#20180221

I don’t mind at all as we all are shaken and devastated and need to talk…

To give a proper answer, I guess I should reproduce the events and the emotions they gave in chronological order as, within those three days before the agency made an official statement, I passed through all possible stages, made up all plots and scenarios and even managed to lose faith in humanity a few times.

On Feb 18 (Sun) around 2AM KST Korean fansites dedicated to Milo started closing down one after another. Some went on rest, but the majority (including the oldest and respected PINK2MILO and COMEON_MILO) closed down. After some research I found the screenshots posted by Honoka on instagram and the account which was created to spread this information. That account sent the screenshots to Romeo and staff, underlining that Honoka was underaged and it was illegal. Also, it stated that “guys of that type” usually didn’t act alone and mentioned Noh Kangmin (which wasn’t brought up anywhere later).

I translated the screenshots from Korean and Japanese till morning, trying to figure out if it was a fake as I couldn’t believe that such a responsible person as Minhak could call a barely known fan cute, pretty and sometimes sexy, discuss meeting at Haneda airport and, as Honoka lived far from the airport, end up suggesting that she stayed with him when he came to Japan alone. I consulted a native speaker of both Korean and Japanese languages who confirmed that the texts were a bit sloppy. My suspicions were fed with rumours circulating around concerning that fan’s reputation and a “rich” experience in interacting with celebrities.Japanese fansites made a furious storm on twitter, a few fansites on other members closed, and I was waiting for Hunus to end this nightmare. On Sunday evening Dispatch dropped an article with the scandalous screenshots, and on Monday morning all news agencies competed in a “make-a-catchy-headline” contest.By that time I realized that the lack of official statement might imply the rumours were true. One of my friends sent me a screenshot with a notification where Romeo liked Honoka’s video from their official account. What scared me more though was the fact that our fandom was falling apart, and the wave of hatred from fansites to Minhak and from international fans to kfansites and jfansites for leaving. On Monday evening the merciful HY’s CEO tweeted that the official statement would be posted the next day. The rest is history.

What am I to add here… Everyone decides for themself how to interpret the messages and judge the reaction that followed. How careless it was of Milo to flirt with a barely known fan and tease her with unreal promises about coming over to Japan alone and spending time together in his room? How fair it was of that fan to take a revenge on him for something and post screenshots of personal conversations, knowing very well it would blow up a scandal and ruin his career? How relevant it was for the fansites to believe rumours and close before the official confirmation?

If you ask for my personal opinion, Minhak has made a mistake, no doubt. But all sides in this story got deeply hurt, and now we have a group falling apart, a fandom falling apart and an ocean of frustration. Minhak is withdrawn from activities for half a year at least, the comeback is cancelled, the other members will have to face the furious fans. What makes me really angry though and what I will never forget and forgive, is the position of Hunus. They could have solved the issue immediately by posting the confirmation the next morning, letting Minhak apologize publicly and not making us go through this hell, losing fans every second. I am sorry if it is too harsh, but screw it, you could have saved so many lives, Hunus! I will never forgive you for making these wonderful boys and all of us go through so much suffering.