Chapter 69 - A Reality Show

The next morning, a shocking picture and caption shocked the netizens and the followers of the band SKY as their leader posted a picture of himself and a woman on their official SNS account. The picture, though just a selfie where the two people simply smiling up at the camera, was enough to shake everyone. K had tagged Alice Faye, captioning, "When you see the world collapsing around you but there is someone to hold you up and be your strength. Thank you @AliceFaye for being a great friend to me when I needed you."

The post was then followed by an announcement about the health of all the members as well as I.M who was said to still be in a critical condition. But even as this post gained millions of likes, the top search words remained Alice Faye and K. Finally, when their fans were made aware of the identity as well as the moniker of the 'ice queen' that was held by Alice Faye.

For most fans, any partner for their idol would not be up to mark but if the person had a negative identity, then that would definitely make them panic for their beloved idol. Thus the huge uproar that had been happening a day before for K to find a partner was now subdued as the fans and netizens wondered about this friend. This changed even further when someone speculated that the picture was from a few months ago, looking the same as from the time when Apollo had made called K on a live broadcast. The fact that K had spent his holidays in the muddle of an ocean had been a known fact but the fact that he had a beautiful woman with him put a different pin on things. Soon hashtags stating #noicequeenforK and many such spiteful words started to trend. Until some people posted some things which changed the direction and perception of the people. 

"Last night, we were about to fly out of the country after a long wait. The flight had been delayed for a while and when we were finally about to take off, a crazy girl obstructed the flight crew, and suddenly created a ruckus to be let off the plane. We all cursed her for causing such inconvenience to everyone and being reckless even though she claimed that she needed to help a friend who had met with an accident in an unknown country. I never could have expected, that the woman who was cursed at was the famous Alice Fays and the people she wanted to help was the nation's favorite band SKY! I am sorry @AliceFaye for cursing at you."

The netizen had also added a video where Alice Faye could be seen in a worried state as she made calls to the hospital even as she tried to convince the staff that it was an emergency. Though the audio was not clear, it could be seen that Alice Faye really had been worried for the band. This, once again changed the direction of the people's thoughts as more and more people came forward with little accounts of how the people from the global Mad Hatter's Cafe had provided them with free coffees and donuts when they had been waiting outside the hospital to some people even reporting that the people guarding K outside the hospital had been Alice Faye's private guards.

Some Stars who worked in the Faye Group also commented," The CEO is known as the Ice Queen because of the people who have had to suffer because of their own misdeeds but would rather blame a woman. We have worked with CEO Faye for many years and can personally tell you that she is a fair if strict employer. And many of you may believe that we are simply bootlicking because we work for her but if you are able to secure a job with Faye Group then you will know how lucky you are."

Phillippe watched in amazement as the tide turned from shock to non acceptance to reluctant support. K had been right about this but how long would they be able to keep this was not up to him. As Phillippe sat in the lobby of the hotel that Alice Faye had arranged for the family members of SKY, he felt a certain respect for the woman. She had no profit in this and neither would doing this, benefit her in any way. It was actually the responsibility of BP Entertainment to make these but they seem to have washed off their hands and simply wanted to throw money at them to make them disappear. 

What was the point of having been so cautious after all these years if this is how their label would treat them! He wanted to expose these things to the general public as well but he dare not. Just then, his phone started to ring and it was the public relations manager of their company. Before he could even say, "Hello." the man blasted out," What is going on? Why is K and SKY still on the news? And what is this about CEO Faye being right for K. Phillippe, have you forgotten your place? I already told you to let this scandal pass and not expose anything then why are you trying to keep them famous. SKY cannot do much for us from here on. They might have been at their peak, but from here on they will never rise high! The company is already preparing to negotiate to transfer the endorsements and the show to the new fledgling band and pay as little damages as they can. Just get them into decent rehabilitation centers there and let them struggle in a new country. By the time, they start to recover, no media will want to listen to their sad stories. And warn K not to use names of people just like that. Have you thought of what would happen of Faye Group hears of this and decide to sue us? I have already spoken to the CEO. We will negotiate the deal with Faye Group once the endorsements are done and by then we want you to come back and handle the new band. They are ready for debut. And their recordings have also been done. The next month is their launch date."

This time, Phillippe was so angry at their callousness that he wanted to punch these people through the phone. Controlling his temper with difficulty, he asked," Do you really think you can control Chairwoman Alice Faye. You fool, Faye Group already knows what K has done. They even liked and forwarded the post. And you might want to take a look at the post that Chairwoman Alice made a few minutes ago! Do you really think that pushing someone out of the limelight is so easy?"

With that Phillippe disconnected the call, and his eyes were soon glued to his phone's screen where a number of major celebrities, business magnates and others had shared and liked her post. "Are you trying to ruin my carefully built reputation? I might just sue K and some other people for talking nice about me. I wonder if there is a provision in the law to sue people for complimenting you. I am not the person all the STARS are accusing me of. I have a vested interest in SKY! I recently invested money in BP Entertainment in the form of stocks and shares!"

Many people found this to be rather hilarious and even applauded the Chairwoman for her humble and down to earth nature as well as her droll sense of humor. Soon, hashtags supporting the ship of K and Alice gained popularity, stumping everyone as #KAlshippers gained fame playing on Adam's stage name K and Al of Alice Faye.

As Phillippe gloated over this, Adam faced the biggest problem in their plan. Convincing his brothers and families that this was their best course of action.

As everyone listened to what Adam listed and his reasons for doing do, the parents were all deep in thought. Each of their child had worked hard to reach where they were. When most of their friend's children were reveling in their parent's love, their children had already become trainees, devoting their life to music and dance. And now when they had achieved their dream, they were being told that it was going to be snatched from them. The most worried of these people was Mr. Yu, Gyeom's father. His son was the youngest and had been practically brought up by these boys. Mr. Yu knew that Gyeom might be able to survive the world without him but losing his brothers would harm him in an irrevocable way. Thus, he was the one who least wanted them to separate. And if they followed the company's arrangements then what K said might just be true. But K was also young.. Maybe he had made a mistake in understanding the intentions of their label. What company would sabotage their own people? Thus, he could not help but ask, "K, are you sure this is the only course of action we have? Has the company not shown their sincerity by chartering a plane to bring us here?"