Stays, hear me out
I know itโs been two days and itโs almost confirmed that Woojin is no longer part of Stray kids but this isnโt okay at all.
I think we can all agree that he was kicked out, and more than what JYPE said, is actually going on. But stays were so quick to accept it as it is, unjustified and sudden. Hereโs why you shouldnโt stay silent about this at all.
This is going to be somewhat long, but it must be understood. I know Iโll probably get opinions about how we should respect that he left and that itโs impossible, stop giving false hope, but Iโm only stating the possibilities. Feel free to take them or just ignore this post. My argument stands unless we receive news from Woojin himself, JYPE is untrustworthy.
This whole situation just doesnโt add up. It doesnโt make sense, at all. Why would Woojin leave a group heโs worked so hard to be part of? A group thatโs fairly successful, quite successful overseas actually, and still in their early days? A stable company like JYPE? And in the midst of comeback preparations? Especially considering that stray kids have such a unique bond, it just doesnโt feel like something Woojin would do.
So my take is: he was kicked out.
โBut they said personal reasons!!1!1!โ
Yes, love, but do we believe that? There are enough clues that prove that JYPE is only being a shit company.
ยท Chanโs letter: this is where my years of studying authorโs word choice and context clues finally prove useful. Chanโs letter only assured me that something extremely off is happening with stray kids. Firstly, Chan posted the letter on fanship, at around 1 am KST, and idk about you but thatโs a very odd time and place to post such a letter. Iโm sure many korean stays were asleep at that time, and considering the fact that it was in korean, it shouldโve been posted at a more convenient time to reach the audience itโs intended to reach. Itโs suspicious. As if he was prevented from saying anything and he finally found the chance to. Secondly, Chan said that he โtried so hardโ to make Woojin stay and that we โmust acceptโ the fact they are not nine anymore. If this was really Woojinโs choice, the statement would be more like โwe will move onโ, rather than โmust acceptโ. This only shows that they were forced and they had no power to stop it. That Woojin was forced out.
ยท Stray kidsโ disappearance: itโs been more than a week and thereโs still nothing from them. We know stray kids, and they canโt live a day without interacting with us in a way. Itโs just strange that theyโre silent. You might say that theyโre dealing with it, thus the silence, but are they really? If this was Woojinโs choice, the members would respect it and comfort stays, or just interact with them in any way. Their silence shows rejection more than acceptance. No, even if theyโre preparing for a comeback, that wouldnโt prevent them from giving us a little update. This is just unnatural, Iโm sorry.
ยท Delay of album and photobook: just the fact that they had to change the date of release for these OT9 schedules shows that this is sudden news. I doubt that a family issue would be big enough to force Woojin to terminate his contract (still a possibility I have in mind tho), so it must be that he was kicked out for something that came out of the blue. Because they had plans for 9 and if they knew he would leave, they wouldโve prepared cle 3 for 8 (ew I hate that number so much wtf) beforehand. Since thatโs not what happened, itโs as clear as day that he was kicked out.
ยท Woojin, a few days before the announcement: nothing!! Nothing in his posts or attitude showed that he was uncomfortable or down, he seemed perfectly fine. Now I know, we canโt always tell what people are going through, but I believe someone whoโs struggling wouldnโt be posting selfies like nothingโs wrong. He showed no signs, there were no hints that this is a mental health issue. Plus, JYPE took care of mina so Iโd like to think that they would do the same thing for stray kids (JYPE is skzโs biggest antis I donโt take objections). Point is, the only valid justifications are that he was kicked out, or that some serious family situation is going onโฆ โpersonal reasonsโ mean nothing and clarify nothing.
ยท Crickets: again, the silence. But this time from JYPE themselves. The fact that theyโre trying to do this quietly is suspicious. If it was really a leave from Woojinโs behalf, something of his own choice, they would do what they did for Jamie. They would give the fans a good, properly written, statement and Iโm sure they would give Woojin a chance to say goodbye. But whatโs happening right now is exactly what happened with an ex-member of Day6, whom we later learned was fired. If this is JYPEโs way of handling potential scandals, wellโฆ thatโs a pretty crappy way of doing itโฆ we shouldnโt be brushing this off.
ยทย Contract termination: terminating a contract takes months. Should it be done quickly, it will either require a lot of money from the idol or just a word from the ceo. Not to sound weird or anything but, I doubt that Woojin has the money to waste on terminating his contract with JYPE (especially knowing how much skz mean to him) so it must be JYPEโs word. The only situation in which JYPE would do such a thing is if the idol broke a rule and they want them fired, there is no other plausible justification for ruining a blossoming career. And considering that the news is sudden, it means that the contract was terminated in a short time, meaning that it was JYPEโs work.
Now that this has been stated, what can we do about it?
Iโve seen people claiming that contract terminations are irreversible and Iโve done my researchโฆ enlighten me if Iโm wrong but thereโs nothing?? That says such?? Again, google mightโve failed me so correct me if Iโm wrong but, termination doesnโt mean that they canโt write another contract. So telling stays who are trying to reach out to JYPE to bring Woojin back to stop is selfish and disheartening. Are you really willing to give him up that quickly?
Fans have enough power to change JYPEโs mind. If they see how much this will affect them, financially, they will rethink. So be smart. Do things that will directly affect JYPE, not skz in that context. Unsubscribe from JYPE, watch their stocks fall. Thereโs absolutely no harm in trying to spread hastags like #bringWoojinBack and #weWantWoojinBack. Chan fought to keep nine, Iโm sure seeing stays fight for it too wouldnโt be โpressurizingโ as yโall are saying (ofc this is all under the suspicion that Woojin was forced out. If it was his choice we have no say in it).
I know itโs not good to spread false hope, but whatโs better, trying and failing? Or never attempting and wondering what wouldโve happened if we tried? At least we tried, at least we fought. But saying thank you and moving on? Idk but it just breaks my heart. We shouldnโt be afraid of heartbreak, for life is not an easy walk in the parkโฆ you canโt avoid things just because. Think of the better good.
If we wonโt be getting that, they should at least provide a proper explanation.
Until we hear from the boys again, I refuse to believe everything is okay and I wonโt be silent about it. I will fight for Woojin till the very end, and beyond.
Y'all wtf. I knew something was suspicious. But I didn't want to be "that person" but now that I know this... My suspicions were right
















