The practice hall felt emptier. Quieter.
Haejin sat down. Put his head in his hands.
"Hyung?" Jisoo asked softly.
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
"I will be."
Soorin wanted to go to him. Comfort him. But not here. Not with everyone watching.
Instead, she pulled out her phone. Checked social media.
Her eyes widened.
"Guys. You need to see this."
She showed them her screen. X. Trending topics.
[#HAELIsInnocent]
[#ApologyToHAEL]
[#WeSorryHAEL]
[#JusticeForLUMEN]
Thousands of posts. Maybe millions. All apologizing. All admitting they'd been wrong.
"After Somin's confession," Soorin said, "the narrative completely flipped."
Doyun grabbed his phone. Started scrolling. "Holy shit. Everyone's posting apologies."
"Not everyone," Taekyung corrected. He showed his screen. "Look at these accounts. 'I always knew HAEL was innocent.' 'I never doubted him.' 'True fans stayed loyal.'"
"Fake fans jumping on the bandwagon," Minjae said.
"Convenient amnesia," Jisoo added.
