I saw Woojin trending high worldwide on twitter today and I had a gut feeling that this is something bad. If it's a celebration of something like a birthday, 1) it would trend at midnight in Korea, 2) It would be a birthday hashtag not just a name. If it's teasers or releases, it would trend at 6PM or midnight. If it's a viral fancam or whatever, it would happen in the afternoon or the evening. Nothing is announced in the morning unless it's bad news. Woojin withdraws from Stray Kids. My heart dropped.

I was just crying 5 days ago with the news of Hwall leaving The Boyz. I knew Hwall has health problems on top of recovering for his surgery and he had taken hiatuses before, but deep down I kept waiting for the news of him eventually returning to the group. The last comeback didn't feel the same at all. I even don't follow The Boyz that closely, but I loved Hwall. He seems to be very passionate about performing, he takes center position a lot and his dancing is very powerful. His last hiatus announcement was right before their comeback and fans were revolting. I don't know if this is true, but from what I read, the initial album sales were really low because some fans were launching a 12 or none boycott. Which is a sad thing. The fandom is hurting themselves. The Boyz supposed to be selling more than 100K copies each comeback with their level of popularity today. What I'm worried about is if Hwall made the decision to set The Boyz free because of this. His 'hiatus' status is weighing on them and fans are holding back if the group is not complete. We don't know how severe Hwall's condition was, and reading how he also has mental problems, I couldn't help but think that all the comments about him he probably read during his hiatus affected him in one way or another. Last week when I saw his name on the news, I jumped in joy, thinking that the article would say that his hiatus is finished and he'll be joining the group again but no, he concluded his activities instead. It was difficult to take in. I cried and thought of it the whole week. TBZ would never be the same now. I'm sure Hwall and the members are hurting too.

Today's Woojin announcement totally blind-sided me. I don't follow Stray Kids that closely either, but they have a very special place in my heart. I watched their reality show, followed them (loosely) since debut. Unlike Hwall who had taken hiatuses previously, there have NEVER been any indications that ANYONE would withdraw from the group. Woojin was an SM trainee who was crushed when his fellow trainees debuted through NCT, and I was happy that he got the chance to debut in SKZ. This is a very successful rookie group with a bright future under one of the biggest entertainment agencies in Korea, what else could you possibly want? The announcement was very, very abrupt: He's out from Stray Kids and terminated his contract. Not even a hiatus, no room for negotiation. In the middle of a comeback preparation, too. They had to push back everything. And the reason is worrying: due to personal circumstances. WHAT DO PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES MEAN? Are you sick? Are you okay? Family problems? Did you not get along with the members?? What the fuck pushed you to withdraw from one of the most successful groups out there? I thought this is your dream life.

At least with Hwall we got a long sincere hand-written letter which softens the blow to some degree. Plus he's not terminating his contract with Cre.ker, he's still going to do activities under the agency. He wrote how much he loves his members and Deobis. Plus in his case, it was health reasons so there's this sense of 'there's nothing we can do, let's support him to get better even when it means he had to quit'. With Woojin it's nothing but questions.

Speaking of, last week we also heard the same news about Min withdrawing from We In The Zone. In the middle of a comeback preparation. Not to mention it's going to be their FIRST comeback, ever.

I've experienced witnessing group disbandment and member departures, but it never gets easier.