Mingi has a bone to pick with KQ
Now, I have not been posting about ATEEZ+, because I find it to be a bit of a hard watch. The concept of the show is a bit all over the place, and even if we take the blatant San favoritism out of the equation, the non-linear editing is really throwing me off. Like Mingi and Yunho went to the paragliding place 2 episodes ago, why are we still getting clips of them driving there. It's sloppy and it's lazy, and it makes it hard to focus on the progression of the actual "dates". Not to mention that my man, Jongho, the guy who has been bias-wrecking me on pure unmitigated charm has criminally low screentime. And it's such a fucking shame, because he's so charming and has immaculate comedic timing to the point he's making their activities, which btw are not really compatible with creating engaging variety content, entertaining to watch.
However the point of this post is not about me ranting about how cool I think Jongho is (spoiler alert: a lot), but because episode 6 has made me face my suspicions that Mingi has a bone to pick with KQ.
When I turned on my TV this morning and I put on Ateez+, hoping that perhaps episode 6 is when the editors finally got their shit together and stopped trying to give the viewer whiplash by constantly going back and forth in time, I was very surprised to find out that said episode had an almost 10 minute intro of mostly Mingi going into a very unlike-kpop business sustainability rant, during which he names every single point of friction between him and KQ. And don't get me wrong, I live for these kinds of conversations. I have a degree in business management and not only do I work in finance, but I enjoy it too, but this goes so much against the we-are-all-a-bunch-of-friends-with-no-other-ambition-other-to-perform-for-our-fans bit that kpop has going on that it threw me off.
The episode starts off, with Mingi being very straightforward as usual, and saying that to be considered successful you need to have tangible milestones, whether that be awards or something else. Just like any other field, to prove you are doing well professionally, you need to have something to show for it. Because the image of being successful on its own, can open up a lot of doors for you. And despite the fact that winning a Grammy doesn't inherently make you a better artist than someone else, having a Grammy sure gives you a lot of options. And sure this isn't super aligned with the guidelines of kpop marketing, but it's still sort of on theme.
And then he does it. He proceeds to say that sure, we still want those things, but we are focusing on creating an individual brand identity. At which point, for maybe the first time watching this bizarre show, I was intrigued. It is not every day that you get a member of a kpop group to say that being a coherent team is good, but there's still need to have your own individual brand.
He makes a very interesting point that in order to have synergy in a group and to be able to work together for a long time, each member needs to know themselves and what they want out of their professional life. This is the second instance I see of an Ateez member pointing out that they consider each member's individual activities necessary for keeping the group dynamics balanced. And even though I find this thought process extremely logical and mature, I still find it surprising when it's expressed out loud. With so much emphasis being put on the 8 makes 1 team slogan, I always find it surprising when a member points out that they're still 8 individuals. And Mingi is perhaps the most loud advocate for individuality within the group.
In an earlier episode he straight up says to Yunho; don't tell me what ATEEZ Yunho wants, tell me what you want. And even before that, on the first or second episode he looks straight in the camera and says, the people that give you advice with the intention of cutting you down and constraining you, do not have your best interest at heart. In this episode he continues to express the sentiment with saying how important it is to keep trying new things. He understands the importance of pleasing the fans, but he also knows that you have to keep yourself happy as well if you want your career to have any sort of longevity.
And then the episode starts properly, and once again we're driving to the fucking paragliding place. In the previous episode we established they were going to dinner, but no, KBS the arch nemesis of continuity, takes us back two episodes, because why the fuck not? But anyway, my own personal grievances aside, the episode starts with Yunho saying that he wants to try driving fast and Mingi giving him the go ahead, even though he doesn't look to be super thrilled by the idea. Nevertheless, Yunho doesn't really seem to step on it, seeing as this is a rural road and not really the ideal place to be checking how fast a sports car can go, and they get another ask. An ask that has been asked in at least three different episodes and we're still getting it, because god forbid we make the content cohesive and watchable to anyone who isn't already an Atiny.
Nevertheless, we get another answer to was there a moment you couldn't avoid so you chose to enjoy, and once again the answer is touring. No surprises there. They have a brief conversation about what they do to cope, which although nice enough on its own, it would have been better had it been shown in the same episode for all the duos, to have, I don't know, context? Continuity? Are those words you know KBS????
sorry, I just don't think I can get over how much I hate the way this show has been edited.
But, to get back on track, they talk about concerts and what they like about performing, Yunho once again brings up Mingi taking off his shirt at the festival a year ago, which btw damn dude, it must've really rattled your feathers if you are still bringing it up a year later. And then, as they do if you have them speak to each other long enough, they sync up, because they are the same person. They can deny it as much as they want, but I am delusional. The conversation gets geared to festivals, which they both want to do.
Fans are nice, but they want to appeal to a larger audience. Having a long lasting career is not just about having a dedicated fanbase. You need to be casual listener friendly. There need to be people that add your music to their playlist without giving that much of a damn about the person that's actually making it. And Mingi recognizes that Ateez lack that and he believes that they need to make this kind of music too if they want to last as a group.
This is a very pragmatic view to have, because quite simply, they are not going to be young forever. At some point this level of performance is going to stop being possible for them, and if they don't diversify their portfolio Ateez is going to be no more when that happens. And this checks out with most of his behavior so far. For the most part, Mingi has never shied away from showing that he thinks the lore is stupid and judging by how he has a whole different team he works with for his solo stuff, he isn't all that into what Edenary is doing.
Yunho seems to agree, seeing as he was the one who literally made Mingi go there, but he also doesn't want to be broadcasting any conversation that can be seen as dissatisfaction with their company, so he starts talking about pros and cons, and kind of weighs in with his own opinion that their live performance is their main advantage. Which adds up, when you take into account that Yunho clearly wants to go into acting and their live stages sometimes end up bordering on musical theatre.
Mingi doesn't take the hint, because he clearly doesn't want to and says that sure it's fun, but we need to develop.
All in all, I found it quite surprising that Ateez is something that Mingi is interested in keeping up long term. I'm not saying that they want to disband, but the only people to strictly state that they want to do Ateez as long as possible have been Hongjoong and maybe Seonghwa. So to see that Mingi has been trying to find ways for them to be more sustainable as a group kind of threw me off, because strictly speaking, I don't think he needs Ateez to be successful. Not anymore, at least. Sure it's a big boost, but in the event that they crash and burn, he is one of the most likely members to come out relatively unscathed. But, damn, he sure wants to continue to be in Ateez.
A quick side note, because apparently I am the Yungi guy now, but he really is all in when it comes to Yunho. I believe he wants all the members to succeed individually, but he really is laser focused in on Yunho. He's been going out of his way to ask him on camera, fuck everyone else, what do YOU want to do, and he doesn't even know what he likes to eat.
It is also rather refreshing that they're not really doing the whole cat and mouse game as intensely, where Mingi goes I love you and Yunho goes, ew, cooties. I didn't expect Yunho to say on camera, yeah, I am close with all the members, but I am the closest with Mingi.
What happened to you, you ice queen?????