Chapter 101: When It's Time to Explode, It Explodes (1)
101. When It's Time to Explode, It Explodes (1)
Here she was—the younger sister (main account name Harang, sub-account name Soda) who had watched episodes 1 and 2 live and swiftly moved past her denial phase into full-blown fandom.
She, too, had canceled all her evening plans and was waiting for Episode 3 of Miro Maze. Her older sister, who had been working overtime for days insisting they had to watch it together, unfortunately hadn't gotten off work yet.
<Older sis♡ ‖ Yo our debut team baby just pulled a ninja escape act wtf;>
<Older sis♡ ‖ Told me to go catch him pls>
<Older sis♡ ‖ If this bastard wasn't Mebo I swear;;;;;;;;ㅜㅠ>
<Damn...wtf...>
<What do we do, spontaneous regression?>
<Seriously why'd you go to EnterL...>
The girl lightly swiped away the chat notifications filled with curses and grabbed a cup and fork from the kitchen before heading to the living room. Looks like she'd be watching the episode alone tonight.
"Ugh, I should've told Gom and Gwajam to come over."
Gom (alt: Malanggom) and Gwajam (alt: ProfessorPleaseStopTheAssignments) were her former fandom friends—back when they used to stan her previous previous bias (the one who went to jail for drugs).
After their seemingly fragile favorite turned out to just be a weak bastard, they each went their separate ways. But recently, they'd been reuniting through Miro Maze.
"Whatever, guess I'm watching alone today."
She snapped a photo of tonight's snack alongside the TV screen displaying the Miro Maze logo and uploaded it to her main account.
Harang @dohajin_luv
Hajin's favorite chicken in hand,
watching Miro Maze Ep 3 live!
Been waiting since 7 PM to eat while watching ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
@MM_Official
#MiroMaze #MiroMazeLiveEvent
#KangHajin #LeeDoha #Miro
(Photo)
Not long after posting, a notification chimed from Bluebird. Huh? Clicking it automatically switched her to her alternate account.
ProfessorPleaseStopTheAssignments🔒 @tlqkfrytn
Miro Maze was used
This girl just wanted chicken
Harang @dohajin_luv
Hajin's favorite chicken in hand
‖
Soda🔒 @soda_lll
LMAOOOOOOOOOO shut up....
(Can't read the mood? Pic)
Nothing serious, then.
With a cynical smirk, she set her phone down, picked up a drumstick, and focused on the TV. The familiar title sequence rolled, and Episode 3 began.
<On a refreshing spring day...>
<Where is this place?>
The episode opened with serene BGM and an insert shot of an unfamiliar outdoor studio. A full exterior shot of some building in Seoul flashed on screen before the peaceful music abruptly cut out, replaced by someone's voiceover.
—Alright, alright. No need to be nervous~!
—Give us a big smile! Ah, perfect!
<What on earth is happening to our boys?>
The scene transitioned to a well-decorated studio mid-shoot. The girl recognized the set props immediately.
"No way! That's our Doha's profile photo shoot!"
It was the very same shoot that had taken over her new phone's lock screen.
Just seeing the basketball rolling on the floor, she could feel her bias's presence thick in the air. She covered her mouth as the screen showed Lee Doha—dressed in a sporty old-school look—raising his arms behind his head and tilting it slightly as if loosening up.
"Are those muscles for real?"
The way his biceps flexed naturally with each pose was pure art.
His lightly tanned skin, broad shoulders, and the long, toned calves peeking from beneath his oversized shorts—
"You could've told me he was an athlete and I'd believe it. Ha, our Doha—what if people think it's the Olympics when he holds a concert at a stadium later?"
Her fangirling erupted like a dialect, uncontrollable even when alone. Sure, having someone to hype her up would've been better, but it didn't matter.
Fandom was about enjoying yourself first and foremost.
<Production: You're really good with the basketball!>
<Lee Doha: Ah... I used to play a lot.>
After the shoot, Doha dribbled the ball effortlessly as he left the studio, every bit the sturdy sports major. When the staff asked for a skill showcase, his thick, knotted fingers spun the ball so fast it sent the girl's mind spinning too.
Harang @dohajin_luv
Doha, is that a basketball you're spinning?
No? That's the Earth.
Soon, you'll hold the world in your hands,
so be ready.
(Video of Doha spinning the basketball)
She couldn't resist leaving the mention.
Meanwhile, the other trainees' profile shoots flashed by quickly. Dan Haru finished his marine-themed shoot with shimmering soap bubbles, while Joo Eun-chan appeared in a jumpsuit with face paint, both shown in split-screen.
"Wait, where's Hajin?"
She hadn't seen Hajin at all so far. Even if not all 17 trainees got equal screen time, the others had at least appeared in the background, watching or monitoring each other's shoots.
"Are they trying to avoid the favoritism controversy...?"
But cutting his screen time this drastically after just one episode would be way too obvious.
Hajin finally appeared just as she thought that.
<Photographer: No, um. It's not that...>
<Photographer: O-Of course! Of course it's good! It's great!>
<Which trainee left the photographer sweating?>
The subtitle accompanied Hajin's reveal, and his vibe was...
'Like a high schooler who got called to the principal's office for an award, forced to smile sleepily at a waiting camera.'
In short: awkward.
It wasn't that he lacked enthusiasm—the harder he tried, the weirder it got!
—Hyung, how do you even perform on stage like that?
Seo Tae-hyun's baffled voice from off-screen made her nod involuntarily.
No wonder his profile photos turned out like that... Is he bad at photos? But his candid shots looked fine.
Curious about others' reactions, she checked Bluebird—seemed like everyone felt the same.
Kang Hadi @kang_HD
Guys, it's him
I'm deceased...
Kang Hadi @kang_HD
But why's our Hajin's profile pic like this?
Who approved this???
Writer-nim, was this really your best???
43 shares 67 hearts
‖
Kang Hadi @kang_HD
I apologize to the photographer-nim.
You are the greatest photographer.
This person's tweets are hilarious.
Though her bias was different, the Hajin-Doha combo—linked through monthly evaluations and Damdagi—had fostered a friendly dynamic between their fans.
Next time there's a Miro Meetup (shortened from 'Miro Maze Friend Introduction' but it just ended up like that), I'll make sure to befriend her.
She tapped a heart on Kang Hadi's post before returning to the episode.
After Hajin, the other trainees flashed by quickly. The only ones who caught her eye were visual standouts like Seo Tae-hyun and Jung Si-woo.
Kim Won-ho... He's not bad, but lacks impact.
Won-ho, who formed various duo names with Doha and Hajin like Wolpyeongz, Ggaengikkimz, and Damdagiz, wasn't really her type.
If she had to pick based purely on taste, Yu-geon—wearing a backwards cap and blowing bubblegum while skateboarding—was more her style...
"Wait, what am I thinking? No, no. Absolutely not."
After Yu-geon's attitude controversy, she'd completely crossed him off her mental debut team lineup.
Sure, bad boys were a fleeting fascination, but she'd just gone through the hassle of selling off albums and merch after her last bias turned out to be a real bastard!
"I can't let a ticking time bomb like that ruin our Doha's future."
Though many said Doha and Yu-geon looked alike, to her—a Doha ult—they were completely different types. Their vibes might be similar, but there was a clear distinction between #BuiltAndReliableAlphaMale and #DelinquentVibesBadBoy.
Between Yu-geon and Kim Won-ho, Won-ho's the lesser evil. Sure, he's kind of a downgrade, but... we've only seen one stage so far.
In survival shows, you never knew when or where someone's potential would explode. She'd rather Won-ho pop off this mission and keep Yu-geon in check.
Meanwhile, the episode finally introduced the second mission.
—Welcome, everyone, to Miro Maze's second gate.
—Your second mission is: cover songs.
Seo Tae-il smoothly explained the mission details and team selection process. The moment Yu-geon won the battle benefit and got first pick, the girl set down her chicken and clasped her hands together.
"Please, for the love of god, don't let my bias get paired with Yu-geon... If he gets close to someone like that and a scandal blows up later, he'll get dragged down for no reason."
How did she know? She wished she didn't!
She chugged her cola straight from the bottle, swallowing her frustration. But unfortunately, her prayers were shattered in less than five minutes.
"Seriously? Why does it always happen like this?"
Doha picked Blue Scandal for his team—putting him in the same group as Yu-geon! Worse, he was separated from Jung Si-woo and Kang Hajin, whom she'd secretly hoped he'd team up with!
"Yu-geon's gonna act up again, isn't he? Ugh, Doha, please don't get involved. Sigh... Meanwhile, Kang Hajin with glasses is insane. What even is that? Instant save if it's edited right."
She managed to voice her concerns for Doha and admiration for Hajin in one breath. Glasses-suited Hajin was just too pretty to ignore!
Especially with Jung Si-woo's chocolate-brown long hair neatly draped beside him and Yu-geon's bleached hair and ripped streetwear making Hajin stand out even more.
"Black hair and pure vibes, seriously... He definitely dressed like that knowing he'd go viral as 'hoodie oppa.'"
The stark contrast between the awkward guy from the profile shoot and this effortlessly soft, handsome visual made her chug her cola again.
Hajin wore a slightly oversized black hoodie—undoubtedly the same one from the 'hoodie oppa' sighting.
Suddenly, she needed to know where that hoodie was from. He was just a trainee, so it probably wasn't luxury, but if it wasn't too expensive, maybe she'd buy one as merch.
"Has anyone posted about it? Kang Hadi's account might've dug it up."
Still mid-broadcast, she grabbed her phone again to check reactions.
Would 'Kang Hajin hoodie' bring anything up?
She tapped the search bar on Bluebird, brainstorming keywords.
"...Huh? What's this?"
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Her expression froze at the ominous real-time trends.
Looks like what she'd feared had exploded way too soon.