Weeks ago, HyunA and E’Dawn (Pentagon) publicly announced their relationship without the approval of their agency, Cube Entertainment, and have had to deal with the consequences ever since. Cube Entertainment then announced that the two are removed from the label but then backtracked and said that it isn’t official yet, that they are working on handling the situation. Suddenly, the company then completely backtracked their official announcement and said that they are not cutting ties with the couple after all.

Opinions about the pair’s relationship isn’t unified either. Some fans are agreeing with Cube while others are furious with the company’s decision. It’s common for K-Pop stars to have a no dating rule that they have to follow during the span of their contracts, even if the ‘rule’ isn’t official. It’s not new news.

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Because I’m an Asian American, I can understand the cultural viewpoints on love from both sides. My mother is of mixed race so she never denied me my right to fall in love with whomever I choose, but I’ve known other people who have more traditional parents and have experience being threatened to be disowned. It’s a real thing, people are unfortunately being placed in situations where they have to choose, and the choice that is chosen is usually love. In this case, the disownment didn’t come from parents, it came from an entertainment company.

Obviously, I believe that people should be allowed to date whoever they want to date, even when it comes to K-Pop artists. However, I do understand the reasoning behind the company’s decision. Just like in any other workplace, or should I say most other workplaces, there are usually employee dating policies. And the root of it comes from couples who end up not working productively while on the job together or from couples who split up and bring tension into the workplace. It’s kind of the same thing if you think about it. They’re both in the same entertainment company, working alongside together in projects, fans rooting for the couple, and they could also visit each other while working. All this is fine, that is until (hopefully not) the pair decides to call it quits. What happens then?

Supportive fans will always support them regardless, but how what would the company do if that situation arise? Especially if it isn’t a friendly breakup. Do you try to make sure they don’t have overlapping schedules where they could run into each other? Do you just stop having collaborative projects? Just imagine the awkwardness and the extra measures that the staff would have to do to prevent any tension or awkwardness.

It is just a sad situation that they happen to be K-pop stars and also within the same company.  It’s also very sad that there are people out there who call themselves fans but then get so upset about their favorite idol being unavailable that they would stop supporting them.

When the news of their relationship first came out, I remember looking at a post about how Pentagon fans were refunding their tickets or backing out from attending fan meetings because they were so upset over the news. I understand the fantasy that every fangirl/fanboy has in their minds that they’re favorite stars belong to them, but to the point where they stop supporting the artist if they’re suddenly off the market? It’s a little obsessive. But then again, K-Pop is so popular because of this obsessive behavior. There’s nothing wrong with obsessing, to a certain extent, since it is what drives us to go out and get that album, buy that poster, or constantly follow and like posts and media. It builds the support for the artist as well as their popularity. But as supportive fans, we should also remember that they are human too.