Chapter 139

Miro Maze's first guerrilla concert.

Just outside Seoul, a temporary stage was set up in the middle of a wide public plaza.

The production crew, bracing for any possible safety incident, ran the site with order as the top priority. To keep crowds from massing early, the venue was only announced the day before, and security and staffing were maxed out.

title: [wait isn't the production crew being kind of thoughtless] they know how popular and buzzy the kids are right so what if people crowd in and there's an accident wtf "guerrilla concert" ㅠㅠㅠㅠ they only did studio audience once anyway why not just keep doing it like before and after announcing so late those of us who can't go are just riding the flame train... - ? where are you riding the flame train - you're the one riding the flame train rn i think - meanwhile i'm riding waves > i'm riding the rhythm > i'm a regional desti so i rode the train yesterday and rolled up to the venue, place is huge > hehe i live right nearby so i just biked over~ - yo guys OP's upset they can't go to the guerrilla...pls give them some attention ㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋ > 22 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ as a fellow desti even i can't believe the don't-feed-the-troll energy > 3333 could tell from when they were straight up shooting the fake fans out of the sky... > lately it's not even shooting them down, it's more like blasting them out with a cannon handle: @kang_HD name: Kangha-D here to see the kids it's really packed but maybe cus i've been through so many festivals i'm holding up ok [photo] handle: @ice_ciu name: Jeong Shukream posting from a DM tip! 9 o'clock direction facing the stage someone said they picked it up at Hisocafe around 2 #RT #rt #MiroMaze #GuerrillaConcert #JungSiwoo #Shugingi looking for the {Shupeu who lost their Shugingi}(#l8sk2g0bz6co)~ [photo] title: [ㄱㅅㅍ omg today's MRMZ guerrilla MCs] Enderway's Choi Yeonwoo and Park Woong [photo] - o - heol - eeeek yeonu-ssi - ㅁㅊ can we get a choi yeonwoo x seo taehyun two-shot today - i'm at the venue and the MC seems to be yeonu-nim! woong-nim is bare-faced in street clothes ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ - ha...did woong just tag along because someone said they'd buy him tasty food? > that...tracks! > for our woong, entirely possible > what do And With U think park woong even is? > but our woong is the one who followed his sunbae all the way to The Jungle because they said they'd buy him tasty food... > oh ㅁㅊㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ > ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ for real??? > which sunbae??? > upia's yoon jinu > aa.....ok > why are you just accepting that

With everyone's anticipation and interest and worry pulling at it from all sides, the guerrilla concert finally got underway.

The iTube livestream crashed a few times early on due to transmission errors, so the start ended up running about thirty minutes late.

- it's happening it's happening!!! - aaaaaa - voting is open too!!! - ♥ one vote for godbaby cutie park jaeyoung ♥ - Plz eng subbbbb - Saya mendukungnya. Dia adalah orang spesial yang harus debut.

Late afternoon, the day's heat just starting to ease off.

The one who stepped up onto the softly-lit stage was — as had been spoiled ahead of time — Enderway's Choi Yeonwoo.

"Hello, Destis."

When Choi Yeonwoo greeted the crowd in that smooth voice of his, the Destis at the venue erupted.

Since it was an outdoor guerrilla concert, Yeonwoo was in a casual daily look rather than a sharp suit — and, looking a little warm, fanned himself with his hand.

"Whether it's the heat coming off you all or what, I'm already sweating up here. Everyone's been waiting a while, right?"

""Yes—!!""

"Our Miro Maze trainees' stages are about to blow that long wait right out of your minds — and I'm really looking forward to it myself. But first, I should introduce myself."

Holding the mic and cue cards in one hand, Choi Yeonwoo used the other to greet everyone with Enderway's hand sign.

"Two, three, Make my way! Hello. Enderway's permanent center, Choi Yeonwoo. Today I'm standing in for Seo Taeil-sunbaenim as your MC at the Miro Maze guerrilla concert."

Another round of cheers and applause burst out at the smooth greeting and lead-in.

While Choi Yeonwoo set the mood with his brief opening —

in the waiting-tent set up in a parking lot a short distance from the stage plaza, another Enderway member was exchanging greetings with the Miro Maze trainees.

"Hello, sir!"

"Hello, sunbaenim!"

"Oh, hi. Everyone."

Enderway's main rapper, Park Woong, came around to each trainee one by one with a beaming smile and offered a handshake himself.

Among the longer-tenure trainees there were apparently a few faces he already knew — he even exchanged fairly warm hugs with some. All of it, captured cleanly on camera.

"I was going to bring you guys something tasty, but Yeonu kept telling me it'd be too hectic here so I couldn't! What a shame."

Every inch the man who had scored his foodie & big-eater image and a regular slot on cooking variety shows off the strength of a single "Park Woong's TV-Station Foodie List."

Park Woong opened his first remarks with food talk, an exaggerated look of regret on his face.

"There's a seriously good madeleine place around here. I really wanted to bring some over…. If any of you want the info, I'll pass along the shop name. Seriously, make sure you try it later. It's the real deal."

…what the hell IS this guy?

Kang Hajin's first impression of Park Woong was somewhat extreme.

Fair enough, though — an active idol fresh off a promotion cycle and busy prepping for a tour, going out of his way to come see the hoobaes — and every single thing coming out of his mouth was food.

Sure, Hajin already knew Woong was dead serious about eating; he'd heard it enough over the years.

He remembered a coworker of his from his concert-planning days, who'd been rotated onto Enderway's concert team — the guy had whined that pulling all-nighters on rehearsals was easier than accommodating Park Woong's catering demands.

Whoa…. so THAT's what celebrity power-tripping looks like?

It's not like he asked for freshly-brewed Italian coffee beans delivered piping hot. Preferred snack and coffee brand aren't even in the ballpark of power-tripping.

Hajin's coworker back then hadn't actually resented Park Woong or anything either.

In this line of work that kind of complaint was just an ah, this client's such a pain ㅠㅠ level of griping — Hajin had listened and let it slide.

But seeing him in person, Woong was serious enough about eating that Hajin started thinking — hold on, would this guy actually be the type to ask for freshly-brewed Italian coffee beans?

"…anyway, there are a ton of real hidden gems around our office too. But we're moving to the new building soon, so it's kind of a shame. I wanted to hand off all the go-to spots I worked hard to line up!"

"……."

"Come to think of it — I heard your dorm's over in the new building! Have any of you tried the restaurants nearby? Any recommendations you'd give?"

"…ah, we, um, mostly stick to the in-house cafeteria or diet-plan boxed meals."

"Oh, really? Ah, that's a real shame. Right — you'd be locked down on weight management right now."

Barely hanging on through the head-spinning topic, Jung Siwoo answered on the team's behalf.

At which Park Woong let out a genuine sigh, unable to hide his disappointment. Enderway's manager, standing behind him, ended up pressing a hand to his forehead over Woong's eat-eat-eat talk.

Why does this damn company not have a single normal one in it?

Thought only the Upia guys were like this — but apparently Enderway doesn't have anyone properly normal either.

Is it a company thing?

Along with that question, Kang Hajin quietly resolved to make sure to ask Park Woong for the name of that madeleine shop later.

System is lamenting that when it comes to being not-normal, the Fixed Regressor is no slouch either…. (shake shake)

What eventually put a stop to the food-and-fine-dining talk was production.

The main writer, who had been happily watching Park Woong chatter away with the (soon-to-be-) hoobaes, decided there was enough talk footage on the books and stepped in at just the right moment to end the exchange.

"Alright, Woong-ssi. Time to get to what we talked about earlier."

"Ah, right. Sure, sure. Got it."

What they talked about?

I'd figured this walking Michelin had just come by for moral support — but apparently he'd been handed a mission by production while he was at it. That'd be why he was wearing a mic.

Park Woong, who up to a second ago had been rambling on pointlessly about restaurants, took some water from his manager and lightly wet his throat.

He pulled off the hood and cap he'd been wearing, did a quick visual check, cleared his throat a couple of times, and — clap! — brought his hands together, cutting his own edit point into the scene.

"The reason I've come to your waiting area today is because I have something to tell you."

What the hell is that — that clip-on, capitalism-mode voice?

Up until a second ago his pronunciation had been slurring a little, his voice pitched high. But after that clap, Park Woong went on with startlingly crisp diction and a clean tone.

You could see, from that one line alone, why in Enderway — an act with three whole rappers — Park Woong held down the main rapper spot without a fight.

"All of you, through prior consultation with production, prepared special effects and stage direction tailored to your teams. Correct?"

"…yes."

…c'mon, no way.

At Park Woong slowly grinning as he brought up the stage direction, the trainees instinctively caught the whiff of something ominous.

Yeah. There hadn't been much thrown at us this round.

Rolling up on three months into the survival, the trainees were starting to develop a 'these TV bastards, at it again' mindset of their own.

But no way, right? Not the day before — right before we walk on?

So what. It's not like they'd give us MORE — taking things away is easy.

As the trainees spun between 'no way, right?' and 'please, no way' —

Park Woong shattered their wishful-thinking circuits with a bright smile.

"But — you can't just use those stage setups as-is!"

Voluntary-Resignation Combo, you footage-obsessed bastards…!

Hajin glared, eyes blazing, at Writer Ko — hiding behind a script at the back of the tent. Even if the camera caught him, it'd air with a 〈These broadcast bastards?〉 caption slapped on and slot in as shocked trainee gripped by betrayal anyway, so it didn't matter.

Case in point — Dan Haru, standing right next to him, was staring at Park Woong with the world-ending expression of a baby-rabbit warrior whose absolute-carrot had just been stolen by a trusted comrade.

And this pure innocent might be the Selreg. Yeah, I've really got to grab that bastard Retty and rough him up….

Come to think of it — once I find the Selected Regressor, what am I supposed to do next?

At the question that had popped up out of nowhere, Hajin cocked his head to one side.

But right as he was about to think it through, Park Woong's next line came in.

Better wrap this quest up clean and step into the Unconscious Space soon.

Remembering that this quest had the Unconscious Space entry side-effect offset riding on it, Hajin refocused on the shoot for now.

Won't be much — probably some easy mini-game to earn stage direction back. Handing it out as a class benefit is awkward now that half the trainees are Wings, so….

"Starting now, you'll have to earn your stage's components through a special mission."

See? Told you.

Now they'll announce a mini-mission short enough to run in the waiting area in ten minutes or so. Small stuff — a ladder lottery, jegichagi, a speed quiz.

This is what you call ex-variety-PD seasoning, Hajin thought — smug for about half a second — and then Park Woong's next line landed right after.

"Whether that mission succeeds! Depends entirely on you Destis."

"…what?"

What the hell have these content-crazed production bastards cooked up now…?