Following JYP Entertainment's official statement on the 25th that 2PM's Jaebeom would, in fact, not be returning his rightful position as the leader of the 7-member group, an ominous cloud was cast over the nation. In September 2009, Jaebeom stepped down from his position as 2PM's leader after his "offensive" MySpace comments about Korea were publicized. Due to the sensitive issue of Jaebeom's departure, all 2PM activities were suspended temporarily. After the brief hiatus, 2PM returned to the music scene with their first full-length album, without their leader. Since then, the beastly idols reaped various year-end music awards--including "Song of the Year" for Again and Again--and enjoyed skyrocketing growth in new endorsement deals. The small hope, which Hottests have been desperately clinging onto, that Jaebeom would one day unite with 2PM once again, vanished as quickly as his departure to Seattle. Needless to say, Korean and international fans from all over the world have not taken the recent news lightly. In fact, the overall reaction to Jaebeom's contract termination are already taking a devastating toll on JYP Entertainment. After the company's announcement on their official website, 2PM's fancafes and fansites have been in complete disarray. In just five hours, 2PM's official fan cafe on Daum lost 46,000 members (and counting) from the original 329,000, a hefty 14% chunk of the community. Taecyeon shut down his Cyworld while Junsu closed his photo and comment sections off from the public. It has been reported that there are even bodyguards stationed at the JYP building in Cheongdam at the moment. Perhaps it is to ensure the safety of 2PM and the staff members, but to my recollection, the managers themselves are the ones to watch out for. Despite JYP Entertainment's lengthy letter posted online, Hottests speculate that they are lying and are currently in the process of collecting evidence to thwart what they allege to be false statements.