K-pop artist T.O.P officially announced his exit from K-pop boy group BIGBANG via Instagram.
On May 31, T.O.P uploaded a series of photos on his Instagram story.
It was screenshots of articles stating that T.O.P is preparing for his first album as a solo artist after leaving BIGBANG.
When one fan asked if he is really out of the group, he adamantly replied that he had already quit and begun a new chapter last year, in all caps.
T.O.P's exclusive contract with YG ENTERTAINMENT expired last year, but he did not officially announce his departure from the group until this point.
Fans hoped he would change his mind and stay in the group as he had previously.
T.O.P had announced his retirement from show business on his Instagram but then reversed his decision by appearing on the group's hit single, 'Still Life', last year.
However, T.O.P's relationship with the rest of the BIGBANG members appears to have soured after his contract expired.
T.O.P has long been absent from the group's leader's Instagram posts.
G-DRAGON, an active Instagram user, has not uploaded a single Instagram post with T.O.P for almost three years, other than the member's promotional photo for 'Still Life'.
Based on their social media activity and witness accounts, only three members of BIGBANG, G-DRAGON, TAEYANG, and DAESUNG, had been hanging out together for a while.
This time the K-pop star's exit from the group appears to be permanent.
The official debut date on Naver (Korea's biggest search engine) profile was altered to 2010, when he released a solo album 'Turn It Up'.
Fans' disappointments were huge.
It was not just because his departure from BIGBANG was officialized.
T.O.P suddenly burst the news on Instagram that he is not a member of the group.
Not only did he leave comments announcing his departure, but he also expressed how he feel about the group by scratching a white line over BIGBANG, in the captured articles, where they referred to him as T.O.P of 'BIGBANG'.
From the point of view of BIGBANG fans, the way he did it was so careless, posting Instagram stories with x marks on BIGBANG's name as if he wanted to erase their 17 years together.
"I've never seen a K-pop group member confirming their departure on an Instagram story. How lazy can he be to not even post a handwritten letter? It's disrespectful.", one online user commented.
(Credit= 'D'splay' 'BIGBANG' YouTube, 'choi_seung_hyun_tttop' 'xxxibgdrgn' Instagram, YG Entertainment)