91: Chapter 91 The T-ara Scandal Finally Begins

The next day arrived, and Son Ye-jin left Liu Zijun's home early in the morning, her body feeling somewhat weak and sore.

As she left, she complained, "Fortunately, there's still Sulli and Yoona."

Liu Zijun had no intention of going to SM Entertainment Company today.

This was something Choi Sulli had strictly instructed him to do, telling him to rest well.

He turned on the computer.

Lee Areum's withdrawal statement was concisely posted on JS Entertainment Company's official platform.

The statement only mentioned, "Due to personal development plans not aligning with the group's future direction, and after friendly consultations between both parties, Lee Areum has decided to leave T-ara. The company respects her choice and offers its best wishes."

There was no unnecessary sentimentality or complex explanation.

After this news was released, there wasn't much discussion online.

After all, T-ara's popularity had plummeted after being mired in the Bullying Scandal; they were no longer the top girl group they once were. In the eyes of the public, member changes were just routine operations for a struggling group.

Although a few fans were reluctant to see her go, it didn't spark any large-scale controversy.

Instead, there were more criticisms regarding the original six members of T-ara bullying the new members.

Almost at the same time, the news that CCM Entertainment Company had officially changed its name to JS Entertainment Company, becoming a subsidiary of JS Investment Company, also attracted a lot of attention.

The new company logo followed a minimalist style, and only a name change announcement was posted on the official website, being so low-key that it didn't seem like a major adjustment following a capital operation.

The members of T-ara were also unusually calm about this.

Before Lee Areum left, she made a point of having a farewell dinner with the members; there were no arguments, only simple goodbyes.

Park Soyeon presented a gift on behalf of the group. Looking at this younger sister who was much younger than herself, she felt some emotion but understood that a forced relationship wouldn't work out well.

"Develop well in the future and take good care of yourself."

This was her final piece of advice.

At ten o'clock in the morning, JS Entertainment Company's public relations department was fully prepared and released a long-form statement on time.

The headline was eye-catching—'Complete Clarification and Legal Action Announcement Regarding T-ara's "Bullying Scandal"'.

This statement instantly shattered the peace of The Peninsula's entertainment industry. A member's withdrawal statement had just been issued, and now another bombshell was dropped?

The beginning of the statement directly pointed out its core message.

The so-called bullying of former member Ryu Hwayoung by the original members of T-ara was a framing incident deliberately orchestrated by Ryu Hwayoung and her family.

The company is now making all evidence public and has filed a defamation lawsuit against Ryu Hwayoung and related personnel to hold them legally accountable.

Following the statement, JS Entertainment's official website and major social platforms simultaneously released a complete chain of evidence, each piece clear and unmistakable.

Multiple recordings came from T-ara's waiting rooms, practice rooms, and CCM Entertainment's conference rooms.

In one recording, Ryu Hwayoung privately complained to the Manager that rehearsals were too hard and she really wanted to find an excuse to rest.

The Manager reminded her that the group's schedule was tight and she couldn't just skip out, but she didn't care.

Especially during T-ara's training for the concert in Japan, she claimed she had a foot injury and couldn't participate in training.

However, photos and chat recordings of her shopping at a mall with friends that afternoon directly pierced through her lies.

Dozens of screenshots of chat records came from Ryu Hwayoung's private communications with her family and friends.

She once messaged her family: "The members in the group are all targeting me. I'll take this opportunity to force the company to give me more resources. If it doesn't work out, I'll just leave the group and go solo; it'll definitely be better than being in the group."

Her message to her sister was even more blunt: "Faking an injury is too easy. The company won't dare offend my family. By then, public opinion will be on my side."

The final video consisted of written testimonies and video interviews from over a dozen former CCM Entertainment staff members.

All of them indicated that the T-ara members had never bullied Ryu Hwayoung at all; on the contrary, she had bullied the T-ara members quite a bit.

The chain of evidence was complete and detailed.

From how Ryu Hwayoung faked illness to be lazy and deliberately created conflict, to how she collaborated with her family to use their background to apply pressure and plan the framing.

Every link was supported by solid evidence.

The statement concluded by emphasizing that the members of T-ara had been enduring baseless accusations for the past year, and both their careers and their physical and mental well-being had been severely harmed.

After taking over CCM Entertainment, JS Entertainment will do its utmost to protect the legal rights of its artists and will never tolerate any malicious framing.

It also hoped the public could see the truth and give T-ara more love and care.

As soon as this statement was released and the evidence made public, the entire Peninsula entertainment industry instantly exploded.

On social platforms, topics related to T-ara shot up the trending lists at rocket speed.

Hashtags like #TruthAboutTaraBullyingScandal, #RyuHwayoungFraming, and #ApologizeToTara quickly dominated the top ten on the trending lists.

The reactions of T-ara's fans went from shock to anger, and then to feeling heartache for T-ara.

Especially T-ara's true fans were incredibly excited; the grievances in their hearts were completely released at this moment.

They spontaneously organized online support activities, trending the topic "T-ara's Return," and compiled evidence from back then that supported T-ara and maintained their belief in their innocence.

Ryu Hwayoung's new management company and she herself both issued statements, but in the face of those objective facts and evidence, they seemed somewhat weak and powerless.

However, many people still expressed doubt, boycotting T-ara and instead supporting Ryu Hwayoung.

In any case, both sides held their ground, and the ensuing flame war became incredibly heated.

JS Entertainment Company spoke out again in the afternoon with just a few words: See you in court!

Meanwhile, in JS Entertainment Company's conference room, the six members of T-ara watched the reversal of public opinion on their phones and could no longer hold back; tears welled up and spilled over.

Park Soyeon gripped her phone tightly, her whole body trembling slightly.

The grievances she had suffered during this time, the cold looks from the outside world, and the low point of her career dissipated significantly at this moment.

Lee Ji-hyun gently hugged Park Soyeon and said with a choked voice, "We've finally received justice."

Jeon Bo-ram, Ham Eun-jung, Park Hyomin, and Park Ji-yeon also leaned on each other, their tears falling uncontrollably.

They had once thought their careers would be ruined by this baseless framing, but they never expected a day when the truth would come to light.

Yang Hyeri's eyes flashed with a cold light as she watched this scene without saying a word.

The handling of the Ryu Hwayoung sisters would not be that simple.

This matter caused a huge stir. JS Investment Company was a newly established company, but in the less than six months since its founding, it had done quite a lot.

At SM Entertainment Company, Lee Soo-man looked at the reports and, thinking about the underlying interests, sighed slightly.

The way JS Investment, this dragon crossing the river, was baring its claws and fangs was a bit too fierce.

There were also many capitalists who sneered at this scene in the entertainment industry.

The curtain on the online flame war between the two sides had been drawn, and the arguing was truly non-stop.

This continued until nightfall.

Jeong Hyun-bin of SD Group looked at his ringing phone, chuckled, and after answering it, made a call to Liu Zijun before walking out of his office.