Day 5: What drew you to PLAVE?
another short blurb about how i became a plli (officially) in 2023
This time I sat in a different room. I went over to my boyfriend's place to have lunch between my classes. As I waited for lunch to be finished, I browsed Youtube once again. There wasn’t anything appealing on my feed and I had already rewatched all of my favorite meal times videos. I always tried to eat while someone else was reviewing food–it was kind of satisfying to see people enjoy food while I ate my own food.
“Here you go,” A plate was placed in front of me, steaming rice and a salmon fillet sat perfectly in the middle of the giant plate. “I brushed it with brown sugar this time.”
“Did you try a new plating method?” I laughed, inspecting the piece of work.
“I did.” My boyfriend handed me a fork before leaning over my side, typing something in the search bar. “You should eat it before it gets cold.”
“But it’s blazing hot,” I blow slightly at the steam rising from the meal. “I don’t want to burn my tongue.”
“That’s when it’s the best to eat.”
“Yeah right, like I can taste anything after doing that.”
A dancing cow appears on screen and a polish song blares through the soundbar.
“Really?” I laugh, watching the cow dance on screen before refreshing the page.
My eyes landed on a video and I raised my eyebrows at the sight.
‘[ENGSUB] | PLAVE (플레이브) | iconic/funny moments compilation #1’
I was so immersed in my midterms that I had forgotten about this group. It was also hard since I didn’t know any korean and there wasn’t any english subtitles on their official channel yet. Luckily this video was subbed in English. I clicked on the video and quickly cut into my lunch as I watched.
For the next thirty-two minutes, I watch moments that I hadn’t understood months ago, get context on what was happening in that moment, and laugh at the perfectly cut edits of funny moments. It even had my favorite scene with Yejun and Hamin. By the end of it, I was already subscribed to the channel and browsing the rest of the videos that this channel had to offer.
“What’re you laughing so hard about?”
My boyfriend was suddenly back at my side, looking over to see what was on screen.
“Remember that band I wouldn’t stop listening to on my birthday?”
“Yeah, that really annoying one?”
I give him a look and he laughs at the reaction.
I show him the video I was currently rewatching and I tell him about the recent updates I learned.
“Look, they had a comeback–where they make another album and have a whole concept around it–and they came out with a new single.” I point out to their new outfits, a more modern look. “Even their models and tech are getting better.”
I look over to him and find him grimacing at the video. “What?”
“They look kind of creepy.”
“WHAT.” I pause the video and turn around to him. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know.” He frowns, suddenly serious. “Their models are kind of…”
“Here, hang on,” I pull up their art splash. “Look, this is their art concept. They have a manhwa look, so they’re supposed to have a handsome slash beautiful look.”
I look back at him and he’s staring at the screen with a look I can’t decipher, so I continue.
“The team probably did the best they could to translate that to their 3D models and they just started, so it might not look great to some people.” It’s my turn to give him a look. “But I’m sure it’ll get better with more time.”
“Ok, yeah, I get it.” He sighs. “But I still find them creepy.”
“Ok then, what do you find that’s creepy about them?” I try my best to understand, willing myself not to be upset.
“Hmmm,” He hums, before grabbing the mouse to shift around in the video. “I think it’s their faces. I like the art concept, but their facial expressions are too well done.”
“Shouldn’t that be a compliment?”
He pauses. “I think it’s like ‘uncanny valley' for me.”
I frown, turning to him again. “Uncanny Valley? Like…horror?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “The devs did a good job making them seem human. Even with the anime look.”
“Whatever.” He slides the bar back to the 2D art. “But that’s cool–what you should me, I mean.”
I smile, looking back at the screen, before grabbing his hand.
“Which one is your favorite?”
“I just learned about this five minutes ago.”
“Ok, but if you had to pick.”
He studies the art for a moment. “Which one do you think I’ll like?”
“Hmmm,” I slowly went through the group. “You might like Hamin, he has a cool style and look. He also knows taekwondo and is really good at fighting. But you might like Eunho, he’s also the rapper, and he likes to cook.”
“What about him?” he points at the corner of the screen.
“That’s Bamby–he’s my bias, which means my favorite.”
“He’s really cute and he’s part of the dance-line, which means he’s a really good dancer. But he has a…” I laugh at the moments that play in my head. “Funny personality.”
I pull up some moments where Bamby would fight with Eunho, act mischievous, and every moment when he yelled. I watched with baited breath as I watched my boyfriend as the repetition exercise went between Yejun and Bamby.
“What about him?” He points to Noah.
“Oh! You might like him too,” I point to his splash art and his model. “He’s a major gym rat and that's all he talks about. He even made the group pose like pro body builders. I thought he was going to be the famous one because he was the prettiest–you know how everyone likes the pretty boys.” He nods.
“I think I can tolerate that one the most.”
“Bamby?” I practically scream.
“Yeah, his face is tolerable.”
“Can I list Bamby as your bias then?”
“Sure, whatever.” He looks at the time. “You gotta leave soon. Your class starts soon.”
I nod, logging out of his computer, and getting up to grab my backpack. “Ok then, I’ll be back around dinner then.”
I spent the rest of the night, consuming plave media.
