I had never felt burdened by the idea of becoming a public figure and exposing countless parts of my life.
On the contrary, I considered it something I had to accept. After all, that was the price for being loved by many people and standing on stage.
However—despite all that—there was one time when I regretted becoming an idol.
"Talk about your family situation today, Yuha."
"…Sorry?"
"One of the contestants appearing this time has a past similar to yours. Kid from an orphanage who wants to be a singer. If you talk about it together, it'll make a great story. We can't miss the opportunity."
"..."
Around two years after Lightning debuted, I appeared as a panelist on a cable audition program at the CEO's suggestion. There, I revealed that I was from an orphanage, and that after my parents' accident left me in poor condition, I had been dropped from LON's debut lineup.
For a very short time, the fact that I had once been part of LON's debut team—which was hitting career highs back then—put a brief spotlight on my past.
The CEO of our then-agency Robinson was thrilled, but the moment I saw the comments under the articles with him, regret hit me hard.
"So irresponsible lol;; Dying right before debut and ruining the kid's life."
"LON member → Lightning member, Karma → Robinson LOL his whole life got split in one moment. All because of his parents ㅠ"
"So pitiful… So he lost his parents twice, then? They shouldn't have adopted him if they couldn't take responsibility. What kind of hope torture is that ㅠ"
"His past is so tragic… And didn't his adoptive family go bankrupt soon after, so he wandered around the countryside for a while? LOL ㅠ His parents were such a mess."
The comments were full of abuse.
People felt "sorry" for me, yet hurled insults at my deceased parents. The moment I saw that, I realized I had done something irreversible.
Pitying me and insulting me—I could endure those. That was part of what I had chosen.
But allowing strangers to drag my already-deceased parents through the mud—that was wrong.
I asked the agency to respond.
"This is good for you. People see you as a pitiful kid, the attention is positive. If we make corrections or say something else now, we'll lose everything."
The CEO brushed aside my concerns without a second thought.
And even so, there was nothing I could do.
I was just an idol in a failing group—someone who didn't sell, someone with no power.
So while my past was mentioned for a while, while my parents were insulted, and while the public moved on to other gossip, all I could do was watch helplessly.
That was the first time I thought: I shouldn't have become an idol.
'After that… I felt too ashamed to visit my parents' graves.'
I couldn't attend their memorial days for two years. Then I ended up returning to the past in this unexpected regression.
So the moment I came back to this life, I asked Chief Kwon to hide my family background.
Because the public now was the same as then—no, even more attentive—and I couldn't ignore the possibility that the backlash would be even worse.
After I spoke, breaking the silence, the first person to answer was Cheon Serim, his expression complicated.
"Hyung, I get why. It's not that I don't understand. But you know better than anyone that we can't just leave it like this."
"..."
"If you don't explain, you're going to be labeled as a 'fan-hating trainee.' And after yesterday's DEAR DOLL episode, the public opinion isn't any better—you know that."
Serim wasn't wrong. The situation was bad. If the villain narrative DEAR DOLL created mixed with the current "fan-hating" accusations, even the core fandom would start to crumble.
"Even so… I can't."
"Hyung!"
Even with all those risks, I couldn't let my parents—who knew nothing—be dragged into people's mouths again.
They were no longer alive. They couldn't defend themselves or explain anything.
The only thing I could do was hide them and avoid mentioning them as much as possible.
"…I'm sorry."
It was the least I could do to repay the love they had given me.
Saying only that, I left the three of them staring blankly after me.
A clear act of avoidance.
***
Cheon Serim searched for Won Yuha's name on his phone.
Without any explanation or clarification, Yuha had now been fully branded as a "fan-hating trainee." For days, he had become someone people thought "deserved to be beaten," showered with unheard-of insults as he steadily fell lower and lower.
Reading yet another comment gleefully tearing Yuha apart, Serim closed the browser in frustration. He checked the message he had sent earlier, confirming that Yuha still hadn't opened it.
'What are you trying to do, hyung…'
Serim let out a long sigh. Ever since the sasaengs' allegations surfaced, Yuha had been deliberately avoiding every form of contact.
The Won Yuha Serim knew wasn't someone who handled problems this way. He was someone who always found solutions, presented them, and navigated crises.
But the current Yuha, faced with the threat of having his most private vulnerabilities exposed, had no space to breathe—his view narrowed.
'…No, it's more like he knows the fastest solution but refuses to choose it.'
Yuha wasn't stupid. If anything, he was sharp. He must have already thought of several ways to resolve the situation.
But he couldn't use them because each solution required sacrificing the one thing he absolutely didn't want to give up.
So he chose avoidance. Leaving the problem untouched—the worst possible choice.
And Serim didn't think it would work.
'People aren't just going to sit still.'
Once something is revealed to the public, it never stays fixed at the initial information.
Whether trying to dig up more dirt on Yuha or trying to defend him with counterevidence, people would continue discussing the issue and demand more.
That momentum was unstoppable. And because of that, it was almost inevitable that Yuha's past would come to light.
Yuha might be avoiding that truth, but the moment leverage was found, it was as good as over.
And Serim's prediction was correct.
Two days after the fan-hate allegations broke, a new post finally appeared—and it turned the entire situation around.
Title: "DEAR DOLL's Won Yuha didn't hate fans — he's the victim of sasaengs invading his personal life."
I couldn't shake how strange the video in the original post looked. Forget his usual image—just the situation itself was weird.
I personally trust Won Yuha, and before deciding anything about him, I wanted to find out as much as I could.
So while replaying the video, I checked the taxi license plate that briefly appeared when the people recording chased him.
It was blurry, but not censored, so I managed to confirm the number. Then I tracked down the taxi driver who picked up Yuha that day and got the black box footage.
I attached the videos below. Please check them.
(Video 1)
(Video 2)
(Video 3)
(Screenshot 1)
(Screenshot 2)
In conclusion, Yuha wasn't hitting fans. The people clinging to him were sasaengs, and when Yuha tried to shake off the hand grabbing his sleeve as he got into the taxi, one of them rushed in, got hit by accident, and fell on her own.
I also got the audio recording from that moment. And more importantly, the place the sasaengs followed Yuha into was a columbarium.
Think about it. Isn't that too strange? Who brings a paparazzi camera to a columbarium and starts clinging to an idol they see there?
Yuha's personal life was invaded by sasaengs, and now they're trying to ruin his life by editing the footage however they want.
I sent the videos to Karma and demanded they take legal action against the sasaengs for spreading false information. I hope other streaming teams will also actively respond.
The black box footage—shots from the rear, front, and inside of the car—showed Yuha and the sasaengs from multiple angles.
As Serim watched the videos, he couldn't help but frown.
The black box footage showed Won Yuha struggling surrounded by sasaengs as the taxi drove toward the columbarium he had called for. In the rear footage and the interior footage, different angles of the video the sasaengs had originally uploaded were captured.
In the sasaengs' video, the situation had simply been distorted by people blocking the view, but the truth was clear.
Won Yuha hadn't pushed anyone. He had only reached out to shake off the hand gripping his sleeve, and one of the sasaengs happened to get hit in the process.
From the scene captured by the rear camera—sasaengs chasing after the taxi with cameras in hand, looking crazed—to the interior footage where Yuha finally managed to get inside the taxi and bowed his head deeply, refusing to look at them, the black box revealed everything.
To this, an additional audio file was attached—sound extracted from the black box.
[Hey, where are you going!]
[Delete the pictures for us and we'll…]
[Let go of…!]
[Argh! F*, I'm bleeding!]**
[Where are you going!]
[Won Yuha!]
[…Please start driving.]
After a stream of verbal abuse, demands, and curses from the sasaengs, came a single quiet line from Yuha—spoken only to get out as quickly as possible.
Then, after the taxi started moving, the footage showed him sitting small and hunched, his head bowed as if completely drained. Contrary to the sasaengs' claims of "fan-hating," there was no trace of aggression in Yuha's behavior.
The post spread rapidly.
– What the hell; so they clung to him first, invaded his privacy, and then claimed he attacked them? The nerve—this is horrifying.
– Ah… Yuha… My heart hurts. How must he have felt, unable to say a word, being called an attacker when he was the victim…
– I always trusted Yuha. Anyone can see he has good character. Honestly, the fact that he didn't push them in that situation is insane; I would've pushed them too. Sasaengs deserve jail.
– That audio is terrifying. How are they that shameless? They demanded a photo after treating him like that, and when Yuha refused but later took proof shots for fans, they got jealous and caused all this. How selfish can they be? You're not even fans.
While sympathy for Yuha rose and anger toward the sasaengs grew, another post appeared that same night, after the black box videos had gone viral.
Title: The reason Won Yuha went to the columbarium that day—it was his parents' death anniversary.
(Photo)
I went to the columbarium to see if there was any other CCTV I could get, and I found this. I think these are Yuha's parents. The child in the photo looks exactly like a young Yuha, and the father's surname is Won… The date matches the same day as the pictures taken.
His parents passed away last year, and this year was his first death anniversary. That's why he went to the columbarium and ended up running into sasaengs…
This is so heartbreaking I'm about to cry. Meeting sasaengs at his parents' memorial, suffering like that, then being called a fan-hater and getting bashed…
Looking at the dates, I finally understand why Yuha didn't make LON's debut lineup. I think the lineup decision was around this time. How could he have been in his right mind after losing his parents? He probably couldn't perform properly, so his debut fell through…
I wondered why Yuha was doing every part-time job under the sun when he appeared in the early episodes of DEAR DOLL, but now it's obvious.
He had no one to support him, and even though he wasn't in good condition, he had no choice but to work—just to survive. And even then, he poured everything he had into his performances on DEAR DOLL…
Seeing this, I finally understand why he worked so hard and why he always took care of others. This opportunity must have meant everything to him.
Please… I hope he doesn't break here. I hope he debuts and finally gets to be happy.
The attached photo showed the urns of Yuha's parents, with a picture of young Won Yuha placed in front of them.
The post was quickly taken down after fans criticized it for violating his privacy, but since it had already been uploaded once, screenshots of the post and photos spread rapidly online.
And soon, more "reveals" about Won Yuha began to surface.
– Apparently Yuha was always A-rank in Karma.; They said he was an unshakeable debut pick.
└ Huh??? If he was A-rank, isn't that basically the debut lineup?
└ Yeah;; Heard it from someone who was at Karma until recently. Yuha was always part of the next debut team. Great visuals, insane skill. Nobody thought he'd get dropped.
└ Then why did he perform like that in the level test??? Was he acting???
└ No no. They said his rank suddenly dropped—around last summer. Right when LON's debut lineup was being decided… Heard he couldn't come to the company for a while, and even after he returned, he looked out of it.
└ Ah… don't tell me that was when his parents…
└ Seems so…ㅠ After that, his condition plummeted and he hit a slump. Apparently DEAR DOLL was his last chance.
└ People kept saying his improvement was too fast to be real… turns out he was just regaining what he already had... But then all this happened again… My heart hurts and I'm not even a fan.
└ This is so sad. I wasn't interested before but now I want to support himㅠㅠ
– My acquaintance went to elementary school with Yuha and said his original name was Park Yuha.
└ Huh??? What do you mean?
└ Please tell us more, Yuha is my one-pickㅠ
– Continuing the previous mention: She said his features looked exactly like the kid she remembered, but the surname was different so she was unsure. But after seeing everything, she's certain it's him.
└ His real name was Park Yuha, and he lived in a local orphanage. He transferred in the upper grades and rumor had it he was adopted.
└ After adoption, he took his father's surname and became Won Yuha. Later, rumors resurfaced that his adoptive family went bankrupt and moved around the countryside.
└ He was famous for being handsome even as a kid, so even though he didn't have close friends after transferring, the rumors spread everywhere… My friend said she felt really bad for himㅠ
└ Ah...ㅠ
└ Yuha… ah…
└ What was his personality like??
└ Quiet, kind, took care of others. Studious, diligent, always seemed like a kid who'd succeed in anything. My friend felt so sorry that after finally being adopted, the household went bankruptㅠ She said she really hopes he succeeds now.
In just a few days, the additional posts began spreading beyond communities and were turning into full news articles.
After quick reporters contacted KRM regarding Yuha's past, KRM gave a response that was concise and unmistakable.
"Everything is true."
Which meant that all the stories circulating about Won Yuha's past were factual.
And with that, public sentiment toward Yuha flipped overnight.
From a trainee of a major agency with "nothing desperate to lose," to someone with a heartbreaking past—an icon of hardship overcome and growth.
Exactly the image KRM had wanted.
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