Chapter 77: Unexpected Luck (2)
77. Unexpected Luck (2)
'What the hell?'
Hajin, who had been sitting in a cozy café monitoring reactions to Miro Maze, was slightly taken aback.
Real-Time Trends
- Our Nephew - 10,841 mentions
- Miro Family - 7,932 mentions
- Myeongdong Busking - 9,045 mentions
- Taeil, I Love You - 15,791 mentions
- Miro Maze - 5,112 mentions
The timeline of his search-only account refreshed every three seconds.
Just a short while ago, Miro Maze had been dismissed as "just another large-scale K-pop male idol survival show." Now, it was being hailed as "the miraculous fruit cultivated by the young heads of a small company."
'Why is everyone suddenly going all out?'
It didn't take long for Hajin to find the root of this absurd situation as he scrolled through countless online discussions. He quickly pieced together the chain of coincidences that had created this massive wave.
Coincidence 1: Uphia's 12th Anniversary Concert
Uphia's fandom, Ideah, had a long-standing history of 13 years, meaning its fanbase skewed older than most idol fandoms. Most were working adults who, unlike their younger counterparts, didn't spend their time aggressively promoting their idols on social media. Instead, they quietly saved up for fandom activities while focusing on their daily lives.
'Normally, a post like this—especially one uploaded in the early hours—would've been buried by morning...'
But the problem was that Uphia had just announced their 12th-anniversary fan concert—their first full-group concert since their military hiatus!
'No wonder Ideah is fired up right now.'
Contract renewal success + first post-military concert + upcoming 12th anniversary.
Ideah, high on this triple dose of fandom euphoria, was operating at levels rivaling Uphia's peak days. As a result, the "problematic post" garnered hundreds of comments and sparked widespread discussion.
The gathered Ideah fans began debating just how significant it was that Miro Entertainment was debuting a third male idol group. The excitement soon spread to Enderview, Uphia's sister fandom, who had been quietly shedding tears while cheering on their own group.
And just like that, Miro Maze became Miro's youngest sons—nephews by extension.
Sure, that much was understandable. It was still just a reaction within Miro's existing fandom.
But then came...
Coincidence 2: A Cat's Gratitude, Part 2
Honestly, when Hajin first saw the reward notification from the System, he thought he was seeing things.
'It's not over yet?'
Hadn't they already milked the whole cat rescue story dry? Apparently, the kitten he and Taehyun had saved in the rain was extremely grateful.
He wondered what kind of gratitude the cat could possibly offer this time—until he saw the post and let out a dumbfounded, "Ah."
[Did anyone see the thing about Toome's Seo Taehyun and Kang Hajin? Kinda heartwarming?]
Link: http://...
This was from back when the animal hospital sighting went viral, right?
I wrote this back then, but it got buried.
Now that the Toome teaser's out, people are reposting it.
Clicking the link revealed another long post.
[OMG I SAW SEO TAEHYUN IN PERSON NO CAP (LONG READ)]
(Photo)
Proof!
So my friend lost her cat a while ago. She opened the window for some air, and I guess the cat slipped out.
She was absolutely devastated, crying her eyes out while searching everywhere.
(Photo)
Just posting this because it's cute ; Honestly, isn't this kinda surreal?
Anyway, this cat was her childhood pet, so she was practically living in despair.
Then yesterday, the animal hospital called—they found Baby (yes, that's the cat's name)!
I was eating with her at the time, so we literally dropped everything and ran.
(My friend treated me to meat afterward, so I'm good.)
But when we walked into the animal hospital, it was like... a halo appeared?
It was pouring rain outside, but suddenly, the hospital felt warm and bright.
Then I saw two ridiculously handsome guys right in front of me???
Turns out, the one who found Baby was Seo Taehyun!
There was another insanely good-looking guy with him—someone I didn't recognize.
But LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
IT WAS THE TEACHERS FROM BOYHOOD UNDER HEAVEN!!!!
I'm still laughing thinking about it. "Teachers"... pfft... But at that moment, we were all proud teachers...☆ I'm not ashamed.
Anyway, neither of us had Taehyun as our one-pick, but my friend adored him, so she recognized him immediately!
When we went, "OMG SEO TAEHYUN?!" he just smiled awkwardly... Dude... You haven't aged a day... Meanwhile, I've aged like milk...
I finally understand the Cherry Boy Syndrome now.
His visuals are insane. He's even taller, and his voice sounds deeper—like he's fully hit puberty.
I thought he had a soft voice, but nah, it's got this low tone now?
(Photo with Seo Taehyun)
(Photo of Seo Taehyun's autograph)
Anyway, my friend wanted to give a reward to the person who found her cat, but they refused, saying just remembering them was enough. (But how could we forget you, oppaㅠ)
So we promised that if they debuted, we'd buy 500 albums and go to fan signs to give them gifts. Taehyun smiled so wistfully...ㅠㅠ
The other handsome guy mentioned something about a manager and a company, so I think he's a trainee now!!
I got permission to post about meeting them online!! Just in case, I took a photo with the other guy too. If he debuts later, I'll definitely post it as proof.
It was so nice seeing them again... My heart started racing... Anyway, I wrote this in excitement, but now I don't know how to end it. Awkward;;
The end!
It was a firsthand account from the friend of the owner of the cat Hajin and Taehyun had rescued.
The previous sighting had been a secretly taken photo of the two at the animal hospital, but this was a verified post with their permission—so it spread like wildfire.
The post had likely been buried at first because it was long and didn't mention Taehyun much. But with the teaser release and the "Our Nephew" craze, searches skyrocketed, bringing it back to light.
The comment section, once filled with only a handful of Taehyun's fans, was now flooded with new visitors.
The newly formed Miro Maze fandom, along with the "nephew" goodwill story, was bolstered by senior fandoms.
Taehyun's fans, who had been waiting for his dream debut, began aggressively promoting Miro Maze by linking him with Hajin. Other trainees' small fanbases also started gaining traction, each pushing their favorites.
'And this is the result.'
Hajin set his phone down on the table, observing the overwhelming surge in buzz. If this momentum kept up, Miro Maze was almost guaranteed major success.
The editing and structure had been polished, and the trainees' skills were solid. Ji Soo-ho had already caught on and was working overtime to keep the hype alive with additional content.
But here's where the problem arose.
'There's nothing left to milk.'
Promotions and new fans were great, but without more content to hook people, Miro Maze only had the trainees' profile photos, two performance videos, and a teaser under a minute long.
The Kwon PD Hajin knew would've already dropped an episode preview or a second teaser to capitalize on this opportunity.
Yet Miro Maze's production team wasn't releasing anything, letting the hype die down.
And Hajin knew why.
He even knew how to fix it.