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no way back. the only way forward.

an opinion piece

PREFACE

i am an engene, and i truly do care about their success and will always root for them. i am NOT an anti/solo/belift stan. i am just trying to look at this rationally, with as much information as we have, and to acknowledge that what we don't know for sure, we truly can't say and we have to accept that.

HEESEUNG'S PASSION FOR MUSIC

look, we don't know these people personally. two things can be true at once. enhypen might have a beautiful relationship with each other or some tensions recently or none of these things. he was visibly tired this comeback, even if he was just smiling and talking about tours, etc. many people are latching onto this, but what do you expect from a public figure? a crash-out at a company event that he's obligated to be at???? "hey everyone, don't buy our latest album because i'm thinking about leaving, so yeah, it's not worth it"? ...but one thing is for sure. he has so much love for his art. so many people in this industry stick it out for the fame/lifestyle, but he's expressed a deep passion for it that goes beyond the strict idol system.

"For me, the music has to sound good the first time you hear it. I feel like you have to feel something as soon as you hear it, whether it’s pain, or joy...a true musician is someone who can give people their own music and be loved for that in return." — WEVERSE MAG.

from all this, his passion for solo music is clear. we've seen it firsthand through i-land. he doesn't settle for mediocre, whether it's pushing himself or in the way he directs the members with vocals.

WHY HE LEFT

since 2024, he's been expressing his dream of putting out solo content:

"I think I should be able to put something out later this year [2024]. I don’t know whether that’s going to be in the form of an album, a mixtape, or what." — WEVERSE MAG.

now, we get to the crux of it. i know people say he can do both solo and enhypen. like yeonjun or bts or many others. and that could be true, theoretically, ideally. but heeseung isn't them. he's heeseung. and that means you can't tell him what his capacity is. we don't know if belift outright refused to change the schedule, making it so that he couldn't possibly do both (pushing him into a corner) OR if he was truly just burnt out.

mental health isn't something that should be overlooked. we never truly know how someone is feeling (see: moonbin). even if they paste a smile on their face. and we should empathize with him and consider this possibility too. he might've loved the members, but he might've also felt like if he stayed any longer, it would be a disservice to his dreams. you have to acknowledge the nuance of it all. and it's true that it was too sudden, messy, and unprofessional. they could have informed us, then given a proper last goodbye. i agree it could've been handled better. but we don't know what the reason was. it could've been a conflict that pushed him to this decision right now, or it could've been an ulimatum by the company. but they can't legally force him into it in the end. he had to make the final call. either way, the bottom line is that we don't know.

DEBUNKING RUMORS

the sad truth of this industry is how information is currency and everything is so heavily controlled. that means that we will never know the full truth. and that also means that we can't keep harassing him and making him feel like this was a betrayal, even though you might feel that way right now. what i'm trying to say is, fuck belift. i'm not an apologist. i'm not excluding the possibility that they might've had a hand in pressuring this situation in some way. but it's probably not those hysterical conspiracy theories like throwing him under the bus for the bang pd fraud scandal or something to do with bts or satanic rituals or that they blackmailed him with some scandal about him. think logically. if any of this was true, either they would've dropped him, or he would not go back to the same label. none of these theories have 100% realistic logical grounding. from a business/legal perspective, a solo venture will always carry more risk for both the company and the artist. historical precedence shows that k-pop groups outperform solo artists every time. being an IU or a jungkook or jennie is NOT the norm. it's an exception. as a company that's known for being extremely calculating, you would have to consider that they know this too. but the fact that is that it still happened. whether it was because they willingly sabotaged this group or some legal loophole for him to wait it out here before the end of his 7 years OR because it truly was heeseung's choice and he just felt like he had to do it at this very moment. maybe he actually couldn't wait it out until contract end/renewal. so, we should chew on this. all this is to say we have to stop demanding that he walk the path that we envision for him. imagine how he feels seeing 1 million+ people insisting he come back. imagine how the members feel. yes, they're also grieving, and some of them have tears in their eyes while on fancalls. because, maybe this didn't happen exactly how they envisioned or they didn't see it happening right now, but that doesn't give us the power to tell them what to do next and to write their narrative. if this is what you want, you don't love your idol, you love the control you have over them. we have to consider that this might be what he wanted too. and that that is completely okay. choosing yourself and your own emotional fulfillment and peace doesn't make you an evil person. imagine working a 9-5 desk job that earns you so much "success" and you love all your coworkers/friends so much, but inside you hate your life because you feel trapped. it might even be true that you truly enjoyed it at first, but not right now. heeseung isn't that wide-eyed kid from i-land anymore. he's 24 years old and he's seen the dark underbelly of this industry. put yourself in his shoes. we only have one life, and we have to give it our all.

MOVING FORWARD

i'm not trying to diminish all of your rightful anger and love for him/enhypen. obviously, i'm not going to sit here and tell you to not crash out about it or not cry or not have a visceral emotional reaction. i had one too. that's okay. that's what makes us human.

it's so so valid to post about how sudden it was, how poorly it was executed. but demanding he come back? verbally harassing the members' families/friends? spamming and cyberbullying other idols and staff (not even the executives with real power, but just people who clock in to work) ????

you have to think for a minute what it could mean when his own friend, el capitxn, said:

"Stop sending me stories about Lee Heeseung [...]. It’s okay for the kid to do what he did. If you guys are true fans, embrace him first rather than throwing stones. Why do you keep blaming me?"

so, please take a minute to reflect on your actions. if healthily dealing with this means you have to unstan them or that you have to stay away from their content for a while, that's okay. do what's right for you. but if you're like me and you still truly care about ALL of them, ALL 7 of them. then, please respect them. do not boycott their content, because it's only hurting the members' success, especially in this hard time. the best we can do is root for heeseung AND root for enhypen. we can express our grief, but we cannot be parasocial and harass everyone concerned. disclaimer: i'm not trying to belittle anyone. i'm only suggesting that we move past this, because i know how hard it is right now, i feel your pain too.

FINAL THOUGHTS

i truly don't know how things will turn out for either heeseung or enhypen in the long run. i keep seeing all these tarots/astrology saying it will be rough. it's horrifying. it frustrates me that he's still with such an untrustworthy company and he put his treasured solo dream in their hands. it breaks my heart. because i've seen how much they've poured into their careers and watched them grow up.

so, i don't know if taking this gamble was the right thing to do, or how they'll end up on the other side. no one can truly know that now. even heeseung/enhypen themselves don't have those answers.

enhypen was my comfort space. i used to watch their en-o-clock and other content at some of the lowest points in my life. when no one was there for me, they were there. i understand the love you all have for them, because i do too. knowing it'll never be the same again is scary and confusing and frustrating, and allowing yourself to feel all of that is so valid. with that being said, let's remember highway 1009, the song heeseung made for us to get by hard times like these:

Nega eopdamyeon nado eopseul geoya. Uri pyeongsaeng balmatchwo gachi gaja.

I would not be here without you. Let's walk together, side by side, for eternity.

so, after everything, and in the future, i will always support and root for their health, wellbeing, and success in a respectful way. i hope that all of you can please do the same. sending everyone so much love <3

SOURCES

heeseung's weverse magazine interview

el capitxn's statement

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