Chapter 129

The first round of cuts would take four trainees.

Voting had opened right after episode 5 aired; it would tally every score accumulated to date, with the results dropping in episode 7.

title: [i KNEW it] knew i was gonna get this hooked knew this was gonna hurt this bad literally yesterday you show us 17 kids happy hahahoho kyaaaaeek laughing having a sports day and NOW you drop an elimination notice on us ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ who the hell am i supposed to eliminate here ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ nooo ㅠㅠㅠㅠ just do miro maze forever ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Because the show had positioned itself as a "kind survival" from the start, keeping the focus on the trainees' chemistry and relationships with each other —

the many Destis who heard the first elimination announcement were hit with a real pang of loss and hurt.

But only briefly.

title: [guys so who are you gonna vote for] my head is about to explode thinking about going top-pick + second-pick but my top pick is already ranked really high or would it be better to do second and third pick instead ㅠㅠㅠ? - just do top + second, no debate > 22 don't get cocky just because they're ranked high > 33 MRMZ factors in agency evaluation, you can't relax - honestly the one i like most doesn't look like they have a shot at debut so...i'm torn......

Bent on saving their favorite trainees, the Destis threw themselves into running the numbers.

On an agency-run survival, once a kid debuted you were locked in for at least seven years with them — sometimes longer — so the Destis had no choice but to weigh every vote with extreme care.

Hajin's fandom, too, threw themselves into pushing the vote with fire in their eyes.

The unguarded, hapless moments Hajin had shown in episode 5 had helped pull in a fair number of new fans.

But the internal cohesion of the fandom still wasn't great.

handle: @strongjin name: Kang Captain honestly i don't even know where to start correcting so i'm just sighing.... if you don't wanna see it unfollow ㅗ i'll use up my entire bluebird account by myself if that's what it takes to get my kid debuted please stop pressuring people to vote spamming the tl with the same post over and over — one or two times, sure who anyone else votes for is their own business what gives u the right to keep swinging the rod at us; honestly miro isn't stupid they're going to debut hajin no matter what lolol... engagement: shares 48 · quotes 153 handle: @kang_HD name: Kangha-D everyone please please vote every time i see the gap between the rt count on the clip of him and the rt count on the voting proof threads i get so worried and hit with such a reality check...

Between the trolls and the friendly-fire from other fandoms, the fandom was already worn out — and now, on top of that, the fence-sitters piling on with baseless confidence that he definitely won't be in the elimination zone had spiked the exhaustion higher still.

In the middle of all that, a conversation from one of the named accounts' locked side-accounts got doctored and spread around.

handle: @rossy_1017 name: Rossy Day the post that went up at 3am today on kim makki's account (@makkiii) is an explanation and full transcript of a conversation between me and my mutuals on our locked side-accounts. this so-called controversy is a clear fabrication and we would like to state that not once have we wished for any specific trainee's elimination. engagement: shares 292 · quotes 509

They'd only been talking about being worried over Hajin's voting numbers, saying things like what if he actually gets eliminated at this rate and maybe he needs to actually hit elimination range before people feel the crisis.

Somebody had skillfully edited those exchanges to make it look like they were saying they hoped Hajin would just get eliminated already, and stirred up a scandal around it.

Fortunately the people actually involved in the conversation stepped up quickly to explain, and there were plenty of accounts who'd seen the exchange happen in real time, so the controversy died down fast.

The account that had started it deleted itself the moment the explanation went up, and didn't surface for a while.

The problem was what came after.

handle: @strongjin name: Kang Captain REST closing this account for now i'll be back when hajin debuts i'm sorry

One of Hajin's named accounts had been part of that conversation, and unable to endure the cyberbullying that came pouring in over the incident, they'd shut it down.

The fandom mood was already bad; when something like this piled on top, an ugly, uncontrollable resentment started building in Hajin's fandom.

title: [what did hajin fans even do wrong???] seriously why is our kid the only one getting his head yanked around from every direction every single day i'm biting my tongue this hard just to see hajin debut people are so rude and mean, seriously... i genuinely can't understand getting cursed out just for cheering someone on and while all this is going on there are still posts sneakily putting hajin down it feels genuinely sociopathic honestly it's just too upsetting - there there...you've been through a lot...i don't know what to say ㅠㅠ - but also i've been genuinely curious, hajin isn't popular??? isn't he the most mentioned on MRMZ???? i honestly thought that whole elimination-conversation thing was just other trainees' fans checking him > you seriously want to ask that on a post like this...?

The natural way of things, the law of nature, is that the more you get pounded from outside, the more your inside hardens up.

Hajin's fandom had been battered so hard, though, that even the small, tight core-of-cores had shattered and scattered.

The light fans, who hadn't signed up to give themselves a headache over stan life, started shopping for other fandoms. Even the core fans who'd been grimly holding on cut back on their online mentions, or disappeared entirely.

And Hajin knew about all of this too.

…are you okay?

I'm fine.

Hajin answered evenly.

Thirteen was actually fretting about this harder than Hajin himself was, and Hajin, exasperated, shot back.

I really am fine.

Still…. there isn't much time left in the voting period. o (╥﹏╥) o

I really am okay, for now. It's not like they turned on me because I did something wrong — stuff like that, you just can't help.

For now, he was fine.

Hajin wasn't just talking himself into it, either.

For starters, this first elimination announcement is cumulative — it adds up every score we've earned so far.

From the first broadcast all the way to now.

Hajin hadn't been at the top the whole time, but he'd never been all the way at the bottom either.

He'd won his team battle in the first mission and picked up a benefit, and he'd taken first place in the second mission.

Add in the first-place benefit from the third mission, and there's no way I'm getting eliminated this round. Next elimination announcement — that, maybe.

The third mission airing tonight had likewise ended with Hajin's Blue Flare team pulling in the most votes and taking first.

If he was still in the bottom four out of seventeen after banking benefits like that?

If I'm that hopeless, I'll just grab Selreg by the hand and go live forever right alongside him.

Pleasepleasedon'tsaythingslikethateveninajoke. Fixed Regressor, that's the scariest part — you might actually mean it, you know?

The system window quivered like it was shuddering.

Hajin got up from the bed and stretched.

The real danger starts now.

Once the first eliminations were done, all scores would reset.

And between then and the finals, three more eliminations were coming.

If the fandom mood is still like this by then…. actually making it to debut might be genuinely tough. It'd be nice if there was just one trigger to flip the fandom mood.

What might that be….

Hajin mulled it over briefly, then checked the time and stepped out of his room.

"Oh, hyung. Come on, quick."

"What, am I last?"

"No, Kyungho-hyung's last. He said he stepped out somewhere."

Everyone but Kyungho was gathered in the lounge.

Tonight, all the trainees were watching Miro Maze episode 6 together — a group live-viewing session.

"Hyung, you're the one who said we should all watch together, and you show up last?"

"The main character always shows up last, kid. Scoot over."

"Uh, there's plenty of space over there!"

"I like the center."

Hajin brushed off Taehyun's protest, pushed him firmly aside, and claimed the seat next to him.

Get a dozen-plus grown boys packed into one spot and even a lounge that size started to look full.

Just as someone was turning on the TV and finding the channel, Wonho, Yugeon, and Doha came into the lounge — hands loaded with delivery bags, no telling where they'd picked it up.

"Alright, alright~ food's here, everyone."

"Wait — Eunchan, did you use that card again?"

Chicken, pizza, jokbal, bossam — nothing missing from the spread. Hajin's eyes went wide as he naturally turned to look at Eunchan.

Flustered, Eunchan shook his head desperately, denying it wasn't him this time.

"No, it wasn't me!"

"Then what is all this?"

Doha, quietly unloading food from the bags and setting it up, answered in Eunchan's place.

"Team Lead Ji Suho covered it. In exchange, he said we've all got to do three hours of cardio together after we eat, then bed."

"…do we eat this, or not?"

"Obviously we eat it. What are you talking about, Jayden. Whether we eat it or not, we're doing the cardio either way."

Hajin tossed off an easy answer to Jayden's dilemma and picked up his pair of disposable chopsticks.

Ever since the elimination-notice announcement, the trainees' spirits had been plunging without a floor.

That was exactly why Hajin had deliberately proposed everyone watch the broadcast together tonight.

Better to force a gathering like this, get people talking to each other, than have everyone locked away in their rooms staring at their phones and spiraling into endless gloom. Mentally healthier.

…speaking from experience?

If you know, be quiet about it.

Hajin gave Thirteen a quiet side-eye.

Ji Suho and Thirteen alike — both of them were far too quick on the uptake.

The kids were down, and now that everyone happened to be gathering to watch the broadcast, Suho had unquestionably jumped at that opening and offered up the company card.

"What — Seo Taehyun, you're not eating?"

"I was actually planning to just have salad with Siwoo-hyung…."

Taehyun's brows drew together in a troubled arc at Hajin's question.

You could see him wavering over the unplanned team dinner.

Taehyun's and Hajin's eyes went to Siwoo at the same time.

Siwoo, who'd been sitting on the innermost couch, had already picked up chopsticks and a small plate and come down to sit at the table with the food.

"Looks like Siwoo-hyung's eating?"

"Yeah…. hmm. What do I do."

"Taehyun-hyung, eat with us!"

Once Eunchan piled on, Taehyun's dilemma deepened.

On any other day Hajin wasn't the type to push food on someone who didn't want it, but the situation tonight was a little different.

Suho had gone to the trouble of setting up this dinner to lift everyone's mood; if even one person started opting out to manage their diet, the other trainees would feel awkward too and couldn't really settle in and eat.

Which is probably why hyung sat himself down front and center first — to set the tone.

Hajin thought that, watching Siwoo out of the corner of his eye.

Siwoo had come down first and picked up chopsticks, but the only thing on his own plate was a single slice of pizza; he was just looking after the other dongsaengs and their food. Pacing himself — eating just enough to keep up appearances, probably.

…that hyung is really something else.

Impressed internally, Hajin gave Taehyun's leg a light tap under the table and whispered to him.

"Just come down and go through the motions. I'll pick the breast meat off the chicken for you. Or just a few slices of jokbal."

"…hmm. Yeah, alright — one night, whatever."

At Hajin's coaxing, Taehyun finally slid down off the couch too.

On Hajin's other side, Wonho — freshly back from washing his hands — settled in.

"Kangha-hyung, one slice of the potato pizza for me."

"Sure. Pass your plate."

"Thanks."

Without much thought, Hajin dropped a slice of pizza onto Wonho's plate and passed it back.

He watched Wonho drown it in hot sauce and take a big bite, thought right, my turn to eat too and picked up his chopsticks — then paused, and looked back at Wonho.

"……."

"……?"

"……."

"…uh eht? mrph wrng? (something on my face?)"

"No. That's not it."

Wonho — flustered, still chewing pizza with his cheeks full — looked back at him, and Hajin shook his head, thinking.

Come to think of it, this kid….

Why hasn't Comrade recruitment fired for him?