Dayo woke up early as always and did his normal routine workout, but there was a different smile on his face today. The reason was simple — Lois' album was rolling out today. Not only that, but Youssef's single was also coming out. He was extremely happy.

He could feel his status increasing as his followers were growing fast. It was different from the last two weeks. The reason was clear — the performance of Dayo's group had blown up beyond imagination. People were even asking them to release the full audio of their stage song. The original artist of the song even posted it, saying he wanted to feature Dayo and his team officially.

TikTok: 16.2M followers

Instagram: 11.7M followers

Twitter/X: 6.2M followers

Dayo looked at the numbers with a smile. Just one week had passed, and his total followers across all platforms had increased by over 3.2 million. That kind of growth was insane — it showed how powerful the competition really was.

Just then, his phone started ringing.

*Valery*

He answered immediately. "Hey, Val."

"Morning, superstar," Valery said in a playful tone. "You've seen the numbers, right?"

Dayo laughed. "Haha, yeah. I almost thought it was a glitch when you sent me the update. I mean, 3.2 million followers in one week? That's crazy."

"It's well deserved," Valery replied. "Lois' album drops in less than two hours. I just wanted to let you know everything is set, so you can rest easy."

"Oh, that's great," Dayo said, sitting on his bed and stretching. "And what about the visuals?"

"They'll post the teaser later today," Valery said. "By the way, make sure you go online around noon to repost the album link. Fans are already counting down."

"Got it," Dayo replied. "By the way, Youssef's single drops today too. I'll call him now."

"Alright, Dayo. All the best in Morocco, shine as always."

"Yeah. Thanks, Val."

The call ended, and the same smile stayed on Dayo's face. He quickly dialed Youssef's number.

"Yo, Youssef!"

"Haha, Dayo! I was just about to call you," Youssef said excitedly. "Bro, today's the day!"

"I know, man. You ready?"

"Ready is an understatement. The single will stream in less than an hour. I hope you're ready to repost it. We're counting on your lucky star energy again."

Dayo laughed. "Haha, no problem. Just tag me when it drops and the rest should work like magic as I'm coming to Morocco."

"Done deal," Youssef said. "And hey, congrats again on the performance. The whole internet is still talking about it."

"Thanks, bro. I'll talk to you later."

After the call, Dayo went online to post a story on all his platforms.

> "Big day today! Watch out for Lois' album and Youssef's new single dropping soon!

Something special for the Morocco fans #TeamDayo #NewMusic #GlobalStage"

Within minutes, the post started getting reactions and comments:

> "Can't wait for the drop!"

"Morocco fans are ready!"

"I don't know what to expect!"

"Haha, you from above, don't worry, Dayo is full of surprises, so be ready."

"Is he going to sing in Arabic or what?"

"JD, I can't wait!"

Later in the evening, Lois' album finally dropped, and Youssef's single started trending on Spotify and Apple Music. Dayo reposted both, replying to comments and thanking fans for their support.

The day went by fast. He spent the evening chatting with fans and watching the numbers go up. He was too excited to sleep, checking every few minutes to see how the songs were performing.

But by midnight, he finally forced himself to lie down. They had to leave early in the morning for Morocco.

He turned off his phone and muttered, "Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

***

Next Morning

The hotel lobby was full of noise and movement. Contestants were dragging luggage, staff members were rushing around with lists, and the production crew was giving out boarding passes.

"Dayo! Come on, we're late!" Min-Jae shouted from across the lobby.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Dayo replied, adjusting his hoodie and grabbing his bag.

They quickly joined the others and boarded the bus that took them to the airport. They met South Korean fans there, waving them goodbye. After about an hour, they were finally on the plane.

As they settled into their seats, Dayo looked out the window and smiled. He couldn't wait to see Morocco again and perform there. He believed he would have fans there since Youssef's song should already be getting momentum, and they should be expecting him. He was really excited.

Min-Jae sat beside him, already scrolling through his phone. "Bro, the flight's around 13 hours. You'd better get some sleep."

"Yeah, I will," Dayo said, closing his eyes. "Wake me when the food comes."

He chuckled, adjusting his seat as the plane took off.

***

Meanwhile, in the U.S.

In another part of the city, Vivian sat in front of her phone camera, live on her social media. Her hands trembled slightly, and her eyes looked red, as though she'd been crying.

Thousands of viewers were already watching as the live comments rolled in.

"Vivian, are you okay?"

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you crying?"

She took a shaky breath, looked directly into the camera, and said, "I wasn't planning to say this, but… I can't keep it in anymore."

Her voice cracked as she continued. "You all know Dayo, right? The Global Stage contestant, the one many say will win this year's Global Competition… he was my ex. I've been holding this for a long time. He… he wasn't who everyone thinks he is."

The comments went wild instantly.

"What???"

"No way!"

"Tell us everything!"

"I can't believe this. I watched his performances and his behavior toward others — he didn't seem like that."

"Yeah face can be deceiving some times"

Vivian wiped her tears dramatically. "When we were together, he was manipulative and abused me by hitting me. He used me, and when things didn't go his way, he just walked away. I thought I could move on, but seeing him on screen every week pretending to be this nice guy—it's been eating me up."

Her tone sounded emotional and guilty, almost believable.

"I'm not saying this to destroy him," she said, sniffling. "I just need to heal. I just hope people see that not everyone is as perfect as they look on TV. I know many might not believe me, but here are pictures of what I looked like after he punched me."

She showed some pictures of her face, which was bruised and beaten, and she wept harder as she showed them.

"Yeah, I mean, this has to be fake, right? Lois?"

"Hmm, I expected this much. Nobody can be that good-boy scout JD."

"Yeah, if this is true, he shouldn't be allowed to participate in Global Stage."

"OMG, this has to be fake. How can he be a woman-beater?"

"LOL, a lot of your celebrities are like that."

"Ugh... I don't know. This just feels scripted and weird. Why now, of all times, when he's getting fame and attention? Something is fishy."

"The only thing fishy is your head. Are you defending him?"

"I'm sharing this so people can be aware of what kind of person JD is. I don't need sympathy; I just don't want anyone to go through what I went through."

Then she ended the live stream abruptly.

Within minutes, the internet exploded.

"Wait, is she serious?"

"Vivian and Dayo???"

"She looks hurt. Maybe she's telling the truth."

"Something feels off though."

"Why now? This timing is suspicious."

While some people doubted her, the majority seemed to believe the story — at least for the moment. News blogs started picking it up, and hashtags like #DayoExposed, #VivianSpeaks, and #GlobalStageScandal began trending.

Back on the plane, Dayo had no idea any of this was happening. He was asleep, completely unaware that by the time they landed in Morocco, almost the entire internet would be against him.

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