┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ THE CUPID a study on femininity, girlhood, sexuality, idolhood, growing up, and regret. written by carrie. biblical themes.
virunpat rirermkul, known professionally by her nickname CUPID, is a fictional soloist under aurora labels and a former member of aespa. she made her debut with aespa in 2020, and in november 2021, after the release of savage, went on a "health hiatus" that would last until 2022. in april 2022, cupid separated from aespa and sm after coming to a "mutual agreement" with the company. she later debuted as a soloist under aurora labels in december 2022.
on march 6th, 2024, cupid released her fourth comeback and first full album, sugar rush. the title track of the same name quickly garnered attention for many reasons— fans loved the song, with some claiming it was her best yet. while cupid has always been known for her rather mature concept and leaning into her sexuality, ranging from her debut with 28 reasons and her comeback with eclipse, people have claimed that this song and it's overtly sexual innuendos and music video were far too much.
NETIZENS REACT TO SUGAR RUSH
people were also upset that the album was advertised as self written, given all the sexual innuendos. her fans were quick to come to her defense, claiming that cupid had always been known for writing most of her music, but that wasn't enough to stop the regular round of insults from flying around. one fan wrote online, "it's not a comeback without cupid's second fandom calling her a slut", referring to high seas fandom, sailors, who have been notoriously known for fighting with cupid fans and other fandoms.
it's a sad but generally accepted reality that this is how most of cupid's comebacks go. she drops the album and is quickly called every insult in the book by netizens. however, for the first time, cupid's title song sugar rush was banned by kbs due to "overly sexual lyrics, profanity, and vulgar expressions". fans came to her defense, but there was nothing much that could be done. soon after, cupid uploaded on her instagram story her reactions.
CUPID'S INSTAGRAM STORIES
some criticized her for making a joke of the situation and thus making it worse, and others applauded her for not being afraid to clap back. no matter your opinion on the situation, due to the banning of sugar rush, cupid will be promoting her b-side, underwater, on music shows instead. what are your thoughts?
˚➶ ｡˚ comments
aespaended: so how tf did she get a full album before aespa??😭
cupiditgirl: sailors need to stop worrying about cupid and start worrying about how their group has 2 relevant members left
↳ sailored: meanwhile cupid hasn't been relevant since she was in aespa...?
↳ cupiditgirl: meanwhile high seas can't break top 300 on melon...?
joonpaved: hajoon better
↳ onlycupid: at what.....😭
↳ 5aespa: bullying his members and staff duh
cupidae: they hate to see a bad bitch winning
stanhighseas: why mention high seas in the article..? nobody gaf abt this slut
12. to show off their romantic partner(s) ! ( with specific ship or npcs ! )
FIRST IMAGE — posted on her private story. cupid hugging a faceless male, captioned "finally". friends were quick to figure out that the man in the picture was former @hiseas member taeyang. posted shortly after aurora announced his departure from the group.
SECOND IMAGE — posted on her private story. cupid hugging ningning, captioned "come back soon". posted after aespa left korea for their 2023 world tour.
THIRD IMAGE — posted on her private story. a faceless male holding a bouquet of flowers to the camera with his face bowed, alongside a poll asking if she should forgive him. again, her friends quickly found out it was taeyang, which was easy to decipher, considering how the two had gotten into a screaming match one night earlier.
HIGH SEAS is a fictional seven member boy group under aurora labels, consisting of members sieun, hajoon, kaoru, xinxi, jude, jitae, and emery. high seas have become known for their pirate concept & lore, talents, and messy public affairs. high seas debuted on january 12, 2021, with their self titled mini album and title track crush, that, in all retrospect, did very poorly. coming from a rather small company and debuting with a stereotypical noisy boy group song, high seas garnered very little popularity in the first few months of their career. it wasn't until their second comeback that they actually began to make some noise.
it's still a hot topic amongst fans today— what exactly brought high seas out of nugudom? many credit the group as a whole and the company, as their first comeback, deja vu, was met much more positively and the company began to properly promote them. others believe that the members individually are to thank, specifically hajoon, who had began going viral in korea for his visuals and talents, and xinxi, who was gaining popularity in china. nonetheless, high seas were finally beginning to get a taste of popularity and aurora was quick to ride off it, pushing out comeback after comeback to keep them relevant.
high seas have seen their fair share of controversy and scandals in the few years they've been active. netizens have pointed out their lack of group cohesiveness, cliqueness, and how certain members seem isolated from the rest. they're also often accused of wasting their labelmates money, considering how many comebacks they get compared to the others in their company who are arguably more popular. however, none of this compared to the controversy they faced when member taeyang announced his departure from the group in late 2023. aurora never offered explanations on why he left, and so fingers were pointed every which way, with people blaming the company, the company, the fans. still, it seemed his departure only heightened their group popularity, and as of 2024, high seas have solidified themselves as a messy icon of the 4th gen.
send me 🤳 + a number, and i’ll show off and talk about a piece of my muse’s daily life in the form of an instagram aesthetic post ! ( can be a fully profile style, instagram stories, or a single post, depending on what fits the best. )
to show off their home !
to show off their wardrobe !
to show off their work life !
to show off their relaxation methods !
to show off their family ! ( biological, adopted, found ! )
to show off their relationship with food !
to show off their travel habits !
to show off their luxuries !
to show off their health and wellfare habits !
to show off their favourite places !
to show off their past !
to show off their romantic partner(s) ! ( with specific ship or npcs ! )
to show off their best friend(s) ! ( with specific dynamic or ncps ! )
01. ┉ : if you could tell your past self anything , what would it be ?
CUPID SAYS ... °˖➴ "delete that boy's phone number," she answers immediately, stifling a laugh, "and listen to the staff— ah, and aeri— and don't add him back," she sighs, before shaking her head. "actually, just never talk to him in the first place. avoid him at all costs. for the greater good."
02. ┉ : are you happy with where you are ? would you change anything ?
CUPID SAYS ... °˖➴ "um," she giggles, awkward and humorless, her eyes shifting, "i mean— i'm not... completely miserable anymore. if that counts for anything," she admits, shrugging, "but i— i could be happier. i want to be happier. there's a lot of things i want, though. a lot i'd change if— if i could. like. um." she worries her bottom lip, "well, you know how it is. if it were up to me, i wouldn't be where i am right now, anyway."
in 2014, a 13 year old virunpat rirermkul, cupid, left bangkok and never looked back. she had previously auditioned for several different companies and went through six different rejections before finally, she was accepted into sm entertainment. her vocals were her strength, and with visuals too match, a solid personality, and plenty of room to improve, sm took her in.
briefly, sm humored the idea of adding her to red velvet alongside yeri in 2015. however, the plan was almost immediately scrapped, with the company deciding she was still much too young and that more training was in order. cupid went through much more rigorous training, and in 2016, she was revealed to the public through the predebut training team, smrookies, alongside her future member ningning.
debut didn't come easy, but eventually, in november 2020, cupid debuted as a member of aespa with their hit single black mamba. throughout their rookie days, cupid described debuting as "a dream come true". despite the hate aespa often received, cupid was happier than ever.
as the group continued with their career, fans were quick to notice cupid's declining health, both mental and physical. fimhers were pointed every which way, with people blaming the company, the fans, the antis. however, nothing was ever confirmed and it's all considered speculation til today.
eventually, in november 2021, a month after the release of savage, sm announced that cupid would be placed on a "professionally advised" health hiatus. some fans considered it abrupt and some said it was bound to happen, but either way, cupid practically disappeared from all content. the girls, however, still mentioned her often. in february of 2022, giselle claimed that cupid was doing healthy and that she would hopefully be back soon. two months later, sm announced that cupid would be departing from both aespa and the company, after they had came to a "mutual agreement".
this shocked both mys and kpop fans alike, considering how it had seemed that cupid truly would be returning to the group soon. fans begged for explanations, theorized what could've happened, blamed everyone they could— but nothing ever came to light. cupid hasn't mentioned sm since leaving, and the company has returned to the favor.
in june of 2022, aurora labels announced that they had signed cupid and that she was currently preparing a solo debut. this was met with mixed reactions— many were happy she was redebuting, others were angry it was so soon, and others wished she hadn't chosen a "nugu company", with only two groups to their name. nonetheless, cupid redebuted a soloist in december of 2022. her mini album twenty-eight was a hit, and she solidified the fact that many were afraid of: she wasn't going anywhere.
cupid has since been met with her fair share of fame and controversy. she's well loved internationally and often considered an it girl, however, in korea, she is often met with criticism for her every step. too childish, too sexual, a pick me, a try hard, a backstabber.
