspace, so it was refreshing and motivating to be back. Once they reached their floor, they all crowded into Jinyoung’s office, collapsing into whatever chair they could find.
“That was way too stressful,” Junghwan whined as he dramatically threw his head back, slinging over his chair.
“I honestly can’t believe the CEO went with that so easily,” Sunwoo commented. “First they were talking about disbandment and then it was completely turned around.”
“I just feel like that their minds might be easily changed. Didn’t you see everyone’s faces when I first brought up that appearance wasn’t everything? It’s such a taboo subject, so even if they’re considering it now, doesn’t mean that they will later,” Jinyoung sighed, reaching to turn on one of his monitors.
“I think it’s just something that they haven’t considered. This hasn’t happened before, so we don’t know that for sure,” Chansik said, shifting in his chair to lean over and rest his head on Junghwan’s shoulder.
“I don’t know. I think you saved it at the end,” Sunwoo added, trying to hold back a laugh. “It was a really good point, though! Although it was the early 2010s, we did wear some of the weirdest clothes I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“I know, but going back to that, even if the CEO doesn’t change his mind, it doesn’t mean that other people will. He said we would need company approval,” Jinyoung eyed Sunwoo, before turning back to his computer.
“If we make the best album they’ve ever heard, I think they’d be convinced,” Junghwan said jokingly, receiving a supporting nod from Chansik.
“Well now that we’re here, we can work on that,” Jinyoung said, scrolling through his email to find the lyrics he and Sunwoo were sending to each other.
“Oh, I was kidding, but alright,” Junghwan shrugged lightly, careful not to knock Chansik off his shoulder.
“Did you come up with anything else?” Sunwoo asked, noticing that Jinyoung was looking at the finished song he sent him.
“No, I was just going to start scoring this song,” he replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.
“The depressing dream one?”
Jinyoung hummed in response, “What about you?”
“Other than the lyrics I sent you, nope,” Sunwoo sunk down in his chair, peering over at Junghwan and Chansik who were now occupied with watching a video on the youngest’s phone.
“Did you two come up with anything?”
“I don’t have any ideas,” Chansik pouted.
“I have something written, but it doesn’t make much sense,” Junghwan said, not looking up from the phone. “I still don’t really understand why you don’t like the idea of the album being based off dreams. I think it’s interesting.”
“I think what you guys came up with is better. Besides, it’s still technically about dreams,” Jinyoung paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “Dongwoo was against it.”
“Wait, really?”
“Why?”
“When did he say that?”
All three of their voices were suddenly thrown at him, catching Jinyoung by surprise. He turned away from the computer to face them.
“You’d have to ask him,” he said, avoiding their gazes and hoping they’d stop questioning him. Although, by the way they were sitting on the edge of their seats and staring at him indicated otherwise. Jinyoung felt like he already gave out too much information, worried that he had said or would say something that Dongwoo wouldn’t appreciate. “I don’t exactly know why.”
“Oh,” one of them muttered. Jinyoung didn’t bother to look up to see who it came from.
“Are you going to talk to him?” Sunwoo asked cautiously. “About today?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Jinyoung lightly shrugged, looking back up at him.
It seemed like it would be something they would have to discuss in person, since it was so complicated. Jinyoung began debating whether he should drop by and check up on Dongwoo or not. Other than his concerns, he did have a valid excuse to go.
“I’ll do it tomorrow,” he decided, stating with much more confidence. He could only hope things wouldn’t go as badly as he anticipated. At this rate, however, he didn’t think it would work out that way. He would just have to wait and see.