NOVEL WEB Chapter 194
Chapter 194. MacGuffin
As soon as the topic of the hidden camera experiment came up, all the Destis had the same question.
– But will the kids really fall for it???? Especially Siwoo and the Choi Kang duo, they seem super quick-witted.
– I mean, the meme about Kang Hajin being *”Suspiciously Knowledgeable About Broadcasting”* didn’t come out of nowhere, lol. He’d probably figure it out just by seeing the camera.
– It’s all scripted and staged anyway, folks… Stop over-immersing yourselves.
Would the members really fall for this hidden camera experiment?
Especially Hajin, who had already shown his *“Broadcast-Savvy”* moments multiple times through *Miro Maze*, Taehyun, who had broadcasting experience, and Siwoo, who was naturally quick on the uptake, were identified as people to watch out for.
The production team was well aware of these traits, so they prepared in advance.
– Let’s talk to the Director and ask him to lay some groundwork in advance…
– When I saw them during *Miro Maze*, they seemed to not care about anything else when given good food. How about setting up a decent lunch menu and snack catering?
– Let’s have our staff follow their schedule for a few days, pretending to be part of the making team.
Despite all these preparations, when it was concluded that it still wouldn’t be easy to deceive the members, the production team decided to take drastic measures.
– This won’t work.
– Let’s recruit one of the members!
They decided to plant a spy among them…!
After a long discussion, the member selected to take on this crucial mission carefully entered the meeting room.
*
– Hello! It’s been a while.
It was Kairos’ youngest member, Dan Haru.
– Haru?
– Haru????????
– Lol, not Hajin or Taehyun????
– Why Haru???
The Destis were bewildered upon learning the identity of the spy.
And it was the same for the Kairos members who were gathered in the practice room, watching the video on a tablet.
“…Dan Haru?”
“H-Haru, why….”
“Haru, you were the spy!?”
A voice filled with shock echoed through the practice room. Haru, who had caught all of his hyungs’ attention, nodded with a mischievous smile.
“Yes.”
“…!?”
Taehyun, unable to cope with the shock of such a brazen reply, clapped a hand over his mouth.
Soon, the video showed Haru being called by the production team and receiving various explanations.
– Umm, but…. The hyungs would be much better at this kind of thing than me….
When Haru questioned why he was chosen, the production team gave a bright and clear answer.
– Because it’s more fun if those hyungs are the ones being fooled!
‘These people are obsessed with entertainment value….’
Hajin clicked his tongue, deliberately ignoring the fact that he used to work with people like that.
Meanwhile, in the video, Spy Dan Haru’s exploits were unfolding.
– We have only one mission for you, Haru.
– Just keep your hyungs distracted!
*
Haru dutifully took on his role after receiving his mission.
– Hello? Why are you suddenly calling…?
– S-Siwoo hyung! I-I went to the bathroom, but I think I got lost!
– …What do you see in front of you?
– A wall!
– Just stay still. I’ll tell Wook-hyung right now.
*
– Oh, snacks.
– Dan Haru, you should peel that before eating….
– Huh?
– …Just come here and sit down. I’ll bring it to you.
– Yes.
*
– Hyung, why do you put this pin in?
– Hm? Oh. This, to add volume to my bangs….
– Oh, wow. What’s this?
– That’s to protect your face from getting makeup on your clothes when you put them on….
– Ah! Hyung! I can’t get this off! I think it’s stuck!
– No, you just….
*
The members watching Haru engage in word chain battles with Joo Eunchan, receive foot volleyball lessons from Lee Doha, and take recycling tips from Lee Yugeon all had the same thought.
“It’s just like usual, isn’t it?”
“That’s how he usually is.”
“That’s not acting.”
“I was just doing a crossword puzzle with Haru a while ago….”
“It’s exactly the same.”
Only Lee Doha offered a different answer.
“Oh, now that I think about it….”
“…?”
“When he suddenly asked me to give him a piggyback ride, that was a bit strange. He’s never done that before.”
Haru shrugged his shoulders and replied.
“Oh! I got so excited while playing that I just forgot…! But it was really fun!”
Yeah. Sure it was.
Kang Hajin, who had just realized that their precious youngest was truly a precious little one, turned back to the monitor with a tired expression.
‘It was so much like usual that I didn’t even notice.’
Hajin was in shock, once for being fooled by the production team, twice for Haru being the spy, and a third time for not realizing any of it.
The screen showed the members being overwhelmed and unable to cope with Haru’s *dot deal* and the photographer’s *burst damage*.
Hajin picked up his phone and checked the real-time comments.
– Lol, the kids look so broken ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– I’m enjoying this, but why do I feel tormented? I feel like that photographer is treating me like a mirror, and I’m spiraling out of control. Is that what it feels like to be completely lost in nonsense?
– I’ve noticed for a while now that the production team doesn’t even bother to wire them up to fool the kids. That’s true madness.
– But the photos turned out so well, lolololololol. I’d also think it was normal if I were themㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Yeah. They’re having fun. That’s all that matters.
While consoling himself with this victory, Phase 1 ended, and Phase 2 began.
The infamous *“Animal Pajamas”* made their appearance.
As the members came out looking bewildered in their animal pajamas, the comment section suddenly doubled in activity.
– You wicked, ruthless production team (Thank you, thank you, thank you so much)
– Please, just once, let the kids wear clothes that actually fit, lol. The tall ones look like their clothes are about to burst, lololol.
└ I actually like it.
└ Oh, that’s why it’s good~
└ The shoulders about to burst are what truly complete Doha’s wild charm.
– Why is Siwoo a puppyㅠㅠ? Isn’t the puppy motif Hajin’s…ㅠ?
└ But you can’t just cast his face in plaster and turn it into a sculpture.
└ Please retract your statement. Hajin is a wolf. “Wolf” is “official.”
– Haru isn’t even spying, he’s just having fun.
└ The youngest duo is just enjoying themselves, really…
After that, everything followed the predictable course.
The members, who tried out every possible pose with seven guys, eventually became *Animal Warriors Kairos*, and the whole thing ended in shock and horror when they realized it was all a hidden camera experiment… but….
Hajin’s gaze shifted to Haru on the monitor. Despite being the spy all day, Haru, who was sitting next to him, looked genuinely betrayed.
“But Dan Haru, why are you making that face? You knew everything.”
“Oh, that’s….”
Haru scratched his cheek, looking slightly embarrassed in response to Hajin’s question.
“Actually, I was having so much fun playing with the hyungs all day that I completely forgot I was the spy….”
“…….”
“I remembered when the PD mentioned it. That I was the spy.”
An awkward silence filled the practice room.
Seo Taehyun, who had been overwhelmed with betrayal since Haru’s revelation, exhaled in frustration.
“So, in the end, there was no one who fooled anyone, and the only thing we were left with was a dirty, lie-filled wor—!”
“…Let’s just practice.”
“Let’s do that.”
“Shall we?”
Hajin quickly covered Taehyun’s mouth with his hand, cutting off his sudden outburst, and ended the situation. Siwoo and Doha, reacting to Hajin’s words, stood up.
“Come on, come on. We only have a month left. Let’s forget the past mistakes and focus!”
“Yes!”
“Fighting!”
With the youngest members’ enthusiastic cheer, practice resumed. The lights in the practice room didn’t seem like they would turn off anytime soon.
* * *
While the Kairos members were completely focused on practice, the Destis were busy in their own way.
—
**강하디 @kang_HD**
Today’s Kairos Kang Hajin cut
Thank you, photographer…
You did it…
Kang Hajin’s successful shot by a non-professional photographer…☆
*(Hajin video clip)*
—
**Cherry Blossom @ch_blossom**
Taehyun’s birthday log has been
uploaded to *Kailog*!!
But halfway through, he gets drained at his own birthday party,
and tries to sneak into a corner, with Haru chasing him around with a camera, lol.
*(Kailog EP.2 Taehyun’s Birthday Party Link)*
—
**[Hey, did we get something else?]**
It seems like the kids are just recording a short video journal of their day like a diary. Haru’s just went up, so everyone, go check it out.
—
They were too busy frantically gobbling up the flood of content pouring in.
Adding in the photos and updates the members occasionally posted on the official SNS, there was so much content that there wasn’t enough time to keep up with it all.
And amidst all that, someone managed to find the hidden Easter eggs buried in the flood of content.
—
**@juju_kick**
Look at this
Miro is really a mad genius
There’s a code in the outro of Episode 0 too
In the background
If you look closely, it’s an English word
I think it’s *Diamond Jack*?
*(Screenshot of the background of Kairos Episode 0 Outro)*
Share: 999 Quotes: 34 Hearts: 1,100
—
**[What do you think our debut concept is?]**
Here’s a summary of the Easter eggs discovered so far:
*Kailog* Episode 1 Friendship Competition
> At the end, if you decode the keyboard cipher, you get a link to an AiTube video with a grandfather clock and an Ace of Spades card.
Today’s *Kairos* Episode 0 Compliment Jail
> The word *Diamond Jack* appears in the background of the outro.
Taehyun’s birthday celebration
> The picture of Taehyun holding a red rose and the phrase *“I’ll keep running without rest.”*
This sounds like something the Red Queen from *Alice in Wonderland* said.
Red Queen symbol = Queen of Hearts, Red Rose
Haru’s Kiss Day
> Haru suddenly bragged about finding a four-leaf clover.
But this is Haru, so maybe he was just genuinely excited…
And there’s a random decorative sword hanging on the wall in the studio?
Doesn’t that remind you of the Clover King?
This is what we’ve found so far, and it seems clear that it’s related to playing cards.
Miro is known for putting a lot of effort into their group’s themes and worldbuilding, but since the preparation time was a bit short this time, I was a bit worried.
But from what’s been revealed so far, it seems like they’re doing a lot, so I’m excited, but also a bit doubtful because it seems really difficult…. What do you guys think?
– This is fun, keep going.
– Are you all geniuses? I just thought, “Wow, this is cool,” and left it at that.
– It seems to be related to playing cards, but I can’t think of any themes or worldbuilding that comes to mind besides card shuffling.ㅠ
Various theories and speculations about Kairos’ worldbuilding and concept continued.
But as nothing official was released, everyone was left with vague conclusions.
At that moment, a teaser was finally uploaded on Kairos’ official account.