Little Pink Starfish

Because they had pushed through that brutal competition, everyone who showed up was buzzing with excitement and anticipation—even from the early hours of the morning.

Among TT 1st-gen fans, many were now familiar faces. They gathered in small groups, speculating about the stage outfits based on the just-uploaded photos.

“No way, I don’t think so.”

“No, look—don’t you think the sleeve material is exactly like that? It’s totally polyester.”

“Uh… maybe?”

Not that it actually meant anything.

Sedalbaekil had gone through great pains to double-check and upload photos that wouldn’t spoil any outfit details.

But for TTs, it wasn’t about getting the right answer.

The joy was in the guessing.

So even in the chilly early morning, their faces bloomed with excitement and joy that didn’t fade.

Though, there were moments when that smile disappeared in a flash.

Specifically—when they crossed paths with the Mix Way fandom.

“It’s them, right?”

“Yeah, it’s them.”

“What the hell. Why are they glaring at us? We’re the ones who should be pissed.”

The number of fandoms that show up for a pre-recording is usually about equal to the number of groups appearing.

Sure, there are still lesser-known groups with no real fandom, but it’s rare for them to land a pre-recording slot.

So fandoms running into each other wasn’t anything new.

They even gathered near or inside the same parts of the broadcast station.

But TT and Mix Way crossing paths at the station—that was special.

From TT’s perspective, Mix Way was flat-out annoying.

First, they were under Lion Entertainment.

Logically, TT knew it was silly to hate someone just for being under that label.

But who lives by logic alone?

Emotions get in the way.

It felt sour, seeing the group being promoted with the money (even though Lion Ent actually lost a fortune because of Sedalbaekil) made off Sedalbaekil’s suffering.

And it wasn’t just emotional bias.

Mix Way had been constantly tied to Sedalbaekil through media buzz ever since their first-week album sales went well.

And who was behind all that buzz?

Choi Daeho, the head of Lion Ent.

Not that Choi Daeho personally asked Mix Way, “Hey, wanna leech off Sedalbaekil?”

But if you really thought about it, the fact that Mix Way kept dragging Sedalbaekil into the conversation only proved the gap between them.

A bigger group never clings to a smaller one.

It’s always the other way around.

They were latching on to boost their own profile through Sedalbaekil’s buzz.

So paradoxically, Choi Daeho’s marketing strategy screamed, “Sedalbaekil > Mix Way.”

But even if you consider all that…

“It’s just annoying.”

Mix Way was annoying.

Some more level-headed TTs didn’t have strong feelings about Mix Way itself, but they did hate the Mix Way fandom specifically.

Mix Way wasn’t doing anything—but the fandom was stirring up drama.

-LOL the delusion over fansigns is hilariousㅋㅋㅋ

-It’s not like having fansigns would’ve helped their first-week sales go upㅋ

When vague, subject-less posts like that popped up, it was infuriating.

When other fandoms—ones that had taken Ls or embarrassments because of Sedalbaekil—joined in? It made your blood boil.

Especially when Mix Way fans kept pushing the ridiculous claim that “even with fansigns, Sedalbaekil still lost in first-week sales.”

Sedalbaekil’s second album STAGE sold 680K first week.

Mix Way’s second album Star Way sold 690K.

Just a 10K difference.

And everyone in the idol scene knew Mix Way’s fandom had pulled every string imaginable to scrape together that 690K.

Even insider rumors (allegedly from a staffer) claimed Mix Way was trailing by about 30K near the end and Lion Ent bought in bulk to close the gap.

That part might not be confirmed, but what’s clear is that Mix Way put everything they had into it.

Meanwhile, Sedalbaekil dropped the album with no digital release, no fansigns.

Sure, they had strong support from M-Show, but that also meant giving up other public music show appearances.

If Sedalbaekil had held fansigns?

They would’ve easily passed 800K.

Actually, if you added the Side A, B, and C albums released alongside STAGE, they’d already passed 1 million.

So Mix Way took the only number they had—the first-week lead—and acted like they won the whole game.

It’s like losing a soccer match in a penalty shootout after extra time, then claiming victory because “we had more ball possession.”

At this point, there was no TT who didn’t have some grudge against Mix Way.

Especially after one of the Mix Way members posted a bizarre caption on SNS last night.

It was an excerpt from a modern art performance.

A stage built on top of a stage, and another, and another—until no one could stand on it, and it all collapsed.

The member had always shown interest in visual art, so at first no one paid attention.

But soon, the internet detectives showed up.

===================

[Mix Way member Cheonha’s cryptic SNS post.JPG]
Scene of the stacked <STAGE> collapsing… is it just me, or is this super pointed.

===================

-Oh?

-HOLYㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Wait, is that really what it means?

-nah nah, Cheonha posts art stuff all the time

-But come to think of it, this is the first time they posted a performance piece

-Yeah yeah yeah, and modern art wasn’t even Cheonha’s thing

-This is definitely a subtweetㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-At this point, did M-Show pay Cheonha to post that?

-Why M-Show?

-Cuz the big battle is Mixdown tomorrowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Oh trueㅋㅋㅋㅋ wtfㅋㅋ

-Whoever bombs that stage tomorrow is gonna get roasted like crazy.

-Just a normie passing by—who is Mix Way?

-Group of the male leads from “Shall We Break Up?” or whatever.

-Ohh, that idol group full of lead actors?

-Yep yep, that’s how most people know themㅋㅋㅋ but no one remembers “Mix Way.”

-Are they even good enough to challenge Sedalbaekil on stage?

-Nop.

-Then what gives them the confidence…?

-Overinflated ego.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋso blunt I love it.

So now, even TTs who tried not to hate Mix Way couldn’t help it anymore.

Of course, TTs weren’t just taking hits without striking back.

They had eyes, ears, and the ability to see the future.

====================

[Sedalbaekil vs Mix Way. Isn’t 2nd and 3rd week more interesting than first-week numbers?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Sedalbaekil First Week: 680K
Sedalbaekil Week 2: 320K

VS

Mix Way First Week: 690K

As of now, Sedalbaekil has hit exactly 1 million in Week 1 + 2, and are now in Week 3.
Mix Way is still in Week 2 after nearly hitting 700K in Week 1.

Sedalbaekil released their digital music later, and their albums tend to sell steadily over time.
So this Week 2 result was pretty much expected.

Now the real question is—how much can Mix Way defend in Week 2?

If they match Sedalbaekil’s Week 2 and come out on top in total monthly sales, then yeah, maybe Mix Way’s album will be the K-pop GOAT this yearㅋㅋㅋ

This is Mix Way’s big chance.

They’ve built up public recognition from their acting, but lacked a unifying moment to bond the fandom.

This is their popcorn momentㅋㅋㅋ

====================

This kind of post started spreading, and the general public nodded in agreement.

Hardcore K-pop fans know how important first-week sales are—but regular people don’t.

They think simply.

They don’t care about first-week or second-week. What matters is—how much did the album sell in the end?

An album that sold 10K first week but ended with 1 million isn’t as great as one that sold 0 week one and ended at 2 million.

And these posts spread without resistance because, from the public’s perspective, Sedalbaekil were the top dogs and Mix Way the underdogs.

If a post had gone viral explaining in detail how unfair Sedalbaekil’s first-week loss was—

Or how they didn’t even hold fansigns while Mix Way gave everything they had to beat them—

It wouldn’t have gotten traction.

Too complex, but more importantly, it was told from Sedalbaekil’s point of view.

And the public, consciously or not, tends to think being “fair” means siding with the underdog.

So the posts with a subtle tone of rooting for Mix Way?

Absolutely pitch-perfect.

But the people posting them weren’t neutral.

They weren’t Mix Way fans either.

They were TT.

Like we said—they had eyes and ears.

They knew how hard Mix Way pushed in Week 1.

Even if the bulk-buy rumors weren’t true, Mix Way clearly maxed out every possible tactic.

So if TT started hammering on Weeks 2 and 3, Mix Way would get nervous.

In fact, judging by how things were going, Mix Way clearly didn’t understand the situation.

They actually believed they sold 690K naturally.

This happens with people who became stars right out of training, from a young age.

They start to think the “show” in showbiz is reality.

So in the end, the Mix Way fandom was the one getting anxious.

-How much will we sell in Week 2?

-Think we can hit 200K?

-That’d give us a shot at winning public opinion…

-What if it’s less than that?

-We need more fansigns…

-But people are complaining about more fansigns. Like, was the Week 1 fansign just for nothing…?

-Yeah, feels like we can’t do too many right nowㅠㅠ

In the end, Mix Way’s fandom made their play on music shows.

They started trying to deflect with stage performance quality on M-Mixdown.

It was already a given they wouldn’t win on M-Show.

M-Show was openly in Sedalbaekil’s corner, and Mixdown’s music show had a smaller broadcast score weighting.

Honestly, Self-Made could count as broadcast score too.

Though its original run was over, reruns were still airing and getting solid ratings like a good old stew.

So Mix Way could only try to turn the conversation with stage performance quality.

But no matter how biased a fandom is, no one actually believes Mix Way is musically better than Sedalbaekil.

What they wanted was for Mix Way to be good enough.

Good enough that when people compared the two, they’d go, “Sedalbaekil’s good, but hey, Mix Way’s not bad either.”

Choi Daeho gets a lot of flak, but he’s still one of K-pop’s industry leaders.

He’s known for intense training and doesn’t pick idols based on visuals alone.

So at the very least, he can produce idols who can keep up.

From the general public’s view, they’d look “about even.”

That was the Mix Way fandom’s hope. Their prediction.

“Bullsh*t,”

…was TT’s response.

With all this tangled drama, the two fandoms passed each other while moving for pre-recording standby.

“Oh my god, these broadcast staff idiots.”

“Why would they plan the movement path like this?”

The staff managing the two fandoms cursed the station under their breath.

Thankfully, nothing major happened.

After some time passed, the pre-recording ended.

==========

Today’s prerecording was legendary! If I could time travel, I’d go straight to Sedal and Baekilㅠㅠㅠㅠ

==========

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Our Mix babies are the bestㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ How did they manage this quality while being busy with solo gigs!(sobs)

==========

On SNS, a silent war of public opinion was already raging.

And just as the general public began to take interest—

It was time for the M-Mixdown live broadcast.