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ChangNiel at Let’s Eat Together

I watched both in the span of two days and while there was nothing too overt, there was still some high-quality content that I wanted to put down in writing. The two broadcasts are available on the V-app for anyone who’s interested. :)

1. Niel’s eating habits - While Niel does admit that he’s probably the pickiest eater out of all the members, he does sound a little upset when Ricky says he’s not fit for mukbang. Enter Changjo, who quickly jumps to Niel’s defense--it’s not that Niel is picky per se, but that he just has cravings that differ from day to day. Nobody else seconds him, not even C.A.P., who supposedly eats frequently at Niel’s apartment. That is knowledge Changjo possesses because he’s eaten with Niel enough to notice the habit. In fact, I would say he indulges it, because you can see in both broadcasts how often Changjo serves Niel food on his plate, whether it be the tiger prawns in 2017 or the chunks of grilled meat in 2020. As he’s said himself, he’s comfortable with all the members but he’s closest with Niel--and that includes being close enough to know food preferences.

2. Changjo’s eating habits - Angels would know how long this boy has struggled with his self-image and eating habits, so I was glad that in both mukbangs Niel encouraged him to eat by jokingly feeding him all kinds of dishes due to his claim that he’ll eat anything, pushing his soup towards Changjo when the latter used it for a spoonful of rice, and insisting that he try the lobster after noticing he (Changjo) wasn’t having any.

NB: It’s hilarious how the two of them ranked 3rd for the members’ internal vote of who suits the mukbang concept best. I’m still waiting for these two to do their own mukbang, honestly--we’ve gotten a few precious seconds of them eating together, but a full show with them just chilling, eating whatever they want and answering fan questions would be beautiful.

3. MC Niel - As always, Niel does well hosting the show and steering where the conversations go. That naturally includes pulling our daydreaming Changjo back to the present. We don’t know what goes through the youngest’s head, but we do know he loses interest pretty quickly unless Niel invites his participation (Exhibit A: he has no clue on the rules for the acrostic word game they do at the end of the 2017 broadcast because he hasn’t been listening and only returns to reality after Niel tells him he’s up).

4. Dancing Boy Changjo - He’s content to hang around in the sidelines when they’re doing the karaoke portion but who can say no to Niel? His favorite hyung wants to do the choreography, so of course he’s in! Niel offers to set aside the table Ricky smacked into, but Chunji points out they won’t need it. Unlike Ricky, Changjo knows exactly where the table is, and true to expectation, does a bang-up job dancing around it (literally).

5. Flirting coach Changjo - After breezing through his own recording for ‘cheeseball video call with Angels’, he feeds Niel lines for his own video recording (I was rather confused because at times it almost felt like he was saying it to Niel and not relaying lines) and not a single Teen Top member called them out for it, which was very surprising and unusual. As a bonus, Niel admits that Changjo’s got a knack for flirty lines, saying ‘[he] can be very sweet’. If Changjo isn’t annoying the heck out of Niel, he’s actually very sweet and caring--but we don’t often dwell on this because most On Airs focus on that notorious love-hate relationship of theirs.

6. The lack of personal space - It becomes evident how close the two of them end up sitting together when the cameras zoom out and you compare it to how evenly everyone else is spaced out. They start out around the same distance as the others, but eventually it shortens, whether because one is giving the other food or because Changjo has a habit of resting a hand or arm on the backrest of Niel’s chair, who knows. Sometimes, when one of the others is talking, you’ll hear them having their own quiet conversation in the background, too.

Overally, very satisfying to watch them eat as much as they wanted. If there’s anything that’s changed, I would say that Changjo’s aura has become less of a flirtatious, mischievous boy’s and matured into a silently supportive young man who exudes playfulness when coaxed by a particular person. As for Niel, making it to 10 years has lifted the anxiety from his shoulders--I think this 2020 we are finally seeing Niel unfettered from all the expectations, and more open about displaying his clear affection for Changjo. These are positive and promising changes, and I hope that their relationship continues to grow deeper and more steadfast in the years to come!

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