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On January 12, 2022, a dating scandal concerning SEVENTEEN Vernon, which stemmed from the Instagram story of TOMORROW X TOGETHER's stylist, had the internet on fire.
The stylist held a Q&A session on her Instagram story, and as she went ahead with answering several questions that were posed by her followers on her stories, there was one question that caught everyone's attention. When she was asked the question:
"Do you have a partner?"
She replied that she did. However, what drew more attention was the picture of a teddy bear that she posted along with the answer.
Naturally, everyone believed that the teddy bear alluded to something about her relationship. When CARATs came across this image, they were reminded of SEVENTEEN Vernon carrying a similar teddy bear.
Sometime in 2022, during Vernon's travel for SEVENTEEN's Face the Sun World Tour, he was seen carrying a teddy bear at the Incheon International Airport.
Upon viewing a similar teddy bear on the stylist's Instagram story, fans couldn't help but believe it was the same doll that Vernon might have gifted her. However, the speculations didn't stop there.
As a popular tradition between couples in Korea, people wear matching items such as jewelry, clothes, etc., which was what prompted several eagle-eyed netizens to pick out the couple items that further linked SEVENTEEN Vernon to TXT's stylist.
Additionally, fans claimed that the two share not just a matching pair of caps but also rings. To further cement their argument, they added that Vernon's sister is supposedly following the stylist on Instagram.
As the rumor started to spread like wildfire, people were unsure whether to believe that it could be true or if it's all just a huge coincidence that's further fabricated. Twitter user @tyunitup wrote:
"Vernon getting a dating rumor with txts stylist was not on my 2023 bingo card"
Soon enough, to discuss the same, fans rushed to Twitter to kickstart a debate or the legitimacy of the newly budded dating rumor.
Fans on Twitter express mixed feelings about SEVENTEEN Vernon's dating scandal
Following the speculation of SEVENTEEN Vernon dating TXT's stylist, fans went through a rollercoaster of emotions, with the majority of Twitter users being confused about how to respond to this unexpected news. While some expressed happiness for Vernon, most fans were upset about how his privacy was at stake at the same time.
However, most of the fandom remained shocked at the news that they never anticipated.
Since both SEVENTEEN and TXT (TOMMORROW X TOGETHER) come from the same label, HYBE, fans believed that they couldn't completely neglect the possibility of the dating scandal being true.
What naturally grew into a debate had people questioning the legitimacy of the rumor while others imposed that it was a fact.
Since there had been no solid proof hinting at how much of the story was true, CARATs requested netizens to leave Vernon alone. They further asked others to stop spreading false rumors about their idol that surrounded him with negative attention. Many fans were also found to be sending hate towards the stylist, which is quite the anticipated aftermath of any dating scandal related to a celebrity.
However, irrespective of whether or not the rumors were true, fans hoped that SEVENTEEN Vernon and the stylist will be left out of the public discussion, at least out of respect for the privacy of the two.
