5) The Ankle Injury

Many T-ara fans claim that Hwayoung pretended to be injured before T-ara's first concerts at the Budokan, a 14,000 seat arena in Tokyo, because she was lazy and wanted to avoid working. This is complete nonsense. She loved being on stage and put a lot of effort into it. See this live Lovey Dovey, two and a half months before the Budokan concerts. Hwayoung is the one wearing the yellow top. 
120512 티아라(T-ARA) Lovey Dovey @ Dream Concert - YouTube

There's no way she would have wanted to miss out on a big event like that. At the concerts she performed just one song, Day by Day, sitting on a chair. It is said that the rehearsal should have taken about two hours, but because of the changes to the choreography and lighting forced by her not taking part in the dances it took eight hours. The Budokan concerts, on 25 and 26 July 2012 were the end of a Japanese tour which started in June, so virtually all the work had been done already. Long rehearsal sessions are normal when preparing for concerts, but by that time they all knew exactly what they were doing and would only need to adjust to the different stage where they would be performing, so if Hwayoung faked the injury because she was lazy, what was the work that she was trying to avoid? It's just not credible that she would do all the hard work to prepare and then decide to drop out just before the climax of the tour. 

On 23 July 2012, after T-ara performed at the Ulsan Music Core Special, Hwayoung twisted her ankle, then they travelled back to Seoul, arriving at 3am. The members had about three hours of sleep before flying to Japan, and Hwayoung must have had less than the others that night because she went to the hospital seeking treatment. She was keen to obtain a cast or brace for her leg, but why did she want that? Most people seem to assume that it was because she wanted to appear more injured than she really was, but it's more likely that she just wanted something that would give the ankle enough support to enable her to perform at the Budokan, which would be two days after the injury occurred. She may have thought that might give her time to recover enough for the first of the concerts, but, looking at the available evidence, my guess is that she had a Grade 2 sprain: 
"moderate to severe pain with severe difficulty on walking. Minor bruising and swelling may present immediately but can take several hours (up to 48) to develop. The ankle will feel very stiff but may also feel unstable resulting from a number of torn ligament fibres. Recovery time is between 4 and 8 weeks." 
Sprained Ankle - Treatment, Rehabilitation & Exercises 

If that is right, then the truth is that with the injury she had, there was never any possibility of her being able to perform on her feet so soon. After arriving in Japan she went to another hospital. She already had the brace, but must have felt that it was not sufficient, so she was looking for extra treatment. “Just like what the hospitals in Korea said, the hospital in Japan also said a leg cast was unnecessary. It would heal naturally, but it did need extra attention.” 
A Chronological Timeline and Conclusion of the T-ara Scandal, Dispatch’s interview with T-ara’s staff | Diadem   

I have seen many comments claiming that the doctors told her there was nothing wrong, but what they said is that the ankle did not need a cast, which is not normally used for sprains. The proper treatment for Hwayoung's injury is PRICE. “The best ankle sprain treatment to start with is PRICE: Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. This aims to reduce the bleeding, swelling and pain around the injured ligament which helps to speed up healing.” 
Ankle Sprain Treatment, Recovery & Prevention - Foot Pain Explored

So the hospital would have advised that she needed to rest the ankle and definitely not dance on it. That immediately wipes out virtually all of her performance, as she had very little solo singing and a few raps that could be done by other members. Some have argued that if she was not fit to dance, she should have sat at the side and sung, but would anyone really notice the absence of Hwayoung's voice? Probably the only part when the others could not easily cover for her vocally was the rap segments of Day By Day, and she was on stage for that. 

Another thing that often I see is people telling us how Eunjung and Jiyeon performed with injuries. When Eunjung had an ankle injury T-ara were promoting Lovey Dovey, and they were promoting Number 9 when Jiyeon was suffering from synovitis in her knee. They really shouldn't have been performing with those problems, but it's one thing to limp around on a bad leg for a few minutes and quite another to do it for an entire two-hour concert, and it's worth noting that Eunjung made her injury worse and was absent from the later performances. 

Because Hwayoung was not going to be dancing at the concert, the choreography had to be adjusted, and the rehearsal is said to have gone on for eight hours. She should have gone to the rehearsal to contribute whatever she could and to help maintain morale, but the other members should have supported her when she had an injury that put her out of action, rather than making their own amateur diagnosis and ganging up on the girl who was missing the chance to perform at the big event. By the time she left may well have been very tired and distressed both physically and mentally, and if the other members were already accusing Hwayoung of exaggerating her injury on the flight, as seems likely, then it's not surprising that she wanted to stay away from them. The idea that she missed the rehearsal to get her nails done is ridiculous and false. That was just something that she thought of because she wasn't going to be doing much else, and there is some doubt about whether she had her nails done that day.  

The following is a reply I wrote to someone who claimed that Hwayoung was not faking the injury at first, but the next day she was fine and just didn't want to do the concerts. 

If Hwayoung was not faking the injury at first she was not faking it over the next few days either because sprained ankles take a long time to heal. Sprains are classified as Grade 1, Grade 2 or Grade 3. 

Grade 1 – Stretched ligaments, some pain, some stiffness, some difficulty walking or running. Recovery time 2 to 4 weeks. 

Grade 2 – Torn ligaments, moderate to severe pain with severe difficulty walking. Minor bruising and swelling which may take as long as two days to develop, so it may not look bad at first. The ankle will feel very stiff and may feel unstable. Recovery time 4 to 8 weeks. 

Grade 3 – Severe tears or complete ruptures of ligaments. Severe pain immediately and the ankle may feel very unstable and weak. Swelling usually develops immediately and bruising often develops over the next two days. X-ray often required to ensure no bones are broken. Recovery time up to three months. 
Sprained Ankle - Treatment, Rehabilitation & Exercises

Some claim that Hwayoung's x-ray showed there was nothing wrong, but the ligaments are not visible on an x-ray, so it cannot do that, and that fact that an x-ray was done suggests that the injury was quite bad. Sportsinjuryclinic tells us that an x-ray is often required with a Grade 3 sprain, but does not mention it for Grade 1 or Grade 2. For a Grade 1 the x-ray would be probably be considered unnecessary, for a Grade 2 it might be done just to make sure. Hwayoung's injury does not appear to have been as bad as a Grade 3, so the x-ray may have been requested by the patient or by the company, who were keen for her to perform at the concerts, but presumably not if she had broken bones. The mistake was thinking that because the bones were not broken there was nothing seriously wrong. 

 I think Hwayoung's injury was probably a Grade 2 sprain, not just because of the x-rays, but because it fits her behaviour; walking a bit, perhaps to try it out and see what she could do, then deciding that she needed assistance. If I am right it is likely she would be back to normal some time in late August or September, and there was never any possibility of her being fit for those concerts. 

23 July – Injury 
24 July – Rehearsal 
25 July – First concert 
26 July – Second concert 
27 July – Music Bank 

Elenora wrote some very good comments on Soompi about how a misunderstanding could happen. They are among best contributions to the Hwayoung debate that I have seen. 

Elenora -> Sorbet Mei 
I am deeply skeptical about the staff opinion regarding the ankle injury. There's a misconception that you either break your ankle or don't - the truth is you can really screw up the ligaments and tendons and it hurts like the devil and frequently doesn't repair because there's nothing that can be done. You can't see that damage on an x-ray, you need an MRI. Most of the time they won't give you a cast but walking is very difficult (if possible at all) and you really should spend your time at home with your foot elevated. 

We've all seen that some management companies get their group members on stage even if they're ready to keel over and only seem contrite if someone DOES keel over. If Hwayoung thought she couldn't walk even though the doctor said no break, then that's something only she would know. From that point, the choreography had to be changed no matter what. If the combined staff and group members decided to hold that against Hwayoung and start the rumor that she wasn't actually that injured? Well, that's an excellent start to one heck of a grudge. 

Do I know that Hwayoung really couldn't perform? Nope. But unless the staff were moonlighting as doctors, I'm pretty sure all they know is what the management group told them - and it was in the management group's interests to keep her onstage. 

nmm -> Elenora
But they did go to doctors in 2 different countries who said the same thing tho. So it's not the staff's saying she didn't need the cast but the doctors did. But it's another case if you think the staff or the doctor was lying 

Elenora -> nmm 
I don't think anyone's lying. I think the doctors saw a ligament injury that has no real "fix" - it's important to elevate it and stay off it, but there's no direct benefit of a cast's structure. And I don't think the staff are lying (though I think they're extremely biased). 

My best guess is that Korean companies tend to work their groups to exhaustion, and may have assumed that because there was no cast or injury visible on x-ray, she was good to go. But she knew very well that she wasn't good to go and that trying to use that ankle would injure it further, so a doctor told her a cast wouldn't do any harm and that's why she wore it. She probably also wore it in public to explain why she wasn't performing, given how closely kpop fans follow this stuff - I can imagine what would've come her way if she was seen limping through an airport and then not performing. 

I think it's a toxic mix: a girl who genuinely got injured too badly to perform but not badly enough for it to be a break, a couple of doctors who all saw the same thing, another doctor who agreed that a visual shorthand for the injury would be a good idea, a management company who had motive for meeting appearance commitments, and then a really gross swirl of bitchy backbiting between the management, staff and group members regarding the girl who wasn't there. I don't think there's any one person responsible, though I'd look more closely at the management company than anyone else. 

Elenora -> nmm 
I don't think anyone was lying. I think the same diagnosis can get different opinions, based on the people in the room and the context provided. For example, when I had leg surgery my doctor told me that I could go back to work in two weeks. But then I explained that my job is one with lots of international travel and standing, and she instantly changed her recommendation and told me I'd be out for 6 weeks. The thing that changed is that she'd thought I'd drive to a suburban office and sit at a desk 8 hours a day with my foot on a stool, when in fact even on non-travel days I'm walking about 3 miles through cities. Totally different recommendation, same injury. 

If Hwayoung went to a doctor with the management company, they may have presented a much less realistic story than reality - management is known to do that. In contrast, when she went with her father it's possible that she described her busiest possible day on the job (which, given the Japan travel, sounds likely). That would easily result in different doctors giving different recommendations. 

Daisy Fung -> Elenora 
First doctor says she doesn't need a cast. Second doctor says she needed one. Third doctor says the same thing as the first. The second doctor visit was accompanied by her father while the first and last one wasn't.

Elenora -> Daisy Fung 
Ankle injuries are tricky. Casts are a visible signal that the person is hurt, but if the ankle is injured in a way where there's really nothing to be done and no benefit to the cast's structure, then a doctor will typically skip it. That doesn't mean the ankle is undamaged. I don't think you're taking into account the demands the management company may have had, or the concerns her father may have had. Many bosses ask their people to "play hurt", as in "continue to work through an injury". A cast would send a visual message that the person is not available for activities that would aggravate the injury. 

Elenora -> Daisy Fung 
Doctors have differing opinions, and a doctor's visit with a management company who are very vested in getting her back onstage might come away with different recommendations than one with her father who was mostly focused on her wellbeing.