107. What's Bound to Happen Will Happen (7)

There was absolutely nothing around the studio where the recording was taking place, so the three of them had to walk about 20 minutes to the area near the station.

Malanggom's determination to buy coffee was so intense that Soda and Gwajam eventually had to let the youngest pay for the drinks. Still, it felt wrong to take advantage of an 18-year-old kid, so they both ordered the cheapest options—iced tea and iced Americano.

"Wait, Gwajam, did you bring your camera?"

As soon as they got their drinks and sat down, Gwajam pulled out a camera, lenses, and memory cards from her bag. She meticulously assembled the equipment before nodding.

"Yeah, I had a feeling. Our Hajin's gonna make history today."

Gwajam had been an all-in, ride-or-die fan of Kang Hajin ever since Miro Maze's first profile photos dropped. Until now, she'd only been able to fangirl from her room since there hadn't been any official schedules yet...

But today, with her name finally drawn for the live audience, there was no way she wasn't bringing her camera.

"Earlier, I noticed the security team handling audience control was the same one from 'Star Care 119.' It was that same guy from back then. They don't check bags too strictly, so we should be fine."

Gwajam carefully wiped the lens before slotting it into place, then lightly adjusted the DSLR body before showing the LCD monitor to Malanggom and Soda.

"Check this out. Footage of the trainees arriving earlier, before you guys got here."

"No way. Arrival shots? You saw them?!"

"Yeah. They came super early. After watching them arrive, I figured there weren't many people around anyway, so I went back to the dorm to rest. Then I got Malanggom's text saying she'd arrived and came back out."

"Damn, you're amazing, unnie."

"You think I'm working two part-time jobs while on leave for nothing? All for the sake of feasting my eyes on ridiculously gorgeous K-pop idols."

"Unnie, do you stan girl groups too?"

"Yeah, but nothing serious lately... Just casually following whichever unnie catches my eye at the moment."

Soda shook her head in awe at Gwajam's dedication, though she conveniently forgot that she herself had stayed up until 3 AM editing Lee Doha's GIFs and finished her assignment—due today—in a frantic 30-minute rush on the way here.

"Wow, I knew you were good, but these are seriously amazing..."

As Soda and Malanggom marveled, they flipped through Gwajam's arrival previews one by one.

The trainees, bare-faced and in casual clothes, shuffled out of their cars and into the studio, captured under natural light in a fresh, youthful glow.

"I got a few shots of Doha too. Want me to send them?"

"No, no. I'm already drowning in GIFs... Wait, actually, maybe I should save them just in case?"

"Here she goes again, overthinking."

"Fine, just send me the files. We can sort it out later. I'll send them to you when we get back to the dorm."

"Sigh... Thanks. I'll give you some Hajin GIFs I made for practice. Let's trade."

"Unnie, no Si-woo?"

"Nope. Couldn't get him. They came in separate cars—not sure if he arrived early or late. Either way, I missed him. But I'll snap some shots of him during the performance later."

Now that they'd accounted for everyone, it was time for the endless waiting game.

The three of them dove into full-on chatter.

"When should we grab lunch?"

"The recording's at 4 PM... If we eat too early, we'll get hungry again. Maybe we can snack here and eat properly around 1?"

"Sounds good. Oh, spill the tea—how were they in person?"

"Dude, they're insane. You're gonna faint today, I swear."

Gwajam clutched her forehead as if still dizzy and chugged her iced Americano. She even crunched on the ice cubes, dead serious. Then she flipped through her camera gallery and pulled up one of the arrival photos.

"First, check this out. Hajin and Doha's arrival outfits today."

"Holy shit, Lee Doha in sweats is chef's kiss."

"Whoa. But his physique is insane. I'd believe it if someone told me he was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠athlete."

"Hajin, though... He's got that effortless style, you know what I mean?"

"A guy in a denim jacket and beige cotton pants showing up at dawn? Instant crush. Major crush."

"Kinda like they're both sports majors, but Doha's the one who does a lot of practical training so he lives in sweats, while Hajin's in some student council role and dresses a little more campus-chic."

Even if their biases differed, the trainees they followed were all cut from the same cloth. Sometimes they'd clash when discussing the same trainee if their favorite aspects or chemistry differed. But there was a reason these three had stayed fandom friends for so long—their tastes and fangirling points were eerily similar.

"Oh, I've got something to say."

After gushing about Doha, Wonho, and Si-woo for a while, Gwajam suddenly clasped her hands together with a grave expression, as if about to make a major announcement.

"I've decided to adopt Yu-geon."

"No way."

"Seriously? Unnie, I kinda have too. I've been lowkey stanning him for a while."

"He's not my ult or anything, but if he debuts with our Hajin, I could definitely look at him with love in my eyes."

Gwajam's "adoption criteria" had always been passion, drive, and skill. For her to take in Yu-geon? The other two stared at her in shock.

"What? Why? Something must've happened earlier."

"Sigh... Okay, listen. Remember how I said they came in separate cars?"

Gwajam's expression turned serious as she began her story.

"Two cars arrived first. The first one had Taehyun, Haru... who else? Anyway, the youngest members got out. It was like watching kindergarteners with their teacher. Seo Taehyun was herding his dongsaengs into line—so cute. But that's not the point."

"We'll circle back to Taehyun later. Go ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on, go on."

Fangirl talk was always like this. There was too much to say. If they didn't skip or redirect themselves, they'd run out of time before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠getting to the main point.

Gwajam tightened her grip on reality and continued.

"Anyway, the kids played around with us for a bit, took our letters and slogans, right? Then the next car arrived with the other members—Hajin, Doha, Eunchan, Yu-geon..."

"Wait, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sorry to interrupt, but doesn't that sound like a failed car assignment? The first car got to lie down while the second one was probably crammed like sardines."

"Well, the second car was bigger. Just listen, okay?"

"Got it, got it. I'll be quiet."

Soda nodded apologetically under Gwajam's scolding.

"But the first shocker was how close Yu-geon seemed with the others. Especially Wonho—they gave off total bestie vibes."

"Wait, really?"

"Exactly! That whole controversy was such bullshit. It wasn't even evil editing."

Though she hadn't shown it, Malanggom had secretly kept Yu-geon in her back pocket. She'd been uploading explanations defending him since the attitude controversy first broke out.

"So they all headed inside, and you know we were probably screaming our heads off, right? Someone must've been a Yu-geon fan because they shouted, 'Yu-geon's stages are always fun!'"

"Oh my god. That's so..."

"But Yu-geon was ahead and didn't hear it. Hajin was talking to a security guard, so he was behind and caught it."

"That's hilarious. Hajin's like some country puppy—now he's even befriended the set security guards."

Despite being one of the last to join the trainees, Hajin had shown such a friendly dynamic with almost everyone on the show that fans had started calling him "Captain Kang."

His chemistry with the younger trainees was especially strong. Every time Miro Maze aired, Hajin was always seen with at least one dongsaeng in tow—whether he was clinging to them or they were playfully tackling him. His natural ease with the younger members had fans affectionately moe-ifying him as a big, friendly golden retriever.

"Hajin kept looking our way for a while, then suddenly sprinted off. I thought, 'Is he late?' But then he came back with Yu-geon. ...Wait, hold on."

"What? Are you crying? Are you crying right now?"

"Unnie, are you crying?"

"Ugh, I just got choked up thinking about it."

Gwajam's voice caught as the memory resurfaced. Her genuinely emotional face left Soda and Malanggom even more stunned.

"No, seriously, you'll cry too when you hear this. So Yu-geon came out, and... he smiled so brightly and said, 'I'll make sure you enjoy the stage you've been waiting for! I've been having fun lately.' Then he and Hajin bowed deeply at 90 degrees, making eye contact with each fan one by one."

"That's insane."

"They must've known, right? They said it on purpose?"

"The vibe felt like it. When they went in, the other members seemed kinda mindful of Yu-geon too... Anyway, that's when I adopted him. If he'd been all mopey and depressed, fine, but that carefree smile? Total king energy. And side by side with Hajin, their visual synergy wasn't bad either."

Gwajam's eyes glistened. No further explanation was needed.

Her expression mirrored Psyche's when she lit a candle to gaze upon Eros' face in the dead of night—overflowing with love.

"Really? Hmm... Maybe I should adopt Yu-geon too..."

"Unnie. Let's stan Yu-geon together."

"How the hell did you end up with both Si-woo and Yu-geon after Episode 2? You're ruthless."

"Visual Mebo and dark-and-broody Main Dancer? Unnie, this is love dictated by instinct."

Soda pondered their words for a moment.

'Sure, the controversy was unfair... But isn't it also true that Yu-geon lacks passion and can't sing?'

Public opinion had flipped overnight after details about Yu-geon's personal life surfaced, and Soda did feel guilty for misjudging him. But did that really earn him a full pardon?

'I'm not sure... Not that I'd say anything.'

There was no need to debate Yu-geon's merits in this atmosphere.

The shield of sympathy and pity was fragile anyway. How the public remembered him after that shield faded would be entirely up to Yu-geon.

Time would tell.

'Still, I hope he's not in the same team as Doha or Hajin today.'

While Soda wished Yu-geon could win over the public with his own skills, she didn't want her biases' stages to become the testing ground. This was her first time seeing Doha and Hajin perform live—she wanted to focus on them completely.

'Ugh, I wanna see them already!'

Soda wiggled her feet impatiently, torn between excitement and worry.