december

And he had now decided.

That date turned out to be on December 11.

It was that day, on board to become this day.

It was long planned to carry out an array of exit activities to formally send off Cara on his last day, but upon knowing that date to be on December 11..

Considering the progress we had, I thought that this two-week notice may not be enough - especially when we also take into account another set of activities to wrap up STAY’s contract. We were already in the middle of preparations for their final album when this happened. I can’t let that one slide too, since they have only started to rise lately.. like a real group. It then became hard for me to manage such a small amount of time given to us.

But I always had to remember the evolution that he had been through in these last five years. He had gone so far now as a leader, from starting towards the end of the 2010s as a new leader chosen to do some damage control elicited by his predecessor, to rising to becoming one of the best leaders who would ultimately outdo the ones previously on top.. and until the very end, when uncertainty loomed over his fate as the inevitable was coming, which then led to his rebirth as an idol debuting in the fourth generation, maximizing everything that he can do to its full potential. All these happened in a span of five years - we’re talking years here - and this is unheard of for any other leader that came before him.

With that in mind, I have already made my decision - on how to carry on with his exit activities within a limited amount of time and fully send him off, once and for all.

December 11, 2023.

That day.

That became this day.

New Frontier Theater, 2pm. I head to that location, as planned from the very start of ideation for his eventual exit.

The wind was blowing as I walk through the hallway. As I was about to put an end to a five-year story, recalling the last five years that we’ve had with our leader - every single moment that we’ve had over the course of five years, thinking that we have come to the end of it all, still in disbelief..

..all the way to knowing where I exactly was, personally, professionally.. and literally, recalling if I had achieved any of my goals by that point. Evaluating the state of the world at the time. Examining what I was up to when it finally came. And reflecting on who I had become on that very day, as well as who he went on to become, from the very beginning in 2019 and leading to the day when his fate had finally been determined.

With all these raging thoughts about how everything would lead to this fate, I checked my phone to find out where he was at the moment.

There I found out reports by Korean media, confirming that Cara - along with his BTS bandmate Namjoon, also known by his stage name RM - have both entered the training center.

From there, I grabbed a piece of post-it and wrote a note to Cara.

Reluctant, I then placed the note on the wall beside the hallway of New Frontier. It was up to the people passing by if they were to notice, but I would no longer care.

And so this is how the five-year leadership ended.

The last minute, second, and breath of this entire era.

The last moment.

I’ve finally met my future self.

After a total run of 4 years, 11 months and 11 days - the longest ever in leadership - Cara finally stepped down from leadership on December 11, 2023.

Following the end of his leadership, he went on to fully commence his basic training before being deployed into arguably one of the hardest units in the South Korean Military - the Special Mission Unit. That would mean that he will be inactive for the entire 2024, reminiscent of the ONF members back in 2022, before returning to the industry in the summer of 2025 for the first time as a former leader.

An array of pre-made activities had been lined up for him for post-leadership schedules, among them being a feature in a new music video by solo artist IU, and a comeback which I expected to happen before the end of Caratime but unfortunately did not come to reality.

After Cara, two more BTS members would go on to fulfill their duty the next day - Jimin and Jungkook - being the last two of the group, leaving the entire septet to be inactive in the next six months until Jin comes back in June 2024, as well as the first two idols to commence their service in the new leadership - the one by Dalia.

The first newly incepted leader in five years, Dalia finally succeeded Cara as the new current leader on December 12. He is set to introduce a new dynamic in leadership, in an era where most key trends from Caratime are expected to continue. As both a Zerose and Allindan, I am looking forward to the coming new era.

Meanwhile, STAY - now down to four members - have started their indefinite group hiatus, following the end of their contracts on December 1 with the release of their final album, Prismatic. The new album may not come out fully fleshed out compared to what was expected, but it went on to cover all releases for the remainder of their contract and integrate AI technology for the very first time - enabling the members to finally explore their dynamic as a group, by having a song together despite not even stepping foot into a studio to record. Their activities as a group officially culminated with the release of a special single dedicated to Cara, “What’s My Name?”, on his last day as a leader, December 11.

Both BTS and STAY are expected to reconvene in 2025, however only time will tell if engagements with both groups - as well as the actual STAY reunion - will resume as well. Considering how fast-paced the world can become - if we are to take into account how the universe evolved from 2021 to 2023, as I had just observed - it ultimately depends on the status of leadership by then. But nonetheless, I still have my support to both groups. At the end of the day, both groups have contributed to shaping him into a well-rounded leader he evolved into by the end of his run.

Yet, with all of these things happening on that fateful day, one remained true:

The end of an era had finally come.

Cara bid his final goodbye, this time more gloriously than he had already been.

To my November 2017 self, we just had a good ending this time.