Even as I worried and moaned internally for the past 10 months, I always thought that there would come a day when the issue gets resolved and I could write something like this for others to see.
Since I was young and even until after I became an adult, I experienced countless counts of sexual harassment. Through that, what I learnt from it was that it is only in sexual problems that we cannot make such pre-assumptions like 'He is not that kind of person'. No matter the person's reputation in society, or how good his image is.. When it comes to sexual matters, it is an area that neither your parents, siblings, nor friends will be able to know about - since people that are not yourself or the opposite party will not know about it.
But, I believed in Dongho. Not because of a pathetic belief that I was his fan, or because he was cool. It also wasn't an unconditional blind faith like 'Dongho is not that kind of a person'.
Like I said above, since I do not know whether Dongho is that kind of a person or not..
However, what I and Dongho's fans believed in, was that 'Kang Dongho is not the kind of person who would be able to do such an act like that, and still lie shamelessly, smile carefreely and appear on broadcasts.'
To the public, the image of this person named Kang Dongho is the one made in Produce 101, a tough guy, a macho image, like a person who has a large built, great strength and a strong personality...? Would this be it?
However, to fans, Dongho is... a person who is very different from the image that the public knows.
He laughs a lot, jokes a lot, and has the hardest time controlling his laughter..
If he is not on the stage, he is very shy and although he is the worst at aegyo or saying corny things, he was always a person who would speak the truth indifferently with a unfiltered tone.
(Scene in Produce 101 where Dongho does not deny that the less-well groomed version of him is, also him)
He had a personality such that he would not say anything that is less than the truth, or to fabricate a better version of himself.
(Dongho: I will work hard to beautify myself more. I was wrong.)
He does not focus on trying to win others, and is the type to accept the truth right immediately if he himself was at fault.
He is far from having a rough image, to the extent where you could say that even within NU'EST, he has the lowest ranking amongst all members. His own team member Minki says that if there was something he was upset about with the members, Minki would send them text messages asking to talk separately. However, even though they've lived together for a long time, Dongho has never received such a text message from Minki. He is the type to not run into conflict with other people even in daily life...
During a radio broadcast, he was made to do a thigh wrestle with a lady. If he won, it would have created a situation where the lady's legs would be spread apart in an unflattering manner, so he exerted a little bit of strength, saying 'Sorry but I won', immediately ending the game. And, he was a person with consideration who said suggested doing the game again, changing the direction of attack.
When he said that he played jackstones and coloured his fingernails with garden balsam when he was younger, even at the reaction of someone saying that it was ladylike, he questioned 'Why?', and was a person who did not possess stereotypes of gender roles, saying 'Between Dad and Mom, cooking should be done by the person who is better at it'.
Even though he could not do aegyo when given the opportunity to, he was a singer who would look at the fans with a gaze sweeter than anyone else. Even when caught in an angering situation where there were many upsetting posts in the fancafe, he was a person who would visit the fancafe without missing a day.
On one fine day during a period where he was still receiving criticism after the incident broke out, he did a game of lie detector test on V App.
On that day, these are the words that Dongho said on V App.
- But I have never gotten caught by this thing.
- I really have never gotten caught by this.
- Because I always only speak the truth. I really have never been caught by this thing.
- I really don't have a single time I got caught by this. I'm very honest.
Although it may not seem like much... as I watched Dongho who said this so many multiple times to the point where it seemed weird, I, and all other fans, would have shared the same thoughts.
All the countless videos which I watched tens of times as I stayed up the night, from the time of his debut when Dongho was still a minor, the period where he had little popularity, till the present day where he started gaining popularity - in all those videos, Dongho always showed a consistent image.
That's why I believed him.
Although I worried and moaned only internally, for fear that my words expressing my trust in him would turn out to be harmful, I'm happy that it is now I get to speak these words.
Even though this became a post which is a little corny, I wanted to reply to the question of how I could believe in Kang Dongho like that.
I wrote a long post also hoping that the people who are misunderstanding Dongho would decrease.
Dongho who put up through a difficult time... and the NU'EST members I'm thankful for who believed in Dongho and support him... and all of Dongho's fans who held their breaths and cried, including me, for the past 10 months...
I hope we get to be happy from now.
[+1413, -158]
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