The South Korean boy band, FIFTY FIFTY, seems to be in a unique and paradoxical situation. According to the latest data from the American Billboard charts, FIFTY FIFTY's "Cupid" hit the 24th spot on the 'Hot 100' list on the 29th. This is an impressive feat considering that the band, which has yet to celebrate its first anniversary, has managed to maintain popularity for nearly 20 weeks on Billboard's main chart.

However, things are far from smooth sailing domestically for FIFTY FIFTY. The band members have sued their agency, Attrakt, alleging opaque accounting and seeking to suspend their exclusive contract. While Attrakt has publicly called for understanding and open dialogue, insiders close to FIFTY FIFTY view this as nothing more than a media play by the company.

Many people attribute the band's conflict to Seong-Il Ahn, head of The Givers, which had a producing service contract with Attrakt. Ahn is known as the producer who discovered the original track for "Cupid." It seems that the FIFTY FIFTY members relied more on Producer Ahn than Jun-Hong Jeon, the head of their agency Attrakt, suggesting a closer relationship.

This led Jeon to suspect Ahn first when he noticed the unusual signals from the FIFTY FIFTY members preparing for the lawsuit. Jeon believes that Ahn, who had initially struggled to raise investment funds, is undermining him and dividing the band members for future activities. Jeon has previously filed a complaint against Ahn and others for business obstruction, electronic record destruction, fraud, and breach of duty at the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul.

Further controversies surrounding Ahn continue to unfold. First, there's suspicion of forgery involving the original composer of "Cupid." A media outlet recently reported that while Ahn claimed to hold 99.5% of the copyright after contracting with three Swedish composers of "Cupid," he actually forged their signatures and submitted the controversial document to the Korean Music Copyright Association.

But the controversies don't stop there. It has also been revealed that Ahn's educational background and work history have been falsely presented. An outlet stated that while Ahn's educational background listed on various portal sites was 'graduate of Chung-Ang University's Business Administration Department,' there is no such person named Ahn in the list of graduates of the department. Ahn is also accused of exaggerating his career history with another entertainment company.

Ahn acknowledged the errors in his academic and career history within a day, apologizing for the confusion. Many wonder why he felt the need to fabricate his educational credentials in an industry where skills are valued more than education.

FIFTY FIFTY and Ahn seem to be deliberately distancing themselves from each other, especially as Ahn's controversies continue to make waves. Ahn has even announced that he would go his separate way from FIFTY FIFTY. However, few believe this claim. It seems unlikely that a band, not even a year into their debut, could manage everything without some assistance.

Some point to the case of singer Son Seung-Yeon, whose name was mentioned during her breakup with Fortune. One of the names that came up in the process was Ahn's. Both Son Seung-Yeon and Ahn have strongly denied this, however. Son maintains that she had clear reasons to demand the termination of her exclusive contract with Fortune, emphasizing that she will legally respond to any hasty misunderstandings and speculations that are not related to Ahn.

What's intriguing, however, is what the FIFTY FIFTY members truly desire. Aside from the reasons stated by their lawyers in court, it's hard to gauge what they want. They've reached the top ranks of Billboard, but fail to receive applause from their domestic fans. One can't help but wonder what end they hope to reach amidst all this turmoil.

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