Chapter 149. 78%
In truth, Kang Hajin had some faith in what he had recklessly committed to.
‘For one, the regression alarm didn’t go off, right?’
Back when it was Lee Yugeon’s turn, the possibility of regression had increased to the point that a sudden mission popped up, and the regression alarm had sounded long before his departure was confirmed.
However, the fact that nothing had been said for quite some time after he made that statement this time suggested that perhaps this incident wouldn’t grow serious enough to threaten his position.
[System Alert: So, you were just acting fearless.]
[System Alert: (ʘ言ʘ╬)]
“…”
As Thirteen glared at him with a fierce expression, Hajin silently averted his gaze and pretended to be oblivious.
Yet, the system window, with its infuriating blue hue, expanded to a large size, shoving an angry emoticon at him. Left cornered at the edge of the sofa, Hajin finally started mumbling excuses.
“I mean, once you say something, you can’t take it back… And it’s not like I can control how the fans feel. So, what else was I supposed to do? Besides, seeing as how that regressor kid is staying quiet, maybe it’s not as serious as it was during the third round…”
[System Alert: (ʘ言ʘ╬)]
“What was I supposed to do!? Just not say anything!? Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Even though I could have said something much worse, I held back and turned it around as much as I could…”
[System Alert: (ʘ言ʘ╬╬)]
“Look, in the end, it turned out well, didn’t it? Things are going in a good direction, so that’s fortunate!”
Kang Hajin desperately clung to the sofa’s armrest like it was a lifeline, continuing to explain. Since they were currently in the subconscious space, there was no problem with shouting like this.
Once the identity of the ‘villain’ who had taken the lead in the guerrilla concert’s misdeeds was revealed, the situation quickly changed again.
Now that even the account had been disclosed, people didn’t hesitate to punish the ‘villain.’
Another wave of cyberbullying began under the guise of ‘justice.’ Although the person who posted the accusation took down the video later, people had already captured it and began to identify and criticize the individual in the footage.
In the process, someone completely unrelated to the group became the victim of a wrongful witch hunt.
[But this is kinda funny lol]
It wasn’t just those five at the square who shouted “failure” for fun, but now everyone’s dumping the blame on them and acting like they’re innocent. lol, you guys did the same thing. Why are you pretending you didn’t?
– There aren’t many real DESTINY fans left here…? It seems like only the ones who want to insult are sticking around.
As the situation became overheated and crossed the line, the public grew weary, and the DESTINY fans were exhausted.
At this rate, even if they debuted, the animosity between individual fandoms would worsen to the point of irreparability. In the worst case, newcomers and casual fans who were disgusted by the initial fan atmosphere might leave the scene altogether.
If that happened, the fandom’s firepower would inevitably be halved, leaving only a stagnant core of toxic fans who fought daily while the all-fan unity disappeared.
Such an outcome would be fatal for a rookie group just about to debut.
At this moment, something that could absolutely revive the atmosphere was needed.
It was at this point that Hajin’s remark was reexamined.
(Hajin’s Full Comments Video)
(Hajin’s Full Comments Transcript)
This was attacked as hate speech, but
Now it’s being reinterpreted, with some saying Hajin recognized that the group cursing and mocking other trainees during the guerrilla concert were his own fans and issued a warning.
Despite saying this, they still didn’t learn their lesson and caused trouble for the Loving You team while slapping the hate speech label on Hajin lol.
– Isn’t it lucky he didn’t swear?
– Wow… if I saw my fan holding my slogan and cursing my friend, my heart would have shattered. You can tell he held back and chose his words carefully.
– Even after saying this, they’re still pulling each other’s hair out.
– I wouldn’t be proud either, lolololololololololol
– I hope all the lunatic fans fall off from Hajin’s fanbase this time. There are too many people here who just dabble and run their mouths without any real dedication.
└ 222 Please, to all those who whined about Hajin’s hate speech, just leave~~~~ You weren’t really fans of Hajin in the first place.
When Hajin monitored the fans’ reactions a little later, his statement had somehow transformed from a ‘showdown with the fans’ to a ‘principled remark that politely disciplined ignorant fans.’
It wasn’t a problem for Hajin, as he had seen shifts in stance depending on the situation plenty of times, not just in the idol scene.
What worried Hajin more was who the trigger of this never-ending Russian roulette would aim at next. Judging by how things were going, it was highly likely that the next target would be his fans.
[Fanbase Name Verification is really exhausting.]
Not all Hajin fans are like that, but because those who acted out were Hajin fans, now everyone’s blaming the whole fanbase. lolololol
And as expected, when he saw all the blame falling onto his fanbase just as he had anticipated, Hajin wished this entire situation would somehow end.
What was most frustrating and infuriating was this:
The helplessness of being unable to do anything or change anything about this situation.
The hollowness of knowing that all he could do was hope for another incident to cover up this entire mess or wish that the situation would safely resolve without his innocent fans getting hurt too badly.
However, Hajin’s fans turned out to be far more resilient than Hajin had worried.
“…How are they even thinking of a self-purification campaign?”
The statement released by Hajin’s fan café, fan communities, and the notable names on Bluebird was more readable and logically sound than any official statement from an entertainment agency.
Wasn’t the representative who organized and wrote this a lawyer?
Anyhow, people praised how well-written the statement was from the moment it was posted, saying it was no surprise considering they resembled their eloquent favorite.
The statement was divided into three major elements.
First, an apology letter directly written by the fans who made problematic remarks.
Second, a detailed statement of their stance on the situation.
Third, a campaign for self-purification within the fandom and verification of votes for other trainees.
Simply obtaining an apology letter from the offenders would have been enough to quell some of the controversy. Still, Hajin’s fanbase went further by leading the #BecomingProudFans campaign, putting their lives on the line for internal purification.
…Of course, we cannot agree with the baseless accusation that all the malice surrounding Miro Maze originated from a particular trainee’s fanbase.
However, it is true that our fanbase was at the center of this incident. We deeply feel our responsibility for causing the trainee we support to speak out on the matter.
Therefore, from today until the final round, the Kang Hajin Fan Alliance will primarily focus on the internal purification of our fanbase and launch the ‘Support Miro Maze Trainees Campaign.’
We have summarized the specific details of this campaign in the table below.
……
After voting for the affected trainees, they took photos as proof.
They reported accounts making ignorant comments, had those comments deleted, or issued warnings by mentioning them.
Moreover, they actively visited the clips of Miro Maze that had been posted so far, leaving supportive comments, liking them, and uploading messages of encouragement for the trainees.
Beyond just supporting Miro Maze, they also launched a campaign called #BecomingProud, where they engaged in charitable activities and volunteer work, sharing proof of their contributions.
The existing Hajin fanbase had a weak core, and the prevailing atmosphere was one where casual fans wearing the mask of public picks consumed content without committing. The lack of results in the most crucial paid votes was a prime example of this.
Though the clips’ view counts and mentions in communities were high, there were not enough people genuinely voting for Hajin, sincerely supporting him as their one pick—a fatal flaw in the structure.
[Kang Hajin fanbase is really cool.]
They went directly to the problem accounts, got handwritten apologies, and while doing that, warned against excessive criticism of those accounts.
Verifying votes for other trainees could be a risky move that could impact Kang Hajin’s debut, but what better apology could there be than this?
It seems like all the casual fans who just dabbled are gone now. I hope this becomes an opportunity to properly establish the fandom atmosphere. I’m just a casual fan who was rooting for Hajin, but now I’m really rooting for him.ㅠ
– The fact that the leader is a lawyer…
└ 22222 Lolololol this is so cool.
└ 33 It’s so satisfying to see those who were mindlessly hating on him all shut up, and that statement was so well-written, it’s legendary.
– After reading that statement, I got interested in Kang Hajin. Whether it’s the idol or the fans, they’re all upright and principled, so cool.
– It’s not easy for a fandom to unite like this… It seems like they’re managing things well while they’re still small.
However, it was precisely because of that structure that such progress was
possible—this was the duality of the fandom.
“…Because the number of core fans isn’t large, it’s easier to unite under one stance. And since it’s publicly well-known, as long as the intention is good, they can gain overwhelming support from the majority.”
Hajin stretched out long on the sofa, lost in thought as if experiencing something new.
Once the dam broke, other fandoms gradually joined in the self-purification campaign led by Hajin’s fanbase. The first to express their intention to join was none other than Lee Yugeon’s fanbase, which had every reason to be sickened by such incidents.
**ReasonGun @2uuu_gunn2**
#BecomingProud
Sometimes the pen is mightier than the sword,
Words, even without form,
And the malice of many,
Can trample on the goodwill of one person.
I’ve watched it for far too long.
I hope this vicious cycle ends, even now.
(A donation receipt in Yugeon’s name)
Starting with Lee Yugeon’s fanbase, the flame gradually spread to other fandoms.
Homemasters shared data of trainees who weren’t their own favorites for free. Various trainee fan pages united to launch hashtag campaigns and clean up malicious comments. Support cafes and ads for trainees were put up, and a full-scale crackdown on malicious commenters began, including collecting PDFs as evidence.
Miro didn’t miss out on this atmosphere and kept the positive flow going by providing constant group content such as unreleased clips and behind-the-scenes photos. They released making films showing the trainees practicing together, celebrating birthdays, and helping each other out.
The time it took for all of this to happen was just three days.
Just three days.
Kang Hajin, still lying long on the sofa, curved his beautiful lips into a smile.
“…Hey, this is why people stick with idols.”
He had never been prouder of his cool, admirable fans.
Finally, Hajin let out a contented laugh.