ALL NOVEL Chapter 76
Chapter 76. Unexpected Luck (1)
During the week-long vacation, where Miro, the production company, and even Hajin were all busy in their respective places, a lot was happening on the internet as well.
First of all, the first teaser for **Miro Maze** was released.
– “Hey, this is your typical K-pop boy group debut survival show.”
This meant that the Miro set, now grander (and unnecessarily so) thanks to expensive CG and flashy editing, was unveiled to the world.
– “Why do they look like they’re filming a survival show;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;”
The teaser, which had a more serious scale than expected, sparked a brief buzz across various social media platforms and communities. Shorts and viral ads with keywords like *”Today’s boy group survival show where it seems they poured in capital”* were everywhere.
The first to react were the fandoms of Miro’s senior artists, who automatically learned about it because every post was uploaded with hashtags like *“My Babies.”*
**Na Man Bol Su Eomneun UPia.zip** @U_pia_zip
(Miro Maze Seo Taeil interview video cut)
*The juniors show off their seniority in their debut survival show.*
Shares: 3,821, Quotes: 4,409, Hearts: 5,081
[Ah please, Park Woong who’s thrilled that he finally has juniors is real.]
(Miro Maze mentioned in Enderway members’ live video)
—
– “Woongi is so cute. He’s organizing a list of the best places to eat around broadcast stations to share when the juniors debut.”
– “That list is something he learned from his ㅇㅍㅇ seniors when he was a rookie, lol.”
– “So it looks like the kids will appear on the broadcast too? Honestly, I don’t think there’s any way they won’t.”
└ “Yeah, 100%.”
└ “They’re probably doing a mission with the kids’ songs! The ㅈㅇ teacher next door gave a spoiler.”
└ “Is that teacher still going strong with the spoilers, lololol.”
└ “Spoiler hardcore, it’s just a Miro family trait… Looking at Choi Yeonwoo’s recent post with Taeil teacher, haha.”
– “Sorry for changing the topic, but why do they call the senior group members teachers?ㅠ Sorry, I’m a late fan…ㅠ”
└ “It’s fine! The age difference is quite significant, and the seniors actually taught the kids when they were trainees, so they call them teachers!”
└ “Oh, thank youㅠㅠ Can I ask one more thing?ㅠㅠ Did the seniors continue to teach them after their debut?”
└ “Yes, ㅠㅠ the company… It’s better now, but back in the day, it was really just a hole-in-the-wall place…ㅠㅠㅠ It’s much better now…”
└ “Ah… I seeㅠㅠㅠㅠ Thanks so much for kindly explaining!!”
Since Miro was not just a small company but an ultra-small group with only two members, Miro was known for the particularly good relationship between the senior and junior fandoms. This was thanks to the fans of Utopia, named **I.dea**, who showered their love on the first junior group from the debut stage.
The fact that there was a huge gap in seniority, making competition unthinkable, also played a part.
– “Cheering for the juniors!”
– “What will they sing? Probably *Mood Night* or *Sparkle Day*?”
– “Does this mean we’ll see Taeil in crocodile PD mode every week in different outfits? That’s a good thing.”
– “Cheong Hansol came to a live broadcast and said the juniors are cute and talented, so we should just cheer them on and not cheat, lol. A boy group idol in his 13th year tells his fans to stay loyal, so likable.”
Since the atmosphere of *“Miro is one family”* was so thoroughly established, the senior fandom’s reaction to **Miro Maze** was generally positive.
Having already witnessed the birth of a junior group once, **I.dea** felt like grandparents watching their grandchildren play. On the other hand, **And With U**, the fandom of Enderway, could not contain their anticipation and excitement for their first juniors.
Of course, not everyone felt the same.
– “At first, I wondered why Han1Sewong suddenly went crazy and decided to do a survival show that’s lost its appeal, but I guess they just wanted to show off how much money they’ve made. All that money was earned by our oppas, so why are they wasting it…?”
– “Please stop talking about lookalikes. They don’t look alike!!! Stop with the Miro Maze nonsense. There are only two groups in the company anyway, so what’s the point of a Miro Maze?”
– “I did think another group would debut soon, but isn’t it a bit early? I feel weird about it… Honestly, we’re only in our 4th year.”
Those who expressed negative opinions were mainly newly recruited **And With U** members.
Most of them only knew the tearful stories of Enderway’s rookie days, when they found out that, after their debut, they were the second son of a small company (and the first son was the legendary idol Utopia) through folklore.
Therefore, they only heard about **I.dea**’s unconditional love but had never experienced it themselves. They just kept quiet because they knew the fandom atmosphere was like that when they joined.
If they threw a stone at the prevailing sentiment, they knew they’d be the ones getting hit.
Because of this, to them, **Miro Maze** was just an annoying newcomer who would take away their babies’ spotlight in an already small company.
– “I’m muting anyone who brings up the junior group on my feed for now~ I don’t want to see other idols.”
– “Can we stop with the stupid family frame? I like Enderway, not Miro.”
– “I’m so stressed. Stop using our kids’ names;;; Every time the alarm goes off, it’s about that junior group.”
– “If it’s like this before debut, how much more will they push them after debut? Ugh, it was already annoying when they kept bringing up the old seniors, and now they’re going to push the juniors too.”
As such voices grew louder, even among the existing fans who remembered the kindness of the seniors during their debut days, opinions began to diverge.
– “Why do you hate juniors being debuted now? Is this your first time stanning?ㅋㅋㅋ Don’t you know big companies usually debut new groups every three years? We were abnormally late because ㅁㄹ is a ㅈㅅ, not normal.”
– “Huh, is there a hate vibe for juniors? I’m excited, lol. Our kids are finally becoming seniors, so I’m thrilled.”
– “I don’t care as long as our plans come out properly, but seeing how things are going, it doesn’t seem like it, so I’m annoyed.”
– “We’re just now getting established, so it’s understandable to feel a bit disappointed that juniors are already coming out. Is silencing people real?”
– “It seems like they’re pouring a lot of money into the teaser… It makes me a bit bitter… They didn’t treat us like that.”
– “Can we just stop talking about juniors? It’s exhausting.”
What started as interest in **Miro Maze** always ended in a conflict among the **And With U** fandom.
As this phenomenon repeated itself, even idol fans who were purely interested in **Miro Maze** or had just gotten curious began to shy away from mentioning it. They didn’t want to get involved in a fight even before the first broadcast had aired.
It was a critical setback at a time when they should have been stoking the flames of excitement.
It was around this time that Hajin’s sudden quest reward was automatically received.
[System Alarm: Sudden Quest!]
[Content: The biggest ally in this world is me.
Believing in me starts with knowing me!
Let’s get to know ‘Kang Hajin.’]
Success Reward:
[‘Kang Hajin’ Companion Recruitment: Designated 1-Person Trait Viewing Ticket] (Received)
[‘Kang Hajin’ Trait Confirmation: Free Skill Upgrade Ticket] (Received)
[‘Kang Hajin’ Stat Confirmation: Unexpected Luck (Cat’s Gratitude 2), (Teacher’s Grace)] (Not Received)
The unclaimed success reward will be automatically received.
– “Whoa, Yeonwoo just went live.”
Enderway’s unchanging center, Choi Yeonwoo, had started a live broadcast.
– “Hello, And With U. I was about to have dinner, but I came by for a bit. I wanted to eat with you.”
It began as an ordinary dinner mukbang. He said he couldn’t stay long, just wanted to chat while he ate, but the broadcast began to shift about 30 minutes in.
– “Hmm? How do I feel about the juniors?”
– “Woongi was excited about having juniors. Ah, has he already talked about it?”
Choi Yeonwoo, who was laughing while sharing his teammate’s reaction, suddenly brushed his messy bangs aside and, with a somewhat sentimental look in his eyes, propped his chin on his hand.
– “Hmm. But it does feel strange. You know, when we first debuted, it was really, really hard.”
– “Of course, compared to the Utopia seniors, we were in a much, much better environment, but still… I had a lot of worries? Burdens? I felt a lot of those. Honestly, the seniors were just too amazing
.”
– “Anyway, we were the first juniors.”
– “But when I went to the set of the juniors’ survival show this time, and I saw how cool the set was, how well they performed on stage, it just… suddenly felt really weird.”
Choi Yeonwoo, who had already put down his chopsticks, spoke quietly in a voice thick with emotion.
– “It’s like… Oh, I guess we did well, huh? I felt really proud.”
– “Anyway, I thought that because we did well, our juniors could come out too, so I felt proud… And I thought, I should be good to the kids too. Because I still remember how well the seniors took care of us when we first debuted. I want to be a dependable senior too….”
Choi Yeonwoo only mentioned **Miro Maze** for about three minutes during the nearly hour-long live broadcast. But those three minutes had a considerable impact.
– “Ah, I cried listening to Yeonwoo’s live today.”
The **And With U** members, who had been causing a stir with their infighting all day, were hit directly by the nostalgia of their debut days during those three minutes. Thanks to the collective shift to a more wholesome mood, with even those who had no interest in the junior group suddenly becoming docile, the fandom atmosphere began to stabilize.
– “I watched Yeonwoo’s live broadcast replay, and I just had too many thoughts… How scared and tough must it have been when they first debuted?”
– “When a member speaks like this, are those still stirring up drama over juniors out of their minds?ㅋㅋㅋ Do they not realize what it means for the kids to have juniors?”
As the **And With U** fandom, struck by nostalgia, gradually leaned toward the consensus of *“Even if we can’t support the juniors, let’s not ruin it for them,”* a post that would fuel this sentiment was uploaded.
This time, it came from Utopia’s side.
**[I.dea, how do you feel? (Long Post Warning)]**
*So, I’m someone who joined the fandom from street busking in Myeongdong, you know?*
*Even before their debut, I’ve been a fan ever since I saw Taeil perform at that busking event, where he was singing through the rain with determination, and I’ve liked them ever since (though I did take some breaks… job hunting was toughㅠ).*
*But we had such a hard time, you guys know, right?*
*We were in a small company among small companies, with just four employees, and whenever we went on air, we were treated with such contempt. The kids didn’t even have any senior idols to guide them, so they really struggledㅠ.*
*Even when they won first place on music shows or attended award ceremonies, our kids were always there all alone, and sometimes that just made me so sad, even though they were so close-knit and that was nice, but stillㅠㅠ.*
*So honestly, when the first juniors (our disciples) debuted, I was really happy.*
*We didn’t overlap much, but whenever we did, they always supported each other.*
*To be honest, when it was just our kids, they were the breadwinners, feeding the entire company like young heads of the family, and they couldn’t even take a proper break, holding on with such fierce determination. But after the disciples debuted, they were able to let go of a lot of that burden, and for the first time, they got a proper vacationㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Ah, I’m tearing up again.*
*Anyway, so now that another junior group is coming out, I was checking out the teasers, and suddenly I felt really, really weird.*
*Taeil said he’s confident, that he’s presenting this with his name on the line, and it just made me feel so touched… He looked so relaxed… I don’t know how to explain it, lol. Just thinking… “Is this really the next group from Miro?” That’s what I was thinking… Anyway, I was just wondering how everyone else feels, so I’m writing this… I’m at peak Utopia love MAX right now, just lololol. Let’s stay together for a long time… Let’s be together even longer… Until the gala show….*
Uploaded in the early hours when posts typically garnered fewer responses, this long post in a fan community wouldn’t normally have caused much of a stir.
– “As of this moment, I am withdrawing my support for the Miro family.”
That is… under normal circumstances.
– “From today, we are no longer in a support relationship.”
*We and the Miro family are one, united.*
*Any attack on the Miro family will be considered an attack on me.*
– “Who’s trying to intimidate our nephews?”
Unexpected luck began to run wild.