That morning, Seoul was covered in a thin layer of fog but inside the DOMIN8 dorm, the atmosphere felt colder than usual. Lee Joon woke up with a sharp throbbing pain in the ankle he had sprained yesterday.
He reached for the table, searching for his phone with the intention of checking the introduction video that was supposed to be uploaded this morning. But the moment the screen lit up, thousands of notifications flooded in like missiles.
[TRENDING NO.1: #LeeJoonBully]
[TRENDING NO.2: #JusticeForVictim]
[TRENDING NO.3: #KickJoonOut]
Lee Joon's heart seemed to stop. His hands trembled so violently that he almost dropped his phone. He pressed one of the headlines displayed on the Pann portal.
[EXCLUSIVE] "THE ACE" OF STAR ENTERTAINMENT NEW UPCOMING BOY GROUP "DOMIN8" IS ACTUALLY A BULLY?
A post from an individual claiming to be Lee Joon's former schoolmate went viral this morning. The person alleged that Lee Joon frequently committed physical violence and mental bullying until the victim eventually took their own life due to the trauma caused by Lee Joon.
The post also included evidence such as photos of Lee Joon smoking, pictures of the bruised victim and a professionally edited voice recording.
"W-What… what is all this?" Lee Joon's voice cracked. He remembered those photos. They were all part of their old acting club project back in school.
The bedroom door slammed open. Minho stepped inside with a face full of fake anger, followed by Ryu Han holding a tablet.
"Lee Joon! What the hell did you do?!" Minho shouted.
"Do you even know the company is in chaos right now? Star Entertainment's stocks are dropping because of you!"
"Hyung… this is all fake! You know I never bullied anyone! Those pictures… they're from my school acting club for the festival. You remember, right? Hyunwoo hyung even came to watch back then!" Lee Joon pleaded as he tried to grab Minho's arm. Minho harshly shoved his hand away.
"I don't know anything about Hyunwoo being there that time! Don't drag him into your trashy problems! Right now the whole world hates you. Look at these netizen comments!" Ryu Han shoved the tablet toward Lee Joon's face.
"He looks innocent, but his heart is pure evil."
"I feel bad for the other members. They haven't even debuted yet and already have to suffer embarrassment because of a bully like this."
"#DOMIN8is6. Kick Lee Joon out now!"
"See that, Joon," Ryu Han whispered. His voice was low and poisonous beside Lee Joon's ear.
"Even the fans only want six members now. They don't want you anymore."
"No… no way…" Lee Joon collapsed onto the floor. Tears dripped onto the phone screen still filled with endless hateful comments.
A few hours later, Lee Joon was dragged into the CEO's office. Inside, all the DOMIN8 members were already standing in a straight line. Not a single one of them looked him in the eyes. Even Jisub, the maknae who used to be closest to him, only stared at the floor coldly.
"Lee Joon," the CEO of Star Entertainment said emotionlessly.
"The company cannot take this risk. We have decided to terminate your contract immediately."
"CEO… please listen to my explanation. I'm being framed! The other members can be witnesses—"
"We already asked them," the CEO interrupted.
"Minho said he has seen you acting violently before. Ryu Han said you often threatened the members in the dorm so they wouldn't become more popular than you. They all agreed that you are a liability to this group." Lee Joon looked at his members one by one. They all stayed silent, confirming every lie through that silence.
This was the moment Lee Joon finally realized it. Hyunwoo's departure, the sabotage during filming, and this scandal… It had all been one carefully planned chain of events to erase him completely.
"Leave this building right now. Your belongings will be sent to your old address," the CEO declared firmly. The atmosphere inside the office became unbearably silent. Lee Joon no longer begged. He no longer cried.
Everything was clear now. The tears that had fallen earlier had already dried, leaving behind a burning pain deep inside his soul.
He stared at the termination contract lying stiffly on the mahogany table. With trembling hands — not from fear, but from restrained rage — Lee Joon grabbed the pen.
SCRATCH.
He signed the document with one rough stroke.
Done.
With that single signature, all the sweat, blood, and dreams he had poured into Star Entertainment for years crumbled into dust.
"I'll leave," Lee Joon's voice sounded deep and cold enough to make Minho and Ryu Han slightly startled.
"But remember this… the truth won't stay buried forever. And when it's finally exposed, make sure you still have somewhere left to stand. Maybe you don't know who I really am yet. But once you do, prepare yourselves to face me."
"You think dirty tricks like this can make me disappear from this industry? With just a snap of my fingers, all those fake rumor posts can disappear in an instant. Don't play with fire when it comes to someone like me. Know your place. If it wasn't for me, you guys would've never even had the chance to be on the debut lineup. That position was always mine from the beginning. My only mistake was being too kind to share it with ungrateful people like you."
Lee Joon turned around and walked out without looking at his members ever again. Every step he took through the building's corridor felt unfamiliar. His injured ankle dragged slowly as sharp pain stabbed through it with every movement.
Outside the building, rain began pouring over Seoul. Lee Joon stood beneath a lonely bus stop, hugging his trembling body.
He pulled out his smartphone. The screen was cracked, just like his heart. He searched for a name he had not contacted in a long time because of his intense training schedule and his ego.
Lee Hyun (Hyung).
The call connected. After only two rings, a familiar deep voice answered.
"Joon? Is this really you? Why are you calling all of a sudden? Aren't you busy preparing for your debut?"
The moment he heard that voice, Lee Joon's defenses shattered completely. He bit his lower lip, trying to stop himself from sobbing but failed. Perhaps his hyung had been too busy managing the company to see the news spreading everywhere about him.
"Hyun-hyung…" Lee Joon whispered hoarsely. The other end fell silent for a moment.
Lee Hyun, his eldest brother who had always silently protected him despite his strict personality, immediately sensed something was wrong. His voice turned serious and panicked.
"Joon? What happened to you? Where are you right now?"
"Hyung… come pick me up. I… I don't have anyone left anymore. My group… they threw me away. The company terminated my contract. I don't have anywhere else to go, hyung. Even Hyunwoo hyung left me."
"Where are you right now?! Don't move from there! Tell me where you are!" Lee Hyun shouted through the phone as the sound of car keys being grabbed echoed loudly.
"In front of Star building… under the bus stop…"
"Stay there. Ten minutes. Don't hang up the phone. Hyung's coming right now!" Those ten minutes felt like ten years.
Some pedestrians passing by began throwing strange looks toward Lee Joon. Some whispered while pointing at him. They had probably already read the scandalous news. Suddenly, a luxurious black SUV screeched to a stop in front of the bus stop. The driver's door flew open and a tall man rushed out without caring about the heavy rain soaking him.
"Lee Joon!"
Lee Hyun ran straight toward his younger brother. He looked at Lee Joon's miserable state — pale face, swollen eyes, dirty clothes splashed with muddy water from the street.
"Joon… my God, what did they do to you?"
Lee Hyun grabbed his brother's shoulders, his eyes burning with rage as he saw the bruises on Lee Joon's leg and the shattered expression on his face. Lee Joon said nothing. He simply buried his face into his brother's chest, crying as hard as he could beneath the pouring rain.
"It's okay, let's go home. We're going home," Lee Hyun said softly as he guided Lee Joon into the car.
"Whoever did this to you… hyung won't let them get away with it. We'll deal with this together." As the car slowly drove away from Star Entertainment's building, Lee Joon looked toward the upper office window of the CEO's floor.
He could see the silhouettes of the DOMIN8 members watching him from afar.
You've won, his heart whispered. The car cut through the coldness of the night, carrying Lee Joon away from the hell that had nearly destroyed him.