The news of Dream Night's disbandment had spread too quickly across various countries, and new hashtags kept popping up—accompanied by the loud buzz of malicious rumors aimed at Darren, the group's youngest member, who once stood under a dazzling spotlight.
They kept assuming. Digging up old videos and using them as weapons to attack Darren further—even clips from before his debut.
Darren hadn't received a single word from Kyun Bin, though he had hoped that even a short reply from his hyung might help him stay strong. He knew Dream Night was already shattered, even dead. But wasn't it okay, even expected, that in times like this, friends would at least check in with one another? Especially with rumors spreading this fast. They should've known.
Jae Min, the oldest member, had also seemingly vanished. His phone number was inactive, his accounts locked—he seemed to want nothing to do with any of the chaos.
Darren's phone vibrated again, but this time it wasn't from the group chat or another hate message from those who once called themselves "fans." It was from someone familiar—a name that popped up on his screen and made his chest tighten.
["Don't respond to the media. You won't win if you play on their stage."]
Darren furrowed his brows. He didn't understand what that meant, but Jihoon—their manager—seemed determined to keep the former Dream Night members silent.
"Won't win?" Darren echoed to himself, barely above a whisper. He suspected this was DC's dirty game. They still wielded their power freely, pulling strings behind the scenes, turning the former members to ruins amidst the remains of what should've been an unbroken contract—terminated without the members' knowledge.
And right then, the once-silent group chat began to light up. Notifications flooded Darren's phone. He was still in his apartment, letting the silence consume him—and he allowed it to.
[ Kim Kyun Bin : "Darren, what's going on with you? Are you serious? That old video leaked to DC Media—did you give them the signal to post it?"]
18:13 KST
[Jung Chan Hee: "This is what happens when your group has a foreign-born member. They always act selfishly to clean up their image before running back to America."]
18:14 KST
[Kim Kyun Bin : "We're all already broken, why are you being so cruel?"]
18:14 KST
[Darren Hwang : "What do you mean, hyung?"]
18:15 KST
[Kim Kyun Bin : "Don't pretend to be clueless! We all know who's behind the new rumors."]
18:19 KST
[Darren Hwang : "I haven't even read any news today."]
18:20 KST
Darren's hands trembled violently. He could barely type properly on his phone's keyboard. He took another deep breath, if only for himself. His eyes were red. He was angry, disappointed—and furious enough to scream. He could explode. But the Darren inside him whispered: stay alight. Don't go dark.
Then, the one who had vanished—Jae Min—finally appeared in the chat, his message full of fury, as if Darren was the sole reason Dream Night fell apart.
[Choi Jae Min : "Who among us still has trust left after it was all destroyed, Darren?! You think all these rumors are fake? Then why did you threaten legal action against your own members? That's irony, isn't it?"]
19:01 KST
[Kim Kyun Bin : "You're the one who said Chan Hee and I were always fighting before the agency dissolved us. Maybe it's time we stop using the word 'we.' You're even more manipulative than I thought."]
19:09 KST
[Choi Jae Min : "Someone said you were at DC headquarters yesterday. So that's the reason."]
19:13 KST
It was like being struck by lightning. Darren stared at the messages that targeted him as if he were the villain. His eyes brimmed with tears—he didn't know what else to do.
With what little strength he had left, he typed one last message, desperate for his hyungs to believe in him.
[Darren Hwang: "Hyung, please believe me. I'm not as bad as the media makes me out to be. You all should know me better than anyone."]
19:10 KST
Silence. No one replied.
Darren threw his phone onto the bed, hard. He screamed until his voice turned hoarse. He ruffled his white hair—bleached to perfection—meant for the comeback they had all prepared for.
They had even finished filming. But all they heard after that... was that DC had canceled the album release.
Darren couldn't take it anymore. He had chosen to stay quiet, afraid he'd only make things worse. He didn't dare open his Instagram or Bubble.
No one wanted to hear his voice anymore.
That night, he decided to leave his apartment.
Not to Los Angeles. Not to the practice studio. Instead, he chose a surprising place: a small house owned by his aunt in Gangneung—a quiet seaside city far from the spotlight. There, he would hide—from the world, from the media, and from his former friends.
For the next few days, he just wanted to walk along the shore, write lyrics he never finished, and try to feel the wind that demanded nothing from him.
He wasn't running away.
He was just trying... to survive.
***
Inside the car on the way to Gangneung, Darren closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep, but the same nightmares kept coming back. He turned to the window. Towering buildings stood firm, their lights merging into the reflection of his tired gaze.
Darren slowly opened the article his members had mentioned earlier. It was true—yet another slanderous headline, this time with his name front and center.
[BREAKING NEWS: DARREN HWANG—FORMER MAIN VOCALIST OF DREAM NIGHT—FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST FORMER MEMBERS? SPOTTED AT DC ENTERTAINMENT BUILDING?]
His fists clenched tight, jaw locked. The hate hashtags using his name had only gotten worse since the story broke.
No one was talking about Dream Night's sudden disbandment anymore. Sensationalism ruled now. Everyone wanted a piece of Darren—and possibly the other members too.
His heartbeat pounded. He opened Twitter, and his eyes caught a video: a three-year-old livestream clip from their practice room, where Kyun Bin corrected Chan Hee's moves. Back then, it was nothing. Just another day. But now, netizens twisted it into evidence of long-standing internal conflict.
The world now acted like it was taboo. And Darren, seen in the video quietly staring up at the studio ceiling, was cast as cold and complicit.
'Is that why the public thinks I hate the members? Is that what sparked rumors of me taking them to court?'
'They must think I'm seeking revenge for the rumors… just because I visited DC after the disbandment?'
There were thousands of questions swirling in Darren's mind. He couldn't think clearly anymore. He muttered under his breath.
He himself… was just another victim of this mess.
***