Chapter 85: MIRO MAZE (3)
85. MIRO MAZE (3)
Whether Kang Hajin's fans were growing more anxious or not, the show marched relentlessly forward.
—...What is this?
—Gasp, they have to escape the maze!
—But is escaping really the right move? If they escape... (doesn't that mean elimination?)
—Elimination joke lolololololololololololol
—Elilolololnation lolololololololololololol
—Why is Joo Eun-chan so unintentionally funny when he talks? He doesn't even look like that type
└ Should've realized when he and Dan Ha-ru were trying to tear down the wall earlier...
—Seo Tae-hyun's lived through all sorts of hardships but seeing him flustered in this hardcore debut survival show is fucking hilarious lolololololol
The trainees' dramatic reactions upon encountering the massive maze set were comedy gold.
Winding through the labyrinthine paths, they occasionally had to complete missions or solve puzzles.
But since this wasn't a mystery variety show, the broadcast focused less on the challenges themselves and more on how the trainees tackled them.
[Current Maze Status]
(Footage of Jung Si-woo solving complex equations mentally to unlock a padlock)
(Footage of Park Jae-young and Gong Seok acting out famous romantic drama scenes as a mission)
This is an idol survival show but 20+ minutes in and no performances - just trainees forcibly escaping a maze (Not agency Yes Maze) lololololololololol
— For real?
— What even is this lolololololololol
— The only singing we got was Jayden doing one verse of a pop song for a mission, is this right?
└ And Jayden's supposed to be a rapper...we didn't even get to hear the rapper rap
Reason by @2uuu_gunn2
Guys please watch NTV's Miro Maze
A 183cm handsome guy trapped in a giant maze
In a world where you can't escape if you fail girl group relay dances
And our Yu-geon actually pulls it off
(Footage of Yu-geon successfully completing a 10-song girl group dance relay)
Tae Day @tae_day
What I expected:
What the maze gave me:
Though personally → this is more my taste
(Seo Tae-hyun's ending fairy shot after Boyhood stage)
(Seo Tae-hyun having an existential crisis while clinging to maze wall)
[[Maple] Guys I'm curious about something in MM]
Just in case MM
(Han Seong-woo screenshot from corner)
I'm watching MM now but why does this guy get no screen time?ㅠ
He's on camera but no interviews or commentary...
If problematic will deleteㅜㅜㅠ
— (Anon1) He left the show
— (Anon2) Left
— (Anon3) He left a while back so yeahㅇㅇ
└ (OP) Oh gasp thanksㅠㅜ I liked his visuals so was wondering...so no more stages eitherㅠㅠ?
— (Anon3) He did a few performances before leaving so those might air?? But don't expect much screen time since there's still 17 others to coverㅇㅇ
"Honestly, the biggest problem is people causing drama without even watching properly."
The older sister (a.k.a. Manager Yoon from Rene Entertainment's rookie development team, Hajin's first fan) watched Miro Maze while eating spicy chicken feet with her younger sister in their apartment.
She put down her phone, simultaneously pleased by the decent reactions yet wary of potential backlash.
"Why?"
"Some fans are making a fuss saying Hajin's getting all the screen time because he's PD's pick."
"Ah. But he barely appears now after that earlier part?"
"Exactly my point. Earlier he stood out because he made those scenes work, now others are shining."
"I didn't think he got that much screen time earlier either. He just had impactful moments."
The younger sister, whose bias Lee Do-ha had shown entertaining chemistry with Hajin, was even more favorable toward him now.
Isn't showing skilled people the whole point? It's variety!
"They'll claim they're only showing others now to avoid making Hajin's favoritism obvious, 100%."
"Those types always say the same thing. Wish they'd at least be consistent."
"They've decided Hajin's the PD pick and twist everything to fit that narrative. Seriously unhinged."
The sister scoffed at the ridiculous trolls as she dunked a rice ball into the spicy sauce.
Hajin had virtually disappeared after the maze entrance, only briefly shown meeting up with a lost Kim Won-ho after entering with Do-ha.
"But they really aren't showing him much now."
"Given their last-place escape speed, they either failed missions or were boring."
The broadcast occasionally displayed a mini-map updating each team's progress.
Current leaders: Seo-Taehyun/Joo Eun-chan/Dan Ha-ru alliance in 1st, lone wolf Jung Si-woo in 2nd, and a large coalition including Park Jae-young and Gong Seok in 3rd.
The Unconventional Trio (Hajin/Do-ha/Won-ho), the sisters' favorites, remained stubbornly in last place near the entrance.
"Even if they're boring, just show them... Their faces are the most entertaining part."
"Wait, I thought Hajin would be the teaser ending fairy? His outfit matches?"
"Probably filmed separately. Maybe they'll release it as unaired footage. He's really not appearing."
The screen showed the leading alliance finding the EXIT and finally escaping.
—1st!!!!!!!!! (CG with elementary sports day vibe)
—......! (Fierce competitive spirit but questioning if this was the right way)
—....... (Exhausted CG like soul left body)
"They're cute but..."
"It's so weird hearing Seo Tae-hyun being called oppa. To me he'll always be the cherry blossom maknae among tough hyungs."
"Cherry blossom? Not even a full flower? Should've said rose."
"Sis, read the context. Your T is showing."
"How do you read context without text? You mean subtext."
"Ugh, I'll let it slide since you bought chicken feet."
As they bickered, the younger sister dropped her chicken foot at the next scene.
—Ah, 2nd place. Bummer.
—Do-ha hyung is a monster? How did he clear that in one try?
—Did lots of high jump training before.
—...Why would you train that?
Because the next escapees after long absence were none other than the Unconventional Trio!
"What? They're second?"
"But they were dead last!"
"Fake editing?"
<The Unconventional Trio definitely stuck near the entrance earlier...>
<How did this happen!?>
"Why ask us?"
"Ah, they probably solved it early but edited it later. Tch."
The screen now rewound rapidly.
It showed the trio struggling with difficult challenges.
To preempt editing manipulation accusations, production played their trump card.
"Wait, they really were last?"
"Yeah. Jung Si-woo solved that part ages ago."
They showed sped-up aerial footage!
The trio clearly stayed stuck in one spot for ages while others progressed - undeniable proof.
Then came the long-awaited moment.
—Holy shit, hyung!
Hajin lightly stretched then effortlessly vaulted over a wall!
The teaser angle replayed in slow-mo for maximum impact, shown twice more from different angles.
—Our goal is breaking through in 5 minutes. How? By climbing walls.
—Sometimes that hyung scares me. (Won-ho's awestruck face)
—Sometimes? (Do-ha's face overlapping with Hajin's earlier rapid-fire speech CG)
Their unstoppable momentum continued.
Not just wall-climbing - they used high vantage points to map escape routes and avoid other teams with military precision!
—S-senpai. A2 spot. A trainee just... climbed over the wallㅠㅠ (Sweating profusely CG)
Production even included the flustered assistant director radioing main PD. Shaky camerawork and panicked voices sold the authenticity.
<1000000% real>
<Broadcast staff holding emergency meeting>
—Wait, is this allowed? Shouldn't this be disqualification?
—But we never specified how to escape. Just said to escape.
—!!!!!
—Wait, writer-nim. What exactly were the rules?
—"Choose your own methods to escape the maze within time limit," right?
—Then since rules exist, shouldn't this be disqualification...
The serious rules debate continued, clearly wary of fairness controversies.
But just as disqualification seemed certain, the tables turned again.
—......? Si-woo-ssi, why are you coming from there...?
Another rule-breaker emerged!
—Ah, rereading the rules, it never said we must use missions to escape.
—B-but choose methods to escape...
—Right. So I "chose" to find a shortcut.
Frontrunner Jung Si-woo had discovered a staff-only passage and escaped in 3rd place!
—How did you even find...
—Saw the director going in and out to change batteries.
—Ah...
With production thoroughly outplayed, the final escape rankings displayed.
The sisters simultaneously put down chopsticks and grabbed their phones.
— Damn trainees these days scary
— Laughing so hard I'm cryingㅜㅠㅜ kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
— Production team getting owned is always the funniest
— Where'd all those trolls insisting it was edited go?
└ Too embarrassed, went to bedㅜ
JeongSiuCrème @ice_ciu
This model student prez-looking visual
Who wouldn't suspect cheating
Using cheat codes with
All four limbs surrendered?
Jung Si-woo too???
(Jung Si-woo maze escape footage)
Share 208 Heart 387
[Am I being too sensitive?ㅜㅠ]
About Miro Maze
Kinda feel bad for those who played fair...ㅜㅠ
— Yeah you're being sensitive
— Tentatively agree...shouldn't production have DQ'd them?ㅠ Those who followed rules got screwed...
[Whoa Unconventional Trio memes alreadyㄷㄷ]
over the river @ov__rv
(B&W filtered trio split gif)
(Slow-mo wall vault gif)
— ㅁㅊ instant follow
— Whose meme account is this?
└ Seems like Kim Won-ho & Kang Hajin twin account
Some criticized the "absurdity of winning through foul play," but even that soon died down.
— But weren't others sharing answers too?
Turns out most trainees had secretly been trading answers and cheating when cameras weren't rolling.
Production framed everything as "clever trainees outsmarting clueless staff."
— Can we just enjoy variety as variety...
— Miro Maze is hilarious? lololololololol Great broadcast anglesㅋㅋㅋㅋ
— So everyone except 1st place cheated? True Maze Successors - fairly unfair
└ Makes no sense but somehow gets it
The real-time updating forum proved the episode's viral success.
Deeper searches might reveal negativity, but the sisters chose not to ruin their good mood.
Some things are better left unknown.
Buzz—
A Kakao message popped up on the older sister's phone. Her smile widened.
<Kim Hyun sunbaenim ‖ (Kang Hajin Miro Maze screencap)>
<Kim Hyun sunbaenim ‖ Wow>
<Kim Hyun sunbaenim ‖ This is #71 right?>
<Kim Hyun sunbaenim ‖ Jae-hee's eye for talent ㄷㄷ>
<Kim Hyun sunbaenim ‖ Can't tease you about this anymore>
<Kim Hyun sunbaenim ‖ Should show this to New Renez kids for motivationㅋㅋ>
This sunbae often teased "Still hung up on #71?" Now she barely contained her gloating fingers to reply calmly.
<Gasp haven't seen yetㅋㅋㅋ Was it good? So sad I missed ㅠ>
<Going to New Renez training tomorrow, maybe show them thenㅎㅎ>
Jae-hee finally felt vindicated for her long-standing praise. Then she remembered "her real kids" - New Renez preparing for debut.
'Ah. They'll debut around the same time...'
She foresaw her impending dilemma between her "heart's child" and "paycheck child."
'...Should I quit?'
Indeed, resignation seemed the only answer.