The next morning began like any other.
At least, that’s what Minji thought.
Her alarm rang at 6:00 a.m.
She groaned, reached for her phone, and prepared herself for another packed schedule.
Then she saw the notifications.
Hundreds of them.
Messages.
Mentions.
Missed calls.
Group chat alerts.
News alerts.
Everything at once.
Her stomach tightened.
Slowly, she opened the first message from Hana.
HANA: CALL ME NOW.
The second message was from her manager.
MANAGER: DO NOT POST ANYTHING ONLINE.
WE’RE HAVING AN EMERGENCY MEETING.
The third contained a link.
And her world stopped.
There, at the top of the article, was a photo.
Her.
And Joon.
Standing together backstage at the charity concert.
Neither of them was doing anything inappropriate.
They were simply talking.
Smiling.
Yet that was enough.
The internet had already created hundreds of stories around a single photograph.
“Secret relationship?”
“Industry friendship or something more?”
“Are they dating?”
The comments were endless.
Minji felt her heart sink.
An hour later, LUNA5 sat around a conference table.
Nobody spoke.
The atmosphere was tense.
Several company executives had also joined the meeting.
“This situation is spreading faster than expected,” one executive said.
“We need to be careful.”
“What happens now?” Yuri asked nervously.
“We release a statement.”
Minji looked down at her hands.
The guilt was overwhelming.
Not because she had done something wrong.
But because she feared hurting her members.
LUNA5 was finally gaining attention.
She didn’t want the group to suffer because of her.
The meeting continued for nearly two hours.
By the end, everyone looked drained.
As the members prepared to leave, Hana gently touched Minji’s shoulder.
“This isn’t your fault.”
Minji nodded.
But she wasn’t sure she believed it.