OMG You Guys, I Am Literally Shaking Right Now!!
Okay, so I was doing my usual 3 AM deep dive into TheQoo—you know, as one does when they should be sleeping but K-pop drama is life—and I stumbled upon something that has me absolutely REELING. I’m talking full-on jaw-drop moment. Someone noticed that the official I.O.I account is following almost everyone… except for our girl Kang Mina. I am not kidding. This is not a drill. How does this even happen in the year 2026? We are literally supposed to be living in the future, yet we’re still dealing with social media managers who can’t keep track of eleven iconic members?
I honestly thought it was a glitch at first. Like, maybe Instagram was just being its usual buggy self? But then I saw the screenshots, and the math just isn’t mathing. The post on TheQoo already has nearly 30,000 views and the comments are a total war zone. Fans are going through the following list with a fine-tooth comb, and the energy is just so chaotic right now. I had to jump out of bed and start typing this because I knew y’all would need the tea immediately. Like, the way I RAN to my laptop was actually Olympic-level speed.
The Math That Isn’t Mathing: 11 Minus 1 Equals Drama?
Let’s break down the receipts because the details are actually wild. So, the account follows 11 accounts in total. You’d think, “Oh, 11 members, 11 follows, perfect!” Right? WRONG. If you actually look at the list, they are following 10 of the members and then… the old I.O.I official account. Which means one person is left out in the cold, and that person is Kang Mina. My heart is actually breaking for her. Not me getting emotional over a following list at 3:15 AM, but here we are.
What makes this even weirder—and honestly, kind of suspicious—is that Zhou Jieqiong (Kyulkyung) is still on the following list. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Jieqiong to bits, but we all know she’s been super busy with her activities in China and hasn’t always been able to make it to every single reunion vibe. If the account is keeping her on the list (as they should!), then why on earth is Mina missing? Mina has been so active in Korea with her acting career and always shows love to the girls. It literally makes zero sense. It’s giving “someone forgot their password and only remembered 10 names.”
“Wait, I just checked and it’s actually true… I’m staring at my screen in disbelief. Mina is literally one of the most active members in the industry right now. How do you just ‘forget’ her? This feels so targeted even if it’s a mistake.”
— Top comment on TheQoo
The “Mandela Effect” or a Cold-Blooded Unfollow?
Here is where the plot thickens, and honestly, it’s giving me goosebumps. Some fans in the comments are claiming that the account *used* to follow her. Like, they distinctly remember seeing 12 follows at one point. If that’s true, that means someone had to manually go into the settings and click ‘unfollow’ on Mina’s profile. Can you imagine? The level of pettiness or the sheer magnitude of the mistake required for that is just off the charts. I’m trying to stay calm, but it’s hard when the evidence is pointing toward a deliberate move.
Other fans are suggesting it might be a technical glitch related to agency changes. Mina has been killing it in the acting world lately, and maybe there was some weird backend update with her handle or her verification that caused the auto-follow to drop? But let’s be real, we’ve seen this happen before in K-pop, and it’s rarely just a “glitch.” Usually, it’s a sign of some behind-the-scenes drama that we won’t hear about for another three years in a random variety show interview. I’m lowkey spiraling thinking about what could have happened between the social media team and Mina’s camp.
Why Kang Mina Deserves So Much Better
Can we just talk about Mina for a second? Since I.O.I, she has been such a powerhouse. From her days in Gugudan to becoming a literal K-Drama queen, she has never stopped working her tail off. She’s always been so proud of her I.O.I roots, too. Every time the girls have a little hangout or a mini-reunion, she’s usually there or sending support. To see her name missing from the official group’s following list feels like a slap in the face to all the hard work she put in during the *Produce 101* days. She didn’t rank in the top 11 just to be erased from the digital history books in 2026!
The fans are not letting this slide, and honestly? Same. The comments section is basically a petition at this point for the manager to fix it. People are tagging the official account, tagging Mina’s agency, tagging everyone. It’s a whole movement. I love seeing the fandom come together like this, but it’s just so sad that it has to happen over something that should be so simple. It’s 2026, we have AI that can write songs, but we can’t get a follow list right? Make it make sense!
“I am literally crying. Mina is the reason I even started stanning I.O.I. If this is some kind of erasure because of her acting career, I am going to lose it. She is and always will be a member of the 11!”
— A very stressed-out fan on X (Twitter)
The 2026 I.O.I Landscape: Why We’re Still Obsessed
You might be wondering, “Jenny, why are you so pressed about a group from ten years ago?” First of all, how dare you. Second of all, I.O.I is *the* blueprint. They started the entire project group craze that gave us IZ*ONE, Wanna One, and everyone else. Even in 2026, their impact is still felt everywhere. Every time a new girl group debuts, we’re out here comparing them to the OG queens. So when something happens to their official digital footprint, it feels like a piece of K-pop history is being messed with.
The official account is like a time capsule. It’s where we go to look at the old teasers and remember the ‘Very Very Very’ era when life was simpler. When that time capsule is missing a whole person, it feels incomplete. It ruins the aesthetic, it ruins the vibe, and it definitely ruins my night. Fans are already speculating if this means a reunion is off the table, or if there’s some internal conflict we don’t know about. The overthinking is real, and I am leading the pack.
Is it Just a Case of the “Intern” Being Messy?
Look, we’ve all been there. You’re tired, you’re scrolling, you accidentally click something you shouldn’t. Maybe the social media manager was just trying to clean up the list and their finger slipped? Or maybe they were trying to follow a new fan account and unfollowed Mina by mistake? It sounds silly, but these things happen. However, the fact that it’s been hours and it *still* hasn’t been fixed is what’s really grinding my gears. If I was the manager and I saw 30,000 people screaming on TheQoo, I’d be fixing that follow list faster than you can say “Pick Me.”
The lack of a quick fix is making people think it’s not just a mistake. In the world of K-pop, social media is a language of its own. An unfollow is never *just* an unfollow; it’s a statement. It’s a headline. It’s a 1,500-word article by yours truly. If they don’t fix this soon, the rumors are only going to get crazier. I’ve already seen theories ranging from contract disputes to secret sub-unit drama. It’s getting wild out here, fam.
“If they don’t follow her back by tomorrow, we are literally boycotting the merch store. You can’t have 10 members and call it I.O.I. It’s 11 or nothing. Period.”
— A fan comment with 5,000 likes
The Final Verdict: My Hot Take
Honestly? I think someone messed up big time and is now too scared to admit it. Or, even worse, they don’t even realize they did it. Which is actually more insulting, right? To be so irrelevant to the account manager that they don’t even notice you’re gone? Ugh, I’m getting mad all over again just thinking about it. Mina is a queen, a visual, a talent, and an essential part of the I.O.I DNA. This “10-member following list” era needs to end immediately.
I’m going to keep refreshing that page until I see the number change back to 12 (11 members + the old account). I won’t rest, and I know the K-fans won’t either. We need justice for Mina! It’s the principle of the thing. You don’t just leave out a member of the Nation’s Girl Group and expect us to be okay with it. Not on my watch!
What do you guys think? Is this just a clumsy mistake by a tired staff member, or is there some serious tea brewing behind the scenes? I’m lowkey hoping it’s just a glitch because my heart can’t take any more I.O.I heartbreak. Let me know your theories in the comments! I’ll be here, probably still scrolling until the sun comes up. Stay tuned for updates! 💄✨
Drop your thoughts in the comments! 👇
