“What should we do? If this keeps spreading, it could hurt the company’s reputation,” one of the staff members said as the executives gathered in the meeting room. Sitting at the head of the table was Bang Si-hyuk, flipping through reports about each group under the company, trying to figure out the best way to calm the situation down.

He paused for a moment before tapping one of the files. “This one,” he said, pointing to Lee Heeseung from ENHYPEN. “If one member focuses on solo activities for a while, it’ll shift the attention. Fans will talk about it, but it won’t damage the group long-term.”

The people in the room exchanged looks before slowly nodding. It wasn’t ideal, but it seemed like the safest decision for the company at the moment. The BELIFT staff began drafting an official statement, carefully choosing their words to make the situation sound natural rather than forced.

Later that day, the members were called into the meeting room.

“We wanted to talk about future plans,” one of the executives said, looking at Heeseung. “You’ve mentioned wanting to try more individual activities before, right?”

Heeseung blinked, a little surprised, but nodded.“Yeah… someday. I thought it would be nice to try.”

The staff member folded their hands on the table. “Then we think it’s best if you focus on solo promotions for now. You’ll be stepping away from group activities.”

“What?” Jungwon stood up immediately, staring at them in disbelief. “You can’t just decide that without talking to all of us first.”

The executive kept a calm expression. “This decision was discussed carefully. It’s not permanent, but it’s what the company believes is best right now.”

The room went quiet. None of the members liked the idea, but there wasn’t much they could say. Eventually, they left the meeting with heavy hearts, unsure of what would happen next.

Later that evening, the official statement was released.

Within hours, the reaction online exploded.

“Already?! There are protest trucks outside?” one staff member said, rushing to the window in shock.

Fans had gathered outside the building, banners raised, messages covering social media faster than the company expected.

“He’s trending everywhere,” another executive said nervously. “Fans are really upset about this.”

Bang Si-hyuk looked at the screen for a moment before speaking calmly.

“It’s fine. Let things settle first,” he said. “If we stay quiet for now, the situation should calm down in a few days.”

The staff nodded, though the tension in the room didn’t go away.

Something told them this wouldn’t end as easily as they hoped.