✩ sold my soul to a psycho.

[midasfm]

hi, everyone.

this is not the update post i wished to make today and it is with an extremely heavy heart that i make this post, but it is important to me that i am transparent with you all.

while continuing to work on the finishing touches for the restructure, a loss occurred very close to me. i do not wish to dive into too many details, but between that sudden event and some issues with my health, i have made the difficult decision to close midasfm. i'd like to stress that this decision was not an easy one to make, nor am i happy with this decision, as i have poured so much love and effort into midasfm. this roleplay has been in the works for over a year now and i love the groups, the companies, and the narratives i have created so dearly. i also love all of your muses and the careers you've carefully crafted for them, and have spent the past few weeks discussing ideas, revamps, and your muses' futures with many of you, since i was committed to creating a more rewarding environment for every mun. but, unfortunately, i do not believe i can deliver a smooth roleplaying experience while dealing with these issues. i need to consider not only my own well-being, but the well-being of my admin team and the experience of our members. it'd be incredibly unfair to keep midasfm open while knowing that i cannot dedicate full-time to adminning. without me present, there would be significant hinderances to the progression of the roleplay and the mechanics surrounding it as i am responsible for all of the worldbuilding and the mechanics that make midas, midas. it would also place an unfair burden on the shoulders of my co-admins to take over my workload.

this really is a decision that i am very sad to be making, but i do think it is the right decision for myself, my team, and for all of you. i know you have all waited so patiently for us to re-open, and i am so incredibly sorry that i have to close after all the time you've spent waiting for us to come back. once i'm back on my feet and am confident in my ability to continue adminning, i'd love to re-open midasfm. i don't have an idea of when that will be, but this blog will not be repurposed, so please feel free to follow us off your personal blogs or keep an eye on the main for further updates. i have a lot of love for this place and a lot of stories i want to tell with midas, so i do plan to open back up as soon as i am able. but for now, midasfm is closed.

thank you all for your patience, your dedication, and for the beautiful muses you've shared with us. i hope we can cross paths again in the future when we re-open.

[midasfm]

hi idols! admin olive here with another update about our progress with the restructuring.

to begin, i’d like to apologize for the delay in getting this update post out, as well as the delay in responses to messages on the main and on discord. rest assured we are not ignoring anyone nor have we forgotten about you! the admin team have had a few personal errands and emergencies to tend to, which have pushed back some of our tasks, but things are back to normal now and we’ll be responding to all messages this weekend! so sorry for the wait. now, onto the update:

PROJECTED OPENING DATE

based on the progress we’ve made since our last update post, we’ve decided to announce our projected opening date. please note that this is not finalized and is still subject to change, but we feel confident enough about the work we’ve done (and the work we have left to do) to give a projected opening date. if this date does change for any reason, rest assured we’ll let you know asap. the dates we are considering for our projected opening are june 22 (KST) | june 21 (EST) or june 29 (KST) | june 28 (EST). once we check a few more of our remaining tasks off the list, we’ll decide on the exact date and share it in our next (and final) update post. please note this opening date is for the pre-reserve period and not the roleplay as a whole. the pre-reserve period will last one week and our opening will be held following the pre-reserve period closing. please also note that the pre-reserve period is only for current muses and no new muses can be picked up until we open again to the public. more details will be shared in our final update post. since there are still some tasks left for us to complete, we won’t be sharing the new main yet and we also will not be detailing too much about the pre-reserve process in today’s post. the new main and all changes will be unveiled in our final update post prior to the pre-reserve period opening. if you do have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to us, but we do kindly request your patience as we are hard at work with our final tasks.

GROUP CHANGES AND RE-APPLICATIONS

as previously mentioned, changes are being made, big and small, to many of our groups. due to this, some reapplications are required. below, we've outlined the groups and muses affected and what kind of reapplication will be required.

ANGELIX

the changes to angelix’s career timeline were very minor. cosmic was removed and classified was moved to september 2022 in place of it. #menow ended up having to be removed to make room for eleven and after like. while we didn’t want to make this change, keeping #menow would’ve meant messing around with the members’ solo debuts or postponing angelix’s upcoming comeback until much later in the year. thus, we made the executive decision to cut #menow as it was the singular fromis_9 song within their discography. eleven was released in december 2023, love dive was moved to april 2024, and after like was released in august 2024. 

due to these changes, all angelix members will have to resubmit their application with the necessary timeline adjustments made to their career page and/or biography. this means removing any claims relevant to cosmic or #menow and adjusting the months or years that have been mentioned above. if muns choose to, they may redeem additional claim items during eleven and after like’s promotional periods, but it is not required at this time. however, you must clearly highlight all old claims and any new claims if you decide to submit any new claims. any new claims are subject to any changes made to the claims guidelines, which will be unveiled in our final update post.

REMEDY

there are slight timeline and history changes being made to remedy. the history changes are minor and have only been made to introduce the inclusion of marionette into remedy’s history. and as previously mentioned, remedy’s debut date is being shifted back to october 2015, so changes have been made to their entire timeline to account for this shift. we tried to avoid making the changes to their timeline too severe and did our best to avoid these changes impacting solo debuts or comebacks, but a few solo releases may need to be shifted back by a few months. we’ll be in contact with the muns affected to confirm that they are okay with this change. unfortunately, changes did have to be made to group releases and these changes are non-negotiable. most of these changes are a difference of a few months or a year at the very most. we don’t believe these changes should impact your muses in any major way, but please reach out to us if you are concerned about that. 

due to these changes, all remedy members will have to resubmit their application with the necessary timeline adjustments made to their career page, training period, and/or biography. this means adjusting the years on your career page (for comeback-specific or era-specific claims) and/or adjusting any years mentioned in your biography. if muns choose to, they may redo their claims entirely, but it is not required at this time. however, you must clearly highlight all old claims and any new claims if you decide to redo your claims. any claims that are redone entirely are subject to any changes made to the claims guidelines, which will be unveiled in our final update post.

NYMTH

the changes that are being made to nymth are very minor and do not require any reapplication or resubmission unless the muns themselves decide that doing so would benefit their muse. the changes to nymth are merely small adjustments in their history to account for the fact that marionette is no longer a disbanded group and that the small hate train nymth experienced upon debut was for a slightly different reason.

we are adjusting two skeletons (NY1 and NY2) under nymth and will be speaking with the muns about these slight adjustments, but the other skeletons will remain unchanged.

if muns choose to, they may redo their claims entirely, but it is not required at this time. however, you must clearly highlight all old claims and any new claims if you decide to redo your claims. any claims that are redone entirely are subject to any changes made to the claims guidelines, which will be unveiled in our final update post.

PHAZE

due to the significant timeline and discography changes and slight image changes made to phaze, all phaze members will have to reapply with the necessary adjustments made to their career page, training period, and/or biography. this means adjusting the years on your career page (for comeback-specific or era-specific claims) and/or adjusting any years mentioned in your biography. if muns choose to, they may add in new claims to suit the discography changes or redo their claims entirely, but it is not required at this time. however, you must clearly highlight all old claims and any new claims if you decide to redo your claims. past claims will be held onto in the event there’s something you wish to keep, but please note that reapplication will fall under our new claims guidelines, so you may not be able to keep all of your previous claims. any claims that are redone entirely are subject to any changes made to the claims guidelines, which will be unveiled in our final update post.

additionally, please note that phaze’s age range has been changed. please ensure your muse falls within the new age range of ‘93 - ‘96 and make any changes necessary to meet that age range, including making sure their faceclaim fits our aging up / aging down guidelines.

HAUTE PINK

as mentioned previously, the changes to haute pink are major and complete reapplication is required. muns will have to reapply according to the changes made to haute pink’s group image and their history, and claims will have to be redone to suit the new career timeline, history, and overall group image. past claims will be held onto in the event there’s something you wish to keep, but please note that reapplication will fall under our new claims guidelines, so you may not be able to keep all of your previous claims.

GIRL CODE

as mentioned previously, the changes to girl code are significant and complete reapplication is required. muns will have to reapply according to the changes made to girl code’s group image and their history, and claims will have to be redone to suit the new career timeline, history, and overall group image. past claims will be held onto in the event there’s something you wish to keep, but please note that reapplication will fall under our new claims guidelines, so you may not be able to keep all of your previous claims.

SOLOISTS

if you are a soloist mun who applied prior to the soloist skeleton change and did not send in the previously requested soloist information (fandom name, official color, etc), you will be asked to resubmit your application with the required additional information. if you have filled out this information already, you will not be required to resubmit. 

if muns choose to, they may redo their claims. past claims will be held onto in the event there’s something you wish to keep, but please note that any claims that are added or replaced are subject to the new claims guidelines, which will be unveiled in our final update post. if there are significant changes to a soloist, whether it be backstory, image, or career claims, the admin team will require the soloist mun to reapply completely, and that reapplication will fall under our new claims guidelines, so you may not be able to keep all of your previous claims. if you are unsure whether the changes you wish to make to your soloist muse require reapplication, please reach out to the admin team.

MUSES WITH SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTION CLAIMS

in our updated claims guidelines, there are significant changes being made to the way production claims will be handled going forward. as this is a significant change that includes adjustments to item terminology, item cost, and more, we may require any muses with significant production claims to resubmit their production claims upon reopening. we have not yet reached a final decision on this as the admin team is still discussing this, but please note there is a strong possibility you may need to resubmit and adjust your production claims. in our final update post, we’ll announce our decision, as well as share further details on the way production claims will be handled going forward.

and that is everything we have for today’s update! as mentioned above, we’ll be continuing any unfinished conversations throughout the week and, once we have decided on the exact opening date, we’ll share it with you asap. we also did want to say that we realize the changes we are making may be bigger than some of you expected and i want to say that they are bigger than we expected them to be, too, but please note that every decision being made is based off of the responses from the restructuring survey and are being made with the intention of creating a long-lasting environment with ample room to grow your muses and their careers. we are doing our best to ensure we do not disrupt or displace any muses too severely, but we did want to remind everyone that all of these decisions are necessary to ensure this roleplay can continue to operate smoothly and for a very long time. we understand not everyone will be happy with every decision made, but please do know we are trying our best to accommodate everyone while also trying to stay true to our vision for midasfm. thank you again for your continued patience!

[midasfm]

just a quick, informal update to let everyone know we're still working on the projects outlined in our last update post and hope to share a formal update by sunday! thank you all for your continued patience! update: formal update postponed until thursday/friday due to an admin emergency. apologies for the wait!

[midasfm]

✩　ydhent.com/governance/rihan

001: profile.

legal name: oh rihan birthdate: november 13, 1995 age: 29 hometown: seoul, south korea occupation: sodapop's stylist

002: interview.

001. have you always wanted to work in the entertainment industry? what were you doing before this?

“sort of? i had thought about it as a kid, as i imagine many people do, but nothing concrete came of that. i always knew that i wanted to do something in the arts, though - i’ve always liked reading, drama. for a while i got really into fashion history.

i went to university and then worked for a while as an editor at a fashion magazine. in the end, someone i had worked with ended up at ydh and recommended me, and i had already done an internship during my studies that gave me the necessary foundation for the work. my experience writing about fashion has been very helpful, because it allows me to look at my work with a more critical lens than before. i’ve been enjoying being on the other side of the divide, so to speak. a creator rather than a consumer.”

002. what do you think is the most important quality to have when working with idols?

“self-assurance and the ability to listen. sometimes, the creative direction you’re given might not be what you’re most comfortable working with. you need to trust yourself to be able to present something deserving of the stage every time, and you need thick skin and accept criticism when it’s fairly given. the final jury will always be the fans, but you speak to different teams giving input on the creative vision of the group. achieving consistency without overdoing the same looks isn’t as easy as i hope to make you think.

of course, i’m always willing to let the idols themselves give input in the process. their contributions may not always end up being considered, but a little goodwill goes a long way.”

003. where do you see yourself in five years? do you see yourself advancing in this field or do you hope to pursue another career?

“i’m happy where i am right now, and i’d like to stick with sodapop until the point comes where the focus in their careers shifts towards individual activities. but this doesn’t mean that i’m set on staying in this field forever. as a child, i imagined myself as an art curator, and that’s still something i’d like to explore. the work i’m doing right now is a good fit for this point of my life - i enjoy keeping busy, the pressure of it. but it’s not something i can see myself doing for another ten, fifteen years. by that point i’m hoping to pursue whatever calls to me at the time, and i’m eager to see what shape that’ll take.”

004. what are your biggest inspirations when working with your artist? does your work with them line up with your own taste?

“if you had asked me ten years ago, maybe i wouldn’t told you something different. these days, my own taste and the way i style sodapop don’t exactly align, but that doesn’t mean i don’t enjoy my output.

it wasn’t this way when they debuted, but now i’d say my biggest inspiration are my idols themselves. over the past few years i’ve gotten to know them more, i’ve learnt what works not just for the company but also for them. of course, there are always going to be decisions made that are unpopular, but we’re all working towards the same goal in the end.

i have a background in visual arts, and i get inspired when i visit my mother’s gallery and look at the new pieces on display, when i walk around my neighbourhood and see what people are wearing on the street. and it’d be a lie to claim that i’m not influenced by what other stylists and designers are doing. there are so many talented people in this industry.”

003: background.

01.

the first time they had met, rihan’s mother tells him, he had barely been only enough to crawl. he’d made his way halfway across the playmat towards her when they’d decided that he was the child they wanted to raise and love for the rest of their lives: the second son, third and final of the set.

when asked, rihan would say that his parents are comfortable, meaning: rich enough to buy a three-story house in seoul and send their children to expensive international schools. as the youngest, rihan is given the most leeway, signed up for activities like theatre and photography classes instead of piano and sports. later, at the charity galas his mother attends, she’ll look indulgently at her son over the rim of her glass and tell whoever she was talking to that we’ve always known he’s an artist.

02.

it is therefore a foregone conclusion that rihan will be indulged when he presents his plan to study design. already used to traversing the world on his own after his boarding school stint in england, rihan finds himself happy in paris at the tender age of seventeen, too young still to sign his own apartment lease. the first few months in the city are spent at a family friend’s apartment. sticking around pays off later: one of the women he laughs with over white wine and oysters recommends him to a cousin working at a renowned fashion magazine, and rihan lands himself an editorial job his resumé wouldn’t warrant right after graduation.

03.

there is a certain self-assurance in rihan’s work born out of the knowledge that there will always be another opportunity for him ripe for the taking. this is, perhaps, the expected result of a childhood spent in luxury: you never have cause to worry about your future. rihan learns quickly that he thrives in environments that put pressure on his shoulders. it’s again through connections that he lands himself a job as an assistant stylist at a well-known company. when he is poached by ydh - because, once again, someone he knows puts in a good word for him - he finds himself offered a job he cannot pass up, even when his father keeps talking to him about going back to school.

[midasfm]

✩　ydhent.com/governance/kijung

001: profile.

legal name: doh kijung birthdate: october 5, 1995 age: 29 hometown: seoul, south korea occupation: sodapop's manager one

002: interview.

001. have you always wanted to work in the entertainment industry? what were you doing before this?

“haha—no. right after college, in all honesty, i was sort of directionless, bouncing around from job to job and industry to industry. my last job before ydh was managing a restaurant in seoul. then, through networking with an acquaintance who’s been in this industry for longer than i have, i ended up as a personal assistant at ydh. i worked my way up over the course of a few years, and by the time they were finalizing the lineup for sodapop, they chose me to manage them.”

002. what do you think is the most important quality to have when working with idols?

“flexibility. and i don’t just mean schedule-wise, though of course you are often expected to drop things and pivot at a moment’s notice. when you manage an idol group, oftentimes, you’re the only person in the members’ corner. and when you’re a manager for trainees and then freshly-debuted idols, some of whom are still in their teens—you’re often the primary older figure in their life and you end up seeing them more than their family members. of course, it goes without saying, if you manage a group within ydh entertainment, it’s expected that you answer to the company more than anyone else—i don’t pretend to do otherwise. even so, it’s important to keep an open mind, try your best to understand where the members are coming from even if their life experiences are vastly different from each other’s or even your own. it’d be impossible to foresee every possible outcome for every scandal or circumstance, but it’s how you handle those situations that often sets the tone for how it affects the kids emotionally and career-wise.”

003. where do you see yourself in five years? do you see yourself advancing in this field or do you hope to pursue another career?

“in five years? i don’t do that kind of planning. every five years i find myself somewhere where i wouldn’t have thought myself to be five years earlier. but perhaps that’s part of the fun—and hardships—of adulthood. i see myself healthy and happy—and that’s something i’m always actively working towards.” 

003: background.

trigger warnings: mentions of alcohol, injury

there’s a specific day that kijung thinks back on from time to time.

he’s sixteen, jogging out of the school gates with a box of milk in hand, when a woman in a crumpled suit hands him a paper business card and stammers out some words about whether he’s interested in having a career as an idol. kijung, in true high schooler kijung fashion, gives her a wink and a winning smile that has her blushing, and then tucks the card deep in his practice bag. he doesn’t spare it a second thought until years later when he’s going through his stuff from high school and finds it—edges worn, ink bloomed and blurry from residual pool water.

he thinks about that day when he’s two years out of high school, in a bathroom stall at his university, his thumbs jammed into the corners of his eyes, tears leaking from behind them no matter how determinedly he tries to stop them. his classmates are chatting loudly about dinner plans and how hot professor heejung looked during today’s lecture right outside his stall, and between that and his own stuffed nose, kijung has a headache. it’s not a matter of regret—at least not about becoming a celebrity; that was never in the cards for him in the same way becoming a horse handler or an astronaut never really were. but, at that point in his life, there’s a hard, bright line that slices through his life, effectively cutting his dreams short. there’s before, and there’s after. doh kijung was an athletic prodigy—until he wasn’t. and after, every choice he’s ever made in his life fan out before him like cards and comes into stark focus, every road untaken excessively re-examined to begin to understand—where did everything go wrong?

it’s the type of melodrama that plagues many people in their late teens to early twenties—the reality of a dream that ended much too soon. he clings onto that old dream for a long time—when he applies to college for sports medicine, when he attends his friends’ swim meets and keeps up with swimming news at the collegiate and olympic level—until he realizes that it’s only making everything worse. it’s like everything he does has teeth marks in it, claw marks from where he’s gripped too tightly for fear of losing something that he already has. he switches majors and graduates with a degree in business management, with decent grades but stellar references, and then lands his first job out of college, and then his second, and then his third—

is this all there is to adulthood?, he thinks, when he ends up at ydh entertainment, balancing a tray of iced americanos in one hand and a few binders full of concept notes tucked under his opposite arm. his coworkers are bemused by him, then slightly irritated, and then—begrudgingly impressed. and so he earns promotion after promotion, gliding up the ranks with ease.

his secret is this: he’s good at his job because he tries his best, yes, but he’s also good at being liked. he always has been: as someone who was once captain of his swimming team—an individual sport, one may say, but you win and lose as a team all the same—someone who was effortlessly popular in the way that student athletes tend to be, and someone who’s always basked in the light of winning. it comes into sharper focus here—at ydh entertainment, in this industry. here, “likability” is their greatest product, one they all but bottle up and sell—and kijung has the benefit of learning early on that that does not apply to just the talent. he tries his hand at anything the company asks of him, never turns down drinks from his seniors after hours—and makes up in wit and enthusiasm what he lacks in experience. not everyone likes him, but he learns to be pragmatic about that too. you can learn more from what people don’t like about you than from what they do. 

“kijung-hyung, how are you so good at this? winning everyone over—you could have been an idol,” an intern says, each word muffled due to having his face pressed into kijung’s shoulder after one too many drinks.

he could have been—it’s true. there’s a soft-edged, water-damaged business card somewhere in a landfill out there to show for it. but he never would have been. it had never been more than a passing thought for kijung, not when his knee still worked as it should, not when there was still another dream he was striving for, well within his reach. now, looking back, kijung can’t find it in himself to regret following his dreams for as long as he had.

someone more cynical than kijung could come to their own conclusions—that kijung is driving a minivan full of singers close to a decade younger than himself because he’s settled for helping realize someone else’s dream after failing to achieve his own. and that, with the hours that he works, he could have made more in the same amount of hours managing a pc bang or an emart. but while kijung doesn’t conflate sodapop’s success with his own—he’s grown to care for the members. it’s a fine line between maintaining a professional distance with someone while looking after them most hours out of the day, and when you’re literally sharing living quarters with your “coworkers”, the line is often blurred. if he leaves, ydh entertainment would undoubtedly find someone to replace him—but would they care as much as kijung does? how much should that even matter to kijung, when this job steals his sleep, his sanity, his time—?

but at the end of the day, when his head finally hits his pillow, he’s able to fall asleep most nights content with the day’s work. perhaps he owes it to himself to dream bigger, but after soaring in his youth, he feels like his body has only just adjusted to life on the ground. but sometimes, he looks back at the sky, and finds that his body still remembers—and longs for—flight.

[midasfm]

✩　midasmusic.com/governance/jinri

001: profile.

legal name: ahn jinri birthdate: february 15, 1995 age: 30 hometown: seoul. south korea occupation: phaze’s stylist

002: interview.

001. have you always wanted to work in the entertainment industry? what were you doing before this?

“not necessarily. i didn’t grow up dreaming about styling idols or being backstage at music shows. i wanted to be a designer. clothes were always there, even when nothing else made sense. i started out doing hemming jobs for friends, customizing thrift finds, shadowing at tailor shops during breaks. back then, i thought i’d end up working in editorial or with a small brand. maybe running fittings for runway shows or making sample garments no one ever sees.

before ending up here, i floated between freelance gigs. i did retail, alterations, and assistant work. i put together mockups for brands that never credited me and styled student films for free just to build a portfolio. it was quiet work, mostly, but it taught me how to solve problems fast  and quietly. someone gave me a styling gig i thought would last only a couple of days, and i ended up picking up more. it’s stressful and unpredictable, but the clothes matter. not just as design, but as part of something larger. styling let me get close to the work without needing to perform. i like that. you stay behind the curtain, but you shape what people remember. there’s a kind of control in that. it’s not over the people, but the image. the feeling. that’s essentially how i ended up in the entertainment industry.”

002. what do you think is the most important quality to have when working with idols?

“in my field, adaptability is the most important. if you can’t pivot on demand, you likely won’t last long. schedules change last minute, concepts shift, the outfit that worked in rehearsal suddenly doesn’t under stage lights. you have to be able to think on your feet and make those adjustments. it doesn’t matter how perfect the vision may have been,  if it doesn’t serve the right purpose for the artist or the stage, you let it go and rework it until it does.

working with idols means constantly finding that balance between the concept and the person. what they liked last comeback might not feel right today, and that’s fine. the job is to make them look and feel like they belong in what they’re wearing, that the fit the concept the company wants,  and that means listening, responding, and staying flexible no matter how tight the timeline is. 

sometimes that may mean pulling an all-nighter to restitch something the team changed their mind about. sometimes it means undoing hours of prep because a silhouette doesn’t look right anymore. but if you panic and don’t work towards a solution, you slow everyone else down. adaptability isn’t just about changing things, it’s about knowing how to do it without slowing the operation.”

003. where do you see yourself in five years? do you see yourself advancing in this field or do you hope to pursue another career?

“i don’t really think in five-year plans. i’ve learned that staying in this field doesn’t have to mean staying in the same role. the job evolves as you do, and as long as the work feels honest, then i’m fine with wherever it takes me. i like the pace, the structure, the problem-solving. i like being close to the work without having to be in front of a camera. maybe in five years, i have more creative control. maybe i’ve moved into creative direction. i’ve always kept the idea of going back to design tucked in the back of my mind too, but i don’t see myself walking away from styling anytime soon. design still matters to me. it’s just not urgent right now. what i do know is that wherever i am, i’m going to be excellent at what i do. because i don’t do half-effort. and i don’t stay in rooms where my opinion’s treated like a footnote.”

004. what are your biggest inspirations when working with your artist? does your work with them line up with your own taste?

“my biggest inspirations are always the people in front of me. i can’t style someone effectively without understanding their vibe, their energy, what they’re about. it’s not just about the clothes at the end of the day, it’s about how they feel in them. sometimes it’s about interpreting their personality in a way that feels real but also elevated, so they look like the best version of themselves. and sometimes that means helping build an image they can live in without it collapsing. when the world thinks they’re falling apart, i dress them like they’ve never been stronger. and sometimes? that’s enough to flip the narrative.

as for whether my work with phaze lines up with my own taste… not always. some comebacks are easier than others, but it’s always a balance. the clothes have to serve the concept and the image the company wants. that means i’ll set aside my preferences when the bigger picture calls for it. but my taste still bleeds into the work regardless. it’d be in the cut, the texture, and/or the silhouette. i won’t let something i can’t stand be caught on camera. it has to make sense for the artist and the concept, but it also has to feel like something i’d at the very least respect.

ice on my teeth, for example, was more aligned with my taste. but even that had hours of detail work, last-minute changes, fittings that ran too long, arguments, instincts i’ve trained for years. the praise didn’t even matter. the fact that they looked like they belonged in the concept they were selling? that’s what mattered to me.”

003: image.

tw: brief mention of a death. [ 1995 ]

a hand-picked baenaet jeogori in ivory. the sleeves were long enough to cover her tiny hands, and the inside tag bore no brand, only a tiny stitched symbol. her mother had chosen it from a traditional shop, folding it carefully into a paper box lined with mulberry tissue. worn home from the hospital, wrapped in a beige blanket with a pale green trim.

the cold clung to the windows that morning. the kind of seoul winter that fogs glass and makes everything seem quieter than it is. inside, the room was still, half-packed. the nurse had just wheeled away the tray. the bassinet stood empty, except for the folded hospital blanket.

her mother held the box in her lap, unmoving. ivory paper, tied with a thin white ribbon. she had bought it months ago, long before they knew if things would be okay. she hadn’t told her husband. she hadn’t wanted to seem hopeful. but she had seen it in the shop window and she’d thought — this looks gentle. this looks like something that won’t fall apart if you love it too hard.

jinri’s mother dressed jinri slowly, her touch tentative. jinri’s father stood nearby with the blanket in hand. he didn’t know what to say since the doctor placed the tiny weight of the baby into his arms. he just kept glancing between his wife and his daughter, as if he was waiting for someone to tell him this was a dream.

jinri didn’t cry much. just looked around once with a slow, blinking sweep of everything, then closed her eyes like she’d seen enough.

they brought her home in silence. they didn’t want to disturb the stillness of her. jinri’s eyes were blinking slowly like she already knew something no one else did. the streets were icy. her father drove slower than he ever had. her mother kept one hand in the car seat, barely brushing jinri’s cheek.

the apartment was warm when they arrived. her mother had cleaned the week before, scrubbing the windows and putting up paper decals along the edge of the floor. the bassinet was ready, pushed beside their bed. the air smelled like mugwort tea and floor polish. they placed her down. her mother tucked the blanket around her. her father brushed her forehead with two fingers, then turned off the light. 

jinri’s eyes were already closed. her hands curled under the too-long sleeves.

the next morning, her mother washed the garment by hand and folded it back into its box. she couldn’t imagine anything else living up to that moment of bringing home the child they had waited years for. it rests now in a drawer layered with tissue, untouched but not forgotten.

[ 1997 ]

a pale blue cotton dress with a rounded collar and small white embroidered flowers along the chest. flutter sleeves, a row of tiny buttons down the back. worn over white thermal tights during cooler days. the hem slightly frayed from crawling and too many wash cycles. there’s a faint tangerine stain near the waistline that never quite came out. she often wore it with a padded hooded jacket.

the sunlight that filtered into the living room always landed in the same spot, just beside the bookshelf, where the rug had faded slightly from it. that’s where jinri liked to sit because that’s where the light felt softest.

her mother sat on the couch most mornings with a mug of tea she rarely finished. her father knelt on the floor beside her, tying his shoes with practiced focus. the apartment was quiet in a way that didn’t feel empty. she was too young to understand what it meant to be busy, but she felt the pace of their mornings, how everything moved gently but quickly.

that dress, the pale blue one, was one of her mother’s favorites. she had picked it out on the same shopping trip where she bought a set of new pens for her lecture notes. she liked the way the collar curved, the way the fabric held shape even after a long day. she called it “neat.” when she dressed jinri in it, she always ran her fingers over the buttons one by one, as if to check they hadn’t disappeared overnight.

on this particular morning, jinri sat with a picture book in her lap, upside down. she didn’t mind. the shapes made sense to her even without the right orientation. her father glanced at her once, paused, then quietly flipped it the right way up without a word. her mother, halfway through her grading pile, looked up just long enough to smile.

they left together that day, all three of them. first to the campus, then to the market, then back home before the sun could fully disappear. her parents still tried to make time backaist. then. still held her hands on both sides as she walked. still made room on their laps when she grew tired of walking.

later that night, her mother changed her into pajamas, folded the dress, and set it gently at the edge of the laundry pile. she looked down at it for a moment too long, her thumb brushing over the faint stain near the w

“you’re growing too fast,” she whispered, not to jinri, but to the dress.

[ 2000 ]

a pastel pink wool cardigan, way too big for her small frame. it would take her years to grow into the hand me down. the sleeves fell past her wrists, and the hem hit just above her knees. three mismatched buttons closed it down the front. one dark, one cream, one white. inside the left cuff was a stitch of yellow thread, a tiny star sewn in by her grandmother’s hand. under the cardigan, a faded peach thermal shirt and wide-leg pants in pale beige. wool socks with cartoon rabbits near the ankle, always slipping down her heels. hair tied into loose braids that unraveled by noon.

mornings started with the sound of the kettle and the shuffle of soft slippers. the apartment was warm before she arrived, always. her grandmother knew how to time the heat, how to have breakfast halfway plated and her cardigan already draped over the couch arm. no one ever said good morning. it was just understood.

her parents had long since returned to their old pace. lectures, labs, deadlines took their time. her mother left sticky notes on the fridge in blocky handwriting, outlining meals and schedules. her father kissed the top of her head on his way out the door, phone already tucked between shoulder and cheek. they still loved her. they were just too full of the world to show it the way they used to.

but her grandmother was never full. she always had room.

they shared their days in motion, not words. grocery trips. folded towels. apple slices arranged into flowers. on quieter afternoons, they sat by the window on the floor, her grandmother mending socks or flipping through a faded magazine. jinri would trace the floor patterns with her fingers, the cardigan sleeves puddling at her wrists.

once, after a visit to the old dance studio where her grandmother taught when she was younger, they returned home to the smell of ginger tea and steamed rice cakes. jinri sat cross-legged on the floor while her grandmother took out a small sewing kit and stitched a yellow star onto the inside cuff of her sleeve.

“so you always have a little light with you,” she said, matter-of-fact.

jinri didn’t reply. just pressed her finger to the star once, then pulled her arm back in. some days jinri didn’t speak much. but she always wore the cardigan. even when it was too warm. even when the sleeves got in the way. it made her feel like she was at home.

years later, after her grandmother passed, she would find it folded neatly in the top drawer of the dresser. still soft, but better fitting to her frame. the yellow star slightly unraveled at the edges. she didn’t cry when she found it. she just pressed her finger to it again, like she had when she was five.

and for a moment, the apartment was warm again.

[ 2005 ]

a school uniform: pleated skirt to the knee, white blouse buttoned to the top with a vest over it, and a blazer. the ribbon at her collar never stayed tied properly no matter how many times she re-knotted it, one side always drooped lower. she wore white tights in winter, ankle socks in warmer months. black rubber-soled school shoes with minor scuffs at the toe. a name-tag pinned perfectly straight on her chest.

her backpack was plain. it was black, with white piping and a small stitched label inside the flap that read “ahn jinri” in careful hangul. inside was a pencil case decorated with stitched flowers, and a folded tissue her grandmother had tucked inside the front pocket without saying anything.

the school building was too bright in the mornings. too many windows. too many voices. she walked with her hands around the straps of her backpack and kept her head slightly bowed, but because she didn’t want to be noticed adjusting her ribbon again.

her homeroom teacher greeted each student with a smile, but jinri didn’t always meet her eyes. she found her desk quickly. it was the second row from the window, seat three. it was always clean. she made sure of it. by the end of the first week, she had memorized how long to hold her chopsticks so they wouldn’t clatter when she picked them up. she didn’t talk much. she didn’t need to. she just opened her packed lunch and stared at the edge of the table while chewing slowly.

every night, she took off her uniform as soon as she got home. jinri would sit at the table, swing her feet lightly above the floor, and press the ribbon between her fingers over and over. she didn’t tell anyone she hated how it looked on her. didn’t mention how often it came undone.

instead, she practiced tying it until it looked perfect on the first try.

by the middle of the semester, she started waking up earlier to iron her skirt herself. her grandmother never stopped her, just watched from the kitchen.

on cold days, her mother added hand warmers to her pockets. on exam days, her father wrote simple phrases in her notebook like you’ve already done the hard part. and at the end of the day, it was her grandmother’s quiet presence by the window, hands curled around a mug while waiting for jinri’s arrival.

jinri learned a lot that year, how to be reliable. how she didn’t like talking to a lot of people. how she’d rather be home than to be the center of attention at school.

[ 2010 ]

a charcoal gray hoodie, slightly oversized. something generic, something safe. the sleeves bunched at the wrist when she walked. underneath, a white t-shirt tucked loosely into wide-leg jeans that nearly covered her sneakers. the jeans had a raw hem, frayed just enough to look worn-in, not ruined. her sneakers were white with gray accents, one lace replaced with a mismatched black one after the original snapped. a canvas backpack in faded navy, weighed down by books and a sketchbook she never showed anyone.

 she bought the hoodie from a tiny store. it wasn’t expensive. it wasn’t even part of a plan. but when she ran her fingers over the fabric, something in her just… clicked.

it was the first thing she ever picked for herself.

she wore it the next day without saying anything. no one really commented. that was fine. she wasn’t dressing to be seen. she was dressing to be more comfortably.

in the margins of her notebooks, between biology notes and grammar corrections, she sketched outfits. silhouettes. not detailed. just shapes. she didn’t think of it as design, not yet. it was more about feeling. how sleeves hang, how weight shifts across a shoulder, how fabric can be armor if she wanted it to be.

she began paying attention more to clothing after that. not to brands or trends, but to movement. how boys adjusted their collars. how girls pinched the waist of their shirts before walking into a room. how some adults tugged at sleeves.

she watched all of it.

and at night, she sketched the shapes of those movements. not the people, just the way their clothes reacted to who they were and what they did. she didn’t think of herself as creative. she just wanted to understand.

the hoodie stayed in rotation for years until she went graduated from university.

[ 2012 ]

a navy blue blouse, sleeves hugging her arms, collar pulled snug up her neck. the fabric was smooth, lightweight, just thick enough to feel like armor. charcoal trousers with a straight-leg cut, hemmed at the ankle by her grandmother a week before. her shoes were low-profile black flats. clean. polished. her hair was tied back into a low ponytail. no earrings. minimal makeup. in her backpack: a notebook of sketches and a fountain pen with chipped lacquer along the clip.

the bus ride was quiet, too early for crowds, too late for nerves. she sat beside the window and watched the glass fog with her breath. her grandmother had woken up to do her hair and boil eggs she didn’t eat. her parents had already left for the campus. jinri knew the chances they crossed paths would be slim to none, but she still had that fear she’d run into one of them on a day like this. seeing either of them would likely raise her own anxiety about this interview.

she wore navy blue on purpose. she had rehearsed her answers in her head. rehearsed the way she’d sit, how long she’d hold eye contact, what tone to use when they asked her why she wanted to study fashion. but when she stood in front of the panel, something shifted. she didn’t say what she practiced. she didn’t talk about trends or inspiration or famous designers.

she said, “i like the way fabric remembers shape.”

there was a pause. someone scribbled something. no one laughed. they moved on.

she sat down afterward in the hallway outside the department office, legs crossed at the ankle, backpack resting against her knee. she wasn’t nervous anymore. she’d said what she meant.

she wore the turtleneck again later that week, even though it hadn’t dried properly after the wash. she wore it under an old trench coat, hair tied the same way. it made her feel real. it made her feel like someone with direction, even if she hadn’t fully mapped it out yet.

her parents never asked why she chose fashion, but they didn’t need to. they saw her come home late with fabric samples tucked into books. they saw her linger over the hemlines when folding laundry. they saw the girl who used to sit in the sunlight tracing seams with her finger, and they understood.

[ 2017 ]

a graduation gown in black, the sleeves wide and cuffed at the wrist. beneath it, a cream blouse with a subtle collar and a single pearl button at the throat. her graduation cap sat slightly crooked atop her middle-parted hair, the tassel brushing her cheek every time the wind picked up. she wore straight black trousers, and the same pair of kitten heels she’d worn to her internship interview. in her bag: blotting paper, gum, a note her grandmother had slipped into the pocket without her noticing.

the sun was bright, too bright for photos, but no one complained. students fanned themselves with programs, robes clinging to their arms, tassels flicking into their eyes. laughter floated in waves. group photos on the lawn, confetti poppers, someone’s playlist crackling from a phone speaker. it was loud, but in a way that felt good.

jinri stood at the edge of it all, gown fluttering in the breeze, the collar of her blouse peeking out from underneath. she didn’t move toward the crowd right away. just watched. listened. for a moment, she let herself feel it: pride. not the kind that demanded applause. the kind that sat quietly in her chest.

her grandmother arrived first, her silver-gray hair pinned up, face flushed from the walk across campus. she pressed both hands to jinri’s shoulders and said, “you’re glowing,” even though her makeup had mostly worn off and her blouse had started to wrinkle beneath the gown. her parents came shortly after. her father with his camera, her mother holding a small bouquet wrapped in soft blue paper. they took pictures together, and for once, jinri didn’t mind being in the middle. she smiled with her teeth. tilted her cap so it would sit straight. let her father adjust the tassel and her mother wipe away a smudge near her chin.

after the ceremony, they went to a quiet restaurant. they didn’t make speeches. didn’t toast. they just ordered all of her favorites and let her talk about what was next. the freelance offers. the internship that might turn into something more. the brands she was watching and hoping to work for. the silhouettes she couldn’t stop thinking about. her grandmother just nodded, eyes soft. her father took notes on a napkin. her mother refilled her glass every time it got too low.

that night, when they got home, jinri hung the gown in the back of her closet but left the cap out on her desk.

[ 2021 ]

she wore a soft gray beanie, slouched low on her head, tugged just enough to keep the hair out of her eyes while she worked. it had a faint fold in the front, the spot her fingers always fiddled with during long takes. this was paired with a white short-sleeve tee. her pants were straight-leg slate trousers, and simply finished off with black shoes, and a single silver bracelet on one wrist.

no one told her where to stand.

so she stood where she could see everything.

the studio was already buzzing, with cords sprawled across the floor, hot lights warming too fast, makeup halfway done, someone asking about the shoot sequence. she didn’t blink at the chaos. just slipped through it, dropped her tote, and started unpacking garments. each hanger got a once-over. a seam she flagged from the fitting two days earlier still wasn’t fixed. she threaded a needle.

“you’re phaze’s stylist, right?” someone asked from the side, half-distracted.

“yes, i am.” she replied, focused. she wasn’t being rude, but she was here to work and didn’t have much room for distraction with her current task of fixing a seam. the outfits the group would be wearing were not necessarily her taste, but it didn’t matter. it had suited the concept of phaze’s comeback, and that was what her job was. when a blazer started wrinkling from body heat under the lights, she was already halfway across the floor. she smoothed the lining, adjusted the sleeve, tucked a tag in.

they resumed like nothing had happened once she stepped back. whispers amongst assistants claim that she’s intense. they’re not wrong, but it’s worth it if she catches those mistakes before someone has to edit it out. she chewed on a protein bar while marking up the run sheet and re-pinning a pant hem that was half a centimeter too long. someone approached her and asked if the belt was too much.

“maybe, but that’s the point. keep it.” she said. 

by wrap, others were already packing up, chatting, and preparing to leave. jinri could be spotted in the midst of everything, but she lingered a bit longer than the others. she stayed behind and walked the racks once, fingertip by fingertip, left to right.

[ 2025 ]

a fitted black turtleneck tucked into black, wide-leg trousers with deep pockets. her shoes: black slip-on flats with a soft sole and zero branding. her hair was tied low, a few strands pinned back. no jewelry. a black canvas tote rested on a table next to her, filled with tools she never lent out: measuring tape, safety pins, a lint brush, a sketchpad with no title on the cover, pencils and a sharpener for them. her phone was always on silent. the notes app: precise, timestamped, full of annotations no one else could read.

jinri was happy. not in a loud, obvious way, but it was evident to those who’ve worked with her for an extended period of time. it could be seen in how she stepped in a little closer to the team this time. how she stayed by the monitors. how she leaned in when the lighting tech made a comment, replied under her breath with something dry, a joke that half-landed, and she didn’t even mind.

“you’re smiling,” someone pointed out halfway through rehearsal.

she blinked. “no, i’m not.” but the edge of her mouth tugged anyway.

this comeback matched her taste so closely it felt like someone handed her the concept and said, “go be yourself.” so she did. and the fans noticed. the screenshots. the post threads. the styling breakdowns. someone said the group had never looked better. it wasn’t magic. it was months of fittings, edits, careful choices. for the first time in a while, jinri didn’t just feel like she was solving problems, she was creating something she liked.

still, she was her. she caught a half-undone zipper before it made it to stage. steamed a crease that no one else could see. re-secured a loose button mid-choreo check without saying a word.

during a break, someone joked, “i think you love this comeback more than the fans do.” 

she looked up from her notes. “they’re not wearing capes with studs, are they?” the room laughed, and so did she.

and later, when the show aired and the outfits moved just the way she hoped, she had watched from behind the monitor, arms crossed, biting back a real smile.

[midasfm]

✩　midasmusic.com/artists/eden

001: profile.

legal name: jang hyeseong stage name: eden age: 27 company: midas music group & position: phaze’s main rapper skeleton key: phz1 career focus: solo music, fashion, production

002: background.

born as the youngest of three children, hyeseong has always been the baby of his family, the one allowed to choose his own direction in life and no matter what he does, well in his parents’ eyes then he can do no wrong. even as he was often quite the troublemaker, he never seemed to get in trouble for the things that he did do and instead were blamed on his elder siblings. ’you were supposed to be watching him haein, he’s younger than you haein, you know better than that.’ if it meant he didn’t get along well with his elder siblings, his sister or his brother then he never much minded, it wasn’t his fault that his parents treated like the prince of the family and that was just fine by him.

when your father is a high powered-executive and your mother a political figure, well one grows up used to being in the media in some way or another because of proxy to your parents. parents whose actions were always being scrutinized in the media, parents who had buckets of money and more often than not hyeseong was looked after by a nanny or two when his parents were too busy. he never much minded it, especially as his mother and father would often throw money at him when it seemed he wanted the littlest bit of their attention and hey sometimes money does really buy happiness.

while both of his siblings knew that they would have their lives already planned out for them, a sibling each to follow in their parents’ footsteps, it meant that hyeseong was given the freedom to make his own choices. he never much cared for school, by no means were his grades poor however, no his parents would have never accepted terrible grades but it was obvious his heart was not in his academics nor athletics. truthfully growing up, hyeseong had tried everything to see where his interests might actually lie and in his wake he spent a myriad of his parents’ money in half-assed hobbies that he would end up leaving alone entirely.

but there was finally one thing that seemed to keep the youngest jang’s interest and it started with the guitar he had been gifted when he was ten years old. from then his interest in music sparked, he learned how to play it with the best tutor that his parents could find and he eventually became interested the korean music industry.

there had always been rumors about when he was signed to csj entertainment (midas music) at the age of sixteen, of course there was and how could there not be when it was learned by his fellow trainees who his parents were. it wasn’t a surprise when it spread, claiming that the only reason he was at the company was because of his parents’ money and yada yada yada. but hyeseong never let it stop him, in fact it only made him more determined to prove himself, to show that despite what they thought he had auditioned too just like everyone else.

as he trained he gravitated to rapping over vocals itself and truthfully he thought no one seemed on par with him when it came to him quite naturally. though it was a surprise that when it was brought up that the company wanted to put him on a competition show, show me the money 3, even before he was close to debuting. it was crazy to him, he was still learning, still developing his ability and he was a nobody in the entertainment world and yet.

and yet he would go onto the show, competing against other newcomers like himself but also those in the industry who were already quite well known. from other idol rappers to true rappers who would look down on him since he was nobody. but instead of hiding in the background, instead of letting others shine ahead of him, hyeseong took to the stage and showed everyone that he was a rising star. he ended up as a semi-finalist and though he didn’t win, being on the show earned him a fanbase, a fanbase that would further him especially as it was decided that those he was training beside would end up on a competition show to form their next boy group.

truthfully he likes to think his time on the previous competition show helped him in the long run when it came to his performance and popularity on nu phase. and it wasn’t a surprise to him when he was on the winning team and eventually debuted as the main rapper of phaze.

003: image.

being on a competition show before the show that would create the group and eventually debut with, hyeseong already had something of a solo fanbase. many thought that he would end up being a soloist and so many were surprised when he appeared on nu phase and debuted as part of a boy group instead. despite the years as part of the group, there are still those fans that support him above all else which doesn’t sit well with the fans who more so support the group as a whole. that fanbase itself was only exacerbated especially as he was given the first solo of their group and as early as 2019, only three years after the group had debuted.

while for the most part, his solo debut was well received and beloved by most fans, there were of course those that thought it was far too early for one of the members to being debuting solo only a few years into their career but fortunately those outliers were outweighed by those that beloved his solo music. since then he has released solo digital singles that he had input in as well as forayed into songwriting and composition on some the group’s b-sides, but many say they think it’s time he had his first solo comeback and truthfully he agrees with them and is waiting till the company lets him release new music again, hopefully soon.

hyeseong is no stranger to his own bad behavior or scandals but none that have truly landed him in hot water, well nothing the company or his parents couldn’t cover up. late night partying, drinking, dancing, sleeping around with people he meets at clubs. if one would describe his image, it would be that of the bad, good boy. while on the surface he looks like your average good boy next door, but then his personality tells you other wise. it doesn’t help that he is often a troublemaker, loud and brash at times with a strong sense of style that has led him to have a few fashion deals of his own, though not as much as others of his group might. and his sense of style seems to contradict itself, one moment relaxed and soft sweaters and the next fashionable, stylish clothes that led to his frequent ambassadorship with balmain. maybe deep down, hyeseong is just a contradiction of a person. truthfully, hyeseong doesn’t think that there isn’t anything that could bring him or the group down, not with the heights they’ve achieved.

[midasfm]

✩　ydhent.com/artists/bitna

001: profile.

legal name: park byeol. stage name: bitna. age: 28. training period: 10 months. company: ydh entertainment. group & position: angelix’s lead dancer, vocal. skeleton key: ang3. career focus: variety, fashion & commercial work, solo music.

002: background.

difficult.

park byeol has always been described as difficult, particularly by her own parents. whenever she’d turn her nose up at her dinner because it wasn’t seasoned to her liking, whenever she’d get angry at her mom for accidentally styling her hair asymmetrically, or even when she’d refuse to hangout with their friends’ kids because she didn’t like that they had grass stains on the knees of their jeans, that was the most common word they used to chide her. “you’re so picky!” they’d say. “not everything can be as perfect as you’d like it to be!”

that’s a lesson she still hasn’t learned, but as annoying as it can be, it also serves an incredible purpose when utilized properly. for example, in school, she was often called things like meticulous; organized, analytical, and curious. byeol was definitely the kid who seemed mature for her age, precocious, as well as incredibly put-together. it astonished her teachers, so much so that it made her an easy candidate for class president. she held onto that title for most of her middle school journey, ruling with an iron fist.

though, while school faculties were impressed by her, she wasn’t as much of a hit with her peers. in their eyes, she was harsh. too harsh. with byeol, critiques come first, and praise needs to be earned. she holds herself to such a high standard that, if others don’t try to meet or exceed her, she has a hard time respecting them. if she can do it, then why the hell can’t they? simple logic, in her opinion. back then, she was unforgiving like that. what the others didn’t realize was that, even though she was hard on them, she was the hardest on herself.

it was around this time that she began to “escape”, mostly by researching foreign cultures. having lost a sense of community with her classmates, she wondered what it would be like to explore someplace new. as she earned high scores in english, she studied harder to learn even more, and in high school, entered an exchange program, one that sent her to sunny southern california.

she spent two years in america, and frankly, loved every minute of it. somehow, it was much easier for her to make friends there. eventually, she replaced being class president with earning her spot as captain of the cheerleading squad during her second year; a feat not easily achieved. this is where her fighting spirit was truly lit ablaze, and her sense of strength and self-belief was chiseled to a fine point. so, when she returned to korea, she wasn’t the same as she used to be. her parents now called her “so american”, or jokingly referred to her as gyopo, as a means to tease her.

it was originally her plan to return back to the usa sometime after graduation, but before she could officially start planning that, she was scouted by ydh entertainment. naturally, byeol was highly suspicious of this at first. her brother ended up walking that path, and it was never one she saw herself taking, but after the offer proved to be legitimate, she entertained it.

weaponizing her background in cheer, her audition was successful, and from that point forward, her entire life changed. she went from deciding what her major should be and applying for universities overseas, to studying how to become the perfect idol; utilizing the ten months she trained to not only quickly improve in certain areas, proving her work ethic as a valuable asset, but most importantly, to step into a persona that ydh entertainment considered fail-proof.

they call her bitna, and since the day she was given this role to play, she was adamant on making sure that bitna shined brightly, just like her name suggests. this was going to be a challenge, as she’s never acted before, but she was confident she could rise to the occasion. however, someone who possesses the cool glow of the moon doing a complete one-eighty into the warm beams of sunshine is a tricky tightrope act, but luckily for her, it paid off. in fact, it more than paid off.

being that she had such little time to learn to sing, she was instructed to approach it from a different angle; sending proper technique to the backseat and inviting a cutesy, easily identifiable tone to take the wheel. her doll voice is a practiced, curated piece of art. it’s her product, one that she’s sharpened to a fine point. not only does it fit with the concept, but even if she doesn’t get a lot of time on the mic, listeners will still be able to know, without a doubt, when it’s bitna that’s singing. this voice, alongside a personality overflowing with saccharine sweetness, tastefully-timed aegyo, and a hyper-feminine visual earned a stamp of approval from angelix’s audience, which has carried her far.

she entered this career path not knowing what to expect, but now, she’s a figurehead of aegyo and a delight to all who watch her. over time, byeol has perfected her portrayal of bitna to the point where it’s completely second-nature. ever the hard-worker, she’s earned bitna variety gigs, many viral moments, and countless other opportunities that some can only dream of having. all these years of practical experience and work has cemented this character as apart of her, even if byeol herself only views bitna as her shield and armor; the sun to her moon.

what she wasn’t expecting was to have a solo music career, especially one where she can’t use her doll voice. her appearance on ‘king of mask singer’ felt like just another variety gig to her. she knew that, if she sounded like bitna, it would be easy to tell who she is, which isn’t the name of the game. an overachiever, she wanted to use her natural timbre to conceal her identity; not foreseeing anyone finding it attractive, or appealing. when she earned praise and popularity for it though, she didn’t really know how to feel. honestly, she felt exposed, even more-so when ydh entertainment lined up a solo début for her.

it isn’t that she’s not grateful for the opportunity, but she’s spent nearly ten years presenting bitna to the world that, now that she’s asked to be more herself than ever before, at least publicly, byeol isn’t sure how she feels about it. the mini-album she worked on went over well, but despite that, she hopes that it’s just a one-off thing for her. the idea of her mask slipping off completely freaks her out, and she’s sure it would be a strange transition for her fans to witness, too. for the time being, she’s dedicated to her craft and looking forward to a bright future, even if there are some new cracks in her armor now.

003: image.

when she was studying the greatest idols that came before her, byeol discovered several patterns when it came to top-billing stars over the years. these women seemed to have it all—beauty, grace, cuteness, even sexiness. they were able to banter with hosts of variety shows with ease, they exuded gentleness, they photographed very well, and they appealed to a wide range of people. they were palatable.

as angelix’s concept was revealed and the members had a clearer idea of what was expected of them, byeol took on ydh entertainment’s ideas and worked to fine-tune them into a role they all felt she could play; something befitting of her visuals, a persona that she found simple enough to tap into, and one just different enough from the others that allowed her to stand-out among them.

some of her group-mates focus on elegance, others wear their pure hearts on their sleeves, some crack jokes with impeccable timing, but what bitna has is cuteness and flirtation. though she’s of the eldest members in the group, when byeol learned how much of a natural she is at aegyo, the creative team felt she could use it to her advantage. she finds it rather embarrassing, but tries to tell herself that this isn’t actually her that everyone is gazing at. it’s someone else. it’s bitna.

test-driving bitna out in public came with some mishaps, but when she found her footing, byeol was quick to discover that the character bestowed upon her appealed to the wide majority of angelix’s fanbase, as well as to the general public. the young girls who look up to her find her sweet and quirky, whereas the older men who fantasize about her adore the coquettish flair she uses on them; how she bats her lashes, calls them ‘oppa’ in teasing singsong lilts, and makes them giggle with her display of charming gestures and facial expressions.

these skills also allow bitna to be a refreshing guest, later on a host, on variety programs, considering herself something of a mood maker who raises spirits by radiating warmth and being endearing. it also allows her to sell products for brands rather easily, too. she’s worked so hard on being able to seem captivating through a screen and on stage, that it’s helped gain angelix new fans, even after all this time. her fancams still go viral. the support means so much to her.

now that byeol’s being tasked with revealing bits and pieces of her own self, she’s afraid that she can’t stand up to the brightness bitna possesses. her solo début was a fun project, but having no doll voice to hide behind was a peculiar sensation. however, it made her question whether or not it’s time to bloom out of her days of aegyo. being a grown woman who acts in such a girlish way can only last for so long anyway. slowly, she’s starting to add in a slightly more mature edge to her brand, something considered “cutie-sexy” by some, even if it still reads more cute than sexy, but it’s really just her trying to exude more byeol, less bitna.

it’s a balancing act she and ydh entertainment are still reworking, but she hopes that they can strike a good balance in the (hopefully) near future.

[midasfm]

✩　midasmusic.com/artists/hyuk

001: profile.

legal name: han hyukjae stage name: hyuk age: 29 training period: 2 years company: midas music group & position: phaze’s lead vocal & visual skeleton key: phz4 career focus: fashion & commercials, solo music

002: background.

hyukjae is born as the final puzzle piece in the picture perfect park family. han hyesoo is a diligent young nurse and park minjoon is the handsome and charismatic tech entrepreneur at the helm of a small, but promising company. they wait to have hyukjae until their finances are more than comfortable, and hyukjae is raised with all the luxury that decision brings. he's afforded tutors and the exact gifts he wanted when birthdays came around.

he's eight when he's shipped off to canada to study. his parents hope to set him up for a good future, but he's just excited by the adventure of being somewhere new. ever the independent child, he sheds tears only once at leaving everything he knows behind and quickly turns his focus to planning all of the adventures toronto will offer him instead.

being the new kid in a new school with a weak grasp on english was never going to be easy, but he adjusts with more ease than his homestay family had expected, and as he starts to better maneuver around the foreign language, he begins to flourish in his school's social environment. he's charming enough to make friends even though the language barrier still gets in the way sometimes, and he finds himself excelling on his school's sports teams. hyukjae speaks to his parents whenever he can, but his dad is busy with the growth of his company and his mom worries that talking too much will stunt his ability to smoothly transition into his new community. truthfully, a part of him misses busan and the sea and the town he'd known, but as he passes six years abroad faster than those prior, and toronto becomes a second home.

he's fourteen when he's unceremoniously pulled out of school in toronto and brought back to south korea. he's too old now not to hear and see what's going on almost immediately, and this shock is much harder to shake off than his journey abroad had been. an investigation had found his father charged with fraud and embezzlement at his company, and possible criminal charges are compacted by investor lawsuits.

life quickly changes; hyukjae is placed back into school in busan, at first, but it becomes increasingly apparent that he and his mother can't wait for things to blow over and go back to normal. his father tries to settle the first few lawsuits that pop up, but all it does is drain their family bank accounts. their only luck comes from how the news of an unknown tech company's ceo accused of corruption only really makes local headlines and the name isn't worth remembering to anyone not in their direct circle.

hyukjae's sure it's their saving grace when a scout approaches him on the street one day and asks him if he's ever thought about modeling. it's no wonder it takes so little time after he returns, really, with his the towering height he's sprouted into and his handsome face. he takes the opportunity in a heartbeat, sure he can take on the burden of supporting his family if his father can't.

between the slow burn of his modeling career and the divorce documents his mother eventually files, it only makes sense for the pair to move to seoul to make the most of young hyukjae's new career. their lifestyle is much more humble now; his mom's returned to the nursing job she'd left back when her husband's income had become more than enough for comfort, but hyukjae's catalog and online shopping mall modeling jobs don't pay as much as he'd hoped. his agency suggests trying acting, too, but those auditions never seem to pan out as well as his model castings do.

15, 16, and 17 all tick by, and he becomes something of a mainstay in fashion campaigns of trendy indie brands and even starts walking runways, but school life is harder. he's popular with girls, but stress builds up and he finds himself in fights. he chooses modeling gigs over his grades, and he ends up in disciplinary hearings more than once. it's not enough to get him more than short-lived retribution from his school, but the look of resigned disappointment on his mother's face when he comes home with a cracked lip or bruised knuckles is punishment enough. the only thing he's sure he never wants to become a source of pain to her like his now-estranged father.

the day he becomes an adult, he begins the legal process to drop his father's surname and become a han instead of a park.

after graduating, he plans to do whatever it takes to make a real name for himself, whether that requires going international with his modeling or going all-in on the acting that's never panned out. being an idol never even really occurs to him until he gets recommended to audition for cjs entertainment through a connection of a connection. being an idol had never really occurred to him, but he thinks pyro are cool enough as far as idols go, his contract with his modeling agency is coming to an end, and being able to debut under cjs would all but guarantee him success.

he gives it a go, and within a month, he's become a cjs trainee. it's almost certain that his looks and charisma do him more favors than his just passable singing voice or the basic body coordination years of sports lent him, but it's a chance, and he'll take it.

idol training is cutthroat, but dissection of his looks and constant competition with his peers isn't anything he hadn't faced modeling. he catches on quickly how things work at cjs. if it's earning his place they want from them, it's what they'll get. he pours every ounce of himself into improving as a singer, dancer, and performer. he's behind most of the other trainees due to lack of experience, so he uses the skills he knows he does have until he can bring the others up to par.

the end of his first year at cjs approaches and cho joongso gets in hot water. hyukjae watches stocks tumble and wonders if he's once again found himself the victim of someone with too much power and no idea how not to abuse it. years later, the events of 2015 become a blur with few standout points. joongso steps down. cjs rebrands to midas. hyukjae is chosen to compete on tv to debut in the next boy group. his team wins and finally, finally, he's going to be something bigger than himself.

debut comes and goes with success and adoration few get to experience, and the rush of it binds with the blood in hyukjae's veins. god, it's good to be someone, to be wanted, to be envied, and, most of all, to be successful.

in his first few years as an idol, hyukjae (now known as phaze's hyuk) rises up in the public conscious as a commercial and magazine model. fan communities fill up with talk of his visuals and his fashion, and while discussion bubbles up about how often he allegedly frequents seoul's clubs as a rookie idol, they (mysteriously) never bubble over into a larger public controversy. the first actual roadbump comes in phaze's fourth year. in the whirl of power-tripping accusations, he takes a few hits. hyukjae's just so f*cking arrogant. he smokes inside while getting his hair and makeup done... how inconsiderate of the staff. he's controlling about his styling when his stylist is the whole reason he's recognized for his fashion at all. as the rumors start to blow over, someone claiming to be a former class mate brings up his behavior in school—the fights he got in and all of the underage smoking, drinking, and clubbing. his fans defend him, but it's midas's power that silences the scandal before it can get any bigger. articles disappear, photos are wiped from the internet, and disciplinary records never surface.

the real blow comes a couple of years when he learns from the press that he's being sued by someone he's never met for something he barely knew he was involved in.

maybe fame had gotten to his head when he'd begun responding to his father's attempts to contact him after so long. maybe he'd thought that a superstar idol was immune to any of the damage a fragile teenager had suffered. when his father had shared he owed some people some money due to a gambling problem he'd claimed to have kicked, maybe hyukjae should have known better than to meet them and assure them he'd help out.

phaze's hyuk and father accused of fraud, illegal gambling is what the headlines read. the details don't matter so much, and even hyukjae is in the dark that his father had never had plans to actually pass on the money hyukjae gave him.

the wrath of commenters is scorching, and the pain of betrayal even more so. once again his saving grace is midas's magic wand and it goes to work so quickly that hyuk's career is pretty much unscathed. by the time the crisis team is done, the public story has been shaped to look even better than the truth. hyuk had never known about any gambling or met with anyone involved in it. he had only given his estranged father money when told he told him he was in financial trouble. otherwise, they had not been in contact. still, hyuk plans to take responsibility for his father's debt to privately settle all pain caused by his father's actions. the lawsuit against hyuk has been withdrawn.

midas makes it so that he leaves the scandal a golden martyr to his fans, a responsible son to most, and a shameless criminal to only the most ardent hate commenters.

these days, hyukjae's career still seems to be on an upward trend, even after all these years. he remains an in-demand face and a popular visual, and he's cut off his father completely once again. he's refused to become complacent in spite of phaze's roaring and seemingly unshakeable success. ask him, and the best is still yet to come.

003: image.

hyuk's background as a model became an easy identifier from the first appearance he made on nu phase, and that has stuck with him throughout his career despite the fact his pre-debut modeling was rather local in scale. the number of brand deals, magazine covers, and fashion weeks he now has to his name has only served to give this image validity, and his ability to pull off seemingly anything he wears has earned him the image of a style icon. known for never showing up to even the airport without proper thought put behind his look, he's garnered a reputation as the man men want to think they dress like and the one women wish their boyfriends would emulate.

as phaze's visual and face, hyuk is widely known for his good looks and his charisma. on more than one occasion, he's gone viral for nothing more than looking "hot" or being charming. the evolution of hyuk's image has reflected that of the group's as a whole. each facet of phaze—the edginess, the luxuriousness, the "bad boy" schtick—can be pinned on hyuk as well. while he has his share of dedicated fans, he's generally more of a public "heartthrob" and has many casual fans primarily interested in him for his looks and style inspo. though popular for his visuals, he rarely feeds into a boyfriend image and is seen more as a charismatic, unapproachable star than the charming boy next door.

though he's faced scandals, he's come out relatively unscathed thanks to midas. at worst, he's seen as a pretty party boy with a rough past, and, at best, he's a social butterfly, fashion god, and certified heartthrob.

[midasfm]

✩　ydhent.com/artists/soonyoung

001: profile.

legal name: cho soonyoung age: twenty-three years training period: 9 months company: ydh entertainment group & position: sodapop’s main vocal 2 skeleton key: sp5 career focus: music, songwriting, fashion

002: background.

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR: mentions of familial death, cancer, divorce

Sometimes, he pretends that he’s sitting in a therapy session. Therapy, because it’s allegedly supposed to help people. His mother once said that everyone could use a therapy session here and there, and she is one so, surely, she’d know. He’s not sure it works for him, but maybe that’s because he’s not a real therapist. He’s a songbird in a golden cage and wishes very desperately he were the therapist in the comfy loveseat across from him.

It’s all very silly, of course, the loveseat and the therapist and the therapist’s office are all fake and only exist in his head.

“What’s with the name thing?” the Therapist (capital t, he might as well be a character in his own right by now) asks, which is very obviously not all that appropriate language for this setting.

He wonders about the name thing too, so that’s what he tells the therapist. “I don’t know.” How embarrassing.

“How long has it been since anyone called you something other than Soonyoung?”

He doesn’t answer. At first, it was fun to pretend to fit in better than he did. He’s almost twenty when he starts training, which is pretty old compared to what his sister explained to him about the K-Idol industry. It’s okay because he spent his life shuffling between choir practice and school, so by the time YDH Entertainment picks him up, he knows what to do with himself and his voice. Mostly.

The dancing he glosses over because it’s humiliating to think about, even now after he’s improved. Sometimes, the therapist asks him about it. He hasn’t had it in himself to answer yet.

(It’s okay, the Therapist is fake.)

The name thing isn’t, though. Where he’s from (Irvine, California, the United States, which is just similar enough to South Korea to make him feel like a complete failure when he moves here to stay with his grandparents and spectacularly fails at integrating himself into everyday life right away) people used to call him Aaron, which is a name he still happens to quite like.

But it’s also the name his sister called him by when she wished him farewell at the airport, and if he thinks too hard about her he might lose his voice the same way he did when he got the news the cancer in her bones had eaten her alive after all. It’s the name his mother would whisper when she’d thank him for making dinner because she spent the day juggling work as a therapist and work as a carer. It’s the name his father picked for him before he and his mother got a divorce and he subsequently left for the East Coast, where he (according to Facebook) has a new wife, a new child and a better life all around, free of the burden of a crumbling marriage, a sick daughter and a son who never quite managed to be what he wanted. 

Aaron is a nervous, gangly boy who’d spend his days balancing choir and volleyball, play the voice of reason in his friend group only to give into the call of teenage mischief, who knew how to cook dinner before age ten, who’d sneak his sister candy she’d never eat but that made her smile anyway, and he’s locked behind a glass door that no longer has a key now that his family is either buried or too far away to open it again.

He likes being Soonyoung well enough, don’t get him wrong. It’s handy to have a Korean name. The paperwork is a lot smoother, and here, people don’t ask him to repeat himself when he offers it up. His grandparents use it with the affection of people who would never say I love you but show it in every act of kindness they extend to you.

But it feels like a very different person from who he was growing up.

He doesn’t tell the Therapist, but he doesn’t have to. This is make-believe, and the Therapist knows the ins and outs of his mind already. There’s no need to spill the quiet sadness of growing up too fast with a sick sister and a mother too busy looking after her to look after him. He doesn’t have to explain that it’s his sister’s love for K-Pop that got him interested in the industry in the first place. The Therapist already knows that Soonyoung agreed to study in Korea to give his mother a break, and that he accepted the street scouting offer to attend a YDH audition because it felt like the right thing to do in his sister’s memory.

The Therapist witnessed the unexpected horror of being thrust into a situation he was wholly unprepared for and scrambling to do it justice, lest he be replaced (because that’s his reality of training, there’s always someone better already waiting for the opportunity you’re given). There’s no need to speak of the queasy dread that comes with fans overstepping their boundaries and feeling entitled to more, or the sneaking suspicion that nothing he or his groupmates do these days can really be for themselves.

Someone touches his shoulder, the real, flesh-and-bone one. Around him, the Therapist’s office dissolves and Soonyoung opens his eyes. “We’re here,” the manager informs him before moving on to wake the others, leaving him to blink the sleep out of his eyes. Outside, the Midas company building towers. 

003: image.

Soonyoung’s most notable feature as an idol is his voice, a lower-sitting, warm tenor that has drawn its fair share of attention ever since debut. While his looks have been described as intimidating by themselves, his mellow, gentle personality and tendency to move slower than the world around him is quick to endear and fans have labelled him somewhat of a creative dreamer in the years since debut. Soonyoung embodies the image of the boy who’ll sit in class next to you and pass poetry back and forth on a scrap of paper, who will take you to watch the stars and ramble excitedly as you study the sky through a telescope — and so on.

This image has also convinced fans that surely, he must make for a good songwriter, which, coupled with his very vocal-oriented gigs, have led his personal fanbase to be convinced that if anyone in Sodapop should go solo anytime soon, it would be him. Unsubstantiated rumours aside, YDH Ent. themselves have given no confirmation that these demands are going to be met. 

While Sodapop has always been followed by allegations of lacking skills (to varying degrees of validity), one of the things most people seem to agree on is that Soonyoung can sing. His dancing abilities, however, have never quite been on par with the standard for boy groups debuting in the 2020s. More lenient members of Sodapop’s audience see his rather short trainee period as justification enough, while his harsher critics still like to point out that if he wasn’t good enough, he shouldn’t have taken the spot of those who might’ve been.

[midasfm]

✩　ydhent.com/artists/yerin

001: profile.

legal name: nam yerin stage name: yerin age: 25 training period: 3 years company: ydh entertainment group & position: main rapper, leader of angelix  skeleton key: ang2 career focus: variety, modeling/image, hosting

002: background.

yerin was born to be a busy body, always loving the spotlight, loving to take care of people and especially, to make people laugh. she was originally scouted at a festival in busan when performing with some of her middle school friends, mostly for her sense of on stage presence (humor, crowd hyping, being at home even in front of all those people, unrefined voice but promising). she didn't plan to become an idol, or even famous, she wanted to run track and field and explore the world at the time, mostly looking for adventure. so she begged her family to let her become a trainee. it was no easy sell but she was always a very busy bee and putting on shows in the backyard since she was a little girl already left them prepared for the day. 

if it hadn't been for bonding with some of her fellow trainees and the opportunity to adventure the world and experience new things, yerin wouldn't have any interest in remaining an idol. she had no loyalty to the group or company itself, or even it becoming an idol. but the stage called to her, being in front of cameras, and with friends by her side. once she was considered for leader it solidified remaining an idol for her; not for the music, but for the idea of performing with friends that she considered family, and taking on the challenge together.

003: image.

since her greatest skill was her personality really, it was something the company leaned into, and yerin was all the more happy for it. dancing and rapping and even singing were fun some days but making people laugh was her passion. she was all too eager to pursue smaller stages, variety, hosting and the like, while her fellow members made use of their beautiful voices or acting skills. even her rap she eventually learned to use to make people laugh, becoming fond of freestyling (when she did it poorly, or acrostic poems, it made people laugh all the more)-- many of her activities played into her down to earth yet fun personality, and there were even some that catered to flirting with older men or comedians which she had become very adept at poker-facing through. 

It was siah leaving the group that rocked her foundation slightly. she was forced to acknowledge that the so-called family she had joined was not a real family, that it was hardly friends, it was co-workers. When someone can just walk away without a word of explanation, that means you're not a real family, not to yerin anyway. and since she had so much of her heart caught up in her group, it rocked her. after siah, yerin was fraying as she tried to hold her anxieties and newfound concerns at bay. she was hardly at her best. it started with dismissive, frustrated comments about their uncle fans. man felt this was inappropriate, after all uncle fans are such a large part of why angelix can still work, and felt it was ungrateful. those who praised her were buried under the louder comments as she acted out more. crass comments, complaints about schedules and control, she lost the ability to tell the line between public and private thoughts. and eventually, she was punished for it.

when before she had been a fun, loveable public figure within their group, as of recently, she hardly ever is approved to do schedules.

[midasfm]

✩　midasmusic.com/governance/raebin

001: profile.

legal name: yeo raebin birthdate: november 2, 1997 age: 27 hometown: seoul, south korea occupation: girl code’s stylist

002: interview.

001. have you always wanted to work in the entertainment industry? what were you doing before this?

“i think the entertainment industry is all i’ve ever known.” not necessarily born into it, but raebin is more than aware that his parents took a chance with him, hoping to cash in on his success. “funnily enough, i was a model before, during my childhood and teenage years. luckily, i realized the enormous weight that comes with being part of the public eye. fashion, styling, dressing-up… i still love all of it, but i have no interest in becoming a celebrity anymore.” he remembers the pressure he felt on his shoulders, the criticism and obsession coming from strangers he barely knew. “it’s much more fulfilling working behind-the-scenes, and i have the ability to explore my creative liberties.”

002. what do you think is the most important quality to have when working with idols?

“patience, i suppose. it kind of comes with the territory. there’s a lot of unique individuals in this industry, for better or for worse. we’re expected to follow their schedule, planning everything ahead as well. flexibility, time management… it’s key to surviving in this field. but, above all, the patience to handle and deal with everything that comes my way is the most important quality that i have to maintain. and work on, apparently.” while he’d consider himself a rather patient person, he does recognize that he can be rather blunt in his words.

003. where do you see yourself in five years? do you see yourself advancing in this field or do you hope to pursue another career?

“truth be told, i’m perfectly happy where i am right now. in the future though, it’d be nice if i managed to create my own brand. built on mixing style, comfort and practicality. ah, but if i say more, it’ll count as spoilers.”

004. what are your biggest inspirations when working with your artist? does your work with them line up with your own taste?

“inspiration comes in many forms. often times, the music that i listen to would give me a concept to work towards. the accessories that will elevate the concept, the style of wardrobe i’d have to lean towards… i also tend to look at the design of their album, talk to the graphic designers. see how we can keep things in sync. next, i look at my artists – my girls. what would fit them, what would compromise their natural features? ideally, i’d like to keep their sense of individuality to a degree. not so much it’d ruin the synergy though.”

003: background.

raebin was born to a middle class family with bigger dreams, looking for opportunities to escape their mundane life. as raebin began to grow, his parents saw potential within him, a chance for all three of them to live a more lavish lifestyle should they introduce him to the entertainment industry. they weren’t wrong, raebin had been blessed with visuals that landed him a contract with a notable modelling agency, starting at a young age.

it wasn’t all sunshine and roses, but raebin found himself flourishing in this scene. he developed an interest in fashion, often chatting with the stylists and make-up artists in detail about their process and inspiration. it’s a world he’d love to dive into, asking them to teach him in-between photoshoots while he’s sitting in the dressing room. his parents love to keep him busy, more work more income after all, but raebin always made time.

obsession is a terrifying thing, and that’s something raebin had to learn the hard way. approaching his teenage years, just before graduating high school, a fan got too close–his first, and hopefully last, stalking incident. while raebin came out of that predicament mostly okay, at least physically, he doesn’t want such a thing to happen again.

instead, raebin put his modelling career on pause, enrolling himself in fashion school. with the network he made during his time as a model, he managed to land himself an internship, followed by the job opportunity to be an assistant stylist in a fashion magazine. he thrived in that environment, moving up in his career consistently and at a rather fast pace, known for his experimental but creative styles in fashion, all with a tinge of luxury.

discovering that his parents have mostly kept the money he earned in his previous career for themselves, along with the daunting realization that they’ve deliberately put him in danger and never provided any sort of protection for him, he started distancing himself from them. raebin can’t forget the moment his parents found out about the incident that put his life at risk, only caring about raebin’s face–his greatest asset in the industry–and how they fear it had been compromised.

because of that, raebin matured into an incredibly independent person, relying on no one else but himself. a hard worker, although some may look at him and see an opportunist. however, it’s simply because he no longer wants to put anyone else above himself. he has trouble showing any sort of affection, often being compared to an asian mother who’d rather cut up your favourite fruits than to apologize with words. the truth is, he cares deeply for the friends he has, as well as the members of girl code, often calling them ‘my girls’ like a mother would.

[midasfm]

✩　ydhent.com/artists/seungjae

001: profile.

legal name: jung seungjae age: 27 training period: 2 years company: ydh entertainment skeleton key: yms1

002: background.

seungjae was born into a family that, ultimately, didn’t want him until they thought he could be an asset to them. at four years old, he was left at an orphanage, and later on adopted by a social worker. and while he was showered with love by his adopted family, a part of him did wonder what it would have been like to be wanted by his birth family.

it’s only after his career had taken off, did his birth parents approach him. and while seungjae had felt no specific bond or pull towards them, his heart had shattered when he realized that they’d only wanted him for financial reasons. seungjae had wanted to brush them off, to tell them to leave him alone, but they’d begged and begged, and seungjae couldn’t exactly turn a blind eye to them. he’d then given them some money – though till this day, they continue hounding him for money.

seungjae is dedicated to his craft and music, taking the image that has been built for him seriously, though he is fiercely loyal to those that he trusts. he is greedy when it comes to his career, and while he has days when he feels frustrations towards ydh for having such a tight hold on his career, he realizes that he would not have been able to get this far without them and has no plans on leaving.

003: image.

seungjae is known as the nation’s son in law, and the perfect gentleman. releasing music that fits his image, and is easy for the public to listen to. he does charitable work, mostly donating to orphanages and children as he feels very passionately about them due to his own personal experiences.

he’s known as an easily approachable idol, and the sort of idol that the older generation would like as a son-in-law, due to how respectful he is to his seniors in variety shows.

the dramas that he’s acted in, further push this image of him being the perfect gentleman and ‘nation’s son in law’. his role in reply 1988, where he cried and spoke about missing his mother, shook the hearts of many in korea, further solidifying his role.

[midasfm]

✩　ydhent.com/artists/luke

001: profile.

legal name: lucas yeongho moon stage name: luke age: 22 training period: 3 years company: ydh entertainment group & position: sodapop main rapper career focus: variety & youtube

002: background.

moon seohan and ji hyerim were just newlyweds when seohan received news that his job was relocating him to canada, to the sister office closer to headquarters where the young software engineer could learn on the job from their best and brightest. he took it as a sign that the company was investing in him, that they saw something in him. no sooner did they get back from their honeymoon did the young couple pack up again to move halfway across the globe.

luke was the first of the moon clan to be born outside of korean soil. at first, his parents agonized over how to combine tradition with their desire to fit into their new community. they found the answer through church, through the guidance of their pastor, and their first child was named after the gospels. with no patriarch to dub him a name in korean, they chose to roughly translate the meaning of lucas back into their own language. this pattern would repeat with the next two children. they had wanted more, and seohan’s job could have supported another baby or two, but complications with the third child crushed that possibility. the moons learned to be happy with their family of five.

the oldest child was the test run. he spoke korean at home, attended church in korean, and didn’t really start to learn english until starting kindergarten at age five. he took his lessons home to his younger siblings, patiently teaching them the alphabet and vocabulary so that they wouldn’t be as behind as he was when it came to school time. as he grew, it was his job to be translator for his parents, to make the phone calls that were a little too difficult for his mother to make, and to take up his mantle as a third parent despite being hardly more than a child himself. his father was busier and busier with work; it was his duty to take care of his mother and little siblings in the man’s absence.

he’s a filial, dutiful son until he starts to approach puberty. suddenly, he doesn’t want to go to church anymore. he’s spending time with friends that his parents don’t necessarily approve of, he’s listening to music that they don’t like or understand. to some extent, it’s just normal teenage rebellion. but that’s not good enough for his father, who seems to yell at him more and more in the few hours of the day that he’s actually home. luke, in typical teenager fashion, continues to push boundaries.

finally, one summer, he sneaks off during their annual visit to grandma and grandpa in south korea to open auditions at ydh entertainment. he’s not particularly good at singing or dancing, but they must have seen something in him since they’re offering him a contract. at first, his parents shoot it down; there’s no way they’re letting their reliable oldest son stay in south korea and pursue a career in music, of all things. it’s his grandmother who convinces them otherwise. they’ll be right there to keep an eye on him after all, and if it doesn’t work out then they’ll count on him to get into a good college. it’s a few more days of shouting and fighting before luke’s parents finally relent, and at sixteen years old the boy officially becomes a ydh trainee.

to their surprise, he did not fail out within three months and instead continued to improve and get good feedback from his mentors and training staff. for a while, he trains as a singer, but at some point the competition gets too fierce and he makes the strategic move to study rap instead. there’s no pushback from the company, despite the good feedback they’ve given him before. it’s only then that luke learns that he really wasn’t signed for his musical abilities at all; rather, his looks made a good first impression, and his personality backed it up. three years later, he debuts in sodapop.

003: image.

“chronically online” almost doesn’t seem to be enough to describe luke. he’s known for being active on social media, for being responsive to fans when they least expect him to be online and always armed with a witty response. rather than strictly upholding the “boyfriend” image, he’s more of a class clown, the moodmaker and “happy pill” of the group who can pull a laugh out of everyone around him. he’ll appear in comment sections, reference fans’ inside jokes in official content, and hop on the latest tiktok trends if not setting one himself. he’s not so much known for his musical talents as he is for his humor and, frankly, good looks; fans say he has a great smile and a contagious laugh. he can get away with being a bit blunt at times because it’s funny, but he never truly puts down or berates sodapop’s fans.

[midasfm]

✩　reserves

expiring mar 16, 12:00 pm kst:

(924) kim jungeun (kim lip), artms + nymth's stylist — extended x2!

(505) park sooyoung (joy), red velvet + angelix's main vocal 1 + ang1 — extended!

✩　apps

next acceptance mar 15, 10:00 am kst:

shen xiaoting, kep1er as wang shuxin (helena), angelix's main rapper + maknae — messaged!

lee jaehyun (hyunjae), the boyz as jung seungjae, ydh entertainment's soloist + yms1 — accepted!

choi chanhee (new), the boyz as yeo raebin, girl code's stylist — accepted!

yang jungwon, enhypen as lucas moon (luke) + sodapop's main rapper — accepted!

lee dongmin (cha eunwoo), astro as oh daewon (wonil), ydh entertainment's soloist + yms2 — under review!

[midasfm]

✩　midasmusic.com/artists/hana

001: profile.

legal name: ryu hana age: 22 training period: 3 years company: midas music group & position: girl code’s rapper skeleton key: gc4 career focus: fashion, hosting + variety, choreography

002: background.

born in suwon, ryu hana grew up with a pretty easy life. sure, there were issues (like her mother, ryu eunkyung, being a workaholic and her father apparently running off from her and her mom once eunkyung was pregnant), but overall she couldn’t complain too much.

eunkyung’s coworkers immediately noted the similarities between her and hana. while she was a hardworking leading employee at a tech start-up, hana took up her interest in technology. as soon as she received her first laptop in middle school, hana would busy herself by coding in java and python to make small scripts for browsers, as well as becoming invested in league of leagues and apex. her mother didn’t mind that she wasn’t a very social child, as she received high grades in every subject; one was more important than the other, of course.

originally, singing and dancing was not her passion. but after one of her teachers brought up how hana ‘didn’t go out of her way to speak to other students’ and ‘kept to herself during class’ to eunkyung, she decided that it wouldn’t be a terrible idea for her to have a few extracurriculars.

with work constantly ramping up with new projects and hana having to stay with a sitter often, eunkyung gave her the task to pick at least one club or hobby she wouldn’t mind doing after school (even better if it were something physical!) and with that, she decided to give hip hop dance lessons a try.

to hana’s own surprise, she ended up genuinely enjoying it. while her older hobbies were still something she enjoyed, she found a new love within dancing.

it was 2017 when she received a business card from a midas scout after her dance trope did a public performance in the streets of hongdae, hana didn’t think too much about it at first. she wasn’t a huge fan of k-pop, and becoming an idol wasn’t something that she had a dream for. but after scrolling through midas’ site and finding more information on them, she decided that she’d rather try and find out she hated it than to not try at all. eunkyung was also supportive of her, though hana wonders if this was another case of her mother still wanting her to have something to do while she was at work for long hours at a time.

the first problem is that when you want to be an idol without much knowledge about the industry, you end up getting your ass handed to you at some point. this was a lesson hana learned over, and over, and over again during the training period for midas’ new girl group.

one issue was that because she wasn’t the best at making friends on her own, she felt a bit ostracized from the other 23 trainees. not only had some of them been training for long periods of their lives, some of them even directly looked down on her for ‘not taking it as seriously’ or not having the skill sets they had. this even bled into her interactions with some of the trainers who thought she wasn’t showing potential as a team player.

if she wasn’t being criticized for that, it was over her talent. while she showed good potential as a rapper during lessons and had previous dancing experience, the biggest issue was that there wasn’t much emotion within her singing and her rapping could be more refined. hana felt exhausted, and knew she was only skating by as more and more girls got dropped from the training period (girls who were more talented than her, others felt.) there’s something uncomfortable being one of the last ones to get called on to stay, and other girls crying and hugging each other over their close friends getting eliminated.

you know the reaction wouldnt be the same if it were you.

the final evaluation had finally come. even though she knew she could step out at any point like she said, a fire had lit itself under hana during the last few evaluations, much less now. she knew she was the one most likely to get knocked out if she didn’t push herself hard enough. so she started to interact with the other girls more, managing to smile and laugh with some of them (even after their harsh words.) if she couldn’t change everyone’s mind on her, she could at least push harder to try to change some people’s thoughts. she spent countless nights in the practice rooms trying to let the emotion flow out of her voice and making sure her raps were as perfect as they could be.

and the last name finally called at the end of the evaluation… ryu hana. she could’ve fell to her knees and cried right then and there, honestly. (maybe she did, who knows.)

+

the second problem when you want to be an idol without much knowledge about the industry is that even when you’ve made it, it’s never really over.

it’s not that hana thought all of this would be a walk in the park, but even after having made it through the rigorous training process, she was still dealing with doubts about herself. was she really worthy of debuting after beating out most of the other girls? with girl code’s debut being a massive success though, it started to feel like the answer to that question was a resounding “yes.”

and then the controversy happened.

while most of the hate wasn’t necessarily geared towards hana, that doesn’t mean she was safe from netizen’s dismissive comments either. in particular, she saw comments related to her being a ‘robot’ on stage and the ‘talent hole’ within the group; no matter how she tries to put herself out there, she couldn’t escape the fact that people could tell she lacked feeling in what she did. being online was once a paradise for her, but it quickly started to become a prison that she couldn’t bear to look away from for too long. once the cameras turn off and the girls have time without schedules, hana started to revert back into her old self and stay in her room for the longest and play her favorite games. it’s not that she wants to, yet it feels necessary. but she needs something to take her mind off of the fact that people are constantly watching her, constantly waiting to see her mess up and call her out for ruining the group in some way, and it wasn’t helped by her need to scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll—

though, with the following successes of their next releases (as well as taking a short break from posting on her socials), hana has found herself able to lean onto her fellow members for support and in return, she knows she’ll try to return the favor. regardless of what await them outside, hana knows girl code will always be each other’s biggest supporters.

003: image.

depending on when they first see her, an audience member’s first thoughts on hana may be completely different.

as girl code’s bold and strong rapper, she glides over a beat while simultaneously not missing a step. while she’s not the face of the group or the leader, hana is able to be a secondary support for the other members when they’re on stage. someone they can look over to and find confidence glancing back at them momentarily. as girl code’s variety happy virus, hana almost feels like the fake-maknae of the group. she’s not bouncing around excitedly, but she does try to lighten the mood either alone with her members or during variety content by making silly comments in order to get others to smile or laugh. overall, she’s the member that gets looked over the most, but her small fanbase feels that she helps balance girl code and proves they’re not all sharp edges.

despite her attempts to appear as cheerful and friendly, there are rumors that hana isn’t as impressive as she seems. during girl code’s hate train, ex-trainees made sure to take pot-shots at her as well in their testimonies; stating how she thought she was ‘better than everyone else’, ‘was one of the weaker trainees overall’, and ‘didn’t work as hard as others who got kicked’ netizens began to wonder if she was as deserving of her spot as well.

while hana is not faking her on-camera personality, she was guided by midas management to further take on hosting and variety roles that would help endear her to fans better after the hate comments. there’s still plenty of people who find her fake and lazy though, especially after being pushed for these roles. she often feels drained after recording episodes for hours in advance and would rather retreat to her room. instead of complaining, she pushes herself back up and gets back to work as girl code’s ryu hana.

[midasfm]

✩　ydhent.com/artists/areum

001: profile.

legal name: seo areum age: 31 training period: 9 years company: ydh entertainment skeleton key: yfs1

002: background.

— part one. areum’s earliest memories are of the night bus.  its dark interior, its scratchy fabric seats, the sound of strangers quietly breathing as the bus rattled through expressways tucked between mountains, tunnel after tunnel, carrying within it a young mother with nervous, shifty eyes and her toddler child pressed close to her chest. it goes like this. the mother and child would arrive in town. they would find a place to stay. the mother would search for a job, and they would stick around for a growing season, maybe two, until one day the mother would start looking over her shoulder again, and the child knew it was only a matter of time before she would be woken in the middle of the night, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she was told in hushed, urgent whispers that it was time to pack up and leave. from paju to incheon to a series of semi-basements in seoul, they move out of the city to criss-cross through the the gyeonggido countryside before travelling down to daejeon. then to gwangju. then further down to mokpo until they run out of land, and her mother buys a ferry ticket with the last of their savings to take them to jeju island, where finally, they stop. they settle.

as her mother harvests abalone with the other diving women, areum passes the time by sitting in rooms with grandmothers who’d retired from the ocean—women who now gossiped and peeled garlic and played cards on the floor of the village recreation room as they joked and jabbed at each other with the kind of well-worn familiarity that came from a lifetime of being neighbors. areum sits in the warm circle of their laps as they go about their business, her ears pressed close to the portable radio they’d given her as she listens to music from the mainland trickle out of the speakers: lee sunhee. kim sungho. kim kwangseok. jaurim. it’s as if their voices are traveling all this way to sing for her ears only, and areum strains hard to hear every word, drinking it up and determined not to let a single sound slip.seeing her small face scrunch up with concentration, the grandmothers stroke her hair, pinch her nose, and exclaim how relieved they are to see her act her age—this little girl with serious eyes who blew into their town one day, unblinking and impassive to all the world around her. on her 9th birthday, they gift her a walkman and a set of old tapes. for the next five years, areum wouldn’t be seen anywhere on the island without it. — part two. opportunity comes in the form of a woman holding out a business card in the middle of a beachside cafe.

“are you interested in becoming a idol?” out of the corner of her eye, areum sees her school friends making a fuss over by the windows, shoving each other and giggling as if they were watching a love confession, and a tired part of her wants to end this interaction quickly so she can go back to her coffee and pastry and enjoy her day of playing tourist in the city. areum opens her mouth, prepared with a polite rejection, but the woman is faster. she asks if she’s ever heard of dream girls. the woman smiles at the incredulous expression on areum’s face and lifts her hand to place the business card in her palm. she gives her a date, tells her to come to seoul as soon as school lets out, and before areum can form a response, she’s walking out of the cafe, the bell at the entrance ringing behind her with a bright, silvery chime.   areum looks down at the embossed letters that spell the company’s name and wonders, vaguely, if this might be a scam. [ydh entertainment]

— part three. in seoul, areum learns that she can sing. that she’s good at it, even. that she’s so far ahead in ways that make the faces of the other girls tense and the lips of the vocal trainers quirk with praise, and she finds that all things considered, it’s enjoyable. she enjoys it. not just being good, but getting better.

of course, trainee life is torturous in all the ways one would expect from a company like ydh, one that prides itself on pioneering the industry. they’d perfected this pressure cooker system of producing perfect, ready-made idols, and it’s unequivocally the most stressful experience of areum’s life—physically, mentally, emotionally. nothing comes close. and yet, the more she gives herself over to it, the more she finds herself drawn deeper into the center of this huge storm. here, everything falls away except for the skill in front of her to master. areum lives for the process. finds it almost meditative. she submerges herself in the work and rarely comes up for air, content to just keep sitting at the bottom of the ocean, rolling pearls in her mouth and practicing, practicing, practicing. and so the time passes.

year after year, areum feels herself draw closer and closer to the endpoint until it enters her field of vision—debut. the nation’s next girl group. ever since the company announced that they’ll be finalizing the lineup, never once did it occur to areum that her name might not be called. she was ready. she was so, so certain.

— part four. the day before the members are revealed, they pull her into a conference room, and areum thinks that this is it. finally.instead, they tell her that she doesn’t fit their vision. and with the ringing in her ears, she almost misses the second part of what they say, the reason why they called this meeting—to say that they’ll be debuting her as a soloist instead. stunned, areum stares straight ahead as the a&r team pulls up their presentation and outlines their plans for ydh’s second female soloist—the successor to ara’s legacy. as they move past the concept moodboards and start clicking through the slides describing her musical identity, areum feels the shock drain out of her body to become replaced with a sudden, delirious urge to laugh.eight years of breaking her bones trying to learn how to dance only to be told that her debut song is a rock ballad.

— part five. once again, luck drops into the palm of her hand.a viral fancam at a festival two months after her debut sends her song skyrocketing up the charts and sitting comfortably at the top for months. idols, entertainers, college students in karaoke rooms—everyone is belting out their versions and flooding the internet with their covers. they play her song everywhere. shopping malls, coffee shops, restaurants, supermarkets—and just as she always has, areum throws herself into the wave of this opportunity, pushing up to its peak. she works without stopping, immersing herself in the role of areum the soloist—the nation’s first love—understanding that this, too, is part of the performance. she brings the vision to life and holds tight to the strings of her character on stage. white-knuckled and tense.

it takes a summer on jeju island filming a variety show with two senior artists for areum to start thinking of herself as anything other than the perfect vessel. for two weeks, areum works as a part-timer at their b&b and feels more at peace than she has ever felt in her life. she wakes up at seven and washes the dishes, sweeps the floors, interacts with guests, shops for groceries. she walks the dogs, writes her first song, shows a side of herself to the cameras that is natural, bare-faced, honest.late at night, she sits on a porch chair with the married couple, these musicians who’ve been in the industry for decades, and talks with them about music—feels herself fall in love with it all over again.  and she begins to ask questions. questions that have to do with her artistry, her identity, her influence as an idol. who is seo areum? who does she want to be? a door opens, and the next seven years become a study in self-making—incomplete and incremental but cautiously real and true. a slow spring, but a spring all the same.

003: image.

it starts with a video of areum on stage.

like a scene from a youth drama, the wind blows gently through her hair as her voice soars over the chorus, bright and clear and heart-achingly nostalgic as she sings about letting go of a relationship, grateful for everything it has given her. the camera zooms in on her face, her eyes glistening with emotion as she faces the crowd and smiles. and the nation falls in love. her company wastes no time capitalizing on the momentum.

they send her on the university festival circuit, where the energy and success of her live performances solidify her status in the music industry as her song celebrates its third consecutive week of topping the charts—setting precedent for how she’ll soon be known throughout her career for dominating digital streams. and it’s true that areum is the unquestioned domestic darling. the general public’s pick. recognized by causal listeners across all demographics—no matter the age or gender. from the beginning, she’s praised for her vocals, her visuals, her calm personality and natural elegance, and the rose-tinted patina of this image allows her to get away with career moves that would have otherwise been met with more skepticism.

her shift into acting, for instance, which generated positive responses across the board, especially as it came to sageuk roles which emphasized her ‘traditional beauty’—and her shift into songwriting, which received a similarly warm reception until a plagiarism controversy for “through the night” landed somewhat of a blow to her legitimacy, emboldening anti-fans to regurgitate rhetoric from her rookie days on how ultimately, areum and everything about her marketing was a manufactured product by ydh. that she was an idol of no substance putting on airs and playing at being an artist.

regardless of what has been said about her online, however, her reputation continues to be highly regarded—secure enough to shoot multi-year commercials for big domestic banks and versatile enough to model for both soju brands and jeju mineral water. past and present, it is significant to note that all of her projects have always aligned with her image as the pure, reliable presence in the country’s entertainment scene. constant and unchanging, for better or for worse.