“they’re shipping me around the world,” she whines, the corner of her lips coming down to form a frown. it’s an exaggeration on jaein’s part, but she can’t help but feel this way. one look at her schedule for the first few months of the year, and she can’t count the amount of times she’ll be on a plane and in another country. she realizes that these are opportunities that some artists would be begging for, but she’s not one of those artists. she would have been perfectly content with some moderate success solely in her own country.
looking down at the drink in front of her, she swishes around the straw inside her iced americano before letting out a sigh. she didn’t call michelle to complain to her, but she’s one of the few people that jaein feels comfortable enough to act like a child around. it’s evident through the fact that she’s spending one of her last few days left in korea to hang with her though she’s also thankful because she’s aware that michelle’s gearing up for a comeback as well. “and as if it’s supposed to make me feel better, i’ve been told i’m getting a solo debut as well. yay for me, right?” the frown on her face only grows deeper as her brows furrow together, another frustrated grunt leaving her lips.
3. what is your least favorite song (title track or b-side) you’ve released?
“punch, hands down, punch, i don’t even have to think of a second song. even simon says is better than that and i consider that to be a bunch of noise put together.“ there was just something about punch era that stuck with jihoon and it left a sour taste in his mouth “the wardrobe for it was also horrible, just the harness? as a shirt? even the dance wasn’t remotely enjoyable, it felt all over the place. the whispering part as well? i have so many questions, you don’t understand.”
4. if you could do a duet with anyone in the industry, who would you choose?
“a duet? this is hard, there is so many people.. are talking about dancing or music?“ the options were limitless now. so he takes a few extra seconds to think about. “i’d like to do a cover of my ear’s candy with candy’s rorin, i think that would be an iconic stage in itself. it’s a fun song, and i think it would be great fun for both of us.“ there is another pause that follows, jihoon pursing his lips “maybe a cover with minjung would be fun, dunno what we could really do maybe an ost? that would be fun as well.”
5. what do you think of your/your group’s concept?
“i like it. for the most part, i like the rap focus and the intense choreographies we have. the concepts are always different and despite some of them being a miss with me personally, i enjoy it. i think the fans might have a hard time keeping up with our style, but im sure they always manage to get a breath of fresh air with all the different concepts and songs we have put out over the years.“
6. what is one thing (a concept, a genre, an outfit, etc.) you would least like your company make you do?
tw body image issues mentioned
“i’d love it if i actually got actual clothes more often. its not that i feel self conscious about my body, i worked hard for it, i don’t mind showing it off. however, i feel like we could chill on the harnesses i wear without anything under.“ he remembers very well when he was told he needed to start going to the gym more, because he couldn’t be just skinny. it was a good thing that jihoon had actually began to enjoy the gym, otherwise he was sure he would feel very different about some of the outfits he has worn.
7. what one thing (concepts, genres, styling, frequency of comebacks, etc.) would you like to change about your current career as an idol?
“oh this is a hard one..“ had there been a concept they haven’t done? “i guess something lighter? more ballad oriented, we have amazing singers, i feel like they don’t get enough time to properly shine. i sing a bit as well, but our main and lead vocalists, i feel like they are underappreciated on most of our title tracks. i would also like to see more diversity in our dancing, more soft, contemporary. it would really pull us out of the intense dances we have, but it would be a breath of fresh air for us.“
8. if you could be in any idol group, which one would you choose?
“it will come as a surprise, but if i could pick a girl group, it would be candy without a doubt. they have released such good songs, their dances are actually so fun to follow. i think they would be my number one female group choice.“ however, for boy group it was difficult, but he felt like there was one single correct answer to that “for boy group, i wanna say polaris. there are many reasons to why i picked them, but i really like their songs, just like with candy, their songs are amazing and their choreography is super cool.“
what: base magazine photoshoot, being styled by michelle
when: october
with: @fmdrorin
there’s very little in life that joohwan is certain of, and she’s already made peace with that. well, mostly has made peace with that, at least. however, if there’s one thing she navigates life taking as a certain truth is that she’s a beautiful person, objectively. well, while some might disagree, might argue that beauty is subjective, joohwan thinks she fits into most of the beauty standards that actually matter — aka the beauty standards that apply to her, in the industry she’s in — and that’s what she chooses to focus on. joohwan has to, after all, when it’s her looks that are allowing her the opportunity of making something of herself and she’s not going to complain about them.
at this point, joohwan has taken a liking to photoshoots. she’s good at them, especially with how often she spends behind the camera, taking pictures of people and scenery, learning more about lights and angles through practice. when she’s told about the opportunity of styling but also of being styled by someone for a solo magazine photoshoot, joohwan is extremely excited about the opportunity. but she’s not stupid, and fearing that she might end up being asked by someone she doesn’t like, she does the obvious — she calls michelle.
“i trust you not to make me look ridiculous,” joohwan tells her, sat at the chair as the makeup artists and hairstylists start working on her. “so please tell me you’re not going to put me in overly masculine pieces and tell me to act masc. i have enough of that on a daily basis.”
