Episode 16: Our Truth, Their Lies
It rained the night the scandal deepened.
Heavy, unrelenting drops that smacked against AX1's dorm windows as though the world itself was raging with them.
Seon couldn't sleep.
He sat on the floor of the practice room, knees drawn to his chest, staring at the empty mirror. His reflection looked tired. Haunted.
Not from guilt — but from carrying truth in a world that only fed on lies.
Jaewon walked in quietly, setting down a steaming mug of tea.
"You didn't eat dinner."
Seon shook his head. "Can't keep it down."
Jaewon sat beside him.
"Minho found the source of the screenshots. They were fabricated using AI chat logs. The 'trainee' doesn't even exist."
Seon finally looked up. "Do we go public?"
Jaewon nodded. "I've got a plan. But it means we'll be burning bridges."
Seon gave a bitter smile. "Haven't we already?"
---
The next morning
AX1's dorm turned into a war room.
Laptops, post-its, and whiteboards filled the living room.
Minho, Seo-jin, and Jun worked non-stop alongside Jaewon and Seon.
They compiled dates, metadata, timestamps of all the attacks that had targeted Seon — cross-referenced with Orion's press releases, fake rumors, and sudden legal complaints.
Then they made the choice that changed everything:
They went live.
Not through the agency.
On their own.
Jaewon streamed from his verified account. Over two million followers got the notification.
---
"Hi, this is Jaewon. And this isn't a performance."
He looked into the camera.
"Someone wants to destroy us. Not just as a group, but as people. Today, we'll show you how."
Then the camera panned to Seon, seated calmly, as screenshots appeared on-screen — with Jaewon narrating.
Each lie. Each forgery. Each time-stamped smear.
Then came the footage: a screen recording showing the same AI website where Orion generated fake chat logs. IP data, payment trails.
Proof.
Seon spoke:
"I'm not perfect. But I am not a predator. I'm not a PR stunt. I'm someone who fought to survive this industry, even when it threw me out. And I came back not to be anyone's puppet — but to sing. That's all I ever wanted."
The livestream lasted 37 minutes.
It broke the Korean fan platform's record for most simultaneous viewers.
Hashtags exploded: #AX1Truth, #JusticeForSeon, #ExposedOrion.
---
But Orion didn't back down.
Director Yoo held her own press conference hours later, her voice cold and precise.
"AX1's claims are being investigated. We believe their actions are an emotional response from young men under stress. We hope they receive the help they need."
The manipulation was cruelly elegant.
Paint them as unstable. Paint the truth as delusion.
But what she didn't expect—was the world believing AX1.
---
By evening, news outlets flipped.
Popular actors and singers — many of them former trainees from both AX1 and Orion — began posting cryptic but supportive messages:
"I always knew the truth would sing louder than rumors."
"AX1... respect."
"Sometimes silence is survival. Sometimes it's guilt."
---
Inside the dorm, the boys finally breathed.
A little.
Just a little.
But then the doorbell rang.
Seon opened it.
A courier stood, drenched from the rain, holding a thick envelope.
"From the Seoul District Court. For you."
Seon stared at the envelope.
It was a defamation lawsuit.
Filed by Orion Entertainment.
On the grounds of "deliberate sabotage, false accusation, and slander of a corpor
ate entity."
Seon closed the door quietly.
Jaewon looked at the envelope. Then at Seon.
"Now it's war."
---
To be continued…