E'Dawn
K-Pop boy group Pentagon member E'Dawn.instagram.com/cube_ptg

Following revelations that TripleH members E'Dawn and HyunA were dating, fans have now taken to social media to express their disappointment as to how the news was handled by the agencies and the artists themselves.

Pentagon's E'Dawn has now apologised to fans for the confusion and laid down his honest thoughts about the whole issue by addressing to them directly.

E'Dawn and HyunA had originally denied rumours of them dating when news outlet TV Report had said on August 2 that the pair had been dating for several months. However, on August 3, Yonhap News revealed that the couple had accepted they were in a relationship and had been dating for two years. The couple wanted to be honest with fans before more confusion was created.

On August 4, Cube Entertainment, which represents both artists, said all promotions for TripleH's 'Retro Futurism' had been cancelled. The label also said on August 22 that E'Dawn and Yan An will be taking a temporary hiatus from their group.

Fans were naturally confused and frustrated. As noted by Soompi, singer E'Dawn wrote to his fans personally on September 7, through a fan cafe. The K-pop artist's post can be read as follows:

"Hello everyone, this is E'Dawn. I'm sorry that this message is so sudden, so late in coming, and in writing instead of in person. I had been excited to meet the fans at the fan club inauguration ceremony in August, and all of the members were excited and grateful for the opportunity. I wanted to address you all directly, but I was not able to attend."

"As a person who has said that I wanted to perform with confidence and show my sincerity, I'm sorry for disappearing all of a sudden and disappointing and confusing our fans. I'm so sorry that this is late and I don't know if my words will reach you, but I wanted to share a little of what I've been thinking for the fans who would otherwise wait endlessly for news."

"Before this incident took place, I talked often with my members about whether my choices were right or wrong. Before any decision was made, I was afraid and unsure of myself. But since this was a choice I made for myself, I thought that it would be better to be honest rather than continue living a huge lie. That's why I made up my mind to face everyone honestly."

"I wanted to keep my promise to the fans to meet them and give an honest performance, but I was unable to keep that promise during this last promotion. However, I'm glad that I was able to promote with my members and perform the music that we worked hard on. I will not be able to join them directly this time but I will always cheer on the fans and the members with the new album, which everyone worked hard on."

"One month was a long time for me. I worried that a lot of people would hate me at first, or feel hurt. I thought about a lot of different things during that time. I'm sad that this is the only way I can express my sincerity. I don't know how we will be able to meet again, but stay healthy and I hope that only good things will happen to you all in future. I will be fine."

"I'm sorry. Thank you. I miss you. I will let you know of anything new if there is an opportunity."

As noted by Allkpop, Netizens are of the opinion that Cube Entertainment is being too harsh after finding out their label artists were secretly dating each other. They think the label has been punishing the two by dropping them from schedules and promotions.

The members of the Pentagon official fan club Universe had even demanded that E'Dawn be removed from Pentagon for "deceiving team and members". 

Several other fans think E'Dawn and HyunA should have been more forthcoming with their label about their relationship. Some explained to K-pop fans that what matters most is the "image" of the artists and dating someone damages that image.

As noted by Koreaboo, HyunA had revealed on August 2 that she 'got to know E'Dawn when he was a trainee.' She said they gradually became friends after performing together and started dating in May of 2016.

"We began dating after working on our music together. We were very cautious about our relationship. Our decision to open up about our relationship was to be honest in front of those who support us. And I want to show our best on stage so that we can take responsibility for our decision," she said.