Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut! Chapter 76
Chapter 76. Unexpected Luck (1)
During the one-week break—when Miro, the production company, and even Hajin were all busy in their own places—a lot happened online too.
First, MIRO MAZE’s first teaser dropped.
Yo, wasn’t this just supposed to be a typical K-boygroup in-house debut survival show?
Meaning: the Miro “maze” set—made even more grand (unnecessarily so) thanks to expensive CG and flashy editing—was revealed to the world.
Why are these kids filming a literal survival show;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
The teaser’s unexpectedly serious scale stirred up quick buzz across social media and communities. Shorts and viral ads with titles like “They really burned money on this boy group survival” spread everywhere.
The first group to react was the fandoms of Miro’s senior artists—basically auto-notified since their timelines were already full of “my baby” hashtags.
Only U-Pia.zip @U_pia_zip
(Clip from Seo Tae-il’s interview in MIRO MAZE)
“The senior energy in the juniors’ debut survival is insane.”
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(Clip from an Enderway member’s live mentioning MIRO MAZE)
Woong is sooo cute—already compiling a list of the best 방송국 food spots for when the juniors debut
That list is the one he learned from the UPIA teachersㅋㅋㅋㅋ passing it down to rookies
Looks like the kids are gonna show up on broadcast too, right? Honestly no way they won’t
Yeah 100%
Looks like missions use the seniors’ songs—my neighbor “Jㅇㅇ teacher” spoiled it
Wait that teacher still has zero filter??ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
No-filter spoilers are just a Miro family trait… if you see Choi Yeonwoo posting a one-star after meeting Tae-il again, you know
Sorry random question but why do they call seniors “teacher”?ㅠ I’m a late fan…
It’s okay! The age gap’s huge and the seniors actually coached them when they were trainees, so they call them “teacher.”
Omg thanksㅠ one more question… so even after debut, they still coached them?
Woong… the company… it’s better now, but back then it was basically a hole-in-the-wallㅠㅠ now it’s REALLY improved…
Ah… I seeㅠㅠ thank you for explaining, seriously!!
Since Miro isn’t just “small”—it’s two-groups-only small—its fandoms are unusually friendly across senior and junior lines. That’s largely because UPIA’s fandom, I.dea, poured obsessive “first juniors” love onto Enderway from the beginning.
And honestly, the time gap was so huge there wasn’t even anything to compete over.
Cheering for the juniors!
What song will they use? Mood Night or Sparkle Day maybe?
Wait so does this mean we get Seo Tae-il in “alligator PD mode” in a different outfit every week? That’s actually great
Cheong Han-sol said on live “support the juniors because they’re cute and good,” but also “don’t cheat on us”ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ A 13-year idol telling fans not to stray is kinda likable
Because the whole “Miro is one family” narrative is pushed so strongly, most senior fandom reactions were positive.
I.dea—having already watched one junior group be born—was calm, like grandparents watching their grandkids play. Enderway’s fandom, And With U, on the other hand, couldn’t hide their excitement about finally having juniors.
Of course… not everyone felt the same.
Why is Han 1-seowon suddenly losing it and forcing a washed survival show… is this just “look how much money we made” flexing? That money came from OUR guys, you bastard, why are YOU burning it…
PLEASE stop with the “they look alike” talk—THEY DON’T. They don’t!! I’m sick of “Miro face” jokes. You only have two groups, what “Miro face” even is there
I figured a next group might come eventually, but isn’t this too soon…? Feels kinda weird… We’re only 4 years inㅠㅠ
The negative voices mostly came from newer And With U fans.
Most of them had only heard—like folklore—about Enderway’s tearful rookie days as “the second son of a tiny company,” with UPIA (legend-tier idols) as the “first son.”
They’d heard about I.dea’s massive “downpour of love,” but never actually lived it. They stayed quiet because that was the established fandom atmosphere—and throwing stones would just get them attacked.
So to them, MIRO MAZE wasn’t “family.”
It was: a brand-new rookie about to steal food from my faves in an already tiny company.
Sorry but I’m muting people who bring “future junior group” into my timeline~ I don’t want to see other idols
Stop forcing the stupid family frame. I like Enderway, not “Miro”
I’m so stressed—stop using our members’ names. My keyword alerts won’t shut up and it’s ALWAYS about those juniors
If it’s already like this before debut, imagine after they debut—how much bundle-selling are they gonna do? tlqkf. It was annoying enough when our guys went anywhere and got linked to old senior idols; now it’ll be linked to actual kids too
As that noise got louder, even older fans—who clearly remembered how much the seniors had helped them at debut—started splitting too.
People whining “why debut juniors now” have never stanned beforeㅋㅋㅋ Big companies drop juniors every ~3 years. We were late because Miro is tiny—why are you acting like that’s normal
Huh is it a thing to hate juniors? I like itㅋㅋㅋ our boys were so excited to finally be seniors
I don’t care either way—just release our plan properly. But judging from what they’re doing… yeah right
We’re only just stabilizing and it’s valid to feel upset about juniors already. Are we really shutting people up?
The teaser looked like they dumped a ton of money into it… kinda bitter. They didn’t pamper us like that
Can we stop the junior discourse already? I’m tired
A pattern emerged: people would start talking about MIRO MAZE, and it would end with Enderway fandom fighting.
So the broader “idol scene” users—who’d wandered in out of curiosity—started mentioning it less and less.
They didn’t want to get dragged into a full-on war before the first episode even aired.
It was a fatal sign—right when the hype should’ve been building.
And it was right around then that Hajin’s sudden quest reward was auto-claimed.
[System Alert: Sudden Quest!]
[Content: Your biggest ally in this world is you.
Believing in yourself starts with knowing yourself!
Get to know “Kang Hajin.”]
Success Rewards:
Recruit “Kang Hajin” as a companion: Trait-view ticket for 1 designated person (Claimed)
Confirm “Kang Hajin” traits: Free skill-upgrade pass (Claimed)
Confirm “Kang Hajin” stats: Unexpected luck (Cat’s Gratitude 2), (A Teacher’s Grace) (Unclaimed)
Unclaimed reward will be automatically claimed.
And then—
OMG Yeonwoo went live
Enderway’s unshakable center, Choi Yeonwoo, started a livestream.
Hey And With U. I was about to eat dinner, but I came on for a sec. Wanted to eat with you.
It began as a normal dinner mukbang. He said he couldn’t stay long—just chat while eating.
The turning point came about thirty minutes in.
Huh? What do I think about the juniors?
Woong was excited. Like, ridiculously excited that he’s getting juniors. Ah—did he already run off after yelling about it?
Yeonwoo laughed, brushing his messy bangs back—then rested his chin in his hand, eyes suddenly softer.
Mm… it did feel weird though. You know, when we debuted, it was… so damn hard.
Of course compared to the UPIA teachers, we had a way better environment, but still… I was worried. Burdened. Because the teachers were just that incredible.
Anyway, we were the first juniors, right?
And then this time, I went to the juniors’ survival show… and the set was amazing, the stage was so good, everything was just… so put together… and I suddenly felt really weird.
He had even set his chopsticks down by then, voice low and emotional.
Like… ah. We really did well, didn’t we?
I mean… we did well, so our juniors could even exist. That’s what I think.
So I felt proud… and I thought I should treat them well too, because I remember how well the teachers took care of us when we debuted. I want to be that kind of solid, dependable senior…
Yeonwoo only talked about MIRO MAZE for maybe three minutes out of an hour-long live.
But those three minutes hit hard.
I cried after watching Yeonwoo’s live today.
The Enderway fandom—who’d been stirring negativity all day—took a direct nostalgia critical hit.
Even fans who hadn’t cared about the junior discourse flipped into full soft mode.
And with that, serious “fandom vibe policing” began.
Watching Yeonwoo’s replay… I’m just thinking so much. How scary and hard it must’ve been for them at debut.
If a member says this directly and you’re STILL running negative tags about juniors, are you okay? Do you not get what it means for them to have juniors?
Just as the main sentiment started settling into:
“You don’t have to stan the juniors, but don’t ruin it,”
a post appeared that poured gasoline on the new warmth.
This time, from the UPIA side.
[I.dea, how do you feel? (Long post warning)]
I got into them from a Myeongdong street busking, okay?
Before they even debuted, I saw Tae-il performing in the rain, teeth clenched, and I’ve liked them ever since
(okay I took a few breaks… job hunting was hellㅠ)
But we had it really hard, right? You all know…
We were the tiniest of tiny companies—like four employees—and every time they went on broadcast they got disrespected.
And the members talked a lot about how hard it was because they had no seniors to guide themㅠ
Even when we won #1 on music shows or went to award ceremonies, our kids were always just standing alone, only with each other.
And sometimes that made me so sad.
Sure they’re super close and that’s beautiful, but stillㅠㅠ
So honestly, when our first company juniors (our “students”) debuted, I was so, so happy.
Even if promotions didn’t overlap much, every time they did, they always cheered each other on.
And let’s be real—when it was just them, they were basically young breadwinners keeping the company alive, never resting,
and you could see the members enduring with sheer grit.
But after our students debuted, it felt like they could finally put the burden down a bit…
and they even started getting real vacationsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ I’m crying again.
Anyway… now there’s another junior group coming and I was just watching the crumbs and suddenly I felt SO weird.
Tae-il saying “I’m confident, I’ll stake my name on it,” made me so emotional… he looked so calm and comfortable…
Like… a “next next” group… from MIRO?????
I can’t process itㅋㅋㅋㅋ
So I wanted to ask how you all feel…
I’m in full UPIA-love-MAX mode right now lol
Let’s be together for a long time.
Even until the gala show….
If this had been any normal night, a long post on a fan community at dawn wouldn’t have blown up that much.
But this wasn’t normal.
As of this moment I withdraw my support for the “Miro family.”
From today, we are no longer in a support relationship.
Miro family and I become one body.
An attack on Miro family is considered an attack on me.
Who’s gonna try to make our nephews feel small?
The unexpected luck started going completely feral.
Next.