I know it’s been two days and it’s almost confirmed that Woojin is no longer part of Stray kids but this isn’t okay at all.
I think we can all agree that he was kicked out, and more than what JYPE said, is actually going on. But stays were so quick to accept it as it is, unjustified and sudden. Here’s why you shouldn’t stay silent about this at all.
This is going to be somewhat long, but it must be understood. I know I’ll probably get opinions about how we should respect that he left and that it’s impossible, stop giving false hope, but I’m only stating the possibilities. Feel free to take them or just ignore this post. My argument stands unless we receive news from Woojin himself, JYPE is untrustworthy.
This whole situation just doesn’t add up. It doesn’t make sense, at all. Why would Woojin leave a group he’s worked so hard to be part of? A group that’s fairly successful, quite successful overseas actually, and still in their early days? A stable company like JYPE? And in the midst of comeback preparations? Especially considering that stray kids have such a unique bond, it just doesn’t feel like something Woojin would do.
So my take is: he was kicked out.
“But they said personal reasons!!1!1!”
Yes, love, but do we believe that? There are enough clues that prove that JYPE is only being a shit company.
· Chan’s letter: this is where my years of studying author’s word choice and context clues finally prove useful. Chan’s letter only assured me that something extremely off is happening with stray kids. Firstly, Chan posted the letter on fanship, at around 1 am KST, and idk about you but that’s a very odd time and place to post such a letter. I’m sure many korean stays were asleep at that time, and considering the fact that it was in korean, it should’ve been posted at a more convenient time to reach the audience it’s intended to reach. It’s suspicious. As if he was prevented from saying anything and he finally found the chance to. Secondly, Chan said that he “tried so hard” to make Woojin stay and that we “must accept” the fact they are not nine anymore. If this was really Woojin’s choice, the statement would be more like “we will move on”, rather than “must accept”. This only shows that they were forced and they had no power to stop it. That Woojin was forced out.
· Stray kids’ disappearance: it’s been more than a week and there’s still nothing from them. We know stray kids, and they can’t live a day without interacting with us in a way. It’s just strange that they’re silent. You might say that they’re dealing with it, thus the silence, but are they really? If this was Woojin’s choice, the members would respect it and comfort stays, or just interact with them in any way. Their silence shows rejection more than acceptance. No, even if they’re preparing for a comeback, that wouldn’t prevent them from giving us a little update. This is just unnatural, I’m sorry.
· Delay of album and photobook: just the fact that they had to change the date of release for these OT9 schedules shows that this is sudden news. I doubt that a family issue would be big enough to force Woojin to terminate his contract (still a possibility I have in mind tho), so it must be that he was kicked out for something that came out of the blue. Because they had plans for 9 and if they knew he would leave, they would’ve prepared cle 3 for 8 (ew I hate that number so much wtf) beforehand. Since that’s not what happened, it’s as clear as day that he was kicked out.
· Woojin, a few days before the announcement: nothing!! Nothing in his posts or attitude showed that he was uncomfortable or down, he seemed perfectly fine. Now I know, we can’t always tell what people are going through, but I believe someone who’s struggling wouldn’t be posting selfies like nothing’s wrong. He showed no signs, there were no hints that this is a mental health issue. Plus, JYPE took care of mina so I’d like to think that they would do the same thing for stray kids (JYPE is skz’s biggest antis I don’t take objections). Point is, the only valid justifications are that he was kicked out, or that some serious family situation is going on… “personal reasons” mean nothing and clarify nothing.
· Crickets: again, the silence. But this time from JYPE themselves. The fact that they’re trying to do this quietly is suspicious. If it was really a leave from Woojin’s behalf, something of his own choice, they would do what they did for Jamie. They would give the fans a good, properly written, statement and I’m sure they would give Woojin a chance to say goodbye. But what’s happening right now is exactly what happened with an ex-member of Day6, whom we later learned was fired. If this is JYPE’s way of handling potential scandals, well… that’s a pretty crappy way of doing it… we shouldn’t be brushing this off.
· Contract termination: terminating a contract takes months. Should it be done quickly, it will either require a lot of money from the idol or just a word from the ceo. Not to sound weird or anything but, I doubt that Woojin has the money to waste on terminating his contract with JYPE (especially knowing how much skz mean to him) so it must be JYPE’s word. The only situation in which JYPE would do such a thing is if the idol broke a rule and they want them fired, there is no other plausible justification for ruining a blossoming career. And considering that the news is sudden, it means that the contract was terminated in a short time, meaning that it was JYPE’s work.
Now that this has been stated, what can we do about it?
I’ve seen people claiming that contract terminations are irreversible and I’ve done my research… enlighten me if I’m wrong but there’s nothing?? That says such?? Again, google might’ve failed me so correct me if I’m wrong but, termination doesn’t mean that they can’t write another contract. So telling stays who are trying to reach out to JYPE to bring Woojin back to stop is selfish and disheartening. Are you really willing to give him up that quickly?
Fans have enough power to change JYPE’s mind. If they see how much this will affect them, financially, they will rethink. So be smart. Do things that will directly affect JYPE, not skz in that context. Unsubscribe from JYPE, watch their stocks fall. There’s absolutely no harm in trying to spread hastags like #bringWoojinBack and #weWantWoojinBack. Chan fought to keep nine, I’m sure seeing stays fight for it too wouldn’t be “pressurizing” as y’all are saying (ofc this is all under the suspicion that Woojin was forced out. If it was his choice we have no say in it).
I know it’s not good to spread false hope, but what’s better, trying and failing? Or never attempting and wondering what would’ve happened if we tried? At least we tried, at least we fought. But saying thank you and moving on? Idk but it just breaks my heart. We shouldn’t be afraid of heartbreak, for life is not an easy walk in the park… you can’t avoid things just because. Think of the better good.
If we won’t be getting that, they should at least provide a proper explanation.
Until we hear from the boys again, I refuse to believe everything is okay and I won’t be silent about it. I will fight for Woojin till the very end, and beyond.
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