choi joosung, quantum's main dancer & lead vocal. radio dj & producer. currently: preparing for quantum comeback. ambassador to lancôme, dashu, and community chest of korea. main cast of doremi market
Shortly after sharing that the long-promised Base Culture Complex will be opening this summer, Base has confirmed the formation of a new sub-branch Base Designs and its main project, a merchandise line called Designed By. Designed By will feature designs created by idols themselves for fans to own and enjoy.
The first Designed By collection will be a limited-edition collection released later this summer and will become available first in the gift shop at the Base Culture Complex, before becoming available online at a later date.
Teaser images were released of some of the products in the line, including a heart-shaped pot designed by Titan’s Duri, a DIY bead bracelet set designed by Platinum’s Haon, a nail art design set designed by Equinox’s Minjung, a make-up case set designed by Calypso’s Yenny, a tea cup set designed by Equinox’s Suji, a custom computer keyboard designed by Catalyst’s Jace, and bear-themed headphones designed by Quantum’s Sun.
Calypso have made their first comeback after going viral for their 2018 song “Rollin” earlier this year and earning revived interest from the public. For their comeback, Calypso has released the music video for their new title track “Chi Mat Ba Ram”!
Calypso aim for the title of “summer queens” with their summery new mini-album. The album includes four new tracks, plus an English-language version of the title track “Chi Mat Ba Ram”.
“Chi Mat Ba Ram” is an upbeat tropical house song about taking confidence to find and pursue summer love. In the music video, the members dance on the beach and other bright settings.
Calypso will have their first comeback stage of “Chi Mat Ba Ram” Friday on Music Bank.
Track List:
1. Chi Mat Ba Ram
2. Pool Party
3. Summer By Myself
4. Fever
5. Chi Mat Ba Ram (English version)
“no, no its fine!“ minhee insist, waving his hands a bit dismissively. he learned over the years to make do with whatever information they gave him. sometimes it was more than he needed, sometimes it was barely crumbs. so he thinks joosung gave him more than enough to work with. maybe he should have listened to himself a bit and brought in a bigger stack, but most of the pictures were, like he said, were taken by him or in relationship to something he has done. “you know what, i like that, the theme being about memories.“ he used to have photo albums filled with printed out photos and polaroids, but maybe a scrap book would be a nice way to get him to think outside of the box.
listening to joosung speak about his nephew manages to make him smile, bright and wide. its cute, hearing people talk like that about their relatives in a way almost making minhee jealous “you know sounds like a professional, i have a lot to learn from you.” he states before shuffling through his own pile of pictures, looking for something nice and easy to associate a theme to. he ends up picking a picture of the beach, a nice blue sea contrasting the golden sands. “so this, was from when he filmed spring day. i was actually, the most into photography back then and filming on the beach really just reminded me of back home. for a theme.. i guess things that remind me of home? more beach photos i probably have, starfishes, fish in general. ”
“wow. spring day is my favorite polaris song, did you know?” sung took his time looking over the photo before allowing full view of it to the camera. “that’s a really beautiful theme, in my opinion. for me, scrapbooks are all about memories and emotions, and whatever ties them together can be nothing, or the most intricate thing you can think of. sometimes, simplicity is best. home is one of those ideas that suits simplicity.”
sung transitioned by sorting through the supplies he’d brought until he found the right packet of paper. “i’ve got some construction paper here... why don’t we stick with earth tones? that feels quite home to me. and we can cut out whatever shapes suit the feeling. wiggly lines, little houses, whatever.” sung looked over his paper pieces and decided to cut and piece together an orange and white beach ball. “tell me more about where you’re from? i’m from gwangju,” originally anyway, but that was too much to explain to a whole audience of people, “so i’m not very knowledgeable on the beach-y life.”
there was a small range of responses yena might have anticipated. for sung to bark in respons, however wasn’t one of them. her eyes widened in surprise just a split second before she was caught off-guard by the ringing sound of her own laughter. “there there.” she patted sung’s shoulder at the display, rather unsure what else to say as her friend just adressed her not unlike how an excitable puppy would.
“i don’t know.” yena shrugged lightly. “don’t get me wrong, props can be real cute and all of that but i swear, those things are a safety hazard. i face planted on stage, multiple times.” yena didn’t know what lingered more, the ugly smack to the floor or the humiliation that came with it. sure, the original looked a lot cooler but yena was glad it wasn’t brought back, especially not on such short notice as they had been given to repromote the song.
she nodded lightly, showing some sense of understanding for joosung’s words. “yeah, me too. it’s truly just a personal taste thing.” she should be a bit more careful in her word choice on camera, god forbid she’d accused of being a boygroup hater by the general public. she was. but that didn’t mean they had to know that. “maybe if it was a group like quantum i’d enjoy it. your music is so cool and chique.” she was playing it up a little for the camera’s. still it wasn’t entirely lied. it could be worse than quantum. it could be polaris.
“ahhh. flattery won’t work on me.” an objective lie. flattery did work on yena. very well. only second to bribery. she clapped her hands in delight at joosung’s suggestion. “yes! show me what you’ve been working on and i’ll let you know how well you’re doing so far.” she sure did enjoy getting to play critic. “be warned though! i’ll be super strict!”
“safety is really important in choreography. i’m not so sure many companies put a lot of thought into that, when the result is at the forefront of their minds. some struggle to see that you can create something unique and everyone safe.”
thinking that part of their conversation had passed, sung was caught off guard when yena turned it back around to quantum, and pulled out a chuckle from him. “really?” though he could technically be wrong, it really felt like mentioning quantum in this way was only her playing up the dimensions family angle for the cameras. given the assumption, he didn’t want to press too hard, but also didn’t want to lie, and settled on closing with, “we’d be so lucky.”
“please do, miss teacher ma’am.” he searched through his muscle memory to put on his best salute, and touched up his ‘soldier voice’ to deliver the next sentence, “this disciple can only become better with critique.” quick as it came, sung released his posture. enlisting once had already been more than enough for a lifetime. sung literally shook off the joke, as well as loosened his limbs up, as he stepped a couple of paces away from yena to have enough room. once there, it dawned that everyone else were still in huddles here and there, making idle chit chat for the cameras. not wanting to disturb them with starting practice too early, sung took it on himself to hum and, at times, sing nonsense do-do-dos while he danced up to the first chorus. perfection was his aim, but especially in this case, he knew he wasn’t meeting that mark. he wanted to do better, and so, when he ended, his wide smile met yena again to ask, “so what did you think?”
sung has had a really long and still ongoing journey with finding what fashion he himself likes, and one of the things he’s come to like are shoes. this is a visual representation of his preferred style, n per usual bc i do not know how to shut up, more info under cut
sung vs shoes
word count: 697
tldr; basically sung has a massive (for a guy who insists u should only have as much as u need re: material items) and cute shoe collection these days
for much of sung’s life, he didn’t think much about shoes. they were only pieces of clothing that kept his feet safe
there were times he’d see a pair of shoes on someone and think, wow, those are cute, but never did it go past that. imagining himself being able to wear the things he thought were cute never came to mind in the first place
sung didn’t consider any shoe styles aside from the basics until he begun dating his ex, who encouraged him towards heels and mary janes
while neither style ended up being in his favorites, it made him think about what it is he Would like in shoes
he went through trial testing periods, but at this point, thinks that the defining feature of what he likes in shoes is comfort first, then cuteness second
shoes that provide Plush already have a leg up for him, now put that in a cute design or even just a nice pastel color, and he’s there
many of the shoes he likes aren’t very suited for wearing in public, which in its own way, is kinda nice because he also quite likes platform shoes, but doesn’t like how tall he already is naturally, so being taller than his usual tall isn’t pleasing to him, but if he’s just chilling at home, he wont even be thinking about how big he is. he’ll just be comfy, and feel cute
when going out, unless he was styled by someone else, he’s most likely wearing sneakers. he prefers unique styles, ones that are more loud, or have charms. those are the only types he buys for himself. but when he gets gifts, either from friends or fans going only based on him saying that one time that he likes sneakers, he still cherishes them and wears them confidently, however, he prefers to try to make them a little more his style, like with a bead chain on the back or charms attached to the shoelaces
he adores jelly shoes aesthetically (even heeled ones, since he likes chunky heels) but since they’re some of the least comfortable of his favorite shoe styles, they get worn the least. he keeps trying to think if there’s a way to attach an insole slip in that won’t look ugly and will stay in place, but doesn’t think he has the creativity to do so
probably third after cuteness for qualities that grab sung’s attention are those with elegance. i used the birks on the middle right as an example bc they’re clearly influenced by ballet slippers. sung adores that as a concept. or shoes with nice tight bows, shoes that give blair waldorf energy ykwim
slippers are also apleeeeenty in sung’s apartment. this isn’t a new development really, as even babie businessman sung liked having a good number of slippers to choose between, but the designs and cuteness of them has upped substantially. the softest shoes possible for sure, and loads of animal themed ones. he also keeps a second collection that are just for guests so that they can wear something cute too, and it can be passed off as a silly thing they’re both doing, if that’s not their usual kind of thing
he likes sandals quite a bit in general too, tho not flip flops, and Prefers his sandals with cute socks, but when the socks cannot be cute, he’d rather forego them and be sockless
and FINALLY the reason i made this whole gd post was because i realized sung loves crocs. are they the most versatile in style? absolutely not. he insists he Needs all of his different styles because crocs don’t cover enough bases..... but if they did.......... he probably would wear only crocs. HEAR HIM OUT. theyre comfortable, can be socked or not socked, and can be as cute as he wants because theyre customizable af w jibbitz. and he’s a jibbitz stan. before he knew they existed, crocs were just comfy shoes to wear around the house like another pair of slippers esp for days his feet were in the big pains. but with jibbitz??? they’re all day wear baybee. and sung’s basically this tiktok
yena knew that if there was one person she could trust in wanting to do rollin’ and it’s choreo justice, it would be sung, a skilled dancer in his own right and someone who wouldn’t shy away from leaning into the song’s more traditionally feminine aspects. “there you go, good boy, i knew you’d get the memo.” she winked, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “not gonna lie, i kinda toyed with the idea of asking dimensions if we could make you do the proper original choreo, standing on top of the stools and all that but… it would be a little unfair no? considering as we don’t even do that ourselves anymore.” something yena was infinitely grateful for, she had nearly broken her neck plenty of times back when they originally released the song and with her blood alcohol levels averagely only having gotten higher, she doubted her balance had improved much.
“i think you would do a great job at being in a girl group.” the sentiment was genuine too, sung had the energy for it, both sensual and upbeat where need be. “the money is less good though, i warn you for that.” not that joosung wouldn’t be aware of that, plus as far as yena knew he seemed like the type of idealist that wouldn’t care about that. could never be her. “it’s commendable of you, you know? i could never say the same. god i’d be terrible at being in a boy group. i’d hate it too, one obnoxious edm song with a grating beatdrop and i’d walk right out the door again.” she linked her arm with joosung’s, resting her head on his shoulder. “you’ll do a great job. don’t worry too much yeah? at the very least, you have the very best teacher in the world!”
no thought behind those eyes, sung reacted on impulse, and mimicked a dog with an arf. “it’d have been fun for us to take on an extra challenge. i, personally, quite enjoy props if they’re used well.” he understood why coming back to the chairs wasn’t viable. already having attention towards the song meant gimmicks were only hazards, and it wasn’t as if the stools were integral. within sung’s personal opinion, he preferred when props were only used when they were necessary to tell the story, but sometimes, they could just be fun. the image of the quantum members swirling their hips on some chairs was funny enough as is.
high praise from his company’s current most senior group was enough to gloss over the sadness poking out from the monetary comment that sung was sure yena would prefer he not dwell over. they were very different people, at the end of the day, and whereas she might speak with a lightness there, he usually wouldn’t. “i don’t blame you. i tend to like girl groups on the whole more since the music suits my tastes better and stuff. though- you seem like you’d attract the kinds of fans that like seeing that boy group type stuff from girls.”
“if there’s one thing i believe in, it’s that my teacher’s the best.” if they weren’t being filmed for the behind the scenes content, sung would have kissed her cheek, but instead, he laid his head on hers for a second. “oh! actually, i’ve been trying the choreography myself. what if i show you what i have so far, and you can grade me?”
“okay but after i’ve actually watched it, i couldn’t tell if my sister was excited to talk about the drama itself or, as she phrased it, the really hot main actor,” she says with air quotations. she’s never been one to get engrossed in dramas or the actors themselves, but her sister was the exact opposite. jaein wants to blame it on her sister’s age, but she doesn’t think she acted like that when she was a university student either. well, different people, different reactions. “anyway, it was still nice,” she comments.
she nods to joosung’s words though she can’t even remember the last movie she’s ever watched. overall, however, her thoughts remained the same with movies as well. “yeah, it’s why i don’t do well with movies that go over two and a half hours either. like those that last four hours? god, why do they do that?” she shakes her head at the thought before letting out a soft chuckle. “i think the last movie i watched on the plane was like aladdin. it’s the only decent thing they had available. that or some nature documentary which isn’t my thing either.”
habit, perhaps it was, pushed sung into a chuckling laughter. those who valued looks above all else were one of groups of people sung had the hardest time empathizing with. yet, he laughed nonetheless. if for nothing else, it made the conversation pass on with ease. he and jaein still barely knew one another at this point; he didn’t want to scare her off with his intimate feelings. “is she younger than you? i remember in school the other kids made a lot of those types of comments.”
although sung didn’t mind longer movies so long as he had the time for them, instinct had him coming up with how to agree with her, that movies that long should at least plan for breaks. before he had the chance to test his limits on truthfulness, jaein provided a better place for him to jump in. “oh i love aladdin! or, um, disney movies, kind of generally. they’re really good for when you want to feel nice at the end, you know? and almost all of them deal with family and internal troubles, which is just so relatable to everybody. is aladdin your favorite disney character?”
“not really.” ash rolls his neck, suddenly aware of the shape tension that aches along the top of his spine. that was what he got for sneaking naps on his studio couch in the wee hours of the morning before schedules instead of sleeping through the night in his bed. what had been the point in splurging on the best mattress money had to offer in hopes it would do as it promised and improve his sleep, only for him not to spend any time in it?
mind finding its way back to the moment, bright studio lights and camera lenses pointed at him, he realizes he needs to expand more on his answer. “i wasn’t the type to focus too much on the future when i was a rookie, but now i’m the type who has a hard time always being in the present. that’s growing up, i guess.” he’s trying to work on not worrying so much over what’s to come and the mistakes of his past, but there’s no point in getting into that during such a meaningless interview.
joosung’s second follow-up question is harder, but there’s no time to agonize over it without requiring an awkward jump cut, so he uses the answer he’s able to adapt to anything. “i’m making music.”
of course ash had to respond to a rhetorical question, with a short answer like that, no less. there was no point in agreeing to any of this if he was going to waste everyone’s time. it felt as if he was putting in way more effort to make this experience an alright one than taeyong was.
more than angry, that thought send a ping of sadness into sung’s chest. inferiority was a strong drug, and yet, sung didn’t have the time to dwell on it.
“music, of course. it’s the most important part of our jobs, i think.” a bit of truth, shared connection if you will, between people who took part in the creative processes of their music. in any other circumstance, sung would prefer to stray away from this topic, and entirely avoid discussing ash’s career within this realm, but, so it goes. “then, let’s scrap the present, the past. what does the future of taeyong making music look like? where do you want to go? what music do you want to create?”
between various charity events, donations, and your ambassadorship with community chest of korea, you seem to be participating in a lot of charity causes. is it important to you?
giving back to others is one of the foundations of my character. my parents raised me with the mindset that we should only hold onto what we need, and use excess to help those who could benefit more from it. when i was young, our family didn’t have excess to provide for others, and even then, they often offered meals to neighbors going through a more rough time than us. as my parents grew more successful, they made sure to stay true to their morals, so i plan to do the same. we must lead by example in this world
have your parents influenced the person you are that strongly?
absolutely! any compliment a person is able to give about who i am is a compliment to them before myself. i’m very blessed to have the parents i do
do you have plans for charity work in the future?
i’m always looking for new opportunities to lend a hand wherever i can, and i don’t plan on stopping. if the big issue has any charity events going on, please feel free to invite me
quantum is known as a revolving group, or “concept kings”. what do you think makes that your identity?
that’s interesting to think about; i don’t know if i ever have before. thinking about it now, it does make you wonder, what is it about us that’s different? most groups try on different concepts within their careers. i think it may be a mix of two things. first, our creative team is incredibly talented. from our debut, creating a strong concept was part of the goal for quantum, and that’s always on the forefront of my mind when i’m giving opinions or creating for us myself. however, i’m only able to give it my all because of the fans. they’re able to see the effort our staff and members put into taking each concept very seriously, and reward us with their kind words and nicknames
do you feel as a solo artist, your identity becomes separated from quantum?
i don’t think it’s possible for who i am to be separated from quantum, so any solo work can’t be either. without them, i would not be me. rather, in my solo music, i’d like to remind others of quantum; that’s a compliment to me. creating engaging concepts and working hard to show the fans my best is the same whether i’m alone or with four other members, so i think they’re very intertwined identities
what are your worries recently?
i’ve recently come to a decision that quite pains my heart. -well, i suppose the news would come out by the time this issue releases, but i’ve recently decided to end my run as the dj for sun’s goodnight. i’ve been working on this project for four years, so it’s very close to my heart, and aching to let go of. i imagine i’ll be extremely emotional when that time comes
on sun’s goodnight, you often discuss how important it is to express worries, even though it’s difficult. what do you think is the purpose of worries?
are you a listener? wow, you know me so well. worries to me need to be felt and expressed. the more we bottle them up, the bigger the explosion will be when you release the cap. worries are probably part of our foundational makeup to give us pause, require us to think more carefully, and to help us find humility. humility is a really beautiful thing, to recognize we are all the same in many ways, and that’s why we should accept people for their worries, and help them work through them. worries may not feel good in the moment, but they’re important to have overall
it wasn’t often that alice kim wished she were invisible, but now was one of those times. maybe not even invisible - she’d seen a movie recently, sky high, where a superhero could melt into a puddle on command. that might even be better.
she’d happened upon joosung and had rushed to get him an ice cream cone - she’d chosen dole whip, because who didn’t like that? the thing was, though, she bowed as she reached out to give it to him, and, err, now there was a rather large orangey yellow splotch on his shirt, and he seemed quite cold.
“oppa, i’m so sorry! come with me, i’ll buy you a new shirt!” she offered, near tears. “i just thought you might like some ice cream too! i didn’t think yu’d let me buy it for you if i offered, so i ran to get it and i…” she paused, inhaling through her nose, exhaling through her mouth. “i’m really sorry.” she said, more calmly. “please, let me fix this?”
within the span of a couple of seconds, sung’s brain had a mountain of information to catch up on. first, alice’s appearance, the recognition she’d been holding something without the processing of what it was, then a chill centered at the bottom of his ribcage. he looked down to see a food dye stained over his shirt. pieces locked into place between the smell wafting towards his nose, the look on alice’s face, the look towards her hand, and finally, confirmation in her words.
sung pinched the bottom hem of his shirt and pulled forward, modesty in tact, but airing out the cold running across his torso. “alice. alice!” he interrupted, “it’s okay. things happen.” a wave of his shirt was meant to dry off his chest quicker, but only served to add further air to the cold, so he paused the movements. in attempt to lighten the mood, he joked, “it’s in my favorite color at least.”
“you were so sweet as to try to get me a surprise, how could i ever be mad about that? it’s- would you be able to get me a towel, or, um, wipe, of some kind?” the chill, at the moment, was much more pressing to him than a little stain on a shirt.
truth be told, duri liked both of quantum’s most recent songs, as he often checked in on what quantum was doing, truth be told. he really enjoyed both of them, though a song written easily probably fell more into what he likes the most, and most of his musical tastes, in a way. but, chained up was also a lot of fun too, truth be told. he giggled happily, “i hope the song is happy!” he said, his smile growing some more.
“thank you! i hope to always create things that are like me! traffic light was a lot of fun, i really liked getting to do a bright concept, which tends to be outside what i usually do,” he says. he nodded his head, “i am! it’s going to come out next month, we’re just finishing up some stuff,” he said with a happy chuckle. he nodded his head, “yes! i wrote a bunch of the songs back in the sky lounge in niseko!”
“that is quite funny, isn’t it? you’re such a bright person, but most of your music really tugs at the heartstrings and stuff.” sung continued on, the content of his brain spilling out stream of consciousness, “though, that’s what music is for, to spill the parts of us we don’t often show in our daily lives. still, it must be nice to have a change of pace sometimes. sitting in your feelings may be therapeutic, but too much of it is tiring.”
“oh wow, i can’t wait to hear the full product.” part of sung felt strange to hear that confirmation. after all of these years now, knowledge like that still felt like a secret of the trade from an otherworldly idol he was following. connecting inspiration to artist - that was his life, had been for so long. his younger self would never be able to believe it. “are you keeping with a brighter concept?”
she’s a little taken back by the quick hug but she reacts instinctively to return it. it barely lasts before they’re simply standing in front of one another again. “i decided on navillera because my sister pretty much begged me to watch it. i think she just needed someone to talk about it with?” there were a lot of things that jaeeun asked of her, and she would have never obliged if it wasn’t for the fact that she had one too many ten hour flights to get through.
“it was nice.” she knows she barely sounds convincing to her own ears, but she never really knows how to talk about dramas. “i liked that it was shorter actually. i think i have difficulties sticking to like 20 episode dramas. even 16 troubles me sometimes,” she admits with a chuckle. “i liked that it wasn’t a typical romance drama. really had me feeling things in the heart sometimes.” it’s not like she had a great relationship with her own grandfather or anything, but the image of an old man trying to become a ballerino was just touching. “i probably wouldn’t have watched it without your recommendation so, again, thanks. you saved me from having to watch whatever the plane just had to offer.”
sung’s hand lifted, hesitated half curled above his heart, but instead of the cliche, he chose to raise his hand to his opposite shoulder and hang it there. “i’m so glad you were able to find some value in it.” rarely was he asked for recommendations, and even more rare were his recommendations taken on. of course, he was touched to have made an impact, no matter how small. “different tastes are alright, though. it really is its own niche, you know? it means all the more that you were willing to get through it based on my recommendation -and your sister’s.”
“i think i’m more of the type of person that’s always campaigning for a second season of the shows i really like, but i get the appeal in shorter dramas as well. it’s more like movies, right? the story can feel more complete if there was the strong intention for it to end with one season.” the other end of that spectrum was rushing without thinking of the plot line the same way you would a movie, hence why sung couldn’t sit through webdramas despite his attempts, but he’d rather focus on the positive. “the next time you pick out whatever the plane has to offer, you’ll have to give me a recommendation.”
this was something minhee doesn’t think he has ever done, maybe not since before debut and honestly, it came as a breath of fresh air. “i think there is always a thing or two i could learn, you know? even if you think it’s not a huge thing to emphasize on.” he insist, smile already pulling on his lips.
his attention is fully focused on joosung, practically ignoring the staff that were in the room with them, the camera as well. he had gotten awfully good to just be natural, to not break that fourth wall or whatever it was called unless he thought it was funny. or wanted to feel like he was in the office, either worked. “that sounds like a great plan, got any specific story already in mind?” minhee asks, curiosity always getting the better of him. at the question he gets asks, he nods patting a stack of photos on the table “i came as prepared as i could. it’s not a lot, but it’s something i guess.” he remembers his manager reminding him about it, giving him a good heads up about how he had to prepare this. to min did exactly that, picked as many as he deemed to be okay, some from his phone camera roll, some from the internet “you didn’t give me a theme, so i probably had way too much of a variety, but i made sure to at least keep them in a colour palette if that makes sense.”
“-that’s okay, i mean, i probably could have given more thorough directions.” contradictory, sung seemed, hypocritical even, on how much of a detail-oriented person he was. while he had some hobbies where perfection was the only possible outcome he’d accept, in his daily life, those thoughts didn’t easily occur. asking for pictures straight out, he’d have thought it was enough information, but faced with it now, could see gaps for those that weren’t like him. however, “variety is nice, though, i think. scrapbooks only need to be themed if that’s what you’re going for. maybe this first book’s theme can be about memories in general.”
looking down at his own brought in piling, he might be in a similar boat. “when i think of the stories, it’s about each picture, and then what we add onto it. like-” he looked through his photos quickly to pull out one, and show min, then the camera, “this is my nephew. i adore him to the moon and back. watching him grow bigger and bigger makes me think there’s no limit to what he can take on. so, maybe if i decorate a page around it, it could be space themed, some stars and planets and stuff. why don’t we give it a go? tell me about one of your pictures.”
Quantum member Sun has made his solo comeback after almost a year with the release of his new single, “Bad Love”, and its accompanying music video!
“Bad Love” is a retro dance-pop song about the internal battle to deny a love turned toxic. The music video ties a sci-fi aesthetic into the themes of the lyrics, as Sun appears to play a tortured actor playing in a space drama. Sun was heavily involved in the creative side of the song, not only being responsible for the melody and arrangement, but also the choreography and some of the lyrics.
Sun will promote “Bad Love” on music shows for two weeks, beginning with his comeback stage on The Show.
Idol groups Quantum and Catalyst have been announced as the latest honorary Korean Culture and Tourism ambassadors!
A ceremony was held on May 13 officially appointing the two groups to the honorary position that has been previously held by groups such as Titan, Platinum, and Polaris. The two groups were chosen because of their position in helping to lead the Hallyu Wave abroad.
Quantum and Catalyst, who debuted in 2017 and 2018 respectively, have both seen success internationally and have been rising in profile with recent comebacks.
The ceremony and meeting of the two groups with an official was livestreamed on Instagram for fans to view.
moments of fragility, and tonight she feels like she’s pierced through the glass screen — fragments shattering at the point of contact, and her emotions fallen under a mirage of everything that’s dissipated with time.
it’s looking at the rippling reflection, her heart pounding in the clasp of her palm. each step, and each smile that feigns the whisk of wonder she holds on set. (in the end, she can’t fool her own reflection when she comes back to the bottles of dried up wine, and the stained burgundy glasses that lead her to too many hours of procuring no answer to the question that lies).
and now, when she’s forced to reckon with the reality that slaps itself across the air, rubbing her facade raw, she holds in her breath. balances her elbow on the table, palm in hand, head feeling heavier than the breath she’s holding in. till it all ends loose, and her eyes close. “the co-star’s his best friend, in case you didn’t know. they’re chummy chummy friends, best of friends. so much so that all i do is anticipate the day i dance onto set to lock eyes to the skeleton i’ve been avoiding all this time.” it’s resolute, acceptance. the wave of lightness that falls from her chest, bottled out, her tone humbled down to a murmur.
“joosung, i admire your music advice so much to the point where i’m asking you for tokens of life lessons.” her eyes peel open slowly, a smile stretching out as wide as her heart allows. “it’s weird working together — but i think the weirdest part is having the expectation that his best friend will show up, even though that’s been long buried. how silly of my heart to hinge onto something that i swears itself off of, huh?”
a swollen heart hadn’t been a feature in his conversations with minjung in the past, for as far as he could recall. though he could blame it partially on the alcohol, he’d rather put all of it towards her words. if minjung were the type to like physical affection, he might have squeezed her hand to show his appreciation, but even drunk, they’d worked together long enough that he’d learned to withhold his affections in touch. instead, he flicked his thumb against forefinger like flipping a token up into the air.
“if it was a bad ending, i wouldn’t think he’d want to show up.” musing, speaking aloud before giving himself the opportunity to think too deeply about what he might be adding contextually. “maybe you miss him.” sung settled himself back down onto the pillow of his arms, and turned sight towards the sideways view of minjung. “i don’t think it’s so weird to miss someone. he probably misses you, too. who wouldn’t?”
