@FreakyFlyBri:
I was going to post something, then I realized you pretty much made my points already. Spot on post, especially the part about no one in the US caring about the scandal lmao
edit:
For anyone curious, the physical mini-album on Hanteo debuted at number 2 with about 3500 sold, then rose to number 1 the next day. Apparently, the Gaon numbers are always bigger (total physical album sales for May should be revealed early next month).
So even if it sells half of Mirage and ends up with about 20k in physical sales, that's not a bomb. It's less than what they used to achieve, but I feel everyone and their dog figured this would happen, even if they hoped otherwise.
So that, coupled with their recent TV appearances (which all finished without any significant backlash), upcoming TV gigs, and even Boram in a new CF, even if it's all tiny compared to what they used to have, it's pretty much a certainty that CCM won't view this comeback as a failure, regardless of the opinions of fans and antis.