iKON open up for first time about B.I leaving the group

iKON members Bobby, Donghyuk and Junhoe have publicly spoken about the departure of former leader B.I for the first time.

On June 3, the three iKON members appeared on an episode of Oh Eun Young’s Golden Clinic, where they spoke with host and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Oh about the success and anxieties they have experienced over their career.

“Honestly, a difficult time for us as a team was when B.I left and we became six,” confessed dancer and vocalist Donghyuk, per Soompi. The rapper and former leader had left the group in 2019 following allegations of drug use.

“I felt dumbfounded that the leader was not on the team, who did so much for us,” he continued, while Junhoe added that the situation “didn’t feel real” for the members of the group.

“I couldn’t even think, ‘What do we do now?’,” recalled rapper Bobby. “For a few months, I just lived each day thinking, ‘He’s gone.’ The absence of someone I’d lived with felt bitter, because the friend I had spent years with, up until yesterday, was suddenly gone.”

Bobby went on the share that B.I’s departure had led him to worry about the group’s future. “Since the pillar-like member who did so much for the team was now gone, I thought, ‘Is this the end of iKON?’,” he added.

Last month, in an interview with Billboard, B.I spoke publicly about his drug scandal for the first time. “Many people expected a lot from me in 2016. To always do better was a very strong emotion that I felt at the time,” revealed B.I, who explained that he was not “mature enough” to cope with the pressure he experienced after debuting with iKON.

“In a moment of weakness, I thought maybe I could relieve that burden,” he said. “Even now, I regret that constantly. I shouldn’t have done it, but felt like I was in a corner, and I made the wrong decision. I was so young and stupid.”