Chapter 83: MIRO MAZE (1)
83. MIRO MAZE (1)
Here we have a girl.
'Ha, fuck. K-pop is dead.'
Don't be shocked.
Compared to the fact that the oppa I devoted my bank account and heart to—who once tearfully promised "a love that lasts a thousand years"—ended up simultaneously announcing both a shotgun wedding and marriage articles (and on the fanclub's founding anniversary, no less!), this is actually a very restrained reaction.
'Who said you couldn't get married? Who said you couldn't find love? But why now, of all times?!'
Just two months ago, the fandom nearly imploded when paparazzi shots surfaced of another member clubbing.
What, you think it's fine because they're adults who can go clubbing if they want?
'If you have past photos of underage drinking and smoking, you should at least have the decency to cover your fucking face!!!!'
Even the fans who desperately defended him with shit like "Yes, our boy was a delinquent, but he wasn't a bully, so stop making up rumors!" eventually washed their hands and left. That disaster was only a few months ago!
And now, after barely patching things up with excitement for the fanclub anniversary, this?
'Marriage? Marri~age? This bastard didn't even finish his military service yet, and now a shotgun wedding?!'
The girl pondered.
Ah, where should I have drawn the line?
'When he introduced his girlfriend to his parents at a concert? When he kept wearing the wristwatch she bought him during schedules? When he gave off sketchy vibes at a fansign while half-heartedly denying dating rumors?'
Listing it all out just made it more pathetic, damn it.
'Honestly, it's a miracle I didn't quit the fandom sooner.'
This is the problem with digging too deep into idols.
Some things are better left unknown for a fan's peace of mind, but you always end up learning shit you didn't need to know.
About this marriage—fans who stanned him had actually been whispering rumors for a while. They'd just been desperately deluding themselves, running their "he's happy" coping mechanisms 24/7 to deny reality.
'I loved you, you bastard... Was it only my dream to see you perform at Jamsil and win awards?'
The girl (forced out nonexistent tears and) deleted her bias's photo folder from her gallery. She didn't even want to encounter his ghost later, so she thoroughly wiped everything, even the trash folder.
'K-pop is dead to me now.'
After years in fandom, they all start to seem the same anyway.
When I got into this one, I really thought he'd be my last K-pop bias.
The oppa before him went to jail for drugs.
The one before that turned out to be the type to proudly display gifts from fans like trophies, so I quit.
'At this point, is it me? Am I the problem?'
I couldn't tell if it was just the guys I picked or if the entire male idol industry was doomed.
Anyway, the girl decided.
Time to quit K-pop for real and focus on my damn life.
No more oppas—I need to save my GPA from collapsing because I kept skipping classes for fansigns...!
—Babe, you got a text ♥
"Ah, fuck, you scared me!!"
The girl nearly threw her phone when her (ex-)bias's cutesy voice suddenly rang out.
'...Oh right, I downloaded that from Blue Bird and set it as my notification sound.'
Someone had extracted audio from a fansign where he'd obviously been told to say something nice for fans, and she'd been using it as her Kakao alert.
Back when I was deep in delulu land, this made my heart flutter...
But now, knowing he probably had his fiancée in mind while recording this, it just made me feel even grosser.
"Change it, change it."
She swiftly replaced everything—notification sounds, ringtones, caller IDs, wallpapers—then checked Kakao.
Only one sender: her one and only sister.
The very person who dragged her into this godforsaken K-pop hell, who went so deep into fandom life she ended up working at an entertainment company—a true K-pop fanatic.
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ hey>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ lololololololololololololololololololol>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ lolololololololololololololololol>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ i told u their rumors were bad>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ see u should listen when i talk>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ u said u were going to a lecture>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ if u wanna admit u used mom's car to go to a fansign go ahead~>
"Ugh, so annoying!"
She'd always hated my (ex-)bias, and today she's really rubbing it in.
The worst part? I had no comeback. Eventually, the girl (for real this time) typed through tears.
<and now u mock me instead of comforting me???>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ i did try to stop u lolololol>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ u just wouldn't listen lolololololololololol>
After teasing her relentlessly, her sister finally offered a carrot right before she got genuinely upset.
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ my treat>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ order whatever u want>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ u probably skipped dinner from rage lololololol>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ leaving work now>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ (photo)>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ figured u'd wanna drink so i got soju too>
"Sigh... Yoon Jaehee, you know me too well."
It was 7 PM.
Just as her sister predicted, she'd lost her appetite after the news broke and hadn't eaten anything. Now her stomach was growling.
Hell yeah, time to order something expensive. Cheered up, she replied.
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ my card's saved on ur phone dumbassㅗ use that>
Ah, busted.
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ hey>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ but u gotta watch something with me>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ actually this works out>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ start a new love here>
Then came a YouTube link.
Ding,
Ding,
Ding,
...Multiple, actually.
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ first episode airs at 9 tonight>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ if u watch with me>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ i'll buy dessert too>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ if u vote for them>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ i'll lend u my bag next time u go out>
Huh?
The girl checked the videos.
"Oh, it's that Miro survival show."
So these were the guys her fandom friends had been lowkey checking out on their alt accounts.
She vaguely remembered seeing their memes floating around. The new faces who'd kidnapped what little remained of her fandom...
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ that kid's in it>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ the one i told u about>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ the Unparalleled Angel>
<fr??>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ yeah so vote for him right now>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ (link)>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ remember when i voted during ur faves' music shows?>
<what faves>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ lolololololololololololololololololololololololol>
'Should I take a look?'
At the mention of the "Unparalleled Angel," the girl casually evaporated her resolution to quit K-pop from just minutes ago.
Not that she planned to stan anyone new—she was just curious about this trainee her sister had been raving about for months.
<ok fine i'll watch>
<how about spicy chicken feet for food>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ order whatever ㅇㅇ>
<hehe thanks unnie...>
<IfNotForYouIdBeAnOnlyChild ‖ only call me unnie when u want something>
Already imagining spicy chicken feet washed down with soju, the girl upgraded her sister's contact name to <Unnie♡>. Of course, she'd change it back the next time they fought, but for now, she was in full "my one and only amazing unnie" mode.
"Hmm. Let's see."
Ah, but I forgot to ask the Unparalleled Angel's name.
She briefly hesitated but figured she'd ask later and flopped onto the couch.
Then, with zero hesitation, she clicked the preview link her sister sent.
Soda🔒 @soda_lll
kpop is forever
lee doha kang hajin better debut or i swear to god
∥
ProfessorStopGivingMeHomework🔒 @tlqkfrytn
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO me too^^
∥
SoftBear🔒 @malang2
LOL unnieeeeeeeeeeeeeee
∥
Saerok🔒 @saerokk
is this worth watching? all my moots are talking about it
∥
SoftBear🔒 @malang2
first episode's today!
pd is kwon myungeun btw
she does a lot of reality/variety shows
no evil editing + good at character building
i'm excited lolololol
let's try ittttt
∥
Saerok🔒 @saerokk
oh first ep? gotta watch then lol
'Damn it, I ended up watching everything...'
The girl covered her mouth after impulsively posting on her alt account.
She'd only meant to skim the preview, but before she knew it, she'd binged all related videos and even followed Miro Maze's official account. She'd nearly created a dedicated stan account before catching herself and venting on her alt instead.
'Stay calm, Yoon Se-eun. Love at first sight is one thing, but this is like getting struck by lightning.'
Yet her fingers automatically clicked another recommended video. She even dug out her tablet from the depths of her bag—which she'd stashed away to avoid temptation—charged it, and started watching.
"Seriously, how do they have this much content before the first episode?!"
It was a happy scream.
Releasing a monthly evaluation video before the show even aired? These people were insane. (This was praise.)
And raw, unedited full cams from fixed angles? (She could die happy.)
With no added backing tracks, just their raw voices and footsteps? (She was losing her mind with gratitude.)
On the much larger screen, five tall, handsome men moved in perfect sync to a powerful performance.
[Knight tearing through the night, those who longed for a new morning on the streets]
The audio quality wasn't perfect since it was raw footage, but that made it better.
She could truly feel the (already!) powerful vocals of her new boys. (When did that happen?)
'That's definitely the Unparalleled Angel. Yoon Jaehee, you pine tree with taste.'
Even to her eyes—usually only moved by rappers—this trainee stood out enough that she might've one-picked him under different circumstances.
'Ha, please be friends with our Doha, please... I saw some sightings with Seo Taehyun too.'
After just 30 minutes, "some trainee who's decent at rap" had become "our Doha," and she watched his rap parts with pride, praying fervently. Curious about potential lore, she searched their names on SNS.
"Oh, there's something."
She clicked the top trending post.
Rossy Day @rossy_1017
was curious who the ending fairy in 1st teaser was
looked at height, back, hair color etc
cross-checked with preview & 2nd teaser
based on back & height
likely candidates: Kang Hajin Lee Doha Yu Geon
‖
Rossy Day @rossy_1017
but Yu Geon had platinum hair in 2nd teaser
(was redhead in performance vid
did he bleach again?...rip his hair)
ending cut has dark hair
so Yu Geon out
‖
Rossy Day @rossy_1017
so it's Doha or Hajin
reason I think Hajin:
Doha's personality doesn't seem like he'd
go all out with that intense vibe
(been watching Doha since underground days no cap)
plus the voice tone matches Hajin's style
‖
Rossy Day @rossy_1017
(preview "Let's win, Team A bastards" clip)
(1st teaser "We'll rise, to reach the sun" clip)
voice & speech pattern feels like Hajinㅇㅇ
also when the lighting dims slightly...
"Oh, it's definitely Hajin. Doha was wearing a jersey here."
Completely immersed, the girl muttered as she scrolled through the thread. To confirm her theory, she rewatched the teasers at 0.25x speed—for the fifth time—collecting every microscopic glimpse of Doha and Hajin.
"Ugh, my gallery's a mess now."
The phone gallery she'd wiped clean of her (ex-)bias just an hour ago now had a new folder.
To showcase her findings, she finally caved and made a Miro Maze stan account.
Then she quoted the thread and posted her screenshots.
Harang @dohajin_luv
(pic)
100% Hajin
Doha's wearing a jersey here
Hajin isn't
ending fairy's outfit matches Hajin's
Watching the quick flood of retweets and likes with satisfaction, Se-eun had no choice but to admit it.
"Love strikes like lightning..."
These guys were destined to ruin—no, save—this incarnation of my life.
...It was summer, even if it was only early May. Whatever.